Roman Empire: New Wars Old Enemies Part Four

The nervous tension in addition to being ill had probably brought him to the point of collapse. For whatever reason, the young man wasn't in a very celebratory mood and far from showing his adoptive father's famous clemency. About 14,000 regular soldiers negotiated their surrender with Antony and Octavian in return for a pardon. There were a great number of the noble republican leaders who had died. However, there was a remainder of distinguished prisoners of war to deal with. Octavian decided they should be executed. One of their number simply asked for a proper burial. To this request Octavian replied, "That's a matter for the carrion birds to decide." Another situation was recorded that a father and son begged for mercy. Octavian agreed-to a point-that one of them be spared. The decision of which one would be made by playing morra. This was a game where a player would try to guess the correct number of fingers his opponent would show. They refused to play, and the father offered his life for his son's and was executed. The son then overcome with grief committed suicide, as Octavian coldly watched them die. Octavian's behavior was so insulting and wretched that when the remaining captives were led off in chains they courteously saluted Mark Antony and shouted obscene oaths and insults at Octavian.

The common folk of Rome must have felt very relieved. Eight years of confusion, uncertainty, bloodshed and outrageously high taxes brought about by the civil wars were apparently coming to an end. Some had to have been questioning what manner of government they were going to have. A triad of rulers was inherently unstable. Antony and Octavian had actually been enemies, but united for a common purpose, however, they were still rivals for Julius Caesar's inheritance and the hearts and minds of the legions and the people. When you factored in his age Octavian had shown great skill at politics, of course he would have been advised by some of Caesar's men, but still he had come so far. Octavian had shown how far he would go to attain power. His treatment of the war prisoners of Philippi was somewhat of an aberration. He could be cut-throat, act deceitfully and kill, but Octavian's misdeeds were always planned with a carefully thought out goal in mind. Octavian had learned of politics from Julius Caesar. He never had the slightest intention of restoring the Republic. This came from a mixture of personal ambition and a belief that the Republic really had been too unwieldly and had outlived its usefulness. I wonder also if a huge part of Octavian's soul really believed deep down that he was a true divi filius-the son of a god. For now, even though he had accomplished a great deal his postition was anything but secure. Mark Antony had been the real winner at Philippi.

Antony's command and conduct on the battlefield put Octavian's to shame. Octavian would have to accept Antony's dominance for the time being and would have to wait for opportunities to better his own standing. Antony and Octavian staged a magnificent sacrifice in honor of their victory. After this the two parted company. Mark Antony stayed in Greece for a bit, attending games and listening to scholars. Once he had enough of that he went on to Asia Minor, as the senior triumvir he had chosen the east as opposed to battle-scarred Italy. Antony was tired of trouble-ridden Rome. In the East he could continue the traditions of Rome's proconsuls: pretending to love Greek culture and at the same time mooching off of them; patronizing local kings and fighting the Parthians. There seemed to be many echoes of Pompey the Great in what Antony was doing. In the months and years that followed some of the remaining republicans would tend to go towards him and the East, perhaps hoping that Antony would someday want to get rid of his meddlesome colleague and restore the Republic. However, for now all Antony seemed to be focussed on was having a good time. Octavian was carried back to Italy.

He became so sick during the journey that he stayed at Brundisium for awhile; Octavian was not expected to survive at one point and a rumor actually started that he was dead. Another place that followers of Brutus and Cassius went-even Cicero's son-who were still determined to fight until the last man was Sicily. This, of course, was where not only Sextus Pompeius was, but also two republican admirals, Lucius Staius Murcus and the arrogant and proud Domitius Ahenobarbus. However, many survivors of the war shared the view of one of Brutus's military tribunes, a chubby young man called Quintus Horatius Flaccus-he is better known as Horace and became a very great poet of the time. Horace had seen the horrors of war at Philippi and they gave him a hatred of armed conflict that would not be subsumed. Years later he wrote a poem to welcome a friend back to life as a civilian after a long spell in the military. The two men had fought together at Philippi, as the poet laments. The poem evokes quite well that while Horace recognizes and is a bit amused by his own cowardice; he doesn't have anything good to say about the bravery that lands a man in his grave:

We two once beat a swift retreat together

upon Philippi's field

When I dumped my poor shield,

And courage cracked, and the strong men who frowned

Fiercest were felled, chins to the miry ground....

