The Handy Military History Answer Book. Samuel Willard Crompton

Чтение книги онлайн.

      The 1754 painting Le repas de Cléoptre et de Marc-Antoine by Charles-Joseph Natoire has Marc Antony and Cleopatra dining in luxury. Lovers and political allies, Antony and Cleopatra would lose the battle against Octavian and, consequently, both committed suicide.

      Antony and Cleopatra fled to Egypt, which had become something of a haven for runaway Romans. Octavian took his time in pursuit, but the day he landed in Egypt, Marc Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra stayed alive long enough to look upon Octavian’s face; he gave her the stark choice of suicide or execution (she chose to have a servant bring a poisonous snake to her chamber). Actium was not terribly exciting in its presentation, but it was an extremely important battle. Rome had—by virtue of Octavian’s victory—completely eclipsed Alexandria, and from that point on Rome was the city of the Mediterranean world, with no rival or even close second.

      How did Augustus reorganize the legions?

      In 27 B.C.E., four years after winning at Actium, Octavian took the new name of Augustus, meaning the revered one. He never put a crown on his head or called himself king or emperor, but those symbols were unnecessary: he was the emperor, whether anyone said so or not.

      Augustus was primarily a political leader rather than a military one, but he saw the need to reorganize the legions. He limited, or capped, their number at thirty and worked to bring all of them up to full strength: until his reign, many legions numbered between 4,000 and 5,000 rather than the expected 6,000. Augustus saw, too, that the frontiers of the empire needed defining, and he worked many years to create a defensible line of borders. He made only one major military mistake, but it haunted him until the end of his days.

      What did Augustus mean by “Quintus Varrus, give me back my legions”?

      In 9 C.E., Augustus sent General Varrus with three legions across the Rhine to chastise the Germanic tribes. Varrus knew the way quite well, and he and his men did fine for the first fifty miles or so, but when they entered the Teutoburger Forest they lost their way and were ambushed by Germans. A three-day battle ended in the destruction of all three legions. Varrus died, as did the great majority of his officers. For Augustus, this was the greatest disaster of his reign and a distressing indication that the empire needed to remain on the defensive on its northern frontiers.

      What was the military situation like at the time of Augustus’ death?

      Much as he desired, the Roman Empire had taken on the configuration that would last for centuries. Rome and the towns of northern Italy were the heart of the empire, from which the legions were mobilized and dispatched. The entire rim of the Mediterranean Sea was now Roman, with Roman warships controlling the waterways. The empire extended north to the English Channel and west to the River Rhine. From the Rhine, the imperial boundaries made a sharp right-hand turn to the Danube and then to the Black Sea.

      This was a truly enormous amount of land to govern and defend, but it was possible just so long as the emperors attended to business and the legions responded to trouble areas. There would be times, however, when the emperors were completely off the job—or out to lunch—and when the governors of the various provinces had to handle things themselves.

AUGUSTUS’ HEIRS

      Why do we call them “heirs” rather than “descendants”?

      Augustus had several children by his two marriages, but none of his sons survived. The throne, therefore, passed to his stepson, Tiberius, who was the first man to call himself emperor. In his youth, Tiberius had been an active and courageous military leader, fighting the German tribes, but in late middle age he was weary. He paid little attention either to military or political affairs, and imperial governance suffered accordingly. It is worth noting, however, that the military situation stayed very much in control and that there were few, if any, revolts during Tiberius’ reign.

      One of the few civil disturbances was a minor matter in the Province of Judaea. Rome had been in Judaea—which equates to modern-day Israel—for almost a century, but it was during Tiberius’ reign that many Jews expressed their discontent. Some gathered together behind a popular preacher named Jesus of Nazareth, and the Roman authorities found the situation dangerous enough that they had Jesus crucified. This event seemed insignificant at the time, but it led to the birth of a whole new religion, and the Christians—or “Christ followers”—would provide the Roman Empire with many headaches.

      Who was truly the worst of all Roman emperors?

      Beyond doubt this was Caligula (ruled 37–41 C.E.). Named by Tiberius shortly before his death, Caligula was about thirty-two when he became emperor. A psycho pathic individual with a heart that seemed incapable of empathy, Caligula may have suffered brain damage in youth; then again, he may simply have never experienced true human kindness. In either case, he was a terrible emperor, tending entirely to his own caprice and whim, bending all the rules in order to create pleasure or amusement. Surely one of the greatest set of laughs—as well as sighs—came when Caligula brought his favorite horse into the Roman Senate and nominated it for consul (high executive) for the coming year.