Some European History from 750-500BC

Etruscan Sarcophagus of the Spouses

This post will look at European history for the period from around 750-500BC. While most of the European continent is without written sources for this time period, the Greeks had a written tradition that is readable today and their inscriptions from this time period, as well as the much more voluminous Greek traditions from later time periods, allows us to talk more confidently about this period. The Greek sources also mention some of their European neighbours, for example the Thracians, but these records are less reliable than the ones regarding the Greeks themselves. Much of Europe is not documented at all and for areas such as Ireland, or Scandinavia, it is correct to view them as still being part of prehistory.

By the year 750BC Indo-European languages were spoken in the majority of Europe, with the exception of certain areas such as upper Scandinavia, perhaps parts of Ireland, Crete, Sardinia and parts of the Iberian Peninsula. Knowledge of iron-working was widespread at this point, but certain peripheral areas, such as Ireland and Scandinavia seem to have mostly used bronze at this point. For other points about the mid-700’s BC, these are dealt with in greater detail in the previous blog.

Reconstructed fortress at Biskupin

Around the year 700BC the fortified town of Biskupin was built in the region now known as Poland. This was a large island fortress that nevertheless had large wooden fortifications for defence. The builders were part of the Lusation culture, which was a Bronze/Iron Age culture that was related to the Urnfield and subsequent Hallstatt cultures further south in Europe. The fortified town was partially reconstructed by the Poles in the early 20th century, before it was intentionally destroyed by the retreating Nazis in WWII and subsequently rebuilt again after the war. It is one of the more impressive site reconstructions from the time period. I’m a fan of reconstructing history, as long as it can be done in a sensitive manner and without destroying what it purports to represent. We are visual and tactile beings and seeing a reconstruction may help us understand more history than we might otherwise get from a textbook alone.

On the Iberian Peninsula the treasure of El Carambolo dates from around this time. This is an exquisite hoard of golden treasure from the region generally referred to as Tartessos, to the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The golden hoard may be more closely associated with the Phoenicians however, as statues of their deities have been found nearby. It is an impressive hoard of gold regardless of whether its owners were Phoenician colonists or native Tartessians trading with the Phoenicians.

Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave

On the northern regions of the Italian Peninsula, the Villanovan culture gave way to the Etruscan culture around this time. The Etruscans are sometimes viewed as being external migrants to the region and there may be some truth to this. But if certain parts of Etruscan culture were imported from the outside, much of their culture was an evolution of the existing Villanovan culture.

Grave practices did seem to evolve and the tombs became quite elaborate. Cremation was still common, but rather than simply being interred in urns, elaborate sarcophagi and/or tombs were constructed for the nobles. Games for the dead may have formed the foundation for later gladiatorial games in Rome. Roman customs such as celebrating a triumph are also probably of Etruscan origin.

The Etruscan vision of the afterlife influenced later Roman conceptions of Hades and may have ultimately influenced medieval writers such as Dante. Later Roman writers viewed the Etruscans as being continually concerned with divination, augury and religious matters, to the point where they were viewed as almost superstitious.

The Etruscans ultimately formed into a confederation that was referred to as the Twelve Towns. These held an annual council at the shrine of the goddess Voltumna and decided matters between themselves. The League was a very loose one and in practice each city acted nearly independently. However these observations are taken from later sources and may not have been present at the beginning of the Etruscan civilisation.

Dipylon Inscription

In Greece, the earliest writings date from around this time. The two objects generally held to be have the oldest writing are the Dipylon Inscription and the Nestor Cup, both of which are small inscribed pottery pieces. Pottery and terracotta tend to survive the ages well. Even broken, they can be put back together. They cannot be melted down by looters like bronze or gold and once in the ground they can last for a very long time. Hence, why, even if nothing else survives of a culture, the archaeologists may still find the pottery.

It is around this time that Homer is said to have written the Iliad and the Odyssey. It is unclear if the Odyssey and the Iliad were written by the same person, if that person was Homer, or even if Homer existed. But rather than calling the person Anonymous, we may as well call them Homer. These two epics were drawn together from the existing oral tradition of epic poetry. If Homer existed, he was more of a master compiler and editor than an author in the modern sense. We know that the Greek epic tradition was well known in the centuries that immediately followed Homer, but we cannot say for sure that the organisation of the epics was exactly the same as we have them today. The versions of the poems that survive to us are the earliest pieces of European literature extant today. They also have a justified claim to being some of the greatest literary works ever written, but this is subjective.

Artifacts from the Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave

Around the year 650BC the climate in Scandinavia appears to have grown colder. In a probably unrelated development, the Novocherkassk culture of the Pontic steppe, in the lands north of the Black Sea, appears to have disappeared around this time. This is likely because they were subsumed into the Scythian culture that was becoming prominent.

Around this time the Etruscans seem to have developed their own script to write their language in. This was an alphabetic script and was based on the Phoenician and Greek alphabets, both of whom would have traded with the Etruscans. The Etruscans left a large number of inscriptions, but their language appears to be a language isolate and is quite difficult to understand. Thus very little of it can be fully understood.

By around the year 600BC the Scythians seem to have become dominant in the Pontic steppes. They were a nomadic tribe of horse-riders. The Greeks feared them as barbarians and saw them as “other”. Like other steppe peoples before them, they buried their dead in Kurgans and carried their wealth in horses, cattle and gold. Their religion is not well known, but their artwork seems to have motifs of deer, birds and leopards in a ceaseless struggle against each other. This may be an artistic trope rather than a religious belief however. The Scythians were said to practice human sacrifice as well.

Strettweg Cult Wagon

The Strettweg Cult Wagon appears to date from around this time as well. This was a bronze grave offering found in the tomb of a Hallstatt culture Celtic chieftain in what is now the region of Austria. The wagon is an elaborate four-wheeled creation with figures of warriors, worshippers, horsemen and deer surrounding a larger female figure bearing something upon her head, usually displayed as a bronze bowl although this is now disputed. It is a striking artwork and one that is usually used as a depiction of the Hallstatt Celts. It is still not entirely clear what the Cult Wagon is actually depicting. While it is probably a religious ceremony of some sort, it is hard to say more than this.