In my laurel's shade

Stretch out the bones that long campaigns have made

Weary. Your wines been waiting

For years: No hesitating.

The battle-scarred landscape of Philippi and the evidence of the carnage there, slowly returned to normal. However, to make sure a remembrance of the events there was secured in the annals of history the town was renamed Julia Victorix Philippi (Victorious Philippi of the Julian Clan) and some soldiers sent to settle there. I should have enough information for at least four more articles and perhaps more if I am able to work on this tonight. Either way I would like to have the next post here soon. Best to anyone stopping by! The image is a three layered sardonyx cameo of Octavian/Augustus Caesar.

Roman Empire: New Wars Old Enemies Part Three

Around 30 September the two eagles on the republican standards flew away, which was a disturbing portent for them. And unfortunately for the cause of the old Republic it turned out to be an omen of doom. The day after Antony broke the stalemate and ordered some of his men to stealthily cut through an area of marshland, and build a causeway that would get enough of his men through to outflank Cassius' position, cutting off the republicans supply line. It took ten days for Antony's forces to do this. Tall reeds had prevented Cassius from seeing his men. Cassius was totally taken by surprise, but quickly had a wall built through the marsh which cut Antony's causeway in two. Then Antony led an attack to destroy a palisade that ran between Cassius' camp and the marsh. Cassius' men were astonished when they saw Antony's forces carried crowbars and ladders to demolish his camp. Antony's gambit seemed outrageous, and Brutus' men charged Antony's as they marched past. Wisely Brutus didn't proceed this way for too long, for he had his men would have been exposed to a counterattack by Octavian's forces. So instead they changed course and attacked the triumvir's camp and captured it. Antony then broke through the palisade and took Cassius' camp. After this the account of the war gets confusing to say the least. Seemingly for awhile both sides had won-and lost!

To add to the confusion the area had seen little precipitation and the forces of battle kicked up great clouds of dust. The different forces could not tell what happened to their comrades. After both camps had been looted the men tried to find their way back to their own units. Because of the dust-the "fog of war" in the air they couldn't tell to which army other legionaires belonged. The dust and confusion had a horrible consequence for the republican side. Cassius was nearsighted and had retreated with some of his men to the hill on which Philippi stood and from this vantage point looked down on the battle. He could hardly see the looting of his camp while the clouds of dust prevented any of his men from seeing Brutus's progress at the far end of the battlefield. When Cassius saw a large group of cavalry coming towards him he sent one of his staff to see if it was friendly-as he was fearing the worst. It turns out that the forces were friendly and had been sent by Brutus. Some of Brutus's men had recognized the man Cassius had sent-Titinius. They shouted with glee and some jumped off their horses, hugged Titinius, sang and clashed their weapons in victory. In a horrible case of coming to the wrong conclusion of what had happened to Titinius-perhaps because he was already thinking the worst and was so nearsighted-Cassius had thought Titinius had been taken prisoner and Brutus had been defeated.

Cassius told his armor-bearer, a freedman named Pindarus, to follow him to his tent. Pindarus hesitated for a bit because he suspected what he was going to be asked to do. A messenger ran up to say the Brutus was victorious and was looting the triumvirs camp. Appian tells us the Cassius said, "Tell him I wish him total victory." Then Cassius asked of Pindarus, "Hurry up. Why don't you release me from my disgrace?" Here is an interesting question-Cassius' death is usually made out to be a tragic mistake. But if Appian is correct, he had Pindarus behead him after learning that victory might still be possible. Cassius it would appear died of shame and embarrassment. To him it must have seemed that an experienced general like himself should have defeated Antony's foolhardy gambit and even to have seen it coming. The fact that he had failed and that Brutus, a less experienced commander had triumphed added to his sense of disgrace. The one commander that it is hard to say anything about on that day is Octavian. As his camp was attacked but he was not taken prisoner and alive meant that he had to have escaped somewhere before the camp was sacked.

