Transcript Besieged
The conquered: Civilians Being Besieged Conquered, Raped, and Murdered 3. Becoming a slave 1. 2. 1. Being Besieged Caesar’s Siege of Alesia Caesar’s siege at Alesia, Gaul 52 BC Employed same tactics as Scipio at Numantia 1. encampment of army; 2. construction of 23 forts in a ring to keep watch on town; 3. siege lines constructed around site to blockade town Main siege line 16 km circumference (consisted of 2 ditches, the inner one filled with water, a palisade rampart with turrets every 24 m) Caesar had additional obstacles: 1. rows of 4 tree trunks with sharpened branches, placed into 1.5 m deep ditches (nicknamed cippi = gravestones); 2. 8 rows of sharp stakes vertically in c. 1 m deep pits, concealed by brush (nicknamed lilia = lilies); 3. in front of these, buried at random, barbed spikes fixed in foot-long lumps of wood (nicknamed stimuly = spurs) Construction of another siege line, facing the other way against enemy outside Caesar’s Sieges Carried out a total of 17 sieges Siege of Avaricum 52 BC; construction of huge embankment 98 m wide, 24 mhigh, to bring his men across deep gully (only approach route), took 25 days to complete Siege of Uxellodonum 51 BC: Construction of 18 m embankment from which a 10-storey artilleryarmed siege tower allowed him to target the town’s fresh-water-spring; led to surrender of town Sulla’s Siege of Piraeus (Athen’s port city) in 87 BCE Full-scale mechanized siege 1. Siege machines (Plutarch, Sulla 12.2 claims 10,000 pairs of mules used in daily hauling of raw materials) 2. construction of embankment with earth, timber, masonry; construction of tunnels Extremely difficult siege: Mithridates general Archelaus in command of Piraeus: built siege tower opposite Roman siege works, sent men on midnight sorties to burn Roman equipment, undermined Roman embankment, intercepted Sulla’s tunnels Lucullus siege of Themyscira 72 BC The besiegers of this place brought up towers, built mounds, and dug tunnels so large that great subterranean battles could be fought in them. The inhabitants cut openings into these tunnels from above and thrust bears and other wild animals and swarms of bees into them against the workers. (Appian, Mithr. 11.78) Siege was abandoned Requirements and Problems of mechanized siege Labour intensive: legionaries involved in building embankments, ramparts, siege machines, digging tunnels Enormous amount of raw materials Time consuming: sieges took months and often years Toll on legionaries: in addition to heavy labour also frequent attacks on enemy: exhaustion, diseases, etc; soldiers frustrated when siege drawn out; attacks repelled Counter Measures During Lucullus’ siege of Amisius (modern Turkey), the town’s commander Callimachus set fire to town to cover his flight Lucullus tried to save town from complete destruction while soldiers ransacked the burning buildings (Plut. Luc. 19.4) Setting besieged town on fire deprived victors of their loot. Cirta surrenders to Jugurtha of Numidia But Adherbal, though he thought that anything was better than trusting to Jugurtha, yet because the Italiotes were in a position to use compulsion if he opposed them, surrendered on the terms which they had advised. 3 Thereupon Jugurtha first tortured Adherbal to death and then made an indiscriminate massacre of all the adult Numidians and of traders whom he found with arms in their hands. (Sallust, Jug. 26) Scipio’s sack of Byrsa Now Scipio hastened to the attack of Byrsa, the strongest part of the city, where the greater part of the inhabitants had taken refuge. There were three streets ascending from the forum to this fortress, along which, on either side, were houses built closely together and six stories high, from which the Romans were assailed with missiles. They were compelled, therefore, to possess themselves of the first ones and use those as a means of expelling the occupants of the next. When they had mastered the first, they threw timbers from one to another over the narrow passageways, and crossed as on bridges. While war was raging in this way on the roofs, another fight was going on among those who met each other in the streets below. All places were filled with groans, shrieks, shouts, and every kind of agony. Some were stabbed, others were hurled alive from the roofs to the pavement, some of them alighting on the heads of spears or other pointed weapons, or swords. No one dared to set fire to the houses on account of those who were still on the roofs, until Scipio reached Byrsa. Then he set fire to the three streets all together, and gave orders to keep the passageways