Chapter 6: World in Tumult
1. Dio 55.12.2–3; cf. 55.13.5.
2. Seneca, Polyb. 15.4.
3. Dio 55.10a.6n. The location of Artagira is not known.
4. Strabo 11.14.6 mentions ‘the strong fortresses Babyrsa, and Olani’ and says ‘there were others also upon the Euphrates’ – φρούρια ἐρυμνά, Βάβυρσά τε καὶ Ὀλανή: ἦν δὲ καὶ ἄλλα ἐπὶ τῷ Εὐφράτῃ – which may have been attacked by C. Caesar’s army prior to Arteigira (Ἀρτάγειρα ).
5. For a discussion of Rome’s conflicts with Parthia over Armenia see Gregoratti (2012).
6. Strabo 11.14.6.
7. Dio 55.10a.6; Vell. Pat. 2.102.2.
8. Florus 2.32: Quippe Donnes, quem rex Artageris praefecerat, simulata proditione adortus virum intentum libello, quem ut thensaurorum rationes continentem ipse porrexerat, stricto repente ferro subiit. Et tunc quidem Caesar recreatus est ex volnere in tempus et [lacuna] Ceterum barbarus undique infesto exercitu oppressus gladio et pyra, in quam se percussus inmisit, superstiti etiam nunc Caesari satisfecit.
9. Ruf. Fest. 19.
10. Dio 55.10a.7. The fate of Adon or Donnes is not recorded.
11. Dio 55.10a.7: this was Augustus’ sixteenth acclamation.
12. Dio 55.19a.7.
13. Fasti Cuprenses IIt 13.1.245: C. Caesar Aug(usti). f(ilius) . . . V Eid. Sept. bellum cum [hostibus P(opuli) R(omani) gerens] in Armenia percuss[us est, dum obsiet Ar]ta[g]iram, Ar[meniae oppidum]. See Lott (2012), p. 199.
14. Dio 55.10a.8; Vell. Pat. 2.102.3. = EJ 69.
15. Scarborough (1968), p. 257 and 260 citing Tiberius’ treatment of the wounded in Vell. Pat. 2.114.1–3. See also Davies (1989), pp. 212–14.
16. Dio 55.30.4 and 55.33.2.
17. See Syme (1986), p. 338.
18. RG 14; Dio 55.10a.9; Fasti Cuprenses IIt 13.1.245: [VIIII k. Mart. C. Caesar] Aug(usti) f. dec[essit in Lycia agens XXI ]II.
19. Vell. Pat. 2.102.3. An inscription was erected in the Portico that bore his and his brother’s names in the Forum Romanum next to an arch that straddled a newly constructed spur of the Via Sacra – Suet., Div. Aug. 29.4; Dio 56.27.5.
20. Gordon (1983), p. 106.
21. Dio 55.12.1. Their shields and spears were depicted on the aureus RIC I 206, Lyon 81, Calicó 176a and denarius RIC I 207, Lyon 82, RSC 43.
22. Dio 55.13.2; Vell. Pat. 2.104.1; cf. Suet., Div. Aug. 65.1, Tib. 15.2.
23. Vell. Pat. 2.104.2; cf. Aul. Gell., Noct. Att. 5.19.6 who gives these words to Augustus.
24. Dio 55.13.1; cf. RG 6.2, Suet., Tib. 16.1, which states the term was for five years.
25. Dio 55.13.3.
26. Dio 55.13.6.
27. Dio 55.14.1; cf. earlier plots in Ch. 1, n. 173, Ch. 2, nos 163 and 164, Ch. 3, n. 10; Seneca, Clem. 1.9.1–12 describes the same event but places it at a different time, between 23 and 13 BCE – see Swan (2004), pp. 147–50.
28. Dio 55.22.1.
29. Suet., Tib. 16.1: delegatus pacandae Germaniae status. Cf. Dio 55.13.1; Vell. Pat. 2.103.3, 2.104.2. On his way he stopped at Bagacum-Bavay where a local official marked the visit by setting up an inscription, CIL XIII, 3570.
30. Vell. Pat. 2.104.3.
31. Vell. Pat. 2.104.4: At vero militum conspectu eius elicitae gaudio lacrimae alacritasque et salutationis nova quaedam exultatio et contingendi manum cupiditas non continentium protinus quin adiicerent. ‘Videmus te, Imperator?’ ‘Salvum recepimus?’ ‘Ac deinde ego tecum, imperator, in Armenia.’ ‘Ego in Raetia fui.’ ‘Ego a te in Vindelicis’ ‘Ego in Pannonia’ ‘Ego in Germania donatus sum’; neque verbis exprimi et fortasse vix mereri fidem potest.
32. Vell. Pat. 2.105.1.
33. Saturninus: Vell. Pat. 2.105.1–2; Dio 55.27.6, 55.28.6. See Ch. 5, nos 38–41.
34. Vell. Pat. 2.105.1.
35. Excavated during 2008–2012 finds included a 7.3cm section of chain mail decorated with animalshaped bronze terminals, iron blades from two Roman spears, fragments of millstones for grinding grain, sixty coins of Roman and Celtic mints and several brooches. See Kröger and Best (2011).
36. Vell. Pat. 2.105.3: in cuius mediis finibus ad caput Lupiae fluminis hiberna digrediens princeps locaverat. The claim that he was ‘the first Roman to winter there’ is wrong as Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus had established at least two forts on German soil in 11 BCE.
37. Discovered in 1967, the fortresses’ dimensions are 500 metres by 700 metres. The principia alone measured 71 metres by 47 metres. For archaeological site reports see Kühlborn (1990; 1995; 2004, pp. 32–33; and 2014) and von Schnurbein (2002).
38. Wells (1972), p. 222. The Anreppen site is 10km (6 miles) northwest of modern Paderborn.
39. Vell. Pat. 2.105.3.
40. Dio 55.28.5; Vel. Pat. 2.106.2–3.
41. Vell. Pat. 2.107.3.
42. Vell. Pat. 2.106.3: cum plurimarum gentium victoria parta cum abundantissima rerum omnium copia exercitui Caesarique se iunxit. Cf. Dio 55.27.5–6.
