[Sidenote: Recapitulation of the subjects treated in Book I.]
+1.+ In the previous book I have described how the Romans, having
subdued all Italy, began to aim at foreign dominion; how they crossed
to Sicily, and the reasons of the war which they entered into against
the Carthaginians for the possession of that island. Next I stated at
what period they began the formation of a navy; and what befell both
the one side and the other up to the end of the war; the consequence
of which was that the Carthaginians entirely evacuated Sicily, and the
Romans took possession of the whole island, except such parts as were
still under the rule of Hiero. Following these events I endeavoured to
describe how the mutiny of the mercenaries against Carthage, in what
is called the Libyan War, burst out; the lengths to which the shocking
outrages in it went; its surprises and extraordinary incidents, until
its conclusion, and the final triumph of Carthage. I must now relate
the events which immediately succeeded these, touching summarily upon
each in accordance with my original plan.
[Sidenote: B.C. 238, Hamilcar and his son Hannibal sent to Spain.]
[Sidenote: B.C. 238-229.]
As soon as they had brought the Libyan war to a conclusion the
Carthaginian government collected an army and despatched it under the
command of Hamilcar to Iberia. This general took over the command of
the troops, and with his son Hannibal, then nine years old, crossing
by the Pillars of Hercules, set about recovering the Carthaginian
possessions in Iberia. He spent nine years in Iberia, and after
reducing many Iberian tribes by war or diplomacy to obedience to
Carthage he died in a manner worthy of his great achievements; for he
lost his life in a battle against the most warlike and powerful tribes,
in which he showed a conspicuous and even reckless personal gallantry.
The Carthaginians appointed his son-in-law Hasdrubal to succeed him,
who was at the time in command of the fleet.
[Sidenote: Illyricum.]
+2.+ It was at this same period that the Romans for the first time
crossed to Illyricum and that part of Europe with an army. The history
of this expedition must not be treated as immaterial; but must be
carefully studied by those who wish to understand clearly the story I
have undertaken to tell, and to trace the progress and consolidation of
the Roman Empire.
[Sidenote: B.C. 233-232.]
[Sidenote: Siege of Medion in Acarnania.]
Agron, king of the Illyrians, was the son of Pleuratus, and possessed
the most powerful force, both by land and sea, of any of the kings who
had reigned in Illyria before him. By a bribe received from Demetrius
he was induced to promise help to the Medionians, who were at that
time being besieged by the Aetolians, who, being unable to persuade
the Medionians to join their league, had determined to reduce the city
by force. They accordingly levied their full army, pitched their camp
under the walls of the city, and kept up a continuous blockade, using
every means to force their way in, and every kind of siege-machine. But
when the time of the annual election of their Strategus drew near, the
besieged being now in great distress, and seeming likely every day to
surrender, the existing Strategus made an appeal to the Aetolians. He
argued that as he had had during his term of office all the suffering
and the danger, it was but fair that when they got possession of the
town he should have the apportioning of the spoil, and the privilege
of inscribing his name on such arms as should be preserved for
dedication. This was resisted by some, and especially by those who were
candidates for the office, who urged upon the Assembly not to prejudge
this matter, but to leave it open for fortune to determine who was
to be invested with this honour; and, finally, the Aetolians decided
that whoever was general when the city was taken should share the
apportioning of the spoils, and the honour of inscribing the arms, with
his predecessor.
[Sidenote: The Illyrians relieve Medion.]
+3.+ The decision was come to on the day before the election of a
new Strategus, and the transference of the command had, according
to the Aetolian custom, to take place. But on that very night a
hundred galleys with five thousand Illyrians on board, sailed up to
land near Medion. Having dropped anchor at daybreak, they effected
a disembarkation with secrecy and despatch; they then formed in the
order customary in their country, and advanced in their several
companies against the Aetolian lines. These last were overwhelmed
with astonishment at the unexpected nature and boldness of the move;
but they had long been inspired with overweening self-confidence, and
having full reliance in their own forces were far from being dismayed.
They drew up the greater part of their hoplites and cavalry in front of
their lines on the level ground, and with a portion of their cavalry
and their light infantry they hastened to occupy some rising ground in
front of their camp, which nature had made easily defensible. A single
charge, however, of the Illyrians, whose numbers and close order gave
them irresistible weight, served to dislodge the light-armed troops,
and forced the cavalry who were on the ground with them to retire
to the hoplites. But the Illyrians, being on the higher ground, and
charging down from it upon the Aetolian troops formed up on the plain,
routed them without difficulty; the Medionians at the same time making
a diversion in their favour by sallying out of the town and charging
the Aetolians. Thus, after killing a great number, and taking a still
greater number prisoners, and becoming masters also of their arms and
baggage, the Illyrians, having carried out the orders of their king,
conveyed their baggage and the rest of the booty to their boats, and
immediately set sail for their own country.
+4.+ This was a most unexpected relief to the Medionians. They met in
public assembly and deliberated on the whole business, and especially
as to the inscribing the arms reserved for dedication. They decided,
in mockery of the Aetolian decree, that the inscription should contain
the name of the Aetolian commander on the day of battle, and of the
candidates for succession to his office. And indeed Fortune seems,
in what happened to them, to have designed a display of her power to
the rest of mankind. The very thing which these men were in momentary
expectation of undergoing at the hands of their enemies, she put it in
their power to inflict upon those enemies, and all within a very brief
interval. The unexpected disaster of the Aetolians, too, may teach all
the world not to calculate on the future as though it were the actually
existent, and not to reckon securely on what may still turn out quite
otherwise, but to allow a certain margin to the unexpected. And as this
is true everywhere and to every man, so is it especially true in war.
[Sidenote: Death of Agron, who is succeeded by his wife Teuta, B.C.
231.]
When his galleys returned, and he heard from his officers the events
of the expedition, King Agron was so beside himself with joy at the
idea of having conquered the Aetolians, whose confidence in their
own prowess had been extreme, that, giving himself over to excessive
drinking and other similar indulgences, he was attacked by a pleurisy
of which in a few days he died. His wife Teuta succeeded him on the
throne; and managed the various details of administration by means of
friends whom she could trust. But her woman’s head had been turned by
the success just related, and she fixed her gaze upon that, and had no
eyes for anything going on outside the country. Her first measure was
to grant letters of marque to privateers, authorising them to plunder
all whom they fell in with; and she next collected a fleet and military
force as large as the former one, and despatched them with general
instructions to the leaders to regard every land as belonging to an
enemy.
[Sidenote: Teuta’s piratical fleet, B.C. 230.]
[Sidenote: Takes Phoenice in Epirus.]
+5.+ Their first attack was to be upon the coast of Elis and Messenia,
which had been from time immemorial the scene of the raids of the
Illyrians. For owing to the length of their seaboard, and to the fact
that their most powerful cities were inland, troops raised to resist
them had a great way to go, and were long in coming to the spot where
the Illyrian pirates landed; who accordingly overran those districts,
and swept them clean without having anything to fear. However, when
this fleet was off Phoenice in Epirus they landed to get supplies.
