• In total there are 19 users online :: 0 registered, 0 hidden and 19 guests (based on users active over the past 60 minutes)
    Most users ever online was 789 on Tue Mar 19, 2024 5:08 am

Marcus Furius Camillus

A forum dedicated to friendly and civil conversations about domestic and global politics, history, and present-day events.
Forum rules
Do not promote books in this forum. Instead, promote your books in either Authors: Tell us about your FICTION book! or Authors: Tell us about your NON-FICTION book!.

All other Community Rules apply in this and all other forums.
User avatar
President Camacho

1F - BRONZE CONTRIBUTOR
I Should Be Bronzed
Posts: 1655
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2008 1:44 pm
15
Location: Hampton, Ga
Has thanked: 246 times
Been thanked: 314 times

Marcus Furius Camillus

Unread post

Image


Marcus Furius Camillus (445-365 B.C.)

Marcus Furius was the first to make the house of Furii noteworthy in a historical sense. He was also the first to use the surname 'Camillus', was dictator 5 times, 4 times held a triumph, and was considered the second founder of Rome.

Camillus first earned honors serving under Postumius Tubertus when he rose out ahead of the army and was struck by an enemy dart. He continued fighting despite his wound and pressed his attack while the dart still lay in his leg.

He was first elected military tribune in 403 and again in 401 when the Senate made a clean sweep of the current tribunes, and once more in 398. During this time he led his army against the Etruscan towns and countryside of Falerii and Capena, burning crops and plundering what he could, largely unopposed. He left 'nothing untouched that fire or sword could destroy.' His mission in Falerii and Capena was to keep these towns divided and from supplying aid in the form of food and men to Veii, which they continued to do to the detriment of Rome throughout the war.

Meanwhile, at Veii, the war dragged on and the men in both camps had the opportunity for casual chit chat. A Roman soldier and an Etruscan were talking with each other across their respective guard posts when the Etruscan broke into something which seemed quite prophetic, stating that the Romans wouldn't conquer Veii until the Alban Lake had been drained.

The lake's unnatural level was something the Romans were quite familiar with and had even sent away to Delphi to ask the Oracle the meaning of it and what, if anything, should be done about it.

The statement made by the Etruscan worried the Roman sentry, a superstitious man, and after learning that the man was a soothsayer, managed to trick him into coming into such a close proximity that he was able to grab him and drag him back to the high command who then sent him on to Rome. This in conjunction with the reply sent from Delphi to drain the lake and send a rich gift, put Rome into action to see the water drained (evidence of which can still be seen today). The duty to repay the oracle would later cause serious political trouble for Camillus.

The Oracle had also mentioned that sacred rites had been neglected. To rectify this the current military tribunes were asked to resign and the auspices were taken afresh. An interregnum was entered upon and the office of interrex was held in succession by Lucius Valerius, Quintus Servilius, and Marcus Furius Camillus.

The interrex would last some time as the people's tribunes would not allow a new election unless the majority of military tribunes were plebeians. New military tribunes were chosen when the centuries of the knights, whose duty it was to lead the voting at elections, chose Publius Licinius Calvus, the first plebe ever to become one. Now far too old to fulfill the role demanded of him, Calvus asked the people of Rome to accept his son in his stead, which they agreed to do.

Following the elections, Roman troops under Lucius Titinus and Cnaeus Genucius, marching on the forces of Falerii and Capena, fell into a trap. Rumors of the defeat reached Rome that the two armies had perished to a man and the combined might of Etruria was bearing down on them, their armies at Veii were being overrun, and they would soon see the enemy at the gates. The panic gripped the city and its temples filled with women in prayer. Marcus Furius Camillus was declared Dictator and named Publius Cornelius Scipio as his master of horse. (someone tell me if this is the same Scipio which fathered Africanus)

Courage and hope was injected into the blood of the city. The games were held, the festivals celebrated, and the Alban Lake drained. The future looked promising as the Gods must now surely be on Rome's side.

After punishing those who deserted during the ambush in order to instill a fear far greater than that threatened by the enemy, Camillus fixed a date for enrolling new troops, and left for the front to examine the state of affairs, lift the men's spirits, and enrich morale.

Returning to Rome, Camillus found no opposition by the people's tribunes to block enrollment nor among the people themselves to didge service. Even the Latin's and Hernici, fair weather allies, offered assistance and men. After vowing, in accordance with the Senate's decree, to celebrate votice games and to restore and rededicate the temple of Mater Matuta if he was victorious, Camillus left for Veii.

The army under their new leader first saw action in the neighborhood of Napete against the combined forces of Falerii and Capena. Of the battle, Livy says, "It was brilliantly successful, and good generalship was followed, as it usually is, by good fortune." The enemy was defeated and although there was plenty of plunder to be had and distributed, only a small amount was given to the men - a noteworthy habit of Camillus. The stinginess to share the spoils of war with the men who earned it with their lives is a recurring theme in the history of this great man.

