Bellum Batonianum

Bellum Batonianum
Map of the uprising
Date AD 6–9 Location Roman province of Illyricum Result Roman victory Territorial changes None
Belligerents
Daesitiates Breuci Dalmatae Andizetes Pannonians Pirustae Liburnians Japodes	Roman army Cavalry detachment of Rhoemetalces king of the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace Veterans and volunteers from Italy Freedmen from Italy
Commanders and leaders
Bato the Daesitiate Bato the Breucian †? Pinnes king of the Breuci	Tiberius Valerius Messallinus Aulus Caecina Severus Germanicus Marcus Plautius Silvanus Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Rhoemetalces

The Bellum Batonianum (Latin for "war of the Batos") was a military conflict fought in the Roman province of Illyricum in which an alliance of the native peoples of Illyricum rebelled against the Romans. There were two regions in this Roman province: Dalmatia and Pannonia. The rebellion began among native peoples who were recruited as auxiliary troops for the Romans. They were led by Bato the Daesitiate (the Deasitiae were a tribe which lived in Dalmatia). They were joined by the Breuci (a tribe in Pannonia) led by Bato the Breucan. Many other tribes in Illyria also joined the revolt. The Roman called this conflict bellum batonianum (Batonian war) after these two leaders who had the same name. Velleius Paterculus called it the Pannonian and Dalmatian war because it involved both regions of Illyricum. In English it has been called the "Great Illyrian revolt", "Pannonian-Dalmatian uprising" and "Bato uprising." This four-year war, which lasted from 6 AD to 9 AD, saw a large deployment of Roman forces in the province, with whole armies operating across the western Balkans and fighting on more than one front.^[1] In 8 AD the Breuci of the Sava valley surrendered, but it took another winter blockade and a season of fighting before the surrender in Dalmatia came in 9 AD . The Roman historian Suetonius described this war as the most difficult conflict faced by Rome since the Punic Wars two centuries earlier.^[2]

Background

Illyricum saw some fighting during the Great Roman Civil War between Julius Caesar and the forces of the Senate led by Pompey. The Romans who lived in some of the coastal towns supported Caesar, while the native peoples supported Pompey. Quintus Cornificius, a Caesarian, repulsed Quintus Octavius, a Pompeian. The Dalmatians routed Aulus Gabinius, a Caesarian who had been ordered by Caesar to join Cornificius in Illyricum. The Dalmatians later asked Caesar for pardon. Caesar demanded a tribute and hostages (as normal practice) as compensation and sent Publius Vatinius with three legions to enforce this. When Caesar was murdered in 44 BC the Dalmatians ignored these demands and routed five of Vatinius' cohorts. With the disruptions caused by the further Roman civil wars^[3] Dalmatian piracy in the Adriatic Sea became a problem again.^[4][5]

In 35 BC the Iapydes of northern Illyricum carried out raids into north-eastern Italy. They attacked Aquileia, and plundered Tergestus (Trieste). In 35-33 BC Octavian (who was to become the emperor Augustus) undertook military campaigns in the region. He defeated the Iapydes, the northernmost tribe of Dalmatia. He then pushed into southern Pannonia and seized the city of Segesta (which later, as a Roman town, was called Siscia). The then turned on the Dalmatians and seized Promona (to the south of modern Knin, Croatia) on the coast, the main city of the Liburnians, which had been seized by the Dalmatians. After that he seized the Dalmatian cities of Sunodium and Setovia. He then moved on the Derbani, who sued for peace. He also destroyed the settlements on the islands of Melite (Mljet) and Melaina Corcyra (Korčula) because its inhabitants practiced piracy. He deprived the Liburnians of their ships because they practiced piracy, too. Octavian's lieutenants conducted various other operations in the region. Octavian temporarily restored Roman authority in Dalmatia and pushed into southern Pannonia, which had never reached by the Roman armies before.^[6][7]

In 27 BC the first settlement between Octavian and the Roman senate formalised Octavian's absolute rule, bestowed the title on Augustus on him, and made him the first Roman emperor. It also made arrangements about the provinces of the empire. Most provinces remained senatorial provinces, whose governors were chosen by the senate from among the senators, and the frontier provinces became imperial provinces, whose governors were appointed by Augustus. The province of Illyricum was constituted and, despite being a frontier province, it was designated as a senatorial province. It included both Dalmatia and the newly conquered territory in southern Pannonia.

