Battle of Mount Tifata

Battle of Mount Tifata
	Part of Sulla's Second Civil War
	; Sulla Coin
Date	November 83 BC
Location	near Mount Tifata41°3′57.110″N 14°10′12.050″E / 41.06586389°N 14.17001389°E
Result	Sullan victory
Belligerents
Optimates	Populares
Commanders and leaders
Lucius Cornelius Sulla	Gaius Norbanus
Strength
40,000	60,000
Casualties and losses
124 killed	7.000 killed ; 6.000 captured
	class=notpageimage\| Location within Italy

The Battle of Mount Tifata was fought in 83 BC as part of Sulla's Second Civil War.^[1]

History

It was fought in the foothills of Mount Tifata,^[1] a spur of the Apennines,^[2] close to the River Vulturnus, and is alternatively known as the Battle of Casilinum.^[1] The location of the battle suggests that Sulla was moving on Capua.^[1] The Optimate forces were led by Lucius Cornelius Sulla and his officer Quintus Caecilius Metellus, while the Populares were led by Gaius Norbanus.^[1] The battle started when Sulla “immediately attacked” Norbanus, even though Velleius claims Norbanus attacked Sulla.^[1] As an army under Scipio was currently moving to support Norbanus it is likely that Sulla attacked Norbanus by surprise before he could link up with Scipio.^[1] In total Scipio's and Norbanus’ armies numbered 100,000 as compared to at most 40,000 under Sulla.^[1] At Mount Tifata, Sulla had the bulk of his army with him, while Norbanus commanded 60,000 men (the rest were with Scipio). Sulla was victorious.^[1]^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p Sampson, Gareth C. (2013-09-09). "6". The collapse of Rome : Marius, Sulla and the first Civil War, 91-70 BC. Barnsley, South Yorkshire. pp. Mostly section: Battle of Mount Tifata (Casilinum). ISBN 9781473826854. OCLC 893910287.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ ^a ^b Beesley, A. H. (2017). The Gracchi, Marius and Sulla. Pinnacle Press.