Enemies of Rome – Part II

In part two of this series, we take a look at more figures that proved to be troublesome to the Romans. Some brought about significant changes to this ancient civilization – whether that be a change to the governmental structure or an acceleration of its downfall. Here is the second part of our Enemies of Rome series:

Fritigern (also Fritigernus) was King of the Visigoths. A life shrouded in mystery due to the fact that we do not know when he was born, and we do not know when he died. The last mention of him in any sort of historical record is around AD 380-381.

He led his people into the Roman Empire after requesting refuge to the Roman Emperor Valens. This was due to the Gothic War between Fritigern and Athanaric. He was also leading his people away from the Hunnic invasion.

After being treated extremely poorly by corrupt, provincial Roman governors, Fritigern turned against the Romans.

Fritigern is most famous for his comprehensive victory against the Romans in the Battle of Adrianople (also referred to as the Battle of Hadrianopolis), which took place not far from the city itself in AD 378. He inflicted one of the worst defeats in Roman history, destroying two thirds of the Roman army and killing Eastern Roman Emperor, Valens, in the battle.

He later tried to take the city of Adrianople but was unable to do so due to a lack of siege engines.

However, the damage had already been done. The magnitude of the loss and the death of Emperor Valens haunted the Romans for decades and was yet another crucial blow to the waning empire.

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, also known as Tarquin the Proud was the seventh and last King of Rome in the regal period before Rome became a republic. It is not clear when he was born, but he died in 495 BC. He is of Etruscan ancestry and came from the Tarquinii clan.

His 25-year reign from 534-510 BC was infamous for the tyrannical nature with which he ruled his subjects. He is said to have come to the throne by murdering Rome’s sixth King, Servius Tullius. However, some of these details remain debatable due to the sources where most of our information comes (sometimes written hundreds of years after the events) and from and the lack of contemporary sources.

He is most famous as the last King of Rome, having been overthrown by the Romans. This was brought about (as legend has it) by the rape of a Roman woman, Lucretia, by the son of the King, Sextus. As legend explains, Lucretia was so ashamed at what had happened and did not want to bring any shame to her husband, Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, that she killed herself.

The outrage among the Roman people was palpable. This led to the King being banished from the city around 509 BC. The King laid siege to the city around 508 BC, but it is not entirely clear what the result of the siege was.

The exiled King was then forced to seek refuge in nearby lands, where he eventually died in 495 BC.

The result of the overthrow of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was that Rome threw out the idea of being ruled by kings and instead formed the Roman Republic. From here, Rome forged ahead and changed world history, as a Republic and then an Empire.

Flavius Orestes, or simply Orestes, was a Roman politician from the region of Pannonia. It is unclear when he was born but he died in AD 476 during the event that is considered as the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

Orestes served in the court of Attila the Hun after Pannonia was ceded the Huns. There he reached significant status within Attila’s court, earning the trust of the Hunnic ruler.

Later in life, he was appointed as magister militum by Western Roman Emperor, Julius Nepos in AD 475. However, by August of that same year, Orestes had managed to capture the Roman government in Ravenna, thanks to the foederati forces under his control. This forced Julius Nepos to flee Italy for Dalmatia.

The “vacant” throne in Italy enabled Orestes to place his son, Romulus Augustulus, on the throne. He was around fifteen years old at the time.

What was already a tumultuous period in late Roman history was exacerbated by the appointment of Romulus, given his age and lack of experience. His rule was marred by events around him as well as the fact that many people still recognized Julius Nepos as the rightful ruler of the empire. Many saw Romulus as a usurper, therefore undermining his authority.

Late AD 476 saw Germanic chief, Odoacer, turn against Romulus due to broken promises. Odoacer fought Orestes, killing him in August of 476. By early September, Odoacer headed to Ravenna, entered the city and forced Romulus to abdicate his throne. The imperial regalia was then sent to the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno.

These events, facilitated by Orestes, are considered by some as the official fall of the Roman Empire – however this is a heavily debated topic and deserves a more in-depth analysis.

Spartacus is a name synonymous with people at the very lowest rung of society taking it to the might of the state and embarrassing it on numerous occasions.

Spartacus was born around 103 BC and died in 71 BC. He is said to have been Thracian in origin and is believed to have been a competent military commander. It was also noted by some that he served in the Roman army, but not a lot is known as to why or when he transitioned from Roman soldier to enslaved gladiator.

Spartacus was moved to Capua in Italy, where he trained at the nearby Ludus (gladiator school). Far from being happy with his lot in life, Spartacus, along with dozens of other gladiators, planned their escape from the Ludus in 73 BC.

Their escape was not taken seriously at first by the Romans, who dispatched several militia units to round up the escaped gladiators. These militia units were soundly beaten by Spartacus and his band of rebels. The early victories had helped the rebels grow in size and support. At its height, the rebel army is said to have reached 70,000 in number, with the ranks also containing former Roman Legionaries who were imprisoned during previous civil conflicts.

The rebel army then defeated two consular legions sent by the senate. Fears grew that things were getting out of control, so the senate finally called upon two military generals with significant experience to finally bring an end to the uprising – Marcus Licinius Crassus and Pompey Magnus.

Crassus was dispatched firstly, with Pompey making his way back from Hispania. Crassus cornered the rebel army in southern Italy, or so he thought. Spartacus found a way through the fortifications that were erected by Crassus’ legions, forcing the Romans to pursue the rebels.

Crassus caught up with Spartacus and his forces engaged the rebel army in southern Italy. After intense fighting, Crassus was victorious, with Pompey cleaning up those trying to flee the battlefield. It is in this battle where it is generally regarded that Spartacus was killed.

Geiseric, also known as Gaiseric or Genseric, was the King of the Vandals and Alans. He was born around AD 389 and died in AD 477. Quite an extraordinary life in which he would have seen the final decades of the Roman Empire, including the “fall” in AD 476.

Geiseric appears to have led his Vandals to Africa quite early in his reign, moving on from a war-torn Hispania in which fighting was a regular occurrence. When the Vandals crossed from Hispania into Africa, it did not take them long to gain a foothold in the region, as they met little resistance from the undermanned Roman legions.

He quickly overran the land that is modern day Morocco and Algeria, where he laid siege to the city of Hippo Regius. After taking the city and parts of Numidia, a treaty was signed with Emperor Valentinian III in AD 435, which included the Vandals ceasing their advances on the jewel of Africa, Carthage.

By AD 439 however, Geiseric launched an attack on Carthage and took the city. The capture of Carthage was devastating to the Roman Empire, not only did they lose such a prestigious city, but they also lost significant tax revenue as well as an important supply of grain that Carthage produced for the empire.

Geiseric then turned his attention to Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Malta and the Balearic Islands, achieving great success along the way. Encouraged by this success, his ambitions grew, and he turned his attention to Rome itself. He landed in Italy in AD 455 and sacked the eternal city.

The sacking was comprehensive and devastating. It was more thorough than any previous sack of the city. Most of the wealth was stripped from the city, while many important Roman figures from the time were taken captive, used as bargaining chips in later years.

An attempt was made to recapture Carthage by a joint Western – Eastern Roman Empire fleet, which was also destroyed by Geiseric and his Vandals in AD 462.

Geiseric maintained his Kingdom until his death in AD 477 in Carthage. Many say that his actions were by far the biggest contributing factor to the fall of the empire, leaving a trail of dead Roman soldiers, citizens, and the imperial coffers empty.