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Title: A Smaller History of Rome
Author: Lawrence, Eugene, 1823-1894, Smith, William, Sir, 1813-1893
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "A Smaller History of Rome" ***
[Illustration: THE ROMAN FORUM RESTORED.]
A SMALLER HISTORY OF ROME,
FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE.
BY WILLIAM SMITH, LL.D.
WITH A CONTINUATION TO A.D. 479.
BY EUGENE LAWRENCE, A.M.
[Illustration]
Illustrated by Engravings on Wood.
NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
FRANKLIN SQUARE.
1881.
[Illustration: Map of Italy.]
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Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight
hundred and sixty-five, by HARPER & BROTHERS, in the Clerk's Office of
the District Court of the Southern District of New York.
NOTICE.
The present History has been drawn up chiefly for the lower forms in
schools, at the request of several teachers, and is intended to range
with the author's Smaller History of Greece. It will be followed by a
similar History of England. The author is indebted in this work to
several of the more important articles upon Roman history in the
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography.
The Table of Contents presents a full analysis of the work, and has been
so arranged that the teacher can frame from it questions for the
examination of his class, the answers to which will be found in the
corresponding pages of the volume.
The restoration of the Forum has been designed by Mr. P.W. Justyne.
W.S.
[Illustration: Temple of Janus. (From a Coin.)]
[Illustration: Julius Cæsar.]
CONTENTS.
B.C. Page
CHAPTER I.
GEOGRAPHY OF ITALY--EARLY INHABITANTS.
Position of Italy 1
Its boundaries 1
Its two Divisions 1
I. Gallia Cisalpina 2
Liguria 2
Venetia 2
II. Italia, properly so called 2
Etruria 2
Umbria 2
Picenum 2
Sabini 3
Marsi 3
Peligni 3
Vestini 3
Marrucini 3
Frentani 3
Latium: its two senses 3
The Campagna 3
The Pontine Marshes 4
Campania 4
Bay of Naples 4
Samnium 4
Apulia 4
Calabria 4
Lucania 4
Bruttii 4
Fertility of Italy 5
Its productions 5
Its inhabitants 5
I. Italians proper 5
1. Latins 5
2. Umbro-Sabellians 5
II. Iapygians 5
III. Etruscans 5
Their name 5
Their language 5
Their origin 5
Their two confederacies 6
1. North of the Po 6
2. South of the Apennines 6
Foreign races--
IV. Greeks 6
Gauls 6
CHAPTER II.
THE FIRST FOUR KINGS OF ROME. B.C. 753-616.
Position of Rome 7
Its inhabitants 7
1. Latins 7
2. Sabines 7
3. Etruscans 7
Remarks on early Roman history 8
Legend of Æneas 8
Legend of Ascanius 8
Foundation of Alba Longa 8
Legend of Rhea Silvia 8
Birth of Romulus and Remus 8
Their recognition by Numitor 9
753. Foundation of Rome 9
Roma Quadrata 9
Pomoerium 9
Death of Remus 10
753-716. Reign of Romulus 9
Asylum 10
Rape of Sabines 10
War with Sabines 10
Tarpeia 10
Sabine women 10
Joint reign of Romulus and Titus Tatius 11
Death of Titus Tatius 11
Sole reign of Romulus 11
Death of Romulus 11
Institutions ascribed to Romulus 12
Patricians & Clients 12
Three tribes--Ramnes, Tities, Luceres 12
Thirty Curiæ 12
Three Hundred Gentes 12
Comitia Curiata 12
The Senate 12
The Army 12
716-673. Reign of Numa Pompilius 12
Institutions ascribed to Numa Pompilius 12
Pontiffs 12
Augurs 13
Flamens 13
Vestal Virgins 13
Salii 13
Temple of Janus 13
673-641. Reign of Tullus Hostilius 13
War with Alba Longa 13
Battle of the Horatii and Curiatii 13
War with the Etruscans 14
Punishment of Mettius Fuffetius, Dictator of Alba Longa 14
Destruction of Alba Longa 14
Removal of its inhabitants to Rome 14
Origin of the Roman Plebs 14
Death of Tullus Hostilius 14
640-616. Reign of Ancus Marcius 14
War with the Latins 14
Increase of the Plebs 15
Ostia 15
Janiculum 15
Pons Sublicius 15
Death of Ancus Marcius 15
CHAPTER III.
THE LAST THREE KINGS OF ROME, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE
REPUBLIC DOWN TO THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. B.C. 616-498.
616-578. Reign of Tarquinius Priscus 16
His early history 16
His removal to Rome 16
Becomes king 16
His wars 16
The Cloacæ 16
Circus Maximus 17
Increase of the Senate 17
Increase of the Equites 17
Attus Navius 17
Increase of the Vestal Virgins 17
Early history of Servius Tullius 17
Death of Tarquinius Priscus 18
578-534. Reign of Servius Tullius 18
I. Reform of the Roman Constitution 18
1. Division of the Roman territory into Thirty Tribes 18
2. Comitia Centuriata 18
Census 18
Five Classes 19
The Equites 19
Number of the Centuries 19
Three sovereign assemblies--Comitia Centuriata,
Comitia Curiata, Comitia Tributa 20
II. Increase of the city: walls of Servius Tullius 20
III. Alliance with the Latins 20
Death of Servius Tullius 22
534-510. Reign of Tarquinius Superbus 22
His tyranny 22
His alliance with the Latins 23
His war with the Volscians 23
Foundation of the temple on the Capitoline Hill 23
The Sibylline books 23
Legend of the Sibyl 23
Capture of Gabii 23
King's sons and Brutus sent to consult the oracle at
Delphi 23
Lucretia 24
Expulsion of the Tarquins 25
509. Establishment of the Republic 25
The Consuls 25
First attempt to restore the Tarquins 25
Execution of the sons of Brutus 25
War of the Etruscans with Rome 26
Death of Brutus 26
Defeat of the Etruscans 26
Valerius Publicola 26
Dedication of the Capitoline Temple by M. Horatius 26
508. Second attempt to restore the Tarquins 26
Lars Porsena 26
Horatius Cocles 26
Mucius Scævola 27
Cloelia 27
498. Third attempt to restore the Tarquins 28
War with the Latins 28
Battle of the Lake Regillus 28
496. Death of Tarquinius Superbus 28
CHAPTER IV.
FROM THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS TO THE DECEMVIRATE.
B.C. 498-451.
Struggles between the Patricians and Plebeians 29
Ascendency of the Patricians 29
Sufferings of the Plebeians 30
Law of debtor and creditor 30
Ager Publicus 30
Object of the Plebeians to obtain a share in the political
power and in the public land 30
494. Secession to the Sacred Mount 30
Fable of Menenius Agrippa 31
Institution of the Tribunes of the Plebs 31
486. Agrarian Law of Sp. Cassius 31
Foreign wars 32
488. I. Coriolanus and the Volscians 32
477. II. The Fabia Gens and the Veientines 33
458. III. Cincinnatus and the Æquians 34
League between the Romans, Latins, and Hernicans 35
CHAPTER V.
THE DECEMVIRATE. B.C. 451-449.
471. Publilian Law transferring the election of the Tribunes
from the Comitia of Centuries to those of the Tribes 36
462. Proposal of the Tribune Terentilius Arsa for the
appointment of Decemviri 37
460. Seizure of the Capitol by Herdonius the Sabine 37
454. Appointment of three Commissioners to visit Greece 37
452. Their return to Rome 37
451. Appointment of the Decemviri 37
The Ten Tables 37
450. New Decemviri appointed 37
Their tyranny 38
Two new Tables added, making twelve in all 38
449. The Decemviri continue in office 38
Death of Sicinius Dentatus 38
Death of Virginia 39
Second secession to the Sacred Mount 39
Resignation of the Decemvirs 39
Election of ten Tribunes 40
Valerian and Horatian Laws 40
Death of Appius Claudius 40
The Twelve Tables 40
CHAPTER VI.
FROM THE DECEMVIRATE TO THE CAPTURE OF ROME BY THE GAULS.
B.C. 448-390.
445. Third secession to the Sacred Mount 41
Lex Canuleia for intermarriage between the two orders 41
Institution of Military Tribunes with consular powers 41
443. Institution of the Censorship 41
421. Quæstorship thrown open to the Plebeians 42
440. Famine at Rome 42
Death of Sp. Mælius 42
Foreign wars 42
Roman colonies 43
War with the Etruscans 43
437. Spolia Opima won by A. Cornelius Cossus 43
426. Capture and destruction of Fidenæ 43
403. Commencement of siege of Veii 43
Tale of the Alban Lake 43
396. Appointment of Camillus as Dictator 43
Capture of Veii 44
394. War with Falerii 44
Tale of the Schoolmaster 44
Unpopularity of Camillus 44
391. He goes into exile 44
CHAPTER VII.
FROM THE CAPTURE OF ROME BY THE GAULS TO THE FINAL UNION OF THE
TWO ORDERS. B.C. 390-367.
The Gauls, or Celts 45
391. Attack of Clusium by the Senones 45
Roman ambassadors sent to Clusium 45
They take part in the fight against the Senones 45
The Senones march upon Rome 46
390. Battle of the Allia 46
Destruction of Rome 46
Siege of the Capitol 46
Legend of M. Manlius 47
Appointment of Camillus as Dictator 47
He delivers Rome from the Gauls 47
Rebuilding of the city 47
Further Gallic wars 48
361. Legend of T. Manlius Torquatus 48
349. Legend of M. Valerius Corvus 48
385. Distress at Rome 48
384. M. Manlius comes forward as a patron of the poor 48
His fate 49
376. Licinian Rogations proposed 49
Violent opposition of the Patricians 50
367. Licinian Rogations passed 50
366. L. Sextius first Plebeian Consul 50
Institution of the Prætorship 50
356. First Plebeian Dictator 51
351. First Plebeian Censor 51
336. First Plebeian Prætor 51
300. Lex Ogulnia, increasing the number of the Pontiffs and
Augurs, and enacting that a certain number of them
should be taken from the Plebeians 51
339. Publilian Laws 51
286. Lex Hortensia 51
CHAPTER VIII.
FROM THE LICINIAN ROGATIONS TO THE END OF THE SAMNITE WARS.
B.C. 367-290.
362. Pestilence at Rome 52
Death of Camillus 52
Tale of M. Curtius 53
The Samnites 53
Their history 53
Division into four tribes 53
Conquer Campania and Lucania 53
Samnites of the Apennines attack the Sidicini 53
Campanians assist the Sidicini 53
They are defeated by the Samnites 53
They solicit the assistance of Rome 53
343-341. FIRST SAMNITE WAR 54
Battle of Mount Gaurus 54
Peace concluded 54
Reasons for the conclusion of peace 54
340-338. THE LATIN WAR 54
The armies meet near Mount Vesuvius 55
Tale of Torquatus 55
Decisive battle 55
Self-sacrifice of Decius 55
Capture of Latin towns 56
Conclusion of the war 56
329. Conquest of the Volscian town of Privernum 56
Origin of the Second Samnite War 56
327. The Romans attack Palæopolis and Neapolis 56
326-304. SECOND SAMNITE WAR 57
_First Period._
Roman arms successful 57
325. Quarrel between L. Papirius Dictator and Q. Fabius, his
master of the horse 57
321-315. _Second Period._
Success of the Samnites 57
321. Defeat of the Romans at the Caudine Forks by C. Pontius 68
Ignominious treaty rejected by the Romans 58
314-304. _Third Period._
Success of the Romans 58
311. War with the Etruscans 58
Defeat of the Etruscans 59
Defeat of the Samnites 59
304. Peace with Rome 59
300. Conquests of Rome in Central Italy 59
Coalition of Etruscans, Umbrians, and Samnites against Rome 59
298-290. THIRD SAMNITE WAR 59
295. Decisive battle of Sentinum 59
Self-sacrifice of the younger Decius 59
292. C. Pontius taken prisoner and put to death 59
CHAPTER IX.
FROM THE CONCLUSION OF THE SAMNITE WAR TO THE SUBJUGATION OF ITALY.
B.C. 290-265.
283. War with the Etruscans and Gauls 60
Battle of the Lake Vadimo 60
282. State of Magna Græcia 60
The Romans assist Thurii 60
Their fleet is attacked by the Tarentines 61
Roman embassy to Tarentum 61
281. War declared against the Tarentines 61
They apply for aid to Pyrrhus 61
Pyrrhus arrives in Italy 62
280. His first campaign against the Romans 62
Battle of Heraclea 62
Remarks of Pyrrhus on the victory 62
He attempts to make peace with Rome 62
Failure of his minister Cineas 63
He marches upon Rome and arrives at Præneste 63
Retires into winter quarters at Tarentum 63
Embassy of Fabricius 63
279. Second campaign of Pyrrhus 64
Battle of Asculum 64
278. Treachery of the physician of Pyrrhus 64
Truce with Rome 64
Pyrrhus crosses over into Sicily 64
276. He returns to Italy 64
274. Defeat of Pyrrhus 65
He returns to Greece 65
272. Subjugation of Tarentum 65
Conquest of Italy 65
273. Embassy of Ptolemy Philadelphus to Rome 65
Three classes of Italian population:
I. Cives Romani, or Roman Citizens 66
1. Of the Thirty-three tribes 66
2. Of the Roman Colonies 66
3. Of the Municipal Towns 66
II. Nomen Latinum, or the Latin name 66
III. Socii, or Allies 66
312. Censorship of Appius Claudius 67
His dangerous innovation as to the Freedmen 67
304. Repealed in the Censorship of Q. Fabius Maximus and
P. Decius Mus 67
312. The Appian Way 67
The Appian Aqueduct 67
Cn. Flavius 67
CHAPTER X.
THE FIRST PUNIC WAR. B.C. 264-241.
814. Foundation of Carthage 68
Its empire 68
Its government 68
Its army 68
Its foreign conquests 68
Conquest of Messana by the Mamertini 69
Hiero attacks the Mamertini 69
They apply for assistance to Rome 69
264. The Consul Ap. Claudius crosses over to Sicily to aid them 70
He defeats the forces of Syracuse and Carthage 70
263. Hiero makes peace with the Romans 70
262. Capture of Agrigentum by the Romans 70
260. The Romans build a fleet 70
Naval victory of the Consul Duilius 71
256. The Romans invade Africa 72
Their naval victory 72
Brilliant success of Regulus in Africa 72
The Carthaginians sue in vain for peace 72
255. Arrival of the Lacedæmonian Xanthippus 72
He restores confidence to the Carthaginians 73
Defeat and capture of Regulus 73
Destruction of the Roman fleet by a storm 73
The Romans build another fleet 73
253. Again destroyed by a storm 73
The war confined to Sicily 73
250. Victory of Metellus at Panormus 73
Embassy of the Carthaginians to Rome 73
Heroic conduct of Regulus 74
250. Siege of Lilybæum 74
249. Defeat of the Consul Claudius at sea 75
Destruction of the Roman fleet a third time 75
247. Appointment of Hamilcar Barca to the Carthaginian command 75
He intrenches himself on Mount Herctè, near Panormus 75
He removes to Mount Eryx 75
241. Victory off the Ægatian Islands 76
Peace with Carthage 76
End of the War 76
CHAPTER XI.
EVENTS BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND PUNIC WARS. B.C. 240-219.
240-238. War of the Mercenaries with Carthage 77
She owes her safety to Hamilcar 77
238. The Romans seize Sardinia and Corsica 77
Hamilcar goes to Spain 78
235. Temple of Janus closed 78
Completion of the Thirty-five Roman Tribes 78
229. ILLYRIAN WAR 78
Conquest of Teuta, queen of the Illyrians 78
223. Honors paid to the Romans in the Grecian cities 78
232. Agrarian law of the Tribune Flaminius 78
225. GALLIC WAR 78
Defeat of the Gauls at Telamon in Etruria 79
224. Conquest of the Boii 79
223. The Romans cross the Po 79
222. Conquest of the Insubres 79
Marcellus wins the Spolia Opima 79
220. The Via Flaminia from Rome to Ariminum 79
218. Foundation of Colonies at Placentia and Cremona 79
219. SECOND ILLYRIAN WAR 79
235. Hamilcar in Spain 80
Oath of Hannibal 80
229. Death of Hamilcar 80
Hasdrubal succeeds him in the command 80
227. Treaty with Rome 80
221. Death of Hasdrubal 80
Hannibal succeeds him in the command 80
219. Siege of Saguntum 80
Its capture 81
War declared against Carthage 81
CHAPTER XII.
THE SECOND PUNIC WAR: FIRST PERIOD, DOWN TO THE BATTLE OF CANNÆ
B.C. 218-216.
218. Preparations of Hannibal 82
His march to the Rhone 83
Arrival of the Consul Scipio at Massilia 83
Hannibal crosses the Rhone 83
Scipio sends his brother to Spain, and returns himself to
Italy 83
Hannibal crosses the Alps 83
Skirmish on the Ticinus 84
Battle of the Trebia 84
Defeat of the Romans 84
217. Hannibal's march through Etruria 86
Battle of the Lake Trasimenus 86
Great defeat of the Romans 86
Q. Fabius Maximus appointed Dictator 87
His policy 87
Rashness of Minucius, the Master of the Horse 87
216. Great preparations of the Romans 88
Battle of Cannæ 88
Great defeat of the Romans 88
Revolt of Southern Italy 88
Hannibal winters at Capua 89
Note on Hannibal's passage across the Alps 90
CHAPTER XIII.
SECOND PUNIC WAR: SECOND PERIOD, FROM THE REVOLT OF CAPUA TO THE
BATTLE OF THE METAURUS. B.C. 215-207.
215. Plan of the War 91
Hannibal's repulse before Nola 92
214. He attempts in vain to surprise Tarentum 92
213. He obtains possession of Tarentum 93
WAR IN SICILY--
216. Death of Hiero 93
Succession of Hieronymus 93
His assassination 93
214. Arrival of Marcellus in Sicily 93
He takes Leontini 93
He lays siege to Syracuse 93
Defended by Archimedes 93
212. Capture of Syracuse 94
WAR IN SPAIN--
212. Capture and death of the two Scipios 95
Siege of Capua 95
211. Hannibal marches upon Rome 95
Is compelled to retreat 96
The Romans recover Capua 96
Punishment of its inhabitants 93
209. The Romans recover Tarentum 96
208. Defeat and death of Marcellus 97
207. Hasdrubal marches into Italy 97
He besieges Placentia 97
March of the Consul Nero to join his colleague Livius
in Umbria 97
Battle of the Metaurus 98
Defeat and death of Hasdrubal 98
CHAPTER XIV.
SECOND PUNIC WAR: THIRD PERIOD, FROM THE BATTLE OF THE METAURUS TO
THE CONCLUSION OF THE WAR. B.C. 206-201.
Character and early life of Scipio 99
210. He is elected Proconsul for Spain 100
He takes New Carthage 100
206. He subdues Spain 101
He crosses over into Africa and visits Syphax 101
He returns to Rome 102
205. His Consulship 102
He prepares to invade Africa 102
His project is opposed by Fabius and others 102
204. He arrives in Africa 103
203. He defeats the Carthaginians and Syphax 103
Masinissa and Sophonisba 103
The Carthaginians recall Hannibal 104
202. Battle of Zama, and defeat of Hannibal 104
Terms of peace 105
201. Conclusion of the war 105
Triumph of Scipio 105
CHAPTER XV.
WARS IN THE EAST: THE MACEDONIAN, SYRIAN, AND GALATIAN WARS.
B.C. 214-188.
State of the East 106
Syria 106
Pontus 106
Galatia 106
Pergamus 106
Egypt 107
State of Greece 107
Macedonia 107
Achæan League 107
Ætolian League 107
Rhodes 107
Sparta 107
214-205. FIRST MACEDONIAN WAR--
Its indecisive character 108
211. Treaty of the Romans with the Ætolian League 108
205. Conclusion of the war 108
Philip's hostile acts 108
He assists the Carthaginians at the battle of Zama 108
His conduct in Greece 108
200-196. SECOND MACEDONIAN WAR--
200. First campaign: the Consul Galba 108
199. Second campaign: the Consul Villius 109
198. Third campaign: the Consul Flamininus 109
197. Battle of Cynoscephalæ 109
196. Declaration of Grecian independence at the Isthmian
Games 109
191-190. SYRIAN WAR--
Antiochus the Third 110
Intrigues of the Ætolians in Greece 110
They Invite Antiochus to Greece 110
Hannibal expelled from Carthage 110
He arrives in Syria 110
His advice to Antiochus 110
192. Antiochus crosses over to Greece 110
191. The Romans defeat him at Thermopylæ 110
He returns to Asia 110
190. The Romans invade Asia 111
Battle of Magnesia 111
Defeat of Antiochus by Scipio Asiaticus 111
Terms of peace 111
Hannibal flies to Prusias, king of Bithynia 111
189. ÆTOLIAN WAR--
Fulvius takes Ambracia 111
Terms of peace 111
189. GALATIAN WAR--
Manlius attacks the Galatians without the authority of
the Senate or the People 112
187. He returns to Rome 113
Effects of the Eastern conquests upon the Roman character 113
CHAPTER XVI.
WARS IN THE WEST: THE GALLIC, LIGURIAN, AND SPANISH WARS.
B.C. 200-175.
200. THE GALLIC WAR--
The Gauls take Placentia and lay siege to Cremona 113
Conquest of the Insubres and Cenomani 114
191. Conquest of the Boil 114
190. Colony founded at Bononia 114
180. Via Æmilia 114
200. THE LIGURIAN WAR--
Continued with intermissions for nearly 80 years 114
Character of the war 114
198. TWO PROVINCES FORMED IN SPAIN 114
195. THE SPANISH WAR--
The Consul M. Porcius Cato sent into Spain 114
His success 115
The Spaniards again take up arms 115
180. The war brought to a conclusion by Tib. Sempronius
Gracchus 115
178. THE ISTRIAN WAR 115
177-175. THE SARDINIAN AND CORSICAN WAR 115
CHAPTER XVII.
THE ROMAN CONSTITUTION AND ARMY.
Review of the history of the Roman Constitution 116
Political equality of the Patricians and Plebeians 116
I. THE MAGISTRATES--
The Lex Annalis 117
1. The Quæstors 117
2. The Ædiles 117
3. The Prætors 117
4. The Consuls 118
5. The Dictators 118
6. The Censors 118
(_a_) The Census 118
(_b_) Control over the morals of the citizens 119
(_c_) Administration of the finances of the
state 119
II. THE SENATE--
Its number 119
Its mode of Election 119
Its power and duties 119
III. THE POPULAR ASSEMBLIES--
1. The Comitia Curiata 120
2. The Comitia Centuriata: change in its
constitution 120
3. The Comitia Tributa 121
The Tribunes 121
The Plebiscita 121
IV. FINANCES--
Tributum 121
Vectigalia 121
V. THE ARMY--
Number of the Legion 122
1. _First Period_--Servius Tullius 122
2. _Second Period_--The Great Latin War, B.C. 340 122
Hastati 122
Principes 122
Triarii 122
Rorarii and Accensi 123
3. _Third Period_--During the wars of the
younger Scipio 123
Two legions assigned to each Consul 123
Division of the legion 123
The Maniples 123
The Cohorts 123
The Tribuni Militum 123
The Horse-soldiers 123
Infantry of the Socii 123
4. _Fourth Period_--From the times of the
Gracchi to the downfall of the Republic 123
Changes introduced by Marius 124
Triumphs 124
CHAPTER XVIII.
INTERNAL HISTORY OF ROME DURING THE MACEDONIAN AND SYRIAN WARS.
CATO AND SCIPIO.
Effect of the Roman conquests in the East 126
Debasement of the Roman character 126
192. Infamous conduct of L. Flamininus 127
193. Worship of Bacchus 127
Gladiatorial exhibitions 127
Rise of the new nobility 127
191. Law against bribery 127
Decay of the peasant proprietors 128
M. Porcius Cato 128
234. His birth 128
His early life 128
204. His Quæstorship 129
198. His Prætorship 129
195. His Consulship 129
Repeal of the Oppian Law 130
191. Cato serves in the battle of Thermopylæ 130
Prosecution of the two Scipios 130
Haughty conduct of Scipio Africanus 130
Condemnation of Scipio Asiaticus 130
Prosecution of Scipio Africanus 130
He leaves Rome 131
188. His death 131
Death of Hannibal 132
184. Censorship of Cato 132
He studies Greek in his old age 132
His character 133
CHAPTER XIX.
THE THIRD MACEDONIAN, ACHÆAN, AND THIRD PUNIC WARS. B.C. 179-146.
179. Death of Philip and accession of Perseus 134
172. Murder of Eumenes, king of Pergamus 135
171-168. THIRD MACEDONIAN WAR--
168. Battle of Pydna 135
Defeat of Perseus by L. Æmilius Paullus 135
167. Æmilius Paullus punishes the Epirotes 135
His triumph 135
His domestic misfortunes 136
Haughty conduct of Rome in the East 136
Embassy to Antiochus Epiphanes 136
Treatment of Eumenes, king of Pergamus 136
Mean conduct of Prusias, king of Bythinia 136
Treatment of the Rhodians 136
167. One thousand Achæans sent to Italy 136
151. The survivors allowed to return to Greece 137
140. A pretender lays claim to the throne of Macedonia 137
He is defeated and taken prisoner 137
147-146. THE ACHÆAN WAR--
146. Corinth taken by L. Mummius 138
Final conquest of Greece 138
Rome jealous of Carthage 139
Advice of Scipio 139
War between Masinissa and Carthage 139
Conduct of the Romans 140
149-146. THIRD PUNIC WAR--
147. Scipio Africanus the younger, Consul 140
His parentage and adoption 140
His character 140
146. He takes Carthage 142
Formation of the Roman province of Africa 142
Later history of Carthage 142
CHAPTER XX.
SPANISH WARS, B.C. 153-133. FIRST SERVILE WAR, B.C. 134-132.
153. War with the Celtiberians 143
152. Peace with the Celtiberians 143
151. War with the Lusitanians 143
150. Treacherous murder of the Lusitanians by Galba 144
Success of Viriathus against the Romans 144
The Celtiberians again take up arms--the Numantine War 144
140. Murder of Viriathus 145
138. Brutus conquers the Gallæci 145
137. The Consul Hostilius Mancinus defeated by the Numantines 145
He signs a peace with the Numantines 145
The Senate refuse to ratify it 145
142. Censorship of Scipio Africanus 145
134. Consul a second time 145
He carries on the war against Numantia 146
133. He takes Numantia 146
Increase of slaves 146
They rise in Sicily 146
They elect Eunus as their leader 146
Eunus assumes the title of king 146
134. He defeats the Roman generals 147
132. Is himself defeated and taken prisoner 147
133. Death of Attalus, last king of Pergamus 147
He bequeaths his kingdom to the Romans 147
131. Aristonicus lays claim to the kingdom of Pergamus 147
130. Is defeated and taken prisoner 147
129. Formation of the province of Asia 147
Extent of the Roman dominions 147
CHAPTER XXI.
THE GRACCHI. B.C. 133-121.
Necessity for reform 148
Early life of Tiberius Gracchus 149
137. Quæstor in Spain 149
133. Elected Tribune 150
Brings forward an Agrarian Law 150
Opposition of the landowners 150
The Tribune Octavius puts his veto upon it 150
Deposition of Octavius 151
The Agrarian Law enseted 151
Three Commissioners elected 151
Distribution of the treasures of Pergamus among the Roman
people 151
Renewed opposition to Tiberius 151
He becomes a candidate for the Tribunate a second time 151
Riots 152
Death of Tiberius 152
132. Return of Scipio to Rome 152
He opposes the popular party 153
129. Death of Scipio 153
126. Expulsion of the Allies from Rome 154
125. M. Fulvius Flaccus proposes to give the franchise to the
Italians 154
Revolt and destruction of Fregellæ 154
126. C. Gracchus goes to Sardinia as Quæstor 154
124. He returns to Rome 157
123. He is elected Tribune 157
His legislation 157
I. Laws for improving the condition of the people 157
1. Extension of the Agrarian Law 157
2. State provision for the poor 157
3. Soldiers equipped at the expense of the Republic 157
II. Laws to diminish the power of the Senate 157
1. Transference of the judicial power from the
Senators to the Equites 157
2. Distribution of the Provinces before the
election of the Consuls 158
122. C. Gracchus Tribune a second time 158
Proposes to confer the citizenship upon the Latins 158
Unpopularity of this proposal 158
The Tribune M. Livius Drusus outbids Gracchus 158
Foundation of a colony at Carthage 159
Decline of the popularity of Gracchus 159
121. His murder 160
Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi 160
CHAPTER XXII.
JUGURTHA AND HIS TIMES. B.C. 118-104.
C. MARIUS 161
134. Serves at the siege of Numantia 161
Attracts the notice of Scipio Africanus 161
119. Tribune of the Plebs 162
115. Prætor 162
149. Death of Masinissa 162
Accession of Micipsa 162
134. Jugurtha serves at the siege of Numantia 162
118. Death of Micipsa 162
Jugurtha assassinates Hiempsal 163
War between Jugurtha and Adherbal 163
117. Roman commissioners divide Numidia between Jugurtha and
Adherbal 163
Fresh war between Jugurtha and Adherbal 163
Siege of Cirta 163
112. Death of Adherbal 163
111. The Romans declare war against Jugurtha 163
Jugurtha bribes the Consul Calpurnius Bestia 163
Indignation at Rome 163
Jugurtha comes to Rome 164
111. He murders Massiva 164
Renewal of the war 164
110. Incapacity of the Consul Sp. Postumius Albinus 164
Defeat of his brother Aulus 164
109. Bill of the Tribune C. Mamilius 164
Many Romans condemned 164
The Consul Q. Cæcilius Metellus lands in Africa 164
Accompanied by Marius as his lieutenant 165
Metellus defeats Jugurtha 165
Ambitious views of Marius 165
108. He quits Africa and arrives in Rome 166
Is elected Consul 166
Attacks the nobility 166
Campaign of Metellus as Proconsul 166
The people give Marius command of the Numidian War 166
107. First Consulship of Marius 166
He arrives in Africa 166
He defeats Jugurtha and Bocchus, king of Mauritania 167
106. Bocchus surrenders Jugurtha to Sulla, the Quæstor of
Marius 167
Early history of Sulla 167
His character 167
104. Triumph of Marius 168
His second Consulship 168
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE CIMBRI AND TEUTONES, B.C. 113-101. SECOND SERVILE WAR IN SICILY,
B.C. 103-101.
Invasion of the Cimbri and Teutones 169
Their probable origin 169
113. Defeat of the Consul Cn. Papirius Carbo 169
109. Defeat of the Consul M. Junius Silanus 169
107. Defeat of the Consul L. Cassius Longinus 169
105. Defeat of the Consul Cn. Mallius Maximus and the
Proconsul Cn. Servilius Cæpio 170
104. Second Consulship of Marius 170
The Cimbri invade Spain 170
103. Third Consulship of Marius 170
102. Fourth Consulship of Marius 170
The Cimbri return from Spain 170
102. Marius takes up his position near Arles 170
The Cimbri enter Italy by the Pass of Tridentum 170
Great defeat of the Teutones by Marius at Aquæ Sextiæ 171
101. Fifth Consulship of Marius 171
Great defeat of the Teutones at Vercellæ by Marius and
the Proconsul Catulus 171
Triumph of Marius and Catulus 171
103-101. Second Servile War in Sicily 171
Tryphon king of the Slaves 172
Succeeded by Athenio as king 172
101. The Consul Aquillius puts an end to the war 172
CHAPTER XXIV.
INTERNAL HISTORY OF ROME, FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE CIMBRI AND TEUTONES
TO THE SOCIAL WAR. B.C. 100-91.
100. Sixth Consulship of Marius 173
His league with the demagogues Saturninus and Glaucia 173
Agrarian Law of Saturninus 174
Banishment of Metellus 174
Saturninus declared a public enemy 174
He is put to death 175
Marius visits the East 175
92. Condemnation of Rutilius Lupus 175
91. Tribunate of M. Livius Drusus 175
His measures 176
Proposes to give the franchise to the Italian allies 176
His assassination 176
CHAPTER XXV.
THE SOCIAL OR MARSIC WAR. B.C. 90-89.
90. The Allies take up arms 178
The war breaks out at Asculum in Picenum 178
Corfinium the new capital of the Italian confederation 178
Q. Pompædius Silo, a Marsian, and C. Papius Mutilus, a
Samnite, the Italian Consuls 178
Defeat and death of the Roman Consul P. Rutilius Lupus 179
Exploits of Marius 179
The Lex Julia 179
89. Success of the Romans 180
The Lex Plautia Papiria 180
The franchise given to the Allies 180
All the Allies lay down their arms except the Samnites
and Lucanians 180
Ten new Tribes formed 180
CHAPTER XXVI.
FIRST CIVIL WAR. B.C. 88-86.
88. Consulship of Sulla 181
Receives the command of the Mithridatic War 181
The Tribune P. Sulpicius Rufus 182
He proposes to distribute the Italians among the
thirty-five Tribes 182
Sulla flies from Rome to Nola 182
The people give Marius the command of the Mithridatic War 182
Sulla marches upon Rome 182
Sulpicius put to death 183
Marius flies from Rome 183
His adventures 183
Is seized at Minturnæ 183
Escapes to Africa 184
Sulla sails to the East 184
87. Riots at Rome 185
The Consul Cinna invites the assistance of Marius 185
Marius and Cinna march upon Rome 185
They enter the city 185
Proscription of their enemies 185
86. Seventh Consulship of Marius 185
His death 185
CHAPTER XXVII.
FIRST MITHRIDATIC WAR. B.C. 88-84.
Kingdom of Pontus 186
Its history 186
120. Accession of Mithridates VI 186
His early life 186
His attainments 187
His conquests 187
His disputes with the Romans 187
88. He invades Cappadocia and Bithynia 187
He invades the Roman province of Asia 188
Massacre of Romans and Italians 188
87. The Grecian states declare in favor of Mithridates 188
Sulla lands in Epirus 188
He lays siege to Athens and the Piræus 188
86. Takes these cities 188
Defeats Archelaus, the general of Mithridates, at Chæronea 188
85. Again defeats Archelaus at Orchomenus 189
84. Peace with Mithridates 189
Sulla attacks Fimbria, the Marian general, in Asia 189
83. He returns to Italy 189
CHAPTER XXVIII.
SECOND CIVIL WAR--SULLA'S DICTATORSHIP, LEGISLATION, AND DEATH.
B.C. 83-78.
84. Consulship of Cinna and Carbo 190
Death of Cinna 190
83. Consulship of Scipio and Norbanus 190
Preparations for war 191
The Italians support the Marian party 191
Sulla marches from Brundusium to Campania 191
Defeats the Consul Norbanus 191
Pompey, Metellus Pius, Crasus, and others, join Sulla 192
83. Consulship of Papirus Carbo and the younger Marius 192
Defeat of Marius, who takes refuge in Præneste 192
Murder of Senators in Rome by order of Marius 192
Great battle before the Colline gate at Rome between
Sulla and the Samnites 192
Defeat of the Samnites 193
Surrender of Præneste 193
Death of Marius 193
End of the war 193
Sulla master of Rome 193
Proscription 193
Dreadful scenes 194
81. Sulla dictator 194
He celebrates his triumph over Mithridates 194
His reforms in the constitution 194
His military colonies 194
73. He resigns the Dictatorship 195
He retires to Puteoli 195
73. His death 195
His funeral 196
LEGES CORNELLÆ--
I. _Laws relating to the Constitution_ 196
Deprive the Comitia Tribute of their legislative
and judicial powers 196
Increase the power of the Senate 197
Increase the number of the Quæstors and Prætors 197
Deprive the Tribunes of all real power 197
II. _Laws relating to the Ecclesiastical Corporations_ 197
Repeal of the Lex Domitia 197
Increase of the number of Pontiffs and Augurs 197
III. _Laws relating to the Administration of Justice_ 197
Quæstiones Perpetuæ 197
Transference of the Judicia from the Equites to
the Senators 198
IV. _Laws relating to the improvement of Public Morals_ 198
CHAPTER XXIX.
FROM THE DEATH OF SULLA TO THE CONSULSHIP OF POMPEY AND CRASSUS.
B.C. 78-70.
78. Consulship of Lepidus and Catulus 199
Lepidus attempts to repeal the laws of Sulla 199
Is opposed by Catulus 199
Is defeated at the Mulvian Bridge 199
Retires to Sardinia 200
His death 200
82. Sertorius in Spain 200
79. Carries on war against Metellus 200
CN. POMPEIUS MAGNUS 200
His birth 200
89. Fights against the Italians under his father 200
83. Joins Sulla 200
82. Is sent into Sicily and Africa 200
80. Enters Rome in triumph 201
78. Supports the aristocracy against Lepidus 201
76. Is sent into Spain to assist Metellus 201
72. Assassination of Sertorius by Perperna 202
71. Pompey finishes the war in Spain 202
73. War of the Gladiators: Spartacus 202
72. Spartacus defeats both Consuls 202
71. Crassus appointed to the command of the war against
the Gladiators 202
Defeats and slays Spartacus 203
Pompey cuts to pieces a body of Gladiators 203
70. Consulship of Pompey and Crassus 203
Pompey restores the Tribunitian power 203
Law of L. Aurelius Cotta, transferring the Judicia to
the Senators, Equites, and Tribuni Ærarii 204
CHAPTER XXX.
THIRD OR GREAT MITHRIDATIC WAR. B.C. 74-61.
83. SECOND MITHRIDATIC WAR--
Murena invades Pontus 205
83. Mithridates defeats Murena 205
End of the Second Mithridatic War 205
Preparations of Mithridates 206
71. THIRD MITHRIDATIC WAR--
Mithridates defeats the Consul Cotta 206
He lays siege to Cyzicus 206
73. The siege is raised by Lucullus 207
Lucullus defeats Mithridates 207
71. Mithridates takes refuge in Armenia 207
70. Lucullus settles the affairs of Asia 207
69. He invades Armenia and defeats Tigranes 208
68. Lucullus defeats Tigranes and Mithridates, and lays
siege to Nisibis 208
67. Mithridates returns to Pontus and defeats the generals
of Lucullus 208
Mutiny in the army of Lucullus 208
The command of the Mithridatic War given to Glabrio 209
WAR WITH THE PIRATES--
Account of the Pirates 209
Command of the war given by the Gabinian Law to Pompey 210
Success of Pompey 210
He finishes the war 210
66. THIRD MITHRIDATIC WAR CONTINUED 210
Command of the Mithridatic War given by the Manilian Law
to Pompey 210
It is opposed by the aristocracy 211
It is supported by Cicero 211
Pompey defeats Mithridates 211
Mithridates retires into the Cimmerian Bosporus 211
Pompey invades Armenia 212
Submission of Tigranes 212
65. Pompey pursues Mithridates 212
He advances as far as the River Phasis 212
He returns to Pontus, which he reduces to the form of
a Roman province 212
64. He marches into Syria, which he makes a Roman province 212
63. He subdues Phoenicia and Palestine 212
He takes Jerusalem 212
Preparations of Mithridates 213
Conspiracy against him 213
His death 213
Pompey settles the affairs of Asia 213
62. He returns to Italy 213
CHAPTER XXXI.
INTERNAL HISTORY, FROM THE CONSULSHIP OF POMPEY AND CRASSUS TO THE
RETURN OF POMPEY FROM THE EAST: THE CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE.
B.C. 69-61.
C. JULIUS CÆSAR--
100. His birth 214
His early history 214
Proscribed by Sulla 215
81. He serves in Asia 215
77. Accuses Dolabella 215
Taken by the Pirates 215
75. Studies in Rhodes 215
68. Quæstor 215
65. Curule Ædile 216
Restores the statues of Marius 216
M. TULLIUS CICERO--
106. His birth 216
80. Serves in the Social War 216
81. His speech for P. Quintius 216
80. His speech for Sex. Roscius of Ameria 216
79. He goes to Athens 216
78. He studies in Rome 216
77. He returns to Rome 216
76. Quæstor in Sicily 217
70. He accuses Verres 217
68. Ædile 217
66. Prætor 217
He speaks on behalf of the Manilian law 217
65. First conspiracy of Catiline 217
History of Catiline 218
63. Consulship of Cicero 219
Second conspiracy of Catiline 219
Catiline quits Rome 220
Cicero seizes the conspirators 220
They are put to death 221
62. Defeat and death of Catiline 221
Popularity of Cicero 221
Remarks upon the punishment of the conspirators 221
CHAPTER XXXII.
FROM POMPEY'S RETURN FROM THE EAST TO CICERO'S BANISHMENT AND RECALL.
B.C. 62-57.
62. Pompey arrives in Italy 223
61. Triumph of Pompey 223
State of parties in Rome 224
60. The Senate refuses to sanction Pompey's measures in Asia 224
63. Prætorship of Cæsar 224
61. Proprætor in Spain 224
60. His victories in Spain 224
He returns to Rome 225
FIRST TRIUMVIRATE 225
59. Consulship of Cæsar 225
Agrarian Law for the division of the Campanian land 225
Ratification of Pompey's acts in Asia 225
Marriage of Julia, Cæsar's daughter, with Pompey 225
Cæsar gains over the Equites 225
Vatinian Law, granting to Cæsar the provinces of
Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum for five years 226
Transalpine Gaul added 226
62. Clodius profanes the rites of the Bona Dea 226
61. His trial and acquittal 227
His enmity against Cicero 227
58. Tribune of the Plebs 227
He accuses Cicero 227
Banishment of Cicero 227
57. Riots at Rome between Clodius and Milo 227
Return of Cicero from banishment 228
CHAPTER XXXIII.
CÆSAR'S CAMPAIGNS IN GAUL. B.C. 58-51.
58. _First Campaign_ 229
He defeats the Helvetii 229
He defeats Ariovistus and the Germans 230
57. _Second Campaign_ 230
The Belgic War 230
Great victory over the Nervii 230
55. _Third Campaign_ 230
He defeats the Veneti 231
He defeats the Morini and Menapii 231
55. _Fourth Campaign_ 231
Cæsar crosses the Rhine 231
His first invasion of Britain 231
54. _Fifth Campaign_ 232
His second invasion of Britain 232
Revolt of the Eburones 232
They destroy the detachment of T. Titurius Sabinus
and L. Aurunculeius Cotta 232
They attack the camp of Q. Cicero 232
53. _Sixth Campaign_ 232
Cæsar puts down the revolt in Gaul 233
He crosses the Rhine a second time 233
52. _Seventh Campaign_ 233
Revolt of all Gaul 233
Headed by Vercingetorix 233
Cæsar takes Alesia and Vercingetorix 234
51. _Eighth Campaign_ 234
Pacification of Gaul 234
CHAPTER XXXIV.
INTERNAL HISTORY FROM THE RETURN OF CICERO FROM BANISHMENT TO THE
COMMENCEMENT OF THE CIVIL WAR: EXPEDITION AND DEATH OF CRASSUS.
B.C. 57-50.
57. Cicero supports the Triumvirs 235
56. Pompey and Crassus meet Cæsar at Luca 236
Fresh arrangements for the continuance of their power 236
55. Second Consulship of Pompey and Crassus 236
The Trebonian Law, giving the two Spains to Pompey and
Syria to Crassus, and prolonging Pompey's government
for five years more 236
Dedication of Pompey's theatre 236
54. Crassus crosses the Euphrates 237
He winters in Syria 237
53. He again crosses the Euphrates 237
Is defeated and slain near Carrhæ 237
54. Death of Julia 237
53. Riots in Rome 238
52. Murder of Clodius by Milo 238
Pompey sole Consul 238
Trial and condemnation of Milo 238
51. Rupture between Cæsar and Pompey 239
Pompey joins the aristocratical party 239
49. Proposition that Cæsar should lay down his command 240
The Senate invest the Consuls with dictatorial power 240
The Tribunes Antony and Cassius fly to Cæsar's camp 240
Commencement of the Civil War 240
CHAPTER XXXV.
THE BEGINNING OF THE SECOND CIVIL WAR TO CÆSAR'S DEATH, B.C. 49-44.
49. Cæsar at Ravenna 241
He crosses the Rubicon 241
His triumphal progress through Italy 241
Pompey and his party fly from Rome to Brundusium 242
They are pursued by Cæsar 242
They embark for Greece 242
Cæsar goes to Rome 242
He sets out for Spain 242
He conquers L. Africanus and M. Petreius, Pompey's
lieutenants in Spain 243
Is appointed Dictator, which office he holds only
eleven days 243
He takes Massilia 243
48. He sails from Brundusium to Greece 243
He besieges Pompey at Dyrrhachium 244
Is compelled to retire 241
Battle of Pharsalia, and defeat of Pompey 244
Pompey flies to Egypt 245
His death 245
Cæsar is appointed Dictator a second time 245
The Alexandrine War 245
47. Conclusion of the Alexandrine War 246
Cæsar marches into Pontus and defeats Pharnaces 246
He sails to Africa 246
46. Battle of Thapsus, and defeat of the Pompeians 246
Siege of Utica 247
Death of Cato 247
Cæsar returns to Rome 247
His triumph 247
His reformation of the Calendar 247
Insurrection in Spain 248
Cæsar sets out for Spain 248
45. Battle of Munda, and defeat of the Pompeians 248
Cæsar returns to Rome 248
He is undisputed master of the Roman world 248
Honors conferred upon him 248
Use he made of his power 248
His vast projects 249
44. Conspiracy against Cæsar's life 249
Brutus and Cassius 249
Assassination of Cæsar on the Ides of March 250
Reflections on his death 250
His character and genius 250
CHAPTER XXXVI.
FROM THE DEATH OF CÆSAR TO THE BATTLE OF PHILIPPI. B.C. 44-42.
44. Proceedings of the conspirators 252
Antony and Lepidus 253
Pretended reconciliation 253
Cæsar's will 253
His funeral 253
Popular indignation against the conspirators 253
They fly from Home 253
OCTAVIUS, Cæsar's nephew, at Illyricum 253
Is made Cæsar's heir 253
He proceeds to Rome 254
His opposition to Antony 254
He courts the Senate 254
Antony proceeds to Cisalpine Gaul, and lays siege to
Mutina 254
43. Cicero's second Philippic 254
Octavian and the Consuls Hirtius and Pansa march
against Antony 255
They attack Antony 255
Death of Hirtius and Pansa 255
Antony is defeated, and crosses the Alps 255
Octavian marches to Rome 255
Is declared Consul 255
Breaks with the Senate, and outlaws the murderers
of Cæsar 255
Marches against Antony and Lepidus 255
Is reconciled with them 256
SECOND TRIUMVIRATE 256
The Triumvirs enter Rome 256
Dreadful Scenes 256
Death of Cicero 257
Sextus Pompey master of Sicily and the Mediterranean 257
He defeats the fleet of the Triumvirs 257
Brutus obtains possession of Macedonia 258
Cassius, of Syria 258
Their proceedings in the East 258
They plunder Asia Minor 258
42. They return to Europe to meet the Triumvirs 258
Battle of Philippi 261
Death of Brutus and Cassius 261
CHAPTER XXXVII.
FROM THE BATTLE OF PHILIPPI TO THE BATTLE OF ACTIUM. B.C. 41-30.
41. Antony remains in the East 262
He meets Cleopatra at Tarsus 262
He accompanies her to Alexandria 263
Octavian returns to Rome 263
Confusion in Italy 263
Confiscation of lands 263
Fulvia, the wife of Antony, and L. Antonius, his
brother, rise against Antony 263
They take refuge in Perusia 263
40. Capture of Perusia, and end of the war 263
The Parthians invade Syria 264
Antony joins Sextus Pompey and lays siege to Brundusium 264
Reconciliation between Antony and Octavian 264
Fresh division of the Roman world 264
Antony marries Octavia 264
39. Peace with Sextus Pompey at Misenum 264
Ventidius, the Legate of Antony, defeats the Parthians 265
38. He again defeats the Parthians 265
Death of Pacorus 265
War with Sextus Pompey 265
He destroys the fleet of Octavian 265
37. Antony comes to Tarentum 266
Triumvirate renewed for another period of five years 266
36. Renewal of the war with Sextus Pompey 266
His defeat 266
He flies to Asia 266
Lepidus deprived of his Triumvirate 266
35. Death of Pompey 266
30. Antony joins Cleopatra 267
His infatuation 267
He invades Parthia 267
His disastrous retreat 267
34. He invades Armenia 267
Octavian subdues the Dalmatians 267
His prudent conduct 267
33. Rupture between Octavian and Antony 267
32. War against Cleopatra 268
31. Battle of Actium 268
Defeat of Antony 268
He flies to Alexandria 268
30. Death of Antony and Cleopatra 269
Egypt made a Roman province 269
End of the Republic 269
29. Triumph of Octavian 269
27. He receives the title of Augustus 270
His policy 270
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF ROMAN LITERATURE FROM THE EARLIEST
TIMES TO THE DEATH OF AUGUSTUS.
Poetry--
Saturnian Metre 272
Commencement of Roman Literature 272
_The Drama_--
240. M. Livius Andronicus 272
235. Cn. Nævius 273
239-169. Q. Ennius 273
254-184. T. Maccius Plautus 273
195-159. P. Terentius Afer 274
160. Q. Cæcilius 274
100. L. Afranius 274
220-180. M. Pacuvius 275
170-90. L. Accius 275
_Comoediæ Togatæ_ 274
_Comoediæ Palliatæ_ 274
_Comoediæ Prætextatæ_ 275
_Atellanæ Fabulæ_ 275
_Mimes_ 275
50. Dec. Laberius 275
P. Syrus 275
_Fescennine Songs_ 276
_Satire_ 276
148-103. C. Lucilius 276
95-51. T. Lucretius Carus 276
87-47. Valerius Catullus 276
70-19. P. Virgilius Maro 277
65-8. Q. Horatius Flaccus 278
30. Albius Tibullus 280
Aurelius Propertius 280
B.C. A.D.
43-18. P. Ovidius Naso 281
B.C. PROSE WRITERS--
_The Annalists_ 282
210. Q. Fabius Pictor 282
L. Cincius Alimentus 282
234-140. M. Porcius Cato 282
106-43. M. Tullius Cicero 282
117-28. M. Terentius Varro 283
100-41. C. Julius Cæsar 283
86-34. C. Sallustius Crispus 284
Cornelius Nepos 284
B.C. A.D.
53-17. Titus Livius 284
CHAPTER XXXIX.
THE REIGN OF AUGUSTUS CÆSAR. B.C. 31-A.D. 14.
Conduct of Augustus 286
His friends 286
Police of Rome 286
Condition of the empire 287
Italy, Gaul, and Spain 287
Africa 288
Egypt and Greece 288
Boundaries of the empire 289
The Prætorian guard 290
Army and navy 290
Augustus in Spain 291
His family 291
His wife, Livia 292
Marcellus, Julia, Tiberius 292
Cains and Lucius Cæsar 293
Birth of the Savior 293
Death of Augustus 294
His character and personal appearance 294
CHAPTER XL.
FROM THE ACCESSION OF TIBERIUS, A.D. 14-37, TO DOMITIAN, A.D. 96.
Accession of Tiberius 295
Germanicus 296
His death 296
The Lex Majestas 297
The Delatores 297
Sejanus 297
Death of Sejanus 298
Death of Tiberius 299
Caligula 299
Claudius 300
His conduct 300
The Emperor Nero 301
His crimes 301
Vitellius 302
Vespasian 302
Fall of Jerusalem 303
Reign of Titus 304
The Colosseum 304
Reign of Domitian 305
He persecutes the Christians 305
CHAPTER XLI.
PROSPERITY OF THE EMPIRE, A.D. 96.--COMMODUS, A.D. 180.--REIGN OF
M. COCCEIUS NERVA, A.D. 96-98.
The Emperor Nerva 306
Prosperity of the empire 306
Trajan 307
His wise administration 307
The Dacian war 308
Conquests in the East 308
Trajan's public works 309
Reign of Hadrian 309
His travels 310
His death 312
Antoninus Pius 313
His excellent character 313
Marcus Aurelius 314
His conduct 315
He defeats the Barbarians 316
The depraved Commodus 316
His vices 316
Is assassinated 316
CHAPTER XLII.
FROM PERTINAX TO DIOCLETIAN. A.D. 192-284.
Pertinax made emperor 319
Is assassinated 319
Didius Julianus 319
Severus 320
His severe rule 320
Geta and Caracalla 321
Papinian executed 321
Cruelties of Caracalla 322
Elagabalus 322
Alexander Severus 322
Maximin 323
The Goths invade the empire 324
Valerian 325
Thirty tyrants 325
Zenobia 325
Aurelian 325
The Emperor Tacitus 326
Frugal habits of Carus 326
CHAPTER XLIII.
FROM DIOCLETIAN, A.D. 284, TO CONSTANTINE'S DEATH, A.D. 337.
Diocletian 327
His colleagues 328
Persecution of the Christians 329
Abdication of Diocletian 329
Constantine the Great 330
His administration 331
The Council of Nice 332
Constantinople 332
Its magnificence 333
The præfectures 334
Christianity the national religion 334
Taxes 334
Family of Constantine 335
He is baptized and dies 335
CHAPTER XLIV.
FROM THE DEATH OF CONSTANTINE, A.D. 337, TO ROMULUS AUGUSTULUS,
A.D. 476.
The three sons of Constantine 336
Constantius jealous of Julian 337
Julian becomes emperor 337
Attempts to restore Paganism 337
Valentinian 338
The Huns appear in Europe 338
The Goths cross the Danube 338
Theodosius the Great 339
Stilicho 339
Alaric enters Italy 340
Luxury of the Romans 340
Sack of Rome 341
Arcadius and Honorius 341
The Vandals 342
The Huns 342
Romulus Augustulus 343
Extinction of the Empire of the West 343
CHAPTER XLV.
ROMAN LITERATURE UNDER THE EMPIRE. A.D. 14-476.
Decline of letters 344
Epic poetry--Lucan 344
Silius Italicus 344
Claudian 345
Persius, Juvenal 345
Martial 346
History--Velleius Paterculus 346
Valerius Maximus 346
Tacitus 347
Quintus Curtius 347
Rhetoric--Seneca the elder 348
Quintilian 348
Appuleius 349
Philosophy--Seneca 349
The elder Pliny 349
His nephew 350
Grammarians--Macrobius 350
Marcellinus 350
Legal writers--Gains 350
Science and art 351
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
The Roman Forum FRONTISPIECE
Puteal on a Coin of the Scribonia Gens TITLE-PAGE
Map of Italy
Temple of Janus vi
Julius Cæsar vii
Virgil xxx
Tivoli, the ancient Tibur 1
Gate of Arpinum 6
The Alban Hills 7
Plan of the City of Romulus 11
Salii carrying the Ancilia 13
Arch of Volaterræ 15
Pons Sublicius, restored by Canina 16
Cloaca Maxima 17
Map of Rome, showing the Servian Wall and the Seven Hills 21
Coin representing the children of Brutus led to death by Lictors 23
The Campagna of Rome 29
The Environs of Rome 33
Tarpeian Rock 36
View in the neighborhood of Veii 41
Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus restored 45
Ruins at Capua 52
Coin of Pyrrhus 60
Temple of Vesta 67
Mount Ercta in Sicily 68
Columna Rostrata 71
Plan of Mount Ercta 76
Coin of Carthage 77
Coin of Hiero 81
Lake Trasimenus 82
Map of the coasts of the Mediterranean, illustrating the history of
the Punic Wars 85
Route of Hannibal 89
Plain of Cannæ 91
Hannibal 99
The Capitoline Wolf 105
Coin of Antiochus the Great 106
Roman Soldiers 113
Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus 115
Lictors 116
A Roman general addressing the soldiers 125
Scipio Africanus 126
Island in the Tiber, with the Fabrician and Cestian Bridges 134
Plan of Carthage 141
Personification of the River Tiber 143
Stairs of the modern Capitol 148
The Forum in its present state 155
Temple of Saturn at Rome 160
A Roman Trophy 161
Soldiers blowing Tubæ and Cornua 168
Caius Marius 169
Fasces 172
Tomb of Metella Cæcilia 173
Beneventum in Samnium 177
Coin of the Eight Italian Nations taking the Oath of Federation 178
Terracina 181
Mount Argæus in Cappadocia 186
Coin of Nicomedes III., king of Bithynia 189
Brundusium 190
Coin of Sulla 198
Cn. Pompeius Magnus 199
Temple of Pudicitia Patricia at Rome 204
Coin of Mithridates 205
Coin of Tigranes 207
Cicero 214
Coin of Pompey 222
Julius Cæsar 223
Temple of Hercules at Rome 228
Temple of Nemausus (_Nimes_), now called the _Maison Carrée_ 229
Ruins on the Esquiline 235
Marcus Brutus 241
Coin of Julius Cæsar 250
Statue of a Roman, representing the Toga 251
M. Antonius 252
Philippi 259
Coin of Antony and Cleopatra 261
M. Agrippa 262
Plan of Actium 268
Map of the Provinces of the Roman Empire 271
Horace 272
Mæcenas 285
Aureus of Augustus Cæsar 288
Gold Coin of Agrippa 292
The Carpentum or Chariot 293
Medal of Augustus 294
Medal of Nero 295
Roman Galley 299
Copper Coin of Antoninus Pius 306
Trajan's Pillar 308
Hadrian's Mausoleum restored 311
Reverse of a Brass Coin of Antoninus Pius 313
Commodus 317
Pertinax 318
Septimius Severus 319
Caracalla 321
Alexander Severus 323
Court-yard of Diocletian's Palace at Spolatro 327
Constantino and Fausta 330
Arch of Constantine 331
Map of the Propontis, Hellespont, and Bosphorus 333
Map of Constantinople 333
Julian the Apostate 336
Juvenal 351
Coin of Augustus 361
[Illustration: Virgil.]
HISTORY OF ROME.
[Illustration: Tivoli, the ancient Tibur.]
CHAPTER I.
GEOGRAPHY OF ITALY--EARLY INHABITANTS.
Italy is the central one of the three great peninsulas which project
from the south of Europe into the Mediterranean Sea. It is bounded on
the north by the chain of the Alps, which form a natural barrier, and it
is surrounded on other sides by the sea. Its shores are washed on the
west by the "Mare Inferum," or the Lower Sea, and on the east by the
Adriatic, called by the Romans the "Mare Superum," or the Upper Sea.
It may be divided into two parts, the northern consisting of the great
plain drained by the River Padus, or _Po_, and its tributaries, and the
southern being a long tongue of land, with the Apennines as a back-bone
running down its whole extent from north to south. The extreme length
of the peninsula from the Alps to the Straits of Messina is 700 miles.
The breadth of northern Italy is 350 miles, while that of the southern
portion is on an average not more than 100 miles. But, till the time of
the Empire, the Romans never included the plain of the Po in Italy. To
this country they gave the general name of GALLIA CISALPINA, or Gaul on
this (the Roman) side of the Alps, in consequence of its being inhabited
by Gauls. The western-most portion of the plain was peopled by Ligurian
tribes, and was therefore called LIGURIA, while its eastern extremity
formed the Roman province of VENETIA.
The name ITALIA was originally applied to a very small tract of country.
It was at first confined to the southern portion of Calabria, and was
gradually extended northward, till about the time of the Punic wars it
indicated the whole peninsula south of the Rivers Rubicon and Macra, the
former separating Cisalpine Gaul and Umbria, the latter Liguria and
Etruria. Italy, properly so called, is a very mountainous country, being
filled up more or less by the broad mass of the Apennines, the offshoots
or lateral branches of which, in some parts, descend quite to the sea,
but in others leave a considerable space of level or low country.
Excluding the plain of the Po, it was divided into the following
districts:[1]
1. ETRURIA, which extended along the coast of the Lower Sea from the
River Macra on the north to the Tiber on the south. Inland, the Tiber
also formed its eastern boundary, dividing it first from Umbria,
afterward from the Sabines, and, lastly, from Latium. Its inhabitants
were called Etrusci, or Tusci, the latter form being still preserved in
the name of _Tuscany_. Besides the Tiber it possesses only one other
river of any importance, the Arnus, or Arno, upon which the city of
_Florence_ now stands. Of its lakes the most considerable is the Lacus
Trasimenus, about thirty-six miles in circumference, celebrated for the
great victory which Hannibal there gained over the Romans.
2. UMBRIA, situated to the east of Etruria, and extending from the
valley of the Tiber to the shores of the Adriatic. It was separated on
the north from Gallia Cisalpina by the Rubicon, and on the south by the
Æsis from Picenum, and by the Nar from the Sabines.
3. PICENUM extended along the Adriatic from the mouth of the Æsis to
that of the Matrinus and inland as far as the central ridge of the
Apennines. It was bounded on the north by Umbria, on the south by the
Vestini, and on the west by Umbria and the Sabini. Its inhabitants, the
Picentes, were a Sabine race, as is mentioned below.
4. The SABINI inhabited the rugged mountain-country in the central chain
of the Apennines, lying between Etruria, Umbria, Picenum, Latium, and
the country of the Marsi and Vestini. They were one of the most ancient
races of Italy, and the progenitors of the far more numerous tribes
which, under the names of Picentes, Peligni, and Samnites, spread
themselves to the east and south. Modern writers have given the general
name of _Sabellians_ to all these tribes. The Sabines, like most other
mountaineers, were brave, hardy, and frugal; and even the Romans looked
up to them with admiration on account of their proverbial honesty and
temperance.
5. The MARSI, PELIGNI, VESTINI, and MARRUCINI inhabited the valleys of
the central Apennines, and were closely connected, being probably all of
Sabine origin. The MARSI dwelt inland around the basin of the Lake
Fucinus, which is about thirty miles in circumference, and the only
one of any extent in the central Apennines. The PELIGNI also occupied an
inland district east of the MARSI. The VESTINI dwelt east of the
Sabines, and possessed on the coast of the Adriatic a narrow space
between the mouth of the Matrinus and that of the Aternus, a distance of
about six miles. The MARRUCINI inhabited a narrow strip of country on
the Adriatic, east of the Peligni, and were bounded on the north by the
Vestini and on the south by the Frentani.
6. The FRENTANI dwelt upon the coast of the Adriatic from the frontiers
of the Marrucini to those of Apulia. They were bounded on the west by
the Samnites, from whom they were originally descended, but they appear
in Roman history as an independent people.
7. LATIUM was used in two senses. It originally signified only the land
of the Latini, and was a country of small extent, bounded by the Tiber
on the north, by the Apennines on the east, by the sea on the west, and
by the Alban Hills on the south. But after the conquest of the
Volscians, Hernici, Æquians, and other tribes, originally independent,
the name of Latium was extended to all the country which the latter had
previously occupied. It was thus applied to the whole region from the
borders of Etruria to those of Campania, or from the Tiber to the Liris.
The original abode of the Latins is of volcanic origin. The Alban
Mountains are a great volcanic mass, and several of the craters have
been filled with water, forming lakes, of which the Alban Lake is one of
the most remarkable. The plain in which Rome stands, now called the
_Campagna_, is not an unbroken level, but a broad undulating tract,
intersected by numerous streams, which have cut themselves deep
channels through the soft volcanic tufa of which the soil is composed.
The climate of Latium was not healthy even in ancient times. The malaria
of the Campagna renders Rome itself unhealthy in the summer and autumn;
and the Pontine Marshes, which extend along the coast in the south of
Latium for a distance of thirty miles, are still more pestilential.
8. CAMPANIA extended along the coast from the Liris, which separated it
from Latium, to the Silarus, which formed the boundary of Lucania. It is
the fairest portion of Italy. The greater part of it is an unbroken
plain, celebrated in ancient as well as in modern times for its
extraordinary beauty and fertility. The _Bay of Naples_--formerly called
Sinus Cumanus and Puteolanus, from the neighboring cities of Cumæ and
Puteoli--is one of the most lovely spots in the world; and the softness
of its climate, as well as the beauty of its scenery, attracted the
Roman nobles, who had numerous villas along its coasts.
9. SAMNIUM was an inland district, bounded on the north by the Marsi and
Peligni, on the east by the Frentani and Apulia, on the west by Latium
and Campania, and on the south by Lucania. It is a mountainous country,
being entirely filled with the masses of the Apennines. Its inhabitants,
the Samnites, were of Sabine origin, as has been already mentioned, and
they settled in the country at a comparatively late period. They were
one of the most warlike races in Italy, and carried on a long and fierce
struggle with the Romans.
10. APULIA extended along the coast of the Adriatic from the Frentani on
the north to Calabria on the south, and was bounded on the west by the
Apennines, which separated it from Samnium and Lucania. It consists
almost entirely of a great plain, sloping down from the Apennines to the
sea.
11. CALABRIA formed the heel of Italy, lying south of Apulia, and
surrounded on every other side by the sea. It contains no mountains, and
only hills of moderate elevation, the Apennines running to the southwest
through Lucania and the Bruttii.
12. LUCANIA was bounded on the north by Campania and Samnium, on the
east by Apulia, and on the south by the Bruttii. The Apennines run
through the province in its whole extent. The Lucanians were a branch of
the Samnite nation, which separated from the main body of that people,
and pressed on still farther to the south.
13. The BRUTTII[2] inhabited the southern extremity of Italy, lying
south of Lucania; and, like Lucania, their country is traversed
throughout by the chain of the Apennines.
Italy has been in all ages renowned for its beauty and fertility. The
lofty ranges of the Apennines, and the seas which bathe its shores on
both sides, contribute at once to temper and vary its climate, so as to
adapt it for the productions alike of the temperate and the warmest
parts of Europe. In the plains on either side of the Apennines corn is
produced in abundance; olives flourish on the southern slopes of the
mountains; and the vine is cultivated in every part of the peninsula,
the vineyards of northern Campania being the most celebrated in
antiquity.
The early inhabitants of Italy may be divided into three great
classes--the _Italians_ proper, the _Iapygians_, and the _Etruscans_,
who are clearly distinguished from each other by their respective
languages.
(1.) The _Italians_ proper inhabited the centre of the peninsula. They
were divided into two branches, the _Latins_ and the _Umbro-Sabellians_,
including the Umbrians, Sabines, Samnites, and their numerous colonies.
The dialects of the Latins and Umbro-Sabellians, though marked by
striking differences, still show clearest evidence of a common origin,
and both are closely related to the Greek. It is evident that at some
remote period a race migrated from the East, embracing the ancestors of
both the Greeks and Italians--that from it the Italians branched
off--and that they again were divided into the Latins on the west and
the Umbrians and Sabellians on the east.
(2.) The _Iapygians_ dwelt in Calabria, in the extreme southeast corner
of Italy. Inscriptions in a peculiar language have here been discovered,
clearly showing that the inhabitants belonged to a different race from
those whom we have designated as the Italians. They were doubtless the
oldest inhabitants of Italy, who were driven toward the extremity of the
peninsula as the Latins and Sabellians pressed farther to the south.
(3.) The _Etruscans_, or, as they called themselves, _Rasena_, form a
striking contrast to the Latins and Sabellians as well as to the Greeks.
Their language is radically different from the other languages of Italy;
and their manners and customs clearly prove them to be a people
originally quite distinct from the Greek and Italian races. Their
religion was of a gloomy character, delighting in mysteries and in wild
and horrible rites. Their origin is unknown. Most ancient writers relate
that the Etruscans were Lydians who had migrated by sea from Asia to
Italy; but this is very improbable, and it is now more generally
believed that the Etruscans descended into Italy from, the Rhætian Alps.
It is expressly stated by ancient writers that the Rhætians were
Etruscans, and that they spoke the same language; while their name is
perhaps the same as that of Rasena, the native name of the Etruscans. In
more ancient times, before the Roman dominion, the Etruscans inhabited
not only the country called Etruria, but also the great plain of the Po,
as far as the foot of the Alps. Here they maintained their ground till
they were expelled or subdued by the invading Gauls. The Etruscans, both
in the north of Italy and to the south of the Apennines, consisted of a
confederacy of twelve cities, each of which was independent, possessing
the power of even making war and peace on its own account. In Etruria
proper Volsinii was regarded as the metropolis.
Besides these three races, two foreign races also settled in the
peninsula in historical times. These are the _Greeks_ and the Gauls.
(4.) The _Greeks_ planted so many colonies upon the coasts of southern
Italy that they gave to that district the name of Magna Græcia. The most
ancient, and, at the same time, the most northerly Greek city in Italy,
was Cumæ in Campania. Most of the other Greek colonies were situated
farther to the south, where many of them attained to great power and
opulence. Of these, some of the most distinguished were Tarentum,
Sybaris, Croton, and Metapontum.
(5.) The _Gauls_, as we have already said, occupied the greater part of
northern Italy, and were so numerous and important as to give to the
whole basin of the Po the name of Gallia Cisalpina. They were of the
same race with the Gauls who inhabited the country beyond the Alps, and
their migration and settlement in Italy were referred by the Roman
historian to the time of the Tarquins.
[Illustration: Gate of Arpinum.]
[Footnote 1: The description which follows in the text must be compared
with the map of Italy given in this work.]
[Footnote 2: The name "Bruttium," given to the country by modern writers
on ancient geography, is not found in any classical author.]
[Illustration: The Alban Hills.]
CHAPTER II.
THE FIRST FOUR KINGS OF ROME. B.C. 753-616.
The history of Rome is that of a city which originally had only a few
miles of territory, and gradually extended its dominions at first over
Italy and then over the civilized world. The city lay in the central
part of the peninsula, on the left bank of the Tiber, and about fifteen
miles from its mouth. Its situation was upon the borders of three of the
most powerful races in Italy, the Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans. Though
originally a Latin town, it received at an early period a considerable
Sabine population, which left a permanent impression upon the sacred
rites and religious institutions of the people. The Etruscans exercised
less influence upon Rome, though it appears nearly certain that a part
of its population was of Etruscan origin, and that the two Tarquins
represent the establishment of an Etruscan dynasty at Rome. The
population of the city may therefore be regarded as one of mixed origin,
consisting of the three elements of Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans, but
the last in much smaller proportion than the other two. That the Latin
element predominated over the Sabine is also evident from the fact that
the language of the Romans was a Latin and not a Sabellian dialect.
The early history of Rome is given in an unbroken narrative by the Roman
writers, and was received by the Romans themselves as a faithful record
of facts. But it can no longer be regarded in that light. Not only is it
full of marvelous tales and poetical embellishments, of contradictions
and impossibilities, but it wants the very foundation upon which all
history must be based. The reader, therefore, must not receive the
history of the first four centuries of the city as a statement of
undoubted facts, though it has unquestionably preserved many
circumstances which did actually occur. It is not until we come to the
war with Pyrrhus that we can place full reliance upon the narrative as a
trustworthy statement of facts. With this caution we now proceed to
relate the celebrated legends of the foundation and early history of
Home.
* * * * *
Æneas, son of Anchises and Venus, fled after the fall of Troy to seek a
new home in a foreign land. He carried with him his son Ascanius, the
Penates or household gods, and the Palladium of Troy.[3] Upon reaching
the coast of Latium he was kindly received by Latinus, the king of the
country, who gave him his daughter Lavinia in marriage. Æneas now built
a city, which he named Lavinium, in honor of his wife. But Lavinia had
been previously promised to Turnus, the leader of the Rutulians. This
youthful chief, enraged at the insult, attacked the strangers. He was
slain, however, by the hands of Æneas; but in a new war which broke out
three years afterward the Trojan hero disappeared amid the waters of the
River Numicius, and was henceforward worshiped under the name of Jupiter
Indiges, or "god of the country."
Ascanius, who was also called Iulus, removed from Lavinium thirty years
after its foundation, and built Alba Longa, or the "Long White City," on
a ridge of the Alban Mount about fifteen miles southeast of Rome. It
became the most powerful city in Latium, and the head of a confederacy
of Latin cities. Twelve kings of the family of Æneas succeeded Ascanius.
The last of these, named Procas, left two sons, Numitor and Amulius.
Amulius, the younger, seized the kingdom; and Numitor, who was of a
peaceful disposition, made no resistance to his brother. Amulius,
fearing lest the children of Numitor might not submit so quietly to his
usurpation, caused his only son to be murdered, and made his daughter,
Rhea Silvia, one of the vestal virgins, who were compelled to live and
die unmarried. But the maiden became, by the god Mars, the mother of
twins. She was, in consequence, put to death, because she had broken
her vow, and her babes were doomed to be drowned in the river. The Tiber
had overflowed its banks far and wide; and the cradle in which the babes
were placed was stranded at the foot of the Palatine, and overturned on
the root of a wild fig-tree. A she-wolf, which had come to drink of the
stream, carried them into her den hard by, and suckled them; and when
they wanted other food, the woodpecker, a bird sacred to Mars, brought
it to them. At length, this marvelous spectacle was seen by Faustulus,
the king's shepherd, who took the children home to his wife, Acca
Larentia. They were called Romulus and Remus, and grew up along with the
sons of their foster-parents on the Palatine Hill.
A quarrel arose between them and the herdsmen of Numitor, who stalled
their cattle on the neighboring hill of the Aventine. Remus was taken by
a stratagem, and carried off to Numitor. His age and noble bearing made
Numitor think of his grandsons; and his suspicions were confirmed by the
tale of the marvelous nurture of the twin brothers. Soon afterward
Romulus hastened with his foster-father to Numitor; suspicion was
changed into certainty, and the old man recognized them as his
grandsons. They now resolved to avenge the wrongs which their family had
suffered. With the help of their faithful comrades they slew Amulius,
and placed Numitor on the throne.
Romulus and Remus loved their old abode, and therefore left Alba to
found a city on the banks of the Tiber. But a dispute arose between the
brothers where the city should be built, and after whose name it should
be called. Romulus wished to build it on the Palatine, Remus on the
Aventine. It was agreed that the question should be decided by the gods;
and each took his station on the top of his chosen hill, awaiting the
pleasure of the gods by some striking sign. The night passed away, and
as the day was dawning Remus saw six vultures; but at sunrise, when
these tidings were brought to Romulus, twelve vultures flew by him. Each
claimed the augury in his own favor; but the shepherds decided for
Romulus, and Remus was therefore obliged to yield.
1. REIGN OF ROMULUS, B.C. 753-716.--Romulus now proceeded to mark out
the boundaries of his city. He yoked a bullock and a heifer to a plow,
and drew a deep furrow round the Palatine. This formed the sacred limits
of the city, and was called the _Pomoerium_. To the original city on
the Palatine was given the name of _Roma Quadrata_, or Square Rome, to
distinguish it from the one which subsequently extended over the seven
hills.
Rome is said to have been founded on the 21st of April, 753 years before
the Christian era.
On the line of the Pomoerium Romulus began to raise a wall. One day
Remus leapt over it in scorn; whereupon Romulus slew him, exclaiming,
"So die whosoever hereafter shall leap over my walls." Romulus now found
his people too few in numbers. Accordingly, lie set apart on the
Capitoline Hill an asylum, or a sanctuary, in which homicides and
runaway slaves might take refuge. The city thus became filled with men,
but they wanted women, and the inhabitants of the neighboring cities
refused to give their daughters to such an outcast race. Romulus
accordingly resolved to obtain by force what he could not obtain by
treaty. He proclaimed that games were to be celebrated in honor of the
god Consus, and invited his neighbors, the Latins and Sabines, to the
festival. Suspecting no treachery, they came in numbers with their wives
and children, but the Roman youths rushed upon their guests and carried
off the virgins. The parents returned home and prepared for vengeance.
The inhabitants of three of the Latin towns, Cænina, Antemnæ and
Crustumerium, took up arms one after the other, but were defeated by the
Romans. Romulus slew with his own hand Acron, king of Cænina, and
dedicated his arms and armor, as _spolia opima_, to Jupiter. These were
offered when the commander of one army slew with his own hand the
commander of another, and were only gained twice afterward in Roman
history. At last Titus Tatius, the king of Cures, the most powerful of
the Sabine states, marched against Rome. His forces were so great that
Romulus, unable to resist him in the field, was obliged to retire into
the city. Besides the city on the Palatine, Romulus had also fortified
the top of the Capitoline Hill, which he intrusted to the care of
Tarpeius. But his daughter Tarpeia, dazzled by the golden bracelets of
the Sabines, promised to betray the hill to them "if they would give her
what they wore on their left arms." Her offer was accepted. In the
night-time she opened a gate and let in the enemy, but when she claimed
her reward they threw upon her the shields "which they wore on their
left arms," and thus crushed her to death. One of the heights of the
Capitoline Hill preserved her name, and it was from the Tarpeian Rock
that traitors were afterward hurled down. On the next day the Romans
endeavored to recover the hill. A long and desperate battle was fought
in the valley between the Palatine and the Capitoline. At one time the
Romans were driven before the enemy, when Romulus vowed a temple to
Jupiter Stator, the Stayer of Flight, whereupon his men took courage and
returned again to the combat. At length the Sabine women, who were the
cause of the war, rushed in between them, and prayed their husbands and
fathers to be reconciled. Their prayers were heard; the two people not
only made peace, but agreed to form only one nation. The Romans dwelt on
the Palatine under their king Romulus, the Sabines on the Capitoline
under their king Titus Tatius.[4] The two kings and their senates met
for deliberation in the valley between the two hills, which was hence
called _Comitium_, or the place of meeting, and which afterward became
the Roman Forum. But this union did not last long. Titus Tatius was
slain at Lavinium by some Latins to whom he had refused satisfaction for
outrages committed by his kinsmen. Henceforward Romulus ruled alone over
both Romans and Sabines. He reigned, in all, thirty-seven years. One
day, as he was reviewing his people in the Campus Martius, near the
Goat's Fool, the sun was suddenly eclipsed, and a dreadful storm
dispersed the people. When daylight returned Romulus had disappeared,
for his father Mars had carried him up to heaven in a fiery chariot.
Shortly afterward he appeared in more than mortal beauty to the senator
Proculus Sabinus, and bade him tell the Romans to worship him under the
name of the god Quirinus.
[Illustration: Plan of the City of Romulus.]
As Romulus was regarded as the founder of Rome, its most ancient
political institutions and the organization of the people were ascribed
to him by the popular belief.
(i.) The Roman people consisted only of _Patricians_ and their
_Clients_. The Patricians formed the Populus Romanus, or sovereign
people. They alone had political rights; the Clients were entirely
dependent upon them. A Patrician had a certain number of Clients
attached to him personally. To these he acted as a _Patronus_ or Patron.
He was bound to protect the interests of the Client both in public and
private, while the Client had to render many services to his patron.
(ii.) The Patricians were divided by Romulus into _three Tribes_; the
Ramnes, or Romans of Romulus; the Tities, or Sabines of Titus Tatius;
and the Luceres, or Etruscans of Cæles, a Lucumo or Etruscan noble, who
assisted Romulus in the war against the Sabines. Each tribe was divided
into 10 curiæ, and each curiæ into 10 gentes. The 30 curiæ formed the
_Comitia Curiata_, a sovereign assembly of the Patricians. This assembly
elected the king, made the laws, and decided in all cases affecting the
life of a citizen.
To assist him in the government Romulus selected a number of aged men,
forming a _Senate_, or Council of Elders, who were called Patres, or
Senators. It consisted at first of 100 members, which number was
increased to 200 when the Sabines were incorporated in the state. The 20
curiæ of the Ramnes and Tities each sent 10 members to the senate, but
the Luceres were not yet represented.
(iii.) Each of the three tribes was bound to furnish 1000 men for the
infantry and 100 men for the cavalry. Thus 3000 foot-soldiers and 300
horse-soldiers formed the original army of the Roman state, and were
called a _Legion_.
2. REIGN OF NUMA POMPILIUS, B.C. 716-673.--On the death of Romulus, the
Senate, at first, would not allow the election of a new king. The
Senators enjoyed the royal power in rotation as Inter-reges, or
between-kings. In this way a year passed. But the people at length
insisted that a king should be chosen, and the Senate were obliged to
give way. The choice fell upon the wise and pious Numa Pompilius, a
native of the Sabine Cures who had married the daughter of Tatius. The
forty-three years of Numa's reign glided away in quiet happiness without
any war or any calamity.
As Romulus was the founder of the political institutions of Rome, so
Numa was the author of the religious institutions. Instructed by the
nymph Egeria, whom he met in the sacred grove of Aricia, he instituted
the Pontiffs, four in number, with a Pontifex Maximus at their head, who
had the general superintendence of religion; the Augurs, also four in
number, who consulted the will of the gods on all occasions, both
private and public; three Flamens, each of whom attended to the worship
of separate deities--Jupiter,[5] Mars, and Quirinus; four Vestal
Virgins, who kept alive the sacred fire of Vesta brought from Alba
Longa; and twelve Salii, or priests of Mars, who had the care of the
sacred shields.[6] Numa reformed the calendar, encouraged agriculture,
and marked out the boundaries of property, which he placed under the
care of the god Terminus. He also built the temple of Janus, a god
represented with two heads looking different ways. The gates of this
temple were to be open during war and closed in time of peace.
[Illustration: Salii carrying the Ancilia.]
3. REIGN OF TULLUS HOSTILIUS, B.C. 673-641.--Upon the death of Numa an
interregnum again followed; but soon afterward Tullus Hostilius, a
Roman, was elected king. His reign was as warlike as that of Numa had
been peaceful. The most memorable event in it is the destruction of Alba
Longa. A quarrel having arisen between the two cities, and their armies
having been drawn up in array against each other, the princes determined
to avert the battle by a combat of champions chosen from each army.
There were in the Roman army three brothers, born at the same birth,
named Horatii; and in the Alban army, in like manner, three brothers,
born at the same birth, and called Curiatii. The two sets of brothers
were chosen as champions, and it was agreed that the people to whom the
conquerors belonged should rule the other. Two of the Horatii were
slain, but the three Curiatii were wounded, and the surviving Horatius,
who was unhurt, had recourse to stratagem. He was unable to contend with
the Curiatii united, but was more than a match for each of them
separately. Taking to flight, he was followed by his three opponents at
unequal distances. Suddenly turning round, he slew, first one, then the
second, and finally the third. The Romans were declared the conquerors,
and the Albans their subjects. But a tragical event followed. As
Horatius was entering Rome, bearing his threefold spoils, his sister met
him, and recognized on his shoulders the cloak of one of the Curiatii,
her betrothed lover. She burst into such passionate grief that the anger
of her brother was kindled, and, stabbing her with his sword, he
exclaimed, "So perish every Roman woman who bewails a foe." For this
murder he was condemned by the two judges of blood to be hanged upon the
fatal tree, but he appealed to the people, and they gave him his life.
Shortly afterward Tullus Hostilius made war against the Etruscans of
Fidenæ and Veii. The Albans, under their dictator Mettius Fuffetius,
followed him to the war as the subjects of Rome. In the battle against
the Etruscans, the Alban dictator, faithless and insolent, withdrew to
the hills, but when the Etruscans were defeated he descended to the
plain, and congratulated the Roman king. Tullus pretended to be
deceived. On the following day he summoned the two armies to receive
their praises and rewards. The Albans came without arms, and were
surrounded by the Roman troops. They then heard their sentence. Their
dictator was to be torn in pieces by horses driven opposite ways; their
city was to be razed to the ground; and they themselves, with their
wives and children, transported to Rome. Tullus assigned to them the
Cælian Hill for their habitation. Some of the noble families of Alba
were enrolled among the Roman patricians, but the great mass of the
Alban people were not admitted to the privileges of the ruling class.
They were the origin of the Roman _Plebs_, who were thus quite distinct
from the Patricians and their Clients. The Patricians still formed
exclusively the Populus, or Roman people, properly so called. The Plebs
were a subject-class without any share in the government.
After carrying on several other wars Tullus fell sick, and sought to win
the favor of the gods, as Numa had done, by prayers and divination. But
Jupiter was angry with him, and smote him and his whole house with fire
from heaven. Thus perished Tullus, after a reign of thirty-two years.
4. REIGN OF ANCUS MARCIUS, B.C. 640-616.--Ancus Marcius, the successor
of Tullus Hostilius, was a Sabine, being the son of Numa's daughter. He
sought to tread in the footsteps of his grandfather by reviving the
religious ceremonies which had fallen into neglect; but a war with the
Latins called him from the pursuits of peace. He conquered several of
the Latin cities, and removed many of the inhabitants to Rome, where he
assigned them the Aventine for their habitation. Thus the number of the
Plebeians was greatly enlarged. Ancus instituted the Fetiales, whose
duty it was to demand satisfaction from a foreign state when any dispute
arose, to determine the circumstances under which hostilities might be
commenced, and to perform the proper religious rites on the declaration
of war. He also founded a colony at Ostia at the mouth of the Tiber,
built a fortress on the Janiculum as a protection against the Etruscans,
and united it with the city by a bridge across the Tiber, called the
Pons Sublicius, because it was made of wooden piles, and erected a
prison to restrain offenders. He died after a reign of twenty-four
years.
[Illustration: Arch of Volaterræ.]
[Footnote 3: The Palladium was a statue of Pallas, or Minerva, which was
said to have fallen from heaven, and was preserved at Rome with the most
sacred care.]
[Footnote 4: The Sabines were called _Quirites_, and this name was
afterward applied to the Roman people in their civil capacity.]
[Footnote 5: The Flamen of Jupiter was called Flamen Dialis.]
[Footnote 6: These shields were called _Ancilia_. One of these shields
is said to have fallen from heaven; and Numa ordered eleven others to be
made exactly like it, that it might not be known and stolen.]
[Illustration: Pons Sublicius, restored by Canina.]
CHAPTER III.
THE LAST THREE KINGS OF ROME, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE REPUBLIC DOWN
TO THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. B.C. 616-498.
5. REIGN OF LUCIUS TARQUINIUS PRISCUS, or the ELDER TARQUIN, B.C.
616-578.--The fifth king of Rome was an Etruscan by birth, but a Greek
by descent. His father Demaratus was a wealthy citizen of Corinth, who
settled in the Etruscan city of Tarquinii, where he married an Etruscan
wife. Their son married Tanaquil, who belonged to one of the noblest
families in Tarquinii, and himself became a Lucumo or a noble in the
state. But he aspired to still higher honors; and, urged on by his wife,
who was an ambitious woman, he resolved to try his fortune at Rome.
Accordingly, he set out for this city, accompanied by a large train of
followers. When he had reached the Janiculum an eagle seized his cap,
and, after carrying it away to a great height, placed it again upon his
head. Tanaquil, who was skilled in the Etruscan science of augury, bade
her husband hope for the highest honors. Her predictions were soon
verified. He took the name of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, and gained the
favor both of Ancus Marcius and the people. Ancus appointed the stranger
guardian of his children; and, when he died, the senate and the people
unanimously elected Tarquin to the vacant throne.
The reign of Tarquin was distinguished by great exploits in war and by
great works in peace. He defeated the Sabines, and took their town
Collatia, which he placed under his nephew Egerius, who was thence
called Collatinus. He also captured many of the Latin towns, and became
the ruler of all Latium; but the important works which he executed in
peace have rendered his name still more famous. The great cloacæ, or
sewers, by which he drained the lower parts of the city, still remain,
after so many ages, with not a stone displaced. He laid out the Circus
Maximus, and instituted the great or Roman games performed in the
circus. He also made some changes in the constitution of the state. He
added to the Senate 100 new members, taken from the Luceres, the third
tribe, and called _patres minorum gentium_, to distinguish them from the
old Senators, who were now termed _patres majorum gentium_. To the three
centuries of equites established by Romulus he wished to add three new
centuries, and to call them after himself and two of his friends. But
his plan was opposed by the augur Attus Navius, who said that the gods
forbade it. The tale runs that the king, to test the augur, asked him to
divine whether what he was thinking of could be done. After consulting
the heavens, the augur replied that it could; whereupon the king said,
"I was thinking that thou shouldst cut this whetstone with a razor."
Navius, without a moment's hesitation, took a razor and cut it in twain.
In consequence of this miracle, Tarquin gave up his design of
establishing new centuries; but with each of the former centuries he
associated another under the same name, so that henceforth there were
the first and second Ramnes, Tities, and Luceres. The number of Vestal
Virgins was also increased from four to six, the two new vestals being
probably taken from the Luceres.
[Illustration: Cloaca Maxima.]
Tarquin had a favorite, Servius Tullius, said to have been the son of a
female slave taken at the capture of the Latin town Corniculum. His
infancy was marked by prodigies which foreshadowed his future greatness.
On one occasion a flame played around his head, as he was asleep,
without harming him. Tanaquil foresaw the greatness of the boy, and from
this time he was brought up as the king's child. Tarquin afterward gave
him his daughter in marriage, and left the government in his hands. But
the sons of Ancus Marcius, fearing lest Tarquin should transmit the
crown to his son-in-law, hired two countrymen to assassinate the king.
These men, feigning to have a quarrel, came before the king to have
their dispute decided, and while he was listening to the complaint of
one, the other gave him a deadly wound with his axe. But the sons of
Ancus did not reap the fruit of their crime; for Tanaquil, pretending
that the king's wound was not mortal, told them that he would soon
return, and that he had, meantime, appointed Servius to act in his
stead. Servius forthwith proceeded to discharge the duties of king,
greatly to the satisfaction of the people; and when the death of Tarquin
could no longer be concealed, he was already in firm possession of the
regal power. Tarquin had reigned thirty-eight years.
6. SERVIUS TULLIUS, B.C. 578-534.--Servius thus succeeded to the throne
without being elected by the Senate and the Assembly of the Curiæ. The
reign of this king is almost as barren of military exploits as that of
Numa. His great deeds were those of peace; and he was regarded by
posterity as the author of the later Roman constitution, just as Romulus
was of the earlier. Three important acts are assigned to Servius by
universal tradition. Of these the greatest was:
I. The reform of the Roman Constitution. In this reform his two main
objects were to give the Plebeians political rights, and to assign to
property that influence in the state which had previously belonged
exclusively to birth. To carry his purpose into effect he made a twofold
division of the Roman people, one territorial and the other according to
property.
_a._ It must be recollected that the only existing political
organization was that of the Patricians into 3 tribes, 30 curiæ, and 300
gentes; but Servius now divided the whole Roman territory into _Thirty
Tribes_, and, as this division was simply local, these tribes contained
Plebeians as well as Patricians. But, though the institution of the
Thirty Tribes gave the Plebeians a political organization, it conferred
upon them no political power, nor any right to take part in the
elections, or in the management of public affairs. At a later time the
tribes assembled in the forum for the transaction of business, and were
hence called _Comitia Tributa_. The Patricians were then excluded from
this assembly, which was summoned by the Tribunes of the Plebs, and was
entirely Plebeian.
_b._ The means by which Servius gave the Plebeians a share in the
government was by establishing a new Popular Assembly, in which
Patricians and Plebeians alike voted. It was so arranged that the
wealthiest persons, whether Patricians or Plebeians, possessed the chief
power. In order to ascertain the property of each citizen, Servius
instituted the _Census_, which was a register of Roman citizens and
their property. All Roman citizens possessing property to the amount of
12,500 asses and upward[7] were divided into five great _Classes_. The
First Class contained the richest citizens, the Second Class the next in
point of wealth, and so on. The whole arrangement was of a military
character. Each of the five Classes was divided into a certain number of
Centuries or Companies, half of which consisted of Seniores from the age
of 46 to 60, and half of Juniores from the age of 17 to 45. All the
Classes had to provide their own arms and armor, but the expense of the
equipment was in proportion to the wealth of each Class. The Five
_Classes_ formed the infantry. To these five Classes were added two
centuries of smiths and carpenters, and two of trumpeters and
horn-blowers. These four centuries voted with the Classes. Those persons
whose property did not amount to 12,500 asses were not included in the
Classes, and formed a single century.
At the head of the Classes were the Equites or cavalry. These consisted
of eighteen centuries, six being the old patrician Equites, as founded
by Romulus and augmented by Tarquinius Priscus, and the other twelve
being chosen from the chief plebeian families.[8]
The Centuries formed the new National Assembly. They mustered as an army
in the Campus Martius, or the Field of Mars, on the banks of the Tiber,
outside the city. They voted by Centuries, and were hence called the
_Comitia Centuriata_. Each Century counted as one vote, but did not
consist of the same number of men. On the contrary, in order to give the
preponderance to wealth, the first or richest class contained a far
greater number of Centuries than any of the other classes (as will be
seen from the table below), although they must at the same time have
included a much smaller number of men. The Equites and First Class alone
amounted to 100 Centuries, or more than half of the total number; so
that, if they agreed to vote the same way, they possessed at once an
absolute majority. An advantage was also given to age; for the Seniores,
though possessing an equal number of votes, must of course have been
very inferior in number to the Juniores.
Servius made the Comitia Centuriata the sovereign assembly of the
nation; and he accordingly transferred to it from the Comitia Curiata
the right of electing kings and the higher magistrates, of enacting and
repealing laws, and of deciding in cases of appeal from the sentence of
a judge. But he did not dare to abolish the old Patrician assembly, and
was even obliged to enact that no vote of the Comitia Centuriata should
be valid till it had received the sanction of the Comitia Curiata.
Thus, in consequence of the legislation, we shall find that Rome
subsequently possessed three sovereign assemblies: 1. The _Comitia
Centuriata_, consisting of both Patricians and Plebeians, and voting
according to Centuries; 2. The _Comitia Curiata_, consisting exclusively
of Patricians, and voting according to Curiæ; 3. The _Comitia Tributa_,
exclusively of Plebeians, and voting according to Tribes.
II. The second great work of Servius was the extension of the
Pomoerium, or hallowed boundary of the city, and the completion of the
city by incorporating with it the Quirinal, Viminal, and Esquiline
Hills.[9] He surrounded the whole with a stone wall, called after him
the wall of Servius Tullius; and from the Porta Collina to the Esquiline
Gate, where the hills sloped gently to the plain, he constructed a
gigantic mound nearly a mile in length, and a moat 100 feet in breadth
and 30 in depth, from which the earth of the mound was dug. Rome thus
acquired a circumference of five miles, and this continued to be the
legal extent of the city till the time of the emperors, although suburbs
were added to it.
III. An important alliance with the Latins, by which Rome and the cities
of Latium became the members of one great league, was one of the great
events which distinguished the reign of Servius.
[Illustration: Map of Rome, showing the Servian Wall and the Seven
Hills.]
Servius gave his two daughters in marriage to the two sons of Tarquinius
Priscus. Lucius, the elder, was married to a quiet and gentle wife;
Aruns, the younger, to an aspiring and ambitious woman. The character of
the two brothers was the very opposite of the wives who had fallen to
their lot; for Lucius was proud and haughty, but Aruns unambitious and
quiet. The wife of Aruns, enraged at the long life of her father, and
fearing that at his death her husband would tamely resign the
sovereignty to his elder brother, resolved to murder both her father and
husband. Her fiendish spirit put into the heart of Lucius thoughts of
crime which he had never entertained before. Lucius made way with his
wife, and the younger Tullia with her husband; and the survivors,
without even the show of mourning, were straightway joined in
unhallowed wedlock. Tullia now incessantly urged her husband to murder
her father, and thus obtain the kingdom which he so ardently coveted.
Tarquin formed a conspiracy with the Patricians, who were enraged at the
reforms of Servius; and when the plot was ripe he entered the forum
arrayed in the kingly robes, seated himself in the royal chair, in the
senate-house, and ordered the senators to be summoned to him as their
king. At the first news of the commotion Servius hastened to the
senate-house, and, standing at the doorway, bade Tarquin to come down
from the throne; but Tarquin sprang forward, seized the old man, and
flung him down the stone steps. Covered with blood, the king hastened
home; but, before he reached it, he was overtaken by the servants of
Tarquin, and murdered. Tullia drove to the senate-house and greeted her
husband as king; but her transports of joy struck even him with horror.
He bade her go home; and, as she was returning, her charioteer pulled up
and pointed out the corpse of her father lying in his blood across the
road. She commanded him to drive on; the blood of her father spirted
over the carriage and on her dress; and from that day forward the place
bore the name of the Wicked Street. The body lay unburied; for Tarquin
said, scoffingly, "Romulus too went without burial;" and this impious
mockery is said to have given rise to his surname of Superbus, or the
Proud. Servius had reigned forty-four years.
7. Reign of LUCIUS TARQUINIUS SUPERBUS, or, THE PROUD, B.C.
534-510.--Tarquin commenced his reign without any of the forms of
election. One of his first acts was to abolish all the privileges which
had been conferred upon the Plebeians by Servius. He also compelled the
poor to work at miserable wages upon his magnificent buildings, and the
hardships which they suffered were so great that many put an end to
their lives. But he did not confine his oppressions to the poor. All the
senators and patricians whom he mistrusted, or whose wealth he coveted,
were put to death or driven into exile. He surrounded himself with a
body-guard, by whose means he was enabled to carry out his designs. But,
although a tyrant at home, he raised the state to great influence and
power among the surrounding nations, partly by his alliances and partly
by his conquests. He gave his daughter in marriage to Octavius Mamilius,
of Tusculum, the most powerful of the Latins, by whose means he acquired
great influence in Latium. Any Latin chiefs like Turnus Herdonius, who
attempted to resist him, were treated as traitors, and punished with
death. At the solemn meeting of the Latins at the Alban Mount, Tarquin
sacrificed the bull on behalf of all the allies, and distributed the
flesh to the people of the league.
Strengthened by this Latin alliance, Tarquin turned his arms against the
Volscians. He took the wealthy town of Suessa Pometia, with the spoils
of which he commenced the erection of a magnificent temple on the
Capitoline Hill, which his father had vowed. This temple was dedicated
to the three gods of the Latin and Etruscan religions, Jupiter, Juno,
and Minerva. A human head (_caput_), fresh, bleeding and undecayed, is
said to have been found by the workmen as they were digging the
foundations, and being accepted as a sign that the place was destined to
become the head of the world, the name of CAPITOLIUM was given to the
temple, and thence to the hill. In a stone vault beneath were deposited
the Sibylline books, containing obscure and prophetic sayings. One day a
Sibyl, a prophetess from Cumæ, appeared before the king and offered to
sell him nine books. Upon his refusing to buy them she went away and
burned three, and then demanded the same sum for the remaining six as
she had asked for the nine. But the king laughed, whereupon she again
burnt three and then demanded the same sum as before for the remaining
three. Wondering at this strange conduct, the king purchased the books.
They were placed under the care of two patricians, and were consulted
when the state was in danger.
Tarquin next attacked Gabii, one of the Latin cities, which refused to
enter into the league. Unable to take the city by force, he had recourse
to stratagem. His son, Sextus, pretending to be ill, treated by his
father, and covered with the bloody marks of stripes, fled to Gabii. The
infatuated inhabitants intrusted him with the command of their troops;
and when he had obtained the unlimited confidence of the citizens, he
sent a messenger to his father to inquire how he should deliver the city
into his hands. The king, who was walking in his garden when the
messenger arrived, made no reply, but kept striking off the heads of the
tallest poppies with his stick. Sextus took the hint. He put to death or
banished, on false charges, all the leading men of the place, and then
had no difficulty in compelling it to submit to his father.
In the midst of his prosperity Tarquin was troubled by a strange
portent. A serpent crawled out from the altar in the royal palace, and
seized on the entrails of the victim. The king, in fear, sent his two
sons, Titus and Aruns, to consult the oracle at Delphi. They were
accompanied by their cousin L. Junius Brutus. One of the sisters of
Tarquin had been married to M. Brutus, a man of great wealth, who died,
leaving two sons under age.[10] Of these the elder was killed by
Tarquin, who coveted their possessions; the younger escaped his
brother's fate only by feigning idiotcy. On arriving at Delphi, Brutus
propitiated the priestess with the gift of a golden stick inclosed in a
hollow staff. After executing the king's commission, Titus and Aruns
asked the priestess who was to reign at Rome after their father. The
priestess replied, whichsoever should first kiss his mother. The princes
agreed to keep the matter secret from Sextus, who was at Rome, and to
cast lots between themselves. Brutus, who better understood the meaning
of the oracle, fell, as if by chance, when they quitted the temple, and
kissed the earth, the mother of them all.
