Where do you run to now, Quintus? by Sarah Buehler, 2007
Chapter Twelve
„I have killed Cotta!”
Quintus was running like mad through the bulky Macchia, he was thirsty beyond any means and his feet were bleeding because of the thorny bushes.
“This can’t be true! I have killed Cotta.”
He was still in his chain mail, his face was dirty and unshaven. The soldier and historian left the battle fleeing. He and his group were chased by a dozen heavy riders after the battle when they reached a small wood with thin trees where Quintus tripped, fell down from the edge of a cliff.
And then there was blackness.
“I have killed Appius Aurelius Cotta!” was the first thing when Quintus opened his eyes, regaining conciseness. It was late afternoon; Quintus got up and realized that he had led Cotta to certain death. “I could have said no back then” he mumbled to himself. He started to remember that it was some years back in Rome where this whole disaster started, when Cotta asked him to help him repeat history – simple and easy as he said to Quintus.
But now Cotta was dead. And with him thousand of Romans and their Italian allies. Quintus didn’t realise that he had a mental break down.
“…killed Cotta” he was repeating it over and over again.
While Quintus was moving through the lands of Carthage he started to dehydrate under the hot African summer sun. Being out of his mind, he didn’t realise the circumstance that his mouth and lips started to dry terribly. Being out of air he couldn’t run anymore, though his mind seemed to focus for a short moment and he thought if this would be the end of him.
He walked up a rise and noticed that he had reached the coastline. By the gods! There was a small village of eight houses too.
The Roman soldier thought he was running towards the village though in reality he was limping like a wounded man. Someone was shouting something and at first Quintus did not understand anything. He thought that some Carthaginian peasant was insulting him, but then he became aware that the voice was speaking in Greek. He stopped and looked up, a young man was standing a short distance away, with a thin beard that still had blank spots on the face. For a moment he wondered what Greeks did in the lands of Carthage, but then he remembered that these people use to flee from their homes because their women are so ugly and the food so horrible.
For a moment Quintus smiled. In this moment he remembered that he was still alive. Then he passed out. “So thirsty…”
Loosing consciousness had become quite the habit for Quintus. When he woke up from his dreamless slumber he heard several people talking, becoming aware that he was in one of the houses. They all spoke Greek with each other, guessing that a Roman soldier would not be able to understand them. But Quintus was a historian educated in Greek, enabling him to follow the conversation. They were arguing what to do with him. Roman slaves pay well on the bazaar of Carthage. On the other hand this man had not done any harm to the Greeks. For a moment Quintus became focused. His chain mail was gone, but his Gladius was on the table close to him. Then it struck him again: “Cotta. Dead. 20.000 mean. Dead. Why? Because of me. Because I promised to lead Cotta to Carthage. Because I promised to lead three legions to victory. Dead. All dead.”
His heartbeat increased.
He became terribly nervous.
His clear thoughts were overtaken by devils of madness again.
He was loosing control.
„I have killed Appius Aurelius Cotta!” Quintus screamed, leaping upwards from the bed, grabbing his Gladius. The Greeks, some five men and two women were arguing too much to react quickly on the furry of the Roman. Before they could overwhelm him by their sheer number Quintus had the blade in his hand. This short sword was excellent to thrust quickly at multiple enemies.
Quintus stabbed the first man in the shoulder.
The next men, an elderly man with a bushy beard got a very deep cut in his arm.
With the same swing he hit a dark haired woman in the stomach.
She went down screaming in terrible agony while her husband ducked down to cover her body trying to cover her from further harm.
The man with the thin beard that found Quintus quickly grabbed him by the wrist, blocking any further attacks with the Gladius. But a roman soldier was skilled in close combat.
Quintus used his whole weight to ram the young Greek against the wall with his bare shoulder. This move surprised the opponent who tumbled while his ribs broke with an unpleasant sound.
“You can’t stop me you Carthaginian pigs.” Quintus screamed, triumphing over his captors. No one tried to oppose him anymore.
Having lost any sense of reality, Quintus ran out of the house where a few Greeks where staring at him without taking action. The Roman was running to the dock, entering a small fishing boat.
He turned his head back to the crowd where the Greeks gathered to look at the madman. “I have killed them. It was me! Don’t you understand? I didn’t mean to!”
They didn’t understand. He spoke in Latin. But they were too scared to approach an armed man.
He released the rope holding the small vessel, gave it a push and started to rudder with a paddle. Quintus left the village behind him. Turning his head westwards he saw the sun going down, the few clouds on the sky turned into a bright orange. He stopped paddling. The air smelled salty. “What point does it all make now?”
