The arena for this novel is the Black Sea, or Pontus Euxinus, as it was called in ancient times. The king of Pontus, Mithridates Eupator, managed to unite into a single state all the peoples living along its shores. He was the opponent of Rome and led everyone who didn’t want to reconcile themselves with Roman rule. Even today, Mithridates’ name is borne by a hill on the shore of the Kerch Strait, where, having lost hope of continuing the war with Rome, he took his own life.