Municipium Cives Romanorum Felicitas Julia Olisipo (in Latin : Olisippo or Ulyssippo ; in Greek : Ὀλισσιπών , Olissipṓn , or Ὀλισσιπόνα , Olissipóna ) was the ancient name of modern-day Lisbon while it was part of the Roman Empire .
117-628: During the Punic wars , after the defeat of Hannibal the Romans decided to deprive Carthage of its most valuable possession, Hispania . After the defeat of the Carthaginians by Scipio Africanus in eastern Hispania, the pacification of western Hispania was led by Consul Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus . He obtained the alliance of Olisipo (which sent men to fight alongside the Roman legions against
234-492: A fleet and used a shipwrecked Carthaginian quinquereme as a blueprint for their own. As novice shipwrights , the Romans built copies that were heavier than the Carthaginian vessels; thus they were slower and less manoeuvrable. Getting the oarsmen to row as a unit, let alone to execute more complex battle manoeuvres, required long and arduous training. At least half of the oarsmen would need to have had some experience if
351-583: A thalassocracy . Beginning in 480 BC Carthage fought a series of inconclusive wars against the Greek city-states of Sicily, led by Syracuse . By 264 BC Carthage was the dominant external power on the island, and Carthage and Rome were the preeminent powers in the western Mediterranean. Relationships were good, and the two states had several times declared their mutual friendship in formal alliances : in 509 BC, 348 BC and around 279 BC. There were strong commercial links. During
468-539: A viceroy and was succeeded by his son-in-law, Hasdrubal , in the early 220s BC and then his son, Hannibal, in 221 BC. In 226 BC the Ebro Treaty was agreed with Rome, specifying the Ebro River as the northern boundary of the Carthaginian sphere of influence . At some time during the next six years Rome made a separate agreement with the city of Saguntum , which was situated well south of
585-403: A 2,000-talent loan from Ptolemaic Egypt , which was refused. Rome was also close to bankruptcy and the number of adult male citizens, who provided the manpower for the navy and the legions, had declined by 17 per cent since the start of the war. Historian Adrian Goldsworthy (2006) has described Roman manpower losses as "appalling". The Romans rebuilt their fleet again in 243 BC after
702-509: A distance and avoided close combat; the latter were usually Numidians . The close order African infantry and the citizen-militia both fought in a tightly-packed formation known as a phalanx . On occasion some of the infantry would wear captured Roman armour, especially among the troops of the Carthaginian general Hannibal . In addition both Iberia and Gaul provided many experienced infantry and cavalry. The infantry from these areas were unarmoured troops who would charge ferociously, but had
819-419: A friend on keeping up amorous advances to a girl who had indulged in six helpings of it. The biological anthropologist Piers Mitchell suggests that garum may have helped spread fish tapeworms across Europe. Garum was also employed as a medicine. It was thought to be one of the best cures for many ailments, including dog bites, dysentery, and ulcers, and to ease chronic diarrhea and treat constipation. Garum
936-403: A large shield and short thrusting swords . They were divided into three ranks: the front rank also carried two javelins, while the second and third ranks had a thrusting spear instead. Both legionary sub-units and individual legionaries fought in relatively open order. It was the long-standing Roman procedure to elect two men each year as senior magistrates , known as consuls , who in
1053-636: A large garum factory at Gades (Cadiz) and at Málaga under the Picasso museum . Garum was a major export product from Hispania to Rome, and gained the towns a certain amount of prestige. The garum of Lusitania (in present-day Portugal) was also highly prized in Rome, and was shipped directly from the harbour of Lacobriga ( Lagos ). A former Roman garum factory can be visited in the Baixa area of central Lisbon . Fossae Marianae in southern Gaul , located on
1170-472: A large indemnity, severely restricted the size of its armed forces , and prohibited Carthage from waging war without Rome's express permission. This caused Carthage to cease to be a military threat. In 151 BC, Carthage attempted to defend itself against Numidian encroachments and Rome used this as a justification to declare war in 149 BC, starting the Third Punic War . This conflict
1287-468: A long-drawn-out affair, or, if the target was a port, impossible. Carthage's new allies felt little sense of community with Carthage, or even with each other. The new allies increased the number of places that Hannibal's army was expected to defend from Roman retribution, but provided relatively few fresh troops to assist him in doing so. Such Italian forces as were raised resisted operating away from their home cities and performed poorly when they did. When
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#17327830139661404-570: A reputation for breaking off if a combat was protracted. The Gallic cavalry, and possibly some of the Iberians, wore armour and fought as close order troops; most or all of the mounted Iberians were light cavalry . Slingers were frequently recruited from the Balearic Islands. The Carthaginians also employed war elephants ; North Africa had indigenous African forest elephants at the time. Garrison duty and land blockades were
1521-570: A sauce distinct from garum , as indicated throughout the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum IV. By the 5th century or earlier, however, liquamen had come to refer to garum . The available evidence suggests that the sauce was typically made by crushing the innards of (fatty) pelagic fishes , particularly anchovies , but also sprats , sardines , mackerel , or tuna , and then fermenting them in brine . In most surviving tituli picti inscribed on amphorae, where
1638-418: A similar number of allied troops. The majority were deployed in southern Italy in field armies of approximately 20,000 men each. This was insufficient to challenge Hannibal's army in open battle, but sufficient to force him to concentrate his forces and to hamper his movements. For 12 years after Cannae the war surged around southern Italy as cities went over to the Carthaginians or were taken by subterfuge and
