Lucius Licinius Lucullus (; 118–57/56 BC) was a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
and
statesman
A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field.
Statesman or statesmen may also refer to:
Newspapers United States
...
, closely connected with
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...
. In culmination of over 20 years of almost continuous military and government service, he conquered the eastern kingdoms in the course of the
Third Mithridatic War
The Third Mithridatic War (73–63 BC), the last and longest of the three Mithridatic Wars, was fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus and the Roman Republic. Both sides were joined by a great number of allies, dragging the entire east of th ...
, exhibiting extraordinary generalship in diverse situations, most famously during the
Siege of Cyzicus
The siege of Cyzicus took place in 73 BC between the armies of Mithridates VI of Pontus and the Roman-allied citizens of Cyzicus in Mysia and Roman Republican forces under Lucius Licinius Lucullus. It was in fact a siege and a counter-siege. ...
in 73–72 BC, and at the
Battle of Tigranocerta in Armenian Arzanene in 69 BC. His command style received unusually favourable attention from ancient military experts, and his campaigns appear to have been studied as examples of skillful generalship.
Lucullus returned to Rome from the east with so much captured booty that the vast sums of treasure, jewels, priceless works of art, and slaves could not be fully accounted for. On his return Lucullus poured enormous sums into private building projects,
husbandry
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. ...
and even
aquaculture
Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...
projects, which shocked and amazed his contemporaries by their magnitude. He also patronised the arts and sciences lavishly, transforming his hereditary estate in the highlands of
Tusculum
Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...
into a hotel-and-library complex for scholars and philosophers. He built the famous ''
horti Lucullani'' (Palace and gardens of Lucullus) on the
Pincian Hill in Rome, and became a cultural innovator in the deployment of imperial wealth. His achievements led
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
to refer to him as "Xerxes in a Toga". He died during the winter of 57–56 BC and was buried at the family estate near Tusculum.
The conquest ''
agnomen
An ''agnomen'' (; : ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the ''cognomen'' had been initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, and so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between sim ...
'' of ''Ponticus'' is sometimes incorrectly appended to his name in modern texts. In ancient sources it is attributed only to his consular colleague
Marcus Aurelius Cotta after the latter’s capture and brutal destruction of
Heraclea Pontica during the Third Mithridatic War.
Contemporary sources
Lucullus was included in the biographical collections of Roman leading generals and politicians, originating in the biographical compendium of famous Romans published by his contemporary
Marcus Terentius Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Virgil and Cicero). He is sometimes call ...
. Two biographies of Lucullus survive today,
Plutarch
Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
's ''Lucullus'' in the famous series of ''
Parallel Lives
*
Culture of ancient Greece
Culture of ancient Rome
Ancient Greek biographical works
Ethics literature
History books about ancient Rome
Cultural depictions of Gaius Marius
Cultural depictions of Mark Antony
Cultural depictions of Cicero
...
'', in which Lucullus is paired with the Athenian aristocratic politician and ''
Strategos
''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also use ...
''
Cimon
Cimon or Kimon (; – 450BC) was an Athenian '' strategos'' (general and admiral) and politician.
He was the son of Miltiades, also an Athenian ''strategos''. Cimon rose to prominence for his bravery fighting in the naval Battle of Salamis ...
, and # 74 in the slender Latin ''Liber de viris illustribus'', of late and unknown authorship, the main sources for which appear to go back to Varro and his most significant successor in the genre,
Gaius Julius Hyginus
Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Augustus, and reputed author of the '' Fabulae'' and the '' De astronomia'', although this is disputed.
Life and works ...
.
Family and early career
Lucullus was a member of the prominent ''
gens Licinia'', and of the family, or ''stirps'', of the Luculli, which may have been descended from the ancient nobility of
Tusculum
Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...
. He was grandson of
Lucius Licinius Lucullus,
consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...
in 151 BC, and son of
Lucius Licinius Lucullus,
praetor
''Praetor'' ( , ), also ''pretor'', was the title granted by the government of ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to disch ...
in 104 BC, who was convicted for
embezzlement
Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...
during his
Sicilian command (104/3) and exiled in .
The family of his mother Caecilia Metella (born ), was a powerful
''nobile'' family at the height of its success and influence in the last quarter of the 2nd century BC when Lucullus was born. She was the youngest child of
Lucius Caecilius Metellus Calvus (consul 142 and
censor 115–14), and half-sister of two of the most important influential senators,
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus () was an ancient Roman statesman and general. He was a leader of the Optimates, the conservative faction of the Roman Senate. He was a bitter political opponent of Gaius Marius. He was Roman consul, consul in 1 ...
