This year was a very quiet one, as political struggles and the end of the crises of the Republic brought a slow year. The strife of the previous year was to continue, in increasing severity.
MAGISTRATA IN ANNO 474 A.U.C.
(Magistrates in the year 474 ab urbe condite - 279 B.C.)
CONSULES
MARCVS DOMITIVS AHENOBARBVS AGELASTVS ET SPVRRIVS HERRENIVS PICTOR
CENSOR
CAIVS FLAVIVS CRASSVS
PONTIFEX MAXIMUS
CLAVDIVS VARVIS GALLVS
PRAETORES
QVINTVS VOLERO ET LVCIVS SICINIVS SCIPIO
TRIBUNIS PLEBIS
LVCIVS AVRELIVS LEPIDVS ET MARCVS CLAVDIVS MARCELLVS
QUAESTOR
MARCVUS IVNIVS CELSUS
The Senate debated for long periods of time and without resolution on whether to lower taxes across the republic, and what direction to look next for the expansion of borders. Whilst certain senators such as Scipio and Crassus argued that the Italian states should be brought to heel, others looked towards Sicily. The Tribune Lepidus, however, vehemently opposed wars of conquest and vetoed any such notion of war.
In addition, arguments were made about Corfinium, and whether their punishment should continue. This was a particularly heated topic of debate, with the senate divided over whether to give them punitive taxes or welcome them into the arms of the Republic.
And so the year went slowly by, preparations for war stalled by the Tribune's veto, and with long drawn-out arguments about taxation halting affairs. The political struggle between the higher senators and the gang of four seemed to lessen, as they agreed on certain policies such as expansionism, and their united front eventually forced the hand of the Tribune Lepidus, who withdrew his veto. But any hopes of peace were to be dashed in the following year.
-----------------------------------------------
PART IV: ANNUS CRUENTUS
MAGISTRATA IN ANNO 475 A.U.C.
CONSULES
LVCIVS SCIPIO ET QUINTIUS VOLERO POSTUMUS
CENSOR
SPURIUS HERRENIUS PICTOR
PONTIFEX MAXIMUS
CLAUDIUS VARIUS GALLUS
PRAETORES
MARCUS MANLIUS, CAIVS FLAVIVS CRASSVS (SVFFECTVS)
TRIBUNIS PLEBIS
LVCIVS AVRELIVS LEPIDVS ET MARCVS CLODIVS MARCELLVS
QUAESTOR
GAIUS ATIUS BALBUS
The year was to be a time of conflict, change, and great political strife. As the Senators took their seats in the Curia, the year opened as it was to continue - with a controversial political move which was the subject of much conflict.
As the respected but injured Consul Scipio addressed the Curia, he stated that the Senate must invade the North, and named Crassus as his military tribune to take to the field instead of him.
Crassus had become a figurehead for hatred since the Pyrrhic wars among the Gang of Four and their followers. In stark contrast, the other veteran of the conflict, Agelastus, was returning to Rome from fighting Carthaginian raiders to a unaminously-supported ovation. This year, Crassus had stood for Consul but lost, failing to attract support among the no-mans land between the more respected Scipio and the more popular and radical Postumus. The move was very unpopular among Postumus' supporters, who also called into question it's legality. Debate broke out in the Senate over whether to strike north in the Etruscan homelands, or south in Carthaginian Sicily. Eventually, it seemed that Volero would lead a force south, in opposition to Scipio, who favoured sending an army north under Crassus.
However, a cataclysmic event was to occur. The tribune Lepidus stormed into the Senate, demanding the immediate recall of Consul Quintus Volero Postumus, Praetor Marcus Manlius, Tribune of the Plebs Marcus Clodius Marcellus, and Pontifex Maximus Claudius Varius Gallus. They stood accused of ambitus and conspiring to commit electoral fraud by the creation of a voting bloc or party, which were outlawed.
When asked for proof, Lepidus gave his first - the testimony of Consul Scipio, who confirmed that he instigated the accusation. The Curia immediately exploded into anarchy, and the flying accusations resembled a somewhat chaotic foreshadowing of the trial that was to come. Eventually, the Senators were calmed, and the motion to recall the four was put to a vote, which was passed by exactly the required 70% majority.
