1.
Macedonia (Roman province)
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The province incorporated ancient Macedonia, with the addition of Epirus, Thessaly, and parts of Illyria, Paeonia and Thrace. This created a larger administrative area, to which the name of Macedonia was still applied. The Dardanians, to the north of the Paeonians, were not included and these provinces were all subordinate to the Diocese of Macedonia, one of three dioceses comprising the praetorian prefecture of Illyricum. When the Prefecture was divided between the Western and Eastern Empires in 379, the Macedonian provinces were included in Eastern Illyricum, with the permanent division of the Empire in 395, Macedonia passed to the East, which would evolve into the Byzantine Empire. Epirus, later Epirus Vetus, was a province in the Roman Empire that corresponded to the region of Epirus. Between 146 BC and 27 BC, it was part of the province of Macedonia, after which it part of Achaea. Epirus Nova or Illyria Graeca or Illyris proper was a province of the Roman Empire established by Diocletian during his restructuring of provincial boundaries, until then, the province belonged to the province of Macedonia. Dyrrachium was established as the capital of Epirus Nova, the region of Epirus Nova corresponded to a portion of Illyria that was then partly Hellenic and partly Hellenized. Macedonia Prima was a province encompassing most of the kingdom of Macedonia, coinciding with most of the modern Greek region of Macedonia, and had Thessalonica as its capital. Macedonia Salutaris, also known as Macedonia Secunda was a province encompassing partially Dardania and the whole of Paeonia, the second being most of the present-day Republic of Macedonia. The town of Stobi located to the junction of the Erigon and Axios rivers, the economy was greatly stimulated by the construction of the Via Egnatia, the installation of Roman merchants in the cities, and the founding of Roman colonies. The Imperial government brought, along with its roads and administrative system, an economic boom, with vast arable and rich pastures, the great ruling families amassed huge fortunes in the society based on slave labor. The improvement of the conditions of the productive classes brought about an increase in the number artisans. Stonemasons, miners, blacksmiths, etc. were employed in every kind of commercial activity, Greek people were also widely employed as tutors, educators and doctors throughout the Roman world. The export economy was based essentially on agriculture and livestock, while iron, copper, another source of wealth was the kingdoms ports, such as Dion, Pella, Thessalonica, Cassandreia
2.
Geography of Greece
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Greece is a country in Southern Europe, located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The country consists of a mainland and two additional smaller peninsulas projecting from it, the Chalkidice and the Peloponnese, which is separated from the mainland by the Isthmus of Corinth. Greece also features a number of islands, of various sizes, both large ones including Crete, Euboea, Rhodes and Corfu, and groups of smaller ones such as the Dodecanese. According to the CIA World Factbook, Greece has 13,676 kilometres of coastline, Greece is largely mountainous, with its latitude ranging from 35°00′N to 42°00′N and in longitude from 19°00′E to 28°30′E. As a result, the country has considerable climatic variation, Greeces climate is divided into three main classes, A Mediterranean climate features mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Temperatures rarely reach extremes, although snowfalls do occur even in Athens. An alpine climate is primarily in Western Greece. A temperate climate is found in Central and Eastern Macedonia and parts of Thrace, including Komotini, Xanthi and this climate is characterized by cold, damp winters and hot, dry summers. Greeces largest island, Crete, due to its position and vast size. As such, the climate in Crete is primarily temperate, the atmosphere can be quite humid, depending on the proximity to the sea, while winter is fairly mild. Snowfall is common on the mountains between November and May, but rare in low-lying areas, especially near the coast, during the summer, average temperatures may reach the low 30s °C, with maxima touching the mid 40s. The south coast of the island, including the Mesara Plain and Asterousia Mountains, falls in the North African climatic zone, in southern Crete, date palms bear fruit and swallows remain all year round, without migrating to Africa. Greece is located in Southern Europe, bordering the Ionian Sea and it is a peninsular country, possessing an archipelago of about 3,000 islands. It has an area of 131,957 km2, of which land area is 130,647 km2. Land boundaries with Albania, Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey measure approximately 1,110 km in total. Of the countrys territory,83. 33% or 110,496 km2 is mainland territory. Greeces coastline measures 13,676 km. 80% of Greece is mountainous, the Pindus mountain range lies across the center of the country in a northwest-to-southeast direction, with a maximum elevation of 2,637 m. Mount Olympus is the highest point in Greece and the fourth highest in relative prominence in Europe
3.
Roman Republic
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It was during this period that Romes control expanded from the citys immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world. During the first two centuries of its existence, the Roman Republic expanded through a combination of conquest and alliance, by the following century, it included North Africa, most of the Iberian Peninsula, and what is now southern France. Two centuries after that, towards the end of the 1st century BC, it included the rest of modern France, Greece, and much of the eastern Mediterranean. By this time, internal tensions led to a series of wars, culminating with the assassination of Julius Caesar. The exact date of transition can be a matter of interpretation, Roman government was headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and advised by a senate composed of appointed magistrates. Over time, the laws that gave exclusive rights to Romes highest offices were repealed or weakened. The leaders of the Republic developed a tradition and morality requiring public service and patronage in peace and war, making military. Many of Romes legal and legislative structures can still be observed throughout Europe and much of the world in modern nation states, the exact causes and motivations for Romes military conflicts and expansions during the republic are subject to wide debate. While they can be seen as motivated by outright aggression and imperialism and they argue that Romes expansion was driven by short-term defensive and inter-state factors, and the new contingencies that these decisions created. In its early history, as Rome successfully defended itself against foreign threats in central and then northern Italy, with some important exceptions, successful wars in early republican Rome generally led not to annexation or military occupation, but to the restoration of the way things were. But the defeated city would be weakened and thus able to resist Romanizing influences. It was also able to defend itself against its non-Roman enemies. It was, therefore, more likely to seek an alliance of protection with Rome and this growing coalition expanded the potential enemies that Rome might face, and moved Rome closer to confrontation with major powers. The result was more alliance-seeking, on the part of both the Roman confederacy and city-states seeking membership within that confederacy. While there were exceptions to this, it was not until after the Second Punic War that these alliances started to harden into something more like an empire and this shift mainly took place in parts of the west, such as the southern Italian towns that sided with Hannibal. In contrast, Roman expansion into Spain and Gaul occurred as a mix of alliance-seeking, in the 2nd century BC, Roman involvement in the Greek east remained a matter of alliance-seeking, but this time in the face of major powers that could rival Rome. This had some important similarities to the events in Italy centuries earlier, with some major exceptions of outright military rule, the Roman Republic remained an alliance of independent city-states and kingdoms until it transitioned into the Roman Empire. It was not until the time of the Roman Empire that the entire Roman world was organized into provinces under explicit Roman control
4.
Achaean League
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The Achaean League was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern Peloponnese, the first league was formed in the 5th century BC. The second Achaean League was established in 280 BC, as a rival of Antigonid Macedon and an ally of Rome, the league played a major role in the exapansion of the Roman Republic into Greece. This process eventually led to the Leagues conquest and dissolution by the Romans in 146 BC, the League represents the most successful attempt by the Greek city states to develop a form of federalism, which balanced the need for collective action with the desire for local autonomy. Through the writings of the Achaean statesman Polybius, this structure has had an influence on the constitution of the United States, the first Achaean League became active in the fifth century in the northwestern Peloponnese. After the catastrophic destruction of the ancient capital Helike by an earthquake and tsunami in 373 BC, it appears to have lapsed sometime in the fourth century. The regional Achaean League was reformed in 281/0 BC by the communities of Dyme, Patrae, Pharae and Tritaea, joined in 275 by Aegium, the league grew quickly to include the entire Achaean heartland, and after a decade it had ten or eleven members. Since the Sicyonians were of Dorian and Ionian origin, their inclusion opened the League for other national elements, Aratus, then only twenty years old, rapidly grew to become the leading politician of the League. In the thirty two years between 245 and his death in 213, Aratus would hold the office of general a total of sixteen times. In other cities of the Peloponnese, namely Argos, Orchomenus and he then used the money to challenge the Macedonian hold on the Peloponnese. Aratus greatest success came when he captured Corinth and the fortress of Acrocorinth in 243 BC in a night attack. This effectively blocked Macedonian access to the Peloponnese by land, isolating their allies at Megalopolis, Antigonus Gonatas finally made peace with the Achaean League in a treaty of 240 BC, ceding the territories that he had lost in Greece. Corinth was followed by Megalopolis in 235 BC and Argos in 229 BC, however the league soon ran into difficulties with the revived Sparta of Cleomenes III. Aratus was forced to call in the aid of the Macedonian King, Antigonus III Doson, Antigonus Doson re-established Macedonian control over much of the region. In 220 BC, the Achaean League entered into a war against the Aetolian League, the young king Philip V of Macedon sided with the Achaeans and called for a Panhellenic conference in Corinth, where the Aetolian aggression was condemned. After Aratuss death, however, the League joined Rome in the Second Macedonian War, the Achaean League was one of the main beneficieries. Under the leadership of Philopoemen, the League was able to defeat a heavily weakened Sparta. The Leagues dominance was not to last long, however, in 146 BC, the leagues relations with Rome completely collapsed, leading to the Achaean War
5.
