Fifty years had passed since Zama. It was a period of great commercial prosperity for Carthage, but her government was weakened by the quarrels of conflicting factions.
MASINISSA, King of Numidia, an ally of the Romans, was a continual source of annoyance to Carthage. He made inroads upon her territory, and, as she was bound by her treaty not to war upon any allies of Rome, her only recourse was to complain to the Senate. In 157 an embassy was sent to inquire into the troubles. MARCUS PORCIUS CATO, the chief of the embassy, was especially alarmed at the prosperity of the city, and from that time never ceased to urge its destruction. The embassy did not reach any decision, but allowed matters to go on as they might. Finally, when some sympathizers with Masinissa were banished from the city, he attacked and defeated the Carthaginians, compelled their army to pass under the yoke, and afterwards treacherously destroyed it (150). Carthage was compelled to give up some of her territory, and pay $5,000,000 indemnity.
After this victory, matters came to a crisis. The city must be disciplined for warring with an ally of Rome. Cato never failed to close any speech he might make in the Senate with the same cruel words, Delenda est Carthago, "Carthage must be destroyed." The people of Carthage were called to account. Desponding and broken-hearted, they sent ambassadors to Rome. The answer given them was obscure. They were requested to make reparation to Rome, and at the same time they were assured that nothing should be undertaken against Carthage herself. But in 149 the Consuls crossed with a large army into Sicily, where the troops were organized, and Carthaginian ambassadors were expected.
When they appeared, the Consuls declared that the Senate did not wish to encroach upon the freedom of the people, but only desired some security; for this purpose it demanded that, within thirty days, three hundred children of the noblest families should be delivered into their hands as hostages. This demand was met. The Romans then coolly crossed over to Africa, and informed the Carthaginians that they were ready to treat with them on any question not previously settled.
When the ambassadors again appeared before the Consuls, they were told that Carthage must deliver over all her arms and artillery; for, they said, as Rome was able to protect her, there was no need of Carthage possessing arms. Hard as was this command, it was obeyed. They were then told that Carthage had indeed shown her good will, but that Rome had no control over the city so long as it was fortified. The preservation of peace, therefore, required that the people should quit the city, give up their navy, and build a new town without walls at a distance of ten miles from the sea. The indignation and fury which this demand excited were intense. The gates were instantly closed, and all the Romans and Italians who happened to be within the city were massacred.
The Romans, who expected to find a defenceless population, imagined that the storming of the place would be an easy matter. But despair had suggested to the Carthaginians means of defence in every direction. All assaults were repelled. Everybody was engaged day and night in the manufacture of arms. Nothing can be more heartrending than this last struggle of despair. Every man and every woman labored to the uttermost for the defence of the city with a furious enthusiasm.
Two years after the siege began, PUBLIUS CORNELIUS SCIPIO AFRICÁNUS, the Younger, was elected Consul while but thirty-seven (under the legal age), for the express purpose of giving him charge of the siege. After two years of desperate fighting and splendid heroism on the part of the defenders, the famished garrison could hold out no longer.
Carthage fell in 146, and the ruins of the city burned for seventeen days. The destruction was complete. A part of her territory was given to Numidia. The rest was made a Roman province, and called AFRICA.
The year 149 saw the death of two men who had been Carthage's most bitter enemies, but who were not allowed to see her downfall,—MASINISSA and CATO, the one aged ninety, the other eighty-five.
Masinissa's (239-149) hostility dates from the time he failed to get the promised hand of Hasdrubal's daughter, Sophonisba, who was given to his rival, Syphax. After the battle of Zama, most of the possessions of Syphax fell to Masinissa, and among them this same Sophonisba, whom he married. Scipio, however, fearing her influence over him, demanded her as a Roman captive, whereupon she took poison. Masinissa was a courageous prince, but a convenient tool for the Romans.
CATO THE ELDER (Major), (234-149,) whose long public career was a constant struggle with the enemies of the state abroad, and with the fashions of his countrymen at home, was a type of the old Roman character, with a stern sense of duty that forbade his neglecting the interests of state, farm, or household. In 184, in his capacity as Censor, he acted with extreme rigor. He zealously asserted old-fashioned principles, and opposed the growing tendency to luxury. All innovations were in his eyes little less than crimes. He was the author of several works, one of which, a treatise on agriculture, has been preserved.
Cicero's "Cato Major" represents him in his eighty-fourth year discoursing about old age with Africánus the younger, and Laelius, a friend of the latter.
Africanus the elder left Spain in 206. After a provincial government of nine years (206-197), the country was divided into two provinces, separated by the IBÉRUS (Ebro), and each province was assigned to a praetor. It was some time, however, before Spain was really brought into a state of complete peace and order. The mountains and forests were a formidable obstacle to the Roman legions, and favored guerilla warfare, which makes conquest slow and laborious.
