The Roman Triumvirates (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: B.C. 63. End of the Mithridatic Wars. 33 The Romans ascribed to Pompeius the character of a profound dissembler. They said that on this elevation of fortune he pretended to be deeply troubled, and professed to regret the honors which were thrust upon him. But his acts evinced no abatement of pride or resolution. He assumed at once all the powers that were entrusted to him, and chose his lieutenants and appointed them to their respective services with alacrity. As soon as he had collected Roman his troops around him, he summoned the ascendency 1 in toe East. allies and dependents of the republic in the East to attend upon him and take orders from his camp, while, at the same time, he seemed studiously to humiliate his predecessor in command, by traversing his orders and political arrangements. The two generals met, the one advancing, the other retiring, in Galatia. Pompeius insulted Lucullus with pretended compliments and actual affronts; but Lucullus took care to inform his countrymen that he had himself already broken the power of the enemy whom his rival was sent to crush, and that the final overthrow of Mithri- dates was already prepared to his successor's hands, as had been the overthrow of Spartacus and of Sertorius. Pompeius, however, did not intend to confine his views to the destruction of any single enemy. His commission extended to the complete settlement of the affairs of the East. The kingdoms of Armenia and Parthia were to be rendered subservient to the policy of Rome. The alliance between Tigranes and Phraates was to be finally broken, and these princes were to be made mutually jealous of one another and severally dependent upon the support of the republic. The frontier of the Euphrates was to be secured by placing its bridges in the hands of lesser vassals...