1-Acest articol este copiat !
2-Istoria ramane pasiunea mea nr 1
“It should be clear to the world that the arms of Rome do not carry slavery to the free, but on the contrary carry freedom to the enslaved.”Fleeing from the battlefield with his cavalry, Perseus and his men were jeered by infantrymen for their cowardice, and they attempted to unhorse them. The king left the path with a few trusted men, hiding beneath his cloak and carrying, rather than wearing, the royal diadem. One by one his companions fell behind and deserted him, fearing his cruelty, and when he arrived at Pella he executed a number of palace treasurers following bold remarks about his defeat. Shunned by his friends and fearing a plot, he hired a number of Cretan mercenaries to act as his bodyguards. Continuing his flight, he arrived at Amphipolis three days after the battle, to much hostility from the citizens who expected Roman reprisals for sheltering him, forcing him to continue to Galespus the next day. Paullus sent emissaries to Rome to declare his victory, and moved through Macedon accepting the surrender of numerous cities.Perseus reached Galespus and suggested some of the Cretans had stolen the gold plate of Alexander and urged them to return it for payment, but paid them less than its worth when they did. He then sailed to the island of Samothrace to seek sanctuary at a temple, dispatching ambassadors to the Romans. News of the defeat at Pydna was slow to travel, and some cities launched sorties against arriving Roman legions as they approached. There was no easy and fast way to communicate news at such a time, nor a trustworthy way of doing it, so cities would have been unaware for some time after the battle as news trickled in. The Romans would be keen to spread the news swiftly to expediate Macedonian capitulation, though the cities would need to hear it from their own to know it was true.Perseus’ ambassadors reach Paullus with letters and requests that were “anything but kingly”. A further ambassador begged for an urgent audience, though nothing came of an initial meeting. While Perseus clung desperately to his royal title, Paullus was convinced that he should put himself entirely at the mercy of Rome. The Roman fleet arrived and blockaded Samothrace, though did not pursue Perseus out of respect for the sanctuary. A Roman ambassador was allowed to speak to the islanders, and he accused the leader of the Cretan mercenaries, Euander, of attempting to murder King Eumenes II of Pergamon while at the sanctuary of Delphi, and called for his trial. When Euander tried to escape, Perseus killed him so he was not thought to be aiding him. He then realised he would be accused of murder within the sanctuary, and bribed the island leader to say Euander had committed suicide. This only served to embitter the islanders toward him though, and his plans for escape resumed. He hired a ship and, at sunset, had all the money he could carry secretly placed within the hold. At midnight he climbed a wall to reach the shore, only to find the ship had left with his money. When Perseus again hid in the temple, the Romans announced that if the island declared for them and denounced Perseus, they would be granted impunity and freedom. With all except his eldest son Phillip abandoning him, finally Perseus surrendered to Rome.Perseus, together with the Illyrian King Gentius, were taken as prisoners to Rome. Paullus was accused of not giving his soldiers their share of the booty, which threatened to derail his triumph, though eventually he succeeded. Perseus was led in chains through the streets of Rome for the triumph, before being sent to Alba Fucens, where he spent the rest of his life. Fabius Maximum, the son of Paullus, was sent to Macedon to ensure order and sack two cities which had revolted. Commissioners were sent to Rome and Illyria, and the Senate decreed that the people of the two lands should be freed, for: “It should be clear to the world that the arms of Rome do not carry slavery to the free, but on the contrary carry freedom to the enslaved.”Nevertheless, Rome assumed responsibility for the region’s mining operations, and took control of the leases of royal properties. This was out of fear that local tax collectors would seek only to line their only pockets – ironically, Roman tax collectors would become notoriously corrupt, and renowned for just that. The Macedonian Council was abolished, and the territory split into four republics, each of which was to pay a tribute to Rome, half of what they had paid to Perseus. Paullus gathered the leaders of the republics to announce their freedom, but also declared that inter-marriage was banned, gold and silver could not be mined, though copper and tin could, and that wood could not be imported for ship building. Everyone who had been in Perseus’ service was sent to Italy, with their children over 15. Rome also used this as an opportunity to support its advocates throughout Greece, propelling them to “an insupportable pitch of insolence”.The Roman troops in Illyria marched south to suppress a revolt in Epirus, with most of the cities surrendering. Of those cities which refused to yield, one overthrew its leadership and the others were besieged. Having quelled the rebellion, the Romans now sought their booty from those cities which had supported Perseus. It was arranged for 70 cities to bring gold and silver tribute out, while cohorts arrived under the ruse of removing Roman garrisons. The soldiers, arriving simultaneously in the coordinated attack, then thoroughly sacked the cities, tearing down the walls and enslaving some 150,000 Epirots, finally sating the legionaries’ greed who were dissatisfied at the booty from Macedon. With that final act of ruthlessness, Roman garrisons were largely withdrawn from Macedon, Greece and Illyria. For the next two decades the republic’s gaze shifted first west, subduing the tribes of Lusitania (Portugal) who had been so vicious in their support of Hannibal, and then to the north of Italy, punishing the Celts of Cisalpine Gaul who had also aided the Lion of Carthage. Peace would not last across the Adriatic though, and there was soon a claimant to the throne of Macedon, while further south the Greeks sought to rally against the Roman juggernaut, which they were emboldened to defy by demagogues’ tales of how their ancestors had expelled the Achaemenid Empire three centuries earlier.