An even more mysterious memory from this time is the Girl of the Uchter Moor. The body of a girl was found in a bog in what is now Germany. She was dated to have lived around this time. However, she had not been cremated, nor were there grave goods found with her body. The girl was well-preserved and 17-19 years old. She had been malnourished and had clearly had a hard life, with her skeleton showing signs of lifting very heavy loads. She was clearly not a high-status woman and the fact that she was naked when buried in the bog suggests that this was not a burial, but an ancient crime scene.

Reconstruction of the Girl of the Uchter Moor

Maiden Castle was first built in Britain around this time. This would go on to later become one of the most spectacular ancient fortifications in the British Isles, but the initial fort was much more modest.

In the Iberian Peninsula, the Southwest Paleohispanic script, sometimes known as the Tartessian script, was developed. This was probably the third oldest European alphabetic script, after the Greek and the Etruscan, although the Latin alphabet may predate it. The Tartessian alphabet was actually a semi-syllabary and thus contained a number of redundant signs. It was almost developed after contact with the Phoenician script, but is not a direct copy, as the Phoenicians had no need for syllabic signs. The sounds can be guessed at by the connections to the Phoenician alphabet, but the language itself is not understood. It may be a non-Indo-European language.

Around the year 550 a Celtic chieftain was buried with great splendour in what is now the small village of Hochdorf in Germany. The mound was a large one, but had gradually sunk into the ground and had been lost to history. This obscurity saved it from looting and the golden objects survive to this day. The man buried here was doubtless of great importance, almost certainly a chieftain or a king. He was middle-aged, perhaps around 40 years old. The tomb held a wagon that was covered in iron and which carried grave goods to be wheeled into the next world. A great cauldron was filled with mead for feasting and the chieftain himself wore gold and amber. It was a magnificent burial and a sign of the grandeur of the Celtic world.

In the Italian Peninsula, an Etruscan couple were buried in the necropolis at Caere (now known as Cervetari). Their sarcophagus for their ashes was decorated with a scene of the couple reclining lovingly in each other’s arms as for a feast. It is a perhaps the most iconic piece of Etruscan sculpture. It was made in terracotta and was once painted, although this has faded. It is displayed in the Etruscan Museum in Rome. This artistic motif of a banqueting couple may once have been a common one, as a similar sarcophagus is preserved in the Louvre.

Duenos Inscription

Further south, in Rome, the first inscriptions in Latin begin to appear around this time. The probable oldest writing in Rome is on the Lapis Niger, in the Roman Forum. However another candidate for the oldest Latin inscription is the Duenos Inscription, which is on a small pottery piece held in the Altes Museum in Berlin. Another candidate for oldest Latin inscription is the Praenestine fibula, but there is still some doubt over the exact dating of this artefact.

In Greece, the main period of colonisation, of the sending out of spare citizens to explore and make new cities in new lands, came to an end around this period. Occasionally new colonies were sent out, but for various reasons, including needing increased manpower for hoplite warfare and increased participation of the hoplite class in government, the Greek cities generally ceased to send colonies.

The Greeks had mostly stopped sending colonists to conquer new territory, but around this time Thales, an Ionian Greek from the city of Miletus in Asia Minor, became the first philosopher in the Greek tradition. He also has some claim to the title of first scientist as well. Thales believed that water was the primordial entity and that all things came from water. This is of course wrong, but Thales is perhaps the first person known to us who attempted to rationally explain the world without reference to the gods. Much of what later became philosophy and science and all the sub-disciplines and related disciplines of these two endeavours, stems from this moment.

Sarcophagus of the Spouses

Around the time of 500BC the Iron Age arrived in Ireland, as well as into the Scandinavian region. The Celts probably also arrived in Ireland around this time, although it is not clear if there was a large migration from Europe or Britain into Ireland, or if it was a small migration that gradually spread the culture and language. The latter option is perhaps more likely.

The Celtic world on the mainland was also changing. The Hallstatt art style was beginning to be superseded by a newer style of Celtic art, known as La Tene. This was named after a village in Switzerland where a huge variety of objects had been dropped as votive offerings in an Alpine lake. The art style gives its name to the culture, which is said to supersede Hallstatt culture, although the change was primarily a stylistic one. The art style is one that most people would identify as Celtic, including the spirals and curving lines so associated with Celtic art. But the art style was probably also taken up by speakers of non-Celtic languages as well.

Around this time the actual Celtic settlement of Hallstatt seems to have been abandoned and looted. This would almost certainly have nothing to do with the change in art style, but was more likely to be tied to a nearby salt mine becoming unproductive. As the settlement shifted away to a new source of income, the abandoned town was looted by those who were leaving or by surrounding peoples.

The Lepontic and South Picene alphabets may date from this time. These are poorly attested alphabets from the Italian Peninsula. The Lepontic script (also known as the Lugano Alphabet) is from the Alpine region and probably was used by the Celtic inhabitants of the region, who would have been visited by Greek and Etruscan traders.

The South Picene alphabet is from the east of the peninsula. The people on the other side of the Apennine Mountains from the Etruscans developed their own script. Only around 20 inscriptions remain and it appears to be heavily influenced by the Etruscan alphabet. However because the language is Indo-European the inscriptions are (generally) readable.

Pyrgi Tablets

The Pyrgi Tablets, perhaps the most important Rosetta Stone like object for the Etruscan alphabet, dates from around this time. These are a collection of three golden sheets inscribed with Etruscan and Phoenician inscriptions. The tablets have aided a great deal in the better understanding of Etruscan, but the inscriptions do not seem to match exactly and the fact that Etruscan is itself an unknown language makes further advances with Etruscan inscriptions difficult.

