Chapter XXI: Part III: , European Nations; of which only 1 volume, Greeks, has (13)

Although the policy of Rome extended itself everywhere by means of
her commissioners, or ambassadors, yet she kept a more particular
guard against Carthage by favouring Masinissa at her expense,
against the Achaean league by favouring the Spartans, and against
Philip of Macedon by favouring every one who brought any complaint
against him (see above, p. 285).

14. Although these new connections and this intercourse with foreign nations greatly aided the diffusion of knowledge and science, and was followed by a gradual improvement in her civilization, yet was it nevertheless, in many respects, detrimental to the internal state of Rome. The introduction of the scandalous Bacchanalia, which were immediately discovered and forbidden, shows how easily great vices may creep in among a people who are only indebted for their morality to their ignorance. Among the higher classes also the spirit of intrigue manifested itself to an astonishing degree; particularly by the attacks directed against the Scipios by the elder Cato, whose restless activity became the instrument of his malignant passions. The severity of his censorship did not repair the evils caused by his immorality and pernicious politics.

Voluntary exile of Scipio Africanus to Linternum, 187. He dies
there, 183, the same year in which Hannibal falls under the
continued persecution of Rome. His brother Scipio Asiaticus is
also unable to escape a trial and condemnation, 185. One would
have expected a sensible effect from the exile of these two great
men; but, in a state where the ruling power is in the hands of a
body like what the Roman senate was, the change of individuals is
but of little consequence.

15. Fresh disputes arose, as early as 185, with Philip of Macedon, who soon found that they had spared him no longer than it suited their own convenience. Although the intervention of Philip's youngest son, upon whom the Romans had formed some design, prevented the powers from coming to an immediate rupture, and war was still further delayed by Philip's death, yet the national hatred descended to his successor, and continued to increase, notwithstanding an alliance concluded with him, until the war openly broke out (see above, p. 287).

The first circumstance which gave umbrage to Philip was the small
portion they permitted him to conquer in Athamania and Thessaly
during the war against Antiochus. But what sharpened his
animosity, much more than the object in dispute, was the conduct
of the Roman commissioners, before whom he, the king, was called
upon to defend himself as an accused party, 184. The exclamation
of Philip, that "the sun of every day had not yet set," showed his
indignation, and at the same time betrayed his intention. The
interval previous to the breaking out of the war was anything
rather than a time of peace for Rome; for besides that the Spanish
and Ligurian wars continued almost without intermission, the
revolts which broke out in Istria, 178, and in Sardinia and
Corsica, 176, produced much bloodshed.

16. In the second Macedonian war, which ended with the destruction of Perseus and his kingdom (see above, p. 288), it required the active efforts of Roman policy to prevent a powerful confederacy from being formed against her; as Perseus used all his endeavours to stimulate, not only the Grecian states, and Thrace and Illyria, but also Carthage and Asia, to enter into alliance with him. Where was it that Rome did not at this crisis send her ambassadors? She did not, indeed, succeed so far as to leave her enemy quite alone, but prepared new triumphs for herself over the few allies she left him. The devastated Epirus, and Gentius king of Illyria, suffered dearly for the assistance they had lent him; the states also which had remained neuter, the Rhodians and Eumenes, were made to feel severely that they were the mere creatures of Rome.

Beginning of the Macedonian war, 171, before Rome was prepared; a
deceitful truce, which raised the indignation even of the elder
senators, was the means resorted to for gaining time.
Notwithstanding this, the war at first, 170 and 169, was
favourable to Perseus; but he wanted resolution and judgment to
enable him to turn his advantages to account. In 168, Paulus
Aemilius, an old general, against the usual custom of the Romans,
took the command. Bloody and decisive battle near Pydna, June 22,
168. So completely may one day overturn a kingdom which has only
an army for its support! Contemporary with this war, and highly
fortunate for Rome, was the war of Antiochus Epiphanes with Egypt.
No wonder that Rome did not, till 168, through Popilius, command
peace between them! (See above, p. 261.)

17. The destruction of the Macedonian monarchy was attended with consequences equally disastrous to the conquerors and the conquered. To the first it soon gave the notion of becoming the masters of the world, instead of its arbiters; and it exposed the latter, for the next twenty years, to all the evils inseparable from such a catastrophe. The system of politics hitherto pursued by Rome could not last much longer; for if nations suffered themselves to be brought under the yoke by force, it was not to be expected that they would long be held in dependence under the specious name of liberty. But the state of things after this war was such as contributed to hasten a change in the form of the relations which existed between Rome and her allies.

The republican constitution given to the already ruined and
devastated Macedonians (see above, p. 288.) and Illyrians, and
which, according to the decree of the senate, "showed to all
people that Rome was ready to bestow liberty upon them," was
granted upon such hard conditions, that the enfranchised nation
soon used every endeavour to procure themselves a king. Greece
however suffered still more than Macedonia. Here, during the war,
the spirit of faction had risen to the highest pitch; and the
arrogant insolence of the Roman party, composed for the most part
of venal wretches, was so great, that they persecuted not only
those who had espoused an opposite faction, but even those who had
joined no faction at all. Rome nevertheless could not believe
herself secure, until she had destroyed, by a cruel artifice, all
her adversaries (see above, p. 288).

18. Entirely in the same spirit did Rome proceed against the other states from whom she had anything to fear. These must be rendered defenceless; and every means of effecting that purpose was considered justifiable by the senate. The quarrels between the successors to the throne of Egypt were taken advantage of to cause dissensions in that kingdom (see above, p. 260); while Syria was retained in a state of tutelage, by keeping the rightful heir to the throne at Rome; and its military power neutralized by means of their ambassadors (see above, p. 243).

