The Crisis of Rome Read online

  First published in Great Britain in 2010 by

  Pen & Sword Military

  an imprint of

  Pen & Sword Books Ltd

  47 Church Street

  Barnsley

  South Yorkshire

  S70 2AS

  Copyright © Gareth C. Sampson 2010

  ISBN 978 1 84415 972 7

  eISBN 9781848846951

  The right of Gareth C. Sampson to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.

  Typeset in Ehrhardt, by Phoenix Typesetting, Auldgirth, Dumfriesshire.

  Printed and bound in England by MPG

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  Contents

  Acknowledgements

  List of Illustrations

  Maps

  Introduction

  Timeline

  Notes on Roman Names

  Rome in Crisis?

  1. Rome in Crisis? (146–120 BC)

  2. The Rise of Numidia (206–112 BC)

  3. The Northern Wars – The Threat from the North (120–111 BC)

  War on Two Fronts (111&105 BC)

  4. The Jugurthine War – The Early Campaigns (111–110 BC)

  5. The Jugurthine War – The Metellan Campaigns (109–108 BC)

  6. The Northern Wars – Victory in Thrace, Defeat in Gaul (111–107 BC)

  7. The Jugurthine War – The Marian Campaigns (107–105 BC)

  8. The Northern Wars – Disaster at Arausio (105 BC)

  The Age of Marius (104&100 BC)

  9. The Northern Wars – The War in Spain & the Battle of Aquae Sextiae

  10. The Northern Wars – The Battle of Raudian Plain (Vercellae)

  11. A New Roman Army? – Marius & the Military Reforms

  Appendix I: A Bloody Roman Peace – Marius & Rome in 100 BC

  Appendix II: The Other Wars of the Period 104–100 BC

  Appendix III: The Roman Manpower Question

  Appendix IV: The Metellan Dominance (123–98 BC)

  Appendix V: Sources for the Period

  Appendix VI: African King Lists

  Notes

  References

  Bibliography

  To my wife, with love.

  You’re the rock upon which all my endeavours are built.

  Acknowledgements

  The first and most important acknowledgment must go to my wife, who as always is a bedrock of support and without whose assistance none of this would be possible.

  A notable mention must also be made of my parents who have had to put up with this, some would say irrational, love of ancient history throughout my life. There are a number of individuals who, through the years, have inspired the love of Roman history in me and mentored me along the way; Michael Gracey at William Hulme, David Shotter at Lancaster and Tim Cornell at Manchester. My heartfelt thanks go out to them all.

  As always, greetings go to all the guys from or still at Manchester: Aaron, Gary, Greg, Old Ian, Young Ian, the Two Jameses (Moore & Thorne), Jamie, Jason, Jess, Peter and Sam. For those still there, best of luck. Also, a big hi to Pete and Nicki back in the US and Carsten in Denmark. Special thanks need to go out to Sam, for his additional help with bibliographical matters late on.

  The John Rylands Library at Manchester receives a vote of thanks for use of their facilities and access to their first rate collection. Thanks also need to be extended to the University of Exeter Library for access to their collections and congenial atmosphere.

  I would finally like to extend my thanks to Phil Sidnell, my editor at Pen and Sword, for his patience and perseverance; one of these days a book will be on time. Also to Rupert Harding for the initial vote of confidence.

  Now on with the book.

  List of Illustrations

  [List of illustrations to follow once images are finalized.]

  Maps

  Strategic Maps

  1. The Mediterranean world

  2. The 120s and 130s BC

  3. 120–111 BC

  4. The last decade of the 2nd century BC

  5. The early Numidian campaigns

  6. The Metellan campaign of 109 BC

  7. The Metellan campaign of 108 BC

  8. The Marian campaigns

  Tactical Diagrams

  I. Battle of Muthul River (109 BC), first phase

  II. Battle of Muthul River (109 BC), second phase

  III. First Battle of Cirta (105 BC), first phase

  IV. First Battle of Cirta (105 BC), second phase

  V. Second Battle of Cirta (105 BC), first phase

  VI. Second Battle of Cirta (105 BC), second phase

  VII. Second Battle of Cirta (105 BC), third phase

  VIII. Battle of Arausio (105 BC), first phase

  IX. Battle of Arausio (105 BC), second phase

  X. Battle of Aquae Sextiae (102 BC), first phase

  XI. Battle of Aquae Sextiae (102 BC), second phase

  XII. Battle of Raudine Plain/Vercellae (101 BC), first phase

  XIII. Battle of Raudine Plain/Vercellae (101 BC), second phase

  XIV. Battle of Raudine Plain/Vercellae (101 BC), third phase

  Introduction

  The last decade of what now equates to the second century BC saw the culmination of a generation of military overstretch and political turmoil in the Roman Republic. Simultaneously, Rome found herself fighting a difficult guerrilla war in the deserts of North Africa, whilst facing tribes of migrating barbarians from northern Europe. A series of reverses in both these theatres of war saw Rome suffer one of the heaviest defeats in her history at the Battle of Arausio and a barbarian invasion of Italy itself. Yet whilst the scenario of barbarian migration, defeat and invasion is all too familiar to the Late Roman Empire, all this occurred some five hundred years before the fall of Rome, at what is often seen as the height of the Republic’s power.

