Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79)

by Dionysius of Halicarnassus

  [39.1] After this the Latins and Romans fought two pitched battles with large armies. In the first, after they had been engaged a considerable time without any seeming advantage on either side, they parted, each returning to their own camp. But in the later contest the Romans gained the victory and pursued the Latins to their camp. [2] After these actions there was no other pitched battle fought between them, but continual incursions were made by both into the neighbouring territory and there were all skirmishes between the horse and light-armed foot who patrolled the country; in these the victors were generally the Romans, who had their forces in the field posted secretly in advantageous strongholds, under the command of Tarquinius the Tyrrhenian. [3] About the same time the Fidenates also revolted from the Romans. They did not, indeed, openly declare war, but ravaged their country by making raids in small numbers and secretly. Against these Marcius led out an army of light troops, and before the Fidenates had made the necessary preparations for war he encamped near their city. [4] At first they pretended not to know what injuries they had committed to draw the Roman army against them, and when the king informed them that he had come to punish them for their plundering and ravaging of his territory, they excused themselves by alleging that their city was not responsible for these injuries, and asked for time in which to make an investigation and to search out the guilty; and they consumed many days in doing nothing that should have been done, but rather in sending to their allies secretly for assistance and busying themselves with the preparing of arms.

  [40.1] Marcius, having learned of their purpose, proceeded to dig mines leading under the walls of the city from his own camp; and when the work was finally completed, he broke camp and led his army against the city, taking along many siege-engines and scaling-ladders and the other equipment he had prepared for an assault, and approaching a different point from that where the walls were undermined. [2] Then, the Fidenates had rushed in great numbers to those parts of the city that were being stormed, and were stoutly repulsing the assaults, the Romans who had been detailed for the purpose opened the mouths of the mines and found themselves within the walls; and destroying all who came to meet them, they threw open the gates to the besiegers. [3] When many of the Fidenates had been slain in the taking of the town, Marcius ordered the rest to deliver up their arms, and made proclamation that all should repair to a certain place in the city. Thereupon he caused a few of them who had been the authors of the revolt to be scourged and put to death, and having given leave to his soldiers to plunder all their houses and left a sufficient garrison there, he marched with his army against the Sabines. [4] For these also had failed to abide by the terms of the peace which they had made with King Tullus, and making incursions into the territory of the Romans, were again laying waste the neighbouring country. When Marcius, therefore, learned from spies and deserters the proper time to put his plan into execution, while the Sabines were dispersed and plundering the fields, he marched in person with the infantry to the enemy’s camp, which was weakly guarded, and took the ramparts at the first onset; and he ordered Tarquinius to hasten with the cavalry against those who were dispersed in foraging. [5] The Sabines, learning that the Roman cavalry was coming against them, left their plunder and the other booty they were carrying and driving off, and fled to their camp; and when they perceived that this too was in the possession of the infantry, they were at a loss which way to turn and endeavoured to reach the woods and mountains. But being pursue by the light-armed foot and the horse, the greater part of them were destroyed, though some few escaped. And after this misfortune, sending ambassadors once more to Rome, they obtained such a peace as they desired. For the war which was still going on between the Romans and the Latin cities rendered both a truce and a peace with their other foes necessary.