The balance of power had suddenly shifted enormously, even before the trial, with Scipio now the lone Consul and Marcellus' threatened veto at Crassus taking command now removed. Whatever the end result of the trial, Crassus heading north now seemed a certainty.
News came the following day that the recalled Consul Postumus had fled the city for Carthage, escaping Roman justice but causing further problems for the remaining 3 accused, who had now consorted with a man who was a traitor to Rome and guilty of not only ambitus and treason but also attempting to flee justice. His brother Sextius took over his seat, who was quick to distance himself from the actions of his brother but earned considerable suspicion regardless.
There was also considerable debate over who should adjudicate in the trial. The recall of Manlius had left Crassus as sole Praetor, who could not adjudicate due to his involvement in the case. Marcellus had demanded that three judges preside over the trial, but this was rejected in favour of the neutral voice of Senator Sidonius.
Prehendo, Judicium, et Censura
The trial was bitterly-fought, with Scipio and Crassus both claiming to have been approached by the Gang of Four with regards to conspiring to fix votes and guarantee power. The accused, led by Marcellus, argued that Senators could vote for whom they liked, and that sharing political views was not a crime. The accusators pointed to the voting record of the four, that they had voted for each other in each election.
The trial seems a straightforward affair, but certain events had been hidden from the public eye. Crassus and Scipio were obviously statesmen of similar mind, but had not been so deliberate as the Gang of Four. Marcellus accused the pair of similar crimes during the trial, but was countered when Scipio pointed to the fact that they had run against each other in elections.
However, it is true that Crassus and Scipio were approached by the Gang of Four, due to their united support for an invasion of the north which was then opposed by the tribune Lepidus. A deal was being brokered between the two sides - the gang of four, with their popular support, would prevent Lepidus from gaining the tribune's chair in the next term, and the invasion could proceed.
However, the deal fell through when terms were not agreed over who would run for Consul, and such an agreement was never sealed. This, combined with Marcellus' failure to mention these events, sealed the fate of the gang of four, and they were sentenced to be hurled from the Tarpeian Rock for their crimes.
Vetus Hostilis
At the time of the verdict and execution, however, Crassus was leaving the city to invade the north, having secured the Senate's support to do so, and quickly raised a Consular army from levies and re-organising the morass of straggled veterans from across Italy. He immediately headed north and laid siege to the town of Arretium, hoping to draw the forces of both towns into the field to fight in one large battle. Crassus was to get his wish.
THE BATTLE OF ARRETIUM
COMBATANTS
The Senate and People of Rome
State of Arretium
State of Ariminium
COMMANDERS
Caius Flavius Crassus
Sextus Antonius
Titus Marius
STRENGTH
Around 20,000:
2 Legions, 2 Alae
Around 20,000:
14,000 Italian infantry
6,000 Italian cavalry
CASUALTIES AND LOSSES
Around 2,000:
mostly light infantry and allies
Over 10,000 killed,
Around 9,000 captured:
Complete loss of army
RESULT:
Total Roman Victory
Wary of the numerous and well-regarded Italian cavalry posessed by his opponents, Crassus deployed in a rocky region, using large rocky outcrops to screen the front and flanks of his battle line. A small gap in the outcrops would be guarded by a spear wall of Italian allies, and the rocks themselves provided cover for skirmishers. In addition, Crassus' small cavalry reserve was hidden away from the lines, in a wood to the front and left. The Etruscans lined up in a standard battle formation and advanced upon this position.
The battle: The Etruscans attacked in the traditional manner, using skirmishers to engage their Roman counterparts. The more numerous Velites of the Romans eventually forced the Epirotes into an infantry attack, and Crassus recalled his Velites to a position just in front of the main battle-line, behind the rocks.
The Etruscans began a general advance, but their infantry became ill-formed when navigating the outcrops, having to come through in single file through a number of defiles, whilst under heavy fire from Roman javelins and arrows. The charge was ineffective after being so severely hampered, and the infantry assault failed to make a significant impact on the Roman front line.