(consul 109 and censor 102) and
Lucius Caecilius Metellus Dalmaticus
Lucius Caecilius Metellus Delmaticus (born ) was a Roman politician and general. He was a son of Lucius Caecilius Metellus Calvus and brother of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus. He was consul in 119 BC; during his year, he opposed Gaius ...
(consul 119 and
Pontifex Maximus), the latter of which was also the father of
Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...
's third wife
Caecilia Metella.
Lucullus possibly served as military tribune in 89 BC; Plutarch notes that he served as an officer under Sulla during the
Social War before his quaestorship. He wrote a history of the war in Greek.
The longest Quaestura, 88–80 BC
Lucullus was elected
Quaestor
A quaestor ( , ; ; "investigator") was a public official in ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times.
In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officia ...
in winter of 89-88 during the same elections Sulla was chosen as Consul with his friend
Quintus Pompeius Rufus (whose son was married to Sulla's eldest daughter,
Cornelia).
Lucullus was probably the Quaestor mentioned as the sole officer in Sulla's army who could stomach accompanying the Consul when he marched on Rome.
In autumn of the same year Sulla sent Lucullus ahead to Greece to assess the situation while he himself oversaw the embarkation of his army. Lucullus arrived in Greece and took over from
Quintus Bruttius Sura who had been able to stop the
Mithridatic invasion in northern Greece.
When Sulla arrived with the main army, Lucullus served him as a quaestor again; he minted money that was used during the war against
Mithridates
Mithridates or Mithradates (Old Persian 𐎷𐎡𐎰𐎼𐎭𐎠𐎫 ''Miθradāta'') is the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic form of an Iranian languages, Iranian theophoric name, meaning "given by Mithra". Its Modern Persian form is Mehrdad. It ...
in southern Greece (87-86 BC). The money Lucullus minted, as per Roman custom, bore his name: the so called ''Lucullea''.
The naval venture, 86–85 BC
As the Roman siege of
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
was drawing towards a successful conclusion, Sulla's strategic attention began to focus more widely on subsequent operations against the main Pontic forces, and combating Mithridates' control of the sea lanes. He sent Lucullus to collect such a fleet as might be possible from Rome's allies along the eastern Mediterranean seaboard, first to the important but currently disturbed states of Cyrene and
Ptolemaic Egypt.
Lucullus set out from the
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...
in mid winter 87-6 BC with three Greek yachts (''myoparones'') and three light Rhodian biremes, hoping to evade the prevailing sea power of the Pontic fleets and their piratic allies by speed and taking advantage of the worst sailing conditions.
[Plut.''Luc''.2.3] He initially made
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
, and is said to have won over the cities to the Roman side.
From there he crossed to
Cyrene where the famous Hellenic colony in Africa was in dire condition following a vicious and exhausting civil war of nearly seven years' duration. Lucullus' arrival seems to have put a belated end to this terrible conflict, as the first official Roman presence there since the departure of the proconsul Caius Claudius Pulcher, who presided over its initial administrative incorporation into the Roman Republic in 94 BC. He then sailed to Egypt to try and secure ships from king
Ptolemy IX Soter II. In Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt's capital, he was well received, but there would be no aid or help. Ptolemy had decided to sail a safe course between Rome and Pontus. From
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
Lucullus sailed to Cyprus; evading the
Cilician pirates
Cilician pirates dominated the Mediterranean Sea from the 2nd century BC until their suppression by Pompey in 67–66 BC. Because there were notorious pirate strongholds in Cilicia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), the term ...
, he went to Rhodos (Rome's naval ally). The Rhodians supplied him with additional ships. Rhodos was famous for its naval strength and the marine acumen of its sailors; the Rhodian contingent would turn out to be a most welcome aid. In the waters near Rhodos Lucullus' fleet defeated a Mithridatic contingent. He then secured Cnidus and Cos, drove the Mithridatic military from Chios, and attacked Samos. From there he would work his way North. Lucullus won another victory off
Cape Lecton. From Lecton Lucullus sailed to Tenedos where the Mithridatic fleet lay in wait.
After Lucullus had defeated the Mithridatic admiral
Neoptolemus
In Greek mythology, Neoptolemus (; ), originally called Pyrrhus at birth (; ), was the son of the mythical warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia, and the brother of Oneiros. He became the progenitor of the ruling dynasty of the Molossian ...
in the
Battle of Tenedos, he helped Sulla cross the
Aegean to Asia. After a peace had been agreed, Lucullus stayed in Asia and collected the financial penalty Sulla imposed upon the province for its revolt. Lucullus, however, tried to lessen the burden that these impositions created.