clear of burning material so that the army might move back and forth freely. (Appian, Pun. 127) Then came new scenes of horror. As the fire spread and carried everything down, the soldiers did not wait to destroy the buildings little by little, but all in a heap. So the crashing grew louder, and many corpses fell with the stones into the midst. Others were seen still living, especially old men, women, and young children who had hidden in the inmost nooks of the houses, some of them wounded, some more or less burned, and uttering piteous cries. Still others, thrust out and falling from such a height with the stones, timbers, and fire, were torn asunder in all shapes of horror, crushed and mangled. Nor was this the end of their miseries, for the street cleaners, who were removing the rubbish with axes, mattocks, and forks, and making the roads passable, tossed with these instruments the dead and the living together into holes in the ground, dragging them along like sticks and stones and turning them over with their iron tools. Trenches were filled with men. Some who were thrown in head foremost, with their legs sticking out of the ground, writhed a long time. Others fell with their feet downward and their heads above ground. Horses ran over them, crushing their faces and skulls, not purposely on the part of the riders, but in their headlong haste. Nor did the street cleaners do these things on purpose; but the tug of war, the glory of approaching victory, the rush of the soldiery, the orders of the officers, the blast of the trumpets, tribunes and centurions marching their cohorts hither and thither -- all together made everybody frantic and heedless of the spectacles under their eyes. These, taking olive branches from the temple, besought Scipio that he would spare the lives of all who might wish to depart from Byrsa. This he granted to all except the deserters. Forth-with there came out 50,000 men and women together, a narrow gate in the wall being opened, and a guard furnished for them. The Roman deserters, about 900 in number, despairing of their lives, betook themselves to the temple of æsculapius with Hasdrubal and his wife and their two boys. Here they might have defended themselves a long time although they were few in number, on account of the height and rocky nature of the place, which in time of peace was reached by an ascent of sixty steps. But, finally, overcome by hunger, want of sleep, fear, toil, and approaching dissolution, they abandoned the enclosures of the temple and fled to the shrine and roof. It is said that as the fire was lighted the wife of Hasdrubal, in full view of Scipio, arrayed in the best attire possible under such circumstances, and with her children by her side, said in Scipio's hearing, "For you, Roman, the gods have no cause of indignation, since you exercise the right of war. Upon this Hasdrubal, betrayer of his country and her temples, of me and his children, may the gods of Carthage take vengeance, and you be their instrument." Then turning to Hasdrubal, "Wretch," she exclaimed, "traitor, most effeminate of men, this fire will entomb me and my children. Will you, the leader of great Carthage, decorate a Roman triumph? Ah, what punishment will you not receive from him at whose feet you are now sitting." Having reproached him thus, she slew her children, flung them into the fire, and plunged in after them. Such, they say, was the death of the wife of Hasdrubal, which would have been more becoming to himself. (Appian, Pun. 132) The Fallen City: urbs direpta Xenophon Cyr. 7.5.73 Cyrus after the sack of Babylon to his troops: “for it is a law established for all time among all men that when a city is taken in war, the persons and the property of the inhabitants thereof belong to the captors. It will, therefore, be no injustice for you to keep what you have, but if you let them keep anything, it will be only out of generosity that you do not take it away”. Rape A complaint to the Roman senate by ambassadors from Locri against the Roman garrison stationed in their city: “They all rob, plunder, beat, wound, slay; they defile matrons, maidens and freeborn boys, dragged from the embrace of parents. Every day our city is captured, every day it is being plundered.” (Livy 29.17.15-16 in Rich/Shipley pg. 70) The Sack of Cremona forty thousand armed men burst into the town; the number of campfollowers and servants was even greater, and they were more ready to indulge in lust and cruelty. Neither rank nor years protected anyone; their assailants debauched and killed without distinction. Aged men and women near the