1755-404: A surprise night assault and captured several districts of the city. Meanwhile, the Carthaginian army was crippled by plague . After the Carthaginians failed to resupply the city, Syracuse fell that autumn; Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier. Carthage sent more reinforcements to Sicily in 211 BC and went on the offensive. A fresh Roman army attacked the main Carthaginian stronghold on
1872-1011: A time of war would each lead an army. An army was usually formed by combining a Roman legion with a similarly sized and equipped legion provided by their Latin allies ; allied legions usually had a larger attached complement of cavalry than Roman ones. Carthaginian citizens only served in their army if there was a direct threat to the city of Carthage . When they did they fought as well-armoured heavy infantry armed with long thrusting spears, although they were notoriously ill-trained and ill-disciplined. In most circumstances Carthage recruited foreigners to make up its army. Many were from North Africa and these were frequently referred to as "Libyans". The region provided several types of fighters, including: close order infantry equipped with large shields, helmets, short swords and long thrusting spears ; javelin-armed light infantry skirmishers; close order shock cavalry (also known as "heavy cavalry") carrying spears; and light cavalry skirmishers who threw javelins from
1989-463: A total of forty-three years of warfare. The Punic Wars are also considered to include the four-year-long revolt against Carthage which started in 241 BC. Each war involved immense materiel and human losses on both sides. The First Punic War broke out on the Mediterranean island of Sicily in 264 BC as Rome's expansion began to encroach on Carthage's sphere of influence on
2106-501: A type of fish, or a fish sauce similar to garum. Pliny stated that garum was made from fish intestines, with salt, creating a liquor, the garum, and the fish paste named (h)allec or allex (similar to bagoong , this paste was a byproduct of fish sauce production). A concentrated garum evaporated down to a thick paste with salt crystals was called muria; it would have been used to salt and flavor foods. The 10th-century Byzantine manual Geōponika (Agricultural Pursuits) includes
2223-651: A vast region, bordered by the Alcabrichel and Ota rivers in the north. The territory includes the following Roman archaeological finds, known settlements or place names: Lisbon suffered invasions from the Sarmatian Alans and the Germanic Vandals , who controlled the region from 409 to 429. The city was taken by the Visigoths under Wallia in 419. The Germanic Suebi , who established
2340-404: Is estimated to have been around 30,000 at the time. Earthquakes were documented in 60 BC, several between 47 and 44 BC, several in 33 AD, and a strong quake in 382 AD, but the exact amount of damage to the city is unknown. During the time of Augustus (63 BC to 14 AD) the Romans built a large theatre (which was restored in 57 AD on the order of Caius Heius Primus ). The galleries underneath
2457-535: Is known that a large forum (probably in current Largo dos Lóis ) and an aqueduct were built. A circus and hippodrome was built around the 3rd or 4th century AD. Buildings such as insulae (multi-storied apartment buildings) existed in the area between the modern castle hill and downtown. The city wall was strengthened in the 4th to 5th century AD, and around the city there were also bridges (in Sacavém and Alcântara ) and villae . Economically, Olisipo
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#17327830139662574-405: Is thus taken from them. A small basket of close texture is laid in the vessel filled with the small fish already mentioned, and the garum will flow into the basket; and they take up what has been percolated through the basket, which is called liquamen; and the remainder of the feculence is made into allec . Garum was produced in various grades and consumed by all social classes. After the liquid
2691-468: Is usually to be preferred when it differs with any of our other accounts". Other sources include coins, inscriptions, archaeological evidence and empirical evidence from reconstructions, such as the trireme Olympias . The Roman Republic had been aggressively expanding in the southern Italian mainland for a century before the First Punic War . It had conquered peninsular Italy south of
2808-549: The corvus became useless; part way through the First Punic War the Romans ceased using it. Much of the First Punic War was fought on, or in the waters near, Sicily. Away from the coasts its hilly and rugged terrain made manoeuvring large forces difficult and so encouraged defensive strategies. Land operations were largely confined to raids , sieges and interdiction ; in 23 years of war on Sicily there were only two full-scale pitched battles. The war began with
2925-559: The Adriatic coast to block Hannibal's advance into central Italy. In early spring 217 BC, the Carthaginians crossed the Apennines unopposed, taking a difficult but unguarded route. Hannibal attempted to draw the main Roman army under Gaius Flaminius into a pitched battle by devastating the area they had been sent to protect, provoking Flaminius into a hasty pursuit without proper reconnaissance. Hannibal set an ambush and in
3042-583: The Arno River by 270 BC, when the Greek cities of southern Italy ( Magna Graecia ) submitted after the conclusion of the Pyrrhic War . During this period of Roman expansion Carthage, with its capital in what is now Tunisia , had come to dominate southern Iberia, much of the coastal regions of North Africa, the Balearic Islands , Corsica , Sardinia and the western half of Sicily in
3159-676: The Julii and the Cassiae . The Caecilli also held some power. Petitions are recorded addressed to the governor of the province in Emerita and to Emperor Tiberius , such as one requesting help dealing with " sea monsters " allegedly responsible for shipwrecks. Around 80 BC, the Roman Quintus Sertorius led a rebellion against the dictator Sulla . During this period, he organized the tribes of Lusitania (and Hispania ) and
3276-558: The Rhine , and through the introduction of Roman culture to the tribes living by the river Tagus in the interior of Hispania . The city was connected by a broad road to Western Hispania's two other large cities, Bracara Augusta in the province of Tarraconensis (today's Portuguese Braga ), and Emerita Augusta , the capital of Lusitania (now Mérida in Spain). The city was ruled by an oligarchical council dominated by two families,
