Battle of Chalcedon (74 BC)
Battle of Chalcedon | |||||||
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Part of Third Mithridatic War | |||||||
Map of parts of Eastern Europe during the Mithridatic war. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of Pontus | Roman Republic | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Mithridates VI | Marcus Aurelius Cotta | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
136,000–162,000 men[1][2][3] 120,000–150,000 infantry 12,000–16,000 cavalry 100–120 scythed chariots |
Unknown men 64 ships[4] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
730 killed[2] |
17,800 men 7,000–13,300 killed 4,500 captured 4 ships burned 60 ships captured |
The Battle of Chalcedon was a land and naval battle between the
Background
After his defeat at the hands of
Prelude
At the start of the Third Mithridatic War, the Roman consul Marcus Aurelius Cotta took his fleet into the
Nudus, Cotta's naval
The land battle
Mithridates sent his forces, led by
The harbour raid
Mithridates followed up his success with a combined land and sea assault on the harbour. An advance party of Bastarnae managed to break the bronze chain which blocked entrance to the port, and the Pontic fleet sailed in. Four ships were sunk and sixty ships, the rest of Cotta's fleet, were captured and towed away. The city itself remained in Roman hands, but there was little that Cotta could do.[7]
Losses
The Romans lost 4,000–5,300 on land, 3,000–8,000 perished during the battle for the harbour and 4,500 were captured. Mithridates lost only 30 Bastarnae and 700 others dead.[8]
Aftermath
With Cotta bereft of an army and fleet, his local support melted away,
References
- ^ Appian Historia Romana Book XII (The Mithridatic Wars), section 69
- ^ a b Memnon History of Heracleia, section 27
- ^ Plutarch Life of Lucullus, section 7
- ^ Appian Historia Romana Book XII (The Mithridatic Wars), section 71
- ^ Philip Matyszak, Mithridates the Great, Rome's indomitable Enemy, pp. 99–101.
- ^ Philip Matyszak, Mithridates the Great, Rome's indomitable Enemy, pp. 103–104; Plutarch Life of Lucullus, 8.
- ^ a b c Philip Matyszak, Mithridates the Great, Rome's indomitable Enemy, p. 104; Plutarch Life of Lucullus, 8.
- ^ Plutarch Life of Lucullus, 8; Memnon History of Heracleia, 27.
- ^ Philip Matyszak, Mithridates the Great, Rome's indomitable Enemy, pp. 106–113; Plutarch Life of Lucullus, 8.
Bibliography
- Jaques, Tony (2006). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges. Greenwood. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5.