Rivalries That Destroyed the Roman Republic by Jeremiah McCall;
Author:Jeremiah McCall;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Military / Ancient
Publisher: Casemate Publishers & Book Distributors, LLC
Published: 2022-11-29T00:00:00+00:00
Sulla in the East and the Short Command of Fimbria
What happened to Flaccusâ expedition is not exactly clear, since Appian and Memnon tell it somewhat differently. Neitherâs version would mean an auspicious outcome for the campaign. According to Appian, Flaccusâ force suffered the worst luck from the start, a tempest drowning some in the crossing to Greece, and an attack on the vanguard that had crossed to Thessaly slaughtering more. To make matters worse, the soldiers resented Flaccusâ harsh discipline, acceptable, perhaps, from a skilled commander but not from an incompetent one. Some soldiers deserted to Sulla. Flaccusâ legate Fimbria, a far more skilled commander and with the soldiersâ support, kept most loyal â loyal long enough for the expedition to reach the Roman province of Asia. Then Flaccus and Fimbria fell out when Flaccus sided with his quaestor over Fimbria in an argument. The slight stung, and so when Flaccus was away on a mission, Fimbria stole control of the army away from the assigned subordinate. When Flaccus returned, Fimbria forced him into hiding. Only for a short while: Fimbria hunted the consul down, cast his severed head in the sea and left his headless corpse unburied.38 Memnon agrees that Flaccusâ army suffered setbacks, but they were minor and the expedition made its way to Asia. The army clearly preferred legate Fimbria to consul Flaccus, however, and this rankled Flaccus. On one occasion Flaccus chastised Fimbria in public, and two of the more independently-minded soldiers murdered their commander outright. Word reached the senate. They were decidedly not happy but, with little option, confirmed Fimbria as the new commander of the Roman expeditionary force.39 Judging whether Fimbria revolted or some soldiers did the murderous deed is a matter for an ancient law court. The practical outcome was the same: Flaccus had been murdered, and now Fimbria commanded the Roman army sent to engage Sulla.
Appian and Plutarch narrate the rest of Sullaâs war against Mithridates, and the details need not detain us here.40 Suffice to say, Sulla forced Mithridates to return to Pontus and make peace, but the residents of Asia were most perplexed by two Roman armies, those of Sulla and Fimbria, roaming the lands yet working against one another. Sulla was not one to leave a potential enemy in the field, however, and when he had curbed Mithridates, he turned his attention to Fimbriaâs forces.
Sulla closed with Fimbriaâs army near Pergamum and gave Fimbria a simple order: yield his illegal command and surrender his forces to Sulla. Fimbria cast the order back in his teeth: Sulla was the illegitimate proconsul, not he. When words failed, a siege forced the issue. Sullaâs soldiers hemmed in Fimbriaâs army. Given a stark choice between being the besieger or the besieged, most soldiers deserted to Sulla. Those who remained refused Fimbriaâs pleas to fight: not for duty, not for money. Ruin awaited Fimbria. Stealing away to a temple of Aesculapius, he stabbed himself. The wound was not deep enough to do the job, however, and it fell upon an enslaved attendant to end his suffering.
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