3393-542: The Suebic Kingdom of Galicia (modern Galicia and northern Portugal), with capital in Bracara Augusta (today's Braga ) from 409 to 585, also controlled the region of Lisbon for long periods of time. In 457, while Framta was still ruling, Maldras led a large raid on Lusitania . The raiders sacked Lisbon by pretending to come in peace and, once admitted by the citizens, plundering the city. In 468
3510-455: The battle of Akragas . That night the Carthaginian garrison escaped and the Romans seized the city and its inhabitants, selling 25,000 of them into slavery . After this the land war on Sicily reached a stalemate as the Carthaginians focused on defending their well-fortified towns and cities; these were mostly on the coast and so could be supplied and reinforced without the Romans being able to use their superior army to interfere. The focus of
3627-412: The battle of Dertosa . Meanwhile, the Romans took drastic steps to raise new legions: enrolling slaves, criminals and those who did not meet the usual property qualification. By early 215 BC they were fielding at least 12 legions; by 214 BC, 18; and by 213 BC, 22. By 212 BC the full complement of the legions deployed would have been in excess of 100,000 men, plus, as always,
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3744-463: The battle of Lake Trasimene completely defeated the Roman army, killing 15,000 Romans, including Flaminius, and taking 15,000 prisoners . A cavalry force of 4,000 from the other Roman army was also engaged and wiped out. The prisoners were badly treated if they were Romans, but released if they were from one of Rome's Latin allies. Hannibal hoped some of these allies could be persuaded to defect and marched south hoping to win over Roman allies among
3861-405: The battle of Phintias and all but swept the Romans from the sea. It was to be seven years before Rome again attempted to field a substantial fleet, while Carthage put most of its ships into reserve to save money and free up manpower. After more than 20 years of war, both states were financially and demographically exhausted. Evidence of Carthage's financial situation includes their request for
3978-536: The battle of Ticinus . As a result, most of the Gallic tribes declared for the Carthaginian cause and Hannibal's army grew to 37,000 men. A large Roman army was lured into combat by Hannibal at the battle of the Trebia , encircled and destroyed. Only 10,000 Romans out of 42,000 were able to cut their way to safety. Gauls now joined Hannibal's army in large numbers. The Romans stationed an army at Arretium and one on
4095-692: The battle of the Metaurus and destroyed his army, killing Hasdrubal. This battle confirmed Roman dominance in Italy and marked the end of their Fabian strategy. In 205 BC, Mago landed in Genua in north-west Italy with the remnants of his Spanish army ( see § Iberia below ) where it received Gallic and Ligurian reinforcements. Mago's arrival in the north of the Italian peninsula was followed by Hannibal's inconclusive battle of Crotona in 204 BC in
4212-535: The battle of the Upper Baetis . Both battles ended in complete defeat for the Romans, as Hasdrubal had bribed the Romans' mercenaries to desert. The Romans retreated to their coastal stronghold north of the Ebro, from which the Carthaginians again failed to expel them. Claudius Nero brought over reinforcements in 210 BC and stabilised the situation. Garum Garum is a fermented fish sauce that
4329-597: The 4th century the Olisipo diocesis was formed. There is also the legend of Saint Ginés ( São Gens ), presented as one of the first martyr bishops of Lisbon and remembered in the Nossa Senhora do Monte chapel. At the end of Roman rule, Olisipo was one of the first Christian cities. The city was a caput viarium of the Roman road to Bracara Augusta and the three roads to Emerita Augusta . Olisipo controlled
4446-508: The Alps and invading Italy. His aim was to join his forces with those of Hannibal, but Hannibal was unaware of his presence. The Romans facing Hannibal in southern Italy tricked him into believing the whole Roman army was still in camp, while a large portion marched north under the consul Claudius Nero and reinforced the Romans facing Hasdrubal, who were commanded by the other consul, Marcus Salinator . The combined Roman force attacked Hasdrubal at
4563-550: The Carthaginian colonial cities with mixed success until moving into Italy; and Africa, where the war was decided. In 218 BC there was some naval skirmishing in the waters around Sicily; the Romans defeated a Carthaginian attack and captured the island of Malta . In Cisalpine Gaul (modern northern Italy), the major Gallic tribes attacked the Roman colonies there, causing the Roman settlers to flee to their previously-established colony of Mutina (modern Modena ), where they were besieged. A Roman relief force broke through
4680-430: The Carthaginians advanced on Panormus, but in a battle outside the walls the Romans drove off the Carthaginian elephants with javelins. The elephants routed through the Carthaginian infantry, who were then charged by the Roman infantry to complete their defeat. Slowly the Romans had occupied most of Sicily; in 250 BC they besieged the last two Carthaginian strongholds – Lilybaeum and Drepana in
4797-474: The Ebro. In 219 BC a Carthaginian army under Hannibal besieged, captured and sacked Saguntum and in spring 218 BC Rome declared war on Carthage. There were three main military theatres in the war: Italy, where Hannibal defeated the Roman legions repeatedly, with occasional subsidiary campaigns in Sicily, Sardinia and Greece; Iberia, where Hasdrubal , a younger brother of Hannibal, defended
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4914-637: The First Punic War, Carthaginian possessions in Iberia (modern Spain and Portugal) were limited to a handful of prosperous coastal cities in the south. Hamilcar took the army which he had led in the Mercenary War to Iberia in 237 BC and carved out a quasi-monarchial, autonomous state in its south east. This gave Carthage the silver mines, agricultural wealth, manpower , military facilities such as shipyards , and territorial depth to stand up to future Roman demands with confidence. Hamilcar ruled as
5031-437: The Mediterranean region as a whole. The immense effort of repeatedly building large fleets of galleys during the war laid the foundation for Rome's maritime dominance, which was to last 600 years. The Mercenary, or Truceless, War began in 241 BC as a dispute over the payment of wages owed to 20,000 foreign soldiers who had fought for Carthage on Sicily during the First Punic War. This erupted into full-scale mutiny under