43. Dio 55.28.6. Cf. ILS 107 = EJ 67; Dio 55.10a.7n.
44. Vell. Pat. 2.107.1–2: Cum citeriorem ripam praedicti fluminis castris occupassemus et ulterior armata hostium virtute fulgeret, sub omnem motum conatumque nostrarum navium protinus refugientium, unus e barbaris aetate senior, corpore excellens, dignitate, quantum ostendebat cultus, eminens, cavatum, ut illis mos est, ex materia conscendit alveum solusque id navigii genus temperans ad medium processit fluminis et petiit, liceret sibi sine periculo in eam, quam armis tenebamus, egredi ripam ac videre Caesarem. Data petenti facultas. Tum adpulso lintre et diu tacitus contemplatus Caesarem, ‘nostra quidem,’ inquit, ‘furit iuventus, quae cum vestrum numen absentium colat, praesentium potius arma metuit quam sequitur fidem. Sed ego beneficio ac permissu tuo, Caesar, quos ante audiebam, hodie vidi deos, nec feliciorem ullum vitae meae aut optavi aut sensi diem.’ Impetratoque ut manum contingeret, reversus in naviculam, sine fine respectans Caesarem ripae suorum adpulsus est.
45. Vell. Pat. 2.106.1: Perlustrata armis tota Germania est, victae gentes paene nominibus incognitae . . . Omnis eorum iuventus infinita numero, immensa corporibus, situ locorum tutissima, traditis armis una cum ducibus suis saepta fulgenti armatoque militum nostrorum agmine ante imperatoris procubuit tribunal.
46. Dio 55.28.5–6: ταῦτά τε ἅμα ἐγίγνετο, καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς Κελτοὺς ἐστράτευσαν μὲν καὶ ἄλλοι τινές, ἐστράτευσε δὲ καὶ ὁ Τιβέριος. καὶ μέχρι γε τοῦ ποταμοῦ, πρότερον μὲν τοῦ Οὐισούργου, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο καὶ τοῦ Ἀλβίου, προεχώρησεν, οὐ μέντοι καὶ ἀξιομνημόνευτόν τι τότε γε ἐπράχθη.
47. The fortress encompassing 37 hectares was discovered in 1985. Finds of pottery at the site have been dated to 5–9 CE. While the palisade and ditch – measuring 2.25km in length – and several interior buildings – the headquarters, three centurions’ houses, granaries and kilns – were completed, the camp seems, like Haltern, never to have been fully occupied. A smaller 9 hectare fort erected on top of the hill appears to have been the temporary home of the engineers building the larger fortress. See Pietch, Timpe and Wamser (1991); Pietch (1993); von Schnurbein (2000 and 2004), pp. 34–35 and fig. 26.
48. Vell. Pat. 2.110.1. The press release announcing the discovery, entitled ‘The First Romans in Carununtum: Earliest Roman military camps discovered in Carnuntum by georadar measurements’, states: ‘Carnuntum is the largest archaeological landscape in Central Europe. Almost the entire Roman town, which covered more than ten square kilometres of area in antiquity, is still preserved under fields and vineyards some 40km to the east of Austria’s capital Vienna. Since 2012 the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology (LBI ArchPro) together with ZAMG and their international partners have been exploring the subsurface of this vast area on behalf of the County of Lower Austria . . . Outside the western gate of the Roman town the [georadar] surveys have revealed an extensive street village located alongside the Roman road to Vindobona (Vienna). Underneath the remains of this village – hidden in the deeper layers of the digital data volumes – the scientists of the LBI ArchPro discovered a typical fortification ditch of a Roman military camp placed directly adjacent to the river Danube, enclosing an area of more than six football pitches (57,600m2). Due to the superposition with buildings, the researchers conclude that this camp has been one of the earliest military camps constructed during the Roman occupation of the Carnuntum area’ (http://archpro.lbg.ac.at/pressrelease/first-romans-carnuntum – accessed 29 February 2016). The spelling Karnuntum is Celtic.
49. Dio 55.22.4. See Ch. 5, nos 81 and 82.
50. Dio 55.23.1: χαλεπῶς δὲ δὴ τῶν στρατιωτῶν πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἄθλων σμικρότητα διὰ τοὺς πολέμους τοὺς τότε ἐνεστηκότας οὐχ ἥκιστα ἐχόντων, καὶ μηδενὸς ἔξω τοῦ τεταγμένου τῆς στρατείας σφίσι χρόνου ὅπλα λαβεῖν ἐθέλοντος.
51. Swan (2004), p. 158, citing Keppie (1973). See Ch. 4, nos 7–9.
52. Dio 55.23.1: ἐψηφίσθη τοῖς μὲν ἐκ τοῦ δορυφορικοῦ πεντακισχιλίας δραχμάς, ἐπειδὰν ἑκκαίδεκα ἔτη, τοῖς δὲ ἑτέροις τρισχιλίας, ἐπειδὰν εἴκοσι στρατεύσωνται, δίδοσθαι . Cf. the grievances of soldiers of the Rhine Army in 14 CE in Tac., Ann. 1.17.
53. Dio 56.22.3–4. Asprenas may have been with his uncle in Syria as a tribunus militum, suggests Syme (1986), p. 314, citing W. John.
54. Dio 56.18.3.
55. Dio 56.18.3; Florus 2.30. For a discussion of the mission of Varus in the region see Dreyer (2009), pp. 106–18; Wolters (2008), pp. 71–74 and 84–86; and Wells (1972), p. 239, who notes ‘in Germany he [Varus] was not expected to fight a major campaign’.
56. Not all Germania was under Roman control as Dio 56.18.1 admits: The Romans were holding portions of it – not entire regions, but merely such districts as happened to have been subdued | εἶχόν τινα οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι αὐτῆς, οὐκ ἀθρόα ἀλλ᾽ ὥς που καὶ ἔτυχε χειρωθέντα.
57. Dio 56.18.2: καὶ στρατιῶταί τε αὐτῶν ἐκεῖ ἐχείμαζον καὶ πόλεις συνῳκίζοντο, ἔς τε τὸν κόσμον σφῶν οἱ βάρβαροι μετερρυθμίζοντο καὶ ἀγορὰς ἐνόμιζον συνόδους τε εἰρηνικὰς ἐποιοῦντο . Ptolemy’s geography lists several settlements by name. The only one that has been found is Waldgirmes, the Roman name of which is not known: see Ch. 5, n. 77.
