layout 2 - McGill University

29 Pages·2008·0.12 MB·English

Italian Aims in the First Civil War
87-82 BC
Andrew Swidzinski
TheSocialWarof 91BCwas aturningpointinthedevelopmentof
theRomanstateandcitizenship.Duringthecourseof thisconflict,halfof
Rome’sItalianallies rebelledagainstRomanruleandestablishedafull
fledgedcounter-state,possessingaSenate,acapitalandapatrioticnotionof
Italia,perhaps bestsymbolizedbytheirmintingof coinsdepictinganItalian
bullgoringaRomanwolf1.Itwas adesperatestruggle,inwhichtheRo-
mansweredrivensoclosetodefeatthattheywereforcedtoconscriptfor-
merslaves todefendtheircoasts.2Bothsides initiallyfieldedarmiesin
excess of100,000men.3BecausetheItaliantroops hadthemselves con-
tributedmassivelytotheRomanarmies ofthepastdecades,theyundoubt-
edlyenjoyedsimilartrainingandabilities asthelegions.4Theresultwas
that,equallymatched,bothsidessufferedhorrendouscasualties.5Yetrather
thanbeingalonganddrawn outconflict,theSocialWarendedafteronly
threeyears withtheRomans victorious.As thewarprogressed,ratherthan
imposingmorestringentconditionsupontheirenemies,theRomans
steadilygrantedtherightsofRomancitizenshiptothewholeofItaly.More-
over,inthecivilwarthatimmediatelyensued,theItaliansplayedarolethat
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seemedradicallydifferentfromthatof aconqueredpopulation.Theyde-
ployedenormous armiestosupportbothsidesintheconflict,andbytheend
of thewar their politicalrights hadbeensignificantlyenhanced.
Severalimportantquestionshavearisenas tothecausesandthena-
tureof this conflict.Theancientsources, of whichtherearefew for thepe-
riodinquestion,vieweditlargelyas aresponseonthepartof theItalian
allies totherefusalof theRomans tograntthemthecitizenship,andthus
allowthemtoshareinthebenefits of theempirewhichhadbeencreatedin
greatpartduetotheeffortsof their own soldiers. This istheviewtakenby
Appian,anAlexandrianGreekwho composedahistoryof Rome’scivil
wars duringthereignof theEmperorAntoninusPius, andVelleiusPatercu-
lus,aRomanknightwho wroteduringtheprincipateofTiberiusandwas
himselfdescendedfromparticipants intheconflict.6Their view has beende-
fendedbymanymodernscholars,notablySherwinWhite(1971), Brunt
(1988)andKeaveney(2004).YetbothAppianandVelleiuslivedinperiods
inwhichtheideaofuniversalcitizenshiphadbecomecommonamongthe
Romans, andItalyandRomehadcometobeviewedasoneandthesame,
andso theymayhavereshapedthenarrativeinaccordancewiththeirown
inherentbiases.7AnothertraditionispreservedbythehistorianDiodorusof
Sicilywho wroteinthe1stcenturyBC.Hedescribes arevoltofthe“nations
ofItalyagainstRome’sdomination”anddescribesthenewlyestablished
Italianstate8inamannerthathasledsomehistorians, notablyMouritsen
(1998)toconcludethattherevoltwas motivatedbyadesiretooverthrow
Romanhegemonyandestablishastatemoreinkeepingwiththediversecul-
AndrewSwidzinski ItalianAimsintheFirstCivilWar87-82BC 120
turaltraditionsof non-RomanItaly.
Many of Mouritsen’sargumentsareconvincing.Itisunlikely, as he
has demonstrated,thattheItalians hadbecomeculturallyassimilatedtothe
Romans inthe2nd centuryBC,9or thatallalliedcommunities feltRoman
citizenshiptobemoredesirablethantheir existingprivileges.10 Butitre-
mains, however,difficulttoignorethewidespreadmovementamongboth
theItalianaristocracyandthecommonpeopletoobtainbothRomanciti-
zenshipandgreater influenceintheRomanvotingassemblies.Thismove-
mentmanifesteditselfnotonlyintheyearspriortotheSocialWar,butmost
notablyintheperiodafter ithadbeenconcluded.Mouritsenlargelyignores
theperiodbetween87and83BC.,andindoingso neglectswhatislikely
thestrongestcaseinfavour of anItaliandesirefor theRomancitizenship.11
Withtheexceptionof theSamnites,Italianresistancehadquicklycollapsed
after thepassageof laws grantingcitizenship.Oncethatcitizenshiphad
beenshown toincludewhatamountedtosecondclass statusinthevoting
assemblies,theItaliansputmassivepoliticalandmilitarysupportbehind
Romanpoliticianswillingtoequalizethesituation.As aresulttheysuc-
ceededingainingalloftheconcessions theyhadaskedfor atthebeginning
oftheSocialWarwhileeventheirmostbitterideologicalopponentswere
forcedtoaccepttheirnewfound politicalstatus. This paperwillfocusupon
theroleofthenewlyenfranchisedcitizens intheperiodbetweentheconclu-
sionoftheSocialWarandtheirinfluenceupontheCivilWarbetweenthe
factionsofCinnaandSulla.
