398 



ROMAN EMPIRE. 



lioman 

 Empire. 



the murdered senators were stuck upon poles, and their 

 bodies, dragged into the forum, were left a prey to the 

 dogs. Sylla was declared an enemy to his country, 

 and his house demolished. 



After desolating Rome, the soldiers of Marius dis- 

 persed themselves over the neighbouring towns and 

 villages, and committed acts of cruelty and murder 

 which have not been exceeded in the blackest periods 

 of history. 

 Successes of While Rome was suffering under these cruelties, 



Sylla 



Place us 

 killed by 

 Pimbria. 



Sylla was waging a successful war against Mithridates. 

 After landing in Attica with only five legions and a 

 few cohorts, he speedily made himself master of the ca- 

 pital. The united armies of Archelaus and Taxiles, 

 amounting to 120,000, encountered Sylla near Cheronea 

 with only 15,000 foot and 1500 horse; but such was 

 the bravery of the Romans, that they totally defeat- 

 ed the Asiatic army, and left 110,000 dead on the 

 field. 



Dreading the influence which Sylla's success might 

 procure him, the senate sent Lucius Valerius Flaccus 

 the consul, accompanied by Fimbria, an experienced 

 general, and two legions, to attack Mithridates, and to 

 turn their arms against Sylla if they found him disaf- 

 fected to the senate. In the mean time Sylla, who was 

 in Bceotia, came up with a large Asiatic army under 

 Dorylaus, the king's favourite, over which he gained 

 two victories, in the first of which Dorylaus lost 150,000 

 men, and in the second the remnant of his fine army. 

 In the last of these engagements, 20,000 were driven 

 into a river where they perished, and a similar num- 

 ber were cut to pieces in a marsh. Plutarch informs 

 us that the marshes were dyed with blood ; that the 

 course of the river was stopped by the bodies of the 

 slain ; and that in his own day, about 200 years after 

 the battle, numbers of swords, bows, helmets, and coats 

 of mail, were found buried in the sand. Archelaus 

 himself is said to have lain three days stripped among 

 the slain, till he obtained a small vessel to convey him 

 to Euboea. In consequence of Sylla having bestowed 

 upon that general 10,000 acres of ground nearChalcis, 

 a suspicion arose that he had betrayed his master ; but 

 Dio, and Sylla himself in his Commentaries, have cleared 

 the name of Archelaus from this odious imputation. 



In consequence of some differences between Flaccus 

 and Fimbria, the latter, who had gained over the sol- 

 diers, attacked his colleague, and having put him to 

 death, took the command of the Roman armies in Asia. 

 A battle soon took place between his troops and a nu- 

 merous army of Mithridates, and, after fighting with 

 equality of success, the Asiatic army withdrew to the 

 opposite side of the river to entrench themselves. A 

 violent storm having soon after arisen, Fimbria seized 

 the opportunity which it gave him, crossed the river, 

 and, surprising them in their tents, he made such havoc 

 among them that only the generals and a few troops of 

 horse escaped. Mithridates, the king's son, fled to Per- 

 gamus, where his father resided ; but Fimbria pursu- 

 ing him day and night, entered Pergamus sword in 

 hand. Mithridates and his son having fled only a few 

 hours before, Fimbria followed them to Pitane, which 

 he invested. Having no ships to blockade it by sea, he 

 ordered Lucullus, the Roman admiral, to hasten to 

 Pitane with his fleet; but, under the influence of pri- 

 vate pique, he refused to come, and thus permitted 

 Mithridates to escape in his fleet to Mitylene. , 



Most of the Asiatic cities yielded to the arms of Fim- 

 bria; and Mithridates's fleet was entirely defeated in 

 two engagements by Lucullus. The king of Pontus, 



therefore, sued for peace, which Sylla concluded fa- Roman 

 vourably for his country. Empire. 



Having subdued the common enemy, Sylla turned his 1 J"J?C*' 

 arms against his rival Fimbria. Unable to defend him- 

 self by force, Fimbria laid a plot for murdering Sylla ; 

 but the scheme failing, he put an end to hi* existence. 

 Thus freed from all his enemies in Asia, Sylla imposed 

 inordinate exactions upon the nations who had resisted 

 his arms, and, having collected immense treasure, he 

 set sail for Italy, leaving behind him Lucullus as 

 quaestor, and Muraena as praetor. 



Previous to his departure from Asia, Sylla transmit- Sylla re. 

 ted to the senate a full account of his victories, and an- turns to 

 nounced his resolution of returning to Rome to take Rome, 

 revenge upon his enemies. This letter spread terror 

 through the Roman states. Marius, dreading the en- 

 counter, abandoned himself to excessive drinking, of 

 which he died. 



The senate organised an army under Valerius Flac- 

 cus, but they all deserted to Sylla ; and no sooner had 

 Cinna declared himself consul, and assumed Papirius 

 Carbo for his colleague, than the Romans, fearing the 

 misgovernment of their tyrants, flocked in crowds to 

 the standard of Sylla. The senate, indeed, attempted 

 to make an appeal to the compassion of the conqueror; 

 but Sylla persisted in the declaration, that his enemies 

 should perish either by the sword or by the axes of the 

 executioners; and, though numerous armies were raised 

 against him, yet he was everywhere victorious. Cinna 

 fell in a tumult ; and the younger Marius, after being 

 defeated, and flying to Praeneste, was closely besieged 

 in that city. 



In the midst of this civil war, Pontius Telesinus, an Pontius 

 experienced general of the Samnites, marched with an Telesinus 

 army of 40,000 men, under the pretence of relieving attacks the 

 Marius. Having thus drawn Sylla and Pompey from Romans. 

 Rome, he made a rapid march in the night towards the 

 capital, and arrived at day-break within ten furlongs 

 of the city. Here he avowed his design of destroying 

 every Roman to whatever faction he belonged. The 

 Roman citizens sustained great loss in a sally which they 

 made, and Sylla himself was driven back to his camp. 

 Rome was now on the verge of ruin. Telesinus ad- Telesinus 

 vanced to destroy her ; but Crassus having defeated defeated by 

 the other wing of his army, fell upon Telesinus's army, Crassus. 

 put them to the rout, and saved his country. 



The power of Sylla was now predominant. March- Crueltiei of 

 ing through Atemnae, he carried 8000 prisoners to Sylla. 

 Rome, who were at once massacred in the circus. 

 Twelve thousand of the Prsenestines suffered the same 

 fate ; and the inhabitants of Norba, in Campania, set 

 fire to their houses, and perished in the flames. The 

 streets of Rome were literally filled with dead bodies ; 

 and when a senator ventured to ask the tyrant when 

 he meant to cease from his cruelties, he answered with 

 great coolness that he would take the question into his 

 consideration. No fewer than 4700 of the most wealthy 

 and eminent men in Rome were slaughtered by the Sylla made 

 orders of Sylla ; and when he had thus satiated him- perpetual 

 self with the blood of his enemies, he caused himself dictator, 

 to be proclaimed perpetual dictator. B. C. 80. 



Being now absolute sovereign of Rome, Sylla abro- 

 gated every law that stood in the way of his ambitious 

 purposes, and enacted others to sanction the objects he 

 had in view. To the surprise, however, both of his B. C. 73. 

 friends and of his enemies, he resigned the dictatorship, 

 and retired to a villa at Puteoli, where he spent the rest 

 of his days in the society of licentious persons, and in 

 the occasional pursuits of literature. His intemperance 



