Rome's Move of the New Year from Ides of March to January 1 took place in October 126 BCE - Revised date. Aemilius' Lunar Eclipse at Numantia in Spain took place May 1, 109 BCE...

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Created 5938_[(??)]01 25 2027 [2011-05-29]

Last edited 5938_[(??)]01 30 2027 [2011-06-02]

Revised Date Re

Rome’s Move of the Beginning of their New Year

From the Ides of March to January 1…

That is, January 125 BCE, per the Roman Calendar then in use,

or, October 126 BCE per the Current used Julian Calendar…

Aemilius’ lunar eclipse at Numantia in Spain

May 1, 109 BCE…

Abstract:

The conventionally accepted and proclaimed year for Rome’s moving the New Year from the Ides of March to January 1 is typically given as 153 BCE.

But when did this event really happen? What is the closest secure anchor point in time for this event?

The best I’ve come up with thus far is a year based upon the relative placement of the Consul Quintus Fulvius Nobilior, who apparently was the incitement for this change of the Roman calendar, vs. Sulpicius Gallus, which Sulpicius Gallus was Consul sometime after 139 BCE, revised date, and who is listed in the conventional lists of Roman Consuls as having been consul 13 years prior to Quintus Fulvius Nobilior. Given not only that 13 year difference, but also the discovery, as here below outlined, that Aemilius’ lunar eclipse at Numantine in Spain finds its best fit such that Quintus Fulvius Nobilior’s consulship falls in 125 BCE, I conclude that Rome’s calendar change, revised date, took place in 125 BCE, that is, 28 years later than the conventional date…

Oooops, almost forgot… When exactly? If this move was decided upon in January 125 BCE per the then current Roman calendar, well, things being what they were in those days, that is, the calendar being about three months off season, that is, three months ahead of our Julian calendar, this means that this change was made in October 126 BCE!

The waning partial eclipse of May 1, 109 BCE as seen at moonrise over the Numantia, Spain horizon about ½ an hour before sunset.

Quotes re Aemilius Lepidus’ lunar eclipse:

“[§82] The siege of Pallantia was long protracted, the food supply of the Romans failed, and they began to suffer from hunger. All their animals perished and many of the men died of want. The generals, Aemilius and Brutus, kept heart for a long time. Being compelled to yield at last, they gave an order suddenly one night, about the last watch, to retreat. The tribunes and centurions ran hither and thither to hasten the movement, so as to get them all away before daylight. Such was the confusion that they left behind everything, and even the sick and wounded, who clung to them and besought them not to abandon them. Their retreat was disorderly and confused and much like a flight, the Pallantines hanging on their flanks and rear and doing great damage from early dawn till evening. When night came, the Romans, worn with toil and hunger, threw themselves on the ground by companies just as it happened, and the Pallantines, moved by some divine interposition, went back to their own country. And this was what happened to Aemilius.“

(Appian’s History of Rome)

“Suffering from a lack of food, the Romans were compelled to retreat and desperately tried to decamp under cover of darkness. "Such was the confusion that they left behind everything, and even the sick and wounded, who clung to them and besought them not to abandon them." Only a lunar eclipse saved the Romans from being pursued. Lepidus was deprived of his command while still in the field (the first time that such an abrogation ever had occurred) and recalled to Rome in disgrace.”

(The Celtiberian War)