  [41.1] About the fourth year after this war Marcius, the Roman king, leading his own army of citizens and sending for as many auxiliaries as he could obtain from his allies, marched against the Veientes and laid waste a large part of their country. These had been the aggressors the year before by making an incursion into the Roman territory, where they seized much property and slew many of the inhabitants. [2] And when the Veientes came out against him with a large army and encamped beyond the river Tiber, near Fidenae, Marcius set out with his army as rapidly as possible; and being superior in cavalry, he first cut them off from the roads leading into the country, and then, forcing them to come to a pitched battle, defeated them and captured their camp. Having succeeded in this war also according to his desire, he returned to Rome and conducted in honour of the gods the procession in celebration of his victory and the customary triumph. [3] The second year after this, the Veientes having again broken the truce they had made with Marcius and demanding to get back the salt-works which they had surrendered by treaty in the reign of Romulus, he fought a second battle with them, one more important than the first, near the salt-works; and having easily won it, he continued from that time forth in undisputed possession of the salt-works. [4] The prize for valour in this battle also was won by Tarquinius, the commander of the horse; and Marcius, looking upon him as the bravest man in the whole army, kept honouring him in various ways, among other things making him both a patrician and a senator. [5] Marcius also engaged in a war with the Volscians, since bands of robbers from this nation too were setting out to plunder the fields of the Romans. And marching against them with a large army, he captured much booty; then, laying siege to one of their cities called Velitrae, he surrounded it with a ditch and palisades and, being master of the open country, prepared to assault the walls. But when the elders came out with the emblems of suppliants and not only promised to make good the damage they had done, in such manner as the king should determine, but also agreed to deliver up the guilty to be punished, he made a truce with them, and, after accepting the satisfaction they freely offered, he concluded a treaty of peace and friendship.

  [42.1] Again, some others of the Sabine nation who had not yet felt the Roman power, the inhabitants of . . ., a great and prosperous city, without having any grounds of complain against the Romans but being driven to envy of their prosperity, which was increasing disproportionately, and being a very warlike people, began at first with brigandage and the raiding of their fields in small bodies, but afterwards, lured by the hope of booty, made war upon them openly and ravaged much of the neighbouring territory, inflicting severe damage. [2] But they were not permitted either to carry off their booty or themselves to retire unscathed, for the Roman king, hastening to the rescue, pitched his camp near theirs and forced them to come to an engagement. [3] A great battle, therefore, was fought and many fell on both sides, but the Romans won by reason of their skill and their endurance of toil, virtues to which they had been long accustomed, and they proved far superior to the Sabines; and pursuing them closely as they fled, dispersed and in disorder, toward their camp, they wrought great slaughter. [4] Then, having also captured their camp, which was full of all sorts of valuables, and recovered the captives the Sabines had taken in their raids, they returned home. These in brief are the military exploits of this king that have been remembered and recorded by the Romans. I shall now mention the achievements of his civil administration.

  [43.1] In the first place, he made no small addition to the city by enclosing the hill called the Aventine within its walls. This is a hill of moderate height and about eighteen stades in circumference, which was then covered with trees of every kind, particularly with many beautiful laurels, so that one place on the hill is called Lauretum or “Laurel Grove” by the Romans; but the whole is now covered with buildings, including, among many others, the temple of Diana. The Aventine is separated from another of the hills that are included within the city of Rome, called the Palatine Hill (round which was built the first city to be established), by a deep and narrow ravine, but in after times the whole hollow between the two hills was filled up. [2] Marcius, observing that this hill would serve as a stronghold against the city for any army that approached, enco
mpassed it with a wall and ditch and settled here the populations that he had transferred from Tellenae and Politorium and the other cities he had taken. This is one peace-time achievement recorded of this king that was at once splendid and practical; thereby the city was not only enlarged by the addition of another city but also rendered less vulnerable to the attack of a strong enemy force.

  [44.1] Another peace-time achievement was of even greater consequence than the one just mentioned, as it made the city richer in all the conveniences of life and encouraged it to embark upon nobler undertakings. The river Tiber, descending from the Apennine mountains and flowing close by Rome, discharges itself upon harbourless and exposed shores made by the Tyrrhenian Sea; but this river was of small and negligible advantage to Rome because of having at its mouth no trading post where the commodities brought in by sea and down the river from the country above could be received and exchanged with the merchants. But as it is navigable quite up to its source for river boats of considerable seize and as far as Rome itself for sea-going ships of great burden, he resolved to build a seaport at its outlet, making use of the river’s mouth itself for a harbour. [2] For the Tiber broadens greatly where it unites with the sea and forms great bays equal to those of the best seaports; and, most wonderful of all, its mouth is not blocked by sandbanks piled up by the sea, as happens in the case of many even of the large rivers, nor does it by wandering this way and that through fens and marshes spend itself before its stream unites with the sea, but it is everywhere navigable and discharges itself through its one genuine mouth, repelling the surge that comes from the main, notwithstanding the frequency and violence of the west wind on that coast. [3] Accordingly, oared ships however large and merchantmen up to three thousand bushels burden enter at the mouth of the river and are rowed and towed up to Rome, while those of a larger size ride at anchor off the mouth, where they are unloaded and loaded again by river boats. [4] Upon the elbow of land that lies between the river and the sea the king built a city and surrounded it with a wall, naming it from its situation Ostia, or, as we should call it, thyra or “portal”; and by this means he made Rome not only an inland city but also a seaport, and gave it a taste of the good things from beyond the sea.