From 14 BC to 10 BC there was a series of rebellions in southern Pannonia and northern Dalmatia which Roman writers referred to as bellum pannomicum (the Pannonian war). We have very little information about these events. Most of it comes from brief accounts by Cassius Dio and a few references by other authors. We are not told what the causes were either. The Roman sources had little interest in events in Illyria from the campaigns of Augustus in 35-33 BC to 16 BC. Cassius Dio wrote that in that year the governor of Illyria for 17-16 BC, Publius Silius Nerva, went to fight in the Italian Alps because there were no troops there. Some Pannonians and Noricans entered Istria and pillaged it. Silius Nerva quickly brought the situation under control. At the same time there was a small rebellion in Dalmatia. The Dentheletae, together with the Scordisci (who lived in today's Serbia, at the confluence of the Rivers Savus [Sava], Dravus [Drava] and Danube) attacked the Roman province of Macedonia. A civil war broke out in Thrace. In 15 BC the Romans conquered the Scordisci and annexed Noricum and conducted other operations in other parts of the Alps against the Rhaeti and Vindelici.^[8] In later 13 BC Augustus gave Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, his most important ally, the supreme command in Illyricum. He found a negotiated solution. However, he died suddenly and the treaty was ignored. The command was given to Tiberius who defeated the Illyrians. The beginning of Roman military operations in Illyricum might have started by Marcus Vinicius the governor for 14-13 BC. The Pannonian war led to Illyricum being transferred from being a senatorial to being an imperial province.^{[9][10][11][12][13]}

The war

Indigenous alliance and Roman forces

The Revolt of 6-9 AD was the only occasion where the different peoples in the province of Illyricum entered in a grand coalition against the Romans. The main tribes which contributed to the alliance were the Daesitiatae, Breuci, Dalmatae, Andizetes, Pannonians, Pirustae, Liburnians and Iapydes (the latter two fighting under an unknown leader).^[14] The Dalmatians were led by Bato the Daesitiate, while the Breuci were led by Bato the Breucian, their army commander and Pinnes, their king. Our sources of information are Cassius Dio and Velleius Paterculus. The latter participated in the war, but gave limited information. Suetonius gave this description of this war: "the most serious of all foreign wars since those with Carthage, which [Tiberius] carried on for three years with fifteen legions and a corresponding force of auxiliaries, amid great difficulties of every kind and the utmost scarcity of supplies."^[15] Suetonius' claim about fifteen legions is incorrect. At one point there were ten legions assembled in Illyricum, but five of them were sent back because this would have created an oversized army. On three occasions the three legions from the Roman province of Moesia were involved in the fighting and on one occasion two legions from the Roman province of Asia were also involved. Through most of the war it was the five legions stationed in Illyricum (three in Pannonia and two in Dalmatia) which were engaged in this war, which covered a very large area. In addition, there were irregular emergency units levied in Italy. The rebels had an efficient military organisation which paralleled that of the Romans through having served in auxiliary military units which supported the Roman legions and which were trained by the Romans. However, they did not have a regular army. There were only three major battles in the area of Sirmium(Sremska Mitrovica, in today's Serbia), in nearby northern Moesia and a number of minor battles in Dalmatia. Much of the Roman war effort involved counter-insurgency operations. The rebels also used guerrilla tactics.

