Latest / A History of the Roman Empire From Augustus to Aurelius / 37 - A History of the Roman Empire From Augustus to Aurelius by John Bagnell Bury

Transcript

37 - A History of the Roman Empire From Augustus to Aurelius by John Bagnell Bury · A History of the Roman Empire From Augustus to Aurelius

0:00
Speaker 1: Chapter eighteen, Part two of J. B. Bury's The Student's
0:04
Speaker 1: Roman Empire, Part one. This is a LibriVox recording. All
0:09
Speaker 1: LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information
0:13
Speaker 1: or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot o RG recording
0:18
Speaker 1: by Mark Penfold. The Student's Roman Empire, Part one by
0:23
Speaker 1: John Bagnell Bury, Chapter eighteen, Part two. It was probably
0:30
Speaker 1: in the table land of Erzerum that the warfare of
0:33
Speaker 1: the year fifty eight eighty was carried on. The campaign
0:36
Speaker 1: began by a slight reverse for the Romans. Corbulo had
0:40
Speaker 1: posted some auxiliary infantry in certain defensive positions under the
0:44
Speaker 1: command of a centurion, to whom he had given strict
0:46
Speaker 1: orders to keep within the entrenchments. But this officer, seeing
0:51
Speaker 1: what he thought of favorable opportunity, disobeyed and was defeated.
0:55
Speaker 1: The general punished both officers and soldiers by making them
0:59
Speaker 1: in camp outside the rampart, and they were only released
1:02
Speaker 1: from this disgrace when the whole army interceded. When spring
1:06
Speaker 1: was well advanced, Corbulo did all in his power to
1:09
Speaker 1: force into an engagement Tiridates, who was scouring the country
1:13
Speaker 1: and plundering all whom he thought friendly to Rome. Weary
1:17
Speaker 1: of following the enemy hither and thither, Corbulo divided his
1:20
Speaker 1: forces so that his legati and prefects might attack several
1:24
Speaker 1: points at the same time. His operations were supported by Antiochus,
1:28
Speaker 1: king of Comagene, advancing from the south, and Farismanes of Iberia,
1:33
Speaker 1: who desired to redeem his former treachery and had already
1:37
Speaker 1: put to death his son Rhadamistus. From the north, a
1:41
Speaker 1: people called the Moshi, who dwelled near the sources of
1:44
Speaker 1: the river Fasis, also assisted Rome. Thelogases was occupied in
1:49
Speaker 1: another quarter of his kingdom by a revolt of the Hyrcanians,
1:52
Speaker 1: and Teridates, found himself unable to cope with the superior
1:56
Speaker 1: forces of the Romans. He therefore entered into negotiations with Corbulo,
2:01
Speaker 1: who advised him to send a petition to the Emperor.
2:04
Speaker 1: As it was found that the interchange of messages did
2:06
Speaker 1: not lead to a settlement, an interview was arranged between
2:10
Speaker 1: the commanders. Tyridates proposed to arrive himself with a thousand horsemen,
2:15
Speaker 1: and that Corbulo should be accompanied by as many soldiers
2:18
Speaker 1: as he chose, provided they came without helmets and breastplates,
2:22
Speaker 1: so as to give the appearance of peace. The wary
2:26
Speaker 1: old general was not deceived by this offer. So transparently
2:30
Speaker 1: treacherous Tyridates intended that his trained archers should shoot down
2:34
Speaker 1: the escort of Corbulo, whose numbers would be of no
2:37
Speaker 1: avail if their bodies were undefended. Corbulo, however, pretended not
2:41
Speaker 1: to see through the stratagem, but replied that it would
2:44
Speaker 1: be better to discuss the matters in dispute in the
2:46
Speaker 1: presence of the whole armies. On the appointed day. He
2:50
Speaker 1: arrived first and disposed his troops, But Tyridates did not
2:54
Speaker 1: appear till the afternoon, and then stood at a distance,
2:57
Speaker 1: whence he could be seen rather than heard. Thus no
3:01
Speaker 1: conference took place, and Tiridates presently marched off, apparently in
3:05
Speaker 1: a northwesterly direction, perhaps intending to cut off the supplies
3:09
Speaker 1: which the Roman army drew from Trapezis. Corbulo now ceased
3:14
Speaker 1: to follow Tyridates and prepared a series of attacks on
3:17
Speaker 1: the Armenian fortresses. He undertook himself the assault on Volandum,
3:22
Speaker 1: the strongest in the district, and assigned the lesser forts
3:25
Speaker 1: to the subordinate officers. Volandum lay west of Artexata and
3:29
Speaker 1: south of the river Araxes. Corbulo formed his troops in
3:33
Speaker 1: four divisions and assigned to each a different task. One part,
3:37
Speaker 1: with their shields locked above their heads in the army,
3:39
Speaker 1: known as Testudo, advanced close to the rampart to undermine it.
