Dio's Rome, Volume 3

That took place later. At the time under discussion he administered the government in Sicily and through Statilius Taurus won both the Libyas without a struggle and sent back to Antony a number of ships equivalent to those lost. [-15-]Meantime conditions in Etruria which had been full of rebellion regained a state of quiet when the inhabitants heard of his victory. The people of the capital unanimously bestowed laudations upon him and images, the right to front seats and an arch surmounted by a trophy, as well as the privilege of riding into the city on horseback, of wearing the laurel crown on all occasions, and of holding a banquet with his wife and children in the precinct of the Capitoline Jupiter on the anniversary of the day that he had conquered, which was to be a perpetual day of thanksgiving. This is what they granted him directly after the victory. The persons to announce it were, first, a soldier stationed in the city, who on the very day in question had become possessed by some god and after saying and doing many unusual things finally ran up to the temple on the Capitol and laid his sword at the feet of Jupiter to signify that there would be no further use for it; after that came the rest who had been present at the action and had been sent to Rome by Caesar. When he arrived himself he assembled them according to ancestral custom outside the pomerium, gave them an account of what had been done, and renounced some of the honors voted him. He then remitted the tribute called for by the registered lists and everything else that was owing the government since before the period of the civil wars, abolished certain taxes, and refused to accept the priesthood of Lepidus, which was offered to him; for it was not lawful to take away the appointment from a man still alive. At this time they voted him many other distinctions. Some at once declared that this striking magnanimity of his at this time was due to the calumnies of Antony and of Lepidus and was intended to lay the blame of former unjust behavior upon them alone. Others said that since he was unable in any way to collect the debts he made of the people's impotency a favor that cost him nothing. In spite of this various talk that gained currency in different quarters they now resolved that a house be presented to him from the public treasury. He had made the place on the Palatine which he had bought to erect a structure public property, and had consecrated it to Apollo, because a thunderbolt descended upon it. Hence they voted him the house and protection from any insult by deed or word. Any one who committed such an offence was to be bound by the same penalties as prevailed in the case of a tribune. For he received permission to sit upon the same benches with them.

[-16-] These were the gifts bestowed upon Caesar by the senate. As for him, he enrolled among the augurs above the proper number, Valerius Messala, whom he previously in the proscriptions condemned to death, made the people of Utica citizens, and gave orders that no one should wear purple clothing except senators and such as held public office. For it had been already appropriated by ordinary individuals in a few cases. In this same year there was no aedile owing to a lack of candidates, and the praetors and the tribunes performed the aediles' duties: also no praetor urbanus was appointed for the Feriae, but some of the regular praetors discharged his functions. Other matters in the city and in the rest of Italy were under the charge of one Gaius Maecenas, a knight, both then and for a long time afterward.

