Chapter XXII: Part III: , European Nations; of which only 1 volume, Greeks, has (14)

The third Mithridatic war, occasioned by the will of Nicomedes king of
Bithynia, who had bequeathed his kingdom to Rome (see above, p. 294),
was carried on in Asia Minor, first by Lucullus, 74-67, and afterwards
by Pompey, 66-64. Mithridates, being better prepared, had already
concluded an alliance with Sertorius in Spain, 75. But the deliverance
of Cyzicus by Lucullus, 73, and the defeat of the king's fleet,
intended to act against Italy, not only frustrated all his original
plans, but were followed by the occupation of his own dominions, 72
and 71, by the enemy, notwithstanding a new army which Mithridates
collected, mostly from the nomad hordes of Northern Asia. Flight of
Mithridates to Tigranes, 71, who positively refused to deliver him up,
and formed an alliance with him, 70; while the Parthian, Arsaces XII.
held both parties in suspense by negotiations. Victory of Lucullus
over the allied sovereigns, near Tigranocerta, 69, and Artaxata, 68;
but the mutinies which now broke out among his troops not only
hindered him from following up these advantages, but turned the scale
so much in Mithridates's favour, that in 68 and 67 he quickly regained
almost all his dominions, even while the Roman commissioners were on
their route to take possession of them. Lucullus, by his reform in the
finances of Asia Minor, raises a powerful party against himself in
Rome, and thereby loses his command.

22. The war of the slaves and gladiators, which happened nearly at the same time, was, from the theatre of action being in its neighbourhood, equally dangerous to Rome; it became still more terrible from the violence with which these outraged beings sought to revenge their wrongs, and more formidable from the talents of their leader, Spartacus; and the conclusion of this struggle seemed, therefore, of so much importance to Rome, that it gave M. Crassus a much higher influence in the state than he could ever have obtained by his riches alone.

Commencement of this war by a number of runaway gladiators, who, being
strengthened by an almost general revolt of the slaves in Campania,
73, soon became very formidable. The defeat of four generals, one
after the other, throws open to Spartacus the road to the Alps, and
enables him to leave Italy; but the greediness of booty manifested by
his hordes, who wished to plunder Rome, obliged him to return. Crassus
takes the command and rescues Rome, 72; upon which Spartacus retires
into Lower Italy, hoping to form a junction with the pirates, and to
carry the war into Sicily, but is deceived by them, 71. His complete
overthrow near the Silarus, 71. Pompey, then returning from Spain,
finds means to seize a sprig of the laurel chaplet which by right
should have adorned only the brow of Crassus; hence arises a
misunderstanding between these two commanders, during their consulate,
70, which threatened to be dangerous to the state.

23. The war against the pirates of Sicily and Isauria was not only very important in itself, but still more so in its consequences. It procured for Pompey a legal power such as no Roman general had ever before enjoyed; and the quick and glorious manner in which he brought it to a close, opened for him the way to the great object of his ambition--the conduct of the war in Asia against Mithridates.

The extraordinary power acquired by these pirates was owing partly to
the great negligence of the Romans in sea affairs, (see page 340),
partly to the war against Mithridates, who had taken the pirates into
his pay, and partly also to the Roman oppressions in Asia Minor. War
had been undertaken against them as early as 75, by P. Servilius; but
his victories, though they procured him the title of _Isauricus_, did
them but little harm. They were to be dreaded, not only for their
piracies, but because they also offered an easy means of communication
between the other enemies of Rome from Spain to Asia. The new attack
of the praetor M. Antonius upon Crete, proved a complete failure; but
it was the cause of that hitherto independent island being again
attacked, 68, by Metellus, and reduced to a Roman province, 67. Pompey
takes the command against the pirates with extraordinary privileges,
obtained for him by Gabinius, and finishes the war in forty days, 67.

24. After these triumphs over so many enemies, Mithridates was the only one which now remained; and Pompey had here again the good fortune to conclude a struggle already near its end; for notwithstanding his late success, Mithridates had never been able completely to recover himself. His fall undoubtedly raised the power of Rome in Asia Minor to its highest pitch; but it brought her, at the same time, into contact with the Parthians.

Pompey obtains the conduct of the war against Mithridates with very
extensive privileges, procured for him by the tribune Manilius (_lex
Manilia_), notwithstanding the opposition of Catulus, 67. His victory
by night, near the Euphrates, 66. Subjection of Tigranes, while
Mithridates flies into the Crimea, 65, whence he endeavours to renew
the war. Campaign of Pompey in the countries about the Caucasus, 65;
he marches thence into Syria, 64. Mithridates kills himself in
consequence of the defection of his son Phraates, 63. Settlement of
Asiatic affairs by Pompey: besides the ancient province of Asia, the
maritime countries of Bithynia, nearly all Paphlagonia and Pontus, are
formed into a Roman province, under the name of Bithynia; while on the
southern coast Cilicia and Pamphylia form another under the name of
Cilicia; Phoenicia and Syria compose a third, under the name of Syria.
On the other hand, Great Armenia is left to Tigranes; Cappadocia to
Ariobarzanes; the Bosphorus to Pharnaces; Judaea to Hyrcanus (see page
310); and some other small states are also given to petty princes, all
of whom remain dependent on Rome. The tribes inhabiting Thrace during
the Mithridatic war, were first defeated by Sylla, 85, and their power
was afterwards nearly destroyed by the proconsuls of Macedonia: as by
Appius, in 77; by Curio, who drove them to the Danube, 75-73; and
especially by M. Lucullus, while his brother was engaged in Asia. Not
only the security of Macedonia, but the daring plans of Mithridates
rendered this necessary.

25. The fall of Mithridates raised the republic to the highest pitch of her power: there was no longer any foreign foe of whom she could be afraid. But her internal administration had undergone great changes during these wars. Sylla's aristocratic constitution was shaken by Pompey, in a most essential point, by the reestablishment of the power of the tribunes, which was done because neither he nor any leading men could obtain their ends without their assistance. It was by their means that Pompey had procured such unlimited power in his two late expeditions, that the existence of the republic was thereby endangered. It was, however, a fortunate circumstance for Rome, that Pompey's vanity was sufficiently gratified by his being at the head of affairs, where he avoided the appearance of an oppressor.