“It should be clear to the world that the arms of Rome do not carry slavery to the free, but on the contrary carry freedom to the enslaved.”
Fleeing from the battlefield with his cavalry, Perseus and his men were jeered by infantrymen for their cowardice, and they attempted to unhorse them. The king left the path with a few trusted men, hiding beneath his cloak and carrying, rather than wearing, the royal diadem. One by one his companions fell behind and deserted him, fearing his cruelty, and when he arrived at Pella he executed a number of palace treasurers following bold remarks about his defeat. Shunned by his friends and fearing a plot, he hired a number of Cretan mercenaries to act as his bodyguards. Continuing his flight, he arrived at Amphipolis three days after the battle, to much hostility from the citizens who expected Roman reprisals for sheltering him, forcing him to continue to Galespus the next day. Paullus sent emissaries to Rome to declare his victory, and moved through Macedon accepting the surrender of numerous cities.
Perseus reached Galespus and suggested some of the Cretans had stolen the gold plate of Alexander and urged them to return it for payment, but paid them less than its worth when they did. He then sailed to the island of Samothrace to seek sanctuary at a temple, dispatching ambassadors to the Romans. News of the defeat at Pydna was slow to travel, and some cities launched sorties against arriving Roman legions as they approached. There was no easy and fast way to communicate news at such a time, nor a trustworthy way of doing it, so cities would have been unaware for some time after the battle as news trickled in. The Romans would be keen to spread the news swiftly to expediate Macedonian capitulation, though the cities would need to hear it from their own to know it was true.
Perseus’ ambassadors reach Paullus with letters and requests that were “anything but kingly”. A further ambassador begged for an urgent audience, though nothing came of an initial meeting. While Perseus clung desperately to his royal title, Paullus was convinced that he should put himself entirely at the mercy of Rome. The Roman fleet arrived and blockaded Samothrace, though did not pursue Perseus out of respect for the sanctuary. A Roman ambassador was allowed to speak to the islanders, and he accused the leader of the Cretan mercenaries, Euander, of attempting to murder King Eumenes II of Pergamon while at the sanctuary of Delphi, and called for his trial. When Euander tried to escape, Perseus killed him so he was not thought to be aiding him. He then realised he would be accused of murder within the sanctuary, and bribed the island leader to say Euander had committed suicide. This only served to embitter the islanders toward him though, and his plans for escape resumed. He hired a ship and, at sunset, had all the money he could carry secretly placed within the hold. At midnight he climbed a wall to reach the shore, only to find the ship had left with his money. When Perseus again hid in the temple, the Romans announced that if the island declared for them and denounced Perseus, they would be granted impunity and freedom. With all except his eldest son Phillip abandoning him, finally Perseus surrendered to Rome.
Perseus, together with the Illyrian King Gentius, were taken as prisoners to Rome. Paullus was accused of not giving his soldiers their share of the booty, which threatened to derail his triumph, though eventually he succeeded. Perseus was led in chains through the streets of Rome for the triumph, before being sent to Alba Fucens, where he spent the rest of his life. Fabius Maximum, the son of Paullus, was sent to Macedon to ensure order and sack two cities which had revolted. Commissioners were sent to Rome and Illyria, and the Senate decreed that the people of the two lands should be freed, for: “It should be clear to the world that the arms of Rome do not carry slavery to the free, but on the contrary carry freedom to the enslaved.”
Nevertheless, Rome assumed responsibility for the region’s mining operations, and took control of the leases of royal properties. This was out of fear that local tax collectors would seek only to line their only pockets – ironically, Roman tax collectors would become notoriously corrupt, and renowned for just that. The Macedonian Council was abolished, and the territory split into four republics, each of which was to pay a tribute to Rome, half of what they had paid to Perseus. Paullus gathered the leaders of the republics to announce their freedom, but also declared that inter-marriage was banned, gold and silver could not be mined, though copper and tin could, and that wood could not be imported for ship building. Everyone who had been in Perseus’ service was sent to Italy, with their children over 15. Rome also used this as an opportunity to support its advocates throughout Greece, propelling them to “an insupportable pitch of insolence”.
The Roman troops in Illyria marched south to suppress a revolt in Epirus, with most of the cities surrendering. Of those cities which refused to yield, one overthrew its leadership and the others were besieged. Having quelled the rebellion, the Romans now sought their booty from those cities which had supported Perseus. It was arranged for 70 cities to bring gold and silver tribute out, while cohorts arrived under the ruse of removing Roman garrisons. The soldiers, arriving simultaneously in the coordinated attack, then thoroughly sacked the cities, tearing down the walls and enslaving some 150,000 Epirots, finally sating the legionaries’ greed who were dissatisfied at the booty from Macedon. With that final act of ruthlessness, Roman garrisons were largely withdrawn from Macedon, Greece and Illyria. For the next two decades the republic’s gaze shifted first west, subduing the tribes of Lusitania (Portugal) who had been so vicious in their support of Hannibal, and then to the north of Italy, punishing the Celts of Cisalpine Gaul who had also aided the Lion of Carthage. Peace would not last across the Adriatic though, and there was soon a claimant to the throne of Macedon, while further south the Greeks sought to rally against the Roman juggernaut, which they were emboldened to defy by demagogues’ tales of how their ancestors had expelled the Achaemenid Empire three centuries earlier.
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