The "Other" 9 AD - The Illyrian Revolt - Historum

**Salah** · March 31st, 2011, 01:57 PM

9 AD

In September of 9 AD, three Roman legions under the command of Quinctilius Varus were destroyed in the Teutoberg Wald of Germania, in a revolt organized by the renegade auxiliary commander Arminius. This has become one of the most celebrated battles of antiquity, thanks in part to the painstaking efforts of German archaeologists in this past century.

The loss of three legions - as many as 15,000 men - was a painful blow to Rome under any circumstances. But we can scarce understand the intensity of this blow, without examining the Teutoberg massacre in the context of its times.

Arminius was not the only rebellious auxiliary of his day. Nor was he the only one that inflicted great losses on Rome's Imperial power. Far more dangerous to the average Roman was the revolt in Illyria and Pannonia that was only quelled a few days before Arminius' infamous treachery was made known.

The Illyrians

The Illyrian and Pannonian tribes inhabited most of what was recently known as Yugoslavia. In culture they appear to have been mostly closely related to the Thracians, but there was significant Celtic and Makedonian influence on their language, culture, and military traits. The Pannonians in particular were heavily Celticized; they were also neighbors to the Dacian tribes.

A spirited people, the Illyrians were depicted by the Romans and Greeks as being greedy, argumentative, and brave but cunning warriors. Overall they were viewed as the stereotypical "barbarians", though they appear to have been more capable of subtley than their Celtic and Dacian neighbors. In their own artwork they are depicted as being clean-shaven with long hair, shoulder-length or more. Their clothing and armor was predominately Greek in style, though they adopted the Celtic thureos shield.

The Illyrians were predominately shepherds, hunters, and warriors by profession. Their "national pasttime" however, was maritime piracy, particularly along the Italian coasts. The Roman Republic fought no less than three wars to reduce Illyrian piracy. With the conclusion of the last of these wars in 168 BC, Illyria effectively fell under Roman domination, and quietly remained so for the better part of two centuries.

The Great Revolt, 6 - 9 AD

Cassius Dio is our best source for the Illyrian Revolt against Rome; a century before his time, the Imperial biographer Suetonius called the Revolt Rome's worst war since the Second Punic War. Rome's manpower was depleted vastly during three years of miserable, bloody warfare across the western Balkans, and the seeds were sown for military mutinies and provincial revolts that would still take place for at least a decade afterwards. It could be considered unbalanced, that the Illyrian Revolt is virtually unknown even amongst history enthusiasts, while contemporary events in Germania are reasonably well-known even amongst the general public.

The revolt began early in the year 6 AD. Dio tells us that the Illyrian and Pannonian tribes - jointly incorporated into a province termed Illyricum - were already restless and agitated at this time, apparently at the excesses of Roman tax collectors. The straw that broke the camel's back did not come until this year, however.

Tiberius, Emperor Augustus' stepson, was already a seasoned military man. He had participated in Augustus' only major war of conquest - the subjugation of the Cantabri and Astures in Portugal. More recently, he had put down revolts in the Alps and brought Rhaetia and Noricum firmly into the Roman Empire. Now, his stepfather was dispatching him to Germania.

Tiberius levied some thousands of young men in Illyria to join his campaign. There is virtually no evidence for any significant Romanization in Illyria up to this point in history; there were very few, if any Roman citizens amongst the natives. The Illyrians did not see Augustus as their liege, but as a foreign tyrant demanding tribute. Serving in his army was not their duty or their privilege, but part of this tribute.

A tribe living in central Bosnia, the Daesitiates, amassed all their young men to form an auxiliary cohort. But when they saw just how many young warriors they had, and how well-built and energetic they were, the Daesitiates began to lose respect for Rome and her demands. A warrior coming from a noble house, Bato, rose up and inspired his countrymen with speeches about freedom from Rome. The seeds of rebellion, which had already been planted, suddenly sprouted.