58. Dio 55.28.1–2: κἀν τοῖς αὐτοῖς τούτοις χρόνοις καὶ πόλεμοι πολλοὶ ἐγένοντο. καὶ γὰρ λῃσταὶ συχνὰ κατέτρεχον, ὥστε τὴν Σαρδὼ μηδ᾽ ἄρχοντα βουλευτὴν ἔτεσί τισι σχεῖν, ἀλλὰ στρατιώταις τε καὶ στρατιάρχαις ἱππεῦσιν ἐπιτραπῆναι: καὶ πόλεις οὐκ ὀλίγαι ἐνεωτέριζον, ὥστε καὶ ἐπὶ δύο ἔτη τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς τοῦ δήμου ἔθνεσι, καὶ αἱρετούς γε ἀντὶ τῶν κληρωτῶν, ἄρξαι: τὰ γὰρ τοῦ Καίσαρος καὶ ἄλλως ἐπὶ πλείω χρόνον τοῖς αὐτοῖς προσετάττετο. οὐ μέντοι καὶ περὶ πάντων αὐτῶν ἀκριβῶς ἐπεξάξω. Sardinia and Corsica now needed a military presence to maintain law and order and, consequently, switched from being a Province of the People to a Province of Caesar (Strabo, Geog. 17.840): see Swan (2004), p. 189, on T. Pompius Proculus, the equestrian official curiously entitled pro legato placed in charge of it and shown on a milestone (ILS 105 = EJ 232a, dated 13–14 CE). Dio goes on to state in the quoted passage that he simply recorded the events worthy of mention, and very briefly at that, except for ‘those of greatest importance’; the implication is that many events were omitted from his account, and lost to history because of his editorial decisions; on this point see Swan (2004), p.190.
59. Dio 55.28.3.
60. Dio 55.28.3–4.
61. Flor. 2.31; Vell. Pat. 2.116.2; Orosius 6.21.18; Dio 55.28.3–4; ILS 120 El-Lehs; IRT 521, 301 (Lepcis).
62. Matthew 2.22 implies that Joseph and Mary were afraid to travel to the territories under King Archelaus, deciding to settle, instead, in Galilee. For a discussion of Iudaea after Herodes and relations with the Romans see Fischer (2011).
63. Dio 55.27.6; Strabo, Geog. 16.765; Joseph., Bell. Iud. 2.111, Ant. Iud. 17.344.
64. Dio 55.27.6.
65. Joseph., Ant. Iud. 18.1–2; Bell. Iud. 2.117.
66. Joseph., Ant. Iud. 18.4: Ἰούδας δὲ Γαυλανίτης ἀνὴρ ἐκ πόλεως ὄνομα Γάμαλα Σάδδωκον Φαρισαῖον προσλαβόμενος ἠπείγετο ἐπὶ ἀποστάσει, τήν τε ἀποτίμησιν οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἢ ἄντικρυς δουλείαν ἐπιφέρειν λέγοντες καὶ τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἐπ᾽ ἀντιλήψει παρακαλοῦντες τὸ ἔθνος.
67. Joseph., Ant. Iud. 18.1; cf. Acts 5, 36, where the leader is called Theudas.
68. None are listed in the summary in Tac., Ann. 5.9 or in Dio 55.28.
69. Acts 5.37.
70. Strabo, Geog. 7.1.3; Vell. Pat. 2.108.2; Tac., Ann. 2.63. See Dobiáš (1960), pp. 155–66; Pitts (1989), pp. 46–47.
71. Strabo, Geog. 7.1.3.
72. Vell. Pat. 2.109.1–2. Strabo, Geog. 7.1.3 lists the coalition partners as the Luji, Zumi, Gutones, Mugilones, Sibini and the Semnones of the Suebi (or Suevi) federation.
73. Vell. Pat. 2.109.5; Tac., Ann. 2.63.
74. Suet., Tib. 16.1; Vell. Pat. 2.110.1.
75. On the historical and archaeological challenges of documenting the campaign see Salač (2006).
76. Dio 55.28.7n; Vell. Pat. 2.109.5.
75. See Ch. 2, nos 55 and 56.
78. Vell. Pat. 2.110.1–2: Praeparaverat iam hiberna Caesar ad Danubium admotoque exercitu non plus quam quinque dierum iter a primis hostium aberat, legionesque quas Saturninum admovere placuerat, paene aequali divisae intervallo ab hoste intra paucos dies in praedicto loco cum Caesare se iuncturae errant.
79. See Swan (2004), pp. 197–98, citing as source Kolník (1991), pp. 71–84.
80. The remains of marching camps have been identified at Mušov-Burgstall on the Dyje (Thaya) River, a tributary of the March in Moravia, Czech Republic, some 90km north of Carnuntum, the earliest of which may date to this period. (See Swan (2004), p. 198, citing Bálek and Sedo (1996), pp. 399–414). Most, however, have been dated using stratigraphy to the later Marcomannic Wars of M. Aurelius (166–180 CE).
81. Vell. Pat. 2.110. 2.
82. Dio 55.29.3.
83. Vell. Pat. 2.110.6: Oppressi cives Romani, trucidati negotiatores, magnus vexillariorum numerus ad internecionem ea in regione, quae plurimum ab imperatore aberat, caesus.
84. Vell. Pat. 2.110.6: occupata armis Macedonia, omnia et in omnibus ocis igni ferroque vastata.
85. Dio 55.29.3.
86. Dio 55.29.1.
87. Dio 55.29.1–2.
88. Vell. Pat. 2.110.4.
89. Dio states the rebellion broke out before Tiberius launched his German War. Mócsy (1983), pp. 173–74, argues that the cause of the rebellion was, in fact, Tiberius’ mishandling of the situation by insisting Messallinus recruit men from Illyricum and bring them. The men of Illyricum, however, refused to endanger their lives in foreign lands across the Danube in a war that did not serve their best interests.
90. Appian’s estimate (Ill. 22) is that the Pannonii – the name given to the tribes of Illyricum living close to the Danube – could field 100,000 armed men. For an assessment see Dzino (2005), p. 147.
91. Strabo, Geog. 7.5.4: καὶ ζειᾷ καὶ κέγχρῳ τὰ πολλὰ τρεφομένων: ὁ δ᾽ ὁπλισμὸς Κελτικός: κατάστικτοι δ᾽ ὁμοίως τοῖς ἄλλοις Ἰλλυριοῖς καὶ Θρᾳξί . On Iron Age ‘Celtic’ arms, armour and modes of fighting see Powell (2011) pp. 34–38.
92. The Pannonian warriors – those who could afford them – wielded iron swords measuring 0.55–0.57 metres (1.80–1.87ft) in length with a pointed end best suited for cutting and chopping rather than thrusting.
93. Ennius, Ann. 5.540.
94. Cf. The fighting style of the Cantabri – see Ch. 2, nos 65 and 66.
95. Of these fortifications the eastern section of the town walls – built out of huge stone blocks with the door surrounded by octagonal towers (‘Porta Caesarea’) dating from the time of Augustus – still stands to the present day.
