Battle of Philippi
As you know, Caesar was killed in mid-March 44 BC. e. At this time, he was preparing for a war with Parthia, which, perhaps, would have been very difficult, and no one promised victory to Caesar. Mark Antony later did not achieve success in the war against Parthia.
According to the prediction of the Sibylline Books, only the king could defeat the Parthians, and on this basis Caesar demanded that the Senate endow him with the appropriate title. According to Plutarch and Appian, the senators were inclined to a compromise option: the title of king was assigned to Caesar in relation to the provinces and allied states, but in relation to Italy and Rome, he remained emperor and dictator. Nevertheless, rumors circulated among the republican milieu that Caesar, after his victory in Parthia, would proclaim himself king in Rome as well.
Gaius Cassius Longinus and Mark Junius Brutus stood at the head of the conspiracy, who were in the army of Pompey at the battle of Pharsalus (August 9, 48 BC), but received Caesar's forgiveness. However, it turned out that not all Romans were satisfied with the old republic with the always squabbling parties in the Senate. Many were quite satisfied with Caesar as a lifelong dictator. Moreover, according to Plutarch, his sole power
And when Caesar's will was announced, in which he ordered that each plebeian be given 300 sesterces, the conspirators in Rome became completely uncomfortable.
As a result, after the funeral of Caesar, the Republicans were forced to actually flee Rome. Brutus and Cassius went to the eastern provinces, where they began to prepare for war.
Triumvirate
The official heir of Caesar was his grand-nephew Gaius Octavian, adopted by him.
Octavian Augustus, Paris, Louvre
Another leader of the Caesarian party was Mark Antony, who enjoyed great prestige among the troops. Plutarch writes about this:
Marc Anthony, bust, museum Montemartini, Rome
However, this commander also had enemies, which can also be read about in Plutarch:
And Flor wrote about the role of Antony:
Octavian and Mark Antony, to put it mildly, did not like each other very much. Suffice it to say that Antony did not give Octavian 100 million sesterces, which he took from Caesar's widow, and in order to fulfill the clauses of the will of the murdered dictator, he had to sell the property of his mother and stepfather.
And then in Italy the Mutinskaya war of all against all began, and only the news that Brutus and Cassius had gathered 20 legions in the East forced the parties to seek a compromise. Through another prominent Caesarian - Mark Aemilius Lepidus (at that time - the proconsul of Near Spain and Narbonne Gaul, an ally of Antony in the Mutinskaya war) in 43 BC. e. Octavian and Antony reconciled. Antony, Lepidus and Octavian entered into an alliance for a period of 5 years, called the "triumvirate".
Then this word itself appeared: we remember that the union of Caesar, Pompey and Crassus was called by contemporaries “partnership” (societas) or “secret agreement”, “conspiracy” (conspiratio). Mark Antony then played the leading role, since Lepidus clearly lost to him in popularity among the people and in the army, and Octavian was still too young.
The triumvirs arrogated to themselves dictatorial powers, having the right to legislate and enforce them. First of all, they began to settle scores with their political opponents, whose names were entered on proscription lists. Many prominent senators were killed or executed, and at the same time - wealthy citizens, financiers, tax-farmers, whose fortune was confiscated.
Among other things, the agreement between the triumvirs provided for an “exchange of victims”: Lepidus handed over his brother Paul for reprisal, Mark Antony sacrificed Lucius Caesar, his maternal uncle, Octavian allowed Cicero to be killed, whose head Antony then allegedly put on the table in feast time.
Pavel Svedomsky, "Fulvia (wife of Mark Antony) with the head of Cicero", Russian Museum
Octavian later said of Cicero:
But let's get back to the confrontation between the triumvirs and the republicans.
Mark Antony and Octavian went to war with Cassius and Brutus. Lepidus remained to govern Italy and Rome.
Cassius and Brutus
Not everyone knows that it was these leaders of the conspirators and murderers of Caesar that Dante in his Divine Comedy placed in the 9th circle of hell - on a par with Judas Iscariot. All three here, according to the poet, are forever tormented by the mouths of the three-headed beast - Satan.
Lucifer eating Judas Iscariot. Bernardino Stagnino, Italy, 1512
Gaius Longinus Cassius was an experienced military leader. As a quaestor, he took part in the unfortunate campaign of Crassus against Parthia and managed to return with 500 horsemen to Carrhae, and then to Syria. He later defeated the Parthians at the Battle of Antigony.
Mark Junius Brutus was not a military man, but a politician. However, he preferred science and philosophy to politics. As you remember, Caesar treated Brutus extremely well, some even call Brutus his son. On the eve of the battle of Pharsalus, Caesar ordered that Brutus be brought to him alive if he surrendered, and released if he resisted.
Sculptural portrait of Brutus. Museo nazionale romano di Palazzo Massimo
Leaving Rome shortly after Caesar's funeral, Cassius and Brutus went to the provinces, which they were appointed to manage by the dictator they had killed: Brutus to Macedonia, Cassius to Syria. It was in these provinces that the troops intended for Caesar's campaign against Parthia gathered. In Athens, the conspirators were given an enthusiastic welcome by the children of Roman aristocrats studying here, including the son of the murdered Mark Tullius Cicero.
The beginning of confrontation
Mark Antony in June 44 B.C. e. achieved a redistribution of the provinces: Macedonia now went to his brother Guy, Syria - Publius Cornelius Dolabella. Brutus was invited to go to Crete, Cassia - to Cyrenaica. Brutus and Cassius refused to recognize this decision, especially since it was canceled at the end of December 44 BC. e. I had to fight. Guy Anthony, who entered into a confrontation with Brutus, was defeated and in March 43 BC. e. surrendered at the besieged Apollonia. He was eventually executed for attempting to mutiny the soldiers.
