3 – Pontus Strikes Back in the Second Mithridatic War (83-81 BC)
The First Mithridatic War resulted in a Roman victory, but it was far from a decisive one. Sulla allowed Mithridates to remain in control of Pontus although the king had to relinquish Asia Minor and agree to the borders between Rome and Pontus that existed before the first conflict. While Sulla wanted peace with Pontus and Mithridates appeared content with the situation, the Roman governor of Asia, Lucius Licinius Murena, had other ideas. Murena was an ambitious man and wanted to restart the war in the hope of winning a quick victory and earning a triumph.
After losing the first war, Mithridates had to contend with rebellions in his kingdom. His armed response concerned Murena who probably believed Rome’s old enemy was trying to rearm in a bid to regain lost territory. Archelaus fanned the flames by convincing Murena that Pontus was preparing an attack on Rome (he had fallen out of favor with Mithridates).
In 83 BC, Murena launched an attack on the town of Comana which was in the kingdom of Pontus. Mithridates sent ambassadors to meet the Roman, and they appealed to the treaty they had in place with Rome. Murena claimed there was no treaty (as no written version existed) and plundered Comana before staying in Cappadocia for the winter. When the weather improved, Murena continued his conquest by taking hundreds of small Pontic villages with little opposition.
He ignored a message from the Roman Senate which ordered him not to attack Mithridates, and when Murena raided Pontus for the second time in 82 BC, the king reacted in the belief that Rome had declared war. Murena faced the general Gordius at the Halys River, and soon, Mithridates arrived with a large army. He attacked Murena and defeated the Roman governor. Murena fled over the mountains and eventually, a message from Sulla resulted in the end of the brief Second Mithridatic War.
Bizarrely, Murena received his triumph despite suffering an embarrassing defeat. Rome and Pontus were officially at peace in 81 BC, but it was an uneasy truce. When Sulla died in 78 BC, another conflict was inevitable as he was one of the last voices for peace. In 75 BC, Nicomedes IV of Bithynia died and left his kingdom to Rome. It was the precursor to war, and in 74 BC, Rome started mobilizing in Asia Minor. Mithridates invaded Bithynia in 73 BC, and the Third Mithridatic War began.