An Etruscan artist in the city of Veii created the Apollo of Veii, a terracotta statue of the god Apollo disputing with the hero Heracles. This was as part of a scene to decorate a temple. The artwork is quite advanced and nearly on a par with the Greek Archaic statuary that was current in Greece at the time.

In the year 513BC King Darius I of Persia, ruler of the largest empire in the world at the time, launched an expedition across the Bosphorus into Europe. This was aimed at conquering the Thracians, Macedonians and Scythians. The Thracians and the Macedonians were quickly brought into the Persian Empire, but Herodotus records that the Persians had to cross the Danube to face the Scythians. The Persians marched fast but the Scythians retreated faster and even though Darius was said to have crossed both the Dnieper and the Don and advanced all the way to the edges of the Caucasus, he was unable to bring the steppe warriors to battle as he had wished. The Persians retreated to the Danube and returned to Asia.

In the year 509BC it is said that the Romans overthrew their last king, Tarquinius Superbus, a man of Etruscan descent, and established the Roman Republic. The foundation of the Republic has many legends associated with it and the date in particular is not fixed. However, this is the traditional date and I have mentioned it here.

Gold dress fasteners from Bronze Age Ireland

In the year 508BC, we can say with more certainty that the Athenians, having finally got rid of their tyrants two years previously, began to move towards a participatory democracy. I have spoken at length of Greek history elsewhere and the reader can check the associated blogs, but I feel it useful to give context as to what is happening in Europe.

Thus the period draws to a close, with La Tene Celtic culture becoming the dominant culture in central Europe and iron-working technology spreading entirely across Europe. In the Iberian Peninsula Phoenician influence is growing in importance, while in the Italian Peninsula Greek cities have been established in the south, the Etruscan civilisation is flourishing in the north, and between these lies the small and hitherto insignificant city of Rome. The period sees Europe move more fully into the historical period, with the beginnings of Greek philosophy and science and from this point onwards, much more can be said.

Related Blog Posts:
Some European history from 4000-3000BC
Some European history from 3000-2000BC
Some European History from 2000-1500BC
Some European History from 1500-1000BC
Some European History from 1000-750BC
Some European History from 750-500BC

419-400BC in Rome

Chimera of Arezzo, bronze Etruscan statue

This blog post will look at the years 419-400BC in Roman history, touching briefly on other parts of Italian history where possible. The primary source for the period is Livy, in his monumental work Ab Urbe Condita, which means "From the Foundation of the City". He wrote this in the time of Augustus, so it is much later than the events described. Other sources for this time include the histories of Diodorus Siculus, who wrote about this time period and Rome, but about a generation or two earlier than Livy. Dionysius of Halicarnassus and some other historians contain some information about the period also. There are also some lists of the consuls and triumphs of the various years preserved in ancient inscriptions, such as the Fasti Capitolini and the Fasti Triumphales.

The reader should take the dates and the events with a pinch of salt. Dating was an inexact science and there are disagreements on interregnums and other events. Every date in this blog may be incorrect. Most dates for the Roman Republic follow Livy's dates, which makes the dates somewhat earlier than what they may have actually been. One should also remember that the Roman years fluctuated compared to our own, so an event that I have mentioned as happening in one year may have happened at least partly in the following year. I have taken Livy's account as my primary source.

Terracotta statue group from Veii showing Heracles
facing against Apollo, dating perhaps a century earlier 

Also, many of Livy's sources were the personal histories of the wealthy families of Rome. These were immensely proud and their recollections of their ancestors may be highly fanciful. Some of these records, as we have seen with some of the stories of Tarquin, may in fact have been transposed from Greek history. I will call out these when I can.

In the year 419BC Agrippa Menenius Lanatus, Publius Lucretius Tricipitinus, Spurius Nautius Rutilus and Caius Servilius Axilla were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. This year saw a potential slave uprising to set fires across the city and to seize the Capitol building in confusion. However, some slaves informed the Romans and the ringleaders of the plot were executed, while the informers were rewarded with freedom and a huge sum of money.

There were reports of war preparations among the Aequi during this year. Word also reached the Romans that one of the towns of the Latin League, known as Labici, was planning on joining the Aequi. Open war was not declared, but both Rome and her enemies laid their plans.

Terracotta statue of Apollo from Veii,
dating to perhaps a century earlier

In the year 418 Lucius Sergius Fidenas, Gaius Servilius Axilla and Marcus Papirius Mugillanus were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. The Aequi, in conjunction with their new allies from Labici, attacked Roman territory and once more took up positions on Mount Algidus to await the Roman attack.

There was a debate between the consular tribunes as to who should lead the armies and who should stay in the city. Eventually the father of one of the tribunes, a man named Quintus Servilius, is said to have determined the matter as a father and ordered his son to stay in the city. Even if a consular tribune held the supreme power of the state, a Roman son always had to obey his father.

The other two consular tribunes continued to quarrel and the Aequi took advantage of this to inflict a defeat on the Roman army. Fortunately for Rome, Quintus Servilius had advised his son, the remaining consular tribune to levy additional troops. His son appointed Quintus Servilius as a dictator and the additional troops under the command of the Dictator Quintus Servilius marched to Mount Algidus.

The Aequi were promptly defeated and their camp ransacked. The victorious Romans then marched to the town of Labici and took it easily, sacking the city. The dictator took his victorious army back to Rome and resigned his dictatorship. Settlers were sent out to resettle Labici from Rome.

In the year 417 Agrippa Menenius Lanatus, Lucius Servilius Structus, Publius Lucretius Tricipitinus and Spurius Veturius Cassius were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. Not much happened in this year that I am aware of.

Bronze reconstruction of the Mars of Todi
Etruscan statue

In the year 416 Quintus Fabius Vibulanus, Aulus Sempronius Atratinus, Marcus Papirius Mugilanus and Spurius Nautius Rutulus were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. There were calls for land reform from the tribunes of the plebs in this year, but these were halted by the patricians suborning some of the tribunes to veto the proposal of the other tribunes, either through bribery or flattery. Thus the land reform bill came to nothing once more.