19. From these facts we may also conclude, that the injuries now meditated against Carthage were not separate projects, but rather formed part of the general system of Roman policy at this period, although particular events at one time retarded their execution, and at another hastened it. History, in recounting the incredibly bad treatment which Carthage had to endure before her fall, seems to have given a warning to those nations who can take it, of what they may expect from the domination of a powerful republic.

Cato was chief of the party which sought the destruction of
Carthage, both from a spirit of envy against Scipio Nasica, whom
he hated for his great influence in the senate; and because, when
ambassador to Carthage, he thought they did not treat him with
sufficient respect. But Masinissa's victory, 152 (see above, p.
88), and the defection of Utica, brought this project into
immediate play. Beginning of the war, 150, the Carthaginians
having been previously inveigled out of their arms. The city,
however, was not captured and destroyed till 146, by P. Scipio
Aemilianus. The Carthaginian territory, under the name of Africa,
was then made a Roman province.

20. During this third war with Carthage, hostilities again broke out in Macedonia, which brought on a new war with Greece, and entirely changed the state of both these countries. In Macedonia, an impostor named Andriscus, who pretended to be the son of Philip, placed himself at the head of that highly disaffected people, assumed the name of Philip, and became, particularly by an alliance with the Thracians, very formidable to the Romans, until overcome by Metellus. Rome wishing to take advantage of this crisis to dissolve the Achaean league, the Achaean war broke out (see above, p. 289). This war was begun by Metellus, and terminated by Mummius with the destruction of Corinth. By reducing both Macedonia and Greece to the form of provinces, Rome now gave evident proof that no existing relations, nor any form of government, can prevent nations from being subjugated by a warlike republic, whenever circumstances render it possible.

It might have been expected, that the destruction of the two first
commercial cities in the world, in the same year, would have been
followed by important consequences to the course of trade; but the
trade of Carthage and Corinth had already been drawn to Alexandria
and Rhodes, otherwise Utica might, in some respects, have supplied
the place of Carthage.

21. While Rome was thus destroying thrones and republics, she met in Spain with an antagonist--a simple Spanish countryman named Viriathus--whom, after six years' war, she could only rid herself of by assassination. The war, nevertheless, continued after his death against the Numantines, who would not be subjected, but were at last destroyed by Scipio Aemilianus.

The war against the Spaniards, who of all the nations subdued by
the Romans defended their liberty with the greatest obstinacy,
began in the year 200, six years after the total expulsion of the
Carthaginians from their country, 206. It was exceedingly
obstinate, partly from the natural state of the country, which was
thickly populated, and where every place became a fortress; partly
from the courage of the inhabitants; but above all, owing to the
peculiar policy of the Romans, who were wont to employ their
allies to subdue other nations. This war continued, almost without
interruption, from the year 200 to 133, and was for the most part
carried on at the same time in Hispania Citerior, where the
Celtiberi were the most formidable adversaries, and in Hispania
Ulterior, where the Lusitani were equally powerful. Hostilities
were at the highest pitch in 195, under Cato, who reduced
Hispania Citerior to a state of tranquillity 185-179, when the
Celtiberi were attacked in their native territory; and 155-150,
when the Romans in both provinces were so often beaten, that
nothing was more dreaded by the soldiers at home than to be sent
there. The extortions and perfidy of Servius Galba placed
Viriathus, in the year 146, at the head of his nation, the
Lusitani: the war, however, soon extended itself to Hispania
Citerior, where many nations, particularly the Numantines, took up
arms against Rome, 143. Viriathus, sometimes victorious and
sometimes defeated, was never more formidable than in the moment
of defeat; because he knew how to take advantage of his knowledge
of the country, and of the dispositions of his countrymen. After
his murder, caused by the treachery of Caepio, 140, Lusitania was
subdued; but the Numantine war became still more violent, and the
Numantines compelled the consul Mancinus to a disadvantageous
treaty, 137. When Scipio, in the year 133, put an end to this war,
Spain was certainly tranquil; the northern parts, however, were
still unsubdued, though the Romans penetrated as far as Galatia.

22. Towards the end of this period, the Romans obtained at a much cheaper rate the possession of one of their most important provinces; for the profligate Attalus III. king of Pergamus, bequeathing them the whole of his kingdom (on what account is uncertain, see above, p. 292.), they immediately took possession of it, and kept in spite of the resistance of the legitimate heir Aristonicus, merely ceding, as a recompense, Phrygia to Mithridates V. king of Pontus. Thus, by a stroke of the pen, the largest and finest part of Asia Minor became the property of Rome. If this extraordinary legacy was the work of Roman policy, she paid dearly enough, in the long run, for this accession to her power and riches, by the destruction of her morals, and the dreadful wars to which this legacy gave rise under Mithridates.

23. The foreign possessions of Rome, besides Italy, comprised at this time under the name of provinces, a name of much higher signification in the Latin language than in any other, Hispania Citerior and Ulterior, Africa (the territory of Carthage), Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, Liguria, and Cisalpine Gaul, in the west; and in the east, Macedonia, Achaia, and Asia (territory of Pergamus). The inhabitants of these countries were entirely subject to Rome. The administration of them was carried on by those who had enjoyed the office of consul, and by praetors, subordinate to whom were the quaestors, or collectors of the revenue. The highest military and civil powers were united in these governors; a principal cause of that horrible oppression which was soon felt. Troops were always kept up in the provinces; and the Latin language everywhere introduced (except only where Greek was spoken), that the inhabitants might be made as much like Romans as possible.

Till nearly the end of this period, praetors were expressly
appointed to each province. It was not till after the origin of
the _quaestiones perpetuae_, that it became the custom for the
praetors who had vacated office, to succeed to the provinces
(_propraetores_), a principal cause of the degeneracy of the Roman
constitution.

