It is summer, 86 BC. The Pontic general Archelaus deployed his army in a valley close by Chaeronea.
His scouts informed him he outnumbered the Romans, commanded by Lucius Cornelius Sulla,
at least four to one. He was confident this would be a swift victory over the Romans,
similar to the one attained a year before in Asia Minor. As he got ready to give the
command for the main attack, he heard screams and shouting from above. His army looked up,
towards their fellow soldiers who held strategic positions among the impassable mountains.
They were horrified at what they saw, and before they knew it, the battle commenced.
[Background]
In 88 BC, the Social War between Rome and the Italian Tribes was still waging on. Besides
war on the peninsula, Rome suffered problems to their east. The rogue King Mithridates of Pontus
had been a thorn in their side for years. Annexing and bullying Roman client states, Rome had tried
to put him back in line by invading the Kingdom without declaring war. However, Mithridates
not only decisively defeated a much larger Roman-allied Bithynian army at the Battle of
River Amnias; he subsequently also augmented his own army with the captured Bithynian mercenaries.
He was stronger than ever, and following his victory,
Rome officially declared war. Soon after, at the Battle of Protopachium,
Mithridates again defeated a Roman army and expelled all Roman forces from Asia Minor.
After that, he was in firm control of the region. The Roman commander Lucius Cornelius Sulla was the
man supposed to deal with him. But, besides the Social War, he faced another roadblock: the former
consul Gaius Marius wanted the command for war in Asia Minor himself. Many intrigues followed,
culminating in a pro-Marius riot breaking out in Rome after Sulla left on his campaign.
He heard of this riot at Nola, together with the army raised to fight Mithridates. But,
contrary to the Marian faction's expectations, as it went against ancient tradition and Roman law,
Sulla's army remained loyal to him instead of the Republic and began a slow march on Rome.
When Mithridates heard the army raised to fight him was marching on its own capital,
it only emboldened the King. To ensure loyalty from the Kingdoms on Asia Minor, he unleashed
what became known as the 'Asian Vespers.' He ordered all Roman citizens on Asia Minor,
approximately 80.000, to be killed. Every town, village and city purged itself of Roman
citizens. Rapidly and virtually unopposed, the Pontic colours spread over Asia Minor.
Mithridates comfortably dominated the mainland of Asia Minor and wanted more. His eyes turned
to the islands in the Aegean sea. The first island that came into his possession was Cos, severely
weakened by infighting. Lesbos surrendered next without any resistance. The island of Rhodes put
up much more of a fight, and the subsequent siege and naval battles were touch-and-go. Eventually,
Rhodes managed to repel Mithridates' assault. Having lost his first battle, he returned to
Asia Minor to lick his wounds. He decided to leave the island alone, a decision not too surprising
because there was fruitful ground to expand Pontic territory even further on the Greek mainland.
[Athens and Greece]
Greece wasn't necessarily on Mithridates' list of territories to capture. He expected the Romans to
raise an army and naval fleet. He planned to meet the fleet in battle on the Aegean sea
and a potential army on the shores of Asia Minor. But it just so happened that a pro-Pontic party
ruled in Athens. They welcomed Mithridates to 'liberate them from the Roman yoke.'
Not to mention Athens was the spiritual home of Hellenism. So ruling it would be of great value to
Mithridates' legitimacy. The pro-Pontic ruler in Athens handed him the region on a silver platter.
De-facto controlling Athens, Pontic soldiers now swarmed onto the Greek mainland,
capturing Delos, Boeotia, Euboea and Sparta. The Romans were right to be worried. The Roman
governor of Macedonia sent south whatever troops he could spare. His navy seized the island of
Skiathos, setting aflame Pontic storehouses. He subsequently invaded Boeotia, engaging in
skirmishes to keep the Pontic army occupied and prevent them from pushing further north.
During these skirmishes, the Romans received news Sulla, with five legions, landed in Epirus.
The commander had consolidated his position in Rome and expelled the Marian faction. He
began levying auxiliary units from territories he travelled through. Despite being outnumbered, the
Romans were a formidable force to meet in battle. One brief skirmish between Archelaus and Sulla's
army was enough to convince the Pontic general to retreat behind Athens' massive walls. Thanks
to the Pontic navy, the army defending Athens would be well-supplied, while Sulla's supply
lines were uncertain. In fact, back in Rome, his opponents seized power and did not acknowledge the
legitimacy of his military campaign anymore. So Sulla had two different fronts to worry about now.
