Battles of Cyzicus (73 BC) and Tigranocerta (69 BC) - Mithridatic Wars DOCUMENTARY
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Previously we covered the First Mithridatic War (89-85 BC) between the Roman Republic led by Sulla and the Pontic Kingdom ruled by Mithridates VI and the battles of Chaeronea and Orchomenus (goo.gl/g7HpN3). In this new video, we will describe the Second Mithridatic War (83-81 BC) during which the Romans were commanded by Lucius Licinius Murena that culminated in the battle of Halys river and the Third Mithridatic War (73-63 BC). In this conflict Roman legions fought under Lucius Licinius Lucullus and he fought against the united forces of Pontus and Armenia. Lucullus had to battle Mithridates at Cyzicas and Tigranes II at Tigranocerta. The great Roman general Pompey (Gnaeus Pompeius) also took part in the later stage of the conflict.
Hopefully, you are going to enjoy this video, because we are eager to cover the final conflict between the Romans and the Pontic kingdom during which Gaius Julius Caesar fought Pharnaces II.
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will you cover the roman dacian wars?
Love the video
Kings and Generals Ottomon succession wars? :))))
Lucullus outflanking a cavalry flank with infantry is just top tier stuff
The sources are a bit unclear here. Basically, "Lucullus took two maniples". The problem is we don't know if that is Lucullus+his guard+a group of the legionaries or just Lucullus+a group of legionaries. Still impressive, of course. :-)
More like incompetency. Where's the intrigue the beguile. These large armies with superior numbers seem to tense up when they have the advantage. A shame really.
@@KingsandGenerals Sometimes the bold and brave maneuver wins the day.
"a cavalry is to flank the infantry of the enemy"
Lucullus would like to have a word with you
Ikr?!
That "rebelious Roman general in Spain" - Quintus Sertorius - deserves a separate video here. He was an absolutely outstanding military commander running circles around Pompey and other Roman general despite being heavily outnumbered and defating them on multiple occasions. They could not defeat him in battle so finally, after many attempts, the Senate succeded with his assassinaton. Also, he was a bit of a victim there as he did not simply mutiny to become a "rebel" he was simply loyal to the pre-Sulla Senate and would not stand for all the shenanigans caused by the blatant power grab after Sulla's death and refused to bend a knee.
Would love to see a animation about this Quintus.
Amazing summary! He truly was a superb general, Pompey couldn't stop him. I'd wager he was Republican Rome's best last chance for survival, because after only Marian style generals seized power.
Edit: spelling/new sentence
King of the World no, Sertorius routed Pompeys right flank and Pompey retreated from the battle. Sertorius decided not to follow up on the clear victory because Metellus was approaching to reinforce the Pompeiian army.
He was a traitor and I'm happy he died he did more harm than good for rome
I see a long and prosperous relationship between Rome and Parthia. These great nations cannot possibly destroy their relationship and cause centuries of bloodshed.
James Tang yea I can sense eternal peace in the horizon. Also this Pompeii... He sounds like a swell guy, I bet his political future is bright!
Joey Kevorkian Poor Pompey
James Tang of course not
All Parthia wants is to go to the Mediterranean beach whenever they like. They need that sea.
At this point would it be millennia of bloodshed?
Greatings from Armenia 😃
Greetings from Canada!
I love Luculus. He did the unthinkable, using roman legionaries to flank instead of cavalry
The Roman infantry had pilae, and it was often very effective against the cavalry.
Mithridates tends to be overshadowed by Hannibal and Attila, but he was definitely one of the Roman Republic's/Empire's most persistent enemies, fighting against them in 3 wars over 26 years. I think the reason he gets overshadowed by the 2 others is that, as powerful as he was, he never threatened the Roman state to the same degree as they did.
True, he is often called the biggest enemy of Rome.
Attila is kind of overrated. Antiochus III and Shapur I were much more formidable opponents who fought much stronger Roman legions.
@@geordiejones5618stop using overrated in topics u have no knowledge about 😂 Attila was the most dangerous enemy Rome ever faced, as is in history, Rome just crumbled after Attila. Other enemies like Parthians Pontics and Persians had normal standing armies like Rome, but Huns came from steppe where they constantly raided in their free time. Their culture is literally wake up, cut some wood for the fire and prowl for victims till midnight. Wherever they invaded Roman territory they constantly killed people, raiding villages in all directions from their horde camps each and every day and this made supplying pointless. They were masters in war of attrition without any tactics because their lifestyle and culture was a constant war of attrition. towards anyone whos not a Hun. Them being in Roman territory was damage enough unlike Greeks and Persians
Armenia. One of very few states that existed then (and much earlier) with the same name, language and people as today.
Այո (Yes)
Actually our language changed a lot, but we fully retained the form of Armenian language spoken in ancient times (Grabar)
@@user-uv7zn9kz4vcool 😮
ARMENIA FOREVER 🇦🇲
RIP the Seleucid Empire, 312-63 BC.
Yep. At this point, they were so inconsequential, we decided not to mention them. :-)
Too right! Their downfall is fascinating. Great documentary!
Thank you, my friend!
I really think that this particular culture or cultures if you will, had a unique place in history. They were positioned as the true heirs of Megas Alexandro's empire. R.I.P. Seleukos I Nikator
They had such a huge kingdom, if they stayed on and stayed strong they could've nipped Parthians in their bud, Helenize and change Middle East history forever.
Holy shit, Armenia is huge on the map at around the 2 minute mark.
Yep, that was their largest state.
They underperformed quite a bit i would say.
James Tang For the Emperor!
Mr Seboss Caucasian Albania and Balkan Albania are two completely different states and in both cases the name Albania is an exonym. Caucasian Albanians called themselves Aghwans, and Balkan Albanians originally called themselves Arbëneshë/Arbëreshë and only call themselves Shqiptarët after Skanderbeg's time. The Caucasian Albanian language wasn't in the Indo-European language family while the Albanian language of today is, being a descendent of some Paleo-Balkan language
Also, consider the fact that they were less than 10% of the population, but now controlled 90% of the middle east.