Reiterated attempts of the tribune Sicinius to annul the constitution
of Sylla defeated by the senate, 76. But as early as 75 Opimius
obtained that the tribunes should not be excluded from honourable
offices, and that the judgments (_judicia_) should be restored to the
knights (_equites_). The attempts of Licinius Macer, 72, to restore
the tribunes to all their former powers, encountered but a short
opposition; and their complete reestablishment was effected by Pompey
and Crassus during their consulate, in 70.

26. This victory of the democratic faction, however, in consequence of the use made of it by some leading men, necessarily led the way to an oligarchy, which after the consulate of Pompey and Crassus became very oppressive. Catiline's conspiracy, which was not matured till after several attempts, would have broken up this confined aristocracy, and placed the helm of state in the hands of another and still more dangerous faction: a faction composed in part of needy profligates and criminals dreading the punishment of their crimes, and partly of ambitious nobles. It occasioned a short civil war; but procured Cicero a place in the administration. With what pleasure do we forgive the little weaknesses and failings of one so gifted with talents and great virtues! of one who first taught Rome, in so many ways, what it was to be great in the robe of peace!

Catiline's first conspiracy, in which Caesar and Crassus seem to have
been implicated, 66, as well as in the second, 65: failure of the
former by chance--of the latter through Piso's death. The third broke
out in 64, as well in Rome, where the conspirators, having no armed
force, were soon suppressed by the vigilance and activity of Cicero,
63, as in Etruria, where a victory of the proconsul Antonius over
Catiline, who was left dead on the field, concluded it, 62.

27. The suppression of this conspiracy, however, did not stay the effect which the recently concluded Asiatic war had upon Roman manners. The luxury of the east, though united with Grecian taste, which had been introduced among the great by Lucullus; the immense riches poured into the treasury by Pompey; the tempting examples of unlimited power, which single citizens had already exercised; the purchase of the magistracy by individuals, in order, like Verres, after the squandering of millions, to enrich themselves again in the provinces; the demands of the soldiers upon their generals; and the ease with which an army might be raised by him who had only money enough to pay it; all these circumstances must have foreboded new and approaching convulsions, even if the preceding storms in this colossal republic, in which we must now judge of virtues and vices, as well as of riches and power, by a very magnified standard, had not formed men of that gigantic character they did:--men like Cato, who struggled alone to stem the impetuous torrent of the revolution, and was sufficiently powerful to retard its progress for a time; or, like Pompey, who by good fortune and the art of acquiring influence, arose to a degree of authority and power never before attained by any citizen of a free state; or, like Crassus, "who only considered him as rich that could maintain an army by his own private means," founding their pretensions on wealth; or, finally, like the aspiring and now powerful Caesar, whose boundless ambition could only be surpassed by his talents, and courage, "who would rather be the first in a village than the second in Rome." The return of Pompey from Asia, threatening the senate with a new dictator, appeared an eventful moment.

Attempt of Pompey, through the tribune Metellus Nepos, to be allowed
to return to Rome at the head of his army, frustrated by the firmness
of Cato, 62.

28. The arrival of Pompey in Rome renewed the struggle between the senate and that powerful general, although he had disbanded his army on landing in Italy. The ratification of his management of affairs in Asia, which was the chief point of contention, was opposed by the leading men of the senate, Cato, the two Metelli, and Lucullus, which induced Pompey to attach himself entirely to the popular party, by whose means he hoped to obtain his end; Caesar's return, however, from his province of Lusitania, entirely changed the face of affairs.

29. Close union between Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus; that is, a secret alliance, formed by the interposition of Caesar. That which formed the height of the ambition of Pompey and Crassus was only regarded by Caesar as the means by which he might be able to effect his. His consulate--a kind of dictatorship under the mask of great popularity--necessarily paved the way to his future career, as by giving him the government of the two Gauls and Illyria for five years, it opened a wide field for conquest, and gave him an opportunity of forming an army devoted to his will.

Caesar's abode and campaign in Gaul from the spring of 58 till the end
of the year 50. By arresting the emigration of the Helvetians, and by
the expulsion of the Germans, under Ariovistus, from Gaul, 58, Caesar
gained an opportunity of intermeddling in the internal affairs of that
country, and afterwards of subduing it, which was completed by his
victory over the Belgae, 57, and the Aquitani, 56; so that Caesar was at
liberty to undertake his several expeditions, as well in Britain, 55
and 54, as in Germany, 54 and 53. But the repeated revolts of the
Gauls, 53-51, especially under Vercingetorix, 52, occasioned a war no
less obstinate than their first conquest. Roman policy continued the
same throughout. The Gauls were subdued, by the Romans appearing as
_their deliverers_; and in the country they found allies in the Aedui,
Allobroges, etc.

30. The triumvirate, in order to establish their power upon a solid foundation, took care, by the management of the tribune Clodius, to get rid of the leaders of the senate, Cato and Cicero, before the departure of Caesar; and this they did by giving the former a kingdom to govern, and by procuring the banishment of the latter. They must however soon have discovered, that so bold a demagogue as Clodius could not be used as a mere machine. And, indeed, after Caesar's departure he raised himself so much above the triumvirs, that Pompey was soon obliged, for his own preservation, to permit Cicero to return from exile, which could only be effected by the most violent efforts of the tribune Milo. The power of Clodius, however, was but little injured thereby, although Pompey, to put a stop to the source of these disorders, and revive his own popularity, procured the nomination of himself as _praefectus annonae_, or superintendent of provisions.

Exile of Cicero, the greater part of which he spent in Macedonia, from
April, 58, till 4th Sept. 57. Ptolemy king of Cyprus deposed, and that
island reduced to a Roman province by Cato, on the proposition of
Clodius, 57 (see page 264). The personal dislike of Clodius and the
riches of the king were the causes that brought upon him this
misfortune.

