Marcus Aurelius Cotta (consul 74 BC)
Marcus Aurelius Cotta | |
---|---|
Gaius Cassius Longinus Varus | |
Personal details | |
Born | Unknown |
Died | Unknown |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Roman Republic |
Battles/wars | Third Mithridatic War |
Marcus Aurelius Cotta was a Roman politician and general who was
Family
Cotta, hailing from a distinguished
Career
Climbing the
The original plan was that Cotta should tie down Mithridates' fleet, while Lucullus attacked by land. Cotta was therefore ordered to station his fleet at Chalcedon, while Lucullus marched through Phrygia with the intention of invading Pontus. Lucullus had not advanced far when news came through that Mithridates had made a rapid march westward, attacked Cotta, and forced him to flee behind the walls of Chalcedon. Sixty-four Roman ships had been captured or burnt, and Cotta had lost three thousand men.[10] Cotta was forced to remain in Chalcedon until Lucullus could to come to his rescue.[11] Mithridates left Cotta under siege at Chalcedon while he himself marched his main army westwards. Lucullus caught Mithridates besieging Cyzicus and established a counter-siege successfully trapping Mithridates' army before the city. Famine and disease did the work for Lucullus at the Siege of Cyzicus. Mithridates left his army to its fate and fled by ship to Nicomedia.[12]
Having made his way to Nicomedia, Cotta watched in frustration as Mithridates, learning that his fleet had been destroyed by Lucullus, escaped the city and sailed down the Bosporus to the town of Heraclea Pontica.[13] Joined by Lucullus at Nicomedia in 73, Cotta was assigned the task of securing Lucullus' rear by capturing Heraclea Pontica, which Mithridates had reinforced with 4,000 troops.[14] After reducing the Pontic coast, Cotta began besieging Heraclea Pontica, which took him two years to capture, sacking the city in 71.[15] During this time he dismissed one of his quaestors, P. Oppius, charging him with bribery and conspiracy.[16]
Returning to Rome in 70 BC, Cotta was at first widely acclaimed for his victory at Heraclea Pontica.[17] However, around 67 BC he was accused of appropriation of war booty by Gaius Papirius Carbo. He was convicted of the offence and expelled from the Senate.[18]
Notes
- ^ "A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Caanthus, Cossus, Cotta, Aure'lius". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
- ^ "A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Caanthus, Cossus, Cotta, Aure'lius". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
- ^ "A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Caanthus, Cossus, Cotta, Aure'lius". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
- ^ "A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Abaeus, Aure'lia, Aure'lia". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
- ^ Mennen, pg. 129
- ^ Birley (2000b), pg. 115
- ^ Broughton, pg. 85
- ^ Anthon & Smith, pg. 226
- ^ Holmes, pg. 180
- ^ Holmes, pg. 180; Appian. Mithridates. 71; Plutarch. Lucullus. 8
- ^ Broughton, pg. 99
- ^ Appian, Mithridatica, 74; Plutarch, Life of Lucullus, 9-12
- ^ Holmes, pg. 183
- ^ Holmes, pg. 184
- ^ Broughton, pgs. 110, 116 & 122
- ^ Broughton, pg. 110
- ^ Broughton, pg. 127
- ^ Broughton, pgs. 127 & 144
Sources
- Anthon, Charles & Smith, William, A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology and Geography (1860).
- Birley, A. R., Senators as Generals in Kaiser, Heer und Gesellschaft in der Römischen Kaiserzeit (ed. Eric Birley, Géza Alföldy, Brian Dobson, Werner Eck) (2000) Stuttgart: Steiner. ISBN 9783515076548
- T. Robert S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, Vol II (1952).
- Holmes, T. Rice, The Roman Republic and the Founder of the Empire, Vol. I (1923)
- Mennen, Inge, Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193–284 (2011) Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9789004203594