The wars against Mithridates VI of Pontus — three campaigns that brought Rome to the limits of the known world.
Start ReadingMithridates VI of Pontus emerges as Rome's most dangerous eastern rival, a polyglot king who speaks twenty-two languages and dreams of expelling Rome from Asia.
Mithridates extends his influence over the Black Sea kingdoms, building a power base that will challenge Roman hegemony in the east.
The Asiatic Vespers — Mithridates orders the massacre of 80,000 Roman and Italian residents across Asia Minor in a single day.
Sulla lands in Greece to confront Mithridates' armies, besieging Athens and sacking Piraeus despite Rome's own civil war raging at home.
The battles of Chaeronea and Orchomenus demonstrate Roman tactical superiority as Sulla destroys Pontic armies vastly outnumbering his own.
Sulla negotiates the Treaty of Dardanus with Mithridates, ending the First Mithridatic War so he can return to settle scores in Rome.
The Second Mithridatic War sees Murena's unauthorised attacks on Pontus, a conflict that satisfies neither side and resolves nothing.
Mithridates rebuilds his forces and allies with Sertorius in Spain, plotting a coordinated assault on Roman power from both east and west.
The Third Mithridatic War begins as Lucullus takes command, winning spectacular victories but losing the loyalty of his troops.
Lucullus drives deep into Armenia, defeating King Tigranes at Tigranocerta in one of the most lopsided victories in Roman history.
Lucullus's mutinous soldiers refuse to advance further, allowing Mithridates to recover and recapture much of Pontus.
Pompey receives the extraordinary command against Mithridates through the Lex Manilia, backed by Cicero's famous speech.
Pompey rapidly defeats Mithridates in a night battle, then reorganises the entire eastern Mediterranean to Rome's advantage.
Mithridates flees to the Crimea, planning one last desperate invasion of Italy through the Balkans.
Betrayed by his own son Pharnaces, Mithridates attempts suicide but — immune to poison through years of self-inoculation — must order a guard to kill him.
Pompey's settlement of the east creates the provincial system that will endure for centuries, from Syria to the Black Sea.
The legacy of the Mithridatic Wars transforms Rome's relationship with the eastern Mediterranean and enriches Pompey beyond measure.