Cantabrian War
The Cantabrian Wars were one of 29 BC. Until 19 BC Continuing military conflict between the Roman Empire under Augustus and the Iberian tribes of the Cantabrians and Asturians . They formed the final phase in the Roman conquest of Iberia.
prehistory
The first contact between the Romans and Cantabrians came during the Second Punic War , when the Cantabrians fought as mercenaries on the Carthaginian side. During the battles that the consul Lucius Licinius Lucullus 151 BC In the course of the Spanish War allegedly fought out against the Vaccaer mainly out of lust for glory and greed , the latter were supported by the Cantabrians. The Cantabrians also helped the Numantines and are said to have participated in the rebellion of Quintus Sertorius . 56 BC They moved to Gaul to fight alongside the Aquitans against Caesar's legate Publius Licinius Crassus , the younger son of the triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus . Lucius Afranius , a legate of Caesar's opponent Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus , recruited in 49 BC. The Cantabrians, Celtiberians and other Spanish tribes were soldiers who took part in the Battle of Ilerda . Because of these military confrontations, the Romans were familiar with the warlike character of the tribes of northwestern Hispania .
Course of war
About the various phases of the protracted war Cantabrian inform mainly on Livy receding reports the historian Florus and Orosius , both just Breviaries written in Roman history. The third source is the presentation of Cassius Dio , which is also important for the chronological classification of the individual campaigns.
In Roman historiography, Augustus' campaigns against the Cantabrians are justified by the fact that they invaded the territory of their neighboring tribes, the Vaccaeans, Turmogers and Autrigones , several times . They would even have captured a standard from the Romans. Rather, however, the iron ore deposits in the Cantabrian settlement area and the gold of the Asturians are likely to have tipped the scales in favor of military intervention.
Since about 38 BC BC Roman governors waged war against various tribes of northern Spain. 29 BC BC Titus Statilius Taurus fought against Asturians, Cantabrians and Vaccaers. But the first two tribes still remained independent.
Instead of advancing against Britain as long planned , Augustus came in 27 BC. BC to the Iberian Peninsula to lead the campaigns against the uncontrolled Spanish peoples in the following two years. Apart from the fight against the Illyrians - which was waged before the ultimate confrontation with Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII - this war represents the only military conflict between the Romans and “barbarian” tribes whose command Augustus personally assumed. The main motive for this was probably that he wanted to consolidate his close ties with the soldiers and collect warlike laurels. He also continued his autobiography only until the fight against the Cantabrians. Augustus' stepson, who later became Emperor Tiberius , began his war career by serving as tribune in the Spanish campaigns of 26/25 BC. Took part. In total, Augustus deployed up to seven legions , but neither was he able to distinguish himself militarily, nor was the war over after his departure, as he claims, but continued for years.
On January 1, 26 BC Augustus took up his eighth consulate in Tarraco (today Tarragona ) and then opened the war against the Cantabrians and Asturians. He set up his camp in Segisama (today Sasamón ), and with his legate of Hispania citerior , Gaius Antistius Vetus , proceeded against the Cantabrians after dividing the army into three, but they initially switched to guerrilla tactics and the setting up of ambushes. During a night march, the emperor almost died from a lightning strike. He became seriously ill and moved back to Tarraco, from where he was in charge of the operations of his troops. However, he stayed away from further acts of war.
Antistius Vetus subsequently conquered the Cantabrian city of Vellica , pursued the Cantabrians who had fled to the Mons Vindicus (today Picos de Europa ), although they were unable to conquer their positions on this massif, but starved them. Then, after strong resistance, he took the city of Aracillum (perhaps today's Aradillos ).
Early 25 BC The Asturians surprisingly tried to attack three Roman winter camps built near the Astura River . But Publius Carisius , the governor of Lusitania , was against this danger by the area of Benavente settled tribe of Brigäkiner informed and could Asturians attack in time and defeat. Then he took the well-fortified city of Lancia (near today's Mansilla de las Mulas ), where the defeated Asturians had retreated. End of 25 BC Carisius settled veterans in the newly founded colony Emerita Augusta (today Mérida ) by Augustus .
In the same year 25 BC In addition, the Romans besieged the Cantabrians, who were entrenched on Mons Medullius (perhaps located near today's Las Médulas ), and surrounded the mountain with a mighty fortification . Many Cantabrians killed themselves in order not to fall into Roman captivity.