C. SIGONIUS, _de Antiquo jure provinciarum in Graevii Thes. Antiq.
Rom._ vol. ii.

24. The acquisition of these rich countries naturally had great influence in augmenting the revenue of the Romans. Though Rome was not indeed a state, like Carthage, altogether dependent upon finances, yet she kept these adjusted in a wonderful manner; a spirit of nice order being observed in this as well as in every other department of her administration. If in extraordinary emergencies recourse were had to native loans, to a change in the value of money, or a monopoly of salt, order was soon restored; while the booty obtained from conquered countries was also a great source of the public income so long indeed as it was reserved for the state, and did not become the prey of the generals.

Sources of the Roman revenue (_vectigalia_) were: 1. Tribute _a._
from the Roman citizens; that is to say, a property-tax imposed by
the senate according to the urgency of the case (which, however,
was remitted, for a long time, after the war with Perseus, 168,
being no longer necessary). _b._ Tribute of the allies (_socii_)
in Italy: which seems also to have been a property-tax; differing
in different places. _c._ Tribute of the provinces: in some a
heavy poll-tax, in others taxes on property; in all, however, they
were paid in natural productions, mostly ordinary, though
sometimes extraordinary, as well for the salary of the governor as
for the supply of the capital. 2. The revenue from the national
domains (_ager publicus_), both in Italy (especially Campania) and
in the provinces; the tythes (_decumae_) of which were paid by
means of leases for four years, granted by the censors. 3. The
revenue from the customs (_portoria_), collected in the seaports
and frontier towns. 4. The revenue arising from the mines
(_metalla_), particularly the Spanish silver mines; the
proprietors of which were obliged to pay a duty to the state. 5.
The duty upon enfranchised slaves (_aurum vicesimarium_). All
receipts flowed into the national treasury, the _aerarium_; all
outgoings were exclusively ordered by the senate; and the people
were consulted as little with regard to them as they were
respecting the imposts. The officers employed were the
_quaestores_, under whom were the _scribae_, divided into
_decurias_, who, though certainly subordinate, had nevertheless
great influence. Their services, as they were not yearly changed,
must have been indispensable to the _quaestores_ for the time
being; and the whole management of affairs, at least in detail,
must have fallen into their hands.

Upon the finances of Rome, the best work at present is:--

P. BURMANNI, _Vectigalia Populi Romani_. Leyden, 1734, 4to.

Two excellent treatises have since appeared in German upon this
subject:--

# D. H. HEGEWISCH, _Essay upon Roman Finances_. Antona, 1804, and

# R. BOSSE, _Sketch of the System of Finance in the Roman State_.
Brunswick, 1803, 2 parts. Both include the periods of the republic
and the monarchy.

THIRD PERIOD.

_From the beginning of the civil broils under the Gracchi, to the fall of the republic. B. C. 134-30. Year of Rome, 620-724._

SOURCES. Concerning the first half of this important period of the
republic, down to the time of Cicero, we are sadly in want of precise
information. Not one of the contemporary writers has been preserved to
us, nor indeed any one of the later historians who have compiled a
history of the whole period. APPIAN, _de Bellis Civilibus_; PLUTARCH,
in his _Lives of the Gracchi_; and the spirited _Compendium_ of VEL.
PATERCULUS, are, for this portion, our principal authorities; and even
the imperfect summaries of the lost books of Livy, so masterly
supplied by Freinshemius here become of importance. For the times
which follow, the _Jugurtha_ and _Cataline_ of Sallust, are two
excellent historical cabinet pieces, and become the more valuable for
the insight they at the same time give us of the internal condition of
Rome. His great work, however, _The Histories_, is, with the exception
of a few precious fragments, unfortunately lost. For the times of
CAESAR and CICERO, we have the _Commentaries_ of the first, and the
_Orations_ and _Letters_ of the latter; both fertile sources of
information. What is left us of DIO CASSIUS'S _History_, begins with
the year 69 before Christ. Of PLUTARCH'S _Lives_, besides those of
the Gracchi, the following are connected with this period: C. MARIUS,
SYLLA, LUCULLUS, CRASSUS, SERTORIUS, CATO OF UTICA, CICERO, BRUTUS,
and ANTONIUS. Upon the sources for these lives, see my treatises cited
above, p. 321.

Among the moderns, the greater part of this period is particularly
treated of by:--

DE BROSSES, _Histoire de la Republique Romaine dans le cours du VIIe
Siecle par Salluste_, a Dijou, 1777, 3 vols. 4to.

In German by J. C. SCHLEUTER, 1790, etc. with remarks, 4 vols. The
editor of this capital work had an idea of translating Sallust, and
supplying what is lost. It contains, besides a translation of Jugurtha
and Cataline, the period between both, of which Sallust treats in his
_Histories_: that is, from Sylla's abdication, B. C. 79-67; and is
equally important for its own merits and for the period to which it
belongs.

VERTOT, _Histoire des revolutions arrivees dans le gouvernement de la
Republique Romaine_. Paris, 1796, 6 vols. 12mo. Although this justly
esteemed work includes the foregoing period, it is particularly
valuable for the present.

MABLY, _Observations sur les Romains_. Geneve, 1751, 2 vols. 8vo. A
survey of the internal history; ingenious, but as superficial as the
_Observations sur les Grecs_ by the same author.

1. The foregoing period is composed of the history of foreign wars alone; in this, on the contrary, Rome appears in a continual state of internal commotion. And if foreign hostilities interrupt this state of things for a short time, it is only that it may be renewed with more violence, till at last it ends in a furious civil war. As the almost boundless power of the senate had laid the foundation of an exceedingly hateful family aristocracy, against which the tribunes of the people arrayed themselves, in the character of powerful demagogues, there arose a new struggle between the aristocratic and democratic parties, which almost immediately grew into two powerful factions. This contest, from its extent and its consequences, soon became much more important than the ancient one between the patricians and the plebeians.