96. Dio, 55.29.4. On improvised weapons see Cowan (2009).
97. Dio 55.29.4.
98. Vell. Pat. 2.110. 6: Quin etiam tantus huius belli metus fuit, ut stabilem illum et firmatum tantorum bellorum experientia Caesaris Augusti animum quateret atque terreret.
99. Vell. Pat. 2.111.1: Habiti itaque dilectus, revocati undique et omnes veterani, viri feminaeque ex censu libertinum coactae dare militem. Audita in senatu vox principis, decimo die, ni caveretur, posse hostem in urbis Romae venire conspectum. Senatorum equitumque Romanorum exactae ad id bellum operae, pollicitati.
100. Vell. Pat. 2.111.2: The res publica, therefore, requested of Augustus to give command in that war to Tiberius, as their best defender | Itaque ut praesidium ultimum res publica ab Augusto ducem in bellum poposcit Tiberium.
101. Dio 55.28.7.
102. Vell. Pat. 2.110.3; Dio 55.28.6.
103. Dio 55.28.6–8; Vell. Pat. 2.97.4. The first two times followed the military campaigns of 4 and 5 CE, the special treaty with the Marcomanni was a third peace: Vell. Pat. 2.110.3; Tac., Ann. 2.26.3, 2.46.2. See Ch. 6, n. 103.
104. Dio 55.30.1–2. The home base of Legio XX was Burnum in Dalmatian Illyricum.
105. Swan (2004), p. 247.
106. Suet., Tib. 16: quod gravissimum omnium externorum bellorum post Punica.
107. Dio 55.30.2.
108. Dio 55.30.3.
109. Dio 55.30.3–4. See Ch. 4, n. 19.
110. Dio 55.30.4.
111. Dio 55.30.4, 55.33.2. This is the M’. Ennius of Tac., Ann. 1.38.1–2.
112. Vell. Pat. 2.111.3. He waived the opportunity of a provincial governorship to accept the military position.
113. Vell. Pat. 2.111.4.
114. Vell. Pat. 2.112.2.
115. Suet., Tib. 20; Vell. Pat. 2.112.2: ornamenta took the form of an ovatio in which the honoree could ride a horse, rather than a chariot as in a full triumph, at the head of his victorious troops.
116. Dio 55.30.5; Vell. Pat. 2.112.1.
117. Dio 55.30.5–6.
118. Dio 55.30.5–6.
119. Vell. Pat. 2.111.1.
120. See Ch. 1, n. 23.
121. Dio 55.31.1.
122. Suet., Tib. 21.4: Vale, iucundissime Tiberi, et feliciter rem gere, ἐμοὶ καὶ ταῖς μούσαις στρατηγῶν . Iucundissime et ita sim felix, vir fortissime et dux νομιμώτατε , vale. Ordinem aestivorum tuorum ego vero laudo, mi Tiberi, et inter tot rerum difficultates καὶ τοσαύτην ἀποθυμίαν τῶν στρατευομένων non potuisse quemquam prudentius gerere se quam tu gesseris, existimo. [H]ii quoque qui tecum fuerunt omnes confitentur, versum illum in te posse dici: unus homo nobis vigilando restituit rem. In the quote Augustus adapts Enn., Ann. 370 V2 to switch cunctando with vigilando.
123. Tac., Ann. 1.4; Vell. Pat. 2.112.7.
124. Dio 55.32.1–2; Suet., Div. Aug. 65.4. His mother, Iulia Caesaris, was banished here for the alleged crime of adultery in 2 BCE. Any chance that he might succeed Augustus was now extinguished. Barbara M. Levick (1972, p. 696), observes that Augustus deposited the young man’s confiscated property in the aerarium militare and, by doing so, avoided the charge that he had embezzled it.
125. Dio 55.31.1.
126. Nero Claudius Drusus was 23 years old in 15 BCE. See Ch. 3, n. 58.
127. Dio 55.31.1. Slaves were not normally considered fit for military service: Pliny the Younger, Epist. 10.29–30.
128. See Brunt (1974), Orth (1978) and Speidel (1976). For a discussion of the Cohortes Voluntariorum see Appendix 3.6.
129. Vell. Pat. 2.110.6: Quin etiam tantus huius belli metus fuit, ut stabilem illum et firmatum tantorum bellorum experientia Caesaris Augusti animum quateret atque terreret.
130. Dio 55.31.4.
131. Dio 55.31.2.
132. For estimates of fodder needed to feed cavalry horses on campaign see Herz (2007), p. 317.
133. RG 17; Dio 54.25.2.
134. Dio 54.25.3.
135. Dio 54.25.4.
136. Dio 54.25.5: συναγαγὼν δὲ ἐκ τούτου τὸ βουλευτήριον αὐτὸς μὲν οὐδὲν εἶπεν ὑπὸ βράγχου, τὸ δὲ δὴ βιβλίον τῷ ταμίᾳ ἀναγνῶναι δοὺς τά τε πεπραγμένα οἱ κατηριθμήσατο, καὶ διέταξε τά τε ἔτη ὅσα οἱ πολῖται στρατεύσοιντο, καὶ τὰ χρήματα ὅσα παυσάμενοι τῆς στρατείας, ἀντὶ τῆς χώρας ἣν ἀεί ποτε ᾔτουν, λήψοιντο, ὅπως ἐπὶ ῥητοῖς ἐκεῖθεν ἤδη καταλεγόμενοι μηδὲν τούτων γε ἕνεκα νεωτερίζωσιν .
137. Dio 54.25.1, 54.25.6.
138. Suet., Div. Aug. 25.2, 30.1; Dio 55.26.1, 4–5; Tac., Ann. 13.27.1. For a discussion of the Vigiles Urbani see Appendix 3.8.
139. Suet., Div. Aug. 25.2; Dio 52.33.1, 55.26.4, 58.9.3; Dig. 1.2.2.33.
140. Cf. Dio 55.26.4 on the praefectus’ duties.
141. Dio 55.33.4, 55.26.5.
142. Vell. Pat. 2.113.1: unctis exercitibus, quique sub Caesare fuerant quique ad eum venerant, contractisque in una castra decem legionibus, septuaginta amplius cohortibus, decem alis et pluribus quam decem veteranorum milibus, ad hoc magno voluntariorum numero frequentique equite regio, tanto denique exercitu; Suet., Tib. 16.1 states fifteen legions and an equal number of auxiliaries were involved. Saeger (1972), p. 42, asserts this is ‘far more than he really needed’ but this underestimates the difficulty of the terrain in the Western Balkans and the refusal of the rebels to fight in the open.