6 AD. Outbreak of the rebellion and first year of the war

Roman Emperor, Tiberius

In 6 AD, Tiberius was about to launch the second campaign against the Marcomanni in Germania. Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus, the governor of Illyricum, was going with him with most of his army in Illyricum and the locals were ordered to provide auxiliary contingents. When these troops gathered they rebelled under the leadership of Bato, a Daesidiate. They defeated a Roman force which was sent against them. Although this war is sometimes described as having been fought by the Daesitiatae and the Breuci, Cassius Dio described the forces led by Bato the Daesitiate as Dalmatian. This indicates that his men were not exclusively Daesitiatae, but included men form various tribes in Dalmatia. According to Velleius Paterculus, the population of the tribes which rebelled was more than 800,000. They had 200,000 infantry and 9,000 cavalry. We do not know how trustworthy this information is. Ancient historians tended to exaggerate figures. Velleius Paterculus also wrote that the rebels knew the Roman military tactics and spoke Latin. They divided their forces into three parts. One was to invade Italy, which was not far from Nauportus (a Roman fort in today's Slovenia), one had already entered the Roman Province of Macedonia (Greece) and the third fought in their home territories. They executed their plan swiftly. They massacred Roman civilians and a sizable veteran contingent who were helpless in this remote area. They seized Macedonia and the pillaged everywhere. This created panic in Rome and even Augustus was fearful. Levies were held all over Italy. The veterans were recalled. Rich families were ordered to supply freedmen compulsorily in proportion to their income - this not been done since the aftermath of the Battle of Cannae two centuries earlier. Augustus warned that the rebels could reach Rome in ten days if drastic action was not taken. He assigned the command of the war to Tiberius. The Roman army was divided into several divisions to evade the united forces of the rebels. Outposts were placed to blockade them, to prevent them from braking through and to disrupt their supplies.^[16][17]

In Cassius Dio's version, at first Bato the Daesidiate had very few followers. When he defeated the Roman force sent against him, more people joined him. Then the Breuci, the largest tribe in southern Pannonia, led by a their Bato, marched on Sirmium. Aulus Caecina Severus, the governor of the neighbouring province of Moesia (in Today's Serbia, south of the River Sava and west of the River Danube) quickly advanced against them and defeated them near the River Dravus (Drava), but suffered many casualties. Hoping to renew the struggle soon because many Romans had fallen, the Breuci called on their allies to join them. Cassius Dio did not specify whether the Severus broke a siege of the city or prevented the enemy form reaching it. The Drava was to the northwest of Sirmium and the Romans from Moesia must have come from the east or the south. Thus, if Caecina Severus did break a siege of Sirmium, he would have pursued the retreating Breuci until they made a last stand.^[18] The Dalmatians marched on Salona (in Dalmatia, on the Adriatic coast) but their Bato was defeated and wounded. He sent other men forward who ravaged the coast down to Apollonia. They were defeated in a battle, but they won another one. Tiberius came from Germania fearing an invasion of Italy and sent Valerius Messalinus ahead. Even though Bato was not well, he engaged him. He was stronger in open battle, but he was defeated in an ambush. Velleius Paterculus wrote that Messallinus was surrounded by 20,000 men and had only one legion at only half its normal strength (roughly 2,500 men). Yet he routed the enemy and was awarded a triumph. Presumably Valerius Messasalinus was sent to defend Salona.^[19][20]

According to Cassius Dio, Bato the Daesitiate went east to the other Bato and made an alliance with him. This contrasts with the picture given by Velleius Paterculus in which the rebellion seemed to have a plan and the Dalmatians and the Breuci seemed to have acted in concert from the beginning. In Cassius Dio's account the two Batos occupied Mount Alma (Mount Fruška Gora, Serbia, just north of Sirmium). Here they were defeated by the Thracian cavalry of Rhoemetalces (the king of the [Odrysian Kingdom] in [Thrace], an ally of the Romans) which had been sent ahead against them by Caecina Severus, the governor of Moesia. They then fought hard against Severus, who later went back to Moesia because the Dacians and Sarmatians had crossed the Danube and were ravaging it. Tiberius and Valerius Messallinus were hanging around in Siscia (Sisak, in today's central Croatia, the headquarters of the Roman army). The Dalmatians overran the territory of the Roman allies and drew many more tribes into the revolt. Tiberius marched on them, but they avoided pitched battles and kept moving around, causing great devastation. In the winter the rebels invaded Macedonia again. Cassius Dio wrote that they did so again even though he had not mentioned a previous invasion of Macedonia. We know about this through the writing of Velleius Paterculus (as noted above). They were by defeated by Rhoemetalces and his brother Rhascyporis. Cassius Dio did not mention any action by the Romans there. Therefore, we do not know how the Roman governor of this province dealt with this situation. We do not know how the previous invasion was death with either. It might have involved raids, rather than an occupation.^[21]