TheSocialWarcanbroadlybedividedintothreephases. Inthefirst
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phase,from91toearly90BC,theItalians enjoyedtheinitiative,winning
multiplevictories over theirRomanopponentsandkillingtwoRomancon-
suls inbattle.12 During this periodtheyestablishedacapitalcityat
Corfinium,intheterritoryof thePaeligni,andestablishedaSenatemadeup
of theleadingmenof thevariousnationswho hadjoinedtherevolt13 In the
secondphase, beginningin90BC,theRomansgrantedcitizenshiptoall
Latinandalliedcommunitiesnotyetinrevolt.AccordingtoAppian,this
hadtheeffectof making“theenemyunderarmslesshostileoutof hopeto
winsomethingsimilar”14Thetideof thewarthenturneddecisivelyinfavour
of theRomans, as theConsulPompeiusandthelegateSulla,theybeganto
regainterritoryfromtheSamnites andtheMarsi.15Thethird phasebegan
withthepassage in89of theLexPlautiaPapiria,whichallowedfor theen-
rollmentof allItalians who submittedwithin60days andpresentedthem-
selves beforeaPraetor.16 Bythis timemostresistancehadended17,withonly
theSamnites retainingaserious military presenceinsouthItaly.18
Yetdespitetheirapparentdefeat,theItalianswouldsoonafterwards
reasserttheirpresenceinRomanpolitics. Mouritsenarguesthatthedefeatin
theSocialWarhadbeenentirelymilitaryinnatureandhadbeendecidedby
superiorRomannumbers19.Ifthiswerecorrect,onewouldnotexpectthe
Italians tohaveinvolvedthemselvesextensivelyinthepoliticaldebatesthen
goingoninRome,tohavesoughtanexpansionoftheircivicrightsorto
havefieldedmassivearmies inacivilwar thatfollowedonlyafewyears
aftertheirdefeat.ItisfarmorelikelythattheRomansrecognizedtheextent
towhichtheirvictoryhaddependedupontheenfranchisementofthenew
citizens andwerepreparedtoactaccordingly.Thegrantsofcitizenshipbe-
AndrewSwidzinski ItalianAimsintheFirstCivilWar87-82BC 122
tween90and89BChadgiventheItalians thecitizenshipbuthadplaced
themineightnewlycreatedvotingtribes whichwouldvoteafterthe35
tribes of originalRomancitizens,anarrangementthatwouldmaketheir
votes meaningless.20AmbitiousRomanpoliticians,viewingthenew citizens
as amassivepoliticalconstituencytoemployinsupportof theirown ambi-
tions,immediatelybegantoappealtotheir desirefor anequalredistribu-
tion.In88BCthetribuneSulpicius,perhaps inabidtoadvancehisown
politicalcareer,promisedtoredistributethenew citizens overthewholeof
theexisting35tribes. In thisheenjoyedthesupportof Gaius Marius,who
hopedtorevivehis owncareer byattachinghimselftothecauseof redistri-
bution,andthusgainthesupportof thenow decisiveItalianvotersinhis
questfor anew military command.21 Marius andSulpicius wereableto
bringinsufficientsupportfromamongtheItalianstopush themeasure
throughtheassembly,andforcedtheConsuls SullaandPompeiustoat-
tempttosuspend publicbusiness inordertopreventthechaosthatensued
whenamobmadeofnewcitizens attackedtheoldcitizenswho didnot
wish towish toseetheweightoftheirvotesdiluted.