Soon afterward Tarquin laid siege to Ardea, a city of the Rutulians. The
place could not be taken by force, and the Roman army lay encamped
beneath the walls. Here, as the king's sons, and their cousin Tarquinius
Collatinus, were feasting together, a dispute arose about the virtue of
their wives. As nothing was doing in the field, they mounted their
horses to visit their homes by surprise. They first went to Rome, where
they surprised the king's daughters at a splendid banquet. They then
hastened to Collatia, and there, though it was late in the night, they
found Lucretia, the wife of Collatinus, spinning amid her handmaids. The
beauty and virtue of Lucretia excited the evil passions of Sextus. A few
days after he returned to Collatia, where he was hospitably received by
Lucretia as her husband's kinsman. In the dead of night he entered her
chamber with a drawn sword, threatening that, if she did not yield to
his desires, he would kill her and lay by her side a slave with his
throat cut, and would declare that he had killed them both taken in
adultery. Fear of such a shame forced Lucretia to consent; but, as soon
as Sextus had departed, she sent for her husband and father. Collatinus
came, accompanied by L. Brutus, her father, Lucretius, brought with him
P. Valerius. They found her in an agony of sorrow. She told them what
had happened, enjoined them to avenge her dishonor, and then stabbed
herself to the heart. They all swore to avenge her. Brutus threw off his
assumed stupidity, and placed himself at their head. They carried the
corpse into the market-place of Collatia. There the people took up arms,
and renounced the Tarquins. A number of young men attended the funeral
procession to Rome. Brutus summoned the people, and related the deed of
shame. All classes were inflamed with the same indignation. A decree was
passed deposing the king, and banishing him and his family from the
city. Brutus now set out for the army at Ardea. Tarquinius meantime had
hastened to Rome, but found the gates closed against him. Brutus was
received with joy at Ardea; and the army renounced their allegiance to
the tyrant. Tarquin, with his two sons, Titus and Aruns, took refuge at
Cæré, in Etruria. Sextus fled to Gabii, where he was shortly after
murdered by the friends of those whom he had put to death.
Tarquin had reigned 22 years when he was driven out of Rome. In memory
of this event an annual festival was celebrated on the 24th of February,
called the _Regifugium_ or _Fugalia_.
THE REPUBLIC.--Thus ended monarchy at Rome. Tarquin the Proud had made
the name of king so hateful that the people resolved to intrust the
kingly power to two men, who were only to hold office for a year. In
later times they were called _Consuls_, but at their first institution
they were named _Prætors_. They were elected by the Comitia Curiata, and
possessed the same honors as the king had had. The first consuls were L.
Brutus and Tarquinius Collatinus (B.C. 509). But the people so hated the
very name and race of Tarquin, that Collatinus was obliged to resign his
office and retire from Rome. P. Valerius was elected consul in his
place.
Meantime embassadors came to Rome from Tarquin, asking that his private
property should be given up to him. The demand seemed just to the Senate
and the People; but, while the embassadors were making preparation for
carrying away the property, they formed a conspiracy among the young
Roman nobles for the restoration of the royal family. The plot was
discovered by means of a slave, and among the conspirators were found
the two sons of Brutus himself. But the consul would not pardon his
guilty children, and ordered the lictors[11] to put them to death with
the other traitors. The agreement to surrender the property was made
void by this attempt at treason. The royal goods were given up to the
people to plunder.
As the plot had failed, Tarquin now endeavored to recover the throne by
arms. The people of Tarquinii and Veii espoused the cause of their
Etruscan kinsmen, and marched against Rome. The two Consuls advanced to
meet them. When Aruns, the king's son, saw Brutus at the head of the
Roman cavalry, he spurred his horse to the charge. Brutus did not shrink
from the combat; and both fell from their horses mortally wounded by
each other's spears. A desperate battle between the two armies now
followed. Both parties claimed the victory, till a voice was heard in
the dead of night, proclaiming that the Romans had conquered, as the
Etruscans had lost one man more. Alarmed at this, the Etruscans fled;
and Valerius, the surviving Consul, returned to Rome, carrying with him
the dead body of Brutus. The matrons mourned for Brutus a whole year,
because he had revenged the death of Lucretia.
This was the first war for the restoration of Tarquin.
Valerius was now left without a colleague; and as he began to build a
house on the top of the hill Velia, which looked down upon the forum,
the people feared that he was aiming at kingly power. Thereupon Valerius
not only pulled down the house, but, calling an assembly of the people,
he ordered the lictors to lower the fasces before them, as an
acknowledgment that their power was superior to his. He likewise brought
forward a law enacting that every citizen who was condemned by a
magistrate should have a right of appeal to the people. Valerius became,
in consequence, so popular that he received the surname of _Publicola_,
or "The People's Friend."
Valerius then summoned an assembly for the election of a successor to
Brutus, and Sp. Lucretius was chosen. Lucretius, however, lived only a
few days, and M. Horatius was elected consul in his place. It was
Horatius who had the honor of consecrating the temple on the Capitol,
which Tarquin had left unfinished when he was driven from the throne.
The second year of the republic (B.C. 508) witnessed the second attempt
of Tarquin to recover the crown. He now applied for help to Lars
Porsena, the powerful ruler of the Etruscan town of Clusium, who marched
against Rome at the head of a vast army. The Romans could not meet him
in the field; and Porsena seized without opposition the Janiculum, a
hill immediately opposite the city, and separated from it only by the
Tiber. Rome was now in the greatest danger, and the Etruscans would have
entered the city by the Sublician bridge had not Horatius Cocles, with
two comrades, kept the whole Etruscan army at bay while the Romans broke
down the bridge behind him. When it was giving way he sent back his two
companions, and withstood alone the attacks of the foe till the cracks
of the falling timbers and the shouts of his countrymen told him that
the bridge had fallen. Then praying, "O Father Tiber, take me into thy
charge and bear me up!" he plunged into the stream and swam across in
safety, amid the arrows of the enemy. The state raised a statue in his
honor, and allowed him as much land as he could plow round in one day.
Few legends are more celebrated in Roman history than this gallant deed
of Horatius, and Roman writers loved to tell
"How well Horatius kept the bridge
In the brave days of old."
The Etruscans now proceeded to lay siege to the city, which soon began
to suffer from famine. Thereupon a young Roman, named C. Mucius,
resolved to deliver his country by murdering the invading king. He
accordingly went over to the Etruscan camp; but, ignorant of the person
of Porsena, killed the royal secretary instead. Seized and threatened
with torture, he thrust his right hand into the fire on the altar, and
there let it burn, to show how little he heeded pain. Astonished at his
courage, the king bade him depart in peace; and Mucius, out of
gratitude, advised him to make peace with Rome, since three hundred
noble youths, he said, had sworn to take the life of the king, and he
was the first upon whom the lot had fallen. Mucius was henceforward
called Scævola, or the _Left-handed_, because his right hand had been
burnt off. Porsena, alarmed for his life, which he could not secure
against so many desperate men, forthwith offered peace to the Romans on
condition of their restoring to the Veientines the land which they had
taken from them. These terms were accepted, and Porsena withdrew his
troops from the Janiculum after receiving ten youths and ten maidens as
hostages from the Romans. Cloelia, one of the maidens, escaped from
the Etruscan camp, and swam across the Tiber to Rome. She was sent back
by the Romans to Porsena, who was so amazed at her courage that he not
only set her at liberty, but allowed her to take with her those of the
hostages whom she pleased.
Thus ended the second attempt to restore the Tarquins by force.[12]
After Porsena quitted Rome, Tarquin took refuge with his son-in-law,
Octavius Mamilius, of Tusculum. The thirty Latin cities now espoused the
cause of the exiled king, and declared war against Rome. The contest was
decided by the battle of the Lake Regillus, which was long celebrated
in Roman story, and the account of which resembles one of the battles in
the Iliad. The Romans were commanded by the Dictator,[13] A. Postumius,
and by T. Æbutius, the Master of the Horse; at the head of the Latins
were Tarquin and Octavius Mamilius. The struggle was fierce and bloody,
but the Latins at length fled. Almost all the chiefs on either side fell
in the conflict, or were grievously wounded. Titus, the son of Tarquin,
was killed; and the aged king was wounded, but escaped with his life. It
was related in the old tradition that the Romans gained this battle by
the assistance of the gods Castor and Pollux, who were seen charging the
Latins at the head of the Roman cavalry, and who afterward carried to
Rome the tidings of the victory. A temple was built in the forum on the
spot where they appeared, and their festival was celebrated yearly.
This was the third and last attempt to restore the Tarquins. The Latins
were completely humbled by this victory. Tarquinius Superbus had no
other state to which he could apply for assistance. He had already
survived all his family; and he now fled to Cumæ, where he died a
wretched and childless old man (B.C. 496).
[Illustration: Coin representing the children of Brutus led to death by
Lictors.]
[Footnote 7: The _As_ was originally a pound weight of copper of 12
ounces.]
[Footnote 8: The following table will show the census of each class, and
the number of centuries which each contained:
_Equites._--Centuriæ 18
_First Class._--Census 100,000 asses and upward.
Centuriæ Seniorum 40 \
Centuriæ Juniorum 40 > 82
Centuriæ Fabrum (smiths and carpenters) 2 /
_Second Class._--Census, 75,000 asses and upward.
Centuriæ Seniorum 10 \
Centuriæ Juniorum 10 / 20
_Third Class._--Census, 50,000 asses and upward.
Centuriæ Seniorum 10 \
Centuriæ Juniorum 10 / 20
_Fourth Class._--Census, 25,000 asses and upward.
Centuriæ Seniorum 10 \
Centuriæ Juniorum 10 / 20
_Fifth Class._--Census, 12,500 asses and upward.
Centuriæ Seniorum 15 \
Centuriæ Juniorum 15 > 32
Centuriæ cornicinum, tubicinum 2 /
Centuriæ capita censorum 1
---
Sum total of the centuriæ 198
]
[Footnote 9: The celebrated seven hills upon which Rome stood were the
Palatine, Aventine, Capitoline, Cælian, Quirinal, Viminal, and
Esquilian. The Mons Pincius was not included within the Servian Wall.]
[Footnote 10: The following genealogical table exhibits the relationship
of the family:
Demaratus of Corinth.
|
----------------------------------------
| |
TARQUINIUS PRISCUS. Aruns.
| |
-------------------------------------------- |
| | | | |
Tarquinia, Tarquinia, L. TARQUINIUS Aruns. Egerius,
married married SUPERBUS. commander of
Servius Tullius. M. Brutus. | Collatia.
| | |
----------------- ------------------ |
| | | | | |
M. Brutus, L. Brutus, Titus. Sextus. Aruns. Tarquinius
put to the Collatinus,
death by Consul. married
Tarquinius. Lucretia.
]
[Footnote 11: The _Lictors_ were public officers who attended upon the
Roman magistrate. Each consul had twelve lictors. They carried upon
their shoulders _fasces_, which were rods bound in the form of a bundle,
and containing an axe in the middle.]
[Footnote 12: There is, however, reason to believe that these brilliant
stories conceal one of the earliest and greatest disasters of the city.
It appears that Rome was really conquered by Porsena, and lost all the
territory which the kings had gained on the right side of the Tiber.
Hence we find the thirty tribes, established by Servius Tullius, reduced
to twenty after the war with Porsena.]
[Footnote 13: The _Dictator_ was an extraordinary magistrate appointed
by one of the Consuls in seasons of great peril. He possessed absolute
power. Twenty-four lictors attended him, bearing the axes in the fasces,
even in the city; and from his decision there was no appeal. He could
not hold the office longer than six months, and he usually laid it down
much sooner. He appointed a _Magister Equitum_, or Master of the Horse,
who acted as his lieutenant. From the time of the appointment of the
Dictator, all the other magistrates, even the Consuls, ceased to
exercise any power.]
[Illustration: The Campagna of Rome.]
CHAPTER IV.
FROM THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS TO THE DECEMVIRATE. B.C. 498-451.
The history of Rome for the next 150 years consists internally of the
struggles between the Patricians and Plebeians, and externally of the
wars with the Etruscans, Volscians, Æquians, and other tribes in the
immediate neighborhood of Rome.
The internal history of Rome during this period is one of great
interest. The Patricians and Plebeians formed two distinct orders in the
state. After the banishment of the kings the Patricians retained
exclusive possession of political power. The Plebeians, it is true,
could vote in the Comitia Centuriata, but, as they were mostly poor,
they were outvoted by the Patricians and their clients. The Consuls and
other magistrates were taken entirely from the Patricians, who also
possessed the exclusive knowledge and administration of the law. In one
word, the Patricians were a ruling and the Plebeians a subject class.
But this was not all. The Patricians formed not only a separate
_class_, but a separate _caste_, not marrying with the Plebeians, and
worshiping the gods with different religious rites. If a Patrician man
married a Plebeian wife, or a Patrician woman a Plebeian husband, the
state refused to recognize the marriage, and the offspring was treated
as illegitimate.
The Plebeians had to complain not only of political, but also of private
wrongs. The law of debtor and creditor was very severe at Rome. If the
borrower did not pay the money by the time agreed upon, his person was
seized by the creditor, and he was obliged to work as a slave.[14] Nay,
in certain cases he might even be put to death by the creditor; and if
there were more than one, his body might be cut in pieces and divided
among them. The whole weight of this oppressive law fell upon the
Plebeians; and what rendered the case still harder was, that they were
frequently compelled, through no fault of their own, to become
borrowers. They were small landholders, living by cultivating the soil
with their own hands; but as they had to serve in the army without pay,
they had no means of engaging laborers in their absence. Hence, on their
return home, they were left without the means of subsistence or of
purchasing seed for the next crop, and borrowing was their only
resource.
Another circumstance still farther aggravated the hardships of the
Plebeians. The state possessed a large quantity of land called _Ager
Publicus_, or the "Public Land." This land originally belonged to the
kings, being set apart for their support; and it was constantly
increased by conquest, as it was the practice on the subjugation of a
people to deprive them of a certain portion of their land. This public
land was let by the state subject to a rent; but as the Patricians
possessed the political power, they divided the public land among
themselves, and paid for it only a nominal rent. Thus the Plebeians, by
whose blood and unpaid toil much of this land had been won, were
excluded from all participation in it.
It was not to be expected that the Plebeians would submit to such
grievous injustice. The contest was twofold. It was a struggle of a
subject against a ruling class, and of rich against poor. The Plebeians
strove to obtain an equal share not only in the political power, but
also in the public land.
The cruelty of the Patrician creditors was the most pressing evil, and
led to the first reform. In B.C. 494 the Plebeians, after a campaign
against the Volscians, instead of returning to Rome, retired to the
Sacred Mount, a hill about two miles from the city, near the junction
of the Arno and the Tiber. Here they determined to settle and found a
new town, leaving Rome to the Patricians and their clients. This event
is known as the _Secession to the Sacred Mount_. The Patricians,
alarmed, sent several of their number to persuade the Plebeians to
return. Among the deputies was the aged Menenius Agrippa, who had great
influence with the Plebeians. He related to them the celebrated fable of
the Belly and the Members.
"Once upon a time," he said, "the Members refused to work any longer for
the Belly, which led a lazy life, and grew fat upon their toils. But
receiving no longer any nourishment from the Belly, they soon began to
pine away, and found that it was to the Belly they owed their life and
strength."
The fable was understood, and the Plebeians agreed to treat with the
Patricians. It was decided that existing debts should be canceled, and
that all debtors in bondage should be restored to freedom. It was
necessary, however, to provide security for the future, and the
Plebeians therefore insisted that two of their own number should be
elected annually, to whom the Plebeians might appeal for assistance
against the decisions of the Patrician magistrates. These officers were
called _Tribunes of the Plebs_. Their persons were declared sacred and
inviolate; they were never to quit the city during their year of office;
and their houses were to remain open day and night, that all who were in
need of help might apply to them. Their number was soon afterward
increased to five, and at a later time to ten. They gradually gained
more and more power, and obtained the right of putting a veto[15] upon
any public business.[16] At the Sacred Mount the Plebeians also obtained
the privilege of having two Ædiles of their order appointed. These
officers had at a later time the care of the public buildings and roads,
and the superintendence of the police of the city.
Emboldened by this success, the Plebeians now demanded a share in the
public land. And in this they found an unexpected supporter among the
Patricians themselves. Sp. Cassius, one of the most distinguished men in
the state, who had formed the league between the Romans, Latins, and
Hernicans, brought forward in his third consulship a law, by which a
portion of the public land was to be divided among the Plebeians (B.C.
486). This was the first Agrarian Law mentioned in Roman history. It
must be recollected that all the Agrarian laws dealt only with the
public land, and never touched the property of private persons.
Notwithstanding the violent opposition of the Patricians, the law was
passed; but it was never carried into execution, and the Patricians soon
revenged themselves upon its author. In the following year he was
accused of aiming at the kingly power, and condemned to death. He was
scourged and beheaded, and his house razed to the ground.
We now turn to the external history of Rome. Under the kings Rome had
risen to a superiority over her neighbors, and had extended her dominion
over the southern part of Etruria and the greater part of Latium. The
early history of the republic presents a very different spectacle. For
the next 100 years she is engaged in a difficult and often dubious
struggle with the Etruscans on the one hand, and the Volscians and
Æquians on the other. It would be unprofitable to relate the details of
these petty campaigns; but there are three celebrated legends connected
with them which must not be passed over.
1. CORIOLANUS AND THE VOLSCIANS, B.C. 488.--C. Marcius, surnamed
Coriolanus, from his valor at the capture of the Latin town of Corioli,
was a brave but haughty Patrician youth. He was hated by the Plebeians,
who refused him the consulship. This inflamed him with anger; and
accordingly, when the city was suffering from famine, and a present of
corn came from Sicily, Coriolanus advised the Senate not to distribute
it among the Plebeians unless they gave up their Tribunes. Such
insolence enraged the Plebeians, who would have torn him to pieces on
the spot had not the tribunes summoned him before the Comitia of the
Tribes. Coriolanus himself breathed nothing but defiance; and his
kinsmen and friends interceded for him in vain. He was condemned to
exile. He now turned his steps to Antium, the capital of the Volscians,
and offered to lead them against Rome. Attius Tullius, king of the
Volscians, persuaded his countrymen to appoint Coriolanus their general.
Nothing could check his victorious progress; town after town fell before
him; and he advanced within five miles of the city, ravaging the lands
of the Plebeians, but sparing those of the Patricians. The city was
filled with despair. The ten first men in the Senate were sent in hopes
of moving his compassion. But they were received with the utmost
sternness, and told that the city must submit to his absolute will. Next
day the pontiffs, augurs, flamens, and all the priests, came in their
robes of office, and in vain prayed him to spare the city. All seemed
lost; but Rome was saved by her women. Next morning the noblest matrons,
headed by Veturia, the aged mother of Corolanus, and by his wife
Volumnia, holding her little children by the hand, came to his tent.
Their lamentations turned him from his purpose. "Mother," he said,
bursting into tears, "thou hast saved Rome, but lost thy son!" He then
led the Volscians home, but they put him to death because he had spared
Rome. Others relate that he lived among the Volscians to a great age,
and was often heard to say that "none but an old man can feel how
wretched it is to live in a foreign land."
[Illustration: The Environs of Rome.]
2. THE FABIA GENS AND THE VEIENTINES, B.C. 477.--The Fabii were one of
the most powerful of the Patrician houses. For seven successive years
one of the Consuls was always a Fabius. The Fabii had been among the
leading opponents of the Agrarian Law; and Kæso Fabius had taken an
active part in obtaining the condemnation of Sp. Cassius. But shortly
afterward we find this same Kæso the advocate of the popular rights, and
proposing that the Agrarian Law of Cassius should be carried into
effect. He was supported in his new views by his powerful house, though
the reasons for their change of opinion we do not know. But the Fabii
made no impression upon the great body of the Patricians, and only
earned for themselves the hearty hatred of their order. Finding that
they could no longer live in peace at Rome, they determined to leave the
city, and found a separate settlement, where they might still be useful
to their native land. One of the most formidable enemies of the republic
was the Etruscan city of Veii, situated about twelve miles from Rome.
Accordingly, the Fabian house, consisting of 306 males of full age,
accompanied by their wives and children, clients and dependents, marched
out of Rome by the right-hand arch of the Carmental Gate, and proceeded
straight to the Cremera, a river which flows into the Tiber below Veii.
On the Cremera they established a fortified camp, and, sallying thence,
they laid waste the Veientine territory. For two years they sustained
the whole weight of the Veientine war; and all the attempts of the
Veientines to dislodge them proved in vain. But at length they were
enticed into an ambuscade, and were all slain. The settlement was
destroyed, and no one of the house survived except a boy who had been
left behind at Rome, and who became the ancestor of the Fabii, afterward
so celebrated in Roman history. The Fabii were sacrificed to the hatred
of the Patricians; for the consul T. Menenius was encamped a short way
off at the time, and he did nothing to save them.
3. CINCINNATUS AND THE ÆQUIANS, B.C. 458.--The Æquians in their numerous
attacks upon the Roman territory generally occupied Mount Algidus, which
formed a part of the group of the Alban Hills in Latium. It was
accordingly upon this mount that the battles between the Romans and
Æquians most frequently took place. In the year 458 B.C. the Roman
consul L. Minucius was defeated on the Algidus, and surrounded in his
camp. Five horsemen, who made their escape before the Romans were
completely encompassed, brought the tidings to Rome. The Senate
forthwith appointed L. Cincinnatus dictator.
L. Cincinnatus was one of the heroes of old Roman story. When the
deputies of the Senate came to him to announce his elevation to the
dictatorship they found him driving a plow, and clad only in his tunic
or shirt. They bade him clothe himself, that he might hear the commands
of the Senate. He put on his toga, which his wife Racilia brought him.
The deputies then told him of the peril of the Roman army, and that he
had been made Dictator. The next morning, before daybreak, he appeared
in the forum, and ordered all the men of military age to meet him in the
evening in the Field of Mars, with food for five days, and each with
twelve stakes. His orders were obeyed; and with such speed did he march,
that by midnight he reached Mount Algidus. Placing his men around the
Æquian camp, he told them to raise the war-cry, and at the same time to
begin digging a trench and raising a mound, on the top of which the
stakes were to be driven in. The other Roman army, which was shut in,
hearing the war-cry, burst forth from their camp, and fought with the
Æquians all night. The Dictator's troops thus worked without
interruption, and completed the intrenchment by the morning. The Æquians
found themselves hemmed in between the two armies, and were forced to
surrender. The Dictator made them pass under the yoke, which was formed
by two spears fixed upright in the ground, while a third was fastened
across them. Cincinnatus entered Rome in triumph only twenty-four hours
after he had quitted it, having thus saved a whole Roman army from
destruction.
In reading the wars of the early Republic, it is important to recollect
the League formed by Spurius Cassius, the author of the Agrarian Law
between the Romans, Latins, and Hernicans. This League, to which
allusion has been already made, was of the most intimate kind, and the
armies of the three states fought by each other's sides. It was by means
of this League that the Æquians and Volscians were kept in check, for
they were two of the most warlike nations in Italy, and would have been
more than a match for the unsupported arms of Rome.
[Footnote 14: Debtors thus given over to their creditors were called
_Addicti_.]
[Footnote 15: This was called the right of _intercession_, from
_intercedo_, "to come between."]
[Footnote 16: The Tribunes were originally elected at the Comitia of the
Centuries, where the influence of the Patricians was predominant; but by
the Publilian Law, proposed by the tribune Publilius Volero, and passed
B.C. 471, the election was transferred to the Comitia of the Tribes, by
which means the Plebeians obtained the uncontrolled election of their
own officers.]
[Illustration: Tarpeian Rock.]
CHAPTER V.
THE DECEMVIRATE. B.C. 451-449.
From the Agrarian Law of Sp. Cassius to the appointment of the Decemvirs
was a period of more than thirty years. During the whole of this time
the struggle between the Patricians and the Plebeians was increasing.
The latter constantly demanded, and the former as firmly refused, the
execution of the Agrarian Law of Cassius. But, though the Plebeians
failed in obtaining this object, they nevertheless made steady progress
in gaining for themselves a more important position in the city. In B.C.
471 the Publilian Law was carried, by which the election of the Tribunes
and Plebeian Ædiles was transferred from the Comitia of the Centuries to
those of the Tribes.[17] From this time the Comitia of the Tribes may be
regarded as one of the political assemblies of the state, ranking with
those of the Centuries and the Curies. But the Patricians still retained
exclusive possession of the administrative and judicial powers, and
there were no written laws to limit their authority and to regulate
their decisions. Under these circumstances, the Tribune C. Terentilius
Arsa proposed, in B.C. 462, that a commission of Ten Men (Decemviri)
should be appointed to draw up a code of laws, by which a check might be
put to the arbitrary power of the Patrician magistrates. This
proposition, as might have been expected, met with the most vehement
opposition from the Patricians. But the Plebeians were firm, and for
five successive years the same Tribunes were re-elected. It was during
this struggle that an attempt was made upon the Capitol by Herdonius, a
Sabine chief, with a band of outlaws and slaves. It was a turbulent
period, and the Patricians had recourse even to assassination. At
length, after a struggle of eight years, a compromise was effected, and
it was arranged that Three Commissioners (Triumviri) were to be sent
into Greece to collect information respecting the laws of Solon at
Athens, as well as of the other Greek states. After an absence of two
years the three commissioners returned to Rome (B.C. 452), and it was
now resolved that a Council of Ten, or Decemvirs, should be appointed to
draw up a code of laws, and, at the same time, to carry on the
government and administer justice. All the other magistrates were
obliged to abdicate, and no exception was made even in favor of the
Tribunes. The Decemvirs were thus intrusted with supreme power in the
state. They entered upon their office at the beginning of B.C. 451. They
were all Patricians. At their head stood Appius Claudius and T.
Genucius, who had been already appointed consuls for the year. They
discharged the duties of their office with diligence, and dispensed
justice with impartiality. Each administered the government day by day
in succession, and the fasces were carried only before the one who
presided for the day. They drew up a Code of Ten Tables, in which equal
justice was dealt out to both orders. The Ten Tables received the
sanction of the Comitia of the Centuries, and thus became law.
On the expiration of their year of office all parties were so well
satisfied with the manner in which the Decemvirs had discharged their
duties that it was resolved to continue the same form of government for
another year, more especially as some of them said that their work was
not finished. A new Council of Ten was accordingly elected, of whom
Appius Claudius alone belonged to the former body. He had so carefully
concealed his pride and ambition during the previous year that he had
been the most popular member of the council, and the Patricians, to
prevent his appointment for another year, had ordered him to preside at
the Comitia for the elections, thinking that he would not receive votes
for himself. But Appius set such scruples at defiance, and not only
returned himself as elected, but took care that his nine colleagues
should be subservient to his views. He now threw off the mask he had
hitherto worn, and acted as the tyrant of Rome. Each Decemvir was
attended by twelve lictors, who earned the fasces with the axes in them,
so that 120 lictors were seen in the city instead of 12. The Senate was
rarely summoned. No one was now safe, and many of the leading men
quitted Rome. Two new Tables were added to the Code, making twelve in
all; but these new laws were of the most oppressive kind, and confirmed
the Patricians in their most odious privileges.
When the year came to a close the Decemvirs neither resigned nor held
Comitia for the election of successors, but continued to hold their
power in defiance of the Senate and of the People. Next year (B.C. 449)
the Sabines and Æquians invaded the Roman territory, and two armies were
dispatched against them, commanded by some of the Decemvirs. Appius
remained at Rome to administer justice. But the soldiers fought with no
spirit under the command of men whom they detested, and two acts of
outrageous tyranny caused them to turn their arms against their hated
masters. In the army fighting against the Sabines was a centurion named
L. Sicinius Dentatus, the bravest of the brave. He had fought in 120
battles; he had slain eight of the enemy in single combat; had received
40 wounds, all in front; he had accompanied the triumphs of nine
generals; and had war-crowns and other rewards innumerable. As Tribune
of the Plebs four years before, he had taken an active part in opposing
the Patricians, and was now suspected of plotting against the Decemvirs.
His death was accordingly resolved on, and he was sent with a company of
soldiers as if to reconnoitre the enemy's position. But in a lonely spot
they fell upon him and slew him, though not until he had destroyed most
of the traitors. His comrades, who were told that he had fallen in an
ambush of the enemy, discovered the foul treachery that had been
practiced when they saw him surrounded by Roman soldiers who had
evidently been slain by him. The Decemvirs prevented an immediate
outbreak only by burying Dentatus with great pomp, but the troops were
ready to rise in open mutiny upon the first provocation.
In the other army sent against the Æquians there was a well-known
centurion named Virginius. He had a beautiful daughter, betrothed to L.
Icilius, an eminent leader of the Plebeian order. The maiden had
attracted the notice of the Decemvir Appius Claudius. He at first tried
bribes and allurements, but when these failed he had recourse to an
outrageous act of tyranny. One morning, as Virginia, attended by her
nurse, was on the way to her school, which was in one of the booths
surrounding the forum, M. Claudius, a client of Appius, laid hold of the
damsel and claimed her as his slave. The cry of the nurse for help
brought a crowd around them, and all parties went before the Decemvir.
In his presence Marcus repeated the tale he had learnt, asserting that
Virginia was the child of one of his female slaves, and had been imposed
upon Virginius by his wife, who was childless. He farther stated that he
would prove this to Virginius as soon as he returned to Rome, and he
demanded that the girl should meantime be handed over to his custody.
Appius, fearing a riot, said that he would let the cause stand over till
the next day, but that then, whether her father appeared or not, he
should know how to maintain the laws. Straightway two friends of the
family made all haste to the camp, which they reached the same evening.
Virginius immediately obtained leave of absence, and was already on his
way to Rome, when the messenger of Appius arrived, instructing his
colleagues to detain him. Early next morning Virginius and his daughter
came into the forum with their garments rent. The father appealed to the
people for aid, and the women in their company sobbed aloud. But, intent
upon the gratification of his passions, Appius cared not for the misery
of the father and the girl, and hastened to give sentence, by which he
consigned the maiden to his client. Appius, who had brought with him a
large body of patricians and their clients, ordered his lictors to
disperse the mob. The people drew back, leaving Virginius and his
daughter alone before the judgment-seat. All help was gone. The unhappy
father then prayed the Decemvir to be allowed to speak one word to the
nurse in his daughter's hearing, in order to ascertain whether she was
really his daughter. The request was granted. Virginius drew them both
aside, and, snatching up a butcher's-knife from one of the stalls,
plunged it into his daughter's breast, exclaiming, "There is no way but
this to keep thee free." In vain did Appius call out to stop him. The
crowd made way for him, and, holding his bloody knife on high, he rushed
to the gate of the city and hastened to the army. His comrades espoused
his cause, expelled their commanders, and marched toward Rome. They were
soon joined by the other army, to whom Numitorius and Icilius had
carried the tidings. The Plebeians in the city flocked to them, and they
all resolved to retire once more to the Sacred Mount.
This second secession extorted from the Patricians the second great
charter of the Plebeian rights. The Patricians compelled the Decemvirs
to resign, and sent L. Valerius and M. Horatius, two of the most eminent
men of their order, to negotiate with the Plebeians. It was finally
agreed that the Tribunes should be restored, that the authority of the
Comitia Tributa should be recognized, and that the right of appeal to
the people against the power of the supreme magistrates should be
confirmed. The Plebeians now returned to the city, and elected, for the
first time, ten Tribunes instead of five, a number which remained
unchanged down to the latest times. Virginius, Icilius, and Numitorius
were among the new Tribunes.
Two Consuls were elected in place of the Decemvirs, and the choice of
the Comitia Centuriata naturally fell upon Valerius and Horatius. The
new Consuls now redeemed their promises to the Plebeians by bringing
forward the laws which are called after them, the Valerian and Horatian
Laws. These celebrated laws enacted:
1. That every Roman citizen should have the right of appeal against the
sentence of the supreme magistrate. This was, in fact, a solemn
confirmation of the old law of Valerius Publicola, passed in the first
year of the republic. It was enacted again a third time in B.C. 300, on
the proposal of M. Valerius, the Consul. These repeated enactments gave
a still farther sanction to the law. In the same way the Great Charter
of England was ratified several times.
2. That the _Plebiscita_, or resolutions passed by the Plebeians in the
Comitia Tributa, should have the force of laws, and should be binding
alike upon Patricians and Plebeians.
3. That the persons of the Tribunes, Ædiles, and other Plebeian
magistrates should be sacred, and whoever injured them should be sold as
a slave.
Virginius now accused Appius Claudius, who was thrown into prison to
await his trial. But the proud Patrician, seeing that his condemnation
was certain, put an end to his own life. Oppius, another of the
Decemvirs, and the personal friend of Appius, was condemned and
executed. The other Decemvirs were allowed to go into exile, but they
were all declared guilty, and their property confiscated to the state.
The Twelve Tables were always regarded as the foundation of the Roman
law, and long continued to be held in the highest estimation. But they
probably did little more than fix in a written form a large body of
customary law, though even this was a benefit to the Plebeians, as they
were no longer subject to the arbitrary decisions of the Patrician
magistrates. The Patricians still retained their exclusive privileges;
and the eleventh table even gave the sanction of law to the old custom
which prohibited all intermarriage (_connuubium_) between the two
orders.
[Footnote 17: See note on p. 31. (Footnote 16 of this
e-text--Transcriber)]
[Illustration: View in the neighborhood of Veii.]
CHAPTER VI.
FROM THE DECEMVIRATE TO THE CAPTURE OF ROME BY THE GAULS. B.C. 448-390.
The efforts of the leaders of the Plebeians were now directed to two
subjects, the removal of the prohibition of intermarriage between the
two orders, and the opening of the Consulship to their own order. They
attained the first object four years after the Decemvirate by the Lex
Canuleia, proposed by Canuleius, one of the Tribunes (B.C. 445). But
they did not carry this law without a third secession, in which they
occupied the Janiculum. At the same time a compromise was effected with
respect to the Consulship. The Patricians agreed that the supreme power
in the state should be intrusted to new officers bearing the title of
_Military Tribunes with Consular Power_, who might be chosen equally
from Patricians and Plebeians. Their number varied in different years
from three to six. In B.C. 444 three Military Tribunes were nominated
for the first time. In the following year (443) two new magistrates,
called _Censors_, were appointed. They were always to be chosen from the
Patricians; and the reason of the institution clearly was to deprive
the Military Tribunes of some of the most important functions, which had
been formerly discharged by the Consuls. The Censors originally held
office for a period of five years, which was called a _lustrum_; but
their tenure was limited to eighteen months, as early as ten years after
its institution (B.C. 443), by a law of the Dictator Mamercus Æmilius,
though they continued to be appointed only once in five years.[18]
Though the Military Tribunes could from their first institution be
chosen from either order, yet such was the influence of the Patricians
in the Comitia of the Centuries that it was not till B.C. 400, or nearly
forty years afterward, that any Plebeians were actually elected. In B.C.
421 the Quæstorship was also thrown open to them. The Quæstors were the
paymasters of the state; and as the Censors had to fill up vacancies in
the Senate from those who had held the office of Quæstor, the Plebeians
thus became eligible for the Senate.
During these struggles between the two orders an event took place which
is frequently referred to by later writers. In the year 440 B.C. there
was a great famine at Rome. Sp. Mælius, one of the richest of the
Plebeian knights, expended his fortune in buying up corn, which he sold
to the poor at a small price, or distributed among them gratuitously.
The Patricians thought, or pretended to think, that he was aiming at
kingly power: and in the following year (439) the aged Quintius
Cincinnatus, who had saved the Roman army on Mount Algidus, was
appointed Dictator. He nominated C. Servilius Ahala his Master of the
Horse. During the night the Capitol and all the strong posts were
garrisoned by the Patricians, and in the morning Cincinnatus appeared in
the forum with a strong force, and summoned Mælius to appear before his
tribunal. But seeing the fate which awaited him, he refused to go,
whereupon Ahala rushed into the crowd and struck him dead upon the spot.
His property was confiscated, and his house was leveled to the ground.
The deed of Ahala is frequently mentioned by Cicero and other writers in
terms of the highest admiration, but it was regarded by the Plebeians at
the time as an act of murder. Ahala was brought to trial, and only
escaped condemnation by a voluntary exile.
In their foreign wars the Romans continued to be successful, and, aided
by their allies the Latins and Hernicans, they made steady progress in
driving back their old enemies the Volscians and Æquians. About this
time they planted several colonies in the districts which they
conquered. These Roman colonies differed widely from those of ancient
Greece and of modern Europe. They were of the nature of garrisons
established in conquered towns, and served both to strengthen and extend
the power of Rome. The colonists received a portion of the conquered
territory, and lived as a ruling class among the old inhabitants, who
retained the use of the land.
The Romans now renewed their wars with the Etruscans; and the capture of
the important city of Veii was the first decisive advantage gained by
the Republic. The hero of this period was Camillus, who stands out
prominently as the greatest general of the infant Republic, who saved
Rome from the Gauls, and whom later ages honored as a second Romulus.
Veii, however, was only taken after a long and severe struggle. It was
closely allied with Fidenæ, a town of Latium, not more than five or six
miles from Rome. The two cities frequently united their arms against
Rome, and in one of these wars Lars Tolumnius, the king of Veii, was
slain in single combat by A. Cornelius Cossus, one of the Military
Tribunes, and his arms dedicated to Jupiter, the second of the three
instances in which the _Spolia Opima_ were won (B.C. 437). A few years
afterward Fidenæ was taken and destroyed (B.C. 426), and at the same
time a truce was granted to the Veientines for twenty years. At the
expiration of this truce the war was renewed, and the Romans resolved to
subdue Veii as they had done Fidenæ. The siege of Veii, like that of
Troy, lasted ten years, and the means of its capture was almost as
marvelous as the wooden horse by which Troy was taken. The waters of the
Alban Lake rose to such a height as to deluge the neighboring country.
An oracle declared that Veii could not be taken until the waters of the
lake found a passage to the sea. This reached the ears of the Romans,
who thereupon constructed a tunnel to carry off its superfluous
waters.[19] The formation of this tunnel is said to have suggested to
the Romans the means of taking Veii. M. Furius Camillus, who was
appointed Dictator, commenced digging a mine beneath the city, which was
to have its outlet in the citadel, in the temple of Juno, the guardian
deity of Veii. When the mine was finished, the attention of the
inhabitants was diverted by feigned assaults against the walls.
Camillus led the way into the mine at the head of a picked body of
troops. As he stood beneath the temple of Juno, he heard the soothsayer
declare to the king of the Veientines that whoever should complete the
sacrifice he was offering would be the conqueror. Thereupon the Romans
burst forth and seized the flesh of the victim, which Camillus offered
up. The soldiers who guarded the walls were thus taken in the rear, the
gates were thrown open, and the city soon filled with Romans. The booty
was immense, and the few citizens who escaped the sword were sold as
slaves. The image of Juno was carried to Rome, and installed with great
pomp on Mount Aventine, where a temple was erected to her. Camillus
entered Rome in a chariot drawn by four white horses. Rome had never yet
seen so magnificent a triumph (B.C. 396).
One circumstance, which occurred during the siege of Veii, deserves
notice. As the Roman soldiers were obliged to pass the whole year under
arms, in order to invest the city during the winter as well as the
summer, they now, for the first time, received pay.
Veii was a more beautiful city than Rome, and, as it was now without
inhabitants, many of the Roman people wished to remove thither. At the
persuasion of Camillus the project was abandoned; but the territory of
Veii was divided among the Plebeians.
Falerii was almost the only one of the Etruscan cities which had
assisted Veii, and she was now exposed single-handed to the vengeance of
the Romans. It is related that, when Camillus appeared before Falerii, a
schoolmaster of the town treacherously conducted the sons of the noblest
families into the Roman camp, but that Camillus, scorning the baseness
of the man, ordered his arms to be tied behind him, and the boys to flog
him back into the town; whereupon the inhabitants, overcome by such
generosity, gave up their arms, and surrendered to the Romans (B.C.
394).
Camillus was one of the proudest of the Patricians; and he now incurred
the hatred of the Plebeians by calling upon every man to refund a tenth
of the booty taken at Veii; because he had made a vow to consecrate to
Apollo a tithe of the spoil. He was accused of having appropriated the
great bronze gates at Veii, and was impeached by one of the Tribunes.
Seeing that his condemnation was certain, he went into exile, praying as
he left the walls that the Republic might soon have cause to regret him
(B.C. 491). His prayer was heard, for the Gauls had already crossed the
Apennines, and next year Rome was in ashes.
[Footnote 18: The Censorship was regarded as the highest dignity in the
state, with the exception of the Dictatorship. The duties of the Censors
were numerous and important. They not only took the _census_--or the
register of the citizens and their property--hut they also chose the
members of the Senate, exercised a superintendence over the whole public
and private life of the citizens, and, in addition, had the
administration of the finances of the state.]
[Footnote 19: This remarkable work, which, after the lapse of more than
two thousand years, still continues to serve the purpose for which it
was originally designed, is cut through the soft volcanic tufa of which
the Alban Hill is composed. The length of the tunnel is about 6000 feet,
and it is 4 feet 6 inches wide.]
[Illustration: Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus restored.]
CHAPTER VII.
FROM THE CAPTURE OF ROME BY THE GAULS TO THE FINAL UNION OF THE TWO
ORDERS. B.C. 390-367.
The Gauls or Celts were in ancient times spread over the greater part of
Western Europe. They inhabited Gaul and the British isles, and had in
the time of the Tarquins crossed the Alps and taken possession of
Northern Italy. But they now spread farther south, crossed the
Apennines, and laid waste with fire and sword the provinces of Central
Italy. Rome fell before them, and was reduced to ashes; but the details
of its capture are clearly legendary. The common story runs as follows:
The Senones, a tribe of the Gauls, led by their chief Brennus, laid
siege to Clusium, the powerful Etruscan city over which Lars Porsena
once reigned. Such reputation had Rome gained through her conquests in
Etruria, that Clusium applied to her for aid (B.C. 391). The Senate sent
three embassadors, sons of the chief pontiff, Fabius Ambustus, to warn
the barbarians not to touch an ally of Rome. But the Gauls treated their
message with scorn; and the embassadors, forgetting their sacred
character, fought in the Clusine ranks. One of the Fabii slew with his
own hands a Gallic chieftain, and was recognized while stripping off his
armor. Brennus therefore sent to Rome to demand satisfaction. The Roman
people not only refused to give it, but elected the three Fabii as
Military Tribunes for the following year. On hearing of this insult, the
Gauls broke up the siege of Clusium, and hastened southward toward Rome.
All the inhabitants fled before them into the towns. They pursued their
course without injuring any one, crying to the guards upon the walls of
the towns they passed, "Our way lies for Rome." On the news of their
approach the Roman army hurried out of the city, and on the 16th of July
(B.C. 300), a day ever after regarded as disastrous, they met the Gauls
on the Allia, a small river which flows into the Tiber, on its left
bank, about eleven miles from Rome. Brennus attacked the Romans on the
flank, and threw them into confusion. A general panic seized them: they
turned and fled. Some escaped across the Tiber to Veii, and a few
reached Rome, but the greater number were slain by the Gauls.
The loss at the Allia had been so great that enough men were not left to
guard the walls of the city. It was therefore resolved that those in the
vigor of their age should withdraw to the Capitol, taking with them all
the provisions in the city; that the priests and Vestal Virgins should
convey the objects of religious reverence to Cæré; and that the rest of
the population should disperse among the neighboring towns. But the aged
senators, who had been Consuls or Censors, seeing that their lives were
no longer of any service to the state, sat down in the forum on their
curule thrones awaiting death. When the Gauls entered the city they
found it desolate and deathlike. They marched on, without seeing a human
being till they came to the forum. Here they beheld the aged senators
sitting immovable, like beings of another world. For some time they
gazed in awe at this strange sight, till at length one of the Gauls
ventured to go up to M. Papirius and stroke his white beard. The old man
struck him on the head with his ivory sceptre; whereupon the barbarian
slew him, and all the rest were massacred. The Gauls now began
plundering the city; fires broke out in several quarters; and with the
exception of a few houses on the Palatine, which the chiefs kept for
their own residence, the whole city was burnt to the ground.
The Capitol was the next object of attack. There was only one steep way
leading up to it, and all the assaults of the besiegers were easily
repelled. They thereupon turned the siege into a blockade, and for seven
months were encamped amid the ruins of Rome. But their numbers were soon
thinned by disease, for they had entered Rome in the most unhealthy time
of the year, when fevers have always prevailed. The failure of
provisions obliged them to ravage the neighboring countries, the people
of which began to combine for defense against the marauders. Meantime
the scattered Romans took courage. They collected at Veii, and here
resolved to recall Camillus from banishment, and appoint him Dictator.
In order to obtain the consent of the Senate, a daring youth, named
Pontius Cominius, offered to swim across the Tiber and climb the
Capitol. He reached the top unperceived by the enemy, obtained the
approval of the Senate to the appointment of Camillus, and returned
safely to Veii. But next day some Gauls observed the traces of his
steps, and in the dead of night they climbed up the same way. The
foremost of them had already reached the top, unnoticed by the sentinels
and the dogs, when the cries of some geese roused M. Manlius from sleep.
These geese were sacred to Juno, and had been spared notwithstanding the
gnawings of hunger; and the Romans were now rewarded for their piety. M.
Manlius thrust down the Gaul who had clambered up, and gave the alarm.
The Capitol was thus saved; and down to latest times M. Manlius was
honored as one of the greatest heroes of the early Republic.
Still no help came, and the Gauls remained before the Capitol. The
Romans suffered from famine, and at length agreed to pay the barbarians
1000 pounds of gold, on condition of their quitting the city and its
territory. Brennus brought false weights, and, when the Romans exclaimed
against this injustice, the Gallic chief threw his sword also into the
scale, crying, "Woe to the vanquished!" But at this very moment Camillus
marched into the forum, ordered the gold to be taken away, and drove the
Gauls out of the city. Another battle was fought on the road to Gabii,
in which the Gauls were completely destroyed, and their leader Brennus
taken prisoner. This tale, however, is an invention of Roman vanity. We
learn from other sources that the Gauls retreated because their
settlements in Northern Italy were attacked by the Venetians; and there
can be little doubt that their departure was hastened by a present of
Roman gold. The Gauls frequently repeated their inroads, and for many
years to come were the constant dread of the Romans.
When the Romans returned to the heap of ruins which was once their city
their hearts sank within them. The people shrank from the expense and
toil of rebuilding their houses, and loudly demanded that they should
all remove to Veii, where the private dwellings and public buildings
were still standing. But Camillus and the Patricians strongly urged them
not to abandon the homes of their fathers, and they were at length
persuaded to remain. The state granted bricks, and stones were fetched
from Veii. Within a year the city rose from its ashes; but the streets
were narrow and crooked; the houses were frequently built over the
sewers; and the city continued to show, down to the great fire of Nero,
evident traces of the haste and irregularity with which it had been
rebuilt. Rome was now deprived of almost all her subjects, and her
territory was reduced to nearly its original limits. The Latins and
Hernicans dissolved the League with the Romans, and wars broke out on
every side. In these difficulties and dangers Camillus was the soul of
the Republic. Again and again he led the Roman legions against their
enemies, and always with success. The rapidity with which the Romans
recovered their power after so terrible a disaster would seem
unaccountable but for the fact that the other nations had also suffered
greatly from the inroads of the Gauls, who still continued to ravage
Central Italy. Two of their invasions of the Roman territory are
commemorated by celebrated legends, which may be related here, though
they belong to a later period.
In B.C. 361 the Gauls and Romans were encamped on either bank of the
Arno. A gigantic Gaul stepped forth from the ranks and insultingly
challenged a Roman knight. T. Manlius, a Roman youth, obtained
permission from his general to accept the challenge, slew the giant, and
took from the dead body the golden chain (_torques_) which the barbarian
wore around his neck. His comrades gave him the surname of Torquatus,
which he handed down to his descendants.
In B.C. 349 another distinguished Roman family earned its surname from a
single combat with a Gaul. Here again a Gallic warrior of gigantic size
challenged any one of the Romans to single combat. His challenge was
accepted by M. Valerius, upon whose helmet a raven perched; and as they
fought, the bird flew into the face of the Gaul, striking at him with
its beak and flapping his wings. Thus Valerius slew the Gaul, and was
called in consequence "Corvus," or the "Raven."
It is now necessary to revert to the internal history of Rome. Great
suffering and discontent prevailed. Returning to ruined homes and
ravaged lands, the poor citizens had been obliged to borrow money to
rebuild their houses and cultivate their farms. The law of debtor and
creditor at Rome, as we have already seen, was very severe, and many
unfortunate debtors were carried away to bondage. Under these
circumstances, M. Manlius, the preserver of the Capitol, came forward as
the patron of the poor. This distinguished man had been bitterly
disappointed in his claims to honor and gratitude. While Camillus, his
personal enemy, who had shared in none of the dangers of the siege, was
repeatedly raised to the highest honors of the state, he, who had saved
the Capitol, was left to languish in a private station. Neglected by his
own order, Manlius turned to the Plebeians. One day he recognized in the
forum a soldier who had served with him in the field, and whom a
creditor was carrying away in fetters. Manlius paid his debt upon the
spot, and swore that, as long as he had a single pound, he would not
allow any Roman to be imprisoned for debt. He sold a large part of his
property, and applied the proceeds to the liberation of his
fellow-citizens from bondage. Supported now by the Plebeians, he came
forward as the accuser of his own order, and charged them with
appropriating to their own use the gold which had been raised to ransom
the city from the Gauls. The Patricians in return accused him, as they
had accused Sp. Cassius, of aspiring to the tyranny. When he was brought
to trial before the Comitia of the Centuries in the Campus Martius, he
proudly showed the spoils of thirty warriors whom he had slain, the
forty military distinctions which he had won in battle, and the
innumerable scars upon his breast, and then turning toward the Capitol
he prayed the immortal gods to remember the man who had saved their
temples from destruction. After such an appeal, his condemnation was
impossible, and his enemies therefore contrived to break up the
assembly. Shortly afterward he was arraigned on the same charges before
the Comitia of the Curies in the Peteline Grove. Here he was at once
condemned, and was hurled from the Tarpeian Rock. His house, which was
on the Capitol, was razed to the ground (B.C. 384).
The death of Manlius, however, was only a temporary check to the
Plebeian cause. A few years afterward the contest came to a crisis. In
B.C. 376 C. Licinius Stolo and his kinsman L. Sextius, being Tribunes of
the Plebs, determined to give the Plebeians an equal share in the
political power, to deprive the Patricians of the exclusive use of the
public land, and to remove the present distress of the Plebeians. For
this purpose they brought forward three laws, which are celebrated in
history under the name of THE LICINIAN ROGATIONS.[20] These were:
I. That in future Consuls, and not Military Tribunes, should be
appointed, and that one of the two Consuls _must_ be a Plebeian.
II. That no citizen should possess more than 500 jugera[21] of the
public land, nor should feed upon the public pastures more than 100 head
of large and 500 of small cattle, under penalty of a heavy fine.
III. That the interest already paid for borrowed money should be
deducted from the principal, and that the remainder should be repaid in
three yearly instalments.
These great reforms naturally excited the most violent opposition, and
the Patricians induced some of the Plebeians to put their veto upon the
measures of their colleagues. But Licinius and Sextius were not to be
baffled in this way, and they exercised their veto by preventing the
Comitia of the Centuries from electing any magistrates for the next
year. Hence no Consuls, Military Tribunes, Censors, or Quæstors could be
appointed; and the Tribunes of the Plebs and the Ædiles, who were
elected by the Comitia of the Tribes, were the only magistrates in the
state. For five years did this state of things continue. C. Licinius and
L. Sextius were re-elected annually, and prevented the Comitia of the
Centuries from appointing any magistrates. At the end of this time they
allowed Military Tribunes to be chosen in consequence of a war with the
Latins; but so far were they from yielding any of their demands, that to
their former Rogations they now added another: That the care of the
Sibylline books, instead of being intrusted to two men (duumviri), both
Patricians, should be given to ten men (decemviri), half of whom should
be Plebeians.
Five years more did the struggle last; but the firmness of the Tribunes
at length prevailed. In B.C. 367 the Licinian Rogations were passed, and
L. Sextius was elected the first Plebeian Consul for the next year. But
the Patricians made one last effort to evade the law. By the Roman
constitution, the Consuls, after being elected by the Comitia
Centuriata, received the Imperium, or sovereign power, from the Comitia
Curiata. The Patricians thus had it in their power to nullify the
election of the Centuries by refusing the Imperium. This they did when
L. Sextius was elected Consul; and they made Camillus, the great
champion of their order, Dictator, to support them in their new
struggle. But the old hero saw that it was too late, and determined to
bring about a reconciliation between the two orders. A compromise was
effected. The Imperium was conferred upon L. Sextius; but the judicial
duties were taken away from the Consuls, and given to a new magistrate
called _Prætor_. Camillus vowed to the goddess Concord a temple for his
success.
The long struggle between the Patricians and Plebeians was thus brought
to a virtual close. The Patricians still clung obstinately to the
exclusive privileges which they still possessed; but when the Plebeians
had once obtained a share in the Consulship, it was evident that their
participation in the other offices of the state could not be much longer
delayed. We may therefore anticipate the course of events by narrating
in this place that the first Plebeian Dictator was C. Marcius Rutilus in
B.C. 356; that the same man was the first Plebeian Censor five years
afterward (B.C. 351); that the Prætorship was thrown open to the
Plebeians in B.C. 336; and that the Lex Ogulnia in B.C. 300, which
increased the number of the Pontiffs from four to eight, and that of the
Augurs from four to nine, also enacted that four of the Pontiffs and
five of the Augurs should be taken from the Plebeians.
About thirty years after the Licinian Rogations, another important
reform, which abridged still farther the privileges of the Patricians,
was effected by the PUBLILIAN LAWS, proposed by the Dictator Q.
Publilius Philo in B.C. 339. These were:
I. That the Resolutions of the Plebs should be binding on all the
Quirites,[22] thus giving to the Plebiscita passed at the Comitia of the
Tribes the same force as the Laws passed at the Comitia of the
Centuries.
II. That all laws passed at the Comitia of the Centuries should receive
previously the sanction of the Curies; so that the Curies were now
deprived of all power over the Centuries.
III. That one of the Censors must be a Plebeian.
The first of these laws seems to be little move than a re-enactment of
one of the Valerian and Horatian laws, passed after the expulsion of the
Decemvirs;[23] but it is probable that the latter had never been really
carried into effect. Even the Publilian Law upon this subject seems to
have been evaded; and it was accordingly enacted again by the Dictator
Q. Hortensius in B.C. 286. In this year the last Secession of the
Plebeians took place, and the LEX HORTENSIA is always mentioned as the
law which gave to Plebiscita passed at the Comitia of the Tribes the
full power of laws binding upon the whole nation. From this time we hear
of no more civil dissensions till the times of the Gracchi, a hundred
and fifty years afterward, and the Lex Hortensia may therefore be
regarded as the termination of the long struggle between the two orders.
[Footnote 20: _A Rogatio_ differed from a _Lex_, as a _Bill_ from an
_Act_ of Parliament. A Rogatio was a law submitted to the assembly of
the people, and only became a Lex when enacted by them.]
[Footnote 21: A _Jugerum_ was rather more than half an acre.]
[Footnote 22: _Ut plebiscita omnes Quirites tenerent._]
[Footnote 23: See p. 40. (The end of Chapter V.--Transcriber)]
[Illustration: Ruins at Capua.]
CHAPTER VIII.
FROM THE LICINIAN ROGATIONS TO THE END OF THE SAMNITE WARS. B.C.
367-290.
United at home, the Romans were now prepared to carry on their foreign
wars with more vigor; and their conquests of the Samnites and Latins
made them the virtual masters of Italy. But the years which immediately
followed the Licinian laws were times of great suffering. A pestilence
raged in Rome, which carried off many of the most distinguished men, and
among others the aged Camillus (B.C. 362). The Tiber overflowed its
banks, the city was shaken by earthquakes, and a yawning chasm opened in
the forum. The soothsayers declared that the gulf could never be filled
up except by throwing into it that which Rome held most valuable. The
tale runs that, when every one was doubting what the gods could mean, a
noble youth named M. Curtius came forward, and, declaring that Rome
possessed nothing so valuable as her brave citizens, mounted his steed
and leaped into the abyss in full armor, whereupon the earth closed over
him. This event is assigned to the year 362 B.C.
During the next few years the Gauls renewed their inroads, of which we
have already spoken, and in the course of which Manlius Torquatus and
Valerius Corvus gained such glory. The Romans steadily extended their
dominion over the southern part of Etruria and the country of the
Volscians, and the alliance with the Latins was renewed. Fifty years had
elapsed since the capture of the city by the Gauls, and Rome was now
strong enough to enter into a contest with the most formidable enemy
which her arms had yet encountered. The SAMNITES were at the height of
their power, and the contest between them and the Romans was virtually
for the supremacy of Italy. The Samnites, as we have already seen, were
a people of Sabine origin, and had emigrated to the country which they
inhabited at a comparatively late period. They consisted of four
different tribes or cantons, the Pentri, Hirpini, Caraceni, and Caudini,
of whom the two former were the most important. They inhabited that part
of the Apennines which lies between Campania and Lucania, but they were
not contented with their mountain-homes, and overran the rich plains
which lay at their feet. They became the masters of Campania and
Lucania, and spread themselves almost to the southern extremity of
Italy. But the Samnites of Campania and Lucania had in course of time
broken off all connection with the parent nation, and sometimes were
engaged in hostilities with the latter. It was a contest of this kind
that led to the war between the Romans and the Samnites of the
Apennines. On the borders of Campania and Samnium dwelt a people, called
the Sidicini, who had hitherto preserved their independence. Being
attacked by the Samnites, this people implored the assistance of the
Campanians, which was readily granted. Thereupon the Samnites turned
their arms against the Campanians, and, after occupying Mount Tifata,
which overlooks the city of Capua, they descended into the plain, and
defeated the Campanians in a pitched battle at the very gates of Capua.
The Campanians, being shut up within the city, now applied for
assistance to Rome, and offered to place Capua in their hands. The
Romans had only a few years previously concluded an alliance with the
Samnites; but the bait of the richest city and the most fertile soil in
Italy was irresistible, and they resolved to comply with the request.
Thus began the Samnite Wars, which, with a few intervals of peace,
lasted 53 years.
FIRST SAMNITE WAR, B.C. 343-341.--The Romans commenced the war by
sending two consular armies against the Samnites; and the first battle
between the rival nations was fought at the foot of Mount Gaurus, which
lies about three miles from Cumæ. The Samnites were defeated with great
loss; and it has been justly remarked that this battle may be regarded
as one of the most memorable in history, since it was a kind of omen of
the ultimate issue of the great contest which had now begun between the
Samnites and Romans for the sovereignty of Italy. The Romans gained two
other decisive victories, and both consuls entered the city in triumph.
But two causes prevented the Romans from prosecuting their success. In
the first place, the Roman army, which had been wintering in Capua, rose
in open mutiny; and the poorer Plebeians in the city, who were oppressed
by debt, left Rome and joined the mutineers. In the second place, the
increasing disaffection of the Latins warned the Romans to husband their
resources for another and more terrible struggle. The Romans, therefore,
abandoning the Sidicini and Campanians, concluded a treaty of peace and
alliance with the Samnites in B.C. 341, so that in the great Latin war,
which broke out in the following year, the Samnites fought on the side
of the Romans.
THE LATIN WAR, B.C. 340-338.--The Latins had, as already stated, renewed
their league with Rome in B.C. 356, and consequently their troops had
fought along with the Romans in the war against the Samnites. But the
increasing power of Rome excited their alarm; and it became evident to
them that, though nominally on a footing of equality, they were, in
reality, becoming subject to Rome. This feeling was confirmed by the
treaty of alliance which the Romans had formed with the Samnites. The
Latins, therefore, determined to bring matters to a crisis, and sent two
Prætors, who were their chief magistrates, to propose to the Romans that
the two nations should henceforth form one state; that half of the state
should consist of Latins, and that one of the two Consuls should be
chosen from Latium. These requests excited the greatest indignation at
Rome, and were rejected with the utmost scorn. The Senate met in the
Temple of Jupiter, in the Capitol, to receive the Latin deputation, and,
after hearing their proposals, the Consul, T. Manlius Torquatus, the
same who had slain the Gaul in single combat, declared that, if the
Republic should cowardly yield to these demands, he would come into the
senate-house sword in hand and cut down the first Latin he saw there.
The tale goes on to say that in the discussion which followed, when both
parties were excited by anger, the Latin Prætor defied the Roman
Jupiter; that thereupon an awful peal of thunder shook the building; and
that, as the impious man hurried down the steps from the temple, he fell
from top to bottom, and lay there a corpse.
War was now declared, and the most vigorous efforts were made on both
sides. The contest was to decide whether Rome should become a Latin
town, or the Latins be subject to Rome. The Romans had elected to the
consulship two of their most distinguished men. The Patrician Consul
was, as already mentioned, T. Manlius Torquatus; his Plebeian colleague
was P. Decius Mus, who had gained great renown in the recent war against
the Samnites. The two Consuls marched through Samnium into Campania, and
threatened Capua, thus leaving Rome exposed to the attacks of the
Latins. But the Consuls foresaw that the Latins would not abandon Capua,
their great acquisition; and the event proved their wisdom. The contest
was thus withdrawn from the territory of Rome and transferred to
Campania, where the Romans could receive assistance from the neighboring
country of their Samnite allies. It was at the foot of Mount Vesuvius
that the two armies met, and here the battle was fought which decided
the contest. It was like a civil war. The soldiers of the two armies
spoke the same language, had fought by each others' sides, and were well
known to one another. Under these circumstances, the Consuls published a
proclamation that no Roman should engage in single combat with a Latin
on pain of death. But the son of Torquatus, provoked by the insults of a
Tusculan officer, accepted his challenge, slew his adversary, and
carried the bloody spoils in triumph to his father. The Consul had
within him the heart of Brutus; he would not pardon this breach of
discipline, and ordered the unhappy youth to be beheaded by the lictor
in the presence of the assembled army.
In the night before the battle a vision appeared to each Consul,
announcing that the general of one side and the army of the other were
doomed to destruction. Both agreed that the one whose wing first began
to waver should devote himself and the army of the enemy to the gods of
the lower world. Decius commanded the left wing; and when it began to
give way, he resolved to fulfill his vow. Calling the Pontifex Maximus,
he repeated after him the form of words by which he devoted himself and
the army of the enemy to the gods of the dead and the mother earth; then
leaping upon his horse, he rushed into the thickest of the fight, and
was slain. The Romans gained a signal victory. Scarcely a fourth part of
the Latins escaped (B.C. 340).
This victory made the Romans masters of Campania, and the Latins did
not dare to meet them again in the field. The war continued two years
longer, each city confining itself to the defense of its own walls, and
hoping to receive help from others in case of an attack. But upon the
capture of Pedum in B.C. 338 all the Latins laid down their arms, and
garrisons were placed in their towns. The Romans were now absolute
masters of Latium, and their great object was to prevent the Latin
cities from forming any union again. For this purpose not only were all
general assemblies forbidden, but, in order to keep the cities
completely isolated, the citizens of one town could not marry or make a
legal contract of bargain or sale with another.[24] Tibur and Præneste,
the two most powerful cities of the League, which had taken the most
active part in the war, were deprived of a portion of their land, but
were allowed to retain a nominal independence, preserving their own
laws, and renewing from time to time their treaties with Rome. The
inhabitants of several other towns, such as Tusculum and Lanuvium,
received the Roman franchise; their territory was incorporated in that
of the Republic; and two new tribes were created to carry these
arrangements into effect. Many of the most distinguished Romans sprung
from these Latin towns.
Twelve years elapsed between the subjugation of Latium and the
commencement of the Second Samnite War. During this time the Roman arms
continued to make steady progress. One of their most important conquests
was that of the Volscian town of Privernum in B.C. 329, from which time
the Volscians, so long the formidable enemies of Rome, disappear as an
independent nation. The extension of the Roman power naturally awakened
the jealousy of the Samnites; and the assistance rendered by them to the
Greek cities of Palæopolis and Neapolis was the immediate occasion of
the Second Samnite War. These two cities were colonies of the
neighboring Cumæ, and were situated only five miles from each other. The
position of Palæopolis, or the "Old City," is uncertain; but Neapolis,
or the "New City," stands on the site of a part of the modern Naples.
The Romans declared war against the two cities in B.C. 327, and sent the
Consul Q. Publilius Philo to reduce them to subjection. The Greek
colonists had previously formed an alliance with the Samnites, and now
received powerful Samnite garrisons. Publilius encamped between the
cities; and as he did not succeed in taking them before his year of
office expired, he was continued in the command with the title of
_Proconsul_, the first time that this office was created. At the
beginning of the following year Palæopolis was taken; and Neapolis only
escaped the same fate by concluding an alliance with the Romans.
Meanwhile the Romans had declared war against the Samnites.
SECOND OR GREAT SAMNITE WAR, B.C. 326-304.--The Second Samnite War
lasted 22 years, and was by far the most important of the three wars
which this people waged with Rome. During the first five years (B.C.
326-322) the Roman arms were generally successful. The Samnites became
so disheartened that they sued for peace, but obtained only a truce for
a year. It was during this period that the well-known quarrel took place
between L. Papirius Cursor and Q. Fabius Maximus, the two most
celebrated Roman generals of the time, who constantly led the armies of
the Republic to victory. In B.C. 325 L. Papirius was Dictator, and Q.
Fabius his Master of the Horse. Recalled to Rome by some defect in the
auspices, the Dictator left the army in charge of Fabius, but with
strict orders not to venture upon an engagement. Compelled or provoked
by the growing boldness of the enemy, Fabius attacked and defeated them
with great loss. But this victory was no extenuation for his offense in
the eyes of the Dictator. Papirius hastened back to the camp, burning
with indignation that his commands had been disobeyed, and ordered his
lictors to seize Fabius and put him to death. The soldiers, whom Fabius
had led to victory, rose in his defense; and in the night he escaped to
Rome, to implore the protection of the Senate. He was stating the case
to the Fathers, when Papirius entered the senate-house, followed by his
lictors, and demanded that the offender should be given up for
execution. But the Senate, the people, and the aged father of Maximus
interceded so strongly for his life, that the Dictator was obliged to
give way and to grant an ungracious pardon.
The year's truce had not expired when the Samnites again took up arms,
and for the next seven years (B.C. 321-315) the balance of success
inclined to their side. This appears to have been mainly owing to the
military abilities of their general C. Pontius, who deserves to be
ranked among the chief men of antiquity. In the first year of his
command he inflicted upon the Romans one of the severest blows they ever
sustained in the whole course of their history.
In B.C. 321 the two Consuls, T. Veturius and Sp. Postumius, marched into
Samnium by the road from Capua to Beneventum. Near the town of Caudium
they entered the celebrated pass called the CAUDINE FORKS (Furculæ
Caudinæ). It consisted of two narrow defiles or gorges, between which
was a tolerably spacious plain, but shut in on each side by mountains.
The Romans, thinking the Samnites to be far distant, had marched through
the first pass and the plain; but when they came to the second they
found it blocked up by works and trunks of trees, so as to be quite
impassable. Retracing their steps to the pass by which they had
entered, they found that the enemy had meantime taken possession of this
also. They were thus blocked up at either end, and, after making vain
attempts to force their way through, were obliged to surrender at
discretion. Thus both Consuls and four legions fell into the hands of
the Samnites. C. Pontius made a merciful use of his victory. He agreed
to dismiss them in safety upon their promising to restore the ancient
alliance on equal terms between the two nations, and to give up all the
places which they had conquered during the war. The Consuls and the
other superior officers swore to these terms in the name of the
Republic, and six hundred Roman knights were given as hostages. The
whole Roman army was now allowed to depart, and each Roman soldier
marched out singly under the yoke.
When the news of this disaster reached Rome the Senate refused to ratify
the peace, and resolved that the two Consuls and all the officers who
had sworn to the peace should be delivered up to the Samnites as persons
who had deceived them. They were conducted to Caudium by a Fetialis; and
when they appeared before the tribunal of C. Pontius, Postumius, with
superstitious folly, struck the Fetialis with his foot, saying that he
was now a Samnite citizen, and that war might be renewed with justice by
the Romans, since a Samnite had insulted the sacred envoy of the Roman
people. But Pontius refused to accept the persons who were thus offered,
and told them, if they wished to nullify the treaty, to send back the
army to the Caudine Forks. Thus Postumius and his companions returned to
Rome, and the 600 knights were alone left in the hands of the Samnites.
The disaster of Caudium shook the fate of many of the Roman allies, and
the fortune of war was for some years in favor of the Samnites. But in
B.C. 314 the tide of success again turned, and the decisive victory of
the Consuls in that year opened the way into the heart of Samnium. From
this time the Romans were uniformly successful; and it seemed probable
that the war was drawing to a close, when the Etruscans created a
powerful diversion by declaring war against Rome in B.C. 311. But the
energy and ability of Q. Fabius Maximus averted this new danger. He
boldly carried the war into the very heart of Etruria, and gained a
decisive victory over the forces of the League. The Samnites also were
repeatedly defeated; and after the capture of Bovianum, the chief city
of the Pentri, they were compelled to sue for peace. It was granted them
in B.C. 304, on condition of their acknowledging the supremacy of Rome.
At the conclusion of the Second Samnite War the Æquians and Hernicans
were reduced to subjection after a brief struggle. A part of the Æquian
territory was incorporated in that of Rome by the addition of two new
tribes, and two colonies were planted in the other portion. The Marsi,
Marrucini, Peligni, and other nations of Central Italy, entered into a
league with the Romans on equal terms. Thus, in B.C. 300, the power of
Rome seemed firmly established in Central Italy. But this very power
awakened the jealousy of the surrounding nations, and the Samnites
exerted themselves to form a new and formidable coalition. The Etruscans
and Umbrians agreed to make war against Rome, and called in the
assistance of the Senonian Gauls.
THIRD SAMNITE WAR, B.C. 298-290.--As soon as the Etruscans and Umbrians
were engaged with Rome, the Samnites invaded Lucania. The Lucanians
invoked the assistance of the Romans, who forthwith declared war against
the Samnites. The Republic had now to contend at one and the same time
against the Etruscans, Umbrians, Gauls, and Samnites; but she carried on
the struggle with the utmost energy, attacking the Etruscans, Umbrians,
and Gauls in the north, and the Samnites in the south. At length, in
B.C. 295, the Samnites joined their confederates in Umbria. In this
country, near the town of Sentinum, a desperate battle was fought, which
decided the fortune of the war. The two Roman Consuls were the aged Q.
Fabius Maximus and P. Decius Mus. The victory was long doubtful. The
wing commanded by Decius was giving way before the terrible onset of the
Gauls, when he determined to imitate the example of his father, and to
devote himself and the enemy to destruction. His death gave fresh
courage to his men, and Fabius gained a complete and decisive victory.
Gellius Egnatius, the Samnite general, who had taken the most active
part in forming the coalition, was slain. But, though the League was
thus broken up, the Samnites continued the struggle for five years
longer. During this period C. Pontius, who had defeated the Romans at
the Caudine Forks, again appeared, after twenty-seven years, as the
leader of the Samnites, but was defeated by Q. Fabius Maximus with great
loss and taken prisoner. Being carried to Rome, he was put to death as
the triumphal car of the victor ascended the Capitol (B.C. 292). This
shameful act has been justly branded as one of the greatest stains on
the Roman annals. Two years afterward the Samnites were unable to
continue any longer the hopeless struggle, and became the subjects of
Rome. The third and last Samnite war was brought to a close in B.C. 290.
[Footnote 24: According to the Roman expression, the _Jus Connubii_ and
_Jus Commercii_ were forbidden.]
[Illustration: Coin of Pyrrhus.]
CHAPTER IX.
FROM THE CONCLUSION OF THE SAMNITE WAR TO THE SUBJUGATION OF ITALY. B.C.
290-265.
Ten years elapsed from the conclusion of the third Samnite war to the
arrival of Pyrrhus in Italy. During this time the Etruscans and Gauls
renewed the war in the north, but were defeated with great slaughter
near the Lake Vadimo. This decisive battle appears to have completely
crushed the Etruscan power; and it inflicted so severe a blow upon the
Gauls that we hear no more of their ravages for the next sixty years.
In the south the Lucanians also rose against Rome. The extension of the
Roman dominion in the south of the peninsula had brought the state into
connection with the Greek cities, which at one period were so numerous
and powerful as to give to this part of Italy the name of Magna
Græcia.[25] Many of these cities had now fallen into decay through
internal dissensions and the conquests of the Lucanians and other
Sabellian tribes; but Tarentum, originally a Lacedæmonian colony, still
maintained her former power and splendor. The Tarentines naturally
regarded with extreme jealousy the progress of the Roman arms in the
south of Italy, and had secretly instigated the Etruscans and Lucanians
to form a new coalition against Rome. But the immediate cause of the war
between the Lucanians and Romans was the assistance which the latter had
rendered to the Greek city of Thurii. Being attacked by the Lucanians,
the Thurians applied to Rome for aid, and the Consul C. Fabricius not
only relieved Thurii, but defeated the Lucanians and their allies in
several engagements (B.C. 252). Upon the departure of Fabricius a Roman
garrison was left in Thurii. The only mode now of maintaining
communication between Rome and Thurii was by sea; but this was virtually
forbidden by a treaty which the Romans had made with Tarentum nearly
twenty years before, in which treaty it was stipulated that no Roman
ships of war should pass the Lacinian promontory. But circumstances were
now changed, and the Senate determined that their vessels should no
longer be debarred from the Gulf of Tarentum. There was a small squadron
of ten ships in those seas under the command of L. Valerius; and one
day, when the Tarentines were assembled in the theatre, which looked
over the sea, they saw the Roman squadron sailing toward their harbor.
This open violation of the treaty seemed a premeditated insult, and a
demagogue urged the people to take summary vengeance. They rushed down
to the harbor, quickly manned some ships, and gained an easy victory
over the small Roman squadron. Only half made their escape, four were
sunk, one taken, and Valerius himself killed. After this the Tarentines
marched against Thurii, compelled the inhabitants to dismiss the Roman
garrison, and then plundered the town.
The Senate sent an embassy to Tarentum to complain of these outrages and
to demand satisfaction. L. Postumius, who was at the head of the
embassy, was introduced with his colleagues into the theatre, to state
to the assembled people the demands of the Roman Senate. He began to
address them in Greek, but his mistakes in the language were received
with peals of laughter from the thoughtless mob. Unable to obtain a
hearing, much less an answer, Postumius was leaving the theatre, when a
drunken buffoon rushed up to him and sullied his white robe in the most
disgusting manner. The whole theatre rang with shouts of laughter and
clapping of hands, which became louder and louder when Postumius held up
his sullied robe and showed it to the people. "Laugh on now," he cried,
"but this robe shall be washed in torrents of your blood."
War was now inevitable. The luxurious Tarentines sent an embassy to
Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, begging him, in the name of all the Italian
Greeks, to cross over into Italy in order to conduct the war against the
Romans. They told him that they only wanted a general, and that all the
nations of Southern Italy would flock to his standard. Pyrrhus needed no
persuasion to engage in an enterprise which realized the earliest dreams
of his ambition. The conquest of Italy would naturally lead to the
sovereignty of Sicily and Africa, and he would then be able to return to
Greece with the united forces of the West to overcome his rivals and
reign as master of the world. But as he would not trust the success of
his enterprise to the valor and fidelity of Italian troops, he began to
make preparations to carry over a powerful army. Meantime he sent Milo,
one of his generals, with a detachment of 3000 men, to garrison the
citadel of Tarentum. Pyrrhus himself crossed over from Epirus toward the
end of B.C. 281, taking with him 20,000 foot, 3000 horse, and 20
elephants.
Upon reaching Tarentum he began to make preparations to carry on the war
with activity. The Tarentines soon found they had obtained a master
rather than an ally. He shut up the theatre and all other public places,
and compelled their young men to serve in his ranks. Notwithstanding all
his activity, the Romans were first in the field. The Consul M. Valerius
Lævinus marched into Lucania; but as the army of Pyrrhus was inferior to
that of the Romans, he attempted to gain time by negotiation in order
that he might be joined by his Italian allies. He accordingly wrote to
the Consul, offering to arbitrate between Rome and the Italian states;
but Lævinus bluntly told him to mind his own business and retire to
Epirus. Fearing to remain inactive any longer, although he was not yet
joined by his allies, Pyrrhus marched out against the Romans with his
own troops and the Tarentines. He took up his position between the towns
of Pandosia and Heraclea, on the River Siris. The Romans, who were
encamped on the other side of the river, were the first to begin the
battle. They crossed the river, and were immediately attacked by the
cavalry of Pyrrhus, who led them to the charge in person, and
distinguished himself as usual by the most daring acts of valor. The
Romans, however, bravely sustained the attack; and Pyrrhus, finding that
his cavalry could not decide the day, ordered his infantry to advance.
The battle was still contested most furiously: seven times did both
armies advance and retreat; and it was not till Pyrrhus brought forward
his elephants, which bore down every thing before them, that the Romans
took to flight, leaving their camp to the conqueror (B.C. 280).
This battle taught Pyrrhus the difficulty of the enterprise he had
undertaken. Before the engagement, when he saw the Romans forming their
line as they crossed the river, he said to his officers, "In war, at any
rate, these barbarians are not barbarous;" and afterward, as he saw the
Roman dead lying upon the field with all their wounds in front, he
exclaimed, "If these were my soldiers, or if I were their general, we
should conquer the world." And, though his loss had been inferior to
that of the Romans, still so large a number of his officers and best
troops had fallen, that he said, "Another such victory, and I must
return to Epirus alone." He therefore resolved to avail himself of this
victory to conclude, if possible, an advantageous peace. He sent his
minister Cineas to Rome with the proposal that the Romans should
recognize the independence of the Greeks in Italy, restore to the
Samnites, Lucanians, Apulians, and Bruttians all the possessions which
they had lost in war, and make peace with himself and the Tarentines.
As soon as peace was concluded on these terms he promised to return all
the Roman prisoners without ransom. Cineas, whose persuasive eloquence
was said to have won more towns for Pyrrhus than his arms, neglected no
means to induce the Romans to accept these terms. The prospects of the
Republic seemed so dark and threatening that many members of the Senate
thought it would be more prudent to comply with the demands of the king;
and this party would probably have carried the day had it not been for
the patriotic speech of the aged Ap. Claudius Caucus, who denounced the
idea of a peace with a victorious foe with such effect that the Senate
declined the proposals of the king, and commanded Cineas to quit Rome
the same day.
Cineas returned to Pyrrhus, and told him he must hope for nothing from
negotiation; that the city was like a temple of the gods, and the Senate
an assembly of kings. Pyrrhus now advanced by rapid marches toward Rome,
ravaging the country as he went along, and without encountering any
serious opposition. He at length arrived at Præneste, which fell into
his hands. He was now only 24 miles from Rome, and his outposts advanced
six miles farther. Another march would have brought him under the walls
of the city; but at this moment he learned that peace was concluded with
the Etruscans, and that the other Consul had returned with his army to
Rome. All hope of compelling the Romans to accept the peace was now
gone, and he therefore resolved to retreat. He retired slowly into
Campania, and from thence withdrew into winter quarters to Tarentum.
As soon as the armies were quartered for the winter, the Romans sent an
embassy to Pyrrhus to negotiate the ransom or exchange of prisoners. The
embassadors were received by Pyrrhus in the most distinguished manner;
and his interviews with C. Fabricius, who was at the head of the
embassy, form one of the most famous stories in Roman history. Fabricius
was a fine specimen of the sturdy Roman character. He cultivated his
farm with his own hands, and, like his contemporary Curius, was
celebrated for his incorruptible integrity. The king attempted in vain
to work upon his cupidity and his fears. He steadily refused the large
sums of money offered by Pyrrhus; and when an elephant, concealed behind
him by a curtain, waved his trunk over his head, Fabricius remained
unmoved. Such respect did his conduct inspire, that Pyrrhus attempted to
persuade him to enter into his service and accompany him to Greece. The
object of the embassy failed. The king refused to exchange the
prisoners; but, to show them his trust in their honor, he allowed them
to go to Rome in order to celebrate the Saturnalia, stipulating that
they were to return to Tarentum if the Senate would not accept the terms
which he had previously offered through Cineas. The Senate remained firm
in their resolve, and all the prisoners returned to Pyrrhus, the
punishment of death having been denounced against those who should
remain in the city.
In the following year (B.C. 279) the war was renewed, and a battle was
fought near Asculum. The Romans fled to their camp, which was so near to
the field of battle that not more than 6000 fell, while Pyrrhus lost
more than half this number. The victory yielded Pyrrhus little or no
advantage, and he was obliged to retire to Tarentum for the winter
without effecting any thing more during the campaign. In the last
battle, as well as in the former, the brunt of the action had fallen
almost exclusively upon his Greek troops; and the state of Greece, which
this year was overrun by the Gauls, made it hopeless for him to expect
any re-enforcements from Epirus. He was therefore unwilling to hazard
his surviving Greeks by another campaign with the Romans, and
accordingly lent a ready ear to the invitations of the Greeks in Sicily,
who begged him to come to their assistance against the Carthaginians. It
was necessary, however, first to suspend hostilities with the Romans,
who were likewise anxious to get rid of so formidable an opponent, that
they might complete the subjugation of Southern Italy without farther
interruption. When both parties had the same wishes it was not difficult
to find a fair pretext for bringing the war to a conclusion. This was
afforded at the beginning of the following year (B.C. 278) by one of the
servants of Pyrrhus deserting to the Romans, and proposing to the
Consuls to poison his master. They sent back the deserter to the king,
saying that they abhorred a victory gained by treason. Thereupon
Pyrrhus, to show his gratitude, sent Cineas to Rome with all the Roman
prisoners, without ransom and without conditions; and the Romans granted
him a truce.
Leaving Milo with part of his troops in possession of Tarentum, Pyrrhus
now crossed over into Sicily. He remained there upward of two years. At
first he met with brilliant success, and deprived the Carthaginians of a
great part of the island. Subsequently, however, he received a severe
repulse in an attempt which he made upon the impregnable town of
Lilybæum. The fickle Greeks now began to form cabals and plots against
him. This led to retaliation on his part, and he soon became as anxious
to abandon the island as he had been before to leave Italy. Accordingly,
when his Italian allies again begged him to come to their assistance, he
readily complied with their request, and arrived in Italy in the autumn
of B.C. 276. His troops were now almost the same in number as when he
first landed in Italy, but very different in quality. The faithful
Epirots had for the most part fallen, and his present soldiers consisted
chiefly of mercenaries, whom he had levied in Italy. One of his first
operations was the recovery of Locri, which had revolted to the Romans;
and as he here found himself in great difficulties for want of money to
pay his troops, he was induced to take possession of the treasures of
the Temple of Proserpine in that town; but the ships conveying the money
were wrecked. This circumstance deeply affected the mind of Pyrrhus; he
ordered the treasures which were saved to be restored to the temple, and
from this time became haunted by the idea that the wrath of Proserpine
was pursuing him, and dragging him down to ruin.
The following year (B.C. 274) closed the career of Pyrrhus in Italy. The
Consul M'. Curius marched into Samnium, and his colleague into Lucania.
Pyrrhus advanced against Curius, who was encamped in the neighborhood of
Beneventum, and resolved to fight with him before he was joined by his
colleague. As Curius did not wish to risk a battle with his own army
alone, Pyrrhus planned a night-attack upon his camp. But he
miscalculated the time and the distance; the torches burnt out, the men
missed their way, and it was already broad daylight when he reached the
heights above the Roman camp. Still their arrival was quite unexpected;
but, as a battle was now inevitable, Curius led out his men. The troops
of Pyrrhus, exhausted by fatigue, were easily put to the rout; two
elephants were killed and eight more taken. Encouraged by this success,
Curius no longer hesitated to meet the king in the open plain, and
gained a decisive victory. Pyrrhus arrived at Tarentum with only a few
horsemen. Shortly afterward he crossed over to Greece, leaving Milo with
a garrison at Tarentum. Two years afterward he perished in an attack
upon Argos, ingloriously slain by a tile hurled by a woman from the roof
of a house.
The departure of Pyrrhus left the Lucanians and other Italian tribes
exposed to the full power of Rome. They nevertheless continued the
hopeless struggle a little longer; but in B.C. 272 Tarentum fell into
the hands of Rome, and in a few years afterward every nation in Italy,
to the south of the Macra and the Rubicon, owned the supremacy of Rome.
She had now become one of the first powers in the ancient world. The
defeat of Pyrrhus attracted the attention of the nations of the East;
and in B.C. 273, Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, sent an embassy to
Rome, and concluded a treaty with the Republic.
The dominion which Rome had acquired by her arms was confirmed by her
policy. She pursued the same system which she had adopted upon the
subjugation of Latium, keeping the cities isolated from one another, but
at the same time allowing them to manage their own affairs. The
population of Italy was divided into three classes. _Cives Romani_,
_Nomen Latinum_, and _Socii_.
I. CIVES ROMANI, or ROMAN CITIZENS.--These consisted: (1.) Of the
citizens of the thirty-three Tribes into which the Roman territory was
now divided, and which extended north of the Tiber a little beyond Veii,
and southward as far as the Liris; though even in this district there
were some towns, such as Tibur and Prænesté, which did not possess the
Roman franchise. (2.) Of the citizens of Roman colonies planted in
different parts of Italy. (3.) Of the citizens of municipal towns upon
whom the Roman franchise was conferred. In some cases the Roman
franchise was granted without the right of voting in the Comitia
(_civitas sine suffragio_), but in course of time this right also was
generally conceded.
II. NOMEN LATINUM, or the LATIN NAME.--This term was applied to the
colonies founded by Rome which did not enjoy the rights of Roman
citizenship, and which stood in the same position with regard to the
Roman state as had been formerly occupied by the cities of the Latin
League. The name originated at a period when colonies were actually sent
out in common by the Romans and Latins, but similar colonies continued
to be founded by the Romans alone long after the extinction of the Latin
League. In fact, the majority of the colonies planted by Rome were of
this kind, the Roman citizens who took part in them voluntarily
resigning their citizenship, in consideration of the grants of land
which they obtained. But the citizen of any Latin colony might emigrate
to Rome, and be enrolled in one of the Roman tribes, provided he had
held a magistracy in his native town. These Latin colonies--the _Nomen
Latinum_--were some of the most flourishing towns in Italy.
III. SOCII, or ALLIES, included the rest of Italy. Each of the towns
which had been conquered by Rome had formed a treaty (_foedus_) with
the latter, which determined their rights and duties. These treaties
were of various kinds, some securing nominal independence to the towns,
and others reducing them to absolute subjection.
The political changes in Rome itself, from the time of the Latin wars,
have been already in great part anticipated. Appius Claudius, afterward
named Cæcus, or the Blind, introduced a dangerous innovation in the
constitution during the Second Samnite War. Slavery existed at Rome, as
among the other nations of antiquity; and as many slaves, from various
causes, acquired their liberty, there gradually sprung up at Rome a
large and indigent population of servile origin. These Freedmen were
Roman citizens, but they could only be enrolled in the four city-tribes,
so that, however numerous they might become, they could influence only
the votes of four tribes. Appius Claudius, in his Censorship (B.C.
312), when making out the lists of citizens, allowed the Freedmen to
enroll themselves in any tribe they pleased; but this dangerous
innovation was abolished by the Censors Q. Fabius Maximus and P. Decius
Mus (B.C. 304), who restored all the Freedmen to the four city-tribes.
The Censorship of Appius is, however, memorable for the great public
works which he executed. He made the great military road called the
Appian Way (Via Appia), leading from Rome to Capua, a distance of 120
miles, which long afterward was continued across the Apennines to
Brundusium. He also executed the first of the great aqueducts (Aqua
Appia) which supplied Rome with such an abundance of water.
Cn. Flavius, the son of a Freedman, and Secretary to Appius Claudius,
divulged the forms and times to be observed in legal proceedings. These
the Patricians had hitherto kept secret; they alone knew the days when
the courts would be held, and the technical pleadings according to which
all actions must proceed. But Flavius, having become acquainted with
these secrets, by means of his patron, published in a book a list of the
formularies to be observed in the several kinds of actions, and also set
up in the forum a whited tablet containing a list of all the days on
which the courts could be held. In spite of his ignominious birth, he
was made a Senator by Appius Claudius, and was elected Curule Ædile by
the people.
[Illustration: Temple of Vesta. (From a Coin.)]
[Footnote 25: See p. 6. (The end of Chapter I.--Transcriber)]
[Illustration: Mount Ercta in Sicily.]
CHAPTER X.
THE FIRST PUNIC WAR. B.C. 264-241.
Rome, now mistress of Italy, entered upon a long and arduous straggle
with Carthage, which ruled without a rival the western waters of the
Mediterranean. This great and powerful city was founded by the
Phoenicians[26] of Tyre in B.C. 814, according to the common
chronology. Its inhabitants were consequently a branch of the Semitic
race, to which the Hebrews also belonged. Carthage rose to greatness by
her commerce, and gradually extended her empire over the whole of the
north of Africa, from the Straits of Hercules to the borders of Cyrene.
Her Libyan subjects she treated with extreme harshness, and hence they
were always ready to revolt against her so soon as a foreign enemy
appeared upon her soil.
The two chief magistrates at Carthage were elected annually out of a few
of the chief families, and were called _Suffetes_.[27] There was a
Senate of Three Hundred members, and also a smaller Council of One
Hundred, of which the latter were the most powerful, holding office for
life, and exercising an almost sovereign sway over the other authorities
in the state. The government was a complete oligarchy; and a few old,
rich, and powerful families divided among themselves the influence and
power of the state. These great families were often opposed to each
other in bitter feuds, but concurred in treating with contempt the mass
of the people.
In her foreign wars Carthage depended upon mercenary troops, which her
great wealth enabled her to procure in abundance from Spain, Italy, and
Greece, as well as from Libya. Sardinia and Corsica were among her
earliest conquests, and Sicily was also one of the first objects of her
military enterprise. The Phoenician colonies in this island came under
her dominion as the power of Tyre declined; and having thus obtained a
firm footing in Sicily, she carried on a long struggle for the supremacy
with the Greek cities. It was here that she came into contact with the
Roman arms. The relations of Rome and Carthage had hitherto been
peaceful, and a treaty, concluded between the two states in the first
years of the Roman republic, had been renewed more than once. But the
extension of Roman dominion had excited the jealousy of Carthage, and
Rome began to turn longing eyes to the fair island at the foot of her
empire. It was evident that a struggle was not far distant, and Pyrrhus
could not help exclaiming, as he quitted Sicily, "How fine a
battle-field are we leaving to the Romans and Carthaginians!"
The city of Messana, situated on the straits which divide Sicily from
Italy, was occupied at this time by the Mamertini. They were a body of
Campanian mercenaries, chiefly of Sabellian origin, who had served under
Agathocles, and after the death of that tyrant (B.C. 289) were marched
to Messana, in order to be transported to Italy. Being hospitably
received within the city, they suddenly rose against the inhabitants,
massacred the male population, and made themselves masters of their
wives and property. They now took the name of Mamertini, or "Children of
Mars," from Mamers, a Sabellian name for that deity. They rapidly
extended their power over a considerable portion of the north of Sicily,
and were formidable enemies to Syracuse. Hiero, having become king of
Syracuse, determined to destroy this nest of robbers, advanced against
them with a large army, defeated them in battle, and shut them up within
Messana. The Mamertines were obliged to look out for help; one party
wished to appeal to the Carthaginians, and the other to invoke the
assistance of Rome. The latter ultimately prevailed, and an embassy was
sent to implore immediate aid. The temptation was strong, for the
occupation of Messana by a Carthaginian garrison might prove dangerous
to the tranquillity of Italy. Still the Senate hesitated; for only six
years before Hiero had assisted the Romans in punishing the Campanian
mercenaries, who had seized Rhegium in the same way as the Mamertines
had made themselves masters of Messana. The voice of justice prevailed,
and the Senate declined the proposal. But the Consuls, thirsting for
glory, called together the popular assembly, who eagerly voted that the
Mamertines should be assisted; in other words, that the Carthaginians
should not be allowed to obtain possession of Messana. The Consul App.
Claudius, the son of the blind Censor, was to lead an army into Sicily.
But during this delay the Carthaginian party in Messana had obtained the
ascendency, and Hanno, with a Carthaginian garrison, had been admitted
into the citadel. Hiero had concluded peace with the Mamertines through
the mediation of the Carthaginians, so that there was no longer even a
pretext for the interference of the Romans. But a legate of the Consul
App. Claudius, having crossed to Sicily, persuaded the Mamertines to
expel the Carthaginian garrison. Hiero and the Carthaginians now
proceeded to lay siege to Messana by sea and land, and the Romans no
longer hesitated to declare war against Carthage. Such was the
commencement of the first Punic War (B.C. 264).
The Carthaginians commanded the sea with a powerful fleet, while the
Romans had no ships of war worthy of the name. But the Consul App.
Claudius, having contrived to elude the Carthaginian squadron, landed
near the town of Messana, and defeated in succession the forces of
Syracuse and Carthage. In the following year (263) the Romans followed
up their success against Hiero. The two Consuls advanced to the walls of
Syracuse, ravaging the territory of the city and capturing many of its
dependent towns. The king became alarmed at the success of the Romans;
and thinking that they would prove more powerful than the Carthaginians,
he concluded a peace with Rome. From this time till his death, a period
of nearly fifty years, Hiero remained the firm and steadfast ally of the
Romans.
The Romans, now freed from the hostility of Syracuse, laid siege to
Agrigentum, the second of the Greek cities in Sicily, which had espoused
the cause of the Carthaginians at the commencement of the war. The siege
lasted seven months, and numbers perished on both sides. But at length
the Romans gained a decisive victory over the Carthaginian army which
had been sent to raise the siege, and obtained possession of the town
(B.C. 262).
The first three years of the war had already made the Romans masters of
the greater part of Sicily. But the coasts of Italy were exposed to the
ravages of the Carthaginian fleet, and the Romans saw that they could
not hope to bring the war to a successful termination so long as
Carthage was mistress of the sea. They had only a small number of
triremes, galleys with three banks of oars, and were quite unable to
cope with the quinqueremes, or large vessels with five banks of oars, of
which the Carthaginian navy consisted. The Senate, with characteristic
energy, determined to build a fleet of these larger vessels. A
Carthaginian quinquereme, which had been wrecked upon the coast of
Italy, served as a model; and in the short space of sixty days from the
time the trees were felled, 130 ships were launched. While the ships
were building, the rowers were trained on scaffolds placed upon the land
like benches of ships at sea. We can not but feel astonished at the
daring of the Romans, who, with ships thus hastily and clumsily built,
and with crews imperfectly trained, sailed to attack the navy of the
first maritime state in the world. This was in the fifth year of the war
(B.C. 260). One of the Consuls, Cn. Cornelius, first put to sea with
only 17 ships, but was surprised near Lipara, and taken prisoner with
the whole of his squadron. His colleague, C. Duilius, now took the
command of the rest of the fleet. He saw that the only means of
conquering the Carthaginians by sea was to deprive them of all the
advantages of manoeuvring, and to take their ships by boarding. For
this purpose, every ship was provided with a boarding-bridge 36 feet in
length, which was pulled up by a rope and fastened to a mast in the fore
part of the ship. As soon as an enemy's ship came near enough, the rope
was loosened, the bridge fell down, and became fastened by means of an
iron spike in its under side. The boarders then poured down the bridge
into the enemy's ship. Thus prepared, Duilius boldly sailed out to meet
the fleet of the enemy. He found them off the Sicilian coast, near Mylæ.
The Carthaginians hastened to the fight as if to a triumph, but their
ships were rapidly seized by the boarding-bridges, and when it came to a
close fight their crews were no match for the veteran soldiers of Rome.
The victory of Duilius was complete. Thirty-one of the enemy's ships
were taken, and fourteen destroyed; the rest only saved themselves by an
ignominious flight. On his return to Rome, Duilius celebrated a
magnificent triumph. Public honors were conferred upon him; he was to be
escorted home in the evening from banquets by the light of torches and
the sound of the flute, and a column adorned with the beaks of the
conquered ships, and thence called the Columna Rostrata, was set up in
the forum.[28]
[Illustration: Columna Rostrata.]
For the next few years the war languished, and nothing of importance was
effected on either side; but in the ninth year of the struggle (B.C.
256) the Romans resolved by strenuous exertions to bring it to a
conclusion. They therefore made preparations for invading Africa with a
great force. The two Consuls, M. Atilius Regulus and L. Manlius, set
sail with 330 ships, took the legions on board in Sicily, and then put
out to sea in order to cross over to Africa. The Carthaginian fleet,
consisting of 350 ships, met them near Ecnomus, on the southern coast of
Sicily. The battle which ensued was the greatest sea-fight that the
ancient world had yet seen. The boarding-bridges of the Romans again
annihilated all the advantages of maritime skill. Their victory was
decisive. They lost only 24 ships, while they destroyed 30 of the
enemy's vessels, and took 64 with all their crews. The passage to Africa
was now clear, and the remainder of the Carthaginian fleet hastened home
to defend the capital. The Romans landed near the town of Clupea, or
Aspis, which they took, and there established their head-quarters. From
thence they laid waste the Carthaginian territory with fire and sword,
and collected an immense booty from the defenseless country. On the
approach of winter, Manlius, one of the Consuls, by order of the Senate,
returned to Rome with half of the army, while Regulus remained with the
other half to prosecute the war. He carried on his operations with the
utmost vigor, and was greatly assisted by the incompetency of the
Carthaginian generals. The enemy had collected a considerable force,
which they intrusted to three commanders, Hasdrubal, Bostar, and
Hamilcar; but these generals avoided the plains, where their cavalry and
elephants would have given them an advantage over the Roman army, and
withdrew into the mountains. There they were attacked by Regulus, and
utterly defeated with great loss; 15,000 men were killed in battle, and
5000 men, with 18 elephants, were taken. The Carthaginian troops retired
within the walls of the capital, and Regulus now overran the country
without opposition. Many towns fell into the power of the Romans, and
among others Tunis, which was at the distance of only 20 miles from
Carthage. The Numidians took the opportunity of recovering their
independence, and their roving bands completed the devastation of the
country. The Carthaginians, in despair, sent a herald to Regulus to
solicit peace; but the Roman general, intoxicated with success, would
only grant it on such intolerable terms that the Carthaginians resolved
to continue the war and hold out to the last. In the midst of their
distress and alarm, succor came to them from an unexpected quarter.