The Daesitiates were one of the most numerous tribes of Illyria. They were also the most battle-hardened of the Illyrians; their neighbors were the Scordisci. The Scordisci were a particularly belligerent Celtic tribe that had invaded Pannonia in the 3rd Century BC, and had remained in the region ever since. They spent their time raiding Dacian and Pannonian settlements for livestock and slaves, but they were capable of fielding warbands that could even bloody the noses of Roman commanders. Though history tells us little about them, the Daesitiates must have been a very strong and embittered people, having not only survived but grown to prominence whilst living so close to such aggressive neighbors.

The Daesitiates were not alone in their insurrection. They were joined immediately by the Pannonian Breuci, under the command of another chieftain named Bato. The Illyrian Bato besieged Salona, while the Pannonian Bato attacked Sirmium. Neither of the rebels acheived anything in these initial attacks; Aulus Caecina Severus, governor of Moesia, relieved the siege of Sirmium while the Illyrian Bato was crippled by a stone thrown from the walls of Salona. Despite these early reverses, the revolts were widespread and popular; the Illyrian Bato ravaged Roman settlements on the Adriatic coast as far south as Apollonia, and defeated a Roman army sent against him.

Thousands of young warriors flocked to the banners of these rebel leaders; some brought Celtic weapons, others Roman war-gear, and still others the simple staff-slings and clubs of shepherds. Their ranks were stiffened by veterans who had already served in the ranks of the Roman auxilia. These rebel armies formed a dangerous and potent combination - fearless experts in guerilla warfare, who understood Roman tactics and were equipped with Roman weapons.

Tiberius had brought Marcus Valerius Messala Messalinus, the governor of Illyricum, along with him to Germania, along with most of the legionary garrison of the province. This had made the revolt possible in the first place. Tiberius first sent Messala ahead into Illyria to put down the revolt, but on orders from Augustus he abandoned the Germanic campaign himself. What followed was one Roman embarassment after another.

So large and aggressive and arrogant were these rebel armies, Augustus and Tiberius allegedly feared that one or both of the Batos was planning an invasion of Italy. Quite likely, both hordes were perfectly content to unleash their frustration on Roman immigrants and local pro-Roman tribes. Either way, when Messala marched against the Illyrian Bato at some point late in 6 AD, he was defeated by an army nearly matching his in armament and organization, and far superior in spirit and morale. Cassius Dio claims that Messala shortly afterwards avenged this defeat by butchering many Illyrians in an ambush.

Dismayed at this defeat, Bato held a meeting with the Pannonian Bato and agreed to an alliance. The joint rebel armies established their headquarters at Mons Alma in Pannonia, close to Sirmium. Here, however, they came under attack not from Romans - but from a Roman client king. Rhoemetalkes was the Roman client king of Thrace at this time; he commanded a cavalry-strong army that had been trained and armed by Roman officers. The Thracians succeeded in defeating the Illyrian and Pannonian rebels, but Caecina Severus' subsequent attempt to follow up this victory was unsuccessful.

Caecina withdrew when he received word that Sarmatian and Dacian warbands were raiding Moesia. He now had a deadly war to fight on his own turf; Illyria and Pannonia he left to Tiberius and Messala, who had established their headquarters at Siscia. Tiberius was apparently inactive, though we are not told for how long. Dio claims that Augustus thought that Tiberius was deliberately drawing the war out, to justify an absence from Rome. Suetonius does not imply any distrust between the two, however, and modern historians are of the opinion that Tiberius was attempting to let starvation and in-fighting do most of his work for him.

Either way, Augustus obviously lost faith in Tiberius and Messala's ability to conclude the war by themselves, and was undoubtedly also disturbed by current events in Moesia. He recruited an enormous army for Germanicus, who was then sent to Illyria to continue the war. Germanicus' army was unique because it was formed largely by ad hoc units of freedmen and slaves; most of the free citizens in his ranks had been drafted against their will.

No draft had been imposed on Rome or Ostia themselves since the Second Punic War. Likewise, the recruitment of slave and freedmen into a Roman army was a last-ditch effort in any attempt to gather manpower. These facts are very powerful testimonies to just how ugly and costly the war in Illyria was becoming.

In the meantime, the rebels grew increasingly arrogant. Over the winter of 6-7 AD, they invaded Makedonia, pillaging and burning their way across the previously quiet province. Again they were defeated by Thracians, this time by an army under the joint command of Rhoemetalkes and his brother Rhaskyporis. The defeat was a reverse, and limited the rebel's influence to their home provinces, but it did nothing to cripple the movement, or the resolve of the Illyrian warriors.