In the year 415 Publius Cornelius Cossus, Gaius Valerius Potitus, Quintus Quinctius Cincinnatus and Marcus Fabius Vibulanus were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. In this year a small campaign was fought against the Aequian town of Bolae, which had attacked the Roman settlers of Labici.

In the year 414 Cnaeus Cornelius Cossus, Lucius Valerius Potitus, Quintus Fabius Vibulanus and Marcus Postumius Regillensis were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. The Aequi had retaken Bolae and the consular tribune Postumius was sent to command the attack against them. Postumius' army did retake the town, but the high-handed behaviour of the commander began to outrage his troops. Postumius responded to every questioning of his authority with harsher and harsher punishments until finally he was murdered by his own men. In a city where warfare was so constant and where military discipline was so high, this was a truly shocking act.

In the year 413 Aulus Cornelius Cossus and Furius Medullinus were elected as consuls in Rome. Trials were held for the murder of Postumius the previous year and some few were found guilty and executed, rather than the entire army being held to blame. However tensions between the plebeians and patricians were still quite high. A small campaign was fought against the Volscians.

Terracotta statue from Veii dating to perhaps a century earlier

In the year 412 Quintus Fabius Ambustus and Gaius Furius Pacilus were elected as consuls in Rome. There was a pestilence that year, but the mortality rate was quite low, perhaps in part because most people fled the city and went into isolation in the countryside, where they neglected the harvest for fear of meeting people with the contagion.

In the year 411 Marcus Papirius Atratinus and Gaius Nautius Rutilus were elected as consuls in Rome. To alleviate the grain shortages after the sickness of the previous year they oversaw the buying of grain from Etruria and Sicily.

In the year 410 Marcus Aemilius and Gaius Valerius Potitus were elected as consuls in Rome. There was ill-feeling among the plebeians against the patricians on the subject of land reform and when the Aequi attacked the lands of the allied Hernici, one of the tribunes of the plebs attempted to block the raising of armies. However an army was eventually raised and the consul Valerius led the levied army to victory. The army was not pleased however, and Menenius, the tribune who had raised the proposal of land reform, was the subject of much admiration from the soldiers. The patricians were concerned at this.

Tomb of the Blue Demons

Around this time, the Etruscan Tomb of the Blue Demons was made in the Necropolis of Monterozzi near the Etruscan town of Tarquinia. It was a tomb built by a noble family and has the rather sinister name due to the paintings of demons, some with blue skin, on the walls of the tomb. Many Etruscan grave paintings are rather charming, but these are rather unpleasant looking, and some of the earliest indications of what would later become stereotypes of hell and hellish beings in Western culture.

In the year 409 Cnaeus Cornelius Cossus and Lucius Furius Medullinus were elected as consuls in Rome. The plebeians were very angry with the patricians for continually blocking land reform and so a number of plebeian candidates were elected as quaestors. These were combined with some plebeian tribunes from the Icilii family, who were noted for their opposition to the patricians. However, there was no real way for the plebeian magistrates to force the patricians to accede to any demands. There was trouble with the Aequi that year and Rome was too divided to properly meet the threat.

In the year 408 Gaius Julius Julus, Publius Cornelius Cossus and Gaius Servilius Ahala were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. Word came of an impending invasion from the Volscians. Gaius Servilius Ahala, after patiently waiting for his colleagues to finish their own squabbles, appointed Publius Cornelius as the Dictator of Rome. Publius Cornelius won an easy and decisive victory over the Volscians and returned to Rome to resign the office of Dictator.

Tomb of the Blue Demons

In the year 407 Lucius Furius Medullinus, Gaius Valerius Potitus, Cnaeus Fabius Vibulanus and Gaius Servilius Ahala were appointed as consular tribunes. The tribunes noted that the truce with Veii, the powerful nearby Etruscan city had expired and thus sent an embassy to Veii to ask for reparations for previous damages. The Veientes were in the midst of their own party struggles and had no satisfactory answer to Rome. However, no campaign was undertaken, as the Roman garrison at Verrugo was defeated and massacred by the Volscians and Aequi. The Roman relief force arrived too late, but was able to kill some of the Volscians who were engaged in looting the nearby countryside.

In the year 406 Publius Cornelius Rutilus Cossus, Cnaeus Cornelius Cossus, Cnaeus Fabius Ambustus and Lucius Valerius Potitus were elected as consuls in Rome. It was a dangerous time for the Romans, as it appeared that war with Veii was imminent, while there was still trouble with the Volscians, as well as the ever-present threat of civil strife due to the hatred between patricians and plebeians.

Terracotta figure from Veii dating perhaps a century earlier

A campaign was led against the Volscians and one of their towns was captured, with much plunder from it. The plebeian soldiers were allowed to loot the town, which eased relations between patricians and plebeians. The consuls, with the full approval of the Senate then proposed to allow soldiers to be paid. This was a huge step forward for the plebeians, even though a new tax had to be enacted to pay for it. Previously the soldiers had served at their own expense, easy enough for patricians who had slaves to work their farms, but ruinous for plebeians who had to forego working the land while still paying their own upkeep during the war. This was why the plebeians were so interested in sacking towns; it had previously been their only way of defraying the cost of their losses.

The Senate and the consuls had won the plebeians over and war on Veii was declared. Livy declares that the city of Veii was besieged and that the siege lasted for ten years, but this sounds a little too coincidentally like the siege of Troy to be accepted uncritically. Nevertheless Livy records that the Romans began to besiege Veii in this year.

In the year 405 Titus Quinctius Capitolinus, Quintus Quinctius Cincinnatus, Gaius Julius Julus, Aulus Manlius, Lucius Furius Medullinus and Manlius Aemilius Mamercus were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. The siege of Veii is said to have continued. Meanwhile the Etruscan towns gathered at their council in Voltumna. They could not decide whether or not to support the Etruscan city of Veii against the Romans.