7 AD. Germanicus set to Illyricum; troops from Moesia and Asia sent back

Cassius Dio wrote that in 7 AD Augustus sent Germanicus to Illyricum because Tiberius’ lack of activity made him suspect that he was delaying to remain under arms as long as possible with the excuse of the war. Augustus seems to have been displeased with what he must have considered a passive strategy. However, Tiberius was very active and he was conducting war of attrition and counter-insurgency operations. This strategy later proved to be the right one.^[22] Germanicus was given a force of freemen and freedmen. Some of the latter were requisitioned form their masters, who were paid a compensation. In Rome there was a shortage of grain. Velleius Paterculus wrote that the rebel forces in Pannonia who faced Tiberius were not happy with the size of their forces. They were worn down and brought to the verge of famine (presumably due to ravaging), could not withstand his offensives an avoided pitched battles. They went to the Claudian Mountains (a mountain range in Pannonia, in the Varaždin County in northern Croatia) and took a defensive position in their fortifications. In Velleius Paterculus’ version, the second rebel force confronted the legions which Caecina Severus and Marcus Plautius Silvanus were bringing to Illyricum (from Moesia and the Roman province of Asia, three and two legions respectively). They surrounded the five legions, their auxiliary troops and the Thracian cavalry and almost inflicted a fatal defeat. The Thracian cavalry was routed and the allied cavalry fled. The legions suffered casualties, but they then rallied and won the day. In Cassius Dio’ version, instead, the two Batos went to wait for the arrival of Caecina Severus. He did not mention Plautius Silvanus. They attacked him unexpectedly when he was encamped near the Volcaean marshes. They were defeated. After this battle the Romans army was divided into detachments to overrun as many parts of the country at once. In Cassius Dio's opinion, at this time they did not accomplish anything worthy of note, except for Germanicus who defeated Mazaei, a Dalmatian tribe. In an earlier passage he noted that in this year the country was ravaged and that the rebels did not defend it. They withdrew to mountain fortresses from which they launched raids whenever they could.^[23][24] Therefore, even though there were no spectacular battles (by which the Romans judged military worthiness), there was a counter-insurgency campaign which involved a scorched earth strategy and which turned out to be effective.

After the mentioned battle Aulus Caecina Severus and Marcus Plautius Silvanus joined Tiberius and a huge army was assembled. Velleius Paterculus gave the details of this. They brought five legions (three form Moesia and two from the province of Asia respectively). Tiberius had five legions (three in Pannonia and two in Dalmatia). The legions were not at full strength as Velleius Paterculus mentioned that there were seventy cohorts. Ten legions at full complement would have had 100 cohorts. There were fourteen troops of cavalry. In addition, there were 10,000 reservists, many volunteers and the Thracian cavalry. There had not been such a large army since the time of the Roman civil wars. Tiberius decided to send the newly arrived armies back because the army was too large to be manageble. He escorted them with his troops. He then returned to Siscia at the beginning of a very hard winter.^[25][26]