Among the Greek mercenaries who had lately arrived at Carthage was a
Lacedæmonian of the name of Xanthippus. He pointed out to the
Carthaginians that their defeats were owing to the incompetency of their
generals, and not to the superiority of the Roman arms; and he inspired
such confidence in the government, that he was forthwith placed at the
head of their troops. Relying on his 4000 cavalry and 100 elephants,
Xanthippus boldly marched into the open country to meet the enemy,
though his forces were very inferior in number to the Romans. Regulus
readily accepted battle thus offered; but it ended in his total
overthrow. Thirty thousand Romans were slain; scarcely 2000 escaped to
Clupea, and Regulus himself, with 500 more, was taken prisoner. This was
in the year B.C. 255.
Another disaster awaited the Romans in this year. Their fleet, which had
been sent to Africa to carry off the remains of the army of Regulus, had
not only succeeded in their object, but had gained a victory over the
Carthaginian fleet. They were returning home when they were overtaken
off Camarina, in Sicily, by a fearful storm. Nearly the entire fleet was
destroyed, and the coast was strewed for miles with wrecks and corpses.
The Romans, with undiminished energy, immediately set to work to build a
new fleet, and in less than three months 220 ships were ready for sea.
But the same fate awaited them. In B.C. 253 the Consuls had ravaged the
coasts of Africa, but, on their return, were again surprised by a
fearful storm off Cape Palinurus. A hundred and fifty ships were
wrecked. This blow, coming so soon after the other, damped the courage
even of the Romans; they determined not to rebuild the fleet, and to
keep only 60 ships for the defense of the coast of Italy and the
protection of the transports.
The war was now confined to Sicily; but, since the defeat of Regulus,
the Roman soldiers had been so greatly alarmed by the elephants, that
their generals did not venture to attack the Carthaginians. At length,
in B.C. 250, the Roman proconsul, L. Metellus, accepted battle under the
walls of Panormus, and gained a decisive victory. The Carthaginians lost
20,000 men; 13 of their generals adorned the triumph of Metellus; and
104 elephants were also led in the triumphal procession. This was the
most important battle that had been yet fought in Sicily, and had a
decisive influence upon the issue of the contest. It so raised the
spirits of the Romans that they determined once more to build a fleet of
200 sail. The Carthaginians, on the other hand, were anxious to bring
the war to an end, and accordingly sent an embassy to Rome to propose an
exchange of prisoners, and to offer terms of peace.
Regulus, who had been now five years in captivity, was allowed to
accompany the embassadors, with the promise that he would return to
Carthage if their proposals were declined. This embassy is the subject
of one of the most celebrated stories in the Roman annals. The orators
and poets relate how Regulus at first refused to enter the city as a
slave of the Carthaginians; how afterward he would not give his opinion
in the Senate, as he had ceased by his captivity to be a member of that
illustrious body; how, at length, when induced by his countrymen to
speak, he endeavored to dissuade the Senate from assenting to a peace,
or even to an exchange of prisoners; and when he saw them wavering, from
their desire to redeem him from captivity, how he told them that the
Carthaginians had given him a slow poison, which would soon terminate
his life; and how, finally, when the Senate, through his influence,
refused the offers of the Carthaginians, he firmly resisted all the
persuasions of his friends to remain in Rome, and returned to Carthage,
where a martyr's death awaited him. It is related that he was placed in
a barrel covered over with iron nails, and thus perished. Other writers
state, in addition, that, after his eyelids had been cut off, he was
first thrown into a dark dungeon, and then suddenly exposed to the full
rays of a burning sun. When the news of the barbarous death of Regulus
reached Rome, the Senate is said to have given Hamilcar and Bostar, two
of the noblest Carthaginian prisoners, to the family of Regulus, who
revenged themselves by putting them to death with cruel torments.
Regulus was one of the favorite characters of early Roman story. Not
only was he celebrated for his heroism in giving the Senate advice which
secured him a martyr's death, but also on account of his frugality and
simplicity of life. Like Fabricius and Curius, he lived on his
hereditary farm, which he cultivated with his own hands; and subsequent
ages loved to tell how he petitioned the Senate for his recall from
Africa when he was in the full career of victory, as his farm was going
to ruin in his absence, and his family was suffering from want.
The Carthaginian dominion in Sicily was now confined to the northwestern
corner of the island, and Lilybæum and Drepanum were the only two towns
remaining in their hands. Lilybæum, situated upon a promontory at the
western extremity of the island, was the strong-hold of the Carthaginian
power; and accordingly the Romans determined to concentrate all their
efforts, and to employ the armies of both Consuls in attacking this
city. This siege, which is one of the most memorable in ancient history,
commenced in B.C. 250, and lasted till the termination of the war. In
the second year of the siege (B.C. 249), the Consul P. Claudius, who lay
before Lilybæum, formed the design of attacking the Carthaginian fleet
in the neighboring harbor of Drepanum. In vain did the auguries warn
him. The keeper of the sacred chickens told him that they would not
eat. "At any rate," said he, "let them drink;" and he ordered them to be
thrown overboard. His impiety met with a meet reward. He was defeated
with great loss; 93 of his ships were taken or destroyed, and only 30
escaped. Great was the indignation at Rome. He was recalled by the
Senate, ordered to appoint a Dictator, and then to lay down his office.
Claudius, in scorn, named M. Claudius Glycias, a son of one of his
freedmen. But the Senate would not brook this insult; they deprived the
unworthy man of the honor, and appointed in his place A. Atilius
Calatinus.
The other Consul, C. Junius, was equally unfortunate. He was sailing
along the coasts of Sicily with a convoy of 800 vessels, intended to
relieve the wants of the army at Lilybæum, when he was overtaken by one
of those terrible storms which had twice before proved so fatal to the
Roman fleets. The transports were all dashed to pieces, and of his 105
ships of war only two escaped. Thus the Roman fleet was a third time
destroyed. These repeated misfortunes compelled the Romans to abandon
any farther attempts to contest the supremacy of the sea.
About this time a really great man was placed at the head of the
Carthaginian army--a man who, at an earlier period of the war, might
have brought the struggle to a very different termination. This was the
celebrated Hamilcar Barca,[29] the father of the still more celebrated
Hannibal. He was still a young man at the time of his appointment to the
command in Sicily (B.C. 247). His very first operations were equally
daring and successful. Instead of confining himself to the defense of
Lilybæum and Drepanum, with which the Carthaginian commanders had been
hitherto contented, he made descents upon the coast of Italy, and then
suddenly landed on the north of Sicily, and established himself, with
his whole army, on a mountain called Herctè (the modern _Monte
Pellegrino_), which overhung the town of Panormus (the modern
_Palermo_), one of the most important of the Roman possessions. Here he
maintained himself for nearly three years, to the astonishment alike of
friends and foes, and from hence he made continual descents into the
enemy's country, and completely prevented them from making any vigorous
attacks either upon Lilybæum or Drepanum. All the efforts of the Romans
to dislodge him were unsuccessful; and he only quitted Herctè in order
to seize Eryx, a town situated upon the mountain of this name, and only
six miles from Drepanum. This position he held for two years longer; and
the Romans, despairing of driving the Carthaginians out of Sicily so
long as they were masters of the sea, resolved to build another fleet.
In B.C. 242 the Consul Lutatius Catulus put to sea with a fleet of 200
ships, and in the following year he gained a decisive victory over the
Carthaginian fleet, commanded by Hanno, off the group of islands called
the Ægates.
[Illustration: Plan of Mount Ercta. A. Ercta, now _Monte Pellegrino_. B.
Panormus, the modern _Palermo_.]
This victory gave the Romans the supremacy by sea. Lilybæum, Drepanum,
and Eryx might now be reduced by famine. The Carthaginians were weary of
the war, and indisposed to make any farther sacrifices. They therefore
sent orders to Hamilcar to make peace on the best terms he could. It was
at length concluded on the following conditions: that Carthage should
evacuate Sicily and the adjoining islands; that she should restore the
Roman prisoners without ransom, and should pay the sum of 3200 talents
within the space of ten years (B.C. 241). All Sicily, with the exception
of the territory of Hiero, now became a portion of the Roman dominions,
and was formed into a Province, governed by a Prætor, who was sent
annually from Rome.
[Footnote 26: The Phoenicians were called by the Latins _Poeni_,
whence the adjective _punicus_, like _munire_ from _moenia_, and
_punire_ from _poena_.]
[Footnote 27: Probably the same as the Hebrew _Shofetim_, i.e., Judges.]
[Footnote 28: The inscription upon this column, or, at any rate, a very
ancient copy of it, is still preserved in the Capitoline Museum at
Rome.]
[Footnote 29: _Barca_ is the same as the Hebrew word _Barak_,
"lightning."]
[Illustration: Coin of Carthage.]
CHAPTER XI.
EVENTS BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND PUNIC WARS. B.C. 240-210.
Twenty-three years elapsed between the First and Second Punic Wars. The
power of Carthage, though crippled, was not destroyed; and Hamilcar
returned home, burning with hatred against Rome, and determined to renew
the war upon a favorable opportunity. But a new and terrible danger
threatened Carthage upon her own soil. The mercenary troops, who had
been transported from Sicily to Africa at the conclusion of the war,
being unable to obtain their arrears of pay, rose in open mutiny. Their
leaders were Spendius, a runaway Campanian slave, and Matho, a Libyan.
They were quickly joined by the native Libyans, and brought Carthage
almost to the brink of destruction. They laid waste the whole country
with fire and sword, made themselves masters of all the towns except the
capital, and committed the most frightful atrocities. Carthage owed her
safety to the genius and abilities of Hamilcar. The struggle was fierce
and sanguinary, but was at length brought to a successful issue, after
it had lasted more than three years, by the destruction of all the
mercenaries. It was called the War without Peace, or the Inexpiable War
(B.C. 238).
The Romans availed themselves of the exhausted condition of Carthage to
demand from her the islands of Sardinia and Corsica, and the payment of
a farther sum of 1200 talents. The mercenary troops in Sardinia, who had
also revolted, had applied to Rome for assistance; and the Senate
menaced her rival with war unless she complied with these unjust
demands. Resistance was impossible, and Sardinia and Corsica were now
formed into a Roman province, governed, like Sicily, by a Prætor sent
annually from Rome (B.C. 238). This act of robbery added fresh fuel to
the implacable animosity of Hamilcar against the grasping Republic. He
now departed for Spain, where for many years he steadily worked to lay
the foundation of a new empire, which might not only compensate for the
loss of Sicily and Sardinia, but enable him at some time to renew
hostilities against Rome.
Rome was now at peace, and in B.C. 235 the Temple of Janus, which had
remained open since the days of Numa, was closed for a second time. Two
new tribes were added to the Roman territory, thus making their total
number thirty-five.
The Temple of Janus did not long remain closed. The Illyrians, who dwelt
near the head of the Adriatic upon its eastern side, were a nation of
pirates, who ravaged the coasts of this sea. The Senate having sent
embassadors to the Illyrian queen, Teuta, to complain of these outrages,
she not only refused to attend to their complaints, but caused one of
the embassadors to be murdered. War was straightway declared, and a
Roman army for the first time crossed the Adriatic (B.C. 229). Demetrius
of Pharos, an unprincipled Greek, who was the chief counselor of Teuta,
deserted his mistress, and surrendered to the Romans the important
island of Corcyra. Teuta was obliged to yield to the Romans every thing
they demanded, and promised that the Illyrians should not appear south
of Lissa with more than two vessels. The suppression of piracy in the
Adriatic was hailed with gratitude by the Grecian states, and deserves
notice as the first occasion upon which the Romans were brought into
immediate contact with Greece. The Consul Postumius, who had wintered in
Illyria, sent envoys to Athens, Corinth, and other Grecian cities, to
explain what had been done. The envoys were received with honor, and
thanks were returned to Rome (B.C. 228).
The Romans had scarcely brought this trifling war to an end when they
became involved in a formidable struggle with their old enemies the
Gauls. Since the conquest of the Senones in B.C. 289, and of the Boii in
B.C. 283, the Gauls had remained quiet. The Romans had founded the
colony of Sena after the subjugation of the Senones; and in B.C. 268
they had still farther strengthened their dominion in those parts by
founding the colony of Ariminum. But the greater part of the soil from
which the Senones were ejected became Public Land. In B.C. 232 the
Tribune C. Flaminius carried an Agrarian Law to the effect that this
portion of the public land, known by the name of the "Gallic Land,"[30]
should be distributed among the poorer citizens. This alarmed the Boii,
who dwelt upon the borders of this district. They invoked the
assistance of the powerful tribe of the Insubres, and being joined by
them, as well as by large bodies of Gauls from beyond the Alps, they set
out for Rome.
All Italy was in alarm. The Romans dreaded a repetition of the disaster
of the Allia. The Sibylline Books being consulted, declared that Rome
must be twice occupied by a foreign foe; whereupon the Senate ordered
that two Gauls and a Grecian woman should be buried alive in the forum.
The allies eagerly offered men and supplies to meet a danger which was
common to the whole peninsula. An army of 150,000 foot and 6000 horse
was speedily raised. A decisive battle was fought near Telamon in
Etruria. The Gauls were hemmed in between the armies of the two Consuls.
As many as 40,000 of their men were slain, and 10,000 taken prisoners
(B.C. 225). The Romans followed up their success by invading the country
of the Boii, who submitted in the following year (B.C. 224).
In B.C. 223 the Romans for the first time crossed the Po, and the Consul
C. Flaminius gained a brilliant victory over the Insubres. The Consuls
of the next year, Cn. Cornelius Scipio and M. Claudius Marcellus,
continued the war against the Insubres, who called in to their aid a
fresh body of Transalpine Gauls. Marcellus slew with his own hand
Viridomarus, the chief of the Insubrian Gauls, and thus gained the third
_Spolia Opima_. At the same time Scipio took Mediolanum (Milan), the
chief town of the Insubres. This people now submitted without
conditions, and the war was brought to an end. To secure their recent
conquests, the Romans determined to plant two powerful Latin colonies at
Placentia and Cremona, on opposite banks of the Po. These were founded
in B.C. 218, and consisted each of 6000 men. The Via Flaminia, a road
constructed by C. Flaminius during his consulship (B.C. 220), from Rome
to Ariminum, secured the communication with the north of Italy.
While the Romans were engaged in the Gallic wars, the traitor Demetrius
of Pharos had usurped the chief power in Illyria, and had ventured upon
many acts of piracy. In B.C. 219 the Consul L. Æmilius Paullus crossed
the Adriatic, and soon brought this second Illyrian war to an end.
Demetrius fled to Philip of Macedon, where we shall shortly afterward
see him prompting this king to make war against Rome. The greater part
of Illyria was restored to the native chiefs; but the Romans retained
possession of Corcyra, and of the important towns of Apollonia and
Oricum on the coast.
Meanwhile Hamilcar had been steadily pursuing his conquests in Spain.
The subjugation of this country was only a means to an end. His great
object, as already stated, was to obtain the means of attacking, and, if
possible, crushing that hated rival who had robbed his country of
Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. His implacable animosity against Rome is
shown by the well-known tale that, when he crossed over to Spain in B.C.
235, taking with him his son Hannibal, then only nine years old, he made
him swear at the altar eternal hostility to Rome. During the eight years
that Hamilcar continued in Spain he carried the Carthaginian arms into
the heart of the country. While he conquered several states in war, he
gained over others by negotiation, and availed himself of their services
as allies or mercenaries. He fell in battle in B.C. 229, and was
succeeded in the command by his son-in-law Hasdrubal. His plans were
ably carried out by his successor. The conciliatory manners of Hasdrubal
gained him the affections of the Spaniards; and he consolidated the
Carthaginian empire in Spain by the foundation of New Carthage, now
Cartagena, in a situation admirably chosen on account of its excellent
harbor and easy communication with Africa, as well as from its proximity
to the silver mines, which supplied him with the means of paying his
troops. The conduct of his warlike enterprises was intrusted to the
youthful Hannibal, who had been trained in arms under the eye of his
father, and who already displayed that ability for war which made him
one of the most celebrated generals in ancient or modern times. The
successes of Hamilcar and Hasdrubal could not fail to attract the notice
of the Romans, and in B.C. 227 they concluded a treaty with the latter,
by which the River Iberus (Ebro) was fixed as the northern boundary of
the Carthaginian empire in Spain.
Hasdrubal was assassinated in B.C. 221 by a slave whose master he had
put to death. Hannibal had now acquired such a remarkable ascendency
over the army that the soldiers unanimously proclaimed him
commander-in-chief, and the government at Carthage hastened to ratify an
appointment which they had not, in fact, the power to prevent. Hannibal
was at this time in the 26th year of his age. There can be no doubt that
he already looked forward to the invasion and conquest of Italy as the
goal of his ambition; but it was necessary for him first to complete the
work which had been so ably begun by his two predecessors, and to
establish the Carthaginian power as firmly as possible in Spain. This he
accomplished in two campaigns, in the course of which he brought all the
nations south of the Iberus into subjection to Carthage.
Early in the spring of B.C. 219 he proceeded to lay siege to Saguntum, a
city of Greek origin, founded by the Zacynthians. Though situated to the
south of the Iberus, and therefore not included under the protection of
the treaty between Hasdrubal and the Romans, Sagantum had concluded an
alliance with the latter people. There could be little doubt, therefore,
that an attack upon this city would inevitably bring on a war with Rome;
but for this Hannibal was prepared, or, rather, it was unquestionably
his real object. The immediate pretext of his invasion was the same of
which the Romans so often availed themselves--some injury inflicted by
the Saguntines upon one of the neighboring tribes, who invoked the
assistance of Hannibal. But the resistance of the city was long and
desperate, and it was not till after a siege of nearly eight months that
he made himself master of the place. During all this period the Romans
sent no assistance to their allies. They had, indeed, as soon as they
heard of the siege, dispatched embassadors to Hannibal, but he referred
them for an answer to the government at home, and they could obtain no
satisfaction from the Carthaginians, in whose councils the war-party had
now a decided predominance. A second embassy was sent, after the fall of
Saguntum, to demand the surrender of Hannibal, in atonement for the
breach of the treaty. After much discussion, Q. Fabius, one of the Roman
embassadors, holding up a fold of his toga, said, "I carry here peace
and war; choose ye which ye will." "Give us which you will," was the
reply. "Then take war," said Fabius, letting fall his toga. "We accept
the gift," cried the Senators of Carthage. Thus commenced the Second
Punic War.
[Illustration: Coin of Hiero.]
[Footnote 30: Gallicus ager.]
[Illustration: Lake Trasimenus.]
CHAPTER XII.
THE SECOND PUNIC WAR: FIRST PERIOD, DOWN TO THE BATTLE OF CANNÆ. B.C.
218-216.
The Second Punic War was not so much a contest between the powers of two
great nations--between Carthage and Rome--as between the individual
genius of Hannibal on one hand, and the combined energies of the Roman
people on the other. The position of Hannibal was indeed very peculiar.
His command in Spain, and the powerful army there, which was entirely at
his own disposal, rendered him in great measure independent of the
government at Carthage, and the latter seemed disposed to devolve all
responsibility upon him. Even now they did little themselves to prepare
for the impending contest. All was left to Hannibal, who, after the
conquest of Saguntum, had returned once more to New Carthage for the
winter, and was there actively engaged in preparations for transporting
the scene of war in the ensuing campaign from Spain into Italy. At the
same time he did not neglect to provide for the defense of Spain and
Africa during his absence. In the former country he placed his brother
Hasdrubal, with a considerable army, great part of which was composed of
Africans, while he sent over a large body of Spanish troops to
contribute to the defense of Africa, and even of Carthage itself.
All his preparations being now completed, Hannibal quitted his winter
quarters at New Carthage in the spring of B.C. 218, and crossed the
Iberus with an army of 90,000 foot and 12,000 horse. The tribes between
that river and the Pyrenees offered at first a vigorous resistance, and,
though they were quickly subdued, Hannibal thought it necessary to leave
behind him a force of 11,000 men under Hanno to maintain this
newly-acquired province. His forces were farther thinned by desertion
during the passage of the Pyrenees, which obliged him to send home a
large body of his Spanish troops. With a greatly diminished army, but
one on which he could securely rely, he now continued his march from the
foot of the Pyrenees to the Rhone without meeting with any opposition;
for the Gaulish tribes through which he passed were favorably disposed
to him, or had been previously gained over by his enemies.
The Consul P. Cornelius Scipio had been ordered to proceed to Spain, but
various causes had detained him in Italy, and upon landing at Massilia
(Marseilles) he found that Hannibal was already advancing toward the
Rhone. Meantime the Carthaginian general effected his passage across the
river, notwithstanding the opposition of the Gauls; and when Scipio
marched up the left bank of the river he found that Hannibal had
advanced into the interior of Gaul, and was already three days in
advance of him. Despairing, therefore, of overtaking Hannibal, he
determined to sail back to Italy and await him in Cisalpine Gaul; but as
the Republic had already an army in that province, he sent the greater
part of his own forces into Spain under the command of his brother Cn.
Scipio. This prudent step probably saved Rome; for if the Carthaginians
had maintained the undisputed mastery of Spain, they might have
concentrated all their efforts to support Hannibal in Italy, and have
sent him such strong re-enforcements after the battle of Cannæ as would
have compelled Rome to submit.
Hannibal, after crossing the Rhone, continued his march up the left bank
of the river as far as its confluence with the Isère. Here he interposed
in a dispute between two rival chiefs of the Allobroges, and, by lending
his aid to establish one of them firmly on the throne, secured the
co-operation of an efficient ally, who greatly facilitated his farther
progress. But in his passage across the Alps he was attacked by the
barbarians, and as he struggled through the narrow and dangerous defiles
the enemy destroyed numbers of his men. It was some days before he
reached the summit of the pass. Thenceforth he suffered but little from
hostile attacks, but the descent was difficult and dangerous. The
natural difficulties of the road, enhanced by the lateness of the season
(the beginning of October, at which time the snows had already commenced
in the high Alps), caused him almost as much loss as the opposition of
the barbarians on the other side of the mountains. So heavy were his
losses from these combined causes, that, when he at length emerged from
the valley of Aosta into the plains of the Po and encamped in the
friendly country of the Insubres, he had with him no more than 20,000
foot and 6000 horse.[31] Such were the forces with which he descended
into Italy to attempt the overthrow of a power that a few years before
was able to muster a disposable force of above 700,000 fighting men.
Five months had been employed in the march from New Carthage to the
plains of Italy, of which the actual passage of the Alps had occupied
fifteen days. Hannibal's first care was now to recruit the strength of
his troops, exhausted by the hardships and fatigues they had undergone.
After a short interval of repose, he turned his arms against the
Taurinians (a tribe bordering on, and hostile to, the Insubrians), whom
he quickly reduced, and took their principal city (Turin). The news of
the approach of P. Scipio next obliged him to turn his attention toward
a more formidable enemy. In the first action, which took place in the
plains westward of the Ticinus, the cavalry and light-armed troops of
the two armies were alone engaged, and the superiority of Hannibal's
Numidian horse at once decided the combat in his favor. The Romans were
completely routed, and Scipio himself severely wounded; in consequence
of which he hastened to retreat beyond the Ticinus and the Po, under the
walls of Placentia. Hannibal crossed the Po higher up, and, advancing to
Placentia, offered battle to Scipio; but the latter declined the combat,
and withdrew to the hills on the left bank of the Trebia. Here he was
soon after joined by the other Consul, Ti. Sempronius Longus, who had
hastened from Ariminum to his support. Their combined armies were
greatly superior to that of the Carthaginians, and Sempronius was eager
to bring on a general battle, of which Hannibal, on his side, was not
less desirous, notwithstanding the great inferiority of his force. The
result was decisive; the Romans were completely defeated, with heavy
loss; and the remains of their shattered army, together with the two
Consuls, took refuge within the walls of Placentia. The battles of the
Ticinus and Trebia had been fought in December, and the winter had
already begun with unusual severity, so that Hannibal's troops suffered
severely from cold, and all his elephants perished except one. But his
victory had caused all the wavering tribes of the Gauls to declare in
his favor, and he was now able to take up his winter quarters in
security, and to levy fresh troops among the Gauls while he awaited the
approach of spring.
[Illustration: Coasts of the Mediterranean, illustrating the History of
the Punic.]
As soon as the season permitted the renewal of military operations (B.C.
217), Hannibal entered the country of the Ligurian tribes, who had
lately declared in his favor, and descended by the valley of the Macra
into the marshes on the banks of the Arno. He had apparently chosen this
route in order to avoid the Roman armies, which guarded the more obvious
passes of the Apennines; but the hardships and difficulties which he
encountered in struggling through the marshes were immense; great
numbers of his horses and beasts of burden perished, and he himself lost
the sight of one eye by a violent attack of ophthalmia. At length,
however, he reached Fæsulæ in safety, and was able to allow his troops a
short interval of repose.
The Consuls for this year were Cn. Servilius and C. Flaminius. The
latter was the author of the celebrated Agrarian Law which occasioned
the Gallic War, and in his first consulship he had gained a great
victory over the Insubrian Gauls (see p. 79)(Sixth paragraph of Chapter
XI.--Transcriber). He had been raised to his second consulship by
popular favor, in spite of the opposition of the Senate; and he hurried
from Rome before the Ides of March,[32] lest the Senate might throw any
obstacle in the way of his entering upon his consulship. He was a man of
great energy, but headstrong and reckless. When Hannibal arrived at
Fæsulæ, Flaminius was with his army at Arretium. It was always the
object of Hannibal to bring the Roman commanders to a battle, and
therefore, in moving from Fæsulæ, he passed by the Roman general, and
advanced toward Perugia, laying waste the fertile country on his line of
march. Flaminius immediately broke up his camp, and, following the
traces of Hannibal, fell into the snare which was prepared for him. His
army was attacked under the most disadvantageous circumstances, where it
was hemmed in between rocky heights, previously occupied by the enemy,
and the Lake of Trasimenus. Its destruction was almost complete.
Thousands fell by the sword, among whom was the Consul himself;
thousands more perished in the lake, and no less than 15,000 prisoners
fell into the hands of Hannibal, who on his side is said to have lost
only 1500 men. Hannibal's treatment of the captives on this occasion, as
well as after the battle of the Trebia, was marked by the same policy
on which he afterward uniformly acted; the Roman citizens alone were
retained as prisoners, while their Italian allies were dismissed without
ransom to their respective homes. By this means he hoped to excite the
nations of Italy against their Roman masters, and to place himself in
the position of the leader of a national movement rather than that of a
foreign invader. It was probably in order to give time for this feeling
to display itself that he did not, after so decisive a victory, push on
toward Rome itself; but, after an unsuccessful attempt upon the Roman
colony of Spoletium, he turned aside through the Apennines into Picenum,
and thence into the northern part of Apulia. Here he spent a great part
of the summer, and was able effectually to refresh his troops, who had
suffered much from the hardships of their previous marches; but no
symptoms appeared of the insurrections he had looked for among the
Italians.
Meantime the Romans had collected a fresh army, which they placed under
the command of Q. Fabius Maximus, who had been elected Dictator by the
Comitia of the Centuries. Fabius formed a different plan for the
campaign. He determined to keep the heights, and not to risk a battle,
but at the same time to watch the Carthaginian army, cut off its
supplies, and harass and annoy it in every possible way. From pursuing
this policy he received the surname of _Cunctator_, or the _Lingerer_.
Hannibal now recrossed the Apennines, descended into the rich plains of
Campania, and laid waste, without opposition, that fertile territory.
But he was unable either to make himself master of any of the towns, or
to draw the wary Fabius to a battle. The Roman general contented himself
with occupying the mountain passes leading from Samnium into Campania,
by which Hannibal must of necessity retreat, and believed that he had
caught him, as it were, in a trap; but Hannibal eluded his vigilance by
an ingenious stratagem, passed the defiles of the Apennines without
loss, and established himself in the plains of Apulia, where he
collected supplies from all sides, in order to prepare for the winter.
Meantime the Romans, having become impatient at the inactivity of
Fabius, raised Minucius, the Master of the Horse, to an equality in
command with Fabius. His rashness very nearly gave Hannibal the
opportunity, for which he was ever on the watch, to crush the Roman army
by a decisive blow; but Fabius was able to save his colleague from
destruction; and Hannibal, after obtaining only a partial advantage,
took up his winter quarters at the small town of Geronium. Minucius
acknowledged his error, and resumed his post of Master of the Horse.
During the winter the Romans made preparations for bringing an
unusually large force into the field. The people thought that it needed
only a man of energy and decision at the head of an overwhelming force
to bring the war to a close. They therefore raised to the consulship C.
Terentius Varro, said to have been the son of a butcher, who had been
for some time regarded as the champion of the popular party. The Senate
regarded this election with dismay, as Varro possessed no military
experience; and they therefore persuaded the people to appoint as his
colleague L. Æmilius Paullus, who had distinguished himself by the way
in which he had conducted the Illyrian war during his consulship.
Hannibal remained at Geronium until late in the spring (B.C. 216), when,
compelled to move by the want of provisions, he surprised the Roman
magazines at Cannæ, a small town of Apulia, and established his
head-quarters there until the harvest could be got in. Meanwhile the two
Roman Consuls arrived at the head of an army of little less than 90,000
men. To this mighty host Hannibal gave battle in the plains on the right
bank of the Aufidus, just below the town of Cannæ. We have no statement
of the numbers of his army, but it is certain that it must have been
greatly inferior to that of the enemy; notwithstanding which, the
excellence of his cavalry, and the disciplined valor of his African and
Spanish infantry, gave him the most decisive victory. The immense army
of the Romans was not only defeated, but annihilated, and between forty
and fifty thousand men are said to have fallen in the field, among whom
was the Consul Æmilius Paullus, both the Consuls of the preceding year,
the late Master of the Horse, Minucius, above eighty senators, and a
multitude of the wealthy knights who composed the Roman cavalry. The
other Consul, Varro, escaped with a few horsemen to Venusia, and a small
band of resolute men forced their way from the Roman camp to Canusium;
all the rest were killed, dispersed, or taken prisoners. Hannibal has
been generally blamed for not following up his advantage at once, after
so decisive a victory, by an immediate advance upon Rome itself--a
measure which was strongly urged upon him by Maharbal. "Only send me on
with the cavalry," said this officer, "and within five days thou shalt
sup in the Capitol." Whatever may be the motives that deterred Hannibal
from marching upon Rome, we can not but be surprised at his apparent
inactivity after the battle. He probably expected that so brilliant a
success would immediately produce a general rising among the nations of
Italy, and remained for a time quietly in Apulia, until they should have
had time to declare themselves. Nor were his hopes disappointed; the
Hirpinians, all the Samnites (except the Pentrian tribe), and almost all
the Apulians, Lucanians, and Bruttians, declared in favor of Carthage.
But, though the whole of the south of Italy was thus apparently lost to
the Romans, yet the effect of this insurrection was not so decisive as
it would at first appear; for the Latin colonies, which still, without
exception, remained faithful, gave the Romans a powerful hold upon the
revolted provinces; and the Greek cities on the coast, though mostly
disposed to join the Carthaginians, were restrained by the presence of
Roman garrisons. Hence it became necessary to support the insurrection
in the different parts of Italy with a Carthaginian force. Hannibal
marched first into Samnium, and from thence into Campania, where he
obtained possession of the important city of Capua, the gates of which
were opened to him by the popular party. Here he established his army in
winter quarters. Thus ends the first period of the war, in which
Hannibal had met with uninterrupted success. Three great victories in
three years, followed by the revolt of a city scarcely inferior to Rome
itself in importance, seemed to promise a speedy termination of the war.
[Illustration: Route of Hannibal. (See p. 90.) (After footnote
32--Transcriber)]
[Footnote 31: The pass of the Alps which Hannibal crossed was probably
the Graian Alps, or _Little St. Bernard_. See note "On the Passage of
Hannibal across the Alps" at the end of this chapter.]
[Footnote 32: At this time the Consuls entered upon their office on the
Ides of March. It was not till B.C. 153 that the consulship commenced on
the Kalends of January.]
NOTE ON HANNIBAL'S PASSAGE ACROSS THE ALPS.
(See p. 84.)(Fourth paragraph of Chapter XII.--Transcriber)
The narrative in the text is taken from that of the Greek historian
Polybius, which is certainly by far the most trustworthy that has
descended to us; but that author has nowhere clearly stated by which of
the passes across the Alps Hannibal effected his march; and this
question has given rise to much controversy both in ancient and modern
times. Into this discussion our limits will not allow us to enter, but
the following may be briefly stated as the general results: 1. That
after a careful examination of the text of Polybius, and comparison of
the different localities, his narrative will be found, on the whole, to
agree best with the supposition that Hannibal crossed the Graian Alps,
or _Little St. Bernard_; though it can not be denied that there are some
difficulties attending this line, especially in regard to the descent
into Italy. 2. That Cælius Antipater certainly represented him as taking
this route (Liv., xxi., 38); and as he is known to have followed the
Greek history of Silenus, who is said to have accompanied Hannibal in
many of his campaigns, his authority is of the greatest weight. 3. That
Livy and Strabo, on the contrary, both suppose him to have crossed the
Cottian Alps, or _Mont Genèvre_. But the main argument that appears to
have weighed with Livy, as it has done with several modern writers on
the subject, is the assumption that Hannibal descended in the first
instance into the country of the Taurinians, which is opposed to the
direct testimony of Polybius, who says expressly that he descended among
the Insubrians, and _subsequently_ mentions his attack on the
Taurinians. 4. That, as according to Livy himself (xxi., 29), the
Gaulish emissaries who acted as Hannibal's guides were Boians, it was
natural that these should conduct him by the passage that led directly
into the territory of their allies and brothers-in-arms, the Insubrians,
rather than into that of the Taurinians, a Ligurian tribe, who were at
this very time in a state of hostility with the Insubrians. And this
remark will serve to explain why Hannibal chose apparently a longer
route, instead of the more direct one of Mont Genèvre. Lastly, it is
remarkable that Polybius, though he censures the exaggerations and
absurdities with which earlier writers had encumbered their narrative,
does not intimate that any doubt was entertained as to the line of
march; and Pompey, in a letter to the Senate, written in 73 B.C.,
alludes to the route of Hannibal across the Alps as something well
known. Hence it appears clear that the passage by which he crossed them
must have been one of those frequented in subsequent times by the
Romans. This argument seems decisive against the claims of _Mont Cenis_,
which have been advocated by some modern writers, that pass having
apparently never been used till the Middle Ages--See _Dict. of Greek and
Roman Biography_, vol. ii., p. 334, 335.
[Illustration: Plain of Cannæ.]
CHAPTER XIII.
SECOND PUNIC WAR: SECOND PERIOD, FROM THE REVOLT OF CAPUA TO THE BATTLE
OF THE METAURUS. B.C. 215-207.
Capua was celebrated for its wealth and luxury, and the enervating
effect which these produced upon the army of Hannibal became a favorite
theme of rhetorical exaggeration in later ages. The futility of such
declamations is sufficiently shown by the simple fact that the
superiority of that army in the field remained as decided as ever. Still
it may be truly said that the winter spent at Capua (B.C. 216-215) was
in great measure the turning-point of Hannibal's fortune, and from this
time the war assumed an altered character. The experiment of what he
could effect with his single army had now been fully tried, and,
notwithstanding all his victories, it had decidedly failed; for Rome was
still unsubdued, and still provided with the means of maintaining a
protracted contest. But Hannibal had not relied on his own forces alone,
and he now found himself, apparently at least, in a condition to
commence the execution of his long-cherished plan--that of arming Italy
itself against the Romans, and crushing the ruling power by means of her
own subjects. It was to this object that his attention was henceforth
mainly directed. From this time, also, the Romans changed their plan of
operations, and, instead of opposing to Hannibal one great army in the
field, they hemmed in his movements on all sides, guarded all the most
important towns with strong garrisons, and kept up an army in every
province of Italy to thwart the operations of his lieutenants and check
the rising disposition to revolt. It is impossible here to follow in
detail the complicated operations of the subsequent campaigns, during
which Hannibal himself frequently traversed Italy in all directions,
appearing suddenly wherever his presence was called for, and astonishing
and often baffling the enemy by the rapidity of his marches. All that we
can do is to notice very briefly the leading events which distinguished
each successive campaign.
The campaign of B.C. 215 was not marked by any decisive events. The
Consuls were Q. Fabius Maximus (whose plan of conducting the war had
been fully vindicated by the terrible defeat of Cannæ) and Tiberius
Sempronius Gracchus. With the advance of spring Hannibal took up his
camp on Mount Tifata, where, while awaiting the arrival of
re-enforcements from Carthage, he was at hand to support his partisans
in Campania and oppose the Roman generals in that province. But his
attempts on Cumæ and Neapolis were foiled, and even after he had been
joined by a force from Carthage (very inferior, however, to what he had
expected), he sustained a repulse before Nola, which was magnified by
the Romans into a defeat. As the winter approached he withdrew into
Apulia, and took up his quarters in the plains around Arpi. But other
prospects were already opening before him. In his camp on Tifata he had
received embassies from Philip, king of Macedon, and Hieronymus of
Syracuse, both of which he had eagerly welcomed, and thus sowed the
seeds of two fresh wars, and raised up two formidable enemies against
the Roman power.
These two collateral wars in some degree drew off the attention of both
parties from that in Italy itself; yet the Romans still opposed to the
Carthaginian general a chain of armies which fettered all his
operations; and though Hannibal was ever on the watch for the
opportunity of striking a blow, the campaign of B.C. 214 was still less
decisive than that of the preceding year. Fabius was again elected
Consul, and Marcellus was appointed his colleague. Early in the summer
Hannibal advanced from Apulia to his former station on Mount Tifata to
watch over the safety of Capua; from thence he had descended to the Lake
Avernus, in hopes of making himself master of Puteoli, when a prospect
was held out to him of surprising the important city of Tarentum.
Thither he hastened by forced marches, but arrived too late; Tarentum
had been secured by a Roman force. After this his operations were of
little importance, until he again took up his winter quarters in Apulia.
During the following summer (B.C. 213), while all eyes were turned
toward the war in Sicily, Hannibal remained almost wholly inactive in
the neighborhood of Tarentum, the hopes he still entertained of making
himself master of that important city rendering him unwilling to quit
that quarter of Italy. Before the close of the ensuing winter he was
rewarded with the long-looked-for prize, and Tarentum was betrayed into
his hands by two of its citizens. The advantage, however, was
incomplete, for a Roman garrison still held possession of the citadel,
from which he was unable to dislodge them. The next year (B.C. 212) was
marked by important events in Sicily and Spain, to which we must now
direct our attention.
Hiero, so long the faithful ally of Rome, died shortly after the battle
of Cannæ (B.C. 216), and was succeeded by his grandson Hieronymus, a
vain youth, who abandoned the alliance of Rome for that of Carthage. But
he was assassinated after a reign of fifteen months, and a republican
form of government was established in Syracuse. A contest ensued between
the Roman and Carthaginian parties in Syracuse, but the former
ultimately prevailed, and Epicydes and Hippocrates, two brothers whom
Hannibal had sent to Syracuse to espouse his interests, had to quit the
city, and took refuge at Leontini. Such was the state of affairs when
the Consul Marcellus arrived in Sicily (B.C. 214). He forthwith marched
against Leontini, which Epicydes and Hippocrates defended with a
considerable force. He took the city by storm, and, though he spared the
inhabitants, executed in cold blood 2000 Roman deserters whom he found
among the troops that had formed the garrison. This sanguinary act at
once alienated the minds of the Sicilians, and alarmed the mercenary
troops in the service of Syracuse. The latter immediately joined
Hippocrates and Epicydes, who had made their escape to Herbessus; the
gates of Syracuse were opened to them by their partisans within the
walls, and the party hostile to Rome was thus established in the
undisputed command of that city. Marcellus now appeared before Syracuse
at the head of his army, and, after a fruitless summons to the
inhabitants, proceeded to lay siege to the city both by sea and land.
His attacks were vigorous and unremitting, and were directed especially
against the quarter of Achradina[33] from the side of the sea; but,
though he brought many powerful military engines against the walls,
these were rendered wholly unavailing by the superior skill and science
of Archimedes, which were employed on the side of the besieged. All the
efforts of the assailants were baffled; and the Roman soldiers were
inspired with so great a dread of Archimedes and his engines,[34] that
Marcellus was compelled to give up all hopes of carrying the city by
open force, and to turn the siege into a blockade. The siege was
prolonged far on into the summer of B.C. 212, nor did there appear any
prospect of its termination, as the communications of the besieged by
sea were almost entirely open. In this state of things Marcellus
fortunately discovered a part of the walls more accessible than the
rest; and, having prepared scaling ladders, effected an entrance at this
point during the night which followed a great festival, and thus made
himself master of Epipolæ. The two quarters called Tyché and Neapolis
were now at his mercy, and were given up to plunder; but Epicydes still
held the island-citadel and the important quarter of Achradina, which
formed two separate and strong fortresses. Marcellus, however, made
himself master of the fort of Euryalus, and had closely invested
Achradina, when the Carthaginian army under Himilco and Hippocrates
advanced to the relief of the city. Their efforts were, however, in
vain; all their attacks on the camp of Marcellus were repulsed, and they
were unable to effect a junction with Epicydes and the Syracusan
garrison. The unhealthiness of the country soon gave rise to a
pestilence which carried off both the Carthaginian generals and led to
the entire break-up of the army. Shortly afterward the treachery of a
leader of Spanish mercenaries in the Syracusan service opened to
Marcellus the gates of Achradina, and in the general attack that ensued
he made himself master of the island of Ortygia also. The city was given
up to plunder, and Archimedes was slain by a Roman soldier, being so
intent upon a mathematical problem at the time that he did not answer a
question that was asked him. He was deeply regretted by Marcellus, who
gave orders for his burial, and befriended his surviving relatives.[35]
The booty found in the captured city was immense: besides the money in
the royal treasury, which was set apart for the coffers of the state,
Marcellus carried off many of the works of art with which the city had
been adorned, to grace his own triumph and the temples at Rome. This was
the first instance of a practice which afterward became so general; and
it gave great offense not only to the Greeks of Sicily, but to a large
party at Rome itself.
The fall of Syracuse was followed, though not immediately, by the
subjugation of the whole island by the Romans; but these successes were
counterbalanced by the defeat and death of the two Scipios in Spain. We
have already seen that P. Scipio, when he landed at Massilia and found
himself unable to overtake Hannibal in Gaul, sent his brother Cneius
with the army into Spain, while he himself returned to Italy. In the
following year (B.C. 217) Publius himself crossed over into Spain, where
he found that his brother had already obtained a firm footing. They
continued in Spain for several years, during which they gained many
victories, and prevented Hasdrubal from marching into Italy to support
his victorious brother. When Hasdrubal was recalled to Africa to oppose
Syphax, one of the Numidian kings, who was carrying on war against
Carthage, the Scipios availed themselves of his absence to strengthen
their power still farther. They gained over new tribes to the Roman
cause, took 20,000 Celtiberians into their pay, and felt themselves so
strong in B.C. 212 that they resolved to cross the Iberus and to make a
vigorous effort to drive the Carthaginians out of Spain. They
accordingly divided their forces; but the result was fatal. Publius was
destroyed, with the greater part of his troops; and Cneius was also
defeated, and fell in battle, twenty-nine days after the death of his
brother. These victories seemed to establish the superiority of Carthage
in Spain, and open the way for Hasdrubal to join his brother in Italy.
In Italy (B.C. 212) the two Consuls Appius Claudius and Q. Fulvius began
to draw together their forces for the purpose of besieging Capua.
Hannibal advanced to relieve it, and compelled the Consuls to withdraw;
but he was unable to force either of them to fight. Shortly afterward he
returned again to the south to urge on the siege of the citadel of
Tarentum, which still held out; and he spent the winter and the whole of
the ensuing spring (B.C. 211) in its immediate neighborhood. But during
his absence the Consuls had renewed the siege of Capua, and prosecuted
it with such activity, that they had succeeded in surrounding the city
with a double line of intrenchments. The pressing danger once more
summoned Hannibal to its relief. He accordingly presented himself before
the Roman camp, and attacked their lines from without, while the
garrison co-operated with him by a vigorous sally from the walls. Both
attacks were however repulsed, and Hannibal, foiled in his attempt to
raise the siege by direct means, determined on the bold manoeuvre of
marching directly upon Rome itself, in hopes of thus compelling the
Consuls to abandon their designs upon Capua, in order to provide for the
defense of the city. But this daring scheme was again frustrated; the
appearance of Hannibal before the gates of Rome for a moment struck
terror through the city; but a considerable body of troops was at the
time within the walls; and the Consul Fulvius, as soon as he heard of
Hannibal's march, hastened, with a portion of the besieging army, from
Capua, while he still left with the other Consul a force amply
sufficient to carry on the siege. Hannibal was thus disappointed in the
main object of his advance, and he had no means of effecting any thing
against Rome itself, where Fulvius and Fabius confined themselves
strictly to the defensive, allowing him to ravage the whole country
without opposition, up to the very walls of Rome. Nothing therefore
remained for him but to retreat, and he accordingly recrossed the Anio,
and marched slowly and sullenly through the land of the Sabines and
Samnites, ravaging the country which he traversed. From thence he
retired to the Bruttii, leaving Capua to its fate. The city soon after
surrendered to the Romans. Its punishment was terrible. All the leaders
of the insurrection were beheaded; the chief men were imprisoned; and
the rest of the people were sold. The city and its territory were
confiscated, and became part of the Roman domain.
The commencement of the next season (B.C. 210) was marked by the fall of
Salapia, which was betrayed by the inhabitants to Marcellus; but this
loss was soon avenged by the total defeat and destruction of the army of
the Proconsul Cn. Fulvius at Herdonea. The Consul Marcellus, on his
part, carefully avoided an action for the rest of the campaign, while he
harassed his opponent by every possible means. Thus the rest of that
summer too wore away without any important results. But this state of
comparative inactivity was necessarily injurious to the cause of
Hannibal; the nations of Italy that had espoused that cause when
triumphant now began to waver in their attachment; and in the course of
the following summer (B.C. 209) the Samnites and Lucanians submitted to
Rome, and were admitted to favorable terms. A still more disastrous blow
to the Carthaginian cause was the loss of Tarentum, which was betrayed
into the hands of Fabius, as it had been into those of Hannibal. In vain
did the latter seek to draw the Roman general into a snare; the wary
Fabius eluded his toils. The recovery of Tarentum was the last exploit
in the military life of the aged Fabius, and was a noble completion to
his long list of achievements. From the time of the battle of Cannæ he
had directed almost exclusively the councils of his country, and his
policy had been pre-eminently successful; but the times now demanded
bolder measures, and something else was necessary than the caution of
the Lingerer to bring the war to a close.
After the fall of Tarentum Hannibal still traversed the open country
unopposed, and laid waste the territories of his enemies. Yet we can not
suppose that he any longer looked for ultimate success from any efforts
of his own; his object was doubtless now only to maintain his ground in
the south until his brother Hasdrubal should appear in the north of
Italy, an event to which he had long anxiously looked forward. Yet the
following summer (B.C. 208) was marked by some brilliant achievements.
The two Consuls, Crispinus and Marcellus, who were opposed to Hannibal
in Lucania, allowed themselves to be led into an ambush, in which
Marcellus was killed, and Crispinus mortally wounded. Marcellus was one
of the ablest of the Roman generals. Hannibal displayed a generous
sympathy for his fate, and caused due honors to be paid to his remains.
The following year (B.C. 207) decided the issue of the war in Italy. The
war in Spain during the last few years had been carried on with
brilliant success by the young P. Scipio, of whose exploits we shall
speak presently. But in B.C. 208, Hasdrubal, leaving the two other
Carthaginian generals to make head against Scipio, resolved to set out
for Italy to the assistance of his brother. As Scipio was in undisputed
possession of the province north of the Iberus, and had secured the
passes of the Pyrenees on that side, Hasdrubal crossed these mountains
near their western extremity, and plunged into the heart of Gaul. After
spending a winter in that country, he prepared to cross the Alps in the
spring of B.C. 207, and to descend into Italy. The two Consuls for this
year were C. Claudius Nero and M. Livius. Nero marched into Southern
Italy to keep a watch upon Hannibal; Livius took up his quarters at
Ariminum to oppose Hasdrubal. The latter experienced little loss or
difficulty in crossing the Alps. The season of the year was favorable,
and the Gauls were friendly to his cause. But instead of pushing on at
once into the heart of Italy, he allowed himself to be engaged in the
siege of Placentia, and lost much precious time in fruitless efforts to
reduce that colony. When at length he abandoned the enterprise, he sent
messengers to Hannibal to apprize him of his movements, and concert
measures for their meeting in Umbria. But his dispatches fell into the
hands of the Consul Nero, who formed the bold resolution of instantly
marching with a picked body of 7000 men to join his colleague, and fall
upon Hasdrubal with their united forces before Hannibal could receive
any information of his brother's movements. Nero executed his design
with equal secrecy and rapidity. Hannibal knew nothing of his departure,
and in a week's time Nero marched 250 miles to Sena, where his colleague
was encamped in presence of Hasdrubal. He entered the camp of Livius in
the night, that his arrival might not be known to the Carthaginians.
After a day's rest the two Consuls proceeded to offer battle; but
Hasdrubal, perceiving the augmented numbers of the Romans, and hearing
the trumpet sound twice, felt convinced that the Consuls had united
their forces, and that his brother had been defeated. He therefore
declined the combat, and in the following night commenced his retreat
toward Ariminum. The Romans pursued him, and he found himself compelled
to give them battle on the right bank of the Metaurus. On this occasion
Hasdrubal displayed all the qualities of a consummate general; but his
forces were greatly inferior to those of the enemy, and his Gaulish
auxiliaries were of little service. The gallant resistance of the
Spanish and Ligurian troops is attested by the heavy loss of the Romans;
but all was of no avail, and seeing the battle irretrievably lost, he
rushed into the midst of the enemy, and fell, sword in hand, in a manner
worthy of the son of Hamilcar and the brother of Hannibal. The Consul
Nero hastened back to Apulia almost as speedily as he had come, and
announced to Hannibal the defeat and death of his brother by throwing
into his camp the severed head of Hasdrubal. "I recognize," said
Hannibal, sadly, "the doom of Carthage."
The victory of the Metaurus was, as we have already said, decisive of
the fate of the war in Italy, and the conduct of Hannibal shows that he
felt it to be such. From this time he abandoned all thoughts of
offensive operations, and, withdrawing his garrisons from Metapontum and
other towns that he still held in Lucania, collected together his forces
within the peninsula of the Bruttii. In the fastnesses of that wild and
mountainous region he maintained his ground for nearly four years, while
the towns that he still possessed on the coast gave him the command of
the sea.
[Footnote 33: See the map in the "Smaller History of Greece," p. 117.]
[Footnote 34: The story that Archimedes set the Roman ships on fire by
the reflected rays of the sun is probably a fiction, though later
writers give an account of this burning mirror.]
[Footnote 35: Upon his tomb was placed the figure of a sphere inscribed
in a cylinder. When Cicero was Quæstor in Sicily (B.C. 75), he found his
tomb near one of the gates of the city, almost hid among briers, and
forgotten by the Syracusans.]
[Illustration: Hannibal.]
CHAPTER XIV.
SECOND PUNIC WAR. THIRD PERIOD: FROM THE BATTLE OF THE METAURUS TO THE
CONCLUSION OF THE WAR. B.C. 206-201.
After the battle of the Metaurus, the chief interest of the war was
transferred to Spain and Africa. The Roman armies were led by a youthful
hero, perhaps the greatest man that Rome ever produced, with the
exception of Julius Cæsar. The remaining period of the war is little
more than the history of P. Scipio. This extraordinary man was the son
of P. Scipio, who fell in Spain in B.C. 212, as already related. In his
early years he acquired, to an extraordinary extent, the confidence and
admiration of his countrymen. His enthusiastic mind led him to believe
that he was a special favorite of heaven; and he never engaged in any
public or private business without first going to the Capitol, where he
sat some time alone, enjoying communion with the gods. For all he
proposed or executed he alleged the divine approval: he believed himself
in the revelations which he asserted had been vouchsafed to him; and the
extraordinary success which attended all his enterprises deepened this
belief.
P. Scipio is first mentioned in B.C. 218 at the battle of the
Ticinus, where he is reported to have saved the life of his father,
though he was then only 17 years of age. He fought at Cannæ two years
afterward (B.C. 216), when he was already a tribune of the soldiers, and
was one of the few Roman officers who survived that fatal day. He was
chosen along with Appius Claudius to command the remains of the army,
which had taken refuge at Canusium; and it was owing to his youthful
heroism and presence of mind that the Roman nobles, who had thought of
leaving Italy in despair, were prevented from carrying their rash
project into effect. He had already gained the favor of the people to
such an extent that he was unanimously elected Ædile in B.C. 212. On
this occasion he gave indications of the proud spirit, and of the
disregard of all the forms of law, which distinguished him throughout
life; for when the tribunes objected to the election, because he was not
of the legal age, he haughtily replied, "If all the Quirites wish to
make me Ædile, I am old enough." After the death of Scipio's father and
uncle, C. Nero was sent out as Proprætor to supply their place; but
shortly afterward the Senate resolved to increase the army in Spain, and
to place it under the command of a Proconsul to be elected by the
people. But when they were assembled for this purpose, none of the
generals of experience ventured to apply for so dangerous a command. At
length Scipio, who was then barely twenty-four, to the surprise of every
one, offered himself as a candidate. But the confidence which he felt in
himself he communicated to the people, and he was accordingly chosen
with enthusiasm to take the command.
Scipio arrived in Spain in the summer of B.C. 210. He found that the
three Carthaginian generals, Hasdrubal, son of Barca, Hasdrubal, son of
Gisco, and Mago, were not on good terms, and were at the time engaged in
separate enterprises in distant parts of the peninsula. Instead of
attacking any of them singly, he formed the project of striking a deadly
blow at the Carthaginian power by a sudden and unexpected attack upon
New Carthage. He gave the command of the fleet to his intimate friend
Lælius, to whom alone he intrusted the secret of the expedition, while
he led the land-forces by extremely rapid marches against the city. The
project was crowned with complete success. The Carthaginian garrison did
not amount to more than a thousand men, and before any succor could
arrive New Carthage was taken by assault. The hostages who had been
given by the various Spanish tribes to the Carthaginians had been placed
for security in the city. These now fell into the hands of Scipio, who
treated them with kindness; and the hostages of those people who
declared themselves in favor of the Romans were restored without ransom.
Scipio also found in New Carthage magazines of arms, corn, and other
necessaries, for the Carthaginians had there deposited their principal
stores.
The immediate effects of this brilliant success were immense. Many of
the Spanish tribes deserted the Carthaginian cause; and when Scipio
took the field in the following year (B.C. 209) Mandonius and Indibilis,
two of the most powerful and hitherto the most faithful supporters of
Carthage, quitted the camp of Hasdrubal Barca, and awaited the arrival
of the Roman commander. Hasdrubal was encamped in a strong position near
the town of Bæcula, in the upper valley of the Bætis (Guadalquiver),
where he was attacked and defeated by Scipio. He succeeded, however, in
making good his retreat, and retired into northern Spain. He
subsequently crossed the Pyrenees, and marched into Italy to the
assistance of his brother Hannibal, as already narrated.
In B.C. 207 Scipio gained possession of nearly the whole of Spain, by a
decisive victory near a place variously called Silpia or Elinga, but the
position of which is quite uncertain.
Hasdrubal, son of Gisco, and Mago, took refuge within the walls of
Gades, which was almost the only place that now belonged to the
Carthaginians; and all the native chiefs hastened to acknowledge the
supremacy of Rome. But the victories of Scipio had had but a small share
in winning Spain. His personal influence had won far more people than
his arms had conquered. He had gained such an ascendency over the
Spaniards by his humanity and courage, his courtesy and energy, that
they were ready to lay down their lives for him, and wished to make him
their king.
The subjugation of Spain was regarded by Scipio as only a means to an
end. He had formed the project of transferring the war to Africa, and
thus compelling the Carthaginians to recall Hannibal from Italy. He
therefore resolved, before returning to Rome, to cross over into Africa,
and secure, if possible, the friendship and co-operation of some of the
native princes. His personal influence had already secured the
attachment of Masinissa, the son of the king of the Massylians, or
Western Numidians, who was serving in the Carthaginian army in Spain;
and he trusted that the same personal ascendency might gain the more
powerful support of Syphax, the king of the Massæsylians, or Eastern
Numidians. With only two quinqueremes he ventured to leave his province
and repair to the court of Syphax. There he met his old adversary,
Hasdrubal, son of Gisco, who had crossed over from Gades for the same
purpose; and the two generals spent several days together in friendly
intercourse. Scipio made a great impression upon Syphax; but the charms
of Sophonisba, the daughter of Hasdrubal, whom the latter offered in
marriage to Syphax, prevailed over the influence of Scipio. Syphax
married her, and from that time became the zealous supporter and ally of
the Carthaginians.
During Scipio's absence in Africa a formidable insurrection had broken
out in Spain; but on his return it was speedily put down, and terrible
vengeance was inflicted upon the town of Illiturgis, which had taken the
principal share in the revolt. Scarcely had this danger passed away when
Scipio was seized with a dangerous illness. Eight thousand of the Roman
soldiers, discontented with not having received their usual pay, availed
themselves of this opportunity to break out into open mutiny; but Scipio
quelled it with his usual promptitude and energy. He crushed the last
remains of the insurrection in Spain; and to crown his other successes,
Gades at last surrendered to the Romans. Mago had quitted Spain, and
crossed over into Liguria, to effect a diversion in favor of his brother
Hannibal, and there was therefore now no longer any enemy left in Spain.
Scipio returned to Rome in B.C. 206, and immediately offered himself as
a candidate for the consulship. He was elected for the following year
(B.C. 205) by the unanimous votes of all the centuries, although he had
not yet filled the office of Prætor, and was only 30 years of age. His
colleague was P. Licinius Crassus, the Pontifex Maximus, who could not,
therefore, leave Italy. Consequently, if the war was to be carried on
abroad, the conduct of it must of necessity devolve upon Scipio. The
latter was anxious to land at once in Africa, and bring the contest to
an end at the gates of Carthage; but the older members of the Senate,
and among them Q. Fabius Maximus, opposed the project, partly through
timidity and partly through jealousy of the youthful conqueror. All that
Scipio could obtain was the province of Sicily, with permission to
invade Africa if he should think it for the advantage of the Republic;
but the Senate resolutely refused him an army, thus making the
permission of no practical use. The allies had a truer view of the
interests of Italy than the Roman Senate; from all the towns of Italy
volunteers flocked to join the standard of the youthful hero. The Senate
could not refuse to allow him to enlist these volunteers; and such was
the enthusiasm in his favor that he was able to cross over to Sicily
with an army and a fleet, contrary to the expectations and even the
wishes of the Senate. While busy with preparations in Sicily, he sent
over Lælius to Africa with a small fleet to concert a plan of
co-operation with Masinissa. But meantime his enemies at Rome had nearly
succeeded in depriving him of his command. Although he had no authority
in Lower Italy, he had assisted in the reduction of Locri, and after the
conquest of the town had left Q. Pleminius in command. The latter had
been guilty of such acts of excesses against the inhabitants, that they
sent an embassy to Rome to complain of his conduct. Q. Fabius Maximus
eagerly availed himself of the opportunity to inveigh in general against
the conduct of Scipio, and to urge his immediate recall. Scipio's
magnificent style of living, and his love of Greek literature and art,
were denounced by his enemies as dangerous innovations upon old Roman
manners and frugality. It was asserted that the time which ought to be
given to the exercise and the training of his troops was wasted in the
Greek gymnasia or in literary pursuits. Though the Senate lent a willing
ear to these attacks, they did not venture upon his immediate recall,
but sent a commission into Sicily to inquire into the state of the army.
During the winter Scipio had been busy in completing his preparations;
and by this time he had collected all his stores, and brought his army
and navy into the most efficient state. The commissioners were
astonished at what they saw. Instead of ordering him to return to Rome,
they bade him cross over to Africa as soon as possible.
Accordingly, in B.C. 204, Scipio, who was now Proconsul, sailed from
Lilybæum and landed in Africa, not far from Utica. He was immediately
joined by Masinissa, who rendered him the most important services in the
war. He commenced the campaign by laying siege to Utica, and took up his
quarters on a projecting headland to the east of the town, on a spot
which long bore the name of the Cornelian Camp. Meantime the
Carthaginians had collected a powerful army, which they placed under the
command of Hasdrubal, son of Cisco, Scipio's old opponent in Spain; and
Syphax came to their assistance with a great force.
In the beginning of B.C. 203 Scipio planned a night-attack upon the two
camps occupied by Hasdrubal and Syphax. With the assistance of
Masinissa, his enterprise was crowned with success: the two camps were
burned to the ground, and only a few of the enemy escaped the fire and
the sword. Among these, however, were both Hasdrubal and Syphax; the
former fled to Carthage, where he persuaded the Senate to raise another
army, and the latter retreated to his native dominions, where he
likewise collected fresh troops. But their united forces were again
defeated by Scipio. Hasdrubal did not venture to make his appearance
again in Carthage, and Syphax once more fled into Numidia. Scipio did
not give the Numidian prince any repose; he was pursued by Lælius and
Masinissa, and finally taken prisoner. Among the captives who fell into
their hands was Sophonisba, the wife of Syphax, whom Masinissa had long
loved, and had expected to marry when she was given to his rival.
Masinissa now not only promised to preserve her from captivity, but, to
prevent her falling into the hands of the Romans, determined to marry
her himself. Their nuptials were accordingly celebrated without delay;
but Scipio, fearful of the influence which she might exercise over his
ally, sternly upbraided him with his weakness, and insisted on the
immediate surrender of the princess. Unable to resist this command,
Masinissa spared her the humiliation of captivity by sending her a bowl
of poison, which she drank without hesitation, and thus put an end to
her own life.
These repeated disasters so alarmed the Carthaginians that they resolved
to recall Hannibal and Mago. Hannibal quitted Italy in B.C. 203, to the
great joy of the Romans. For more than 15 years had he carried on the
war in that country, laying it waste from one extremity to another; and
during all this period his superiority in the field had been
uncontested. The Romans calculated that in these 15 years their losses
in the field alone had amounted to not less than 300,000 men; a
statement which will hardly appear exaggerated when we consider the
continued combats in which they were engaged by their ever-watchful foe.
As soon as Hannibal landed in Africa the hopes of the Carthaginians
revived, and they looked forward to a favorable termination of the war.
Hannibal, however, formed a truer estimate of the real state of affairs;
he saw that the loss of a battle would be the ruin of Carthage, and he
was therefore anxious to conclude a peace before it was too late.
Scipio, who was eager to have the glory of bringing the war to a close,
and who feared lest his enemies in the Senate might appoint him a
successor, was equally desirous of a peace. The terms, however, which
the Roman general proposed seemed intolerable to the Carthaginians; and
as Hannibal, at a personal interview with Scipio, could not obtain any
abatement of the hard conditions, he was forced, against his will, to
continue the war. Into the details of the campaign, which are related
very differently, our limits will not permit us to enter. The decisive
battle was at length fought on the 19th of October, B.C. 202, on the
Bagradas, not far from the city of Zama; and Hannibal, according to the
express testimony of his antagonist, displayed on this occasion all the
qualities of a consummate general. But he was now particularly deficient
in that formidable cavalry which had so often decided the victory in his
favor; his elephants, of which he had a great number, were rendered
unavailing by the skillful management of Scipio; and the battle ended in
his complete defeat, notwithstanding the heroic exertions of his veteran
infantry. Twenty thousand of his men fell on the field of battle, as
many were made prisoners, and Hannibal himself with difficulty escaped
the pursuit of Masinissa. Upon his arrival at Carthage he was the first
to admit the magnitude of the disaster, and to point out the
impossibility of the farther prosecution of the war. The terms, however,
now imposed by Scipio were much more severe than before. Carthage had
no alternative but submission; but the negotiations were continued for
some time, and a final treaty was not concluded till the following year
(B.C. 201). By this treaty it was agreed that the Carthaginians were to
preserve their independence and territory in Africa, but to give up all
claims to any foreign possessions; that they were to surrender all
prisoners and deserters, all their ships of war except ten triremes, and
all their elephants; that they were not to make war in Africa, or out of
Africa, without the consent of Rome; that they were to acknowledge
Masinissa as king of Numidia; that they were to pay 10,000 talents in
silver in the course of fifty years.
Scipio returned to Italy in B.C. 201, and entered Rome in triumph. He
was received with universal enthusiasm; the surname of Africanus was
conferred upon him, and the people, in their gratitude, were anxious to
distinguish him with the most extraordinary marks of honor. It is
related that they wished to make him Consul and Dictator for life, and
to erect his statue in the Comitia, the Senate-house, and even in the
Capitol, but that he prudently declined all these invidious
distinctions.
[Illustration: The Capitoline Wolf.]
[Illustration: Coin of Antiochus the Great.]
CHAPTER XV.
WARS IN THE EAST. THE MACEDONIAN, SYRIAN, AND GALATIAN WARS. B.C.
214-188.
The Second Punic War made the Romans undisputed masters of the western
shores of the Mediterranean. Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica were Roman
provinces; Spain owned the Roman supremacy; Carthage was completely
humbled, and her powerful neighbor Masinissa was the steadfast ally of
Rome. The Roman Republic was now the most powerful state in the ancient
world. Her legions had been trained to war by long struggles with Gauls,
Spaniards, and Africans, and were superior to all other troops in
discipline, experience, and valor. She now naturally turned her eyes
toward the East, whose effeminate nations seemed to offer an easy
conquest.
The Greek kingdoms in Asia, founded by the successors of Alexander the
Great, bore within them the seeds of decay. The mighty kingdom of SYRIA,
which had once extended from the Indus to the Ægean Sea, had now lost
some of its fairest provinces. The greater part of Asia Minor no longer
owned the authority of the Syrian kings. PONTUS was governed by its own
rulers. A large body of Gauls had settled in the northern part of
Phrygia, which district was now called GALATIA after them. A new kingdom
was founded in Mysia, to which the name of PERGAMUS was given from its
chief city; and Attalus, who was king of Pergamus during the Second
Punic War, formed an alliance with Rome as a protection against Syria
and Macedonia. The king of Syria at this time was Antiochus III., who,
from his victory over the Parthians, had received the surname of the
Great.
EGYPT was governed by the Greek monarchs who bore the name of Ptolemy.
They had, even as early as the time of Pyrrhus, formed an alliance with
Rome (see p. 66)(Fourteenth paragraph of Chapter IX.--Transcriber). The
kingdom had since declined in power, and upon the death of Ptolemy IV.,
surnamed Philopator, in B.C. 205, the ministers of his infant son
Ptolemy Epiphanes, dreading the ambitious designs of the Macedonian and
Syrian kings, placed him under the protection of the Roman Senate, who
consented to become his guardians.
The Republic of RHODES was the chief maritime power in the Ægean Sea. It
extended its dominion over a portion of the opposite coasts of Caria and
Lycia, and over several of the neighboring islands. Like the king of
Pergamus, the Rhodians had formed an alliance with Rome as a protection
against Macedonia.
MACEDONIA was still a powerful kingdom, governed at this time by Philip
V., a monarch of considerable ability, who ascended the throne in B.C.
220, at the early age of seventeen. His dominion extended over the
greater part of Greece; but two new powers had sprung up since the death
of Alexander, which served as some counterpoise to the Macedonian
supremacy. Of these the most important was the ACHÆAN LEAGUE, which
embraced Corinth, Arcadia, and the greater part of the Peloponnesus.[36]
The ÆTOLIAN LEAGUE included at this time a considerable portion of
Central Greece. ATHENS and SPARTA still retained their independence, but
with scarcely a shadow of their former greatness and power.
Such was the state of the Eastern world when it came into contact with
the arms of Rome.
We have already seen that during the Second Punic War Philip had been
engaged in hostilities with the Roman Republic. Demetrius of Pharos, who
had been driven by the Romans from his Illyrian dominions,[37] had taken
refuge at the court of Philip, and soon acquired unbounded influence
over the mind of the young king. This wily Greek urged him to take up
arms against the grasping Republic; and the ambition of Philip was still
farther excited by the victories of Hannibal. After the battle of Cannæ
(B.C. 216) he concluded a treaty with Hannibal; but, instead of
supporting the Carthaginian army and fleet, his proceedings were marked
by an unaccountable degree of hesitation and delay. It was not till B.C.
214 that he appeared in the Adriatic with a fleet, and laid siege to
Oricus and Apollonia, which the Romans had retained possession of at the
close of the Illyrian war.[37] He succeeded in taking Oricus; but the
arrival of a small Roman force, under the command of M. Valerius
Lævinus, compelled him to raise the siege of Apollonia, and to burn his
own ships to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy. For the
next three years the war was carried on with unaccountable slackness on
both sides; but in B.C. 211 it assumed a new character in consequence of
the alliance which the Romans formed with the Ætolian League. Into the
details of the campaigns which followed it is unnecessary to enter; but
the attention of the Romans was soon afterward directed to affairs in
Spain, and the Ætolians were left almost alone to cope with Philip. The
Achæans also joined Philip against the Ætolians, and the latter people
were so hard pressed that they were glad to make peace with the
Macedonian king. Shortly afterward the Romans, who were desirous of
turning their undivided attention to the invasion of Africa, also
concluded peace with him (B.C. 205).
The peace, which thus terminated the First Macedonian War, was probably
regarded by both parties as little more than a suspension of
hostilities. Philip even went so far as to send to the Carthaginians in
Africa a body of 4000 men, who fought at Zama under the command of
Hannibal. At the same time he proceeded to carry out his plans for his
own aggrandizement in Greece, with out any regard to the Roman alliances
in that country. In order to establish his naval supremacy in the Ægean
Sea, he attacked the Rhodians and Attalus, king of Pergamus, both of
whom were allies of Rome. He had also previously made a treaty with
Antiochus, king of Syria, for the dismemberment of the Egyptian
monarchy, which was placed under the guardianship of the Roman people.
It was impossible for the Senate to pass over these acts of hostility,
and accordingly, in the year after the conclusion of the Second Punic
War, the Consul P. Sulpicius Galba proposed to the Comitia of the
Centuries that war should be declared against Philip. But the people
longed for repose, and rejected the proposition by the almost unanimous
vote of every century. It was only by the most earnest remonstrance, and
by representing to them that, unless they attacked Philip in Greece, he
would invade Italy, like Hannibal, that they were induced to reverse
their decision and declare war (B.C. 200).
Philip was at this time engaged in the siege of Athens, which had joined
Attalus and the Rhodians. The Consul Galba crossed over to Epirus, and
Athens was relieved by a Roman fleet; but before he withdrew, Philip,
prompted by anger and revenge, displayed his barbarism by destroying the
gardens and buildings in the suburbs, including the Lyecum and the
tombs of the Attic heroes; and in a second incursion which he made with
large re-enforcements he committed still greater excesses. For some
time, however, the war lingered on without any decided success on
either side. The Consul Villius, who succeeded Galba in B.C. 199,
effected nothing of importance, and it was not till the appointment of
the Consul T. Quinctius Flamininus to the command that the war was
earned on with energy and vigor (B.C. 198). He forced his way through
the passes of Antigonea, which were occupied by the enemy, invaded
Thessaly, and took up his winter quarters in Phocis and Locris. In the
following year (B.C. 197) the struggle was brought to a termination by
the battle of Cynoscephalæ (Dogs' Heads), a range of hills near
Scotussa, in Thessaly. The Roman legions gained an easy victory over the
once formidable Macedonian phalanx: 8000 Macedonians were killed and
5000 taken prisoners, while Flamininus lost only 700 men. Philip was
obliged to sue for peace, and in the following year (B.C. 196) a treaty
was ratified by which the Macedonians were compelled to renounce their
supremacy, to withdraw their garrisons from the Grecian towns, to
surrender their fleet, and to pay 1000 talents for the expenses of the
war, half at once, and half by annual instalments in the course of ten
years. Thus ended the SECOND MACEDONIAN WAR.
At the ensuing Isthmian games, which were celebrated at Corinth in the
summer of this year, Flamininus was present, and a herald at his command
solemnly proclaimed the independence and freedom of Greece. This
unexpected news was received with overwhelming gratitude and joy; the
throngs of people that crowded round Flamininus to catch a sight of
their liberator, or to touch his garment, were so enormous as almost to
endanger his life. Flamininus remained two years longer in Greece in
order to settle the affairs of the country. He seems to have been
actuated by a sincere desire to restore the internal peace and welfare
of Greece; and whenever his actions appear at variance with this object,
he was under the influence of the policy of the Republic. Thus, though
he made war upon Nabis, the tyrant of Sparta, and deprived him of the
southern portion of Laconia, he did not expel him from Sparta, that he
might serve as a useful check upon the Achæans. When Flamininus returned
to Italy in B.C. 194, he withdrew the Roman garrisons from all the
Grecian towns, even from Corinth, Chalcis, and Demetrias, the three
strongest fortresses in the country, which were called the Fetters of
Greece. On his departure he convoked an assembly of the Greeks at
Corinth, in which he exhorted them to use their freedom wisely, and to
remain faithful to Rome. Flamininus had been absent five years. His
reputation was second only to that of Scipio Africanus. His triumph,
which was most magnificent, lasted three days.
It has been already mentioned that Philip had formed an alliance with
Antiochus III., king of Syria, surnamed the Great, for the dismemberment
of the Egyptian monarchy. During the war between Philip and the Romans,
Antiochus had occupied Asia Minor, and was preparing to cross into
Greece. Upon the conclusion of this war, Flamininus sternly forbade him
to set foot in Europe, and for a time he shrank from a contest with the
victorious arms of Rome. But the Ætolians, who had fought on the Roman
side, were discontented with the arrangements of Flamininus. Their
arrogance led them to claim the chief merit of the victory of
Cynoscephalæ, and their cupidity desired a larger share in the spoils of
the war. Flamininus had scarcely quitted Greece before the Ætolians
endeavored to persuade Philip, Nabis, and Antiochus to enter into a
league against the Romans. Philip at once refused, but Nabis took up
arms, and Antiochus willingly entered into the designs of the Ætolians.
At this time Hannibal appeared as an exile at the Syrian court. After
the Second Punic War he had set himself to work, like his father
Hamilcar at the end of the previous war, to prepare means for renewing
the contest at no distant period. He introduced various reforms in the
constitution, and seems to have deprived the Oligarchy of their
exclusive power; but they avenged themselves by denouncing him to the
Romans as engaged in negotiations with Antiochus to induce him to take
up arms against Rome. The Senate sent envoys to Carthage to inquire into
these charges; and Hannibal, seeing that his enemies were too strong for
him, secretly took flight, and reached the court of Antiochus in safety.
He was received with the highest honors, and urged the king to place an
army at his disposal with which he might invade Italy. But Antiochus was
persuaded by the Ætolians to cross over into Greece, and accordingly
landed at Demetrias in Thessaly in B.C. 192. The Romans now declared war
against Antiochus, and in the following year (B.C. 191) the Consul
Acilius Glabrio marched into Thessaly. The king had intrenched himself
in the passes of Thermopylæ, that he might prevent the Romans from
penetrating into Central Greece. But there was, as is well known, a
difficult passage across Mount Oeta, by which the Persians had
descended to fight with Leonidas. This passage was now forced by M.
Cato, who was serving as one of the Consul's lieutenants, and as soon as
he appeared in the rear of the Syrian army they fled in confusion, and
the battle was won. Antiochus now hastened back to Asia, abandoning all
farther hopes of conquest in Greece. As soon as he had placed the sea
between himself and the Romans he thought that he was safe; but
Hannibal warned him of his error, and said that he wondered that the
Romans had not already followed him.
Next year (B.C. 190) L. Cornelius Scipio, the brother of the great
Africanus, and C. Lælius, the intimate friend of the latter, were
Consuls. L. Scipio was anxious to have the command of the war against
Antiochus; but the Senate had not much confidence in his ability, and it
was only in consequence of his brother Africanus offering to serve under
him as his lieutenant that he obtained the command which he desired.
Meantime Antiochus had collected a vast army from all parts of his
dominions, and, advancing northward from Ephesus, laid waste the kingdom
of Pergamus. But upon the approach of the Roman army, which entered Asia
by crossing the Hellespont, Antiochus retreated southward; and the
decisive battle was fought near Magnesia, at the foot of Mount Sipylus.
The Romans obtained an easy and bloodless victory over the vast but
disorderly rabble of the Syrian monarch. Only 400 Romans fell, while
Antiochus lost 53,000 men. He at once gave up the contest in despair,
and humbly sued for peace. The conditions were hard. He had to cede all
his dominions west of Mount Taurus (that is, the whole of Asia Minor),
to pay 15,000 Euboic talents within twelve years, to give up his
elephants and ships of war, and to surrender to the Romans Hannibal and
some others who had taken refuge at his court. Hannibal foresaw his
danger, and made his escape to Crete, from whence he afterward repaired
to the court of Prusias, king of Bithynia.
L. Scipio returned to Rome in the following year, bringing with him
enormous treasures. In imitation of his brother, he assumed the surname
of ASIATICUS.
The Romans were now at leisure to punish the Ætolians, who had to make
head against the Romans by themselves. The Consul M. Fulvius Nobilior
(B.C. 189) took their chief town, Ambracia, after an obstinate
resistance, and compelled them to sue for peace. This was granted, but
on the most humiliating conditions. They were required to acknowledge
the supremacy of Rome, to renounce all the conquests they had recently
made, to pay an indemnity of 500 talents, and to engage in future to aid
the Romans in their wars. The power of the Ætolian league was thus
forever crushed, though it seems to have existed, in name at least, till
a much later period.
The colleague of M. Fulvius Nobilior was Cn. Manlius Vulso, who had
received Asia as his province, that he might conclude the peace which
his predecessor, Scipio Asiaticus, had made with Antiochus, and arrange
the affairs of Asia. But Manlius was not content with the subordinate
part allotted to him; and being anxious for booty as much as for glory,
he attacked the Galatians in Asia Minor, without waiting for any
instructions from the Senate, and in direct opposition to the ten
commissioners who had been sent to arrange conjointly with him the
affairs of Asia. This was the first instance in which a Roman general
had made war without the authority of the Senate or the People; a
dangerous precedent, which was afterward only too faithfully followed.
The Galatians were, as has been already said, a body of Gauls, who,
after laying waste a great part of Asia Minor, had settled in the north
of Phrygia. They had fought in the army of Antiochus at Magnesia, and
this supplied Manlius with a pretext for marching against them. He
defeated them in two battles, and compelled them to sue for peace. The
campaign greatly enriched Manlius and his legions, as the Gauls had
accumulated enormous wealth by their many conquests in Asia.
Manlius remained another year (B.C. 188) in the East as Proconsul, and,
in conjunction with the ten commissioners, formally concluded the peace
with Antiochus, and settled the affairs of Asia. Eumenes, the king of
Pergamus, received Mysia, Lydia, and part of Caria. The Rhodians
obtained the remaining portion of Caria, together with Lycia and
Pisidia. Manlius returned to Rome in B.C. 187, and his triumph, like
that of Scipio Asiaticus, was most magnificent. But his soldiers, like
that of Scipio, introduced into the city the luxuries of the East. These
campaigns, as we shall presently see, exercised a most injurious
influence upon the character of the Roman nobles and people, teaching
them to love war for the sake of acquiring wealth, and prompting them to
acts of robbery and rapine.
[Footnote 36: See the "Smaller History of Greece," p. 214.]
[Footnote 37: See p. 79. (Eighth paragraph of Chapter
XI.--Transcriber)]
[Illustration: Roman Soldiers. (From Column of Trajan.)]
CHAPTER XVI.
WARS IN THE WEST. THE GALLIC, LIGURIAN, AND SPANISH WARS. B.C. 200-175.
While the Roman legions in the East were acquiring wealth and winning
easy conquests, their less fortunate comrades in the West were carrying
on a severe struggle with the warlike Gauls, Ligurians, and Spaniards.
The Romans had hardly concluded the Second Punic War when they received
intelligence that Hamilcar, a Carthaginian officer, had excited several
tribes in Northern Italy to take up arms against Rome. These were the
Gauls on both sides of the Po, and the Ligurians, a race of hardy
mountaineers, inhabiting the upper Apennines and the Maritime Alps. They
commenced the war in B.C. 200 by the capture and destruction of the
Roman colony of Placentia, and by laying siege to that of Cremona, the
two strong-holds of the Roman dominion in Northern Italy. The Romans now
set themselves to work, with the characteristic stubbornness of their
nation, to subdue thoroughly these tribes. The Insubres and the
Cenomani, to the north of the Po, were the first to yield; but the Boii
resisted for some years all the efforts of the Romans, and it was not
till B.C. 191 that the Consul P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica received their
final submission. He slaughtered the Boii without mercy, and made it one
of the claims of his triumph that he had left only children and old men
alive. This warlike people was now thoroughly subdued, and from
henceforth Cisalpine Gaul became a Roman province, and gradually adopted
the language and customs of Rome. The submission of the people was
secured by the foundation of new colonies and the formation of military
roads. In B.C. 190 a colony was established at Bononia, now Bologna, in
the country of the Boii, and six years afterward others were also
founded at Mutina (Modena) and Parma. A military road made by M. Æmilius
Lepidus, Consul for B.C. 180, and called the Via Æmilia, was a
continuation of the Via Flaminia, and ran from Ariminum past Placentia,
Mutina, and Parma to Placentia. The subjugation of the Ligurians was a
longer and more difficult task. These hardy mountaineers continued the
war, with intermissions, for a period of eighty years. The Romans, after
penetrating into the heart of Liguria, were seldom able to effect more
than to compel the enemy to disperse, and take refuge in their villages
and castles, of which the latter were mountain fastnesses, in which they
were generally able to defy their pursuers. But into the details of
these long-protracted and inglorious hostilities it is unnecessary to
enter.
The conquests of Scipio Africanus had driven the Carthaginians out of
Spain, and established the Roman supremacy in that country. Accordingly,
soon after the end of the Second Punic War (about B.C. 198), the Romans
proceeded to consolidate their dominion in Spain by dividing it into two
provinces, each governed by a Prætor, which were called Hispania
Citerior, or Hither Spain, and Hispania Ulterior, or Farther Spain, and
divided from each other by the Iberus or the Ebro. But it was little
more than the eastern part of the peninsula that was really subject to
Rome. The powerful tribes of the Celtiberians in Central Spain, the
Lusitanians in Portugal, and the Cantabrians and Gallæcians in the
northwest, still maintained their independence. The division of the
country into two provinces showed that the Romans intended to occupy it
permanently, and occasioned a general insurrection.
The Consul M. Porcius Cato, of whom we shall speak more fully presently,
was sent to put down this insurrection (B.C. 195). The whole country was
in arms; but his military genius and indefatigable industry soon
re-established the superiority of Rome. He gained several decisive
victories, contrived to set tribe against tribe, and took native
mercenaries into his pay. The details of his campaign are full of
horrors. We read of the wholesale slaughter of men who had laid down
their arms, of multitudes sold as slaves, and of many more who had put
themselves to death to escape this fate. Cato was not the man to feel
any compunctions of conscience in the performance of what he considered
a rigorous public task. He boasted of having destroyed more towns in
Spain than he had spent days in that country. When he had reduced the
whole of Hither Spain to a hollow, sullen, and temporary submission, he
returned to Rome, and was rewarded with a triumph.
The severe measures of Cato only exasperated the Spaniards. They again
took up arms, and continued to resist the Roman Prætors for the next
sixteen years, till Tib. Sempronius Gracchus, the father of the
celebrated tribunes, after gaining several brilliant victories over the
Celtiberians, granted them an honorable peace. By his wise measures and
conciliatory conduct he won the affections of the natives, and induced
them to submit to the Roman supremacy (B.C. 179).
It remains to mention two other wars in the West. The Sardinians and
Corsicans revolted, and held out for two years against the Conqueror of
Spain (B.C. 177-175). But Gracchus effected their complete subjugation,
and brought to Rome so large a number of captives for sale as to give
rise to the proverb "Sardi venales" for any thing that was cheap and
worthless.
The Istrians, near the head of the Adriatic Gulf, had been conquered by
the Romans just before the Second Punic War. But their complete
subjugation was now necessary, on account of their proximity to the
newly-formed province of Cisalpine Gaul. Accordingly, the Consuls
invaded Istria in B.C. 178, and in the following year the whole people
was reduced to submission.
[Illustration: Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. (From a Coin.)]
[Illustration: Lictors.]
CHAPTER XVII.
THE ROMAN CONSTITUTION AND ARMY.
The career of foreign conquest upon which the Republic had now entered
continued with little or no interruption till the establishment of the
Empire. We may here pause to take a brief survey of the form of
government, as well as of the military organization by which these
conquests were effected.
The earlier history of the Roman constitution has been already related.
We have seen how, after a long struggle, the Plebeians acquired complete
political equality with the Patricians. In the Second Punic War, the
antagonism between the two orders had almost disappeared, and the only
mark of separation between them in political matters was the regulation
that, of the two Consuls and two Censors, one must be a Patrician and
the other a Plebeian. Even this fell into disuse upon the rise of the
new Nobility, of which we shall speak in the next chapter. The
Patricians gradually dwindled away, and it became the custom to elect
both Consuls and Censors from the Plebeians.[38]
* * * * *
I. THE MAGISTRATES.--Every Roman citizen who aspired to the consulship
had to pass through a regular gradation of public offices, and the
earliest age at which he could become a candidate for them was fixed by
a law passed in B.C. 179, and known by the name of the Lex Annalis. The
earliest age for the Quæstorship, which was the first of these
magistracies, was 27 years; for the Ædileship, 37; for the Prætorship,
40; and for the Consulship, 43.
All magistrates at Rome were divided into _Curules_ and those who were
not Curules. The Curule Magistrates were the Dictators, Censors,
Consuls, Prætors, and Curule Ædiles, and were so called because they had
the right of sitting upon the _Sella Curulis_, originally an emblem of
kingly power, imported, along with other insignia of royalty, from
Etruria.
1. The _Quæstors_ were the paymasters of the state. It was their duty to
receive the revenues, and to make all the necessary payments for the
military and civil services. There were originally only two Quæstors,
but their number was constantly increased with the conquests of the
Republic. Besides two Quæstors who always remained at Rome, every Consul
or Prætor who conducted a war or governed a province was attended by one
of these magistrates.
2. The _Ædileship_ was originally a Plebeian office, instituted at the
same time as the Tribuneship of the Plebs.[39] To the two Plebeian
Ædiles two Curule Ædiles were added in B.C. 365. The four Ædiles in
common had the charge of the public buildings,[40] the care of the
cleansing and draining of the city, and the superintendence of the
police. They had also the regulation of the public festivals; and the
celebration of the Ludi Magni, or Great Games, was their especial
function. Originally they received a sum of money from the state to
defray the expenses of these games, but the grant was withdrawn about
the time of the First Punic War; a measure attended with important
consequences, since the higher magistracies were thus confined to the
wealthy, who alone could defray the charges of these costly
entertainments. After the Macedonian and Syrian wars, the Curule Ædiles
often incurred a prodigious expense, with the view of pleasing the
people, and securing their votes in future elections.
3. The institution of the _Prætorship_ in B.C. 366 has been already
narrated. There was originally only one Prætor, subsequently called
Prætor Urbanus, whose chief duty was the administration of justice. In
B.C. 246 a second Prætor was added, who had to decide cases in which
foreigners were concerned, and who was hence called Prætor Peregrinus.
When the territories of the state extended beyond Italy, new Prætors
were created to govern the provinces. Two Prætors were appointed to
take the administration of Sicily and Sardinia (B.C. 227), and two more
were added when the two Spanish provinces were formed (B.C. 197). There
were thus six Prætors, two of whom staid in the city and the other four
went abroad. Each Prætor was attended by six Lictors.
4. The _Consuls_ were the highest ordinary magistrates at Rome, and were
at the head both of the state and the army. They convoked the Senate and
the Assembly of the Centuries; they presided in each, and had to see
that the resolutions of the Senate and the People were carried into
effect. They had the supreme command of the armies in virtue of the
Imperium conferred upon them by a special vote of the People. At the
head of the army, they had full power of life and death over their
soldiers. They were preceded by twelve lictors, but this outward sign of
power was enjoyed by them month by month in turn.
The magistrates above-mentioned were elected annually, but it was the
practice frequently to prolong the command of the Consuls or Prætors in
the provinces under the titles of Proconsuls or Proprætors. In the later
times of the Republic it was usual for both Consuls and several Prætors
to remain at Rome during their year of office, and at its close to take
the command of provinces, with the titles of Proconsuls or Proprætors.
5. The _Dictatorship_, which occurs so often in the early history of the
Republic, disappears altogether after the Second Punic War. As the
Republic became powerful, and had no longer to dread any enemies in
Italy, there was no necessity for such an extraordinary magistracy as
the Dictatorship, but whenever internal dangers seemed to require a
stronger executive, the Senate invested the Consuls with dictatorial
power.[41]
6. The _Censors_ were two in number, elected every five years, but they
held their office for a year and a half. They were taken, as a general
rule, from those who had been previously Consuls, and their office was
regarded as the highest dignity in the state. Their duties, which were
very extensive and very important, may be divided into three classes,
all of which, however, were closely connected.
(_a_). Their first and most important duty was to take the Census. This
was not simply a list of the population, according to the modern use of
the word, but a valuation of the property of every Roman citizen. This
valuation was necessary, not only for the assessment of the
property-tax, but also for determining the position of every citizen in
the state, which was regulated, in accordance with the constitution of
Servius Tullius, by the amount of his property. Accordingly, the Censors
had to draw up lists of the Classes and Centuries. They also made out
the lists of the Senators and Equites, striking out the names of all
whom they deemed unworthy, and filling up all vacancies in the Senate.
(_b._) The Censors possessed a general control over the conduct and
morals of the citizens. In the exercise of this important power they
were not guided by any rules of law, but simply by their own sense of
duty. They punished acts of private as well as public immorality, and
visited with their censure not only offenses against the laws, but every
thing opposed to the old Roman character and habits, such as living in
celibacy, extravagance, luxury, etc. They had the power of degrading
every citizen to a lower rank, of expelling Senators from the Senate, of
depriving the Equites of their horses, and of removing ordinary citizens
from their tribes, and thus excluding them from all political rights.
(_c._) The Censors also had the administration of the finances of the
state, under the direction of the Senate. They let out the taxes to the
highest bidders for the space of a lustrum, or five years.[42] They
likewise received from the Senate certain sums of money to keep the
public buildings, roads, and aqueducts in repair,[43] and to construct
new public works in Rome and other parts of Italy. Hence we find that
many of the great public roads, such as the Via Appia and Via Flaminia,
were made by Censors.
* * * * *
II. THE SENATE.--The Senate was in reality the executive government of
Rome, and the Magistrates, of whom we have been speaking, were only its
ministers. The Senate consisted of Three Hundred members, who held the
dignity for life unless expelled by the Censors for reasons already
mentioned, but they could not transmit the honor to their sons. All
vacancies in the body were filled up by the Censors every five years
from those who had held the Quæstorship or any higher magistracy. The
Censors were thus confined in their selection to those who had already
received the confidence of the people, and no one could therefore enter
the Senate unless he had some experience in political affairs.
The power of the Senate was very great. It exercised a control over
legislation, since no law could be proposed to the Assemblies of the
People unless it had first received the approval of the Senate. In many
cases "Senatus consulta"[44] were passed, which had the force of laws
without being submitted to the Popular Assemblies at all. This was
especially the case in matters affecting religion, police,
administration, the provinces, and all foreign relations.
In foreign affairs the authority of the Senate was absolute, with the
exception of declaring war and making peace, which needed the sanction
of the Centuries. The Senate assigned the provinces into which the
Consuls and Prætors were to be sent; they determined the manner in which
a war was to be conducted, and the number of troops to be levied; they
prolonged the command of a general or superseded him at their pleasure,
and on his return they granted or refused him a triumph; they alone
carried on negotiations with foreign states, and all embassadors to
foreign powers were appointed by the Senate from their own body.
In home affairs they had the superintendence in all matters of religion.
They had also the entire administration of the finances. When the
Republic was in danger the Senate had the power of suspending the laws
by the appointment of a Dictator, or by investing the Consuls with
dictatorial power, as already mentioned.
* * * * *
III. THE POPULAR ASSEMBLIES.--1. The _Comitia Curiata_, the Patrician
assembly, had become a mere form as early as the First Punic War. The
gradual decline of its power has been already traced. It continued to
meet for the transaction of certain matters pertaining to the Patrician
gentes, but was represented simply by 30 lictors.
2. The constitution of the _Comitia Centuriata_, as established by
Servius Tullius,[45] had undergone a great change between the time of
the Licinian Rogations and the Punic Wars, but both the exact time and
nature of this change are unknown. It appears, however, that its object
was to give more power and influence to the popular element in the
state. For this purpose the 35 tribes were taken as the basis of the new
Constitution of the Centuries. Each tribe was probably divided into five
property Classes, and each Classis was subdivided into two Centuries,
one of Seniores and the other of Juniores. Each tribe would thus contain
10 Centuries, and, consequently, the 35 tribes would have 350 Centuries,
so that, with the 18 Centuries of the Knights, the total number of the
Centuries would be 368.
The Comitia of the Centuries still retained the election of the higher
magistrates, the power of enacting laws, of declaring war and making
peace, and also the highest judicial functions. Accusations for treason
were brought before the Centuries, and in all criminal matters every
Roman citizen could appeal to them.[46] But, notwithstanding these
extensive powers, their influence in the state was gradually superseded
by the Assembly of the Tribes.
3. The _Comitia Tributa_ obtained its superior influence and power
mainly through its Tribunes. The Assembly of the Centuries, being
summoned and presided over by the Consuls, was, to a great extent, an
instrument in the hands of the Senate, while that of the Tribes, being
guided by its own magistrates, and representing the popular element, was
frequently opposed to the Senate, and took an active part in the
internal administration of the state. The increasing power of the
Tribunes naturally led to a corresponding increase in the power of the
Tribes. The right of Intercession[47] possessed by the Tribunes was
extended to all matters. Thus we find the Tribunes preventing the
Consuls from summoning the Senate and from proposing laws to the Comitia
of the Centuries. As the persons of the Tribunes were sacred, the Senate
could exercise no control over them, while they, on the contrary, could
even seize a Consul or a Censor, and throw him into prison. The only
effective check which the Senate had upon the proceedings of the
Tribunes was, that one Tribune could put his veto upon the acts of his
colleagues. Consequently, by securing the support of one member of the
body, the Senate were able to prevent the other Tribunes from carrying
out their plans.
The _Plebiscita_ enacted by the Tribes had the same force as the _Leges_
of the Centuries.[48] There were thus two sovereign assemblies at Rome,
each independent of the other; that of the Tribes, as already observed,
was the most important at the period which we have now reached.
* * * * *
IV. FINANCES.--The ordinary expenditure of the Roman state was not
large. All the magistrates discharged their duties without pay; and the
allied troops, which formed so large a portion of a Roman army, were
maintained by the allies themselves. The expenses of war were defrayed
by a property-tax called _Tributum_, which was usually one in a
thousand, or one tenth per cent., but after the last war with Macedonia
the treasury received such large sums from the provinces that the
tributum was abolished. From this time the expenses of the state were
almost entirely defrayed by the taxes levied in the provinces. The other
revenues of the state, which bore the general name of _Vectigalia_, may
be dismissed with a few words. They consisted of the rents arising from
the public lands, of the customs' duties, of the taxes upon mines, salt,
etc.
* * * * *
V. THE ARMY.--The Roman army was originally called _Legio_; and this
name, which is coeval with the foundation of Rome, continued down to the
latest times. The Legion was therefore not equivalent to what we call a
regiment, inasmuch as it contained troops of all arms, infantry,
cavalry, and, when military engines were extensively employed, artillery
also. The number of soldiers who, at different periods, were contained
in a legion, does not appear to have been absolutely fixed, but to have
varied within moderate limits. Under Romulus the legion contained 3000
foot-soldiers. From the expulsion of the Kings until the second year of
the Second Punic War the regular number may be fixed at 4000 or 4200
infantry. From the latter period until the consulship of Marius the
ordinary number was from 5000 to 5200. For some centuries after Marius
the numbers varied from 5000 to 6200, generally approaching to the
higher limit. Amid all the variations with regard to the infantry, 300
horsemen formed the regular complement of the legion. The organization
of the legion differed at different periods.
1. _First Period. Servius Tullius._--The legion of Servius is so closely
connected with the Comitia Centuriata that it has already been
discussed,[49] and it is only necessary to state here that it was a
phalanx equipped in the Greek fashion, the front ranks being furnished
with a complete suit of armor, their weapons being long spears, and
their chief defense the round Argolic shield (_clipeus_).
2. _Second Period. The Great Latin War_, B.C. 340.--The legion in B.C.
340 had almost entirely discarded the tactics of the phalanx. It was now
drawn up in three, or perhaps we ought to say, in five lines. The
soldiers of the first line, called Hastati, consisted of youths in the
first bloom of manhood, distributed into 15 companies or maniples
(_manipuli_), a moderate space being left between each. The maniple
contained 60 privates, 2 centurions (_centuriones_), and a
standard-bearer (_vexillarius_). The second line, the Principes, was
composed of men in the full vigor of life, divided in like manner into
15 maniples, all heavily armed. The two lines of the Hastati and
Principes taken together amounted to 30 maniples, and formed the
Antepilani. The third line, the Triarii, composed of tried veterans, was
also in 15 divisions, but each of these was triple, containing 3
maniples. In these triple maniples the veterans, or Triarii proper,
formed the front ranks; immediately behind them stood the Rorarii,
inferior in age and prowess, while the Accensi, or supernumeraries, less
trustworthy than either, were posted in the extreme rear.
3. _Third Period. During the Wars of the younger Scipio._--Under
ordinary circumstances four legions were levied yearly, two being
assigned to each Consul. It must be observed that a regular consular
army no longer consisted of Roman legions only, but, as Italy became
gradually subjugated, the various states under the dominion of Rome were
bound to furnish a contingent, and the number of allies usually exceeded
that of the citizens. They were, however, kept perfectly distinct, both
in the camp and in the battle-field.
The men belonging to each legion were separated into four divisions. 1.
1000 of the youngest and poorest were set apart to form the Velites, the
light-armed troops or skirmishers of the legion. 2. 1200 who came next
in age (or who were of the same age with the preceding, but more
wealthy) formed the Hastati. 3. 1200, consisting of those in the full
vigor of manhood, formed the Principes. 4. 600 of the oldest and most
experienced formed the Triarii. When the number of soldiers in the
legion exceeded 4000, the first three divisions were increased
proportionally, but the number of the Triarii remained always the same.
The Hastati, Principes, and Triarii were each divided into 10 companies,
called Maniples. The Velites were not divided into companies, but were
distributed equally among the Hastati, Principes, and Triarii. Each
maniple was subdivided into two centuries, commanded by a centurion.
Each legion had six superior officers, called Tribuni Militum. The
legion was also divided into 10 cohorts; and as the cohorts were all
equal to each other, the strength of the cohort varied from time to time
with the strength of the legion, and thus at different periods ranged
between the limits of 300 and 600.
Three hundred horse-soldiers were apportioned to each legion, divided
into 10 troops (_turmæ_), out of which three officers were chosen named
Decuriones.
The infantry furnished by the Socii was for the most part equal in
number to the Roman legions, the cavalry twice or thrice as numerous,
and the whole were divided equally between the two consular armies. Each
Consul named 12 superior officers, who were termed Præfecti Sociorum,
and corresponded by the Legionary Tribunes.
