Invasion! Rome Against the Cimbri, 113-101 BC by Philip Matyszak

Author:Philip Matyszak
Format: epub

Chapter 7

Into Italy

The Cimbric advance on Italy was no spontaneous, headlong charge. The Cimbric leaders were still wary of Rome’s military prowess, and their previous string of victories had in no way caused them to underestimate the scale of the challenge that awaited them once they had decided to invade Italy. Therefore, the months before the actual Cimbric advance were spent in serious diplomacy and cautious, detailed planning.

Several centuries after the Cimbric wars, barbarian tribes which planned an attack over the Roman frontier carefully co-ordinated their efforts, knowing that the Roman army could usually only deal with one threat at a time. Therefore, an attack on multiple fronts by a combination of tribes stood a greater chance of success. It seems that the Cimbri were innovators in this regard, having developed this strategy in the late second century

BC

.

Their basic plan was to attack on two fronts after creating an alliance which would combine tribes with two different objectives. Some peoples like the Ambrones and Tigurini would consider the invasion of Italy as a huge raid with slaves and booty as the objective. The Cimbri, and possibly some of the Teutones, would take advantage of the chaos to achieve their purpose and move in on a permanent basis. There was a precedent for such a move.

We have seen that around a century and a half previously, a federation of tribes from Gaul and from across the Danube had joined forces in a massive raid on Greece. The raid was turned back by the combined efforts of the Greek city-states, but only after the raiders had inflicted considerable devastation. Yet, thereafter, one branch of the Gallic invasion force did not return home but continued moving east. This group eventually arrived in Asia Minor and by exploiting the political divisions between and within the different kingdoms in the area they eventually managed to claw out a homeland for themselves in the heartlands of Anatolia.

Now known as the Galatians, the people of this outpost of Gallic culture in Asia Minor survived for centuries as a distinct people and culture. They were eventually absorbed by the Roman empire and are best known today through a letter written by an itinerant evangelist; St Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians is now a part of the Bible.

The Cimbri had spent considerable time in the original homeland of the Galatians, which was in southern Gaul. It follows that they would certainly have been aware of the Galatian success in establishing themselves comfortably in a new home on the other side of the Mediterranean, and they were keen to emulate this achievement in Italy. With this in mind, they informed all tribes north of the Alps that they intended to invade Italy and offered an open invitation to any individuals and groups who would like to join them in this opportunity of a lifetime for pillage and plunder.

Naturally the Teutones and Tigurini signed up, the former because their fate was by now inextricably linked to that of the Cimbri. The

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