3:44
Speaker 1: Others applied scaling ladders to the walls. Others hurled javelins
3:48
Speaker 1: and brands from the engines, while the slingers, at a
3:50
Speaker 1: distance discharged leaden balls against the garrison. Within the third
3:55
Speaker 1: part of a day, the walls were stripped of their defenders,
3:58
Speaker 1: the barricades of the gate were thrown down, the fortifications
4:01
Speaker 1: scaled and captured. All the adults butchered without the loss
4:04
Speaker 1: of a single Roman soldier. Corbulo's officers were equally successful
4:09
Speaker 1: in their less difficult enterprises, and he was encouraged by
4:13
Speaker 1: this success to attack Ardixata, the capital of the country,
4:16
Speaker 1: on the March. Thither, the Romans were attacked by the
4:19
Speaker 1: cavalry of Tyridates, who had hoped to take them unawares.
4:22
Speaker 1: But Corbulo had formed his army for fighting as well
4:25
Speaker 1: as for marching on the right and left sides. The
4:28
Speaker 1: third and sixth legions marched respectively, and a chosen body
4:32
Speaker 1: of the fifth was placed in the center. The baggage
4:36
Speaker 1: was secured within the lines, and the rear was guarded
4:38
Speaker 1: by a thousand cavalry, who were ordered to resist if attacked,
4:42
Speaker 1: but not to pursue. On the wings were placed the
4:45
Speaker 1: foot bowmen and the rest of the cavalry. The left
4:48
Speaker 1: wing was extended further along the foot of the hills,
4:51
Speaker 1: so that if the enemy broke through the center, his
4:53
Speaker 1: flank might be enveloped by the extended wing. Tiridates rode
4:57
Speaker 1: up in the face of the advancing army, but taking
5:00
Speaker 1: care to keep out of the range of missiles. His
5:03
Speaker 1: object was to loosen the ranks by threatening an attack,
5:06
Speaker 1: and then to fall on the separated divisions. But his
5:09
Speaker 1: design failed. Only one cavalry officer advanced rashly and fell
5:14
Speaker 1: pierced with arrows. His example confirmed the others in obedience
5:18
Speaker 1: to orders, and Tiridates retired on the approach of night.
5:22
Speaker 1: Corbulo thought of advancing on art Exata the same night
5:26
Speaker 1: and beginning the blockade, but when his scouts reported that
5:29
Speaker 1: Tyridates had started on a distant march either to Medea
5:33
Speaker 1: or Albania. He waited for daylight and then sent on
5:36
Speaker 1: his light armed troops with directions to begin the attack
5:39
Speaker 1: at a distance, but no siege was necessary. The inhabitants
5:43
Speaker 1: immediately opened the gates and surrendered, and thereby saved their lives.