MIDDLETON'S _Life of Cicero_, 2 vols. 8vo. This work is almost a
complete history of Rome during the age of Cicero; for whom the writer
discovers an undue partiality.

# M. TULLIUS CICERO, _all his Letters translated, in chronological
order, and illustrated with notes_, by C. M. WIELAND. Zurich, 1808.
With a preliminary view of the life of Cicero. Of all Germans the
writings of Wieland, whether original or translations (and to which
can we give the preference?) afford the most lively insight into
Greek and Roman antiquity at various periods. What writer has so
truly seized its spirit, and placed it so faithfully and elegantly
before his readers? His labours on the Letters of Cicero (whose
foibles he exposes with a rigorous and unflinching hand) serve to
make us much better acquainted with Rome, as it then was, than any
Roman history.

31. A jealousy arises between the triumvirate, as Caesar, though absent, still found means to keep up his party at Rome in such watchful activity, that Pompey and Crassus considered it impossible to maintain their own influence, except by procuring such concessions as had been made to him. Harmony once more restored by an accommodation at Lucca, as the parties found it necessary to preserve a good understanding with each other.

The terms of this accommodation were; that Caesar should have his
government prolonged for another five years; and that Pompey and
Crassus should enjoy the consulship for the ensuing year, the former
receiving the provinces of Spain and Africa; and the latter that of
Syria, for the purpose of carrying on a war against the Parthians. In
proportion as these conditions were kept secret, there remained less
secrecy respecting the alliance itself.

32. Second consulate of Pompey and Crassus. It was only amidst violent storms that they could effect their purposes; as it depended upon which faction should first gain or keep possession of the forum. The resistance they met with from the inflexible disposition of Cato, who in his austere virtue alone found means to secure himself a powerful party, shows how unfairly those judge who consider the power of the triumvirate as unlimited, and the nation as entirely corrupted.

Campaign of Crassus against the Parthians, undertaken at his own
expense, 54. Instead, however, of gathering laurels like Caesar, he and
his whole army were completely overthrown in Mesopotamia, 53; and the
Parthians from this time maintain a powerful preponderance in Asia
(see above, p. 302).

33. As the triumvirate by this failure of Crassus was reduced to a duumvirate, Pompey (who remained in Rome, and governed his provinces by lieutenants), in the midst of continual domestic broils, which he cunningly took care to foment, was evidently aiming to become the acknowledged head of the senate and republic. The idea that a dictator was necessary prevailed more and more during an anarchy of eight months, in which no appointment of a consul could take place; and notwithstanding the opposition of Cato, Pompey succeeded, after a violent commotion, in which Clodius was murdered by Milo, in getting himself nominated sole consul; a power equal to that of dictator.

Consulate of Pompey, 52, in which, at the end of seven months, he took
as colleague his father-in-law Metellus Scipio. The government of his
provinces, which afterwards became the chief seat of the republicans,
is prolonged for five years.

34. From this time civil war became inevitable; for not only the chiefs of the parties, but also their adherents desired it. The approach of the time when Caesar's command would expire, necessarily hastened the crisis. Could it be supposed that the conqueror of Gaul would return to a private life, and leave his rival at the head of the republic? The steps taken on both sides towards an accommodation were only made to escape the odium which would attach to him who struck the first blow. But Pompey unfortunately could never understand his opponent, who did all himself, all completely, and all alone. The brilliant light in which Pompey now appeared, as _defender of the republic_, delighted him so much, that it made him forget what belonged to its defence; while Caesar avoided, with the greatest care, every appearance of usurpation. The friend, the protector of the people against the usurpations of their enemies, was the character which he now chose to assume.

Commencement of the contest upon Caesar's demand to be allowed to hold
the consulship while absent, 52. Caesar, by the most lavish corruption,
had increased his adherents in Rome, gained the tribunes, and among
them especially the powerful speaker C. Curio (whom he did not think
too dearly purchased at the price of about half a million sterling);
by this man it was suggested to Caesar that he should give up his
command, and leave a successor to be appointed in his place, 51, if
Pompey would do the same: a proposition which created a prejudice much
in his favour. Repeated, but insincere offers of both parties for an
accommodation, 50, till at last a decree of the senate was passed,
Jan. 7, 49, by which Caesar was commanded "to disband his army under
the penalty of being declared an enemy to the republic," without
regard to the intercessions of the tribunes, whose flight to him gave
an appearance of popularity to his party. Caesar crosses the Rubicon,
the boundary of his province.

35. The civil war now about to break out, seemed likely to spread over nearly all the countries of the Roman empire; as Pompey, finding it impossible to maintain himself in Italy, had chosen Greece for the principal theatre of the war; while his lieutenants, with the armies under their command, occupied Spain and Africa. Caesar, by the able disposition of his legions, was everywhere present, without exciting beforehand any suspicion of his movements. A combination of circumstances, however, carried the war into Alexandria, and even as far as Pontus; indeed it might be called rather a series of six successive wars than merely one, all of which Caesar, by flying with his legions from one quarter of the world to the other, ended, within five years, victoriously and in person.

Rapid occupation of Italy in sixty days (when the troops under
Domitius surrendered at Corfinus), which, as well as Sicily and
Sardinia, were subdued by Caesar almost without opposition; Pompey,
with his troops and adherents, having crossed over to Greece. Caesar's
first campaign in Spain against Pompey's generals, Afranius and
Petreius, whom he forces to surrender; this, however, is
counterbalanced by the loss of the legions under Curio in Africa. In
December, 49, however, Caesar is again in Italy, and named dictator,
which he exchanges for the consulate. Spirited expedition into Greece
with the ships he had been previously collecting together, Jan. 4, 49.
Unfortunate engagement at Dyrrachium. Removal of the war into
Thessaly, and decisive battle of Pharsalia, July 20, 48, after which
Pompey flies to Alexandria, where he is killed on his landing. Caesar
arrives three days after him at Alexandria.

