5 Years that Changed Rome?

In the history of a city that spanned fourteen centuries of time, culture and geography, how do you pick five years that changed the city of Rome. Surely for every year picked there are twelve different solar cycles that could be highlighted as being a more significant step change for the Romans?

This list is of course subjective. How could five years out of twelve hundred be anything but? However, the years listed here had a significant enough affect on the history of Rome to be highlighted.

Cincinnatus Quits - 458 BC

Statue of Cincinnatus in Cincinnati

In 458 BC the Romans were expanding outwards from the immediate surroundings of their city, which brought them into contact with their neighbours, in particular the Aequi and the Sabines. When Roman troops were caught in a trap, the Senate agreed to name a Dictator to save their troops.

As the apocryphal tale goes, the members of the Senate came across Cincinnatus plowing his fields, hailing him dictator, Cincinnatus assembled an army defeated the Aequi. Forcing them to march under the yoke. Cincinnatus,

"resigned on the sixteenth day of the dictatorship which had been conferred upon him for six months"

Livy History of Rome Book 3 Chapter 29

The year is important to the Romans not for the events that took place in it, but for the precedent that it set. During the troubled years of the first century BC, the precedent of Cincinnatus as the dictator, the man who gave up ultimate power when it was in grasp, was one that rang loud. 

Battle of Cannae - 216 BC

In 216 BC, Hannibal the great general of Carthage and scourge of the Romans, crushed a larger Roman army at the Battle of Cannae. The Romans confidently having amassed a third army after defeats at Trebia and Lake Trasimene.

Hannibal's tactics were simple in hindsight. Putting his weaker forces in the middle of the line and his Carthaginian fighters on the wings, the middle of his forces slowly fell back. The Roman army pressing forwards was soon enveloped on the flanks by the stronger Carthaginian forces and crushed in a pincer move.

The year is significant as perhaps Rome's lowest point. Heavily defeated by the Carthaginians in Italy for the third time, several allies defected, to the point where

"The Carthaginians by this action became at once masters of almost all the rest of the coast"

Polybuis Book 3 Chapter 117

This could of been the end of Rome, Hannibal had defeated eight consular armies, which is sixteen legions. However it was also the point were Rome turned the tide. Raising smaller armies the Romans took the fight back to the Carthaginians, until ultimately they defeated them and were free of their major rival.

Macedonian War - 168 BC

Rome had been dabbling in Greece for several years. First moving east against Greece during the second Punic War, when Philip V allied himself with the Carthaginians and again during the events of the Second Macedonian War.

However after the Battle of Pydna, when the Romans decisively beat the Macedonian forces, Rome established a permanent presence in Greece.  Every step East that the Roman legions took east throughout their history, were only possible because of this first step in 168 BC.

Battle of Actium -31 BC

31 BC saw the final battle take place between the forces of Augustus and Mark Anthony, off the coast of Greece. Set up to be a huge naval fight, the battle wasn't quite the decisive battle is should of been, due to Cleaopatra and Mark Anthony fleeing.

"At Actium his fleet held out for a long time against Caesar, and only after it had been most severely damaged by the high sea, which rose against it did it reluctantly, and at the tenth hour give up the struggle"

Plutarch Life Of Anthony Chapter 68

This year is traditionally seen as the fall of the Roman Republic, and the start of Augustus as the sole "ruler" of an empire that would last four hundred years.

Adoption of Trajan by Nerva - AD 97

Emperor Nerva

After being risen to power by the Senate after the assassination of the final Flavian Emperor Domitian in AD 96, it is the following year of AD 97 that was the significant year. An old man and with no clear successor in place, the Roman fear of civil war was always a possibility.

In AD 97 the Praetorian Guard stormed the Imperial Palace,

"incited the soldier to mutiny against him, 

after having induced them to demand certain persons for execution"

Cassius Dio Book 68 Chapter 4

Submitting to their demands Nerva's position as Emperor was weak, and so he took the action of adopting the popular general Trajan as his successor.

