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[
I
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION LIBRARY
TEXTBOOK COLLECTION GIFT OF
Clyde A. Dunlvajr
STANFORD ^^^ UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
OUTLINES OF ROMAN HISTORY
V ^
OUTLINES
OF
ROMAN HISTORY
BY
H. F. PELHAM, M.A., LL.D., F.S.A.
PRESIDENT OP TRINITY COLLEGE, OXFORD
CAMDEN PROFESSOR OF ANCIENT HISTORY IN THE
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
FELLOW OF THE BRITISH ACADEMY
FOURTH EDITION REVISED {Eighth Thousand)
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
NEW YORK LONDON
' 37 WEST TWENTY^HIRD STREET 34 BEDFORD STREET, STRAND
^\% Imickubocktx ]pKsK 1907
y
609769
COrVXIGHT, X893 BY
O. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
tTbe fmlclkerbpclker ^cm • Hew fiorik
PREFACE TO FOURTH EDITION.
In this new edition, apart from minor corrections and additions, larger space has been given to the his- tory of the Flavian Emperors and of Trajan. The annexations of territory beyond the Rhine effected by the former, and the Dacian and Parthian cam- paigns of the latter, have been more fully treated.
H, F. Pelham.
OzvoBD, November, 190S.
ifi
PREFACE.
This book is a reprint, with many additions and alterations, of the article " Roman History/' which appeared in the last edition of the Encyclopcedia BritannicUy and my best thanks are due to Messrs. Black for the ready courtesy with which they acceded to my request for its republication.
My aim has been to give such a sketch of the general course of Roman history as might enable the reader to follow the main lines of movement, and grasp the characteristic features of the different periods. The lion's share of the space, some three fifths of the whole, has been devoted to the period which extends from the tribunate of the elder Grac- chus to the fall of Nero (133 B.C.--69 A.D.), as being the period which it is most necessary for a student of Roman history to understand, and the one which is most fully illustrated by the extant ancient literature. It is also the period which probably, on these grounds, is most generally studied.
I have given throughout such references to the original authorities as were necessary to indicate the evidence on which the statements in the text are based. The references to modern books and dis-
VI Preface.
sertations may possibly be found useful, both by students who wish to make a more thorough study of the subject, and by teachers.
Of the debt of gratitude which I owe to a long list of scholars, English, French, and German, the footnotes are ample proof. I cannot, however, deny myself the pleasure of paying a special tribute of homage to the great master, in whose footsteps all students of Roman history are glad to tread. Fifty years have passed since Professor Mommsen wrote his monograph " de collegiis et sodaliciis Rotnanorumy' and during that time there is no period of Roman history on which he has not set his mark, from the days of the kings to those of Theodoric, and no department of Roman antiquities in the study of which some work of his has not made an epoch.
My friend Mr. Warde-Fowler*s admirable sketch of Caesar did not appear until my own chapter on the dictator was in print. I am glad, however, to find that, on the nature and extent of the work which Caesar accomplished, we are in close agreement.
Henry Pelham.
Oxford, January, 1893.
. CONTENTS.
PAOB
List of Authorities Referred to . . . » • ix
BOOK I.
The Beginning of Rome and the Monarchy.
Chapter I. — The Traditions 3
Chapter II. — The Origin of the City and Commonwealth . 14 Chapter III. — Rome under the Kings 30
BOOK II.
The Early Republic, 509-275 b.c
Chapter I. — The Foundation of the Republic and the Strug- gle between the Orders .... 45 Chapter II, — The Conquest of Italy 68
BOOK III.
Rome and the Mediterranean States, 265-146 b.c.
Introduction iii
Chapter I. — Rome and Carthage — The Conquest of the
West . . . **. . • . . .114
Chapter II. — Rome and the East 140
Chapter "^II. — The Roman State and People during the
Period of the Great Wars . . . . .158
Vll
•
viii Contents.
BOOK IV.
The Period of the Revolution, 133-49 ^-c.
Chapter I —From the Gracchi to Sulla . . . .201
Chapter II. — From Sulla to Csesar 232
Chapter III. — The Empire during the Period of Revolution 259
BOOK V.
The Foundation of the Imperial System and the Rule of THE Early CiCSARS, 49 B.C.-69 ^^d*
Chapter I. — The Dictatorship of Julius .... .333
Chapter II. — The Provisional Government of the Triumvirate 357 Chapter III. — The Foundation of the Principate and the
Rule of Augustui^ ..... 398
Chapter IV. — The Julio-Claudian Line . . . . 47^
BOOK VI.
The Organisation of CiESAR's Government and the First Conflicts with the Barbarians, 69-284 a.d.
Chapter I. — The Flavian and Antonine Caesars . . • 5T3 Chapter II. — The Empire in the Third Century , . , 568
BOOK VII. The Barbaric Invasions, 284-476 a.d.
Chapter I. — From the Accession of Diocletian to the Death
of Theodosius 577
Chapter II. — From the Death of Theodosius to the Extinc
tion of the Western Empire • • • 5B7
MAPS.
Rome and Her Allies («Vf« 486 B.C.) ', . to face page 72
The Roman Empfre in 134 B*.c. . . . ••«*•* 156
The Roman Empire in 49 B.C. . . . •«•«•• 258
The Roman Empire in 69 A.D. • • • «•••«• ^jq
LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL MODERN AU-
THORITIES REFERRED TO IN
THE NOTES.
h.— GENERAL.
Fischer, E. W., Romische Znttafeln, Altona, 1846.
Herzog, £., Geschichte und System der RSmischen Staaisvgrfassung,
Leipzig, 1884- 1891. Kuhn, £., DU stddtische und bUrgerHche Verfassung eUs Romischen
Retches, Leipzig, 1864. Madvig, J. N., Die Verfassung und Verwaltung des Rdmiscken
Staates, Leipzig, 1881. Marquardt, J., Rdniische Staatsverwaltung, Leipzig, 1873. Mommsen, Th., Rdmische Geschichte {s^ Aufl.). Berlin, 1868-1885. Mommsen, Th., Romisches Staatsrecht, Berlin, 1875. Niebuhr, B. G., Lectures on the History of Rome (Eng. TransL).
London, 1849. Pais, E., Storia di Roma, Turin, 1898. Ranke, L. von, Weltgeschichte, Leipzig, 188 1. Smith, Dr. W., Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (Third
Edition). London, 1891.
n.
Bruns, C. G., Fontes Juris Romani (Sixth Edition). Leipzig, 1893.
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Berlin.
Dessau, Inscriptiones Latince Selectee, Berlin, 1902.
Eckhel, J., Doctrina Numorum Veterum, Vindobona, 1792.
Ephemeris Epigraphica, Berlin, 1872-1905.
Prosopographia Imperii Romani, Berlin, 1898.
Wilmanns, G., Exempla Inscriptionum Latinarum. Berlin, 1873,
Zumpt, A. W., Commentationes Epigraphicce, Berlin, 1850.,
ix
X List of Principal Modern Authorities.
m.
»
Desjftrdins, £., La Gaule Romairu, Paris, 1876. Herzog, £., Gallia Narbonensis, Leipzig, 1864. Jordan, H., Topographie der Stadt Rom, Berlin, 1878. Jung, J., Die Romanischen Landschaften, Innsbruck, 1881. Kubitschek, J. W., Imperium Romanum iributim descriptum,
Vienna, 1889. Middleton, J. H., Ancient Rome, Edinburgh, 1888. Mommsen, Th., Romische Tribus, Altona, 1844. Mommsen, Th., Romische Chronologie. Berlin, 1859. Mommsen, Th., Rdmische Forschungen, Berlin, 1864. Ramsay, W. M., Geography of Asia Minor. London, 1890. Rein, W., Criminal Recht der Rdmer, Leipzig, 1844. Teuffel, W., Geschichte der Romischen Litteratur, Leipzig, 1870.
B. — SPECIAL — The Monarchy and the Republic.
I.
Ihne, W., Rdmische Geschichte, Leipzig, 1 868-1 8go.
Ihne, W., Early Rome, London, 1876.
Lange, L., Rdmische AlterthUmer, Berlin, 1863.
Niebuhr, B. G., History of Rome {Eng, Transl.). London, 1855.
Schwegler-Clason, Rdmische Geschichte, Tubingen, 1867.
II.
Beesly, E.. Catiline, Clodius, and Tiberius. London, 1878.
Beesly, A. H., The Grcuchi^ Marius^ and Sulla, London.
Beloch, J., Campanien, Berlin, 1879.
Beloch, J., Der Italische Bund. Leipzig, 1880.
Bureau de la Malle, Economie Politique des Romains. Paris, 1840.
Gilbert, O., Geschichte u. Topographic der Stadt Rom. Leipzig, 1883
Greenidge, A, H., The Legal Procedure of Cicerd s Time, Oxford
1901. Greenidge, A. H., A History of Rome from 133 B.C. to 70 a.d.
Vol. I. Methuen, 1904. Guiraud, P., Le diff/rend entre Cisar et le S/nat, Paris, 1878. Helbig, W., Die Italiker in der Poebene, Leipzig, 1879.
List of Principal Modern A uthorities. xf
John, C, Ensiehung der CoHlinarischen VerschwSrung, Leipzig,
1876. Kiene, A., Romische Bundesgenossenkrieg, Leipzig, 1845. Klausen, R. H., jEneas und die Penaten. Hamburg, 1839. Mommsen, Th. , Die Rechtsfrage zwiscken Casar und Senat, Breslau,
1858. Maller-Deecke, Die Etrusker, Stuttgart, 1877. Nissen, H., Das Tetnplum, Berlin, 1869. Nissan, H,, lialische Landeskunde, Berlin, 1882— iQOa. Nitzsch, K. W., Die Gracchen, Berlin, 1847. Reinach, Th., Mithridates Eupator, Paris, 1891. Saalfeld, G. A., Hellenismus in Latium, Wolfenbattel, 1883. Soltau, W., Ensiehung d. altromischen Volksversammlungen, Berlin,
1881. Stoffel, Col., ffisioire de Jules Cisar— Guerre civile, Paris, 1887. Stoffel, Col., Guerre de C/sar et d* Arundsie, Paris, 1890. Willems, P., Le S/natde la R^ublique Ramaine. Paris, 1878. ZoUer, M., LaHum und Rom, Leipzig, 1878. Zumpt, A. W., Studia Romana, Berlin, 1859.
The Empire. I.
Bury, J. "^.^ History of the Later Roman Empire, London, 1889. Gibbon, £., Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (ed. Milman).
London, 1862. Hodgkin, T., Italy and her Invaders, Oxford, 1880-1885. Merivale, C, The Romans under the Empire, London, 1865. Schiller, H., Geschichte der R&mischen Kaiserzeit, Gotha, 1883. Tillemont, L. de, Histoire des Empereurs, Venise, 1732.
IL
Cohen, H., MidaiUes ImpMales, Paris, 1880-1890. Henzen, W., Acta Fratrum Arvalium, Berlin, 1874. Mommsen, Th., Res Gestce dim Augusti, Berlin, 1883. Mommsen, Th., Leges ScUpensance McUaciiana, Leipzig, 1857. Seeck, O., Notitia Dignitatum, Berlin, 1876.
xii List of Principal Modern Authorities.
■ ■ ■
HI.
Boissier, G., La ReHgion Romaine, Paris, 1874.
Boissier, G., VOpposiium sous Us Cisars, Paris, 1875.
Cagnat, R., VArm^e Romaine tTAfrique, Ftois, 1892.
Dill, S., Roman Society from Nero to Marcus AureUus. Macmillan,
1904- Darr, J. , Die Reiseu des Kaisers Hadrian. Wien, 1881. Fnincke, H., Trajan, Leipzig, 1840. Freytag, L., Tiberius und Tacitus, Berlin, 1870. Friedlfinder, L. , Darsttlhmgen aus der Sitiengesckickte Roms, Leip-
ng. 1871. Gardner, P., TJke Parthian Coinagt, London, 1877. Gardthausen, V., Augustus und seine Zeit, Leipzig, i8gi. Gregorovius, F., The Ewtperor Hadrian. (Eng. Txansl.) Macmil-
Ian, 1898. Henderson, B. W., Life and Principaie of the Eu^eror Nero.
Methnen, 1903. Hirschfeld, O., Untersuchungen aus dem Gebiete der RSmischen Ver-
waUungsgeschichte. Berlin, 1905. HUbner, £., RSmische Herrschaft in West Europa. Berlin, 1890. Lanciani, R., / Comentarii di Frontino. Roma, 1880. LAnciani, R., Ancient Rome. London, 1888. Lehmann, H., Claudius u. Nero. Gotha, 1858. Liebenam, W., Die Laufhahn der Procuratoren. Jena, 1886. Lid>enam, W., Die Legaten in den RSmischen Protdwien, Leipzig,
1888. Liebenam, W., Zmr Gtschichte und Organisation des RSmischen
Vtreinswesen. Leipzig, 1S90. Petersen, £,, Trajan* s Dahische A'riege. Leipzig, 1899-1903. Pfitzner, W., Gesehichte der Kaiser iegionen, Leipzig, i88z. Prenss, Th„ Kaiser Diocletian. Leipzig, 1869. Ramsay, W. M„ The Church in the Roman Ea^re. Lond. 1893. Ramsay, W. M,, Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia. Oxford, 1897. Richter, H., Das West Rdmische Reich. Berlin, 1865. Schurz, W., De muitUiomhur in imtperio Romano ordinando ah impe^
ratore Hadriano factis. Bonn, 18S3. Seeck, Otto, Geschichte d. Untergang d. Antihen Weit. Berlin,
1897-1902. Shuckboigh, £, S., Augustus. Fisher Unwin, 1903.
BOOK I.
THE BEGINNINGS OF ROME AND
THE MONARCHY.
THE BEGINNINGS OF ROME AND THE
MONARCHY.
CHAPTER I.
THE TRADITIONS.
The story of the beginnings of Rome and of the rule of the kings is told by Livy in the first book of his Histories^ and by his contemporary, the Greek Dionysius of Halicamassus, in the first four books of his Roman Antiquities. Both have essentially the same tale to tell, and we may assume that they give us what was in their time — that is, towards the close of the first century B.C. — the generally accepted tradition as to the early history of Rome. This tradition carried the narrative back far beyond the point at which Romulus built his city on the Pala- tine Mount. In remote times, so ran the story, the Sikels, from whom the island of Sicily afterwards took its name, dwelt on the hills by the Tiber. The Sikels were driven out by the Aborigines, who de- scended from their mountain homes in the Apen- nines, and made themselves masters of all the
3
4 Outlines of Roman History. [Book I
lowland from the Tiber to the Liris. With this highland folk were united, as time went on, visitors from Greece, Pelasgi from Thessaly, Evander with his followers from Arcadia, and the comrades of the restless hero, Heracles. Later still, in the reign of King Latinus, from whom his people took the name " Latini," the fates brought to the shores of Italy and the fields of Lavinium the great ^Eneas himself, with his Trojan band. The visitors were made wel- come, and on the death of Latinus, ^Eneas ruled in his stead over the united people, Trojans and Latins. From iEneas the sceptre passed to his son Ascanius, the founder of Alba, and of the long dynasty of the Alban kings. In the reign of the last of these kings, Numitor, the twins Romulus and Remus were bom of an earthly mother, the Vestal Rhea Silvia, daugh- ter of King Numitor, and of a divine father, the god Mar^. Then followed the familiar tale of the ex- posure of the children, and of their miraculous deliverance, of their life among the herdsmen, of their recognition as the grandsons of Numitor, and of the foundation of Rome on the Palatine. From this point onwards the tradition described how, un- der Romulus and his successors, the historical city and state of Rome took shape. The gradual expan- sion of the city bounds, until all the seven hills were included within one great ring-wall, the develop- ment of a constitution, and the steady advance of Roman supremacy over the lowlands of Latium were all duly narrated, until, with the expulsion of the second Tarquin, this first chapter of Roman his- tory reached its close.
Ch. 1] The Traditions. . 5
Such, in brief outline, was the accepted tradition of the beginnings of Rome in the time of Augustus. What is its value as an historical narrative ? In the first place it clearly cannot claim the authority of a contemporary written account, for the earliest refer- ences in literature to the history of Rome are found in Greek writers of the fifth century B.C.,* and no higher antiquity can be assigned even to the few native Roman records, which may have been older than the burning of Rome by the Gauls." More- over, if the beginnings of this written tradition can^ not be carried back farther than the fifth century B.C., it is equally certain that it was not until long after the fifth century that it assumed the shape in which we now have it. It was only gradually that out of a number of conflicting versions one finally fought its way to general acceptance, that the un- dated fragments of tradition were fitted together, the gaps filled up, and the chronology settled. It seems probable, indeed, that something like an authorised version was already established by the time of the Punic wars, and that the main incidents and the order of events were given in much the
' According to Dionysius, i., 72, the landing of ^neas in Italy and the foundation of Rome were mentioned by the compiler of the chronicle of the priestesses of Here at Argos. The compiler is gen- erally assumed to have been Hellanicus. See Mailer, Fragm, HisU Gr,^ i., 27 ; Schwegler, R, Gesch,, i., 3.
' Dionysius mentions two inscriptions, extant in his day, which were believed to date from the latter part of the regal period, that, namely, which recorded the foundation in the reign of Servius Tullius, of the temple of Diana on the Aventine, and that which preserved the terms of the treaty made with Gabii by the second Tarquin.
6 Outlines of Roman History. [Book I
same way by the oldest Roman chronicler, Q. Fabius Pictor/ in the third century B.C., and by Livy in the first. What changes and additions were made in the interval cannot be accurately de- termined, though we know that it was by the elder Cato and by Varro that the chronology was finally settled,' and though we may suspect that it is to the labours of the lawyers and antiquarians of the first century B.C. that we owe much of what Livy and Dionysius tell us of the constitutional and religious institutions of primitive Rome.
It must be remembered, then, in reading Livy or Dionysius that we are dealing not with a simple tradition handed down whole and intact from the period of which it tells, but with a highly composite production gradually wrought into shape by a long series of writers, Greek and Roman, no part of which existed in a written form at all until the middle of the fifth century B.C., or some three cen- turies after the supposed date of the foundation of the city. And when to this is added the considera- tion that these writers were not assisted in the arrangement of their matter by any scientific system of chronology, or any exact canons of historical criti- cism, it becomes sufficiently clear that the narrative which their combined efforts have produced is many degrees removed from authentic history.
' The version given by Fabius was apparently given in much the same form by the chronicler L. Cincius Alimentus, and by the poets Nsevius and Ennius, all of whom were contemporary with the second Punic war. — Peter, Hist, Rom, Reliquice ; Schw^ler, R* 6v., L.
78. 399. • Mommsen, RSm, Chrotwlogie^ 134, 59^
Ch. n The Traditiofis. 7
It is, indeed, a patchwork in which materials of the most diverse kinds have been ingeniously stitched together. In very many parts the handi- work of Greek writers is plainly traceable. From the time when Rome came into direct contact first with the Greeks of South Italy and then with those of Sicily, the history of the rising Italian republic increasingly attracted the attention of Greek schol- ars,' who made it their business to provide the new community, which had become a power in the civil- ised world of the Mediterranean, with a suitable pedigree. In thus endeavouring to find ancestors for the Romans among their own people, they seized eagerly on an3^hing in the nature, traditions, usages, and monuments which could serve to show, as Dionysius puts it, that the Romans were '^ an ancient people and a Greek one."' In the Ab- origines they recognised their own Pelasgi, and pointed in proof of the theory to the rude stone walls long known in Greece as Pelasgic.* The name of the Palatine Mount was derived from Pallantium in Arcadia, and the god Faunus became the Greek Evander, who brought to the banks of the Tiber the arts of civilised life. The altar and worship of the Italian Hercules in the low ground near the river were made to prove that Rome had not been un- visited by the Greek Heracles. Odysseus and Circe
' For some account of these see Schwegler, R. Cr., i., 35-99. The most hnportant of them was the Sidlian Timacus of Taurromenium
(350-256 B.C.). ' Dionysius, ii., 3a * Dionysius, i., X4«
8 Outlines of Roman History. [Book I
had already been brought as far on their travels as the bold headland which marks the southern limit of the Latin plain,* and from thence to the Tiber was a short and easy stage. But among all the roving heroes of Greek tradition none were more famous as founders of cities than those whom the fall of Troy scattered over the face of the Mediter- ranean, and of these the most famous wzis the Trojan ^Eneas, the son of Anchises and Aphrodite. At the time when Greeks began to interest them- selves in Rome, his name and his reputation were widely spread. The course of his wanderings was traced by the cities he had founded, or by the tem- ples raised in his honour, and in that of his goddess mother, while in more than one place a grave of iEneas was pointed out to the traveller.' When or by whom Rome was added to the list of the cities which honoured him as their founder we cannot say ; we only know that the tradition existed at least cis early as 400 B.C., and that by the time of the first Punic war it had been officially accepted by the Roman state." It is noticeable, however, that be- tween the earliest form in which it appears and that in which it finally obtained currency there is a con- siderable difference. In the story as originally told
/ * The headland called " Circeii."
* Dionysius, i., 48-54, for a detailed criticism of the story of iEneas. See Schwegler, R, G., i., 279, 399; Klausen, yEneas v, D. Penaten,
* The ancestral connection of Rome with Troy was given by the senate as a reason for assisting the Arcananians, who alone of all Greeks had taken no part in the Trojan war. Justinus, xxviii., i (241 B.C.).
Ch. 1] The Traditions. 9
the connection between Rome and iEneas Wcis close and direct, the foundation of the city being ascribed either to ^Eneas himself or to one of his sons.* But in the version given by Q. Fabius Pictor, and probably in that of the Sicilian Greek, Timacus {circa 300 B.C.), this direct connection has disap- peared. iEneas founds Lavinium, his son Ascanius founds Alba, and between the foundation of Alba and that of Rome by Romulus and Remus an interval of some four hundred years is interposed. The cause of the difference is clear. It lay in the twofold necessity of reconciling the Greek story with native tradition, and the accepted date of the fall of Troy as fixed by Greek chronologers, with the date assigned by Roman reckoning to the foundation of the city. It was impossible to set aside the estab- lished belief in the ancient ties which connected Rome both with Lavinium and with Alba, and between the year of the burning of Troy and the year of the building of Rome there was an interval of more than four centuries, a gap which was rudely bridged over in the uncritical fashion of the time by the interpolation of a fictitious dynasty of Alban kings.
In the rest of the story, from the foundation of Rome to the expulsion of the Tarquins, the influence of Greek imagination is less strongly marked, since from this point onwards the comparative richness and precision of the native traditions left less scope for Greek ingenuity of combination and fertility of invention. Yet even in the account of the rule oi
' Dionysius, i., 72, 73.
lo Outlines of Roman History. [Book I
the kings the hand of the Greek improver can be occasionally traced. To Greek influence we may ascribe the shape given to the stories of the " asylum.'* and of the deification of Romulus, and it must have been Greeks who suggested that King Numa had been a pupil of Pythagorzis, or that the Tarquins came originally from Corinth.
But, though, £is the tale proceeds, the amount of na- tive tradition which it contains increases, this native tradition is in itself a curious medley, in which frag- ments of genuine tradition are found side by side with the stories by which the people explained to them- selves the origin of their ancient monuments, or their ancient institutions and usages, and with the crude, uncritical guesses of early chroniclers and antiqua- rians. To disentangle these various elements is a difficult matter, nor can the attempt be made here. But a few instances may be given to illustrate the method of doing it, and the kind of results which can be obtained. When we have set aside all that is clearly of foreign importation or of late date, the inventions and additions of Greek writers, or the chronological apparatus of Cato and Varro, we are face to face with a collection of tales, handed down from mouth to mouth among the people themselves. In such tales experience hcis taught us that it is not so much the contents of the tale, the names and personality of the actors, or the incidents related, cis the motives which suggested it, the peg on which it was hung, that are historically valuable. Thus the story which connects Rome with Lavinium and with Alba implies an ancient belief among the Ro-
Ch. 1] The Traditions. ii
mans in their kinship with their Latin neighbours, and that they, with ail Latins, recogfnised a common centre in the sacred mount which dominated the Latin plain. Similarly, behind the tales told of the growth of Rome lies the belief that Rome had not been " built in a day," but had been slowly formed by the fusion of separate settlements into a single city and state ; and though the names of the kings, the years of their reigns, and the acts that they did give us little that is of value, existence of an under- lying belief that, as Tacitus puts it, " in the beginning kings ruled in Rome," * is a fact of importance. These ancient beliefs raise a presumption which we have, then, to confirm or reject by the test of positive evidence ; the evidence of language, of monuments, or of fossil institutions and usages which are found surviving in later and better-known times.
In other instances the motif of the story is of a different kind, and historically less valuable. In some cases the starting-point can be discovered in an ancient usage or ceremony, the origin of which the story explains ; in others the tale is attached to an ancient monument or a remarkable natural ob- ject ; in others again it has no better basis than an apparent similarity in names, or a rude etymological guess at their meaning. Explanatory myths of this kind are of frequent occurrence in the early tradition of Rome. As instances we may qtiote the rape of the Sabine women, the building of the temple of Jupiter Stator, the story of Tarpeia, and of the priestly families of the Potitii and Pinarii. In these
' Tac, Ann,^ i., i.
1 2 Outlines of Roman History. [Book I
cases the myth Is chiefly valuable in so far as its own antiquity as a tale proves the antiquity of the usage, institution, or monument to which it owes its existence. And here the modern critic has to avoid an error into which his ancient predecessors not unfrequently fell. Dionysius, for instance, points, in corroboration of the story that i£neas founded Lavinium, or that Romulus and Remus were suckled by a she-wolf, to monuments still extant in his day at Lavinium and in Rome. But these monuments, like the hut of Romulus on the Palatine, are the offspring and not the parents of the myth, and were erected to commemorate traditions already well es- tablished. They do not corroborate the story, but indicate that at the date of their erection the story was generally believed. Lastly the colouring and setting of these tales are often instructive. It is sig- nificant, for instance, that it is the Etruscan who figures as the dreaded enemy alike of Rome and of her Latin kinsmen, and that it is the Sabine high- landers, whose forays are repelled, and whose women are carried off.
Such, then, in brief, is the nature of the narrative which lies before us in the pages of Livy and Diony- sius as the version of the earliest history of Rome current in the Augustan age, and current also, in much the same shape, when Fabius Pictor wrote his chronicles in the third century B.C. As a written tradition no part of it can be traced farther back than the middle of the fifth century, and it has, therefore, no claim to the authority of a contem- porary record. In it materials of very various sorts
Ch. 1] The Traditions. 13
and kinds, and brought from very different quarters, are found side by side. Intermingled with fragments of genuinely old and native tradition we find pieces of world-wide folk-lore, such as the tale of the chil- dren cruelly exposed and miraculously saved, stories, some drawn from the inexhaustible stores of Greek legend, or invented by the scarcely less inexhaustible imagination of Greek chroniclers, others representing the naive attempts of the soberer Roman mind to find an origin for the most ancient of their usages, institutions, and monuments. All these various materials were gradually combined and arranged by the efforts of successive generations ; but the orderly and consecutive narrative, with its apparatus of names and dates, which was thus produced, had even less claim to be considered history than the mass of disconnected tales of which it was composed. It follows, then, that neither the narrative as a whole, nor the separate incidents can be regarded as historical. On the other hand, both the ancient and genuinely Roman beliefs which underlie the story, and the colouring and setting of the tale, fre- quently afford a clue to the truth, which a study of the independent evidence supplied by the undoubted relics of antiquity to be found in the language, the institutions, the monuments of later Rome, enables us to follow out with success.
CHAPTER II.
THE ORIGIN OF THE CITY AND COMMONWEALTH.
There is fortunately no room for doubt as to the site of Rome, or as to the district which was the scene of her early history. Along the western coast of Italy from Civita Vecchia in the north, to Tarra^ cina in the south, stretches the famous lowland known for centuries as the Campagna. It is bounded to the north by the more hilly country of Northern Etruria, on the east by the mountain range of the Apennines, on the south by the Volscian highlands. This strip of lowland, nearly one hundred miles long, and nowhere much more than thirty miles wide, is in not an unbroken level. Its undulating surface is furrowed by watercourses, rent by volcanic fissures, and dotted over with abruptly rising hillocks. Viewed from the top of Soracte at its north-eastern extremity, or from the more famous Alban Mount, which rises out of the plain to the southward, its appearance has been compared to that of a stormy sea suddenly petrified. Of the streams which flow through it, two only, the Tiber and its tributary the
14
City and Commonwealth. 1 5
" headlong Anio/* have ever been important enough to deserve the name of rivers.
It IS with the river Tiber, the waterway which connects the Umbrian and Sabine highlands with the sea, and with this lowland country that the beginnings of Rome are inseparably associated. It was on the low hills which rise from the left bank of the Tiber, some fifteen miles above its mouth, that Rome was built, and it was possibly from the river that it took its name.' It was among the communi- ties of the lowland that Rome found her natural allies against the Etruscan to the north, or against the highland tribes to the east and south. The establishment of her ascendancy over the lowland marks the first stage in the growth of her empire, and centuries later when barbarians ruled to the north and east and south, this lowland remained Roman, and was ruled from Rome by Roman bishops.
It has been already said that the traditional account of the beginnings of Rome implies a fixed belief that both the city of Rome and the Roman commonwealth were gradually formed by the union of separate communities. Romulus built his city the " square Rome '* " on the Palatine Mount. With the Palatine were united before the end of his reign the Capitoline and the Quirinal. Tullus Hostilius added the Coelian, Ancus Martius the Aventine, while Servius TuUius included the Esquiline and
' Serv, ad jEn,^ viii., 63, states that the Tiber was anciently called "Rumon"; for the connection between "Rumon" and "Roma,** see Corssen, Vokalismus v, Betonung d. Lat. Sprache^ )., 279, 364.
• '* Roma quadrata," Ennius ap, Testum,^ 258.
1 6 Outlines of Roman History. [Book i
Viminal, and enclosed the whole area with a ring- wall. The growth of the people followed the same lines. To the followers of Romulus on the Palatine were added successively the Sabine settlers on the Quirinal, Albans transplanted by TuUus, Latins by Ancus, and lastly the Etruscan comrades of Cceles Vibenna.
The first point in this tradition, the fusion of a cluster of separate settlements into a single city, has a considerable amount of independent evidence in its favour.
In the time of Tacitus the boundaries of the "ancient Palatine town," as Varro calls it,* could still be traced," and the memory of them was pre- served by the annual race of the Luperci on Febru- ary 15th. Of the wall which once fenced round this "city of Romulus," enough remains even now to show its direction and the method of its construc- tion. It enclosed the whole crest of the Palatine, and belongs to an earlier period than that at which the Servian wall was built. On the Esquiline — Varro mentions an " ancient city " and an earthen rampart * ; on the Capitol, on the Quirinal, and on the Coelian remains have been discovered, indicating that each of these hills was also at one time the seat of a separate settlement, surrounded by its own rude
* Varro, Z. Z., vi., 34.
' Tac, Ann,^ xii., 24. For a full discussion of the exact limits of the Palatine city, see Smith, DicU Geog,^ s. v. "Roma"; Jordan, Topog, d, Siadt Rom, i., cap. 2 ; Gilbert, Topog. u, GescA. d. Stadt Rom, i., caps, i, 2.
* Z. Z., v., 48 ; cf, ibid,, 50.
Ch. 2] City and Commonwealth. 1 7
wall.* Nor are we entirely without evidence of the gradual fusion of these distinct settlements into a single city. The festival of the Septimontium com- memorated the union of the Palatine with the Esquiline Mount.* The union of these " mounts " with the Quirinal " Hill '* left its marks on the insti- tutions and ceremonies of the state, as for example in the double worship of Mars,* and in the line taken by the procession of the Argei.* Of the final stage in this process of amalgamation, the wall and agger ascribed to King Servius still remain as witnesses. But though we may safely believe that it was in this fashion that the city of Rome was formed, we cannot be equally confident as to dates ; all that can be said is that the oldest tombs yet dis- covered on the Esquiline appear to belong to the early part of the eighth century B.C., when Greek traders were banning to move westward, and that the Servian wall may be assigned approximately to the close of the seventh century.*
But is tradition right in representing this fusion of distinct settlements as a fusion also Romea of communities of different race ? Much ^"^^^ ^^^y* of what it says on this point may bp at once dis- missed as fabulous. The tales of iSneas and his
' Middleton, Ancient Rome^ 37-58.
• Festus, 34S ; Jordan, i., 199 ; Gilbert, 1., 161. The seven montes were the Palatine with the Velia and Germalus, the Subura, and the three points of the Esquiline (Fagutal, Oppins, and Cispius).
'See Mommsen, K, G., (7th ed.), i., 51.
• Varro, Z. Z., v., 45; vii., 44; Jordan, ii., 237.
• Helbig, Die Italiker in d, Poebene^ 136. A much later date (fourth century) is given by recent critics, e, g. Pais, i., 348.
8
1 8 Outlines of Roman History. [Book i
Trojans, of Evander and his Arcadians, of the fol- lowers of Heracles, and of the still earlier Aborigines have no claim to a place in history* ; we cannot accept the story, to which the Romans clung with proud humility, of the asylum opened hy Romulus, or believe that the ancestors of the Romans were a mixed concourse of outlaws and refugees," nor while admitting the probability of the tradition that in remote times the " Sikels " had dwelt on the seven hills, can we allow them any part or lot in the his- toric Roman people.*
That the Romans were in the main of the same race with the neighbouring Latin communities is a conclusion which all the available evidence supports. These " Latini," as they were called, possibly from the plain land in which they dwelt, had probably, as their traditions affirmed, descended at some early period from the highlands of the Apennines, where their kinsmen, the Umbrians and Sabines, still dwelt. Driving out the earlier population, they planted their rudely fortified settlements wherever a piece of rising ground afforded protection against human foes and against the malaria. The communities thus founded formed the peoples {populi) of the Latin name. The ties of kinship, and probably also the common necessity of self-defence against Etruscan, Sabine, or Volscian foes, bound them together. They had
^ For these traditions, see Dionysius, i., 31-71.
' For a criticism of the myth of the asylum, see Schwegler, R. (7. , i. , 465 sq,^ who, however, exaggerates the mixed character of the Roman people. Hegel, Phil, d, Gesck., 345, takes the story seriously.
' Dionysius, i., 9 ; Thuc, vi., 2 ; Dionysius, i., 16; ii., i.
Ch.2i City and Commonwealth, 19
their federal council, their federal leaders, and a com- mon federal sanctuary on the sacred Alban Mount. The affinity between Rome and these Latin peoples is implied in the Roman traditions themselves. King Faunus, who rules the Aborigines on the Pala- tine, is Latin ; Latini is the name assumed by the united Aborigines and Trojans ; the immediate pro- genitors of Rome are the Latin Lavinium and the Latin Alba. The evidence of the language, the religion, the institutions, and the civilisation of early Rome points to the same conclusion. The speech of the Romans is from the first Latin' ; the oldest gods of Rome — Saturn, Janus, Jupiter, Juno, Diana, etc.— are all Latin ; rex^ prcBtor^ dictator^ curia^ are Latin titles and institutions.' Geographically, too, the low hills by the Tiber form a part of the strip of coast-land from which the Latini took their name, and the primitive settlements, with their earthen ramparts and wooden palisades planted upon them, are only typical of the mode of settlement which the conditions of life dictated throughout Latium.* But tradition insists on the admixture of at least two non-Latin elements, a Sabine and an Etruscan. The question as regards the latter will
^ The theory that Latin was a " mongrel speech ** is now discarded. See Schwegler, i. , 190.
* The title rex occurs on inscriptions at Lanuvium, Tusculum, Bovillse ; Henzen, BulUtino dell. Jnst.y 1868, p. 159; Corp, /., L<U, vi., 2125. Ygx dictator zxi^prcetor^ see Livy, i., 23, viii., 3 ; cf, Mar- quardt, Rdm. Staatsverwaltung, i., 475 ; for curia^ Serv. on jEn,^ i., 17 ; Marquardt, i., 467.
• Helbig, Die Italiker in d. Poebene; Pohlmann, Anf&nge Horns, 40 ; Abeken, Mittel^Italien^ 6i sq.
20 Outlines of Roman History. [Book \
be more fully discussed hereafter ; it is enough to say here that there is no satisfactory evidence that any one of the communities which combine to form Rome was Etruscan, or that there was any important Etruscan strain in the Roman blood.* With the Sabines it is otherwise. That union of the Palatine TheSabinca and Quirfnal settlements, which consti- in Rome. tuted SO decisive a stage in the growth of Rome, is represented as having been in reality a union of the original Latins with a band of Sabine invaders, who had seized and held not only the Quirinal Hill, but the northern and nearest peak of the Capitoline Mount. The tradition was evidently deeply rooted. The name of the Quirinal Hill itself was said to be derived from the Sabine town of Cures." The ancient worships connected with it were said to be Sabine.* One of the three old tribes, the Titles, was believed to represent the Sabine element*; the second and the fourth kings were both of Sabine descent. We may follow the great majority of modern writers in accepting the sub- stance of the tradition, the fusion of a body of Sabine invaders with the original Latins, as histori-
^ The existence of a Tuscan quarter ( Tuscus vicus) in early Rome probably points to nothing more than the presence in Rome of Etruscan artisans and craftsmen. The Etruscan origin ascribed to the third tribe, the '* Luceres/' is a mere guess ; see Schwegler, !., 504, and Lange, Rom, Alterth,^ i., 85.
• Varro, Z, Z., v., 51.
• Varro, Z, Z., v., 74 ; Schwegler, !., 248 sq,; but Mommsen (^. (?., !•* 53) points out that most of these so-called Sabine deities are at least equally Latin.
• Yarro, Z. Z., v., 55 ; Livy, L, 13,
Ch. 2.] City and Commonwealth. 2 1
cal, but with certain qualifications.* A Sabine in- vasion, if it took place at all, must, at any rate, have taken place far back in the prehistoric age ; it must have been on a small scale ; and the Sabine invaders must have amalgamated easily and completely with the Latin settlers; for the structure of the early Roman state, while it bears evident marks of a fusion of communities, shows no traces of a mixture of race ; nor is it easy to point to any provably Sabine element in the language, religion, or civilisation of primitive Rome.* That there was ever a Sabine conquest of Rome is a theory which can hardly be maintained in the face of the predominantly Latin character of both people and institutions. On the other hand, the probability of a Sabine raid and a Sabine settlement, on the Quirinal Hill, in very early times may be admitted. The incursions of the highland Apennine tribes into the lowlands fill a large place in early Italian history. The Latins were said to have originally descended from the
1 Mommsen, Id, tr., i., 43. Schwegler (^. G., !., 478) accepts the tradition of a Sabine settlement on the Quirinal, and considers that in the united state the Sabine element predominated. Volquardsen {Rhein, Mus,^ xxxiii., 559) believes in a complete Sabine conquest ; and so does ZoUer {Latium u, Jdom, Leipsic, 1778), who, however, places it after the expulsion of the Tarquins. Gilbert (Topogr,^ i., cap. 5) accepts the Sabine settlement, but holds rightly that in the union the Latin element decisively predominated.
* See Mommsen, i., 43. The Sabine words in Latin, if not com- mon to both dialects, were probably introduced later, or are Sabinised Latin (Mommsen, UnieritaL Dialekten^ 347). Schwegler*s attempt to distinguish Sabine features in the Roman character is ingenious but unsatisfactory.
22 Outlines of Roman History. [Bookl
■ ■ ■
mountain glens near Reate.* The invasions of Campania and of Magna Graecia by Sabellian tribes are matter of history, and the Sabines themselves are represented as a restless highland people, ever seeking new homes in richer lands." In very early days they appear on the borders of Latium, in close proximity to Rome, and Sabine forays are familiar and frequent occurrences in the old legends.
Leaving behind us the dark period of the making of Rome, we pass on to consider what can be known The early of its Constitution and history in the wealth. earliest days of its existence as a single united community.
The populus Romanus was, we are told, divided
into three tribes, Ramnes, Titles, and Luceres,*
and into thirty curicB, The three tribes
epeope. ^^Q}^^\y represented a primitive clan
division, older than the Roman state itself. They survived in later times only as divisions of the corps of " knights ** {equitum centurid)^ the repre- sentatives of the ancient cavalry of Rome, and even in the accounts of the earliest constitution they have ceased to serve as a political division of
' Cato ap. Dionysias, ii., 48, 49.
' Cato ap. Dionysias, ii., 48, 49. For the institution of the vtf sacrum see Schwegler, Rom. Gesch,^ i., 240; Nissen, Templum^ iv.
' The tradition connecting the Ramnes with Romulus and the Tities with Tatius is as old as Ennius (Varro, Z. Z., v., 55). Mommsen (i., 41) explains Ramnes as = Romani, but this etymology is rejected by Schwegler and by Corssen. As regards the Luceres there is little to add to Livy's statement (i., 13), '* nominis ei originis causa incerta est** See, on the whole question, Schwegler, i., 505, and Volquardsen, Rkein. Mus.^ xxxiii., 538.
Ch. 2.] City and Commonwealth. 23
the people.* Of far greater importance was the division into curicB. In Cicero's time there were still curies, curial festivals, and curiate assemblies, and modem authors are unquestionably right in re- garding the curia as the keystone of the political system. It was a primitive association held together by participation in common sacra^ and possessing common festivals, common priests, and a common chapel, hall, and hearth. The members of a curia were very probably neighbours and kinsmen, but the curia seems to represent a stage in political de- velopment midway between that in which clanship is the sole bond of union, and that in which such claims as those of territorial contiguity and owner- ship of land have obtained recognition. As separate associations the curice are probably older than the Roman state, but,' however this may be, it is certain that of this state, when formed, they constituted the only effective political subdivisions. The members of the thirty curies were the populus Romanus, and the earliest known condition of Roman citizenship was the communio sacrorum, partnership in the cu- rial sacra. Below the curia there was no further political division, for we cannot believe that the curia was ever formally subdivided into a fixed num-
> They are traditionally connected only with the senate of 300 patres^ with the primitive legion of 3,000, with the vestal virgins, and with the augurs (Varro, Z. Z., v., 81, 89, 91 ; Livy, x., 6 ; Fes- tus, 344 ; Mommsen, i., 4ii 74, 75 ; Genz, Patricische Rom^ 90).
' It is possible that the curuB were originally connected with separate localities ; cf, such names as Foriensis.. Veliensis (Fest.. 174; Gilbert, i., 213).
24 Outlines of Roman History. [Book i
ber of gentes and families^ Nor can we assent to the view which would represent the curia as con- taining only the patrician gentes. The primitive Roman people of the thirty curia included ail the freemen of the community, simple as well as gentle.' At their head was the rexy the ruler of the united people. The Roman " king ** was not simply either the hereditary and patriarchal chief of a clan, the priestly head of a com- munity bound together by common sacra^ or the elected magistrate of a state, but a mixture of all three.* In. later times, when no "patrician magis- trates'* were forthcoming to hold the elections for their successors, a procedure was adopted which was believed to represent the manner in which the early kings had been appointed.* In this procedure the ancient privileges of the old gentes and their elders, the importance of maintaining unbroken the contin- uity of the sacra, on the transmission and observance of which the welfare of the community depended, and, thirdly, the rights of the free men, were all
' Nlebuhr's supposition of ten gentes in each curia has nothing in its favour but the confused statement of Dionysius as to the purely military dixadEi (Dionysius, ii., 7 ; cf. Mttller, Philologus, xxxiv., 96).
' The view taken here on the vexed question of the purely patrician character of the curue is that of Mommsen {Rom, Forschungen^ vol. i.).
^ Rubino, Genz, and Lange insist on the hereditary patriarchal character of the kingship, Ihne on its priestly side, Schwegler on its elective. Mommsen comes nearest to the view taken in the text, but fails to bring out the nature of the compromise on which the kingship rested.
* Cic, De Leg,^ iii., 3 ; Livy, iv., 7.
Ch. 2] City and Commonwealth. 25
recognised. On the death of a king the auspicia, and with them the supreme authority, reverted to the council of elders, the patres, as representing the gentes. By the patres an interrex was appointed, who in turn nominated a second ; by him, or even by a third or fourth interrex a new king was selected in consultation with ^^ patres. The king-designate was then proposed to the freemen assembled by their curice for their acceptance, and finally their formal acceptance was ratified by the patres^ as a security that the sacra of which they were the guardians have been respected.' Thus the king was in the first in- stance selected by the representatives of the old genteSj and they ratified his appointment. In form he was nominated directly by a predecessor from whose hands he received the auspicia. But it was necessary also that the choice of the patres and the nomination of the interrex should be confirmed by a solemn vote of the community.
It is useless to attempt a precise definition of the prerogatives of the king when once installed in office. Tradition ascribes to him a position and
* " Patres auctores facii^*^ Livy, i., 22 ; ^^ patres filer e auctores" Id,, i., 32. In 336 B.C. (Livy, viii., 12) the Publilian law directed that this sanction should be given beforehand, **ante initum suf- fragium^^ and- thus reduced it to a meaningless form (Livy, i., 11). It is wrongly identified by Schwegler with the ** lex curiaia de im- period* which in Cicero's day followed and did not precede election. According to Cicero {De Rep,, ii., 13, 21), the proceedings included, in addition to the *' creation " by the comitia curiaia and the sanction of the patres, the introduction by the king himself of a lex curiata conferring the imperium and auspicia ; but this theory, though gener- ally accepted, is probably an inference from the practice of a later time, when th« creaiio had been transferred to the comitia centuriata.
26 Outlines of Raman History. [Book I
powers closely resembling those of the heroic kings of Greece. He rules for life, and he is the sole ruler, unfettered by written statutes. He is the supreme judge, settling all disputes, and punishing wrong- doers even with death. All other officials are ap- pointed by him. He imposes taxes, distributes lands, and erects buildings. Senate and assembly meet only when he convenes them, and meet for little else than to receive communications from him. In war he is absolute leader,^ and, finally, he is also the religious head of the community. It is his busi- ness to consult the gods on its behalf, to offer the solemn sacrifices, and to announce the days of the public festivals. Hard by his house was the com- mon hearth of the state, where the vestal virgins cherished the sacred fire.
By the side of the king stood the senate, or coun- cil of elders. In the descriptions left us of the primitive senate, as in those of the reXy we can discover traces of a transition from an earlier state of things, when Rome was only an as- semblage of clans or village communities, allied in- deed, but each still ruled by its own chiefs and head- men, to one in which these groups have been fused into a single state under a common ruler. On the one hand the senate appears as a council of chiefs, with inalienable prerogatives of its own, and claiming to be the ultimate depository of the supreme authority and of the sacra connected with it. The senators are the patres; they are taken from the leading gentes ; they hold their seats for life; to them
' For the references, see Schwegler, i., 646 sq.
Ch. 2] City and Commonwealth. ly
the auspicia revert on the death of a king; they appoint the interrex from their own body, are con- sulted in the choice of the new king,' and their sanction is necessary to ratify the vote of the assem- bled freemen. On the other hand, they are no longer supreme. They cannot appoint a king but with the consent of the community, and their rela- tion to the king when appointed is one of subordina- tion. Vacancies in their ranks are filled up by him, and they can but give him advice and counsel when he chooses to consult them.
The popular assembly of united Rome in its earli- est days was that in which the freemen met and voted by their curia (comitia curiata*). Theat- The assembly met in the comitium at the ■c«biy. north-east end of the forum," at the summons and under the presidency of the king, or, failing him, of the interrex. By the rex or interrex the question was put, and the voting took place curi- atim. The vote of each curia was decided by the majority of individual votes, and a majority of the votes of the curice determined the final result. But the occasions on which the assembly could exercise its power must have been few. Their right to elect magistrates was apparently limited to the acceptance or rejection of the king proposed by the interrex.
* If the analogy of the rex sacrorum is to be trusted, the king could only be chosen from the ranks of the pairicii, Cic, Fro Domo^ 14 ; Gains, i., 122.
' Cic, De Rep,^ ii., 13 ; Dionysius, ii., 14, etc.
• Varro, Z. Z., v., 155. For the position of the eomitium^ see Smith, Diet. Geog,, s. v. ** Roma," and Jordan, Topog. d. StadtRom; Petersen, Comitium (Rome, 1904).
28 Outlines of Roman History. csook I
Of the passing of laws, in the latter sense of the term, there is no trace in the kingly period. Diony- sius's statement * that they voted on questions of war and peace is improbable in itself and unsup- ported by tradition. They are indeed represented, in one instance, as deciding a capital case, but it is by the express permission of the king and not of right.' Assemblies of the people were also, and probably more frequently, convened for other pur- poses. Not only did they meet to hear from the king the announcement of the high days and holi- days for each month, and to witness such solemn religious rites as the inauguration of a priest, but their presence (and sometimes their vote) was fur- ther required to authorise and attest certain acts, which in a later age assumed a more private char- acter. The disposal of property by will * and the solemn renunciation of family or gentile sacra^ could only take place in the presence of the assem- bled freemen, while for adoption * {adrogatio) not only their presence but their formal consent was necessary.
Such in outline was the political structure of the Roman state at the earliest period known to us. It is clear that it belongs to a comparatively advanced stage in the development of society, and that a long previous history lies behind it. Traces of an older
' Dionysius, /. c,
' Livy, i., 26 ; Dionysius, iii., 22.
' Gaius, ii., loi.
* Gell., XV., 27.
* Cell., v., 19, ** Comiiia prcBbentuTy qua curiata appellantur,** Cf* , Cic, Pro DomOy 13, 14. 1
Ch. 2] City and Commonwealth. 29
and more primitive order of things still linger in the three ancient shadowy tribes, in the curia and genteSy in many of the features noticeable in the senate; but they are traces of an order that has passed away. The supremacy of the state is estab- lished over the groups out of whose fusion it has grown, and such of these groups as still retain a distinct existence are merely private corporations. Private differences are settled and wrong-doers pun- ished by the state tribunals, and even within the close limits of the family the authority of the head is limited by the claims of the state upon the ser- vices of the sons and dependants.
CHAPTER III.
ROME UNDER THE KINGS.
A HISTORY of this early Roman state is out of the question. The names, dates, and achievements of the first four kings are all too 'unsubstantial to form the basis of a sober narrative * ; a few points only can be considered as fairly well established. If we except the long eventless reign ascribed to King Numa, tradition represents the first kings as inces- santly at war with their immediate neighbours. The details of these wars are no doubt mythical ; but the implied condition of continual struggle, and the nar- row range within which the struggle is confined, may be accepted as true. The picture drawn is that of a small community with a few square miles of territory, living in constant feud with its nearest neighbours, within a radius of some twelve miles round Rome. Nor, in spite of the repeated victories with which tradition credits Romulus, Ancus, and TuUus, does
' By far the most complete criticism of the traditional accounts of the first four kings will be found in Schwegler*s Rom, Geschickte^ vol. i. ; compare also Ihne's Early Rome^ and Sir G. C. Lewis's Credibility pf Early Roman History; and Pais, Storia di Roma^ vol. £•
30
Rome under the Kings. 3 1
there seem to have been any real extension of Roman territory except towards the sea. Fidenae remains Etruscan ; the Sabines continue masters up to the Anio ; Praeneste, Gabii, and Tusculum are still un- touched ; and on this side it is doubtful if Roman territory extended to a greater distance than the sixth milestone from Rome.* But along the course of the Tiber below the city there was a decided ad- vance. The fortification of the Janiculum, the build- ing of M\\^p(ms subliciuSy the foundation of Ostia, and the acquisition of the salt marshes near the sea may all be safely ascribed to this early period. Closely connected, too, with the control of the Tiber from Rome to the sea was the subjugation of the petty Latin communities lying south of the river ; and the tradition of the conquest and destruction of Poli- torium, Tellenae, and Ficana is confirmed by the absence in historical times of any Latin communities in this district.
With the reign of the fifth king, Tarquinius Priscus, a marked change takes place. The traditional ac- counts of the last three kings not only The Tar- wear a more historical air than those of *>"*°*- the first four, but they describe something like a transformation of the Roman city and state. Under the rule of these latter kings the separate settlements were for the first time enclosed with a rampart of co-
' Tht fossa Cluilia^ five miles from Rome (Livy, ii., 39), is re- garded by Schwegler (i., 585) and by Mommsen (i., 45) as marking the Roman frontier towards Latium. Cf, Ovid, Fasi.^ ii., 681; Strabo, 230, **//£ra$i) yovv tov nifiitrov xai rov ektov At^oti . . . rdttoi ^rj6T(n . . . optor rifi roret 'Pooucdoov yrfi^
32 Outlines of Roman History. [Book i
lossal size and extent.* The low grounds were drained, and a forum and circus elaborately laid out ; on the Capitoline Mount a temple was erected, the massive foundations of which were an object of wonder even to Pliny.' To the same period are assigned the re- division of the city area into four districts and the introduction of a new military system. The kings increase in power and surround themselves with new splendour. Abroad, Rome suddenly appears as a powerful state ruling far and wide over southern Etruria and Latium. These startling changes are, moreover, ascribed to kings of alien descent, who one and all ascend the throne in the teeth of estab- lished constitutional forms. Finally, with the expul- sion of the last of them — ^the younger Tarquin — comes a sudden shrinkage of power. At the com- mencement of the republic Rome is once more a comparatively small state, with hostile and inde* pendent neighbours at her very doors.
It is difficult to avoid the conviction that the true explanation of this phenomenon is to be found in the The Etrus- supposition that Rome during this period cans. passed under the rule of powerful Etruscan
lords.' Who the people were whom the Romans knew as Etruscans and the Greeks as Tyrrhenians is a question which, after centuries of discussion, still remains unanswered ; nor in all probability will the answer be found until the lost key to their language
' Livy, i., 36.
• Livy, i., 38, 55 ; Plin., N. II,, xxxvi., 15.
' This is the view of O. Mttller, and more recently of Deecke, Gardthausen, and Zdller ; it is rejected by Schwegler. Mommsen accepts the Etruscan origin of the Tarquins, but denies that it proves an Etruscan rule in Rome.
Ch. 3] Rome under the Kings. 33
has been discovered. That they were regarded by the Italic tribes, by Umbrians, Sabellians, and Latins, as intruders is certain. Entering Italy, as they prob- ably did from the north or north-east, they seem to have first of all made themselves masters of the rich valley of the Po and of the Umbrians who dwelt there. Then crossing the Apennines, they overran Etruria proper as far south as the banks of the Tiber, here too reducing to subjection the Umbrian owners of the soiLjjn Etruria they made themselves dreaded, like the Northmen of a later time, by sea as well as by land. Their pirate galleys swept the Tyrrhenian Sea, while roving bands of Etruscan warriors estab- lished themselves at one place after another in the districts south of the Tiber, built their strongholds, and ruled as conquerors over the subject peoples. In the latter half of the seventh century B.C., at the period to which the erection of the Servian wall may be assigned, their power was at its height. It ex- tended far beyond Etruria proper. The Kelts had not yet seriously threatened their supremacy in the valley of the Po, — and they were still masters of the rich Campanian plain,— from which the Samnite high- landers were to oust them some two centuries later. It is, on the face of it, improbable that a power which had extended its sway from the Alps to the Tiber, and from the Liris to Surrentum, should have left untouched the intervening stretch of country between the Tiber and the Liris. Nor are we without evi- dence of Etruscan rule in Latium.* According to
^ Zmier, Latium u, Rom^ i66, 189 ; Gardthausen, Mastarna (Leip-
sic, 1882) ; Cuno's Verbrdiung d, Etr, Stammes (Graudenz, 1880) is
highly fanciful. 3
34 Outlines of Raman History. [Book \
Dionysius there was a time when the Latins were known to the Greeks as Tyrrhenians, and Rome as a Tyrrhenian city.* When iEneas landed in Italy the Latins were at feud with Turnus (Turrhenos? Diony- sius, i., 64) of Ardea, whose close ally was the ruth- less Mezentius, lord of Caere, to whom the Latins had been forced to pay a tribute of wine.' Cato declared the Volsci to have been once subject to Etruscan rule,' and Etruscan remains found at Velitrae,* as well as the second name of the Volscian Auxur, Tarracina (the city of Tarchon), tend to confirm his statement. Nearer still to Rome was Tusculum, with its significant name, and at Alba we hear of a prince Tapxirio^y* lawless and cruel like Mezentius, who consults the " oracle of Tethys in Tyrrhenia." Thus we find the Etruscan power encircling Rome on all sides, and in Rome itself a tradition of the rule of princes of Etruscan origin. The Tarquinii come from South Etruria ; their name can hardly be anything else than the Latin equivalent of the Etruscan Tarchon, and is therefore possibly a title (= " lord " or " prince **) rather than a proper name.*
* Dionysius, i., 29.
' Livy, i., 2 ; Dionysius, i., 64, 65 ; Plut., Q, R.y 18.
• Cato ap. Serv., y£»., xi., 567.
* Helbig, Ann, d, Insi,^ 1865.
*Plut., Rom,^ 2, itapavo/iooraroi xai topLOTaroi ; cf, Rutulian Tarquitius, Virg., jEn,^ x., 550.
• Mtiller-Deecke, i., 69, 70 ; ZOller, LoHum u, Rom, 168 ; c/, Strabo, p. 219 ; Serv, ad yEn,, x., 179, 198. The existence of an independent *'gens Tarquinia" of Roman extraction (Schwegler, t., 678) is unproven and unlikely. Nor can '* Tarquinius" mean "of Tarquinii"; this would require ** Tarquiniensis" as a cog- nomm.
Ch. 31 Rome under the Kings. 35
Even Servius Tullius was identified by Tuscan chroniclers with an Etruscan " Mastama." * There are two other features in the story of the last three kings of Rome which point the same way. The Etruscans are not represented in tradition as moving in great masses, and their advance is not the migra- tion of a whole people. We hear rather, as in the case of the Northmen, of roving bands of warriors led by powerful chiefs who carve out principalities for themselves with their own good swords, and rule as conquerors over alien and subject populations,* and it is a raid and a conquest of this kind, not an immigration, that the tradition suggests. Here, as elsewhere, the Etruscans were not the people, but the rulers. Nor is this all. That Etruria had, under the sway of Etruscan lords, forged ahead of the country south of the Tiber in wealth and civilisation is a fact which the evidence of remains has placed beyond doubt. It is therefore significant that the rule of the Tarquins in Rome is marked by an out- ward splendour which stands in strong contrast to the primitive simplicity of the native kings. The great cloaca^ the Servian wall, the Capitoline temple, were monuments which challenged comparison with those of the emperors themselves, and they can hardly have been built by any but builders from Etruria, under the magnificent patronage of Etrus-
* See spfeech of Claudius, Tab. Lugd,, App. to Nipperdey's edition of the Annals of Tacitus, ** Tusce Masiarna ei mmun erat,** For the painting in the Fran9ois tomb at Vulci, see Gardthausen, Mastama^ 22 sf,/ AnnaHdelL InstU.^ Rome, 1859.
' Cf, the traditions of Mezentius, of Codes Vibenna, Porsena, etc
36 Outlines of Roman History. [Book I
can lords. Nor do the traces of Greek influence upon Rome during this period * conflict with the theory of an Etruscan supremacy ; on the contrary, it is at least possible that it was thanks to the ex- tended rule and wide connections of her Etruscan rulers that Rome was first brought into direct con- tact with the Greeks, who had long traded with the Etruscan ports and influenced Etruscan culture.'
These Etruscan princes are represented, not only as having raised Rome for the time to a command- The Servian ^^S position in Latium, and lavished upon reforms. ^h^ ^ity itself the resources of Etruscan civilisation, but also the authors of important inter- nal changes. They are represented as favouring new men at the expense of the old patrician fam- ilies, and as reorganising the Roman army on a new footing, a policy natural enough in military princes of alien birth, and rendered possible by the addi- tions which conquest had made to the original community. From among the leading families of the conquered Latin states a hundred new members were admitted to the senate, and the gentes to which they belonged thenceforth ranked as patrician, and became known as gentes minores^ The changes in the army begun, it is said, by the elder Tarquin
' Schwegler, R, G,, i., 679 s^,
' Schwegler, i., 791, 792. He accepts as genuine, and as represent- ing the extent of Roman rule and connections under the Tarquins, the first treaty between Rome and Carthage mentioned by Polybius (iii., 22) ; see, for a discussion of the question, Vollmer, Rhnn, Mus,^ xxxii., 614 x^./ Mommsen, Rom, Chronologie^ 20; Dyer, Journ, oj Philol.^ ix., 238.
* Livy, !•> 35 > Dionysius, iii., 67 ; Cic. De Rep,, ii., 20b
Ch. 3] Rome under the Kings. 37
and completed by Servius Tullius were more impor- tant. The basis of the primitive military system had been the three tribes, each of which furnished 1,000 men to the legion and 100 to the cavalry.* Tarquinius Priscus, we are told, contemplated the creation of three fresh tribes and three additional centuries of horsemen with new names,' though in face of the opposition offered by the old families he contented himself with simply doubling the strength without altering the names of the old divisions.* But the change attributed to Servius Tullius went far beyond this. His famous distribution of all landholders {assidut) into tribes, classes, and cen- turies,* though subsequently adopted with modifi- ^ cations as the basis of the political system, was at first exclusively military in its nature and objects.* It amounted, in fact, to the formation of an enlarged army on a new footing. In this force, excepting in the case of the centuries of the horsemen, no regard was paid either to the old clan divisions or to the semi-religious, semi-political curia. In its ranks were included all landholders within the Roman territory,
' Varo, Z. Z., v., 89.
* Livy, i., 36 ; Dionysius, iii., 71.
' The six centuries of horsemen were thenceforward known as ** primi secundique Hamnes" (Fest., 344; cf, Schwegler, i., 685 sq.). It is possible that the reforms of Tarquinius Priscus were limited to the cavalry.
* Cic. De Hep,, ii., 22 ; Livy, i., 42 ; Dionysius, iv., 16.
* This is recognised by Mommsen, Genz, and Soltau, as against Niebuhr, Schwegler, and Ihne. Even in the later comitia centuri- ata the traces of the originally military character of the organisation are unmistakable.
38 Outlines of Roman History. [Book I
whether members or not of any of the old divisions, and the organisation of this new army of assidui was not less independent of the old system with its clannish and religious traditions and forms. The unit was the centuria or company of 100 men; the centuruB were grouped in ^' classes*/' and drawn up in the order of the phalanx/ The centuries in front were composed of the wealthier citizens, whose means enabled them to bear the cost of the complete equipments necessary for those who were to stand the brunt of the onset. These centuries formed the first class. Behind them stood the centuries of the second and third classes, less completely armed, but making up together with those of the first class the heavy-armed infantry.* In the rear were the cen- turies of the fourth and fifth classes, recruited from the poorer landholders, and serving only as light- armed troops. The entire available body of land- holders was divided into two equal portions, a reserve corps of seniores and a corps of juniores for active service. Each of these corps consisted of 85 centuries, or 8,500 men, i. e. of two legions of about 4,200 men each, the normal strength of a consular legion under the early republic." It is noticeable also that the heavy-armed centuries of
' The century ceased to represent companies of one hundred when the whole organisation ceased to be military and became exclusively political.
' The property qualification for service in the first class is given at 100,000 asses (Livy), for the second at 70,000, third at 50,000, fourth at 25,000, fifth at 11,000. It was probably originally a certain acreage in land, afterwards translated into terms of money ; cf, Mommsen, Rom. Tribusy 115.
' Polybius, vi., 20 ; Mommsen, Rom, Trib.^ 132 sq.
Ch. 31 Rome under the Kings. 39
the three first classes in each of these legions repre- sented a total of 3,000 men, a number which agrees exactly with the number of heavy-armed troops in the legions as described by Polybius. Attached to the legion, but not included in them, were the companies of sappers and trumpeters. Lastly, to the six centuries of horsemen, which still retained the old tribal names, twelve more were added as a distinct body, and recruited from the wealthiest class of citizens.* The four " tribes " also instituted by Servius were probably intended to serve as the basis for the levy of landholders for the new army.* As their names show, they corresponded with the natural local divisions of the city territory,* and included also the citizen population resident within it.*
The last of these Etruscan lords to rule in Rome was Tarquin the Proud. He is described p^„ ^^ ^j^^ as a splendid and despotic monarch. His »on*rchy. sway extended over Latium as far south as Circeii. Aristodemus, tyrant of Cumae, was his ally, and kinsmen of his own were princes at CoUatia, at Gabii, and at Tusculum. The Volscian highlanders were chastised, and Signia, with its massive walls, was built to hold them in check. In Rome itself
* Livy, i., 43. Dionysius (iv., i8) and Cic. {DeRep,^ ii., 22) ascribe the whole eighteen to Servius. But the six older centuries remained distinct as the sex suffragia of the comitia centuriaia (Cic, De Hep,^ ii., 22).
' Dionysius, iv., 14,6/$ rd^ xaraypaqidi toov drpariooTmv,
* Livy, i., 43. The four were Palatina, Surburana, Esquilina, and CoUina.
* E. Meyer, Hermes^ xxx., 12.
40 Outlines of Roman Hhtory. [Book!
the Capitoline temple and the great cloaca bore wit- ness to his power. But his rule pressed heavily upon the Romans, and at last, on the news of the foul wrong done by his son Sextus to a noble Roman matron, Lucretia, the indignant people rose in revolt. Tarquin, who was away besieging Ardea, was de- posed ; sentence of exile was passed upon him and upon all his race ; and the people swore that never again should a king rule in Rome, Freed from the tyrant, they chose for themselves two yearly magis- trates who should exercise the supreme authority, and thus the republic of Rome was founded. Three times the banished Tarquin strove desperately to recover the throne he had lost. First of all the men of Veii and Tarquinii marched to his aid, but were defeated in a pitched battle on the Roman frontier. A year later Lars Porsena, prince of Clusium, at the head of all the powers of Etruria, appeared before the gates of Rome, and closely besieged the city, until, moved by the valour of his foe, he granted honourable terms of peace and withdrew.' Once again, by Lake Regillus, the Romans fought vic- toriously for their liberty against Tarquin*s son-in- law Mamilius, prince of Tusculum, and chief of the Latin name. Mamilius was slain ; Tarquin in despair found a refuge at Cumae, and there soon afterwards died.
So, in brief, ran the story of the flight of the
' Livy, ii., 9-14. Pliny (N, H,^ xxxiv., 14) and Tacitus (Ann,, iii., 72) imply the existence of a tradition, possibly that of " Tuscan annalists/' according to which Porsena actually made himself master of Rome. The whole story is fully criticised by Schwegler (ii., i8l s^.) and Zdller {Latium «. Rom,, p. 180).
Ch. 3.] Rome under the Kings. 41
kings, as it was told by the chroniclers whom Livy followed. Its details are most of them fabulous ; it is crowded with inconsistencies and improbabili- ties ; there are no trustworthy dates ; the names even of the chief actors are probably fictitious, and the hand of the improver, Greek or Roman, is trace- able throughout.* The struggle was doubtless longer and sharper, and the new constitution more gradually shaped, than tradition would have us be- lieve. Possibly, too, this revolution, in Rome was but a part of a wide-spreading wave of change in Latium and central Italy, similar to that which in Greece swept away the old heroic monarchies. But there is no room for doubting the main facts of the emancipation of Rome from the rule of alien princes and the final abolition of the kingly office.
* See the exhaustive criticism inSchwegler (ii., pp. 66-203); Pais, i., chap. 3.
BOOK IT.
THE EARLY REPUBLIC— 509-275 B.C.
THE EARLY REPUBLIC— 509-27^ B.C.
CHAPTER L
THE FOUNDATION OF THE REPUBLIC AND THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE ORDERS.
Much of what has been said as to the nature and value of the traditional account of the be- '^*\® }^^^^'
tional ac-
ginnings of Rome and of the monarchy count,
applies to that we possess of the early republic. It is true that there is, at first sight, a considerable difference. In passing from the first to the second book of Livy we are conscious of passing from poetry to prose. The narrative assumes at once the shape of a chronicle, in which events are set down in order, year by year, as they occurred, and in which the actors are men, and not gods or demi-gods. But this appearance of historical sobriety and consecutive- ness is, at least for the period before the sack of Rome by the Gauls (390 B.C.), somewhat delusive. For, in the first place, the dearth of contemporary documents relating to this period must have been almost as complete as in the case of the preceding
45
46 Outlines of Roman History. [Book M
one. We may, indeed, grant that when Fabius Pictor, or Timaeus before him, wrote, there existed in Rome written records, such as the annals of the pontiffs, or the consular fastis purporting to carry back the chronicle of events and the list of magis- trates to the first year of the republic. But these records, at any rate in their earlier portions, were in no sense contemporary authorities. They were compiled, probably in the fourth century B.C., out of a mass of confused tradition, which the compilers have only imperfectly succeeded in reducing to order. Moreover, what we know of the nature of these official records makes it certain that a great part of what Livy or Dionysius tells us about the early republic cannot have been directly or in- directly derived from them. It is evident that not only were they often altogether silent where Livy and Dionysius have much to say, but their notices of events were of the most concise and meagre kind. If they furnished the bare outlines of the story, the wealth of episode, with which these outlines have been filled in, must have come from elsewhere, and mainly, no doubt, from popular tradition. The early struggle for existence which the infant republic waged with her neighbours had left behind it an ample legacy of border legends, tales of feuds and forays, of valiant chiefs and heroic deeds, which were told and retold among the people, and cherished with especial care by the great patrician houses. Nor was the great domestic conflict between patricians and plebeians without its own stories of patricians who loved the people or oppressed them, of resolute
Ch. 1] Foundation of the Republic. 47
tribunes, of secessions and reconciliations. To piece together these stray stories, and to fit them into the rude framework supplied by the official records, was a work of time, and by each writer who took part in the work something was added with the view of removing inconsistencies, supplying omissions, or simply of giving life and colour to the narrative. And this tendency to retouch and even to recast the old material became gradually stronger. The chroniclers of the first century B.C. possessed an amount of literary skill, which at once encouraged and made possible a freer handling of the traditions. L. Calpurnius Piso, tribune in 149 B.C. and consul in 133 B.C., prided himself on reducing the old legends to the level of common-sense, and importing into them valuable moral lessons for his own generation. By Caelius Antipater the methods of rhetoric were first applied to history, a disastrous precedent enough. He inserted speeches, enlivened his pages with chance tales, and aimed, as Cicero tells us, at not merely narrating facts, but also at beautifying them. His successors carried still farther the prac- tice of dressing up the rather bald chronicles of earlier writers with all the ornaments of rhetoric. The old traditions were altered almost beyond the possibility of recognition by.exaggerations, interpo- lations, and additions. Fresh incidents were inserted, new motives suggested, and speeches composed in order to infuse the required life and freshness into these dry bones of history. At the same time the political bias of the writers and the political ideas of their day were allowed, in some
48 Outlines of Roman History. [Book ii
cases perhaps half unconsciously, to affect their representations of past events. Annalists of the Gracchan e^e imported into the early struggles of patricians and plebeians the economic controversies of their own day, and painted the first tribunes in the colours of the two Gracchi or of Satuminus. In the next generation they dexterously forced the venerable records of the early republic to pronounce in favour of the ascendency of the senate, as estab- lished by Sulla. To political bias was added family pride, for the gratification of which the archives of the great houses, the funeral panegyrics, or the im^^nation of the writer himself supplied an ample store of doubtful material. Pedigrees were invented, imaginary consulships and fictitious triumphs in- serted, family traditions and family honours were formally incorporated with the history of the state. But, in spite of all this, a history of the first two centuries of the republic is possible in a sense in which a history of the regal period, and still more of the mythical period which preceded it, is impossible. To the Roman even of the time of the Punic wars the pre-republican period was a sort of ante- diluvian age, separated from all that followed by a gap which no tradition completely bridged over, and of which only fossjl relics, ancient monuments, or ancient institutions remained to excite the wonder and curiosity of later generations. But the early republic was connected with the republic of Cicero by a close and unbroken chain of continuity. Proofs of the reality of its conflicts with Volscians and iEquians, Etruscans and Gauls abroad, or between
Ch. 1] Foundation of the Republic. 49
I I >
patrician and plebeian at home were everywhere forthcoming, and the descendants of the chief actors, Valerii, Claudii, and Fabii, still sat in the senate- house or led the legions. Above all, in the consti- tution itself, in the ancient magistrates, in the senate or assembly, and in the venerable statutes which guarded the liberties of the citizen, or protected the privileges of the plebs^ evidence survived by which tradition could be tested, and a reconstruction of the old political fabric made possible. We do not know, — it is not likely that we shall ever know, — how the revolution which ended the rule of kings in Rome was effected, nor in what way or by whom the republican government was established. But the substitution of two annually elected chief magis- trates for the single king is a fact which is proved by all that followed. The incidents of the struggle between the orders, the personality of the actors, in many cases even the order of the events, are doubtful and uncertain ; but if we had nothing to go upon but the position and powers of the tribunes of the plebs in the days of the Gracchi or of Cicero, we should still have indubitable evidence that .such a struggle must have taken place. The same is the case with the long border wars between Rome and her neighbours. The details are historically worth- less, but the reality of the wars, the gradual advance of Rome, and her final supremacy are beyond the possibility of doubt.
The establishment of the republic took place, according to Roman chronology, in the 245th year from the foundation of the city, or 120 years before
50 Outlines of Roman History. [Book li
the sack of Rome by the Gauls, and it is said to have followed immediately on the expulsion of the Theestab- Tarquins. But the date (509 B.C.) thus of thi"* assigned to the " year one " of the republic repttbiic. ^j^g evidently conjectural, and it is very possible that the change from kings to consuls was only gradually made. However this may be, as to the form of government finally established, possibly towards the close of the sixth century B.C., there is no room for doubt. The supreme execu- tive authority, hitherto wielded by the single king for life, was now transferred to two annually appointed magistrates, who jointly exercised for the year the powers {imperiuni) of the king, and who were styled fratores (leaders = Greek (Trparrfyoi)^ or possibly pratores consules (=" joint leaders").' There was not, however, any diminution of the kingly prerogative, nor, strictly speaking, any division of authority between the two praetor- consuls. They inherited the "regal imperium"* in all its plenitude, and each consul could singly exer- cise all the prerogatives attached to it. It was in the dual character of the new magistracy, and in the fact that it was held only for a year, that, to use
' That the consuls were originally styled pratores is expressly asserted by Varro ^/. Nonium^ p. 23, and Livy, iii., 55;comp. Cicero, De Leg,^ iii., 3, 8. The same title was borne by the chief magis- trates in many of the Latin communities. When additional /r<;/<;r/j (praior urbanus-peregrinus) were appointed, the two origrinally pratores seem to have been distinguished as maximi. Hence Polybius' equivalent for ** consuls " is either arparrjyoi viraroi (= ^atores maximt)^ or simply (^rot
• Cic, Di Leg,^ iii., 3, 8, ** regio imperio duo sunt.**
Ch. 1] Foundation of the Republic. 5 1
Livy's phrase, the " beginnings of liberty " consisted.' It is characteristic of Rome that this change was made with the least possible disturbance of existing forms. Not only was the title of king retained, though merely as that of a priestly officer {rex sacro- rum\ but the consuls were always regarded as holding this imperiuniy and the right of taking the auspices by direct and continuous transmission from Romulus himself. Morever, though they were rather elected or " desig^nated " by a new assembly, by the army of landholders voting by their classes and centuries {camitia centuriata\ yet it was still by a vote of the thirty curug {lex curiata) that the supreme authority was formally conferred upon them, and this vote of the curia had still to be rati- fied by the council of patres {patrum auctaritas). In the position and powers of the senate no forma] change was made, although it is probable that before long plebeians were admitted to seats, and though its importance was gradually increased by the sub- stitution of an annual magistracy for the life-long rule of a single king. Even the ancient assembly of the people by their curia, though cast into the shade by the new centuriate assembly, to which the desig- nation of the consuls and the passing of laws now passed, continued to meet, and, as has been said, to confer the imperiutn under the old forms upon the magistrates designated by the centuries.
But the abolition of the monarchy brought with it a change of the utmost importance in the actual working of the constitution. Though the distinction
* Livy, iL, i.
52 Outlines of Roman History. [Book li
between patricians and plebeians was at least as old as the state itself, it was not until the establishment Patricians ^' ^^^ republic that it played any part beUna^the ^^ ^^^ history of Romc. No sooner, how- tween the*' ^vcr, was the overshadowing authority of orden. ^j^^ j^jj^g removed than a struggle com-
menced between the two orders, which lasted for more than two centuries. It was in no sense a struggle between a conquering and a conquered class, or between an exclusive citizen body and an unenfranchised mass outside its pale. Patricians and plebeians were equally citizens of Rome, sprung of the same race and speaking the same tongue. The former were the members of those ancient gentes which had possibly been once the leading families in the small communities which preceded the united state, and which claimed by hereditary right a privileged position in the .community. Only patricians could sit in the council of patreSy and hence, probably, the name given to their order.* To their representatives the supreme authority reverted on the death of the king ; the due transmission of the auspicia and the public worship of the state gods were their special care; and to them alone were known the traditional usages and forms which regu- lated the life of the people from day to day. To the //<f^j (the multitude, TcXrjdo^) belonged all who were not members of some patrician gens, whether independent freemen or attached as ** clients "* to one
> C/. adiUs, adilicius, etc. ; Cic, De Hep., ii., 12 ; Livy, i., 8. For a full discussion of other views, see Soltau, 179 sg, ; Christensen, Hermes^ ix., 196.
' For the clUntela, sec Mommsen (Forsch. , i.) and Schwegler, i. , 638.
Ch, 11 The Struggle between the Orders. 53
of the great houses. The plebeian was a citizen, "with civil rights and a vote in the assembly, but he was excluded by ancient custom from all share in the higher honours of the state, and intermarriage with a patrician was not recognised as a properly legal union.'
The revolution which expelled the Tarquins gave the patricians an overwhelming ascendency in .the state. Th^plebs had indeed gained something. Not only is it probable that the strictness of the old tie of clientship had somewhat relaxed, and that the number of the clientes was smaller, and their dependence on patrician patrons less complete, but the ranks of the plebs had, under the later kings, been swelled by the admission of conquered Latins, and the landholders among these had with others been enrolled in the Servian tribes, classes, and centuries. The estab- lishment of the republic invested this military levy of landholders with political rights as an assembly, for by their votes the consuls were chosen and laws passed, and it was the plebeian landholders who formed the main strength of the plebs in the struggle that followed. But these gains were greater in ap- pearance than in reality. The plebeian landholders commanded only a minority of votes in the comitia centuriata. In their choice of magistrates they were limited to the patrician candidates nominated by patrician presiding magistrates, and their choice required confirmation not only by the older and smaller assembly of the curicBy in which the patricians and their clients predominated, but also by the pa- trician patres. They could only, vote on laws pro-
* I.e, the children ranked as plebeian, even if the father was patrician.
54 Outlines of Roman History. iBook li
posed }gY patrician consuls, and here again the sub- sequent sanction of the patres was necessary. Thd whole procedure of the comitia was absolutely in the hands of their patrician presidents, and liable to every sort of interruption and suspension from pa- trician pontiffs and augurs.
But these political disabilities did not constitute the main grievance of ihe/fU6s in the early years of the republic. What they fought for was protection for their lives and liberties, and the object of attack was the despotic authority of the patrician magis- trates. The consuls wielded the full imperium of the kings. Against this " consular authority '* the plebeian, though a citizen, had no protection or appeal, and matters were only worse when for the two consuls was substituted in some emergency a single, all-powerful, irresponsible dictator. In Rome, as in Greece, the first efforts of the people were directed against the arbitrary powers of the exec- utive magistrate.
The history of this struggle between the orders opens with a concession said to have been made to the //f^f by one of theconsuls themselves, a con- de* Provoca^ cession possibly due to a desire to secure the allegiance of the plebeian landholders, who formed the backbone of the army. In the very first year of the republic, according to the received chro- nology, P. Valerius Poplicola carried in the comitia centuriata his famous law of appeal.* It enacted that no magistrate, saving only a dictator, should
* Livy, ii., 8, Le^ Valeria <U Pravocatione ; Cic, De Rep,^ ii., 31; </. Liry, iii, ao.
Ch, 11 The Struggle between the Orders. 55
execute a capital sentence upon any Roman citizen, unless the sentence had been confirmed on appeal by the assembly of the centuries. But, though the " right of appeal " granted by this law was justly regarded in later times as the greatest safeguard of a Roman's liberties, it was by no means at first so eflfective a protection as it afterwards became.* For not only was the operation of the law limited to the bounds of the city, so that the consul in the field or on the march was left as absolute as before, but no security was provided for its observance even within the city by consuls resolved to disregard it.
It was by their own efforts that the plebeians first obtained any real protection against magisterial des- potism. The traditional accounts of the first secession are confused and contra- JSmSoo dictory," but its causes and results are triSSnau. tolerably clear. The seceders were the plebeian legionaries recently returned from a victori- ous campaign. Indignant at the delay of the prom- ised reforms, they ignored the order given them to march afresh against Volsci and i£qui, and instead entrenched themselves on a hill across the Anio, some three miles from Rome, and known afterwards as the Mons Sacer. The frightened patricians came to terms, and a solemn agreement (lex sacratay was concluded between the orders, by which it was provided that henceforth the plebeians should have annual magistrates of their own {tribuni plebis\ mem- bers of their own order, who should be authorised to
* Greenidge, Z^gal Procedure of Cicem^s Timi, pp. 344 sg,
* Schwegler, ii. , 229 sf.
* Schwegler, ii., 251, note ; Liry, i.. 33.
56 Outlines of Roman History. IBook n
protect them against the consuls,' and a curse was in- voked upon the man who should injure or impede the tribune in the performance of his duties.* The number of tribunes was at first two, then five, and before 449 B.C. it had been raised to ten. The fact that the institution of the tribunate of ^^pUbs was the one result of the first secession, is strong evidence that the object of the seceders was not economic or agrarian reform, but protection against the consuls. The tribunate gave them this protection in a form which has no parallel in history. The tribune was not, and, strictly speaking, never became, a magistrate of the Roman people. His one proper prerogative was that of granting protection to the oppressed plebeian against a patrician officer. This prerogative (^jus auxilit) was secured to the tribunes, not by the ordinary constitution, but by a special compact between the orders, and was pro- tected by the ancient oath (vetus jusjurandufn)^ which invoked a curse upon the violator of a tribune. This exceptional and anomalous right the tribunes could only exercise in person, within the limits of the pomosrium^ and against individual acts of magisterial oppression.* It was only gradually that it expanded into the later wide power of interference with the whole machinery of government, and was supple- mented by the legislative and judicial powers which rendered the tribunate of the last century B.C. so
' Cic, De Rep,^ ii., 34, ** contra consular e imperium creaH,**
« Livy, iii., 55.
» Festus,.3i8 ; Appian. B, C, i., 138.
* Gell., xiii., 12, " ui injuria qua coram JUret arcereturj*
Ch. 1] The Struggle between the Orders. 57
f ormidable^ and the tribunicta potestas so essential an element in the authority of the emperors.
But from the first, the tribunes were for th^plebs not only protectors but leaders, under whom they oi^an- ised themselves in opposition to the patri-
, t M f * LcxPubliUa.
cians. It was the tribunes who convened as- semblies of th^plebs {concilia plebis\ and carried res- olutions on questions of interest to the order. This incipient plebeian organisation was materially ad- vanced by the Publilian law of 471 B.C., ' which appears to have formally recognised as lawful the plebeian concilia^ and established also the tribune's right cum pUbe agere^ i. e. to propose and carry resolutions in them. These assemblies were trib- uta, or, in other words, the voting in them took place not by curies or centuries, but by tribes. In them, lastly, after the Publilian law, if not before, the trib- unes were annually elected." Thus the foundations were laid of that plebeian organisation, with its ple- beian magistrates, assembly {concilium plebis\ and resolutions {plebiscita\ which was in after days to become the strongest force in the state.
For the time, however, the plebs used the right granted them of free meeting and discus- Agrarian sion,andof freely chbosingtheir own leaders »g»tation. for purposes of immediate importance to themselves.
Tradition is possibly right in dating from this period the commencement of the long-continued
> Livy, ii., 56, 60 ; Dionysius, ix., 41 ; Schwegler, if., 541 ; Soltau,
493. * For theories as to the original mode of appointing tribunes, see
Mommsen, Forsch,^ i., 185.
58 Outlines of Roman History. [BookN
quarrel as to the disposal of the " common lands " [agri publici) of the state. The extent of these was rapidly increasing as Roman dominion extended, but the new lands had been reserved for the enjoy- ment of patricians alone. Against this monopoly the plebs protested, and demanded that a fair share of these lands should be assigned in small holdings to the plebeians, who had helped to win them.
But this agrarian agitation, though destined sub-
The sequently to play an important part in the
decemvirate. histofy, was for the time far less fruitful
in results than the attack which was now renewed
against the consular authority.
The proposal of C. Terentilius Arsa (460 B.C.) to appoint a plebeian commission to draw up laws restricting the powers of the con- suls ' was resolutely opposed by the patricians, but after ten years of bitter party strife a compromise was effected. A commission of ten patricians was appointed, who should frame and publish a code of law binding equally on both the orders. These de- cemviri were to be the sole and supreme magistrates for the year, and the law of appeal was suspended in their favour.* The code which they promulgated, the famous XII. Tables, owed little of its importance to any novelties or improvements contained in its pro. visions. For the most part it seems merely to have reaffirmed existing usages and laws. But it substi- tuted a public, written code, binding on all citizens of Rome, for an unwritten usage, the knowledge of
' Livy, iii, 9. • Livy, ill., 3a,
Ch. n The druggie between the Orders. 59
which was confined to a few patricians, and which had been administered by this minority in their own interests. With the publication of the code the proper work of the decemvirs was finished ; never- theless for the next year a fresh decemvirate was elected, and it is conceivable that the intention was permanently to substitute government by an irre- sponsible patrician " council of ten " for the old con- stitution. However this may have been, the tyranny of the decemvirs themselves was fatal to the con- tinuance of their power. We are told of a second secession of the plebSy this time to the Janiculum, and of negotiations with the senate, the result of which was the enforced abdication of the decemvirs. The plebs joyfully chose for themselves tribunes, and in the contitia centuriata two consuls were created. But this restoration of the old rigime was accompanied by legislation which made it an important crisis in the history of the Horatian struggle beween the orders. With the fall of the decemvirate this struggle enters upon a new phase. The tribunes appear as at once more powerful and more strictly constitutional magis- trates ; the plebeian concilia take their place by the side of the older assemblies ; and, finally, this im- proved machinery is used not simply in self-defence against patrician oppression, but to obtain complete political equality. This change was no doubt due in part to circumstances outside legislation, above all to the expansion of the Roman state, which swelled the numbers and added to the social import- ance of the plebs as con^ pared with the dwindling
6o Outlines of Raman History. LBook ii
forces of the close corporation of patrician gentes. But the legislation ascribed to the consuls of 449 B.C. involved more than a restoration of the old form of government. One of their laws was plainly in- tended to prevent the recurrence of an irresponsible tyranny, such as that of the decemvirs. It reaf- firmed the right of appeal granted by the Valerian law.* But it is to the others that the chief interest attaches. The first of them enacted that, whereas it had been ^ subject of dispute whether a resolution carried by Xh^plebs in their own assembly could bind patricians, for the future — " what the plebs enacted by their tribes should bind the people."" That these words of Livy do not accurately state the pur- port of the law is generally agreed. It is utterly improbable that in 449 B.C. plebiscita should have been given, at once and without conditions, the force of law ; but what the conditions imposed were it is impossible to say, though it is probable that among them was the requirement that the plebiscite should be ratified by the authority of the patres. In any case, however, the measure provided that, under cer- tain circumstances, the hitherto informal resolutions of the informal concilium of \!ci^ plebs might pass into law% It thus paved the way for the establishment of a plebeian machinery of legislation, and for the recog- nition of the plebeian magistrates and plebeian assem- blies as part of the constitution of the state. In the same spirit, by another Valerio-Horatian statute, the
^ Livy, iii., 55, ** ne quis ullum magisiratum sine ^roifocatunu crearei,**
* Livy, ib,f ^* quod tributim ^Ubs jussisset fopulufti^ tenrret"
Ch. 1] The Struggle between the Orders. 6l
— '
inviolability of the tribunes, which had hitherto been secured only by the oath of the plebs to maintain it, was now guaranteed by law,* and the tribunes thus placed in this respect on a level with the magistrates of the state. Finally, by a plebiscite, the first passed under the new conditions, the permanency of the tribunate was secured.* The plebeian organisation was no longer merely tolerated, it was recognized as an integral part of the constitution. Its efficiency was amply proved by the events that followed. Only a few years after the Valerio-Horatian legis-LcxCanuicia. lation came the Lex Canuleia, itself a pie- 309A.U.C. biscite (445 B.C.), by which mixed marriages between patricians and plebeians were declared lawful, and the social exclusiveness of the patriciate broken down. In the same year with this measure, and, like it, in the interests primarily of the wealthier Legret
plebeians, a vigorous attack commenced sexule!
on the patrician monopoly of the consu- 387A.U.C. late, and round this stronghold of patrician ascend- ency the conflict raged until the passing of the Licinian laws in 367 B.C. The original proposal of Canuleius in 445 B.C., that the people should be allowed to elect a plebeian consul, was evaded by a compromise. The senate resolved that for the next year, in the stead of consuls, six military tribunes with consular powers should be elected, and that the new office should be open to patricians and ple-
'/<>.," reUgione inviolatos lege etiam fecerunt»^ * Ib.f " quij^lebem sine tHbunU rdiquUsH . , , tergo ae cafiU punireiur,**
62 Outlines of Raman History. [Book II
beians alike. The consulship was thus for the time
saved from pollution, as the patricians phrased it, but
the grrowing strength of the plebs is shown by the
fact that in fifty years out of the seventy-
3x0-88 A.U.C.
eight, between 444 and 366 B.C., they succeeded in obtaining the election of consular tribunes rather than of consuls. A good omen for their ultimate success was a victory they won in con- nection with the inferior office of the quaestorship. Down to the time of the decemvirate the quaestors had been nominated by the consuls, but in 447 B.C. their appointment was trans- ferred to the plebeian comitia tributay and in 421 B.C. the first plebeian was elected to the office.* Despite, however, these discouragements, the patricians fought on. Each year they strove to secure the creation of consuls rather than consular tribunes, and failing this strained every nerve to secure for their own order at least a majority among the latter. Even the institution of the censorship (435 B.C.), though rendered desirable by the increasing importance and com- plexity of the census, was, it is probable, due in part to their desire to discount beforehand the threatened loss of the consulship by diminishing its powers.' Other causes, too, helped to protract the struggle. Between the wealthier plebeians, who were ambitious of high office, and the poorer, whose minds were set
^ On the question of the identity of these comiiia tributa with the concilium pubis ^ see Diet, Antiq,^ s. v. ** Comitia** ' Livy, iv., 43; Mommsen, Staatsrecht^ ii., 497, ' Mommsen, >'^,, 304.
CN. 1] The Struggle between the Orders. 63
rather on allotments of land, there was a division of interest of which the patricians were not slow to take advantage, and to this circumstance must be added the pressure of war. The death struggle with Veii and the sack of Rome by the Gauls absorbed for the time all the energies of the community.
vn A U C
In 377 B.C., however, two of the tribunes, C. Licinius Stolo and L. Sextius, came forward with proposals which united all sections of the plebs in their support. Their proposals were as follows * : (i) that consuls and not consular tribunes be elected;
(2) that one consul at least should be a plebeian ;
(3) that the priestly college, which had the charge of the Sibylline books, should consist of ten members instead of two, and that of these half should be plebeians ; (4) that no single citizen should hold in occupation more than 500 acres of the common lands, or pasture upon them more than 100 head of cattle and 500 sheep'; (5) that all landowners should em- ploy a certain amount of free as well as slave labour on their estates ; (6) that interest already paid on debts should be deducted from the principal, and the remainder paid off in three years. The last three proposals were obviously intended to meet the de- mands of the poorer plebeians, and to secure their support for the first half of the scheme.
Ten years of bitter conflict followed, but at last, in 367 B.C. the Licinian rogations became law, and one of their authors, L. Sextius, was created the first plebeian consul. For the moment it was some
' Livy, vi., 35, 42 ; Appian, B, C, i., 8.
* 0:i the real date of this provision, see below, p. 209,
64 Outlines of Roman History. iBook 11
consolation to the patricians that they not only suc- ceeded in detaching from the consulship the admin- istration of civil law, which was entrusted to a separate officer, prcetor urbanus^ to be elected by the comitia of the centuries, with an understanding apparently that he should be a patrician, but also obtained the institution of two additional cediles {cediles curules)y who were in like manner to be mem- bers of their own order.' With the opening of the consulship, however, the issue of the long contest was virtually decided, and the next eighty years witnessed a rapid succession of plebeian victo-
openins of ^^^^' Now that a plebeian consul might thomagis- preside at the elections, the main diffi- tracies. culty in the way of the nomination and
election of plebeian candidates was removed. The propoised patrician monopoly of the new curule aedileship was almost instantly abandoned. 398 A.u.c. In 356 B.C. the first plebeian was made dic- tator, in 350 B.C. the censorship, and in 337 404-X7 A.u.c. 3 Q^ |.jjg praetorship were filled for the first
time by plebeians, and lastly, in 300 B.C., by the Lex Ogulnia, even the sacred colleges of the pontiffs and augurs, the old strongholds of patrician supremacy, were thrown open to th^plebs,* A no less important victory was that which formally secured the independence of the people in assembly. From the first the acts both of the people in the co^ mitia of centuries, and of the/Zf^j in ^€\r concilium had required ratification by the/^/r^j, and this check
* Livy, vi., 42.
• Livy, vii., 17, 22 ; viii., 15 ; ix., 6.
Ch* 13 The druggie between the Orders. 65
on the people's freedom of action was rightly regarded by the patricians as one of the main supports of their ascendency.* But in 339 B.C. a plebeian dictator, Q. Publilius Philo, carried a law enacting that in the case of measures proposed in the contitia centuriata^ the auctoritas patrum should be given beforehand.* A Lex Maenia, of uncertain date, extended the rule to elections in the same assembly. By another law of Publilius, followed some fifty years later by the famous Lex lcx Horten. Hortensia, the plebeian concilium was also •*»»467A.u.c. emancipated from the control of the/^/r^j.* Thence- forward the auctoritas patrum became a meaningless form of words hurried over, as a matter of course, before the voting began.* From 287 B.C., the year in which the Hortensian law was carried, not only the acts of thtpopulus in the contitia of the centuries, but those of the/Zf^j in the concilium plebiSf were valid and binding without reference to any other authority in the state. So far as the law could do it, the sovereignty of the people in election and legislation was secured. With the passing of the Lex Hortensia the long struggle between the orders came to an end. The ancient patrician gentes re-
• Cic. , De Rep. , ii. , 32 ; Pro Plancio^ iii. , 8. Whether by patra we are to understand the senate as a whole, or only the patrician sena- tors, is a disputed point. See Diet. Antiq.^ s,v. Senatus.
• Livy, viii., 12, **«/ . . . ante initum suffragium patres auctorei fierent,** cf, Livy, i., 17. For the Lex Maenia, see Cic, Brut,, 14; Soltau, 112.
• Livy, viii., 12 ; for the Lex Hortensia, see Plin., N. H.^ XTi., 10; Cell., XY., 27 ; Gains, i„ 3.
« Livy, L, 17.
66 Outlines of Raman History. \Book ii
mained, but the exclusive privileges of the patriciate as a ruling order were gone. For the great offices of state and for seats in the senate the plebeians were by law equally eligible with patricians. The assemblies, whether of people or plebs^ were indepen- dent of patrician control. In private life inter-mar- riages between patricians and plebeians were recog- nised as lawful, and entailed no disabilities on the children. Finally, great as continued to be the prestige attaching to patrician birth, and prominent as was the part played in the subsequent history by individual patricians and by some of the patrician houses, the plebs were now in numbers and even in wealth the preponderant section of the people. Whatever struggles might arise in the future, a second struggle between patricians and plebeians was an impossibility. Such being the case, it might have been expected that the separate organisation, to which the victory of the pUbs was largely due, would, now that the reason for its existence was gone, have disappeared. Had this happened, the history of the republic might have been dif- ferent. As it was, this plebeian machinery — the plebeian tribunes, assemblies, and resolutions — sur- vived untouched, and lived to play a decisive part in a new conflict, not between patricians and ple- beians, but between a governing class, itself mainly plebeian, and the mass of the people, and finally to place at the head of the state a patrician Caesar. Nor was the promise of a genuine democracy, offered by the opening of the magistracies and by the Hor- tensian law, fulfilled. For one hundred and fifty
Ch. 1] The Struggle between the Orders. 67
years afterwards the drift of events was in the opposite direction, and when the popular leaders of the first century B.C. endeavoured to make gov- ernment by the people a reality, it was already too late.
CHAPTER II.
THE CONQUEST OF ITALY.
The period occupied by the struggle between the orders is also that during which Rome slowly ad- vanced to supremacy in Italy, for it was only twelve years after the passing of the Lex Hortensia that the repulse of King Pyrrhus left her the mistress of the peninsula. The steps by which this supremacy was won have now to be traced. Under the rule of her Etruscan princes Rome had spread her sway over the lowlands of Latium, and her arms were a terror to the warlike highlanders of the Sabine and Volscian hills. But with their fall this miniature empire fell also, and at first it seemed as if the infant republic, torn by internal dissensions, must succumb to the foes who threatened it from so many sides at once. It was only after one hundred and fifty years of almost constant war that Rome succeeded in rolling back the tide of invasion and in establishing her supremacy over the neighbouring lowlands and over the hill country which bordered them to the east and south. The close of this first stage in her external growth is conveniently marked by the first collision
The Conqtcest of Italy. 69
with the Sabellian peoples beyond the
4XZ A.U.C.
Liris in 343 B.C.' In marked contrast with the slowness of her advance up to this point is the fact that only seventy-five years more were needed for the virtual subjuga- tion of all the rest of the peninsula (343-269 B.C.). The expulsion of the Tarquins from Rome, fol- lowed as it seems to have been by the emancipation from Etruscan supremacy of all the country between the Tiber and the Liris, entirely altered the aspect of affairs. North of the Tiber the powerful Etruscan city of Veii, after a vain attempt to restore the Tar- quins, relapsed into an attitude of sullen hostility towards Rome, which, down to the outbreak of the final struggle in 407 B.C., found vent in constant and harassing border forays. The Sabines recommenced their raids across the Anio ; from their hills to the south-east the iEqui pressed forward as far as the eastern spurs of the Alban range, and ravaged the plain country between that range and the Sabine mountains; the Volsci overran the coast-lands as far as Antium, Lg^g^^ ^j^i, established themselves at Velitrae, and andHcrn* even ravaged the fields within a few miles *^*°**
of Rome. But the good fortune of Rome did not leave her to face these foes single-handed, and it is a significant fact that the history of the Roman advance begins, not with a brilliant victory, but with a use- ful and timely alliance. According to
r • •.. • ^ 1 r ^^ A.U.C.
Livy, it was in 493 B.C., only a few years
after the defeat of the prince of Tusculum at Lake
* Livy, vii., 29.
70 Outlines of Roman History. [Book ii
Regillus, that a treaty was concluded between Rome and the Latin communities of the Campagna.' The alliance was in every respect natural, and may very probably have been only the renewal of an ancient friendship. The Latins were the near neighbours and kinsmen of the Romans, and both Romans and Latins were just freed from Etruscan rule to find themselves as lowlanders and dwellers in towns face to face with a common foe in the ruder hill tribes on their borders. The exact terms of the treaty can- not, any more than the precise circumstances under which it was concluded, be stated with certainty, but two points seem clear. There was at first a genuine equality in the relations between the allies ; Romans and Latins, though combining for defence and offence, did so without sacrificing their separate freedom of action, even in the matter of waging wars independently of each other.* But, secondly, Rome enjoyed from the first one inestimable advantage. The Latins lay between her and the most active of her foes, the iEqui and Volsci, and served to pro- tect her territories at the expense of their own. Be- hind this barrier Rome grew strong, and the close of the iEquian and Volscian wars left the Latins her dependents rather than her allies. Beyond the limits of the Campagna, Rome found a second ally, hardly less useful than the Latins, in the tribe of the Her- nici (" the men of the rocks **), in the valley of the Trerus, who had equal reason with the Romans and Latins to dread the Volsci and iEqui, while their
* Livy, ii., 33 ; Cic, Pro Baibo^ 23.
* Livy, viii., 2.
Ch. 21 The Conquest of Italy. 71
position midway between the two latter peoples made them valuable auxiliaries to the lowlanders of the Campagna.
The treaty with the Hemici is said to have been concluded in 486 B.C./ and the confederacy of the three peoples — Romans, Latins, and Hernicans — lasted down to the great Latin war in 340 B.C. Confused and untrustworthy as are the chroniclers of the early wars of Rome, it is clear that, notwithstanding the acqui- sition of these allies, Rome made but little way against her foes during the first fifty years of the ex- istence of the republic. In 474 B.C., it is true, an end was put for a time to the harassing border feud with Veii by a forty years' peace, an advantage probably due not so much to Roman valor as to the increasing dangers from other quarters which were threatening the Etrus- can states." But this partial success stands alone, and down, to 449 B.C. the raids of Sabines, iEqui and Volsci continue without intermission, and are occasionally carried up to the very walls of Rome.
Very different is the impression left by the annals of the next sixty years (449-390 B.C.). ^^ ^^^ During this period there is an unmistak- able development of Roman power on all sides. In southern Etruria, the capture of Veii (396 ^
' *^ ^^-^ Capture ot
B.C.) virtually gave Rome the mastery as ^ a u*c*
far as the Ciminian forest. Sutrium and
Nepete, "the gates of Etruria," became her allies,
' Livy, ii., 40.
• From the Kelts in the north especially.
72 Outlines of Roman History. [Book 11
and guarded her interests against any attack from the Etruscan communities to the north, while along the Tiber valley her suzerainty was acknowledged as far as Capena and Falerii. On the Anio frontier we hear of no disturbances from 449 B.C. until
308 A.U.C. ^
some ten years after the sack of Rome by the Gauls. In 446 B.C. the iEqui appear for the last time before the gates of Rome. After 418
B.C. they disappear from Mount Algi-
dus, and in the same year the communi- cations of Rome and Latium with the Hernici in the Trerus valley were secured by the capture and col- onisation of Labicum. Successive invasions, too,
broke the strength of the Volsci, and in
mCj a u c
393 ^'C. a Latin colony was founded as far south as Circeii. In part, no doubt, these Roman successes were due to the improved condition of affairs in Rome itself, consequent upon the great re- forms carried between 450 and 442 B.C. ; but It IS equally certam that now as often afterwards fortune befriended Rome by weakening, or by diverting the attention of, her opponents. In particular, her rapid advance in southern EtnlLcan' Etrurfa was facilitated by the heavy blows power. inflicted upon the Etruscans during the
fifth century B.C., by Kelts, Greeks, and Samnites. By the close of this century the Kelts had expelled them from the rich plains of what was afterwards known as Cisalpine Gaul, and were even threatening to advance across the Apennines into Etruria proper. The Sicilian Greeks, headed by the tyrants of Syra^ cuse, wrested from them their mastery of the seas ;
Ch« 2] The Conqtcest of Italy. 73
and finally, on the capture of Capua by the Samnites in 423 B.C., they lost their possessions in the fertile Campanian plain. These con- quests of the Samnites were part of a great south- ward movement of the highland Sabellian peoples, the immediate effects of which upon the fortunes of Rome were not confined to the weakening of the Etruscan power. It is probable that the cessation of the Sabine raids across the Anio was partly due to the new outlets which were opened southwards for the restless and populous hill tribes which had so long disturbed the peace of the Latin lowlands. We may conjecture, also, that the growing feebleness exhibited by Volsci and ^Equi was in some measure caused by the pressure upon their rear of the Sabel- lian clans, which at this time established themselves near the Fucine Lake and along the course of the Liris.
But in 390 B.C., only six years after the great vic- tory over her ancient rival Veii, the Ro-
, f .111 Sack of Rome
man advance was for a moment checked by the oauis, by a disaster which threatened to alter the course of history in Italy, and which left a lasting impress on the Roman mind. In 391 B.C. a Keltic horde left their newly won lands on the Adriatic, and crossing the Apennines into Etruria, laid siege to the Etruscan city of Clusium (Chiusi). Thence, provoked, it is said, by the conduct of the Roman ambassadors, who, forgetting their sacred character, had fought in the ranks of Clusium, and slain a Keltic chief, the barbarians marched upon Rome. On July 18, 390 B.C., only a few miles from Rome,
74 Outlines of Roman History. [Book il
was fought the disastrous battle of the Allia. The defeat of the Romans was complete, and Rome lay at the mercy of her foe. But in character- istic fashion, the Kelts halted three days to enjoy the fruits of victory, and time was thus given to put the Capitol at least in a state of defence. The arrival of the barbarians was followed by the sack of the city, but the Capitol remained impreg- nable. For seven months they besieged it, and then in as sudden a fashion as they had come, they dis- appeared. The Roman chroniclers explain the re- treat in their own way, by the fortunate appearance of Camillus with the troops which he had collected, at the very moment when famine had forced the garrison on the Capitol to accept terms. More prob- ably the news that their lands across the Apennines were threatened by the Veneti, coupled with the unaccustomed tedium of a long siege and the diffi- culty of obtaining supplies, inclined the Kelts to accept readily a heavy ransom as the price of their withdrawal. But, whatever the reason, it is certain that they retreated, and, though during the next fifty years marauding bands appeared at intervals in the neighbourhood of Rome, and even once pene- trated as far south as Campania (361-360 B.C.), the Kelts never obtained any footing in Italy outside the plains in the north which they had made their own.
Nor, in spite of the defeat of the Allia and the Annexation saclc of the city, was Rome weakened ex-
of southern ^
Etruria. cept for the moment by the Keltic attack. The storm passed away as rapidly as it had come on.
Ch« 21 The Conquest of Italy. 75
The city was hastily rebuilt, and Rome dismayed the enemies who hastened to take advantage of her mis- fortunes by her undiminished vigour. Her conquests in southern Etruria were successfully defended against repeated attacks from the Etruscans to the north. The creation in 387 B.C. of four new tribes (Stellatina, Sabatina, Tromentina, Arniensis) marked the final annexation of the territory of Veii and of the lands lying along the Tiber valley. A few years later Latin colonies were established at Sutrium and Nepete for the more effectual defence of the frontier, and finally, in 353 B.C., the subjugation of South Etruna was complet- ed by the submission of Caere (Cervetri) and its par- tial incorporation with the Roman state as a muni- cipium sine suffragia — the first, it is said, of its kind.* Next to the settlement of southern Etruria the most important of the successes gained by Rome between 300 and 343 B.C., were those won
o:^ ^Tu J ^ Successes
against her old foes the ^Equi and Volsci, jE*5f a°nd and her old allies the Latins and Herni-^ /®A*^'-
364-4XX A.U.C.
cans. The ^Equi, indeed, already weak- ened by their long feud with Rome, and hard pressed by the Sabellian tribes in their rear, were easily dealt with, and after the campaign of 389 B.C., we have no further mention of an iEquian war until 365A.U.C. the last iEquian rising in 304 B.C. The 450A.U.C. Volsci, who in 389 B.C. had advanced to Lanu- vium, were met and utterly defeated by M. Furius
* For the status of Caere, and the "Caerite franchise," see Mar- quardt, Staatswrw,, i., 2^sq. ; Madvig, H. Verf,, i., 39 ; Beloch, liaL Bund, 120.
y6 Outlines of Roman History. [fiook It
Camillus, the conqueror of Veil, and this victory was
followed up by the gradual subjugation to Rome of
all the lowland country lying between the hills and
the sea as far south as Tarracina. Latin colonies
3fi9,375A.u.c. wcrc established at Satricum (385 B.C.), S6.39«A.u.c. ^^ g^^j^ ^^^^ g^^^ ^j ^^ Antium and
Tarracina some time before 348 B.C. In 358 B.C. two fresh Roman tribes (Pomptina and Publilia) were formed in the same district.*
Rome had now nothing more to fear from the
foes who, a century ago, had threatened her very
existence. The lowland country — of
tionofthe which shc was the natural centre, from
Latin leai^ue.
the Ciminian forest to Tarracina — was quiet, and within its limits Rome was by far the strongest power. But she had now to reckon with the old and faithful allies, to whose loyal aid her present position was largely due. The Latins and Hemicans had suffered severely in the ^Equian and Volscian wars ; it is probable that not a few of the smaller communities included in the league had either been destroyed or been absorbed by larger states, and the independence of all alike was threat- ened by the growing power of Rome. The sack of Rome by the Kelts gave them an opportunity of reasserting their independence, and we are conse- quently told that this disaster was immediately followed by the temporary dissolution of the con- federacy, and this again a few years later by a series of actual conflicts between Rome and her for- mer allies. Between 383 B.C. and 358 B.C.
*Livy, vii.,'X5.
Ch. 2] The Conquest of Italy. 7 7
we hear of wars with Tibur, Praeneste, Tusculum, Lanuvium, Circeii, and the Hemici. But in all Rome was successful. In 382 B.C. Tusculum was fully incorporated with the Roman State by the bestowal of the full franchise * ; in 358 B.C., according to both Livy and Polybius, the old alliance was formally renewed with Lat- ins and Hernicans. We cannot, however, be wrong in assuming that the position of the allies under the new league was far inferior to that accorded them by the treaty of Spurius Cassius." Henceforth they were the subjects rather than the equals of Rome, a posi- tion which it is evident that they accepted much against their will, and from which they were yet to make one last effort to escape.
We have now reached the close of the first stage in Rome's advance towards supremacy in Italy. By 343 B.C. she was already mistress both of the low country stretching from the Ciminian forest to Tarracina and Circeii and of the bordering highlands. Her own territory had largely increased. Across the Tiber the lands of Veii, Capena, and Caere were nearly all Roman, while in Latium she had carried her frontiers to Tusculum on the Alban range, and to the southernmost limits of the Pomp- tine district. And this territory was protected by a circle of dependent allies and colonies reaching northward to Sutrium and Nepete, and southward to Sora on the upper Liris, and to Circeii on the coast. Already, too, she was beginning to be rec-
' Livy, vi., 26.
* Mommsen, Ji, (7., i., 347, note ; Beloch, Ital. Bund^ cap ix.
78 Outlines of Roman History. csook I
og^ised as a power outside the limits of the Latin lowlands. The fame of the capture of Rome by the Kelts had reached Athens, and her subsequent vic- tories over marauding Keltic bands had given her prestige in South Italy as a bulwark
^f^^ A U C
against northern barbarians. In 354 B.C. . she had formed her first connections beyond the
Liris by a treaty with the Samnites, and
^f^ A. IT C
in 348 B.C. followed a far more important treaty with the great maritime state of Carthage.'
Rome had won her supremacy from the Ciminian forest to the Liris as the champion of the compara- tively civilised communities of the low- ftf/^dthe lands against the rude highland tribes thesamnite which threatened to overrun them, and """" so, when her legions first crossed the Liris,
it was in answer to an appeal from a lowland city against invaders from the hills. While she was en- gaged in clearing Latium of Volsci and ^Equi, the Sabellian tribes of the central Apennines had rapidly spread over the southern half of the peninsula. Foremost among these tribes were the Samnites, a portion of whom had captured the Etruscan city of Capua in 423 B.C., the Greek Cumae in '420 B.C., and had since then ruled as masters over the fertile Campanian territory. But in their new homes the conquerors soon lost all sense of relationship and sympathy with their highland brethren. They dwelt in cities, amassed
' Livy» vii., 27. For the whole qaestion of the early treaties with Carthage, see Polybius, iii., 22 ; Mommsen. R. G,, i., 4x3, and ^. Chrtmol,^ p. 320; VoUmer, Rhdm, Mus,^ xxxii., 6x4,
Ch. 21 The Conquest of Italy. 79
wealth, and inherited the civilisation of the Greeks and Etruscans whom they had dispossessed *; above all, they had before long to defend themselves in their turn against the attacks of their ruder kins- men from the hills, and it was for aid against these that the Samnites of Campania appealed to the rising state which had already made herself known as the bulwark of the lowlands north of the Liris, and which, with her Latin and Hemican allies, had scarcely less interest than the Campanian cities themselves in checking the raids of the highland Samnite tribes.
The Campanian appeal was listened to. Rome with her confederates entered into alliance with Capua and the neighbouring Campanian towns, and war was formally declared nite war! (343 B.C.) against the Samnites.* While ^, a.u.c. to the Latins and Hemicans was en- trusted apparently the defence of Latium and the Hemican valley against the northerly members of the Samnite confederacy, the Romans themselves undertook the task of driving the invaders out of Campania. After two campaigns the war was ended in 341 B.C. by a treaty, and the Samnites withdrew from the lowlands, leaving Rome the recognised suzerain of the Cam- panian cities which had sought her aid.'
* For the Samnites in Campania, see Mommsen, R, G,^ i., 353 ; Schwegler-Clason, R, G,^ \,,<^sg, ; Beloch, Campanun^ Berlin, 1879.
* Livy, vii., 32.
' For the di£Glciilties in the traditional accounts of this war, see Mommsen, R. ^., i., 355, note ; Schwegler-Clason, R. (?.,▼., 14 if.
8o Outlines of Roman History. [Book II
There is no doubt that the check thus given by Rome to the advance of the hitherto invincible Sa- bellian highlanders, not only made her the natural head and champion of the low countries, south as well as north of the Liris, but also considerably added to her prestige. Carthage sent her congratulations, and the city of Falerii voluntarily enrolled herself among the allies of Rome. Of even greater service, how- ever, was the fact that for fifteen years the Samnites remained quiet, for this inactivity, whatever its cause, enabled Rome triumphantly to surmount a danger which threatened for the moment to wreck her whole position. This danger was nothing less than a des- The Latin P^^ate effort on the part of nearly all her w**^- allies and dependants south of the Tiber
to throw off the yoke of her supremacy. The way was led by her ancient confederates the Latins, whose smouldering discontent broke into open flame directly the fear of a Samnite attack was removed. From the Latin Campagna and the Sabine hills the revolt spread westward and southward to Antium and Tarracina, and even to the towns of the Cam- panian plain, where the mass of the inhabitants at once repudiated the alliance formed with Rome by the ruling class. The struggle was sharp but short. In two pitched battles* the strength of the insur- rection was broken, and two more campaigns sufficed for the complete reduction of such of the insurgent communities as still held out. The revolt crushed, Rome set herself deliberately to the task of re-
' At the foot of Mount Vesuvius, Livy, viii., 9 ; at Trifanum, id,^ Yiii., II.
Ch. 2] The Conquest of Italy. 8 1
establishing, on a new and firmer basis, her su- premacy over the lowlands, and in doing so laid the foundations of that marvellous organisa- settlement tion which was destined to spread rapidly ®*'^***"°*J over Italy, and to withstand the attacks even of Hannibal. The old historic Latin league ceased to exist, though its memory was still preserved by the yearly Latin festival on the Alban Mount. Most, if not all, of the common land of the league became Roman territory * ; five, at least, of the old Latin cities were compelled to accept the Roman fran- chise,* and enter the pale of the Roman state. The rest, with the Latin colonies, were ranked as Latin allies of Rome, but on terms which secured their complete dependence upon the sovereign city. The policy of isolation, which became so cardinal a prin- ciple of Roman rule, was now first systematically applied. No rights of connubiutn or commerciuin were any longer to exist between these communities. Their federal councils were prohibited, and all fed- eral action independent of Rome forbidden.'
In future they were to have nothing in common but the common connection with Rome, a con- nection b^sed in each case on a separate treaty between the individual Latin community and Rome. The Latin allied state retained its internal indepen- dence, and the old rights of intermarriage and com- merce with Rome, but it lost all freedom of action in
' Livy, viii., ii.
• Livy, viii., 14 ; Lanuvium, Aricia, Nomentum, Pedum, Tusculum. '/^., loc, cit,^ ** ceteris Latinis populis connuHa commercicique et (OftciUa inter se ademerunt,"
82 Outlines of Roman History. [Book ii
external affairs. It could wage no wars, conclude no treaties, and was bound, so the phrase ran, to have and of always the same foes and friends as Rome
Campania, hcrself. In Campania and the coast-lands connecting Campania with Rome, a policy of annex- ation was considered safer than that of alliance. Of the two frontier posts of the Volsci, Antium and Velitrae, the former was constituted a Roman col- ony, its long galleys burnt, and their prows set up in the Forum at Rome, while the walls of Velitrae were razed to the ground, its leading men banished beyond the Tiber, and their lands given to Roman settlers. Farther south on the route to Campania, Fundi and Formiae were, after the precedent set in the case of Caere, declared Roman, and granted the civil rights of Roman citizenship ; while, lastly, in Campania itself the same status was given to Capua, Cumae, and the smaller communities dependent upon them.* During the ten years from 338 B.C. ' " to 328 B.C. the work of settlement was steadily continued. Tarracina, like Antium, was made a Roman colony. Privemum, the last Vol- scian town to offer resistance to Rome, was subdued
4a4A.u.c. ^^ 33^ ^•^•» P^'^ ^^ ^^^ territory allotted to Roman citizens, and the state itself forced to accept the Roman franchise. Lastly, to strengthen the lines of defence against the Sabellian tribes, two colonies, with the rights of Latin allies, were established at Fregellae and at Cales. The set-
' For the controversy as to the precise status of Capua and the equiUs Campani (Livy, viii., 14), see Beloch, ItaL Bund,, 122 sq, ; id,, Campanim, 317 ; Zumpt, Comment. Epigraph., p. 290.