36. Caesar, after the victory of Pharsalia, again nominated dictator, with great privileges. The death of Pompey, however, does not destroy his party; and the six months' war of Alexandria, as well as the expedition into Pontus against Pharnaces, gave them time to rally their forces both in Africa under Cato, and in Spain under the sons of Pompey.

During the Alexandrine war (see above, p. 266) and the expedition
against Pharnaces, the son of Mithridates,--who had obtained the
kingdom of his father, but was slain by Caesar immediately after his
arrival, 47,--great disorders had broken out in Rome, caused by the
tribune Dolabella's flattering the people with the abolition of debts
(_novae tabulae_), notwithstanding the military power of M. Antony, whom
Caesar had sent to Rome as master of the horse (_magister equitum_), as
this abandoned sensualist at first actually favoured the projects of
the tribune. Caesar's return to Rome, December, 47, put an end, it is
true, to these disorders; but the increase of the opposite party in
Africa, and an insurrection among his soldiers, obliged him to set out
for Africa immediately, January, 46. Victory near Thapsus over Scipio
and Juba; after which Cato kills himself at Utica. Numidia, the
kingdom of Juba, becomes a Roman province. Caesar after his return to
Rome in June, is only able to stay there four months, as, before the
end of the year, he is obliged to set out for Spain to crush the
dangerous efforts of Pompey's two sons. Bloody battle at Munda, March,
45, after which Cneius is killed, but Sextus escapes to the
Celtiberians.

37. Nothing seems more evident than that Caesar did not, like Sylla, overthrow the republic for the purpose of reestablishing it; and it is perhaps impossible to say what could be the final views of a childless usurper, who throughout his whole career, seemed only to be guided by an inordinate ambition, springing from a consciousness of superior powers, and to satisfy which, no means seemed to him difficult or unlawful. The period of his dictatorship was so short, and so much interrupted by war, that his ultimate plans had not time for their development. He endeavoured to establish his dominion by popular measures; and although his army must still have been his main support, yet no proscription was granted to satisfy it. The reestablishment of order in the distracted country of Italy, and particularly in the capital, was his first care; and he proposed to follow that by an expedition against the powerful Parthian empire. His attempts, however, to obtain the diadem, seemed to place it beyond a doubt that he wished to introduce a formal monarchy. But the destruction of the form of the republic was shown to be more dangerous than the overthrow of the republic itself.

The following were the honours and privileges granted to Caesar by the
senate. After the battle of Pharsalia, 48, he was nominated dictator
for one year and consul for five years; and obtained the _potestas
tribunicia_, as well as the right of making war and peace, the
exclusive right of the committees, with the exception of the tribunes,
and the possession of the provinces. The dictatorship was renewed to
him, 47, for ten years, as well as the _praefectura morum_, and was at
last, 145, conferred upon him for ever, with the title of _imperator_.
Although Caesar thus became absolute master of the republic, it appears
to have been done without laying aside the republican forms.

38. Conspiracy against Caesar, formed by Brutus and Cassius, and terminating in the death of Caesar. Men so exalted as were the chiefs of this plot, easily understand one another; and it was quite in accordance with their character not to meditate upon the consequences of their deed. Caesar's death was a great misfortune for Rome. Experience soon showed that the republic could not be reestablished thereby; and his life might probably have spared the state some of those calamities which now, by its change to a monarchy, became unavoidable.

We still want a discriminating life of Caesar, who in modern times has
been as extravagantly praised as Alexander has been unjustly censured.
As generals and conquerors, both were equally great--and little; as a
man, however, the Macedonian, in the brilliant period of his life, to
which Caesar never attained, was superior; to the great political ideas
which developed themselves in Alexander, we know of none corresponding
in Caesar; who knew better than any how to attain dominion, but little
of preserving it.

_Histoire de la Vie de Jules Caesar_, _par_ M. DE BURY, Paris, 1758, 2
vols. 8vo.

# _Life of C. Julius Caesar_, _by_ A. G. MEISSNER, _continued by_
J. Ch. L. Haken, 1811, 4 parts. At present the best.

_Caius Julius Caesar, from original sources_, _by_ PROFESSOR SOELTL. A
short biography, judiciously executed.

39. Notwithstanding the amnesty at first declared, the funeral obsequies of Caesar soon showed, that peace was of all things the least desired by his generals, M. Antony and M. Lepidus, now become the head of his party; and the arrival of Caesar's nephew, C. Octavius (afterwards Caesar Octavianus), whom he had adopted in his will, rendered affairs still more complicated, as every one strove for himself; Antony's particular object being to raise himself into Caesar's place. However earnestly they sought to gain the people, it was in fact the legions who decided, and the command of them depended, for the most part, upon the possession of the provinces. We cannot therefore wonder, that while they sought to revenge the murder of Caesar, this became the chief cause of the struggle, and in a few months led to a civil war.

At the time of Caesar's death, M. Antonius was actual consul, and
Dolabella consul-elect; M. Lepidus _magister equitum_ (master of the
horse); M. Brutus and Cassius, praetors (the first, _praetor urbanus_).
Caesar had given to the former the province of Macedonia, and to the
latter that of Syria, which had been confirmed to them by the senate.
M. Lepidus had been nominated to Transalpine, and D. Brutus to
Cisalpine Gaul. But soon after the murder of Caesar, Antony obtained,
by a decree of the people, Macedonia for himself, and Syria for his
colleague Dolabella, with whom he had formed a close connection;
instead of which the senate decreed to Cassius Cyrene, and to Brutus,
who now had the important charge of supplying Rome with provisions,
Crete. But soon after (June 1, 44), Antony desired, by a new change,
to obtain Cisalpine Gaul for himself, and Macedonia for his brother C.
Antony, both of which he procured from the people.