143. Vell. Pat. 2.113.1: quantus nullo umquam loco post bella fuerat civilia, omnes eo ipso laeti erant maximamque fiduciam victoriae in numero reponebant.
144. Florus 2.27: Ille barbaros et signis militaribus et disciplina, armis etiam Romanis adsueverat.
145. Vell. Pat. 2.112.4–5: apud signa quoque legionum trepidatum.
146. Vell. Pat. 2.112.6.
147. Vell. Pat. 2.112.5: Sed Romani virtus militis plus eo tempore vindicavit gloriae quam ducibus reliquit, qui multum a more imperatoris sui discrepantes ante in hostem inciderunt, quam per explora,tores, ubi hostis esset, cognoscerent.
148. Vell. Pat. 2.112.6: Iam igitur in dubiis rebus semet ipsae legiones adhortatae, . . . invasere hostes nec sustinuisse contenti perrupta eorum acie ex insperato victoriam vindicaverunt.
149. Dio 55.32.3.
150. Dio 55.32.3: καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἔξω τοῦ ταφρεύματος ἐφόβησαν καὶ κατήραξαν ἐς αὐτό, δεξαμένων δέ σφας τῶν ἔνδον ἡττήθησαν .
151. Dio 55.32.3–4. Dio may be referring to vexillarii or ‘vexillations’, which were smaller often mixed units brought together temporarily for a tactical mission, cf. Vell. Pat. 2.110.6.
152. Vell. Pat. 2.112.3; Pliny, Nat. Hist. 3.28 places Mons Claudius between the Scordisci and Taursici.
153. See Šašel Kos (2011), p. 114 and plan in fig. 5.
154. Dio’s account for 7 CE is light on details, so our understanding of events may miss important events.
155. Dio 55.32.4.
156. Strabo, Geog. 7.5.1.
157. Dio 55.32.4: ὁ δὲ δὴ Γερμανικὸς Μαζαίους Δελματικὸν ἔθνος μάχῃ νικήσας ἐκάκωσεν.
158. Dio 55.33.3.
159. See Ch. 6, n. 62.
160. Dio 56.11.1. The exact identity of this location is not known.
161. Evans (1883).
162. Dio 56.11.1: καίπερ τῇ τε φύσει ἰσχυρὸν ὂν καὶ τοῖς τείχεσιν εὖ πεφραγμένον τούς τε ἀμυνομένους παμπληθεῖς ἔχον.
163. Dio 56.11.1: οὔκουν οὔτε μηχαναῖς οὔτε προσβολαῖς ἠδυνήθη τι ἐξεργάσασθαι.
164. Dio 56.11.2: Πουσίων ἱππεὺς Κελτὸς λίθον ἐς τὸ τεῖχος ἀφεὶς οὕτω τὴν ἔπαλξιν διέσεισεν ὥστε αὐτήν τε αὐτίκα πεσεῖν καὶ τὸν ἄνδρα τὸν ἐπικεκλιμένον οἱ συγκατασπάσαι. γενομένου δὲ τούτου ἐκπλαγέντες οἱ ἄλλοι καὶ φοβηθέντες τό τε τεῖχος ἐκεῖνο ἐξέλιπον καὶ ἐς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν ἀνέδραμον .
165. Dio 56.11.2.
166. Dio 56.11.1, 56.11.3. Raetinium may be the Rataneum of Pliny, Nat. Hist. 3.26. The modern location might be Bihać on the Una River.
167. Dio 56.11.3–7: οἱ γὰρ ἐναντίοι βιαζόμενοι τῷ πλήθει σφῶν, καὶ μὴ δυνάμενοι ἀντέχειν, πῦρ ἐθελούσιοι ἔς τε τὸν κύκλον πέριξ καὶ ἐς τὰ οἰκοδομήματα πλησίον αὐτοῦ ἐνέβαλον, μηχανησάμενοι ὅπως ὅτι μάλιστα μὴ παραχρῆμα ἐκλάμψῃ ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ χρόνον τινὰ διαλάθῃ. καὶ οἱ μὲν τοῦτο ποιήσαντες ἐς τὴν ἄκραν ἀνεχώρησαν: ἀγνοοῦντες δὲ οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι τὸ πεπραγμένον ἐπεσέπεσον ὡς καὶ αὐτοβοεὶ πάντα διαρπάσοντες, καὶ εἴσω τε τῆς τοῦ πυρὸς περιβολῆς ἐγένοντο, καὶ οὐ πρότερον εἶδον αὐτό, πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους τὸν νοῦν ἔχοντες, πρὶν πανταχόθεν ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ περιληφθῆναι. τότε δὲ ἐν παντὶ κινδύνου ἐγένοντο, ἄνωθεν μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων βαλλόμενοι, ἔξωθεν δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς φλογὸς κακούμενοι, καὶ μήτε κατὰ χώραν ἀσφαλῶς μεῖναι μήτε πῃ διαπεσεῖν ἀκινδύνως δυνάμενοι. εἴτε γὰρ ἔξω βέλους ἀφίσταντο, πρὸς τοῦ πυρὸς ἀναλοῦντο, εἴτ᾽ ἀπὸ τῆς φλογὸς ἀπεπήδων, πρὸς τῶν βαλλόντων ἐφθείροντο: καί τινες ἐν στενοχωρίᾳ ἀπ᾽ ἀμφοτέρων ἅμα ἀπώλοντο, τῇ μὲν τιτρωσκόμενοι τῇ δὲ καιόμενοι. οἱ μὲν οὖν πλείους τῶν ἐσελθόντων οὕτως ἀπήλλαξαν: ὀλίγοι δέ τινες νεκροὺς ἐς αὐτὴν τὴν φλόγα ἐμβαλόντες, καὶ δίοδόν σφισι δι᾽ αὐτῶν καθάπερ ἐπὶ γεφύρας ποιήσαντες, διέφυγον. οὕτω γάρ που τὸ πῦρ ἐπεκράτησεν ὥστε μηδὲ τοὺς ἐν τῇ ἀκροπόλει ὄντας κατὰ χώραν μεῖναι, ἀλλὰ τῆς νυκτὸς αὐτὴν ἐκλιπεῖν καὶ ἐς οἰκήματα κατώρυχα κατακρυφθῆναι .