There he sat, in a small fishing boat without food or water. To Quintus it didn’t matter any more.
“I’m tired of running.”
Quintus closed his eyes.
“I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious”
-Vince Lombardi
Second Punic war climax
(Part 1 of 2)
Silanos – Historiai
(written about 130 BC)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Silanos was a greek historian who lived from 200BC to 120 BC. He came to Rome [under reasons that have not happend yet - this will be edited]. His account on the Roman history are of high value since he followed the pragmatic histiography like Demosthnes of Ancyle.
Book VI
[…] The invasion to Africa turned out to be a complete disaster for the Romans. It clearly shows the weakness of the political system by electing an incompetent military leader just because of his legacy. At the same time the following years also show exactly the strength of the Roman system.
The Roman annual reports state that Spurius Cornelius Sulla returned to Spain as a proconsul in 556 AUC [198 BC] battling the Bastetani, another barbarian group under their king Ultu. The battle was small and probably didn’t exceed a total of 10.000 men, although no sources are specific on the numbers nor the exact location. This victory enabled Sulla to prepare further attacks on Romans biggest barbarian rival – the Carpentani. Having learnt important lessons from his campaigns against the Carpentani in 554 and 553 AUC [202/201 BC] he prepared for a longer and more daring attack on Carpentani soil, where Novantutas Carmacoi the son of the defeated Mutorke Carmacoi was still king. Little facts survive this campaign. But the remaining facts state that Sulla spent the winter in enemy territory fighting small skirmishes and promoting the Romans cause to local tribes. In 554 AUC [196 BC] he eventually conquered Baikor and captured the Carpentani king. The battle of Baikor cost the Romans a high amount of 10.000 men, but the barbarians threatening the Roman coastline of Spain were defeated. It is said that Sulla enslaved a great amount of people to Italy and plundering the Iberian cities.
But this victory came at a great cost. Meanwhile the Carthaginians moved a huge amount of troops to Iberia in Martius of the same year [March 196 BC]. Strengthened after the victory at Sabo, Carthage was planning to defeat the Romans in Iberia too. The Carthaginian army was lead by Carthalo Carales, the victor at Sabo and Hamalcar Aleria, a younger but talented military leader. Some Roman sources claim that Carthalo had an amount of 90.000 troops under his command, but my guess would be that he had about 65.000 troops under his command. Nevertheless the number of troops was a tremendous threat for Sulla.
The first move was made by Hamalcar, who lead 30.000 men towards Carthago Nova, once a Carthaginian city in the middle of Maius [May]. There he defeated a legion of 6.000 Romans under the command of Manius Spurius Turus and 25.000 Iberians, mostly Constetani and Edetani allies at the battle of Baria. Hamalcar was exploiting the absence of Sulla who had only recently defeated the Carpentani king. This attack came to a great surprise to the Romans who didn’t anticipate an attack by this magnitude.
Carthago Nova was once more in the hands of Carthaginians and this development was alarming the Senators in Rome. At the same time Sulla, realizing the threat of being cut off from his costal cities charged his military most talented legate Tiberius Cornelius Scipio Asina, the son of Tiberius Cornelius Scipio Asina triumphant at the battle of Ildum, to defend the coast in his absence.
That the Romans reinforced the Spanish coast with two additional legions within months can be seen as a crowning achievement to their logistic and military understanding. Whenever needed, Rome recruited huge amount of soldiers from their Italian allies and reinforced any losses.
After conquering Carthago Nova, Carthalo started to push northwards against the city of Arsé in late Qunitlis [July], while Tiberius Cornelius Scipio prepared to stop this offensive at the city of Akra Leuke [modern Alicante]. On the 5th of Sextilis [August] it came to the battle of Akra Leuke, where the young Scipio faced the elderly and seasoned Carthalo.
Both sides had about 20.000 troops, but Scipio wisely used a bridge as a chocking point to engage the superior enemy army. The victor of Sabo underestimated the cunning Scipio and tried to break through with full force. What happened next is till this day subject of great debate. I have travelled to Spain to listen the local accounts, I have spoken with Senators related to the Scipiones and I have researched various texts and letters stored in the libraries and found about 8 different versions of the battle. Some say that Scipio killed Carthalo with his own sword, another popular account is that Carthalo, seeing his man being slaughtered killed himself on the battlefield. For this matter we can only presume that the circumstances will for ever remain a myth. In the end we only know that the young Scipio defeated Rome’s greatest enemy, but didn’t defeat the enemy army. Most of the 20.000 Carthaginians retreated safely after Carthalo was killed.