		Comprehensive Listing of all (56) Lunar Eclipses that may at all have been visible from Spain during the 50 years between 139 BCE – 90 BCE
Legend:									Legend: Re magnitude
No go									Unlikely - minimal
Close									Possible - partial
Likely									Likely - total
#	Date (Considering the events of the record, I find the most likely time to be the fall, August and September. Unlikely, early calendar year, i.e. from October or November through April.)		Julian Year (BCE)	Type of eclipse (Umbral magnitude)	Time when eclipse became visible (Numantia, Spain SNB local solar time)	Numantia, Spain UT time at maximum eclipse (Subtract: ‑10 minutes for local solar time)	Sunset time for Numantia Spain (UT time)	Comments & Considerations
1	June 1		139	Total	19:22	21:18	19:38	All these eclipses should be at least ten years too early…
2	November 26		139	Total		05:20
3	November 15		138	Partial (0.2881)		05:28
4	April 1		136	Partial (0.7227)		00:01
5	March 21		135	Total		00:22
6	September 14		135	Total		06:51
7	March 10		134	Partial (0.2510)		03:34
8	September 3		134	Partial (0.2402)	Moonrise with 20% umbral eclipse	18:31	18:39
9	January 17		132	Total		19:15	17:05
10	January 7		131	Total		09:39
11	December 27		131	Partial (0.0281)		18:07	16:46
12	May 12		129	Partial (0.5095)		14:44	19:20
13	November 5		129	Partial (0.6203)		00:56
14	May 2		128	Total		04:22
15	October 15		127	Partial (0.5171)		00:20
16	February 29		125	Partial (0.8114)		00:37
17	August 13		124	Total	Fully eclipsed at moonrise, end of total eclipse at 19:17	18:19	19:12
18	February 7		123	Partial (0.2955)		04:35
19	August 2		123	Partial (0.1448)	Moonrise with 8% umbral eclipse; umbral shadow ending at 19:27	18:44	19:26
20	June 12		121	Total		04:44
21	June 1		120	Total	Penumbral eclipse 19:45-00:46; umbral eclipse 20:46-23:46; total eclipse 22:04-22:27	22:08	19:38
22	April 12		118	Partial (0.5908)		06:48
23	March 31		117	Total		07:15
24	September 24		117	Total		15:08	18:03
25	September 14		116	Partial (0.3023)		02:16
26	January 29		114	Total		03:52
27	January 18		113	Total		18:11	17:07
28	July 12		113	Total	Penumbral eclipse 19:22-00:57; umbral eclipse 20:24-23:54; total eclipse 21:24-22:59	22:00	19:45	This month may well have been reckoned as October, yet before the harvest season, though in the midst of the growing season, it may seem a little bit questionable for the Roman army to be so short of supply.
29	January 7		112	Partial (0.0398)		02:22
30	May 23		111	Partial (0.3692)	Penumbral eclipse 20:13-00:43; umbral eclipse 21:32-23:25	22:07	19:31	This month may well have been reckoned as August… This being at the end of true winter, this seems like an excellent candidate… However, this eclipse onset may seem a bit late to perfectly fit the recorded activities?
31	November 16		111	Partial (0.6172)		09:18
32	November 5		110	Total	Moonrise at 16:41 with 83% penumbral shadow-21:22; umbral eclipse 16:51-20:21; total eclipse 17:48-19:29	18:26	16:59	This month was likely reckoned as January or February, thus not too likely… Yet possible?
33	May 1		109 [conventional 137 B.C.]	Partial (0.5098)	Moonrise at 18:37 with 24% umbral eclipse-19:04; penumbral eclipse -20:26	17:40	19:08	This month may well have been reckoned as August, late enough in the Roman calendar year to allow for all the events on record… This being at the end of true winter, thus the shortness of supplies and the famine… This seems like an excellent candidate, the best, indeed, fitting perfectly also the distance in years of the Roman fasti, that is, the record of the Roman Consuls, since the last prior identified eclipse, Perseus’ eclipse at the Battle of Pydna in the year prior to the year when Sulpicius Gallus and M. Claudius Marcellus were Consuls (conventional 166 B.C..)
34	October 25		109	Partial (0.5360)		09:06
35	March 11		107	Partial (0.7365)		08:16
36	September 4		107	Partial (0.7297)	Moonrise at 18:10; penumbral eclipse 20:34-02:01; umbral eclipse 21:51-00:44	22:58	18:36	This month may well have been reckoned as December. Yet, being in the harvest season it seems hard to believe that the Roman army should be so short of supply. Too, this eclipse onset may seem a bit late to perfectly fit the recorded activities?
37	February 28		106	Total		20:45	17:58
38	August 25		106	Total		01:21
39	August 13		105	Partial (0.2634)		01:42
40	December 28		104	Partial (0.8509)		21:41	16:49
41	December 17		103	Total		21:29	16:40
42	June 13		102	Total		05:35
43	December 6		102	Partial (0.3109)		22:04	16:39
44	October 16		100	Partial (0.7483)		08:11		All these eclipses should be about ten years too late for a god fit…
45	October 5		99	Total		23:32	17:44
46	March 31		98	Partial (0.4711)		18:15	18:34
47	August 3		96	Partial (0.7057)		21:34	19:25
48	January 29		95	Total		02:36
49	July 24		95	Total		05:18
50	July 13		94	Partial (0.2404)		19:44	19:44
51	June 3		93	Partial (0.2290)		05:29
52	November 26		93	Partial (0.6180)		17:44	16:42
53	May 23		92	Total		18:26	19:31
54	November 16		92	Total		03:10
55	May 13		91	Partial (0.6580)		00:15
56	November 5		91	Partial (0.5481)		17:56	16:59