168. Swan (2004), p. 247, argues the actual number in 8 CE was eight legions.
169. Dio 56.12.2: καὶ φοβηθεὶς μὴ καὶ καθ᾽ ἓν ὄντες στασιάσωσι, τριχῇ διεῖλεν αὐτούς, καὶ τοὺς μὲν τῷ Σιλουανῷ τοὺς δὲ Μάρκῳ Λεπίδῳ προστάξας ἐπὶ τὸν Βάτωνα μετὰ τῶν λοιπῶν σὺν τῷ Γερμανικῷ ὥρμησε .
170. Dio 55.34.5–6.
171. Dio 55.34.6: καὶ αὐτοῖς ὁ Σιλουανὸς ἐπιστρατεύσας τούς τε Βρεύκους ἐνίκησε καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τινὰς ἀμαχεὶ προσεποιήσατο.
172. Vell. Pat. 2.114.4–5. See Wilkes (1969), p. 553.
173. Dio 55.34.7.
174. Vell. Pat. 2.115.4; Dio 56.13.5, cf. description of saltus Teutoburgiensis in 56.20.1.
175. Dio 55.12.4.
176. Dio 56.12.5: καὶ προσέτι καὶ τὴν σιτοπομπίαν τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐνεδρεύοντες ἐκώλυον, ὥστε τὸν Τιβέριον, πολιορκεῖν σφας δοκοῦντα, αὐτὸν τὰ τῶν πολιορκουμένων πάσχειν .
177. Suet., Tib. 16.2.
178. Dio 55.33.1.
179. Dio 55.33.2, 56.15.2. On the Pannonian deserters see Dzino (2005), pp. 154–55.
180. Dio 56.13.2.
181. Dio 56.13.1.
182. Dio 56.13.3.
183. Dio 56.13.4.
184. Dio 56.14.1.
185. Dio 56.14.5.
186. Dio 56.14.6.
187. Cf. Vell. Pat. 2.115.2.
188. Dio 56.14.7.
189. Dio 56.15.1.
190. The modern location is not known: see Swan (2004), pp. 245–46.
191. Dio 56.15.1–2.
192. Dio 56.15.2.
193. Dio 56.15.3.
194. Dio 56.16.1.
195. Dio 56.16.2.
196. Dzino (2005), p. 155.
197. Dio 56.16.2–3.
198. Suet., Tib. 17.2.
199. Suet., Tib. 9.2.
200. Vell. Pat. 2.116.1; Dio 56.17.2; Suet., Tib. 20.1.
201. Dio 56.24.2–5 meticulously records the catalogue of signs and portents that presaged a disaster. The Temple of Mars in the Campus Martius was struck by lightning. There was a plague of locusts. There were reports that the Alps exploded like volcanoes. Comets had blazed across the night sky. Additionally: spears seemed to dart from the north and to fall in the direction of the Roman camps; bees formed their combs about the altars in the camps; a statue of Victory that was in the province of Germania and faced the enemy’s territory turned about to face Italia; and in one instance there was a futile battle and conflict of the soldiers over the eagles in the camps, the soldiers believing that the barbarians had fallen upon them | καὶ δόρατα ἀπ᾽ ἄρκτου φερόμενα πρὸς τὰ τῶν Ῥωμαίων στρατόπεδα προσπίπτειν ἐδόκει, μέλισσαί τε περὶ τοὺς βωμοὺς αὐτῶν κηρία ἀνέπλασσον, καὶ Νίκης τι ἄγαλμα ἔν τε τῇ Γερμανίᾳ ὂν καὶ πρὸς τὴν πολεμίαν βλέπον πρὸς τὴν Ἰταλίαν μετεστράφη: καὶ ποτε καὶ περὶ τοὺς ἀετοὺς τοὺς ἐν τοῖς στρατοπέδοις, ὡς καὶ τῶν βαρβάρων ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἐσπεπτωκότων, μάχη καὶ ἀγωνισμὸς τῶν στρατιωτῶν διὰ κενῆς ἐγένετο .
202. Dio 56.19.2; Vell. Pat. 2.118.2; Tac., Ann. 1.55.2–3, 58.2–3, 2.10.3, 2.88.1–2; Florus 2.30.32; Strabo, Geog. 7.292. See Ch. 5, n. 15.
203. Vell. Pat. 2.118.2.
204. Powell (2014), p. 35; cf. Murdoch (2006), p. 108.
205. Vell. Pat. 2.117.1. Legiones XIIX and XIX are known with certainty to have been part of his army group and XVII is presumed to have been the other since it is attested nowhere else: Manlius 1.900; Strabo, Geog. 7.291; Tac., Germ. 37.4, Ann. 1.61.2; Suet., Div. Aug. 23.1, Tib. 17.1. His starting point is unknown. It is possible it was the temporary marching camp dating to this period – found at Barkhausen, Porta Westfalica: see Ch. 6, n. 36.
206. At full strength it would consist of 16,800 legionaries including 360 mounted scouts, 3,072 cavalry (based on 512 men per ala) and 2,880 infantry auxiliaries (assuming 480 men per cohors peditata). Some men would have remained at the winter camps – Batavodurum, Vetera, Novaesium, Ara Ubiorum and Mogontiacum on the Rhine, as well as Anreppen, Haltern and other forts on the Lippe – to ensure they were maintained and stocked with provisions, while others would have been seconded to the provincial administration running the legal and military affairs of province Germania. Following the troops was an unknown number of motley noncombatants – slaves, slave traders, merchants and personal-service providers – who made a living from trading with the soldiers and local tribes people they encountered. Murdoch (2006), p. 105, suggests 18,000 legionaries, 900 cavalry and 3,600 auxiliaries.
207. Dio 54.33.3–4.
208. Dio 56.19.2.
209. Vell. Pat. 2.118.4: Id Varo per virum eius gentis fidelum clarique nominis, Segesten, indicatur.
210. Dio 56.19.3: καὶ ἐκείνους διαβάλλουσιν, ἐπανίστανταί τινες πρῶτοι τῶν ἄπωθεν αὐτοῦ οἰκούντων ἐκ παρασκευῆς .
211. Dio 56.19.4.
212. Dio 56.19.4.
213. Dio 56.20.2.
214. Dio 56.20.4.
215. Saltus Teutoburgiensis is mentioned only by Tac., Ann. 1.60.3. Saltus is often translated as forest, but this ambiguous Latin word can also mean glade, pasture, pass, ravine or woodland. The location of the battle has been argued over for centuries and there some 700 modern theories as to its exact whereabouts: see Powell (2014), p. 31. For the case pro Kalkriese see Schlüter (1999) and Rost (2005; 2009), contra see Schoppe (2006).
