Second war of Rome against Veji

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The Second War of Rome against Veji (or Fidener War ) was the second armed conflict in the 5th century BC. Between the Roman Republic and the Etruscan city of Veji . The war focused mainly on the strategic position of the city of Fidenae at the confluence of the Tiber , the Aniene and the Cremera . It lasted from 438 BC. BC to 425 BC And ended with the Roman conquest of Fidenaes and a twenty-year armistice between Rome and Veji.

Ancient lore

First phase of the war

Betrayal of Fidenaes

Situation map of the conflict area

In 438 BC When Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus , Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus and Lucius Iulius Iullus were appointed as military tribunes with consular power in Rome , Fidenae threatened - since its annexation by Romulus Roman colony - to leave the Roman Republic and to the Etruscan city ruled by King Lars Tolumnius Transferring Veji. Rome then sent four envoys to find out the reasons for the discontent of the Fidener. However, the envoys were killed on arrival - which created a very serious diplomatic crisis.

In the following year 437 BC The Romans made preparations for war and appointed Marcus Geganius Macerinus and Lucius Sergius as consuls . The latter took over the army command and marched against the advancing Etruscans who had already crossed the Aniene. The resulting battle was very costly on both sides, but the Romans ultimately won and Lucius Sergius was given the honorary name Fidenas.

In Rome, Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus was then installed as a dictator to direct further military operations. He transferred the command of the cavalry to Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus and elected Titus Quinctius Capitolinus and Marcus Fabius Vibulanus as deputy commanders . By raising troops, he tried to close the gaps that had arisen during the previous battle, which had been costly. The Etruscans were then pushed back over the Anione and set up their army camp on the heights between the river and Fidenae. But since they received reinforcements from the Falisker , they left the heights and moved their army camp in the immediate vicinity of the city walls of Fidenaes. The Romans, on the other hand, pitched their army camp at the confluence of the Anione and Tiber rivers and dug defensive trenches to secure them.

The Battle of the Anione

On the Etruscan side, the attack against the Romans was hesitated. The Faliskers were ready to fight immediately, while the Vejer and Fideners advocated delaying tactics to take advantage of their advantageous position. Tolumnius, the king of the Vejer, finally gave in to the urging of the Falisker and opened the battle.

The two armies met on the plain south of Fidenae. Due to the numerical superiority, Tolumnius was able to divert a contingent of troops that bypassed the Romans and was supposed to attack the Roman camp in the middle of the battle. The actual order of the battle was as follows: the Vejer lined up on the right wing, the Fidener stood in the center and the Falisker formed the left wing. On the Roman side, the dictator Mamercinus commanded the wing opposite the Falliskern, the Vejern commanded Quinctius Capitolinus and in the center Cincinnatus commanded the cavalry.

The battle was opened by an attack of the Roman cavalry in the center, which was closely packed with the infantry. The Etruscan lines could not withstand this impact and began to recede. The cavalry of Tolumnius, however, put up an unexpectedly high resistance, so that the ranks closed again. In the turmoil, Tolumnius was recognized by Aulus Cornelius Cossus , military tribune of the Roman cavalry, and killed in a duel. After robbing him of his weapons and armor , he severed his head and put it on a lance to deter the enemy. They finally retreated and fled, but were mostly massacred before they even reached their camp. Only a part of the Fidener managed to escape into the mountains.

While the battle was raging, the contingent initially branched off by Tolumnius attacked the Roman army camp defended by Fabius Vibulanus . The latter, however, dared a sortie and was able to repel the enemy. Thereupon the Romans used their advantage, crossed the Tiber, devastated the landscape around Veji, only to return with a considerable spoil of war.

Triumph of Mamercinus

The Senate then granted the dictator Mamercinus the honors of a triumph . For his victory celebration, the dictator had a gold crown made, which weighed a Roman pound, and deposited it in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus . During the ceremonies, however, his prestige was diminished by the presence of the military tribune Aulus Cornelius Cossus, who brought the weapons and armor of the slain Etruscan king Tolumnius and then brought them to the temple of Jupiter Feretrius , where he laid them down next to the former gifts of arms from Romulus Cossus is the only one who has received such honor.

