Friday, 29 January 2010

Julius Caesar’s Invasion of Britain

In 55BC and again in 54BC, Britain was invaded by the great Roman general Julius Caesar. Despite winning several victories, Caesar retreated to the Continent and Rome left Britain alone for nearly a century.

By the spring of 55bc, Roman forces under the general Julius Caesar had completed the conquest of the Celtic tribes in Gaul, a territory covering modern France, Belgium and parts of the Netherlands. Caesar decided to cross the Channel and invade southern Britain.

At the time southern Britain was inhabited by Celtic tribes related to those in Gaul. Caesar complained that many British warriors had fought in Gaul and he feared that the British might try to invade Gaul to aid their fellow Celts. But Caesar had another reason to invade. He was due to stand for election as Consul, the highest post in Rome, and needed a quick and popular victory to gain votes. In 55bc Caesar began gathering his armies.

After dealing with an invasion of Gaul by some German tribes, Caesar loaded a force of some 10,000 men into ships and set sail. A scouting vessel sent some weeks earlier had reported a good harbour at Dover and flat beaches at Deal. Caesar arrived off Dover, but there was such a strong force of Celtic warriors that he diverted to Deal. At Deal the Romans were met by a force of British warriors who lined the shore. The legionnaries hesitated to wade ashore. Then the standard bearer of the X Legion leapt into the surf and yelled out “Jump Comrades, unless you wish to betray our eagle to the enemy”. Grasping the sacred eagle standard he waded towards the British, followed by the rest of the X Legion.

The fighting on the beach was savage, but eventually the Romans got ashore. Caesar ordered a fortified camp to be built and sent out messages to the local chiefs demanding hostages to be given in return for peace. Some hostages began to arrive, but four days after the landing a massive storm lashed the coast. The Roman fleet was scattered and many ships destroyed. Taking advantage of the fact that Caesar was cut off from his base, the Britons attacked. The Romans drove the Britons off, but it was far from a convincing victory. Caesar took more hostages, then returned to Gaul.

In the spring of 54bc, Caesar returned to Deal. This time he brought nearly 30,000 men and 600 supply ships. Although the fleet was again damaged by a storm, Caesar constructed a secure base camp and established regular crossings to bring fresh supplies. Two weeks after landing he marched his army inland.

At a fortified settlement, perhaps Bigbury near Canterbury, Caesar met a large British army. The Britons were led by Cassivellaunus, King of the mighty Catuvellauni tribe which was based north of the Thames. The British ambushed a Roman force, but the next day Caesar inflicted a heavy defeat on the enemy. The tribes south of the Thames made peace, as did some in East Anglia, but Cassivellaunus defied Caesar. As Caesar marched north across the Thames, Cassivellaunus used his mobile chariots to ambush Roman patrols and harry the camps at night.

By the late summer, the Roman armies had marched deep into Catuvellauni territory and captured several towns. But Cassivellaunus had kept his army intact and was far from defeated. At about this time Caesar heard rumours that several tribes in Gaul were preparing to revolt. He decided to make peace. He asked Cassivellaunus for hostages and a cash tribute and for the promise that he would not attack the tribes which had surrendered to Rome. Eager to be rid of Caesar, Cassivellaunus agreed.

As autumn closed in Caesar embarked his troops on his ships and sailed for Gaul. He later went on to fight a series of bitter civil wars against other Roman generals and become dictator of Rome. But he was never free to return to Britain, where the Catuvellauni soon became the richest and most powerful tribe of all.

This is an extract from the book "What Everyone Needs to Know About British History", by Rupert Matthews.

Wednesday, 27 January 2010

The First Gladiators

The first gladiators were not from Rome
The Romans did not invent the idea of gladiators. The first mention of gladiators comes from Campania, the area of Italy south of Rome that was inhabited by Greek settlers. The custom may have reached Rome by way of Etruria, as the Romans themselves believed.

The first Roman gladiators fought in 264bc
The earliest known gladiatorial combat in Rome took place in 264BC. Six slaves were set to fight each other with swords, but without wearing any armour. The fights did not last long before one of the slaves in each pair was killed.

The first gladiator fight was part of a funeral
The first gladiatorial fights in Rome were always part of a funeral. The name for a gladiatorial show, a munus, means a duty owed to the dead. The first fights were held at the funeral of the wealthy politician and nobleman Brutus Pera who ordered the games in his will.

In the early funeral games, food was more important than gladiators
The Romans used funerals to show off how wealthy and important their families were. Free food and drink was laid out at the funeral for any Roman citizen who wanted to come along. Gifts of money, jewellery and clothing were handed out to invited guests. The family of the person being buried would wear their finest clothes. The first gladiator fights were just one part of the whole funeral.

Gladiators were named after their weapons
The word ‘gladiator’ means ‘a man who uses a gladius’. The gladius was a type of short, stabbing sword that originally came from Spain but which was later used by Roman soldiers. It was about 40cm long and had a very sharp point. It was generally used for stabbing, not for cutting. Not all gladiators used the gladius, but the name was used for all fighters in the arena.

