kingdom · Anatolia and the Levant

Kingdom of Paphlagonia

400 BCE – 6 BCE (approx.) · capital Gangra

Paphlagonia, a kingdom of the forested Black Sea hinterland, ruled by local dynasts under Persia and later a pawn of Pontus and Rome.

Origins

The Paphlagonians lived between Bithynia and Pontus, along the Black Sea coast and the forested mountains behind it, with Gangra as an inland seat. By the early 4th century BCE they had kings, such as Corylas, mentioned by Xenophon, who were nominally subject to the Achaemenid Empire.

Rule and society

The rulers commanded cavalry and controlled timber and the coastal towns. Thys defied Persia until Datames captured him c. 380 BCE. Later kings, often called Pylaemenes, sought alliances with Rome while Pontus pressed them.

Decline and legacy

Mithridates VI of the Kingdom of Pontus occupied Paphlagonia in the 2nd century BCE. After Rome's victory it was divided among client rulers; when Deiotarus Philadelphus died in 6 BCE, his kingdom was annexed to Roman Galatia.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (3)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Paphlagonia. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-paphlagonia
MLA
“Kingdom of Paphlagonia.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-paphlagonia. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Paphlagonia.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-paphlagonia.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Paphlagonia’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-paphlagonia (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