[-17-] Now Sextus after taking ship from Messana was afraid of pursuit and suspected that there might be some act of treachery on the part of his retinue. Therefore he gave notice to them that he was going to sail seaward, but when he had extinguished the light which flagships exhibit during night voyages for the purpose of having the rest follow close behind, he coasted along Italy, then went over to Corcyra and from there came to Cephallenia. Here the remainder of his vessels, which had by chance been driven from the course by a storm, joined him again. Accordingly, after calling them together, he took off his general's uniform and made an address of which the substance was that while they remained together they could render no lasting aid to one another or escape detection, but if they scattered they could more easily make good their escape; and he advised each man to look out individually and separately for his own safety. The majority were led to give ear to his arguments and they departed in different directions, while he with the remainder crossed over to Asia with the intention of going straight to Antony. When he reached Lesbos and learned that the latter had gone on a campaign against the Medes and that Caesar and Lepidus had become estranged, he decided to winter in the country. The Lesbians, indeed, out of affectionate remembrance for his father were ready to receive and detain him. He ascertained, however, that Antony had met with a mishap in Media, and reflected further that Gaius Furnius, temporarily the governor of Asia, was not friendly to him. Hence he did not remain, but hoping to succeed to Antony's leadership because a number of men had come to him from Sicily and still others had rallied around him, some drawn by the glamour of his father's renown and some who were seeking a livelihood, he resumed the outfit of a general and continued his preparations to occupy the opposite shore. [-18-] Meantime Antony had got back again into friendly territory and on learning what Sextus was doing promised he would grant him amnesty and favor, if he would lay down his arms. Sextus wrote back to the effect that he would obey him, but did not do so, because he felt a contempt for the man, inspired by his recent disasters, and because he immediately set off for Egypt. Hence he held to his previous design and entered into negotiations with the Parthians. Antony ascertained this, but without turning back sent against him the fleet and Marcus Titius, who had formerly come to him from Sextus and was still with him. Sextus received information of this move in advance, and in alarm, since his preparations were not yet complete, abandoned his anchorage. He went forward then, taking the course which seemed most likely to afford escape, and reached Nicomedea, where he was overtaken. At this he opened negotiations with Antony, placing some hope in him because of the kindness which had been shown him. When the chieftain, however, refused to enter into a truce with him without first taking possession of the ships and the rest of his force, Sextus despaired of safety by sea, put all of his heavier baggage into the ships (which he thereupon burned) and proceeded inland. Titius and Furnius pursued him, and overtaking him at Midaeium in Phrygia surrounded him and captured him alive. When Antony learned this he at first under the influence of anger sent a despatch that the captive should be put to death, but again not long after repenting51 … that his life should be spared….[51] Now the bearer of the second letter came in before the first, and later Titius received the epistle in regard to killing him. Thinking, therefore, that it was really the second, or else knowing the truth but not caring to heed it, he followed the order of the arrival of the two, but not their manifest intention. So Sextus was executed in the consulship of Lucius Cornificius and one Sextus Pompeius.

[B.C. 35 (a. u. 719)]

Caesar held a horse-race in honor of the event, and set up for Antony a chariot in front of the rostra and images in the temple of Concord, giving him also authority to hold banquets there with his wife and children, this being similar to the decree that had once been passed in his own honor. He pretended to be still Antony's friend and was endeavoring to console him for the disasters inflicted by the Parthians and in that way to cure any jealousy that might be felt at his own victory and the decrees which followed it.

[B.C. 38 (a. u. 716)]

[-19-]This was what Caesar did: Antony's experience with the barbarians was as follows. Publius Ventidius heard that Pacorus was gathering an army and was invading Syria, and became afraid, since the cities had not grown quiet and the legions were still scattered in winter-quarters, and so he acted as follows to delay him and make the assembling of an army a slow process. He knew that a certain prince Channaeus, with whom he enjoyed an acquaintance, was rather disposed to favor the Parthian cause. Ventidius, then, honored him as if he had his entire confidence and took him as an adviser in some matters where he could not himself be injured and would cause Channaeus to think he possessed his most hidden secrets. Having reached this point he affected to be afraid that the barbarians might abandon the place where they customarily crossed the Euphrates near where the city Zeugma is located, and use some other road farther down the river. The latter, he said, was in a flat district convenient for the enemy, whereas the former was hilly and suited them best. He persuaded the prince to believe this and through the latter deceived Pacorus. The Parthian leader took the route through the flat district, where Ventidius kept pretending he hoped he would not go, and as this was longer than the other it gave the Roman time to assemble his forces. [-20-] So he met Pacorus when he had advanced to Cyrrestician Syria and conquered him. For he did not prevent them from crossing the river, and when they had got across he did not at once attack them, so that they imputed sloth and weakness to the Romans and therefore marched against the Roman fortification, although on higher ground, expecting to take it without resistance. When a sally was suddenly made, the attacking party, being cavalry, was driven back without effort down the slope. At the foot they defended themselves valiantly,—the majority of them were in armor,—but were confused by the unexpectedness of the onslaught and stumbling over one another were damaged most of all by the heavy-armed men and the slingers. The latter struck them, from a distance with powerful weapons and proved a very great annoyance. The fall of Pacorus at this critical juncture injured them most of all. As soon as they saw that their leader had perished, a few steadily contended over his body, but when these were destroyed all the rest gave way. Some of them desired to escape homeward across the bridge and were not able, being cut off and killed before they could reach it, and others fled for refuge to Antiochus in Commagene. Ventidius easily reduced the rest of the places in Syria, whose attitude had depended on the outcome of the war, by sending the monarch's head about through the different cities; their doubtful allegiance had been due to their extreme love for Pacorus because of his justness and mildness,—a love which had equaled that bestowed by them upon any previous sovereign. The general himself led an expedition against Antiochus on the plea that he had not delivered up the suppliants, but really because of his money, of which he had vast stores.