Ck«2] The Conquest of Italy. 83
tlement of the lowlands was accomplished. From the Ciminian forest to the southern extremity of the Campanian plain, the lands lying between the sea and the hills were now, with few exceptions, Roman territory, while along the frontiers from Sutrium and Nepete in the north to Cales in the south stretched the protecting line of the Latin allied states and colonies. As a single powerful and compact state, with an outer circle of closely de- pendent allies, Rome now stood in sharp contrast with the disunited and degenerate cities of northern Etruria, the loosely organised tribes of the Apen- nines, and the decaying and disorderly Greek towns of the south.
The strength of this system was now to be tried by a struggle with the one Italian people who were still ready and able to contest with Rome the
- , . , ^- . Second Sam-
supremacy of the penmsula. The passive nite war.
AX9-97 A. U C
attitude of the Samnites between 342 B.C. and 327 B.C. was no doubt largely due to the dangers which had suddenly threatened them in South Italy. But the death of Alexander of Epirus in
jfl9 A U C
332* B.C. removed their only formidable opponent there, and left them free to turn their attention to the necessity of checking the steady advance of Rome. In 327 B.C., the year after the ommous foundation of a Roman colony at Fregellae, a pretext for renewing the struggle was offered them. The Cun^pean colony of Palaeopolis " had incurred the wrath of Rome by
> Livy, viii., 3, 17, 24. ' Livy, viii., 22.
84 Outlines of Roman History. [Book II
its raids into her territory in Campania. The Sam- nites sent a force to defend it, and Rome replied by a declaration of war. The two opponents were not at first sight unequally matched, and had the Sabel- lian tribes held firmly together the issue of the struggle might have been different. As it was, however, the Lucanians to the south actually sided with Rome from the first, while the northern clans, Marsi, Vestini, Paeligni, Frcntani, after a feeble and lukewarm resistance, subsided into a neutrality which was exchanged in 304 B.C. for a formal al- liance with Rome. An even greater ad- vantage to Rome from the outset was the enmity existing between Samnites and the Apulians, the latter of whom at once joined Rome, and thus gave her a position in the rear of her enemy, and in a country eminently well fitted for maintaining a large military force. These weaknesses on the Samnite side were amply illustrated by the events of the war. The first seven or eight years were marked by one serious disaster to the Roman arms, the defeat at the A.U.C. Caudine Forks (321 B.C.); but, when in A.u.c. jjg g^^ ^jjg Samnites asked for and
obtained a two years* truce, Rome had succeeded not only in inflicting several severe blows upon her enemies, but in isolating them from outside help. The Lucanians to the south were her allies. To the east, in the rear of Samnium, Apulia acknowledged the suzerainty of Rome, and Luceria, cap- tured m 320 B.C., had been established as a base of Roman operations. Finally, to the north the Romans had easily overcome the feeble resist*
Ch. 21 The Conquest of Italy. 85
ance of the Vestini and Frentani, and secured through their territories a safe passage for their legions to Apulia. On the renewal of hostilities in 316 B.C., the Samnites, bent on escaping* from the net which was being slowly drawn round them, made a series of desperate efforts to break through the lines of defence which pro- tected Latium and Campania. Sora and Fregellae on the upper Liris were captured by a sudden attack; the Ausones in the low country near the mouth of the same river were encouraged to revolt by the appearance of the Samnite army ; and in Campania another force, attracted by rumours of disturbance, all but defeated the Roman consuls under the very walls of Capua. But these efforts were unavailing. Sora and Fregellae were recovered as quickly as they had been lost, and the frontier there was strengthened by the establishment of a colony at Interamna. The Ausones were punished by the confiscation of their territory, and Roman supremacy further secured by the two colonies of Suessa and Pontia (312 B.C.). The con- struction of the famous Via Appia,* the work of the censor Appius Claudius Caecus, opened a safe and direct route to Campania, while the capture of Nola deprived the Samnites of their last import- ant stronghold in the Campanian lowlands. The failure of these attempts broke the courage even of the Samnites. Their hopes were indeed
, * « 1 ,444 A.U.C.
raised for a moment by the news that
Etruria had risen against Rome (310 B.C.), but their
*Livy, ix., 23.
86 Outlines of Raman History. [Book li
daring scheme of effecting a union with the Etrus- cans was frustrated by the energy of the Roman generals. Five years later (305 B.C.) the * * * Romans revenged a Samnite raid into Campania by an invasion of Samnium itself. Arpinum, on the other frontier, was taken, and at last, after a twenty-two years* struggle the second Samnite war was closed by a renewal of the ancient treaty with Rome (304 B.C.).'
The six years of peace which followed (304-298 B.C.)'were characteristically employed by Rome in still further strengthening her position. Already, two years before the peace, a rash revolt of the Hernici * had given Rome a pre- text for finally annexing the territory of her ancient allies. The tribal confederacy was broken up, and all the Hernican communities, wifh the exception of three which had not joined the revolt, were incorpo- rated with the Roman state as municipia, with the civil rights of the Roman franchise. Between the Hernican valley and the frontiers of the nearest Sabellian tribes lay what remained of the once for- midable people of the i£qui. In their case, too, a revolt (304 B.C.) was followed by the annexation of their territory, which was marked in this case by the formation there (301 B.C.) of two Roman tribes (Aniensis and Teren- tina).* Not content with thus carrying
' Livy, ix., 29. •Livy, ix., 45. • Livy, ix., 45.
Ch. 21 The Conquest of Italy. 87
the borders of their own territory up to the very frontiers of the Sabellian country, Rome succeeded in finally detaching from the Sabellian confederacy all the tribes lying ' between the north-east frontier of Latium and the Adriatic Sea. Henceforward the Marsi, Paeligni, Vestini, Marrucini, and Frentani were enrolled among the allies of Rome, and not only swelled her forces in the field, but interposed a useful barrier between her enemies to the north in Etruria and Umbria, and those to the south in Sam- nium, while they connected her directly with the friendly Apulians. Lastly, as a security for the fidelity at least of the nearest of these allies, colonies were planted in the Marsian territories at Carseoli and at Alba Fucentia. A significant indication of the widening range of Rome's influence in Italy, and of the new responsibilities rapidly pressing upon her, is the fact that when in 302 B.C. the Spar- tan Cleonymus landed in the territory of Sallentini, far away in the south-east, he was met and repulsed by a Roman force.*
Six years after the conclusion of the treaty which ended the second Samnite war (298 B.C.), news arrived that the Samnites were harassing Third
the Lucanians. Rome at once interfered ^*"l?ir! to protect her allies. Samnium was in- ^ • • • vaded in force, the country ravaged, and one strong- hold after another captured. Unable any longer to hold their own in a position where they were hedged round by enemies, the Samnite leaders turned as a
* Livy, X., 9. ' Livy, X., 2.
88 Outlines of Roman History. CBook il
last hope to the communities of northern Etruria, to the free tribes of Umbria, and to the once dreaded Kelts. With a splendid daring they formed the scheme of uniting all these peoples with themselves in a last desperate effort to break the power of Rome.
For some forty years after the final annexation of
southern Etruria (351 B.C.) matters had remained
unchanged in that quarter. Sutrium and
Romans in
N. ^tnina, Nepete still guarded the Roman frontier ;
the natural boundary of the Ciminian
forest was still intact; and up the valley of the
Tiber Rome had not advanced beyond Falerii, a few
^ , ^ miles short of the most southerly Umbrian
town Ocriculum. But in 3 1 1 B.C., on the
expiry, apparently, of the long truce with Rome,
concluded in 351 B.C., the northern Etrus- 403A.U.C. , ^^ It,,
cans, alarmed, no doubt, by the rapid
advances which Rome was making farther south, rose in arms and attacked Sutrium. The attack, however, recoiled disastrously upon the heads of the assailants. A Roman force promptly relieved Su- trium, and its leader, Q. Fabius RuUianus, without awaiting orders from home, boldly plunged into the wilds of the Ciminian forest, and, crossing them safely, swept with fire and sword over the rich lands to the north. Then, turning southward, he met and utterly defeated the forces which the Etruscans had hastily raised in the hopes of intercepting him at the Vadimonian Lake.' This decisive victory ended the
* Livy, ix., 39. Ihne (R, G.^ i., 351 sq^ throws some doubts on the traditional accounts of this war and of that in 296 B.C.
Ch.2] The Conquest of Italy. 89
war. The Etruscan cities, disunited among them- selves, and enervated by long years of peace, aban- doned the struggle for the time, paid a heavy indem- nity, and concluded a truce with Rome
445*46 A.U.C.
(309-308 B.C.). In the same year the promp- titude of Fabius easily averted a threatened attack by the Umbrians, but Rome proceeded, nevertheless, to fortify herself in her invariable fashion against future dangers on this side, by an alliance with Ocriculum, which was followed ten years later by a colony at Nequinum,' and an alliance with the Picentes, whose position in the rear of Umbria rendered them as valuable to Rome as the Apulians had proved farther south.
Fourteen years had passed since the battle on the Vadimonian Lake, when the Samnites appeared on the borders of Etruria, and called on the Battle of peoples of northern Italy to rise against *m5*b.c! the common enemy. Their appeal, backed ^^ • • • by the presence of their troops, was successful. The Etruscans found courage to face the Roman legions once more ; a few of the Umbrians joined them ; but the most valuable allies to the Samnites were the Kelts, who had for some time threatened a raid across the Apennines, and who now marched eagerly into Umbria and joined the coalition. The news that the Kelts were in motion produced a startling effect at Rome, and every nerve was strained to meet this new danger. While two armies were left in southern Etruria as reserves, the two consuls, Fabius and Decius, both tried soldiers, marched
* Namia, Livy, x., lo,
90 Outlines of Raman History. [Book fi
northwards up the valley of the Tiber and into Umbria, at the head of four Roman legions and a still larger force of Italian allies. At Sentinum, on the farther side of the Apennines, they encountered the united forces of the Kelts and Samnites, the Etruscans and Umbrians having, it is said, been with- drawn for the defence of their own homes. The bat- tle that followed was desperate, and the Romans lost one of their consuls, Decius, and more than 8,oqo men.* But the Roman victory was decisive. The Kelts were annihilated, and the fear of a second Keltic attack on Rome removed. All danger from the coalition was over. The Etruscan communities gladly purchased peace by the payment of indemni- ties. The rising in Umbria, never formidable, died away and the Samnites were left single-handed to bear the whole weight of the wrath of Rome. During four years more, however, they desperately defended their highland homes, and twice at least, in 293 B.C. and 292 B.C., they managed to place in the field a force sufficient to meet the Roman legions on equal terms. At last, in 290 B.C., the consul M. Curius Dentatus finally exhausted their power of resistance. Peace was concluded, and it is significant of the respect in- spired at Rome by their indomitable courage that they were allowed to become the allies of Rome, on equal terms, and without any sacrifice of inde- pendence.*
» Livy, X., 27.
* Livy, EpiL^ xi., ** pacem petenHbus Samnitibus fcedus quarto rena^ vafyim esi,"
Ch.f] The Conquest of Italy. 91
Between the close of the third Samnite war and the landing of Pyrrhus in 281 B.C., we find Rome engaged, as her wont was, in quietly extending and a u c consolidating her power. In southern Italy she strengthened her hold on Apulia by plant- ing on the borders of Apulia and Lucania the strong colony of Venusia.* In central Italy the an- nexation of the Sabine country (290 B.C.) carried her frontiers eastward to the borders of her Picentine allies on the Adriatic* Farther east, in the territory of the Picentes themselves, she estab- lished colonies on the Adriatic coast at Hadria and Castrum (285-283 B.C.).* By these meas- ures her control of central Italy from sea to sea was secured, and an effectual barrier inter- posed between her possible enemies in the north and those in the south. North of the Picentes lay the territories of the Keltic Senones, stretching inland to the north-east borders of Etruria, and these too now fell into her hands. Ten years after their defeat at Sentinum (285-284 B.C.) a Keltic force descended into Etruria, besieged Arretium, and defeated the relieving force despatched by Rome. In 283 B.C. the consul L: Cornelius Dola- bella was sent to avenge the insult. He completely routed the Senones. Their lands were annexed by Rome, and a colony established at Sena on the coast. This success, followed as it was by the decisive defeat of the neighbouring tribe of the
' Dion. Hal., Exc, 2335 ; Veil. Pat., i., 14.
• Livy, EpiL, xi.; Veil. Pat., i., 14.
* Livy, Epit,, xi.
92 OuUines of Roman History. [Book il
Boii, who had invaded Etruria and penetrated as far south as the Vadimonian Lake, awed the Kelts into quiet, and for more than forty years there was com- parative tranquillity in northern Italy.*
In the south, however, the claims of Rome to
supremacy were now to be disputed by a new and
formidable foe. At the close of the third
War with _ . i x^ , . . «
pyrrhtt*, Samnite war the Greek cities on the ^-479 ' southern coast of Italy found themselves
once more harassed by the Sabellian tribes on their borders, whose energies, no longer absorbed by the long struggles in central Italy, no^ found an attractive opening southward. Naturally enough the Greeks, like the Capuans sixty years before, appealed for aid to Rome (283-282 B.C.), and like the Capuans they offered in return to recognise
the suzerainty of the great Latin republic.
Sfilm^. A. U C
'In reply a Roman force under C. Fabricius marched into South Italy, easily routed the maraud- ing bands of Lucanians, Bruttians, and Samnites, and established Roman garrisons in Locri, Croton, Rhe- gium, and Thurii. At Tarentum, the most power- ful and flourishing of the Greek seaports, this sudden and rapid advance of Rome excited the greatest anxiety. Tarentum was already allied
.«« A. U C
by treaty (301 B.C.) with Rome, and she had now to decide whether this treaty should be exchanged for one which would place her, like the other Greek communities, under the protectorate of Rome, or whether she should find some ally able and willing to assist in making a last stand for inde-
' Livy, EpiU^ xii. ; Polybius, ii., 20.
Ch.2] The Conquest of Italy. 93
pendence. The former course, in Tarentum, as before at Capua, was the one favoured by the aristocratic party ; the latter was eagerly supported by the mass of the people and their leaders. While matters were still in suspense, the appearance, con- trary to the treaty, of a Roman squadron off the harbour decided the controversy. The Tarentines, indignant at the insult, attacked the hostile fleet, killed the admiral, and sunk most of the ships. Still Rome, relying, probably, on her partisans in the city, tried negotiation, and an alliance appeared likely after all, when suddenly the help for which the Tarentine democrats had been looking appeared, and war with Rome was resolved upon (281-280 B.C.).*
King Pyrrhus, whose timely appearance seemed for the moment to have saved the independence of Tarentum, was the most brilliant of the military adventurers whom the disturbed times following the death of Alexander the Great had brought into prominence. High-spirited, generous, and ambitious, he had formed the scheme of rivalling Alexander's achievements in the East by winning for himself an empire in the West. He aspired not only to unite under his rule the Greek communities of Italy and Sicily, but to overthrow the great Phoenician state of Carthage — the natural enemy of Greeks in the West, as Persia had been in the East. Of Rome it is clear that he knew little or nothing ; the task of rid- ding the Greek seaports of their barbarian foes he no doubt regarded as an easy one; and the splendid
* Livy, Epit,^ xii. ; Plut., Pyrrh., 13.
94 Outlines of Roman History. [Book n
force he brought with him was intended rather for the conquest of the West than for the preliminary work of chastising a few Italian tribes, or securing the submission of the unwarlike Italian Greeks. Pyrrhus's first measure was to place Tarentum under a strict military discipline ; this done he advanced into Lucania to meet the Roman consul Laevinus. The battle which followed, on the banks of the Liris, ended in the complete defeat of the Roman troops, largely owing to the panic caused by the elephants which Pyrrhus had brought with him (280 B.C.).* The Greek cities expelled their Roman garrisons and joined him, while numerous bands of Samnites, Lucanians, and Bruttians flocked to his standard. But, to the dis- appointment of his Greek and Italian allies, Pyrrhus showed no anxiety to follow up the advantage he had gained. His heart was set on Sicily and Africa, and his immediate object was to effect such an arrangement with Rome as would at once fulfil the pledges he had given to the Greeks by securing them against Roman interference, and set himself free to seek his fortunes westward. But, though his favourite minister, Cineas, employed all his skill to win the ear of the senate, and, though Pyrrhus himself lent weight to his envoy's words by advan- cing as near Rome as Anagnia (279 B.C.), nothing could shake the resolution of the senate, and Cineas brought back the reply that the Romans could not treat with Pyrrhus so long as he remained in arms upon Italian soil. Disappointed
' Hin., N, /T,, ▼iii,, 6,
Ch. 21 The Conquest of Italy. 95
in his hopes of peace, Pyrrhus in the next year (278 B.c.) turned his forces against the Roman strongholds in Apulia.' Once more, at Asculum, he routed the legions, but only to find that the indomitable resolution of the enemy was strengthened by defeat. Weary of a struggle which threatened indefinitely to postpone the fulfilment of his dreams of empire, Pyrrhus resolved to quit Italy, and, leaving garrisons in the Greek towns, crossed into Sicily. Here his success at first was such as promised the speedy realisation of his hopes. The Sicilian Greeks hailed him as a deliverer ; the Car- thaginians were driven back to the extreme west of the island, and Eryx and Panormus fell into his hands. But at this point fortune deserted him. His efforts to take Lilybaeum were fruitless ; the Cartha- ginians recovered their courage, while the unstable Greeks, easily daunted by the first threatenings of failure, and impatient of the burdens of war, broke out into open murmurs against him. Soured and disappointed, Pyrrhus returned to Italy ^ . „ -, (276 B.C.) to find the Roman legions steadily moving southwards, and his Italian allies disgusted by his desertion of their cause. One of the consuls for the year (275 B.C.) M. Curius Dentatus, the conqueror of Sam- nium, was encamped at Beneventum awaiting the arrival of his colleague. Here Pyrrhus attacked him, and the closing battle of the war was fought. It ended in the complete victory of the Romans. Pyrrhus, unable any longer to face his opponents in
> Plut., Pyrrh., 21.
96 Outlines of Roman History. [Book 11
the field, and disappointed of all assistance from his allies, retreated in disgust to Tarentum, and thence crossed into Greece.'
A few years later (272 B.C.) Tarentum was sur-
rendered to Rome by its Epirot garrison ;
it was granted a treaty of alliance, but its walls were razed and its fleet handed over to Rome.
484A.U.C. ^'^ '^^^ ^'^' Rhegium also entered the
ranks of Roman allies, and finally, in
48SA.U.C. 26g B.c a single campaign crushed the
last efforts at resistance in Samnium. Rome was
now at leisure to consolidate the position she had
_ . „ ^ won. Between 273 B.C. and 263 B.C three
48i*4gx A.U.C.
new colonies were founded in Samnium
481 486,491 ^'^^ Lucania — Paestum in 273 B.C., Bene-
A.u.c. ventum in 268 B.C., iEsemia in 263 B.C.
In central Italy the area of Roman territory was in-
creased by the full enfranchisement (268
B.C.) of the Sabines,* and of their neigh-
hours to the east, the Picentes. To guard the Adri-
_ . „ ^ atic coast, colonies were established at
486 A.U.C.
Ariminum (268 B.C.), at Firmum, and at A.U.C. Castrum Novum (264 B.C.), while to the already numerous maritime colonies was added that of Cosa in Etruria.'
Rome was now the undisputed mistress of Italy.
> Livy, EpiU, xiv. ; Plut., Pyrrh,, a6. •Veil. Pat., i., 14, ** suffra^i ferendi jus SaHnis datum," • Veil. Pat., i., 14 ; Livy, E^., xv. I have followed Beloch (liaL Bund, 142) in identifying the " Cosa'* of Veil., ioc. aX, and Lity^ E^(,t xiv., with Cosa in Etruria ; c/, Plin., A^ ^., iiL» 8» |L Mommsen and Madvig both place it in Lucania.
Ch. 21 The Conquest of Italy. 97
The limits of her supremacy to the north were repre- sented roughly by a line drawn across the
t r , t I. 1 A ^om^ as the
penmsula from the mouth of the Amo on mistress of the west to that of the iEsis on the east.' Beyond this line lay the Ligurians and the Kelts ; all south of it was now united as " Italy *' under the rule of Rome.
But the rule of Rome over Italy, like her wider rule over the Mediterranean coasts, was not an absolute dominion over conquered subjects. It was in form at least a confederacy under Roman protec- tion and guidance ; and the Italians, like the provin- cials, were not the subjects, but the "allies and friends " of the Roman people.' Marvellous as are the perseverance and skill with which Rome built up, consolidated, and directed this confederacy, it is yet clear that both her success in forming it and its stability when formed were due in part to other causes than Roman valour and policy. The disunion which in former times had so often weakened the Italians in their struggles with Rome still told in her favour, and rendered the danger of a combined revolt against her authority remote in the extreme. In some cases, and especially in the city states of Etruria, Campania, and Magna Graecia, where the antagonism of the two political parties, aristocrats and democrats, was keen, Rome found natural and valuable allies in the former. Among the more back- ward peoples of central Italy, the looseness of their political organisation not only lessened their power
' Mommsen, R, (7., i., 428, note ; Nissen, lial, Landeskunde^ p. 71,
* Beloch, Ital, Bund^ 203 ; Mommsen, R» Cr., i., 428, note.
f
98 Outlines of Raman History. [Book ii
of resistance, but enabled Rome either to detach tribe after tribe from the confederacy, or to attack and crush them singly. Elsewhere she was aided by ancient feuds, such as those between Samnites and Apulians, or Tarentines and lapygians, or by the imminent dread of a foe — Kelt, or Samnite, or Lu- canian — ^whom Roman aid alone could repel. And, while combination against her was thus rendered difficult, if not impossible, by internal dissensions, feuds, differences of interest, of race, of language, and habits, Rome herself, from her position in the centre of Italy, was so placed as to be able to strike promptly on the first signs of concerted opposition. All these advantages Rome utilised to the utmost. We have no means of deciding how far she applied elsewhere the principle upon which she acted in northern Etruria and Campania, of attaching the aristocratic party in a community to Roman interests, by the grant of special privileges ; but it is certain that she endeavoured by every means in her power to perpetuate, and even to increase, the disunion which she had found so useful among her allies. In every possible way she strove to isolate them from each other, while binding them closely to herself. The old federal groups were in most cases broken up, and each of the members united with Rome by a special treaty of alliance. In Etruria, Latium, Campania, and Magna Graecia the city state was taken as the unit ; in central Italy, where urban life was non-existent, the unit was the tribe. The northern Sabellian peoples, for instance, — the Marsi, Paeligni, Vestini, Marrucini, Frentani, — ^were now constituted
Ch. 2] The Conqtust of Italy. 99
as separate communities in alliance with Rome. In many cases, too, no freedom of trade or intermarriage was allowed between the allies themselves, a policy afterwards pursued in the provinces. Nor were all these numerous allied communities placed on the same footing as regarded their relations with Rome herself. To begin with, a sharp distinction
^ ' *^ , - The Latins.
was drawn between the Latini and the general mass of Italian allies. The Latins of this period had little more than the name in com- mon with the old thirty Latin peoples of the days of Spurius Cassius. With a few exceptions, sucli as Tibur and Praeneste, the latter had either disap- peared or had been incorporated with the Roman state, and the Latins of 268 B.C. were almost exclusively the Latin colonies — that is to say, communities founded by Rome, com- posed of men of Roman blood, and whose only claim to the title Latin lay in the fact that Rome granted to them some portion of the rights and privileges formerly enjoyed by the old Latin cities under the Cassian treaty.* Though nominally allies, they were, in fact, offehoots of Rome herself, bound to her by community of race, language, and interest, and planted as Roman garrisons among alien and conquered peoples. The Roman citizen who joined a Latin colony lost his citizenship — to have allowed him to retain it would no doubt have been regarded as enlarging too rapidly the limits of the citizen body ; but he received in exchange the status of a
' For the coUmia LaHnce founded before the first Funic war, see Beloch, 136 sq.
lOO Outlines of Roman History. [Book II
favoured ally. The Latin colony did not, indeed, enjoy the equality and independence originally pos- sessed by the old Latin cities. It had no freedom of action outside its own territory, could not make war or peace, and was bound to have the same friends and foes as Rome. But its members had the right of commercium. and, down to
486 A.U*C.
268 B.C.,' of connubium also with Roman citizens. Provided they left sons and property to represent them at home, they were free to migrate to Rome and acquire the Roman franchise. In war time they not only shared in the booty, but claimed a portion of any land confiscated by Rome and de- clared public. These privileges, coupled with their close natural affinities with Rome, successfully se- cured the fidelity of the Latin colonies, which became not only the most efficient props of Roman supremacy, but powerful agents in the work of The itEiian Romanising Italy. Below the privileged •*"•■• Latins stood the Italian allies ; and here
again we know generally that there were consid- erable differences of status, determined in each case by the terms of their respective treaties with Rome. We are told that the Greek cities of Neapolis and Heraclea were among the most favoured'; the Bruttii, on the other hand, seem, even before the Hannibalic war, to have been less generously treated. But beyond this the ab-
^ The year of the foundation of Ariminum, the first Latin colony with the restricted rights ; Cic, Pro Ccec, 35 ; Mommsen, R, G,^ i., 421, note ; Marquardt, Staatsverw,^ i., 53. Beloch, 155-158, takes a different view.
» Beloch, Camp,, 39 ; Cic, Pro Balbo, 33.
Ch.2i The Conquest of Italy. loi
sence of all detailed information does not enable us to go.
Rome, however, did not rely only on this policy of isolation. Her allies were attached as closely to her- self as they were clearly separated from each other, and from the first she took every security for the maintenance of her own paramount authority. Within its own borders, each ally was left to man- age its own affairs as an independent state.* The badges which marked subjection to Rome in the provinces — the resident magistrate and the tribute — were unknown in Italy. But in all points affecting the relations of one ally with another, in all ques- tions of the general interests of Italy and of foreign policy, the decision rested solely with Rome. The place of a federal constitution, of a federal council, of federal officers, was filled by the Roman senate, assembly, and magistrates. The maintenance of peace and order in Italy, the defence of the coasts and frontiers, the making of war or peace with fon eign powers, were matters the settlement of which Rome kept entirely in her own hands. Each allied state, in time of war, was called upon for a certain contingent of men, but, though its contingent usually formed a distinct corps under officers of its own, its numerical strength was fixed by Rome, it was bri- gaded with the Roman legions, and was under the orders of the Roman consul.*
* For the relation of the socii lialici to Rome, see Mommsen, R. G,, i., 422 ; Beloch, Ital, Bund, cap. x.
* Beloch, 203. The importance of this duty of the allies is ex- pressed in the phrase, ** socii naminisve Latini quUms ex formula iogaiorum miliUs in terra Italia imperare soleni"
I02 Outlines of Roman History. [Book li
This paramount authority of Rome throughout the peninsula was confirmed and justified by the The Roman ^^^^ ^^^^ Rome hcrself was now infinitely ■tate. more powerful than any one of her numer-
ous allies. Her territory, as distinct from that of the allied states, covered something like one-third of the peninsula south of the iEsis. Along the west coast it stretched from Caere to the southern borders of Campania. Inland, it included the former terri- tories of the iEqui and Hemici, the Sabine country, and even extended eastward into Picenum, while beyond these limits were outlying districts, such as the lands of the Senonian Kelts, with the Roman colony of Sena, and others elsewhere in Italy, which had been confiscated by Rome and given over to Roman settlers. Since the first important annexa- tion of territory after the capture of Veil
SSB A.U.C*
(396 B.C.), twelve new tribes had been formed,' and the number of male citizens registered at the census had risen from 152,000 to 290,000.* Within this enlarged Roman state were now included Colonies and Humcrous Communities with local institu- municipia. tions and government. At their head stood the Roman colonies {colonia civiunt Romano- rum), founded to guard especially the coasts of
' Four in South Etruria (387 b.c.), two in the Pomptine territory (358), two in Latium (332), two in the territory of the southern Volsd and the Ager Falemus(3i8), two in the iEquian and Hemican territory (299). The total of thirty-five was completed in 241 by formation of the Velina and Quirina, probably in the Sabine and Picentine districts, enfranchised in 268. See Beloch, ^2.
' Livy, Epit,, xvi. ; Eutrop., ii., 18 ; Mommsen, If, G., !., 433 ; Beloch, cap. iv., p. 77 s^.
Ch.2] The Conquest of Italy. 103
Latium and Campania.' Next to these eldest chil- dren of Rome came those communities which had been invested with the full Roman franchise, such, for instance, as the old Latin towns of Aricia, Lanu- vium, Tusculum, Nomentum, and Pedum. Lowest in the scale were those which had not been consid- ered ripe for the full franchise, but had, like Caere, received instead the civitas sine suffragio, the civil without the political rights.* Their members, though Roman citizens, were not enrolled in the tribes, and in time of war served not in the ranks of the Roman legions, but in separate contingents. In acldition to these organised town communities, there were also the groups of Roman settlers on the public lands, and the dwellers in the village communities of the en- franchised highland districts in central Italy.
The administrative needs of this enlarged Rome were obviously such as could not be adequately satisfied by the system which had done well enough for a small city state with a few square miles of ter- ritory. The old centralisation of all government in Rome itself had become an impossibility, and the Roman statesmen did their best to meet the altered requirements of the time. The urban communities within the Roman pale, colonies and municipiay were allowed a large measure of local self-government. In all we find local assemblies, senates, and magistrates, to whose hands the ordinary routine of local admin- istration was confided, and, in spite of differences in
* Ostia, Antium, Tarracina, Mintumae, Sinuessa, and, on the Adriatic, Sena and Castrum Novum.
* To both these classes the term munuipia was applied.
I04 Outlines of Roman History. [Book ii
detail, e. g,y in the titles and numbers of the magis- trates, the same type of constitution prevailed throughout.* But these local authorities were care- fully subordinated to the higher powers in Rome. The local constitution could be modified or revoked by the Roman senate and assembly, and the local magistrates, no less than the ordinary members of the community, were subject to the paramount au- thority of the Roman consuls, praetors and censors. In particular, care was taken to keep the administra- tion of justice well under central control. The Roman citizen in a colony or municipiutn enjoyed, of course, the right of appeal to the Roman people in a capital case. We may also assume that from the first some limit was placed to the jurisdiction of the local magistrate, and that cases falling outside it came before the central authorities. But an addi- tional safeguard for the equitable and uniform ad- ministration of Roman law in communities, to many „ , ^ of which the Roman code was new and
Prefects.
unfamiliar, was provided by the institu- tion of prefects {prcefecti juri dicundo)^ who were sent out annually, as representatives of the Roman praetor, to administer justice in the colonies and mu- nicipia. To prefects was, moreover, assigned the charge of those districts within the Roman pale where no urban communities, and consequently no
* For details, see Beloch, JtaL Bund^ caps, v., vi., vii. The en- franchised communities in most cases retained the old titles for their magistrates, and hence the variety in their designations.
^ For ih^prcefecti^ see Mommsen, R, C?., i., 419, and Rom, Siaats* recht, ii., 569 ; Beloch, 130-133.
Ch. 2] The Conqtust of Italy. 105
organised local government, existed. In these two institutions, that of municipal government and that of prefectures, we have already two of the cardinal points of the later imperial system of government.
A word must lastly be said of the changes which the altered position and increased responsibilities of Rome had effected in her military sys- Themiiiury tem.* For the most part these changes sy»tcm. tended gradually to weaken the old and intimate connection between the Roman army in the field and the Roman people at home, and thus prepared the way for that complete breach between the two which in the. end proved fatal to the republic. It is true that service in the legion was still the first duty and the highest privilege of the fully qualified citi- zen. Every assiduus was still liable to active mili- tary service between the ages of seventeen and forty-five, and proletarii and freedmen were still called out only in great emergencies,* and then but rarely enrolled in the legions. But this service was gradually altering in character. Though new legions were still raised each year for the summer campaigns, this was by no means always accompanied, as for- merly, by the disbandment of those already on foot, and this increase in the length of time during which the citizen was kept with the standards had, as early as the siege of Veii, necessitated a further deviation from the old theory of military service — the intro-
* Mommsen, R, C7., i., 438 ; Madvig, Verf^ R, Reicks^ ii., 467 sq» ; Livy, viii., 8 ; Polybius, vi., 17-42.
* E, g.f before the battle of Sentinum (296 B.Ci), Livy, x., 2X.
io6 Outlines of Roman History. [Book ii
duction of pay.' Hardly less important than these changes were those which had taken place in the organisation of the legion itself. In the early days of the republic the same divisions served for the soldier in the legion and the voter in the assembly. The Roman army in the field, and the Roman people in the comitia on the Campus, were alike grouped according to their wealth, in classes and centuricB. But by the time of the Latin war the arrangement of the legion had been altered. In the new manipu- lar system, with its three lines, no regard was paid to civic distinctions, but only to length of service and military efficiency, while at the same time the more open order of fighting which it involved de- manded of each soldier greater skill, and therefore a more thorough training in arms than the old phalanx. One other change resulted from the new military neces- The pro- sities of the time, which was as fruitful of consulate, results as the incipient separation between the citizen and the soldier. The citizen soldiers of early Rome were commanded in the field by the men whom they had chosen to be their chief magis- trates at home, and still, except when a dictator was appointed, the chief command of the legions rested with the consuls of the year. But, as Rome's mili- tary operations increased in area and in distance from Rome, a larger staff became necessary, and the inconvenience of summoning home a consul in the field from an unfinished campaign became intolera- ble. The remedy found, that of prolonging for a further period the imperium of the consul, was first
> Livy, iv., 59.
Ch.2l The Conquest of Italy. \o^
applied in 327 B.C. in the case of Q. 4a7A.u.c. Publilius Philo,* and between 327 and 264 B.C. instances of this prarogatio im- perii became increasingly common. This pro- consular authority, originally an occasional and subordinate one, was destined to become first of all the strongest force in the republic, and ultimately the chief prop of the power of the Caesars. Already, within the limits of Italy, Rome had laid the foun- dation stones of the system by which she afterwards governed the world — the municipal constitutions, the allied states, the proconsuls, and the prefects.
' livy, tUL, as, " uifrocomuU rem gereret quoad tUbellaium essit^
BOOK in.
ROME AND THE MEDITERRANEAN STATES— 265-146 B.C.
ROME AND THE MEDITERRANEAN STATES— 26J-146 B.C.
INTRODUCTION.
We have now reached the period during which the Latin community on the banks of the Tiber, already the mistress of Italy, established her suzerainty over the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, For the history of this period we are no longer depend- ent on tradition. The events of the struggle with Carthage, the wars with Macedon, and with Anti- ochus, the relations of Rome with the states of west- em Asia, were recorded by contemporary historians, Greek and Roman, and in contemporary official documents. Of these contemporary authorities indeed, only a few fragments are now extant. We cannot read the very words of Fabius Pictor, of L. Cincius Alimentus, the prisoner of Hannibal, or of Hannibal's companion and historiographer, the Greek Silenus, or handle the original text of the treaties with Carthage or Antiochus. But the im- portant fact remains, that it is on these records that
III
112 Outlines of Roman History. [Book 111
our two chief extant authorities, Polybius and Livy, based their narratives, while of the last thirty years of the period, Polybius himself writes with the au- thority of a contemporary.
The chief interest of the history naturally centres in the great wars which for a hundred years absorbed the energies of Rome. In the internal affairs of the state there is at first sight nothing of striking import- ance to record. The strain and stress of foreign war left little energy or leisure for political debate, or reforming zeal. The great controversy which had divided men in the previous period was closed ; those which were to divide them in the next had not yet taken definite shape. Yet beneath this outward political calm changes were silently at work of the utmost moment for the future of the state. The Rome which emerged victorious from the conflicts of a century was still, as regarded the form of her political system, a Latin city state, — in fact, she was an imperial power ruling wide and distant provinces, and with a citizen body scattered over the coasts of the Mediterranean. Nor could the disproportion betweeii the primitive machinery of the old republi- can constitution and the administrative necessities of an empire which stretched from the pillars of Hercules to the river Halys, long escape notice. To these administrative difficulties were added others, created directly or indirectly by t?he rapid expansion of Rome during this period; for this expansion brought with it a revolution in the conditions, habits and beliefs of Roman society, which undermined the very foundations on which the republican system
Int.] Introduction. 113
rested. The statesmen of the Gracchan, and still more of the Ciceronian, age had consequently to face the fact that the ancient constitution was almost as ill-suited to the temper and tone of the Roman peo- ple as it was inadequate to the task of governing the -civilised world. In the following chapters we shall then, first of all, trace the growth of Roman dominion outside Italy, and, secondly, consider its effects upon the Roman state itself.
CHAPTER I.
ROME AND CARTHAGE — THE CONQUEST OF
THE WEST.
Though marked out by her geographical position as the natural centre of the Mediterranean, Italy had hitherto played no active part in Mediter- ranean politics, but, now that she was for the first time united, it was felt throughout the Mediterranean world that a new power had arisen, and Rome, as the head and representative of Italy, found herself irresistibly drawn into the vortex of Mediterranean affairs. With those of the eastern Mediterranean, indeed, she was not immediately called upon to concern herself. Her repulse of Pyr- rhus, and the news that the Greek cities of South Italy had acknowledged her suzerainty, had, it is true, suddenly revealed to the Eastern world the existence of a powerful Italian state. Egypt sought her alliance, and Greek scholars began to interest themselves keenly in the history, constitution, and character of the Latin republic which had so sud- denly become famous. But this was all, and not until fifty years after the retreat of Pyrrhus did
"4
Rome and Carthage. 115
Rome seriously turn her attention eastward. West- ward of Italy the case was different. The western coasts of the peninsula were the most fertile, popu- lous, and wealthy ; it was westward rather than east- ward that the natural openings for Italian commerce were to be found. But it was precisely on this side that Rome had serious ground for anxiety. The great Phoenician republic of Carthage was now at the height of her power. To a commercial and maritime supremacy, as great as that of Tyre and Sidon had ever been, she had added a dominion by land, of a kind to which they ,had never aspired. Not content with her wide and fertile territories in northern Africa, she had planted her feet firmly in Sardinia and Sicily, in close proximity to the shores of Italy, while her fleets swept the seas and jealously guarded for her benefit alone the hidden treasures of the West. In the east of Sicily, Syracuse still upheld the cause of Greek independence against the hereditary foe of the Greek race ; but Syracuse stood alone, and her resources were comparatively small. What Rome had to fear was the establishment, and that at no distant date, of an absolute Carthaginian domination over the Western seas — a domination which would not only be fatal to Italian commerce but would be a standing menace to the safety of the Italian coasts. Rome had indeed long been con- nected with Carthage by treaty, and the older purely commercial treaties had quite recently been replaced by a close alliance formed in face of the common danger to which both had been exposed by the ad- venturous schemes of Pyrrhus. But this danger was
1 16 Outlines of Roman History. [Book ill
past, and it is probable that others besides Pyrrhus foresaw that on the old battle-ground of Greeks and Phoenicians a struggle must soon be fought out be- tween the Phoenician mistress of the Italian seas and the Latin rulers of the Italian peninsula. War ^°**^ It was above all things essential for S^SJa.uIc. Ronic that the Carthaginians should ad- 48aA.u.c. vance no farther eastward. But already in 272 B.C. Tarentum had almost fallen into their grasp, and seven years later Rome was threatened with a danger at least as serious, the establishment of Carthaginian rule in the east of Sicily, and within sight of the Italian coast. In 265 B.C. a body of Campanian mercenaries, who had seized Messana, found themselves hard pressed by Hiero, King of Syracuse. One party among them appealed for aid to Carthage. The Carthaginians readily responded, and a Carthaginian garrison occu- pied the citadel of Messana. But at Messana, as once at Tarentum, there were others who turned to Rome, and, as Italians themselves, implored the aid of the great Italian republic, offering in return to place Messana under the suzerainty of Rome. The request was a perplexing one. Both Hiero and the Carthaginians were allies of Rome, and Messana, if rescued from the latter, belonged of right to Hiero and not to Rome. Apart, too, from treaty obliga- tions, the Roman senate naturally hesitated before acceding to an appeal which would precipitate a collision with Carthage, and commit Rome to a new and hazardous career of enterprise beyond the sea. Finally, however, all other considerations gave way
Ch. 11 Rome and Carthage. 117
before the paramount importance of checking the advance of Carthage. The Roman assembly voted that assistance should be sent to the Mamertines, and in 264 B.C. the Roman legions for the first time crossed the sea. Mes- sana was occupied, and, after sustaining a de- feat, the Carthaginians and Syracusans were forced to raise the siege and withdraw. The opening years of the war which was thus begun gave little promise of the length of the struggle, and it seemed likely at the outset that Rome's immediate object, the expul- sion of the Carthaginians from Sicily, would be soon attained. The accession to the Roman
401 A.U.C
side of King Hiero (263 B.C.) not only confirmed the position which Rome had already assumed in Italy of the champion of the western Greeks against barbarians, but provided her in east- em Sicily with a convenient base of operations and commodious winter quarters, and in Hiero himself with a loyal and effective ally. In the next year (262 B.C.) followed the capture of Agri- gentum, and in 261 B.C. the Roman sen-
11 1 . t 493 A.U.C.
ate resolved on supplementmg these suc- cesses on land by the formation of a fleet which should not only enable them to attack the ^^^^ ^^^^ maritime strongholds which defied the i^o«*nfl««*« assaults of their legions, and protect their own coasts, but even to carry the war into Africa itself. In the spring of 260 B.C. the first regular Roman fleet, consisting of one hundred quinque- remes and twenty triremes, set sail * ; and the bril-
' Mommsen, R, G., i., 515.
1 1 8 Outlines of Roman History. tBook III
liant naval victory of Mylae, won by the consul C.
Duilius in the same year, seemed to promise the
Romans as much success by sea as they had won by
land. But the promise was not fulfilled : 498A.U.C.
and in 256 B.C. the senate, impatient of
the slow progress made in Sicily, determined on
boldly invading Africa. It was a policy
The invasion . i.i.i.ri.. 11
of Africa by for which, if Africa were once reached, the defenceless state of the Carthaginian territories, the doubtful loyalty of her Libyan sub- jects, and the unwarlike habits of her own citizens gave every hope of success, and, but for the blunders of the Romans themselves, it might have succeeded now as it did fifty years later. The passage to Africa was opened by the defeat of the Carthaginian fleet off Ecnomus ; the two consuls, L. Manlius Vulso and M. Atilius Regulus, landed in safety and rapidly overran the country. But these successes led the senate, at the close of the summer, into committing the serious blunder of recalling one of the consuls, Manlius, with a large portion of the troops. It was one of many instances in which the rules and tradi- tions of the old republican system proved themselves inconsistent with the new requirements of an ex- tended warfare. The consul came back to hold the elections; his soldiers returned, as the custom had been, to their homes after a summer's campaign ; but the efficiency of "the expedition was fatally impaired. The rashness and over-confidence of Regulus aggra- vated the effects of the senate's action. Emboldened by further successes, and notwithstanding his dimin- ished forces, he met the Carthaginian proposals for
Ch. 1] Rome and Carthage. 119
peace by terms so harsh that the latter, though the Romans were almost at their gates, their soldiers dis- heartened, and the nomad tribes swarming on their frontiers, indignantly broke off the negotiations and prepared to resist to the last. At this crisis, so the story runs, the arrival of Xanthippus, a Spartan soldier of fortune, changed the face of affairs, as that of Gylippus had formerly done at Syracuse. His superior mili- tary skill remedied the blunders of the Carthaginian generals ; confidence was restored ; and in 255 B.C. he triumphantly routed the Ro- man forces a few miles outside the city. Regulus was taken prisoner,' and only a miserable remnant of two thousand men escaped to the Roman camp on the coast. Here they were rescued by a Roman fleet, but their ill-fortune pursued them. On its way home the fleet was wrecked, and all but 80 vessels out of a total of 364 were lost.
Still, though abandoning the idea of invading Africa, the Romans were unwilling to renounce all thoughts of facing their enemy on the sea. But fresh disasters followed. The hopes raised (254 B.C.) by the capture of Panormus -x, ^ u c were dashed to the ground the next year (253 B.C.) by the total destruction in a ^ a.u.c. storm of the victorious fleet on its way home from Panormus to Rome. Four years later a second fleet, despatched under P. Claudius to assist in the blockade of Lilybaeum, was completely de- feated off Drepana, while, to make matters worse,
* For criticisms of the story of R^[ulus, see Mommsen, i., 523; Ihne, ii., 69 ; Ranke» Weltgeschichie^ ii., 185.
1 20 Outlines of Roman History. [Book 111
Claudius's colleague, L. Junius, who had been hastily sent out with reinforcements, was wrecked near the dangerous promontory of Pachynus.
Disheartened by these repeated disasters, the senate resolved to trust only to the legions, and by sheer force of perseverance slowly to force the enemy out of the few positions to which he still clung in Sicily. But, though for five years (248-243
506-5x1 A.u.c. ^-^O ^^ fresh naval operations were at- tempted, no compensating success by land followed. Hamilcar Barca, the new Carthaginian commander, not only ravaged with his fleet the coasts of Italy, but from his impregnable position at Ercte incessantly harassed the Roman troops in the west of the island, and even recaptured Eryx. Convinced once more of the impossibility of driving the Carthaginians out of Sicily as long as their navy swept the seas, the Romans determined on a final effort. The treasury was empty ; but by the liberal contributions of private citizens a fleet was equipped, and C. Lutatius Catulus, consul for 242 5xa A.u.c. B,c^^ started for Sicily early in the sum- mer of that year with two hundred quinqueremes. From Drepana, whither he had gone to aid in the blockade, he sailed out to meet a Carthaginian fleet despatched from Africa against him ; and a battle took place at the i£gates islands, some twenty miles End of the from the Sicilian coast, in which Catulus w*""- completely defeated his enemy. The end
of the long struggle had come at last. The Cartha^ ginian government, despairing of being able to send further aid to their troops in Sicily, authorised
Ch. 1] Rome and Carthage. 121
Hamilcar to treat for peace. His proposals were accepted by Catulus, and the terms agreed upon between them were confirmed in all essential points by the commissioners sent out from Rome. The Carthaginians agreed to evacuate Sicily and the ad- joining islands, to restore all prisoners, and to pay an indemnity of 2,300 talents.
In its duration and severity the first Punic war is justly ranked by Polybius above all other wars of his own and preceding times, though neither in the military talent displayed and lessons nor in the importance of its results can "'*•"•'• it be compared with the war that followed. It was distinguished by no military achievement compara- ble with Hannibal's invasion of Italy, and with the single exception of Hamilcar it produced no general of the calibre of Hannibal or Scipio. It was in fact a struggle in which both Rome and Carthage were serving an apprenticeship to a warfare, the condi- tions of which were unfamiliar to both. The Roman legions were foes very unlike any against which the Carthaginian leaders had ever led their motley array of mercenaries, while Rome was called upon for the first time to fight a war across the sea, and to fight with ships against the greatest naval power of the age. The novelty of these conditions accounts for much of the vacillating and uncertain action observa- ble on both sides, and their effect in this direction was increased by the evident doubts felt by both antagonists as to the lengths to which the quarrel should be pushed. It is possible that Hamilcar had already made up his mind that Rome must be at-
122 Outlines of Roman History. [Book 1 1 1
tacked and crushed in Italy, but his government attempted nothing more than raids upon the coast. There are indications also that some in the Roman senate saw no end to the struggle but in the destruc- tion of Carthage ; yet an invasion of Africa was only once seriously attempted, and then only a half- hearted support was given to the expedition. But these peculiarities in the war served to bring out in the clearest relief the strength and the weakness of the two contending states. The chief dangers for Carthage lay obviously in the jealousy exhibited at home of her officers abroad, in the difficulty of con- trolling her mercenary troops, and in the ever-pres- ent possibility of disaffection among her subjects in Libya — dangers which even the genius of Hannibal failed finally to surmount. Rome, on the other hand, was strong in the public spirit of her citizens, the fidelity of her allies, the valour and discipline of her legions. What she needed was a system which should make a better use of her splendid materials than one under which her plans were shaped from day to day by a divided senate, and executed by officers who were changed every year, and by soldiers most of whom returned home at the close of each summer's campaign.
The interval between the first and second Punic
wars was employed by both Rome and* Carthage in
strengthening their respective positions.
ThA Interval o ^ x x^
between the Of the islands lying off the coast of Italy, second the most important, Sicily, had fallen to
Punic wan. ^ , . ^ , ^,
Rome as the prize of the recent war. The eastern end of the island was still left under the rule
Ch. 1] Rome and Carthage. 123
of King Hiero as the ally of Rome, but the larger western portion became directly subject to Rome, and a temporary arrangement seems to have been made for its government, either by one of the two praetors, or possibly by a quaestor.* Sardinia and Corsica had not been surrendered to Rome by the treaty of 241 B.C., but three years szsa.u.c. later (238 B.C.) on the invitation of the 5x6 a.u.c. Carthaginian mercenaries stationed in the islands, a Roman force occupied them ; Carthage protested, but, on the Romans threatening war, she gave way, and Sardinia and Corsica were formally Annexation ceded to Rome, though it was some seven and corSciu or eight years before all resistance on ^RomM the part of the natives themselves was p«'ovincc«. crushed. In 227 B.C., however, the senate ^ a.u.c. considered matters ripe for the establishment of a separate and settled government, not only in Sar- dinia and Corsica, but also in Sicily. In that year two additional praetors were elected ; to one was assigned the charge of western Sicily, to the other that of Sardinia and Corsica,' and thus the first stones of the Roman provincial system were laid. Of at least equal importance for the security of the peninsula was the subjugation of the Keltic tribes in the valley of the Po. These, headed by subjugation the Boii and Insubres and assisted by and^inaubrei levies from the Kelts to the westward, *° **• ""^y- had in 225 B.C. alarmed the whole of Italy 5*9 a.u.c,
' Marquardt, RSm. Staatsver.^ L, 92 ; Mommsen, R. C?.. L. 543 ; Appian, Sic,^ 2. • Livy, EpU.^
124 Outlines of Roman History. LBook III
by invading Etruria and penetrating to Clusium, only three days' journey from Rome. Here, how- ever, their courage seems to have failed them. They retreated northward along the Etruscan coast, until at Telamon their way was barred by the Roman legions, returning from Sardinia to the defence of Rome, while a second consular army hung upon their rear. Thus hemmed in, the Kelts fought des- perately, but were completely defeated and the flower of their tribesmen slain. The Romans fol- lowed up their success by invading the Keltic terri- tory. The Boii were easily reduced to submission. The Insubres, north of the Po, resisted more obsti- ^ „ ^ nately, but by 222 B.C. the war was over,
<M AaU«C«
and all the tribes in the rich Po valley acknowledged the supremacy of Rome. The con- quered Kelts were not enrolled among the Italian allies of Rome, but were treated as subjects beyond the frontier. Three colonies were founded to hold them in check — Placentia and Cremona in the ter- ritory of the Insubres, Mutina in that of the Boii ; TheViR ^^^ ^^ great northern road (Via Fla- piaminia. minia) was completed as far as the Keltic border at Ariminum.
On the Adriatic coast, where there was no Car- thage to be feared, and no important adjacent Chastisement islands to be annexed, the immediate in- Sirates. ^ *** tercsts of Rome were limited to rendering Greece. the sea safc for Italian trade. It was ^* ' ' * with this object that, in 229 B.C., the first Roman expedition crossed the Adriatic, and in- flicted severe chastisement on the lUyrian pirates
Ch, 1] Rome and Carthage. 125
of the opposite coast.* But the resul|:s of the expe- dition did not end here, for it was the means of establishing for the first time direct political rela^. tions between Rome and the states of Greece proper, to many of which the suppression of piracy in the Adriatic was of as much importance as to Rome herself. Alliances were concluded with Corcyra, Epidamnus, and Apollonia ; and embassies explain- ing the reasons which had brought Roman troops into Greece were sent to the i£tolians, the Achxans, and even to Athens and Corinth* Ever3rwhere they were well received, and the admission of the Romans to the Isthmian games' (228 B.C.) formally acknowledged them as the natural allies of the free Greek states against both barbarian tribes and foreign despots, a relationship which was destined to prove as useful to Rome in the East as it had already proved itself to be in the West.
While Rome was thus fortifying herself on all sides, Carthage had acquired a possession which promised to compensate her for the loss of
. 1 r^ • «-r«i . The Carthft-
Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. The genius *2°*if**
of her greatest citizen and soldier Hamil- car Barca, had appreciated the enormous value of the Spanish peninsula, and conceived the scheme of founding there a Carthginian dominion which should not only add to the wealth of Carthage, but supply her with troops, and with a base of operations for that war of revenge with Rome on which his heart was set. The conquest of southern and eastern
' Polyb., ii., 8 sq, «Polyb., ii., 13,
1 26 Outlines of Roman History. iBook III
5x8-5^ A.u.c. Spajn, begun by Hamilcar (236-228 B.C.), and carried on by his kinsman Hasdrubal 536-533 A.u.c. ^228-22 1 B.C.), was Completed by his son Hannibal, who, with all his father's genius inherited also his father's hatred of Rome, and by 2 19 B.C. the authority of Carthage had been extended as far as the Ebro. Rome had not watched this rapid advance without anxiety, but, probably owing to her troubles with the Kelts, she had con- tented herself with stipulating (226 B.C.) that Carthage should not carry her arms beyond the Ebro, so as to threaten Rome's ancient ally, the Greek colony Massilia, and with securing the independence of the two nominally Greek com- munities, Emporise and Saguntum,' on the east coast. But these precautions were of no avail against the resolute determination of Hannibal, with whom the conquest of Spain was only preliminary to an attack upon Italy, and who could not afford to leave behind him in Spain a state allied to Rome. In '"''•"•*'• 219 B.C., therefore, disregarding the pro- test of a Roman embassy, he attacked and took Saguntum, an act which, as he had foreseen, ren- dered a rupture with Rome inevitable, while it set his own hands free for a further advance.
A second war with Carthage was no unlooked-for Second Punic ^vcnt at Rome ; but the senate seems to B^c!=^^ have confidently expected that it would A.U.C. jjg waged at a distance from Italy — in
Africa and in Spain, where Saguntum would have given them a convenient point of support ; and to
* Livy, xxi., 2, 5 ; Polyb., iii., 15, 31,
Ch. 11 Rome and Carthage. 127
this hope they clung even after Saguntum was lost. In 218 B.C., the first year of the war, one consul, P. Cornelius Scipio, was despatched to Spain, and the other T. Sempronius Gracchus, to Sicily, and thence to Africa. But Hannibal's secrecy and promptitude baffled all their calculations. Leav- ing New Carthage early in 218 B.C., in the space of five months he crossed the Pyrenees, reached the Rhone just as Scipio arrived at Massilia on his way to Spain, passed the Alps in spite of endless difficul- ties and hardships, and startled Italy by Hannibai descending into the plains of Cisalpine *"^****^^^- Gaul. In two battles on the Ticinus and the Trebia he defeated the forces hastily collected to bar his progress southwards ; the Keltic tribes rallied to his standard ; and at the beginning of the next year he prepared to realise the dream of his life and carry fire and sword into Italy itself. His own force num- bered 26,000 men ; the total available strength of Rome and her allies was estimated at over 700,000.* But Hannibal's hope lay in the possibility that by the rapidity of his movements he might be able to strike a decisive blow before Rome could mobilise her levies, or get her somewhat cumbrous military machinery into working order. From a first success he expected no less a result than the break-up of the Roman confederacy, and the isolation of Rome her- self, while it would also increase the readiness of his
* Polybius (ii., 24 jf.) enumerates the forces of Rome and her aUies at the time of the Keltic invasion of 225 B.c. For a criticism of his account, see Mommsen, R, Forsch,^ ii., 398 ; Beloch, Ital, Bund^ 80. For Hannibal's force see Polyb., iii., 35, 56.
1 28 Outlines of Raman History. [Book ill
own government to render him effective support. His trust in himself and his army was not misplaced, for to the last he had the advantage over the Roman legions wherever he met them in person. Except, however, in South Italy, his brilliant victories and dashing marches brought him no allies, and it was his inability to shake the loyalty of northern and cen- tral Italy and of the Latin colonies everywhere, even more than the indomitable perseverance of Rome and the supineness of Carthage, which caused his ultimate failure.
In the spring of 217 B.C. Hannibal crossed the Apennines and marched southwards through the Battle at the lowlands of eastem Etruria, the route Lake."**"* taken before him by the Keltic hordes. S37 A.u.c. jj^ April he annihilated Flaminius and his army at the Trasimene Lake,* and pushed on to Spoletium, only a few days' march from Rome. But Rome was not yet his goal ; from Spoletium, which had closed its gates against him, he moved rapidly eastward, ravaging the territories of Roman allies as he went, till he reached the Adriatic and the fertile lands of northern Apulia, where supplies and espe- cially remounts for his Numidian cavalry' were plentiful, communication with Carthage easy, and where, moreover, he was well placed for testing the fidelity of the most recent and the least trustworthy of the Italian allies of Rome. A second victory here, on the scale of that at the Trasimene Lake,
' For the date see Ovid, Fast,^ ri., 765 ; Weissenborn on Livy, zzii., 5 ; Mommsen, R. G,, i., 594. * Livy, xxiv., 20.
Ch. 11 Rome and Carthage. 1 29
might be the signal for a general revolt against Roman rule. It was not, however, until the summer of the next year that his opportunity came. The patient tactics of Q. Fabius Cunctator had become unpopular at Rome ; and the consuls of 216 B.C., L. -^milius Paulus and M. Terentius Varro, -^^wit of took the field in Apulia, at the head of a Rcv?it"f larger force than Rome had yet raised, andofsyrl^ and with orders to fight and crush the *^""ot" daring invader. The result realised for 538A.U.C. the moment Hannibal's highest hopes. The Roman army was annihilated at Cannae ; and South Italy, with the exception of the Latin colonies and the Greek cities on the coast, came over to his side. Nor did the Roman misfortunes end here. Philip of Macedon concluded an alliance with Hannibal
(215 B.C.),and threatened an invasion of
T 1 T 1 c^ 539A.U.C.
Italy. In the very next year, Syracuse,
no longer ruled by the faithful Hiero, revolted, and a Carthaginian force landed in Sicily ; lastly, in 212 B.C. came the loss of the Greek cities on the south coast. But the truth of Polybi- us's remark, that the Romans are most to be feared when their danger is greatest, was never better illus- trated than by their conduct in the face of these accumulated disasters. Patiently and undauntedly they set themselves to regain the ground they had lost. Philip of Macedon was first of all forced ^to retire from the allied city of ApoUonia which he had attacked (214 B.C.), and then effectually diverted from all thoughts of an attack on 54© . . . Italy by the formation of a coalition against him in
130 Outlines of Raman History. tBook 111
Greece itself (211 B.C.) ; Syracuse was recaptured in sieflre and re- 212 B.C. after a lengthy siege, and Roman Syracuse. authority re-established in Sicily. In
543 5^
A.UX. Italy itself the Roman commanders took
advantage of Hannibal's absence in the extreme south to reconquer northern Apulia ; but their main efforts were directed to the recovery of Campania, and above all of Capua. The imminent danger of this town, which he had named as the successor of Rome in the headship of Italy, recalled Hannibal from the south, where he was besieging a Roman garrison in the citadel of Tarentum. Failing to break through the lines which enclosed it, he re- solved, as a last hope of diverting the Roman legions from the devoted city, to advance on Rome itself. But his march, deeply eis it impressed the imagina- tion of his contemporaries by its audacity and promptitude, was without result. Silently and rap- idly he moved along the course of the Latin Way, through the heart of the territory of Rome, to within three miles of the city, and even rode up with his advanced guard to the Collin a gate. Yet no ally joined him ; no Roman force was recalled to face him ; no proposals for peace reached his camp ; and, overcome, it is said, by the unmoved con- fidence of his foe, he withdrew, as silently and
rapidly as he had advanced, to his head- Recovery of
Capua. quarters in the south. The fall of Capua
followed inevitably (211 B.C.),' and the
' Livy, xxvi., 16, 33, gives the sentence passed on Capua : **Ager omnis et Ucta publica /*. R, facta^ habitari ianium tanquam urbem^ corpus nullum Hvitatis esse,** For the condition of Capua subse* quently, see Cic, Z. Agr,, i., 6 ; compare C /. Z., 566 sq.
Ch.1] Conquest of the West. 131
Roman senate saw with relief the seat of war removed to Lucania and Bruttium, and a prospect opening of some relief from the exhausting exertions of the leist five years. Their hopes were quickly dashed to the ground. The faithful Massiliots sent word that Hasdrubal, beaten in Spain, Defeat of was marching to join Hannibal in Italy. Sc^rivler mc! The anxiety at Rbme was intense, and taurus.
every nerve was strained to prevent the junction of the two brothers. Equally great was the relief when the news arrived that the bold march of the consul Claudius had succeeded, and that Hasdrubal had been defeated and slain on the river Me- a t^ /*
547 A..U.C
taurus (207 B.C.). The war in Italy was now virtually ended, for, though during four years more Hannibal stood at bay in a corner of Bruttium, he was powerless to prevent the restoration of Ro- man authority throughout the peninsula. Sicily was once more secure ; and finally in 206 B.C., kakmz the year after the victory on the Metaurus, the successes of the young P. Scipio in Spain (211. 206 B.C.) were crowned by the complete
Expulsion of
expulsion of the Carthasfinians from the thecartha-
Sfinians from
peninsula. Nothing now remained to -^^?f*c- Carthage outside Africa but the ground on which Hannibal desperately held out, and popu- lar opinion at Rome warmly supported Scipio when on his return from Spain he eagerly urged an im- mediate invasion of Africa. The senate hesitated. Many were jealous of Scipio's fame, and resented his scarcely concealed intention of appealing to the
people, shQi^l4 the senate decline bis proposals^
132 Outlines of Roman History. [Book ill
Others, like the veteran Q. Fabius, thought the attempt hazardous, with exhausted resources, and while Hannibal was still on Italian soil. But Scipio Invasion of gained the day. He was elected consul scfpio.^^ 205 B.C., and given the province of Sicily, 549 A.U.C. ^j^j^ permission to cross into Africa if he
thought fit. Voluntary contributions of men, money, and supplies poured in to the support of the popular hero ; and by the end of 205 B.C. Scipio had collected
in Sicily a sufficient force for his purpose.
In 204 B.C. he crossed to Africa, where he was welcomed by the Numidian prince Masinissa,
whose friendship he had made in Spain.
551 A.U.C.
In 203 B.C. he twice defeated the Cartha- ginian forces, and a large party at Carthage were anxious to accept his offer of negotiations. But the advocates of resistance triumphed. Hannibal was recalled from Italy, and with him his brother Mago, who had made a last desperate attempt to create a diversion in Italy by landing in Liguria. Mago died on the voyage, but Hannibal returned to fight his Battle of ^^^^ battle against Rome at Zama, where zama. Scipio, who had been continued in com-
mand as proconsul for 202 B.C. by a special
.•M A U C
vote of the people, won a complete vic- tory. The war was over. The Roman assembly gladly voted that the Carthaginian request for peace should be granted, and intrusted the settlement of the terms to its favourite Scipio and a commission of ten senators. Carthage was allowed to retain her own territory in Africa intact ; but she undertook to wage no wars outside Africa, and none inside without
Ch.l] Conqttest of the West. 133
the consent of Rome. She surrendered all her ships but ten triremes, her elephants, and all prisoners of war. Finally she agreed to pay an indemnity of 10,000 talents in fifty years. Masinissa was rewarded by an increase of territory, and was enrolled among the " allies and friends " of the Roman people.*
The battle of Zama decided the fate of the West. The power of Carthage was broken, and
I. J I. ^u • u*. r The West
her supremacy passed by the right of under ro- conquest to Rome. Henceforth Rome had no rival to fear westward of Italy, and it rested with herself to settle within what limits her suprem- acy should be confined, and what form it should take. The answer to both these questions was largely determined for her by circumstances. For the next fifty years Rome was too deeply involved in the affairs of the East to think of extending her rule far beyond the limits of the rich inheritance which had fallen to her by the defeat of Carthage; and it was not until 125 B.C. that she commenced a fresh career of conquest in the West by invading Transalpine Gaul. But with- in this area considerable advance was made in the organisation and consolidation of her rule. The rate of progress was indeed unequal. In the gj^jj^ ^^^ case of Sicily and Spain, the immediate Spain,
establishment of a Roman government was impera- tively necessary, if these possessions were not either to fall a prey to internal anarchy, or be recovered for Carthage by some second Hamilcar. Accord- ingly, we find that in Sicily the former dominions
> Livy, XXX., 43 ; Polyb. xv., i8.
134 Outlines of Roman History. [Book II.
of Hiero were at once united with the western half
of the island as a single province, under
553 A.U.C. ^^^ j.^j^ ^£ ^ Roman praetor (201 B.C.)/
and that in Spain, after nine years of a 548-557
A.uTc. provisional government (206-197 B.C.),
two provinces were in 197 B.C.' definitely estab- lished, and each, like Sicily, assigned to one of the praetors for the year, two additional praetors being elected for the purpose. But here the resemblance between the two cases ends. From 201 B.C. down to the outbreak of the Slave 6x8 A.u.c. war in 136 B.C. there was unbroken peace in Sicily, and its part in the history is limited to its important functions in supplying Rome with com and in provisioning and clothing the Roman legions.' It became every year a more integral part of Italy ; and a large proportion even of the land itself passed gradually into the hands of enterprising Roman spec- ulators. The governors of the two Spains had very different work to do from that which fell to the lot of the Sicilian praetors. Although the coast towns readily acquiesced in Roman rule, the restless war- like tribes of the interior were in a constant state of ferment, which from time to time broke out into open revolt. In Sicily the ordinary praetorian au- thority, with at most a few cohorts, was sufficient, but the condition of Spain required that year after
' Livy, xxvi., 40. The union was apparently effected in 210 ; but the first praetor of all Sicily was sent there in 201.
* Livy, xxxii., 27 ; cf, Marquardt, Staatsverw,^ i., 100, and Habnei in Hermes^ i. , 105 sq,
•Livy, xxvii., 5, **pace ac heUo fidissimum annona subsitUum"; cf. xxxii., 27.
Ch.l] Conquest of the West. 135
year the praetor should be armed with the consular authority, and backed by a standing force of four legions, while more than once the presence of the consuls themselves was found necessary. Still, in spite of all difficulties, the work of pacification pro- ceeded. To the elder Cato (consul 195
cm A. U C
B.C.), and to Tiberius Sempronius Grac- chus (praetor and propraetor 180-179 B.C.), 574-575 father of the two tribunes, is mainly due a.u.c. the credit of quieting the Celtiberian tribes of central Spain; and the government of Gracchus was fol- lowed by thirty years of comparative tranquillity. The insurrection headed by Viriathus in 140
60s A.U.C.
B.C. was largely caused by the exactions of the Roman magistrates themselves, while its obstinate continuance down to the cap- ture of Numantia in 133 B.C., was almost ^" a.u.c. as much the result of the incapacity of the Roman commanders. But the re-settlement of the country by Scipio Africanus the younger in that year left all Spain, with the exception of the highland Astures and Cantabri in the north-west, finally and tranquilly subject to Rome. Meanwhile the disturbed state of the interior had not prevented the spread of Roman civilisation on the seaboard. Roman traders and speculators flocked to the seaport towns and spread inland. The mines became centres of Roman industry ; the Roman legionaries quartered in Spain year after year married Spanish wives, and when their service was over gladly settled down in Spain, in preference to returning to Italy. The first Roman communities established outside Italy were both
136 Outlines of Rotnan History. [Book ill
planted in Spain, and both owed their existence to the Roman legions.* Spain even in 133 B.C. gave promise of becoming in time " more Roman than Rome itself.'*
In Africa there was no question at first of the in- troduction of Roman government by the formation of a province. Carthage, bound hand and third Punic foot by the treaty of 201 B.C., was placed 1^46 B.C. under the jealous watch of the loyal * I ' prince of Numidia, who himself willingly acknowledged the suzerainty of Rome. But it was impossible for this arrangement to be permanent. Every symptom of reviving prosperity at Carthage was regarded at Rome with feverish anxiety, and neither the expulsion of Hannibal in 195 57?a:u;c". B.C. nor his death in 183 B.C. did much to check the growing conviction that Rome would never be secure while her rival existed. It was therefore with grim satisfaction that many in the Roman senate watched the increasing irritation of the Carthaginians under the harassing raids and encroachments of their favoured neighbour, Masinissa, and waited for the moment when Carthage should, by some breach of the conditions imposed upon her, supply Rome with a pretext for interfer- ence. At last in 1 5 1 B.C. came the news that Carthage, in defiance of treaty obligations, was actually at war with Masinissa. The anti-Cartha- ginian party in the senate, headed by M. Porcius Cato, eagerly seized the opportunity ; in spite of the protests of Scipio Nasica and others, war was de-
' Italica (206), Appian, Iber., 38 ; Carteia (171), Li^T» 3tl">«» 3-
Ch.ll Conquest of the West. 137
dared, and nothing short of the destruction of their city itself was demanded from the despairing Car- thaginians. This demand, as the senate, no doubt, foresaw, was refused, and in 149 B.C. the siege of Carthage began. During the next two years little progress was made, but in 147 P. Come- •
lius Scipio iEmilianus, son of L. -^milius Paulus, conqueror of Macedonia, and grandson by adoption of the conqueror of Hannibal, was, at the age of thirty-seven, and though only a candidate for the aedileship, elected consul and given the command in Africa. In the. next year (146 B.C.) Carthage was taken and razed to the ground. Its territory became the Roman province of Africa, while Numidia, now ruled by the three sons of Masinissa, remained as an allied state under Roman suzerainty, and served to protect the new province against the raids of the desert tribes. Within little more than a century from the com- mencement of the first Punic war, the whole of the former dominions of Carthage had been brought under the direct rule of Roman magistrates, and were regularly organised as Roman provinces.
In Italy itself the Hannibalic war was inevitably followed by important changes, and these changes were, naturally enough, in the direction of an increased Roman predominance. In the north the Keltic tribes paid for their sympathy with Hannibal with the final loss of all separate political existence. Cispadane Gaul, studded with colonies and flooded with Roman settlers, was rap- idly Romanised. Beyond the Po in Polybius's time,
138 Outlines of Roman History. [Book ill
about sixty years after the Hannibalic war, Roman civilisation was already widely spread. In the ex- treme north-east, the Latin colony of Aquileia, the last of its kind, was founded in 181 B.C.,
Kfn. A U C
to hold in check the Alpine tribes, while in the north-west the Ligurians, though not finally subdued until a later time, were held in check by the colony of Luna (180 B.C.), and by the ex- tensive settlements of Roman citizens and Latins made on Ligurian territory in 173 B.C.* In southern Italy the effects of the war were not less marked. The depression of the Greek cities on the coast, begun by the raids of the Sabellian tribes, was completed by the repeated blows inflicted upon them during the Hannibalic struggle. Some of them lost territory' ; all suffered from a decline of population and loss of trade ; and their place was taken by such new Roman settle- ments as Brundusium and Puteoli." In the interior the southern Sabellian tribes suffered scarcely less severely. The Bruttii were struck off the list of Roman allies, and nearly all their territory was con- fiscated.* To the Apulians and Lucanians no such hard measure was meted out ; but their strength had been broken by the war, and their numbers dwin-
* Livy, xlii., 4.
^ E,g.^ Tarentum, Livy, xliv., 16. A Roman colony was established at Croton in 194, and a Latin colony (Copia) at Thurii in 193 (Livy, xxxiv., 45, 53).
' Brundusium was established after the first Punic war. Puteoli was fortified during the second Punic war, and became a Roman colony in 194 (Livy, xxxiv. , 45).
^ Appian, Hann,^ 61 ; Gell., x., 3.
Ch.1] Conquest of the WesU 1 39
died ; large tracts of land in their territories were seized by Rome and allotted to Roman settlers, or occupied by Roman speculators. That Etruria also suffered from declining energy, a dwindling popula- tion, and the spread of large estates is clear from the state of things existing there in 133 B.C. gj, a „ « It was indeed in central Italy, the home of the Latins and their nearest kinsmen, and in the new Latin and Roman settlements throughout the peninsula, that progress and activity were henceforth concentrated, and even within this area the Ro- man, and not the strictly Latin, element tended to preponderate. Of the twenty colonies founded between 201 B.C. and 146 B.C. only four were Latin.
1 1
CHAPTER II.
ROME AND THE EAST — 2OO-I33 B.C.
Ever since the repulse of Pyrrhus from Italy, Rome had been slowly drifting into closer contact with the Eastern states. With one of the three great powers which had divided between them the empire of Alexander, with Egypt, she had formed an alli-
481 A.u c. ^^^^ ^^ ^73 ^•^•» ^"^ ^^^ alliance had been cemented by the growth of commercial intercourse between the two countries.* In 5a6A.u.c. 228 B.C. her chastisement of the Illyrian pirates had led naturally enough to the establish- ment of friendly relations with some of the states of Greece proper. Further than this, Rome for the time showed no desire to go. The connections al- ready formed were sufficient to open the eastern ports to her trade, and the engrossing struggle with Carthage left her neither leisure nor strength for active interference in the incessant feuds and rival- ries which had made up Eastern politics since the falling asunder of Alexander*s Empire. In 214 B.C.
^ Egypt had supplied corn to Italy during the second Punic wat IPolyb., ix., 44).
140
Rome and the East. 1 4 1
the alliance between Philip and Hannibal, and the former's threatened attack on Italy, Pint Mace-
forced her into war with Macedon ; but doo*" ^y-
540A.U.C.
even then she contented herself with head- ing a coalition of the Greek states against him, which effectually frustrated his designs against herself ; and at the first opportunity (205 B.C.) she ended the war by a peace which left the position unchanged. Yet the . war had important consequences ; it not only drew closer the ties which bound Rome to the Greek states, but inspired the senate with a genuine dread of Philip's restless am- bition, and with a bitter resentment against him for his union with Hannibal. The events of the next four years served to deepen both these feelings. In 205 B.C. Philip entered into a compact with Antiochus of Syria for the partition between them of the dominions of Egypt,* now left by the death of Ptolemy Philopator to the rule of a boy king. Antiochus was to take Coele-Syria and Phoenicia, while Philip claimed for his share the dis- trict subject to Egypt on the coasts of the -^gean and the Greek Islands. Philip no doubt hoped to be able to secure these unlawful acquisitions before the close of the second Punic war should set Rome free to interfere with his plans. But the obstinate resistance offered by Attalus of Pergamum and the Rhodians upset his calculations. In 201 B.C. Rome made peace with Carthage, and the senate liad leisure to listen to the urgent ap- peal for assistance which reached her from her East-
eai I or assistance wnicn reacnea
* Polyb., iii., 2, xv., 20; Livy, xxxi., 14.
142 Outlines of Roman History. [Booklil
em allies. With Antiochus, indeed, the senate was not yet prepared to quarrel ; and though Egypt was assured of the continued friendship of Rome, Antio- chus was allowed to work his will in Coele-Syria.* With Philip it is clear that the senate had no thoughts of a peaceful settlement. Their animosity against him had been deepened by the assistance he had re- cently rendered to Carthage. Always an unsafe and turbulent neighbour, he would, if allowed to become supreme in the ^Egean, prove as dangerous to her in- terests in the East as Carthage had been in the West ; nor, lastly, could Rome, in honour, look quietly on at the ill-treatment of states, which, as Greeks and as allies of her own, had a double claim on her protection. To cripple, or at least to stay the growth of Philip's power was in the eyes of the senate a ne- cessity ; but it was only by representing a Macedonian invasion of Italy as imminent that they persuaded the assembly, which was longing for peace, to pass a declaration of war * (200 B.C.), an ostensi-
S54 A.U.C.
ble pretext for which was found in the invasion by Macedonian troops of the territory of Rome's ally, Athens.
The war commenced in the summer of 200 B.C.; and, though the landing of the Roman legions in Epirus
was not followed, as had been hoped, by
Second
Macedonian any general rising against Philip, yet the
^•''- latter had soon to discover that his allies,
=554-557 Jf they were not enthusiastic for Rome,
A.U.C. were still less inclined actively to assist
' Livy, xxxiii., x^ •livy, 3p«i., 6, 7-
Ch. 2] Rome and the East. 1 43
himself. Neither by force nor diplomacy could he make any progress south of Boeotia. The fleets of Pergamum and Rhodes, now the zealous allies of Rome, protected Attica and watched the eastern coasts. The Achaeans and Nabis of Sparta were obstinately neutral, while nearer home in the north the Epirots and i£tolians threatened Thessaly and Macedonia. His own resources both in men and in money had been severely strained by his constant wars,' and the only ally who could have given him effective assistance, Antiochus, was fully occupied with the conquest of Coele-Syria. It is no wonder, then, that, in spite of his dashing generalship and high courage, he made but a brief stand. T. Quinctius Flamininus (consul 198 B.C.), in his first year of command, defeated him on the ^ a u c Aous, drove him back to the pass of Tempe, and in the next year utterly routed him at Cynoscephalae. Almost at the same moment the Achaeans, who had now joined Rome, took Corinth, and the Rhodians defeated his troops in Caria.' Further resistance was impossible ; Philip submitted, and early the next year a Roman commission reached Greece with instructions to arrange terms of peace. These were such as effectually secured Rome's main object in the war, the removal of all danger to herself and her allies from Macedonian aggression.' Philip was left in possession of his kingdom, but was degraded to the rank of a second- rate power, deprived of all possessions in Greece,
*Livy, xzxiii., 3.
' Livy, xxxiii., 17.
* Polyb., xviii., 44-7 ; Livy, xxxiii., 30-4.
/
144 Outlines of Roman History. [Book ill
Thrace, and Asia Minor, and forbidden, as Carthage had been in 201 B.C., to wage war without
553 A.U.C. r T^ , „ ,
the consent of Rome, whose ally and friend he now became. Macedon thus weakened could no longer be formidable, but might yet be useful, not only as a barrier against Thracians and Kelts,' but as a check upon anti-Roman intrigues in Greece.
The second point in the settlement now effected by Rome was the liberation of the Greeks.
If*Qrcecc?**°'* '^^^ " freedom of Greece " was proclaimed at the Isthmian games amid an outburst
of enthusiasm,' which reached its height when two years later (104 B.C.) Flamininus withdrew
560 A.U.C. , N • • /
his troops from the ** three fetters of Greece" — Chalcis, Demetrias, and Corinth.* There is no reason to doubt that, in acting thus, not only Flamininus himself, but the senate and people at home, were influenced, partly at any rate, by feelings of genuine sympathy with the Greeks and reverence for their past. It is equally clear that no other course was open to them. For Rome to have annexed Greece, as she had annexed Sicily and Spain, would have been a flagrant violation of the pledges she had repeatedly given both before and during the war; the attempt would have excited the fiercest opposi- tion, and would probably have thrown the Asiatic as well as the European Greeks into the arms of
' Polyb., xviii., 37.
• Livy, xxxiii., 32, 33.
• Livy, zxziv., 48-52.
Ch. 2] Rome and the East. 1 45
Antiochus. But a friendly and independent Greece would be at once a check on Macedon, a barrier against aggression from the East, and a promising field for Roman commerce. Nor while liberating the Greeks did Rome abstain from such arrange- ments as seemed necessary to secure the predomi- nance of her own influence. In the Peloponnese, for instance, the Achaeans were rewarded by considerable accessions of territory ; and it is possible that the Greek states, as allies of Rome, were expected to refrain from war upon each other without her consent. The failure of the policy, after all, was due to the impracticability of the Greeks, and the intensity of their civic and tribal feuds. To suppose as some have done that Rome intended it to fail is to attribute to the states- men of the generation of Scipio and Flamininus even more than the cynicism of the time of L. Mumnriius.'
Antiochus III. of Syria, Philip's accomplice in the proposed partition of the dominions of w^rwith their common rival, Egypt, returned from Ant'orhu. the conquest of Coele-Syria (198 B.C.) '^^^^•^; to learn first of all that Philip was hard pressed by the Romans, and shortly after- wards that he had been decisively beaten at Cynos- cephalae. It was already too late to assist his former ally, but Antiochus resolved at any rate to lose no
' For the conflicting views of modems on the action of Rome,
see Mommsen, i?. C7., i., 718 ; and on the other side, Ihne, R, (?.,
iii., 52-63, and C. Peter, Studien zur Rdm. Gesch,, Halle, 1863,
pp. 158 sq. 10
1 46 Outlines of Raman History. [Book in
time in securing for himself the possessions of the Ptolemies in Asia Minor and in eastern Thrace, which Philip had claimed, and which Rome now pro- nounced free and independent. In 197-196 B.C. 557-558 ^^ overran Asia Minor and crossed into
A.u.c. Thrace.' But Antiochus was pleasure-
loving, irresolute, and above all no general, s6a A.u.c. ^^^ j^ ^2U5 not Until 192 B.C. that the urgent
entreaties of the ^Etolians, and the withdrawal of the Roman troops from Greece, nerved him to the decisive step of crossing the JEgt^xi ; and even then the force he took with him was so small as to show that he completely failed to appreciate the nature of the task before him.* At Rome the prospect of a conflict with Antiochus excited great anxiety, and it was not until every resource of diplomacy had been exhausted that war was declared.' At a distance, indeed, Antiochus, the great king, the lord of all the forces of Asia, seemed an infinitely more formidable opponent than their better-known neighbour Philip, and a war against the vaguely-known powers of the East a far more serious matter than a campaign in Thessaly. War, however, was unavoidable, unless Rome was to desert her Greek allies, and allow Anti- ochus to advance unopposed to the coasts of the Adriatic. And the war had no sooner commenced than the real weakness which lay behind the magnifi- cent pretensions of the " king of kings " was revealed.
• Livy, xxxiii., 38 ; Polyb., xviii., 50,
• Livy, XXXV., 43.
• Livy, XXXV., 20, xxxvi., i.
Ch. 2] Rome and the East. 147
Had Antiochus acted with enei^when in 192 B.C. he landed in Greece, he might have won the day before the Roman legions ap- peared. As it was, in spite of the warnings of Hannibal,' who was now in his camp, and of the iEtolians, he frittered away valuable time between his pleasures at Chalcis and useless attacks on petty Thessalian towns. In loi B.C. Glabrio
583 A.U.C.
landed at the head of an imposing force ; and a single battle at Thermopylae broke the courage of Antiochus, who hastily recrossed the sea to Ephesus, leaving his ^tolian allies to their fate. But Rome could not pause here. The safety of her faithful allies, the Pergamenes and Rhodians, and of the Greek cities in Asia Minor, as well as the neces- sity of chastising Antiochus, demanded an invasion of Asia. A Roman fleet had already (loi B.C.) crossed the ^Egean, and in concert with the fleets of Pergamum and Rhodes worsted the navy of Antiochus. In 190 B.C. the new consul, L. Scipio, accompanied by his famous brother, the conqueror of Hannibal, led the Roman legions for the first time into Asia. At Magnesia, near Mount Sipylus in Lydia, he met and defeated the motley and ill-disciplined hosts of the great king.* For the first time the West, under Roman leadership, successfully encountered the forces of the East, and the struggle began which lasted far on into the days of the emperors. The
* Livy, xxxvi., ii.
' Livy (xxxvii., 40) describes the composition of Antiochus's army.
1 48 Outlines of Roman History. [Book III
Settlement ^^rn^s of the pcacc which followed the of western victory at Magnesia tell their own story clearly enough. There was no question, any more than in Greece, of annexation ; the main object in view was that of securing the predominance of Roman interests and influence throughout the peninsula of Asia Minor, and removing to a safe distance the only Eastern power which could be considered dangerous.* The line of the Halys and Taurus range, the natural boundaries of the peninsula eastward, was established as the boundary between Antiochus and the kingdoms, cities, and peoples now enrolled as the allies and friends of Rome. This line Antiochus was forbidden to cross ; nor was he to send ships of war farther west than Cape Sar- pedon in Cilicia. Immediately to the west of this frontier lay the small states of Bithynia and Paph- lagonia and the immigrant Keltic Galatae, and these frontier states, now the allies of Rome, served as a second line of defence against attacks from the east. The area lying between these " buffer states " and the iEgean was organised by Rome in such a way as should at once reward the fidelity of her allies and secure both her own paramount authority and her safety from foreign attack. Pergamum and Rhodes were so strengthened — the former by the gift of the Chersonese, Lycaonia, Phrygia, Mysia, and Lydia, the latter by that of Lycia and Caria — as not only amply to reward their loyalty, but to constitute them effective props of Roman interests and effective
' Livy, xxxvii., 55, xxxviii., 38 ; Polyb., xxi., 17
Ch. 2] Rome and the East. 1 49
barriers alike against Thracian and Keltic raids in the north and against aggression by Syria in the south. Lastly, the Greek cities on the coast, except those already tributary to Pergamum, were declared free, and established as independent allies of Rome.
In a space of little over eleven years (200-189 B.C.) Rome had broken the power of Alexander's successors and established throughout the 554-565
eastern Mediterranean a Roman protecto- a.u.c. rate. It remained to be seen whether this protecto- rate could be maintained, or whether Rome would be driven to that policy of annexation which she had adopted from the first in Sicily and Spain.
It was in the western half of the protectorate in European Greece that the first steps in the direction of annexation were taken. The
Third Mace-
enthusiasm provoked by the liberation donian war.
of the Greeks had died away, and its place „ '^!:^?,^'2'
en 583-586 A.u.c.
had been taken by feelings of dissatisfied ambition or sullen resentment. Internecine feuds and economic distress had brought many parts of Greece to the verge of anarchy, and, above all, the very foundations of the settlement effected in 197 B.C. were threatened by the reviving pow-
Ksn A TT O
er and aspirations of Macedon. Loyally as Philip had aided Rome in the war with Antiochus, the peace of Magnesia brought him nothing but fresh humiliation. He was forced to abandon all hopes of recovering Thessaly, and he had the morti- fication to see the hated king of Pergamum installed almost on his borders as master of the Thracian Chersonese. Resistance at the time was unavailing,
150 Outlines of Roman History. [Book ill
5fi5-575 ^^^ from 189 B.C. until his death (179 B.C.)
A.u.c. hg laboured patiently and quietly to in-
crease the internal resources of his own kingdom/ and to foment, by dexterous intrigue, feelings of hostility to Rome among his Greek and barbarian neighbours. His successor, Perseus, his son by a left-handed alliance, continued his father's work. He made friends among the lUyrian and Thracian princes, connected himself by marriage with Anti- ochus IV. of Syria and with Prusias of Bithynia, and, among the Greek peoples, strove, not without success, to revive the memories of the past glories of Greece under the Macedonian leadership of the great Alexander.* The senate could no longer hesi- tate. They were well aware of the restlessness and discontent in Greece ; and after hearing from Eu- menes of Pergamum, and from their own officers, all details of Perseus's intrigues and preparations they declared war.' The struggle, in spite of Perseus's courage and the incapacity at the outset of the Ro- man commanders, was short and decisive. The sympathy of the Greeks with Perseus, which had been encouraged by the hitherto passive attitude assumed by Rome, instantly evaporated on the news that the Roman legions were on their way to Greece. No assistance came from Prusias or Antiochus, and Perseus's only allies were the Thracian king Cotys and the lUyrian Genthius. The victory gained by L.
' Livy, xxxix., Z^sq,
• Livy, xlii., 5.
• Livy, xlii., 19, 36.
Ch. 21 Rome and the East. 151
^milius PauUus at Pydna (168 B.C.) ended the war.* Perseus became the prisoner of Rome, and as such died in Italy a few years later.* Rome had begun the war with the fixed resolution no longer of crippling but of destroying the Mace- donian state. Perseus's repeated proposals for peace during the war had been rejected ; and his defeat was followed by the final extinction of the kingdom of Philip and Alexander.' Yet Macedonia, though it ceased to exist as a single state, was not definitely constituted a Roman province.* On the contrary, tlhe mistake was made of introducing some of the main principles of the provincial system — taxation, disarmament, and the isolation of the separate com- munities— without the addition of the element most essential for the maintenance of order — that of a resident Roman governor. The four petty republics now created were each autonomous, and each sepa- rated from the rest by the prohibition of comtner- cium and connubium^ but no central controlling authority was substituted for that of the Mace- donian king. The inevitable result was confusion and disorder, resulting finally (149-146
. , - >, « A 605-608 A, U.C.
B.C.) m the attempt of a pretender, An-
driseus, who claimed to be a son of Perseus, to
resuscitate the ancient monarchy.* On his defeat
• Livy, xliv., 36-41 ; Plut., JEtniL^ 15 sq,
• Diod., xxxi., 9 ; Livy, xlv., 42 ; Polyb., xxxvii., 16.
• Livy, xlv., 9.
• Livy, xlv., 17, 29; Plut., ^fwtV., 28; Mommsen, R, (7., i., 769 ; Ihne, R, G., iii., 216 ; Marquardt, Rom, Siaaisverw,, i., 160.
• Polyb., xxxvii., 2 ; Livy, Epit,^ i.
152 Outlines of Roman History. [Book ill
in 146 B.C. the senate hesitated no longer, Roma?p!" ^^^ Macedonia became a Roman pro- vince, vince, with a Roman magistrate at its "*•"•«=• head.'
The results of the protectorate in Greece, if less dangerous to Roman supremacy, were quite as Affaira in Unfavourable to the maintenance of Greece. order. But from 189 B.C. to the defeat
565-587 ^' Perseus in 167 B.C., no formal change
A. u.c. Qf importance in the status of the Greek states was made by Rome. The senate, though forced year by year to listen to the mutual recrim- inations and complaints of rival communities and factions, contented itself as a rule with intervening just enough to remind the Greeks that their freedom was limited by the paramount authority of Rome, and to prevent any single state or confederacy from raising itself too far above the level of general weakness which it was the interest of Rome to maintain. After the victory at Pydna, however, the sympathy shown for Perseus, exaggerated as it seems to have been by the interested representations of the Romanising factions in the various states, was made the pretext for a more emphatic assertion of Roman ascendency. All Greeks suspected of Macedonian leanings were removed to Italy, as hostages for the loyalty of the several communities,' and the real motive for the step was made clear by the exceptionally severe treatment of the Achaeans,
' For the boundaries of the province, see Ptolemy, iii., 13 ; Mat' quardt, loc, cit,^ 161. • Livy, xlv., 31.
Ch. 21 Rome and the East. 1 53
whose loyalty was not feally doubtful, but whose growing power in the Peloponnese and growing independence of language had awakened alarm at Rome. A thousand of their leading men, among them the historian Polybius, were carried off to Italy. In iEtolia the Romans connived at the massacre by their so-called friends of five hundred of the oppo- site party. Acarnania was weakened by the loss of Leucas, while Athens was rewarded for her unam- bitious loyalty by the gift of Delos and Samos.
But this somewhat violent experiment only an- swered for a time. In 148 B.C. the Achaeans rashly persisted, in spite of warnings, in attempt- settlement ing to compel Sparta by force of arms to ^'l^Sf c?.' submit to the lea^^ue. When threatened ** a.u.c. by Rome with the loss of all that they had gained since Cynoscephalae, they madly rushed into war.* They were easily defeated, and a " commission of ten," under the presidency of L. Mummius, was appointed by the senate thoroughly to resettle the affairs of Greece.* Corinth, by orders of the senate, was burnt to the ground, and its territory confis- cated. Thebes and Chalcis were destroyed, and the walls of all towns which had shared in the last desperate outbreak were razed to the ground. All the existing confederacies were dissolved ; no cont- mercium was allowed between one community and another. Everywhere an aristocratic type of con- stitution, according to the invariable Roman prac-
* Livy, Epit,^ li., Hi,
* Livy, EpiU^ Hi. ; Polyb., xl., 9 j^. ; Pausanias, vii., 16 ; Mommsen, R, G,, ii., 47 Jf.
154 Outlines of Roman History. [Book ill
tice, was established, and the payment of a tribute imposed. Into Greece, as into Macedonia in 167 B.C., the now familiar features of the provincial system were introduced — disarma- ment, isolation, and taxation. The Greeks were still nominally free, and no separate province with a governor of its own* was established, but the needed central control was provided by assigning to the neighbouring governor of Macedonia a general supervision over the affairs of Greece. From the Adriatic to the iEgean, and as far north as the river Drilo and Mount Scardus, the whole peninsula was now under direct Roman rule.*
Beyond the iEgean the Roman protectorate worked no better than in Macedonia
The Roman
fn Asfa**"** ^ Greece, and the demoralising recrimi- 5?5o8A*u c ^^^^^^s, quarrels, and disorders which flourished under its shadow were aggra- vated by its longer duration, and by the still more selfish view taken by Rome of the responsibilities connected with it.' At one period indeed, after the battle of Pydna, it seemed as if the more vigorous, if harsh, system then initiated in Macedon and Greece was to be adopted farther east also. The levelling policy pursued towards Macedon and the
* Mommsen, he, cii,^ note; Marquardt, Rom, Staatsverw.^ i., 164 sq,; A. W. Zumpt, Commentt, Epigraph,^ ii., 153.
' North of the Drilo, the former kingdom of Perseus's ally Gen- thius had been treated as Macedon was in 167 (Livy, xlv., 26) ; cf, Zippel, Rom, Herrschaft in lUyrien^ Leipsic, 1877. Epirus, which had been desolated after Pydna (Livy, xlv., 34), went with Greece ; Marquardt, i., 164.
* Mommsen, R, (7., i., 771-780, ii., 50-67.
Ch. 21 Rome and the East. 155
Achaeans was applied with less justice to Rome's two faithful and favoured allies, Rhodes and Pergamum. The former had rendered themselves obnoxious to Rome by their independent tone, and still more by their power and commercial prosperity. On a charge of complicity with Perseus, they were threatened with war, and though this danger was averted * they were forced to exchange their equal alliance with Rome for one which placed them in close dependence upon her, and to resign the lucrative pos- sessions m Lycia and Cana given them in 189 B.C. Finally their commercial prosperity was ruined by the establishment of a free port at Delos, and by the short-sighted acquiescence of Rome in the raids of the Cretan pirates. With Eumenes of Per- gamum no other fault could be found than that he was strong and successful ; but this was enough. His brother Attalus was invited, but in vain, to be- come his rival. His turbulent neighbours, the Galatae, were encouraged to harass him by raids. Pamphylia was declared independent, and favours were heaped upon Prusias of Bithynia. These and other annoyances and humiliations had the desired effect. Eumenes and his two successors — his brother and son, Attalus II. and Attalus III. — contrived, in- deed, by studious humility and dextrous flattery to retain their thrones, but Pergamum ceased to be a powerful state, and its weakness, added to that of Rhodes, increased the prevalent disorder in Asia Minor. During the same period we have other indi-
* Livy, xlv., 20 ; Polyb., xxx., 5.
156 Outlines of Roman History. [Book III
cations of a temporary activity on the part of Rome. The frontier of the protectorate was pushed forward to the confines of Armenia and to the upper Euphra^ tes by alliances with the kings of Pontus and Cappar docia beyond the Halys. In Syria, on the
cQo A«U*C«
death of Antiochus Epiphanes (164 B.C.), Rome intervened to place a minor, Antiochus Eupa- tor, on the throne, under Roman guardianship. In 168 B.C. Egypt formally acknowledged the suzerainty of Rome,' and in 163 B.C. the senate, in the exercise of this new author- ity, restored Ptolemy Philometor to his throne, but at the same time weakened his position by handing over Cyrene and Cyprus to his brother Euergetes.
This display of energy, however, was short-lived. From the death of Eumenes in 159 B.C. down to 133 B.C. Rome, secure in the absence of ' any formidable power in the East, and busy with affairs in Macedonia, Africa, and Spain, relapsed into an inactivity the disastrous results of which revealed themselves in the next period in the rise of Mithradates of Pontus, the spread of Cretan and Cilician piracy, and the advance of Parthia. To the next period also belongs the conversion on the death of Attalus III. of the kingdom of Pergamum into the Roman province of Asia.
Both the western and eastern Mediterranean now acknowledged the suzerainty of Rome, but her rela- tions with the two were from the first different. The West fell to her as the prize of victory over Carthage, and, the Carthaginian power broken, there was no
MAP //.
Ch. 2] Rome and the East. 157
hindrance to the imniediate establishment in Sicily, Sardinia, Spain, and finally in Africa, of direct Ro- man rule. To the majority, moreover, of her west- ern subjects she brought a civilisation as well as a government of a higher type than any before known to them. And so in the West she not only formed provinces, but created a new and wider Roman world. To the East, on the contrary, she came as the liberator of the Greeks ; and it was only slowly that in this part of the empire her provincial system made way. In the East, moreover, the older civil- isation she found there obstinately held its ground. Her proconsuls governed and her legions protected the Greek communities, but to the last the East remained in language, manners, and thought Greek and not Roman.
CHAPTER III.
THE ROMAN STATE AND PEOPLE DURING THE PERIOD OF THE GREAT WARS.
At the close of a century first of deadly struggle and then of rapid and dazzling success, Rome found herself the supreme power in the civilised world. " By all men," says Polybius, writing at the end of this period, " it was taken for granted that nothing remained but to obey the commands of the Ro- mans." We have now to consider how this period of conflict and conquest had affected the victorious state.
Outwardly the constitution underwent but little change. It continued to be in form a moderate de- The consti- niocracy. The sovereignty of the people tution. finally established by the Hortensian law
remained untouched in theory. It was by the peo- ple in assembly that the magistrates of the year were elected,* and that laws were passed * ; only by " order
' Cic, Leg, Agr.f ii., 7. 17, ** omnes potestaUs^ imperia, euro- Hones ^ db universo populo Romano proficisci canvenit"
• Cic, Fro Flacco^ vii,, ** qua sciscerei plebs^ aui quce populus ju- beret ; summota contione, distrihuHs pariibust tribuHm et centuriO' fimjuberi tfetarique voluerunt"
158
The Raman State and People. 159
of the people " could capital punishment be inflicted upon a Roman citizen. For election to a magis- tracy, or for a seat in the senate, patrician and plebeian were equally eligible.' But between the theory and the practice of the constitution there was a wide difference. Throughout this period the actually sovereign authority in Rome was that of the senate, and behind the senate stood an order of nobles ( nobiles \ who claimed and enjoyed privileges as wide as those which immemorial custom had formerly conceded to the patriciate. The ascend- ency of the senate, which thus arrested the march of democracy in Rome, was not, to any appreciable extent, the result of legislation. It was ^|,^
the direct outcome of the practical neces- awrendency sities of the time, and when these no longer existed, it was at once and successfully chal- lenged in the name and on the behalf of the consti- tutional rights of the people.
Nevertheless, from the commencement of the Punic wars down to the moment when with the destruction of Carthage in 146 B.C. Rome's only rival disappeared, this ascendency was senate and complete and almost unquestioned. It MMmWy. was within the walls of the senate-house, and by decrees of the senate, that the foreign and the
' A few priestly offices were still confined to patricians, e, g, those of the rex sacrorum and the Jiamen diaHs, The first plebeian curio maximus was elected in 209 B.C. Only a patrician could fill the occasional office of inierrex. On the other hand, no patrician could hold a plebeian magistracy (tribune or cdile of the/Zr^j). Mommsen, R9m. Forsch,, i., 77-127.
i6o Outlines of Roman History. [Book \\\
domestic policy of the state were alik^ determined. It is true that the rights of a magistrate to propose, and of the people to pass, any measure, were never formally restricted. But, in the first place, it became an understood thing that a magistrate should not bring any proposal before the assembly, except with the approval, and by the direction of the senate; and the initiative thus conceded to the senate was before long claimed as a right. The action of the tribune C. Flaminius ( 232 B.C.), in carry- ^^ ' ' ' ing an agrarian law in the teeth of the " senate's authority," * and that of the praetor M. Juventius Thalna (167 B.C.), in submit- ting the question of war with Rhodes to the assembly without having previously consulted the senate,* were condemned as dangerous and unprecedented. In the second place, there was an increasing tendency on the part of the magistrates to refer to the assembly only in those cases where the authority of the people was constitutionally necessary. In other cases, and even in some where a reference to the people had been previously cus- tomary, it was the senate alone that was consulted, and it was by a simple decree of the senate that the point was settled. Thus the prolongation of a magistrate's command {prorogatio imperii), though at the time of the Samnite wars it was held to require an order of the people, was during the Punic wars and afterwards eflfected as a rule by decree of
* Polyb., ii., 21 ; Cic. De SenecU^ iv.
'Livy, xlv., 21, **no7M? tnaloque exemplo rem ingressus eratt guod rum ante consuUo senatu • • . regationem ferret.^
Ch. 3] The Roman State and People. i6i
the senate alone.' Though a treaty could only be ratified or war declared by the people,* it was in the senate that the terms of peace were settled, and that audience was given to foreign ambassadors. It was the senate which made alliances,' regulated the yearly levies of troops,* decreed the annexation of provinces, and laid down the lines on which they should be governed.* In matters of finance its author- ity was equally great. The control of the supplies, the most powerful weapon that a popular assembly can wield, was wielded at Rome, not by the people, but by the senate. To quote Polybius, " the senate was master alike of all the income and of all the expenditure of the State." * Lastly, in the various departments of domestic administration, it was to the senate, rather than to the people that questions of difficulty or importance were referred.^
This monopoly of government by the senate, to the exclusion of the people, was accompanied by a change in the relations of the senate with senate and the magistrates. The latter, from being °««*»t«tc8. its superiors, became its subordinates, seeking its
'For the older practice, see Livy, viii., 23; for the later, Livy, xxvi., I, XXX., 27, etc. Polybius (vi., 15) expressly includes the proro* gation of a command among the prerogatives of the senate.
*Polyb., vi., 14; Livy, xxi., 18; Sail., Jug,^ 39.
*Polyb., vi., 13 ; Livy, xliii,, 6.
^Livy, xxiv., 11, ^^ de republica belloque gerendo et quamtum copiarum et ubi qucsque essent consuUs ad senatum rettuUrunt,**
' Compare the decree as to Macedonia, Livy, xlv., 17, 18.
• Polyb., vi., 13 ; Cic. In Vdtimum, xiii., 36.
^ E. g, the prevalence of foreig^n worships, Livy, xxv., i. See gen« eraUy Mommsen, Staatsrechi, iii., 11 74-1 193.
IS
1 62 Outlines ef Raman History. LBook ill
advice on all occasions, and yielding to the advice when given the obedience due to a command. It became the first duty of a magistrate to be the loyal minister of the senate, and to be always amenable to its authority.* Senatorial decrees gradually acquired something of the binding force of statutes. Many of them were acted upon year after year by successive magistrates, and were quoted as authoritative in the law-courts.* It was even held that a decree of the senate could suspend for a time the operation of a law.' It was only natural that, as the senate acquired this new and commanding position, it should endea- vour to get rid of everything in its composition and forms of procedure that savoured of inferiority or dependence. In one most important
Th6 com-
gMition of point it succeeded completely. Although the magistrate's original prerogative of creating senators was not taken away, he was grad- ually so restricted in its exercise as to leave him no freedom of choice.* It is clear from the accounts we possess of the manner in which the vacancies in
* Cicero {Pro SesHoy Ixv., 137) states this view fully: ** senatum reipublica cusUHlemyPrasidemyPropugnatorem collocaverunt(fnajores); hujus ordinis atutoritaU uti magistratus et quasi minisiros grazdssimi consilii esse volueruni"
' E. g. those which regulated the organisation and administration of provinces.
' E, g, the law of appeal was held to be suspended by the decree ** dareni operant consules ne quid respubUca detrimenti capereV* (Sail., Cat,, 29).
^ Festus, p. 246, describes the kings and consuls as freely selecting senators *' ut reges sibi legebaut^ sublegebantque quos in conciKo pub- lico habereni iUi , , . consults • . . conjuncHssimcs sibi . . , legebantj*
Ch.3] TTie Roman State and People. 163
the senate were filled up in 216 B.C., that there was then a well understood order of preference, which the magistrate was expected to follow. Those who had held any curule magistracy, if not already sena- tors, had the first claim ; next after them came those who had been tribunes of the plebSy aediles of the plebs^ or quaestors; finally those private citizens who had won distinction in war.* But in that year, thanks to the losses at Cannae, the number of vacan- cies was exceptionally large. Ordinarily, we may be certain that the magistrate had no need to travel be- yond the list of those who, as having held a magis- tracy since the last revision of the senate, had by law or custom a preferential claim to a seat.* The senate thus ceased to be a body of advisers freely chosen by the magistrate from all ranks of the community. Instead, it was regularly recruited according to established rules, and the mag^istrate had practically no choice but formally to admit into the senate the persons entitled to a seat. But it was not only the magistrate's discretion in choosing senators that was restricted. It seems clear that, in some way or other, during this period his power of expulsion was limited also, and that a senator, once admitted, re-
* Livy, xxiii., 23.
* Livy (xxii., 49) speaks of those " qtd eos magistratus gessissent, unde in senatum legi deberent" and these magistracies were evidently the curule offices. At what period the tribunate of the plebs first entitled its holder to a seat in the senate at the next revision is un- certain. The privilege was first legally attached to the quaestorship by Sulla. But in the time of the Gracchi it was clearly customary for a seat in the senate to follow as soon as possible after the quaes torship.
164 Outlines of Roman History. [Book ih
tained his seat for life, unless he were found guilty of some gross and scandalous conduct. One other point must also be noticed. The senate was, under this system, not only recruited without reference to the discretion of the magistrate, but it was recruited only from the official class, from those who had held a magistracy. The result was that the ky element disappeared. The senate of the latter years of this period consisted entirely of magistrates and ex- magistrates. It became an essentially bureaucratic and official body. Nothing more clearly proves the Its pro- subordinate relation in which the senate cedure. originally stood to the magistrate than its
rules of procedure. They were evidently based on the assumption that the senate could only advise the magfistrate when consulted by him, that he might accept or reject its advice as he chose, and that its expression of opinion only acquired authori- tative force when adopted and acted upon by him. But this assumption, in the period with which we are dealing, had ceased to correspond with the facts of the case, and it appears that some attempt was made to bring the forms and rules of senatorial pro- cedure into closer conformity with the actual state of aflfairs. It was probably, to take a few instances, during this period that it became etiquette for a magistrate, when laying a matter before the house, to abstain from anticipating the decision of the sen- ate by making any proposal of his own,* and that the
* The usual fomuila was '* quid de ea fieri placet,** Cf. Cic. Phil,^ X., 17.
Ch. 3] The Roman State and People. 165
anomalous permission was conceded to a senator, when asked for his opinion, of travelling beyond the question, an evasive mode of enabling him to intro- duce any business in which he was interested.' Equally significant is the fact that, whereas in ear- lier times the magistrate was said to act " in accord- ance with the opinion of the senate," he was now said to act " in accordance with the decree, or with the authority, of the senate." * But, as will be seen later on, these changes did not go far enough to re- move an inconsistency which mattered little while the senate was strong, and the magistrates weak, but which had serious consequences when the case was reversed.
The causes of the ascendency which the senate thus acquired at the cost both of the popular assembly and the executive magistracy causes of the are not difficult to discover. In the first ascendency place, the two assemblies, through which ** *Nrture the Roman people exercised their sover- ©fthe
. .• f ^ M • ti*i assembly.
eign prerogatives of election and legisla- . tion, the comitia of the populus by its centuries, and the concilium of the plebs by its tribes, were hampered in their action by one serious defect. Neither could act unless set in motion by a magistrate. They could only meet when convened by a magistrate, and though there were many days on which a magistrate could not convene an assem-
* For this privilege, ** egredi relatianem" see Tac, Ann,^ ii., 38 ; Gell., iv., 10; Cic, Ad Fam,^ x. 28. ' Mommsen, Staatsrecht, iii., 994.
i66 Outlines of Roman History. iBook 111
bly,* there were not, as at Athens, any fixed days on which he was obliged to do so. Moreover, when once assembled they could only act in response to the question {rogatio) addressed to them by the pre- siding consul, praetor, or tribune.* There were, of course, certain cases in which the magistrate was bound to convene an assembly and to ask the people to express their will. But there were a vast number of cases in which this procedure was not constitution- ally necessary, and in these it rested with the magis- trate to consult the people or not as he chose. A large field was thus left to his discretion, and in the exercise of his discretion he was guided by circum- stances. As it happened, throughout this period circumstances were all unfavourable to a frequent consultation of the people. The assembly, whether of the populus or plebsy could only meet in the city, or just outside the walls in the Campus Martius. But the voters were a large body, many of them resident at a great distance from Rome ; or away on service with the legions ; to get them together was inconvenient and difficult ; nor when assembled were, they specially qualified to decide the intricate ques- tions of military or foreign policy which occupied the attention of Roman statesmen at the time. By com- parison with the assembly the senate appeared to great advantage. It could be easily and quickly
^' E, g, dies fasti and nefasti^ and dajrs set apart as holidajrs or for thanksgiving. In Cicero's time the number of days on which comitia could be held {flies comitiales) was not large.
' Gell., X., 20, ** Caput ipsum et origo et quasi frons ' rogtUio ' est , . . nam ni populus aui plebs rogetur^ nullum plebis aut popuU jussum Jieri potestr
Ch.3] The Roman State and People. 167
summoned. It included within its ranks the most experienced soldiers and statesmen of the day. The fact that its members owed their seats ultimately to their having been elected by the people to a magis- tracy, gave it some sort of title to speak with author- ity in the people's name. Finally, in the senate- house, the careful and deliberate discussion which the forms of the assembly precluded were always possible.
But these were not the only considerations which led the magistrates of ,this period to turn ^^^ ^ ^^ to the senate rather than to the people for the magis- counsel and direction. The habitual def- ^^•^y*
erence which they paid to the senate was largely due to changes which had taken place in the magistracy itself, and in the nature and amount of the work which it had to do. Nothing is more characteristic of the Roman constitution than the width and com- pleteness of the " power of command " (imperium) with which the Roman people invested their chief magistrates. The magistrate " with the imperium " was in theory and for the time all-powerful. Senate and assembly met only when he convened them, and considered only what he laid before them. He was equally capable of administering justice at home and of leading the legions abroad. While holding the imperium he was irresponsible and irremovable. But this plenary authority, though exercised to the full by the first consuls, and at a later time by the Caesars, was exercised in a much more restricted fashion by the magistrates of the period of the great wars. It had been, as we have seen, the object of
1 68 Outlines of Roman History. [Book m
attack during the early days of the struggle between the orders. The Valerian law of appeal had taken away from the consuls the power of inflicting capital punishment upon Roman citizens within the city, and by the institution of the tribunate, their action inside the city bounds was rendered liable at any moment to interference. In 435 B.C. the important duties connected with the census were separated from the imperium and trans- ferred to two censores. By the Hortensian law (287 B.C.) the plebeian tribunes finally obtained a rival and independent power of initiat- ing legislation, and to this was added afterwards that of convening and consulting the senate.* But it was not only by these attacks from without that the position of the magistrates with the imperium was weakened. As Rome expanded, and the business of administration increased, it was found necessary to increase their number. The original " college " of two praetor-consuls was gradually enlarged. In 364 B.C. a third praetor, the prcBtor urbantis^ was added, and the civil jurisdiction between citizens intrusted to him.* A hundred and twenty years later, a fourth was appointed to take charge of cases in which the " aliens," now becoming numerous, were concerned.* The annexation of ter-
^ Varro (Ap. GelL^ xiv., 8) implies that the tribunes obtained this right before the plebiscitum Aiinium, Unfortunately the date of this plebiscite is unknown. Mommsen would assign it to the Grac- chan period (133-102 B.C.).
• Livy, vi., 42, ** qui Jus inter cives dicer et,**
• Livy, Epit,^ 19, *^ pratar peregrinus,**
Ch.d] The Roman State and People. 169
ritories beyond the sea involved a further enlarge- ment. In 227 B.C. two praetors were first
537 A.U.C.
elected to administer the newly-formed provinces of Sicily and Sardinia ; in 197 B.C. two more were found necessary for ^^ a.u.c. the government of Hither and Farther Spain.* Thus, throughout the last fifty years of this period, there were no less than eight magistrates invested with the imperium, to whom must be added a variable but steadily increasing number of pro- consuls and propraetors. The eight actual fnagis- tratus cunt imperio elected each year formed a col- lege, each member of which was capable individually of exercising any or all of the powers belonging to the imperiutn. The endless confusion which the existence of so many parallel authorities was likely to produce was partially guarded against by certain rules of precedence. To the two original members of the college, now known as "consuls," a certain priority was granted over the remaining six; to whom the old title prcBtores was confined. The consuls were said to have the majus imperium^ — a convenient term of which the Caesars made dexterous use, — and in any conflict of authority the lesser imperiutn of the praetors gave way to theirs.* So, too, a collision between equals, between consul and consul, praetor and praetor, was provided for by the rule that " he who prohibits is stronger than he who commands." *
* Livy, EpiU^ 20 ; ib,^ xxxii., 27.
* Cic. Ad Ait. ^ ix., 9, ** prcetores . . . conlega consulum^ quorum est majus imperium ; GelL, xiii., 15, " imperium minus prator, majus habet consul "
' Cic. De Legg,^ 3.
1 70 Outlines of Roman History. iBook m
It is obvious, however, that these rules did not go very far towards securing either the exact division of labour or the harmonious and well-directed co-opera- tion, which was necessary for the right conduct of the ever-increasing business of Roman government. For this purpose some central regulative authority was needed, and nowhere but in the senate could such an authority be found. As early, at the latest, as the commencement of the second Punic war, it was the senate which, at the beginning of the year, determined what the departments to be filled should be, and decided which should be consular and which praetorian.* The individual magistrates, as a rule, readily conceded to the senate a control which relieved them of a heavy responsibility, and gave unity and cohesion to the action of the state, and the occasions were rare on which, during this period, a magistrate ventured to dispute its authority.
But though the ascendency of the senate was mainly due to the fact that without it the govern- ^jj^ ment of the state could scarcely have been
nobility. carried on, it was strengthened and con- firmed by the close and intimate connection which existed between the senate and the nobility. This " nobility " was in its nature and origin widely diflferent from the old patriciate} Though every patrician was of course " noble,*' the majority of the families which in this period styled themselves
* At the first meeting of the senate each year the new consuls formally referred to it the question of the provinces ; e, g, Livyi xxvi., I.
' Mommsen, Rdm. Gesch,, i., 789.
Ch . 3] The Roman State and People. 171
noble were not patrician but plebeian, and the typical nobles of the time of the elder Cato, of the Gracchi, or of Cicero, the Metelli, Livii, or Licinii were plebeians. The title nobilis was ap- parently conceded by custom to those plebeian families one or more of whose members had, after the opening of the magistracies, been elected to a curule office, and which in consequence were entitled to place in their halls, and to display at their funeral processions the imagines^ of these distinguished ancestors. The man who, by his election to a cuaile office thus ennobled his descendants, was said to be the " founder of his family,** * though himself only a new man.* Legally, therefore, this " nobility " was within the reach of any citizen who obtained even the curule aedileship. Nor did it carry with it any rights or privileges whatever. It is certain, moreover, that during the first sixty or seventy years of this period it was generally accessible in practice as well as in theory, and that almost every year some fresh plebeian family was ennobled. It was, for instance, from the time of the Punic wars that the Caecilii Metelli, the Aurelii Cottae, the Flaminii, the Calpurnii, and other great houses of the later republic dated their nobility.* Gradually,
' Cicero (Verr.^ v., 14), speaking of his own election to a curule office, says that it gave him ** jus imaginis ad memoriam posteritO' tetnque prodendcs,** Cf. Polybius, vi., 53.
' ** Aucior generis sui" or **princeps" Cic, Ad Fam,^ ix., 21 ; Z^ Leg. Agr.f ii., 100.
» '* Navus homo,'* Sail., Cat,, 23; yug., 63, etc.
^ See the calculations of Willems, Le SMat Romain, i., 274, 3gg»
1^2 Outlines of Roman History. [Book in
however, a more exclusive spirit and policy pre- vailed. Office brought wealth and prestige, and both wealth and prestige were freely employed to exclude " new men " and to secure for the " noble families" a monopoly of office. The ennobled plebeians not only united with the patricians to form a distinct order, but outdid them in
537A.U.C. ., J A 1
pride and arrogance. As early as 217 B.C. it was openly said that the only true plebeians were the " new men," and that the plebeian nobles had begun to despise the plebs ever since they them- selves ceased to be despised by the patri-
63X A.U.C. r J ir
cians.* By the close of this period (133 B.C.) it was already rare for any one not of a noble family to attain high office, while the cadets of the noble houses looked forward to an official career as their birthright." Thus both the magistracies and the senate to which they gave admission, though open in theory to all freeborn citizens, were in fact mon- opolised by a single class. And in return the whole wealth and influence of the nobility went to support the senate, whose ascendency they regarded as essential to the maintenance of their own usurped position as the governing class, and which was identified with themselves in its sympathies and interests.
