The specific origins of Antium remain unclear, but archaeologists believe that the Volsci were not the first residents. Later Roman myths would claim that Anteias, the son of Odysseus, founded Antium in the aftermath of Troy. The Romans found themselves in frequent conflict with the Volsci tribe, who made their capital in the city. Antium was a center point in the Roman wars with the Volsci, the backdrop to Shakespeare’s epic play Coriolanus.  The city later morphed from the center of strife to a luxurious resort and tourist town.

The Volsci Wars

The third and lesser known Roman play by William Shakespeare tells the tragic story of Gaius Marcius Coriolanus. A semi-legendary figure, historians over the years have questioned the truth of his existence. Modern scholars tend to believe he was real, but that some of his deeds may have been exaggerated. Multiple ancient historians write of Coriolanus as a factual individual, and it is specious to dismiss them all entirely. Shakespeare based his epic tragedy largely on the Life of Coriolanus by Plutarch. The material is certainly worthy of dramatic depiction.

Coriolanus in Plau am See by Wilhelm Wandschneider (1903), CC BY-SA 3.0.

Born Gaius Marcius, he was a Roman general with a dim view of the masses, making him unpopular. Still, he won great acclaim for his valiant service in the wars with the Volsci. As the Roman army laid siege to Corioli, the Volsci sent soldiers from Antium to relieve the city. Cominius, the consul and leading general, turned the army to face this new threat. He left Titus Lartius, and Gaius Marius under him, to maintain the siege. With the majority of the Romans now gone, a group of Volsci sallied from Corioli to attack. Initially victorious, they chased the Romans back to their camp. There, Marcius and some of his best soldiers darted out to counterattack. He was a vigorous and inspiring soldier, and he rallied the Romans and chased the Volsci back to Corioli. Most of the Romans stopped at the gate, but Marius charged into the city with only a few men.

Coriolanus at the gates of Rome. By Franz Anton Maulbertsch, Public Domain.

Victor and Traitor

Seeing how few attackers they faced, the Volsci surrounded them. Marcius “waged a combat in the city which, for prowess of arm, speed of foot, and daring of soul, passes all belief” (Plutarch).  He pushed the enemy back, and set fire to many houses within the city. Most of the soldiers busied themselves pillaging Corioli. Martius, however, rebuked them for their greed when battle raged on elsewhere. He led his small group of loyal soldiers to find Comitius in battle with the Volsci from Antium. They caught up with them before the fighting had begun, and Martius begged to face the enemy’s best soldiers. Comitius granted his request, and the battle began.

Amazona y bárbaro (Palazzo Massimo alle Terme). Found in Antium, now on display in Rome. By Miguel Hermoso Cuesta – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Martius fought madly in the battle and helped to rout the enemy. When his friends tried to convince him to withdraw and rest, as he was exhausted from battle and heavily wounded, he responded that “weariness was not for victors,” and took off after the fleeing enemy. Comitius honored Martius for his bravery with the cognomen Coriolanus, and he was well-loved for a time. However, Coriolanus retained his callous views of the people. He suggested harsh measures, was eventually put on trial, and rather than appear in court, he fled the city. He went to the Volsci, and offered his services to them, leading them in an assault on Rome. The siege was only broken off when his beloved mother came out to plead with him. He capitulated, and called off the attack, only to be killed by the betrayed and angry Volsci.

Defeat of the Volsci

Roman conflict with the Volsci continued for some time. They only resolved in 338 B.C., when Rome emerged victorious from the Latin Wars at the Battle of Antium. After this battle, Gaius Maenius took the prows of the enemy ships back to Rome to form the rostrum. You can read more about that story here. Rome formed a colony in Antium, and the city became a part of the growing Roman territory.

Theater of Antium: Orchestra. By Jacopo Cherzad – Own work, Public Domain.