The most warlike of the Spanish tribes was the CELTIBÉRI, who occupied the interior of the peninsula. They were always uncertain and intractable, continually breaking out into revolt. In 195, Cato the elder put down a rebellion led by them. He established more firmly the Roman power east of the Ibérus. He disarmed the inhabitants of this part of Spain, and compelled all from the Pyrenees to the Guadalquivir to pull down their fortifications.
Still the smouldering fires of rebellion were not extinguished, for, sixteen years later (179), we find TIBERIUS SEMPRONIUS GRACCHUS, the father of the famous Gracchi, as Governor of Spain, fighting the troublesome Celtibéri. He captured over one hundred of their towns, but tempered his victories with moderate measures, showing himself greater in peace than in war. He granted to the poorer classes lands on favorable conditions, and did much to produce contentment among the natives. But farther west, in the valleys of the Douro and Tagus, and in Lusitania (Portugal), there seems to have been constant warfare.
In 154, MUMMIUS, the same who eight years later sacked Corinth, was Governor of Farther Spain. His defeat by the Lusitanians encouraged the Celtibéri to revolt again, and there followed another defeat, with a massacre of many Roman citizens. Two years later (152), CLAUDIUS MARCELLUS avenged these losses, founded Corduba, and governed the country humanely. His successors, LUCIUS LUCULLUS and SERVIUS GALBA, were so cruel and grasping as to drive the Lusitanians into another open rebellion, headed by VIRIÁTHUS, a bold and daring bandit. During seven years (147-140) he defeated again and again the armies sent against him. The Celtibéri joined his standards, and Spain seemed likely to slip from the Romans. The only check to these successes was during the command of METELLUS MACEDONICUS (143); when he was recalled, matters returned to their former condition.
In 140, the Consul Mancínus was obliged to capitulate, and, to save himself and his army, made a treaty which the Senate refused to sanction.
Viriáthus was finally (139) assassinated by persons hired by the Consul Caepio; his people were then subdued, and the government was ably conducted (138) by DECIMUS JUNIUS BRUTUS.
THE NUMANTINE WAR (143-133).
The Celtibéri, however, were still in arms. The strong city of NUMANTIA, the capital of one of their tribes, witnessed more than one defeat of a Roman Consul before its walls (141-140). Finally Rome sent out her best general, Africanus the younger.
After devoting several months to the disciplining of his troops, he began (134) a regular siege of the place. It was defended with the utmost bravery and tenacity, until, forced by the last extreme of famine, it surrendered (133). The inhabitants were sold as slaves, and the town was levelled to the ground. The victor was honored with the title of NUMANTÍNUS.
The fall of Numantia gave Rome a hold upon the interior of Spain, which was never lost. The country now, with the exception of its northern coast, was nominally Roman territory. Several towns were established with Latin municipal rights (municipia), and, on the whole, order was maintained. Along the coast of the Mediterranean there sprang up many thriving and populous towns, which became centres of civilization to the neighboring districts, and were treated by Rome rather as allies than as subjects. Some of them were allowed to coin the silver money of Rome. The civilizing process, due to Roman influence, went on rapidly in these parts, while the interior remained in barbarism.
In 105 the peninsula was overrun by the Cimbri, a barbarous race from the north. The country was ravaged, but finally saved by the brave Celtibéri, who forced the invaders back into Gaul.
While the Numantine war was still in progress, a war with the slaves broke out in Sicily, where they had been treated with special barbarity.
For a long time slave labor had been taking the place of that of freemen. The supply was rendered enormous by constant wars, and by the regular slave trade carried on with the shores of the Black Sea and Greece. The owners of the slaves became an idle aristocracy.
The immediate cause of the outbreak in Sicily was the cruelty of a wealthy slave-owner, Damophilus. The leader of the slaves was EUNUS, who pretended to be a Syrian prophet. A number of defeats were suffered by the Roman armies, until, finally, PUBLIUS RUTILIUS captured the strongholds of the slaves, TAUROMENIUM and ENNA, and thus closed the war. For his success he was allowed an ovation.
We have seen how the long struggle between the patricians and plebeians terminated in a nominal victory for the latter. From about 275, the outward form of the old constitution had undergone little change. It was nominally that of a "moderate democracy." The Senate and offices of state were, in law, open to all alike. In practice, however, the constitution became an oligarchy. The Senate, not the Comitias, ruled Rome. Moreover, the Senate was controlled by a class who claimed all the privileges of a nobility. The Comitias were rarely called upon to decide a question. Most matters were settled by a DECREE OF THE SENATE (Senatus Consultum). To be sure the Comitia declared for war or peace, but the Senate conducted the war and settled the conditions of peace. It also usually assigned the commands, organized the provinces, and managed the finances.