5148-509: The Punic Wars is the historian Polybius ( c. 200 – c. 118 BC ), a Greek sent to Rome in 167 BC as a hostage. He is best known for The Histories , written sometime after 146 BC. Polybius's work is considered broadly objective and largely neutral between Carthaginian and Roman points of view. Polybius was an analytical historian and wherever possible interviewed participants from both sides in
5265-514: The Pyrrhic War of 280–275 BC, against a king of Epirus who alternately fought Rome in Italy and Carthage on Sicily, Carthage provided materiel to the Romans and on at least one occasion provided its navy to ferry a Roman force. According to the classicist Richard Miles , Rome had an expansionary attitude after its conquest of southern Italy, while Carthage had a proprietary approach to Sicily. The conflict between these policies pushed
5382-659: The Roman Empire's cuisine, few production sites are known to have existed in the Eastern Mediterranean. In 2019 a small 1st-century factory was discovered near Ashkelon . A 2013 storm uncovered Neapolis, a major center of garum production, at Nabeul in Tunisia. Pliny the Elder spoke of a type of garum that Roman Jews may have used, as normal garum may not have contained exclusively kosher seafood. In
5499-402: The Roman cookbook Apicius . For example, Apicius (8.6.2–3) gives a recipe for lamb stew, calling for the meat to be cooked with onion and coriander , pepper, lovage , cumin , liquamen , oil, and wine , then thickened with flour. The same cookbook mentions garum being used as fish stock to flavor chopped mallow leaves fried in a skillet. In the 1st century AD, liquamen was
5616-456: The Roman province of Lusitania (whose capital was Emerita Augusta ). Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus also fortified the city, building city walls as a defence against Lusitanian raids and rebellions. Among the majority of Latin speakers lived a large minority of Greek traders and slaves. Lisbon's name was written Ulyssippo in Latin by the geographer Pomponius Mela . The city population
5733-410: The Romans gaining a foothold on Sicily at Messana (modern Messina) in 264 BC. They then pressed Syracuse, the only significant independent power on the island, into allying with them and laid siege to Carthage's main base at Akragas on the south coast. A Carthaginian army of 50,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry and 60 elephants attempted to lift the siege in 262 BC, but was badly defeated at
5850-419: The Romans recaptured them by siege or by suborning pro-Roman factions. Hannibal repeatedly defeated Roman armies, in 209 BC both consuls were killed in a cavalry skirmish. But wherever his main army was not active the Romans threatened Carthaginian-supporting towns or sought battle with Carthaginian or Carthaginian-allied detachments; frequently with success. By 207 BC Hannibal had been confined to
5967-410: The Romans were still in their winter quarters. His surprise entry into the Italian peninsula led to the cancellation of Rome's planned campaign for the year: an invasion of Africa. The Carthaginians captured the chief city of the hostile Taurini (in the area of modern Turin ) and seized its food stocks. In late November the Carthaginian cavalry routed the cavalry and light infantry of the Romans at
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#17327830139666084-518: The Senate approached Rome's wealthiest citizens for loans to finance the construction of one ship each, repayable from the reparations to be imposed on Carthage once the war was won. This new fleet effectively blockaded the Carthaginian garrisons. Carthage assembled a fleet which attempted to relieve them, but it was destroyed at the battle of the Aegates Islands in 241 BC, forcing
6201-511: The adoption of fish sauce in Vietnamese cuisine (called nước mắm there). Seneca , holding the old-fashioned line against the expensive craze, cautioned against it, even though his family was from Baetian Corduba : Do you not realize that garum sociorum , that expensive bloody mass of decayed fish, consumes the stomach with its salted putrefaction? A surviving fragment of Plato Comicus speaks of "putrid garum". Martial congratulates
6318-524: The brink of collapse. Within a few weeks of Cannae a Roman army of 25,000 was ambushed by Boii Gauls at the battle of Silva Litana and annihilated. Fabius was elected consul in 215 BC and was re-elected in 214 BC. Little survives of Polybius's account of Hannibal's army in Italy after Cannae and Livy is the best surviving source for this part of the war. Several of the city states in southern Italy allied with Hannibal or were captured when pro-Carthaginian factions betrayed their defences. These included
6435-544: The city of Lisbon was occupied by the Suebi under Remismund with the help of a native Roman governor named Lucidius, but in effect Roman dominion over the city had ended. Punic wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars between 264 and 146 BC fought between the Roman Republic and Ancient Carthage . Three wars took place, on both land and sea, across the western Mediterranean region and involved
6552-408: The city they razed and abandoned it. The Romans rapidly rebuilt their fleet, adding 220 new ships, and captured Panormus (modern Palermo ) in 254 BC. The next year they lost another 150 ships to a storm. On Sicily the Romans avoided battle in 252 and 251 BC, according to Polybius because they feared the war elephants which the Carthaginians had shipped to the island. In 250 BC
6669-581: The classicist Adrian Goldsworthy says Livy's "reliability is often suspect", and the historian Philip Sabin refers to Livy's "military ignorance". Later ancient histories of the wars also exist in fragmentary or summary form. Modern historians usually take into account the writings of various Roman annalists , some contemporary; the Sicilian Greek Diodorus Siculus ; and the later Roman historians Plutarch , Appian , and Dio Cassius . Goldsworthy writes "Polybius' account
6786-672: The coast in May or June. It entered Gaul and took an inland route, to avoid the Roman allies to the south. At the battle of the Rhone Crossing Hannibal defeated a force of local Gauls which sought to bar his way. A Roman fleet carrying the Iberian-bound army landed at Rome's ally Massalia (modern Marseille ) at the mouth of the Rhone, but Hannibal evaded the Romans and they continued to Iberia. The Carthaginians reached
