The Asiatic Vespers (also known as the Asian Vespers, Ephesian Vespers, or the Vespers of 88 BC) refers to the massacres of Roman and other Latin-speaking peoples living in parts of western Anatolia in 88 BC by forces loyal to Mithridates VI Eupator, ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus, who orchestrated the massacre in an attempt to rid Asia Minor of Roman influence. An estimated 80,000 people were killed during the episode. The incident served as the casus belli or immediate cause of the First Mithridatic War between the Roman Republic and the Kingdom of Pontus. Background By the beginning of the 1st century BC, long-standing disputes between the Kingdom of Bithynia and the neighboring Kingdom of Pontus, located side by side in northern Anatolia on the south shore of the Black Sea, had erupted into full-scale war. The ruling families of each kingdom had descended from Persian satrapies unincorporated into the empire of Alexander the Great. Roman troops had been drawn into Anatolia as allies of the Republic of Rhodes, which had holdings there. The warring kings, Nicomedes III and Mithridates VI, asked the Roman Senate to arbitrate. After deliberation the Senate decided to back Bithynia. King Mithridates VI, hitherto a friend of Rome, whose ancestors had sent ships to Rome's aid in the Third Punic War, was willing to accept this decision. The Senate's control over its troops in the field, however, was minimal. At the instigation of the soldiers, the Roman officers in Anatolia began to urge the Bithynians to ravage Pontus, falsely claiming the decree of the Senate had created an armed conflict. The Senate had actually instructed the army that, in the event of war between Bithynia and Pontus, they were to assist the Bithynian army. In that capacity they would have a share in the spoils of war accrued from plundering the rich towns of Anatolia. Massacre Eager to please their Roman advisors, the Bithynians began to ravage Pontus assisted by Roman soldiers of mercenary intent. In vain Mithridates attempted to object through diplomatic channels. Despairing of that course of action he turned to his friends and allies in Anatolia, offering gifts and promises in exchange for their support. He would rid them of the Romans with a single blow. He convinced them to orchestrate the execution of all Roman citizens and, more broadly, Italian peoples in Asia Minor. The massacre was planned scrupulously