[-21-] When he had progressed so far Antony suddenly came upon him, and so far from being pleased was actually jealous of his having gained some reputation by his own efforts. Consequently he removed him from his command and employed him on no other business either at the time or later, though he obtained thanksgivings for both achievements and a triumph for his assistant's work. The Romans of the capital voted these honors to Antony as a result of his prominence and in accordance with law, because he was commander: but they voted them also to Ventidius, since they thought that he had paid the Parthians in full through the death of Pacorus for the disasters that Roman arms had incurred in the time of Crassus, especially since both events had befallen on the same day of the corresponding years. And it turned out that Ventidius alone celebrated the triumph, even as the victory had been his alone, for Antony met an untimely fate, and he acquired a greater reputation from this fact and the irony of fortune alike. He himself had once marched in procession with the other captives at the triumph of Pompeius Strabo, and now he was the first of the Romans to celebrate a triumph over the Parthians.

[-22-] This took place at a later period: at the time mentioned Antony attacked Antiochus, shut him up in Samosata and proceeded to besiege him. As he accomplished nothing and the time was spent in vain, and he suspected that the soldiers felt coldly toward him on account of his dishonoring Ventidius, he secretly opened negotiations with the foe, and made fictitious agreements with him so that he might have a fair appearing reason for withdrawal. In the end Antony got neither hostages (except two and these of little importance) nor the money which he had demanded, but he granted Antiochus the death of one Alexander, who had earlier deserted from him to the Roman side. After doing this he set out for Italy, and Gaius Sosius received from him the governorship of Syria and Cilicia. This man subdued the Aradii, who had been besieged up to this time and had been reduced to hard straits by famine and disease, and conquered Antigonus in battle after killing the Roman guards that he kept about him, and reduced him by siege when he took refuge in Jerusalem. The Jews had committed many outrages upon the Romans,—for the race is very bitter when aroused to anger,—but they suffered far more themselves. The first of them were captured fighting for the precinct of their god, and later the rest on the day even then called the day of Saturn. And so great still were their religious scruples that the men who had been first captured along with the temple obtained leave from Sosius when the day of Saturn came around again, and went up with the remaining population into the building, where they performed all the customary rites. These people Antony entrusted to one Herod to govern, and Antigonus he bound to a cross and flogged,—treatment accorded to no other king by the Romans,—and subsequently slew him.

[B.C. 37 (a. u. 717)]

[-23-] This was the course of events in the days of Claudius and Norbanus: the following year the Romans accomplished nothing worthy of note in Syria. Antony arrived in Italy and returned again to the province, consuming the entire season: and Sosius, because he would be advancing his master's interests and not his own, and furthermore dreading his jealousy and anger, spent the time in devising means not for achieving success and drawing down his enmity, but for pleasing him by remaining quiet. Parthian affairs with no outside interference underwent a severe revolution from the following cause. Orodes their king succumbed to age and grief for Pacorus combined, and while still alive delivered the government to Phraates, the eldest of his remaining children. He in his discharge of it proved himself the most impious of men. He treacherously murdered his brothers, sons of the daughter of Antiochus, because they were his superiors in excellence and (on their mother's side) in family: when Antiochus chafed under this outrage he killed him in addition and after that destroyed the noblest men in the remaining population and kept committing many other abuses. Consequently a number of the more prominent persons abandoned him and betook themselves to various places, some going to Antony, among whom was Monaeses. This happened in the consulship of Agrippa and Gallus.

