Gabiniani

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The Gabiniani (German Gabinianer ) were a Roman troop that Aulus Gabinius after the violent reinstatement of Ptolemy XII. on the Egyptian throne (55 BC) to protect it in the Nile country. These soldiers soon adopted the customs of their new surroundings and alienated themselves from the Roman world power. After the death of Ptolemy XII. they helped his son Ptolemy XIII. in the power struggle against his sister Cleopatra VII and involved in the Alexandrian War (48-47 BC) even the powerful supporter of Cleopatra, Gaius Julius Caesar , in heavy battles.

Protective power of Ptolemy XII. in Egypt

58 BC BC Ptolemy XII. Leave Egypt and go into exile. Three years later he was reinstated in his rule by Aulus Gabinius, the proconsul of Syria, after a brief campaign. Gabinius left part of his army, the Gabiniani, in Egypt in order to stabilize the government of the Ptolemaic king. This Roman troop also included Gallic and Germanic horsemen.

Since Egypt was nominally independent, the Gabiniani were not a Roman army of occupation, but served Ptolemy XII. as a mercenary. According to Caesar's account, they adapted very quickly to the extravagant Alexandrian way of life while neglecting Roman discipline and order. Nevertheless, they apparently continued to have considerable fighting power, since Caesar characterized them as particularly dangerous opponents in the Alexandrian War. They married Egyptian women and by the time Caesar arrived in Egypt (48 BC) had mostly had children with them. So they increasingly lost their ties to Rome and developed into a very loyal protective force of Ptolemy XII, whom they served in battles against rebellious subjects.

Conflict with Cleopatra VII.

After the death of Ptolemy XII. (51 BC) should his two oldest living children, Ptolemy XIII. and Cleopatra VII, succeeded to the throne together, but the young queen quickly ousted her brother husband from the government and in fact ruled alone. Soon after coming to power Cleopatra got into a serious conflict with the Gabiniani. The Parthians had the Romans 53 BC. Brought a devastating defeat in the Battle of Carrhae . Three years later, in the beginning of 50 BC. The then governor of Syria, Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus , sent two of his sons to Egypt, who were to recruit the Gabiniani to fight the Parthians. But the Gabiniani did not think of exchanging their peaceful life in the Ptolemaic Empire for a dangerous military mission, and they killed the sons of Bibulus.

In continuation of her father's policy, Cleopatra followed a line loyal to Rome and did not hesitate to have the murderers arrested and handcuffed to Bibulus, because a mere affirmation by the queen that she was innocent of the crime would hardly have been enough for the grieving father. To be sure, Cleopatra inevitably made bitter enemies of the mighty Gabiniani. But in view of the importance she attached to a good relationship with the world power Rome, she had no choice but to extradite those soldiers who were guilty of killing the sons of Bible. Valerius Maximus claims that the Syrian proconsul sent the murderers of his sons back to the Nile country because it was not he, but the Senate in Rome that was responsible for punishing the criminals. The ancient historian Christoph Schäfer does not believe this version and instead assumes that the proconsul himself spoke the judgment; Because Bibulus, otherwise not described as squeamish, had firstly the legal authority to make decisions in this matter and secondly he would have had to send the murderers to Rome and not back to the Nile - if he had really wanted to see them convicted by the Senate. Schäfer attributes Cleopatra's loss of power soon afterwards mainly to her break with the Gabiniani, who are now Ptolemy XIII. and its three influential guardians and advisers, Potheinos , Achillas and Theodotos of Chios , joined.

In the spring of 49 BC Chr. Came Gnaeus Pompey , the eldest son of the triumvir Pompey , to Egypt, to ask for military aid in just broken out civil war against Caesar. At that time Ptolemy XIII. can take over the stake in the government intended for him and, together with his sister wife Cleopatra, complied with the request. Among other things, they made 500 riders from the ranks of the Gabiniani available to Pompey, who this time made no move to refuse to fight.

