Wednesday, January 5, 2011

From the shelves of the Paco library


A while back, in a “shelves” piece on Steven Saylor, friend and commenter Steve Skubinna recommended in the comments section a series of books by Australian historian and researcher, Stephen Dando-Collins, that record the histories of several important Roman legions. I recently purchased Cleopatra’s Kidnappers: How Caesar’s Sixth Legion Gave Egypt to Rome and Rome to Caesar, and finished it this morning. The first thing I need to do is thank Steve Skubinna for the tip (Thanks, Steve!). This is a first-rate historical work, extremely well researched, and written in a fast-paced, non-pedantic style that makes it read almost like a novel.

The 6th Legion originally found itself on what turned out to be the losing side of the Roman civil war in the late 40s B.C. Julius Caesar, filled with ambition to expand his personal power, defeated the head of the republican forces under Pompey the Great at the Battle of Pharsalus in central Greece in 48 B.C. Toward the end of the battle, when it became clear that Caesar had won, the 6th Legion had assumed the orbis formation: a last-ditch defensive ring. Caesar, however, spared the 6th; the legion was one that had been created by Pompey seventeen years before, and Caesar, himself, had commanded it for two years during his battles in Gaul. Made up of tough, experienced Spanish troops, the 6th was a formidable fighting machine, and Caesar calculated that he would need such men to win the civil war. He offered them a pardon and an array of financial incentives to join his army. They came over to Caesar’s side and were instrumental in helping him defeat Egypt’s King Ptolemy XIII, and in placing Cleopatra firmly on the throne she had formerly shared with her brother. While the book focuses on what has sometimes been referred to as Caesar’s “dalliance” in Egypt – in truth, a closely-run, months-long, life-and-death struggle between Caesar’s outnumbered army and a surprisingly well-trained, highly motivated and well-lead Egyptian force – it also follows the fortunes of the 6th in the final battles of the civil war, all the way up to the assassination of Julius Caesar, the pursuit of Brutus and Cassius, and the final showdown between Mark Anthony and Octavian.

Here is a description of Julius Caesar’s fateful decision in the aftermath of the battle of Pharsalus:
And so it happened that among the tens of thousands of Pompeian prisoners on the Farsala plain were the men of the 6th Legion – less than a thousand of them, but veteran Spanish legionaries just the same. What was more, Caesar well remembered that these men had marched for him in Gaul for two years, so he directed his officers to initially concentrate on the legionaries of the 6th. Not only were these men of the 6th Legion the best soldiers among all the surrendered Pompeians, but also if they signed up for Caesar they were so well respected by the other prisoners that many others could be expected to follow their lead.

It didn’t trouble Caesar that these men of the 6th had previously made a moral choice against him and for Pompey and the republic, and had ignored the bounty he’d given them two years before when they were led back to spain. Suetonius said of him, “He judged his men by their fighting record, not by their morals.”
Fascinating history, splendidly written.

14 comments:

Mr. Bingley said...

As Cleopatra found out, politics back then was a real pain in the asp.

JeffS said...

True, Mr. Bingley, especially with all those Romans trying to Caesar......

Mr. Bingley said...

It seems most of them succeeded.

Yojimbo said...

So many, in fact, that you could shake your speare at them.

Yojimbo said...

Hmmm

Probably should read: Too many to shake a speare at.


No, I can't explain me either.

Mr. Bingley said...

I'd probably be arrested if I shook ye olde speare at them.

Assuming anyone noticed.

Anonymous said...

Come for Paco's enlightening book reviews, stay for the stimulating comments ;-).

I've got to say thanks for two book tips, Paco: Davies' Gentleman Captain and Konstam's Naval Miscellany. Both are every bit as good as advertised.

I've been amusing myself by including snippets from the Miscellany in e-mails to my sailor nephew, now on an all expenses paid six month cruise off the coast of Africa. Whether said snippets amuse him is as yet unclear.

Retread

Paco said...

Retread: Glad you liked 'em!

Steve Skubinna said...

Ah, Konstam's Naval Miscellany... picked up a copy last year (or was the year before?). Fun read, great for picking up and dipping into at random. Konstam has also carved a niche for himself as a pirate expert - the real ones, not Johny Depp and his gang. As an underwater archeologist he has searched for and explored many sites, and curated a few museums.

A very interesting book of his is Sovereigns of the Sea, a history of the development, in the Renaissance, of what became the classic broadside armed sailing man of war. Among other things, it demonstrates how a development that to us appears obvious was not, and required long development and trial and error to perfect.

And glad you liked the Dando-Collins, Paco.

Steve Skubinna said...

Jeez, Lousie... I didn't use "development" three times in one paragraph, did I?

Yojimbo said...

I guess a salad joke would be out of the question here.

Now that Retread has praised the thread maybe it's time to bury it. See, you can do both.:)


That is my favorite bookcase.

richard mcenroe said...

Were toga tailors the original wrap artists? I know the Greeks make the claim but I always thought their hands were too chlamys...

Mr. Bingley said...

Historical research has long since verified the Greek clamydia, richard.


WV: "syiner" What my Southern relatives call me.

Steve Skubinna said...

Actually, Yojimbo, the Caesar salad was invented in Tijuana by Caesar Cardini. His restaurant is still in business down there.

Hmmm. Now I have a hankering to hop across the border for one... being in San Diego right now makes it a definite possibility.