  This decade of crises is often noted for the rise of a perceived outsider (C. Marius) to an unprecedented six consulships in eight years and a radical reform of the Roman Republican army, which culminated in two of the greatest Roman military victories, at Aquae Sextiae and Raudian Plain (Vercellae). Yet many claim that these ‘reforms’ laid the foundations for the Republic’s ultimate destruction at the hands of a series of oligarchs, such as Sulla, Pompey and Caesar (the latter of which was Marius’ nephew). Upon examination, however, each of these assumptions can be challenged, but only through an in-depth study of the military situation of the period in question.

  Anyone seeking an understanding of the period is faced with a number of difficulties which stem from our surviving ancient sources. Firstly, we lack a detailed narrative history of the period as a whole, giving undue weight to accounts that do survive, notably Plutarch’s biography of Marius and Sallust’s monograph on the Jugurthine War, which if not handled properly can provide a distorted picture of the period in question. Of the two wars
which Rome faced, the Jugurthine War in North Africa is the lesser of the two in terms of severity, yet we have a fuller account of it and little detail for the wars in the north.

  Furthermore, the Jugurthine War itself must be separated from Sallust’s work on it, as he only represents one source and must be balanced, wherever possible, with other accounts to gain a better overall perspective of the war itself. No matter how detailed, relying on a sole account for any war should be avoided at all costs. Furthermore, given the loss of a wider narrative history, and the survival of works such as Appian’s Civil Wars and Plutarch’s biographies, it is all too easy to focus on the domestic political history of Rome in this period, as though it is somehow separate from the wars that were raging at the time.

  Thus in many ways, a key part of this introduction is to establish just exactly what this work is not about; it is neither a commentary on Sallust’s Jugurthine Wars, nor is it a biography of Caius Marius; there are a number of excellent works already in these fields (listed in the bibliography). This work seeks a broader perspective and attempts to analyse the period as a whole, taking in all the conflicts involved. This will allow us to analyse the origins, progression and ultimate solution to this decade of military crises. Only then can any political or military reforms be placed in their proper context.

  Central to this process is the analysis of both wars, in Europe and Africa simultaneously. All too often the Jugurthine War is isolated from the rest of the period as though it exists in a vacuum, and this is down to the random survival of a historical monograph on the war, which itself isolates the events in Africa and Rome from the rest of the period. To study this war in isolation fundamentally undermines any conclusions we may draw from it. As the reader will soon notice, it is true that the balance of the surviving evidence relates to the war in Africa not the one in Europe, yet we must extract all that we can from what little remains.

  The picture that emerges from our meagre evidence shows an empire on the brink of collapse, with conflicts being fought from Spain to the Balkans, engulfing southern Gaul, northern Italy and Sicily with Roman armies fighting across the deserts of North Africa, facing a range of native enemies. To this period belong some of Rome’s greatest military disasters as well as some of their greatest victories. In Roman eyes the name Arausio stood alongside Cannae, Carrhae and Teutoburg Forest as a benchmark for military disasters, with some sources giving it as high a casualty rate as Cannae itself (see Chapter 8). Yet the battle is little known today, rendered obscure by the lack of a surviving account, an omission which hopefully will be corrected in this work.

  There can be little doubt that the very future of the Roman Empire, as it came to be, was in peril at this point in its history. The culmination of these conflicts saw a barbarian army invade Italy itself, with the intent on settling there. Had the Romans failed at Aquae Sextiae and Vercellae, then Rome’s presence in mainland Europe would have vastly diminished, undermining the basis of western civilization.

  Two further points need to be made before our exploration of this period can begin.

  The first relates to the nomenclature of these conflicts. The war in Africa has been known as the bellum Iugurthinum or Jugurthine War, after its principal protagonist, since it took place. Yet there is always a danger in these cases, as with references to the Pyrrhic, Hannibalic or Mithridatic Wars, that too much emphasis is given to the individual rather than the wider military or political issues. What started as a war against a sole king soon turned into a struggle against the combined races of North Africa with Roman domination of that region of the continent at stake. Yet whilst the Romano-Numidian or Romano-African Wars would perhaps be more appropriate, the weight of history makes the title of the ‘Jugurthine War’ an inevitable one.