Cassius also managed to establish himself in Syria. Dolabella committed suicide in the besieged Laodicea, his soldiers went over to the side of Cassius.
As a result, by 43 BC. e. Brutus and Cassius took control of most of the eastern provinces. Their army consisted of 20 legions, five of which (XXVII, XXXVI, XXXVII, XXXI and XXXIII) were formerly part of Caesar's army. Plutarch claims that
It turns out that these units waged a guerrilla war for 5 years that have passed since the Battle of Pharsal.
Octavian at that time fought near Sicily against Sextus Pompey, but was forced to stop hostilities and go to Brundisium, where in early September 42 BC. e. his troops joined the army of Mark Antony. The Republican fleet Station Murka, reinforced by the ships of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus sent by Cassius, could not prevent the crossing of these troops to Illyria, but subsequently acted effectively, preventing the supply of the armies of Antony and Octavian.
First Battle of Philippi
So, the triumvirs were able to transport 20 legions (about 110 thousand people) and up to 13 thousand horsemen to Illyria. The forces of the opponents were approximately equal. The armies of the triumvirs and the republicans met at the end of September at Philip. The troops of Brutus and Cassius took advantageous positions on the hills on the sides of the Via Egnatium: Brutus stood on the right flank, Cassius on the left.
The distance between their camps was about one and a half kilometers. Behind was the sea, which was dominated by the fleet of Tillius Cimvri, bringing in the necessary supplies. The triumvirs positioned their troops on the plain in such a way that Mark Antony was opposed to Cassius, and Octavian was opposed to Brutus. Cassius wisely suggested waiting, as the Caesarean armies were ill-supplied and the soldiers were already beginning to starve. Anthony's attempts to provoke an open battle were unsuccessful, and then he decided to cut off the enemy armies from the sea and go to their rear.
For ten days, his soldiers secretly paved the way through the swamp, which came as an unpleasant surprise to Cassius. He ordered to block this road with a wall, and on October 3, 42 BC. e. his troops clashed here with the army of Antony. An impromptu battle ensued, but at the same time, several of Antony's legions attacked the camp of Cassius, in which there were almost no troops left. Seeing their camp captured, Cassius' soldiers retreated.
Meanwhile, at the sight of the battle that unfolded on the flank of Cassius, Brutus ordered his troops to attack Octavian's positions - and achieved no less success than Antony: his soldiers broke into the camp and nearly captured Octavian, capturing even the personal stretcher of this triumvir. The losses of the Caesarians were twice those of the Republicans. Moreover, Brutus sent part of his cavalry to help the defeated army of Cassius, but his allies mistook this detachment for the enemy, which increased the panic.
Thus, the first battle of Philippi ended in a draw, and nothing has yet been decided.
It is said that Cassius, not knowing what was happening on the opposite flank, fell into despair and committed suicide. However, many modern researchers do not agree with this, who believe that this experienced and experienced commander could hardly succumb to emotions and become so discouraged. Perhaps he was killed during a fight in the camp.
They say that on the eve of this battle, Brutus, waking up, saw a huge ghost, who called himself his evil genius, who declared that he would see him a second time at Philippi. Brutus answered with one word: "I will see."
As we can see, the ghost in this case "wrong address": he should have come not to Brutus, but to Cassius.
Second Battle of Philippi
The next time Brutus decided to join the battle was three weeks later - on October 23rd. This battle was also very fierce, and the right flank of the republican army, led by Brutus, again managed to push the enemy. On the other flank, however, Antony's legions again overturned the troops formerly commanded by Cassius and put them to flight. The soldiers fled - some to the mountains, some to the sea, until dark they were pursued by the horsemen of the Caesarians.
Brutus managed to muster about four incomplete legions. A trusted person sent to assess the situation accidentally died on the way. Without waiting for him, Brutus was convinced of the complete defeat and catastrophic defeat. It is said that Brutus nevertheless made another attempt to rectify the situation, but when he asked the soldiers remaining with him if they were ready to go on a counterattack and recapture their camp, they replied that they had done enough for him, and now everyone should take care of yourself.
Brutus was told to run away, to which he replied:
According to one version, he threw himself on his sword, according to another, he asked one of his friends to kill him.
Death of Brutus. Illustration for Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, 1802, British Museum
The remnants of his troops surrendered to Antony and Octavian in the morning.
In addition to Brutus and Cassius, many leaders of the Republican Party died or committed suicide in this battle. Among the dead were Sextus Quintilius Varus (father of the commander who was defeated in the Teutoburg Forest), Livy Drusus (father of Octavian's future wife), Antistius Labeo (his son became the actual founder of the science of jurisprudence), the only sons of Cato the Younger, Lucullus and the famous orator Hortensius.
Some well-known republicans were executed, and Octavian then showed particular bloodthirstiness. Ordinary soldiers (about 14 thousand people) went to the service of the triumvirs. This victory glorified Mark Antony, whom everyone in Rome began to consider the most outstanding of the living generals and the true heir of Caesar, he was predicted to be a dictator. However, as we know, he later agreed to the division of the lands, choosing for himself the rich eastern provinces, as well as Spain and Gaul. Lepidus received Africa, Octavian - Italy. With a total of 38 legions in his provinces, Antony could easily deal with the other triumvirs, but missed the moment.
Having lost their leaders, the Republican Party of Rome practically ceased to exist. Sextus Pompey also continued to fight, but he fought for himself, and not for republican ideas. And then the former allies, Mark Antony and Octavian, entered the war. But this has already been discussed in the article. "Last of the Ptolemies". Only after the death of Anthony Rome forgot about civil wars for 50 years of the so-called August peace.
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