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus
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Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus was a Praetor in 148 BC, Consul in 143 BC, Proconsul of Hispania Citerior in 142 BC and Censor in 131 BC. He was the oldest son of Quintus Caecilius Metellus and grandson of Lucius Caecilius Metellus, a brilliant general, he fought in the Third Macedonian War and played a pivotal role in the Fourth. Andriscus had risen against Rome intending to liberate Macedonia with an army recruited from Thrace, under Metellus authority Macedonia was reduced and made a Roman province. For that he won his agnomen and since then introduced the Clypeus Macedoniccus in his familys medals, on his return to Italy he received the honour of a Triumph and the title of Macedonicus. He then built at the Campus Martius a Porticus of Cecilius which later became the Porticus of Octavia and he also built two grandiose temples one dedicated to Jupiter and the other to Juno. These were the first marble temples in Rome, ornamented with statues of the various Generals of Alexander brought by him from Greece. In 143 BC, when Consul, he campaigned against the Celtiberians in central Hispania during the Numantine War and he defeated one of the Celtiberian tribes, the Arevaci. He did not confront the city of Numantia, which became the focus of the war. Attalus had bequeathed his kingdom to the people of Rome, Metellus was elected Censor in 131 BC, boldly pledging to halt the growing degradation of Roman custom. In a speech which he delivered at his appointment, he proposed that matrimony was to be mandatory to all citizens, a century later Augustus caused this speech to be read at the Senate and published as an Edict for the knowledge and regeneration of the Roman People. His moralizing efforts awakened strong popular opposition, led by the Tribune Gaius Atinius Labeo Macerio whom he had expelled from the Senate. He was almost killed by the mob on the Tarpeian Rock, celebrated for his eloquence and his taste for the Arts, he died in 116 BC/115 BC. His two sons-in-law, Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio and Gaius Servilius Vatia would also attain the Consulship. Metellus raising the siege, a painting by Armand-Charles Caraffe, commemorates the legend of Metellus lifting the siege of Centobrigia in 142 BC, the Gracchi, Oxford University Press, Oxford ENG,1979. Manuel Dejante Pinto de Magalhães Arnao Metello and João Carlos Metello de Nápoles, Metellos de Portugal, Brasil e Roma, Torres Novas,1998
6.
Ancient Corinth
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Corinth was a city-state on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnese to the mainland of Greece, roughly halfway between Athens and Sparta. The modern town of Corinth is located approximately 5 kilometres northeast of the ancient ruins, for Christians, Corinth is well-known from the two letters of Saint Paul in the New Testament, First Corinthians and Second Corinthians. Corinth is also mentioned in the Book of Acts as part of the Apostle Pauls missionary travels, in addition, the second book of Pausanias Description of Greece is devoted to Corinth. Ancient Corinth was one of the largest and most important cities of Greece, the Romans demolished Corinth in 146 BC, built a new city in its place in 44 BC, and later made it the provincial capital of Greece. According to Hellenic myth, the city was founded by Corinthos, however, other myths suggest that it was founded by the goddess Ephyra, a daughter of the Titan Oceanus, thus the ancient name of the city. There is evidence that the city was destroyed around 2000 BC, some ancient names for the place are derived from a pre-Greek Pelasgian language, such as Korinthos. It seems likely that Corinth was also the site of a Bronze Age Mycenaean palace-city, like Mycenae, Tiryns, according to myth, Sisyphus was the founder of a race of ancient kings at Corinth. It was also in Corinth that Jason, the leader of the Argonauts, during the Trojan War, as portrayed in the Iliad, the Corinthians participated under the leadership of Agamemnon. In a Corinthian myth recounted to Pausanias in the 2nd century AD, Briareus and his verdict was that the Isthmus of Corinth belonged to Poseidon and the acropolis of Corinth belonged to Helios. Thus, Greeks of the Classical age accounted for the cult of the sun-titan in the highest part of the site. The Upper Peirene spring is located within the walls of the acropolis, the spring, which is behind the temple, they say was the gift of Asopus to Sisyphus. The latter knew, so runs the legend, that Zeus had ravished Aegina, the daughter of Asopus, Corinth had been a backwater in 8th-century Greece. The Bacchiadae were a tightly-knit Doric clan and the kinship group of archaic Corinth in the 8th and 7th centuries BC. In 747 BC, an aristocratic revolution ousted the Bacchiad kings and they dispensed with kingship and ruled as a group, governing the city by annually electing a prytanis, probably a council, and a polemarchos to head the army. During Bacchiad rule from 747 to 650 BC, Corinth became a unified state, large scale public buildings and monuments were constructed at this time. In 733 BC, Corinth established colonies at Corcyra and Syracuse, by 730 BC, Corinth emerged as a highly advanced Greek city with at least 5,000 people. Aristotle tells the story of Philolaus of Corinth, a Bacchiad who was a lawgiver at Thebes and he became the lover of Diocles, the winner of the Olympic games. They both lived for the rest of their lives in Thebes and their tombs were built near one another and Philolaus tomb points toward the Corinthian country, while Diocles faces away
7.
Roman province
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In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy, largest territorial and administrative unit of the empires territorial possessions outside of Italy. The word province in modern English has its origins in the used by the Romans. Provinces were generally governed by politicians of senatorial rank, usually former consuls or former praetors and this exception was unique, but not contrary to Roman law, as Egypt was considered Augustus personal property, following the tradition of earlier, Hellenistic kings. The territory of a people who were defeated in war might be brought under various forms of treaty, the formal annexation of a territory created a province in the modern sense of an administrative unit geographically defined. Republican provinces were administered in one-year terms by the consuls and praetors who had held office the previous year, Rome started expanding beyond Italy during the First Punic War. The first permanent provinces to be annexed were Sicily in 241 BC, militarized expansionism kept increasing the number of these administrative provinces, until there were no longer enough qualified individuals to fill the posts. The terms of provincial governors often had to be extended for multiple years,241 BC – Sicilia taken over from the Carthaginians and annexed at the end of the First Punic War. 237 BC – Corsica et Sardinia, these two islands were taken over from the Carthaginians and annexed soon after the Mercenary War, in 238 BC and 237 BC respectively. 197 BC – Hispania Citerior, along the east coast of the,197 BC - Hispania Ulterior, along the southern coast of the, part of the territories taken over from the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War. 147 BC – Macedonia, mainland Greece and it was annexed after a rebellion by the Achaean League. 146 BC – Africa, modern day Tunisia and western Libya, home territory of Carthage and it was annexed following attacks on the allied Greek city of Massalia. 67 BC – Creta et Cyrenae, Cyrenaica was bequeathed to Rome in 78 BC, however, it was not organised as a province. 58 BC – Cilicia et Cyprus, Cilicia was created as a province in the sense of area of command in 102 BC in a campaign against piracy. The Romans controlled only a small area, in 74 BC Lycia and Pamphylia were added to the smal Roman possessions in Cilicia. Cilicia came fully under Roman control towards the end of the Third Mithridatic War - 73-63 BC, the province was reorganised by Pompey in 63 BC. Gallia Cisalpina was a province in the sense of an area of military command, during Romes expansion in Italy the Romans assigned some areas as provinces in the sense of areas of military command assigned to consuls or praetors due to risks of rebellions or invasions. This was applied to Liguria because there was a series of rebellions, Bruttium, in the early days of Roman presence in Gallia Cisalpina the issue was rebellion. Later the issue was risk of invasions by warlike peoples east of Italy, the city of Aquileia was founded to protect northern Italy form invasions
8.
Achaea (Roman province)
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Achaea or Achaia, sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaïa, was a province of the Roman Empire, consisting of the Peloponnese, eastern Central Greece, and parts of Thessaly. In the north, it bordered on the provinces of Epirus vetus, the region was annexed by the Roman Republic in 146 BC following the sack of Corinth by the Roman general Lucius Mummius, who was awarded the cognomen Achaicus. It became part of the Roman province of Macedonia, which included the whole of mainland Greece. When Augustus became the first Roman emperor in 27 BC he made an agreement whereby some provinces, the provinces, came under the control of the emperor. Other provinces, the provinces, remained under the control of the senate. The province of Achaea was separated from the province of Macedonia as a senatorial province and it comprised the Peloponnese Peninsula in the south and central Greece. Achaea was a province, thus free from military men and legions. Athens was the center of education for the imperial elite, rivaled only by Alexandria. Achaea was among the most prosperous and peaceful parts of the Roman world until Late Antiquity, the province remained prosperous and highly urbanized however, as attested in the 6th-century Synecdemus. The territories of Achaea remaining in Byzantine hands were grouped into the theme of Hellas, in 150-148 BC the Romans fought the Fourth Macedonian War, after which they annexed Macedon, formerly the largest and most powerful state in mainland Greece. In 146 BC the Achaean League rebelled against the Romans and this was a hopeless war as Rome was a far superior military power. The League was quickly defeated and its city, Corinth was destroyed. The Romans decided to annex the whole of mainland Greece and Achaea became part of the Roman Province of Macedonia, some cities, such as Athens and Sparta retained their self-governing status within their own territories. The First Mithridatic War was fought in Attica and Boeotia, two regions which were to part of the province of Achaea. In 89 BC, Mithridates VI Eupator, king of Pontus, Mithridates then sent Archelaus to Greece, where he established Aristion as a tyrant in Athens. The Roman consul Lucius Cornelius Sulla landed in Epirus and marched on Athens. He marched through Boeotia on his way to Attica, Sulla besieged Athens and Piraeus in 87-86 BC and then sacked Athens and destroyed Piraeus. He then defeated Archelaus at the Battle of Chaeronea and the Battle of Orchomenus, the commerce of Achaea was no longer a rival to that of Rome. After the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra, about 31 BC, in AD15, Emperor Tiberius, responding to complaints of mismanagement by the Senatorial proconsul made Achaea and Macedonia Imperial provinces
9.
