In
the 440s BCE, the Italian city of Ardea experienced a heavy dose of political
turmoil that caused tempers and discord to flare. At the beginning of the
decade, Ardea was embroiled in a land dispute with a rival city called Aricia. Years
went by and neither city was able to enforce its claim on the territory. As
both Ardea and Aricia were allies of Rome, they were said to have eventually
sent representatives to the Romans and asked for the city to make a decision as
to whether Ardea or Aricia had the better claim to the land. During the
negotiations, which reportedly took place in 446 BCE, the Roman government came
to a scandalous conclusion, claiming the disputed land for themselves instead
of giving it to either of the rival cities.
In
outrage to Rome’s decision, Ardea abruptly ended its alliance with the Romans. Yet,
Rome’s controversial arbitration and the scorned city’s subsequent rage-cancellation
of the alliance became topics of great debate among the different factions in
Ardea. Heated partisan arguments in the city would only grow in intensity, for the
then-leading party in Ardea quickly regretted the end of the alliance and almost
immediately tried to resume a new partnership with the Romans. Between 445-443
BCE the leaders of Ardea were able to negotiate some sort of treaty with Rome,
yet the wishy-washy policy of the city leaders only further stoked the ire of
the opposition. Unfortunately, by 443 BCE, the animosity between the political
factions in Ardea had descended into open civil war.
Centuries
later, the Roman historian Livy (c. 59 BCE-17 CE) would comment on Ardea’s
civil war in his History of Rome. Based on ancient annals, documents and
histories that he had at his disposal, Livy described the conflict as a chaotic
and action-packed struggle, with both warring factions pulling other Italian
powers into the war. In a scene similar to the Cold War of the 20th century,
Rome and its rivals used the conflict as a proxy war. The Romans gave their
support to an aristocratic faction in Ardea, presumably the ruling party that
had negotiated the recent treaty with Rome. The opposition movement of Ardea,
dominated by commoner-oriented factions, instead reached out to Rome’s enemies,
the Volscians and Aequians.
Romans,
Volscians and Aequians all scrambled to help their chosen side of the civil
war, ensuring that a complicated battle would soon play out at Ardea. A
coalition of Volscians and Aequians were the first to arrive at the city, led
by a commander named Cluilius. The Roman-aligned aristocrats reportedly still
maintained control of most of the city at the time, so the Volscian-Aequian army
helped the opposition forces set up a siege of the city. Yet, sieges take time,
and time was a commodity that the besieging party did not have on their side,
for a Roman army led by Consul Marcus Geganius Macerinus was also on its way to
Ardea.
Despite
the arrival of the Volscian and Aequian troops, the opposition faction could
not force the ruling aristocratic party in Ardea to surrender. Instead, the
aristocrats and their supporters held out until Consul Geganius arrived on the
scene. The Romans, upon their arrival, went about doing what the Romans did
best—they built. As the story goes, Consul Geganius’ army built a series of
earthworks and forts around the Volscian-Aequian army. Simply put, the Romans
reportedly besieged the besiegers. Additionally, Consul Geganius reportedly
constructed a fortified passageway to the city, so that he could resupply the
aristocratic party inside the city.
Cluilius
and the Volscian-Aequian forces could not find a way to destroy the fortified
path between the Roman army and the aristocratic faction position inside the
city, much less devise a way to break free of the greater ring of Roman
earthworks and forts. Trapped, and with a victory in battle unlikely, Cluilius
reportedly opened up negotiations with Consul Geganius. An agreement of
surrender was reached between the two, in which the Volscians and Aequians were
allegedly allowed to leave Ardea, albeit only after handing over their weapons,
armor and belongings to the Romans. With the city in their hands, the Roman
army went to work enforcing the authority of their chosen faction on the city.
As told by Livy, “Geganius restored peace to the distracted town of Ardea by
executing the ringleaders of the recent troubles and turning over their
property to the public funds” (History of Rome, 4.10). As for the
unarmed and unarmored army of Volscians and Aequians, they were reportedly
massacred in an ambush near Tusculum.
Written
by C. Keith Hansley
Picture
Attribution: (Roman Emperor Meeting With A Soldier, by Agostino Veneziano (c.
1490-1536), [Public Domain] via Smithsonian Institute Open Access and Creative
Commons).
Sources:
- The History of Rome by Livy, translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt. New York: Penguin Classics, 2002.
- http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0153%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D10
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