There they fell in with some Gauls, who to the number of eight hundred
were stationed at Phoenice, being in the pay of the Epirotes; and
contracted with them to betray the town into their hands. Having made
this bargain, they disembarked and took the town and everything in
it at the first blow, the Gauls within the walls acting in collusion
with them. When this news was known, the Epirotes raised a general
levy and came in haste to the rescue. Arriving in the neighbourhood
of Phoenice, they pitched their camp so as to have the river which
flows past Phoenice between them and the enemy, tearing up the planks
of the bridge over it for security. But news being brought them that
Scerdilaidas with five thousand Illyrians was marching overland by
way of the pass near Antigoneia, they detached some of their forces
to guard that town; while the main body gave themselves over to an
unrestrained indulgence in all the luxuries which the country could
supply; and among other signs of demoralisation they neglected the
necessary precaution of posting sentries and night pickets. The
division of their forces, as well as the careless conduct of the
remainder, did not escape the observation of the Illyrians; who,
sallying out at night, and replacing the planks on the bridge, crossed
the river safely, and having secured a strong position, remained there
quietly for the rest of the night. At daybreak both armies drew up
their forces in front of the town and engaged. In this battle the
Epirotes were decidedly worsted: a large number of them fell, still
more were taken prisoners, and the rest fled in the direction of the
country of the Atintanes.
[Sidenote: The Aetolian and Achaean leagues send a force to the relief
of the Epirotes. A truce is made. The Illyrians depart.]
+6.+ Having met with this reverse, and having lost all the hopes which
they had cherished, the Epirotes turned to the despatch of ambassadors
to the Aetolians and Achaeans, earnestly begging for their assistance.
Moved by pity for their misfortunes, these nations consented; and
an army of relief sent out by them arrived at Helicranum. Meanwhile
the Illyrians who had occupied Phoenice, having effected a junction
with Scerdilaidas, advanced with him to this place, and, taking up a
position opposite to this army of relief, wished at first to give it
battle. But they were embarrassed by the unfavourable nature of the
ground; and just then a despatch was received from Teuta, ordering
their instant return, because certain Illyrians had revolted to the
Dardani. Accordingly, after merely stopping to plunder Epirus, they
made a truce with the inhabitants, by which they undertook to deliver
up all freemen, and the city of Phoenice, for a fixed ransom. They
then took the slaves they had captured and the rest of their booty to
their galleys, and some of them sailed away; while those who were with
Scerdilaidas retired by land through the pass at Antigoneia, after
inspiring no small or ordinary terror in the minds of the Greeks who
lived along the coast. For seeing the most securely placed and powerful
city of Epirus thus unexpectedly reduced to slavery, they one and all
began henceforth to feel anxious, not merely as in former times for
their property in the open country, but for the safety of their own
persons and cities.
The Epirotes were thus unexpectedly preserved: but so far from trying
to retaliate on those who had wronged them, or expressing gratitude
to those who had come to their relief, they sent ambassadors in
conjunction with the Acarnanians to Queen Teuta, and made a treaty with
the Illyrians, in virtue of which they engaged henceforth to co-operate
with them and against the Achaean and Aetolian leagues. All which
proceedings showed conclusively the levity of their conduct towards men
who had stood their friends, as well as an originally short-sighted
policy in regard to their own interests.
+7.+ That men, in the infirmity of human nature, should fall into
misfortunes which defy calculation, is the fault not of the sufferers
but of Fortune, and of those who do the wrong; but that they should
from mere levity, and with their eyes open, thrust themselves upon the
most serious disasters is without dispute the fault of the victims
themselves. Therefore it is that pity and sympathy and assistance await
those whose failure is due to Fortune: reproach and rebuke from all men
of sense those who have only their own folly to thank for it.
[Sidenote: The career of a body of Gallic mercenaries,]
[Sidenote: at Agrigentum,]
[Sidenote: at Eryx.]
[Sidenote: Disarmed by the Romans.]
It is the latter that the Epirotes now richly deserved at the hands
of the Greeks. For in the first place, who in his senses, knowing
the common report as to the character of the Gauls, would not have
hesitated to trust to them a city so rich, and offering so many
opportunities for treason? And again, who would not have been on his
guard against the bad character of this particular body of them?
For they had originally been driven from their native country by an
outburst of popular indignation at an act of treachery done by them
to their own kinsfolk and relations. Then having been received by
the Carthaginians, because of the exigencies of the war in which the
latter were engaged, and being drafted into Agrigentum to garrison
it (being at the time more than three thousand strong), they seized
the opportunity of a dispute as to pay, arising between the soldiers
and their generals, to plunder the city; and again being brought by
the Carthaginians into Eryx to perform the same duty, they first
endeavoured to betray the city and those who were shut up in it with
them to the Romans who were besieging it; and when they failed in that
treason, they deserted in a body to the enemy: whose trust they also
betrayed by plundering the temple of Aphrodite in Eryx. Thoroughly
convinced, therefore, of their abominable character, as soon as they
had made peace with Carthage the Romans made it their first business to
disarm them, put them on board ship, and forbid them ever to enter any
part of Italy. These were the men whom the Epirotes made the protectors
of their democracy and the guardians of their laws! To such men as
these they entrusted their most wealthy city! How then can it be denied
that they were the cause of their own misfortunes?
My object, in commenting on the blind folly of the Epirotes, is to
point out that it is never wise to introduce a foreign garrison,
especially of barbarians, which is too strong to be controlled.
[Sidenote: Illyrian pirates.]
[Sidenote: The Romans interfere, B.C. 230.]
[Sidenote: Queen Teuta’s reception of the Roman legates.]
[Sidenote: A Roman legate assassinated.]
+8.+ To return to the Illyrians. From time immemorial they had
oppressed and pillaged vessels sailing from Italy: and now while
their fleet was engaged at Phoenice a considerable number of them,
separating from the main body, committed acts of piracy on a number of
Italian merchants: some they merely plundered, others they murdered,
and a great many they carried off alive into captivity. Now, though
complaints against the Illyrians had reached the Roman government in
times past, they had always been neglected; but now when more and
more persons approached the Senate on this subject, they appointed
two ambassadors, Gaius and Lucius Coruncanius, to go to Illyricum and
investigate the matter. But on the arrival of her galleys from Epirus,
the enormous quantity and beauty of the spoils which they brought
home (for Phoenice was by far the wealthiest city in Epirus at that
time), so fired the imagination of Queen Teuta, that she was doubly
eager to carry on the predatory warfare on the coasts of Greece. At
the moment, however, she was stopped by the rebellion at home; but it
had not taken her long to put down the revolt in Illyria, and she was
engaged in besieging Issa, the last town which held out, when just
at that very time the Roman ambassadors arrived. A time was fixed
for their audience, and they proceeded to discuss the injuries which
their citizens had sustained. Throughout the interview, however,
Teuta listened with an insolent and disdainful air; and when they had
finished their speech, she replied that she would endeavour to take
care that no injury should be inflicted on Roman citizens by Illyrian
officials; but that it was not the custom for the sovereigns of Illyria
to hinder private persons from taking booty at sea. Angered by these
words, the younger of the two ambassadors used a plainness of speech
which, though thoroughly to the point, was rather ill-timed. “The
Romans,” he said, “O Teuta, have a most excellent custom of using the
State for the punishment of private wrongs and the redress of private
grievances: and we will endeavour, God willing, before long to compel
you to improve the relations between the sovereign and the subject
in Illyria.” The queen received this plain speaking with womanish
passion and unreasoning anger. So enraged was she at the speech that,
in despite of the conventions universally observed among mankind, she
despatched some men after the ambassadors, as they were sailing home,
to kill the one who had used this plainness. Upon this being reported
at Rome the people were highly incensed at the queen’s violation of the
law of nations, and at once set about preparations for war, enrolling
legions and collecting a fleet.
[Sidenote: B.C. 229. Another piratical fleet sent out by Teuta.]
[Sidenote: Their treacherous attack on Epidamnus, which is repulsed.]
[Sidenote: Attack on Corcyra.]
[Sidenote: The Corcyreans appeal to the Aetolian and Achaean leagues.]