' Livy, xxii., 34, " Non finem belli ante habituros^ quam consuUm vere pUbeium id est kominem novum fecissent^ nam plebeios nobiles Jam eisdem (1. e. as the patricians) initiatos esse sacris, et contemnere plebem ex quo contemni apatribus desierunt, capisse,"
' The consulship in particular was regarded as reserved only for nobles. Sail., Cat,, 23 ; ^ug-., 63.
Ch. 3] The Roman State and People. 1 73
The establishment of senatorial ascendency was not the only result of this period of growth ^j^^ Provin- and expansion. During the same time the ^dMcprS foundations were laid of the provincial sys- co°»«»»t«- tern, and with this of the new and dangerous powers of the proconsuls.
In dealing with the new dependencies beyond the sea, Rome did not adhere to the principles which she had followed in Italy. The transmarine communities, with few exceptions, were indeed like those in Italy, dignified with the honourable title of " allies " (socii) and in the case of some of them the alliance was, as in Italy, a real one based upon an actual treaty with Rome, and implying some sort of equality. But these "treaty states " ' were a small minority, and as Rome grew stronger it was but rarely that she condescended to admit any community to this privileged position. The vast majority of these new allies were allies only in name, and the " alliance " was little better than a fiction which imperfectly concealed their actual sub- jection.
Between them and the genuine allies of Rome, in or out of Italy,' lay all the difference involved in the fact that they were disarmed, were taxed, and, above
' Cimtates foederaia ; of the sixty-eight communities which in Cicero's time formed the province of Sicily, three were fasderaice. In Hither Spain, Pliny mentions only one, and in Farther Spain three, of which the most famous was Gades, whose treaty dated from the second Punic war. Cic, Verr.y iii., 6; Pliny, N, H,y xxicvii., 18-30.
' The only part of the Italian peninsula that was treated as a pro- vince was Cisalpine Gaul.
1 74 Outlines of Roman History. [Book Vk
all, were grouped as provinces under the immediate control of a resident Roman magistrate.*
The creation of a province, that is, of a separate Formation of ^^^ permanent magisterial department of xSmif "' administration, was a step which, as virtu- provinciae. ^jjy implying annexation, Rome was often
slow in taking.' But whenever carried out, the " re- duction into the form of a province " * of a group of communities was affected in much the same way. The main lines on which the new province was to be organised were usually laid down by decree of the senate, and the work of organisation then intrusted to a commission of senators." * The result of their labours was embodied in what was called the /ex pro- vincial This was in fact a provincial constitution, by which the extent of the new department, the number and status of the communities included within it.
' It was this creation of a separate department under a resident Roman magistrate which marked the '* formation of a province." Thus Macedonia was disarmed and taxed in 167 B.Cy but no province was created there till 146. Provincia meant properly the '* depart- ment "or *' sphere of command " assigned to a Roman magistrate.
* This was conspicuously the case in the East. See above, book iii., chap. ii.
* ** In formam provincia redigere " (Tac, Ann., ii., 56).
* E, g, in the case of Sicily, Cic, Verr,, ii., 16, 40; Macedonia, Livy, xlv., 29.
^ The lex was usually distinguished by the name of the chief com- missioner (e, g, the ** lex HupiHa " [Sicily], Cic, /. ^. y ** lexPompeia " [Bith3mia], Pliny, Epp, ad TraJ,, 79), who was said ** dare leges" Livy, xlv. , 30. Lex (= fixed conditions) was similarly used of the municipal constitutions granted to towns by Rome, and of the terms fixed by the censors for the collection of the state revenues flex censoriaj, Mommsen, StaatsreckU iii., 308, 3og.
Ch. 31 The Roman State and People. 175
their rights and obligations, the mode and amount of the taxation, as well as a variety of details con- nected with the administration of justice and with local government were determined. Its provisions were binding not only upon the communities of the province, but also upon the Roman magistrate,' nor, apparently, could they be modified or supplemented without the sanction of the Roman senate or people.' The general spirit of these provincial constitutions was far more liberal than the harshness which char- acterised the actual administration of the provinces would lead us to expect, though the liberality may have been mainly due to the reluctance of the Roman government to undertake more of the bur- dens of administration than was necessary, to its unwillingness to wound the susceptibilities of newly- conquered allies, and no doubt also to a sense of the danger involved in leaving too wide a discretion to its own officials in the government of great and often distant dependencies. A Roman province, as a glance at the lists in Pliny's Natural History * will show, was an aggregate of separate communities
1 Cicero charges Verres with violating the provincial constitution of Sicily ( lex RupiUa) which all governors before him had respected. Verr,, ii., i6, 40.
* Not only were these constitutions frequently amended by decrees of the senate or statutes of the assembly, but occasionally a complete revision was found necessary. The Sicilian constitution, for instance, was thus revised after the great slave war by P. Rupilius (consul 132 B.C.). On the other hand, the constitution of Bithynia by Pom- pey (65 B.C.) was still in force when the younger Pliny was there as governor (iii A.D.). Pliny, Epp. ad TraJ,, 79.
' Books iii. and iv.
I yb Outlines of Roman History. [Book iir
{civitates)y and in fixing the number of these, and the extent of their territories, Rome evidently re- spected where possible, the already existing political divisions. It is true that federations which might prove dangerous were dissolved, or reduced to harm- less religious associations; that some communities were rewarded by an accession, others punished by a loss of territory ; but, in the more civilised provinces especially, the integrity of the existing civitates was, as a rule, preserved and even in provinces such as Hither Spain, where few or no city states existed, Rome did not refuse at starting to recognise the native tribes or clans, though, as time went on, these older lines of division were gradually obscured by the growth of towns, and the formation of new centres of life.'
The communities, whether urban or tribal, within the limits of a province were all subject to the suzerainty of Rome. All alike were required, as indeed the Italian allies had been, to have the same friends and foes as the Roman people, to contract no independent alliances, and not to violate the Roman peace by waging independent wars." The farther
^ The r^^w«« enumerated by Pliny {N, H., iii., i8) along the sea- board of Hither Spain all bear the names of tribes, and appear to represent the original divisions of the Roman province. In parts of Macedonia, and in Gallia Narbonensis the old tribes remained intact as civitates^ though, as happened also in Spain, the tribal name was superseded by that of the central town, the caput genHs^ such as Vienna AUobrogum (Strabo, i86). In other cases two or more towns arose within the tribal canton and obtained recognition as indepen- dent civitaies,
' Strabo, 189, notes the beneficial effect in Gaul of the stoppage by Rome of the incessant tribal war»-
Ch. 3] The Roman State and People. i77
step of prohibiting intermarriage and " commerce/' between the separate communities of a province, seems to have been only taken by Rome in the earlier days of her empire, when her confidence in her strength was not yet fully established.*
Under these limitations each civitas was recog- nised as a self-governing community, though the degree of self-government allowed varied \^^^ .cif- widely. There was, in the first place, a government, wide difference between the " free states " and the rest. The former, whether treaty states, like Gades, or states to which Rome had voluntarily granted "freedom," as for instance Centuripae in Sicily," were, strictly speaking, outside the province. They were not subject to the authority of the resident governor, they paid no taxes, and they enjoyed complete local independence, subject only to the recognition of Roman suzerainty.* The autonomy of the ordinary provincial community was of a much more restricted kind. They paid taxes, and were con- sequently often styled stipendiarice^ or in Sicily decumance. They were farther directly under the control of the Roman governor. It would also seem that, in many cases, it was left to the governor to de- cide what amount of local self-government could be
' The prohibition of connubium and commercium was enforced in Sicily (Cic, Verr,^ iii., 40) and in Macedonia (Livy, xlv., 29).
* Cicero describes Centuripae as **sifu feeder e immunis ac libera " {Verr,f iii., 13).
' They could be called upon to aid Rome in war with men, ships, and supplies. See for further details Marquardt, !., 347, 399. No Roman troops could be quartered on a free state.
xa
1 78 Outlines of Roman History. [Book III
conceded to them, and that he had the right to super- vise the local officials, to examine the accounts, and to modify or even cancel the local constitution.* But the cases in which a provincial community was abso- lutely refused the privilege of using its own " laws and magistrates," must have been very few. In the relations made for the administration of justice by the Roman officials, a similar regard was shown for local usages and rights. Even in the matter of taxation, the Roman republic left things
Taxation. ' x- o
much as it found them. In Sicily, with the exception of certain communities, the existing system of tithes was retained unaltered * ; and the same was the case at first in the province of Asia.' In the other provinces in Spain, Africa, and Mace- donia, Rome merely fixed the amount of the tribute * to be paid annually, and left the local authorities to raise it as best they could in their own way. Nor, if the case of Macedonia was not exceptional, was the amount demanded excessive.* It would indeed have
' Cicero {Ad AU,, vi., 2) describes himself as allowing the com- munities of his province ** suit legibus etjudictis uii" and as having inspected the local accounts for the previous ten years, Apamea, on the contrary, protested against such an inspection by Pliny, on the ground that it was privileged ^* sua arbiirio rempublicam adminis^ irare** {Epp. ad Tyaj\, 47), Cicero declares that, in allowing ** au- tonomy," he was following the policy of his predecessor Scsevola (93 B,c,) ** ut Graeci inter se discepteni suis Ugibus ** {AdAtt,, vi., i).
* Compare the regulations in Sicily mentioned by Cicero ( Verr, , ii. 1 3). ■Cic, Vfrr,, iii., 6. The ** law of King Hiero " {lex ffieramca)
continued to regulate the payment and collection of the tithes.
^ Cic, Ad Q, /r., i., i, 33, for the change made by the younger Gracchus.
* Cic, Verr,^ iii., 6 : ** vecHgal certumquod sHperuUarutn dicitur,^
Ch. 3] The Roman State and People. 1 79
been better had the republican statesmen gone further and anticipated the emperors by placing the taxa^ tion of the provinces on a sound basis, and bringing it directly under the control of the central authorities. The provincial taxpayer would probably have paid less, and the Roman treasury would certainly have received more.*
On the whole, however, little fault can be found with the regulations made by Rome for her pro- vincial allies. The misfortune was that she took no sufficient precautions to secure their observance* and in the autocratic power wielded by the governor in charge of a province lies the explanation of her failure.
The governor of a Roman province was no doubt in theory bound to respect the constitution of the province, as well as all other rules laid down for his guidance by senate or people ; of*a province! and he was, like any other magistrate, expected to ask and to follow the advice of the senate on important matters. In fact, however, his position was such that these checks were of little use. He held the intperium, but the restrictions imposed upon its exercise in Rome ceased to operate across the sea. He shared his authority with no colleague ; no law of appeal limited his power of life and death over the subject provincials ; he was beyond the reach of the tribune's veto, and often at a safe distance from the senate. The supplies voted
* The Macedonian tribute was half that previously paid to th* Macedonian kings. Livy, xlv., i8.
i8o Outlines of Roman History. IBook ill
him from home * and the taxes paid by the pro- vincials were at his free disposal." If he needed more he had ample authority to requisition what he wanted from within the province* — while his demands were backed by the swords of his Roman troops. Even in matters of frontier policy a wide discretion was allowed him, and he could be warlike or pacific as his tastes and ambitions directed. Nor in the exercise of this absolute and undivided authority was he assisted or controlled by any body of ex- perienced civil servants. The whole administrative staff • came out and went back with him, and were strictly subordinate to him. Even the quaestor, though deriving his authority directly .from the Roman people, was in the management of the finances subject to the governor's authority ; he was, moreover, a young untrained man, and expected to pay to his chief the implicit deference of a son to a father.* It must be remembered, also, that the men
' To each governor was voted by decree of the senate an equip- ment {ornatio) for his province. The decree fixed the number of his legates, the size of his army, and gave him besides money for the payment of his troops and the expenses of himself and his staff. Cic, In Fisan,^ xvi., 37 ; Verr,^ ii., I, 13, 14, 17.
' Except in the case of the two tithe-paying provinces, Sicily and Asia. In no case does it seem that before the Lex Julia of 59, any strict account of his expenditure of public money was exacted from the governor.
' These requisitions, especially those made for the expenses of the governor and his staff, were the curse of the provinces, and repeated efforts were made to check them by law, but in vain.
*Of Verres* staff {cohors pratorid^ Cicero says, **//«j malt dedU SaUcia quum centum cohorUs fugitivorum,** . » Cic, Pro Planch, 28 ; Ad Q, fr., i., l, 3.
Ch.31 The Roman State and People. i8i
to whom this absolute power was given were not necessarily experienced administrators, nor were they carefully selected for the posts to which they were sent. It must often have happened that a man went out to a province, as Cicero did, with no more knowledge of provincial administration than he might have picked ' up years before as a quaestor, while to which province he went was a point decided by mutual arrangement, or the chances of lot ; nor did the brief term ' for which he held his command, while it quickened the anxiety of the worser sort to reap the golden harvest they expected, enable the better governors to master the varied duties of their office.
That an authority so wide, exercised at such a dis- tance from home, and amid innumerable temptations to abuse ' should have been frequently abused was inevitable. Yet for the abuse of his powers by a governor no really effective penalty was provided. It is true that the establishment in 149 B.C. by the Lex Calpurnia of a special court to try cases of magisterial extortion in the provinces * gave the provincial for the first time a recognised means of obtaining redress. But the remedy did not fully meet the case. The new court
* The normal term was one year, though towards the close of the republic there was a tendency to extend it. Verres was three years in Sicily.
' A vivid picture of these temptations is drawn by Cicero {Ad Q, fr,, i., i) in his letter to Quintus Cicero, then governor of Asia, "/w vincia corruptrtx" as Cicero calls it.
• This law established the first ** quastio perpeiua de pecumis rt- petundisr Cic, BruU, 27 ; De Off,, ii., 21.
1 82 Outlines of Roman History. [Book III
" for the recovery of monies " sat in Rome, and to bring documents and witnesses to Rome from Spain or Asia was a costly matter. It was, until 122 B.C., composed of senators,' that is, of men who either had been or were looking forward to being them- selves governors of provinces, and who as Romans and nobles were more in sympathy with the accused than with his accusers. No proceedings, moreover, could be taken against a governor until his term of ofHce was over, when the injuries inflicted were often already irreparable, or the evidence difficult to collect. But extortion, whether it took the shape of illegal requisitions, of systematic blackmailing,' or straight- forward robbery, was after all an evil which, under an honest governor, — and there were many such, — was mitigated if not removed. A far more serious defect in the system was that it rendered a comprehensive and consistent imperial policy impossible. Under it the provinces were not so much departments of one empire, as separate principalities, ruled by autocrats absolutely independent of each other, and virtually independent of the home government. Even within the limits of the single province one governor might undo what his predecessor had done. Neither a settled frontier policy, nor a proper adjustment of taxation, nor even a proper estimate and control of imperial expenditure were possible.
' By a law of Gaius Gracchus men of equestrian census (400,000 sesterces) were substituted for senators.
^ E, g. the vecHgal pratorium^ the sum paid by communities to avoid having Roman troops quartered upon them (Cic, Ad Ait,, v., 21), or the. vectigal adilicium, i.e,, the requisitioning of beasts for the aedile's games in Rome (Cic., Ad Q. fr,^ i., i, 9 ; Livy, xl., 44).
Ch. 31 The Roman State and People. 1 83
But this independence of the provincial ^j^^ procon- governors was, in addition, a source of ■«>*^- danger to the republican constitution. While the prevalent confusion and misgovemment brought dis- credit upon the authority of the senate and people of Rome,* their authority itself and that of the magistrates of the state was seriously weakened. To this result a change which was made towards the end of this period largely contributed. At the out- set the government of a province was intrusted to one of the ". magistrates with the imperium " for the year, and, unless special circumstances called for the presence of a consul," to one of the praetors. But as the number of provinces, and also the amount of business devolving upon the consuls and praetors at home, increased, this arrangement broke down. After 146 B.C. the praetors were never employed abroad, and the consuls only in case of war. The place of both in the regular government of the provinces was taken by "pro-magistrates.
»» 4
' Compare the words of Tacitus as to the acquiescence of the provinces in the rule of Augustus, Ann,^ i., 2 : ** suspt'cto sonatus populique imperio ob certaminapotenHum et avariHam magistratuum, invalido legum auxelioJ'*
• Sardinia was intrusted to a consul in 1 77 B. c. , * ^ pripter Belli tnagni- tudinem *' (Livy, idi.^S) ; for another instance, see Livy, xzxiii., 45.
' In 167 B.C. a praetor was prevented from taking his province by press of judicial business in Rome (Livy, zlv. , 16). The establish- ment of the qucestio de repetundis (149 B.C.) permanently reduced the number of praetors available for foreign service to three, since neither the pr.-urbanus nor the pr.-peregrinus could leave Italy. Meanwhile the number of provinces had risen to six.
^ For this convenient term see Mommsen, Siaatsrecht, i., 520. Pro magUtratu was used as equivalent to pro consult, pro prcstore^ ia
184 Outlines of Roman History. iBook ill
by men invested with the imperium pro consule ox pro prater. It is true that, as early as 327 B.C,* Rome had been obliged to de- part from the old principle that the imperium could only be exercised by a magistrate duly ap- pointed by the people. But the departure was at first slight. The appointment of a pro-magistrate was an exceptional thing, — it required an express vote of the people, — and the pro-magistrates were, in fact as well as in name, the deputies and subordinates of the actual magistrates. It was during the second Punic war that they were first commonly employed,' and at the same time it became customary to appoint them simply by decree of the senate without refer- ence to the people. Their real importance, however, dates from the time when to them was intrusted year after year the care of the provinces beyond the sea. The effect of this change was in the first place to deprive the people of any direct voice in the ap- pointment of the men who were to govern their de- pendencies, an infringement of their constitutional rights against which the popular leaders of the fol- lowing period effectively protested.* In the next place, the old relations between the magistrates and
legal phraseology* e,g. in the Lex Rabria and Lex Acilia de ^cuniis repetundis.
* See above, p. 97.
' In the year 214 B.c. there were at least seven (Livy, xxiv., 10). They were then, and until the year 52 B.C., usually the consuls and praetors o£ the preceding year.
^ E,g.^ in the case of Marius and the command in Numidia; Pompey in 67, 66, and 55, and Caesar in 59 received their commands directly from the people.
Ch. 3] The Roman State and People. 1 85
the pro-magistrates were inverted. The pro-magis- tracies lost their occasional subordinate character. They became regular offices, filled up year after year, The pro-consul or pro-praetor, though still technically inferior in rank to the consul or praetor, was to all in- tents and purposes independent of him.* Nor was this all. The position of the real magistrates in Rome, of the responsible heads of the executive, could not compare in attractiveness with that of their supposed deputies abroad. The routine duties and restricted authority of the former contrasted unfavora^ bly with the wide powers and splendid opportunities for acquiring wealth and fame open to the latter. By the close of this period even the consulship was by many valued chiefly as a stepping-stone to the pro-consulship, and the way was preparing for the time when the authority of a pro-consul would be in- voked even by consuls for the maintenance of order in Rome, and finally be established in the heart of the city itself as the supreme power.
The opening of the world to Rome, and of Rome to the world, produced a change also in every de- partment of Roman life, and every class ^^^ Roman of Roman society. The subjugation of people -the the Mediterranean countries, by placing at "*^ ^* the disposal of Rome, not only the great natural resources of Africa or Spain, but the accumulated treasures of Greece and Asia Minor, caused a sud- den and rapid rise in the standard of wealth, and
' Mommsen, Staatsreekt^ ii., 219. The consols continued in theory to enjoy a paramount authority {C'lc.^ Ad Att,^ viii., 15 ; Phil,^ iv., 9, " cmnes gnim in consults Jure et imperio debent esse provincicg ").
i86 Outlines of Roman History. [Book II
a marked change both in the sources from which that wealth was derived, and in the manner in which it was distributed. The Roman state itself no longer drew its revenues only from the public lands in Italy or from the " tribute " imposed upon its own citizens. In every province it was the owner of wide domains. The territory of Carthage in Africa, the mines of Spain, the crown lands of the Macedonian kings,' were all now the property of the Roman peo- ple. To them also belonged the tithes of Sicily, the yearly tribute of the five other provinces, and the proceeds of the customs duties throughout the em- pire. And though, thanks to a wasteful system of finance, these new sources of revenue did not greatly enrich the Roman treasury, they enabled the gov- ernment to dispense for the future with all direct taxation of Roman citizens. After 167 B.C. the tributum was never again levied in Italy, until Italy became in fact a province." But the wealth drawn from the provinces by the state was, after all, trifling in amount compared with that which flowed into the pockets of individual citizens. Of the booty taken in war, by far the greater part was usually appropriated by the suc-
* See the list of properties owned by the Roman state in the prov- inces, Cicero, Z?^ Z/^. Agr,^ ii., 5.
' The tributum was an occasional tax levied to meet the cost of war. When the state of the treasury rendered it possible, it was re- mitted or even repaid, e,g.^ in 293 B.C. (Livy, x., 46), and in 187 B.C. (Livy, xxxix., 7). That it was not levied after 167 B.C. is stated by Cicero, De Off.^ ii., 22 ; Pliny, N, H.y xxxiii., 56, Its re-introduc- tion, though in a different form, into Italy was the work of Diocletian. Marquardt, Siaatsverw,/\\,^ 158, 171, 217.
Ch.31 The Roman State and People. 187
cessful general and his soldiers.' Nor was it only the great campaigns against Philip or Antiochus that were profitable ; a rich harvest was yielded even by the " little wars " with Spanish, lUyrian, or Keltic tribes, and the gold ornaments of the latter were as welcome as the " royal treasures ** of King Antio- chus, and the statues and bronzes of Greek cities.' The spoils of peace were richer than those of war, and were more easily won. To every class the provinces offered a field for money-making. The nobles who, in one capacity or another, as governors, legates, or quaestors, served in the provinces, the contractors {publicani) who collected the customs duties or worked the state lands and mines, the "men of business" {negotiatores) who, as money- lenders, corn-brokers, speculators in land, or as mer- chants, penetrated to every comer of the empire, and even beyond its frontiers, rivalled each other in the success with which they exploited the provinces for their own profit. Even the population of the capital at home got their share of the spoil in the frequent distributions of corn and money, and in the
* This was an abuse, and Cato protested vigorously against this diversion of what was due to the state into private pockets. See the fragment of his speech, De prceda militibus dividenda^ ap, Gell.y ii., 18. In another speech Cato takes credit to himself for not dividing the spoils of war among his friends (Fronto, Ep, ad Ani,^ i., 2). A glaring instance was the misappropriation of the ' * money of King Antiochus," Li vy, xxxviii., 54.
*Livy, xxxiv., 4: ^^jam in Graciam Asiamque transcendimus^ regiasetiam atirectamus gazas^ signa ab Syracusis illata,** In 184 B.C. C. Calpumius Piso brought back from Spain eighty-three golden crowns and 12,000 lbs. of silver.
1 88 Outlines of Roman History. [Book ill
splendid spectacles provided for their benefit.* It is true that Horace contrasts the age of Cato with his own as an age of simplicity and frugality." None the less is it certain that a conspicuous feature in that period was the introduction into Roman life of a sumptuousness and splendor unknown before. The speeches of Cato are filled with passionate pro- tests against the new craving for wealth which had seized upon his contemporaries, and against the lux- ury and extravagance which the possession of wealth encouraged.* It is significant that in 215
539 A.U.C. , **, . ? T>
B.C. the long series of Roman sumptuary laws was opened by a plebiscite, the Lex Oppia,* which was directed against the growing love of Ro- man ladies for gold jewellery, fine dresses, and car- riages ; and still more significant is the fact that in 195 B.C. the Oppian law was, in spite of Cato's protests, repealed.* The "luxury of the table," the favourite vice of Roman society for long afterwards, became a subject of legis- lation in 181 B.C., and the Lex Orchia," carried in that year, was supplemented before the close of this period by two others,
' Plut., Cato^ 8, TOY ^Poofiaioay SijpLoay copfirffiivov dxaipoa^ Biti dtrouerpiai xai dtavo/id?, C/, Livy, xxxii., 57. The first gladiatorial show was exhibited in 264 B.C. The Floralia were instituted in 238 B. c, the Ludi Apollinares in 212 B.C.
^Hor., Od,^ ii., 15, 11.
• Livy, zxxiv., 4 : ** avaritia et luxuria civitatem labor are ^*
^ Livy, xzxiv.,i : ** «^ qua mulierplus semunciam auri haberet^ neu vestimento versicolort uteretur^ neujuncto vehiculo . . . vekeretur*^ *Livy, xxxiv., 8.
* Macrob., 5<i/.,ii.,i3 : ** prima decanis lex prascribebat numerum
nvivarwnj*
Ch. 3] The Roman State and People. 1 89
the Lex Faunia in 161 B.C., and the Lex Didia in 141 B.C.* A further symptom was the sud- ^ ^ ^
den and enormous increase in the number "3 a.u.c. of slaves imported from abroad, some captured in war, many more purchased at the great slave-marts, such as that which during this period was established at Delos. In the Roman households, on the Roman estates, in every branch of Roman business, the slave became ubiquitous and indispensable.
But the effects of this influx of wealth did not end here. It gradually altered the whole structure of Roman society, by destroying the equal- ^^^ ^j^^ ity and homogeneity which had once been distinction- its chief characteristic. The Roman community, 'at the time when Pyrrhus landed in Italy, was still in the main a community of farmers, tilling their own small farms. Differences, of course, there were between patrician and plebeian, rich and poor, and the Licinian laws prove that the desire of " add- ing field to field"* had been growing, as Roman conquest offered fresh facilities for its gratification. But, on the whole, there was a remarkable equality of conditions and a uniformity in the mode of living. Not only the soldier in the ranks of the legions, but even the consuls who led them, were taken from the plough.* This state of things could not long survive the acquisition of empire beyond the seas. While,
' Macrob., /. c, ; Cell., ii., 24.
• Livy, xxxiv., 4 : ** quid legem Liciniam excitarntnisi ingens cupidc agros coniinuandi, "
'Cic, Pro Rose, Am», 50 : " ilUs temparibusy quum ab aratro ar- cessebaniuTy qui consules Jiereni.** Manius Curius (consul 290, 275 274 B.C.) owned only a few fields and a poor homestead (Plut., Cat,
IQO Outlines of Roman History. tBook in
on the one hand, the harassing demands of military service in Spain or Asia,* the importation of foreign com and foreign slaves, and the unequal competi- tion with capitalists grown rich abroad, rendered farming in Italy, at least on the old lines, increas- ingly laborious and unprofitable,' the province of- fered an irresistibly attractive field for money-making on a scale unknown before. The result was not only that land ceased to be the sole or even the main source of wealth, but that the community began to be divided more sharply by differences in wealth, and in the manner in which the wealth was acquired and spent. From the government of the provinces the nobles returned no longer to live in honourable pov- erty on their farms, but to build themselves villas, which they filled with the spoils of Greece or Asia, to surround themselves with troops of slaves and dependants, and to live rather as princes than as cit- izens of a republic. Immediately below them a second " order " was beginning to assume a definite shape. It was composed of the state contractors {publicani) and the men of business {negotiatores). These men, it is true, had not yet acquired the influ- ence which they afterwards enjoyed,* nor were they
2). For the similar case of M. Atilius Regulus (cons. 256 B.C.), see Val. Max., iv., 4,6 But in Cato's time a patrician who, like L. Va- lerius Flaccus (consul 195 B.C., censor 184 B.C.), tilled his farm with his own hands was a rarity (Plut., CbA, 3).
* Compare the case of Spurius Ligustinus, Livy xlii., 34,
• See below, p. 205.
' The law of C. Gracchus (122 B.C.), which gave to the fudlicani the collection of the tithes in Asia, enormously increased their wealth
Ch. 3] The Roman State and People. 191
yet known as the " equestrian order." * But already the wide area of their operations opened to them by the expansion of Rome had greatly increased their wealth. They were already difficult to control,' and the Lex Claudia (218 B.C.) ' is a proof that
KfA A. U C
the rivalry between them and the nobles, which in the next period inflicted such injury upon the state, was beginning to show itself. Below these " two orders," as they came to be called, a third class was rapidly rising into importance, that of the " plebs of the city," the populace of Rome. Its numbers were augmented by the artisans and traders who found employment in supplying the wants of the growing city, by the impoverished farmers and peasants who were attracted to Rome by the prospect of cheap bread and games, lastly, by the slaves who, year by year, were enrolled in its ranks as freedmen.* It was a misfortune for Rome that this plebs urbana, though not the most nu- merous, and certainly not the most respectable sec- tion of the community, became, thanks to the peculiarities of the old constitution, a political force. Of the voters in the thirty-five tribes who legally constituted the Roman people, large numbers re-
* Pliny, N, II. ^ xxxiii., 34: ^^judicum appellatione separare eum orditum instituere Gracchi.**
* In 167 B.C. the senate refused to lease the Macedonian mines, ** nam tuque sine publicano exerceri posse ^ et ubi pttblicantis esset, ibi aut jus publicum vanum aut liberiatem sociis nullum esse" (Livy, xlv., 18). For the money-lenders, see Livy, xxv., 7.
* Livy, xxi., 63 : '* »^ quis senator^ cuive senator pater fuisset^ maritimam navem qua plus quam ccc amphorarum esset^ haberet."
^ In 220 B. c. the censors of the year ruled that freedmen could only be registered in one of the four city tribes. Livy, £pit., xx.
192 Outlines of Roman History. CBook in
sided at such a distance from Rome as to render their attendance at the cotnitia and the exercise of their political rights difficult if not impossible. In ordinary cases, consequently, it was the voters resident in or near the city who represented the sov- ereign people, who elected the magistrates and passed the laws. The results of this state of things were disastrous in more ways than one. To win the support of the city plebs became a necessity, and the means employed to win it poisoned the political life of Rome. The new wealth derived from the prov- inces was freely spent in bribery of every kind,* and the populace of Rome was encouraged to claim as the price of its support a share in the spoils of the empire, and to regard all political questions from a purely selfish point of view. Nor was this all. The absurdity and injustice of a system under which the sovereign authority of the Roman people was wielded by a corrupt minority could not long escape notice, and the attempts subsequently made to secure for the assembly a larger share in the government of the empire served only to place it in a clearer light.
But it was not only the structure and composition of the Roman community that underwent a trans- formation. In no other community have
The new , ,. t 1 t •
learning aod established custom and ancient usage
manners. , ,
played a more important part, and in scarcely any community have they been subjected
'In 181 B.C. the first law against bribery {lex Cornelia Babia de atnbitu) was carried by the consuls (Livy, xl., 19). A second was passed in 159 B.C. (Livy, £piL, xlvii,). Among Cato's speeches was one De Ambitu (Priscian, v. 12), Meyer, Orat, Rom, Fragm,^ p. 157.
Ch. 3] The Raman State and People. 1 93
to a more sudden and serious assault than that to which they were exposed in Rome by the sudden breaking down of the barriers which had so long isolated Rome from all but occasional contact with the civilisation of the Mediterranean countries. Among the new influences which now swept like a flood over Roman society, the most powerful and lasting was that exercised by the Greek civilisation, which ruled supreme .throughout the Eastern Medi- terranean.* With this Hellenism Rome was brought face to face first of all with the Magna Graecia, and it is noticeable that the names with which the history of Roman literature opens are nearly all associated with the Graecised districts of South Italy.' But during the fifty years which followed the battle of Zama,' a close and constant intercourse was estab. lished both with the ancient states of Greece itself, and with the scarcely less ancient Greek communities of Asia Minor. To Greeks of all classes the Italian republic, which had so suddenly become the greatest power in the Mediterraneum, which had overthrown the Phoenician, and broken the power of Macedon and Syria, became an object of keen interest. On the side of Rome, along with the political sympathy felt for civilised city states, enjoying institutions not
* See besides Mommsen, R, (?., i., 873, Saalfeld, HeUenUmus in Latium. (Wolfenbuttel, 1883.)
* Livius Adronicus the dramati^ was brought to Rome among the prisoners taken at Tarentnm (272 B.C.). Nsevius came from Cam- pania, Ennius from Rudise in Calabria, Pacavius from Brundusium.
* Compare the couplet quoted by Cell., xvii., 21 : *' Paenico belh seeundo Musa pinnaio gradu^ JntuUt se belHcosam in Romuli genUm /eramS
194 Outlines of Roman History. Wook ill
unlike her own, and with a similar interest in keep- ing at a distance both despots and barbarians, there was also undoubtedly a genuine admiration and enthusiasm for the literature, the langus^e, the art, and even the political life of Greece.
At the outset, especially, the results were good. The Hellenism which fascinated Rome in the days of fhe Scipios was comparatively pure. It came chiefly from the least degenerate seats of Greek civilisation, from Achaia, or Athens, or Rhodes, and its prominent representatives were such men as the philosopher Panaetius or the states- man-historian Polybius. Among the Romans " Phil- hellenism" had not yet degenerated into a fashion. It was still a real passion, which was strongest in the best minds of the day,' and its effects were seen most clearly, not in a mere affecta- tion of Greek manners and habits, but in a quicken^ intellectual activity, in wider sympathies and a more humane life. It created a Roman literature which, even when its theme was the struggles and victories of Rome, borrowed its form, and occasionally its lan- guage, from Greece.* The study of Greek and of the great Greek authors became a regular part of Roman education.* Roman politicians trained themselves
' As, for instance, in the younger Scipio Africanus, the friend of Polybius, in the two Gracchi, and their mother Cornelia, in L. iEmilins Paullns, the conqueror of Macedonia.
* E, g, in the poems of Ennius. For the Greek chronicles of Q. Fabius Pictor and L. Cincius Alimet&tus, see Teuffel, Gesch, derRdm, £f//., pp. 143-146.
' Even Cato learnt Greek in his old age, and the epitaph on Nsevius complains that after his death *'the Romans forgot to speak the
Ch. 3] The Roman State and People. 1 95
for the forum and the senate-house by mastering the rules of Greek rhetoric/ and did not disdain to seek counsel and advice in the writings of Greek philoso- phersy or from the lips of the learned Greeks whom they admitted to their friendship, or who lectured in Rome.*
Yet even during this period the influence of Hel- lenism was not without danger to the established order of things. As once before in Athens, so now in Rome, the " new learning " was a disturbing and un- settling force. The Roman citizen was not only confronted with new doctrines in politics and religion and new rules of conduct ; he was invited to criticise and discuss, he was initiated in the subtleties of Greek dialect,' and the daring speculations of Greek philoso- phy. The habits of mind thus formed, and formed too at a time when new opportunities of wealth and distinction were opening on all sides, inevitably weakened the hold of the " ancient usage." Above all, it created something of a revolt against the strict Roman discipline and the old Roman traditions of
Latin tongue " (Teuffel, /. r., p. loo). Livius Andronicns earned his freedom by instructing Roman youth in grammar and rhetoric, and the Greek naiSay^ayoi became an established institution in Rome.
' The Gracchi in particular were carefully trained as orators. Cic, Orai.^ 103 (of Tiberius) : *^ gracis Uiteris erudUU,** Comp. Plut.,
Cm v., 4*
* Crates, in 157 B.C., gave formal lectures in Rome (Saalfeld, 46). Diophanes of Mitylene was not only the teacher of T. Gracchus, but assisted him in his scheme of agrarian reform (Cic, Brut,, Z03 ; Pint., 7-. G. , 8).
• Cf, the story pf (^MSppfi^iM disQOursff Pi> justice (15$ 9.C.), ?tet.. Cato^ 32.
196 Outlines of Raman History. [Book III
self-effacement, and of unquestioning obedience alike to established custom and to constituted authority. The desire, characteristic of Greek democracy, for liberty to "live as one likes," ' began to show itself in Rome. The great nobles who had conquered kings, or governed wide provinces with regal author- ity and splendour, could not contentedly fall back into the ranks of Roman citizens. The new craving for individual distinction exhibited itself in the eager- ness with which triumphs were claimed even for victories which had never been won,* in the adoption of high-sounding titles,* in the largesses heaped upon the people, and in the troops of slaves and depen- dants with which the nobles filled their halls. The wealthy contractor or financier returned from the provinces with as little inclination to conform to the simple life of his home-keeping forefathers. Among the lower classes, in Rome at any rate, contact with foreign slaves and freedmen, with foreign worships and foreign vices, produced a love of novelty which no legislation could check. Especially significant were the symptoms of revolt against the old order which now appeared among the women. In a speech delivered against the proposed repeal of the Lex Oppia (195 B.c.) Cato denounced not only their growing extravagance and love of
» rb Zvy *^ fiodXerai rt J.
'Cato delivered a speech De J^'alsis Pu^is (Gell., x., 3) againit Q. Minucius Thermus (consul Z96 B.c.)> *' ^uia muitapralia finge^ bat** (Livy, xxxvii., 45).
. ' Livy, xxxvii., 58, of L. Scipio, **quine cognomini frairis eaient^ Asiaiicum se afcUari voltUt^**
Ch. 31 The Roman State and People. 1 9 Jr
finery, but their un-Roman freedom of manners, and their impatience of control/
These changes were not unopposed, though in most cases the opposition was prompted by a con- servative dislike of innovation,* and a Roman con- tempt for and suspicion of everything foreign, rather than by any clear appreciation of the danger to the republican system involved in them. Repeated ef- forts were made by decree of the senate or by legis- lation to check the growth of luxury and license,* or to exclude from Rome and Italy foreign religious rites,* and the foreign teachers of the new learning.* Of this opposition the heart and soul was M. Porcius Cato (consul 195 B.C., censor 184 B.C.), the 559 a.u.c. type for all time to come of the old- 570 a.u.c fashioned Roman citizen. To all the new fashions of the day he offered an indiscriminate hostility, which his honesty, fearlessness, and his rude elo- quence rendered especially formidable. He de- nounced the Roman official who carried the poet Ennius with him in his train,* with scarcely less fer-
• Livy, xxziv., 2 ; ef, the Lex Voconia (i6g B.C.) : '* nequis muHerem heredem insHtuteret,'* It is said that the first instance of divorce at Rome occurred in 231 B.c. (Dionysius, ii., 25).
• Livy, xxvi., 22. Manlius Torqaatus (consul 211 B.C.) declared : ** neque ego vestros mores f err e poteroy neque vos imperitun meum.**
' See above, p. 188.
• £,g., the Bacchanalian orgies (186 B.C.), Livy, xxxix., 18.
• £.g,t the expulsion of Cameades in 155 B.C. (Plut., Cdto^ 22. In 161 B.C. a senatus-consultum was passed against *^ phiiosophi et rhetores Latini^ uti Roma ne essent** (Gell. xv., 11).
• Cic, TusCy i., 2 : ** oratio Catonis in qtia objecit ut probrum M, Nobiliori (consul 189 B.C.) quod in provinciam poetas duxixM^ x duxerat autem — Ennium,**
1 98 Outlines of Roman History. tBook ill
vour than he attacked those who robbed the treasury
or the provincials, in their haste to grow rich. As
censor (184 B.C.) he -used the whole au- 570A.U.C.
thority of the office, to which the duty
of maintaining ancestral custom specially belonged,
to discourage in high and low alike any departure
from the ancient ways.* But the opposition, even
when inspired by Cato, was powerless to stem the tide,
and the feeble resistance offered by the republican
system in the face of political revolution was largely
due to the fact that Roman society was already in
structure and temper thoroughly unrepublican.
' Livy, XXXIX., 41 : *' trUtis tt aspira in (fmms onUnes cemsmra^
BOOK IV,
THE PERIOD OF THE REVOLU-
TION— 133-49 B.C
THE PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTION-
133-49 B.C.
CHAPTER I.
FROM THE GRACCHI TO SULLA — 1 33-8 1 B.C.
For a century and a half the senate had governed Rome, but we have now reached the moment when its supremacy was first openly and seriously chal- lenged, in the name and on the behalf of the consti- tutional sovereign, the Roman people. Throughout the greater part of the period included in this chapter, the political controversy which divided parties was that between the rival claims of the sen- ate and assembly. In the next period, indeed, this controversy receded into the background before a struggle in which the supremacy of senate and assembly alike was threatened by foes from without, the legions and the proconsuls. But down to 81 B.C. the chief aim of the popular leaders was to re- assert the independence of the assembly, while the re-establishment of senatorial ascendency was the great object of Sulla's legislation.
90X
202 Outlines of Raman History. IBook iv
In the position of the senate there was from the first one inherent weakness. Its authority had no sound ^ ^ , constitutionalbasis, and with the removal
▼▼ MUC&CM Oi
^Vo^ramwt! ®^ *^^ accidental supports it fell to the ground. It could merely advise the magistrate when asked to do so, and its decrees were strictly only suggestions to the magistrate, which he was at liberty to accept or reject as he chose.* It had, it is true, become customary for the magistrate not only to ask the senate's advice on all important points, but to follow it when given. It was obvious, how- ever, that if this custom were weakened, and the magistrates chose to act independently, the senate was powerless. It might indeed anathematise ' the refractory official, or hamper him if it could by set- ting in motion against him a colleague or the tribunes, but it could do no more, and these meas- ures, though as a rule effective in the case of magis- trates stationed in Rome, failed just where the senate's control was most needed and most difficult to maintain, in its relations with the generals and governors of provinces abroad. The vir- tual independence of the proconsul was before 146 B.C. already exciting the jealousy of the senate and endangering its supremacy.* Nor again
' The senators' whole duty is senUnHam dUere, The senator was asked quid censes? the assembly, quid veHHs jubeatist Cf. also the saving clause, Si eis videretur (sc> c<msuiihus^ etc.), in Scta,^ e. g., Cia, PAil., ▼., 19.
' By declaring his action to be contra rempubUcam* The force of this anathema varied with circumstances. It had no legal value.
' Livy, xxxviii., 42, of Cn. Manlius Vulso in Asia, 189 B.C. ; ef, also the position of the two Sdpios.
Ch. 11 From the Gracchi to SttUa. 20 j
had the senate any legal hold over the assembly. Except in certain specified cases, it rested with the magistrate to decide whether any question should be settled by a decree of the senate or a vote of the assembly.' If he decided to make a proposal to the assembly, he was not bound except by custom to obtain the previous approval of the senate," and the constitution set no limits to the power of the assem- bly to decide any question whatsoever that was laid before it. The right of the people to govern was still valid ; and though it had long lain dormant, any year might see a magistrate in office resolved on re- calling the people to a larger share in the conduct of affairs by consulting them rather than the senate, and an assembly bent on the exercise of its lawful prerogatives.
And from 167 B.C. at least, onwards, there were increasing indications that both the acqui- _^ ^ „ c escence of the people and the loyalty of the magistrates were failing. The absorbing excitement of the great wars had died away ; the economic and social disturbance and distress which they produced were creating a growing feeling of discontent ; and at the same time the senate provoked inquiries into its title to govern by its failure any longer to govern well. In the East there was increasing confusion ; in the West, Viriathus had, single-handed, defied the
" Hence the same things, e, g,, founding of colonies, are done in one year by a Sctum., in another by a iex ; cf. Cic, De Rep,^ ii., 32 ; PhiL^ i., 2, of Antony as consul, ** muiata omma, nihil per seHatum^ omnia per populum, "
• There was no legal necessity, before Sulla's time, for getting the •* senatus auctoHtas " for a proposal to the assembly.
204 Outlines of Roman History. Iftook IV
power which had crushed Carthage. At home the senate was becoming more and more simply an organ of the nobility, and the nobility were becoming every year more exclusive, more selfish, and less capable and unanimous/
The first systematic attack upon the senatorial gov- ernment is connected with the names of Tiberius and The Gracchi, Gaius Gracchus, and its immediate occa- 6m3£^*^" sion was an attempt to deal with no less a ^•"•^* danger than the threatened disappearance
of the class to which of all others Rome had owed most in the past." For, while Rome had been extend- ing her 3way westward and eastward, and while her nobles and merchants were amassing colossal for- tunes abroad, the small landholders in many parts of Italy were sinking deeper into ruin under the pressure of accumulated difficulties. The Hannibalic war had laid waste their fields and thinned their numbers, nor when peace returned to Italy did it bring with it any revival of prosperity. The heavy burden of military service still pressed ruinously upon them,' and in addition they were called upon
' See generally Mommsen, H, ^., i., bk. iii., cap. 6 ; Lange, J^dm, Alterih,^ vol. ii. ; Ihne, v., cap. i. The first law against bribery at elections was passed in i8i B.C. (Livy, xl., 20), and against magisterial extortion in the provinces in 149 (Lex Calpurnia depecuniis repeiun^ dis). The senators had special seats allotted to them in the theatre in 194 B.C. (Livy, xxxiv., 44, 54),
' Mommsen, i., bk. iii., cap. 12, bk. iv., cap. 2 ; Ihne, iv., 173 Jf., V. 1-25 ; Nitzsch, Die Graechen ; Long, Decline and Fail of the Roman Republic; Beesiy, The Gracchi^ Marius^ and Sulla ; Green- i^^. History of Rome ^ yo\, \.
' To Spain alone more than 150,000 men were sent between 196 and 169 (Ihne, iii., 319) ; compare the reluctance of the people to de-
Ch. 11 Front the Gracchi to Sulla, 205
to compete with the foreign com imported from be- yond the sea,' and with the foreign slave-labour pur- chased by the capital of the wealthier men. Farming became unprofitable, and the hard, laborious life with its scanty returns was thrown into still darker relief when compared with the stirring life of the camps with its opportunities of booty, or with the cheap provisions, frequent largesses, and gay spec- tacles to be had in the large towns. The small holders went off to follow the eagles or swell the proletariate of the cities, and their holdings were left to run waste or merged in the vineyards, oliveyards, and above all in the great cattle-farms of the rich, while their own place was taken by slaves. The evil was not equally serious in all parts of Italy. It was least felt in the central highlands, in Campania, and in the newly settled fertile valley of the Po. It was worst in Etruria and in southern Italy ; but every- where it was serious enough to demand the earnest attention of Roman statesmen. Of its existence the government had received plenty of warning in the declining numbers of ablebodied males returned at the census," in the increasing difficulties of recruiting for the legions," in servile outbreaks in Etruria and
clare war against Macedon in 200 b.c., and also the case of Spurias Ligustinus in 171 (Livy, adii., 34).
* Monunsen, i., 837 sq, Ihne (v., 16) thinks that Mommsen has exaggerated the depressing effects of foreign competition, but hardly makes out his case.
* Beloch, Ital, Bund, 80 sq,
* Livy, xliii., 14 ; £pit., xlviii., !▼. During this period the mini- mum qualification for service in the legion was reduced from z 1,000 to 4,000 asses.
2o6 Outlines of Raman History. [Book i v
554-594 Apulia.* And between 200 B.C. and 160
A.u.c. B.C. a good deal was attempted by way of remedy. In addition to the foundation of twenty colonies,' there were frequent allotments of land to veteran soldiers, especially in Apulia and Samnium.* In 180B.C. 40,000 Ligurians were removed from their homes and settled on vacant lands once the property of a Samnite tribe,* and in 160 B.C. the Pomptine marshes were drained for the pur- pose of cultivation.* But these efforts were only partially successful. The colonies planted in Cisalpine Gaul and in Picenum flourished, but of the others the majority slowly dwindled away, and two required recolonising only eight years after their foundation/ The veterans who received land were unfitted to make good farmers ; and large numbers, on the first opportunity, gladly returned as volunteers to a sol- dier's life. Moreover, after 160 B.C. even these efforts ceased, and with the single exception of the colony of Auximum in Picenum (157 B.C.) nothing was done to cheok the spread of the evil, until in 133 B.C. Tibe-
Ha* A U C
rius Gracchus, on his election to the tribunate, set his hand to the work.
Tiberius "^^^ ^^^ tribune was by no means the
Gracchus, conventional demagogue. Though a ple- beian, he came of a family which had ranked as noble
' Livy, zzxii.y 26, zzxiii., 36, xxzix., 29, 41. ' Sixteen Roman and four Latin colonies. See Marquardt, SiaaU» wrw.t i,, cap. z. . *£. g, Livy, xxxL, 4, 12, 39 ; xxzii., i.
* Livy, xl., 38.
* Livy, EpU,^ xlvi.
* Sipontum and Buxentum in 1S6 (Livy, xxxix., 2^
Ch. 13 From the Gracchi to SuUa. 20 J
for several generations. His father had been both consul and censor. His mother, Cornelia, was the daughter of Scipio Africanus the elder, and the most accomplished woman of her time. His sister was the wife of the younger Scipio, and he himself married a lady of the great Claudian house. Among his friends were P. Mucius Scaevola (consul 133 B.C.), the greatest jurist of his time, and P. Licinius Cras- sus, an orator, and, like Scaevola, learned in the law. Gracchus himself had been carefully educated by his mother. He was a scholar, an eloquent speaker, and had already won a reputation as a soldier and ad- ministrator. His noble birth and connections, his abilities and accomplishments, his high character, all justified the expectation that he would be able to carry through the delicate task of reform which public opinion summoned him to undertake.
The lines on which any attempt to increase the numbers of small landowners in Italy would have to be made were sufficiently clearly Th*** public marked. To confiscate private land for immi*." the purpose was out of the question, to purchase it would have been ruinously expensive. But the Roman state owned vast domains in Italy.* These " public lands " were the property of the Roman people, and intended for their benefit. In fact, however, the greater portion of them was either held in occupation by wealthy men or leased out, chiefly for grazing, to large cattle farmers. To abolish this monopoly of the public lands by a rich minority, and to use them for the advantage of the
' Mainly in S. Italy, where, as the evidence shows, the Gracchan commissioners did most of their work.
2o8 Outlines of Roman History. [Book iv
community was a course for which there was ample precedent. At the very outset of Rome's career of conquest, tribune after tribune had asserted the principle that the right method of dealing with the lands won by conquest was to parcel them out into allotments, and assign them to the poorer citizens.' The method encouraged agriculture, increased the number of landowners, and helped the poor. But the wealthier citizens had always preferred another and a very different method from that of allotment. In the case of waste lands, the custom had been to invite persons to settle down upon them {pccupare) and cultivate them,' each man taking for himself ' as much as he could manage. There was no parcelling out or assigning of the land.* The state remained the owner ; while the squatter was only the possessor. He had no lease, but if he could show that he had " squatted " with the permission of the state, he was guaranteed against disturbance.* This method was probably intended as a means for " settling up " lands
' Livy, iv., 48 : ** ut ager ex hostibus captus viriHm dividereiur^* ; and ibid.^ iv. , 5 1. The technical phrases were agrum dividere^ agrum dare^ assignare. The land was carefully surveyed and a map (fomui) showing the lots and their boundaries was made. The allotments be- came the absolute property of the allottees.
• Appian, ^. C, i. 7 : iicsxrfpvTrov rot? iBeXov6ty kxnovetr; ibid,^ i., 718 : xrfpvyfia rtfv dvejUTfror HepxdZe66at,
' Sibisuniere (Lex Agraria, line 2, C. /. Z., i., 200)
^ Agrimensores (ed. Lachmann), p. 138 : *"* horum agrarum nullum est aeSt nulla forma quoniam non ex mensuris acHs quisque accepit sed quod aut excolmt^ aut in spent colendi occupavity Livy says of Home when hastily rebuilt after its sack by the Gauls that it had the look of a city ** occupata magis quam divisce ** (v. 55).
^ By the prsetor*s interdict, the squatter had to show that he had not come into possession *' clam autvi^ aut precario " (Bruns. Pontes Juris Rom,^ p. 181). Against resumption of his land by the state, the
Ch. 1] From the Gracchi to Sulla. 209
which were unfit for allotment. But its character gradually altered. It became popular with the rich ; to please them it was applied to other than waste lands; the occupations increased in size, and the occupiers in many cases, instead of tilling the land, used it for grazing, or even for pleasure-grounds. This monopoly of the state lands by a few wealthy occupiers was rendered more irritating by the fact that even from the open pastures belonging to the state the poor citizen was gradually excluded by the rich graziers. To meet these evils the Licinian law* had forbidden any one person to occupy more than 500 acres, or to turn out on the public pastures more than 100 cattle or 500 sheep. But the Licinian law had not been properly enforced, and of the wide tracts of land acquired by Rome after the Samnite wars, and again after the second Punic war, the greater part had either passed into the occupation of rich nobles, or had been leased for grazing to wealthy companies of cattle and sheep farmers.^
The remedy proposed by Gracchus ' amounted in effect to the resumption by the state of as much of
occupier could only plead the moral claim based on vetustas possessionis.
' It is probable that the Licinian law was of much more recent date than tradition would have us believe. The maximum of 500 acres implies a larger area of public land than could have been owned by Rome in 377 B.C.
* The extensive grazing-grounds fsaiius pubHeij in Samnium and Apulia were mostly leased io pecuarii,
» Plut., T, G,, ^14 ; Appian, B, C, i., 9-13 ; Livy, Epit, Iviii. ; Cic, Z. A^.^ ii., 31. Compare also Mommsen, R, (7., ii., 68 sq, ; Ihnc. V. , 25 ; Marquardt, Rdm. Staatsverw,, i., 437, sq, ; Lange, Rdm, Altertk^, iii.. 8 sq. ; Nitsch, Gracchen^ 294; Dureau de la Malic, icon, politique des Romains^ ii„ aSo. »4
2 lo Outlines of Raman History. [Book IV
The pro- *^^ " common land " as was not held in ^beriiSi occupation by authorised persons and Gracchus, conformably to the provisions of the Licinian law. Unauthorised occupiers were to be evicted ; in other cases the occupation was reduced to a maximum size of i,ooo acres.' The land thus rescued for the community from the monopoly of a few was to be distributed in allotments,' and a com- mission of three men was created for the double purpose of deciding what land should be taken, and of carrying out the work of allotment.* It was a scheme which could quote in its favour ancient pre- cedent as well as urgent necessity. Of the causes which led to its ultimate failure something will be said later on ; for the present we must turn to the constitutional conflict which it provoked. The senate from the first identified itself with the in- terests of the wealthy occupiers, and Tiberius found himself forced into a struggle with the senate, which had been no part of his original plan. He fell back on the legislative sovereignty of the people ; he re- suscitated the half-forgotten powers of interference vested in the tribunate in order to paralyse the action of the senatorial magistrates, and finally lost his life
* Or possibly 750 ; it was in excess of the limit fixed by the Li- cinian law ; App., B. C, i., 9.
* Compare the inscription of Popillius Lsenas, consul 132, CI.L.^ i«» 551 » Wordsworth, Fragments of Early Latin^ p. 221.
* The allotments were to be inalienable, and were charged with payment of a quit-rent (App., B, C, i., 10 ; Plut., C. (7., 9). Their size is not stated. It is doubtful if the thirty jugera held agri colendi causa (compare the Lex Agraria, ill B.c.) refer to the Sem- pronian allotments. See C, /. Z., i., 200, and Mommsen*s notes.
Ch. 1] From the Gracchi to SuUa. 211
in an attempt to make good one of the weak points in the tribune's position by securing his own re. election for a second year. But the conflict did not end with his death. It was renewed on a wider scale, and with a more deliberate aim, by his brother Gaius, who on his election to oracchu^! the tribunate (123 B,C.) at once came for- •a* • • • ward as the avowed enemy of the senate. The latter suddenly found its control of the administration threatened at a variety of points. On the invita^ tion of the popular tribune the assembly proceeded to restrict the senate's freedom of action in assign- ing the provinces.' It regulated the taxation of the province of Asia' and altered the conditions of mili- tary service.' In home affairs it inflicted two serious blows on the senate's authority by declaring the sununary punishment of Roman citizens by the consuls on the strength of a senatus consultum to be a violation of the law of appeal/ and by taking out of the senate's hands the control of the newly- established court for the trial of cases of magisterial misgovemment in the provinces.' Tiberius had committed the mistake of relying too exclusively on the support of one section only of the community ;
* Lex Sempronia de provinciis consularibus ; Cic, Pro Domo^ 9 ; De Prov, Gms.^ 2, 7 ; Sail., Jug., 27.
* Lex de provincia Asia; Cic, Verr,, 3, 6; Fronto, Ad Ventm, ii., p. 125.
■ Hut., C t7., 5 ; Diod., xxxiv., 25.
* Hut., C. G., 4 ; Cic Pro JDomo, 31 ; Pro Rab. Perd., 4.
» QtuesHo de repeiundis, 149 B.C. See Hut., C G,, 5 ; Livy, Epit., Ix.; Tac., Ann.^ xii., 60; App., B, C, i., 21. For the kindred Lex Acilia, see C. /. Z., i., 198 ; Wordsworth, Fragm,, 424.
212 Outlines of Raman History. [Book iv
his brother endeavoured to enlist on the popular side every available ally. The Latins and Italians had opposed an agrarian scheme which took from them land which they had come to regard as right- fully theirs, and gave them no share in the benefit of the allotments/ Gaius not only removed this latter grievance,' but ardently supported and himself brought forward the first proposals made in Rome for their enfranchisement.' The indifference of the city populace, to whom the prospect of small hold- ings in a remote district of Italy was not a tempting one, was overcome by the establishment of regular monthly doles of corn at a low price.* Finally, the men of business — the publicani^ merchants, and money-lenders — were conciliated by the privilege granted to them of collecting the tithes of the new province of Asia, and placed in direct rivalry with the senate by the substitution of men of their own class as judges in the qucestio de repetundis^ in place of senators.* The organiser of this concerted attack upon the position of the senate fell, like his brother, in a riot.
* They had succeeded in 129 in suspending the operations of the agrarian commission. App., ^, C, i., 18 ! Livy, EpiU^ lix.; Cic, De Rep,^ iii., 41 ; cf. Lex Agraria, line 81 ; C. /. Z., i., 200.
' Lange, R, A,^ iii., 32 ; Lex Agraria, lines 3, 15, 2i. " The Rogatio Fulvia, 125 B.C.; Val. Max., ix., 5, i ; App., -5.C., i., 21.
* Plut., C. (7., 5 ; App., i., 21 ; Livy, EpiUy Ix.; Festus, 290.
* Hence Gaius ranked as the founder of the equestrian order. Plin., N,H.t xxziii., 34 : **judicum appettoHone separare eum ordinem . . . instihieri Gracchi** j Varro, Ap. Non,, 454: " bicipiUm civiia- kmfecitr
Ch. 1] From the Gracchi to Sulla. 213
The agrarian reforms of the two Gracchi had little permanent effect.* The agrarian commis-
. , , ^ ^ . Failure ol
sion, though between 120-122 B.C. its the attempt
° ^ at agrarian
action was suspended in deference to the "^"- ..^i- outcry raised by the occupiers, evidently made some progress with the work of allotment, especially in south Italy." But the colonies which Gaius founded in Italy to supplement his brother's scheme came to nothing.' Even in the lifetime of Gaius the clause in his brother's law rendering the new buildings inalienable was repealed, and the pro- cess of absorption recommenced.* In 118 B.C. a stop was put to further allotment of ^ a.u.c. occupied lands,* and finally, in 1 1 1 B.C., the 543 a.u.c. whole position of the agrarian question was altered by a law which converted all land still held in occupation into private land. The old controversy as to the proper use of the lands of the community was closed by this act of alienation. The contro-
' Traces of the work of the commission survive in the Miliarium Popilianum (C /. Z., i., 551), in a few Gracchan termini {idid,, 552, 553t 554i 555)t ^^ the limites Gracchani (Liber Colon, ^ ed. Lachmann, pp. 209, 210, 211, 229), etc. Compare also the rise in the numbers at the census of 125 B.C. (Livy, Epit,^ Ix.).
' Livy, EpiL^ ix.; Appian, B, C, i., 23. Two of them, Tarentum (Plut., C, G,f 8) and Scylacium (Veil. Pat., i., 15), were clearly in- tended to supply the new settlers in Calabria and Bruttium with con- venient ports.
' Lex Minucia, 121 B.C.; App., i., 27 ; Oros., v., 12 ; Festus, 201.
* The so-called Lex Thoria ; App., i., 27 ; Cic, Brut., 36 ; cf, Wordsworth, Fragm,, 441.
* The Lex Agraria still extant in a fragmentary condition in the museum at Naples. See Mommsen, C. /. Z., i., 200 ; Wordsworth, 441 sq, ; Bruns, Pontes Juris Rom,, 54-67 ; App., i., 27,
214 Outlines of Roman History. [Book iv
versy in future turned, not on the right of the poor citizens to the state lands, but on the expediency of purchasing other lands for distribution at the cost of the treasury/
But though the agrarian reform failed, the political conflict it had provoked continued, and the lines on which it was waged were in the main those laid down by Gaius Gracchus. The sovereignty of the people continued to be the watchword of the popular party and a free use of the plebeian machinery perfected during the old struggle between the orders, of the tribunate of the plebs and the concilium plebis remained the most effective means of securing their aims. At the same time the careers of both Tiberius and Gaius had illustrated the weak points in this machinery — the uncertain temper and varying com- position of the assembly, the limited tenure of ofHce enjoyed by the tribunes,' the possibility of disunion within their own body, and lastly, the difficulty of keeping together the divergent interests which Gaius had for a moment united in hostility to the senate.
Ten years after the death of Gaius tYi^ populares once more summoned up courage to challenge the Marius Supremacy of the senate; and it is im- J^™ ^•^- portant as marking a step in advance that A.u.c i^ ^2is Q^ a question not of domestic
reform but of foreign administration that the conflict
'Cic, Lex Agr.^ ii., sect. 65.
' Efforts were repeatedly made to get over this difficulty, e, g,^ by the LexPapiria, 131 B.C. ; Livy, .^V., lix. Gaius was himself tribune for two years, 1 10-109 (^/. Sall.,7«^., 37 : ** tribuni continuare magistr(i* turn nitebantur **), and Satuminus in 100 B.C.
Ch. i] From the Gracchi to Sutta. 215
was renewed. The course of affairs in the client state of Numidia since Micipsa's death in II8B.C. had been such as to discredit a •a^^*^*^ stronger government than that of the senate.' In open defiance of Roman authority, and relying on the influence of his own well-spent gold, Jugurtha had murdered both his legitimate rivals, Hiempsal and Adherbal, and made himself master of Numidia. The declaration of war wrung from the senate (112 B.C.) by popular indignation had •4tA.u.a been followed by the corruption of a consul* (ill B.C.) and the crushing defeat •« A.u.a of the proconsul Albinus.' On the news of this crowning disgrace the storm burst, and on the pro- posal of the tribunes a commission of inquiry was appointed into the conduct of the war/ But the popular leaders did not stop here. Caecilius Metellus who as consul (109 B.C.) had succeeded ^^j. j,-* to the command in Numidia, was an able soldier but a rigid aristocrat; and they now re- solved to improve their success by intrusting the command instead to a genuine son of the people. Their choice fell on Gains Marius, an experienced officer and administrator but a man of humble birth, from the old Volscian town of Arpinum, who, though no politician, was by temperament and train- ing a hater of the polished and effeminate nobles
> Sallust, T^Sf., 5 sq,; Livy, EpiL, Ixii., Ixiv. ' Calpumius Bestia ; Sallust, Jug,^ 28.
•/^., 38. 39. * Ib,^ 40.
a 1 6 Outlines (f Roman History. (Book IV
who filled the senate.* He was triumphantly elected, and, in spite of a decree of the senate, continuing Metellus as proconsul, he was intrusted by a vote of the assembly with the charge of the war against Jugurtha,*
Jugurtha was vanquished ; and Marius, who had been a second time elected consul in his absence arrived at Rome in January 104 B.C., bringing the captive prince with him in chains.' But further triumphs awaited the popular hero. The Cimbri and Teutones were at the gates of Italy ; they had four times defeated the senatorial generals, and Marius was called upon to save Rome from a second invasion of the barbarians/ After two years of suspense the victory at Aquae Sextiae (102 B.C.), followed by that on the Rau- dine plain (loi B.C.), put an end to the danger by the annihilation of the invading hordes, and Marius, now consul for the fifth time, returned to Rome in triumph. There the popular party welcomed him as a leader, and as one who would bring to their aid the imperiunt of the consul and all the prestige of a successful general Once more, however, they were destined to a brief success, followed by disastrous defeat. Marius be- came for the sixth time consul * ; of the two popular
' /^.» 63 ; Pint., Marius^ 9, 3. For the qnestion as to the podtioo of his parents, see Madvig, Vtrfoi.^ i. 179 ; Diod.. xxziT., sS.
•Sallust./jig'., 73.
' /(., 114. For the chronology of tue Jngurthine war, see Monm sen, R. G.^ ii., 146, note; Pelham, Joum^ c/PhiL^ tiL 91.
^ Liyy, Epit,^ Ixvii. ; Pint., Mar.^ 12. ; Mommsen, tt., X71, jy.
' lify, ^fU.^ Ixix. ; App., B, C, L 38 sg.
•5s A.U.C.
«53 A.U.C.
Ch.i] From the Gracchi to SuOa. 217
leaders Glaucia became praetor and Satuminus tri- bune. But neither Marius nor his allies satoraUi«i were statesmen of the stamp of the Grac- ApSSiSi chi ; and the laws proposed by Satuminus ^^^"^
had evidently no other serious aim in view than that of harassing the senate. His com law merely re- duced the price fixed in 123 B.c for the monthly dole of com, and the main point of his agrarian law lay in the clause appended to it requiring all senators to swear to observe its provi* sions.' The laws were carried ; the senators, with the exception of Metdlus, took the oath ; but the triumph of the popular leaders was short-lived. Their recklessness and violence had alienated all classes in Rome; and their period of office was drawing to a dose. At the elections fresh rioting took place, and at last Marius as consul was called upon by the senate to protect the state against his own partisans. In despair, Satuminus and Glaucia surrendered; but while the senate was discussing their fate they were surrounded and murdered by the populace.
The popular party had been worsted once more in their struggle with the senate, but none the less their alliance with Marius, and the position in which their votes placed him, marked an epoch in the history of the revolution. The six consulships of Marius represented not merely a party victory but a protest against the system of divided and rapidly-
' For the kges Appuleia^ see Livy, E^i^^ Ixix. ; App. !•• 39 ; Cic Pro BaUfo, 21 \AucU ad Herennium^ 1., 12, 81. They Inclttded also aUotmeots to Mvius's vetenms; AucU 4t Vir^ HL. 69*
2 1 8 Outlines of Roman History. [Book i v
changing commands, which was, no doubt, the system favoured by the senate, but was also an integral element of the republican constitution ; and in assailing it the populace weakened the republic even more than they irritated the senate. The transference of the political leadership to a consul who was nothing if not a soldier was at once a con- fession of the insufficiency of the purely civil author- ity of the tribunate, and a dangerous encouragement of military interference in political controversies. The consequences were already foreshadowed by thd special provisions made by Satuminus for Marius's veterans, and in the active part taken by the latter in the passing of his laws. Indirectly, too, Marius, though no politician, played an important part in this new departure. His military reforms * at once democratised the army and attached it reforms of more closcly to its leader for the time being. He swept away the last traces of civil distinctions of rank or wealth within the legion, admitted to its ranks all classes, and substituted voluntary enlistment under a popular general for the old-fashioned compulsory levy. The efficiency of the legion was increased at the cost of a complete severance of the ties which bound it to the civil community and to the civil authorities.
The defeat of Satuminus was followed by sev- eral years of quiet; nor was the next important
' Sallust, Jtig,t 86 ; ^^ipse interea pUHtes terihtre^ nam wi9re ma- forum neque ex elassibus, sed uH cujusque lubida erat, €apiU tensn pierasque,** For details, c/, Mommsen, ^. C, ii. iga ; Mtdvig. Fer/,, ii. 468, 493 ; Manjuaidt, Staatsverw,, ii. 417, 4%u
Ciuu From ike Grauht to SuUa. 219
crisis provoked directly by any efforts of the discred* ited popular party. It was due partly to the rivalry which had been growing more bitter each year between the senate and the commercial class ; and secondly, to the long-impending question of the enfranchisement of the Italian allies. The pu6iicani^ negotiatores^ and others, who constituted what was now becoming known as the equestrian order, had made unscrupulous use of their control of the courts, and especially of the quastio de repetundiSf against their natural rivals, the official class in the provinces. The threat of prosecution before a hostile jury was held over the head of every governor, legate, and quaestor who ventured to interfere with their opera« tions. The average official preferred to connive at their exactions; the bolder ones paid with fines and even exile for their courage. In 93 ^^ „ ^ B.C. the necessit}'^ for a reform was proved beyond a doubt by the scandalous condemnation of P. Rutilius Rufus,' ostensibly on a chaise of extortion, in reality as the reward of his efforts to check the extortions of the Roman rejmbticani in Asia.
The need of reform was clear, but it was not so easy to carry a reform which would certainly be opposed by the whole strength of the equestrian order, and which, as involving of the Italian the repeal of a Sempronian law, would arouse the resentment of the popular party. The difficulties of the Italian question were more serious. That the Italian allies were discontented was noto-
» Lhry, E^., Ixx. ; VeL Frt., IL, 13.
220 Outlines of Raman History. [Book 1%
rious. After nearly two centuries of close alliance, of common dangers and victories, they now eagerly coveted as a boon that complete amalgamation with Rome which they had at first resented as a dishon- oun But, unfortunately, Rome had grown more selfishly exclusive in proportion as the value set upon Roman citizenship increased. The politic liberality with which the franchise had once been granted had disappeared. The allies found their burdens increasing and their ancient privileges di- minishing, while the resentment with which they viewed their exclusion from the fruits of the con. quests they had helped to make was aggfravated by the growingly suspicious and domineering attitude of the Roman Government.' During the last forty years feelings of hope and disappointment had rap- idly succeeded each other; Marcus Fulvius, Gaius Gracchus, Saturninus, had all held out promises of relief, but nothing had yet been done. On each occasion they had crowded to Rome, full of eager expectation, only to be harshly ejected from the city by the consul's orders.* The justice of their claims could hardly be denied, the danger of con- tinuing to ignore them was obvious, yet the difficul- ties in the way of granting them were formidable in the extreme. The temper of senate and people alike was still jealously exclusive ; and from a higher than a merely selfish point of view there was much
1 Mommsen, JP. G.^ ii., 8x8 ; Vtam^ !▼., 151, v. 253; Marqoiidt, Staatsverw,^ L, 57, 58.
* Ltx Junia^ Cic, De Of.^ iii., II ; Lex LUinia MmeU, On,, ^f( Cfm,, fr. 10 1 Asoon., p. 67.
Ch.l] From the Gracchi to SuOa. 221
to be said against the revolution involved in so sud- den and enormous an enlargement of the citizen body.
Marcus Livius Drusus, who as a tribune gallantly took up the task of reform, is claimed by Cicero * as a member of that party of the centre
^ ^ Marcus
to which he belonged himself. Noble, uviu*
wealthy, and popular, he seems to have «aAu'c' hoped to be able by the weight of his position and character to rescue the burning ques- tions of the day from the grasp of extreme partisans and to settle them peacefully and equitably. But he, like Cicero after him, had to find to his cost that there was no room in the fierce strife of Roman politics for moderate counsels. His proposal to re- form the law-courts excited the equestrian order and their friends in the senate to fury. The agrarian and com laws which he coupled with it * alienated many more in the senate, and roused the old anti- popular party feeling ; finally, his known negotiations with the Italians were eagerly misrepresented to the jealous and excited people as evidence of complicity with a widespread conspiracy against Rome. His laws were carried, but the senate pronounced them null and void.* Drusus was denounced in the senate- house as a traitor, and on his way home was struck down by the hand of an unknown assassin.
* Cic, De Orat,^ i., 25, and De Domo, 50 ; Appian, B. C, i., 35 ; Diod. Cic, xx3cvii., 10 ; Ihne, v., 242.
' For the provisions of the Leges Livia, see App., B, C, i., 35 ; Livy, Epii,, had. They included, according to Pliny, ZT, JV,, xzxiii., 3, a proposal for the debasement of the coinage,
»Cic. ProDomo, 16
222 Outlines of Roman History. EBook \\
The knights retained their monopoly of the courts, but this and all other domestic controversies were ^jjg silenced for the time by the news which
oaSkTBx"' followed hard upon the murder of Drusus 664-665 A.u.c.^]^^^ the Italians were in open revolt
against Rome. His assassination was the signal for an outbreak which had been secretly prepared for some time before. Throughout the highlands of Central and Southern Italy the flower of the Italian peoples rose as one man.' Etruria and Umbria held aloof; the isolated Latin colonies stood firm; but the Sabellian clans North and South, the Latinised Marsi and Paeligni, as well as the still Oscan-speaking Samnites and Lucanians, rushed to arms. No time was lost in proclaiming their plans for the future. A new Italian state was to be formed. The Paelig- nian town of Corfinium was selected as its capital and rechristened with the proud name of Italica. All Italians were to be citizens of this new metropo- lis, and here were to be the place of assembly and the senate-house. A senate of five hundred members and a magistracy resembling that of Rome com- pleted a constitution which adhered closely to the very political traditions which its authors had most reason to abjure.
Now, as always in the face of serious danger, the action of Rome was prompt and resolute. Both consuls took the field*; with each were five legates, among them the veteran Marius and his destined
' For the Social War, see besides Mommsen, Ihne, Lange, also Kiene, D, Romische Bundesgenossenkrieg^ Leipsic, 1845. •App., ^.C, i. 39-49; Livy, EpiU^ Ixxii.-lxxvi.
Ch.li From the Gracchi to Sulla. 223
rival L. Cornelius Sulla, and even freedmen were pressed into service with the legions. But the first year's campaign opened disastrously. In Central Italy the Northern Sabellians, and in the South the Samnites, defeated the forces opposed to them. And though before the end of the year Marius and Sulla in the North, and the Consul Caesar himself in Cam- pania, succeeded in inflicting severe blows on the enemy, and on the Marsi especially, it is not surpris- ing that, with an empty treasury, with the insurgents* strength still unbroken, and with rumours of disaf- fection in the loyal districts, opinion in Rome should have turned in the direction of the more liberal policy which had been so often scornfully rejected, and in favour of some compromise which should check the spread of the revolt, and possibly sow discord among their enemies. Towards the close of the ^64 a.u.c. year 90 B.C. the Consul Caesar carried the ^*J[n«f £ex lex Juliay by which the Roman franchise papSia. was offered to all communities which had ^ ^•"*^' not as yet revolted ; early in the next year (89 B.C.) the Julian law was supplemented by the lex Plautia Papiria, introduced by two of the tribunes, which enacted that any citizen of an allied community then domiciled in Italy might obtain the franchise by giving in his name to a praetor in Rome within sixty days. A third law \lex CalpttTtiicL)^ apparently passed at the same time, empowered Roman magis- trates in the field to bestow the franchise there and
» For the Lex yuHa see Cic, Pro Balba^ 8 ; Gell.. W., 4; ^^PP* B, C, i., 49. Yqx Lex Plautia JF^apiria^ see Cic, Pro ArMa^^^v^^ Schol, Bob,^ p, 253,
224 Outlines of Roman History. [Book IV
then upon all who were willing to receive it. This sudden opening of the closed gates of Roman citi- zenship was completely successful, and its effects were at once visible in the diminished vigour of the insurgents. By the end of 89 B.C. the Samnites and Lucanians were left alone in their obstinate hostility to Rome, and neither, thanks to Sulla's brilliant campaign in Samnium, had for the moment any strength left for active aggfression. The enfranchisement of Italy was an accomplished fact, though the exact status of the new citizens was not settled until a few years later. Politically, Italy ceased to be a confederacy under Roman leadership, and the Italian allies of Rome entered as municipali- ties within the pale of the Roman state. But this act of enfranchisement, just and necessary though it was, added to the difficulties which beset the old republican constitution. It emphasised the absurdity of a system which treated the nobles and plebs of the city of Rome as the representatives of the Roman people, and which condemned the great mass of that people to a virtual exclusion from politics. Between the new citizens in the country towns and districts, and those in Rome a coolness sprang up. The con- tempt with which the latter regarded the municipales and rustici was repaid by a growing indifference on the other side to the traditions and institutions of a narrow polity in which they had only a nominal place, and by a growing mistrust of Roman politi- cians and politics. When the crisis came even Cicero's influence failed to excite among them any enthusiasm for the republican cause.
Ch.13 From the Gracchi to SuUa. 225
Meanwhile the termination of the Social War brought no peace with it in Rome. The old quar- rels were renewed with increased bitterness, while the newly-enfranchised Italians themselves resented as bitterly the restriction/ which robbed them of their due share of political influence by allowing them to vote only in a specified number of tribes. The senate itself was distracted by violent personal rivalries, and all these feuds, animosities, and griev- ances were aggravated by the widespread economic distress and ruin which affected all classes.' Lastly, war with Mithradates had been declared ; it was no- torious that the privilege of commanding the force to be sent against him would be keenly contested, and that the contest would lie between the veteran Marius and L. Cornelius Sulla.*
It was in an atmosphere thus charged with the elements of disturbance that P. Sulpicius Rufus as tribune* brought forward his laws. He p suipicius proposed— (i) that the command of the * itx:. ^ithradatic war should be given to «6 a.u.c. ^^li^^;^ (2) that the new citizens should be distrib-
«7) f^f ^* ^*'" "•' *° ' ^PP- ^' ^^ ^-^ ^^' 53. Madvig (R, Verf,, i., Hrere * -Appian in holding that the tribes to which the new voters
TV^^ ^^nfined were newly-created tribes. Cf. Mommsen, Rom,
Ijotiv ^^*' ^' ^'* *** ^^' *^^ Mithr., 22 ; Oros., v., i8; Livy, Epit,
earjy . ^^ Already been declared a consular province for 87, and seu^j *^ 88 seevas to liave been assigned to Sulla by decree of the
'i., ^^ C/c, JP^ f^^^r., i., 25, iii.^ 31^ and Brutus, 214; Veil. Pat., »3P. ^. j/orsalp^^^^ himself. For his laws, see App., B. C, i., 55
226 Outlines of Raman History. [Book iv
uted through all the tribes, (3) that the freedmen should no longer be confined to the four city tribes, (4) that any senator owing more than two thousand dendrii should lose his seat, (5) that those exiled on suspicion of complicity with the Italian revolt should be recalled. Whatever may have been Sulpicius's intentions, these proposals inevitably provoked a storm. The old voters bitterly resented the swamp- ing of the existing constituency ; the senate rallied its forces to oppose the alteration in the franchise of the freedmen and the proposed purging of its own ranks ; and lastly, both the senate and Sulla himself, now one of the consuls, prepared to resist the trans- ference of the Asiatic command to Marius. Both sides were ominously ready for violent measures. The consuls, in order to prevent legislation, pro- claimed a public holiday.' Sulpicius replied by arming his followers and driving the consuls from the forum. The proclamation was withdrawn and the laws carried, but Sulpicius's triumph was short- lived. From Nola in Campania, where lay the legions commanded by him in the Social War, Sulla advanced on Rome, and for the first time a Roman consul entered the city at the head of the legions of the republic. Resistance was hopeless. Marius and Sulpicius fled,* and Sulla, summoning the assembly of the centuries, proposed the measures he considered
' App., loc, cit,^ r^fiip^y apyiai leoXXdSv — a favourite stroke of policy. C/. Cicero, Ad Q, F,^ ii. 4, 4 : **dies comitiales exemit omnes • . . LaiinainstauraniurttucdegrantsuppluaHatus,**
'Marius finally escaped to Africa (see Marius); Sulpicius was taken and killed ; App., i., 60b
Ch.i3 From ike Gracchi to Sulla. 227
necessary for the public security, the most important being a provision that the sanction of the senate should be necessary before any proposal was intro- duced to the assembly/ Then, after waiting in Rome long enough to hold the consular ^ ^^u.c. elections, he left for Greece early in 87 B.C.
Sulla had conquered, but his victory cost the republic dear. He had first taught political parti- sans to look for final success, not to a Mariusand majority of votes in the forum or campus, ^*°"'-
but to the swords of the soldiery ; and he had shown that the legions, composed as they now were, could be trusted to regard nothing but the commands of a favourite leader. The lesson was well learnt. Shortly after his departure, Cinna as consul revived the pro- posals of Sulpicius * ; his colleague Octavius at the head of an armed force fell upon the new citizens who had collected in crowds to vote, and the forum was heaped high with the bodies of the slain.* Cinna fled, but fled like Sulla, to the legions. When the senate declared him deposed from his consulship, he replied by invoking the aid of the soldiers in Cam- pania on behalf of the violated rights of the people and the injured dignity of the consulship, and, like Sulla, found them ready to follow where he led. The neighbouring Italian communities, which had lost many citizens in the recent massacre, sent
' App., A C, i., 59 : nrfikvBTei diepofiovXsvrov etf rdv dtfjiiov id(pipe6Bat. For the other laws mentioned by Appian, see Momm- sen, ii.,258.
• Livy. £pit,, Ixxix. ; Veil., ii., 20.
•Cic, Pro Sestio, 77 ; Cdtil,, iiu, 34.
228 Outlines of Roman History. [Book iv
their new champion men and money ' ; while from Africa, whither he had escaped after Sulla's entry into Rome, came Marius with one thousand Numid- ian horsemen. He landed in Etruria, where his old veterans flocked to his standard, and at the head of some six thousand men joined Cinna before the gates of Rome. The Senate had prepared for a desperate defence, but fortune was adverse, and after a brief resistance they gave way. Cinna was acknoweledged as consul, the sentence of outlawry passed on Marius was revoked, and Cinna and Marius entered Rome with their troops. Marius's thirst for revenge was gratified by a frightful massacre, and he lived long enough to be nominated consul for the seventh time. But he held his consulship only a few weeks. Early in 86 B.C. he died, and for
668 A.U.C.
the next three years Cinna ruled Rome. Constitutional government was virtually suspended.
669 A.U.C. For 85 B.C. and 84 B.C. Cinna nominated
670 A.U.C. himself and a trusted colleague as consuls.' The state was, as Cicero * says, without lawful authority.* One important matter was carried through — the registration in all the tribes of the newly-enfranchised Italians,* but beyond this little
* Tibur and Prseneste especially.
' The consuls of 86, 85, 84 were all nominated without election. Livy, Epit.^ Ixxx., Ixxxiii. ; App., i., 75.
* Brut,^ 227.
^ The nobles had fled to SuUa in large numbers ; Velleius, ii., 23.
^ This work was accomplished apparently by the censors of 86 ; but cf, LAnge, iii., 133 ; Mommsen, R, G,^ ii., 315 ; Livy, EpiU^ toxiv.
Ch.l] From the Gracchi to Sulla. 229
was done. The attention of Cinna and his friends was in truth engrossed by the ever-present dread of Sulla's return from Asia. The consul of 86 B.C., Valerius Flaccus, sent out to supersede gg- ^ „ ^ him, was murdered by his own soldiers at Nicomedia.* In 85 B.C., Sulla, though *» • • • disowned by his government, concluded a peace with Mithradates.' In 84 B.C., after settling affairs in Asia and crushing Flaccus's successor Fimbria, he crossed into Greece, and in the ^hc return spring of 83 B.C. landed at Brundusium, ^'I^b.c! with forty thousand soldiers and a large ^ a.u.c. following of /migr/ nobles. Cinna was dead,* mur- dered like Flaccus by his mutinous soldiers ; his most trusted colleague, Carbo, was commanding as proconsul in Cisalpine Gaul ; and the resistance offered to Sulla's advance was slight. At Capua Sulla routed the forces of one consul, Norbanus ; at Teanum the troops of the other went over in a body to the side of the outlawed proconsul. After a win- ter spent in Campania he pressed forward to Rome, defeated the younger Marius (consul 82 B.C.) near Praeneste, and entered the city without further opposition. In North Italy the suc- cess of his lieutenants Metellus, Cn. Pompeius, and Marcus Crassus had been fully as decisive. Cisal- pine Gaul, Umbria, and Etruria had all been won for him, and the two principal leaders on the other side,
' Livy, £pit., Ixxxii. ; App., Mithr,, 52 ; Plut., Sulla^ 23. • Livy, EpiL, Ixxxiii. ; Veil., ii., 23 ; Plut., Sulla, 22. « In 84 ; App., B. C, 1., 78 ; Livy, £^t., IxxxiiL
230 Outlines 0/ Roman History. (Book l¥
Carbo and Norbanus, had each fled, one to Rhodes, the other to Africa. Only one foe remained to be conquered. The Samnites and Lucanians, whom Cinna had conciliated, and who saw in Sulla their bitterest foe, were for the last time in arms, and had already joined forces with the remains of the Marian army close to Rome. The decisive battle was fought under the walls of the city, and ended in the com- plete defeat of the Marians and Italians.'
For a period of nearly ten years Rome and Italy had been distracted by civil wars. Constitutional government, whether by Senate or Assembly, had been in abeyance, while the opposing parties, fought out their quarrels with the sword, under the leader- ship of generals at the head of legions ready and willing to follow them against their fellow-citizens and against established authorities of the state. The strife had spread from the Roman forum to Italy, and from Italy to the provinces ; and for the first time the integrity of the empire was threatened by the conflicts of rival governors.* The tottering fabric of Italian prosperity had been rudely shaken by the ravages of war. Class hatreds and personal feuds distracted the community, while the enfranchisement
' Livy, Epit,^ Ixxxviii. : ** Cum Samniiibus ante poriam Collinam debellardt" ; Plut., Sulh, 29, and Crassus, 6. According to App., i., 93, and Livy, loc, ciL, 8,000 captives were massacred. Florus (iii., 21) gives 4,000. Prseneste surrendered, was razed to the ground, and its population put to the sword.
* In Asia between Sulla and Fimbria. In 82 Pompey crushed the Marian leader Carbo in Africa. In Spain, Q. Sertorius maintained himself for ten years (82-72).
Ch.i] From the Gracchi to Sulla. 231
of the Italians was in itself a revolution which af- fected the very foundations of the republic. Such was the situation with which Sulla was now called upon to deal. It was for him to heal the divisions which rent the state asunder, to set in work again the machinery of civil government, and, above all, so to modify it as to meet the altered requirements of the time.
CHAPTER II.
FROM SULLA TO CiGSAR-— 81-49 B.C
The victory at the Colline Gate was followed almost immediately by the appointment of the victor
The dictator- ^° *^^ office of dictator. He was author- 8hip of Sulla, jggjj ^Q enact laws and resettle the consti- tution ; he was given absolute power of life and death over Roman citizens, and his previous acts were formally ratified.* For the first time since the expulsion of the kings, Rome was placed under the rule of a single man." Dangerous as the experiment was, the state of affairs justified Sulla's plain intima- tion to the senate that no other course was pos- sible. The real charge against Sulla * is not that he failed to accomplish a permanent reconstruction of the republican constitution, for to do so was be- yond the powers even of man so able, resolute, and self-confident as Sulla, armed though he
' App., B, C, i., 98 : hnl Si6et vofitov xal xara6Ta6st rifi leoXtrela?. Cic, Zex Agr,, i., 15: **Zfjf, ut dictator quern veUet civium impune posset occidere** ; tb, iii., 2 : ** ut omnia guaeunque tile fecisset esseni rata" Comp. Plut., SulL^ 33.
* App., B, C, i., 98.
' Compare especially Mommsen's brilliant chapter, which is, how* ever, too favourable (ii., 335-377), and also Lange (iii., 144 sq,), where most of the special literature on the SuUan legislation is given.
232
Ch. 2] From SuUa to Casar. 233
was with absolute authority, and backed by over- whelming military strength and the prestige of unbroken success. He stands convicted rather of deliberately aggravating some and culpably ignoring others of the evils he should have tried to cure, and of contenting himself with a party triumph when he should have aimed at the reorganisation and con- firmation of the whole state. By the next generation the '* reign of Sulla ** was associated, not with the restoration of order and constitutional government, but with bloodshed, violence, and audacious ille- gality. His victory was instantly followed, not by any measures of conciliation, but by a series of mas- sacres, proscriptions, and confiscations, of gfl^^^^f the which almost the least serious conse- suUanpro-
Bcriptions.
quence was the immediate loss of life which they entailed.' From this time forward the fear of proscription and confiscation recurred as a possible consequence of every political crisis, and it was with difficulty that Caesar himself dissipated the belief that his victory would be followed by a SuUan reign of terror. The legacy of hatred and discontent which Sulla left behind him was a constant source of disquiet and danger. In the children of the pro- scribed, whom he excluded from holding office, and the dispossessed owners of the confiscated lands, every agitator found ready and willing allies." The
' App., I., 95 sq. ; Dio Cassius, /r. 109 ; Plut.. SuUa, 31. The number of the proscribed is given as 4.700 (Valer. Max.), including, according to Appian, 2,600 members of the equestrian order.
^E. g,, Catiline, in 63 ; SaU., Cat,, 21, 37. For the ** Hberipro. scrtptorum;' see Velleius. ii., a8.
234 Outlines of Roman History. [Book IV
moneyed men of the equestrian order were more than ever hostile to the senatorial government, which they now identified with the man who cher* ished towards them a peculiar hatred/ and whose creatures had hunted them down like dogs. The attachment which the new Italian citizens might in time have learnt to feel for the old republican con- stitution was nipped in the bud by the massacres at Praeneste and Norba, by the harsh treatment of the ancient towns of Etruria, and by the ruthless desola- tion of Samnium and Lucania.' Quite as fatal were the results to the economic prosperity of the penin- sula. Sulla's confiscations, following on the civil and social wars, opened the doors wide for a long train of evils. The veterans whom he planted on the lands he had seized * did nothing for agriculture, and swelled the growing numbers of the turbulent and discontented.* The " SuUan men " became as great an object of fear and dislike as the ** SuUan reign." ' The latifundia increased with startling rapidity — whole territories passing into the hands of greedy partisans.* Wide tracts of land, confiscated, but never allotted, ran to waste/ In all but a few dis-
' Cic, Pro Clueni., 151.
*Cic., Phil,^ v., 43: ''^ tot muniapiorum maxima caiamitates,*' Cic, Pro Domo, 30 ; Cic, AdAtt,, i., 19 ; Floras, iii., 21 ; Strabo, p. 223, 254.
' Livy, E^t,, Ixzxix. ; App., B, C, i., loo ; Cic, Catii,^ ii., 2a
^ Sail., Cat., 28.
' Cic, Z^x Agr., ii., 26.
* Cic, Lex Agr.^ ii., 26, 28 ; iii., 2, — ^the territoriet of Praeneste and of the Hirpini.
' Cic, Lix Agr., ii., 27 ; iii., 3,
Ch.2] From Sulla to Casar. 235
tricts of Italy the free population disappeared from the open country ; and life and property were ren- dered insecure by the brigandage which now developed unchecked, and in which the herdsman slaves played a prominent part. The out- breaks of Spartacus in 73, and of Catiline ten years later, were significant commentaries on this part of Sulla's work.* His constitu- tional legislation, while it included many tionaUegU^ useful administrative reforms, was marked **^uu»f by as violent a spirit of partisanship, and as apparently wilful a blindness to the future. The re-establishment on a legal basis of the ascendency which custom had so long accorded to the senate was his main object. With this purpose he had already, when consul in 88 B.C., made the senatus auctoritas legally necessary for proposals to the assembly. He now as dictator " followed this up by crippling the power of the magistracy, which had been the most effective weapon in the hands of the senate's opponents. The legislative freedom of the tribunes was already hampered by the necessity of obtaining the senate's sanction ; in addition, Sulla restricted their wide powers of interference (intercessio) to their original purpose of protecting individual plebeians,* and dis-
* See especially Cicero's oration Pro Tullio» YGt the pastores of Apulia, Sail., CaU^ 28.
' For Sulla's dictatorship as in itself a novelty, see App., !., 98 t Plut., Sulla^ 33 ; Cic, Ad Ait, ^ 9, 15 ; Cic, De Legg., i., I5«
•Cic, De JLegg<, iii., 22: ** injuria facienda potestatem ademii auxilii ferendi reliquii** €/• Cic, Verr,^ I., 60 ; Livy, Epii.^ Izzzix.
236 Outlines 0/ Raman History. tBook IV
credited the office by prohibiting a tribune from holding any subsequent magistracy in the state.' The control of the courts (questiones perpettUB) was taken from the equestrian order and restored to the senate.' To prevent the people from suddenly in- stalling and keeping in high office a second Marius, he re-enacted the old law against re-election,* and made legally binding the custom which required a man to mount up gradually to the consulship through the lower offices.* His increase of the number of praetors from six to eight,* and of quaestors to twenty,* though required by administrative neces- sities, tended, by enlarging the numbers and further dividing the authority of the magistrates, to render them still more dependent upon the central direction of the senate. Lastly, he replaced the pontifical and inaugural colleges in the hands of the senatorial
' Cic, Pro Cornel, fr», 78; Ascon., In Com., 78; App., i., 100.
* Velleius, ii., 32 ; Tac, Ann., xi., 22 ; Cic, Vierr,, i,, 13. •App., B. C, i., 100; c/, Livy, vii., 42 (342 b.c.) : ** ne quU
eundem magistraium intra decern annos caper ei,^*
^ The custom had gradually established itself. Cf, Livy, xxxii., 7. The certus ordo magistratum legalised by Sulla was — quaestorship, prsetorship, consulate ; App., i., 100.
* Pompon., De Orig, Juris {Dig., i., 2, 2) ; Velleius, ii., 89. Compare also Cicero, In Pison,, 15, with Id. Pro Milone, 15. The increase was connected with his extension of the system of quasHones perpetuct, which threw more work on the praetors as the magistrates in charge of the courts.
* Tac., Ann,, xi., 22. The qusestorship henceforward carried with it the right to be called up to the Senate. By increasing the number of quaestors Sulla provided for the supply of ordinary vacancies in the Senate and restricted the censors' freedom of choice in filling them up. Fragments of the ''Zsx Cornelia de XX qtiastoribus" survive. See C. /. Z., i., 108.
Ch. 21 From Sulla to Gbsot. 237
nobles, by enacting that vacancies in them, should, as before the Lex Domitia (104 B,C.), be filled up by co-optation.* This policy of deliberately altering the constitution, so as to make it pronounce in favour of his own party, was open to two grave objections. It was not to be expected that the new legal safeguards would protect the senate any more efficiently than the established cus- tom and tradition which the Gracchi had broken down ; and, secondly, it was inevitable that the popular party would on the first opportunity follow Sulla's example, and alter the constitution to suit themselves. Still less was Sulla successful in forti- fying the republican system against the dangers which menaced it from without. He accepted as an accomplished fact the enfranchisement of the Italians, but he made no provision to guard against the consequent reduction of the cotnitia to an absurdity, and with them of the civic government which rested upon them,* or to organise an effective
' Dio Cass., xxxviL, 37 ; Ps. Ascon.« loa (Orelli). He also in- creased their numbers ; Livy, EpiL, Ixxxix.
' He did propose to deprive several communities which had joined Cinna of the franchise, but the deprivation was not carried into effect ; Cic, Pro Domo^ 30, and Pro Cacina^ 33, 35. The inadequacy of the comitia, as representative of the real poptUus Romanus^ was in- creased by the unequal manner in which the new citizens had been distributed among the old thirty-five tribes. Though each tribe had one vote and no more, in some cases the tribe represented only a small, thinly-populated district of the Campagna, with the addition of one or two outlying Italian communities, in others it included large and populous territories. Mommsen, Siaatsr,^ 3, 187; Hermes ^ 22, loi sqq^ Moreover, since, at the latest, 22u B.C., the " tribe ** had been the basis, not only of the eonHHum pUHsy but of iihteomitia ccnturiata.
238 Outlines of Roman History. tBook IV
administrative system for the Italian communities.' Of all men, too, Sulla had the best reason to appre- ciate the dangers to be feared from the growing independence of governors and generals in the pro- vinces, and from the transformation of the old civic militia into a group of professional armies, devoted only to a successful leader, and with the weakest possible sense of allegiance to the state. He had himself, as proconsul of Asia, contemptuously and successfully defied the home government, and he, more than any other Roman general, had taught his soldiers to look only to their leader, and to think only of booty." Yet, beyond a few inadequate regu- lations, there is no evidence that Sulla dealt with these burning questions, the settlement of which was among the greatest of the achievements of Augustus.*
^ There is no evidence to show that Sulla's legislation touched at all upon municipal government in Italy ; cf, Mommsen, ii., 361 sq. The first general municipal law was the Lex Julia of Caesar, 45 B.C. The necessary resettlement of the local constitutions after the social war was possibly carried out by commissioners sent from Rome ** ut ei Uges in munuipto fundano dareV* (Lex. Jul. 159, Bruns. p. 113). The fragment of a municipal law found at Tarentum is probably a specimen of such " leges data,** See Ephetn, Epig,^ Ix., i.
* Sail., Cat, ii. : *' L, Sulla exercitum^ quo stbi fidum facer et^ con- tra morem majorum luxuriose nimisque liberaliter habuerat,^*
• There was a '* iJrjf Cornelia de provinciis ordinandis,'* but only two of its provisions are known : — (i) that a magistrate sent out with the imperium should retain it till he re-entered the city (Cic. Ad Fam,, i., 9, 25), a provision which increased rather than diminished his freedom of action ; (2) that an outgoing governor should leave his province within thirty days after his successor's arrival (Cic, Ad Fam,^ iii,, 6, 4). A "Zfjc Cornelia de majestate** contained, it is true, a definition of treason evidently framed in the light of recent experience. The magistrate was forbidden ** exire de provincial educere exercitum^ bellum sua sponte ge rere^ in regnum injussu pcpuli ac senaius accedere" Cic, In Pis,, 21. Sulla also added pne more to the long list of laws dealing with extortion in the provinces. But the
Ch. 2] From StUla to Qesar. 239
This omission on his part was the more serious since one undoubted result of Sulla's reign was to bring the idea of the rule of one man within the range of practical politics. The desire to play the Sulla, to do what Sulla had done, was at least attributed to M. iEmilius Lepidus, to Pompey, and to Cssar, and Sulla's example gave a new and dangerous turn to the personal ambition of powerful nobles.* One ad- ministrative reform of real importance must, lastly, be set down to his credit. The judicial
6qs AUG
procedure first established in 149 B.C. for the trial of cases of magisterial extortion in the pro- vinces, and applied between 149 B.C. and 81 B.C. to cases of treason and bribery, ifS"5?
Sulla extended so as to bring under it the chief criminal offences, and thus laid the founda- tions of the Roman criminal law.*
danger lay, not in the want of laws, but in the want of security for their observance by an absolutely autocratic proconsul. I cannot agree with those who would include among Sulla's laws one retaining consuls and praetors in Rome for their year of office and then sending them out to a province. This was becoming the common practice before 8i. After 8i it was invariable for prsetors, as needed for judicial work, and invariable but for two exceptions in the case of consuls ; nowhere, however, is there a hint that there had been any legislation on the subject, and there are indications that it was con- venience and not law which maintained the arrangement. Mommsen, ii.. 355 ; Marquardt, Staaisverw,, i., 378. Compare also Cic, Ad Ait, 8, 15 : '' consules quibus more majorum concessum est^ velomnes ctdire provincias.** Ibid,, Phil,, 4,9, ** j» consults jure etimperio omnes debent esse prordncia,**
* Cic, Ad Att,, 8, 11: ** genus illud SuUani regni pridem ap- petitur^* ; ib,^ 9, 10: ** quam crebro illud, Sulla potuit, ego non potero . . . ita sullaturit animus ejus."
* For this, the most lasting of Sulla's reforms, see Mommsen, ii., 359; Rein, Criminal- Rec ht ; Zumpt, Crimhial-Prozess d, R$mer ; Greenidge, Legal Procedure of Cicero* s Time, pp. 415 x^.
240 Outlines of Raman History. [Book iv
The Sullan system stood for nine years, and was then overthrown — as it had been established — by a
successful soldier. It was the fortune of of the Sullan Cn. Pompcius, a favourite officer of Sulla, 70 B.C. ' first of all to violate in his own person the 1
fundamental principles of the constitution '
re-established by his old chief, and then to overturn it. In Spain the Marian governor Q. Sertorius had defeated one after another of the proconsuls sent out by the senate, and was already in JJ B.C. master
of all Hither Spain. To meet the crisis,
the senate itself took a step which was in fact the plainest possible confession that the system sanctioned afresh by Sulla was inadequate to the needs of the state. Pompey, who was not yet thirty, and had never held even the quaestorship, was sent to Spain with proconsular authority.* Still
Sertorius held out, until, in 73 B.C., he was
68x A.U.C. f i o J
foully murdered by his own officers. The native tribes who had loyally stood by him sub- mitted, and Pompey early in 71 B.C. re- turned with his troops to Italy, where, during his absence in Spain, an event had occurred Rising of which had shown Roman society with spartacus. startling plainness how near it stood to revolution. In 73 B.C. Spartacus,* a Thracian slave escaped with seventy others from a gladi-
68x A.U.C. r y o
ators' training-school at Capua. In an incredibly short time he found himself at the head
' Plut., Pomp.^ 17 ; Livy, Epit., xci.
' App., i., 116 ; Livy, Epit,^ xcv. ; Plut., Crass,, 8 sq.
Ch.2] From SuUa to Casar. 241
of a numerous force of runaway slaves, outlaws,
brigands, and impoverished peasants. By the end
of 73 B.C. he had seventy thousand men under his
command, had twice defeated the Roman troops,
and was master of southern Italy. In 72
B.C. he advanced on Rome, but, though
he again routed the legions led against him by the
consuls in person, he abandoned his scheme and
established himself in the now desolate country
near Thurii, already the natural home of brigandage.
At length, in 71 B.C., the praetor Crassus,
who had been sent against him with no
less than six legions, ended the war. Spartacus was
defeated and slain in Apulia.
In Rome itself the various classes and parties hostile to the Sullan system had, ever The fir»t con- smce Sulla s death m 78 B.C., been m- Pompey. cessantly agitating for the repeal of his ^t^a.u.c. most obnoxious laws, and needed only a leader in order successfully to attack a government discredited by failure at home and abroad. With the return of Pompey from Spain their opportunity came. Pom- pey, who understood politics as little as Marius, was anxious to obtain, what the senate was more than likely to refuse to give him, and what he was not legally entitled to, a triumph, the consul- ship for the next year (70 B.C.), and as the natural consequence of this an important command in the East. The opposition wanted his name and support, and a bargain was soon struck. Pompey, and with him Marcus Crassus, the conqueror of
Spartacus, were elected consuls, almost in presence 16
242 Outlines of Roman History. [Book iv
of their troops, which lay encamped outside the gates in readiness to assist at the triumph and ovation granted to their respective leaders. Pompey lost no time in performing his part of the agreement. The tribunes regained their prerogatives.' The '' perpetual courts " were taken out of the hands of the senatorial judices^ who had outdone the eques- trian order in scandalous corruption,' and finally the censors, the first since 86 B.C., purged the senate of the more worthless and disreputable of Sulla's par- tisans.* The victory was complete; but its chief significance for the future lay in the clearness with which it showed that the final decision in matters political lay with neither of the two great parties in Rome, but with the holder of the military authority. The tribunes of the plebs were no longer, as the Gracchi had been, political leaders. The most prominent and active of them, Gabinius, Manilius, Clodius, and the younger Curio, were little more than the lieutenants of this or that great military leader, using their recovered powers to thwart his opponents in the senate, or to carry measures on his
' The exact provisions of Pompey's law are nowhere given ; Livy., ^iV., xcvii. : ** tribuniciam potestatem resHtuerunt" Cf, Velleitts, ii., 30. A lex Aurelia, in 75 B.C., had already repealed the law dis- qualifying a tribune for further office ; Cic, Com,, ir. 78.
' This was the work of L. Aurelius Cotta, praetor in this year. The judices were to be taken in equal proportions from senators, equiUs, and tribuni ararii. For the latter, and for the law generally, see Madvig, Verf,, i., 182, ii., 222 ; Lange, R, Alt,, iii., 193. Com- pare also Cicero*s language. In Verr., i., i, 15. The prosecution of Verres shortly preceded the lex Aurelia.
* Livy, Epit,, xcviii. Sixty-four senators were expelled. Cf. Plut., Pomp,, 22 ; Cic. In Verr,, i., i, 15.
Ch. 2] From StUla to Casar. 243
behalf through the assembly. The change was fatal to the dignity of politics in the city. In proportion as the mass of the Roman community in Italy, and able aspirants to power, like Caesar, became con- scious of the unreality of the old constitutional controversies, they became indifferent to the ques- tions which agitated the forum and the curia^ and contemptuously ready to alter or disregard the con- stitution itself, when it stood in the way of interests nearer to their hearts. Of this growing indifference to the traditional politics of the republic, against which Cicero struggled in vain, Pompey is an excel- lent example. He was absolutely without interest in them, except in so far as they led up to important military commands, and, though he was never rev- olutionary in intention, his own career, in its quiet defiance of all the established rules of the consti- tution, did almost more than the direct attacks of others to render the republic impossible.
When his consulship ended, Pompey impatiently awaited at the h^nds of the politicians he had befriended the further gift of a ^"SSuta foreigjn command. He declined an ordin- **^^'
ary province, and from the end of 70 B.C. to 67 B.C. he remained at Rome in a somewhat affec- tedly dignified seclusion.* But, as before in the case of Marius, a crisis abroad now opened the way to the gratification of his ambition, and the popu- lar party were enabled at once to thwart the senate, and to reward their champion by measures for which
' VeUeitts, ii. 31 ; Plut., Pomp,^ 23.
244 Outlines of Roman History. [Book IV
the safety of the empire could be pleaded as a justi- fication. The ravages of the Cilician pirates, encour- agedy in the first instance, by the inactivity which had marked Roman policy in the East after 167 B.C., and by the absence of any effective Roman navy in the Mediterranean, had now risen to an intolerable height, and the spasmodic efforts made since 81 B.C. had done little to check them. The trade of the Mediterranean was paralysed, and even the coasts of Italy were not safe from their raids.' Aulus Gabinius, a tribune, and a follower of Pompey, now proposed (67 B.C.) to the people to intrust Pompey with the sole command against the pirates.* His command was to last for three years. He was to have supreme authority over all Roman magistrates in the provinces throughout the Mediterranean and over the coasts for fifty miles inland. Fifteen legati^ all of prastorian rank, were assigned to him, with two hundred ships, and as many troops as he thought desirable. These powers were still further enlarged in the next year by the Manilian law (66 B.c.) which transferred from LucuUus and Gla- brio to Pompey the conduct of the Mithridatic war in Asia, and with it the entire control of Roman policy and interests in the East.' The unrepublican char- acter of the position thus granted to Pompey, and the dangers of the precedent established, were clearly enough pointed out by such moderate men as Q. Lutatius Catulus, the *•*• father of the senate," and
' See the brilliant sketch by Mommsen, R, G,^ iii. 39 sq,
' Plut., Pomp,^ 25 ; Dio Cassius, xxxvi. 6 ; Livy, Epii,, c.
' Cic. Pro Lege AfaniHa; Dio Cassius, xxxvi. 25 ; Pint., Po/hp,, 30.
Ch. 2] From Sulla to Casar. 245
by the orator Hortensius ; but in vain. Both laws were supported, not only by the tribunes and the populace, but by the whole influence of the publi- cant and negotiatoreSj whose interests in the East were at stake.
Pompey left Rome in 67 B.C., and did not return to Italy till towards the end of 62 B.C. c«tar
The interval was marked in Rome by a?&.^ the rise to political importance of Caesar and Cicero, and by Catiline's attempt at revolution. When in 70 B.C. the removal of the restric- ^ ^ ^ ^ tions placed upon the tribunate restored to the popular party their old weapons of attack, Caesar was already a marked man. In addition to his patri- cian birth, and his reputation for daring and ability, he possessed, as the nephew of Marius and the son- in-law of Cinna, a strong hereditary claim to the leadership of the popular and Marian party. He had already taken part in the agitation for the restora- tion of the tribunate ; he had supported the Manilian law ; and, when Pompey's withdrawal left the field clear for other competitors, he stepped at once into the front rank on the popular side.' He took upon himself, as their nearest representative, the task of clearing the memory and avenging the wrongs of the great popular leaders, Marius, Cinna, and Saturninus. He publicly reminded the people of Marius's ser- vices, and set up again upon the Capitol the trophies
* Professor Beesly, in his essay on Catiline, has vainly endeavoured to show that Catiline and not Caesar was the popular leader from 67 to 63 B.C. That this is the inference intentionally conveyed by Sallust, in order to screen Caesar, is true, but the inference is a false one.
246 Outlines of Raman History. [Book iv
of the Cimbric war. He endeavoured to bring to justice, not only the ringleaders in Sulla's bloody work of proscription, but even the murderers of Satuminus, and vehemently pleaded the cause of the children of the proscribed. While thus carrying on in genuine Roman fashion the feud of his family, he attracted the sympathies of the Italians by his efforts to procure the Roman franchise for the Latin communities beyond the Po, and won the affections of the populace in Rome and its immediate neighbour- hood by the splendour of the games which he gave as curule aedile (65 B.C.), and by his lavish expenditure upon the improvement of the AppianWay. But it is characteristic of Caesar and of his time that these measures were with him only means to the further end of creating for himself a position such as that which Pompey had already won ; and this ulterior aim he pursued with a skill and with an audacious indifference to constitutional forms and usages unsurpassed even by Sulla. His coalition with Crassus, soon after Pompey's departure, se- cured him an ally whose colossal wealth and wide financial connections were of inestimable value, and whose vanity and inferiority of intellect rendered him 680 A. u c. a willing tool. The story of his attempted coup d^^tat in January 65 B.C. is probably false,* but it is evident that by the begin- ning of 63 B.C. he was bent on reaping the reward of his exertions by obtaining from the people an
' The story is so told by Suetonius i^Jul, 8). In Sallust (CaL, i8), it appears as an Intrigue originating with Catiline, and Caesar's name is onitted.
Ch.2] From Sulla to Casar. 247
extraordinary command abroad, which should secure his position before Pompey's return ; and the agrarian law proposed early in that year by the tribune Rul- lus had for its real object the creation, in favour of Csesar and Crassus, of a commission with powers so wide as to place its members almost on a level with Pompey himself.' It was at this moment, when all seemed going well, that Caesar's hopes were dashed to the ground by Catiline's desperate outbreak, which not only discredited every one connected with the popular party, but directed the suspicions of the well-to-do classes against Caesar himself, as a possible accomplice in Catiline's revolutionary schemes.'
The same wave of indignation and suspicion which for the moment checked Caesar's
Cicero.
rise carried Marcus TuUius Cicero to the height of his fortunes. Cicero, as a politician, has been equally misjudged by friends and foes. That he was deficient in courage, that he was vain, and that he attempted the impossible, may be admitted at once. But he was neither a brilliant and unscrupu- lous adventurer nor an aimless trimmer, nor yet a devoted champion merely of senatorial ascendency.*
^ Cic, Lex, Agr,^ ii., 6: ** nihil aUud actum nisi ui tUcem rege* consHtuerentur, **
' That Caesar and Crassus had supported Catiline for the consulship in 64 B.C. is certain, and they were suspected naturally enough of fa- vouring his designs in 63 B.C., but their complicity is in the highest d^;ree improbable.
' Mommsen is throughout unfair to Cicero, as also are Drumann, and Professor Beesly. The best estimates of Cicero's political posi- tion known to me are those given by Professor Tyrrell in the Intro- duction to his edition of Cicero's Letters^ and by Mr. Strachaa Davidson in his recent volume on Cicero.
248 Outlines of Raman History. [Book iv
He was a representative man, with a numerous fol- lowing, and a policy which was naturally suggested to him by the circumstances of his birth, connec- tions, and profession, and which, impracticable as it proved to be, was yet consistent, intelligible, and high-minded. Bom at Arpinum, he cherished, like all Arpinates, the memory of his great fellow-towns- man Marius, the friend of the Italians, the saviour of Italy, and the irreconcilable foe of Sulla and the nobles. A municipal himself, his chosen friends and his warmest supporters were found among the well-to-do classes in the Italian towns.' Unpopular with the Roman aristocracy, who despised him as a peregrinus^ and with the Roman populace, he was the trusted leader of the Italian middle class, " the true Roman people," as he proudly styles them. It was they who carried his election for the 6qx a.u.c. consulship * (63 B.C.), who in 58 B.C. in- 6g6 A.u.c. sisted on his recall from exile,* and it was his influence with them which made Caesar so anxious to win him over in 49 B.C. He represented their antipathy alike to socialistic schemes and to aristocratic exclusiveness, and their old-fashioned simplicity of life in contrast with the cosmopolitan luxury of the capital.* By birth, too, he belonged to the equestrian order, the foremost representatives of which were indeed still the publicani and negotiatareSy but which, since the
' Cic, Ad AiL^ i., 491 : ** locupletes . . . noster exgrciius,**
* Cic, Pro Sulla^ 7 ; Sail., Cat.^ 31 : *' inquilinus urbis Roma J*
* See the De Petiiione Consulatusy passim.
* De Domo, 28 ; Pro Plancio, 97.
* Cic, Pro Quinciio, 31 \ Pro Cluentio, 46, 153.
Ch. 21 From Sulla to Ccesar. 249
enfranchisement of Italy, included also the sub- stantial burgesses of the Italian towns and the smaller "squires" of the country districts. With them, too, Cicero was at one in their dread of demo- cratic excesses and their social and political jealousy of the nobiles? Lastly, as a lawyer and a scholar he was passionately attached to the ancient constitu- tion. His political idea was the natural outcome of these circumstances of his position. He advocated the maintenance of the old constitution, but not as it was understood by the extreme politicians of the right and left. The senate was to be the supreme directing council,* but the senate of Cicero's dreams was not an oligarchic assemblage of nobles, but a body freely open to all citizens, and representing the worth of the community.* The magistrates, while deferring to the senate's authority, were to be at once vigorous and public-spirited ; and the assembly itself which elected the magistrates and passed the laws was to consist, not of the " mob of the forum," but of the true Roman people throughout Italy.* For the realisation of this ideal he looked, above all things, to the establishment of cordial relations be- tween the senate and nobles in Rome and the great middle class of Italy represented by the equestrian order, between the capital and the country towns and districts. This was the concordia ordinuniy the consensus Italia for which he laboured.* He failed
* Cic, In Ver,^ ii., 73 ; De Pet, Cans,, i. He shared with them their dislike to Sulla, as the foe of their order ; Pro CluenHo^ 55.
' De Rep,^ ii., 36 ; De Legg,y iii., 12.
* Pro SesHo^ 65 ; De Legg,^ iii., 4.
* Pro Sestio, 49. » Ad Ait., i., 18.
250 Outlines of Raman History. [Bookiv
because his ideal was impracticable. The inveterate selfishness and exclusiveness of the nobles, the in- difference of the Italians to constitutional questions, and their suspicious dislike of Roman politicians, — above all, the* incompetency of the old machinery, even if reformed as he would have had it reformed, to govern the empire and control the pro-consuls and the army, were insuperable obstacles in his way. Cicero's election to the consulship for 63 B.C., over the heads of Caesar's nominees, Antonius and Cati- line, was mainly the work of the Italian
The con-
spiracy of middle class, already rendered uneasy both 53^;^. by the rumours which were rife of revolu-
691 A.U.C. /
tionary schemes and of Caesar's boundless ambition, and by the numerous disquieting signs of disturbance noticeable in Italy. The new consul vigorously set himself to discharge the trust placed in him. He defeated the insidious proposals of Rullus for Caesar's aggrandisement, and assisted in quashing the prosecution of Rabirius. But with the consular elections in the autumn of 63 B.C. a fresh danger arose from a different quarter. The " con- spiracy * of Catiline " was not the work of the popu- lar party, and still less was it an unselfish attempt at reform ; L. Sergius Catilina himself was a patrician, who had held high office, and possessed considerable ability and courage ; but he was bankrupt in char- acter and in purse, and two successive defeats in the
' For Catiline's conspiracy, see Sallust, Catiline; Cicero, In Catilinam ; Plut., Cicero; Mommsen, R, C7., iii., 164 sq,; and especially C. John, EntsUhung d, CoHUnarischen Verschworuug (Leipzig, 1876).
Ch.2] From Sulla to Casar. 251
consular elections had rendered him desperate. To retrieve his broken fortunes by violence was a course which was only too readily suggested by the history of the last forty years, and materials for a conflagra- tion abounded on all sides. The danger to be feared from his intrigue lay in the state of Italy, which made a revolt against society and the established government only too likely if once a leader presented himself, and it was such a revolt that Catiline en- deavoured to organise. Bankrupt nobles like him- self, Sullan veterans and the starving peasants whom they had dispossessed of their holdings, outlaws of every description, the slave population of Rome, and the wilder herdsmen-slaves of the Apulian pastures, were all enlisted under his banner, and attempts were even made to excite disaffection among the newly conquered peoples of southern Gaul and the warlike tribes who still cherished the memory of Sertorius in Spain. In Etruria, the seat and centre of agrarian distress and discontent, a rising actually took place headed by a Sullan centurion, but the spread of the revolt was checked by Cicero's vigor- ous measures. Catiline fled from Rome, and died fighting with desperate courage at the head of his motley force of old soldiers, peasants, and slaves. His accomplices in Rome were arrested, and, after an unavailing protest from Caesar, the senate author- ised the consuls summarily to put them to death.
