Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans
Persian horseman, accompanied the king in all his flight, never
weary even in the longest journey, nor ever failing to attend
the king in person, and look after his horse too, until they
came to Inora, a castle of the king's, well stored with gold
and treasure. From thence Mithridates took his richest
apparel, and gave it among those that had resorted to him in
their flight; and to every one of his friends he gave a deadly
poison, that they might not fall into the power of the enemy
against their wills. From thence he designed to have gone to
Tigranes in Armenia, but being prohibited by Tigranes, who put
out a proclamation with a reward of one hundred talents to any
one that should apprehend him, he passed by the head-waters of
the river Euphrates, and fled through the country of Colchis.
Pompey in the meantime made an invasion into Armenia, upon the
invitation of young Tigranes, who was now in rebellion against
his father, and gave Pompey a meeting about the river Araxes,
which rises near the head of Euphrates, but turning its course
and bending towards the east, falls into the Caspian Sea. They
two, therefore, marched together through the country, taking in
all the cities by the way, and receiving their submission. But
king Tigranes, having lately suffered much in the war with
Lucullus, and understanding that Pompey was of a kind and
gentle disposition, admitted Roman troops into his royal
palaces, and taking along with him his friends and relations,
went in person to surrender himself into the hands of Pompey.
He came as far as the trenches on horseback, but there he was
met by two of Pompey's lictors, who commanded him to alight and
walk on foot, for no man ever was seen on horseback within a
Roman camp. Tigranes submitted to this immediately, and not
only so, but loosing his sword, delivered up that too; and last
of all, as soon as he appeared before Pompey, he pulled off his
royal turban, and attempted to have laid it at his feet. Nay,
worst of all, even he himself had fallen prostrate as an humble
suppliant at his knees, had not Pompey prevented it, taking him
by the hand and placing him near him, Tigranes himself on one
side of him and his son upon the other. Pompey now told him
that the rest of his losses were chargeable upon Lucullus, by
whom he had been dispossessed of Syria, Phoenicia, Cilicia,
Galatia, and Sophene; but all that he had preserved to himself
entire till that time he should peaceably enjoy, paying the sum
of six thousand talents as a fine or penalty for injuries done
to the Romans, and that his son should have the kingdom of
Sophene. Tigranes himself was well pleased with these
conditions of peace, and when the Romans saluted him king,
seemed to be overjoyed, and promised to every common soldier
half a mina of silver, to every centurion ten minas, and to
every tribune a talent; but the son was displeased, insomuch
that when he was invited to supper, he replied, that he did not
stand in need of Pompey for that sort of honor, for he would
find out some other Roman to sup with. Upon this he was put
into close arrest, and reserved for the triumph.
Not long after this Phraates, king of Parthia, sent to Pompey,
and demanded to have young Tigranes, as his son-in-law, given
up to him, and that the river Euphrates should be the boundary
of the empires. Pompey replied, that for Tigranes, he belonged
more to his own natural father than his father-in-law, and for
the boundaries, he would take care that they should be
according to right and justice.
So Pompey, leaving Armenia in the custody of Afranius, went
himself in chase of Mithridates; to do which he was forced of
necessity to march through several nations inhabiting about
Mount Caucasus. Of these the Albanians and Iberians were the
two chiefest. The Iberians stretch out as far as the Moschian
mountains and the Pontus; the Albanians lie more eastwardly,
and towards the Caspian Sea. These Albanians at first
permitted Pompey, upon his request, to pass through the
country; but when winter had stolen upon the Romans whilst they
were still in the country, and they were busy celebrating the
festival of Saturn, they mustered a body of no less than forty
thousand fighting men, and set upon them, having passed over
the river Cyrnus, which rising from the mountains of Iberia,
and receiving the river Araxes in its course from Armenia,
discharges itself by twelve mouths into the Caspian. Or,
according to others, the Araxes does not fall into it, but they
flow near one another, and so discharge themselves as neighbors
into the same sea. It was in the power of Pompey to have
obstructed the enemy's passage over the river, but he suffered
them to pass over quietly; and then leading on his forces and
giving battle, he routed them, and slew great numbers of them
in the field. The king sent ambassadors with his submission,
and Pompey upon his supplication pardoned the offense, and
making a treaty with him, he marched directly against the
Iberians, a nation no less in number than the other, but much
more warlike, and extremely desirous of gratifying Mithridates,
and driving out Pompey. These Iberians were never subject to
the Medes or Persians, and they happened likewise to escape the
dominion of the Macedonians, because Alexander was so quick in
his march through Hyrcania. But these also Pompey subdued in a
great battle, where there were slain nine thousand upon the
spot, and more than ten thousand taken prisoners. From thence
he entered into the country of Colchis, where Servilius met him
by the river Phasis, bringing the fleet with which he was
guarding the Pontus.