Roman Consuls [used here as a tool for estimating the difference in time between Perseus’ eclipse in 139 BCE, and Consul Aemilius’ eclipse] [Excerpt from Ancient / Classical History; Revised Julian year BCE column, all emphasis, and all brackets added]
Names and dates of the consuls of Rome from 509 B.C. - A.D. 68 [206-132 B.C. excerpted] including dictators, suffect consuls and military tribunes with consular power.
Revised Julian year BCE	Year B.C.	Consul one	Consul two
?	206	Q. Caecilius Metellus	L. Veturius Philo
?	205	P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus I	P.Licinius Crassus
?	204	M. Cornelius Cethegus	P. Sempronius Tuditanus
?	203	C. Servilius Geminus	Cn. Servilius Caepio
190	202 [Revised date for Hannibal’s solar eclipse: March 14, 190 BCE; Please cf. this link for details! / ToL]	Ti. Claudius Nero	M. Servilius Geminus
?	201	Cn. Cornelius Lentulus	P. Aelius Paetus
?	200	P. Sulpicius Galba II	C. Aurelius Cotta
?	199	L. Cornelius Lentulus	P. Villius Tappulus
?	198	T. Quinctius Flaminius	Sextus Aelius Paetus
?	197	C. Cornelius Cethegus	Q. Minucius Rufus
?	196	L. Furius Purpurio	M. Claudius Marcellus
?	195	L. Valerius Flaccus	M. Porcius Cato
?	194	P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus II	Ti. Sempronius Longus
?	193	L. Cornelius Merula	Q. Minucius Thermus
?	192	L. Quinctius Flaminius	Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus
?	191	P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica	Manius Acilius Glabrio
?	190	L. Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus	C. Laelius
?	189	Cn. Manlius Vulso	M. Fulvius Nobilior
?	188	M. Valerius Messalla	C. Livius Salinator
?	187	M. Aemilius Lepidus I	C. Flaminius
?	186	Sp. Postumius Albinus	Q. Marcius Philippus I
?	185	App. Claudius Pulcher	M. Sempronius Tuditanus
?	184	P. Claudius Pulcher	L. Porcius Licinius
?	183	Q. Fabius Labeo	M. Claudius Marcellus
?	182	L. Aemilius Paullus I	Cn. Baebius Tamphilus
?		Suffect consul
?	[1st Celtiberian War begins?]	Q. Fulvius Flaccus
?	181	P. Cornelius Cethegus	M. Baebius Tamphilus
?	180	A. Postumius Albinus	C. Calpurnius Piso
?	179 [1st Celtiberian War begins?]	L. Manlius Acidinus	Q. Fulvius Flaccus
?	178	A. Manlius Vulso	M. Junius Brutus
?	177	C. Claudius Pulcher	Ti. Sempronius Gracchus I
?	177	C. Claudius Pulcher	Ti. Sempronius Gracchus I
?	176	Cn. Cornelius Scipio Hispallus	Q. Petillius Spurinus
?	175	M. Aemilius Lepidus II	P. Mucius Scaevola
?	174	Sp. Postumius Albinus	Q. Mucius Scaevola
?	173	L. Postumius Albinus	M. Popillius Laenas
?	172	P. Aelius Ligus	C. Popillius Laenas I
?	171	C. Cassius Longinus	P. Licinius Crassus
?	170	A. Atilius Serranus	A. Hostilius Mancinus
?	169	Cn. Servilius Caepio	Q. Marcius Philippus II
?	168	L. Aemilius Paullus II	C. Licinius Crassus
139	167 [Revised date for the Battle of Pydna and Perseus’ lunar eclipse: June 1, 139 BCE; Please cf. this link for details! / ToL]	Q. Aelius Paetus	M. Junius Pennus
138	166	C. Sulpicius Galba [C. Sulpicius Galus; cf. Early Roman Chronology, or C. Sulpicius Gallus; cf. Andraeus Papadopolus]	M. Claudius Marcellus I
137	165	T. Manlius Torquatus	Cn. Octavius
136	164	A. Manlius Torquatus	Q. Cassius Longinus
135	163	Ti. Sempronius Gracchus II	M. JuventiusThalna
134	162	P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum I	C.Marcius Figulus I
		Suffect consul
		P. Cornelius Lentulus	Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus
133	161	M. Valerius Messalla	C. Fannius Strabo
132	160	M. Cornelius Cethegus	L. Anicius Gallus
131	159	Cn. Cornelius Dolabella	M. Fulvius Nobilior
130	158	M. Aemilius Lepidus	C. Popillius Laenas II
129	157	Sextus Julius Caesar	L. Aurelius Orestes
128	156	L. Cornelius Lentulus Lupus	C. Marcius Figulus II
127	155	P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum II	M. Claudius Marcellus II
126	154	L. Postumius Albinus	Q. Opimius
125	153 [2nd Celtiberian War begins]	T. Annius Luscus	Q. Fulvius Nobilior
124	152	L. Valerius Flaccus	M. Claudius Marcellus III
123	151 [Lucullus’ Raid]	A. Postumius Albinus	L. Licinius Lucullus
122	150	T. Quinctius Flaminius	Manius Acilius Balbus
121	149	Manius Manilius	L. Marcius Censorinus
120	148	Sp. Postumius Albinus Magnus	L. Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus
119	147	P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus I	C. Livius Drusus
118	146 [The War of Fire – Viriathus’ 8 yr War begins]	Cn. Cornelius Lentulus	L. Mummius Achaicus
117	145	Q. Fabius Maximus Aemilianus	L. Hostilius Mancinus
116	144	Ser. Sulpicius Galba	L. Aurelius Cotta
115	143 [The Numantine War begins]	App. Claudius Pulcher	Q. Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus
114	142	Q. Fabius Maximus Servilianus	L. Caecilius Metellus Calvus
113	141	Cn. Servilius Caepio	Q. Pompeius
112	140	Q. Servilius Caepio	C. Laelius Sapiens
111	139	Cn. Calpurnius Piso	M. Popillius Laenas
110	138	P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio	D. Junius Brutus Callaicus
109	137 [The year of the May 1, 109 BCE lunar eclipse of Consul Aemilius]	M. Aemilius Lepidus Porcina	C. Hostilius Mancinus
?	136	L. Furius Philus	Sextus Atilius Serranus
?	135	Q. Calpurnius Piso	Ser. Fulvius Flaccus
?	134	C. Fulvius Flaccus	P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus II
?	133	L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi	P. Mucius Scaevola
?	132	P. Popillius Laenas	P. Rupilius