8 AD. End of the rebellion in Pannonia

In 8 BC the Dalmatians and the Pannonians wanted to sue for peace due to famine and disease, but they were prevented from doing so by the rebels, who had no hope of being spared by the Romans and continued to resist. Tiberius had pursued a policy of scorched earth to starve the Pannonians. Cassius Dio also noted that there were grain shortages in Rome the previous year and that later in this year the famine abated. We do not know how widespread this was and whether it touched other Mediterranean areas, including Dalmatia and Pannonia, and thus was a contributory factor. According to Cassius Dio, Bato the Breucian overthrew Pinnes, the king of the Breuci. He became suspicious of his subject tribes and demanded hostages from the Pannonian garrisons. Bato the Daesitiate defeated him in battle and pinned him in a stronghold. He was handed over to Bato the Daesitiate and he was executed. After this many Pannonians rose in revolt. Marcus Plautius Silvanus conducted a campaign against them, conquered the Breuci and won over other tribes without a battle. Bato the Daesitiate withdrew from Pannonia, occupied the passes leading to Dalmatia and ravaged Dalmatia. In Pannonia there was some brigandage.^[27] Velleius Paterculus, wrote that the harsh winter brought rewards because in the following summer all of Pannonia sought peace. Therefore, a bad winter probably also played a part. The Pannonians laid down their arms at the River Bathinus. Bato was made a prisoner and Pinnes gave himself up.^[28]

9 AD End of the rebellion in Dalmatia

In 9 BC the war was restricted to Dalmatia. Velleius Paterculus wrote that Augustus gave the chief command of all the forces to Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. In the summer Lepidus made his way to Tiberius through areas which had not been affected by the war. He was attacked by the locals who had not been weakened by fighting. Lepidus defeated them, ravaged the fields, and burnt houses. He succeeded in reaching Tiberius. This campaign ended the war. Two Dalmatian tribes, the Perustae and Daesitiate, who were almost unconquerable because of their mountain strongholds, the narrow passes in which they lived and their fighting spirit, were almost exterminated.^[29]

Cassius Dio, instead, wrote that Tiberius returned to Rome. Germanicus captured Splonum. He was unable to take it by storm because it was well fortified. When a parapet of the wall fell. The inhabitants panicked, abandoned that part of the wall and fled to the citadel. Later they surrendered. At Raetinum the inhabitants set a slow-burning fire. When the Romans entered the town they did not notice it and then found themselves surrounded by the flames and pelted from the wall of the citadel. Most of them died. The people in the citadel had to escape to subterranean chambers in the night. Germanicus then seized Seretium and then the other places fell easily. However, other Dalmatians revolted. Cassius Dio also wrote that there was famine in Italy largely due to the war. However, it has to be noted that most of the grain was imported from Egypt, the province of Africa, Sicily and Sardinia. Therefore, it is unclear how the war in Illyricum caused famine in Italy.^[30] Augustus sent Tiberius back to Dalmatia. Tiberius divided the army into three divisions to avoid a mutiny. He put Marcus Plautius Silvanus and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in charge of two of them and led the third against Bato, taking Germanicus with him. The other two divisions easily defeated their enemies. Tiberius chased the fugitive Bato around the country. He finally besieged him at Adetrium, near Salona. This was on a rock and was surrounded by steep ravines. Tiberius held on until Bato was reduced to seek terms. However, Bato could not persuade his comrades to accept a truce. Tiberius advanced against the fortress. He kept part of his force in reserve and sent the rest forward in a square formation. The rugged terrain stretched the advancing troops. On seeing this the Dalmatians lined up outside the wall at the top of the slope and hurled stones at them. This separated the Romans further. Tiberius prevented his men from retreating by continuously sending reinforcements. He sent a detachment to a point where the place could be ascended via a long route. It was taken. The enemy could not enter the fortress and fled. They were found hiding in the forest and were killed. Tiberius negotiated the term of capitulation.^[31]

Germanicus turned on those who were still resisting. Many deserters were preventing them from making terms. He reached Arduba. It was strongly fortified and a river flowed around its base. There was a row between the deserters and the inhabitants who wanted peace. A fight broke out. The women helped the deserters because, contrary to their men, they did not want to suffer servitude. The deserters were defeated and surrendered. The women took their children and threw themselves into the flames or the river below. Cassius Dio did not specify what caused the fire. The nearby towns surrendered voluntarily. Germanicus rejoined Tiberius and sent Postumius to subdue the other districts. Bato promised to surrender if he and his followers would be pardoned. Tiberius agreed and then asked him why his people had rebelled. According to Cassius Dio he replied: "You Romans are to blame for this; for you send as guardians of your flocks, not dogs or shepherds, but wolves."^[32] We do not know if Bato actually said that because ancient historians used to make speeches up.

