Total War Rome: Destroy Carthage (2 page)

The story of the Punic Wars has huge resonance today, with some lessons that have been learned well, others less so. The decision to leave Carthage intact at the end of the Second Punic War can be compared with the decision by the Allies not to conquer Germany and instead accept an armistice at the end of the First World War, or the decision by the US-led coalition to stop short of the invasion of Iraq at the end of the Gulf War in 1991; in both cases the decision to hold back led to far more costly and devastating war years later. Archaeology has revealed that despite the defeat of Hannibal, Carthage rebuilt her war harbour unhindered by Rome, just as the Allies stood by while Hitler rebuilt the German navy and air force in the 1930s. In many ways, the Punic Wars were the first true world war, the first ‘total' war, encompassing more than half the ancient world and with repercussions far beyond the west Mediterranean. Just like the world wars of the last century or the present global war against terrorism, the main lesson of history is perhaps that war on that scale leaves little room for concession or appeasement. Total war means just that: total war.

Distances

The basic unit of Roman linear measurement was the foot (
pes
), divided into twelve inches (
unciae
), roughly similar to the units we use today. For longer distances they used the mile (
milliarum
), a distance of 5,000
pedes,
so just over nine-tenths of a modern mile or about one and a half kilometres. An intermediate unit of Greek origin was the
stadium
(plural
stadiae,
derived from the Greek
stadion,
a racing track), about 600
pedes,
so a little under an eighth of a mile or a fifth of a kilometre. In translation it is common to use the Anglicized
stade
and
stades,
as in this novel.

Dates

The Romans dated years
ab urbe condita,
‘from the founding of the city' in 753
BC
, but more commonly used the ‘consular year', naming the two consuls in office at any one time. Because the consuls changed annually and in theory no two men could hold the office twice, the consular date gave a unique year. It was often necessary to spell out the full names because of the dominance through the Republican period of men from a small number of
gentes
such as the Scipiones, so it might not be enough to say ‘in the consulship of Scipio and Metellus'; the full names would have to be given.

Gens

The
gens
(plural
gentes
) was the family of a patrician Roman. A person might be from an established branch of a
gens,
so that, for example, Scipio Africanus was from the Scipiones branch of the
gens
Cornelii, and Sextus Julius Caesar from the Caesares branch of the
gens
Julii. The
gentes
can be compared with the aristocratic families of Europe in recent centuries, although for the Roman
gens
behaviour was even more formalized and restrictive – governing, for example, marriage as well as rights and privileges. Most of the main players of the Roman Republic came from a small number of
gentes,
so that names such as Julius Caesar and Brutus that have such historical resonance for the Civil War period crop up frequently in preceding generations, often with similar prominence and fame.

Names

Romans could be known among friends by their
praenomen
(first name), just as we are today, though they could be also known by their other names, in the case of Scipio his
cognomen
(third name), which was a common usage among aristocrats. The
cognomen
was the branch of the family (
gens
) that was revealed in the second name; thus the Scipio of this novel, Publius Cornelius Scipio, was from the Scipiones branch of the
gens
Cornelii. The Cornelii Scipiones were not the
gens
into which he had been born, as he had been adopted by the son of the famous elder Scipio, Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, when he was a small child: however, following custom, the younger Scipio also retained the
gens
name of his real father, Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus. Just as Aemilius Paullus had been awarded the
agnomen
Macedonicus for his triumph over the Macedonians at Pydna in 168
BC
, so the younger Scipio's full name in 146
BC
, Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus, included the
agnomen
Africanus inherited from his adoptive grandfather after he had been awarded it following the Battle of Zama in 202
BC.
The burden of expectation that this name put on Scipio as a young man, and his efforts to earn it in his own right, form an underlying theme of this novel.

Characters

The following are historical characters unless they are noted as fictional; the biographical notes go up to 146
BC.
The names are those used in the novel, followed by their full name where known.

Aemilius Paullus
– Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus (c. 229–160
BC
), father of Scipio and distinguished general who defeated the Macedonians at the Battle of Pydna in 168
BC.

Andriscus
– Ruler of Adramyttium in Asia Minor who claimed to be the son of Perseus, was briefly self-appointed king in Macedonia and was defeated by the Romans under Metellus at the second Battle of Pydna in 148
BC.

Brasis
– Fictional gladiator, a former Thracian mercenary captured in Macedonia.

Brutus
– Decimus Junius Brutus, a fictional son of the historical Marcus Junius Brutus, of the
gens
Junia; a friend of Scipio and commander of the Praetorian Guard at the siege of Carthage.

Cato
– Marcus Porcius Cato (c. 238–149
BC
), famous elder statesman of the Roman Senate who repeatedly called for Carthage to be destroyed,
‘Carthago delenda est'.

Claudia Pulchridina
– Of the
gens
Claudia, fictional wife of Scipio by arranged marriage; her name means ‘beautiful'.