Pertinent Quotes:

The Roman Calendar

Nor did the college of pontiffs (from pontifex or "bridge maker"), who were responsible for regulating the calendar and the festivals that depended upon it, always intercalate the additional days necessary to synchronize the lunar and solar years. Intercalation was considered unlucky and, during the Second Punic War (218-201 BC), when Rome struggled against Carthage, the priests were hesitant to make any changes at all. Often, too, the calendar was manipulated more for partisan political consideration and vested interest than to adjust for the seasons. The tenure of an office holder could be extended or reduced, and legislation given more or less time before a vote. Bibulus, Caesar's co-consul in 59 BC, for example, attempted to thwart the legislation of his more powerful colleague by declaring all the remaining days of the year to be holidays so the assembly could not legally meet (Dio, XXXVIII.6.1). Too, in 153 BC the new year was moved from the Ides of March to the Kalends of January (January 1), which now marked the beginning of the civil year and newly elected consuls assumed office.

(The Roman Calendar)

With the expulsion of Tarquinius Superbus, the last Etruscan king, and the establishment of the Roman Republic in 509 BC (245 AUC), supreme power (imperium) resided in two consuls, who were elected annually. From 222 BC they assumed office on March 15 (the Ides of March), just before the vernal equinox. (Prior to that year, consuls assumed and left office depending upon the exigencies of the moment.) It was spring, and March, named after Mars, the god of war, was the start of the military campaign season. In 153 BC, however, consuls began to assume power on January 1 (the Kalends of January), which now marked the beginning of the consular or civil year as well as the calendar year--although, even when the year had begun in March, it is likely that the first crescent moon after the winter solstice, when light begins to increase over darkness, marked its natural beginning.

Why the consular year began on January 1 was due to the Second Celtiberian War. In 154 BC, there was rebellion in Spain. Quintus Fulvius Nobilior was designated consul for the following year but could not assume office until the Ides of March. Given the military situation, the Senate decreed January 1 to be the start of the new civil year, which permitted Nobilior to be inducted and depart with his legions that much sooner. He still was delayed in arriving, however, as can be determined by a severe defeat late in August, a loss so disastrous that the day on which it occurred was declared a dies ater and subsequently was considered unlucky. Indeed, Appian relates that no Roman general would willingly initiate a battle on that day. (July 18, 390 BC, when the Gauls defeated Rome in the Battle of the Allia was another "black day.")