So sad at the number of posters whose internet won't let them search "Iberia Albania Caucasus".
It is prohibited by law, I guess.
?
He is mocking all the people in the comments who are asking why Albania and Iberia are in the Caucasus without looking it up themselves.
cominganarchy.com/2009/02/08/which-albania/
charging an entire army with two maniples of 120 men: absolute madlad
The sources are conflicting on that. They say "Lucullus and two maniples". "Lucullus" may mean "Lucullus and his guard" for instance. Some of the maniples were doubled and tripled during various operations. So, we don't know.
well it's impresive either way
True. :-)
@@KingsandGenerals why did the troops mutiny while lucullus was a great general and defeated the Armenians and drive out mithridates??
@@blackpanther1468 Romans be Romans
Pompei Magnus #1st kill-stealer in the world.
That is an apt description. :-)
Just had the same thought, could be a good idea for a video actually, listing real and credited victories of Pompey.
"Happy Pompey! for defeating such enemies it was that they proclaimed you Pompey the Great" (Julius Caesar)
He did a similar thing to Crassus during the Third Servile War(Spartacus' revolt). While on his way to the fighting in southern Italy, Pompey captured and executed a few thousand fleeing rebel slaves that Crassus had routed in a battle to the South. Pompey then sent word to the Senate that he had "ended the war" by doing this.
Yeah from what I understand, Pompey subverted Lucullus' authority and popularity among the troops just so that he could get the credit for winning the war after Lucullus had done all the hard work. First he stole Crassus' victories in the Social War, and then Lucullus' here. You can see why people called him "Pompey the Great" sarcastically, only for him to own the title.
Great video.
Makes me sad how overconfident Tigranes was before his first fight.
Before the first fight he said
"if it's a delegation, then it's too big. If it's an army, then it's too small"
About the Roman army
And then lost that battle. Ironic
Thank you very much!
@@gerardjagroo
Two legionary cohorts, that's Just Roman sources bragging. They also said, 40k legionaries, defeated some 200,000 Armenian infantry plus 20,000 heavy cavalry.
@Julius Caesar That's like some superhuman shit, your mind is fucked if you actually believe that.
What really happened is, Lucullus took advantage of Tigran's army scrambling to be put back together after several battles against Persians and suppressing rebellions in Syria. In the meantime Lucullus gathered auxiliary from the Thracians/Dacians, as well as creating an alliance with the Persian opposition in Media, against Tigran. In the meantime Tigran is handling rebellions against him from his own side, his own son for fucks sake joined Pompey and fought against his father, the mother and King Mithridates were all traitors. So its not all black and white, people always look at history with such a 1 dimensional view. If you really think Lucullus was that powerful, then might as well believe 300 Spartans fought off 2 million Persians, like in the movie. Lucullus and Pompey were great leaders, and incredible generals. But so was Tigran, for fucks sake, he was literally a prisoner to the Medians, then became King, conquered Seleucids, Medes, Parthians, all of Syria, Mesopotamia, and annexed most of Anatolia. Tigran is the real deal here.
@Berk Taş
Lmao, random Turk here to cause trouble and stir up a shitstorm. And then they say the genocide never happened. Hahaha, keep acting the way you do, it only helps us.
Tigran 2nd really has done Best job if to discuss about whole Armenian history. But it was really too difficult to battle at the same time with both Roman and Parthian empires being located between them. Honestly they both were really just giants.
Very thanks for this video. Like)
A great documentary! I would like to comment, however, on details regarding the battles of Tigranocerta and Artaxata (Arsanias river, actually). I will try to remain as unbiased as possible, and will quote Greco-Roman sources and interpret them as much as I can. Also, I am going to keep this as short as possible, but should anyone have a question, I will gladly answer:
1) Lucullus' attack on Armenia caught Tigranes off guard, for the Roman Senate had not officially declared war on Armenia. It was a decision made by Lucullus himself:
"No one told Tigranes that Lucullus was advancing" Appian, 1st-2nd c. AD
" He [Lucullus] therefore left Sornatius thereas guardian of Pontus, with six thousand soldiers, while he himself, with twelve thousand footmen and less than three thousand horse, set out for the second war.He seemed to be making a reckless attack, and one which admitted of no saving calculation, upon warlike nations, countless thousands of horsemen, and a boundless region surrounded by deep rivers and mountains covered with perpetual snow. His soldiers, therefore, who were none too well disciplined in any case, followed him reluctantly and rebelliously, while the popular tribunes at Rome raised an outcry against him, and accused him of seeking one war after another, although the city had no need of them, that he might be in perpetual command and never lay down his arms or cease enriching himself from the public dangers. And, in time, these men accomplished their purpose. But Lucullus advanced by forced marches to the Euphrates. " Plutarch, 1st c. AD
2) Prior to the main battle of Tigranocerta, the Armenian cataphracts attacked the Roman camp twice, successfully entering the city and evacuating the royal treasury and the king's harem. Hence why Lucullus decided to deal with the Armenian cataphracts during the main battle:
"Sextilius shut up Mancaeus in Tigranocerta, plundered the palace outside the walls, drew a ditch around the city and tower, moved machines against them, and undermined the wall. While Sextilius was doing this, Tigranes brought together some 250,000 foot and 50,000 horse. He sent about 6,000 of the latter to Tigranocerta, who broke through the Roman line to the tower, and seized and brought away the king's concubines." Appian 1st-2nd c. AD
3) The battle of Tigranocerta was actually a siege of many months, which endured well, until the treachery of the non-Armenian settlers who opened the gates to the Romans:
"Lucius Lucullus at this time had defeated in battle the lords of Asia, Mithridates and Tigranes the Armenian, and after forcing them to avoid battle was besieging Tigranocerta. But the barbarians did him serious injury by means of their archery as well as by the naphtha which they poured over his engines; this chemical is full of bitumen and is so fiery that it is sure to burn up whatever it touches, and it cannot easily be extinguished by any liquid." Cassius Dio, 2nd c. AD