5:47
Speaker 1: The city was burnt to the ground, as Corbulo could
5:50
Speaker 1: not spare a sufficient garrison and the place was too
5:53
Speaker 1: strong to be left unoccupied. The army seems to have
5:57
Speaker 1: wintered in the neighborhood of Artexata, and in the following
6:00
Speaker 1: year fifty nine a d to have marched to Tigranaserta,
6:05
Speaker 1: which they reached in autumn. The line of march which
6:08
Speaker 1: Korbulo followed is not certain. It seems probable that he
6:11
Speaker 1: proceeded southward from Artizata, and, skirting the foot of Little Ararat,
6:16
Speaker 1: entered the plane of Bayazid, whence, following the basin of
6:19
Speaker 1: the river Balik, he could have crossed the watershed of
6:22
Speaker 1: that stream and the Murad at Jadin, and thence marched
6:25
Speaker 1: along the Murad through the plain of Rishkurd. The way
6:29
Speaker 1: would then lie through the plane of Mush and southeastward
6:32
Speaker 1: across the bitless pass and to Granaserta. On this march,
6:36
Speaker 1: the Roman general made no hostile demonstrations, but did not
6:39
Speaker 1: relax his vigilance, knowing the character of the Armenians, who
6:42
Speaker 1: were as treacherous when opportunity offered, as they were slow
6:47
Speaker 1: to face danger. Those who submitted received quarter, But to
6:51
Speaker 1: those who fled or hid themselves in caverns, Krbulo was pitiless.
6:56
Speaker 1: He burnt them out of their holes, filling the entrances
6:58
Speaker 1: and egresses with brushwood. The Mardis of mount Ifates were
7:02
Speaker 1: especially troublesome and defied him in their mountain fastnesses. Corbula
7:06
Speaker 1: set the Iberians on them so as to avoid the
7:09
Speaker 1: sacrifice of Roman lives. In this march, the Romans suffered
7:12
Speaker 1: as much from heat as they had suffered during the
7:14
Speaker 1: winters from cold. They were exhausted by shortness of supplies
7:18
Speaker 1: and were compelled to depend solely on the cattle of
7:21
Speaker 1: the country. This meat diet without any other food was
7:24
Speaker 1: found to be very injurious. Besides this, water was scarce,
7:28
Speaker 1: and the marches in the burning heat were long. At length,
7:32
Speaker 1: they reached cultivated lands, perhaps in the neighborhood of Malasgard,
7:36
Speaker 1: and were able to obtain vegetable food. Two Armenian fortresses
7:40
Speaker 1: were taken, and then they crossed into the country of
7:42
Speaker 1: the Tarranites, which is probably to be identified with the
7:46
Speaker 1: district of Mush west of Lake Van. Here Corbulo's life
7:50
Speaker 1: was endangered. A barbarian of considerable rank was discovered with
7:54
Speaker 1: a dagger near the general's tent, and, on being tortured,
7:57
Speaker 1: confessed the names of confederates who were associated with him.
8:01
Speaker 1: The men were convicted and punished. Soon after this, envoys
8:04
Speaker 1: whom Corbulo had sent to to Granacerta returned and reported
8:08
Speaker 1: that the gates were open to receive him, and the
8:10
Speaker 1: inhabitants ready to obey his orders. They also brought a
8:14
Speaker 1: golden crown, a gift betokening the friendship of the city.