(The Consular Year)

The Celtiberian War

Scipio Africanus had wrested Spain away from Carthage at the Battle of Ilipa in 206 BC and ended the Second Punic War four years later at the Battle of Zama. But subjugation of the Iberian Peninsula would require another two hundred years of intermittent and often savage warfare, in which Rome, at least in Cicero's estimation, struggled "as with deadly enemies, not to determine which should be supreme, but which should survive" (De Officiis, I.38). The most complete account of this war is provided by the Greek historian Appian in Iberike, the sixth book of his Roman History. There, in Chapters 44-98, he discusses the Celtiberian War and, inserted in that section, the Lusitanian War and its hero Viriathus.

There had been peace for almost a quarter of a century when, in 155 BC, a raid into Hispania Ulterior (Farther Spain) by the Lusitani and the defeat of two successive Roman praetors encouraged the town of Segeda in Hispania Citerior (Nearer Spain) to rebel. The following year, it refused to pay tribute or provide a military contingent to Rome but formed instead a confederacy with neighboring towns and began the construction of a defensive wall. Quintus Fulvius Nobilior (the son of Marcus Fulvius Nobilior) was sent against the Celtiberians in 153 BC, with nearly thirty thousand men. But the consul was late in arriving and ambushed soon after, with six thousand Romans slain.

(Nobilior had been designated consul for the following year but could not assume office until the Ides of March. Given the military situation, the Senate decreed January 1 to be the start of the new civil year, which permitted him to depart with his legions that much sooner. His defeat on August 23 was so disastrous that the day on which it occurred was declared a dies aster and subsequently considered unlucky. Indeed, Appian relates that no Roman general would willingly initiate a battle on that day.)

(The Celtiberian War)

The Third Celtiberian War…

Hostilius Mancinus, the next consul, fared no better. In 137 BC, while besieging Numantia (Numancia), he panicked at the rumor that reinforcements were being sent and surrendered his entire army, pledging peace between Rome and the Numantines as equals (foedus). So ignominious was this treaty to the Senate, having been made without its authorization, that Mancinus was recalled and Aemilius Lepidus, the other consul for the year, sent to Spain in his place. Impatient at having to await the outcome of the debate over the treaty, which eventually was repudiated, he began to ravage the countryside. The Senate was incredulous at this unprovoked renewal of hostilities and demanded to know why "after so many disasters had befallen them in Spain, Aemilius should be seeking a new war." Suffering from a lack of food, the Romans were compelled to retreat and desperately tried to decamp under cover of darkness. "Such was the confusion that they left behind everything, and even the sick and wounded, who clung to them and besought them not to abandon them." Only a lunar eclipse saved the Romans from being pursued. Lepidus was deprived of his command while still in the field (the first time that such an abrogation ever had occurred) and recalled to Rome in disgrace.

(The Celtiberian War)

Quotes with time references from Appian’s History of Rome:

[§38] [205] From this time, which was a little before the 144th Olympiad, [207 BCE / ToL] the Romans began to send praetors to Spain yearly to the conquered nations as governors or superintendents to keep the peace. Scipio left them a small force suitable for a peace establishment, and settled his sick and wounded soldiers in a town which he named Italica after Italy (and this was the native place of Trajan and Hadrian, who afterwards became emperors of Rome).

The First Celtiberian War

[§42] [181] Four Olympiads later [147th or 148th ? 195 BCE or 191 BCE / ToL] -that is, about the 150th Olympiad [183 BCE / ToL]- many Spanish tribes, having insufficient land, including the Lusones and others who dwelt along the river Iberus, revolted from the Roman rule. These being overcome in battle by the consul [Quintus] Fulvius Flaccus [182 BCE conventional, but 16 yrs before Gallus and Marcellus, that is, 16 yrs before 139 BCE (=155 BCE)… OR ELSE Q. Fulvius Flaccus IIII of 209 BC conventional, 10 yrs before 190 BCE revised, that is, about 200 BCE? This seems to agree best with the 147th Olympiad in 195 BCE?? / ToL], the greater part of them scattered among their towns.

[§43] [179] Flaccus was succeeded in the command by Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus… [163 conventional, but 3 years after Gallus and Marcellus of 139 BCE revised, that is, 136 BCE… OR ELSE 215, 213, or 177 BC conventional]

The Second Celtiberian War

[§44] [154] Some years later another serious war broke out in Spain for the following reason: Segeda, a large and powerful city of a Celtiberian tribe called the Belli, was included in the treaties made by Gracchus.