The aftermath of the First Mithridatic War
Lucullus is noted for his magnanimous administration of Asia province; he managed to calm Rome's resentful, near rebellious, Asian subjects and establish a modicum of peace. When Asia's Roman governor,
Lucius Licinius Murena, started and fought the brief, so-called
Second Mithridatic War (83-81 BC), Lucullus was not involved.
Mytilene, capital of the island of Lesbos, rebelled during Lucullus administration of Asia. Lucullus tried to solve the conflict through diplomacy, but eventually he launched an attack on the city state, defeated her militia in a pitched battle in front of her walls and started a siege. After some time Lucullus pretended to give up on the siege and sailed away. When the Mytileneans entered the remnants of his camp, Lucullus ambushed them, killing 500 of the enemy and enslaving 6,000.
Return to the west, 80–74 BC
Lucullus returned in 80 BC and was elected
curule aedile
Aedile ( , , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public orde ...
for 79, along with his brother
Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus, and gave splendid games.
The most obscure part of Lucullus' public career is the year he spent as
praetor
''Praetor'' ( , ), also ''pretor'', was the title granted by the government of ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to disch ...
in Rome, followed by his governorship of
Roman Africa
Roman Africa or Roman North Africa is the culture of Roman Africans that developed from 146 BC, when the Roman Republic defeated Carthage and the Punic Wars ended, with subsequent institution of Roman Empire, Roman Imperial government, through th ...
, which probably lasted the usual two-year span for this province in the post-Sullan period. Plutarch's biography entirely ignores this period, 78 BC to 75 BC, jumping from Sulla's death to Lucullus' consulate. However
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
briefly mentions his praetorship followed by the African command, while the surviving Latin biography, far briefer but more even as biography than Plutarch, comments that he "''ruled Africa with the highest degree of justice''". This command is significant in showing Lucullus performing the regular, less glamorous, administrative duties of a public career in the customary sequence and, given his renown as a
Philhellene, for the regard he showed for subject peoples who were not Greek.
In these respects his early career demonstrates a generous and just nature, but also his political traditionalism in contrast to contemporaries such as
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
and
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...
, the former of whom was always eager to avoid administrative responsibilities of any sort in the provinces, while Pompey rejected every aspect of a normal career, seeking great military commands at every opportunity which suited him, while refusing to undertake normal duties in peaceful provinces.
Two other notable transactions took place in 76 or 75 BC following Lucullus' return from Africa: his marriage to Claudia, the youngest daughter of
Appius Claudius Pulcher, and his purchase of the
Marian hilltop villa at
Cape Misenum from Sulla's eldest daughter Cornelia.
Sulla dedicated his memoirs to Lucullus, and upon his death made him guardian of his son
Faustus and daughter
Fausta
Flavia Maxima Fausta ''Augusta'' (died 326 AD) was a Roman empress. She was the daughter of Maximian and wife of Constantine the Great, who had her executed and excluded from all official accounts for unknown reasons. Historians Zosimus and ...
, preferring Lucullus over
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...
.
Consulship
In 74 BC, Lucullus served as consul along with
Marcus Aurelius Cotta, the half-brother of
Aurelia the mother of
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
. During his consulship he defended Sulla's constitution from the efforts of
Lucius Quinctius to undermine it. He supported a plea from Pompey, campaigning against the rebel
Sertorius
Quintus Sertorius ( – 73 or 72 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who led a large-scale rebellion against the Roman Senate on the Iberian Peninsula. Defying the regime of Sulla, Sertorius became the independent ruler of Hispania for m ...
on the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
, for funds and reinforcements. He was probably also involved in the decision to make
Cyrene into a Roman province.
Initially, he drew
Cisalpine Gaul
Cisalpine Gaul (, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the name given, especially during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, to a region of land inhabited by Celts (Gauls), corresponding to what is now most of northern Italy.
Afte ...
as his
proconsul
A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority.
In the Roman Republic, military ...
ar command in the lots, but he got himself appointed governor of
Cilicia
Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...
after its governor (
Lucius Octavius
Lucius Octavius (c. 11674 BC) was a Roman politician who was elected Roman consul, consul in 75 BC.
Biography
A member of the plebeian Octavia (gens), gens Octavia, and the son of Gnaeus Octavius (consul 87 BC), Lucius Octavius was elected praeto ...
) died, reputedly by recommendation from
Praecia
Praecia (fl. 73 BC) was a Roman courtesan, famed for her influence within Roman politics.
She was active as a professional high class courtesan in Rome. She was known for her wide net of high-profile clients among the political elite, and for ...
. He also got himself the command of the
Third Mithridatic War
The Third Mithridatic War (73–63 BC), the last and longest of the three Mithridatic Wars, was fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus and the Roman Republic. Both sides were joined by a great number of allies, dragging the entire east of th ...
against
Mithridates VI of Pontus
Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator (; 135–63 BC) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an effective, ambitious, and r ...