40. As M. Antony sought by force to establish himself in Cisalpine Gaul, and D. Brutus refused to give it up to him, and retired into Mutina, a short, indeed, but very bloody civil war arose, (_bellum mutinense_.) The eloquence of Cicero had caused Antony to be declared an enemy of the republic; and the two new consuls, Hirtius and Pansa, together with Caesar Octavianus, were sent against him. The defeat of Antony compelled him to seek refuge beyond the Alps with Lepidus; but the two consuls being slain, Octavianus at the head of his legions was too importunate to be refused the consulship, and soon convinced the defenceless senate, how impossible it was to reestablish the commonwealth by their powerless decrees. The employment, moreover, of the _magistratus suffecti_, which soon after arose, was in itself a sufficient proof that it was now no more than the shadow of what it had formerly been.

The Mutine war begins in December, 44, and closes with the defeat of
Antony at Mutina, April 14, 43. Octavius obtains the consulate, Sept.
22.

41. Octavianus, deserting the party of the senate, enters into a secret negotiation with Antony and Lepidus; the consequence of which is a meeting of the parties at Bononia, and the formation of a new triumvirate. They declare themselves the chiefs of the republic for five years, under the title of _triumviri reipublicae constituendae_; and dividing the provinces among themselves according to their own pleasure, they make the destruction of the republican party their principal object. A new proscription in Rome itself, and a declaration of war against the murderers of Caesar, were the means by which they proposed to effect it.

The agreement of the triumvirate was concluded Nov. 27, 43, after
which the march of the triumvirs upon Rome gives the signal for the
massacre of the proscribed, which soon extends all over Italy, and in
which Cicero perishes, Dec. 7. The cause of this new proscription was
not party hatred alone, but was as much, perhaps more, owing on the
one hand to the want of money for carrying on the war they had
undertaken, and on the other to a desire of satisfying the turbulent
demands of the legions. Where is to be found a time so full of terror
as this, when even tears were forbidden?

42. The civil war, now on the eve of breaking out, may be considered therefore as a war between the oligarchy and the defenders of the republic. The Roman world was, as it were, divided between the two; and although the former had possession of Italy, and the western provinces, that advantage seemed counterbalanced to the chiefs of the opposite party by the possession of the eastern countries, and the naval power of Sextus Pompey, which seemed to assure them the dominion of the sea.

M. Brutus had taken possession of his province of Macedonia as early
as the autumn of 44; while Cassius, on the contrary, had to contend
for that of Syria with Dolabella, who by the murder of the proconsul
Trebonius had possessed himself of Asia. Being, however, for this
offence, declared an enemy by the senate, and shut up in Laodicea by
Cassius, he killed himself, June 5, 43. From this time Brutus and
Cassius were masters of all the eastern provinces, at whose expense
they maintained their troops, though not without much oppression. S.
Pompey, after the victory of Munda, 45, having secreted himself in
Spain, and afterwards become a chief of freebooters, had grown very
powerful; when the senate, after Caesar's assassination, having made
him commander of the sea-forces, he with them took possession of
Spain, and, after the conclusion of the triumvirate, of Sicily, and
then, very soon after, of Sardinia and Corsica. It was a great thing
for the triumvirate, that C. Pompey did not know how to reap half the
profit he might have done from his power and good fortune.

43. Macedonia became the theatre of the new civil war, and together with the goodness of their cause, superior talents, and greater power both by land and sea, seemed combined to ensure the victory to Brutus and Cassius. But in the decisive battle at Philippi, fortune played one of her most capricious tricks, and with the two chiefs fell the last supporters of the republic.

Double battle at Philippi towards the close of the year 42; voluntary
death of Cassius after the first, and of Brutus after the second
engagement.

PLUTARCHI _Vita Bruti_; from the narratives of eyewitnesses.

44. The history of the eleven years intervening between the battle of Philippi and that of Actium, is little more than an account of the quarrels of the oligarchy among themselves. The most subtle was, in the end, victorious; for M. Antony possessed all the sensuality of Caesar, without his genius: and the insignificant Lepidus soon fell a sacrifice to his own vanity and weakness. While Antony went into Asia to arrange the affairs of the eastern provinces, and from thence with Cleopatra to Alexandria, Octavianus returned to Rome. But the famine which then reigned in that city through Pompey's blockade of the seacoast; the misery spread throughout Italy by the wresting of patrimonial lands from the proprietors to distribute among the veterans; and the insatiable covetousness of the latter rendered his situation as dangerous now as it had been before the war. Besides all this, the hatred of the enraged consort of Antony, who had entered into an alliance with her brother-in-law, the consul L. Antony, brought on, towards the end of the year, a civil war, which ended with the surrender and burning of Perusium, in which L. Antony had shut himself up, and which was already much weakened by famine.

The _bellum Perusinum_ lasted from the end of the year 41 till April,
40.

45. This war, however, had nearly led to one still greater; for M. Antony, as the enemy of Octavianus, had come to Italy in order to assist his brother, and with the intention of forming an alliance with S. Pompey against the former. But fortunately for the world, not only was harmony restored between the triumvirs, but on account of the great famine which prevailed at Rome, a peace was also concluded with Pompey, although it lasted but a very short time.

The principal object of the peace between the triumvirs was a new
division of the provinces, by which the city of Scodra in Illyria was
fixed upon as the boundary. Antony obtained all the eastern provinces;
Octavianus all the western; and Lepidus Africa. Italy remained in
common to them all. The marriage of Antony with Octavia, Fulvia being
dead, was intended to cement this agreement. In the peace concluded
with S. Pompey at Misenum, he obtained the islands of Sicily,
Sardinia, and Corsica, and the promise of Achaia.

46. Pompey, however, was not long in finding that an alliance between him and the triumvirs would only end in his own destruction; and the war which he soon commenced, and which Octavianus could not bring to a close but with the assistance of Agrippa, was of so much the more importance, as it not only decided the fate of Pompey, but by leading to dissensions, and the expulsion of Lepidus, reduced the triumvirate to a duumvirate.

After a doubtful engagement at sea, 38, and the formation of a new
fleet, Pompey was attacked on all sides at the same time; Lepidus
coming from Africa, and Antony sending also some ships. Final
overthrow of Pompey, who flies to Asia and there perishes.--Lepidus
wishing to take possession of Sicily, Octavianus gains over his
troops, and obliges him to retire from the triumvirate.