[§45] [153] Accordingly the praetor [Quintus Fulvius] Nobilior [MFN 189, 159 BC?? Or QFN 153? conventional] was sent against them with an army of nearly 30,000 men…. This disaster happened on the day on which the Romans are accustomed to celebrate the festival of Vulcan [23 August 153]…

[§47] Nobilior, recovering a little from this disaster, made an attack upon the stores which the enemy had collected at the town of Axinium, but he accomplished nothing… Then Nobilior in despair went into winter quarters in his camp, sheltering himself as well as he could. He suffered much from scantiness of supplies, having only what was inside the camp, and from heavy snowstorms and severe frost, so that many of his men perished while outside gathering wood, and others inside fell victims to confinement and cold.

[§48] [152] The following year [Marcus] Claudius Marcellus succeeded Nobilior in the command…

[§49] Marcellus sent ambassadors from each party to Rome… The consul [Lucius] Licinius Lucullus was appointed to the command, and he had for his lieutenant [Publius] Cornelius Scipio [Aemilianus], who was not long afterwards distinguished as the conqueror of Carthage and of Numantia.

[§50] [151] While Lucullus was on the march Marcellus notified the Celtiberians of the coming war… Thus the war with the Belli, the Titthi, and the Arevaci was brought to an end before Lucullus arrived.

Lucullus' raid

[§51] [151] [The consul Lucius Licinius] Lucullus being greedy of fame and needing money, because he was in straitened circumstances, invaded the territory of the Vaccaei, another Celtiberian tribe, neighbors of the Arevaci, against whom war had not been declared by the Senate, nor had they ever attacked the Romans, or offended Lucullus himself.

[§55] … Lucullus passed into the territory of the Turditani, and went into winter quarters. This was the end of the war with the Vaccaei, which was waged by Lucullus without the authority of the Roman people, but he was never called to account for it…

The Lusitanian War

[§56] [155] At this time another part of autonomous Spain called Lusitania, under Punicus as leader, was ravaging the fields of the Roman subjects and having put to flight their praetors (first Manilius and then Calpurnius Piso), killed 6,000 Romans and among them Terentius Varro, the quaestor.

[153] He was succeeded by a man named Caesarus. The latter joined battle with [the praetor Lucius] Mummius, who came from Rome with another army…

[§58] [152] He was succeeded in the command by Marcus Atilius…

[151] Servius [Sulpicius] Galba, the successor of Atilius, hastened to relieve them…

[§59] [151/150] [The consul Lucius Licinius] Lucullus, who had made war on the Vaccaei without authority, was wintering in Turditania…

The "War of fire" [1]

[Note re timing: After Lucius Licinius Lucullus (conv. 151 BC) - Quintus Servilius Caepio (conv. 140 BC) = “8 years” / ToL]

[§61] [147] Not long afterward those [Lusitanians] who had escaped the villainy of [consul Lucius Licinius] Lucullus and [praetor Servius Sulpicius] Galba…

[§62] Excited by the new hopes with which he inspired them, they chose him as their leader. He drew them up in line of battle as though he intended to fight, but gave them orders that when he should mount his horse they should scatter in every direction and make their way by different routes to the city of Tribola and there wait for him. He chose 1,000 only whom he commanded to stay with him. These arrangements having been made, they all fled as soon as Viriathus mounted his horse, Vetilius was afraid to pursue those who had scattered in so many different ways, but turning towards Viriathus who was standing there and apparently waiting a chance to attack, joined battle with him. The latter, having very swift horses, harassed the Romans by attacking, then retreating, again standing still and again attacking, and thus consumed the whole of that day and the next dashing around on the same field. As soon as he conjectured that the others had made good their escape, he hastened away in the night by devious paths and arrived at Tribola with his nimble steeds, the Romans not being able to follow him at an equal pace by reason of the weight of their armor, their ignorance of the roads, and the inferiority of their horses. Thus did Viriathus, in an unexpected way, rescue his army from a desperate situation. This feat, coming to the knowledge of the various tribes of that vicinity, brought him fame and many reinforcements from different quarters, and enabled him to wage war against the Romans for eight years.

