ROMAN CONQUESTS: Asia Minor Syria and Armenia

By Richard Evans

While conquering Greece and Macedonia the Romans defeated an intervention by the Seleucid Empire, the most powerful of the Hellenistic states. Soon Roman armies crossed into Asia to carry the war to the Seleucids. The Roman army defeated the Seleucids at the epic battle of Magnesia in 190 BC, which marked the beginning of a long decline for Seleucid power in Asia, and allowed Pontus to come to the fore. In the 1st century BC, Rome’s grip on its Asian provinces was shattered by the onslaught of Mithridates VI of Pontus. Mithridates was eventually overcome, but these wars in turn led to conflict with Armenia. This book gives a clear narrative of the course of these wars, explaining how the Roman war machine coped with formidable new foes and the challenges of unfamiliar terrain and climate.

Pen & Sword Military (2011)