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Rome after the defeat of the Kingdom of Macedonia became the dominant power in the Eastern Mediterranean. It did not directly control Greece and Asia Minor but was the dominant player in the region. This was resented by many and particularly resented by the King of Pontus, Mithridates IV (135-63 BC). He ruled a powerful kingdom on the Black Sea coast of modern Turkey and was of Iranian descent. He was a larger than life figure and he was famed for his cunning, Herculean strength, his brutality and was a legend in his own lifetime <ref> Mayor, Adrienne, The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy (Princeton, PUP, 2009), p 14 </ref>. The King of Pontus seized the Greek state in the Crimea and also subjugated large parts of the Caucuses. Mithridates wanted to end Roman influence in what he saw as his region and to seize all of Asia Minor (modern Turkey). He decided to act and ordered the massacre of all the Latins living in Asia Minor and several thousand were murdered, and simultaneously he invaded Bithynia which was allied to Rome (88 BC). This led the Senate to declare war on the king, in response the Pontic monarch he gathered a huge army and invaded Greece. However, Sulla moved quickly and defeated Mithridates and his allies in two great battles and swept the Pontic king’s forces from Europe. Lucullus played a critical role in what became known as the First Mithridatic War, named after Mithridates VI <ref> Mayor, 119 </ref>. He assembled a navy and defeated the Pontic naval forces and ferried Sulla’s army from Greece into Asia. This amphibious operation persuaded Mithridates to seek an end to the war and he was granted generous terms by Sulla who wanted to quickly return to Rome, which was in a state of civil war. Lucullus reputation was much enhanced by his role in the war<ref>Plutarch, 3. 5</ref>.