Mithridates VI, known as the Poison King, was a major adversary of the Roman Republic. Fearing assassination by poisoning, he spent his life consuming small, non-lethal doses of various toxins to build up an immunity—a practice now known as 'mithridatism.' He allegedly developed a 'universal antidote' called Mithridatium. When he was finally defeated by the Roman general Pompey and attempted to commit suicide by poison, he found that he was immune to it and had to ask his bodyguard to kill him with a sword. His resistance to Rome triggered three major 'Mithridatic Wars' and his story influenced toxicology and medicine for over a thousand years.