Battle of the Rhyndacus (73 BC)
Battle of the Rhyndacus | |
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Part of ) | |
Result | Roman victory |
6,000 horses
The Battle of the Rhyndacus occurred in 73 BC between a
Lucullus, based in Cilicia, had foregone his planned invasion of Pontus from the south to come north and rescue his colleague, proconsul Marcus Aurelius Cotta, whom Mithridates had besieged at Cyzicus on the Sea of Marmara. Lucullus's army caught the Pontic army off guard and lay an effective counter-siege, trapping the Mithridatic army on the Cyzicus peninsula.
With the onset of winter and running low on supplies, Mithridates decided to send his sick, his wounded, and his cavalry east into
The disaster at the Rhyndacus combined with the famine and plague which had struck his main army forced Mithridates to completely abandon his position, sailing north while his army marched overland. Lucullus once again routed them at the confluence of the
References
- ^ Lee Fratantuono, Lucullus, the life and campaigns of a Roman conqueror, p.60; Philip Matyszak, Mithridates the Great, Rome's indomitable enemy, p.112.
- Rickard, J. "Battle of the Rhyndacis, 73 B.C." Accessed 3 Sept 2011.
- Plutarch. "Life of Lucullus, 73 B.C." Accessed 19 Sept 2018.