Ancient Warfare I.1, 2007
Theme: the campaigns of Gnaeus Julius Agricola
Introduction: Jasper Oorthuys, 'Agricola's campaigns: historical setting'. Download here (right-click and select 'Save as')
 the Source: Jona Lendering, 'Tacitus and the Agricola'
The Romans
create a desert and call it peace: this is probably the most famous line from
the Agricola, the charming little
treatise that the Roman senator Cornelius Tacitus devoted to the achievements
of his father-in-law, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, one of Romes most successful
commanders in Britain. The famous line comes from a speech by a British
chieftain and has often been interpreted as a condemnation of imperialism (for
example by Robert Kennedy, who quoted these words in a speech on the war in Vietnam).
However, it would be wrong to think that Tacitus doubted Romes right to conquer the world. As an
old-fashioned senator, he believed in Roman expansion. To understand the Agricola, we must first understand its
author.
the Campaign: Jasper Oorthuys, 'Combined arms: Agricola's naval and land campaign'
It is self-evident that
there would not have been a Roman Britain without an extensive naval effort
during the invasion. That effort was the genesis of a permanent fleet in the English channel; enter the Classis
Britannica. Under the overall command of Julius Agricola, it was to
show that such fleets could still do useful front-line duty, even when deployed
against an opponent who had no warships to speak of.
the Warrior: Adrian Wink, 'Batavian auxiliaries of Agricolas army'. Illustrated by Johnny Shumate.
The Batavian troops of Agricolas army that fought at
Mons Graupius came from the great rivers in the Netherlands
on a large island between the rivers Meuse, Waal and Rhine.
The Batavi [made up of relocated peoples of the Chatti and Ubii] probably
colonised the island in the time of Drusus. A civil dissension among the Chatti
resulted in the expatriation of a portion of the people. The exiles sought a
new home in the empty Rhine island, called it Bet-auw, or good-meadow and
were themselves called thereafter, Batavi. The Batavian capital or Civitas was Batavodurum, present day Nijmegen.
the Battle: Kate Gilliver, 'The battle of Mons Graupius'
Somewhere in Scotland,
during a summer sometime in the mid 80s AD, a Roman army under the command of
Gnaeus Julius Agricola engaged in pitched battle and defeated an army of
Britons led by Calgacus. The only account of the battle is by Agricolas
son-in-law, the orator and historian Tacitus. Whilst he may not be in the
same league as historians such Thucydides or Polybius when it comes to military
details, Tacitus provides us with sufficient details to reconstruct the main
elements of the battle, though inevitably his narrative, as part of a
eulogistic biography of his father-in-law, presents the Roman general in the
best possible light.
Features
Be a general:Murray Dahm, 'Teach yourself how to be a general'
How did ancient generals
learn their craft? This question has often been asked and the answers generally
fall into the experience or genius categories. There was, however, an
industry in the ancient world of teaching the art of generalship; not in the
context of in the field training but in the classroom or in the form of
handbooks.
Be a general: Murray Dahm, 'The next Alexander'
Alexander the Great
was the general to emulate in the ancient world. In
fact, to this day he remains the benchmark of great military accomplishment.
Virtually every commander and student of military history since has pondered if
they could have done what he did, and if they could be the next Alexander.
Several figures in history have seen themselves as precisely that but all have
fallen short of the mark.
Special: Graham Sumner, 'Pontius Pilate's bodyguard'
Thanks to the New
Testament and with a little help from Hollywood,
Pontius Pilate has become the most infamous Roman Governor of Judaea.
Yet little attention has been paid to the real character and even less to the
troops that he had at his disposal. Recent research and interpretations of the
Bible have however thrown new light on this subject while also revealing
evidence of the internal policing duties in Romes most troublesome province.
the Find: Ruben Post, 'Alexandrian Stelae and the Ptolemaic army of the 3rd C BC'
In no other period of ancient history do we find such individual,
abundant, vivid, and complete evidence for the appearance of soldiers as we do
in the painted gravestones of Alexandria in Egypt.
Each, painted to depict the deceased, provides us with a snapshot of a soldier who
lived in the third century BC: a man struggles to secure his rearing horse;
another shakes hands with his daughters; and yet others stand alone, fully
armed and prepared for combat.
Downloadable articles (right-click and select 'Save as'):
- Contents
- Survey results
- Theme introduction
- On the cover |