+9.+ When the season for sailing was come Teuta sent out a larger fleet
of galleys than ever against the Greek shores, some of which sailed
straight to Corcyra; while a portion of them put into the harbour of
Epidamnus on the pretext of taking in victual and water, but really to
attack the town. The Epidamnians received them without suspicion and
without taking any precautions. Entering the town therefore clothed
merely in their tunics, as though they were only come to fetch water,
but with swords concealed in the water vessels, they slew the guards
stationed at the gates, and in a brief space were masters of the
gate-tower. Being energetically supported by a reinforcement from the
ships, which came quickly up in accordance with a pre-arrangement, they
got possession of the greater part of the walls without difficulty. But
though the citizens were taken off their guard they made a determined
and desperate resistance, and the Illyrians after maintaining their
ground for some time were eventually driven out of the town. So the
Epidamnians on this occasion went near to lose their city by their
carelessness; but by the courage which they displayed they saved
themselves from actual damage while receiving a useful lesson for the
future. The Illyrians who had engaged in this enterprise made haste to
put to sea, and, rejoining the advanced squadron, put in at Corcyra:
there, to the terror of the inhabitants, they disembarked and set
about besieging the town. Dismayed and despairing of their safety, the
Corcyreans, acting in conjunction with the people of Apollonia and
Epidamnus, sent off envoys to the Achaean and Aetolian leagues, begging
for instant help, and entreating them not to allow of their being
deprived of their homes by the Illyrians. The petition was accepted,
and the Achaean and Aetolian leagues combined to send aid. The ten
decked ships of war belonging to the Achaeans were manned, and having
been fitted out in a few days, set sail for Corcyra in hopes of raising
the siege.
[Sidenote: Defeat of the Achaean ships.]
[Sidenote: Corcyra submits.]
+10.+ But the Illyrians obtained a reinforcement of seven decked ships
from the Acarnanians, in virtue of their treaty with that people, and,
putting to sea, engaged the Achaean fleet off the islands called Paxi.
The Acarnanian and Achaean ships fought without victory declaring for
either, and without receiving any further damage than having some
of their crew wounded. But the Illyrians lashed their galleys four
together, and, caring nothing for any damage that might happen to
them, grappled with the enemy by throwing their galleys athwart their
prows and encouraging them to charge; when the enemies’ prows struck
them, and got entangled by the lashed-together galleys getting hitched
on to their forward gear, the Illyrians leaped upon the decks of the
Achaean ships and captured them by the superior number of their armed
men. In this way they took four triremes, and sunk one quinquereme with
all hands, on board of which Margos of Caryneia was sailing, who had
all his life served the Achaean league with complete integrity. The
vessels engaged with the Acarnanians, seeing the triumphant success of
the Illyrians, and trusting to their own speed, hoisted their sails
to the wind and effected their voyage home without further disaster.
The Illyrians, on the other hand, filled with self-confidence by their
success, continued their siege of the town in high spirits, and without
putting themselves to any unnecessary trouble; while the Corcyreans,
reduced to despair of safety by what had happened, after sustaining
the siege for a short time longer, made terms with the Illyrians,
consenting to receive a garrison, and with it Demetrius of Pharos.
After this had been settled, the Illyrian admirals put to sea again;
and, having arrived at Epidamnus, once more set about besieging that
town.
[Sidenote: B.C. 229. The Roman Consuls, with fleet and army, start to
punish the Illyrians.]
[Sidenote: Demetrius of Pharos.]
[Sidenote: Corcyra becomes a “friend of Rome.”]
[Sidenote: Aulus Postumius.]
[Sidenote: The Roman settlement of Illyricum.]
+11.+ In this same season one of the Consuls, Gnaeus Fulvius, started
from Rome with two hundred ships, and the other Consul, Aulus
Postumius, with the land forces. The plan of Gnaeus was to sail direct
to Corcyra, because he supposed that he should find the result of the
siege still undecided. But when he found that he was too late for
that, he determined nevertheless to sail to the island because he
wished to know the exact facts as to what had happened there, and to
test the sincerity of the overtures that had been made by Demetrius.
For Demetrius, being in disgrace with Teuta, and afraid of what she
might do to him, had been sending messages to Rome, offering to put
the city and everything else of which he was in charge into their
hands. Delighted at the appearance of the Romans, the Corcyreans not
only surrendered the garrison to them, with the consent of Demetrius,
but committed themselves also unconditionally to the Roman protection;
believing that this was their only security in the future against the
piratical incursions of the Illyrians. So the Romans, having admitted
the Corcyreans into the number of the friends of Rome, sailed for
Apollonia, with Demetrius to act as their guide for the rest of the
campaign. At the same time the other Consul, Aulus Postumius, conveyed
his army across from Brundisium, consisting of twenty thousand infantry
and about two thousand horse. This army, as well as the fleet under
Gnaeus Fulvius, being directed upon Apollonia, which at once put itself
under Roman protection, both forces were again put in motion on news
being brought that Epidamnus was being besieged by the enemy. No sooner
did the Illyrians learn the approach of the Romans than they hurriedly
broke up the siege and fled. The Romans, taking the Epidamnians under
their protection, advanced into the interior of Illyricum, subduing the
Ardiaei as they went. They were met on their march by envoys from many
tribes: those of the Partheni offered an unconditional surrender, as
also did those of the Atintanes. Both were accepted: and the Roman army
proceeded towards Issa, which was being besieged by Illyrian troops. On
their arrival, they forced the enemy to raise the siege, and received
the Issaeans also under their protection. Besides, as the fleet coasted
along, they took certain Illyrian cities by storm; among which was
Nutria, where they lost not only a large number of soldiers, but some
of the Military Tribunes also and the Quaestor. But they captured
twenty of the galleys which were conveying the plunder from the country.
Of the Illyrian troops engaged in blockading Issa, those that belonged
to Pharos were left unharmed, as a favour to Demetrius; while all
the rest scattered and fled to Arbo. Teuta herself, with a very few
attendants, escaped to Rhizon, a small town very strongly fortified,
and situated on the river of the same name. Having accomplished all
this, and having placed the greater part of Illyria under Demetrius,
and invested him with a wide dominion, the Consuls retired to Epidamnus
with their fleet and army.
[Sidenote: B.C. 228. Teuta submits.]
+12.+ Then Gnaeus Fulvius sailed back to Rome with the larger part of
the naval and military forces, while Postumius, staying behind and
collecting forty vessels and a legion from the cities in that district,
wintered there to guard the Ardiaei and other tribes that had committed
themselves to the protection of Rome. Just before spring in the next
year, Teuta sent envoys to Rome and concluded a treaty; in virtue
of which she consented to pay a fixed tribute, and to abandon all
Illyricum, with the exception of some few districts: and what affected
Greece more than anything, she agreed not to sail beyond Lissus with
more than two galleys, and those unarmed. When this arrangement had
been concluded, Postumius sent legates to the Aetolian and Achaean
leagues, who on their arrival first explained the reasons for the war
and the Roman invasion; and then stated what had been accomplished in
it, and read the treaty which had been made with the Illyrians. The
envoys then returned to Corcyra after receiving the thanks of both
leagues: for they had freed Greece by this treaty from a very serious
cause for alarm, the fact being that the Illyrians were not the enemies
of this or that people, but the common enemies of all alike.
Such were the circumstances of the first armed interference of the
Romans in Illyricum and that part of Europe, and their first diplomatic
relations with Greece; and such too were the motives which suggested
them. But having thus begun, the Romans immediately afterwards sent
envoys to Corinth and Athens. And it was then that the Corinthians
first admitted Romans to take part in the Isthmian games.
[Sidenote: Hasdrubal in Spain. The founding of New Carthage, B.C. 228.]
[Sidenote: Dread of the Gauls.]