Terracotta statue from Veii dating to perhaps a century earlier

In the year 404 Gaius Valerius Potitus, Manlius Sergius Fidenas Publius Cornelius Maluginensis, Cnaeus Cornelius Cossus, Gaius Fabius Ambustus and Spurius Nautius Rutilus were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. The siege of Veii is said to have continued, with the Romans unable to break the city or to properly starve it out. The introduction of pay must have been brought in for this eventuality. Some of the patricians must have known that the showdown with Veii would be a long war.

Livy records that war broke out with the Volscians once more. The Romans won a victory and afterwards besieged and took the town of Artena, although this might instead have been part of the war with Veii (as Livy records a similar town name allied with the city of Veii).

In 403 Marcus Aemilius Mamercinus, Marcus Quinctilius Varus, Lucius Valerius Potitus, Lucius Julius Iulus, Appius Claudius Crassus Inregillensis and Marcus Furius Fusus were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. Livy records that Veii had elected a king during this time and that this decision was resented by the other Etruscan cities, who for this reason failed to come to the aid of Veii, although it does not explain why they did not aid Veii in earlier years.

Detail of the Chimera of Arezzo

The siege of Veii was clearly not heavily pressed, as it was only in this year that winter quarters were constructed and the siege continued the year around. This was unusual for Rome, as normally campaigns were only conducted for short periods during the year. The tribunes of the plebs opposed the measure, but after the people of Veii sallied out against the besieging Romans, many volunteers joined the army to strengthen it and to repair the damaged siege-works.

In the year 402 Gaius Servilius Ahala, Lucius Verginius Tricostus Esquilinus, Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus, Aulus Manlius Vulso Capitolinus and Marcus Sergius Fidenas were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. During this year, the continued military operations led to a relaxation in discipline and the Romans suffered minor defeats at the hands of the Volscians and from Etruscan contingents from Falerii and Capenae who had come belatedly to the aid of Veii. With the Senate concerned at the manner in which the war was being waged, pressure was brought on the consular tribunes to resign several months early and to have the new consular tribunes elected. After some debate, this was agreed to and the two consular tribunes who were held to have been responsible for the setbacks, Verginius and Sergius, were set to be tried in the coming year.

Mars of Todi

In the year 401 Lucius Valerius Potitus, Marcus Furius Camillus, Marcus Aemilius Mamercinus, Cnaeus Cornelius Cossus, Caeso Fabius Ambustus and Lucius Julius Iulus were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. The two offending consular tribunes of the previous year were held as scapegoats for the military failures and the increased taxation and were both heavily fined for their failures on the battlefield. In war, the Etruscan cities of Falerii and Capenae were also besieged, meaning that Rome now had four active campaigns simultaneously, as they were fighting in Volscian territory and also besieging Veii. The resources of the city must have been strained to their utmost.

In the year 400 Publius Licinius Calvus Esquilinus, Publius Manlius Vulso, Lucius Titinius Pansa Saccus, Publius Maelius Capitolinus, Spurius Furius Medullinus and Lucius Publilius Philo Vulscus were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. In a rare first in Roman politics, it appears that Publius Licinius was the first plebeian to be elected as a consular tribune in Rome. This sign of an electoral victory, however small, eased the tensions between the two orders. A victory was achieved over the Volscians when the Romans captured the town of Anxur. That year the winter was a hard one, with rivers freezing over entirely.

Even while Veii, the largest of the Etruscan cities, was fighting for its survival against the expansion of Rome, the Etruscan culture was nearing its peak in terms of art. Two of the finest artworks, the Mars of Todi and the Chimera of Arezzo date from this time period.

The Chimera of Arezzo was probably part of a larger sculpture group, showing the battle of Bellerophon and the Chimera. It shows a hybrid creature with the heads of a lion, a snake and a goat (although the current position of the snake is a modern reconstruction). The bronze work is exquisite and shows that the work of the Etruscan artists was comparable to the work of the Greeks at the time.

Chimera of Arezzo

The Mars of Todi is a bronze statue of a warrior, currently held in the Vatican Museum. This is another phenomenal bronze statue, modelled after fashions of Greek statuary and giving an accurate depiction of body armour of the time period. It was likely a votive statue to a god. There is an inscription in Umbrian, using the Etruscan script. The name of the devotee however, is Celtic.

And thus the period draws to a close, with the Romans facing against the nearby city of Veii for control of the Tiber Valley. The 5th century BC is an odd time in Roman history. We have sources such as Livy and stories from the time. Much of what Livy says is doubtless true, but the history of Rome for this century is still semi-legendary. Many of the patterns of later Roman history are evident in this time period. War was nearly constant. The offices of consul, dictator, tribune of the plebs, censor and quaestor all play important roles during this time period. The martial traditions of the Romans were continually honed, even if the campaigns were so close by that winter campaigning was only necessary at the end of the century.

Finally, this century had seen the continued Struggle of the Orders, the class rivalry between patricians and plebeians. It is important to remember however that for all the resentment between the two orders, Rome had survived the century without an outright civil war. This was better than many cities of the Mediterranean during this century.

Etruscan statue from the city of Veii

Primary Sources
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, written circa 40BC
Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, written around 18BC
Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, written around 18BC (a different translation)
Fasti Triumphales, written circa 19BC
Fasti Capitolini, written circa AD13

Related Blog Posts:
439-420BC in Rome
419-400BC in the Near East
419-410BC in Greece
409-410BC in Greece
The Last Blog Post

439-420BC in Rome

Etruscan warrior
statuette

This blog post will look at the years 439-420BC in Roman history, touching briefly on other parts of Italian history where possible. The primary source for the period is Livy, in his monumental work Ab Urbe Condita, which means "From the Foundation of the City". He wrote this in the time of Augustus, so it is much later than the events described. Other sources for this time include the histories of Diodorus Siculus, who wrote about this time period and Rome, but about a generation or two earlier than Livy. Dionysius of Halicarnassus and some other historians contain some information about the period also. There are also some lists of the consuls and triumphs of the various years preserved in ancient inscriptions, such as the Fasti Capitolini and the Fasti Triumphales.

