Chapters
Wars fought by the Roman Empire in the east until 117 CE.
Background of events
Countries in the eastern Mediterranean have developed since the fall of Alexander the great’s empire under the influence of Hellenistic culture. These lands were at a high civilization level and their inhabitants were not too interested in the “barbaric” western lands. Information about Romebegan to flow east after the city’s wars with Pyrrhus and the cities of Great Greecein the 3rd century BCE
The Hellenistic rulers became more interested in the new rising power from the west when, to their horror and surprise, the legions from the Tiber fighting in a new way crushed the Battle of Cynoscephalae in 197 BCE the troops of Philip V, ruler of Macedon, home of the invincible soldiers of Alexander the Great. The legions in the east showed their advantage over the Hellenistic armies in the Battle of Magnesia in western Asia Minor in 189 BCE, during the so-called Fourth Syrian War. The battle was fought by 2 legions and an auxiliary force of about 30,000 men under the command of Lucius Scipio with the army of Antiochus III about 72,000. The Roman army, formed by mass mobilization, consisted mainly of heavily armed legionaries, armed with short swords – gladius, daggers – pugio, spears – pilum, partially in spears – hasta, oval convex shields – scutum and covered with brown breastplates of various types, chain mail and steel or bronze helmets, was a universal formation for any type of terrain. The Seleucid army, on the other hand, consisted of variously armed formations, including heavily armed phalanxes, peltasts, light and heavy cavalry, war elephants with light troops, and many others. The largest formation of his army were the heavily armed phalanxes, sarissoforai, or carriers of saris, of which more than 50%. This static loading of the formation resulted in low mobility and flexibility of the grouping. The army of Antiochus III, although modelled on the army of Alexander the Great, differed significantly from it. Aleksander focused mainly on the mobility of the formation, which was the decisive role of heavy riding. In the Seleucid army, emphasis was placed on the sarissoforai formations, which were to outweigh the scales in a direct battle between the infantry and the infantry. In addition, Antiochus used mercenary troops, which, in a situation of an uncertain victory, usually surrendered the rear, not wanting to suffer excessive losses.
Under Magnesia Roman troops smashed the largest and most powerful Hellenistic army of all time. The last formation of Antiochus III’s army that remained on the battlefield was the phalanx, which proved to be still a formidable weapon. This victory did not entail any territorial acquisitions for Rome.
The first territorial acquisition of Rome in the east was the kingdom of Pergamum, bequeathed by Attalus III in his will to the Roman people in 133 BCE, then transformed into the province of Asia. Then the Romans began to expand their rule in this region, imposing fiefdom on neighbouring rulers, and then taking Cilicia. In 89 BCE, First War with Mithridates, King of Pontus. He quickly occupied Bithynia, the province of Asia and Cilicia, allied with Rome, and his leaders crossed over to Greece, inciting an anti-Roman uprising there. In 87 BCE Sulla appeared there, breaking up the Pontic army and capturing the rebellious cities. His army consisted of legions reformed by Marius at the end of the 2nd century BCE. They included only heavy infantry and small cavalry units. The cost of setting them up was borne by the state. All soldiers had roughly unified weapons and were all covered with chain mail, the best armour at the time. In 86 BCE, the Roman fleet entered the Aegean Sea, taking control of this reservoir and the cities lying on its shores. A year later, Sulla forced Mithridates to give up all existing territorial acquisitions, issue a fleet and pay 3000 talents in compensation. This victorious conflict strengthened the authority of the Roma city in the area.
In 82-81 BCE there was the so-called Second War with Mithridates, unnecessarily triggered by Lucius Murena. This conflict ended in a status quo.
room
In 74 BCE the king of Bithynia, Nikomedes IV, passed away his state in a will to Rome. Mithridates immediately marched into Bithynia, because the execution of the will would deprive him of control over the straits leading to the Black Sea. He made a close agreement with Sertonius in Spain. Pirates ruling the seas were also their allies. In this situation, the Roman Senate sent both consuls to Asia: Marcus Aurelius Kotta and Marcus Licinius Lucullus. Immediately the