The Consulate of Publius Sempronius Sophus and Appius Claudius Caudex: 284 - 279 BC
In 286 BC, the Epirote King Pyrrhos I suffered a humbling defeat at the hands of the Roman Republic. His attempts to intervene in the Roman conquest of Magna Graecia not only led to Epirus losing all of its land on the Italian peninsula, but it also led to Roman troops landing in Epirus and occupying land on the country's northern end. A humiliated Pyrrhos had to sue for peace and return home to reorganize his forces, but it would not be long before he found himself in conflict with Rome a second time.
284 BC brought Publius Sempronius Sophus (now a member of the Boni, rather than the Optimates) his second term as Consul in two decades, joined by the younger statesman Appius Claudius Caudex. They stepped into the office just as Rome was entering a new war, as the previous Consuls declared war on Messapia in May of 284, just months prior to the election. Messapia was allied with Epirus and reached out to Pyrrhos for help, and in spite of having been defeated by the Romans just two years prior, he agreed to come to the aid of his allies and went to war with Rome for a second time.
This time, the Roman army had prepared for the campaign by staging an army of more than 30,000 men in Epirus, and as soon as Pyrrhos declared his intent to participate in the war, those troops marched southward to meet the Epirotes in battle at Berenikis. There, the Romans engaged an Epirote force of just over 10,500 men, including a small band of deadly war elephants that posed a dangerous threat to Rome's infantry cohorts.
To their surprise, however, the Romans did not find Pyrrhos commanding this army. Instead, the defense had been entrusted to Echekrates Aiakid, who was described in Roman accounts of the battle as an extraordinarily inept commander. He made poor use of his war elephants and could not effectively position his spearmen against Roman cavalry, leading to a spectacular defeat that opened the Epirote heartland to Roman assault. Echekrates would rally his troops and launch a counter-attack on the Romans some six months later, but he was defeated just as soundly.
But while the bulk of the Roman troops were gaining ground overseas in Epirus, at home in Italy the Messapians and their Italiotian allies were offering surprisingly robust resistance to Roman advance. A much smaller force had remained back in Italy to subdue Magna Graecia in what was expected to be an easy campaign, but the Herakleians had hired a mercenary force to engage the main Roman levies, allowing the smaller and nimbler armies of the city states to move around the Roman flanks and begin to occupy territory behind the front lines, demanding that the Romans choose between pressing their attack or chasing the scattered enemy warbands out of their land.
Eventually, though, Roman troops occupied Messapia, Thuria, and Bruttia, and with the principal leaders of the resistance all crippled, a peace treaty was soon forced through. Bruttia, Messapia, and Thuria were all completely absorbed into Rome, and Pyrrhos suffered an even greater humiliation than the first war, being forced to cede the heart of Epirus over to Roman control, leaving him with only a few small scattered provinces to what remained of his "kingdom."
Epirus was broken and most of Magna Graecia was under Roman control, but there was one more campaign left for Publius and Appius to wage.
As their consular term neared its end, the two men declared war upon Hipponion, and by extension their allies in southern Italy and Sicily. The boot of Italy fell swiftly to a march by land, while the Roman navy -- now numbering over 70 ships -- dropped detachments of soldiers along the coastline of hostile territory. With nearly every major enemy stronghold under siege at the same time, Rome completely subdued the eastern half of Sicily almost simultaneously. A peace treaty in early 278 BC, just one year into the following consular term, secured half of the island for Rome in a display of both martial and naval dominance.
Now, with all of Italy save for a few small city states in the south secured for the Republic, and with parts of Sicily and Greece under Roman occupation, the first great step toward Roman dominance had been achieved. Roman colonia were thriving in conquered areas across Italy; Rome was growing rich from the accumulated wealth of the peninsula; morale was high in the military as well as in the senate; and all nearby powers now had no choice but to acknowledge the rise of Rome as a preeminent global threat.
But the battle to unite the Italian peninsula was only, at best, a prelude to the true ambitions of Rome. With the homeland secured, future Consuls would have to decide how to manage and govern the various people under the governance of the Republic; how to invest and develop their lands; where to conquer, who to regard as allies or friends, and much more. From here, the rise of Rome was only just beginning.