"But in the city of Tigranocerta, the Greeks had risen up against the Barbarians and were ready to hand the city over to Lucullus; so he assaulted and took it." Plutarch, 1st. c. AD
4) During the battle of Artaxata (in reality battle of Arsanias river), when the Romans were chasing Tigranes and Mithridates, the Armenian and Pontic forces caused severe damage to the Romans for months, using guerilla tactics with the cavalry. Hence, the "battle" in itself is not a battle, a few months long guerilla war in Armenia. Plutarch's account of the "battle" is generally accepted by academia, yet Cassius Dio provides these events in a different light:
"Lucullus entered upon his campaign when summer was already at its height, since in the spring it had been impossible to invade the enemy's country because of the cold. He devastated a part of their land, purposing to draw the barbarians imperceptibly into battle while defending it; but when even then they made no move, he marched against them. In this engagement the opposing cavalry gave the Roman cavalry hard work, but none of the foe approached the infantry; indeed, whenever the foot-soldiers of Lucullus assisted the horse, the enemy would turn to flight. Far from suffering any injury, however, they kept shooting back at those pursuing them, killing some instantly and wounding great numbers. Now these wounds were dangerous and hard to heal; for they used double arrow-points and moreover poisoned them, so that the missiles, whether they stuck fast anywhere in the body or even if they were drawn out, would very quickly destroy it, since the second iron point, not being firmly attached, would be left in the wound" Cassius Dio, 2nd c. AD
Thus, after countless attacks by Armeno-Pontic forces, it is natural that Lucullus' army would mutiny and would want to retreat.
5) It took Rome, Parthia, and an internal rebellion led by Tigranes' son (Tigranes junior) to eventually force Tigranes to negotiate peace with Rome. Tigranes beat the rebellion and the Parthians, but decided to end hostilities with Rome to avoid further wars. Also, the Roman-Armenian truce was in favor of Armenia, for the title of King of Kings was still born by Tigranes and his followers, and extra territories were not handed to the Parthians.
"While Pompey was thus engaged [with Mithridates], Tigranes, the son of Tigranes, fled to Phraates, taking with him some of the foremost men, because his father was not ruling to suit them; and though Phraates, in view of the treaty made with Pompey, hesitated about what he ought to do, he was persuaded to invade Armenia. So they came as far as Artaxata, subduing all the country before them, and even assailed that place too, for Tigranes the elder in fear of them had fled to the mountains. But when it appeared that time was required for the siege, Phraates left a part of the force with the young Tigranes and retired to his own land. Thereupon the father took the field against his son, who was now left alone, and conquered him. " Cassius Dio, 2nd. c. AD
"Pompey, in view of the present situation and the hopes which it inspired, held him in contempt and replied haughtily to the ambassadors, among other things demanding back the territory of Corduene,2 concerning which Phraates was quarrelling with Tigranes. 4 When the envoys made no answer, inasmuch as they had received no instructions on this point, he wrote a few words to Phraates, but instead of waiting for a reply sent Afranius into the territory at once, and having occupied it without a battle, gave it to Tigranes. Afranius, returning through Mesopotamia to Syria, contrary to the agreement made with the Parthian, wandered from the way and encountered many hardships by reason of the winter and the lack of supplies. Indeed, his troops would have perished, had not the Carrhaeans, p109 Macedonian colonists who dwelt somewhere in that vicinity, received him and helped him forward.This was the treatment which Pompey in the fulness of his power accorded to Phraates, thereby indicating very clearly to those desiring to indulge their greed that everything depends on armed force, and that he who is victorious by its aid wins inevitably the right to lay down whatever laws he pleases. Furthermore, he showed contempt for the title of Phraates, in which that ruler delighted before all the world and before the Romans themselves, and by which the latter had always addressed him. 2 For whereas he was called "King of Kings," Pompey clipped off the phrase "of Kings" and addressed his demands merely "to the King" when writing" Cassius Dio, 2nd. c. AD
All in all, however, I have to say good job in representing these events. I regularly follow you documentaries. Keep it up!
lol all propaganda there never was a kingdom of ermenia it was called urartu and had nothing to do with armenians, they were closer related to the aseris and persians.
Dave Rockefeller , Armenians are not related to the Persians whatsoever. There may have been cultural exchanges but they are not related to the Persians . Armenians are autochthonous to the region which includes Urartians.
Thank you for the illuminating comments! While I've read Plutarch, never have I delved into Cassius Dio's writings. After this, I might do so. ^____^
Artin You’re confusing Armenians with Azeris.
@@daverockefeller7486 Okay mate.. A Muslim Turk sitting in a cave, impersonating himself as a Billionaire Jew.. Get a life moron
Lucius Lucinius Lucullus has to be one of the most underrated generals in history ever!!
It’s fascinating how we still have a document that recorded the events of those years....
The Romans were very meticulous.
Even a CZcams video from those times
budibausto true, It is biased but real.. Like they write their army 20k vs 50k and won like wtf..
It’s crazy to imagine how much history isn’t recorded
Glad to see this up! Mithridates was such a fascinating figure..one of the last enemies rome had of real ability.
Thanks for watching!
Do you mean against the Republic? Otherwise idk what you mean. There were plenty of skilled enemies Rome fought in the 3rd-5th centuries. Arminius and Decebalus during the Principate. Even Ambiorix and Vercingetorix against Caesar weren't some backwater foes without organization. They were skilled leaders.
Saving this video for later, got a specific time I want to watch it.
But, with confidence, I give it 10/10, perfect rating and like and all the usual. I expect and always get nothing less than perfect.
