A treaty of friendship was made by Machares, son of Mithridates, king of Bosphorus, with Lucius Lucullus. Cneius Lentulus and Caius Gellius, the censors, exercised their office with extreme rigour; expelling sixty-four senators. The lustrum was closed, and the number of citizens amounted to four hundred and fifty thousand. [y. r. 683. b. c. 69.] Lucius Metellus, the prætor, was successful against the pirates in Sicily. The temple of Jupiter in the Capitol, having been consumed by fire, was rebuilt, and dedicated by Quintus Catulus. [y. r. 684. b. c. 68.] Lucius Lucullus defeated Mithridates and Tigranes, with their vast armies, in Armenia, in several battles. The war against the Cretans being committed to the charge of the proconsul, Quintus Metellus, he laid siege to the city of Cydonia. [y. r. 685. b. c. 67.] Lucius Triarius, a lieutenant-general of Lucullus, was defeated in a battle against Mithridates. Lucullus was prevented, by a sedition in his army, from pursuing Mithridates and Tigranes, and completing his victory; the Valerian legions refused to follow Lucullus, alleging that they had served out their time.