Mithridates learns disguise and military intelligence

The final book presents Mithridates as the earliest known ruler to use spying for military conquest. Its description of him as Turkish is anachronistic because he came from Pontus before Turkey existed. The book says his father was probably murdered by his ambitious mother, who intended to rule through her eleven-year-old son. After several attempts on his own life, Mithridates fled and spent years moving through Asia Minor in disguise. He learned twenty-two languages and dialects, passed as a street child, studied local customs, and observed the size and disposition of defensive forces. He then returned to Pontus, organized a coup, imprisoned his mother and younger brother, seized the throne, and later had both prisoners executed.