The Catilinarian outbreak had been a blow to Caesar, whose schemes it interrupted. To Cicero, however, it brought not only popularity and honour, but, as he believed, the realisation of his political
25^ Outlines of Raman History. [Book IV
ideal. The senate and the equestrian order, the nobles of Rome, and the middle class in the country had made common cause in the face of a common danger; and the danger had been averted by the vigorous action of a consul sprung from the people, under the guidance of a united senate, and backed by the mass of good citizens.
But Pompey was now on his way home after suc- cesses more brilliant and dazzling than had fallen to the lot of any Roman general since the
Return of _ n i <
Pompey great wars. In a marvellously short space of time he had freed the Mediterranean from the Cilician pirates, and established Roman authority in Cilicia itself. He had crushed Mithri- dates, added Syria to the list of Roman provinces, and led the Roman legions to the upper Euphrates and the Caspian. Once more, as in 70 B.C., the politi- cal future seemed to depend on the attitude which the successful general would assume ; Pompey him- self looked simply to the attainment by the help of one political party or another of his immediate aims, which at present were the ratification of his arrange- ments in Asia and a grant of land for his troops. It was the impracticable jealousy of his personal rivals in the senate, aided by the versatility of Caesar, who presented himself not as his rival, but as his ally, which drove Pompey once more, in spite of Cicero's Coalition of ^^0^^^, into the camp of what was still caSaT and nominally the popular party. In 60 B.C., to B*c'* ^^ Caesar's return from his propraetorship 694 A.u.c. jj^ Spain, the coalition was formed which is known by the somewhat misleading title of the
Ch,2] From Sulla to Casar. 253
first triumvirate.* Pompey was ostensibly the head of this new alliance, and in return for the satisfac- tion of his own demands he undertook to support Caesar's candidature for the consulship. The wealth and influence of Crassus were enlisted in the same cause, but what he was to receive in exchange is not clear. Cicero was under no illusions as to the signifi- cance of this coalition. It scattered to the winds his dreams of a stable and conservative republic. Pompey, whom he had hoped to enlist as the cham- pion of constitutional government, had been driven into the arms of Caesar. The union between the senate and the equestrian order had been dissolved, and the support of the publicani lost by an untimely quarrel over the price to be paid for collecting the taxes of Asia, and, to crown all, both his own per- sonal safety and the authority of the senate were threatened by the openly avowed intentions of Catiline's friends to bring the consul of 63 B.C. to account for his unconstitutional execution of Catiline's accomplices. His fears were fully justified by the results. The year 59 B.C. saw the republic powerless in the hands of three citizens. Caesar as consul procured the ratification of Pompey's acts in Asia, con- ciliated the publicani by granting them the relief refused by the senate, and carried an agrarian law of the new type, which provided for the purchase of lands for allotment at the cost of the treasury, and
' Misleading, because the coalition was unofficial. The *' tri- umvirs" of 43 B.C. were actual magistrates: "niviW reipublUcs c(msHtuendtg €ama,"
254 Outlines of Raman History. [Book IV
for the assignment of the rich ager Campanus.^ But Caesar aimed at more than the carrying of an agrarian law in the teeth of the senate or any party victory in the forum. An important military com- mand was essential to him, and he judged g>mmand in correctly cnough that in the West there was work to be done which might enable him to win a position such as Pompey had achieved in the East. An obedient tribune was found, and by the lex Vatinia he was given for five years the command of Cisalpine Gaul and lUyricum, to which was added, by a decree of the senate, Transalpine Gaul also.* It was a command which not only opened to him a great military career, but enabled him, as the master of the valley of the Po, to keep an effective watch on the course of affairs in Italy.
Early the next year the attack upon himself which
Cicero had foreseen was made. P. Clodius as tribune
brought forward a law enacting that any
and recall of one who had put a Roman citizen to death
Cicero. ^
g-57B.c. without trial by the people should be in- terdicted from fire and water. Cicero, find- ing himself deserted even by Pompey, left Rome in a panic, and by a second Clodian law he was declared to be outlawed.* With Caesar away in his province,
' For the lex yulia agraria and the Ux Campana, see Dio Cass., xxxviii., I ; App., B, C, ii., lo; Suet., Casar, 20; Cic, ad Att.^ ii., 16, 18.
' Sttet., Casar, 22 ; Dio Cass., xxxviii., 8 ; App., B, C, ii., 13; Plat., Cos., 14.
' Both laws were carried in the condUum plebis. The first merely reaffirmed the right of appeal, as the law of Gaius Gracchus had done. The second declared Cicero to be already by his own act
Ch.2] From SuUa to Casar. 255
and Cicero banished, Clodius was for the time mas- ter in Rome. But, absolute as he was in the streets, and recklessly as he parodied the policy of the Gracchi by violent attacks on the senate, his tribu- nate merely illustrated the anarchy which now inevi- tably followed the withdrawal of a strong controlling hand. A reaction speedily followed. Pompey, be- wildered and alarmed by Clodius's violence, at last bestirred himself. Cicero's recall was decreed by the senate, and early in August 57 B.C., in the comitia centuriatUy to which his Italian supporters flocked in crowds, a law was passed re- voking the sentence of outlawry passed upon him.
Intoxicated by the acclamations which greeted him, and encouraged by Pompey's support, and by the salutary effects of Clodius's excesses, Renewal of Cicero's hopes rose high, and a return to tion*!*56^Bx' the days of 63 B.C. seemed not impossible.* ^ a.u.c. With indefatigable energy he strove to reconstruct a solid constitutional party, but only to fail once more. Pompey was irritated by the hostility of a powerful party in the senate, who thwarted his desires for a fresh command, and even encouraged Clodius in in- sulting the conqueror of the East. Caesar became alarmed at the reports which reached him that the repeal of his agrarian law was threatened, and that
in leaving Rome *' interdicted from fire and water," — a procedure for which precedents could be quoted. Clodius kept within the letter of the law.
' Cicero's speech Pro Sesiio gives expression to these feelings ; it contains a passionate appeal to all good citizens to rally round the old constitution. The acquittal of Sestius confirmed his hopes. See Ad Q. Fr,t ii., 4.
256 Outlines of Raman History. [Book IV
the feeling against the coalition was growing in strength ; above all, he was anxious for a renewal of his five years* command. He acted at once, and in the celebrated conference at Luca ($6 B.C.) the alliance of the three self-consti- tuted rulers of Rome was renewed. Cicero sue- cumbed to the inevitable, and withdrew in despair from public life. Pompey and Crassus became con- suls for 55 B.C. Caesar's command was renewed for another five years, and to each of his two allies important provinces were as- signed for a similar period— Pompey receiving the two Spains and Africa, and Crassus Syria." The coalition now divided between them the control of the empire. For the future the question was, how long the coalition itself would last. Its duration proved Death of ^^ ^^ short. In $3 B.C. Crassus was de- » Bx!'* feated and slain by the Parthians at Car- 701A.U.C. yjjgg^ j^jjj jyj Rome the course of events
slowly forced Pompey into an attitude of hostility to Caesar. The year 54 B.C. brought with it a renewal of the riotous anarchy which had disgraced Rome in 58-57 B.C. Conscious of its own helplessness, the senate, with the eager assent of all respectable citizens, dissuaded Pompey from leaving Italy. His provinces were left to his legates, and he himself remained at home to maintain order by the weight of his influence. It was a confession that the republic could not stand alone. But Pom-
' Livy, Epit,^ cv.; Dio Cass., xxxix., 31. For Cicero's views, see Ep, ad Fam,^ i., 9 ; Ad AiU^ iv., 5,
Ch. 21 From Sulla to desar. 257
pey's mere presence proved insufficient. The anarchy and confusion grew worse, and even strict constitu- tionalists like Cicero talked of the necessity of in- vesting Pompey with some extraordinary powers for the preservation of order.* At last, in 52 pompeysoie B.C., he was elected sole consul ; and not ^^.c.*
only so, but his provincial command was '^ a.u.c. prolonged for five years more, and fresh troops were assigned him.* The rile of "saviour of society" thus thrust upon Pompey was one which flattered his vanity, but it entailed consequences which it is probable he did not foresee, for it brought him into close alliance with the senate, and in the senate there was a powerful party who were resolved to force him into heading the attack, they could not success- fully make without him, upon Caesar. It was known that the latter, whose command expired
TO* A U C
in March 49 B.C., but who in the ordinary
course of things would not have been replaced by
his successor until January 48 B.C., was
anxious to be allowed to stand for his
second consulship in the autumn of 49 B.C. without
coming in person to Rome.* His opponents in the
' A dictatorship was talked of in Rome; Plut., Pomp,\ 54; Cic. ad Q, Fr.^ iii., 8. Cicero himself anticipated Augustus in his picture of a princeps eivitatis sketched in a lost book of the Dt Republican written about this time, which was based upon his hopes of what Pompey might prove to be; AdAtt,^ viii., 11 ; August. De Civ. Dei^
v., 13.
' Plut., 56; App., B, C, ii., 24.
' For the rights of the question involved in the controversy between Caesar and the senate, see Mommsen, Rechtsfrage zw. Cctsar and d. Senat; Guiraud, Le Diffirend entre Cisar et le Sinat (Paris, 1878).
258 Outlines of Roman History. iBookiv
senate were equally bent on bringing his
TciLa command to an end at the legal time, and
so obliging him to disband his troops and
stand for the consulship as a private person, or, if
he kept his command, on preventing his standing
for the consulship. Through 5 1 B.C. and
50 B.C. the discussions in the senate and
the negotiations with Caesar continued, but with no
result. On ist January, 49 B.C., Caesar
made a last offer of compromise. The
senate replied by requiring him on pain of outlawry
to disband his legions. Two tribunes who supported
him were ejected from the senate-house, and the
magistrates with Pompey were authorised to take
c«sar Grosses "^^asures to protect the republic. Caesar
« Bfc.**'*^**"* hesitated no longer ; he crossed the Rubi-
705 A.u.c. ^Qj^ ^j^ J invaded Italy. The rapidity of his
advance astounded and bewildered his foes. Pom- pey, followed by the consuls, the majority of the senate, and a long train of nobles, abandoned Italy as untenable, and crossed into Greece.' At the end of March Caesar entered Rome as the master of- Italy.
* Cicero severely censures Pompey for abandoning Italy, but strate- getically the move was justified by the fact that Pompey's strength lay in the East, where his name was a power, and in his control of the sea. Politically, however, it was a blunder, as it enabled Caesar to pose as the defender of Italy.
CHAPTER III.
THE EMPIRE DURING THE PERIOD OF REVOLUTION.
The external history of Rome during the period covered by the two preceding chapters forms an instructive commentary on the course of domestic politics. The inadequacy of the old machinery to administer successfully the affairs of an empire was amply proved by the repeated disasters for which the incapacity or inexperience of the Roman generals was mainly responsible, by the insurrections which the exactions of Roman officials provoked^ and by the financial exhaustion which maladministration produced even in such wealthy provinces as Sicily and Asia. On the other hand, the policy which the popular leaders favoured as a ready means of thwart- ing the senate, that of concentrating a wide executive authority in the hands of a single man specially designated by vote of the people, was justified by the brilliant achievements of Marius, Pompey, and Caesar. At the same time, the position which such men were thus enabled to attain was fraught with danger, not only to senatorial ascendency, and to the system of divided authority, and changing magis- trates bound up with it, but equally so to the
S$9
26o Outlines of Roman History. tBook IV
supremacy of the popular assembly which had made, but could not unmake, its powerful favourites.
The circumstance that one of the two great parties in the state was thus always ready, for its own pur- poses, to set aside the rules and restrictions of the old system, and to give the freest possible hand to the men of its choice, helps to explain the fact that it was during this period of domestic conflict, and I
even of civil war, that the high-water mark of Roman ,
advance was reached. With the nations outside i
who confronted her during the next four centuries, with the Germans on the north, and with Parthia on the east, Rome was brought face to face by the conquests of Caesar in Gaul and of Pompey in Asia.
Between Rome and the Germans at the opening of this period lay the Keltic tribes, extending as they Rome and ^id in an almost unbroken line from the ciL^piM* Atlantic to the Danube. Over the Kelts ^•"** nearest at hand, in the plains of North
Italy, Roman supremacy was already established, and in this district, apart from petty wars provoked by the raids of the highland Alpine tribes, or by the eagerness of Roman nobles to earn a triumph,' there is nothing to record but a steady progress in civili- sation and prosperity, which made Cisalpine Gaul in the time of Cicero the most populous and thriving part of the Italian peninsula.* South of the Po, not
' Cic, In Pison,^ 26, of L. Crassus (consul 95 B.C.) : •• spectdis prope scrutaius esiAlpes^ ut uH hostis non erat^ iH triumphi causam aU^uam quarerei"
' Cic, AdAU.^ i„ I ; FkU^t "•» 30«
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 261
only a Roman civilisation, but even a Roman popu- lation must have been firmly established before the Social war. Along the line of the Via ^Emilia, running from Ariminum westward, lay five great colonies, Bononia, Mutina, Parma, Placentia, and Cremona,' all founded between 218-184 B.C., while farther to the west was Dertona,* on the road leading southward to Genoa. To the colonies must be added not only the fora^ established by Roman magis- trates as centres for traffic, and for the administration of justice,* but the numerous settlements of Roman citizens up and down the country, with their charac- teristically euphemistic names, Industria, Faventia, Pollentia, Fidentia, Valentia, Florentia. The con- struction of the first Roman road, the Via iCmilia, now as then the great thoroughfare through the valley of the Po, had been followed by that of others, such as those running along the coast past Genoa to the Maritime Alps, and northward from Genoa through the heart of the Ligurian highlands to Der- tona * ; north of the Po, there were besides Cremona
1 Cremona lay north of the Po, but was founded at the same time as Placentia (218 B.C.), and as part of the same scheme of defence.
* The date of the foundation of Dertona is uncertain ; Mommsen connects it with the construction of the Via Postumia (148 B.C.), Corf, /. LaU^ v., p. 831.
' They bear, as a rule, the name of the consul or proconsul who established them, ^. ^., Forum Cornelii, Forum Livii, etc.
* The Via iSmilia from Ariminum to Placentia was made in 187 B.C. by the consul M. iEmilius Lepidus. The Via Postumia (Sp. Postumius Albinus, cons. 148 B.c.) ran from Placentia by Dertona to Genoa. M. iEmilius Scaurus (censor 109 B.C.) carried a second Via
262 Outlines of Roman History. tBook l\»
only two colonies, Aquileia and Eporedia/ and the traces of Roman settlements are comparatively slight. But the Keltic tribes in this region were being rap- idly Romanised. The old cantonal organisation with its open villages was breaking down. Old tribal centres, such as Mediolanium," were becoming large towns, and rapidly superseding the tribes as the political divisions of the country. How great the advance had been was shown by the fact that, when in 89 B.C. the Roman franchise was granted to the Cispadane communities, the Trans- padanes received Latin rights, and only twenty years later were fully enfranchised.* It was appar- ently by Sulla, in 81 B.C., that the whole of Cisalpine Gaul was formed into a prov- ince with a proconsul of its own.* The reasons for the step are probably to be found in the increasing administrative needs of a populous region, and still more in its military importance as a frontier district. But the policy of the step was doubtful. The pro- consul of Cisalpine Gaul, wielding the autocratic authority of a provincial governor, and backed not only by his leg^ions, but by the great resources in
Emilia from the end of the Via Aurelia at Volaterrae, past Genoa to Vada Sabbata ; C, /. Z., v., p. 885.
' Aquileia founded 184 B.C., to protect the eastern frontier. Epo- redia founded lOO B.C., in the extreme north-west.
' The '* caput gentis '* of the Insubres ; Polyb., ii., 34 : xvptoora"
' The grant of the **jus Latii" was due to Cn. Pompeius Strabo, father of Pompey the Great ; Ascon, In jPis,, p. 3 (Orelli). The Roman franchise was given in 49 B.C. by Caesar ; Dio Cass., xli., 36
^Mommsen. J^om, Gesch,, ii., 371.
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 263
men * and money which his province possessed, was, as Caesar showed, a dangerous neighbour. As had so often happened elsewhere, it The Trans-
, t •J r - r^ 1 -a. alphine Kelts:
was a request for aid from a Greek city snnexstion that first brought Rome into collision with ^ °**gsui° the Kelts beyond the Alps. . Among the oldest and most faithful of the allies of Rome was the Phocsan colony of Massilia. Whatever truth there may be in the tradition which dated the alliance from the time of Tarquinius Priscus, it is certain that from the close of the first Piinic war onwards it was close and intimate.* For not only had Rome and Massilia a common interest in checking the raids of Ligurian free-booters and pirates, but from the moment when Rome acquired an interest in Spain, and still more after the formation of the two Spanish provinces (107 B.C.), Massilia became of the first im-
^ ^' ^ ^ r f . . 657A.U.C.
portance to Rome from her position on the route to Spain. Roman governors on their way to or from their province found a welcome there,* and the powerful aid of Rome was several times in- voked by the Massiliots ag^ainst their Ligurian neigh- bours.* It was, however, not until 125 B.C. that Rome intervened decisively and effectually in Transalpine affairs. By that time the
^ In 58 B.C. Caesar was able in a few days to raise two legions in Gallia Cisalpina ; Cses., B. G,, i., lo, 24.
' Herzog., Ga//, Narbonensis^ pp. 37-42 (Leipzig, 1864).
' Livy, xxxvii., 57 and xlii., 4.
* In 154 B.C. a Roman force under the consul Opimius was sent to punish the Oxubii and Decietse, who had attacked Antipolis and Nicsea ; Polyb., xxxiii. 5 ; Livy, EpiU^ xlvii.
264 Outlines of Roman History. [Book IV
Ligurian tribes on the Italian side of the Alps had been thoroughly subdued. Roman roads had been carried through the Ligurian highlands. Roman settlements have been planted on Ligurian terri- tory, and Roman supremacy extended to the ver}' frontiers of southern Gaul. The immediate object of the expedition, headed by Marcus Fulvius Flaccus ^ i. T, ,, (consul 125), the chastisement of the Sal-
039 A* u. c.
luvii, a Ligurian tribe occupying the high- lands above Massilia, of whose raids the Massiliots had complained,' was easily effected by Flaccus, and by his successor, C. Sextius Calvinus, who finally defeated the Salluvii in 123 B.C., and estab- lished on the site of the old tribal strong- hold a Roman military post, afterwards famous as Aquae Sextiae.*
But the area of the war rapidly extended to the neighbouring Keltic tribes. The Vocontii, immedi- ately to the north, and in the rear of the Salluvii, had been reduced by Flaccus.* Beyond the Vocon- tii lay the AUobroges, and with them and with their powerful patrons, the Arvemi, across the Rhone,* an ^excuse for war was found in the raids
* Livy, EpiUy Ix. ; Florus, iii. 2. For the geographical position and nationality of the Salluvii, see Desjardins, La Gaule Romaine^ i., pp. 65 sqq»
' Livy, EpiU^ Ixi. The/dw/J records a triumph of Fluvius in 123 B.C., and of Sextius in 122 B.C. The statement of Livy *s epitomater, *^ Coloniam Aquas Sexiias candidit" is probably a blunder. See Herzog., Gall, Narh,^ p. 50.
' Flaccus triumphed ** de Vocontiis"
* Tac, Ann,^ xi., 25. For the feud between the Arvemi and iEdui, see Caesar, B, (7., i., 31.
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revdulion. 265
which they continued to make upon the territory of their ancient rivals, the iEdui, now the allies of Rome, and in the shelter given to the fugitive king of the Salluvii.' The struggle was short and deci- sive. In 121 B.C. the consul, Q. Fabius , , „ ^
' ^ 633 A. U. C.
Maximus, defeated the united forces of the two tribes at the confluence of the Isfcre and the Rhone.* The Allobroges at once submitted, and in the next year a second defeat at the hands of the proconsul, Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, broke the spirit of the Arvemi.' The victory was apparently followed by the submission to Rome of the tribes lying between the Arverni and the coast on the right bank of the Rhone, over whom, as over the Allobroges, the Arverni had previously claimed suzerainty.* It is significant of the importance which Rome attached to this conquest, that she proceeded at once to lay foundations of a regular provincial organisation.* No precise settlement of the bounds of the new province seem to have been attempted, and the limits of the territory now brought within Rome's "sphere of influence " can only be roughly traced. The main
' Livy, EpiUy Ixi. ; Floras, iii., 2.
« Pliny, H. N., vii., 51 ; Livy, i?/»V.. Ixi.
' It seems clear that Fabius's victory on the Isire preceded that of Domitius. See the note in Herzog., Gall, Narb,^ p. 46.
* The most important of these tribes were the Helvii, the Volcae Arecomici, and the Volcse Tectosages, no conquest of whom is men- tioned, but all of whom were included in the new province. Herzog. /. c,
' The settlement of the new territory was intrusted to Cn. Domitius, who remained in southern Gaul for two years more. He celebrated his triumph at Rome in 218 B.C. Mommsen, H, G,, ii., 163.
266 Outlines of Raman History. iBook i v
portion of it lay eastward of the Rhone, and extended from the sea^oast along the left bank of that river to the northernmost limits of the territory of the Allo- broges and the lake of Geneva, while to the east it was separated from Cisalpine Gaul by the still unsub- dued tribes of the Maritime and Cottian Alpsf. Be- yond the Rhone it included the coast-land as far as the Pyrenees, and stretched inland to the foot of the Cevennes, and to the southern borders of the Arverni. That this territory was now placed under the command of a resident Roman proconsul may be taken for granted, but how much was effected for the internal organisation of the province it is impos- sible to say.' The position of Massilia, as an inde- pendent ally, remained technically unaltered. The native Keltic and Ligurian tribes, though not broken up, and only imperfectly pacified, probably suffered some loss of territory, and were forced to pay tribute. Two Roman castella were established, one at Aquae Sextiae in the eastern, one at Tolosa in the western portion of the province.* The existing coast road from the Rhone to Spain was reconstructed under the name of the Via Domitia," and to guard it a Roman colony was founded at Narbo, as an outpost and " bulwark of the Roman empire." *
* Herzog., pp. 47-59, and p. 63 note ; Desjazdins, Im Gaule Romaine, i., 287 sqg,
* Strabo, p. 180; Dio Cass., fragm. 90.
* Polybius, 3, 39, mentions a coast road marked with Roman mile- stones. Cic. , Pro Fonteioy 7, speaks of the Via Domitia as needing repair {circa 75 B.C.).
* VeU., i. 15 ; Cic, BruU, 43 ; Pro Fonteio, 5 : " Narbo Mar- Hus coloma twstrorum civium, specula P. A\ ac propugnaculum,**
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 267
Nine years after the foundation of Narbo, the eruption of the Cimbri and Teutones threatened Rome for the moment, not ofthe
Cimbri
only with the loss of all she had won in southern Gaul, but with an invasion of Italy itself. This, the first recorded descent of northern barba- rians upon southern Europe, was no doubt provoked, like those that followed it, by the need of more land, and a craving for the spoils of the south. Issuing from their homes by the northern sea, where their people still dwelt in the days of Augustus,' the Ger- mans marched southward, with their women, children, and wagons, till they reached the barrier of Keltic tribes which covered the frontiers of the Roman empire, from the Rhone in the west to the borders of Thrace in the east. But this barrier had already been weakened by Roman attacks from the south, and at the point where the Cimbri first touched it the Keltic tribes had been in conflict with the legions and could offer little resistance." At Noreia, in the heart of what was afterwards the province of Noricum, and in the territory of the Keltic Teurisci, the first conflict between Romans and Germans took place, and resulted in the defeat of the consul Cn. Papirius Carbo (113 B.C.).*
* Strabo, 292 : **xai ydp vvv ex<wdt ri^v x<^P^^ W ^hc^^ itpoTspov,** Their home was the Cimbric Chersonese (Jutland) ; Desjardins, i., 303.
' In 115 B.C. M. ^milius Scaunis celebrated a triumph over the Kelts of the Camic Alps. In 141 b.c. Livy, Epit,^ Ixiii., mentions a campaign against the Scordisci ; according to Strabo, p. 293, the Cimbri, after being repulsed by the Boii. crossed the Danube to the territories of the Scordisci and Teurisci ** xai rovrovi raXarai"
• Livy, Epii,, Ixiii. ; Strabo, p. 214, mentions the scene of the battle.
268 Outlines of Raman History, tdook l^
But although this victory appeared to lay Italy open to attack on its most defenceless side, where the colony of Aquileia alone guarded the entrance to the rich plains of the Po/ no advantage was taken of it. When the Germans reappeared, four years later, in 109 6.C., it was on the northern frontier of the territory of the Allobroges, where they a second time defeated a Roman consul, M. Junius Silanus.' It would seem that in the interval they had moved westward behind the screen of the Alps, and after being repulsed by the Belgic Gauls, had reached the frontiers of the Roman province through the land of the Helvetii." Again, however, the victorious Germans halted, and did no more than send ambas- sadors to the senate with an impossible request for lands/ But their presence, and the sight of the booty they had won, stirred the ambition of the Helvetii,* a section of whom had already joined them, and fought by their side against Silanus/ Two years later (107 B.C.) the same Hel- ^ ' * * vetian clan, the Tigurini, descended into
' Aqnileia was founded to guard the entrance into Italy from Xllyricum. Strabo, 214: ^^ hmrnxi^^y roU vftepxetjuivoti fiapfidpot^:'
« Livy, £pii., Ixv.
' Strabo, 196, says that they were repulsed by the Belgae, and, p. 293, that from the land of the Teurisci they went to that of the Helvetii.
* Livy, £piL, Ixv.
» Strabo, 193 : •' kiei Xpdreiar TpaieeOBat ra^ raSr Ki/ifipoar €vieopiaM6rra%"
• The Tigurini ; Florus, iii., 3.
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 269
southern Gaul, swept across it as far as the Atlantic, and on. their return met and routed the consul L. Cassius Longinus in the country of the Allobroges.* How much these successive defeats had weiikened Roman prestige was proved by the insurrection (106 B.C.) of the Tolosates, who surprised and captured the Roman garrison at *^^"-^' Tolosa." But a far more serious catastrophe was at hand. ' In 105 B.C. the united hordes of Germans and Helvetians invaded the Roman province, routed and took prisoner the legate, M. Aurelius Scaurus,' and, on October 6th, utterly annihilated at Arausio (Orange) two com- plete Roman forces, under the command respec- tively of the consul, M. Mallius, and the proconsul, Q. Servilius Caepio.* This disaster, following as it did on the defeats of Carbo, Silanus, and Cassius, raised to fever height the popular indignation with senatorial mismanagement, which the Jugurthine scandals had already excited.* The popular hero, Marius, though still absent in Africa, was elected
* Livy, Epit^^ Ixv. : " consul Cassius a Tigurinis Gallispago Helveii- orum . . , in finibus Allobrogum casus, ^ Cf, Caesar, B, G,^ i., I2. Strabo, pp. 183-293, mentions the Tougeni. Oros., v., 15, states that the invaders reached the Atlantic.
* Dio Cass., fragm. 90. The insurrection was crushed by Q. Servilius Csepio, who carried off and appropriated to his own use the treasure in the temple at Tolosa {aurum Tolosanum) ; Cic, De Nat, Deor,^ iii., 30; Strabo, p. 188.
•Livy, Epit, Ixvii.
* Livy, EpiLy Ixvii. ; Oros., 5, 16 ; for the date, see Plut,, ZucuUuSf 27.
' Caepio was deprived of his command, and bis property confiscated ; Livy, Epii,, Ixvii.
2 70 Outlines of Roman History. [Book iv
consul for 104 B.C., and intrusted with the task of repelling the invasion of Italy, which seemed to be imminent.* Fortunately, how- everj for Rome, and for Marius, the Cimbri passed on southwards into Spain, ravaging as they went, while their kinsmen the Teutones, and their Hel- vetian allies, remained stationary and inactive in Gaul.* Not until late in 103 B.C., on the return of the Cimbri, was the ' attack which all Italy had been anxiously awaiting decided upon. It was arranged that while the Cimbri re- traced their steps and endeavoured to force their way into Italy from the side of lUyricum, the Teutones and Helvetii should take the more direct route through southern Gaul. The duty of repel- ling the Cimbri was assigned to Q. Lutatius Catulus, who had been elected consul with Marius ^ ' * * for 102 B.C. Marius himself, who had spent the two years 104 and 103 B.C. in quieting the Keltic tribes within the province,* and in pre- paring for war,* awaited the advance of the Teutones at Aquae Sextis, the defences of which he had en- larged and strengthened, and here in two successive battles he not only defeated, but destroyed the invading force.* But though all danger from the
' Sail., Jug^^ 114 : * consul absens est foetus et ei decreta provincia GaUia:
• Livy, EpU,^ Ixvii.
» The Volcee Tectosages ; Plut., SuU,, 4. That the Ligurians were also meditating revolt is implied by Ftontinus, Strategem,^ i. 2, 6.
• Plut., Marius^ 15 ; Veil., ii., X2 : " terHus (canstUatus) inapparaiu belH eonsumptus**
• Livy, EpiLf Ixviii. ; Plut., Marius^ /. e.
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revotution. 271
Teutones was over, the Cimbri had still to be met and repulsed. In the spring of loi B.C., Marius, now consul for the fifth time, 53 . . • crossed into Italy and hastened to the assistance of his former colleague Catulus,' an accomplished man, and the head of the '^optimate'* party, but no soldier, who had been defeated by the Cimbri and driven back to the Adige. On July 30th, loi B.C., a decisive battle was fought on the ^'Raudine Plains."* One hundred thousand of the enemy were captured or slain, and the first German invasion was at an end.
From this time down to the moment when Csesar assumed the command, the situation in Transalpine Gaul underwent but little change. The peace of the Roman province was indeed repeatedly disturbed by risings among the Keltic tribes.* But in spite of these, and of the distress and discontent caused by Roman misgovemment, Cicero's speech in defence of Fonteius, governor of the province ^^ 75-73 B.C., proves that southern Gaul was already becoming Romanised, and that a strong tide of immigration from Italy had set in. " Gaul," he declares, '^ is crowded with Roman men of business, farmers, graziers, money-lenders, and state-con-
* Veil., ii., 12 ; Livy, EpiL^ Ixviii. ; Plut., Marius, /. r.
• Near Vercellae. Pint., Marius^ 25 ; Veil., ii., 15. Of this cam- paign a good account is given by Ihne, R, t7., v., 188 sqq,
' In 77 B.C. Pompey, then on his way to Spain, had to suppress a general revolt. In 66 B.c. a rising of the Allobroges was pat down by Calpumius Piso ; Dio, zzxvi., 3i. Cicero calls Piso pacificator AUobrogum (Ad Att,^ i., 13). A second rising of the Allobroget occurred in 62 b.c. ; Livy, Epit.t ciii.
272 Outlines of Roman History. [Bookiv
tractors." " No money passed/' he adds, " except through Roman hands." *
In the year 59 B.C. Farther Gaul was, together with Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum, placed under the
command of Caesar for a period of five Gaul. 69s years,* and the defence of the entire
northern frontier from the Rhone to the Save and Drave was thus committed to his care, as the defence of the eastern frontier of the empire had previously been to Pompey. The wisdom of
TheHeivetii. ^^ ®*^P ^^ quickly proved. In the 696 A. u. c. spring of 58 B.C., the news reached Rome that the Helvetii were again in motion, but on this occasion it was not merely a raid by a single clan that was in prospect. The whole Helvetian people had deliberately resolved to leave their land and
find a new home in Gaul. The resolution 693 A. u. c. , . , _
was taken m 61 B.C., and two years were devoted to completing the arrangements for what was intended to be a final abandonment of their native country. Their strongholds, villages, and crops were destroyed ; provisions sufficient for three months were collected, and their neighbours to the north and east, the Rauraci, Tulingfi, Latobriges, and Boii, persuaded to join them. Finally, the 28th of March, 58 B.C., was fixed as the day on which the whole body should assemble on the right bank of
*Cic., Pro FontHo, 5: ^' refer ia Gallia negoHaiorum esi^ plena civium Romanorum y nemo Gallorum sine citfe Romano quic^nam negoHi gerit; nummus in GalHa nuUut sine civium Romanorum iabulis commovetur--ex ianio negotiatorum, colonorum, pubHeaU' orum, aratorum^ pecuariorum numero**
•Suet., Casar^ 22 ; Oros., vi., 7.
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 273
the Rhone, near Geneva, whence an easy and open route would lead them through the territory of the Allobroges/
The report of their intention reached Caesar in Rome. Eight days later he reached the Rhone,* with a single legion, and such native levies as he had been able to raise on his way among the tribes of Farther Gaul. In front of him, across the river, lay the Helvetii and their allies, numbering all told 368,000 persons." Caesar instantly destroyed the bridge not far from Geneva by which the motley host had hoped to cross, and then carried a line of entrenchments^ along the left bank of the Rhone, froni the lake of Geneva to the foot of the moun- tains which enclose the Pas d'Ecluse. These pre- cautions were effective, and the Helvetii were forced to attempt the difficult and toilsome route leading through the passes of the Jura into the territory of the Sequani,* whence they hoped to make their way to the pleasant lands of Aquitaine, which the Tigurini had reached fifty years before.* On
iCsesar, B, G., i.. 2-6.
'Plat., Casar^ 17. He apparently travelled by the Great St. Bernard route; Desjardins, La Gaule Komairu^ 74, 75, and ii.,
597.
* Caesar, B, 6^., i.» 29 ; the number of men capable of bearing
arms was 92,000.
^IHd,, i., 8 ; for the position and nature of these entrenchments, see Desjardins, ii. , 599.
* Caesar, B, G,, i., 6; Desjardins, ii., 601.
•Caesar, B, G,^ i., 10: **it€r in Santonum fines facere^ qui
non longe a TolosaHum fimbus absunt^ qua civitas est in pravincia,**
The description of the Santones as '* not far distant from the
territory of Toulouse" is inaccurate. See Desjardins, ii., 603. 18
274 Outlines of Raman History. iBook IV
I I I —^—1 1 1 1 ■—.■du.— —————— —I— —I II ■■■ » I
learning their intention, Caesar left Labienus to guard the defences on the Rhone, and hurried to Italy to collect fresh troops.* At the head of five legions he recrossed the Alps,' and marched rapidly through the territories of the Vocontii and Allo- broges, till he reached the Rhone near Vienne.' Then turning northwards he overtook the Helvetii while crossing the Sadne on their way westward, between Lyons and M4con,* and cut to pieces their rearguard, consisting of Rome's former enemies, the Tigurini. This done, he crossed the Sadne, and followed the main body of the enemy, until the difficulty of provisioning his army* obliged him to turn aside, and make for the iEduan stronghold Bibracte, where grain in plenty was to be had.* Finding, however, that the Helvetii, taking courage from his abandonment of the pursuit, had resolved in their turn to become his pursuers, he halted in a strong position, some eighteen Roman miles south of Bibracte, and awaited their attack. The battle which followed resulted in the complete defeat of
' Caesar, B, t7., i., 10.
* He seems to have followed the route by Susa (Segusio) through the Cottian Alps ; Desjardins, ii., 603.
'Opposite to the land of the Segusiani. Csesar, B, G,, i., 10: *' ahAllobrogibus in Segusianos~~hi sunt extra proT/inciam trans Rhodanum primi"
* Caesar, B, G,, i., 12; Desjardins, ii., 605.
' The difficulty was mainly due to the intrigues of the iEduan chief Dumnorix ; Caesar, B» G,, i., 16-19.
* Ibid,^ i., 23: ** oppUo jEduorum longe maxitmf et copiosissinw,** The site of Bibracte has been fixed at Mt. Beuvray. For its rela- tion to the later tribal capital, Augustodunum (Autun), see Des- jardins, ii., 609, note.
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 27 5
the Helvetii.' The survivors, after a vain attempt to make their way to the Rhone through the terri- tory of the Lingones, surrendered at discretion. They were disarmed and ordered to return to their homes, but of the mighty host which in the spring had mustered on the banks of the Rhone, less than a third lived to recross the river.*
The task which Caesar had undertaken of defend- ing Gaul against invasion was not ended by the defeat of the Helvetii. By the Gauls ^ . themselves he was at once mvited to nd ^ «a<i the
Oennaiis.
them of a still more formidable intru- der. Some fourteen years before,* on the invitation of the Arvemi and Sequani, a force of fifteen thou- sand Germans, under Ariovistus, had crossed the Rhine to aid these tribes in their ancient quarrel with the iGdui,^ and after a protracted struggle had completely defeated the JEAwi in 60 B.C. at Mageto- briga.* In the extremity of their distress
Ifa*^ i^ u c
the latter appealed to Rome for aid,
but with little effect, for in 59 B.C. Ariovistus was
' The scene of the battle is placed at Mont Mort, to the south of Autun. Stoffel, Guerres des Cdsar et tTAricvisU^ p. 36 (Paris, 1891).
' C«sar, B, (7., i., 38, 29. The Boii were allowed, at the request of the i£dui, to remain in the territory of the latter. The re- occupation of Helvetia was desirable as a precaution against Ger- man inroads. Floras, iii., 10: ^* gentem in sedes suas quasi greges in stabula pastor deduxit"
' Cf, Caesar, B. t?., i., 35, where Ariovistus declares that his Ger- mans had not slept under a roof for fourteen years.
* IHd., L, 31.
• Ibid., U.; Cic, Ad AU., i., 19.
276 Outlines 0/ Raman History. [Book iv
formally enrolled among the " friends " of the Roman people, and the title of " king '* which he had assumed was recognized by the senate/ The plight of the JEAwi was bad enough, but that of Ariovistus's allies, the Sequani, was even worse, for one hundred and twenty thousand Germans were established in their territory, and Ariovistus had re- cently ordered them to make room for twenty-four thousand more. At a council of chiefs, the iEduan Divitiacus, whose unswerving loyalty to Rome had won him the full confidence of Caesar, urged upon him that not only was Rome boynd in honour to res- cue her faithful allies from their imminent peril, but that she could not afford to stand by and allow Gaul to be overrun by the Germans. Caesar was con- vinced, all the more easily as the territory of the Sequani, where Ariovistus was established, was only separated by the Rhone from the Roman province of Farther Gaul. Envoys were at once sent to Ario- vistus, but brought back only messages of haughty defiance, while at the same time the news arrived that fresh swarms of Suevi were about to cross the Rhine and join their countrymen in Gaul. In order to crush Ariovistus before these reinforcements reached him, Caesar started at once; he occupied and garrisoned Vesontio (Besangon), the chief stronghold of the Sequani, which Ariovistus was said to be intending to attack. Seven days later a series of forced marches brought him by a circuitous route within reach of Ariovistus, who was apparently encamped on the farther side of the Vosges moun-
> Cmar, A t?., i., 34 ; Pint., Cas€tr, 19.
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 277
tains in the plain country between that range and the Rhine.* After ten days spent partly in fruitless negotiation and partly in vain attempts on Caesar's part to force an engagement, a decisive battle was fought. The Germans were defeated ; Ariovistus escaped across the Rhine,' and the Suevi, abandon- ing their projected invasion of Gaul, returned home. Gaul was now freed from invaders, but the legions which had chased the Helvetii to their homes, and driven Ariovistus across the Rhine, were
The BelgK.
not withdrawn from Gaulish soil. Though Caesar returned to Cisalpine Gaul, his troops re- mained in the territory of the Sequani,' and this military occupation was naturally interpreted as im- plying an intention on the part of Rome to extend her suzerainty beyond the limits of the " province." By the Belgae especially, the most warlike of the Gaulish peoples, the presence of six Roman legions so near their frontiers was regarded as menacing their own independence.* A council of chiefs, sum- moned to consider the situation, declared enthusias- tically for instant war, and contingents from the various tribes were promised, amounting in all to nearly three hundred thousand men.* But the pros- pect of a stubborn resistance which these formidable preparations held out was by no means fulfilled.
' Desjardins, ii., 620-622 ; Stoffel, C^sar et Arundste^ 53, 57. ' Caesar, B, G., 53. The scene of the battle was fifty miles dis- tant from the Rhine. ' Caesar, B. 6^., i., 54 ; probably at Besan9or
* /Md.f ii., I.
* /did., ii., 4.
278 Outlines of Raman History. tBook iv
When Caesar, in the spring of 57 B.C., reached the Belgic frontier, at the head of an imposing force,' he was at once met by an offer of friendship from the Remi, the most southerly of the Belgic tribes. The alliance, which was eagerly accepted, opened the route to the river Aisne, on the farther banks of which Caesar entrenched himself, with the friendly territory of his new allies in the rear." The Belgic host advanced with great firmness against him, but after being twice repulsed, once in an attack on a stronghold of the Remi, and once in an attempt to cut off Caesar's communications with the rear, their resolution failed. The host broke up, and the various clans marched back to their own ter- ritories, there to await the advance of the legions.* But Caesar's rapid movements disconcerted their plans. Tribe after tribe submitted on the mere appearance of his troops in their territory, and in spite of the desperate stand made by the Nervii, the end of the summer saw the suzerainty of Rome recognised throughout Belgic Gaul. An unmistaka- ble proof of the Roman advance was the fact that the legions this time wintered, not in the country of the Sequani* but in the very heart of Northern Gaul, in the region of the Upper Loire.*
On starting for Italy in the autumn of 57 B.C. Caesar had received through P. Crassus the submis-
' He had raised two fresh legions in Cisalpine Gaul, bringing the total number under his command to eight. T^V/., ii., s.
* Ibid,, ii., 5.
' Caesar, B, G„ ii., 10.
* Hid., ii., 35 : ** j'» CamuUs, Andes, Turonesqtie,**
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 2 79
sion of the tribes along the Atlantic Thesubjn. seaboard from the Loire to the Seine. iSStic^Jea- During the winter, however, the news *>»•'*.
reached him that these tribes, probably encouraged by his absence, were in open revolt, headed by the Veneti,' a sea-faring folk at the mouth of the Loire, and had imprisoned the Roman envoy sent to collect provisions. In the spring of 56 B.C., as 6g8A. u.c. soon as the passes were open, Caesar returned to Gaul. Troops were hastily despatched to prevent the re- volt from spreading to other districts : Labienus was commissioned to maintain order among the Belgae, while Crassus was sent to check any attempt on the part of the tribes south of the Loire to assist the insurgents. To a third force of three legions was intrusted the task of preventing any junction between the more northerly of the revolted tribes," and the chief offenders, the Veneti. These last Caesar himself prepared to subdue. Driving the enemy before him, he forced the whole tribe to take refuge among the islets and creeks at the mouth of the Loire.' Here, and in sight of Caesar and his troops on the mainland, they were attacked and de- feated by the fleet which Caesar had built for the purpose on the river.* Of the survivors, the chiefs were put to death, and the rest sold as slaves, a warn- ing to barbarians that they should in future respect
' Ibid,, iii. 9.
' Ibid,, iii.y II : " if^ Vetuihs, CuriosoliUu, Lexoviosque,**
' Caesar, B. C, iii. 14, 16 ; for the topography, see Desjardins, i.,
* CKsar, B. G., iii., 13, 14.
28o Outlines of Raman History. [Book iv
the rights of envoys.' At the same moment Caesar received the news that the insurgent tribes to the northward had, after a brief resistance, laid down their arms ; while south of the Loire, P. Crassus had achieved even more important results by the reduc- tion of the whole of Aquitaine, with the exception only of a few tribes in the extreme south-west." A successful expedition, led by Caesar himself, against the Morini and Menapii on the north coast, com- pleted the work of the year.
The suzerainty of Rome was now established, in name at least, over nearly the whole of Gaul, but Caesar had already reason to know how readily, on any favourable opportunity, the tribes would throw off an allegiance extorted from them by superior force. Above all, there was ground for fearing that, as a last resource, the Keltic tribes would take the desperate step of calling in the aid of their ancient foes the Germans. During the following winter these fears were realised. Two German tribes, the Usipetes and Tencteri, on being expelled from their own homes by the Suevi, crossed the Rhine near its mouth and settled in the land of the Menapii, and 699 A. u. c. on rejoining his legions in the spring of 55 B.C., Caesar found that the Keltic tribes near the Rhine were already in treaty with the invaders. The expulsion of the latter from what was already in theory Roman territory was a necessity, and was easily accomplished. In a single battle fought near
• Ibid., iii,, 27.
' Caesar, B. G., iv., i, 6.
Ch . 3] TTie Empire Duritig the Revolution. 281
the confluence of the Rhine and the Meuse they were defeated and cut to pieces." The Rhine was now established as the frontier not only of Gaul, but of the empire of the Roman people.* Of a perma- nent advance beyond it there was as yet no thought ; but for the safety of the frontier it was essential to impress the German tribes on the farther bank of the river with a wholesome fear of the power of Rome, and to show that even in their own homes they were not beyond the reach of her arm. These considerations, and the entreaties of the one trans- Rhenane tribe friendly to Rome, the semi-civilised Ubii, determined Caesar to enter Germany, and for the first time in history the legions crossed the Rhine by a bridge specially constructed for that c«sar crosses purpose/ The German tribes, and even **** Rhine, the invincible Suevi, retreated hastily to the shelter of their impenetrable forests ; and Caesar, after ravaging the territory of the Sugambri, and relieving the Ubii for the time from the assaults of the Suevi, re-crossed the Rhine.*
It was not, however, beyond the Rhine only that a military demonstration appeared desirable. The Kelts across the sea, in the island of zwtwt in Britain, had throughout actively aided Bnuin, their kinsmen on the mainland in their resistance to Rome, and it was time that they, as well as the Germans, should learn that Rome could tolerate no
» Caesar, B^ G,, iv., 12-15.
» Ibid,, iv., 16 : *'popuH Romani imperium Rkmum fitUre:*
• IHd,, iv. 17.
* JHd,, iv. 19 : *• ditbus decern et octo trans Rhenum consumptis.
ft
282 Outlines of Raman History. [Book iv
disturbance of the peace within what were now the limits of her empire. It is clear, too, that Caesar was curious to learn something of the almost un* known land whose cliffs were visible from the Gallic shore/ Although, therefore, the summer was draw- ing to a close, an expedition to Britain was resolved upon. A fleet was hastily collected, of which the vessels employed against the Veneti in the previous year formed a part. On this fleet Cssar placed two legions, which he considered a sufiicient force for what was intended to be rather a military reconnais- sance than a serious invasion. Sailing from the Portus Itius, near Boulogne, he landed, in spite of the resistance of the natives, on the low shore, near Pevensey," where he erected a camp. But the late- ness of the season, and the damage inflicted upon his fleet by a high tide, decided him to postpone further operations in the island until the next year, and on " the day after the equinox " he re-crossed the Channel.
During the winter preparations were made for an expedition on a larger scale, and late in the spring of 54 B.C., after a delay caused by symptoms of disaffection among the Gaul- ish tribes, he again set sail from the Portus Itius with five legions and 2,000 Gaulish cavalry.' But this second expedition had scarcely more permanent results than the first. For though he advanced to
' Caesar, B» (7., iv., 20.
' ' Ibid,^ iv., 23 ; Desjardins, i., 348 sqq, y Ridgeway in Journal of Philology^ vol. zix., p. 200. » IHd., v.. 8.
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 283
the Thames/ and crossed it, and though he broke the power of his most formidable opponent Cassive- launusy and received the formal submission of several tribes in the sputh-eastern regions, he returned at the close of the summer without having done more than prove for the benefit of his successors that an invasion of the island was feasible.'
It is probable, however, that Caesar Risings in would not have remained satisfied with ^•"*-
these meagre results, but for the ominous symptoms of disturbance and discontent which were showing themselves in Gaul. The attempted rising
ttxi t^ ^ C
of the Treveri in 54 B.C. was followed by a series of insurrections in almost every part of the coun- try. The first to raise the standard of revolt were the tribes in the north-eastern districts, who, finding that Caesar had been compelled by the scarcity of corn to distribute his legions for the winter over an unusually wide area, determined to make a simultaneous attack upon* the isolated camps.' The Eburones,* who struck the first blow, decoyed from its camp, and treacherously cut to pieces, the legion stationed in their territory ; the Nervii attacked Q. Cicero ; the Treveri besieged Labienus ; while in the west, the Armorican tribes threatened the position of the single legion quartered among the Esuvii. But the desperate tenacity with which Cicero defended his camp gave Caesar time to march to his relief.
> Csesar, B, G,^ v., ii.
» Jbid., v., 11-23 ; Elton, Origim of EngUsh History^ pp. Z05-IXI.
^ Ibid,, v., 24.
^ Ibid,, B. G,, v., 26.58.
284 Outlines 0/ Raman Histoty. CBook IV
The Nervii were defeated; the Treveri, who had vainly endeavoured to persuade the Germans to come to their aid, were routed by Labienus ; while the Armorican tribes dispersed on hearing the news of the Roman successes. In spite, however, of this severe check, the insurrectionary movement was by no means crushed. Caesar remained in Gaul through- out the winter, and early in 53 B.C. he learnt that not only were the north- eastern tribes again taking up arms, but that, south of the Seine, the Senones and Camutes had thrown off their allegiance,* With characteristic prompti- tude he resolved to strike at once before the insur- gents could complete their preparations. From his headquarters at Samarobriva (Amiens) he marched rapidly against the Nervii, who, taken completely by surprise, at once submitted. Moving southward he held a " durbar " at Paris," in the immediate neigh- bourhood of the Senones and Camutes. The chiefs of the latter abstained from attending, but on Caesar's advancing against them, in force, their courage failed, and they laid down their arms. The rest of the summer was devoted to the pacification of the districts along the Rhine,* where the Menapii, Eburones, and Treveri still held out. By the autumn order was so far restored that Caesar, after holding his usual '' durbar '' at Reims, was able to revisit Italy.*
' Caesar, B. (7., vi., 2 sqq,
' IHd,^ vi., 3 : ** amcilium LuUtiam Parisiorum trans/ert.'* ' It was on this occasion that Csesar for the second time crossed the Rhine ; B. G,, iv., 10-29. * IHd,, vi.,44.
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 285
His departure was, however, instantly followed by a fresh outbreak. The new revolt broke out, not in north-eastern Gaul, but among the tribes Rising in of the central and southern districts. The ^•gSJihern leaders in the movement were the Arvemi, ^*"ven:m- and with them were soon united most of getoHx. the clans dwelling between the Seine and the Ga^ ronne." The insurgents were thus able at once to threaten the Roman province of Southern Gaul, and to intercept communication between that province and the legions in the north. For the first time, moreover, the insurgent tribes were united under the leadership of a single able and resolute man, the young Arvernian chief Vercingetorix. Csesar, who had recrossed the Alps on the first news of the out- break, found himself as his enemies had calculated, with no other troops at his disposal but such as he had brought from Italy or could raise in the prov- ince. The hope, however, which the Gauls enter- tained of preventing a junction between the legions and their general was disappointed. Hastily posting garrisons to check the threatened invasion of the province by Lucterius, chief of the Cadurci,* and with only a small force of cavalry, he crossed the Cevennes in spite of the deep snow, descended as if from the clouds into the territory of the Arverni, pushed on to the Rhone, and then turning northward effected a junction with his legions in the country of the Lin-
' Caesar, B, G,, vii., 4 : ** Senoms, Parisios, Pictones, CadurcoSt
TuroneSf Auiercos^ Lemaznces^ Andes reUquosqtu amnes^ qm Oceanum
aUinpmt:* • IHd.^ vii., 7.
286 Outlines of Raman History. iBook i\i
gones, before the insurgents had recovered from their first surprise.' Once at the head of his legions, Caesar assumed the offensive, and marching south- wards, captured in rapid succession Vellaunodunum, Cenabum (Orleans), Noviodunum (Nouan), and after a protracted siege Avaricum (Bourges), the chief town of the Bituriges.* The winter was now over, and Caesar (52 B.C.) resolved to force on a decisive battle with Vercingetorix be- fore the revolt spread further. Sending Labie- nus with four legions to hold the Senones in check, and secure him against a rising in his rear, he re- solved to march at once upon the chief Arvemian stronghold Gergovia,* whither Vercingetorix followed him. But his hopes of thus putting a speedy end to the war were disappointed by the unexpected revolt of his old and faithful allies, the JEAxxi. Fearing that their example might be followed by a general rising of the tribes,* which had as yet remained quiet, he reluctantly raised the siege of Gergovia, and marching northwards again joined Labienus and his legions in the country of the Senones. But his retreat, and the news of the defection of the JEdwx gave the signal for the rising which he had feared. A council of chiefs from all parts of Gaul was held at the ^duan capital Bibracte,* and Vercingetorix, who was elected commander-in-chief, explained the
* Caesar, B. G., vii., 9.
• /did., vii., 13-31.
' /^mT., viL, 34. For the site of Gergovia, see Desjardins, ii., 67S ; it was five miles south of Clermont. < Hid., vii., 43. » lUd,, vii„ 63.
Ch. 31 The Empire During theRevdution. 287
plan of campaign which he proposed to adopt. While he, with the main body, maintained a harassing guerilla warfare against Caesar and his legions, the Roman province to the south was to be invaded at three separate points simultaneously/ On learn- ing of the danger which threatened the province, Caesar marched to its relief. The direct road was closed by the revolt of the iEdui, and he was forced to adopt a longer and more circuitous route through the territory of the Lingones and Sequani. On his way Vercingetorix attacked him in force, but was repulsed and forced to retreat to the impregnable fortress of Alesia." Thither Caesar followed him, and while Vercingetorix with his infantry held the town, emissaries were sent in all directions inviting the Gauls to rise in a body and crush the invaders. In response to the appeal, a force consisting of 250,- 000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry, drawn from every part of Gaul, assembled in the territory of the ^dui, and marched to Alesia.' The struggle which fol- lowed was more desperate than any in which Caesar had as yet been engaged. While the newly-arrived levies endeavoured to carry the Roman lines of entrenchment from the rear, Vercingetorix, issuing from Alesia, assaulted them in front. Twice the legions repulsed the enemy with great slaughter.
' Caesar, B, G,, vii., 64,
' /did,, vii., 68 : " Alesiam, quod est oppidum MattduHorum,** The latter were a tribe dwelling on the borders of the Sequanian territory, and were possibly clients of the ^Edui ; Desjardins, ii., 468. Alesia is identified with Alise St. Reine ; Ibid,, ii., 695.
« Caesar, B. G., vii., 75,
288 Outlines of Roman History. [Book i\
only to find themselves attacked a: third time with even greater fury than before. But their courage and discipline finally triumphed. Disheartened by their losses, the Gaulish levies dispersed in confusion to their homes, and their retreat sealed the fate of their kinsmen in Alesia. Vercingetorix counselled surrender, and chivalrously offered himself as a victim to appease the wrath of Rome.' Seated in front of the entrenchments which had been so gallantly attacked and defended, Caesar received the submission of the garrison, and announced their fate. Vercingetorix himself became a prisoner, and was reserved to grace his conqueror's triumph in Rome, and die by the hands of a Roman execu- tioner. His followers, with the exception of the JEdm and Arvemi, whom Caesar kept as hostages, were distributed as part of the spoils of war to the victorious legions.
The final effort made by the Gauls to recover their liberty had failed. The capture of Alesia r*QauiV***" 1^2id destroyed their confidence in the im- pregnability of their strongholds, the best of their warriors were dead or captured, and with Vercingetorix they had lost the one leader capable of enforcing even a temporary union among their tribes. From the close of the sum-
fW%S ^L 11 ^^
mer of 52 B.C. down to the moment of
his final departure for Italy at the end of the year
50 B.C., Caesar had merely to deal with
local risings chiefly among the few tribes
who had not as yet felt the full weight of the Roman
» Caesar, A C?., vii., 89.
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 2 89
arm, and of these all but two were checked or suppressed without difficulty. It was only by the Bellovaci" in the north, and by the Cadurci and their allies in the extreme south,* that any serious resistance was offered to the Legions. By ^ „ ^
** 703 A.U.C.
the autumn of 5 1 B.C. the pacification of Gaul was complete, even the Iberian tribes in the south-west of Aquitaine having acknowledged the suzerainty of Rome.* The year 50 B.C. was, except for a visit to Cisalpine Gaul, where he received an enthusiastic welcome from the people, devoted by Caesar to strengthening and confirming the authority of Rome, more especially among the Belgic clans, whose love of war, as well as their proximity to the Germans, marked them out as the most likely to disturb the peace of the country. Late in that year, after reviewing his faithful legions in the territory of the Treveri, he left for Italy.*
The result of Caesar's campaigns had been to bring the whole of Gaul within the Roman sphere of influence* The tribes were all enrolled as the allies of Rome, and bound to respect the majesty of the Roman people. It is also probable that Caesar required from them both hostages and the payment of a tribute. But the establishment of a regular provincial system was delayed by the out- break (49 B. C.) of the great Civil War, and was in fact the work, not of Caesar, but of Augustus.
I Caesar, B, (7., viii., 7-aa
* IHd, , Yiii. , 36.45.
^ Ibid,^ viii., 46.
^JHd,, viii., 55. S9
290 Outlines of Roman History. iBook iv
To the east of Italy, in the regions stretching north- ward from Epirus and Macedonia to the Danube, the
advance of Rome had been slow and ir- adi^ce regular. Nor had the frequent wars with Danube. ^* Keltic, Illyrfan, and Thracian tribes, which
the defence of the frontier, or the ambition of Roman generals provoked, resulted in any large and permanent extension of Roman rule/
Had Caesar lived, he would no doubt have brought
under Roman authority the regions lying
immediately eastward of Italy, and have carried Roman rule up to the Danube, as he had already carried it to the Rhine. As it was, how- ever, throughout the whole of the period we are con- sidering no great advance was made in this direction. Wars indeed were frequent, and triumphs scarcely less so : we read of expeditions against the tribes which lay immediately outside the " gate of Italy," Aquileia,' and against those farther south, along the Adriatic seaboard.* But though Istria is said to have been conquered,* and though the frontiers of the so-called province of Illyria or Illyricum were possibly pushed as far north as Salona,* no real con-
' Zippel, Rom, Herrschaft in lUyrien (Leipzig, 1877) ; Cons, La Province Romaine de Dalmatie (Paris, 1882).
* Against the lapudes in 129 B.C., the Stceni, ** gentem sub radice Alpium sitam" in 118 B.C., the Kami in 115 ; Livy, E^t,^ lix.^ Ixii.
'Against the Dalmatse in 119, 117, 85 B.c. ; App., Ilfyr,, 10; Livy, Epit, Ixii.; Eutrop., iii., 7.
^ Pliny, N, H,^ iii., 19, states that Sempronius Tuditanus (cons. 129 B.C.) subdued the Istri.
' At what date Illyria was made a separate province is uncertain. It was already so when Caesar received it in 59 B.C. See Marquardt« SUuUsverw.^ i., 141 sqq.
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 29 1
quest of the districts afterwards known as Upper and Lower Illyricum was effected. Very much the same was the case with the country lying between the province of Macedonia and the Dan-
^ Macedonia*
ube. From 114 B.C. down to 92 B.C., raids by Keltic or Thracian tribes upon the province, and retaliatory expeditions led by the governors of Macedonia, follow each other in rapid succession.' The defeat of C. Sentius in 92 B.C. was followed by a series of attacks, some of them prompted and assisted by Mithridates, which endangered the very existence of Roman rule in Macedonia. Though checked for a time by Sulla's vigorous measures in the spring of 85 B.C.,* they recommenced with re- newed vigour in 78 B.C., and several years of in- cessant war followed.* The successes gained by Curio (75-73 B.C.), and by Marcus LucuUus (73-70 B.C.)* broke for a time the strength of the most formidable tribes, and Curio actually penetrated to the Danube. But the defeat of Antonius (consul 63 B.C.) by the Dardani in 62, and the description given by Cicero of the state of affairs on the Mace- donian frontier six years later,* sufficiently prove that the situation had not materially changed. Over the regions afterwards included within the provinces of Thrace and Moesia, as over Illyricum, the Repub- lic never obtained any real hold.
' Livy, Epit,^ Ixiii., Ixx. •Eutrop.,v., 7.
'Eutrop., vi., 2; Livy, EpiU^ zci. *Eutrop., vi., 6, 7, Oros., vi., 3.
' Cic. In Pisonem^ 16 : '*«/ semper Macedamcis impertUariha* iidem fcna prauincuE fturint^ qtdgladiorum eUque pihrnm^*
292 Outlines of Raman History. [Book iv
The year which was marked in the domestic his- Rome and ^^^ ^^ Rome by the tribunate of Tiberius the BMt. Gracchus, witnessed also the creation of the first Roman province on Asiatic soil. For though The province ^^ province of Asia was not definitely of Asia. organised until the suppression of Aris- tonicus's rising in 129 B.C., the year 133 B.C., in 6S5A.U.C. which Attalus III., king of Pergamus, bequeathed his kingdom to the Roman people, was officially accepted as the year of its foundation. * The new province included Mysia, Lydia, Ionia, and Caria, the most fertile, wealthy, and populous districts of the peninsula of Asia Minor. ' From the first it took rank as Ihe most valuable and lucrative of Roman dependencies. The revenues derived from it became at once the mainstay of the Roman treasury, and a source of profit to the Roman publicani wHo collected them, while Roman officials and Roman men of business found there an inex- haustible field for money-making in every form. But the results of this first annexation of Asiatic terri- tory did not end here. The creation of a Roman province of Asia brought home to the Eastern world the fact that the "lordship of Asia," which had anciently belonged to the half-mythical kings of Phrygia, which had since then been held in turn
' The official era of the province was reckoned from 133 B.c. It was actually organised in 129 B.c. by M. Aquillius and a commission of ten senators; Strabo, p. 646. Comp. Livy, i^^/., Ivii., lix. ; Plin., N. II, t xxxiii., 140; Marquardt, Staatsverw,, i., 177.
' Phrygia was attached to the province in 116 B.C. ; Justinns, xxxviii., 5. Comp. the inscription edited by Ramsay, youm, IleU,^ 1887, p. 496 ; Reinach, Mithr.^ pp. 51, 457.
Ch. 3J The Empire During the Revolution. 293
by Cyrus and Darius, by Alexander of Macedon, and by Antiochus, had passed to Rome, and that the place of the Great King, the king of kings, was now filled by an Italian republic.
At the time, indeed, there seemed little probability that this claim of a Western state to rule in Asia would be seriously disputed. Of the three powers which had once contended for supremacy in the near East, Macedon was a Roman province, the Ptolemies in Egypt were the obsequious allies of Rome, while the Seleucid monarchy with diminished terri- tories was distracted by dynastic feuds, and men- aced by foreign invasion. . Nor within the peninsula of Asia Minor, itself was there apparently any state strong enough to challenge, with any hope of success, the sovereignty of Rome. Yet, within little more than forty years after the annexation of the Pergamene kingdom, that sovereignty was all but overthrown by the ruler of a hitherto obscure prin- cipality beyond the Halys; and this danger past, Rome found herself face to face on the Euphrates with a new and powerful Oriental kingdom, whose pretensions were as lofty as her own, and whose rulers had assumed the titles and claimed to be the heirs of Cyrus.
The kingdom of Pontus* took its rise, like its neighbours to the west and south, Bithynia and Cappadocia, during the troublous times Mithndatc* which followed the death of Alexander ofo^tu..
' Appian, Miihridat,^ 9 ; Mommsen, R, G,^ ii., 270 ; Th. Reinach, Mithridaie Eupator (Paris, 1890) ; Wroth., Coinage of Fontus (Lon- don, 1889).
294 Outlines of Raman History. tBook iv
the Great. Its founder, Mithridates the First (281 B.C.) claimed descent from one of the seven Persian nobles who conspired against the Pseudo-Smerdis, or, according to a later version, from the royal house of the Achaemenidae itself. * More than a century later, in the reign of the fifth king, Mith- 584^ ridates Euergetes ( 1 56- 1 20 B.C.), Pontus was
A.urc. enrolled among the allies of Rome, and
both during the third Punic war and on the occap 631^5 sion of Aristonicus'srebellion(i33-i29B.C.),
A.U.C. jjad loyally assisted her powerful patron.
Euergetes died in 120 B.C., and six years later his eldest son Mithridates Eupator, after- wards famous as Mithridates the Great,' suddenly appeared in the Pontic capital, Sinope, deposed his mother, the regent Laodicfe, and reigned in his father's stead. ' But the narrow limits * of his hereditary kingdom could not satisfy the boundless ambition of the young prince, nor, though from motives of policy he continued outwardly the loyal ally of Rome, was he the man to remain content with the inglorious position of a client king. The object which he set before himself was, if not at first the expulsion of the Romans from Asia, at least the creation of a powerful Asiatic monarchy, which should set bounds to European aggression, and reclaim Asia for the Asiatics. For such a task he was pre- eminently well qualified. His personal beauty, his marvellous bodily powers, his prowess as soldier,
* App., /. c, 9, 192 ; Sail., Hist, fragm,^ 2, 6. *Reinach, 55. 'Strabo, xii., 3, i.
Ch. 3] The Empire During the RevoltUian. 295
and huntsman,/ fascinated the warlike tribes, Thra- cian, Scythian, or Colchian, whom he enlisted under his banner. To the native populations of Asia Minor he appealed as the lineal descendant of the great Persian monarchs who had formerly claimed all Asia for their own, * while to the Greek cities he was recommended as the son of a father whose services to them had won him the title of ** the Benefactor," and as a prince who, though Persian by descent, was Greek by education, who everywhere proclaimed himself their protector, and who posed as the suc- cessor, not only of Cyrus and Darius, but of Alex- ander. In the use which he made of these advantages Mithridates was, it is true, unscrupulous, treacherous, and cruel, but he showed also that, both as a states- man and a general, he had few equals among his contemporaries.
Fortune, too, favoured him ; for during the first fourteen years of his reign the attention of the Roman senate was too much engrossed by affairs in the West, by the Jugurthine war and the Cimbric invasion, to be able to pay any close attention to the East. Mithridates thus succeeded, almost un- observed, in carrying out the first part of his great scheme. By 95 B.C. his authority was recognised along the coasts of the Euxine, from the mouths of the Danube to Colchis and Lesser Armenia, alike by the Greek cities and by the barbarian tribesmen. Once master of the Euxine and of its inexhaustible resources in men and supplies, he turned his atten-
*App. Miihr,, 11*2.
* Hdt., i., 4 ; rrjr ydp^A6iijy. . . oixtfieCrrai oi Uispdat
296 Outlines of Roman History. [Book iv
tion to strengthening his position in Asia Minor, and
it was his action here that first provoked Roman
intervention. In 92 B.C., L. Cornelius Sulla,
the future dictator, was sent to Cappado-
cia, with orders to restore King Ariobarzanes, whom
Mithridates had deposed in favour of his own son
Ariarathes.* Mithridates acquiesced, but only for
the time ; and when, in 90 B.C., the Social
664 A.U.C. 1^1
War broke out in Italy, he seized his op- portunity, and not only once more expelled Ario- barzanes, but put a creature of his own on the throne of Bithynia, in the place of Rome's ally Nicomedes. Again Rome intervened, and again Mithridates allowed the exiled kings to be restored, and professed unalterable respect for the authority of Rome. Meanwhile, he laboured ceaselessly and secretly to consolidate and extend the great coalition which he hoped to lead against Rome.* The Greek cities of the Euxine, and their barbarian neighbours, Thracians, Scythians, Bastami, and Sarmatae, awaited his orders. The kings of Greater Armenia and Parthia were his allies, and emissaries of his were in treaty with Egypt and Syria. In Pontus itself he had collected and equipped an army of 250,000 infantry and 40,000 cavalry, as well as a fleet of 400 vessels.' Nothing more was needed but a pretext for war, and this was supplied by the incredible rashness and folly of the Roman officials in Asia. Indeed, no better proof of the weakness of the republican system
' Livy, EpiU^ Ixx.; Plutarch, SuUa^ 5 ; App., Miihr,, xo. *App., Mithr., 15. • App., MUhr,^ 17.
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 297
could be given than the fact that by the unauthorised action of a few representatives abroad, the Roman government found itself, without any previous warn- ing, suddenly engaged in a serious war against an opponent more formidable than any whom it had encountered since the fall of Carthage, and this in the midst of a serious domestic crisis. It was at the instigation of M. Aquillius ' that, in 89 B.C., the recently restored king of Bithynia, s . . . Nicomedes, invaded the territories of Mithridates, and ravaged the country unopposed as far as Amas- tris. Mithridates formally protested against the injury inflicted upon him, but the Roman officers, possibly deceived by his pacific attitude, refused all satisfaction, and peremptorily ordered his envoy to leave the camp.* War was now inevitable,
^ First Mithri-
and early in 88 B.C. Nicomedes invaded duitic war. Pontus. Oppius, proconsul of Cilicia, ad- vanced into Cappadocia, while Aquillius and L. Cassius, proconsul of Asia, covered Bithynia and Phrygia. Numerically, their forces were formidable enough, but they consisted for the most part of un- trustworthy levies, hastily raised in Phrygia and Galatia, and the commanders were no match for Mithridates and his experienced Greek generals, Neoptolemus and Archelaus. The cam-
Successes of
pais^n was short and decisive : Nicomedes Mithridates
, 1 , . A . in Asia.
was utterly routed on the river Amnius,
' He had been sent out from Rome to effect the restoration of Nico- medes and Ariobarzanes. He was the son of the Aquillius who, in 129 B.C., organised the province of Asia.
' App., Mithr,^ z6.
298 Outlines of Roman History. [Book iv
and fled first to Pergamus and then to Rome, leaving his kingdom at the mercy of the enemy.* His Roman allies, whose troops for the most part refused to fight, were even more easily driven from their positions. L. Cassius escaped to Rhodes, Oppius and Aquillius were both captured, and the latter put to death. The senate at Rome learnt, to their amazement, that Mithridates was already the undis- puted master, not only of Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Phrygia, but of their own province of Asia, of L)^ia and Pamphylia.* The announcement of this com- plete and unexpected revolution was followed by the still more terrible news of the simultaneous massacre by the Greek cities of the Romans resident among them, an act of deliberate barbarity suggested by Mithridates himself.' Meanwhile the latter, though foiled in his attack on Rhodes, had reduced to sub- jection the islands near the coast of Asia Minor. But his dreams of conquest were not yet completely fulfilled, and he aspired to detach Greece itself from its western rulers, and unite it to Asiatic empire. Archelaus, who was despatched for the purpose, met with little resistance ; and not only the Athenians, but the Boeotians, Achaeans, and Lacedaemonians, became the allies of the king of Pontus.* The suzerainty which Rome had won for herself a century before on the field of M^agnesia was for the moment
' App., MUhr,, 18.
^ IHdn^ 20 ; Livy, Epit,^ xxvii.
' App., Mithr^t 23 ; Livy, EpiU^ Ixxvii. Eighty thousand Romans and Italians perished ; Val. Max., ix., 8*3. Plutarch puts the num* ber at 150,000 ; Sulla^ 24.
* App., Mithr., 27-29.
Ch. 31 The Empire During the Revolution. 299
transferred to Mithridates. His success, however, had been largely due to the domestic troubles which occupied the attention of the Roman govern- ment, to the incapacity of the Roman generals opposed to him, and to the absqnce of any sufficient body of Roman troops in Asia Minor. All this was changed when, early in 87 B.C., Sulla, in conformity with a cjecree of the senate, ISua tluiei assumed the command, and appeared in ****ii5SJd" Greece at the head of five legions. His arrival was the signal for, a hasty, repudiation of their newly-formed alliance with Mithridates by the states of the Peloponnese, an example which, as Mithridates found to his cost, the Greeks of Asia Minor were ready enough to follow. It was against Athens, which Archelaus and his ally Aristion occupied in force, that Sulla directed his first attack. The defence was obstinate, and it was not until the spring of 86 B.C.* that the city itself first of 668 a.u.c. all and then the Peiraeus were taken. ^*ithen2f Sulla now marched northwards into Boeotia ^ch«iSica to meet the army despatched by Mithri- *° m^oT dates for the conquest of Macedonia, but which was now hurrying to the relief of Athens. A battle fought on the historic field of Chaeronea ended in a complete victory for Sulla, and a few months later, at Orchomenos, he gained a second victory over the reinforcements sent from Asia to support Archelaus.* An end was thus put to Mith- ridates's short-lived supremacy in European Greece.
' Athens was taken on March I, 86 B.C.; Plut., Sulla^ 14.
• App., Mithr,, 42-44, 49 ; Plut., Sulla, 15-21 ; Eutrop., v. 6.
3C» Outlines of Roman History. iBopk i V
In Asia Minor his cruelties and exactions had already made him unpopular, and the growing disaffection was increased by the news of Sulla*s victory at Chaeronea. The savage measures by which he en- deavoured to intimidate his new subjects, his treach- erous murder of the Galatian chiefs, and his brutal treatment of the Chians, alienated barbarians and Greeks alike. The Galatians expelled the satrap sent to govern them, and several of the Greek cities, following the lead of Ephesus, openly declared for
Rome.' The defeat at Orchomenos was a fo?^ace!**°* fresh \>low to his hopes, and he at once
empowered Archelaus to open negotia- tions with Sulla.' Nor was Sulla without strong reasons for desiring peace. The .counter revolution in Rome which followed his departure for Greece * had placed his bitterest opponents at the head of affairs. He had been declared an outlaw, and his command transferred to L. Valerius Flaccus, consul for 86 B.c.^ It was true that he could trust his legions to follow him as readily against Flaccus as they had followed him from Nola to Rome in 88 B.C. But before engaging in a civil war, he was anxious to secure the fruits of his recent victories, and, destitute as he was of ships and money, there seemed no better method of attaining this object than the conclusion of an honourable treaty. The terms which he now pro-
' App., Mithr,^ 46-48. Ephesus declared for Rome at the end of 87 B.C. See the extant decree given by Reinach, Mithr,^ p. 463. Le Bas and Waddington, No. 136.
' App., Miihr,^ 54. • See above, p. 228.
*Livy, Epit,^ Ixxxii.; App., Mithr., 51 ; Plut., Sulla^ 22, 23.
Ch, 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 301
posed to Archelaus amounted, in effect, to the restoration of the status quo as it existed before the war. Mithridates was to abandon Cappadocia, Bithynia, Asia, and Paphlagonia, to hand over «to Rome seventy fully equipped ships of war, and to pay an imdemnity of 2,000 talents.* In reply, Mith- ridates asked ' to be allowed to retain Paphlagonia and to keep his ships. Sulla, however, was firm, and the course of events during the early -^^ . „ -, part of- the year 85 B.C. increased the anxiety of both parties for a peaceful settlement. Sulla had spent the winter of 86-85 in Thessaly, * and had apparently devoted the spring to chastising the various tribes, Keltic, lUyrian, and Thracian, who for the last four or five years had incessantly har- assed the province of Macedonia.^ Meanwhile his destined successor Flaccus had, shortly Murder of after reaching Asia, been murdered by Fimbria w Fimbria at Nicodem^a;* the latter as- ^"^•*
sumed command of the troops, and though a man of the worst possible character, showed him- self no mean general. He advanced into the Roman province of Asia, captured Pergamus, and finally forced Mithridates to take refuge in Mitylene.* These successes decided the latter to accept what
'App.,^«Mr., 54; Plut., Sulla, 22,
^JHd., 55.
»/^tV., 51.
^ Ibid,, 51 ; Livy, ^//.,'lzxxiii. ; Eutrop., v., 7.
*App., Mithr,, 55 ; Livy, Epit,, Ixxxii. Flaccus was murdered either at the end of 86 B.c. or early in 85 B.C.; VeU. Pat., ii., 24.
'App., Mithr,, 52. In this campaign Fimbria sacked Ilium, though under Sulla's protection ; Livy, EpiU, Ixxxiii.
302 Outlines of Raman History. [Book iv
terms he could get from Sulla, while Sulla himself realised that no time was to be lost if Fimbria was to be prevented from carrying off the honours of the
war. Advancing through Thrace to the A«iL— ° Hellespont, where Lucullus joined him Mith^dates. with the long-cxpected fleet, he crossed
to Asia.* At Dardanus, in the Troad,' he met Mithridates, and peace was concluded on the terms originally proposed. Mithridates retired to Pontus, Nicomedes and Ariobarzanes were restored for the third time to the thrbnes of Bithynia and Cappadocia, and finally Fimbria, deserted by his legions, who went over to Sulla, fell by his own hand.* In calm defiance of the sentence of outlawry passed upon him, Sulla had won two pitched battles, had concluded an important treaty with a foreign power, and now proceeded with unshaken confidence to settle the affairs of the province of Asia which he had recovered.
The measures he took, if partially justified by the savage massacre of 88 B.C., were at any Bulla's rate not calculated to restore peace and
settlement tit
of Asia. prosperity to a country harassed by war and impoverished by the exactions of Mithridates. All persons who had been prominent as partisans of the king were arrested and put to death.* The whole province was ordered to pay not only the arrears of the " tithe " which had accumulated during the last five
' App., Mithr,^ 56. Lucullus, as quaetor, had been engaged for a year and a half in collecting ships from Phoenicia, Rhodes, Cyprus, etc. * Plut, SuUa^ 24. ' App., MUhr,^ 6a
^IM.f 61 ; Gran. Licinianus, p. 35,
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 303
years, but also a further sum of 20,000 talents, as an indemnity for the costs of the war/ With a view to the payment of this indemnity, Sulla divided the province into forty-four districts,' and fixed the quota which each district should pay," as well as the time of payment. It is true that he did not omit to reward the fidelity of such communities as had re- mained loyal by a grant of " freedom," and in some cases of an extension of territory.* But these fa- vours counted for little by comparison with the finan- cial ruin which his demands brought about in the province which he claimed to have reorganised.' In order to meet them, the communities of Asia were
*App., Mithr, 6i : leivre trdSr <p6pov^ ideriyxetv avrtxa . xai TTfv rov TioXe/iov daicdrrfv. The amount of the war indemnity is given by Plutarch {Sul/a^ 25). There seems no reason to suppose, as Mommsen does (/?. G,, ii., 351), that Sulla abolished the *' tithe," or the collection of it by publicani. He de- , manded (i) the immediate payment of the arrears of unpaid tithe ; (2) a war indemnity to be paid down within a certain date.
'Cassiodorius, Chron, ad. ann. 670 A.U.C.: ^^ Asiam in xliv, regiones Sulla divisit,**
*Ap]p,, i. c: 'dtcapi^oo Hard «dAet$. Cic. Pro Flacco^ i^i " omnes Asi(B civiiates pro porHone descripsisseV* ; Ad Q, J*rat,, i., i, 11; ** vecHgalf quod Us aqualiter Sulla discripserat,** The indem- nity for war expenses exacted by Pompey in 64 B.C. was assessed according to Sulla's arrangement ; Cic. Pro Flacco^ /. c,
^Appian(Jf/Mr., 61) mentions Ilium, Chios, Lycia, Magnesia; Tacitus (Ann.f iii., 62) Rhodes. To the Rhodians were assigned the Caunians on the south borders of the province, and some of the islands; Cic, Ad Q, Pr., i., i, 11. Laodicea (ad Lycum) and Ephesus were also declared free ; C /. Z., i., 587 sqq,
' App., /. c. What the extent of the reorganisation was it is im- possible to say, but the era in use throughout Phrygia and Lydia was reckoned from 85 B.C. ; Marquardt, Slaatsverw,,i»f 180 ; Ramsay, Geog^, of Asia Minor 441, 452.
304 Outlines of Roman History. [Bookiv
forced to borrow at exorbitant rates from Roman money-lenders ; with the result that fourteen years later their debt had increased to six times its origi- nal amount.' To add to their difficulties, the Cilician pirates began, even before Sulla left the province, a series of devastating raids, which he took no measures to check* ; while the legions which he left behind him were content to live in luxurious ease at the expense of the hard-pressed provincials whom they should have protected, and to carry out only too faithfully the demoralising lessons which Sulla had taught them.* Greece, the scene of Sulla's victories, suf- fered only less than Asia. There, too, Sulla's course was marked by robbery, devastation, and distress,^ the traces of which were plainly visible forty years later.* Even more characteristic of Sulla's cynical indifference to all but the object immediately in view, was his omission to guard against a recurrence of the danger which he had for the moment repelled. The province of Asia was left as defenceless, the restored kings of Bithynia and Cappadocia as help- less, as before, while Mithridates himself was free to recruit his strength, and plan fresh schemes of con- quest. '
It is probable, indeed, that neither side accepted the settlement made at Dardanus as final. In
' Plut., Luc.^ vii., ao ; it had risen to 120,000 talents.
' App., Miihr,, 62.
^Ibid,, 64 ; ballast, Cb/., zi — " Sulla exercitum . . . quo siH fidum faceret . . . luxuricse nimisque libtraliUr habu<rat . . . IHprimum insuevit exercitus populi Romani amare^ potare" etc.
^ Plut., Sulla^ 12 ; Diodor., fr. 38, 37 ; Reinach, Mithr,, 155.
' See Servius's letter to Cicero, Ad Fam,^ It., 5.
»
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 305
83, 82, and 81, L. Murena, then gov- ernor of Asia, conducted three expeditions MithridaSc into the territory of Mithridates ; * and CTx.ew,^,' though these raids, which Appian digni- fies with the title of the " Second Mithridatic war," were stopped by Sulla's orders, Murena was granted the triumph,' which had been his main object in making them, and the Roman senate steadily de- clined to grant the king's repeated requests for a formal written treaty. On the other hand, Mithri- dates retained his hold over at least a part of Cap- padocia, and continued his preparations for a renewal of hostilities with Rome.
The death of Sulla in 78 B.C., the sue- ^^ a.u.c. cess of Sertorious in Spaing and the outbreak of a serious frontier war in Macedonia ' (77 B.C.) emboldened Mithridates to make . more overt steps for recovering his lost position. With all his old activity he sought allies in every direction against the common enemy. Once more he summoned to his aid the warlike tribes to the north of the Euxine.* His son-in-law Tigranes, now the ruler not only of Armenia but of Syria, was persuaded to invade Cappadocia. * The friendship of the Cilician pirates was assured by the efforts which Rome was at last making to crush them. ' Finally,
' App., Mithr,, 64-66.
* Cic, Pro Lege Maml.^ 3. 'Eutrop., vi., 2 ; Livy, EpiU^ xci. 'App., Mithr,, 69.
* App., Mithr,^ 67. Tigranes carried off 300,000 men to people his new capital Tigranocerta.
* In 78 B.C. P. Servilios was sent against them ; Oros., v., 23.
3o6 Outlines of Roman History. iBook IV
he solicited and obtained an alliance with Sertoriu» in the far West, thus uniting, as Cicero said, " the Atlantic with the Euxine ** ' in his great coalition.
Early in 74 B.C. Nicomedes, the sorely-tried king Third ^' Bithynia, died, leaving his kingdom,
win^******" as Attalus had done, to the Roman people, 680 A.u.c. and the senate at once declared Bithynia a Roman province. " Mithridates replied by invading the vac^it kingdom, possibly in the name of a sur- viving son of Nicomedes," at the head of a large force, and supported by a well-equipped fleet. Both the two consuls of the year were sent from Rome to repulse him,^ a most unusual measure at the time, one of them, M. Aurelius Cotta, being specially charged with the defence of Bithynia. But Cotta was no general ; he was easily defeated by Mithridates, and forced to take refuge within the walls of Chalcedon, leaving Bithynia at the mercy of the enemy. Mithri- dates next advanced against Cyzicus — the capture of which would have supplied him with an admirable base of operations by sea and land against the western and most wealthy districts of the province of Asia* — ^while a second force invaded and overran Phrygia. But Mithridates was not destined to sweep sieeeof ^^^ before him as he had done, in 88 cyicuB. g Q 'pjjg citizens of Cyzicus obstinately
*Cic., Pro Mur.^ 15 ; App., Miihr,^ 68.
' App., Mithr,^ 69 ; Eutrop., vi., 6 ; Livy, EpiU^ xciii.
'See his letter to the Parthian king Arsaces ; Sail., Hist.^ 4. fr. 20, 9.
^App., MiiAr,, jo; Cic, Pro Mur,, 15.
* App., Mitkr,, 72 ; Eutrop., vi., 6 ; Cic, Pro Afur., 15 : ** Asia januam, qua eiffracta et revolsa.^ iota pateret provincia,**
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 307
defended their city, and in the consul L. LucuUus he had to deal with a general far more able than those whom he had then defeated, and supported, not by raw Asiatic levies, but by five Roman legions. * While his colleague Cotta remained ingloriously at Chalcedon, Lucullus advanced to the relief of Cyzicus. Without risking an engagement with the more numerous forces of the enemy, he took up a position which enabled him to prevent any supplies from reaching Mithridates by land, while he trusted to the approach of the stormy season to intercept or delay those which came by sea. ' His plan was completely successful. The winter drew on, Cyzicus still held out, and the vast army of Mithridates began rapidly to melt away under the effects of hunger and disease. At last, toward the close of 74 B.C., the king raised the siege, and with a part of his fleet and army retreated by sea to Nico* media and thence to Pontus.* Lucullus entered Cyzi- cus in triumph, having, as he had predicted, defeated the enemy without fighting a battle. A naval victory off Lemnos completed the ruin of the Pontic arma^ ment, and finally cleared Asia and Bithynia of the invaders. But Lucullus had no intention of leaving Mithridates, as Sulla had left him, in
Invasion of
undisturbed possession of his hereditary Pontutby
kingdom, to prepare at his leisure for a
third outbreak. In the autumn of 73 B.C. "" ^'^'^'
' App., Miihr,^ 72. Two of them were the old legions of Fimbria, which had been quartered in Asia since 85 B.C. ' App., J/»Mr., 72.
3o8 Outlines of Roman History. [Book i v
he led his legions into Pontus, and laid siege to Amisus and Themiscyra. ' Learning, however that Mithridates had collected a considerable force at Cabira, in the valley of the Lycus, he resolved, if possible, to attack and crush him before his more distant allies, and above all, his son-in-law Tigranes, could come to his assistance. In the spring, there- fore, of 72 B.C., ' leaving Murena to con-
68s A.U*C.
tinue the siege of Amisus, he crossed the mountains into the Lycos valley, and avoiding the level ground, where Mithridates's swarms of light cavalry would have had the advantage, he occupied a position on the hills commanding the enemy's camp. Here, just as provisions were beginning to fail him, fortune came to his aid. A Roman for- aging party repulsed with loss the cavalry sent by the king to intercept them. The repulse was mag- nified by rumour into a serious defeat, and,
Defeat and ^
flijrht of with characteristic indifference to the fate of his followers, Mithridates prepared for flight. The discovery of his intention created a gen- eral panic, in the midst of which the Romans attacked and took the camp with all the royal treasure. Mithridates, however, escaped in the con- fusion to Comana, and thence made his way to Tigranes. ' But though the king had escaped, his kingdom became the prize of the victor. During 71 B.C. Lucullus rapidly made himself
683A.U.C. ' , r -rf ,
master not only of rontus, but of Lesser >/«</., 78.
"yW</., 79 ; Plut., Luc., 15.
•App., Mithr,, 79-8 1 ; Plut., Z«r., 15, sqq, ; Eutrop., vi., .6.
Ch. 31 The Empire During the Revdution. 309
Armenia, and received the submission of Mithri- dates's own son, Machares, king of the Bosporani. ' This accomplished, he returned to the province of Asia, where he seems to have spent the greater part of the next year (70 BX.). His policy 684A.U.C. there was a welcome contrast to that of th"p??vince Sulla. He had already given proof of his of aiu. Hellenic sympathies by restoring its freedom to Amisus,* and he now set himself to mitigate the evils caused by Sulla's exactions. A frightful load of debt oppressed the unhappy provincials, who, to meet the demands of the Roman money-lenders and publicaniy had been forced not only to part with their temple treasures and works of art, but to sell their sons and daughters into slavery. * LucuUus at once prohibited the exorbitant interest hitherto charged ; he fixed the maximum rate at 12 per cent., and for- bade the creditors to add the unpaid interest to the capital of the debt. Where land had been mortgaged, the creditor was to receive only one fourth of the yearly revenue, and leave the rest to the debtor. A portion of the indemnity imposed by Sulla was still in arrear, and for the gradual payment of this Lucullus provided by taxation. * The success of his measures, which enraged the Roman negotiatores as much as they gratified the provincials, was shown by the fact that, within four years, the burden of debt was
*App., Miikr,, 82, 83, Plutarch (Z«r., 24), however » places the submission of Machares early in 89 B.C., on the eve of Lucullus's advance against Tigranes.
' And to Sinope in 69 b.c. ; Plut., Luc,^ 23.
■Plut., Z«f., 20.
*App., Mithr,, 83.
3IO Outlines of Roman History, tftook IV
removed,* and that some of his arrangements were still in force in 45 B.C. *
Towards the close of 70 B.C., or early in 69 B.C., gg^g the young Appius Claudius, LucuUus's
inva^on of brother-in-law, returned from the danger- Armenia. ^^g mission on which he had been sent to Tigranes. He had reached Antioch in Syria, and delivered his message with an outspokenness new to the ears of the Eastern despot, but his demand that Mithridates should be surrendered and reserved to grace Lucullus's triumph in Rome was refused. The refusal was probably expected, and Lucullus at once resolved upon the bold step of invading Armenia. The undertaking was at first sight a rash one, and was so considered both by LucuUus's own troops and by politicians in Rome.* The distance was great. The kingdom Armenia itself was a broken and difficult of Armenia, country ; its rulcr, Tigranes, was for the moment the greatest of all the monarchs of the East, and the holder, by right of conquest, of the proud title " King of Kings." * A century and a half before, Armenia, the mountainous district, bounded on the north by the Caucasus, on the west by Cappadocia, on the east by Media, and on the south by Mesopo- tamia, had been an appanage of the Seleucid kings. After the defeat of Antiochus at Magnesia (189 B.C.), it became independent, and grew in strength until.
> Plut., Luc,, 20.
'Cic, Acad, prior. ^ i. 1, 3 : ** hodic siei Asia LucuUi insHiutis servandis"
•Plut., X«tf., 24.
*Reinach, Ar»Mr.,pp. 103-105, 311-313. 343-347 ; Plut., Luc,, 21.
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 3 1 1
towards the dose of the second century B.C., when its growth was checked, and the existence of the kingdom endangered, by the advance of the Parthians, who, after wresting Media and Mesopotamia from the Seleucids, invaded Armenia, defeated the Armenian king Artavasde^, and annexed a considerable slice of his kingdom. In 95 B.C., when his son 650 a u c Tigfranes ascended the throne, the fortunes ^.j^^/^j^JJ of Armenia were at their lowest ebb. But "*• •™p***- the next twenty-five years witnessed one of those rapid revolutions characteristic of Eastern history. The new king, though inferior in ability to Mithri- dates, was to the full as ambitious, and circumstances favoured his ambition. The advance of the Par- thians was arrested, and their power crippled for the time, by the attacks of Tartar tribes from the steppes to the north-east.* Tigranes seized his opportunity, and, about the time-of the first Mithridatic war, he not only recovered the part of Armenia ceded in 95 B.C., but acquired also Media, and the opposite dis- tricts of Mesopotamia. To the northward he imposed his authority on the Iberians and Albanians. Syria in the south fell an easy prey to his troops (83 B.C.), while to the westward he pene- trated into the lowlands of Cilicia and into Cappa- docia (78 B.C.).* When the young Roman g^ ^ y « patrician Appius Claudius met him at Antioch (70 B.C.), he was the ruler of an empire which extended from the Caucasus to the fron- _ ^ „ ^
1 i- 1 «-r^ ^ A.U.C.
tiers of Judaea, and from the Taurus to
^ Reinach, p. 310, where the authorities are given. *Flttt. Ztff., 21 ; App., Miihr., 67 ; Reinach, p. 312.
312 Outlines of Roman History. [Book iv
the eastern limits of Media. Vassal kings waited upon him at table, or ran as footmen before him when he rode.' Under his banner were enrolled Greek hoplites from Asia Minor, Median archers, Albanians from the shores of the Caspian, and nomad Arabs from the desert.' As a monument of his wealth and. greatness, he had built himself a great city, " the city of Tigranes," and, after the fashion of the old Assyrian kings, had transplanted thither a motley population drawn from the various subject provinces."
But though as great a lord as Antiochus had been, he was scarcely better fitted to resist the shock of a Roman attack. No tie but the common fear of his power and cruelty held together the miscellaneous elements of which his empire was composed. Nor were his vast ill-disciplined armies any match for the legions of Rome.
In the spring of 69 B.C.^ Lucullus left Asia, re- joined his troops in Pontus, and led them through Cappadocia, across the Euphrates into Armenia. His march was unopposed, for his kindly attitude, and the strict discipline Armenia/" which he enforced upon his legions con- ciliated the natives. Tigranes, intoxicated by a sense of overwhelming strength, refused even
* Plut., Luc,, 21. « Ibid., 26.
'For Tigranocerta, see App., Miihr,, 84; Plut., Luc,, 25, 26; Strabo, 11, 14, 16, i ; Reinach, p. 345. Mommsen and Kiepert, Hermes, 9, 129 sqq. It was situated on the right bank of the Upper Tigris, the confines of Armenia and Mesopotamia.
* App., Mitkr,, 84 ; Plut., Luc,, 23.
Ch. 33 The Empire During the Revolution. 3 1 3
to believe in the rumours that the Romans whom he was preparing to drive out of Asia were actually invading his own territory. Even when convinced of the truth of the report, he merely sent a detach- ment of troops with orders to bring Lucullus before him alive.' The defeat of this force did indeed for a moment shake his confidence, but the sight of the vast host which rallied to his standard in obedi- ence to his call ' revived his courage and confirmed his resolution, in spite of the prudent advice of Mith- ridates to crush the invaders in a single battle. On the news of his approach, Lucullus, who was be- sieging Tigranocerta, and who with better reason was no less an^^ious to force on an engagement, left Murena to continue the siege, and with a force " too large," as Tigranes said, " for an embassy, and too small for an army,"* advanced to meet the enemy. He forded the Tigris unopposed, and while Tigranes was still endeavouring to Ti|Sl?e!^ get his unwieldy host into order of battle, TigSSoccrtiL he attacked the iron-clad cavalry, on whom the king chiefly relied.* The battle was over almost
' Plut., Luc,, 25.
' The total numbers, as stated by the ancient authorities, vary considerably. Appian (Miihr., 85) puts them at 300,000 men ; Plutarch (Xt#r., 26) at about 250,000 ; Eutropius (vi., 9) at 107,500 ; Memnon (Frag, HisLGnEC, 3, p. 556) at 80,000. In any case they largely exceeded those of Lucullus's army, which, at the highest estimate, was only 15,000 strong (Plut., Luc,, 24). It consisted of two legions and 3,000 cavalry, mainly Thhtcian and Galatian.
•Plut.,Zi«'.,27.
' The xard(ppaxrot. They were chiefly drawn from Armenia, Iberia, and Albania ; Reinach, p. 343.
314 Outlines qf Roman History. [Book iv
before it had beg^n, for the cavalry, without await- ing the Roman attack, fell back in disorder on the crowded masses of the infantry. A general panic and rout followed, in which it is said that 100,000 of the enemy's infantry, and nearly all his cavalry, were slain, while of Romans only five were killed and a hundred wounded/ The victory was followed by the fall of Tigranocerta, which was surrendered to the Romans by the Greek mercenaries, who formed part of the garrison." The half-finished city, which Tigranes had destined to be a lasting memorial of his greatness, was destroyed, and in the time of Strabo was only a small village.'
Late in the spring of 68 B.C.,* LucuUus, who had spent the winter in the south of Armenia,
686 AUG
marched northward across the Taurus in the hope of striking a final blow at Ti- upon ^Arux- granes, who, assisted by Mithridates, had dSeat'Sf**"** succeeded in getting together a second Tiffranes. ^rmy, and was preparing for the defence of his hereditary kingdom. Finding that the two kings were resolved not to hazard a fresh defeat, he determined to march directly upon the ancient Armenian capital Artaxata, and thus, as he hoped, force Tigranes to fight in its defence. His plan succeeded. As he advanced up the valley of the Arsanias he was met by the two kings at the head of their forces. The battle that ensued was a repeti-
' Plut., Luc,, 28.
• App., Mithr,, 86 ; Plut, Luc,^ 29. ' Strabo, 11, 14, 15.
* Plut., Luc,, 31 ; App., Mithr,, 87.
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revdution. %\^
tion of that fought the year before in the south. At the sight of the advancing legions, and the sound of their war-cry/ the Asiatics turned and fled in a disgraceful panic. The way now lay open to Artax- ata, but the short highland summer was over, and the approach of winter, added to the unwilling- ness of his troops to risk a farther advance, com- pelled LucuUus reluctantly to turn southwards.* He re-crossed the Taurus into the warmer regions south of the Tigris, where the capture ca^ure of of the important city of Nisibis" par- ********
tially compensated him for his failure to reach the " Armenian Carthage.** * Up to this time his career of success had been almost unbroken. He had driven Mithridates from Asia Minor, and the senate at home was already preparing to add Pontus to the list of Roman provinces. He had led the Roman legions for the first time across the Tatirus, had twice defeated Tigranes, taken his new capital, and wrested from him nearly all the provinces he had acquired since 95 B.C. To complete his success, and to bring all the near east under the suzerainty of Rome, it only remained to humble the Parthian king, and we are told that he was already planning an invasion of Parthia.
* Plut., Luc, J 31 : ov^k rifv xpavyrjv roSv '"Poo/ioioor ava6^ XOMSvoi.
• Plut., Luc,, 32 ; App., Mithr,, 87.
' Nisibis lay £. S. £. of Tigranocerta, in Mygdonia. It had been founded, or re-founded, by the Seleucids, and named Antioch in Mygdonia; Plut., l,c,
' Its site was said to have been selected by Hannibal when a refugee at the court of Armenia; Plut., Luc, 51.
3 1 6 Outlines of Roman History. tBook w
But his good fortune now deserted him. Lucullus has always disdained to .attach his soldiers to him- self, as Sulla had done, by allowing them unbounded license, nor had he the art, which Cassar possessed, of winning their affections. Wearied out with a seemingly endless war, they now flatly refused to follow Lucullus, not only against the Parthians, but even against Tigranes, who, during the winter (68- gj5.^ 67 B.C.), had once more got together an
A.U.C. army. It was only when the news ar-
rived that Mithridates, taking advantage of Lucul- lus's forced inactivity, had re-entered Pontus and defeated LucuUus's legate, M. Fabius, that they con- sented to march, Lucullus led them at once through Cappadocia into Pontus, where he found that Mithridates had gained a second victory over C. Triarius (67 B.C.). On his approach Mith- ridates retired eastward to Lesser Ar- menia; but when Lucullus attempted to follow him, his soldiers, headed by the two old legions of Fimbria, openly mutinied, encouraged by the news that the senate at home had superseded Lucullus in the command, and granted their discharge to his soldiers. Throughout the summer and autumn of 6^ B.C. Lucullus was forced to remain passive, while Mithridates openly reinstated himself as king in Pontus, and Tigranes ravaged Cappadocia at his will. At the end of that year the Manilian law transferred the command of the war to
688 A.U.C.
Pompey, and in 66 B.C. Lucullus finally left Asia for Rome.
His successor had already accomplished one part
Ch. 31 The Empire During the Revolution. 3 1 7
of the task now intrusted to him, that of re-estab- lishing Roman authority in the East. The po^-ey and pirates' power, who, for the last twenty *»»«Pi«t«». years, has ruled supreme throughout the Mediter- ranean, owed much of their success to the indiffer- ence, or at least to the inactivity of the Roman Government.* But of late these masters of the sea had ceased' to confine their ravages to the territories and the persons of Rome's allies. A pirate squadron had boldly sailed into the roadstead of Ostia, and burnt the vessels lying there; a pirate band had landed on the Latin coast, and carried off two Roman praetors as they travelled along the Appian Way. Worse than all, the corn supplies from the provinces were intercepted, and Rome itself was threatened with famine. Against an enemy so well organised and ubiquitous, the isolated efforts of the ordinary propraetor or proconsul were unavailing, and it was with the approval of every one outside the high official circles that Aulus Gabinius,
• ., ,,/^ V ' t % ^ A.U.C.
tribune of the plebs (67 B.C.), earned a law intrusting the supreme command of the high seas to the popular favourite, who had crushed Sertorius, and restored to the tribunes the powers taken from them by Sulla. The commission thus given to Pompey was wider than any before intrusted to a single Roman. His " province " embraced the entire Mediterranean Sea, and the coasts for fifty miles inland. He had under him twenty-five legates of praetorian rank and authority, 120,000 legionaries, 4,000 cavalry, and a fleet of 276 ships. He was.
* Plttt, rpmf., 34 ; DiQ Cftss,, xxxvi., w ; App.. Mithr., 9a.
3 1 8 Outlines of Raman History. [Book i V
authorised, in addition, to levy such contributions of men and supplies as he thought fit ; and orders were sent to all governments of provinces, and to all allied kings, princes, and cities, requiring them to render him loyal assistance. The success of this new and startling experiment was complete. Forty days sufficed to clear the western Mediterranean of the pirate vessels; and then sailing eastwards, Pompey, while his legates swept the Levant, attacked the headquarters of the pirate power in Cilicia. Their ships were captured or destroyed, their strongholds razed to the ground, their arsenals and dockyards destroyed. It was while thus engaged in Cilicia that Pompey received the news that the grateful people had con- ferred upon their idol a fresh command, which opened even more dazzling prospects to his ambition than that which he had already held. By the — * „ « Manilian law (66 B.C.) he received, in addi-
688A.U.C. -
tion to the control of the high seas, not merely the charge of the war against Mithridates, but a wide command-in-chief over the entire Roman East. The position was such that ho Roman had occupied before him, iand it opened to him indefinite possibilities of conquest and of triumphs which would throw into the shade all that he had achieved hitherto. That Caesar would have effected greater things
Pompey ifk ^^^^ ^^^^ resources as Pompey now had the Bast. ^^ jj|g disposal IS probable ; yet Pompey's
campaigns in Asia between 66 and 62 B.C. mark a jjg^^ decisive epoch in the history of RomaA
A.u.a rule in Western Asia, His first movement
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 319
was indeed directed against Mithridates/ But though the old kmg*s courage was unbroken, and his hatred of Rome as unquenchable as ever, his means of resist- ance were almost exhausted. As Pompey advanced into Pontus he retired eastward, and though over- taken and defeated in Lesser Armenia,' he escaped with a few followers to Colchis, and thence made his way along the northern shore of the Euxine to the Cimmerian Bosporus, there to form wild plans for leading the tribesmen of Scythia and Thrace in a last attack upon Italy. Pompey, however, did not follow him ; and intrusting to the Roman fleet in the Euxine the duty of watching his movements and intercepting his supplies, he turned southwards to regions where more attractive work awaited him than a toilsome and difficult pursuit of a sabmiMion fugitive king*. Tigranes was still the o^Tigrane*. normal ruler of all the territories lying between the Caucasus and the frontiers of Egypt ; but he was in no condition to make a stand against the generalis- simo of Rome. Disheartened by the desertion of his son and by his previous defeats, he abandoned all thought of resistance ; and when Pompey, in the autumn of 66 B.C., entered Armenia, he went to his camp, and there in person tendered his submission. He was graciously allowed to retain his hereditary kingdom, but at the expense of surrendering all that he had acquired beyond its borders, in Asia Minor and in Syria.
* Pint., Pomp,^ 32 sqq, ; Dio, xxxvii. 53 ; App., Mithr,^ 97. ' The city of Nicopolis was founded by Pompey on the site of his victory.
320 Outlines of Roman History. [Book iv
Pompey was unable at once to take advantage of this bloodless victory over the king of of the kings. The submission of Tigranes, and
the encampment of a lai^e Roman force in their immediate neighbourhood alarmed the independent tribes of the Caucasus; and during the winter (66-65 B*^-) ^^^ Albanians attacked his quarters in the valley of the river Cyrus (Kur). The summer of 65 B.c. was consequently devoted to the chastisement of these warlike peoples : first of all the Iberians, and then the Albanians were reduced to submission; and Roman troops for the first time penetrated north- ward into Colchis, to the fabled home of Medea, and eastward to the regions bordering on the mysterious Caspian Sea.
From the Caucasus Pompey returned to spend the Annexation winter (65-64 B.C.) in Pontus, and in the of Byria. summcr of 64 B.C. he was at length free to enter on behalf of the Roman people into the rich inheritance ceded by Tigranes, and to complete the circle of his triumphs by establishing the authority of Rome on the southern ocean, as he had already established it on the Atlan- tic seaboard and on the shores of the Caspian.^ Entering Syria, he at once annexed it, and thus finally brought to a close the kingdom of the Seleucidae ; and then, advancing southward, he besieged and took Jerusalem. The Jewish prince Aristobulus was sent a prisoner to Rome, and his brother Hyrcanus placed on the throne as the friend
* Plut.,/*^/?!/., 38.
ch. 31 The Empire During the Revolution. 32 1
and ally of the Roman people.' Farther south still lay the kingdom of Aretas, king of the Nabataeans. But Pompey's hopes of extending the sway of Rome southward to the Arabian Gulf were disappointed. A revolt of the Jews obliged him to ^^^^^ ^^ retrace his steps northward ; and while in Mithridates. Palestine, the news reached him that Mithridates, deserted by his troops, and closely besieged in the citadel of Panticapaeum by his own son Pharnaces, had put an end to his life (63 B.C.). Thedeath of Mithridates removed for the time all fear of any open resistance to Rome in Western Asia. Pompey returned first of all to Pontus, where he received the submission of Pharnaces, and thence by slow degrees through Greece to Italy.
From a military point of view, Pompey's achieve- ments in the East cannot bear comparison
Tho results
with those of Caesar in the West. But ofPompcy's they impressed the public imagination far more deeply, and their historical results were at least as important. It is true that an air of Oriental exaggeration pervades the accounts which have come down to us of his triumphal return." He was welcomed as a conqueror, not only of Mithridates, but of the kings and peoples of the East, and as the man who had extended the rule of Rome to the Euphrates and to the frontiers of Egypt. On a tablet, carried aloft in his triumphal procession, he claimed to have taken 800 vessels of war, to have
'/(W</., 39 ; Dio, xxxvii., 15 ; App., Syria^ 48, • App., Mithr,, 114-118.
91
322 Outlines of Roman History. CBook i v
founded twenty-nine cities and conquered seven kings, — claims to which the long train of captive princes which followed his car, and the splendid trophies in gold and silver which were paraded before the eyes of the Roman populace, lent a powerful support.
And exaggeration apart, he had in fact achieved great things, and his name must be as closely identi- fied with the rule of Rome in the East, as that of his future rival, Caesar, was destined to be with the rule of Rome in the West. On this side the Euphrates no power was left capable of disputing with Rome the sovereignty over Western Asia. There were still kings, but there was no longer "a king of kings," for even the claim of the Parthian monarch to this title was explicitly rejected by Pompey.* The re-establishment of Roman suzerainty in the near East was, moreover, accompanied by important extensions of Roman territory. Bithynia, which had been bequeathed to Rome in 74 B.C., was, together with the western half of the
680 A.U.C. .
kingdom of Pontus, formed into a prov- ince, and the constitution now framed for it by Pompey, was still in force in the reign of Trajan.* Cilicia was placed permanently under a Roman governor, and the bounds of his province were extended to include Pamphylia and Isauria. Farther still to the east the fertile region lying between the sea and the Syrian desert was incorporated with the
* Plut.. Pomp., 38.
•Strabo, p. 541 ; Plin., Epp. ad Traj,^ 112 ; Marqtiardt, Stoats- verw,, i., 191.
Ch. 31 The Empire During the Revolution. 323
empire as the province of Syria. Outside these provinces the area covered by the Roman protec- torate was still left in the hands of native rulers, of whom, within Asia Minor itself, the two most important were Ariobarzanes, king of Cappadocia, and the Keltic chief, Deiotarus of Galatia, whose services to Rome in the recent wars were rewarded by extensive grants of territory in the north-east. These two great native states were to be the chief props of Roman ascendency in the central and eastern districts of the peninsula.'
It is, moreover, to Pompey's credit that he recog- nised the fact that the natural allies of Rome in the East were the city communities rather than the native chiefs and tribesmen, and that in binding these closely to Rome, and in increasing their num- ber lay the best security for the permanence of Roman rule. It is possible, indeed, that personal vanity quickened his sense of the value of this policy, and that the most recent conqueror of the East was not unwilling to appear as a founder of cities after the manner of Alexander and the Seleucid kings. But the policy was a sound one, and did as much to attach the Greek communities to Rome as Sulla's shortsighted harshness had done to alienate them from her. Even the Greek names given to the new cities are significant of the intentions with which they were founded. Pompeiopolis, Nicopolis, Magnopolis are as characteristic of Roman policy in the East as the Latin names of the new towns
^App., Mithf^f 114 ;MommseQ, ^, (7., iii., 141 s^.
324 Outlines of Roman History. [Book IV
in Spain and Gaul are of Roman policy in the West. '
Not the least important result of Pompey's work was that Rome was now brought directly face to face with the Oriental kingdom, which, throughout the history of the empire, divided with her the allegiance of the eastern world. It was not, indeed, possible as yet for a Roman historian to write of the king of Parthia as the rival on equal term of the Roman Caesar.* Pompey treated with contempt the claim of King Phraates to be styled " king of kings " ; he refused the latter's request that the Euphrates should be recognised as the boundary between Rome and Parthia,' and even assigned to Rome's now dependent ally, the king of Armenia, provinces nominally subject to Parthian rule. It is possible that he contemplated bringing the fertile district of Mesopotamia within the area of the Roman protectorate. But the fact remained that, with the collapse of Tigranes's power and the annexation of Syria, the responsibility devolved upon Rome of protecting the Greek East against the advance of a purely Oriental power.
What this responsibility might mean was shown
The defeat of c'^^^'y enough Only eight years later, crassue. when M. Licinius Crassus was defeated and slain in Mesopotamia* (53 B.C.). Under the
' App., Miihr,, 115 ; Mommsen, H, (7., iii., 144.
'TacitQS, Ann,^ ii., 56 of the Armenians: ** Maximis imperils itUerjecti** Cf, ibid,^ ii., 60: ** vi Parthorwn ant Jiomana potentia, "
»Plut, /»<ww/., 33.
^ Plut,, Crassu$f 17 sqg* y Pio Cass, xl., 12, j^f.
Ch. 31 The Empire During the Revolution. 325
terms agreed upon in the conference at Luca^ Crassus succeeded to Aulus Gabinius in the governorship of Syria. It was his ^ • • • ambition to perform exploits which should raise him to the same high level of fame as his two great colleagues in the coalition, Caesar and Pompey, and to reconquer for the West and for Rome the vast regions stretching from the Euphrates to the Indus, once ruled over by Alexander. A pretext for invading Parthia had been supplied by the Parthian king, who had declared war upon Rome's ally, the king of Armenia. At the moment, too, Parthia was dis- tracted by civil war, and the aid of the Romans had been invoked by the weaker party. With a force of seven legions Crassus crossed the Euphrates and plunged into the sandy wastes beyond it. A toil- some desert march exhausted his troops, and the Arab sheik who guided them proved faithless. Suddenly the enemy they were seeking appeared. On all sides the Parthian squadrons encircled the invading force. For a moment some relief was given by the young Publius Crassus, who, at the head of the Keltic cavalry he had brought from the far West, charged the Parthians and forced them to retreat. But it was only for the moment : Crassus, cut off from the main body, and surrounded by over- whelming numbers, fell by the hand of his shield bearer. Of the 6,000 men who followed him, 500 were made prisoners, and the rest slain. Through- out the rest of the day the Parthian lancers and archers wrought havoc in the dense ranks of the helpless legions ; at nightfall they withdrew, and tJbe
326 Outlines 0/ Raman History. tBook IV
Romans, leaving their wounded behind, made their way northwards to Carrhae, and thence to Sinnaka, hoping to find shelter from the pursuing cavalry in the mountains of Armenia. The Parthians followed, and, at the request of the Parthian leader, Crassus consented to a personal interview for the arrange- ment of terms of peace. The interview ended as might have been expected. The Roman officers who accompanied Crassus suspected treachery, attempted resistance and were instantly cut down, together with their general himself. Of the troops left behind in camp some were made prisoners, and the rest dispersed ; of the splendid force which had crossed the Euphrates, scarcely a fourth part returned. Ten thousand Roman soldiers were car- ried away into captivity, and the eagles of the legions passed into the keeping of the Parthian king.
The defeat and death of Crassus were not fol- lowed, as might have been expected, by a Parthian invasion of Syria or Asia Minor. But they opened the eyes of Roman statesmen to the formidable strength of this new rival, and thenceforward Roman policy in the East aimed either, as under* Caesar, at crippling the power of Parthia, or, as under Augus- tus, at establishing a definite and defensible frontier along the line of the Euphrates.
The campaigns of Pompey and Caesar had state of the extended the sovereignty of Rome up to Empire. |.jjg natural geographical limits formed by the Atlantic and the Rhine in the west and north, and by the Euphrates in the east. On the south, the belt of fertile land stretching along the African
Ch. 3] The Empire During the Revolution. 327
coast westward from the mouth of the Nilie was, by the close of the revolutionary period, either depend- ent upon Rome or directly subject to her rule. Egypt was a vassal state, while the former domin- ions of the Ptolemies in the Cyrenaica had been annexed by Rome and formed into a province (74 B.C.).' Westward of the Cyrenaica lay the old province of Africa, and westward again the kings of Numidia and Mauretania were the sworn 5-^ ^ „ ^ allies and friends of the Roman people.
But though the empire of Rome had been extended over the whole civilised Mediterranean world, and though its boundaries everywhere touched the confines of the surrounding barbarism, there had been no corresponding advance in internal stability. The defects in the administrative system which were noticed in an earlier chapter' had become more conspicuous than ever. The control- ling authority of the senate had been fatally weak- ened by the attacks of the popular party. Political dissensions had led to civil war, and civil war had more than once threatened to bring about the dis- ruption of the empire. In Spain, in Africa, and in Asia, the provincials had seen rival representatives of Roman authority in open conflict with each other, and their own resources squandered in the quarrels of their rulers. Even when this was not the case, the absence of any central authority strong enough to control the pro-consuls, and to enforce a stable imperial policy, produced chronic confusion
'App., B. C, i., Ill ; Marquardt, StaaUverw*t i., 300. ' See above, Book in., chap. 3.
328 Outlines of Roman History. iBookiv
and misgovernment. In addition to the havoc wrought by civil war, by foreign invasion, or by the scourge of piracy, the provinces had to suffer from the inexperience and incapacity, or from the avarice and ambition, of the men whom the chances of lot, or of political party-strife in Rome, sent out to govern them, and who ruled each in his own province as an independent autocrat. The pictures which Cicero has drawn for us of Sicily under Verres, of Asia during the Mithridatic wars,* or of Macedonia under Piso,' cannot probably be taken as typical of the normal condition of a province, under a governor of average capacity and honesty. But the state of Cilicia as he found it in 5 1 B.C. was a a disgrace to civilised -government. He describes in vivid colours the bankruptcy of the communities, the peculations of the native magis- trates, the exactions of Roman money-lenders, and the blackmail regularly levied under one pretext or another by the Roman governors.' Parts, at least, of Achaia were, as we learn from Cicero's corres- pondent,.Servius Sulpicius, in no better condition. "Behind me," writes the latter, "was iEgina, in front Megara, the Peiraeus on my right, on my left Cor- inth, in former days thriving towns, now prostrate and ruinous." * That a government under which such misrule was possible should have been unpop-
' Cic. , Pro Lege Manilia, • Cic, De Fro9, Qmsularidus, and In Pisonem, 'Cic, Ad AU», v., 16: ** Inperditam^etplane eversaminpeT'' petuumprovinciam me venisse" ; IHd,, Ad Atl,, v., 21, 6, 2. *Cic, AdFam,^ iv., 5.
Oh. 31 TTie Empire During the Revolution. 329
ular was inevitable,' and it is probable that 6nly the consciousness of their own weakness, and a sense of that Roman rule, bad as it might be, was yet pre- ferable to the anarchy which would follow its over- throw, kept the provincials quiet. The danger to the republican government, however, lay not in the prospect of a provincial outbreak, but in the justi- fication which its own maladministration afforded for the ambitious schemes and independent authority of powerful individuals. It was well enough for Sulla to carry a law declaring it to be treasonable for a provincial governor to leave his province, to lead an army across the frontiers, to make war on his own authority, or to enter a kingdom without orders from the people and senate.' But Sulla had done these things himself with impunity. The wide powers given to Pompey in 67-66 B.C. were a con- fession of the necessity which existed for a change in the old system, and Cicero himself recognised that, in the conflict which broke out in 49 B.C., the question at issue was not whether personal rule in some form was necessary, but by which of two powerful rivals it should be exercised."