In fall of 554 AUC [196 BC] the remaining Carthaginian troops reorganised and prepared for winter in Carthago Nova. They still had some 60.000 troops, while the Romans steadily reinforced up to 45.000 men. Sullas next move was a bold and risky one.
Lucius Fabius was a Roman historian who wrote a universal history of Rome. He started with the legendary myths of the founding of Rome up to his present day. Fabius portraits a lively version of the Roman history and he is more interested in various details rather then a critical approach on the matter. Reason for that is the time Fabius was living in, the Roman civil war is on going and Fabius experiences what he calls a "decline of morality". His work was to remind the Romans what virtues made the Rome strong and how they dealt with certain flaws in society. Besides that his work can be considered as very inaccurate with a lack of sources. The modern historian Brian Lewis said about Fabius "He is master of lies in history. But that does not mean his stories do not have a kernel of truth in it".
Book XVI
On the 24th of September Spurius Cornelius Sulla returned with his legions to Scipios camp. The young Scipion greeted his commander with all obligatory military procedures. Dismounting his brown stallion Sulla raised his hand to his victorious legate: “I salute you young Scipio. You really live up to your family name.”
“I did what was expected. If Rome would ask me to travel to the end of the world, I would” the young victor replied.
For now the two men would eat, drink and relax. The weather was still very warm and there was plenty of food for the whole army. After a few days Scipio asked his commander what his next move was. Hamalcar, who had taken over grand command over the troops, was still a big threat. Sulla thought about the situation for quite some time and then came up with another daring plan.
“If I was Hamalcar and had over 80.000 men at my command, what would I fear most? I would fear that my supplies grow thin and that my enemy, the Romans, would attack me in my most weakened state. So my good Scipio, I plan to attack them during the winter. During that time supply becomes rare while the climate here still allows me to attack the enemy. I have done the same thing against the Carpentani and I am also able to do so against the Carthaginian. This way we can easily use our smaller numbers against a larger, yet starving army.”
Scipio who always was up for a military challenge agreed to the plan, as did all the other legates under the propraetorian commander. Preparations were made in all of October, stocks filled and the soldier trained. Early November the weather was still warm enough when Sulla gave command to start moving south against Hamalcar in Mastia. Four Roman legions and several Iberian allies marched forth to face an enemy superior in number.
The first legion was commanded by Sulla, while the second was lead by his legate Tullius Cornelius Marcus. The other two legions took another route to maintain more supplies on the road and were lead by Tiberius Cornelius Scipio Asina and Decimus Papirus Pulcher.
The Carthaginian forces were separated into three armies lead Hamalcar Aleria, Abdeshmun and Asdroubas. When they realised that Sulla was forcing them into battle in November Hamalcar decided to counter the attack and launch his troops quickly against Scipios and Pulchers legions to separate them from Sullas army. The young legate was furious when he realized that Hamalcar was about to attack him on the 13th of November and that Sullas troops where out of reach. He ordered his best messenger to send word on the situation and prepared to defend the position until Sulla would come to help.
Scipio gave an important speech about one hour before the battle: “Men, I know that our surprise attack has failed and that a great number of troops is about to charge our position here. I know that they are great in numbers, but we can hold out here. They will find that a Roman legion is a hard nut to crack. Though we lack the numbers, we are the greater warriors, disciplined and trained in the arts of war. My grandfather defeated the Carthaginians in Sicily, my father did the same here in Spain and I already killed their most skilled leader. We can defeat this army here, we will stand, fight and we will win.”
Hamalcar rushed into the battle trusting that his great amount of troops would be enough to destroy a Roman legion. Scipios and Pulchers legions were lined up in a small valley where they hope to control the enemy movement.
The Carthaginian leader knew that he had to strike fast and without mercy, because by now Sullas legions where already on the way to support Scipio in battle. He gave instructions to his military tribunes and signalled the attack. The troops started to charge 300 meters away from the Roman line.
Immediately the battle changed into close quarter fighting and the huge number of troops turned this battle into a terribly bloody clash with men dying left and right.
Scipio pressed hard against the enemy so he could not organise the encirclement of his own legion. By constantly pushing forward the enemy was not able to flank the bold young legate. Time was of the essence and for two hours Scipio pushed and pushed demanding the maximum of what a soldier can endure in battle.