As years of peace passed, Antium became an ever more popular resort and tourist town. It boasted an original work by Pythagoras, which brought many visitors, and was also a favorite imperial getaway. Not only that, Antium was the hometown of two Roman emperors, Caligula and Nero. Nero especially loved the town, and built both a new port and an expansive villa there. Several later emperors, including Domitian, Hadrian, and Septimius Severus enjoyed and expanded upon the imperial residence. Until as late as 537 A.D., Nero’s port remained busy. It fell into disuse sometime within the following two hundred years. The city remained largely abandoned until the eighteenth century.

What to See Here ?

The remains of the superb Villa Imperiale Neroniana are visible from the modern beachfront, carved impressively into the rock. Yet to attribute the impressive complex solely to the mad, bad, and dangerous-to-know Emperor Nero would be misleading. The vaulted spaces, pavilions, manmade caves, and luxury constructions (such as spas) actually date back to the late Republic.

Almost nothing remains of Nero’s port; most of it has sunk beneath the Port of Innocenzo. But attached to the Villa of Nero is the Archaeological Museum of Antium. Occupying the ground floor of the seventeenth century Villa Adele, the museum is well worth a visit. It documents Antium’s notable history through snippets of ancient texts and a host of artefacts unearthed during excavations.

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Header image: Roma, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, mosaico parietale da Anzio. Num.cat. 307. By Lalupa – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.

– Julius Caesar, Gallic Wars

Alesia is little known besides its famous identity as the site of one of Julius Caesar’s greatest sieges. Today, the MuséoParc Alésia offers Gallo-Roman ruins, reconstructions of Caesar’s fortifications, and a beautiful new museum on site. Yet back in the middle of the 1^st century B.C., Alesia was a major walled fort city. It served as the capital of the Mandubii tribe. Though Caesar had largely subdued Gaul, the local tribes were still eager to fight for their freedom. A brave warrior named Vercingetorix, Kin g of the Averni, staged the most successful rebellion. In 52 B.C., he faced one of Caesar’s ultimate innovations, the great circumvallation of Alesia.

Retreat to Alesia

Vercingetorix was under no illusions as to Caesar’s skill on the battlefield. For several months, he had been fighting a guerilla war against the Roman general. He even forced Caesar to withdraw from a siege of Gergovia, bolstering the spirits of the Gallic troops. However, their euphoria was short-lived. Soon after, the Gauls met with a heavy defeat in their first direct engagement with the Romans. Vercingetorix led his soldiers in a retreat to Alesia, continuing the scorched earth policy he had already instituted. They burned stored grain and farmland as they went, hoping to starve out the Romans and force their   retreat. Arriving in Alesia, Vercingetorix closed the gates and trusted in the city’s natural and man-made fortifications for protection.

Caesar and his Roman legions soon arrived and set up camp around Alesia. Aware of the strong defenses, Caesar turned Vercingetorix’s plan back upon him, deciding to starve out the city. To do this, he set his industrious soldiers to building a new wall around the walls of Alesia. This tactic, called a circumvallation, was entirely new. The wall they built was ten miles long with twenty-four towers. Though the Gauls attempted a sortie to interrupt construction, their cavalry was repulsed. Before being completely walled in, Vercingetorix sent his own cavalry out with a desperate plea for reinforcements from the other Gallic tribes.

Digging in for Siege

To prepare for the arrival of the relief force, Caesar planned further fortifications. Behind their wall, his men dug three trenches of six meters deep, the third one filled with river water. Behind the trenches was a small fortification to protect his defending soldiers, with sharpened stakes facing the attackers. Yet that was still not the end of the defensive works built by the tenacious Romans. They dug eight rows of disguised pits, and sunk fire-hardened stakes as thick as a man’s thigh into the bottom. All around these traps, they scattered iron hooks and cattle trops. Finally, Caesar instructed his men to build yet another wall, called a contravallation, around the entire system of fortifications. Essentially, he was preparing for a siege within a siege.

