On Learning This, Lucullus, Who Had The Chief Command, Ordered
Cotta To Remain In The Harbour Of Chalcedon; But Mithridates, Relying On
His Strength, Sailed Into The Very Harbour, And Burnt The Roman Fleet.
The
loss of the Romans consisted of sixty ships, and 8000 of their mariners
slain, besides 4500 taken prisoners.
As this success of Mithridates
encouraged the cities of Asia to revolt, Lucullus resolved, if possible, to
counterbalance it with still more decisive success on his part by land; he
accordingly besieged him in his camp. Being reduced to great straits,
Mithridates was forced to escape by sea towards Byzantium; but on his
voyage he was overtaken by a violent storm, in which sixty of his ships
were sunk; he himself must have perished, if he had not been rescued by a
pirate, who landed him safe in Pontus. Mithridates still had a small float
of fifty ships, on board of which were 10,000 land forces. These were at
sea; but with what object does not appear: they were met, however, near
Lemnos, by a Roman squadron, and entirely defeated; thirty-two of them
being captured, and the rest sunk. On receiving information of this
victory, the Roman senate ordered Lucullus to be paid 3000 talents to
repair and augment his fleet; but he refused them, answering, "that with
the succours he could get from their allies, he should be able to gain the
dominion of the sea, and conquer Mithridates:" at the same time he sent to
Rome 110 galleys, armed with beaks. Mithridates, however, was still
formidable at sea, and continued so, till the Romans gained another victory
over him, near the island of Tenedos, in which they took and sunk sixty
ships: after this, he was not able to fit out another fleet. As the
remainder of the war between him and the Romans was entirely confined to
land operations, we shall pass it by, and proceed to the other naval
enterprizes of the Romans about this period.
The war with Mithridates employed the attention and the resources of the
Romans so completely, that the pirates again infested the Mediterranean
seas without control. Their numbers and force were greatly augmented by the
destruction of Carthage and Corinth; for the inhabitants of these cities,
having neither a place of retreat, nor the means of subsistence, naturally
turned their thoughts to piracy, having been accustomed to sea affairs, and
to commerce. In this they were encouraged by Mithridates, and assisted by
some persons of considerable rank and wealth. The inability of the Romans
to attend to them, and the success and encouragement they obtained, induced
them to conduct their piracies on a regular, systematic, and extensive
plan. Their ships were constantly at sea: all commerce was interrupted;
with their 1000 galleys - for so numerous were they - they exercised a
complete sovereignty over all the coasts of the Mediterranean. They formed
themselves into a kind of commonwealth, selected magistrates and officers,
who appointed each fleet its respective station and object, and built
watch-towers, arsenals, and magazines.
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