8:18
Speaker 1: Corbulo left the place intact and then proceeded against Ligurda,
8:22
Speaker 1: a fortress to the west of to Grana Certa. The
8:25
Speaker 1: stronghold was defended by a brave band and was stormed
8:28
Speaker 1: with difficulty. This success seems to have marked the end
8:32
Speaker 1: of the campaign. Tyradates made some further attempts to re
8:36
Speaker 1: establish himself in Armenia, but was promptly checked by Corbulo,
8:41
Speaker 1: the land was completely in Roman power, and a new
8:43
Speaker 1: king was chosen sixty a d. The choice of the
8:47
Speaker 1: government fell on to Granes, a young prince who had
8:50
Speaker 1: been brought up in Rome, descended on the father's side
8:52
Speaker 1: from Herod the Great, and on the mothers from Archelaus
8:55
Speaker 1: of Cappadocia. But the realm which Nero conferred on to
8:58
Speaker 1: Granes was considerably less than that which the previous kings
9:02
Speaker 1: had ruled. It was curtailed by some frontier districts, which
9:05
Speaker 1: were distributed between neighboring princes Parismenes, Antiochus, Aristobulus and Palimo
9:11
Speaker 1: of Pontus. To Granes sought to increase his kingdom on
9:15
Speaker 1: another side by wrestling Adiabine from Parthia. He invaded that
9:19
Speaker 1: province and defeated the governor Monobasis. This occurrence forced the
9:24
Speaker 1: Parthian monarch, who had abstained from interfering in the recent
9:27
Speaker 1: war in Armenia, to take a decisive step. He confirmed
9:31
Speaker 1: the sovereignty of Tyridates in Armenia, placing the diadem on
9:34
Speaker 1: his head in solemn council, and sent his general Menaces
9:38
Speaker 1: to drive out the roman usurper in the meantime, Quadratus,
9:42
Speaker 1: the governor of Syria, had died, and, pending the appointment
9:46
Speaker 1: of a successor, the command both in Syria and Cappadoccia
9:49
Speaker 1: devolved upon Corbulo. That general sent two legions to Armenia
9:54
Speaker 1: to support to Granes, who was besieged by the Parthians
9:57
Speaker 1: into Granacerta. But it was not the interest of Corbulo
10:01
Speaker 1: to finish the war and shorten his own command. The
10:03
Speaker 1: two legions which he sent were not those which had
10:06
Speaker 1: been trained by himself, but four and seven, which had
10:10
Speaker 1: remained behind in Syria, and were quite inefficient. Moreover, he
10:14
Speaker 1: is said to have given secret instructions to the two commanders,
10:17
Speaker 1: to whom he committed the charge of the legions to
10:20
Speaker 1: act with deliberation rather than with expedition, for he would
10:24
Speaker 1: rather have war on hand than prosecute it. He himself
10:27
Speaker 1: prepared to cross the Euphrates and meet velogacies, but the
10:31
Speaker 1: Parthian monarch, again as so often before, shrank from war.
10:35
Speaker 1: At the last moment the attack of his general upon
10:38
Speaker 1: Tigranocerta had been completely unsuccessful. He opened negotiations and declared
10:43
Speaker 1: himself ready to fulfill the conditions of the treaty which
10:46
Speaker 1: had been proposed in fifty five A d and let
10:49
Speaker 1: his brother hold Armenia as vassal of the Roman Emperor.
10:53
Speaker 1: Corbulo accepted the proposal, withdrew his legions from Armenia, gave
10:57
Speaker 1: up the cause of Tigrani's sixty ux, and permitted Terradates
11:02
Speaker 1: to resume his possession of the land. It was said
11:05
Speaker 1: by some, and it is not improbable, that there was
11:08
Speaker 1: a secret understanding between Corbulo and Velogases. In any case,
11:12
Speaker 1: these proceedings of Corbulo cannot be justified. He may have
11:15
Speaker 1: honestly thought that the arrangement which he twice attempted to
11:18
Speaker 1: make with Velogacies was the best solution of the Armenian question,
11:22
Speaker 1: but once the Roman government had set up to greenies,
11:25
Speaker 1: he had no right to give up the results which
11:27
Speaker 1: had been won by his own campaigns. Moreover, he was
11:30
Speaker 1: at this time only a temporary commander, and Lucius Cassanius
11:34
Speaker 1: Paetus was already on his way to assume the government
11:37
Speaker 1: of Cappadoccia, to which he had been appointed. It is
11:40
Speaker 1: possible that Corbulo was jealous of his successor and wished
11:44
Speaker 1: to deprive him of the honor of the final subjugation
11:46
Speaker 1: of Armenia. In any case, Corbulo did not act in
11:50
Speaker 1: accordance with the views of the government, and when the
11:52
Speaker 1: ambassadors of the Lagaces presented themselves at Rome, the treaty
11:56
Speaker 1: was not confirmed. There is some ground for believing that
11:59
Speaker 1: at this moment it was actually contemplated to make Armenia
12:02
Speaker 1: a Roman province, and this certainly was the view of
12:05
Speaker 1: the new governor of Cappadocia. Thus Armenia had to be
12:10
Speaker 1: conquered again. The two legions which were stationed in Cappadocia
12:14
Speaker 1: were to be reinforced by a legion from Mesia and Paetus.