_Fourth Period. From the times of the Gracchi until the downfall of the
Republic._[50]--After the times of the Gracchi the following changes in
military affairs may be noticed: In the first consulship of Marius the
legions were thrown open to citizens of all grades, without distinction
of fortune. The whole of the legionaries were armed and equipped in the
same manner, all being now furnished with the pilum. The legionaries,
when in battle-order, were no longer arranged in three lines, each
consisting of ten maniples with an open space between each maniple, but
in two lines, each consisting of five cohorts, with a space between each
cohort. The younger soldiers were no longer placed in the front, but in
reserve, the van being composed of veterans. As a necessary result of
the above arrangements, the distinction between Hastati, Principes, and
Triarii ceased to exist. The Velites disappeared. The skirmishers,
included under the general term Levis Armatura, consisted for the most
part of foreign mercenaries possessing peculiar skill in the use of some
national weapon, such as the Balearic slingers, the Cretan archers
(_sagittarii_), and the Moorish dartmen. When operations requiring great
activity were undertaken, such as could not be performed by mere
skirmishers, detachments of legionaries were lightly equipped, and
marched without baggage for these special services.[51] The cavalry of
the legion underwent a change in every respect analogous to that which
took place with regard to the light-armed troops. The Roman Equites
attached to the army were very few in number, and were chiefly employed
as aids-de-camp and on confidential missions. The bulk of the cavalry
consisted of foreigners, and hence we find the legions and the cavalry
spoken of as completely distinct from each other. After the termination
of the Social War, when most of the inhabitants of Italy became Roman
citizens, the ancient distinction between the Legiones and the Socii
disappeared, and all who had served as Socii became incorporated with
the Legiones.
In the course of the history the Triumphs granted to victorious generals
have been frequently mentioned, and therefore a brief description of
them may appropriately close this sketch of the Roman army. A Triumph
was a solemn procession, in which a victorious general entered the city
in a chariot drawn by four horses. He was preceded by the captives and
spoils taken in war, was followed by his troops, and, after passing in
state along the Via Sacra, ascended the Capitol to offer sacrifice in
the Temple of Jupiter. From the beginning of the Republic down to the
extinction of liberty a Triumph was recognized as the summit of military
glory, and was the cherished object of ambition to every Roman general.
After any decisive battle had been won, or a province subdued by a
series of successful operations, the general forwarded to the Senate a
laurel-wreathed dispatch containing an account of his exploits. If the
intelligence proved satisfactory the Senate decreed a public
thanksgiving.[52] After the war was concluded, the general, with his
army, repaired to Rome, or ordered his army to meet him there on a given
day, but did not enter the city. A meeting of the Senate was held
without the walls, that he might have an opportunity of urging his
pretensions in person, and these were then scrutinized and discussed
with the most jealous care. If the Senate gave their consent, they at
the same time voted a sum of money toward defraying the necessary
expenses, and one of the Tribunes applied for a plebiscitum to permit
the Imperator to retain his imperium on the day when he entered the
city. This last form could not be dispensed with, because the imperium
conferred by the Comitia did not include the city itself; and
accordingly the military power of the general ceased as soon as he
re-entered the gates, unless the general law had been previously
suspended by a special enactment.
[Illustration: A Roman general addressing the soldiers. (From a Coin.)]
[Footnote 38: Two Plebeian Consuls were first appointed in B.C. 172, and
two Plebeian Censors in B.C. 131.]
[Footnote 39: See p. 31. (Eighth paragraph of Chapter IV.--Transcriber)]
[Footnote 40: Hence their name, from _Ædes_, a temple.]
[Footnote 41: This was done by the well-known formula "Videant," or
"Dent operam Consules, ne quid res publica detriment capiat."]
[Footnote 42: These farmers of the public revenue were called
_Publicani_.]
[Footnote 43: It is not easy to define with accuracy the respective
duties of the Censors and Ædiles in relation to the public buildings;
but it may be stated in general that the superintendence of the Ædiles
was more in the way of police, while that of the Censors had reference
to all financial matters.]
[Footnote 44: A _Senatus consultum_ was so called because the Consul who
brought a matter before the Senate was said _Senatum consulere_.]
[Footnote 45: See p. 19.(Ninth paragraph of Chapter III.--Transcriber)]
[Footnote 46: The technical word for this appeal was _Provocatio_. The
word _Appellatio_ signified an appeal from one magistrate to another.]
[Footnote 47: See p. 31.(Eighth paragraph of Chapter IV.--Transcriber)]
[Footnote 48: See p. 40.(Eighth paragraph of Chapter V.--Transcriber)]
[Footnote 49: See p. 19.(Ninth paragraph of Chapter III.--Transcriber)]
[Footnote 50: We anticipate the course of events in order to give under
one view the history of the Roman legion.]
[Footnote 51: Hence the frequent occurrence of such phrases as
_expediti_, _expediti milites_, _expeditæ cohortes_, and even _expeditæ
legiones_.]
[Footnote 52: Called _Supplicatio_.]
[Illustration: Scipio Africanus.]
CHAPTER XVIII.
INTERNAL HISTORY OF ROME DURING THE MACEDONIAN AND SYRIAN WARS. CATO AND
SCIPIO.
The conquests of the Romans in the East had exercised a most pernicious
influence upon the national character. They were originally a hardy,
industrious, and religious race, distinguished by unbending integrity
and love of order. They lived with great frugality upon their small
farms, which they cultivated with their own hands; but they were stern
and somewhat cruel, and cared little or nothing for literature and the
arts. Upon such a people the sudden acquisition of wealth produced its
natural effects. They employed it in the gratification of their
appetites, and in coarse sensual pleasures. Some of the Roman nobles,
such as Scipio Africanus, Flamininus (the conqueror of Philip), and
others, acquired a love for Greek literature and art; but the great mass
of the nation imitated only the vices of the Greeks. Cooks, who had
formerly been the cheapest kind of slaves at Rome, now became the most
valuable. A love of luxury and a general depravity gradually spread
through all classes of society. A striking instance of the growing
licentiousness of the times was brought to light in B.C. 186. It was
discovered that the worship of Bacchus had been introduced from Southern
Italy into Rome and other towns, and that secret societies were formed,
which, under the cloak of this worship, indulged in the most abominable
vices. A stringent inquiry was made into these practices; the most
guilty were put to death; and a decree of the Senate was passed,
forbidding the worship of Bacchus in Rome and throughout Italy.
Another circumstance will illustrate the manners of the times. L.
Flamininus, the brother of the conqueror of Philip, and Consul in B.C.
192, took with him into Cisalpine Gaul a beautiful Carthaginian boy, to
whom he was attached. The youth complained of leaving Rome just before
the exhibition of the games of the gladiators. Shortly after reaching
the province, when Flamininus was feasting with his favorite, a Boian
chief came into the Consul's tent to implore his protection. Flamininus
seized this opportunity to please the boy, and, telling him that he
should be rewarded for not seeing the gladiators, he ordered an
attendant to stab the Gaul, that his favorite might enjoy the dying
agonies of the man.
The increasing love of gladiatorial combats was another indication of
the national character. These brutalizing sports are said to have taken
their origin from the Etruscans, who were accustomed to kill slaves and
captives at the funerals of their relatives. They were first exhibited
at Rome in the beginning of the First Punic War (B.C. 264). At first
confined to funerals, they were afterward exhibited by the Ædiles at the
public games, with the view of pleasing the people. The passion for this
brutalizing amusement rose to a great height toward the end of the
Republic and under the Empire. Great pains were taken with the training
of gladiators, who were divided into different classes according to
their arms and modes of fighting.
Among many other important consequences of these foreign wars, two
exercised an especial influence upon the future fate of the Republic.
The nobles became enormously rich, and the peasant proprietors almost
entirely disappeared. The wealthy nobles now combined together to keep
in their own families the public offices of the state, which afforded
the means of making such enormous fortunes. Thus a new Nobility was
formed, resting on wealth, and composed alike of plebeian and patrician
families. Every one whose ancestry had not held any of the curule
magistracies[53] was called a New Man, and was branded as an
upstart.[54] It became more and more difficult for a New Man to rise to
office, and the Nobles were thus almost an hereditary aristocracy in the
exclusive possession of the government. The wealth they had acquired in
foreign commands enabled them not only to incur a prodigious expense in
the celebration of the public games in their ædileship, with the view of
gaining the votes of the people at future elections, but also to spend
large sums of money in the actual purchase of votes. The first law
against bribery[55] was passed in B.C. 181, a sure proof of the growth
of the practice.
The decay of the peasant proprietors was an inevitable consequence of
these frequent and long-protracted wars. In the earlier times the
citizen-soldier, after a few weeks' campaign, returned home to cultivate
his land; but this became impossible when wars were carried on out of
Italy. Moreover, the soldier, easily obtaining abundance of booty, found
life in the camp more pleasant than the cultivation of the ground. He
was thus as ready to sell his land as the nobles were anxious to buy it.
But money acquired by plunder is soon squandered. The soldier, returning
to Rome, swelled the ranks of the poor; and thus, while the nobles
became richer and richer, the lower classes became poorer and poorer. In
consequence of the institution of slavery there was little or no demand
for free labor, and as prisoners taken in war were sold as slaves, the
slave-market was always well supplied. The estates of the wealthy were
cultivated by large gangs of slaves; and even the mechanical arts, which
give employment to such large numbers in the modern towns of Europe,
were practiced by slaves, whom their masters had trained for the
purpose. The poor at Rome were thus left almost without resources; their
votes in the popular assembly were nearly the only thing they could turn
into money, and it is therefore not surprising that they were ready to
sell them to the highest bidder.
Many distinguished men saw with deep regret the old Roman virtues
disappearing, and strove vigorously against these corruptions of the
national character. Of this party the most conspicuous member was M.
Porcius Cato, who may be taken as a type of the old Roman character. He
was born at Tusculum in B.C. 234. When a young man, the death of his
father put him in possession of a small hereditary estate in the Sabine
territory, at a distance from his native town. It was here that he
passed the greater part of his boyhood, hardening his body by healthful
exercise, and superintending and sharing the operations of the farm.
Near his estate was an humble cottage, which had been tenanted, after
three triumphs, by its owner M. Curius Dentatus, whose warlike exploits
and simple character were often talked of with admiration in the
neighborhood. The ardor of the youthful Cato was kindled. He resolved to
imitate the character, and hoped to rival the glory, of Dentatus.
Opportunity was not wanting. He took his first military lessons in the
campaigns against Hannibal, and gained the favor and friendship of
Fabius Maximus. He was also patronized by L. Valerius Flaccus, a Roman
noble in his neighborhood, and a warm supporter of the old Roman
manners, who had observed Cato's eloquence, as well as his martial
spirit. Encouraged by Fabius and Flaccus, Cato became a candidate for
office, and was elected Quæstor in B.C. 204. He followed P. Scipio
Africanus to Sicily, but there was not that cordiality of co-operation
between Cato and Scipio which ought to subsist between a Quæstor and his
Proconsul. Fabius had opposed the permission given to Scipio to carry
the attack into the enemy's home, and Cato, whose appointment was
intended to operate as a check upon Scipio, adopted the views of his
friend. Cato was Prætor in Sardinia in B.C. 198, where he took the
earliest opportunity of illustrating his principles by his practice. He
diminished official expenses, walked his circuits with a single
attendant, administered justice with strict impartiality, and restrained
usury with unsparing severity. He had now established a reputation for
pure morality and strict old-fashioned virtue. He was looked upon as the
living type and representative of the ideal ancient Roman. To the
advancement of such a man opposition was vain. In B.C. 195 he was
elected Consul with his old friend and patron L. Valerius Flaccus.
During his consulship a strange scene took place peculiarly illustrative
of Roman manners. In B.C. 215, at the height of the Punic War, a law had
been passed, proposed by the Tribune Oppius, that no woman should
possess more than half an ounce of gold, nor wear a garment of divers
colors, nor drive a carriage with horses within a mile of the city,
except for the purpose of attending the public celebration of religious
rites. Now that Hannibal was conquered, and Rome abounded with
Carthaginian wealth, there being no longer any necessity for women to
contribute toward the exigencies of an impoverished treasury the savings
spared from their ornaments and pleasures, two Tribunes thought it time
to propose the abolition of the Oppian law; but they were opposed by two
of their colleagues. The most important affairs of state excited far
less interest and zeal than this singular contest. The matrons blockaded
every avenue to the forum, and intercepted their husbands as they
approached, beseeching them to restore the ancient ornaments of the
Roman matrons. Even Flaccus wavered, but his colleague Cato was
inexorable. Finally, the women carried the day. Worn out by their
importunity, the two Tribunes withdrew their opposition, and the hated
law was abolished by the suffrage of all the tribes.
Cato's campaign in Spain during his Consulship, which added greatly to
his military reputation, has been already related. He afterward served
in Greece under M. Glabrio, where he distinguished himself at the battle
of Thermopylæ fought against Antiochus (B.C. 191).
The victory of Zama had made P. Scipio Africanus the first man in the
Republic, and for a time silenced all his enemies. But the party of
Fabius still cherished their old animosity against him, and Cato
inherited the hatred of his friend and patron. After the return of P.
Scipio and his brother Lucius from the war against Antiochus, they were
charged with having been bribed to let off the Syrian monarch too
leniently, and of having appropriated to their own use a portion of the
money which had been paid by Antiochus to the Roman state. The first
blow was directed against Lucius Scipio. At the instigation of Cato, the
two Petillii Tribunes of the people required Lucius to render an account
of all sums of money which he had received from Antiochus. Lucius
accordingly prepared his accounts; but, as he was in the act of
delivering them up, the proud conqueror of Hannibal indignantly snatched
them out of his hands, and tore them in pieces, saying "it was unworthy
to call to account for a few thousands a man who had paid millions into
the treasury." But this haughty conduct appears to have produced an
unfavorable impression, and his brother, when brought to trial in the
course of the tame year, was declared guilty, and sentenced to pay a
heavy fine. The Tribune ordered him to be dragged to prison, and there
detained till the money was paid; whereupon Africanus, still more
enraged at this fresh insult to his family, and setting himself above
the laws, rescued his brother from the hands of the Tribune's officer.
The contest would probably have been attended with fatal results had not
Tib. Gracchus, the father of the celebrated Tribune, and then Tribune
himself, had the prudence, although he disapproved of the violent
conduct of Africanus, to release his brother Lucius from the sentence of
imprisonment.
The successful issue of the prosecution of Lucius emboldened his enemies
to bring the great Africanus himself before the people. His accuser was
the Tribune M. Nævius. When the trial came on, Scipio did not condescend
to say a single word in refutation of the charges that had been brought
against him, but descanted long and eloquently upon the signal services
he had rendered to the commonwealth. Having spoken till nightfall, the
trial was adjourned till the following day. Early next morning, when the
Tribunes had taken their seats on the rostra, and Africanus was
summoned, he proudly reminded the people that this was the anniversary
of the day on which he had defeated Hannibal at Zama, and called upon
them to neglect all disputes and lawsuits, and follow him to the
Capitol, there to return thanks to the immortal gods, and pray that they
would grant the Roman state other citizens like himself. Scipio struck a
chord which vibrated in every heart; their veneration for the hero
returned; and he was followed by such crowds to the Capitol that the
Tribunes were left alone in the rostra. Having thus set all the laws at
defiance, Scipio immediately quitted Rome, and retired to his country
seat at Liternum. The Tribunes wished to renew the prosecution, but
Gracchus wisely persuaded them to let it drop. Scipio never returned to
Rome. He would neither submit to the laws, nor aspire to the sovereignty
of the state, and he therefore resolved to expatriate himself forever.
He passed his remaining days in the cultivation of his estate at
Liternum, and at his death is said to have requested that his body might
be buried there, and not in his ungrateful country (B.C. 183).
Hannibal perished in the same year as his great opponent. Scipio was the
only member of the Senate who opposed the unworthy persecution which the
Romans employed against their once dreaded foe. Each of these great men,
possessing true nobility of soul, could appreciate the other's merits. A
story is told that Scipio was one of the embassadors sent to Antiochus
at Ephesus, at whose court Hannibal was then residing, and that he there
had an interview with the great Carthaginian, who declared him the
greatest general that ever lived. The compliment was paid in a manner
the most flattering to Scipio. The latter had asked, "Who was the
greatest general?" "Alexander the Great," was Hannibal's reply. "Who was
the second?" "Pyrrhus." "Who was the third?" "Myself," replied the
Carthaginian. "What would you have said, then, if you had conquered me?"
asked Scipio, in astonishment. "I should then have placed myself above
Alexander, Pyrrhus, and all other generals."
After the defeat of Antiochus, Hannibal, as we have already seen, took
up his abode with Prusias, king of Bithynia, and there found for some
years a secure asylum. But the Romans could not be at ease so long as
Hannibal lived, and T. Flamininus was at length dispatched to the court
of Prusias to demand the surrender of the fugitive. The Bithynian king
was unable to resist; but Hannibal, who had long been in expectation of
such an event, took poison to avoid falling into the hands of his
implacable foes.
We now return to Cato, whose Censorship (B.C. 184) was a great epoch in
his life. He applied himself strenuously to the duties of his office,
regardless of the enemies he was making. He repaired the water-courses,
paved the reservoirs, cleansed the drains, raised the rents paid by the
publicani for farming the taxes, and diminished the contract-prices
disbursed by the state to the undertakers of public works. There can be
no doubt that great abuses existed in the management of the public
finances, with which nothing but the undaunted courage and
administrative abilities of Cato could have successfully grappled. He
was disturbing a nest of hornets, and all his future life was troubled
by their buzz, and their attempts to sting. But, though he was accused
no fewer than forty-four times during the course of his life, it was
only once that his enemies prevailed against him. His enactments against
luxury were severe and stringent. He levied a heavy tax upon expensive
slaves and costly furniture and dress. He justly degraded from the
Senate L. Flamininus for the act of abominable cruelty in Gaul which has
been already narrated.[56]
The strong national prejudices of Cato appear to have diminished in
force as he grew older and wiser. He applied himself in old age to the
study of Greek literature, with which in youth he had no acquaintance,
although he was not ignorant of the Greek language. Himself an historian
and orator, the excellences of Demosthenes and Thucydides made a deep
impression upon his kindred mind. But throughout life his conduct was
guided by prejudices against classes and nations whose influence he
deemed to be hostile to the simplicity of the old Roman character. When
Eumenes, king of Pergamus, visited Rome after the war with Antiochus,
and was received with honor by the Senate, and splendidly entertained by
the nobles, Cato was indignant at the respect paid to the monarch,
refused to go near him, and declared that "kings were naturally
carnivorous animals." He had an antipathy to physicians, because they
were mostly Greeks, and therefore unfit to be trusted with Roman lives.
He loudly cautioned his eldest son against them, and dispensed with
their attendance. When Athens sent three celebrated philosophers,
Carneades, Diogenes, and Critolaüs, to Rome, in order to negotiate a
remission of the 500 talents which the Athenians had been awarded to pay
to the Oropians, Carneades excited great attention by his philosophical
conversation and lectures, in which he preached the pernicious doctrine
of an expediency distinct from justice, which he illustrated by the
example of Rome herself: "If Rome were stripped of all that she did not
justly gain, the Romans might go back to their huts." Cato, offended
with his principles, and jealous of the attention paid to the Greek,
gave advice which the Senate followed: "Let these deputies have an
answer, and a polite dismissal as soon as possible."
Cato was an unfeeling and cruel master. His conduct toward his slaves
was detestable. The law held them to be mere chattels, and he treated
them as such, without any regard to the rights of humanity. After supper
he often severely chastised them, thong in hand, for trifling acts of
negligence, and sometimes condemned them to death. When they were worn
out, or useless, he sold them, or turned them out of doors. He treated
the lower animals no better. His war-horse, which bore him through his
campaign in Spain, he sold before he left the country, that the state
might not be charged with the expenses of its transport. As years
advanced he sought gain with increasing eagerness, but never attempted
to profit by the misuse of his public functions. He accepted no bribes;
he reserved no booty to his own use; but he became a speculator, not
only in slaves, but in buildings, artificial waters, and
pleasure-grounds. In this, as in other points, he was a representative
of the old Romans, who were a money-getting and money-loving people.
[Footnote 53: See p. 117.(Third paragraph of Chapter XVII.--Transcriber)]
[Footnote 54: The _Nobiles_ were distinguished from the _Ignobiles_. The
outward distinction of the former was the _Jus Imaginum_. These Imagines
were figures with painted masks of wax, representing the ancestors who
had held any of the curule magistracies. They were placed in cases in
the atrium or reception-hall of the house, and were carried in the
funeral procession of a member of the family. Any one who first obtained
a curule magistracy became the founder of the nobility of his family.
Such a person was himself neither a _Nobilis_ nor an _Ignobilis_. He was
termed a _Novus Homo_, or a new man.]
[Footnote 55: The Latin word for bribery is _ambitus_, literally
canvassing. It must not be confounded with _repetundæ_, the offense of
extortion or pecuniary corruption committed by magistrates in the
provinces or at Rome.]
[Footnote 56: See p. 127.(Second paragraph of Chapter
XVIII.--Transcriber)]
[Illustration: Island in the Tiber, with the Fabrician and Cestian
Bridges.]
CHAPTER XIX.
THE THIRD MACEDONIAN, ACHÆAN, AND THIRD PUNIC WARS. B.C. 179-146.
In B.C. 179 Philip died, and was succeeded by his son Perseus, the last
monarch of Macedonia. The latter years of the reign of Philip had been
spent in preparations for a renewal of the war, which he foresaw to be
inevitable; and when Perseus ascended the throne, he found himself amply
provided with men and money for the impending contest. But, whether from
a sincere desire of peace, or from irresolution of character, he sought
to avert an open rupture as long as possible, and one of the first acts
of his reign was to obtain from the Romans a renewal of the treaty which
they had concluded with his father. It is probable that neither party
was sincere in the conclusion of this peace, at least neither could
entertain any hope of its duration; yet a period of seven years elapsed
before the mutual enmity of the two powers broke out into open
hostilities. Meanwhile, Perseus was not idle; he secured the attachment
of his subjects by equitable and popular measures, and formed alliances
not only with the Greeks and the Asiatic princes, but also with the
Thracian, Illyrian, and Celtic tribes which surrounded his dominions.
The Romans naturally viewed these proceedings with jealousy and
suspicion; and at length, in 172, Perseus was formally accused before
the Roman Senate by Eumenes, king of Pergamus, in person, of
entertaining hostile designs against the Roman power. The murder of
Eumenes near Delphi, on his return homeward, of which Perseus was
suspected, aggravated the feeling against him at Rome, and in the
following year war was declared.
Perseus was at the head of a numerous and well-appointed army, but of
all his allies, only Cotys, king of the Odrysians, ventured to support
him against so formidable a foe. Yet the war was protracted three years
without any decisive result; nay, the balance of success seemed on the
whole to incline in favor of Perseus, and many states, which before were
wavering, now showed a disposition to join his cause. But his ill-timed
parsimony restrained him from taking advantage of their offers, and in
B.C. 168 the arrival of the Consul L. Æmilius Paullus completely changed
the aspect of affairs. Perseus was driven from a strong position which
he had taken up on the banks of the Enipeus, forced to retreat to Pydna,
and, finally, to accept an engagement near that town. At first the
serried ranks of the phalanx seemed to promise superiority; but its
order having been broken by the inequalities of the ground, the Roman
legionaries penetrated the disordered mass, and committed fearful
carnage, to the extent, it is said, of 20,000 men. Perseus fled first to
Pella, then to Amphipolis, and finally to the sanctuary of the sacred
island of Samothrace, but was at length obliged to surrender himself to
a Roman squadron. He was treated with courtesy, but was reserved to
adorn the triumph of his conqueror. Such was the end of the Macedonian
empire. The Senate decreed that Macedonia should be divided into four
districts, each under the jurisdiction of an oligarchical council.
Before leaving Greece, Paullus was commanded by the Senate to inflict a
terrible punishment upon the Epirotes, because they had favored Perseus.
Having placed garrisons in the seventy towns of Epirus, he razed them
all to the ground in one day, and carried away 150,000 inhabitants as
slaves. Epirus never recovered from this blow. In the time of Augustus
the country was still a scene of desolation, and the inhabitants had
only ruins and villages to dwell in.
Paullus arrived in Italy toward the close of B.C. 167. The booty which
he brought with him from Macedonia, and which he paid into the Roman
treasury, was of enormous value; and his triumph, which lasted three
days, was the most splendid that Rome had yet seen. Before his triumphal
car walked the captive monarch of Macedonia, and behind it, on
horseback, were his two eldest sons, Q. Fabius Maximus, and P. Scipio
Africanus the younger, both of whom had been adopted into other
families. But his glory was darkened by the death of his two younger
sons, one dying a few days before, and the other a few days after his
triumph.
After the triumph Perseus was thrown into a dungeon, but, in consequence
of the intercession of Paullus, he was released, and permitted to end
his days in an honorable captivity at Pella. His son Alexander learned
the Latin language, and became a public clerk at Rome.
The fall of the Macedonian monarchy made Rome the real mistress of the
eastern shores of the Mediterranean. The most haughty monarchs trembled
before the Republic. Antiochus Epiphanes had invaded Egypt, and was
marching upon Alexandria, when he was met by three Roman commissioners,
who presented him with a decree of the Senate, commanding him to abstain
from hostilities against Egypt. The king, having read the decree,
promised to take it into consideration with his friends, whereupon
Popillius, one of the Roman commissioners, stepping forward, drew a
circle round the king with his staff, and told him that he should not
stir out of it till he had given a decisive answer. The king was so
frightened by this boldness that he immediately promised to withdraw his
troops. Eumenes, king of Pergamus, whose conduct during the war with
Perseus had excited the suspicion of the Senate, hastened to make his
submission in person, but was not allowed to enter Rome. Prusias, king
of Bithynia, had the meanness to appear at Rome with his head shaven,
and in the dress of a liberated slave. The Rhodians, who had offered
their mediation during the war with Perseus, were deprived of Lycia and
Caria. In Greece itself the Senate acted in the same arbitrary manner.
It was evident that they meant to bring the whole country under their
sway. In these views they were assisted by various despots and traitors
in the Grecian cities, and especially by Callicrates, a man of great
influence among the Achæans, who for many years had lent himself as the
base tool of the Romans. He now denounced more than a thousand Achæans
as having favored the cause of Perseus. Among them were the historian
Polybius, and the most distinguished men in every city of the League.
They were all apprehended and sent to Italy, where they were distributed
among the cities of Etruria, without being brought to trial. Polybius
alone was allowed to reside at Rome in the house of Æmilius Paullus,
where he became the intimate friend of his son Scipio Africanus the
younger. The Achæan League continued to exist, but it was really subject
to Callicrates. The Achæan exiles languished in confinement for
seventeen years. Their request to be allowed to return to their native
land had been more than once refused; but the younger Scipio Africanus
at length interceded on their behalf, and prevailed upon Cato to
advocate their return. The conduct of the aged Senator was kinder than
his words. He did not interpose till the end of a long debate, and then
simply asked, "Have we nothing better to do than to sit here all day
long debating whether a parcel of worn-out Greeks shall be carried to
their graves here or in Achaia?" A decree of the Senate gave the exiles
permission to return; but, when Polybius was anxious to obtain from the
Senate restoration to their former honors, Cato bade him, with a smile,
beware of returning to the Cyclops' den to fetch away any trifles he had
left behind him.
The Achæan exiles, whose numbers were now reduced from 1000 to 300,
landed in Greece (B.C. 151) with feelings exasperated by their long
confinement, and ready to indulge in any rash enterprise against Rome.
Polybius, who had returned with the other exiles, in vain exhorted them
to peace and unanimity, and to avoid a hopeless struggle with the Roman
power. Shortly afterward an adventurer laid claim to the throne of
Macedonia (B.C. 149). He was a man of low origin called Andriscus, but
he pretended to be the son of Perseus, and assumed the name of
Philippus. At first he met with some success, and defeated the Roman
Prætor Juventius, but, after reigning scarcely a year, he was conquered
and taken prisoner by Q. Metellus.
The temporary success of Andriscus had encouraged the war-party in the
Achæan League. Polybius had quitted the country to join his friend
Scipio in Africa; and Diæus and Critolaüs, the most violent enemies of
Rome, had now undisputed sway in the League. Diæus incited the Achæans
to attack Sparta, on the ground that, instead of appealing to the League
respecting a boundary question, as they ought to have done, they had
violated its laws by sending a private embassy to Rome. The Spartans,
feeling themselves incompetent to resist this attack, appealed to the
Romans for assistance; and in B.C. 147 two Roman commissioners were sent
to Greece to settle these disputes. The commissioners decided that not
only Sparta, but Corinth, and all the other cities, except those of
Achaia, should be restored to independence. Their decision occasioned
serious riots at Corinth. All the Spartans in the town were seized, and
even the Roman commissioners narrowly escaped violence. On their return
to Rome a fresh embassy was dispatched to demand satisfaction for these
outrages. But the violent and impolitic conduct of Critolaüs, then
Strategus of the League, rendered all attempts at accommodation
fruitless, and, after the return of the embassadors, the Senate declared
war against the League. The cowardice and incompetence of Critolaüs as a
general were only equaled by his previous insolence. On the approach of
the Romans from Macedonia under Metellus he did not even venture to make
a stand at Thermopylæ; and, being overtaken by them near Scarphea, in
Locris, he was totally defeated, and never again heard of. Diæus, who
succeeded him as Strategus, displayed rather more energy and courage,
and made preparations to defend Corinth. Metellus had hoped to have had
the honor of bringing the war to a conclusion, and had almost reached
Corinth, when the Consul L. Mummius landed on the Isthmus and assumed
the command. The struggle was soon brought to a close. Diæus was
defeated in battle; and Corinth was immediately evacuated, not only by
the troops of the League, but also by the greater part of the
inhabitants. On entering the city, Mummius put to the sword the few
males who remained, sold the women and children as slaves, and, having
earned away all its treasures, consigned it to the flames (B.C. 146).
Corinth was filled with masterpieces of ancient art; but Mummius was so
insensible to their surpassing excellence as to stipulate with those who
contracted to convey them to Italy that, if any were lost in the
passage, they should be replaced by others of equal value! Mummius then
employed himself in chastising and regulating the whole of Greece; and
ten commissioners were sent from Rome to settle its future condition.
The whole country, to the borders of Macedonia and Epirus, was formed
into a Roman province, under the name of Achaia, derived from that
confederacy which had made the last struggle for political existence.
The Roman commissioners then proceeded northward, and also formed
Macedonia into a province. Polybius, who had hastened to Greece
immediately after the capture of Corinth, exerted all his influence to
alleviate the misfortunes of his countrymen, and to procure for them
favorable terms. As a friend of Scipio he was received by the Roman
commissioners with great distinction, and obtained from them a
relaxation of some of the most severe enactments which had been made
against the Achæans.
Metellus and Mummius both triumphed on their return to Rome, the former
taking the surname of Macedonicus, the latter that of Achaicus.
Carthage, so long the rival of Rome, had fallen in the same year as
Corinth. The reforms introduced by Hannibal after the battle of Zama had
restored some degree of prosperity to the state; and, though the Roman
party obtained the supremacy after he had been compelled to fly to
Antiochus, the commercial activity of the Carthaginians restored to the
city much of its former influence. Rome looked with a jealous eye upon
its reviving power, and encouraged Masinissa to make repeated
aggressions upon its territory. At length the popular party, having
obtained more weight in the government, made a stand against these
repeated encroachments of Masinissa. Thereupon Cato recommended an
instant declaration of war against Carthage; but this met with
considerable opposition in the Senate, and it was at length arranged
that an embassy should be sent to Africa to gain information as to the
real state of affairs. The ten embassadors, of whom Cato was the chief,
offered their arbitration, which was accepted by Masinissa, but rejected
by the Carthaginians, who had no confidence in Roman justice. The
deputies accurately observed the warlike preparations and the defenses
of the frontier. They then entered the city, and saw the strength and
population it had acquired since the Second Punic War. Upon their return
Cato was the foremost in asserting that Rome would never be safe as long
as Carthage was so powerful, so hostile, and so near. One day he drew a
bunch of early ripe figs from beneath his robe, and, throwing it upon
the floor of the Senate-house, said to the assembled fathers, who were
astonished at the freshness and fineness of the fruit, "Those figs were
gathered but three days ago at Carthage; so close is our enemy to our
walls." From that time forth, whenever he was called upon for his vote
in the Senate, though the subject of debate bore no relation to
Carthage, his words were, "Delenda est Carthago," "Carthage must be
destroyed."[57]
Cato's opinion prevailed, and the Senate only waited for a favorable
opportunity to destroy the city. This soon occurred. The popular party
having driven into exile the powerful partisans of Masinissa, the old
Numidian king invaded the Carthaginian territory, and defeated the army
which had been raised to oppose him (B.C. 150). This led to a change in
the government, and the aristocratical party, once more restored to
power, hastened to make their submission to Rome. But the Romans had
resolved upon war, and, when the Carthaginian embassadors arrived at
Rome, the two Consuls were already levying troops. The embassadors,
knowing that resistance was hopeless, sought to appease the anger of the
Senate by unconditional obedience. They were ordered to send 300 youths
of the noblest families to meet the Consuls at Lilybæum, and were told
that the Consuls would acquaint them with the farther orders of the
Senate. At Lilybæum the Consuls found the hostages awaiting them, and
then promised the Carthaginian envoys that the decision of the Senate
should be announced to them in Africa. Upon reaching Utica, which
surrendered to them in despair, the Consuls informed the Carthaginians
that, as their state would henceforth be under the protection of Rome,
they had no longer any occasion for arms, and must surrender all the
munitions of war. Even this demand was complied with, and the Roman
commissioners who were sent to Carthage brought to the Roman camp
200,000 stand of arms, and 2000 catapults. The Consuls, thinking that
the state was now defenseless, threw off the mask, and announced the
final resolution of the Senate: "That Carthage must be destroyed, and
that its inhabitants must build another city ten miles distant from the
coast." When this terrible news reached Carthage, despair and rage
seized all the citizens. They resolved to perish rather than submit to
so perfidious a foe. All the Italians within the walls were massacred;
the members of the former government took to flight, and the popular
party once more obtained the power. Almost superhuman efforts were made
to obtain means of defense; corn was collected from every quarter; arms
were manufactured day and night; the women cut off their long hair to be
made into strings for the catapults, and the whole city became one vast
work-shop. The Consuls now saw that it would be necessary to have
recourse to force; but they had no military ability, and their attacks
were repulsed with great loss. The younger Scipio Africanus, who was
then serving in the army as military tribune, displayed great bravery
and military skill, and, on one occasion, saved the army from
destruction. Still no permanent success was gained, and Scipio returned
to Rome, accompanied by the prayers of the soldiers that he would come
back as their commander. In the following year (B.C. 148) the new Consul
L. Calpurnius Piso was even less successful than his predecessors. The
soldiers became discontented; the Roman Senate and people, who had
anticipated an easy conquest, were indignant at their disappointment,
and all eyes were turned to Scipio. Accordingly, when he became a
candidate for the ædileship for the ensuing year (B.C. 147), he was
unanimously elected Consul, though he was only thirty-seven years old,
and had not, therefore, attained the legal age for the office.
This remarkable man was, as we have already said, the son of L. Æmilius
Paullus, the conqueror of Macedonia. He was adopted by P. Scipio, the
son of the great Africanus, and is therefore called Scipio Africanus
Minor, to distinguish him from his grandfather by adoption. To these
names that of Æmilianus is sometimes added to mark the family of his
birth, so that his full designation was P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus
Æmilianus. His intimacy with the historian Polybius has been already
mentioned. He appears from his earliest years to have devoted himself
with ardor to the study of literature; and he eagerly availed himself of
the superior knowledge of Polybius to direct him in his literary
pursuits. He was accompanied by the Greek historian in almost all his
campaigns, and, in the midst of his most active military duties, lost no
opportunity of enlarging his knowledge of Greek literature and
philosophy by constant intercourse with his friend. Nor did he neglect
the literature of his own country, for Terence was admitted to his
intimacy, and he is even said to have assisted him in the composition of
his comedies. His friendship with Lælius, whose tastes and pursuits were
so congenial to his own, has been immortalized by Cicero's celebrated
treatise "On Friendship."
[Illustration: Plan of Carthage.
A. Inner Port. B. Outer Port. C. Outlet to Sea. D. Scipio's Mole. E. New
Outlet to Sea, cut by the Carthaginians.]
Scipio landed in Africa in B.C. 147. His first step was to restore
discipline to the army. He next took by storm Megara, a suburb of
Carthage, and then proceeded to construct a work across the entrance of
the harbor to cut off the city from all supplies by sea. But the
Carthaginians defended themselves with a courage and an energy rarely
paralleled in history. While Scipio was engaged in this laborious task,
they built a fleet of fifty ships in their inner port, and cut a new
channel communicating with the sea. Hence, when Scipio at length
succeeded in blocking up the entrance of the harbor, he found all his
labor useless, as the Carthaginians sailed out to sea by the new outlet.
But this fleet was destroyed after an obstinate engagement which lasted
three days. At length, in the following year (B.C. 146), Scipio had made
all his preparations for the final assault. The Carthaginians defended
themselves with the courage of despair. They fought from street to
street, and from house to house, and the work of destruction and
butchery went on for six days. The fate of this once magnificent city
moved Scipio to tears; and, anticipating that a similar catastrophe
might one day befall Rome, he is said to have repeated the lines of the
Iliad over the flames of Carthage: "The day shall come when sacred Troy
shall perish, and Priam and his people shall be slain."
Scipio returned to Rome in the same year, and celebrated a splendid
triumph on account of his victory. The surname of Africanus, which he
had inherited by adoption, had now been acquired by his own exploits.
A portion of the dominions of Carthage was assigned to Utica. The
remainder was formed into a Roman province under the name of Africa.
Carthage itself was leveled to the ground, and a curse pronounced upon
any who should rebuild the city. C. Gracchus, however, only twenty-four
years afterward, attempted to found a new city upon the ancient site
under the name of Junonia; but evil prodigies at its foundation, and the
subsequent death of Gracchus, interrupted this design. The project was
revived by Julius Cæsar, and was carried into effect by Augustus; and
Roman Carthage, built at a short distance from the former city, became
the capital of Africa, and one of the most flourishing cities in the
ancient world. In the fifth century it was taken by Genseric, and made
the capital of the Vandal kingdom in Africa. It was retaken by
Belisarius, but was finally captured and destroyed by the Arabs in A.D.
647. Its site is now desolate, marked only by a few ruins.
[Footnote 57: This story must appear to strange to those who know not
that it was a custom for Roman Senators, when called upon for their
vote, to express--no matter what the question--any opinion which they
deemed of great importance to the welfare of the state.]
[Illustration: Personification of the River Tiber.]
CHAPTER XX.
SPANISH WARS, B.C. 153-133. FIRST SERVILE WAR, B.C. 134-132.
The generous policy of Tib. Sempronius Gracchus in B.C. 179[58] had
secured for Spain a long period of tranquillity. But in B.C. 153, the
inhabitants of Segeda having commenced rebuilding the walls of their
town, which was forbidden by one of the articles in the treaty of
Gracchus, a new war broke out, which lasted for many years. The
Celtiberians in general espoused the cause of Segeda, and the Consul Q.
Fabius Nobilior made an unsuccessful campaign against them. His
successor, the Consul M. Claudius Marcellus, grandson of the Marcellus
who was celebrated in the Second Punic War, carried on the war with
vigor, and concluded a peace with the enemy on very fair terms (B.C.
152). The Consul of the following year, L. Lucinius Lucullus, finding
the Celtiberians at peace, turned his arms against the Vaccæi, Cantabri,
and other nations as yet unknown to the Romans. At the same time the
Prætor Ser. Sulpicius Galba invaded Lusitania, but, though he met with
some advantage at first, he was subsequently defeated with great loss,
and escaped with only a few horsemen. In the following year (B.C. 150)
he again invaded the country from the south, while Lucullus attacked it
from the north. The Lusitanians therefore sent embassadors to Galba to
make their submission. He received them with kindness, lamented the
poverty of their country, and promised to assign them more fertile
lands, if they would meet him in three bodies, with their wives and
children, in three places which he fixed upon. The simple people
believed him. But he meditated one of the most atrocious acts of
treachery and cruelty recorded in history. He fell upon each body
separately, and butchered them, men, women, and children, without
distinction. Among the very few who escaped was Viriathus, the future
avenger of his nation. Galba was brought to trial on his return to Rome
on account of this outrage; and Cato, then in the 85th year of his age,
inveighed against his treachery and baseness. But Galba was eloquent and
wealthy, and the liberal employment of his money, together with the
compassion excited by his weeping children and ward, obtained his
acquittal.
Viriathus appears to have been one of those able guerrilla chiefs whom
Spain has produced at every period of her history. He is said to have
been first a shepherd and afterward a robber, but he soon acquired
unbounded influence over the minds of his countrymen. After the massacre
of Galba, those Lusitanians who had not left their homes rose as a man
against the rule of such treacherous tyrants. Viriathus at first avoided
all battles in the plains, and waged an incessant predatory warfare in
the mountains; and he met with such continued good fortune, that numbers
flocked to his standard. The aspect of affairs seemed at length so
threatening that in B.C. 145 the Romans determined to send the Consul Q.
Fabius Maximus into the country. In the following year Fabius defeated
Viriathus with great loss; but this success was more than
counterbalanced by the revolt of the Celtiberians, the bravest and most
noble-minded of the Spaniards. The war is usually known by the name of
the Numantine, from Numantia, a town on the River Douro, and the capital
of the Arevaci, the most powerful of the Celtiberian tribes.
Henceforward two Roman armies were employed in Spain, one in the north
against the Celtiberians, and the other in the south against Viriathus
and the Lusitanians. The war against the Lusitanians was at first
brought to a conclusion. In B.C. 141 Viriathus surprised the Proconsul
Fabius Servilianus in a narrow pass, where escape was impossible. He
used his victory with moderation, and suffered the Romans to depart
uninjured, on condition of their allowing the Lusitanians to retain
undisturbed possession of their own territory, and recognizing him as a
friend and ally of Rome. This treaty was ratified by the Roman people;
but the Consul Q. Servilius Cæpio, who succeeded Fabius in the command
in southern Spain, found some pretext for violating the peace, and
renewed the war against Viriathus. The latter sent envoys to Cæpio to
propose fresh terms of peace; but the Roman Consul persuaded them, by
promises of large rewards, to murder their general. On their return they
assassinated him in his own tent, and made their escape to the Roman
camp before the Lusitanians were aware of the death of their chief. But,
when the murderers claimed their reward, the Consul coolly told them
that the Romans did not approve of the murder of a general by his own
soldiers. The Lusitanians continued in arms a little longer, but the war
virtually terminated by the death of Viriathus. Their country was
finally reduced to subjection by the Consul D. Junius Brutus in B.C.
138, who also crossed the rivers Douro and Minho, and received the
surname of Callaïcus in consequence of his receiving the submission of
the Callaïci, or Gallæci, a people in the northwest of Spain.
The war against the Celtiberians was at first conducted with success by
the Consul Q. Metellus Macedonicus, who during his Prætorship had
defeated the pretender to the Macedonian throne. But the successors of
Metellus experienced repeated disasters, and at length, in B.C. 137, the
Consul C. Hostilius Mancinus, being entirely surrounded by the
Celtiberians, was obliged to sign a peace with them, in which he
recognized their independence. He only obtained these terms on condition
that his Quæstor, Tib. Sempronius Gracchus, who was greatly respected by
the Spaniards for his father's sake, should become responsible for the
execution of the treaty. The Senate refused to ratify it, and went
through the hypocritical ceremony of delivering over Mancinus, bound and
naked, to the enemy. But the Numantines, like the Samnites in a similar
case, declined to accept the offering.
The Numantine war continued in the same disastrous manner to the Roman
arms, and the people now called upon Scipio Africanus to bring it to a
conclusion. We have already traced the career of this eminent man till
the fall of Carthage. In B.C. 142 he was Censor with L. Mummius. In the
administration of the duties of his office he followed in the footsteps
of Cato, and attempted to repress the growing luxury and immorality of
his contemporaries; but his efforts were thwarted by his colleague. He
vainly wished to check in the people the appetite for foreign conquests;
and in the solemn prayer which he offered at the conclusion of the
lustrum he changed the usual supplication for the enlargement of the
Republic into one for its preservation. He was now elected Consul a
second time, and was sent into Spain in B.C. 134. His first efforts were
directed, as in Africa, to the restoration of discipline in the army,
which had become disorganized and demoralized by every kind of
indulgence. Two remarkable men served under Scipio in this war. Marius,
afterward seven times Consul, and the Numidian prince Jugurtha. Having
brought his troops into an effective condition, Scipio, in the following
year, proceeded to lay siege to Numantia. The town was defended by its
inhabitants with the courage and perseverance which has pre-eminently
distinguished the Spaniards in all ages in the defense of their walled
towns. It was not till they had suffered the most dreadful extremities
of famine, eating even the bodies of the dead, that they surrendered the
place (B.C. 133). Fifty of the principal inhabitants were selected to
adorn Scipio's triumph; the rest were sold as slaves, and the town was
leveled to the ground. He now received the surname of Numantinus, in
addition to that of Africanus.
During the Numantine war Rome was menaced by a new danger, which
revealed one of the plague-spots in the Republic. We have already had
occasion to describe the decay of the free population in Italy, and the
great increase in the number of slaves from the foreign conquests of the
state.[59] As slaves were cheap, in consequence of the abundant supply,
the masters did not care for their lives, and treated them with great
barbarity. A great part of the land in Italy was turned into
sheep-walks. The slaves were made responsible for the sheep committed to
their care, and were left to supply themselves with food as they best
could. It was an aggravation of their wretched lot, that almost all
these slaves had once been freemen, and were not distinguished from
their masters by any outward sign, like the negroes in the United
States. In Sicily the free population had diminished even more than in
Italy; and it was in this island that the first Servile War broke out.
Damophilus, a wealthy landowner of Enna, had treated his slaves with
excessive barbarity. They entered into a conspiracy against their cruel
master, and consulted a Syrian slave of the name of Eunus, who belonged
to another master. This Eunus pretended to the gift of prophecy, and
appeared to breathe flames of fire from his mouth. He not only promised
them success, but joined in the enterprise himself. Having assembled to
the number of about 400 men, they suddenly attacked Enna, and, being
joined by their fellow-citizens within the town, quickly made themselves
masters of it. Great excesses were committed, and almost all the freemen
were put to death with horrid tortures. Eunus had, while yet a slave,
prophesied that he should become king. He now assumed the royal diadem,
and the title of King Antiochus. Sicily was at this time swarming with
slaves, a great proportion of them Syrians, who flocked to the standard
of their countryman and fellow-bondsman. The revolt now became general,
and the island was delivered over to the murderous fury of men maddened
by oppression, cruelty, and insult. The Prætors, who first led armies
against them, were totally defeated; and in B.C. 134 it was thought
necessary to send the Consul C. Fulvius Flaccus to subdue the
insurrection. But neither he, nor the Consul of the following year,
succeeded in this object; and it was not till B.C. 132 that the Consul
P. Rupilius brought the war to an end by the capture of Tauromenium and
Enna, the two strong-holds of the insurgents. The life of Eunus was
spared, probably with the intention of carrying him to Rome, but he died
in prison at Morgantia.
About the same time died Attalus Philometor, the last king of Pergamus,
leaving no children (B.C. 133). He beqeuathed his kingdom and treasures
to the Roman people; but Aristonicus, a natural son of Eumenes, the
father of Attalus, laid claim to the crown. He even defeated the Consul
P. Licinius Crassus, who fell in the engagement (B.C. 131), but he was
himself defeated and taken prisoner in the following year. The kingdom
of Pergamus was formed into a Roman province under the name of Asia
(B.C. 129).
The foreign dominions of Rome now comprised the ten following provinces,
to which is added the date of the formation of each: 1. Sicily, B.C.
241. 2. Sardinia and Corsica, B.C. 238. 3, 4. The two Spains, Citerior
and Ulterior, B.C. 205. 5. Gallia Cisalpina, B.C. 191. 6. Macedonia,
B.C. 146. 7. Illyricum, probably formed at the same time as Macedonia.
8. Achaia, that is, Southern Greece, virtually a province after the
capture of Corinth, B.C. 146, though the exact date of its formation is
unknown. 9. Africa, consisting of the dominions of Carthage, B.C. 146.
10. Asia, including the kingdom of Pergamus, B.C. 129. To these an
eleventh was added in B.C. 118 by the conquest of the southern portion
of Transalpine Gaul between the Alps and the Pyrenees. In contrast with
the other portions of Gaul, it was frequently called simply the
"Provincia," a name which has been retained in the modern Provence.
[Footnote 58: See p. 115.(The end of Chapter XVI.--Transcriber)]
[Footnote 59: See p. 128.(Fifth paragraph of Chapter XVIII.--Transcriber)]
[Illustration: Stairs of the modern Capitol.]
CHAPTER XXI.
THE GRACCHI. B.C. 133-121.
The more thoughtful Romans had foreseen the dangers with which Rome was
menaced by the impoverishment of her free population, and the alarming
increase in the number of slaves. It is said that Lælius, the friend of
the elder Scipio Africanus, had at the close of the Second Punic War
meditated some reforms to arrest the growing evil, but had given them up
as impracticable. The Servile War in Sicily had lately revealed the
extent of the peril to which the Republic was exposed. It must have been
felt by many that the evil would never have reached its present height
if the Livinian Law had been observed, if men had been appointed to
watch over its execution, and if the newly-acquired public lands had
from time to time been distributed among the people. But the nobles,
from long possession, had come to regard the public land as their own;
many had acquired their portions by purchase, inheritance, or marriage;
and every one shrank from interfering with interests supported by long
prescription and usage. Still, unless something was done, matters would
become worse; the poor would become poorer, and the slaves more
numerous, and the state would descend more rapidly into the yawning
abyss beneath it. Under these circumstances, two young men, belonging to
one of the noblest families in Rome, came forward to save the Republic,
but perished in the attempt. Their violent death may be regarded as the
beginning of the Civil Wars, which ended in the destruction of freedom,
and the establishment of the despotism of the Empire.
Tiberius and Caius Gracchus were the sons of Tib. Sempronius Gracchus,
whose prudent measures gave tranquillity to Spain for so many years.[60]
They lost their father at an early age, but they were educated with the
utmost care by their mother, Cornelia, the daughter of Scipio Africanus
the elder, who had inherited from her father a love of literature, and
united in her person the severe virtue of the ancient Roman matron with
the superior knowledge and refinement which then prevailed in the higher
classes at Rome. She engaged for her sons the most eminent Greek
teachers; and it was mainly owing to the pains she took with their
education that they surpassed all the Roman youths of their age.
Tiberius was nine years older than his brother Caius. The latter had
more ability, but Tiberius was the more amiable, and won all hearts by
the simplicity of his demeanor and his graceful and persuasive
eloquence. So highly was Tiberius esteemed, that as soon as he reached
the age of manhood he was elected Augur, and at the banquet given at his
installation Appius Claudius, then Chief of the Senate, offered him his
daughter in marriage. When Appius returned home and informed his wife
that he had just betrothed their daughter, she exclaimed, "Why in such a
hurry, unless you have got Tib. Gracchus for her husband?" Sempronia,
the only sister of Tiberius, was married to the younger Scipio
Africanus. Tiberius was thus, by birth and marriage, connected with the
noblest families in the Republic--the grandson of the conqueror of
Hannibal--the son-in-law of the Chief of the Senate--and the
brother-in-law of the destroyer of Carthage.
Tiberius served under his brother-in-law in Africa, and was the first
who scaled the walls of Carthage. He was Quæstor in B.C. 137, and
accompanied the Consul C. Hostilius to Spain, where he saved the army by
obtaining a treaty with the Numantines, which the Senate refused to
ratify.[61] In passing through Etruria, on his way to Spain, Tiberius
had observed with grief and indignation the deserted state of that
fertile country. Thousands of foreign slaves were tending the flocks
and cultivating the soil of the wealthy landowners, while Roman
citizens, thus thrown out of employment, could scarcely procure their
daily bread, and had not a clod of earth to call their own. He now
conceived the design of applying a remedy to this state of things, and
with this view became a candidate for the Tribunate, and was elected for
the year B.C. 133.
Tiberius, however, did not act with precipitation. The measure which he
brought forward had previously received the approbation of some of the
wisest and noblest men in the state; of his own father-in-law Appius
Claudius; of P. Mucius Scævola, the great jurist, who was then Consul;
and of Crassus, the Pontifex Maximus. It was proposed to re-enact the
Licinian Law of B.C. 364--which had, in fact, never been repealed--but
with some modifications and additions. As in the Licinian Law, no one
was to be allowed to possess more than 500 jugera of public land; but,
to relax the stringency of this rule, every possessor might hold in
addition 250 jugera for each of his sons. All the rest of the public
land was to be taken away from them and distributed among the poor
citizens, who were not to be permitted to alienate these lots, in order
that they might not be again absorbed into the estate of the wealthy. An
indemnity was to be given from the public treasury for all buildings
erected upon lands thus taken away. Three commissioners (Triumviri) were
to be elected by the tribes in order to carry this law into execution.
The Law affected only Public Lands, but it was no less a revolutionary
measure. It is true that no prescription can, as a general rule, be
pleaded against the rights of the state, but the possessors of the
public lands had enjoyed them without question for so long a period that
they had come to regard these lands as their private property. In many
cases, as we have already said, they had been acquired by _bonâ fide_
purchase, and the claim of the state, now advocated by Gracchus, was
regarded as downright robbery. Attacks upon property have produced the
greatest convulsions in all states, and the Roman landowners were ready
to have recourse to any measures to defeat the law. But the thousands
who would be benefited by it were determined to support Tiberius at any
risk. He told them that "the wild beasts of Italy had their dens, and
holes, and hiding-places, while the men who fought and bled in defense
of Italy wandered about with their wives and children without a spot of
ground to rest upon." It was evident that the law would be carried, and
the landowners therefore resorted to the only means left to them. They
persuaded M. Octavius, one of the Tribunes, to put his veto upon the
measure of his colleague. This was a fatal and unexpected obstacle. In
vain did Tiberius implore Octavius to withdraw his veto. The contest
between the Tribunes continued for many days. Tiberius retaliated by
forbidding the magistrates to exercise any of their functions, and by
suspending, in fact, the entire administration of the government. But
Octavius remained firm, and Tiberius therefore determined to depose him
from his office. He summoned an Assembly of the People and put the
question to the vote. Seventeen out of the thirty-five tribes had
already voted for the deposition of Octavius, and the addition of one
tribe would reduce him to a private condition, when Tiberius stopped the
voting, anxious, at the last moment, to prevent the necessity of so
desperate a measure. Octavius, however, would not yield. "Complete what
you have begun," was his only answer to the entreaties of his colleague.
The eighteenth tribe voted, and Tiberius ordered him to be dragged from
the rostra. Octavius had only exercised his undoubted rights, and his
deposition was clearly a violation of the Roman constitution. This gave
the enemies of Gracchus the handle which they needed. They could now
justly charge him not only with revolutionary measures, but with
employing revolutionary means to carry them into effect.
The Agrarian Law was passed without farther opposition, and the three
commissioners elected to put it in force were Tiberius himself, his
father-in-law Appius Claudius, and his brother Caius, then a youth of
twenty, serving under P. Scipio at Numantia. About the same time news
arrived of the death of Attalus Philometor, king of Pergamus, who had
bequeathed his kingdom and treasures to the Republic. Tiberius therefore
proposed that these treasures should be distributed among the people who
had received assignments of lands, to enable them to stock their farms
and to assist them in their cultivation. He even went so far as to
threaten to deprive the Senate of the regulation of the new province,
and to bring the subject before the Assembly of the People. The
exasperation of the Nobility was intense. They tried every means to
blacken the character of the Tribune, and even spread a report that he
had received, a diadem and a purple robe from the envoy from Pergamus,
and that he meditated making himself King of Rome. It was evident that
his life would be no longer safe when he ceased to be protected by the
sanctity of the Tribune's office. Accordingly, he became a candidate for
the Tribunate for the following year. The Tribunes did not enter upon
their office till December, but the election took place in June, at
which time the country people, on whom he chiefly relied, were engaged
in getting in the harvest. Still, two tribes had already voted in his
favor, when the nobility interrupted the election by maintaining that
it was illegal, since no man could be chosen Tribune for two consecutive
years. After a violent debate the Assembly was adjourned till the
following day. Tiberius now became alarmed lest his enemies should get
the upper hand, and he went round the forum with his child, appealing to
the sympathy of the people and imploring their aid. They readily
responded to his appeal, escorted him home, and a large crowd kept watch
around his house all night.
Next day the adjourned Assembly met on the Capitol in the open space in
front of the Temple of Jupiter. The Senate also assembled in the Temple
of Faith close by. Scipio Nasica, the leader of the more violent party
in the Senate, called upon the Consul Mucius Scævola to stop the
re-election, but the Consul declined to interfere. Fulvius Flaccus, a
Senator, and a friend of Tiberius, hastened to inform him of the speech
of Nasica, and told him that his death was resolved upon. Thereupon the
friends of Tiberius prepared to resist force by force; and as those at a
distance could not hear him, on account of the tumult and confusion, the
Tribune pointed with his hand to his head, to intimate that his life was
in danger. His enemies exclaimed that he was asking for the crown. The
news reached the Senate. Nasica appealed to the Consul to save the
Republic, but as Scævola still refused to have recourse to violence,
Nasica sprung up and exclaimed, "The Consul is betraying the Republic!
let those who wish to save the state follow me." He then rushed out of
the Senate-house, followed by many of the Senators. The people made way
for them; and they, breaking up the benches, armed themselves with
sticks, and rushed upon Tiberius and his friends. The tribune fled to
the Temple of Jupiter, but the door had been barred by the priests, and
in his flight he fell over a prostrate body. As he was rising he
received the first blow from one of his colleagues, and was quickly
dispatched. Upward of 300 of his partisans were slain on the same day.
Their bodies were thrown into the Tiber. This was the first blood shed
at Rome in civil strife since the expulsion of the kings.
Notwithstanding their victory, the Nobles did not venture to propose the
repeal of the Agrarian Law, and a new Commissioner was chosen in the
place of Tiberius. The popular indignation was so strongly excited
against Scipio Nasica that his friends advised him to withdraw from
Italy, though he was Pontifex Maximus, and therefore ought not to have
quitted the country. He died shortly afterward at Pergamus.
All eyes were now turned to Scipio Africanus, who returned to Rome in
B.C. 132. When Scipio received at Numantia the news of the death of
Tiberius, he is reported to have exclaimed in the verse of Homer[62]--
"So perish all who do the like again."
The people may have thought that the brother-in-law of Tiberius would
show some sympathy with his reforms and some sorrow for his fate. They
were, however, soon undeceived. Being asked in the Assembly of the
Tribes by C. Papirius Carbo, the Tribune, who was now the leader of the
popular party, what he thought of the death of Tiberius, he boldly
replied that "he was justly slain." The people, who had probably
expected a different answer, loudly expressed their disapprobation;
whereupon Scipio, turning to the mob, bade them be silent, since Italy
was only their step-mother.[63] The people did not forget this insult;
but such was his influence and authority that the Nobility were able to
defeat the bill of Carbo by which the Tribunes might be re-elected as
often as the people pleased. Scipio was now regarded as the acknowledged
leader of the Nobility, and the latter resolved to avail themselves of
his powerful aid to prevent the Agrarian Law of Tiberius from being
carried into effect. The Italians were alarmed at the prospect of losing
some of their lands, and Scipio skillfully availed himself of the
circumstance to propose in the Senate (B.C. 129) that all disputes
respecting the lands of the Italians should be taken out of the hands of
the Commissioners and transferred to the Consuls. This would have been
equivalent to an abrogation of the law, and accordingly the three
Commissioners offered the most vehement opposition to his proposal. In
the forum he was attacked by Carbo, with the bitterest invectives, as
the enemy of the people; and upon his again expressing his approval of
the death of Tiberius, the people shouted out, "Down with the tyrant!"
In the evening he went home accompanied by the Senate and a great number
of the Italians. He retired to his sleeping-room with the intention of
composing a speech for the following day. Next morning Rome was thrown
into consternation by the news that Scipio was found dead in his room.
The most contradictory rumors were circulated respecting his death, but
it was the general opinion that he was murdered. Suspicion fell upon
various persons, but Carbo was most generally believed to have been the
murderer. There was no inquiry into the cause of his death (B.C. 129).
Scipio was only 56 at the time of his death. To the Republic his loss
was irreparable. By his last act he had come forward as the patron of
the Italians. Had he lived he might have incorporated them in the Roman
state, and by forming a united Italy have saved Rome from many of the
horrors and disasters which she afterward suffered.
The leaders of the popular party perceived the mistake they had made in
alienating the Italians from their cause, and they now secured their
adhesion by offering them the Roman citizenship if they would support
the Agrarian Law. As Roman citizens they would, of course, be entitled
to the benefits of the law, while they would, at the same time, obtain
what they had so long desired--an equal share in political power. But
the existing citizens, who saw that their own importance would be
diminished by an increase in their numbers, viewed such a proposal with
the utmost repugnance. So strong was their feeling that, when great
numbers of the Italians had flocked to Rome in B.C. 126, the Tribune M.
Junius Pennus carried a law that all aliens should quit the city. Caius
Gracchus spoke against this law, and his friends still remained faithful
to the cause of the Italians. In the following year (B.C. 125), M.
Fulvius Flaccus, who was then Consul, brought forward a Reform Bill,
granting the Roman citizenship to all the Italian allies. But it was
evident that the Tribes would reject this law, and the Senate got rid of
the proposer by sending him into Transalpine Gaul, where the Massilians
had implored the assistance of Rome against the Salluvians. In the
previous year Caius Gracchus had gone to Sardinia as Quæstor, so that
the Senate had now removed from Rome two of their most troublesome
opponents, and the Italians had lost their two most powerful patrons.
Bitter was the disappointment of the Italians. Fregellæ, a town of
Latium, and one of the eighteen Latin colonies which had remained
faithful to Rome during the Second Punic War, took up arms, but its
example was not followed, and it had to bear alone the brunt of the
unequal contest. It was quickly reduced by the Prætor L. Opimius; the
city was utterly destroyed; and the insurrection, which a slight success
would have made universal, was thus nipped in its bud (B.C. 125).
[Illustration: The Forum in its present state.]
Caius Gracchus had taken very little part in public affairs since his
brother's death. He had spoken only twice in public: once in favor of
the law of Carbo for the re-election of Tribunes, and a second time in
opposition to the Alien Act of Junius Pennus, as already mentioned. But
the eyes of the people were naturally turned toward him. His abilities
were known, and the Senate dreaded his return to Rome. He had been
already two years in Sardinia, and they now attempted to retain him
there another year by sending fresh troops to the province, and by
commanding the Proconsul to remain in the island. But Caius suddenly
appeared at Rome, to the surprise of all parties (B.C. 124). His enemies
brought him before the Censors to account for his conduct, but he
defended himself so ably that not only was no stigma put upon him, but
he was considered to have been very badly used. He showed that he had
served in the army twelve years, though required to serve only ten; that
he had acted as Quæstor two years, though the law demanded only one
year's service; and he added that he was the only soldier who took out
with him a full purse and brought it back empty.
Exasperated by the persecution of the Senate, Caius determined to become
a candidate for the Tribuneship, and to reform the Roman constitution.
He was elected for the year B.C. 123, and lost no time in bringing
forward a number of important measures which are known as the Sempronian
Laws. His legislation was directed to two objects: the amelioration of
the condition of the poor, and the weakening of the power of the Senate.
Caius was the greatest orator of all his contemporaries; the contagion
of his eloquence was irresistible, and the enthusiasm of the people
enabled him to carry every thing before him.
I. His principal laws for improving the condition of the people were:
1. The extension of the Agrarian Law of his brother by planting new
colonies in Italy and the provinces.
2. A state provision for the poor, enacting that corn should be sold to
every citizen at a price much below its market value. This was the first
of the _Leges Frumentariæ_, which were attended with the most injurious
effects. They emptied the treasury, at the same time that they taught
the poor to become state paupers, instead of depending upon their own
exertions for a living.
3. Another law enacted that the soldiers should be equipped at the
expense of the Republic, without the cost being deducted from their pay,
as had hitherto been the case.
II. The most important laws designed to diminish the power of the Senate
were:
1. The law by which the Judices were to be taken only from the Equites,
and not from the Senators, as had been the custom hitherto. This was a
very important enactment, and needs a little explanation. All offenses
against the state were originally tried in the Popular Assembly; but
when special enactments were passed for the trial of particular
offenses, the practice was introduced of forming a body of Judices for
the trial of these offenses. This was first done upon the passing of the
Calpurnian Law (B.C., 149) for the punishment of provincial magistrates
for extortion in their government (_De Repetendis_). Such offenses had
to be tried before the Prætor and a jury of Senators; but as these very
Senators either had been or hoped to be provincial magistrates, they
were not disposed to visit with severity offenses of which they
themselves either had been or were likely to be guilty. By depriving the
Senators of this judicial power, and by transferring it to the Equites,
Gracchus also made the latter a political order in the state apart from
their military character. The name of Equites was now applied to all
persons who were qualified by their fortune to act as Judices, whether
they served in the army or not. From this time is dated the creation of
an _Ordo Equestris_, whose interests were frequently opposed to those of
the Senate, and who therefore served as a check upon the latter.
2. Another law was directed against the arbitrary proceedings of the
Senate in the distribution of the provinces. Hitherto the Senate had
assigned the provinces to the Consuls after their election, and thus had
had it in their power to grant wealthy governments to their partisans,
or unprofitable ones to those opposed to them. It was now enacted that,
before the election of the Consuls, the Senate should determine the two
provinces which the Consuls should have; and that they should,
immediately after election, settle between themselves, by lot or
otherwise, which province each should take.
These laws raised the popularity of Caius still higher, and he became
for a time the absolute ruler of Rome. He was re-elected Tribune for the
following year (B.C. 122), though he did not offer himself as a
candidate. M. Fulvius Flaccus, who had been Consul in B.C. 125, was also
chosen as one of his colleagues. Flaccus, it will be recollected, had
proposed in his consulship to give the Roman franchise to the Italian
allies, and it was now determined to bring forward a similar measure.
Caius therefore brought in a bill conferring the citizenship upon all
the Latin colonies, and making the Italian allies occupy the position
which the Latins had previously held. This wise measure was equally
disliked in the forum and the Senate. Neither the influence nor the
eloquence of Gracchus could induce the people to view with satisfaction
the admission of the Italian allies to equal rights and privileges with
themselves. The Senate, perceiving that the popularity of Gracchus had
been somewhat shaken by this measure, employed his colleague, M. Living
Drusus--who was noble, well-educated, wealthy, and eloquent--to
undermine his influence with the people. With the sanction of the
Senate, Drusus now endeavored to outbid Gracchus. He played the part of
a demagogue in order to supplant the true friend of the people. He gave
to the Senate the credit of every popular law which he proposed, and
gradually impressed the people with the belief that the Nobles were
their best friends. Gracchus proposed to found two colonies at Tarentum
and Capua, and named among the founders some of the most respectable
citizens. Drusus introduced a law for establishing no fewer than twelve
colonies, and for settling 3000 poor citizens in each. Gracchus, in the
distribution of the public land, reserved a rent payable to the public
treasury. Drusus abolished even this payment. He also gained the
confidence of the people by asking no favor for himself; he took no part
in the foundation of colonies, and left to others the management of
business in which any money had to be expended. Gracchus, on the other
hand, superintended every thing in person; and the people, always
jealous in pecuniary matters, began to suspect his motives. During his
absence in Africa, whither he had gone as one of the three Commissioners
for founding a colony upon the ruins of Carthage, Drusus was able to
weaken his popularity still farther. On his return he endeavored in vain
to reorganize his party and recover his power. Both he and Flaccus
failed in being re-elected Tribunes; while L. Opimius and Q. Fabius, two
personal enemies of Gracchus, were raised to the Consulship. The two new
Consuls had no sooner entered upon office (B.C. 121) than they resolved
to drive matters to extremities. One of the first measures of Opimius
was a proposal to repeal the law for colonizing Carthage, because it had
been established upon the site which Scipio had cursed. It was evident
that a pretext was only sought for taking the life of Gracchus, and
Flaccus urged him to repel violence by force. Caius shrunk from this
step, but an accident gave his enemies the pretext which they longed
for. The tribes had assembled at the Capitol to decide upon the colony
at Carthage, when a servant of the Consul Opimius, pushing against
Gracchus, insolently cried out, "Make way for honest men, you rascals."
Gracchus turned round to him with an angry look, and the man was
immediately stabbed by an unknown hand. The assembly immediately broke
up, and Gracchus returned home, foreseeing the advantage which this
unfortunate occurrence would give to his enemies. The Senate declared
Gracchus and Flaccus public enemies, and invested the Consuls with
dictatorial powers. During the night Opimius took possession of the
Temple of Castor and Pollux, which overlooked the forum; summoned a
meeting of the Senate for the following morning, and ordered all the
partisans of the Senate to be present, each with two armed slaves.
Flaccus seized the Temple of Diana on the Aventine, and distributed arms
to his followers: here he was joined by Gracchus. Civil war was thus
declared. After some fruitless attempts at negotiation, the Consul
proceeded to attack the Aventine. Little or no resistance was made, and
Flaccus and Gracchus took to flight, and crossed the Tiber by the
Sublician bridge. Gracchus escaped to the Grove of the Furies,
accompanied only by a single slave. When the pursuers reached the spot
they found both of them dead. The slave had first killed his master and
then himself. The head of Gracchus was cut off, and carried to Opimius,
who gave to the person who brought it its weight in gold. Flaccus was
also put to death, together with numbers of his party. Their corpses
were thrown into the Tiber, their houses demolished, and their property
confiscated. Even their widows were forbidden to wear mourning. After
the bloody work had been finished, the Consul, by order of the Senate,
dedicated a temple to Concord!
At a later time statues of the two Gracchi were set up in public places,
and the spots on which they fell were declared holy ground; but for the
present no one dared to show any sympathy for their fate. Their mother
Cornelia retired to Misenum, where she was visited by the most
distinguished men. She loved to recount to her guests the story of her
noble sons, and narrated their death without showing sorrow or shedding
tears, as if she had been speaking of heroes of the olden time.
[Illustration: Temple of Saturn at Rome.]
[Footnote 60: See p. 115.(The end of Chapter XVI.--Transcriber)]
[Footnote 61: See p. 146.(Fifth paragraph of Chapter XX.--Transcriber)]
[Footnote 62: _Od._, i. 47.]
[Footnote 63: It must be recollected that the mob at Rome consisted
chiefly of the four city tribes, and that slaves when manumitted could
be enrolled in these four tribes alone.]
[Illustration: A Roman Trophy.]
CHAPTER XXII.
JUGURTHA AND HIS TIMES. B.C. 118-104.
The murder of C. Gracchus and his adherents left the Nobility undisputed
masters of the state, till their scandalous conduct in the Jugurthan War
provoked a reaction against them, and raised to power a more terrible
opponent than the Gracchi had ever been. This man, who took such signal
vengeance upon the Nobility, was the lowborn MARIUS. He was a native of
Arpinum, and was said to have worked for wages as a common peasant
before he entered the ranks of the army. He first served in Spain, and
was present at the siege of Numantia in B.C. 134. Here he distinguished
himself so much that he attracted the notice of Scipio Africanus, and
received from him many marks of honor. Scipio indeed admitted him to his
table; and on a certain occasion, when one of the guests asked Scipio
where the Roman people would find such another general after his death,
he is said to have laid his hand on the shoulder of Marius, and said,
"Perhaps here." The name of Marius does not occur again for many years,
but he doubtless continued to serve in the army, and became so
distinguished that he was at length raised to the Tribunate of the Plebs
in B.C. 119, though not till he had attained the mature age of 38. Only
two years had elapsed since the death of C. Gracchus; and the Nobles,
flushed with victory, resolved to put down with a high hand the least
invasion of their privileges and power. But Marius had the boldness to
propose a law for the purpose of giving greater freedom at elections;
and when the Senate attempted to overawe him, he ordered one of his
officers to carry the Consul Metellus to prison. Marius now became a
marked man. He lost his election to the Ædileship, and with difficulty
obtained the Prætorship (B.C. 115); but he added to his influence by his
marriage with Julia, the sister of C. Julius Cæsar, the father of the
future ruler of Rome. His military abilities recommended him to the
Consul Metellus (B.C. 100), who was anxious to restore discipline in the
army and to retrieve the glory of the Roman name, which had been
tarnished by the incapacity and corruption of the previous generals in
the Jugurthan War, which now requires our attention.
Masinissa, the ruler of Numidia, and so long the faithful ally of the
Romans, had died in B.C. 149, at the advanced age of 90, leaving three
sons, Micipsa, Mastanabal, and Gulussa, among whom his kingdom was
divided by Scipio Africanus, according to the dying directions of the
old king. Mastanabal and Gulussa dying in their brother's lifetime,
Micipsa became sole king. Jugurtha was a bastard son of Mastanabal; but
Micipsa brought him up with his own sons, Hiempsal and Adherbal.
Jugurtha distinguished himself so much that he began to excite the
jealousy of Micipsa. In order to remove him to a distance, and not
without a hope that he might perish in the war, Micipsa sent him, in
B.C. 134, with an auxiliary force, to assist Scipio against Numantia;
but this only proved to the young man a fresh occasion of distinction.
By his zeal, courage, and ability he gained the favor not only of his
commander, but of all the leading nobles in the Roman camp, by many of
whom he was secretly stimulated to nourish ambitious schemes for
acquiring the sole sovereignty of Numidia; and notwithstanding the
contrary advice of Scipio, the counsels seem to have sunk deep into the
mind of Jugurtha. On his return he was received with every demonstration
of honor by Micipsa; nor did he allow his ambitious projects to break
forth during the lifetime of the old man. Micipsa, on his death-bed,
though but too clearly foreseeing what would happen, commended the two
young princes to the care of Jugurtha; but at the very first interview
which took place between them after his decease (B.C. 118) their
dissensions broke out with the utmost fierceness. Shortly afterward
Jugurtha found an opportunity to surprise and assassinate Hiempsal;
whereupon Adherbal and his partisans rushed to arms, but were defeated
in battle by Jugurtha. Adherbal himself fled for refuge to the Roman
province, from whence he hastened to Rome to lay his cause before the
Senate. Jugurtha had now the opportunity, for the first time, of putting
to the test that which he had learnt in the camp before Numantia of the
venality and corruption of the Roman nobility. He sent embassadors to
Rome to counteract, by a lavish distribution of bribes, the effect of
the just complaints of Adherbal, and by these means succeeded in
averting the indignation of the Senate. A decree was, however, passed
for the division of the kingdom of Numidia between the two competitors,
and a committee of Senators sent to enforce its execution; but as soon
as these arrived in Africa, Jugurtha succeeded in gaining them over by
the same unscrupulous methods, and obtained, in the partition of the
kingdom, the western division adjacent to Mauritania, by far the larger
and richer portion of the two (B.C. 117). But this advantage was far
from contenting him, and shortly afterward he invaded the territories of
his rival with a large army. Adherbal was defeated in the first
engagement, his camp taken, and he himself with difficulty made his
escape to the strong fortress of Cirta. Here he was closely blockaded by
Jugurtha. The garrison surrendered on a promise of their lives being
spared; but these conditions were shamefully violated by Jugurtha, who
immediately put to death Adherbal and all his followers (B.C. 112).
Indignation was now loud at Rome against the Numidian king; yet so
powerful was the influence of those whose favor he had gained by his
gold, that he would probably have prevailed upon the Senate to overlook
all his misdeeds, had not one of the Tribunes, C. Memmius, by bringing
the matter before the people, compelled the Senators to give way. War
was accordingly declared against him, and one of the Consuls, L.
Calpurnius Bestia, landed in Africa with a large army, and immediately
proceeded to invade Numidia (B.C. 111). But Jugurtha easily bribed
Bestia and M. Scaurus, who acted as his principal lieutenant, to grant
him a favorable peace, on condition only of a pretended submission,
together with the surrender of thirty elephants and a small sum of
money. As soon as the tidings of this disgraceful transaction reached
Rome, the indignation excited was so great that, on the proposition of
C. Memmius, it was agreed to send the Prætor L. Cassius, a man of the
highest integrity, to Numidia, in order to prevail on the king to
repair in person to Rome, the popular party hoping to be able to convict
the leaders of the Nobility by means of his evidence. The safe-conduct
granted him by the state was religiously observed; but the scheme failed
of its effect, for, as soon as Jugurtha was brought forward in the
assembly of the people to make his statement, one of the Tribunes, who
had been previously gained over by the friends of Scaurus and Bestia,
forbade him to speak. He nevertheless remained at Rome for some time
longer, and engaged in secret intrigues, which would probably have been
ultimately crowned with success had he not in the mean time ventured to
assassinate Massiva, son of Gulussa, who was putting in a claim to the
Numidian throne. It was impossible to overlook so daring a crime,
perpetrated under the very eyes of the Senate. Jugurtha was ordered to
quit Italy without delay. It was on this occasion that he is said, when
leaving Rome, to have uttered the memorable words, "A city for sale, and
destined to perish quickly, if it can find a purchaser."
War was now inevitable; but the incapacity of Sp. Postumius Albinus, who
arrived to conduct it (B.C. 110), and still more that of his brother
Aulus, whom he left to command in his absence, when called away to hold
the elections at Rome, proved as favorable to Jugurtha as the corruption
of their predecessors. Aulus, having penetrated into the heart of
Numidia, suffered himself to be surprised in his camp; great part of his
army was cut to pieces, and the rest only escaped a similar fate by the
ignominy of passing under the yoke. But Jugurtha had little reason to
rejoice in this success, great as it might at first appear; for the
disgrace at once roused all the spirit of the Roman people; the treaty
concluded by Aulus was instantly annulled, immense exertions made to
raise troops, and one of the Consuls for the new year (B.C. 109), Q.
Cæcilius Metellus, hastened to Numidia to retrieve the honor of the
Roman arms. But this did not satisfy the people. The scandalous conduct
of so many of the Nobles had given fresh life to the popular party; and
the Tribune C. Mamilius carried a bill for the appointment of three
Commissioners to inquire into the conduct of all of those who had
received bribes from Jugurtha. Scaurus, though one of the most guilty,
managed to be put upon the Commission. But he dared not shield his
confederates. Many men of the highest rank were condemned, among whom
were Bestia, Albinus, and Opimius. The last named was the Opimius who
acted with such ferocity toward Caius Gracchus and his party. He died in
exile at Dyrrhachium some years afterward, in great poverty.
The Consul Metellus, who was an able general and a man of the strictest
integrity, landed in Africa, with Marius as his lieutenant, in B.C. 109.
As soon as Jugurtha discovered the character of the new commander he
began to despair of success, and made overtures for submission in
earnest. These were apparently entertained by Metellus, while he sought
in fact to gain over the adherents of the king, and induce them to
betray him to the Romans, at the same time that he continued to advance
into the enemy's territories. Jugurtha, in his turn, detected his
designs, attacked him suddenly on his march with a numerous force, but
was, after a severe struggle, repulsed, and his army totally routed.
Metellus ravaged the greater part of the country, but failed in taking
the important town of Zama before he withdrew into winter quarters. But
he had produced such an effect upon the Numidian king, that Jugurtha was
induced, in the course of the winter, to make offers of unqualified
submission, and even surrendered all his elephants, with a number of
arms and horses, and a large sum of money, to the Roman general; but
when called upon to place himself personally in the power of Metellus,
his courage failed him, he broke off the negotiation, and once more had
recourse to arms. Marius had greatly distinguished himself in the
preceding campaign. The readiness with which he shared the toils of the
common soldiers, eating of the same food, and working at the same
trenches with them, had endeared him to them, and through their letters
to their friends at Rome his praises were in everybody's mouth. His
increasing reputation and popularity induced him to aspire to the
Consulship. His hopes were increased by a circumstance which happened to
him at Utica. While sacrificing at this place the officiating priest
told him that the victims predicted some great and wonderful events, and
bade him execute whatever purpose he had in his mind. Marius thereupon
applied to Metellus for leave of absence, that he might proceed to Rome
and offer himself as a candidate. The Consul, who belonged to a family
of the highest nobility, at first tried to dissuade Marius from his
presumptuous attempt, by pointing out the certainty of failure; and when
he could not prevail upon him to abandon his design, he civilly evaded
his request by pleading the exigencies of the public service, which
required his presence and assistance. But, as Marius still continued to
press him for leave of absence, Metellus said to him on one occasion,
"You need not be in such a hurry to go to Rome; it will be quite time
enough for you to apply for the Consulship along with my son." The
latter, who was then serving with the army, was a youth of only twenty
years of age, and could not, therefore, become a candidate for the
Consulship for the next twenty years. This insult was never forgotten by
Marius. He now began to intrigue against his general, and to represent
that the war was purposely prolonged by Metellus to gratify his own
vanity and love of military power. He openly declared that with one half
of the army he would soon have Jugurtha in chains; and as all his
remarks were carefully reported at Rome, the people began to regard him
as the only person competent to finish the war. Metellus at last allowed
him to leave Africa, but only twelve days before the election. Meeting
with a favorable wind, he arrived at Rome in time, and was elected
Consul with an enthusiasm which bore down all opposition. He received
from the people the province of Numidia, although the Senate had
previously decreed that Metellus should continue in his command. The
exultation of Marius knew no bounds. In his speeches to the public, he
gloried in his humble origin. He upbraided the Nobles with their
effeminacy and licentiousness; he told them that he looked upon the
Consulship as a trophy of his conquest over them; and he proudly
compared his own wounds and military experience with their indolence and
ignorance of war. It was a great triumph for the people and a great
humiliation for the aristocracy, and Marius made them drink to the dregs
the bitter cup. While engaged in these attacks upon the Nobility, he at
the same time carried on a levy of troops with great activity, and
enrolled any persons who chose to offer for the service, however poor
and mean, instead of taking them from the five classes according to
ancient custom.[64]
Meantime Metellus had been carrying on the war in Africa as Proconsul
(B.C. 108). But the campaign was not productive of such decisive results
as might have been expected. Jugurtha avoided any general action, and
eluded the pursuit of Metellus by the rapidity of his movements. Even
when driven from Thala, a strong-hold which he had deemed inaccessible
from its position in the midst of arid deserts, he only retired among
the Gætulians, and quickly succeeded in raising among those wild tribes
a fresh army, with which he once more penetrated into the heart of
Numidia. A still more important accession was that of Bocchus, king of
Mauritania, who had been prevailed upon to raise an army, and advance to
the support of Jugurtha. Metellus, however, having now relaxed his own
efforts, from disgust at hearing that C. Marius had been appointed to
succeed him in the command, remained on the defensive, while he sought
to amuse the Moorish king by negotiation. The arrival of Marius (B.C.
107) infused fresh vigor into the Roman arms. He quickly reduced in
succession almost all the strong-holds that still remained to Jugurtha,
in some of which the king had deposited his principal treasures; and
the latter, seeing himself thus deprived step by step of all his
dominions, at length determined on a desperate attempt to retrieve his
fortunes by one grand effort. He with difficulty prevailed on the
wavering Bocchus, by the most extensive promises in case of success, to
co-operate with him in this enterprise; and the two kings, with their
united forces, attacked Marius on his march, when he was about to retire
into winter quarters. Though the Roman general was taken by surprise for
a moment, his consummate skill and the discipline of his troops proved
again triumphant; the Numidians were repulsed, and their army, as usual
with them in case of a defeat, dispersed in all directions. Jugurtha
himself, after displaying the greatest courage in the action, cut his
way almost alone through a body of Roman cavalry, and escaped from the
field of battle. He quickly again gathered round him a body of Numidian
horse; but his only hope of continuing the war now rested on Bocchus.
The latter was for some time uncertain what course to adopt, but was at
length gained over by Sulla, the Quæstor of Marius, to the Roman cause,
and joined in a plan for seizing the person of the Numidian king.
Jugurtha fell into the snare; he was induced, under pretense of a
conference, to repair with only a few followers to meet Bocchus, when he
was instantly surrounded, his attendants cut to pieces, and he himself
made prisoner, and delivered in chains to Sulla, by whom he was conveyed
directly to the camp of Marius. This occurred early in the year B.C.
106.
L. Cornelius Sulla, the Quæstor of Marius, who afterward plays such a
distinguished part in Roman history, was descended from a Patrician
family which had been reduced to great obscurity. But his means were
sufficient to secure him a good education. He studied the Greek and
Roman writers with diligence and success, and early imbibed that love of
literature and art by which he was distinguished throughout his life.
But he was also fond of pleasure, and was conspicuous even among the
Romans for licentiousness and debauchery. He was in every respect a
contrast to Marius. He possessed all the accomplishments and all the
vices which the old Cato had been most accustomed to denounce, and he
was one of those advocates of Greek literature and of Greek profligacy
who had since Cato's time become more and more common among the Roman
Nobles. But Sulla's love of pleasure did not absorb all his time, nor
enfeeble his mind; for no Roman during the latter days of the Republic,
with the exception of Julius Cæsar, had a clearer judgment, a keener
discrimination of character, or a firmer will. Upon his arrival in
Africa, Marius was not well pleased that a Quæstor had been assigned to
him who was only known for his profligacy, and who had had no
experience in war; but the zeal and energy with which Sulla attended to
his new duties soon rendered him a useful and skillful officer, and
gained for him the unqualified approbation of his commander,
notwithstanding his previous prejudices against him. He was equally
successful in winning the affections of the soldiers. He always
addressed them with the greatest kindness, seized every opportunity of
conferring favors upon them, was ever ready to take part in all the
jests of the camp, and at the same time never shrank from sharing in all
their labors and dangers. It is a curious circumstance that Marius gave
to his future enemy and the destroyer of his family and party the first
opportunity of distinguishing himself. The enemies of Marius claimed for
Sulla the glory of the betrayal of Jugurtha, and Sulla himself took the
credit of it by always wearing a signet ring representing the scene of
the surrender.
Marius continued more than a year in Africa after the capture of
Jugurtha. He entered Rome on the first of January, B.C. 104, leading
Jugurtha in triumph. The Numidian king was then thrown into a dungeon,
and there starved to death. Marius, during his absence, had been elected
Consul a second time, and he entered upon his office on the day of his
triumph. The reason of this unprecedented honor will be related in the
following chapter.
[Illustration: Soldiers blowing Tubæ and Cornua. (From Column of
Trajan.)]
[Footnote 64: On this important change in the Roman army, see p. 124.
(The end of Chapter XVII.--Transcriber)]
[Illustration: Caius Marius.]
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE CIMBRI AND TEUTONES, B.C. 113-101.--SECOND SERVILE WAR IN SICILY,
B.C. 103-101.
A greater danger than Rome had experienced since the time of Hannibal
now threatened the state. Vast numbers of barbarians, such as spread
over the south of Europe in the later times of the Roman Empire, had
collected together on the northern side of the Alps, and were ready to
pour down upon Italy. The two leading nations of which they consisted
are called Cimbri and Teutones, of whom the former were probably Celts
and the latter Germans, but the exact parts of Europe from which they
came can not be ascertained. The whole host is said to have contained
300,000 fighting men, besides a much larger number of women and
children. The alarm at Rome was still farther increased by the ill
success which had hitherto attended the arms of the Republic against
these barbarians. Army after army had fallen before them. The Cimbri
were first heard of in B.C. 113, in Noricum, whence they descended into
Illyricum, and defeated a Roman army under the command of Cn. Papirius
Carbo. They then marched westward into Switzerland, where they were
joined by the Tigurini and the Ambrones. They next poured over Gaul,
which they plundered and ravaged in every direction. The Romans sent
army after army to defend the southwestern part of the country, which
was now a Roman province; but all in vain. In B.C. 109 the Consul M.
Junius Silanus was defeated by the Cimbri; in B.C. 107 the Tigurini cut
in pieces, near the Lake of Geneva, the army of the Consul L. Cassius
Longinus, the colleague of Marias, who lost his life in the battle; and
shortly afterward M. Aurelius Scaurus was also defeated and taken
prisoner. But the most dreadful loss was still to come. In B.C. 105 two
consular armies, commanded by the Consul Cn. Mallius Maximus and the
Proconsul Cn. Servilius Cæpio, consisting of 80,000 men, were completely
annihilated by the barbarians: only two men are said to have escaped the
slaughter.
These repeated disasters hushed all party quarrels. Every one at Rome
felt that Marius was the only man capable of saving the state, and he
was accordingly elected Consul by the unanimous votes of all parties
while he was still absent in Africa. He entered Rome in triumph, as we
have already said, on the 1st of January, B.C. 104, which was the first
day of his second Consulship. Meantime the threatened danger was for a
while averted. Instead of crossing the Alps and pouring down upon Italy,
as had been expected, the Cimbri marched into Spain, which they ravaged
for the next two or three years. This interval was advantageously
employed by Marius in training the new troops, and accustoming them to
hardships and toil. It was probably during this time that he introduced
the various changes into the organization of the Roman army which are
usually attributed to him. Notwithstanding the sternness and severity
with which he punished the least breach of discipline, he was a favorite
with his new soldiers, who learned to place implicit confidence in their
general, and were delighted with the strict impartiality with which he
visited the offenses of the officers as well as of the privates. As the
enemy still continued in Spain, Marius was elected Consul a third time
for the year B.C. 103, and also a fourth time for the following year,
with Q. Lutatius Catulus as his colleague. It was in this year (B.C.
102) that the long-expected barbarians arrived. The Cimbri, who had
returned from Spain, united their forces with the Teutones. Marius first
took up his position in a fortified camp upon the Rhone, probably in the
vicinity of the modern Arles; and as the entrance of the river was
nearly blocked up by mud and sand, he employed his soldiers in digging a
canal from the Rhone to the Mediterranean, that he might the more easily
obtain his supplies from the sea.[65] Meantime the barbarians had
divided their forces. The Cimbri marched round the northern foot of the
Alps, in order to enter Italy by the northeast, crossing the Tyrolese
Alps by the defiles of Tridentum (_Trent_). The Teutones and Ambrones,
on the other hand, marched against Marius, intending, as it seems, to
penetrate into Italy by Nice and the Riviera of Genoa. Marius, anxious
to accustom his soldiers to the savage and strange appearance of the
barbarians, would not give them battle at first. The latter resolved to
attack the Roman camp; but as they were repulsed in this attempt, they
pressed on at once for Italy. So great were their numbers, that they are
said to have been six days in marching by the Roman camp. As soon as
they had advanced a little way, Marius followed them; and thus the
armies continued to march for a few days, the barbarians in the front
and Marius behind, till they came to the neighborhood of Aquæ Sextiæ
(_Aix_). Here the decisive battle was fought. An ambush of 3000
soldiers, which Marius had stationed in the rear of the barbarians, and
which fell upon them when they were already retreating, decided the
fortune of the day. Attacked both in front and rear, and also dreadfully
exhausted by the excessive heat of the weather, they at length broke
their ranks and fled. The carnage was dreadful; the whole nation was
annihilated, for those who escaped put an end to their lives, and their
wives followed their example. Immediately after the battle, as Marius
was in the act of setting fire to the vast heap of broken arms which was
intended as an offering to the gods, horsemen rode up to him, and
greeted him with the news of his being elected Consul for the fifth
time.
The Cimbri, in the mean time, had forced their way into Italy. The
colleague of Marius, Q. Lutatius Catulus, despairing of defending the
passes of the Tyrol, had taken up a strong position on the Athesis
(Adige); but, in consequence of the terror of his soldiers at the
approach of the barbarians, he was obliged to retreat even beyond the
Po, thus leaving the whole of the rich plain of Lombardy exposed to
their ravages. Marius was therefore recalled to Rome. The Senate offered
him a triumph for his victory over the Teutones, which he declined while
the Cimbri were in Italy, and proceeded to join Catulus, who now
commanded as Proconsul (B.C. 101). The united armies of the Consul and
Proconsul crossed the Po, and hastened in search of the Cimbri, whom
they found to the westward of Milan, near Vercellæ, searching for the
Teutones, of whose destruction they had not yet heard. The Cimbri met
with the same fate as the Teutones; the whole nation was annihilated;
and the women, like those of the Tentones, put an end to their lives.
Marius was hailed as the savior of the state; his name was coupled with
the gods in the libations and at banquets; and he received the title of
third founder of Rome. He celebrated his victories by a brilliant
triumph, in which, however, he allowed Catulus to share.
During the brilliant campaigns of Marius, Sicily had been exposed to the
horrors of a second Servile War. The insurrection broke out in the east
of the island, where the slaves elected as their king one Salvius, a
soothsayer. He displayed considerable abilities, and in a short time
collected a force of 20,000 foot and 2000 horse. After defeating a Roman
army he assumed all the pomp of royalty, and took the surname of
Tryphon, which had been borne by a usurper to the Syrian throne. The
success of Salvius led to an insurrection in the western part of the
island, where the slaves chose as their leader a Cilician named Athenio,
who joined Tryphon, and acknowledged his sovereignty. Upon the death of
Tryphon, Athenio became king. The insurrection had now assumed such a
formidable aspect that, in B.C. 101, the Senate sent the Consul M.
Aquillius into Sicily. He succeeded in subduing the insurgents, and
killed Athenio with his own hand. The survivors were sent to Rome, and
condemned to fight with wild beasts; but they disdained to minister to
the pleasures of their oppressors, and slew each other with their own
hands in the amphitheatre.
[Illustration: Fasces. (From the original in the Capitol at Rome.)]
[Footnote 65: This canal continued to exist long afterward, and bore the
name of _Fossa Mariana_.]
[Illustration: Tomb of Metella Cæcilia.]
CHAPTER XXIV.
INTERNAL HISTORY OF ROME FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE CIMBRI AND TEUTONES TO
THE SOCIAL WAR. B.C. 100-91.
The career of Marius had hitherto been a glorious one, and it would have
been fortunate for him if he had died on the day of his triumph. The
remainder of his life is full of horrors, and brings out into prominent
relief the worst features of his character. As the time for the consular
elections approached, Marius became again a candidate for the
Consulship. He wished to be first in peace as well as in war, and to
rule the state as well as the army. But he did not possess the qualities
requisite for a popular leader at Rome; he had no power of oratory, and
lost his presence of mind in the noise and shouts of the popular
assemblies. In order to secure his election, he entered into close
connection with two of the worst demagogues that ever appeared at Rome,
Saturninus and Glaucia. The former was a candidate for the Tribunate,
and the latter for the Prætorship; and by their means, as well as by
bribing the Tribes, Marius secured his election to the Consulship for
the sixth time. Glaucia also obtained the Prætorship, but Saturninus was
not equally successful. He lost his election chiefly through the
exertions of A. Nonius, who was chosen in his stead. But Nonius paid
dearly for the honor, for on the evening of his election he was murdered
by the emissaries of Saturninus and Glaucia, and next morning, at an
early hour, before the forum was full, Saturninus was chosen to fill up
the vacancy.
As soon as Saturninus had entered upon his office (B.C. 100) he brought
forward an Agrarian Law for dividing among the soldiers of Marius the
lands in Gaul which had been lately occupied by the Cimbri. He added to
the law a clause that, if it was enacted by the people, every Senator
should swear obedience to it within five days, and that whoever refused
to do so should be expelled from the Senate, and pay a fine of twenty
talents. This clause was specially aimed at Metellus, who, it was well
known, would refuse to obey the requisition. In order to insure a
refusal on the part of Metellus, Marius rose in the Senate, and declared
that he would never take the oath, and Metellus made the same
declaration; but when the law had been passed, and Saturninus summoned
the Senators to the rostra to comply with the demands of the law,
Marius, to the astonishment of all, immediately took the oath, and
advised the Senate to follow his example. Metellus alone refused
compliance; and on the following day Saturninus sent his beadle to drag
him out of the Senate-house. Not content with this victory, Saturninus
brought forward a bill to punish him with exile. The friends of Metellus
were ready to take up arms in his defense; but he declined their
assistance, and withdrew privately from the city. Saturninus brought
forward other popular measures, of which our information is very scanty.
He proposed a _Lex Frumentaria_, by which the state was to sell corn to
the people at a very low price; and also a law for founding new colonies
in Sicily, Achaia, and Macedonia. In the election of the magistrates for
the following year Saturninus was again chosen Tribune. Glaucia was at
the same time a candidate for the Consulship, the two other candidates
being M. Antonius and C. Memmius. The election of Antonius was certain,
and the struggle lay between Glaucia and Memmius. As the latter seemed
likely to carry his election, Saturninus and Glaucia hired some
ruffians, who murdered him openly in the comitia. All sensible people
had previously become alarmed at the mad conduct of Saturninus and his
partisans, and this last act produced a complete reaction against them.
The Senate felt themselves now sufficiently strong to declare them
public enemies, and invested the Consuls with dictatorial power. Marius
was unwilling to act against his associates, but he had no alternative,
and his backwardness was compensated by the zeal of others. Driven out
of the forum, Saturninus, Glaucia, and the Quæstor Saufeius took refuge
in the Capitol, but the partisans of the Senate cut off the pipes which
supplied the citadel with water before Marius began to move against
them. Unable to hold out any longer, they surrendered to Marius. The
latter did all he could to save their lives: as soon as they descended
from the Capitol, he placed them, for security, in the Curia Hostilia;
but the mob pulled off the tiles of the Senate-house, and pelted them
till they died. The Senate gave their sanction to the proceeding by
rewarding with the citizenship a slave of the name of Scæva, who claimed
the honor of having killed Saturninus.
Marius had lost all influence in the state by allying himself with such
unprincipled adventurers. In the following year (B.C. 99) he left Rome,
in order that he might not witness the return of Metellus from exile, a
measure which he had been unable to prevent. He set sail for Cappadocia
and Galatia under the pretense of offering sacrifices which he had vowed
to the Great Mother. He had, however, a deeper purpose in visiting these
countries. Finding that he was losing his popularity while the Republic
was at peace, he was anxious to recover his lost ground by gaining fresh
victories in war, and accordingly repaired to the court of Mithridates,
in hopes of rousing him to attack the Romans.
The mad scheme of Saturninus, and the discredit into which Marius had
fallen, had given new strength to the Senate. They judged the
opportunity favorable for depriving the Equites of the judicial power
which they had enjoyed, with only a temporary cessation, since the time
of C. Gracchus. The Equites had abused their power, as the Senate had
done before them. They were the capitalists who farmed the public
revenues in the provinces, where they committed peculation and extortion
with habitual impunity. When accused, they were tried by accomplices and
partisans. Their unjust condemnation of Rutilius Rufus had shown how
unfit they were to be intrusted with judicial duties. Rutilius was a man
of spotless integrity, and while acting as lieutenant to Q. Mucius
Scævola, Proconsul of Asia in B.C. 95, he displayed so much honesty and
firmness in repressing the extortions of the farmers of the taxes, that
he became an object of fear and hatred to the whole body. Accordingly,
on his return to Rome, a charge of malversation was trumped up against
him, he was found guilty, and compelled to withdraw into banishment
(B.C. 92).
The following year (B.C. 91) witnessed the memorable Tribunate of M.
Livius Drusus. He was the son of the celebrated opponent of C. Gracchus.