. This was a highly sought after command for Mithridates ruled very rich lands.
The Eastern Wars, 73–67 BC
On his way to
Cilicia
Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...
, his proconsular province, Lucullus landed his legion somewhere in
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
province.
[Lee Fratantuono, ''Lucullus'', pp 52-55; Appian, ''Mithridatica'', XI.72.] He initially planned to march from Asia to western Cilicia and invade Pontus from the south. In Asia province he found the two
Fimbrian legions
The Fimbrian or Valerian legions were two Roman legions which served and fought in all three wars against King Mithridates of Pontus, one of the Roman Republic's chief adversaries during the 80s, 70s and 60s BC. They became a body of long serving ...
, veterans from the previous Mithridatic Wars, waiting for him.
[ Upon hearing the news of Cotta's defeat he set out to relieve the besieged Cotta in ]Bithynia
Bithynia (; ) was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Paphlagonia to the northeast a ...
. Lucullus had to fight Mithridates by land and sea therefore he assembled a large army and also raised a fleet amongst the Greek cities of Asia. With this fleet he defeated the enemy's fleet off Ilium and then off Lemnos
Lemnos ( ) or Limnos ( ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos (regional unit), Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean modern regions of Greece ...
. On land, through careful manoeuvring and trickery, he was able to trap Mithridates' army at Cyzicus
Cyzicus ( ; ; ) was an ancient Greek town in Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peninsula (the classical Arctonnesus), a tombolo which is said to have or ...
. According to Appian and Plutarch Lucullus had 30,000 infantry and 1,600-2,500 cavalry while Mithridates was rumoured to have as many as 300,000 men in his force. Since Mithridates had superior numbers Lucullus refused to give battle, he decided to starve his enemy into submission. Lucullus blockaded Mithridates' huge army on the Cyzicus peninsula and let famine and plague do his work for him. Mithridates was able to escape Lucullus's siege, but most of his soldiers perished at Cyzicus.
The Pontic fleet tried to sail east into the Aegean, but Lucullus led his fleet against them. He captured a detachment of 13 ships between the island of Tenedos
Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos''; ), or Bozcaada in Turkish language, Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada, Çanakkale, Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Provinc ...
and the mainland harbour of the Achaeans. The main Pontic force, however, had drawn their ships to shore at a site difficult of approach, the small island of Neae between Lemnos
Lemnos ( ) or Limnos ( ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos (regional unit), Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean modern regions of Greece ...
and Scyros; Lucullus then sent infantry by land across Neae to their rear, killing many and forcing the rest back to sea. Lucullus sunk or captured 32 ships of the royal fleet.
Lucullus finished off the Mithridatic army in Bithynia and then moved through Galatia
Galatia (; , ''Galatía'') was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (cf. Tylis), who settled here ...
(which was allied to Rome by now) into Pontus. He was wary of drawing into a direct engagement with Mithridates, due to the latter's superior cavalry. However, after several small battles and many skirmishes, Lucullus finally defeated him at the Battle of Cabira. He did not pursue Mithridates immediately, but instead he finished conquering the kingdom of Pontus and setting the affairs of Asia into order. His attempts to reform the rapacious Roman administration in Asia made him increasingly unpopular among the powerful publicani
The (Latin language, Latin ; Ancient Greek, Greek τελώνης ''telōnēs'') were public contractors in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire, Empire. In their official capacity, they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed t ...
back in Rome.
Mithridates had fled to Armenia and, in 71 BC, Lucullus sent his brother-in-law Appius Claudius Pulcher (later consul in 54 BC) as envoy to the Armenian king-of-kings Tigranes II to demand the surrender of the Pontic king. In the letter conveyed by Appius, Lucullus addressed Tigranes simply as "king" (''basileus
''Basileus'' () is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs throughout history. In the English language, English-speaking world, it is perhaps most widely understood to mean , referring to either a or an . The title ...
''), something received as an insult, and probably intended as such in order to provoke the proud Armenian monarch to war. Keaveney argues against such an interpretation, arguing that Lucullus was acting as a typical philhellene with no empathy towards the sensibilities of non-Greeks. However, this is refuted by Lucullus' conduct during his administration of Africa (), the period of his career most conspicuously missing from the Greek biography by Plutarch.