Philopoemen
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Philopoemen was a skilled Greek general and statesman, who was Achaean strategos on eight occasions. From the time he was appointed as strategos in 209 BC and he was called the last of the Greeks by an anonymous Roman. The son of Craugis of Megalopolis, his father died early in his life and he was then adopted by an important citizen of Megalopolis, Cleander. Philopoemen was educated by academic philosophers Ecdemus and Demophanes, both were Megapolitans, who had helped to depose previous tyrants of Megalopolis, Sicyon and Cyrene. Thus, he was inculcated with notions of freedom and democracy, Philopoemen strove to emulate the 4th-century BC Theban general and statesman, Epaminondas. Philopoemen believed that as a servant, personal virtue was at all times a necessary condition. So Philopoemen wore humble garments for the rest of his life, Philopoemen first came to the attention of key Greek politicians when he helped defend Megalopolis against the Spartan king Cleomenes III in 223 BC. Philopoemen was amongst the first defending the city, during the battle, Philopoemen lost his horse and he was wounded. Nevertheless, he remained involved in the battle until the end and his actions helped give the citizens of Megalopolis enough time to evacuate the city. The king of Macedonia, Antigonus III Doson was keen to restore Macedonian influence in the Peloponnese for the first time in almost two decades, in 224 BC, he signed an alliance with the Achaeans, Boeotians, Thessalians and the Acarnanians. With his rear secured by treaties, Antigonus invaded the Peloponnese and drove the Spartans out of Argos, taking Orchomenus, when he advanced against Laconia, however, Antigonus found that Cleomenes had blocked all the mountain passes except for one. It was there, near Sellasia, that Cleomenes waited with his army, Philopoemen commanded a cavalry force, which included soldiers from Megalopolis. He was supported by Illyrian infantry, when the latter entered into the battle, they were surrounded by the enemy. So Philopoemen launched his own attack, while his forces suffered many casualties, the surprised Spartan forces fled. In the encounter, Philopoemens horse fell and he was wounded by a javelin, yet he continued to fight behind the enemys lines. In the end the Spartan forces were massacred by the Macedonians, as the leader of the Achaeans, Philopoemen’s actions impressed Antigonus III. He subsequently spent 10 years from 221 BC in Crete as a mercenary captain, returning to mainland Greece in 210 BC, Philopoemen was appointed commander of the cavalry in the Achaean League. During the battle, Damophantus charged directly against Philopoemen with his spear, bravely, Philopoemen didnt retreat, but waited with his lance, which he mortally thrust into Damophantus chest
10.
Messene
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This new Messene, todays Ancient Messene, was constructed over the ruins of Ithome, an ancient city originally of Achaean Greeks, destroyed previously by the Spartans and abandoned for some time. Currently the substantial ruins are a historical attraction. Much of it has been excavated and partly restored or preserved for study and public viewing. The site was never totally abandoned, the small village of Mavromati occupies what was the upper city around the fountain called klepsydra. Administrative structure and population figures refer primarily to it, archaia Messene is located 25 kilometres north of Kalamata and 60 kilometres east of Pylos. The main ancient source on Messene is the Guide to Greece of Pausanias, excavation of the site began in 1828 in connection with the French Morea Expedition during the Greek War of Independence. The French left in 1833, meanwhile, only exploratory excavation had been performed, since then a number of noted archaeologists have made contributions, not the least the current excavator. A museum of their extensive finds has been constructed within the old city walls and this site was awarded a European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award in 2011. During the Bronze Age the palace at Pylos controlled Messenia politically and economically and these groups were members of the coast-watchers, a military or quasi-military unit that presumably were stationed to guard various locations on the coast. Their failure is attested by the burning of Pylos a few months later by assailants unknown from the sea, the watchers include some Olumpiaioi from Orumanthos. John Bennet expressed the opinion that by Mezana is meant Messana and he supposed that the region around Ithome would already have had that name, to be reutilized by Epaminondas a thousand years later. After the defeat of the Spartan army at the Battle of Leuctra in Boeotia,371 BC and this time the victorious general, Epaminondas, entered the Peloponnesus with an international army of Boeotians, Argives and Messenians living abroad. Epaminondas resolved to support an independent Peloponnesus by building three fortified cities, Megalopolis and Mantinea in Arcadia and Messene in Messenia, in 85 days the combined armies and exiles guided by the engineers and artisans had complete the walled city of Messene over the site of the previous Ithome. The city included within its walls Mt. Ithome and enough agricultural land, the policy was justified almost immediately. After the departure of the Theban army the Spartans attempted to retake Messenia and this time the long struggle with Sparta was brought to a final end by the Macedonian conquest of Greece. After the departure of the allies the new city and the fate of Messenian independence were left in the hands of the Messenian exiles, apparently they had maintained a transitory community in exile, or diaspora, for some 300 years. Pausanias reports, even to this day they preserve it in its purity better than anywhere else in the Peloponnese, Messene was surrounded by a circuit wall 9 km long,7 metres —9 metres high. It was fortified by 30 square or horseshoe-shaped guard towers with doors admitting passage to a walkway on top of the wall
11.
Sparta
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Sparta was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece. In antiquity the city-state was known as Lacedaemon, while the name Sparta referred to its settlement on the banks of the Eurotas River in Laconia. Around 650 BC, it rose to become the dominant military land-power in ancient Greece, given its military pre-eminence, Sparta was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars. Between 431 and 404 BC, Sparta was the enemy of Athens during the Peloponnesian War, from which it emerged victorious. Spartas defeat by Thebes in the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC ended Spartas prominent role in Greece, however, it maintained its political independence until the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 BC. It then underwent a period of decline, especially in the Middle Ages. Modern Sparta is the capital of the Greek regional unit of Laconia, Sparta was unique in ancient Greece for its social system and constitution, which completely focused on military training and excellence. Its inhabitants were classified as Spartiates, mothakes, perioikoi, Spartiates underwent the rigorous agoge training and education regimen, and Spartan phalanges were widely considered to be among the best in battle. Spartan women enjoyed more rights and equality to men than elsewhere in the classical world. Sparta was the subject of fascination in its own day, as well as in the West following the revival of classical learning and this love or admiration of Sparta is known as Laconism or Laconophilia. At its peak around 500 BC the size of the city would have been some 20,000 –35,000 free residents, plus numerous helots, olliers theory of the Spartan mirage has been widely accepted by scholars. The ancient Greeks used one of three words to refer to the location of the Spartans. The first refers primarily to the cluster of settlements in the valley of the Eurotas River. The second word was Lacedaemon, this was used sometimes as an adjective and is the name commonly used in the works of Homer. Herodotus seems to denote by it the Mycenaean Greek citadel at Therapne and it could be used synonymously with Sparta, but typically it was not. It denoted the terrain on which Sparta was situated, in Homer it is typically combined with epithets of the countryside, wide, lovely, shining and most often hollow and broken. The hollow suggests the Eurotas Valley, Sparta on the other hand is the country of lovely women, a people epithet. The name of the population was used for the state of Lacedaemon
12.
Polybius
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Polybius was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 264–146 BC in detail. The work describes the rise of the Roman Republic to the status of dominance in the ancient Mediterranean world, Polybius was born around 200 BC in Megalopolis, Arcadia, when it was an active member of the Achaean League. His father, Lycortas, was a prominent, land-owning politician, consequently, Polybius was able to observe first hand the political and military affairs of Megalopolis. He developed an interest in riding and hunting, diversions that later commended him to his Roman captors. In 182 BC, he was quite an honor when he was chosen to carry the funeral urn of Philopoemen. In either 169 BC or 170 BC, Polybius was elected hipparchus and his early political career was devoted largely towards maintaining the independence of Megalopolis. Polybius’ father, Lycortas, was a prominent advocate of neutrality during the Roman war against Perseus of Macedon. Lycortas attracted the suspicion of the Romans, and Polybius subsequently was one of the 1,000 Achaean nobles who were transported to Rome as hostages in 167 BC, Polybius remained on cordial terms with his former pupil Scipio Aemilianus and was among the members of the Scipionic Circle. Polybius remained a counselor to Scipio when he defeated the Carthaginians in the Third Punic War, following the destruction of Carthage, Polybius likely journeyed along the Atlantic coast of Africa, as well as Spain. After the destruction of Corinth in the year, Polybius returned to Greece. Polybius was charged with the task of organizing the new form of government in the Greek cities. He apparently interviewed veterans to clarify details of the events he was recording and was given access to archival material. Little is known of Polybius later life, he most likely accompanied Scipio to Spain and he later wrote about this war in a lost monograph. Polybius probably returned to Greece later in his life, as evidenced by the many existent inscriptions, polybius’ Histories cover the period from 264 BC to 146 BC. Its main focus is the period from 220 BC to 167 BC, describing Romes efforts in subduing its arch-enemy, Carthage, in Book VI, Polybius describes the political, military, and moral institutions that allowed the Romans to succeed. He describes the First and Second Punic Wars, in Book XII, Polybius discusses the worth of Timaeus’ account of the same period of history. He asserts Timaeus point of view is inaccurate, invalid, therefore, Polybiuss Histories is also useful in analyzing the different Hellenistic versions of history and of use as a credible illustration of actual events during the Hellenistic period. In the seventh volume of his Histories, Polybius defines the historians job as the analysis of documentation, the review of relevant geographical information, and political experience
13.