Around the end of 49 BC Cleopatra was driven out of Alexandria mainly at the instigation of Potheinos. Probably in connection with this act, Caesar accuses the Gabiniani of having become so used to the old customs of the Alexandrian soldiers that they asked friends of kings to be executed, tried to raise their wages by sieging the royal palace, and deposed kings and brought other men into government in their stead.

After Pompey had lost the decisive battle at Pharsalus against Caesar, he fled the coast of Egypt and demanded acceptance and support from the Ptolemaic government. The advisers of Ptolemy XIII. but did not want their country to be drawn into the inner Roman power struggle and decided to assassinate Pompey in order to satisfy the victor, Caesar. The fear that Pompey would try to stir up the former Roman soldiers in the Alexandrian army - some of whom had previously fought under his command - in order to be able to take over power in Egypt should have played a role in this decision. However, it seems very questionable whether the Gabiniani, who have been rooted in Egypt for seven years, could actually have been won over to such a step. Two leading members of the Gabiniani, the former Roman military tribune Lucius Septimius and the Centurion Salvius, also took part in the assassination of Pompey (July 25, 48 BC according to the Julian calendar) .

Fight against Caesar

When Caesar arrived in Egypt shortly after the killing of Pompey, but did not withdraw again despite the elimination of his opponent and sided with the expelled Cleopatra in the inner Egyptian power ring, Potheinos organized military resistance, so that the Alexandrian War broke out. The Gabiniani played an important role in the fight against Caesar because they made up the core troops of the Achillas army, which consisted of 20,000 infantrymen and 2,000 horsemen . Caesar's forces were five times less. In his civil war , the Roman general stated that the Gabiniani had also been joined by numerous volatile lawbreakers and exiles from neighboring Roman provinces; for the Alexandrian government accepted them all if they agreed to serve as soldiers in return.

After Caesar emerged victorious from the Alexandrian War in difficult and protracted battles, he replaced the Gabiniani with three reliable legions as the Roman occupying power of the Nile country, which were supposed to support Cleopatra's government, but also to control it with regard to their loyalty to Caesar.

literature

  • Joachim Brambach: Cleopatra . Eugen Diederichs, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-424-01239-4 , pp. 57, 59 f., 62, 84 .
  • Michael Grant : Cleopatra. A biography . Bastei-Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1998, ISBN 3-404-61416-X , p. 35 f., 74 f., 78, 86, 102 (German first 1977).
  • Günther Hölbl : History of the Ptolemaic Empire. Politics, ideology and religious culture from Alexander the great to the Roman conquest . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1994, ISBN 3-534-10422-6 , pp. 203 f., 206, 210 .
  • Werner Huss : Egypt in the Hellenistic Period. 332-30 BC Chr . CH Beck, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-406-47154-4 , p. 695, 714 .
  • Christoph Schäfer : Cleopatra . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2006, ISBN 3-534-15418-5 , pp. 28, 41-43, 50 f .

Remarks

  1. ↑ Caesar, Civil War 3, 4, 4; 3, 103, 5; 3, 110, 2; Valerius Maximus 4, 1, 15; Appian , Civil Wars 2, 24, 90; Cassius Dio 42, 5, 4.
  2. ↑ Caesar, Civil War 3, 110, 2 and 6; M. Grant, 1998, p. 35f. and C. Schäfer, 2006, p. 42.
  3. ↑ Valerius Maximus 4: 1, 15; see. Cicero , epistulae ad Atticum 6, 5, 3; Caesar, Civil War 3, 110, 6; Seneca , dialogi 6, 14, 2; on this, C. Schäfer, 2006, p. 42f., M. Grant, 1998, p. 74f. and J. Brambach, 1996, pp. 59f.
  4. ↑ Caesar, Civil War 3, 4, 4; Appian, Civil Wars 2, 49.
  5. ^ Caesar, Civil War 3, 110, 5, on this C. Schäfer, 2006, p. 43.
  6. ↑ Caesar, Civil War 3, 104, 1 and 3; on this, C. Schäfer, 2006, p. 50f.
  7. ^ Caesar, Civil War 3, 110, 1-4.