But he was undeterred. He planned to besiege both Athens and its Port of Piraeus. Though the Pontic
navy was able to supply Piraeus, Athens was entirely cut off after several encirclement
campaigns. The siege lasted for several months, through the winter and spring. Then,
in March 86 BC, Athens finally fell after its defence force suffered from starvation for months.
The pro-Pontic Athenians were trapped, while Archelaus and the
Pontic army escaped from Piraeus to Thessaly. Meanwhile, to the north, the main Pontic army
arrived. Commanded by Arcathias, Mithridates' son, the enormous army razed through Macedonia,
cementing their control in the region. In fact, the army was large to the degree that Sulla must
have suspected Athens was no more than a diversion tactic for the Ponts to conquer northern Greece.
Archelaus managed to link up with the main Pontic army at Thermopylae.
He took over command. Their strategy was to move south. All that was in their way was a small Roman
contingent, no more than 6000 legions, under Hortensius. The Romans were in full retreat,
chased through the mountains. Sulla began his march westward, both to meet up with Hortensius
and because the local farms could not provide for his army much longer.
As such, he started his trek westward, hopefully in time to save Hortensius' army
from the pursuing Pontic behemoth. [Battle formations]
Sulla met up with Hortensius on a hill at the Plain of Elatea. Sources are vague about what
happened next. The main Pontic army entered the plain as well. After several skirmishes,
they either captured the hill or forced Sulla to retreat pre-emptively. Sulla positioned his army
to the east of Chaeronea, leaving a Roman garrison in the city to defend it against Pontic attacks.
Leaving the garrison behind was a good move, as Archelaus sent an advance force against the city
not soon after. Briefly besieging the city, they understood they would not capture it and
instead moved into the hills. Here, they set up an outpost above the town, overlooking the valley.
The main Pontic army set up camp in the narrow valley separating Mount Hedylium and Acontium.
The Pontic army was well protected, snuggled between the mountains. This
also meant they had no way out but through a narrow valley between the hills and rivers.
Still, Archelaus didn't think a defeat was possible, considering scouts informed him
of the Romans numbering no more than 20.000 troops. Meanwhile, he commanded over 100.000.
However, Sulla tried to make a virtue of necessity. He knew the Pontic army
outnumbered him, but he also knew the terrain was not ideal to suit a large body of soldiers. As his
army was preparing itself for battle, a group of locals offered him their services. They convinced
the general that there was a path through the mountainous terrain. If this was true, he could
ambush the Pontic garrison camping on the hill. Sulla agreed. Meanwhile, he gathered his army
and ordered his men to prepare for battle. Lieutenant Morena commanded the left flank.
Besides the Roman infantry, Murena also commanded most of the cavalry available to the Romans.
The remainder of the cavalry under Sulla guarded the right flank of the Romans. The centre was
manned by Roman infantry equipped with the iconic pila, heavy javelins, and their general combat
equipment. Hortensius and the Macedonian veterans manned the rearguard, standing on top of a hill.
They were at liberty to decide for themselves which flank they would join once battle commenced.
[Battle Sequence]
Archelaus and his men understood battle would soon commence. Archelaus stationed the scythed chariots
in the front, flanked by Pontic infantry. Behind the chariots stood the main contingent of Pontus'
army, the traditional Macedonian-inspired Phalanx. Among them stood phalangites,
made up of slaves whose only choice was to fight or face crucifixion. On the right flank stood a
cavalry contingent, with behind them a unit called the Brazen Shields. As they were preparing to
march onto Sulla's positions, suddenly they heard screams from above. When they looked up, it took a
second to make sense of what they were seeing. The Pontic mountain garrison was surprised
as dozens of Chaeronean's flung themselves at them and brutally slew them. Panic broke out,
and several soldiers tried to flee the mountain camp into the valley. Archelaus yelled at his main
army to advance. As they approached, the view must have been horrible. Often unarmed and only wearing
parts of their armour, Pontic soldiers stormed down the slope with Chaeroneans in hot pursuit.
But as soon as they reached the foot of the hill, Murena's army and cavalry were there
to welcome them. It is estimated around 3000 soldiers died. Barely any escaped,
without striking a single blow against the Romans. But it got worse. The soldiers who managed to
escape the ambush now saw their own army deployed within the valley. So they ran to them to get to
safety. The thing is, the Pontic scythed chariots stood at the ready to charge into
the Roman ranks. But, because their soldiers now scrambled over, they were unable to deploy them.