When Camillus reached Veii he devised a plan to end the siege and capture the city. He had a tunned dug by teams working non-stop day and night into the central fortress of the city.

Feeling himself so close to victory, surrounded by men who wanted what they were fighting for - that being the great material wealth of the most prosperous of Etruscan cities, he sent away to Rome to ask what was to be done about such unprecedented plunder. After much deliberation it was decided that any Roman who pleased might go to Camillus' army at Veii to claim his share of the loot. Is it any wonder that his army then swelled with men? After all the prodding, all the commands, all the appeals... it only took granting to give what was earned to cause men to truly feel enfranchised and to flock to the endeavor. I wonder what Camillus thought of these new additions. I wonder it he shuddered in disgust.

Before issuing the final order to attack, Camillus took the auspices and prayed, "Pythian Apollo, led by you and inspired by your holy breath, I go forward to the destruction of Veii, and I vow to you a tenth part of the spoils. Queen Juno, to you too, I pray that you may leave this town where you live and follow our victorious arms into our city of Rome, your future home, which will receive you in a temple worthy of your greatness."

One can imagine such a hungry force, incentivized by such an equitable distribution of potential wealth, the ranks swelling to bursting, the salivation of hungry mouths, and so it boiled over into a city accustomed to seeing nothing from Rome but preparations, entrenchment, and sloth. More surprises were in store when the Romans poured from the tunnel into the very city. The battle was lost when the gates were forced open and the masses of Roman soldiers rushed through. After a terrible slaughter the city was captured.

Such a bounty of loot surpassed even Camillus' expectations that he raised his hands and prayed that if any god or man thought his luck and the good fortune of Rome to be excessive he might be able to appease the envy it aroused with the least possible harm to himself and to Rome.

He then, it is told, turned, tripped, and fell. Plutarch says the Gods had done what harm they meant to do but Livy conjectures that the act could be interpreted as an omen of his subsequent condemnation and the capture of Rome. So much for bird signs and chicken bones.

After 10 summers and 10 winters the greatest and wealthiest city in Etruria was captured and plundered. The citizens were sold into slavery and the temples' treasures were removed to Rome, including the statue of Juno, which Camillus would later dedicate a temple to as promised.

The Roman soldiers were happy with their individual prizes, owed to the Licinii who were responsible for getting the vote passed which enabled them to keep their spoils of war; not to Camillus who would have deprived them of it.

The victory earned Camillus a triumph. Being a man of honor, of the Gods, and of the State, one may think he'd accept the duty rather grudgingly in order to display what discipline, hard work, and piousness would confer.... no.

Camillus rode into the City drawn in a chariot pulled by four magnificent horses. He entered Rome riding on impiety and some Romans felt so. He seemed so much a God that it made some Romans shudder, probably his peers more than the masses who may have been very much awed at such a spectacle that had surpassed all other previous triumphs in its grandeur.

Following his triumph, taken from field to national policy, from war to management of the State, is where Camillus began to lose his luster.

The city of Rome was in great tumult over the capture of such a prosperous city as Veii. The commoners saw this as an opportunity to expand, reap the benefits of their hard won struggle, and to capitalize on the promises of the Senate concerning the spoils of war. The people were struggling to put through a bill which would, in effect, divide the lands of Veii between the Roman people and the Senate, so comfortable with controlling land and keeping it from the people, were violently opposed to such a plan and used Camillus' fame as a check to the people's wishes.

Camillus had successfully diverted a good deal of wealth away from the people. He had the men honor their duty to the Gods by their individual donations, had them honor his own duty to the Gods and of the State by an additional donation, he even had the lands of Veii included in the donation to the Gods, and now was siding with the Senate to keep the remaining lands away from the hungry mass of Roman mouths. His military success and credibility with the people was being chipped away with each act. Still, he was Camillus, his voice carried considerable weight, and the Senate hoped to use him to see their policies accepted by the plebes.

In this capacity, leading a political war, he was elected in 394 back to military tribune.

As was custom during times of political unrest, Camillus drained Rome of its citizens and averted their attention to a war with Falerii. By burning the surrounding area, he forced an engagement. While entrenching himself in a commanding position, the enemy attacked, was repulsed, and their camp was captured. Camillus turned over all the spoils of the camp to the quaestors - an act that the men violently resented.

Camillus then laid siege to Falerii and it appeared it would be another drawn out affair much like that of Veii until a school teacher attempted to betray his city by leading out the children of those who controlled the affairs in the city and placed them in Camillus' hands. Instead of accepting the children as hostages, Camillus stripped the traitor, had his hands tied behind his back, and sent him home all the while being whipped by the children. He would take Falerii as he took Veii, 'by the Roman arts of courage, persistence, and arms.' There would be no need as this act had such an effect on the people of Falerii that their admiration for Roman honor and justice compelled them to sue for peace.

