Legendary Roman victory over the Latin League and as part of a wider Latin War (c. 496 BC)
Rome's early Italian campaigns
|
---|
|
Wikisource
has original text related to this article:
The
Battle of Lake Regillus
was a legendary Roman victory over the
Latin League
shortly after the establishment of the
Roman Republic
and as part of a wider
Latin War
. The Latins were led by an elderly
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus
, the seventh and last
King of Rome
, who had been expelled in 509 BC, and his son-in-law,
Octavius Mamilius
, the dictator of
Tusculum
. The battle marked the final attempt of the Tarquins to reclaim their throne. According to legend,
Castor and Pollux
fought on the side of the Romans.
[2]
Background
[
edit
]
The threat of invasion by Rome's former allies in Latium led to the appointment of
Aulus Postumius Albus
as
dictator
.
The year in which the battle occurred is unclear, and has been unclear since ancient times. Livy places the battle in 499 BC, but says some of his sources also suggest the battle occurred during Postumius' consulship in 496 BC.
[3]
[4]
The other major source for this historical period,
Dionysius of Halicarnassus
, also places the battle in 496 BC.
[5]
[6]
Some modern authors have suggested 493 BC.
[2]
or 489 BC.
[4]
Lake Regillus
was located in the remains of a volcanic crater between Rome and Tusculum. The lake was drained in the fourth century BC.
[
citation needed
]
According to Livy, the
Volsci
(a neighbouring tribe to the south of Latium) had raised troops to send to the aid of the Latins against Rome; however, the haste of the Roman dictator in joining battle meant that the Volscian forces did not arrive in time.
[7]
Battle
[
edit
]
The dictator Postumius led the Roman infantry, while
Titus Aebutius Elva
was
Magister Equitum
(Master of the Horse). Tarquin was accompanied by his eldest and last remaining son,
Titus
.
[i]
It was said that the presence of the Tarquins caused the Romans to fight more passionately than in any previous battle.
Early in the battle, the king was injured attacking Postumius. The
magister equitum
charged at Mamilius, and both were wounded: Aebutius in the arm, and the Latin dictator in the chest. The
magister equitum
had to withdraw from the field and direct his troops from a distance. The king's soldiers, including many exiled Romans, began to overpower the republican forces, and the Romans suffered a setback when
Marcus Valerius Volusus
was killed by a spear while attacking Titus Tarquinius. However, Postumius brought in fresh troops from his own bodyguard and halted the exiles' progress.
Meanwhile,
Titus Herminius Aquilinus
, who had won fame fighting alongside
Horatius
at the
Sublician bridge
, and served as consul in 506 BC, engaged Mamilius and slew him; but while attempting to strip his fallen enemy and claim the spoils, Herminius was killed by a javelin. As the outcome of the battle seemed in doubt, Postumius ordered the cavalry to dismount and attack on foot, forcing the Latins to retreat and capturing the Latin camp. Tarquin and the Latin army abandoned the field, resulting in a decisive Roman victory. Postumius returned to Rome with his army, and celebrated a
triumph
.
[8]
[9]
A popular legend reported that the
Dioscuri
, Castor and Pollux, fought alongside the Romans, transfigured as two young horsemen. Postumius ordered a
temple
built in their honour in the
Roman Forum
, in the place where they had watered their horses. According to
Plutarch
, the battle was the young
Coriolanus
’ first military engagement, for which received an oak garland.
In the 19th century, the battle was celebrated in
Thomas Macaulay
's
Lays of Ancient Rome
.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Dionysius has the king accompanied by Sextus Tarquinius, who according to Livy had been slain at Gabii. When he saw that the battle was lost, he threw himself into the thickest fighting, and perished bravely.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Dionysius, vi. 5.
- ^
a
b
Grant,
The History of Rome
, p. 37.
- ^
Livy
,
History of Rome
, ii. 19?21.
- ^
a
b
William G. Sinnigen, and Arthur E. R. Boak,
A History of Rome to AD 565
, 6th ed., 1977, p. 46
- ^
Dionysius, vi. 2.
- ^
Cornell,
The Beginnings of Rome
, p. 216
- ^
Livy,
History of Rome
, ii. 22.
- ^
Livy,
History of Rome
, ii. 19?20.
- ^
Fasti Triumphales
Sources
[
edit
]
- Primary sources
- Secondary sources
- Grant, Michael
(1993).
The History of Rome
.
Faber and Faber
.
ISBN
0-571-11461-X
.
- Livy
:
Ab urbe condita
Book II cap. 19
;
20
.
- Ab Urbe Condita (Latin)
- The Battle of Lake Regillus
poem from Macaulay's "Lays of Ancient Rome".
- Cornell, Tim,
The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars, C.1000-263 BC
, Routledge, 1995.
ISBN
0-415-01596-0
.
- Drago, Massimo,
The battle of Lake Regillus
, Ancient Warfare magazine, 2013.
ISSN
2211-5129
.
41°50′25″N
12°41′35″E
/
41.84028°N 12.69306°E
/
41.84028; 12.69306