s they went on biting him he burnt it. And so those
who had twice been humbled had better not provoke him to use fire the
third time. [Sidenote: Murena provokes the second Mithridatic war.]
The other officer was Murena, who had been left in Asia. He raised
troops besides the legions left with him, forced Miletus and other
Asiatic towns to supply a fleet, and then stirred up the second
Mithridatic war. The Colchians had revolted, and Mithridates suspected
his son of fostering the revolt in order to be set over them. So he
invited him to come to his court, put him there in chains of gold, and
soon killed him. He had also, it seems, threatened Archelaus, who fled
from him and represented to the ready ears of Murena, that Mithridates
still held part of Cappadocia, and was collecting a powerful army.
Murena advanced into Cappadocia, took Comana, and pillaged its temple.
Mithridates appealed to the treaty; but Murena asked where it was,
for the terms had never been reduced to a written form. [Sidenote:
Mithridates appeals to the Senate.] The king then sent to the Senate.
Murena crossed the Halys, and retired into Phrygia and Galatia with
rich spoil. [Sidenote: Murena defeated.] Disregarding a prohibition
of the Senate, he again attacked the king, who at last sent Gordius
against him, and soon after, coming up in person, defeated Murena
twice and drove him into Phrygia. For this success Mithridates lit on
a high mountain a bonfire, which, it is said, was seen more than a
hundred miles away by sailors in the Black Sea. [Sidenote: Sulla puts
a stop to the war.] Sulla sent orders to Murena to fight nor more; and
Mithridates, on condition of being reconciled to Ariobarzanes, was
allowed to keep as much of Cappadocia as was in his possession. He
gave a great banquet in honour of the occasion; and Murena went home,
where he had a triumph. Sulla probably granted it to him after his
defeats with more pleasure than he granted it to Pompeius for his
victories.

[Sidenote: Sertorius in Spain.] The ablest of the Marian generals was,
it has been seen, virtually unemployed in the Civil War. Sertorius,
when sent to Spain, seized the passes of the Pyrenees. Sulla, in 81,
sent against him, Q. Annius Luscus, who found one of the lieutenants
of Sertorius so strongly posted that he could not get past him.
However this lieutenant was assassinated by one of his own men,
and his troops abandoned their position. [Sidenote: He flies to
Mauretania. At