Plague epidemic

During the consular period of Marcus Cornelius Maluginensis and Lucius Papirius Crassus in the following year 436 BC. BC the Romans advanced into the territories of Veji and Faleria without encountering any resistance worth mentioning. A plague epidemic that had broken out in Rome in the meantime prevented them from taking the two cities. The epidemic worsened in 435 BC. During the consular period of Gaius Iulius Iullus and Lucius Verginius Tricostus and assumed alarming proportions. The Fidener took advantage of this fact to reopen hostilities for their part. The Vejer joined them and both armies crossed the Anione to set up their camp in the immediate vicinity of the Porta Collina .

Battle of Nomentum

In this critical situation, the consuls appointed Quinctus Servilius Priscus (or Quinctus Servilius Structus) as dictator after the Senate's decision . The latter elected Postumus Aebutius Helva to command the cavalry. While the dictator was setting up his army in front of the city gate, the Fidener and Vejer retreated to the surrounding hills. At Nomentum they were overtaken by the Roman army. The Romans opened the fighting leading to victory and threw the Etruscans back behind the city walls of Fidenae, which was besieged. But they did not succeed in conquering the city by assault. The dictator therefore had a tunnel dug under the walls through which the city could finally be captured.

The Fidenes case startled the surrounding tribes. The Vejer and the Falisker feared that the Romans would vote for their support for Tolumnius in 437 BC. Would take revenge. They therefore sent envoys to the other cities of the Etruscan League of Twelve Cities to convene a meeting. Meanwhile, however, the Romans were preparing to resume hostilities. They elected Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus for the second time as dictator, who in turn handed over command of the cavalry to Aulus Postumius Tubertus . The assembly of the Etruscan cities refused in the end to rush to the aid of the Vejern and Faliskern, who therefore could not consider a new campaign.

Interim period

In the interval 434 to 427 BC The hostilities between Rome and the Etruscans had calmed down in the 3rd century BC, but the political and military conditions in Rome were very unstable, caused by disputes between plebeians and patricians , a war against the Aequer and the Volscians , a plague epidemic with considerable human losses and animals as well as a bad harvest. In particular, the supply of wheat was at great risk.

Second phase of the war

Resumption of hostilities

In 427 BC The situation in Rome had improved somewhat under the consuls Lucius Papirius Mugillanus and Gaius Servilius Structus Ahala . The gaze returned to Veii, who was preparing, despite the ceasefire agreement of 435 BC. To take up arms again. Nevertheless, the Romans preferred to wait before declaring war. Rather, the fetials were sent to Veji to demand reparations. Veji refused this and so an army was raised in Rome.

For the year 426 BC No consuls were appointed, but four military tribunes with consular power: Titus Quinctius Pennus Cincinnatus , Caius Furius , Marcus Postumius and Aulus Cornelius Cossus. The business of government in the city of Rome was transferred to the latter, while the three other military tribunes marched off with their troops in the direction of Veji. The communication among the three military tribunes was so miserable that the Etruscans succeeded in pushing back the expeditionary corps. In response to this failure, Aulus Cornelius Cossus reappointed Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus as dictator in Rome, who in return entrusted Cossus with command of the cavalry.

In the meantime the Vejer, encouraged by their success in the military tribunes, had sent envoys to all the Etruscan cities to seek their support. Not a single one wanted to give a definitive commitment, but nevertheless many volunteers came to Veji to fill the ranks of the army. In Fidenae there was a popular uprising, in the course of which the Roman colonists who had settled in the city were killed. The Vejer army then united with the Fideners and together the Etruscans pitched their army camp near the city.

Battle of Fidenae

The dictator Mamercinus sat at the head of the Roman army and set up his camp not far from Fidenae between the mountains in the east and the Tiber in the west. He ordered Titus Quinctius Pennus Cincinnatus to take the hill positions behind the city unobtrusively. The Etruscans, encouraged by their recent success, opened the battle without hesitation. At first it appeared as if the Etruscan ranks would collapse under the advance of the Roman infantry, but they were replenished by numerous, newly arrived fighters who were previously positioned behind the city walls. In order not to lose the battle now, Mamercinus gave Cossus the order to attack with the cavalry. At the same time, Titus Quinctius advanced from behind against the crowd. The Etruscans, caught in a vice between two Roman armies, began to totter and finally fled - the Vejer towards the Tiber and the Fidener towards their city walls. The fugitives, with only a few survivors, were mostly overtaken and slain by the Romans. The Romans then occupied and sacked the city of Fidenae. Those who fled to the citadel were also massacred. Regardless of rank, every Roman soldier received his share of the spoils and one or two prisoners. The remaining population of Fidenaes was sold into slavery . The dictator Mamerinus was then once again granted the honors of a triumph by the Senate.