This year is remarkable for two reasons, one the Praetorians mutinied against the Emperor, not with the aim of killing him but merely with the aim of getting what they wanted. Secondly it marked the start of the period of adopted Emperors. Men chosen by merit,
who led the Empire to its zenith.

Five important years for the history of Rome, out of twelve hundred.


Thanks for Reading
James

"Mine, O Romans, Is This Sorrow - The Roman Legions and Defeat

The Roman Legions conquered their first territories under their third king, Tullus Hostilius, who destroyed the rival city of Alba Longa and moved their population to Rome. As the years passed and the Roman legions spread out through Italy and around the Mediterranean, an aura of invincibility spread with them. Yes there were stumbling blocks, the Second Punic War certainly put a momentary hold on Rome's expansion, but by the first century BC, Rome was the big kid on the block.

However the Roman Legions were not infallible. There are two examples that illustrate not only crushing defeats for Rome, but also changing attitudes in how Rome responded to them; Carrhae in 53 BC and the Tuetoburg Forest in AD 9.

In 53 BC Marcus Licinius Crassus, member of the first Triumvirate and wealthiest man in Rome, led his army of Roman legions east in an invasion of Parthia. Marching directly into Parthian territory, Crassus's army was outmanoeuvred by the Parthians cavalry who then promptly killed or captured most of the Romans superior numbers.

The Returning of Crassus' Legionary Standards
 on the Prima Porta Statue 

Crassus himself was also captured and in the famous tale,

"the Parthians, as some say, poured mothen gold into his mouth in mockery"

Cassius Dio Book 40 Chapter 27

The eagle legionary standards were eventually returned to Rome, through a highly lauded diplomatic mission instigated by Augustus in 20BC, and placed in the Temple of Mars Ultor in the Forum of Augustus.

 In AD 9 a German leader named Arminius, pulling together a confederacy of German tribes, ambushed three Roman legions and auxiliary units making their way back through the territory, to their winter quarters and completely destroyed them.

Publius Quinctillius Varus, the Roman general either fell under a Roman sword or committed suicide for the shame of this crushing defeat. The eagles were lost to the Germans who melted away into the forest and the Legionary numbers XVII, XVIII and XIX were never again used for a Roman legion, although Tacitus writes that Germanicus while avenging the disaster

"Discovered the eagle of the nineteenth legion, which had been lost with Varus"

Tacitus Annals Book 1 Chapter 60

It was this defeat that saw the invasion of Germania, and equally the general expansion of the Roman Empire, put on hold. After AD 9 Terminus the god of the limes (boundaries) of the Empire, decided he wasn't going to be moving around too much anymore.

While these two major defeats only took place fifty years apart, the response from Rome was very different, highlighting the psychological difference that the rise of Augustus had upon the Roman psyche.

Marcus Licinius Crassus

The defeat at Carrhae happened during the dying moments of the republic. Conflicting generals were spread out over the Empire, conquering and expanding. Caesar was in Gaul, Pompey had been in the East and defeated the pirate menace to the Mediterranean and Crassus headed East also to wage war on Parthia. Fifty years later the Empire was settled under the rule of Augustus and after years of civil war, peace had finally fallen around the Roman world.

The key difference between how the two defeats affected the Romans was the rise of Augustus and the peace he brought. Before then, the ebb and flow of legionary victories was part of the Senatorial system. To be a great general was to be a great Roman. It was a way to add to the glory of Rome, your family name and yourself. If you failed and lost, then your name would be remembered forever as one of a coward and loser.

Think of Crassus, what are the two most known features of Crassus? One he was incredibly wealthy, a wealth that he achieved through avarice. Second, he was humiliatingly defeated in the East by an enemy of Rome, losing his son in the process,

"Mine, O Romans, is this sorrow, and mine alone"

Plutarch Life of Crassus Chapter 26

But the Republic continued after Carrhae and other men stepped up to take Crassus's and his legions place.

