First Mithridatic War

The First Mithridatic War (88-84 BCE) was part of the 30 year Mithridatic Wars (88-63 BCE) between Rome and Mithridates VI of Pontus.
The war was caused by the rise of Mithridates VI who was determined to oppose the expansion of Roman Power in Asia Minor.

When in c. 113 BCE Mithridates VI of Pontus became King of Pontus, he set out to build a wider Empire using Sea Power.
He first turned Colchis into a client Kingdom.
He then made the Crimean Kingdom, Chersonesus Taurica, and the Bosphoran Kingdom into Pontic Client Kingdoms.
Mithridates constant expansionism eventually provoked Rome into declaring war.

In 91 BCE Mithridates managed to evict Ariobarzanes from Cappadocia, and Nicomedes IV from Bythinia, replacing them with his own Kings. Both went to Rome to appeal for assistance.

In 90 BCE Manius Aquillius arrived in Bithynia with a small army and restored Nicomedes to Bythinia and Ariobarzanes to Cappadocia.
In 89 BCE Nicomedes IV of Bithynia then blockaded the Bosphorus against ships from Pontus, and combined his army with two Roman Legions and invaded parts of Pontus. However, he was not yet opposed by Mithridates, who sent a diplomat called Pelopidas to appeal to the Romans that Bithynia had violated the Roman Peace Treaty and requested they stop Nicomedes or permit Mithridates to retaliate. When it was denied, he invaded Cappadocia instead.

In c.July 89 BCE, Mithridates sent an army into Cappadocia and expelled Ariobarzanes, placing his own son on the throne.
Ariobarzanes was clearly the victim, unlike Nicomedes, but Mithridates again sent Pelopidas to appeal to the Romans to restrain Nicomedes. Pelopidas was sent back with instructions that Mithridates withdraw from Cappadocia and not to retaliate against Nicomedes. Both sides then prepared for war.
News reached Rome in late 89 BCE, but the Senate was preoccupied with the Social War (91-87 BCE) and it wasn’t until 87 BCE that an army under Sulla could be sent.

In c.May 88 BCE Mithridates attacked Bythinia with 250,000 soldiers, 40,000 cavalry and 400 warships, and proceeded to defeat four Armies, each with 40,000 soldiers, including the Roman Legions under Aquillius who was executed. He then occupied Bithynia.

Mithridates Army then moved into Asia.
In c. June of 88 BCE Mithridates organised a simultaneous massacre of 80,000 Romans and Italians living in Bithynia.
He then organised rebellions against Roman Rule throughout Asia Minor and proceeded to massacre the Italian population residing in the cities, including Ephesus and Delos.
The Aegean Sea fell to Mithridates.

The only remaining port open to the Romans in the Aegean was now Rhodes, defended by the Sea Power of the Rhodian Navy.
Mithridates built a Siege engine to take the city of Rhodes, but the engine collapsed and having already lost his transports, Mithridates was forced to withdraw.

General Archelaus first captured the Cyclades and the Temple Treasury of Delos.
He then arrived in Athens, invited by the newly elected Magistrate, Aristion.
Only two Roman Legions were posted in Greece, both in Macedonia fighting against the Thracians. A small army was sent south under Bruttius Sura. Unable to prevent the invasion, he was able to slow it down, which gave time for Sulla’s Legions to arrive.

Sulla departed from Italy in early 87 BCE and after arriving in Greece, headed for Athens.
Sulla divided his Army into two and simultaneously besieged Athens defended by Aristion and the Pireus defended by Archelaus.
Archelaus had command of the sea, and was easily resupplied, but Athens was isolated, as the connecting walls between the two cities were no longer standing.
By Autumn, Archelaus had withstood the siege and Sulla withdrew to winter in Eleusis, but continued to isolate Athens.

Mithridates sent an army commanded by his son, Arcathias, to relieve the sieges of Athens and Pireus.
If Sulla didn’t succeed in taking the cities quickly he would be caught between the arriving army and the defending cities.
Sulla concentrated on Athens and succeeded in breaching the walls and entering the city, Archelaus held out in the Acropolis for another six weeks.
Meanwhile, Arcathias had died and the Pontic army was only making slow progress, so Sulla decided he had time to take the Pireus. Several attacks forced Archelaus to retreat onto the Munychia Peninsular. Then disheartened by the fall of Athens, Archelaus placed his army on a fleet of ships and rejoined the second Pontic army at Thermopylae.

Sulla left C. Curio to complete the siege of the Acropolis in Athens and marched north into Boeotia.
At the Battle of Chaeronea, Sulla’s estimated 40,000 soldiers met Archelaus’ 120,000 soldiers, with the Romans outnumbered 3 to 1.
Sulla completely defeated Archelaus, who escaped with only 10,000 soldiers. However, Mithridates reinforced him by sea with another 80,000 soldiers. Meanwhile, Mithridates command of the sea allowed him to enter the Adriatic.
When another Roman Army under Flaccus arrived in Greece, Sulla faced a double threat, since this army was not there to unite with Sulla, but to defeat him. Sulla repositioned himself to face both threats.
At the Battle of Orchomenus Archelaus attacked first. Again, although outnumbered 2 to 1, by digging trenches around the Pontic camp and then storming it, the Pontic Army was destroyed but Archelaus escaped.
Sulla moved to confront Flaccus, his Legions started to desert to Sulla, forcing Flaccus to march to the Bosphorus instead and invade Asia Minor.

Mithridates now faced Rebellion himself as his Campaign in Greece failed.
The Roman commander Fimbria now deposed and executed Flaccus, then invaded Bithynia reducing to rubble any city that resisted the Roman Army.
Mithridates confronted Fimbria in Bithynia with an army commanded by another of his sons. However, that army was defeated and Fimbria forced Mithridates and his son to flee.

Lucius Licinius Lucullus finally collected a fleet of ships from Allies in the Eastern Mediterranean and entered the Aegean and united with the Rhodian Navy.
After two naval battles, Lucullus successfully cleared the Aegean of the Pontic Fleet, then collected Sulla and his army from Abydos and ferried them across the Hellespont.

Sulla and Mithridates met at Dardanus and agreed to Sulla’s terms which permitted him to keep his Kingdom of Pontus provided he relinquish Cappadocia and Bithynia, along with 70 warships and pay a war indemnity of 2-3,000 Talents.
Mithridates had been finally persuaded to agree by both Fimbria’s conquests in Bithynia and Lucullus’ naval supremacy.
Sulla wanted to be free to deal with Fimbria and not have to continue to fight two separate armies.

Sulla then confronted Fimbria, who committed suicide after which his Legions changed sides and joined Sulla.
Sulla then reorganised the Province of Asia, forcing the Greek cities to pay a war indemnity and five years of back taxes. He left in 84 BCE.

Aegean Sea and Asia Minor