^ IHd,^ Pro,L, Af anil,, 22: *^ difficiU est dUere . . . qutMto in odio sumus,"
• 7Hd,, In Pisan,^ 21.
^ J^id., Ad Ait., viii., 11. 9, 7.
BOOK V.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE IM- PERIAL SYSTEM AND THE RULE OF THE EARLY C^SARS—
*
49 B.C. TO 69 A.D.
>
THE FOUNDATION OF THE IMPERIAL
SYSTEM AND THE RULE OF THE
EARLY CiCSARS— 49 B.C. TO
69 A.D.
CHAPTER I.
THE DICTATORSHIP OF JULIUS — ^49-44 B.C.
By the end of March 49 B.c. Caesar was in Rome, and was master of Italy. But his position was criti- cal in the extreme. From his camp in ^^^ ^^^^^ Epirus Pompey was summoning to his ^»"'-
assistance the forces of the East, throughout which his name was all-powerful. The kings, princes, and peoples of Western Asia were arming in his defence, while in the seaport towns of the iEgean and the Euxine, on the Syrian coast and in Egypt, a fleet was being made ready for the blockade of Italy.* In the West, Spain, with its resources in men and
'Cses., B.C., iii., 3; **gx Asia Cycladibusque insuiis^ Carcyra, Aihenist Ponto^ BUhynia^ Syria, CiHcia, Fhcfmce, jEgypio <iassetn cotgerat*^
333
334 Outlines of Roman History. CBook V
money, was held for Pompey by his three legates, Afranius, Petreius, and M. Terentius Varro, with seven legions. In Spain, too, as in Asia Minor, Pompey's name was familiar and his prestige widely spread, while Caesar was comparatively unknown.
The latter's decision was soon taken. He resolved cmarin *^ secure the West, and remove all danger Spain. Qf attack upon that side before following
Pompey across the Adriatic. Two of his officers occupied with ease Sardinia and Sicily, and to one of them. Curio, was intrusted the more difficult task of securing Africa.' Caesar himself, after a brief stay in Rome, set out for Spain by way of Massilia, sending orders to his legate there, C. Fabius, to con- centrate the six legions stationed in Gaul, and at once force the passes of the Pyrenees. After a short delay, caused by the refusal of the Massiliots to supply him with ships, or to admit him within their gates, he pressed on to Spain, with an escort of 900 horse ; on June 23d he joined his legions, who were already within striking distance of the enemy. The Pompeian forces, under Afranius and Petreius, were massed at Ilerda (Lerida), on the Sicoris, with the view of barring the passage across the Ebro, while Varro, with two legions, held the southern province of Farther Spain.*
The opposing armies were of fairly equal strength, and both were encamped upon the right bank of the Sicoris. But the Pompeians had all the advantages
' Cses.,^. C, i., 30> 3X.
*Ibid., i. 37^1. Cf. for this campaign, Stoffel, Hist, de yules Cdsarj Guerre CiviU, vol. i. (Paris, 1887).
Ch. n The Dictatorship of Julius. 335
of position : they had a friendly province in their reair; they held the town of lierda, which was well stocked with provisions, and with it a stone bridge, v\rhich gave them easy and sure communication with the country on the left bank of the river. Cxsar, on the other hand, had to rely for supplies mainly on convoys from Gaul, which to reach him would have to cross the river by means of two temporary bridges hastily thrown across it by Fabius, while his own foraging parties were perpetually harassed by the Spanish auxiliaries of the enemy, mountaineers familiar with the country, and skilled in guerilla warfare. Caesar's first move was an attempt to equalise matters by seizing a position midway between the Pompeian camp and Ilerda, and thus cut the enemy off both from the town and the bridge/ But the attempt failed, and a flood which swept away his two bridges increased the difficulties of his situation. His supplies ran short, and he was hemmed in by impassable rivers to the right and left, with a strongly entrenched hostile force in front. The exultant Pompeians regarded the war as already over, when by a brilliant manoeuvre Caesar changed the aspect of affairs. A convoy of provisions from Gaul had reached the left bank of the Sicoris some miles above his camp. Hastily constructing light coracles, such as he had learnt the value of in Britain,* he sent them by night up the right bank in carts. At a distance of twenty-two miles from the camp the soldiers crossed in the boats and fortified
» Caes., B. C, i. 43. •/W^.,i.,54.
336 Outlines of Raman History. [Book V
a post on the other side ; a bridge was built, and the convoy brought in safety to its destination. Cxsar was once more out of the reach of famine, his com- munications with the left bank were restored, while the news of this first success brought him welcome offers of alliance, not only from neighbouring Spanish communities, such as Osca, but even from those at a greater distance.
The Pompeian generals now resolved to abandon Ilerda, and re-crossing the Ebro, to transfer the seat of war to Celtiberia/ where the influence of Pompey's name was especially great. But Caesar's rapidity of movement upset their calculations. They reached ' the rocky ground near the Ebro only to find the way closed by Caesar's infantry, while his cavalry hung upon their rear. Despairing of being able to advance southward, the Pompeians attempted to retrace their steps to Ilerda, but with no better success.. They were once more surrounded, their supplies cut off, and four days after the retreat had begun they surrendered at discretion.* Caesar, anxious as ever to show that Sulla's methods were not his, and that he had no revenge to wreak on Roman citizens, contented himself with merely requiring that the troops should be disbanded. Those who had homes in Spain were discharged at once, the rest were escorted by two of Caesar's legions as far as the frontiers of Italy, and there dismissed."
> The central district pf Hither Spain. •Caes., B. C, i., 84. »/^«/.,i., 85-87.
Ch. 1 The Dictatorship of yulius. 337
The surrender of Afranius and Petreius deter- mined the fate of the peninsula. Farther Spain
declared for Caesar, and Varro, unable to «k
resist the tide of opinion, himself sub- p«icn of mitted to the conqueror.' Caesar returned p*>»"»*"»- to Rome, receiving on his way the submission of Massilia, and after devoting a few days in the capi- tal to the holding of the Consular elections, which he held as dictator, and to other necessary business, he left again for Brundusium, and the decisive conflict with Pompey (December, 49 B.C.).*
The latter had been employed since the spring in strengthening his position. In addition to nine legions he had concentrated in Epirus a motley force of auxiliaries, whose barbaric appearance probably shocked others besides Cicero.* Vast stores had been collected at Dyrrhachium, and a numerous fleet under the command of Caesar's ancient enemy, M. Bibulus, was stationed along the coast. It seems clear that both Pompey and the emigre nobles who surrounded him looked forward to invading Italy at their ease when all was ready, and expected nothing less than to be themselves attacked by Caesar. The shock to their confidence was all the greater when the news of Caesar's success in Spain was rapidly followed by the still more startling intelligence that he had actually effected a landing unopposed on the Epirot coast, that Oricum first of all, and then ApoUonia, had opened their gates to him, and that he was advanc-
» JHd., ii., 20.
* Caes., B. C, iii., i.
' Cic, AdAtt,, ix., la
338 Outlines of Roman History. [Bookv
ing on Dyrrhachium/ For the moment it seemed as if he would repeat in Epirus and Macedonia the brilliant march by which he had won Italy in the spring of 49 B.C. But Pompey arrived from Mace- donia in time to arrest the enemy's advance at the river Apsus, and Caesar, who had only half his army with him, was obliged to await the arrival of the rest of his troops, under M. Antonius, before resuming the offensive. At last came the news that they had landed, but at a spot considerably higher up the coast, at Lissus, so that Pompey might easily have pre- vented their junction with Caesar. Once more, how- ever, Caesar was too quick for the leisurely pace of his dignified opponent. He not only succeeded in join- ing Antony, but, by a sudden dash, seized and occu- pied the neck of land by which alone Dyrrhachium could be approached, and thus cut off Pompey from his headquarters and his supplies. The latter, how- ever, with forces numerically superior, and with absolute command of the sea, seems to have thought with Philip I. of Spain that time and he were a match even for Caesar, and entrenching himself at Petra, a short distance south of Dyrrhachium, re- mained obstinately on the defensive. To this policy of masterly inactivity Caesar replied by an attempt, which nearly succeeded, to blockade Pompey where he stood. But the extent of ground over which Caesar had to carry his lines of circumvallation was too great. Just when Pompey was beginning to feel the pressure of scarcity, a weak point in the lines was discovered. Through this he forced his way, tnflict-
» Caes., B, C, iii., 8-12.
Ch. 11 The Dictaiarship of Julius. 339
ing such heavy loss on the enemy that Caesar, by his own confession, was within an ace of complete and ruinous defeat,'
With Pompey's escape from Petra the last stage of the conflict begins. Caesar's object now was to draw his enemy away from his natural base of operations on the coast, and transfer the seat of war to the in- terior. Pompey was expecting reinforcements from the East by way of .Macedonia, and Caesar hoped by marching in force against these to oblige Pompey to move to their assistance. His plan completely suc- ceeded. From Apollonia he marched into Thessaly, recalled the two legions previously despatched to hold Pompey*s reinforcements in check, and encamped with his entire force near Pharsalus. Pompey fol- lowed him, and taking up the fresh troops from the East on his way, encamped at Larissa, in the heart of the Thessalian plain, some miles north of Phar- salus. Reluctant as ever to risk a decisive engage- ment, he would have halted there, but the nobles jn his camp would hear of no delay,' and, against his better judgment, he advanced to Pharsalus. Even now, when the two armies were face to face, some days elapsed before a blow was struck. Pompey's position was too strong to be attacked, and he could not be induced to leave it. At last, on August 9, Caesar, who had resolved by a feigned retreat to decoy the enemy from their vantage-ground, noticed that the Pompeians were drawn up . in line at a greater
' Caes., B, C, iii., 42 s^^, Stoffel, Guerre Civile, i., 764 sqq, • Cses., B, C, iii. 83 : '* nee guibtis rationibus superare possent, sed quemadmodum uH victoria debermt, cogitabanV*
340 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
distance than usual from the hill on which their camp was placed. He at once abandoned all thoughts of a retreat, and, in spite of his inferiority in numbers, prepared for an instant attack.' Perceiving that his chief danger lay in the possibility that, while his centre was engaged, Pompey's numerous cavalry would turn his right wing and take him in the rear, he trusted that part of kis line to the famous tenth legion, and supported it by his cavalry and a reserve force of infantry, the whole being under the com- mand, strangely enough, of a nephew of the man from whose hands Cxsar had once barely escaped with his life, the dictator Sulla. Next to these troops Caesar stationed himself, facing that portion of the enemy's line where Pompey himself was in command. The centre he intrusted to Domitius Calvinus, the left to Antony." His own infantry numbered in all about 22,000 men, that of the enemy over 45,000. The disparity in cavalry between the two forces was still greater, and the Pompeians confidently awaited the moment when Caesar's legions, exhausted by their charge, should be encircled and swept away by the horsemen of the East.
When the battle began it seemed as if Pompey's confidence in the result would be justified. His infantry received without flinching the charge of the Caesarians, while his cavalry, supported by the archers and' slingers, advanced on the left, drove back the cavalry opposed to them, and began the flanking movement which was to decide the fortune
» JHd., iii., 85.
' C?^., B. C, iii., 89.
Ch. 11 The Dictatorship of yulius. 341
of the day. But at this moment the aspect of affairs was suddenly changed by the valour of the six cohorts stationed by Caesar on his right wing. This reserved body of picked troops charged and routed the Pompeian horsemen, who fled in disorder : then driving before them the archers and slingers, they fell with fury upon the left flank of the infantry. At the same moment Caesar ordered the whole of his reserve to advance, and this last movement was decisive. The Pompeian legions, exhausted by their gallant resistance to the first charge of the enemy, deserted by the cavalry and light troops, and now attacked both in front and on the flank, broke and fled. The victorious Caesarians, pressing forward, in spite of the mid-day heat, stormed and took the Pompeian camp, and, without waiting to seize on the rich spoil it contained, started in pursuit of the main body of the fugitives. Early the next morn- ing, what remained of Pompey's army, some 24,000 men, surrendered at discretion.
So ended the first of the three historic battles, Pharsalus, Philippi, and Actium, which decided the fate of the Roman world. All three were fought in the debatable land of the Greco-Macedonian penin- sula ; all three were in some degree a trial of strength between East and West; and in all, Western discipline and courage triumphed over the less trustworthy levies of the East. Nor must it be forgotten that the success of Caesar at Pharsalus, like that of his g^eat nephew at Actium, was gained in defence of Rome and Italy, against a would-be invader, who, though Roman, relied chiefly on the
342 Outlines of Raman History. [Book v
resources of the kingdoms of the East. It was consequently with the Caesars, and not with their opponents, that the growing sentiment of Italian patriotism was allied.
Pompey himself had not perished on the scene of his first defeat. When his camp was
Plight and _ , , ' , , ,
death of stormcd he escaped on horseback to Larissa, and thence to the coast. His case was not yet desperate, for his fleet commanded the seas, and the province of Africa was still his. But the shock of misfortune paralysed his energies ; accustomed for years to unbroken success, and to be hailed on all sides as '' Pompey the Great," he could not set himself to the task of rebuilding his shattered fortunes, and the conviction that his cause was lost, which Cicero tells us had filled the minds of '' all kings and peoples *' * was clearly shared by himself. From the Thessalian coast he crossed the iEgaean, over which eighteen years before he had sailed in triumph, to Mitylene, and thence to Cilicia and Cyprus, only to find that the power of his name was gone, and that the East would no longer rise at his call. From Cyprus he went to Egypt, hoping to find an ally in the boy-king Ptolemy, and there, as he landed at Pelusium, he was treacherously murdered.*
The victory at Pharsalus, followed as it was by The Aiexan- ^^® death of his great rival, might have drine war. been cxpcctcd to sccure for Caesar undis- puted supremacy, and set him free to reorganise the
^aa^^ I I- ■ ■ ■-
^ C\c„ Ad Att,, xi..6.
• Caes., B, C, Hi., 103, 104 ; Plut., Pomp., 77-79.
Ch. 1] The Dictatorship of yulius. 343
government of the state. But although the wiser men of the vanquished party, headed by Cicero, accepted defeat,' Caesar's own rashness, in the first place, and then the irreconcilable animosity of some of the Pompeian leaders, involved him in a series of fresh conflicts. Hurrying in pursuit of Pompey, he reached Alexandria (October 48 B.<:.) with -^e a u c a small force — only to hear of his death. His demand that the young king Ptolemy and his sister and rival Cleopatra should disband their forces and submit to his arbitration was resented as an unwarrantable interference,* ai\d he found himself blockaded in Alexandria by the royal forces. Even when set free by the arrival of a relieving force under the command, strangely enough, of a reputed son of the great Mithridates, he lingered in Egypt, held a prisoner, it was said, by the charms of Cleo- patra. It was not until June 47 B.C. that ^ ^, ^ *,■, - ,, 707A.U.C.
he left for Syria, and was there met by the news that Phamaces, the son and heir of Mithridates the Great, taking advantage of the master- Defeat of less condition of Asia to renew on a p*»»™»«««- smaller scale his father's ambitious schemes, had defeated Domitius Calvinus, and recovered his he- reditary kingdom of Pontus," Leaving Syria in the charge of Sextus Caesar, he sailed to Cilicia. In a durbar held at Tarsus, he hastily arranged the affairs of the province, and then marched through Cappadocia to Pontus — where a
*Cic., A<iAtt,,xL, 6 ; Ad, Fam,, xv., 15.
• Caes., B» C, iii., 107.
* Bf//, A^x.f 34-40.
344 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
single battle decided the fate of Pharnaces, who
was completely defeated at Zela.* Towards. the end
of 47 B.C., Caesar at last reached Italy.
The African , , , . . - ,
War. but only to leave it again at once, for the
enemies whom he had crushed in the East
were now making head against him in the West.
Africa was wholly in their hands, and the allegiance
of Spain had been shaken by the misgovemment of
Caesar's legate, Cassius Longinus. The
African campaign occupied the spring of
46 B.C. It was closed by the battle of Thapsus
(April 46 B.C.) and by the suicide at Utica of the
Death of catoy^^^S^^ Cato, the inflexible stoic and at utica. republican, who, far more than the so- called "last of the Romans," Brutus and Cassius, represented all that was best in the opposition to Caesarism.* Between June 46 B.C., when he left Africa,, and the end of October in that year, Caesar enjoyed a brief respite from campaigning ; but in November he was again in the field. Farther Spain, ^ irritated by the misrule of Cassius, and
The second , , * «. ▼ , .
Spanish encoutaged by the presence of Labienus
and of Pompey's eldest son, was in open
revolt. Caesar hurried to the province, and the last
^ „ ^ of his victories was won at Munda, in
southern . Spain, on the 17th of March 45
B.C.* Towards the end of the summer he returned
to Italy, he received fresh honours from senate and
people, and to take up again the work of reform so
> Ibid., 72-77.
* B, Afr,, ^sqq,
• B, ffispan,^ 27 sqq.
Ch. 11 The Dictatorship of JmHus. 345
often interrupted. His civil wars were over, and he was at leisure, not merely to restore order at home, but to frame schemes worthy of the wide authority he wielded, for the consolidation of the empire. In especial, he was anxious to secure it against attack from without, and it was no doubt with this view, as well as from a desire to avenge the defeat of Crassus, and recover the lost standards, that he Murder of planned an expedition against Parthia.* CM«r.
But his dazzling successes, and still more the avowed, though humane, absolution of his government, were intolerable to the Roman nobles, who could see in his rule only the degradation of their order, and in the ruler nothing but a tyrant of the Greek type.* On the fated ides of March 44 B.C. he was attacked in the senate-house and murdered, leaving his task but half accomplished, and the Roman world a prey to renewed anarchy and civil war.
Yet short as were the intervals of rest allowed him during the five stormy years which followed his entry into Rome in March 49 B.C., it is difficult to overrate the importance of the work he did. The fact that he dissociated the idea of personal rule from the evil SuUan traditions of party revenge, and made it rather the embodiment of imperial unity and good order, is sufficient of itself to justify his claim to be regarded as the founder of that system of government under which the civilised world lived contentedly for three centuries.
> Plut.» Ctis,^ 64; App., B. C, ii., zzo, * Cic, Ad Fam,^ iv., 5.
346 Outlines if Raman History. [Book v
The task which he had to perform was no easy Dictatorship one. It Came upon him suddenly; for 2^44B?c. there is no sufficient reason to believe ^^ * ' * that Caesar had long premeditated revolu- tion, or that he had previously aspired to anything more than such a position as that which Pompey had already won, a position unrepublican indeed, but accepted even by republicans as inevitable/ War was forced upon him as the alternative to political suicide, but success in war brought the responsibili- ties of nearly absolute power, and Caesar's genius must be held to have shown itself in the masterly fashion in which he grasped the situation, rather than in the supposed sagacity with which he is said to have foreseen and prepared for it. In so far as he failed, his failure was mainly due to the fact that his tenure of power was too short for the work which he was required to perform. From the very first moment when Pompey *s ignominious retreat left him master of Italy, he made it clear that he was neither a second Sulla nor even the reckless anarchist which many believed him to be.* The Roman and Italian public were first startled by the masterly rapidity and energy of his movements, and then agreeably surprised by his lenity and moderation. No pro-
^ On this, as on many other points connected with Caesar, diver- gence has here been ventured on from the views expressed by Mommsen in his brilliant chapter on Csesar (^. (?., iii., 446 sq,) Too much stress must not be laid on the gossip retailed by Suetonius, as to Caesar's early intentions.
'Cicero vividly expresses the revulsion of feeling produced by Caesar's energy, humanity, and moderation on his first appearance in Italy. Compaxe Ad Att,, vii.,ii, with Ad Aft,, viii., 13.
Ch. 11 The Dictatorship of Jtilius. 547
scriptions or confiscations followed his victories, and all his acts evinced an unmistakable desire to effect a sober and reasonable settlement of the pressing questions of the hour; of this, add of his* almost superhuman energy, the long list of measures he carried out or planned is sufficient proof. The " children of the proscribed " were at length restored to their rights,* and with them many of the refugees' who had found shelter in Caesar's camp during the two or three years immediately preceding the war ; but the extreme men among his supporters soon realised that their hopes of nova tabula and grants of land were illusory. In allotting lands to his vet- erans, Caesar carefully avoided any disturbance of existing owners and occupiers," and the mode in which he dealt with the economic crisis produced by the war seems to have satisfied all reasonable men.* It had been a common charge against Caesar in former days that he paid excessive court to the pop- ulace of Rome, and now that he was master he still dazzled and delighted them by the splendour of the spectacles he provided, and by the liberality of his largesses. But he was no indiscriminate flatterer of the mob. The popular clubs and guilds which had helped to organise the anarchy of the last few years
/ > Dio, xli., iS.
* App., ii., 48 ; Dio, xli., 36.
'Plut., Cas.^ 51 ; Sueton., 37 : ** adsignatnt agros^sed turn con- tinuoSf ne quis possessorum expelUretur" Cf»t App., ii., 94.
^ For atit*^ Ux JuHa depecumis mutuis,** see Sueton., 42 ; Caesar, B, C iii., i; Dio, xli., 37; App., ii., 48. T\i^ fceruratores were satisfied ; Cic, Ad Fam,, viii. 17. But the law displeased anarchists like M. Cselius Rufus and P. Cornelius Ddabella.
34^ Outlines of Roman History. tBook V
were dissolved.* A strict inquiry was made into the distribution of the monthly doles of corn, and the number of recipients was reduced by one-half.* Finally, the po&ition of the courts of justice was raised by the abolition of the popular element among the judices.* Nor did Csesar shrink from the attempt, in which so many had failed before him, to mitigate the twin evils which were ruining the prosperity of Italy, — ^the concentration of a pauper population in the towns, and the denudation and desolation of the country districts. His strong hand carried out the scheme so often proposed by the popular leaders since the days of Gaius Gracchus, the colonisation of Carthage and Corinth. Allotments of land on a large scale were made in Italy ; decaying towns were reinforced by fresh drafts of settlers ; on the large estates and cattle farms the owners were required to find employment for a certain amount of free labour ; and a slight and temporary stimulus was given to Italian industry by the re-imposition of harbour dues upon foreign goods,* To these measures must be added his schemes for the draining of the Fucine Lake and the Pomptine Marshes, for a new road across the Apennines, and for turning the course of the Tiber.' It is true that these vigorous efforts to revive the agrarian prosperity of Italy were made along the old lines laid down eighty years before
' Sueton., 42.
*Sueton., 41 ; Dio, xliii., 21.
» Sueton., 40 ; Dio, Ixiii., 25.
^Sueton., 42, 43.
•Plut., Oj., 58; Sueton., 44: Dio, xliii., 51.
Ch, 11 The DictcUarship of Julius. 349
by the Gracchi, and that their final success was no greater than that of preceding efforts in the same direction ; but they are a proof of the spirit in which Csesar understood the responsibilities of absolute power, and their failure was due to causes which no legislation could remove. The reform of the cal- endar ' completes a record of administrative reform which entitles Caesar to the praise of having governed well, whatever might be thought of the validity of his title to govern at all.
But how did Caesar deal with what was, after all, the greatest problem which he was called upon to solve — the establishment of a satisfactory govern- ment for the empire? One point, indeed, was already settled — the necessity, if the empire was to hold together at all, of placing the army, the prov- inces, and the control of the foreign policy in more vigorous hands than those of a number of changing magistrates independent of each other, and only very imperfectly controlled by the senate at home. Some centralisation of the executive authority was indis- pensable, and this part of his work Csesar thoroughly performed. From the moment when he seized the moneys in the treasury on his first entry into Rome,' down to the day of his death, he recognised no other authority but his throughout the empire. He alone directed the policy of Rome in foreign affairs; the legions were led, and the provinces governed, not by independent magistrates, but by his legates '
' See Mommsen, R, (?., iii., 550; and Fischer, R9m. ZeUtafeln^ 39a sq. • Plttt., 35. » Die, diii., 47»
3 50 Outlines of Roman History. tBook v
and the title imperator, which he adopted, was intended to express the absolute and unlimited nature of the imperium he claimed, as distinct from the limited spheres of authority possessed by republican magistrates/ In so centralising the ex- ecutive authority over the empire at large, Csesar was but developing the policy implied in the Gabin- ian and Manilian laws, and the precedent he estab- lished was closely followed by his successors. It was otherwise with the more difficult question of the form under which this new executive authority should be exercised, and the relation it should hold to the republican constitution. We must be con- tent to remain in ignorance of the precise shape which Caesar intended ultimately to give to the new system. The theory that he contemplated a revival of the old Roman kingship * is supported by little more than the popular gossip of the day, and the form under which he actually wielded his authority can hardly have been regarded by so sagacious a statesman as more than a provisional arrangement. This form was that of the dictatorship; and in favour of the choice it might have been urged that the dictatorship was the office naturally marked out by republican tradition as the one best suited to carry the state safely through a serious crisis, that the powers it conveyed were wide, that it was as dic-
^ Sueton., 40 ; Dio., xliii., 44. For this use of the title imperator^ see Mommsen, H, (?., ill., 466, and note.
' See Mommsen, iii., 467, and Ranke, WeUgeschichU^ ii., 319 sq. According to Appian (ii., no) and Plutarch (Cas,^ 64), the title rex was only to be used abroad in the East, as likely to strengthen C«?sar*s position against the Parthians.
Ch. 1] The Dictatorship of Julius. 35 1
tator that Sulla had reorganised the state^ and that a dictatorship had been spoken of as the readiest means of legalising Pompey's protectorate of the re- public in 53-52. The choice, nevertheless, ^^^^ was a bad one. It was associated with a. u. c. those very SuUan traditions from which Caesar was most anxious to sever himself; it implied neces- sarily the suspension for the time of all constitu- tional government ; and, lastly, the dictatorship as held by Caesar could not even plead that it con- formed to the old rules and traditions of the office. There was, indeed, a precedent in Sulla's case for a dictator ** reipublicce constituendce causa,** but Caesai was not only appointed in an untisual manner, but appointed for an unprecedentedly long period,* and the " perpetual dictatorship " granted him after his crowning victory at Munda (45) was a * « o contradiction in terms and a repudiation of constitutional government which excited the bit- terest animosity." The dictatorship served well enough for the time to give some appearance of legality to Caesar's autocratic authority, but it was not — even, it is probable, in his own eyes — a satis- factory solution of the problem.
A second question, hardly less important than the establishment and legalisation of a strong central ex- ecutive authority over the army and the provinces,
' Caesar's first dictatorship in 49 was simply ** comiHorum haben» dorum causa^^ and lasted only eleven days. He was appointed dictator again for one year in 48, for ten years in 46, and for life in 45.
■Cicero (Phil,^ i., 2) praises Antony, ** quum dictaioris nomen • • • propter perpetua diciaiurce receniem memoriam funditus ex republica sustuUsset.**
352 Outlines of Raman History. iBook ^
was that of the position to be assigned to the old constitution by the side of this new power. So far as Caesar himself was concerned, the answer was for the time sufficiently clear. The old constitution was not formally abrogated. The senate met and deliberated; the assembly passed laws and elected magistrates : there were still consuls, praetors, aediles, quaestors, and tribunes ; and Caesar himself, like his successors, professed to hold his authority by the will of the people. But senate, assembly, and magistrates were all alike subordinated to the paramount authority of the dictator ; and this subordination was, in appear- ance at least, more^ direct and complete under the rule of Caesar than under that of Augustus. Caesar was by nature as impatient as Augustus was tolerant of established for-ms ; and, dazzled by the splendour of his career of victory, and by his ubiquitous energy and versatility, the Roman public, high and low, prostrated themselves before him and heaped honours upon him with a reckless profusion which made the existence of any authority by the side of his own an absurdity.* Hence, under Caesar, the old constitution was repeatedly disregarded, or suspended in a way which contrasted unfavourably with the more respectful attitude assumed by Augustus. For months together Rome was left without any regular magistrates, and was governed like a subject town by Caesar's prefects.* At another time a
> For the long list of these, see Appian, ii., io6 ; Dio, xliii., 43-45; Plat., 57; Sueton., 76. Cf, also Mommsen, R, (7., iii., 463 sq,\ Watson, Cicero* s Letters^ App. x. ; Zumpt, Studia Romana^ 199 sq, (Berlin, 1859). . *Zampt, Siud, Ram,^ 241; Sueton., 76.
Ch. 1] The Dictatorship of Julius. 353
tribune was seen exercising authority outside the city bounds and invested with the imperium of a praetorJ At the elections candidates appeared before the people backed by a written recommenda- tion from the dictator, which was equivalent to a command.' Finally, the senate itself was trans- formed out of all likeness to its former self by the raising of its numbers to 900, and by the admission of old soldiers, sons of freedmen, and even '' semi- barbarous Gauls." • But, though Caesar's high-handed conduct in this respect was not imitated by his im- mediate successors, yet the main lines of their policy were laid down by him. These were (i) the muni- cipalisation of the old republican constitution, and (2). its subordination to the paramount authority of the master of the legions and the* provinces. In the first case he only carried further a change already in progress. Of late years the senate had been rapidly losing its hold over the empire at large. Even the ordinary proconsuls were virtually inde- pendent potentates, ruling their provinces as they chose, and disposing absolutely of legions which recognised no authority but theirs. The consuls and praetors of each year had since 81 been stationed in Rome, and immersed in purely municipal business; and, lastly, since the enfranchisement of Italy, the camitia, though still recognised as the ultimate source of all authority,
'Cic. Ad Aft,, X., 8a.
'Seuton.,41 : **Casar dictator . . . commendo voHs iilum, ft illum^ ut vestro suffragio suam dignitatem teneani,*^ 'Sueton., 41, 76; Dio, xliii., 47.
•3
354 Outlines of Roman History. LBook v
had become little more than assemblies of the city populace, and their claim to represent the true Roman people was indignantly questioned, even by republicans like Cicero. The concentration in Caesar's hands of all authority outside Rome com- pletely and finally severed all real connection between the old institutions of the republic of Rome and the government of the Roman Empire. And though Augustus and Tiberius elevated the senate to a place beside themselves in this govern- ment, its share of the work was a subordinate one, and it never again directed the policy of the state ; while from the time of Caesar onwards, the old magistracies are merely municipal offices, with a steadily diminishing authority, even in the city, and the comitia retain no other* prerogative of imperial importance but that of formally confirming the ruler of the empire in the possession, of an authority which is already his. But the institutions of the -epublic not merely became, what they originally had been, the local institutions of the city of Rome ; they were also subordinated even within these nar- row limits to the paramount authority of the man who held in his hands the army and the provinces. And here Caesar's policy was closely followed by his successors. Autocratic abroad, at home he was the chief magistrate of the commonwealth; and this position was marked, in his case as in that of those who followed him, by a combination in his person of various powers, and by a general right of preced- ence, which left no limits to his authority but such as he chose to impose upon himself. During the
Ch. 1] The Dictatorship of Julius. 355
greater part of his reign he was consul as well as dictator.* In 48, after his victory at Pharsalus, he was given the tribunicta potestas for life/ and after his second success at Thapsus the prafectura morum for three years.* As chief magistrate he convenes and presides in the senate, nominates candidates, conducts elections, carries laws in the assembly, and administers justice in court.* Finally, as a reminder that the chief magistrate of Rome was also the autocratic ruler of the empire, he wore, even in Rome, the laurel wreath and triumphal dress, and carried the sceptre of the victorious imperator.*
Nor are we without some clue as to the policy which Caesar had sketched out for himself in the ad- njinistration of the empire, the government of which he had centralised in his own hands. The much- needed work of rectifying the frontiers he was forced, by his premature death, to leave to other hands, but our authorities agree in attributing to him the design of extending the rule of Rome to its natural geogra- phical limits — to the Euphrates and the Caucasus on the East, to the Danube and the Rhine, or possibly the Elbe, on the North, and to the ocean on the West. Within the frontiers he anticipated Augustus in lightening the financial burdens of the provincials.
' Watson, ifp. Hi., App., x.; Zumpt, Siud, J^om., Uc,dt,; Sueton., 76 : **ieriium et guar turn SnsuicUum HitUo tenus gessU,** 'Dio, xlii.,20.
'/3t</.,xliii., 14 y Sueton., 76.
^Sueton.,43: "yW iaboriosissime ac severissimc dixU^ * App., ii., Z06; Dio, xliii., 43. .
356 Outlines of Roman History. [Book h
and in establishing a stricter control over the pro- vincial governors, while he went beyond him in his desire to consolidate the empire by extending the Roman franchise and admitting provincials to a share in the government. He completed the Romanisation of Italy by his enfranchisement of the Transpadane Gauls, and by establishing throughout the peninsula a uniform system of municipal government, which, under his successors, was gradually extended to the provinces.
CHAPTER II.
THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF THE TRIUMVI-
RATE — ^44-27 B.C.
Between the day of Caesar's murder in 7x0 a.u.c. March, 44 B.C., and the ist of January, 27 727 a.u.c. B.C., when his great nephew restored the ^he ■tmnie republic, under the presidency of himself afte?cE«?i as princepSy or first citizen, lies a dreary d«*th.
period of anarchy and bloodshed.* The knot of jealous and resentful nobles who had assassinated the great dictator claimed, indeed, to have freed Rome from the rule of a tyrant, but the general feel- ing was one of dismay at the prospect of renewed confusion and conflict. " If Caesar," writes a Roman man of business to Cicero, " could not find a way out of our difficulties, who will find one now ? " • Even Cicero, earnestly as he strove to convince himself and others that a genuine restoration of the republic was now impossible, was forced to confess that the "libera-
> For this period see Merivale, Romans Under the Empire y vol. iii.; Gardthausen, Augustus; Lange, RSm, Alierthilmery iii., 476 sqq. The chief ancient authorities, besides Cicero, are Dio Cass., bks. xliy.-U., App., B, C, ii.-v.
• Cic, Ad Att,, xiv., i.
357
35^ Outlines of Raman History. [Book v
tors " had not half done their work,* and though he set himself with indefatigable energy to the task of re-establishing the old constitution^ it was beyond his powers to alter the course of events. The tragedy of the Ides of March was followed, not by a republican restoration, but by a war of succession, a conflict in which even Cicero's eloquence went for little by comparison with the swords of the l^onaries. Of the rival claimants to the place which Caesar had filled, the most conspicuous at the moment of Caesar's death
was Marcus Antonius, once Caesar's master 'of the horse, and his lieutenant in Italy, now sole consul, and as such the official head of the state. A brilliant soldier, an effective speaker, and the close friend of the great dictator, he was, as Cicero recognised, a far more formidable person than either
M. iEmilius Lepidus or Sextus Pompeius. &mSsT The former, though a great noble, and
governor of the two important provinces of Hither Spain and Narbonese Gaul, possessed neither ability nor resolution enough to win for him- self the prize to which he aspired. The latter, though he had succeeded in collecting a force, and making good a position in Farther Spain,* was as yet an out- law, bearing indeed a great name, but a man of whom little was known, and from whom little was feared. Moreover, with both Lepidus and Sextus Pompeius Antony had established friendly relations. He had given his daughter in marriage to Lepidus's son, and
> Ibid., xiv., 12 : cS lepdU^i xaX^i fikr dreXovi 8^/-^/. ibid., xiT., 21. • Dio, xIt., la
Ch. 2] Government of the Triumviraie. 359
promised to secure for the father the office olpontifex tnaximus left vacant by Caesar's death.' The bribe offered to Sextus was the repeal of the sentence of outlawry and the restoration of his father's property.*
Matters thus arranged with the only rivals whom he saw any reason to fear, Antony proceeded, in his own reckless fashion, to play the part of Caesar in Rome. Caesar's papers* had been intrusted to his care by the dictator's widow Calpumia, and of these he made unscrupulous use ; laws were carried, prov- ' inces assigned, exiles recalled, property granted or confiscated ; and for everything Antony professed that he found authority in .the "Acts of Caesar."' The one thing wanting to establish his position, a military command, he proposed to secure by trans- ferring to himself the province of Cisalpine Gaul, with the legions at present in Macedonia.*
But he had now to reckon with an opponent in- finitely more dangerous than Lepidus or Sextus. Gaius Octavius was at Apollonia when his
Octftvins.
great uncle was murdered. On hearing
that Caesar had made him his heir he crossed to Italy
(April, 44 B.C.), and travelled to Rome to
claim his inheritance.' He was only in """
his nineteenth year, and, as yet, had little to rely
upon but his relationship with Caesar. But from the
first he displayed all the astuteness, self-control, and
> IHd„ xUv., 53.
• IHd,^ xlv., la
» Cic. PHL, i., 8-10.
^ Dio, xlv., 9 ; it had been assigned to Decimus Brutus.
' Jbid.^ xlv., 3 ; Sueton., Aug.^ 8.
360 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
tenacity of purpose which made him ultimately far more than a match for his reckless and headstrong rival. While professing to have no other object than to claim his rights as Caesar's heir and adopted son, and avoiding all risk of rupture with Antony/ he quietly strengthened his position, both with the veterans who es^erly welcomed a second Caesar, and with the Roman populace. In October, Antony, already alarmed at the growing popularity of his young rival, went to Brundusium to meet the legions from Macedonia. Octavius seized the opportunity to tamper with the newly-arrived troops, and ulti- mately succeeded in detaching from Antony one whole legion. At the same time he raised a force The war of i^^m among Caesar's veterans in Cam- icutina. pania.* He was now at the head of a considerable body of troops, but what use he would make of them was still uncertain, and as yet he held no command from senate or people.' In December, however, Antony arrived in Cisalpine Gaul, shut up * D. Brutus in Mutina, and proceeded to take forcible possession of his province. Octavius saw his oppor- tunity. He came forward as the defender of the republic against Antony, and marched northward to the relief of Brutus. On January i, 43 B.C.,* the senate formally recognised their
* Dio, xlv., 5. • Dio, xlv., 12, 13.
' Mon, Aftc, Lat,t i., i : ** annos undevigirUi naius exerdtum prU vato consiUo ei privata impensa comparavi ; per quern rempubHcam \do\tninatione factumis oppressam in libertatem viruiua[vt],**
^ Cic, PAi/», v., 17 ; Dio, xlvi., 29. That this was Octavius's object Cicero clearly saw^ Ad AU,, xvi., 8 (November 44 B.C.): ^* plane hoc spectat ut se duce beUum geratur cum Aniamo**
Ch. 2] Government of the Triumvirate. 361
self-appointed champion. Octavius was made a senator^ with consular rank, invested with the im- perium^ and authorised to conduct the war against Antony in conjunction with the two consuls of the year/ The so-called " War of Mutina " was ended, toward the close of April, by a battle near Mutina, in which Antony was defeated and compelled to raise the siege of that town. But the consul Hirtius was killed in the battle, and his colleague Pansa died shortly afterwards of wounds received in an earlier engagement." Octavius had now every right to ex- pect that the sole command would be given to him ; at Cicero's suggestion, however, the senate passed him over in favour of Decimus Brutus, and refused his demand to be elected consul.' He replied by marching on Rome at the head of eight legions, and his arrival decided the matter. On Au- ocuvius gust 19 he was elected consul, though coiSwi! only twenty years of age.* Meanwhile 43B.C.
Antony had already, in May, joined forces with Lepidus near Forum Julii. Later in the ^ „ ^
autumn they were strengthened by the adhesion first of Asinius PoUio, governor of Farther Spain, and then of Plancus, governor of Northern Gaul. A final blow to the hopes of Cicero and his
' Mon, Anc, Lai.^ !., 3 : " Senatus , , . in frdinem suum m\(t adiegii] . . ' . coH\suld\rem locum {simuidans] • • . fVv- perium mihi dedit*^ App., B, C, iii., xi.
» Dio, xlvi., 38, 39 ; App. B^ C, iii., 71,
• Dio, xlvi., 41.
^ Man, Anc, Lot, i., 7, 8 ; Dio, xlvi., 44. He had been saluted as **ifnperator" after the defeat of Antony in April ; Dio, xlvi., 38 ; C. /. X., s., 8375.
362 Outlines 0/ Raman History. [Book V
friends was the death of Decimus Brutus at Aqui- leia.* The legions of M. Brutus and Cassius were too far off to be. of immediate service, and the sen- ate could only await in passive helplessness the issue of the approaching meeting between the young Caesar and his rivals. Octavius marched from Rome at the head of his legions, and met Antony and Lep- idus in conference near Bononia.' A coalition was The second formed, and a division of power agreed Triumvirate, upon. In November the three new mas- ters of the Roman world appeared in Rome, and by a hurried vote of the terrified people the provisional government^ usually known as the Second Triumvi- rate, was established, Antony, Lepidus, and Octavius being appointed commissioners " for the reorganisa- tion of the state " for a period of five years.' Their first acts were of evil omen for the peace and order of the empire. They revived the hateful SuUan traditions* of proscription and confiscation, and Death of among their victims was the great orator, Cicero. ^Jjq {q^. ^Jj^ jg^g^ eighteen months had been
waging an unequal contest "with words against swords," * on behalf of the ancient civic constitution,
^ He was murdered while making his way to join M. Bmtns in Macedonia; Dio, xlvi., 53 ; App., B, C, iii., 97.
• Dio, xlvi., 55 ; App., B» C, iv., 2.
* Mon. Anc, Lai.^ i., 9. Livy, Epii.^ cxx. : ** «/ Illviri reipub^ HccB consiituenda per qtdnquenmum essent" Dio, xlvi., 56 ; App., B, C, iv., 7.
^ Dio, xlvii., ^i vd 8k aXX,a 06a iici rov 2i}XXov fcporepov iieifcpaxTo xai Tore 6vre<pipeTo.
' Cic, Ad Fam,y xii., 22 : "n^ii pari condUione, contra arma verbis"
Cm 2] Government of the Triumvirate. 363
which he had once saved, and which he did not care to outlive. His murder was Antony's reply to the Philippics^ and, brutal as the act was, it significantly marked the changed order of things. The irrecon- cilable Puritanism of Cato found many imitators under the rule of the Caesars, but the long line of orator statesmen, who swayed the destinies of free civic communities by the force of persuasive speech, closed with Cicero.'
Throughout December 43 B.C., and through the early months of 42 B.C., the reign of ter- ror lasted." Its horrors are said to have ^* • • • exceeded those of the Marian and Sullan proscrip- tions, and they were aggravated by the desperate straits to which the triumvirs were driven in order to satisfy the demands of the turbulent soldiery* who filled the city, and to pre- pare for the war with Brutus and Cassius. .
* . ... • 1 ^ Reign of
There is a certain grim irony in the fact te^or in
Rome.
that the authors of. these enormities ostentatiously represented their work as one of righteous vengeance on the murderers of Caesar.* The name of the dictator was invoked to
Honours
justify a policy of bloodshed and plunder paid to
— ^which was the very reverse of his own, — and while the forum swam with blood, and the streets were incumbered with corpses, the supreme
' For Cicero's murder, see Plut., Cicero^ 47; Dio, xlvii., 8.
* Dio, xlvii., 1-17 ; App., B, C, iv., 5.
• According to Appian (B, C, iv., 3), the territories of eighteen Italian towns were selected, and lands assigned to the soldiery in them.
*App., B, r., iv., ^sqq.
364 Outlines of Roman History. tBook \
honour of deification was paid to the dead Julius.' The foundations of a temple dedicated to his memory were laid on the spot where his body had been burnt, and triumvirs, senate, and people swore always to observe and uphold his ordinances.* The chief responsibility for the atrocities is laid upon Antony and Lepidus, but the audacious fiction which described them as nothing more than an act of filial duty to a murdered father is at least characteristic of Octavius.'
The triumvirs were now masters of Rome and Italy ; of the provinces, Spain and Gaul were also theirs. But they were far from Brutu* and
Cftssius*
being supreme throughout the empire. In the West Sextus Pompeius was daily growing stronger. His fleet comitianded the western Medi- terranean, he was in possession of Sicily, and the recent massacres had sent hundreds of fugitives to swell the ranks of his adherents.* In the East, Brutus and Cassius had overborne all opposition, and were masters of Macedonia and Achaia, of Asia Minor and Syria. The attempt to dislodge Sextus Pom- peius from Syria was abandoned as impracticable,*
> /. R, N,^ 5014 : " quent Senatus Pepulusque Romanus in deorum numerum rettulit,** The deification probably took place early in 42 B.C. ; Mommsen, St, R,, ii., 717.
* Dio, xlvii., 18 ; the " A^oum ^uUi,*' or '*ades divi JulU:' was dedicated by Octavius in 30 B.C.
' The reference to the proscriptions in the Ancyran Monument is significant ; Man. Anc, Lat^ i., 10: ** qtd farettiem meum [inters /ecer] unt in exilium expuli,**
*Dio, xlvii., 12, 36.
» IHd., xlvii., 37.
Ch. 2] Grovernment of the Trtunwtrate. 365
and leaving Lepidus to look after Italy, Antony and Octavius sailed early in the autumn from Brundusium to face Brutus and Cassius at Philippi, in Macedonia, where the latter were already encamped within easy reach of the sea and of their fleet/ The circum- stances of the final encounter bore a certain resemblance to those which attended the battle at Pharsalus. The forces of Antony and The battle Octavius were, like those of Caesar, drawn ** '^Jl^^.^; mainly from Italy and the West, while TxaA.u.c. the more numerous army of their opponents was largely composed, as that of Pompey had been, of eastern auxiliaries.* Moreover, while it was the object of the triumvirs, as of Caesar before them, to force on an engagement, Brutus and Cassius had, like Pompey, everything to gain by delay, and it was only the impatience of their troops which obliged them to fight. The first day's battle was indecisive. Brutus defeated the troops opposed to him under Octavius ; but, on the other hand, Cassius was out-manoeuvred by Antony,' and hastily imagin- ing that all was lost, slew himself. Brutus now assumed the sole command, and prepared to wear out his enemy by a policy of masterly inactivity. The triumvirs found their supplies running short, and winter coming on ; and their position was fast becoming untenable, when Brutus, like Pompey, was
' /<W., xlvii., 37-49 ; App., B. C, iv., 87 sqq, ; Plut., Brutus,
38, 53.
' Gardthausen, Augustus, i., 170; App., B. C, iv.,.88. With Brutus and Cassius were not only Thradans and lUyrians, but mounted archers from Arabia, Media, and Parthia.
366 Outlines of Roman History. CBook V
reluctantly forced by his officers to leave his entrenchments and fight. The battle ended in his complete defeat. The last of the republican leaders fell by the hand of a friend. His troops, to the number of some 14,000 men, surrendered at discre- tion ; of his officers, some, like Horace, escaped by flight, others were captured, or avoided capture by suicide. The fleet alone sailed away unharmed, the greater part of it going to swell the growing forces of Sextus Pompeius, while a squadron under Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus remained in the ^gaean.
The victory was followed by a fresh division of Division of authority between the conquerors.* An- theBmpiro. ^^^y undertook what no doubt seemed at the time the more attractive and lucrative task of restoring order in the unsettled provinces and vassal states of the East, and of collecting there the funds needed to redeem the promises made to the victor- ious legions. To Octavius was intrusted the duty of allotting the promised lands in Italy to the veter- ans, and of crushing Sextus Pompeius. The arrange- ment had consequences which it is possible that Octavius at least foresaw.- While Antony was launched on a wild career of extravagant adventure in the East, which gradually alienated from him the sympathies of the Roman world, Octavius, securely established at Rome, in the ancient seat of govern- ment, and with full control of the constitutional machinery of the state, became not only master of the West, but the recognised champion of Roman civilization and supremacy.
> Dio, xlviii,, i.
Ch. 21 Government of the Triumvirate. 367
At the outset, however, such results as these seemed remote enough. In carrying out ocuviusin the allotments of land to the veterans, a The Perusine work which he commenced early in 41 7x3A.u.c! B.C., Octavius provoked a crisis which, for a few months, threatened entirely to ruin his position. Antony's brother Lucius, encouraged and directed by the former's ambitious and unscrupulous wife Fulvia, after failing to get himself associated with Octavius in the business of allotment, came forward as the patron of all those who had been evicted or were threatened with eviction from their lands.' Supported by these malcontents, by such of the soldiery as bribes or their own attachment to his brother Marcus could detach from Octavius's side, and by a few senators, he formed a formidable party, seized one or two strong places, and prepared to supersede Octavius in the government of Italy. The outbreak of actual hostilities was delayed by fruitless negotiations, but, probably towards the end of the summer, Lucius marched upon Rome, and entered it. On Octavius's advance, however, he again left the city and moved northwards. At Per- usia he was overtaken and blockaded. The siege seems to have lasted throughout the autumn and early winter, but in January 40 B.C. Lucius surrendered, and the last civil war waged on Italian soil for more than a century came to an end.* The victory at Perusia gave Octavius the
' Dio, xlviii., 5 sqq.
* For the Perusine war, see Livy, Epit,^ cxxv.; Veil. Pat,, ii., 74 ; Dio, zlviii., 13 sqq,; App., i^.C, v., 21 sqq.
368 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
control of Italy, and he now hastened to secure for himself the entire West, before the news of his brother's defeat should rouse Antony to action. Spain and Numidia had been assigned to him by the agreement made after Philippi ; but Gaul and the old province of Africa belonged, under the terms of the same agreement, to Antony. Nevertheless, in July 40 B.C., Octavius crossed into Gaul and secured it, while Africa was offered to Lepidus in exchai^^e for his nominal rule of Italy, an offer which Octavius hoped would bind both that province and Lepidus to his own side. Meanwhile he prepared to take decisive measures against Sex* tus Pompeius, whose power was daily on the increase, and whose fleet was not only ravaging the Italian coasts, but intercepting the corn supplies of Rome itself. Marcus Vispanius Agrippa, who now first appears as the ablest and most devoted of his lieu- tenants, was despatched to South Italy, with orders to dislodge Sextus from his formidable position in
Sicily.
For the moment, however, all operations against Antony in Sextus Were suspended by the news that the But. Antony, yielding at last to the entreaties of his partisans, was on his way to Italy to assert his rights. The period which had elapsed since the victory at Philippi he had spent in the East, where his conduct had been that rather of a reckless soldier of fortune than of a responsible statesman.* The enormous sums which he levied from the Greek com- munities he squandered in riotous living, and his
' Dio, zlviii., 24 sqq,\ Plut., Anton, ^ 24 sqq*
Ch, 23 Government of the Triumvirate. 369
own extravagance was equalled by that of his favour- ites, male and female. Penalties and rewards were di|5tributedy rulers set up and deposed, as the fancy of the moment dictated. Discarding the severe dignity of the Roman imperator, this new master of the East preferred to parade himself before the Greeks under the style and title of the god Dionysos. At Tarsus, where he had summoned the vassal kings and princes to appear before him and learn his pleas- ure, he first met the brilliant and ambitious Meeting with princess who now claimed to be the rep- Cleopatra, resentative and heiress of the Ptolemies, and in an evil moment for himself he became the devoted lover and obedient slave of Cleopatra. When she returned to Egypt he followed her, and lounged away the winter of 41-40 B.C. as the fore- most of her favourites and courtiers at a.u.c. Alexandria.
In the spring of 40 B.C. he at last nerved himself to leave Egypt : he sailed to Asia, and thence to Greece, where he learnt from Fulvia the news of the capture of Perusia. He at once crossed to Italy, and on being refused admis- sion into Brundusium, landed with troops and com- menced to lay siege to the town.
A renewal of civil war seemed inevitable, but in reality neither Octavius nor Antony were The Treaty
, ' , of Brundna-
anxious to push matters to an extremity. iym.
The former, though overwhelmingly su- Wbx!
perior by land, had every reason to dread a coalition between Sextus Pompeius and Antony, whose united fleets could easily blockade Italy, and cut off all sup-
3 JO Outlines of Roman History. [Book V
plies from outside/ On his side Antony had compara- tively few troops, and, above all, he was anxious to get back to the East, where a Parthian war had broken out. A formidable obstacle to peace was removed by the death of his wife Fulvia, and during the autumn the " treaty of Brundusium " postponed for nine years more the final struggle between the two rivals.* For the third time a partition of the empire was*made. Octavius retained Italy and the western provinces, while Antony took over the whole of the East, including Macedonia and Achaia. Lepi- dus, whom neither of his colleagues cared even to consult, was obliged to be satisfied with the single province of Africa. Finally, as a pledge of their renewed friendship, Antony married his rival's sister, Octavia. In the next year, 39 B.C., to the The Treaty infinite relief of Rome and Italy, a treaty
of Misenum. j ^ j
concluded at Misenum put a stop, though only as it proved, for a short time, to the piratical raids of Sextus Pompeius.* In the course of the summer Octavius left Rome for Gaul, to resume the work of organisation there which the threatened war with Antony had interrupted, and about the same time Antony departed from Greece.
* Dio, xlvii. , 29. The two had, in fact, agreed to make common cause against Octavius.
* Die, xlviii., 28 ; Veil., ii., 76 ; App., B. C, v., 60-65.
» Livy, EpiU^ cxxvii.; Veil., ii., 77 ; Dio, xlviii., 34. Sextus was confirmed in possession of Sicily and Sardinia, and was given in addition the province of Acadia, for five years. A free pardon and permission to return to Italy was granted to those who had taken refuge with him.
Ch,« Government of the Triumvirate. 371 Meanwhile, in the East, matters had
* % m . J . The Parthian
gone from bad to worse, and at one mo- invasion of ment it seemed as if Rome was destined 40 b.c.
to lose all that she had won in Western Asia. The necessities of pivil war had compelled Brutus and Cassius to seek the alliance of the Par- thian king Orodes, and a body of Parthian cavalry had fought side by side with their legions at Philippi. The defeat of his allies, and the news that Antony was coming eastward, intent, it was said, on that in- vasion of Parthia which Caesar had planned, no doubt deterred Orodes from seizing the reward of his alli- ance, and occupying the defenceless province of Syria. But Antony passed on to Egypt to waste precious time at the feet of Cleopatra, leaving both Syria and Asia Minor at the mercy of any invader. It was, however, by a Roman officer that Orodes was persuaded to seize this opportunity of ousting the Romans from Asia. Q. Labienus,^ the son of the man who had been at first Caesar's most trusted officer and then his bitterest enemy, had visited the Parthian court as the envoy of Brutus and Cassius, and after their defeat had remained there under Parthian protection. Forgetful, like his father, of his duty to Rome in his desire for revenge, he urged Orodes to strike at once, and promised himself to lead the armies of Parthia. His arguments, backed as they were by Orodes's fiery son Pacorus, prevailed, and the Parthian forces crossed the Euphrates. The Roman troops in Syria who had fought for Brutus and Cassius were easily won over by Labienus* and
» Dio, xlviii. , 24. « IHd. . javiii. , 25.
3 72 Outlines of Roman History. tBook V
with the exception of the impregnable seaport of Tyre, both Syria and Judaea submitted to the in- vader. Crossing the Taurus, Labienus overran Cilicia, and entering the province of Asia, forced Antony's legate, Munatius Plancus, to abandon the mainland and take refuge in the is- lands. By the end of the year 40 B.C., while Octavius and Antony were celebrating their reconciliation by festivities in Italy, the provinces beyond the sea were in Parthian hands, lost as they had been once before in 88 B.C., thanks to the ruinous quarrels which paralysed the power of Rome.
The treaty of Brundusium, followed as liiusin "* ^^ w^ early in 39 B.C. by the conclusion m A.UX. ^' peace with Sextus Pompeius, must have sorely disappointed Labienus, who had relied, with some reason, on the prospects of a destructive civil war in Italy. Antony, indeed, loi- tered as usual on his way eastward,' with characteristic indifference to his own reputation and to the plight of the unhappy provincials of Asia, who in the space of three years had suffered from the exactions of three different masters. Fortunately, however, he sent on in advance P. Ventidius Bassus, an ofHcer of vigour and ability, whose career, with its marked vicissitudes, was characteristic of the stormy times in which he lived.* Made a prisoner as a boy at the siege of Asculum during the Social war, he had fig- ured as a captive in the triumphal procession of Cn. Pompeius Strabo (89 B.C.) ; after earning a living, so
* Dio, xlviii., 39.
« Gell., Noct. AU., XV., 4.
Oh. 2] Government of the Triumvirate. - 373
his enemies said, as a dealer in mules/ he entered the army as a common soldier, where he attracted the notice of Caesar. Thanks to Caesar's patronage, he rose rapidly, becoming tribune of the plebs and praetor. After Caesar's death he joined Antony, and was outlawed by the senate along with his leader. On the formation of the second triumvirate he re- turned to Rome, and at the close of 43 B.C.
7X1 AUG
was rewarded with the consulship,* and then with the governorship of Narbonese Gaul.
The duty now intrusted to him of reconquering the eastern provinces was discharged with brilliant success. He at once crossed to Asia, and Labienus, takeni completely by surprise, at once evacuated the peninsula, and retreated to the Taurus,* where he summoned the Parthian force in Syria to his aid. Ventidius followed, and in a single battle decisively defeated both Labienus and his allies. Labienus's army dispersed, and Ventidius, pressing forward a second time, routed the Parthians, who were holding the passes* into Syria. The latter, however, were not yet reconciled to the loss of their acquisitions west of the Euphrates. In the following
trfi J^ II C
spring (38 B.C.) a Parthian army crossed
the river, but only to be again defeated with fright-
' Gell., Noct, Aii,t XV. 4: ** camparandis mulis et vehiculis . . . magisiratibus qui sortiti provinHas forent" According to Gellius, it was in the perfonnance of these commissariat duties that he became known to Caesar.
* Gellius (xv.,4) quotes the verses written in Rome on the occasion: ** mulos qui fricabaU consul foetus fsi,"
•Dio, xlviii., 39. .^ The passes of Mons Amanus ; Dio, zlviii., 41.
374 Outlines of Roman History. tSook H
ful slaughter, among the dead being their prince Pacorus/ Ventidius had, in the course of little more than a year, restored Roman ascendency in the East. In the autumn of 38 B.C. he returned to Rome, and rode in triumph through the streets, along which fifty years before he had been led as a captive.*
Ventidius's recall is said to have been due to An- tony's jealousy of his lieutenant's success. At any rate, in the summer of 38 B.C. he left Greece and its pleasures, and started for the East. The two rivals, who parted from each other after the peace of Mise- num in 39 B.C., were destined to meet but once again before the final conflict at Actium. The inter- val was spent by each in a manner thoroughly characteristic of their different characters. Octavius was engaged without intermission in patiently con- solidating his power in the West, in restoring pros- perity and confidence, and in obliterating by good government the memories of the bloodshed and robbery which had stained the commencement of his rule. On the other hand, Antony ran riot in a wild career of adventure and pleasure, better befitting an Eastern sultan than a Roman noble and senator. In the West Octavius succeeded at least in establish- ing order ; while in the East the anarchy consequent on ten years of civil war was made worse instead of better by the reckless ambition and capricious ex- travagance of his rival.
> The battle was fought at Gindarus, on June 9, 38 B.C., on the same day of the year as the defeat of Crassus in 53 B.C.; Dio, xlix., 21; Strabo, p. 751.
* Dio, xlix. ,21. It was the first Parthian trinmph celebrated in Rome.
Ch. 2] Governtnent of the Triumvirate. 375
It was probably early in 38 B.C. that
Octavius in
Octavius married Livia,* the wife of ^,?i??-
39-39 0.C
Tiberius Claudius Nero, once a warm ^J*^.^™ supporter of L. Antonius, to whom she ^*** ^™- had already borne one son, the future Emperor Tiberius, and by whom she was already pregnant with another, when her husband was forced to sur- render her at the bidding of her powerful lover. The second son, Drusus, bom three months after the marriage, became famous as the conqueror of the Raeti, and as the father of Germanicus, and of the Emperor Claudius. Livia herself became the con- stant and prudent counsellor of her new husband, and after his death guided as empress-mother the policy of Tiberius.
The truce which had been patched up between Octavius and Sextus Pompeius seztus
# X fl « tt • -r Pompeius.
(39 B.C.) was but a hollow one. It was impossible for the former to leave Sicily longer than he could help in the hands of a rival, and the latter had every reason to suspect that Octavius would only respect the treaty of Misenum while it suited his convenience to do so. The inevitable rupture between them was provoked (38 B.c.) by the treachery of Sextus's freedman and admiral Menas,* who surrendered Sardinia to Oc- tavius, together with the fleet and troops under his
' Dio, xlviii., 44. He had divorced his wife Scribonia the year
before ; iHd.t xlviii., 34.
'Tac., Ann,, !., 10; ** Pompeium imagine pads . . . deceptum,** * Dio, xlviii., 45. Appian {JB,C ▼• 78) calls the freedman ' ' Meno-
dGms."
376 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
command. Octavius had no scruple in profiting by this act of perfidy. Menas was rewarded with the rank of a Roman knight, and received a post in the service of his new master. War followed at once ; but though Octavius can have expected no other result, he found to his cost that Sextus's well- equipped fleet and skilful admirals were far more than a match for his own clumsily handled vessels. In the first sea-fight, of! Cumx, neither side could claim any decided advantage ; but in the second, off the Scyllaean promontory, the Pompeians, assisted by a storm, completely defeated their enemy. Sextus, elated with his success, was hailed by his Greek sail- ors as the son of Poseidon, and the invincible master of the sea.^ Octavius abandoned his projected inva- sion of Sicily and contented himself with posting garrisons to protect the coasts of Italy, while he set about constructing a new and more numerous fleet with which to renew the war. With a wisdom justi- fied by the result, he intrusted the duty of preparing 7x7 A.U.C. ^^^ fresh armament to Marcus Agrippa, now consul (37 B.C.), whom he recalled from Gaul for the purpose.
It was during the year 37 B.C.* that the last friendly
Renewal of fleeting between Octavius and Antony
wSiu.*""*" ^^^^ place. The latter arrived off Brun-
r?7 A^u. c. dusium with a fleet of three hundred sail,
professedly in response to Octavius's ap-
' Dio, xlviii.. 48 ; Plin., N. H„ ix., 55.
* The date is uncertain. Apptan (B, C, v. 93) places the meeting in the spring of 37 b.c. Dio (xlix., i) puts it at the close of that year or the beginning of the next.
Ch. 2] Governmeni of the Triumvirate. 377
peal for assistance against Sextus Pompeius. But nowy as before, in 40 B.C., the harbour of Brundusium was closed against him, and he landed instead at Tarentum, full of resentment against his colleague. For the second time, however, a reconciliation was effected, thanks to the mediation of Octavia, and probably also to the skilful diplomacy of Maecenas, who from this time forward shared with Agrippa the confidence of Octavius.* The provisional govern- ment of the triumvirate was renewed for five years more.* Antony gave Octavius one hundred and twenty ships to assist him in the war with Sextus, and received in exchange twenty thousand Roman legionaries.' Matters being thus amicably settled, the rivals parted ; Antony sailed away to Syria, leaving his wife Octavia behind in Italy, and Octavius pro- ceeded quietly with his preparations against Sextus. By the summer of 36 B.C. all was ready. A nu- merous fleet had been built, the vessels -,8a u c being of unusual height and strength, and ^°^*^jj|f ^ equipped with moveable wooden towers, from which the soldiers on board could command the enemy's decks.* Twenty thousand slaves had been enlisted to man the ships ' ; and throughout the
* It was on this occasion that Horace accompanied Maecenas to Brundusium ; Sat,^ i., 5.
' The period for which the triumvirs had been appointed expired on December 31, 38 B.C. It was now extended to the end of 33 B.C. Mommsen, Siaatsr,, ii., 675.
* App., B, C, v., 95. The agreement was known as the **fcBdus Tarentiuum" ; Tac, Ann,^ i., 10.
^ Dio, xlix.y I ; Serv., Ad Ann, ^ viii., 693.
* Stteton., Aug,^ 16.
3 78 Outlines of Roman History, CBook v
winter the crews had been carefully drilled in the secure and spacious harbour which Ag^ppa had con- structed in the innermost comer of the roadstead of Baiae/
On July 1st the fleet set sail for Sicily ; the island was to be invaded from three sides at once, by Oc- tavius and A^^ippa on the north, by the squadron which Antony had left behind on the East, and by Lepidus from Africa on the south.' The concerted attack was, however, at first a failure. Lepidus was in no hurry to assist his powerful colleague, and a gale obliged Octavius to seek shelter at Lipara. Leaving his fleet there he returned to Italy, and putting his legions on board the Antonian squadron, which had reached the Straits of Messina, he landed at Tauromenium. But here he was instantly attacked by Sextus Pompeius. Once more, it was said, his courage failed him, and he sought safety on the mainland. The legions, which he had deserted, were now harassed on all sides by the light troops of Sex^ tus. Their supplies began to run short, and they were helpless before the attacks of an enemy who obstinately refused to come to close quarters.* As a last resource, their leader Comificius resolved to force his way across the island, to effect if possible
' It was in reality two harbours, the inner one being formed by the lake of Avemus» the outer by the Lucrine lake. A canal con- nected the two. Access to the Lucrine lake from the open roadstead was given by cutting through the dam known as the Via Herculanea. Dio, xlviii., 50 ; Virg., Ge^g.^ ii., 161 ; Veil. Pat, ii., 79 ; Gardt^ hausen, A%^,^ i., 257 ; Beloch, Companion^ 169.
• App., B. C, v., 97, 98.
* Dio, xlix., 7 ; App., B. C, v., 116.
Ch.il Government of the Triumviraie. 37^
a junction with Agrippa, who, after defeating Sex- tus*s Admiral Demochares off Mylae, had captured both Mylae and Tyndaris. The attempt succeeded, and from this moment the fortune of war changed. Sextus, now fully engaged with Agrippa and Comi- ficius, was unable to prevent Octavius from again landing in Sicily. At the same time Lepidus at last arrived in the island, and the two joined Cornificius and Agrippa at Mylae. Against such a force Sextus could effect nothing, his only hope lay in recovering his mastery of the sea. On September
Victory at
3rd, 36 B.C,,* off the promontory of Nau- Nauiochu*. lochus, and in full view of the legions on shore, his fleet engaged that of Agrippa, and was completely defeated. Sextus himself escaped with a few ships, but the rest of his vessels were captured or destroyed, and his land forces at once surrendered. Octavius had now to reckon with his col- Depotition league Lepidus. The latter had occupied ©fi^epw***. Messina ; he was at the head of twenty-two legions,' and the moment seemed to have arrived when he might demand satisfaction for the wrongs which he had suffered during the past seven years at the hands of his colleagues in the triumvirate. But his soldiers were tired of war; they listened readily to the solici- tations of Octavius, and deserted their leader. Lepi- dus had now no choice but to submit. His life was spared, but he was deposed from office, and sent a
* This date is given by the Kalendar of Amitemum, C, /. Z., x., ^375* But the reference may be to the surrender of Lepidus. If so, the battle at Naulochus was fought towards the end of August.
• Sueton., Au^,, i6; Vdl., ii., 80; App., B, C, v., 123.
380 Outlines of Raman History. TBook V
prisoner to Circeii, where he resided until his death in 12 B.C.* The adventurous career of Sextus Pom- 74a A. u. c. peius came to an end in the year following Sextos*^ his defeat. He had escaped to Lesbos, in- pom^ciu.. tending to sepk the protection of Antony, 719 A. u. c. Encouraged, however, by rumours that the latter had met with disaster beyond the Euphrates, he was already forming plans for making himself master of Asia Minor, when he was arrested and put to death by Antony's legates.* If he achieved noth- ing else, he at least proved the value of that maritime supremacy, the advantages of which his father had thrown away after his defeat at Pharsalus. For seven years, with a fleet commanded by Greek freedmen, and manned by runaway slaves, he had held his own, and the son of the conqueror of the pirates made a name for himself as the last and the most formidable of the corsair chiefs in the Mediterranean.*
After thirteen stormy years, the West was at last octaviuB as peacefully united under the rule of a single
master of the *^ , . ^a^-. «
West; man. The two provmces of Afnca, so long
718-791 A.u.c. the prey of contending parties, were quietly occupied and firmly governed by Statilius Taurus.* In Spain the last echoes of disturbance had died away under the vigorous rule of Domitius Calvinius.' In Northern Gaul Marcus Agrippa had assisted his
' Sueton., Aug,^ 16; Dio, xlix., 12; Livy, Epit.^ cxxix.
* Dio, xlix., 17. 18; Veil., ii., 79; Livy, EpiU, cxxxi.
' Comp. Augustus's record of his victory, Man. Anc, Lat,^ v., I ; " marepacavi a fratUmibus** IHd», v., 33 ; '* SiciUam et Sardimam occupatas bello serviH reciperavi,**
* Dio, xlix., 14. » Veil., ii., 78.
Ch.2] Gaoemment of the Triumuirate. 381
master in building up the system of government to which Livia*s infant son Drusus was destined to put the finishing touch twenty-four years later. In Italy itself there was no individual or party able or willing to challenge the supremacy of the conqueror of Sextus. Already men spoke as if the age of civil war was over, and a period of peace and prosperity about to begin.* But everything depended on the use which Octavius would make of his success. Would he, as in 43 B.C., be only a revengeful partisan, or would he follow the example of the great dictator whose name he bore? Octavius was now only in his twenty- seventh year, and he had as yet had little oppor- tunity for showing that his claim to be Caesar's heir was justified by his ability to carry on Caesar's work. But his conduct during the four years of comparative quiet which followed the victory at Naulochus was a sufficient answer to all doubts ; and when, in 32 B.C., war with Antony became imminent and inevitable, he had already won the complete confidence of the western world.
Before leaving Sicily he had succeeded in staving off a threatened mutiny among his soldiers. The huge force now under his sole command, consisting, we are told, of 45 legions, 24,000 cavalry, and more than 35,000 light troops,' could not safely be disbanded. But the veterans who had fought at Mutina and Philippi were discharged, and lands were found for them in Italy and in Southern Gaul.* A handsome
' App., B, C, v., 130. • IHd,^ v., 127.
*Ihid,^ v., 128 ; Dio, xlix., 13, 54 ; Man, Am. Lat.^ v., 36 ; Stmbo,
p. »59.
382 Outlines 0/ Reman History. [Book v
I'
donative temporarily satisfied the rest. His return to Rome in November was followed, not by proscrip- tions and confiscations, but by vigorous measures for securing the public safety and restoring confi- dence. Of the runaway slaves who had taken refuge with Sextus Pompeius 6,000 were crucified, and 30,000 sent back to their masters. ^ The brigands of all kinds, whether impoverished peasants, discharged soldiers, or men rendered desperate by the loss of property and position during the civil wars, were sternly repressed alike in Rome and in the country districts of Italy.' Some of the taxes recently imposed were taken off, arrears due to the treasury were cancelled, while, as a pledge of restored peace and harmony, the records of the reign of terror, the lists of suspected persons, the sentences of outlawry, and similar documents were publicly burnt.* Octa^ vius even professed now, as afterwards in 28 B.C., his desire to restore the regular constitutional government, which had been virtually suspended since the creation of the triumvirate. Its formal restoration must, he declared, be postponed until Antony's return; meanwhile he encouraged the ordinary magistrates to resume their duties. It is true that during his own absences 'from Italy in 35 and 34 B.C. the main- tenance of order was intrusted, as it had been in
* App., B. C,t v., 129 ; Man, Anc. Lat», v., i.
* Appian (B, C, v., 132) dates the establishment of a regular police in Rome from this time. Sueton., Aug,^ 32 : *^ grassaturas dispoHHs per opportuna hca staHomUms inAiAmt," For inscriptions referring to tliose patrols, see C /. Z., ix., 3907, 4503. ' App., B. C, v., 139.
Cli. 2] Government of the Triumuirate. 383 36 B.C.. to Maecenas, who was neither a
7x8 AUG
magistrate nor even a senator/ But the xdileship of Marcus Agrippa in 33 B.C., with its splendid achievements for the well-being
991 A O C
of Rome, was a testimony at once to the good intentions of the new authorities and to their respect for republican tradition.* At the same time public opinion already clearly pointed to the personal supremacy of Octavius as essential to the welfare of the state. The honours showered upon him on his return from Sicily in 36 B.C., and in particular the grant of the tribunician power/ at once raised him above the level of a republican magistrate.* He was already, over one-half of the empire, "master of all,'* * and with him were already associated the able ministers Agrippa and Maecenas, whose names were to be inseparably connected with his.
The only war in which Octavius was engs^ed between 36-32 B.C. was waged, not against punnonian political rivals, but in furtherance of the ^
work which now devolved upon him as iPffJc! ruler of the West, the rectification and defence of the frontiers. The tribes of Illyria had long been dangerous neighbours to Italy, and during the civil wars both the lapydes immediately east of Aquileia and the Pannonians along the line of the
' Dio, xlix. 16 ; Tac., Ann,^ vi., ii.
* For Agrippa's work as sedile, and especially his reformation of the water-supply of Rome, see Frontinus, DeAquaducHbus^ 9 ; PUn., N, H,^ xxxvi., 24; Dio, xlix., 43.
*Dio, xlix., 15 ; Oros., vi., 18.
*Man. Anc.f vi., 14.
384 Outlines of Raman History. CBook ¥
Save had made frequent forays across the frontier.
In the summer of 35 B.C. Octavius marched 719A.U.C. against them/ The I apydes were easily quieted, but the Pannonians, a warlike race, who could put 100,000 men in the field,' offered a more obstinate resistance. The capture, however, of their great stronghold Siscia (Sessik), on the Save, broke their spirits for the time, and with the occupation of Siscia by a Roman garrison the way was prepared for a final establishment of Roman authority along the lines of the Save and the Drave. Further than
this Octavius could not go. In the summer
of 33 B.C. the menacing attitude of Antony obliged him to abandon all other schemes and pre- pare for the final conflict with his colleague and rival. While in the western half of the empire men were
already congratulating themselves on the
Antony in "^ . ^ . ** , ,
theSMt. restoration of peace, under the auspices 7x6^1 ' * of a second Caesar, matters in the East
had gone from bad to worse. Antony had indeed shown no reluctance to play the king ; but his policy, when it ceased to be regulated by his own caprices, was dictated by the overmastering
ambition of Cleopatra. He had set out 7x6 A.u.c. £j.^j^ Athens in 38 B.C. full of his intended
Parthian war, but after a brief stay in the East had returned to Italy. Towards the end of
7x7 A.u.c. -^ . . cs.-^^''-%..^^ ^ ^u.
37 B.C. he was again m -^y ria/^nd this
' Dio, xlix., 34 ; App., Ilfyr,^ 16. >
* App., Illyr,^ 22. For this war and its results, see Mommsen* R, (7., v., pp. 8, 9.
' Dio Cass., xlix., 22 sqq, ; Plut., Ant^ 36j^f.
Ch. 21 Government of the Trtunwiraie. 385
time everything seemed to favour the execution of his long-talked-of scheme. His legate in Syria, C. Sosius, had completed the work which Ventidius had begun, by taking Jerusalem and deposing the Parthian nominee Antigonus, while P. Canidius Crassus had temporarily re-established the suzerainty of Rome over the tribes of the Caucasus. In Parthia itself there was a new king, Phraates IV., whose cruelties ^ had alienated many of the Parthian nobles, and driven one of them, Monaeses, to seek a refuge within the Roman province of Syria. Elated by the favourable turn of events, Antony resolved to invade Parthia ; but again the enchantments of Cleo- patra, whom he summoned to join him, held him spell- bound in the luxurious city of Antioch." Here he spent the winter and spring (37-36 B.C.), at one moment gratifymg his vanity by putting down and setting up kings and princes, at another shocking Roman feeling by robbing the Roman people to enrich his Greek mistress. Herod replaced Antigonus on the throne of Judea; Amyntas, once the secretary of King Deiotarus, was installed as ruler of Galatia; in Cappadocia the old dynasty was ousted in favour of the Greek Archelaus, whose mother Glaphyra had for a moment caught the fancy of the amorous sol- dier. To Cleopatra were given grants of territory, not only in Arabia and Palestine, but even in the Roman provinces of Syria and Cilicia.*
' Dio, xlix. 23.
•Plut., Ani,^ 36 ; Livy, Epii,^ cxxx.
•Dio, xlix., 22, 32 ; Plut., Ant,, 36. 95
386 Outlines of Raman History. Wook v
At length, early in the summer of 36 B.C., Antony started, at the head of an imposing force
The PftfthiftD , ,, . «i»«^ i
war. 30 B.C., of Sixteen legions and 40,000 alhed troops. He crossed the Euphrates, but instead of invading Parthia, he yielded to the request of Arta- vasdes, king of Greater Armenia, and marched northwards against Artavasdes's personal enemy, the king of Media. A long and circuitous route brought him to the frontiers of Media, and there leaving his baggage and two legions under Oppius Statianus behind him, he pressed forward to attack the Median fortress of Gazaca.' Scarcely, however, had he begun the siege when the news arrived that Oppius had been attacked by a combined Median and Parthian force. Antony hurried to the rescue of his legions, but arrived only to find that Oppius and his troops had been overwhelmed by numbers and cut to pieces. Returning to Gazaca, he resumed the siege. Gazaca, however, held out obstinately, while the Parthian and Median forces harassed him by constant attacks and cut off his supplies. The summer, too, was over, and the approach of winter made it impossible either to advance farther or to remain where he was. The inevitable retreat was commenced in October. Avoiding the plains, for fear of the Parthian cavalry, the legions marched toilsomely through a wild and mountainous country.*
* Veil., ii., 82 ; Livy, E^t, cxxx. ; Plut., Ani.^ 31.
•*Or Phraaspa; Dio, xlix., 25 ; Strabo, p. 523 ; Gardthausen, .^«^.,
a. p. 153.
' The route was indicated by a Roman soldier who had been taken atCarrhae; Veil., ii.. 82.
eveiy step by the li^J* , ""^^'■' and harassed at ^t' on the VS. dfv .r°°^ °' *^« ^^"^'"y- At
faith of the Armeniln t '" '*''"''* ^^ *« good join Cleopatra T^i ^^' ^^ ''■*»™ an^'^ty ^ re-
a« the se^o^wt 1:';,''°"''' "°' ^^* ^"~- L^*«
the bleak Arme^kn k^ u?^"^ southwards, through
^asion of PaiSrS ^'^^^*"^«. to Syria. The fn-
-^y •' was a wreck^ ^Zu" T'^'"^' *^^ " S^"**
^d difficulties of th; ret * f °k"^u *'"'** '^^ ^*"Sers
once more a rn..^ ^ ^^d proved himself
issue of the camo^^°"^ *"'' ^'^"f"' soWier. the prestige. ^""P*^ '"A'^^ted a fatal blow on his
Antony in
««i«y of cL ° . consolation in the X^ai?
«'.3S B.c.-he prop^ t" "sS'onr" '" "" ^"°« paigrn. Biif fK-. • second cam-
himself at the hTJ f u^' *' ^^ ^*^" P"t »» *"<=• 'his time wL „:t1ht ^^^^^^^^ "'^ ^'^i-t. however.
the humiiiatior :f ^rf^rr ll!rth\^"^ ''''''' "■enia. to whose lukewarm^eTs Tf „ ^^ ^^"^ °* A"-' «tnbuted the disastrousTmpail'''^^ treachery, he
11 V" ""^ ^^-piy "tXr 1 ^^ ^-^^ -^ >^
^uced, under pretence of a frien,ii ^''^^^^^ "^^ !::^e Roman camp, and was a^^ 'Conference, to
■Wo, xji:,.. ^ . Li ^ ^«vce imprisoned
' Veil.. «.. 8a. ^*^' ^^- ^'- ^
388 Outlines of Roman History. [Book V
and deposed, while his son Artaxes, whom the Armenian troops had placed on his father's throne, found resistance hopeless, and fled to Parthia.' Antony returned to Alexandria, taking with him Artavasdes and his family, and there commemorated in due form his inglorious conquest of Armenia. Of far more serious consequence were the* events
that followed. His proceedings in Egypt Cleopatra in during the next few months (34-33 B.C.) 710-791 A.u.c.S^iv® convincing proof, not only of the
ascendency which Cleopatra had gained over him, but of her intention to use that ascendency to wrest the sovereig^nty of the East from Rome. The Roman world was startled by the announce- ment that Cleopatra had been proclaimed '' queen of kings," ' that to her and her sons had been assigned the Roman provinces of Syria, Cilicia, Cyprus, Africa, and the Cyrenaica ; and that Caesarion, her natural son by Cxsar, was openly put forward as the true heir of the great Julius, in opposition to Octavius.* It was even rumoured that Cleopatra would not be content with the lordship of Asia, which she claimed as the heiress of the Ptolemies, but that she aspired to be enthroned as queen on the Capitol at Rome.* It was in any case clear that Antony must henceforth be regarded, not as a
' Dio, xlix., 39-40; Livy.-ff/., 131; Plut, Ant., 50; Veil., u.^Ss,
* Dio, xlix., 41; Plut., AnU, 54; Cohen, Midtnlles Jiom,^ i., p. 57^* " regina regutn, fiUarum regum"
• Dio, /. c, ; Plut., Ant., 54,
^ Honce, Od,/i,, 37, 6, ; Eutrop., vii., 7 ; Dio, 1., 5.
Ch. 2] Government of the Triumvirate. 389
Roman triumvir, but as the obsequious servant of a foreign potentate.
That a struggle with Antony was inevitable, Octa- vius had for some time foreseen, but that ^^^ rupture it should come in a form which enlisted au^JTmS Italian sympathy on his own side, as the Ocuviu*. defender of Rome against Oriental aggression, was more than he could have hoped for. As it was, he eagerly took up the challenge which Antony had rashly thrown down, and alike in the senate house and the forum he denounced his fellow triumvir as a traitor to the State. In the summer of 33 B.C. war seemed imminent, for Antony, after once more visiting Armenia, where he formed an alliance with his former foe, the king of Media,' turned westward to Ephesus, and with a large force crossed into Greece." At Athens, however, he halted, and spent the winter feasting with Cleopatra. Meanwhile at Rome the tide of indignation against him rose rapidly ; his will, in which Cleopatra's sons were named as his heirs, was discovered and pub- lished,* and the discovery was followed by the news that he had divorced, evidently at the bidding of Cleopatra, his injured wife Octavia. While the indig- nation was at its height, Octavius struck y^, a.u.c. the decisive blow. Early in 32 B.C. the senate by decree deprived Antony of his command, and declared war upon Cleopatra.^
' Dio, xlix., 44.
' Plut., Ant,^ 56. He had i6 legions and 800 ships.
• Dio, 1., 3 ; Suet., Aug.^ 17.
* Dio, /. r., 4.
39<3^ Outlines of Roman History. [Book V
Once more Octavius had reason to be thankful for his rival's want of promptitude. Antony
AcSiJ^!' ^^ ^^> ^" 3^ ^•^•» ^^^ better prepared for war than his opponent. He was in Greece, within striking distance of Italy ; he had a large army, a numerous and well-equipped fleet, and above all, the money, which Octavius could with difficulty raise by fresh demands upon the hardly tried popu- lation of Italy, was showered upon Antony by the lavish hand of Cleopatra.'
Had Antony invaded Italy in 32 B.C. the issue, of
the war might have been different. As it was, he
advanced no farther than Corcyra, and then, leaving
the bulk of his fleet and army at Actium, returned
to winter at Patrae. The spring of 31 B.C.
1VK AUG 4^ o */
found Octavius ready to take the field. His plan of campaign was simple. Sending Agrippa forward with a fast-sailing squadron, to occupy Antony's attention by harassing his garrisons on the Pelopontiesian coast, and intercepting his supplies from Egypt and Asia," Octavius himself crossed from Brundusium to the Epirot coast, hoping to shut up Antony's fleet in the land-locked gulf where it had Iain through the winter, and thus prevent the threatened invasion of Italy. The plan was com- pletely successful. The entrance to the narrow strait which gives access to the Ambraciot gulf is commanded by two promontories. The southern one, crowned by the ancient temple of Actian Apollo, was occupied by the Antonian troops, while close by,
» Dio, 1., 10 ; Plut., Ant,, Ivi., 58. * DiOy i, c , 12 ; Oros., vi., 19, 23.
Ch. 21 Government of the Triumvirate. 391
< _
and just within the straits, their fleet was moored in the bay of Prevesa,' Octavius on his arrival at once stationed his own vessels so as to close the mouth of the straits, while his legions were posted on the northern promontory, and protected by in- trenchments from any attack on the landward side. Antony arrived from Patrae only to find his fleet imprisoned within the straits, while his enemy was unassailable by land, and in complete command of the open sea. It was still possible for him to withdraw his troops, and decoy Octavius, as Caesar had decoyed Pompey into the open plains of Thessaly, where his superior numbers and greater military skill might have given him the advantage ; and such was the advice pressed upon him by his Roman officers. Antony, however, refused to move, and instead wasted time* in useless attempts to invest Octavius's position. Towards the close of the sum- mer Agrippa arrived with his fleet o£F the mouth of the strait, and a second time his officers implored Antony to retreat, while there was still time, from a position which was fast becoming untenable. But though his supplies were failing, and though sick- ness and desertion were thinning his ranks," Antony could not bring himself to take a step, which not only was opposed by Cleopatra, but would involve the sacrifice of his fleet, and possibly the withdrawal of his Asiatic allies, whose courage was visibly sink- ing, and some of whom, notably the astute Greek adventurer Am;y^ntas, had already deserted his cause.
' Dio, /. ^,, 12.
• Dio. /. c, 13-15 ; Veil., ii., 84 ; Hor,. Epod.y ix., xx.
392 Outlines of Raman History. [Book v
He resolved instead to adopt the only Actium**' alternative open to him, and force a pas- sage to open sea through the blockading fleet. As many of his troops as possible and all his treasure were placed on shipboard,' and on* Septem- ber 2, 31 B.C.,* the fleet advanced in close order to the mouth of the strait. In front were the huge unwieldy galleys, which, with their six or even ten banks of oars^ their lofty sides, and deck-towers crowded with soldiers, resembling float- ing castles rather than ships.* In the rear was the fast-sailing Egyptian squadron attached to the service of Cleopatra herself. From the shores on each side the opposing legions watched the fight which was to decide their fate. The intention of the Antonian admirals was to await the enemy's attacks within the straits. Agrippa, who commanded Octavius*s fleet, was equally resolved not to risk an engagement in a confined space, where his light cruisers would be of little avail against the huge vessels of Antony.* At length, about eleven o'clock, fortune once more favoured Octavius. The wind freshened, and An- tony, to obtain more sea room for his crowded ships, was forced to leave the shelter of the straits and ad- vance into open water. He was instantly attacked in the front and on the flanks. The Antonian
> Plut., Ani„ 64.
* Kal. Amit, C. /. Z. 10, 8375 ; Die, 11., i.
* Plut., Ant,^ 61 ; Floras, iv., 11 ; Verg., jEn,^ viii., 69a.
* Plut., Ant, 65 ; Dio, /. ^., 16, 32 ; Floras, iv., 11 ; Agrippt's vessels were built on the model of the notorions Liburnian pirate galleys.
Ch. 2] Government of the Triumvirate. 393
vessels fought like " hoplites in a square," while Agrippa*s light galleys darted hither and thither, now charging at full speed and then as quickly re- treating out of reach of the fire from the deck-towers and of the deadly grappling irons. Suddenly, while the fight was at its hottest, the Egyptian squadron, headed by Cleopatra's own galley, was seen to hoist sail and make for the open sea, followed closely by Antony himself, a piece of selfish treachery and cowardice which, it was afterwards said, had been previously agreed upon between the two lovers. Still the Antonian fleet fought on, until towards the close of the afternoon, the fireballs, with which Octavius supplied his ships, decided the issue of the battle.* One after another the great ships of this earlier armada took fire, and the rising wind spread the flames with a rapidity which no efforts could check. By nightfall the splendid fleet was a wreck, and the morning light showed only smoking hulks and a sea strewn broadcast with the rich spoils of Egypt and the East.* A few days later the An- tonian troops at Actium, disheartened by the de- struction of the fleet, and deserted by their leader, laid down their arms.*
The victory at Actium had been mainly the work of Agrippa ; it now remained for ^asu 'af-io Octavius, always more statesman than sol- 7,3.734 a.u.c*. dier, to reap the fruits. Above all, it was necessary to recover for himself and for Rome the
' Dio, /. c. 34 ; Suet., At^.y 17 ; Verg., Mn,, viii., 694;
' Floras, iv., 11 ; Oros., vi., 22.
* Veil., ii., 85 ; Dio, li., i ; Zodaras, x., 30.
394 Outlines of Raman History. (Book v
provinces and vassal states be3rond the i£gaean which Cleopatra had audaciously claimed for her own, and to effect such a settlement of Eastern affairs as would at least secure order until he had leisure to under- take in earnest the work of reorganisation. Of any open resistance to the conqueror of Antony there was little fear, and Octavius' skilful diplomacy made submission easy. The Roman provinces were at once " recovered " for the Roman State/ and the Greek cities discovered to their relief that the new general of the republic had some other policy than that of plunder. Their stolen statues and treasures were restored, their municipal liberties respected, and the second Caesar showed himself as warm an admirer of Greek literature and Greek traditions as the first.* The rulers of the native states, many of whom had sided with Antony* as much from necessity as from choice, were as ready as the provincials to tender their submission, and found, as the provincials had done, that they had now to deal, not with a reckless soldier of fortune, but with a prudent statesman. The more powerful among them had been placed on their thrones by the favour of Antony, and no doubt ex- pected that his downfall would involve their own. One and all, however, Am}aitas in Galatia, Archelaus in Cappadocia, Polemo in Pontusand Lesser Armenia, Herod in Judaea, were confirmed in the possession of
1 Jit&H, Anc, L., 5, ^2,frwiMaas — reHperatn. Compare the l^^d " AHa recepta " on coins ; Cohen, i., p. 64.
* MoH, Anc, Z., 4, 49 ; Dio, li., 2.
' Plttt., Ant,, 61, gives a list of those who either acoomptnied An- tony to Europe, or sent troops to his aid.
Ch. 2] Government of the Triumvirate. 395
their dominions. Even Artaxes II., son of the An tavasdes whom Antony had treacherously seized and carried off to Egypt, though the ally and almost the vassal of Parthia, was for the present left undisturbed in Greater Armenia.' Nor, fortunately for Octavius, was Parthia herself in a condition to necessitate active measures against her. Phraates IV. had in
9SI AUG
33 B.C been expelled by a rival claimant and kinsman Tiridates, and though when Octavius reached Syria in 30 B.C he was again on the throne, he was in no position to do more than solicit the friendship and alliances of Rome. Octavius, postponing to a future occasion the recla- mation of the standards lost at Carrhae, granted his request, but at the same time conceded to his rival Tiridates an asylum in the province of Syria, where his presence would serve as a wholesome check on any anti-Roman schemes which Phraates might form.* To the conciliatory policy which Octa- octawna ta vius adopted in the East there was one "^yp^
necessary exception. It was impossible to leave Cleopatra in possession even of the semblance of power, and the kingdom of Egypt could not be simply " mediatised " like a second-rate native state in Asia Minor. Indeed, Cleopatra had no sooner reached Alexandria in safety, and been there joined by Antony,* than she gave ample proof that she was still dangerous. Treasures were collected, ships built, the kings and princes of the East were again invited
' Dio, li., 16 ; Tac., Ann.^ ii., 3. * Dio, li., x8 ; Jusdnus, 43. »Dio, li., I ; Plut., Ani„ 69.
39^ Outlines of Roman History. CBook V
to enrol themselves under the heiress of Alexander, and vague schemes were formed of landings in Gaul or Spain, or of a new empire to be founded in the remote East/
Even when her newly-built ships were burnt, and
her efforts to rally the East around her failed, she
did, not despair. Determined to save herself and her
kingdom, and confident in her powers, she opened
AUG '^^g^^ti^tions with Octavius (31-30 B.C.).
But she had now to deal with a nature as crafty and as tenacious of its purpose as her own. Octavius, who was busy in Asia, accepted her gifts and amused her with empty promises of safety until his work there was done. But in the spring of 30
B.C.' he advanced from Syria and seized
Pelusium, while from the west Cornelius Gallus, at the head of some of Antony's old legions, marched upon Alexandria. Antony, to whose offers of negotiation and most characteristic challenge to single combat Octavius had vouchsafed no reply/ deserted by his former troops, and, it was rumoured, betrayed by the mistress for whom he had sacrificed everything, now made a last effort to stop the invaders. But the conflict was too unequal. His fleet went over to the enemy, and his inferior levies were easily routed. In despair, increased, it was said, by a false
report of Cleopatra's death, he fell by his
Antony and own hand. Octavius occupied Alexan-
eopa ra. jj.j^ « |j^^ ^jjg proud princcss, whom he had
* Dio, li., 6 ; Verg., jEn,^ viii., 687.
• Plut., Ant,, 74. » Plut., Ant., 7a ; Dio, /. c, ^ On August I, 30 B.C. ; Dio, li., 4 ; Oros., vi., 19.
Ch. 2] Gavernmeni of the Triumvirate. 397
*-
destined to be the choicest ornament of his triumph, eluded his grasp. From the unbearable ignominy of entering as a captive the city where she had hoped to be enthroned as queen, she saved herself by death.
Octavius was politic and perhaps chivalrous enough to pay due honour to the remains of his former col- league, and of the daughter of a line of kings, whose hold on the reverence of the Egyptian people was still strohg. Antony and Cleopatra were buried to- gether in the mausoleum of the Ptolemies. The two boy kings, who were to have divided between them the empire of the East, were sent to Rome, and found a shelter with Antony's injured wife, Octavia.* For Octavia's own daughters by Antony a more splendid destiny was in store. From one, by her marriage with Cn. Ddmitius, was descended the Em- peror Nero, from the other, who became the wife of Drusus, the Emperors Gaius and Claudius.
Egypt itself, the splendid inheritance of the Ptole- mies, was formally annexed as a province to the dominions of the Roman people, while,* as Annexation if to mark the fact that the sceptre of of Egypt. Alexander had passed finally into Roman hands, Octavius had the head of Alexander engraved upon his signet ring, and in imitation of the great Mace- donian, founded near Canopus a new city to com- memorate his victory.*
> Plut.. Ant.^ 87 ; Dio. li., 15.
• Dio, li,, 17 ; Mm, Anc, Lai,, v., 24 ; C, I, Z., 6, 701, 2. **j£gypto inpotestaUm P, R, redaeta" ' Suet., Atig,^ 50 ; Dio, li., 18 ; Strabo, p. 795.
CHAPTER III.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE PRINCIPATE AND THE
RULE OF AUGUSTUS.
The capture of Alexandria took place on August I, 30 B.C. On January 11, 29 B.C., the temple of 7S4 A u c J^^^^ was closed, for the first time for two — A Tf o hundred years/ In the summer of that year Octavius returned to Italy, and in Ktura to* August he celebrated in Rome a three ^^^' days' triumph.* On all sides he was
greeted, not as the successful combatant in a civil war, but as the man who had re-established the sovereignty of Rome throughout the civilised world, as the restorer of peace, and the saviour of the repub- lic, and of his fellow-citizens.* Nor was Octavius backward in showing that, so far as he was concerned, the long years of conflict and bloodshed were over, and a new and better age about to commence. Lands were allotted to the veterans, but the soldiers of An- tony shared with his own in the distribution, and
> C, /. JL, i., p. 384 ; Dio, li., so.
* Jlfm» Anc. JL^ i., ai ; Macrob., Sai,, !., zs, 35 ; Dio, IL, 21 ; Suet., Atig,^ 23.
*Colien, M^d,^ i., p. 6a **€ivUut servaUis!^ C. /. Z., 6» 783^ " rgpubHca emsertwia,**
398
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate^ 399
the lands taken for allotment were obtained, not as in 43 B.C. by confiscation, but by purchase/ Antony's Roman partisans were allowed to return home in peace, and it was regarded as of happy omen for the future that Octavius's colleague in the consulship (30 B.C.), and his legate in Mcesia, M. Licinius Cras- suSy had been an adherent both of Sextus Pompeius and of Antony, and that Carrinas, who shared his triumph^ was one of those " sons of the proscribed " whom Sulla had declared to be for ever incapable of holding office in the State.* Scarcely less welcome was the relief which the treasures of Egypt enabled him to give to the impoverished population of Italy. Arrears of taxation were cancelled,* and a munificent largesse distributed among the/Zf^x of Rome.* As a proof of returning confidence it was noticed that the rate of interest in the capital fell from 12 to 4 per cent.*
. Octavius was now as unquestionably supreme as Julius had ever been, and he had already shown that in the use of his power he intended ^h. RMton. to follow the example, not of Sulla, but tioa or th« of Julius. But he had still to solve the **" ** problem, which the latter had been forced to leave untouched, that of investing an authority won by the sword, with a constitutional character, and of har-
^ MoH, Anc. Z., iii., 33, *^ pecumam [pro] agris qitat w cannUaiu meo quarto . . adngnavi mtUHhus^ sohn mtmkipis "—-the sum
paid was 600, ooo»ooo sesterces ; Dio, li., 4.
* Dio, li., 4, 81. * Dio, U., ai ; liU., s. ^ Mon, Anc, Z., iii., 7 ; Snet, ^«Sf.» 41.
* Dio, IL, ai ; Suet., Attg^, 41 ; Oros., vi., 19.
400 Outlines of -Roman History. [Book ¥
monising it with . the institutions and traditions of the old republic. That such an authority was neces- sary the experience of a century had conclusively shown; that as things stood, Octavius alone could wield it was equally clear. But it was also essential that, after twenty years of irregular and provisional rule, the State should have a government not only strong, but legitimate. An undisguised autocracy would have shocked public opinion in Rome and Italy, and might have involved the second Caesar in the fate of the first. On the other hand, a literal Character of restoration of the republic meant renewed octavjus. anarchy. To the delicate task of recon- ciling personal rule with at least the forms of repub- licanism. Octavius now set hhnself, and no man was ever better fitted for the task. By birth and tem- perament, in habits of mind and life, he had far more in common with the average Italian than his great uncle, whose daring genius and dazzling patrician-^ descent from gods and heroes removed him to an infinite distance above the level of ordinary men. But Octavius belonged by birth to that municipal aristocracy,* of which Cicero had been the representa- tive and the panegyrist.' With this Italian hour- geoisUy which, far more than the nobles or plebs of the capital, represented all that was most healthy and vigorous in the Roman people, Octavius was naturally in touch. He shared their thrifty habits, their simplicity of life, their respect for respecta^
^ His grandfather was a burgher of Velitrae, ** mumcipaUbus magu^ ierUs conientus" ; Suet., Aug., 2. ' See above, p. 248.
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate. 401
bility, and even the vein of homely superstition, which in him, as in Louis XI. of France, contrasted curiously with great political acuteness and resolute tenacity of purpose/ To them also his political ideal of a united and imperial Italy was infinitely more attractive than either the selfish narrowness of the nobles, who had ridiculed Cicero as a ** foreigner,** or the spirit of cosmopolitan comprehensiveness which animated Julius.* Nor would the more splendid qualities of the great dictator have served Octavius better in the work he had to do than his own inbred caution and self-control, his astuteness, and his invariable indifiference to the mere externals of power. To these qualifications he added, as all authorities agree, the art of choosing his friends and ministers well, and retaining them firmly.
Both the constitutional settlement which he efifected, and the mode in which he carried it out, were characteristic of the man.' The ^^^ setue- political drama was skilfully arranged, and JJf b.cV*°" the chief actor played his difficult part 7a«A.u.c. with a success which deserved and has won the applause of the world. The drania opened with a series of measures all calculated to convince Roman society that a restoration of the old days was seriously intended. The overgrown senate was purged of its unworthy members, and restored to
' Suet., Aug,^ 90-9S * Suet., Aug,^ 66.
* Mommsen, Staatsr,^ ii., 707 sqq,; Hefzog., Gesch v. System d. rdm, Verfasstmg, ii., pp. 126 sqq. ; Pelham, Journal of PkUol^
VIM . an.
viu., 30. a6
402 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
its " ancient shape and dignity/* * The temples and shrines of the gods throughout the city were re- stored, foreign rites were prohibited ' ; and after an interval of forty years, the solemn purification of the people was duly performed in the Campus Martins.' In the course of his sixth con- sulship (28 B.C.), Octavius issued the famous edict,* in which he cancelled the irregular enactments made under the triumvirate, and fixed January i, 27 B.C., as the day on which he would lay down his extraordinary authority.* On the day named, the first day of his seventh consulship, he entered the senate house and formally "gave back the Commonwealth into the keeping of the senate and people." * In return, and unquestionably in accordance with his own inten- tions, Octavius received back from the hands of the senate and people the more essential of his former powers. He was given the imperium for
^ Suet., Aug,^ 35 : '* senaiorum affluenUm numerum deformietincon' dita turba . . , ad tnodum pristinum et spUndorem redegit.** This purging of the senate was carried out by Octavius and Agrippa, in virtue of the ** censoriapoiestas" given them for the purpose.
' Mon. Anc. Z., iv., 17 ; Dio, liii., 2 ; Hor., Od,y iii., 6-1.
' Mon. Anc. Z., ii., 2 ; Dio, liii., i ; C. I, L.^ ix., 422.
■* Tac.,^»»., iii., 28, ** sexto cotisulaiu . . . qua triumviratu jus^ serat aboUvit,** Dio, liii., 2. di ivoi lepoypd/i/iaro? xareXvdsr.
* This authority Octavius describes as resting on public consent. Mon. Anc, L,f yi., 14, *^per consensum universorum." Posnbly the powers of the triumvirate which legally expired at the end of 33 B.C., were held to have continued. Tac, Ann,, i., 2 **pojiUf triumviri
nomine"
* Mon, Anc, Z.^ vi., 14 ; " rempublicam ex mea poUstate in senat" \uspopulique Romani a'\rbitrium transtuU,"
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate. 403
ten years, with the government of certain specified provinces/ He was, moreover, declared commander- in-chief of all the forces of the State, and granted the exclusive right of levying troops, of making war and peace, and of concluding treaties.' This authority abroad, an authority wider than that given to Pompey in 67-66 B.C., he was to exercise as consul ; and he would consequently be also the chief magis- trate of the State at home, with precedence over all other magistrates in Rome or in the provinces. Finally, in recognition of his pre-eminent services, he was authorised by decree of the senate to assume the cognomen of Augustus.*
Such in its original form was the famous settle- ment on which in theory the rule of the Roman Caesars was based. It was a transaction
General
which admitted, and was intended to nature of the
settlement.
admit, .of different interpretations. Ac- cording to the official version of things, there had been a restoration of the republic. The affair was so described by Augustus himself,* and by the courtly writers of the time.* The 13th of January 27, B.C., the day on which the settlement was completed, was marked in the calendar as the day on which the re- public was restored ; * and on coins Augustus was
' Dio, liii., 12 ; Suet., Aug,^ 47.
* Dio, /. c, Strabo, p. 840. Wilmanns, Exempla, 917. ' Mon. Anc, Z., vi., 16.
^ Mon, Anc, Z., vi., 14.
* Ovid, FasHy i., 589 : '* reddiiaque est omnis populo provincia nos- tro" ; Veil., ii., 89 ; Tac, Ann.^ i., 9.
* C. /. X., i., p. 384 : ^^ quod rempublicam P, B, restituii" id,, 6, 1527, *^ pacato /vrbe terrarum, resHtuia repubUca,**
404 Outlines of Roman History. [Book V
honoured as " the champion of the freedom of th6 Roman people/' * But, for the genecal public, the essence of the matter lay in the recognition by law of the supremacy of Caesar, and in the establishment not of a republic, but of a personal government. Such was the view taken by the municipalities of Italy and the provinces, and by Greek provincial writers. To them Augustus was not so much the first citizen of a free commonwealth, as the " guardian of the Roman empire, and the governor of the whole world.** ' Both versions were, in fact, correct. The republic was in a sense restored ; the old constitu- tional machinery was set going again ; senate, assem- bly, and magistrates resumed their old functions.* Nor was the position assigned to Augustus techni- cally inconsistent with republican law and custom. He was not king, dictator, or triumvir.* He could state truly that he accepted no office which was " con- trary to the usage of our fore-fathers," * and it was only in dignity that he took precedence of his col- leagues.° Other citizens before him had been
* Eckhel., Doctr, Nutntn.^ vi., 83 : ^* Imp. Oxsar divi f, cos VI. UbertaHs P, R, idmlex"
* Wilm., Ex,, 883 (cenotaphia Pisana) ; C. /. Z., xii., 4333 ; Strabo, p. 840; Dio, Hi., I : ixdi rovrov /lovapx^^^^"^ avOti dxptfidSi
* Veil. , ii. , 89 : * ' prisea et aniiqua reipubiica forma revoeaia "/ Suet. , ''^^^•t 40 ; " comiHorum pristinum ius reduxiL**
^ Tac, Ann,, !•» 9 ^ '* ^'^^ regno tam^n^ neque dUtatura, sed prin- cipis nomine cotistituiam rempublieam,"
* Mon, Anc, Gk,, Hi., 17 : e^pp^v ot^^c/i^ay leafid rd ledrpua ^tf dtdofjievrfv dveSe^djurfv,
* Afon, Anc, Gk,, xviii,, 6 : d%t(ofiari icdrroav dtrfvtyKa cSor- 0ia% di ovdir nXeiov Stxov rcoV 6vrap^drT09y /loi.
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate. 405
invested by senate and people with special powers for a definite period, and so far his position was the same in principle as that given to Pompey in (>j B.C., or to Caesar in 59 B.C. Though, moreover, the con- suls of the year had for long been limited by custom to domestic duties in Rome, there was nothing un- precedented in the assignment to a consul of pro- vinces and legions. More than twenty years earlier Cicero himself had argued in favour of such a con- stitutional " primacy ** or " principate," as was now conceded to Augustus* ; and ** princepSy* the title of courtesy, which public opinion fastened on as best describing his position, was one sanctioned by republican usage.'
There was, however, another side to the picture. The powers now granted to Augustus were, in fact, so wide, that, coupled with the personal ascendency and prestige naturally attaching to the heir of Caesar and the conqueror of Antony, they constituted him the real ruler of the empire. By the side of the man who was generalissimo of the forces of the State, sole arbiter of peace and war, governor of Hither Spain, Gaul, Syria, and Egypt, who, as consul, was the
> In a lost book of the De Republica, referred to by Augustine (Z>< dvit, Dei^ v., 13) : *• ubi loquitur de insHtuendo principe civitaHs " / and by Cicero himself {Ad Att^ viii., 11.).
• ** Prineeps ** = **princgps civitatis " or ** first citizen " was not an official title ; the Greek equivalent Is rfyefifov. It had been used of Pompey and of Csesar in asimilar sense. Cic, Ad Att,^ viii., 9 ; Ad Fam.^ vi., 6 ; Sallust, Hist,^ 3, fr. 81 ; Suet., Jul,^ 26. As implying only primacy in a free commonwealth, it is contrasted with ** dominus^^' Plin., Paneg. 55 and '* imperator " ; Dio, Ivii., 8 ; See Diet Antiq, s V. Prineeps,
4o6
Outlines of Raman History. rsook v
acknowledged head of the executive, and who finally possessed in addition the tribunician power given him in 36 B.C., the existence of any other real authority was impossible. The ingenious compromise by which room was found for the master of the legions within the narrow limits of the old constitu- tion, and the personal claims of the young Caesar reconciled with the dignity of the republic, was from the first only a compromise upon paper.
Its unreality, and the ambiguities it in-
The revised . .
•ettiement of volvcd, were increased by the modification which it underwent only four years later. On June 27, 23 B.C.,* Augustus laid down the con- sulship which he had held year by year since 31 B.C. The imperium granted to him for ten years in 27 B.C. he still retained ; but he now held it only ^^ pro-consule^'' like the ordinary governor of a province,* and it therefore ceased to be valid within the city.' His renunciation of the consulship entailed also the loss both of the precedence {mains imperium) over all other magistrates, which a consul enjoyed,* and of the consul's rights of convening the senate, and of holding assemblies of the people. It struck, in short, at the
73X A.U.C.
733 A.U.C.
* C. I. Z., vi., 2014 ; Dio, liii., 32 ; Suet., Aug,^ 26.
'The phrase ^* proconsulare imperium" (i, ^., consular imperivm held by one who is not a consul) does not occur in republican writers ; and Augustus in the Mon. Ancyr, uses the orthodox ** consulare im- perium " {M, A . Lat. , XXV. , 8).
•Ulp., Dig.^ i., 16^16: ** proconsul ad portam urbis depofdtim" perium"
^ He would only possess like Pompey in 67 B.C. : ** imperium cequum in omnibus protdnciis cum ^roconsulibus " / Veil., ii., 31.
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principaie. 407
very root of that administrative unity which was essential to the good government of the empire, and threatened to reintroduce the dual control, which had worked such evil before, of consuls and senate at home, and of powerful proconsuls abroad. In Rome and Italy the liveliest anxiety was excited by the prospect that Caesar would no longer visibly reign over them, and they pressed upon his acceptance one extraordinary office after another. All alike were refused as unconstitutional ' ; but what Augustus lost by resigning the consulship was made good to him by a series of enactments which determined the form of the " principate *' for three centuries to come. In the first place, he was exempted from the disability which attached to the tenure of the imperium by one who was neither consul nor praetor — that is to say, he was allowed to retain and to exercise his imperium even in Rome.' Secondly, his imperium was declared to rank as equal with that of the con- suls, and consequently as superior to that of all other holders of imperium at home or abroad.' Thirdly, he was granted equal rights with the consuls of con- vening the senate and introducing business/ of nomi-
' He was offered a dictatorship, a life consulship, a '' cura legum et morum" The statements of Suetonius and Dio that he accepted the two last named are refuted by the language of the Jlf(m. Ancyr, Lat,^ i., 31 ; Gk.^ iii., ii ; cf. Suet., 53 ; Dio, liv., 10; Pelham, ,?^ni. ^/ Phihl,, xvii., 47.
* In 23 B.C. ; Dio, liii., 32.
» Dio, /. c.
^ In 23 B.c. and 22 B.C. ; Dio, liii., 32 and liv., 3 ; Wilm., Exempla, 9x7 (Ux de imperiQ Vespasiam ).
4o8 Outlines of Raman History. [Book v
nating candidates for election by the people,' and of issuing edicts.' Fourthly, he was placed on a level with the consuls in outward rank. Twelve . lictors were assigned to him, and an official seat between those of the consuls themselves.'
The proconsular authority was thus for the first time admitted within the walls of Rome, and placed side by side with that of the consuls ; and for the first time the imperium was wielded in the city, as it had long been wielded in the provinces and camps by some one else than the elected magistrates of the year. But Rome could not yet be openly governed by a proconsul, and Augustus was characteristically anxious to find a title for his authority which should savour less of military autocracy. This he found in the *' tribunician power," which he had held since 36 B.C.; and which, from its essentially urban and democratic traditions, was well suited to serve in Rome as '* a term to express his high position." * From the year 23 B.C. dates its first appearance after his name in official inscriptions*; and the numbers appended, to indicate for how many years it had been held, are reckoned from that year.' It was on this power, as he tells us, that he relied for carrying
' This is proved by the practice of Augustus and Tiberius ; Tac., Attn, 1 1., oX.
* Wilm., Exempla^ 917. 'In 19 B.C. ; Dio, liv., 10.
* Tac, Ann,^ iii,, 56 : " Summi ftuHgii vocabulum repperit . . . ac iamen appeUaHone*aHqua cetera imperia pramineret"
* See the coins with the legend: ** Casar Atig, tribun, potest" ; Cohen, i., p. 117.
^ Man, Anc, Lat,, i., 29; Tac, Ann, i., 9 : ** eonHmtata per septem et triginta annos (23 B.C.-14 A.D.) tribunicia potestas,**
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate. 409
out the social reforms in Rome and Italy demanded by the senate.* Henceforwiird the tribunicia potestas, though far inferior in actual importance, ranked along with and even above the imperium as a distinctive prerogative of the emperor or of his chosen colleague.'
To sum up the result of these changes : Augustus was now placed by the act of the senate and people by the side of the regular magistrates. At home, though not consul, he possessed a rank and authority equal to theirs, and took precedence, as they did of all other magistrates, from the praetors downwards. Abroad, a wide department was committed to his care. YWsprovincia included the government of the great frontier provinces, the command of the troops, the control of foreign policy ; while over the govern- ors of the other provinces he enjoyed the same precedence ' {mains imperium) which he enjoyed in Rome over all magistrates below the consuls. He was distinguished, in addition, by special marks of honour — the cognomen of Augustus, the laurels in front of his house, the " civic crown " above his door.*
The arrangement undoubtedly satisfied the re- quirements of the moment. It saved, at least in appearance, the integrity of the exceptional republic, while at the same time it recog- the Princi- nised and legalised the authority of the
* Man, Anc. Gk,^ iii., ig ; Dio, liv., i6.
' Mommsen, Staatsr,, ii., 1050 ; Dio, liii., 32 ; liv., I2 ; Tac, Ann,^ i., 3. Of Tiberius as colleague of Augustus : ** Collega imperii^ coiu SOTS tribunicia poiestaHs, "
* Dio, liii. 52 : hv T(S vitrjHWM) itX^or rdor ixadraxoBi dpxovToor i6xv£ty,**
* M<m» Anc. Lai,, vi., 16, 18.
4 1 o Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
man, who was already by common consent " master of all things " ; and this it effected without any formal alteration of the constitution, without the creation of any new office, and by means of the old constitutional machinery of senate and assembly. But it was an arrangement avowedly of an excep- tional and temporary character. The powers voted to Augustus were, like those voted to Pompey in 67 B.C., voted only to him, and, with the exception of the tribunician power, voted only for a limited time.* No provision was made for the continuance of the arrangement, after his death, in favour of any other person. And though in fact the powers first granted to Augustus were granted in turn to each of the long line of Roman Caesars, the temporary and provisional character impressed upon the ** princi- pate ** at its birth clung to it throughout. When the princeps for the time being died or was deposed, it was always in theory an open question whether any other citizen should be invested with the powers he had held. Who the man should be, or how he should be chosen, were questions which it was left to cir- cumstances to answer, and even the powers to be assigned to him were, strictly speaking, determined solely by the discretion of the senate and people in each case. It is true that necessity required that some one must always be selected to fill the position first given to Augustus ; ' that accidents, such as
' Originally for ten years (Dio, liii., 13), it was afterwards renewed for successive periods of five, five, ten, and ten years (/^., liii., 16).
• Vii, Hadr,^ 6 : ** esse respublUa sine imperatore rum potest; " VU. Tacitly 3 : *' imperator est'deligendus quia cogii necessitas.
" i
Ch. 31 Foundation of the Principate. 411
kinship by blood or adoption to the last emperor, military ability, popularity with the soldiers or the senate, determined the selection ; ' and that usage decided that the powers conferred upon the selected person should be in the main those conferred upon Augustus.* But to the last the Roman emperor was legally merely a citizen whom the senate and people had freely invested with an exceptional authority for special reasons. Unlike the ordinary sovereign, he did not inherit a great office by an established law of succession ; and in direct contrast to the modern maxim that " the king never dies," it has been well said that the Roman " principate,** died with the/ri»- ceps^ Of the many attempts made to get rid of this irregular, intermittent character, none were com- pletely successful, and the inconveniences and dangers resulting from it are apparent throughout the history of the empire.*
Two other features in the original arrangement deserve notice. Under it Augustus was entrusted with a special department of power of the administration, all outside of this remain-
* jfoum, of FhiloLf xvii., 47, sqq,
^ These powers were at an early period embodied in a form of statute, which was carried for each emperor in turn; Dio, liii., 32. Of the statute carried in favour of Vespasian, several clauses are still extant ; Wilm., Exempla^ 917. The statute is referred to by Gains, i., 5, as the source of the emperor's authority : *' Ipse imperator per legem imperium accipiat" and Ulpian, Dig,^ i.» 41 : *^ Leg^ q*^ de imperio eius lata est,**
' Mommsen, Staatsr,, ii., 1038. He notices that the institution ol the interregnum did not apply to the principate.
^ See below, Bk. vi., chap. i.
412 Outlines of Raman History. tBook V
ing under the control of those whom he himself calls his " colleagues." ' Within this department he was as absolute as a provincial governor in his province. Its limits were fixed, and could be altered, in the or- dinary way, by decree of the senate or vote of the assembly. In fact, even during the lifetime of Augustus these limits rapidly extended, and the ex- tension continued under his successors. By the close of the first century a.d. the department assigned to the princeps covered three fourths of the area of the empire,' and included, in Rome and Italy, such im- portant branches of administration as the control of the roads, of the com supply, the water supply, and the police.* But it was not only by the steady expan- sion of his own department that the authority of Caesar grew. Augustus had been invested also with a mains imperium over all officials of state other than the consuls ; and this was gradually interpreted as gfiving him and his successors a direct control even over those departments which technically lay outside their jurisdiction. The original independence of praetors in Rome, and of proconsuls abroad, was rapidly lost, and they became as completely sub- ordinate to Caesar as his own legates ; * even the consuls, though in law his equals, found the equality impossible to maintain, when the strength lay all on one side.*
* Mon, Anc, Lat,^ vi., 23.
' The number of provinces governed by Caesar had reached twenty-five.
' These had all been transferred to Csesar by the end of the reign of Claudius, and most of them in the lifetime of Augustus.