This family aristocracy gradually arose from the power of the
magistrates, who now not only enjoyed a very high political
importance, but, by the government of the provinces, acquired immense
wealth. The present aristocracy, then, consisted of the ruling
families (_nobiles_) concentrated in the senate. The struggle with the
opposite party, the people (_plebs_), became so much the more violent
in consequence of the great abuses which had crept into the
administration, particularly in the division of the lands of the
republic; the ruling families securing to themselves the fruits of all
the victories and conquests, while the power of the democracy, by the
vast accumulation of people (without the means of livelihood, although
voting in the _comitia_), especially of enfranchised slaves, who,
though strangers, mostly without power or property, formed,
nevertheless, the greater part of what was then called the Roman
people.

G. AL. RUPERTI, _Stemmata gentium Romanarum_. Goett. 1795, 8vo. Almost
indispensable for obtaining a clear insight into the history of the
Roman families, and of course into that of the state.

2. Commencement of the disturbances under the tribunate of Tib. Sempronius Gracchus, whom former connections had long made the man of the people. His desire was to relieve the distress of the lower orders; and the means whereby he hoped to do this was a better division of the lands of the republic, now almost exclusively in the hands of the aristocracy. His reform, therefore, naturally led at once to a struggle with that party. Tib. Gracchus however soon found, by experience, that a demagogue cannot stop where he would, however pure his intentions may be at first; and no sooner had he obtained a prolongation of his term of office, in opposition to the usual custom, than he fell a sacrifice to his undertaking.

The first agrarian law of Gracchus was confirmed by the people,
notwithstanding the fruitless opposition of his colleague Octavius,
who was deposed; it decreed, that no person should possess above five
hundred acres of land, nor any child above half that quantity. This
law was, in fact, only a renewal of the ancient _lex Licinia_; in the
condition, however, in which Rome now was, it bore much harder upon
the property usurped by the great families, than it did in former
times. Appointment of a committee for dividing the national lands, and
for enquiring also at the same time which were the property of the
state (_ager publicus_) and which were not. New popular propositions
of the elder Gracchus, especially that for the division of the
treasures left by king Attalus of Pergamus, with the view of securing
his continuance in office; great insurrection of the aristocratic
party under Scipio Nasica, and murder of Tiberius Gracchus, on the day
of electing the new tribunes of the people.

3. The fall of the chief of the new party, however, occasioned any thing rather than its destruction. Not only was there no mention of an abrogation of the agrarian law, but the senate was obliged to allow the place in the commission, which had become vacant by the death of Gracchus, to be filled up; and Scipio Nasica himself was sent out of the way, under the pretext of an embassy to Asia. The party of the senate did, indeed, find a powerful support for a short time in the return of Scipio Aemilianus (_d._ 129) from Spain; but its greatest support was found in the difficulties of the law itself, which prevented its execution.

Great revolt of the slaves in Sicily under Eunus, 134-131. This
contributed not a little to keep alive the dissensions, as it showed
the necessity of a reform.

4. Evident endeavours of the tribunes of the people to increase their power, Gracchus having now awakened them to a sense of it. Not satisfied with a seat and voice in the senate, Carbo wished that the renewing of their dignity should be passed into a law. By the removal, however, of the chiefs of the lower party, upon honourable pretexts, new troubles were put off for some years.

First establishment of the Roman power in Transalpine Gaul by M.
Fulvius Flaccus, on the occasion of his being sent to the assistance
of Massilia, 128. Southern Gaul became a Roman province as early as
122, in consequence of the defeat of the Allobrogi and Averni by Q.
Fabius, who had been sent against them to support the Aedui, the allies
of Rome. Capture of the Balearian isles by Metellus, 123. Quaestorship
of C. Gracchus in Sicily, 128-125.

5. These palliative remedies, however, availed nothing after the return of C. Gracchus from Sicily with a full determination to tread in the footsteps of his brother. Like him, it is true, he fell a victim to his enterprise; but the storm that he raised during the two years of his tribunate fell so much the more heavily, as the popular excitement was more general, and from his possessing more of the shining talents necessary to form a powerful demagogue than his brother.

First tribunate of C. Gracchus, 123. Renewal of the agrarian law, and
rendering its provisions more strict. Nevertheless, as he increased
the fermentation by his popular measures and by acting the demagogue,
and obtained the renewal of the tribunate for the following year, 122,
he so far extended his plan, as to render it not only highly dangerous
to the aristocracy, but even to the state itself. Establishment of
distributions of corn to the poor people. Plan for the formation of
the knights (_ordo equestris_) into a political body, as a
counterbalance to the senate, by conferring on it the right of
administering justice, (_judicia_,) which was taken from the senate.
Still more important project of granting to the Italian allies the
privileges of Roman citizenship; and also the formation of colonies,
not only in Campania, but also out of Italy, in Carthage. The highly
refined policy of the senate, however, by lessening this man of the
people in the eyes of his admirers, through the assistance of the
tribune Livius Drusius, prevented his complete triumph; and, once
declining, Gracchus soon experienced the fate of every demagogue,
whose complete fall is then irretrievable. General insurrection, and
assassination of C. Gracchus, 121.