This is an extract from 100 Things You Need to Know About Gladiators, by Rupert Matthews. To learn more and order your copy at a discount CLICK HERE.

Monday, 25 January 2010

The First Weapons

The earliest arms were made from stone. The earliest humans lived hundreds of thousands of years ago. Scientists have found weapons made of sharpened stone that were used by these people.

Weapons were used for hunting as well as fighting. The bones of wild cattle, deer and elephants have been found by scientists who study the remains of ancient humans. These animals were hunted and killed by the people using their stone weapons.

The first warriors had no armour. It is thought that early tribes of humans fought each other to get control of the best hunting grounds or sources of water. These men had no armour, so they had to rely on being able to move quickly out of the way for safety.

Spears were the first effective weapons. The earliest spears consisted of a stone point mounted on the end of a wooden pole. With a spear a man could reach his enemy while still out of reach of the opponent’s hand-held weapons. Soon spears were being used all over the world.

Shields were the first form of defence. A thrust from a spear could be stopped by holding a piece of wood in the way. People soon began to produce shields made of flat pieces of wood with a handle on the back. Over the years shields came to be produced in many different shapes and sizes.

The oldest signs of warfare come from Krapina, Croatia, where human bones over 120,000 years old have been found that show marks caused by stone spearheads.

This is an extract from 100 Things you should know about Arms and Armour by Rupert Matthews.  To learn more and order your copy at a discount CLICK HERE

Wednesday, 20 January 2010

Civil War Musketeer

An English Civil War musketeer with his gun and its rest. Battles were increasingly being settled by massed volleys of gunfire from such men.

This is an extract from  Battlefield Walks of Kent and Sussex. To learn more and buy a copy at a discount CLICK HERE.

The Royal Army of Rome, 600bc

According to the chronology of early Rome given by later historians, at the beginning Rome was ruled by a succession of seven kings. The first king was Romulus, who founded the city in 753bc and the last was Tarquin the Proud, ousted in a coup in 509bc.

For most of this period the Roman Army consisted of the men of the city and surrounding farmland mustered together wielding whatever weapons they brought with them. In about 550bc, however, King Servius Tullius reformed the armed forces of Rome. Documents describing the new system have survived and provide a clear picture of the Roman army under the last of the kings.

The basis of the army was citizenship and wealth. Only citizens of Rome could serve in the army, slaves and foreigners being excluded. The wealth of the citizen dictated what equipment he was expected to bring to the muster and the unit in which he served. Units at this time were termed centuries and were made up of 100 men. The army was periodically paraded on the open plain immediately north of the city and subjected to a strict inspection to ensure that every man had his proper weapons and knew the tactical drills of his unit. This area subsequently became known as the Field of Mars.

The richest men mustered each with a large, round shield together with bronze cuirass, greaves and helmet. Their offensive weapons were a long, thrusting spear and short sword. Rome could field about 8,000 such men who formed up for battle in a dense mass eight ranks deep. Each man in the front rank had about 30 inches of space, so his shield overlapped that of the man to his left, presenting a solid wall to the enemy. The men in the front rank used their spears to lunge at the enemy, while the men behind them held their spears overhead to stab at any enemy whose guard slipped. Only the front three ranks could fight at any one time, the rear ranks being expected to step forward to replace casualties or to add their weight to the pushing scrum into which battles could quickly degenerate. This style of equipment and fighting was Greek and had been copied and learned from the Greek cities doted around southern Italy, such as Naples and Pompeii.

The less wealthy men of the second and third classes had lighter armour and rectangular shields. They did, however, carry thrusting spears and swords and formed up in a phalanx formation. At this date, Rome had about 4,000 men equipped in this fashion. The fourth class numbered some 2,000 men equipped with shield and spear alone who fought in a more open formation. Another 3,000 men came equipped only with slings or javelins. They fought as skirmishers in battle and acted as scouts on campaign. The sixth class of truly poor citizens could not afford any military equipment. They served as labourers who were put to work repairing fortifications or transporting supplies.

In times of war the army was divided in two. The older men were given the task of manning the walls of Rome and other fortifications while the younger men went on campaign. In all the Roman army of about 550bc numbered around 10,000 men, plus an unknown number of labourers, armourers and other workmen.

The military reforms of Servius Tullius also included erecting the first defensive stone wall around Rome in 565bc. Before his time Rome had relied on the army for defence, and on wooden palisades around its naturally strong site on hills surrounded by marshy land. But as the population grew the city itself began to be rich enough to tempt attackers, while the marshes were being drained to provide building land or, in the case of the Forum, an open space for public events. The wall Servius built was said to encompass all seven of the hills on which Rome was built, though archaeology reveals that at this time only the summits were occupied. Perhaps the meadows were included within the walls so that the valuable livestock could be kept in safety in times of siege.

The Servian Wall, which ancient writers pointed to as the work of King Servius, has been shown by archaeology to be the work of the mid-4th century bc. Whether this was because the Romans had got the dates of their early history incorrect, because Servius did not build such a wall at all, or whether because it was simply rebuilt is unclear.