Keep it up!
Gianluca Borg
You're right. It's amazing.
I'm Armenian and I'm proud of my story🇦🇲💪 (🇬🇷🇦🇲🇮🇹) three countries that have a great history👑👑👑
Dude, you totally forgot 🇮🇷🇮🇷🇮🇷👑👑
Nikan Achaemenian he forgot Iran ,India ,Japan and China
@@NJ-eo2oc he totally forgot about you. Armenia and Persia are bound together with language, culture and history❤️
@@NJ-eo2oc of course my man 🇮🇷💪 from Armenia 🇦🇲
Mongolian empire
The Romans are amazing in discipline, tactics and strategy. Awesome video. Thanks!
Thanks for watching! :-)
I've read about Mithridates of Pontus before, but never really realised how much of a pain in the neck he was until I saw this video. He ruined it for everyone in the East lol
Yeah, that is why he is always in the top-5 enemies of Rome list. :-)
Even though his daughter married King Tigranese II The Great, the latter should have expelled his ass out of Armenia to avoid such a useless war which had absolutely NO reason whatsoever to implicate Armenians. He really did ruin it for everyone.
@@Hayklass
I think Rome would have attacked regardless, they wanted Armenia as a buffer state, they wouldn't give it time to become a full-fledged empire, which it needed another decade to do so.
Tbh I reckon he was awesome. Rome would've expanded east and took all that territory eventually anyway. Kinda feel sorry for him though... That's some harsh family drama. Sad way to have died
@Armin S that’s not true he’s Greek and Persian his empire was of Greek people the Pontic Greek empire
Thank you Mithridates. I think that your actions go a long way toward proving that if you properly lead a Phalanx, it is by no means an obsolete formation, as so many historians have argued.
Still, Mithridates made some disappointingly avoidable mistakes.
I think that what you and your crew are doing is a wonderful thing, bringing light to obscure history few people know about in a very entertaining way, keep up the good work and I wish all the best from Bulgaria!
Thank you very much, my friend and best of luck in all your endeavors! :-)
Rome created its own worst enemy, feeding Parthia.
Circle system. :-)
Pfft Rome would rape Parthia for centuries. It was the Sassanids that really caused problems.
Rome worst enemy's was themselves.
Parthia needed to reach the sea. Rome wanted to destroy these two enemies. So it made sense at the time.
ayoeb khan - who sacked the capital of who sorry?
Each time I heard Iberia, I kept thinking of the Iberian Peninsula and was totally caught off guard by Iberia being a nation around the corner. These wars sounded like "A Series of Unfortunate Events" or How Mithridates lost it all.
He kinda walked in every one of them. :-)
Ես սիրում եմ Հայաստան
NikiforosFokas Հայաստանը*
Cursed language
FINALLY MITHADATIC WARS! been waiting for this forever!
Just 2 months. :p
Far to long D:
I always thought romans crashed Anatolia with their numbers but i was very suprised when i saw they actually had smaller armies and tons of political problems while they invaded Anatolia. Worth to wait indeed!
@@saguntum-iberian-greekkons7014
The Armenians were suppressing rebellions and had just recently dominated over the Persians, that's when the most powerful army in the world marched to their gates. There wasn't much a disorganized and weaker army could do. The real soldiers were practically all cavalry around 10,000 or more heavy cavalry and tens of thousands of peasants acting as infantry.
@@ArthaxtaDaVince777 You mean Medians. Persians were further south. Tigran never even reach Parsis. He conquered and occupied Media for 20 years.
Very informative and useful video with nice animations of battles 👍 I liked it, BUT…
Actually in 68 BC Lucullus was trying to capture the second capital of Armenia Artashat, but he LOST the second battle against Tigran. That's why Tigran could afford to give Mithradates an army to take back his territory in Pontus. And finally that is the reason why Rome replaced FAILED Lucullus with Gnaeus Pompeius
Beautiful video, both great quality and informative as always. Thank you for always having amazing content.
Thanks for watching!
Hi from Western Armenia 🙋♂️🇦🇲❤️
Your nation endured while Rome and Parthia perished, and the turks couldn't break you. You are trully badasses. Greetings to all Armenians from Brazil.
I say this in the most respectful way - are you guys alive over there? I didn't think there were western armenians left, only few in Istanbul..
This post of mine talks specially just a bit about alternative history for Artaxiad Armenia (AA) up to Tigran the Great.
When Antiochus the Great was defeated by the Romans in late 190BC at the Battle of Magnesia, it seemed Artaxias I, the founder of the royal house Tigran the Great belonged to, took advantage of the difficult geography for Seleucid troops to attack Armenia and then the weakened Seleucid Empire by the Roman at the time to reign autonomously beginning in 189BC. In record, Hannibal was a fugutive again after his own naval defeat earlier in 190BC before the Seleucid defeat.
Going east away from the Seleucid and hiding in the Armenian highland made sense for Hannibal. However, it seemed that Hannibal looked for a comeback even though he was a fugitive at the time. In record, Hannibal received hospitality from Artaxias I so Artiaxias seemed that he was a sensible ruler to gain autonomy at the right timing and imported human resources to improve his own domain. If Hannibal the fugitive in 190BC gave ideas for the construction of Artaxata in 176BC in an apocryphal story, why could not Artaxias I invite Hannibal to give idea and supervise the military reform of Armenia troops? Especially at the time, AA just rose against Antiochus the Great to reign automonously and Hannibal fled westward to Crete in fear of Antiochus the Great turning him to Rome. At the time of establishment of Artaxata in 176BC, Artaxias I had only reigned autonomously for only about 10 years; the timing of finishing up the military reform before the construction could have been suitable. Recalling that the Marian reforms had begun since 107 BC, an impact (unsourced) was that the loyalty of the troops shifted to the leader of the army. Artaxias I would have more authority over his subject to carry out construction of wall, roads in his domain
If so, the Antiochus IV leadership who reigned 175 to 164 BC would have thought twice before campaigning in Armenia in about 164 BC. Again recalling that the Marian reforms had begun since 107 BC, an impact (unsourced) was that the loyalty of the troops shifted to the leader of the army. Given the fact that the AA was ruled by a king, that shift was fitting to that leadership structure, when Roman fought both Mithridates VI of Pontus and Tigranes the Great.