Aftermath

The Romans, aside from committing atrocities^[33] during the war, split up Illyrian tribes into different groups from the ones they had previously composed. The administrative civitates of the Osseriates, Colapiani and Varciani were probably created from the Breuci.^[34] Other members of tribes were probably sold as slaves.^[35] or deported to different locations, such as the Azali.^[36]

See also

• Illyrian warfare
• Bato
• Auxiliaries (Roman military)#Illyrian revolt (6–9 AD)

Notes

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Great Illyrian Revolt.

Primary sources

• Cassius Dio Roman History, Vol 6, Books. 51-65 (Loeb Classical Library), Loeb, 1989; ISBN 978-0674990920
• Suetonius, (the Life of Tiberius; The Life of The Twelve Caesars, Penguin Classics, revised edition, 2007;ISBN 978-0140455168 (Julius Caesar [10]) accessed July 2016
• Velleius Paterculus Compendium of Roman History / Res Gestae Divi Augusti (Loeb Classical Library, No. 152), 1867; Harvard University Press (1867); ASIN: B01JXR6R1Q

Secondary sources

• Gruen, E., S., The Expansion of the Empire under Augustus, in: A. K. Bowman, A., K., Champlin, E., Lintot, A., (eds.), The Cambridge An-cient History 10. The Augustan Empire, 43 B. C.– A. D. 69, Cambridge University Press, 1996, pp. 147–197; ISBN 978-0521264303
• Mócsy, A., Pannonia and Upper Moesia: A History of the Middle Danube Provinces of the Roman Empire (Routledge Revivals), Routledge, 2015; ISBN 978-0415745833
• Seager, R., Tiberius, Tiberius, (Blackwell Ancient Lives), Wiley-Blackwell; 2ND edition, 2005; ISBN 978-1405115292
• Radman-Livaja, I., Dizda, M., Archaeological Traces of the Pannonian Revolt 6–9 AD:Evidence and Conjectures, Veröffentlichungen der Altertumskommiion für Westfalen Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe, Band XVIII, Aschendorff Verlag, 210, pp. 47–58
• Wilkes, J., J., The Danubian and Balkan Provinces, in: Bowman A., L., Champlin E., A.Lintot (eds.), The Cambridge Ancient History 10. The Augustan Empire, 43 B. C. – A. D. 69, Cambridge University Press, 1996, pp. 545–585; ISBN 978-0521264303
• Wilkes J.J., The Illyrians (The Peoples of Europe), Wiley-Blackwell; New Ed edition, 1996; ISBN 978-0631198079

Detailed and critical commentaries of the sources is given in:

• Šašel-Kos, M., A Historical Outline of the Region Between Aquileia, the Adriatic and Sirmium in Cassius Dio and Herodian (Ljubljana 1986), pp. 178–190.
• Swan, P., M, The Augustan Succession: a Historical Commentary on Cassius Dio's Roman History Books 55-56 (9 B.C. - A.D. 14). American Classical Studies 47, pp. 195–222, pp. 235–250. Oxford University Press, 2004; ISBN 978-0195167740
• A. J. Woodman, A.J., Velleius Paterculus: The Tiberian Narrative (2.94-131) (Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries), Cambridge University Press, 2004

Useful historical narratives of the events can be found in:

• Dzino, D. Illyricum in Roman Politics 229 BC - AD 68, Cambridge University Press, 2010, pp. 149–153; ISBN 978-0521194198
• Wilkes, J., J., Dalmatia, Harvard University Press, 1969; pp. 69–77. ISBN 978-0674189508