That single, deadly night.

[**Context: During the later Roman Republic, when Rome gained control of its first eastern provinces, it was busy taxing these provinces almost to absolute ruin. In consequence, a deep hatred of Rome began to fester in these areas. At one point, a Roman authority, Manius Aquillius, had conspired to have one eastern state attack what he deemed an upstart to Roman power in the region – Mithridates of Pontus. But Mithridates was no fool. As events unfolded, Mithridates ended up convincing virtually ALL of the Greek provinces recently under Rome’s control to slaughter any and all local Roman citizens in one coordinated effort, on the same night.**] >As a matricidal barbarian he [**Mithridates**] was hardly the kind of champion the Greeks would normally have taken to their hearts. But better a matricidal barbarian than the *publicani* - the longing for freedom was so desperate, and the loathing of Rome so visceral, that the provincials were willing to go to any lengths to dispose of their oppressors. In the summer of 88, when Rome’s chains had already been thrown off, they were to demonstrate this in a horrific explosion of violence. >Aiming to bind the Greek cities to him irrevocably, [Mithridates](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Mithridates_VI_Louvre.jpg) wrote to them, ordering the massacre of every Roman and Italian left in Asia. The Greeks followed his instructions with savage relish. The atrocity was all the more terrible for the secrecy with which it had been prepared and the perfect coordination of the attacks. Victims were rounded up and slaughtered by hired assassins, hacked to pieces as they clung to sacred statues or shot as they attempted to escape into the sea. Their bodies were left to rot unburied outside city walls. Eighty thousand men, women, and children were said to have been killed on that single, deadly night. _______________________________ **Author’s Note:** >According to Valerius Maximus, 9.2. The figures have been treated with some suspicion. _______________________________ **Source:** Holland, Tom. “The Sibyl’s Curse.” *Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic*. Anchor Books, 2005. 44-5. Print. _______________________________ **Further Reading:** [Mithridates VI or Mithradates VI (Greek: Μιθραδάτης, Μιθριδάτης)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithridates_VI_of_Pontus) [The Asiatic Vespers (also known as the Asian Vespers, Ephesian Vespers, or the Vespers of 88 BC)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiatic_Vespers)