However, as noted in one of the comments, Tigran, one of the Tigranes the Great went against his own father. A "Marian reform by Hannibal" could change the situation for the better or worse for Armenia because that reform would not be a deciding factor. Analogously, the reform could have helped Artavasdes I, possibly the elder uncle of Tigranes the Great, to put a permanent military presence in Iberia/ Kartli and then went west into Colchis and east to Caucasian Albania. Also Artavasdes I could fend off MIthridates II of Parthia. The 64 years reigns of Artavasdes I and Tigranes I, possibly the father of Tigranes the Great, meant establishing the land bridge from the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, establishing and acting as the middle man of trade between Greek settlements in Dacia (modern day Romania) and Crimea where Pontus controlled, via the two seas and reach Parthia. Then leadership of Parthia could then see the benefit of trading via Armenia to the Black Sea as long as Armenia was not interfering with Parthian business against the weakening Seleucid Empire. Then possibly during the reign of Tigranes I, Artaxiad Armenia (AA) gained prosperity thru trading and stability on the still fluid cooperation of convenience with Parthia.
Then Tigranes the Great would not be a hostage in Parthia until age 45. Before his ascendance, Tigranes the Great could help Tigranes I on different projects. If the Wikipedia summary on Tigranes the Great's management could be taken, Niccolò Machiavelli attributed Tigranes' excessive use of cavalry. Also Tigranes' domain was multi-ethnic. By the time he ascended the throne, the following institutions would have been in place:
1) better military organization due to a "Marian reform by Hannibal" established by his grandfather Artaxias I and consolidated by Artavasdes I.
2) By a video of "Kings and Generals" (czcams.com/video/d8SXiwDzXp8/video.html), Hannibal managed multi-ethnic troops under his command. A "Marian reform by Hannibal" could have helped the Artaxiad military and political leadership to manage well the multi-ethnic people under reign
3) Result of 1 and 2, better military loyalty to Tigranes the Great himself, decreasing the chance of Tigran the son to going against his own father. Also, Tigranes' excessive use of cavalry could be curbed and possibly more use of a mixture of different types of cavalry and infantry, reminiscence of Hannibal's management.
4) more stable economy established by Artavasdes I and consolidated by Tigranes I
5) better relation with Parthia established by Tigranes I. In record, Tigranes the Great was hostage in Parthia until age 45 and Tigran the son had connection in Parthia for him to raise against his father, possibly as a result of the father and son staying. Here, it would be Tigran the son alone going to Parthia. Regardless of how Tigranes I manage the diplomatic relation, Tigran the son would still have connection in Parthia that he could use later against Rome.
6) Result of 4) and 5) better equipment for military, better education for the royal family members, better organization of sphere of influence of each royal family members. For example, Tigran the son could have been assigned an expeditionary force to help Mithradates VI and the more scholarly inclined Artavasdes II could be assigned a governor post in Iberia/ Kartli or Caucasian Iberia, spreading Greco-Armenian influence.
3:54, Artaxiad Armenia (AA) could have controlled Cochis before Mithridates VI moved in; there would be a potential of conflict between AA and Pontus. To preserve the cooperation, AA could give up Cochis whose population were Greek settlers and Pontus let AA take Cappodocia. In the video, Mithridates VI was a calculating king so giving up Cappodocia to AA made sense to him. Mithridates VI linked his territories on the east coast of the Black Sea by controlling Cochis and he was moving into Bithynia. 5:06
4:32, Tigran the son of Tigranes the Great instead of his father could be the leader of the Armenian expeditionary force into Cappodocia. Instead of Tigranes the Geat attacked and left, Tigran the son would be staying. When the local ruling family member of Cappodocia died, Tigran the son would then be viewed as de facto ruler, instead of inviting an Ariobarzanes I of obscure origins.
Obviously, Rome would be more eagar to atttack Armenia. In fact, Rome would fight Armenia anyway. However in this scenario, Rome would need to fight and defeat Tigran the son the de-facto governor of Cappodocia before fighting Tigranes the Great. In record, Tigran the son was capable to make convenient alliance with Parthia, political persuasion of Parthia leadership to invade Armenia. In this scenario, Tigran the son would be so occupied with fighting against Rome instead of plotting against his father. Possibly, seeing Mithridates VI his territorial alliance getting advisors from Sertorius, Tigran the son could have also requested intelligence on Rome from Serotorius and secured convenient alliance from Parthia, as in record.
In sum, Pontus would have controlled the north, east and south coasts of the Black Sea northern parts of Anatolia and the Greek settlements therein. AA Cappodocia, southeastern parts of Anatolia, Armenian highlands and Caucasian Albania. In response, Rome would ally conveniently with Parthia to strike Armenia from the back; however, Tigran the son whose military post in Cappodocia would have first hand experience against Rome military. Given in record that Tigran was capable of persuading Parthian leadership, Roman diplomatic overture to Parthia in response to Armenia would come with difficulty at the onset.
Seeing the success of Tigran the son, Tigranes the Great could retire sooner than in history the latter's reign until death. The scholarly inclined Artavasdes II did not perform well in military. He failed to convince Crassus to go thru Armenia in the prelude to the Roman defeat at Carrhae. Tigran the son's ascendance would be more beneficial to Artaxiad Armenia (AA); however, giving that his making of fight between Rome, Pontus and Parthia, he ran many risks of being killed on battlefield, assassination or poisoning. In short, his reign could be destabilizing the relation between Rome and Armenia, and ran the risk of being short in face of late Roman Republic and the Roman Empire.