[Sidenote: Treaty with Hasdrubal.]
+13.+ We must now return to Hasdrubal in Iberia. He had during this
period been conducting his command with ability and success, and
had not only given in general a great impulse to the Carthaginian
interests there, but in particular had greatly strengthened them by the
fortification of the town, variously called Carthage, and New Town,
the situation of which was exceedingly convenient for operations in
Libya as well as in Iberia. I shall take a more suitable opportunity
of speaking of the site of this town, and pointing out the advantages
offered by it to both countries: I must at present speak of the
impression made by Hasdrubal’s policy at Rome. Seeing him strengthening
the Carthaginian influence in Spain, and rendering it continually more
formidable, the Romans were anxious to interfere in the politics of
that country. They discovered, as they thought, that they had allowed
their suspicions to be lulled to sleep, and had meanwhile given the
Carthaginians the opportunity of consolidating their power. They did
not venture, however, at the moment to impose conditions or make war
on them, because they were in almost daily dread of an attack from
the Celts. They determined therefore to mollify Hasdrubal by gentle
measures, and so to leave themselves free to attack the Celts first
and try conclusions with them: for they were convinced that, with such
enemies on their flank, they would not only be unable to keep their
hold over the rest of Italy, but even to reckon on safety in their own
city. Accordingly, while sending envoys to Hasdrubal, and making a
treaty with him by which the Carthaginians, without saying anything of
the rest of Iberia, engaged not to cross the Iber in arms, they pushed
on the war with the Celts in Italy.
+14.+ This war itself I shall treat only summarily, to avoid breaking
the thread of my history; but I must go back somewhat in point of time,
and refer to the period at which these tribes originally occupied their
districts in Italy. For the story I think is worth knowing for its own
sake, and must absolutely be kept in mind, if we wish to understand
what tribes and districts they were on which Hannibal relied to assist
him in his bold design of destroying the Roman dominion. I will first
describe the country in which they live, its nature, and its relation
to the rest of Italy; for if we clearly understand its peculiarities,
geographical and natural, we shall be better able to grasp the salient
points in the history of the war.
[Sidenote: The Geography of Italy.]
[Sidenote: Col di Tenda.]
Italy, taken as a whole, is a triangle, of which the eastern side is
bounded by the Ionian Sea and the Adriatic Gulf, its southern and
western sides by the Sicilian and Tyrrhenian seas; these two sides
converge to form the apex of the triangle, which is represented by the
southern promontory of Italy called Cocinthus, and which separates the
Ionian from the Sicilian Sea.[146] The third side, or base of this
triangle, is on the north, and is formed by the chain of the Alps
stretching right across the country, beginning at Marseilles and the
coast of the Sardinian Sea, and with no break in its continuity until
within a short distance of the head of the Adriatic. To the south of
this range, which I said we must regard as the base of the triangle,
are the most northerly plains of Italy, the largest and most fertile
of any with which I am acquainted in all Europe. This is the district
with which we are at present concerned. Taken as a whole, it too forms
a triangle, the apex of which is the point where the Apennines and Alps
converge, above Marseilles, and not far from the coast of the Sardinian
Sea. The northern side of this triangle is formed by the Alps,
extending for 2200 stades; the southern by the Apennines, extending
3600; and the base is the seaboard of the Adriatic, from the town of
Sena to the head of the gulf, a distance of more than 2500 stades. The
total length of the three sides will thus be nearly 10,000 stades.
[Sidenote: Gallia Cis-Alpina.]
+15.+ The yield of corn in this district is so abundant that wheat
is often sold at four obols a Sicilian medimnus, barley at two, or a
metretes of wine for an equal measure of barley. The quantity of panic
and millet produced is extraordinary; and the amount of acorns grown
in the oak forests scattered about the country may be gathered from
the fact that, though nowhere are more pigs slaughtered than in Italy,
for sacrifices as well as for family use, and for feeding the army,
by far the most important supply is from these plains. The cheapness
and abundance of all articles of food may also be clearly shown from
the fact that travellers in these parts, when stopping at inns, do not
bargain for particular articles, but simply ask what the charge is per
head for board. And for the most part the innkeepers are content to
supply their guests with every necessary at a charge rarely exceeding
half an as (that is, the fourth part of an obol)[147] a day each. Of
the numbers, stature, and personal beauty of the inhabitants, and still
more of their bravery in war, we shall be able to satisfy ourselves
from the facts of their history.
[Sidenote: The Alps.]
[Sidenote: The Apennines.]
[Sidenote: The Po.]
[Sidenote: 15th July.]
+16.+ Such parts of both slopes of the Alps as are not too rocky or
too precipitous are inhabited by different tribes; those on the north
towards the Rhone by the Gauls, called Transalpine; those towards
the Italian plains by the Taurisci and Agones and a number of other
barbarous tribes. The name Transalpine is not tribal, but local, from
the Latin proposition _trans_, “across.” The summits of the Alps,
from their rugged character, and the great depth of eternal snow, are
entirely uninhabited. Both slopes of the Apennines, towards the Tuscan
Sea and towards the plains, are inhabited by the Ligurians, from above
Marseilles and the junction with the Alps to Pisae on the coast, the
first city on the west of Etruria, and inland to Arretium. Next to them
come the Etruscans; and next on both slopes the Umbrians. The distance
between the Apennines and the Adriatic averages about five hundred
stades; and when it leaves the northern plains the chain verges to the
right, and goes entirely through the middle of the rest of Italy, as
far as the Sicilian Sea. The remaining portion of this triangle, namely
the plain along the sea coast, extends as far as the town of Sena. The
Padus, celebrated by the poets under the name of Eridanus, rises in
the Alps near the apex of the triangle, and flows down to the plains
with a southerly course; but after reaching the plains, it turns to the
east, and flowing through them discharges itself by two mouths into
the Adriatic. The larger part of the plain is thus cut off by it, and
lies between this river and the Alps to the head of the Adriatic. In
body of water it is second to no river in Italy, because the mountain
streams, descending from the Alps and Apennines to the plain, one and
all flow into it on both sides; and its stream is at its height and
beauty about the time of the rising of the Dog Star, because it is then
swollen by the melting snows on those mountains. It is navigable for
nearly two thousand stades up stream, the ships entering by the mouth
called Olana; for though it is a single main stream to begin with, it
branches off into two at the place called Trigoboli, of which streams
the northern is called the Padoa, the southern the Olana. At the mouth
of the latter there is a harbour affording as safe anchorage as any
in the Adriatic. The whole river is called by the country folk the
Bodencus. As to the other stories current in Greece about this river,—I
mean Phaethon and his fall, and the tears of the poplars and the black
clothes of the inhabitants along this stream, which they are said to
wear at this day as mourning for Phaethon,—all such tragic incidents
I omit for the present, as not being suitable to the kind of work I
have in hand; but I shall return to them at some other more fitting
opportunity, particularly because Timaeus has shown a strange ignorance
of this district.
[Sidenote: Their character.]
[Sidenote: Gauls expel Etruscans from the valley of the Po.]