47. The foreign wars in which Octavianus as well as Antony were engaged in the following years, prevented for some time their mutual jealousy from coming to an open rupture. Octavianus, to tame his unruly legions, employed them with some success against the nations of Dalmatia and Pannonia; whilst Antony undertook an expedition against the powerful Parthians and their neighbours. But in offending Rome by his conduct in these wars, he only armed his opponent against himself; and his formal separation from Octavia, loosened the only tie which had hitherto held together the two masters of the world.

After his first stay in Alexandria, 41, Antony returned to Italy, 40,
and then, having made peace with Octavianus, he carried his new wife
Octavia with him into Greece, where he remained till the year 37.
Although his lieutenant Ventidius had fought with success against the
Parthians, who had invaded Syria (see above, p. 302.), Antony
determined to undertake an expedition against them himself, 36. But
although in alliance with Artavasdes king of Armenia (whom he soon
after accused of treachery), in seeking to effect an entrance into
Parthia, by passing through Armenia and Media, a different route from
that taken by Crassus, he was very nearly meeting with the same fate,
and the expedition completely failed. He then revenged himself upon
Artavasdes, who fell into his hands in a fresh expedition which he
made, 34, and deprived him of his kingdom. After his triumphal
entrance into Alexandria, he made a grant of this as well as other
countries to Cleopatra and her children. (See above, p. 267.) In 33,
he intended to renew his expedition against the Parthians, in alliance
with the king of Media; but having, at the instigation of Cleopatra,
ordered Octavia to return home, when she had already come as far as
Athens on her way to meet him, Octavianus and Antony reciprocally
accused each other before the senate, and war was declared at Rome,
though only against Cleopatra.

48. Greece became again the theatre of war; and although the forces of Antony were most considerable, yet Octavianus had the advantage of having, at least in appearance, the better cause. The naval victory of Actium decided for Octavianus, who could scarcely believe it, till he found that Antony had forsaken his fleet and army, the latter of which surrendered without striking a blow. The capture of Egypt followed, (see above, p. 267.) and that country was reduced to a Roman province; the death of Antony and Cleopatra ended the war, and left Octavianus absolute master of the republic.

The history of the last days of Antony, principally after his decline,
having been written under the rule of his enemies, must be received
with that mistrust which all such histories require. It has furnished
abundant matter for the retailers of anecdote. The history of
Cleopatra rests partly on the accounts of her physician Olympus, of
which Plutarch made use.

FOURTH PERIOD.

HISTORY OF THE ROMAN STATE AS A MONARCHY TO THE OVERTHROW OF THE
WESTERN EMPIRE. B. C. 30.-A. C. 476.

_Geographical outline. View of the Roman empire and provinces, and other countries connected with it by war or commerce._

The ordinary boundaries of the Roman empire, which, however, it sometimes exceeded, were in Europe the two great rivers of the Rhine and Danube; in Asia, the Euphrates and the sandy desert of Syria; in Africa likewise, the sandy regions. It thus included the fairest portions of the earth, surrounding the Mediterranean sea.

EUROPEAN COUNTRIES: I. Spain (Hispania). Boundaries: on the east the Pyrenees, on the south, north, and west, the sea. Principal rivers: the Minius (Minho), Durius (Douro), Tagus (Tejo), Anas (Guadiana), Baetis (Guadalquiver), which flow into the Atlantic; and the Iberus (Ebro), which falls into the Mediterranean. Mountains: besides the Pyrenees, the Idubeda along the Iberus, Orospeda (Sierra Morena). Divided into three provinces. 1. Lusitania: northern boundary the Durius, southern, the Anas. Principal tribes: Lusitani, Turdetani. Principal town: Augusta Emerita. 2. Baetica: boundaries on the north and west the Anas, on the east the mountains of Orospeda. Principal tribes: Turduli, Bastuli. Principal towns: Corduba (Cordova), Hispalis (Seville), Gades (Cadiz), Munda. 3. Tarraconensis, all the remainder of Spain. Principal tribes: Callaeci, Astures, Cantabri, Vascones, in the north; Celtiberi, Carpetani, Ilergetes, in the interior; Indigetes, Cosetani, etc. on the Mediterranean. Chief towns: Tarraco (Tarragona), Cartago Nova (Carthagena), Toletum (Toledo), Ilerda (Lerida); Saguntum and Numantia (Soria) were already destroyed. The Balearic isles, Major (Majorca), and Minor (Minorca), were considered as belonging to Spain.

II. Transalpine Gaul. Boundaries: on the west the Pyrenees; on the east the Rhine, and a line drawn from its source to the little river Varus, together with that river itself; on the north and south the sea. Principal rivers: the Garumna (Garonne), Liger (Loire), Sequana (Seine), and Scaldis (Scheldt), which empty themselves into the ocean; the Rhodanus (Rhone), which is increased by the Arar (Saone), and falls into the Mediterranean; and the Mosella (Moselle) and Mosa (Meuse), which flow into the Rhine. Mountains: besides the Alps, the Jura, Vogesus (Vosge), and Cebenna (Cevennes). Divided into four provinces. 1. Gallia Narbonensis, or Braccata. Boundaries: on the west the Pyrenees, on the east the Varus, on the north the Cevennian mountains. Principal tribes: Allobroges, Volcae, Calyes. Principal towns: Narbo (Narbonne), Tolosa (Toulouse), Nemausus (Nimes), Massilia (Marseilles), Vienna. 2. Gallia Lugdunensis, or Celtica. Boundaries: to the south and west the Liger (Loire), to the north the Sequana, to the east the Arar. Principal tribes: Aedui, Lingones, Parisii, Cenomani, etc. all of Celtic origin. Principal towns: Lugdunum (Lyons), Lutetia Parisiorum (Paris), Alesia (Alise). 3. Gallia Aquitanica. Boundaries: the Pyrenees on the south, the Liger on the north and east. Principal tribes: Aquitani (of Iberian origin), Pictones, Averni, etc. of Celtic descent. Principal towns: Climberis, Burdegala (Bourdeaux). 4. Gallia Belgica. Boundaries: on the north and east the Rhine, on the west the Arar, on the south the Rhodanus as far as Lugdunum, so that it comprised at first the countries bordering on the Rhine and Helvetia. The latter, however, were afterwards separated from it under the names of Germania Inferior and Superior. Principal tribes: Nervii, Bellovaci, etc. in the north, of Belgic origin; Treviri, Ubii, of German origin; Sequani, Helvetii, in the interior, of Celtic origin. Principal towns: Vesentio (Besancon), Verodunum (Verdun), etc. Along the Rhine in Germania Inferior: Colonia Agrippina (Cologne). In Germania Superior: Mogontiacum (Mayence, or Mentz), and Argentoratum (Strasburg).