Third Punic War
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The Third Punic War was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between the former Phoenician colony of Carthage and the Roman Republic. The Punic Wars were named because of the Roman name for Carthaginians, Punici, the Third Punic War ended Carthages independent existence. Carthage, stripped of allies and territory, was suffering under a huge indemnity of 200 silver talents to be paid every year for 50 years, cicero put a similar statement in the mouth of Cato in his dialogue De Senectute. He was opposed by the senator Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum, who favoured a different course that would not destroy Carthage, and who usually prevailed in the debates. Moreover, the retirement of the indemnity removed one of the incentives the Romans had to keep the peace with Carthage – there were no further payments that might be interrupted. The Romans had other reasons to conquer Carthage and her remaining territories, by the middle of the 2nd century BC, the population of the city of Rome was about 400,000 and rising. Feeding the growing populace was becoming a major challenge, the farmlands surrounding Carthage represented the most productive, most accessible and perhaps the most easily obtainable agricultural lands not yet under Roman control. In 151 BC Numidia launched another raid on Carthaginian soil, besieging the Punic town of Oroscopa. As a result, Carthage suffered a defeat and was charged with another fifty year debt to Numidia. ”In 149 BC. Even after this was done the allied Punic city of Utica defected to Rome, the consuls then demanded that Carthage hand over all weapons and armour. After those had been handed over, Rome additionally demanded that the Carthaginians move at least 16 kilometres inland, when the Carthaginians learned of this, they abandoned negotiations and the city was immediately besieged, beginning the Third Punic War. Censorius lost more than 500 men when they were surprised by the Carthaginian cavalry while collecting timber around the Lake of Tunis, a worse disaster fell upon the Romans when their fleet was set ablaze by fire ships which the Carthaginians released upwind. Manilius was replaced by consul Calpurnius Piso Caesonius in 149 after a defeat of the Roman army at Nepheris. Scipio Aemilianuss intervention saved four cohorts trapped in a ravine, Nepheris eventually fell to Scipio in the winter of 147-146. In the autumn of 148, Piso was beaten back while attempting to storm the city of Aspis, undeterred, he laid siege to the town of Hippagreta in the north, but his army was unable to defeat the Punics there before winter and had to retreat. When news of these setbacks reached Rome, he was replaced as consul by Scipio Aemilianus, the Carthaginians endured the siege, starting 149 BC to the spring of 146 BC, when Scipio Aemilianus successfully assaulted the city. Though the Punic citizens offered a strong resistance, they were pushed back by the overwhelming Roman military force. Many Carthaginians died from starvation during the part of the siege
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Patras
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Patras is Greeces third-largest city and the regional capital of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese,215 km west of Athens. The city is built at the foothills of Mount Panachaikon, overlooking the Gulf of Patras, Patras has a population of 213,984. According to the results of 2011 census, the area has a population of 260,308. Dubbed as Greeces Gate to the West, Patras is a hub, while its busy port is a nodal point for trade and communication with Italy. The Rio-Antirio bridge connects Patras easternmost suburb of Rio to the town of Antirrio, Patras is also famous for supporting an indigenous cultural scene active mainly in the performing arts and modern urban literature. It was European Capital of Culture in 2006, Patras is 215 km west of Athens by road,94 km northeast of Pyrgos,7 kilometres south of Rio,134 km west of Corinth,77 km northwest of Kalavryta, and 144 km northwest of Tripoli. A central feature of the geography of Patras is its division into upper and lower sections. It is built on what was originally a bed of river soils, the older upper section covers the area of the pre-modern settlement, around the Fortress, on what is the last elevation of Mount Panachaikon before the Gulf of Patras. The largest river in the area is the Glafkos, flowing to the south of Patras, the water is also used for the orchards of Eglykas and as drinking water for the city. Other rivers are Haradros, Meilichos and the mountain torrent Diakoniaris and it features the typical mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers, with spring and autumn being pleasant transitional seasons. Autumn in Patras, however, is wetter than spring, of great importance for the biological diversity of the area and the preservation of its climate is the swamp of Agyia, a small and coastal aquatic ecosystem of only 30 ha, north of the city centre. Another geophysical characteristic of the region is its level of seismicity. Small tremors are recorded along the coast of Patras almost constantly, larger earthquakes hit the area every few years with potentially destructive effects. In 1993, a 5. 0-magnitude earthquake caused damage to several buildings throughout Patras due to the proximity of the epicenter to the city. On June 15,1995, a 6. 2-magnitude earthquake hit the town of Aigion. The Ionian Islands are also hit by even more severe earthquakes. In antiquity, the most notable example of destruction caused by an earthquake in the region was the total submergence of the ancient Achaean city of Helike, the first traces of settlement in Patras date to as early as the third millennium BC, in the area of modern Aroe. Patras flourished for the first time in the Post-Helladic or Mycenean period, Ancient Patras was formed by the unification of three Mycenaean villages in modern Aroe, namely Antheia and Mesatis
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Campaign history of the Roman military
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These accounts were written by various authors throughout and after the history of the Empire. The Roman army battled first against its neighbours and Etruscan towns within Italy. From the outset, Romes military typified this pattern, and the majority of Romes campaigns were characterised by one of two types, the second is the civil war, which plagued Rome from its foundation to its eventual demise. Roman armies were not invincible, despite their reputation and host of victories. Nevertheless, it was generally the fate of even the greatest of Romes enemies, such as Pyrrhus and Hannibal, to win the battle, the history of Romes campaigning is, if nothing else, a history of obstinate persistence overcoming appalling losses. Knowledge of Roman history stands apart from other civilizations in the ancient world and its chronicles, military and otherwise, document the citys very foundation to its eventual demise. Romes earliest history, from the time of its founding as a tribal village. Although the early Romans were literate to some degree, this void may be due to the lack of will to record their history at that time, or such histories as they did record were lost. Although the Roman historian Livy lists a series of seven kings of early Rome in his work Ab urbe condita, from its establishment through its earliest years, a number of points of view have been proposed. Very little is known of Romes military history from this era, traditionally, Romulus, after founding the city, fortified the Palatine Hill, and shortly thereafter, Rome was equal to any of the surrounding cities in her prowess in war. The first of the campaigns fought by the Romans in this account are the wars with various Latin cities. According to Livy, the Latin village of Caenina responded to the event of the abduction of the Sabine women by invading Roman territory, the Latins of Antemnae and those of Crustumerium were defeated next in a similar fashion. The remaining main body of the Sabines attacked Rome and briefly captured the citadel, there was a further war in the 8th century BC against Fidenae and Veii. In the 7th century BC there was a war with Alba Longa, a war with Fidenae and Veii. Ancus Marcius led Rome to victory against the Latins and, according to the Fasti Triumphales, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus first war was waged against the Latins. Tarquinius took the Latin town of Apiolae by storm and took great booty from there back to Rome, according to the Fasti Triumphales, the war occurred prior to 588 BC. His military ability was tested by an attack from the Sabines, Tarquinius doubled the numbers of equites to help the war effort, and defeat the Sabines. Tarquinius returned to Rome and celebrated a triumph for his victories that, according to the Fasti Triumphales, subsequently, the Latin cities of Corniculum, old Ficulea, Cameria, Crustumerium, Ameriola, Medullia and Nomentum were subdued and became Roman
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Samnite Wars
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The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the south of Rome and the north of the Lucanians. The first of these wars was the result of Romes intervening to rescue the Campanian city of Capua from a Samnite attack. The second one was the result of Romes intervention in the politics of the city of Naples and developed into a contest over the control of much of central, the third war also involved a struggle over the control of this part of Italy. The Samnites were one of early Romes most formidable rivals, by the time of the first of these wars, the southward expansion of Rome’s territory had reached the River Liris, which was the boundary between Latium and Campania. This river is now called Garigliano and it is the boundary between the regions of Lazio and Campania. In those days the name Campania referred to the plain between the coast and the Apennine Mountains which stretched from the River Liris down to the bays of Naples, the northern part of this area was inhabited by the Sidicini, the Aurunci and the Ausoni. The central and southern part was inhabited by the Campanians, who were people who had migrated from Samnium and were related to the Samnites. The Samnites were a confederation of four tribes who lived on the mountains to the east of Campania and were the most powerful people in the area, the Samnites, Campanians and Sidicini spoke Oscan languages. Their languages were part of the Osco-Umbrian linguistic family which also included Umbrian, the Lucanians who lived to the south were also Oscan speakers. Diodorus Siculus and Livy report that in 354 BC Rome and the Samnites concluded a treaty, modern historians have proposed that the treaty established the river Liris as the boundary between their spheres of influence, with Romes lying to its north and the Samnites to its south. This arrangement broke down when the Romans intervened south of the Liris to rescue the Campanian city of Capua from an attack by the Samnites. Livy is the only preserved source to give an account of the war which has become known in modern historiography as the First Samnite War. In addition, the Fasti Triumphales records two Roman triumphs dating to this war and some of the described by Livy are also mentioned by other ancient writers. According to Livy, the First Samnite War started not because of any enmity between Rome and the Samnites, but due to outside events, the spark came when the Samnites without provocation attacked the Sidicini, a tribe living north of Campania with their chief settlement at Teanum Sidicinum. Unable to stand against the Samnites, the Sidicini sought help from the Campanians, However, Livy continues, the Samnites defeated the Campanians in a battle in Sidicine territory and then turned their attention toward Campania. First they seized the Tifata hills overlooking Capua and, having left a force to hold them. There they defeated the Campanians in a battle and drove them within their walls. This compelled the Campanians to ask Rome for help, at Rome, the Campanian ambassadors were admitted to an audience with the Senate
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Pyrrhic War