TheMarianmobsucceededinpassingboththeredistributions, and
handingovercommandofthecomingwaragainstMithridatesofPontus to
Marius. TheconsulLuciusSullawasabletorestorethestatusquoby
marchingonRomeattheheadofaprivatearmy,buthissupporterswere
unabletomaintainhis settlementoncehehaddepartedtodealwithMithri-
dates inAsia.WithinmonthsofSulla’sdeparture,thenewlyelectedconsul
LuciusCornelius CinnareintroducedthelegislationofSulpicius22,when he
was unsuccessful indoingsoandwas ejectedfromRomebypartisans of
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Lucius CorneliusSulla,heimmediatelyappealedtotheItaliancommunities
onthegrounds thatitwas “ontheir accountthathehadincurreddisaster”23,
andwas abletoraise anarmynumbering30legions.24Mariuswas ableto
raiseanother largeforceinEtruriawithpromisestochange,inthewords of
Appian,“themethodof voting,whichconcernedthempassionately”.25To-
gethertheymarchedonRomeattheheadof mostlyItaliantroops.Thatthey
wereabletoinvolvethenew citizens intheirstrugglewithsuch easeis tes-
tamenttothedegreetowhichItalians wereconcernedwiththenatureof
theircitizenship.Thisconcernis madeevenmoreevidentwhenoneconsid-
ers thattheywerebeingappealedtoonthegrounds of theirabilitytopartici-
pateinelections andlegislativeassemblies,thepoliticalinstitutionsof the
Republic,ratherthansimplyenjoyingthelegalprivilegesof Citizenship.
Moreover itis notablethattheywere,inthenextfew years,abletoputeven
largerforces intothefieldbaseduponpledgesof thisnature.Appian(BC.
1.79,1.82) claimsthattheyraisedover100,000tofightSullain83.Velleius
(2.24.4.)estimates aCinnnanarmyof200,000. Plutarch(Sulla27)esti-
mates thattheCinnanarmylaterraisedtofightSullanumbered450cohorts,
whichwouldmeantanarmyofover200000,ifwe assumethateachlegion
includedbetween6and10cohortsandthateachlegionnumberedaround
4,000men. Florus (2.18.)estimates thattheynumbered8legionsand500
cohorts,orroughly282,000. Evenifwe acceptthemoreconservativefig-
ureprovidedbyAppian,thearmies raisedbytheCinnansarestillremark-
able.Theveryfactthattheywereabletoputsuchforcesintothefieldin
itselfsuggests thattheSocialWarhadnothadasdamaginganeffectupon
theItalianpopulationaswassupposedandthattheycouldlikelyhavekept
AndrewSwidzinski ItalianAimsintheFirstCivilWar87-82BC 124
ontheconflictfor longer,ifthecitizenshiphadnotbeenofferedthem.
After theinitialchaosthatfollowedtheimmediatereturnof Marius,
theCinnans proceededtogovernandkepttheirpromisebytoredistribute
thenew citizens inthecensus of 86BC.Itisgenerallyacceptedthatsucha
census didtakeplace.26 Somescholars,notablyWiseman(1969) andKeav-
eney(2004),havedeniedthatthecensus of 86carriedouttheproposed
equalredistributionthroughoutthe35tribes27.Theirargumentrests upon
twopieces of evidence.Thefirstis thatLivymentionsadecreeof theSen-
atetogivethenew citizens therighttovotein85or 84BC.Thiswould
suggestthatCinnahadnotdonesountilitbecamenecessary toinsuretheir
supportinthecomingstrugglewithSulla.28 Thesecondis thatthenumber
of adultmalecitizens recordedinthecensus numberedonly463,000ac-
cordingtotheChristianscholarSaintJerome,as opposedtothe394,000
citizens recordedbyLivyfor theyear 115BC.29These figures wouldsug-
gestthat,ifoneaccounts for populationgrowth, few ifanynew citizens had
beenaddedtotherolls.Thatthenumberofadultmalesregisteredinthe
census of70BCnearlydoubledto900,000wouldservetoconfirmthat
onlythenhadthenewcitizens beenenfranchised.30
Bothofthesearguments, however,canbedismissed.TheLivian
epitomeindicates thatthenewcitizens weregiventherighttovote,some-
thingthattheywouldhavepossessedalreadyundertheLexJulia,thuscast-
ingdoubtupontheaccuracyofthesource.31To assume,as Keaveneydoes,32
thatthedecreemeantagenuineredistributionofthecitizenswouldalsobe
excessive,giventhatsuchameasurecouldonlyhavebeenimplemented
throughoneofthelegislativeassemblies33.Moreover,thereis significant
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enoughevidencethattheCinnans didkeeptheirpromisebeforehand.Had
they, as Keaveneycontends, refusedtoimplementtheredistributionsuntil
84,therewouldsurelybesomeindicationof itinthesources.Appiantraces
theissueof citizenshipobsessivelythroughouthisnarrative,andgivenhis
toneof generalhostilitytowards Cinna,itisdoubtfulthathewouldhave
passedupanopportunitytodemonstratethattheConsulhadbrokenhis