In 69 BC, Lucullus invaded Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
. He began a siege of the new Armenian imperial capital of Tigranocerta in the Arzenene district. Tigranes returned from mopping up a Seleucid
The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great, a ...
rebellion in Syria with an experienced army which Lucullus nonetheless annihilated at the Battle of Tigranocerta. This battle was fought on the same (pre-Julian) calendar date as the Roman disaster at Arausio 36 years earlier, the day before the Nones of October according to the reckoning of the time (or October 6), which is Julian October 16, 69 BC. Tigranes retired to the northern regions of his kingdom to gather another army and defend his hereditary capital of Artaxata, while Lucullus moved off south-eastwards to the kingdom of the Corduene
Gordyene or Corduene (; ; ) was an ancient historical region, located south of Lake Van, present-day eastern Turkey.
According to the ''1911 Encyclopædia Britannica'', Gordyene is the ancient name of the region of ''Bohtan'', now Şırnak Prov ...
on the frontiers of the Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
n and Parthia
Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...
n empires. During the winter of 69–68 BC both sides opened negotiations with the Parthian king, Arsaces XVI, who was presently defending himself against a major onslaught from his rival Phraates III
Phraates III (also spelled Frahad III; ''Frahāt''), was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 69 BC to 57 BC. He was the son and successor of Sinatruces ().
At Phraates III's accession, his empire could no longer be conside ...
coming from Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian language, Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization in Central Asia based in the area south of the Oxus River (modern Amu Darya) and north of the mountains of the Hindu Kush, an area ...
and the far east.
In the summer of 68 BC Lucullus resumed the war against Tigranes, crossing the Anti-Taurus Range in a long march through very difficult mountain country directed at the old Armenian capital Artaxata
Artashat (), Greek language, Hellenized as Artaxata () and Artaxiasata (), was a major city and commercial center of ancient Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Armenia that served as the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Kingdom of Ar ...
. A battle
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...
took place near the River Arsanias, where Lucullus once again routed the Armenian royal army. However, he had misjudged the time needed for a campaign so far into the Armenian Tablelands, where the good weather was unusually short lived, and when the first snows fell around the time of the autumn equinox his army mutinied and refused to advance any further. Lucullus led them back south to the warmer climes of northern Mesopotamia and had no trouble from his troops there despite setting them the difficult task of capturing the great Armenian fortress of Nisibis, which was quickly stormed and made the Roman base for the winter of 68–67 BC.
That winter Lucullus left his army at Nisibis and, taking a small, but apparently highly mobile, escort, journeyed to Syria in an attempt to permanently exclude Tigranes from all his southern possessions. Syria had been an Armenian province since 83 BC. About a decade later the dispossessed Seleucid
The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great, a ...
princes had spent two years in Rome (one of them probably during Lucullus's consulship in 74 BC) lobbying the Senate and Roman aristocracy to make them (as legitimate Seleucids with a Ptolemaic mother) kings of Egypt in place of the illegitimate Ptolemy XII Auletes
Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysus ( – 51 BC) was a king of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, Egypt who ruled from 80 to 58 BC and then again from 55 BC until his death in 51 BC. He was commonly known as Auletes (, "the Flautist"), referring to ...
. Though these brothers left Rome empty handed in about 72 BC, their plight was not forgotten and Lucullus now elevated one of them as king of Syria: Antiochus XIII, known as ''Asiaticus'' owing to the time he had spent living in Roman Asia province. Lucullus' old friend Antiochus of Ascalon
Antiochus of Ascalon (; ; ) was a 1st-century BC Platonist philosopher. He rejected skepticism, blended Stoic doctrines with Platonism, and was
the first philosopher in the tradition of Middle Platonism.
Antiochus moved to Athens early in his li ...
accompanied him on this journey and died at Antioch.
However, in his absence his authority over his army at Nisibis was seriously undermined by the youngest and wildest of the Claudian brothers, Publius Clodius Pulcher
Publius Clodius Pulcher ( – 18 January 52 BC) was a Roman politician and demagogue. A noted opponent of Cicero, he was responsible during his plebeian tribunate in 58 BC for a massive expansion of the Roman grain dole as well as Cic ...
, apparently acting in the interests of Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...
, who was eager to succeed Lucullus in the Mithridatic War command. Although a brother-in-law of Lucullus, Clodius was also ''frater'' in some form (whether a first cousin ''frater consobrinus'' or uterine brother) of Pompey's wife Mucia Tertia. The long campaigning and hardships that Lucullus' troops had endured for years, combined with a perceived lack of reward in the form of plunder, had caused increasing insubordination. The more daring and ruthless veterans had probably been further encouraged by Lucullus' relatively mild acceptance of their first open mutiny in the Tablelands the previous autumn -especially the so-called Fimbrian legions
The Fimbrian or Valerian legions were two Roman legions which served and fought in all three wars against King Mithridates of Pontus, one of the Roman Republic's chief adversaries during the 80s, 70s and 60s BC. They became a body of long serving ...
who had murdered their first commander Lucius Valerius Flaccus and abandoned their second commander Gaius Flavius Fimbria Gaius Flavius or Gaius Flavius Fimbria may refer to:
* Gaius Flavius Fimbria (cavalry prefect)
Gaius Flavius Fimbria (c. 115 – 85 BC) was a Roman general. Born to a recently distinguished senatorial family, he became one of the most violent a ...