[§64] [146] Viriathus overran the fruitful country of Carpetania without hindrance, and ravaged it until Gaius Plautius came from Rome bringing 10,000 foot and 1300 horse. Then Viriathus again feigned flight and Plautius sent 4,000 men to pursue him but Viriathus turned upon them and killed all except a few. Then he crossed the river Tagus and encamped on a mountain covered with olive trees, called Venus' mountain. There Plautius overtook him, and eager to retrieve his misfortune, joined battle with him, but was defeated with great slaughter, and fled in disorder to the towns, and went into winter quarters in midsummer not daring to show himself anywhere. Accordingly, Viriathus overran the whole country without check and required the owners of the growing crops to pay him the value thereof, or if they would not, he destroyed them.

[§65] [145] When these facts became known at Rome, they sent [consul Quintus] Fabius Maximus Aemilianus, the [adopted] son of [Lucius] Aemilius Paullus (who had [in 168] conquered Perseus, the king of Macedonia), to Spain, having given him power to levy an army. As Carthage and Greece had been but recently conquered, and the third [3] Macedonian war brought to a successful end, in order that he might spare the soldiers who had just returned from those places, he chose young men who had never been engaged in war before, to the number of two legions.

[144] Winter being ended, and his army well disciplined, he attacked Viriathus and was the second Roman general to put him to flight (although he fought valiantly), capturing two of his cities, one of which he plundered and the other burned. He pursued Viriathus to a place called Baecor, and killed many of his men, after which he wintered at Corduba.

[§66] [143] Now Viriathus, being not so confident as before, detached the Arevaci, Titthi, and Belli, very warlike peoples, from their allegiance to the Romans, and these began to wage another war on their own account which was long and tedious to the Romans, and which was called the Numantine war from one of their cities. I shall give an account of this after finishing the war with Viriathus.

The latter coming to an engagement in another part of Spain with Quintus, another Roman general, and being worsted, returned to the Venus mountain. From this he sallied and slew 1,000 of Quintus' men and captured some standards from them and drove the rest into their camp. He also drove out the garrison of Itucca and ravaged the country of the Bastitani. Quintus was unable to render them aid by reason of his timidity and inexperience, but went into winter quarters at Corduba in the middle of autumn, and frequently sent Gaius Marcius, a Spaniard from the city of Italica, against him.

[§67] At the end of the year, [consul Quintus] Fabius Maximus Servilianus, the brother of Aemilianus, came to succeed Quintus in the command, bringing two new legions from Rome and some allies, so that his forces altogether amounted to about 18,000 foot and 1,600 horse. [142] He wrote to Micipsa, king of the Numidians, to send him some elephants as speedily as possible. As he was hastening to Itucca with his army in divisions, Viriathus attacked him with 6,000 troops with great noise and barbaric clamor, and wearing the long hair which in battles they are accustomed to shake in order to terrify their enemies, but he was not dismayed. He stood his ground bravely, and the enemy was driven off without accomplishing anything.

[§68]… Then he went into winter quarters, having already been two years in the command. Having performed these labors, Servilianus returned to Rome and was succeeded in the command by Quintus Pompeius Aulus. The brother of the former, [Quintus Fabius] Maximus Aemilianus, having received the surrender of a captain of robbers, named Connoba, released him but cut off the hands of all of his men.

The Numantine War

[Note re timing: Conv. 143 – 134 BC]

[§76] [143] Our history returns to the war against the Arevaci and the Numantines, whom Viriathus stirred up to revolt. [Consul Quintus] Caecilius Metellus was sent against them from Rome with a larger army and he subdued the Arevaci, falling upon them suddenly while they were gathering their crops.

[142 or 141] At the end of winter Metellus surrendered to his successor, Quintus Pompeius Aulus, the command of the army, consisting of 30,000 foot and 2,000 horse, admirably trained. While encamped against Numantia, Pompeius had occasion to go away somewhere. The Numantines made a sally against a body of his horse that was ranging after him and destroyed them. When he returned, he drew up his army in the plain. The Numantines came down to meet him, but retired slowly as though intending flight, until they had drawn Pompeius to the ditches and palisades.

[§79] Pompeius, being cast down by so many misfortunes, marched away with his senatorial council to the towns to spend the rest of the winter, expecting a successor to come early in the spring. Fearing lest he should be called to account, he made overtures to the Numantines secretly for the purpose of bringing the war to an end. The Numantines themselves, being exhausted by the slaughter of so many of their bravest men, by the loss of their crops, by want of food, and by the length of the war, which had been protracted beyond expectation, sent legates to Pompeius. He publicly advised them to surrender at discretion, because no other kind of treaty seemed worthy of the dignity of the Roman people, but privately he told them what terms he should impose. When they had come to an agreement and the Numantines had given themselves up, he demanded and received from them hostages, together with the prisoners and deserters. He also demanded thirty talents of silver, a part of which they paid down and the rest he agreed to wait for.

