Mithridates the Great (19 page)

Consequently, Lucullus blandly informed Fimbria that, as Sulla’s subordinate, he was bound by the same de facto armistice as his general, and therefore he could not interfere. Fimbria’s reaction can be imagined as Mithridates sailed away whilst Lucullus and his ships stood by benevolently looking on. With their king safely out of danger, a part of the Pontic fleet
under an admiral called Neoptolemus attempted to put paid to Lucullus by launching a surprise attack on his flagship, which was a solid Rhodian quinquereme. The Rhodian ship’s master, an experienced fighter, promptly turned away from the Pontic ship bearing down on him, and consequently Neoptolemus’ ship rammed the bulky flagship in the stern whilst it was going in the same direction only slightly more slowly. The resultant collision was less of a bump than Mithridates had received from a friendly ship off Rhodes, and certainly was not enough to prevent Lucullus and his ships from turning sharply on their attackers and sending the Pontic flotilla scurrying after their royal master. Thereafter, Lucullus proceeded to northern Greece and ferried Sulla and his army across for a meeting with Mithridates at Dardanus on the coast of Asia Minor.

Mithridates arrived at the meeting determined to make his case. To show that he was far from beaten, he brought with him 20,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry. Sulla made his case by having with him just four cohorts of legionaries (maybe 2,000 men), which, he implied, made the two retinues of equal strength.

When the two leaders came face to face, Mithridates extended his hand. Sulla did not take it, but bluntly asked whether or not Mithridates was going to accept the terms agreed to by Archelaus. In reply, Mithridates eloquently went through the wrongs the Romans had done him and his state. He reminded Sulla of the greed and injustice he had suffered under Aquillius and argued that all he had done was defend himself and his kingdom. In reply, Sulla said that he had heard that Mithridates was a powerful speaker and he had indeed proved that this was so. He went through the points the king had raised and refuted them one by one. Then he asked again, was Mithridates going to accept the terms agreed to by Archelaus or not?

When the king expostulated further, Sulla remarked that he was surprised that Mithridates was trying to justify those acts for which, through Archelaus, he had only recently asked to be pardoned. The time for speeches had been before matters had been settled by arms. Or did Mithridates think Sulla had come all this way just to have a debate? Was Mithridates going to accept the terms agreed to by Archelaus or not?

Faced with Sulla’s uncompromising negotiating stance, Mithridates had little choice but to ratify his general’s concessions, whereupon Sulla came forward and embraced him. Worse was to come, for Sulla had Ariobarzanes and Nicomedes in his retinue and insisted that the kings of Cappadocia and Bithynia be formally reconciled with their erstwhile conqueror. There was
little Mithridates could do but get through the proceedings with what grace he could muster, hand over the ships which Sulla had demanded and sail home to Pontus with the remainder. The first war between Mithridates and the Romans was at an end.

* Sulla had already released many of his prisoners as a goodwill gesture. However, as Mithridates had no further use for Ariston, and Sulla had a personal grudge against the man, the former tyrant of Athens came back as a corpse.

* This is probably not Diophantus of Sinpoe and Bosporan fame.

1. Bust of Mithridates, now in the Louvre, Paris. This is a unique survival as the Romans generally disapproved of images of those who opposed them with any measure of success. The ‘lionskin’ helmet may be to identify Mithridates with Hercules (photograph courtesy of Sandra A Whiteway).

2. A coin of Mithridates showing him as a Hellenistic monarch. The hole in the top of the coin suggests it was worn as a medallion by a tribesman in the Black Sea region where it was found (©Pierre R Monney, with kind permission).

3. Cornelius Sulla – a highly capable general. His uncompromising ruthlessness made him a suitable foil for the equally-merciless Mithridates, though it made life extremely difficult for those civilians caught between the competing armies (bust in the Staatliche Antiksammlungen und Glyptotech, Munich; photograph ©P Matyszak).

4. Coin of Tigranes of Great of Armenia, son-in-law of Mithridates. Whilst he was happy to collaborate with Pontus in invading Cappadocia, Tigranes was unhappy when his family connection caused him to be dragged into war with the Romans, and he eventually made aseparate peace with Pompey.

5. Bust of Gnaeus Pompeius, known today as Pompey. Behind this rather smug and vapid expression was anastute politician with a formidable military talent. (bust now in NyCarlsberg Glyptotech, Copenhagen; photograph ©P Matyszak)

6. A picture of Modern Sinope showing why the natural advantages of the landscape made it the mercantile centre of the Pontic kingdom.

7. The Black Sea forests of modern Turkey are well watered and far from the popular concept of Anatolia as a uniformly arid environment. Much of the timber of the Pontic fleet came from here.

8. Rock tombs of the Pontic kings at the ancient Pontic capital of Amaseia. Note also the steep terrain which made Amaseia a highly-defensible position (©Luc Wouters, with kind permission).