Within Alesia, the Gauls were struggling. Vercingetorix had brought 80,000 soldiers into the city of 10,000 inhabitants, and food was scarce. The king personally rationed the supplies, but as the days passed and no reinforcements appeared, the situation became desperate. In a council, one of the King’s advisors suggested cannibalism. Luckily, the council rejected his idea, but their eventual solution was little better. They sent the women, children, old, and the sick out of the city, hoping that Caesar would take them captive and feed them. Yet Caesar and his forces were just as short on food, and Caesar would not allow the citizens through his wall. Instead, the families of the Gallic soldiers were stuck between the city walls and Caesar’s walls, braving the elements. Those still safely within Alesia could only watch as their families slowly starved to death between the two lines.

End of Gallic Independence

Upon the arrival of the Gallic reinforcements, the fighting began in earnest. Caesar claims to have had around 70,000 men fighting 248,000 Gauls. Other ancient sources claim as many as 400,000 enemy soldiers, but modern scholars are skeptical. However, the Romans were outnumbered significantly, likely fighting close to two Gauls for every one Roman. Caesar’s many fortifications proved successful. Vercingetorix and the encircled Gauls struggled to fill in the ditches and pits in order to join the fight. Meanwhile, the Romans were able to concentrate on fighting only one side at a time. Caesar’s legions were eventually victorious, and the relief force fled. Vercingetorix offered that his men should either kill him or offer him alive to appease Caesar. They surrendered him to the Romans, who held him captive for almost six years. In 46 B.C., he was paraded in Caesar’s first triumph and then executed.

The location of Alesia was long debated, but is believed to be the Roman fort outside Alise-Sainte-Reine in France. Ancient sources long identified this site as Alesia, and a Gallic inscription in Latin characters also named the city. Excavations have revealed Roman fortifications from the Gallic Wars that are consistent with Caesar’s descriptions. Aerial photography reveals evidence of the systems of ditches dug by the Roman soldiers.  Perhaps the most exciting discovery was a sling shot inscribed with the name of one of Caesar’s commanders, Labienus. Though some dissenting voices still suggest alternate locations, most historians and archaeologists are now in agreement as to the identity of Alesia.

What to See Here:

The modern town of Alise-Sainte-Reine lies at the foot of the ancient hill fort. Thankfully so, as it has been possible to excavate and preserve much of the Roman town at the top. Roman remains which have survived include paved streets with evidence of the shops that would have lined them. There is also a forum, the lower sections of a theatre and basilica, and several houses with well-preserved basements. The Monument of Ucuetis (a minor Celtic god, archaeologists found his name on an inscription in the building) is associated with the city’s metalworkers. Whilst a reasonable amount of the building survived above ground, its best feature is a beautifully preserved underground chamber.

Not ancient, but also of interest, is a large statue of Vercingetorix. It was built in 1865 as a symbol of French nationalism. In recent years, the entire hill fort and the fields surrounding it have been turned into the Musée Parc Alésia. This consists of a large museum and visitor’s centre. It also holds various Roman reconstructions, including a full-size 100m section of Caesar’s fortifications. The museum offers guided tours of the ancient site throughout the year.

Alesia on Timetravelrome app:

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Author: written for Timetravelrome by Marian Vermeulen.

Sources: Julius Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic Wars; Plutarch, Life of Caesar; Strabo, Geography.

Header photo:  Alesia Fortifications by Prosopee licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

Venetian city on the river

Historians are uncertain about Verona’s origins. Some believe that the Euganei tribe founded the original city and later ceded to the Cenomani. Others believe it be Etruscan. In the Etruscan language, Verona would mean “Venetian city on the river.” Pliny the Elder suggested that it was the Raetians who founded Verona. Whatever the true origins of the city, it seems to have existed since before 600 B.C., and was a long-time friend of the Romans.

Verona held particular strategic importance because it controlled access to the only major ford across the river Adige. In 89 B.C., the city became a colonia of Rome, and in 49 B.C. became a municipium. The Romans built two bridges to replace the fords. In addition, a crossroads of four main highways that met there increased the city’s strategic value. All Roman generals understood its importance, and Verona was a major point in more than one civil war. In 69 A.D., Verona was a key city in the conflict between imperial hopefuls Vespasian and Vitellius.

