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Appian · The Illyrian Wars §416-418

Augustus's Subjugation of the Alpine and Illyrian Tribes

Passage 6 of 10 · Greek

Summary

Augustus completely subdued the various tribes in the Illyrian and Alpine regions, successfully bringing to submission the Salassi and the trans-Alpine Iapodes, who had put up fierce resistance, through tactical maneuvers and siege warfare.

§416ὁ δὲ Σεβαστὸς πάντα ἐχειρώσατο ἐντελῶς, καὶ ἐν παραβολῇ τῆς ἀπραξίας Ἀντωνίου κατελογίσατο τῇ βουλῇ τὴν Ἰταλίαν ἡμερῶσαι δυσμάχων ἐθνῶν θαμινὰ ἐνοχλούντων.
Augustus subdued everything completely, and in comparison with the inactivity of Antony, he counted to the Senate that he had tamed Italy when hard-to-fight tribes were frequently troublesome.
Ὀξυαίους μὲν δὴ καὶ Περθεηνάτας καὶ Βαθιάτας καὶ Ταυλαντίους καὶ Καμβαίους καὶ Κινάμβρους καὶ Μερομέννους καὶ Πυρισσαίους εἷλε διʼ ὅλης πείρας· ἔργῳ δὲ μείζονι ἐλήφθησαν, καὶ φόρους ὅσους ἐξέλιπον ἠναγκάσθησαν ἀποδοῦναι, Δοκλεᾶταί τε καὶ Κάρνοι καὶ Ἰντερφρουρῖνοι καὶ Ναρήσιοι καὶ Γλιντιδίωνες καὶ Ταυρίσκοι.
Indeed, he took the Oxyuaei, Pertheenatae, Bathiatae, Taulantii, Cambaei, Cinambri, Meromenni, and Pyrissaei through a thorough trial; but those taken with greater labor, and forced to pay all the taxes they had omitted, were the Docleatae, Carni, Interphrurini, Naresii, Glintidiones, and Taurisci.
ὧν ἁλόντων οἱ ὅμοροι προσέθεντο αὐτῷ καταπλαγέντες, Ἱππασῖνοί τε καὶ Βεσσοί.
When these were captured, the neighboring peoples, the Hippasini and Bessi, submitted to him in terror.
ἑτέρους δὲ αὐτῶν ἀποστάντας, Μελιτηνοὺς καὶ Κορκυρηνούς, οἳ νήσους ᾤκουν, ἀνέστησεν ἄρδην, ὅτι ἐλῄστευον τὴν θάλασσαν· καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἡβῶντας αὐτῶν ἔκτεινε, τοὺς δʼ ἄλλους ἀπέδοτο.
But others of them who had revolted, the Melitini and Corcyreni, who inhabited islands, he removed utterly because they committed piracy on the sea; and he killed their young men and sold the others.
Λιβυρνῶν δὲ τὰς ναῦς ἀφείλετο, ὅτι καὶ οἵδε ἐλῄστευον.
He also took away the ships of the Liburnians because they too committed piracy.
Ἰαπόδων δὲ τῶν ἐντὸς Ἄλπεων Μοεντῖνοι μὲν καὶ Αὐενδεᾶται προσέθεντο αὐτῷ προσιόντι, Ἀρουπῖνοι δʼ, οἳ πλεῖστοι καὶ μαχιμώτατοι τῶνδε τῶν Ἰαπόδων εἰσίν, ἐκ τῶν κωμῶν ἐς τὸ ἄστυ ἀνῳκίσαντο, καὶ προσιόντος αὐτοῦ ἐς τὰς ὕλας συνέφυγον.
Of the Iapodes this side of the Alps, the Moentini and Auendeatae submitted to him as he approached, but the Arupini, who are the most numerous and warlike of these Iapodes, had moved from their villages into their city, and when he approached, they fled into the woods.
ὁ δὲ Καῖσαρ τὸ ἄστυ ἑλὼν οὐκ ἐνέπρησεν, ἐλπίσας ἐνδώσειν αὐτούς· καὶ ἐνδοῦσιν οἰκεῖν ἔδωκεν.
Caesar captured the city but did not burn it, hoping that they would surrender; and when they surrendered, he permitted them to inhabit it.
§417μάλιστα δʼ ἠνώχλησαν αὐτὸν Σαλασσοί τε καὶ Ἰάποδες οἱ πέραν Ἄλπεων καὶ Σεγεστανοὶ καὶ Δαλμάται καὶ Δαισιτιᾶται καὶ Παίονες, ὄντες ἑκὰς τοῖς Σαλασσοῖς, οἳ κορυφὰς οἰκοῦσι τῶν Ἄλπεων, ὄρη δύσβατα, καὶ στενὴ δίοδός ἐστιν ἐπʼ αὐτὰ καὶ δυσχερής· διʼ ἃ καὶ ἦσαν αὐτόνομοι, καὶ τέλη τοὺς παροδεύοντας ᾔτουν.
But those who troubled him most were the Salassi, the Iapodes beyond the Alps, the Segestani, the Dalmatians, the Daesitiatae, and the Paeonians, who were far from the Salassi. The latter inhabit the peaks of the Alps, difficult mountains to pass, and the passage to them is narrow and troublesome; for which reason they were autonomous and demanded tolls from those who passed by.
τούτοις Οὐέτερ ἐμπεσὼν ἀδοκήτως τὰ στενὰ προύλαβε διʼ ἐνέδρας, καὶ ἐπὶ διετὲς αὐτοὺς ἐπολιόρκει.
Vetus, falling upon them unexpectedly, pre-occupied the passes by an ambush and besieged them for two years.
οἱ δὲ ἁλῶν ἀπορίᾳ, ὧν εἰσὶ μάλιστα ἐν χρείᾳ, φρουρὰς ἐδέξαντο.
For want of salt, which they needed most, they received garrisons.
καὶ Οὐέτερος ἀποστάντος τὰς φρουρὰς ἐξέβαλον εὐθύς, καὶ τὰ στενὰ κρατυνάμενοι τοὺς ἐπιπεμπομένους σφίσιν ὑπὸ τοῦ Καίσαρος διέπαιζον, οὐδὲν δρᾶν μέγα ἔχοντας.