The pursuit of Mithridates, who had thrown himself among the
tribes inhabiting Bosporus and the shores of the Maeotian Sea,
presented great difficulties. News was also brought to Pompey
that the Albanians had again revolted. This made him turn
back, out of anger and determination not to be beaten by them,
and with difficulty and great danger he passed back over the
Cyrnus, which the barbarous people had fortified a great way
down the banks with palisadoes. And after this, having a
tedious march to make through a waterless and difficult
country, he ordered ten thousand skins to be filled with water,
and so advanced towards the enemy; whom he found drawn up in
order of battle near the river Abas, to the number of sixty
thousand horse, and twelve thousand foot, ill armed generally,
and most of them covered only with the skins of wild beasts.
Their general was Cosis, the king's brother, who as soon as the
battle was begun, singled out Pompey, and rushing in upon him,
darted his javelin into the joints of his breastplate; while
Pompey, in return, struck him through the body with his lance,
and slew him. It is related that in this battle there were
Amazons fighting as auxiliaries with the barbarians, and that
they came down from the mountains by the river Thermodon. For
that after the battle, when the Romans were taking the spoil
and plunder of the field, they met with several targets and
buskins of the Amazons; but no woman's body was found among the
dead. They inhabit the parts of Mount Caucasus that reach down
to the Hyrcanian Sea, not immediately bordering upon the
Albanians, for the Gelae and the Leges lie betwixt; and they
keep company with these people yearly, for two months only,
near the river Thermodon; after which they retire to their own
habitations, and live alone all the rest of the year.
After this engagement, Pompey was eager to advance with his
forces upon the Hyrcanian and Caspian Sea, but was forced to
retreat at a distance of three days' march from it, by the
number of venomous serpents, and so he retreated into Armenia
the Less. Whilst he was there, kings of the Elymaeans and Medes
sent ambassadors to him, to whom he gave friendly answer by
letter; and sent against the king of Parthia, who had made
incursions upon Gordyene, and despoiled the subjects of
Tigranes, an army under the command of Afranius, who put him to
the rout, and followed him in chase as far as the district of
Arbela.
Of the concubines of king Mithridates that were brought before
Pompey, he took none to himself, but sent them all away to
their parents and relations; most of them being either the
daughters or wives of princes and great commanders.
Stratonice, however, who had the greatest power and influence
with him, and to whom he had committed the custody of his best
and richest fortress, had been, it seems, the daughter of a
musician, an old man, and of no great fortune, and happening to
sing one night before Mithridates at a banquet, she struck his
fancy so, that immediately he took her with him, and sent away
the old man much dissatisfied, the king having not so much as
said one kind word to himself. But when he rose in the
morning, and saw tables in his house richly covered with gold
and silver plate, a great retinue of servants, eunuchs, and
pages, bringing him rich garments, and a horse standing before
the door richly caparisoned, in all respects as was usual with
the king's favorites, he looked upon it all as a piece of
mockery, and thinking himself trifled with, attempted to make
off and run away. But the servants laying hold upon him, and
informing him really that the king had bestowed on him the
house and furniture of a rich man lately deceased, and that
these were but the first-fruits or earnests of greater riches
and possessions that were to come, he was persuaded at last
with much difficulty to believe them. And so putting on his
purple robes, and mounting his horse, he rode through the city,
crying out, "All this is mine;" and to those that laughed at
him, he said, there was no such wonder in this, but it was a
wonder rather that he did not throw stones at all he met, he
was so transported with joy. Such was the parentage and blood
of Stratonice. She now delivered up this castle into the hands
of Pompey, and offered him many presents of great value, of
which he accepted only such as he thought might serve to adorn
the temples of the gods, and add to the splendor of his
triumph; the rest he left to Stratonice's disposal, bidding her
please herself in the enjoyment of them.
And in the same manner he dealt with the presents offered him
by the king of Iberia, who sent him a bedstead, table, and a
chair of state, all of gold, desiring him to accept of them;
but he delivered them all into the custody of the public
treasurers, for the use of the Commonwealth.
In another castle called Caenum, Pompey found and read with
pleasure several secret writings of Mithridates, containing
much that threw light on his character. For there were memoirs
by which it appeared that besides others, he had made away with
his son Ariarathes by poison, as also with Alcaeus the Sardian,
for having robbed him of the first honors in a horse-race.
There were several judgments upon the interpretation of dreams,
which either he himself or some of his mistresses had had; and
besides these, there was a series of wanton letters to and from
his concubine Monime. Theophanes tells us that there was found
also an address by Rutilius, in which he attempted to
exasperate him to the laughter of all the Romans in Asia;
though most men justly conjecture this to be a malicious
invention of Theophanes, who probably hated Rutilius because he
was a man in nothing like himself; or perhaps it might be to
gratify Pompey, whose father is described by Rutilius in his
history, as the vilest man alive.
From thence Pompey came to the city of Amisus, where his
passion for glory put him into a position which might be called
a punishment on himself. For whereas he had often sharply
reproached Lucullus, in that while the enemy was still living,