The rumor spread that Octavian escaped and hid in the marshes for three days-even his boyhood friends Agrippa and Macenas didn't deny it. Whatever happened with the divi filius that day, it is most likely he was told by his attending physician that he was still too sick to take an active part in battle and go somewhere to a safe place. Not very brave behavior-especially when compared to other men of the times including his adoptive father, Caesar. He was, however, a sick young man with very little military experience. The end result of this was that the future Roman emperor acquired a reputation for cowardice. After more twists of fate in a long, hard fought battle, where neither side could seem to gain the upper hand and the triumvirs side had a terrible loss to the republicans in one encounter in the Adriatic Sea (the outcome of which was so devastating to the triumvirs that they kept it secret from their men), the tide eventually turned completely against the republican side. The result being that after a war in which the two largest battles in Roman history were fought was a victory for Antony and Octavian. When he had heard of his men's plans to surrender, Marcus Junius Brutus said, "Yes, that's right, but with our hands not with our feet!" He then said goodbye to his men and told them that not one of them had failed him. Then he took one of his companion's swords and held the point to his left nipple and threw himself on it.

Brutus was a man of conflicting qualities (probably like most of us), in some ways he represented the worst types of abuse of authority of the Roman elite. He broke the sanction that senators should not be involved in trade or money lending and practiced usury in the Middle East on an enormous scale. After Pharsalus, it was he who revealed to Julius Caesar that Pompey's likely destination was Egypt, an example of being a turncoat and a huge betrayal of trust. However, at the same time Brutus was an intellectual and took the high-minded ideals of the Republic seriously. To Brutus, the assassination of Julius Caesar was more along the lines of a "noble sacrifice" for the better good than a political act. Even though he was obviously not afraid to make war, his contemporaries saw him as a man of a "singularly gentle nature." Brutus had almost been as terrified of civil war as the loss of liberty. Brutus had lived just long enough to see Cato's suicide turn him into a martyr for freedom and enter history as a legend. Perhaps in his final hours Brutus saw that his last chance to help the cause for freedom was to become a martyr also.

Some other celebrated names also died in the battle; a Lucullus, a Hortensius and another Cato. Cato's son removed his helmet and charged through the triumviral battle line, like his father choosing death over slavery. Back in Rome, Cato's virtuous daughter, Porcia also committed suicide. Her friends had been trying to watch her because they were afraid of what she might do. When Porcia learned that both her brother and her husband Brutus were dead, she managed to get away from them long enough to run to a brazier and swallow burning coals! The extiction of a great house (family name/line) had always been a cause for public mourning in Rome. After the Battle of Philippi there was a huge loss in the ranks of the nobility who had lived closest to the ideals of the Republic. It was of such magnitude that it could never be made up. Perhaps this is why Mark Antony searched to find the corpse of his enemy Brutus on the battlefield. He then covered it respectfully with a cloak and had it cremated. Even Antony, who had been alive when freedom had an actual being and essence could sense that something more had ended at Philippi than the human lives that battled there. When the smoke had cleared and the remaining units of the republican army surrendered, Octavian behaved with a particular viciousness. The last four weeks had been by far the hardest of his very short life (he would have been twenty-one) so far.

Thanks again to anyone reading, commenting or following this blog! I have enough material done still for at least five more articles-I have been doing two posts a day when I can to get everything caught up here when I can-although because my back pain seems to worsen when I type I don't know if I should do this anymore! Whatever happens I do hope to have the next article here soon. The image is of a Roman aqueduct built in 19 BC in Pont du Gard France. Best to anyone stopping by!

Roman Empire: New Wars Old Enemies Part Two

Still, Brutus and his republican comrades didn't want war with the triumvirs until they went too far. They even issued statements that "for the sake of ensuring harmony in the Republic, they were even willing to live in permanent exile, they would furnish no grounds for civil war." But then Octavian marched on Rome a second time, the Triumvirate was formed and the straw that broke the camel's back was the proscription which harkened back to Sulla's days of terror. Now peace was not an option. Brutus knew he was not yet strong enough to face Antony and Octavian together so he marched east to join Cassius. They also needed to recruit more men and raise money for their legions' pay. In addition, Cassius wanted to secure their position to the rear and get rid of potential enemies, like the island of Rhodes with its powerful navy. Finally, after squeezing as many men and as much money as they could from the east, Brutus and Cassius were ready to take on the triumvirs. They were heading towards the battle where the two largest Roman armies to ever go to battle against each other would meet. Thrace was a largely ungoverned territory to the east of Greece and Macedonia. Today it would be where European Turkey, northeastern Greece and southern Bulgaria would be.