+17.+ To continue my description. These plains were anciently inhabited
by Etruscans,[148] at the same period as what are called the Phlegraean
plains round Capua and Nola; which latter, however, have enjoyed the
highest reputation, because they lay in a great many people’s way and
so got known. In speaking then of the history of the Etruscan Empire,
we should not refer to the district occupied by them at the present
time, but to these northern plains, and to what they did when they
inhabited them. Their chief intercourse was with the Celts, because
they occupied the adjoining districts; who, envying the beauty of their
lands, seized some slight pretext to gather a great host and expel
the Etruscans from the valley of the Padus, which they at once took
possession of themselves. First, the country near the source of the
Padus was occupied by the Laevi and Lebecii; after them the Insubres
settled in the country, the largest tribe of all; and next them,
along the bank of the river, the Cenomani. But the district along the
shore of the Adriatic was held by another very ancient tribe called
Venĕti, in customs and dress nearly allied to Celts, but using quite a
different language, about whom the tragic poets have written a great
many wonderful tales. South of the Padus, in the Apennine district,
first beginning from the west, the Ananes, and next them the Boii
settled. Next them, on the coast of the Adriatic, the Lingones; and
south of these, still on the sea-coast, the Senones. These are the most
important tribes that took possession of this part of the country.
They lived in open villages, and without any permanent buildings. As
they made their beds of straw or leaves, and fed on meat, and followed
no pursuits but those of war and agriculture, they lived simple lives
without being acquainted with any science or art whatever. Each man’s
property, moreover, consisted in cattle and gold; as they were the only
things that could be easily carried with them, when they wandered from
place to place, and changed their dwelling as their fancy directed.
They made a great point, however, of friendship: for the man who
had the largest number of clients or companions in his wanderings,
was looked upon as the most formidable and powerful member of the
tribe.[149]
[Sidenote: Battle of the Allia, 18th July, B.C. 390.]
[Sidenote: Latin war, B.C. 349-340.]
[Sidenote: B.C. 360.]
[Sidenote: B.C. 348.]
[Sidenote: B.C. 334.]
+18.+ In the early times of their settlement they did not merely
subdue the territory which they occupied, but rendered also many of
the neighbouring peoples subject to them, whom they overawed by their
audacity. Some time afterwards they conquered the Romans in battle, and
pursuing the flying legions, in three days after the battle occupied
Rome itself with the exception of the Capitol. But a circumstance
intervened which recalled them home, an invasion, that is to say, of
their territory by the Venĕti. Accordingly they made terms with the
Romans, handed back the city, and returned to their own land; and
subsequently were occupied with domestic wars. Some of the tribes,
also, who dwelt on the Alps, comparing their own barren districts with
the rich territory occupied by the others, were continually making
raids upon them, and collecting their forces to attack them. This gave
the Romans time to recover their strength, and to come to terms with
the people of Latium. When, thirty years after the capture of the city,
the Celts came again as far as Alba, the Romans were taken by surprise;
and having had no intelligence of the intended invasion, nor time to
collect the forces of the Socii, did not venture to give them battle.
But when another invasion in great force took place twelve years later,
they did get previous intelligence of it; and, having mustered their
allies, sallied forth to meet them with great spirit, being eager to
engage them and fight a decisive battle. But the Gauls were dismayed
at their approach; and, being besides weakened by internal feuds,
retreated homewards as soon as night fell, with all the appearance of
a regular flight. After this alarm they kept quiet for thirteen years;
at the end of which period, seeing that the power of the Romans was
growing formidable, they made a peace and a definite treaty with them.
[Sidenote: B.C. 299.]
[Sidenote: B.C. 297.]
[Sidenote: B.C. 283.]
[Sidenote: Sena Gallica.]
+19.+ They abided by this treaty for thirty years: but at that time,
alarmed by a threatening movement on the part of the Transalpine
tribes, and fearing that a dangerous war was imminent, they diverted
the attack of the invading horde from themselves by presents and
appeals to their ties of kindred, but incited them to attack the
Romans, joining in the expedition themselves. They directed their march
through Etruria, and were joined by the Etruscans; and the combined
armies, after taking a great quantity of booty, got safely back from
the Roman territory. But when they got home, they quarrelled about the
division of the spoil, and in the end destroyed most of it, as well as
the flower of their own force. This is the way of the Gauls when they
have appropriated their neighbours’ property; and it mostly arises from
brutal drunkenness, and intemperate feeding. In the fourth year after
this, the Samnites and Gauls made a league, gave the Romans battle in
the neighbourhood of Camerium, and slew a large number. Incensed at
this defeat, the Romans marched out a few days afterwards, and with
two Consular armies engaged the enemy in the territory of Sentinum;
and, having killed the greater number of them, forced the survivors
to retreat in hot haste each to his own land. Again, after another
interval of ten years, the Gauls besieged Arretium with a great army,
and the Romans went to the assistance of the town, and were beaten in
an engagement under its walls. The Praetor Lucius[150] having fallen in
this battle, Manius Curius was appointed in his place. The ambassadors,
sent by him to the Gauls to treat for the prisoners, were treacherously
murdered by them. At this the Romans, in high wrath, sent an expedition
against them, which was met by the tribe called the Senones. In a
pitched battle the army of the Senones were cut to pieces, and the rest
of the tribe expelled from the country; into which the Romans sent
the first colony which they ever planted in Gaul—namely, the town of
Sena, so called from the tribe of Gauls which formerly occupied it.
This is the town which I mentioned before as lying on the coast at the
extremity of the plains of the Padus.
[Sidenote: B.C. 282.]
+20.+ Seeing the expulsion of the Senones, and fearing the same fate
for themselves, the Boii made a general levy, summoned the Etruscans
to join them, and set out to war. They mustered their forces near
the lacus Vadimonis, and there gave the Romans battle; in which the
Etruscans indeed suffered a loss of more than half their men, while
scarcely any of the Boii escaped. But yet in the very next year the
same two nations joined forces once more; and arming even those of them
who had only just reached manhood, gave the Romans battle again; and it
was not until they had been utterly defeated in this engagement that
they humbled themselves so far as to send ambassadors to Rome and make
a treaty.[151]
These events took place in the third year before Pyrrhus crossed into
Italy, and in the fifth before the destruction of the Gauls at Delphi.
For at this period fortune seems to have plagued the Gauls with a kind
of epidemic of war. But the Romans gained two most important advantages
from these events. First, their constant defeats at the hands of the
Gauls had inured them to the worst that could befall them; and so, when
they had to fight with Pyrrhus, they came to the contest like trained
and experienced gladiators. And in the second place, they had crushed
the insolence of the Gauls just in time to allow them to give an
undivided attention, first to the war with Pyrrhus for the possession
of Italy, and then to the war with Carthage for the supremacy in Sicily.
[Sidenote: B.C. 236.]
[Sidenote: B.C. 232.]
+21.+ After these defeats the Gauls maintained an unbroken peace with
Rome for forty-five years. But when the generation which had witnessed
the actual struggle had passed away, and a younger generation of men
had taken their places, filled with unreflecting hardihood, and who
had neither experienced nor seen any suffering or reverse, they began,
as was natural, to disturb the settlement; and on the one hand to let
trifling causes exasperate them against Rome, and on the other to
invite the Alpine Gauls to join the fray. At first these intrigues were
carried on by their chiefs without the knowledge of the tribesmen;
and accordingly, when an armed host of Transalpine Gauls arrived at
Ariminum, the Boii were suspicious; and forming a conspiracy against
their own leaders, as well as against the new-comers, they put their
own two kings Atis and Galatus to death, and cut each other to pieces
in a pitched battle. Just then the Romans, alarmed at the threatened
invasion, had despatched an army; but learning that the Gauls had
committed this act of self-destruction, it returned home again. In
the fifth year after this alarm, in the Consulship of Marcus Aemilius
Lepidus, the Romans divided among their citizens the territory of
Picenum, from which they had ejected the Senones when they conquered
them: a democratic measure introduced by Gaius Flaminius, and a
policy which we must pronounce to have been the first step in the
demoralisation of the people, as well as the cause of the next Gallic
war. For many of the Gauls, and especially the Boii whose lands were
coterminous with the Roman territory, entered upon that war from
the conviction that the object of Rome in her wars with them was no
longer supremacy and empire over them, but their total expulsion and
destruction.