216. Dio 56.19.1.
217. For a full discussion of the Battle of Teutoburg Pass and the arms, armour, strategies and tactics of the opposing sides, see Powell (2014), pp. 4–40.
218. Dio 56.20.4.
219. Tac., Ann. 1.64.2; cf. Dio 38.49.1.
220. Dio 56.20.4.
221. Dio 56.20.3: the sudden appearance of a storm may be a trope rather than an actual meteorological event. No other Roman historian mentions the weather during this battle.
222. Dio 56.20.5.
223. Dio 56.21.1.
224. Cf. Tac., Ann. 1.63–64.
225. Tac., Ann. 1.61.2.
226. Dio 56.21.2.
227. Dio 56.21.1.
228. Dio 56.21.2; cf. 56.20.5, 71.7.3.
229. Vell. Pat. 2.119.4.
230. Dio 56.21.3.
231. Tac., Ann. 1.60 locates the final stage of the ambush ‘not far’ from a region between the Ems and Lippe rivers in the lands of the Bructeri: distrahendo hosti per Bructeros ad flumen Amisiam mittit.
232. Vell. Pat. 2.119.4.
233. CIL 13.8648. His brother Publius erected the headstone.
234. Vell. Pat. 2.119.4.
235. Vell. Pat. 2.120.6.
236. Crinagoras, Palatine Anthology 7.741.
237. Florus 2.30.38.
238. Vell. Pat. 2.119.4.
239. Florus 2.30.37: ‘vipera, sibilare desisti’.
240. Dio 56.21.5; Suet., Div. Aug. 23.1. His father had also taken his life.
241. Vell. Pat. 2.119.5.
242. Vell. Pat. 2.119.5.
243. One aquila went to the Bructeri (Tac., Ann. 1.60), one to the Chauci (Dio 56.8.7) and the third to the Marsi (Tac., Ann. 2.25).
244. Florus, 2.30.
245. Dio 56.22.2a; Tac., Ann. 2.7.1–3. Some historians identify Aliso as the ‘Hauptlager’ of Annaberg at Haltern: see Ch. 4, n. 87.
246. Dio 56.22.2a; cf. Tac., Ann. 2.16, 17.4.6.
247. Dio 56.22.2b.
248. Dio 56.22.2b; Vell. Pat. 2.120.4.
249. Frontinus, Strat. 4.7.8.
250. Frontinus, Strat. 3.15.4: horrea tota nocte circumduxerunt captivos, deinde praecisis manibus dimiserunt: hi circumsedentibus suis persuaserunt, ne spem maturae expugnationis reponerent in fame Romanorum, quibus ingens alimentorum copia superesset. Cf. Dio 56.23.2b.
251. Dio 56.23.2b.
252. Dio 56.22.2: τὸ μὲν πρῶτον τό τε δεύτερόν σφων φυλακτήριον παρῆλθον, ἐπεὶ δὲ πρὸς τῷ τρίτῳ ἐγένοντο, ἐφωράθησαν, τῶν τε γυναικῶν καὶ τῶν παίδων συνεχῶς τοὺς ἐν τῇ ἡλικίᾳ διά τε τὸν κάματον καὶ διὰ τὸν φόβον τό ε σκότος καὶ τὸ ψῦχος ἀνακαλούντων.
253. Dio 56.23.3.
254. Vell. Pat. 2.120.4: ad suos.
255. Dio 56.22.2b.
256. Vell. Pat. 2.120.3: there are those, however, who believed that, though he had saved the lives of the living, he had appropriated to his own use the property of the dead who were slain with Varus, and that inheritances of the slaughtered army were claimed by him at pleasure | Sunt tamen, qui ut vivos ab eo vindicatos, ita iugulatorum sub Varo occupata crediderint patrimonia hereditatemque occisi exercitus, in quantum voluerit, ab eo aditam.
257. Vell. Pat. 2.117.1.; cf. Dio 56.18.1.
258. Dio 56.22.2b.
259. Suet., Div. Aug. 49.1: Quintili Vare, legiones redde! Cf. Dio 56.23.1; Oros. 6.21.27.
260. Dio 56.23.4: ἐπειδή τε συχνοὶ ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ καὶ Γαλάται καὶ Κελτοί, οἱ μὲν ἄλλως ἐπιδημοῦντες οἱ δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷ δορυφορικῷ στρατευόμενοι, ἦσαν, ἐφοβήθη μή τι νεοχμώσωσι, καὶ τούτους μὲν ἐς νήσους τινὰς ἀπέστειλε, τοῖς δ᾽ ἀόπλοις ἐκχωρῆσαι τῆς πόλεως προσέταξε .
261. Dio 56.23.1: καὶ πένθος μέγα ἐπί τε τοῖς ἀπολωλόσι καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ περί τε τῶν Γερμανιῶν καὶ περὶ τῶν Γαλατιῶν δέει ἐποιήσατο, τό τε μέγιστον ὅτι καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν Ἰταλίαν τήν τε Ῥώμην αὐτὴν ὁρμήσειν σφᾶς προσεδόκησε .
262. Suet., Div. Aug. 23.1.
263. Suet., Div. Aug. 23.1.
264. Dio 56.24.1.
265. Suet., Div. Aug. 23.2.
266. Suet., Tib., 9.2, 17.2; cf. Vell. Pat. 2.121.2. His return from Illyricum is attested by the Fasti Praenestini, CIL I, 230 = AE 1937, 4 = EJ p. 45.
267. On the role of gods in war see Powell (2010).
268. Dio 56.22.2.
269. Dio 56.23.2–3: ὄφελος ἦν, ἐκεκάκωτο. ὅμως δ᾽ οὖν τά τε ἄλλα ὡς ἐκ τῶν παρόντων παρεσκευάσατο, καὶ ἐπειδὴ μηδεὶς τῶν τὴν στρατεύσιμον ἡλικίαν ἐχόντων καταλεχθῆναι ἠθέλησεν, ἐκλήρωσεν αὐτούς, καὶ τῶν μὲν μηδέπω πέντε καὶ τριάκοντα ἔτη γεγονότων τὸν πέμπτον, τῶν δὲ πρεσβυτέρων τὸν δέκατον ἀεὶ λαχόντα τήν τε οὐσίαν ἀφείλετο καὶ ἠτίμωσε. καὶ τέλος, ὡς καὶ πάνυ πολλοὶ οὐδ᾽ οὕτω τι αὐτοῦ προετίμων, ἀπέκτεινέ τινας. ἀποκληρώσας δὲ ἔκ τε τῶν ἐστρατευμένων ἤδη καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἐξελευθέρων ὅσους ἠδυνήθη, κατέλεξε, καὶ εὐθὺς σπουδῇ μετὰ τοῦ Τιβερίου ἐς τὴν Γερμανίαν.