Roma Victrix

Germanicus arrived in Illyria early in 7 AD. With his arrival, Rome had an army consisting of ten legions (most of them understrength), seventy indepedent cohorts (most of them auxiliary grade), ten cavalry wings, and a force of some ten-thousand veterans who had volunteered to help put down the revolt. Added to this was a contingent of the Romano-Thracian army, providing a grand total of around 100,000 fighting men.

To put down the insurrection of a couple of barbarian chieftains, Rome was commiting somewhere between a third and a quarter of her total manpower. In terms of numbers and logistics, the Illyrian Revolt was one of the most epic wars of Roman history.

The War itself, was hardly "epic" by any definition of that word. The Illyrians tended to run from a pitched battle, particularly as their ranks were thinned by sickness, famine, and desertion as the War drug on. They were masters of guerilla warfare, however. They established hideouts in woodlands or in marshes, or on fortified hills similar to the "hillforts" of Celtic Britain. From these, they conducted raids in a fashion that would be labelled "terrorism" in the 21st Century. Several thousands of Roman soldiers were brought down by unarmored opponents armed only with slings and javelins. Many never saw the man who killed them.

It is unfortunate that we know little of the last two years of the War. There was at least one pitched battle, in which Germanicus defeated some Illyrian tribes in a place Dio identifies as the "Volcaean Marshes", apparently in or near Moesia. After another battle in the summer of 8 AD, the Pannonian Bato and his Breuci submitted to Tiberius along the Bathinus River (modernly known as the Bosna). In reward for his treachery, Tiberius declared Bato the "King of the Breuci" and a friend of the Roman people.

The Pannonian Bato's triumph was not to last. His army was routed and he himself was captured by the Illyrian Bato. Brought before an assembly of Daisitiatian warriors, the Breucian Bato was branded a traitor to the cause and put to death on the spot. This was at some point in the summer or fall of 8 AD.

The removal of this Pannonian rebel-turned client king did nothing for Rome's cause. All the tribes of Pannonia awoke with bloody-minded ferocity, apparently directed at the Romans and at the Daisitiatae alike. An ex-consul and military commander, Marcus Plautius Silvanus, was dispatched from Rome to put down the Pannonians while Tiberius and Germanicus continued to focus on the sole remaining Bato and his following.

Silvanus utterly crushed the Breuci in a pitched battle, and accepted the submission of the rest of Pannonia, sufficiently cowed by the ferocity with which he dealt with their countrymen. In the meantime, the revolt in Illyria-Dalmatia was withering away. Bato's followers had been decimated by outbreaks of plague as well as consistent shortages on food. Roman soldiers were now roaming across most of the country, killing and plundering indiscriminately. Many Illyrians deserted Bato, more concerned about rescuing their loved ones than keeping with the fight.

Tiberius and Germanicus spent most of 9 AD sieging and capturing hillforts along the Adriatic coast. Finally, in late August or early September they caught Bato himself in his current hideout, the hillfort of Andetrium. The defenders of Andetrium fought with desperate courage, rolling wagons and carts full of rocks down the hill - into the ranks of Roman attackers. The legionaries also found themselves under constant barrages of slingstones, arrows, and javelins, many of which were on fire.

Tiberius secured the victory when he had his men march up the hill from several angles at once. Not enough Illyrians were in the fort the repel all these assaults simultaneously. Andetrium fell, and Bato and his last diehards fell into the hands of their hated Roman foes. Several days after this crushing victory, Tiberius and Germanicus received word from the Rhine frontier, concerning Varus and his three legions...

The Roman people were shaken by these events. For several years now they had lived in fear of Bato and his rebels, the possibility of an Illyrian invasion of Italy lingered in the air, and in everyone's thoughts. It had been a war so bloody and so desperate, so costly in Roman lives that slaves and old men had been drafted to play the part of legionaries.