The reader should take the dates and the events with a pinch of salt. Dating was an inexact science and there are disagreements on interregnums and other events. Every date in this blog may be incorrect. Most dates for the Roman Republic follow Livy's dates, which makes the dates somewhat earlier than what they may have actually been. One should also remember that the Roman years fluctuated compared to our own, so an event that I have mentioned as happening in one year may have happened at least partly in the following year. I have taken Livy's account as my primary source.

Also, many of Livy's sources were the personal histories of the wealthy families of Rome. These were immensely proud and their recollections of their ancestors may be highly fanciful. Some of these records, as we have seen with some of the stories of Tarquin, may in fact have been transposed from Greek history. I will call out these when I can.

In the year 439 Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus and Menenius Agrippa Lanatus were elected consuls in Rome. There had been a famine in the previous year and food supplies were still short. A wealthy plebeian by the name of Spurius Maelius had helped to alleviate the famine by buying a great deal of grain from Etruria and distributing it for free or at reduced prices. This made him quite popular among the poorer classes, but had made him an object of suspicion among the patricians.

The consuls certainly believed that Spurius Maelius was up to no good. Rumours of weapons being collected at his house came to the ears of the magistrates, whether there was anything to them or not. Whenever any citizen became overly popular, there was always the suspicion that they were attempting to become king, a title that was hated in Rome beyond all others.

A painting depicting Cincinnatus earlier being called from
his plough to the dictatorship

The consuls nominated Cincinnatus as Dictator, he promptly appointed Gaius Servilius Ahala as the Master of Horse, an important military role. Gaius Servilius Ahala was immediately dispatched to bring Spurius Maelius to the Dictator. When Spurius Maelius saw the Master of Horse coming against him with officers and lictors. Spurius Maelius fled into the crowd and begged protection from them. Gaius Servilius Ahala followed him into the turmoil of the crowd and struck him down with the sword.

He entreated them to come to his help in this terrible crisis, and not suffer him to be butchered before their eyes. Whilst he was making these appeals, Servilius overtook him and slew him. Besprinkled with the dead man's blood, and surrounded by a troop of young patricians, he returned to the Dictator and: reported that Maelius after being summoned to appear before him had driven away his officer and incited the populace to riot, and had now met with the punishment he deserved. "Well done!" said the Dictator, "Gaius Servilius, you have delivered the republic."
Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, 4.14, written around 18BC

Etruscan warrior statuette

Cincinnatus then summoned the people to an assembly and said that Spurius Maelius had been lawfully killed, in that he had refused an order of the Dictator. This was a questionable point, as he had appealed to the people for protection, and no citizen of the Republic should be without appeal, even against the word of the lawful Dictator of Rome. But, eventually the people, though disgruntled, acquiesced. The house and property of the supposed traitor were confiscated and turned over to the city. It was never very clear that Spurius Maelius was in fact aspiring to become king or was conspiring to do anything at all in fact.

Cincinnatus resigned his dictatorship immediately the supposed danger was averted and returned to his farm in the countryside. Despite the protestations of the patricians that this entire episode had been for the security of the state, the plebs were still angered. It is said that they determined to elect tribunes with consular powers at the next elections rather than consuls.

In the year 438 Mamercus Aemilius Macerinus, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (the son of the Dictator of the previous year) and Lucius Julius Iulus were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. During this year Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (the Dictator of previous years) died and was mourned by the Romans.

During this year war threatened to break out between Rome and the nearby Etruscan city of Veii. The Roman colony of Fidenae had rebelled against Rome and murdered some Rome envoys. Both Fidenae and Veii were close by to Rome and it was likely that this murder occurred late in the year as no action was taken during the year for the vengeance of the Romans.

In the year 437 Marcus Geganius Macerinus and Lucius Sergius Fidenas were elected as consuls in Rome. Now the war against Veii was kindled. The Veientes and Fidenates were arrayed against Rome. The anti-Roman coalition was led by Lars Tolumnius, the King of Veii, who was said to have ordered the murder of the Roman envoys in the previous year.

An earlier statue from Veii (circa 500BC)
probably depicting Apollo

Veii was a wealthy city and the coalition against Rome was held to be a serious one. The Romans fought a difficult battle south of the Anio and were said to have triumphed, but had suffered heavy losses. In these difficult circumstances, the Romans appointed Mamercus Aemilius Macerinus as Dictator to lead them into battle. Lars Tolumnius withdrew back across the Anio and summoned fresh reinforcements from Falerii.

The two sides met in battle and the war hung in the balance. Finally a Roman cavalry officer named Cornelius Cossus killed Lars Tolumnius, king of Veii and the Etruscans broke and fled. It was a great victory for Rome and Mamercus was granted a triumph before laying down his dictatorship.

In the year 436 Lucius Papirius Crassus and Marcus Cornelius Maluginensis were elected consuls in Rome. There were a number of plundering expeditions launched against Veii and Falerii. There was the possibility of unrest among the plebeians, as a relative of the slain Spurius Maelius tried to prosecute Servilius Ahala for the murder of his relative. But the prosecution was not successful. A pestilence broke out in Rome around this time.

In the year 435 Gaius Julius Iulus and Lucius Verginius Tricostus were elected consuls in Rome. The pestilence grew worse, and the men of Fidenae took advantage of this to attack Rome. They advanced as far as the Colline Gate near the edge of the city. The consuls appointed Aulus Servilius as Dictator and the hastily levied army of the Dictator, plague-ridden or otherwise, beat back the men of Fidenae. The Romans won a victory on the road, and then decided to besiege Fidenae itself. The town was very close to Rome and to leave it untaken was a grave risk. Diversionary attacks were launched against the walls while mines and sapping operations were begun, aiming to reach the citadel from underground. The city of Fidenae was captured by Rome and I cannot imagine that the Romans were merciful to those who were captured.