The bulk of the Etruscan cavalry was now deployed, approaching Crassus' right flank. Instead of taking the bait of the open pass between the outcrops, they continued to circle around Crassus' right, looking for a better opening. Realising that an attack to the rear could be fatal, Crassus hurriedly redeployed his skirmishers to the right, harrying the cavalry, and forcing them to commit to a hasty charge through the outcrops. The divided cavalry were then able to be engaged by Roman infantry, and were cut down without making a large impact.
It was at this moment that the Romans took the initiative, Crassus springing his trap by charging with his concealed cavalry, and attacking with his own personal bodyguard into the front line. The Etruscan force broke at the sight of this, and their remaining infantry were cut down and captured. Their two commanders were killed after being trapped by infantry between two defiles among the rocks.
Aftermath: The total defeat suffered by the Etruscan forces effectively secured the capitulation of the cities of Arretium and Ariminium, and therefore an end to Etruscan rule in any part of Italy. The victory was hugely symbolic due to the Etruscans being the ancient and hated enemy of Rome, over whom ultimate victory had been secured. The Roman Republic had succeeded in uniting civilised Italy, and now presided over all of the city-states in the region. To the north now lay the untamed lands of Gauls and other Barbarians.
------------------
Crassus, however, was to gain little rest, having to now head south to take command of the severely under-strength Second Consular Army to defeat a Carthaginian invasion force, which had landed with a number of high-ranking Carthaginian generals in an attempt to incite rebellion in the Italian states. They were, however, intercepted and killed.
Crassus now returned to Rome, and presided over an eerily quiet Senate without jurisdiction, simply carrying out any orders of the increasingly ill Scipio. The Senate was short on magistrates and not wishing to bring too much attention to themselves following the execution of the traitors, and the atmosphere was tense and strange to the normally heated debates. The Second Consular Army was reformed and placed under the command of Ahenobarbus, elected suffectus Consul to replace the traitor Postumus, with the instruction to take the vital trade port of Lilybaeum on Sicily, owned by Carthage.
After securing the Italian coastline from further Carthaginian raiding, and driving back more of their soldiers, the Consul sailed for Sicily, and attacked the town. Ahenobarbus' characteristically cautious approach won the town for the Roman Republic with very few casualties.
As one era ends, another begins. Crassus completed the Roman dream of Pax Italia, with the defeat of the ancient and bitter enemy resulting in the capitulation of the final Italian cities resisting Roman rule, and Ahenobarbus took the first steps of an Empire, conquering an overseas town and establishing Roman rule. A new age had begun.
-------------------------------------------
PART V: ANNUS INCREMENTUM
MAGISTRATA IN ANNO 476 A.U.C.
(Magistrates in the year 476 ab urbe condite - 276 B.C.)
CONSULES
CAIVS FLAVIVS CRASSVS ET SEXTIVS VOLERE POSTVMVS
CENSOR
MARCVS DOMITIVS AHENOBARBVS AGELASTVS
PONTIFEX MAXIMUS
TVRNVS RVTVLVS SAEVVS
PRAETORES
MARCVS JVLIVS CELSVS ET LVCIVS GEGANIVS MACERINVS
TRIBUNIS PLEBIS
GAIVS ATIVS BALBVS ET MARCVS CLAVDIVS CLARVS
QUAESTOR
-
The strange tension in the Senate house continued over the election period, and was particularly evident in the Consular race. Only Crassus and Postumus stood as candidates, making their election a certainty, but Volero failed to obtain a single senatorial vote, calling the electoral system and his right to be Consul into question.
Debate immediately rose about the continuation with the Punic War, and Rome set her sights on the Punic Isles. Carthage's naval superiority was still a constant plague on Roman military ambition and ability to conduct the war, and even with the momentum in the war, the Senate decided against entering full-scale naval war with Carthage at this point. Unsurprisingly, Crassus was chosen to attack the Carthaginians in the Punic Isles, and debate in the Senate turned to the details of establishing a proconsulate to govern Sicilian territory and the Punic Isles.
