[71]
When he had finished speaking and exciting his army, he invaded Bithynia. Nicomedes had lately died childless and bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans. Cotta, its governor, was a man altogether unwarlike. He fled to Chalcedon with what force he had. Thus Bithynia again passed under the rule of Mithridates. The Romans from all directions flocked to Cotta at Chalcedon. When Mithridates advanced to that place Cotta did not go out to meet him because he was inexperienced in military affairs, but his naval prefect, Nudus, with a part of the army occupied a very strong position on the plain. He was driven out of it, however, and fled to the gates of Chalcedon over many walls which greatly obstructed his movement. There was a struggle at the gates among those trying to gain entrance simultaneously, for which reason no missile cast by the pursuers missed its mark. The guards at the gates, fearing for the city, let down the gate from the machine. Nudus and some of the other officers were drawn up by ropes. The remainder perished between their friends and their foes, holding out their hands in entreaty to each. Mithridates made good use of his success. He moved his ships up to the harbor the same day, broke the brazen chain that closed the entrance, burned four of the enemy's ships, and towed the remaining sixty away. Nudus offered no resistance, nor Cotta, for they remained shut up inside the walls. The Roman loss was about 3000, including Lucius Manlius, a man of senatorial rank. Mithridates lost twenty of his Bastarnæ, who were the first to break into the harbor.
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Appian. The Foreign Wars. Horace White. New York. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 1899.
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