270. Suet., Div. Aug. 24.1, cf. Tib. 8. There were precedents: for enslavement, Dig. 49.16.10; for confiscation of property, Val. Max. 6.3.4.
271. Dio 56.24.1.
272. Oros. 6.21.27; cf. Suet., Div. Iul. 67.2.
273. Suet., Div. Aug. 24.2.
274. Vell. Pat. 2.119.5.
275. Dio 56.24.1.
276. Dio 56.25.1n. The dedication of the temple is attested by the Fasti Praenestini, CIL I, 230 = Ilt. 13.2.114–115 = EJ p. 45.
277. Dio 56.24.6: ὁ δὲ Τιβέριος διαβῆναι τὸν Ῥῆνον οὐκ ἔκρινεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἠτρέμιζεν ἐπιτηρῶν μὴ οἱ βάρβαροι τοῦτο ποιήσωσιν. ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἐκεῖνοι διαβῆναι ἐτόλμησαν γνόντες αὐτὸν παρόντα. Vell. Pat. 2.120.1–2.
278. Dio 56.22.4.
279. Vell. Pat. 2.121.1.
280. In 15 CE Germanicus Caesar built a camp at a point along it, Tac., Ann. 1.50: at Romanus agmine propero silvam Caesiam limitemque a Tiberio coeptum scindit. It predates the so-called Limes Germanicus by seventy-five years.
281. Dio 56.24.1.
282. Tac., Ann. 1.31, 3.41, 4.73, 13.53.
283. Vell. Pat. 2.121.1: cum res Galliarum maximae molis accensasque plebis Viennensium dissensiones coercitione magis quam poena mollisset.
284. It was still referred to as Illyricum in 14 CE: CIL III, 1741 (Ragusae) = ILS 938; Vell. Pat. 2.125.5.
285. Cf. ILS 2280 = EJ 265.
286. Dio 56.25.2–3: οὐ μέντοι οὔτε μάχῃ τινὶ ἐνίκησαν ῾ἐς γὰρ χεῖρας οὐδεὶς αὐτοῖς ᾔεἰ οὔτε ἔθνος τι ὑπηγάγοντο: δεδιότες γὰρ μὴ καὶ συμφορᾷ αὖθις περιπέσωσιν, οὐ πάνυ πόρρω τοῦ Ῥήνου προῆλθον .
287. Dio 56.25.6: καὶ τῷ ὑπηκόῳ προσπαρήγγειλε μηδενὶ τῶν προστασσομένων αὐτοῖς ἀρχόντων μήτε ἐν τῷ τῆς ἀρχῆς χρόνῳ μήτε ἐντὸς ἑξήκοντα ἡμερῶν μετὰ τὸ ἀπαλλαγῆναί σφας τιμήν τινα διδόναι, ὅτι τινὲς μαρτυρίας παρ᾽ αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπαίνους προπαρασκευαζόμενοι πολλὰ διὰ τούτου ἐκακούργουν . See Swan (2004), pp. 281–82.
288. Dio 56.26.2: καὶ μετὰ τοῦτ᾽ ᾐτήσατο παρ᾽ αὐτῶν, ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ Κελτικοῦ πολέμου προφάσει, μήτ᾽ οἴκοι αὐτὸν ἀσπάζεσθαι μήτ᾽ ἀγανακτεῖν εἰ μηκέτι συσσιτοίη σφίσι .
289. Dio 56.27.4.
290. Dio 56.17.1; Suet., Tib. 17.2.
291. Suet., Tib. 20; Ovid, Epistulae Ex Ponto 2.1, 2.2, 3.3.85ff. Seager (1972), p. 45 n. 6, points out that the day is certain but the year is not, though there is more evidence in support of 12 CE.
292. Vell. Pat. 2.116.1; Dio 56.17.2; Suet., Tib. 20.1.
293. Dio 55.8.2.
294. Ovid, Epistulae Ex Ponto 2.1.25ff.
295. Vell. Pat. 2.121.2; cf. Suet., Tib. 17.2, which appears to relate to 9 CE. A silver denarius, minted in Lugdunum in 13 CE, shows Tiberius standing right in triumphal quadriga, holding an eagletipped sceptre: RIC I 222, RSC 300, BMC 512.
296. Suet., Tib. 16.2: Ac perseuerantiae grande pretium tulit, toto Illyrico, quod inter Italiam regnumque Noricum et Thraciam et Macedoniam interque Danuuium flumen et sinum maris Hadriatici patet, perdomito et in dicionem redacto.
297. Suet., Tib. 20.
298. The Gemma Augustea, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, is cut from doublelayered Arabian onyx and is roughly square in shape; jewel measures 19cm (7.5in) high by 23cm (9in) wide. The engraver, believed to be master craftsman Dioskurides or one of his pupils, carefully cut the top white layer down to the bluish-brown stone beneath, leaving low-relief figures in high contrast. The engraver created two tiers of parallel scenes. In the upper tier Augustus appears as Iupiter, seated on a curule chair holding the lituus, a symbol of his high command: Tiberius’ victory was won under the auspices of Augustus. He is being crowned with a corona civica of oak leaves – for saving Roman lives – by Oikumene. Oceanus or Neptunus and Gaia sit beside her. The three figures are personifications of the world and the surrounding seas over which Rome has dominion, and the world yet unconquered beyond. To Augustus’ right sits Roma wearing a helmet and clasping a spear, but she is lightly touching a sword as if to indicate Rome is always ready to defend herself. To her right stands a man wearing the armour of a commanding officer and distinctive paludamentum. Most scholars identify this youthful figure as Germanicus Caesar. To his right, Tiberius descends from a chariot clutching a staff in one hand as a winged victory stands behind him. In the lower tier, soldiers heave as they hoist up a trophaeum, while bound barbarian captives look on dejectedly. This artwork may have been given as a gift to a wealthy friend of the princeps or to a client king after Tiberius’ day of public recognition.
299. Grant (1970), p. 190; Goldsworthy (2006), p. 468.
300. Suet., Tib. 20; cf. 37.4.
301. Dio 56.25.1.
302. Dio 56.27.5. This building may be the basilica referred to in RG 20.3; cf. Suet., Div. Aug. 29.4. See Swan (2004), pp. 291–93.