12:18
Speaker 1: As soon as he arrived in his province lost no
12:21
Speaker 1: time in setting out. He crossed the Euphrates at Melatini
12:25
Speaker 1: and marched through Sophini, capturing forts and booty on his way.
12:29
Speaker 1: His first object was the recovery of Tigranocerta, but it
12:33
Speaker 1: was late in the year sixty two a d. And
12:36
Speaker 1: he was obliged to defer this enterprise until next season,
12:39
Speaker 1: especially as the Masian legion had not yet arrived. He
12:43
Speaker 1: established the winter quarters of the fourth legion at Randea,
12:47
Speaker 1: a place on the borders of Sophini, close to the
12:49
Speaker 1: Taurus Range and situated on the north bank of the
12:52
Speaker 1: Arsenius Murrad. In the meantime, Corbulo had taken up a
12:56
Speaker 1: position on the banks of the Euphrates near Zugma to
13:00
Speaker 1: prevent the forces of Vlogasses from invading Syria. The Parthian king,
13:05
Speaker 1: learning that the two legions of Paetis were not together,
13:08
Speaker 1: that the camp at Randea was badly supplied with provisions,
13:11
Speaker 1: and that Petus was granting furloughs indiscriminately to all the
13:14
Speaker 1: soldiers who applied for them, suddenly determined to invade Armenia,
13:19
Speaker 1: notwithstanding the lateness of the season, and surprised the Roman
13:22
Speaker 1: camp before reinforcements could arrive. Corbulo did nothing to hinder
13:26
Speaker 1: the march of the Parthians into Armenia. Perhaps he was
13:29
Speaker 1: secretly pleased at the prospect of the other commander getting
13:32
Speaker 1: into difficulties. When Petius heard that Vologasses was approaching with
13:37
Speaker 1: a large force, he summoned the seventh legion to his headquarters,
13:41
Speaker 1: and then fully realized the numerical weakness of his forces.
13:45
Speaker 1: The whole army advanced in the direction from which the
13:47
Speaker 1: Parthians were approaching, but when a centurion and some soldiers
13:51
Speaker 1: who had been sent on to reconnoiter were killed in
13:54
Speaker 1: a collision with an advanced party of the enemy, it
13:57
Speaker 1: retreated to the camp. Vlogasses did not press on immediately,
14:01
Speaker 1: and Paetis posted a body of three thousand chosen infantry
14:04
Speaker 1: in the pass of Mount Taras, which the Parthians had
14:07
Speaker 1: yet to pass before they reached Randea, and also placed
14:11
Speaker 1: the best of his cavalry in the plain to support
14:13
Speaker 1: the legionaries. But these forces were utterly insufficient and were
14:17
Speaker 1: swept away before the advance of the Parthian army. The
14:21
Speaker 1: unwounded fled to distant wilds, the disabled returned to the camp.
14:25
Speaker 1: Thus Petus was left having lost the best part of
14:28
Speaker 1: his army through his ill considered dispositions, and his forces
14:32
Speaker 1: were still further weakened by the withdrawal of a cohort
14:35
Speaker 1: to the defense of the neighboring fort of Arsamasata, whither
14:39
Speaker 1: his wife and son had been removed for safety. His
14:42
Speaker 1: only chance of escape lay in speedy succor from Corbulo,
14:45
Speaker 1: to whom he had already sent a pressing message. But
14:48
Speaker 1: Corbulo did not hurry. He was willing to let the
14:51
Speaker 1: peril increase in order that the glory of rescuing the
14:54
Speaker 1: army might be enhanced. But he ordered one thousand men
14:57
Speaker 1: from each of his three legions, along with eight hundred
15:00
Speaker 1: cavalry and about four thousand auxiliary infantry, to be an
15:03
Speaker 1: instant readiness to march. When, however, another message arrived from
15:07
Speaker 1: Petis with news of the defeat, and earnestly entreating him
15:10
Speaker 1: to come to save the eagles, he set out, leaving
15:13
Speaker 1: half his army to defend the forts on the Euphrates.