He was a man of boundless activity and extraordinary ability. Like his
father, he was an advocate of the party of the Nobles. He took up arms
against Saturninus, and supported the Senate in the dispute for the
possession of the judicial power. His election to the Tribunate was
hailed by the Nobles with delight, and for a time he possessed their
unlimited confidence. He gained over the people to the party of the
Senate by various popular measures, such as the distribution of corn at
a low price, and the establishment of colonies in Italy and Sicily. He
was thus enabled to carry his measures for the reform of the judicia,
which were, that the Senate should be increased from 300 to 600 by the
addition of an equal number of Equites, and that the Judices should be
taken from the Senate thus doubled in numbers. Drusus seems to have been
actuated by a single-minded desire to do justice to all, but the measure
was acceptable to neither party. The Senators viewed with dislike the
elevation to their own rank of 300 Equites, while the Equites had no
desire to transfer to a select few of their own order the profitable
share in the administration of justice which they all enjoyed.
Another measure of Drusus rendered him equally unpopular with the
people. He had held out to the Latins and the Italian allies the promise
of the Roman franchise. Some of the most eminent men of Rome had long
been convinced of the necessity of this reform. It had been meditated by
the younger Scipio Africanus, and proposed by C. Gracchus. The Roman
people, however, always offered it the most violent opposition. But
Drusus still had many partisans. The Italian allies looked up to him as
their leader, and loudly demanded the rights which had been promised
them. It was too late to retreat; and, in order to oppose the formidable
coalition against him, Drusus had recourse to sedition and conspiracy. A
secret society was formed, in which the members bound themselves by a
solemn oath to have the same friends and foes with Drusus, and to obey
all his commands. The ferment soon became so great that the public peace
was more than once threatened. The Allies were ready to take up arms at
the first movement. The Consuls, looking upon Drusus as a conspirator,
resolved to meet his plots by counterplots. But he knew his danger, and
whenever he went into the city kept a strong body-guard of attendants
close to his person. The end could not much longer be postponed; and the
civil war was on the point of breaking out, when one evening Drusus was
assassinated in his own house, while dismissing the crowds who were
attending him. A leather-cutter's knife was found sticking in his loins.
Turning round to those who surrounded him, he asked them, as he was
dying, "Friends and neighbors, when will the Commonwealth have a
citizen like me again?"
Even in the lifetime of Drusus the Senate had repealed all his laws.
After his death the Tribune Q. Varius brought forward a law declaring
all persons guilty of high treason who had assisted the cause of the
Allies. Many eminent men were condemned under this law. This measure,
following the assassination of Drusus, roused the indignation of the
Allies to the highest pitch. They clearly saw that the Roman people
would yield nothing except upon compulsion.
[Illustration: Beneventum in Samnium.]
[Illustration: Coin of the Eight Italian Nations taking the Oath of
Federation.]
CHAPTER XXV.
THE SOCIAL OR MARSIC WAR. B.C. 90-89.
Rome had never been exposed to greater danger than at this time. Those
who had been her bravest defenders now rose against her; and she would
probably have perished had the whole Italian people taken part in the
war. But the insurrection was confined almost exclusively to the
Sabellians and their kindred races. The Etruscans and Umbrians stood
aloof, while the Sabines, Volscians, and other tribes who already
possessed the Roman franchise, supported the Republic, and furnished the
materials of her armies. The nations which composed the formidable
conspiracy against Rome were eight in number--the Marsians, Pelignians,
Marrucinians, Vestinians, Picentines, Samnites, Apulians, and Lucanians.
Of these the Marsians were particularly distinguished for their courage
and skill in war; and from the prominent part which they took in the
struggle, it was frequently termed the Marsic as well as the Social War.
The war broke out at Asculum in Picenum. The Proconsul Q. Servilius, who
had the charge of this part of Italy, hearing that the inhabitants of
Asculum were organizing a revolt, entered the town, and endeavored to
persuade them to lay aside their hostile intentions. But he was
murdered, together with his legate, by the exasperated citizens, and all
the Romans in the place were likewise put to death. The insurrection now
became general. The Allies entered upon the war with feelings of bitter
hatred against their former rulers. They resolved to destroy Rome, and
fixed upon Corfinium, a strong city of the Peligni, to which they gave
the name of Italica, as the new capital of the Italian Confederation.
The government of the new Republic was borrowed from that of Rome. It
was to have two Consuls, twelve Prætors, and a Senate of 500 members. Q.
Pompædius Silo, a Marsian, one of the chief instigators of the war, and
C. Papius Mutilus, a Samnite, who cherished the hereditary hatred of his
countrymen against the Romans, were chosen Consuls. Under them were many
able lieutenants, who had learned the art of war under the best Roman
generals. The soldiers had also served, in the Roman armies, and were
armed and disciplined in the same way, so that the contest partook of
all the characters of a civil war. But the Romans had the great
advantage which a single state always possesses over a confederation.
Of the details of the war our information is meagre and imperfect. But
in the military operations we clearly see that the Allies formed two
principal groups: the one composed of the Marsians, with their neighbors
the Marrucinians, Pelignians, Vestinians, and Picentines; the other of
the Samnites, with the Lucanians and Apulians. The two Consuls, L.
Julius Cæsar and P. Rutilius Lupus, took the field with powerful armies,
and under them served Marius, Sulla, and the most experienced generals
of the time. The Romans were fully aware of the formidable nature of the
struggle, which was one for existence, and not for victory. In the first
campaign the advantage was on the side of the Allies. The Samnites,
under their Consul Papius, overran Campania, took most of the towns, and
laid siege to Acerræ, into which Cæsar threw himself. Pompædius Silo was
still more successful. He defeated the Roman Consul P. Rutilius Lupus
with great slaughter, Rutilius himself being slain in the battle. This
disaster was to some extent repaired by Marius, who commanded a separate
army in the neighborhood, and compelled the victorious Allies to retire.
The old general then intrenched himself in a fortified camp, and neither
the stratagems nor the taunts of the Samnites could entice him from his
advantageous position. "If you are a great general," said Pompædius,
"come down and fight;" to which the veteran replied, "Nay, do _you_, if
you are a great general, compel me to fight against my will." The Romans
considered that Marius was over-cautious and too slow; and Plutarch says
that his age and corpulence rendered him incapable of enduring the
fatigue of very active service. But it is more probable that he was not
very willing to destroy the Allies, who had been among his most active
partisans, and to whom he still looked for support in his future
struggles with the Nobility.
The Romans now saw the necessity of making some concessions. The Lex
Julia, proposed by the Consul Julius Cæsar, granted the franchise to all
the Latin colonies, and to those of the Allies who had remained faithful
to Rome, or had laid down their arms. The effects of this concession
were immediately seen. Several of the Allies hastened to avail
themselves of it, and disunion and distrust were produced among the
rest.
The next campaign (B.C. 89) was decidedly favorable to the Romans. The
Consuls were Cn. Pompeius Strabo, the father of the celebrated Triumvir,
and L. Porcius Cato. The latter, it is true, was slain at the
commencement of the campaign; but his loss was more than compensated by
his lieutenant Sulla obtaining, in consequence, the supreme command. He
carried on the war with the utmost vigor, and completely eclipsed his
old commander Marius. He drove the enemy out of Campania, subdued the
Hirpini, and then penetrated into the very heart of Samnium. Here he
defeated Papius Mutilus, the Samnite Consul, and followed up his victory
by the capture of the strong town of Bovianum.
Meanwhile Pompeius Strabo had been equally successful in the north.
Asculum was reduced after a long and obstinate siege. The Marrucinians,
Vestinians, Pelignians, and finally the Marsians, laid down their arms
before the end of the year. Their submission was facilitated by the Lex
Plautia Papiria, proposed by the Tribunes M. Plautius Silvanus and C.
Papirius Carbo (B.C. 89), which completed the arrangements of the Lex
Julia, and granted, in fact, every thing which the Allies had demanded
before the war. All citizens of a town in alliance with Rome could
obtain, by this law, the Roman franchise, provided they were at the time
resident in Italy, and registered their names with the Prætor within
sixty days.[66]
The war was thus virtually brought to a conclusion within two years, but
300,000 men, the flower of Rome and Italy, perished in this short time.
The only nations remaining in arms were the Samnites and Lucanians, who
still maintained a guerrilla warfare in their mountains, and continued
to keep possession of the strong fortress of Nola, in Campania, from
which all the efforts of Sulla failed to dislodge them.
It now remained to be settled in what way the new citizens were to be
incorporated in the Roman state. If they were enrolled in the
thirty-five tribes, they would outnumber the old citizens. It was
therefore resolved to form ten new tribes, which should consist of the
new citizens exclusively; but, before these arrangements could be
completed, the Civil War broke out.
[Footnote 66: A law of the Consul Pompeius bestowed the Latin franchise
upon all the citizens of the Gallic towns between the Po and the Alps,
so that they now entered into the same relations with Rome as the Latins
had formerly held.]
[Illustration: Terracina.]
CHAPTER XXVI.
FIRST CIVIL WAR. B.C. 88-86.
One reason which induced the Senate to bring the Social War to a
conclusion was the necessity of attacking Mithridates, king of Pontus,
one of the ablest monarchs with whom Rome ever came into contact. The
origin and history of this war will be narrated in the following
chapter. The dispute between Marias and Sulla for the command against
Mithridates was the occasion of the first Civil War. The ability which
Sulla had displayed in the Social War, and his well-known attachment to
the Senatorial party, naturally marked him out as the man to whom this
important dignity was to be granted. He was accordingly elected Consul
for the year 88 B.C., with Q. Pompeius Rufus as his colleague; and he
forthwith received the command of the Mithridatic War. But Marius had
long coveted this distinction; he quitted the magnificent villa which he
had built at Misenum, and took up his residence at Rome; and in order to
show that neither his age nor his corpulency had destroyed his vigor, he
repaired daily to the Campus Martius, and went through the usual
exercises with the young men. He was determined not to yield without a
struggle to his hated rival. As he had formerly employed the Tribune
Saturninus to carry out his designs, so now he found an able instrument
for his purpose in the Tribune P. Sulpicius Rufus. Sulpicius was one of
the greatest orators of the age, and had acquired great influence by his
splendid talents. He was an intimate friend of the Tribune M. Livius
Drusus, and had been himself elected Tribune for B.C. 88, through the
influence of the Senatorial party, who placed great hopes in him; but,
being overwhelmed with debt, he now sold himself to Marius, who promised
him a liberal share of the spoils of the Mithridatic War. Accordingly,
Sulpicius brought forward a law by which the Italians were to be
distributed among the thirty-five tribes. As they far outnumbered the
old Roman citizens, they would have an overwhelming majority in each
tribe, and would certainly confer upon Marius the command of the
Mithridatic War. To prevent the Tribune from putting these rogations to
the vote, the Consuls declared a justitium, during which no business
could be legally transacted. But Sulpicius was resolved to carry his
point; with an armed band of followers he entered the forum and called
upon the Consuls to withdraw the justitium; and upon their refusal to
comply with his demand he ordered his satellites to draw their swords
and fall upon them. Pompeius escaped, but his son Quintus, who was also
the son-in-law of Sulla, was killed. Sulla himself took refuge in the
house of Marius, which was close to the forum, and in order to save his
life he was obliged to remove the justitium.
Sulla quitted Rome and hastened to his army, then besieging Nola, which
was still held by the Samnites (see p. 180)(Fifth paragraph of Chapter
XXV.--Transcriber). The city was now in the hands of Sulpicius and
Marius, and the rogations passed into law without opposition, as well as
a third, conferring upon Marius the command of the Mithridatic War.
Marius lost no time in sending some Tribunes to assume on his behalf the
command of the army at Nola; but the soldiers, who loved Sulla, and who
feared that Marius might lead another army to Asia, and thus deprive
them of their anticipated plunder, stoned his deputies to death. Sulla
found his soldiers ready to respond to his wishes; they called upon him
to lead them to Rome, and deliver the city from the tyrants. He
therefore hesitated no longer, but at the head of six legions broke up
from his encampment at Nola, and marched toward the city. His officers,
however, refused to serve against their country, and all quitted him,
with the exception of one Quæstor. This was the first time that a Roman
had ever marched at the head of Roman troops against the city. Marius
was taken by surprise. Such was the reverence that the Romans
entertained for law, that it seems never to have occurred to him or to
his party that Sulla would venture to draw his sword against the state.
Marius attempted to gain time for preparations by forbidding Sulla, in
the name of the Republic, to advance any farther; but the Prætors who
carried the command narrowly escaped being murdered by the soldiers; and
Marius, as a last resource, offered liberty to the slaves who would join
him. But it was all in vain. Sulla forced his way into the city, and
Marius took to flight with his son and a few followers. Sulla used his
victory with moderation. He protected the city from plunder; and only
Marius, Sulpicius, and ten others of his bitterest enemies, were
declared public enemies by the Senate. Sulpicius was betrayed by one of
his slaves and put to death, but Marius and his son succeeded in making
their escape. Marius himself embarked on board a ship at Ostia, with a
few companions, and then sailed southward along the coast of Italy. At
Circeii he and his companions were obliged to land on account of the
violence of the wind and the want of provisions. After wandering about
for a long time, they learned from some peasants that a number of
horsemen had been in search of them; and they accordingly turned aside
from the road, and passed the night in a deep wood in great want. But
the indomitable spirit of the old man did not fail him; and he consoled
himself and encouraged his companions by the assurance that he should
still live to see his seventh Consulship, in accordance with a
prediction that had been made to him in his youth. Shortly afterward,
when they were near to Minturnæ, they descried a party of horsemen
galloping toward them. In great haste they hurried down to the sea, and
swam off to two merchant vessels, which received them on board. The
horsemen bade the crew bring the ship to land or throw Marius overboard;
but, moved by his tears and entreaties, they refused to surrender him.
The sailors soon changed their minds; and, fearing to keep Marius, they
cast anchor at the mouth of the Liris, where they persuaded him to
disembark, and rest himself from his fatigues till a wind should rise;
but they had no sooner landed him than they immediately sailed away.
Marius was now quite alone amid the swamps and marshes through which the
Liris flows. With difficulty he reached the hut of an old man, who
concealed him in a hole near the river, and covered him with reeds; but
hearing shortly afterward the noise of his pursuers, he crept out of his
hiding-place and threw himself into the marsh. He was discovered, and
dragged out of the water; and, covered with mud, and with a rope round
his neck, was delivered up to the authorities of Minturnæ. The
magistrates then deliberated whether they should comply with the
instruction that had been sent from Rome to all the municipal towns to
put Marius to death as soon as they found him. After some consultation
they resolved to obey it, and sent a Cimbrian slave to carry out their
orders. The room in which the old general was confined was dark; and, to
the frightened barbarian, the eyes of Marius seemed to dart forth fire,
and from the darkness a terrible voice shouted out, "Man! durst thou
slay C. Marius?" The barbarian immediately threw down his sword, and
rushed out of the house, exclaiming, "I can not kill C. Marius!"
Straightway there was a revulsion of feeling among the inhabitants of
Minturnæ. They repented of their ungrateful conduct toward a man who had
saved Rome and Italy. They got ready a ship for his departure, provided
him with every thing necessary for the voyage, and, with prayers and
wishes for his safety, placed him on board. The wind carried him to the
island of Ænaria (now Ischia), where he found the rest of his friends;
and from thence he set sail for Africa, which he reached in safety. He
landed near the site of Carthage, but he had scarcely put his foot on
shore before the Prætor Sextilius sent an officer to bid him leave the
country, or else he would carry into execution the decree of the Senate.
This last blow almost unmanned Marius: grief and indignation for a time
deprived him of speech, and his only reply was, "Tell the Prætor that
you have seen C. Marius a fugitive sitting on the ruins of Carthage."
Shortly afterward Marius was joined by his son, and they crossed over to
the island of Cercina, where they remained unmolested.
Meantime a revolution had taken place at Rome, which prepared the way
for the return of Marius to Italy. Sulla's soldiers were impatient for
the plunder of Asia, and he therefore contented himself with repealing
the Sulpician laws. He then sent forward his legions to Capua, that they
might be ready to embark for Greece, but he himself remained in Rome
till the Consuls were elected for the following year. The candidates
whom he recommended were rejected, and the choice fell on Cn. Octavius,
who belonged to the aristocratical party, but was a weak and irresolute
man, and on L. Cinna, a professed champion of the popular side. Sulla
did not attempt to oppose their election: to have recalled his legions
to Rome would have been a dangerous experiment when the soldiers were so
eager for the spoils of the East; and he only took the vain precaution
of making Cinna promise that he would make no attempt to disturb the
existing order of things. But as soon as Sulla had quitted Italy, Cinna
brought forward again the law of Sulpicius for incorporating the new
Italian citizens among the thirty-five tribes. The two Consuls had
recourse to arms, Octavius to oppose and Cinna to carry the law. A
dreadful conflict took place in the forum. The party of Octavius
obtained the victory, and Cinna was driven out of the city with great
slaughter. But Cinna, by means of the new citizens, whose cause he
espoused, was soon at the head of a formidable army. As soon as Marius
heard of these changes he set sail from Africa, and offered to serve
under Cinna, who gladly accepted his proposal, and named him Proconsul;
but Marius refused all marks of honor. The sufferings and privations he
had endured had exasperated his proud and haughty spirit almost to
madness, and nothing but the blood of his enemies could appease his
resentment. He continued to wear a mean and humble dress, and his hair
and beard had remained unshorn from the day he had been driven out of
Rome. After joining Cinna, Marius prosecuted the war with great vigor.
He first captured the corn-ships, and thus cut off Rome from its usual
supply of food. He next took Ostia and the other towns on the sea-coast,
and, moving down the Tiber, encamped on the Janiculum. Famine began to
rage in the city, and the Senate was obliged to yield. They sent a
deputation to Cinna and Marius, inviting them into the city, but
entreating them to spare the citizens. Cinna received the deputies
sitting in his chair of office, and gave them a kind answer. Marius
stood in silence by the side of the Consul, but his actions spoke louder
than words. After the audience was over they entered the city. The most
frightful scenes followed. The Consul Octavius was slain while seated in
his curule chair. The streets ran with the noblest blood of Rome. Every
one whom Marius hated or feared was hunted out and put to death; and no
consideration, either of rank, talent, or former friendship, induced him
to spare the victims of his vengeance. The great orator M. Antonius fell
by the hands of his assassins; and his former colleague, Q. Catulus, who
had triumphed with him over the Cimbri, was obliged to put an end to his
own life. Cinna was soon tired of the butchery; but the appetite of
Marius seemed only whetted by the slaughter, and daily required fresh
victims for its gratification. Without going through the form of an
election, Marius and Cinna named themselves Consuls for the following
year (B.C. 86), and thus was fulfilled the prediction that Marius should
be seven times Consul. But he did not long enjoy the honor: he was now
in his seventy-first year; his body was worn out by the fatigues and
sufferings he had recently undergone; and on the eighteenth day of his
Consulship he died of an attack of pleurisy, after a few days' illness.
[Illustration: Mount Argæus in Cappadocia.]
CHAPTER XXVII.
FIRST MITHRIDATIC WAR. B.C. 88-84.
The kingdom of Pontus, which derived its name from being on the coast of
the Pontus Euxinus, or Black Sea, was originally a satrapy of the
Persian empire, extending from the River Halys on the west to the
frontiers of Colchis on the east. Even under the later Persian kings the
rulers of Pontus were really independent, and in the wars of the
successors of Alexander the Great it became a separate kingdom. Most of
its kings bore the name of Mithridates; and the fifth monarch of this
name formed an alliance with the Romans, and was rewarded with the
province of Phrygia for the services he had rendered them in the war
against Aristonicus. He was assassinated about B.C. 120, and was
succeeded by his son Mithridates VI., commonly called the Great, who was
then only about twelve years of age. His youth was remarkable, but much
that has been transmitted to us respecting this period of his life wears
a very suspicious aspect; it is certain, however, that when he attained
to manhood he was not only endowed with consummate skill in all martial
exercises, and possessed of a bodily frame inured to all hardships, but
his naturally vigorous intellect had been improved by careful culture.
As a boy he had been brought up at Sinope, where he had probably
received the elements of a Greek education, and so powerful was his
memory that he is said to have learned not less than twenty-five
languages, and to have been able in the days of his greatest power to
transact business with the deputies of every tribe subject to his rule
in their own peculiar dialect. As soon as he was firmly established on
the throne he began to turn his arms against the neighboring nations. On
the west his progress was hemmed in by the power of Rome, and the minor
sovereigns of Bithynia and Cappadocia enjoyed the all-powerful
protection of the Republic. But on the east his ambition found free
scope. He subdued the barbarian tribes between the Euxine and the
confines of Armenia, including the whole of Colchis and the province
called Lesser Armenia; and he even added to his dominions the Tauric
Chersonesus, now called the _Crimea_. The Greek kingdom of Bosphorus,
which formed a portion of the Chersonesus, likewise submitted to his
sway. Moreover, he formed alliances with Tigranes, king of Armenia, to
whom he gave his daughter Cleopatra in marriage, as well as with the
warlike nations of the Parthians and Iberians. He thus found himself in
possession of such great power and extensive resources, that he began to
deem himself equal to a contest with Rome itself. Many causes of
dissension had already arisen between them. Shortly after his accession,
the Romans had taken advantage of his minority to wrest from him the
province of Phrygia. In B.C. 93 they resisted his attempt to place upon
the throne of Cappadocia one of his own nephews, and appointed a
Cappadocian named Ariobarzanes to be king of that country. For a time
Mithridates submitted; but the death of Nicomedes II., king of Bithynia,
shortly afterward, at length brought matters to a crisis. That monarch
was succeeded by his eldest son, Nicomedes III.; but Mithridates took
the opportunity to set up a rival claimant, whose pretensions he
supported with an army, and quickly drove Nicomedes out of Bithynia
(B.C. 90). About the same time he openly invaded Cappadocia, and
expelled Ariobarzanes from his kingdom, establishing his own son
Ariarathes in his place. Both the fugitive princes had recourse to Rome,
where they found ready support; a decree was passed that Nicomedes and
Ariobarzanes should be restored to their respective kingdoms, and the
execution of it was confided to M. Aquillius and L. Cassius.
Mithridates again yielded, and the two fugitive kings were restored to
their dominions; but no sooner was Nicomedes replaced on the throne of
Bithynia than he was urged by the Roman legates to invade the
territories of Mithridates, into which he made a predatory incursion.
Mithridates offered no resistance, but sent to the Romans to demand
satisfaction, and it was not until his embassador was dismissed with an
evasive answer that he prepared for immediate hostilities (B.C. 88). His
first step was to invade Cappadocia, from which he easily expelled
Ariobarzanes once more. His generals drove Nicomedes out of Bithynia,
and defeated Aquillius. Mithridates, following up his advantage, not
only made himself master of Phrygia and Galatia, but invaded the Roman
province of Asia. Here the universal discontent of the inhabitants,
caused by the oppression of the Roman governors, enabled him to overrun
the whole province almost without opposition. The Roman officers, who
had imprudently brought this danger upon themselves, were unable to
collect any forces to oppose his progress; and Aquillius himself, the
chief author of the war, fell into the hands of the King of Pontus.
Mithridates took up his winter quarters at Pergamus, where he issued the
sanguinary order to all the cities of Asia to put to death on the same
day all the Roman and Italian citizens who were to be found within their
walls. So hateful had the Romans rendered themselves during the short
period of their dominion, that these commands were obeyed with alacrity
by almost all the cities of Asia. Eighty thousand persons are said to
have perished in this fearful massacre.
The success of Mithridates encouraged the Athenians to declare against
Rome, and the king accordingly sent his general Archelaus with a large
army and fleet into Greece. Most of the Grecian states now declared in
favor of Mithridates. Such was the position of affairs when Sulla landed
in Epirus in B.C. 87. He immediately marched southward, and laid siege
to Athens and the Piræus. But for many months these towns resisted all
his attacks. Athens was first taken in the spring of the following year;
and Archelaus, despairing of defending the Piræus any longer, withdrew
into Boeotia, where he received some powerful re-enforcements from
Mithridates. Piræus now fell into the hands of Sulla, and both this
place and Athens were treated with the utmost barbarity. The soldiers
were indulged in indiscriminate slaughter and plunder. Having thus
wreaked his vengeance upon the unfortunate Athenians, Sulla directed his
arms against Archelaus in Boeotia, and defeated him with enormous loss
at Chæronea. Out of the 110,000 men of which the Pontic army consisted,
Archelaus assembled only 10,000 at Chalcis, in Euboea, where he had
taken refuge. Mithridates, on receiving news of this great disaster,
immediately set about raising fresh troops, and was soon able to send
another army of 80,000 men to Euboea. But he now found himself
threatened with danger from a new and unexpected quarter. While Sulla
was still occupied in Greece, the party of Marius at Rome had sent a
fresh army to Asia under the Consul L. Valerius Flaccus to carry on the
war at once against their foreign and domestic enemies. Flaccus was
murdered by his troops at the instigation of Fimbria, who now assumed
the command, and gained several victories over Mithridates and his
generals in Asia (B.C. 85). About the same time the new army, which the
king had sent to Archelaus in Greece, was defeated by Sulla in the
neighborhood of Orchomenus. These repeated disasters made Mithridates
anxious for peace, but it was not granted by Sulla till the following
year (B.C. 84), when he had crossed the Hellespont in order to carry on
the war in Asia. The terms of peace were definitely settled at an
interview which the Roman general and the Pontic king had at Dardanus,
in the Troad. Mithridates consented to abandon all his conquests in
Asia, to restrict himself to the dominions which he held before the
commencement of the war, or pay a sum of 5000 talents, and surrender to
the Romans a fleet of seventy ships fully equipped. Thus terminated the
First Mithridatic War.
Sulla was now at liberty to turn his aims against Fimbria, who was with
his army at Thyatira. The name of Sulla carried victory with it. The
troops of Fimbria deserted their general, who put an end to his own
life. Sulla now prepared to return to Italy. After exacting enormous
sums from the wealthy cities of Asia, he left his legate, L. Licinius
Murena, in command of that province, with two legions, and set sail with
his own army to Athens. While preparing for his deadly struggle in
Italy, he did not lose his interest in literature. He carried with him
from Athens to Rome the valuable library of Apellicon of Teos, which
contained most of the works of Aristotle and Theophrastus.
[Illustration: Coin of Nicomedes III., king of Bithynia.]
[Illustration: Brundisium.]
CHAPTER XXVIII.
SECOND CIVIL WAR.--SULLA'S DICTATORSHIP, LEGISLATION, AND DEATH, B.C.
83-78.
Sulla landed at Brundisium in the spring of B.C. 83, in the Consulship
of L. Scipio and C. Norbanus. During the preceding year he had written
to the Senate, recounting the services he had rendered to the
commonwealth, complaining of the ingratitude with which he had been
treated, announcing his speedy return to Italy, and threatening to take
vengeance upon his enemies and those of the Republic. The Senate, in
alarm, sent an embassy to Sulla to endeavor to bring about a
reconciliation between him and his enemies, and meantime ordered the
Consuls Cinna and Carbo to desist from levying troops and making farther
preparations for war. Cinna and Carbo gave no heed to this command; they
knew that a reconciliation was impossible, and resolved to carry over an
army to Dalmatia, in order to oppose Sulla in Greece; but, after one
detachment of their troops had embarked, the rest of the soldiers rose
in mutiny, and murdered Cinna. The Marian party had thus lost their
chief leader, but continued nevertheless to make every preparation to
resist Sulla, for they were well aware that he would never forgive them,
and that their only choice lay between victory and destruction. Besides
this the Italians were ready to support them, as these new citizens
feared that Sulla would deprive them of the rights which they had lately
obtained after so much bloodshed. The Marian party had every prospect of
victory, for their troops far exceeded those of their opponent. They had
200,000 men in arms, while Sulla landed at Brundusium with only 30,000,
or at the most 40,000 men. But, on the other hand, the popular party had
no one of sufficient influence and military reputation to take the
supreme command in the war; their vast forces were scattered about
Italy, in different armies, under different generals; the soldiers had
no confidence in their commanders, and no enthusiasm in their cause; and
the consequence was, that whole hosts of them deserted to Sulla on the
first opportunity. Sulla's soldiers, on the contrary, were veterans, who
had frequently fought by each other's sides, and had acquired that
confidence in themselves and in their general which frequent victories
always give. Still, if the Italians had remained faithful to the cause
of the Marian party, Sulla would hardly have conquered, and therefore
one of his first cares after landing at Brundusium was to detach them
from his enemies. For this purpose he would not allow his troops to do
any injury to the towns or fields of the Italians in his march from
Brundusium through Calabria and Apulia, and he formed separate treaties
with many of the Italian towns, by which he secured to them all the
rights and privileges of Roman citizens which they then enjoyed. Among
the Italians the Samnites continued to be the most formidable enemies of
Sulla. They had joined the Marian party, not simply with the design of
securing the supremacy for the latter, but with the hope of conquering
Rome by their means, and then destroying forever their hated oppressor.
Thus this Civil war became merely another phase of the Social war, and
the struggle between Rome and Samnium for the supremacy of the peninsula
was renewed after the subjection of the latter for more than two hundred
years.
Sulla marched from Apulia into Campania without meeting with any
resistance. In Campania he gained his first victory over the Consul
Norbanus, who was defeated with great loss, and obliged to take refuge
in Capua. His colleague Scipio, who was at no great distance, willingly
accepted a truce which Sulla offered him, although Sertorius, the ablest
of the Marian generals, warned him against entering into any
negotiations. His caution was justified by the event. By means of his
emissaries Sulla seduced the troops of Scipio, who at length found
himself deserted by all his soldiers, and was taken prisoner in his
tent. Sulla, however, dismissed him uninjured. On hearing of this, Carbo
is said to have observed "that he had to contend in Sulla both with a
lion and a fox, but that the fox gave him more trouble." Many
distinguished Romans meantime had taken up arms on behalf of Sulla. Cn.
Pompey, the son of Cn. Pompeius Strabo, then only twenty-three years of
age, levied three legions in Picenum and the surrounding districts; and
Q. Metellus Pius, M. Crassus, M. Lucullus, and several others, offered
their services as legates. It was not, however, till the following year
(B.C. 82) that the struggle was brought to a decisive issue. The Consuls
of this year were Cn. Papirius Carbo and the younger Marius, the former
of whom was intrusted with the protection of Etruria and Umbria, while
the latter had to guard Rome and Latium. Sulla appears to have passed
the winter at Campania. At the commencement of spring he advanced
against the younger Marius, who had concentrated all his forces at
Sacriportus, and defeated him with great loss. Marius took refuge in
Præneste; and Sulla, after leaving Q. Lucretius Ofella with a large
force to blockade the town, marched with the main body of his army to
Rome. Marius was resolved not to perish unavenged, and accordingly,
before Sulla could reach Rome, he sent orders to L. Damasippus, the
Prætor, to put to death all his leading opponents. His orders were
faithfully obeyed. Q. Mucius Scævola, the Pontifex Maximus and jurist,
P. Antistius, L. Domitius, and many other distinguished men, were
butchered, and their corpses thrown into the Tiber. Sulla entered the
city without opposition, and marched against Carbo, who had been
previously opposed by Pompey and Metellus. The history of this part of
the war is involved in great obscurity. Carbo made two efforts to
relieve Præneste, but failed in each; and, after fighting with various
fortune against Pompey, Metellus, and Sulla, he at length embarked for
Africa, despairing of farther success in Italy. Meantime Rome had nearly
fallen into the hands of the enemy. The Samnites and Lucanians, under
Pontius Telesinus and L. Lamponius, after attempting to relieve
Præneste, resolved to march straight upon Rome, which had been left
without an army for its protection. Sulla arrived barely in time to save
the city. The battle was fought before the Colline Gate; it was long and
obstinately contested; the combat was not simply for the supremacy of a
party; the very existence of Rome was at stake, for Pontius had declared
that he would raze the city to the ground. The left wing, where Sulla
commanded in person, was driven off the field by the vehemence of the
enemy's charge; but the success of the right wing, which was commanded
by Crassus, enabled Sulla to restore the battle, and at length gain a
complete victory. Fifty thousand men were said to have fallen on each
side. All the most distinguished leaders of the Marian party either
perished in the engagement, or were taken prisoners and put to death.
Among these was the brave Samnite Pontius, whose head was cut off and
carried under the walls of Præneste, thereby announcing to the young
Marius that his last hope of succour was gone. To the Samnite prisoners
Sulla showed no mercy. He was resolved to root out of the peninsula
those heroic enemies of Rome. On the third day after the battle he
collected all the Samnite and Lucanian prisoners in the Campus Martius,
and ordered his soldiers to cut them down. The dying shrieks of so many
victims frightened the Senators, who had been assembled at the same time
by Sulla in the temple of Bellona; but he bade them attend to what he
was saying, and not mind what was taking place outside, as he was only
chastising some rebels. Præneste surrendered soon afterward. The Romans
in the town were pardoned; but all the Samnites and Prænestines were
massacred without mercy. The younger Marius put an end to his own life.
The war in Italy was now virtually at an end, for the few towns which
still held out had no prospect of offering any effectual opposition, and
were reduced soon afterward. In other parts of the Roman world the war
continued still longer, and Sulla did not live to see its completion.
The armies of the Marian party in Sicily and Africa were subdued by
Pompey in the course of the same year; but Sertorius in Spain continued
to defy all the attempts of the Senate till B.C. 72.
Sulla was now master of Rome. He had not commenced the Civil war, but
had been driven to it by the mad ambition of Marius. His enemies had
attempted to deprive him of the command in the Mithridatic war, which
had been legally conferred upon him by the Senate; and while he was
righting the battles of the Republic they had declared him a public
enemy, confiscated his property, and murdered the most distinguished of
his friends and adherents. For all these wrongs Sulla had threatened to
take the most ample vengeance; and he more than redeemed his word. He
resolved to extirpate the popular party root and branch. One of his
first acts was to draw up a list of his enemies who were to be put to
death, which list was exhibited in the forum to public inspection, and
called a _Proscriptio_. It was the first instance of the kind in Roman
history. All persons in this list were outlaws who might be killed by
any one with impunity; their property was confiscated to the state;
their children and grandchildren lost their votes in the comitia, and
were excluded from all public offices. Farther, all who killed a
proscribed person, or indicated the place of his concealment, received
two talents as a reward, and whoever sheltered such a person was
punished with death. Terror now reigned not only at Rome, but throughout
Italy. Fresh lists of the proscribed constantly appeared. No one was
safe; for Sulla gratified his friends by placing in the fatal lists
their personal enemies, or persons whose property was coveted by his
adherents. An estate, a house, or even a piece of plate, was to many a
man, who belonged to no political party, his death-warrant; for,
although the confiscated property belonged to the state, and had to be
sold by public auction, the friends and dependents of Sulla purchased it
at a nominal price, as no one dared to bid against them. Oftentimes
Sulla did not require the purchase-money to be paid at all, and in many
cases he gave such property to his favorites without even the formality
of a sale. The number of persons who perished by the proscriptions
amounted to many thousands. At the commencement of these horrors Sulla
had been appointed Dictator. As both the Consuls had perished, he caused
the Senate to elect Valerius Flaccus interrex, and the latter brought
before the people a rogatio, conferring the Dictatorship upon Sulla, for
the purpose of restoring order to the Republic, and for as long a time
as he judged to be necessary. Thus the Dictatorship was revived after
being in abeyance for more than 120 years, and Sulla obtained absolute
power over the lives and fortunes of all the citizens. This was toward
the close of B.C. 81. Sulla's great object in being invested with the
Dictatorship was to carry into execution in a legal manner the great
reforms which he meditated in the constitution and the administration of
justice, by which he hoped to place the government of the Republic on a
firm and secure basis. He had no intention of abolishing the Republic,
and consequently he caused Consuls to be elected for the following year,
B.C. 81, and was elected to the office himself in B.C. 80, while he
continued to hold the Dictatorship.
At the beginning of B.C. 81 Sulla celebrated a splendid triumph on
account of his victory over Mithridates. In a speech which he delivered
to the people at the close of the gorgeous ceremony, he claimed for
himself the surname of _Felix_, as he attributed his success in life to
the favor of the gods. All ranks in Rome bowed in awe before their
master; and among other marks of distinction which were voted to him by
the obsequious Senate, a gilt equestrian statue was erected to his honor
before the Rostra, bearing the inscription "Cornelio Sullæ Imperatori
Felici."
During the years B.C. 80 and 79 Sulla carried into execution his various
reforms in the constitution, of which an account is given at the end of
this chapter. At the same time he established many military colonies
throughout Italy. The inhabitants of the Italian towns which had fought
against Sulla were deprived of the full Roman franchise which had been
lately conferred upon them; their lands were confiscated and given to
the soldiers who had fought under him. A great number of these colonies
were settled in Etruria. They had the strongest interest in upholding
the institutions of Sulla, since any attempt to invalidate the latter
would have endangered their newly-acquired possessions. But, though they
were a support to the power of Sulla, they hastened the fall of the
commonwealth; an idle and licentious soldiery supplanted an industrious
agricultural population; and Catiline found nowhere more adherents than
among the military colonies of Sulla. While Sulla thus established
throughout Italy a population devoted to his interests, he created at
Rome a kind of body-guard for his protection by giving the citizenship
to a great number of slaves belonging to those who had been proscribed
by him. The slaves thus rewarded are said to have been as many as
10,000, and were called Cornelii after him as their patron.
Sulla had completed his reforms by the beginning of B.C. 79; and as he
longed for the undisturbed enjoyment of his pleasures, he resigned his
Dictatorship, and declared himself ready to render an account of his
conduct while in office. This voluntary abdication by Sulla of the
sovereignty of the Roman world has excited the astonishment and
admiration of both ancient and modern writers. But it is evident that
Sulla never contemplated, like Julius Cæsar, the establishment of a
monarchical form of government; and it must be recollected that he could
retire into a private station without any fear that attempts would be
made against his life or his institutions. The ten thousand Cornelii at
Rome and his veterans stationed throughout Italy, as well as the whole
strength of the aristocratical party, secured him against all danger.
Even in his retirement his will was law, and shortly before his death he
ordered his slaves to strangle a magistrate of one of the towns in Italy
because he was a public defaulter.
After resigning his Dictatorship, Sulla retired to his estate at
Puteoli, and there, surrounded by the beauties of nature and art, he
passed the remainder of his life in those literary and sensual
enjoyments in which he had always taken so much pleasure. He died in
B.C. 78, in the sixtieth year of his age. The immediate cause of his
death was the rupture of a blood-vessel, but some time before he had
been suffering from the disgusting disease which is known in modern
times by the name of Morbus Pediculosus. The Senate, faithful to the
last, resolved to give him the honor of a public funeral. This was,
however, opposed by the Consul Lepidus, who had resolved to attempt the
repeal of Sulla's laws; but the Dictator's power continued unshaken
even after his death. The veterans were summoned from their colonies,
and Q. Catulus, L. Lucullus, and Cn. Pompey placed themselves at their
head. Lepidus was obliged to give way, and allowed the funeral to take
place without interruption. It was a gorgeous pageant. The Magistrates,
the Senate, the Equites, the Priests, and the Vestal virgins, as well as
the veterans, accompanied the funeral procession to the Campus Martius,
where the corpse was burnt according to the wish of Sulla himself, who
feared that his enemies might insult his remains, as he had done those
of Marius, which had been taken out of the grave and thrown into the
Anio at his command. It had been previously the custom of the Cornelia
gens to bury and not burn their dead. A monument was erected to Sulla in
the Campus Martius, the inscription on which he is said to have composed
himself. It stated that none of his friends ever did him a kindness, and
none of his enemies a wrong, without being fully repaid.
* * * * *
All the reforms of Sulla were effected by means of _Leges_, which were
proposed by him in the Comitia Centuriata, and bore the general name of
_Leges Corneliæ_. They may be divided into four classes: laws relating
to the constitution, to the ecclesiastical corporations, to the
administration of justice, and to the improvement of public morals.
Their general object and design was to restore, as far as possible, the
ancient Roman Constitution, and to give again to the Senate and the
Nobility that power of which they had been gradually deprived by the
leaders of the popular party. His Constitution did not last, because the
aristocracy were thoroughly selfish and corrupt, and exercised the power
which Sulla had intrusted to them only for their own aggrandizement.
Their shameless conduct soon disgusted the provinces as well as the
capital; the people again regained their power, but the consequence was
an anarchy and not a government; and as neither class was fit to rule,
they were obliged to submit to the dominion of a single man. Thus the
empire became a necessity to the exhausted Roman world.
* * * * *
I. _Laws relating to the Constitution._--Sulla deprived the Comitia
Tributa of their legislative and judicial powers; but he allowed them to
elect the Tribunes, Ædiles, Quæstors, and other inferior magistrates.
This seems to have been the only purpose for which they were called
together. The Comitia Centuriata, on the other hand, were allowed to
retain their right of legislation unimpaired. He restored, however, the
ancient regulation, which had fallen into desuetude, that no matter
should be brought before them without the previous sanction of a senatus
consultum.
The Senate had been so much reduced in numbers by the proscriptions of
Sulla, that he was obliged to fill up the vacancies by the election of
three hundred new members. But he made no alteration in their duties and
functions, as the whole administration of the state was in their hands;
and he gave them the initiative in legislation by requiring a previous
senatus consultum respecting all measures that were to be submitted to
the Comitia, as already stated.
With respect to the magistrates, Sulla increased the number of Quæstors
from eight to twenty, and of Prætors from six to eight. He renewed the
old law that no one should hold the Prætorship before he had been
Quæstor, nor the Consulship before he had been Prætor. He also renewed
the law that no one should be elected to the same magistracy till after
the expiration of ten years.
One of the most important of Sulla's reforms related to the Tribunate,
which he deprived of all real power. He took away from the Tribunes the
right of proposing a rogation of any kind to the Tribes, or of
impeaching any person before them; and he appears to have limited the
right of intercession to their giving protection to private persons
against the unjust decisions of magistrates, as, for instance, in the
enlisting of soldiers. To degrade the Tribunate still lower, Sulla
enacted that whoever had held this office forfeited thereby all right to
become a candidate for any of the higher curule offices, in order that
all persons of rank, talent, and wealth might be deterred from holding
an office which would be a fatal impediment to rising any higher in the
state. He also required persons to be Senators before they could become
Tribunes.
* * * * *
II. _Laws relating to the Ecclesiastical Corporations._--Sulla repealed
the Lex Domitia, which gave to the Comitia Tributa the right of electing
the members of the great ecclesiastical corporations, and restored to
the latter the right of co-optatio, or self-election. At the same time,
he increased the number of Pontiffs and Augurs to fifteen respectively.
* * * * *
III. _Laws relating to the Administration of Justice._--Sulla
established permanent courts for the trial of particular offenses, in
each of which a Prætor presided. A precedent for this had been given by
the Lex Calpurnia of the Tribune L. Calpurnius Piso, in B.C. 149, by
which it was enacted that a Prætor should preside at all trials for
Repetundæ during his year of office. This was called a _Quæstio
Perpetua_, and nine such _Quæstiones Perpetuæ_ were established by
Sulla, namely, De Repetundis, Majestatis, De Sicariis et Veneficis, De
Parricidio, Peculatus, Ambitus, De Nummis Adulterinis, De Falsis or
Testamentaria, and De Vi Publica. Jurisdiction in civil cases was left
to the Prætor Peregrinus and the Prætor Urbanus as before, and the other
six Prætors presided in the Quæstiones; but as the latter were more in
number than the Prætors, some of the Prætors took more than one Quæstio,
or a Judex Quæstionis was appointed. The Prætors, after their election,
had to draw lots for their several jurisdictions. Sulla enacted that the
Judices should be taken exclusively from the Senators, and not from the
Equites, the latter of whom had possessed this privilege, with a few
interruptions, from the law of C. Gracchus, in B.C. 123. This was a
great gain for the aristocracy, since the offenses for which they were
usually brought to trial, such as bribery, malversation, and the like,
were so commonly practiced by the whole order, that they were, in most
cases, nearly certain of acquittal from men who required similar
indulgence themselves.
Sulla's reform in the criminal law, the greatest and most enduring part
of his legislation, belongs to a history of Roman law, and can not be
given here.
* * * * *
IV. _Laws relating to the Improvement of Public Morals._--Of these we
have very little information. One of them was a Lex Sumtuaria, which
enacted that not more than a certain sum of money should be spent upon
entertainments, and also restrained extravagance in funerals. There was
likewise a law of Sulla respecting marriage, the provisions of which are
quite unknown, as it was probably abrogated by the Julian law of
Augustus.
[Illustration: Coin of Sulla.
On the obverse is the head of Sulla; on the reverse that of Q. Pompeius
Rufus, his colleague in his first Consulship.]
[Illustration: Cn. Pompeius Magnus.]
CHAPTER XXIX.
FROM THE DEATH OF SULLA TO THE CONSULSHIP OF POMPEY AND CRASSUS. B.C.
78-70.
Sulla was scarcely dead before an attempt was made to overthrow the
aristocratic constitution which he had established. The Consul M.
Lepidus had already, as we have seen, endeavored to prevent the burial
of Sulla in the Campus Martius. He now proposed to repeal the Dictator's
laws; but the other Consul, Q. Catulus, remained firm to the
aristocracy, and offered the most strenuous opposition to the measures
of his colleague. Shortly afterward the Senate ordered Lepidus to repair
to Farther Gaul, which had been assigned to him as his Province; but he
availed himself of the opportunity to collect an army in Etruria, and at
the beginning of the following year marched straight upon Rome. The
Senate assembled an army, which they placed under the command of Q.
Catulus, with Pompey as his lieutenant. A battle was fought near the
Mulvian bridge, in which Lepidus was defeated, and, finding it
impossible to maintain his footing in Italy, he sailed with the
remainder of his forces to Sardinia, where he died soon afterward.
Meantime the remainder of the Marian party found refuge in Spain. Q.
Sertorius, one of the ablest of their generals, had received the
government of this country in the year B.C. 82. He soon acquired an
extraordinary ascendency over the minds of the natives, and flattered
them with the hope of establishing an independent state which might bid
defiance to Rome. His influence was enhanced by the superstition of the
people. He was accompanied on all occasions by a tame fawn, which they
believed to be a familiar spirit. So attached did they become to his
person, that he found no difficulty in collecting a formidable army,
which for some years successfully opposed all the power of Rome. After
defeating several generals whom Sulla had sent against him, he had to
encounter, in B.C. 79, Q. Metellus, who had been Consul the previous
year with Sulla. But Metellus did not fare much better than his
predecessors; and in B.C. 78 Sertorius was re-enforced by a considerable
body of troops which Perperna carried with him into Spain after the
defeat of Lepidus. The growing power of Sertorius led the Senate to send
Pompey to the assistance of Metellus. Pompey, though only 30 years of
age, was already regarded as the ablest general of the Republic; and as
he played such a prominent part in the later history, we may here pause
to give a brief account of his early career.
POMPEY was born B.C. 106, and was, as we have already seen, the son of
Cn. Pompeius Strabo, who fought against the Italians in his Consulship,
B.C. 89. The young Pompey served under his father in this war, when he
was only 17 years of age, and continued with him till his death two
years afterward. He was present at the battle of the Colline Gate in
B.C. 87, and shortly afterward he saved the life of his father, and
quelled an insurrection of the soldiers by his courage and activity. As
soon as Sulla had finished the Mithridatic war, and was on his way to
Italy, Pompey, instead of waiting, like the other leaders of the
aristocracy, for the arrival of their chief, resolved to share with him
the glory of crushing the Marian party. Accordingly, he proceeded to
levy troops in Picenum without holding any public office; and such was
his personal influence that he was able to raise an army of three
legions. Before joining Sulla he gained a brilliant victory over the
Marian generals, and was received by Sulla with the greatest
distinction. Upon the conclusion of the war in Italy Pompey was sent
first into Sicily, and afterward into Africa, where the Marian party
still held out. His success was rapid and decisive. In a few months he
reduced the whole of Numidia, and, unlike other Roman governors,
abstained from plundering the province. His military achievements and
his incorruptibility procured him the greatest renown, and he returned
to Rome covered with glory (B.C. 80). Numbers flocked out of the city to
meet him; and the Dictator himself, who formed one of the crowd, greeted
him with the surname of MAGNUS or the GREAT, which he bore ever
afterward. Sulla at first refused to let him triumph. Hitherto no one
but a Dictator, Consul, or Prætor had enjoyed this distinction; but as
Pompey insisted upon the honor, Sulla gave way, and the young general
entered Rome in triumph as a simple Eques, and before he had completed
his 25th year.
Pompey again exhibited his power in promoting, in B.C. 79, the election
of M. Æmilius Lepidus to the Consulship, in opposition to the wishes of
Sulla. The latter had now retired from public affairs, and contented
himself with warning Pompey, as he met him returning from the comitia in
triumph, "Young man, it is time for you not to slumber, for you have
strengthened your rival against yourself." Lepidus seems to have
reckoned upon the support of Pompey; but in this he was disappointed,
for Pompey remained faithful to the aristocracy, and thus saved his
party. He fought at the Mulvian bridge against Lepidus, as we have
already related, and afterward marched into Cisalpine Gaul against the
remains of his party. The Senate, who now began to dread Pompey, ordered
him to disband his army; but he found various excuses for evading this
command, as he was anxious to obtain the command of the war against
Sertorius in Spain. They hesitated, however, to give him this
opportunity for gaining fresh distinction and additional power; and it
was only in consequence of the increasing power of Sertorius that they
at length unwillingly determined to send Pompey to Spain, with the title
of Proconsul, and with powers equal to Metellus.
Pompey arrived in Spain in B.C. 76. He soon found that he had a more
formidable enemy to deal with than any he had yet encountered. He
suffered several defeats, and, though he gained some advantages, yet
such were his losses that at the end of two years he was obliged to send
to Rome for re-enforcements. The war continued three years longer; but
Sertorius, who had lost some of his influence over the Spanish tribes,
and who had become an object of jealousy to M. Perperna and his
principal Roman officers, was unable to carry on operations with the
same vigor as during the two preceding years. Pompey accordingly gained
some advantages over him, but the war was still far from a close; and
the genius of Sertorius would probably have soon given a very different
aspect to affairs had he not been assassinated by Perperna in B.C. 72.
Perperna had flattered himself that he should succeed to the power of
Sertorius; but he soon found that he had murdered the only man who was
able to save him from ruin. In his first battle with Pompey he was
completely defeated, his principal officers slain, and himself taken
prisoner. Anxious to save his life, he offered to deliver up to Pompey
the papers of Sertorius, containing letters from many of the leading men
at Rome. But Pompey refused to see him, and commanded the letters to be
burnt. The war was now virtually at an end, and the remainder of the
year was employed in subduing the towns which still held out against
Pompey. Metellus had taken no part in the final struggle with Perperna,
and Pompey thus obtained the credit of bringing the war to a conclusion.
The people longed for his return, that he might deliver Italy from
Spartacus and his horde of gladiators, who had defeated the Consuls, and
were in possession of a great part of the peninsula.
A righteous retribution had overtaken the Romans for their love of the
cruel sports of the amphitheatre. The gladiators were generally
prisoners taken in war, and sold to persons who trained them in schools
for the Roman games. There was such a school at Capua, and among the
gladiators was a Thracian of the name of Spartacus, originally a chief
of banditti, who had been taken prisoner by the Romans, and was now
destined to be butchered for their amusement. Having prevailed upon
about 70 of his comrades, he burst out of the school with them,
succeeded in obtaining arms, and took refuge in the crater of Vesuvius,
at that time an extinct volcano (B.C. 73). Here he was soon joined by
large numbers of slaves, who flocked to him from all quarters. He was
soon at the head of a formidable army. The desolation of the Social and
Civil Wars had depopulated Italy, while the employment of slave-labor
furnished Spartacus with an endless supply of soldiers. In addition to
this, the war with Sertorius was not yet finished, and that with
Mithridates, of which we shall speak presently, had already commenced.
For upward of two years Spartacus was master of Italy, which he laid
waste from the foot of the Alps to the southernmost corner of the
peninsula. In B.C. 72 he found himself at the head of 100,000 men, and
defeated both Consuls. As the Consuls of the following year had no
military reputation, the conduct of the war was intrusted to the Prætor,
M. Licinius Crassus, who had greatly distinguished himself in the wars
of Sulla. He had been rewarded by the Dictator with donations of
confiscated property, and had accumulated an immense fortune. Six
legions were now given him in addition to the remains of the Consular
armies already in the field. The Roman troops were disheartened and
disorganized by defeat, but Crassus restored discipline by decimating
the soldiers. Spartacus was driven to the extreme point of Bruttium.
Crassus drew strong lines of circumvallation around Rhegium, and by his
superior numbers prevented the escape of the slaves. Spartacus now
attempted to pass over to Sicily, where he would have been welcomed by
thousands of followers. He failed in the attempt to cross the straits,
but at length succeeded in forcing his way through the lines of Crassus.
The Roman general hastened in pursuit, and in Lucania fell in with the
main body of the fugitives. A desperate battle ensued, in which
Spartacus perished, with the greater part of his followers. About 6000
were taken prisoners, whom Crassus impaled on each side of the Appian
road between Rome and Capua. A body of 5000 made their way northward,
whom Pompey met as he was returning from Spain, and cut to pieces.
Crassus had, in reality, brought the war to an end, but Pompey took the
credit to himself, and wrote to the Senate, saying, "Crassus, indeed,
has defeated the enemy, but I have extirpated them by the roots."
Pompey and Crassus now approached the city at the head of their armies,
and each laid claim to the Consulship. Neither of them was qualified by
the laws of Sulla. Pompey was only in his 35th year, and had not even
held the office of Quæstor. Crassus was still Prætor, and two years
ought to elapse before he could become Consul. Pompey, however, agreed
to support the claims of Crassus, and the Senate dared not offer open
opposition to two generals at the head of powerful armies. Pompey,
moreover, declared himself the advocate of the popular rights, and
promised to restore the Tribunitian power. Accordingly, they were
elected Consuls for the following year. Pompey entered the city in
triumph on the 31st of December, B.C. 71, and Crassus enjoyed the honor
of an ovation.
The Consulship of Pompey and Crassus (B.C. 70) was memorable for the
repeal of the most important portions of Sulla's constitutional reforms.
One of Pompey's first acts was to redeem the pledge he had given to the
people, by bringing forward a law for the restoration of the Tribunitian
power. The law was passed with little opposition; for the Senate felt
that it was worse than useless to contend against Pompey, supported as
he was by the popular enthusiasm and by his troops, which were still in
the immediate neighborhood of the city. He also struck another blow at
the aristocracy. By one of Sulla's laws, the Judices, during the last
ten years, had been chosen from the Senate. The corruption and venality
of the latter in the administration of justice had excited such general
indignation that some change was clamorously demanded by the people.
Accordingly, the Prætor L. Aurelius Cotta, with the approbation of
Pompey, proposed a law by which the Judices were to be taken in future
from the Senate, Equites, and Tribuni Ærarii, the latter probably
representing the wealthier members of the third order in the state. This
law was likewise carried; but it did not improve the purity of the
administration of justice, since corruption was not confined to the
Senators, but pervaded all classes of the community alike. Pompey had
thus broken with the aristocracy, and had become the great popular hero.
In carrying both these measures he was strongly supported by Cæsar, who,
though he was rapidly rising in popular favor, could as yet only hope to
weaken the power of the aristocracy through Pompey's means.
[Illustration: Temple of Pudicitia Patricia at Rome.]
[Illustration: Coin of Mithridates.]
CHAPTER XXX.
THIRD OR GREAT MITHRIDATIC WAR. B.C. 74-61.
When Sulla returned to Italy after the First Mithridatic War, he left L.
Murena, with two legions, to hold the command in Asia. Murena, who was
eager for some opportunity of earning the honor of a triumph, pretending
that Mithridates had not yet evacuated the whole of Cappadocia, not only
marched into that country, but even crossed the Halys, and laid waste
the plains of Pontus itself (B.C. 83). To this flagrant breach of the
treaty so lately concluded the Roman general was in great measure
instigated by Archelaus, who, finding himself regarded with suspicion by
Mithridates, had consulted his safety by flight, and was received with
the utmost honors by the Romans. Mithridates, who was wholly unprepared
to renew the contest with Rome, offered no opposition to the progress of
Murena; but finding that general disregard his remonstrances, he sent to
Rome to complain of his aggression. When, in the following spring (B.C.
82), he saw Murena preparing to renew his hostile incursions, he at once
determined to oppose him by force, and assembled a large army, with
which he met the Roman general on the banks of the Halys. The action
that ensued terminated in the complete victory of the king, and Murena,
with difficultly, effected his retreat into Phrygia, leaving Cappadocia
at the mercy of Mithridates, who quickly overran the whole province.
Shortly afterward A. Gabinius arrived in Asia, bringing peremptory
orders from Sulla to Murena to desist from hostilities, whereupon
Mithridates once more consented to evacuate Cappadocia. Thus ended what
is commonly called the Second Mithridatic War.
Notwithstanding the interposition of Sulla, Mithridates was well aware
that the peace between him and Rome was in fact only suspension of
hostilities, and that the haughty Republic would never suffer the
massacre of her citizens in Asia to remain ultimately unpunished. Hence
all his efforts were directed toward the formation of an army capable of
contending, not only in numbers, but in discipline, with those of Rome;
and with this view he armed his barbarian troops after the Roman
fashion, and endeavored to train them up in that discipline of which he
had so strongly felt the effect in the preceding contest. In these
attempts he was doubtless assisted by the refugees of the Marian party,
who had accompanied Fimbria into Asia, and on the defeat of that general
by Sulla had taken refuge with the King of Pontus. At their instigation,
also, Mithridates sent an embassy to Sertorius, who was still
maintaining his ground in Spain, and concluded an alliance with him
against their common enemies. But it was the death of Nicomedes III.,
king of Bithynia, at the beginning of B.C. 74, that brought matters to a
crisis, and became the immediate occasion of the war which both parties
had long felt to be inevitable. That monarch left his dominions by will
to the Roman people, and Bithynia was accordingly declared a Roman
province; but Mithridates asserted that the late king had left a
legitimate son by his wife Nysa, whose pretensions he immediately
prepared to support by his arms.
The forces with which Mithridates was now prepared to take the field
were such as might inspire him with no unreasonable confidence of
victory. He had assembled an army of 120,000 foot-soldiers, armed and
disciplined in the Roman manner, and 16,000 horse, besides a hundred
scythed chariots. His fleet, also, was so far superior to any that the
Romans could oppose to him as to give him the almost undisputed command
of the sea. These preparations, however, appear to have delayed him so
long that the season was far advanced before he was able to take the
field, and both the Roman Consuls, L. Licinius Lucullus and M. Aurelius
Cotta, had arrived in Asia. Neither of them, however, was able to oppose
his first irruption. He traversed almost the whole of Bithynia without
encountering any resistance; and when at length Cotta ventured to give
him battle under the walls of Chalcedon, his army and fleet were totally
defeated. Mithridates now proceeded to lay siege to Cyzicus both by sea
and land. But Lucullus, who had advanced from Phrygia to the relief of
Cotta, and followed Mithridates to Cyzicus, took possession of an
advantageous position near the camp of the king, where he almost
entirely cut him off from receiving supplies by land, while the storms
of the winter prevented him from depending on those by sea. Hence it was
not long before famine began to make itself felt in the camp of
Mithridates, and all his assaults upon the city having been foiled by
the courage and resolution of the besieged, he was at length compelled
(early in the year B.C. 73) to abandon the enterprise and raise the
siege. In his retreat he was repeatedly attacked by the Roman general,
and suffered very heavy loss at the passage of the Æsepus and Granicus.
By the close of the year the great army with which he had commenced the
war was annihilated, and he was not only compelled to retire within his
own dominions, but was without the means of opposing the advance of
Lucullus into the heart of Pontus itself. But he now again set to work
with indefatigable activity to raise a fresh army; and while he left the
whole of the sea-coast of Pontus open to the invaders, he established
himself in the interior at Cabira. Here he was again defeated by
Lucullus; and despairing of opposing the farther progress of the Romans,
he fled into Armenia to claim the protection and assistance of his
son-in-law Tigranes.
[Illustration: Coin of Tigranes.]
Tigranes was at this moment the most powerful monarch of Asia, but he
appears to have been unwilling to engage openly in war with Rome; and on
this account, while he received the fugitive monarch in a friendly
manner, he refused to admit him to his presence, and showed no
disposition to attempt his restoration. But the arrogance of the Romans
brought about a change in his policy; and Tigranes, offended at the
haughty conduct of Appius Claudius, whom Lucullus had sent to demand the
surrender of Mithridates, not only refused this request, but determined
at once to prepare for war.
While Lucullus was waiting for the return of Claudius, he devoted his
attention to the settlement of the affairs of Asia, which was suffering
severely from the oppressions of the farmers of the public taxes. By
various judicious regulations he put a stop to their exactions, and
earned the gratitude of the cities of Asia; but at the same time he
brought upon himself the enmity of the Equites, who were the farmers of
the revenue. They were loud against him in their complaints at Rome,
and by their continued clamors undoubtedly prepared the way for his
ultimate recall.
Meanwhile community of interests between Mithridates and Tigranes had
led to a complete reconciliation between them, and the Pontic king, who
had spent a year and eight months in the dominions of his son-in-law
without being admitted to a personal interview, was now made to
participate in all the councils of Tigranes, and appointed to levy an
army to unite in the war. But it was in vain that in the ensuing
campaign (B.C. 69) he urged upon his son-in-law the lessons of his own
experience, and advised him to shun a regular action with Lucullus:
Tigranes, confident in the multitude of his forces, gave battle at
Tigranocerta, and was defeated, before Mithridates had been able to join
him. But this disaster, so precisely in accordance with the warnings of
Mithridates, served to raise the latter so high in the estimation of
Tigranes, that from this time forward the whole conduct of the war was
intrusted to the direction of the King of Pontus.
In the following summer (B.C. 68) Lucullus crossed the Taurus,
penetrated into the heart of Armenia, and again defeated the allied
monarchs near the city of Artaxata. But the early severity of the
season, and the discontent of his own troops, checked the farther
advance of the Roman general, who turned aside into Mesopotamia. Here
Mithridates left him to lay siege to the fortress of Nisibis, which was
supposed to be impregnable, while he himself took advantage of his
absence to invade Pontus at the head of a large army, and endeavor to
regain possession of his former dominions. The defense of Pontus was
confided to Fabius, one of the lieutenants of Lucullus; but the
oppression of the Romans had excited a general spirit of disaffection,
and the people crowded around the standard of Mithridates. Fabius was
totally defeated, and compelled to shut himself up in the fortress of
Cabira. In the following spring (B.C. 67), Triarius, another of the
Roman generals, was also defeated with immense loss. The blow was one of
the severest which the Roman arms had sustained for a long period: 7000
of their troops fell, among whom were an unprecedented number of
officers, and their camp itself was taken.
The advance of Lucullus himself from Mesopotamia prevented Mithridates
from following up his advantage, and he withdrew into Lesser Armenia,
where he took up a strong position to await the approach of Tigranes.
But the farther proceedings of Lucullus were paralyzed by the mutinous
and disaffected spirit of his own soldiers. Their discontents were
fostered by P. Clodius, whose turbulent and restless spirit already
showed itself in its full force, and were encouraged by reports from
Rome, where the demagogues who were favorable to Pompey, or had been
gained over by the Equestrian party, were loud in their clamors against
Lucullus. They accused him of protracting the war for his own personal
objects, either of ambition or avarice; and the soldiery, whose appetite
for plunder had been often checked by Lucullus, readily joined in the
outcry. Accordingly, on the arrival of Tigranes, the two monarchs found
themselves able to overrun almost the whole of Pontus and Cappadocia
without opposition.
Such was the state of affairs when ten legates arrived in Asia to reduce
Pontus to the form of a Roman province, and they had, in consequence, to
report to the Senate that the country supposed to be conquered was again
in the hands of the enemy. The adversaries of Lucullus naturally availed
themselves of so favorable an occasion, and a decree was passed
transferring to M. Acilius Glabrio, one of the Consuls for the year, the
province of Bithynia, and the command against Mithridates. But Glabrio
was wholly incompetent for the task assigned to him. On arriving in
Bithynia he made no attempt to assume the command, but remained within
the confines of his province, while he still farther embarrassed the
position of Lucullus by issuing proclamations to his soldiers,
announcing to them that their general was superseded, and releasing them
from their obedience. Before the close of the year (B.C. 67) Lucullus
had the mortification of seeing Mithridates established once more in the
possession of his hereditary dominions. But it was still more galling to
his feelings when, in the spring of the following year (B.C. 66), he was
called upon to resign the command to Pompey, who had just brought to a
successful termination the war against the pirates.
The Mediterranean Sea had long been swarming with pirates. From the
earliest times piracy has more or less prevailed in this sea, which,
lying between three continents, and abounding with numerous creeks and
islands, presents at the same time both the greatest temptations and the
greatest facilities for piratical pursuits. Moreover, in consequence of
the Social and Civil wars, and the absence of any fleet to preserve
order upon the sea, piracy had reached an alarming height. The pirates
possessed fleets in all parts of the Mediterranean, were in the habit of
plundering the most wealthy cities on the coasts, and had at length
carried their audacity so far as to make descents upon the Appian Road,
and carry off Roman magistrates, with their lictors. All communication
between Rome and the provinces was cut off, or at least rendered
extremely dangerous; the fleets of corn-vessels, upon which Rome to a
great extent depended for its subsistence, could not reach the city, and
the price of provisions in consequence rose enormously. Such a state of
things had become intolerable, and all eyes were now directed to Pompey.
At the beginning of B.C. 67 the Tribune A. Gabinius brought forward a
bill which was intended to give Pompey almost absolute authority over
the greater part of the Roman world. It proposed that the people should
elect a man with consular rank, who should possess unlimited power for
three years over the whole of the Mediterranean, a fleet of 200 ships,
with as many soldiers and sailors as he thought necessary, and 6000
Attic talents. The bill did not name Pompey, but it was clear who was
meant. The aristocracy were in the utmost alarm, and in the Senate Cæsar
was almost the only person who came forward in its support. Party spirit
ran to such a height that the most serious riots ensued. Even Pompey
himself was threatened by the Consul, "If you emulate Romulus, you will
not escape the end of Romulus." Q. Catulus and Q. Hortensius spoke
against the bill with great eloquence, but with no effect. On the day
that the bill was passed the price of provisions at Rome immediately
fell, a fact which showed the immense confidence which all parties
placed in the military abilities of Pompey.
Pompey's plans were formed with great skill, and were crowned with
complete success. He stationed his lieutenants with different squadrons
in various parts of the Mediterranean to prevent the pirates from
uniting, and to hunt them out of the various bays and creeks in which
they concealed themselves; while, at the same time, he swept the middle
of the sea with the main body of his fleet, and chased them eastward. In
forty days he drove the pirates out of the western seas, and restored
communication between Spain, Africa, and Italy. After then remaining a
short time in Italy, he sailed from Brundusium, cleared the seas as he
went along, and forced the pirates to the Cilician coast. Here the
decisive action was fought; the pirates were defeated, and more than
20,000 prisoners fell into his hands. Those on whom most reliance could
be placed were distributed among the small and depopulated cities of
Cilicia, and a large number were settled at Soli, which was henceforward
called Pompeiopolis. The second part of this campaign occupied only
forty-nine days, and the whole war was brought to a conclusion in the
course of three months. Pompey remained in Cilicia during the remainder
of this year and the beginning of the one following. Meantime the
Tribune C. Manilius brought forward a bill (B.C. 66) giving to Pompey
the command of the war against Mithridates, with unlimited power over
the army and the fleet in the East, and with the rights of a Proconsul
in the whole of Asia as far as Armenia. As his Proconsular power already
extended over all the coasts and islands of the Mediterranean in virtue
of the Gabinian law, this new measure virtually placed almost the whole
of the Roman dominions in his hands. But there was no power, however
excessive, which the people were not ready to intrust to their favorite
hero; and the bill was accordingly passed, notwithstanding the
opposition of Hortensius, Catulus, and the aristocratical party. Cicero
advocated the measure in an oration which has come down to us (_Pro Lege
Manilia_), and Cæsar likewise supported it with his growing popularity
and influence.
On receiving intelligence of this new appointment, Pompey immediately
crossed the Taurus, and took the command of the army from Lucullus.
The power of Mithridates had been broken by the previous victories of
Lucullus, and the successes which the king had gained lately were only
of a temporary nature, mainly owing to the disorganization of the Roman
army. In the plan of the campaign Pompey displayed great military skill.
One of his first measures was to secure the alliance of the Parthian
king, which not only deprived Mithridates of all hopes of succor from
that quarter, but likewise cut him off from all assistance from the
Armenian king Tigranes, who was now obliged to look to the safety of his
own dominions. Pompey next stationed his fleet in different squadrons
along the coasts of Asia Minor, in order to deprive Mithridates of all
communication from the sea, and he then proceeded in person at the head
of his land-forces against the king. Thus thrown back upon his own
resources, Mithridates sued for peace, but, as Pompey would hear of
nothing but unqualified submission, the negotiation was broken off. The
king was still at the head of 30,000 foot and 2000 horse; but he knew
too well the strength of a Roman army to venture an engagement with
these forces, and accordingly withdrew gradually to the frontiers of
Armenia. For a long time he succeeded in avoiding a battle, but he was
at length surprised by Pompey in Lesser Armenia, as he was marching
through a narrow pass. The battle was soon decided; the king lost the
greater number of his troops, and escaped with only a few horsemen to
the fortress of Synorium, on the borders of the Greater Armenia. Here he
again collected a considerable force; but as Tigranes refused to admit
him into his dominions, because he suspected him of fomenting the
intrigues of his son against him, Mithridates had no alternative but to
take refuge in his own distant dominions in the Cimmerian Bosporus. To
reach them he had to march through Colchis, and to fight his way through
the wild and barbarous tribes that occupied the country between the
Caucasus and the Euxine. He succeeded, however, in this arduous
enterprise, and reached the Bosporus in safety in the course of next
year. Pompey abandoned at present all thoughts of following the
fugitive king, and resolved at once to attack Tigranes, who was now the
more formidable of the two monarchs.
On entering Armenia Pompey met with no opposition. He was joined by the
young Tigranes, who had revolted against his father, and all the cities
submitted to them on their approach. When the Romans drew near to
Artaxata, the king, deserted by his army and his court, went out to meet
Pompey, and threw himself before him as a suppliant. Pompey received him
with kindness, acknowledged him as King of Armenia, and demanded only
the payment of 6000 talents. His foreign possessions, however, in Syria,
Phoenicia, Cilicia, Galatia, and Cappadocia, which had been conquered
by Lucullus, were to belong to the Romans. To his son Tigranes, Sophene
and Gordyene were given as an independent kingdom; but as the young
prince was discontented with this arrangement, and even ventured to
utter threats, Pompey had him arrested, and kept him in chains to grace
his triumph.
After thus settling the affairs of Armenia, Pompey proceeded northward
in pursuit of Mithridates. But the season was so far advanced that he
took up his winter quarters on the banks of the River Cyrus. Early in
the spring (B.C. 65) he resumed his march northward, and advanced as far
as the River Phasis, but, obtaining here more certain information of the
movements of Mithridates, and of the wild and inaccessible nature of the
country through which he would have to march in order to reach the king,
he retraced his steps, and led his troops into winter quarters at
Amisus, on the Euxine. He now reduced Pontus to the form of a Roman
province.
In B.C. 64 Pompey marched into Syria, where he deposed Antiochus
Asiaticus, and made the country a Roman province. He likewise compelled
the neighboring princes, who had established independent kingdoms on the
ruins of the Syrian empire, to submit to the Roman dominion. The whole
of this year was occupied with the settlement of Syria and the adjacent
countries.
Next year (B.C. 63) Pompey advanced farther south, in order to establish
the Roman supremacy in Phoenicia, Coele-Syria, and Palestine. The
latter country was at this time distracted by a civil war between
Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. Pompey espoused the side of Hyrcanus, and
Aristobulus surrendered himself to Pompey when the latter had advanced
near to Jerusalem. But the Jews refused to follow the example of their
king, and it was not till after a siege of three months that the city
was taken. Pompey entered the Holy of Holies, the first time that any
human being, except the high-priest, had penetrated into this sacred
spot. He reinstated Hyrcanus in the high-priesthood, but compelled him
to pay an annual tribute to Rome; Aristobulus accompanied him as a
prisoner. It was during this war in Palestine that Pompey received
intelligence of the death of Mithridates.
During the last two years Mithridates had been making the most extensive
preparations for a renewal of the contest. He had conceived the daring
project of marching round the north and west coasts of the Euxine, and
penetrating even into Italy. With these views, he was busily engaged in
assembling such a fleet and array as would be sufficient for an
enterprise of this magnitude; but his proceedings were delayed by a long
and painful illness, which incapacitated him for any personal exertion.
At length, however, his preparations were completed, and he found
himself at the head of an army of 36,000 men and a considerable fleet.
But during his illness disaffection had made rapid progress among his
followers. The full extent of his schemes was probably communicated to
few; but enough had transpired to alarm the multitude, and a formidable
conspiracy was organized by Pharnaces, the favorite son of Mithridates.
He was quickly joined both by the whole army and the citizens of
Panticapæum, who unanimously proclaimed him king, and Mithridates saw
that no choice remained to him but death or captivity. Hereupon he took
poison, which he constantly carried with him; but his constitution had
been so long inured to antidotes that it did not produce the desired
effect, and he was compelled to call in the assistance of one of his
Gaulish mercenaries to dispatch him with his sword.
Pompey now devoted his attention to the settlement of affairs in Asia.
He confirmed Pharnaces, the son of Mithridates, in the possession of the
kingdom of Bosporus; Deiotarus, tetrarch of Galatia, was rewarded with
an extension of territory; and Ariobarzanes, king of Cappadocia, was
restored to his kingdom. After an absence of seven years, Pompey arrived
in Italy toward the end of B.C. 62. His arrival had been long looked for
by all parties with various feelings of hope and fear. It was felt that
at the head of his victorious troops he could easily play the part of
Sulla, and become the ruler of the state. Important events had taken
place at Rome during the absence of Pompey, of which it is necessary to
give an account before following him to the city.
[Illustration: Cicero.]
CHAPTER XXXI.
INTERNAL HISTORY, FROM THE CONSULSHIP OF POMPEY AND CRASSUS TO THE
RETURN OF POMPEY FROM THE EAST.--THE CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. B.C. 69-61.
Notwithstanding the restoration of the Tribunate and the alteration in
the judicial power in Pompey's Consulship, the popular party had
received such a severe blow during Sulla's supremacy, that the
aristocracy still retained the chief political influence during Pompey's
absence in the East. But meantime a new leader of the popular party had
been rapidly rising into notice, who was destined not only to crush the
aristocracy, but to overthrow the Republic and become the undisputed
master of the Roman world.
C. JULIUS CÆSAR, who was descended from an old Patrician family, was six
years younger than Pompey, having been born in B.C. 100. He was closely
connected with the popular party by the marriage of his aunt Julia with
the great Marius, and he himself married, at an early age, Cornelia, the
daughter of Cinna, the most distinguished of the Marian leaders. Sulla
commanded him to divorce his wife, and on his refusal he was included in
the list of the proscription. The Vestal virgins and his friends with
difficulty obtained his pardon from the Dictator, who observed, when
they pleaded his youth and insignificance, "that that boy would some day
or another be the ruin of the aristocracy, for that there were many
Mariuses in him."
This was the first proof which Cæsar gave of the resolution and decision
of character which distinguished him throughout life. He went to Asia in
B.C. 81, where he served his first campaign under M. Minucius Thermus,
and was rewarded, at the siege of Mitylene, with a civic crown for
saving the life of a fellow-soldier. On his return to Rome he accused
(B.C. 77) Cn. Dolabella of extortion in his province of Macedonia.
Dolabella was acquitted by the senatorial judges; but Cæsar gained great
reputation by this prosecution, and showed that he possessed powers of
oratory which bade fair to place him among the foremost speakers at
Rome. To render himself still more perfect in oratory, he went to
Rhodes, which was then celebrated for its school of rhetoric, but in his
voyage thither he was captured by pirates, with whom the seas of the
Mediterranean then swarmed. In this island he was detained by them till
he could obtain fifty talents from the neighboring cities for his
ransom. Immediately on obtaining his liberty, he manned some Milesian
vessels, overpowered the pirates, and conducted them as prisoners to
Pergamus, where he shortly afterward crucified them--a punishment he had
frequently threatened them with in sport when he was their prisoner. He
then repaired to Rhodes, where he studied under Apollonius for a short
time, but soon afterward crossed over into Asia, on the outbreak of the
Mithridatic war in B.C. 74. Here, although he held no public office, he
collected troops on his own authority, and repulsed the commander of the
king, and then returned to Rome in the same year, in consequence of
having been elected Pontiff during his absence. His affable manners,
and, still more, his unbounded liberality, won the hearts of the people.
Cæsar obtained the Quæstorship in B.C. 68. In this year he lost his aunt
Julia, the widow of Marius, and his own wife Cornelia. He pronounced
orations over both of them in the forum, in which he took the
opportunity of passing a panegyric upon the former leaders of the
popular party. At the funeral of his aunt he caused the images of Marius
to be carried in the procession: they were welcomed with loud
acclamations by the people, who were delighted to see their former
favorite brought, as it were, into public again.
Cæsar warmly supported the Gabinian and Manilian Laws, which bestowed
upon Pompey the command against the pirates and Mithridates. These
measures, as we have already seen, were opposed by the aristocracy, and
widened still farther the breach between them and Pompey. In B.C. 65
Cæsar was Curule Ædile along with M. Bibulus, and still farther
increased his popularity by the splendid games which he exhibited. He
now took a step which openly proclaimed him the leader of the Marian
party. He caused the statues of Marius and the Cimbrian trophies, which
had been all destroyed by Sulla, to be privately restored and placed at
night in the Capitol. In the morning the city was in the highest state
of excitement; the veterans of Marius cried with joy at beholding his
countenance once more, and greeted Cæsar with shouts of applause. Q.
Catulus brought the conduct of Cæsar before the notice of the Senate,
but the popular excitement was so great that they thought it better to
let the matter drop.
In Cæsar's Ædileship the first Catilinarian conspiracy occurred, and
from this time his history forms a portion of that of the times. But
before passing on, the early life of another distinguished man, the
greatest of Roman orators, also claims our notice.
M. TULLIUS CICERO was born at Arpinum in B.C. 106, and consequently in
the same year as Pompey. His father was of the Equestrian order, and
lived upon his hereditary estate near Arpinum, but none of his ancestors
had ever held any of the offices of state. Cicero was therefore,
according to the Roman phraseology, a New Man (see p. 128)(Fourth
paragraph of Chapter XVIII.--Transcriber). He served his first and only
campaign in the Social War (B.C. 89), and in the troubled times which
followed he gave himself up with indefatigable perseverance to those
studies which were essential to his success as a lawyer and orator. When
tranquillity was restored by the final discomfiture of the Marian party,
he came forward as a pleader at the age of twenty-five. The first of his
extant speeches in a civil suit is that for P. Quintius (B.C. 81); the
first delivered upon a criminal trial was that in defense of Sex.
Roscius of Ameria, who was charged with parricide by Chrysogonus, a
freedman of Sulla, supported, as it was understood, by the influence of
his patron. In consequence of the failure of his health, Cicero quitted
Rome in B.C. 79, and spent two years in study in the philosophical and
rhetorical schools of Athens and Asia Minor. On his return to the city
he forthwith took his station in the foremost rank of judicial orators,
and ere long stood alone in acknowledged pre-eminence; his most
formidable rivals--Hortensius, eight years his senior, and C. Aurelius
Cotta, who had long been kings of the bar--having been forced, after a
short but sharp contest for supremacy, to yield.
Cicero's reputation and popularity already stood so high that he was
elected Quæstor (B.C. 76), although, comparatively speaking, a stranger,
and certainly unsupported by any powerful family interest. He served in
Sicily under Sex. Peducæus, Prætor of Lilybæum. In B.C. 70 he gained
great renown by his impeachment of Verres for his oppression of the
Sicilians, whom he had ruled as Prætor of Syracuse for the space of
three years (B.C. 73-71). The most strenuous exertions were made by
Verres, backed by some of the most powerful families, to wrest the case
out of the hands of Cicero, who, however, defeated the attempt, and
having demanded and been allowed 110 days for the purpose of collecting
evidence, he instantly set out for Sicily, which he traversed in less
than two months, and returned attended by all the necessary witnesses.
Another desperate effort was made by Hortensius, now Consul elect, who
was counsel for the defendant, to raise up obstacles which might have
the effect of delaying the trial until the commencement of the following
year; but here again he was defeated by the promptitude and decision of
his opponent, who opened the case very briefly, proceeded at once to the
examination of the witnesses and the production of the depositions and
other papers, which, taken together, constituted a mass of testimony so
decisive that Verres gave up the contest as hopeless, and retired at
once into exile without attempting any defense. The full pleadings,
however, which were to have been delivered had the trial been permitted
to run its ordinary course, were subsequently published by Cicero.
In B.C. 69 Cicero was Ædile, and in 66 Prætor. In the latter year he
delivered his celebrated address to the people in favor of the Manilian
Law. Having now the Consulship in view, and knowing that, as a new man,
he must expect the most determined opposition from the Nobles, he
resolved to throw himself into the arms of the popular party, and to
secure the friendship of Pompey, now certainly the most important person
in the Republic.
In the following year (B.C. 65) the first conspiracy of Catiline
occurred. The circumstances of the times were favorable to a bold and
unprincipled adventurer. A widespread feeling of disaffection extended
over the whole of Italy. The veterans of Sulla had already squandered
their ill-gotten wealth, and longed for a renewal of those scenes of
blood which they had found so profitable. The multitudes whose estates
had been confiscated and whose relations had been proscribed were
eagerly watching for any movement which might give them a chance of
becoming robbers and murderers in their turn. The younger nobility, as a
class, were thoroughly demoralized, for the most part bankrupts in
fortune as well as in fame, and eager for any change which might
relieve them from their embarrassments. The rabble were restless and
discontented, filled with envy and hatred against the rich and powerful.
Never was the executive weaker. The Senate and Magistrates were wasting
their energies in petty disputes, indifferent to the interests of the
Republic. Pompey, at the head of all the best troops of the Republic,
was prosecuting a long-protracted war in the East; there was no army in
Italy, where all was hushed in a treacherous calm.
Of the profligate nobles at this time none was more profligate than L.
SERGIUS CATILINA. He was the descendant of an ancient patrician family
which had sunk into poverty, and he first appears in history as a
zealous partisan of Sulla. During the horrors of the proscription he
killed his brother-in-law, Q. Cæcilius, and is said to have murdered
even his own brother. His youth was spent in the open indulgence of
every vice, and it was believed that he had made away with his first
wife, and afterward with his son, in order that he might marry the
profligate Aurelia Orestilla, who objected to the presence of a grown-up
step-child. Notwithstanding these crimes, he acquired great popularity
among the younger nobles by his agreeable address and his zeal in
ministering to their pleasures. He possessed extraordinary powers of
mind and body, and all who came in contact with him submitted more or
less to the ascendency of his genius. He was Prætor in B.C. 68; was
Governor of Africa during the following year; and returned to Rome in
B.C. 66, in order to press his suit for the Consulship. The election for
B.C. 65 was carried by P. Autronius Pætus and P. Cornelius Sulla, both
of whom were soon after convicted of bribery, and their places supplied
by their competitors and accusers, L. Aurelius Cotta and L. Manlius
Torquatus. Catiline, who was desirous of becoming a candidate, had been
disqualified in consequence of an impeachment for oppression in his
province preferred by P. Clodius Pulcher. Exasperated by their
disappointment, Autronius and Catiline formed a project, along with Cn.
Calpurnius Piso, another profligate young nobleman, to murder the new
Consuls upon the first of January, when offering up their vows in the
Capitol, after which Autronius and Catiline were to seize the fasces,
and Piso was to be dispatched with an army to occupy the Spains. This
extraordinary design is said to have been frustrated solely by the
impatience of Catiline, who gave the signal prematurely before the whole
of the armed agents had assembled.
Encouraged rather than disheartened by a failure which had so nearly
proved a triumph, Catiline was soon after left completely unfettered by
his acquittal upon trial for extortion, a result secured by the liberal
bribes administered to the accuser as well as to the jury. From this
time he proceeded more systematically, and enlisted a more numerous body
of supporters. In the course of B.C. 64 he had enrolled several Senators
in his ranks, among others P. Cornelius Lentulus Sura, who had been
Consul in B.C. 71, and C. Cornelius Cethegus, distinguished throughout
by his impetuosity and sanguinary violence. He proposed that all debts
should be canceled, that the most wealthy citizens should be proscribed,
and that all offices of honor and emolument should be divided among his
associates. He confidently anticipated that he should be elected Consul
for the next year along with C. Antonius, having formed a coalition with
him for the purpose of excluding Cicero. The orator, however, was
supported, not only by the Equites and Pompey's friends, but even by the
Senate, who, though disliking a New Man, were compelled to give him
their support in order to exclude Catiline. The consequence was that
Cicero and Antonius were returned, the former nearly unanimously, the
latter by a small majority over Catiline. As soon as Cicero entered upon
his Consulship he renounced his connection with the popular party, and
became a stanch supporter of the aristocracy. He successfully opposed an
agrarian law proposed by the Tribune Rullus, and defended C. Rabirius,
who was now accused by the Tribune Labienus of having been concerned in
the death of Saturninus nearly forty years before. Cæsar took an active
part in both these proceedings. But the attention of Cicero was mainly
directed to Catiline's conspiracy. He gained over his colleague Antonius
by resigning to him the province of Macedonia. Meantime he became
acquainted with every detail of the plot through Fulvia, the mistress of
Q. Curius, one of Catiline's intimate associates. Thus informed, Cicero
called a meeting of the Senate on the 21st of October, when he openly
denounced Catiline, charged him broadly with treason, and asserted that
the 28th was the period fixed for the murder of the leading men in the
Republic. The Senate thereupon invested the Consuls with dictatorial
power. The Comitia for the election of the Consuls was now held.
Catiline, again a candidate, was again rejected. Driven to despair by
this fresh disappointment, he resolved at once to bring matters to a
crisis. On the night of the 6th of November he summoned a meeting of the
ringleaders at the house of M. Porcius Læca, and made arrangements for
an immediate outbreak. Cicero, being immediately informed of what took
place, summoned, on the 8th of November, a meeting of the Senate in the
Temple of Jupiter Stator, and there delivered the first of his
celebrated orations against Catiline. Catiline, who upon his entrance
had been avoided by all, and was sitting alone upon a bench from which
every one had shrunk, rose to reply, but had scarcely commenced when
his words were drowned by the shouts of "enemy" and "parricide" which
burst from the whole assembly, and he rushed forth with threats and
curses on his lips. He now resolved to strike some decisive blow before
troops could be levied to oppose him, and accordingly, leaving the chief
control of affairs at Rome in the hands of Lentulus and Cethegus, he set
forth in the dead of night, and proceeded to join Manlius at Fæsulæ.
On the 9th, when the flight of Catiline was known, Cicero delivered his
second speech, which was addressed to the people in the forum. The
Senate proceeded to declare Catiline and Manlius public enemies, and
decreed that Antonius should go forth to the war, while Cicero should
remain to guard the city. Cicero was now anxious to obtain other
evidence, besides that of Fulvia, which would warrant him in
apprehending the conspirators within the walls. This was fortunately
supplied by the embassadors of the Allobroges, who were now at Rome,
having been sent to seek relief from certain real or alleged grievances.
Their suit, however, had not prospered, and Lentulus, conceiving that
their discontent might be made available for his own purposes, opened a
negotiation with them and disclosed to them the nature of the plot. But
they thought it more prudent to reveal all to Q. Fabius Sanga, the
patron of their state, who in his turn acquainted Cicero. By the
instructions of the latter the embassadors affected great zeal in the
undertaking, and obtained a written agreement signed by Lentulus,
Cethegus, and others. They quitted Rome soon after midnight on the 3d of
December, accompanied by one T. Volturcius, who was charged with
dispatches for Catiline. The embassadors were seized, as they were
crossing the Mulvian bridge, by two of the Prætors, who had been
stationed in ambush to intercept them.
Cicero instantly summoned Lentulus, Cethegus, and the other conspirators
to his presence. Lentulus being Prætor, the Consul led him by the hand
to the Temple of Concord, where the Senate was already met; the rest of
the accused followed closely guarded. Volturcius, finding escape
impossible, agreed, upon his own personal safety being insured, to make
a full confession. His statements were confirmed by the Allobroges, and
the testimony was rendered conclusive by the signatures of the
ringleaders, which they were unable to deny. The guilt of Lentulus,
Cethegus, and seven others being thus established, Lentulus was forced
to abdicate his office, and then, with the rest, was consigned to the
charge of certain Senators, who became responsible for their appearance.
These circumstances, as they had occurred, were then narrated by Cicero
in his Third Oration, delivered in the forum. On the nones (5th) of
December the Senate was again summoned to determine upon the fate of
the conspirators. Cæsar, in an elaborate speech, proposed that they
should be kept in confinement in the different towns of Italy, but Cato
and Cicero strongly advocated that they should be instantly put to
death. Their views were adopted by a majority of the Senate, and a
decree passed to that effect. On the same night Lentulus and his
associates were strangled by the common executioner in the Tullianum, a
loathsome dungeon on the slope of the Capitol.
While these things were going on at Rome, Catiline had collected a force
amounting to two legions, although not above one fourth part were fully
equipped. When the news of the failure of the plot at Rome reached his
camp many deserted. He thereupon attempted to cross the Apennines and
take refuge in Cisalpine Gaul, but the passes were strictly guarded by
Metellus Celer with three legions. Finding, therefore, that escape was
cut off in front, while Antonius was pressing on his rear, Catiline
determined, as a last resource, to hazard an engagement. Antonius, in
consequence of real or pretended illness, resigned the command to M.
Petreius, a skillful soldier. The battle was obstinate and bloody. The
rebels fought with the fury of despair; and when Catiline saw that all
was lost, he charged headlong into the thickest of the fight and fell
sword in hand (B.C. 62).
Cicero had rendered important services to the state, and enjoyed for a
time unbounded popularity. Catulus in the Senate and Cato in the forum
hailed him as the "Father of his Country;" thanksgivings in his name
were voted to the gods; and all Italy joined in testifying enthusiastic
admiration and gratitude. Cicero's elation knew no bounds; he fancied
that his political influence was now supreme, and looked upon himself as
a match even for Pompey. But his splendid achievement contained the germ
of his humiliation and downfall. There could be no doubt that the
punishment inflicted by the Senate upon Lentulus and his associates was
a violation of the fundamental principles of the Roman Constitution,
which declared that no citizen could be put to death until sentenced by
the whole body of the people assembled in their Comitia, and for this
act Cicero, as the presiding magistrate, was held responsible. It was in
vain to urge that the Consuls had been armed with dictatorial power; the
Senate, in the present instance, assuming to themselves judicial
functions which they had no right to exercise, gave orders for the
execution of a sentence which they had no right to pronounce. Nor were
his enemies long in discovering this vulnerable point. On the last day
of the year, when, according to established custom, he ascended the
Rostra to give an account to the people of the events of his Consulship,
Metellus Celer, one of the new Tribunes, forbade him to speak,
exclaiming that the man who had put Roman citizens to death without
granting them a hearing was himself unworthy to be heard. But this
attack was premature. The audience had not yet forgotten their recent
escape; so that, when Cicero swore with a loud voice that "he had saved
the Republic and the city from ruin," the crowd with one voice responded
that he had sworn truly.
It was rumored that many other eminent men had been privy to Catiline's
conspiracy. Among others, the names of Crassus and Cæsar were most
frequently mentioned; but the participation of either of these men in
such an enterprise seems most improbable. The interests of Crassus were
opposed to such an adventure; his vast wealth was employed in a variety
of speculations which would have been ruined in a general overthrow,
while he had not the energy or ability to seize and retain the helm in
the confusion that would have ensued. Of Cæsar's guilt there is no
satisfactory evidence, and it is improbable that so keen-sighted a man
would have leagued with such a desperate adventurer as Catiline. Cato,
in his speech respecting the fate of the conspirators, hinted that Cæsar
wished to spare them because he was a partner of their guilt; and in the
following year (B.C. 62), when Cæsar was Prætor, L. Vettius, who had
been one of Cicero's informers, openly charged him with being a party to
the plot. Thereupon Cæsar called upon Cicero to testify that he had of
his own accord given the Consul evidence respecting the conspiracy; and
so complete was his vindication that Vettius was thrown into prison.
[Illustration: Coin of Pompey.]
[Illustration: Julius Cæsar.]
CHAPTER XXXII.
FROM POMPEY'S RETURN FROM THE EAST TO CICERO'S BANISHMENT AND RECALL.
B.C. 62-57.
Pompey, as we have already seen, reached Italy in B.C. 62. It was
generally feared that he would seize the supreme power, but he soon
calmed these apprehensions by disbanding his army immediately after
landing at Brundusium. He did not, however, enter Rome in triumph till
the 30th of September, B.C. 61. The triumph lasted two days, and
surpassed in splendor every spectacle that Rome had yet seen. The
tablets carried in the procession, on which his victories were
emblazoned, declared that he had taken 1000 strong fortresses, 900
towns, and 800 ships; that he had founded 39 cities; that he had raised
the revenue of the Roman people from 59 millions to 85 millions; and
that he had brought into the public treasury 20,000 talents. Before his
triumphal car walked 324 captive princes.
With this triumph the first and most glorious part of Pompey's life may
be said to have ended. Hitherto he had been employed almost exclusively
in war; but now he was called upon to play a prominent part in the civil
commotions of the Republic--a part for which neither his natural talents
nor his previous habits had in the least fitted him. From the death of
Sulla to the present time, a period of nearly twenty years, he had been
unquestionably the first man in the Roman world, but he did not retain
much longer this proud position, and soon discovered that the genius of
Cæsar had reduced him to a second place in the state. It would seem as
if Pompey, on his return to Rome, hardly knew to which party to attach
himself. He had been appointed to the command against the pirates and
Mithridates in opposition to the aristocracy, and they still regarded
him with jealousy and distrust. He could not, therefore, ally himself to
them, especially too as some of their most influential leaders, such as
M. Crassus and L. Lucullus, were his personal enemies. At the same time
he seems to have been indisposed to unite himself to the popular party,
which had risen into importance during his absence in the East, and over
which Cæsar possessed unbounded influence. But the object which engaged
the immediate attention of Pompey was to obtain from the Senate a
ratification of his acts in Asia, and an assignment of lands which he
had promised to his veterans. In order to secure this object, he had
purchased the Consulship for one of his officers, L. Afranius, who was
elected with Q. Metellus for B.C. 60. But L. Afranius was a man of
slender ability; and the Senate, glad of an opportunity to put an
affront upon a person whom they both feared and hated, resolutely
refused to sanction Pompey's measures in Asia. This was the unwisest
thing they could have done. If they had known their real interests, they
would have yielded to all Pompey's wishes, and have sought by every
means to win him over to their side, as a counterpoise to the growing
and more dangerous influence of Cæsar. But their short-sighted policy
threw Pompey into Cæsar's arms, and thus sealed the downfall of their
party. Pompey was resolved to fulfill the promises he had made to his
Asiatic clients and his veteran troops.
Cæsar had returned from Spain in the middle of this year. He had been in
that province for one year as Proprætor, during which time he displayed
that military ability which was soon to be exhibited on a still more
conspicuous field. He subdued the mountainous tribes of Lusitania, took
the town of Brigantium in the country of the Gallæci, and gained many
other advantages over the enemy. His troops saluted him as Imperator,
and the Senate honored him by a public thanksgiving. He now laid claim
to a triumph, and at the same time wished to become a candidate for the
Consulship. For the latter purpose his presence in the city was
necessary; but, as he could not enter the city without relinquishing his
triumph, he applied to the Senate to be exempted from the usual law, and
to become a candidate in his absence. As this was refused, he at once
relinquished his triumph, entered the city, and became a candidate for
the Consulship. He was elected without difficulty, but the aristocracy
succeeded in associating with him in the Consulship M. Bibulus, who
belonged to the opposite party, and who had likewise been his colleague
in the Ædileship and Prætorship.
Cæsar now represented to Pompey the importance of detaching from the
aristocracy M. Crassus, who, by his connections and immense wealth,
possessed great political influence. Pompey and Crassus had for a long
time past been deadly enemies, but they were now reconciled, and the
three entered into an agreement to divide the power between themselves.
This first Triumvirate, as it is called, was therefore merely a private
arrangement between the three most powerful men at Rome, which remained
a secret till the proceedings of Cæsar in his Consulship showed that he
was supported by a power against which it was in vain for his enemies to
struggle.
As soon as Cæsar had entered upon his Consulship he proposed an agrarian
law for the division of the rich Campanian land. The execution of the
law was to be intrusted to a board of twenty commissioners. The
opposition of the aristocratical party was in vain. Porapey and Crassus
spoke in favor of the law; and the former declared that he would bring
both sword and buckler against those who used the sword. On the day on
which it was put to the vote, Bibulus and the other members of the
aristocracy were driven out of the forum by force of arms: the law was
carried, the commissioners appointed, and about 20,000 citizens,
comprising, of course, a great number of Pompey's veterans, received
allotments subsequently. Bibulus, despairing of being able to offer any
farther resistance to Cæsar, shut himself up in his own house, and did
not appear again in public till the expiration of his Consulship.
Cæsar obtained from the people a ratification of all Pompey's acts in
Asia, and, to cement their union more closely, gave his only daughter
Julia in marriage to Pompey. His next step was to gain over the Equites,
who had rendered efficient service to Cicero in his Consulship, and had
hitherto supported the aristocratical party. An excellent opportunity
now occurred for accomplishing this object. In their eagerness to obtain
the farming of the public taxes in Asia, the Equites had agreed to pay
too large a sum, and accordingly petitioned the Senate for more
favorable terms. This, however, had been opposed by Metellus Celer,
Cato, and others of the aristocracy; and Cæsar, therefore, now carried a
law to relieve the Equites from one third of the sum which they had
agreed to pay. Having thus gratified the people, the Equites, and
Pompey, he was easily able to obtain for himself the provinces which he
wished.
It is not attributing any extraordinary foresight to Cæsar to suppose
that he already saw that the struggle between the different parties at
Rome must eventually be terminated by the sword. The same causes were
still in operation which had led to the civil wars between Marius and
Sulla; and he was well aware that the aristocracy would not hesitate to
call in the assistance of force if they should ever succeed in detaching
Pompey from his interests. It was therefore of the first importance for
him to obtain an army which he might attach to himself by victories and
rewards. Accordingly, he induced the Tribune Vatinius to propose a bill
to the people granting him the provinces of Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum
for five years (B.C. 58-54). Transalpine Gaul was shortly afterward
added. Cæsar chose the Gallic provinces, as he would thus be able to
pass the winter in Italy and keep up his communication with the city,
while the disturbed state of Farther Gaul promised him sufficient
materials for engaging in a series of wars in which he might employ an
army that would afterward be devoted to his purposes. In addition to
these considerations, Cæsar was also actuated by the ambition of
subduing forever that nation which had once sacked Rome, and which had
been, from the earliest times, more or less an object of dread to the
Roman state.