  [45.1] He also built a wall round the high hill called the Janiculum, situated on the other side of the river Tiber, and stationed there an adequate garrison for the security of those who navigated the river; for the Tyrrhenians, being masters of all the country on the other side of the river, had been plundering the merchants. [2] He also is said to have built the wooden bridge over the Tiber, which was required to be constructed without brass or iron, being held together by its beams alone. This bridge they preserve to the present day, looking upon it as sacred; and if any part of it gives out the pontiffs attend to it, offering certain traditional sacrifices while it is being repaired. These are the memorable achievements of this king during his reign, and he handed Rome on to his successors in much better condition than he himself had received it. After reigning twenty-four years he died, leaving two sons, one still a child in years and the elder just growing a beard.

  [46.1] After the death of Ancus Marcius the senate, being empowered by the people to establish whatever form of government they thought fit, again resolved to abide by the same form and appointed interreges. These, having assembled the people for the election, chosen Lucius Tarquinius as king; and the omens from Heaven having confirmed the decision of the people, Tarquinius took over the sovereignty about the second year of the forty-first Olympiad (the one in which Cleondas, a Theban, gained the prize), Heniochides being archon at Athens. [2] I shall now relate, following the account I have found in the Roman annals, from what sort of ancestors this Tarquinius was sprung, from what country he came, the reasons for his removing to Rome, and by what course of conduct he came to be king. [3] There was a certain Corinthian, Demaratus by name, of the family of the Bacchiadae, who, having chosen to engage in commerce, sailed to Italy in a ship of his own with his own cargo; and having sold the cargo in the Tyrrhenian cities, which were at the time the most flourishing in all Italy, and gained great profit thereby, he no longer desired to put into any other ports, but continued to ply the same sea, carrying a Greek cargo to the Tyrrhenians and a Tyrrhenian cargo to Greece, by which means he became possessed of great wealth. [4] But when Corinth fell a prey to sedition and the tyranny of Cypselus was rising in revolt against the Bacchiadae, Demaratus thought it was not safe for him to live under a tyranny with his great riches, particularly as he was of the oligarchic family; and accordingly, getting together all of his substance that he could, he sailed away from Corinth. [5] And having from his continual intercourse with the Tyrrhenians many good friends among them, particularly at Tarquinii, which was a large and flourishing city at that time, he built a house there and married a woman of illustrious birth. By her he had two sons, to whom he gave Tyrrhenian names, calling one Arruns and the other Lucumo; and having instructed them in both the Greek and Tyrrhenian learning, he married them, when they were grown, to two women of the most distinguished families.

  [47.1] Not long afterward the elder of his sons died without acknowledged issue, and a few days later Demaratus himself died of grief, leaving his surviving son Lucumo heir to his entire fortune. Lucumo, having thus inherited the great wealth of his father, had aspired to public life and a part in the administration of the commonwealth and to be one of its foremost citizens. [2] But being repulsed on every side by the native-born citizens and excluded, not only from the first, but even from the middle rank, he resented his disfranchisement. And hearing that the Romans gladly received all strangers and made them citizens, he resolved to get together all his riches and remove thither, taking with him his wife and such of his friends and household as wished to go along; and those who were eager to depart with him were many. [3] When they were come to the hill called Janiculum, from which Rome is first discerned by those who come from Tyrrhenia, an eagle, descending on a sudden, snatched his cap from his head and flew up again with it, and rising in a circular flight, hid himself in the depths of the circumambient air, then of a sudden replaced the cap on his head, fitting it on as it had been before. [4] This prodigy appearing wonderful and extraordinary to them all, the wife of Lucumo, Tanaquil by name, who had a good understanding standing, through her ancestors, of the Tyrrhenians’ augural science, took him aside from the others and, embracing him, filled him with great hopes of rising from his private station to the royal power. She advised him, however, to consider by what means he might render himself worthy to receive the sovereignty by the free choice of the Romans.