6903-594: The current Rua da Prata date from 20–35 AD; they were rebuilt in 330 AD. Uncovered in 1771 following Lisbon's devastating earthquake, the true purpose of these underground Roman passages has been subject to varying interpretations. Contemporary consensus leans towards them being a cryptoporticus—a structural innovation of the Roman Empire times, used to stabilize and level the ground for significant constructions, particularly in uneven terrains. The Thermae Cassiorum ( Cassian Baths , named for Quintus Cassius Longinus and Lucius Cassius , were built in 44 AD. The building
7020-441: The cut-off Carthaginian troops on Sicily to negotiate for peace. The Treaty of Lutatius was agreed by which Carthage paid 3,200 talents of silver in reparations and Sicily was annexed as a Roman province . Polybius regarded the war as "the longest, most continuous and most severely contested war known to us in history". Henceforth Rome considered itself the leading military power in the western Mediterranean and increasingly
7137-470: The ethnic Greek and Italic states. The Romans, panicked by these heavy defeats, appointed Quintus Fabius as dictator , with sole charge of the war effort. Fabius introduced the Fabian strategy of avoiding open battle with his opponent, but constantly skirmishing with small detachments of the enemy. This was not popular with parts of the Roman army, public and senate, since he avoided battle while Italy
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#17327830139667254-428: The events he wrote about. Modern historians consider Polybius to have treated the relatives of Scipio Aemilianus , his patron and friend, unduly favourably, but the consensus is to accept his account largely at face value. The modern historian Andrew Curry sees Polybius as being "fairly reliable"; Craige Champion describes him as "a remarkably well-informed, industrious, and insightful historian". The details of
7371-623: The extreme south of Italy and many of the cities and territories which had joined the Carthaginian cause had returned to their Roman allegiance. During 216 BC the Macedonian king, Philip V , pledged his support to Hannibal, initiating the First Macedonian War against Rome in 215 BC. In 211 BC Rome contained this threat by allying with the Aetolian League , a coalition of Greek city states which
7488-435: The extreme west. Repeated attempts to storm Lilybaeum's strong walls failed, as did attempts to block access to its harbour, and the Romans settled down to a siege which was to last nine years. They launched a surprise attack on the Carthaginian fleet, but were defeated at the battle of Drepana ; Carthage's greatest naval victory of the war. Carthage turned to the maritime offensive, inflicting another heavy naval defeat at
7605-561: The far south of the peninsula. Mago marched his reinforced army towards the lands of Carthage's main Gallic allies in the Po Valley , but was checked by a large Roman army and defeated at the battle of Insubria in 203 BC. After Publius Cornelius Scipio invaded the Carthaginian homeland in 204 BC, defeating the Carthaginians in two major battles and winning the allegiance of the Numidian kingdoms of North Africa, Hannibal and
7722-455: The fish ingredient is shown, the fish is mackerel. Under the best conditions, the fermentation process took about 48 hours. The manufacture and export of garum was an element of the prosperity of coastal Greek emporia from the Ligurian coast of Gaul to the coast of Hispania Baetica , and perhaps an impetus for Roman penetration of these coastal regions. Although garum was a staple of
7839-421: The flavor of a wide variety of dishes, including boiled veal and steamed mussels, even pear-and-honey soufflé . Diluted with water ( hydrogarum ) it was distributed to Roman legions . Pliny (d. 79) remarked in his Natural History that it could be diluted to the colour of honey wine and drunk. Garum had a social dimension that might be compared to that of garlic in some modern Western societies, or to
7956-399: The following recipe for liquamen : What is called liquamen is thus made: the intestines of fish are thrown into a vessel, and are salted; and small fish, especially atherinae , or small mullets, or maenae, or lycostomi, or any small fish, are all salted in the same manner; and they are seasoned in the sun, and frequently turned; and when they have been seasoned in the heat, the garum
8073-401: The foot of the Alps by late autumn and crossed them in 15 days, surmounting the difficulties of climate, terrain and the guerrilla tactics of the native tribes. Hannibal arrived with 20,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry and an unknown number of elephants – the survivors of the 37 with which he left Iberia – in what is now Piedmont , northern Italy in early November;
8190-417: The infantry – poorer or younger men unable to afford the armour and equipment of a standard legionary – served as javelin -armed skirmishers known as velites ; they each carried several javelins, which would be thrown from a distance, as well as a short sword and a 90-centimetre (3 ft) shield. The rest of the soldiers were equipped as heavy infantry , with body armour ,
8307-480: The island, Agrigentum , in 210 BC and the city was betrayed to the Romans by a discontented Carthaginian officer. The remaining Carthaginian-controlled towns then surrendered or were taken through force or treachery and the Sicilian grain supply to Rome and its armies was secured. In the spring of 207 BC Hasdrubal Barca repeated the feat of his elder brother by marching an army of 35,000 men across
8424-543: The island. At the start of the war Carthage was the dominant power of the western Mediterranean, with an extensive maritime empire , while Rome was a rapidly expanding power in Italy , with a strong army but no navy. The fighting took place primarily on Sicily and its surrounding waters, as well as in North Africa , Corsica , and Sardinia . It lasted 23 years, until 241 BC, when the Carthaginians were defeated. By
8541-421: The large city of Capua and the major port city of Tarentum (modern Taranto ). Two of the major Samnite tribes also joined the Carthaginian cause. By 214 BC the bulk of southern Italy had turned against Rome, although there were many exceptions. The majority of Rome's allies in central Italy remained loyal. All except the smallest towns were too well fortified for Hannibal to take by assault and blockade could be