6. The victory of the aristocratic faction was this time not only much more certain and bloody, they turned the advantages it gave them to such good account, that they eluded the agrarian law of Gracchus, and indeed, at last, completely abrogated it. But the seeds of discord already disseminated, especially among the Italian allies, could not be so soon checked, when once the subjects of these states had conceived the idea that they were entitled to a share in the government. How soon these party struggles might be renewed, or indeed a civil war break out, depended almost entirely upon foreign circumstances, and the chance of a bolder leader being found.

Agrarian law evaded: at first by repealing an act which prohibited the
transfer of the national lands already divided, whereby the patricians
were enabled to buy them again;--afterwards by the _lex Thoria:_
complete stop put to all further divisions, a land-tax, to be
distributed among the people, being instituted in its stead; but even
this latter was very soon annulled.

# D. H. HEGEWISCH, _History of the Civil Wars of the Gracchi_.
Altona, 1801.

# _History of the Revolution of the Gracchi in my Miscellaneous
Historical Works._ Vol. iii. 1821.

7. Visible effects of this party spirit upon public morals, which now began to decline the more rapidly, in proportion to the increase of foreign connections. Neither the severity of the censorship, nor the laws against luxury (_leges sumtuariae_), nor those which now became necessary against celibacy, could be of much service in this respect. This degeneracy was not only to be found in the cupidity of the higher ranks, but also in the licentiousness of the lower orders.

Luxury in Rome was first displayed in the public administration (owing
to the excessive accumulation of wealth in the treasury, especially
during the Macedonian wars) before it infected private life; and the
avarice of the great long preceded the latter. The sources from whence
they satisfied this passion were found in the extortions of the
governors of provinces, their great power, and the distance from Rome
rendering the _leges repetundarum_ of but little effect. Probably the
endeavours of the allied princes and kings to gain a party in the
senate was a still more fruitful source, as they could obtain their
end only by purchase, and so gave a new impulse to the cupidity and
intriguing disposition of the members of that council. But private
luxury requires everywhere some time to ripen. It attained its height
immediately after the Mithridatic wars.

# D. MEINER, _History of the Corruption of the Morals and Constitution
of the Romans_. Leips. 1782.

# MEIEROTTO, _Morals and Manners of the Romans at different periods of
the Republic_. Berlin, 1776. Which considers the subject in several
points of view.

# C. A. BOTTIGER, _Sabina, or, morning scenes at the toilette of a
rich Roman lady_. Leips. 1806, 2 vols. A true and lively description
of the luxury of the Roman ladies, but principally at its most
brilliant period. It has been translated into French.

8. This corruption was manifested in a striking manner in the next great war that Rome entered into, which was in Africa, against Jugurtha of Numidia, the adopted grandson of Masinissa; and soon after against his ally Bocchus of Mauritania. This war, kindled and maintained by the avarice of the Roman nobles, which Jugurtha had already had an opportunity of knowing at the siege of Numantia, paved the way to the aggrandizement of C. Marius, a new demagogue, who, being also a formidable general, did much more harm to the state than even the Gracchi.

Commencement of the quarrel of Jugurtha with the two sons of Micipsa,
and assassination of Hiempsal, one of them, 118.--When the other,
Adherbal, arrived at Rome, 117, the party of Jugurtha had already
succeeded, and obtained a partition of the kingdom. New attack upon
Adherbal, who is besieged in Cirta, and, notwithstanding the repeated
embassies of Rome to Jugurtha, is compelled to surrender, and is put
to death, 112. The tribune C. Memmius constrains the senate to declare
war against Jugurtha; but Jugurtha purchases a peace of the consul
Calpurnius Piso, 111.--Nevertheless Memmius hinders the ratification
of the peace, and Jugurtha is required to justify himself at Rome. He
would probably, however, have bought his acquittal, if the murder of
his kinsman Massiva, 110, by the help of Bomilcar, had not rendered it
impossible. The war is renewed under the consul Sp. Albinus and his
brother Aulus, 110, but with very little success, until the
incorruptible Q. Metellus took the command, 109, who would have put an
end to it, notwithstanding the great talents now displayed as a
general by Jugurtha, and his alliance with Bocchus, 108, had he not
been supplanted by Marius, who obtains the consulship by his
popularity, 107. Marius is obliged to have recourse to perfidy to get
Jugurtha into his hands, who is betrayed by Bocchus, 106. Numidia is
divided between Bocchus and two grandsons of Masinissa, Hiempsal and
Hiarbas.

9. The elevation of Marius to the consulate not only humbled the power of the aristocracy, but also showed, for the first time, that the way was open to a man of low birth (_homo novus_) to the highest offices; the method, however, which he had taken to form his army, entirely against the Roman custom, that is, of composing it of the lower orders (_capite censis_) must have rendered him doubly formidable. Nevertheless, he would scarcely have effected so great a change in the constitution, if a new and terrible war had not rendered his services indispensable:--this was the threatened invasion of the Cimbri and Teutones the most powerful nations of the north, during which a new and violent rebellion of the slaves was raging in Sicily:--for after the defeat of so many Roman armies, the people believed that no one but the conqueror of Jugurtha could save Italy; and Marius knew so well how to turn this to account, that he remained consul during four successive years.