In 286 BC, the Epirote King Pyrrhos I suffered a humbling defeat at the hands of the Roman Republic. His attempts to intervene in the Roman conquest of Magna Graecia not only led to Epirus losing all of its land on the Italian peninsula, but it also led to Roman troops landing in Epirus and occupying land on the country's northern end. A humiliated Pyrrhos had to sue for peace and return home to reorganize his forces, but it would not be long before he found himself in conflict with Rome a second time.
284 BC brought Publius Sempronius Sophus (now a member of the Boni, rather than the Optimates) his second term as Consul in two decades, joined by the younger statesman Appius Claudius Caudex. They stepped into the office just as Rome was entering a new war, as the previous Consuls declared war on Messapia in May of 284, just months prior to the election. Messapia was allied with Epirus and reached out to Pyrrhos for help, and in spite of having been defeated by the Romans just two years prior, he agreed to come to the aid of his allies and went to war with Rome for a second time.
This time, the Roman army had prepared for the campaign by staging an army of more than 30,000 men in Epirus, and as soon as Pyrrhos declared his intent to participate in the war, those troops marched southward to meet the Epirotes in battle at Berenikis. There, the Romans engaged an Epirote force of just over 10,500 men, including a small band of deadly war elephants that posed a dangerous threat to Rome's infantry cohorts.
To their surprise, however, the Romans did not find Pyrrhos commanding this army. Instead, the defense had been entrusted to Echekrates Aiakid, who was described in Roman accounts of the battle as an extraordinarily inept commander. He made poor use of his war elephants and could not effectively position his spearmen against Roman cavalry, leading to a spectacular defeat that opened the Epirote heartland to Roman assault. Echekrates would rally his troops and launch a counter-attack on the Romans some six months later, but he was defeated just as soundly.
But while the bulk of the Roman troops were gaining ground overseas in Epirus, at home in Italy the Messapians and their Italiotian allies were offering surprisingly robust resistance to Roman advance. A much smaller force had remained back in Italy to subdue Magna Graecia in what was expected to be an easy campaign, but the Herakleians had hired a mercenary force to engage the main Roman levies, allowing the smaller and nimbler armies of the city states to move around the Roman flanks and begin to occupy territory behind the front lines, demanding that the Romans choose between pressing their attack or chasing the scattered enemy warbands out of their land.
Eventually, though, Roman troops occupied Messapia, Thuria, and Bruttia, and with the principal leaders of the resistance all crippled, a peace treaty was soon forced through. Bruttia, Messapia, and Thuria were all completely absorbed into Rome, and Pyrrhos suffered an even greater humiliation than the first war, being forced to cede the heart of Epirus over to Roman control, leaving him with only a few small scattered provinces to what remained of his "kingdom."
Epirus was broken and most of Magna Graecia was under Roman control, but there was one more campaign left for Publius and Appius to wage.
As their consular term neared its end, the two men declared war upon Hipponion, and by extension their allies in southern Italy and Sicily. The boot of Italy fell swiftly to a march by land, while the Roman navy -- now numbering over 70 ships -- dropped detachments of soldiers along the coastline of hostile territory. With nearly every major enemy stronghold under siege at the same time, Rome completely subdued the eastern half of Sicily almost simultaneously. A peace treaty in early 278 BC, just one year into the following consular term, secured half of the island for Rome in a display of both martial and naval dominance.
Now, with all of Italy save for a few small city states in the south secured for the Republic, and with parts of Sicily and Greece under Roman occupation, the first great step toward Roman dominance had been achieved. Roman colonia were thriving in conquered areas across Italy; Rome was growing rich from the accumulated wealth of the peninsula; morale was high in the military as well as in the senate; and all nearby powers now had no choice but to acknowledge the rise of Rome as a preeminent global threat.
But the battle to unite the Italian peninsula was only, at best, a prelude to the true ambitions of Rome. With the homeland secured, future Consuls would have to decide how to manage and govern the various people under the governance of the Republic; how to invest and develop their lands; where to conquer, who to regard as allies or friends, and much more. From here, the rise of Rome was only just beginning.
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