[B.C. 36 (a. u. 718)]

[-24-] During the remainder of winter, when Gallus and Nerva were holding office, Publius Canidius Crassus made a campaign against the Iberians that inhabit this portion of the world, conquered in battle their king Pharnabazus and brought them into alliance; with this king he invaded Albanis, the adjoining country, and, after overcoming the dwellers there and their king Zober, conciliated them likewise. Antony was elated at this and furthermore based great hopes upon Monaeses, who had promised him to lead his army and bring over to him most of Parthia without conflict. Hence the Roman took up the war against the Parthians in earnest and besides making various presents to Monaeses gave him three Roman cities to govern until he should finish the war, and promised him in addition the Parthian kingdom. While they were so occupied Phraates became terrified, especially because the Parthians took the flight of Monaeses very much amiss, and he opened negotiations with him, offering him anything whatever, and so persuaded him to return. When Antony found this out, he was naturally angry, but did not kill Monaeses although the latter was still in his power; for he felt sure he could not win the confidence of any other of the barbarians, in case he should do such a thing, and he wanted to try a little trick against them. He accordingly released Monaeses, apparently supposing the latter was going to bring the Parthian affairs under his control, and sent envoys with him to Phraates. Nominally he was arranging for peace on the condition of getting back the standards and the prisoners captured in the disaster of Crassus, intending to take the king off his guard while the latter was expecting a pacific settlement; but in fact he was putting everything in readiness for war. [-25-] And he went as far as the Euphrates, thinking it was free of guards. When, however, he found that whole region carefully guarded, he turned aside from it, but led a campaign against Artavasdes, the king of the Medes, persuaded thereto by the king of Greater Armenia, who had the same name and was an enemy of the aforementioned. Just as he was he at once advanced toward Armenia, and learning there that the Mede had gone a considerable distance from his own land in the discharge of his duties as an ally of the Parthian king, he left behind the beasts of burden and a portion of the army with Oppius Statianus, giving orders for them to follow, and himself taking the cavalry and the strongest of the infantry hurried on in the confidence of seizing all his opponent's strongholds at one blow; he assailed Praaspa, the royal residence, heaped up mounds and made constant attacks. When the Parthian and the Medan kings ascertained this, they left him to continue his idle toil,—for the walls were strong and many were defending them,—but assailed Statianus off his guard and wearied on the march and slew the whole detachment except Polemon, king of Pontus, who was then accompanying the expedition. Him alone they took alive and released in exchange for ransom. They were able to accomplish this because the Armenian king was not present at the battle; but though he might have helped the Romans, as some say, he neither did this nor joined Antony, but retired to his own country. [-26-] Antony hastened at the first message sent him by Statianus to go to his assistance, but was too late. For except corpses he found no one. This outcome caused him fear, but, inasmuch as he fell in with no barbarian, he suspected that they had departed in some direction through terror, and this lent him new courage. Hence when he met them a little later he routed them, for his slingers were numerous, and as the latter could shoot farther than would the bows they inflicted severe injury upon the men in armor. However, he did not kill any remarkable number of them, because the barbarians could ride fast. So he proceeded again against Praaspa and besieged it, though he did no great damage to the enemy; for the men inside the walls repulsed him vigorously, and those outside could not easily be entrapped into a combat. Thus he lost many of his own men in searching for and bringing provisions, and many by his own discipline. At first, as long as they could get their food from somewhere in the neighborhood, they had no difficulty about either undertaking: they could attend to the siege and safely secure supplies both at once. When, however, all material at hand had been used up, and the soldiers were obliged to go to some distance, it happened to them that if few were sent anywhere, not only did they not bring anything, but they perished as well; if a number were sent, they left the wall destitute of besiegers and meantime lost many men and many engines at the hands of the barbarians, who would make a sortie against them. [-27-] For this reason Antony gave them all barley instead of wheat and destroyed every tenth man in some instances: indeed, the entire force which was supposed to be besieging endured the hardships of persons besieged. The men within the walls watched carefully for