15:16
Speaker 1: He marched straight north from Zugma through Commagene and Cappadoncia,
15:21
Speaker 1: the route which was shortest and most convenient for obtaining supplies.
15:25
Speaker 1: His army was attended by a large number of camels
15:27
Speaker 1: laden with corn. When he met stragglers from the defeated army,
15:31
Speaker 1: and they alleged various excuses for their flight, he advised
15:35
Speaker 1: them to return to their standards and throw themselves on
15:38
Speaker 1: the mercy of Petis I, he said, have no pardon
15:42
Speaker 1: but for the victorious. In the meantime, vlogases pressed both
15:46
Speaker 1: the fortress of Arsamosata and the camp at Randea. He
15:50
Speaker 1: tried to lure the legions from their intrenchments and bring
15:52
Speaker 1: on an engagement, but the Roman soldiers were demoralized and
15:56
Speaker 1: had no intention of fighting. They only thought of escaping
15:59
Speaker 1: with their life. They are said to have quoted the
16:02
Speaker 1: historical disasters of Rome, such as the Cowdine Forks and
16:05
Speaker 1: the capitulation of Mancinus at Numantia, and urged that if
16:09
Speaker 1: Romans had yielded to Samnites, it would be no disgrace
16:12
Speaker 1: to capitulate to the greater power of Parthia. The general
16:16
Speaker 1: was forced by this attitude of his troops into treating
16:19
Speaker 1: with the enemy, Yet if he had held out for
16:21
Speaker 1: three days longer, his colleague would have arrived with succor.
16:24
Speaker 1: The terms of the capitulation were that the legions should
16:27
Speaker 1: quit Armenia, that the forts and supplies should be surrendered
16:30
Speaker 1: to the Parthians, and a bridge thrown across the River
16:33
Speaker 1: Arsenius to enable them to carry off the booty. The
16:37
Speaker 1: Romans had to submit to such ignominy. The Parthians and
16:40
Speaker 1: Armenians insulted them as they prepared to retire, and their
16:44
Speaker 1: flight was precipitate. Paetus traversed forty miles in a single day,
16:48
Speaker 1: leaving his wounded All along the route, the fugitives met
16:52
Speaker 1: the army of Corbulo on the banks of the Euphrates
16:55
Speaker 1: near Militine. Corbulo made no exhibition of standards and arms
16:59
Speaker 1: so as to taunt them. By the contrast, his maniples,
17:03
Speaker 1: in their grief for the lot of their comrades, could
17:05
Speaker 1: not even refrain from tears. The mutual salutation was hardly
17:10
Speaker 1: interchanged for weeping. Rivalry and desire of glory, emotions which
17:15
Speaker 1: men feel in success had died away. Pity alone prevailed,
17:19
Speaker 1: and was more deeply felt in the lower ranks. A
17:23
Speaker 1: short conversation took place between Corbulo and Paetus. The defeated
17:27
Speaker 1: general urged that everything might still be retrieved if the
17:30
Speaker 1: whole army were at once to invade Armenia, from which
17:33
Speaker 1: Vlogases had already departed. Corbulo declined, on the ground that
17:37
Speaker 1: his commission from the emperor strictly confined him to the
17:40
Speaker 1: limits of Syria, which he had only left on account
17:43
Speaker 1: of the peril of the legions. Petus then retired to Cappadoccia,
17:47
Speaker 1: and Corbulo to Syria, where messages passed between him and velogases,
17:52
Speaker 1: and it was agreed that the Roman fortresses on the
17:54
Speaker 1: Parthian bank of the Euphrates were to be abandoned, while
17:58