Modern historiography

Accepted events

Modern historians do not doubt the great features of the ancient account, such as the murder of the Roman ambassadors, the alliance of the Vejer, Fidener and Falisker against Rome, the defeat of the allies and the fall of Fidenae, and the death of Lars Tolumnius in a duel with Cossus. There is also agreement on the consequences of the war:

  • the loss for the Etruscans of Fidenae - their bridgehead on the left bank of the Tiber
  • Veji loses its access to the sea via the Tiber
  • the establishment of a Roman colony on the territory of Vejis
  • a twenty year armistice between Rome and Veii.

The Etruscan king name Lars Tolumnius is likely to be historical, since in Veji in the first half of the sixth century BC. A family name Tolumnius appears under its Etruscan spelling Tulumnes on two inscriptions in the sanctuary of Minerva in Portonaccio :

  • Velthur Tulumnes and
  • Karcuna Tulumnes

At the time when Titus Livius wrote his report, three remains have been preserved in Rome, which remind of the war against Fidenae. First the spolia (including a mail shirt made of linen) that Cossus stole from the slain Lars Tolumnius, a gold crown donated by Mamercus Aemilius on the occasion of the victory over Fidenae, which was deposited in the Capitoline Temple, and statues of the ambassadors killed by the Fideners whose names are still on the republican Rostren were preserved: Caius Fulcinius, Tullus Cloelius, Lucius Roscius and Spurius Antius (or Nautius).

Controversial details

On closer examination of the ancient tradition, however, several, sometimes controversial, detailed questions arise:

  • first of all, the division of the conflict into two phases.

Titus Livius divided the war into two clearly separated sections. The first lasted two years (from 437 to 435 BC), the second began in 426 BC. And ended in the same year. Both sections, separated by a period of eight years, each end with the conquest of Fidenaes. Rather, modern historians today assume that the war was a single conflict that lasted almost ten years. Rather, they suspect a conscious duplication of events, as is often found in Roman historiography . Strangely enough, the second siege before the capture of Fidenaes is very similar to the first (doublet) and the previous respective massacres of Roman citizens show similarities (in the first section the envoys were killed and in the second it was the turn of the Roman settlers).

  • then the first dictatorship of Mamercinus in 437 BC. Chr.

This is likely to be fictitious and probably only a duplicate of his dictatorship of 426 BC. Represent.

  • The deposit of the spoils by Cossus and the alleged use of a Roman fleet at the battle of Fidenae in 426 BC are also very much in doubt. Chr.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Titus Livius , Ab urbe condita IV, 17: 1-5.
  2. ^ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 17: 6-8.
  3. ^ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 17: 9-12.
  4. ↑ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 18.1-2.
  5. ↑ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 18: 3-5.
  6. ^ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 18: 6-8.
  7. ↑ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 19: 1-5.
  8. ^ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 19: 6-8.
  9. ↑ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 20: 1-4.
  10. ^ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 21.1-8.
  11. ^ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 21: 9-10.
  12. ^ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 22: 1-6.
  13. ↑ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 23.4-6.
  14. ^ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 1-2.
  15. ^ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 24-30.
  16. ↑ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 30: 12-16.
  17. ↑ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 31: 1-5.
  18. ↑ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 31: 6-9.
  19. ^ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 33.1-12.
  20. ↑ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita IV, 34: 1-5.
  21. ↑ Jean-Marc Irollo: Histoire des Étrusques, l'antique civilization toscane VIIIe - Ier siècle av. J.-C. Perrin, Tempus, Paris 2010, pp. 175 .
  22. ↑ Massimo Pallottino: Testimonia Linguae Etruscae . La Nuova Italia, Florence 1954, p. 38 .
  23. ^ Gary Forsythe: A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War . University of California Press, 2006, pp. 243 .
  24. ↑ Jean Gage: Enquêtes sur les structures sociales et religieuses de le Rome primitive . Latomus, 1977, p. 427 .
  25. ^ Michael Grant: The History of Rome . Faber, London 1998, pp. 41 .