However, by the time of the Varian Disaster, Augustus has been the undisputed ruler of Rome for over forty years. The defeat of the Varian legions was a sign that perhaps the Augustus position, based upon his ability to bring peace and military victory to the empire, wasn't as strong as he had portrayed. A defeat of Augustus' legions was a defeat of Augustus, and Augustus embodied Rome.

This is why the defeat of Crassus at Carrhae is only part of a larger process of expansion. Yes the defeat pretty much cemented the eastern boundary of the empire, however until the Varian disaster, provinces continued to be added to Rome. Spain, Egypt, the Alps, Gaul and Pannonia were all added or absorbed into the empire by Augustus. But the Varian disaster pretty much sealed the boundaries of the empire for the next 400 years, with a few exceptions here and there, most notably Britannia and Dacia.

The Roman Empire in AD 14

Arguably the losses at Carrhae were the larger, it was a staggering defeat for the seven Roman legions plus auxiliaries that Plutarch tells us Crassus commanded. But it is the loss in the Teutoburg Forest that haunted the Romans, three legions destroyed and the god Terminus firmly entrenched on the Rhine until the end of the Empire. Augustus famously grew his hair and beard in a sign of mourning after the disaster and was heard to yell

"Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!"

Suetonius Life of Augustus Chapter 23

It is remarkable that in such a short amount of time the psychology of a whole empire could of changed so dramatically. The two defeats the Roman legions suffered show how the rise of the Princeps affected not only the social and economical areas of the empire, but also the martial psychology of the Romans.


Thanks for Reading
James

Athens - An Empire by Numbers

The Delian League,  was a confederacy of Greek city states stretching over and around the Aegean Sea, under the leadership of Athens, with the purpose of continuing the fight against the Persian Empire, after the mighty Greek victory at the Battle of Plataea.

The Delian League / Athenian Empire

Over time the League morphed, as it was overtaken by the more powerful polis of Athens. Slowly but surely beginning to flex its muscles Athens started to push the little guy members of the league around. The title of this Blog entry is a little miss-leading, Athens was merely the leader of a league of many Poleis as opposed to keepers of an Empire, however due to their actions and their control of a large portion of the Aegean, it is easy to prescribe them imperial ambitions.

"At first the allies were independent and deliberated in a common assembly under the leadership of Athens. But...the Athenians made immense strides in power"

Thucydides Book 1 Chapter 97

Here is there "empire" by numbers.

1 - The Delian League was formed in 478BC.

"Thus the Athenians by the good-will of the allies, who detested Pausanias, obtained the leadership. They immediately fixed which of the cities should supply money and which of them ships for the war against the Barbarians"

Thucydides Book 1 Chapter 96

2 - The Delian League comprised of between 150 to 173 Poleis spread over Greece and the Aegean.

3 - The tribute was collected by the Hellenotamiae in Athens and the amount was originally fixed at 460 talents which was stored at the Temple of Delos. 

4 - In 454BC Pericles moved this treasury to Athens, apparently to prevent Persia getting it. This was not a popular move, but again illustrated Athenian power over the league.

"The people has lost is fair fame and is in ill repute because it has removed the public monies of the Hellenes from Delos into its own keeping"

Plutarch Life of Pericles Chapter 12

5 - There were two major rebellions against Athenian hegemony. In 471BC Naxos rebelled and failed, loosing its rights. Equally after Thasos seceded and joined Athens enemies, a two year was waged to force them back into the league.

Parthenon Frieze from the British Museum

6 - 200 ships of Athens and some of her allies were sent to Egypt in 460BC to aid in the revolt against the Persians. 

7 - Around 457BC the Athenian begin the construction of their famous Long Walls. 

"Extending to the sea, one to the harbour of Phalerum and the other to the Peraeus"

Thucydides Book 1 Chapter 107

8 - Peace was made with Persia in 450BC. Shortly after the Peloponnesian War erupted in 458BC.

9 - By 454BC the Delian League is for all intents and purposes an Athenian Empire, as none of their former allies had the strength left to oppose them. 

10 - At the end of the Peloponnesian War in 404BC the Delian League was disbanded and Athens fell under the rule of "Thirty Tyrants" for a time. 