  [48.1] Lucumo was overjoyed at this omen, and as he was now approaching the gates have besought the gods that the prediction might be fulfilled and that his arrival might be attended with good fortune; then he entered the city. After this, gaining an audience with King Marcius, he first informed him who he was and then told him that, being desirous of settling at Rome, he had brought with him all his paternal fortune, which, as it exceeded the limits suitable for a private citizen, he said he proposed to place at the disposal of the king and of the Roman state for the general good. [2] And having met with a favourable reception from the king, who assigned him and his Tyrrhenian followers to one of the tribes and to one of the curiae, he built a house upon a site in the city which was allotted to him as sufficient for the purpose, and received a portion of land. After he had settled these matters and had become one of the citizens, he was informed that every Roman had a common name and, after the common name, another, derived from his family and ancestors, and wishing to be like them in this respect also, he took the name of Lucius instead of Lucumo as his common name, and that of Tarquinius as his family name, from the city in which he had been born and brought up. [3] In a very short time he gained the friendship of the king by presenting him with those things which he saw he needed most and by supplying him with all the money he required to carry on his wars. On campaigns he fought most bravely of all, whether of the inf
antry or of the cavalry, and wherever there was need of good judgment he was counted among the shrewdest counsellors. [4] Yet the favour of the king did not deprive him of the goodwill of the rest of the Romans; for he not only won to himself many of the patricians by his kindly services but also gained the affections of the populace by his cordial greetings, his agreeable conversation, his dispensing of money and his friendliness in other ways.

  [49.1] This was the character of Tarquinius and for these reasons he became during the lifetime of Marcius the most illustrious of all the Romans, and after that king’s death was adjudged by all as worthy of the kingship. When he had succeeded to the sovereignty he first made war upon the people of Apiolae, as it was called, a city of no small note among the Latins. [2] For the Apiolani and all the rest of the Latins, looking upon the treaty of peace as having been terminated after the death of Ancus Marcius, were laying waste the Roman territory by plundering and pillaging. Tarquinius, desiring to take revenge upon them for these injuries, set out with a large force and ravaged the most fruitful part of their country; [3] then, when important reinforcements came to the Apiolani from their Latin neighbours, he fought two battles with them and, having gained the victory in both, proceeded to besiege the city, causing his troops to assault the walls in relays; and the besieged, being but few contending against many and not having a moment’s respite, were at last subdued. The city being taken by storm, the greater part of the Apiolani were slain fighting, but a few after delivering up their arms were sold together with the rest of the booty; their wives and children were carried away into slavery by the Romans and the city was plundered and burned. [4] After the king had done this and had razed the walls to the foundations, he returned home with his army. Soon afterwards he undertook another expedition against the city of the Crustumerians. This was a colony of the Latins and in the reign of Romulus had submitted to the Romans; but after Tarquinius succeeded to the sovereignty it began again to incline on the side of the Latins. [5] However, it was not necessary to reduce this place by a siege and great effort; for the Crustumerians, having become aware both of the magnitude of the force that was coming against them and of their own weakness, since no aid came to them from the rest of the Latins, opened their gates; and the oldest and most honoured of the citizens, coming out, delivered up the city to Tarquinius, asking only that he treat them with clemency and moderation. [6] This fell out according to his wish, and entering the city, he put none of the Crustumerians to death and punished only a very few, who had been the authors of the revolt, with perpetual banishment, while permitting all the rest to retain their possessions and to enjoy Roman citizenship as before; but, in order to prevent any uprising for the future, he left Roman colonists in their midst.