Gaius Marius by Marc Hyden

Author:Marc Hyden [Marc Hyden]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-01-30T05:00:00+00:00

XIV

DRUSUS

‘O my relatives and friends, will my country ever have another citizen like me?’

– Marcus Livius Drusus

As Marius and other Romans were searching further afield for their next adversary and the concomitant spoils and glory, they should have been more vigilant of the dangers lurking in Italy. For hundreds of years, the Republic had gradually attained regional dominance and, eventually, an overseas empire. Initially, Rome was just one city in the Italian peninsula surrounded by other towns and tribes that were not naturally cohesive or even peaceful. In fact, they were often at war with each other, but Rome gradually asserted its dominance and formed powerful partnerships with neighbouring tribes. Some peoples were more or less non-violently enlisted into an alliance with Rome, while others were dogged foes. For instance, the Samnites, located in the Italian peninsula’s more southerly regions, bitterly fought Rome but ultimately succumbed to its power. As Rome defeated their local enemies, they were coerced into becoming the Republic’s partners, which presented the newly inaugurated allies with some promising opportunities and benefits, but also a few requirements. They were compelled to cease their warring with the Republic, contribute troops to the Roman cause when requested and, in return, the growing federation protected their homeland, shared the spoils of war to some extent and virtually permitted them local autonomy. However, they were not granted Roman citizenship, and that meant that they weren’t permitted to vote in Roman elections or on bills, even if they were directly affected by them. The Roman judicial system also favoured the Romans over the allied tribes. If a dispute arose between a non-citizen and a citizen, and the evidence was scant, then the Roman courts generally defaulted on behalf of the citizen, which often bred dissatisfaction among the allies.¹

This system benefitted Rome and the allies’ wealthy classes for quite some time, and for years, there weren’t many rebellions. Unfortunately for Rome’s partners, the Republic increasingly exploited their allied agreements and abused the locals, causing a spike in bitterness towards Rome. As part of their treaties, most of the allies were required to produce troops whenever Rome demanded them, and they were obligated to levy whatever amount was requested. Some of the more bellicose tribes assumed the most hazardous posts in battle and contributed much more than others, and combined, the allies produced more soldiers than Rome. Making matters even worse for the Italian tribes was that when they formed their respective alliances with Rome, they were presumably agreeing to provide troops for the defence of Italy, but soldiers were being levied progressively for Rome’s imperial ambitions, which often resulted in protracted overseas campaigns with, at best, token compensation. However, while Rome added provinces to its domain, the Italians weren’t permitted to annex any of the land that they helped conquer. All of this fomented greater discontentment.²

The poorer Italian classes bore no love for Rome. The wealthy likely didn’t either, but their antipathy was tempered because they were at least profiting from their tribal partnerships with the Republic, which prevented many influential Italians from organizing revolts.

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