[139] His successor, Marcus Popillius Laenas, had arrived when they brought the last instalment…

[§80]… When these things were known at Rome there was great indignation at this most ignominious treaty, and the other consul, [Marcus] Aemilius Lepidus, was sent to Spain, Mancinus being called home to stand trial. The Numantine ambassadors followed him thither.

[§82] The siege of Pallantia was long protracted, the food supply of the Romans failed, and they began to suffer from hunger. All their animals perished and many of the men died of want. The generals, Aemilius and Brutus, kept heart for a long time. Being compelled to yield at last, they gave an order suddenly one night, about the last watch, to retreat. The tribunes and centurions ran hither and thither to hasten the movement, so as to get them all away before daylight. Such was the confusion that they left behind everything, and even the sick and wounded, who clung to them and besought them not to abandon them. Their retreat was disorderly and confused and much like a flight, the Pallantines hanging on their flanks and rear and doing great damage from early dawn till evening. When night came, the Romans, worn with toil and hunger, threw themselves on the ground by companies just as it happened, and the Pallantines, moved by some divine interposition, went back to their own country. And this was what happened to Aemilius.

[§83] When these things were known at Rome, Aemilius was deprived of his command and consulship, and when he returned to Rome as a private citizen he was fined besides. The dispute before the Senate between [Gaius Hostilius] Mancinus and the Numantine ambassadors was still going on. The latter exhibited the treaty they had made with Mancinus; he, on the other hand, put the blame on [Quintus] Pompeius [Aulus], his predecessor in the command, who had turned over to him a worthless and ill-provided army, with which Pompeius himself had often been beaten, and so had made a similar treaty with the Numantines. He added that the war had been under bad omens, for it had been decreed by the Romans in violation of these agreements.

[135] [Quintus] Calpurnius Piso was chosen general against them, but he did not march against Numantia. He made an incursion into the territory of Pallantia, and having collected a small amount of plunder, spent the rest of his term of office in winter quarters in Carpetania.

[§84] [134] The Roman people being tired of this Numantine war, which was protracted and severe beyond expectation, elected [Publius Cornelius] Scipio [Aemilianus], the conqueror of Carthage, consul again, believing that he was the only man who could subdue the Numantines. As he was still under the consular age, the Senate voted, as was done when Scipio was appointed general against the Carthaginians, that the tribunes of the people should repeal the law respecting the age limit, and reenact it for the following year. Thus Scipio was made consul a second time and hastened to Numantia.

Later conflicts

[§99] The Romans, according to their custom, sent ten senators to the newly acquired provinces of Spain, which Scipio, or Brutus before him, had received in surrender, or had taken by force, to settle their affairs on a peace basis.

At a later time, other revolts having taken place in Spain, Calpurnius Piso was chosen as commander. He was succeeded by Servius Galba. When the Cimbri invaded Italy, and Sicily was torn by the second servile war, the Romans were too much preoccupied to send soldiers to Spain, but sent legates who endeavored to settle affairs without war as far as they could. When the Cimbri were driven out Titus Didius was sent to Spain, and he slew about 20,000 of the Arevaci. He also removed Termesum, a large city always insubordinate to the Romans, from a place of security into the plain, and ordered the inhabitants to live without walls. [98] He also besieged the city of Colenda and captured it nine months after he had invested it, and sold the inhabitants with their wives and children.

[§100] There was another city near Colenda inhabited by mixed tribes of Celtiberians who had been the allies of Marcus Marius in a war against the Lusitanians, and whom he had settled there five years before with the approval of the Senate. They were living by robbery on account of their poverty. Didius, with the concurrence of the ten legates who were still present, resolved to destroy them. Accordingly, he told their principal men that he would allot the land of Colenda to them because they were poor. Finding them very much pleased with this offer, he told them to communicate it to their people, and to come with their wives and children to the parceling out of the land. When they had done so he ordered his soldiers to vacate their camp, and these people, whom he wanted to ensnare, to go inside, so that he might make a list of their names, the men on one register and the women and children on another, in order to know how much land should be set apart for them. When they had gone inside the ditch and palisade, Didius surrounded them with his army and killed them all, and for this he was honored with a triumph.

(Appian’s History of Rome)

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