In this alternative timeline, the situation of Armenia between Rome and Parthia would not change but depending on how politics and military inclined Tigran the son and schloarly inclined Artavasdes II managed, the Armenia situation would be different. For example, if Artavasdes II had been a governor of Caucasian Albania since Tigranes the Great's time, he would see the benefit of maintain the land bridge between the Black and Caspian Seas. It would be lilkely that Rome forced Tigranes the Great to give up all gains after his ascendance including Tigranocerta (10:40). After the two Tigranes, Artavasdes II would retain the Armenian Highland and the land bridge of Iberia/ Kartli, Colchis and Caucasian Albania. Without the southern extension including Tigranocerta, AA would be under dominant influences of Parthia and Rome, as in record but would have a good enough domain to self-management. Given the trade routes on the land bridge, AA would be at the crossroads of Greek settlements and Dacians in Dacia, Roman client state Bosporus and Scythians whose raids would be sealed off by the Caucasian mountains. In record, Artavades II was a contemporary of Crassus, Mark Antony, Julius Caesar, Ptolemaic Cleopatra VII and Octavian. To survive in face of these great leaders would be a tough work for Artavades II
Borrowing from this video (czcams.com/video/IQATsepKoLE/video.html), AA begining from Artavasdes II could begin a cultural influence of merging Hellenistic, Roman and Nomadic cultures of Parthia and Scythia that survived beyond the end of AA.
In sum, this alternative timeline changes the legacies of other AA rulers than Tigranes the Great. Tigran the son's would be a show of force to neighboring entities that Armenia was not to be meddled with, like Finland against the Soviet Union after the Winter War. Artavasdes II's would be securing the land bridge between the Black and Caspian Sea, the land and sailing trade route and cultural influence. AA rulers' after Artavasdes II would be keeping the influence in face of Roman and Parthian dominant influence; could the House of Artaxiad survive? In record Parthian origin Arsacid Armenis ruled Armenia since the later half AD 1st century. That would be starting another alternative timeline.
When Christianity came to Armenia in AD 3th century, that mixed culture would merge with Christianity, bringing Armenia closer but not too close to the Eastern Roman Empire in later centuries. Then when the Islamic conquests came, a cultural unified area would be present, whether the area would be governed by one entity or numerous by Georgia and others.
At last, AA would be in position to deal with Media Atropatene and the outcome of that situation influenced modern day situations.
Thanks for the vid.Although there are several mistakes here.Romans lost near the river of artaxata,68 B.C.,which caused for lucullus to be replaced by pompeus.Pompeus was much slier than lucullus,and he allied with parthians.Parthians attacked Artashat,the second capital,but were defeated.Although armenians won against parthians,they didn't have a chance against the roman army(now they were the same sized).So they made a peace treaty with romans,giving romans All the conquered lands in the west.But in the same time,armenians remained independent,and all the conquered lands against parthians remained to armenians.
P.S.Armenians didn't use cataphracts.It's a common mistake in rome 2 total war.Armenians were using shock cavalry the most(normal armored and mobile troops),that's why armenians won against the parthian cataphracts(very heavy troops,they were very slow,especially in the armenian mountains). And,in the battle of tigranocerta,Armenian army wasn't consisting only from armenians.There were many greeks,jews,arabs,etc.And unfortunately,the biggest army of armenian history was 95000.In the battle of tigranocerta,armenians were 95000,while romans were 65000-70000.
Anyway,nice content,you did a huge work.You got your like and a sub. :)
Great work as always! My eyes were glued to the screen the whole video!
Thank you, good sir!
Can't get enough of this channel, keep up the excellent work
We will, thank you!
This is the golden age for ARMENIA but it was for very short period and militarily not successful
Machares: Welcome father, I'm glad to see you're safe.
Mithridates VI: Treasonous villain, art thou truly my seed?
Machares : yeah umm......about that please no *Gets throat cut*.
Very Shakespearean. :-)
This is amazing. Really educational, loving my grind on your videos!
Thank you for watching! :-)
There's a rush of excitement I get every time K&G posts a video! I'm glad to see the completion of the Mithridatic Wars. I can't wait to see what his next video will be!! XP
Thank you very much! :-)
Gotta respect Mithradates, he stood up to the full power of Rome with a relatively small nation in comparison and inflicted some serious setbacks to the Romans over the years. Even though he ragequitted in the end, he was probably the last serious enemy of Rome for several centuries.
Idk why fans of history say this. Vercingetorix was a formidable foe. Arminius was formidible. The tribes of Spain fought for two hundred years and never fully integrated. Boudicca. Decebalus. Zenobia. What version of history are you reading? The Germanic tribes and Parthians never yielded to Rome bc Rome knew they could never inflict enough damage. By the 5th century the Empire was surrounded by skilled political leaders. There isnt a single 50 year chunk of Roman history without a serious threat.
@@geordiejones5618ercingetorix was never a threat to the Republic itself, just to Caesar's dreams of power and glory in his ilegal wars in Gaul. Boudica destroyed a couple of poorly defended Roman settlements and was defeated when she faced an actual Roman army. There were many threats to Roman ambitions but not as many threats to the Roman state itself in this time period.
I really want to see an episode about the Armenian empire
Excellent Video! Please keep doing Roman Wars. Sharing it with others! Keep up the good work!
Thank you! There will be more!
Great video as usual, looking forward for more Roman wars. I hope someday you will make a documentary on Macromanic war
A nice video , I still remember the tales of the much underlooked general , Lucullus, who fell to the politics of the day, as Pompey, gained most of the credit and kudos politically. I think also that Pompey actually outmaneuvered him in the senate denying him , his trumph , which was delayed until very much later [when Lucullus support of his ex-veteran legions were needed in the massive in-fighting of the day, which was leading to Caesar taking power].....but still excellent viewing, and much enjoyed :D
Finally about my country) Thank you very much, great us always!)