The victory was bittersweet. Most of Rome's population was mourning someone, father or son, husband or lover. The nominal conclusion of the Illyrian War, however, came with news of the destruction of Varus' column in the Teutoberg Forest, claiming the better part of 20,000 lives. In the frenzied panic that followed, the populace of Rome turned on German immigrants and butchered them by the hundreds; Augustus ordered the survivors, including his own Germanic Guard, to vacate the city for their own protection.

Rome was only a generation past a century of civil war. Under the Augustan Peace, Roman did not draw sword against fellow Roman. But the threat of barbarians on the frontiers, or even of the proverbial Hannibal ad portas, remained ever present. Germans, Illyrians, Pannonians, Dacians, and Sarmatians had all attacked the Empire almost simultaneously, and periously close to Italy. Ancient historians were of the belief that if Bato had been able to hold out for at least a few more months, he and Arminius would have formed a grand alliance against Rome - the consequences of which could have been explosive.

Rome's might and dignity and pride would recover over the course of the next few years. But Illyria's would not. The province of Illyricum was divided in two - Pannonia in the north, Dalmatia in the south. Most of the tribes had lost virtually the entirety of their menfolk. Many of the widows and orphans did not weep in charred ruins of their homes and hillforts - but in cages and slave markets. The Illyrian tribes had once grown rich off of the Mediterranean slave trade. Now they lost thousands of their sons and daughters to it.

The Roman armies in Illyria had acted with almost unparalleled brutality towards the native populations. Pannonia was hit especially hard under Plautius Silvanus, a ruthless commander who appears to have enjoyed destruction and bloodshed for its own sake. The Roman soldiers suffered from lack of rations and miserable living conditions in Illyria, and many of them were not soldiers by choice; they took their misery out on the enemy, and the enemy's womenfolk. The result was a tragic scenario that has played itself out countless thousands of times in human history.

The Illyrian peoples themselves survived this unofficial genocide. Ironically, by the 3rd Century AD Pannonia and Dalmatia were the main recruiting grounds for the Roman army, not only the auxilia but also the legions. Most of the emperors of the late 3rd and early 4th Centuries were from this region. The western Balkans were also home to many famous Christian leaders and martyrs, some of whom bore native Illyrian rather than Latin names.

Bato of the Daesitiates lived long enough to watch the beginning of the Romanization of his people. When he was captured at Andetrium in the first week of September of 9 AD, he was interviewed by Tiberius, who asked him what his motivation for revolt was. Bato, the leader of a race of warrior-shepherds, gave a response befitting his origins and culture: "You Romans are the ones to blame for this - you send not dogs or shepherds, but wolves to guard your flocks."

Rather surprisingly considering the amount of heartache he had caused, Bato was spared and sent into comfortable exile. He lived out the rest of his days in a villa in Ravenna. Undoubtedly he listened to the dramatic events of the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius with cynical amusement, but spent his nights wistfully dreaming of the homeland he had tried - and failed - to liberate.

**SPERRO** · March 31st, 2011, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salah ad-Din

9 AD

In September of 9 AD, three Roman legions under the command of Quinctilius Varus were destroyed in the Teutoberg Wald of Germania, in a revolt organized by the renegade auxiliary commander Arminius. This has become one of the most celebrated battles of antiquity, thanks in part to the painstaking efforts of German archaeologists in this past century.

The loss of three legions - as many as 15,000 men - was a painful blow to Rome under any circumstances. But we can scarce understand the intensity of this blow, without examining the Teutoberg massacre in the context of its times.

Arminius was not the only rebellious auxiliary of his day. Nor was he the only one that inflicted great losses on Rome's Imperial power. Far more dangerous to the average Roman was the revolt in Illyria and Pannonia that was only quelled a few days before Arminius' infamous treachery was made known.

The Illyrians

The Illyrian and Pannonian tribes inhabited most of what was recently known as Yugoslavia. In culture they appear to have been mostly closely related to the Thracians, but there was significant Celtic and Makedonian influence on their language, culture, and military traits. The Pannonians in particular were heavily Celticized; they were also neighbors to the Dacian tribes.