The Consuls of the following year (B.C. 58) were L. Calpurnius Piso and
A. Gabinius. Piso was Cæsar's father-in-law, and Gabinius in his
Tribunate had proposed the law conferring upon Pompey the command
against the pirates. Cæsar saw that it was evident they would support
whatever the Triumvirs might wish. Cicero was now threatened with
destruction.
In B.C. 62, while the wife of Cæsar was celebrating in the house of her
husband, then Prætor and Pontifex Maximus, the rites of the Bona Dea,
from which all male creatures were excluded, it was discovered that P.
Clodius Pulcher, a profligate noble, whom we have seen inciting the army
of Lucullus to insurrection, had found his way into the mansion
disguised in woman's apparel, and, having been detected, had made his
escape by the help of a female slave. The matter was laid before the
Senate, and by them referred to the members of the Pontifical College,
who passed a resolution that sacrilege had been committed. Cæsar
forthwith divorced his wife. Clodius was impeached and brought to trial.
In defense he pleaded an alibi, offering to prove that he was at
Interamna at the very time when the crime was said to have been
committed; but Cicero came forward as a witness, and swore that he had
met and spoken to Clodius in Rome on the day in question. In spite of
this decisive testimony, and the evident guilt of the accused, the
Judices pronounced him innocent by a majority of voices (B.C. 61).
Clodius now vowed deadly vengeance against Cicero. To accomplish his
purpose more readily, he determined to become a candidate for the
Tribunate, but for this it was necessary, in the first place, that he
should be adopted into a plebeian family by means of a special law.
This, after protracted opposition, was at length accomplished through
the interference of the Triumvirs, and he was elected Tribune for B.C.
58.
One of the first acts of Clodius, after entering upon office, was to
propose a bill interdicting from fire and water any one who should be
found to have put a Roman citizen to death untried. Cicero changed his
attire, and, assuming the garb of one accused, went round the Forum
soliciting the compassion of all whom he met. For a brief period public
sympathy was awakened. A large number of the Senate and the Equites
appeared also in mourning, and the better portion of the citizens seemed
resolved to espouse his cause. But all demonstrations of such feelings
were promptly repressed by Piso and Gabinius. Cæsar had previously made
overtures to Cicero, which the orator, overrating his influence and
relying upon the support of Pompey, had rejected. The Triumvirs now left
him to his fate, and Cicero, giving way to despair, quitted Rome at the
beginning of April (B.C. 68), and reached Brundusium about the middle of
the month. From thence he crossed over to Greece. The instant that the
departure of Cicero became known, a law was passed pronouncing his
banishment, forbidding any one to entertain or harbor him, and
denouncing as a public enemy whosoever should take any steps toward
procuring his recall. His mansion on the Palatine, and his villas at
Tusculum and Formiæ, were at the same time given over to plunder and
destruction. Clodius, having thus gratified his hatred, did not care to
consult any longer the views of the Triumvirs. He restored Tigranes to
liberty, whom Pompey had kept in confinement, ridiculed the great
Imperator before the people, and was accused of making an attempt upon
his life. Pompey, in revenge, resolved to procure the recall of Cicero
from banishment, and was thus brought again into some friendly
connections with the aristocratical party. The new Consuls (B.C. 57)
were favorable to Cicero; but, though Clodius was no longer in office,
he had several partisans among the Tribunes who offered the most
vehement opposition to the restoration of his great enemy. One of the
chief supporters of Cicero was the Tribune T. Annius Milo, a man as
unprincipled and violent as Clodius himself. He opposed force to force,
and at the head of a band of gladiators attacked the hired ruffians of
Clodius. The streets of Rome were the scenes of almost daily conflicts
between the leaders of these assassins. At length the Senate, with the
full approbation of Pompey, determined to invite the voters from the
different parts of Italy to repair to Rome and assist in carrying a law
for the recall of Cicero. Accordingly, on the 4th of August, the bill
was passed by an overwhelming majority. On the same day Cicero quitted
Dyrrhachium, and crossed over to Brundusium. He received deputations and
congratulatory addresses from all the towns on the line of the Appian
Way; and having arrived at Rome on the 4th of September, a vast
multitude poured forth to meet him, while the crowd rent the air with
acclamations as he passed through the Forum and ascended the Capitol to
render thanks to Jupiter (B.C. 57).
[Illustration: Temple of Hercules at Rome.]
[Illustration: Temple of Nemausus (_Nimes_), now called the _Maison
Carrée_.]
CHAPTER XXXIII.
CÆSAR'S CAMPAIGNS IN GAUL. B.C. 58-50.
Cæsar set out for his province immediately after Cicero had gone into
exile (B.C. 58). During the next nine years he was occupied with the
subjugation of Gaul. In this time he conquered the whole of Transalpine
Gaul, which had hitherto been independent of the Romans, with the
exception of the part called Provincia. Twice he crossed the Rhine, and
carried the terror of the Roman arms beyond that river. Twice he landed
in Britain, which had been hitherto unknown to the Romans. We can only
offer a very brief sketch of the principal events of each year.
_First Campaign_, B.C. 58.--Cæsar left Rome toward the latter end of
April, and arrived in Geneva in eight days. His first campaign was
against the Helvetii, a Gallic people situated to the north of the Lake
of Geneva, and between the Rhine and Mount Jura. This people, quitting
their homes, had passed through the country of the Sequani, and were
plundering the territories of the Ædui. Three out of their four clans
had already crossed the Arar (_Saône_); but the fourth, which was still
on the other side of the river, was surprised by Cæsar and cut to
pieces. He then threw a bridge across the Arar, followed them cautiously
for some days, and at length fought a pitched battle with them near the
town of Bibracte (_Autun_). The Helvetii were defeated with great
slaughter, and the remnant compelled to return to their former homes.
This great victory raised Cæsar's fame among the various tribes of
Gauls, and the Ædui solicited his assistance against Ariovistus, a
German king who had invaded Gaul, and was constantly bringing over the
Rhine fresh swarms of Germans. Cæsar commanded Ariovistus to abstain
from introducing any more Germans into Gaul, to restore the hostages to
the Ædui, and not to attack the latter or their allies. A haughty answer
was returned to these commands, and both parties prepared for war. Cæsar
advanced northward through the country of the Sequani, took possession
of Vesontio (_Besançon_), an important town on the Dubis (_Doubs_), and
some days afterward fought a decisive battle with Ariovistus, who
suffered a total defeat, and fled with the remains of his army to the
Rhine, a distance of fifty miles. Only a very few, and, among the rest,
Ariovistus himself, crossed the river; the rest were cut to pieces by
the Roman cavalry.
_Second Campaign_, B.C. 57.--The following year was occupied with the
Belgic war. Alarmed at Cæsar's success, the various Belgic tribes which
dwelt between the Sequana (_Seine_) and the Rhine, and were the most
warlike of all the Gauls, had entered into a confederacy to oppose him,
and had raised an army of 300,000 men. Cæsar opened the campaign by
marching into the country of the Remi, who submitted at his approach. He
then crossed the Axona (_Aisne_), and pitched his camp in a strong
position on the right bank. The enemy soon began to suffer from want of
provisions, and they came to the resolution of breaking up their vast
army, and retiring to their own territories. Hitherto Cæsar had remained
in his intrenchments, but he now broke up from his quarters and resumed
the offensive. The Suessiones, the Bellovaci, and Ambiani were subdued
in succession, or surrendered of their own accord; but a more formidable
task awaited him when he came to the Nervii, the most warlike of all the
Belgic tribes. In their country, near the River Sabis (_Sambre_), the
Roman army was surprised by the enemy while engaged in fortifying the
camp. The attack of the Nervii was so unexpected, that before the Romans
could form in rank the enemy was in their midst: the Roman soldiers
began to give way, and the battle seemed entirely lost. Cæsar freely
exposed his own person in the first line of the battle, and discharged
alike the duties of a brave soldier and an able general. His exertions
and the discipline of the Roman troops at length triumphed, and the
Nervii were defeated with such immense slaughter, that out of 60,000
fighting men only 500 remained in the state. When the Senate received
the dispatches of Cæsar announcing this victory, they decreed a public
thanksgiving of fifteen days--a distinction which had never yet been
granted to any one.
_Third Campaign_, B.C. 56.--In the third campaign Cæsar completed the
subjugation of Gaul. He conducted in person a naval war against the
Veneti, the inhabitants of the modern Brittany, and, by means of his
lieutenants, conquered the remaining tribes who still held out. In the
later part of the summer Cæsar marched against the Morini and Menapii
(in the neighborhood of Calais and Boulogne). Thus all Gaul had been
apparently reduced to subjection in three years; but the spirit of the
people was yet unbroken, and they only waited for an opportunity to rise
against their conquerors.
_Fourth Campaign_, B.C. 55.--In the following year Cæsar determined to
attack the Germans. The Gauls had suffered too much in the last three
campaigns to make any farther attempt against the Romans at present; but
Cæsar's ambition would not allow him to be idle. Fresh wars must be
undertaken to employ his troops in active service. Two German tribes,
the Usipetes and the Tenchtheri, had been driven out of their own
country by the Suevi, and had crossed the Rhine with the intention of
settling in Gaul. This, however, Cæsar was resolved to prevent, and
accordingly prepared to attack them. The Germans opened negotiations
with him, but, while these were going on, a body of their cavalry
defeated Cæsar's Gallic horse. On the next day all the German chiefs
came into Cæsar's camp to apologize for what they had done; but Cæsar
detained them, and straightway led his troops to attack the enemy.
Deprived of their leaders and taken by surprise, the Germans, after a
feeble resistance, took to flight, and were almost all destroyed by the
Roman cavalry. After this victory Cæsar resolved to cross the Rhine, in
order to strike terror into the Germans. In ten days he built a bridge
of boats across the river, probably in the neighborhood of Cologne; and
after spending eighteen days on the eastern side of the Rhine, and
ravaging the country of the Sigambri, he returned to Gaul and broke down
the bridge.
Although the greater part of the summer was now gone, Cæsar resolved to
invade Britain. His object in undertaking this expedition at such a late
period of the year was more to obtain some knowledge of the island from
personal observation than with any view to permanent conquest at
present. He accordingly took with him only two legions, with which he
sailed from the port Itius (probably Witsand, between Calais and
Boulogne), and effected a landing somewhere near the South Foreland,
after a severe struggle with the natives. Several of the British tribes
hereupon sent offers of submission to Cæsar; but, in consequence of the
loss of a great part of the Roman fleet a few days afterward, they took
up arms again. Being, however, defeated, they again sent offers of
submission to Cæsar, who simply demanded double the number of hostages
he had originally required, as he was anxious to return to Gaul before
the autumnal equinox.
The news of these victories over the Germans and far-distant Britons was
received at Rome with the greatest enthusiasm. The Senate voted a public
thanksgiving of twenty days, notwithstanding the opposition of Cato, who
declared that Cæsar ought to be delivered up to the Usipetes and
Tenchtheri, to atone for his treachery in seizing the sacred persons of
embassadors.
_Fifth Campaign_, B.C. 54.--The greater part of Cæsar's fifth campaign
was occupied with his second invasion of Britain. He sailed from the
port Itius with an army of five legions, and landed, without opposition,
at the same place as in the former year. The British states had
intrusted the supreme command to Cassivellaunus, a chief whose
territories were divided from the maritime states by the River Tamesis
(Thames). The Britons bravely opposed the progress of the invaders, but
were defeated in a series of engagements. Cæsar crossed the Thames above
London, probably in the neighborhood of Kingston, took the town of
Cassivellaunus, and conquered great part of the counties of Essex and
Middlesex. In consequence of these disasters, Cassivellaunus sued for
peace; and after demanding hostages, and settling the tribute which
Britain should pay yearly to the Roman people, Cæsar returned to Gaul
toward the latter part of the summer. He gained no more by his second
invasion of Britain than by his first. He had penetrated, it is true,
farther into the country, but had left no garrisons or military
establishments behind him, and the people obeyed the Romans as little
afterward as they had done before.
In consequence of the great scarcity of corn in Gaul, Cæsar was obliged
to divide his forces, and station his legions for the winter in
different parts. This seemed to the Gauls a favorable opportunity for
recovering their lost independence and destroying their conquerors. The
Eburones, a Gallic people between the Meuse and the Rhine, near the
modern _Tongres_, destroyed the detachment under the command of T.
Titurius Sabinus and L. Aurunculeius Cotta. They next attacked the camp
of Q. Cicero, the brother of the orator, who was stationed among the
Nervii. Cicero repulsed the enemy in all their attempts, till he was at
length relieved by Cæsar in person, who came to his assistance with two
legions as soon as he heard of the dangerous position of his legate. The
forces of the enemy, which amounted to 60,000, were defeated by Cæsar,
who then joined Cicero, and praised him and his men for the bravery they
had shown.
_Sixth Campaign_, B.C. 63.--In the next year the Gauls again took up
arms, and entered into a most formidable conspiracy to recover their
independence. The destruction of the Roman troops under Sabinus and
Cotta, and the unsettled state of Gaul during the winter, had led Cæsar
to apprehend a general rising of the natives; and he had accordingly
levied two new legions in Cisalpine Gaul, and obtained one from Pompey,
who was remaining in the neighborhood of Rome as Proconsul with the
imperium. Being thus at the head of a powerful army, he was able to
subdue the tribes that revolted, and soon compelled the Nervii, Senones,
Carnutes, Menapii, and Treviri to return to obedience. But as the
Treviri had been supported by the Germans, he crossed the Rhine again a
little above the spot where he had passed over two years before, and,
after receiving the submission of the Ubii, ravaged the country of the
Suevi. On his return to Gaul he laid waste the country of the Eburones
with fire and sword. At the conclusion of the campaign he prosecuted a
strict inquiry into the revolt of the Senones and Carautes, and caused
Acco, who had been the chief ringleader in the conspiracy, to be put to
death.
_Seventh Campaign_, B.C. 52.--The unsuccessful issue of last year's
revolt had not yet damped the spirits of the Gauls. The execution of
Acco had frightened all the chiefs, as every one feared that his turn
might come next; the hatred of the Roman yoke was intense; and thus all
the materials were ready for a general conflagration. It was first
kindled by the Carnutes, and in a short time it spread from district to
district till almost the whole of Gaul was in flames. Even the Ædui, who
had been hitherto the faithful allies of the Romans, and had assisted
them in all their wars, subsequently joined the general revolt. At the
head of the insurrection was Vercingetorix, a young man of noble family
belonging to the Arverni, and by far the ablest general that Cæsar had
yet encountered. Never before had the Gauls been so united: Cæsar's
conquests of the last six years seemed to be now entirely lost. The
campaign of this year, therefore, was by far the most arduous that Cæsar
had yet carried on; but his genius triumphed over every obstacle, and
rendered it the most brilliant of all. He concentrated his forces with
incredible rapidity, and lost no time in attacking the chief towns in
the hands of the enemy. Vellaunodunum (in the country of
_Château-Landon_), Genabum (_Orléans_), and Noviodunum (_Nouan_, between
Orleans and Bourges), fell into his hands without difficulty. Alarmed at
his rapid progress, Vercingetorix persuaded his countrymen to lay waste
their country and destroy their towns. This plan was accordingly carried
into effect; but, contrary to the wishes of Vercingetorix, Avaricum
(_Bourges_), the chief town of the Bituriges, and a strongly-fortified
place, was spared from the general destruction. This town Cæsar
accordingly besieged, and, notwithstanding the heroic resistance of the
Gauls, it was at length taken, and all the inhabitants, men, women, and
children, were indiscriminately butchered.
Cæsar now divided his army into two parts: one division, consisting of
four legions, he sent, under the command of T. Labienus, against the
Senones and Parisii; the other, comprising six legions, he led in person
into the country of the Arverni, and with them laid siege to Gergovia
(near _Clermont_). The revolt of the Ædui shortly afterward compelled
him to raise the siege, and inspired the Gauls with fresh courage.
Vercingetorix retired to Alesia (_Alise_, in Burgundy), which was
considered impregnable, and resolved to wait for succors from his
countrymen. Cæsar immediately laid siege to the place, and drew lines of
circumvallation around it. The Romans, however, were in their turn soon
surrounded by a vast Gallic army which had assembled to raise the siege.
Cæsar's army was thus placed in imminent peril, and on no occasion in
his whole life was his military genius so conspicuous. He was between
two great armies. Vercingetorix had 70,000 men in Alesia, and the Gallic
army without consisted of between 250,000 and 300,000 men. Still he
would not raise the siege. He prevented Vercingetorix from breaking
through the lines, entirely routed the Gallic army without, and finally
compelled Alesia to surrender. Vercingetorix himself fell into his
hands. The fall of Alesia was followed by the submission of the Ædui and
Arvemi. Cæsar then led his troops into winter quarters. After receiving
his dispatches, the Senate voted him a public thanksgiving of twenty
days, as in the year B.C. 55.
_Eighth Campaign_, B.C. 51.--The victories of the preceding year had
determined the fate of Gaul; but many states still remained in arms, and
entered into fresh conspiracies during the winter. This year was
occupied in the reduction of these states, into the particulars of which
we need not enter. During the winter Cæsar employed himself in the
pacification of Gaul, and, as he already saw that his presence would
soon be necessary in Italy, he was anxious to remove all causes for
future wars. He accordingly imposed no new taxes, treated the states
with honor and respect, and bestowed great presents upon the chiefs. The
experience of the last two years had taught the Gauls that they had no
hope of contending successfully against Cæsar, and, as he now treated
them with mildness, they were the more readily induced to submit
patiently to the Roman yoke.
[Illustration: Ruins on the Esquiline.]
CHAPTER XXXIV.
INTERNAL HISTORY, FROM THE RETURN OF CICERO FROM BANISHMENT TO THE
COMMENCEMENT OF THE CIVIL WAR.--EXPEDITION AND DEATH OF CRASSUS. B.C.
57-50.
Cicero returned from banishment an altered man. Though his return had
been glorious, he saw that his position was entirely changed, and he was
forced to yield to a power which he no longer dared to resist. He even
lent his support to the Triumvirs, and praised in public those
proceedings which he had once openly and loudly condemned. Meantime the
power of Pompey had been shaken at Rome. A misunderstanding had sprung
up between him and Crassus, and Cato and the other leaders of the
aristocracy attacked him with the utmost vehemence. The Senate began to
entertain hopes of recovering their power. They determined to support L.
Domitius Ahenobarbus, who, in B.C. 56, had become a candidate for the
Consulship for the following year, and who threatened to deprive Cæsar
of his provinces and armies. Under these circumstances Cæsar invited
Pompey and Crassus to meet him at Luca (_Lucca_) in the spring of B.C.
56. He reconciled them to each other, and arranged that they were to be
Consuls for the next year, and obtain provinces and armies, while he
himself was to have his government prolonged for another five years, and
to receive pay for his troops. On their return to Rome, Pompey and
Crassus became candidates for the Consulship; but Domitius Ahenobarbus,
supported by Cato and the aristocracy, offered a most determined
opposition. The Consul Lentulus Marcellinus likewise was resolved to use
every means to prevent their election; and, finding it impossible to
carry their election while Marcellinus was in office, they availed
themselves of the veto of two of the Tribunes to prevent the Consular
Comitia from being held this year. The elections, therefore, did not
take place till the beginning of B.C. 55, under the presidency of an
interrex. Even then Ahenobarbus and Cato did not relax in their
opposition; and it was not till the armed bands of Pompey and Crassus
had cleared the Campus Martius of their adversaries that they were
declared Consuls for the second time (B.C. 55).
They forthwith proceeded to carry into effect the compact that had been
made at Luca. They induced the Tribune C. Trebonius to bring forward two
bills, one of which gave the province of the two Spains to Pompey, and
that of Syria to Crassus; the other prolonged Cæsar's government for
five years more, namely, from the 1st of January, B.C. 53, to the end of
the year 49. Pompey was now at the head of the state; and at the
expiration of his year of office would no longer be a private man, but
with the command of an army and in possession of the imperium. With an
army he felt sure of regaining his former influence. He had now
completed the theatre which he had been some time building, and, as a
means of regaining the popular favor, he resolved to open it with an
exhibition of games of unparalleled splendor and magnificence. The
building itself was worthy of the conqueror of the East. It was the
first stone theatre that had been erected at Rome, and was sufficiently
large to accommodate 40,000 spectators. The games exhibited lasted many
days. Five hundred African lions and eighteen elephants were killed. A
rhinoceros was likewise exhibited on this occasion for the first time.
Pompey sent an army into Spain under the command of his lieutenants, L.
Afranius and M. Petreius, while he himself remained in the neighborhood
of Rome as Proconsul.
Before the end of the year Crassus set out for Syria, with the intention
of attacking the Parthians. He was anxious to distinguish himself in
war, like Pompey and Cæsar, and, though upward of sixty years of age, he
chose rather to enter upon an undertaking for which he had no genius
than to continue the pursuit of wealth and influence at home. He crossed
the Euphrates in B.C. 54, but, hesitating to proceed at once against
Parthia, he gave the enemy time to assemble his forces, and returned to
Syria without accomplishing any thing of importance. He spent the winter
in Syria, where, instead of exercising his troops and preparing for the
ensuing campaign, he plundered the temples, and employed his time in
collecting money from every quarter. In the following spring (B.C. 53)
he again crossed the Euphrates, and plunged into the sandy deserts of
Mesopotamia. He trusted to the guidance of an Arabian chieftain, who
promised to lead him by the shortest way to the enemy. But this man was
in the pay of Surenas, the Parthian general; and when he had brought the
Romans into the open plains of Mesopotamia, he seized a frivolous
pretext, and rode off to inform Surenas that the Roman army was
delivered into his hands. The Parthians soon appeared. They worried the
densely-marshaled Romans with showers of arrows; and by feigned
retreats, during which they continued to discharge their arrows, they
led the Romans into disadvantageous positions. The son of Crassus, who
had distinguished himself as one of Cæsar's lieutenants in Gaul, was
slain, and the Romans, after suffering great loss, retreated to Carrhæ,
the Haran of Scripture. On the following day they continued their
retreat; and Surenas, fearing that Crassus might after all make his
escape, invited him to an interview. He was treacherously seized, and,
in the scuffle which ensued, was slain by some unknown hand. His head
was carried to the Parthian king Orodes, who caused melted gold to be
poured into the mouth, saying, "Sate thyself now with that metal of
which in life thou wert so greedy." Twenty thousand Roman troops were
slain, and ten thousand taken prisoners, in this expedition, one of the
most disastrous in which the Romans were ever engaged. Only a small
portion of the Roman army escaped to Syria under the command of L.
Cassius Longinus, afterward one of Cæsar's assassins, who had displayed
considerable ability during the war, but whose advice Crassus had
constantly refused to follow.
The death of Crassus left Pompey and Cæsar alone at the head of the
state, and it became evident that sooner or later a struggle would take
place between them for the supremacy. The death of Julia, in B.C. 54, to
whom both her father and husband were strongly attached, broke a link
which might have united them much longer. Pompey considered that he had
been the chief means of raising Cæsar to power, and he appeared long to
have deemed it impossible that the conqueror of Mithridates could be
thrown into the shade by any popular leader. Such a result, however, was
now imminent. Cæsar's brilliant victories in Gaul were in every body's
mouth, and Pompey saw with ill-disguised mortification that he was
becoming the second person in the state. Though this did not lead him to
break with Cæsar at once, it made him anxious to increase his power and
influence, and he therefore now resolved, if possible, to obtain the
Dictatorship. He accordingly used no effort to put an end to the
disturbances at Rome between Milo and Clodius in this year, in hopes
that all parties would be willing to accede to his wishes in order to
restore peace to the city. Milo was a candidate for the Consulship and
Clodius for the Prætorship. Each was attended by a band of hired
ruffians; battles took place between them daily in the Forum and the
streets; all order and government were at an end. In such a state of
things no elections could be held, and the confusion at length became
downright anarchy, when Milo murdered Clodius on the 20th of January in
the following year (B.C. 52). The two rivals had met near Bovillæ,
accompanied, as usual, by their armed followers. A fray ensued. The
party of Milo proved the stronger, and Clodius took refuge in a house.
But Milo attacked the house, dragged out Clodius, and having dispatched
him, left him dead upon the road. His body was found by a Senator,
carried to Rome, and exposed naked to the people. They were violently
excited at the sight, and their feelings were still farther inflamed by
the harangues of the Tribunes. The benches and tables of the
Senate-house were seized to make a funeral pile for their favorite; and
not only the Senate-house, but several other public buildings, were
reduced to ashes. As the riots still continued, the Senate had no longer
any choice but to call in the assistance of Pompey. They therefore
commissioned him to collect troops and put an end to the disturbances.
Pompey, who had obtained the great object of his desires, obeyed with
alacrity; he was invested with the supreme power of the state by being
elected sole Consul on the 25th of February; and, in order to deliver
the city from Milo and his myrmidons, he brought forward laws against
violence and bribery at elections. Milo was put upon his trial; the
court was surrounded with soldiers; Cicero, who defended him, was
intimidated, and Milo was condemned, and went into exile at
Massilia.[67] Others shared the same fate, and peace was once more
restored to the state.
Pompey's jealousy of Cæsar brought him into connection with the
aristocratical party. After Julia's death he had married Cornelia, the
daughter of Metellus Scipio, whom he made his colleague on the first of
August. His next step was to strike a blow at Cæsar. He brought forward
an old law that no one should become a candidate for a public office
while absent, in order that Cæsar might be obliged to resign his
command, and to place himself in the power of his enemies at Rome, if he
wished to obtain the Consulship a second time.[68] But the renewal of
this enactment was so manifestly aimed at Cæsar that his friends
insisted he should be specially exempted from it; and as Pompey was not
yet prepared to break openly with him, he thought it more expedient to
yield. At the same time, Pompey provided that he himself should remain
in command of an army after his rival had ceased to have one, by
obtaining a senatus consultum, by which his government of the Spains was
prolonged for another five years. And, in case Cæsar should obtain the
Consulship, he caused a law to be enacted, in virtue of which no one
could have a province till five years had elapsed from the time of his
holding a public office. Such were the precautions adopted against
Cæsar, the uselessness of which time soon showed.
In the following year (B.C. 51) Pompey declared himself still more
openly on the side of the Senate; but still he shrank from supporting
all the violent measures of the Consul M. Claudius Marcellus, who
proposed to send a successor to Cæsar, on the plea that the war in Gaul
was finished, and to deprive him of the privilege of becoming a
candidate for the Consulship in his absence. The Consuls for the next
year (B.C. 50), L. Æmilius Paullus and C. Claudius Marcellus, and the
powerful Tribune C. Curio, were all reckoned devoted partisans of Pompey
and the Senate. Cæsar, however, gained over Paullus and Curio by large
bribes, and with a lavish hand distributed immense sums of money among
the leading men of Rome. It was proposed in the Senate by the Consul C.
Marcellus that Cæsar should lay down his command by the 13th of
November. But this was an unreasonable demand; Cæsar's government had
upward of another year to run; and if he had come to Rome as a private
man to sue for the Consulship, there can be no doubt that his life would
have been sacrificed. Cato had declared that he would bring Cæsar to
trial as soon as he laid down his command; but the trial would have been
only a mockery, for Pompey was in the neighborhood of the city at the
head of an army, and would have overawed the judges by his soldiery as
at Milo's trial. The Tribune Curio consequently interposed his veto
upon the proposition of Marcellus. The Senate, anxious to diminish the
number of his troops, had, under pretext of a war with the Parthians,
ordered that Pompey and Cæsar should each furnish a legion to be sent
into the East. The legion which Pompey intended to devote to this
service was one he had lent to Cæsar in B.C. 53, and which he now
accordingly demanded back; and, although Cæsar saw that he should thus
be deprived of two legions, which would probably be employed against
himself, he complied with the request. Upon their arrival in Italy, they
were not sent to the East, but were ordered to pass the winter at Capua.
Cæsar took up his quarters at Ravenna, the last town in his province
bordering upon Italy.
Though war seemed inevitable, Cæsar still showed himself willing to
enter into negotiations with the aristocracy, and accordingly sent Curio
with a letter addressed to the Senate, in which he expressed his
readiness to resign his command if Pompey would do the same. Curio
arrived at Rome on the 1st of January, B.C. 49, the day on which the new
Consuls, L. Cornelius Lentulus and C. Claudius Marcellus, entered upon
their office. It was with great difficulty that the Tribunes, M.
Antonius, afterward the well-known Triumvir, and Q. Cassius Longinus,
forced the Senate to allow the letter to be read. After a violent
debate, the motion of Scipio, Pompey's father-in-law, was carried, "that
Cæsar should disband his army by a certain day, and that if he did not
do so he should be regarded as an enemy of the state." On the 6th of
January the Senate passed the decree investing the Consuls with
dictatorial power. Antonius and Cassius, considering their lives no
longer safe, fled from the city in disguise to Cæsar's army, and called
upon him to protect the inviolable persons of the Tribunes. This was the
crisis. The Senate intrusted the management of the war to Pompey,
determined that fresh levies of troops should be held, and voted a sum
of money from the public treasury to Pompey. Pompey all along had no
apprehensions as to the war; he thought it impossible that Cæsar should
ever march against him; he was convinced that his great fame would cause
a multitude of troops to flock around him whenever he wished. In
addition to this, he had been deceived as to the disposition of Cæsar's
troops: he had been led to believe that they were ready to desert their
general at the first opportunity. Consequently, when the war broke out,
Pompey had scarcely any troops except the two legions which he had
obtained from Cæsar, and on the fidelity of which he could by no means
rely.
[Footnote 67: Cicero sent to Milo at Massilia the oration which he meant
to have delivered, the one which we still have. Milo, after reading it,
remarked, "I am glad it was not delivered, for I should then have been
acquitted, and never have known the delicate flavor of these Massilian
mullets."]
[Footnote 68: Cæsar's government would expire at the end of B.C. 49, and
he had therefore determined to obtain the Consulship for B.C. 48, since
otherwise he would become a private person.]
[Illustration: Marcus Brutus.]
CHAPTER XXXV.
FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE SECOND CIVIL WAR TO CÆSAR'S DEATH. B.C. 49-44.
As soon as Cæsar learned at Ravenna the last resolution of the Senate,
he assembled his soldiers, informed them of the wrongs he had sustained,
and called upon them to support him. Finding them quite willing to
support him, he crossed the Rubicon,[69] which separated his province
from Italy, and occupied Ariminum, where he met with the Tribunes. He
commenced his enterprise with only one legion, consisting of 5000
foot-soldiers and 300 horse; but others had orders to follow him from
Transalpine Gaul, and he was well aware of the importance of expedition,
that the enemy might have no time to complete their preparations. Though
it was the middle of winter, he pushed on with the utmost rapidity, and
such was the popularity of his cause in Italy, that city after city
opened its gates to him, and his march was like a triumphal progress.
Arretium, Pisaurum, Fanum, Ancona, Iguvium, and Auximum fell into his
hands. These successes caused the utmost consternation at Rome; it was
reported that Cæsar's cavalry were already at the gates; a general panic
seized the Senate, and they fled from the city without even taking with
them the money from the public treasury. Cæsar continued his victorious
march through Picenum till he came to Corfinium, which M. Domitius
Ahenobarbus held with a strong force; but, as Pompey did not march to
his assistance, Domitius was unable to maintain the place, and fell
himself into Cæsar's hands, together with several other Senators and
distinguished men. Cæsar, with the same clemency which he displayed
throughout the whole of the Civil War, dismissed them all uninjured. He
then hastened southward in pursuit of Pompey, who had now resolved to
abandon Italy. He reached Brundusium before Cæsar, but had not sailed
when the latter arrived before the town. Cæsar straightway laid siege to
the place, but Pompey abandoned it on the 17th of March, and embarked
for Greece. Cæsar was unable to follow him for want of ships. He
accordingly marched back from Brundusium, and repaired to Rome, having
thus in three months become the master of the whole of Italy.
The only opposition which Cæsar met with in Rome was from L. Metellus
the Tribune, who attempted to prevent him from entering the public
treasury, though the people had given him permission to take from it as
much money as he pleased. "Stand aside, young man," said Cæsar; "it is
easier for me to do than to say." After remaining in the neighborhood of
Rome for a short time, he set out for Spain, leaving M. Lepidus in
charge of the city, and M. Antonius in command of the troops in Italy.
He sent Curio to drive Cato out of Sicily, Q. Valerius to take
possession of Sardinia, and C. Antonius to occupy Illyricum. Curio and
Valerius obtained possession of Sicily and Sardinia without opposition;
and the former then passed over into Africa, which was in possession of
the Pompeian party. Here, however, he encountered strong opposition, and
at length was defeated, and lost his life in a battle with Juba, king of
Mauretania, who supported P. Atius Varus, the Pompeian commander. C.
Antonius also met with ill success in Illyricum, for his army was
defeated, and he himself taken prisoner. These disasters were more than
counterbalanced by Cæsar's victories in the mean time in Spain. Leaving
Rome about the middle of April, he found, on his arrival in Gaul, that
Massilia refused to submit to him. He besieged the place forthwith, but,
unable to take it immediately, he left C. Trebonius and D. Brutus, with
part of his troops, to prosecute the siege, and continued his march to
Spain. On the approach of Cæsar, L. Afranius and M. Petreius, the
lieutenants of Pompey in Spain, united their forces, and took up a
strong position near the town of Ilerda (_Lerida_, in Catalonia), on the
right bank of the Sicoris (_Segre_). After experiencing great
difficulties at first and some reverses, Cæsar at length reduced
Afranius and Petreius to such straits that they were obliged to
surrender. They themselves were dismissed uninjured, part of their
troops disbanded, and the remainder incorporated among Cæsar's troops.
The conqueror then proceeded to march against Varro, who commanded two
legions in the Farther Province; but, after the victory over Afranius
and Petreius, there was no army in Spain capable of offering resistance,
and Varro accordingly surrendered to Cæsar on his arrival at Corduba
(_Cordova_). Having thus subdued all Spain in forty days, he returned to
Gaul. Massilia had not yet yielded; but the siege had been prosecuted
with so much vigor, that the inhabitants were compelled to surrender the
town soon after he appeared before the walls.
During his absence in Spain Cæsar was appointed Dictator by the Prætor
M. Lepidus, who had been empowered to do so by a law passed for the
purpose. On his return to Rome Cæsar assumed the new dignity, but laid
it down again at the end of eleven days, after holding the Consular
Comitia, in which he himself and P. Servilius Vatia were elected Consuls
for the next year. But during these eleven days he caused some very
important laws to be passed. The first was intended to relieve debtors,
but at the same time to protect, to a great extent, the rights of
creditors. He next restored all exiles; and, finally, he conferred the
full citizenship upon the Transpadani, who had hitherto held only the
Latin franchise.
After laying down the Dictatorship, Cæsar went in December to
Brundusium, where he had previously ordered his troops to assemble. He
had lost many men in the long march from Spain, and also from sickness
arising from their passing the autumn in the south of Italy. Pompey
during the summer had raised a large force in Greece, Egypt, and the
East, the scene of his former glory. He had collected an army consisting
of nine legions of Roman citizens, and an auxiliary force of cavalry and
infantry; and his forces far surpassed in number those which Cæsar had
assembled at Brundusium. Moreover, Pompey's fleet, under the command of
Bibulus, Cæsar's colleague in his first Consulship, completely commanded
the sea. Still Cæsar ventured to set sail from Brundusium on the 4th of
January, and he arrived the next day in safety on the coast of Epirus.
In consequence, however, of the small number of his ships, he was able
to carry over only seven legions, which, from the causes previously
mentioned, had been so thinned as to amount only to 15,000 foot and 500
horse. After landing this force he sent back his ships to bring over
the remainder; but part of the fleet was intercepted in its return by M.
Bibulus, who kept up such a strict watch along the coast that the rest
of Cæsar's army was obliged for the present to remain at Brundusium.
Cæsar was thus in a critical position, in the midst of the enemy's
country, and cut off from the rest of his army; but he knew that he
could thoroughly rely on his men, and therefore immediately commenced
acting on the offensive. After gaining possession of Oricum and
Apollonia, he hastened northward, in hopes of surprising Dyrrhachium,
where all Pompey's stores were deposited; but Pompey, by rapid marches,
reached this town before him, and both armies then encamped opposite to
each other, Pompey on the right, and Cæsar on the left bank of the River
Apsus. Cæsar was now greatly in want of re-enforcements, and such was
his impatience that he attempted to sail across the Adriatic in a small
boat. The waves ran so high that the sailors wanted to turn back, till
Cæsar discovered himself, telling them that they earned Cæsar and his
fortunes. They then toiled on, but the storm at length compelled them to
return, and with difficulty they reached again the coast of Greece.
Shortly afterward M. Antonius succeeded in bringing over the remainder
of the army. Pompey meantime had retired to some high ground near
Dyrrhachium, and, as he would not venture a battle with Cæsar's
veterans, Cæsar began to blockade him in his position, and to draw lines
of circumvallation of an extraordinary extent. They were nearly
completed when Pompey forced a passage through them, and drove back
Cæsar's legions with considerable loss. Cæsar thus found himself
compelled to retreat from his present position, and accordingly
commenced his march for Thessaly. Pompey's policy of avoiding a general
engagement with Cæsar's veterans till he could place more reliance upon
his own troops was undoubtedly a wise one, and had been hitherto crowned
with success; but he was prevented from carrying out the prudent plan
which he had formed for conducting the campaign. His camp was filled
with a multitude of Roman nobles, unacquainted with war, and anxious to
return to their estates in Italy and to the luxuries of the capital. His
unwillingness to fight was set down to love of power and anxiety to keep
the Senate in subjection. Stung with the reproaches with which he was
assailed, and elated in some degree by his victory at Dyrrhachium, he
resolved to bring the contest to an issue. Accordingly, he offered
battle to Cæsar in the plain of Pharsalus, or Pharsalia, in Thessaly.
The numbers on either side were very unequal: Pompey had 45,000
foot-soldiers and 7000 horse, Cæsar 22,000 foot-soldiers and 1000 horse.
The battle, which was fought on the 9th of August, B.C. 48, according
to the old calendar,[70] ended in the total defeat of Pompey's army.
The battle of Pharsalia decided the fate of Pompey and the Republic.
Pompey was at once driven to despair. He made no attempt to rally his
forces, though he might still have collected a considerable army; but,
regarding every thing as lost, he hurried to the sea-coast with a few
friends. He embarked on board a merchant-ship at the mouth of the River
Peneus, and first sailed to Lesbos, where he took on board his wife
Cornelia, and from thence made for Cyprus. He now determined to seek
refuge in Egypt, as he had been the means of restoring to his kingdom
Ptolemy Auletes, the father of the young Egyptian monarch. On his death
in B.C. 51 Ptolemy Auletes had left directions that his son should reign
jointly with his elder sister Cleopatra. But their joint reign did not
last long, for Ptolemy, or, rather, Pothinus and Achillas, his chief
advisers, expelled his sister from the throne. Cleopatra collected a
force in Syria, with which she invaded Egypt. The generals of Ptolemy
were encamped opposite her, near Alexandria, when Pompey arrived off the
coast and craved the protection of the young king. This request threw
Pothinus and Achillas into great difficulty, for there were many of
Pompey's old soldiers in the Egyptian army, and they feared he would
become master of Egypt. They therefore determined to put him to death.
Accordingly, they sent out a small boat, took Pompey on board with three
or four attendants, and rowed for the shore. His wife and friends
watched him from the ship, anxious to see in what manner he would be
received by the king, who was standing on the edge of the sea with his
troops. Just as the boat reached the shore, and Pompey was in the act of
rising from his seat in order to step on land, he was stabbed in the
back by Septimius, who had formerly been one of his centurions. Achillas
and the rest then drew their swords; whereupon Pompey, without uttering
a word, covered his face with his toga, and calmly submitted to his
fate. He had just completed his 58th year. His head was cut off, and his
body, which was cast naked upon the shore, was buried by his freedman
Philippus, who had accompanied him from the ship. The head was brought
to Cæsar when he arrived in Egypt soon afterward, but he turned away
from the sight, shed tears at the untimely end of his rival, and put his
murderers to death.
When news of the battle of Pharsalia reached Rome, various laws were
passed which conferred supreme power upon Cæsar. Though absent, he was
nominated Dictator a second time, and for a whole year. He appointed M.
Antonius his master of the Horse; and entered upon the office in
September of this year (B.C. 48). He was also nominated to the
Consulship for the next five years, though he did not avail himself of
this privilege; and he was invested with the tribunicial power for life.
Cæsar went to Egypt in pursuit of Pompey, and upon his arrival there he
became involved in a war, which detained him several months, and gave
the remains of the Pompeian party time to rally and to make fresh
preparations for continuing the struggle. The war in Egypt, usually
called the Alexandrine War, arose from Cæsar's resolving to settle the
disputes respecting the succession to the kingdom. He determined that
Cleopatra, whose fascinations completely won his heart, and her brother
Ptolemy, should reign in common, according to the provisions of their
father's will; but as this decision was opposed by the guardians of the
young king, a war broke out between them and Cæsar, in which he was for
some time exposed to great danger on account of the small number of his
troops. But, having received re-enforcements, he finally prevailed, and
placed Cleopatra and her younger brother on the throne, the elder having
perished in the course of the contest. Cleopatra afterward joined Cæsar
at Rome, and bore him a son named Cæsarion.
After bringing the Alexandrine War to a close, toward the end of March,
B.C. 47, Cæsar marched through Syria into Pontus in order to attack
Pharnaces, the son of the celebrated Mithridates, who had defeated Cn.
Domitius Calvinus, one of Cæsar's lieutenants. This war, however, did
not detain him long; for Pharnaces, venturing to come to an open battle
with the Dictator, was utterly defeated on the 2d of August near Zela.
It was in reference to this victory that Cæsar sent the celebrated
laconic dispatch to the Senate, _Veni, vidi, vici_, "I came, I saw, I
conquered." He then proceeded to Rome, caused himself to be appointed
Dictator for another year, and nominated M. Æmilius Lepidus his Master
of the Horse. At the same time he quelled a formidable mutiny of his
troops which had broken out in Campania.
Cæsar did not remain in Rome more than two or three months. With his
usual activity and energy he set out to Africa before the end of the
year (B.C. 47), in order to carry on the war against Scipio and Cato,
who had collected a large army in that country. Their forces were far
greater than those which Cæsar could bring against them; but he had too
much reliance on his own genius to be alarmed by mere disparity of
numbers. At first he was in considerable difficulties; but, having been
joined by some of his other legions, he was able to prosecute the
campaign with more vigor, and finally brought it to a close by the
battle of Thapsus, on the 6th of April, B.C. 46, in which the Pompeian
army was completely defeated. All Africa now submitted to Cæsar with the
exception of Utica, which Cato commanded. The inhabitants saw that
resistance was hopeless; and Cato, who was a sincere Republican,
resolved to die rather than submit to Cæsar's despotism. After spending
the greater part of the night in perusing Plato's _Phædo_, a dialogue on
the immortality of the soul, he stabbed himself. His friends, hearing
him fall, ran up, found him bathed in blood, and, while he was fainting,
dressed his wounds. When, however, he recovered feeling, he tore off the
bandages, and so died.
Cæsar returned to Rome by the end of July. He was now undisputed master
of the Roman world. Great apprehensions were entertained by his enemies
lest, notwithstanding his former clemency, he should imitate Marius and
Sulla, and proscribe all his opponents. But these fears were perfectly
groundless. A love of cruelty was no part of Cæsar's nature; and, with a
magnanimity which victors rarely show, and least of all those in civil
wars, he freely forgave all who had borne arms against him, and declared
that he should make no difference between Pompeians and Cæsarians. His
object was now to allay animosities, and to secure the lives and
property of all the citizens of his empire. As soon as the news of his
African victory reached Rome a public thanksgiving of forty days was
decreed in his honor; the Dictatorship was bestowed upon him for ten
years; and the Censorship, under the new title of "Præfectus Morum," for
three years. Cæsar had never yet enjoyed a triumph; and, as he had now
no farther enemies to meet, he availed himself of the opportunity of
celebrating his victories in Gaul, Egypt, Pontus, and Africa, by four
magnificent triumphs. None of these, however, were in honor of his
successes in the civil war; and consequently his African triumph was to
commemorate his victory over Juba, and not over Scipio and Cato. These
triumphs were followed by largesses of corn and money to the people and
the soldiers, by public banquets, and all sorts of entertainments.
Cæsar now proceeded to correct the various evils which had crept into
the state, and to obtain the enactment of several laws suitable to the
altered condition of the commonwealth. He attempted, by severe sumptuary
laws, to restrain the extravagance which pervaded all classes of
society. But the most important of his changes this year (B.C. 40) was
the reformation of the Calendar, which was a real benefit to his country
and the civilized world, and which he accomplished in his character as
Pontifex Maximus. The regulation of the Roman calendar had always been
intrusted to the College of Pontiffs, who had been accustomed to
lengthen or shorten the year at their pleasure for political purposes;
and the confusion had at length become so great that the Roman year was
three months behind the real time. To remedy this serious evil, Cæsar
added 90 days to the current year, and thus made it consist of 445 days;
and he guarded against a repetition of similar errors for the future by
adapting the year to the sun's course.
In the midst of these labors Cæsar was interrupted by intelligence of a
formidable insurrection which had broken out in Spain, where the remains
of the Pompeian party had again collected a large army under the command
of Pompey's sons, Cneius and Sextus. Cæsar set out for Spain at the end
of B.C. 46. With his usual activity he arrived at Obulco, near Corduba,
in 27 days from the time of his leaving Rome. He found the enemy able to
offer stronger opposition than he had anticipated; but he brought the
war to a close by the battle of Munda, on the 17th of March, B.C. 46, in
which he entirely defeated the enemy. It was, however, a hard-fought
battle: Cæsar's troops were at first driven back, and were only rallied
by their general's exposing his own person, like a common soldier, in
the front line of the battle. Cn. Pompeius was killed shortly afterward,
but Sextus made good his escape. The settlement of the affairs in Spain
detained Cæsar in the province some months longer, and he consequently
did not reach Rome till September. At the beginning of October he
entered the city in triumph on account of his victories in Spain,
although the victory had been gained over Roman citizens. The Senate
received him with the most servile flattery. They had in his absence
voted a public thanksgiving of fifty days, and they now vied with each
other in paying him every kind of adulation and homage. He was to wear,
on all public occasions, the triumphal robe; he was to receive the title
of "Father of his Country;" statues of him were to be placed in all the
temples; his portrait was to be struck on coins; the month of Quintilis
was to receive the name of Julius in his honor, and he was to be raised
to a rank among the gods. But there were still more important decrees
than these, which were intended to legalize his power, and confer upon
him the whole government of the Roman world. He received the title of
Imperator for life; he was nominated Consul for the next ten years, and
both Dictator and Præfectus Morum for life; his person was declared
sacred; a guard of Senators and Knights was appointed to protect him,
and the whole Senate took an oath to watch over his safety.
If we now look at the way in which Cæsar exerted his sovereign power, it
can not be denied that he used it in the main for the good of his
country. He still pursued his former merciful course: no proscriptions
or executions took place; and he began to revolve vast schemes for the
benefit of the Roman world. At the same time he was obliged to reward
his followers, and for that reason he greatly increased the number of
senators and magistrates, so that there were 16 Prætors, 40 Quæstors,
and 6 Ædiles, and new members were added to the priestly colleges. Among
other plans of internal improvement, he proposed to frame a digest of
all the Roman laws, to establish public libraries, to drain the Pomptine
marshes, to enlarge the harbor of Ostia and to dig a canal through the
isthmus of Corinth. To protect the boundaries of the Roman Empire, he
meditated expeditions against the Parthians and the barbarous tribes on
the Danube, and had already begun to make preparations for his departure
to the East. In the midst of these vast projects he entered upon the
last year of his life, B.C. 44, and his fifth Consulship and
Dictatorship. He had made M. Antonius his colleague in the Consulship,
and M. Lepidus the Master of the Horse. He had for some time past
resolved to preserve the supreme power in his family; and, as he had no
legitimate children, he had fixed upon his great-nephew Octavius
(afterward the Emperor Augustus) as his successor. Possessing royal
power, he now wished to obtain the title of king, and accordingly
prevailed upon his colleague Antonius to offer him the diadem in public
on the festival of the Lupercalia (the 15th of February). But the very
name of king had long been hateful at Rome; and the people displayed
such an evident dislike to the proposal that it was dropped for the
present.
The conspiracy against Cæsar's life had been formed as early as the
beginning of the year. It had been set on foot by C. Cassius Longinus, a
personal enemy of Cæsar's, and more than sixty persons were privy to it.
Private hatred alone seems to have been the motive of Cassius, and
probably of several others. Many of them had taken an active part in the
war against Cæsar, and had not only been forgiven by him, but raised to
offices of rank and honor. Among others was M. Junius Brutus, who had
been pardoned by Cæsar after the battle of Pharsalia, and had since been
treated almost as his son. In this very year Cæsar had made him Prætor,
and held out to him the prospect of the Consulship. Brutus, like Cato,
seems to have been a sincere Republican, and Cassius persuaded him to
join the conspiracy, and imitate his great ancestor who freed them from
the Tarquins. It was now arranged to assassinate the Dictator in the
Senate-house on the Ides or 15th of March. Rumors of the plot got
abroad, and Cæsar was strongly urged not to attend the Senate. But he
disregarded the warnings which were given him. As he entered, the Senate
rose to do him honor; and when he had taken his seat, the conspirators
pressed around him as if to support the prayer of Tillius Cimber, who
entreated the Dictator to recall his brother from banishment. When Cæsar
began to show displeasure at their importunity, Tillius seized him by
his toga, which was the signal for attack. Casca struck the first blow,
and the other conspirators bared their weapons. Cæsar defended himself
till he saw Brutus had drawn his sword, and then exclaiming, "And thou,
too, Brutus!" he drew his toga over his head, and fell pierced with
three-and-twenty wounds at the foot of Pompey's statue.
[Illustration: Coin of Julius Cæsar.]
Cæsar's death was undoubtedly a loss not only to the Roman people, but
the whole civilized world. The Republic was utterly lost. The Roman
world was now called to go through many years of disorder and bloodshed,
till it rested again under the supremacy of Augustus. The last days of
the Republic had come, and its only hope of peace and security was under
the strong hand of military power.
Cæsar was in his 56th year at the time of his death. His personal
appearance was noble and commanding; he was tall in stature, of a fair
complexion, and with black eyes full of expression. He never wore a
beard, and in the latter part of his life his head was bald. His
constitution was originally delicate, and he was twice attacked by
epilepsy while transacting public business; but, by constant exercise
and abstemious living, he had acquired strong and vigorous health, and
could endure almost any amount of exertion. He took pains with his
person, and was considered to be effeminate in his dress.
Cæsar was probably the greatest man of antiquity. He was at one and the
same time a general, a statesman, a lawgiver, a jurist, an orator, a
poet, a historian, a philologer, a mathematician, and an architect. He
was equally fitted to excel in every thing, and has given proofs that he
would have surpassed almost all other men in any subject to which he
devoted the energies of his extraordinary mind. One fact places his
genius for war in a most striking light. Till his 40th year, when he
went as Proprætor into Spain, he had been almost entirely engaged in
civil life and his military experience must have been of the most
limited kind. Most of the greatest generals in the history of the world
have been distinguished at an early age: Alexander the Great, Hannibal,
Frederick of Prussia, and Napoleon Bonaparte, gained some of their most
brilliant victories under the age of 30; but Cæsar, from the age of 23
to 40, had seen nothing of war, and, notwithstanding, appears all at
once as one of the greatest generals that the world has ever seen.
[Illustration: Statue of a Roman, representing the Toga.]
[Footnote 69: The crossing of this stream was in reality a declaration
of war against the Republic, and later writers relate that upon arriving
at the Rubicon Cæsar long hesitated whether he should take this
irrevocable step, and that, after pondering many hours, he at length
exclaimed, "The die is cast," and plunged into the river. But there is
not a word of this in Cæsar's own narrative.]
[Footnote 70: In reality on the 6th of June.]
[Illustration: M. Antonius.]
CHAPTER XXXVI.
FROM THE DEATH OF CÆSAR TO THE BATTLE OF PHILIPPI. B.C. 44-42.
When the bloody deed had been finished, Brutus and the other
conspirators rushed into the forum, proclaiming that they had killed the
Tyrant, and calling the people to join them; but they met with no
response, and, finding alone averted looks, they retired to the Capitol.
Here they were joined by Cicero, who had not been privy to the
conspiracy, but was now one of the first to justify the murder. Meantime
the friends of Cæsar were not idle. M. Lepidus, the Master of the Horse,
who was in the neighborhood of the city, marched into the Campus Martius
in the night; and M. Antony hastened to the house of the Dictator, and
took possession of his papers and treasures. But both parties feared to
come to blows. A compromise was agreed to; and at a meeting of the
Senate it was determined that Cæsar's murderers should not be punished,
but, on the other hand, that all his regulations should remain in force,
that the provisions of his will should be carried into effect, and that
he should be honored with a public funeral. The conspirators descended
from the Capitol; and, as a proof of reconciliation, Cassius supped with
Antony and Brutus with Lepidus.
This reconciliation was only a pretense. Antony aspired to succeed to
the power of the Dictator; and, to rouse the popular fury against the
conspirators, Cæsar's will was immediately made public. He left as his
heir his great-nephew Octavius, a youth of 18, the son of Atia, the
daughter of his sister Julia. He bequeathed considerable legacies to his
murderers. He gave his magnificent gardens beyond the Tiber to the
public, and to every Roman citizen he bequeathed the sum of 300
sesterces (between £2 and £8 sterling). When this became known a deep
feeling of sorrow for the untimely fate of their benefactor seized the
minds of the people. Their feelings were raised to the highest point two
or three days afterward, when the funeral took place. The body was to be
burned in the Campus Martius, but it was previously carried to the
forum, where Antony, according to custom, pronounced the funeral oration
over it. After relating the exploits of the great Dictator, reciting his
will, and describing his terrible death, he lifted up the blood-stained
robe which Cæsar had worn in the Senate-house, and which had hitherto
covered the corpse, and pointed out the numerous wounds which disfigured
the body. At this sight a yell of indignation was raised, and the mob
rushed in every direction to tear the murderers to pieces. The
conspirators fled for their lives from the city. The poet Helvius Cinna,
being mistaken for the Prætor Cinna, one of the assassins, was
sacrificed on the spot before the mistake could be explained.
Antony was now master of Rome. Being in possession of Cæsar's papers, he
was able to plead the authority of the Dictator for every thing which he
pleased. The conspirators hastened to take possession of the provinces
which Cæsar had assigned to them. Dec. Brutus repaired to Cisalpine
Gaul, M. Brutus to Macedonia, and Cassius to Syria. Antony now made a
disposition of the provinces, taking Cisalpine Gaul for himself, and
giving Macedonia to his brother C. Antonius, and Syria to Dolabella.
Meantime a new actor appeared upon the stage. Octavius was at Apollonia,
a town on the coast of Illyricum, at the time of his uncle's death.
Cæsar had determined to take his nephew with him in his expedition
against the Parthians, and had accordingly sent him to Apollonia, where
a camp had been formed, that he might pursue his military studies. The
soldiers now offered to follow him to Italy and avenge their leader's
death, but he did not yet venture to take this decisive step. He
determined, however, to sail at once to Italy, accompanied by only a few
friends. Upon arriving at Brundusium he heard of the will of the
Dictator, and was saluted by the soldiers as Cæsar. As the adopted heir
of his uncle his proper name was now C. Julius Cæsar Octavianus, and by
the last of these names we shall henceforth call him. He now made up his
mind to proceed to Rome and claim his uncle's inheritance, in opposition
to the advice of his mother, who dreaded this dangerous honor for her
son. Upon arriving at Rome he declared before the Prætor, in the usual
manner, that he accepted the inheritance, and he then promised the
people to pay the money bequeathed to them. He even ventured to claim of
Antony the treasures of his uncle; but, as the latter refused to give
them up, he sold the other property, and even his own estates, to
discharge all the legacies. Antony threw every obstacle in his way; but
the very name of Cæsar worked wonders, and the liberality of the young
man gained the hearts of the people. He had, indeed, a difficult part to
play. He could not join the murderers of his uncle; and yet Antony,
their greatest enemy, was also his most dangerous foe. In these
difficult circumstances the youth displayed a prudence and a wisdom
which baffled the most experienced politicians. Without committing
himself to any party, he professed a warm attachment to the Senate.
Cicero had once more taken an active part in public affairs; and
Octavian, with that dissimulation which he practiced throughout his
life, completely deceived the veteran orator. On the 2d of September
Cicero delivered in the Senate the first of his orations against Antony,
which, in imitation of those of Demosthenes against Philip, are known by
the name of the _Philippics_. Antony was absent at the time, but shortly
afterward attacked the orator in unmeasured terms. Cicero replied in the
Second Philippic, one of the most violent invectives ever written. It
was not spoken, but was published soon after Antony had quitted Rome.
Meantime the emissaries of Octavian had been sounding the disposition of
the soldiers, and had already enlisted for him a considerable number of
troops in various parts of Italy. Antony saw that the power was slipping
from under his feet. Two of the legions which he had sent from Epirus
passed over to Octavian; and, in order to keep the remainder under his
standard, and to secure the north of Italy to his interests, Antony now
proceeded to Cisalpine Gaul, which had been previously granted to him by
the Senate. Upon entering the province toward the end of November, Dec.
Brutus threw himself into Mutina (_Modena_), to which Antony laid siege.
Soon after Antony's departure Cicero prevailed upon the Senate to
declare Antony a public enemy, and to intrust to the young Octavian the
conduct of the war against him. Cicero was now at the height of his
glory. His activity was unceasing, and in the twelve remaining
"Philippics" he encouraged the Senate and the people to prosecute the
war with vigor. The two new Consuls (B.C. 48) were A. Hirtius and C.
Vibius Pansa, both of whom had been designated by the late Dictator. As
soon as they had entered upon their office, Hirtius, accompanied by
Octavian, marched into Cisalpine Gaul, while Pansa remained in the city
to levy troops. For some weeks no movement of importance took place in
either army; but when Pansa set out to join his colleague and Octavian,
Antony marched southward, attacked him at Forum Gallorum, near Bononia
(_Bologna_), and gained a victory over him (April 14). Pansa was
mortally wounded; but Hirtius retrieved this disaster by suddenly
attacking Antony the same evening on his return to the camp at Mutina. A
few days afterward (April 27th) a more decisive battle took place before
Mutina. Antony was defeated with great loss, but Hirtius fell in leading
an assault on the besiegers' camp. The death of the two Consuls left
Octavian the sole command; and so timely was their removal that he was
accused by many of murdering them.
Antony now found it impossible to continue the siege of Mutina, but he
retreated in good order northward, crossed the Alps, and was well
received in Farther Gaul by Lepidus, who had promised him support.
Meantime the good understanding between Octavian and the Senate had come
to an end. The latter, being resolved to prevent him from obtaining any
farther power, gave the command of the Consular armies to D. Brutus; and
Cicero talked of removing the boy. But the "boy" soon showed the Senate
that he was their master. He gained the confidence of the soldiers, who
gladly followed the heir of Cæsar to Rome. Though only 20 years of age,
he demanded of the Senate the Consulship. At first they attempted to
evade his demand; but his soldiers were encamped in the Campus Martius,
and in the month of August he was elected Consul with his cousin Q.
Pedius. The first act of his Consulship showed that he had completely
broken with the Senate. His colleague proposed a law declaring all the
murderers of Cæsar to be outlaws. Octavian then quitted Rome to march
professedly against Antony, leaving Pedius in charge of the city; but it
soon appeared that he had come to an understanding with Antony, for he
had hardly entered Etruria before the unwilling Senate were compelled,
upon the proposal of Pedius, to repeal the sentence of outlawry against
Antony and Lepidus. These two were now descending the Alps at the head
of 17 legions. Octavian was advancing northward with a formidable army.
Between two such forces the situation of D. Brutus was hopeless. He was
deserted by his own troops, and fled to Aquileia, intending to cross
over to Macedonia, but was put to death in the former place by order of
Antony.
Lepidus, who acted as mediator between Antony and Octavian, now arranged
a meeting between them on a small island near Bononia, formed by the
waters of the River Rhenus, a tributary of the Po. The interview took
place near the end of November. It was arranged that the government of
the Roman world should be divided between the three for a period of five
years, under the title of "Triumvirs for settling the affairs of the
Republic."[71] Octavian received Sicily, Sardinia, and Africa; Antony
the two Gauls, with the exception of the Narbonese district, which, with
Spain, was assigned to Lepidus. Octavian and Antony were to prosecute
the war against Brutus and Cassius, who were in possession of the
eastern provinces. Lepidus was to receive the Consulship for the
following year, with the charge of Italy.
The Triumvirs next proceeded to imitate the example of Sulla by drawing
up a Proscription--a list of persons whose lives were to be sacrificed
and property confiscated. But they had not Sulla's excuse. He returned
to Italy exasperated to the highest degree by the murder of his friends
and the personal insults he had received. The Triumvirs, out of a
cold-blooded policy, resolved to remove every one whose opposition they
feared or whose property they coveted. In drawing up the fatal list,
they sacrificed without scruple their nearest relatives and friends. To
please Antony, Octavian gave up Cicero; Antony, in return, surrendered
his own uncle, L. Cæsar; and Lepidus sacrificed his own brother Paullus.
As many as 300 Senators and 2000 Equites were entered on the lists.
As soon as the Triumvirs had made their secret arrangements they marched
toward Rome. Hitherto they had published the names of only 17 of the
Proscribed; but the city was in a state of the utmost alarm, and it was
with difficulty that Pedius could preserve the peace. So great were his
anxiety and fatigue that he died the night before the entry of the
Triumvirs into the city. They marched into Rome at the head of their
legions, and filled all the public places with their soldiery. No
attempt at resistance was made. A law was proposed and carried
conferring upon the Triumvirs the title and powers they had assumed. The
work of butchery then commenced. Lists after lists of the Proscribed
were then published, each more numerous than the former. The soldiers
hunted after the victims, cut off their heads, and brought them to the
authorities to prove their claims to the blood-money. Slaves were
rewarded for betraying their masters, and whoever harbored any of the
Proscribed was punished with death. Terror reigned throughout Italy. No
one knew whose turn would come next.
Cicero was included in the first 17 victims of the Proscription. He was
residing in his Tusculan villa with his brother Quintus, who urged him
to escape to Brutus in Macedonia. They reached Astura, a small island
off Antium, when Quintus ventured to Rome to obtain a supply of money,
of which they were in need. Here he was apprehended, together with his
son, and both were put to death. The orator again embarked, and coasted
along to Formiæ, where he landed at his villa, resolving no longer to
fly from his fate. After spending a night in his own house, his
attendants, hearing that the soldiers were close at hand, forced him to
enter a litter, and hurried him through the woods toward the shore,
distant a mile from his house. As they were passing onward they were
overtaken by their pursuers, and were preparing to defend their master
with their lives; but Cicero commanded them to desist, and, stretching
his head out of the litter, called upon his executioners to strike. They
instantly cut off his head and hands, which were carried to Rome.
Fulvia, the widow of Clodius and now the wife of Antony, gloated her
eyes with the sight, and even thrust a hair-pin through his tongue.
Antony ordered the head to be nailed to the Rostra, which had so often
witnessed the triumphs of the orator. Thus died Cicero, in the 64th year
of his age. He had not sufficient firmness of character to cope with the
turbulent times in which his lot was cast, but as a man he deserves our
admiration and love. In the midst of almost universal corruption he
remained uncontaminated. He was an affectionate father, a faithful
friend, and a kind master.
Many of the Proscribed escaped from Italy, and took refuge with Sextus
Pompey in Sicily, and with Brutus and Cassius in the East. After the
death of Cæsar, the Senate appointed Sextus Pompey to the command of the
Republican fleet. He had become master of Sicily; his fleet commanded
the Mediterranean; and Rome began to suffer from want of its usual
supplies of corn. It was arranged that Octavian should attempt the
conquest of Sicily, while Antony was preparing for the campaign in the
East. A fleet under Salvidienus Rufus was sent against Pompey, but was
defeated by the latter in the Straits of Sicily, in sight of Octavian.
But the war against Brutus and Cassius was more urgent, and accordingly
Octavian and Antony sailed shortly afterward to the East, leaving Pompey
undisputed master of the sea.
On quitting Italy, Brutus had first gone to Athens. The remains of the
Pompeian legions, which continued in Greece after the battle of
Pharsalia, gathered round him; Hortensius, the governor of Macedonia,
acknowledged him as his successor; and C. Antonius, whom his brother had
sent over to take the command of the province, was obliged to surrender
to Brutus.
His colleague had been equally fortunate in Syria. Dolabella, to whom
Antony had given this province, was besieged in Laodicea by Cassius, and
put an end to his own life.
These events took place in B.C. 43. Brutus and Cassius were now masters
of the Roman world east of the Adriatic. It was evident that their
enemies before long would cross over into Greece; but, instead of
concentrating their forces in that country, they began to plunder the
cities of Asia Minor, in order to obtain money for their troops. Brutus
pillaged Lycia, and Cassius Rhodes. The inhabitants of the Lycian town
of Xanthus refused to submit to the exactions of Brutus, made an heroic
defense when they were attacked, and preferred to perish in the flames
of their city rather than to yield. Brutus and Cassius were thus engaged
when the news of the Triumvirate and the Proscription reached them; but
they continued some time longer plundering in the East, and it was not
till the spring of B.C. 42 that the Republican chiefs at length
assembled their forces at Sardis, and prepared to march into Europe. So
much time, however, had now been lost, that Antony and Octavian landed
upon the coast of Greece, and had already commenced their march toward
Macedonia before Brutus and Cassius had quitted Asia.
Brutus seems to have had dark forebodings of the approaching struggle.
He continued his studious habits during the campaign, and limited his
sleep to a very short time. On the night before his army crossed over
into Europe he was sitting in his tent, the lamp burning dim, and the
whole camp in deep silence, when he saw a gigantic and terrible figure
standing by him. He had the courage to ask, "Who art thou, and for what
purpose dost thou come?" The phantom replied, "I am thy evil genius,
Brutus; we shall meet again at Philippi!" and vanished.
[Illustration: Philippi.]
Brutus and Cassius marched through Thrace and Macedonia to Philippi,
where they met the army of the Triumvirs. The Republican leaders took up
their positions on two heights distant a mile from each other, Brutus
pitching his camp on the northern, and Cassius on the southern, near the
sea. The camps, though separate, were inclosed with a common
intrenchment, and midway between them was the pass which led like a gate
from Europe to Asia. The Triumvirs were on the lower ground, in a less
favorable position--Octavian opposite Brutus, and Antony opposite
Cassius. Their troops began to suffer from want of provisions, and they
endeavored to force the Republican leaders to an engagement. Cassius
was unwilling to quit his strong position, and recommended that they
should wait for their fleet; but Brutus was anxious to put an end to
this state of suspense, and persuaded the council to risk an immediate
battle. Brutus himself defeated the army opposite to him, and penetrated
into the camp of Octavian, who was lying ill, unable to take part in the
battle. His litter was seized, and brought forth covered with blood, and
a report spread that he had been killed. Meantime, on the other side of
the field, Antony had driven back Cassius, and taken his camp. Cassius
had retired to a neighboring hill with some of his men, when he saw a
large body of cavalry approaching. Thinking that they belonged to the
enemy and that every thing was lost, he ordered one of his freedmen to
put an end to his life. But the cavalry had been sent by Brutus to
obtain news of Cassius; and when he heard of the death of his colleague,
he wept over him as "the last of the Romans," a eulogy which Cassius had
done nothing to deserve.
Twenty days after the first battle Brutus again led out his forces; but
this time he was completely defeated, and with difficulty escaped from
the field. He withdrew into a wood, and in the night-time fell upon his
sword, which Strato, who had been his teacher in rhetoric, held for him.
His wife Porcia, the daughter of Cato, resolved not to survive her
husband; and, being closely watched by her relations, she put an end to
her life by thrusting burning charcoal into her mouth. Brutus was
doubtless a sincere Republican, but he was a man of weak judgment,
deficient in knowledge of mankind, and more fitted for a life of study
than the command of armies and the government of men.
[Illustration: Coin of Antony and Cleopatra.]
[Footnote 71: _Triumviri Reipulicæ constituendæ._]
[Illustration: M. Agrippa.]
CHAPTER XXXVII.
FROM THE BATTLE OF PHILIPPI TO THE BATTLE OF ACTIUM. B.C. 41-30.
The battle of Philippi scaled the fate of the Republic. Antony remained
in the East to collect money for the soldiers. Octavian, who was in ill
health, returned to Italy to give the veterans the lands which had been
promised them. Antony traversed Asia Minor, plundering the unfortunate
inhabitants, who had already suffered so severely from the exactions of
Brutus and Cassias. In the voluptuous cities of Asia he surrendered
himself to every kind of sensual enjoyment. He entered Ephesus in the
character of Bacchus, accompanied by a wild procession of women dressed
like Bacchantes, and men and youths disguised as Satyrs and Pans. At
Tarsus, in Cilicia, whither he had gone to prepare for the war against
the Parthians, he was visited by Cleopatra. He had summoned her to his
presence to answer for her conduct in supplying Cassius with money and
provisions. She was now in her 28th year, and in the full maturity of
her charms. In her 15th year her beauty had made an impression on the
heart of Antony, when he was at Alexandria with Gabinius, and she now
trusted to make him her willing slave. She sailed up the Cydnus to
Tarsus in a magnificent vessel with purple sails, propelled by silver
oars to the sound of luxurious music. She herself reclined under an
awning spangled with gold, attired as Venus and fanned by Cupids. The
most beautiful of her female slaves held the rudder and the ropes. The
perfumes burnt upon the vessel filled the banks of the river with their
fragrance. The inhabitants cried that Venus had come to revel with
Bacchus. Antony accepted her invitation to sup on board her galley, and
was completely subjugated. Her wit and vivacity surpassed even her
beauty. He followed her to Alexandria, where he forgot every thing in
luxurious dalliance and the charms of her society.
Meantime important events had been taking place in Italy. Octavian found
immense difficulties in satisfying the demands of the veterans. All
Italy was thrown into confusion. Though he expelled thousands from their
homes in Cisalpine Gaul, in order to give their farms to his soldiers,
they still clamored for more. Those who had obtained assignments of land
seized upon the property of their neighbors, and those who had not were
ready to rise in mutiny. The country people, who had been obliged to
yield their property to the rude soldiery, filled Italy with their
complaints, and flocked to Rome to implore in vain the protection of
Octavian. Even if he had the wish, he had not the power to control his
soldiers. Fulvia, the wife of Antony, who had remained behind in Italy,
resolved to avail herself of those elements of confusion, and crush
Octavian. She was a bold and ambitious woman; she saw that, sooner or
later, the struggle must come between her husband and Octavian; and, by
precipitating the war, she hoped to bring her husband to Italy, and thus
withdraw him from the influence of Cleopatra. L. Antonius, the brother
of the Triumvir, who was Consul this year (B.C. 41), entered into her
views. They proclaimed themselves the patrons of the unfortunate
Italians, and also promised to the discontented soldiery that the
Triumvir would recompense them with the spoils of Asia. By these means
they soon saw themselves at the head of a considerable force. They even
obtained possession of Rome. But Agrippa, the ablest general of
Octavian, forced them to quit the city, and pressed them so hard that
they were obliged to take refuge in Perusia (_Perugia_), one of the most
powerful cities of Etruria. Here they were besieged during the winter,
and suffered so dreadfully from famine that they found themselves
compelled to capitulate in the following spring. The lives of L.
Antonius and Fulvia were spared, but the chief citizens of Perusia
itself were put to death, and the town burnt to the ground.
While Antony's friends were thus unfortunate in Italy, his own forces
experienced a still greater disaster in the East. Q. Labienus, the son
of Cæsar's old lieutenant in Gaul, had been sent by Brutus and Cassius
to seek aid from Orodes, the king of Parthia. He was in that country
when the news arrived of the battle of Philippi, and had remained there
up to the present time. The war in Italy, and Antony's indolence at
Alexandria, held out a favorable opportunity for the invasion of the
Roman provinces. Orodes placed a large army under the command of
Labienus and his own son Pacorus. They crossed the Euphrates in B.C. 40,
and carried every thing before them. Antony's troops were defeated; the
two powerful cities of Antioch and Apamea were taken, and the whole of
Syria overrun by the Parthians. Pacorus penetrated as far south as
Palestine, and Labienus invaded Cilicia. Such alarming news, both from
Italy and the East, at length aroused Antony from his voluptuous dreams.
Leaving his lieutenant Ventidius in Syria to conduct the war against the
Parthians, Antony sailed to Athens, where he met his brother and wife.
He now formed an alliance with Sextus Pompey, sailed to Italy, and laid
siege to Brundusium. Another civil war seemed inevitable; but the
soldiers on both sides were eager for peace, and mutual friends
persuaded the chiefs to be reconciled, which was the more easily
effected in consequence of the death of Fulvia at Sicyon. A new division
of the Roman world was now made. Antony was to have all the eastern
provinces and Octavian the western, the town of Scodra, in Illyricum,
forming the boundary between them. Italy was to belong to them in
common. Lepidus was allowed to retain possession of Africa, which he had
received after the battle of Philippi, but he had ceased to be of any
political importance. It was agreed that Antony should carry on the war
against the Parthians, and that Octavian should subdue Pompey, whom
Antony readily sacrificed. The Consuls were to be selected alternately
from the friends of each. To cement the alliance, Antony was to marry
Octavia, the sister of Octavian and widow of C. Marcellus, one of the
noblest women of her age. The two Triumvirs then repaired to Rome to
celebrate the marriage. These events took place toward the end of B.C.
40.
Discontent, however, prevailed at Rome. Sextus Pompey, who had been
excluded from the peace, still continued master of the sea, and
intercepted the ships which supplied the city with corn. The people were
in want of bread, and became so exasperated that Octavian and Antony
found it necessary to enter into negotiations with Pompey. An interview
took place between the chiefs at Cape Misenum. It was agreed that
Pompey should receive Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and Achaia, and that he
should send to Rome an immediate supply of corn. The chiefs then feasted
one another, and Pompey entertained Octavian and Antony on board his own
galley. When the banquet was at its height, a Greek named Menas, or
Menodorus, one of Pompey's captains, whispered to him, "Shall I cut off
the anchors of the ship, and make you master of the Roman world?" To
which Pompey made the well-known reply, "You ought to have done it
without asking me." The two Triumvirs, on their return to Rome, were
received with shouts of applause. The civil wars seemed to have come to
an end (B.C. 39).
Antony, with Octavia, returned to the East, where he found that his
legate Ventidius had gained the most brilliant success over the
Parthians. This man was a native of Picenum, and originally a
mule-driver. He was taken prisoner in the Social War, and walked in
chains in the triumphal procession of Pompeius Strato. He was made
Tribune of the Plebs by Julius Cæsar, and was raised to the Consulship
in B.C. 43. In the Parthian War he displayed military abilities of no
ordinary kind. He first defeated Labienus, took him prisoner in Cilicia,
and put him to death. He then entered Syria, and drove Pacorus beyond
the Euphrates. In the following year (B.C. 38) the Parthians again
entered Syria, but Ventidius gained a signal victory over them, and
Pacorus himself fell in the battle.
The treaty between Sextus Pompey and the Triumvirs did not last long.
Antony refused to give up Achaia, and Pompey therefore recommenced his
piratical excursions. The price of provisions at Rome immediately rose,
and Octavian found it necessary to commence war immediately; but his
fleet was twice defeated by Pompey, and was at last completely destroyed
by a storm (B.C. 38). This failure only proved the necessity of making
still more extensive preparations to carry on the war with success. The
power of Octavian was insecure as long as Pompey was master of the sea,
and could deprive Rome of her supplies of corn. Nearly two years were
spent in building a new fleet, and exercising the newly-raised crews and
rowers. The command of the fleet and the superintendence of all the
necessary preparations for the war were intrusted to Agrippa. In order
to obtain a perfectly secure and land-locked basin for his fleet, and
thus secure it against any sudden surprise, he constructed the
celebrated Julius Portus on the coast of Campania, near Baiæ, by
connecting the inland Lake Avernus, by means of a canal, with the Lake
Lucrinus, and by strengthening the latter lake against the sea, by an
artificial dike or dam. While he was engaged in these great works,
Antony sailed to Taventum, in B.C. 37, with 300 ships. Mæcenas hastened
thither from Rome, and succeeded once more in concluding an amicable
arrangement. He was accompanied on this occasion by Horace, who has
immortalized, in a well-known satire, his journey from Rome to
Brundusium. Octavian and Antony met between Tarentum and Metapontum; the
Triumvirate was renewed for another period of five years; Antony agreed
to leave 120 ships to assist in the war against Pompey, and Octavian
promised to send a land force to the East for the campaign against the
Parthians.
Octavian, now relieved of all anxiety on the part of Antony, urged on
his preparations with redoubled vigor. By the summer of B.C. 36 he was
ready to commence operations. He had three large fleets at his disposal:
his own, stationed in the Julian harbor; that of Antony, under the
command of Statilius Taurus, in the harbor of Tarentum; and that of
Lepidus, off the coast of Africa. His plan was for all three fleets to
set sail on the same day, and make a descent upon three different parts
of Sicily; but a fearful storm marred this project. Lepidus alone
reached the coast of Sicily, and landed at Lilybæum; Statilius Taurus
was able to put back to Tarentum; but Octavian, who was surprised by the
storm off the Lucanian promontory of Palinurus, lost a great number of
his ships, and was obliged to remain in Italy to repair his shattered
fleet. As soon as the ships had been refitted, Octavian again set sail
for Sicily. Agrippa defeated Pompey's fleet off Mylæ, destroying 30 of
his ships; but the decisive battle was fought on the 3d of September
(B.C. 36), off Naulochus, a sea-port between Mylæ and the promontory of
Pelorus. Agrippa gained a brilliant victory; most of the Pompeian
vessels were destroyed or taken. Pompey himself fled to Lesbos with a
squadron of 17 ships. Octavian did not pursue him, as Lepidus, who was
at the head of a considerable force, now claimed Sicily for himself, and
an equal share as Triumvir in the government of the Roman world; but
Octavian found means to seduce his soldiers from their allegiance; and
Lepidus was at last obliged to surrender to Octavian, and to throw
himself upon his mercy. His life was granted, but he was deprived of his
Triumvirate, his army, and his provinces, and was compelled to retire to
Italy as a private person. He was allowed, however, to retain his
property and the dignity of Pontifex Maximus. He lived till B.C. 13.
In B.C. 35 Pompey crossed over from Lesbos to Asia, with the view of
seizing that province; but he was easily crushed by the lieutenants of
Antony, was taken prisoner as he attempted to escape to Armenia, and was
put to death at Miletus. By the death of Pompey and the deposition of
Lepidus, Antony and Octavian were now left without a rival, and Antony's
mad love for Cleopatra soon made Octavian the undisputed master of the
Roman world.
After Antony's marriage with Octavia in B.C. 40, he seems for a time to
have forgotten, or, at least, conquered the fascinations of the Egyptian
queen. For the next three years he resided in Athens with his wife; but
after his visit to Italy, and the renewal of the Triumvirate in B.C. 37,
he left Octavia behind at Tarentum, and determined to carry out his
long-projected campaign against the Parthians. As he approached Syria,
"that great evil," as Plutarch calls it, his passion for Cleopatra,
burst forth with more vehemence than ever. From this time she appears as
his evil genius. He summoned her to him at Laodicea, and loaded her with
honors and favors. He added to her dominions Phoenicia, Coele-Syria,
Cyprus, a large part of Cilicia, Palestine, and Arabia, and publicly
recognized the children she had borne him. Although he had collected a
large army to invade the Parthian empire, he was unable to tear himself
away from the enchantress, and did not commence his march till late in
the year. The expedition proved most disastrous; the army suffered from
want of provisions, and Antony found himself compelled to retreat. He
narrowly escaped the fate of Crassus, and it was with the utmost
difficulty that he succeeded in reaching the Armenian mountains, after
losing the best part of his troops.
Antony returned to Alexandria, and surrendered himself entirely to
Cleopatra. In B.C. 34 he made a short campaign into Armenia, and
succeeded in obtaining possession of Artavasdas, the Armenian king. He
carried him to Alexandria, and, to the great scandal of all the Romans,
entered the city in triumph, with all the pomp and ceremonial of the
Roman pageant. He now laid aside entirely the character of a Roman
citizen, and assumed the state and dress of an Eastern monarch. Instead
of the toga he wore a robe of purple, and his head was crowned with a
diadem. Sometimes he assumed the character of Osiris, while Cleopatra
appeared at his side as Isis. He gave the title of kings to Alexander
and Ptolemy, his sons by Cleopatra. The Egyptian queen already dreamed
of reigning over the Roman world.
While Antony was disgusting the Romans and alienating his friends and
supporters by his senseless follies, Octavian had been restoring order
to Italy, and, by his wise and energetic administration, was slowly
repairing the evils of the civil wars. In order to give security to the
frontiers and employment to the troops, he attacked the barbarians on
the north of Italy and Greece, and subdued the Iapydes, Pannonians, and
Dalmatians. He carried on these wars in person, and won the affection of
the soldiers by sharing their dangers and hardships.
The contrast between the two Triumvirs was sufficiently striking, but
Octavian called attention to the follies of Antony. Letters passed
between them full of mutual recriminations, and both parties began to
prepare for the inevitable struggle. Toward the end of B.C. 32 the
Senate declared war against Cleopatra, for Antony was regarded as her
slave.[72] The five years of the Triumvirate had expired on the last day
of this year; and on the 1st of January, B.C. 31, Octavian, as Consul of
the Republic, proceeded to carry on the war against the Egyptian queen.
The hostile fleets and armies assembled on the western coasts of Greece.
Antony's fleet was superior both in number and size of the ships, but
they were clumsy and unmanageable. They were anchored in the Ambraciot
Gulf, in the modern _Bay of Prevesa_. (See Plan, P.) The army was
encamped on the promontory of Actium (Plan, 3), which has given its name
to the battle. The fleet of Octavian consisted of light Liburnian
vessels, manned by crews which had gained experience in the wars against
Sextus Pompey. It was under the command of the able Agrippa, who took up
his station at Corcyra, and swept the Adriatic Sea. Octavian in person
took the command of the land forces, which were encamped on the coast of
Epirus opposite Actium, on the spot where Nicopolis afterward stood.
(Plan, 1.) The generals of Antony strongly urged him to fight on land;
but the desertions among his troops were numerous; Cleopatra became
alarmed for her safety; and it was therefore resolved to sacrifice the
army, and retire with the fleet to Egypt. But Agrippa was on the watch,
and Antony had no sooner sailed outside the strait than he was compelled
to fight. The battle was still undecided and equally favorable to both
parties, when Cleopatra, whose vessels were at anchor in the rear,
taking advantage of a favorable breeze which sprang up, sailed through
the midst of the combatants with her squadron of 60 ships, and made for
the coast of Peloponnesus. When Antony saw her flight, he hastily
followed her, forgetting every thing else, and shamefully deserting
those who were fighting and dying in his cause. The remainder of the
fleet was destroyed before night-time. The army, after a few days'
hesitation, surrendered, and Octavian pardoned all the officers who sued
for his favor. The battle of Actium was fought on the 2d of September,
B.C. 31, from which day the reign of Octavian is to be dated.
[Illustration: Plan of Actium.
1. Nicopolis 3. Prom. Actium.
2. _C. La Scara_. 5. Temple of Apollo.
P. _Bay of Prevesa_.
]
Octavian did not follow Antony to Alexandria for nearly twelve months
after the battle of Actium. He sent Agrippa to Italy with his veteran
troops, and himself passed the winter at Samos; but he could not satisfy
the demands of the soldiers, who broke out into open mutiny. Octavian
hastened to Brundusium, and with difficulty raised a sufficient sum of
money to calm their discontent.
This respite was of no service to Antony and Cleopatra. They knew that
resistance was hopeless, and therefore sent embassadors to Octavian to
solicit his favor. To Antony no answer was given, but to Cleopatra hopes
were held out if she would betray her lover. She began to flatter
herself that her charms, which had fascinated both Cæsar and Antony,
might conquer Octavian, who was younger than either. Octavian at length
appeared before Pelusium, which surrendered to him without resistance.
He then marched upon Alexandria. Antony, encouraged by some slight
success in an action with the cavalry, prepared to resist Octavian both
by sea and land; but as soon as the Egyptian ships approached those of
Octavian, the crews saluted them with their oars and passed over to
their side. Antony's cavalry also deserted him, his infantry was easily
repulsed, and he fled to Alexandria, crying out that he was betrayed by
Cleopatra.
The queen had shut herself up in a mausoleum which she had built to
receive her body after death, and where she had collected her most
valuable treasures. Hearing of Antony's defeat, she sent persons to
inform him that she was dead. He fell into the snare; they had promised
not to survive one another, and Antony stabbed himself. He was drawn up
into the mausoleum, and died in her arms. She was apprehended by the
officers of Octavian, and a few days afterward had an interview with the
conqueror. Her charms, however, failed in softening the colder heart of
Octavian. He only "bade her be of good cheer and fear no violence." Soon
afterward she learned that she was to be sent to Rome in three days'
time. This news decided her. On the following day she was found lying
dead on a golden couch in royal attire, with her two women lifeless at
her feet. The manner of her death was unknown. It was generally believed
that she had died by the bite of an asp, which a peasant had brought to
her in a basket full of figs. She was 39 years of age at the time of her
death. Egypt was made a Roman province. Octavian did not return to Rome
till B.C. 29, when he celebrated a threefold triumph over the
Pannonians, Dalmatians, and Egypt. The Temple of Janus was closed for
the third time in Roman history. The exhausted Roman world, longing for
repose, gladly acquiesced in the sole rule of Octavian. The Senate
conferred upon him numerous honors and distinctions, with the title of
Imperator for life.
Thus ended the Roman Republic, an end to which it had been tending for
the last hundred years. The corruption and demoralization of all classes
had rendered a Republic almost an impossibility; and the civil
dissensions of the state had again and again invested one or more
persons with despotic authority. The means which Augustus employed to
strengthen and maintain his power belong to a history of the Empire. He
proceeded with the caution which was his greatest characteristic. He
refused the names of King and Dictator, and was contented with the
simple appellation of _Princeps_, which had always been given to one of
the most distinguished members of the Senate. He received, however, in
B.C. 27, the novel title of _Augustus_, that is, "the sacred," or "the
venerable," which was afterward assumed by all the Roman emperors as a
surname. As Imperator he had the command of the Roman armies; and the
tribunitian and proconsular powers which the Senate conferred upon him
made him absolute master of the state. He made a new division of the
provinces, allowing the Senate to appoint the governors of those which
were quiet and long-settled, like Sicily, Achaia, and Asia, but
retaining for himself such as required the presence of an army, which
were governed by means of his Legati. On the death of Lepidus in B.C.
13, he succeeded him as Pontifex Maximus, and thus became the head of
the Roman religion. While he thus united in his own person all the great
offices of state, he still allowed the Consuls, Prætors, and other
magistrates of the Republic to be annually elected. "In a few words, the
system of Imperial government, as it was instituted by Octavian, and
maintained by those princes who understood their own interest and that
of the people, may be defined as an absolute government, disguised by
the form of a commonwealth. The masters of the Roman world surrounded
their throne with darkness, concealed their irresistible strength; and
humbly professed themselves the accountable ministers of the Senate,
whose supreme decrees they dictated and obeyed."[73]
[Footnote 72: Antony retaliated by sending Octavia a bill of divorce.]
[Footnote 73: Gibbon.]
[Illustration: Map of the Provinces of the Roman Empire.]
[Illustration: Horace.]
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF ROMAN LITERATURE, FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO
THE DEATH OF AUGUSTUS.
For many centuries after the foundation of the city the Romans can
hardly be said to have had any literature at all. There may have
existed, at an early period, some songs or ballads, recounting, in rude
strains,[74] the exploits of the heroes of Roman story, but all trace of
these has disappeared. It was not till the conquest of the Greek cities
in Southern Italy, shortly before the First Punic War, that we can date
the commencement of the Roman literature. It began with the Drama.
Dramatic exhibitions were first introduced at Rome from Etruria in B.C.
363, on the occasion of a severe pestilence, in order to avert the anger
of the gods. But these exhibitions were only pantomimic scenes to the
music of the flute, without any song or dialogue. It was not till B.C.
240 that a drama with a regular plot was performed at Rome. Its author
was M. LIVIUS ANDRONICUS, a native of Magna Græcia, who was taken
prisoner at the capture of Tarentum, and carried to Rome, where he
became the slave of M. Livius Salinator. He was afterward set free, and,
according to Roman practice, took the gentilic name of his master. He
acquired at Rome a perfect knowledge of the Latin language, and wrote
both tragedies and comedies, which were borrowed, or, rather, translated
from the Greek. He also wrote an Odyssey in the Saturnian metre, and
some hymns. He may be regarded as the first Roman poet. His works were
read in schools in the time of Horace.
CN. NÆVIUS, the second Roman poet, was a Campanian by birth. He served
in the First Punic War, and, like Livius, wrote dramas borrowed from the
Greek. His first play was performed in B.C. 235. He was attached to the
Plebeian party; and, with the license of the old Attic comedy, he made
the stage a vehicle for assailing the aristocracy. In consequence of his
attacks upon the Metelli he was thrown into prison. He obtained his
release through the Tribunes, but was soon compelled to expiate a new
offense by exile. He retired to Utica, where he died about B.C. 202. In
his exile he wrote, in the Saturnian metre, an epic poem on the First
Punic War, in which he introduced the celebrated legends connected with
the foundation of Rome. This poem was extensively copied both by Ennius
and Virgil.
Q. ENNIUS, however, may be regarded as the real founder of Roman
literature. Like Livius, he was a native of Magna Græcia. He was born at
Rudiæ, in Calabria, B.C. 239. Cato found him in Sardinia in B.C. 204,
and brought him in his train to Rome. He dwelt in a humble house on the
Aventine, and maintained himself by acting as preceptor to the youths of
the Roman nobles. He lived on terms of the closest intimacy with the
elder Scipio Africanus. He died B.C. 169, at the age of 70. He was
buried in the sepulchre of the Scipios, and his bust was allowed a place
among the effigies of that noble house. His most important work was an
epic poem, entitled the "Annals of Rome," in 18 books, written in
dactylic hexameters, which, through his example, supplanted the old
Saturnian metre. This poem commenced with the loves of Mars and Rhea,
and came down to the age of Ennius. Virgil borrowed largely from it;
and, down to his time, it was regarded as the great epic poem of the
Latin language. He also wrote numerous tragedies, a few comedies, and
several other works, such as _Satiræ_, composed in a great variety of
metres, from which circumstance they probably received their name.
The comic drama of Rome, though it continued to be more or less a
translation or an imitation of the Greek, was cultivated with
distinguished success by two writers of genius, several of whose plays
are still extant.
T. MACCIUS PLAUTUS was a native of Sarsina, a small village in Umbria,
and was born about B.C. 254. He probably came to Rome at an early age,
and was first employed in the service of the actors. With the money he
had saved in this inferior station he left Rome, and set up in business;
but his speculations failed: he returned to Rome, and his necessities
obliged him to enter the service of a baker, who employed him in
turning a hand-mill. While in this degrading occupation he wrote three
plays, the sale of which to the managers of the public games enabled him
to quit his drudgery, and begin his literary career. He was then about
30 years of age (B.C. 224), and continued to write for the stage for
about 40 years. He died in B.C. 184, when he was 70 years of age. The
comedies of Plautus enjoyed unrivaled popularity among the Romans, and
continued to be represented down to the time of Diocletian. Though they
were founded upon Greek models, the characters in them act, speak, and
joke like genuine Romans, and the poet thereby secured the sympathy of
his audience more completely than Terence. It was not only with the
common people that Plautus was a favorite; educated Romans read and
admired his works down to the latest times. Cicero places his wit on a
level with that of the old Attic comedy; and St. Jerome used to console
himself with the perusal of the poet, after spending many nights in
tears on account of his past sins. The favorable impression which the
ancients entertained of the merits of Plautus has been confirmed by the
judgment of modern critics, and by the fact that several of his plays
have been imitated by many of the best modern poets. Twenty of his
comedies are extant.
P. TERENTIUS AFER, usually called TERENCE, was born at Carthage, B.C.
195. By birth or purchase he became the slave of P. Terentius, a Roman
senator, who afforded him the best education of the age, and finally
gave him his freedom. The _Andria_, which was the first play of Terence
acted (B.C. 166), was the means of introducing him to the most refined
and intellectual circles of Rome. His chief patrons were Lælius and the
younger Scipio, both of whom treated him as an equal, and are said even
to have assisted him in the composition of his plays. He died in the
36th year of his age, in B.C. 159. Six comedies are all that remain to
us. The ancient critics are unanimous in ascribing to Terence immaculate
purity and elegance of language. Although a foreigner and a freedman, he
divides with Cicero and Cæsar the palm of pure Latinity.
There were two other comic poets, whose works are lost, but who enjoyed
a great reputation among the Romans. Q. CÆCILIUS was a native of Milan,
and, like Terence, came to Rome as a slave. He was the immediate
predecessor of Terence, and died B.C. 108, two years before the
representation of the _Andria_. L. AFRANIUS flourished B.C. 100, and
wrote comedies describing Roman scenes and manners, called _Comoediæ
Togatæ_, to distinguish them from those depicting Grecian life, which
were termed _Palliatæ_, from _pallium_, the national dress of the
Greeks.
There were two tragic poets contemporary with Terence, who also enjoyed
great celebrity, though their works have likewise perished. M. PACUVIUS,
son of the sister of Ennius, was born about B.C. 220, and died in the
90th year of his age. He is praised by the Latin writers for the
loftiness of his thoughts, the vigor of his language, and the extent of
his knowledge. Hence we find the epithet _doctus_ frequently applied to
him. Most of his tragedies were taken from the Greek writers; but some
belonged to the class called _Prætextatæ_, in which the subjects were
taken from Roman story. One of these, entitled _Paullus_, had as its
hero L. Æmilius Paullus, the conqueror of Perseus, king of Macedonia. L.
ACCIUS, a younger contemporary of Pacuvius, was born B.C. 170, and lived
to a great age. Cicero, when a young man, frequently conversed with him.
His tragedies, like those of Pacuvius, were chiefly imitations of the
Greek; but he also wrote some on Roman subjects, one of which was
entitled _Brutus_.
Though the Roman Drama, properly so called, was derived from the Greeks,
there were some kinds of dramatic exhibitions which were of Italian
origin. The first of these were the _Atellanæ Fabulæ_, or Atellane
Plays, which took their name from Atella, a town in Campania. They were
composed in the Oscan dialect, and were at first rude extemporaneous
farces, but were afterward divided into acts like a regular drama. They
seem to have been the origin of the Policinello of modern Italy. The
Oscan dialect was preserved even when they were introduced at Rome. The
_Mimes_ were another species of comedy, of which only the name seems to
have been derived from the Greek. They were a species of low comedy of
an indecent description, in which the dialogue was subordinate to
mimicry and gesture. The Dictator Sulla was very fond of these
performances. The two most distinguished writers of Mimes were DEC.
LABERIUS, a knight, and P. SYRUS, a freedman, and originally a Syrian
slave, both of whom were contemporaries of Julius Cæsar. At Cæsar's
triumphal games in October, B.C. 45, P. Syrus challenged all his craft
to a trial of wit in extemporaneous farce, and Cæsar offered Laberius
500,000 sesterces to appear on the stage. Laberius was 60 years old, and
the profession of a mimus was infamous, but the wish of the Dictator was
equivalent to a command, and he reluctantly complied. He had, however,
revenge in his power, and took it. His prologue awakened compassion, and
perhaps indignation; and during the performance he adroitly availed
himself of his various characters to point his wit at Cæsar. In the
person of a beaten Syrian slave he cried out, "Marry! Quirites, but we
lose our freedom," and all eyes were turned upon the Dictator; and in
another mime he uttered the pregnant maxim, "Needs must he fear who
makes all else adread." Cæsar, impartially or vindictively, awarded the
prize to Syrus.
The _Fescennine Songs_ were the origin of the _Satire_, the only
important species of literature not derived from the Greeks, and
altogether peculiar to Italy. These Fescennine Songs were rude
dialogues, in which the country people assailed and ridiculed one
another in extempore verses, and which were introduced as an amusement
in various festivals. They were formed into the _Satire_[75] by C.
LUCILIUS, who wrote in hexameter verse, and attacked the follies and
vices both of distinguished persons and of mankind in general. He was
born B.C. 148, at Suessa Aurunca, and died at Naples in B.C. 103. He
lived upon terms of intimacy with the younger Scipio and Lælius, and was
the maternal ancestor of Pompey the Great. Lucilius continued to be
admired in the Augustan age; and Horace, while he censures the harsh
versification and the slovenly haste with which Lucilius threw off his
compositions, acknowledges with admiration the fierceness and boldness
of his attacks upon the vices and follies of his contemporaries.
Between Lucilius and the poets of the Augustan age lived Lucretius and
Catullus, two of the greatest--perhaps the greatest--of all the Roman
poets.
T. LUCRETIUS CARUS was born B.C. 95, and died about B.C. 51. He is said
to have been driven mad by a love-potion, and to have perished by his
own hand. The work which has immortalized his name is a philosophical
didactic poem, in heroic hexameters, entitled _De Rerum Natura_, divided
into six books, and addressed to C. Memmius Gemellus, who was prætor in
B.C. 58. Its object is to state clearly the leading principles of the
Epicurean philosophy in such a form as might render the study attractive
to his countrymen. He attempts to show that there is nothing in the
history or actual condition of the world which does not admit of
explanation without having recourse to the active interposition of
divine beings. The work has been admitted by all modern critics to be
the greatest of didactic poems. The most abstruse speculations are
clearly explained in majestic verse, while the subject, which in itself
is dry and dull, is enlivened by digressions of matchless power and
beauty.
VALERIUS CATULLUS was born at Verona or in its immediate vicinity, B.C.
87. He inherited considerable property from his father, who was the
friend of Julius Cæsar; but he squandered a great part of it by
indulging freely in the pleasures of the metropolis. In order to better
his fortunes, he went to Bithynia in the train of the Prætor Memmius,
but it appears that the speculation was attended with little success. It
was probably during this expedition that his brother died in the Troad,
a loss which he deplores in the affecting elegy to Hortalus. On his
return he continued to reside at Rome, or at his country seats on the
promontory of Sirmio and at Tibur. He died about B.C. 47. His poems are
on a variety of topics, and composed in different styles and metres.
Some are lyrical, others elegies, others epigrams; while the Nuptials of
Peleus and Thetis is an heroic poem. Catullus adorned all he touched,
and his shorter poems are characterized by original invention and
felicity of expression. His _Atys_ is one of the most remarkable poems
in the whole range of Latin literature, distinguished by wild passion
and the noblest diction.
Among the poets of the Augustan age Virgil and Horace stand forth
pre-eminent.
P. VIRGILIUS (more properly VERGILIUS) MARO was born B.C. 70, at Andes,
a small village near Mantua, in Cisalpine Gaul. His father left him a
small estate, which he cultivated. After the battle of Philippi (B.C.