Etruscan statuette of a warrior on horseback

In the year 434 Gaius Julius Iulus and Lucius Verginius Tricostus were elected consuls in Rome, except that perhaps maybe they weren't. It would be quite unusual for a single consul to be returned, but quite extraordinary for two consuls to be returned for the next year. Livy records that there is some confusion about this year and that different records said different things. I would imagine that there has been confusion in the documentation.

There was a threat to the Romans from the Etruscans. The people of Veii had summoned the Twelve Towns of Etruria and were trying to rally their fellow Etruscans to join a great war against Rome. The Romans appointed Mamercus Aemilius Macerinus as Dictator to meet the threat. However, the existential threat never came. Veii was unable to muster support from the other Etruscans and the threat of a pan-Etruscan coalition came to nothing.

Etruscan statue from Veii

Mamercus Aemilius Macerinus prepared to lay down his dictatorship, but before doing so he decided to aid the people by reducing the power of the newly created office of censor. The censorship at this time lasted for 5 years. Mamercus Aemilius Macerinus reduced the tenure of the office to 18 months. This was known as the Lex Aemilia de Censoribus. The censors were able to assess taxation and to take censuses, determining who was a citizen and what type of citizen they were. They reacted vindictively, and once Mamercus Aemilius Macerinus had resigned his office of Dictator, the censors increased his taxation eight-fold, made him the lowest class of citizen, ineligible for any office ever again.

The censors were extremely angry with Mamercus for having limited the power of a Roman magistrate, they struck him out of his tribe, increased his assessment eightfold, and disfranchised him. It is recorded that he bore this most magnanimously, thinking more of the cause which led to the ignominy being inflicted upon him than of the ignominy itself. The leading men amongst the patricians, though disapproving of the limitation imposed on the censorial jurisdiction, were shocked at this instance of the harsh exercise of its power, for each recognised that he would be subject to the censors more frequently and for a longer time than he would be censor himself. At all events the people, it is said, felt so indignant that no one but Mamercus possessed sufficient authority to protect the censors from violence.
Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, 4.24, written around 18BC

Mamercus, who had celebrated a triumph three years previously, took the vindictiveness with good grace and would not allow his supporters to hurt or punish the censors. Thus, even those who had opposed the limiting of the censorship came to gradually agree with Mamercus.

Etruscan statue from Veii

In the year 433 Marcus Fabius Vibulanus, Lucius Sergius Fidenas and Marcus Folius Flaccinator were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. There was a pestilence again in this year and the Romans had to buy grain abroad, as there was fear that there would be famine in the land as well. The Sibylline Books were opened and it was decided that a temple to Apollo would be dedicated to try and turn aside the wrath of the god, who was said to cause plague.

In the year 432 Lucius Pinarius Mamercus, Spurius Postumius Albus Regillensis and Lucius Furius Medullinus were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. In this year the pestilence began to abate and thus the threat of impending famine also appeared to diminish. There was political strife, with the tribunes of the plebs passing a law that forbade open campaigning. This was intended to stop the patricians from having an advantage in the election of consular tribunes. It is probable that it had little effect. There was a rising of the Aequi and the Volscians this year, but it was too late in the year for military action to be taken immediately.

Elsewhere in Italy, the colony of Heraclea was founded by the Greek cities of Taras and Thurii as a compromise colony. It would include settlers from both cities and was built on a piece of land that had previously been disputed by these cities in a war.

In the year 431 Titus Quinctius Poenus Cincinnatus and Gaius Julius Mento were elected as consuls in Rome. The two consuls quickly found out that they hated each other and disagreed on nearly everything. The Aequi and the Volsci occupied Mount Algidus and it may be that the Romans suffered a defeat here under the command of the consuls. It was decided that a Dictator would be called and Aulus Postumius Tubertus was named as Dictator.

Etruscan warrior
statuette

A great battle was fought on Mount Algidus and the Romans were once more victorious, as they had so often been at this battleground. Some Volscians escaped under the leadership of Vettius Messius, who was acknowledged by the Romans as a worthy foe, but most of the Aequi and Volscian soldiers were captured and sold into slavery. Aulus Postumius Tubertus resigned his dictatorship and returned to Rome. It is reported that Aulus Postumius Tubertus had executed his son for the crime of having left his post, even though his son had left through enthusiasm rather than cowardice. Livy reports the tale, but raises a number of objections to it.

The consul Gaius Julius Mento, who had remained at Rome while his colleague accompanied the Dictator, dedicated the temple to Apollo Medicus in Rome. This temple had been vowed some years earlier as part of a desire to be free of plague. The temple stood near what is now the Theatre of Marcellus and some columns of a later temple can be seen there, as the temple was rebuilt a number of times over the years.

In the year 430 Lucius Papirius Crassus and Lucius Julius Iulus were elected as consuls in Rome. The year was a quiet one. The Aequi applied for a treaty and were granted an eight year truce. The Volscians were locked in an internal civil war on the question of whether they should seek peace with Rome. The consuls put forward a bill to regulate how fines were assessed. This was a popular bill so the consuls put it forward so that the tribunes of the plebs could not get the credit for it.

In the year 429 Hostus Lucretius Tricipitinus and Lucius Sergius Fidenas were elected as consuls in Rome. Livy records nothing of note that happened in this year.

In the year 428 Aulus Cornelius Cossus and Titus Quinctius Pennus were elected as consuls in Rome. Raiding parties from Veii attacked Roman territory and it was suspected that some of the Roman settlers from Fidenae had accompanied them. The Romans conducted some investigations and banished some who were said to be guilty.

Etruscan rock-hewn tomb 5th century BC

There was a drought in the land during this year and the consuls intervened to stop the Romans from worshipping other gods in an effort to bring rain. I find it interesting that there were other gods being worshipped in Rome and wonder which gods they were?