end of life, despised as booty, were dragged off to be the soldiers’ sport. Whenever a young woman or a handsome youth fell into their hands, they were torn to pieces by the violent struggles of those who tried to secure them, and this in the end drove the despoilers to kill one another. Individuals tried to carry off for themselves money or the masses of gold dedicated in the temples, but they were assailed by others stronger than themselves. Some, scorning the booty before their eyes, flogged and tortured the owners to discover hidden wealth and dug up buried treasure. They carried firebrands in their hands, and when they had secured their loot, in utter wantonness they threw these into the vacant houses and empty temples.” (Taciuts, Histories, 3.33.1-3 in Rich/Shipley, pg. 71) “When Scipio thought that a sufficient number of troops had entered he sent most of them, as is the Roman custom, against the inhabitants of the city with orders to kill all they encountered, sparing none, and not to start pillaging until the signal was given. They do this, I think, to inspire terror, so that when towns are taken by the Romans one may often see not only the corpses of human beings, but dogs cut in half and the dismembered limbs of other animals…(Polybius 10.15.4 in Rich/Shipley, pg. 75) What has John Rich (Ch. 3) to say about Polybius’ controlled pillaging? Marius in Numidia “At daybreak the Numidians, who had no reason to fear an attack, came out of the town in force, and Marius ordered all his cavalry and the swiftest of his infantry to run and occupy the gates. He was so eager for success that he hurried after them himself, to prevent the men from going after plunder. When the townspeople saw themselves thus taken by surprise, with a part of their number outside the walls and in the enemy’s power, they were seized with such panic and dismay that they surrendered. Nevertheless, the town was set on fire, the adult men massacred, the remainder of the population sold into slavery, and the booty divided among the soldiers.” (Sallust, Jug. 91) Sallust view on Marius’ action “This violation of the usages of war was not inspired by avarice or brutality on the consul’s part: the fact was that the place was important to Jugurtha and difficult for the Romans to reach, and the inhabitants were a fickle and untrustworthy lot, whom neither kindness nor fear had ever been able to control.” (Sallust,Jug. 91) Rules of Warfare? there were no rules of war similar to Modern ‘Geneva Conventions’. It was entirely up to the mood of the commander what to do with the captives Some Romans liked to display clementia, but usually for a good reason War Captives War Captives – the Evidence Cannot quantify, only estimate figures– sources provide no exact numbers Evidence is scattered over time and in terms of type of evidence – literature (numbers often exaggerated), legal deal with ownership, archaeological (images, etc.) Evidence often anecdotal Almost all evidence comes from slave-owning class Scale of Slave Trade Between 65 BCE to 30 BCE c. 100,000 new slaves needed annually in Italy From 50 BCE to 150 CE over 500,000 needed per year In Comparison: New World slavery c. 28,000 per annum needed with maximum of 60,000 at height of slave trade The Sources of slaves in the Roman Empire Warfare Natural reproduction (breeding) Infant exposure Trade Piracy and brigandage Warfare Conquest of Italy: Mass enslavements – early 4th century, Etruscan city of Veii – perhaps 10,000 slaves (sources not reliable) After Conquest of Italy, most slaves came from outside Italy 91-82 BCE Social War (between Rome and Italian allies, Italians became slaves again Example: M. Aurius of Larinum (Cicero’s home town) wascaptured at Asculum, became slave of Roman senator Q. Sergius and worked in ager Gallicus at Northern Adriatic coast. The Conquest of the Mediterranean First Punic War, 256 BCE, siege of Aspis – 20,000 captives 146 BCE destruction of Carthage – 55,000 enslaved 25 BCE against the Salassi (Alps) 44,000. 198 CE emperor Septimius Severus siege of a Parthian city – 100,000 What happened to the war captives? Decision left to commanding general: some were allowed to be ransomed Others sold off on the spot to traveling dealers hanging around the army Others distributed to the soldiers as payment or bonus Not all ended up in Italy Many slave markets existed all over Mediterranean world War captives Questions What were the usual steps in setting up a siege of a fortified city? What does Rich say about Polybius’ model of a controlled sack of a city? Does it make sense to kill everyone? Explain.