83-81 BC - 2nd Mithridatic War with Rome (nov 12, 83 BC – nov 12, 81 BC)

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The Second Mithridatic War (83–81 BCE) began when Roman forces attacked the Kingdom of Pontus, reigniting conflict between Rome and Mithridates. This ended the peace that the previous Treaty of Dardanos in 85 BCE which ended the First Mithridatic War three years earlier. The Roman forces were commanded by Lucius Licinius Murena who had served as Sulla's legate and was stationed in the region to oversee its defense. Murena ordered an attack on the Pontic city of Comana out of fear that Mithridates was preparing a renewed invasion into Roman territory when Mithridates was raising forces to deal with a rebellion of Crimean tribes in the north.[21]

Murena marched his forces into the Kingdom of Pontus after his attack on Comana, his advance unopposed by Mithridates's forces. Mithridates sent an ambassador to Murena to stop the conflict because of the peace established by the treaty of Dardanos, Murena replied that there was no treaty as Sulla hadn't written it out.[22] Mithridates plundered Pontic villages in 82 BCE before returning to Cappadocia. Mithridates then sent envoys to the Roman senate asking for them to recall the Roman forces that were laying waste to his territory. The senate agreed with Mithridates, ordering Murena to withdraw and end his attack on the Pontic Kingdom; Murena refused and continued the conflict.[22]

Murena was met by a minor Pontic army led by Gordius, one of Mithridates' generals, later in 82 BCE. The Roman and Pontic forces met at the Halys River where they engaged in the ensuing battle of Halys. During the battle the outnumbered Pontic forces stood against superior Roman forces until Mithridates himself arrived with reinforcements, defeating the Romans. The decisive battle was the only major engagement between Roman and Pontic forces in the Second Mithridatic War.

The war ended when Sulla dispatched envoys to Murena to end the conflict as Mithridates hadn't broken the treaty they had agreed upon years earlier. Peace was established between Pontus and Rome by 81 BCE after which Murena was recalled from Anatolia back to Rome.[23] This peace continued until 74 BCE when Mithridates invaded Roman territory in Asia Minor sparking the Third Mithridatic War.

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