Thanks for watching!
This is the best historical narration on you tube, no conjecture just the facts, just the way it should be
Excellent conclusion of the Mithridatic Wars cycle. Special gratitude for the content being made available with subtitles in Portuguese. Brazilian greetings.🇧🇷
Mithridates was persian origin
@@brightburnedits4278 Really! Although not exclusive, Mithridates IV (or Eupator Dionysus) is of Persian descent.
@@geanmaf yes bro read this
The Mithridatic dynasty, also known as the Pontic dynasty, was a hereditary dynasty of Persian origin,[1][2][3][4] founded by Mithridates I Ktistes (Mithridates III of Cius) in 281 BC.[3] The origins of the dynasty were located in the highest circles of the ruling Persian nobility in Cius.[3]
In my home town there is a restaurant called Lucullus. In Rome (meaning in the city itself) he was famous for his feasts.
Sounds like a nice and gluttonous place. :-)
I've actually never been there :) And apparently it is actually a winery. But while I knew about Lucullus from the book Rubikon (by Tom Holland, it covers the last century of the republic, but it focuses much more on Roman politics than on warfare), I didn't know he was also such a skilled military commander.
The easiest way to get prestige in the Roman society, was to be a commander. There were some Roman politicians who gained offices without ever serving in the military (Cicero for instance), but conquest was still the best path.
A Great Job done by the author, of course. However, could you also share the link to references in the description in future or (the best option) make footnotes during telling stories.
Here is what I can cite from Plutarch (ibid., p. 233): " He (Lucullus) kept them (Fimbian legion indeed, with him, but without urging his authority upon them; nor did he lead them out to battle, being contented if they should but stay with him, though he then saw Cappadocia wasted by Tigranes and Mithridates again triumphing, whom not long before he reported to the Senate to be wholly subdues; and commissioners were now arriving to settle the affairs of Pontos, as if all had been quietly in his possession"
This makes the hypothetical successful invasion of Armenia by Luccullus doubtful featuring the win of the second battle of Arasani river (near Artaxata). He indeed captured a city, nut not sure if it was the wealthy city of Tigranocerta (considering the above said).
Another quote of Plutarch (ibid., II, p. 220): "Our own army , moreover, despite their capture of a city from the kingdom pf Tigranes and their successes in battle, began to feel the extreme remoteness of their position and to long for home."
I have another information regarding the attack made by Partians...
Best :)
Thanks for these videos.
Since I have started watching these i want to be a history teacher because i want to teach people stuff like this.
Plus I like the history part of the videos and the military aspect.
Mithridates is an overlooked history in popular history. Thank you for making this video.
Thanks for watching!
Great video, again! You mentioned Sertorius, but he really deserves his own video in my opinion. His trick to defeat the mountain dwellers was inspired!
We are thinking about him. :-)
When Albania and Iberia were neighbours.
Dustu Lok Vansih homonyms, not related
Caucasian Albania are the people of Aghvank, they have literally nothing to do with the Albanians in the Balkans. It's like Iberians (Georgians) and the Iberian Peninsula.
@@hatsuhioki9361 shut up serb
And Bulgaria
@@user-ej6if8uu6v you sklav wanna be a illyrian
Mithradetes was some character. A full life of warfare against the superpower, and betrayals by his own. Poison too failed him! What a guy!
Hello. What program do you use for making these battle tactical animations? (The ones with the marching boxes that symbolise the battalions )
A little weird that you are going back in time; last week the episodes were exploring the Ottoman/Byzantine era? Nonetheless this video is good! Keep up the great work guys
We have multiple series running at the same time. Thanks for watching!
amazing as always!!
Thank you very much!
Great content! Keep up the good work
I love the ancient history so much. Please do more videos on that
Thank you for watching!
This is one of the bests Chanels of CZcams.
Thank you very much!
Thaks, i like total war.
Good shit my mate, keep it up.
Thanks, we will! :-)
I wish to see a continuation of this videos.
Would love to see a video on the Third Crusade!
ı lıve only 20 km away from cyzıcus and ı wasnt awere of thıs battle thank you guys for another great vıdeo
Thanks for watching!
Good job guys !!
Thank you very much!
I was waiting for this vedio. I really enjoyed your your previous vedio on the first mirtradatic war. Could you do a vedio on the roman parthian wars
Thinking about it.
Hi there I really like this channel It would be really wonderful if you guys covered some contemporary and modern battles like WW2 WW1 Afghanistan etc
I cringe whenever armies like the Armenian army break ranks...undisciplined troops are the causes of so many losses in history.
Many states attempted to have a pro army at that time, but none had anything close to the Roman legions.
Well, it was troops from an Empire built in like 20-30 years, even Alexander's Empire did not live longer than that. His troops reflect the state of his empire, newborn and disorganised.
@@ArthaxtaDaVince777 Yet, Tigran the Great was probably the greatest Armenian King ever, not considering quasi Armenian Urartu kings. The time was right for his rise to power. There was no centralized Persian empire in place. It was a fractured Selucid kingdom struggling against rising power of Parthians on east and Roman Republic consolidating power over remaining small and divided kingdoms of Alexander successors. Tigran filled the vacuum swiftly. It was an achievement for Armenians at the time considering their numbers and logistics.
@@vladmir6301 Yeah, he did pretty well, and I imagine he could have potentially been strong enough to oppose Rome if given enough time.
@@ArthaxtaDaVince777 It is better to say if Mithrades and Tigranese sons didn't betray their fathers, they could repel Romans from near East and stop their exapnsion toward east for few decades. Romans and Greeks always exaggerate about their opponent numbers. This is a bad habbit of old historians. Yet, If you read Muslim accounts about conquering Persian and eastern Roman empires you would take Romans more seriously. Arabs exaggerated number of their oppnents 10 to 20 times over while reducing their own numbers by half. They did this to motivate their namadic people believing Islam made them favored by their God, Allah.