But when Vetus departed, they immediately expelled the garrisons and, securing the passes, mocked those sent against them by Caesar, since they could do nothing of importance.
ὅθεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Καῖσαρ, προσδοκωμένου τοῦ πρὸς Ἀντώνιον πολέμου, συνέθετο αὐτονόμους ἐάσειν, καὶ ἀκολάστους τῶν ἐπὶ Οὐέτερι πραχθέντων.
Therefore Caesar, as the war with Antony was expected, agreed to leave them autonomous and unpunished for what had been done under Vetus.
οἱ δʼ ἅτε ἐν ὑποψίᾳ ταῦτʼ ἔχοντες ἅλας πολλοὺς ἐσώρευον, καὶ τὴν Ῥωμαίων κατέθεον, μέχρι Μεσσάλας Κορουῖνος αὐτοῖς ἐπιπεμφθεὶς λιμῷ παρεστήσατο.
But they, holding this in suspicion, gathered much salt and overran the territory of the Romans until Messala Corvinus, being sent against them, subdued them by hunger.
§418καὶ Σαλασσοὶ μὲν οὕτως ἐλήφθησαν, Ἰάποδες δὲ οἱ πέραν Ἄλπεων, ἔθνος ἰσχυρόν τε καὶ ἄγριον, δὶς μὲν ἀπεώσαντο Ῥωμαίους, ἔτεσί που ἀγχοῦ εἴκοσιν, Ἀκυληίαν δʼ ἐπέδραμον καὶ Τεργηστὸν Ῥωμαίων ἄποικον ἐσκύλευσαν.
And the Salassi indeed were taken in this way, but the Iapodes beyond the Alps, a strong and wild tribe, twice repulsed the Romans in about twenty years, and overran Aquileia and plundered Tergeste, a Roman colony.
ἐπιόντος δʼ αὐτοῖς τοῦ Καίσαρος ὁδὸν ἀνάντη καὶ τραχεῖαν· οἱ δʼ ἔτι μᾶλλον αὐτὴν ἐδυσχέραινον αὐτῷ, τὰ δένδρα κόπτοντες.
When Caesar marched against them by a steep and rugged path, they made it still more difficult for him by cutting down trees.
ὡς δʼ ἀνῆλθεν, ἐς τὴν ἄλλην ὕλην αὐτοὶ συνέφυγον καὶ προσιόντα ἐλόχων.
But when he ascended, they fled into the other forest and lay in ambush for him as he approached.
ὁ δέ (ὑπώπτευε γὰρ ἀεί τι τοιοῦτον) ἐς τὰς ἀκρωρείας τινὰς ἔπεμπεν, οἳ ἑκατέρωθεν αὐτῷ συνέθεον προβαίνοντι διὰ τοῦ χθαμαλοῦ καὶ κόπτοντι τὴν ὕλην·
But he (for he always suspected something of this kind) sent some to the mountain ridges, who ran along with him on either side as he advanced through the low ground and cut down the forest.
οἱ δὲ Ἰάποδες ἐπεξέθεον μὲν ἐκ τῶν ἐνεδρῶν καὶ πολλοὺς ἐτίτρωσκον, ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν ἐν τοῖς ἄκροις ἐπιτρεχόντων κατεκόπτοντο οἱ πλείους.
The Iapodes rushed out from their ambushes and wounded many, but most of them were cut down by those running down from the heights.
οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ πάλιν ἐς τὰ λάσια συνέφευγον, τὴν πόλιν ἐκλιπόντες, ᾗ ὄνομα Τέρπωνος.
The rest fled again into the thickets, abandoning the city, the name of which was Terponus.
καὶ αὐτὴν ὁ Καῖσαρ ἑλὼν οὐκ ἐνέπρησεν, ἐλπίσας καὶ τούσδε ἐνδώσειν· καὶ ἐνέδωκαν.
Caesar captured it but did not burn it, hoping that these also would surrender; and they did surrender.

Notes

  1. §416ἐν παραβολῇ τῆς ἀπραξίας Ἀντωνίου — The genitive noun `τῆς ἀπραξίας` (inactivity) functions as the complement of the prepositional phrase `ἐν παραβολῇ` (in comparison with). It contrasts Augustus's own swift actions with the perceived negligence of his rival, Antony.
  2. §416δυσμάχων ἐθνῶν θαμινὰ ἐνοχλούντων — A genitive absolute construction meaning "while hard-to-fight tribes were frequently troublesome," setting the ongoing background circumstances for the action described by the main infinitive `ἡμερῶσαι` (to have tamed).
  3. §417ὄντες ἑκὰς τοῖς Σαλασσοῖς — The adverb `ἑκὰς` (far from) takes the dative `τοῖς Σαλασσοῖς`. It explains that the preceding tribes were geographically located far away from the Salassi of the Alpine peaks.
  4. §418ἔτεσί που ἀγχοῦ εἴκοσιν — The dative `ἔτεσι` functions as a dative of time within which. Meaning "within approximately twenty years," it defines the period of time during which the cumulative past events of repulsing the Romans twice occurred.

Cite this passage

Appian, The Illyrian Wars §416-418. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0551.tlg012.humanitext-grc2:416-418

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