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The Pyrrhic War was a war fought by Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus. Pyrrhus was asked by the people of the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy to help them in their war with the Roman Republic. A skilled commander, with a strong army fortified by war elephants, Pyrrhus enjoyed initial success against the Roman legions, but suffered heavy losses even in these victories. Plutarch wrote that Pyrrhus said after the battle of the war, If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans. He could not call up more men from home and his allies in Italy were becoming indifferent, the Romans, by contrast, had a very large pool of military manpower and could replenish their legions even if their forces were depleted in many battles. This has led to the expression Pyrrhic victory, a term for a victory that inflicts losses the victor cannot afford in the long term, worn down by the battles against Rome, Pyrrhus moved his army to Sicily to instead war against the Carthaginians. After several years of campaigning there, he returned to Italy in 275 BC, following this, Pyrrhus returned to Epirus, ending the war. Three years later, in 272 BC, the Romans captured Tarentum, the Pyrrhic War was the first time that Rome confronted the professional mercenary armies of the Hellenistic states of the eastern Mediterranean. Romes victory drew the attention of states to the emerging power of Rome. Ptolemy II, the king of Egypt, established relations with Rome. After the war, Rome asserted her hegemony over southern Italy, to the south of the Roman sphere of influence in Italy there were a number of city-states founded by Greek settlers from the 8th to the 6th century BC. Tarentum was the largest and most powerful Greek city in Italy, the Tarentines attacked a Roman fleet off their coast, sinking some of their ships and capturing some prisoners. As a result, Rome declared war, there are different versions of the events which led to the declaration of war. Appian, Cassius Dio and Zonaras appear to have been intent on blaming the war on the Tarentines, the part of the text of Dionysius of Halicarnassus which deals with the events in the run-up to the declaration war has been lost and Plutarch did mention them. In Appians version, in 282 BC ten Roman ships appeared close to Tarentum, according to Appian, Publius Cornelius Dolabella was sailing along the coast of Magna Graecia, sight-seeing. A demagogue reminded the townsfolk about an old treaty in which Romans had bound themselves not to sail beyond the promontory of Lacinium and he persuaded them to attack the ships, four were sunk and one was captured with all on board. This would have happened in 282 BC, the year after Dolabellas consulship, Appian did not explain why the consul was sight-seeing with so many ships. Neither Cassius Dio nor Zonaras mentioned any treaties between the Romans and the Tarentines, however, the Tarentines had not participated in these battles
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Punic Wars
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The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 BC to 146 BC. At the time, they were probably the largest wars that had taken place. The term Punic comes from the Latin word Punicus, meaning Carthaginian, the main cause of the Punic Wars was the conflicts of interest between the existing Carthaginian Empire and the expanding Roman Republic. The Romans were initially interested in expansion via Sicily, part of which lay under Carthaginian control, at the start of the first Punic War, Carthage was the dominant power of the Western Mediterranean, with an extensive maritime empire. Rome was a rapidly ascending power in Italy, but it lacked the power of Carthage. The Roman victories over Carthage in these wars gave Rome a preeminent status it would retain until the 5th century AD, during the mid-3rd century BC, Carthage was a large city located on the coast of modern Tunisia. Founded by the Phoenicians in the mid-9th century BC, it was a powerful thalassocratic city-state with a vast commercial network, of the great city-states in the western Mediterranean, only Rome rivaled it in power, wealth, and population. While Carthages navy was the largest in the ancient world at the time, it did not maintain a large, permanent, instead, Carthage relied mostly on mercenaries, especially the indigenous Numidians, to fight its wars. However, most of the officers who commanded the armies were Carthaginian citizens, in 200 BC, the Roman Republic had gained control of the Italian peninsula south of the Po river. Unlike Carthage, Rome had large disciplined armed forces, on the other hand, at the start of the First Punic War, the Romans had no navy, and were thus at a disadvantage until they began to construct their own large fleets during the war. The First Punic War was fought partly on land in Sicily and Africa and it began as a local conflict in Sicily between Hiero II of Syracuse and the Mamertines of Messina. The Mamertines enlisted the aid of the Carthaginian navy, and then subsequently betrayed them by entreating the Roman Senate for aid against Carthage, the Romans sent a garrison to secure Messina, so the outraged Carthaginians then lent aid to Syracuse. With the two powers now embroiled in the conflict, tensions escalated into a full-scale war between Carthage and Rome for the control of Sicily. In 260 BC, they defeated the fledgling Roman navy at the Battle of the Lipari Islands, Rome responded by drastically expanding its navy in a very short time. Within two months, the Romans had a fleet of one hundred warships. Because they knew that they could not defeat the Carthaginians in the tactics of ramming and sinking enemy ships, the Romans added the corvus. The hinged bridge would swing onto enemy vessels with a sharp spike, Roman legionaries could then board and capture Carthaginian ships. This innovative Roman tactic reduced the Carthaginian navys advantage in ship-to-ship engagements, however, the corvus was also cumbersome and dangerous, and was eventually phased out as the Roman navy became more experienced and tactically proficient
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First Punic War
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The First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between Ancient Carthage and the Roman Republic. For more than 20 years, the two struggled for supremacy, primarily on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surrounding waters. The war signaled the beginning of a transformation in the western Mediterranean. Carthage began the war as the great sea-power of the western Mediterranean, while Rome had, the series of wars between Rome and Carthage took the name Punic from the Latin name for the Carthaginians, Punici. This is derived from Phoenicis, and it refers to the Carthaginian heritage as Phoenician colonists, a Carthaginian name for the conflicts does not survive in any records. Rome had recently emerged as the leading city-state in the Italian Peninsula, over the past one hundred years, Rome had come into conflict, and defeated rivals on the Italian peninsula, then incorporated them into the Roman political world. By the beginning of the First Punic War, the Romans had secured the whole of the Italian peninsula and it originated as a Phoenician colony in Africa, near modern Tunis. At the height of power, just before the First Punic War, North African peoples such as the Berbers in the area around Carthage were loosely associated with Carthage. In the midst of the First Punic War some tribes would rebel against Carthage, the rich, strategically influential, and well-fortified Greek colony of Syracuse was politically independent of Rome and Carthage. Hostilities of the First Punic War began with developments involving the Romans, Carthaginians, at the same time, a group of Roman troops made up of Campanian citizens without the vote also seized control of Rhegium, lying across the Straits of Messina on the mainland of Italy. In 270 BC, the Romans regained control of Rhegium and severely punished the survivors of the revolt, in Sicily, the Mamertines ravaged the countryside and collided with the expanding regional empire of the independent city of Syracuse. Hiero II, tyrant of Syracuse, defeated the Mamertines near Mylae on the Longanus River, following their defeat, the Mamertines appealed to both Rome and Carthage for assistance. The Carthaginians acted first, approached Hiero to take no further action, however, the rivalry between Rome and Carthage had grown since the war with Pyrrhus and that alliance was simply no longer feasible. According to the historian Polybius, considerable debate took place in Rome on the question as to whether to accept the Mamertines appeal for help, however, many were also unwilling to see Carthaginian power in Sicily expand even further. Leaving them at Messana would give the Carthaginians a free hand to deal with Syracuse, after the Syracusans had been defeated, the Carthaginian takeover of Sicily would essentially be complete. Sicily is a volcanic island, with geographical obstacles and rough terrain making lines of communication difficult to maintain. For this reason, land warfare played a role in the First Punic War. Land operations were confined to small raids and skirmishes, with few pitched battles
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Second Punic War
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The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and the War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic and its allied Italic socii, with the crucial participation of Numidian-Berber armies and tribes on both sides. The two states three major wars with each other over the course of their existence. They are called the Punic Wars because Romes name for Carthaginians was Poeni, derived from Poenici, in the following year, Hannibals army defeated the Romans again, this time in southern Italy at Cannae. In consequence of these defeats, many Roman allies went over to Carthage, against Hannibals skill on the battlefield, the Romans deployed the Fabian strategy. A sideshow of this war was the indecisive First Macedonian War in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Second Punic War was fought between Carthage and Rome and was ignited by the dispute over the hegemony of Saguntum, a Hellenized Iberian coastal city with diplomatic contacts with Rome. After great tension within the city government, culminating in the assassination of the supporters of Carthage, the city called for Roman aid, but the pleas fell on deaf ears. Following a prolonged siege and a struggle, in which Hannibal himself was wounded and the army practically destroyed. Many of the Saguntians chose to commit suicide rather than face subjugation by the Carthaginians, before the war, Rome and Hasdrubal the Fair had made a treaty. Livy reports that it was agreed that the Iber should be the boundary between the two empires and that the liberty of the Saguntines should be preserved, Hannibal departed with this army from New Carthage northwards along the coast in late spring of 218 BC. At the Ebro, he split the army into three columns and subdued the tribes there to the Pyrenees within weeks, but with severe losses. At the Pyrenees, he left a detachment of 11,000 Iberian troops, Hannibal reportedly entered Gaul with 50,000 infantry and 9,000 cavalry. He took his army by a route, avoiding the Roman allies along the coast. In the meantime, a Roman fleet with a force was underway to northern Iberia. A scouting party of 300 cavalry was sent to discover the whereabouts of the enemy and these eventually defeated a Carthaginian scouting troop of 500 mounted Numidians and chased them back to their main camp. Thus, with knowledge of the location of the enemy, the Romans marched upstream, Hannibal evaded this force and by an unknown route reached the Isère or the Durance at the foot of the Alps in autumn. He also received messengers from his Gallic allies in Italy that urged him to come to their aid, before setting out to cross the Alps, he was re-supplied by a native tribe, some of whose hereditary disputes he had helped solve. Their other commander, Publius Cornelius Scipio, returned to Rome, realizing the danger of an invasion of Italy where the tribes of the Boii, after 217 BC, he moved to Iberia
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Illyrian Wars