I’m starting to think that Archelaus was a Roman spy, I can’t think of any other explanation for how he managed to lose that badly and repeatedly unless it was intentional.
that's the difference between Rome and other states at that time. Rome's great enemies were mostly depend on one standout skilled figure who, time by time achieved great victories (both on battlefield and diplomatically) against them. But when the war reached longer terms and larger scales, those enemy states started to lose badly as their sole leader's didn't have capable alternatives. That shows itself against Pontic, Carthage etc. Hannibal, Mithridates, Pyrrhus and other lost to Rome because their generals were let downs. On the contrary, Romans could eliminate their generals even when they were successful and could replace them with better ones.
Paid actor
Great video as always! I'd be really interested in countries history ✨😎‼
I hope there's going to be another doc in this series. I love the roman stuff :)
Yes, there are more on the way, as usual!
Oh thank you. I'll keep my eyes open ;) I can't get enough of your format. Great work guys.
If you are willing to expand kings and generals content beyond the realm of Europe and Asia then I suggest you look at the Abyssinian-Adal war fought in the 16th century. This also included the Portuguese and the Ottomans and would fit right in to your Ottoman series quite nicely.
We'll move there.
Can you do documentary on Roman-Parthian war the strongest states of it's time
And sorry again for bad words
It is okay. Planning to.
Tl2aV lol I was talking about other comment I did
I said bad about Patreons on that comment lol not this comment
great episode
Love those videos about pontic wars
This is what I call an awesome video, good graphics, well explained, no stupid jokes.
All of our videos are awesome. :-)
Kings and Generals not that new format you I traduced, just add it to
A new channel. It’s annoying getting notifications and then realizing , oh it’s that annoying accent with bad jokes about Aztecs
Kings and Generals introduced
Wish there were more videos covering the battles of my people 🇦🇲
Great video and I had to wait all day because of work to watch it but it was well worth the wait! Seems like the population of Anatolia was able to replace troops on both sides at will?
Thank you! At that point, Mithridates mostly relied on his holdings in Colchis, Bosphorus, and mercenary nomads. The Roman army mostly consisted of the legions that mutinied in the previous war and were punished by Sulla - their term was extended, but they were the longest-serving legionaries and were battle hardened. They also probably had a number of troops from Bythinia, Galatia and Cappadocia on top of that. :-)
Kings and Generals Right on and Id like to see a battle where Roman Legions were outnumbered but still came out victorious!
More Roman battles on the way. :-)
Kings and Generals Awesome.
You guys are the reason why I wake up in the morning. Actually something interesting I noticed is that when empires are rising they tend to repeatedly win but then start their decline after a large loss or when they run out supplies. Then they get their buts kicked and go up and down then finally after some battle they enter a terminal decline and then collapse. Kinda an interesting pattern
Thanks for your kind words! Indeed, there are a few patterns for the empires. Maybe, we need to make a video on that. :-)
That would be really cool, also you guys are awesome, very very very very few youtubers with more than 100k subs have ever replied to my comments. Also you guys have taught me so much on history, far more than the school systems have. But yes you guys are the best :D
Appreciate it! :-)
Lucullus is an absolute Badass.
Yep, alas, his epicurean lifestyle tarnished his reputation.
Want to conquer the Mediterranean? Rome: Hold my wine!
:-)
As I mentioned before, nothing less than perfect. Keep it up.
Thank you for watching :)
I love this...
Hope the next Rome 2 campaign is Mithridatic Wars
I wouldn't mind it. :-)
I'd definitely buy and play that, I love playing as Pontus in Rome 2, but personally I'm still hoping they will make a campaign on the wars of the Diadochi at some point.
hey man wich program are you using for editing?
After Effects.
Kings and Generals cool thanks for responding.
Oldu da
6:19 tenedos is an island ....just a little bit to the right :)
That is true. However some maps claim thay there was a city opposite the island on the mainland. That is why sources are conflicted if Tenedos was a naval battle or land one, or maybe even the both.
Thank you for the great work! A minor issue, I guess Chalcedon (modern day Kadıköy in İstanbul) misplaced in the map. (Should be in north of Nicomedia at least)
Great job, as always
Thank you for watching :)
BUT I DON'T WANNA PLAY AS PONTUS!
That was the best meme. :-) Soon, we'll see the versions on China.
And the war was inevitable xd
It was. :-)
hello :D
its hard not to love Kings and Generals, its amazing... and INEVITABLE xd
+Dark Buddhist You better turn back now before a ship starts to sail
As always great job.
Thank you very much!
another great episode
Thank you!
Another reason to like sundays.
Thank you :-)
2:14 uh could you explain what exactly happened in Armenia in 83bc??
The Seleucids were extremely weakened at the time after a long period of frequent civil wars which made it very easy for Armenia to finish off.
@@NikitaOnline17 yes but Armenia also defeat the partian and annexed atropatene, osronene, sophene and commagene
Tfw no Republic of Pontus
Didn't know about this war, thank you!
Thanks for watching!
Loved these videos MITHRIDATES is my favorite person in history!
i feel like Mithradtes was the victim of incompetent subordinates and betrayal, moreso than his own incompetence. Should have killed Archeleus, because after describing the last battle he lost, one's only retort could be "Wait you did what with your cavalry and chariots?"
I never really liked history that much. I just love watching the tactics involved in these battles!
Thanks for watching then. :-)
Kings and Generals I'll keep on coming back! This channel makes history interesting!
Brilliant video
It should be worth mentioning one interesting fact about this era. Julius Caesar was in Bithynia and a close confidant of Nicomedes IV. This later came up in a joke, calling Caesar the "Queen of Bithynia", and some of his rivals later mocked, "Caesar conquered Gaul, but Nicomedes conquered Caesar."