The causes for this ascendency of the Senate are not hard to find. It was a body made up of men capable of conducting affairs. It could be convened at any time, whereas the voters of the Comitias were scattered over all Italy, and, if assembled, would not be competent to decide questions demanding knowledge of military matters and foreign policy.
The Senate and the Roman nobility were in the main the same. All patricians were nobles, but all nobles were not patricians. The patricians were the descendants of the original founders of the city. The nobles were the descendants of any one who had filled one of the following six curule offices, viz. Dictator, Magister Equitum, Consul, Interrex, Praetor, or Curule Aedile. These nobles possessed the right to place in their hall, or carry in funeral processions, a wax mask of this ancestor, and also of any other member of the family who had held a curule office.
A plebeian who first held this office was called a novus homo, or "new man."
The Senate, thus made up of patricians and nobles, had at this time the monopoly of power. Legally, however, it had no positive authority. The right of the people to govern was still valid, and there was only wanting a magistrate with the courage to remind them of their legal rights, and urge the exercise of them.
Such a magistrate was found in TIBERIUS SEMPRONIUS GRACCHUS. With him was ushered in the contest which lasted for more than a century, and brought to the surface some of the proudest names of Roman history. On one side or the other we find them,—MARIUS and SULLA, CAESAR and POMPEY, AUGUSTUS and ANTONY—arraying Rome against herself, until the glories of the Republic were swallowed up in the misrule and dishonor of the Empire.
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus the elder (see Chapter XX.) belonged to the nobility, but not to the aristocracy. He married CORNELIA, the daughter of Africánus the elder. They had twelve children, of whom all but three died young. Two sons and a daughter lived to maturity. The daughter, SEMPRONIA, married Africánus the younger. The sons, TIBERIUS and GAIUS, grew up under the care of their noble and gifted mother, who was left a widow when they were mere boys.
Tiberius (164-133) entered the army, and served under his brother-in-law during the third Punic war. Ten years later (136) he was Quaestor in Spain, where he won the affections of the people by adhering to the mild policy which his father had previously followed. His popular measures here displeased his brother-in-law, and he ceased to be a favorite with him. On his return home he passed through Tuscany where he was astonished to see large tracts of the ager publicus (see Chapter VII.) cultivated by slave gangs, while the free poor citizens of the Republic were wandering in towns without employment, and deprived of the land which, according to law (see the Licinian Rogations), should have been divided among them, and not held in large quantities by the rich land-owners.
Tiberius determined to rectify this wrong. In 133 he offered himself as candidate for the tribuneship, and was elected. He then began boldly the battle for the commons. He proposed to revise the Agrarian Law, now a dead letter, which forbade the holding of more than 320 acres of the ager publicus by one individual. Occupants who had fenced this land and improved it were to be compensated therefor.
The wealthy classes and the Senate at once took sides against Tiberius, and the struggle began. One of the other Tribunes, OCTAVIUS CAECÍNA, who was himself a large land-owner, taking advantage of his authority as Tribune, interposed his veto to prevent a vote upon the question.
Gracchus, full of enthusiasm over the justice of his cause, obtained, contrary to all precedent, the removal of his colleague from office, and passed his Agrarian Law. Three commissioners were appointed, himself, his brother, and his father-in-law, APPIUS CLAUDIUS, to carry it into effect.
It was contrary to the law that a person should hold the office of Tribune for two successive years. But Gracchus, in his desire to carry out his plans, determined to violate this rule, and offered himself as candidate for the next year. The election day came, and when it became evident that he would be re-elected, the aristocrats, who had turned out in full force on the Campus Martius with their retinues of armed slaves and clients, raised a riot, and, killing Gracchus with three hundred of his followers, threw their bodies into the Tiber (133). Thus was shed the first blood of the civil struggle. The mob was led by SCIPIO NASÍCA, the uncle of Tiberius. Africánus, when he heard of the murder of his brother-in-law, exclaimed, "Justly slain."
The agrarian law, however, which had passed, was too evidently just to be openly ignored. The remaining two commissioners continued their work, until, within two years, 40,000 families were settled on tracts of the public land which the patricians were compelled to vacate. But the commissioners became unpopular, for those who received lands were not always satisfied, and those who were obliged to leave them were enraged. The commissioners were suspended, and the law repealed.