* See Diet, Antiq.^ s. v. Princeps, ii., p. 487, and below.
' Tiberius in one place describes the consul as the chief magistrate :
Ch. 31 Foundation of the Principate. 4 1 3
For a period of forty years Augustus himself pre- sided over the working of the system which he had established. To gain a clear ^^uJSlltM. idea of what he accomplished during that time, it will be convenient to follow as far as possible the chronological order of events. Roughly speak- ing, it may be said that from 27 B.C. to a u c October, 19 B.C., he was mainly occupied with the reorganisation of the provinces and of the provincial administration. From October, 19 B.C., until some time early in 16 B.C. he was busily engaged at Rome in the work of domestic reform, and to this period belongs the great series of the Julian laws. By the close of the ten years* term, for which his imperium had originally been voted to him, he had at least laid the foundations of that new and better order of things at home and abroad, the commencement of which was commemo- rated by the celebration of the Saecular games in June, 17 B.C.* During the remainder of his principate, though many important re- ""' forms were made, the questions which came most prominently forward were those of the relations of
" cuius vigiliis niteretur respublica " {Ann,, iv., 19) ; in another (7^., iii>> 53) ^c claims a higher dignity for ihitprinceps : *' non ego consults aut prceioris . . . partes susHmo^ maius quiddam et excelsius a principe postulaiur, "
* Mon, Anc, Lat, iv., 37 ; Dio, liv., 18. The official record of the celebration of these games, inscribed by order of the senate on a marble pillar, has recently been found at Rome. It states that the hymn sung on the third day of the festival was composed by Q. Hora- tins Flaccus. The text of the inscription and a commentary by Momrasen will be found in the Monimenii AnHchiy vol* i* , part 3, of the AcacUmia dei Z>»fM*(Rome, 1892X
4 1 4 Outlines of Raman History. [Book v
the empire to the northern barbarians, and of the designation of a successor*
To the existing number of provinces Augustus added thirteen, eight of which were created by
him while reorganising the provinces be- JanisaSon tween 2/ and 19 B.C. With the annexa- Jrovinccs. ^^^^ ^^ Egypt, the north coast of Africa
from the mouths of the Nile to the eastern frontiers of Mauretania became Roman
m
territory. In Spain the highland tribes in the north- west of the peninsula were finally pacified,* and the hold of Rome on the Atlantic seaboard strengthened by the formation of the province of Lusitania.' In Gaul the whole country north and west of the old pro- vince of Gallia Narbonensis had been reduced to subjection by Caesar. It was, however, by Augustus that the regular provincial system was first intro- duced, and to him without doubt was due the creation of the " three Gauls," as they were com- monly called, Aquitania, Lugdunensis, and Belgica.' In the eastern half of the empire the only important addition to Roman territory was made in 25 B.C., when, on the death of Amyntas, the dominions granted to him by Antony in 37 B.C., and secured to him by Augustus in 30 B.C., were annexed, and the two provinces of Galatia and Pamphylia established.*
* Dio, liii., 25, 28 ; »^., liv., 5.
* The colony ** Augustus Emerita" (Merida) was founded in 25 B.C. Dio, liii., 25, App., Hisp, 102, Strabo, p. 166, imply that Lusitania was organised as a separate province by Augustus. Cf. Mommsen, H, G,f v., 5^*
'Augustus was in Gaul 27-25 B.C.; Dio, liii., 22 : anoyfiaqtdi liCoiTf6aTo xai toy fiiov rrjy re noXtreiar dtexidMV^sy' « Pio, lui., 26.
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate. 4 1 5
The work accomplished by Augustus during the first ten years of his principate was not, however, limited to the creation of' these province*
of Caesar.
new provinces. Of still greater import- ance were the reforms he effected in the system of provincial administration. Among these the first place must be given to the establishment of an ef- fective, central, controlling authority. Under the republic the provinces had been so many isolated principalities, each governed at discretion by its own proconsul, who, though nominally subject to the authority of consuls, senate, and people at home, was in reality an autocrat. But all the provinces were now subjected to the imperium of Augustus ; they became departments of a single state, controlled by a single authority. Under the settlement of 27 B.C. Hither Spain, the whole of Gaul, Syria, and Egypt had been assigned to Augustus. To these were added, before 19 B.C., Lusitania in the west, and in the east Cilicia, Galatia, and Pamphylia. The group of frontier provinces formed after 16 B.C., Moesia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia, were also assigned to Caesar. Over the whole of this immense area, which included the most warlike, populous, and wealthy territories of the empire, Augustus was absolute master ; as absolute as Cicero in Cilicia or Verres in Sicily. Within what was really one great province the administration was conducted by men who were nothing more than his subordinate officers, appointed only by him, responsible to him alone, and holding office at his good pleasure. Highest in rank among them were the legati — sena^ tors of consular or praetorian rank — to whom was
41 6 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
intrusted the charge of the more important pro- vinces.* Below the legati in dignity stood the pro- curatoreSj the agents or stewards of Cdesar, men, at the highest, of only equestrian rank, to some of whom was given the government of a minor province,* to others the mianagement of the provincial finances and of the property of Caesar. We meet also, as under Cicero in Cilicia, with pnefectiy pre-eminent among whom was the prefe.ct, who now ruled in Caesar's name, and in the room of her former kings, over the wealthy province of Egypt.' The impor- tance of this change, which concentrated three fourths of the empire under the sole and direct con- trol of Caesar and his personal servants, can scarcely be over-estimated. Not merely was it a great step towards the unification of the empire, it also gave Augustus and his successors a clear field in which to develop a sound administrative system ; and the system developed within the limits of Caesar's own vast "province" became first the envy of the less fortunate territories outside it, and was finally ex- tended over the whole area of the empire. It was conspicuously free from the graver defects of the republican method of administration. The men sent by Caesar to govern his provinces did not owe their appointments to the chances of lot, but were freely selected by their chief. Efficiency was rewarded by promotion, and under Augustus as well as under
^ Besides the Ugati in charge of provinces, we find legati in com- mand of armies, e, g, those of Upper and Lower Gemany, or of single legions, or intrusted with some special duty, e» g, the taking of the census.
• E. g, of Raetia and Noricum.
' The reasons for this special treatment of Egypt are given by Tacitus, Ann,, ii., 59 ; Hist.^ i.; 11.
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate 4 1 7
Tiberius, a capable administrator was sure of con- tinuous employment. Thus provincial administra- tion became a career to which men devoted years of their lives, and these trained experts contrasted fav- ourably with the amateur governors of republican days.' Nor did Caesar's officials enjoy the danger- ously irresponsible and absolute authority possessed by the republican proconsul. The legate of Caesar had soldiers under him, but they were the soldiers of Caesar, by whom they were enrolled and dis- charged, and from whom they received their pay during service, and their rewards on leaving it. The legate might have the conduct of a war, but it was waged under the auspices of Caesar ; it was Caesar whom the soldiers saluted as imperator after a vic- tory, and to Caesar belonged the triumph.' In the ordinary business of government the legate was subject to the directions of his superior, whose man- dates and rescripts carried infinitely more weight than decrees of the senate had ever done. From his decisions there lay that appeal to Caesar, as the higher power, which gradually became as dear to the provincials as the old appeal to the people had been to the Roman citizen. Nor was the legate the sole authority within his province. The management of the finances, which had formerly been vested in the proconsul, was now intrusted to a procurator^ who.
' Ummidius Quadratus was legate in Lusitania under Tiberius, in Illyricum under Claudius, in Syria under Claudius and Nero. He was also proconsul of Cyprus. Dessan, /iwm.^ Z«/, 973. Cf, Tac, Ann,, i., 80 ; iv., 6.
* It was treasonable for a l^ate to levy troops or wage a war : »* injussu principis" Dig,, xlviii., 4, 3 ; Tac, Ann,, vi., 3 : *'qnidilH cum inUiiibus quos neque dicta neque pramia nisi ab imperator e acci- fere par esset,**
27
4 1 8 Outlines of Roman History. [Book V.
unlike the quaestor of former times, was not a mere
subordinate, but an independent official, directly
responsible to Csesar himself, and in consequence a
real check upon the legate.*
In the provinces, which were not his own, the re-
The" public forming energy of Augustus had less free province." ^^^^^ . ^^^ jj^ ^j^^^^ « i^mMCxz provinces " the
evils and abuses of the old system still lingered. But though the same careful selection of the officials and the strict personal supervision over them were not possible here, yet a considerable improvement was effected." The proconsuls of the public provinces were still selected by lot from among the consulares and prcBtorii^ of at least five years' standing; they still took out with them a quaestor and legate, and their term of office was limited to a single year.' Technically, too, they were responsible as before, not to Caesar, but to the consuls and senate.* On the other hand, the prerogatives reserved to Augustus by the settlement of 27.B.C. imposed considerable limitations on their authority. The majority of the ** public provinres " were situate in the peaceful, cen- tral districts of the empire, where few troops were
> For the relations between legate and procurator, see Tac, Agri- I cokt^ 15, Ann.^ xiv., 39.
^ ^xxtt.^ Aug, y^T.*^provindas vaUdiores ipse suscepit . . . eetara froconsulibus sortito permisit" Tac, Ann», ii., 43 J ** w-f* ^«' ^^^ aui missu principis obtinerent"
• Tac, Ann., iii., 58. ** unius anni proconsulare imperium"
* Suet., Tib,, 31. A deputation from Africa to Tiberius was by him referred to the consuls. Tac. , Ann, , xiii. ,4, * * x^ (Nero) mandatis exercitibus consulturum cansulum tribunaUbus Italia et pubhece pro- vincia adsistereni,**
Ch, 3] Foundation of the Principate. 419
needed; and questions of frontier policy did not arise.* In any case the supreme military authority, and the exclusive control of foreign aflairs now be- longed to the princeps. In financial matters, too, the proconsul's powers were restricted. The right of making requisitions within his province, the most fruitful source of oppression under the republic, was taken away ; and of the revenues drawn from the province, all those appropriated to Caesar were man- aged not by himself or his quaestor, but by Caesar's procurators. It would seem, too, that the discretion- ary power formerly enjoyed by proconsuls in grant- ing freedom or immunity to provincial communities, and in enfranchising individual provincials, was, if not taken away from them, yet rarely if ever exer- cised. Above all, the mains imperium granted to Augustus over proconsuls was interpreted by both parties in such a way as to give the former a real control even over the public provinces. We read 01 instances in which appeals from such provinces are heard by him, and not by the consuls and senate, and of instructions issued by him to proconsuls, as well 33 to his own legates ; while in the course of His journeys between 27-19 B.c, he visited and arrange the affairs of public provinces such as Sicily or Bitny- nia, as well as those of Gaul or Syria. Naturally enough it was to Caesar rather than to the consuls and senate that both the proconsul and the provincials he governed looked for guidance or for redress. The division of authority in the provinces was
> Tac, Hist., iv., 48 : ^'prazdncia inermes:*
420 Outlines of Roman History. iBookV
real enough to hamper and delay reform, but it can scarcely be said to have ever seriously impaired the supremacy of Caesar.
Twenty years of civil war following upon a century and a half of extravagance, mismanagement, and peculation had produced complete financial exhaus- tion throughout the greater part of the empire.
The change from this state of things to the Financial widely diffused prosperity, of which reforms. PHny's Natural History gives perhaps the best picture, was not wholly due to the reforms which Augustus introduced into the financial sys- tem. We must take into account the cessation of the desolating wars which had left scarcely a single province untouched, the re-establishment of settled government, the suppression of brigand- age by land and piracy by sea, and the improve- ments effected in the means of communication. Yet the financial system, of which he at least laid down the main lines, played an important part. Under the republic there was no possibility of estimating either the income or the expenditure of the empire as a whole, and neither over income nor expenditure was there any central control. It was Augustus who first attempted to lay a sound foundation for an imperial system of finance, by obtaining an estimate of the resources of the state. He compiled a statis- tical survey, which included great part, if not all, of the empire; and brought together a vast mass of information as to the number and status of the com- munities in each province.*
The imperial census, which was so prominent an
' On the survey and census of Augustus, see generally Marquardt, Staaisvcrw,^ ii., 198-599 ; Hirschfeld, UnUrsuchungen, pp. 1-52.
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate. 42 1
institution in the second century A.D., with its elabo- rate returns of land and owners, was but a develop- ment of the census taken by Augustus's orders in his own provinces.' It seems probable, too, that on the basis of this census he established the two great imperial taxes which replaced the miscellaneous im- ports levied under the republic, the land tax,{tributum soli,) and the tax on personal property ^{triduium capi^ tis). Over the revenue raised and over its expendi- ture Augustus had complete control within the limits of his own provinces; and even outside these limits, over the revenues accruing to the old state treasury, and over their expenditure, both in Rome, and in the provinces, he exercised an authority which, if less direct," was not less real. From him dates consequent- ly the first approach to anything like a comprehensive imperial budget. He published year by year the accounts of the empire,* and he left behind him after his death a complete statement of the financial condi- tion of the empire.* In other ways, alSo, he brought relief to the provincials. The multifarious requisi- tions, legal and illegal, which Roman officials had been accustomed to levy were abolished, and fixed allow- ances substituted/ The resources of the provinces were developed by a liberal expenditure on public works, while provincial commerce and industry were freed from the crippling restrictions which the re- public had imposed upon them. Finally, whereas hitherto the burden of taxation had fallen mainly on
* E.g»t in Gaul« Livy., Epit^ cxxxiv.; Dio, liii., 22 ; Tac, Ann,^ 1., 31 ; in Syria, Luke, ii., i ; in Lusitania, Wilmanns, 1608.
" It seems to have been exercised through a decree of the senate.
* Suet., Calig.^ 16 : '* rationes imperii ah Augusta proponi soliias.''
* Tac, Ann., i., i ; Suet., Aug,, loi. ^ Suet,. Aug., 36,
4^2 Outlines of Roman History. [Book V
the provincials, Augustus, while maintaining the immunity of Italian soil from tribute, forced Roman citizens to bear a share, if not a large one, of the cost of governing and protecting the empire.'
The aim which Julius is said to have placed before CMar- himself of welding the diverse communi-
worship ^jgg jijjj races of the empire into a single
the Provin- State, with equal laws and rights, was not ciai Councils, ^j^^ ^^j^^ ^f Augustus. While improving
the government of the provinces, he held fast to the political ascendency of Rome and Italy, and to the dis- tinction between the Roman state and its dependent allies. With the policy of assimilation, initiated by Julius, and revived by Claudius and the Flavian em- perors, he had little sympathy.* But if the bond of union created by the spread of Roman citizenship, Roman law, and Roman municipal institutions was the work of his successors, it was otherwise with the powerful tie of allegiance to the central authority of Caesar.
Caesar- worship as a whole was not the creation of any Caesar. It was the natural expression of a wide- spread sentiment of homage which varied in form in different parts of the empire, and in different classes of society, and which had its roots in long-established ideas and customs.' But the statecraft of Augustus
' Especially by means of the legacy duty, established in 6 A.D. ;
Suet, Aug,^ 49 ; Dio, Iv., 25. * Suet., Aug.t 40: ** civiiatem Romanam parcissime dedit** *On this point see Mr. Bevan's article Et^, ffist. Review, No. 64
(October, 1901), also Komemann in Beitr&ge s. alUn GeschichU, i.,
p. 51.
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate, 42 3
was conspicuously shown in the skill with which he made use of this sentiment to develop something like an imperial patriotism and connect it closely with the rule of the Caesars. The worship of the deified Julius, alike in Rome and in the provinces,* was the starting point of that official worship of the deified Caesars, the dvv% which invested the long and irregu- lar succession of the emperors with a certain sanctity and with an appearance at least of continuity. Of more importance politically was the worship of Rome and Augustus. As early as 29 B.C. this worship was formally authorised in Asia Minor*; but its definite establishment as the public official worship of a pro- vince or part of a province dates from the foundation in 12 B.C. of the famous altar to Rome and Augustus at Lyons, as a new religious centre for the " three Gauls."" With the altar were connected the provin- cial council, the annually chosen priests of Rome and Augustus, and the annual festival. The gradual diffusion of this new imperial cult cannot be traced here.* But by the commencement of the second cen-
Mn 29 B.C. the worship of divus Julius and Rome was authorised for Roman citizens in Ephesus and Nicsea, Dio, li., 20. «Dio. li.,20.
• Mommsen, R, C7., v., p. 84 ; C.I.L,^ xiii., pp. ittj sq. Cf. ibid,^ no. 1674 : " Sacerdos Roma et AugusH cui aram ad canfluentes Araris et Rhodaniy
* The ara Roma et Augusti in the territory of the Ubii was clearly meant to be the centre of the worship for the short-lived province of Germany, and must have been erected before the defeat of Varus in 9 A.D.
424 Outlines of Roman History. [Bookv
tury A.D. each province of the empire had its council, its priests, its altar and temple of Augustus; and Caesar-worship in this form was the one official cult common to the whole empire, a symbol at once of imperial unity, and of the rule of the Caesars/
In October, 19 B.C., Augustus returned to Rome _ . from the East. The reorganisation of the
Domestic , ^
reforms. provinces imd of the provincial adminis-
MMC A U C
tration was practically completed, and he
now turned his attention to Rome and Italy. But
though the legislation of the next two
736-737 A.U.C 11.1.
years (18-17 B.C.) was regarded by him- self and by the republic as inaugurating a new and better age for the Roman people,* it can only be fairly judged if taken in connection with his gener- al domestic policy. The formal restoration of the republic nine years before was of little use of itself. The old constitutional machinery needed both re- pair and alteration befpre it could be adopted to the new situation. The fabric of Roman society, shat- tered by half a century of revolution and civil war, had to be reconstituted, and finally, alike in the city and in Italy, an efficient system of administra- tion had to be created. In the performance of these difficult tasks Augustus followed steadily the policy
' See Marquardt, Staatsverw,^ i., 366 ; Hardy, Eng, Hist, RevUw^ vol. v., p. 221.
' This was the lesson taught by the celebration in June, 17 B.C., of the Ludi Saculares^ and in the Carmen Sacuiare composed by Horace for the occasion.
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate. 42 5
_
which had guided his actions in 27 B.C. The political, social, and administrative order, which he established, was outwardly based on a restoration^ of what had existed before. In reality it was a new order, created by himself, subject to his control, and stamped inef- faceably with the impress of his own name.
Not the least delicate of the problems with which he had to deal was that of adjusting the relations between his own authority and the ancient jj,^ ^j^ prerogatives of the assembly, senate, and ^oMtitution. magistrates. To abolish them was impossible, and it was as impossible to restore them to their former supremacy and vigour. Under- the policy laid down by Augustus these venerable institutions were pre- served as stately and picturesque survivals, but their sphere of action was carefully limited, and, even within the limits marked out for them, they acted, with rare exceptions, only on his impulse, and under his direction. It was a policy which saved the dignity of the republic, and gratified the amour propre of the Roman nobility and populace with- out seriously impairing the supremacy of Caesar. At the same time it was a policy which scarcely any one but Augustus could have carried out, and which overtaxed the patience of his successors.
The ancient assemblies of the populus and plebs had long ceased to represent eflfectually the Roman people, and that the disorderly city ^j^^
populace, of which they were ordinarily •"•mwy. composed, should exercise any real sovereignty was out of the question. It is true that Augustus ** re-
426 Outlines of Raman History. [Bookv
stored their ancient rights," * and while he lived they continued to elect the magistrates of the year, and occasionally to pass laws.' The corruption and dis- order which accompanied their proceedings were checked,' and the political clubs which were the chief source of both, were suppressed.* But their power was gone, never to return. As electors they did little more than accept the candidates put forward by Augustus,* in legislation they simply approved the measures introduced by him or at his suggestion. The consultation of the people had, by the end of his reign, become merely a troublesome formality, of little interest except for the students of Roman antiquities. The sovereignty of the people, as the ultimate source of all authority, was never denied ; it was, indeed, the foundation on which, in theory, the authority of Caesar rested,* but it was in reality only a convenient fiction, and in the history of the empire the Roman comitia play no part.
Next in importance to the maxim of the sover- eignty of the people was that of the supremacy of The MftKis- ^^ magistrates, consuls, and praetors to tracies. whom, year by year, the people intrusted
* Suet., i4«^., 40 : ** comitiorum prUHnum ius reduxit**
' Such as the Leges Julice proposed by Augustus himself, the Lex Papia Poppaa carried by the consuls of 9 a.d., or the Lex Ailia Sentia^ 4 A.D.
2 For the Lex yulia de ambitu, Suet., Aug., 34, 40 ; Dio, liv., 16, Iv., 5 ; Paulius Sent,, v., 30.
* Suet., Aug,, 32 ; Dio, liv., 2.
* Dio, liii., 21 ; ov fiivToi iTtparrerd rv b nif xai kx£iy<^ ^pe6xB.
* Gaius, i,, 5 : •* eum ipse imperator per legem imperium accipiat"
Ch.3] Foundation of the Principate. 427
the imperium. It was true that for more tHan half a century these magistrates had ceased to exercise their authority outside Italy. But though they no longer led the legions or governed provinces, they were still the chief executive officers of the state, to whom all other officials were at least in theory subor- dinate, and above them there was no authority but that of the people from whom their powers were derived. But there was now in the state an authority the equal of theirs in rank, derived like theirs directly from the people, and backed by overwhelming force. Augustus was indeed careful to respect the dignity of his supposed colleagues, but a real partnership in the government of the empire was out of the ques- tion. Even during his lifetime their relation to him became that of subordinates rather than equals. Though still elected by the people, it was the ap- proval of Caesar rather than of the voters that was essential to success. His nomination, and still more his personal recommendation of a candidate were decisive.* The change by which these magistracies became merely places of preferment at Caesar's dis- posal was gradual, but it may be said that, even by the end of Augustus's reign, the creation of consuls and praetors might be described in* the words used by Ulpian two centuries later, as a niatter lying wholly within the discretion of ^^ princeps^ Once elected, consuls and praetors alike were necessarily
* For these two rights see DicU Ant,^ s. v., Princeps ; Moxnmsen, Staatsr,^ ii., 860 ; Tac, Ann,^ i., 14, 15, 81.
' /^., xlviii., 14.* **ad curam principis magUtratuutn creatit pertinet^ non ad popuH favorem,^*
428 Outlines of Roman History. LBookV
overshadowed by the dominant authority of Caesar. From the wide department assigned to Caesar abroad — the control of the legions, of the foreign policy, the administration of his provinces — ^they were ab- solutely excluded. Even the paramount authority over the " public provinces," which belonged of right to the consuls, had in practice to give way to the majus imperium enjoyed by ih& princeps!^ In Rome and Italy their position was not much better. The consuls could still be described as responsible for the safety of the commonwealth," but the responsibility became nominal when one department after another of the home administration was transferred to Caesar. Within the lifetime of Augustus the care of the com and water supply of Rome, the maintenance of public order in the city and the public roads in Italy, the protection of the coasts, had passed into the hands of Caesar and his officials.' Even within the limited area left open to them, they had to face the dangerous rivalry of a co-ordinate imperial authority. Caesar was equally competent with the consuls to convoke the assembly, to hold elections and propose legisla- tion, to convene the senate, and consult it, and as able as the praetors to expound and administer the civil law. Under these circumstances independence was impossible. The old republican magistracies, though they continued to be attractive posts, con- ferring social distinction, and leading on to legate-
' See above, pp. 418, 41Q.
* Tac, /Inn., iv., I9: **cu/us vigiiiis nUereiur respublica^^ Even Pliny {Paneg,^ 59) speaks of the consulship as '* sumttia pvtestas.**
* See below, p. 445 sqq.
Ch, 33 Foundation of the Principate, 429
ships and proconsulships abroad, gradually became in all but the name subordinate offices, with purely departmental duties under the control and super- vision of Caesar.*
Augustus had inaugurated his work of constitu- tional restoration by a purification of the senate. Its unwieldy numbers were reduced, and un- worthy members expelled; decency and order were restored in its proceedings.' But it was no part of Augustus's policy to replace the senate in the position of ascendency which it had formerly oc- cupied. Its dignity was respected, the privileges and distinctions enjoyed by its members were maintained and enlarged, while the declining importance of the camitia and of the old magistracies increased its prestige. But its control of the policy of the state was gone for ever. The part assigned to it by Augustus was indeed dignified and useful, but it was a subordinate and not a leading part.
With the important question of the composition of the senate, Augustus dealt in a manner which en- abled him, without too rudely wounding composition the pride of the old nobility, to bring the . •enate. senate in this respect into harmony with the new system. In the first place, admission to the senate henceforward depended on his favour. Election to the quaestorship continued to entitle a man to a seat
> Tac., Ann.^ iii., 53: Tiberius declares ^^tum adiHs^ aut pra- torts, auteonsuUs partes stisiineo, majus aHquid et excelsius a principe postuiatur" Comp. the phrase ** caput reipubHca^** Tac, Ann,^ i, 13.
*Suet., A tig., 35. See generally Diet. Antiq,^ s. v., Senatus ; Mommsen, Staatsr,^ ii., 834 /^^., 875 sqq, ; iii., 1252 sqq.
430 Outlines of Roman History, iBook v
« ■■ - II ■ — — ^— *i^— ^— — .11.. ■ » •
in the senate, but over the elections to the quaestor- ship Augustus's rights of nomination and commenda- tion gave him full control. The direct admission of persons not so qualified was an ancient magisterial prerogative, which, during the last century of the republic, had fallen into disuse. By the dictator Julius, and by the triumvirs it had been on the con- trary used with a freedom which shocked Roman opinion.* Augustus was more prudent. If we except the three occasions on which he carried out a whole- sale revision of the senatorial register," he seems to have abstained from the use of this method, which under the name of adlectio became so popular with his successors. The means he employed were more indirect but not less effective. From him apparently dates the rule, written or unwritten, that candidates for the quaestorship must be persons entitled to wear the latus clavuSy the broad purple stripe distinctive of the senator." This right Augustus granted to all sons of senators,* but he could at his discretion confer it upon any one he pleased, and thus indirectly open the door of the senate house to those whom he de- lighted to honour.* Augustus, moreover, could not
* Suet., JuU^ 41 ; A^,^ 35 : ^* indignissimi^ post necem Casaris per gratiam etprctmium adUcii»*
' Mon, Anc, Lat.^ ii., i : **^ senatum ter legi" These leciiones took place probably in 28 B.C., 8 B.C., and 14 a.d. Mommsen, Ad Mon, Anc,y p. 35.
* Mommsen, Staatsr,, iii., 466.
* Suet., Aug,y 38 : *' liberis senatorum proHnus a viriH togo latum clavum induere • • • permisitj'*
^ That the grant of the latus clavus not only entitled, but morally obliged the recipient to stand for the quaestorship and enter the senatei seems clear from Ovid's case. Tristia^ iv., 10, 35.
Ch. 3 J Foundation of the Principate. . 43 1
only admit, he could also expel, and that not only at the periodic lectiones, but on the occasion of his yearly revision of the senatorial roil/ Such powers clearly placed the composition of the senate at his mercy, and in his use of them a definite aim is plainly visible. He inaugurated the policy successfully pursued by his successors of creating in connection The«en«. with the senate a new aristocracy,* whose **'*■* **'***'• claim to nobility was derived from him, and whose ranks he could recruit at his own discretion.
Under the later republic the senate had been closely identified with the nobles, from whose ranks the great majority of the senators were drawn. But the nobility, not only of a patrician Cornelius or Julius, but of a Sempronius Gracchus or a Caecilius Metellus, was not derived from the seat in the senate, to which almost as a matter of course he attained. Noble they were born and noble they remained. This nobility Augustus proposed to replace by one based entirely upon the senate. Hitherto most nobles had become senators, in future . only senators were to bq noble. The change was gradually made. The republican nobility was left as it stood. But outside the narrowing circle of the old families a new aristocracy was slowly formed. The starting-point was the permission to wear the broad stripe. This privilege was granted to all sons of senators as a right, to others by special grant of the emperor. The recipients ranked thenceforward as members of the senatorial order, sharing many of
' Dul., Antiq,, s. v., Senatus ; Mommsen, St€Mtsr,/\\\.^ 88i ; Dio, liii.» 17. ' Mommsen, Staatsr,, iii., 466.
432 . Outlines of Roman History. [BookV
the privileges, and bound by many of the obliga- tions attaching to actual senators.' On reaching the legal age,* they were expected • to take their seats in the senate through election to the quaestorship, and their sons in turn inherited the same privileges and responsibilities. But even a senator's son, if through poverty * or disinclination he abstained from taking his seat, forfeited his rank.* This new senatorial nobility was thus in a sense hereditary, but its trans- mission from father to son depended on the approval of Caesar ; it could by him be given to those who had no claim to it by birth, and he could by expulsion from the senate take it away.
The senate had never, in law, possessed any other Function, of prerogative but that of advising the magis- the senate, tratcs whcn consultcd. This, function it
' They were allowed to be present at meetings of the senate (Suet., Aug,^ 38) ; in the legion they were distinguished from other officers as tribuni laiiclavii ; they shared the exemption granted to actual senators from municipal burdens, and were prohibited like them from intermarriage with freedwomen. Mommsen, Staatsr,^ iii., 473 ; Digest, xxiii., 2, 44.
^ The minimum age for the quaestorship was fixed by Augustus at twenty-five ; Dio, Ixii., 20. Tacitus (Ann,, xv., 28) calls this ** sen- atoria atas,**
' That there was no legal obligation as yet is certain. Ovid Tristia, iv., 10, 35 ; Tac, Ann,, xvi., 17. Dio(lxvi., 26) mentions a case in which Augustus compelled such persons to enter the senate.
^ A property qualification of 1,000,000 sesterces was necessary for candidates for the qusestorship, 1. ^., for the senate. According to Dio (Ixiv., 17), it was instituted by Augustus in 18 B.c. Cf, Suet., Aug., 17 ; Tac, Ann, i., 75 ; Ovid, TrisHa, iv„ 10 ; ** curia pau^ peribus elausa est, dai census honor es**
» ** Ordinem exuere,*^ Tac., Hist,, ii., 86; Ovid, /. c: **clatn mensura coacta est.
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate. 433
continued to discharge. But its advice was no longer asked as a matter of course, nor when given was it equivalent to a command. It was still consulted, as formerly, by the regular magistrates on matters affecting their own departments. But the great questions of policy, which the republican consuls had habitually referred to the senate, were beyond the province of their successors under the empire, and even less important matters were not often brought forward by them unless at the suggestion or with the approval of the princeps^ Moreover, Augustus was not only a senator with the right to give an opinion to which his position gave decisive weight,* but in virtue of his tribunician power he could at any moment prevent or arrest discussion.* He had, as has been said, been given power to con- sult the senate, himself, and in this way no doubt matters of the g^ravest importance were still brought before the senate.* But in these cases the senate's part was limited to hearing announcements or pass- ing decrees proposed by a confessedly superior authority. For these purposes both Augustus and the Caesars who followed him made frequent use of the senate. To govern by decree of the senate rather than by edict gave a constitutional appear-
' The reluctance of the senate and magistrates to decide or even discuss questions on their own authority is evident in the reign of Tiberius; Tac, Ann,^ ii., 35; iii., 32.
* Tac, Ann,y i., 74 : ^^ quo loco censeHs, Casar^ si primus, habebo quod sequar,**
• Tac, Ann,, i., 13; iii,, 70.
« Compare the list of matten on which Tiberius consulted the senate ; Suet, Tib,, 3a
434 Outlines of Roman History. iBook v
ance to their rule, and lightened their personal responsibility. But between a decree of the senate passed on the proposal of Caesar, and an edict issued on Caesar's sole authority, there was little more than a formal difference. Of the senate it may be said, as was said of the comitia^ that nothing was done which Caesar did not approve.
In outward splendour and dignity the senatorial order gained rather than lost,' and the wealth and influence of its members made them not unfre- quently formidable rivals to the emperor.' As an institution the senate itself commanded the respect of the empire, and the warm loyalty of men, who, like Tacitus, saw in it the one surviving representa- tive of the free republic. But the position which it had enjoyed during the period of the great wars, and which Cicero claimed for it as its right, it never regrained.
The religious and social reforms of Augustus ex- ReiiffiouB hibit the same spirit of compromise be- reforms. tween the old and the new which appears in his treatment of the republican institutions. Just as he had refused to follow Julius in opening the doors of the senate-house to provincials, or in largely ex- tending the Roman franchise, so he upheld the as- cendency of the old gods of Rome against alien deities,* of the old Roman dress and manners against
> Mommsen, Staaisr,, iii., 886.
* Cf, Tacitus, Ann., ii., 43, of Piso: **vix Ttberio comedire^ Uberos ejus et multum infra despeciare**
* Suetonitts {Aug., 93) iUustrates his contempt for stimnge deities ■nd rites.
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate. 435
■I ■ ■ ' ' . "
foreign fashions, and carefully maintained the dis- tinctive pre-eminence of the freeborn Roman citi- zens, the imperial race, over provincials, freedmen, and slaves. But the Rome which he restored was not the narrow city-state which had refused to en- franchise the Italians, and which despised Cicero as a foreigner.* It was the wider Rome, co-extensive with the limits of Italy, whose faith and manners he re-established, and whose patriotic pride he endeav- oured to stimulate. And with this revived faith in the old gods and loyalty to the old manners and traditions was dexterously and closely associated the new allegiance due to himself. On his scheme of reform, as on the altars in the provinces, the names of Rome and Augustus were jointly inscribed. The ideal which he presented to a community wearied with civil war, and sick of the faction fights and cor- ruption which made up politics in the city, was that of a united and imperial Italy, proud of its great past, faithful to the gods and to the virtues by which " the Latin name and the strength of Italy had grown great," " and performing its mission of ruling the world under the guidance of a man who, by descent, was on one side Italian to the core, and on the other traced his ancestry back to the founders of Rome and to the gods of the city, and who by divine favour and help had saved Rome and Italy alike from a foreign foe.
* Cic, Pro SuUa^ 7.
* Horace, Od,^ £▼., 15, la : " veUres revocavit artesper quas Latu num nomen et JiaHa crevere vires. ^* So Od, , iii. , 5 , 9 the Maniftn and Apttlian are heirs of the glories of Rome. Compare Sellar ; Vergil, p. 327.
436 Outlines 0/ Roman History. [Book V
The lesson was taught in a hundred different ways. The old '^^^ gods whose ruined temples he re- worahipa. built,* and whose ancient festivities he revived * were for the most part the older deities whose worship was common to all Italians. Such were Jupiter, Juno, Mars, the Dea Dia, the Penates and Lares.* But side by side with the temples of the old national gods rose others which reminded the people of the debt which they owed to Cxsar and his house. The temple of the 'Meified Julius" in the old forum, and that of Mars the Avenger* in the new forum of Augustus, commemorated the services of the great dictator and the vengeance which had over- taken his murderers. More impressive than either was the temple built on the Palatine Mount,* on the site of the City of Romulus, and dedicated to the god Apollo who, from his shrine at Actium, had helped to win the day for Rome. To these memorial tem- ples must be added the numerous public prayers, thanksgivings, and festivals, in which the safety of Augustus was prayed for, and his victories, his ser-
> Man, Ant, Lai,^ 4, 17 : *^diio et actoginta tempJa deum in urbe consul v\, . . re fed,** Ovid, Fiisti^ ii., 59; Hor., Od,, iii., 6.
* Suet., Aug,^ 31: ^*' nonnulla ex antiqtds cesrimomis paullaiim abolita restittdt ut SaluHs augurium^ DiaUJlaminium^ sacrum Luper<^ cale^ ludes Saculares et Compitalicia,*
* Man, Anc, Lat. , iv., 1-26. The Dea Dia was the goddess honoured by the Arval Brethren, for the restoration of this priestly college. See Henzen, Acta Fratrum Arvalium (Berlin, 1874).
^ Man, Anc, Lat,^ V9,y2i\ Suet., Aug.^ 29.
* Mon,Anc. Lat,^ iv., 2; Suet., Aug,, 39. Landani {AncUnt^ome, p. no) gives a graphic description of the temple and the buildings connected with it. C/, also Propertius, ii., 3i*
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate. 437
' . ■ I ' I
vices,* even the chief anniversaries of his life, were
commem orated.
From this close association with the gods to his enrolment among their number was not The worship a long step. Officially, indeed, Augustus of cwar. was not added to the list of gods worshipped by the Roman people until after his death. Yet during his life he was clearly in the eyes of the people, and not only in the language of courtly poets, " a present deity."" In the country towns of Italy there were temples of Augustus and priests of Augustus.* In private houses and in the wards of the city of Rome, the genius of Augustus was placed with the Lares, and shared the worship offered to them, as a ** third god." * That this homage was spontaneous there is little reason to doubt, but we cannot doubt either that Augustus himself realised the political useful- ness of a worship which, without degenerating into direct adoration of a living man, conveniently ex- pressed the common allegiance to the one ruler of the empire.
* Of the number of these commemoration prayers and festivals, the extant ancient calendars afford ample proof. See Mommsen, C. /. Z., i. pp., 382-410.
' With the language of Ovid (Fasti, iv., 949), Horacq ((?</., iii., 5), *' prasens divus,** compare Suetonius's story (Aug,, 98) of the homage paid by the sailors in the harbour of Puteoli : ** candidati coronatique et tura libanUs**
» At Pompeii (7. R. N,, 2231, 4, 5), Pisae (Wilm., 883), Perusia, (Orelli, 6o7)» Pola (Orelli. 686).
* Ovid, Ep,, ii., 8, 9 ; Hor., Od., iv., 5, 31 ; Dio, li., 19 ; for this worship in the vici of Rome, Ovid, Fasti, v. , 145 : * * vici numina trina colunty Cf. C, 7. 7., vi., 445-454.
438 Outlines of Roman History. [Book V
The measures by which Augustus endeavoured to Social reform the morals of the time were as
refornM. much dictated by political considerations as his reform of religion. In order to preserve the purity and vigour of the ruling race,* he en- deavoured to bring back society to the simpler and purer life, which had once been the glory of Rome, and which still flourished in the country districts of Italy. At the same time, while reforming the society, he strove to bring its arrangements into harmony with the new order of things and with his own policy. Side by side with such measures as the Lex Julia de adulteriis^ with the regulations enforcing decency at public shows and games, and restricting extrava^ gance in dress or at the table,' we find provisions of a different character. Thus, for instance, in the famous law about "the marrying of the orders," over and above its ostensible object, the encourage- ment of marriage and the increase of the population, there is an endeavour to establish and perpetuate a The two particular social order, the peculiar feature orders. q£ ^hj^h jg not republican equality, but a
regular gradation of classes, each with its distinctive rights, privileges, and obligations, and each abo with its own relation to himself as the head of all.^ It
' Suet, Aug.^ 40: **magni existimans sincerum atque ab omni colluvione peregritii ac serviHs sanguinis incorrupium servare populum,**
' Suet.» Aug,^ 34 ; Dio, liv., 16 : it was carried late in 18 B.c. or early in the next year ; Ovid, Fasti, ii., 139 ; Hor., O/., iv., 5.
« Dio, liv., 16 ; Aug., 31, 44 ; Gell., ii., 24.
*Suet,, Aug,, 34: ^^ de maritandis ordinihus,** it was carried in z8 B.C. and supplemented in 9 a.d. by the Lex Papia Poppea. It
Ch. 33 Foundation of the Principate. 439
was a policy partly justified by the social anarchy which the civil wars had produced. To some extent, also, it merely followed the lines of class division already recognised in the days of Cicero; but in stamping these with the sanction of law it prepared the way for that rigid caste-system which in the third and fourth centuries paralysed the energies of the empire. The highest place in this social hierarchy was occupied by the senatorial order, which replaced the old nobility, and which gradually became known as the amplis- simus ordo. Immediately below it stood the order of knights, an order which had existed
^ The knights.
m name under the republic. Round the ancient corps of the equites proper a class of titu- lar knights had grown up, whose only claim to the title lay in their possession of the equestrian census, and who had not any more than the nobility an ex- istence in the eyes of the law. This order of knights by courtesy shared the fate of the nobles.' As Augustus replaced the latter by a senatorial order with a legal status and privileges, so he now limited the rank and title of knight to members of the corps of knights itself.' The numbers of the corps were largely increased,' and its internal organisation
imposed various penalties on celibates, and conceded privileges to parents of at least three children. Hor., Carm, Sacul,^ 17.
' Mommsen (StaaUr,^ iii., 476-569) has for the first time clearly explained Augustus's policy with regard to the eqmUs*
* From the time of Augustus, all equites JRomani are equites equo publico^ i, e,, members of the corps. The squadron to which a man belonged is often mentioned on inscriptions.
' Dionys. (vi., 13) mentions 5,000 knights, roSv hx^'^^^ "^^^
440 Outlines of Roman History. iBookV
altered/ but its traditional military character was preserved. Of this corps of knights Augustus formed a second " order/* even more closely de- pendent upon himself than the senatorial. Admis- sion to it was granted only by him.' By him or by his officers the roll of the order was revised, the un- worthy expelled, and the meritorious occasionally promoted to senatorial dignity.' As at the head of the roll of senators his own name was placed/ so the first place in the order of knights was filled by the younger members of his house.* The titular knight- hood of Cicero's days had been hereditary, like the titular nobility, and the sons of senators possessed a presumptive claim to succeed to senatorial dignity. But the son of a Roman knight, under the arrange- ments of Augustus, had no such claim. The rank was strictly personal, and no one had any title to it unless himself admitted to the corps by the em- peror. To this second order was assigned a career which in time became as definite and well under-
6Tifi66tov tnieovy as taking part in the procession on the Ides of July.
' It was divided into six squadrons (turmal) officered by *' seznH equitum Homatufrum" and into decuria ; Suet., Aug.^ 38; Dio, Iv., 10; C. /. Z., v., 6360, 7447, 5S10.
' Dio, liii., 17 ; Suet., 7V^., 41. Qualified candidates presented a petition {Ubellus) to the emperor asking for admission, the qualifica- tions were the equestrian census and free descent for two generations.
' Suet., ^M^., 38: ** frequenter recogtundi; unumquemque equi' turn vita rationem reddere caegit" 7^., Aug,, 37, mentions a '* /in- umviratum recognoscendis turmis equitum " instituted by Augustus.
* M<m, Anc. Gk*, iv., 2.
* As **principes inventuHs,* e, g,^ Gains and Lucius Caesar ; Mam, Afu, Lat,f iii., 5 ; Ovid, Ars Amat,, i., ig^
Cb. 3] Foumiatton of the Principate. 44 1
stood as. that assigned to the order above it. For the latter were reserved the old republican magis- tracies from the quaestorship upwards, the governor- ships of the public provinces, and of the more important of these belonging to Csesar. It was, on the other hand, from among the knights that Augus- tus recruited his own service. Though the highest posts in that service, the legateships, were filled by senators, and the lowest by freedmen or slaves, yet to knights were given * the governorships of Egypt, Raetia, and Noricum ; the prefectures of the prae- torian guard, of the city police, and of the corn supply. They commanded the naval squadrons at Misenum and Ravenna, and in some cases took charge, as procurators, of the revenues of Caesar s provinces. Of the future development of this order of knights this is not the place to speak ; but to Augustus it rendered valuable service by attaching to him the middle class of Italy, from whom its members were chiefly drawn, and to whom it offered a rank and career which at once gratified their am- bition and bound them closely to Caesar as their patron.
Below the two orders of senate and knights stood the plebs^ a term which had long ceased to denote merely the non-patrician ele- **** ment in the community, and was used to designate the common people, the tenniares or humiliores, as they were already frequently styled.' Politically, however, the term had a narrower application still.
> FriedUender, SitUt^sekickU, i., 345 s^q.; Momnuen, StaaUr.^ ".. 444.
442 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
- -
It denoted par excellence the populace of the city of Rome, the plebs urbana ' which had, in the latter days of the republic, posed as the representative of the populus Ramanus. It was this plebs which had, as a rule, exercised the prerogatives of the peo- ple, had elected magistrates and passed laws, and it was for its benefit that games were exhibited, com distributed, and money lavished in bribery. At the same time it was in danger of ceasing to be Roman, except in name, owing to the admixture of alien blood. Augustus, true to his policy of maintaining the ascendency and purity of the imperial race, at^ tempted, though without much success, to check this evil. He placed a variety of restrictions on the emancipation of slaves, and slaves of bad character, even if freed, were debarred from Roman citizen- ship ; ' it is even possible that all f reedmen were de- prived of the right to vote, not, as things stood, a very serious penalty.* In a similar spirit he strove to awaken self-respect by enforcing the wearing of the toga^^ and maintaining decency and order at thci public shows and games. Their old political in- terests and activity he did not attempt to revive, and with the suppression of the political clubs, the restrictions on bribery, and the palpable unreality of the proceedings in the assembly, politics had lost
' Oi plebs Romana; Mon, Anc» Lat,^ iii., 7.
* Stteti, Aug.^ 40. The reference there is specitlly to the iex jCM SeHiia{4 a.d.,) and to the Ux Furia Camma (8 A«D.) ; G«itti.» i., 13, 42 ; ii., 226.
' Mommsen, Staaisr., iii., 45a
* Suet., Aug",, 4a
Cb. S] Foundation of the Princtpaie. 445
their attraction. The eager, stirring, municipal life, which in the Italian towns was an effective substi- tute for politics, was impossible in Rome, which, like London, had neither municipal life or organisation.
The plebs Romana was indeed only the city populace, and the annual magistrates whom it elected were in their duties not much more than local offi- cials, but both alike still claimed to be the ruling authorities, not merely of the city of Rome, but of the Roman State : Rome could not yet be treated as one, if the first, of the municipalities of the em- pire. Nor on the other hand could Augustus safely deprive the plebs of its pleasures and emoluments. The distribution of com, the largesses of money were continued, the games were more numerous and more splendid than ever.' Yet he did something to provide the Roman plebs with more wholesome in- terests. It is possible that his reconstruction of the city wards {pici) with their annually elected headmen {magistri) was meant as a step towards a system of municipal government, and though in this direction there was no further advance, yet the ward, with its common worship, chapel, and festivals, remained a centre of corporate life, and the position of magis^ ter vici an object of plebeian ambition." Of far
^ Mon, Anc. LaL/\\\,^ 7-21 and iv., 31-48, supplies a list of Augustus's largesses and games.
* Suet., Aug,t 30 : " spatium urHs in regiones vicosqtu ditdnt^ in^ stiiuiiqu€ ut ilhs annui magistratus sortito tuerentur^ has magistri t pUbe cujusque vicinia Ucti "; Dio (Iv., S) assigns the measure to the year 7 B.C. ; comp. C /.Z., vi., 454, 761. Besides the care of the l^res compitaUs and tl^e compitalicia the magistri had to extinguish fires (Dio, /. c,)^ to inspect weights and measures (C. 7. L, vi., 282).
444 Outlines of Roman History. [Sook v
more importance, however, as centres ot plebeian life and interest, and that not only in Rome, were the guilds {collegia)} The disorderly associations which had multiplied in the declining days of the repub- lic were suppressed, those which were " ancient and lawful " being allowed to remain.' For the future Augustus provided that any new guild might on certain conditions get itself recognised, and regis- tered as legitimate by decree of the senate.* That in addition to these registered guilds, he encouraged, or at least tolerated, the formation of associations among the//I?fo, provided they were useful or harm- less, may be inferred from their rapid increase in numbers, of which fact, as of the prominent part they played in the daily life of the plebs^ the in- scriptions give ample proof. That Augustus was not unfavourable to them is also implied by their existence among the recipients of the imperial doles of com, the plebs frumentariay a body under con- stant supervision by imperial officials/
and possibly to revise the lists of those entitled to share in the com doles ; Suet., Aug,^ ^o\ Dio, Iv., lo.
' Liebenam» Zur Gesch, und Ori^^amsaHon d, rdm. VtrHnsw<sen^ (Leipzig, 1890) ; Walzing, Lts Corporations Pro/essiom//es (Lovivaint 1895-1903).
'Suet., Aug., 32 ; Dio, liv., 2.
'A V* Lex Julia " (de collegiis) is mentioned in an inscription of the time of Augustus, C. /. Z., vi., 2193, referring to a ^* collegium symphoniacorum quibus senatus coire^ convocari, cogi permisit e lege Julia , ex auctoritate AugusH ludorum causa*^; Liebenam, /. r., pp. 29, 225. The more usual formula was ^'' quibus ex S'*^. coire licit,*'
^ For these corporations see Mommsen, Kdm, Tribus, p. 194 ; Sidatsr.^ iii., 44.7: they were based on the old divisions of the thirty-five tribes. Cf, also the numerous inscriptions relating to them ; C, I. Z., vi,, passim.
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate. 445
I
■■ ■ ■ I I II \ ■!■■■■
Lastly this plebs was bound by special ties to the emperor. The ''tribunician power" constituted him their official leader and protector/ It was he who provided them with "bread " and the games." His name and genius were associated with their ward wor- ships, and festivals, and meetings.' They styled them- selves his clients, and honoured him as their patron.^
The government of the city of Rome belonged of right to the annually-elected magistrates Theadmini* of the republic and to the censors. How RoSlJ'SiJd inefficient their administration had been, "**^'
readers of Cicero can judge for themselves. Rome, with a population of nearly a million/ was without police, and without any adequate supply of water or corn. Against the frequent floods and still more frequent fires no proper precautions had been taken. In the forum and in the streets scenes of violence and rioting were of daily occurrence. As triumvir, Augustus, aided by Agrippa, when aedile in 38 B.C. had commenced the work of re- form, and more had been effected in 28-27 B.C. It was, however, after 23 B.C. that he seri-y^yj^^^ ^ ^^ ously took in hand a work, which, to ^3' ^- "• ^*
> Tac. Ann.^ i., 2: "adiuendam plebem tribunido iure con^ tenium"
' The cost of the com distributing was borae by Augustus after 22 B.C. Mommsen, Ad Mon, Anc. , p. 25.
' The worship of the genius AugusH was associated with that of the Lares compiiaUs^ under the care of the magistri vuorum. The latter entered office on the first of August.
*C./,Z,f vi., 1 104, 5823, 10215. Among the corporations of the pleis frumentaria we find a Corpus yulianum and a Carpus Augusiale,
* Friedlaender, Sittengesfh,^ i., 23.
446 Outlines of Roman History. [Book V
quote the words of Ulpian, '' especially concerned Caesar, and which Cssar alone could accomplish." ' It was carried out with characteristic dexterity and caution. The care of the city was not formally taken out of the hands of the consuls, praetors, and aedites, and even where a department of administra- tion was transferred to Caesar, the change was made with due regard to republican susceptibilities.
In 22 B.C. Augustus undertook the cura annona; the maintenance and regulation not
739 A U C
The com' merely of the monthly distributions of com to the poor, but of the com supply needed for the wants of the g^eat city.* At first the execution of this double duty was entrusted to commissioners, who, though subject to imperial authority, were senators of at least praetorian rank, and elected by the people each year. Not till towards the close of his reign we^e they replaced by an' officer of his own. This official, the prafectus annotuB^ was appointed by the emperor, and re- sponsible only to him. He was selected always from among the knights, and the prefecture ranked with those of Egypt and the praetorian guard among the great prizes open to Roman knights in Caesar's service. The water supply of Rome had been reformed by
> Digisi, i., 15.
* Mon, Anc* Gk,^ iii., 5 ; Dio, liv., i : cf. also Mommsen, Ad Mon, Anc,, p. 25 ; Hirschield, C/ntersuc A, , p. 128 ; Suet.,^«^., 37.
' The office was in existence at the time of Tiberins's accession (14 A.D.) ; Tac., Ann,, i„ 7, There were stiU commissioners in 6 A.D.; Dio, Iv., 31.
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate. 447 Agrippa in 33 B,c* On his death in 12 ^ ■
D * * •'•' The water
B.C. the " care of the public waters, tradi- "^^i* tionally the duty of the aediles, was by decree of the senate transferred to a commissioner of consular rank, who was nominated by Augustus.' By Augustus also was now borne the cost of keep- ing the aqueducts in proper repair.* In a similar fashion commissioners were also pabuebuiid.
Ings and of
created for the care of the sacred build- theb«nk»of
the Tiber.
mgs, of public works and places, and of the banks and bed of the Tiber, matters formerly left in a somewhat ill-defined fashion to the censors and aediles.^
A still more severe blow was struck at the author- ity of the old magistracies by the appoint* ment of an imperial prefect charged with prefectur«s^or the duty of maintaining order in the city, a duty which had always rested with the consuls. The new enactments against disorder required en- forcing, and Augustus himself declared that he could neither leave Rome without a master, nor remain
there to keep order himself.* He therefore chose
•
' Pliny, iV. ff,^ xxxvi., 121 ; Frontinas, ix., 10; Suet., Aug.^ 42 : ** satis provisum esse a genero sua Agrippa^ perducHs pluribus aquisy ne homiHis siHreni" Both the Aqua Julia and the Aqua Virgo were constructed by him. For the whole subject see Lanciani, Cpmenlarii di FranHnc (Rome, 1880) and Hirschfeld, C/niersucA., 161 sq^,
* Frontinus (100) quotes the S*=***™. : **de its quicuratores aqua- rum pubHforum ex consensu senatus a Qesare Augustc namistaH esseni.**
* Frontinus, 125 ; C /. Z., vi., 1343 ; M&n, Anc, Lat,,iy., 10.
^ For these curatores see Hixschfeld, 149, 154 ; Mommsen, Staatsr,^ ii., 974 sqq, » Dio, liv.. 6.
448 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
from among the consulars one who should keep in check the slaves, and the turbulent spirits among the citizens.' This officer bore an ancient title, "prefect of the city," but his office was in all but the name a new one. The prefect of the city was not a magistrate, but a servant of Caesar's, and at first acted only in his absence." It was not long, however, before the office became a standing one. Of its rapid growth we shall speak elsewhere,' but no change made by Augustus was more significant of the revolution which had really taken place, than that which placed Rome, as if it were a small pro- vincial district, under the control of a prefect.*
Lower in rank and importance than the prefect of The**pm. ^^ ^^^Y ^^^ t\it pTafectus vtgilum.^ In wgiSim." 22 ^'^^ Augustus had created a body of 73S A.U.C. slave firemen, whom he placed at the dis- posal of the aedilesy for the extinction of fires.' In 7 B.C. this duty and the firemen with it were transferred to the magistri vicorum,^ Finally, m 6 A.D. Aug^ustus was compelled to ap- point a prefect of his own, who was not merely the chief of a fire brigade, but had also a police jurisdic-
^ Tac, Ann,, vi., ii ; Mommsen, Staatsr,^ ii., 980.
* The first prefect, Messalla Corvinus, was appointed in 25 B.C., when Augustus was away in Gaul. Statilius Taurus was prefect in 16 B.C., also in the absence of Augustus ; Dio, liv., 19.
* The office became continuous, it appears, in connection with Tiberius's long absence from Rome after 27 a.d., and in the pre- fecture of Piso ; Tac, /. c: " recens conHnuam poUstaiem*^ Seneca [Ep, 83) assigns to the prefect the " tuUla urbis.**
* Tac, /. tf., calls it justly ** incivilis poiestas*^
» Dio, liii., 26 ; Digest^ i., 15; Mommsen, SttMisr*, ii., 978.
* Dio, liv., 2. ' Dio. Iv., 8.
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate. 449
tion over incendiaries, burglars, and other nocturnal disturbers of the peace.* Both the city prefect and the prcBfectus vigilum had, moreover, what no re- publican magistrate had ever possessed in the city, a regular and numerous force of police.*
The establishment of an efficient local administra^ tion was not the only service which Au- ^ „^
t % 1 . r T-» r«, New build-
gustus rendered to the city of Rome. The in«« •«>«* *»•
" ^ provements.
magnificent buildings erected, and the improvements made by himself and his friends, altered the whole aspect of the city. The list of them is too long to be given here,' but it is charac- teristic of Augustus's policy, that while no gorgeous palace was built for the new ruler/ his forum was adorned with statues of famous republican heroes,* and that on the Campus Martius a splendid building was constructed for the convenience of voters in those comitiay whose * importance as a political force was already gone.*
Italy stood scarcely less in need of reorganisation than Rome, but as to Augustus's work in Admiia«tm- Italy our information is but meagre. Yet **•" ®^ ^*^y*
» Dio, Iv., 26.
' Under the city prefect were the ^*cohorUs urbana,** under the praf actus vigilum the ** cohortes vigilum " / Mommsen, /. c,
* See Mon. Anc, Lat,^ iv., 1-25 ; Suet., Aug., 28 : ** marmorecuii se relinquere^ quam latericiam accepisset"; Lanciani, Ancient Rome^ chaps. 4, 5 ; Friedlaender, Sittengesch,, i., i.
*. Suetonius {Aug»^ 72) remarks on the simplicity of Augustus's house on the Palatine.
* Suet.,w4M^., 31.
* For the Septa Julia and the Diribitorium (where the votes were
counted) see Pliny, N, H,, xxxvi , 4, 24 ; Dio, Ivi., i ; Suet., Aug,,
43 ; Middleton, Ancient Rome^ 390. a©
450 Outlines of Roman History, [Book v
enough is known to justify the assertion that to him belongs a large share of the credit for its prosperous condition in the time of the elder Pliny. The po- litical unification of the peninsula had been affected 714A.U.C. ^ early as 43 B.C., when Cisalpine Gaul oftie*?!-**" ceased to be a separate province,* and pine tribes, became a part of Italy, a step fully justified by recent experience; thenceforward it could no longer serve as a convenient basis of operations from which an ambitious governor could overawe the authorities in Rome. But this step involved another. The farmers in the rich lowlands had been con- stantly harassed by the raids of the highland clans of th^ Alps,* and were even liable to attack from the lUyrian tribes at the head of the Adriatic. The former, the Inalpini, a^ they were called, were re- duced to subjection, and the pacification of the highlands was commemorated by a trophy set up near Monaco, on which the names of the conquered Alpine peoples were inscribed.* Towards lUyricum the bounds of Italy were extended to include the peninsular of Istria,* and to the old frontier colony of Aquileia were added a group of military settle-
* Marquardt, Staatsverw,^ i., 21. » Pliny, iV. ^., xviii.. 182.
' The inscription is quoted by Pliny, AT. ff,, iii., 136 : it was set up in 7-6 A.D.,J>ut the pacification was probably completed by 14 B.C., Cf. Man, Ane, Lat^ v., 12 ; Schiller, Gesch, d. Kaiserteit^ i., 215. Of the tribes some, e. ^., the Salassi, were almost exterminated, others were added to the territory of some neighbouring lowland town such as Brixia or Verona, while others, e, g. , those of the Cottian Alps, were left as dependent native states under native rulers.
* C. /. Z., v., 1, pp. I sqq, ; Pliny, iV. H.^ iii., 126. It was in- cluded in the tenth of the Augustan resumes.
Oh. 33 Foundation of the Principate. 45 1
ments/ intended to guard the approaches to Italy on this side. The security of the " sacred land ** * was rendered still more complete by the conquest and annexation of the districts lying on the farther side of the Alps, Rstia and Noricum,* and by the final subjugation of Pannonia.*
To the peninsula itself Augustus gave not only the quiet for which it craved after twenty years of turmoil, but means and opportunities for developing its natural resources. The ''JSton'iet. great roads, notably the great north road, ' the Via Flaminia, were repaired,* the extension of the Italian road system to the provinces was taken in hand,' and while these measures, and the sup- pression of brigandage stimulated traffic by land, the high seas were at length rendered safe for that sea- going commerce, the rapid extension of which, in his own day, struck Pliny as almost a sinful tempting of Providence/ The practice of providing for time-
^ Concordia, Tergeste, Pola, and possibly Parentium ; C, 7. Z., v.,
1; iii.,5. » Pliny, N. H,, iii., 138 : " Hac est Italia diis saerar ' The Rsti and Vindelici were conquered by Tiberius and Drusus
in 15 B.C. ; Veil., ii., 39 ; Livy, ^/., 138 ; Hor., 0</.,iv., 4, 17 ;
Noricum, by P. Silius in 16 B.C. ; Dio, liv., so ; Marquardt, Stoats-
z«rw.,i., 134, 155 ; Mommsen, ^. Cr.,.va., chap. I.
* In 9 A.D., after the great Pannonian war ; Mommsen, R, G*^ /. c,
* Dio, liii., 22 : cf, inscription on arch at Rimini (C /. Z., xi., 365) *' V \iajlamint\a [et reHqun\s ceUberrimeis Italia vieis consitio [et sumptiii]us [eius mu\mteis,** Mon, Anc, Lot,, iv., 19, places the repair of the Flaminian Way in 27 B.C.
* Mommsen, R, t7., v., 17 : the communication thus established was, as Mommsen remarks, as important from a commercial as from a military point of view.
' Pliny. A^, ^„ vx. , 3-6.
45 2 Outlines of Roman History. [Book V
expired legionaries by grants of land in Italy had, as carried out by Sulla, or by the triumvirs, been pro- ductive only of confusion, discontent, and distress. But Augustus, when founding colonies and allotting lands after the crowning victory at Actium, avoided the errors of which he himself, as triumvir, had been guilty. Where lands were taken from municipalities they were fairly paid for ; * in other cases the oppor- tunities were seized to repopulate and bring again into cultivation some of the districts which had been deserted and run to waste. Perusia rose from her ashes, and even Veii once more took her place among the towns of Italy.*
As regards administration, the military patrols in the country districts and the squadrons at Misenum and Ravenna were, of course, under Augustus's sole authority, and it is probable that the gfreat high- roads were so also.* Generally speaking, however, Italy remained still in theory subject to the super- vision and jurisdiction of the consuls and praetors,*
* M<m Ane, Lat,^ iii., 22 : of lands taken in 30 B.C., and afterwards.
* For Perusia, see C. /. Z., xi., 1923 ; for Veii, C. /. Z., xi., 3797. In MoH, Anc, Lai.^ v., 35, Augustus states that he had founded twenty- eight colonies in Italy, which were all thriving. A complete list cannot be made with certainty, but among them were, besides those mentioned above, Augusta Praetoria, Augusta Ta.urinorum, Brixia, Ateste, Fanum, Firmum, Hispellum, Tuder, Capua, Venafrum, Nola, Mintumse, Beneventum. Cf, Mommsen, Hermes^ xviii., 160.
' Hirschfeld ( £/>f //rxfiM. , p. 109) following Suetonius (Aug, 37), includes the *' cura tdarum ** among the new offices instituted by Au- gustus. The '* curatores viaruni " were senators of at least praetorian rank. They are mentioned in the S^^*™. of 11 B.C., quoted by Fron- tinus, loi.
* Tac, Ann., xiii., 4: " Cansulum tribunaHbus ItaHa et pubUem frovincia adsht^rtnt^**
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Prtncipaie. 453
to whom we may assume that the quaestors stationed at Ostia and elsewhere were subordinate/ But it was by the local authorities of the ^^l^^, municipalities that the routine work of administration was carried on, and to Augustus must be assigned the credit of encouraging a healthy and vigorous municipal life as a substitute for those political interests and ambitions, from which, after all, the average Italian had been practically excluded by distance from Rome, if not by Roman law. Under his auspices the work begun by the great " Local Government Act *' of Caesar, the " Lex Julia Municipalis " was completed." The account of Italy given by Pliny is confessedly based on Augustus's description of all Italy,* and it proves that, with a few exceptions, the municipal system prevailed throughout the peninsula, even in the more back^ ward districts of Transpadane Gaul. What modifi- cations Augustus may have introduced into the municipal constitutions is uncertain, but one munici- pal institution which dates from his time is so characteristic of his policy as to require a brief notice. There is much that is obscure connected
* Dio, ly., 4 ; Tac, Ann,^ iy., 27 ; Suet., Claud,, 24.
* For the Lex Julia, see C. /. L., i., p* 119 ; it was carried in 45 B.C., probably only a few months before Csesar*s death. It can hardly have come into full operation until Italy settled down under the rule of Augustus in 36 B.C.
'Pliny, N, H., iii., 46: *'^ avctorem nos divum Augustum secu^ toros,*^ His colonisation and allotments involved a considerable rearrangement of municipal territories. The Agrimensores (ed. Lachmann), i., 119 ; t'^,, i., 18, refer to an ** oratio dim Augusti di statu mumdpiorum,**
454 Outlines of Roman History. [Book V
Yh, with the origin and position of the Au.
AuffustaiM. gustales,* but that they were instituted by Augustus cannot be doubted ; nor that the object of the institution was to find an outlet for the social ambition of the freedmen, and to connect them with himself and his rule. True to his policy of defining clearly the line between the free-born citizen and the emancipated slave or alien, he declared freed- men to be ineligible for municipal office, or for a seat in the municipal council.' As a compensation, he created for their benefit a magistracy and a council, in which nothing was real but the cost and the out- ward show.* The sexviri Augustales were f reed- men,* appointed each year by the local senate of their town.* Their office was, in a sense, purely honorary, for its holders had no magisterial duties or authority, but the honour had to be paid for by a contribution to the municipal chest, and by the exhibition of games. Out of these annual sex- viri Augustales grew an or do Augustalium^ a freedman-aristocracy, which ranked inimediately be- low the genuine municipal aristocracy of the decuri- oneSy much as the order of Roman knights did below the senate.'' To gain a place among the Augus-
* Mommsen, Siaatsr,^ in,, 453/^.
* Mommsen, /. r., 453, note i. ' Ibid,^ p. 454.
^ For the exceptions, mostly in North Italy, see Mommsen, /. c, 454, note 2.
^ C, /. Z., V. 5465: "sezfir Augustalis f[reatus\ d[tcurionum] i[ecreio\. Cf, id,, 5749, 5859.
* C, I, Z., V. 1968, 4203, 5859 : ** sevir ei Augustalis qui inter primos Augustales a decurionibus Augustalis foetus est,**
' Wilm.. 1750 : •• dedit ordim [decurt\onum sing HS. VIII, item
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Prtnctpate. 455
tales became an object of ambition to the richer freed- men, to whom it gave a recognised station in their community, and welcome opportunities of displaying their wealth and public spirit/
It was in the year following the celebrap tion of the Saecular Games in June, 17 B.C., olthJ7mpS?. that the question of the delimitation and defence of the northern frontier of the empire be- came acute,' and it continued to engross a large share of Augustus's attention during the rest of his life. The concentration in his hands of the control, both of the foreign policy and of the military forces of the state, rendered possible what, under the republic, had scarcely been attempted, the establish- ment of definite frontiers, of a system of frontier defence, and of a frontier policy. Under each of these heads Augustus left very much to be done by his successors, and the frontier defences in particular were due in the main to the emperors of the second and third centuries. Yet in many important points Augustus laid down the lines on which they worked. The frontier problem varied in kind and difficulty in the different quarters of the empire. On the west the Atlantic Ocean supplied a andsouthem
« 1 t « * frontiers.
natural boundary, nor by Augustus was
any attempt made to extend the rule of Rome be-
ardini AugusiaKum^ etc.; 2038 ordo decurionum et Augustalium et plebs universa,"
' Trimalchio in Petronius Satyricon boasts that he has risen to be a *sevir Augustalis" : lb, (ed. Buecheler) p. 67. The institution rapidly spread beyond Italy into the western provinces.
* On the defeat of LoUius by the Germans, Dio, liv., 20; Suet., Aug,, 23.
456 Outlines of Roman History. [Bookv
yond the Channel into the island of Britain/ On the south, after the annexation of the kingdom of Egypt in 30 B.C. and of the kingdom of Numidia in 25 B.a« the coastland of North Africa from the Nile to the Atlantic was either under Roman rule, or as was the case with the kingdom of Mauretania, acknowledged Roman suzerainty, while behind this coastland stretch • ed the interminable expanse of the African desert* The only danger here arose from the incursions of the nomad tribes, Gstuiians and others, and more than once during the reign of Augustus, we find the Roman forces engaged in frontier wars with thesetroublesome neighbours.' But the elaborate system of frontier de- fence, with its permanent camps, frontier stations, and connecting roads, of which such splendid remains are still extant, belongs to a later period.
In the East, Rome was confronted, not by a dis- orderly mass of barbarous tribes, but by a frSStJJ?*"' single powerful state, whose ruler styled himself '^ King, of Kings," and claimed to be the lord of Asia, a state which had once at least all but wrested from Rome her Eastern prov- inces. The annexation of Syria in 62 B.C. had brought Parthia and Rome face to ^„_ face. The disaster at Carrhae (53 B.C.)
70X A.U.C. ^•'•' '
had created a genuine fear of this new power, which the Parthian invasion in Asia Minor in 40 B.C. and the failure of Antony's expedition in
' Tac, Agr,^ 13 : ^^hnga obiivio Britannia J*
' Mommsen, R, G,y v., chaps, xii.,xiii.: Cagnat, V Arm/e Romaifm tTAfrique^ Paris, 1892.
' Floras, ii., 31 ; Dio, hr., 38 ; Mommsen, Ad Man, Anc,^ p. 170; Cagnat, /. c^ chap. i.
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Prtncipate. 45 7
36 B.C. had deepened and confirmed. On 714 a.u.c. the other hand, the restoration of peace .y**^-"^. and unity to the empire after the victory at Actium, and the internal dissensions which temporarily crip- pled the power of Parthia/ relieved the public anxiety, and when in 2C B.C. the mere ^ „ _
presence of Augustus in Syria was enough to induce Phraates to restore the lost standards, and " solicit the friendship of the Roman people," " the Roman public at any rate ceased to alarm itself about the possible designs of Parthia. But Au- gustus, as the guardian of the Roman peace, must have realised the importance of arriving at some definite settlement of the future relations between the two powers which divided the allegiance of the East between them. The invasion of Parthia was an enterprise for which he had little taste, and which, even if successful, must have been both costly and hazardous. Nor was the frontier line very clearly defined. It is true that the province of Syria possessed natural boundaries to the eastward in the desert and the Euphrates, but north of this it was otherwise. Between the most easterly of the Roman provinces in Asia Minor, Bithynia, Galatia, and Cilicia, and the Euphrates lay the three native states of Pontus, Cappadocia, and Commagene, whose fidelity to Rome was tolerably secure, but whose value as a bulwark against invasion was more doubtful. Their annexation was unquestionably a necessary step if the Euphrates line was to be
' Comp. Noldeke*s article "Persia" in EncycL ^rj/./ Gardner's Parthian Coinage ^ pp. lo sqq.; Mommsen, R, C?., v., chap. 9. , * Mam» An€. Lat,, y., 40 ; Dio, liy., 8.
458 Outlines of Roman History. LBookV
effectively defended ; but Jt was one which Augus- tus left for his successors to take. Beyond the Upper Euphrates lay Armenia, a district which seemed marked out by nature as a debatable land. Its an- nexation could not be urged as a matter of neces- sity, and Augustus tells us that he deliberately rejected the idea.* He preferred to leave it a friendly and independent state within what we should now call the Roman " sphere of influence," and guided in its policy by Roman counsels. It was the restora- tion of Roman influence in Armenia and nothing more that prompted the expedition of Tiberius in 20 B.C.,* and of Gaius Caesar in 4 B.C.,' and in this respect Augustus's policy was followed by all the emperors of the first century. Like Afghanistan between Eng- land and Russia, Armenia remained planted between the two great empires of the world, inclining now to Rome and now to Parthia/ On the eastern frontier,
' Men, Ane Lat,^ v., 24: ** Armemam major^m^ inter fecto rege ejus Artctxe c\u\m possem facere provinciam^ malui majorum nostra^ rum exemplo regnum id Tigrani . . . reddere^ Of Armenia^ Tacitus remarks {Ann,^ ii., 56): ** amHgua gens ea antiquitus Aomi" Hum ingeniis ei situ terrarum.**
• Mon, Anc,^ /. c. The investiture of Tigranes with the Armenian crown was described as a recovery of Armenia on the coins and by the historians. Cohen, M/dailles, i., p. 64. Suet./^^^., 21. Yell,
ii., 95.
' Since 20 B.c. Parthian influence had again become dominant. Afon. Anc,^ /. f. .* '* Eandem gentem postea d^escis^ centem et rebellan- tem^ domiiam per Gaium filium tneum^ regi Ario[barz\ani . . . regendam trctdidi" Dio, Iv., 9 ; Tac, Ann,, ii., 3.
* Tac. Ann,, ii., 3 : " inter Parthorum et Romanas otes injida^ Ib,^ ii., 56 : " Maximis imperiis interjecti.**
Ch. 31 Foundation of the Principate. 459
as on the southern, the organisation of an efficient system of frontier defence was not among the achievements of Augustus. But here, as on the north, he seems to have recognised the necessity of placing over the heads of the provincial governors a trusted officer, invested with the command of the East. This important command, entrusted to Agrippa for ten years (23-13 B.C.),* ^^^^,^4, a.u.c. analogous to those established on the Rhine and the Danube ; and in the East as in the West, it did much to remedy the evils which the decentralisation of authority customary in former days had produced.
On the north the considerations in favour of a forward policy were stronger/ The con- quest of Gaul, and the increasing weakness '^'"•'fcjSS?. of the Celtic and lUyrian tribes which still lay between the civilised Mediterranean lands and the great rivers, had imposed upon Rome the duty of protecting the former against the northern bar- barians. In this direction the traditional policy' to which Augustus had adhered in the East was im- possible, for with the single exception of the kingdom of Noricum,^ there were no states capable of filling the place of " buffer " between Rome and her foes. Annexation was inevitable, and Augustus ac-
* Josephus, Antiq.^ xv., 9, 10 ; xvi., 3.
* Mommsen, R, (r., v., chaps, i, 4, and 6.
' Mon, Anc, LaL^ v., 36 : " majorum nosirorum exanpb,** Tac., Agric.^ xiv. : *' vetere ac jam pHdem recepta P, R. consuetudine^ ut haberet instrumenta servituHs et reges,**
^ Noricum, after its conquest, was still styled a kingdom, though administered by a procurator, as resident political agent. Marquardt, Staatsv€rw.t i., 136 ; C. /. Z., iii.. 4828 : ''procurator regni Norici,**
460 Outlines of Roman History, [Book V
cepted the necessity. By the close of his reign a continuous chain of provinces had been formed along the line of the Rhine and Danube from the German Ocean to the Black Sea. These frontier provinces, Gallia Belgica, Raetia (15 B.C.), Noricum (15 B.C.), Pannonia* (10 A.D.), Moesia (6 A.D.)," completely covered the peaceful districts to the south, and all were under Caesar's rule. The debatable land between Romans and Germans had thus been annexed by Rome, but a further question remained to be decided: Was the natural boundary line of the Rhine and the Danube to be accepted as marking the frontier? In the case of the Danube * the question seems to have been at once answered in the affirmative, but with the Rhine it was otherwise. The Elbe offered an alternative frontier-line, which, if adopted, would have removed the danger of a German invasion farther from Italy and southern Gaul, and which Julius himself is said to have preferred.* Nor can we doubt that the object of the campaigns carried on beyond the Rhine by Augustus's two step-sons, Drusus and Tiberius (13 B.C.- 6 A.D.), had for their object the extension of Roman rule up to that river. For a time, too, this forward
^ After the great Pannonian war, 6-9 a.d. Marquardt, /. r.,
i.. 137.
* The first mention of a legate of Moesia belongs to this year. Dio.
Iv., 29. The country had been subdued as early as 29 B.C. by P. Crassus, proconsul of Macedonia. Dio, li , 25.
* Mon, Anc, Lat,^ v., 45 : '•^ protuHque fines Illyrici \(xd\ ri\p\am fiuminis Dan[uv]i " The expedition * * [tran]s Daituvium *' in A nc. , /. c. 49, merely chastised the Dacians ; it is placed by Mommsen in 5 A.D. Mommsen, Ad Mon, Anc p, 132.
* Plut., Casar, 58.
Cb> 3] Foundation of the Principate. 46 1
policy seemed to be justified by success. Drusus reached the Elbe in 9 B.C./ and after his death in that year Tiberius carried on his work. By 9 A. D. considerable progress had ^ ^ „ ^
1 • ■% \ * r 7^5 A.U.C.
been made towards the creation of a Roman province of Germany beyond the Rhine. Roman troops were regularly stationed there. Bridges, roads, and canals were in course of con- struction. Roman administration and Roman taxa- tion had been introduced, and Roman civilisation was beginning to make way among the natives, and, most significant of all, the official worship of Rome and Augustus had been introduced, the chief seat of which was the altar of Augustus in the territory of the Ubii.* But this gradual work of pacification was brought to an abrupt end by the defeat of Varus (9 A.D.),* and Au- gustus, already failing in health and strength, had not the heart to renew it. He withdrew behind the Rhine, and in his last testament solemnly warned his succes- sors against attempting to advance beyond it.* Of the final adoption of the Rhine frontier, and of the system of defence organised both on the Rhine and the Dan- ube by his successors, we shall speak in a later chapter.
» Dio, Iv., I.
* Mon, Anc, Gk., xiv., 5; Fefjuaytav . . . ^ixpft.6t6fJiaroi 'AXfitoi fcorafjio (v) kv stfnjyp xaredrr;da,
' Dio, Ivi,, 18. Tacitus mentions a fort of Drusus on the Taunus (Ann»t i.« 56), a casteilum on the Lippe (f^., ii., 7) ; pontes Ufngi (id,, i., 63) ; fffssa Drusiana {id., ii., 3), for the ara C/diorum, sec Tac, Ann,, i., 57.
* Dio, Ivi., 18 J^^. On the vexed question of the scene of Vams's defeat, see Mommsen, ^. Oert&chkeit d. Varussehlachi (Berlin, 1885); 1^., R. (7., v., 43. Hofer, Die Varussehlachi (Leipzig, 1888). It was near Paderbom in MQnster.
* Tac, Ann,, i., 11 : '* addiderat connUum coercendi intra termines imperii.
•• »»
463 Outlines of Roman History. iBook v
In the north, however, as in the east, Augustus fol- lowed the policy of centralising the administration. Throughout nearly the whole of his reign the com- mand of the Rhineland was united with the governor- generalship of the " three Gauls,"* and for a time at least the Danubian provinces were similarly united under one authority/
The military reforms of Augustus are inseparable from his frontier policy. At the close of the repub- lican period the Roman army was at once
The army. *^ ,. . * 1 it
a source of political danger to the home government and an intolerable burden upon the provincials. In theory, it was still a militia called out year by year for the defence of the state; in fact, it had become a standing army, and the result was complete confusion. The old regulations, under which every Roman citizen took his turn of service in the legion, and when the campaign was over returned home to resume his ordinary business, had become obsolete. Large numbers never served at all, nor for those who did was any definite period of service fixed. When discharged the veteran had no legal claim to pension or reward ; his sole hope lay in the ability of his leader to procure from senate and people by political agitation a grant of money or land, in return for which he was expected to sup- port by his vote, or even by his sword, his leader's political schemes. Nor was this army subject to any single control ; it was, in fact, not so much an
1 The command was held by Agrippa, Tiberins, and Drustts in turn. Marquardt, Staatsverw^ i., 116.
' Under Agrippa in 13 B.C. (Dio, liv., 28) ; Tiberius in6 A.p.<Dio, lv„ 20).
Ch. 31 Foundation of the Prtnctpate. 463
army as a group of armies raised^ led, and maintained by independent and often hostile generals ; faithful to these rather than to the state, but faithful even to them only while booty was plentiful. In the in- tervals of active service the soldiers lived at free quarters in the provinces at the expense of the pro- vincials. During the stormy period of the civil wars the total number of troops arrayed under the ban- ners of rival leaders increased rapidly, and at the close of that period there were no less than fifty legions on foot.* Augustus's first act was to re- ..^ . _.
^ The lagiont.
duce this unwieldy force by one half, the discharged soldiers being either granted lands or sent home with a gratuity in money.* The remainder, consisting of about twenty-five legions,* he organised as a permanent, regular force for the defence of the empire. The supreme command was vested in him- self. Only by his orders could fresh levies be raised.* Each recruit took an oath of allegiance to Caesar, according to a form drawn up by Augustus himself ; * from Augustus he received his pay while serving with the eagles, his formal discharge when his time
* Mommsen, Ad Mon, Anc,^ p. 7.
*Afon, Anc, Lat^ i., 17-19. The number discharged he gives at more than 300,000, but these figures possibly include those disbanded after Philippi, and again after the defeat of Sextus Pompeius in 36 B.C. Ib,^ Aj/., iii., 17, states that in 29 B.C. about 120,000 discharged soldiers in his colonies received gratuities.
' Tac, Ann,, iv., 5, about 150,000 men. «
*Dio, liii., 17 ; Dig,, xlviii., 4, 3.
* Dio, Ivii., 3. Suet., Aug,, ^\ ** ad ceriam sHpendwrum, pra^ miorumque farmulam adstrinxit, definiiispro gradu cujusque ei tem* paribus militia, ei iommodis missianum, ne aut aiate aui inopia post missionem, solhcitari ad res novas, possent,**
464 Outlines of Roman History. [Book Y
was up, and his reward in land or money. The con- ditions of service, moreover, were fixed. The old liability to military service resting on all Roman citizens was not abolished, nor could any one but a Roman citizen serve in the legions. But it was only rarely that a forced levy was necessary.* The estab- lishment of peace diminished both the demand for fresh troops and the losses by war ; the spread of the Roman franchise enlarged the area from which recruits could be drawn, and the fresh drafts required to keep the legions effective were, as a rule, obtained by voluntary enlistment. The term of service in the ranks was fixed at sixteen years, and four years' more were spent in the reserve.* After twenty years' service the legionary could claim his discharge and a gratuity — the money for the latter being provided out of a " military chest ** created by Augustus in 6 A.D. and fed by special taxes.*
The legion now became in theory, as well as in practice, a standing corps, as is shown by the fact that of the twenty-five legions on foot at the acces- sion of Tiberius, eighteen were still in existence in
^ E.g»t after the defeat of Varus in 9 a.d. Tac., Atm,^ i., 31. Cf., id., iv., 4 ; xiii., 7.
* This term was probably fixed when the " pension chest " was created in 6 A.D. Afon, Anc, Lat,, iii., 38, gives twenty years' service as the minimum period entitling to a gratuity, and this regula- tion was upheld by Tiberius. Tac, Ann,, i., 78.
• " Sud vexillis" Tac, Ann,, i., 17 ; ib,, i., 36 : ** missianem dart vicena sHpendia meriiis, exauctorari qui sena dena fecissetU, ac retimre sub vexillo, ceterorum immunes, nisi propulsandi hosies**
^ The ' ' arariutn tniUtare " established 6 A. D. M^n, Anc, Lot, , iii. , 36 ; Suet., Aug,, 49. It was fed by the legacy duty and the *' cente- sima rerum venalium," Dio, Iv., 25 ; Tac, Ann., i., 78 ; ii., 4a.
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate. 465
the third century ; * it bore a distinctive number and name, and was commanded by Its own legionary legate.' Naturally, too, the characteristic features of the ancient civic militia disappeared. The old principle, according to which the people chose the men who were to " go before them '* to battle,* was finally abandoned.* The Roman of senatorial or knightly dignity no longer entered the ranks, and the common soldiers only rarely rose to the rank of officer.'
The legions, under the system introduced by Augustus, formed the first line of the imperial army. Behind them stood the auxiliary forces, the "allies," as they continued to be auxiliaries* called, in memory of the days when the Italian contingents had fought side by side with the legions of Rome. Auxiliary troops drawn from the provinces, or from vassal states, or even from warlike frontier tribes, had been largely used in the latter days of the republic, and still more during the civil wars. But from Augustus dates their institution as a regular supplement to the legions.* They were
* Dio, Iv., 23 ; Plitzner, GeschichU d, rSm, KaiserUgianen (Leip- zig, 1 881). Marquardt, Staatsverw,^ ii., ^30 sqq,
* The ** Ugatus Ugitmis** was a senator, and usually, though not always, of praetorian rank ; Tac, Hist.^ i., 48 I Ann,^ ii., 36.
* 1\it praior r-z 6TpoiT7fyoi,
^ A proportion of the " tribuni militum " had been elected by the people, and these ** tribuni militum a populo ** occur on inscriptions of the Augustan period. It is doubtful, however, if they really served ; Mommsen, StcuUsr,^ ii., 543.
* The two forms of service were distinguished as *' militia equesiris " and '* militia caligata"
* Marquardt, Stcuitsverw.^ ii., 448 sqq,
30
466 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
drawn from the more warlike provinces, and the martial spirit of Gauls, Spaniards, and Galatians was thus afforded an outlet, which compensated them for the dull days of peace, which had come with Roman rule, and at the s^me time bound them by the tie of military loyalty to Rome and to Csesar. These auxiliary cohorts and squadrons bore the name of the tribe or district from which, at least in the early days of the empire, they were recruited, and retained in some cases their native equipments and mode of fighting/ But while their national or tribal pride was thus gratified, long service with the legions, usually under Roman officers, far away from their native land, helped to make them soldiers of Rome, while when his twenty-five years of service were over, the auxiliary received, on his discharge, the full citizenship of Rome for himself and his descendants/ The distribution of this force clearly indicated the chief purpose which it served. Italy and the peace-
ful provinces in the heart of the empire ?f ?hea?my° saw little or nothing of the force which
protected them, and gradually ceased even to contribute soldiers to its ranks. At the end of Augustus's reign * twelve legions guarded the north- ern frontier, four were stationed in Syria, and four more garrisoned Egypt and the African provinces. There were, besides, three in Spain and two in Dalmatia.
" lb,, /. <-., 454 ; Tac, Ann,, ii., i6 ; xiii., 37. * Marquardt, /. r., 525 ; and the numerous inscriptions giving the order of disdiarge granted to auxiliaries. •Tac,, Ann,, iv., 5.
Ch. 3] Foundation of the Principate. 467
Augustus had used the powers entrusted to him well. He had reformed the administration _
The question
both in the provinces and at home; he had ©ftnc
^ successioo.
at least marked out the frontiers of the em- pire, and organised an iniperial army for their defence. Within these bounds the '* Roman peace " was se- curely established, and the echoes of distant border wars scarcely reached the ears of the quiet populations of the central provinces. But his powers, though con- tinued to him during his life, by successive renewals,* would expire with his death, and it was urgently necessary to provide beforehand that there should be some one able and ready to fill his place. He could not transmit his authority by any act of his own, nor on his death would the senate and people be legally obliged to grant such powers to any one at all. What he could do, was to make clear to every one who it was that he wished should succeed him, and to give him opportunities of gaining the necessary experience and prestige. This object Augustus kept steadily in view almost from the commencement of his principate, in spite of disap- pointments which might have daunted a weaker man.' The trusted friends of his early days, Mae- cenas and Agrippa, were too old for his purpose, though both were valuable colleagues, and though Agrippa for fifteen years was his partner in the gov- ernment of the empire, vested with the imperium and with the tribunician power.* He had no sons
•
' Dio, liii., 16; yournal of Philology t xvii., 27.
' Tac, Ann,^ i., 3,
• From 28-12 B.C,; Dio, liv., 12 : ccWa re k^ C^ov nij iavrta
468 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
of his own, and it was on his nephew Marcellus,' the son of his sister Octavia, that his choice first ^ . ,, - fell. But in 23 RC. Marcellus died, at the
age of nineteen, to the grief of the Roman people, by whom, for his own and his mother's sake, he was sincerely loved.". Augustus's thoughts seemed to have turned next to his two step-sons,
Tiberius and Drusus. On the death of
743A.U.C. A . / V t t
Agrippa (12 B.C.) both were promoted to
high commands in lilyricum and in Germany.* But
Drusus died in o B.c, and though three
745 A.U.C. 1 .^ 1 .
years later Tiberius was invested with the
tribunician power (6 B.C.) and entrusted with a mis-
sion to Armenia,* Augustus's special
favour was bestowed on the two young
sons born to Agrippa by his own daughter Julia,
whom he had adopted in 17 B.C.* In
spite of the fact that Julia had, after
Agrippa's death, been married to Tiberius, the latter
found himself thrown into the shade by the two young
Caisars.* It was, however, only for a time. Lucius
nal rify Hovdiav rifv dtfjLtapxtwfv (jS B.C.). At the Ssecular Games in the next year, the prayers and sacrifices were offered by Augustus and Agrippa, as the recently discovered record of the festi- val tells us. For the legal nature of the colleagueship, see Momm- sen, Staatsr,, ii., 1040 sqq. ' His father, C. Claudius Marcellus, was consul in 50 B.C.
* Dio, liii., 30 ; Plin., N. /^., xix., 6 ; Propertius, iii., 18, 15 ; Serv. ttd jEn,f vi.. 862 ; Veil, ii., 93 ; Tac, Ann,^ i., 3.
* Dio, liv., 31, 32. V * Dio, iv., 9.
* Dio, liv., 18 ; Tac, Ann,^ i., 3.
•Suet., Tib,^ 10; Afon, Anc, Z., iii., 1-6; Tac, Ann., i., 3; *'prina^s juventuHs appeUari, destinari €onsules,'* Cf. Wilmanns, 883.
Ch.3] Foundation of the Principaie. 469
Caesar died at Massilia in 2 A.D., and in the next year his elder brother, Gaius, who had been consul in I A.D., died on his way home from Armenia, the death of both being hastened, it was said, by the arts of Tiberius*s ambitious mother, Livia.* In the year following (4 A.D.), Tiberius was adopted by Augustus as his son, and reinvested with the im- perium and the tribunician power." Ten years later (13 A.D.) he was formerly authorised to ^g-^uc take the census, and to administer the provinces in conjunction with Augustus.'
On August 19, 14 A.D., the anniversary of his election to his first consulship, Augustus \y^9x\i of died at Nola, at the age of 75/ During Augustus. forty-one years hehad successfully played the difficult part of ruling without appearing to rule, of being at once the autocratic master of the civilised world, and the first citizen of a free commonwealth. He had gained the afifections of the provincials and of the Italian people, he had pleased the Roman plebs^ and he had done his best to conciliate the nobility. He left behind him an adopted son, of whose fitness to fill his place there could be little doubt, a trained administrator, a tried soldier, and by birth as noble as any Caesar. It was with good reason that he asked for the applause of his audience as he left the stage.* His ashes were deposited in the Mausoleum
* Tac, Ann, i., 3 ; Dio, Iv., 12. ' Dio, Iv., 13.
' Dio, Iv., 28 ; Mon, Anc, Z., ii., 9; Veil, ii., 21 : " ut aquum ei Jus in omnibus provinciis exercitibusque esset" Suet., 7V^., 21.
* Tac, Ann, i. 9 ; Suet., Aug,^ 100 ; Dio, Ivi,, 30.
^ Suet., Aug,, 99 : '* ecquid videretur mimum vita commode trans- egisse^^ et sqq.
470 Outlines of Raman History. [Book v
which he had erected at Rome,* and near which stood the bronze tablets/ on which were recorded by his orders, " his acts and all that he did, how he brought the world under the rule of Rome, and the moneys which he spent upon the commonwealth and the Roman people." Of this unique epitaph a copy is still extant, the famous *' Ancyran Monument." '
* Suet., Aug,^ lOO: ''*' inter Flaminiam vianiy rtpamque Tiberis" ' Suet., Aug,^ loi : ** qua ante Mausoleum siatuerentur"
* So called from Ancyra in Galatia, where it was found. The best edition (with commentary) is that by Mommsen, Berlin, 1883. The extant copy is headed, '* Rerum gestarum divi Augusti^ qmbus orbem terra\runi\ imperio populi Rom, subjecit et impensarum guas in rem- publicam populumque Ro[ma]num fecit^ incisarum in duabus aheneis pilis^ qua su\n\t Roma posita, exemplar S9$b[j\ectumj'*
CHAPTER IV.
THE JULIO-CLAUDIAN UNE. I4 A.D.-^ A.D.
For more than half a century after the death of Augustus, his place was filled by emperors who, either by blood or adoption, claimed kin- ship with himself and with Julius, and all Emperort! of whom at least professed to rule accord- ing to the " maxims of Augustus."* The first and by far the ablest, Tiberius, was over fifty at the time of his accession.' He is described as tall and noble-looking, with great physical strength and an iron constitution.* He was highly cultivated, and both on his father's and his mother's side he came of a distinguished line of ancestors.* In addition, he had shown himself a brave and skilful commander; he had ruled great provinces.
* Suet., Nero^ 10: ** ex AugusH prascripto"
* He was bom in 4a B.C. and was therefore fifty-six years old. Suet.. Tib., 5 ; Dio, Ivii., 2, 14.
« Suet., Tib,, 68.
^ His father was Tiberius Claudius Nero ; his mother Livia came of one of the noblest of the plebeian families. Among her ancestors were the consul of 207 B.C., M. Livius Salinator, the conqueror of Has- drubal, and M. Livius Drusus, the tribune of 91 B.C. Before his adoption by Augustus he was styled * * Tiberius Claudius Ti, fil Nero, ** afterwards Tiberius Caesar, finally ** Tiberius Ccesar divi Aug. /• AugustusJ**
471
472 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
and was thoroughly well-versed in the business of administration both at home and abroad. Yfet few rulers have ever been more unpopular in their life- time, or more violently denounced when dead. Of his unpopularity there seems no doubt, and it is not difficult to explain. Its causes are to be found partly in his personal temperament, partly in the circumstances of his position. Unfortunately for himself, he inherited to the full the hereditary pride, which had made the great Claudian house proverbi- ally unpopular with nobles and commons alike.' Towards those who stood nearest to him, towards his mother Livia, his brother Drusus, and his first wife Agrippina," he was capable of intense and en- during affection ; but towards the rest of the world he showed himself cold, reserved, and taciturn, with something more than a tinge of cynical melancholy.' These traits in his character had been developed and confirmed by the dangers, sorrows, and disappoint- ments which clouded the first forty-six years of his life. The hardships of his childhood,* the forced separation from Agrippina,* his ill-starred marriage
' Tac, Ann,^ i** 4 : *' maturutn annis, speciaium heUo^ sed vetere atque insita Claudia familits super bia"
* Suet., Tib.^ vii., 8 ; Tac, Ann.^ v., 3 : ** inveteratum erga matrem obsequium"
^ Our chief ancient authorities for Tiberius*s character and policy are Tacitus, Suetonius, and Dio ; for modern literature see Schiller, Gesch, d, Kaiserzni^ i.; Furneaux, Annals of Tacitus ^ vol. i., Introd. ; Freytag. Tacitus u. Tiberius (Berlin, 1870). Tarver, Tiberius the Tyrant (London, 1902). Pelham, Quarterly Review^ April, IQ05.
* Suet., 7V^., 6 : ** infantiam laboriosam et exercitam" owing to the exile of his parents after the Perusine war.
•Suet, Tib., 7.
Ch.4j The JulichClaudian Line, 473
■
with Julia, the death of his brother Drusus, and the gloomy years of seclusion from 6 B.C. to 2 A.D., when he saw himself thrust aside in favour of the two young Caesars, had all left their marks upon him.*
It is easy to understand how irksome such a man must have found the difficult and delicate part, which tried the patience even of so accomplished and versatile an actor as Augustus. For the serious business of government he had both a liking and a rare capacity, but to govern, under the condition of respecting fictions, in which no one believed, of pampering the tastes of a populace whom he despised, and of conciliating a nobility whom he disliked and suspected, was a task which was for him " a wretched and oppressive slavery," * and for which he was, of all men, the most unfitted. The plebs of Rome resented his contemptuous indifference to their pleasures, his parsimony in the matter of g^mes,' and, though far less deeply, the withdrawal from them of the right to play at electing the magistrates of the year.* The nobles both feared and disliked the dour and stern Caesar, whose exclusiveness offended, and whose somewhat cynical courtesies frightened them. Nor outside Rome, in Italy and the provinces, though respected as a just and vigorous ruler, did he win, or even care to win, popularity. Augustus was personally
* Suet., T%b,y la ; Dio, Iv., g.
* Suet., 24 : '* miser am ft onerosam servitutemj**
'Suet., 34; Tac, Ann.^ i,^ ^^\^^ civile rebatur (Aug.) misceri voluptatibus volgi^ aUa Tiberio morum via**
* Tac, Ann,^ i., 15.
474 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
known in every province ; Tiberius's longest journey was to Capri.* His severe economy was an unwel- come contrast to the splendid liberality of Augustus. He exhibited no ganles ; he gave but few largesses, and he was no munificent builder of temples, aque- ducts, and bridges.'
The situation, too, was difficult: Tiberius did not enjoy the unbounded personal prestige which strengthened Augustus's hands in 27 B.C. The anomalous character of the princeps' position, which had been forgotten during the long reign of his predecessor, became evident the moment that it had to be created afresh for his successor,' and even his claim to fill it might not impossibly be disputed by this or that wealthy noble,* or even by his nephew and adopted son Germanicus.' The mutinies in Pannonia and on the Rhine (14 A.D.), and the con- spiracy of Libo Drusus (16 a.d.) indicated the quar- ters whence dangers threatened him as it threatened not a few emperors after him. The latter event, specially deepened, if it did not first arouse, that suspicious mistrust of the old nobility, the irrecon- cilable foes of Julius, the secret rivals occasionally even of Augustus, which ultimately drove him into a violent onslaught upon them.' Yet even Tacitus
* Suet., 38., 39.
' lb,, 46 : **pecutiia parens actenaxe " ; 47 : *' nt^ce opera uUa magnificia fecit ; neque spectacula omnino edidit** id,, 48.
* Tac, Ann,f i., 12 ; Suet., 34.
^ Augustus had indicated three possible rivals. Tac, Ann,^
i., 13.
* Tac, Ann,, i., 7.
' Tac, Ann,, ii., 27 ; Suet., 27 : ** lupum auribus teneo.**
Ch. 41 The yuliO'Claudian Line. 475
can praise his conduct of the government during the first nine years of his reign.* From that period on- wards everything conspired to intensify the defects in his character. The deaths of his own son Drusus, his destined successor (23 A.D.), and of his mother and constant counsellor, Livia,* seemed to leave him alone among open or secret enemies. His court was distracted by palace intrigues and feuds,' and even his closest adviser, the ambitious and unscrupulous Sejanus, proved faithless and unworthy. For the remaining six years of his life, the lonely old man, soured and disappointed, lived unattended, except by dependents in the island of Capri.
Such was one side of the picture, and it is the one which the genius of Tacitus has fixed in the memory of posterity. He drew his materials, for the most part, from writers bitterly hostile to Tiberius, who exaggerated his faults, misinterpreted his motives, and recklessly adopted any story, however baseless, which agreed with their view of his character.* They belonged, as a rule, to the senatorial order, or to the literary and philosophic circles with whom republi- canism was the fashion, or, like the younger Agrip-
* Tac, Ann,^ iv., 6, 7.
' /^., v., X. Livia died in 29 A.D.
* These family feuds had begun earlier. Tac., Ann,y ii., 43 . '* divisa namque et discors aula erai^ iacitis in Drusum aut Germani' cum studtis,** cf, ib, iv., 1 7, 40. The women played a prominent part, Livia on one side, and the two Agrippinas, Germanicas*s wife and daughter, on the other.
^ Tac, Ann,^ iv., ti : as to the story that Tiberius poisoned his son Drusus, " tuque quisquam scriptor tarn insensus exsHHt ut TUerio ob* jectatet^ cum omnia aha conquirereni^ intinderenique**
476 Outlines of Roman History, tBook V
pina, had personal and family wrongs to avehge/ and they painted Tiberius as nothing but a treacher- ous and cruel tryant. The version of his conduct, which they had set in circulation, Tacitus accepted, not, it is true, without doubts and reservations, but with far too ready a faith, and devoted himself rather to heightening its effects by all the devices of rhet- oric, than to weighing .the evidence on which it rested. It must be remembered, also, that it was in Rome, and in his relations with Roman society, that Tiberius was seen at his worst. Yet beyond these narrow limits, neither Tacitus nor his authorities cared to cast more than a passing glance. They judged of the emperor and of the imperial govern- ment from this point of view. Of the manner in which the empire was ruled, of the condition of the provinces, they tell us little, and probably did not care to know much. But a critical study even of their narrative, and still more of the comparatively impartial evidence supplied by provincial writers, and by inscriptions, enables us to form a more correct judgment. Tiberius was not a lovable man ; he was morose and suspicious, and suspicion, as it increased its hold upon him, made him in his later years a terror to all who could be suspected of treason. He was hated in Rome, and not without cause. Yet there is no doubt that he was a capable and vigorous ruler, and that the empire fared well under his care. He enforced justice in the government of the pro- vinces ; he maintained the integrity of the frontiers
' Tacitus refers by. name to the ''Commentaries of the Yottnger Agrippina/' as an authority. Ann,^ iv., 53.
Ch,4l The yulio-Claudian Line. 477
and the discipline of the legions ; he husbanded the finances, and left a full treasury behind him. In the details of administration, and on questions of social and economic reform, he displayed judgment and common-sense. Utterly unlike as he wa& to Augus- tus, yet, as the ruler of a great empire, he justified the latter's choice of a successor, and his deliberate opinion that the virtues of his adopted son out- weighed his vices.*
A very different verdict must be passed on the three remaining emperors of the Julian line. All three were immeasurably inferior in capacity and force of character, and only one, the Emperor Claudius,has any claims to serious considera- tion as a statesman. Tiberius died in March, 37 A.D., and a few days later' Gaius Caesar was saluted as imperator, and invested with the prerogatives once given to Augustus.* The new princeps was ac- cepted with enthusiasm. He was young*; he was the son of Germanicus, the grandson of Drusus, and, through his mother Agrippina, the g^eat grandson of Augustus himself; a relationship on which he laid especial stress.* The legions in particular wel- comed the son of their favourite general, who had himself been brought up in their midst.* At first, too, Gaius's own conduct served to justify the gen-
' Suet., 21.
* On March i8. Acta Fratr, Arv,^ cd. Henzen, p. 63,
* Dio, lix. 3 ; Suet., Gaius^ 13.
^ He was in his twenty-fifth year, having been bom in 12 A. D.
* He frequently mentions it on coins, to the exclusion of other re- lationships. Cohen, M^d,, i., p. 237.
* Suet., Gaius ^ 9 ; hence his cognomen " Caligula,"
4 78 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
eral hope of a return to the liberal and genial govern- ment of Augustus. The senate was gfratified by his declared intention of respecting its prerogatives ajid those of the magistrates/ though it probably laughed in secret at his idea of restoring to the people the elective duties which Tiberius had taken from them.' Equally popular were his remissions of taxation, his release of political prisoners, his removal of the ban placed on the writings of Cremutius Cordus, and, above all, the revival of the public largesses and games. But Gaius had sat but a few months in the seat of Augustus before the difference between the '' young Augustus " as he was called, and his great namesake became clear to every one. Even Tiberius was regretted, for Tiberius, stem and gloomy though he was, had at least ruled,' while Gaius was the slave of all who pandered to his pleasures, and neither in his good nor his bad actions knew any other guide than his own wild caprices and uncontrolled passions. If he posed at first as a liberal and popular ruler it was from a desire to insult the memory of Tiberius and glorify himself, rather than from any serious con- siderations of policy. But this mood soon passed, and his conduct during the rest of his brief reign was that of a madman intoxicated with a delirious sense of omnipotence, and with no other aim in the use of his power than the gratification of the fancy of the moment. He wasted the savings accumulated by Tiberius in countless excesses, and when they were
> Dio, lix. 3 ; Saet., Gauis^ zv., x6. * Dio, lix., 9 ; Suet., /. r., x6. ' Dio, lix.,
Ch.4l The yuli(hClaudian Line. 479
gone he plundered the rich,* and alike in Italy and in Gaul men were hurried to execution, whose only crime was their wealth. While claiming divine hon- ours for himself, he heaped insults on the senate and magistrates, and preferred the society of glooms and jockeys. Abroad, the contrast with the firm rule of Tiberius was shown by his mock invasions of Germany and Britain,* by his reckless liberality to worthless native princes at the expense of the dignity and safety of the empire, and by the insult wantonly offered to the religious feelings of the Jews. That Rome tolerated him so long proves the helplessness of the community before the master of the praetorian guards ; that he inflicted no more lasting injury on the empire was due partly to the stability which the administrative system had acquired under Augustus and Tiberius, partly to the small share of attention he cared to give to the affairs of the government. On January 14, 41 A.D., this parody of a reign was ended by the assassination of Gaius in one of the passages of the vast palace which he had built for himself on the Palatine.'
Tiberius Claudius Caesar,^ the son of Drusus and the brother of Germanicus, ^IJJaId'. was fifty years old at the time of his
' Dio, lix., xo.
' Dio, lix., 21, 59; Saet., xliii. 44; Tac, Germanicus, ^ 37: **%ngenUs C Casaris mina in ludibrium versa,**
« Suet., Gaius, 58 ; C. I, Z, i., p. 385.
^ For the reign of Claudius see besides Merivale and Schiller, Gesch, d, Kaiserweit^ i., 314 sqq, ; Lehmann, Claudius v, ihre Zeii (Gotha, 1858).
480 Outlines 0/ Roman History. [Book v
nephew's murder.' That he should ever wear the imperial purple had been considered by every one both improbable and undesirable. From his boy- hood upwards his sluggishness, his ungainly figure, awkward manners, and indistinct utterance, had made him an object of contempt and ridicule.* Even his mother declared that '' nature had begun but never finished him.*' His grandmother Livia heartily despised him, and Augustus despaired of ever mak- ing him a presentable figure in the eyes of the Ro- man public' Throughout the reign of his uncle Tiberius he lived in seclusion. He was known to be a student, with a love of curious learning, but with an equally strong love for low society and coarse pleasures, a combination of tastes in which, as in other points, he curiously resembled our own King James I. On the accession of his nephew Gaius he was made consul, to the amusement and surprise of Rome ; but his consulship over, he relapsed into his former position. His constitutional timidity and indolence, and his boorish habits, made him the butt of the court, while even his life was not always safe from his nephew's wild outbreaks of fury against everybody and everything around him. When, after the murder of Gaius, he was dragged from his hiding-place in the palace, and carried to the praetorian camp,* neither he himself nor the senate, whidi was
' Suet., Claud, t 2. He was bom at Lugdunum on Aug. i, 10 B.C., the day on which the altar to Rome and Augustus was dedicated. * Suet., Claud, ^ iii., 7. • Suet., /. c,
^ Suet., 10 ; Dio, Ix., i. The discovery of the only surviving Csesar is commemorated by the coins, bearing the legend, **impe9* \aiore\ recept[p'\" Cohen, i., p. 254.
Ch. 41 The yulio-Claudian Line. 48 1
already discussing the restoration of the republic/ nor the passers-by, who imagined that he was being hurried to execution/ thought of him as a successor to Augustus. But the populace and the guards demanded " a single ruler ** " ; the senate gave way ; and after two days of painful suspense, Claudius was formally invested with the customary honours and powers of the principate.
Of his merits as a ruler during the thirteen years of his reign, it is not easy to form a clear opinion. On the one hand, our authorities are never weary of representing him as a dull, undignified, pedantic, and timid man, ruled by women and freedmen,' and addicted to coarse pleasures. Yet even the ancient historians recognise that he was something more than this, and the record of what was achieved by him or in his name confirms the impression. No doubt the mixture of good sense and folly, which Suetonius notices,^ is as apparent in him as in James I. His blind belief in unworthy favourites frequently misled him ; his pedantic antiquarianism, and fussiness, were constantly exciting ridicule, and occasionally marred the effect of his most statesman- like acts ; it must be allowed, too, that his nervous timidity was apt to make him suspicious and cruel. Yet when all is said and done, the fact remains that
' Saet., Gains ^ 60 ; Claud, ^ 10: ** asserturi commutum lihertatem** Dio, Ix., I.
• Suet., /. f . : ** unum rectorem exposcente,**
• Dio, Ix., 2 ; kSovkoHparifStf re cifia xocC iyvYOcixoxparrjBrf, So the writer (? Seneca) of the skit on Claudius's apotheosis, describing his reception by the gods, *' putares amnes illius esse Hbertos^ adf ilium nemo curadai."
• Suet., Claud,, 15.
31
482 Outlines of Roman History. [Bookv
the rule of Claudius left a deep and abiding mark on the history of the empire. To his reign belongs the annexation of Mauretania, of South Britain, of Thrace, and Judaea/ The Romanisation of the fron- tier lands along the Rhine and Danube received its first powerful impulse from him/ by the foundation of Cologne (Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis) on the Rhine, and the gift of Roman rights to several towns in Noricum. The chiefsof the Gaulish clan of the JEAwi were admitted to senatorial dignity, and, 'if Seneca may be trusted, Claudius was as lavish of the Roman franchise as Augustus had been sparing.' In Rome and Italy his name was commemorated by solid and useful works, which contrasted equally with the par- simony of Tiberius and the senseless extravagance of Gaius, the two great aqueducts. Aqua Claudia and Anio Novus, the harbour at Ostia, the draining of the Fucine lake, and the continuation along the Adriatic coast of the Via Valeria/ It was under Claudius, too, that a most important advance was made in the exten- sion and organisation of that imperial administrative machinery, which Hadrian was to develop still further.* The quaestor at Ostia was replaced by a procurator of Caesar,* an imperial procurator of "the public waters** appears for the first time,' and, more significant still,
* See below, p. 502 sqq,
* Plin., N, ff»f iii., 146. The construction o£ the Via Claudia Augusta over the Brenner Pass, ** a flumine Pado adfluvium Danu- vium" Wilm., 818, was an important part of the work.
* Tac, Ann.^ xi., 23; Class. Review, 1895, p. 441.
^ Suet., 20 : ** opera magna^ potiusque necessaria quant muUa per'- fecit" Dio, Ix., 11 ; /. R, N., 6256.
* Hirschfeld, C/ntersucA,, 286 sqq,
' Suet., Claud, ^ 24. ^ Frontinus, De Aquced,^ 116, xi8.
Ch. 41 The yulio-Claudian Line. 483
these private servants of Csesar w6re now first invested with a jurisdiction which elevated them to the rank of public officials.* With Claudius also commenced the transformation of Caesar's household servants into min- isters of state. The power and influence wielded by his three famous freedmen. Narcissus, his secretary, Pallas, the comptroller of accounts, and Polybius, his director of studies,' were an offence and a scandal in the eyes of Roman society ; but the way was thus prepared for the establishment of a central imperial ministry in Rome, in which, before long even Roman knights were eager to fill a place. If we add to these achievements his reforms in the civil law, his assidu- ity in the administration of justice,' and the numerous proofs which exist of the attention he paid to the details of administration,* we must acknowledge that many greater and better men have been worse rulers, and that in spite of Seneca's sarcasms, it was not without reason that Claudius alone, of the Csesars between Augustus and Vespasian, received the honour of deification, or that the Gaulish noble and Roman senator Vindex coupled his name with that of Augustus as deserving of allegiance sCnd honour.*
* Suet., Claud,, 12.
' Suet., Claud,, 28 : for the offices of the freedmen **fl^ epistulis** aud ** a ratumibusy* see Hirschfeld, Untersuch,, 31 sqq, ; Liebe- nam, Laufbahn d, Procuratoren (Jena, 1886), 50 sqq, ; Fried- lander, Sittengesch,, i., 160 sqq,
' Suet., Claud, y 14.
* In the improved arrangement for the com supply, Suet,, Claud,^ 18 ; the establishment of fire brigades at Ostiaand Puteoli, ibid,, 25 • and generally Schiller, i., 329 sqq,
* Dio, Ixiii., 32.
484 Outlines of Roman History. [Book V
■ -*
With Claudius's successor, Nero, the " family of the Caesars '* ended. He was the son of Germanicus's
strong-willed daughter Agrippina, and of Jj5sB*A.D. Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus. He was thus
descended, through his mother, from Augustus himself, and through his father from Augustus's sister Octavia,* a pedigree which, added to the respect felt for the memory of his grandfather Germanicus, stood him in good stead with the Roman public. His accession, on the death of Claudius in 54 A.D., was, indeed, mainly due to the indomitable and unscrupulous perseverance of his mother, who, after the fall of Messalina, had gradu- ally acquired so complete an ascendency over Claudius, that, in spite of their relationship, he mar- ried her.' Before Claudius died Nero was already looked upon as his successor, to the exclusion of Claudius's own son Britannicus; and on the an- nouncement of his death he was at once, and with- out opposition, saluted as emperor." Nero ruled for fifteen years, and his reign, with its brilliant opening and tragic close, its fantastic revels and frightful disasters, left a deep impression on the imagination of men. The insolent splendours, the savage cruelty, the disgraceful vices of Nero, stood out in lurid con- trast with the soberer, quieter times that followed.
mm
In pagan literature he became a type of vftfit^, which
' Agrippina*s mother, the elder Agrippina, was the daughter of Julia. Cn. Domitius's mother was Antonia, daughter of Octavia. Suet, Ndro^ 5,
• Tac, Ann,^ xii., 5, 6.
•ZJiV., xii., 69; Suet., /Zero, 8; the date was October, 13,54 A.D. Comp. Acta />. Arv., p. 63 ; for the principate of Nero, see Schiller, GfuA, d, Kaiser%tit^ i. ; Henderson, Nero (Methuen, zgos).
Ch.41 The yulio-Claudian Line. 485
justly provokes the anger of the gods ; to the Chris- tians he was a persecutor, drunk with the blood of the saints, the very incarnation of the power of evil. Yet, in spite of all, the name of the last of the race of Augustus was always invested with something of romantic history, not unmingled with regret. His memory was long cherished by the Roman populace, as that of an open-handed patron, and in Greece the recollections of his magnificence, his liberality, and his enthusiasm for art, were still fresh when Pau- sanias visited the country/ Into the details of Nero's rule it is not necessary to enter. The first five years, before " the wild beast had tasted blood," and while his course was guided by the philosopher Seneca and his trusted ally Afranius Burrus, prefect of the praetorian guard, were prosperous and un- eventful.' But from 59 onwards there was a rapid change for the worse. The murder of his mother Agrippina (59 A.D.) was followed by the death of Burrus (62 A.D.) and the retirement of Seneca, and their place was taken by Tigellinus and Poppaea, to make room for whom Nero's innocent wife Octavia was sacrificed. The forebodings of evil, excited by the earthquake at Pompeii, and the reverses which befell the Roman legions in Armenia, were confirmed by the great fire which broke out in September, 64 A.D., and which was universally regarded as a proof of the displeasure of the gods. Nor was the belief that the reckless Caesar was doomed, or the discon- tent with his rule weakened by the spectacle of the
» Suet., Nero, 57.
* Both were by origin provincials, Seneca being a Spaniard, and Burrus a native of Vaison (Vasio), in Narbonese Gaul. C./.Z., xii., 5842, gives his previous career, as procurator to Li via, Tiberius, and Claudius.
486 Outlines of Roman History. tBook V
famous " golden house," which he built for himself, and to defray the cost of which both Italy and the provinces were ruthlessly pillaged. In 65 the failure of Piso*s conspiracy directed the fierce fury of the emperor against the nobles, while a pestilence deci- mated the populace of Rome. But the end was not far off. The anxiety to be rid of an emperor who disgraced the name of Augustus had spread from Rome to the provinces. In the midst of a triumphal progress through Greece, which scandalised Rome and the West almost as much as his vices and crimes, Nero was startled by rumours of disaffection in the western provinces. He reached Italy (March 68 A.D.) only to learn first that Gaul, Spain, Africa, and the legions on the Rhine were in revolt against him, and then that Galba was marching upon Rome. Deserted by every one, by senate, people, and even the praetorian guards, he sought shelter in the villa of his freedman Phaon, outside the city. There he heard of the proclamation of Galba as emperor, and of the sentence of death passed upon himself, and there, on June 9, 68 A.D., he anticipated the ven- geance of his enemies by suicide.
If we turn from the Caesars themselves to the con- dition of the empire, we notice how comparatively . slight was the effect produced even by
Condition of ** ^ ^
the emmre. the wild exccsscs of Gaius or Nero. On
i4r68A.D.
the whole, there was a stability, a tran- quillity and even a prosperity, which contrasts curiously with the atmosphere of intrigue, blood- shed, and profligacy which surrounded the persons of the emperors themselves. The explanation is, no
Ch.4] The yuli(hClaudzan Line. 487
doubt, to be found in the fact that the provinces were on the one hand scarcely affected by the vices and crimes of the individual emperors, and were, on the other, keenly sensible that the only alternative to Caesarism was anarchy, and that a bad Caesar was better than none at all.
Outwardly, the concordat established by Augus- tus, between the old republican constitution and the authority of Caesar, had been maintained under his successors; and Nero himself government! had openly accepted its fundamental prin- ciple, that Caesar was only a citizen charged with particular departments of administration, and bound as such to recognise the independent authority of his coUes^ues, the regular magistrates/ But the unreality of this partition of power was not to be concealed by such professions of respect for the " maxims of Augustus " ; ' and the tendency to make the temporary, exceptional, and limited authority givea to Augustus, permanent, regular, and abso- lute, was irresistible. Augustus's powers had been granted to him for a certain '^*'oFc«m?. number of years, and the grant was periodically renewed. But his successors received their powers for life. Strictly speaking, there was no necessity that any successor to Augustus should be selected, or that when selected he should receive
' Tat., Ann,, xiii., 4: '' teneret antiqtta munia senatus^ consulum tribunalibus Italia et publica provincia adsisUreni . » , se man- datis exercitibus consui/urum."