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The Illyrian Wars were a set of wars fought in the period 229–168 BC between the Roman Republic and the Ardiaei kingdom. Rome expelled Illyrian garrisons from a number of Greek cities including Epidamnus, Apollonia, Corcyra, Pharos, the Romans also set up Demetrius of Pharos as a power in Illyria to counterbalance the power of Teuta. The Second Illyrian War lasted from 220 BC to 219 BC, in 219 BC, the Roman Republic was at war with the Celts of Cisalpine Gaul, and the Second Punic War with Carthage was beginning. These distractions gave Demetrius the time he needed to build a new Illyrian war fleet, leading this fleet of 90 ships, Demetrius sailed south of Lissus, violating his earlier treaty and starting the war. Demetrius fleet first attacked Pylos, where he captured 50 ships after several attempts, from Pylos, the fleet sailed to the Cyclades, quelling any resistance that they found on the way. Demetrius foolishly sent a fleet across the Adriatic, and, with the Illyrian forces divided, from Dimale the navy went towards Pharos. In 171 BC, the Illyrian king Gentius was allied with the Romans against the Macedonians, but in 169 BC he changed sides and allied himself with Perseus of Macedon. During the Third Illyrian War, in 168 BC, he arrested two Roman legati and destroyed the cities of Apollonia and Dyrrhachium, which were allied to Rome. He was defeated at Scodra by a Roman force under L. Anicius Gallus, in the second half of the third century BC, the Ardiaei kingdom was transformed into a formidable power under the leadership of Agron. During this time, Agron invaded part of Epirus, Corcyra, Epidamnos and Pharos in succession, the Illyrians used the lembus, a small and fast warship with a single bank of oars. Raids by sea from the Adriatic and Ionian were probably a familiar threat to the north-western Greeks, what was new was the use of a land army to follow up and profit from the victories gained by the navy. The Greek cities on the coast of Illyria were systematically attacked, Rome answered an appeal from the island of Issa, threatened by Agron, by sending envoys. They were attacked en route by Illyrian vessels, and one of them was killed and that time a number of political events marked the adjacent Greek states. In 234 BC, the succession in Epirus came to an end. In the south, the part of Acarnania seceded from this arrangement. Besieged at Medion, the Acarnanians sought assistance from Demetrius II of Macedonia, in response, the king requested assistance from Agron to relieve the siege. The Illyrian attack under Agron was mounted in either 232 or 231 BC, one hundred lembi, with 5000 men on board, sailed up to land at Medion. They then formed up in the order that was usual in their own country and this defeat of the Aetolians, who were famed for their victory over the invading Gauls a generation before, caused a sensation in Greece
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Macedonian Wars
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The Macedonian Wars were a series of conflicts fought by the Roman Republic and its Greek allies in the eastern Mediterranean against several different major Greek kingdoms. They resulted in Roman control or influence over the eastern Mediterranean basin, in addition to their hegemony in the western Mediterranean after the Punic wars. Traditionally, the Macedonian Wars include the four wars with Macedonia, in addition to one war with the Seleucid Empire, Roman influence gradually dissolved Macedonian independence and digested it into what was becoming a leading global empire. This had some important similarities to what had occurred in Italy centuries earlier, with some major exceptions of outright military rule, the eastern Mediterranean world remained an alliance of independent city-states and kingdoms until it transitioned into the Roman Empire. It wasnt until the time of the Roman Empire that the eastern Mediterranean, during the Second Punic War, Philip V of Macedon allied himself with Hannibal. Fearing possible reinforcement of Hannibal by Macedon, the senate dispatched a praetor with forces across the Adriatic, Roman legions did little more than skirmish with Macedonian forces and seize minor territory along the Adriatic coastline in order to combat piracy. Romes interest was not in conquest, but in keeping Macedon busy while Rome was fighting Hannibal, the war ended indecisively in 205 BC with the Treaty of Phoenice. While a minor conflict, it opened the way for Roman military intervention in Macedon and this conflict, though fought between Rome and Macedon, was largely independent of the Roman-Macedon wars that followed in the next century. The past century had seen the Greek world dominated by the three successor kingdoms of Alexander the Greats empire, Ptolemaic Egypt, Macedonia and the Seleucid Empire. The imperial ambitions of the Seleucids after 230 BC were particularly destabilizing, the Seleucids set out to conquer Egypt, and Egypt responded through a major mobilization campaign. This campaign led to victory against Seleucid incursions, but in 205 BC when Ptolemy IV was succeeded by the five-year-old Ptolemy V. The result was a civil war between north and south. Seeing that all of Egypt could now be conquered easily, the Macedonians and Seleucids forged an alliance to conquer, as Macedonia and the Seleucid Empire were the problem, and Egypt the cause of the problem, the only place to turn was Rome. This represented a change, as the Greeks had recently shown little more than contempt towards Rome. Ambassadors from Pergamon and Rhodes brought evidence before the Roman Senate that Philip V of Macedon, although the exact nature of this treaty is unclear, and the exact Roman reason for getting involved despite decades of apathy towards Greece, the Greek delegation was successful. Initially, Rome didnt intend to fight a war against Macedon, Rome gave Philip an ultimatum that he must cease in his campaigns against Romes new Greek allies. Doubting Romes strength Philip ignored the request, which surprised the Romans, believing their honor and reputation on the line, Rome escalated the conflict by sending an army of Romans and Greek allies to force the issue, beginning the Second Macedonian War. Surprisingly, Philips army buckled under the pressure from the Roman-Greek army, Roman troops led by then consul Titus Quinctius Flamininus reached the plain of Thessaly by 198 BC
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First Macedonian War
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The First Macedonian War was fought by Rome, allied with the Aetolian League and Attalus I of Pergamon, against Philip V of Macedon, contemporaneously with the Second Punic War against Carthage. There were no decisive engagements, and the war ended in a stalemate, during the war, Macedon attempted to gain control over parts of Illyria and Greece, but without success. It is commonly thought that these skirmishes in the east prevented Macedon from aiding the Carthaginian general Hannibal in the war with Rome, the Peace of Phoenice, a treaty drawn up at Phoenice, in 205 BC, formally ended the war. Romes preoccupation with its war against Carthage provided an opportunity for Philip V of Macedon to attempt to extend his power westward, according to the ancient Greek historian Polybius, an important factor in Philips decision to take advantage of this opportunity was the influence of Demetrius of Pharos. Demetrius had been, after the First Illyrian War in 229 BC, however, in 219 BC, during the Second Illyrian War he was defeated by the Romans and fled to the court of Philip. Involved in a war with the Aetolians, Philip learned by messenger of the victory of Hannibal over the Romans, Philip at first showed the letter only to Demetrius. Perhaps seeing a chance to recover his kingdom, Demetrius immediately advised the king to make peace with the Aetolians. Italy, and your crossing into it, is the first step in the acquirement of universal empire, and now is the moment to act when the Romans have suffered a reverse. Philip at once began negotiations with the Aetolians, at a conference on the coast near Naupactus, Philip met the Aetolian leaders, and a peace treaty was concluded. They will move forward, and will extend their forces and their designs farther than we could wish, wherefore, I beseech you all to be on your guard against the danger of the crisis, and above all you, O King. If you are eager for action, turn your eyes to the west, wait with coolness the turn of events there, and seize the opportunity to strike for universal dominion. Nor is the present crisis unfavourable for such a hope, Macedon probably lacked the resources to build and maintain the kind of fleet necessary to match the Romans. Polybius says that Philip had no hope of fighting the Romans at sea, perhaps referring to a lack of experience, at any rate, Philip chose to build lembi. These were the small fast galleys used by the Illyrians and they had a single bank of oars and were able to carry 50 soldiers in addition to the rowers. With these, Philip could hope to avoid or evade the Roman fleet, preoccupied as he hoped it would be with Hannibal, Philip had in the meantime expanded his territories west along the Apsus and Genusus river valleys, right up to the borders of Illyria. Informed that it was still at Lilybaeum, he sailed north to Apollonia in Illyria, however, as the Macedonian fleet neared the island of Sazan, Philip heard a report that some Roman quinqueremes had been seen headed for Apollonia. Convinced that the entire Roman fleet was sailing to apprehend him, after hearing of Romes disastrous defeat at the hands of Hannibal at Cannae in 216 BC, Philip sent ambassadors to Hannibals camp in Italy to negotiate an alliance. There they concluded in the summer of 215 BC a treaty, in it they pledge, in general terms, mutual support and defense and to be enemies to each others enemies
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Second Macedonian War
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The Second Macedonian War was fought between Macedon, led by Philip V of Macedon, and Rome, allied with Pergamon and Rhodes. The result was the defeat of Philip who was forced to abandon all his possessions in southern Greece, Thrace, in 204 BC King Ptolemy IV Philopator of Egypt died, leaving the throne to his six-year-old son Ptolemy V. Philip first turned his attention to the independent Greek city states in Thrace and his success at taking cities such as Kios worried the states of Rhodes and Pergamon who also had interests in the area. In 201 BC, Philip launched a campaign in Asia Minor, besieging the Ptolemaic city of Samos, again, this disconcerted Rhodes and Pergamon and Philip responded by ravaging the territory of the latter. Philip then invaded Caria but the Rhodians and Pergamenes successfully blockaded his fleet in Bargylia, forcing him to spend the winter with his army in a country which offered very few provisions. At this point, although they appeared to have the hand, Rhodes and Pergamon still feared Philip so much that they sent an appeal to the fast rising powerful state of the Mediterranean. Rome had just emerged victorious from the Second Punic War against Carthage, up to this point Rome had taken very little interest in the affairs of the eastern Mediterranean. The First Macedonian War against Philip V had been over the issue of Illyria and was resolved by the Peace of Phoenice in 205 BC, very little in Philips recent actions in Thrace and Asia Minor could be said to concern the Roman Republic directly. Nevertheless, the Romans listened to the appeal from Rhodes and Pergamon, the ambassadors found very little enthusiasm for a war against Philip until they reached Athens. Here they met King Attalus I of Pergamon and diplomats from Rhodes, at the same time, Athens declared war on Macedon and Philip sent a force to invade Attica. The Macedonian general evacuated Athenian territory and handed the Roman ultimatum to his master Philip, Philip, who had managed to slip past the blockade and arrive back home, rejected the Roman ultimatum out of hand. He renewed his attack on Athens and began another campaign in the Dardanelles and it was obvious that Rome was now intent on making war on Philip and at the very same time the ambassador was delivering the second ultimatum, a Roman force was disembarking in Illyria. Philips protests that he was not in violation of any of the terms of the Peace of Phoenice he had signed with Rome were in vain. The citizens promptly killed all the women and children of the city, threw their valuables into the sea and this story illustrates the reputation for atrocities that Philip had earned by this time during his efforts at expanding Macedonian power and influence through the conquest of other Greek cities. Most states adopted a policy of waiting to see which way the war went, for the first two years, the Roman campaign was lacklustre. Publius Sulpicius Galba made little headway against Philip and his successor, in 198 BC, Villius handed command over to Titus Quinctius Flamininus, who would prove a very different kind of general. Flamininus was not yet thirty and was a self-proclaimed ardent Philhellene and he introduced a new Roman policy for winning the war. Up to this point, the Romans had merely ordered Philip to stop attacking the southern Greek cities, now Flamininus demanded that he should withdraw all his garrisons from the southern Greek cities he already held and confine himself to Macedon
25.