Long ago Greek colonists had founded the city-states on the coastline and mined the areas deposits of gold and silver. Sometimes they would recruit Thracian soldiers. But they left the warlike and independent tribes largely to themselves in the interior. The Romans had won control of these lands from the second century BC on, but it was an uncertain and uneven dominance. It became a Roman province in 46 BC. It was through this area that the Romans paved the great highway, the Via Egnatia. This huge artery and gateway to the east for the Romans went from the Adriatic Sea to Byzantium and the provinces of Asia Minor. The town of Philippi, named after Philip of Macedon was at the road's eastern end. Philip had rebuilt the town as a stronghold against the Thracian tribes. It had plenty of water from springs and was on a high ridge, which Philip put walls around. Directly to the west of Philippi was the Hill of Dionysus, with a gold mine called the Refuges. And just over a mile beyond this and a couple from town, two hills stood on either side of the Via Egnatia. The Via Egnatia continued across a mountain pass called the Symbolon, or Junction, on the small port of Neapolis. A few miles out to sea was the island of Thasos. This is the description of the area where the huge Roman armies would meet.

On the side of the triumvirs were forty-three legions (more than two hundred thousand men if they were at full strength). But Octavian and Antony had to station about twenty-one or twenty-two legions in Gaul and northern Italy to stop any uprisings that might occur. So this left them with twenty-one or so legions and thirteen thousand cavalry for their engagement with Brutus and Cassius. On paper the two sides were fairly matched. Brutus and Cassius had about nineteen legions (around 70,000 men) and twenty thousand foreign cavalry including some of the famous Parthian mounted archers. One thing against Brutus and Cassius was that man of these men had served under Julius Caesar and most likely remembered him with affection. Mark Antony was far and away the most able soldier for the Triumvirate, and in all probablility planned the campaign. Antony's first goal was to prevent the republican forces from overrunning Greece and taking their fleet into the Adriatic before Antony had a chance to transport his own men there and build a base of operation. Antony sent an advance guard across the Adriatic Sea, which then marched down the Via Egnatia past Philippi and through the Symbolon all the way until it reached the two further passes that were the only known routes to Asia.

This force was outflanked and had to retreat. Brutus and Cassius were greatly relieved by the strong defensive position the two hills in front of the town provided. The generals built fortified camps on each hill connected by a palisade. If they could deny Antony battle long enough he would have to run long supply lines across Greece. Brutus and Cassius could halt or at least slow down shipments from Italy with their navy. In time Antony and Octavian would have to retreat due to a shortage of food-and where indeed could they go if the escape route was sealed off. When two eagles alighted on the silver eagles of their standards it seemed a good portent for the republicans-so much so that they decided to feed the majestic birds regularly. Octavian became ill when his and Antony's legions made it through the republican blockade and disembarked at Dyrrachium. He was so sick he had to be left behind with his army. His boyhood friends-the able, masculine soldier Agrippa and the effeminate, cultured Macenas said that Octavian was suffering from dropsy (where too much fluid accumulates in the body's tissues). This always seemed to happen every time Octavian was faced with a great personal challenge or crisis. It is true his health had never been that good and he had come close to dying when his adoptive father, Julius Caesar was alive.

It does make us wonder if on occasion the illnesses were stress induced or psychosomatic in origin. This incident would lead to charges of cowardice later on. Octavian's health didn't get better but when he learned that Antony was in a bad position from which to fight and that events weren't going well he immediately left for Philippi. This had to have been a very trying time for Octavian as he didn't trust Antony and was of course, terrified of a republican victory. Cassius Dio notes: "[Octavian] heard of the situation and feared the outcome in either case-whether Antony, acting alone, should be defeated or should conquer, for in the first case, he felt that Brutus and Cassius would be in a stronger position to oppose him, or in the latter case, Antony would be." Octavian arrived eventually and shared camp with Mark Antony. There was a time in which nothing much happened except from a set of small skirmishes.

I may try to do the next post this evening-need to take a break-in either case hope to have it here soon. The image is of Brutus on a Roman coin. Best to anyone stopping by!