head of a large army, and endeavor to
regain possession of his former dominions. The defense of Pontus was
confided to Fabius, one of the lieutenants of Lucullus; but the
oppression of the Romans had excited a general spirit of disaffection,
and the people crowded around the standard of Mithridates. Fabius was
totally defeated, and compelled to shut himself up in the fortress of
Cabira. In the following spring (B.C. 67), Triarius, another of the
Roman generals, was also defeated with immense loss. The blow was one of
the severest which the Roman arms had sustained for a long period: 7000
of their troops fell, among whom were an unprecedented number of
officers, and their camp itself was taken.

The advance of Lucullus himself from Mesopotamia prevented Mithridates
from following up his advantage, and he withdrew into Lesser Armenia,
where he took up a strong position to await the approach of Tigranes.
But the farther proceedings of Lucullus were paralyzed by the mutinous
and disaffected spirit of his own soldiers. Their discontents were
fostered by P. Clodius, whose turbulent and restless spirit already
showed itself in its full force, and were encouraged by reports from
Rome, where the demagogues who were favorable to Pompey, or had been
gained over by the Equestrian party, were loud in their clamors against
Lucullus. They accused him of protracting the war for his own personal
objects, either of ambition or avarice; and the soldiery, whose appetite
for plunder had been often checked by Lucullus, readily joined in the
outcry. Accordingly, on the arrival of Tigranes, the two monarchs found
themselves able to overrun almost the whole of Pontus and Cappadocia
without opposition.

Such was the state of affairs when ten legates arrived in Asia to reduce
Pontus to the form of a Roman province, and they had, in consequence, to
report to the Senate that the country supposed to be conquered was again
in the hands of the enemy. The adversaries of Lucullus naturally availed
themselves of so favorable an occasion, and a decree was passed
transferring to M. Acilius Glabrio, one of the Consuls for the year, the
province of Bithynia, and the command against Mithridates. But Glabrio
was wholly incompetent for the task assigned to him. On arriving in
Bithynia he made no attempt to assume the command, but remained within
the confines of his province, while he still farther embarrassed the
position of Lucullus by issuing proclamations t