. Instigated by Clodius, a series of demonstrations against the commander took place in his absence and by the time of his return he had largely lost control of his army and could not conduct further offensive operations. In addition Mithridates had returned to Pontus during the same winter, and crushed the garrison force Lucullus had left there under his legates Sornatius Barba and Fabius Hadrianus. Lucullus was left with no choice but to retreat to Pontus and Cappadocia and did so in the spring of 67 BC.
Despite his continuous success in battle, Lucullus had still not captured either one of the monarchs. In 66 BC, with the majority of Lucullus' troops now openly refusing to obey his commands, but agreeing to defend Roman positions from attack, the senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
sent Pompey to take over Lucullus' command, at which point Lucullus returned to Rome.
Lucullus established a magnificent library of Greek texts. These books came from the Pontic kingdom of Mithridates VI, which had been seized by Lucullus, who was renowned for his admiration of Greek culture.
Final years, 66–57 BC
The opposition to him continued on his return. In his absence Pompey had shamefully usurped control over Sulla's children, contrary to the father's testament, and now in Pompeius' absence the latter's intimate and hereditary political ally Gaius Memmius co-ordinated the opposition to Lucullus' claim to a triumph. Memmius delivered at least four speeches ''de triumpho Luculli Asiatico'', and the antagonism towards Lucullus aroused by the Pompeians proved so effective that the enabling law ('' lex curiata'') required to hold a triumph was delayed for three years. In this period Lucullus was forced to reside outside the ''pomerium'', which curtailed his involvement in day-to-day politics centred on the Forum.
Instead of returning fully to political life (although, as a friend of Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
, he did act in some issues) he mostly retired to extravagant leisure, or, in Plutarch's words:
He used the vast treasure he amassed during his wars in the East to live a life of luxury. He had several known luxurious villas:
*the Gardens of Lucullus in Rome
*the vast Villa of Lucullus near Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
*the famous one near Tusculum
Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...
*one on the promontory of Misenum
Miseno is one of the ''frazione, frazioni'' of the municipality of Bacoli in the Italy, Italian Province of Naples. Known in ancient Roman times as Misenum, it is the site of a great Roman port.
Geography
Nearby Cape Miseno marks the northw ...
*one on the island of Nisida
Nisida is a volcano, volcanic islet of the Flegrean Islands archipelago, in southern Italy. It lies at a very short distance from Cape Posillipo, just north of Naples; it is connected to the mainland by a camera-enforced 1km-long pedestrian zone. ...
in the Bay of Naples
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
.
The one near Neapolis included fish ponds and man-made extensions into the sea, and was only one of many elite senators' villas around the Bay of Naples
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
. Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...
is said by Pliny and Vellleius Paterculus to have referred often to Lucullus as " Xerxes in a toga
The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...
".
He finally held his triumph in 63 BC thanks in small part to the political manoeuvering of both Cato and Cicero. His triumph was remembered mostly due to his covering the Circus Flaminius
The Circus Flaminius was a large, circular area in ancient Rome, located in the southern end of the Campus Martius near the Tiber River. It contained a small race-track used for obscure games, and various other buildings and monuments. It was "bu ...
with the arms of the enemies he had faced during the campaign. Lucullus also displayed to the Roman public a golden statue of Mithridates VI
Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator (; 135–63 BC) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an effective, ambitious, and r ...
, standing two meters tall, along with his jewel-encrusted shield, silver vessels, and golden chalices. These items were transported in twenty litters, while mules carried eight expensive klinē.
Gastronome
So famous did Lucullus become for his banqueting that the word Lucullan now means ''lavish,'' ''luxurious'' and ''gourmet''.
Once, Cicero and Pompey succeeded in inviting themselves to dinner with Lucullus, but, curious to see what sort of meal Lucullus ate when alone, forbade him to communicate with his slaves regarding any preparation of the meal for his guests. However, Lucullus outsmarted them, and succeeded in getting Pompey and Cicero to allow that he specify which room he would be dining in. He ordered that his slaves serve him in the Apollo Room, knowing that his service staff was schooled ahead of time as to the specific details of service he expected for each of his particular dining rooms: as the standard amount specified to be outlaid for any given dinner in the Apollo room was the large sum of 50,000 drachmae, Cicero and Pompey found themselves a short time later dining upon a most unexpectedly luxurious meal.