As always ten facts are never going to give the whole story about a time as politically and economically complex as it is filled with battles and great figures of history. But they do show an "empire" by numbers.


Thanks for Reading
James

Scotland Vs The Romans - The Battle of Mons Graupius

In AD 122 the Emperor Hadrian commissioned the building of a wall across the north of the Roman province of Britannia as part of his larger plans for cementing and defending the borders of the Roman Empire. Similar such constructions also took place in other areas of the Empire along key strategic and defensive areas.

Hadrian's Wall

You would be forgiven for thinking that was that. Hadrian built his wall in north Britannia and the area was settled. However, history rears it's head to tell us of what must of been the most northerly battle ever fought by a Roman army, long before Hadrian built his wall. The history in this case being Tacitus' Agricola and the battle that of Mons Graupius, somewhere in the highlands of Scotland.

The great eponymous hero of the adventure is Gnaeus Julius Agricola, provincial governor of Roman Britain from AD 77 to AD 85. Which in itself is remarkable for two reasons; firstly the great length of time he held the governorship and secondly the fact that it took place under Emperor Domitian, an Emperor deemed to be so wicked and evil that upon his assassination, the damnatio memoriae was passed and his name and image removed from public record.

 The reason for this great record of his tenure as a provincial governor was that, Tacitus the Great historian of the early Roman Empire was also his son-in-law. After being assigned to the Roman governorship of Britainnia in AD 77, Agricola completed the conquering of Wales and the North of England, to the point that Tacitus writes,

"they who lately disdained the tongue of Rome now converted it's eloquence. Hence, too, a liking sprang up for our style of dress, and the "toga" became fashionable"

Tacitus Agricola Chapter 21

Route of Agricola's Campaign

As well as successfully quieting the rebellious Britons and causing the toga to be seen everywhere, in chapter 24 of the Agricola, Tacitus tells us that Agricola crossed a river and "subdued in a series of victories tribes hitherto unknown". Working his way north through Scotland in either AD 83 / AD 84, the Battle of Mons Graupius took place on a site that has still to be determined.

With the estimates of the Roman army being around 30,000 comprising of around 8,000 auxiliary infantry and 3,000 cavalry and the rest of legionaries, against Caledonian forces that Tacitus tells us were over 30,000 strong.

It is from the leader of the Caledonian forces that we have one of the most famous quotes on Roman military policy. Calgacus, in a speech he gives to his men before the battle says

"To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of empire;

they make a solitude and call it peace".

Tacitus Agricola Chapter 30

As a criticism of the Roman Empire policy of provincial government it is both accurate and unfair. The Roman Empire conquered and crushed, but it also amalgamated and absorbed. The influence of Hellenistic Greece on Roman culture, the building of a temple of Isis in the capital or the blending of local gods in the case of the British Sulis Minerva are all examples of Rome absorbing its provincial culture. Rhetoric aside it seems unlikely that Tacitus agreed with what he was writing, what he was creating was a suitable villain, for the hero Agricola to defeat.

Sulis Minerva at the Roman Baths in Bath

Which is what he did. Sending his auxiliary units against the Calendonians, the Roman cavalry outflanked the opposition forces and then routed them. Tacitus writes that the Legions never even took place in the battle and that 10,000 Caledonians were killed at the loss of 360 auxiliary troops. A gross exaggeration no doubt. However for his victory Agricola was said to have defeated all the tribes of Britain and was rewarded a triumph, before being recalled to Rome, to which Tacitus writes that,

"Britain subdued and immediately let go"

Tacitus Histories Book 1 Chapter 2

The Roman Empire saw its armies fighting in the west of Spain, down the Nile to the South of Egypt and far, far to the East into Mesopotamia, but never had the Roman army been so far north and as the rebellious Caledonians fought and other internal reasons saw some Roman troops withdraw, eventually in AD 122, the Emperor Hadrian commissioned the building of his famous wall to regulate and control the region. In later years Septimus Severus would move Roman forces north again, but never as far nor as successfully as Agricola. 

Thanks for Reading

James