The mantle of Tiberius fell on GAIUS GRACCHUS. For a time after his brother's death he retired from politics, and served in the army in Africa and Sardinia, where he was Quaestor. His valor, wisdom, and justice made him justly popular, but caused him to be regarded with suspicion at Rome. In 123 he was elected Tribune, and twice re-elected. He revived his brother's agrarian law, and became at once the avowed enemy of the Senate. As a means of increasing his popularity, he endeavored to admit all the Italians to the privileges of Roman citizenship, and to limit the price of bread.
Gains gained the favor of the Equites (Knights), the commercial class, by carrying through the assembly a law by which all judicial functions were taken from the Senate and intrusted to the Knights. Heretofore all civil and criminal cases of importance had been tried before a jury chosen from the Senate. These juries were often venal and corrupt, and it was a notorious fact that their verdicts could be bought.
The transferring of the juries to the Equites made Gaius for a time very powerful. He caused another law to be passed, to the effect that no Roman citizen should be put to death without legal trial and an appeal to the assembly of the people.
But the plan of Gaius to extend the franchise to all the Italians ruined his popularity. The Roman citizens had no desire to share their rights with the Etruscans and Samnites. Riots again broke out, as ten years before. The aristocracy again armed itself. Gaius with 3,000 of his friends was murdered in 121, and the Senate was once more master of the situation.
However, the results obtained by the Gracchi still remained. Forty thousand peasants had been settled on public land. The jury law was in force. No Roman citizen could be put to death without trial, unless the state was held to be in danger.
Nearly all Roman writers unite in attacking the reputation of the Gracchi; but viewed in the light of to-day their characters were noble, and their virtues too conspicuous to be obscured.
A few years previous to this, the younger Africánus died (129). His remark about the death of Tiberius Gracchus gave dire offence to the popular party, and a few days later he was found dead in his bed, probably "a victim of political assassination."
Africánus was a man of refinement and culture, a warm friend of scholars, a patron of the Greek historian POLYBIUS, and of the poets LUCILIUS and TERENCE. He was opposed to the tendency of his age towards luxury and extravagance. He was an orator, as well as a general. The one blot on his career is the terrible destruction of Carthage, which he possibly might have averted had he shown firm opposition to it.
SCIPIO NASÍCA, who led the mob against Tiberius, was compelled, though Pontifex Maximus, to leave the city, and died an exile in Asia.
Pergamum was an ancient city of Mysia on the Caícus, fifteen miles from the sea. It first became important after the death of Alexander. Its first king, Attalus I. (241-197), added a large territory to the city. He was an ally of the Romans, and his successors remained their firm friends. The city became one of the most prosperous and famous in Asia Minor, noted for its architectural monuments, its fine library, and its schools. Attalus III., at his death in 133, bequeathed to Rome his kingdom, which included Lydia, Pisidia, Lycaonia, and Pamphylia. It was made a province under the name of ASIA.
THE WAR WITH JUGURTHA.
After the destruction of Carthage, the most important kingdom in Africa was NUMIDIA. It contained a number of flourishing towns, which were centres of a considerable commerce. Masinissa left this kingdom to his son Micipsa. The latter had two sons and a nephew, JUGURTHA. The nephew was a brilliant young man, who had served under Scipio in the Numantine war, and returned to Africa covered with honors. He was named joint heir with his cousins to the kingdom of Numidia. Micipsa dying soon after, Jugurtha murdered one of his cousins, Hiempsal, claimed the whole kingdom, and attacked his other cousin, Adherbal, who appealed to Rome. Commissioners were sent to investigate. They were bought off by Jugurtha, and returned home without accomplishing anything. Adherbal was afterwards captured, savagely tortured, and finally killed.
The Senate, compelled by the popular indignation to make an investigation, moved so slowly that some of its members were accused of accepting bribes. War was declared at last, but the campaign languished, and peace was soon made on such easy terms for the prince that it was evident his money had again been freely used. The scandalous transaction was denounced at Rome by the Tribune MEMMIUS. Jugurtha then repaired to the city in person, and bought up all the authorities except Memmius, whom he found incorruptible. He had another cousin in the city, whom he caused to be murdered. After this the Senate ordered him to leave, and as he departed, it is said he exclaimed, "Venal city, destined soon to perish, if a purchaser be found!"
War was now begun in earnest (110), but resulted in a crushing defeat of the Romans, whose army was sent under the yoke. Humiliated by the defeat, the Senate in the following year sent QUINTUS CAECILIUS METELLUS, nephew of Metellus Macedonicus, to take charge of the war. He was a man of integrity, with some experience as an officer, and a rigid aristocrat. Realizing the danger of failure, he took with him as his lieutenant the ablest soldier that he could find, GAIUS MARIUS.