opportunities to make sallies; and those outside harassed fearfully the Romans that remained in position as often as they became separated, accomplishing this by making a sudden charge and wheeling about again in a narrow space: this force outside did not trouble the food trains while the latter were en route to the villages, but would fall upon them unexpectedly when scattered in the homeward march. But since Antony even under these conditions maintained his place before the city, Phraates, fearing that in the long run he might do it some harm either by himself or through securing some allied force, secretly sent some men to open negotiations with him and persuaded him by pretending that it would be very easy to secure peace. After this, when men were sent to him by Antony, he held a conference with them seated upon a golden chair and twanging his bowstring; he first inveighed against them at length, but finally promised that he would grant peace, if they would straightway remove their camp. On hearing this Antony was both alarmed at his boastfulness and ready to believe that a truce could be secured if he himself should shift his position: hence he withdrew without destroying any of his implements of siege but behaved as if in friendly territory. [-28-] When he had done this and was awaiting the truce, the Medes burned the engines and scattered the mounds, while the Parthians made no proposition to him respecting peace but suddenly attacked him and inflicted very serious damage. He found out that he had been deceived and did not venture to employ any further envoys, being sure that the barbarians would not agree to any reasonable terms, and not wishing to cast the soldiers into dejection by failing to arrange a truce. Therefore he resolved, since he had once started, to hurry on into Armenia. His troops took another road, since the one by which they had come they believed to have been blocked entirely, and on the way their sufferings were unusually great. They came into unknown regions where they wandered at random, and furthermore the barbarians seized the passes in advance of their approach, digging trenches outside of some and building palisades in front of others, spoiled the water-courses everywhere, and drove away the flocks. In case they ever got a chance to march through more favorable territory, the enemy would turn them aside from such places by false announcements that they had been occupied beforehand, and caused them to take different roads along which ambuscades had been previously posted, so that many perished through such mishaps and many of hunger. [-29-] As a result there were some desertions, and they would all have gone over, had not the barbarians shot down before the eyes of the others any who dared to take this course. Consequently the men refrained from this, and from Fortune's hands obtained the following relief. One day when they fell into an ambush and were struck with fast-flying arrows, they suddenly made by joining shields the testudo, and rested their left knees on the ground. The barbarians had never seen anything of the kind before and thought that they had fallen from their wounds and needed only one finishing blow; so they threw aside their bows, leaped from their horses, and drawing their daggers came close to put an end to them. At this the Romans rose to their feet, spread out the phalanx at a word, and each one attacked the man nearest and facing him; thus they cut down great numbers since they were contending armed against an unprotected foe, men prepared against men off their guard, heavy infantry against archers, Romans against barbarians. All the survivors immediately retired and no one followed them for the future.

[-30-] This testudo and the way in which it is formed deserve a word of explanation. The baggage animals, the light-armed troops, and the cavalry are marshaled in the center of the army. Those infantrymen who use the oblong, hollow, grooved shields are drawn up around the edges, making a rectangular figure; and, facing outward with spear-points projecting,52 they enclose the rest. The other infantrymen, who have flat shields, form a compact body in the center and raise their shields above themselves and above all the rest, so that nothing but shields can be seen in every part of the phalanx alike and all the men by the density of formation are under shelter from missiles. It is so marvelously strong that men can walk upon it, and when ever they get into a hollow, narrow passage, even horses and vehicles can be driven over it. Such is the method of this arrangement, and this shows why it has received the title of testudo,53—with reference to its strength and to the excellent shelter it affords. They use it in two ways: either they approach some fort to assault it, often even enabling men to scale the very walls, or where sometimes they are surrounded by archers they all bend together,—even the horses being taught to kneel and recline,—and thereby cause the foe to think that they are exhausted; then, when the others draw near, they suddenly rise, to the latter's great alarm.