' Suet, JVero, 10: ** ex AugusH prascripto se imperaturum pro-
488 Outlines of Raman History. [Book v
the same prerogatives. Except, however, for a brief interval after the death of Gaius, and again after the fall of Nero, the first question was not even raised, and from the accession of Gains onwards, a cus- tomary list of powers and privileges was voted en bloc and with little change to each Caesar.* More- over, the " principate ** granted to Augustus in recog- nition of his great services, was not only in process of being converted into a permanent institution with recognised prerogatives; it seemed also in a fair way to become a hereditary office, and the house of the Caesars was fast assuming the position of a ruling house, with exclusive claims to sovereigjnty. It may be said, indeed, that the principate was never so near becoming a legitimate monarchy, as on the eve of the catastrophe which overthrew Nero.
If it ceased to be possible to treat the principate as a temporary and exceptional addition to the con- ^^^ stitution, which might be dispensed with
Sbm's*" **^ or retained at the discretion of senate and power. people, it was even more difficult to keep
up the fiction that a clear line could be drawn between the authority of the princeps and that of the regular magistrates. The department originally assigned to Augustus had, during his long rule, been so widened and extended as to reduce all others to insignificance, and under his successors during this period, it continued to grow, though at a less rapid rate. Abroad the number of Caesar's provinces had, by 68* A. D., risen to twenty-five. . On the south he
* Dio, lix., 3 ; Pelham, Journ, of Phil, ^ xvii., 45, where the sig- nificance of the fragment usually entitled **£^';ri/^tm/m^ Vespasiani** is discussed.
Ch. 41 The yulio-Claudian Line, 489
was master of Egypt, Numidia, and Mauretania ; in the West, two thirds of Spain, three fourths of Gaul and South Britain were subject to him. Along the northern frontier his authority stretched in an un- broken line from the German Ocean to the Euxine, while in the East it covered the eastern half of the peninsula of Asia Minor, Syria, and Judaea. Within the limits of Italy the defence of the coasts, the maintenance of the public roads, and the man- agement of the public lands were in his hands. In Rome itself he was responsible for the corn supply, for the water supply, and for the police. It is easy to realise that an authority, recognised as supreme over so vast an area, must have been virtually supreme everywhere.
Under the shadow of Csesar no independent au- thority could flourish. The assemblies of the Roman people ox plebs lost even the little reality they retained under Augustus. After the «a.embiyl change made by Tiberius,* they ceased even in form to elect the annual magistrates from the prsetorship downwards, and in the case of the con- sulship, they merely accepted the candidates nomi- nated by Caesar.* Assemblies, it is true, were still held to confer his authority upon each new emperor, but otherwise they ceased, with one or two excep-
' Tac.,i4ffff., i., 15: ^^tumprimumecampocomitaadpairestrttnS'' lata sunt" ; Mommsen, Staaisr,, ii., 860, iii., 347. According to Velleius Patercttlus (ii., 134), the change had been planned by Augustus.
' Pliny in the Panegyric, clearly implies that the consuls were stiL elected with the old formalities in the Campus Martius.
490 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
tionsy to exercise their ancient prerogative of leg- islation.' It was still the fashion to speak of the
consulship as the "supreme power,*" but Jonsuiship. Tiberius could truly say that ** something
greater and higher was expected of the princeps^ The consuls still gave their name to the year: from the jurisdiction of the consuls sitting with the senate, there was no appeal to Caesar,* and the consulship was still a coveted prize. Yet when Caligula made his hofse a consul, he only ex^ pressed, in a coarse and exaggerated form, the actually dependent position of the ancient chief magistracy of state. The consuls were avowedly Caesar's nomi- nees ;* they held office at the most for six months,* and their exclusive dignity was impaired by the growing frequency with which the emperors be- stowed the consular rank and insignia upon favour- ites of their own. . As presidents of the senate, they ventured but rarely to introduce business without Caesar's previous knowledge and approval, and even the criminal jurisdiction which they enjoyed jointly with the senate became more and more depen- dent on Caesar's sufferance. The relations which
^ Instances of legislation by the comiHa occur nnder Tiberias and Claudius. Tac, y^ifif., iv., i6 ; xi., 13; Z>»]^., xl.^ i, 24. A**Ux agraria ** of Nerva is also mentioned, Dio, Ixviii., 2.
• Suet., Calig,^ 26: *•* fuitque per triduum sine summa poUslaU respublica^\; Tac, Ann,, iv., 19 ; Plin., Paneg,^ 59* .
• Tac, Ann,f iii., 53. ^ /?(f.t xlix., 2.
• Seneca, De /ra, iii,, 31 ; Plin., Paneg.^ 77 " ^sum [jr. Casttrern\ qui cofisules facit,**
• Suet., Nero^ 15.
Ch.4] The yulichClaudtan LifU. 491
existed between the emperors of this ^^
^ The senate.
period and the senate, afford equally clear proof of the unreality of the compromise effected by Augustus. Tiberius, during the greater part of his reign, showed an unmistakable desire to make the senate of real use in the work of government. Not only did he habitually bring before the senate matters of importance within his own department, consulting it even on questions so entirely within his own pirerogative, such as the grievances of the soldiers, or negotiations with foreign powers; but he encouraged it to deal independently with those mat- ters which nominally belonged to its own province^ with the administration of the " public provinces," or with the condition of Italy.* But the task was a thankless one. From a body at once so sensitive on the score of its dignity, so suspicious of the emperor's intentions, and so conscious of its own powerlessness, no effective assistance could be expected. The senate accepted. Caesar's proposals submissively, and when left to act by itself, it either did nothing, or, as Tiberius complained, " cast all its cares upon him."' During the glodmy years which followed his retire- ment to Capri, it merely awaited in trembling anxiety the despatches which announced the em* peror's pleasure. Under Tiberius's successors things were much the same. Before the wild outbursts of Gaius or Nero it cowered in terror.' In quieter times, its nervous readiness to do what Caesar pro<
» S^et., Tib,, 30.
• Tac, Ann., iii., 35.
' Suet., Gaius, 26; Dio, lix., 94*
49 2 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
posed, was only equalled by its reluctance to do anything else! But powerless as the magistrates and senate were, by comparison with Caesar, it was not yet possible for the latter frankly to treat them as subordinates, or to ignore them. And the reason
lay not so much in the prestige, which Mbieue. ^^^ attached to these ancient institutions,
as in their close connection with the old nobility, with whom, and not with the senate as such, the early Caesars lived at feud/ The old noblesse were the natural enemies of the new rigime^ which had raised the Julii and Claudii so far above the rest of their order ; they resented their dimin- ished importance, and while afraid openly to oppose Caesar, they no less disliked obeying him. Nor could the more powerful and ambitious among them forget that legally the position of princeps was as open to them as to any Julius or Claudius; while in his turn the emperor looked upon each of them as possible if not actual rivals.* Even the rule of Au- gustus himself was not borne always with acquies* cence; under his successors there was a standing quarrel. While the nobles intrigued and conspired, Caesar replied by a stringent law of treason, and by the hateful system of informers. It was a feud which harassed and hampered in turn Tiberius, Gaius, Claudius, and Nero, and which has left an in- effaceable mark on the records of their reigns. The task of the emperors, from Vespasian onwards, was
> G. Boissier, VO^siium sous Us Cisars (Paris, 1875). Fried- Under, Sittengesch.^ i., 185 sqq, • Tac, Ann,^ i., 13.
Ch.4] The yuluhClaudian Line. 493
as much facilitated by the virtual extinction of this noblesse, as that of our Tudor sovereigns, by the decimation of the English nobility in the Wars of the Roses. The senatorial nobility of their day was easily satisfied by a show of courtesy, while readily accepting a purely subordinate place.
The undeniable fact that even during this peiiod Caesar was master, gradually **tendendel! but inevitably told upon his position and upon his government. The former approached more and more nearly to that of a sovereign, the latter needed, and to some extent secured, a regular and recognised organisation. Augustus had en- deavoured to enforce by example and precept the view that he was only a citizen among citizens,* and Tiberius set his face against the extravagant homage offered to him.' But the tendency to place Caesar, and even Caesar's house, on a higher level than that of private citizens, and to surround him with many of the outward accessories of royalty, was too strong to be resisted. It is true that no emperor but Gaius claimed to be a god, and that the grosser kinds of Caesar-worship were discouraged both by the em- perors themselves and by the republican traditions of Roman society. Yet, apart from the fact that to the provincials and to the half-servile plebs of Rome and Italy the omnipotent Caesar was already more than human, Caesar-worship in its official and recog- nised forms was gradually elevating Caesar to a position very near that of the gods of the state.
' Suet., Afig., 53, 56. • ZJ., Tib., xxxvi., 27.
494 Outlines of Roman History. LBook v
The deification of Julius and Augustus cast some- thing of a special glory over their descendants, while the public and widespread worship of the genius or numen of Augustus consecrated the rule, if not the person, of Caesar throughout the empire. The emperors from Tiberius to Nero were at least the sons and grandsons of gods, and ruled by something like a divine right. These emperors, moreover, were all, in one way or another, of the race of Augustus, and the house of the Caesars thus acquired the prestige of a royal house. In direct violation of
republican usage, and even of the theory ofcaesa?!***" ^^ ^^^ principatc, the incipient royalty
of Caesar was shared by the members of his family. They were associated with him in the public prayers.' The males of his house were decorated at an early age, and in rapid succession with public offices and honours,* while even more significant was the public recognition given to the wives, daughters, and sisters. Their heads appear on the coins," they bear the title Augusta,* a guard of honour attended them, and in one or two cases they were deified after death.* A similar promotion awaited the ''household of Caesar'': it acquired a privileged position and a public character. The
' This was so in the provinces even under Augustus. Wihn., Exempla^ 104. From the time of Vespasian onwards the ** Domus Casaris " appears in the Acts of the Arval College.
• Mommsen, Staatsr,^ ii., 772 sqq,
' E» g,, in the cases of Livia, of Gaius's sisters, of Agrippina after her marriage with Claudius. ^ It was given to Livia, Agrippina, Poppsea.
* Livia and Poppsea. See Mommsen, /. c*
Ch. 4] The yuluhClaudian Line, 495
circle of Caesar's friends' rapidly developed into a court. Even under Tiberius the cohors amicorufn* was a recognised institution. ""JixIeM?.* Under Claudius the cura amicorum was a special office.' Admission to Csesar's friendship was a formal act ; expulsion from it was equivalent to a sentence of exile.* The " friends " themselves were ranged in classes, with varying privileges and emoluments, and in particular with rights of admis- sion to Caesar's presence, as nicely regulated as in the court of Louis XIV.* In the magnificent palaces with which Gaius and Nero replaced the simple resi- dence which had satisfied Augustus all the signs of royal state were visible — the crowds of courtiers, the elaborate court ceremonial, the household troops, who guarded the doors and lined the ante-chambers. It would be a mistake to ascribe these changes merely to the vanity of Gaius or Nero, or to the servility of those about them. There were reasons of policy also. The increased outward splendour of Caesar's position was even more useful than the increased stringency of the law of treason in checking the am- bition of aspiring nobles, and confirming the allegi- ance of the public. Nor was it less desirable that the Roman Caesar should be able to challenge com- parison in these respects with his great rival the King of Kings beyond the Euphrates.
* For the *' amici Casaris'* see FriedlSnder, SitUngesch,, i., ii8 tqq, Mommsen, Hermes ^ iv., 120 ; Diet. Antiq, s. v. Princeps,
' Valerias Maximus (ix., 15) speaks of the *' Cohors Atigusta** » Orelli, 158S.
* Tac, Ann,, vi., 9 ; id.. Hi., 12, 24 ; Suet., Tid., 56.
* Plin., N. If., xxxiii., 41 ; Seneca, De Bene/., vi., 34 ; De CUm.^ i., 10; Suet., Tib,, 46.
49^ Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
The transformation of Caesar's personal servants into officials of state was even more than the trans- formation of his personal friends into cieSa?' courtiers a political necessity.' The more
important of the offices in Caesar's service, such as the prefecture of the com supply, the pre- fecture of Egypt, the provincial procuratorships, inevitably ranked from the first as virtually public posts, and were filled almost invariably by Roman knights. But, before the time of Vitellius, the do- mestics offices in his household and about his person were filled, as in private households, by freedmen and slaves.* The influence wielded by the imperial freedmen, especially under Claudius and Nero, was naturally a sore point with the Roman aristocracy.' It was bad enough that a low-bom prefect of the praetorian guard should be a greater man than the consuls and praetors,^ but the wealth and power of a Pallas or a Polybius were a worse scandal still. The truth, however, is that neither the weakness of Claudius, nor Nero's dislike of affairs, nor even their own ability, had so much to do with the prominence of these freedmen, as the vast importance of the out- wardly humble posts they held. A great part of the
' For what follows see Friedlender, Sittengesch,^ i., 63 ; Hirchsfeld, Uniertuchungen^ passim,
'Tac, Hisi,^ I., 58: ** mimsteria pHnHpaius a H^eriis nf^ soUta,**
'Tacitus, Ann,, iv., 7, says of Tiberias, ** modesta servitia, pauci Hberti,** Cf, Claudis, ^wm., 12-60 : ** liber tos quos rei familiari praf- ecerat, sibique et legibus adaquaverit,** Cf» ib,, xiv., 39 (Nero).
^A newly-discovered inscription (C /. L., xii., 5842), gives the career of Afranius Burrus, Nero's praetorian prefect and minister. He was procurator to Livia, and then to Tiberius and Claudius.
Ch. 41 The yulio-Claudian Line. 497
business, which a modern sovereign transacts through his ministers, was performed for the early Cissars by their freedmen. Through the hands of the freed- man, ab epistulis^ passed the official correspondence from Rome, Italy, and the provinces, while the freedman, a rationibus^ had the management of the vast revenues which accrued to Caesar from all parts of the empire.* It was inevitable that posts of such importance should in time cease to be merely do- mestic household offices, and that the finance of two thirds of the empire could not long be treated as if it were a matter only of Caesar's private property. Vitellius first took the important step of filling these posts with Roman knights, but before his time, Claudius had done something to place the financial department at least on a better footing. There is good reason for ascribing to him the formation in Rome, and under the care of the freedman, a ration-^ ibus of a central imperial treasury (fiscus)^ to which Caesar's revenue officers (procuratores) throughout the empire had to render accounts.' It was Claudius also who first gave something of a magisterial charac- ter to these agents of his by investing them with jurisdiction in fiscal cases,^ who largely increased their numbers, and even rewarded some among them with the consular insignia.*
1 Hirschfeld, Untersuch,, 30 and X92 sqq,; Liebenam, Laufbahn der Procuraioren (Jena, 1888).
* With these may be ranked t^e freedman, a libelHs^ throngh whose hands passed all petitions addressed to Caesar.
' Mommsen, Staatsr.^ ii., 933 ; Hirschfeld, /. f., 30; Liebenam /. r., 141.
* Tac., Ann,^ xii„ 60. » Suet., Claud,, 24.
3a
498 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
It has been already said that the history of the empire at large shows but few traces of the bad ef- fects which the vice or weakness of some th °empi?e!' ^^ ^^s rulers might have been expected to produce. The frontiers of the empire re- mained, for the most part, as Augustus had left them. The expeditions of Germanicus * beyond frontiers. thc Rhine in volvcd a temporary departure
The Rhine. ^'^^"^ ^^^ policy adopted after the defeat of Varus (9 A.D.), but the departure was due rather to the exigencies of the moment, than to any change of view on the part of Tiberius. Over and above the desirability of gratifying the martial ardour of Germanicus, and of finding occu- pation for the mutinous legions, the recovery of the standards lost by Varus, and the infliction of a severe blow upon the growing power of Arminius, were of importance alike for the prestige of the new emperor, and for the safety of the frontier. These objects Germanicus accomplished, and was then re- called by Tiberius( 16 A.D.). Thenceforward the Rhine was definitely accepted as the military frontier. Rome did not, indeed, abandon all claim to suzerainty beyond the river. The Frisii, in particular, were treated as a subject tribe, liable to taxation and con- scription, and their occasional attempts to shake off the Roman yoke* were sternly repressed. Nor was
' Tac., Ann,^ Bks. i. and ii. ; Mommsen, R, (7., v., 45 sqq. ; Knoke, KriegstUge der Germanicus (Berlin, 1887). There were three cam- paigns in 14, 15, and 16 a.d.
' Under Tiberius, 28 A.D. (Tac, Ann,^ iv., 72); under Claudius, 47 A.D. (Ann, , xi. , 19) ; they were pacified by Corbulo, who gave them
Ch.4) The yulio-Claudian Line. 499
it until the reign of Claudius, that the scattered military stations beyond the Rhine were abandoned/ But from 17 a.d. down to the time of Vespasian, the frontier line of defence ran along the left bank of the great river ; nor was any important change made in the arrangements adopted for its defence. The army of the Rhine was divided into two corps, the armies of Lower and of Upper Germany,* as they were sometimes boastfully styled, each consisting of four legions, and of an uncertain number of auxiliary cavalry, and infantry. The headquarters of the former were at Vetera," those of the latter at Mogon- tiacum (Mainz). Each army was commanded by a legate, and with the command of the troops the legates united the administrative control of the frontier districts, the so-called provinces of Lower and Upper Germany ; although for revenue purposes, these districts were included in the province of Gallia Belgica. The defence of the frontier was further strengthened by a military road, which ran along the left bank of the Rhine, and connected the military stations with each other; a flotilla of galleys was maintained on the river itself, and along the right bank a strip of territory was cleared of its inhabi-
senatum, magistratuSy leges ^ and apparently confined them to a certain reserved territory.
* Tac, Ann.y xi., 19.
* Mommsen, R, (?., v., 106 ; Hirschfeld, in Comm, Philol, in hon- or em Th, Mommsen, 433; Tac., Ann., i., 31 ; ''duo apud ripam Rhewi exercitus**\ ib,, iv., 73: •• legaius inferioris Germania propra- tori.^ Wilm., 867 : ** legatus exereitus Germanki fuperioris,"
' X^nten, below Cologne.
500 Outlines of Raman History. [Book v
tants, and probably of the forests, which might have sheltered a hostile tribe/
The state of things on the Danube was somewhat
different. At the accession of Tiberius, it already
marked the extreme northward limit of
The DAnube.
Roman suzerainty, and among the tribes beyond it none were, like the Frisii, vassals of Rome. But it was not yet the military frontier, and even in 69 A.D. no system of frontier defence such, as existed on the Rhine, had been organised, mainly, no doubt, because the Roman government, during this period, was more concerned with the pacification of the tribes on their own side of the river, than with the prevention of incursions from beyond it.* It is true that by the annexation of Thrace, Claudius comple- ted the chain of frontier provinces from the German Ocean to the Euxine, and it is possible that the two legions which formed the garrison of Mcesia, had their camps on the Danube.' But along the upper part of the river seems to have been the only military station before the time of Vespasian. In Noricum there were no legions, and the legions in Pannonia were stationed, not on the Danube, but along the lines of the Drave and the Save.^ The defence of the
* Tac, Ann,f xiii., 54 : ** agros vacucs et miliium usui sipositos." The limiiem a Tiberio coeptum of Ann,, i., 50, may have marked the farther boundary of this cleared land.
' According to Tacitus, Ann,, iv., 5, besides the two legions in Moesia, there were two in Pannonia and two in Dalmatia.
' At Viminacium and Singidunum.
^ The legions were at the time of the mutiny in Pannonia (14 A.D.) stationed on the line of the Save and the Drave. Poetovio (Pettau)
Ch.4] The yulio-Claudian Line. 501
Danube was the work of the Flavian and Antonine emperors.
On the eastern side of the empire, the difRculty of maintaining Roman ascendency in the debatable land of Armenia increased rather than diminished, and at the commencement of Nero's reign it Eastern reached an acute stage. The occupation of frontier. Armenia by the Parthian king, Vologseses, provoked a war/ in which, as had so often happened before Armenia was recovered only to be lost again. In 66 A.D., a compromise was efifected by which the crown of Armenia was given, not to a prince sent out from Rome, but to Tiridates, a brother of the Parthian king, who, however, came to Rome and there, in the Forum, was formally invested with his authority by the Rom- an emperor, Nero. This compromise was followed by the annexation of the three native states of Pontus, Cappadocia, and Commagene," and the consequent extension of Roman territory, and Roman adminis- tration up to the frontiers of Armenia.
was the headquarters of the 13th legion in 69 A.D., Tac, Hist^ iii., i; Mommsen, R, (7., v., 186.
^ On the campaigns of Corbolo, see Tac, Ann , xiii., 7 sqq^ ; Fumeaux, Annals^ ii., 107 , Mommsen, R, G, ^ v., 380; Henderson, Nero^ Chap. 5,
^ Cappadocia was annexed in 17 A. d. ; Tac., Ann,^ ii., 42. Comma- gene was annexed in 17 a. D. (Tac, Ann,^ ii., 56), but' was given back to Antiochus IV. It finally became part of the province of Syria in 72 A.D. (Vespasian); Marquardt, Staaisverw,^ i., 240. Pontus (Polemoniacus) was annexed in 63 A.D. by Nero, and incorporate^ with Galatia and afterwards with Cappadocia ; Suet., Nero^ 18 ; Marquardt, /.^.
502 Outlines of Roman History. idook V
On the southern frontier two changes of import- southern ance was made during this period. In frontier. ^^ ^ j^^ ^j^^ coHimand of the troops
and of the frontier districts was taken from the proconsul of Africa and intrusted to an imperial legate.' Under Claudius the native kingdom of Mauretania was annexed and divided into two Roman provinces,* under the rule of procurators. These changes rendered possible the organisation of a system of military occupation and frontier defence, for the entire strip of territory lying between the sea and the desert, and extending from the lesser Syrtis to the Straits of Gibraltar, a step, the neces- sity for which had been amply proved by the insurrection headed by Tacfarinas, in the reign of Tiberius.
To the same emperor, Claudius, whose annexation Annexation ^^ Thrace and of Mauretania completed of Briuin. ^jjg Roman occupation of the frontier ter- ritories lying along the Danube in the north, and the African deserts in the south, belongs also the credit of the one important advance made during this period beyond the bounds of the empire, as fixed by Augustus. For nearly a hundred years after the expedition of Caesar no further attempt was made to conquer Britain, and we can only guess at the rea- sons which led Claudius in 43 A.D. to send a well-
> Tac, HisUy iv., 48; Cagnat, VArm/e Romaine d^Afriqtu^ (Paris, 1892), 23 sqq.; Marquardt, /. f., 308 ; Mommsen, R, C, v., 626. Numidia, however, was not formally recognised as a separate province until the close of the second century a.d.
• In 41 A.D. Die, Cass.^ Ix., 9 ; Plin., N, H,^ v., 11.
ch.4] The yulto-Claudian Line. 503
equipped force of four legions across the Channel* There are, however, one or two considerations which make this sudden intervention intelligible. During the period of what Tacitus calls " a long f orgetful- ness," • Southern Britain was evidently regarded by the Roman government as within its sphere of influence, and between it and Rome there was a somewhat close political and commercial connection. The British chiefs in the southern parts of the island were the allies and friends of the Roman people. They sent embassies to do homage to Augustus in 27 B.C. They visited Rome and dedicated offerings in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. When worsted in feuds with their neighbours, they sought the pro- tection of Caesar.* They had even begun to imitate the Roman emperors in the style and in the legends of their coins. The importance of the trade between Rome and Britain, towards the close of the reign of Augustus, is attested by Strabo, who tells us that the duties levied on goods crossing the Channel to and from Britain were a considerable source of reve- nue to the Imperial government. The existence of this political and commercial connection would naturally render the condition of affairs in South Britain a matter of direct interest to the Roman
» Dio, Ix., 19 sqq, ; Suet., Claud,^ 17 ; Tac, Ann,^ xii., 31 sqq, ; Agric, 13 ; Mommsen, R, G,, v., 157 ; Fumeaux, Annals, ii., 126. Of the four legions despatched in 43 A.D., two— -the li. Augusta and the XX. Valeria Victrix — remained in Britain throughout the Roman occupation.
•Tac, Agric, ^ 13.
» Dio, liii. 22 ; Strabo, iv. 5 ; Mon. Ancyr. Lot., vi, 2.
504 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v
government, and very shortly after the accession of Claudius a political crisis occurred which must inevitably have arrested the attention of Roman statesmen. The dominant power in South Britain was that of Cunobeline, chief of the Catuvellauni, who had made himself master of nearly all South- Eastern Britain, and who is styled by Suetonius, King of the Britons.* Cunobeline had been the ally of Rome, and his strong rule was no doubt regarded as a guarantee for peace and order in Southern Britain. His death, which must have taken place in the first or second year of Claudius's reign, seems to have been immediately followed by a war of succession amongst his sons, the ablest of whom, moreover, Caractacus, was probably already known to entertain feelings hostile to Rome. The situation was one which, as threatening the disturb- ance of peace, the disorganisation of Roman tra.de, and loss of property, and probably life, to Roman citizens, may well have seemed to the Roman gov- ernment to call for armed intervention. The expe- dition, which in 43 A.D. crossed the Channel under the command of Aulus Plautius, evidently had for its object the annexation by Rome of Cunobeline's dominions, and its success was assured by the cap- ture of Cunobeline's capital, Camulodunum (Col- chester)— an achievement in which Claudius himself took part. The remaining years of Plautius's com- mand (44-47 A.D.) seem to have been devoted to the settlement of South-Eastern Britain; but a
*Suet., CaHg,^ 44; Dio, Ix,, i^sqq,j Evans, Coins of the Ancient BritonSy pp. 284 sqq.
Ch.4] The yulichClaudian Line. 505
Roman force under Vespasian,' after establishing Roman authority in the western portion of Cuno- beline's kingdom, and capturing the Isle of Wight, penetrated further west ; and there are reasons for thinking that before the end of Plautius's command Roman arms had penetrared as far as the hot springs of Bath and the lead-works on the Mendip Hills.' Aulus Plautius was succeeded in his command by Ostorius Scapula, who was legate in Britain from the latter part of 47 A.D. down to his death in 52 A.D. His first achievement would seem to have .been the pacification of the midland districts lying, to the north of the already conquered regions of South Britain, an undertaking rendered necessary by the constant raids made by the midland tribes upon the allies of Rome."
His proposed disarmament and subjugation of these districts awakened the hostility of the power- ful tribes to the east, north, and west, but the threatened disturbances were in two out of three cases easily averted. Neither the Iceni on the east, nor the Brigantes on the north, made any determined attempt to interfere with the Roman advance. Os- torius was thus left free to deal with the Silures on the west, an irreconcilable foe whose raids were a
' Suet., Vesp , 4 ; Tac., Agric,^ 13, 14.
• C /. Z., vii., 1201.
* Ann*, xii., 31, '' effusis in agrum sociorum hostibus." It is only by supposing that the midlands were the scene of these operations that we can explain the resentment which they excited among the Brigantes and Iceni. I am inclined to prefer the reading *' cuncta cis Trisantonam et Sabrinam fluvios cohibere parat/* ».^., east of the Severn and south of the Trent.
5o6 Outlines of Raman History. [Book v
— —
continual menace to the Roman peace/ In 50 A.D. he defeated Caractacus, who after the loss of his kingdom in the south-east had placed himself at the head of the western tribes opposed to Rome. Two years of guerilla warfare followed, but in 52 A.D. Ostorius died, worn out, it is said, with fatigue.' The most important result of his operations on the Welsh border was probably the foundation of a legionary camp on the Silurian frontier, which can hardly have been any other than that which re- mained for centuries the headquarters of the second legion, Isca Silurum, the modem Caerleon.* During the six years which followed Ostorius*s death, the Romans seem to have - been mainly busied in strengthening their position on the Welsh border/ It was probably during this period that a second camp was established at Viroconium (Wroxeter), and a military post may have been planted as far north as Deva (Chester). In the east of England, Camulodunum, from which the legion had been moved by Ostorius, became a Roman colony;* Verulam, if Tacitus ' may be trusted, had acquired municipal rights, and London was already a popu- lous centre. It seems also that a Roman road had been carried as far as Lincoln, and a Roman garri-
* Tac., Ann,^ i., 32, **non atrocitate non dementia mntabatnr."
* Tac., Ann,^ i., 39.
' Tac., Ann,^ I.e. For Isca SUuram, see C.LL,^ vii., p. 36.
* Tac., Agrie.f 14 : ** Didius Gallus (52-57 a.d. partes a prioribus continuit, paucis admodum castellis in nlteriora promotis." lb, Ann, , ziv., 29: * 'Veranins (57-58 A.D.) modicis ezcorsibus Silures populatus."
' Tac., Ann,^ zii., 32, andziv., 31.
'** Mttnidpio Venilamio," Ann,^ xiv., 33.
Ch. 41 The yutio-Ctaudian Line. 507
son stationed there. The legateship of Suetonius PauHnus was rendered memorable by the revolt of the Iceni (61 A.D.) under Queen Boadicea. Prasutag^s, king of the Iceni, had voluntarily become the friend and ally of Rome in 43 A.D.» and his adhesion had been of the utmost value. On his death in 61 A.D. his kingdom lapsed to Rome, and his property was left to the Roman emperor jointly with his two daughters.* The Roman officials eagerly seized their opportunity, and proceeded to annex the Icenian ter- ritory as if it had been conquered in war. Their excesses provoked a rising which threatened to sweep the Romans altogether out of Britain. The insur gents pouring into Essex stormed the infant colony at Colchester, and cut to pieces the 9th legion which was hastily marching against them from Lincoln; nor was it until they had sacked Verulam and Lon- don that they were defeated and the revolt crushed by Suetonius Paulinus. That his victory was fol- lowed by the formal annexation of the territory of the Iceni, and the consequent inclusion within the Roman province of Norfolk and Suffolk, may be taken for granted. Otherwise the remaining years of. Nero's reign witnessed no important advance, and in 69 A.D. Chester and Lincoln were still the most northerly posts held by Roman troops.
Within the frontiers the administration of the provinces were conducted, in the main, on the lines laid down by Augustus. Instan- condft^USf ces of misgovernment are mentioned, but **** •"«»*'•• almost without exception, in the " public provinces,"
* Tac, Ann.^ xiv,, 31 sqq.
5o8 Outlines of Roman History. [Book V
and the superiority of Caesar's administration over that of the proconsuls, was shown not only by the transference to him, early in Tiberius's reign, of Achaia and Macedonia,' but by the case of Sardinia, which in 6 A.D. was placed under the care of Au- gustus, and in 67 a.d. was restored to the con- suls and senate in a prosperous condition.' Of discontent in the provinces the traces are few, Tacfarinas, in Africa, was the leader, not so much of an insurrection from within as of a hostile attack from without. The rebellion, headed by Julius Sacrovir, in North-Eastem Gaul," was almost entirely confined to the less civilised tribes near the Rhine frontier, who had to bear the burden of the German wars, to whom the orderly methods of Roman government, the census, and the regular tax- ation were irritating novelties, and who resented still more keenly the omnivorous activity of Roman traders and usurers. Elsewhere, too, the establish- ment of civilised government among a barbarous or half-civilised people produced, naturally enough, friction and disturbance.^ But against these isolated instances, must be set the abundant evidence which exists, of a widespread prosperity. The Natural History of the elder Pliny bears witness to a rapid development of commerce, to the advancing civilisa- tion of the new, and to the revived prosperity of many of the old provinces; above all, to a marked
^ Tac, Ann,,, i., 76.
* Pausanias, vii., 17.
* In 21 A.D., Tac, Ann,y iii,, 34.
* In Cappadocia, Tac, Ann,, vi., 41; among the Frisii, i^., iv,, 71
Ch.4] The Julio'Claudian Line. 509
rise in the general standard of wealth. Spain and Gaul* were fast becoming Roman in language and manners, and beginning to contribute honoured names to the ranks of Latin oratory and literature. From Cordova came the two Senecas, and the poet Lucan. Autun (Augustodunum), and still more Lyons (Lugdunum), were rising into fame as schools of rhetoric. Valerius Asiaticus, a senator of high rank, and a great orator, was a native of Vienne,* while Gaius Julius Vindex/ legate of Gallia Lugdu- nensis in 68 A.D., was an Aquitanian chief.
In the eastern half of the empire, in the "provin- ces beyond the sea," there is nothing corresponding to the rapid advance made by Gaul and Spain. Here, and especially in Asia Minor, the dominant civilisation was not Latin, but Greek, and the exten- sion of Greek civilisation over the central and eastern regions of the peninsula belongs to the second and third centuries rather than to the first. In Asia Minor again the reforming energy of the Caesars had less scope. Throughout great part of this period, there still existed important native states, under native rulers, and even within the limits of Roman territory there were still free towns, within whose bounds the Roman governor had in theory no juris- diction, holy cities governed or misgoverned by priestly dynasts, and half-civilised tribes ruled by their own chieftains. But the East shared with the West the benefits of the Roman peace, and if not progressive, was at least prosperous.
* Moiximsen, R, C7., v., chaps. 8 and 3 ; Jung, D, romamsehen Landschaften^ chaps, i and 3. ' Tac, Ann,^ xi., I,
BOOK VI.
THE ORGANISATION OF CAESAR'S
GOVERNMENT AND THE FIRST
CONFLICTS WITH THE
BARBARIANS.
THE ORGANISATION OF CiCSAR'S
GOVERNMENT AND THE FIRST
CONFLICTS WITH THE
BARBARIANS.
CHAPTER I.
THE FLAVIAN AND ANTONINE CiGSARS 69-I93 A.D.
The fall of Nero, and the extinction of the " pro- geny of the Caesars," * was followed by a war of succession, in which the legions of Spain, the house- hold troops in Rome, the army of the Rhine, and, finally, the army of Syria, in turn awarded the imperial purple to the man of their choice, and in which Italy, after the lapse of a century, became once more the theatre of civil war.
The signal for revolt against Nero was given by C. Julius Vindex, legate of Gallia Lugdunensis (March, 68 A.D.). By descent he was a Gaulish chief of high rank, and this circumstance, coupled with the fact that he relied for support mainly, if not entirely, on Gaulish levies, gives some colour to the view, apparently held at the time, that his real aim was the restoration
» Suet., Galba, i : '* progenies Casarum in Neront deficit*^ 33 513
5 1 4 Outlines of Roman History. [Book vi
of Gallic independence.' But his hastily raised forces were no match for the legions of the army of Upper Germany, who, though indifferent to Nero, were ready enough to crush a Gaulish revolt. Defeated at Besan^on (May, 68 A.D.), he fell by his own hand.
Somewhat better fortune attended on Servius Sul- picius Galba, legate of Hither Spain. In response to an appeal from Vindex he had, after a moment's hesitation, thrown off his allegiance to Nero, without at first himself claiming the succession. But early in April he was saluted ''imperator" by his troops, and in June, on hearing of. Nero's death, he adopted the cognomen '' Caesar.'" His claims to sit in the seat of Augustus were considerable, for not only was he a consular and a patrician, but he was reputed to be a good soldier and an efficient and upright administra- tor; and when he reached Rome in October, it seemed as if these claims were generally recognised not only by the senate but by the army.* On January i, 69, Galba entered as emperor upon his second consul- ship, and on January loth, in view of his advanced age, he provided, as he hoped, for a peaceful succession by adopting as his son L. Calpurnius Piso.^ But there were already two rivals. The nearest at hand and the first to strike was M. Salvius Otho, who, as legate of Lusitania, had joined Galba and accom-
> Mommsen, Hermes ^ xiii., 90 ; Henderson, Nero^ pp. 395, 496.
• Suet, Galba^ 9-1 1 ; Plutarch, Galba, 4-7 ; Dio, Ixiv., 6.
» Tac. Hist,, i., 6-11; ibid., 49: ''omnium consensu capax imperii, nisi imperassety
* C. /. Z., vi., 1268, 2051 ; on adoption he took the name ** Scnr. Sulpicius Galba Caesar." C/. Tac, Hist., i., 18.
Ch.i] Flavian and Antonine Casars. 515
panied him to Rome.* Taking advantage of the dis- content existing among the praetorian cohorts, who looked coldly on a Caesar, not of the old line, nor chosen by themselves, and whose frugality con- trasted disagreeably with Nero*s lavishness, Otho easily secured their support for his own claims. On January 15th he was saluted "imperator," and on the same day both Galba and his adopted son were mur- dered in the Forum.* On January i6th the new em- peror was duly invested by the senate with the customary powers and titles.' Otho was popular with the soldiery and populace of Rome, to whom the comparatively young and dashing noble was infinitely more attractive than Galba could ever have been; and outside Rome his accession was at least acqui- esced in by the Illyrian legions, and by those of Syria and Judaea.* But the armies of Upper and Lower Germany had, even before the adoption of Piso, put forward a candidate of their own. On January 2d the lower army, led by Fabius Valens, legate of the ist legion, had saluted as emperor their newly arrived commander, Aulus Vitellius, and on January 3d the upper army followed their example.* Without delay two strong columns under Valens and Caecina were despatched southward, and when on March 14th Otho left Rome to encounter these formidable opponents the Vitellian forces had already crossed the Alps.
» Tac, Hist., i., 13 ; Suet., Otho, 3 ; Plut., Galb,, 20. « Tac, Hist., i., 27.
• Tac, Hist., i., 47 ; t^« confirmation by the people was given on February 28, Acta Fr. Arv, (ed. Henzen), xcii. and p. 65.
* Tac, Hist., i., 76. » Tac, Hist,, i., 57.
5 T 6 Outlines of Roman History. [Book Vl
A month later, at Bedriacum/ between Cremona and Mantua, Otho*s troops were defeated, and Otho com- mitted suicide. In July Vitellius entered Rome.
But the victory of the German legions and their leader was at once followed by the news that the East had declared for Vespasian. On J uly i st, the day from which he afterwards dated his reign,' the troops in Egypt took the oath of allegiance to him ; and before the end of the month he had been adopted as em- peror not only by the legions in Syria and Judaea, but by those nearer to Italy in Mcesia, Pannonia, and Dalmatia. Early in the autumn the latter, led by Antonius Primus, swept into Italy ; towards the end of October, Cremona, where the Vitellian legions had entrenched themselves, was taken and sacked.* The fleet at Ravenna had already joined the Flavians, and on December 17th the praetorian cohorts, which were on their way northward to arrest the advance of Antonius, declared for Ve'^pasian.* Three days later the Flavian troops entered Rome. Vitellius was seized while attempting to escape and put to death. On December 21, 69 A.D., the senate for the third time within twelve months conferred the name of Augus- tus, the tribupician power, and the other prerogatives, upon a new princeps.*
With the accession of Vespasian, the history of the empire entered upon a new phase. Although the
I For the topographical and other difficulties connected with the battle of Bedriacum, see Mommsen, Hermes^ v., pp. 161 sqq, « Tac. Hist., ii., 79 ; Suet., Vesp., 6. » Tac., Hist,, iii., 26-34. ^ IHd,^ iii., 67. * Tac, Hist,^ i^«i 3 ; I^io, Izri., i.
Ch. 1] The Flavian and^ Antonine Casars. 5 1 7
name and traditions of Augustus were still appealed to, yet in almost every department of government there was a departure from the Augustan policy, and a corresponding change in the aspect and condition of the empire.
The anomalous position of the princeps had not been without inconvenience, even under potitionof Caesars whose relation to Augustus CK«ar.
silenced all questions as to their claims to inherit his powers. But it was found intolerable when, on the extinction of the old line, the principate became in fact, as well as in theory, a prize open to all comers. For the integrity, tranquillity, and good govern- ment of the empire, it was essential that the position and authority of the princeps should be placed on a more regular footing, that the rule of Caesar, which was acknowledged to be indispensable, should be declared legitimate and recognised as permanent.
The necessity of in some way legalising Caesarism,
pressed with especial force upon Vespa-^he emperor, sian himself. He succeeded to power at '**'****■ p*'*^**- a moment when public confidence had been rudely shaken by insurrection and civil war, and his low birth provoked contemptuous comparisons, not only with the Julii and Claudii, but with Galba, Otho, and Vitellius. Galba was after all a patrician ;' Otho came of an old and honourable Etruscan house, and both his father and grandfather had been senators ; even Vitellius was at least the son of a senator, and the grandson of a Roman knight.' But Vespasian
' The Sulpician gens was patrician ; Suet., Galba^ ii., 3. • Suet., Otho^ I ; Vitellius ^ i.
5 1 8 Outlines of Roman History. iBook v I
was not even of equestrian rank. His grandfather, a native of the little Sabine town of Reate, had been a centurion, and then a collector of small debts. His father, after being a collector of customs duties in Asia, ended his life as a money-lender among the Helvetii.' Verginius Rufus, l^ate of Upper Germany, and the conqueror of Vindex, is said to have considered his birth a disqualification for the position of emperor, but compared with Vespasian, Verginius Rufus was noble. Of Vespasian's suc- cessors during this period none were so hopelessly plebeian as he was. Yet with the exception of Nerva, not one belonged by descent to the old governing class, and with the exception of Vespasian's two sons, Titus and Domitian, and of Commodus, none had any dynastic claim to the throne. Trajan and Hadrian were Spaniards, Marcus Aurelius was of Spanish descent, while the family of his predecessor, Antoninus Pius, came from Neniausus (Ntmes) in Transalpine Gaul.
For emperors so circumstanced, nothing was more natural than the endeavour to make of the
Attempt to . . /v . t
ugaiise pnncipate a permanent otnce with a regu- lar law of succession, and inherent prerog- atives. There was, indeed, no open or formal break with the Augustan traditions, but the drift of their policy is unmistakable. Vespasian himself, the shrewd, thrifty, homely Sabine, who made no secret of his birth, and treated with equal contempt the sneers of Roman society and the clumsy compliments of courtly pedigree-makers,* was as conscious of the greatness of his position, and as firmly resolved to
* Suet., Vesp,^ i. • Suet., Vesp.^ 12.
Ch. 1] The Flavian and Antonine Casars, 5 1 9
--— ^^^—M m ■»■■■ MMIM .^1 .» ■■■!■ I ■■■■■■ ■ ■■— W I I ■ - ■ ■■! 1
maintain and transmit it, as any of the Caesars.* From him dates the final transformation ^^^
of the family names of the early Caesars «ttti»turc. into an official titulature, borne by all emperors in turn, and which, as such, not only expressed the continuity of the office, but distinguished the emperor from all private citizens, and placed him on a level with the Parthian " king of kings." Thenceforward^ though additions were made by the vanity of later Caesars, or the servility of their subjects, the " Im- ' perator Caesar Augustus ** could challenge compari- son with the /SatTtXcifS ftaatkioov SlxatoS inKpaviji qnXiXXr^ beyond the Euphrates.* To establish a law of succession was a more difficult ^j,^
matter, and, in fact, no rule of succession •ttcc«M*on. was ever formally laid down. Yet the attempt was made, not without some measure of success, to es- tablish at least the fiction of hereditary descent. Ves- pasian was fortunate in the possession of two grown sons.* Nerva, Trajan, and Hadrian, in default of any natural heirs, had recourse to adoption. Moreover, the son, whether real or adopted, was marked out as the intended heir in a somewhat novel manner. The old family surname ** Caesar " now begaa to be the distinctive title of the heir apparent, and it was con- ferred upon him by a formal and public act.* His head
^ Dio, Ixvi., 10.
* For the style and titles of the Parthian kings, see Gardner, TA^ Parthian Coinage^ London, 1877.
* Vespasian frankly designated Titus as his successor ; Dio, Ixvi., 12 : kfih fikv vioi dtada^erav v ovSeii aXXoi
* In the senate-house, Dio, Ixvi., i ; Ixviii., 4 : kv TQ.dvysdfiiaj Kai6apa ditedet^e (Nerva^Trajan) ; so Antoninus Pius received the name from Hadrian.
5 20 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v i
appeared on the coins, and his name was coupled with that of the emperor in the public prayers.* To the same desire to invest Cxsarism with an hereditary character, we may attribute the prominence given to the recitation, on inscriptions, of an official imperial pedigree, the apparent continuity of which concealed the actual breaks in the line. Just as Vespasian ap- propriated the names which belonged of right to the Julian emperors, so Severus not only adopted the name of Pertinax, but styled himself the son of Marcus Aurelius, and Caracalla was thus able to' represent himself as the lineal descendant of Nerva.* This official pedigree was, moreover, dignified, and the sanction of religion given to the authority of the reigning emperor, by the deification of his predeces- sors. Of the nine emperors of this period, all but two, Domitian and Commodus, were deified, and thus a line of deified ancestors was formed, which linked each new Caesar with the past. The official list of the " Divi," the public worship of the " Divi," and the commemoration of their birthdays, were synibob of the continuity of and legitimacy of Caesarism.'
These attempts to disguise the fact that the au- thority of each Caesar was a purely personal author- ity, which he had not inherited, which he could not transmit, and which expired with him, were power- fully aided by the practical necessities of administra^
^ E,g„,iSL Acta Fr, Arva&um, See generally, Mommsen, Staattr,^ ii., 1044 s^g.
* See Wilmanns, 989, AcUi Fr, Arval, (ed. Henzen), p. 186.
' Acta Fr\ Arv., p. 186, records a sacrifice to the ** Dm/' sixteen in number.
Ch.1] The Flavian and Antonine Casars. 521
-
tion. The maxim that the ** king never dies " was never explicitly laid down by Roman lawyers. But the permanence and continuity of Caesar's authority were assumed as a working hypothesis alike by the officiab who administered, and by the jurists who formulated and interpreted the law. The patronage which the emperors of this period extended to the latter, was amply repaid by the service which they rendered in making Caesarism an integral part of the constitution.
The division of labour established by Augustus between Caesar and the regularly con-
Cswir And
stituted authorities of the state, the mag- the republican istrates and the senate, had been unreal enough in the first century. In the second, even the professed respect for it shown, for example, by Nero on his accession, became superfluous, as the reasons of policy which prompted it, the desire to conciliate republican feeling, and to avoid wounding the pride of the old republican noblesse, ceased to exist. Though in certain circles of Roman society it was still the fashion to affect a Platonic admiration for the republic,' republicanism was extinct as a polit- ical force ; and though the senate could still be offended by discourtesy, or goaded into hostility by persecution,' the applause of the new men, the municipals or provincials who filled the senate house, was easily purchased by a few compliments, while their acquiescence in the supremacy of Caesar was
* An admiration quite compatible, as in the cases of Tacitus and the younger Pliny, with loyal service to Caesar. ' As, for instance, in the latter part of Domitian's reign.
522 Outlines of Raman History. [Book v i
complete and unquestioning. The " dual control " The set up by the Augustan system was always
mftfftotracies. inconsistent with efficient government, and though not formally abolished, was systemati- cally ignored in practice. On the one hand, the re- stricted sphere of administration which, at the close of the first period, had been left to the old magis- tracies, was still further narrowed. The administra- tive and judicial supremacy of consuls and praetors in Rome and Italy was destroyed by the ever-widen- ing authority of Caesar's prefect of the city,* and of the prefect of the praetorian guard. It may be taken for granted that, of the judicial business from Rome and Italy, which formerly came before consuls and praetors, the greater part now went to one or other of these two great officers. A further movement in the same direction is indicated by the appearance under Trajan of imperial commissioners intended to supervise the local government of Italian towns,* and by the creation under Hadrian arid M. Aurelius of the consulars and juridici} By the close of the century such jurisdiction as remained to the consuls and praetors was of a strictly departmental and subordinate kind. Even the criminal jurisdiction of the consuls sitting with the senate, though still
* Under Domitian, the eity prefect already exercised jurisdiction outside Rome. At the beginning of the third century, Ulpian states iJDig,y i., 12) ^^ omnia omnino crimina prafeeiura urHs siH vindicavit . . . extra urbem intra ItaUam,**
* For these curatores see Marquardt, Staatsverw,^ i., 487,
* Marquardt, Staatsverw , i., 72 ; Vit, Hadr,^ 22 : ** quattuar am^ sulares per omnem Italiam judices constituit^* ; Vit, M, Aur,^ 11 : ^* daiis juridicis Italia consuluit,'*
Ch.lJ The Flavian and Antonine Casars. 523
exercised, was exercised more and more rarely, and, as a rule, only at the suggestion, or by the permission of the emperor.* Not less significant as a symptom of the decline of these magistracies was the growing importance attached to the obligation of exhibiting games,* a duty which survived all the more impor- tant functions. The senate suffered scarcely ^^
"* The aenate.
less. Apart from Caesar, it rarely ventured to act, and though most of the emperors of this period attended its meetings when in Rome, laid business before it, and used its degrees as an im strument of legislation, the proceedings, as a rule, consisted only of the imperial speech, and the " ac- clamations*' which invariably followed it.' After Hadrian the senate, even as a channel of legislation, ceased.
In proportion as the importance of the old magis- tracies and of the senate, regarded as ^^-lYi^^^n^xof^^x sar's colleagues in the work of government, •*■*•*■•
declined, their importance as constituting an imperial aristocracy increased. The development of the sena- torial order into an imperial peerage received a power- ful impulse from Vespasian. The precedent set by him of freely admitting to the senate men not qualified by election to the quaestorship was followed by his
^ Instances of the trial of a proconsul before the senate are rare after Trajan. Dio (Ixxi., 28) represents the exercise of this jurisdic- tion as a- concession on the part of Caesar; comp. Vit, Marci^ 10. Under Commodus, a proconsul of Sicily was tried by the prafectus inratorio.
• Tac, Agricy 6.
" Pliny, Epp, vii., 14 ; Mommsen, Staatsr,, iii., 951,
524 Outlines of Roman History. tBook VI
successors.* The number of men thus ennobled di- rectly by Caesar, and the popularity of this short and easy road to senatorial honours, steadily increased. One result was to swamp the element in the senate, which had given the early Cssars most trouble. The old Roman families gradually disappeared, and their place was filled by new men of a different stamp, with different traditions, and often of low birth." Their claims to promotion were various : in some cases wealth and local influence, in others fame as an orator, sophist, or lawyer; in others again, good work done as an official in Caesar's service.* The senatorial dignity became an imperial order of merit open to the whole empire. At the same time its connection with the tenure of the old magistracies and with the senate became looser. It was no longer necessary, either for entrance into the senate or for promotion to a higher grade, to have held a magis- tracy. In many cases a man was (>laced on admis- sion among th^pratorii^ and thus at once qualified for the consulship; and though in this period the highest rank, that of consularis^ was not given, ex-
' For the use of the method of adUcHo^ see Diet Antiq,^ s. v. '* Senatus " ; Mommsen, Staaisr,, ii., 877.
• Vit, M, Aur„ 10: multos ex amieis adlegit**; Vit Pert,^ 6: * * Cammodus adUctiotdbus inn umeris pratorios miseuisset, " Pertinax himself was " Hbertini filius,** and was a procurator in Dacia at the time of his promotion to senatorial rank.
' Instances in point are Herodes Atticus, Fronto, Polemo, and Favorinus. Among those thus promoted, the inscriptions mention municipal magistrates (Wilm., 1151), %.prafecius virgilum (C 7. Z., xii., 3166), a subprafecius vehicuiorum {ib,, xii., X857), a procurator of Lttsitania {ib,, vi., 1359).
Ch. 1] The Flavian and Antanine Casars. 525
cept to those who had been actually consuls, the consulship was now held only for two months, so that there must have been many cansulares whose tenure of office in Rome was limited to this brief period, and who had never been praetors, aediles, quaestors, or tribunes. To such men the rank of con- suldris was of far greater importance than the consulship. There are indications also that the possession of senatorial dignity no longer implied that its holder sat and voted in the curia^ or even resided in Rome. The provincial who had risen almost at a bound to consular rank had few ties with Rome, and probably little liking for the business of the senate-house. He preferred to return home, to air his new dignity among his neighbours, and trans- mit it to his children. Trajan, indeed, enacted that all senators of foreign birth should invest one third of their property in Italian land ; ' but Marcus Aure- lius reduced the portion to one fourth.' In the latter part of this period the senator of consular rank is a distinguished and not infrequent figure in provincial society.' In proportion as the magistracies .and senate tended to become municipal institutions of the city of Rome, the senatorial order became im- perial in extent and distribution, while at the same time it was more closely connected than ever with Caesar.
, > Pliny. Epp„ vi., 19. • Vit. M. Aur„ ii.
* Philostratus (FiV. Sophist) supplies many instances of provincial families of consular rank {yivo% i&icar'LKdy) \ C. /. Z., ii.. 1174 (Spain): *' eonsularis fiUa^ senatoris uxor, soror, mater**; »^., ii., 4129: *"• consularis fiUa**
5 26 Outlines of Roman History. [Book v t
One more change in the machinery of government remains to be noticed, the complete organisation The imperial ^' Caesar's own administrative service, •ervice. Throughout thc first century, but espe- cially under Claudius, this service had steadily grown in numbers and importance, as the business which fell to Caesar increased in amount. It was, however, from the emperors of the second century that it received its elaborate organisation, and its official recognition as a state service, and among these emperors the credit for the work belongs mainly to Hadrian.' Under him, the most important of the household offices were taken out of the hands of freedmen, and intrusted to Roman knights.* These offices thenceforward ranked as *' procuratorships,** and were incorporated with the regular civil service of the empire.* Within this ser- vice a regular system of promotion was established, leading up from the lower to the higher posts.* Its
' See besides Hirschfeld, Untersuchungen, and Liebenam, D. Lauf- lahn d, Procurataren^Schyxxz^ De MuiaHanibus in Imperio Romano ad Hadriano Factis, (Bonn, 1883.)
' Vii, ffadr, , 21 ; *' o^ epistuUs et a libellis primus equiUs Romanes Aaduii/* To these must be added the office ** a ratumibus"
• C. /. Z., ix.. 5440: ^^ proc. Aug, a ratienibus** ; Orelli, Soi : **proc, ab epistuUs ^^^ Comp. Friedlilnder, SitUngesch,^ i., 160 sqq,
^ See the tables of precedence in Liebenam. M. Bassseus Rufus, praetorian prefect under M. Aurelius, was successively procurator of Asturia and Gallaecia, procurator of Noricum, procurator of Belgica and the two Germanies, proc, a ratianibus^ prafecius annona, prefect of Egypt, and praetorian prefect, C, /. Z., vi., 1599. In ibid., 1625, the order is *^ procurator ptomta, procurator xx heredi' tatum, proc, BdgiecSs proc. a rationibus, praf, annona^ P^^f» MgypU:
Lf »»
Ch.1) The Flavian and Antonine CcBsars. 527
sphere of action was enlarged by the final abolition of the old system of farming taxes/ and by committing to the care of imperial officials the main- tenance of the imperial post.' As its field of opera- tions widened, a more minute subdivision of labour and a more complete official apparatus became necessary. The inscriptions of the latter part of the second century indicate an increase in the number, not only of procurator^, but of the subordinate officials attached to them, and of the separate bureaux^ each with its staff of clerks and assistants.' It was no doubt in the department of The Kdmini.
. . ^ •tratlonof
finance that the organisation was most justice, complete, but it is noticeable in all the various departments of government. In the administration of justice, especially, important changes were made. The amount and variety of the judicial business falling to Caesar obliged even the most industrious of emperors to delegate a portion of it to others. Jurisdiction, indeed, continued to form an important part of the emperor's work, not only when he was in Rome, but when on his travels, or residing at one or another of his country houses in Italy. On the other hand, however, the practice of delegating juris- diction to others became more regular and syste- matic. Such a delegated jurisdiction was already
' Dio, Ixix., 16.
• ViU H., T. '' eursum Jisealem instituit" For the officials in charge, the **pra/ecH vehiculorum^^* see Liebenam, p. 50.
• Thus we find a sub-praf, annoncf^ sub-praf, vehiculorum^ an **adjutor ad epistuHs" a **'proxumusa rationibusy See Liebenam's tables. See also Ephemeris Epigraphica^ v., p. 105.
528 Outlines of Roman History. iBook vi
exercised at the beginning of this period in Rome and over great part of Italy, by the imperial prefect
of the city. In the course of the second prietorio. ccntury occurred the curious change by which the prefect of the praetorian guard was trans- formed into a high judicial officer.* At first occa- sionally used by the emperors as their representative, the prefect was, by the beginning of the third century, formally invested with both criminal and civil jurisdiction. He was occasionally in this period, and more regularly in the next, a trained lawyer, and he was assisted by a deputy prefect and by a council of expert advisers.*
The concentration of the supreme judicial author- ity in Caesar's hands as the " fountain of justice " gave
a new importance, not only to the judicial pSncipST officers to whom he delegated jurisdiction,
but to the assessors whom he consulted.' Under the early emperors the practice had prevailed of inviting persons, usually senators, in whom the emperor placed confidence, to assist him with their counsel. It would seem, however, that it was in Hadrian's reign that the '* imperial council " was first put upon a permanent footing. He admitted to it not only his personal friends, but professional law- yers,^ and after his reign the position of *' cansiliarius
' Mommsen, Slaatsr^^ ii., 907, 1205.
* The jurist Papinian was advocatus fisci under M. Anrelius, proCm a HbelHs under Sept. Severus, and ihtnpraf, pratorio,
*Mommsen» Staatsr., ii., 925 ; Hirschfeld, UuUrsuch,, 2x5.
* Vit. Hadr.^ 18. Among the jurists were CeUos and Salvius Jttlianus.
Ch.u The Flavian and Antontne Ccesars. 529
«
AugustV'^ was definite and well recognised. This council, consisting partly of high imperial officials and prominent senators, partly of jurists, rapidly became, in fact, the emperor's privy council. In the fourth and fifth centuries it was known as the " sacred consistory," and both the name and the institution were borrowed by the Popes of Rome from the Roman Caesars.
Such is one aspect of the work accomplished by the succession of able and vigorous men who sat in the seat of Augustus during this period : — the legal- isation of Caesarism as a permanent institution, the practical abolition of the dual control shared by Caesar with the regular magistrates, and the organi- sation under Caesar of an elaborate administrative machinery, controlled exclusively by him, and de- riving its authority from him alone, as the fountain at once of power and of justice. In one important point they failed. While they succeeded in defining and establishing the position of Caesar, they left the question who the Caesar for the time should be, dangerously open, and the omission to fix a law of succession again and again imperilled the unity of the empire in the stormy times of the third century.
To the emperors who thus consolidated the au- thority of Caesar belongs naturally enough the credit of attempting to weld the empire into a single state under his supreme rule, and «<>«» of the
** empirs.
of abandoning the old theory which
' The consiHarii were, at the end of the second century, classified like the procuratores^ according to the rate of their pay, as centenarii (100,000 sesterces), and sexagenarii (60,000 sest.) ; Hirschfeld, /. <*• 34
530 Outlines of Roman History. [Book vi
regarded it as a federation of allied communities under the hegemony of the Roman Commonwealth. Their task was, no doubt, made easier by the gradual disappearance of distinctions of language and man- ners, by the assimilating influence of commercial and social intercourse, and by the extinction of national jealousies and aspirations. But it is equally certain that the tendency of imperial policy was in the same direction. The federal theory of the em-
Bxtentlon . . , -
o'the pire mvolved the maintenance of a clear
franchise. ^
distinction between the dominant Roman community and its alien allies. But the emperors of this period were as liberal as Augustus had been sparing in granting Roman and Latin rights, and in thus gradually assimilating the political status of all the free-born inhabitants of the empire. The en- franchisement by Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, of sev- eral cantons in the " three Gauls,'' was probably due rather to a desire to reward their own adherents, or to gain fresh ones, than to any more statesmanlike motive.* But the liberal policy enunciated by Claudius was consistently followed by Vespasian and his successors. Vespasian, besides admitting provincials to the senate, granted Latin rights to all the non-Roman communities of Spain,* and the in- scriptions record the names of some forty " Flavian towns '* in the Peninsula.* It is probable that Hadrian completed the work by fully enfranchising his native country.* Of similar wholesale grants of the fran«
1 Tac, Hist, i., 8, 51, 78. * See the indices to C. /. Z., ii.
' Pliny., N. ff», ii., 30. * Mommsen, Hermes, xvi., 471.
Ch. 1] The Flavian and Antanine Casars. 53 1
chise, we have no ' more instances until we reach the famous edict of Caracalla at the commencement of the next period. But apart from the sneer which Tacitus allows himself at the freedom with which the franchise was granted in his own time/ the large number of towns which owed their rank as Roman municipia or colonies to the emperors of the second century proves that Vespasian's successors continued his policy. They are to be found chiefly, no doubt, in the frontier provinces of the north, in Pannonia, Mcesia, and Thrace, and in Trajan's own creation, the province of Dacia,' but they occur also in Africa, and in the East.' To these municipia and colonies must be added, if we are to form a just idea of the rapid extension of the Roman citizen-body, the allot- ments of lands in the provinces to veterans/ the new openings for Roman settlers afforded by the inclusion of the agri decumates within the empire,' and by the annexation of Dacia ; finally, the liberality with which the franchise was bestowed on individual provincials must be taken into account.
The communities composing the empire exhibited,
* Tac, Ann.f iii., 40: * Wfw cum idrarum necnisi virtuH pretium"
* In Pannonia, Sisda and Sirmium were created colonies, Novio- dunum and Scarbanti, municipia, by Vespasian. .Pcetovio became a colony under Trajan ; Mursa (col.), Aquincum Vindobona, and Carnuntum (mun.) belong to Hadrian. In Moesia, CEscus and Ratiaria (col.) date from Trajan, Viminacium and Nicopolis (mun.)^ from Hadrian. To Hadrian belongs also Augusta Vindelicorum, in Raetia.
» DUrr, Reisen d, K. Hculrian (Wien, 1881). p. 40, mentions seven municipia incorporated by Hadrian in Africa. ^ E.g.,, in Pannonia, by Trajan. Agrimensores^ i., xai. » Tac„ Germ,^ 29.
532 Outlines of Roman History. [Book vi
I ^^^^
at the close of the first century, great varieties in outward form and in their local institu-
The
municipal tions and laws. These varieties had not disappeared by the end of the second century, but they were to be found, for the most part, only in the remoter or more inaccessible districts ; in almost every province the political unit was a town with a certain area of territory attached to it, and with a municipal constitution. These urban communities, moreover, exhibit a strong tendency to uniformity, both in their internal arrangements and in their relations to the central authority.
In the case of the Roman towns, this uniformity IS unmistakable. In Italy, it is true, many of the older towns retained distinctive features, KSn tow2«. dating from the days of their indepen- dence. Yet these were, as a rule, limited to the titles borne by their magistrates, or to small points of local usage ; in the main, the statement of a writer in the second century that the " distinctive rights of the municipalities have been obliterated " holds good.* In the Roman towns in the provinces, even these superficial variations are rarely traceable. The vast majority had been founded or incorporated by the Caesars, and their constitutions were all framed upon the same lines.' Among the non-Roman towns — the " allied communities " — the case is much the
' Aul., GelL^ xvi., 13.
* These lines were laid down by the Lex yuHa MunieipaHs (45 B.C.). The charters granted by I)omitian to the two Spanish towns of Sal- pensa and Malaga are extant. See C. /. Z., ii., s. v. Mommsen, DH SUuUreckU, Sa^. u, Malaga (Berlin, 1855).
Ch. 11 The Flavian and Antontne Casars, 533
same. The Latin towns, once the most favoured allies, were under the empire not so much allies as Roman towns with inferior rights, and the grant of the " Latin rights " was a stepping-stone to the acquisition of the full franchise ; the Latin town received, on incorporation, a constitution closely similar to that of the Roman colony or muni- cipium, and was subject to Roman laws/
Among the genuinely foreign allied communities, the local differences were no doubt more numerous and more strongly marked. Here and ^^ „^ ^
. . r r^ % The allied
there, among the communities of Gaul, communi- traces of Keltic institutions and usages sur- vived.* The Greek communities of the Eastern prov- inces retained their own institutions and laws, and the necessity of respecting local law and custom is insisted upon by both Roman emperors and Roman lawyers.* But alike in the Greek East and in the Latin West, the tendency to uniformity municipal was strengthened by the steady and contin- uous action of the authority of Caesar. The interests of the empire were so intimately bound up with the prosperity of the municipalities, that the supervision of the latter became one of the first duties of the im- perial government, and how close and constant this supervision became is shown by the letters of the younger Pliny from Bithynia, and by the numerous im- perial rescripts quoted in the Digest. The first duty
» Plin.. Epp,, X., 93.
* Hirschfeld, GallUche Studien, X. (Wien, 1884.)
•Plin. (Epp.^ X., 109, 113, etc.) refers to the **/<rjr cujusque civi-
tatis, " an d the * * consuetudo proidncia. " Gains, i. , 92 : * * Ifges moresque
peregrinorum, "
534 Outlines of Roman History. [Book vi
of the proconsul, or legate, was to see that the condi- tion of the communities under his care was such as to enable them to discharge their duties to the empire. In serious cases a special commissioner was sent, and even the free towns were not exempt from inspec- tion. As these officials were all responsible to Caesar, and referred to him for guidance in all doubtful points, a code of regulations was gradually formed, which constituted a common municipal law for the whole empire, and superseded the old local or provincial constitutions,, the decrees of the senate, and the edicts of former governors.' It is clear that when Ulpian wrote, there was already a body of law, based mainly on imperial edicts and rescripts, and current throughout the empire, which regulated all points in the internal government of the municipali- ties where imperial interests were even indirectly concerned, or on which the decision of Cxsar had been asked for and given.'
This increasing regulation of municipal affairs by imperial authority no doubt resulted in the reform of abuses, and quickened the sense of imperial unity. But at the same time it tended to weaken municipal patriotism and energy, and to produce an excessive dependence on the central power. The restless energy, the unceasing vigilance, and the pro- fuse liberality of Hadrian were not without their
' For the universal, authority of the rescripts of Caesar, see Pliny, Epp,^ X., 42 : " quodin perpeiuuM mausurum est, a ie cansiUui debet,** Ulpian, Dig,, xlvii., 12.
' Of this common municipal law, a good idea may be formed from the 50th book of the Digest^ especially the sections, " ad municipaf*^ et de incolis,** *^ de decurioptibus" **de muueribus et honoribus,**
Ch.ll The Flavian and Antonine Casars. 535
■■MP ■■■■■■ ■■■■ ■■■■[■■■■I ^^-^■^^^^— ^— 1— — — ^^— ^M^— ■^■^^^■^— ^—^^M^—^^— ^.^^^^—M W^M^lil^^M^^M^i— —
dangers, and among the symptoms of weakness apparent, amidst the prosperity of the age of the Antonines, the flagging vigour of the municipalities was one of the most serious.
Not the least important achievement of the em- perors of this period was that of developing and completing the system of frontier defence, ^he
which Augustus had sketched in outline, frontiers, but to which his successors, in the first century, had added little. The care and attention which Ves- pasian, Trajan, and Hadrian bestowed upon the frontier defences were not entirely due to their own soldierly training. The visions of world-wide empire, in which the generation of Horace indulged, had passed away, and the prayer of Tacitus, "May the nations continue, if not to love us, at least to hate each other,"* contrasts significantly with the ex- uberant confidence of the Augustan age. The fron- tier lines which Augustus had marked out as fixing the limit of Roman aggression were now to be the defences of Rome against barbarian invasion. The pressure which, in the third century, drove one bar- barian tribe after another into Roman territory, was making itself felt even in the time of Vespasian, and was the justification both for Trajan's annexation of Dacia, and for Hadrian's elaborate fortifications.
Recent researches have led to the conclusion that the share of the Flavian emperors in this work of frontier defence was larger than had been generally supposed. On the Rhine, Danube, Euphrates, and in
» Tac, Germania, 33; cf, his remarks on the camps by the Rhine, Hist,^ iv 23.
536 Outlines of Roman History. [BookVi
Britain, Vespasian and Domitian laid the foundations on which their successors built.
On the Rhine, Vespasian, at the very commence- ment of his principate, was called upon to face the ThcRhins. ^^^st serious crfsis that had arisen there Revolt of since the defeat of Varus sixty years be- civuit. £^j.^^ ^j^^ mutiny of the entire auxiliary
force stationed on this frontier. The danger of the outbreak was increased, not only by the withdrawal of the picked troops which had marched with Valens and Caecina to Italy, but by the peculiar composition of the auxiliary force itself. The regiments com- posing it were not, as was the case elsewhere, brought from some distant province, and conse- quently strangers both to each other and to the surrounding population. They were recruited from the neighbouring districts of Gallia Belgica and from the Delta of the Rhine* They were clan regiments, each composed of men belonging to the same tribe, Batavians, Nervians, Lingones, or Treveri, and of- ficered, as a rule, by their own chiefs or men of rank.' They were in addition distinguished for their martial spirit and warlike prowess. For more than seventy years this native army had loyally guarded the Rhine frontier side by side with the legions, and its fidelity had seemed to justify the policy of Augustus and his successors. Yet the risks were great, for disaffection might mean a conflagration on both banks of the Rhine, and the form assumed by the rising of Vindex had been a plain warning of
' Tac., Hist^ iv., 12; of the Batavians, ** vetere insHtuto no* HHsHmi pcpulariwn r^fftianf"; cf. Hid., iv., 19; iv., $$•
Ch. 1] The Flavian and Antontne Casars. 537
-r-^
what these favoured and trusted troops might do, if for any reason they threw off their allegiance to Rome. But Vindex had to face the legions of Upper Germany in their full strength and under a capable commander. The outbreak of the great mutiny in the summer of 69 found the legionary camps depleted of their best men, the chief com- mand in the hands of the incompetent Hordeonius Flaccus/ and the imperial government paralysed by civil war. The insurgent leader was Julius Civilis, at once a Batavian chief and commander of an auxiliary cohort ; and he was supported at first only by his own tribesmen and their neighbours in the Delta of the Rhine. But the revolt quickly spread. Other native regiments, notably the eight Batavian cohorts which had marched to Italy, but had been sent home by Vitellius,' joined Civilis, and beyond the Rhine the German tribes nearest the river rose also. Early in the next year (70 A.D.) the Treveri, encouraged by the news of the burning of the Cap- itol, declared for a free Gaul.' Finally, towards the close of the same year the great legionary camp at Vetera was actually taken, and the legions there and in Upper Germany swore allegiance to the im- per turn Galliarum,^ The capture of Vetera was the last as it was the greatest success obtained by Civilis. During the next few weeks dissensions weakened the mutineers, the Gauls showed signs of
' Tac, Hist,^ L, 9.
• Ibid., ii., 69, ^ Jbid,, iv., 55.
* Ibid., iv., 57--60,
538 Outlines of Roman History. [Book vi
wavering, and the imperial government, freed from the distraction of civil war, was able to take prompt and effective measures for restoring order. The ar- rival of Petilius Cerialis * was followed by the sub- mission of many of the insurgent clans. Civilis was driven to take refuge in the " Batavian island," and his people renewed their allegiance to Rome."
The reorganisation of the Rhine armies which fol- lowed, showed that Vespasian had taken to heart the lessons of the mutiny. The legions which had dis- graced themselves were disbanded, and their places taken by others'; but, more significant still, the native army was completely reconstituted. After 71 A. D. hardly a trace is discoverable of the old native clan regiments on the Rhine ; some were dis- banded, others transferred to Britain, and Roman officers were substituted for native chiefs as com- manders.* Thenceforward throughout this period there was peace on the Lower Rhine.
On the Upper Rhine the rule of the Flavian em- perors was made memorable by a successful annexa-
Annexation ^^°" ^^ territory beyond the river, the beyond the first since the abandonment of the short- Rhine. lived province of Germany in 9 A.D,
For though the forts and entrenchments constitut-
* Tac, Hist., iv., 71. ' Ibid., v., 14-22.
* The 1st and i6th legions.
^ Some of the Batavian regriments were disbanded. Regiments of Nervii, Menapii, and Morini were sent to Britain. We know the names of twenty-three regiments stationed in Upper Germany between 70-90 A.D. None of them was from Gallia Belgica.
Ch.t] The Flavian and Antanine Casars. 539
ing the /i»«^j Transrenanus^ date for the most part from a later period, it seems certain that it was by Vespasian and Domitian that the territory which they enclose was added to the empire/ The south- ern portion (Baden and Wiirtemberg), once the home of the Helvetii and then of the Marcomanni, had, since the latter removed eastward, been a ** no man's land." ' Settlers from the Roman side of the Rhine had found homes there, and it was presum- ably the necessity of protecting these emigrants that led the Roman government to depart from the policy of Augustus and annex the country. The annexa- tion was an accomplished fact when Tacitus wrote the Gertnania in 98 A.D., * and we may connect it with a successful campaign made by Vespasian beyond the Rhine in 74 A.D.,* and with the erection at Rottweil of the " Flavian altars," presumably as the centre of the official Caesar-worship for the new territory/
» Vita TaHH, iv. The fullest information as to the " limes" is to be found in the official publications of the " Reichs4imes Commis- sion" ; cf, also Mommsen, R, G„ v.. 136-146.
• Zangemeister, N, Heidelb, Jahrb,^ 1893. •Tac, Germ,, 28 : ** duHa possessionis solum" *Tac., Germ., 28.
»Cn. Cornelius Clemens, legate of Upper Germany in 74 A.D., received * * ornamenta trtumphalia " for a success in Germany {C. /. X., xi., 5274)- In this year also Vespasian was twice saluted ''imperatar" Eph. Epig., iv., 807. Cf. Zangemeister, N. Heidelb. Jahrb,, 1893, for evidence of road-making beyond the Rhine at this time (a milestone at Offenburg, on a road from Strassburg to (?) Raetia).
• Ptolemy, xi., 15 ; Tab., Pent, ii., r. The "'arte" were at cross- roads (Brambach, 1643) on the route from Vindonissa to Aug.
540 Outlines of Roman History. [Book vi
The annexation of the northern portion of this area, of the Taunus and the lowlands watered by the Main, was due to different causes, and was apparently the work not of Vespasian but of Domitian. Here, too, it is true there were Roman interests beyond the river which the imperial government could not neg- lect. The hot-springs at Wiesbaden, and the mines in ** the land of the Mattiaci," ' had attracted Roman settlers and Roman capital before the accession of Vespasian. But the dominant factor in the situation was the ever-present danger of raids by the powerful tribe of the Chatti and their dependent septs nearer the Rhine, such as the Mattiaci of the Taunus.' As far back as the time of the elder Drusus two forts had been built, one to guard the passage of the Rhine op- posite Mainz,' and a second to keep open the road up the Main valley, by which punitive expeditions from Mainz would advance.^ But Domitian seems to have made up his mind that nothing short of annexation would be an effective remedy. He crossed the Rhine,' and after some fighting not only annexed the Taunus district, but marked out a frontier, and protected it by forts and a dyke.' He thus at once barred the advance of the Chatti towards the Rhine,
Vindelicomm. Strassburg and Windisch, as legionary camps, would be the natural bases of the road system in the new territory. > Plin., A^. H,^ zxxi., 30 ; Tac, AnH,^ xi., 20.
* Tac., Hist, iv., 37 ; Ann,, i., 56 ; xii., 27 ; Germ.^ 29. ' Dio, liv., 33. Now Castel.
^ Tac, Ann,, i., 56. Probably at Heddemheim.
* Probably in 83 a.d. Frontinus, Sirat., i., I, 8 ; Dio» IzviL, 3*
* Front., Strat,^ i., 3, 10 ; ii., 11, 7,
•/
ch.u The Flavian and Antonine Citsars. 541
and cut off the tribes included within the area annexed from their natural allies.' Of the two tribes chieily in question, the Mattiaci in 98 A.D. are de- scribed as loyal subjects of Rome^ paying no tribute, but furnishing soldiers," while the Usipii supplied a regiment for service in Britain under Agricola.'
The peaceful settlement of the country thus ac- quired by Vespasian and Domitian beyond the Rhine was for a moment arrested' by the revolt of L. An- tonius * (88 A.D.), legate of the army of Upper Ger- many, and in immediate command of two legions at Mainz. The revolt excited serious alarm. Domitian himself prepared to start from Rome, and Trajan was summoned from Spain. Before, however, either could arrive, the rising was suppressed by L. Appius Norbanus, possibly legate of the 8th legion at Strass- burg. His task was made easier by the sudden breaking-up of the ice on the Rhine, which prevented Antonius's German allies from crossing the river. One incidental result of the outbreak was the aband- onment of the old system of double camps. Hence- forward each legion was to have its own camp.*
The whole of the new territory was now placed under the control of the legate of Upper Germany ; a cordon of forts garrisoned by auxiliary regiments protected the frontier, while in reserve on the Rhine were the legions at Mainz and Strassburg,
' Front., SiraU^ i., 3, 10. • Tac, Germ,^ 29. •Tac, Agr,, 28.
*Suet., Dom,^ 6, 7; Dio, Ixvii., 3; Mommsen, i?. (?„ v„ 137; Hermes t xix., 437 ; Schiller, Gesch, d, JCaUerneit^ i, , 534. •Suet., Dom,t 7.
542 Outlines of Roman History. [Book vi
The frontier defences on the Danube were far less
complete than on the Rhine. There were no legions
in Raetia or Noricum ; along the frontier
The Duiub0(
of Pannonia, Carnuntum was the only legionary camp ; while east of Oescus, along the en- tire course of the Lower Danube there was none at all. At the* same time there were disquieting symptoms of unrest beyond the river, from the terri- tories of the Marcomanrii eastward to the shores of the Caspian. The movements and migration of peoples within this area are, as a rule, only known to us when for a moment the veil is lifted and some tribe or tribes are forced against the barrier of the Roman frontier by pressure from behind. Such a glimpse is given by the epitaph of Ti. Plautius Sil- vanus, legate of Mcesia under Nero.* He describes himself as having given shelter in Roman territory to 100,000 tribesmen from beyond the Danube with their wives and children, as having repressed a " movement " of Sarmatians, and taken hostages from kings of the Bastarnae and Roxolani. In 69 a.d. the outbreak of civil war encouraged the latter people to make a raid in force into Moesia, which, however, ended in their complete defeat." In 70 the attempt was repeated on a larger scale, the Roxolani being on this occasion joined by Dacians and by their own kinsmen the Sarmatian lazyges. They crossed the Danube, stormed the forts held by the auxiliaries, and were threatening the legionary camps when they were driven back by Mucianus,*
' C. /. Z., xiv., 3608.
* Tac.i Hist,, i., 79.
• Tac., Jiist^ iii., 46, 47 ; Josephus, B.Jud., vii., 4, 3.
Ch. 11 The Flavian and Antonine Casars. 543
then on his march from the East to Italy. As serious a matter, however, as these occasional raids was the rapid, development of the highland king- dom of Dacia.
The accession of Vespasian was followed by some fifteen years of peace, but he did not entirely over- look the necessity for strengthening the frontier. The camp at Carnuntum was rebuilt and enlargedt and, probably, a new camp formed at Vindobona. The two legions hitherto stationed in Dalmatia were moved up to the front, and additional camps pro- vided at Ratiaria and at Oescus.'
Domitian, however, had to face something like a general rising, in which the Suevian Marcomanni and Quadiy the Sarmatian lazyges, and the Dacians were all concerned, and which coincided significantly with the accession to the Dacian throne of the ablest of its kings, Decebalus.'
The Dacian war (85 or 86 A. D.) began with a Dacian raid into Moesia, in which the legate of Moesia, Oppius Sabinus, was defeated and killed. No better fortune befell Cornelius Fuscus, prefect of the praetorium, who, apparently in the next year, in- vaded Dacia with a large force. The relics of Fuscus and his troops were found by Trajan. Tettius Julianus in 88 A.D. was more successful, and ad- vanced far enough to threaten the Dacian capital Sarmizegethusa. Decebalus sued for peace, and Domitian, already engaged in the Suebo-Sarmatian war, granted terms, usual enough in the history of
' Rhein. Museum, 1893, C. /. Z., iii.
* Dio, Ixvii., 6 ; Suet., Dom,^ 6 ; Jordanes, GeL^ 13.
544 Outlines of Roman History. [Book vi
L ■_ ._ Il_ IMMMII I'^M ■
Roman frontier policy, though denounced as dis- graceful by the panegyrists of Trajan.*
Of the Suebo-Sarmatian war (89-92 A.D.) we know little more than that the tribes taking part in it were the Quadiy Marcomanni, and the lazyges,' and that in the course of it a legion was cut up and its legate killed. It is also noticeable that Domitian celebra- ted no triumph for this war, and that the " Suevi " are found in arms again under Nerva. Th^se renewed disturbances led naturally to fresh precautions on the Roman side. A legionary camp was formed at Aquincum to watch the lazyges, and Moesia was divided into two provinces, each with its own legate and legions.
In two other quarters <>f the empire the Flavian
emperors accomplished results of importance, in
Britain, and on the Euphrates frontier.
Britain
In the former case the recall of Suetonius Paulinus in 61 A. D. has been followed by ten years inaction. But with the accession of Vespasian a fresh stage in the history of the conquest of the island began. A succession of able legates, Petilius Cerialis (71-74), Julius Frontinus (? 74-78), and finally Cn. Julius Agricola (78-84), advanced the limits of Roman authority as far north as the line of the Forth and Clyde.' The most permanent result of these campaigns * was, however, the addition to Ro-
' Pliny, Pan.^ I8. • Dio, Ixvii., 7, 12 ; Tac., Hist, i., 8.
■ Tac., Agric,, 23.
^ The phrase, Tac, Hist,, i., 2, *^ perdomita Britannia et staHm missa,** may possibly refer to the abandonment, after 84, of the terri- tory north of the ** Wall,*' which Agricola had temporarily occupied.
Cb. 1] The Flavian and Antonine Casars. 545
man Britain of the area known as Brigantia, from the Brigantes, the most numerous and powerful tribe within ity and extending from the Mersey and the H umber northward to the line afterwards marked by Hadrian's Wall from the Solway to Tynemouth.* York was occupied, and served with Chester as a base for all operations to the northward.'
The annexation, under Nero, of the kingdoms of Pontus and Armenia Minor had extended Roman rule to the line of the Upper Euphrates and the borders of Greater Armenia. But this new frontier was as yet unguarded by legions, and the responsibility for its safety seems to have been divided between the legate of Galatia, who had no legions, and the legate of Syria, whose legions had plenty to do elsewhere.' In 71 or 72 Antiochus IV. of Commagene was deposed ; his kingdom was an- nexed and added to the province of Syria,* whose north-western limits were thus made coterminous with the south-eastern limits of the province of Cappadocia. The latter province, with Pontus and Armenia Minor, was placed under the legate of
' Tac.,^^^., 17 : ^^civitas numeroHssima toHus pravincia,^ The territory of Brigantes extended ea^t and west from sea to sea.
' The 9th legion must have been transferred to York from Lincoln. Chester was still a double camp occupied by the 20th and the 2nd (adjutrix) legions, and was the headquarters of the legate of the province. In Britain, as in Upper Germany, the frontier posts were garrisoned by auxiliaries, the legions remaining in reserve.
■ Tac, /TiV/., ii., 81 : '*inermes Ugati regebant^ nondum odditis Cappadocia Ugionibus,*^
* Jos., Bell, Jud,, vii., 7.
35
546 Outlines of Raman History. [Book vi
Galatia, who had thus the charge of the eastern frontier from Melitene northward to Trapezus on the Euxine.* For its defence " legions were added," * a legionary camp was formed at Melitene,' and pro- bably a second farther north at Satala/ Cilicia was definitely organised as an imperial province under a legate, and the same fate befell Judsa after the capture of Jerusalem by Titus.
Trajan * figures in history as the soldier-emperor whose exploits revived the military prestige of Rome, Trajan. His brilliant campaigns threw into the 98-117 A.D. shade the comparatively uneventful annals of his predecessors, and recalled the heroic days of Caesar and Pompey. But Trajan, though a soldier, and a soldier with a dash of Chauvinism in his nature, was something more. The author of the rescripts to Pliny, and the organised of the "ali- mentary foundations " in Italy, was clearly a states- Annexation man. Nor as a soldier was he merely a ofDacia. rcckless conqueror. The conquest of Dacia, the achievement by which he is best known, was anything but a mere military adventure prompted by vainglory. It was the result of a deliberate pol- icy, which had for its principal aim the security of the Danube frontier, in view of the increasingly
» C, /. z,, iii., 291, 312.
• Suet., Vesp,, 8.
' Jos., BelL Jud,^ vii., 7. The 12th legion was sent to Melitene in 70 A.D.
^ The 15th legion seems to have been transferred from Camuntum to Satala before the accession of Trajan.
» Mommsen, R, (?., v., chaps, vi., ix. ; Schiller, Gesch, d, Kaiserneit, !•» 543 '^^•; Francke, Trajan (Leipzig, 1840).
Ch.1] The Flavian and Antontne Ccesars. 547
menacing attitude of the tribes beyond. The Dacian kingdom, as it stood, was the natural centre round which Suevians and Sarmatians rallied, and its king, Decebalus, was even better fitted than Arminius had once been on the Rhine to form and to lead a powerful coalition against Rome. But if this moun- tain fortress, overlooking the plains to the west, ^ north, and east, were in Roman hands, Rome would gain a commanding position from which to watch and check all movements that might threaten danger. She would acquire also a territory rich in mineral wealth and in fighting men.
Moreover, war with Dacia was inevitable; the peace patched up by Domitian was hollow and un- satisfactory. Decebalus was notoriously arming, and his Suevic allies seem to have been actually in the field in 97.* That Trajan fully realised the situation is implied by what is known of his doings from the moment when he became legate of Upper Germany in 97, down to his return to Rome as emperor at the end of 99 A.D. On the Rhine frontier, it is clear that the development of civil life and municipal institutions went quietly forward.' But in proportion as the Rhine frontier ceased to cause anxiety, it be- came desirable to establish more direct communica-
' At the moment of Trajan*s adoption by Nerva, news arrived of a success gained by Trajan on the Pannonian frontier (Plin., Pan., 8 ; Dio, Ixviii., 3). C. /. Z., v., 7425, mentions the decoration of a tribune of leg. i adjutrix by Nerva for services ** belh SuebicoJ'^
* Eutrop., 8. Col. Ulpia Traiana was founded near Xanten. The transformation of the military districts occupied by the armies of Upper and Lower Germany into provinces was the work cither of Domitian or Trajan.
548 Outlines of Roman History. [Bookvi
tions between the camps at Mainz and Strassburg and those nearer to the probable theatre of war on the Danube. The natural route lay through the territory recently annexed beyond the Rhine, and a road had already been made leading from Strassburg eastward towards the frontiers of Rxtia. This road Trajan continued certainly as far the legionary camps on the middle Danube, even if he did not, as a late writer asserts, carry it to the shores of the Black Sea.^ While this important line of communication was being made, Trajan also made a careful inspec- tion of the troops stationed along the frontier.'
In the spring of loi Trajan left Rome for his first Dacian campaign.' His army was divided into two columns, one of which, led by the emperor in person, followed the most westerly of the routes,* leading to the highland plateau of Dacia and to the capital Sarmizegethusa, through the Irongate pass/ The results of this first campaign were not decisive, but in the summer of 102 Decebalus was defeated and forced to sue for peace. He was left in possession of his kingdom, but he was obliged formally to acknow-
* Aurel, Victor, 13, 3: **iter quo facile Qbusque Pontico mart in Gailiam permeatur.'* C, /. Z., Hi., 1699, gives the famous inscription recording its completion in loi a,d. Cf. Ephem., Epig,^ ii.. 334.
» C. /. Z., vi., 1548 ; Plin., Pan., 12, 56.
* For the chronology of the Dacian wars see Mommsen, Hermes, iii., 130; Dierauer, Gesch. Traians, 72 sqq.
^ Dio, Ixviii., 6 sqq. Trajan's own line of march is fixed by a frag- ment of his commentaries preserved by Priscian, ed. Keil, ii., 205.
» Dio, Ixviii., 8.'ra?$ TccTtatS; Jordanes, Ceiica, 12, **per Tapas,'* See also Petersen, Traiaii s DaHsche Kriege, Leipzig, i899-i903.
Ch.1] The Flavian and Antontne Casars. 549
ledge himself the vassal of Rome; he was required to pull down his fortresses, to surrender his arms and military stores, and to evacuate the territory he had occupied in the lowlands of the Theiss ; for the future he was to have "the same friends and foes as Rome," to harbour no Roman deserters, and to enlist no re- cruits from Roman territory. As security for his good faith, a Roman garrison was left in Sarmizegethusa.' Trajan returned to Rome in time to open the year 103 as consul, but two years later he was compelled again to take the field. Decebalus was openly violating the treaty. He was reported to be collect- ing arms, rebuilding forts, and soliciting alliances, it is even possible that he had ventured on actual hos- tilities." Tlie senate declared war, and Trajan left Rome late in 104 or early in 105. But his journey was leisurely'; he spent some time in Mcesia, and it was apparently not until the spring of 106 that he crossed the Danube. The advance, as in the previous war, was made in two columns/ and was slow and difficult.* At some point not far from Sarmizege-
* Dio, Ixviii., 9.
' According to Petersen's plausible interpretation of the reliefs on the column, Nos. 92-100 (ed. Cichorius), /. c, part ii. , pp. 41 sqq, CL Eng, Hist Review, 1904, p. 134.
' This journey is the subject of a series of reliefs, Nos. 79-91. The starting-point was certainly Ancona, whence he apparently sailed up the Adriatic to some port in Istria and thence marched overland to the Danube.
* This is clearly indicated by the reliefs, Petersen, ii., 75.
* Dio, Ixviii., 14. Trajan this time crossed the Danube by the famous stone bridge between Cladova and Turn Severin constructed for him by ApoUodorus of Damascus. Procop, de ced. , p. 288 ; Dio, Ixviii., 13. It is represented on the reliefs, Nos. 99-101.
550 Outlines of Ratnan History. [Book vi
thusa the columns joined ; Decebalus's capital was taken by storm, and he himself with many of his chiefs committed suicide/
This time there could be no question of the con- tinued existence on any terms of a Dacian kingdom. The Dacian people were treated as Rome had often treated communities actually *' subdued in war/* Those who survived were sold as slaves, or driven to seek refuge in the unexplored wastes to the north, or sent to fight the battles of Rome on distant frontiers." Dacia was annexed, and '^ reduced into the form of a province," with a promptitude and thoroughness which imply that Trajan had care- fully thought out his policy. The new territory in- cluded primarily the district which both economic- ally and strategically was of the first importance, the upland plateau of the Siebenbiirgen/ This be- came the heart and centre of the new province. Here at Apulum were the headquarters of the army of Dacia* and of the legate of the province, while Decebalus*s capital, Sarmizegethusa, became a Roman colony * and the seat of the provincial coun- cil. Roads were made, the mines worked, and a new population drawn from all parts of the empire was settled on the land. But the province also in-
^ Dio. Izviii., 14. The closing scenes of the war are graphically reproduced on the reliefs, iz8 sqq,
* A Dacian regiment served in the Parthian campaigns of Trajan, C /. Z., iii., 600. Another was sent to Britain before 146 A. D., Diploma^ 57.
* For the organisation of the province of Dacia see Domaszewski, Arck&olog, Epigr, 'Mittheilungen, vol. xiii. Rhein. Museum, 1893.
^ Legio 13 gemina was stationed at Apulum. » C. /, Z., iii., 1443.
Ch. 1] The Flavian and Antonzne Ccesars. 55 1
eluded the strip of lowland to the south, through which ran the roads which connctcted the plateau with the Danube and the lUyrian provinces. To the westward of this strip the lowlands, as far as the Theiss, were to be watched by the legate of Upper Moesia, and by his legions. Eastward beyond the Aluta, a similar duty was imposed on the legate and army of Lower Moesia. Dacia became in fact an out- post resting on the Danube, and the legionary camps along its bank, as a base, and this base line was strengthened and the distribution of the garrisons altered to suit the new conditions. The camps at Ratiaria and Oescus were abandoned as unnecessary now that the territory on the opposite bank was Roman/ But to watch the lazyges a new camp (Acumincum) was formed at the confluence of the Theiss and the Danube, and a second at Bregetio, to command the routes into the country of the Suevic Quadi. While the strip of Pannonia lying along the Danube northward from Acumincum was constituted a separate province (Pannonia Inferior)," eastward beyond the Aluta, the line of the Lower Danube was Ifeld by the three legionary camps of Novae, Durostorum, and Troesmis.' Finally to pro- tect the Greek towns on the seaboard of Moesia and Thrace against attacks from the north-east, a wall was built across the Dobrudscha from the Danube to the sea.*
> They became colonies : Col. Ulpia Ratiaria, Col. Ulpia Oescas.
* In 107 A. D.
* Now Sistova, Silistria, and Iglitza ; the legions were : i. Italica, y. Macedonica, xi. Claudia.
* Jung, d, rem, LandschafUn^ p. 346.
552 Outlines of Roman History. [Book vi
This scientific reorganisation of the Danube fron- tier gave peace and prosperity to the Danubian provinces for the next fifty years, and is sattem enough in itself to establish Trajan's claim "rKSS! to be more than an adventurous soldier. '*4-"«a.d. A somewhat different judgment must be passed on Trajan's campaigns in the East, with their dreams of boundless conquest, their transient successes, and tragic issue/
Trajan's activity in this part of the empire was at first confined to developing the system of fronti^er defence, begun by the Flavian emperors. It was probably in loo A. D. that Cappadocia, with Armenia Minor and Pontus, was separated from Galatia, and constituted as an independent command' under a legate of consular rank who had charge of the Upper Euphrates frontier from Trapezus as far as the north- ern limits of the province of Syria.' South of this point the situation along the Syrian frontier was materially improved by the inclusion in the province of Syria of the kingdom of Herod Agrippa II.,* and
* The chief authorities are Dio. Ixviii. 17 s^q, ; John Malalas {Script, Byz,t ed. Bunn); Mommsen, JR. G., v., 397 Jf^.; Dierauer, p. 152 s^^.
• T. Pomponius Bassus (96-99 A. D.) seems to have been the last legate of Galatia who also governed Cappadocia. Liebenam, </. A'. Legaten, p. 175.
' He had under him two legions — the legion xy. ApoUinaris moved from the Danube to Satala before 98 a.d., and legion xii. stationed at Melitene since 70 A.D. Cf. Eng, Hist, Review^ 1896, p. 635 sqq,
^ Herod Agrippa II. died in 99 or 100 A.D. See Prosopogr. , /kk^. i?., ii., p. 164.
Ch.l] The Flavian and Antonine Casars. 555
by the annexation, probably on the extinction of the native dynasty, of the Nabataean kingdom (106 A. D.), a narrow strip of territory extending southward from Damascus to Petra, between Palestine and the desert. The new province was rather boastfully styled Arabia Petraea, but its acquisition was the one per- manent and valuable addition to the empire made by Trajan in the East.*
The very meagre records that we possess do not afford any very satisfactory explanation of the reasons which prompted Trajan to go beyond these practical measures for strengthening the Eastern frontier and engage in a war of aggression beyond the Euphrates. It is true that a Parthian prince, made king of Armenia by grace of Rome, had been deposed by the Parthian king, Chosroes, and another Parthian prince, Parthamasiris, had been installed in his stead by Parthian authority." This was no doubt a breach of the agreement made in 63, but Chosroes was ready to compromise, and allow his nominee to be reinvested as king by Trajan. In any case, the situation so far, now that there were Roman legions on the banks of the Euphrates, scarcely demanded the personal presence of Trajan himself. The latter may have had a grudge against the Parthian king for his undue sympathy with Decebalus,' but a more
^ Dio, Ixviii., 14. It was annexed by A. Cornelius Palma, legate of Syria. The era of the province dates from March, 106. Eckhel, vi., 420. For its military and commercial importance, see Mommsen, R, C7., v., 476 sqq,
• Dio, Ixviii., 17. Eutrop., viii., 3 ; Pronto, Princ, Hist, (ed, Mai), p. 227.
»Plin., -£/. <k/ TV.. 74.
554 Outlines of Roman History. [Book vi
probable explanation of his action may perhaps be found in the rather obscure hints given by the an- cient authorities of an actual invasion of the province of Syria by Parthamasiris, resulting in disasters of some sort to the Roman arms, and even in a tempo- rary Parthian occupation of Samosata/ In any case, Trajan clearly contemplated more than a mere demonstration when he left Rome for the East in October 113.' He took with him a large force of seasoned troops from the West, under some of his most experienced officers, as well as an imposing train of senators ; and he turned a deaf ear to all proposals for negotiation.
In January, 114 he entered Antioch, and in the spring of that year he advanced and reoccupied Samosata.' Thence he marched along the frontier road, constructed by the Flavian emperors, past Melitene to Satala, where he held a durbar, at which the kings and chiefs of Colchis, Iberia, Albania, and the Black Sea coast attended and did homage/
1 Fronto, /. r., \^ malU praUis perculsi^ Dio, Ixviii., z8, speaks of Trajan as '* recovering '' Samosata : ** afiajti napaXaPoiv,**
' The fixed point in the chronology is the earthquake at Antioch, which took place after the Armenian and Mesopotamian campaigns, and before the Babylonian. Its date ^ven by John Malalas)was December 83, 115 a.d. The same authority states that Trajan left Rome in October, landed at Seleucia in December, and entered Antioch in January. Mommsen, R, G.^ v., 398, takes this to be January, 115, and compresses the Armenian and Mesopotamian campaigns into one year. I have followed Dierauer and Schiller in placing the entry into Antioch in January, 1 14«
•Dio, Ixviii., 19.
^Dio^ /.^., Eutrop., viii., 3. The coins with the legend ^* regna adsignata*' refer to this durbar. Cohen, Med,, 206, 807, 373. Arrian*s
Ch. n The Flavian and Antonine Casars. 555
From Satalahe crossed into Armenia, and at Elegeia he was met by Parthamasiris/ The dramatic scene that followed gives us one of our rare glimpses of Roman frontier life, and recalls the interview between Corbulo and Tiridates, or some of the reliefs on the Dacian column. Seated on a lofty tribunal at the entrance to the Roman camp, Trajan received the Parthian prince, who laid his crown at the emperor's feet, and waited in silence to receive it back. Alarmed by the shouts of the soldiers,' he turned to fly, but was brought back. After a fruitless private interview, he was again brought before the tribunal to hear his sentence. He was deposed and executed ; Armenia was for the future to belong to Rome, and to have a Roman governor/
In the next year (115) Trajan accomplished, with little more difficulty, the conquest of Northern Meso- potamia. We are told that he made terms at Edessa with Abgarus of Osroene, that he received the sub- mission of the sheikhs of Anthemusia and of the neighbouring districts, and that he captured Nisibis and Singara in Western Adiabene,* Mesopotamia, like Armenia, became a Roman province.*
Periplus, c. II, mentions kings in this region who had received their crowns from Trajah. ^ Dio, Ixviii., 19, 20.
* They saluted Trajan as imperator ( = Imp, VII.).
' Dio, /. ^., ^PoofiiatoDv etvat xai ofixorra ^Pao/naaor Hetv: the new province was probably placed under the legate of Cappa- docia, C /. Z.,x., 8291.
* Dio, Ixviii., 21, 22.
* Cohen, Afed. Tra/,, No. 2g. *^ Armenia ei Mesopotamia inpotes- taU P, JR' redacta" Before the end of 115 Trajan was Imp. XI.;
556 Outlines of Raman History. [Book v 1
The closing stage of Trajan's Eastern campaigns was significantly preceded, such was the ancient belief, by the destructive earthquake at Antioch, in December, 115; from which Trajan narrowly es- caped, thanks, it was said, to divine interposition. It was a plain warning from the gods, but it was neglected/ The campaign of 116 opened with an advance across the Tigris ; Eastern Adiabene was invaded, and apparently conquered, but it may be doubted whether any province of Assyria was ever really created.' Recrossing the Tigris, Trajan ad- vanced down the Euphrates, unopposed, to Babylon, and thence to Ctesiphon, where the daughter of Chosroes, and also the throne of the Arsacid kings, fell into his hands. Here he was saluted imperator for the thirteenth and last time. Coins were struck bearing the legend Parthia capta^ and Trajan assumed the cognomen Parthicus* From Ctesi- phon Trajan journeyed on to the Persian Gulf in a style more befitting an Oriental sovereign than a Roman imperator, his head now filled with dreams of conquests which should outdo those of Alexander.*
the fact of four salutations during the Mesopotamian campaign indicates some fighting. 'Dio, Izviii., 24.
• The only authority is Eutropius, viii., 3.
'Dio, Ixviii., 28. In a diploma of Septembers, 116 (Brambach, 1 5 12), Trajan is Imp. XIII. ; for the coins with ** Parthia capta" see Cohen, Med. Traj\, No. 184.
* The voyage is described in an extract from Arrian*s PartkUa^ MttUer, Frag, Hist, Gr,, iii., 590.
Ch. 1] The Flavian and Antonine Casars. 557
At the height of his glory the offended gods struck. He was forced to hurry back to crush a widespread rising, which threatened him with the loss of all his recent conquests/ A legate was slain and a legion cut to pieces," and though his brilliant Moorish officer, Lusius Quietus, was more successful, Trajan was forced to pacify the Parthians by giving them a king.' His retreat into Northern Mesopotamia is described as "not without danger or bloodshed."* He reached Antioch worn and ill, only to hear of an outbreak among the Jews/ For a moment he thought of again invading Mesopotamia to punish the insurgents, but increasing illness obliged him instead to start homeward, and at Seleucia, in Cilicia, he died (August, 117 A.D.). "All in vain," concludes the ancient historian, "were the toils and the dangers." *
Hadrian^ was, like his kinsman and fellow-country- man Trajan, a soldier by training. He had served in the Dacian wars, and was at the time Hadrian. of Trajan's death legate of Syria. But he "^"'^* ^- ^•
* Dio, Ixviii., 29. ndvra rd kaXcoHova . . . diei6Tij, ' Fronto, Princ, Hist.^ /. c,
* Parthamaspates, a son of Chosroes. This concession is repre- sented as a success on the coins, ^^ Rex Parihis datus^** Cohen, Mid, Trajatiy No. 328.
^ Fronta, I c,**" haudquaquam secura nee incruenta regression'*
• Dio, Ixviii., 32; Euseb., Hist Eccl., iv., 2; Oros, vii., 12. There were risings in Mesopotamia, Cyprus, Egypt, and Cyrene. Cf, Wilcken, Hermes^ 27.
• Dio, Ixviii., 33. fidrrfv k'jc6vri6av xaijadrrfv Ixtv8vvev6av^ ^ See, besides Mommsen and Schiller, Dttrr, D, Heisen d^KMad-^
rian, Gregorovius, Hadrian {Ei^. Tr.), Macmillan, 18984
5S8 Outlines of Roman History. [Book vi
was essentially a statesman and a lover of peace, who accurately estimated and carefully husbanded the resources of the State. Trajan*s campaigns and their ignominious end had created widespread agita- tion and unrest. Hadrian set himself to the task of restoring order, of perfecting the defence of the frontiers, and consolidating the empire. Of Trajan's acquisitions in the East, only Arabia Petraek was re- tained. Chosroes regained the crown of Parthia, and a king replaced the Roman legate in Armenia. As a consequence of the Jewish outbreak, a Roman colony was founded on the ruins of Jerusalem, and after a last desperate insurrection (134-135) Judaea was ruthlessly cleared of its population. Of the care bestowed by Hadrian on the frontier defences, we get an interesting glimpse in the writings of Ar- rian, Hadrian's legate in Cappadocia.'
Dacia was retained, and its internal organisation improved by the division of the province. The up- land plateau became Dacia Superior, and here were stationed both the legate and the legion. The belt of lowland connecting the upland with the Danube was administered as Dacia Inferior by a procurator with auxiliary regiments only.* It has been said that Trajan had realised the importance of establish- ing more direct communication between the legionary camps on the Rhine and those on the Danube. It was probably to protect the line of communication constructed by him and also the territories beyond
* Eng» Hist, Review^ 1896, 629 sqq, ' Pomaszewski, Rhein. Museum, 1893.
Ch.ii The Flavian and Antonine Casars. 559
the Rhine, annexed by the Flavian emperors, that the great boundary barrier was constructed, the re- mains of which can be traced from Kelheim on the Danube to Rheinbrohl on the Rhine/ It consists of two portions, one of which ran westward from Kelheim to Lorch and formed the northern frontier of the province of Rxtia ; the other, bending sharp- ly northward from Lorch to the Main and enclosing the Taunus range, '' separated " the districts annexed by Vespasian and Domitian from the barbarians be- yond. In the construction of this great barrier, a large share may safely be attributed to Hadrian, who, as his biographer tells us — ''in many places separated off the barbarians by wooden palisades."* A somewhat similar barrier erected by Hadrian was the well-known " wall " in Northern Britain from the mouth of the Tyne to the Solway.'
In Africa he created for the third legion (III. Augusta) a new and permanent home at Lambcesis, the extant remains of which supply us with the richest materials for constructing a picture of the composition and life of a Roman legion in a frontier
' The ''//m^j" has been systematically studied, its course traced, and the forts excavated during the last twelve years. The results are recorded in the official JJmes Blatt (Trier, 1 892-1904), and in the more sumptuous Obergermanisch RoeHsche Limes (Heidelberg), of which twenty-five pdrts have appeared.
* ViL Hadr., 12.
* 73., II, it is still a matter of doubt whether the existing stone- wall is the ** murus " of Hadrian or a later substitute. The more northerly barrier from Clyde to Forth was certainly constructed by Antoninus Pius.
560 Outlines of Roman History. [Book Vi
province.* Behind and in the neighbourhood of the frontier camps and stations stretched a line of Roman colonies and towns, most of which owed, if not their existence, yet at least their charters of in- corporation, to Hadrian or Trajan, and which served at once as supports and as recruiting grounds for the frontier forces.
Hadrian's skilful policy, following on the impres- sion produced by Trajan's feats of arms, Aureiiut secured a comparatively long period of quiet, broken only by little frontier wars. But it was the evil fortune of Marcus Aurelius War with to be Called upon to face and repel a manni. * barbarian attack, which, in its audacity and strength, was the most formidable that any Roman emperor had yet encountered. For the first time the barbarian tribes beyond the Danube, pushed forward possibly by pressure from behind^ united in a desperate attempt to force the Roman lines, and win homes in southern lands.* The most prominent were the Marcomanni, and with them were joined Quadi, lazyges. Vandals, and others. Encouraged by the fact that a portion of the army of the Danube had been withdrawn for a Parthian war, they broke into Pannonia, and for the first time for more than two hundred years the sacred soil of Italy was trodden by barbarian invaders. Aquileia was besieged (167 A.D.), and Opitergium burnt.*
' Cagnat, V Armie cTAfrique^ p. 501, chaps, i. and vii., p. 283.
* Mommsen, R* G,y v., 20g ; Schiller, i., 643.
•Dio, Ixxi., 3, 2; Vit. Marc.^ 14 ; C /. £., v., p. 186.
CK. 1] The Flavian and Antanine C<esars. 561
Raetia and Noricum were invaded at the same time, while, to complete the panic, the troops hastily re- called from the East brought back with them a devastating plague. The war lasted, with only slight intermissions, until Marcus's death at Vindo- bona(i8o A.D.). The integrity of the frontiers was preserved, but the effects of the war, in exhausting the resources of the empire, were plainly visible in the next century. From this war, too, dates the policy, which had in the end such disastrous results, of transplanting barbarians to the Roman side of the frontier. Whole tribes were granted lands in the frontier provinces, in one case even in Italy, at Ravenna, and were enrolled as soldiers of Rome.*
The Marcomannic war was not the only warning of impending trouble. The pretenders to the imperial purple, the so-called "tyrants " of the third and fourth centuries, found a Avidiut prototype in Avidius Cassius, who, after successfully concluding the Parthian war (166-167 A.D.), made an unsuccessful attempt to win for him- self the title and powers of emperor.*
On the whole, however, despite the increasing pressure upon the frontiers, and the increased strain on the finances which the defence of the frontiers involved, the period from 60 character pf
\ '^ ^ the period.
A.D. to 193 A.D. deserves much of the
praise which has been lavished upon it. The em-
> Schiller, Gersch. d. Kaiser%nU, i , 649 ; Dio, Ixzi., l6.
* Vit, Avid, Cass,^ Schiller, /. c* 36
562 Outlines of Roman History. [Book vi
perors were, with few exceptions, able and vigorous rulers; the machinery of government was brought to a pitch of perfection never reached before or after- wards; civilisation, Latin or Greek, had reached every province in the empire, and at no time had literary activity and interest been so widely diffused. tynptQoiser ^et symptoms of weakness are not difficult decune. ^q discover, especially during the latter half of the period. In contrast with the rapid extension of the municipal system stands the fact that towards the close of this period, at any
The muni. ^^^^ ^^ ^^ older provinces, municipal cipaiitiet. jj£g ^^^ losing some of its vigour and
attractiveness/ Municipal office was becoming a burden rather than an honour, and exemption from it, rather than admission to it, was the favour bestowed by the emperor on privileged individuals and classes.* The offices themselves had ceased by the close of the second century to be filled by popu- lar election; they circulated along with various other public duties among the members of the local senates {decurionesY In Pliny's letters we already
* Kuhn, Verf, </. rdm. ReicJus^ vol. i.
* Under Augiistas veterans were declared to be eligible for the decttrionate ; at the end of the second century it is their privil^e to be exempt from it. So, again, the Augustan legislation gave parents of three or more children a prior claim to office ; in the law of this period such parents claimed exemption from office.
* The laws of Salpensa and Malaga (Domitian) provide for the elec- tion of the magistrates in the old way. The speeches of Dio Chry- sostom and Pliny's letters (Trajan) speak of popular assemblies in the Greek towns. But Ulpian clearly regards the offices (honores) as cir- culating among the decuriones^ and popular election, if it survived at all, can have had little more reality than at Rome.
Ch.1] Flavian and Antonine Casars. 563
hear of persons compelled to become decurianes^ and the imperial law, as stated by Ulpian, enters with great minuteness into the grounds which justify exemption from these civic obligations. It is clear, too, that the "decurionate" was fast becoming not only a burden rather than an honour, but a hereditary burden not easily to be evaded.* Of the increasing subjection of the municipalities to imperial supervi- sion, and of their increasing dependence on imperial bounty, something has already been said.
This tendency to lean on Caesar, fostered as it was by the vigour of the emperors and the complete organisation of the imperial TOvernment IS Visible also m the literary life of the andthe
government.
time. The old alliance, which even under Augustus had existed between the republican nobil- ity and literature-;-an alliance which told hardly against the memory of the early Caesars — had come to an end with the virtual disappearance of that nobility. The traces of the traditional feud with Caesarism which lingered under the Flavian em- perors* disappeared before the reign of Hadrian. Even philosophy ceased to be irreconcilable ; it kept aloof from political speculation, and devoted itself to teaching men how to live.* T'he foremost writers and teachers of the time were not only favoured
' Plin., Epp,^ II a. Comp. the rescript of Antoniniis; Dig,^ i.,
I. 38.
* Ulpian (Dig^s i) implies that the son of a decorion was liable in tnm to enter the curia,
* E,g,^ under Domitian. Suet., Dom.^ la
* Zeller, Phil, d, Griecken, iii., 651,
564 Outlines of Roman History. [pook VI
with the patronage and friendship of Caesar, but for the most part they were paid servants of the govern- menty holding chairs endowed by the emperor, and with special privileges accorded to them by his edicts/ Many of them were enrolled by his favour in the ranks of the new imperial nobility, and hon- oured with the consulship.* A somewhat similar change is noticeable in the great department of Roman law. Even during the first half of, this period the foremost jurists were, as in republican days, men of good birth and position, with whom the study and exposition of the law was a pursuit rather than a profession.' But the lawyers of the latter part of the second, like those of the third century, were men of humbler origin, trained in Caesar's ser- vice, who rose to sit on his council, or to fill the post of praetorian prefect in virtue of their professional skill.
Alike in the literature and in the society of this
period, two other characteristics deserve notice as
being of historical importance. The affec-
tation of what was archaic, at which
Quintilian sneered in the field of literature, was
> ViU Hadr., 16: '' Jumoravit ei divites fecitr Vit. Ant. FiU XI : **/^r omnes protnncias et honores ei solaria detuKt** The fouo- dation of chairs of rhetoric dates from Vespasian ; Suet., Vesp,^ 18. Quintilian was professor of Latin rhetoric, and received the ** omO' nunia consularia,^* Among the exemptions and privileges granted to rhetoricians and sophists were immunity from costly offices and the right of free travelling.
* Instances are Fronto, Polemo, Aristocles of Pei^amas. Herodes Atticus was consul and. also '' corrector " of the free towns of Asia.
* ^. ^., Julius Celstts and Salvius Julianus.
Ch. 1] The Flavian and A ntonine Casars. 565
widespread.' The artificial republicanism of the younger Pliny and Tacitus, and of their fellows who drank to the memory of Brutus and Cassius while drawing Caesar*s pay, was closely akin to the literary purism which preferred Cato and Ennius to Cicero and Virgil.* In imitation of Cato, Hadrian wore a beard, and he is said to have quoted Cato in justifica- tion of his foreign policy.' The fashion reappears in the field of art, though here, as was inevitable, it was to Greek and not to Roman models that men returned/ In the same spirit we find some of the Italian towns laying official stress on their ancient . traditions. Capena revived its ancient title of urbs fcederata^ and Bovillae its ancient tie with the extinct Alba Longa.* Nor was this return to the past fol- lowed by any renewed creative energy, as in the fifteenth century. It was a confession of weakness and little more.
The policy of Augustus had aimed at the ascend- ency not only of the Latin race but of Latin civili- sation ; and Greek culture, though liberally co«rao- treated and allowed its own way in the p«"**n*»«n« provinces properly belonging to it, held only a subordinate place. Under the Flavian emperors, partly perhaps in reaction against Nero's phil- Hellen- ism,* Latinism was still dominant, and even under
1 Friedl&nder Sittengesch,, iii, 3. » Vit. ffadr,, 16. » ViL Hadr., 5.
* Friedl&nder, /. c,
* C, I. Z. , 14, s. vv.
* The '* freedom " granted to Acliaia by Nero was taken away by Vespasian ; Suet., Ffsp.^ 8 ; Pans., vii., 17.
566 Outlines of Roman History. [Book vi
■ »'■'"■'
Trajan the two foremost names in literature are Italian. But this state of things could not long continue, as the barriers which separated Italy and the' ruling race and the rest of the empire were broken down. The idea of a cosmopolitan civilisa- tion common to the whole empire replaced the narrower theory. The Greek scholars in the time of Cicero were pensioners in the houses of Roman nobles; under Hadrian they were senators and consuls. Even professors of Eastern mysticism, from Eastern Asia Minor or Syria, were admitted to the imperial presence, and had their train of followers.*
This cosmopolitanism accurately reflected the political change which had passed over the empire and the imperial unity under the rule of Caesar, which the emperors of this period strove to bring about. But its result was a civilisation, widely diffused indeed, and which was outwardly brilliant and attractive, but which had no unity and no progressive energy. It flourished while protected by the vigorous government of the Antonine emperors; but in the troubled times of the next century it offered only a feeble resistance to barbarism, whether from the North or the East.
Of the two forces which for a time supplied the splendid administrative machinery, elaborated by the Caesars of this period with motive power, neither owed much to the composite civilisation of which
' Philostratus, Vit, Sophist, , passim, Vespasian is represented as discussing the form of government, not as Augustus did, with Romans of rank, but with Apollonius of Tyana and Euphrates. See generally Schiller, i., 67a sqq, ; Friedl&nder, SiUengesch,, iii., 271 sgq.
Ch.l] The Flavian and Antonine Casars. 567
Hadrian's villa at Tibur was a typical product. The free use of barbarians for imperial defence prolonged the existence of the empire. Christianity
The Chris-
infused new life in to its various populations. tian com. The latter force was indeed as yet far from being accepted as an ally by the imperial government, and the Christian communities lay under the ban of the law, though the law was only occasionally and fitfully enforced. . But their ilumbers were rapidly increasing. In Asia Minor, in Bithynia, Galatia, and Cappadocia, they formed a large and import- ant element in the population, while the Christian community in Rome was numerous and influential.* The period which witnessed the silent and steady diffusion of the Christian communities over the empire witnessed also the catastrophe which severed the Jews and Judaism from their own country. The capture of Jeru- salem by Titus was scarcely more of a blow than the transformation of the holy city by Hadrian into the Roman colony of i£lia Capitolina, the erection of heathen altars where the temple of Jehovah had stood, and the exclusion of the Jews themselves from the city.*
> Schiller, Gfsch, d, Kaisftuit, i., 679 sqq ; W. M. Ramiay,
Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia {OjIotA, i^qS'l)* •xidi The Church in the Roman Empire (Hodder & Stoughton, 1893).
* Dio, bdx., xa ; Schiller, k c,^ 612 ; Mommsen, JP. (?., t., 544.
CHAPTER II.
THE EMPIRE IN THE THIRD CENTURY, 1 93-284, A.D.