Marius, born at Arpínum in 157, was the son of a farmer, and was himself bred to the plough. He joined the army at an early age, and soon attracted notice for his punctual performance of all duties, and his strictness in discipline. He was present at the siege of Numantia, and his courage caused Scipio to predict for him a brilliant career. He soon rose to be Military Tribune. In 119 he was chosen Tribune of the People, and two years later Praetor. The fact that he was respected and valued in high circles is shown by his subsequent marriage into the family of the Caesars. By this marriage with Julia, the aunt of Julius Caesar, he became a person of social distinction.
The campaign was moderately successful. Jugurtha was defeated near the river Muthul, and made to retire into the desert, where his stronghold, Thala, was captured. He sued for peace, but, as unconditional surrender was demanded, he still held out. The popular party at Rome, irritated that such a petty prince should give so much trouble, demanded that Marius should be made Consul and have charge of the war. When the lieutenant asked Metellus for leave of absence to enable him to be present at the elections, as was necessary according to the law, his general ridiculed the idea, and told him to wait another twenty years. He went, however, and was elected in 107, being the first plebeian chosen to that office for more than a century.
Metellus was recalled, enjoyed a triumph, and received the agnomen of NUMIDICUS.
Marius was every inch a soldier. He saw that the Roman legions must be reorganized and better disciplined. He enlisted men who had no other occupation, that they might become professional soldiers. Some men of rank who had a taste for war also went with him. Among these was a young patrician, CORNELIUS SULLA. With this army Marius soon wrested from Jugurtha all his strongholds. In less than two years the war was over. By his ally, Bocchus, King of Mauritania, Jugurtha was betrayed (106) into the hands of Sulla, who was acting as the Quaestor of Marius.
The western portion of Numidia was given to Bocchus as the reward of his treachery, while the remainder continued to be governed by native princes, until the civil war between Caesar and Pompey. In 104 Marius returned home, and entered Rome in triumph. Jugurtha was thrown into a dungeon, and there starved to death.
The war with Jugurtha ended none too soon, for Marius was needed in a struggle requiring all his talents.
The CIMBRI and TEUTONES, barbarous nations from Northern Europe, were threatening the frontiers of Italy. Already the Roman armies had met with five successive defeats at their hands on the banks of the Rhone. Eighty thousand Romans and forty thousand camp followers are said to have fallen in these battles. Had the barbarians at this moment chosen to enter Italy, the destruction of Rome would have been a certain result. Fortunately, they turned to the Pyrenees, and, sweeping over the mountains, overran for a season the province of Spain.
Marius, appointed Consul a second time, devoted his energies to forming and training the army. He selected the plains on the banks of the Rhone in Southern Gaul as best adapted for his purpose. Here he drilled his troops, accustoming them to the greatest possible exertions. Many perished under the strain, but the survivors became hardened soldiers. Corps of engineers were attached to each legion, and the soldiers were taught the use of tools, as well as of arms. At length, in his fourth consulship (102), he felt prepared to meet the enemy.
The barbarians, on their return from Spain, separated their forces, the Cimbri marching around the northern foot of the Alps towards Noricum, with the intention of invading Italy from that quarter, while the Teutones remained in Gaul.
As the latter advanced, Marius took up his position in a fortified camp near AQUAE SEXTIAE (Aix). He allowed the enemy to march past him, and then followed cautiously, waiting for a favorable opportunity to fall upon them. In the battle that followed, the barbarians were no match for the drilled legionaries, who were irresistible. The contest lasted two days, and the vast host of the Teutones was cut to pieces (20 July, 102). At the close of this battle word was brought to Marius that he had been elected Consul for the fifth time.
Meanwhile, the Cimbri had crossed the Alps and were ravaging the fertile fields of Lombardy, meeting with but slight opposition from Catulus, the other Consul.
The next year Marius came to his rescue. Near VERCELLAE the Cimbri met the same fate as their brethren, and Italy was saved (101).
No sooner was the danger from the invasion over than political quarrels broke out at Rome with great fury. Marius was elected Consul for the sixth time. The popular heroes of the hour were two demagogues, the Tribune SATURNÍNUS and the Praetor GLAUCIA. They carried corn laws and land laws,(Footnote: These were the APPULEIAN LAWS (100):—I. Any Roman citizen could buy corn of the state at a nominal price. II. The land in Cisalpine Gaul, which the Cimbrians had occupied, should be divided among the Italian and Roman citizens. III. Colonies from the veterans of Marius were to be founded in Sicily, Achaia, and Macedonia.) and compelled the Senators to take an oath to execute their laws. Metellus Numidicus refusing to comply with their wishes, Saturnínus sent a guard to the Senate-House, dragged him out, and expelled him from the city.