42) his property was among the lands assigned by Octavian to the
soldiers. Through the advice of Asinius Pollio, who was then governor of
Cisalpine Gaul, and was himself a poet, Virgil applied to Octavian at
Rome for the restitution of his land, and obtained his request. The
first Eclogue commemorates his gratitude. Virgil lived on intimate terms
with Mæcenas, whom he accompanied in the journey from Rome to
Brundusium, which forms the subject of one of the Satires of Horace. His
most finished work, the _Georgics_, was undertaken at the suggestion of
Mæcenas.[76] The poem was completed after the battle of Actium, B.C. 31,
while Octavian was in the East.[77] The _Æneid_ was the occupation of
his latter years. His health was always feeble, and he died at
Brundusium in B.C. 19, in his 51st year. His remains were transferred to
Naples, which had been his favorite residence, and placed on the road
from Naples to Puteoli (_Pozzuoli_), where a monument is still shown,
supposed to be the tomb of the poet. It is said that in his last illness
he wished to burn the Æneid, to which he had not given the finishing
touches, but his friends would not allow him. He was an amiable,
good-tempered man, free from the mean passions of envy and jealousy. His
fame, which was established in his lifetime, was cherished after his
death as an inheritance in which every Roman had a share; and his works
became school-books even before the death of Augustus, and continued
such for centuries after. He was also the great poet of the Middle Ages.
To him Dante paid the homage of his superior genius, and owned him for
his master and model. The ten short poems called Bucolics, or Eclogues,
were the earliest works of Virgil, and probably all written between B.C.
41 and B.C. 37. They have all a Bucolic form and coloring, but some of
them have nothing more. Their merit consists in their versification, and
in many natural and simple touches. The Georgics is an "Agricultural
Poem" in four books. Virgil treats of the cultivation of the soil in the
first book, of fruit-trees in the second, of horses and other cattle in
the third, and of bees in the fourth. This poem shows a great
improvement both in his taste and in his versification. Neither in the
Georgics nor elsewhere has he the merit of striking originality; his
chief excellence consists in the skillful handling of borrowed
materials. The Æneid, or adventures of Æneas after the fall of Troy, is
an epic formed on the model of the Homeric poems. It was founded upon an
old Roman tradition that Æneas and his Trojans settled in Italy, and
were the founders of the Roman name. In the first six books the
adventures of Ulysses in the Odyssey are the model, and these books
contain more variety of incident and situation than those which follow.
The last six books, the history of the struggles of Æneas in Italy, are
based on the plan of the battles of the Iliad. Latinus, the king of the
Latini, offers in marriage to the Trojan hero his daughter Lavinia, who
had been betrothed to Turnus, the warlike king of the Rutuli. The
contest is ended by the death of Turnus, who falls by the hand of Æneas.
The fortunes of Æneas and his final settlement in Italy are the subjects
of the Æneid, but the glories of Rome and the Julian house, to which
Augustus belonged, are indirectly the poet's theme. In the first book
the foundation of Alba Longa is promised by Jupiter to Venus, and the
transfer of empire from Alba to Rome; from the line of Æneas will
descend the "Trojan Cæsar," whose empire will only be limited by the
ocean, and his glory by the heavens. The ultimate triumphs of Rome are
predicted.
Q. HORATIUS FLACCUS, usually called HORACE, was born at Venusia, in
Apulia, B.C. 65. His father was a freedman. He had received his
manumission before the birth of the poet, who was of ingenuous birth,
but who did not altogether escape the taunt which adhered to persons
even of remote servile origin. His father's occupation was that of a
collector (_coactor_) of taxes. With the profits of his office he had
purchased a small farm in the neighborhood of Venusia. Though by no
means rich, he declined to send the young Horace to the common school,
kept in Venusia by one Flavius, to which the children of the rural
aristocracy resorted. Probably about his twelfth year his father carried
him to Rome to receive the usual education of a knight's or senator's
son. He frequented the best schools in the capital. One of these was
kept by Orbilius, a retired military man, whose flogging propensities
have been immortalized by his pupil. The names of his other teachers are
not recorded by the poet. He was instructed in the Greek and Latin
languages: the poets were the usual school-books--Homer in the Greek,
and the old tragic writer, Livius Andronicus, in the Latin. In his
eighteenth year Horace proceeded to Athens, in order to continue his
studies at that seat of learning. When Brutus came to Athens after the
death of Cæsar, Horace joined his army, and received at once the rank of
a military tribune and the command of a legion. He was present at the
battle of Philippi, and shared in the flight of the republican army. In
one of his poems he playfully alludes to his flight, and throwing away
his shield. He now resolved to devote himself to more peaceful pursuits;
and, having obtained his pardon, he ventured at once to return to Rome.
He had lost all his hopes in life; his paternal estate had been swept
away in the general forfeiture; but he was enabled to obtain sufficient
money to purchase a clerkship in the Quæstor's office, and on the
profits of that place he managed, with the utmost frugality, to live.
Meantime some of his poems attracted the notice of Varius and Virgil,
who introduced him to Mæcenas (B.C. 39). Horace soon became the friend
of Mæcenas, and this friendship quickly ripened into intimacy. In a year
or two after the commencement of their friendship (B.C. 37) Horace
accompanied his patron on the journey to Brundusium already alluded to.
About the year B.C. 34 Mæcenas bestowed upon the poet a Sabine farm,
sufficient to maintain him in ease, comfort, and even in content, during
the rest of his life. The situation of this farm was in the valley of
Ustica, within view of the mountain Lucretilis, and near the Digentia,
about 15 miles from Tibur (_Tivoli_). A site exactly answering to the
villa of Horace, and on which were found ruins of buildings, has been
discovered in modern times. Besides this estate, his admiration of the
beautiful scenery in the neighborhood of Tibur inclined him either to
hire or to purchase a small cottage in that romantic town; and all the
later years of his life were passed between the metropolis and these two
country residences. He died, B.C. 8, in his 57th year. He was buried on
the slope of the Esquiline Hill, close to his friend and patron Mæcenas,
who had died before him in the same year. Horace has described his own
person. He was of short stature, with dark eyes and dark hair, but early
tinged with gray. In his youth he was tolerably robust, but suffered
from a complaint in his eyes. In more advanced life he grew fat, and
Augustus jested about his protuberant belly. His health was not always
good, and he seems to have inclined to be a valetudinarian. In dress he
was rather careless. His habits, even after he became richer, were
generally frugal and abstemious; though on occasions, both in youth and
maturer age, he seems to have indulged in conviviality. He liked choice
wine, and in the society of friends scrupled not to enjoy the luxuries
of his time. He was never married. The _Odes_ of Horace want the higher
inspirations of lyric verse. His amatory verses are exquisitely
graceful, but they have no strong ardor, no deep tenderness, nor even
much light and joyous gayety; but as works of refined art, of the most
skillful felicities of language and of measure, of translucent
expression, and of agreeable images embodied in words which imprint
themselves indelibly on the memory, they are unrivaled. In the _Satires_
of Horace there is none of the lofty moral indignation, the fierce
vehemence of invective, which characterized the later satirists. It is
the folly rather than the wickedness of vice which he touches with such
playful skill. In the _Epodes_ there is bitterness provoked, it should
seem, by some personal hatred or sense of injury; but the _Epistles_ are
the most perfect of the Horatian poetry, the poetry of manners and
society, the beauty of which consists in its common sense and practical
wisdom. The Epistles of Horace are, with the Poem of Lucretius, the
Georgics of Virgil, and, perhaps, the Satires of Juvenal, the most
perfect and the most original form of Roman verse. The _Art of Poetry_
was probably intended to dissuade one of the younger Pisos from devoting
himself to poetry, for which he had little genius, or, at least, to
suggest the difficulties of attaining to perfection.
Three celebrated Elegiac poets--Tibullus, Propertius, and Ovid--also
belong to the Augustan age.
ALBIUS TIBULLUS was of equestrian family, and possessed an hereditary
estate between Tibur and Præneste. His great patron was Messala, whom he
accompanied in B.C. 31 into Aquitania, whither Messala had been sent by
Augustus to suppress a formidable insurrection which had broken out in
this province. In the following year (B.C. 30) Messala, having pacified
Gaul, was sent into the East. Tibullus set out in his company, but was
taken ill, and obliged to remain in Corcyra, from whence he returned to
Rome. So ceased the active life of Tibullus. He died at an early age
soon after Virgil. The poetry of his contemporaries shows Tibullus as a
gentle and singularly amiable man. To Horace especially he was an object
of warm attachment. His Elegies, which are exquisite small poems,
celebrate the beauty and cruelty of his mistresses.
SEXTUS AURELIUS PROPERTIUS was a native of Umbria, and was born about
B.C. 51. He was deprived of his paternal estate by an agrarian division,
probably that in B.C. 33, after the Sicilian War. He began to write
poetry at a very early age, and the merit of his productions soon
attracted the attention and patronage of Mæcenas. The year of his death
is altogether unknown. As an elegiac poet a high rank must be awarded to
Propertius, and among the ancients it was a disputed point whether the
preference should be given to him or to Tibullus. To the modern reader,
however, the elegies of Propertius are not nearly so attractive as those
of Tibullus. This arises partly from their obscurity, but in a great
measure, also, from a certain want of nature in them. The fault of
Propertius was too pedantic an imitation of the Greeks. His whole
ambition was to become the Roman Callimachus, whom he made his model. He
abounds with obscure Greek myths, as well as Greek forms of expression,
and the same pedantry infects even his versification.
P. OVIDIUS NASO, usually culled OVID, was born at Sulmo, in the country
of the Peligni, on the 20th of March, B.C. 43. He was descended from an
ancient equestrian family, and was destined to be a pleader; but the
bent of his genius showed itself very early. The hours which should have
been spent in the study of jurisprudence were employed in cultivating
his poetical talent. It is a disputed point whether he ever actually
practiced as an advocate after his return to Rome. The picture Ovid
himself draws of his weak constitution and indolent temper prevents us
from thinking that he ever followed his profession with perseverance,
if, indeed, at all. He became, however, one of the _Triumviri
Capitules_; and he was subsequently made one of the _Centumviri_, or
judges who tried testamentary, and even criminal causes. Till his 50th
year he continued to reside at Rome, where he had a house near the
Capitol, occasionally taking a trip to his Pelignian farm. He not only
enjoyed the friendship of a large circle of distinguished men, but the
regard and favor of Augustus and the imperial family; notwithstanding,
in A.D. 9, he was suddenly commanded by an imperial edict to transport
himself to Tomi, a town on the Euxine, near the mouths of the Danube, on
the very border of the empire. He underwent no trial, and the sole
reason for his banishment stated in the edict was his having published
his poem on the Art of Love (_Ars Amatoria_). The real cause of his
banishment is unknown, for the publication of the Art of Love was
certainly a mere pretext. Ovid draws an affecting picture of the
miseries to which he was exposed in his place of exile. He complains of
the inhospitable soil, of the severity of the climate, and of the perils
to which he was exposed, when the barbarians plundered the surrounding
country, and insulted the very walls of Tomi. In the midst of all his
misfortunes he sought some relief in the exercise of his poetical
talents. He died at Tomi in the 60th year of his age, A.D. 18. Besides
his amatory poems, Ovid wrote the _Metamorphoses_ in 15 books, which
consist of such legends or fables as involved a transformation, from the
Creation to the time of Julius Cæsar, the last being that emperor's
change into a star; the _Fasti_ in 12 books, of which only the first six
are extant, a sort of poetical Roman calendar, with its appropriate
festivals and mythology; and the _Elegies_, written during his
banishment. Ovid undoubtedly possessed a great poetical genius, which
makes it the more to be regretted that it was not always under the
control of a sound judgment. He exhibits great vigor of fancy and warmth
of coloring, but he was the first to depart from that pure and correct
taste which characterizes the Greek poets and their earlier Latin
imitators.
* * * * *
We now turn to the history of prose literature among the Romans. The
earliest prose works were Annals, containing a meagre account of the
principal events in Roman history, arranged under their respective
years. The earliest Annalists who obtained reputation were Q. FABIUS
PICTOR and L. CINCIUS ALIMENTUS, both of whom served in the Second Punic
War, and drew up an account of it, but they wrote in the Greek language.
The first prose writer in the Latin language, of whom any considerable
fragments have been preserved, is the celebrated Censor, M. Porcius
Cato, who died B.C. 149, and of whose life an account has been already
given. He wrote an important historical work entitled _Origines_. The
first book contained the history of the Roman kings; the second and
third treated of the origin of the Italian towns, and from these two
books the whole work derived its title; the fourth book treated of the
First Punic War, the fifth book of the Second Punic War, and the sixth
and seventh continued the narrative to the year of Cato's death. There
is still extant a work on agriculture (_De Re Rustica_) bearing the name
of Cato, which is probably substantially his, though it is certainly not
exactly in the form in which it proceeded from his pen. There were many
other annalists, of whom we know little more than the names, and whose
works were used by Livy in compiling his Roman history.
Oratory was always cultivated by the Romans as one of the chief avenues
to political distinction. Cicero, in his work entitled _Brutus_, has
given a long list of distinguished Orators whose speeches he had read,
but he himself surpassed all his predecessors and contemporaries. In his
works the Latin language appears in the highest perfection. Besides his
numerous orations he also wrote several treatises on _Rhetoric_, of
which the most perfect is a systematic treatise on the art of Oratory
(_De Oratore_), in three books. His works on _Philosophy_ were almost
the first specimens of this kind of literature ever presented to the
Romans in their own language. He does not aim at any original
investigation or research. His object was to present, in a familiar and
attractive form, the results at which the Greek philosophers had
arrived, not to expound any new theories. His Epistles, of which more
than eight hundred have come down to us, are among the most valuable
remains of antiquity. Cicero, during the most important period of his
life, maintained a close correspondence with Atticus, and with a wide
circle of political friends and connections. These letters supply the
most ample materials for a history of the Roman Republic during its last
struggles, and afford a clear insight into the personal dispositions and
motives of its chief leaders.
The most learned Roman under the Republic was M. TERENTIUS VARRO, a
contemporary and friend of Cicero. He served as Pompey's lieutenant in
Spain in the Civil Wars, but was pardoned by Cæsar after the battle of
Pharsalia, and was employed by him in superintending the collection and
arrangement of the great library designed for public use. Upon the
formation of the second Triumvirate, Varro's name appeared upon the list
of the proscribed; but he succeeded in making his escape, and, after
having remained for some time in concealment, he obtained the protection
of Octavian. His death took place B.C. 28, when he was in his 80th year.
Not only was Varro the most learned of Roman scholars, but he was
likewise the most voluminous of Roman authors. We have his own authority
for the assertion that he had composed no less than 490 books, but of
these only two have come down to us, and one of them in a mutilated
form: 1. _De Re Rustica_, a work on Agriculture, in three books, written
when the author was 80 years old; 2. _De Lingua Latina_, a grammatical
treatise which extended to 24 books, but six only have been preserved,
and these are in a mutilated condition. The remains of this treatise are
particularly valuable. They have preserved many terms and forms which
would otherwise have been altogether lost, and much curious information
connected with the ancient usages, both civil and religious, of the
Romans.
C. JULIUS CÆSAR, the great Dictator, was also distinguished as an
author, and wrote several works, of which the _Commentaries_ alone have
come down to us. They relate the history of the first seven years of the
Gallic War in seven books, and the history of the Civil War down to the
commencement of the Alexandrine in three books. Neither of these works
completes the history of the Gallic and Civil Wars. The history of the
former was completed in an 8th book, which is usually ascribed to
Hirtius. The history of the Alexandrine, African, and Spanish Wars was
written in three separate books, which are also ascribed to Hirtius, but
their authorship is uncertain. The purity of Cæsar's Latin and the
clearness of his style have deservedly obtained the highest praise.
C. SALLUSTIUS CRISPUS, a contemporary of Cæsar, and one of his
supporters, was also distinguished as a historian. He was born B.C. 86
at Amiternum, in the country of the Sabines, and died in B.C. 34. After
the African War (B.C. 46) he was left by Cæsar as governor of Numidia,
where he acquired great riches by his oppression of the people. Two of
his works have come down to us, the _Catilina_, the history of the
suppression of Catiline's conspiracy, and the _Jugurtha_, the history of
the war against Jugurtha. Sallust made Thucydides his model, and took
great pains with his style.
CORNELIUS NEPOS, the contemporary and friend of Cicero and Atticus, was
the author of numerous works, all of which are lost, with the exception
of the well-known Lives of Distinguished Commanders (_Vitæ Excellentium
Imperatorum_). But even these Lives, with the exception of that of
Atticus, are probably an abridgment of the original work of Nepos, made
in the fourth century of the Christian era.
Of the prose writers of the Augustan age the most distinguished was the
historian TITUS LIVIUS, usually called LIVY. He was born at Patavium
(_Padua_), B.C. 59. The greater part of his life appears to have been
spent in Rome, but he returned to his native town before his death,
which happened at the age of 76, in the fourth year of Tiberius, A.D.
17. His literary talents secured the patronage and friendship of
Augustus; and his reputation became so widely diffused, that a Spaniard
traveled from Cadiz to Rome solely for the purpose of beholding him;
and, having gratified his curiosity in this one particular, he
immediately returned home. Livy's "History of Rome" extended from the
foundation of the city to the death of Drusus, B.C. 9, and was comprised
in 142 books. Of these 35 have descended to us. The whole work has been
divided into _decades_, containing 10 books each. The First decade (bks.
i.-x.) is entire. It embraces the period from the foundation of the city
to the year B.C. 294, when the subjugation of the Samnites may be said
to have been completed. The Second decade (bks. xi.-xx.) is altogether
lost. It included the period from B.C. 294 to B.C. 219, comprising an
account, among other matters, of the invasion of Pyrrhus and of the
First Punic War. The Third decade (bks. xxi.-xxx.) is entire. It
embraces the period from B.C. 219 to B.C. 201, comprehending the whole
of the Second Punic War. The Fourth decade (bks. xxxi.-xl.) is entire,
and also one half of the Fifth (bks. xli.-xlv.). These 15 books continue
the history from B.C. 201 to B.C. 167, and develop the progress of the
Roman arms in Cisalpine Gaul, in Macedonia, Greece, and Asia, ending
with the triumph of Æmilius Paullus. Of the remaining books nothing is
extant except inconsiderable fragments. The style of Livy may be
pronounced almost faultless. In judging of his merits as a historian, we
are bound to ascertain, if possible, the end which he proposed to
himself. No one who reads his work with attention can suppose that he
ever conceived the project of drawing up a critical history of Rome. His
aim was to offer to his countrymen a clear and pleasing narrative,
which, while it gratified their vanity, should contain no startling
improbabilities or gross amplifications. To effect this purpose, he
studied with care the writings of some of his more celebrated
predecessors in the same field; but in no case did he ever dream of
ascending to the fountain-head, and never attempted to test the accuracy
of his authorities by examining monuments of remote antiquity.
[Illustration: Mæcenas.]
[Footnote 74: These were probably composed in the Saturnian metre, the
oldest species of versification among the Romans, in which much greater
license was allowed in the laws of quantity than in the metres which
were borrowed from the Greeks.]
[Footnote 75: The name signifies a mixture or medley. Hence a _lex per
saturam lata_ is a law which contained several distinct regulations at
once.]
[Footnote 76: _Georg._, iii., 41.]
[Footnote 77: Comp. _Georg._, iv., 560, and ii., 171.]
[Illustration: Aureus of Augustus Cæsar.]
CHAPTER XXXIX.
THE REIGN OF AUGUSTUS CÆSAR. B.C. 31-A.D. 14.
Augustus, being now the emperor of Rome, sought to win the affections of
his people. He lived with republican simplicity in a plain house on the
Palatine Hill, and educated his family with great strictness and
frugality. His public conduct was designed to conceal his unbounded
power. He rejected all unworthy members from the Senate, and limited the
number of the Senators to six hundred. The Comitia of the Centuries was
still allowed to pass laws and elect magistrates, but gradually these
powers were taken away, until, in the reign of Tiberius, they are
mentioned no more. The emperor's chief counselors in public affairs were
his four friends, M. Vipsanius Agrippa, C. Cilnius Mæcenas, M. Valerius
Messala, and Asinius Pollio, all persons of excellent talents, and
devoted to their master. Agrippa aided him greatly in embellishing the
city of Rome with new buildings, and the Pantheon, which was built in
the Campus Martins, still bears the inscription, _M. Vipsanius Agrippa,
consul tertium_. Augustus was accustomed to say that he found Rome a
city of brick, and left it a city of marble.
To secure the peace of the capital, and to extirpate the robbers who
filled its streets, Augustus divided Rome into fourteen regions, and
each region into several smaller divisions called _Vici_: a magistrate
was placed over each _Vicus_, and all these officers were under the
command of the city prefect. A police force, _Vigiles_, seven hundred in
number, was also provided, who succeeded in restoring the public peace.
Italy, in a similar manner, was divided into regions, and local
magistrates were appointed, who made life and property every where
secure.
We must notice briefly the extent and condition of that vast empire,
over which Augustus ruled--too vast, in fact, to be subjected to the
control of a single intellect. Italy, the peculiar province of the
emperor, had lost a large part of its free population, whose place was
supplied by slaves; military colonies were numerous, a kind of
settlement which never tended to advance the prosperity of the country;
the cities were declining, and many of them almost abandoned. The north
of Italy, however, still retained a portion of its former prosperity;
its great droves of swine supplied the people of Rome with a large part
of their food; vineyards also abounded there, and the wine-vats of upper
Italy were said to be often larger than houses. Coarse woolen cloths
were manufactured in Liguria, and a finer wool was produced near Mutina.
But Italy, once so fertile, could no longer produce its own corn, for
which it depended chiefly upon Sicily, Africa, and Egypt.
The island of Sicily, too, had suffered greatly during the civil wars.
Its cities were fallen into ruin, and the woods and mountains were
filled with fugitive slaves, who, when captured, were taken to Rome and
exposed to wild beasts in the amphitheatres. A Roman colony was planted
by Augustus in the almost deserted city of Syracuse.
The condition of the extensive province of Gaul was more promising, its
savage tribes having begun to adopt the arts of civilization. The Gauls
purchased from southern traders such articles as they were unable to
produce at home, and supplied Italy, in return, with coarse wool and
cargoes of bacon. Several Roman colonies established in Gaul enjoyed
various political privileges, but the people in general were oppressed
with taxes and burdened with debts. The religion of the Druids was
discouraged by laws which forbade human sacrifices, and, indeed, all
rites opposed to the Roman faith. In Southern Gaul the city of Massilia
(Marseilles) had imparted civilization to the neighboring tribes: they
learned to use the Greek characters in writing, while many of the Gallic
cities invited Greek teachers to open schools in their midst.
Spain, rich in gold and silver, in fine wool, and a prolific soil,
traded largely with Rome. The valley of the Bætis, or Guadalquiver, was
renowned for its uncommon fertility. Many of the Spaniards had already
adopted the language and manners of their conquerors. Spain was divided
into three provinces, Bætica, Lusitania, and Hispania Tarraconensis.
Gades, or Cadiz, was one of the richest cities of the empire, and,
according to Dion Cassius, had received the privilege of Roman
citizenship from Julius Cæsar, whom its people had aided against
Pompey's officers. The tribes in the northwest of Spain, however, were
savage and unquiet, and their language, the Basque, which still exists,
shows that they were never perfectly conquered by the Romans.
The northern coast of Africa, opposite to Spain, was held by Juba, a
native prince, while the Roman province of Africa embraced ancient
Carthage, together with a considerable territory around it. This
province possessed a large trade. Cyrenaica, to the eastward, included
the island of Crete, and was termed a prætorian province.
Egypt was ruled by a governor, who was always taken from the equestrian
order. Two legions only were stationed in that province. Being the
centre of the trade between Italy and the Indies, Egypt accumulated
great wealth, and was renowned for its extensive commerce. It exported
large quantities of corn to Italy, and also papyrus, the best writing
material then known. The two finest kinds of papyrus were named the
Augustan and the Livian. Alexandria, the sea-port of Egypt, was the
second city of the empire. Its commerce was immense; and its museum,
colleges, library, and literary men made it also the centre of Greek
literature. Alexandria, too, was famous for its superstition and its
licentiousness: the festivals and rites of Serapis had long excited the
contempt of the wiser Romans.
The trade between Alexandria and the Indies was carried on through two
routes: one was the famous canal which, begun by Pharaoh Necho, was
completed under the government of the Ptolemies. Leaving the Nile near
the southern point of the Delta, the canal, after a somewhat circuitous
course, joined the Red Sea at the town of Arsinoe, near the modern town
of Suez. Another route was overland from Coptos, on the Nile, across the
desert, to Berenice and Myos Hormos. Along this road wells were dug or
reservoirs of water provided, and thus an easy communication was kept up
with the East. Heavy duties, however, were laid upon all goods entering
or leaving Alexandria, and its extensive trade afforded a great revenue
to the government.
From Egypt to the Ægean Sea, various provinces were created in Syria and
Asia Minor. The most extensive of these were the two provinces of Syria
and Asia, which were governed by lieutenants of the emperor. Judea
retained a nominal independence, under the government of Herod;
Jerusalem was adorned by Herod with magnificent buildings; and Antioch,
Tyre, and several other eastern cities were still prosperous and
luxurious. They were, however, heavily taxed, and suffered from the
tyranny and exactions of their Roman rulers.
Greece, in the age of Augustus, seems to have been a scene of
desolation. It was divided into two provinces, Macedonia and Achaia,
both belonging to the jurisdiction of the Senate and the people. Greece
had suffered greatly during the civil wars, and had never recovered its
ancient prosperity. The peninsula was partly depopulated. Laconia had
long lost its importance, and Messenia and Arcadia were almost
deserted. Corinth and Patræ, however, were flourishing Roman colonies;
Thebes was a mere village; Athens still retained its literary renown,
and was always a favorite resort for cultivated Romans; but its harbor
was deserted, its walls thrown down, and the energy of its people
forever gone.
Macedonia had suffered equally with Greece, and no trace remained of its
former power. Thus we find that the civilized world, at the accession of
Augustus, was every where marked by desolation and decay.
The Roman empire, at this period, was bounded on the north by the
Euxine, the Danube, the Rhine, and the British Channel; westward it
reached to the Atlantic; on the south it was confined by the deserts of
Africa, and on the east by Assyria and Mesopotamia. The Mediterranean
Sea was wholly within the empire, and afforded an easy mode of
communication with the different provinces.
The government which Augustus now established was designed to preserve
the memory of the republic, while the real power remained with the
emperor alone. The people were deprived of all their former importance;
the Comitia were only suffered to pass upon laws proposed by the Senate,
which was now wholly under the control of the emperor. Consuls and other
magistrates were still chosen annually, and Augustus, in the earlier
years of his reign, was accustomed to solicit votes for his favorite
candidates, who, however, were always elected; later he contented
himself with furnishing them with a written recommendation. The Senate
met twice in every month, instead of three times, as was the former
custom, except during September and October, when no meetings were held.
The provinces were governed by proconsuls, several of whom were
appointed by the Senate and the people; but all of them were carefully
observed by the emperor. Rome itself was governed by a prefect, whose
duty it was to preserve the public peace.
In this manner Augustus, by the aid of his proconsuls, held a despotic
rule over all his dominions. He controlled the Senate, too, through his
authority as censor, and appointed or deposed its members; and he raised
the property qualification of each Senator to about $50,000. A large
part of the people of the capital were maintained by the free
distribution of corn; but Augustus reduced the number from 320,000 to
200,000, providing for the poorer citizens by settling them in new
colonies, and his measures seem to have produced general contentment.
He was also sincerely desirous to reform the morals of the nation.
Several laws were passed encouraging marriage, and in B.C. 18 he obliged
the Senate to decree that marriage should be imperative upon every
citizen of suitable age. Celibacy was punished by an incapacity to
receive bequests, and even the childless married man was deprived of
half his legacy; these efforts, however, failed, and a general license
prevailed. As censor, he sought to restrain extravagance, and limited
the sum to be expended upon entertainments. He insisted that the _toga_,
the national dress, be worn at least at the public spectacles; he
endeavored to preserve the distinctions of rank by providing each of the
three orders with its own seats in the circus; and he plainly sought to
elevate the aristocracy, and to withdraw all political power from the
people. It is said, however, that he once entertained the design of
resigning his authority, but was prevented from doing so by the advice
of his friends, who represented to him that the Romans were no longer
capable of governing themselves.
The Prætorian guard, which Augustus provided for his own protection,
consisted of ten cohorts, each containing 800 or 1000 men, both cavalry
and foot: of these only three cohorts were kept in the city, the others
being distributed through the Italian towns. These soldiers received
double pay, and were commanded by the _præfectus prætorii_: at a later
period they became the masters of the empire.
The whole army, amounting to about 350,000 men, was encamped in various
portions of his dominions. His fleet, which numbered 500 ships, was
stationed chiefly at Misenum and Ravenna. His revenues arose from the
contributions of the provinces, from various taxes, and from the rent of
the public domain. An excise was imposed upon all goods exposed for
sale, and there was also a tax upon all bachelors.
Augustus encouraged commerce and industry, built new roads, and provided
the capital with an abundance of food. Games and public spectacles were
exhibited to amuse the people, a free distribution of corn relieved the
indigent, literature was encouraged, the arts flourished with new vigor,
and the people and the Senate, pleased with present tranquillity,
bestowed upon Augustus the title of the Father of his Country.
Several conspiracies, however, alarmed the emperor. In B.C. 30, Lepidus,
a son of the former triumvir, had formed a plot for his destruction,
which was detected by Mæcenas, and its author put to death. Another, in
B.C. 22, was also unsuccessful. In A.D. 4, Cinna, a grandson of Pompey,
was discovered in a similar attempt, and was pardoned at the request of
Livia; he was afterward even raised to the consulship. But so
intimidated was Augustus by the fear of assassination, that, toward the
close of his life, he never went to a meeting of the Senate without
wearing a breastplate under his robe.
The military enterprises of Augustus were in general successful. He led
an army into Spain, and subdued the Cantabri and Astures, returning to
Rome B.C. 24. While in Spain he founded several cities, among others
Augusta Emerita (Merida), and Cæsar Augusta (Saragossa). Phraates, king
of the Parthians, fearful of the Roman arms, gave up the Roman standards
taken from Crassus and Antony, B.C. 20, and this event was celebrated by
striking medals and by the verses of the Augustan poets. The emperor
hung up the standards in a temple which he had built at Rome to Mars,
the Avenger.
Tiberius and Drusus, the two sons of Livia by her former husband, were
distinguished commanders, and gained many victories over the Germans;
but, in B.C. 9, Drusus died from a fall from his horse. Tiberius then
took the command of the army, and gained a great victory over the
Sigambri. He returned to Rome B.C. 6, and triumphed; was saluted
Imperator, and received the tribunitian power for five years.
Soon after, indignant at the dissolute conduct of his wife Julia, and
the honors bestowed upon her sons by Agrippa, he withdrew to Rhodes,
where he remained for seven years, a discontented exile. He returned to
Rome in A.D. 2, and, two years after, was adopted by Augustus as his
son. He next conquered a large part of Germany, and defeated several
large bodies of the Marcomanni in what is now the territory of Bohemia.
But, while he was employed upon this expedition, Arminius, the German
hero, excited an insurrection of his countrymen against the cruel
Romans, cut off Varus, their leader, with his army, and filled Rome with
alarm. Germany seemed lost. Augustus, when he heard of the disaster,
exclaimed, "Varus! Varus! give me back my legions!"
Tiberius, however, together with Germanicus, the brave son of Drusus,
returned to the defense of the frontier, but did not venture to
penetrate into the forests beyond the Rhine.
In his domestic life Augustus was singularly unfortunate. Livia, his
wife, for whom he entertained a sincere affection, was a person of
strong intellect and various accomplishments; but she was descended from
the Claudian family, and inherited all the pride, ambition, and love of
political intrigue which marked the descendants of Appius Claudius. She
was also married to a Claudius, and thus her two sons by her first
husband, Tiberius and Drusus, were even more than herself Claudians. On
them all Livia's affections were fixed; to secure their aggrandizement
she hesitated at no effort and no crime; and when Drusus died, her son
Tiberius, who resembled his mother in disposition, became the chief
object of her regard. Her husband and his family wore looked upon with
jealousy and dislike, and the darkest suspicions were aroused at Rome
by the death, one by one, of every person who stood between Tiberius and
the throne.
Livia had no child by her second marriage, and the only heir of Augustus
was Julia, the daughter of his former wife, Scribonia. Julia was
beautiful, intelligent, and highly educated; and Augustus, who was
strongly attached to his own family, looked upon his daughter with
singular affection and pride. He hoped to see her grow up pure, wise,
and discreet--a new Lucretia, the representative of the ideal Roman
matron; and he early accustomed Julia to practice moderation in dress,
to spend hours at the spinning-wheel, and to look upon herself as
destined to become the model and example of Roman women.
Julia was first married to her cousin Marcellus, the son of Octavia, a
young man of excellent character, whom Augustus adopted, and probably
destined as his successor; but, in B.C. 23, Marcellus died, amid the
sincere grief of all the Romans. Marcellus has been made immortal by a
few touching lines of Virgil.
[Illustration: Gold coin of Agrippa, with head of Augustus.]
Not long after, Augustus married Julia to his friend Agrippa, and they
had five children--three sons, Caius, Lucius, and Agrippa Postumus, the
latter being born after the death of his father, and two daughters,
Julia and Agrippina. These children were now the hope of the people and
the emperor, and objects of jealousy and dislike to Livia and Tiberius.
In B.C. 12 Agrippa died. Augustus then prevailed upon Tiberius to
divorce his own wife, to whom he was sincerely attached, in order to
marry Julia. Their union was an unhappy one, and, after living together
for about a year, they separated forever.
The conduct of Julia, in fact, had long been marked by gross
immoralities, and Augustus alone was unconscious of her unworthiness. He
refused to believe that his daughter, whom he had destined to become an
example of purity, had so deceived and dishonored him. At length,
however, he became convinced of her guilt, and banished her (B.C. 2) to
the island Pandataria (Santa Maria), off the coast of Campania, where
she was treated with just severity. Her daughter Julia, who had shared
in her excesses, was also sent into exile.
Meanwhile Caius and Lucius Cæsar both died suddenly. Caius was sent to
the East in B.C. 1, to improve himself in military affairs, and there
died, A.D. 3, from the effects of a wound given him by an assassin.
Lucius, the younger, having gone on a mission to Spain in A.D. 2, fell
sick and died at Massilia. About this time Tiberius had been recalled
from Rhodes and intrusted with the chief care of public affairs. It was
believed at Rome that Livia and her son had removed the two Cæsars by
poison and assassination.
All happiness must now have fled from the breast of the emperor. He
still, however, attended carefully to the duties of his station. In A.D.
4 he adopted Tiberius, together with Agrippa Postumus; Tiberius was
obliged at the same time to adopt Germanicus, the eldest son of his
brother Drusus. In A.D. 7 Augustus was induced to banish Agrippa
Postumus, who proved unworthy of his favor, to the island of Planasia,
and this act was ratified by a decree of the Senate; it was thought,
however, that Livia was again the cause of this unnatural act. In A.D. 8
the poet Ovid was banished for some unknown crime.
[Illustration: Medal of Agrippina, showing the Carpentum, or chariot, in
which the Roman ladies were accustomed to ride.]
It was in the year 5 or 7 B.C., for the true date is unknown, that Jesus
Christ, the Savior of the world, was born at Bethlehem, in Judea.
In A.D. 14, Augustus, aided by Tiberius, took a census--the third during
his reign. His health, which had always been delicate, now rapidly
declined. He had long borne with patience the infirmities of old age,
and he now retired to Nola, where he died, August 19, A.D. 14, in the
same room where his father had died before him. It is said that as he
was dying he exclaimed to those around him, "Have I not acted my part
well? It is time for the applause."
He was seventy-six years old. His subjects lamented his death with
sincere grief, since they had felt the happy effects of his care. His
funeral rites were performed in great solemnity; his body was burned on
the Campus Martius, and his ashes were placed in the splendid mausoleum
which he had built for himself and his family. The Senate ordered him to
be numbered among the gods of Rome.
In appearance Augustus was of middle stature, his features regular, and
his eyes of uncommon brilliancy. He was a tolerable writer, and capable
of distinguishing literary merit; his chosen friends were all men of
letters; and his fame with posterity rests, in a great degree, upon that
circle of poets, historians, and eminent scholars by whom he was
surrounded. The Augustan Age, indeed, forms one of the most remarkable
periods in the history of the human intellect.
[Illustration: Medal of Augustus, showing the myrtle crown, or Corona
ovalis.]
[Illustration: Medal of Nero, showing an Organ and a sprig of Laurel,
probably designed as a prize medal for a musician.]
CHAPTER XL.
FROM THE ACCESSION OF TIBERIUS, A.D. 14-37, TO DOMITIAN, A.D. 96.
A feeling resembling loyalty had grown up at Rome toward the family of
Augustus, and no one ventured to dispute the claim of Tiberius to the
throne. Livia, however, who had attended the death-bed of the emperor,
concealed his death until her son arrived, and then proclaimed, at the
same moment, the death of Augustus and the accession of his successor.
The first event of the new reign was the assassination of Agrippa
Postumus, grandson of Augustus, and, according to the modern rule of
descent, the proper heir to the throne. The guilt of this act was shared
between Tiberius and his mother, who were also accused of having
hastened the death of Augustus.
Tiberius summoned the Senate to assemble, announced the death of the
emperor, and pretended a wish to be relieved from the cares of empire;
the Senate, however, refused to accept his feigned resignation, and he
yielded to their wishes. This body now became the chief source of
legislation. Tiberius took away from the people the power of making laws
and of electing magistrates. The _senatus consulta_, or decrees of the
Senate, were made the source of law, without any authority from the
Comitia. The Senate selected the Consuls from four candidates presented
to them by the emperor, and thus the last trace of the popular power
passed away.
Meanwhile two mutinies occurred among the soldiers, which seemed at
first to threaten a change in the government. The legions of Pannonia,
complaining of long service and indifferent pay, rose against their
commander Blæsus, but were induced to return to their duty by Drusus,
the son of Tiberius. A more important insurrection broke out among the
legions of the Rhine, who sought to prevail upon Germanicus, the son of
Drusus, to accept the imperial crown. Germanicus, however, who was
adorned with many noble qualities, refused to yield either to their
entreaties or their threats. Agrippina, his wife, with the infant Caius,
joined Germanicus in imploring the soldiers not to forget their duty;
and they at length relented, and even gave up their leaders.
Germanicus had now deserved the hatred of the jealous and treacherous
Tiberius. He was beloved by the people and the army, was frank,
generous, and brave; he had married Agrippina, the daughter of Julia and
Agrippa, and was the adopted son of the emperor himself. His mind had
been highly cultivated, and he excelled in all elegant exercises. He
seems, in fact, to have been one of the noblest of the Romans.
In A.D. 14 he led an army across the Rhine, but the next year planned a
more important expedition, in which he defeated the Germans under
Arminius, and buried the remains of the army of the unfortunate Varus
under an earthen mound. His third campaign was still more successful. In
A.D. 16 he gained an important battle in the valley of the Weser, and
recovered the last of the eagles lost by Varus.
Tiberius, jealous of his fame, now recalled him, and resolved that the
limits of the empire should not be enlarged. In A.D. 17 Germanicus
triumphed, surrounded in his chariot by his five sons. The same year he
was sent to the East to settle the affairs of the Eastern provinces.
Meanwhile a war broke out in Germany between Arminius and Marboduus.
Drusus was sent thither to contrive the destruction of both leaders,
which he seems to have effected, since Marboduus was driven to seek
protection from the Romans, while the brave Arminius was soon after
slain by the hands of his fellow-Germans.
Germanicus, in A.D. 18, visited Athens, sailed up the Nile the same
year, and then, having returned to Syria, died of poison administered to
him by Cn. Piso, a friend of the Empress Livia. His death excited great
grief at Rome, where he was buried with solemnity in A.D. 20. Piso,
meanwhile, being tried before the Senate, and finding himself about to
be condemned, sought a voluntary death.
Tiberius was cold and unpopular in his manners, awkward and even timid
in his carriage, but a master of dissimulation. The only person of whom
he stood in awe was his mother Livia; but he lived in constant fear of
insurrection. The Lex Majestas, which he enlarged and enforced with
unusual severity, was now the source of great evil to his country. This
law defined treason against the emperor. Tiberius made it include words
as well as acts, and thus he who spoke lightly of the emperor's person
or authority might be punished with death.
From this law grew up the Delatores, or informers, persons who made it
their chief occupation to denounce those who were obnoxious to the
emperor. The informers soon grew numerous: some of them were persons of
high rank, who sought to display their eloquence, and to win the favor
of the emperor, by denouncing his opponents in envenomed rhetoric, while
others were common spies. No man's life was safe at Rome from this
moment, and the purest and wisest citizens were exposed to the attacks
of an infinite number of delators. Tiberius encouraged the informers.
Ælius Saturninus was flung from the Tarpeian Rock for a libel upon the
emperor. Silanus was banished for "disparaging the majesty of Tiberius."
Tiberius, who professed to imitate the policy of Augustus in every
particular, seems to have governed with firmness and ability. He
improved the condition of the provinces, restrained the avarice of the
provincial governors, maintained good order in the capital, and strove
to check the growth of luxury; but the morals of the capital were now
hopelessly depraved, and the vice and corruption of the whole world
flowed into the streets of Rome.
Ælius Sejanus, the Præfect of the Prætorians, had long been the friend
and chief adviser of the emperor. He was cruel, unscrupulous, and
ambitious--the proper instrument of a tyrant. In A.D. 21 an insurrection
broke out in Gaul, which was scarcely subdued when the Germans rose
against the Romans. The Gauls, too, led by Sacrovir, a Druid, who
exercised a superstitious influence over his countrymen, once more
rebelled. Drusus, who had been made Consul with his father, was sent
against them, and reduced them to subjection. The Druid Sacrovir burned
himself in a house to which he had fled. In A.D. 22 Drusus received the
tribunitian power. He was the only son of Tiberius, and was married to
Livia, or Livilla, as she was sometimes called.
Sejanus had now conceived a design which led him to resolve upon the
destruction of all the imperial family, since he himself began to aspire
to the throne; and the elevation of Drusus filled him with disgust. In
A.D. 23 he prevailed upon Tiberius to remove all the Prætorian Guards,
about nine or ten thousand in number, to a camp near the city. He
appointed their officers, won the soldiers with bribes and flatteries,
and thus believed he had gained a sure support.
Drusus stood in his path, and he resolved to destroy him. He won the
affections of Livilla, and prevailed upon her to poison her husband. The
unhappy prince died in 23. Tiberius received the news of his son's death
with a composure almost incredible. He told the Senate, who put on
mourning robes, that he had given himself to his country. A splendid
funeral procession was prepared for Drusus, in which the statues of
Attus Clausus, the Sabine chief, the founder of the Claudian Gens, and
of Æneas, and the Alban kings, were carried side by side, thus recalling
the memories of the early regal dynasty, as well as of the severe
founders of the Republic.
Agrippina, the widow of Germanicus, together with her numerous family,
next aroused the hostility of Sejanus, and he resolved upon their
destruction. In A.D. 25 he proposed for the hand of Livilla, but
Tiberius refused to sanction the connection. In A.D. 26 eleven cities
contended for the privilege of making Tiberius their tutelar deity, but
he declined this honor. Soon after, the emperor, as if anxious to escape
from the sarcasms and the scandal of Rome, retired from the city,
accompanied by a single Senator, Cocceius Nerva, and at length, in A.D.
27, hid himself in the island of Capreæ, on the coast of Campania. Here
he built twelve villas in different parts of the island, and lived with
a few companions, shut out from mankind. No one was allowed to land upon
the shores of Capreæ, and even fishermen who broke this rule through
ignorance were severely punished. Every day, however, dispatches were
brought from the continent, and he still continued to direct the affairs
of his vast empire.
Sejanus was left to govern Rome, but frequently visited the Emperor at
his island. In A.D. 29, Livia, the widow of Augustus, died, at the age
of eighty-six years, having retained her powerful intellect and her love
of political intrigue to the close of her life. It is said that her
private charities were great, and that she remained faithful to the
memory of her imperial husband. The family of Germanicus, meanwhile,
were crushed by the arts of Sejanus. In A.D. 29 Tiberius directed the
Senate to banish Agrippina and her son Nero, and they were confined
separately upon two barren islands. Drusus, the second son, was soon
after imprisoned; while Caius, the youngest, by his flatteries and
caresses, preserved the favor of Tiberius, and was admitted into Capreæ.
The emperor now began to doubt the fidelity of his chosen friend
Sejanus, although their statues had been placed together in the Temple
of Friendship on the island; and he sent a letter to the Senate in which
he denounced him as a traitor. Such was the end of a guilty friendship.
Sejanus was flung into the Mamertine Prison, and there strangled. The
people threw his body into the Tiber, A.D. 31. Great numbers of his
friends or relatives perished with him, and a general massacre filled
Rome with terror. He was succeeded in his power by Sertorius Macro, who
had aided in his destruction.
Tiberius, meanwhile, seems to have become a raging madman. He put to
death his niece Agrippina, with her two children, and ruled over the
Senate with pitiless cruelty. His companion, Cocceius Nerva, filled with
melancholy at the misfortunes of his country, resolved upon suicide; nor
could all the entreaties or commands of Tiberius prevail upon him to
live. In A.D. 35 Tiberius made his will, dividing his estate between
Caius, the youngest son of Germanicus, and Tiberius Gemellus, the son of
the second Drusus. Macro, probably fearing the fate of Sejanus, had
formed a close intimacy with Caius, and they now planned the death of
the emperor, whose feeble health, however, since he was near
seventy-seven years of age, promised Rome a speedy deliverance. Tiberius
died March 16, A.D. 37, Macro, it is said, having smothered him with a
pillow.
If we may trust the account of the Jew Philo, he left the empire in a
prosperous condition. His cruelty, in fact, seems to have been exercised
upon the great and the rich, while the people lived in security. His
administration may be said to have been a fortunate one. His character
and his crimes disgrace human nature.
[Illustration: Reverses of Roman brass Coins, showing Galleys.]
REIGN OF CAIUS CALIGULA, A.D. 37-41.--Caius Cæsar, known as Caligula,
was the son of Germanicus and Agrippina, and men fondly hoped that he
had inherited the virtues of his father, whom he resembled in his
personal appearance. The soldiers proclaimed him emperor, and the Senate
and the people acknowledged him with unfeigned joy. He was now
twenty-five years of age, and his first acts were generous and humane.
He recalled many exiles, abolished various taxes, and gratified the
people with spectacles and gifts. He also buried the remains of his
mother and brother, who had died in exile, with decent solemnity.
But, having been seized with a severe illness after he had reigned eight
months, upon his recovery his mind seemed to have been fatally injured.
He abandoned himself to cruelty and lust; he surpassed the vices of
Tiberius; and at length, declaring himself to be a god, would often go
through the streets of Rome dressed as Bacchus, Venus, or Apollo: he
compelled the people to worship him, and made the wealthiest citizens
his priests. He even conferred the consulship on his favorite horse.
His boundless wastefulness soon consumed the public treasures, and he
was forced to resort to every kind of extortion to obtain money. Having
exhausted Rome and Italy, in A.D. 39 he led a large army across the Alps
for the purpose of plundering Gaul, where the richest citizens were put
to death and their property confiscated. He was assassinated in his
palace January 24, A.D. 41.
REIGN OF TIBERIUS CLAUDIUS DRUSUS NERO, A.D. 41-54.--The Emperor
Claudius was the son of Drusus and Antonia, and the brother of
Germanicus. He was fifty-one years old when, after the murder of
Caligula, the Prætorian Guard raised him to the throne. His health had
always been delicate, his mind feeble, and he had never taken any part
in public affairs. His first acts were popular and mild, but, having
fallen under the control of his wife Messalina, who was a monster of
wickedness, he put to death many of the best of the Romans. When,
however, Messalina ventured to marry C. Silius, a young Roman knight,
Claudius directed her execution. He then married his niece Agrippina,
who prevailed upon him to set aside his son Britannicus, and to adopt
her own son Nero, who was now destined for the throne. Nero was educated
by the philosopher Seneca, together with Burrus Afranius, præfect of the
Prætorians. Claudius, however, becoming suspicious of the designs of his
wife, she resolved upon his death. Locusta, a noted poisoner, was hired
to prepare a dish of poisoned mushrooms, of which Claudius ate: but the
poison not proving fatal, the physician Xenophon forced a larger
quantity into his throat, and he died October 13, A.D. 54.
Claudius was fond of letters, and wrote memoirs of his own time and
histories in Greek of Etruria and of Carthage. He also made various
useful laws, and carried out several public works of importance. He
completed the Claudian aqueduct, begun by Caligula, and built a fort and
light-house at Ostia, and a tunnel from Lake Lucinus to the River Liris.
_Colonia Agrippina_ (Cologne) was raised by his orders to the most
important military station in Lower Germany.
In A.D. 43 a Roman army invaded Britain. Claudius himself entered that
country soon after, and returned to Rome to triumph. But Vespasian,
afterward emperor, together with his son Titus, overran Britain,
defeated Caractacus, the brave British chieftain, and sent him and his
family prisoners to Rome. Claudius, pleased with his manly conduct, gave
him his liberty.
NERO, A.D. 54-68.--The first five years of the reign of Nero were marked
by the mildness and equity of his government. He discouraged luxury,
reduced the taxes, and increased the authority of the Senate. His two
preceptors, Seneca and Burrus, controlled his mind, and restrained for a
time the constitutional insanity of the Claudian race. At length,
however, he sank into licentiousness, and from licentiousness to its
necessary attendants, cruelty and crime. From a modest and philosophic
youth, Nero became the most cruel and dissolute of tyrants. He quarreled
with his mother Agrippina, who for his sake had murdered the feeble
Claudius; and when she threatened to restore Britannicus to the throne,
he ordered that young prince to be poisoned at an entertainment. In
order to marry Poppæa Sabina, a beautiful and dissolute woman, wife of
Salvius Otho, he resolved to divorce his wife Octavia, and also to
murder his mother Agrippina. Under the pretense of a reconciliation, he
invited Agrippina to meet him at Baiæ, where she was placed in a boat,
which fell to pieces as she entered it. Agrippina swam to the shore, but
was there assassinated by the orders of her son. The Roman Senate
congratulated Nero upon this fearful deed, while the philosopher Seneca
wrote a defense of the matricide. The philosopher, the Senate, and the
emperor seem worthy of each other.
It would be impossible to enumerate all the crimes of Nero. In A.D. 64 a
fire broke out in Rome, which lasted for six days, consuming the greater
part of the city. Nero was supposed to have ordered the city to be
fired, to obtain a clear representation of the burning of Troy, and,
while Rome was in flames, amused himself by playing upon musical
instruments. He sought to throw the odium of this event upon the
Christians, and inflicted upon them fearful cruelties. The city was
rebuilt upon an improved plan, and Nero's palace, called the Golden
House, occupied a large part of the ruined capital with groves, gardens,
and buildings of unequaled magnificence.
In A.D. 65 a plot was discovered in which many eminent Romans were
engaged. The poet Lucan, Seneca, the philosopher and defender of
matricide, together with many others, were put to death. In A.D. 67
Nero traveled to Greece, and performed on the cithara at the Olympian
and Isthmian games. He also contended for the prize in singing, and put
to death a singer whose voice was louder than his own. Stained with
every crime of which human nature is capable, haunted by the shade of
the mother he had murdered, and filled with remorse, Nero was finally
dethroned by the Prætorian Guards, and died by his own hand, June 9,
A.D. 68. He was the last of the Claudian family. No one remained who had
an hereditary claim to the empire of Augustus, and the future emperors
were selected by the Prætorian Guards or the provincial legions.
During this reign, Boadicea, the British queen, A.D. 61, revolted
against the Romans and defeated several armies; but the governor,
Suetonius Paulinus, conquered the insurgents in a battle in which eighty
thousand Britons are said to have fallen. Boadicea, unwilling to survive
her liberty, put an end to her life.
On the death of Nero, Servius Sulpicius Galba, already chosen emperor by
the Prætorians and the Senate, was murdered in the Forum, January, A.D.
69. He was succeeded by Salvius Otho, the infamous friend of Nero, and
the husband of Poppæa Sabina. The legions on the Rhine, however,
proclaimed their own commander, A. Vitellius, emperor, and Otho's forces
being defeated in a battle near Bedriacum, between Verona and Cremona,
he destroyed himself.
Vitellius, the new emperor, was remarkable for his gluttony and his
coarse vices. He neglected every duty of his office, and soon became
universally contemptible. Vespasian, the distinguished general, who had
been fighting successfully against the Jews in Palestine, was proclaimed
emperor by the governor of Egypt. Leaving his son Titus to continue the
war, Vespasian prepared to advance upon Rome. His brave adherent,
Antonius Primus, at the head of the legions of the Danube, without any
orders from Vespasian, marched into Italy and defeated the army of
Vitellius. The Prætorians and the Roman populace still supported
Vitellius; a fearful massacre took place in the city, and the Capitoline
Temple was burned; but Antonius Primus took the Prætorian camp, and
Vitellius was dragged from his palace and put to death, December 20,
A.D. 69.
REIGN OF T. FLAVIUS VESPASIANUS, A.D. 69-79.--Vespasian, the founder of
the first Flavian family of emperors, was a soldier of fortune, who had
risen from a low station to high command in the army. He was brave,
active, free from vice, and, although fond of money, was never charged
with extortion or rapacity. Toward the close of the summer, A.D. 70, he
arrived in Rome, and received the imperium from the Senate. He began
at once to restore discipline in the army, and raised to the rank of
Senators and Equites illustrious men from the provinces, as well as from
Italy and Rome, thus giving to the provincials a certain share in the
government. The courts of justice were purified, the _Delatores_, or
spies, were discountenanced, and trials for treason ceased. To increase
his revenues, Vespasian renewed the taxes in several provinces which had
been exempted by Nero, and he introduced economy and good order into the
administration of the finances. Yet he expended large sums in rebuilding
the Capitoline Temple, and also in completing the Colosseum, whose
immense ruins form one of the most remarkable features in the modern
scenery of Rome. He built, too, the Temple of Peace and a public
library. He appointed lecturers upon rhetoric, with a salary of 100
sesterces, but was possessed himself of little mental cultivation. He is
even said to have disliked literary men, and, in the year A.D. 74,
expelled the Stoic and Cynic philosophers from Rome.
In A.D. 70, September 2, his son Titus took the city of Jerusalem, after
a brave defense by the Jews, who were finally betrayed by their own
factions. The city was totally destroyed, and nearly half a million of
the Jews perished in the siege. Those who survived, being forbidden to
rebuild their city, were scattered over the empire, and each Jew was
compelled to pay a yearly tax of two drachmæ, which was appropriated to
rebuilding the Capitoline Temple. The Arch of Titus, which still exists
at Rome, was erected in commemoration of the fall of Jerusalem.
Vespasian's generals repressed an insurrection of the Germans, and in
A.D. 71 C. Julius Agricola, father-in-law of the historian Tacitus,
entered Britain as legate to Petilius Cerialis. He was made governor of
the province in A.D. 77, and led his victorious armies as far north as
the Highlands of Scotland. This excellent character, by his justice and
moderation, reconciled the Britons to the Roman yoke.
By his first wife, Flavia Domatilla, Vespasian had three
children--Titus, Domitian, and Domatilla. When she died he formed an
inferior kind of marriage with Coenis, a woman of low station, who,
however, seems to have deserved his esteem. He died 23d of June, A.D.
79, at the age of seventy. Although never a refined or cultivated man,
Vespasian, by his hardy virtues, restored the vigor of the Roman
government, and gave peace and prosperity to his subjects; while he who
founded a library and established schools of rhetoric can not have been
so wholly illiterate as some writers have imagined.
REIGN OF TITUS, A.D. 79-81.
Titus was one of the most accomplished and benevolent of men. Eloquent,
warlike, moderate in his desires, he was called _Amor et deliciæ humani
generis_, "The love and the delight of the human race." In early life he
had been thought inclined to severity, and his treatment of the Jews, at
the fall of their city, does not seem in accordance with his character
for humanity. But no sooner had he ascended the throne than he won a
general affection. Such was the mildness of his government that no one
was punished at Rome for political offenses. Those who conspired against
him he not only pardoned, but took into his familiarity. He was so
generous that he could refuse no request for aid. He was resolved, he
said, that no one should leave his presence sorrowful; and he thought
that day lost in which he had done no good deed. Titus wrote poems and
tragedies in Greek, and was familiar with his native literature. During
his reign, A.D. 79, occurred a violent eruption of Vesuvius, together
with an earthquake, by which Herculaneum, Stabiæ, and Pompeii, three
towns on the Bay of Naples, were destroyed. The emperor was so touched
by the sufferings of the inhabitants that he expended nearly his whole
private fortune in relieving their wants. Pompeii and Herculaneum, which
were covered by lava or ashes, were thus preserved from farther decay,
and, having been partially excavated and restored, enable us to form a
truthful conception of the domestic life of the Roman cities in the age
of Titus. We here enter the villas of the rich or the humble homes of
the poor, and find every where traces of comfort, elegance, and taste.
The next year after the destruction of these cities, a fire broke out in
Rome, which raged for three days, desolating the finest regions of the
city. The Capitoline Temple was again destroyed, together with many
buildings in the Campus Martius. A pestilence followed soon after, which
ravaged Rome and all Italy.
In A.D. 81 Titus dedicated the Colosseum, which was now completed, and
also his famous baths, the ruins of which may still be visited at Rome.
Splendid games and spectacles were exhibited in honor of these events.
Few military events occurred during this reign, the empire being
perfectly quiet, except where the active Agricola was subduing the
wandering tribes of Scotland.
At length Titus, having gone to the Sabine villa where his father
Vespasian died, was himself suddenly arrested by death. It was believed
that his brother Domitian was the cause of this unhappy event, and all
the people lamented their emperor as if they had lost a father or a
friend. Titus died September 13, A.D. 81.
REIGN OF DOMITIAN, A.D. 81-96
Domitian, who was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers upon his brother's
death, possessed the mental ability of the Flavian family, joined to the
vices and cruelty of the Claudian. In him Nero or Caligula seemed
revived. His first political acts, however, were often useful, and for
several years he concealed his true disposition. But he soon surrounded
himself with spies and informers, and put to death the noblest men of
his time. To preserve the fidelity of the soldiers he doubled their pay,
while he won the populace by games and donations. But, to maintain his
expenditure, he confiscated the property of the richer citizens, and no
man of wealth was safe from an accusation of treason.
Agricola, who had gained a great victory over the Caledonians at the
foot of the Grampion Hills, and who was about to subdue all Scotland,
Domitian recalled, being jealous of his military fame; and that brave
leader passed the last eight years of his life in retirement at Rome, in
order to avoid the suspicions of the tyrant. Meanwhile, the Dacians, led
by their king Decebalus, having crossed the Danube, Domitian took the
field against them, and, in A.D. 90, was defeated, and forced to
conclude a humiliating peace. Yet, on his return to Rome, he celebrated
a triumph, assuming the name of Dacicus. The next year an insurrection
broke out among the German legions, which was, however, suppressed.
Domitian now ordered himself to be styled the "Lord and God," and was
worshiped with divine honors. A ferocious jealousy of all excellence in
others seemed to possess him with rage against the wise and good. The
most eminent of the nobility were put to death. All philosophers, and
among them the virtuous Epictetus, were banished from Rome. The
Christians, which name now included many persons of high station, were
murdered in great numbers. At last the tyrant resolved to put to death
his wife Domitia, but she discovered his design, and had him
assassinated, 18th September, A.D. 96. The Senate passed a decree that
his name should be erased from all public monuments, and refused to
yield to the wishes of the soldiers, who would have proclaimed him a
god.
[Illustration: Copper Coin of Antoninus Pius, about A.D. 138, showing
figure of Britannia.]
CHAPTER XLI.
PROSPERITY OF THE EMPIRE, A.D. 96.--COMMODUS, A.D. 180.--REIGN OF M.
COCCEIUS NERVA, A.D. 96-98.
This venerable man was sixty-four years old when he was proclaimed
emperor upon the death of Domitian. He was a native of the town of
Narnia, in Umbria, and his virtues had won him a general esteem. The
Prætorians, who had not been consulted in his election, never looked
upon him with favor, and Nerva was obliged to act with great caution. He
stopped trials for high treason, pardoned political offenders,
diminished taxes, recalled exiles, and strove by every honest art to
attain popularity. But the Prætorians, becoming mutinous, not only put
the murderers of Domitian to death, but forced the emperor to approve of
their act publicly. This insult was deeply felt by Nerva, who now
resolved to adopt a colleague, in order to increase his own authority.
He therefore selected M. Ulpius Trajan, a distinguished general, who was
in command of the army of Lower Germany.
We now enter upon the most pleasing period in the history of the Roman
Empire. During the next eighty years a general prosperity prevailed. The
emperors were all men worthy to command, and capable of giving
tranquillity to their vast dominions. Several of them were of the purest
morals, of high mental cultivation, and are still looked upon as
ornaments of the human race; and while they could not check the decline
of their people, these virtuous emperors prevented, for a time, the fall
of the Roman Empire.
Nerva, in order to elevate the condition of his people, purchased lands,
which he distributed among them, and he sought to make them feel the
necessity of labor and of self-dependence. But it was too late to reform
the manners of the indolent, licentious plebs, corrupted by the
indulgence of their tyrants. Nerva died of a fever, January 27, A.D.
98.
M. ULPIUS TRAJANUS, A.D. 98-117
Trajan, the first emperor who was not a native of Italy, was born at
Italica, in Spain, and was about forty years of age at the death of
Nerva. His memory was so much revered among the Romans, that, two
hundred and fifty years later, the Senate hailed the accession of the
new emperor with the prayer that he might be happier than Augustus,
better than Trajan. He was free from every vice except an occasional
indulgence in wine. His mind was naturally strong, his manners pleasing,
his appearance noble and imposing. He desired only to restore the simple
manners and virtuous habits of an earlier age.
Trajan, after his adoption by Nerva, entered upon his high office at
Cologne, and then traveled toward Rome. In A.D. 99 he entered that city
on foot, followed by a small retinue, and was received with general good
will. He abolished the trials for high treason, _judicia majestatis_,
which had made Rome so often a scene of terror, restored freedom of
speech to the Senate, revived the _Comitia_ for the election of
magistrates, and bound himself by oath to observe the laws. He punished
the principal informers, banishing many of them to the barren islands
around Italy, while he at once, by severe measures, reduced the
turbulent Prætorians to obedience. His wife Plotina, who was a woman of
excellent character, with her sister Marcina, revived by their virtues
the dignity of the Roman matron. The society of the city was purified,
and the family of the emperor offered an example of propriety that
produced an excellent effect upon the manners of the higher ranks.
Among the first acts of Trajan was the foundation of public schools for
the education and maintenance of poor children in various parts of
Italy. He founded, too, the Ulpian Library at Rome, and adorned every
part of his empire with magnificent buildings, roads, bridges, and
various useful improvements. He seemed to live, in fact, wholly for his
people, and passed his life in devising and executing plans for their
advantage.
When Decebalus, king of the Dacians, sent to demand the tribute which
had been promised him by Domitian, Trajan refused to be bound by the
disgraceful treaty, and, having levied an army of 60,000 men, marched
against the Dacians, who had boldly advanced across the Danube. A
terrible battle took place, in which the Romans were victorious; but so
great was the slaughter that sufficient linen could not be obtained to
dress the wounds of the soldiers, and Trajan tore up his imperial robes
to supply their wants. He took the capital of the Dacian king, defeated
him in various encounters, and compelled him (A.D. 102) to make peace,
giving up a part of his territory. Having returned to Rome, Trajan
received from the Senate the surname of Dacicus. But in A.D. 104 the
Dacians again rose in arms, and the Senate declared Decebalus a public
enemy. Trajan led an army in person against the barbarians, and, to
provide for an easy access to their territory, built a stone bridge
across the Danube of immense size and strength, fortified at each end
with towers. He next advanced into the midst of the hostile country,
took the capital of the Dacians, and reduced them to subjection.
Decebalus, in despair, fell by his own hand. All Dacia, comprising the
modern countries of Moldavia, Wallachia, and Transylvania, was made a
Roman province; and several Roman colonies were planted among the
barbarians, thus for the first time preparing for the spread of
civilization in that savage country. Trajan now returned to Rome, to
triumph a second time for his Dacian successes. He also began that
famous Column in commemoration of his victories which still stands at
Rome, and which shows in its rich sculpture the various captives and
spoils of the Dacian war.
[Illustration]
Arabia Petræa was also at this time added to the Roman Empire, after
which a peace of several years succeeded. In A.D. 114, a Parthian war
breaking out, Trajan hastened to the East, and, having passed the winter
at Antioch, witnessed a severe earthquake, which shook that city as well
as all Syria. He himself escaped with difficulty from a falling house.
In the spring, at the head of his legions, he overran Armenia and formed
it into a province. He next built a bridge across the Tigris, resembling
that upon the Danube, and led his army into Assyria, a country never yet
visited by a Roman general. He took Babylon and Ctesiphon, the capital
of the Parthian kingdom, and, sailing down the Tigris, passed through
the Persian Gulf, and annexed a large portion of Arabia Felix to his
empire. The Jews, too, about this time revolted, but were subdued,
after a brave resistance, and treated with great severity. His Eastern
conquests, however, proved by no means secure, and his new subjects
revolted as soon as his armies were gone. In A.D. 117 Trajan entered
Southern Arabia to complete the subjection of that country, when he was
seized with a dropsy and forced to return to Rome. He did not reach that
city, but died, August 9th, A.D. 117, at Selinus, in Cilicia. His ashes
were carried to Rome, and placed under the magnificent column which
recorded his Dacian victories.
During Trajan's reign, the empire, already too extensive, was made more
unwieldy by his various conquests. He was evidently ambitious of the
fame of a conqueror, and possessed many of the qualities of an able
general. He was also a skillful ruler of his immense dominions, leaving
no portion unprotected by his vigilance. The only stain upon his fame is
his persecution of the Christians, whom he continued to treat with
severity even when convinced of their perfect innocence.
After the conclusion of the Dacian war he celebrated games and
spectacles, which are said to have lasted through four months, and in
which ten thousand gladiators fought and suffered for the entertainment
of the people--a proof that the Romans were yet, in some respects,
barbarians. Trajan, however, forbade the performance of indecent
pantomimes. Trajan's bridge across the Danube is described by Dion
Cassius as of greater importance than any of his other works. He
designed it to form an easy access to his Dacian province. It was formed
of twenty stone piers, distant about 170 feet from each other, and sixty
feet wide: they were probably connected by arches of wood. Trajan also
began to make roads across the Pontine Marshes, and founded several
public libraries. Pliny the younger, who lived during this reign, was
the most eminent literary man of the time, and wrote a fine panegyric
upon his friend the emperor. Pliny saw the first eruption of Vesuvius,
in which his uncle and adopted father, the elder Pliny, perished. He was
a person of great wealth and uncommon generosity, having given 300,000
sesterces yearly to maintain the children of the poor in his native town
of Comum. His letters to Trajan show that he was an excellent master,
husband, and friend, and we may well believe that in this happy period
many Romans resembled Trajan and his learned correspondent.
REIGN OF HADRIAN, A.D. 117-138.
Hadrian, descended from a family of Hadria, in Picenum, was a military
commander, distinguished for his courage and activity. His father had
married an aunt of the late emperor, who, upon the father's death, was
appointed one of Hadrian's guardians. Yet it is supposed Trajan made no
nomination of a successor to the throne, and that his wife Plotina
forged the will by which the world was made to believe that he had
adopted Hadrian. This will was, however, published, and Hadrian entered
upon his government at Antioch, August 11th, A.D. 117, and was there
proclaimed emperor. The Senate, to whom he wrote a letter announcing his
appointment, at once confirmed him in his power. He now made peace with
the Parthians, and restored to Chosroes, their king, Assyria and
Mesopotamia. He adopted the policy of Augustus, refusing to extend the
limits of the empire. In A.D. 118 he returned to Rome, but was soon
forced to march to the defense of the province of Moesia, which had
been invaded by the Sarmatæ and Roxolani. His object being merely to
preserve the boundaries of the empire, he concluded a peace with the
Roxolani, and probably purchased their submission. He was about to march
against the Sarmatæ, when the news of a conspiracy at Rome was brought
to him. He seems to have ordered the leaders to be put to death,
although he afterward denied that he had done so. Having returned to
Rome, he endeavored to win the affections of the people by donations,
games, and gladiatorial shows. He also canceled a large amount of unpaid
taxes, now due for fifteen years, and promised the Senators never to
punish one of their body without their approval. He divided Italy into
four regions, a Consular Magistrate being placed over each; and he
introduced a new system of administration into the palace, the army, and
the state, which lasted until the reign of Constantine the Great.
In A.D. 119 he began a journey through all the provinces of his empire,
in order to examine into their condition, and to discover and amend any
faults in the system of government. Hadrian, too, was fond of travel,
and was never content to remain long in repose. A large part of his
reign was occupied with this important journey. He first visited Gaul
and Germany, and thence, in A.D. 121, passed over into Britain. Here he
found the Britons already partially civilized, but unable to defend
themselves from the incursions of their neighbors the Caledonians. To
protect them from these forays, he built a wall across the island from
the mouth of the Tyne to Solway, remains of which are still shown to the
traveler. On his return he adorned the town of Nemausus (Nismes) with
fine buildings, and then went into Spain, where he passed the winter. He
returned to Rome A.D. 122, but soon after went to Athens, where he spent
three years. During his residence in that city he began many magnificent
buildings, and he seems to have looked upon Athens with singular
affection and reverence. He visited Sicily, returned to Rome, set out
for Africa, whence, after a brief visit, he once more visited Athens, to
view the completion of his architectural designs. He finished the Temple
of the Olympian Jupiter, the largest and most magnificent in the world,
which had been commenced by Pisistratus, and left many other fine works
behind him. Then he passed through Asia, inspecting the conduct of the
provincial officers, and next traveled through Syria into Egypt, where
his favorite Antinous, a beautiful youth, was drowned. This event seems
to have filled him with a lasting grief. At length, in A.D. 131, he
returned to Rome.
[Illustration: Mole of Hadrian restored.[78]]
Here he published the _Edictum Perpetuum_, a codification of the edicts
of the Roman Prætors, which was composed by Salvius Julianus, an eminent
lawyer. The design of this work was to condense the vast body of the law
into a convenient form.
A revolt broke out among the Jews, Hadrian having established a colony
called Ælia Capitolina on the site of Jerusalem, and, not content with
introducing pagan worship into the holy city, had even issued an edict
forbidding the practice of circumcision. These imprudent measures
produced a revolt among the Jews, who, under their leader Barcochab,
fought with their usual courage and desperation. The war continued for
several years, during which more than half a million of Jews are said to
have perished. At length Julius Severus came from Britain to lead the
Roman armies, and the rebellion was suppressed. The Jews were now
forbidden to live in Jerusalem or its neighborhood, and the nation was
scattered over the habitable world.
A war which seemed about to break out with the Albanians and Iberians in
the East was prevented by Hadrian, who, with his usual policy, sent
large presents to his enemies, and thus converted them into friends. He
now returned from his travels to Rome, where he built his magnificent
villa at Tibur, the extensive ruins of which may still be seen; and he
passed the remainder of his life either at Tibur or in Rome. His health
had been affected by his incessant labors, and in A.D. 135 he was seized
with dropsy. Having no children, he adopted L. Ceionius, under the name
of L. Ælius Verus, a young noble, who, however, died on the first day of
the year A.D. 138. Hadrian then adopted Arrius Antoninus (afterward the
Emperor Antoninus Pius), and presented him as his successor to the
Senators assembled around his bed. At the same time he obliged him to
adopt L. Commodus Verus, the son of the former Verus, and also M. Annius
Verus, the future Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Ill health seems now to have
fatally affected the mind and disposition of Hadrian. He became morose
and cruel. He put many eminent nobles to death, and is said to have sunk
into debauchery at his Tiburtine villa. His disease proving incurable,
he several times attempted suicide; but having removed to Baiæ, hoping
for some relief in that fine climate, he died there July 10th, A.D. 138,
aged sixty-three. He was buried in the villa of Cicero, near Puteoli.
When the Senate, enraged at his cruelties in the latter part of his
life, wished to annul his acts, and would have refused him divine
honors, Antoninus interposed, and excused his adopted father on the plea
that ill health had disordered his mind. For this filial conduct he
received the name of Pius. The Senate not only numbered Hadrian among
the deities, but ordered temples to be erected in his honor. He left the
empire prosperous and at peace. During his reign the Senate lost its
importance in the administration of affairs, since Hadrian supplied its
place by a _Consistorium Principis_, or council, composed of eminent
men, presided over by a distinguished lawyer. Hadrian was fond of
letters and the arts, and adorned every part of his empire with fine
buildings or useful works. Wherever he traveled he did something for the
benefit of his subjects.
[Footnote 78: This mausoleum, begun by Hadrian, is now the Castle of St.
Angelo.]
[Illustration: Reverse of a brass Coin of Antoninus Pius.]
REIGN OF ANTONINUS PIUS, A.D. 138-161.
This excellent man was born at Lanuvium, September 19th, A.D. 86, but
his family came from the town of Nemausis (Nismes), in Gaul. Soon after
his accession to the empire he married his daughter Faustina to Marcus
Aurelius, procured for him the tribunitian and proconsular power from
the Senate, and made him his associate in the labors of the government.
His tranquil and prosperous reign is the most pleasing period in the
history of the Roman Empire. The world enjoyed a general peace, and the
emperor endeavored, by every wise measure, to secure the prosperity of
his subjects. Like Numa, to whom he has often been compared, Antoninus
was the peacemaker between distant nations, who were accustomed to
submit their differences to him, and to abide implicitly by his award.
He checked the persecutions to which the Christians had been exposed in
former reigns, and to him Justin Martyr addressed his apology for
Christianity. He watched carefully the conduct of the provincial
governors, and applied the public revenues to founding schools,
repairing roads and harbors, and encouraging every where industry and
trade. When Asia and Rhodes were devastated by an earthquake, Antoninus
expended large sums in relieving the sufferers by that calamity, as well
as those who were reduced to indigence by the great fires which nearly
destroyed Carthage, Narbonne, and Antioch, in A.D. 153. He appointed
teachers of rhetoric in various cities of the empire, conferred honors
and emoluments upon men of letters, and in A.D. 141 founded a
charity-school for orphan girls, whom he styled _Puellæ Alimentariæ
Faustinianæ_, in memory of his wife Faustina, who had died the year
before. Faustina, however, does not seem to have merited his esteem, and
the emperor was well acquainted with her faults; yet he generously
overlooked them while she lived, and upon her death paid unusual honors
to her memory. His piety, his devotion to the national religion, and his
various virtues, seem to have won for him universal love and veneration,
and his successors during the next century assumed the name of Antoninus
as their worthiest title.
Antoninus made no attempt to extend the boundaries of the empire. The
barbarous races who were now beginning to swarm upon the frontiers, the
Germans and the Dacians, were held in check; and although the Brigantes
made several inroads into Britain, they were defeated by A. Lollius, the
Legate, in A.D. 141; and a wall of turf was raised beyond the former
wall built by Agricola to check the incursions of the Caledonians. This
peaceful reign, however, seems to have increased the general indolence
of the people, and the martial spirit of the Roman soldiers declined in
the idleness of their stationary camps. After a reign of twenty-three
years, Antoninus died, March 7th, A.D. 161, in his villa at Lorium, aged
seventy-five years.
REIGN OF MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS, A.D. 161-180.
He was succeeded by Aurelius, who was born at Rome A.D. 121. This prince
is known as the Philosopher; and the wish of Plato that philosophers
might be kings, or kings philosophers, seems to have been fulfilled at
his accession. Aurelius had been from his youth a lover of truth. His
morals and his intellect were trained by the purest and wisest men of
his age. He had studied under Herodes Atticus and Cornelius Fronto, two
famous rhetoricians, and also under the Stoic philosophers Junius
Rusticus and Apollonius; and he had been constantly employed by his
adopted father Antoninus as an associate in all his useful and
benevolent designs. His health was, however, delicate, and he now
admitted to a share in the empire his adopted brother, L. Verus, who
possessed a vigorous constitution, but was addicted to licentious
pleasures.
The general peace which had prevailed during the reign of Marcus
Antoninus was forever passed away, and the world was in future to be
desolated by almost perpetual hostilities. The Parthian king Vologeses
III. having invaded the eastern provinces, and cut to pieces a Roman
legion, L. Verus was sent to oppose his advance; but upon arriving at
Antioch, Verus remained there, plunged in dissipation, while his brave
lieutenant Avidius Cassius drove back the Parthians, invaded
Mesopotamia, destroyed Seleucia, and penetrated to Babylon. Another
Roman general conquered Armenia, and restored the legitimate king Soæmus
to his throne. At the close of the war, Verus, A.D. 166, returned to
Rome, and triumphed. His army brought the plague with it from the East,
which now desolated Italy and Rome. Many illustrious men died; but the
famous physician Galen (Claudius Galenus), who had come from Pergamus to
Rome, was now enabled to exhibit his uncommon professional skill. This
pestilence lasted for several years.
Verus died of intemperance A.D. 171, and Aurelius prevailed upon the
Senate to rank him among the gods. He now marched against the
Marcomanni, but was defeated in a great battle, and, in order to provide
a new army, sold the imperial plate and jewels. He now took up a
position at Sirmium (Sirmich), and endeavored to wear out the barbarians
by skirmishes and sudden attacks, without venturing far from his
strong-hold. At length, however, upon one occasion, having been drawn
into a defile, the Roman army was relieved by a fierce storm of thunder
and rain, which terrified the barbarians. Tradition attributes this
sudden storm to the prayers of a Christian legion. The barbarians now
submitted, and withdrew beyond the Danube.
Soon after, an insurrection broke out in Syria, where Avidius Cassius,
at the instigation, it is said, of the emperor's wife Faustina, had
proclaimed himself emperor. But Cassius, by his severity, disgusted his
own soldiers, and was assassinated by a centurion. Aurelius lamented
this event, since it deprived him of an opportunity of showing clemency
to an erring friend. He at once set out for the East, and there freely
forgave all those who had conspired against him. He took the young
family of Cassius under his protection, and ordered the papers of that
officer to be destroyed, lest they might disclose the names of the
conspirators. Faustina, who had accompanied her husband to Cilicia, died
soon after, it is said, by her own hand.
It is remarkable that this philosophic emperor should have permitted a
cruel persecution of the Christians in A.D. 177, perhaps at the
instigation of the Stoic philosophers--the only blot upon his general
humanity and benevolence. Among the victims of this persecution was
Justin Martyr, the author of the Apologies for Christianity, addressed
to Antoninus, as well as to Aurelius himself. Toward the close of his
reign, having become convinced of the falseness of the charges made
against the Christians, Aurelius became once more tolerant and
philosophic.
In A.D. 176 the emperor triumphed at Rome for his various successes. He
gave a donation of eight pieces of gold to every citizen, and made his
son Commodus his colleague. In the mean time the barbarians in the
interior of Europe, moved by a general impulse, began to press upon the
frontiers of the empire, and from this time seem never to have ceased
their inroads until the final destruction of the Roman power. Aurelius
marched, A.D. 177, to the frontier, defeated the barbarians in various
engagements, and had perhaps proved the savior and second founder of
Rome, when he was seized with a fever at Vindobona (Vienna), A.D. 180,
and died after a few days' illness. He was the last of the Roman
emperors who labored for the welfare of his people. He was, no doubt,
the greatest and wisest of them all, and he united the different talents
of a man of learning, a fine writer, a skillful soldier, and a
benevolent, judicious ruler. His "Meditations," which have made him
known to posterity, are among the most delightful productions of the
human intellect, while his private character seems to have been no less
attractive than his writings.
REIGN OF M. COMMODUS ANTONINUS, A.D. 180-192.
The depraved Commodus succeeded his virtuous father at the age of
twenty. He had been educated with singular care, but was wholly given up
to coarse sensuality. The people, however, still hoped that he might be
worthy of his father, and received him, upon his accession, with loud
expressions of joy. For a short time he concealed his true disposition;
but his sister Lucilla, jealous of her brother's wife Crispina, formed a
conspiracy against him in A.D. 182, and he escaped with difficulty from
the hand of the assassin. From this moment he threw off all disguise,
and indulged his natural vices without restraint. He put to death the
most illustrious men of the time, encouraged informers and false
accusations, and filled Rome with terror. In the midst of these
cruelties he often sang, danced, or played the buffoon in public, fought
as a gladiator in the circus, and ordered the people to worship him as a
second Hercules. His lieutenant Marcellus, in A.D. 184, defeated the
Caledonians, after they had passed the long wall of Hadrian, and had
ravaged the northern part of Britain; and in A.D. 191 an invasion of the
Frisians was repelled. Commodus, however, paid no attention to the
affairs of the empire. In A.D. 189 Italy suffered from a pestilence and
famine, when the people of Rome rose against the emperor's præfect,
Cleander, and tore him to pieces. Commodus still continued his murders,
and was at last assassinated by the directions of his mistress, Marcia,
whose death he had resolved upon. He died December 31st, A.D. 192. The
Senate ordered his memory to be held infamous, and his body to be
dragged by iron hooks through the streets, and then to be thrown into
the Tiber; but his successor Pertinax prevailed that it should be placed
in the mausoleum of Hadrian. Such was the son of Marcus Aurelius.
[Illustration: Commodus.]
[Illustration: Pertinax.]
CHAPTER XLII.
FROM PERTINAX TO DIOCLETIAN. A.D. 192-284.
Pertinax, an aged senator of consular rank, and now Præfect of the city,
was summoned by the conspirators, who came to his house late at night,
after the murder of Commodus, to ascend the vacant throne. He was one of
the few friends and ministers of Marcus Aurelius who yet survived, and,
having filled many important offices, had always been distinguished for
firmness, prudence, and integrity. The rumor was spread that Commodus
had died of apoplexy, and that Pertinax had succeeded him; but the
Prætorian Guards were dissatisfied at his election. The Senate, however,
confirmed the choice of the conspirators, and Pertinax lived among his
own order rather as an equal than a master. His manners were simple, his
mode of life frugal, and he sought to revive the pleasing simplicity of
the early Republic.
Pertinax administered justice with strictness, released those who had
been left in prison by Commodus, reformed the finances and introduced
economy, redivided the uncultivated lands among those who would till
them, removed oppressive restrictions upon trade, and deserved the
respect of the wiser portion of his subjects.
But the Prætorians were never reconciled to his rule, and on the 28th of
March, A.D. 193, eighty-six days after his election, they broke into
the imperial palace, and struck down the emperor with innumerable blows.
His head was separated from his body, and, being placed upon a lance,
was carried in triumph to the Prætorian camp, while the people silently
lamented the death of this virtuous ruler.
The soldiers, meanwhile, proclaimed from the ramparts of their camp that
the throne of the world would be sold at auction to the highest bidder.
Didius Julianus, a wealthy Senator, whose age had not quenched his
vanity and ambition, offered about a thousand dollars to each man for
the possession of the prize. He was declared emperor, and, surrounded by
the armed Prætorians, was carried to the Senate, who were forced to
accept the selection of the soldiers. But the Senators and the people
felt deeply the disgrace of their country, and even the Prætorians were
ashamed of their unworthy choice. Julianus found himself on the throne
of the world without a friend.
[Illustration: Septimius Severus.]
The armies in the provinces, when they heard of these transactions at
the capital, rose in revolt, and refused to acknowledge the authority of
Julian. Clodius Albinus commanded the legions in Britain, Septimius
Severus those in Pannonia, and Pescennius Niger the army of the East.
Severus, more active than his competitors, was saluted by his soldiers
as emperor, and marched rapidly toward Rome. Julian, deserted by the
Prætorians, was condemned to death by the Senate, and was executed as a
common criminal after a reign of only sixty-six days. Severus was
acknowledged as their lawful emperor by the Senate, June 2, A.D. 193,
and his first act was to disarm the Prætorian Guards and banish them
from the capital.
He next marched against Niger, and defeated him in two battles, while he
was also successful in a severe contest with Clodius Albinus at Lyons.
Both of his competitors were put to death, and Severus, now set free
from fear of rivalry, began to show the native cruelty of his
disposition. Forty-one Senators, whom he accused of having favored
Albinus, were executed, with their wives and children; and many of the
provincial nobles of Spain and Gaul shared their fate. Yet Severus was
in many respects a useful ruler; strict in the administration of the
laws, careful to correct abuses, and restraining his subjects with stern
impartiality. Peace returned to the provinces, cities were repeopled,
roads repaired, Rome abounded in provisions, and the people were
satisfied. Severus changed the constitution of the Prætorian Guards, and
filled up their ranks with the bravest soldiers of the legions of the
frontier. These barbarians, he thought, would be able to suppress any
rebellion that might arise; and he increased the number to fifty
thousand men. The Præfect of the Prætorians, who had at first been a
simple soldier, now became the chief minister of the emperor, and was at
the head of the finances and even of the law. The celebrated lawyer
Papinian was appointed Præfect after the fall of Plautianus; and several
great jurisconsults, particularly Paulus and Ulpian, flourished under
the reign of Severus or his family.
Severus, however, was a military despot, and, despising the feeble
Senate, assumed both the legislative and the executive power. The
jurisconsults, in fact, from this reign, begin to treat the emperor as
the source of all law, the Senate and the people being no longer
considered in the state. But this arbitrary rule, introduced by Severus,
is thought to have tended more than any thing else to destroy the vigor
of the Roman Empire, by leading the people to an abject dependence upon
their rulers.
The wife of Severus, Julia Domna, a Syrian lady of great beauty and
various accomplishments, became the mother of two sons, Caracalla and
Geta, and the emperor hoped that they would prove worthy of the high
office to which they were born. They soon, however, showed themselves
incapable of any serious study or employment, and were chiefly
remarkable for the hatred they bore toward each other. The court was
already divided into two factions, composed of the adherents of either
son; and the emperor, who in vain strove to remove their rivalry,
foresaw that one must fall a victim to the hatred of the other.
In A.D. 208 a war broke out in Britain, and Severus, although now more
than sixty years of age, and afflicted with the gout, so that he was
carried on a litter, set out at the head of his army, attended by his
two sons, and penetrated into the interior of Scotland. This was his
last enterprise, for he died at York, February 4, A.D. 211. He left his
empire to his two sons, who returned to Rome, and were acknowledged by
the Senate and the army.
[Illustration: Caracalla.]
Their discord, however, still continued, and they planned a division of
the empire, a measure which was then distasteful to all the Romans, and
which was only prevented from taking place by the tears and entreaties
of their mother, Julia Domna. Geta, the younger son, who was of a gentle
disposition, soon after, in A.D. 212, February 27th, was murdered by the
cruel and relentless Caracalla. Twenty thousand of his friends are said
to have been put to death at the same time, and his unhappy mother,
Julia Domna, was forced to receive her guilty son with feigned smiles
and words of approbation. Remorse, however, fastened upon Caracalla, and
the shade of Geta haunted him wherever he went. His cruelties now
redoubled. He put to death Papinian, the Prætorian Præfect, the splendid
ornament of the Roman bar; and his massacres filled every part of the
empire with mourning and terror. In A.D. 213 he left the city of Rome,
and never returned thither again; the rest of his reign was passed in
the provinces, and wherever he came he indulged himself in endless
murders, confiscations, and acts of violence. "He was," says Gibbon,
"the common enemy of mankind." He directed a general massacre of the
people of Alexandria, who had lampooned him, and viewed the scene from
a secure post in the Temple of Serapis. To retain the affections of his
army, he lavished upon them immense sums, the plunder of his empire; and
he was at length assassinated, March 8, A.D. 217, at the instigation of
Macrinus, one of the Prætorian Præfects, who had discovered that the
tyrant had planned his own death.
Macrinus, Præfect of the Prætorian Guard, was elected emperor March 11,
A.D. 217, and the Senate and the provinces submitted without a murmur.
But the new emperor was disliked by the nobles on account of his humble
origin, and soon offended his army by endeavoring to reform their
discipline. The Empress Julia now withdrew by a voluntary death from the
sorrow which surrounded her, and the family of Severus became extinct. A
rebellion broke out in the Syrian army, who proclaimed Bassianus, the
grandson of Julia Mæsa, sister of the late empress, and who assumed the
name of Antoninus. He pretended that he was the natural son of
Caracalla. A battle took place, in which Macrinus was defeated, and soon
after put to death; and Elagabalus, for that is the name under which
this monster is commonly known, ascended the throne.
He at once plunged into every vice. The sun was worshiped at Emessa
under the name of Elagabalus, from whence the new emperor derived his
surname, having been a priest in the temple; and he now introduced the
lascivious rites of the Syrian deity into the capital of the world. A
magnificent temple of the god Elagabalus was raised on the Palatine
Mount, and the grave and dignified nobles of Rome were forced to take
part in the ceremonies, clothed in long Phoenician tunics.
It would be impossible to describe the vices of this wretched being, who
seems to have sunk to the very extreme of depravity. His cousin,
however, Alexander Severus, as if to show that human nature had not
wholly declined, was amiable, virtuous, and learned. Elagabalus was
murdered by the Prætorians March 10, A.D. 222, and Alexander placed upon
the throne.
Alexander Severus seems to have inclined toward the Christian faith,
which was now very widely extended throughout the empire. He revoked all
former edicts against the Christians, and ordered the words "Do unto
others as you would have them do to you" to be inscribed upon his
palaces and other buildings. The Persian Empire was now arising in new
strength under the house of the Sassanides, and a war having broken out
with them, Alexander marched against the Persians, and gained a
considerable victory. He returned to Rome in triumph, and entered the
city in a chariot drawn by four elephants. Soon after, the Germans
having invaded Gaul, he led his army to the defense of the frontier;
but, while attempting to reform the discipline of the Gallic legions, he
was assassinated by a band of discontented soldiers, and Maximin, a
Thracian peasant of great personal strength, who had risen to a high
command in the army, was raised to the throne.
[Illustration: Alexander Severus.]
Maximin, A.D. 235, began his reign by massacring many of the friends of
the late emperor, and even all those who showed any regret for his
death. He was a fierce, ignorant barbarian, but was very successful in
his wars against the Germans, having ravaged their country, and sent
great numbers of them to be sold as slaves in Italy. He also defeated
the Dacians and Sarmatians. But his severities produced a revolt in
Africa, where the legions proclaimed their proconsul Gordian emperor,
then in the eightieth year of his age. The Senate now revolted against
Maximin, and ordered all his friends in Rome to be put to death. Maximin
now made peace with the barbarians, and marched toward Italy, while, in
the mean time, Gordian and his son were defeated and slain in Africa.
The Senate immediately elected Papianus and Balbinus emperors, to whom,
in order to gratify the people, they joined the younger Gordian, then
only twelve years of age. Maximin entered Italy and besieged Aquileia,
but his soldiers, weary of the length of the siege, put him to death,
A.D. 238. The Goths on the Danube and the Persians in the East now
assailed the empire, and at the same time the Prætorian Guards murdered
his two associates, leaving Gordian sole emperor of Rome. Gordian was
married to the daughter of Misitheus, Præfect of the Prætorians, an
excellent minister and commander. Together they marched to the East,
and defeated the Persians under their king Sapor, in various
engagements. Misitheus now died, and Gordian appointed the Arab Philip
his prime minister. Sapor was again defeated; but the Arab conspired
against Gordian, his benefactor, who was assassinated in A.D. 244.
Philip, having made peace with the Persians, returned to Rome, where he
won the favor of the people by his mild conduct. In his reign the
secular games were celebrated, it being reckoned one thousand years
since the foundation of the city. Philip ruled with mildness, and was an
enemy to persecution. In A.D. 249, however, the Illyrian army revolted,
and proclaimed their commander, Trajanus Decius, emperor, who defeated
Philip near Verona, and put him to death. His son, who had remained at
Rome, was slain by the Prætorian Guards.
In A.D. 250 the Goths invaded the empire. These fierce barbarians came
from the north of Europe, and were among the chief instruments of the
fall of Rome. Decius, who does not seem to have wanted skill and
courage, was finally defeated and slain by them, together with his son.
Decius is remembered as one of the most cruel persecutors of the
Christians. The innocent victims of his rage were subjected to torture,
driven to hide in the wilderness among rocks and forests, and were glad
to live among the wild beasts, more humane than man. The Bishop of Rome,
Fabian, the bishops of Antioch and Alexandria, and many more eminent in
the Church, suffered from the unrelenting severity of this persecutor.
A son of Decius, Hostilianus, together with Gallus, an experienced
soldier, were now made emperors. They concluded a disgraceful, but
probably necessary peace with the Goths. But Hostilianus soon after
died, and Gallus was defeated and slain by Æmilianus, who was himself
assassinated, and Valerian, the Censor, in A.D. 253, was made emperor. A
very high character is given of this ruler, whose reign, however, was
filled with disasters. Having joined his son Gallienus with him,
Valerian vainly sought to repel the attacks of innumerable enemies on
every side of the empire--the Goths, the Franks, the Scythians, and the
Persians. In a campaign against the latter Valerian was taken prisoner,
and for nine years languished in captivity, his unnatural son making no
effort for his liberation.
The Allemanni, meanwhile, had entered Italy, ravaged its northern
territory, and even threatened Rome. They withdrew, loaded with plunder.
To gain allies among the barbarians, Gallienus now married the daughter
of the king of the Marcomanni. Every part of the empire seems now to
have been laid open to the invaders. Greece was ravaged by the Goths;
the famous Temple of Diana at Ephesus was burned by them, together with
that fine city; and Sapor, king of the Persians, overran Syria and Asia.
He was, however, finally repelled by the brave Odenatus, who, with his
queen Zenobia, ruled at Palmyra.
Valerian died in captivity, while a crowd of usurpers rose in arms
against the weak Gallienus. There were nineteen pretenders to the throne
according to Gibbon, but this period is usually known as that of the
Thirty Tyrants. This melancholy period was also marked by a pestilence,
which raged for fifteen years in every province. Five thousand persons
are said to have died daily at Rome for some time; cities were
depopulated, and the number of the human species must have sensibly
declined. A famine preceded and attended the pestilence, earthquakes
were common, and the third century is, no doubt, the most melancholy
period in the history of Europe.
Gallienus was murdered in A.D. 268, and was succeeded by Marcus Aurelius
Claudius, who died of a pestilence which had broken out in his army in
Egypt. Aurelian, a native of Pannonia, was the next emperor. His reign
lasted four years and nine months, but was filled with remarkable
events. He abandoned Dacia to the Goths, defeated the Alemanni, and
drove them out of Italy. But he foresaw the danger of future invasions,
and surrounded Rome with new walls about twenty-one miles in extent. In
A.D. 272 he marched against Zenobia, queen of Palmyra, who ventured to
defy the power of Rome. This illustrious woman was not only learned,
beautiful, and an agreeable writer, but governed the East for five years
with discretion and success. Aurelian was amazed at her warlike
preparations upon the fall of Palmyra, and treated her beautiful city
with lenity; but the Palmyrenians having rebelled, the city was taken by
storm, and its people put to death. The ruins of Palmyra are still among
the most remarkable of the ancient world.
Aurelian now returned to Rome to celebrate his triumph. The spoils of
every climate were borne before him; his captives were from Germany,
Syria, and Egypt, and among them were the Emperor Tetricus and the
beautiful Zenobia, bound with fetters of gold. A whole day was consumed
in the passage of the triumphal procession through the streets of Rome.
But Aurelian, who was illiterate, unpolished, and severe, failed to win
the regard of his people, and was plainly more at his ease at the head
of his army than in the cultivated society of Rome. He returned,
therefore, to the East, where he died, as was usual with so many of the
emperors, by the hand of an assassin, in A.D. 275. He restored vigor to
the empire, and preserved it from instant destruction.
The army, filled with sorrow for the loss of the emperor, revenged his
death by tearing his assassin in pieces; and they then wrote a
respectful letter to the Senate, asking the Senators to select his
successor. The Senate, however, passed a decree that the army should
name the new emperor. The soldiers, in their turn, refused, and thus for
eight months an interregnum prevailed while this friendly contest
continued. At last the Senate appointed the virtuous Tacitus, who
claimed a descent from his namesake, the famous historian. Tacitus,
however, who was seventy years old, sank under the hardships of his
first campaign, and died A.D. 276, at Tyania, in Cappadocia.
His brother Florian then ascended the throne, but was defeated and put
to death by Probus, the best soldier of the age, who, in six years, once
more repelled the barbarians from every part of the empire. He delivered
Gaul from the ravages of the Germans, pursued them across the Rhine, and
every where defeated them. He suppressed, also, several insurrections,
and employed his soldiers in various useful works. But at length, weary
of these labors, they put Probus to death, A.D. 282.
Carus, the next emperor, was singularly frugal in his mode of life. When
the Persian embassadors visited him in his tent they found him sitting
upon the grass, clothed in a coarse robe, and eating his supper of bacon
and hard pease. Carus gained many victories over the Persians, but died
suddenly in A.D. 283. His two sons, Carinus and Namerian, succeeded him,
but were soon assassinated, giving place to the more famous Diocletian.
[Illustration: The Court-yard of Diocletian's Palace at Spalatro.]
CHAPTER XLIII.
FROM DIOCLETIAN, A.D. 284, TO CONSTANTINE'S DEATH, A.D. 337.
Diocletian began to reign A.D. 284, and once more revived the vigor of
the declining empire, which now seemed more than ever to depend for its
existence upon the qualities of a single ruler. It seems, indeed, to
have required an intellect of no common order to preserve the unity of
the empire, composed of so many different nations, of territories
separated by such vast distances, and threatened on every side by
innumerable foes; but, of all his contemporaries, Diocletian was best
suited to this task. His parents had been the slaves of a Roman Senator,
and he had himself risen from this low station to the highest positions
in the army. He acted with generosity toward the servants of the former
emperor, not only suffering them to remain in safety under his rule, but
even to retain their offices. Finding the empire too large to be
governed by a single ruler, he selected as his colleague Maximian, a
brave, but fierce and ignorant soldier, who, like himself, had risen to
a high rank in the army. Maximian, however, always admitted the
intellectual superiority of Diocletian. The emperor assumed the title of
Jovius, and Maximian that of Herculius. Diocletian also appointed two
Cæsars, Constantius and Galerius, to aid him in the defense of the
empire, which was divided between the four princes. Gaul, Spain, and
Britain were intrusted to the care of Constantius, Italy and Africa to
Maximian, Galerius commanded the legions on the Danube, while Diocletian
reserved for himself Thrace, Egypt, and Asia. The four rulers seemed to
have labored together in harmony, but the establishment of four courts
in different parts of the empire obliged them to increase the taxes, and
every province suffered under new impositions. Even Italy, which had
always been favored in this particular, was now heavily burdened, and
every where lands were abandoned and left uncultivated because their
owners could not pay the taxes and impositions. In A.D. 287 a rebellion
occurred in Gaul, which was suppressed by Maximian; soon after,
Carausius, having become master of Britain, and possessing a
considerable fleet, defied the power of the emperor; but when
Constantius was appointed Cæsar he prepared to reduce the island to
subjection. In A.D. 294 Carausius was put to death by Allectus, a new
usurper. Constantius now crossed the Channel and recovered the island,
which, after a separation of ten years, was once more reunited to the
empire. During this reign the Goths, Vandals, and other northern
barbarians wasted their strength in destructive contests with each
other; but whenever, in intervals of peace, they invaded the Roman
territory, they were driven back by the valor of the two Cæsars.
