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</P>A 5 years war had just come to its end and Mithridates was back at square one: Nicomedes was back on the Bythinian throne, Ariobarzanes in Cappadocia, he had to abandon all the Asiatic province to the Romans, and had decidedly not to learn anything about this lesson. Luckily for him, neither the Romans!</h1>
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<h1>Lessons? What lessons?</h1>
<p>Rather than cutting his losses and changing his ways, Mithridates did what he loved best: blame someone else for his defeats. So, he turned towards the one man who had been faithful all these years to him: his general <strong>Archelaus </strong>and accused him of conspiring with Sulla. The fact was Archelaus had given anything and even lost a son fighting against the Romans didn’t weigh heavy enough against the paranoia of the Pontic king:</p>
<blockquote>He also had suspicions of Archelaus. He thought that the latter had yielded more than was necessary to Sulla in his negotiations in Greece. When Archelaus heard of this he became alarmed and fled to Murena.</blockquote>
<p>Licinius Murena was the Roman governor Sulla had left behind to restore the province and keep in check Pontus. And he didn’t learn anything either from the war. Appian tells us that he sought any trifling pretexts for war with Mithridates, in the hope to cover himself with glory and booty. Therefore, he marched into <strong>Cappadocia </strong>and looted <strong>Comana</strong>, a town belonging to Mithridates. </p>
<p> <img src="https://i.imgsafe.org/2bd6da523e.jpg" width="450" height="349"/></p>
<p> A reference of <em>Comana Pontica</em> in a later manuscript [<a href="https://www.stilus.nl/oudheid/wdo/GEO/C/COMANA.html">Source</a>]</p>
<p>When the ambassadors of the king tried to remind him of the peace treaty signed less than a year ago: </p>
<blockquote>he replied that he saw no treaty; for Sulla had not written it out, but had gone away after the terms had been fulfilled by acts. When Murena had delivered his answer he began robbing forthwith, not sparing the money of the temples, and he went into winter quarters in Cappadocia.</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://i.imgsafe.org/2bea0af64c.jpg" width="800" height="254"/></p>
<p> The eerie landscape of Cappadocia, witness of Murena's exactions [<a href="http://www.loupiote.com/photos/5248108897.shtml">Source</a>]</p>
<p>Once again, therefore, the Romans were behaving like greedy brutes and slowly sapping all the job done by Sulla. </p>
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<h1>The rogue general</h1>
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</P>Mithridates knew that any retaliation of his part could be seen as a breach of the peace, and bided his time, while appealing directly to Sulla in Rome. Meanwhile, <strong>Murena </strong>kept rampaging all along 82 BC: </p>
<blockquote>He captured 400 villages belonging to Mithridates. The king offered no opposition, but waited for the return of his embassy. Murena returned to Phrygia and Galatia loaded down with plunder.</blockquote>
<p>When a reply from Rome ordered Murena to stop his provocations, the Roman general laughed it off and ignored it. Mithridates, justified by the response of the Senate, had had enough and led personally a counterattack to teach the rogue general a lesson: </p>
<blockquote>Mithridates prevailed, crossed the river, and got the better of Murena decidedly. The latter retreated to a strong hill where the king attacked him. After losing many men Murena fled over the mountains to Phrygia by a pathless route, severely harassed by the missiles of the enemy.</blockquote>
<p>A short while later, another envoy from Sulla personally ordered Murena to stop his provocations. But it was too late, thanks to this victory Mithridates had regained a lot of esteem in the hearts and minds of the people of Asia Minor.</p>
<p> <img src="https://i.imgsafe.org/2bd84884b6.png" width="764" height="1080"/></p>
<p> Pontic infantry [<a href="https://arrecaballo.es/edad-antigua/guerras-mitridaticas/el-reino-del-ponto/">Source</a>]</p>
<h1><strong>...para bellum</strong></h1>
<p><strong>Mithridates </strong>did not waste time to exploit this public relation victory at his advantage: seen once again as a protector and liberator, he spent the following years building fortresses, recruiting new armies, with which - now that Murena was kept in check - he was able to crush revolts in <strong>Colchis </strong>and <strong>Bosporus</strong>.</p>
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</P>He also led an intense diplomatic campaign to gain allies far and wide. He pretended to heed the advice of the Romans and publicly reconciled with <strong>Ariobarzanes </strong>(cf. coin on the right)<strong> </strong>by bethrothing his four-year old (!) daughter to him, while secretly plotting with Armenia to share Cappadocia between them. He made pacts with the <strong>Cilician pirates</strong>, friends in Syria and Egypt and even allies in the person of <strong>Sertorius </strong>(cf. bust on the left), the rogue general who had taken over Spain and was giving nightmares to the optimates of Rome:</p>
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</P><blockquote>Mithridates [...] sent ambassadors to Sertorius. The latter introduced them to his senate and felicitated himself that his fame had extended to Pontus, and that he could now besiege the Roman power in both the Orient and the Occident. So he made a treaty with Mithridates to give him Asia, Bithynia, Paphlagonia, Cappadocia, and Galatia.</blockquote>
<p>As a show of good faith, Sertorius sent some officers to train Mithridates’ troops in the Roman way of war. By 78 BC, Sulla died. Still, Mithridates did not rush and waited until he got the perfect excuse and opportunity to strike.</p>
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</P>The occasion came in 74 BC: his old foe, Nicomedes of Bythinia had died without heir and bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans. This could mean only one thing: War. </h1>
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<p> </p>
<pre><code><em><strong>TO BE CONTINUED...</strong></em></code></pre><br><br><br>
<p><strong>Previous episodes:</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://steemit.com/history/@herverisson/enemies-of-rome-5-5-mithridates-who-needs-enemy">ENEMIES OF ROME 5.5 - Mithridates - Who needs enemy?</a></p>
<p><a href="https://steemit.com/history/@herverisson/enemies-of-rome-5-4-mithridates-the-battle-for-greece">ENEMIES OF ROME 5.4 - Mithridates - The battle for Greece</a></p>
<p>EN<a href="https://steemit.com/history/@herverisson/enemies-of-rome-5-3-mithridates-the-asiatic-vespers">EMIES OF ROME 5.3 - Mithridates - The Asiatic Vespers</a></p>
<p><a href="https://steemit.com/history/@herverisson/enemies-of-rome-5-2-mithridates-the-saviour-of-the-east">ENEMIES OF ROME 5.2 - Mithridates - The Saviour of the East</a> </p>
<p><a href="https://steemit.com/history/@herverisson/enemies-of-rome-5-1-mithridates-the-rise-of-the-poison-king">ENEMIES OF ROME 5.1 - MITHRIDATES - The Rise of the Poison King</a></p>
<p><strong>Sources:</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://mithridat-eupator.ru/biblioteka/Mithridates_VI_and_the_Pontic_Kingdom_Hojte_2009.pdf">http://mithridat-eupator.ru/biblioteka/Mithridates_VI_and_the_Pontic_Kingdom_Hojte_2009.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0230%3Atext%3DMith">http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/textdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0230%3Atext%3DMith</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.livius.org/articles/person/mithridates/?">http://www.livius.org/articles/person/mithridates/?</a> </p>
<p><a href="https://ryanfb.github.io/loebolus-data/L004.pdf">http://www.livius.org/sources/content/appian/appian-the-mithridatic-wars/appian-the-mithridatic-wars-10/</a> </p>
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