During this troublesome time, Marius showed that he was no politician. He lacked judgment and firmness, and by endeavoring to please all parties he pleased none.
On the popular side there were two parties, the moderate one, led by MEMMIUS, who had exposed the Senate in its dealings with Jugurtha, and the radical one, led by Saturnínus and Glaucia. Memmius and Glaucia both ran for the consulship, and as the former seemed likely to be successful, he was murdered. A reaction then set in, and Saturnínus and Glaucia were declared public enemies. They took refuge in the Senate-House, the roof of which was torn off, and the wretches were stoned to death.
The fall of Saturnínus and Glaucia was followed in 99 by the recall of Metellus from banishment. He died shortly afterwards, and it was suspected that he was a victim of treachery.
Marius having now become generally unpopular on account of his vacillating course in the recent troubles, went into voluntary exile, travelling through Asia Minor, and visiting the court of Mithradátes, King of Pontus.
For the next eight years (99-91) Rome enjoyed a season of comparative quiet.
At this time there was a bitter rivalry between the Senate and the equestrian order, or commercial class. From the former were chosen the governors of the provinces, from the latter came the tax-gatherers (publicani) and the money-brokers (negotiatores). It will help us to understand better the condition of affairs, if we study the composition of the Senate and the Equites.
The Senators, three hundred in number (later their number was increased to six hundred), held their office for life. When vacancies occurred from death, or occasionally from removal, they were filled by the Censor, (Footnote: See the duties of Censor) who appointed a person that had held one of the following offices: Dictator, Consul, Praetor, Curule Aedile, or, after the time of Sulla, Quaestor. All persons who had held these offices, or that of Tribune, were allowed to join in debate in the Senate, but not to vote. No Senator could engage in business. Hence he must be wealthy.
We saw in Chapter IV. that Roman citizens were divided into six classes according to their property, and that these classes were subdivided into one hundred and ninety-three other classes called centuries. About 225, the number was increased to three hundred and seventy-three. Eighteen of the centuries of the first class were called EQUITES, and must have property worth twenty thousand dollars or more. This name was given to them because at first they served in the army as horsemen, though in later times the cavalry was composed only of allied troops. The Equites were originally from the aristocracy alone, but, as the plebeians increased in wealth, many of them became rich enough to be included in this class.
There was no hostility between the Senate and the Equites until, in 123, Gaius Gracchus passed the Lex Judicaria, which prescribed that the jurors (judices) should be chosen from the Equites, and not the Senate. From this time dates the struggle between the two classes, and the breach widened every year. On the one side were the nobles, represented by the Senate; on the other side, the equestrian order. Since the jurors were chosen from the latter, it had control of the courts, and often made an unscrupulous use of its power, especially in those courts which were established to try governors for extortion in the management of provinces (quaestiones rerum repetundarum). From the Equites, too, were taken the tax-gatherers of the provinces. They pillaged and robbed the people at will, and, if a governor had the courage to interfere with them, a threat of prosecution was held over his head. The average governor preferred to connive at their exactions; the bolder ones paid with fines or exiles for their courage. Another trouble was threatening the commonwealth. The Italian allies of Rome did not possess the franchise belonging to a Roman citizen. For nearly two centuries they had shared dangers and victories with the Romans; they now eagerly demanded all their privileges.
In 91, MARCUS LIVIUS DRUSUS, the Tribune, took up the task of reform. He was noble, wealthy, and popular, and he hoped to settle the question peacefully and equitably. But his attempt to reform the courts displeased the Equites, his agrarian and corn laws made him many enemies, and his attempt to admit the Italians to the rights of Roman citizenship aroused great opposition.
His laws were passed, but the Senate pronounced them null and void. He was denounced in that body as a traitor, and was struck down by an assassin in the same year.
The death of Drusus drove the Italians to despair. Eight nations entered into a close alliance, chose CORFINIUM, in the Pelignian Apennines, as their capital, and formed a Federal Republic, to which they gave the name ITALIA. All Italians were to be citizens of Corfinium, and here was to be the place of assembly and the Senate-House.
Rome, in the face of this danger, acted promptly and with resolution. The Consuls, Lucius Julius Caesar and Publius Rutilius Lupus, both took the field; with each were five lieutenants, among whom were Marius and Sulla.
This war (90-88), called the SOCIAL WAR, i.e. the war with the allies (Socii), was at first disastrous to Rome. The allies overran Campania, defeated the Romans several times, and entered into negotiations with the Northern Italians, whose fidelity began to waver.