The Cimbri, or Cimmerians, probably a nation of German origin, from
beyond the Black sea, originated a popular migration which extended
from thence as far as Spain. Their march was perhaps occasioned, or
accelerated, by the Scythian war of Mithridates; and their course,
like that of most nomad races, was from east to west along the Danube.
They had already, in 113, defeated the consul Papirius Carbo, near
Noreia in Styria. In their progress towards the west they were joined
by German, Celtic, and Helvetic tribes (the _Teutones_, _Ambrones_,
and _Tigurians_).--Attack Roman Gaul, 109, where they demand
settlements and defeat Junius Silanus the consul.--Defeat of L.
Cassius Longinus and M. Aurelius Scaurus, 107.--Great defeat of the
Romans in Gaul, 105, occasioned by the disagreement of their generals,
the consuls, Cn. Manlius and Q. Servius Caepio. Marius obtains the
command, and remains consul from 104-101. The migrations of the
Cimbri--a part of whom reach the Pyrenees, but are driven back by the
Celtiberians, 103--give Marius time to complete his army. In 102,
after dividing themselves, they first attempted to penetrate into
Italy: the Teutones through Provence, and the Cimbri by Tyrol.--Great
defeat and slaughter of the Teutones by Marius, near Aix, 102.--The
Cimbri, on the contrary, effect an invasion and make progress till
Marius comes to the help of Catulus. Great battle and defeat of the
Cimbri near the Po, July 30, 101.

J. MULLER, _Bellum Cimbricum_. Tigur, 1772. A youthful essay of that
celebrated historian. Compare

# MANNERT, _Geography,_ etc. part iii.

10. Although during this war the power of the popular party had sensibly increased, yet the storm did not break out until Marius _bought_ his sixth consulate. Now, even in Rome itself, he wished to avenge himself upon his enemies; and what could the senate do, when it had at its head a demagogue in the consul himself?--His league with the tribune Saturnius, and the praetor Glaucias, forming already a true triumvirate, would have overthrown the republic after the expulsion of Metellus, if the unbridled licentiousness of the rabble connected with his allies had not obliged him to break with them, lest he should sacrifice the whole of his popularity.

The measures of this cabal, who wished to appear as if treading in the
steps of the Gracchi, were principally directed against Q. Metellus,
the chief of the party of the senate, and who, since the African war,
had been the mortal foe of Marius. After the exile of Metellus,
occasioned by his opposition to a new agrarian law, this faction
usurped the rights of the people, and lorded it in the committees;
until, at a new election of consuls, a general revolt, favoured by
Marius himself, took place of all the well-disposed citizens against
them; Saturnius and Glaucias were besieged in the capitol, forced to
surrender, and executed. The return of Metellus from his voluntary
exile soon followed, 92, much against the will of Marius, who was
obliged to retire into Asia.

11. The few years of tranquillity which Rome now enjoyed, brought to maturity many benefits and many evils, the seeds of which had been already sown. On one hand the rising eloquence of Antonius, Crassus, and others, was employed with effect against the oppressors of the provinces in the state trials (_questiones_); and some generous spirits used all their endeavours to heal the wounds of Sicily, Asia, and other provinces, by a better administration; while, on the other hand, the power of the _ordo equestris_ became a source of much abuse: for besides their right to sit in the tribunals (_judiciis_), which C. Gracchus had conferred upon them, they had also obtained the farming of the leases, and thereby the collection of the revenue in the provinces; by which means they were enabled not only to oppose every reform that was attempted in the latter, but even at Rome to hold the senate in a state of dependence. The struggle which now arose between them and the senate respecting the _judicia_ (or right to preside in the tribunal), was one of the most fatal to the republic, as this right was abused by them for the purpose of satisfying their personal rancour, and oppressing the greatest men. The tribune M. Livius Drusus the younger, it is true, wrested from them half their power; but, alas! the manner in which he did it kindled into a flame the fire which had been smouldering from the time of the Gracchi.

Acquisition of Cyrene by the testament of king Apion, 97;
notwithstanding which it maintained its independence, although
probably by paying a tribute. Adjustment of the differences between
the kings of Asia Minor by the praetor Sylla, 92 (see above, p. 294).

12. Revolt of the Italian tribes, who desire to obtain the right of Roman citizens; whereupon the bloody _war of the allies_ ensues. Although the oppression of Rome had been preparing this war for a long time, yet it was an immediate consequence of the intrigues of the Roman demagogues, who since the law of the younger Gracchus, had, with the view of making themselves popular, continually flattered the allies with the hope of sharing the privileges of Roman citizenship. It was however soon seen, that the allies were not at a loss among themselves for leaders, capable of forming great plans and executing them with vigour. Italy was about to become a republic, with Corfinium for its capital instead of Rome. Neither could Rome have saved herself from such an event, but by gradually permitting the allies to enjoy the complete freedom of the city.

After the civil wars of the Gracchi, large bands of the allies were
continually flocking to Rome. These were in the pay of the demagogues,
whom the _lex Licinia_, 95, had banished from Rome, and thereby laid
the foundation of the revolt. From that time the conspiracy among
these tribes began, and attained without interruption such a degree of
maturity, that the carelessness of Rome can only be accounted for from
the party fury which then existed, and which the _lex Varia_, 91,
enacted against the promoters of rebellion, served only to inflame the
more. The murder of the tribune Livius Drusus, 91, a very ambiguous
character, brought the affair to an open rupture. In this alliance
were the Marsi, Picentes, Peligni, Marrucini, Frentani, the Samnites,
who played a principal part, the Hirpini, Apuli, and the Lucani. In
this war, which was so much the more bloody, as it was mostly composed
of separate contests and sieges, especially of the Roman colonies, Cn.
Pompeius the elder, L. Cato, Marius, and, above all, Sylla,
particularly distinguished themselves on the side of the Romans; and
among the generals of the allies Pompadias, C. Papius,
etc.--Concession of the freedom of the city, first to such allies as
remained faithful, the Latins, Umbrians, etc. by the _lex Julia_, 91;
afterwards, by degrees, to the remainder by the _lex Plotia_. Some,
nevertheless, still continued in arms.

HEYNE, _de Belli Socialis causis et eventu, in Opusc._ t. iii.

