Battle of Chaeronea (86 BC)

Battle of Chaeronea
Part of the First Mithridatic War
Date 86 BC Location Chaeronea, Boeotia (modern Greece) Result Roman victory
Belligerents
Roman Republic	Pontus
Commanders and leaders
Sulla	Archelaus
Strength
30,000	120,000
Casualties and losses
12 (figures are greatly disputed)	110,000 (figures are greatly disputed)

For the earlier battle, see Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)

The Battle of Chaeronea was fought by the Roman forces of Lucius Cornelius Sulla and Mithridates' general, Archelaus, near Chaeronea, in Boeotia, in 86 BC during the First Mithridatic War. The battle ended with a complete rout of the Pontic army and a decisive victory for the Romans.

The Pontic numbers present at the battle are varied in estimates ranging from a "modest" 76,500 up to a possible total of 120,000. Of these, anywhere between 75,000 and 110,000 are infantry troops while the rest, 1,500 to 10,000, are cavalry and chariot troops. Roman numbers are more stable at an estimated 30,000 men total, with around 17,000 of these being Romans and the rest being a composition of Macedonian and Greek allied troops. The total number of casualties and losses are also disputed, Sulla cites himself that 110,000 Pontic soldiers were killed while only 14 of his own men had gone missing with two of those even returning the next day.

One of Mithridates generals, Taxiles, and a force of around 110,000 men and 10,000 cavalry were sent to join up with Archelaus and his forces in the Elatean plains. Baker presents a reduced figure of the force, he cites a Roman army of less than 17,000 thousand, excluding allied troops, and the enemy Pontic army outnumbering those troops 5 to 1, or around 85,000 troops. Delbruck presents both a "supposed" figure of 120,000 troops and a reduced figure of a "more modest" 60,000 Asiatics, 15,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry, a total of about 76,500 troops. Delbruck further makes comments on the available primary sources and specifically refers to "vague and boastful" memoirs of Sulla which were the primary source that other historians of the time used, such as Plutarch.

Mithridates' armies were a compound make-up of Greek and Oriental elements, the infantry was made up of Macedonian style phalanxes, with Pontic phalangists for missile units, and the cavalry a combination of horse and scythe-wheeled chariots.

Sulla's forces are approximated to have been around 30,000 men, with Baker commenting that of these less than 17,000 were Romans and the rest were composed of Macedonian and Greek allies. Baker, however, doesn't give a concrete value for the number of Macedonian and Greek soldiers involved in the battle, merely noting a disparity of "over three to one" between the Roman and Pontic troops once the allies are accounted for. The Roman forces were composed of veteran Roman legions and some cavalry.

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