It is not strange, therefore, that opinions at Rome began to be turned in the direction of a more liberal policy. It was decided to make concessions. Towards the close of the year 90, the Consul Caesar carried the JULIAN LAW, by which the Roman franchise was extended to all who had not yet revolted. The next year this law was supplemented by the PLAUTIAN PAPIRIAN LAW, which allowed every citizen of an Italian town the franchise, if he handed in his name to the Praetor at Rome within sixty days. About the same time was passed another law, the CALPURNIAN, which permitted Roman magistrates in the field to bestow the franchise on all who wished it. These laws resulted in disorganizing the rebellion. The Samnites and Lucanians held out the longest, but were finally put down by Marius.
The end of the Social War brought no peace at Rome. The newly enfranchised Italians were not fully satisfied. The Senate was torn asunder by violent personal rivalries. There was no class not affected by the wide-spread tightness in the money market. The treasury was empty, and many capitalists became insolvent. War with Mithradátes, King of Pontus, had been declared, and both Marius and Sulla were eager to have the command.
At this time (88) the TRIBUNE PUBLIUS SULPICIUS RUFUS brought forward the following bills:—
1. That the command of the war against Mithradátes be given to Marius.
2. That the new citizens should be distributed through all the tribes.
3. That any Senator who owed more than four hundred dollars be deprived of his seat.
4. That those exiled on suspicion of having aided in the Italian revolt be recalled.
In spite of the bitterest opposition, these bills were passed. But the triumph of Sulpicius was of short duration. Sulla, who with his troops had been encamping near Nola in Campania, marched upon the city, and for the first time a Consul entered Rome at the head of his legions.
With the name of MARIUS is usually coupled that of LUCIUS CORNELIUS SULLA (138-78). "He was a patrician of the purest blood, had inherited a moderate fortune, and had spent it, like other young men of rank, lounging in theatres and amusing himself with dinner parties. He was a poet, an artist, and a wit. Although apparently indolent, he was naturally a soldier, statesman, and diplomatist. As Quaestor under Marius in the Jugurthine War, he had proved a most active and useful officer." In these African campaigns he showed that he knew how to win the hearts and confidence of his soldiers; and through his whole subsequent career, the secret of his brilliant successes seems to have been the enthusiastic devotion of his troops, whom he always held well under control, even when they were allowed to indulge in plunder and license. It was to Sulla's combined adroitness and courage that Marius owed the final capture of Jugurtha. He served again under Marius in the campaigns against the Cimbri and Teutones, and gave efficient help towards the victory. But the Consul became jealous of his rising power, and all friendly feeling between the two ceased.
After this campaign Sulla lived at Rome for some years, taking no part in politics, and during this time his name and that of his rival are almost unheard. He appeared before the public again in 93, when he was elected Praetor, and increased his popularity by an exhibition of a hundred lions in the arena, matched against Numidian archers. In 92 he went as Propraetor to govern the province of Asia, and here he first met MITHRADÁTES.
This monarch, who ruled over Pontus, was an extraordinary man. He spoke many languages, was the idol, of his subjects, and had boundless ambition. He doubted the durability of the Roman Empire, and began to enlarge his own territory, with no apparent fear of Rome's interference.
Cappadocia, a neighboring country, was under Roman protection, and was ruled by a prince, ARIOBARZÁNES, that Rome had recognized. This country Mithradátes attacked. He killed the prince, and placed on the throne his own nephew.
Rome interfered, and Sulla was instructed to visit the monarch. He accomplished his mission with his usual adroitness, and returned to Rome with new honors. He took an active part in the Social War, eclipsing the fame of his rival, Marius. He was now the recognized leader of the conservative and aristocratic party. The feeling between the rivals was more bitter than ever, for Marius, though old, had by no means lost his prestige with the popular party.
It was at this time that Mithradátes, learning of the Social War, thought it a good opportunity to advance his own interests and extend his realm. He collected all his available forces, and invaded Bithynia. With his fleets he sailed through the Dardanelles into the Archipelago. The extortions of the Roman governors had been so great, that Ionia, Lydia, and Caria, with all the islands near Asia Minor, gladly revolted from Rome, and accepted his protection. All the Roman residents with their families were massacred on a single day. It is said that 80,000 persons perished. Mithradátes himself next crossed the Bosphorus, and marched into Northern Greece, which received him with open arms.
Such was the condition in the East when Sulpicius Rufus carried the bills mentioned in the last chapter. One of these bills was that Marius have charge of the war against Mithradátes. This was not to Sulla's liking. He was in Campania with the legions that had served in the Social War. The soldiers were devoted to him, and ready to follow him anywhere. Sulla, therefore, taking matters into his own hands, marched into the city at the head of his troops. The people resisted; Sulpicius was slain; Marius fled for his life, and retired to Africa, where he lived for a time, watching the course of events.