13. The war now just ended, essentially changed the constitution of Rome, as she no longer remained, as hitherto, the exclusive head of the whole state; and although the new citizens were only formed into eight tribes, yet their influence must soon have been felt in the committees, on account of the readiness with which they promoted factions. Besides this, the long-cherished private hatred between Marius and Sylla was greatly strengthened by this war, as Sylla's fame was considerably raised thereby, while that of Marius was proportionably diminished. An opportunity was only wanted, like that which the first Pontine war soon furnished, to stir up a new civil war, which threatened to destroy the liberty of Rome.

14. Alliance of Marius with the tribune Sulpicius, with the view of wresting from Sylla the command of the forces against Mithridates, already conferred upon him by the senate. The ease with which Sylla, at the head of an army on which he could depend, expelled the chiefs of this party, seems to have left him ignorant of the fact, that the party itself was not thereby destroyed. However judicious may have been his other measures, the elevation of Cinna to the consulship was an error in policy of which Italy had still more reason to repent than himself. How much blood might have been spared if Sylla had not unseasonably wished to become popular!

Proposition of Sulpicius for an indiscriminate distribution of the new
citizens and freemen among all the tribes of Italy, that he might
thereby gain a strong party in his favour, which, by a violent
assembly of the people, transfers the command from Sylla to Marius.
March of Sylla upon Rome, and expulsion of Marius, who, by a series of
adventures almost surpassing belief, escapes to Africa and is
proscribed with his son and ten of his partisans. Reestablishment of
the power of the senate, whose number is made up by three hundred
knights. Sylla, after having caused his friend C. Octavius and his
enemy L. Cinna to be elected consuls, hastens back to Greece.

15. First war against Mithridates the Great. Sylla gains several victories over that king's generals in Greece; wrests from him all his conquests, and restricts him to his hereditary dominions. Rome since the time of Hannibal had met with no such powerful opponent as the king of Pontus, who in a few months had become master of all Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Greece, and threatened even Italy itself; we must besides consider, that the war on the side of Rome was carried on in a manner altogether different from that of any previous one; as Sylla, after the victory of the opposite party, being himself proscribed in Rome, was obliged to continue it with his own army, and his own private resources. The unfortunate countries which were the theatre of this war, felt as many calamities during the struggle, as Italy was doomed to suffer after its close.

Commencement of the war by Mithridates before the termination of that
of the allies, 89, by taking possession of Cappadocia and Paphlagonia.
He was not less formidable by his alliance with the tribes along the
Danube, and his navy, than by his land forces; and the irritation of
the people of Asia against Rome rendered his enterprise still more
easy. Double victory over Nicomedes king of Bithynia and the Roman
general M. Aquilius, followed by the conquest of all Asia Minor except
the isle of Rhodes. Massacre of all the Roman citizens in the states
of Asia Minor. Expedition of the king's army into Greece, under the
command of his general Archelaus, who makes Athens the theatre of the
war, 88. Siege and capture of that unfortunate town by Sylla, 1st
March, 87. Repeated great defeats of Mithridates's army under the
command of Archelaus, near Chalcis, and afterwards near Orchomenus, by
Sylla, 86, whose general plan was formed upon the entire destruction
of his enemies. Negotiations for peace commenced by Archelaus, and
finally settled at a personal conference between Sylla and
Mithridates. The adverse party in Rome, however, had in the mean time
sent a new army into Asia Minor, to act as well against Sylla as
against Mithridates, under the command of L. Valerius Flaccus, who,
however, is assassinated by his lieutenant Fimbria. The latter gains
some advantages over the king, but, being shut up by Sylla, kills
himself. Owing to the licentiousness of his army, which Sylla dared
not restrain; and the heavy contributions exacted by him in Asia Minor
after the peace, in order to carry on the war in Italy, 84; together
with the bodies of pirates formed out of the fleet disbanded by
Mithridates, these unfortunate countries were almost ruined; the
opulent cities more especially.

16. But during this war a new revolution took place in Rome, which not only overthrew the order reestablished by Sylla, but also, by the victory of the democratic faction under Cinna and Marius, gave rise to a wild anarchy of the people, and which the death of Marius, alas, too late for Rome! only rendered more destructive; as the leaders themselves could no longer restrain the savage hordes of their own party. However dreadful the prospect of the return of Sylla might seem, it was nevertheless the only hope that remained for all those who had not joined the popular faction, or had not some connection with its leaders.

Revolt of Cinna, brought on by the proscriptions, soon after the
departure of Sylla; Cinna, by distributing the new citizens into all
the tribes, hoped to raise himself a party; but C. Octavius, at the
head of the senate and ancient citizens, drove him from Rome, and
forced him to give up the consulship, 87. He however soon raised a
powerful army in Campania, and recalled Marius from exile. Capture and
pillage of Rome, already weakened by famine, and horrible massacre of
the inhabitants; after which Marius and Cinna name themselves consuls
and banish Sylla. Death of Marius, 13th Jan. 86. C. Papirius Carbo
succeeds him in the consulship. The mediation of the senate is
useless, as the chiefs of both parties can only hope for security by
the annihilation of their adversaries. The murder of Cinna by his own
soldiers, 84, entirely deprives the dominant faction of a competent
leader. Neither the cowardly Carbo, although he remained consul alone,
nor the stupid Norbanus, nor the youth C. Marius (the son), had
sufficient personal authority for that purpose; and Sertorius leaves
Italy in good time to kindle a new flame in Spain.

