ENEMIES OF ROME 5.8 - Mithridates - The king of comebacks

herverisson (70)in #history • 7 years ago

Ousted of his kingdom by the methodical Lucullus, abandoned by his vassals, betrayed by his own son, Mithridates fled to the last man on earth who seems willing to give him shelter: his son-in-law Tigranes II of Armenia.

Siege and Battle of Tigranocerta (69 BC)

By the end of 70 BC, Lucullus had completed the siege and the capture of Sinope and the reorganization of the Pontic kingdom. But all this work was for nothing if he didn’t get his hand on Mithridates, so he sent a formal request to Tigranes. Rome and Armenia had never been at war before, but when Tigranes II refused the demand, thinking that Lucullus would not dare to cross him, everyone on the wrong side of the border got a big surprise:

Lucullus marched with two legions and 500 horse against Tigranes, who had refused to surrender Mithridates to him. [...] No one told Tigranes that Lucullus was advancing, for the first man who brought this news he hanged, considering him a disturber of the good order of the cities. When he learned that it was true, he sent Mithrobarzanes forward with 2,000 horse to hinder Lucullus' march.

Lucullus easily swatted this vanguard and then set up besieging the capital of Armenia, Tigranocerta.

Siege and Battle of Tigranocerta (69 BC)

Tigranes was confident that he could succeed where Mithridates (his father in law) had failed, in spite of the recommandations of his father-in-law:

Mithridates advised him not to come to close quarters with the Romans, but to circle around them with his horse only, to devastate the country, and reduce them by famine if possible, in the same way that he had been served by Lucullus at Cyzicus, where he lost his army without fighting.

Tigranes laughed these advices off as unfit for a great king and when he saw the first time the Roman forces, he said: "If they are here as ambassadors they are too many; if as enemies, altogether too few." The last laugh was for Lucullus. Once again, he outmaneuvered his opponent by seizing the high ground, fell on the baggage train and created such a chaos that his soldiers easily prevailed:

There was a great slaughter. Nobody stopped to plunder, for Lucullus had forbidden it with threats of punishment, so that they passed by bracelets and necklaces on the road, and continued killing for a distance of 20 kilometers until nightfall. Then they betook themselves to plunder with the permission of Lucullus.

After that, Tigranocerta opened its gates and Lucullus' troops plundered it.

The wild good chase goes on

One year later, Lucullus troops met again Tigranes forces at the battle of Artaxata (68BC). Once again, they won. Once again, Mithridates and Tigranes escaped:

Tigranes now withdrew into the interior of Armenia and Mithridates hastened to what was left of his own kingdom of Pontus, taking with him 4,000 of his own troops and as many more that he had received from Tigranes.

Lucullus left alone the king of Armenia but chased after Mithridates, who practiced a scorched-earth policy with devastating effect on the Roman troops morale. Too slow, for all the booty they had taken from Armenia, and too weak, for want of supplies, his army fell into ambushes while foraging - where even Mithridates paid of his own person, being wounded several times.

All in all, Mithridates made such a nuisance of himself in a rough and hostile environment for the Romans, that the soldiers of Lucullus eventually mutined. On Spring 67, after wintering in the town of Nisibis, they refused to break camp and keep fighting, making clear that they wanted to go home.

Recall

Cold, stern and calculating, Lucullus was not the most beloved general and had never managed to commandeer the loyalty of his soldiers, in spite or maybe because of the booty they had acquired. They were just as tired of this long war as was Lucullus and wanted to go home and enjoy their spoils, hence desertions and mutinies multiplied in the Roman camp. Eventually, the Senate itself lost patience and struck the final blow in Lucullus’ career:

the proconsul of Asia sent heralds to proclaim that Rome had accused Lucullus of unnecessarily prolonging the war, and had ordered that the soldiers under him be dismissed, and that the property of those who did not obey this order should be confiscated. When this information was received the army disbanded at once, all but a few, who remained with Lucullus because they were very poor and did not fear the penalty.

One can imagine the humiliation for Lucullus, who had been managing this war as best as possible, without reinforcements, winning countless victories, killing god-knows-how-many enemies, enriching his soldiers with spoils and was now accused of dragging this war along on purpose. But he was a soldier and he had honour and complied with the order. Not that he had any option.