A spirited people, the Illyrians were depicted by the Romans and Greeks as being greedy, argumentative, and brave but cunning warriors. Overall they were viewed as the stereotypical "barbarians", though they appear to have been more capable of subtley than their Celtic and Dacian neighbors. In their own artwork they are depicted as being clean-shaven with long hair, shoulder-length or more. Their clothing and armor was predominately Greek in style, though they adopted the Celtic thureos shield.

The Illyrians were predominately shepherds, hunters, and warriors by profession. Their "national pasttime" however, was maritime piracy, particularly along the Italian coasts. The Roman Republic fought no less than three wars to reduce Illyrian piracy. With the conclusion of the last of these wars in 168 BC, Illyria effectively fell under Roman domination, and quietly remained so for the better part of two centuries.

The Great Revolt, 6 - 9 AD

Cassius Dio is our best source for the Illyrian Revolt against Rome; a century before his time, the Imperial biographer Suetonius called the Revolt Rome's worst war since the Second Punic War. Rome's manpower was depleted vastly during three years of miserable, bloody warfare across the western Balkans, and the seeds were sown for military mutinies and provincial revolts that would still take place for at least a decade afterwards. It could be considered unbalanced, that the Illyrian Revolt is virtually unknown even amongst history enthusiasts, while contemporary events in Germania are reasonably well-known even amongst the general public.

The revolt began early in the year 6 AD. Dio tells us that the Illyrian and Pannonian tribes - jointly incorporated into a province termed Illyricum - were already restless and agitated at this time, apparently at the excesses of Roman tax collectors. The straw that broke the camel's back did not come until this year, however.

Tiberius, Emperor Augustus' stepson, was already a seasoned military man. He had participated in Augustus' only major war of conquest - the subjugation of the Cantabri and Astures in Portugal. More recently, he had put down revolts in the Alps and brought Rhaetia and Noricum firmly into the Roman Empire. Now, his stepfather was dispatching him to Germania.

Tiberius levied some thousands of young men in Illyria to join his campaign. There is virtually no evidence for any significant Romanization in Illyria up to this point in history; there were very few, if any Roman citizens amongst the natives. The Illyrians did not see Augustus as their liege, but as a foreign tyrant demanding tribute. Serving in his army was not their duty or their privilege, but part of this tribute.

A tribe living in central Bosnia, the Daesitiates, amassed all their young men to form an auxiliary cohort. But when they saw just how many young warriors they had, and how well-built and energetic they were, the Daesitiates began to lose respect for Rome and her demands. A warrior coming from a noble house, Bato, rose up and inspired his countrymen with speeches about freedom from Rome. The seeds of rebellion, which had already been planted, suddenly sprouted.

The Daesitiates were one of the most numerous tribes of Illyria. They were also the most battle-hardened of the Illyrians; their neighbors were the Scordisci. The Scordisci were a particularly belligerent Celtic tribe that had invaded Pannonia in the 3rd Century BC, and had remained in the region ever since. They spent their time raiding Dacian and Pannonian settlements for livestock and slaves, but they were capable of fielding warbands that could even bloody the noses of Roman commanders. Though history tells us little about them, the Daesitiates must have been a very strong and embittered people, having not only survived but grown to prominence whilst living so close to such aggressive neighbors.

The Daesitiates were not alone in their insurrection. They were joined immediately by the Pannonian Breuci, under the command of another chieftain named Bato. The Illyrian Bato besieged Salona, while the Pannonian Bato attacked Sirmium. Neither of the rebels acheived anything in these initial attacks; Aulus Caecina Severus, governor of Moesia, relieved the siege of Sirmium while the Illyrian Bato was crippled by a stone thrown from the walls of Salona. Despite these early reverses, the revolts were widespread and popular; the Illyrian Bato ravaged Roman settlements on the Adriatic coast as far south as Apollonia, and defeated a Roman army sent against him.

Thousands of young warriors flocked to the banners of these rebel leaders; some brought Celtic weapons, others Roman war-gear, and still others the simple staff-slings and clubs of shepherds. Their ranks were stiffened by veterans who had already served in the ranks of the Roman auxilia. These rebel armies formed a dangerous and potent combination - fearless experts in guerilla warfare, who understood Roman tactics and were equipped with Roman weapons.