Speaker 1: on the other hand, the Parthian garas garrisons were to
18:00
Speaker 1: be removed from Armenia. When Paetus first established his quarters
18:06
Speaker 1: at Randea, he had sent bragging despatches to Rome as
18:09
Speaker 1: if he were in possession of the whole country, and
18:12
Speaker 1: trophies and arches were erected at Rome in honor of
18:15
Speaker 1: his supposed successes. The arrival of the envoys of velogacies
18:20
Speaker 1: early in sixty three a d exposed the falseness of
18:23
Speaker 1: these pretensions. The letter of the king was moderate, but
18:27
Speaker 1: its tone was that of one who need not condescend
18:30
Speaker 1: to ask for terms. He professed that his brother Tiridates
18:34
Speaker 1: was ready to receive the crown of Armenia as a
18:36
Speaker 1: Roman vassal. Being a magian priest, Tyridates had a scruple
18:41
Speaker 1: against crossing the sea. Otherwise he would have been ready
18:44
Speaker 1: to appear at Rome and receive the diadem from the
18:47
Speaker 1: Emperor's hand, but he would willingly go to one of
18:50
Speaker 1: the neighboring camps and do homage to the standards and
18:53
Speaker 1: the image of the Emperor. The Council of Nero rejected
18:57
Speaker 1: this proposal and sent the envoys back without a formal
18:59
Speaker 1: ends answer, refusing to accept the terms which were arranged
19:03
Speaker 1: between Corbulo and Vologases. But they seemed to have intimated
19:07
Speaker 1: at the same time that if Tyradates presented himself at
19:10
Speaker 1: Rome in person, an understanding might be effected. But for
19:14
Speaker 1: the present the war was to continue, and preparations were
19:17
Speaker 1: made for it on an unusually large scale. Paetus was recalled,
19:22
Speaker 1: and Corbulo, who though his recent behavior was certainly open
19:26
Speaker 1: to criticism, was justly recognized to be the most capable
19:29
Speaker 1: general undertook once more the command in Cappadocia, while c
19:33
Speaker 1: Cestius Gallus replaced him in Syria. He was now entrusted
19:37
Speaker 1: with larger powers than before, perhaps with an imperium proconsulare.
19:42
Speaker 1: All the governors and dependent princes of the east were
19:45
Speaker 1: instructed to obey his commands, and his position resembled that
19:49
Speaker 1: which had been formerly held by Germanicus and Vitellius. The
19:52
Speaker 1: army was increased by the fourteenth Legion Apollinaris, taken from Pannonia.
19:59
Speaker 1: The whole strength of Corbulo's army, taking into account the
20:02
Speaker 1: troops supplied by neighboring allied princes, probably approached fifty thousand
20:07
Speaker 1: and was the most numerous force ever put in the
20:09
Speaker 1: field for an Armenian war. Corbulo crossed the Euphrates and
20:13
Speaker 1: entered southern Armenia, advancing in the direction of Tigranocerta and
20:17
Speaker 1: opening up the route which in former days had been
20:20
Speaker 1: followed by Lucillus. When he advanced to overthrow Tigranes, he
20:25
Speaker 1: drove from their possessions those Armenian nobles who had led
20:28
Speaker 1: the revolt against Rome and captured their fortresses. Then, Velogacies
20:32
Speaker 1: sent envoys to demand an armistice, and Tyridates proposed a
20:36
Speaker 1: personal interview with the Roman general. Corbulo acceded and made
20:40
Speaker 1: no objection when Tyridates proposed that the place of meeting
20:43
Speaker 1: should be at Randea, the scene of the disaster of Paetus.