17. Return of Sylla to Italy, and a terrible civil war, which ends only with the extermination of the democratic faction, and his own elevation to the perpetual dictatorship. Although his enemies had so much advantage over him in point of numbers, yet their party was so little consolidated, that he with his veterans could not fail to obtain an easy victory. The slaughter during this war fell for the most part upon the Italian tribes, who had joined the party of Marius, and this afforded Sylla the means of giving settlements to his own soldiers; but most of the horrors of this revolution which fell to the share of Rome, were reserved till the day of victory was past. Sylla's proscription, which should only have punished his personal enemies, was the signal for a general massacre, as every one took that opportunity to rid himself of his private foes; and avarice did as much as vengeance. Who in these days, so terrible to Italy, was sure of his life or property? And yet, when we consider the dreadful circumstances which attended the foregoing dominion of the people, deduct all that was done without Sylla's knowledge, and consider how much he was obliged to do in order to satisfy his army, we shall find it difficult to say how far he deserves the reproach of wanton cruelty.

Sylla's arrival; victory over Norbanus immediately after, and
seduction of the army of the consul Scipio, 82. After this almost
every person of distinction declared in his favour, and the young
Pompey having brought to him an army which he had himself raised, his
party acquired more consideration, and himself more power. Victory
over the younger Marius, near Sacriportum, who throws himself into
Praeneste, where he is besieged. But the great and decisive battle
gained before the gates of Rome, over the Samnites under the command
of Telisinus, is followed by the fall of Praeneste and the capture of
Rome. After the proscription which immediately ensued, Sylla is
created perpetual dictator, and secures his power in Rome by the
emancipation of ten thousand slaves, whose masters he had proscribed;
and in Italy by colonies of his veterans, whom he establishes at the
expense of his enemies.

18. Great reform in the constitution during the two years' dictatorship of Sylla. The aristocracy of the senate, which he filled up with knights, was not only reestablished, but he also stopped the sources from which the great disorders of the democracy had hitherto proceeded. It seems probable that his natural indolence, which led him to prefer a life of luxurious ease to one of laborious activity, when he was no longer spurred to the latter by his passions, was the chief cause of his voluntary abdication. He had, however, the great advantage over Marius, of not being the sport of his own feelings. The conduct of Sylla, indeed, was so consistent throughout, that it satisfactorily shows he knew very well what was his ultimate aim--which Marius never did.

Internal regulations of Sylla by the _leges Corneliae_. 1. Law to
restrain the influence of the tribunes, by taking from them their
legislative power. 2. Law respecting the succession to the magistracy;
the number of praetors fixed to eight, and the quaestors to twenty. 3.
_Lex de majestate_, especially to limit the power of the governors of
provinces, and to abolish their exactions. 4. _Lex de judiciis_,
whereby the _judicia_ were again restored to the senate. 5. Several
police regulations, _de sicariis_, _de veneficiis_, etc. for the
preservation and tranquillity of Rome, upon which everything depended.
6. The _lex de civitate_, taking from the Latins and several Italian
cities and tribes the privileges of Roman citizens, upon which they
set so much store, although we scarcely know in what they consisted.
_Foreign wars_: War in Africa against the leaders of the democratic
faction, Cn. Domitius and king Hiarbas, which is ended by a triumph to
Pompey, 80. Second war against Mithridates begun by Murena, in hopes
of obtaining a triumph, to whom Archelaus came over; but which, under
the command of Sylla, terminates in an accommodation.

19. Nevertheless it was impossible that the enactments of Sylla should be long observed; as the evil lay too deep to be eradicated by laws. A free state like that of Rome, with no middle class, must, from its nature, be exposed to continual convulsions, and these will be more or less violent in proportion to its greatness. Besides, as in the last revolution almost all property had changed hands, there was spread over all Italy a powerful party, who desired nothing so much as a counter-revolution. And to this we may add, that there were many young men, such as Lucullus, Crassus, and above all Pompey, who had opened to themselves a career during the late troubles, which they would scarcely yet wish to bring to a close. It will not then appear strange, that immediately after the death of Sylla (! 88), a consul, M. Aemilius Lepidus, should form the design of becoming a second Marius; a design which could only be frustrated by the courage and activity of such a patriotic citizen as Q. Lutatius Catulus, his colleague.

Attempt of Lepidus to rescind the acts of Sylla, 78. Defeated, first
before Rome and again in Etruria, by Catulus and Pompey, 77, after
which he dies in Sardinia.

20. But much more dangerous for Rome might have been the civil war kindled by Sertorius in Spain, if the plan of that exalted republican to invade Italy had succeeded. Even Pompey himself, after a six years' struggle, would hardly have prevented it, had it not been for the worthlessness of the Roman vagabonds who surrounded him, and his assassination by Perpenna. The rapid termination of the war after the fall of its conductor, is a circumstance much more creditable to Sertorius than to the conqueror Pompey.

The forces of Sertorius in Spain, consisted not only of the party of
Marius which he had collected, but more essentially of the Spaniards,
particularly the Lusitanians, whom he had inspired with an unbounded
confidence in himself. Very variable success of the war against
Metellus and Pompey, who receive but very little support from Rome,
77-75. Negotiation of Sertorius with Mithridates the Great, and
interchange of embassies without any important result, 75. Sertorius
assassinated by Perpenna, 72.

21. Before, however, the flame of war was totally extinguished in the west, Mithridates kindled a new and much fiercer one in the east; at the same time a war of slaves and gladiators was raging with terrible fury in Italy itself; and whole fleets of pirates not only ravaged the Italian coasts, but threatened Rome herself with a famine, and obliged her to have recourse to a mode of naval warfare altogether peculiar. All these enemies were not without intelligence with one another; and colossal as was the power of the republic at that time, and rich as Rome was in distinguished men, it seems probable that the storm which beat on every side between 75-71, would have razed her to the ground, if a stricter alliance could have been formed between Sertorius, Spartacus, and Mithridates. But the great difficulty of communication which at that time existed, and without which probably a republic such as the Roman never could have been formed, proved of more assistance at this crisis than at any other.