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Ancient biographer Plutarch regarded Lucullus (118-56 BC) was regarded by the ancient biographer Plutarch as one of the greatest generals and statesmen political leaders of the late Republic. He was contributed to the rise of the Roman Empire and was a decisive influence on its culture. However, today Today Lucullus is largely unknown and forgotten.  Not only was he a great general but was also a noted patron of the arts. Plutarch argued that Lucullus was a significant figure in the history of Rome. He greatly contributed to was instrumental in the defeat Mithridates IV of Pontus, one of Rome’s most formidable enemies. Lucullus also laid the foundation for Roman supremacy in the Near East and Black Sea region, that lasted for centuries. Finally, he He also played a vital role in the cultural development of Rome.

Lucullus was born into one of the noblest families in Rome , and he was related to some of the most powerful clans in the Republic. He received the traditional education of a young member of the elite and as expected, of someone from his class, began a public career. Lucullus was a member of the optimates, which supported the traditional Senatorial class against the Populists, who sought the support of the common people. This was a very unstable volatile period in Roman history and there . Political violence was political violence common in the city Rome, and the Republic had descended into near civil war.  Lucullus served with the Optimate general Sulla , and it appears that he fought with him during the Social War.<ref>Plutarch. <i>Life of Lucullus</i>, 5. 4</ref>. Sulla highly regarded Lucullus seemed to have been highly rated by Sulla , and supported Lucullus later when he was later elected as Quaestor of Rome (88 BC). Sulla had made himself absolute ruler of the Republic and he wanted to reform Rome and end its endemic political instability. However, a crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean forced him to leave Italy. This was crisis signaled the beginning start of a great conflict the war with, Mithridates IV of Pontus, in ways . Mithridates posed a significant to Rome and was as formidable as the great Carthaginian Hannibal.

Rome after the defeat of the Kingdom of Macedonia became the dominant power in the Eastern Mediterranean. 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, <i>The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy </i> (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 conquer 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. Simultaneously, and simultaneously he invaded Bithynia which was allied to Rome (88 BC). This led invasion forced the Roman Senate to declare war on the king, . in response , the Pontic monarch gathered a huge considerable 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 Lucullus 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 . Sulla needed to quickly return to Rome, which because the city was in a state of civil war. Lucullus reputation was much enhanced by his key role in the warconflict.<ref>Plutarch, 3. 5</ref>.

Lucullus held several posts in Rome and in its Provinces and . His reputation grew because he gained a reputation as was a competent and fair administrator. Meanwhile, Mithridates was able to regroup and fought a brief conflict with a Roman general, which is known as the Second Mithridatic war. The balance of power changed in the Roman East when Lucullus became an ally of Tigranes the Great, an Armenian monarch who established a large Empire that ranged from the Caucuses into modern Syria and east into Iraq.  Mithridates once more attacked Roman allies in Asia Minor and quickly overran most of them in 73 AD. Lucullus as consul was sent with his co-consul in 70 BC to deal with the threat. His colleague blundered into a trap in Cynicus and was soon besieged by Mithridates. Lucullus responded quickly and soon surrounded the Pontic monarch’s army and inflicted a massive defeat on his forces. The Pontic monarch retreated into Armenia and went to the court of his ally Tigranes who was also his son-in-law. Lucullus took over the Pontic Kingdom and after .  After Tigranes refused to hand over the Pontic king, the Romans invaded the Armenian Empire. The Romans besieged the Armenian capital Tigrancerta. The Armenian king who had been quelling a revolt returned to relieve the siege of his capital. Lucullus was outnumbered, and his enemy had assumed a defensive position. The Armenians cataphracts or heavy cavalry were the elite of Tigranes army and superior to the Roman cavalry.<ref> Sherwin-White, Adrian N. (1994). "Lucullus, Pompey, and the East". In J. A. Crook; Andrew Lintott; Elizabeth Rawson. <i>The Cambridge Ancient History IX: The Last Age of the Roman Republic, 146-43 BC</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 241 </ref>.  Lucullus decided on a daring plan of attack. He ordered his infantry to advance over a hill and attacked the Armenian heavy cavalry in the rear. The Roman army nearly annihilated the cataphracts and the Armenian infantry fled, but they were ridden down by the Roman cavalry. Lucullus has secured a remarkable victory and one that was studied throughout the for centuries.<ref>Keaveney, Arthur: . <i>Lucullus. A Life </i> (London/New York: Routledge, 1992), p 119</ref>. He went on to inflict another crushing defeat on the Armenian king in what is now modern Iraq.  However, Mithridates was extraordinarily resourceful as ever and returned to Pontus and where he defeated the Roman garrison at the battle of Zela. Some in Rome blamed Lucullus for this defeat and for his apparent inability to end the conflict. Plutarch in his biography stated that Pompey wanted the command of the army in the war against Mithridates and he conspired with others against Lucullus .<ref>Plutarch, 7, 2</ref>.  An ally of Pompey incited a mutiny in the army , and this led to the recall of the man who had won a series of remarkable victories. Pompey took over command of his army , and he secured the final submission of Tigranes. He then advanced into the Caucuses , and Mithridates committed suicide when his own son betrayed him. Lucullus returned to Rome an extremely wealthy man and was excluded from public life by the Pompeians. He turned his focus away from politics and became a great builder and a patron of the arts and who was renowned for his lavish lifestyle .<ref> Sherwin, p 242 </ref>.

Mithridates was a formidable foe and was incredibly resilient and . He smartly took advantage of the endemic divisions in within the Roman Republic. In the First and Third Mithridatic War, he posed a grievous threat to Rome Roman influence in the eastern Mediterranean. This was especially the case in true during the Third war between the Pontic king and the Republic when because Mithridates entered into an alliance had allied with the Roman rebels in Spain.  Lucullus remarkable generalship prevented the Pontic king and his Armenian allies from expelling Rome from the Near East .<ref>Sherwin, p. 245</ref>. His victories ensured that Mithridates was all but beaten. The King was able to escape and even able to recapture some of his lands. In fact, Lucullus's decisive defeat of the Pontic king reduced the threat posed by Mithridates. He was severely weakened and his alliance with Armenia was at an endover. He only had a small army , and many of his lands were in outright revoltoccupied. Only his It was only Mithridates bravery and resourcefulness, that allowed him to continue the his fight against Rome. , but it was Lucullus was the general and not Popey who could claim to have ended the threat from the Pontic King. By doing this he Luccullus not only saved Rome in the east but also enabled the Republic to dominate Asia Minor and the Levant for centuries .<ref>Sherwin, p 244</ref>. In fact, Roman control of Asia Minor was not again challenged until the 7th century AD.