III. Gallia Cisalpina, or Togata (Lombardy, see above, p. 315). But as from the time of Caesar the inhabitants enjoyed all the privileges of Roman citizens, it may be reckoned as forming part of Italy.

IV. Sicilia; divided into Syracuse and Lilybaeum.

V. Sardinia and Corsica, see above, p. 320.

VI. The Insulae Britannicae (British islands); but of these, only England and the southern part of Scotland were reduced into a Roman province in the time of Nero, under the name of Britannia Romana. Principal rivers: Tamesis (Thames) and Sabrina (Severn). Cities: Eboracum (York) in the north, Londinum (London) in the south. Into Scotland, Britannia Barbaria, or Caledonia, the Romans often penetrated, but without being ably completely to conquer it; and as for Hibernia, Ierne (Ireland), it was visited by Roman merchants, but never by Roman legions.

VII. The countries south of the Danube, which were subdued under Augustus and formed into the following provinces: 1. Vindelicia. Boundaries: on the north the Danube, on the east the Aenus (Inn), on the west Helvetia, on the south Rhaetia. Principal tribes: Vindelici, Brigantii, etc. Principal towns: Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg), Brigantia (Bregenz). 2. Rhaetia. Boundaries: on the north Vindelicia, on the east the Inn and the Salza, on the south the chain of the Alps from Lacus Verbanus (Lago Maggiore) to Belinzona, on the west Helvetia. Principal tribe: Rhaeti. Principal towns: Curia (Chur), Veldidena (Wilden), Tridentum (Trent). 3. Noricum. Boundaries: on the north the Danube, on the west the Aenus, on the east the mountain Cetius (Kahlenberg), and on the south the Julian Alps and the Savus (Save). Principal tribes: Boii. Cities: Jovavum (Salzburg), Boiodurum (Passau). 4. Pannonia Superior. Boundaries: on the north and east the Danube, on the south the Arrabo (Raab), on the west the mountain Cetius. Cities: Vindobona (Vienna), Caruntum. 5. Pannonia Inferior. Boundaries: on the north the Arrabo, on the east the Danube, on the south the Savus. Cities: Taurunum (Belgrade), Mursa (Esseg), and Sirmium. 6. Moesia Superior. Boundaries: on the north the Danube, on the south Mount Scardus, or Scodrus, on the west Pannonia, on the east the river Cebrus (Ischia). Cities: Singidunum (Semlin), and Naissus (Nissa). 7. Moesia Inferior. Boundaries: on the north the Danube, on the west the Cebrus, on the south mount Haemus (the Balkan), and on the east the Pontus Euxinus. Cities: Odessus (Varna), Tomi (Tomisvar).

VIII. Illyricum, in its most extensive signification, comprised all the provinces south of the Danube, together with Rhaetia and Dalmatia: but Illyricum Proper comprehends only the lands along the coast of the Adriatic, from Rhaetia in Italy to the river Drinus, and easterly to the Savus. Principal towns: Salona, Epidaurus (near the present Ragusa), Scodra (Scutari).

IX. Macedonia. Boundaries: on the north mount Scodrus, on the south the Cambunian mountains, on the west the Adriatic, and on the east the Aegean sea. Rivers: the Nestus, Strymon, and Halyacmon, which fall into the Aegean sea, and the Apsus and Aoeus, which fall into the Adriatic. Principal tribes: Paeones in the north, Pieres and Mygdones in the south. Principal towns: Pydna, Pella, Thessalonica, Philippi, with other Greek colonies (see above, p. 164). Dyrrachium and Apollonia on the western coast.

X. Thrace had for some time kings of her own, though dependent on Rome, and was first reduced to a Roman province under Claudius. Boundaries: on the north Mount Haemus, on the west the Nestus, on the south and east the sea. River: Hebrus. Principal tribes: Triballi, Bessi, and Odrysae. Cities: Byzantium, Apollonia, Beroea.

XI. Achaia (Greece), see above, p. 131.

XII. To the north of the Danube the province of Dacia was brought under the Roman empire by Trajan. Boundaries: on the south the Danube, on the west the Tibiscus (Theiss), in the east the Hierasus (Pruth), in the north the Carpathian mountains. Principal tribe: Daci. Chief cities; Ulpia Trajana and Tibiscum.

ASIATIC PROVINCES: I. Asia Minor contained the provinces: 1. Asia (see above, p. 293). 2. Bithynia, together with Paphlagonia and part of Pontus. 3. Cilicia, with Pisidia (see above, p. 18.) II. Syria and Phoenicia. III. The isle of Cyprus. Several other states, likewise dependent, still preserved their kings: as, Judaea (became a Roman province, A. D. 44.), Commagene (province A. D. 70, and, together with Judaea, added to Syria), Cappadocia (province A. D. 17), Pontus (completely a province under Nero). Free states at this time: Rhodes, Samos (provinces A. D. 70), and Lycia (province A. D. 43). Beyond the Euphrates, Armenia and Mesopotamia were reduced to provinces by Trajan, but, as early as the time of Adrian, were abandoned.