Tiberius had brought Marcus Valerius Messala Messalinus, the governor of Illyricum, along with him to Germania, along with most of the legionary garrison of the province. This had made the revolt possible in the first place. Tiberius first sent Messala ahead into Illyria to put down the revolt, but on orders from Augustus he abandoned the Germanic campaign himself. What followed was one Roman embarassment after another.

So large and aggressive and arrogant were these rebel armies, Augustus and Tiberius allegedly feared that one or both of the Batos was planning an invasion of Italy. Quite likely, both hordes were perfectly content to unleash their frustration on Roman immigrants and local pro-Roman tribes. Either way, when Messala marched against the Illyrian Bato at some point late in 6 AD, he was defeated by an army nearly matching his in armament and organization, and far superior in spirit and morale. Cassius Dio claims that Messala shortly afterwards avenged this defeat by butchering many Illyrians in an ambush.

Dismayed at this defeat, Bato held a meeting with the Pannonian Bato and agreed to an alliance. The joint rebel armies established their headquarters at Mons Alma in Pannonia, close to Sirmium. Here, however, they came under attack not from Romans - but from a Roman client king. Rhoemetalkes was the Roman client king of Thrace at this time; he commanded a cavalry-strong army that had been trained and armed by Roman officers. The Thracians succeeded in defeating the Illyrian and Pannonian rebels, but Caecina Severus' subsequent attempt to follow up this victory was unsuccessful.

Caecina withdrew when he received word that Sarmatian and Dacian warbands were raiding Moesia. He now had a deadly war to fight on his own turf; Illyria and Pannonia he left to Tiberius and Messala, who had established their headquarters at Siscia. Tiberius was apparently inactive, though we are not told for how long. Dio claims that Augustus thought that Tiberius was deliberately drawing the war out, to justify an absence from Rome. Suetonius does not imply any distrust between the two, however, and modern historians are of the opinion that Tiberius was attempting to let starvation and in-fighting do most of his work for him.

Either way, Augustus obviously lost faith in Tiberius and Messala's ability to conclude the war by themselves, and was undoubtedly also disturbed by current events in Moesia. He recruited an enormous army for Germanicus, who was then sent to Illyria to continue the war. Germanicus' army was unique because it was formed largely by ad hoc units of freedmen and slaves; most of the free citizens in his ranks had been drafted against their will.

No draft had been imposed on Rome or Ostia themselves since the Second Punic War. Likewise, the recruitment of slave and freedmen into a Roman army was a last-ditch effort in any attempt to gather manpower. These facts are very powerful testimonies to just how ugly and costly the war in Illyria was becoming.

In the meantime, the rebels grew increasingly arrogant. Over the winter of 6-7 AD, they invaded Makedonia, pillaging and burning their way across the previously quiet province. Again they were defeated by Thracians, this time by an army under the joint command of Rhoemetalkes and his brother Rhaskyporis. The defeat was a reverse, and limited the rebel's influence to their home provinces, but it did nothing to cripple the movement, or the resolve of the Illyrian warriors.

Roma Victrix

Germanicus arrived in Illyria early in 7 AD. With his arrival, Rome had an army consisting of ten legions (most of them understrength), seventy indepedent cohorts (most of them auxiliary grade), ten cavalry wings, and a force of some ten-thousand veterans who had volunteered to help put down the revolt. Added to this was a contingent of the Romano-Thracian army, providing a grand total of around 100,000 fighting men.

To put down the insurrection of a couple of barbarian chieftains, Rome was commiting somewhere between a third and a quarter of her total manpower. In terms of numbers and logistics, the Illyrian Revolt was one of the most epic wars of Roman history.

The War itself, was hardly "epic" by any definition of that word. The Illyrians tended to run from a pitched battle, particularly as their ranks were thinned by sickness, famine, and desertion as the War drug on. They were masters of guerilla warfare, however. They established hideouts in woodlands or in marshes, or on fortified hills similar to the "hillforts" of Celtic Britain. From these, they conducted raids in a fashion that would be labelled "terrorism" in the 21st Century. Several thousands of Roman soldiers were brought down by unarmored opponents armed only with slings and javelins. Many never saw the man who killed them.