[Sidenote: B.C. 231.]
+22.+ Accordingly the two most extensive tribes, the Insubres and
Boii, joined in the despatch of messengers to the tribes living about
the Alps and on the Rhone, who from a word which means “serving for
hire,” are called Gaesatae. To their kings Concolitanus and Aneroetes
they offered a large sum of gold on the spot; and, for the future,
pointed out to them the greatness of the wealth of Rome, and all the
riches of which they would become possessed, if they took it. In
these attempts to inflame their cupidity and induce them to join the
expedition against Rome they easily succeeded. For they added to the
above arguments pledges of their own alliance; and reminded them of the
campaign of their own ancestors in which they had seized Rome itself,
and had been masters of all it contained, as well as the city itself,
for seven months; and had at last evacuated it of their own free will,
and restored it by an act of free grace, returning unconquered and
scatheless with the booty to their own land. These arguments made the
leaders so eager for the expedition, that there never at any other time
came from that part of Gaul a larger host, or one consisting of more
notable warriors. Meanwhile, the Romans, informed of what was coming,
partly by report and partly by conjecture, were in such a state of
constant alarm and excitement, that they hurriedly enrolled legions,
collected supplies, and sent out their forces to the frontier, as
though the enemy were already in their territory, before the Gauls had
stirred from their own lands.
It was this movement of the Gauls that, more than anything else, helped
the Carthaginians to consolidate their power in Iberia. For the Romans,
as I have said, looked upon the Celtic question as the more pressing
one of the two, as being so near home; and were forced to wink at what
was going on in Iberia, in their anxiety to settle it satisfactorily
first. Having, therefore, put their relations with the Carthaginians on
a safe footing by the treaty with Hasdrubal, which I spoke of a short
time back,[152] they gave an undivided attention to the Celtic war,
convinced that their interest demanded that a decisive battle should be
fought with them.
[Sidenote: B. C. 225. Coss. L. Aemilius Papus. C. Atilius Regulus.]
+23.+ The Gaesatae, then, having collected their forces, crossed the
Alps and descended into the valley of the Padus with a formidable army,
furnished with a variety of armour, in the eighth year after the
distribution of the lands of Picenum. The Insubres and Boii remained
loyal to the agreement they had made with them: but the Venĕti and
Cenomani being induced by embassies from Rome to take the Roman
side, the Celtic kings were obliged to leave a portion of their
forces behind, to guard against an invasion of their territory by
those tribes. They themselves, with their main army, consisting of
one hundred and fifty thousand foot, and twenty thousand horse and
chariots, struck camp and started on their march, which was to be
through Etruria, in high spirits. As soon as it was known at Rome that
the Celts had crossed the Alps, one of the Consuls, Lucius Aemilius
Papus, was sent with an army to Ariminum to guard against the passage
of the enemy, and one of the Praetors into Etruria: for the other
Consul, Gaius Atilius Regulus, happened to be in Sardinia with his
legions. There was universal terror in Rome, for the danger threatening
them was believed to be great and formidable. And naturally so: for
the old fear of the Gauls had never been eradicated from their minds.
No one thought of anything else: they were incessantly occupied in
mustering the legions, or enrolling new ones, and in ordering up such
of the allies as were ready for service. The proper magistrates were
ordered to give in lists of all citizens of military age; that it might
at once be known to what the total of the available forces amounted.
And such stores of corn, and darts, and other military equipments were
collected as no one could remember on any former occasion. From every
side assistance was eagerly rendered; for the inhabitants of Italy, in
their terror at the Gallic invasion, no longer thought of the matter
as a question of alliance with Rome, or of the war as undertaken to
support Roman supremacy, but each people regarded it as a danger
menacing themselves and their own city and territory. The response to
the Roman appeal therefore was prompt.
[Sidenote: The Roman resources.]
+24.+ But in order that we may learn from actual facts how great the
power was which Hannibal subsequently ventured to attack, and what a
mighty empire he faced when he succeeded in inflicting upon the Roman
people the most severe disasters, I must now state the amount of the
forces they could at that time bring into the field. The two Consuls
had marched out with four legions, each consisting of five thousand
two hundred infantry and three hundred cavalry. Besides this there
were with each Consul allies to the number of thirty thousand infantry
and two thousand cavalry. Of Sabines and Etruscans too, there had
come to Rome, for that special occasion, four thousand horse and more
than fifty thousand foot. These were formed into an army and sent
in advance into Etruria, under the command of one of the Praetors.
Moreover, the Umbrians and Sarsinatae, hill tribes of the Apennine
district, were collected to the number of twenty thousand; and with
them were twenty thousand Venĕti and Cenomani. These were stationed
on the frontier of the Gallic territory, that they might divert the
attention of the invaders, by making an incursion into the territory of
the Boii. These were the forces guarding the frontier. In Rome itself,
ready as a reserve in case of the accidents of war, there remained
twenty thousand foot and three thousand horse of citizens, and thirty
thousand foot and two thousand horse of the allies. Lists of men for
service had also been returned, of Latins eighty thousand foot and five
thousand horse; of Samnites seventy thousand foot and seven thousand
horse; of Iapygians and Messapians together fifty thousand foot and
sixteen thousand horse; and of Lucanians thirty thousand foot and three
thousand horse; of Marsi, and Marrucini, and Ferentani, and Vestini,
twenty thousand foot and four thousand horse. And besides these, there
were in reserve in Sicily and Tarentum two legions, each of which
consisted of about four thousand two hundred foot, and two hundred
horse. Of the Romans and Campanians the total of those put on the roll
was two hundred and fifty thousand foot and twenty-three thousand
horse; so that the grand total of the forces actually defending Rome
was over 150,000 foot, 6000 cavalry:[153] and of the men able to bear
arms, Romans and allies, over 700,000 foot and 70,000 horse; while
Hannibal, when he invaded Italy, had less than twenty thousand to put
against this immense force.
[Sidenote: The Gauls enter Etruria.]
[Sidenote: The Praetor’s army defeated at Clusium.]
+25.+ There will be another opportunity of treating the subject
in greater detail; for the present I must return to the Celts.
Having entered Etruria, they began their march through the country,
devastating it as they chose, and without any opposition; and finally
directed their course against Rome itself. But when they were encamped
under the walls of Clusium, which is three days’ march from Rome, news
was brought them that the Roman forces, which were on duty in Etruria,
were following on their rear and were close upon them; upon which they
turned back to meet them, eager to offer them battle. The two armies
came in sight of each other about sunset, and encamped for the night a
short distance apart. But when night fell, the Celts lit their watch
fires; and leaving their cavalry on the ground, with instructions
that, as soon as daylight made them visible to the enemy, they should
follow by the same route, they made a secret retreat along the road to
Faesulae, and took up their position there; that they might be joined
by their own cavalry, and might disconcert the attack of the enemy.
Accordingly, when at daybreak the Romans saw that the cavalry were
alone, they believed that the Celts had fled, and hastened in pursuit
of the retreating horse; but when they approached the spot where the
enemy were stationed, the Celts suddenly left their position and fell
upon them. The struggle was at first maintained with fury on both
sides: but the courage and superior numbers of the Celts eventually
gave them the victory. No less than six thousand Romans fell: while
the rest fled, most of whom made their way to a certain strongly
fortified height, and there remained. The first impulse of the Celts
was to besiege them: but they were worn out by their previous night
march, and all the suffering and fatigue of the day; leaving therefore
a detachment of cavalry to keep guard round the hill, they hastened to
procure rest and refreshment, resolving to besiege the fugitives next
day unless they voluntarily surrendered.