8658-506: The leadership of Spendius and Matho ; 70,000 Africans from Carthage's oppressed dependant territories flocked to join the mutineers, bringing supplies and finance. War-weary Carthage fared poorly in the initial engagements, especially under the generalship of Hanno . Hamilcar Barca , a veteran of the campaigns in Sicily, was given joint command of the army in 240 BC and supreme command in 239 BC. He campaigned successfully, initially demonstrating leniency in an attempt to woo
8775-463: The legions from behind. As a result, the Roman infantry was surrounded with no means of escape. At least 67,500 Romans were killed or captured. The historian Richard Miles describes Cannae as "Rome's greatest military disaster". Toni Ñaco del Hoyo describes the Trebia, Lake Trasimene and Cannae as the three "great military calamities" suffered by the Romans in the first three years of the war. Brian Carey writes that these three defeats brought Rome to
8892-637: The local tribes. A rushed Carthaginian attack in late 218 BC was beaten back at the battle of Cissa . In 217 BC 40 Carthaginian and Iberian warships were defeated by 55 Roman and Massalian vessels at the battle of Ebro River , with 29 Carthaginian ships lost. The Romans' lodgement between the Ebro and the Pyrenees blocked the route from Iberia to Italy and greatly hindered the despatch of reinforcements from Iberia to Hannibal. The Carthaginian commander in Iberia, Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal, marched into this area in 215 BC, offered battle and
9009-409: The most common operations. When armies were campaigning, surprise attacks, ambushes and stratagems were common. More formal battles were usually preceded by the two armies camping two–twelve kilometres (1–7 miles) apart for days or weeks; sometimes both forming up in battle order each day. If either commander felt at a disadvantage, they might march off without engaging. In such circumstances it
9126-639: The most significant names. According to legend, the three were sons of a Roman senator, martyred in Lisbon in the 4th century, under the Roman governor Ageian or Tarquinius in the time of Emperor Diocletian . A temple was then built in the Campolide area, whose ruins still existed in the Middle Ages . The relics of the saints are kept in the Santos-o-Velho Church. In the middle of
9243-469: The northwestern Celtic tribes) by integrating it into the Roman Republic in 138 BC. Between 31 BC and 27 BC the city became a municipium . Local authorities were granted self-rule over a territory that extended 50 kilometres (31 miles). Exempt from taxes, its citizens (belonging to the Galeria tribe ) were given the privileges of Roman citizenship ( Civium Romanorum ), and the city was integrated within
9360-426: The open plain near Cannae . In the battle of Cannae the Roman legions forced their way through Hannibal's deliberately weak centre, but Libyan heavy infantry on the wings swung around their advance, menacing their flanks. Hasdrubal led the Carthaginian cavalry on the left wing and routed the Roman cavalry opposite, then swept around the rear of the Romans to attack the cavalry on the other wing. He then charged into
9477-430: The port city of Locri defected to Carthage in the summer of 215 BC it was immediately used to reinforce the Carthaginian forces in Italy with soldiers, supplies and war elephants. It was the only time during the war that Carthage reinforced Hannibal. A second force, under Hannibal's youngest brother Mago , was meant to land in Italy in 215 BC but was diverted to Iberia after the Carthaginian defeat there at
9594-576: The preparation of this force an act of war and demanded Carthage cede Sardinia and Corsica and pay an additional 1,200-talent indemnity. Weakened by 30 years of war, Carthage agreed rather than again enter into conflict with Rome. Polybius considered this "contrary to all justice" and modern historians have variously described the Romans' behaviour as "unprovoked aggression and treaty-breaking", "shamelessly opportunistic" and an "unscrupulous act". These events fuelled resentment of Rome in Carthage, which
9711-421: The previous forty-five years and a staunch Roman ally, died in that year and his successor Hieronymus was discontented with his situation. Hannibal negotiated a treaty whereby Syracuse defected to Carthage, in exchange for making the whole of Sicily a Syracusan possession. The Syracusan army proved no match for a Roman army led by Claudius Marcellus and by spring 213 BC Syracuse was besieged . The siege
9828-408: The previously traditional tactic of ramming . All warships were equipped with rams, a triple set of 60-centimetre-wide (2 ft) bronze blades weighing up to 270 kilograms (600 lb) positioned at the waterline. In the century prior to the Punic Wars, boarding had become increasingly common and ramming had declined, as the larger and heavier vessels adopted in this period increasingly lacked
9945-509: The proposed terms were so harsh they decided to fight on. At the battle of Tunis in spring 255 BC a combined force of infantry, cavalry and war elephants under the command of the Spartan mercenary Xanthippus crushed the Romans. The Romans sent a fleet to evacuate their survivors and the Carthaginians opposed it at the battle of Cape Hermaeum (modern Cape Bon ); the Carthaginians were again heavily defeated. The Roman fleet, in turn,
10062-444: The rebels over. To prevent this, in 240 BC Spendius tortured 700 Carthaginian prisoners to death and henceforth the war was pursued with great brutality. By early 237 BC, after numerous setbacks, the rebels were defeated and their cities brought back under Carthaginian rule. An expedition was prepared to reoccupy Sardinia, where mutinous soldiers had slaughtered all Carthaginians. The Roman Senate stated they considered
10179-448: The remnants of his army were recalled. They sailed from Croton and landed at Carthage with 15,000–20,000 experienced veterans. Mago was also recalled; he died of wounds on the voyage and some of his ships were intercepted by the Romans, but 12,000 of his troops reached Carthage. The Roman fleet continued on from Massala in the autumn of 218 BC, landing the army it was transporting in north-east Iberia, where it won support among
10296-595: The ruins of Pompeii , jars were found containing kosher garum , suggesting an equal popularity among Jews there. Each port had its own traditional recipe, but by the time of Augustus , Romans considered the best to be garum from Cartagena and Gades in Baetica . This product was called garum sociorum , "garum of the allies". The ruins of a garum factory remain at the Baetian site of Baelo Claudia (in present-day Tarifa ) and Carteia ( San Roque ). Other sites are