promiseandthattheredistributions hadonlybeenmadeatamomentin
whichitwas convenienttohisconductof thewar.Yethementionsnothing
of thekind.Whathedoes indicateisthatthelaws madeduringthefirstcon-
sulshipof Sullawererepealed—whichpresumablywouldhavemeantthat
theredistributionspassedbySulpiciuswouldbebackinforce34—andthat
theCinnanswereabletousetherecentmeasuresas arecruitingtactic
amongtheItalians,somethingwhichevenKeaveneyadmitswouldhave
beendifficulthadtheybeenseentohavebeenreluctantinimplementing
theiroriginalpledge.35
Moreover,giventhebehaviouroftheItaliansinthepast,itishighly
unlikelythattheywouldhavemeeklyacceptedacensusinwhichtheywere
notredistributed36orthecensorialmeddlingpositedbyBrunt.37Italians had
beenpreparedtoshow uponmassetodeclarethemselvesascitizensinthe
census of97BC.38 Onlyrecently,theyhadcometoRomeinsufficiently
largenumberstoramSulpicius’redistributivelegislationthroughthePle-
beianAssemblyandengageinlargescalemobviolenceagainstthosewho
opposedthemeasure.39Moreimportantlytheyhad,despitetherecentexperi-
enceoftheSocialWar,beenwillingtofieldmassivearmiestosupport
AndrewSwidzinski ItalianAimsintheFirstCivilWar87-82BC 126
CinnaandMarius intheirmarchonRome,andwoulddoso againwithina
few years. Itis difficult,therefore,toconceivethattheywouldhaveac-
ceptedanythingless thanarapidfulfillmentof thepromisedredistribution,
especiallyif acensus,themethodbywhichcitizenshipcouldbeformalized,
werebeingheld.Itisindeedmorelikelythatatleastsomeof themwould
havegoneso faras toresumeactivewarfareagainsttheRomans.
Otherexplanationsmaybefurnishedfor theSenatorialdecree
recordedbyLivy.Theepitomewithinwhichitistobefound largelydeals
withassertions of Senatorialauthorityinthemonthsleadinguptothewar.
TheSenatehadlaunchedadeterminedpeaceinitiativeandhadevencon-
vincedtheCinnans toendorseaproposalfor allarmiestobedisbanded.
Theywereunsuccessfulhowever,inconvincingCarbotocometoterms
withSulla.40Theyhadalso beguntoobjecttothehighhandedmanner of the
new Consul,demonstratedbyhisdelayinconductinganelectionfor his
successor.41 IntakingstancesdesignedtoappeasetheItalians,thecorecon-
stituencyoftheCinnans, suchas oppositiontothetakingofhostagesfrom
Italiancities andaconfirmationof existingvotingprivileges,theSenate
mayhavebeentryingtomakeitsownbidfor supportamong thecitizens
whomSullaandCinnawerenow makingequallydeterminedeffortsto
court.
Thefigures providedbyJeromeareequallysuspect.Theregistration
ofonly463,000citizenswouldindicatenotonlyafailuretoredistributethe
Italiansthroughthefull35tribes.Itwouldsignifythattheyhadnotbeenac-
ceptedbythecensors asbeingcitizens tobeginwith,somethingwhichnone
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of theancientsources accept.Itis certainlyconceivable,as Frank has ar-
gued,thattherequirementsof traveltoRometoobtainregistrationwould
havedissuadedmanyItaliansfromdoingso.42Yetgiventheenthusiasm
demonstratedfor thecause of theCinnans suchashorttimebefore,itis dif-
ficulttoacceptanincrease over thepreviouscensus thatcouldbeexplained
bypopulationgrowth alone.Themostcrediblehypothesisconcerningthe
natureof thefigures isthatof Beloch,who arguesthatacorruptioninthe
manuscriptdistortedtheoriginalnumber of963,000.43This wouldseemlog-
icalinlightof theslightlylower figures recordedin70BC.44
Moreover,theargumentmostneglectedbythosewho wouldargue
thatthepromises of CinnaandtheCensus of 86wereashamisthepotential
benefitstobederivedbytheCinnans fromthemass enfranchisementandre-
distributionof thenew citizens.KeaveneyarguesthatCinna’smotivation
for refusingtoredistributethenew citizens was adesiretoappeaseconser-
vativesenators.Asidefromthelackofanyindicationthatconservativesen-
ators weretheninterestedinpreventingaredistributionorproof thattheir
supportsupercededothersinimportancetotheCinnans45 itis arguablethat
thesupportofthenewcitizens wouldhavebeenfarmoreusefultoCinna
thanthatoftheSenate.Anequalizationofthevotingstructurewouldhave
allowedthevotesoftheItalians,whentheybotheredtoshow upfor votes
onimportantlegislation,tooutweightheold.Theenfranchisementofthe
Italianaristocracy,whodidhavethemeanstotravelfrequentlytoRomeand
presumablywouldhavehadadecisivevoteinthepropertybasedcenturiate
assembly,couldwellhaveguaranteedcontinuousre-electionfor Cinnaand