The Year of the Four Emperors

69 A.D. was the year of four emperors. Following the death of Nero, Rome plunged into chaos as various leaders fought for power. The Senate first named Servius Sulpicius Galba as the new emperor. However, he greatly angered the Romans with his callous treatment of his new subjects. In Germania, the legions rose up and declared their governor, Aulus Vitellius, to be emperor. Meanwhile, in Rome, Galba successfully infuriated every class of society. The Praetorian Guard took matters into their own hands, and murdered Galba and his chosen successor in the forum. The Praetorians threw their support behind Marcus Salvius Otho, and the Senate subsequently made him emperor within a day. Yet Vitellius had no intention to withdraw his bid, and continued his march toward Rome.

Otho attempted to broker a peace, offering an alliance through the marriage of his daughter to Vitellius. Vitellius refused, and Otho sent his soldiers quickly out to meet the threat. They won three victories, but suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Bedriacum. Otho committed suicide. According to Suetonius, it was not despair of success that motivated him, but utter horror at the civil war and guilt over the Romans who had already died. The Senate now quickly chose Vitellius as emperor, but like Galba, Vitellius soon made more enemies than friends. In the far provinces of Egypt, Judea, and Syria, the Roman legions proclaimed their own successful general, Vespasian, as a more worthy emperor.

Headquarters at Verona

As Vespasian made preparations to sail for Italy, the legions of the Danube, concentrated to the north of Greece and Italy, also declared their support of him. Led by the dynamic Antonius Primus in a lightning march on Rome, the legions swept the Roman cities of northern Italy. Verona was of particular interest to them. They coveted the city as a base of operations, because it lay in the middle of wide, open plains, which gave them a cavalry advantage. It was a city rich in resources. It also commanded the route through the Julian Alps, preventing the arrival of reinforcements for Vitellius from Germania. The citizens welcomed Vespasian’s supporters, and the legions began work on an outer rampart for the city of Verona. They were there working when allied cavalry on the horizon appeared. Believing it to be the enemy, the soldiers feared treachery, and accused one Tampius Flavianus.

In a growing frenzy, they attempted to execute Flavianus, and turned to mutiny when their officers opposed them. Only Primus could make himself heard. Calling out by name to each soldier he knew, he appealed to them personally for support. Slowly the fervor died down, and Flavianus escaped. Another mutiny began the following day, this time accusing Aponius Saturninus. He also avoided murder, and the other officers slowly calmed the mob. With the other commanders now gone, Primus took command of the legions. Some critics claimed he was behind the mutinies, looking for sole command, but that is mainly speculation. The soldiers happily backed Primus, and preparations for combat continued. The two forces met for battle near Cremona.

The Second Battle of Bedriacum

Initially, Vitellius’s supporters prevailed, and Primus’s army panicked and fled. Primus managed to rally his soldiers, and they were able to turn the tables. The Vitellian forces fled back to their camp, with the Flavian forces in pursuit. Reinforcements came to both sides, and the battle was rejoined that evening. They fought through the night, but an interesting misunderstanding won the day. Primus’s Legion III Gallica had spent many years in Syria, and they picked up a local custom of saluting the sun when it rose. When the Vitellians saw this, they thought the men were saluting new reinforcements. In despair, they broke and ran, and the Flavian forces overran their camp and took Cremona. The Flavian supporters continued on to Rome. They captured Vitellius, taunted, tortured, and finally killed him. Using a hook, they dragged his body through the streets and threw it Tiber River.

What to See Here:

Modern-day Verona has some notable ancient Roman landmarks to its credit. The Ponte Pietra, for example, that crosses the Adige River was originally built at the dawn of the first century BC. Though significantly damaged during World War II, one full arch of the 5-arch bridge is still intact. There is also the Verona Arena (Piazza Bra), an amphitheater that was built in the early first century CE to accommodate a massive crowd of up to 30,000 spectators.

One can also admire the Porta Borsari, an entrance gate that once led into the ancient city. Known as the Porta Iovia in ancient times, the gateway was originally constructed in the first century BC. It is seen today with its first century CE facelift initiated by Emperor Gallienus to now feature three arched levels.