Bellum Punicum
As Crassus was preparing to leave to invade Corsica, word was recieved of terrible events in Sicily. The Carthaginians had mounted a large counter-attack and had the city completely surrounded. Crassus set sail for Sicily instead, to lift the siege, but carrying the problem that he would almost certainly lose his ships after landing and be stranded on the island.
Crassus landed with around 15,000 soldiers, and found the Carthaginians split up into smaller groups, having the city surrounded and the ports and roads well-blockaded. Crassus immediately attacked a small force of about 6,000 carthaginians in the north of the island, and quickly and comprehensively defeated them, taking very few losses.
In response to this, the Carthaginians withdrew to their camp in the mountains and gathered all their troops into one large army. Crassus decided to rendezvous with the defending forces of Lilybaeum, adding their troops to his own. The two armies were formed, and Crassus marched eastward to engage the Carthaginians in the mountains near the town of Entella.
THE BATTLE OF ENTELLA
COMBATANTS
The Senate and People of Rome
Carthage
COMMANDERS
Caius Flavius Crassus
Yehawwielon Tarraco
STRENGTH
Around 28,000:
2 Legions, 2 Alae, additional italian
reserves and garrison of Lilybaeum Around 20,000:
17,000 African and Mercenary Infantry
3,000 Mercenary cavalry
CASUALTIES AND LOSSES
Around 3,500
Over 8,000 killed,
Around 9,000 captured:
Complete loss of army
RESULT:
Roman Victory
Deployment: Crassus marched cautiously through the mountains, and although aware of the rough location of the enemy force, the Carthaginians were still able to attack and ambush the Roman army. The rough terrain, however, prevented them from being able to gain a significant early advantage, and the Roman army was able to form their lines well before the Carthaginians attacked.
The battle: Tarraco advanced his forces through the rocky terrain quickly at first, but elected to proceed with caution and sacrifice the element of surprise in order to get his forces in good order. Both armies' lines were well-formed when the two closed on each other, and after the usual skirmishing, hand-to-hand fighting broke out across the lines.
The Carthaginian cavalry began an attack on the Roman right, but were eventually driven off by Italian reserves thrown in to bolster the line. In response, the Roman cavalry had passed through the woods on the left, and moved around the rear to attack the unprotected Carthaginian archers and skirmishers, who had retreated behind the main battle line. General mayhem broke out in the Carthaginian rear, and combined with a general Roman advance, the Carthaginian line broke and fled. Tarraco was killed in the ensuing chaos, and most of the Carthaginian infantry were run down when fleeing through the woods.
Aftermath: Crassus had achieved his objective of saving Lilybaeum, and had defeated the Carthaginian army and stopped any counter-attack in it's tracks. The Romans maintained the upper hand in the war, and were now free to focus their efforts on the Punic Isles, resuming their initial plans.
Back in Rome, two main events had happened. Plans were drawn up for a vast network of paved roads across Italia, to be named the Via Crassa, after the sitting Consul Crassus. Secondly, the Consul Volero Postumus had controversially abandoned his post, resigning as Consul. The Senator Macerinus decided to bring him before a court in the Basilica, to much controversy.
After recieving new ships, Crassus then left Sicily, journeying to Corsica to continue his initial plan, overrunning the light defences on the island and capturing the main town of Aleria. After this, the Consul returned to Rome.
An argument broke out in the Senate and beyond over the trial of Postumus, over whether it was legal, correct, and justified. A worrying precedent of conflict between the Senate and the courts was set, as both attempted to influence and overpower the other over the matter.
The debate was interrupted, however, by news from Sicily. An agent of the Greek Cities had attempted to assasinate the military tribune there, but was apprehended, tortured, and executed. When approached, The Greek Cities ejected all roman diplomats from their territory and amassed an army which looked set to march on Lilybaeum. As the year closed, the Senate discussed what course of action to take, and the trial of Postumus collapsed due to the end of Macerinus' term as Praetor.
THE CHRONICLE OF ROME
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Rebel Jeb
