Quintus Braetius Sura ( 88–87 BC) was a Roman commander who fought in the

First Mithridatic War The First Mithridatic War (89–85 BC) was a war challenging the Roman Republic's expanding empire and rule over the Greek world. In this conflict, the Kingdom of Pontus and many Greek cities rebelling against Roman rule were led by Mithridates ...

. He was the first Roman commander to successfully resist Mithridates' advance. Ancient Regions North and West Greece

An inscription from

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...

honors Q. Braetius Sura and is the only source stating his full name. During the war, he was a

legate Legate may refer to: *Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

to Gaius Sentius Saturninus, the Roman

propraetor In ancient Rome a promagistrate ( la, pro magistratu) was an ex-consul or ex-praetor whose ''imperium'' (the power to command an army) was extended at the end of his annual term of office or later. They were called proconsuls and propraetors. Thi ...

of Macedonia. In 88 BC, Sura and a small detachment from Sentius's army were sent south to stop Archelaus, a leading general of King Mithridates of Pontus, who had invaded Greece. Sura started with a naval engagement in which he was victorious, then captured the island of Sciathos, which the Mithridatics were using as a storehouse. He crucified all escaped slaves on the island, and brutally cut off the hands of the free men. After receiving reinforcements, he pushed further south into Boeotia. Archelaus and his Greek allies moved against him. Sura took care not to become fully committed and to keep his lines of retreat open, engaging in battle with the opposition in at least three encounters in the course of three days. In early 87 BC,

Lucullus Lucius Licinius Lucullus (; 118–57/56 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, closely connected with Lucius Cornelius Sulla. In culmination of over 20 years of almost continuous military and government service, he conquered the eastern kingdom ...

, a lieutenant of the proconsul

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had t ...

, arrived and ordered Sura and his forces back to Macedonia. Sura was the first Roman commander to stop the Mithridatic onslaught, he proved to the Greeks that Rome was not easily defeated and he blocked Archelaus into Northern Greece.Plutarch, ''Life of Sulla'' 10ff By his actions he contained the Mithridatic invasion and paved the way for a Roman counter-offensive which would duly arrive in the form of Lucius Cornelius Sulla at the head of five full legions of battle-hardened veterans.

References

1st-century BC Romans Military leaders Roman legates {{military-bio-stub