Verona on Timetravelrome:

To find out more: Timetravelrome.

Author: written for Timetravelrome by Marian Vermeulen.

Sources: Tacitus, The Histories; Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars

Header photo:  Arena di Verona, by Kiban, in public domain.

Led by the general Publius Quinctilius Varus, whose incompetence was unfairly exaggerated in the aftermath of the battle an effort to provide a scapegoat, the Roman army had been marching in line deep though the heart of the German forest when it was ambushed on all sides by a confederation of Germanic tribes. For hours the Romans managed to keep their assailants at bay, no mean feat considering their line was stretched to between 15 and 20 kilometres and they were fighting in dense forest and heavy rain, and as darkness fell on the forest Varus’ men hastily erected a fortified camp, which they held through the night.

Sallying forth from the camp the next morning into the open country around the Wiehen Hills, the Roman army suffered heavy losses. They fought throughout the day, continuing their desperate march west, and struggled into the night, with torrential rain hampering the Romans’ already hopeless attempts at fending off the German tribesmen. But Arminius, the German general behind the attack, was himself a Roman citizen – an auxiliary officer of Germanic origin trained in the arts of Roman warfare. He had laid his trap, and the Romans were marching straight into it.

That night, Arminius ambushed Rome’s straggling soldiers, drawing them into a decisive battle at the foot of the Kalkriese Hill. It was a massacre. Funnelled into a narrow strip between forest and swampland, the legionaries were attacked from all sides, their German aggressors taking cover behind temporary earthworks. Varus and his commanding officers fell on their swords or were cut down as they fled. Any survivors were either killed, enslaved or ransomed (though, curiously, anyone ransomed lost their right to return to Italy).

Suetonius tells us that the ghost of Teutoburg would haunt Augustus for the rest of his life. In the immediate months following the disaster, the emperor, his hair matted and beard unkempt, would dash his head against the palace walls crying, “Quintili Vare, legiones redde!” – Quinctilius Varus, give me back my legions! Outside the imperial palace the battle had broader ramifications – ushering in a prolonged period of public mourning, and seeing Rome’s rampant imperial expansionism give way to a more cautious policy of consolidation.

Is there anything to see on the battlefield now ?

Until the late 1980s, our only evidence for where the Battle of Teutoburg Forest took place came from a line in Tacitus where he mentioned the saltus Teutoburgiensis between the Lippe and Ems rivers. Then in 1987, Tony Clunn, an amateur archaeologist armed with nothing but a metal detector, discovered a scattered trail of coins, none of which post-dated the Age of Augustus, and some leaden Roman sling bolts in the Kalkriese-Niewedder Senke near Osnabrück

Visitors to Kalkriese should visit the Varusschlacht Museum und Park Kalkriese. It comprises a vast outdoor section, which recreates part of the battlefield and its earthworks, and a watchtower, which gives an overview of the battlefield more broadly. Also part of the museum is a collection of artefacts recovered from the 24-kilometre corridor archaeologists have so far managed to excavate. Among its exhibits are spearheads, the remains of studded legionary sandals, and even a Roman ceremonial facemask, believed to have belonged to an officer.

Another attraction, at Detmold, some 100 kilometres southeast from the site of the battle, is the Hermannsdenkmal or “statue of Hermann”, completed in 1875. Hermann was the post-reformation name for Arminius, the Cheruscan war chief and victor against the Romans, possibly coined by Martin Luther, and widely endorsed in German nationalistic propaganda to become “Hermann the German.”

Bibliography:
J. R. Abdale, Four Days in September: The Battle of Teutoburg (Bloomington, 2013)

P. S. Wells, The Battle That Stopped Rome: Emperor Augustus, Arminius, and the Slaughter of the Legions in the Teutoburg Forest (New York and London, 2003)

Featured photo: Steinbrüche bei Kalkriese by Curt Mühe is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

This article was written for Time Travel Rome by Alexander Meddings