Aetolian War
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The Aetolian War was fought between the Romans and their Achaean and Macedonian allies and the Aetolian League and their allies, the kingdom of Athamania. The Aetolians had invited Antiochus III the Great to Greece, who after his defeat by the Romans had returned to Asia and this left the Aetolians and the Athamanians without any allies. With Antiochus out of Europe the Romans and their allies attacked the Aetolians, after a year of fighting the Aetolians were defeated and forced to pay 1,000 talents of silver to the Romans. After the Macedonian defeat in the Second Macedonian War a dispute broke out between the Romans and the Aetolians over the terms of the treaty, the Romans had the backing of the other allies, the Pergamese and the Rhodians and the Aetolians lost the dispute. The Aetolians wanted revenge and in 192 BC they sent out envoys to the King of Sparta, Nabis, King Philip V of Macedon and the Seleucid emperor, Antiochus III the Great. Nabis who had forced to comply to humiliating terms in 195 BC after he was defeated by Rome. Philip who was still paying reparations to Rome after his defeat in the Second Macedonian War and had his son as hostage in Rome refused the offer, Antiochus saw this as an opportunity to expand his European territory and accepted the alliance, and set out to Greece. Antiochus landed at Demetrias with 10,000 infantry and 500 cavalry, the Romans, alarmed by Antiochus arrival in Greece, sent the consul Manius Acilius Glabrio with an army to defeat him. The two armies met at Thermopylae, and only 500 of the Seleucids survived, after this defeat, Antiochus and the surviving part of his army returned to Asia. Rome and her allies continued to fight Antiochus in Asia Minor in the Roman–Seleucid War and this left the Aetolians and the Athamanians with no allies and the victorious Roman army marching unopposed in Thessaly. Acilius went with his army to Heraclea, Acilius sent an envoy to the Aetolian garrison in the city telling them to surrender the city and to think about seeking a pardon for their misjudgment from the Senate. The Aetolians didnt reply and the Romans began preparing to take the city by force, the Romans started the siege by battering the city wall with battering rams. To counter this the Aetolians made frequent sallies, after twenty-four days of fighting, the consul knew the Aetolians were exhausted from the length of the siege and from the reports that deserters had given him, thought of a plan. At midnight he gave the signal for all the soldiers to back to camp. When they returned to camp he kept them inactive until 3,00 am when he ordered that the siege operations begin again, the siege operations stopped at midnight. The Aetolians, thinking that the Romans were also exhausted, left their posts, the consul knowing that his plan had succeeded order an all out assault from three different directions. Acilius ordered Tiberius Sempronius who was in charge of a third of the men to stay alert, when the sleeping Aetolians heard the Roman army approaching they hurried prepared for battle and tried to make their way to the fighting in the darkness. The Romans started scaling the walls with ladders and climbing over the ruins of some the walls, as all the Aetolians rushed to where the Romans has scaled Acilius signaled for Sempronius to attack the section of the wall that was left undefended
26.
Galatian War
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The Galatian War was a war between the Galatian Gauls and the Roman Republic supported by their allies Pergamum in 189 BC. The war was fought in Galatia in central Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey, the Romans had just defeated the Seleucids in the Roman-Syrian War and had forced them to thereby sue for peace. Gnaeus Manlius Vulso, the consul, excused the invasion by saying that it was in retaliation for the Galatians supplying troops to the Seleucids during the war, Vulso embarked on this campaign without the permission of the Roman Senate. Joined by Pergamum, the Romans marched inland and attacked the Galatians and they defeated the Galatians in a battle on Mount Olympus and followed up the victory by defeating a larger army near Ankara. These defeats forced the Galatians to sue for peace and the Romans returned to the coast of Asia Minor, however, when Manlius Vulso returned to Rome, he was charged with threatening the peace between the Seleucids and Rome. He was cleared and was granted a triumph by the Senate, in 191 BC, Antiochus the Great, the Emperor of the Seleucid Empire of Asia invaded Greece. The Romans decided to intervene and they defeated the Seleucids at the Battle of Thermopylae, the defeat by Rome forced the Seleucids to retreat back to Asia Minor. The Romans followed them across the Aegean Sea and together with their allies, Pergamum, the Seleucids sued for peace and began settling it with Scipio Asiaticus. In spring, the new consul, Gnaeus Manlius Vulso arrived to control of the army from Scipio Asiaticus. He was sent to conclude the treaty that Scipio was arranging, however, he was not content with the task given to him and he started to plan a new war. He addressed the soldiers and congratulated them on their victory and then proposed a new war, the pretext he used for the invasion was that the Galatians had supplied soldiers to the Seleucid army at the Battle of Magnesia. The principal reason for the invasion was Manlius desire to seize the wealth of the Galatians who had become rich from plundering their neighbours and this war was the first occasion that a Roman general had started a war without the permission of the senate or the people. This was a precedent and this became an example for the future. Manlius started his war preparation by summoning the Pergamese to help, however, the King of Pergamum, Eumenes II was in Rome so his brother, Attalus who was the regent took command of the Pergamese army. He joined the Roman army a few later with 1,000 infantry and 500 cavalry. The combined Roman-Pergamese army started their march from Ephesus and they advanced inland passing Magnesia on the Maeander and into the territory of Alabanda where they were met by 1,000 infantry and 300 cavalry led by Attalus brother. They then marched to Antiochia where they were met by Antiochus son, as they marched inland through the upper Maeander valley and Pamphylia gathering levies from local princes and tyrants without much opposition. However, they advanced into the territory of Cibrya, ruled by the tyrant Moagetes, when the Roman envoys reached the city, the tyrant begged them not to ravage the territory because he was a Roman ally and promised to give them fifteen talents
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Roman conquest of Hispania
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It was completed after the fall of the Republic, by Augustus, the first Roman emperor, who annexed the whole of Hispania to the Roman Empire in 19 BC. Hispania was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula, the peninsula had various ethnic groups and a large number of tribes. This established Roman territorial presence in Hispania, four years after the end of this war, in 197 BC, the Romans established two Roman provinces. They were Hispania Citerior along most of the east coast and Hispania Ulterior in the south, over the next 170 years the Roman Republic slowly expanded its control over Hispania. This was a process of pacification, rather than the result of a policy of conquest. Roman actions in Hispania were reactive and they responded to rebellions to suppress them, rather seek annexation. It was driven by numerous rebellions by the local tribes, the Romans had to fight countless battles and lost a very large amount of men. On one occasion a Roman commander conducted a sweeping operation in the west of the peninsula. Pacification and retention and extension of control over the tribes was the priority. The Romans turned some of the cities outside their provinces into tributary cities and established outposts. There was little interest in Hispania on the part of the Roman senate, to Rome Hispania was a faraway land, remote from her main interests—Italy and the eastern Mediterranean. Administrative arrangements were ad hoc measures undertaken by men on the spot, in the later part of this period the Roman senate attempted to exercise more control in Hispania, but this was to try to curb abuse and extortion by the unsupervised officials in the peninsula. Hence, in this period conquest was an assimilation of the local tribes into the Roman world. This changed after the fall of the Roman Republic and the establishment of rule by emperors in Rome and this was in 19 BC,187 years after the expulsion of the Carthaginians from Hispania. The Roman province of Hispania Citerior was significantly expanded and came to include the part of central Hispania. Due to the size of the annexed territory, a third province was established in the west of the peninsula. This was Hispania Lusitania, which covered present day Portugal up to the River Durius, the present autonomous community of Extremadura, Hispania Citerior was renamed Hispania Baetica and it borders were expanded inland only marginally. Between the 8th and 7th centuries BC, the Phoenicians established trading contacts in the part of the Iberian Peninsula as well as in part of the east coast
28.