AFRICAN PROVINCES. I. Egypt. II. Cyrenaica, with the isle of Crete. III. Africa, Numidia (see above, p. 47). Mauritania still had its separate king, but he was set aside, A. D. 41, and the country divided into two provinces: 1. Mauritania Caesariensis. Boundaries: on the east the river Ampsaga, on the west the Mulucha. Principal places: Igilgilis and Caesaria. 2. Mauritania Tingitana, from the river Mulucha to the Atlantic ocean. Capital: Tingis.

Principal states on the borders of the empire: I. Germania. Boundaries: on the south the Danube, on the north the sea, on the west the Rhine, on the east undetermined, though the Vistula is generally regarded as such. Principal rivers: the Danubius, Rhenus (Rhine), Albis (Elbe), Visurgis (Weser), Viadrus (Oder), and the Vistula; the Lupias (Lippe) and Amisia (Ems) are likewise frequently mentioned. Mountains and forests: the Hercynian forest, a general name for the forest mountains, particularly of eastern Germany. Melibocus (the Hartz), Sudetus (the Thuringian forest); the forest of Teutoburg, to the south of Westphalia, etc. It would be useless to seek for a general political division, or for the cities, of ancient Germany; we can only point out the situation of the principal tribes. It is necessary, however, to precede this by two observations: 1. The same territory, in the tide of forcible emigration and conquest, and particularly after the second century, often changed its inhabitants. 2. The names of some of the principal tribes often became that of a confederacy. The principal tribes in the period of Augustus were, in northern Germany; the Batavi in Holland; the Frisii in Friesland; the Bructeri in Westphalia; the lesser and larger Chauci in Oldenburg and Bremen; the Cherusci, likewise the name of a confederation, in Brunswick; the Catti in Hesse. In southern (central) Germany: the Hermunduri in Franconia; the Marcomanni in Bohemia. The Alemanni, not the name of a single tribe, but of a confederation, are first mentioned in the third century: in the period of Augustus these tribes, and the principal of those of eastern Germany, which gradually became known, were included under the general name of Suevi.

The northernmost countries of Europe were considered as isles of the German ocean, and therefore regarded as belonging to Germany. They were Scandinavia, or Scandia (southern Sweden), Nerigon (Norway), and Eningia, or probably Finningia (Finland). The northernmost island was called Thule.

The north of Europe, from the Vistula to the Tanais (Don), was comprised under the general name of Sarmatia; but beyond the territory about the Danube, and especially Dacia (see above, p. 407), they were only in a slight degree acquainted with the coast of the Baltic, by the amber trade.

In Asia the Roman empire was bounded by Great Armenia (see above, p. 19, and 299), the Parthian empire from the Euphrates to the Indus (see above, p. 19-22), and the peninsula of Arabia (see above, p. 19).

Eastern Asia, or India, became known to the Romans by a commercial intercourse carried on between them, and which began soon after the conquest of Egypt. It was divided into India on this side the Ganges, that is: 1. The territory between the Indus and Ganges; 2. The peninsula on this side, the western coast of which in particular (Malabar), was very well known; and, 3. The island of Taprobana (Ceylon), and India beyond the Ganges, to which also the distant Serica belonged: but of all these countries they had but a very imperfect knowledge.

The boundaries of Africa were Aethiopia above Egypt, and Gaetulia and the great sandy desert of Libya, above the other provinces.

FIRST SECTION.

_From Augustus Caesar to the death of Commodus, B. C. 30. A. C. 193._

SOURCES. For the whole of this period DION CASSIUS, lib. li-lxxx, is
our historian; though of his last twenty books we have only the
abridgment of Xiphilinus. For the history of the emperors from
Tiberius to the beginning of Vespasian's reign, the principal writer
is TACITUS, in his _Annals_, A. C. 14-63; (of which, however, part of
the history of Tiberius, 32-34, all of Caligula and the first six
years of Claudius, 37-47, as well as the last year and a half of Nero,
are unfortunately lost); and in his _History_, of which scarcely the
first three years, 69-71, are come down to us. SUETONIUS'S _Lives of
the Caesars_, down to Domitian, are so much the more valuable, because
in a state like the Roman it becomes of importance to know the
character and domestic life of the ruling men. For the reigns of
Augustus and Tiberius the _History_ of VELLEIUS PATERCULUS is not of
less consequence, although written in a court-like tone. The sources
for the history of the separate Caesars will be given as we come to
them.

The following are the labours of modern writers:

_Histoire des Empereurs et des autres Princes qui ont regne dans les
six premiers siecles de l'Eglise_, _par_ M. LENAIN DE TILLEMONT. a
Bruxelle, 1707, 5 vols. 8vo. (An earlier edition in 4to. 1700, 4
vols.) The work of Tillemont has some worth as a laborious
compilation, but is superseded in its execution by the following:

_Histoire des Empereurs Romains, depuis Auguste jusqu' a Constantin_,
_par_ M. CREVIER. Paris, 1749, 12 vols. 8vo. [Translated into
English.] A continuation of Rollin's Roman History (see above, p.
318), quite in the spirit of that writer, and by one of his school.

DR. GOLDSMITH'S _Roman History, from the foundation of the city of
Rome to the destruction of the western empire_. London, 1774, 2 vols.
8vo. Rather a sketch than a detailed history (see above, p. 321,
sqq.).

# _History of Rome under the Emperors, and of the contemporary
nations_, _by_ M. D. G. H. HUBLER. Fryburg, 1803, 3 parts.
Continuation of the work cited p. 2: it reaches down to Constantine.

1. Octavianus Caesar, on whom the senate conferred the honourable title of Augustus, which they periodically renewed, and which descended to his successors, possessed the sole dominion of the empire during forty-four years. The government, notwithstanding the great revolutions by which the republic had been converted into a monarchy, was not yet, either in fact or in form, altogether a despotic one. The private interest of the ruler required that the republican form should be preserved to the utmost, as without that he could not make an entire change; and the rest of his history sufficiently shows, that the cruelty with which he may be reproached in the early part of his career, was rather owing to circumstances than to his natural disposition. But during a reign so long, so tranquil, and so fortunate, could it be otherwise than that the republican spirit which at the beginning existed only in a few individuals, should evaporate of itself!