A treaty of friendship was made by Machares, son of Mithridates, king of
Bosphorus, with Lucius Lucullus. Cneius Lentulus and Caius Gellius, the
censors, exercised their office with extreme rigour; expelling
sixty-four senators. The lustrum was closed, and the number of citizens
amounted to four hundred and fifty thousand. [Y. R. 683. B. C. 69.]
Lucius Metellus, the prætor, was successful against the pirates in
Sicily. The temple of Jupiter in the Capitol, having been consumed by
fire, was rebuilt, and dedicated by Quintus Catulus. [Y. R. 684. B. C.
68.] Lucius Lucullus defeated Mithridates and Tigranes, with their vast
armies, in Armenia, in several battles. The war against the Cretans
being committed to the charge of the proconsul, Quintus Metellus, he
laid siege to the city of Cydonia. [Y. R. 685. B. C. 67.] Lucius
Triarius, a lieutenant-general of Lucullus, was defeated in a battle
against Mithridates. Lucullus was prevented, by a sedition in his army,
from pursuing Mithridates and Tigranes, and completing his victory; the
Valerian legions refused to follow Lucullus, alleging that they had
served out their time.