It started to look grim for Scipio, who had already killed about 15.000 enemy Carthaginians, but also lost 5.000 of his own men. Asdroubas brought another 20.000 men to make the final strike against Sulla when a messenger brought news: “Legate Scipio, Propraetor Sulla will be here within half an hour. Surely the gods are giving speed to the feet of his troops.” This news inspired the remaining Roman soldiers to hold their lines. “For the people and the senate of Rome! We fight or fall!” could be heard all over the grim battlefield.
The vast and skilled legion of Sulla entered the battlefield, ready to relieve Scipios army and push back the Carthaginians. During the course of the battle the fighting shifted to the nearby woods making Roman cavalry moves impossible. Finaly the Carthaginians were defending.
The fight was going on for hours, all the hatred between the two cities was unleashed in this engagement. The battle line dissolved into fighting of smaller and greater groupings.
The struggle went on like this for some further three hours and no commander knew what was going on exactly. It was simply too many soldiers on both sides to maintain a clear chain of command. Although the Roman centurions remained a clear head and led their troops well by their best will. At the 8th hour [2PM] Asdroubas was killed in one of the pockets.
An hour later Sulla and Scipio finally met on the battlefield. By now most of the Carthaginian troops were dead or have fled. Despite this Hamalcar and some 10.000 men were still fighting against the now larger Roman army. Sulla pushed his military tribunes to outflank Hamalcar and encircle then. The tenth hour [4 PM] finally brought the decision when the Pedites extraordinares [Italian elite troops] encircled Hamalcar, brought down his horse and killed the proud Carthaginian leader who said “It was not enough” while dieing.
The rest of the Carthaginian troops fled. After nearly 6 hours of fighting no Roman soldier brave and bold had the power to chase any of the fleeing enemy. Sulla had won a decisive victory with Scipios help.
A history of Rome, by Prof Alfred Kennard, 2002 New York
Fabius account on the battle of Mastia tells us inaccurate numbers, but with Silanos version of the battle we are able to reconstruct the casualties of the battle.
Carthage: Soldiers: 60.000 – Lost: 50.000
Rome: Soldiers: 45.000 – Lost: 20.000
This battle was the largest and bloodiest battle in the second Punic war. Rome smashed the Carthaginian war effort to pieces. The young Scipio and the already popular Sulla became war heroes to end the second Punic war. And indeed, the next spring of 195 BC a delegation under Senator Lucius Cornelius Dolebella went to Carthage to meet with the Suffet Carpophorus to dictate their terms of peace.
Carthage had to give all the remaining outposts in Spain to Rome and pay a large sum of gold. The long second Punic war was over.
In a conclusion this war secured Rome’s position as a Mediterranean superpower. Both militarily and economically Rome established itself as a “global player” in a wider sense. While Carthage still remained strong it lost a prestigious and costly war against its arch enemy.
The second Punic war had long-lasting effects on the Roman society and it somehow connects with the later Roman civil war. Rome expanded its provinces in foreign parts of Europe that changed the political tradition (more Quaestors and Praetors) and rules of taxation (Stipendia). In a wider sense the first problems with ruler ship became apparent. The young generation of Sullas and Scipios lead and ultimately won the war, without being able to actually have leading positions. The Senate skipped the problems by assigning de facto leading positions like the Propraetor, but that did not actually solve the problem. This is one issue that would play a bigger part later on in the civil war.
The real heroes of this war were not Carthalo or Sulla, it was the Roman allies in Italy. Without them, the Roman Senate could not have build up such a large quantity of troops. The allies, for now, stood loyal to Rome.
What a lovely day, yeah, we won the war.
May have lost a million men, but we've got a million more. -Portugal. The man
Saneus gambles with Rome and looses
The Roman Empire, by Wolfgang Schreier, Bonn 2003
After the Second Punic war ended in 194 BC the Roman society wanted to recover from the high war effort. Despite this, the Romans still had to fight wars the following years, though those conflicts were much smaller in comparison to the war with Carthage.
Immediately after the peace with the Carthaginians was settled a border conflict occurred with a Celtic tribe called the Turduli. Their king Biurtilaur Alonicoi did not agree with the peace settlement between the two superpowers, thus having to give up some areas of his domain. The Roman presence in the centre of Spain was not big, so Sulla successfully convinced his former enemies, the Carpentani, to hold the Turdulis at bay. For the next years a single Roman legion and the Carpentani fought side by side against the Turdulis.
Map showing the Turduli domain in Spain prior to the war.
In 191 BC the successful Sulla returned to Rome, celebrating his triumph and concentrating on his career. Lucius Iunus Brutus became the new Propraetor of Hispania Ulterior who charged the popular 25 year old Scipio as a Quaestor and as a military legate to deal with the Celtic tribes. Being so young and already leading a legion was only possible due to the legacy of his ancestors. In summer of the same year the young Scipio defeated the Turduli at the Battle of Contasti. The king Alonicoi fled to the north, while the Romans occupied the lands of the Turduli the following spring.
