Lucullus
Sign in to saveAlso known as Lucius Licinius Lucullus, Lucius Lucullus, Lucius Licinius Lucullus Ponticus, Ponticus
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 kingdoms in the course of the Third Mithridatic War, exhibiting extraordinary generalship in diverse situations, most famously during the Siege of Cyzicus in 73–72 BC, and at the Battle of Tigranocerta in Armenian Arzanene in 69 BC. His command style received unusually favourable attention from ancient military experts, and his campaigns appear to have been studi
Key facts
- Person.image
- Lukullus wiki.png
- Person.caption
- Engraving of a marble bust traditionally said to be Lucullus (Hermitage Museum)
- Person.birth_date
- 118 BC
- Person.death_date
- 57/56 BC (aged 61 or 62)
- Person.office
- Consul of Rome (74 BC)
- Person.spouse
- ClaudiaServilia
- Person.father
- Lucius Licinius Lucullus
- Person.mother
- Caecilia Metella
- Military person.embed
- yes
- Military person.serviceyears
- 91–66 BC
- Military person.serviceyears_label
- Years
- Military person.battles_label
- Conflicts
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Ancient Rome
- Place of birth
- Ancient Rome
- Spouse
- Servilia Minor
- Father
- Lucius Licinius Lucullus
- Mother
- Caecilia Metella
- Occupation
- military personnel
- Position held
- praetor
- Political party
- optimates
- Languages spoken
- Latin
- Religion
- ancient Roman religion
- Student of
- Antiochus of Ascalon
- Image
- Lukullus wiki.png
- Residence
- Rome
Show 6 more facts
- date of death
- 0057-00-00
- name in native language
- Lucius Licinius Lucullus
- gens
- Licinia gens
- relative
- Cornelia Postuma
- P8168
- villotta
- significant place
- Parthia
via Wikidata · CC0
~28 min read
Encyclopedic overview
18 sectionsContents
- Contemporary sources
- Family and early career
- The longest Quaestura, 88–80 BC
- The naval venture, 86–85 BC
- The aftermath of the First Mithridatic War
- Return to the west, 80–74 BC
- Consulship
- The Eastern Wars, 73–67 BC
- Final years, 66–57 BC
- Gastronome
- Lucullus and higher learning
- Decline and death
- Marriages
- See also
- References
- Ancient sources
- Modern works
- External links
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 kingdoms in the course of the Third Mithridatic War, exhibiting extraordinary generalship in diverse situations, most famously during the Siege of Cyzicus in 73–72 BC, and at the Battle of Tigranocerta in Armenian Arzanene in 69 BC. His command style received unusually favourable attention from ancient military experts, and his campaigns appear to have been studied as examples of skillful generalship.
Lucullus returned to Rome from the East with so much captured booty that the vast sums of treasure, jewels, priceless works of art, and slaves could not be fully accounted for. On his return Lucullus poured enormous sums into private building projects, husbandry and even aquaculture projects, which shocked and amazed his contemporaries by their magnitude. He also patronised the arts and sciences lavishly, transforming his hereditary estate in the highlands of Tusculum into a hotel-and-library complex for scholars and philosophers. He built the famous horti Lucullani (Palace and gardens of Lucullus) on the Pincian Hill in Rome, and became a cultural innovator in the deployment of imperial wealth. His achievements led Pliny the Elder to refer to him as "Xerxes in a Toga". He died during the winter of 57–56 BC and was buried at the family estate near Tusculum.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Lucullus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.