It is unfortunate that we know little of the last two years of the War. There was at least one pitched battle, in which Germanicus defeated some Illyrian tribes in a place Dio identifies as the "Volcaean Marshes", apparently in or near Moesia. After another battle in the summer of 8 AD, the Pannonian Bato and his Breuci submitted to Tiberius along the Bathinus River (modernly known as the Bosna). In reward for his treachery, Tiberius declared Bato the "King of the Breuci" and a friend of the Roman people.

The Pannonian Bato's triumph was not to last. His army was routed and he himself was captured by the Illyrian Bato. Brought before an assembly of Daisitiatian warriors, the Breucian Bato was branded a traitor to the cause and put to death on the spot. This was at some point in the summer or fall of 8 AD.

The removal of this Pannonian rebel-turned client king did nothing for Rome's cause. All the tribes of Pannonia awoke with bloody-minded ferocity, apparently directed at the Romans and at the Daisitiatae alike. An ex-consul and military commander, Marcus Plautius Silvanus, was dispatched from Rome to put down the Pannonians while Tiberius and Germanicus continued to focus on the sole remaining Bato and his following.

Silvanus utterly crushed the Breuci in a pitched battle, and accepted the submission of the rest of Pannonia, sufficiently cowed by the ferocity with which he dealt with their countrymen. In the meantime, the revolt in Illyria-Dalmatia was withering away. Bato's followers had been decimated by outbreaks of plague as well as consistent shortages on food. Roman soldiers were now roaming across most of the country, killing and plundering indiscriminately. Many Illyrians deserted Bato, more concerned about rescuing their loved ones than keeping with the fight.

Tiberius and Germanicus spent most of 9 AD sieging and capturing hillforts along the Adriatic coast. Finally, in late August or early September they caught Bato himself in his current hideout, the hillfort of Andetrium. The defenders of Andetrium fought with desperate courage, rolling wagons and carts full of rocks down the hill - into the ranks of Roman attackers. The legionaries also found themselves under constant barrages of slingstones, arrows, and javelins, many of which were on fire.

Tiberius secured the victory when he had his men march up the hill from several angles at once. Not enough Illyrians were in the fort the repel all these assaults simultaneously. Andetrium fell, and Bato and his last diehards fell into the hands of their hated Roman foes. Several days after this crushing victory, Tiberius and Germanicus received word from the Rhine frontier, concerning Varus and his three legions...

The Roman people were shaken by these events. For several years now they had lived in fear of Bato and his rebels, the possibility of an Illyrian invasion of Italy lingered in the air, and in everyone's thoughts. It had been a war so bloody and so desperate, so costly in Roman lives that slaves and old men had been drafted to play the part of legionaries.

The victory was bittersweet. Most of Rome's population was mourning someone, father or son, husband or lover. The nominal conclusion of the Illyrian War, however, came with news of the destruction of Varus' column in the Teutoberg Forest, claiming the better part of 20,000 lives. In the frenzied panic that followed, the populace of Rome turned on German immigrants and butchered them by the hundreds; Augustus ordered the survivors, including his own Germanic Guard, to vacate the city for their own protection.

Rome was only a generation past a century of civil war. Under the Augustan Peace, Roman did not draw sword against fellow Roman. But the threat of barbarians on the frontiers, or even of the proverbial Hannibal ad portas, remained ever present. Germans, Illyrians, Pannonians, Dacians, and Sarmatians had all attacked the Empire almost simultaneously, and periously close to Italy. Ancient historians were of the belief that if Bato had been able to hold out for at least a few more months, he and Arminius would have formed a grand alliance against Rome - the consequences of which could have been explosive.

Rome's might and dignity and pride would recover over the course of the next few years. But Illyria's would not. The province of Illyricum was divided in two - Pannonia in the north, Dalmatia in the south. Most of the tribes had lost virtually the entirety of their menfolk. Many of the widows and orphans did not weep in charred ruins of their homes and hillforts - but in cages and slave markets. The Illyrian tribes had once grown rich off of the Mediterranean slave trade. Now they lost thousands of their sons and daughters to it.