10413-477: The ship was to be handled effectively. As a result, the Romans were initially at a disadvantage against the more experienced Carthaginians. To counter this, the Romans introduced the corvus , a bridge 1.2 metres (4 feet) wide and 11 metres (36 feet) long, with a heavy spike on the underside, which was designed to pierce and anchor into an enemy ship's deck. This allowed Roman legionaries acting as marines to board enemy ships and capture them, rather than employing
10530-566: The siege, but was then ambushed and besieged itself. An army had previously been created by the Romans to campaign in Iberia and the Roman Senate detached one Roman and one allied legion from it to send to north Italy. Raising fresh troops to replace these delayed the army's departure for Iberia until September. Meanwhile, Hannibal assembled a Carthaginian army in New Carthage (modern Cartagena ) in Iberia and led it northwards along
10647-434: The southern coast of Sicily. The Carthaginian's superior seamanship was not as effective as they had hoped, while the Romans' corvus gave them an edge as the battle degenerated into a shapeless brawl. The Carthaginians were again beaten; this was possibly the largest naval battle in history by the number of combatants involved. The invasion initially went well and in 255 BC the Carthaginians sued for peace ;
10764-522: The southern tip of present-day France, served as a distribution hub for Western Europe, including Gaul, Germania , and Roman Britain . Garum factories were also located in the province of Mauretania Tingitana (modern Morocco ), for example at Cotta and Lixus . Umbricius Scaurus' production of garum was key to the economy of Pompeii . The factories where garum was produced in Pompeii have not been uncovered, perhaps indicating that they lay outside
10881-433: The speed and manoeuvrability necessary to ram effectively, while their sturdier construction reduced a ram's effect on them even in case of a successful attack. The Roman adaptation of the corvus was a continuation of this trend and compensated for their initial disadvantage in ship-manoeuvring skills. The added weight in the prow compromised both the ship's manoeuvrability and its seaworthiness, and in rough sea conditions
10998-559: The survivors withdrew. There was also extensive fighting in Iberia (modern Spain and Portugal), Sicily, Sardinia, and North Africa. The successful Roman invasion of the Carthaginian homeland in Africa in 204 BC led to Hannibal's recall. He was defeated in the battle of Zama in 202 BC and Carthage sued for peace . A treaty was agreed in 201 BC which stripped Carthage of its overseas territories and some of its African ones, imposed
11115-636: The terms of the Treaty of Lutatius (241, amended 237 BC), Carthage paid large reparations and Sicily was annexed as a Roman province . The end of the war sparked a major but eventually unsuccessful revolt within Carthaginian territory known as the Mercenary War . The Second Punic War began in 218 BC and witnessed the Carthaginian general Hannibal 's crossing of the Alps and invasion of mainland Italy . This expedition enjoyed considerable early success and campaigned in Italy for 14 years before
11232-501: The two powers to stumble into war more by accident than design. The spark that ignited the First Punic War in 264 BC was the issue of control of the independent Sicilian city state of Messana (modern Messina ). Most male Roman citizens were liable for military service and would serve as infantry, with a better-off minority providing a cavalry component. Traditionally, when at war the Romans would raise two legions , each of 4,200 infantry and 300 cavalry. Approximately 1,200 members of
11349-559: The walls of the city. The production of garum created such unpleasant smells that factories were generally relegated to the outskirts of cities. In 2008, archaeologists used the residue from garum found in containers in Pompeii to confirm the August date of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius . The garum had been made entirely of bogues , fish that congregate in the summer months. When mixed with oenogarum (a popular wine -based Byzantine sauce), vinegar , black pepper , or oil , garum enhanced
11466-428: The war in modern sources are largely based on interpretations of Polybius's account. The account of the Roman historian Livy is commonly used by modern historians where Polybius's account is not extant. Livy relied heavily on Polybius, but wrote in a more structured way, with more details about Roman politics, as well as being openly pro-Roman. His accounts of military encounters are often demonstrably inaccurate;
11583-410: The war shifted to the sea, where the Romans had little experience; on the few occasions they had previously felt the need for a naval presence they had usually relied on small squadrons provided by their Latin or Greek allies. The Romans built a navy to challenge Carthage's, and using the corvus inflicted a major defeat at the battle of Mylae in 260 BC. A Carthaginian base on Corsica
11700-438: The workhorses of the Roman and Carthaginian fleets throughout the Punic Wars. So ubiquitous was the type that Polybius uses it as a shorthand for "warship" in general. A quinquereme carried a crew of 300: 280 oarsmen and 20 deck crew and officers. It would also normally carry a complement of 40 marines; if battle was thought to be imminent this would be increased to as many as 120. In 260 BC Romans set out to construct
11817-513: Was defeated at Dertosa , although both sides suffered heavy casualties. The Carthaginians suffered a wave of defections of local Celtiberian tribes to Rome. The Roman commanders captured Saguntum in 212 BC and in 211 BC hired 20,000 Celtiberian mercenaries to reinforce their army. Observing that the three Carthaginian armies were deployed apart from each other, the Romans split their forces. This strategy resulted in two separate battles in 211 BC, usually referred to jointly as
11934-524: Was a rich source of umami flavoring due to the presence of glutamates . It was used along with murri in medieval Byzantine and Arab cuisine to give a savory flavor to dishes. Murri may derive from garum. Pliny the Elder and Isidore of Seville derive the Latin word garum from the Greek γάρος ( gáros ), a food named by Aristophanes , Sophocles , and Aeschylus . Garos may have been
