Ancient Warfare Magazine Vol X.3 - The Mithridatic Wars

Give away Ancient Warfare Magazine Vol X.3 - The Mithridatic Wars

The ancient war of the Roman Republic against a defiant Greco-Persian ruler of a small but wealthy kingdom on the Black Sea, involved some of the largest armies and bloodiest battles of classical antiquity.

Source: Michael J. Taylor, Imperial Greeks on the Mithridatic Wars - Ancient Voices

In the town of Chaeronea, there was a statue of the Roman general Lucius Licinius Lucullus. The reason why a Boeotian village should honour a Roman general was this: during the Mithridatic Wars, the commander of the Roman garrison occupying Chaeronea made sexual advances towards a local youth, who in turn murdered the officer and fled to the hills.

Topic: Christian Violatti, The Romans in Anatolia before the wars - divide and conquer

By the early 1st century BC, Pontus had grown stronger and more confident in the face of Roman interference in Anatolia. Tensions rose to the point where open confrontation became inevitable. But what did the Romans do in Anatolia in the years leading up to the outbreak of the Mithridatic Wars?

Subject: Nicolas Rostaing, Pontic imitation legions used by Mithridates - lost pontic legions

Myridates of Pontus made use of a variety of different troops in his armies, of which perhaps the most notable were the so-called imitation legionaries, modelled on Roman infantry. These troops are mentioned by a small handful of ancient writers.

Subject: Sidney E. Dean, Heavy Cavalry of the Mithridatic Wars - Cataphracts

Cavalry was an important part of the Pontic army, with the heavy cataphract cavalry considered especially important. The Pontic ruler Mithridates VI had so many cataphracts that he appears to have sent a sizable contingent to Athens as bodyguards and enforcers for his client, the tyrant Aristion. Cataphracts were also the backbone of the armed forces of Armenia, which was allied with the Pontic Kingdom.

Topic: alex zakrzewski, empire builder of armenia - tigranes ii

In the midst of the Mithridatic Wars, King Tigranes II of Armenia (r. 95–65 BC), also known as Tigranes the Great, briefly made his country the most powerful state east of Rome.

Subject: Marc G. Desantis, Sulla and the Siege of Athens - Double Siege

The defensive walls of Athens and its port of Piraeus were some of the strongest in the ancient world. They blocked the powerful Spartans for many years in their attempts to subdue Athens in the Peloponnesian War of 431–404 BC. Centuries later, another army, this time from Rome, simultaneously besieged Athens and Piraeus in a protracted campaign that resulted in enormous loss of life in both cities.

Subject: Aaron L. Beek, The Pirates of Mithridates - Pontic Sea Dogs

There is no doubt that Mithridates VI of Pontus represented a threat to Rome in the 1st century BC, probably the greatest foreign threat of that century. The key to his success was his ability to mobilize an army and a fleet in a short time. How did Mithridates manage this mobilization? Through the large-scale use of Mediterranean pirates.


Theme: Adam Johnson, a forgotten commander - Lucullus

According to Cicero’s Academica, Mithridates himself described Lucius Licinius Lucullus (ca. 118–56 BC) as a more important general than any he had ever read about. However, Lucullus remains arguably less well-known than other leading generals of the late Roman Republic, such as Marius, Sulla, Pompey or Caesar.

Special: Arnold Blumberg, maritime power and the Egyptian state

The history of ancient Egypt is inextricably linked to the use of ships and boats, thanks to the importance of the Nile River.
With their experience in navigating the great river, sailing ships also ventured along the coasts of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, eventually extending the authority of the Pharaoh far beyond the borders of Egypt.

The debate: owen rees, the ineptitude of greek siege warfare - bringing it down

Scholars of classical Greek warfare typically focus heavily on land battles, especially pitched engagements. Recently, there has also been a revival of interest in Greek battles fought at sea. However, interest in Greek siege warfare tends to be limited. Furthermore, in modern scholarship, the Greeks have an abysmal reputation when it comes to defeating cities. Do they deserve this bad reputation?

Hollywood Romans: David L. Reinke, Interpretations of Robert Graves' Books - I, Claudius

Robert Graves, one of the 'war poets' to emerge from the trenches of the first world war, was a writer of prodigious talent. Today, Graves is best known for his works of historical fiction, especially I, Claudius (1934) and Claudius the God (1935). But it was not until 1976, when the BBC undertook a television adaptation of the book, that Claudius finally made his screen debut.

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