  There is no such clarity with the other conflicts however. Rome faced a multitude of different native enemies, from the Cimbri, Teutones and Ambrones from northern Europe to the Tigurini from Helvetia (Switzerland) and the Scordisci in the Balkans, with each conflict being assigned its own title. Yet, as argued in this work, these individual conflicts formed part of a wider process which saw the collapse of Rome’s northern frontiers, in both western and eastern Europe. For that reason I have assigned this wider conflict the title of the Northern Wars, with reference to both Rome’s northern frontier in this period, and the source of the threat to Rome in this period.

  The second point is that whilst our surviving sources allow us to view the Jugurthine War from both perspectives – Roman and Jugurthan – we have no such ability for the Northern Wars. All we have to analyse are a number of fragmentary references by Roman and Greek sources many centuries after the events that they were describing. This regrettably renders any analysis of these conflicts so hopelessly one-sided that they can only be viewed from the Roman perspective. Added to this were the widespread Graeco-Roman fears and prejudices concerning Gauls, with Rome and Greece suffering Gallic invasions that scarred the collective memory. This left a tendency to view all native tribes as one-dimensional savages. Nonetheless this should not detract from the readers’ understanding of these fundamental conflicts.

  Timeline (148–100 BC)

  Given that there are a number of events and conflicts taking place over a period of time, the following is a brief reference to the key events to aid the reader.

  148 End of the Fourth Macedonian War.

  Creation of the Province of Macedonia.

  Death of Masinissa, king of Numidia.

  146 End of the Third Punic War – Destruction of Carthage.

  Creation of the Province of Africa.

  Achaean War – defeat of the Achaean Federation.

  Greece added to the Province of Macedonia.

  143 Revolt in Macedon.

  141 Scordiscian invasion of Macedon – Roman defeat.

  139 Murder of Viriathus in Spain.

  138 End of the Lusitanian (Viriathic) War.

  135 Scordisci defeated in Macedon.

  Slave Revolt in Sicily – Outbreak of First Servile War.

  133 Tribunate and Murder of Ti. Sempronius Gracchus.

  Fall of Numantia, end of the Numantine War.

  Death of Attalus III of Pergamum; named the Roman People heirs.

  132 Slave armies defeated in Sicily, end of the First Servile War.

  129 End of the Asiatic War.

  Creation of the Province of Asia (Minor).

  Death/murder of P. Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus (Africanus/Numantinus).

  125 Outbreak of Gallic War.

  Revolt and destruction of Italian town of Fregellae.

  123 First Tribunate of C. Sempronius Gracchus.

  Balearic Islands annexed.

  122 Second Tribunate of C. Sempronius Gracchus.

  Military Reforms of C. Gracchus.

  121 Execution of Gracchus and his supporters.

  Roman armies defeat alliance of Allobroges and Arverni in southern Gaul.

  119 Tribunate of C. Marius.

  Metellus ‘Delmaticus’ fights war in Illyria.

  Unnamed Battle – Pompeius, the Governor of Macedonia is defeated and killed fighting the Scordisci.

  Unnamed Battle. Annius defeats the Scordisci and their allies.

  118 Death of Micipsa, king of Numidia – Outbreak of Numidian Civil War.

  Foundation of Narbo in southern Gaul.

  117 Triumph of L. Caecilius Metellus Delmaticus for his campaign in Illyria.

  114 Unnamed Battle – Roman army under Porcius Cato defeated by the Scordisci in Macedon/Thrace.

  Greece ravaged by the Scordisci. Temple of Delphi sacked.

  113 Scordisci driven from Macedon.

  Cimbri arrive in Noricum.

  Battle of Noreia – Cimbri defeat the Roman army of Papirius Carbo.

  112 Numidian Civil War restarts. Jugurtha takes Cirta, death of Adherbal, massacre of Italian traders.

  Rome declares war on Jugurtha – start of the Jugurthine War.

  Roman army in Thrace fightin
g Scordisci.

  111 Consuls: P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica and L. Calpurnius Bestia.

  Triumph of M. Caecilius Metellus for Sardinian campaign.

  Triumph of C. Caecilius Metellus for Thracian campaign.

  Jugurtha summoned to Rome, organizes murder of Massiva.

  110 Consuls: M. Minucius Rufus and Sp. Postumius Albinus.

  Triumph of M. Livius Drusus for victories against the Scordisci.

  Tribunician agitation in Rome, Consul recalled.

  Battle of Suthul – Roman army led by A. Postumius defeated by Jugurtha.

  109 Consuls: Q. Caecilius Metellus and M. Iunius Silanus.

  Consuls remove a number of laws restricting military service.

  Praetor Servilius Caepio dispatched to Spain to fight the Lusitanians.

  Battle of Muthul River – Metellus defeats the forces of Jugurtha.

  Attempted coup to remove Jugurtha.

  108 Consuls: Ser. Sulpicius Galba and Hortensius.

  Unnamed Battle – Roman army of Silanus defeated by Cimbri in Gaul.