[Sidenote: On the arrival of Aemilius the Gauls retire.]
+26.+ But meanwhile Lucius Aemilius, who had been stationed on the
coast of the Adriatic at Ariminum, having been informed that the Gauls
had entered Etruria and were approaching Rome, set off to the rescue;
and after a rapid march appeared on the ground just at the critical
moment. He pitched his camp close to the enemy; and the fugitives on
the hill, seeing his watch fires, and understanding what had happened,
quickly recovered their courage and sent some of their men unarmed
to make their way through the forest and tell the Consul what had
happened. This news left the Consul as he thought no alternative but
to fight. He therefore ordered the Tribunes to lead out the infantry
at daybreak, while he, taking command of the cavalry, led the way
towards the hill. The Gallic chieftains too had seen his watch fires,
and understood that the enemy was come; and at once held council of
war. The advice of King Aneroestes was, “that seeing the amount of
booty they had taken,—an incalculable quantity indeed of captives,
cattle, and other spoil,—they had better not run the risk of another
general engagement, but return home in safety; and having disposed of
this booty, and freed themselves from its incumbrance, return, if they
thought good, to make another determined attack upon Rome.” Having
resolved to follow the advice of Aneroestes in the present juncture,
the chiefs broke up their night council, and before daybreak struck
camp, and marched through Etruria by the road which follows the coast
of the Ligurian bay. While Lucius, having taken off the remnant of the
army from the hill, and combined it with his own forces, determined
that it would not be by any means advantageous to offer the enemy
regular battle; but that it was better to dog their footsteps, watching
for favourable times and places at which to inflict damage upon them,
or wrest some of their booty from their hands.
[Sidenote: Atilius landing at Pisa intercepts the march of the Gauls.]
+27.+ Just at that time the Consul Gaius Atilius had crossed from
Sardinia, and having landed at Pisae was on his way to Rome; and
therefore he and the enemy were advancing to meet each other. When the
Celts were at Telamon in Etruria, their advanced guard fell in with
that of Gaius, and the men being made prisoners informed the Consul in
answer to questions of what had taken place; and told him that both
the armies were in the neighbourhood: that of the Celts, namely, and
that of Lucius close upon their rear. Though somewhat disturbed at
the events which he thus learnt, Gaius regarded the situation as a
hopeful one, when he considered that the Celts were on the road between
two hostile armies. He therefore ordered the Tribunes to martial the
legions and to advance at the ordinary pace, and in line as far as the
breadth of the ground permitted; while he himself having surveyed a
piece of rising ground which commanded the road, and under which the
Celts must march, took his cavalry with him and hurried on to seize the
eminence, and so begin the battle in person; convinced that by these
means he would get the principal credit of the action for himself.
At first the Celts not knowing anything about the presence of Gaius
Atilius, but supposing from what was taking place, that the cavalry of
Aemilius had outmarched them in the night, and were seizing the points
of vantage in the van of their route, immediately detached some cavalry
and light armed infantry to dispute the possession of this eminence.
But having shortly afterwards learnt the truth about the presence of
Gaius from a prisoner who was brought in, they hurriedly got their
infantry into position, and drew them up so as to face two opposite
ways, some, that is, to the front and others to the rear. For they knew
that one army was following on their rear; and they expected from the
intelligence which had reached them, and from what they saw actually
occurring, that they would have to meet another on their front.
[Sidenote: The battle of the horse. Atilius falls.]
+28.+ Aemilius had heard of the landing of the legions at Pisae, but
had not expected them to be already so far on their road; but the
contest at the eminence proved to him that the two armies were quite
close. He accordingly despatched his horse at once to support the
struggle for the possession of the hill, while he marshalled his foot
in their usual order, and advanced to attack the enemy who barred his
way. The Celts had stationed the Alpine tribe of the Gaesatae to face
their enemies on the rear, and behind them the Insubres; on their front
they had placed the Taurisci, and the Cispadane tribe of the Boii,
facing the legions of Gaius. Their waggons and chariots they placed on
the extremity of either wing, while the booty they massed upon one of
the hills that skirted the road, under the protection of a guard. The
army of the Celts was thus double-faced, and their mode of marshalling
their forces was effective as well as calculated to inspire terror.
The Insubres and Boii were clothed in their breeches and light cloaks;
but the Gaesatae from vanity and bravado threw these garments away,
and fell in in front of the army naked, with nothing but their arms;
believing that, as the ground was in parts encumbered with brambles,
which might possibly catch in their clothes and impede the use of their
weapons, they would be more effective in this state. At first the
only actual fighting was that for the possession of the hill: and the
numbers of the cavalry, from all three armies, that had joined in the
struggle made it a conspicuous sight to all. In the midst of it the
Consul Gaius fell, fighting with reckless bravery in the thick of the
battle, and his head was brought to the king of the Celts. The Roman
cavalry, however, continued the struggle with spirit, and finally won
the position and overpowered their opponents. Then the foot also came
to close quarters.
+29.+ It was surely a peculiar and surprising battle to witness, and
scarcely less so to hear described. A battle, to begin with, in which
three distinct armies were engaged, must have presented a strange
and unusual appearance, and must have been fought under strange and
unusual conditions. Again, it must have seemed to a spectator open to
question, whether the position of the Gauls were the most dangerous
conceivable, from being between two attacking forces; or the most
favourable, as enabling them to meet both armies at once, while their
own two divisions afforded each other a mutual support: and, above
all, as putting retreat out of the question, or any hope of safety
except in victory. For this is the peculiar advantage of having an
army facing in two opposite directions. The Romans, on the other hand,
while encouraged by having got their enemy between two of their own
armies, were at the same time dismayed by the ornaments and clamour of
the Celtic host. For there were among them such innumerable horns and
trumpets, which were being blown simultaneously in all parts of their
army, and their cries were so loud and piercing, that the noise seemed
not to come merely from trumpets and human voices, but from the whole
country-side at once. Not less terrifying was the appearance and rapid
movement of the naked warriors in the van, which indicated men in the
prime of their strength and beauty: while all the warriors in the front
ranks were richly adorned with gold necklaces and bracelets. These
sights certainly dismayed the Romans; still the hope they gave of a
profitable victory redoubled their eagerness for the battle.
[Sidenote: The infantry engage.]
+30.+ When the men who were armed with the _pilum_ advanced in front of
the legions, in accordance with the regular method of Roman warfare,
and hurled their _pila_ in rapid and effective volleys, the inner ranks
of the Celts found their jerkins and leather breeches of great service;
but to the naked men in the front ranks this unexpected mode of attack
caused great distress and discomfiture. For the Gallic shields not
being big enough to cover the man, the larger the naked body the more
certainty was there of the _pilum_ hitting. And at last, not being
able to retaliate, because the pilum-throwers were out of reach, and
their weapons kept pouring in, some of them, in the extremity of their
distress and helplessness, threw themselves with desperate courage
and reckless violence upon the enemy, and thus met a voluntary death;
while others gave ground step by step towards their own friends, whom
they threw into confusion by this manifest acknowledgment of their
panic. Thus the courage of the Gaesatae had broken down before the
preliminary attack of the _pilum_. But when the throwers of it had
rejoined their ranks, and the whole Roman line charged, the Insubres,
Boii, and Taurisci received the attack, and maintained a desperate
hand-to-hand fight. Though almost cut to pieces, they held their ground
with unabated courage, in spite of the fact that man for man, as well
as collectively, they were inferior to the Romans in point of arms. The
shields and swords of the latter were proved to be manifestly superior
for defence and attack, for the Gallic sword can only deliver a cut,
but cannot thrust. And when, besides, the Roman horse charged down
from the high ground on their flank, and attacked them vigorously, the
infantry of the Celts were cut to pieces on the field, while their
horse turned and fled.
