DIO'S ROME

AN HISTORICAL NARRATIVE ORIGINALLY COMPOSED IN GREEK DURING THE REIGNS OF SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, GETA AND CARACALLA, MACRINUS, ELAGABALUS AND ALEXANDER SEVERUS:

AND

NOW PRESENTED IN ENGLISH FORM

BY

HERBERT BALDWIN FOSTER, A.B. (Harvard), Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins), Acting Professor of Greek in Lehigh University

SECOND VOLUME _Extant Books 36-44 (B.C. 69-44)_.

1905

PAFRAETS BOOK COMPANY TROY NEW YORK

VOLUME CONTENTS

Book Thirty-six

Book Thirty-seven

Book Thirty-eight

Book Thirty-nine

Book Forty

Book Forty-one

Book Forty-two

Book Forty-three

Book Forty-four

DIO'S ROMAN HISTORY

36

Metellus subdues Crete by force (chapters 1, 2)[1]

Mithridates and Tigranes renew the war (chapter 3).

Lucullus does not take advantage of his victory: a successor is appointed: he captures Tigranocerta (chapter 4).

Arsaces, the Parthian, lends aid to neither party (chapter 5).

Lucullus, after a rather disastrous conflict, besieges and captures Nisibis (chapters 6-8).

Meanwhile he loses the Armenias: Fabius is conquered (chapters 10, 11).

Triarius follows Mithridates to Comana: is afterwards overcome by him (chapters 12-15).

Uprising in Lucullus's army: Mithridates regains everything (chapters 16-19).

Insolence of the pirates (chapters 20-23).

The consequent war, in spite of opposition on the part of many, is by the Gabinian law entrusted to Pompey and is very quickly brought to an end (chapters 23-37).

Cornelian laws in regard to canvassing for office and edicts of praetors: the Roscian in regard to seats for the knights: the Manilian in regard to the voting of freedmen (chapters 38-42).

The Mithridatic war by the Manilian law is given in charge of Pompey (chapters 43, 44).

Pompey vanquishes Mithridates in a night battle (chapters 45-50).

Tigranes, the father, surrenders himself: his son is put in chains (chapters 51-53).

An attack of the Albani is repulsed (chapter 54).

DURATION OF TIME.

Q. Hortensius, Q. Caecilius Metellus Creticus Coss. (B.C. 69 = a.u. 685.)

L. Caecilius Metellus (dies,[2] then) Q. Marcius Rex alone.(B.C. 68 = a.u. 686.)

M. Acilius Glabrio, C. Calpurnius Piso. (B.C. 67 = a.u. 687.)

L. Volcatius Tullus, M. Aemilius Lepidus. (B.C. 66 = a.u. 688.)

(_BOOK 36, BOISSEVAIN_.)

The beginning of this book is missing in the MSS. The gist of the lost portion may in all probability be gathered from the following sentences of Xiphilinus (p. 3, R. Steph.):

"When the consuls drew lots, Hortensius obtained the war against the Cretans. Because of his fondness, however, for residence in the capital, and because of the courts (in which his influence was only second to Cicero's) he voluntarily relinquished the campaign in favor of his colleague and himself remained at home. Metellus accordingly started for Crete ...

"Lucius Lucullus at about this period worsted the lords of Asia,--Mithridates and Tigranes the Armenian,--in the war, and having compelled them, to avoid a pitched battle proceeded to besiege Tigranocerta. 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 whatever it touches it is sure to burn to a cinder, and it can not be extinguished by any liquid. As a consequence Tigranes recovered courage and marched forth with an army of such huge proportions that he actually laughed heartily at the appearance of the Romans present there. He is said to have remarked that in cases where they came to make war only a few presented themselves, but when it was an embassy, many came. However, his amusement was of short duration, and he forthwith discovered how far courage and skill surpass any mere numbers. Relics of his subsequent flight were found by the soldiers in the shape of his tiara and the band that goes around it; and they gave them to Lucullus. In his fear that