The Roman armies in Illyria had acted with almost unparalleled brutality towards the native populations. Pannonia was hit especially hard under Plautius Silvanus, a ruthless commander who appears to have enjoyed destruction and bloodshed for its own sake. The Roman soldiers suffered from lack of rations and miserable living conditions in Illyria, and many of them were not soldiers by choice; they took their misery out on the enemy, and the enemy's womenfolk. The result was a tragic scenario that has played itself out countless thousands of times in human history.

The Illyrian peoples themselves survived this unofficial genocide. Ironically, by the 3rd Century AD Pannonia and Dalmatia were the main recruiting grounds for the Roman army, not only the auxilia but also the legions. Most of the emperors of the late 3rd and early 4th Centuries were from this region. The western Balkans were also home to many famous Christian leaders and martyrs, some of whom bore native Illyrian rather than Latin names.

Bato of the Daesitiates lived long enough to watch the beginning of the Romanization of his people. When he was captured at Andetrium in the first week of September of 9 AD, he was interviewed by Tiberius, who asked him what his motivation for revolt was. Bato, the leader of a race of warrior-shepherds, gave a response befitting his origins and culture: "You Romans are the ones to blame for this - you send not dogs or shepherds, but wolves to guard your flocks."

Rather surprisingly considering the amount of heartache he had caused, Bato was spared and sent into comfortable exile. He lived out the rest of his days in a villa in Ravenna. Undoubtedly he listened to the dramatic events of the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius with cynical amusement, but spent his nights wistfully dreaming of the homeland he had tried - and failed - to liberate.

Excellent post.

JC

**Salah** · March 31st, 2011, 03:00 PM

Glad you enjoyed

**okamido** · March 31st, 2011, 03:07 PM

Is there a specific book I can get on this Salah? You provided some really could info and you know me, anything Germanicus..I'm there.

**Salah** · March 31st, 2011, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by okamido

Is there a specific book I can get on this Salah? You provided some really could info and you know me, anything Germanicus..I'm there.

Do you have a copy of Cassius Dio's Roman history? This was my primary source:

Amazon.com: The Roman History: The Reign of Augustus (Penguin Classics) (9780140444483): Cassius Dio, Ian Scott-Kilvert, John Carter: Books

This book also has a color reconstruction of a gang of legionaries hunting down recruits in Ostia, towards the end of the Revolt:

Amazon.com: Roman Legionary 58 BC-AD 69 (9781841766003): Ross Cowan, Angus McBride: Books

Gotta love Angus McBride!

**okamido** · March 31st, 2011, 03:36 PM

That Roman Legionary book has been on my wishlist for about 2 years now, but I have to get the new Bronze Age Warrior first.

Amazon.com: Bronze Age Greek Warrior 1600-1100 BC (9781849081955): Raffaele D'Amato, Andrea Salimbeti, Giuseppe Rava: Books

I do have Dio on my kindle, but I have never read through from start to finish. Thanks mate.

**Salah** · March 31st, 2011, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by okamido

That Roman Legionary book has been on my wishlist for about 2 years now, but I have to get the new Bronze Age Warrior first.

I do have Dio on my kindle, but I have never read through from start to finish. Thanks mate.

Osprey books make light (and sometimes not perfectly accurate) reading, but some of their newer releases on Roman topics are solid GOLD!

Ross Cowan's other book, Imperial Roman Legionary AD 161-284, was the first Osprey book I ever bought (about five years ago) and is almost single-handedly responsible for my fascination with the wars of the 2nd and 3rd Centuries. I highly recommend both of them for you!

Dio is my favorite Roman historian. I find him more readable than Tacitus (and probably a little more reliable), plus he covers the Antonine and Severan eras that I prefer.

Casual flipping through a copy of his works while on an unofficial break at work last night inspired this thread

Arkkataka · March 31st, 2011, 03:42 PM

Very interesting!! I never would have guessed a seemingly small revolt to be in reality so huge, I might want to check out the book on the Roman Military as I have a vast interest in how it works

**okamido** · March 31st, 2011, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salah ad-Din

Ross Cowan's other book, Imperial Roman Legionary AD 161-284, was the first Osprey book I ever bought (about five years ago) and is almost single-handedly responsible for my fascination with the wars of the 2nd and 3rd Centuries. I highly recommend both of them for you!

I just added this one as well.