[Sidenote: Aemilius returns home.]
+31.+ Forty thousand of them were slain, and quite ten thousand taken
prisoners, among whom was one of their kings, Concolitanus: the other
king, Aneroestes, fled with a few followers; joined a few of his people
in escaping to a place of security; and there put an end to his own
life and that of his friends. Lucius Aemilius, the surviving Consul,
collected the spoils of the slain and sent them to Rome, and restored
the property taken by the Gauls to its owners. Then taking command of
the legions, he marched along the frontier of Liguria, and made a raid
upon the territory of the Boii; and having satisfied the desires of the
legions with plunder, returned with his forces to Rome in a few days’
march. There he adorned the Capitol with the captured standards and
necklaces, which are gold chains worn by the Gauls round their necks;
but the rest of the spoils, and the captives, he converted to the
benefit of his own estate and to the adornment of his triumph.
[Sidenote: B.C. 224.]
Thus was the most formidable Celtic invasion repelled, which had been
regarded by all Italians, and especially by the Romans, as a danger of
the utmost gravity. The victory inspired the Romans with a hope that
they might be able to entirely expel the Celts from the valley of the
Padus: and accordingly the Consuls of the next year, Quintus Fulvius
Flaccus and Titus Manlius Torquatus, were both sent out with their
legions, and military preparations on a large scale, against them. By
a rapid attack they terrified the Boii into making submission to Rome;
but the campaign had no other practical effect, because, during the
rest of it, there was a season of excessive rains, and an outbreak of
pestilence in the army.
[Sidenote: B.C. 223.]
+32.+ The Consuls of the next year, however, Publius Furius Philus and
Caius Flaminius, once more invaded the Celtic lands, marching through
the territory of the Anamares, who live not far from Placentia.[154]
Having secured the friendship of this tribe, they crossed into the
country of the Insubres, near the confluence of the Adua and Padus.
They suffered some annoyance from the enemy, as they were crossing
the river, and as they were pitching their camp; and after remaining
for a short time, they made terms with the Insubres and left their
country. After a circuitous march of several days, they crossed the
River Clusius, and came into the territory of the Cenomani. As these
people were allies of Rome, they reinforced the army with some of
their men, which then descended once more from the Alpine regions
into the plains belonging to the Insubres, and began laying waste
their land and plundering their houses. The Insubrian chiefs, seeing
that nothing could change the determination of the Romans to destroy
them, determined that they had better try their fortune by a great
and decisive battle. They therefore mustered all their forces, took
down from the temple of Minerva the golden standards, which are called
“the immovables,” and having made other necessary preparations, in
high spirits and formidable array, encamped opposite to their enemies
to the number of fifty thousand. Seeing themselves thus out-numbered,
the Romans at first determined to avail themselves of the forces
of the allied Celtic tribes; but when they reflected on the fickle
character of the Gauls, and that they were about to fight with an
enemy of the same race as these auxiliary troops, they hesitated to
associate such men with themselves, at a crisis of such danger, and
in an action of such importance. However, they finally decided to do
this. They themselves stayed on the side of the river next the enemy:
and sending the Celtic contingent to the other side, they pulled up the
bridges; which at once precluded any fear of danger from them, and left
themselves no hope of safety except in victory; the impassable river
being thus in their rear. These dispositions made, they were ready to
engage.
[Sidenote: Battle with the Insubres.]
+33.+ The Romans are thought to have shown uncommon skill in this
battle; the Tribunes instructing the troops how they were to conduct
themselves both collectively and individually. They had learned from
former engagements that Gallic tribes were always most formidable at
the first onslaught, before their courage was at all damped by a check;
and that the swords with which they were furnished, as I have mentioned
before, could only give one downward cut with any effect, but that
after this the edges got so turned and the blade so bent, that unless
they had time to straighten them with their foot against the ground,
they could not deliver a second blow. The Tribunes accordingly gave
out the spears of the Triarii, who are the last of the three ranks, to
the first ranks, or Hastati: and ordering the men to use their swords
only, after their spears were done with, they charged the Celts full
in front. When the Celts had rendered their swords useless by the
first blows delivered on the spears, the Romans closed with them, and
rendered them quite helpless, by preventing them from raising their
hands to strike with their swords, which is their peculiar and only
stroke, because their blade has no point. The Romans, on the contrary,
having excellent points to their swords, used them not to cut but to
thrust: and by thus repeatedly hitting the breasts and faces of the
enemy, they eventually killed the greater number of them. And this
was due to the foresight of the Tribunes: for the Consul Flaminius is
thought to have made a strategic mistake in his arrangements for this
battle. By drawing up his men along the very brink of the river, he
rendered impossible a manœuvre characteristic of Roman tactics, because
he left the lines no room for their deliberate retrograde movements;
for if, in the course of the battle, the men had been forced ever so
little from their ground, they would have been obliged by this blunder
of their leader to throw themselves into the river. However, the valour
of the soldiers secured them a brilliant victory, as I have said, and
they returned to Rome with abundance of booty of every kind, and of
trophies stripped from the enemy.
[Sidenote: B.C. 222. Attack on the Insubres.]
+34.+ Next year, upon embassies coming from the Celts, desiring peace
and making unlimited offers of submission, the new Consuls, Marcus
Claudius Marcellus and Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus, were urgent that
no peace should be granted them. Thus frustrated, they determined to
try a last chance, and once more took active measures to hire thirty
thousand Gaesatae,—the Gallic tribe which lives on the Rhone. Having
obtained these, they held themselves in readiness, and waited for
the attack of their enemies. At the beginning of spring the Consuls
assumed command of their forces, and marched them into the territory
of the Insubres; and there encamped under the walls of the city of
Acerrae, which lies between the Padus and the Alps, and laid siege to
it. The Insubres, being unable to render any assistance, because all
the positions of vantage had been seized by the enemy first, and being
yet very anxious to break up the siege of Acerrae, detached a portion
of their forces to affect a diversion by crossing the Padus and laying
siege to Clastidium. Intelligence of this movement being brought to the
Consuls, Marcus Claudius, taking with him his cavalry and some light
infantry, made a forced march to relieve the besieged inhabitants. When
the Celts heard of his approach, they raised the siege; and, marching
out to meet him, offered him battle. At first they held their ground
against a furious charge of cavalry which the Roman Consul launched at
them; but when they presently found themselves surrounded by the enemy
on their rear and flank, unable to maintain the fight any longer, they
fled before the cavalry; and many of them were driven into the river,
and were swept away by the stream, though the larger number were cut
down by their enemies. Acerrae also, richly stored with corn, fell into
the hands of the Romans: the Gauls having evacuated it, and retired
to Mediolanum, which is the most commanding position in the territory
of the Insubres. Gnaeus followed them closely, and suddenly appeared
at Mediolanum. The Gauls at first did not stir; but upon his starting
on his return march to Acerrae, they sallied out, and having boldly
attacked his rear, killed a good many men, and even drove a part of
it into flight; until Gnaeus recalled some of his vanguard, and urged
them to stand and engage the enemy. The Roman soldiers obeyed orders,
and offered a vigorous resistance to the attacking party. The Celts,
encouraged by their success, held their ground for a certain time with
some gallantry, but before long turned and fled to the neighbouring
mountains. Gnaeus followed them, wasting the country as he went,
and took Mediolanum by assault. At this the chiefs of the Insubres,
despairing of safety, made a complete and absolute submission to Rome.
[Sidenote: B.C. 480.]
[Sidenote: B.C. 279.]