The surrender of the city greatly increased Camillus' fame, a welcome addition to one which was crumbling under popular discontent with his policies concerning the spoils of war. The war in Rome, among its own people regarding the division of lands in Veii was still raging, and the Senate would need someone like Camillus, a man whose name was now synonymous with victory, to champion their cause.

The commons spent the rest of the year trying to pass legislation which would free up the conquered Etruscan lands. The Senate would respond to each small gain in this direction with a counter of their own. They were able to get tribunes to use their power of veto to stop bills and when tribunes were elected who would not listen, they decreed the election of consuls. The people responded by attacking the men who had vetoed the proposed bill. Camillus would denounce the act as criminal lunacy. He went so far as to say that, 'if the lawless behavior of some tribunes could no longer be held in check by their more level-headed colleagues (those which could be bribed), the Senate would find another weapon to deal with it.'

The people had had enough of Camillus and in 391, while mourning the death of his young son, he was indicted on a charge of 'mishandling the plunder taken from Veii.' Even his fellow tribesmen and dependents would not admit to his innocence, though they offered to help pay any fines which he might incur. Instead of confronting the charges, Camillus ran, self exiling himself, supposedly with the prayer that if he were wrongly accused, Rome would regret it. He was fined, in absence, of 15,000 asses. Thus, because of his political leanings, Rome was deprived of its greatest military leader.

Following his exile, an assembly was received in Rome from Clusium. Gauls had descended down upon them and they greatly required assistance to fend them off. No army would be sent to assist them, only ambassadors, who through their actions turned the Gauls' attention from Etruria to Rome.

The Gauls descended on Rome with admirable speed and were met a mere 11 miles from the city. The Romans were defeated and fled, some to the city and some to newly conquered Veii. The rest of the city was divided into those fit for action which packed themselves into the citadel and those too old or useless which were left to their fate. Many fled the city altogether.

When the Gauls marched into Rome in 390, the Citadel was the only sign that Rome was attempting to defend itself. The rest of the city was unguarded. The Gauls made an attempt to take the Citadel but having failed, settled in for a siege. Having burned most of the grain in the city, they began foraging and pillaging the nearby towns. As they did so, they got closer and closer to Ardea, to Camillus.

Camillus saw the danger, knew of Rome's plight and of his fellow aristocrats held up in the Citadel, and rallied the men of Ardea for their own defense against the barbarians. He engaged some of the enemy in the area while they were sleeping and slaughtered many of them.

The bulk of Roman troops, what was left, were at Veii, and were having a rough time not only keeping the Gauls at bay but the Etruscans as well. They sorely needed a strong leader if they would have any chance of maintaining their position or taking back Rome. Their thoughts were with Camillus, whom many had fought under before. Word was sent to Ardea with a request to have Camillus take command after the Senate approved it, and he accepted this proposal.

To get word to the Senate, Pontius Cominus drifted down the river to Rome and climbed a steep bluff in order to get to the men in the Citadel. The Senate approved of Camillus and the resolution went, 'that Camillus by vote of the curate assembly, in accordance with the people's will, be forthwith named dictator, and the soldiers have the commander whom they desire.'

Camillus left for Veii.

Meanwhile the Gauls had discovered the way that the messenger had used to get to the Citadel, attacked, and were repulsed. So the siege continued and both sides were now gripped by hunger. Added to this, plague descended on the Gauls, devastating their ranks. Maybe because of this a brief armistice was reached. Hunger, though, was quickly bringing about the capitulation of the Romans in the Capitol. When hopes that Camillus would save them were finally overcome by famine, they surrendered.

The price of their lives was set at a thousand pounds' weight in gold. The Gauls used weights heavier than the standard and the Romans balked. Brennus, the Gallic Chieftan, responded by throwing his sword on the scale and exclaiming, "Woe to the vanquished!"

It is said by Livy, and contested by many, that the transaction never went through to completion. Camillus supposedly showed up, rallied the men, and saved the day. This section of Roman history is so incredibly skipped over by Livy as to leave the reader wondering about its credibility.

So, Rome was saved by Camillus.

After his term as Dictator, Camillus continued to exhort his countrymen to stay in Rome and rebuild it rather than migrate to Veii. His speech was highly emotionally persuasive and spiritually charged. His argument for staying put did not have the intended effect on a people surrounded by destruction and the prospect of moving to a wealthy city - more fine than Rome was before being burnt by the Gauls. The matter was ultimately decided by a casual remark made by a centurion who uttered while passing the Senate, "we might as well stop here." The Senate took this as an omen. Rome would be rebuilt.
Post Reply

Return to “Current Events & History”