⚫️ PLOT AGAINST THE KING

“Because both sides were digging tunnels in the area, they frequently encountered and even talked to each other; and from these encounters he became known to the king's men. Once, when he was caught on his own in the tunnels, one of the enemy pressed him to betray his allies, and he pretended to agree to the suggestion. When the king was informed of this, in his desire to capture the city he promised a reward and arranged a time to discuss the betrayal. Because the Roman demanded a surety for the agreement, the king sent men to settle it on his behalf. But the Roman said that he would not trust the agreement, unless the king gave him an oath in person. Mithridates considered that it was beneath his royal dignity to descend into the mines. But since the traitor said that he would not co-operate otherwise, and he was very eager to capture the city, Mithridates was forced to agree to the request. As a result the king would have been captured, if he had not been protected by one of his friends who, rightly suspecting a plot, produced a device that fitted in the tunneland could quickly be opened and closed. When this had been placed in the tunnel, and Mithridates and his friends went in, the centurion . . . the men who intended to help him seize the king, drew his sword and rushed at the king. But just in time the king closed the gate, and so escaped the danger.”

Diodorus Siculus