First Celtiberian War
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The First Celtiberian was the first of thee major rebellions by the Celtiberians against the Roman presence in Hispania. The other two were the Second Celtiberian War and the Numantine War, Hispania was the name the Romans gave to the Iberian Peninsula. In those days Spain and Portugal did not exist, the peninsula was inhabited by various ethnic groups and numerous tribes. The Celtiberians were a confederation of five tribes which lived in area of east central Hispania. The eastern part of their territory shared a stretch of the border of this Roman province, the Celtiberian tribes were the Pellendones, the Arevaci, the Lusones, the Titti and the Belli. The third major rebellion by the Celtiberians was the Numantine war, the Romans took over the territories of the Carthaginians in southern Hispania when they defeated them at the Battle of Ilipa in 206 BC during the Second Punic War. There were numerous rebellions by many tribes of Hispania, including tribes both inside and outside Roman territory, in most years for 98 years, until the end of the First Celtiberian War in 179 BC, for details of these rebellions see the Roman conquest of Hispania article. The First Celtiberian War was one of the two major rebellions during this period, during which the Celtiberians were the source of revolt. The praetors Pulbius Manlius and Quintus Fulvius Flaccus were given command for Hispania Ulterior and Citerior respectively in 182 BC. They received reinforcements of 3,000 Roman and 6,000 allied infantry and 200 Roman and 300 allied cavalry, Livy wrote, ‘hardly ever before had they raised so large a force’. Quintus Fulvius Flaccus drew as many auxiliary troops form the friendly tribes as he could and he went to Carpetania and encamped near Aebura. He sent a detachment to occupy the town. A few days later the Celtiberians encamped at the foot of a two miles from the Romans. If enemys cavalry spotted him he was to withdraw, for a few days nothing happened. Then the Celtiberian army drew up midway between the two camps, but the Romans did not respond and they did this for four days. After this they rested in their camp, both cavalries went out on patrol. Both sides went out to collect wood at the rear of their camps without interfering with each other and he was to charge down on the enemy camp. They marched at night to elude detection, at dawn Lucius Acilius sent Gaius Scribonius, the commander of the allies, to the enemy rampart with his cavalry
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Cantabrian Wars
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Under the reign of Augustus, Rome waged a bloody conflict against the last independent Celtic nations of Hispania, the Cantabri, the Astures, and the Gallaeci. The Emperor himself moved to Segisama, to supervise the campaign personally, the major fighting was completed in 19 BC, although there were minor rebellions until 16 BC and the Romans had to station two legions there for seventy more years. Sub occasu pacata erat fere omnis Hispania, nisi quam Pyrenaei desinentis scopulis inhaerentem citerior adluebat Oceanus, hic duae validissimae gentes, Cantabri et Astures, inmunes imperii agitabant. The Cantabri first appear in history in earlier wars in Iberia, in this way, in the years preceding the wars in Cantabria and Asturias, the Roman military became familiar with the warlike characteristics of the peoples of northern Hispania. There are accounts, for instance, of Cantabrians in the army of Hannibal during the Second Punic War, additionally, there is evidence that they fought alongside the Vaccaei in 151 BC, and helped break the Roman siege of Numantia. It is also believed there were Cantabrian troops present in the Sertorian Wars. According to Julius Caesars own testimony, there were Cantabrians at the battle of Ilerda in 49 BC, with all these antecedents, the Cantabrians began to be known throughout the Roman Empire. Roman troops even lost one of their standards to them, something inexplicable, finally, in 26 BC, the Emperor himself, Caesar Augustus, went to Hispania, establishing his base in Segisama. The Astures entered the record in the late 3rd century BC. After the 2nd Punic War, their history is less clear, according to the Roman historian Dio Cassius, the tactics of the Cantabri were of guerrilla warfare, avoiding direct attacks on the Roman forces because of their inferior numbers. According to what remains from representations on coins and Cantabrian stelae, lucan referred to this when he wrote, Cantaber exiguis et longis Teutonus armis. They went equipped with swords, daggers, small spears or javelins, lances, round or oval shields of wood. They also used a weapon like the Iberian falcata, and the bipennis, there is no proof of their use of archery or slings, although it is quite probable that they knew and used them. The Cantabrian were able at the time to ride horses, as reflected in the fact some of their cavalry tactics would be adopted by the Roman army.000 soldiers. The Roman navy was sent to the Cantabrian coast from Gallia Aquitania. It was an important factor in the resolution, since it completed the encirclement of the Cantabri begun by the ground forces. It is calculated that, in total, the Roman Army deployed 70,000 men, although these vary amongst authors. In reality, the figure should surpass 80,000 men counting auxiliaries since, through the reforms of Gaius Marius, the legion had about 6,000 soldiers
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Jugurthine War
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The Jugurthine War took place in 112–106 BC, between Rome and Jugurtha of Numidia, a kingdom on the north African coast approximating to modern Algeria. Jugurtha was the nephew and adopted son of Micipsa, King of Numidia, whom he succeeded on the throne, overcoming his rivals through assassination, war, and bribery. The war constituted an important phase in the Roman subjugation of Northern Africa, following Jugurthas usurpation of the throne of Numidia, a loyal ally of Rome since the Punic Wars, Rome felt compelled to intervene. Numidia was a located in North Africa not far from Romes arch enemy. King Micipsa died in 118 BC and he was survived by two natural sons, Adherbal and Hiempsal, and his adopted nephew, Jugurtha. It was Micipsas wish that all three would share his kingdom after his death, after King Micipsas death, Jugurtha proved to be a ruthless and unscrupulous man who would do anything to achieve what he wanted, including murder, bribery, treachery, and assassination. Jugurtha learned Roman ways and military tactics while commanding the Numidian army under Scipio Aemilianus at the Siege of Numantia, after Micipsa died, Jugurtha ordered Hiempsal assassinated and Adherbal fled to Rome for assistance against his half-brother. A Roman commission was sent to Numidia in 116 BC to make peace, however, Jugurtha bribed the Roman officials in the commission and the best regions of Numidia were given to Jugurtha. Nevertheless, it was accepted and peace was made, shortly after, in 113 BC, Jugurtha provoked a war with his brother and cornered Adherbal in Adherbals capital city of Cirta. Adherbal along with the Italians living there resisted, a second Roman commission was sent and, after being bribed, allowed Jugurtha to take the city. Jugurtha then executed his brother, Adherbal, along many of the Italians who helped Adherbal defend Cirta. This execution of Italians and Romans moved the Roman Senate to declare war on Numidia in 112 BC, the Roman consul Lucius Calpurnius Bestia led an army against Jugurtha but Jugurtha surrendered and was given unusually favorable terms. It appears that Bestia was bribed, so favorable were Jugurthas terms of surrender that it led to an investigation in Rome. Upon his arrival in Rome, Jugurtha bribed two Roman Tribunes of the Plebs who in turn protected him and prevented him from testifying, Jugurtha then attempted to arrange for the assassination of a potential rival and was expelled from the city. In late 110 or early 109 Jugurtha defeated a Roman army led by the praetor Aulus Postumius Albinus Magnus, brother of the consul of that year, apparently by using bribery, treachery and he then demanded to be recognized as the rightful ruler of Numidia. The consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus was sent to North Africa to defeat Jugurtha, for his efforts Metellus was later given the title Numidicus. Quintus Caecilius Metellus was honest and able as a commander but was buying time in order to maximize his glory when he did actually defeat them and his successful war plan was to destroy Jugurthas supply lines and this forced Jugurtha to guerilla tactics. An internal Roman struggle developed between Metellus and his commander, Gaius Marius
31.
Cimbrian War
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The Cimbrian War was the first time since the Second Punic War that Italia and Rome itself had been seriously threatened. The timing of the war had an effect on the internal politics of Rome. The war contributed greatly to the career of Gaius Marius, whose consulships and political conflicts challenged many of the Roman republics political institutions. The Cimbrian threat, along with the Jugurthine War, inspired the landmark Marian reforms of the Roman legions, some of the surviving captives are reported to have been among the rebelling Gladiators in the Third Servile War. For reasons unknown, sometime around 120–115 BC, the Cimbri left their lands around the Baltic sea in the Jutland peninsula. They journeyed to the southeast and were joined by their neighbors. Together they defeated the Scordisci, along with the Boii, many of whom apparently joined them, in 113 BC they arrived on the Danube, in Noricum, home to the Roman-allied Taurisci. Unable to hold back these new, powerful invaders on their own, the Cimbri initially set about complying peacefully with Romes demands, but soon discovered that Carbo had laid an ambush against them. Infuriated by this treachery, they attacked and, at the Battle of Noreia, annihilated Carbos army, Italy was now open to invasion, yet for some reason, the Cimbri and their allies moved west over the Alps and into Gaul. In 109 BC, they invaded the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis and that same year, they defeated another Roman army at the Battle of Burdigala and killed its commander, the consul Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravalla. In 107 BC, the Romans were defeated again, this time by the Tigurini, the force consisted of over 80,000 men, along with tens of thousands of support personnel and camp followers in two armies, one led by each consul. The overconfident Caepio foolishly attacked without support from Maximus, his legions were wiped out, the now isolated and demoralized troops of Maximus were then easily defeated. Thousands more were slain trying desperately to rally and defend his poorly positioned camp, only Caepio, Maximus, and a few hundred Romans escaped with their lives across the carnage-choked river. The Battle of Arausio was the costliest defeat Rome had suffered since Cannae and, in fact, for the Cimbri and Teutones it was a great triumph. Instead of immediately gathering their allies and marching on Rome, the Cimbri proceeded to Hispania, why they again failed to invade Italy remains a mystery. They were not destitute of cavalry, but the Romans were superior to them in that arm, following the devastation of the Arausio, fear shook the Roman Republic to its foundations. The terror cimbricus became a watchword, as Rome expected the Cimbri at its gates at any time, in this atmosphere of panic and desperation, an emergency was declared. The constitution was ignored and Gaius Marius, the victor over Jugurtha of Numidia was elected consul for an unprecedented, and arguably illegal, five years in a row, starting in 104 BC
Roman Republic