20:48
Speaker 1: He commanded the son of Paetus, who was a military
20:50
Speaker 1: tribune in his army, to take some troops with him
20:53
Speaker 1: and cover up the relics of the battlefield. Tiridates and Corbulo,
20:57
Speaker 1: each attended by twenty horsemen, met on the UK appointed
21:00
Speaker 1: day it was agreed that the Parthian should take the
21:03
Speaker 1: diadem from his head, place it in front of the
21:05
Speaker 1: emperor's image, and not resume it until he had formerly
21:09
Speaker 1: received it in Rome from the emperor's own hand. This
21:12
Speaker 1: ceremony was to take place in the presence of both armies,
21:15
Speaker 1: and on the very spot where Paetus had capitulated, so
21:18
Speaker 1: that the memory of the disgrace which had then tarnished
21:21
Speaker 1: Roman arms might in some measure be effaced. The interview
21:25
Speaker 1: ended with a kiss. After a few days, the solemnity
21:28
Speaker 1: took place. On one side was ranged the Parthian cavalry
21:32
Speaker 1: with their national decorations. On the other the legions with
21:36
Speaker 1: glittering eagles and standards and images of the gods, set
21:40
Speaker 1: so as to represent a temple. Between the armies was
21:43
Speaker 1: a tribunal supporting a chair of state, on which a
21:46
Speaker 1: statue of Nero was placed. Terradates advanced and having slain
21:50
Speaker 1: the customary victims, removed the diadem from his head and
21:54
Speaker 1: placed it at the foot of the statue. Then Corbulo
21:57
Speaker 1: courteously entertained the king, who prepared to set out for
22:00
Speaker 1: Rome as soon as he had visited his brothers. This
22:03
Speaker 1: time Corbulo's favorite schemes succeeded. New statesmen were influential at Rome,
22:09
Speaker 1: and the vanity of the emperor was gratified by the
22:11
Speaker 1: prospect of giving away the crown of Armenia to a
22:14
Speaker 1: Parthian prince. As a humble, suppliant Tyridates, accompanied by three
22:18
Speaker 1: thousand Parthian horsemen, arrived in Rome in sixty six a d.
22:23
Speaker 1: The ceremony of investiture took place in the Forum, where
22:27
Speaker 1: the brother of Vlogacies, kneeling at the feet of his overlord,
22:30
Speaker 1: received the crown of Armenia. This settlement of the Eastern
22:34
Speaker 1: question lasted for many years. Rome had succeeded in getting
22:38
Speaker 1: rid of a troublesome dependency without losing her prestige or
22:42
Speaker 1: endangering her interests. One more Eastern expedition was planned by Nero,
22:49
Speaker 1: but its execution was prevented by his overthrow. It was
22:52
Speaker 1: directed against the Alans, a people who lived north of
22:56
Speaker 1: the Caucuses and had recently made some plundering excursion in
23:00
Speaker 1: Armenia and Media. The object was probably to occupy the
23:05
Speaker 1: Caucasian gait now known as the Dariel Pass between Tiflis
23:09
Speaker 1: and Vladikaccus with a priminent garrison, and this was for
23:13
Speaker 1: the advantage of Parthia as well as for that of Rome.
23:17
Speaker 1: The fourteenth Legion, which was recalled from Britain, and the
23:20
Speaker 1: first Italica, newly enrolled for this expedition, were on the
23:25
Speaker 1: way to the east when they were recalled on account
23:27
Speaker 1: of the revolt of Vindex. It remains to tell the
23:31
Speaker 1: fate of Corbulo. His prominent position and services seemed to
23:34
Speaker 1: have roused the jealousy of Nero, who summoned him to
23:38
Speaker 1: his presence in Greece sixty seven a d. When Corbula
23:42
Speaker 1: landed at cent Cree, he received a message to the
23:45
Speaker 1: effect that he was expected to cease to live. He
23:49
Speaker 1: plunged his sword in his breast with the words I
23:53
Speaker 1: deserve it. It is impossible to know whether he had
23:57
Speaker 1: given any real ground of suspicion. He was an able soldier,
24:01
Speaker 1: but his merits perhaps have been exaggerated. Tacitus at least
24:05
Speaker 1: seems to use the meritorious Corbulo as a sort of
24:08
Speaker 1: antithesis to Nero, just as he set up Germanicus as
24:11
Speaker 1: a foil to Tiberius. And the contrast drawn between Corbulo's
24:16
Speaker 1: unerring generalship and the rash incompetence of Paetus is obviously
24:20
Speaker 1: heightened for the sake of artistic effect. The end of
24:28
Speaker 1: Chapter eighteen, Part two and the end of J. B.
24:33
Speaker 1: Bury's The Student's Roman Empire Part one. Recording by Mark
24:39
Speaker 1: Penfold