On another occasion, the tale runs that his steward, hearing that he would have no guests for dinner, served only one not especially impressive course. Lucullus reprimanded him saying, "What, did not you know, then, that today Lucullus dines with Lucullus?"
Among Lucullus' other contributions to fine dining, he was responsible for bringing the sour cherry
''Prunus cerasus'' (sour cherry, tart cherry, or dwarf cherry) is an Old World species of ''Prunus'' in the subgenus ''Prunus subg. Cerasus, Cerasus'' (cherries). It has two main groups of cultivars: the dark-red Morello cherry and the lighter- ...
, (a species of) the sweet cherry and the apricot
An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''.
Usually an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...
to Rome, developing major facilities for aquaculture, and being the only person in Rome with the ability to provide thrushes for gastronomic purposes in every season, having his own fattening coops. Cicero once called Lucullus 'Piscinarius' - fish fancier.
Among the various edible plants associated with Lucullus is a cultivar of the vegetable Swiss chard (''Beta vulgaris''); which is named "Lucullus" in his honour.
Lucullus and higher learning
Lucullus was extremely well educated in Latin and Greek, and showed a keen interest in literature and philosophy from earliest adulthood. He established lifelong friendships with the Greek poet Archias of (Syrian) Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...
, who migrated to Rome around 102 BC, and with one of the leading academic philosophers of the time, Antiochus of Ascalon
Antiochus of Ascalon (; ; ) was a 1st-century BC Platonist philosopher. He rejected skepticism, blended Stoic doctrines with Platonism, and was
the first philosopher in the tradition of Middle Platonism.
Antiochus moved to Athens early in his li ...
.
During his long delay in the royal palace at Alexandria in the summer of 86 BC Lucullus witnessed the beginning of the major schism in the Platonic Academy
The Academy (), variously known as Plato's Academy, or the Platonic Academy, was founded in Classical Athens, Athens by Plato ''wikt:circa, circa'' 387 BC. The academy is regarded as the first institution of higher education in the west, where ...
in the 1st century BC, the so-called Sosos Affair. His friend and companion Antiochos of Ascalon received, evidently from the Library of Alexandria
The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, ...
, a copy of a work by the scholarch
A scholarch (, ''scholarchēs'') was the head of a school in ancient Greece. The term is especially remembered for its use to mean the heads of schools of philosophy, such as the Platonic Academy in ancient Athens. Its first scholarch was Plato h ...
of the Academy, Philo of Larissa
Philo of Larissa ( ''Philon ho Larissaios''; 159/8–84/3 BC) was a Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher. It is very probable that his actual name was Philio - with a second iota. He was a pupil of Clitomachus (philosopher), Clitomachus, whom he s ...
, so radical in its sceptical stance that Antiochos was sufficiently disturbed to doubt the attribution of authorship to his old teacher. But more recent pupils of Philo, chiefly Herakleitos of Tyre, were able to assure him of the book's authenticity. Antiochos and Herakleitos dissected it at length in Lucullus' presence, and in the ensuing weeks while the Roman party continued to await the arrival of the king from the south, Antiochos composed a vigorous polemic against Philo entitled ''Sosos'', which marked his definitive break with Philo's so-called "Sceptical Academy", and the beginning of the separate, more conservative, school eventually called the Old Academy.
Decline and death
Plutarch
Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
reports that Lucullus lost his mind towards the end of his life, intermittently developing signs of insanity as he aged. Plutarch, however, seems to be somewhat ambivalent as to whether the apparent madness was actually the result of the administration of a purported love potion or other explicable cause, hinting that his alleged precipitous mental decline (and his concomitant withdrawal from public affairs) may have been at least in part conveniently feigned in self-protection against the rise to power of his political opponents, such as the popular party, during a time in which the political stakes were often life and death. Lucullus' brother Marcus oversaw his funeral.
His tomb has been located near his villa in Tusculum
Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...
.
Marriages
Lucullus married Clodia, (one of the daughters of Appius Claudius Pulcher the consul of 79 BC) at the earliest 76 BC. With her he had a daughter and possibly a homonymous son. He divorced her about the year 66 BC, on his return to Rome after friction in Asia with her brother, Publius Clodius Pulcher
Publius Clodius Pulcher ( – 18 January 52 BC) was a Roman politician and demagogue. A noted opponent of Cicero, he was responsible during his plebeian tribunate in 58 BC for a massive expansion of the Roman grain dole as well as Cic ...
.