Demetrius
– Demetrius I, later named Soter (‘Saviour'); contemporary of Scipio Aemilianus, a scion of the Seleucid dynasty held hostage in Rome during his youth. He became king of Syria from 161
BC.

Ennius
– Ennius Aquilius Tuscus, a fictional scion of the original Etruscan branch (the Tuscii) of the
gens
Aquilia; a close friend of Scipio and commander of the
fabri,
the army engineers.

Eudoxia
– Fictional British slave girl and friend of Fabius.

Fabius
– Fabius Petronius Secundus, a fictional legionary from Rome who is the bodyguard and friend of Scipio in the novel.

Gaius Paullus
– Gaius Aemilius Paullus, fictional cousin of Scipio on his father's side.

Gnaeus
– Gnaeus Metellus Julius Caesar, of the
gens
Metelli. Fictional son of Metellus and Julia whose true paternity is revealed in the novel; present as a tribune at the siege of Carthage.

Gulussa
– Second son of Masinissa, sent by his father to Rome in 172
BC
to present the Numidian case against Carthage; on Masinissa's death Scipio made him commander of the Numidian forces, which he led in the siege of Carthage.

Hasdrubal
– General who defended Carthage in 146
BC
; the fate of his wife and children is described by the historian Appian.

Hippolyta
– Fictional Scythian princess who joins the academy in Rome and later leads the Numidian cavalry alongside Gulussa in North Africa.

Julia
– Fictional daughter of the historical Sextus Julius Caesar, from the Caesares branch of the
gens
Julia; friend and lover of Scipio, but betrothed to Metellus.

Masinissa
– (
c.
240–148
BC
) Long-lived first king of Numidia in North Africa, foe and then ally of Rome during the Second Punic War (218–201
BC
) whose conflict with Carthage over disputed territory led to the Third Punic War (149–146
BC
).

Metellus
– Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus (born
c.
210
BC
), praetor in Macedonia in 148
BC
who defeated the upstart Andriscus and then went on to serve under Mummius in the siege of Corinth in 146
BC
; in the novel he is the rival and enemy of Scipio, and husband of Julia.

Perseus
– Last king of the Antigonid dynasty in Macedonia, defeated by Aemilius Paullus at the Battle of Pydna in 148
BC.

Petraeus
– Gnaeus Petraeus Atinus, fictional ‘old centurion' who trains the boys in the academy at Rome.

Petronius
– Fictional tavern-keeper near the Gladiator School in Rome.

Polybius
– (born
c.
200
BC
) Greek cavalry commander and historian, famous for his
Histories,
who became a close friend and adviser to Scipio; present at the siege of Carthage.

Porcus
– Porcus Entestius Supinus, fictional servant and adviser to Metellus.

Ptolemy
– Ptolemy VI Philometor (‘mother-lover'), a contemporary of Scipio Aemilianus and scion of the Ptolemy dynasty who became king in Egypt in 180
BC
, marrying his sister Cleopatra II.

Quintus Appius Probus
– Fictional centurion at Intercatia in Spain.

Rufius
– Fabius' hunting dog, present with him and Scipio in the Macedonian Royal Forest.

Scipio
– Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus, the ‘Younger' Scipio (born
c.
185
BC
), second son of Aemilius Paullus and adoptive grandson of Scipio Africanus; what is known of his historical career up to 146
BC
forms the framework for the novel.

Scipio Africanus
– Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the ‘Elder' Scipio (
c.
236–183
BC
), of the Scipiones branch of the
gens
Cornelia, outstanding Roman general of the Second Punic War who defeated Hannibal at the Battle of Zama in North Africa in 202
BC.

Sextius Calvinus
– Gaius Sextius Calvinus, a senator who is an enemy of Scipio; of the Calvini branch of the
gens
Sextii, father of a man of the same name who was consul in 124
BC.

Terence
– Publius Terentius Afer (
c.
190–159
BC
), playwright of North African origin (hence his
cognomen
Afer, from Afri), brought from Carthage to Rome as a slave by the senator Terentius Lucanus (hence his
nomen
Terentius, adopted on being given his freedom); one of Scipio's literary circle in Rome.

PROLOGUE

On the plain of Pydna, Macedonia, 168
BC

Fabius Petronius Secundus picked up his legionary standard and stared out over the wide expanse of the plain towards the sea. Behind him lay the foothills where the army had camped the night before, and behind that the slopes that led up to Mount Olympus, abode of the gods. He and Scipio had made the ascent three days previously, vying with each other to be the first to the top, flushed with excitement at the prospect of their first experience of battle. From the snow-covered summit they had looked north across the wide expanse of Macedonia, once the homeland of Alexander the Great, and below them they had seen where Alexander's successor Perseus had brought his fleet and deployed his army in readiness for a decisive confrontation with Rome. Up there, with the glare of the sun off the snow so bright that it had nearly blinded them, with the clouds racing below, they had indeed felt like gods, as if the might of Rome that had brought them so far from Italy was now unassailable, and nothing could stand in the way of further conquest.