Sulla could not remain long at the capital. The affairs of the East called him away; and no sooner was he gone than the flames of civil war burst out anew (87).
LUCIUS CORNELIUS CINNA, a friend of Marius, was Consul that year. He tried to recall Marius, but was violently opposed and finally driven from the city. The Senate declared him deposed from his office. He invoked the aid of the soldiers in Campania, and found them ready to follow him. The neighboring Italian towns sent him men and money, and Marius, coming from Africa, joined him with six thousand troops. They marched upon Rome. The city was captured. Cinna was acknowledged Consul, and the sentence of outlawry which had been passed on Marius was revoked.
The next year Marius was made Consul for the seventh time, and Cinna for the second. Then followed the wildest cruelties. Marius had a body-guard of slaves, which he sent out to murder whomever he wished. The houses of the rich were plundered, and the honor of noble families was exposed to the mercy of the slaves. Fortunately Marius died sixteen days after he entered office, and the shedding of blood ceased.
For the next three years Cinna ruled Rome. Constitutional government was practically suspended. For the years 85 and 84 Cinna himself and a trusty colleague were Consuls, but no regular elections were held. In 84, he was murdered, when on the eve of setting out against Sulla in Asia.
Sulla left Italy for the East with 30,000 troops. He marched against Athens, where Archeláus, the general of Mithradátes, was intrenched. After a long siege, he captured and pillaged the city, March 1, 86. The same year he defeated Archeláus at CHAERONÉA in Boeotia, and the next year at ORCHOMENOS.
Meanwhile Sulla's lieutenant, LUCULLUS, raised a fleet and gained two victories off the coast of Asia Minor. The Asiatic king was now ready to negotiate. Sulla crossed the Hellespont in 84, and in a personal interview with the king arranged the terms of peace, which were as follows. The king was to give up Bithynia, Paphlagonia, and Cappadocia, and withdraw to his former dominions. He was also to pay an indemnity amounting to about $3,500,000, and surrender eighty ships of war.
Having thus settled matters with the king, Sulla punished the Lydians and Carians, in whose territory the Romans had been massacred, by compelling them to pay at one time five years' tribute. He was now ready to return to Rome.
The same year that Cinna died, Sulla landed at Brundisium, with 40,000 troops and a large following of nobles who had fled from Rome. Every preparation was made by the Marian party for his reception; but no sooner did he land in Italy than the soldiers were induced to desert to him in immense numbers, and he soon found himself in possession of all Lower Italy. Among those who hastened to his standard was young POMPEY, then but twenty-three years old, and it was to his efforts that Sulla's success was largely due. The next year, 83, the Marian party was joined by the Samnites, and the war raged more fiercely than ever. At length, however, Sulla was victorious under the walls of Rome. The city lay at his mercy. His first act, an order for the slaughter of 6,000 Samnite prisoners, was a fit prelude to his conduct in the city. Every effort was made to eradicate the last trace of Marian blood and sympathy from the city. A list of men, declared to be outlaws and public enemies, was exhibited in the Forum, and a succession of wholesale murders and confiscations throughout Rome and Italy, made the name of Sulla forever infamous.
Having received the title of Dictator, and celebrated a splendid triumph for the Mithradátic war, he carried (80-79) his political measures. The main object of these was to invest the Senate, the thinned ranks of which he filled with his own creatures, with full control over the state, over every magistrate and every province.
In 79 he resigned his dictatorship and went to Puteoli, where he died the next year, from a loathsome disease brought on by his excesses.
THE REFORMS OF SULLA.
Sulla restricted the power of the magistrates to the advantage of the Senate. Senators were alone made eligible for the tribuneship, and no former Tribune could hold any curule office. No one could be Praetor without having first been Quaestor, or Consul without having held the praetorship. Every candidate for the office of Quaestor must be at least thirty years old. The number of Praetors was increased from six to eight; that of Quaestors, from twelve to twenty. The Consuls and Praetors were to remain at Rome during their first year of office, and then go to the provinces as Proconsuls and Propraetors.
Three hundred new Senators, taken from the Equites, were added, and all who had been Quaestors were made eligible to the Senate.
The control of the courts was transferred from the Equites to the Senate.
On the death of Sulla, in 78, CRASSUS and LEPIDUS were chosen Consuls; but such was the instability of the times that they were sworn not to raise an army during their consulship. Lepidus attempted to evade his oath by going to Gaul, and, when summoned by the Senate to return, marched against the city at the head of his forces. He was defeated by Crassus and Pompey in 78, and soon after died.