Augustus returned at the end of 25 BC. He returned to Rome and had the doors of the Temple of Jan closed as if he had victoriously ended the war against the Spanish tribes. But this was not the case for a long time. So exercised Lucius Aelius Lamia , the 24/23 v. After an allegedly treacherous grain offer , the governor of Hispania citerior waged a bloody war of vengeance against the Cantabrians and Asturians, in which prisoners even had their hands cut off.
22 BC There was a rebellion of the Asturians against Carisius. The successor of Aelius Lamia, Gaius Furnius , who was confronted at the same time with an uprising by the Cantabrians , supported Carisius after the suppression of the Cantabrian revolt (with many rebels committing suicide by poison or burning); so the Asturians were again forced to submit.
Not until 19 BC Augustus' excellent general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was able to bring the Cantabrian War to an essentially complete conclusion. At that time, enslaved Cantabrians had freed themselves and returned to their native mountains and rebelled again against Rome. At first Agrippa had to raise the discipline of his soldiers, as they did not want to wage war against the Cantabrians. With the newly motivated troops, Agrippa defeated his opponents with great losses and killed many of their able-bodied men. The rest now had to live on the plains. After Agrippa's campaign, there were only minor elevations in Spain, which lasted until around 16 BC. Lasted.
List of the Roman legions involved
The following legions were used in this war, if not at the same time:
- Legio I Germanica
- Legio II Augusta
- Legio IIII Macedonica
- Legio V Alaudae
- Legio VI Victrix
- Legio VIII Augusta (unsure)
- Legio VIIII Hispana
- Legio X Gemina
- Legio XX Valeria Victrix
swell
- Florus Epitome 33: Bellum Cantabricum et Asturicum lat. Engl.
- Cassius Dio Roman History 53.25.5f engl.
literature
- RFJ Jones: The Roman Military Occupation of North-West Spain . In: The Journal of Roman Studies , Vol. 66 (1976), pp. 45-66
- Patrick Le Roux: L'armée romaine et l'organization des provinces ibériques d'Auguste à l'invasion de 409 . Boccard, Paris 1982, ISBN 2-7018-0002-1
- David Magie : Augustus' War in Spain (26-25 BC) In: Classical Philology, Vol. 15, 4 (1920), pp. 323-339 ( JSTOR 263293 )
- Eutimio Martino: Roma contra cántabros y astures . 2nd edition, Diputación Provincial de León, León 1995, ISBN 84-87081-93-2
- Francisco Diego Santos: The integration of north and north-west Spain as a Roman province in the imperial politics of Augustus . In: Rise and Fall of the Roman World Vol. 2.3. De Gruyter, Berlin 1975, ISBN 3-11-005838-3 , pp. 523-571 ( limited online version in the Google book search)
- Walter Schmitthenner : Augustus' Spanish campaign and the struggle for the principate. In: Historia , Vol. 11 (1962), pp. 29-85
- Ronald Syme : The Spanish War of Augustus (26-25 BC) In: The American Journal of Philology , Vol. 55 (1934), pp. 293-317 ( JSTOR 290141 )
Remarks
- ↑ Livy , Periochae 48.
- ↑ Caesar , De bello Gallico 3.26.6; Orosius 6,8,22.
- ^ Caesar, De bello civili 1,38,3.
- ↑ Florus 2, 33, 47.
- ^ Cassius Dio 51, 20, 5.
- ^ Suetonius , August 20.
- ^ Suetonius, Augustus 85, 1.
- ^ Suetonius, Tiberius 9, 1.
- ^ Suetonius, Augustus 26, 3.
- ↑ Florus 2, 33, 48.
- ^ Cassius Dio 53, 25, 5f.
- ↑ Suetonius, Augustus 29: 3 and 81: 1; Cassius Dio 53, 25, 7.
- ↑ Florus 2, 33, 49f .; Orosius 6, 21, 5.
- ↑ Florus 2, 33, 54-58; Orosius 6, 21, 9f .; Cassius Dio 53, 25, 8.
- ↑ Cf. Cassius Dio 53, 26, 1.
- ↑ Florus 2:33, 50; Orosius 6, 21, 7.
- ↑ Cassius Dio 53, 26, 5; Orosius 6, 21, 11.
- ^ Cassius Dio 53, 29, 1f.
- ^ Cassius Dio 54, 5, 1-3.
- ^ Cassius Dio 54, 11, 1-5.
- ↑ Jona Lendering : Legio I Germanica In: Livius.org (English)