The storms of which the irruption of the Mar- comanni and the revolt of Avidius Cassius had been unwelcome signs fell with full force upon the empire during the third century. At the outset, it is true, the strong haiid of the African soldier Septimius Severus kept the barbarian at bay, and maintained order within the frontiers. But between the death of Severus in 211 A.D., and the accession of Diocle* tian in 284 A.D., no fewer than twenty-three emperors sat in the seat of Augustus,and of these all but three died violent deaths at the hands of a mutinous soldiery, or by the orders of a successful rival. Of the remaining three, Decius fell in battle against the Goths, Valerian died a prisoner in the far East, and Claudius was among the victims of the chronic pesti- lence which added to the miseries of the time. The The " tyrants," as the unsuccessful pretenders
tyranto. ^q fj^Q imperial purple were styled, reap- pear with almost unfailing regularity in each reign.*
> PoUio, Tyranni THgenia (Scriptores Hist Aug, ^ Teubner, 1865); Schiller, i., 705 sqq,
568
Ch. 2] The Empire in the Third Century. 569
The claims of Septimius Severus himself were dis- puted by Clodius Albinus in the West, and by Pescennius Niger in the East, and at the bloody battle of Lugdunum and the sack of Byzantium rival Roman forces, for the first time since the accession of Vespasian, exhausted each other in civil war.* In 237-238 A.D., six emperors perished in the course of a few months. It was, however, during the reign of Gallienus (260-268 A.D.) that the evil reached its height. The oaifienus
^ i6o-a68 A.D.
central authority was paralysed ; the barba- rians were pouring in from the north ; the Parthians were threatening to overrun the Eastern provinces ; and the legions on the frontiers were left to repel the enemies of Rome as best they could. A hundred ties bound them closely to the districts in which they were stationed : their permanent camps had grown into the likeness of towns ; they had families and farms ; the unarmed provincials looked to them as their natural protectors, and were attached to them by bonds of intermarriage and by long intercourse. Now that they found themselves left to repel by their own efforts the invaders from without, they reasonably enough claimed the right to ignore the central authority, which was powerless to aid them, and to choose for themselves imperatores whom they knew and trusted. The first of these provincial empires was that established by Postumus Tyranu in Gaul (259-272 A.D.),and long maintained *" ^•"*-, by his successors Victorinus and Tetricus.* Their
> Gibbon, i., chap, v.; Schiller, Gtsch, d. JCatseruit, i., 66a * Gibbon, i., chap, x.; Mommsen, v., 149 ; Schiller, i.. Say.
5 JO Outlines of Raman History. [Book vi
authority was acknowledged, not only in Gaul and by the troops on the Rhine, but by the legions of Britain and Spain ; and under Postumus, at any rate, the existence of the Gallic empire was justified by the repulse of the barbarians, and by the restoration of peace and security to the provinces of Gaul. On the Danube, in Greece, and in Asia Minor none of the " pretenders " enjoyed more than a passing suc- cess. It was otherwise in thenar East where the
Syrian Odsenathus, prince of Palmyra,' and z«nQbia though officially Only the governor of the
East {dux Orientis) under Gallienus, drove the Persians out of Asia Minor and Syria, recovered Mesopotamia, and ruled Syria, Arabia, Armenia, Cappadocia, and Cilicia with all the independence of a sovereign. Odaenathus was murdered in 266 A.D. His young son Vaballathus succeeded him in his titles, but the real power was vested in his widow Zenobia, under whom not only the greater part of Asia Minor but even the province of Egypt was forcibly added to the dominions governed in the name of Gallienus by the Palmyrene prince.
Gallienus was murdered at Milan in 268 orSaSS^y" ^'^'^ ^^^ ^^^ remaining sixteen years of •73 aIdT* ^^^^ period were marked by the restoration
of unity to the distracted empire. Palmyra was destroyed, and Zenobia led a prisoner to Rome by Aurelian in 273. a.d. ; in the next year the Gallic empire came to an end by the surrender of Tetricus,
and the successors of Aurelian — Tacitus, Probus,
■
> Gibbon, i., chap, x.; Mommsen, R, G., v., 433 ; Schiller, L, 857 ; yif. AtireHani, 26 ; Pollio Tyr, Trig., 15.
Ch. 2] The Empire in the Third Century. 571
and Carus (275-282 A.D,) — were at least rulers over the whole extent of the empire.
While rival generals were contending for the imperial purple, the very existence of Barbaric the empire which they aspired to rule iovmIom. was imperilled by foreign invasion. As early as 236 A.D. a new enemy, the Alemanni, had crossed the Rhine, but had been driven back by the valour of Maximinus (238 A.D.), and in the same year the Goths first appeared on the banks of the Danube. It was, however, during the period of internal dis- sension and civil war from the reign of Philip (244- 249 A.D.) to the accession of Claudius (268 A.D.) that the barbarians saw and used their opportunity. From across the Rhine, bands of Alemanni and Franks swept over Gaul and Spain, and even de- scended upon the coasts of Africa, until their raids were checked by the Gallic emperor Pos- tumus (253-259 A.D.). Far more destruct- ive were the raids of the Goths.* Towards the close of the reign of Philip (247 A.D.) they crossed the Danube, and overran Moesia, Thrace, and Macedonia* In 251 A.D. they defeated and slew the emperor Decius ; and, though his successor Gallus purchased a temporary peace by lavish gifts, the province of Dacia was finally lost to Rome." The Gothic raids by sea which began under Valerian (253-260 A.D.) were even more ruinous. Their fleets issuing
* Gibbon, i., chap. x. ; Mommsen, R. C7., v., ai6.
• For the loss of Dacia see C. /. A., iii., p. i6o; Jung, D, roman, Landschaften^ 399. It was Aurelian who finally abandoned Dacia,
Vit, Aur,^ 39.
572 Outlines of Roman History. iBook VI
^^ •
from the ports of the Black Sea ravaged the sea- board of Asia Minor, and returned laden with the spoils of the maritime towns. In the reign of Gallienus (250-268 A.D.) a fleet of five hundred sail appeared off the coasts of Greece itself; Athens, Corinth, Argos, and Sparta were sacked^and Epirus laid waste. On the death of Gallienus (268 A.D.) the Goths once more marched southward, but, in the new emperor, Claudius, they were confronted at last by an able and resolute opponent. They were de- cisively defeated and driven back across the Danube (269 A.D.). Claudius died of the plague in the next year, but by his successor Aurelian Roman authority was established in Moesia and Pannonia, and the Danube frontier was put once more in a state of effi- cient defence. Five years later (276 A.D.) Probus repulsed a raid of the Franks and Alemanni, and restored peace on the Rhine. The rule of Rome, however, now stopped short, as in the reign of Tibe- rius, at the line of the two great rivers ; all that had been acquired beyond since the time of Vespasian was abandoned, and on the further banks of the Rhine and Danube stood, in the place of friendly or subject tribes, a threatening array of hostile peoples^
At the close of the second century the TheSasM- g^owing wcakness of Parthia seemed to PiSthia. promise an immunity from danger on the Eastern frontier. But with the revolu- tion which placed the Sassanidae upon the throne the whole situation was changed.' The new dynasty
* Gibbon, i., chap. viii. ; Mommsen, R, G,,y., 411 ; see art, Persia in Encychpadia Britannica,
Ch. 2] The Empire in the Third Century. 573
was in blood and religion Persian ; it claimed descent from Cyrus and Darius, and aspired to recover from Western hands the dominions which had once been theirs. In 230 A.D. Artaxares (Ardashir) had formally demanded from Severus Alexander the res- titution of the provinces of Asia, had invaded Meso- potamia, then a Roman province, and even advanced into Syria. Twenty years later his successor Sapor again crossed the Euphrates ; in 260 A.D., ten years after Decius's defeat by the Goths, the Emperor Valerian was conquered and taken prisoner by the Persians, who poured triumphantly into Syria and captured Antioch. But here for the time their suc- cesses ended. Three years later Odaenathus of Palmyra drove them back, and held the East securely in the name of Rome. On the fall of Zenobia (273 A.D.) they gained possession for a time of Armenia and Mesopotamia, but were driven out by the Emperor Carus (282 A.D.), and the frontier line as fixed by Septimius Severus was restored.
Although any serious loss of territory had been avoided, the storms of the third century
« 1 1 1 • 1 r 1 rr i % SUteofthe
had told with fatal effect upon the general empire at condition of the empire. The " Roman the third
century.
peace ** had vanished ; not only the fron- tier territories, but the central districts of Greece, Asia Minor, and even Italy itself had suffered from the ravages of* war, and the fortification of Rome by Aurelian was a significant testimony to the altered condition of affairs.* War, plague, and famine had
* Zosimus, i., 49 ; Vit, AureL^ 21 sq, ; Jordan, Tcpog, d. Stadi Rom,^ i., 340,
5 74 Outlines of Roman History.
thinned the population and crippled the resources of the provinces. On all sides land was running waste, cities and towns were decaying, and commerce was paralysed. Only with the greatest difficulty were sufficient funds squeezed from the exhausted tax- payers to meet the increasing cost of the defence of the frontiers. The old established culture and civili- sation of the Mediterranean world rapidly declined, and the mixture of barbaric rudeness with Oriental pomp and luxury which marked the court, even of the better emperors, such as Aurelian,^ was typical of the general deterioration.
> Schiller, i., 867 ; Anr. Victor, £/. 50; Diet AnHq., s. ▼• Prine^.
BOOK VII.
THE BARBARIC INVASIONS
284-476 A.D.
THE BARBARIC INVASIONS— 284-476 A.D.
CHAPTER I.
FROM THE ACCESSION OF DIOCLETIAN TO THE DEATH OF THEODOSIUS — 284-395 A.D.
The work begun by Aurelian and Probus, that of fortifying the empire alike against internal ^^^ reform« sedition and foreign invasion, was com- JnPconJtan^ pleted by Diocletian and Constantine the **"*•
Great, whose system of government, novel as it appears at first sight, was in reality the natural and inevitable outcome of the history of the previous century.' Its object was twofold, to gjive increased stability to the imperial authority itself, and to organise an efficient administrative machinery throughout the empire. In the second year of his reign Diocletian associated Maximian Augugti with himself as colleague, and six years "* caswres. later (292 A.D.) the hands of the two Augusti
' See Gibbon, vol. iii., chap, xvii.; Maxquardt, Staaisvtrw,^ i., pp. 81. 336, 337, ii., ai7 sq.s Madvig, Verf, d, Rdm, Reichs, i., 585 ; B6cking« NoHtia Digniiatum, Bonn, 1853 ; Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, i., 202 sq,; Preuss, Diocletian^ Leipzig, 1869 ; Seeck, Un^ tergang d, Antiken fVelt^ vol. i.
37 577
578 Outlines of Roman History. [Book vii
were further strengthened by the proclamation of Constantius and Galerius as Casares. Precedents for such an arrangement might have been quoted from the earlier history of the empire ; * and the considerations in favour of it at the time were strong. It divided the overwhelming burdens and responsi- bilities of government, without sacrificing the unity of the empire ; for, although to each of the Augusti and Cassars a separate sphere was assigned, the Caesars were subordinate to the higher authority of the Augusti, and over all his three colleagues Dio- cletian claimed to exercise a paramount control. It at least reduced the too familiar risk of a disputed succession by establishing in the two Caesars the natural successors to the higher position of Augusti, and finally it satisfied the jealous pride of the rival armies of the empire by giving them what they had so constantly claimed, imperatores of their own. The distribution of power between Diocletian and his colleagues followed those lines of division which the feuds of the previous century had only too clearly marked out. The armies of the Rhine, the Danube, and of Syria fell to the lot respectively of Constantius, Galerius, and Diocletian, the central districts of Italy, and Africa to Maximian.' A second point in
' Mommsen, StaaUrecht^ ii., 1065 sq, Venis was associated with Marcus Aurelitts as Augustus ; Severus gave the title to his two sons. The bestowal of the title ** Csesar " on the destined successor is at least as early as Hadrian. Mommsen, op, ciU^ I044f ^^^ above, p. 469.
•The division was as follows: — (i) Diocletian — Thrace, Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor ; (2) Maximian — Italy and Africa ; (3) Galerius— Illyricum and the Danube; (4) Constantius— Britain, Gaul, Spain, See Gibbon, ii., 68 ; Aurelius Victor, c. 39.
Ch.1] From Diocletian to Theodosius. $79
the new system was the complete and final emancipation of the imperial author- charcterof ity from all constitutional limitation and ^'"ij'SlSriJyl control. The last lingering traces of its republican origin disappeared. The emperors from Diocletian onwards were autocrats in theory as well as in practice. The divided powers, the parallel jurisdictions, the defined prerogatives of the Augus- tan system all vanished. There was but one legal authority throughout the empire, that of the emperor himself ; and that authority was absolute. This avowed despotism Diocletian, following in the steps of Aurelian, hedged round with all the pomp and majesty of Oriental monarchy. The final adoption of the title dominuSj so often rejected by the earlier emperors, the diadem on the head, the robes of silk and gold, the replacement of the republican saluta- tion of a fellow -citizen by the adoring prostration even of the highest in rank before their lord and master, were all significant marks of the new rigime^ In the hands of this absolute ruler was placed the entire control of an elaborate administra- tive machinery. Most of the old local _poHcyoT
^ Diocletian
and national distinctions, privileges, and liberties #which had once flourished within the empire had already disappeared under the levelling influence of imperial rule, and the levelling process was now completed. Roman citizenship had, since the edit of Caracalla, ceased to be the _ ^ .
■TV 1 • /• 11 Degradation
privilege of a minority. Diocletian finally ofitaiv and reduced Italy and Rome to the level of the
' Anrel, Victor, 39 ; Eutrop., ix., 36.
580 Outlines of Roman History. [Book VD
provinces : the provincial land-tax and provincial
government were introduced into the former/ while
Rome ceased to be even in name the seat of imperial
authority.* Throughout the whole area
The new ad- • , . ., i- , .
minietrative of the empire a uniform system of admm- istration was established, the control of which was centred in the imperial palace, and in the confidential ministers who stood nearest the emperor's person.* Between the civil and military depart- ments the separation was complete. At the head of the former, at least under the completed organisation of Constantine, were the four prefects;* next below them the vicarii, who had charge of the dioceses; below these again the governors of the separate provinces {prcesides, correctores, consulares)^ under each of whom was a host of minor officials. Parallel with his civil hierarchy of prefects, vicars, prasides, and smaller officiates was the series of military officers, from the magistri militum^ the dtues^ and comites
* Maxquaxdt, Staatverw.^ i., 80-83, where a list is given of the seventeen so-caXitd. provincia into which Italy, together with Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, was divided. Each had its own governor, and the governors were subject to the two zncarii ftnc, urbis, vie, Italia J ^ and they in turn to the prefect of Italy, whose prefecture, however, included also Africa and Western lUyricum.
* The seats of government for Diocletian and his th];ee colleagues were Milan, Treves, Sirmium, Nicomedia.
' For these last, see Gibbon, ii., chap. 3cvii.,p. 335 ; cf, also Notitia Dignitatum and B()cking*s notes.
* Prafecti prcBtorio, The four prefectures were Oriens, Illyricum, Italia, Gallia, to which must be added the prefectures of Rome and Constantinople.
* There were 12 dioceses and 116 provinces ; cf, in addition to the authorities mentioned above, Bethmann-HoUw^, CivH-Prozess, iii., Walter, Gfsch, d, rdm, Rechts,^ i., pp. 428 sq, (Bonn, X845).
Ch.1] From Dioclelian to Theodosius. 581
downwards. But the leading features of both are the same. In both there is the utmost possible subordination and division of property. The subdi- vision of provinces, begun by the emperors of the second century, was systematically carried out by Diocletian, and either by Diocletian or by Constan- tine the legion was reduced to one fifth of its former strength.* Each official, civil or military, was placed directly under the orders of a superior, and thus a continuous chain of authority connected the emperor with the meanest officer in his service. Finally, the various grades in these two imperial services were carefully marked by the appropriation to each of distinctive titles, the highest being that of illustris^ which was confined to the prefects, to the military magistri ^xid comites, and to the chief ministers."
There can be little doubt that on the whole these reforms prolonged the existence of the empire, by creating a machinery which enabled the
.«• rr • 1 11 SffectB of
Stronger emperors to utilise effectively all these
its available resources, and which to some extent even made good the deficiencies of weaker rulers. But in many points they failed to attain their object. Diocletian's division of the imperial authority among colleagues, subject to the general control of the senior Augustus, was effectually discredited by the twenty years of almost constant conflict which fol-
' For this and other charges in the military organisation, see Madvig, ii., 572 ; Marquardt, ii., 584 sqg.
* The grades were as follows : illustres, specHHles, elarissimi, per- fecHssimi, egregii. For the other insignia, see Madvig, ii., 590, and the Notitia Dignitatum, See also generally Schiller, ii., pp. 23-1 15. For the comites, see the article in Pauly-Wissowa Real EncycUp&die^ J. ».
582 Outlines of Roman History. [Book vii
lowed his own abdication (305-323 A.D.). Constan- tine's partition of the empire among his three sons was not more successful in ensuring tranquillity , and in the final division of the East and West between Valens and Valentinian (364 A.D.) the essential principle of Diocletian's scheme^ the maintenance of a single central authority, was abandoned. The " tyrants," the curse of the third century, were far from unknown in the fourth, and their comparative paucity was due rather to the hold which the house of Constan- tine obtained upon the allegiance of their subjects, than to the system of Diocletian. This system, moreover, while it failed altogether to remove some of the existing evils, aggravated others. The already overburdened financial resources of the empire were strained still further by the increased expenditure which the substitution of four imperial courts for one necessitated, and by the multiplication in every direction of paid officials. The gigantic bureaucracy of the fourth century proved, in spite of its undoubted services, an intolerable weight upon the energies of the empire.*
Diocletian and Maximian formally abdicated their
high office in 305 A.D. Eighteen years later, Con-
stantine, the sole survivor of six rival
the Great, emperors, united the whole empire under
3^3*353 A.D.
his own rule. His reign of fourteen years was marked by two events of first-rate importance —
* The passion for moulding everything after a uniform official pat- tern extended beyond the departments of civil and military adminis* tration to the professions and to society. Walter, op, cil,, i.,456; Marquardty ii., 330 s^^.
Ch.f] From Diocletian to Theodosius. 583
the recognition of Christianity as the reli- gion of the empire,' and the building of the *of*chrSi° new capital at Byzantium. The alliance which Constantine inaugurated between the Christian Church and the imperial government, while it enlisted on the side of the state one of the most powerful of the new forces with which it had to reckon, imposed a check, which was in time to become a powerful one, on the imperial authority. The establish- consun- ment of the new " City of Constantine " as tinopie. a second Rome, with a second senate, a prefect of the city, regioneSy and even largesses, did more than pro- claim once again the deposition of Rome from her old imperial position. It paved the way for the final separation of East and West by providing the former for the first time with a suitable seat of government on the Bosporus. The death of Constantine in 337 A.D. was followed, as the abdication of Diocletian had been, by the outbreak of quarrels among rival Caesars. Of the three sons of Constantine, who in 337 A.D. divided the empire between them, Constantine, the eldest, fell in civil war against his brother Constans ; Constans himself was, ten years afterwards, defeated and slain by Magnentius ; and the latter in his turn was in 353 A.D. vanquished by Constan tine's
Conttan-
only surviving son Constantius. Thus for JfeVii* the second time the whole empire was united under the rule of a member of the house of Constantine.* But in 355 A.D. Constantius reluctantly
* Gibbon, ii., chaps, xt., xvi.; Ranke, Weltgesch,^ iii., 525; Schiller, ii., p. 304 and pp. x-i8, where the authorities are given.
* Bury, HuU of Later Raman Empire^ i., 50.
584 Outlines of Roman History. iBookVU
granted the title of Caesar to his cousin Julian, and placed him in charge of Gaul, where the momentary elevation of a tyrant, Silvanus, and still more the inroads of Franks and Alemanni, had excited alarm. Julian's successes, however,during the next five years, were such as to arouse the jealous fears of Constan- tius. In order to weaken his suspected rival, the legions under Julian in Gaul were suddenly ordered to march eastward against the Persians (360 A.D.). Julian They refused, and when the order was
361-363 A.D. repeated, replied by proclaiming Julian himself emperor and Augustus.* Julian, with prob- ably sincere reluctance, accepted the position, but the death of Constantius in 361 A.D. saved the em- pire from the threatened civil war. The chief ' importance of the career of Julian, both as Caesar in Gaul from 355-361 A.D., and during his brief tenure of sole power (361-363 A.D.), lies, so far as the general history of the empire is concerned, in his able defence of the Rhine frontier, and in his Persian campaign ; for his attempted restoration of pagan, and in especial of Hellenic worships, had no more permanent effect than the war which he courageously waged against the multitudinous abuses which had grown up in the luxurious court of Constantius.* But his vigorous administration in Gaul undoubtedly checked the barbarian advance across the Rhine, and postponed the loss of the Western provinces, while,
^ Schiller, ii., 321. The chief ancient authority is Ammianus Marcellinus, who accompanied Julian in his Eastern campaign.
' In especial against the overweening influence of the eunuchs, an influence at once greater and more pernicious than even that of the imperial freedmen in the days of Claudius ; Schiller, /. c.
Ch. 1] From Diocletian to Theodosius. 585
on the contrary, his campaign in Persia, brilliantly successful ^t first, resulted in his own death, and in the immediate surrender by his successor, Jovian, of the territories beyond the Tigris, won by Diocletian seventy years before. Julian died on June 26, 363 A.D., his successor Jovian on February 17, jovian
364 A.D. ; and on the 26th of February 3"^a^ ^•^• Valentinian was acknowledged as emperor tinYi!n*i!' by the army at Nicaea. In obedience to 3^*-3wa.d. the expressed wish of the soldiers that he should associate a colleague with himself, he conferred the title of Augustus upon his brother Valens, and the long-impending division of the theemoire, empire was at last effected ; Valentinian be- came emperor of the West, Valens of the East. From 364 A.D. till his death in 375 A.D., the vigour and ability of Valentinian kept his own frontier of the Rhine tolerably intact, and prevented any serious disasters on the Danube. But his death, which deprived the weaker Valens of a trusted vaien* counsellor and ally, was followed by a 364-378 a.d. crisis on the Danube, more serious than any which had occurred there since the defeat of Decius. In 376 A.D. the Goths, hard pressed by Revolt of their new foes from the eastward, the theootht. Huns, sought and obtained the protection of the Roman empire.* They were transported across the Danube, and settled in Moesia, but, indignant at the treatment they received, they rose in arms against their protectors. In 378 A.D. at Hadrianople, Valens was defeated and killed ; the
* Schiller, ii., 376 sqq, ; Gibbon, iii., ch. 26 ; Hodgkin, i., 102 sqq. ; Amm. Marcellinus, books xxvii-xxxi.
5 86 Outlines of Rofnan History. [Book vii
victorious Goths spread with fire and sword over lUy- ricum, and advanced eastward to the very walls of
Constantinople. Once more, however, the doiiius L. danger passed away. The skill and tact
of Theodosius, who had been proclaimed emperor of the East by Gratian, conciliated the Goths ; they were granted an allowance, and in large numbers entered the service of the Roman emperor. The remaining years oi Theodosius's reign (382-395 A.D.) were mainly engrossed by the duty which now devolved upon the emperor of the East, of uphold- ing the increasingly feeble authority of his colleague in the West against the attacks of pretenders. Maximus, the murderer of Gratian (383 A.D.), was at first recognised by Theodosius as Caesar, and left in undisturbed command of Gaul, Spain, and Britain ; but, when in 386 a.d. he proceeded to oust Valen- tinian II. from Italy and Africa, Theodosius marched westward, crushed him, and installed Valentinian as emperor of the West. In the very next year, how- ever, the murder of Valentinian (392 a.d.) by Arbo- gast, a Frank, was followed by the appearance of a Division of fj'^sh tyrant, in the person of Eugenius, a between*'* domestic officer and nominee of Arbogast Honoriui.*"** himself. Once more Theodosius marched 395, A.D. westward, and near Aquileia decisively defeated his opponents. But his victory was quickly followed by his own illness and death (395 A.D.), and the fortunes of East and West passed into the care of his two sons, Arcadius and Honorius.^
' See besides Gibbon, Hodgkin, and Schiller, Richter, Das Wai Romische Reich, Berlin, 1865.
CHAPTER II.
FROM THE DEATH OF THEODOSIUS TO THE EXTINC- TION OF THE WESTERN EMPIRE — 395-476 A.D.
During more than a century after the accession of Diocletian, the Roman empire had succeeded in holding at bay the swarming hordes of barbarians. But, though no province had yet been lost, as Dacia had been lost in the century before, and though the frontier lines of the Rhine and the Danube were still guarded by Roman forts and troops, there were signs in plenty that a catastrophe was at hand.
From all the writers who deal with the fourth cen- tury comes the same tale of declining
^ ^ Dittren of
Strength and energy. From Lactantius to 3?F£ Zosimus we have one long series of laments fourth cen- over the depression and misery of the provinces.* To meet the increased expenditure neces- sary to maintain the legions, to pay the hosts of officials, and to keep up the lu^curious splendour of the imperial courts, not only were the taxes raised in amount, but the most oppressive and inquisitorial methods were adopted in order to secure for the imperial treasury every penny that could be wrung from the wretched taxpayer. The results are seen
* Dill, Roman Society in the Last Century of the Western Empire.
587
588 Outlines 0/ Roman History. [Book vii
in such pictures as that which the panegyrist Eumenius' draws of the state of Gaul (306-312 A.D.) under Constantine, in the accounts of the same province under Julian fifty years later, in those given by Zosimus early in the fifth century, and in the stringent regulations of the Theodosian code, deal- ing with the assessment and collection of the taxes. Among the graver symptoms of economic ruin were the decrease of population, which seriously dimin- ished not only the number of taxpayers, but the supply of soldiers for the legions ; * the spread of infanticide ; the increase of waste land whose owners and cultivators had fled to escape the tax collector ; the declining prosperity of the towns ; and the con- stantly recurring riots and insurrections, both among starving peasants, as in Gaul,' and in populous cities like Antioch.* The distress was aggravated by the civil wars, by the rapacity of tyrants, such as Max- entius and Maximus, but above all by the raids of the barbarians, who seized every opportunity afforded by the dissensions or incapacity of the emperors to cross the frontiers and harry the lands of the pro- vincials. Constantine, Julian, and Valentinian I. had each to , give a temporary breathing space
> Eumenius, Paneg, , Vet. , vii. For Julian's admi nistration in Gaul, see Ammianus, xv.-xvii. ; Julian's own oration to the Athenian senate and people, Juliana Opera (ed. Hertlein, Leipzig, 1S75), PP- 346 j^. y Zosimus, ii., 38. Cf, Gibbon, ii., 333, 412 ; Jung, D. ronian, Landschaften, 264, 265 ; Hodgkin, i., 600 sq,
' Gibbon, ii., 323.
■For the Bagaudae, see Gibbon, ii., 69, and Jung, op, cit,^ 264 where the authorities are given.
* In 387 A.D. ; Hodgkin, 1., 178.
Ch. 2] Death of Theodosius. 589
to Gaul by repelling the Franks and Alemanni. Britain was harassed by Picts and Scots from the north (367-370 A.D.), while the Saxon pirates swept the northern seas and the coasts both of Britain and Gaul. On the Danube the Quadi, Sarmatae, and above all the Goths, poured at intervals into the provinces of Pannonia and Moesia, and penetrated to Macedonia and Thrace. In the East, in addition to the constant border feud with Persia, we hear of ravages by the Isaurian mountaineers, and by a new enemy, the Saracens.*
Even more ominous of coming danger was the extent to which the European half of the empire was becoming barbarised. The policy which had been inaugurated by Augustus within the himself, of settling barbarians within the *°*^ "' frontiers, had been taken up on a larger scale and in a more systematic way by the Illyrian emperors of the third century, and was continued by their succes- sors in the fourth. In Gaul, in the provinces south of the Danube, even in Macedonia and Italy, large bar- barian settlements had been made, Theodosius in particular distinguishing himself by his liberality in this respect. Nor did the barbarians admitted dur- ing the fourth century merely swell the class of half- servile colonu On the contrary, they not only con- stituted to an increasing extent the strength of the imperial forces, but won their way in ever-growing numbers to posts of dignity and importance in the imperial service." Under Constantius the palace was crowded with Franks.' Julian led Gothic troops
' Amm. Marcel., xiv., 4.
• Seeck, Untergangd, Antiken Weli^ i., pp. 179 jf^., 368 sqq,
'Amm., XY., 5.
590 Outlines of Roman History. [Book vii
against Persia, and the army with which Theodosius defeated the tyrant Maximus (388 A.D.) contained large numbers of Huns and Alans, as well as of Goths. The names of Arbogast, Stilicho, and Ru- finus are sufficient proof of the place held by bar- barians near the emperor's person and in the control of the provinces and legions of Rome ; and the rela- tions of Arbogast to his nominee for the purple, Eugenius, were an anticipation of those which ex- isted between Ricimer and the emperors of the latter half of the fifth century.
It was by barbarians already settled within the empire that the first of the series of attacks which finally separated the Western provinces SvM*on8. from the empire and set up a barbaric ruler in Italy were made,* and it was in men of barbarian birth that Rome found her ablest and most successful defenders, and the emperors both of East and West their most capable and pow- erful ministers. The Visigoths whom
AUric and ^
the visi- Alarfc led into Italy had been settled
south of the Danube as the allies of the
empire since the accession of Theodosius. The
' Accounts of the leading ancient authorities for the period 395- 476 will be found prefixed to the several chapters in Hodgkin's Italy and Her Invader s^ vols, i., ii. (Oxford, 1 880), especially vol. i., pp. 234, 277. Among standard modern authorities are Gibbon, vol. iv. ; Tillemont, Histaire des Empereurs^ vol. v. ; Milman, Latin ChriS" tianity^ vol. i. ; Thierry, Trois Ministres des fits de ThA>dose (Paris, 1865), and Histaire d^ Aitila; Raiike, IVeltgeschichte, vol. iv., — compare especially his criticisms (iv. [2] 249 sq.) on Eusebius Zosi- mus, Procopius, Jordanes, and Gregory of Tours ; Bury's Hist, of Later Roman Empire. For barbarian migrations see Wietersheim, Gesch, d. Volkerwanderung, and Seeck, Gesch, d, Untergang d. An-- Hken ;fV// (Berlin, 1899-1902).
Ch.2i Death of TTieodosius. 591
greater part of them were Christians at least in name, and Alaric himself had stood high in the favour of Theodosius. The causes which set them in motion are tolerably clear. Like the Germans of the days of Caesar, they wanted land for their own, and to this land-hunger was evidently added in Alaric's own case the ambition of raising himself to the heights which had been reached before him by the Vandal Stilicho at Ravenna and the Goth Ru- finus at Constantinople. The jealousy which existed between the rulers of the Western and Eastern em- pires furthered his plans. In the name of Arcadius, the emperor of the East, or at least with the conni- vance of Arcadius's minister Rufinus, he occupied lUyricum, and from thence ravaged Greece, which according to the existing division of provinces be- longed to the Western empire. Thence in 396 a.d. he retreated befpre Stilicho to lUyricum, with the command of which he was now formally invested by Arcadius, and which gave him the best possible starting-point for an attack on Italy.* In 400 A.D. he led his people, with their itaiy.
wives and families, their waggons and treasure, to seek lands for themselves south of the Alps. But in this first invasfon he penetrated no farther than the plains of Lombardy, and after the desperate battle of PoUentia (402 a.d.*) he slowly withdrew from Italy, his retreat being hastened by the promises of gold freely made to him by the im-
> Hodgkin, pp. cit., i., 275.
* According to others, 403 ; Hodgkin, L, 3za
592 Outlines of Roman History. CBook vii
perial government. Not until the autumn of 408 A.D. did Alaric again cross the Alps. Stilicho was dead ; the barbarian troops in Honorius's service had been provoked into joining Alaric by the insane anti- Teutonic policy of Honorius and his ministers, and Alaric marched unopposed to Rome; this time, however, the payment of a heavy ransom saved the city. Several months of negotiation followed be- tween Alaric and the court of Ravenna, but though Alaric's demands were moderate, Honorius would grant neither lands for his people, nor the honourable post in the imperial service which he asked for him- self. Once more Alaric sat down before Rome, and this time the panic-stricken citizens discovered a fresh mode of escape. Attalus, a Greek, the pre- fect of the city, was declared Augustus, and Alaric accepted the post of commander-in-chief. But the incapacity of Attalus was too much for the patience of his barbarian minister and patron, who after a few months' reign formally deposed him, and renewed his offers to Honorius. Again, however, they were declined, and Alaric marched to the siege and sack of Rome (410 A.D.).* But his death followed hard
on his capture of Rome, and two years «)th8 in later (412 A.D.) his successor Ataulf led the
Visigoths to find in Gaul the lands which Alaric had sought in Italy. It is characteristic of the anarchical condition of the West that Ataulf and his Goths should have fought for Honorius in
. ' For the treatment of Rome by Alaric, see Hodgkin, i., 370, with Gibbon, iv., loi, and Ranke, Weltgesch,^ iv., 246. Allowance must be made for the exaggeration of ecclesiastical writers.
Ch. 21 Death of Theodosius. 593
Gaul against the tyrants/ and in Spain against the Vandals, Suevi, and Alani ; and it was with the con- sent of Honorius that in 419 A.D. Wallia, who had followed Ataulf as king of the Visigoths, finally settled with his people in southwestern Gaul, and founded the Visigothic monarchy.*
It was about the same period that the accomplished fact of the division of Spain between the vandais three barbarian tribes of Vandals, Suevi, ^'^Aiani'ln and Alani was in a similar manner recog- Spain,
nised and approved by the paramount authority of the emperor of the West.' These peoples had crossed the Rhine at the time when Alaric was making his first attempt on Italy. A portion of the host led by Radagaisus* actually invaded Italy, but were cut to pieces by Stilicho near Florence (405 A.D.) ; the rest pressed on through Gaul, crossed the Pyrenees, and entered the as yet untouched province of Spain.
Honorious died in 423 A.D. His authority had survived the dangers to which it had been
** Death of
exposed alike from the rivalry of tyrants Honorius, and barbaric invasion, and with the single exception of Britain,* no province had yet formally broken loose from the empire. But over a great
^ For these ** tyrants" see an article by Prof. Freeman in the first number of the English Historical Review Qan., 1886), pp. 53-86.
* The capital of the new state was Tolosa (Toulouse).
* Jung, Die romanischen Landschaften^ 73 sq» '
* For the connection between this movement and those of Alaric and of the Vandals, see Hodgkin, i., 282, 304 : Gibbon, iv., 46.
' The Roman troops were withdrawn from Britain by Constantino
in 409 A.D.; Jung, 305. 38
594 Outlines of Raman History. CBook vii
part of the West this authority was now little more than nominal ; throughout the major part of Gaul and in Spain the barbarians had settled, and bar- barian states were growing up which, though they still recognised the paramount supremacy of the emperor, were in all essentials independent of his control. The question for the future was whether this relationship between the declining imperial authority and the vigorous young states which had planted the seeds of a fresh life in the provinces would be maintained.
The long reign of Valentinian 111.(423-455 A.D.) is vaien- marked by two events of first-rate impor-
SS^SaJd, tance: the conquest of Africa by the Vandal Vandals,* and the invasion of Gaul and congueatof j^^^jy ^y ^^tila. The Vandal settlement 499 A.D. jj^ Africa was closely akin in its origin and results to those of the Visigoths and of the Vandals themselves in Gaul and Spain. Here as there the occasion was given by the jealous quarrels of power- ful imperial ministers. The feud between Boniface, count of Africa, and Aetius, the " master-general " or " count of Italy," opened the way to Africa for the Vandal King Gaiseric (Genseric), as that between Stilicho and Rufinus had before set Alaric in motion westward, and as the quarrel between the tyrant Constantine and the ministers of Honorius had opened the way for the Vandals, Sueves, and Alans into Spain. In this case, too, as in the others, the
' Hodgkin, ii., 233-290 ; Gibbon, iv., 176-1SS, 256 ; Jung, 183. The leading ancient authority is Procopius. See Ranke, iv., (2) 285 ; Papencordt, Gesch. d. Vandal, Herrschaft in Africa.
Ch. 2] Death of Theodosius. 595
hunger for more land and treasure was the impelling motive with the barbarian invader, and in Africa, as in Gaul and Spain, the invaders' acquisitions were confirmed by the imperial authority which they still professed to recognise. It was in 429 A.D. that Gaiseric, king of the Vandals, crossed with his warriors, their families and goods, to the province of Africa, a province hitherto almost as untouched as Spain by the ravages of war. Thanks to the quarrels of Boniface and Aetius their task was an easy one. The defenceless province was easily and quickly overrun. In 435 A.D.* a formal treaty se- cured them in the possession of a large portion of the rich lands which were the granary of Rome, in exchange for a payment probably of corn and oil. Carthage was taken in 439 A.D., and by 440 A,D. the Vandal kingdom was firmly established.
Eleven years later (45 1 A. D.) Attila invaded Gaul, but this Hunnish movement was in a variety of ways different from those of the Visigoths and ^^,^^ ^^ Vandals. Nearly a century had passed ^^^jj* since the Huns first appeared in Europe, and drove the Goths to seek shelter within the Roman lines. Attila was now the ruler of a great empire in central and northern Europe,* for in addi- tion to his own Huns, the German tribes along the Rhine and Danube and far away to the north owned him as king. He confronted the Roman power as
* Prosper, 659 ; Ranke, iv. (i), 282.
* The principal ancient authorities are Priscus (MQller, Fragm, Hist. Gr,, iv., 69) ; Jordanes (ed. Mommsen, 1882) ; Sidonius Apol- linaris (ed. Barret, Paris, 1878).
59^ Outlines of Raman History. CBook vii
an equal ; and, in marked contrast to the Gothic and Vandal chieftains, he treated with the emperors of East and West as an independent sovereign. His advance on Gaul and Italy threatened, not the estab- lishment of yet one more barbaric chieftain on Rom- an soil, but the subjugation of the civilised and Christ- ian West to the rule of a heathen and semi-barbarous conqueror. But Rome now reaped the advantages of the policy which Honorius had perhaps involun- tarily followed. The Visigoths in Gaul, Christian and already half Romanised, rallied to the aid of the empire against a common foe. Attila, defeated at Chdlons' by Aetius, withdrew into Pannonia (451
A.D.). In the next year he overran Lom- ch&ioM. bardy, but penetrated no farther south,
and in 453 A,D. he died. With the mur- der of Valentine III. (453 A.D.) the western branch of the house of Theodosius came to an end, and the next twenty years witnessed the accession and de- position of nine emperors. The three months' rule
of Maximus is memorable only for the in-
Sftck of ,
Rome by the vasion of Italy and the sack of Rome by the Vandals under Gaiseric. From 456-
472 A.D. the actual ruler of Italy was Ricimer, the Sueve. Of the four emperors whom he
•upremein placed on the throne, Majorian (457-461) alone played any imperial part outside
Italy.' Ricimer died in 472 A.D., and two years later
'For the decisive battle of Chtlons see Gibbon, iv., 234 sq, ; Hodgkin, ii., 138, note A, 161, where the topography is discussed.
' Majorian was the last Roman emperor who appeared in person in Spain and Gavil.
Ch. 2] Extinction of the Western Empire. 597
a Pannonian, Orestes, aspired to take the place which Ricimer had occupied. Julius Nepos was deposed, and Orestes filled the vacancy by proclaiming as Augustus his own son Romulus. But Orestes's tenure of power was brief. The barbarian mercenaries in Italy determined to secure pJSSonUn* for themselves a position there, such as that which their kinsfolk had won in Gaul and Spain and Africa. On their demand for a third of the lands of Italy being refused by Orestes/ they instant- ly rose in revolt, and on the defeat and death of Orestes they proclaimed their leader, Odoacer, the Rugian,* their king. Romulus Augustu- lus laid down his imperial dignity, and the AugustSus! court at Constantinople was informed that there was no longer an emperor of the West.'
The installation of a barbarian chief as ruler in Italy was the natural climax of the changes which had been taking place in the West throughout the fifth century. In Spain, Gaul, and Africa barbarian chieftains were already established as kings. In Italy, for the last twenty years, the real power had been wielded by a barbarian officer. Odoacer, when he decided to dispense with the nom- inal authority of an emperor of the West, placed Italy on the same level of independence with the neighbouring provinces. But the old ties with Rome
' Hodgkin, i., 531.
' The nationality of Odoacer is a disputed point. Hodgkin, i., 528; Ranke, iv. (i), 372.
^ Gibbon, iv., 298. The authority for the embassy of Zeno is Malchus (Mflller, Fragm, Hist. Gr,, iv.« 119).
598 Outlines of Roman History.
were not severed. The new ruler of Italy formally recognised the supremacy of the one Roman emper- or at Constantinople, and was invested in return with the rank of " patrician *' which had been held before him by Aetius and Ricimer. In Italy too, as in Spain and Gaul, the laws, the administrative system, and the language remained Roman.' But the eman- cipation of Italy and the western provinces from direct imperial control, which is signalised by Odoa- cer's accession, has rightly been regarded as marking the opening of a new epoch. It made possible in the West the development of a Romano-German civilisation ; it facilitated the growth of new and dis- tinct states and nationalities ; finally it gave a new impulse to the influence of the Christian Church, and laid the foundations of the power of the bishops of Rome.
^ Gibbon, iv., 302 ; Jung, 66 sq.; Biyoe, Hofy Roman Empire^ 24-33.
INDEX.
Abgarus of Osro^ne, terms made with, 555
Aborigines, the, traditions of, 3, 15; identified with the Pelasgi, 7
Acamania, treatment of, by Rome, 153
Achaeans, the, join Rome against Philip, 143; re- warded, 145; treatment of, by Rome, 152, 153; Rome at war with, 153; allied with Mithridates, 298
Achaia, held by Brutus and Cassius, 364; under the Caesars, 508
Actium, battle of, 341, 39a, et seq.
Acumincum, camp at, 551
Mdiles curules instituted , 64
iEdui, the, allied with Rome, 265; attacked by Ariovis- tus, 275; appeal to Rome, 27 J ; revolt of, 286, 287
iSmilianus, P. Cornelius Scipio, see Scipio
iSneas, traditions of, 4, 8, 17
iEqui, the, hostile to Rome, 48, 69 et seq.'t their de- cline, 72 ; their conquest by Rome, 75; their territory annexed, 86
i^semia colonised by Rome, 96
iEtius, Count of Italy, 594; defeats Attila at CMlons, 596
^tolia, Roman Intrigues in,
153 iStolians, the, join Antiochus
III. against Rome, 146,
147 Afranius, L., serves in Spain,
334; submits to Caesar, 336
Africa (province of ) , under M. MtaiViMs Lepidus, 368; enfranchisement of, 531 ; conquest of, by the Van- dals. 595
Agrarian disputes between the two orders, 57
Agrarian reforms, of the Gracchi, 210 et seq.; of Caesar, 348
Agrigentum captured by Rome, 117
Agrippa, M. Vipsanius, serves under Octavius in Sicily, 368, 376 et seq,; his rule m Gaul, 380; aedileship of, 383 ; in war of Actium, 300 et seq.; commands in tne East, 4^9; and the succes- sion to Augustus, 468
Agrippina, wife of Tiberius, 47a
Agrippina, wife of Claudius, aids Nero's accession, 484; murder of, 485
Ahenobarbus, Cn. Domitius, commands in Transalpine Gaul, 265,1*. 5, 266
Ahenobarbus, Cn. Domitius, serves under the second tri- umvirate, 366
Alani, the, settle in Spain,
593
599
6o D . Outlines of Roman History .
Alaric, occupies Illyrictim,
591; invades Italy, 591;
marches on Rome, 59a Alba, traditions of, 4, 9, 19 Alba Fucentia colonised by
Rome, 87 Albanians, the, conquered by
Tigranes, 311; conquered
by Pompey, 320 Albmus, A. , defeated in Nmni-
dia, 215 Albinus, Clodius, disputes
accession of Severus, 569 Alemanni, the, invade the
Empire, 571^ seq. , 5 89 Alesia, batue of, 387 Alexandria taken by Octa-
vius, J96 Alexandbrine war, the, 342,
343 Alimentus, L. Cincius, value
of, as historian, 1 1 1 AUia, the, battle of, 74 Allies of Rome, the, their status and rights, 99 et seq,, 173 ; in war, 10 1 ^^ seq, AUobroges, the, at war with
Rome, 265 Allotments granted to veter- ans. 234, 367, 452. 53i Alpine tribes, the, subdued,
450, 451 Amisus, siege of, 308; freed,
309 Am3natas, rules in Galatia,
385 ; in war of Actium, 391
Aimgnia, Pyrrhtis advances
to, 94 Ancus, traditions of, 30 Andriseus attempts to restore
the Macedonian kingdom,
Aniensis, tribe of, formed, 86 Anio Novus built, 482 Antigonus.of Judaea, deposed, 385; restored by Herod,
385 Antioch, Mark Antony at,
385; earthquake at, 554,
556; capttired by the Per- sians ^ 7 ^
Antiochus III. (The Great) of Syria, conquers Coele- Syria, 141, 143; invades Asia Minor and Thrace, 146; defeated at Thermo- pyke, 147. and Magnesia, 147, 148; terms of peace imposed on, by Rome, 148
Antiochus IV. of Com- magene deposed, 545
Antiochus V. (Eupator), ac- cession of, 156
Antipater, L. Caelius, as a his- torian, 47
Antiiun colonised by Rome, 76, 82
Antonius, C, defeat of, 291
Antonius, L., in the Perusine war, 367
Antonitis, M., serves under Caesar in Greece, 338, 340; as consul, 358, 359; be- sieges Brutus at Mutina, 360; in the second trium- virate, 362; in the East, 366, 368, 369, 371, 384 et seq.; at war with Parthia, 385 ^ seq.; invades Arme- nia, 387; meets Cleopatra, 369; makes treaty with Octavius at Brundusium, 369, 370; renews the tri- umvirate with Octavius, 376 ei seq.; at war with Octavius, 389 et seq.; de- feated at Actium, 392 et seq. ; rejoins Cleopatra, 39 J ; death of, 396
Apollonia, allied with Rome, 125; attack on, by Philip of Macedon diverted, 129; submits to Caesar, 337
Appuleian laws, the, 217
Apulia, aUied with Rome, 84, 87, 89; campaign of Pyr- rhus in, 95; entered by Hannibal, 128; state of,
Index.
60 1
after the Punic wars, 138,
139 Aqua Claudia built, 482
Aquae Sextiae, foundation of, 364, 266; battle of, a 16, 270
Aquileia, colony of, formed, 138, 262, 268; conquest of, 290; besieged by barba- rians, 560
Aquillius, M., in Asia Minor, 292, n. 1 1 in the first Mith- ridatic war, 297
Aquincum, legionary camp at, 544
Aquitania, subdued by P. Crassus, 280; province of, formed, 414
Arabia under Odaenathus, 570
Arabia-Petraea conquered by Trajan, 553
Arausio, battle of, 269
Arcadius, Emperor of the East, 586, J91
Archaism, fashion of ,in Rome,
564 Archelaus, general in the first
Mithridatic war, 297 Archelaus, King of dappado-
cia, 385, 394 Argos sacked by the Goths,
572 Anarathes made King of
Cappadocia, 2^6
Aricia \inited with the Ro- man State, 81
Ariminum colonised by Rome, 96, 100, n. i
Ariobarzanes, of Cappadocia, deposed by Mithridates, 296; restored by Sulla, 302; rewarded by Pom- pey, 323
Anovistus, in Gatil, 275, 276; defeated by Caesar, 277
Aristion in first Mithridatic war, 299
Aristobulus of Judaea de- throned, 320
Aristodemus of Ctunae allied
to Tarquin, 39 Aristonicus, rising of, 292,
294 Armenia, invaded by An-
^^o>iy» 387; position of, on
the Roman frontier, 458;
Roman reverses in, 485;
invaded by Vologaeses of . Parthia, 501 ; conquered
by Trajan, 555; king re-
S laces legate, 558; \mder idaenathus, 570
Armenia, Greater, under Ti- granes, 305, 310; invaded by LucuUus, 312, J13; by Pompey, 319; ruled by Ar- taxes II., 395
Armenia, Lesser, conquered by Mithridates, 295; in- vaded by Lucullus, 310; ruled by Polemo, 394 ; an- nexed by Nero, 545
Arminius, defends Germany against Rome, 498
Armorican tribe, the, rising of, 283, 284
Army, the Roman, early state of, 36; reformed by Servius, 37 ^t seq.\ changes in, after the conquest of Italy, 105; payment of, 105, 106; reformed by Au- gustus, 462 ei seq, ; made a standing army, 463 et seq. ; auxiliaries of, 465 et seq.; reformed by Diocletian and Constantine, 577
Amiensis, tribe of, created,
Arpmimi taken by Rome, 86 Arretium besieged by the Se-
nones, 91 Arsa, C. Terentillus, law of,
Artavasdes, of Armenia, al- lied with Antony, 386; de- posed, 387, 388
Artaxares, see Sassanidae
6o2 Outlines of Roman History.
Artaxata, Luculltis advances
on. 314 Artaxes II. rules in Greater
Armenia, 395 Arvemi, the, at war with Rome, 264; invite the aid of Ariovistus, 275; rising of, 285 Ascanitis, traditions of , 4, 9 AsGulum, battle of, 95 Asia, first Roman province of, 202, 293; conquered by Mithridates, 297, 208; re- conquest of, by Sulfa, 299 «i seq.; settlement of, by Sulla, 302, 303; by Lucul- lus, 309, J 10; held by Bru- tus and Cassius, 364; invaded by Parthians, 371; state of, under the Caesars, 509; tmder Odae- nathus, 570 Assembly, the, described, 27, 28; powers of, 158-160; ascendency of the Senate over, 159; composition of, 165. 166; procedure of, 164-166; reasserts its in- dependence, 201 et seq.\ its powers hampered by Sulla, 235; under the Caesars,
425.489 Ataulf leads the Visigoths
into Gaul, 502
Athens, rewaraed by Rome,
153; taken by Sulla, 299;
^tony and Cleopatra at,
389; sacked by the Goths,
572
Attains III., of Pergamum, bequeaths his kingdom to Rome, 292
Attains made Emperor of the West, 592
Attila leads the Huns into Gaul and Italy, 595; de- feated at Chilons, 596
Auctoritas Pairum^ described, 2 5 ; limitations of, 65
Augural College, the, con- fined to nobiuty, 236 AuguskUes, the, instituted,
454 Augustodumun ( Autun ),
school at, 509 At^fustulus Romulus, last
Emperor of the West, 597 Augustus, or C. Octavius {q. v.), receives the principate, 405 ei seq. ; reforms of, pro- vincial, 414 e< seq.t finan- cial, 4ig ei seq., domestic, 423 et seq., religious, 434 ei seq., social, 438 ei seq. ; new btiildings and improve- ments of, 449; maintains the supremacy of the Ro- man State over its allies, 422 ; frontier policy of, 45^ eiseq.\ military reforms of , 462 et seq. ; death of, 469 ; contrasted with Tiberius, 474-476 Aurelian. Emperor, 570 Aurelius, M., Emperor, na- tionality of, 518; at war with the Marcomanni, 560 Ausones, the, revolt of, 85 Auxiliaries, the, of the Ro- noian army, 465 et seq. ; mu- tiny of, on the Rhine, 536; reorganised, 538 Auximum, colony of, 206 Avaricum captured by Caesar, 286
B
Baiae, harbour constructed at,
378 Barbarians, on the Roman
frontiers, 535; allowed to settle in Italy, 561, 589; enrolled in the' legions, 561 , 589, 590. See Marco- manni, Quadi, lazyges, Vandals, Goths, Alemahni Bath, Ron^an occupation of,
50s
Index.
603
Bedriacum, battle of, 516
Belgae, the, at war with Rome, 277, 278
Belgica, province of, formed, 414
Beneventum, battle of, 95: colonised by Rome, 96
Bestia, L. Calpumius, con- demned for bribery, 215
Bibracte, Caesar at, 274; council of insurgents at, 286
Bibulus, M., commands Pom- pey's fleet, 337 ^
Bithjmia, allied to Rome, 148; made a Roman pro- vince, 306; conquered by Mithridates, 298; again in- vaded, 306; forms a Ro- man province with western Pontus, 322 ; imder Augus- tus, 419
Boadicea, rising of, 507
Boeotians, the, allied with Mithridates, 299
Boii, the, defeated by Rome, 91, 92; invade Etruria, 123; migration of, 272 e% seq.; remain among the iEdui, 27s, n. 2
Bononia, colony of, 261 ; con- ference of, J 62
Brigantes, the, hostile to Rome, 505
Britain, Caesar in, 281, 282; invaded by Gaius Caesar, 479; south of, annexed by Claudius, 482 ; Claudiah invasion of, 502 et seq.; territory of the Brigantes annexed, 545; loss of, by Rome, 595
Britannicus supplanted by Nero, 484
Brundusium, colony of, formed, 138; treaty of,
369.370 Bruttii, the, defeated by Rome, 92; jdin Pyrrhus
against Rome, 94; their status as Roman allies, 100; state of, after the Punic wars, 138
Brutus, D., m Cisalpine Gaul, 359, n. 4; besieged in Mu- tina, 360; death of, 362
Brutus, M., 344; in war of Mutina, 362; at war with the second triumvirate, 364, 365 ; death of, 366
Burrus, Afranius, minister of Nero, 485, 496, n. 4
Buxentum, colony of, 206, n. 6
Byzantiiun, sack of, by Sev- erus, 569 ; rebuilt by Constantine, 583
Cadurci, the, rising of, 285, 289
Caepio, Q. Servilius, defeated by the Germans at Arau- sio, 269; at Tolosa, 269, n. 2
Caere (Cervetri) becomes part of Roman State ,75
Caerleon on Usk (Isca Silu- rum), founded, 506
Caesar, authority of, 487, 488; growth of the power of, 488, 489; relationship of, to the assembly, 489, to the consulship, 490, to the senate, 49 1 , to the nobility, 492; royal position of, 493. 494; worship of, 422, 437, 494. 517; honours paid to family of, 494; friends of, 495, 496; f reed- men of, 496 et seq.; office and title of, legalised, 518,
519.529 Caesar, C. Julius, rise of, 245 ;
espouses the popular cause, 245, 246; suspected of com- plicity in Catiline's con- spiracy, 247; in the first
6o4 Outlines of Roman History.
Caesar, continued
triumvirate, .252 et seq.; commands in Farther Gaul, 254, 272 et seq.\ in- vades Italy, 258; enters Germany, 281-; and Brit- ain, 28T ; in Spain, 334 et seq.\ lands in Greece, 337; blockades Pompey at Dyr- rhachium, 338; and defeats him at Pharsalus, 339 et seq.; at Alexandria, ^42; in Cilicia, 343; defeats Phamaces in Fontus, 343; in Africa, 344; defeats Pompeian army at Thap- sus, 344; his second campaign in Spain, 344; returns to Rome, 344; murder of, ^45; his dicta- torship reviewed, 346 et seq. ; foreign policy of, 355 ; deified, 364, 437
Caesar, L. Julius, commands in the Social war, 222 ; law of, 223
Caesar, C. and L., and the suc- cession to Augustus, 467, 468
Caesarion, proclaimed heir of Caesar, 388
Caius Caesar, Emperor, de- scent of, 397 ; accession of, 477; reign of, 478, 479
Calendar, the, reformed by Caesar, 349
Cales colonised by Rome, 82
Caligula, cognomen of Caius Caesar, 477, n. 6
Calpumia, wife of Caesar, 359
Calvinus, C. Sextius, sent against the Saluvii, 264
Calvinus, Domitius, at Phar- salus, 340; defeated by Phamaces, 343; rules in Spain, 380
Camillus Furius, M., relieves Rome, 74 ; defeats the Vol- sci, 75, 76
Campania, the, annexed by Rome, 82; recovered by Rome from Haimibal, 130 Cannae, battle of, 129 Capena allied with Rome, 72 Capitoline Temple, the, built,
^ 32. 35
Cappadocia, allied with Rome, 156; conquered by Mithridates, 208; regained, 302; invaded by Tieranes, 311; ruled by Archelaus, 3851 394; annexation of, 501 ; under Vespasian, 545 ; tmder Odaenathus, 570
Capri, Tiberius in, 474, 475
Capua, capttired by the Sam- nites, 73, 79; struggle for, between Haimibal and Rome, 130; battle at, in 83 B. c, 229
Caracalla, Emperor, pedigree of, 520; edict of, 531
Caractacus, rising of, 506
Carbo, Cn., colleague of Cin- na, 229; flees to Africa, 230; defeated by Pompey, 230, n. 2
Carbo, Cn. Papirius, de- feated at Noreia, 267
Caria, ceded to Rhodes, 148; given up, 155; becomes a Roman province, 292
Camutes, the, rising of, 284 etseq.
Carrhae, battle at, 326
Carrinas, C, imder Octavius,
Carseoli colonised by Rome ,8 7 Carthage, in league with Rome, 78; checks Pyrrhus in Sicily, 95; allied with Rome against Pyrrhus, 116; invades Spain, 125, 126; at war with Masi- nissa. 1^6; siege of, 137; colonised by Caesar, 348; taken by the Vandals, 595. See Punic wars
Index.
605
Cams, Emperor, 571; de- feats the Persians in the East, 573
Cassius, Avi4ius, revolt of,
561
Cassius, L., in the first Mith- ridatic war, 297
Cassius Longinus, C.,344; in war of Mutina, 362 ; at war with the second triumvir- ate, 365, 366; death of,
365
Cassius Longinus, L., de- feated by the Tigurini, 269
Cassius iJonginus, Q., mis- rule of, in Spain, 344
Cassius Viscellinus, Spurius, treaty of, with the allies,
77 Cassivellaiuius conquered by
Caesar, 28^
Castrum Novtim colonised by Rome, 91, 96
Catilina, L. Sergius, conspir- acy of, 235, 250, 251
Cato, M. Porcius, m Spain, 135 *» urges third Punic war, 136, 137; opposes Hel- lenic fashions, 197, 198
Cato (the Younger), death of, at Utica, 344
Catulus, C. Lutatius, defeats the Carthaginian fleet off the .^Sgates Islands, 120; concludes a treaty with Hamilcar, 121
Catulus, Q. Lutatius, opposes Manilian law, 244; com- mands against the Cimbri, 271
Caudine Forks, the, battle of,
84 CensoreSt the, appointment
of, 168 Census, the, of Augustus, 421 Centuripae, a "treaty state,"
177 Chaeronea, battle of, 299 Chalcis destroyed, 153
Chdlons, battle of , 596
Chersonese, the, ceded to Per- gamum, 148
Chester (Deva) under the Romans, 506, 507, 545
Chosroes regains crown of Parthia, 558
Christianity, tmder the Fla- vians and Antonines, 567 ; recognition of, by Constan- tine, 583
Cicero, M. TuUius, and the re- publican institutions, 243; character of, 247, 248; tm- der the first triumvirate, 253 et seq.\ banished, 255; recalled. 255; retires from public life, 256; submits to Caesar, 343 ; attempts to restore the Republic, 357; death of, 363
Cicero, Q., serves in Gaul un- der Caesar, 2 83 , 2 84
Cilicia, under Roman author- ity, 252; invaded by Ti- granes, 311; made a Roman province, 322; in- vaded by Parthians, 372; under Augustus, 415; un- der Odaenathus, 570
Cilician pirates, the, raids of, 304; Pompey despatched against, 244, 317 et seq.; aid Mithridates, 305
Cimbri, the, invade Italy, 216, 267
Cineas, envoy of Pyrrhus to Rome, 94
Cinna, L. Cornelius, conflict of, with the Senate, 227, 228; supreme in Rome, 228. 229
Circeii, colonised, 72; Rome at war with, 77
Cispadanes, the, enfran- chised, 262
City wards of Rome, the, 443
Civil war, the first, 226 ^ seq. ; second, 333 et seq.
6o6
Outlines of Roman History.
Civilis, revolt of, 537, 538
Clan regiments on the Rhine, revolt of, 536
Claudius, Emperor, descent of, 37S» 397; character of, 479; accession of. 481; as a ruler, 481 ^t seq.\ public works of, 482,483
Claudius, Appius, mission of,
310. 311
Claudius Caecus, Appius, con- structs the Via Appia, 85
Claudius Gothicus defeats the Goths, 572
Claudius, P., defeated off Dre- .pana, 119
Cleonymus, the Spartan, de- feated by Rome, 87
Cleopatra, and Caesar, 343; and Mark Antony, 369, 384; receives grants of Ro- man territory, 385; claims the Western Empire, 388; Rome at war with, 389 e% seq.; worsted by Octavius, 395; death of, 397
Clodius, P., as tribune, 242, 25s; laws of, 254
Clusium, siege of, 73
Colchester (Camulodunum) , captured, 504; a Roman colony, 506; taken by the Iceni, 507
Colchis invaded by Pompey, 320
College of Augurs opened to the plebs, 64
College of priests opened to the flebs, 63, 64
Collegia, 5e^ Guilds
Colonies, the Roman, in Italy, 102; government of, 103 et seq.
Comitia centuriata, constitu- tion of the, 53, 165; ren- dered independent of pa- trician control, 65, 66; and Caesar's dictatorship, 353
Commagene, annexation of,
501; added to province of S3rria, 501, w. 2
Commodus, Emperor, 518
Common lands,, disputes con- cerning, 58
ConcUiutn plebis, described, 57 et seq.y 165, 166; legal- ised, 60, 61 ; freed from pa- trician control, 64, 65
Concordia, settlement of, fomied, 451, n. I
ConsUiarius Augusti, of&ce of, 528, 529
Consuium frincipis estab- lished, 528
Constans, Emperor, 583
Constantine I., Emperor, reign of. 582.583
Constantine 11., Emperor,
583 Constantinople founded, 583
Constantius I., made Caesar,
under Diocletian, 578
Constantius II., Emperor,
581 Constitution, the Roman, in
early times, 22 ^ seq.\ re- publican form of, 158 et seq. ; settlement of, by Cae- sar, 349 et seq.\ by Augus- tus, 401 et seq., 425 et seq.; the latter revised, 406 et seq.\ end of, 579
Consulates, appointment of, 522, 524,525
Consulate, the, established, 50; position of, 51, 54; patrician monopoly of, at- tacked, 61, 62; reserved for the nobility, 172,11.2; becomes secondary to the proconsulate, 185; enact- ments of Sulla concerning, 235; and the principate, 411, 426 et seq.; tmder the Caesars, 490
Corcyra allied with Rome,
125 Cordova in Roman times, 509
Index.
607
Cordus, Cremutius, writings of, 478
Corinth, taken by the Achae- ans, i4j; bumed, 153; colonised by Csesar, 348; sacked by the Goths, 572
Com, the supply of, in Rome, 446
Comificius, L., serves under Octavius in Sicily, 379
Corsica, ceded by Carthage to Rome, 123; government of, by Rome, 123
Cosa, colonised by Rome, 96
Cosmopolitanism, fashion of, in Rome, 565
Cotta, L. Aurelius, law re- form of, 242, n. 2
Cotta, M. Aurelius, in third Mithridatic war, 306
Cotys, king of Thrace, joins Perseus against Rome, 150
Councils, provincial, de- scribed, 423
Courts, the "perpetual," con- trolled by the equestrian order, 219; by the Senate, 236; by a mixed body, 242 n. 2
Crassus, M., serves under Oc- tavius, 399
Crassus, M. Licinius, serves under Sulla, 229; defeats Spartacus, 241 ; joins Pom- pey, 241; allied with Cae- sar, 246; joins the first triumvirate, 252 el seq.; commands in Syria, 256; in Mesopotamia, 324; de- feated by the Parthians, 325; death of, 326
Crassus, P., orator, 207
Crassus, P., serves in Gaul under Caesar, 278; subdues Aquitania, 280; serves against the Parthians, 326
Crassus, P. Canidius, in the Caucasus, 385
Cremona, Roman colony
founded at, 124; colony of, 261; taken and sacked by Antonius Primus, 516 Cretan pirates, the ravages
of, 15s Criminal law of . Rome
founded by Sulla, 239
Cumas, battle of, 376. See also Capua
Cunctator, Q. Fabius, in the second Ptmic war, 129
Cunobeline of Britain, 504
Curiae, the, described, 24; procedure of, 27, 28; un- der the Republic, 51, 53
Curio, C. Scribonius, as trib- une, 242; in Macedonia, 291; in Sicily, 334; in Af- rica, 334
Cynoscephalae, battle of, 143
C)rprus ceded to Ptolemy Eu- ergetesll., 156
C3rrenaica made a Roman province, J27
Cyrene cedea to Ptolemy Eu- ergetesll., 156
Cyzicus, siege of, 306
D •
Dacia, annexation of, 531, 535. 543» 550; war with, 543 » 547, ^< seq.; loss of, by Rome, 571
Danube, the, Roman rule reaches to, 290, 291 ; boun- dary of the Augustan em- pire, 460; of the empire of the later Caesars, 500, 572; as frontier under Vespa- sian, 535
Dardanus, treaty made at, 302
Decemvirate, the, appointed,
58, 59 Decius, Emperor, slain by
the Goths, 568 Decius Mus, P., defeated at
Sentintun, 90
6o8 Outlines of Roman History.
Deiotarus of Galatia allied with Rome, 323
Delos, ceded to Athens, 153; made a free port, 155; slave market of, 189
Dentatus, M. Curius, in the third Samnite war, 90 ; de- feats Pyrrhus at Beneven- timi, 95
Dertona, colony of, 261
Dictatorship, the, in the early republic, 54, 65
Dictatorship of Caesar, re- viewed, 346 e% seq.\ con- trasted with the rule of the later emperors, 353. 354
Diocletian, Emperor, new ad- ministrative system of, 577 ei seq.
Dionysius of HaHcamassus as a historian, 46
Divitiacus the iEduan, 276
Dolabella, L. Cornelius, de- feats the Kelts, 91
Domitian, Emperor, claim of. 518; annexes territory be- yond the Rhine, 539 ; fron- tier policy of, 536
Drepana, Roman fleet de- feated off, 119
Drusus, M. Livius, 221; fail- ure of his plans for reform, 221
Drusus, Nero Claudius, 375, 381; commands in Ger- many, 460, 461; and the succession to Augustus, 468
Duilius, C, defeats Cartha- ginian fleet at Mylae, 118
Durostorum, legionary camp
at, SSI Dyrrhachium, Caesar re- pulsed at, 337, 338
E
Eburones, the, rising of, 283, 284
Ecnomus, defeat of Cartha- ginian fleet off, by Rome, 118
Egypt, seeks alliance with Rome, 114; Roman inter- vention in, is6; as a vassal of Rome, ^27 ; made a Ro- man provmce, 397; under
Augustus, 41 s
Elbe, the boundary of he Augustan empire, 461
Empire, the Roman, under tne dictatorship, 355 et seq.\ after Pompey and Caesar, 326; at the death of Nero, 486 et sear, under the Caesars in the West, S02 et seq.\ in the East, 509; tmder the Flavians and Antonines, 56s; at the end of third century, $yj; di- vided among Augusti and
Caesares, S77»578
Empires, provincial, first es- tablished, s6g
Emporiae threatened by Han- nibal, 126
Ennius, Q., Hellenism of, 194, n. 2, 197
Ephesus, in the first Mithri- datic war, 300 ; freedom of,
303.»*-4
Epidamnus allied with Rome, 12 s
Epirus laid waste by the Goths, S72
Eporedia, colony of, 262
Equestrian oroier, foimded, 212, n. $; exactions of, 219, 242; imder Sulla, 233, n. I, 236; imder Augustus, 439 ^ seq. ; imder Hadrian, 52a, 527
Ercte, Carthaginian strong- hold in first runic war, 120
Eryx, taken by Pyrrhus, 95; recaptured for Carthage, 120
Etruria, state of, after the
Index.
609
Ptinic wars, 139; in the So- cial war, 222; in first Civil war, 229, 234; joins Cati- line, 251; Southern, con- quest and settlement of, by Rome, 75
Etruscans, the, in the tradi- tions, 12, 19; hostile to Rome, 18, 48, 69; origin of, 32; conjquer Rome, 32 e% seq.\ influence of, on Rome, 90 et seq.\ decline of, the power of, 72, 73
Eugenius, tyrant in Italy, 586
Fabius, C, serves under Cae- sar in Spain, 334, 335 Fabius, M., defeated by Mith-
ridates, 316 Fabius Maximus, Q., wins
battle of Sentinum, 89 Fabius, Q., opposes Scipio*s
invasion of Africa, 132 Fabius, Q., commands in
Transalpine Gaul, 265 Falerii, under Roman sway,
72 ; allied with Rome, 80 Faventia, settlement of, 261 Ficana, destruction of, 3 1 Fidentia, settlement of, 261 Fimbria, C. Flavins, sent
against Sulla, 229; in first
Mithridatic war, 301, 302 Firmum colonised by Rome,
96 Flaccus, L. Valerius, sent
against Sulla, 229; in first
Mithridatic war, 301 Flaccus, M. Fulvius, sent
against the Saluvii, 264,
265 Flamininus, T. Quinctius,
commands in Greece, 144;
withdraws his troops, 144 Flaminius, C, defeated by
Hannibal, 128; agrarian
law of, 160
39
Fleet, the first Roman, formed, 117
Floralia instituted, 188, n. i
Florentia, settlement of, 261
Fonteius. M., in Farther Gaul, 271
Foray defined, 261
Formiae included in Roman State, 82
Franchise, extension of the, tmder the later Caesars, 530 ; by Claudius, 482
Franks, the, invade the Em- pire, 57 1.589
Freedmen, position of, under
the Caesars, 496 e/ seq.
Fregellae, colonised by Rome, 83; captured ana recap- tured in the second Sam- nite war, 85
Frentani, the, allied with Rome, 84
Frisii, the, subject to Rome,
498 Frontiers, the delimitation and defences of, under Au-
fustus in the West and outh, 455; in the East, 456 e< seq.\ in the North, 459; under the Caesars, 498 e% seq. ; under the later Emperors, 535 ^ seq,; re- volt on Danubian, 542
Fucine Lake, the, draining of, 482
Fulvia, wife of Mark Antony,
367,369.370 Fimdi included in Roman
State, 82
Gabinius, A., supports Pom-
pey,244,3i7 Gades, a treaty state, 177
Gaiseric leads the Vandals
into Africa, 595 Gains, ^e^Caius Galatae, the, allied to Rome,
148; harass Pergamtmi ,
6io Outlines of Roman History.
i
Galatfls, continued
155; in the first Mithxi- datic war, 300; rewarded byPompey, 323
Galatia, ruled by Amyntas, |85» 394; province of, brmed, 414; under Augus- tus, 415
Galba, Ser. Sulpicius, 513, n. i; descent of, 514; pro- claimed Emperor, 486
Galerius made Caesar under Diocletian, 578
Gallienus, Emperor, reign of,
^ 569, 570
Gallus, Emperor, buys off the Goths, 571
Gallus, C. Cornelius, marches on Alexandria, 396
Gaul, under Octavius, 368, 370; \inder Augustus, 415; imder the Caesars, 509 ; un- successful revolt of, 513,
514 Gaul, Belgic, province of, 460 Gaul, Cisalpine, in first Civil war, 329; state of, before Caesar, 260; made a pro- vince, 262 Gaul, Cispadane, colonised,
137 Gaul, Transalpine, under
Rome, 263 ei seq.; Caesar in, 254, 255, 272 et seq.; un- der Roman sway, 289
Gaul, Transpadane, enfran- chisement of, ^56
Gauls, the, hostile to Rome, 48; sack of Rome by, 63, 74
Gazaca, siege of, 386
Genabima (Cenabum) cap- t\ired by Caesar, 286
Gentes, see Patricians
Genthius of lUyria joins Per- seus against Rome, 150
Gergovia, Caesar advances on, 286
Germanicus Caesar, as rival of Tiberius, 474; com-
mands beyond the Rhine,
498
Germans, the, Rome in con- flict with, 267 et seq.; in- vade Italy, 216, 267 e^ seq.
Germany, Caesar in, 281 ; Ro- man invasion of, 460, 461; invaded by Gaius Caesar, 479; Roman advances on, under the Caesars, 498
Glabrio, M., defeats Anti- ochus III. at Thermopylae,
147 Glabrio, M. Acilius, in Mith-
ridatic war, 244 Gladiators, rising of, 240 Glaucia, C. Servilius, elected
a praetor, 217; fall of , 2 1 7 Goths, the, invade the Em- pire, 572; piracies of, 571; settle in Moesia, 585; re- volt against Valens, 585; invasion of, 589, 590 Governor of a province, the, powers of, 179, 180; term of office, 181, n. 1; his re-
rnsibility to the qtuBstio repetundis, 181, 219; extortions of, 182, 239, 328
Gracchus. Gaius, attacks the senatorial government in support of agrarian reform, 211^ sea.
Gracchus, Tiberius, family of, 206; proposes agrarian re- form, 209; opens conflict with the Senate, 210
Gracchus, T. Sempronius, commands in Sicily, 127; in Spain, 135
Gratian, Emperor in the West, 586
Greece, early connection of Rome with, 36; alliance of Rome with, 125; freedom of, proclaimed, 144; Mith- ridatic conquest of, 299; regained by Sulla, 299 ; in- vaded by the Goths, 572;
Index.
6ii
under Roman rule, 152 e^ secL
Greek culture, its influence on Roman society, 193 e% seq.
Greeks, the Italian, in con- flict with Etruria, 72; in- voke the aid of Rome against the Sabellians, 92; join Pyrrhus against the Romans, 94
Guilds, the, of Rome, 444,
445
H
Hadria, colonised by Rome,
Hadrian, Emperor, descent of, J 1 8, 519; organises the civil service, 497, 526, 527; frontier policy of, 558, 559
Hamilcar . Barca, Carthagin- ian leader in first Punic war, 120; treats for peace with Rome, lai; his gen- eralship, 121
Hannibal, in Spain, 126; his march into Italy, 127', de- feats Roman army at Can- nae, 129 ; marches on Rome, 130; retires to Bruttium, 131; recalled to Africa, 132; defeated at Zama, 132; his expulsion from Carthage, 136; joins Anti- ochus III. in Greece, 147; his death, 136
Hasdrubal, in Spain, 126; marches into Italy, 131; defeated and slain at R. Metaurus, 131
Hellenism, influence of, on Roman society, 193 ef seq. ; and literature, 193 e< seq.
Helvetii, the, join the Ger- mans against Rome, 268; migration of, into Gaul, 270 ^ seq.; defeated by
Caesar, 274, 275
Heraclea, its status as an ally of Rome, 100
Hemicans, the, allied with Rome, yi et seq.\ in con- flict with Rome, 77; re- newal of the treaty with Rome, 77, 79 ; their terri- tory annexed, 86
Herod the Great, rules in Ju- daea, 394
Hiero, King of Syracuse, at- tacks the Mamertines of Messana, 116; allies him- self to Rome in the first Piinic war, 117; rules in Eastern Sicily under Rome, 123
Hirtius, A., m war of Mutina, 361
Honorius, Emperor of the West, 586, 592 etseq.
Horatitis Flaccus, Q., escapes from Philippi, 366; at Brundusium, 377, n. i
Hortensian law, tne, 158, 168
Hortensius, Q., opposes Ma- nilian law, 244, 245
Htms, the, invade Italy, 585
H3rrcanus, accession of, in Judaea, 320
lapydes, the, subdued by Oc-
tavius, 384 Iberians, the, conquered by
Tigranes, 312; conquered
by Pompey, 320 Iceni, the, subjugation of,
507 Ilerda occupied by Pom-
pejr's forces, 334
Illyrian pirates, the, ptm- ished, 124
lUyricum or Illyria, Caesar in, 254, 255, 272; made a Ro- man province, 290, ». 5; invaded by Octavius, 383,
6 1 2 Outlines of Roman History.
lUyricimi or lUyria — coni.
384; conquests in, 449;
occupied by Alaric, J9 1 Imperator, title of, defined,
350 Imperium, the, defined, 167
Inalpini, the, subdued, 450 Industria, settlement of, 261 Insubres, the, invade Etru- ria, 124; defeated at Tela- mon, 124 Interamna colonised by
Rome, 85 Interrex, appointment of, 2 5 Isauria made a Roman pro- vince, ^22 Isle of Wight captured, 505 Isthmian Games, Romans
admitted to the, 125 Istria, conquest of, 290; ad- ded to Roman territory, 450 Italian allies, the, their rela- tionship to Rome, 100 et se^.; claim amalgamation with Rome, 220; revolt of, 222; concessions to, 2 2 3 Italy, invaded by Hannibal, 127; ruled as a province under Diocletian, 579; in- vaded by the Huns, 595
Janiculum, fortification of the, 31
Jerusalem, taken by Pom- pey, 320; by C. Sosius, 385; by Titus, 567; Ro- man colony at, 558
Jews, dispersion of the, 567
Jovian, Emperor, 585
Judaea, invaded by Parthians, 372; ruled by Herod the Great, 394; annexed by Claudius, 482 ; province of,
546 Jugurtlia, Rome at war with, 215, 216
Julian, made Caesar in Gaul, 584; Emperor, 584; his campaign m Persia, 585
Junius, L., wrecked at Fachy- nus, 120
Juridici, appointment of, 522
Justice, administration of, under the Caesars, 527
K
Kelts, the, hostile to Rome, 71, n. 2, 88-90; in conflict with the Etruscans, 72; sack of Rome by, 74; de- feated at Sentinum, 90; under Roman sway, 260 etseq.; of N. Italy finally subdued, 137. See also Senones, Boii, Insubres
King, office of, 24 et seq.; method of appointing, 25; prerogatives of, 26
Kings of Rome, 30 et seq.; abolition of, 39 ^^ seq.
Kingship, the, and Caesar,
350 Knights, see Equestrian order
Labicum captured by Rome, 72
Labienus, Q.,in Parthia, 371 ; heads Parthian invasion of Syria, 371
Labienus, T., serves in Gaul tmder Caesar, 274, 279, 286; defeats of Treveri, 283, 284
Lacedaemonians, the, allied with Mithridates, 298
Laevinus, M. Valerius, de- feated at the R. Liris, 94
Lake Regillus, battle of, 40, 70
Lamboesis, military station foimdedat, 559
Language, the Latin, 19 ; Sa- bine element in, 2 1 , n. a
Index.
613
\
ome,
Lanuvium, 75; Rome at war with, 77 ; united with Ro- man State, 81
Laodic^ deposed in Pontus,
294 Laodicea, freedom of, 303,
n. 4 Larissa, Pompey at, 33^ Lars Porsena invades
40 Latin League, the, estab- lished, 70 ; end of, 81 Latin League war, the, 80 Latins, the, traditions of, 4, II, 15; their origin, 18; their affinities with the Ro- nlan people, 19; allied with Rome, 70, 77, 79; at war with Rome, 80; united to Rome, 81, 82; their re- lationship to Rome, 100 Latobriges, the, migration of,
272 etseq. Lotus clavus defined, 430 Lavinium, traditions of, 9, 19 Law, Roman criminal,
founded by Sulla, 239 Legatiy office of , 41 5 et seq. Leges; Calpumiae, 181, 223; 1. Campana, 254 ; 1. Canuleia, 61; 1. Claudia, 191; 1. Cornelia de majes- tate, 238, n. 3; 1. Cornelia de prov. ord., 238, n. 3; 1. Didia, 189; 1. Domitia, 237 ;1. Faunia, 189; 1. Gab- inia, 243 ; 1. Hortensia, 65 ; I.Julia, 223; I.Julia agra- ria, 254, n. i; 1. Julia municipalis, 452; leges Li- ciniae Sextiae, 61, 63, 189, 209, 210; 1. Manilia, 244, J 1 6, 318; 1. Ogulnia, 64; 1. Oppia, 188; 1. Orchia, 188; 1. Plautia Papiria, 214, 223, n. I ; 1. provinciae, 174, 175 lex sacrata, 55; 1. Valeria de provocatione, 54; 1. Vatinia, 254
Lemnos, battle of, 307 Lepidus, M. ^milius, 239 Lepidus, M. iEmihus, as rival to M. Antony, 358; joins Antony, 361 : in the second triumvirate, 362 ; in Africa, 368, 370; in Sicily, 378,379; deposed by Octavius. 379 Licinius Stolo, C, rogations
of, passed, 63 Ligurians, the, held in check bv Rome, 138; Rome aids Massilia against, 263, 266. See Saluvii Lilybaeum, Roman, expedi- tion to, up Limes of Hadrian, 559 Limes Transrenanus, 539 Lincoln, Roman occupation
of, 507 Lipara, Octavius at, 378 Liris, the, battle at, 94 Lissus, M. Antony lands at,
338 Literature of Rome, influ- enced by Greek thought, '93» 194 1 under the Fla- vians and Antonines, 563 Livia, wife of Octavius, 375; aids the succession of Ti- berius, 468 Livy, as an historian, 45; sources of his information, III, 112 Luca, conference of, 256 Lucanians, the, allied with Rome, 84 ; attacked by the Samnites, 87; defeated by Rome, 90; join Pyrrhus against Rome, 92; after the Punic wars, 138, 13^; in the Social war, 222; m first Civil war, 230, 234 Luceres, the tribe of, 20, n. i ;
22 Luceria capttired by Rome,
84 Lucterius heads the rising of the Cadurci. 285
6 1 4 Outlines of Roman History.
Lucullus, L., in Macedonia, 291; in first Mithridatic war, 302; in third Mithri- datic war, 307 ^ seq.\ in- vades Pontus, 307-309 ; invades Armenia, 312; re- called to Rome, 316
Ludi Apollinares instituted, 188, w. I
Lugdtmensis Gallia, province of, formed, 414
Lugdunum (Lyons), school £^t, 509; battle of, 569
Luna, colony of, formed, 138
Luperci, race of the, 16
Lusitanid. province of, formed, 414; under Au- gustus, 421
Lycaonia ceded to Perga- mum, 148
Lycia. ceded to Rhodes, 148; given up, 155; conquered by Mithridates, 298; re- gained, 301
Lydia, ceded to Pergamum, 148; becomes a Roman province, 292
M
Macedonia, fnade a Roman province, 151; taxation of, by Rome, 178; under the Caesars, 508; held by Brutus and Cassius, 365
Macedonian frontier, the, wars on, 291
Macedonian wars: first, 141; second, 142; third, 149
Machares submits to Lucul- lus, 309
Maecenas, C. Cilnius, joins Octavius, 377; in Rome, 383; and the succession to Augustus, 467
Magetobriga, tne iEdui de- feated at, 275
Magistracy, the, and the Sen- ate, 160 et seq.\ and the
Assembly, 165; powers of, 167 ^ seq, ; constitution of, 169, 170 ; crippled by Sulla, 235; and Caesar's dicta- torship, 354, 355; under the Caesars, 426, 427 ^ seq. ; under the later Csesars, 521,522
Magnentius, Emperor, 583
Magnesia, battle of, 147, 148
Magnopolis foimded, 323
Mago lands in Liguria, 132^
Mainz,, camp at, 548
Maiorian, jEmperor in the West, 596
Mallius, M., defeated by the Germans at Arausio, 269
Mamilius, O., defeated at L. Regillus, 40
Manilius, C., supports Pom- pey, 242 ; law of, 244
Marcellus, M., and the suc- cession to Augustus, 468
Marcomanni, the, invade Italy, 560, 561
Marius, C, elected to com- mand in Numidia, 215, 216; defeats the Cimbri and Teutones at Aquae Sextiae and the Raudine
glain, 216, 270; allied with rlaucia and Satuminus, 217; militar)r reforms of, 218; serves in the Social war, 222; contests the command against Mithri- dates, 226; flees from Rome, 226
Marius, C, the Younger, de- feated at Praeneste by Sulla, 229
Marrucini, the, allied with Rome, 87
Marsi, the, allied with Rome, 84, 87; in the Social war, 223
Masinissa, receives P. Scipio in Africa, 132; rewarded by Rome, 133; leagued
Index.
615
with Rome against Car- thage, 136
Massacre of Romans in Greek cities, 298
Massilia, threatened by Han- nibal, 126; allied with Rome, 263 ; Caesar at, 334,
337
Mattiaci, the, furnish sol- diers, 540
Mauretania, allied with Rome, 327; annexed by Claudius, 482, 502
Maximian, Augustus with Diocletian, 577, 582
Maximinus, Emperor, de- feats the Alemanni, 571
Maximus, tyrant in Gaul, 586
Media, conquered by Ti- granes, 312; invaded by Antony, 386; allied with Antony, 389
Mediolanium, growth of, 262
Menapii, the, invaded by Germans, 280; rising of, 284
Menas betrays Sardinia to Octavius, 375, 376
Mesopotamia, Tigranes in, 311; invasion of, by Cras- sus, 324, 325; conquered by Trajan, 555 ^ ^
Messana, conflict of Romans and Carthaginians at, 116
Metaurus, R., battle of, 131
Metellus, Caecilius, com- mands in Nxmiidia, 215, 216; refuses obedience to the Appuleian laws, 217
Metellus Pius, Q. Caecilius, serves under Sulla, 229
Mezentius, of Caere, in the traditions, 34
Military system, .the Roman, reformed by G. Gracchus, 211; by Marius, 218; by Augustus, 462 et seq. See also Army
Misenum, treaty of, 370
Mithridates Euergetes allied with Rome, 294
Mithridates Eupator (the Great), rise of, 156, 294 et seq. ; at war with Rome, in Asia, 297, 298; in Greece, 299 ; instigates massacre of Romans, 298; defeated by Fimbria, 301 ; makes treaty with Rome, 300 et seq.; wages a third war with Rome, 305 et seq.; aids Tigranes against Rome, 314, 315; regains Pontus, 316; defeated by Pompey, 319; his exile, 319; death, 321
Mithridates of Pergamus re- heves Caesar at Alexandria,
343 Mithridatic wars, the, first,
297 et seq.; second, 305;
third, 306
Mcesia, petty wars in, 291; subdivision of, 544; un- der Augustus, 415
Mogontiacxim, headquarters of Roman troops, 499
Mons Sacer, treaty of the orders at, 55
Mimimius, L., presides over a commission in Greece, 153
Munda, battle of, 344
Mimicipal law in the pro- vinces under the Emperors,
533. 534
Municipal offices, the, wan- ing popularity of , 562
Municipal system of Augus- tus, 453 ; of the later Caesars, 532
Murena. L., carries on second Mithridatic war, 305
Mutina, Roman colony founded at, 124, 261; war of, 361
Mylae, battle of, 118; cap- tured by M. Agrippa, 379
6 1 6 Gutlines of Roman History.
Mysia, ceded to Pergamum, 148; becomes a Roman province, 292
N
Nabataean kingdom, annexa- tion of, 553
Narbo founded, 267
Narcissus, minister of Claud- ius, 483
Naulochus, battle off, ^79
Navy, the Roman, fotinda- tion of , 1 1 7
Neapolis as an ally of Rome, 100
Negotiatores 6itfiXi&&j 190
Neoptolemus in the first Mi- thridatic war, 297
Nepete, allied with Rome, 7 1 ; colonised by Rome, 75; botmdary of Roman terri- tory, 88
Nepos, Julius, Emperor of the West, 597
Nequinum colonised, 89
Nero, Emperor, descent of, 397, 484; accession ot, 484; aspects of his reign, 484 e% seq. ; death of, 486
Nero, C. Claudius, defeats Hasdrubal at R. Metau- rus, 131
Nerva, Emperor, descent of,
518, 519 Nervii, the, subjugation of,
278; rising of, 283, 284 New Carthage, Hannibal at,
127 Nicomedes of Bith)niia,in the
first Mithridatic war, 296
et seq. ; restored, 302 Nicopolis founded, 319, n. 2,
323 Niger, C. Pescennius, dis- putes accession of Severus,
569 Nisibis, capture of, by Lu-
cullus, 315; by Trajan, 555
Nobles, the, position of, 159, 170 et seq.; tmder the dae- sars. 492
Nola captured by Rome, 85
Nomenttun united with the Roman State, 81
Norba, massacre at, 234
Norbanus, C, defeated by Marius at Capua, 229-; fiees to Rhodes, 230
Noreia, battle at, 267
Noricum, under Augustus, 415; annexed by Augus- tus, 451, 459; invaded by barbarians, 561
Novae, legionary camp at,
551 Noviodunimi capt\ired by
Caesar, 286 Niuna Pompilius, traditions
of, 10, 30 Numantia, capture of, 135 Ntmiidia, affairs in, 215; al- lied with Rome, 327
,0
Ocriculum allied with Rome,
Octavia, wife of M. Antony, 370.377; divorced, 389
Octavia, wife of Nero, mur- dered, 485
Octavius, C, rival to M. An- tony, 359 et seq.\ in second triumvirate, 362 et seq.\ governs in Italy, 366; in the Perusine war, 367, 368; makes treaty with Antony, at Brundusium, 369, 370; rules in the West, 370, 374; marries Livia, 375; at war with Sextus Pompeius, 375 et seq.\ renews tne trium- virate with Antony, 377; deposes Lepidus, 379; su- preme in the West, 381 ; reforms of, 382; at war with the Pannonians, 383,
Index.
617
384; at war with Antony, 389 et seq.\ his victory at Actiuni,392 et 5eg. ; receives the submission of the East, 394 et seq.\ triumph of, 398, 399; restores the Re- public, 399; character of, 400, 401 ; assumes the cog- nomen of Augustus {q. V.)
Odaenathus of Palmyra usurps the power in the East, 570
Odoacer rules in Italy, 597,
598 Oescus, camp at, 551
Opitergium burnt by barba- rians, 560
Oppius, Q., ill the first Mith- ndatic war, 297
Orchomenos, battle of, 300
Orders, the two, conflict of, ^2 et seq.
Orders of Augustus,437 9t seq.
Orestes, the Pannonian, re- gency of, 597
Oricum submits to Caesar, 337
Orodes of Parthia allied with Brutus and Cassius, 371
Osca allied with Cssar, 336
Ostia, foundation of, 31; ravaged by pirates, 317; harbour of, built, 482
Otho, Emperor, accession of, 515; descent of, 517
Pachynus, Roman fleet wrecked at, 120
Pacorus, of Parthia, invades Syria and JudaBa,37i et seq.
Paeligni, the, allied with Rome, 84, 87; in the So- cial war, 222
Paestum colonised by Rome, 96
Paiaeopolis provokes war with Rome, 83
Palestine, Pompey in, 390
Pallas, minister of Claudius, 482, 495
Palmyra^ under Odaenathus, 570; destroyed, 570
Pamphylia, conquered by Mithridates, 298; made a Roman province, 322, 414; tmder Augustus, 415
Pannonia, under Augustus, 415; subjugation of, 451, 460; mutiny in. 474; sub- division of, 551
Pannonia, Inferior, pro- vince of, 551
Pannonian war, the, 383, 384
Panormus, taken by Pyrrhus, 95; captured by Rome,
"9 Pansa, C. Vibius, in war of
Mutina, 361
Panticapceum, siege of, 321
Paphlagonia allied to Rome, 148
Paris, Caesar at, 284
Parma, colony of, 261
Parthamasiris, King of Ar- menia, 553; invades Sy- ria, 554; deposed by Tra- jan and executed, 555
Parthia, rise of, 156; inva- sion of, by Crassus, 325; Nero at war with, 501; Trajan at war with, 553
Parthians, the, in Annenia,
Patrae, Antony at, 390
Patres, or elders, the, see Senate
Patricians, the order of, de- scribed, $1 et seq.; offices confined to, 159, n. i, 236
Patricians and Plebeians, conflict between, $2 et seq. ; its termination, 66
Paulinus, C. Suetonius, legate in Britain, 507
Paulus, L. iEmilius, defeated at Cannae, 129; defeats Perseus at Pydna, 151
6 1 8 Outlines of Roman History.
Pedtim united with the Ro- man State « 8 1
Pelasgi, the traditions of, 4-7
Pelusitim, death of Pompey at, 342; taken by Octa- vius, 396
Pergamum, allied with Rome, 141-143, 147. 149; harsh treatment of, by Rome, 155; made a Roman pro- vmce, 156, 292
Perseus of Macedon, pro- vokes war with Rome, 150; defeated at Pydna, 151; death of, 151
Persians, the, driven from the Eastern Empire by Odaena-
thus, 570-573
Perusia, siege of, 367; re- building of, 452
Perusine war, the, 367, 368
Petra, Pompey at, 3^8 .
Petreius, M., serves m Spain, 334; submits to Caesar, 337
Phamaces, submits to Pom- pey, 321; recovers Pontus, 34 J ; defeated by Caesar at Zela, 344
Pharsalus, battle of, 339 et seq.
Philip of Macedon, allied with Hannibal against Rome, 129; withdraws from the alliance, 129; op-
gosition of Rome to, 141 ; is designs on Egypt, 141; defeated at Cynoscephalae, 143 ; his attitude to Rome,
i49» 150
Philippi, battles at, 341, 365, 366
Philo, Q. Publilius, law of, 65; the first proconsul, 107
Phraates III., of Parthia, as rival of Rome ,324
Phraates IV., reign of, 385, 395; makes peace with Au- gustus, 457
Phrygia, ceded to Pergamum,
148; becomes a Roman province » 292, n. 2; con- quered by Mithridates, 298; regained, 302
Picentes, the, allied with Rome, 89; colonised, 91; enfranchised by Rome, 06
Pictor, Q. Fabius, as an his- torian, 6, 46
Picts and Scots, raids of the,
589 Piso, C, conspiracy of, 486
Piso, L. Calpurnius, as an historian, 47
Placentia, Roman colony founded at, 124, 261
Plancus, L. Munatius, in war of Mutina, 361 ; flees from Asia, 372
Plautius Silvanus, A., Brit- ish expedition of, 504
Plebeians, the order of, de- scribed, 52 et seq.\ first secession of, 55; second, 59 ; offices confined to, 1 59, n. I
Plebs urbana, see Populace.
Pola, settlement ot, formed,
45ii»-i Polemo rules in Pontus and
Lesser Armenia, 394 Police of Rome organised by
Augustus, 447, 448 Politorium, destruction of,
Poilentia, settlement of, 261; battle of, 59 1
PoUio, C. Asinius, in war of Mutina, 361
Polybius, carried captive to Rome, 1J3; sources of his information, 112
Polybius, minister of Clau- dius, 483, 496
Pompeii, earthquake at, 485
Pompeiopolis founded, 323
Pompeius, Cn. (Pompey the Great), serves tmder Sulla, 229; commands in Spain,
Index.
619
240; triumph of, 241 ; com- mands in the East, 244, 245; returns in trivimph, 2J2; heads the first trium- virate, 253 et seq. ; supports Cicero, 25$; commands in Spain, 256; elected sole consul, 257; abandons Italy, 258; his command in the East, 318 et seq.; his triumph, 321; gathers forces agamst Caesar, 333, 338; marches from Petra, 338; defeated at Pharsalus, 340 et seq.; flight and death of, 342, 343
Pompeius Sextus, as rival to Antony, 358; at war with the second tritmi- virate, 364 et seq.; makes treaty of Misenum with Octavius, 370; defeats Oc- tavius at sea, 376; de- feated off Naulochus, 379; death of, 380
Pomptina, tribe of, formed, 76
Pons sublicius, the, bmlding of, 3 1
Pontia colonised by Rome, 85
Pontifical college, the, con- fined to nobility, 236
Pontus, allied with Rome, 156; invaded by L. Lucul- lus, 307 et seq.; ruled by Polemo, 394; annexation of, 500; Western, forms a Roman province with Bithynia, 322
Poplicola, P. Valerius, law of,
Poppaea, wife of Nero, 485 Populace of Rome, the, com- position of, 191 ; as a polit- ical force, 191 ; in the time of Augustus, 224 &/ seq. Postumus, tyrant in Gaul, 569; defeats the barba- rians, 570
Prafecti, office of, 416 Prcefectiis annonce, office of,
446 Prcefectus prcBtorio, office of,
523,; made judicial, 528 Prcefectus urbis, office of, 447 ;
increasing powers of, 522,
n. I Proefectus vigilum, office of,
449 Praeneste, 31; Rome at war
with, 77; Cinna receives
aid from, 228, n. i, battle
at, 229 ; destroyed, 230,
n. I, 234
PrtBtor urbanus, office of, cre- ated, 64
Praetors, the, number of, in- creased, 169, 236; in west- em Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, 123; and the prin- cipate, 412, 425 etseq.
Prasutagus, king of the Iceni,
507 Prefects, the duties of, 104
Principate, the, founded, 40$ et seq.; nature of, 409 et seq. ; growth of the power of, 412, 413; becomes a permanent office, 488, 517, 518
Privemum, colonised by Rome, 82
Probus, Emperor, 570; de- feats the Franks, 57a
Proconsulate, the, establish- ed, 106, 183; provincal rule of, 184; preferred to the consulate, 185; and the principate ,412,425 et seq.
Procurators, office of, 416, 417 ; increased by Hadrian, 526-528
Proscriptions, the, of Marius, 28; of Sulla, 2233; of the second triumvirate, 362,
363 Provmce, a Roman, defined.
620 Outlines of Roman History.
Province — continued
174. n. I. 175; organisa- tion of, 174 et seq.; self- government allowed in, 177; position of the gov- ernor of, 179 et seq.
Provinces, the Roman, state of, under the Republic, 327 et seq. ; under the Flavians and Antonines, 533, 534; distress in the, under the last Emperors, 587 et seq.
Provincial system, the Ro- man, 173 et seq.; defects of, 181, 327 et seq.\ re- formed by Augustus, 414 et seq.
Prusias of Bithynia, joins Perseus against Rome, 1 50 ; favoured by Rome, 155
Ptolemies, the, allied to Rome, 293
Ptolemy Euergetes II., ob- tains Cyrene and Cyprus, 156
Ptolemy Philometer, restora- tion of, 156
Ptolemy Xll. and Caesar, 343
Publicani, defined, ipo; ap- pointed judges m the law courts ; see also Eques- trian order
Public lands, the, occupied by the rich, 207, 208; pro- posals for allotment of, 208; by the Gracchi, 200 et seq.; reoccupation of, 213, 214; granted to vet- erans, 234, 451, 531
Public provinces, the, under Augustus, 418^/ seq.
Publilia, tribe of, formed, 76
Punic war, the first, 116 et seq.; general aspects of, 121 et seq.; second, 126; third, 136
Puteoli, colony of, formed,
138 Pynda, battle of, 151
Pjrrrhus, King of Epirus, his character and aims, 93; aids the Tarentines against Rome, 94 ; defeats Laevinus at the Liris, 94; in Sicily, 95 ; attempts to treat with Rome, 95; in Apulia, 95; engages the Carthaginians in Sicily, 95; defeated at Beneventum, 95; quits Italy, 96
Q
Quadi, the invasions of, 560,
589
QtuBstio de repetundis, estab- lished, 181 ; changes in its constitution, 211, 212, 235
Quaestors, the, position of, 180; ntimber of, increased by Sulla, 236
Quaestorship, the, becomes a plebeian office, 62
R
Rabirius, C, prosecution of, 250
Raetia, imder Augustus, 415; annexed by Augustus, 451, 460; invaded by barba- rians, 561
Ramnes, the, tribe of, 22
Ratiaria, camp at, 551
Raudine plain, battle on the, 216, 271
Rauraci, the, migration of, 2y2 et seq.
Ravenna, barbarian settle- ments at, 561
Reforms, of Caesar, 348, 349; of Augustus, 412 et seq.
Regulus, M. Atilius, Roman gendl'al in first Punic war, 118; defeated by Xan- thippus near Carthage, 119
Reign of terror in Rome, un- der Sulla, 233 et seq.; un-
Index.
621
der the second triumvirate, 362. 363
Reims, Caesar at, 284
Religion, reformed by Au- gustus, 434
Remi, the, allied with Rome, 278
Remus, traditions of, 4, 9, 12
Republic, Roman, beginning of the, 32, 40, 49 et seq.; traditions concerning, 45 et seq.\ a patrician body, 53; decayof, 227,230, 237, 2^9, 241, 242; and Caesar's dictatorship, 351 et seq.\ restored by Octavius, 401, 402
Rex sacrorum, office of, 51; confined to patricians, 159, n. I
Rhegium, allied to Rome, 96
Rhine, the, made the bound- ary of Gaul, 281; crossed by Caesar, 281, 284, n. 3; a boundary of the Roman Empire, 460, 461, 498, 572; meeting of auxiliary forces on, 536; annexation be- yond, 538
Rhodes, allied with Rome, 141-143, 147, 148; harsh treatment of, by Rome, 155; attacked by Mithri- dates, 298
Ricimer, the Sueve, rules in Italy, 596
Roads, construction of, in Cisalpine Gaul, 261; re- pairing and extension of,
451 Roman people, the, their
affinities with the Latins, 18; non-Latin elements in, ig et seq.; divisions of, 20 et seq.\ wealthy condition of, iS$etseq. Rome, early traditions con- cerning, 3 et seq.; their origin, 5 et $eq.\ historical
value, 10 et seq.; site of, 14, 16; composed of several separate communities, 15 et seq.; probable date of foundation, 17; kings of, 30 et seq.; fortification of, 31, 32; redi vision into four districts, 32 ; Etruscan conquest of, 32 et seq.; brought into contact with Greece, ^5, 36, 140, 157: sack of, by the Gauls, 63, 74; under the republic, 45 et seq.; becomes supreme in Italy, 68 et seq., g6 et seq. ; as a Mediterranean power, 1 1 5 ^^ seq. ; in the East, 1 40 et seq., 2gi et seq.; revolu- tion in, 201 et seq.; under Sulla, 232 et seq.; under the first triumvirate, 2$2 et seq.; under Caesar, 333 et seq.; under the second tri- umvirate, 354 e/ seq.; un- der Augustus, 420 et seq.; under the Emperors, 471 et seq. ; degradation of. un- der Diocletian, 579; sacked by the Vandals, 596 Romulus,' traditions of, 4, 9,
12, 16, 18 Rubicon, the, crossed by Cae- sar, 258 Rufinus, the Goth, 591 Rullianus, Q. Fabius, 88 Rullus, P. Servilius, agrarian law of, 247; defeated by Cicero, 250 Rutilius Rufus, P., condem- nation of, 219
Sabatina, tribe of, created,
75 Sabellians, see Sabines
Sabines, the, in the tradi- tions, II, 12; hostile to Rome, 18, 69; invasion of
622 Outlines of Roman History.
Sabines — continued
Rome by, 20 et seq,\ their territory annexed by Rome, 91 ; enfranchised by Rome, 96; in the Social war, 332
Sacrovir, Julius, rising of, 508
Saccular Games, the celebra- tion of, 413
Saguntum taken by Hanni- bal, 136
Saluvii, the, Rome at war with, 364, 365
Samnites, the, conquest of, 73, 73; invade the Cam- pania, 79; form a league with Rome, 79; defeated by Rome, 02 ; join Pyrrhus agaii^st Rome, 94; final conquest of, and alliance with Rome, 90; in the So- cial war, 333, 333; in the first Civil war, 330, 334
Samnite war, the first, 79, 80 ; second, 83 et seq. ; third, 87
Samnium, invasion of, by Rome, 86; finally con- quered by Rome, 96
Samos ceded to Athens, 153
Sapor, see Sassanids
Saracens, 589
Sardinia, Carthaginian intru- sion in, 1 1 5 ; ceded to Rome, 133; occupied for Caesar, 334; under the Caesars, 508
Sarmizegethusa, garrison at, 549; Roman colony, 550 •
Sassanidae, the kings of Per- sia, invade Syria, 573; in- vade Armenia, 573
Satricum colonised, 76
Sattiminus, L. Appuleius, elected a tribune, 317; his agrarian and corn laws, 317; fall of, 318
Saxon pirates, the, raids of,
589 Scaevola, P, Mucins^ lawyer,
307
Scapula, P. Ostorius, com- mands in Britain, 505
Scaurus, M. Aurelius, taken prisoner by the Germans, 360
Scipio, L. Cornelius, com- mands in Asia Minor, 147
Scipio iSmilianus, P. Come- hus, commands in Africa in thinl Punic war, 137
Scipio Africanus, P., expels tiie Carthaginians from Spain, 131; invades Africa 131; defeats Hannibal at Zama, 132; in Asia Minor,
147 Scipio Africanus, P., the
Younger, in Spain, 135 Scipio Nasica opposes third
Punic war, 136 Sejanus, Minister of Tiberius,
475 Seleucidae, the , Ki n g s of
Syria, 393,330
Sena colonised by Rome, 91,
I03
Senate, the, described, 33, 36, 37; ascendency of, 159 e^ seq.^ 173; powers of, 161 et seq., 170; composition of, 163, 163, 167; procedure of, 164, 167; authority of, challenged, 201 et seq.\ in- herent weaikness of, 203, 303; supremacy of, at- tacked by the Gracchi, 311 et seq.\ its power restored by Sulla, 335; purged, 343; under Caesar's dicta- torship, 351 et seq.; en- larged by Caesar, 353; re- formed by Augustus, ^2g et seq.] functions of, 433 et seq.; under the Caesars, 490, 491; under the later Caesars, 533,534
Senatorial order, the, de- scribed, 431. 432, 439; wil- der the later Ceesars, 5 33,534
Index.
623
Seneca under Nero, 485 Senones, the, defeated by
Rome, 91; rising of, 284
et seq, Sentinum, battle of, 89 Sentius, C, defeat of, 201 Sequani, the, invite tne aid
of Ariovistus against ^dui,
275 Sertorius, Q., in Spain, 230,
n. 2, 240; allied with Mith-
ridates, 305
Servian wall, the, built, 16,
17 Setia colonised, 76
Seven Hills, 15; names of the, 17, n. 2
Severus, L. Septimius, Em- peror, descent of, 520; reign of, 568
Sextius, L., law of, 63
Sicily, Pyrrhus in, 95 ; Cartha- ginian invasion of, 115; resisted by Rome, 115 et seq.; evacuated by the Carthaginian forces, 121; and ceded to Rome, 123; government of, under Home, 123; Carthaginian forces in, 129; Rome again supreme, 130, iji; P. Scipio in, 132; under Ro- man rule, 133, 134 ; taxation of , 1 7 8 ; occupied for Caesar, 334; Sextus Pompeius in, 364, 375. 376; invaded by Octavius, 378, 379; under Augustus, 419
Signia built, ^9
Sikels, tradition of, 3, 18
Silanus, M. Junius, defeated by the Germans, 268
Silenus as an historian, 1 1 1
Silures, the, hostile to Rome,
505 Silvanus, tyrant in Gaul,
584 Singara captured by Tra- jan, 555
Sinope, Mithridates at, 294;
freed, 309, n. 2 Sipontum, colony of, 206,
n. 6 Siscia captured by Octavius,
384
Slaves, general tise of, in Rome, 189, 196
Social war, the names and plans of the rebel tribes, 222, 223 ; outbreak of, 222 ; progress of, 223
Society, Roman, early state of, 188, 189; later wealthy state of, 186 et seq.f 189, 190; influence of Hellen- ism upon, ig2 et seq.; dan- gers of this influence, 195, 196
Sora taken in second Samnite war, 85
Sosius, C in Syria, 385
Spain, invaded by Cartha- ginians under Hamilcar Barca, 125, 126; under Roman rule, 1^4 et seq.; taxation of, by Rome, 178; Csesar's first campaign in, 334 et seq.; second, 334 J under the Caesars, 509 ; en- franchisement of, 530
Spain, Hither, as a Roman province, 176; tmder Au- gustus, 415
Sparta sacked by the Goths,
572 Spartacus heads rising of
gladiators, 235, 241 Spoletium, Hannibal at, 128 Statianus, Oppius, in the
Parthian war, 386 Stellatina, tribe of, created
75 Stilicho, the vandal, 591
Strabo, Cn. Pompeius, en- franchises Gaul, 262, n. 3 Strassburg, camp at, 548 Suebo-Sarmatian war, 543 Suessa colonised by Rome, 85
624 Outlines of Roman History.
Suevi, the, attempt to invade Gaul, 377; settle in Spain,
593 Sugambri, the, crushed, 281
Sulla, L. Cornelius, serves in the Social war, 223; marches on Rome, 226; commands against Mithri- dates, 226; returns to Rome, 229; crushes the Marian party, 239; as dic- tator, 232 etseq.; constitu- tional legislation of, 235 et seq.; in Macedonia, 291; in the first Mithridatic war, 2^6, 299; makes peace with Mithridates, 300 et seq. ; settles in Asia Minor,
302» 303 Sulla, P., serves under Caesar
at Pharsalus, 340
Sulpicius Rufus, P., laws of 225; carried, 226; flees from Rome, 226 ; end of, 226, n. 2
Sutriimi allied with Rome, 71 ; colonised by Rome, 75 ; a boundary of Roman ter- ritory, 88
Syracuse, 115; revolts against Rome, 129; recaptured, 130
Syria, Roman intervention in, 156; under Tigranes, 305, 311; annexed by Pompey, 320, 324; held by Brutus and Cassius, 364; invaded by Parthians, 371; tinder Augustus, 415; under Odaenathus, 570
Tables, the Twelve, issued, 58 Tacfarinas, rising of, 502, 508 Tacitus, C. Cornelius, his es- timate of Tiberius, 475 Tacitus, M. Claudius, Em- peror, 507
Tarentum, at war with Rome, 93; surrendered to Rome, and dismantled, 96; nearly taken by Carthage, 116; besieged by Hanni- bal, 130; meeting of An- tony and Octavius at, 377
TopxeruXy in the traditions,
34 Tarquins, the improvement of Rome by, 31,36; Etrus- can origin of, 33, 34; their expulsion from Rome, 39, 40 ; and attempted restora- tion, 40, 69 Tarracina colonised, 76, 82 Tarsus, Caesar at, 343 Taunus, land of the, 540 Tauromenium, Octavius at,
378 Taurus, Statilius, rules in
Africa, 380 Taxation, of the Roman pro- vinces, 178, 179, 186 ; of Asia, regulated by the Gracchi, 211, 212; revised by Augustus, 421, 422 Teanum, Sulla at, 229 Telamon, battle of, 124 Tellenae, destruction of, 3 1 Temple, of Julius Caesar, 436; of Mars, 436; of Apollo, 436 Temples restored by Augus- tus, 435 Tencteri, the, invade Gaul,
280
Terentina, tribe of, formed, 86
Tergeste, settlement of, formed, 451, n. i
Tetricus, tyrant in Gaul, 569
Teutones, see Germans
Thalna, M. Juventius, disre- gards the Senate, 160
Thapsus, battle of, 344
Thebes destroyed, 153
Theodosius I., Emperor in the East, 586
Thermopylae, battle at, 147
Index.
62:;
Thrace, petty wars in, 290, 291, 301; annexed by Claudius, 482, 500
Tiberius, Emperor, com- mands ixi Germany, 461; as the successor to Augus- tus, 468, 469; descent of, 471; character of, 470 et seq.; as described by Tac- itus, 475. 476; governs under difficulties, 474, 475; as a ruler, 476
Tibur, Rome at war .with, 77 ; Cinna receives aid from, 228, n. I
Tigellinus, Sophonius, fa- vourite of Nero, 485
Tigranes, in third Mithridatic war, 305-308; conquests oiy 310, 311; at war with Rome, 313; routed by Lu- cullus, 314, 315; submits toPompey, 319
Tigranocerta, foundation of, 305, n. 5, 312, n. 3; siege of, 313; destroyed, 314
Tigunni, the, join the Ger- mans against Rome, 268; defeated by Caesar, 274
Tiridates, of Parthia, in Syria, - 395 ; made Kinjg of Arme- nia, 501
Tities, the tribe of, 20, 22
Titus, Emperor, claim of, 518; captures Jerusalem,
567 Tolosa, founded, 266; cap- tured by the Tolosates, 269 ; the Visigothic capital,
593. w- 2 Traditions of early Rome, 3
et seq.; origin of, 5 et seq.;
historical value of, 10 et
seq.; Greek share in,. 7, 9,
13,41, 114
Trajan, Emperor, descent
of, 518, 519; campaigns of,
546 et seq., 558; death of,
557 40
Transpadanes, the, enfran- chised, 262
Trasimene Lake, the battle of, 128
* * Treaty States " defined ,
173. 177 Treveri, the, rising of, 283,
284
Triarius, C, in Pontus, 316
Tribes, the three, 22; four,
instituted by Servius, 39;
four new, created, 75; two
new created, 76; twelve
new, formed, 102
Tribunate, the, institution of,
55; office of, 56; rendered
permanent, 61; its powers
nampered by Sulla, 235;
restored by Pompey, 241
Tribute, exaction of, in the
Roman provinces, 178,
179, 186, 211; not exacted
by Rome from Italian
states, 10 1
Trifanum, battle of, 80, n. i
Triumvirate, the first, 325
et seq. ; the second, formed,
362, 373; renewed, 376,
377 ., . Troesmis, legionary camp at,
551
Tromentina, tribe of, cre- ated, 75
Tulingi, the, migration of, 272 etseq.
Tullius, Servius, wall of, 15, 17 ; reforms of, 37^^ seq.
Tullus, Hostilius, traditions
of, 15.30 Tumus of Ardea, in the tra- ditions, 34 Tusculum, an Etruscan city,
34; Rome at war with, 77 ;
unites with the Roman
State, 81, n. 2 Tyndaris captured by M.
Agrippa, 379 Tyrants, the, defined, 568; in
Gaul, 569, 570
626 Outlines of Roman History.
Tjrre holds out against Par-
thians, 372 Tyrrhenians, see Etruscans.
U
Ubii, the, invite Csssar to en- ter Germany, 281
Umbrians, the, conquered by the Etruscans, 33; hostile to Rome, 88, 89; in the Social war, 222; in first Civil war, 229
Usipetes, the, invade Gaul, 280
Utica, death of Cato at, 344
Vadimonian Lake, battle at
the, 88 Valens, Emperor of the East,
58s Valentia, settlement of, 261
Valentinian I., Emperor of
the West, 585 Valentinian II., Emperor of
the West, 586 Valentinian III., Emperor of
the West, 594 Valerian, Emperor, taken
prisoner by the Persians,
568 Valerian law, the, 168 Vandals, the, invade Italy,
560; in Spain, 593; settle
in Africa, 595; sack of
Rome by, 596 Varro, C. Terentius, defeated
at Cannae by Hannibal, 129 Varro, M. Terentius, serves in
Spain, 334; submits to
Caesar, 337 Varus, P. Quintilius, de- feated in Germany, 460,
497 Veii, Rome at war with, 63,
69; annexed by Rome, 71,
75 ; rebuilding of , 452
Vehtrae taken by Rome, 82
Vellaunodunum captured by Caesar, 286
Veneti, the, rising of, 279; crushed by Caesar, 280
Ventidius Bassus, P., 372; commands in the ^ast, 372, 373; triumph of, 374
Venusia, Roman colony of, formed, 91
Vercingetorix, heads rising of the Avemi, 285 e< seq,\ de- feat and death of, 288
Verginius Rtifus refuses the purple, 518
Verulam under the Romans, 506, 507
Vesontio, Caesar at, 276
Vespasian, Emperor, in Brit- ian, 505; accession of, 516; descent of, 518; adopts Caesar as the Im- perial title, 519, 520; fron- tier policy of, 535
Vestini, the, allied with Rome, 84, 87
Vesuvius, Mt., battle at, 80, n. I
Vetera, headquarters of Ro- man troops, 499
Via iEmilia, construction of, 261
Via Appia, construction of,
Via Domitia, construction of,
266 Via Flaminia completed to
Arimintmi, 124 Via Valeria, extension of, 482 Vici^ see City- wards Victorinus, tyrant in Gaul,
569 Vienne under the Romans,
509 Vindex, C. Julius, 509; leads
unsuccesSul GauUsh re- volt, 513 Viriathus, heads revolt in Spain, 135; defies Rome in Spain, 203, 204
Index.
627
Visigoths, the, occupy II- lyrictim, 591; invade Italy, 591; settle in Gaul, 589; oppose Attila's invasion of Italy, 595. 596
Vitellius, Emperor, accession of, 515, ». 3; descent of,
517 Vocontii, the, subdued by
Flaccus, 264 Vologaeses I., of Parthia, at
war with Rome, 501 Volscians, the, hostile to
Rome, 18, 39, 48, 55, 68 ei
seq.; their decline, 72;
their conquest by Rome,
75 Vulso, L. Manlius, leads Ro- man army into Africa in first Punic war, 118; re- called to Rome, 118
W
Wallia founds the Visigothic monarchy, 593
Walls of Hadrian, the, 559 War of Succession, the, in
Italy, 513 Water supply of Rome, the,
446, 447; procurator of,
appointed, 482 Wealth, accumulation of, by
Roman people, iS$ et seq.,
292 Wiesbaden, hot springs at,
540 Wroxeter (Viriconium)
founded, 506
X
Xanthippus defeats Roman army near Carthage, 119
Zama, battle of, 133 Zela, battle at, 344 Zenobia, of Palmyra, rules in the East, 570
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