12051-409: Was already at war against Macedonia. In 205 BC this war ended with a negotiated peace . A rebellion in support of the Carthaginians broke out on Sardinia in 213 BC, but it was quickly put down by the Romans. Up to 215 BC Sicily remained firmly in Roman hands, blocking the ready seaborne reinforcement and resupply of Hannibal from Carthage. Hiero II , the tyrant of Syracuse for
12168-519: Was being devastated by the enemy. Hannibal marched through the richest and most fertile provinces of Italy, hoping the devastation would draw Fabius into battle, but Fabius refused. In the 216 BC elections Gaius Varro and Lucius Paullus were elected as consuls; both were more aggressive-minded than Fabius. The Roman Senate authorised the raising of a force of 86,000 men, the largest in Roman history to that point. Paullus and Varro marched southward to confront Hannibal, who accepted battle on
12285-456: Was devastated by a storm while returning to Italy, losing most of its ships and more than 100,000 men. It is possible that the presence of the corvus, making the Roman ships unusually unseaworthy , contributed to this disaster; there is no record of them being used again. The war continued, with neither side able to gain a decisive advantage. The Carthaginians attacked and recaptured Akragas in 255 BC, but not believing they could hold
12402-512: Was difficult to force a battle if the other commander was unwilling to fight. Forming up in battle order was a complicated and premeditated affair, which took several hours. Infantry were usually positioned in the centre of the battle line, with light infantry skirmishers to their front and cavalry on each flank. Many battles were decided when one side's infantry force was attacked in the flank or rear and they were partially or wholly enveloped . Quinqueremes , meaning "five-oarsmen", provided
12519-426: Was even used as an ingredient in cosmetics and for removal of unwanted hair and freckles. Garum remains of interest to food historians and chefs , and has been reintroduced into modern food preparation. In Cádiz , Spain, in 2017, one chef used its flavors for a fish salad recipe, after Spanish archaeologists found evidence of garum in amphorae recovered in the ruins of Pompeii , dating to 79 AD. Garum
12636-517: Was fought entirely on Carthage's territories in what is now Tunisia and centred on the siege of Carthage . In 146 BC, the Romans stormed the city of Carthage , sacked it, slaughtered or enslaved most of its population, and completely demolished the city. The Carthaginian territories were taken over as the Roman province of Africa . The ruins of the city lie east of modern Tunis on the North African coast. The most reliable source for
12753-476: Was known for its garum , a sort of fish sauce highly prized by the elites of the Empire and exported in amphorae to Rome and other cities. Wine, salt and the city's famously fast horses were also exported. The city came to be very prosperous through suppression of piracy and technological advances, which allowed a boom in the trade with the newly Roman Provinces of Britannia (particularly Cornwall ) and
12870-423: Was ladled off the top of the mixture, the remains of the fish, called allec , were used by the poorest classes to flavor their staple porridge or farinata . The finished product—the nobile garum of Martial 's epigram —was apparently mild and subtle in flavor. The best garum fetched extraordinarily high prices, and salt could be substituted for it in a simpler dish. Garum appears in many recipes featured in
12987-422: Was marked by the ingenuity of Archimedes in inventing war machines to counteract the traditional siege warfare methods of the Romans. A large Carthaginian army led by Himilco was sent to relieve the city in 213 BC. It captured several Roman-garrisoned towns on Sicily; many Roman garrisons were either expelled or massacred by Carthaginian partisans. In spring 212 BC the Romans stormed Syracuse in
13104-488: Was not reconciled to Rome's perception of its situation. This breach of the recently signed treaty is considered by modern historians to be the single greatest cause of war with Carthage breaking out again in 218 BC in the Second Punic War . With the suppression of the rebellion, Hamilcar understood that Carthage needed to strengthen its economic and military base if it were to again confront Rome. After
13221-460: Was on the verge of forming an independent province in the Sertorian War when he died. The city was administered by two duumviri and two aediles . Between 140 and 150 Lucius Statius Quadratus , a governor, was in Olisipo. In 185 Sextus Tigidius Perennis , governor of Lusitania, visited the region. Between 200 and 209 Junius Celanius , a governor, also came to Olisipo. Lucidius
13338-575: Was renovated in 336 AD. Several temples were built in the city, dedicated to Jupiter , Concordia , Livia , Diana or Minerva (on the castle hill ), Cybele (near current Largo da Madalena ), Tethys (current São Nicolau church) and Idae Phrygiae (an uncommon cult from Asia Minor ), to the Imperial Cult and to Vestal Virgins (in Chelas ). A large necropolis from the 1st–4th centuries AD existed under Praça da Figueira and it
13455-400: Was seized, but an attack on Sardinia was repulsed; the base on Corsica was then lost. In 258 BC a Roman fleet defeated a smaller Carthaginian fleet at the battle of Sulci off the western coast of Sardinia. Taking advantage of their naval victories the Romans launched an invasion of North Africa in 256 BC, which the Carthaginians intercepted at the battle of Cape Ecnomus off
13572-603: Was the native Roman governor of the city in 468, having helped the Suebi under Remismund to take it. Olisipo, like most great cities in the Western Empire, was a centre for the dissemination of Christianity . Its first attested Bishop was St. Potamius (c. 356), and there were several martyrs killed during persecutions, such as the Diocletianic Persecution ; Verissimus, Maxima, and Julia are
13689-602: Was used as a condiment in the cuisines of Phoenicia , ancient Greece , Rome , Carthage and later Byzantium . Liquamen is a similar preparation, and at times they were synonymous. Although garum enjoyed its greatest popularity in the Western Mediterranean and the Roman world , it was earlier used by the Greeks . The taste of garum is thought to be comparable to that of today's Asian fish sauces. Like modern fermented fish sauce and soy sauce , garum
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