Corfinium, in the heart of Italy, was the location that their leaders had chosen to be the new capital. Both Corfinium and the new state itself had been given the name "Italia", to further strengthen the point that this to be a united conglomeration of all states of the peninsula. A progenitor government had been formed and coins had even been issued. The establishment of Italia bore witness that for the vast majority of Italian leaders, the revolt against Rome had been one less of defiance, than of discouraged veneration. In the early years of the war the rebels had defeated Rome's main army in central Italy. After this the survivors were fighting a fierce holding action against men who had equal arms and training. During the summer of 90BC, they fought an exhausting trench warfare, and little by little pushed back the rebels front. The war kept going this way until the time of the harvest, when military campaigns would end. When the two armies lined up each other for the final battle, each one's soldiers began recognizing friends on the other side. The men began to call out to one another and layed down their arms. The atmosphere of war turned into that of a festival and the Roman commander and the rebel commander also met to discuss "peace and the Italian longing for citizenship." (Diodorus Siculus 37.15).
The talks failed, the Romans of course could never grant concessions on the battlefield. Many Romans sympathized with the Italians demands and of great importance, as a hope for the future, the general of the Roman side, Gaius Marius, was admired by the rebels and was himself not originally from Rome-in fact, Marius was from a tiny backwater town known for its poverty. Sadly-the argument between more openness and exclusion had grown dangerously more polarized. Many Roman politcians feared that their city was in danger of being flooded by the sudden enrollment of millions of new citizens. By the time Marius began to negotiate terms with his Italian opponent, he had reversed the catastrophic series of defeats that had startled Rome at the beginning of the war. The rebel cause began to falter a few weeks later. The savagery at Asculum had started the revolt, and it was also at Asculum where the Romans could celebrate their first decisive victory. Perhaps the most hated man in Rome, Gnaeus Pompeius "Strabo", the nickname given to him because of his perpetual squint, had led the Roman forces to victory there.
With victory for Rome seemingly on the horizon, politicians who had always favored granting citizenship to Italians, convinced the most staunchly conservative politicians that there was no other way, in the long run, to enfranchising the Italian allies. In October 90 BC a bill was proposed and passed. It stated thaat the Italian communities that had stayed loyal were granted citizenship immediately, and the rebels were promised it as long as the layed down their arms. Many men found the offer tempting and soon most of northern and central Italy was at peace. When Mithridates came upon the scene, and in 89 BC when Roman rule in Asia collapsed, the economy throughout the Meditteranean was thrown into a perilous dive. Originally the rebel leaders had asked their compatriots with business ties in the East to beg Mithridates to ally with them in their common cause against Rome. Ironically, now that Mithridates had opened up the war, it was these businessmen who were hardest hit economically by the troubles in the East. There was a great contrast to this in Rome, as many in the Senate welcomed war with open arms. They thought there was no way Rome could lose a war with him and of course the Asians were all thought by the Romans to be incredibly wealthy, which in many cases was true.
Marius regarded his command in a war with Mithridates as his by right. Ten years before, Marius had confronted the king face to face, telling him more or less-be stronger than Rome or submit to her. Mithridates wisely backed down from a fight then. It could not have been sheer coincidence that when the king did at last choose to fight that he was provoked by Manius Aquillius, who was a close ally of Marius and had served as his deputy and consular colleague. Perhaps this would explain Aquillius's plunging of Rome into troubles in the East, while back home Rome was fighting for its very survival. Maybe he had been trying to provide his patron with a glorius Asian war. However, even if there was a plot, it would be played out badly and have fatal consequences for Aquillius himself, for Marius and for the Republic. An eastern command was a prize so treasured that Marius had rivals who were also ambitious -one hugely so-and would soon show how far they would go to get it.
The autumn of 89 BC should have been a reasonably happy one for Rome-with a terrible war between the Italian rebels drawing to a close. However, there was only a sense of foreboding and doom. Yet again it seemed that there were omens of the Republic's doom. The worst of all was the sound of a trumpet, heard ringing out from a cloudless, blue sky. Its note was so fearsome that those who heard it were agitated to the point of being half-crazy with fear. The Sibylline oracles were once again consulted. The prophecies appeared to state, to the augurs terror, that such a sign could only foretell a great convulsion in the order of events. One age would pass away and another would begin. This would happen during a revolution fated to ravage the whole world.
I hope to have the next post here Thursday or Friday-and am looking forward to the next series of posts-as I think the events and personalities are fascinating-and will also eventually lead back to the story of Caesar, Cleopatra, Mark Antony and Octavian. Peace and be well to anyone stopping by!
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