He then married Servilia, the daughter of Livia
Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC
AD 29) was List of Roman and Byzantine empresses, Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal Adoption ...
and Quintus Servilius Caepio, sister of Servilia Major, and half-sister of Cato the Younger; notorious for her loose morals, Servilia cheated on him, but he forced himself to stay with her out of respect for her half-brother Cato. They had a son named Marcus.[ When Lucullus died he made Cato the guardian of the boy.]Susan Treggiari
Susan Treggiari is an English scholar of ancient Rome,[John Simon Guggenheim Memoria ...](_blank)
; '' Servilia and her Family'' - page: 96
See also
* Mithridatic Wars
The Mithridatic Wars were three conflicts fought by the Roman Republic against the Kingdom of Pontus and its allies between 88 and 63 BC. They are named after Mithridates VI, the King of Pontus during the course of the wars, who initiated the ho ...
* Hortensius (Cicero)
''Hortensius'' () or ''On Philosophy'' is a lost dialogue written by Marcus Tullius Cicero in the year 45 BC. The dialoguewhich is named after Cicero's friendly rival and associate, the speaker and politician Quintus Hortensius Hortalustook th ...
* Academica (Cicero)
The ''Academica'' (also ''On Academic Skepticism'', ''Academici Libri'' or ''Academic Books'') is work in a fragmentary state written by the Academic skepticism, Academic Skeptic philosopher Cicero published in two editions. The first edition is r ...
* Lucullan
References
Ancient sources
* Plutarch
Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
,
Lucullus
', also the lives of ''Kimon'', ''Sulla'', ''Pompeius'', ''Cicero'', ''Cato''
* Ziegler, Konrat (ed.) ''Plutarchi Vitae Parallelae'', Vol.I, Fasc.1 (Teubner, Leipzig, 4th edition, 1969), I: ΘΗΣΕΥΣ ΚΑΙ ΡΩΜΥΛΟΣ, II: ΣΟΛΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΠΟΠΛΙΚΟΛΑΣ, III: ΘΕΜΙΣΤΟΚΛΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΚΑΜΙΛΛΟΣ, IV: ΑΡΙΣΤΕΙΔΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΚΑΤΩΝ, V: ΚΙΜΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΛΕΥΚΟΛΛΟΣ.
* ''Liber de viris illustribus'', 74
* Cassius Dio ''Roman History'', book XXXVI
* Appian ''Roman History'', book XII: ''Mithridateios''
* Cicero ''Lucullus'', also known as ''Academica Prior'', book II
* Cicero ''pro Archia poeta'' 5-6, 11, 21, 26, 31
* Cicero ''de imperio Cn. Pompei'' 5, 10, 20-26
* Cicero ''pro L. Murena'' 20, 33-34, 37, 69
* Cicero ''pro A. Cluentio Habito'' 137
* Cicero ''ad Atticum'', I 1.3, 14.5, 16.15, XIII 6
* Julius Frontinus ''Stratagems'', II 1.14, 2.4 (Tigranocerta), II 5.30 (Pontic assassination attempt 72 BC), II 7.8 (Macedonian cavalry during Cabira campaign), III 13.6 (swimming messenger at siege of Cyzicus)
* Paulus Orosius bk.VI
* Eutropius bk.VI
* Annaeus Florus
* Malcovati, Henrica (ed.) ''Oratorum Romanorum Fragmenta, Liberae Rei Publicae'' (Corpus Scriptorum Latinorum Paravianum, Torino, 1953; 4th edition, 1976), 307-9 (Orator #90)
* Memnon, history of Herakleia Pontike, 9th century epitome in the ΒΙΒΛΙΟΘΗΚΗ of Photius of Byzantium (codex 224)
- ed. René Henry ''Photius Bibliotheque'', vol.IV: Codices 223-229 (Budé, Paris, 1965), 48-99: Greek with French translation
- ed. Karl Müller ''FHG'' (''Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum''), vol.III, 525ff.: Greek with Latin translation
- ed. Felix Jacoby ''FGrH'' 434 (''Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker'', commenced 1923): Greek text, critical commentary in German
* Phlegon of Tralles, fragments
- ed. Müller ''FHG'', III, 602ff.
- ed. Jacoby ''FGrH'' 257
- English translation and commentary by William Hansen, ''Phlegon of Tralles' Book of Marvels'' (University of Exeter Press, 1996)
* Inscriptions.
- ''ILS'' 60 (Latin career elogium from Arretium)
- ''SIG3'' 743, ''AE 1974'', 603 (both Greek from Hypata, as quaestor in late 88)
- ''SIG3'' 745 (Greek from Rhodes, when pro quaestore, 84/3)
- ''Ins.Délos'' 1620 (Latin statue base ''titulus'' from Delos when pro quaestore, 85/80)
- ''BE'' 1970, p. 426 (two Greek tituli when imperator, 72/66, from Andros and Klaros)
Modern works
Early books
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Recent books
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Journal articles
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External links
Bust of Lucullus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Licinius Lucullus, Lucius
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