Pretended soothsayers went about introducing new modes of sacrificing, and did a profitable trade amongst the victims of superstition, until at last the sight of strange un-Roman modes of propitiating the wrath of the gods in the streets and chapels brought home to the leaders of the commonwealth the public scandal which was being caused. The aediles were instructed to see to it that none but Roman deities were worshipped, nor in any other than the established fashion.
Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, 4.30, written around 18BC

In the year 427 Gaius Servilius Ahala and Lucius Papirius Mugillanus were elected as consuls in Rome. They wished to prosecute a war against Veii, but the progress of the war was slow.

In the year 426 Titus Quinctius Poenus Cincinnatus, Marcus Postumius Albinus Regillensis, Gaius Furius Pacilus Fusus and Aulus Cornelius Cossus were elected as consular tribunes in Rome.

Etruscan statue from Veii

The Romans sent an army to attack the armies of Veii, but the Romans suffered a defeat. Once again the Romans summoned Mamercus Aemilius Macerinus to act as Dictator. Thus the man who had been made the lowest in the state by the censors was called upon to save it.

Mamercus rallied his troops and took them to fight at Fidenae, which had revolted from Rome again, where they engaged the army of Veii once more. The battle hung in the balance and the men of Fidenae poured forth from the city bearing torches, but this fiery attack disoriented, but did not defeat the Romans, who fought back and won a victory of Veii and Fidenae. Mamercus returned to Rome and celebrated a triumph before resigning his dictatorship.

In the year 425 Aulus Sempronius Atratinus, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, Lucius Furius Medullinus and Lucius Horatius Barbatus were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. Livy does not record any events that took place in this year.

In the year 424 Appius Claudius Crassus, Lucius Sergius Fidenas, Spurius Nautius Rutilus and Sextus Julius Iulus were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. That year a festival of games was held in Rome and was celebrated with great pomp.

There were some political debates to the effect that in the next year, the plebeians should coordinate to ensure that some of their number were elected as consular tribunes. However, through a piece of trickery, the senators were able to ensure that consuls would be elected in the following year, which the plebeians were not eligible to stand for.

In this year, the Etruscan town of Volturnum was seized by the Samnites. The Samnites were a central Italic people who spoke an Oscan language. They had been allied with the Etruscans of Volturnum but murdered them in their sleep after a festival, before renaming the town Capua.

In the year 423 Gaius Sempronius Atratinus and Quintus Fabius Vibulanus were elected as consuls in Rome. War with the Volscians was brewing and the Romans mustered an army. A confused and uncertain battle was fought between the Volscians and the Romans, with Gaius Sempronius Atratinus in charge of the Roman army. A soldier named Tempanius and a small troop of cavalry distinguished themselves and broke through the enemy lines, becoming separated from the main body of troops.

Darkness had fallen and Tempanius and his comrades found the Volscian camp abandoned, before returning to the Roman camp and finding it abandoned as well. They returned to Rome and found that the main Roman army had survived mostly intact and that there was no great disaster. But it was a most unsatisfactory campaign.

Roman currency from
around this time period

The tribunes brought charges against the consuls of previous years who had suffered a defeat at Veii three years earlier, partly exploiting public anger at Sempronius' conduct of the Volscian campaign. Tempanius was called to testify and is said to have refrained from passing judgement on his commander. Marcus Postumius was found guilty of having mismanaged the campaign against Veii earlier and was fined 10,000 asses (the heavy Roman bronze currency), which was a substantial sum.

In the year 422 Lucius Manlius Capitolinus, Lucius Papirius Mugillanus and Quintus Antonius Merenda were elected as consular tribunes in Rome. Charges were brought by a tribune of the plebs named Hortensius against Sempronius, who had been consul in the previous year and had led them to a draw/defeat against the Volscians. The other tribunes of plebs pleaded with Hortensius for the charges to be dropped, in that Sempronius had made some mistakes, but did not deserve to be humiliated. Hortensius eventually dropped the charges.

In the year 421 Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus and Cnaeus Fabius Vibulanus were elected as consuls in Rome. After the qualified success of the Volscians in previous years, the Aequi decided to try and attack Rome, but they were defeated very quickly.

The city then was paralysed by a political dispute as to whether or not the quaestorship, elected officials who were to assist the consuls in administration, should be open to plebeians. No decision was made, but the debate was postponed to previous years.

In the year 420 Quinctius Cincinnatus, Lucius Furius Medullinus, Marcus Manlius Vulso and Aulus Sempronius Atratinus were elected as consul tribunes in Rome. The tribunes suspected that there had been vote rigging, whether it had happened or not, and took the ex-consul Sempronius to trial once more for the conduct of his campaign against the Volscians three years previously. This time the trial went to court and Sempronius was fined 15,000 asses.

Later painting of an idealised Vestal Virgin

One of the Vestal Virgins, named Postumia, was accused of breaking her vows of chastity. However, it was proved that she had not in fact broken them but was merely acting flirtatiously. After being warned against such behaviour she was released.

In this year the Greek city of Cumae was taken by the Campanians. This had been the first Greek colony on the mainland of Italy, and had resisted attacks by the natives before. It was a colony of Euboea and had a long and glorious history, but it finally fell to the Oscans and Samnite peoples in this year. The walls of the city were broken down and it may have been abandoned for some time, before eventually being restored in the next century.

And thus the period draws to a close. It is not the most eventful two decades in Roman history, but it shows the operation of the Roman state at this time of the Republic. In particular it shows the prevalence of both tribunes with consular power and the calling of dictators, which happens frequently. The Struggle of the Orders continued of course, but it had not paralysed the city and it seemed that the plebeians and patricians were managing to at least coexist. Meanwhile the old enemies of the Volscians and Aequi appeared to be becoming weaker, while to the north, the city of Veii must have feared that a final showdown between themselves and Rome was coming.

Apulian style Corinthian helmet from southern Italy

Primary Sources
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, written circa 40BC
Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, written around 18BC
Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, written around 18BC (a different translation)
Fasti Triumphales, written circa 19BC
Fasti Capitolini, written circa AD13

Related Blog Posts
459-440BC in Rome
439-420BC in the Near East
439-430BC in Greece
429-420BC in Greece
419-400BC in Rome