The chariots waited for the fleeing soldiers to reach their ranks. Then,
finally, losing the element of surprise, Archelaus ordered the chariots forward.
With the Romans having moved too close, the heavy chariots could not gather enough speech
before reaching the Roman ranks. Sulla ordered the centre of his army to move aside. Quickly opening
up the centre, the chariots raced through, unable to steer into the Roman ranks. The riders yelled
and tugged their horses to a halt once they moved through the ranks, but it was too late. Multiple
units received orders to throw their javelins at the chariots as they were trying to turn around,
standing still. It was effortless picking, and screams arose from behind the Roman front line,
which had closed again. Archelaus could only watch. Before too long, the screams and yells
subsided until the general heard nothing except for the occasional Roman commander yelling orders.
As Archelaus was about to shout his orders at his men, the sky turned black. Sulla
ordered his infantry to shower the Pontic frontlines with their pila. As a result,
many of the lightly armoured phalangists were struck and died in the hail of missiles.
Having damaged the frontlines, Sulla ordered his men forward. The infantry
charged straight at the Pontic frontlines, and heavy close combat fighting broke out.
Breaking through the phalangists, heavy combat ensued between the Phalanx and Roman infantry.
However, Archelaus wasn't discouraged by being put on the backfoot. He ordered his cavalry to charge
forward into Rome's left flank because his Phalanx preoccupied the majority of the Roman infantry.
Murena's flank was spread relatively thin, still regrouping from the successful
onslaught against the mountain garrison. Hortensius, standing on higher ground,
saw the cavalry charge forward and ordered the reserves to fling themselves at the cavalry.
He hoped they would intercept them in their flank, but the Pontic cavalry was a disciplined unit, and
upon seeing his soldiers run at them, they changed directions mid-charge to fight them. Thus, the
Romans did not charge into them despite the Pontic cavalry being exposed to Murena's corps. Instead,
Hortensius' men remained on their own, fighting ferociously against the Pontic cavalry. The
Brazen shields now swiftly moved against Murena's troops, locking combat on the Pontic right flank.
Meanwhile, Sulla had not yet seen combat. He decided to support Murena and Hortensius,
engaged in heavy fighting. He took units from the Roman right flank and centre.
Archaelus noticed Sulla moving and ordered the retreat of his cavalry. An opportunity
presented itself: with Sulla midway, it meant the Roman right flank was severely undermanned.
He had to move fast, and while Murena's units reinforced Hortensius, Archelaus moved behind
friendly lines rushing to the Pontic left. But Sulla caught on. He immediately ordered his
cavalry around and, for once, the Romans had an advantage in being outnumbered.
It meant his cavalry was much quicker and there were fewer obstacles in the way.
Sulla was the first to reach his right flank and his cavalry garnered momentum while the
Pontic heavy cavalry was only just about past their centre. Not making any speed,
they could not do anything but face the fast and ferocious charge by Sulla's cavalry.
It hit them hard. Fighting broke out. Being put on the back foot and suffering heavy casualties,
soon the Pontic cavalry retreated in disorder. As the cavalry broke, things rapidly progressed.
Sulla retreated behind his battle lines to assess the situation.
Meanwhile, the Phalanx was getting a rough beating from the Roman infantry.
Fighting had gone on for several hours already. On the Roman left flank, Murena also gained the
upper hand against the Brazen Shields. Heavily outnumbered, they fled to the camp as well.
As both flanks had disintegrated, the Phalanx was done for. Murena and Hortensius flanked the
Phalanx on their right. They had no adequate defence against flanking maneuvres, and the
Romans inflicted heavy damage. Soldiers dropped their spears, and they too fled the battlefield.
Because Archelaus had reinforced the camp, there was an enormous jam in front of the gates.
Not all soldiers fit through. Those who were unfortunate enough to stand at the
rear were mercilessly slaughtered. Sulla's cavalry chased down those who tried to escape elsewhere.
[Aftermath]
The fleeing Pontic soldiers fled to the north, through the hills. They did
not reach safety until they reached Chalcis, where the Pontic navy brought them to safety.
It is estimated not even ten percent of the total Pontic army survived the subsequent
onslaught. Sulla estimated he lost 14 soldiers tops, which is considered to be exaggerated.
Though the Romans killed most of the Pontic army, Mithridates was already raising a new army.
Archelaus was to receive approximately 80.000 new troops, and the Pontic navy ensured
he would be ready for the final showdown between Sulla and himself one year later.
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