Maximian, in the mean time, subdued a revolt in Africa; and Diocletian
himself suppressed one of those seditions to which Egypt was constantly
exposed. The emperor besieged Alexandria for eight months, cut off the
aqueducts which conveyed water to the city, and, having taken it, put
many thousands of its citizens to death. One remarkable edict which he
now published forbade the study of alchemy in Egypt, and ordered all
books upon that subject to be burned. He also made a treaty with the
Nubians, in order to protect the frontiers of Egypt.
It gives us, indeed, a clear view of the immense extent of the Roman
power when we reflect that its commanders were, almost at the same
moment, struggling successfully against its enemies in Africa, Britain,
Germany, and the East. A war with Persia now arose, in which Galerius
was at first defeated, A.D. 296. But the next year he passed through
the mountains of Armenia at the head of twenty-five thousand chosen men,
and, having surprised the Persian army in the night, slaughtered great
numbers of them; the booty, too, was immense. A barbarian soldier,
finding a bag of shining leather filled with pearls, threw away the
contents and preserved the bag; and the uncultivated savages gathered a
vast spoil from the tents of the Persians. Galerius, having taken
prisoners several of the wives and children of the Persian monarch
Narses, treated them with such tenderness and respect that Narses made
peace. Mesopotamia was now added to the empire, being taken from the
King of Armenia, who received in its place a considerable Persian
province.
The two emperors returned to Rome and celebrated their triumph November
20, A.D. 303, the last spectacle of that kind which the world has
witnessed. Romulus, more than a thousand years before, had ascended the
Capitoline Mount on foot, bearing in his arms the spoil of Acron, and
his example had been followed by a long line of Roman heroes. In the
last triumph, the two emperors were attended by the spoils of Africa and
Britain, of the East and the West.
During this reign also occurred the last persecution of the Christians,
who were soon to become the masters of the empire. It began A.D. 303,
and continued for ten years; and such multitudes of the Christians
perished that the emperors boasted that they had wholly extirpated the
sect!
Diocletian introduced an Eastern pomp into his court, assumed the titles
of "Lord and Emperor," and wore a diadem set with pearls. His robes were
of silk and gold. He required his subjects to prostrate themselves
before him, and to adore him as a divinity.
In A.D. 305, like Charles V., he resolved to abdicate his power, having
persuaded his colleague Maximian to do the same: he lived in retirement
for nine years, and amused himself cultivating his garden. "I wish you
would come to Salona" (Spalatro), he wrote to Maximian, who sought to
draw him from his retirement, "and see the cabbages I have planted: you
would never again mention to me the name of empire." But the close of
his life was embittered by the ingratitude of Constantine and Licinius,
and the dangers of the empire. It is not known whether he died by
disease or by his own hand.
Upon the abdication of Diocletian and his colleague, the two Cæsars,
Constantius and Galerius, assumed the title of Augustus. Constantius
retained his former provinces, Gaul, Spain, and Britain. He was
moderate, amiable, and lived with Roman simplicity. Galerius, on the
other hand, was haughty, severe, and ambitious. He had married a
daughter of Diocletian, and hoped that the death of Constantius would
soon leave him the sole emperor of Rome. The two emperors now appointed
two Cæsars, Maximin and Severus, the first nephew to Galerius, and the
latter devoted to his interests. Constantius died at York, in Britain,
A.D. 306, and his son Constantine was proclaimed Augustus by the
soldiers.
[Illustration: Constantine and Fausta.]
This prince, afterward Constantine the Great, was the son of Constantius
and Helena, who was said to have been the daughter of an inn-keeper.
When Constantius became Cæsar he divorced Helena, and her son was, in a
measure, neglected. Constantine, however, soon distinguished himself as
a soldier, and won the affection of the army. In appearance he was tall,
dignified, and pleasing; he excelled in all military exercises, was
modest, prudent, and well informed. He soon attracted the jealousy of
Galerius, who would have put him to death had he not escaped to his
father in Britain; and now Galerius refused to allow him any higher
title than that of Cæsar.
Maxentius, the son of the abdicated emperor Maximian, was also
proclaimed Augustus by his soldiers, and prevailed upon his father once
more to ascend the throne. Severus, who marched against them, was
defeated and put to death; and Constantine now married Fausta, the
daughter of Maximian. Galerius led a large army from the East, but was
repulsed from Rome and retreated, leaving Maximian and his son masters
of the capital. Galerius next associated Licinius with him in his
power, and there were now six sovereigns upon the throne.
In A.D. 310, however, Maximian, having conspired against the life of
Constantine, was put to death; Galerius died the next year; in A.D. 312
Maxentius fell before the arms of Constantine, and was drowned in the
Tiber while attempting to make his escape. It was during this campaign
that Constantine is said to have seen the miraculous cross in the
heavens.
The Roman Senate paid unusual honors to Constantine; games and festivals
were instituted in memory of his victory over Maxentius, and a triumphal
arch was erected, whose imperfect architecture shows the decline of
ancient taste. The Arch of Trajan was stripped of its ornaments to adorn
that of Constantine.
[Illustration: Arch of Constantine.]
The new emperor introduced good order into the administration of the
West, revived the authority of the Senate, and disbanded the Prætorian
Guards; he revoked the edicts against the Christians, and paid unusual
deference to the bishops and saints of the Church. The Emperor Licinius,
who had married his sister, in A.D. 313 defeated and put to death
Maximin, so that the empire was now shared between Constantine and
Licinius.
The former now summoned a council of bishops at Arles to suppress the
heresy of the Donatists, but, before it met, was forced to march against
Licinius, who had conspired against him. Licinius was defeated in two
battles, and forced to give up a large part of his dominions to his
conqueror. Constantine next defeated the Goths and Sarmatæ. Licinius
had assumed the defense of Paganism, while Constantine raised the
standard of the Cross. The last struggle between them took place near
Adrianople; the Pagan army was defeated and put to flight, and in A.D.
324 Licinius was put to death. Thus Constantine reigned alone over the
empire of Augustus.
At the famous Council of Nice, which met in A.D. 325, the doctrine of
the Trinity was established, Arianism condemned, and at the same time
the emperor was, in effect, acknowledged to be the spiritual head of the
Church. But an event now occurred which must have destroyed forever the
happiness of Constantine. He was induced to put to death his virtuous
son Crispus, through the false accusations of his wife Fausta, and when
afterward he discovered the falseness of the charges made against
Crispus, he directed Fausta and her accomplices to be slain.
Rome, which had so long been the capital of the world, was now to
descend from that proud position and become a provincial city. When
Constantine returned to Rome after the Council of Nice, he found himself
assailed with insults and execrations. The Senate and the people of the
capital saw with horror the destroyer of their national faith, and they
looked upon Constantine as accursed by the gods. The execution of his
wife and son soon after increased the ill feeling against the emperor,
and Constantine probably resolved to abandon a city upon which he had
bestowed so many favors, and which had repaid him with such ingratitude.
He was conscious, too, that Rome, seated in the heart of Italy, was no
longer a convenient capital for his empire, and he therefore resolved to
build a new city on the site of ancient Byzantium. The Bosphorus, a
narrow strait, connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmora; and here,
on a triangular piece of ground, inclosing on one side an excellent
harbor, Constantine laid the foundations of his capital. It was situated
in the forty-first degree of latitude, possessed a temperate climate,
and a fertile territory around it; while, being placed on the confines
of both Europe and Asia, it commanded the two divisions of the empire.
[Illustration: Map of Propontis, Hellespont, Bosphorus.]
Constantinople was adorned with all the architectural elegance of the
age, but the arts of sculpture and of decoration had so declined that
Constantine was forced to rob the cities of Greece of their finest works
in order to supply the deficiencies of his own artists: Athens and Asia
were despoiled to adorn his semi-barbarous capital. The city was
provided with a forum, in which was placed a column of porphyry upon a
white marble base, in all one hundred and twenty feet high, upon which
stood a bronze figure of Apollo. A hippodrome, or circus of great size,
and the baths and pleasure-grounds, recalled the memory of those of
Rome. Schools and theatres, aqueducts, fourteen churches, fourteen
palaces, and a great number of magnificent private houses, added to the
splendor of the new city. Constantine designed, it is said, to have
called his capital the SECOND OR NEW ROME, but his own name has always
been preferred.
[Illustration: Map of Constantinople.]
Having thus provided a capital, Constantine next began to form a new
constitution for his empire; he established, therefore, a complete
despotism, all the power being lodged in the emperor, and all honors and
titles being conferred by him alone. The name of Consul was still
preserved, these officers being yearly appointed by the emperor; but we
now notice the titles of _Count_ and _Duke_ joined with those of
Quæstors and Proconsuls. All the civil magistrates were taken from the
legal profession. The law was now the most honorable of the professions,
and the law school at Berytus, in Phoenicia, had flourished since the
reign of Alexander Severus.
The Roman Empire was divided into four great præfectures, which were
themselves subdivided into dioceses and provinces. The præfectures were
named that of the East, of Illyricum, of Italy, and of Gaul. A Prætorian
Præfect had charge of each præfecture, and regulated its civil
government; took care of the roads, ports, granaries, manufactures,
coinage; was the supreme legal magistrate, from whose decision there was
no appeal. Rome and Constantinople had their own Præfects, whose courts
took the place of those of the ancient Prætors, while a considerable
police force preserved the quiet of each city. The magistrates of the
empire were divided into three classes, the Illustrissimi, or
illustrious; the Spectabiles, or respectable; and the Clarissimi, or the
honorable.
Constantine also made Christianity the established religion of the
state, and appropriated a large portion of the revenues of the cities to
the support of the churches and the clergy. His standing army was very
large, but the ranks were now filled chiefly by barbarians, the Roman
youth having lost all taste for arms. It is said the young men of Italy
were in the habit of cutting off the fingers of the right hand in order
to unfit themselves for military service.
In order to support this extensive system, Constantine was forced to
impose heavy taxes upon his people. Every year the emperor subscribed
with his own hand, in purple ink, the _indiction_, or tax levy of each
diocese, which was set up in its principal city, and when this proved
insufficient, an additional tax, or _superindiction_, was imposed.
Lands, cattle, and slaves were all heavily taxed, and the declining
agriculture of the empire was finally ruined by the exorbitant demands
of the state. In Campania alone, once the most fertile part of Italy,
one eighth of the whole province lay uncultivated, and the condition of
Gaul seems to have been no better. Besides this, merchants,
manufacturers, mechanics, and citizens were taxed beyond their power of
endurance, while those who failed to pay were shut up in prison. Every
fourth year these taxes on industry were levied, a period to which the
people looked forward with terror and lamentation. Gifts were also
demanded from the cities or provinces on various occasions, such as the
accession of an emperor, the birth of an emperor's heir, the free gift
of the city of Rome, for example, being fixed at about three hundred
thousand dollars; and, in fine, the imperial despotism reduced the
people to want, and hastened, even more than the inroads of the
barbarians, the destruction of civil society.
Constantine in his old age adopted the luxury and pomp which Diocletian
introduced from the East; he wore false hair of various colors carefully
arranged, a diadem of costly gems, and a robe of silk embroidered with
flowers of gold. His family, at an earlier period, consisted of Crispus,
a son by his first wife Minervina, and the three sons of Fausta,
Constantine, Constantius, and Constans. Besides these there were three
daughters. Crispus, however, who was beloved by the people and the army,
excited the jealousy of Fausta. Constantine was led to believe that his
son was engaged in a conspiracy against his life, and Crispus was
executed by his father's orders, together with Cæsar Licinius, the son
of Constantine's favorite sister. Helena, the aged mother of
Constantine, undertook to avenge her grandson. Fausta was finally proved
to be unfaithful to her husband, and put to death, with many of her
friends and followers. These fearful scenes within the palace recalled
to the Roman people the memory of Nero and Caligula.
The three sons of Fausta were now the heirs of the throne, and, with
their two cousins, Dalmatius and Hannibalianus, were carefully
instructed by Christian professors, Greek philosophers, and Roman
jurisconsults, the emperor himself teaching them the science of
government and of man. They also studied the art of war in defending the
frontiers of the empire; but no important war disturbed the last
fourteen years of this reign. Constantine reigned thirty years, the
longest period of any since Augustus; and he died May 22, A.D. 337, at
his palace at Nicomedia, aged sixty-four years.
Constantine, although professing the Christian faith, was not baptized
until a short time before his death, when he received that solemn rite
with many professions of penitence, and of a desire to live in future
according to the precepts of religion. He seems to have possessed many
excellent qualities, was brave, active, and untiring, ruled with
firmness, and gave a large portion of his time to the cares of state.
[Illustration: Julian the Apostate.]
CHAPTER XLIV.
FROM THE DEATH OF CONSTANTINE, A.D. 337, TO ROMULUS AUGUSTULUS, A.D.
476.
The three sons of the late emperor, Constantine, Constantius, and
Constans, as soon as their father was dead, put to death their two
cousins, Hannibalianus and Dalmatius, with many more of their relatives;
only Gallus and Julian, the children of Julius Constantius, being left
alive. They then divided the empire, A.D. 337, Constantine, the elder,
retaining the new capital, Constans receiving the western provinces,
while to Constantius was left Syria and the East. Sapor, king of Persia,
invaded the Eastern provinces, and defeated the Romans in various
battles. Meanwhile a quarrel broke out between Constantine and Constans,
and the former, having invaded his brother's provinces, was defeated and
slain, A.D. 350. Ten years afterward Constans was himself put to death
by Magnentius, an ambitious soldier, who at once assumed the name of
emperor. Constantius marched against him, but found that Vetranio,
præfect of Illyricum, had joined him, instigated by the Princess
Constantina. He finally, however, defeated Magnentius, and deposed the
aged Vetranio, and thus became the master of Rome. Having recalled
Gallus and Julian from banishment, the emperor gave them the title of
Cæsars. Gallus proved unfit for public affairs, while Julian won the
esteem of all men by his conduct and valor. He drove the Germans out of
Gaul, which they had invaded, and even crossed the Rhine, in imitation
of Julius Cæsar.
Constantius now became jealous of the rising fame of Julian, who was
beloved by the Western legions, and commanded him to send the finest
part of his army to the East. Julian prepared to obey, but the soldiers
rose in revolt, proclaiming him Julian Augustus. He sent messengers to
the emperor demanding the recognition of his election; but war could not
long be averted. Julian abjured Christianity, which he had hitherto
professed, together with his allegiance to the emperor, and led a small
army of well-chosen soldiers against his rival. Meantime Constantius, in
A.D. 361, November 3d, died of a fever in Syria, while Julian entered
Constantinople December 11th, amid the applause of the people. He was
acknowledged emperor. He was now in his thirty-second year, in many
particulars the most remarkable of the second Flavian family.
Julian had been educated by the Platonic philosophers, and resolved to
restore the ancient form of religion. He sacrificed to the pagan gods,
rebuilt their temples, revived the practice of augury, or divination,
and vainly strove to impose upon the human mind a superstition which it
had just thrown off. In order to mortify the Christians, he resolved to
rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem, and restore the Jews to their ancient
seat. But some natural phenomenon interposed; the workmen were driven
away by balls of fire, and Julian abandoned his design.
Except this unphilosophical hostility toward the Christians, whose faith
he had once professed, Julian seems to have made a sincere attempt to
improve the condition of his people. He lived with frugality, rewarded
merit, and encouraged learning, except where it was employed in the
defense of Christianity. He was also successful in his wars against the
Germans and the Persians, but at length was defeated by the latter, and
was killed A.D. 363, June 26th.
Julian affected in his dress and manners the rudeness and indifference
of a philosopher, was free from vice, possessed considerable learning,
and wrote a work of some value, in which he compared and studied the
characters of the long line of his predecessors.
Jovian was now proclaimed emperor by the Eastern army, and concluded a
dishonorable peace with the Persians. He next published an edict
restoring Christianity, but was found dead in his bed, A.D. 364.
Valentinian was next chosen emperor, who gave the Eastern provinces to
his brother Valens. He made Milan the seat of his own government, while
Valens reigned at Constantinople; and the empire was from this time
divided into the Eastern and the Western. The whole of the Western world
was distressed by the invasion of barbarous tribes, and Valentinian now
made his son Gratian his heir, in order to remove all doubt as to the
succession. The Saxon pirates, meantime, harassed all the coasts of
Gaul, while Britain was invaded by the Picts and Scots. Theodosius,
however, defeated them, and was soon after sent to quell an insurrection
in Africa. This he succeeded in doing, when Valentinian died suddenly,
A.D. 375.
Valens, his brother, meantime had suppressed a rebellion in the East,
led by Procopius; and then, having become an Arian, commenced a severe
persecution of the orthodox, of whom no fewer than eighty ecclesiastics
were put to death for supporting the election of a bishop of their own
faith at Constantinople. Valens also succeeded in repelling the attacks
of the Persians.
In the West Valentinian had been succeeded by his sons Gratian and
Valentinian II. The brave Theodosius, meanwhile, whose valor had
preserved the peace of the nation, was executed by order of Gratian, and
soon after the Huns appeared upon the Danube. These savages are thought
to have entered Europe from Tartary. Their faces were artificially
flattened and their beards plucked out. They left the cultivation of
their fields to the women or slaves, and devoted their lives to warfare.
A wandering race, they built no cities nor houses, and never slept
beneath a roof. They lived upon horseback. The Huns first attacked their
fellow-barbarians, the Ostrogoths, and made a fearful carnage, putting
all the women and children to death.
The Gothic nation now begged permission from the Romans to cross the
Danube, and settle within the Roman territory. Their request was
granted, upon condition that they should surrender all their arms; but
this condition was imperfectly fulfilled. The celebrated Bishop Ulphilas
about this time converted the Goths to Arianism, invented a Gothic
alphabet, and infused among the Goths a hatred for the Catholic faith,
which served to increase their zeal in all their future conflicts with
the Romans. Ill-treated by the Roman commissioners who had been sent by
the Emperor Valens to superintend their settlement, the Goths marched
against Constantinople. Valens wrote to Gratian for aid, and the latter,
although his own dominions were harassed by the Germans, marched to the
aid of his uncle, but died at Sirmium. Valens encountered Fritigern, the
Gothic leader, near Adrianople, in A.D. 378, and was defeated and slain.
Nearly the whole of the Roman army was destroyed upon this fatal field.
Gratian now chose as his colleague Theodosius, the son of the former
brave commander of that name, and Theodosius for a time restored the
Roman empire. He defeated the Goths, won their affections by his
clemency, and induced them to protect the frontiers of the Danube.
Gratian was defeated and put to death, A.D. 383, by a usurper, Maximus,
who also deprived Valentinian II. of his province of Italy. Theodosius,
however, defeated the usurper in A.D. 388, and generously restored
Valentinian to his throne. Valentinian was murdered by a Frank,
Arbogastes, in A.D. 392, but Theodosius marched against him, and
defeated and destroyed the rebels Arbogastes and Eugenius, A.D. 394.
Theodosius the Great, who had thus reunited the empire under his own
sway, belonged to the orthodox faith, and sought to suppress Arianism,
as well as many other heresies which, had crept into the Christian
Church. He was a prudent ruler, and resisted successfully the inroads of
the barbarians. He divided his empire between his two sons, Honorius and
Arcadius, the former becoming Emperor of the West, the latter, who was
the elder, succeeding his father at Constantinople; and Theodosius soon
after died, lamented by his subjects. Rufinus, who became the chief
minister of Arcadius, oppressed and plundered the Eastern empire. He was
universally hated by the people. Stilicho, on the other hand, who also
became the chief minister of Honorius, was a very different character.
He was a brave and active commander, and restored the former glory of
the Roman arms. His chief opponent was the famous Alaric, who now united
the Gothic forces under his own command, and, having penetrated into
Greece, ravaged and desolated that unhappy country. The barbarians
plundered Athens, Corinth, Sparta, and Argos; and those cities, once so
renowned for valor, seemed to offer him no resistance, so fallen was the
ancient spirit of the Greeks. Stilicho, however, pursued Alaric into
Elis, and would, perhaps, have totally destroyed the barbarians had not
the feeble Arcadius not only made peace with Alaric, but appointed him
to the command of Illyricum. Alaric, not long after, invaded Italy, but
was defeated by his rival. In A.D. 403 he again invaded Italy, and was
induced to retreat by a considerable bribe.
The Emperor Honorius removed from Rome to Ravenna, where he believed
himself more secure; and when a new horde of barbarians invaded Italy in
A.D. 406, and had besieged Florence, they were totally defeated and
destroyed by Stilicho. A portion of the invaders escaped into Gaul,
where they committed great ravages, until Constantine, the governor of
Britain, was proclaimed emperor, who wrested Gaul and Spain from the
dominion of Honorius. This weak prince, in A.D. 408, consented to the
murder of Stilicho. His new minister, Olympius, directed the slaughter
of the families of the barbarians throughout Italy, a cruelty which was
fearfully avenged.
Alaric, the scourge of Rome, marched into Italy, and in A.D. 408
besieged the capital. Pestilence and famine soon raged within the walls
of Rome, until the Senate purchased a respite from their calamities by
an enormous ransom. Honorius refused to confirm the treaty, and the next
year Alaric once more appeared before the city. He took possession of
Ostia, the port of Rome, reduced the Senate to surrender, and proclaimed
Attalus emperor. Honorius still refusing to yield to his demands, Alaric
resolved to punish Rome for the vices of its emperor. The sack of that
city now followed, one of the most fearful tragedies in history.
No foreign enemy had appeared before the gates of Rome since the
invasion of Hannibal, until Alaric made his successful inroad into
Italy. The city still retained all that magnificence with which it had
been invested by the emperors. The Colosseum, the baths, the aqueducts,
the palaces of the Senators, the public gardens, and the ancient
temples, still remained; but its people were lost in luxury and vice.
Learning was no longer respected among them, the gamester or the cook
being more esteemed than philosophers or poets; and the luxurious
Senators passed their lives in frivolous and degrading amusements. The
indolent people were maintained by a daily distribution of bread, baked
in the public ovens; and oil, wine, and bacon were also provided for
them during a part of the year. The public baths were open to the
people, and for a small copper coin they might enter those scenes of
luxury where the walls were incrusted with precious marble, and
perpetual streams of hot water flowed from silver tubes. From the bath
they passed to the Circus, where, although the combats of gladiators had
been suppressed by Christian princes, a succession of amusements was
still provided. In this manner the luxurious nobles and people of Rome
passed their tranquil, inglorious lives.
The wealth of the capital was such as might well attract the barbarous
invader. The palaces of the Senators were filled with gold and silver
ornaments, and the churches had been enriched by the contributions of
pious worshipers. Many of the nobles possessed estates which produced
several hundred thousand dollars a year, and the wealth of the world was
gathered within the walls of its capital.
We have no means of estimating accurately the population of Rome. Its
walls embraced a circuit of twenty-one miles, and it is probable that
nearly a million of people were contained within the walls and the
suburbs.
Such was the condition of Rome when it was about to fall before the arms
of the barbarians. August 24th, A.D. 410, Alaric approached the city,
and the gates being opened to him by some Gothic slaves, his troops
began at night a fearful scene of pillage and destruction. Men, women,
and children were involved in a general massacre; nobles and plebeians
suffered under a common fate. The Goths, as they entered, set fire to
the houses in order to light their path, and the flames consumed a large
part of the city. Great numbers of the citizens were driven away in
hordes to be sold as slaves; others escaped to Africa, or to the islands
on the coast of Italy, where the Goths, having no ships, were unable to
follow them. But Alaric, who was an Arian, spared the churches of Rome,
and was anxious to save the city from destruction. From this time,
however, A.D. 410, began that rapid decay which soon converted Rome into
a heap of ruins.
Alaric, after six days given to plunder, marched out of the city, to the
southern part of Italy, where he died. His body was buried under the
waters of a rivulet, which was turned from its course in order to
prepare his tomb; and, the waters being once more led back to their
channel, the captives who had performed the labor were put to death,
that the Romans might never discover the remains of their Gothic
scourge.
The brother of Alaric, Adolphus, who succeeded him, was married to the
Princess Placidia, and now became the chief ally of Honorius. He
restored Gaul to the empire, but was murdered while upon an expedition
into Spain. Wallia, the next Gothic king, reduced all Spain and the
eastern part of Gaul under the yoke of the Visigoths. The empire of the
West was now rapidly dismembered. The Franks and Burgundians took
possession of Gaul. Britain, too, was from this time abandoned by the
Romans, and was afterward, in A.D. 448, overrun and conquered by the
Angles and the Saxons, and thus the two great races, the English and the
French, began.
Arcadius, the Eastern emperor, governed by his minister, the eunuch
Eutropius, and by the Empress Eudoxia, was led into many cruelties; and
St. Chrysostom, the famous bishop and orator, was one of the illustrious
victims of their persecutions. Arcadius died in A.D. 408, and was
succeeded by the young Theodosius, who was controlled in all his
measures by his sister Pulcheria, and for forty years Pulcheria ruled
the East with uncommon ability. Honorius died in A.D. 423, when
Valentinian III., son of Placidia, his sister, was made Emperor of the
West. He was wholly governed by his mother, and thus Placidia and
Pulcheria ruled over the civilized world.
The Vandals, who had settled in the province of Andalusia, in Spain,
were invited into Africa by Count Boniface, who had been led into this
act of treachery by the intrigues of his rival Ætius. Genseric, the
Vandal king, conquered Africa, although Boniface, repenting of his
conduct, endeavored to recover the province; and thus Italy was now
threatened on the south by the Vandal power in Africa.
The Huns, meantime, who had been detained upon the upper side of the
Danube, now crossed that river, being united under the control of
Attila, and became the terror of the civilized world. Attila first
threatened an attack upon the Eastern empire, but at length turned his
arms against the West. He was defeated by Ætius and the Visigoths in
A.D. 451, but the next year he invaded Italy, demanded the Princess
Honoria in marriage, and destroyed many of the Italian cities. He spared
the city of Rome, however, and finally died in A.D. 453. His death alone
saved the empire from complete ruin.
Valentinian III., who had put to death the brave commander Ætius, was
murdered by the patrician Maximus in A.D. 455. The Vandals now besieged
and plundered Rome, and sold many thousands of the citizens as slaves.
Avitus, a Gaul, next became emperor by the influence of Theodoric, king
of the Visigoths, but was soon deposed by Count Ricimer, and was
followed by Majorian, a man of merit, who endeavored to reform the
nation. He died in A.D. 461. Count Ricimer then declared Severus
emperor, but was forced to apply for aid against the Vandals to the
court of Constantinople, where Leo was now emperor. Leo appointed
Anthemius to the throne of the West, and sent an army against the
Vandals in Africa, which was totally defeated. Ricimer then deposed
Anthemius, and declared Olybrius emperor; but both Ricimer and Olybrius
died in A.D. 472. Leo next appointed Julius Nepos his colleague.
Glycerius, an obscure soldier, made an effort to obtain the throne, but
yielded to Nepos, and became Bishop of Salona. Orestes, who had
succeeded Count Ricimer as commander of the barbarian mercenaries,
deprived Nepos of his throne; and Nepos, having fled into Dalmatia, was
executed by his old rival Glycerius.
Orestes gave the throne to his son Romulus, to whom he also gave the
title of Augustus, which was afterward changed by common consent to
Augustulus. But Odoacer, the leader of the German tribes, put Orestes to
death, sent Augustulus into banishment, with a pension for his support,
and, having abolished the title of emperor, in A.D. 476 declared himself
King of Italy.
Romulus Augustus was the last emperor of the West, and bore the name of
the founder of the monarchy as well as of the empire, a singular
circumstance.
In this manner fell the Roman Empire, a noble fabric, which its founder
hoped would endure forever. Its destruction, however, gave rise to the
various kingdoms and states of modern Europe, and thus civilization and
Christianity, which might have remained confined to the shores of the
Mediterranean, have been spread over a large portion of the world.
CHAPTER XLV.
ROMAN LITERATURE UNDER THE EMPIRE. A.D. 14-476.
Roman literature, which had risen to its highest excellence under
Augustus, declined rapidly under his successors, and was finally lost
with the fall of the Western empire. The language was no longer pure,
and neither prose nor poetry retained the harmony and elegance of the
Augustan age. A certain sadness and discontent, which marks all the
later literature, forms also a striking contrast with the cheerful tone
of the earlier writers. Every part of the empire, however, abounded with
men of letters, and a high degree of mental cultivation seems every
where to have prevailed.
Epic poetry continued to nourish, and Virgil found many imitators. The
best epic writer of this period was M. Annæus Lucanus, who was born at
Corduba, in Spain, in the year A.D. 38. Lucan was educated at Rome under
the Stoic Cornutus, and was introduced by his uncle Seneca to the
Emperor Nero. Having for a time enjoyed the patronage of Nero, he at
length became the object of his jealousy and hatred, was accused of
having taken part in Piso's conspiracy, and was condemned to death. He
was allowed, as a favor, to put an end to his own life, and thus died,
A.D. 65. Although so young, for he was scarcely twenty-seven years of
age, Lucan, besides several shorter poems, produced the Pharsalia, an
epic, of which he finished only ten books: it relates the wars between
Cæsar and Pompey, and contains many fine thoughts and striking images.
He evidently prefers Pompey to Cæsar, and possessed a strong love for
liberty, which lends vigor to his verses. His language is pure, his
rhythm often harmonious, but he never attains the singular delicacy and
sweetness of his master, Virgil.
C. Silius Italicus, the place of whose birth is unknown, also lived
during the reign of Nero, and was Consul in the year A.D. 68. He was a
Stoic, and put an end to his own life in the year A.D. 100, when he was
about seventy-five years of age. His poem, the Punica, is an account of
the second Punic War in verse, and is chiefly valuable to the historical
student. He had little inventive power, and takes but a low rank in
poetry.
P. Papinius Statius, the son of the teacher of the Emperor Domitian, was
carefully educated at Rome, and became renowned at an early age for his
poetical talents. He spent the last years of his life at Naples, which
was also the place of his birth, and died there in the year A.D. 96. He
wrote the Thebais, in twelve parts; the Achilleis, in two books; the
Sylvæ, a collection of poems; a tragedy, and other works. He seems to
have borrowed much from earlier Greek writers, but was possessed of
considerable poetical fervor.
Claudius Claudianus, who lived under Theodosius the Great and his two
sons, was probably born and educated at Alexandria, but we know little
of his history. He came to Rome about A.D. 395, and, under the patronage
of Stilicho, rose to a high position in the state. The time and place of
his death are unknown. His chief works were, 1. Raptus Proserpinæ, an
unfinished poem in three parts; 2. Gigantomachia, another unfinished
work; 3. De Bello Gildonico, of which we possess only the first book;
and, 4. De Bello Getico, in which the poet sings the victory of Stilicho
over Alaric at Pollentia. His poems have a rude vigor which sometimes
strikes the attention, but are chiefly valued for the light they throw
upon the Gothic wars. They are marked by many faults of taste.
Lyric poetry was little cultivated at Rome after the death of Horace;
but satire, which was peculiar to the Romans, reached its highest
excellence under the empire. Juvenal is still the master of this kind of
writing, although he has been imitated by Boileau, Pope, and Johnson;
and his contemporary Persius was also a writer of great power.
Aulus Persius Flaccus was born at Volaterræ, in Etruria, in the year
A.D. 34, of a distinguished family of the equestrian rank. He was
educated at Rome under the best masters, particularly under the Stoic
Cornutus, with whom he lived in close friendship, as well as with Lucan,
Seneca, and the most distinguished men of his time. He died at the early
age of twenty-eight, leaving behind him six satires and a brief preface.
Persius possessed a generous, manly character, was the foe of every kind
of vice, and formed one of that graceful band of writers who maintained
their independence under the terrors of a despotic government.
Decimus Junius Juvenalis, of whose life we have few particulars, was
born at Aquinum A.D. 38 or 40, and came up to Rome, where he at first
studied eloquence with great ardor, but at length gave himself wholly to
satirical writing. He offended Domitian by his satires, it is said, and
was sent by that emperor to the extreme boundary of Egypt, where he died
of grief and exile; but scarcely any fact in the history of this great
man has been perfectly ascertained.
We possess sixteen satires of Juvenal, the last of which, however, is of
doubtful authenticity. These satires are full of noble appeals to the
purest emotions of virtue, and of severe rebukes for triumphant vice.
Juvenal's language is often harsh and his taste impure; but his ideas
are so elevated, his perception of truth, honor, and justice so clear,
that he seldom fails to win the attention of his readers.
Epigrams seem to have been a favorite mode of expressing thought at the
court of Augustus, and almost every eminent Roman from the time of
Cicero has left one or more of these brilliant trifles behind him. M.
Valerius Martialis, the chief of the epigrammatists, was born about A.D.
40, at Bibilis, in Spain, from whence he came to Rome, when about
twenty, to perfect his education. Here he lived for thirty-five years,
engaged in poetical pursuits, and patronized by Titus and Domitian. He
seems finally to have returned to his native land, where he was living
in the year A.D. 100. His poems are about fifteen hundred in number,
divided into fourteen books, and are altogether original in their
design. They are always witty, often indecent, and contain many personal
allusions which can not now be understood. Martial is one of the most
gifted of the Roman writers.
The practice of writing epigrams was preserved until a very late period.
Seneca, Pliny the younger, Hadrian, and many others, were fond of
composing them; and in modern times the epigram has been a favorite kind
of poetry with most good writers.
Phædrus, who lived under Augustus and Tiberius, wrote pleasing fables.
Calphurnius and Ausonius imitated Virgil's bucolics, and fragments of
many other poets are preserved, whom we can not mention here.
Historical writers also abounded under the empire. Velleius Paterculus,
an excellent historian descended from a patrician family, was born about
B.C. 19. He was the friend and flatterer of Tiberius, and rose, in
consequence, to several high offices. He was Quæstor in perhaps A.D. 7,
and Prætor in A.D. 15. His _Historicæ Romanæ_, two books of which
remain, is an abridgment of the history of the world, written in a clear
and pleasing style, and is, in general, trustworthy. He flatters his
benefactors, Augustus and Tiberius, but his fine tribute to the memory
of Cicero shows that he felt a strong sympathy with that chief of the
Republicans.
Valerius Maximus, who also lived under Tiberius, wrote a considerable
work, composed of remarkable examples of virtue, and other anecdotes,
collected from Roman or foreign history. He had plainly a just
conception of moral purity, although he dedicates his book to Tiberius.
His style is inflated and tasteless, but the work is not without
interest.
Next after Valerius arose Tacitus, the chief of the imperial prose
writers. Tacitus, a plebeian by birth, was born at Interamna. The year
of his birth is not known, but must have lain between A.D. 47 and A.D.
61. Tacitus served in the army under Vespasian and Titus. He rose to
many honors in the state, but in A.D. 89 left Rome, together with his
wife, the daughter of the excellent Agricola. He returned thither in
A.D. 97, and was made Consul by the Emperor Nerva. His death took place,
no doubt, after A.D. 117. So few are the particulars that remain of the
life of this eminent man; but the disposition and sentiments of Tacitus
may be plainly discovered in his writings. He was honest, candid, a
sincere lover of virtue. He lamented incessantly the fall of the old
republic, and does not spare Augustus or Tiberius, whom he believed to
be its destroyers. Like Juvenal, whom he resembled in the severity of
his censure as well as the greatness of his powers, Tacitus wrote in a
sad, desponding temper of mind, as if he foresaw the swift decline of
his country.
His style is wholly his own--concise, obscure, strong, forever arousing
the attention. He could never have attained the easy elegance of Livy,
and he never tells a story with the grace of that unequaled narrator,
but he has more vigor in his descriptions, more reality in his
characters.
The life of his father-in-law Agricola is one of the most delightful of
biographies. His account of the Germans was a silent satire upon the
corrupt condition of the Roman state. The _Historiarum Libri_ is a
history of his own age, from the fall of Galba to the death of Domitian,
and was probably designed to embrace the reigns of Nerva and Trajan. A
small portion only of this work is preserved. The _Annales_ relate the
history of Rome from the death of Augustus to that of Nero, but are also
imperfect. A treatise upon the orators is also attributed to the
historian. Tacitus and Juvenal are the last great names in Roman
literature.
Quintus Curtius Rufus, an interesting writer, who lived perhaps under
Claudius or Tiberius, his true period being uncertain, wrote, in ten
books, an account of the exploits of Alexander the Great. He was
succeeded by C. Suetonius Tranquillus, who came to Rome during the reign
of Domitian, and there studied rhetoric and grammar. Under Hadrian he
fell into disgrace and went into exile: the period of his death is
unknown. Suetonius wrote the lives of the twelve Cæsars, ending with
Domitian. His language is good, and he paints with uncommon minuteness
the vices as well as the virtues of his subjects; he abounds, too, in
particulars which throw light upon the manners of the Romans. Suetonius
also wrote several short treatises, while various biographies have been
attributed to him which probably belong to inferior writers.
L. Annæus Florus, who perhaps lived under Trajan, wrote an epitome of
Roman history. Justin, whose period is unknown, wrote or abridged from
an earlier author, _Trogus_, a history of the world. The _Scriptores
Historiæ Augustæ_ is a collection of writers of little merit, who
flourished in different periods of the empire. Aurelius Victor, who was
probably Præfect of Rome under Theodosius, wrote _Origo Gentis Romanæ_,
only a small portion of which has been preserved, and several other
historical works. Eutropius, who served under Julian against the
Persians, composed a brief history of Rome, written in a pure and
natural style.
Ammianus Marcellinus, who lived under Valens, Valentinian, and
Theodosius until A.D. 410, and was a Greek by birth, wrote a history of
the empire from Nerva to the death of Valens, A.D. 378. A large part of
this work is lost. Ammianus abounds in digressions and descriptions, and
is, on that account, the more entertaining. His manner can not be
praised.
The Spaniard Orosius concludes the list of the Latin historians. Orosius
was a Christian presbyter, and, while defending Christianity, paints a
lamentable picture of the condition of the pagan world. He borrowed from
Justin and other writers, and lived in the fifth century.
Rhetoric continued to be cultivated, but eloquence no longer possessed
the power which it held under the Republic. The speeches now delivered
were chiefly declamations upon unimportant themes. M. Annæus Seneca, the
father of the philosopher, came to Rome from his native city Corduba, in
Spain, during the reign of Augustus, and became a famous rhetorician. M.
Fabius Quintilianus, a greater name in literature, was born A.D. 42, at
Calgurris, in Spain, but, as was customary with men of merit at that
period, went up to Rome, and became celebrated as a teacher of rhetoric.
He was a person of excellent character, and, besides practicing at the
bar, rose to the consulship. Having passed many years in politics or the
law, Quintilian at last returned to his old profession, and in the close
of his life gave himself wholly to letters. He now wrote his work upon
oratory, _Libri duodecim Institutionis Oratoriæ_. In this valuable work
he seeks to restore the purity of the language, inculcates simplicity,
and shows an excellent taste. The younger Pliny was also a famous orator
or declaimer.
The Romance, or modern novel, is also thought to have begun in the first
century with the satirical tale ascribed to Petronius Arbiter, or
perhaps with the translation of the Milesian tales of Aristides from the
Greek by Sisenna. The _Petronii Arbitri Satiricon_ is a romance in prose
and verse, and was probably written in the first century by an author of
whom nothing is known. It relates the adventures of a certain
_Encolopius_, and satirizes the vices and follies of the age. The
language of this work is pure, the wit lively, but indecent: only a
portion, however, of the _Satiricon_ has been preserved. During the age
of the Antonines arose _Appuleius_, the best known of the ancient
writers of tales. He was born at Madaura, in Africa, but went to
Carthage, and from thence to Athens, where he was initiated into the
Grecian mysteries, and studied the Platonic philosophy. Appuleius was an
agreeable speaker, and had filled his mind with the learning of his age;
but his fame with posterity rests upon his novel _Metamorphoseon_, in
which he strives to correct the vices of his contemporaries. In this
work a vicious young man is transformed into an ass, under which form he
goes through many amusing adventures, but is at last changed to a new
man through the influence of the mysteries. The story is full of
episodes, the moral good, but the language shows the decline of literary
taste.
Philosophy, since the time of Cicero, had become a favorite study with
the Romans, although they produced no remarkable philosopher. Seneca,
the most eminent of them, was the son of M. Annæus Seneca, the
rhetorician. He was probably born at Corduba, in Spain, soon after the
Christian era, and was educated by the best masters at Rome. He
possessed an active intellect, was early renowned, and held various high
offices in the state. Having been the preceptor of Nero, he was finally
condemned to death by that monster, and put an end to his life A.D. 65.
Seneca was a Stoic, and taught self-control, tranquillity of mind, and
contempt for the changes of fortune. His various essays and other
writings have always been admired, although he wanted a correct taste,
and is often affected and rhetorical. He possessed great wealth, which
he either inherited or accumulated. His town house was adorned with
marbles and citron-wood, and his country villas, of which he had
several, were filled with costly luxuries; yet his morals were probably
pure, and he was much beloved for his generosity and fidelity to his
many friends.
The elder Pliny, _Plinius Secundus Major_, another famous philosopher,
was born in the year A.D. 23, either at Como or Verona. He served with
the army in Germany, and rose high in office under Vespasian. Being in
command of the fleet at Misenum during the first eruption of Vesuvius in
A.D. 79, in order to gratify his curiosity he remained too long near the
burning mountain, and was suffocated by its exhalations. Pliny passed
his whole life in study, and was never satisfied unless engaged in
acquiring knowledge. His _Historia Naturalis_ resembles the Cosmos of
Humboldt, and passes in review over the whole circle of human knowledge.
It treats of the heavens, of the earth and its inhabitants, of the
various races of man, of animals, trees, flowers, minerals, the contents
of the sea and land, of the arts and sciences; and shows that the
author possessed an intellect of almost unequaled activity. His nephew,
the younger Pliny, who lived under Trajan, and was the favorite
correspondent of that emperor, is remembered for his agreeable letters,
and the purity and dignity of his character.
Grammatical studies and critical writings also afforded employment for
many intelligent Romans; and every part of the empire seems to have been
filled with cultivated men, who, possessing wealth and leisure, gave
themselves to literary studies. Aulus Gellius, one of the best known of
the grammarians, lived during the period of the Antonines. His _Noctes
Atticæ_ is a critical work in twenty books, in which he discusses many
questions in language, philosophy, and science. He seems to have passed
his life in traveling over Italy and Greece, collecting materials for
this work, and, wherever he goes he never fails to meet with agreeable,
intelligent friends, who delight, like himself, in improving
conversation.
Aurelius Macrobius, another well-known grammarian, lived during the
fifth century. His Commentary on the Dream of Scipio is full of the
scientific speculations of his age. His _Saturnalia_ contains many
extracts from the best Roman writers, with criticisms upon them, in
which he detects the plagiarisms of Virgil, and observes the faults as
well as the beauties of the orators and poets of Rome. The works of
other grammarians have been preserved or are partly known to us, among
which are those of Servius, Festus, Priscianus, and Isidorus.
The study of the law, too, flourished in uncommon excellence under the
emperors, and nearly two thousand legal works were condensed in the
Digests of Justinian, few of which belonged to the Republican period.
Under Augustus and Tiberius, Q. Antistius Labeo founded the famous
school of the Proculians. He left four hundred volumes upon legal
subjects. His rival, C. Ateius Capito, founded the school of the
Sabinians, and was also a profuse writer. Under Hadrian, Salvius
Julianus prepared the _Edictum Perpetuum_, about the year A.D. 132,
which condensed all the edicts of former magistrates into a convenient
code. Papinianus, Ulpianus, and Paulus were also celebrated for their
legal writings. The only complete legal work, however, which we possess
from this period, is a Commentary by Gaius, who lived probably under
Hadrian. This valuable treatise was discovered in the year 1816 by the
historian Niebuhr, in the library of Verona. It contains a clear account
of the principles of the Roman law, and the Institutes of Justinian are
little more than a transcript of those of Gaius.
Various medical writers also belong to the Imperial period, the most
important of whom is A. Cornelius Celsus. Works on agriculture were also
written by Columella, Palladius, and others, which serve to show the
decline of that pursuit among the Romans. Geography, mathematics, and
architecture were also cultivated; but of most of these scientific
authors only the name is preserved.
[Illustration: Juvenal.]
INDEX.
A.
_Accensi_, 123.
Accius, L., 275.
Achæan League, 107;
in alliance with Philip V., 108.
Achæan War, 138.
Ædiles, 117.
Adolphus, brother of Alaric, 341.
Ælius Saturninus, 297.
Ælius Sejanus, 297;
his death, 299.
Æmilianus, 324.
Æmilius Lepidus, M., military road made by, 114.
Æmilius Paullus, L., ends the war in Illyria, 79;
slain in the battle of Cannæ, 88.
Æmilius Paullus, L. (son), defeats Perseus, 135.
Æneas, legend of, 8.
Æquians, 58.
Ætolian League, 107;
forms alliance with Rome, 108;
but is obliged to make peace with Philip V., 108;
chief town Ambracia taken by the Romans, 111;
compelled to sue for peace, and the League crushed, 111.
Afranius, L., Consul, 224.
Afranius, L. (poet), 274.
Africa, invaded by the Romans, 72;
under Augustus, 287.
Agrarian Law of Sp. Cassius, 31;
law introduced by Ti. Gracchus, 150, 151;
extended by C. Gracchus, 157;
law introduced by Cæsar, 225.
Agricola, Julius, legate to Britain, 303;
his forced retirement, 305.
Agrigentum besieged and taken, 70.
Agrippa, M., Octavian's general, drives L. Antonius and Fulvia out of
Rome, 263;
defeats them at Perusia, 263;
constructs the Julius Portus, 265;
defeats fleet of Sextus Pompey, 266.
Agrippa, M. Vipsanius, 286.
Agrippa, Postumus, 293;
assassination of, 295.
Agrippina, 298;
put to death by Tiberius, 299.
Alaric ravages Greece, 339;
besieges Rome, 340;
sacks the city, 341.
Alba Longa, foundation of, 8;
destruction of, 14.
Alban Lake, legend of the, 43.
Alesia surrenders to Cæsar, 234.
Alexander Severus, Emperor, 322.
Alexandria, 288;
trade between, and the Indies, 288.
Allemanni threaten Rome, 324;
defeated by Aurelian, 325.
Allobroges, embassadors of the, 220.
Alps, Hannibal's passage of, note on, 90.
_Ambitus_, 128.
Ancus Marcius, succeeds Tullus Hostilius, 14;
conquers several Latin cities, and removes inhabitants to Rome, 14;
institutes the Fetiales, 15;
founds a colony at Ostia, 15;
fortifies the Janiculum, 15;
constructs the Pons Sublicius, 15;
his reign and death, 15.
Andriscus, 137.
Antiochus, king of Syria, proposes to Philip V. to partition Egypt
between them, 108;
receives Hannibal as a fugitive, 110;
is persuaded to invade Greece, 110;
is defeated at Thermopylæ, and returns to Syria, 111;
invades the kingdom of Pergamus, but is defeated near Magnesia, 111;
is compelled to cede all his dominions in Asia Minor, to pay fines,
and surrender Hannibal, 111;
peace concluded, and affairs of Asia settled, 112.
Antiochus Asiaticus deposed, 212.
_Antepilani_, 122.
Antoninus, M. Aurelius, Emperor, 314;
death of, 316.
Antoninus, M. Commodus, Emperor, 316.
Antoninus Pius, Emperor, 313.
Antonius, C., 219, 220, 221.
Antonius, M. (orator), assassinated, 185.
Antony (Marcus Antonius), Consul with Cæsar, 249;
offers the diadem to Cæsar, 249;
takes possession of Cæsar's papers and treasures, 252;
pronounces the funeral oration over the body of Cæsar, 253;
master of Rome, 253;
attacked by Cicero in his Philippies, 254;
retires to Cisalpine Gaul, and besieges Mutina, 254;
declared a public enemy, 254;
defeats Pansa, 255;
is defeated by Hirtius, 255;
received in Farther Gaul by Lepidus, 255;
forms Triumvirate with Octavian and Lepidus, 256;
defeats Cassius at Philippi, 261;
licentious conduct in Asia Minor, and meeting with
Cleopatra, 262, 263;
follows her to Alexandria, 263;
Fulvia, his wife, and L. Antonius, his brother, rise against him, 263;
his troops defeated in Syria, 264;
meets his wife and brother at Athens, 264;
his wife dies, 264;
forms an alliance with Sextus Pompey, 264;
marries Octavia, sister of Octavian, 264;
returns to the East with Octavia, 265;
his success in Syria, 265;
makes another treaty with Octavian, 266;
renews his union with Cleopatra, 267;
is defeated in Parthia, 267;
returns to Alexandria, 267;
is defeated by Octavian in the battle of Actium, 268, 269;
is again defeated at Alexandria, 269;
stabs himself, 269.
Apollonia, besieged by Philip V. of Macedon, 107.
_Appellatio_, 121.
Appius Claudius, 38, 40.
Appius Claudius Cæcus, 66;
his son, 69.
Appuleius, 349.
Apulia, 4.
Aquæ Sextæ, battle at, 171.
Aquillius, M'., Consul, suppresses the Second Servile War in
Sicily, 172;
is defeated, and made prisoner by Mithridates, 188.
Arabia Felix invaded by Trajan, 308.
Arabia Petræa made a Roman province, 308.
Arcadius, son of Theodosius, 339;
his cruelties, 341.
Archelaus defeated at Chæronea, 188;
and again at Orchomenos, 189.
Archimedes, 93, 94.
Ariobarzanes expelled from Cappadocia, 187;
restored, 183;
again expelled, 188;
restored to his kingdom, 213.
Ariovistus defeated by Cæsar, 280.
Aristobulus surrenders to Pompey, 212, 213.
Armenia, Pompey in, 212.
Arminius, 291.
Army, Roman, constitution of, 122.
Artaxata, submission of Mithridates at, 212.
As (weight), 19.
Ascanius, legend of, 8.
Asculum, revolt at, 178.
Astures conquered by Augustus, 291.
_Atellanæ Fabulæ_, 275.
Athenio, leader of slaves in Sicily, 172;
defeated and slain by Catulus, 172.
Athens, 107;
declares against Rome, 188.
Attalus Philometor, 147.
Attila invades Italy, 348.
Augurs, 18, 57.
Augusta Emerita (Merida) founded by Augustus, 291.
Aurelian, Emperor, 325.
Ausonius, 346.
Autronius Pætus, P., 218.
Avidius Cassius defeats the Parthians, 315.
B.
Babylon captured by Trajan, 308.
Balearic Slingers, 124.
Barcochab, 312.
Belgic War, 230.
Bibulus, M., 216, 225.
Boadicea, 302.
Boii finally conquered and slaughtered, 114.
Bononia (Bologna), colony at, 114.
Bosporus, Cimmerian, 211.
Brennus, 45, 46, 47.
Brigantium taken by Cæsar, 224.
Bruttii, 4.
Britain, first invasion by Cæsar, 231;
second invasion, 232.
Brutus, D., put to death at Aquileia, 256.
Brutus, L. Junius, 23-25;
his death, 26.
Brutus, M. Junius, Prætor, conspires with Cassius and others to
assassinate Cæsar, 249;
retires to Macedonia, 253;
goes to Athens, and collects an army, 257, 255;
plunders Lycia, 258;
crosses over into Thrace, 258;
defeated by Octavian at Philippi, 261;
slays himself, 261.
C.
Cæcilius, Q., 274.
Cæsar Augusta (Saragossa) founded by Augustus, 291.
Cæsar, Augustus, his conduct of the empire, 286;
extent of his empire, 289;
his government, 289;
decree against celibacy, 289;
his protection, the Prætorian Guard, 290;
army, navy, and revenues, 290;
plots against his life, 290;
his military enterprises, 291;
domestic misfortunes, 291-293;
his death, 293;
personal appearance, 294.
Cæsar, Caius Caligula, 293;
succeeds Tiberius, 299;
death of, 300.
Cæsar, Caius Julius, early life, 214, 215;
Quæstor, 215;
Ædile, 216;
restores statues and trophies of Marius, 216;
Proprætor in Spain, 224;
his conquests there, 224;
Consul, 225;
forms cabal with Pompey and Crasus (1st Triumvirate), 225;
carries Agrarian Law, 225;
supports Pompey, and gives him his only daughter Julia in
marriage, 225;
divorces his wife, 226;
obtains command in Gaul, 226;
1st campaign in Gaul, 229;
2nd, 230;
3rd, 230;
4th, 231;
5th, 232;
6th, 232;
7th, 233;
8th, 234;
rivalry of Pompey, 237-8-9;
returns to Italy, 240;
quarters at Ravenna, 240;
ordered to disband his army, 240;
refuses, and crosses the Rubicon, 241;
enters Rome, 242;
conquers his opponents in Spain, 242;
short Dictatorship, 243;
crosses to Greece to encounter Pompey, 243-4;
total defeat of Pompey in the battle of Pharsalia, 245;
Dictator, 246;
pursues Pompey into Egypt, 246;
supports Cleopatra, 246;
conquers Pharnaces in Syria, 240;
returns to Rome, 246;
defeats Pompeian army in Africa, 247;
death of Cato at Utica, 247;
master of the Roman world, and Dictator for ten years, 247;
his Triumph, 247;
his clemency and reforms, 247-8-9;
Imperator and Dictator for life, 249;
appoints Octavius his heir, 249;
conspiracy against him, 249-50;
assassination, 250;
character, 250-1;
his character as a writer, 283.
Cæsar, L.. Julius, Consul, 179;
in Social War, 179;
proposes Lex Julia, 179.
Cæsar, Lucius, 293.
Cæsar, Tiberius Claudius, succeeds Caligula, 300;
enters Britain, 301.
Cæsar, Vespasianus, 301;
emperor, 302;
death, 303.
Cæsar, A. Vitellius, Emperor, 302.
Calabria, 4.
Calphurnius, 346.
Calpurnian Law, 157.
Camillus, M. Furius, 43, 44, 47, 48, 52.
Campagna, 3.
Campania, 4.
Cannæ, immense Roman army defeated at, by Hannibal, 88.
Cantabri, conquered by Augustus, 291.
Cantabrians, 114, 144-5.
Canuleia Lex, 41.
Capito, C. Ateius, 350.
Capitolium, 23.
Capua, opens its gates to Hannibal, 89;
retaken by the Romans, 96.
Caracalla, Emperor, 321;
assassinated, 322.
Caractacus, 301.
Carbo, Cn. Papirius, Consul, joins Cinnæ, 190.
Carinus, 326.
Carthage, 68;
capture and destruction of, 142;
rebuilt by the Romans, 142;
capital of the Vandal kingdom, 142;
finally destroyed by the Arabs, 142.
Carthaginians, their navy, 70;
defeated by the Roman navy, 71, 72.
Carus, Emperor, 326.
Catilina, L. Sergius, early life, 218;
crimes, 218;
conspiracy, 219;
accused by Cicero, 219;
leaves Rome, 220;
collects troops, 221;
defeated and slain, 221.
Cassius Longinus, C., fights under Crassus in Mesopotamia, 237;
conducts the retreat to Syria, 237;
originates the conspiracy against Cæsar, 249;
retires into Syria, 253;
defeats Dolabella in Syria, 258;
plunders Rhodes, 258;
marches with Brutus into Thrace, 258;
defeated by Antony at Philippi, 261;
his death, 261.
Cato, M. Porcius, in Spain, 114;
Quæstor, Prætor, Consul, 129;
Censor, 132;
his reforms, 132;
his prejudices, 132, 133;
his severity and avarice, 133.
Cato, M. Porcius, advocates the death of the Catilinarian
conspirators, 221;
his death at Utica, 247;
his character as a writer, 283.
Catullus, Valerius, 276.
Catulus, Q. Lutatius, combined with Marius in the overthrow of the
Cimbri, 171;
his death by order of Marius, 185.
Catulus, Q. Lutatius (son), hails Cicero as "Father of his
Country," 221.
Caudine Forks, battle at, 57, 58.
Celsus, A. Cornelius, 350.
Celtiberians, tribes of, 114;
war with, 145.
Censors, 118.
Census, 118.
_Centuriones_, 122.
Cethegus, C. Cornelius, 219, 220.
Chosroes, king of the Parthians, 310.
Cicero, M, Tullius, early life, studies, and success as an orator, 216;
Quæstor, 217;
prosecutes Verres, 217;
his speech for Sex. Roscius of Ameria, 216;
studies at Athens and in Asia Minor, 216;
Quæstor in Sicily, under Sex. Peducæus, at Lilybæum, 217;
Ædile, Prætor, 217;
Consul, 219;
opposes agrarian law of Rullus, 219;
denounces Catiline, 219;
arrests conspirators, 220;
third oration, 220;
his popularity, 221;
hostility of Clodius, 227;
his banishment, 227;
his return to Rome, 228;
joins the party of Cæsar's assassins, 252;
his Philippics against Antony, 254;
stimulates the Senate against Antony and Octavian, 255;
is included in the list of proscriptions, 257;
his death, 257;
his character as a writer, 282.
Cimbri, 169;
they enter and ravage Spain, 170;
enter Italy, destroyed by Marius and Catulus, 171.
Cincinnatus and the Æquians, 34.
Cincius Alimentus, L., 282.
Cinna, L., Consul, 184;
conflict with Octavius, 185;
associated with Marius, 185;
their massacres in Rome, 185;
murdered by his army, 190.
Cinna, grandson of Pompey, 290.
Circus Maximus, 17.
Cisalpine Gaul, a Roman province, 114.
_Cives Romani_, 66.
Claudianus, Claudius, 345.
Claudius, M. Aurelius, Emperor, 325.
Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, meets M. Antony at Tarsus, 262-3;
attracts him to Alexandria, 263;
is deserted for Octavia, 265;
again attracts Antony, who returns with her to Alexandria, 267;
war declared against her by the Senate, 268;
defeated with Antony at Actium, 268;
deceives Antony, but fails to deceive Octavian, 269;
kills herself, 269.
Clients, 12.
Clodius Albinus, 319.
Clodius Pulcher, P., profligate conduct of, 226;
tribune, 227;
procures the banishment of Cicero, 227;
killed by Milo, 238.
Clusium besieged, 45.
Cocceius Nerva, 293, 299;
emperor, 306.
Cohorts, 123.
Collatia, Collatinus, 16.
Colonies, Roman, 43.
Colosseum, the, 303.
Columella, 350.
_Comitia Centuriata_, 20, 120.
_Comitia Curiata_, 12, 20, 120.
_Comitia Tributa_, 18, 20, 121.
Constantine proclaimed Augustus, 330;
emperor, 331;
removes the capital to Constantinople, 332;
his character, 335.
Constantius, 328;
emperor, 329.
Consuls, duties of, 118.
Corfinium, new republic at, 178.
Corinth captured, and burnt, 138.
Coriolanus, C. Marcius, 32;
banished from Rome, 32;
invades Rome at the head of a Volscian army, 32;
spares the city, 33;
his death, 33.
Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, 149, 160.
Cornelia, daughter of Cinna, married to Cæsar, 214;
her death, 215.
Corneliæ Leges, 186.
Cornelii, slaves so called, 195.
Cornelius Fronto, 314.
Corsica and Sardinia formed into a Roman province, 77.
Corsica, revolt in, 115.
Cotta, C. Aurelius, lawyer, 216.
Cotta, L. Aurelius, 218.
Cotta, M. Aurelius, defeated by Mithridates, 206.
Crassus, P. Licinius, 147.
Crassus, M. Licinius, Prætor, appointed to command the army against the
Gladiators, 202;
defeats and slays Spartacus, 203;
Consul with Pompey, 203;
forms 1st Triumvirate with Cæsar and Pompey, 225;
meets Cæsar and Pompey at Luca, 236;
second Consulship with Pompey, 236;
his command in Syria, 236;
crosses the Euphrates, 237;
defeated and killed, 237.
Cremona besieged, 113.
Cretan Archers (_Sagittarii_), 124.
Ctesiphon captured by Trajan, 308.
Curiæ, 12.
Curiatii, 18.
Curius, M'., defeats Pyrrhus, 65.
Curtius, M., legend of, 53.
_Curules Magistratus_, 117.
D.
Dacia made a Roman province, 308.
Dacians cross the Danube, 305.
Decebalus, 305;
demands tribute, 307;
his defeat, 308.
Decemvirate, 36;
Decemviri appointed, 37;
their tyranny, 37;
the Twelve Tables, 38;
Decemviri continue in office, 38;
they assassinate Licinius Dentatus, 38;
Virginia slain by her father to save her from the Decemvir Appius
Claudius, 39;
resignation of the Decemvirs, 39;
and election of 10 Tribunes, 40.
Decius Mus, P., self-sacrifice, 55;
and of his son, 59.
Decuriones, 123.
Deiotarus, tetrarch of Galatia, 213.
Delatores, 297, 303.
Demetrius of Pharos, 79.
Dictator, 28 (note), 51.
Dictatorship, 118;
revived by Sulla, 194
Didius Julianus, Emperor, 319.
Diocletian, Emperor, 327;
selects Maximian for his colleague, 328;
defeats the Persians, 329.
Dolabella, Cn., accused of extortion, 215;
puts an end to his life, 258.
Domitian, reign of, 305.
Drama, Roman, 272.
Drusus. M. Livius, 158, 159.
Drusus, 291;
sent to Germany, 295;
receives the tribunitian power, 297;
poisoned by his wife, 208.
Drusus, M. Livius, son of the opponent of C. Gracchus, elected a
Tribune, endeavours to obtain the Roman franchise for the
Allies, 176;
assassinated, 176.
E.
Eburones, revolt of the, 232.
Egypt, condition of, 107;
under Augustus, 288.
Elagabalus, Emperor, 322.
Enna (Servile War), 146-7
Ennius, Q., 273.
Equestrian Order, 158.
Etruria, 2.
Etruscans, their name, language, origin, and portions of Italy occupied
by them, 5, 6;
wars with the, 43;
defeated, 58;
in league with the Umbrians, 59;
defeated at Lake Vadimo, 60.
Eumenes, king of Pergamus, obtains Mysia, Lydia, and part of Curia, 112.
Eunus (Servile War), 146, 147.
Eutropius, 343.
F.
Fabia Gens and the Veientines, 33.
Fabius, lieutenant, defeated by Mithridates, 208.
Fabius Maximus, Q., appointed Dictator, and to the command-in-chief
against Hannibal, 87;
styled the _Cunctator_, or "Lingerer," 87;
obtains Tarentum, 96.
Fabius Pictor, Q., 282.
Fabius Sanga, Q., 220.
Falerii surrenders to the Romans, 44.
Faustina, wife of Antoninus Pius, 315.
Fescennine songs, 276.
_Fetiales_, 15.
Fidenæ taken and destroyed, 43.
Fimbria defeated, slays himself, 183.
Flaccus, Aldus Persius, 315.
Flamens, 13.
Flamininus, L., act of cruelty of, 127.
Flamininus, T. Quinctius, appointed to the command against Philip V.,
whose army is defeated in the battle of Cynoscephalæ, 103;
proclaims the independence of Greece, 109;
withdraws the Roman garrisons from all the towns of Greece, and
returns to Italy, 109.
Flaminius, C., defeats the Insubres, 79;
is defeated by Hannibal near Lake Trasimenus, and slain, 86.
Florian, Emperor, 326.
Florus, L. Annæus, 347.
_Fossa Mariana_, 170.
Frentani, 3.
Fulvia (mistress of Q. Curius), 219.
Fulvia, wife of M. Antony, conspires against him, 263;
is driven out of Home, and defeated at Perusia, 263;
dies at Sicyon, 264.
Fulvius Nobilior, M., besieges and captures the town of Ambracia, 111.
G.
Gabii, 25
Gabinius, A., Tribune, 210.
Gaius, 350.
Galatia, 106.
Galatians attacked by Cn. Manlius Vulso, defeated in two battles, and
compelled to sue for peace, 112.
Galba, Ser. Sulpicius, his treachery, 144;
succeeds Nero, 302.
Galerius, 328:
emperor, 329.
Gallia Cisalpina, 2.
Gallæcians, 114.
Gallienus, Emperor, 325.
Gallus, Emperor, 324.
Gaul, Cæsar's wars in, 229-234;
under Augustus, 287;
insurrection in, 297.
Gauls in Italy, 6:
(Insubres) conquered, 79.
Gellius, Aulus, 350.
Gentes, Roman, 12.
Germanicus, adopted by Tiberius, 293;
quells a mutiny on the Rhine, 296;
his German campaigns, 296;
his death, 296.
Geta, son of Septimius, killed by Caracalla, 321.
Glabrio, M. Acilius, 209.
Glaucia, fellow-demagogue of Saturninus, pelted to death with tiles by
the mob, 175.
Gordian, Emperor, 324.
Goths (Senones) besiege Clusium, 45;
march against Rome, 46;
battle of the Allia, 46;
Rome destroyed, 46;
the Capitol besieged, 46;
Capitol saved, 47;
Goths repulsed and destroyed, 47;
invade the Empire, 324
Gracchi, 148-160.
Gracchus, Caius Sempronius (the Tribune), returns from Sardinia, 157;
elected Tribune, 157;
his legal reforms, 157, 158;
opposed by M. Livius Drusus, 159;
murdered, 160.
Gracchus, Tib. Sempronius (father of the Tribunes), subdues Spain, 115.
Gracchus, Tib. Sempronius (the Tribune), Quæstor in Spain, 145;
at the siege of Carthage, 149;
elected Tribune, 150;
introduces Agrarian Law, 150, 151;
his murder, 152.
Græcia, Magna, 6, 60.
Greece under Augustus, 288.
Greek colonies in Italy, 6.
H.
Hadrian, Emperor, 309;
journey through his provinces, 310;
his _Edictum Perpetuum_, 311;
builds a villa at Tibur, 312.
Hamilcar, a Carthaginian officer, excites Gauls and Ligurians against
Romans, 113.
Hamilcar Barca, 75;
relieves Lilybæum and Drepanum, 76;
conquests in Spain, 80;
death, 80.
Hannibal elected to succeed Hasdrubal, 80;
first campaigns in Spain, 80;
besieges and takes Saguntum, 80, 81;
crosses the Iberus and the Pyrenees with a large army, 83;
reaches the Rhone, 83;
crosses the Alps, 83;
encamps in the plains of the Po, among the Insubres, 84;
reduces the Taurinians, 84;
defeats the army of Scipio near the Ticinus, 84;
defeats combined army of Scipio and Longus near the Trebia, 84;
marches through Liguria to the Arno, 86;
defeats C. Flaminius at Lake Trasimenus, 86;
eludes Q. Fabius and defeats Minucius, 87;
annihilates an immense Roman army at Cannæ, 88;
marches into Samnium and Campania, and obtains Capua, 89;
his rapid marches, 92;
campaigns of B.C. 215-213, 92, 93;
obtains Tarentum, 93;
marches up to the walls of Rome, but is unable to take the city, 95;
loses Capua, 96;
loses Salapia, 96;
destroys the army of Cn. Fulvius at Herdonea, 96;
loses Tarentum, 96;
is recalled from Italy, 104;
defeated by Scipio near Zama, 104;
is protected by Antiochus, after whose defeat at Magnesia he escapes,
and is received by Prusias, king of Bithynia, 111;
is demanded by Rome, takes poison, and dies, 131, 132.
Hanno, in command of Carthaginian fleet, defeated by Lutatius
Catulus, 76.
Hasdrubal succeeds Hamilcar, 80;
founds New Carthage, 80;
assassinated, 80.
Hasdrubal, brother of Hannibal, marches from Spain into Italy, 97;
is defeated on the Metaurus, and slain, 98.
_Hastati_, 122, 123.
Helvetii defeated by Cæsar, 229.
Hernicans, 59.
Herodes Atticus, 314.
Hiero, king of Syracuse, 69;
besieges Messana, 70;
is defeated by the Romans, and makes peace, 70;
his death, 93.
Hirtius, A., Consul, defeats Antony at Mutina, but is slain, 255.
Hispania Citerior and Ulterior, 114.
Honorius, son of Theodosius, 339.
Horatii, 13.
Horatius Flaccus, Q. (poet), 278.
Hortensia, Lex, 51.
Hortensius, Q. (orator), 210, 211, 216, 217.
Hostilianus, Emperor, 324.
Hostilius Mancinus, C., defeated by the Celtiberians, 145.
Huns appear on the Danube, 338;
cross the river, 342.
Hyrcanus favored by Pompey, 212, 213.
I.
Iapygians, 5.
_Ignobiles_, 128 (note).
Illyria and Illyrians, 78-9.
Illyrian Wars, 78, 79.
Istria subdued, 115.
Italia, 7.
Italians proper, 5.
Italicus, C. Silius, 344.
Italy, geography of, 1;
fertility, 5;
early inhabitants, 5;
struggles in Central Italy, 59;
under Augustus, 286, 287.
Iulus, or Ascanius, 8.
J.
Janiculum fortified, 15.
Janus, temple of, 13;
closed for the 2d time, 78;
for the 3d time, 270.
Jerusalem besieged and taken by Pompey, 212.
Jesus Christ, birth of, 293.
Jugurtha, under Scipio in Spain, 146;
early life, 162;
bribes the Senators, 163;
defeats Adherbal, and puts him to death, 163;
war declared against him, but comes to Rome under safe-conduct, 164;
murders Massiva, and is ordered to quit Italy, 164;
defeated by Metellus, 166;
and by Marius, 167;
who takes him prisoner, and conveys him to Rome, where he is starved
in prison, 167-8.
Julia, aunt of Cæsar, married to Marius, 214;
her death, 215.
Julia, daughter of Cæsar, married to Pompey, 225.
Julia, daughter of Augustus, 292.
Julia, Lex, 179-80.
Julian, Emperor, 337.
_Jus Imaginum_, 128 (note).
Justin Martyr, 315.
Juvenalis, Decimus Junius, 345.
K.
Kings of Rome, 9-28.
L.
Labeo, Q. Antistius, 350.
Labienus (Tribune), 219.
Laberius, Dec., 275.
Latin War, 54;
battle at the foot of Vesuvius, 55;
self-sacrifice of P. Decius Mus, 55;
defeat of the Latins, 55.
Latins, 5.
Latium, 3;
incorporated with the Republic of Rome, 56.
Legends of early Roman history, 8.
_Leges_ and _Plebiscita_, 121.
_Legiones_, 19, 122.
Lentulus Sura, P. Cornelius, 219, 220, 231.
Lepidus, 290.
Lepidus, M., Consul, opposes the public funeral of Sulla, 195-6;
proposes the repeal of Sulla's laws, 199;
collects an army and marches upon Rome, 199;
is defeated near the Mulvian Bridge, retires to Sardinia, and
dies, 199, 200.
Lepidus, M., Master of the Horse, 249;
forms Triumvirate with Octavian and Antony, 255;
in Africa, 264.
Licinian Rogations and Laws, 49, 150.
Licinius colleague with Constantine, 331.
Lictors (note), 25.
Liguria, 2;
Ligurians, 113.
Lilybæum, sieges of, 64, 74, 75.
Livius Andronicus, M., 272.
Livius, Titus, 284.
Lucan, 301;
his poetry, 344.
Lucania and Lucanians, 4.
Lucanians, 6.
_Luceres_, 12.
Lucilius, C., 276.
Lucretius Carus, T. (poet), 276.
Lucullus, L. Licinius, opposes and defeats Mithridates in Bithynia and
Pontus, 206-7;
sends Appius Claudius to Tigranes, 207;
his reforms in Asia, 207-8;
defeats Tigranes at Tigranocerta and at Artaxata, 208;
recalled, and superseded by Pompey, 209.
_Ludi Magni_, 117.
Lusitania, invaded by Ser. Sulpicius Galba, 143;
tribes of, subdued by Cæsar, 224.
Lusitanians, 114, 144-5.
M.
Macedonia, kingdom of, 107;
under Augustus, 289.
Macedonian War, 135.
Macrinus, Emperor, 322;
defeated by Elagabalus, 322.
Macrobius, 350.
Mæcenas, C. Cilnius, 286.
Mælius, Sp., slain, 42.
Magister Equitum, 28 (note).
Magna Græcia, 6, 60.
Mamertini, 69.
Manilian Law, Cicero's address in favor of, 217.
Manilius, C., Tribune, 210.
_Manipuli_, 122.
Manlius, M., saves the Capitol, 47;
patron of the poor, 48;
his fate, 49.
Manlius Torquatus, L., 218, 220.
Manlius Torquatus, T., legend of, 48;
and of his son, 55.
Manlius Vulso, Cn., defeats the Galatians, and afterward, in conjunction
with commissioners, concludes a peace with Antiochus, and settles
the affairs of Asia, 111, 112.
Marcellinus, Ammianus, 348.
Marcellus, 292.
Marcellus, M., Consul, arrives in Sicily, 93;
takes Leontini, 93;
invests Syracuse, where he is baffled by Archimedes, 93,
but finally captures it, 94;
takes Salapia, 96;
defeated and slain in Lucania, 97.
Marcius, C., Coriolanus, 32.
Marcomanni defeat Verus, 315.
Marius, C., early life, 161;
in Spain with Scipio, 146, 162;
elected Tribune, 162;
sends the Consul Metellus to prison, 162;
elected Prætor, 162;
marries Julia, sister of C. Julius Cæsar the elder, 162;
accompanies Metellus to Africa, 164;
returns to Rome, and is elected Consul, with command in Numidia, 166;
repulses a combined attack of Jugurtha and Bocchus, 167;
attaches Bocchus to the Romans, and takes Jugurtha prisoner, both by
the agency of his Quæstor Sulla, 167;
elected Consul during his absence, and returns to Rome, leading
Jugurtha in triumph, 168;
reorganizes the army, 170;
elected Consul a third and fourth time, 170;
defeats and destroys the Cimbri, Teutones, and Ambrones, 171;
elected Consul a fifth time, and has a Triumph, 171;
enters into a compact with Saturninus and Glaucia, 173;
and is elected Consul a sixth time, 173, 174;
loses reputation, and sets sail for Cappadocia and Galatia, 175;
in the Social War, 179;
is surpassed by Sulla, 180;
intrigues to obtain the command against Mithridates, 181;
is opposed by Sulla, who enters Rome with his army, and Marius makes
his escape, 183;
his sufferings, risks, and return to Rome with Cinna, 185;
his conquests, and the massacres in Rome, 185;
in conjunction with Cinna elects himself Consul for the seventh
time, 185;
his death, 185.
Marius, the younger, defeated by Sulla, 192;
orders his opponents to be put to death, 192;
embarks for Africa, 192;
puts an end to his own life, 193.
Marrucini, 3.
Marsi, 3.
Marsic or Social War, 178-80.
Martialis, M. Valerius, 346.
Masinissa, enters into treaty with Scipio, 101;
assists Scipio, 103;
aids Scipio to defeat Hasdrubal and Syphax, 103;
marries, and soon afterward kills Sophonisba, 103-4.
Massilia, 287.
Maximin, Emperor, 323.
Maximus, Valerius, 346.
Mediterranean Sea infested with pirates, 209.
Memmius, C., murdered, 174.
Menapii defeated by Cæsar, 231.
Menenius Agrippa, fable told by, 31.
Mesopotamia added to the Roman empire, 329.
Messala, M. Valerius, 286.
Messana, 69.
Metellus Celer, 221.
Metellus, L., defeats the Carthaginians at Panormus, 73.
Metellus (Macedonicus), Q., 145.
Metellus (Numidicus), Q. Cæcilius, Consul, conducts the war in Africa
against Jugurtha, 166;
superseded by Marius, 166.
Metellus, Q., Consul, 224.
Military Tribunes appointed, 41.
Mimes, 275.
Mithridates V., king of Pontus, assassinated, 186.
Mithridates VI., king of Pontus, early life, 186;
conquests and alliances, 187-8;
orders a massacre of Romans and Italians in the cities of Asia, 188;
defeated by L. Valerius Flaccus and by Sulla, 188-9;
obtains peace on hard conditions, 189;
defeats Murena on the Halys, 205;
makes peace with Rome, and evacuates Cappadocia, 205;
renews the war with Rome, 206;
overruns Bithynia, and defeats Cotta, 200;
retreats before Lucullus into Pontus, 207;
defeated by Lucullus at Cabira, and takes refuge in Armenia, 207;
defeats Fabius and Triarius, 208;
unites with Tigranes, when they overrun Pontus and Cappadocia, 209;
is defeated by Pompey, 211;
escapes into the Cimmerian Bosporos, 211;
conspiracy of his son Pharnaces, 213;
his death, 213.
Mithridatic Wars: First, 183-9;
Second, 205;
Third, 205-13.
Moorish Dartmen, 124.
Morini defeated by Cæsar, 231.
Mucius Scævola, C., 27.
Mulvian bridge, battle of the, 199.
Murena, L., invades Cappadocia and Pontus, 205;
is opposed by Mithridates, and defeated, 205.
N.
Nævius, Cn., 273.
Naples, Bay of, 4.
Nasica, Scipio, 152.
Navius, Attus, 17.
Navy, Carthaginian, 70, 71, 72.
Navy, Roman, 70, 71, 72, 73.
Neapolis attacked, 56.
Nepos, Cornelius, 284.
Nero and Livius, Consuls, defeat Hasdrubal, 97, 98.
Nero, 301;
death of, 302.
Nervii defeated by Cæsar, 230.
Nicomedes III, driven out of Bithynia, 187;
restored, 188;
again expelled, 188;
dies, leaving his dominions to the Roman people, 200.
_Nobiles_, 127 (note).
Nobility, 127-8.
_Nomen Latinum_, 66.
Nonius, A., murder of, 174.
Norbanus, C., Consul, defeated by Sulla, 191.
_Novus Homo_, 128 (note).
Numa Pompilius elected to succeed Romulus, 12;
his reign and institutions, 12.
Numantine War, disastrous till conducted by Scipio, 145,
who captures and destroys Numantia, 146.
Numerian, 326.
Numidia, political condition of and war in, 162-8.
Numitor, 9.
O.
Octavian (C. Julius Cæsar Octavianus), appointed heir to Cæsar, 249;
comes to Rome, and claims the inheritance, 254;
collects an army, 254;
elected Consul, 255;
forms Triumvirate with Antony and Lepidus, 256;
proscriptions, 256-7;
defeats Brutus at Philippi, 261;
returns to Rome, 263;
reconciliation with Antony, 264;
his fleet destroyed by Sextus Pompey, 265;
renews the Triumvirate, 266;
subdues the Dalmatians, 267;
rupture with Antony, 267;
defeats Antony and Cleopatra at Actium, 268;
his Triumph, 270;
Imperator for life, Princeps, Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, 270;
end of the Republic, 270.
Octavius. _See_ Octavian.
Octavius, Cn., conflict with Cinna, 185;
slain, 185.
Oppian Law repealed, 130.
Orosius, 348.
Ostia founded, 15.
Ostrogoths obtain permission to cross the Danube, 338.
Otho, Salvius, 302.
Ovid banished, 203.
Ovidius Naso, P. (poet), 281.
P.
Pacuvius, M., 275.
Palæopolis taken, 56.
Palladius, 350.
Palmyra, fall of, 325.
Pannonia, mutiny in, 296.
Panormus, defeat there of Carthaginians, 73.
Pansa, C. Vibius, Consul, defeated by Antony, and slain, 255.
Papinianus, 350.
Papius Mutilus, C., 179;
defeated by Sulla, 180.
Paterculus, Velleius, 346.
_Patres Majorum_ and _Minorum Gentium_, 17.
Patricians, 12;
struggles between them and the Plebeians, 29;
ascendency of the Patricians, 29.
_See_ Plebeians.
_Patronus_, 12.
Paulus, 350.
Peligni, 3.
Pergamus, 106;
made a province, 147.
Perperna, M., re-enforces Sertorius in Spain, 200;
becomes jealous of Sertorius, and assassinates him, 202;
is defeated by Pompey, 202.
Perseus succeeds Philip as king of Macedon, 134;
defeated by L. Æmilius Paullus, 135;
death, 136.
Persius, 345.
Pertinax, Emperor, 318.
Pescennius Niger, 319.
Petreius, M., 221.
Petronius Arbiter, 348.
Phædrus, 346.
Pharnaces, conspiracy of, against Mithridates, 213;
confirmed in position of the kingdom of the Bosporus, 213.
Philip, Emperor, 324.
Philip V., king of Macedon, enters into a treaty with Hannibal, 107;
appears in the Adriatic with a fleet, and lays siege to Oricus and
Apollonia, 107;
takes Oricus, but is driven from Apollonia, and burns his fleet, 107;
in alliance with the Achæans, and at peace with the Ætolians and
Romans, 108;
assists Hannibal at Zama, 108;
attacks the Rhodians and Attalus, king of Pergamus, 108;
treats with Antiochus for the partition of Egypt, 108;
besieges Athens, which is relieved by a Roman fleet, 108;
sues for peace after his defeat in the battle of Cynoscephalæ, 109;
refuses to take part with Antiochus against the Romans, 110;
his death, 134.
Phoenicians, 68.
Phalanx, 122.
Phraates, king of the Parthians, 291.
Picenum, 2.
Piracy in the Mediterranean suppressed by Pompey, 310.
Piso, Cn. Calpurnius, 218.
Placentia taken and destroyed, 118.
Plautia Papiria, Lex, 180.
Plautus, T. Maccius, 273.
_Plebiscita_, 40, 51;
and _Leges_, 121.
Plebs, Plebeians, origin of the, 14;
sufferings of the, 30;
Ager Publicus, 30;
secession of Plebeians to the Sacred Mount, 31;
institution of Tribunes of the Plebs, 31;
Agrarian Law introduced by Sp. Cassius, 31.
Pliny, Secundus Major, 349.
Poeni, 68 (note).
Pollio, Asinius, 286.
Pomoerium, 9, 20.
Pompædius Silo, Q., 178.
Pompeiopolis, 210.
Pompeius Strabo, Cn., in Social War, 180.
Pompey (Cn. Pompeius Magnus), early life and career, 200-1;
receives the surname of Magnus, 201;
sent to Spain as Proconsul against Sertorius, 201;
failures and successes, 201;
defeats Perperna, 202;
concludes the war, 202;
elected Consul, with Crassus, 203;
restores the Tribunitian power, 203;
suppresses piracy in the Mediterranean, 210;
supersedes Lucullus in the East, 211;
defeats Mithridates in Lesser Armenia, 211;
receives the submission of Tigranes, 212;
his conquests in Syria and Palestine, 212-13;
returns to Italy, 213;
his Triumph, 223;
Senate refuses to sanction his measures in Asia, 224,
but afterward ratifies them, 225;
forms cabal with Cæsar and Crassus (first Triumvirate), 225;
marries Cæsar's daughter Julia, 225;
meets Cæsar and Crassus at Luca, 236;
Consul with Crassus, 236;
obtains government of Spain, 236;
his new theatre at Rome opened, 236;
his wife Julia dies, 237;
elected sole Consul, 238;
becomes hostile to Cæsar, 239;
measures in opposition to Cæsar, 239-40;
invested by the Senate with command of the army, 240;
retreats before Cæsar, 242;
embarks for Greece, 242;
besieged by Cæsar at Dyrrhachium, 244;
forces Cæsar to retreat, 244;
defeated by Cæsar at Pharsalia, 245;
flies to Egypt, 245;
slain there, 245.
Pompey, Sextus, in alliance with M. Antony, 264;
master of the sea, 264;
forms alliance with Octavian and Antony, 264;
rupture of the alliance, 265;
defeats Octavian's fleet, 265;
his own fleet defeated by M. Agrippa, 266;
is taken prisoner, and put to death at Miletus, 266.
Pontiffs, 12, 51.
Pontine Marshes, 4.
Pontius, C., defeats the Romans, 57, 58;
is defeated and put to death, 59.
Pontius, the Samnite, 193.
Pontus, 106;
kingdom of, 186;
made a Roman province, 212.
Porcius Cato, M. _See_ Cato.
Populus Romanus, 14.
Porsena, Lars, marches against Rome in aid of Tarquin, 26;
bridge defended by Horatius Cocles, 26;
C. Mucius Scævola, 27;
Cloelia swims across the Tiber, 27;
Porsena withdraws his army, 27;
war with the Latins, 28;
battle of the Lake Regillus, 28;
death of Tarquinius Superbus, 28.
Præneste surrenders, 193.
Prætor Peregrinus, 117.
Prætors, afterward called Consuls, 25.
Prætors and Prætorship, 51, 117.
_Principes_, 122.
Privernum, conquest of, 56.
Probus, Emperor, 326.
Proconsuls, 118.
Propertius, Sextus Aurelius (poet), 280.
Proprætors, 118.
_Proscriptio_, what it was, 193.
Provinces, Roman, 147.
_Provocatio_, 121 (note).
Prusias, king of Bithynia, shelters Hannibal, 131.
Publilian Law, 31 (note), 36.
Publilian Laws, 51.
_Publicani_, 119 (note).
Pulcheria, 351.
Punic War, First, 68-76;
Second, 82-105.
Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, assists the Tarentines, 62;
defeats the Romans near Heraclea, 62;
sends Cineas to negotiate a peace, 63;
terms rejected, 63;
takes Præneste, 63;
winter quarters, at Tarentum, 63;
embassy of Fabricius, 63;
proposal to poison Pyrrhus, 64;
releases Roman prisoners without ransom, 64;
crosses over into Sicily, 64;
is repulsed at Lilybæum, 64;
returns to Italy, 64;
seizes the treasures of the temple of Proserpine at Locri, 65;
his remorse, 65;
is defeated at Beneventum, 65;
returns to Greece, and is slain, 65.
Q.
_Quæstio Perpetua_, 197.
Quæstor; and Quæstorship, 4, 117.
Quintilianus, M. Fabius, 348.
Quintius, P., speech of Cicero for, 216.
_Quirites_, 11 (note).
R.
Rabirius, C., 219.
Ramnes, 12.
Rasena, 5.
Regillus, Lake, battle of, 28.
Regulus, M. Atilius, defeats the Carthaginians, 72;
is defeated by Xanthippus, 73.
Regulus, M. Atilius, sent, as prisoner, with an embassy, to
Rome, 73, 74;
advises the Senate to reject the terms, 74;
returns, and is put to death, 74.
Remus and Romulus, 9;
Remus slain, 10.
_Repetundæ_, 128 (note).
Republic established at Rome, 25;
end of, 270.
Rhea Silvia, legend of, 8.
Rhodes, 107;
school of rhetoric at, 215.
_Rogatio_ and _Lex_, 49 (note).
Roma Quadrata, 9.
Roman Literature, sketch of, 272-285;
_Poetry_: Saturnian Metre and the Drama, 272;
M. Livius Andronicus, 272, 273;
Cn. Nævius, 273;
Q. Ennius, 273;
T. Maccius Plautus, 273;
P. Terentius Afer, 274;
Q. Cæcilius, L. Afranius, 274;
M. Pacuvius, 275;
L. Accius, 275;
_Atellanæ Fabulæ_, _Mimes_, 275;
Dec. Laberius, P. Syrus, 275;
Fescennine Songs, 276;
Satires, 276;
C. Lucilius, 276;
T. Lucretius Carus, 276;
Valerius Catullus, 276;
P. Virgilius Maro, 277;
Q. Horatius Flaccus, 278;
Albius Tibullus, 280;
Sextus Aurelius Propertius, 280;
P. Ovidius Naso, 281.
_Prose Writers_--Q. Fabius Pictor, 282;
L. Cincius Alimentus, 282;
M. Porcius Cato, 282;
M. Tullius Cicero, 282;
M. Terentius Varro, 283;
C. Julius Cæsar, 283;
C. Sallustius Crispus, 284;
Cornelius Nepos, 284;
Titus Livius, 284.
Rome, situation and first inhabitants, 7;
legends and early history, 8;
first four kings, 9-15;
last three kings, 16-28;
foundation of, 9;
destroyed by the Goths (Senones) under Brennus, 47;
rebuilt, 48;
pestilence at, 62;
sacked by Alaric, 341.
Romulus, birth of, 9;
slays Remus, 10;
rape of Sabine virgins, 10;
war with Sabines, 10;
reigns conjointly with Titus Tatius, 11;
succeeds T. Tatius as ruler of the Sabines, and thus becomes solo
ruler, 11;
his death, 11;
institutions, 12.
Romulus Augustus, 343.
Rorarii, 123.
Rufinus, 339.
Rufus, Q. Curtius, 347.
Rullus (Tribune), 219.
Rupilius, P., captures Tauromenium and Enna, and ends the First Servile
War, 147.
Rutilius Rufus found guilty and banished, 175.
Rutilius Lupus, P., Consul, 179;
defeated and slain, 179.
S.
Sabellians, 3.
Sabine virgins, rape of, 10.
Sabini, 3, 11 (note).
Sacred Mount, first secession to, 31;
second secession, 39.
Sacrovir, 297.
Saguntum captured, 81.
Salii, priests of Mars, 13.
Sallustius Crispus, C., 284.
Salvius, leader of the slaves in Sicily, 172;
assumes the surname of Tryphon, 172.
Salvus Julianus, 350.
Samnites, history, 53;
tribes, 53;
conquer Campania and Lucania, 53;
attack the Sidicini and Campanians, 53;
enter into war with the Romans, 54;
are defeated at Mount Gaurus, 54;
peace 54;
second of Great War with the Romans, 57;
quarrel between Q. Fabius Maximus and L. Papirius Cursor, 57;
Samnite general, C. Pontius, defeats the Romans at the Caudine
Forks, 57, 58;
treaty rejected by the Romans, 58;
successes of the Romans, and peace, 58;
third war, 59;
battle of Sentinum, 59;
defeat, and peace, 59.
Samnium and Samnites, 4.
Sapor, king of Persia, 336.
Sardinia obtained from Carthage, and formed into a Roman province, 77;
revolt in, 115;
Prætor for, 118.
Satires, Roman, 276.
Saturnian Metre, 272.
Saturninus elected Tribune, 174;
brings in an Agrarian Law, 174;
murders Memmius, 174;
is declared a public enemy, 174;
pelted to death with tiles by the mob, 175.
Scipio, Cneius, in Spain, 95;
slain there, 95.
Scipio, P. Cornelius, marches to oppose Hannibal, 83;
killed in Spain, 95.
Scipio Africanus Major, P. Cornelius, his early life, 99;
elected Proconsul, and goes to Spain, 100;
captures New Carthage, 100;
defeats Hasdrubal, 101;
master of nearly all Spain, by a victory (place uncertain), 101;
crosses over to Africa, 101;
quells insurrection and mutiny in Spain, 101;
captures Gades, 102;
returns to Rome, and is elected Consul, 102;
passes over to Sicily, and thence to Africa, 103;
besieges Utica, 103;
is opposed by Hasdrubal and Syphax, whom he defeats, 103;
defeats Hannibal near Zama, 104;
returns to Rome, 105;
prosecuted, 131;
retires from Rome, 131;
death, 131.
Scipio Africanus Minor, 140;
captures and destroys Carthage, 142;
sent to Spain, 145;
opposes Ti. Gracchus, 153;
found dead in his room, 153.
Scipio, L. Cornelius (Asiaticus) appointed to the command against
Antiochus, who had invaded the kingdom of Pergamus, 111;
defeats Antiochus near Magnesia, and returns to Rome, 111;
prosecution of, 130.
Scipio Nasica, P. Cornelius, subdues the Boii, 114.
Sempronian Laws, 157.
Senate, 12, 119.
Senators bribed by Jugurtha found guilty by a commission, 164.
_Senatus Consultum_, 120.
Seneca, 301;
his writings, 349.
Seneca, M. Annæus, 348.
Senones, 45.
Septimius Severus, Emperor, 320;
penetrates to the interior of Scotland, 321.
Sertorius Macro, 299.
Sertorius, Q., in Spain, 200;
defeats Q. Metellus, 200;
is opposed to Pompey, 201;
assassinated by Perperna, 202.
Servile War at Carthage, 77.
Servile War in Sicily, First, 146-7;
Second, suppressed by M. Aquillius, 172.
Servilius, Q., murdered, 178.
Servius Tullius, succeeds Tarquinius Priscus, 18;
reforms the constitution, and divides the territory, 18;
increases the city, and surrounds it with a wall, 20;
forms an alliance with the Latins, 20;
his death, 22;
his two daughters, 22.
Seven hills of Rome, 20 (note).
Sextius, L., first Plebeian Consul, 50.
Sicily invaded by the Romans, 69-71;
made subject to the Romans, except Syracuse, 76;
Prætor for, 118;
under Augustus, 287.
Sicinius Dentatus slain, 38.
Sidicini, 53.
Silanus, 297.
Slaves under the Romans, 146.
Social War, or Marsic War, 178-180.
_Socii_, or Allies, 66;
troops furnished by, 123.
_Sociorum Præfecti_, 123.
Soli, afterward Pompeiopolis, occupied by pirates, 210.
Spain in two provinces, 114;
Prætors for, 118;
under Augustus, 287.
Spanish Wars, 143-146.
Sparta, 107.
Spartacus, a gladiator, excites an insurrection of slaves, 202;
devastates Italy with a large army of slaves, 203;
defeated by Crassus, 203;
slain in battle, 203.
_Spolia opima_ won by A. Cornelius Cossus, 43.
Statius, P. Papinius, 344.
Stilicho, 339.
St. Chrysostom, 311.
_Suffetes_, 68.
Sulla, C. Cornelius, early life and character, 167;
Quæstor with Marius in Africa, 168;
gains over Bocchus, and entraps and makes a prisoner of Jugurtha, 167;
in Social War, 180;
Consul, 181;
rivalry with Marius, 182;
enters Rome with his army, and takes possession of the city, 183;
leaves Rome for the East, 184;
plunders Athens, 188;
victory at Orchomenus, 189;
makes peace with Mithridates, 189;
overcomes Fimbria, 189;
defeats the younger Marius, and enters Rome, 192;
battle with the Samnites and Lucanians for the possession of
Rome, 192;
Allies defeated, 193;
elected Dictator, 193;
his massacres and proscriptions, 194;
elected Consul, 194;
his Triumph, and assumed title of Felix, 194;
his military colonies, 194, 195;
his reforms, 194, 195;
resignation of Dictatorship, retirement, and death, 195;
his legislation, 190-193.
Sulpicius Rufus, P., sells himself to Marius, 182;
put to death, 183.
_Supplicatio_, 125.
Synorium, fortress of, 211.
Syphax, at war with Carthage, 95;
is visited by Scipio, but, falling in love with Sophonisba, daughter
of Hasdrubal, becomes an ally of the Carthaginians, 101;
defeated by Scipio and Masinissa, and flies into Numidia, 103;
is pursued and taken prisoner by Lælius and Masinissa, 103.
Syracuse captured by Marcellus, 94.
Syria, condition of, 106;
made a Roman province, 212.
Syrus, P., 275.
T.
Tacitus, Emperor, 326.
Tacitus, the historian, 346.
Tarentum, 60, 62;
captured, 65.
Tarpeia, 10.
Tarquinius Priscus, Lucius, his birth and descent, 16;
elected 5th king of Rome, 16;
defeats the Sabines and captures Collatia, 16;
takes also many Latin towns, and becomes ruler of all Latium, 16;
constructs the cloacæ, 16;
lays out the Circus Maximus, and institutes the games of the
Circus, 17;
increases the Senate, the Equites, and the Vestal Virgins, 17;
appoints Servius Tullius his successor, 18;
his reign and death, 18.
Tarquinius Superbus, Lucius, succeeds Servius Tullius, 22;
his tyranny, 22;
alliance with the Latins, 22;
war with the Volscians, 23;
founds the temple named the Capitolium, 23;
purchases the three Sybilline books, 23;
attacks and captures Gabii, 23;
sends to consult the oracle at Delphi, 23;
besieges Ardea, 24;
Lucretia ravished by Sextus Tarquinius, 24;
death of Lucretia, 25;
is expelled from Rome with his sons, 25;
attempts to regain the throne, 25;
his Etruscan allies defeated, 26;
dies at Cumæ, 28.
Terentius Afer, P., 274.
Teutones and Ambrones enter France, in march for Italy, 170;
defeated and destroyed by Marius, 171.
Theodosius, Emperor, 339.
Thurii, 60.
Tiberius, 201;
divorced from his wife, 292;
succeeds Augustus, 295;
retires to Capreæ, 298;
death, 299.
Tibullus, Albius (poet), 280.
Tigranes, king of Armenia, receives his father-in-law Mithridates, 207;
defeated by Lucullus at Tigranocerta, 208;
acts in concert with Mithridates, 209;
submits to Pompey, 212.
Tigranes the younger revolts against his father, 212.
Tities, 12.
Titus takes Jerusalem, 303;
emperor, 304.
Trajanus Decius, Emperor, 324.
Trajanus, M. Ulpius, Emperor, 307;
conflict with the Dacians, 308;
leads an army into Assyria, 308;
death, 309.
Trasimenus, Lake, Roman army destroyed at, 86.
_Triarii_, 123.
Triarius defeated by Mithridates, 208.
Tribes, Assembly of the, 121.
Tribunes, 31, 117, 121.
Tribuneship degraded by Sulla's laws, 197.
_Tribuni Militum_, 123.
Tributum, a property-tax, 121.
Triumph, the general's, 124.
Triumvirate, First, 225;
Second, 256.
Triumviri visit Greece to inquire into the laws, 37.
Tullianum (dungeon), 221.
Tullus Hostilius elected to succeed Numa, 13;
battle of the Horatii and Curiatii, 13;
conquers the Albans, 14;
conquers the Etruscans, 14;
punishes Mettius Fuffetius, 14;
destroys Alba Longa, and removes inhabitants to Rome, 14;
his reign and death, 14.
_Turmæ_, 123.
Twelve Tables, 38.
U.
Ulphilas, 338.
Ulpianus, 350.
Umbria, 2.
Umbrians in league with the Etruscans, 59.
Umbro-Sabellians, 5.
V.
Vadimo, Lake, defeat of Gauls and Etruscans there, 60.
Valentinian, Emperor, 338.
Valentinian III., 342.
Valerian and Horatian Laws, 40.
Valerian, Emperor, 324.
Valerius, Corvus, M., legend of, 48.
Valerius Publicola, 26.
Vandals invited into Africa, 342;
plunder Rome, 342.
Varro, M. Terentius, 283.
Varus, 291.
_Vectigalia_, 121.
Veii besieged, 43;
Alban Lake, 43;
city captured, 44.
_Velites_, 123.
Veneti defeated by Cæsar, 231.
Ventidius, Tribune and Consul, 265;
his successful wars against the Parthians, 265.
Vercingetorix defeated and taken prisoner, 234.
Verus, L., 314, 315.
Vestal Virgins, 13, 17.
_Vestini_, 3.
Veto of the Tribunes, 31, 121.
Vettius, L., accuses Cæsar, 222;
is thrown into prison, 222.
_Vexillarius_, 122.
Via Æmilia, Appia, Flaminina, 114, 119.
Victor, Aurelius, 347.
Viriathus, 144;
assassinated, 145.
Virgilius Maro, P., 277.
Vologeses III., king of the Parthians, 314.
Volturcius, T., 220.
W.
Wallia, 341.
X.
Xanthippus, 72, 73.
Z.
Zenobia, queen of Palmyra, 325.
[Illustration: Coin of Augustus.]
THE END.
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