Spain in 190 BC. A great deal is already conquered by Rome.
By 192 BC the Macedonians seemed to give up the treaty it had with Rome. The Macedonian kings had long lasting treaties with the Senate, but after the second Epirote war broke out in 220 BC the relationship seemed to worsen to a certain degree. By 192 BC the Macedon king Dionysianos Saneus publicly demanded to inherit the throne of Epirus, which had been vacant since the end of the second Epirote war in 214 BC. Silanos, the Greek historian, pointed out that this was a ridiculous and obsolete claim.
But the Romans didn’t get to rest after stability was recovered in Spain for the time being. In 188 BC the king Saneus send emissaries to Rome stating that if the Romans would not leave Epirus he would take it by force. The Romans did not think that he would dare attacking a former ally and when Saneus marched into the Epirote city of Ambrakia in early 187 BC, the Roman legion stationed in Epirus stood down and did not prevent his actions, because the garrison commander had no specific orders to attack the Macedonians.
But Saneus didn’t have the support of all the Greeks to fight against Rome. Some thought that attacking an old ally, who in fact helped the Macedonians against the Epirotes during the first Punic war, was a terrible crime. The first Macedon war ended the same year it started. A noble under the name Leocharis Eurypontidos revolted against Saneus, quickly won all the support and arrested Saneus. To show the good will of the Macedonians he turned Saneus over to the Romans. The Senate decided to put Saneus to exile to the Seleucid Empire in the east, where the old and bitter king spent the rest of his remaining years.
While not a long war, the first Macedon war utterly destroyed the once good relationship between the Senate and the Macedonian king.
Transcript of the college presentation during the lecture „The Roman Republic“ in 2003, University of Minnesota, USA
[Anna Chow speaking]: Dear colleges, dear professor, last week we heard about the end of the second Punic war and the first Macedonian war. What was following these wars was a rather calm period without many foreign conflicts for Rome. I will give a short summary for this period that lasted until 166 BC, when the infamous Metellus became consul. The war hero Spurius Cornelius Sulla became consul in 184 BC. In the first half of the second century BC the Senate was ruled by rich and prestigious families like the Scipions and the Cornelii. Even though the rich families often fought each other for power in the Senate, disputes were – yet - bloodless and civilized. One problem was that young people, like for example Tiberius Cornelius Scipio, were already popular, yet they were to young to have real power in the Senate, despite their influence. Scipio was a good example for this. He led armies to victory at the age of 25 in Spain, when he returned to Rome he was nothing but a young Senator in Rome. Bitter he turned to the military again, going to Greece where tensions were still high after the first war with Saneus. The other problem was that these prestigious families had become quite rich through the second Punic war, corruption and miss governance in the provinces was an untreated issue.
Rome in 180 BC.
Although a rather peaceful period, two smaller armed conflicts happened. At 179 BC the Taurisci, also called the Norici, invaded the northern border of Italy coming from the Alps. Although the numbers of people invading didn’t exceed some 8000 people it was the first barbarian invasion for over 100 years. In the same year consul Publius Denatus defeated the Norici at Ceneta and enslaved the saviours. The following year the Macedonian king Leocharis Eurypontidos, who restored diplomatic relations with Rome, was murdered by Alexander IV a follower of Saneus, who declared himself king. Tiberius Scipio, always ready to go to war attacked Alexander IV in 178 BC after being provoked by the new king. In 176 BC he defeated the new king in the battle of Berora. Alexander IV had to agree to accept Roman governance in Epirus and disclaim hegemony over Greece. The Second Macedonian war only lasted for two years, but by now the Macedonian-Roman relationship was terribly hostile. Scipio returned to Rome in 174 BC to finally become Consul, using this position to accumulate his fame and especially his wealth. His former friend and mentor Sulla, who also became consul in 172 and 170 BC, refrained from Scipio due to personal reasons. The political situation in the Senate changed when the rather unknown former Praetor Caius Caecilius Metellus came to Rome in 167 BC.
“Laws control the lesser man... Right conduct controls the greater one.”
-Marc Twain
The new Roman Nobility
A history of Rome, by Prof Alfred Kennard, 2002 New York
The Second Punic war brought a lot of wealth to the noble families in Rome. The Senate was populated by a few rich and prestigious families like the Aemilii, Cornelli, Fulvii and of course the Scipios. What we can gather from the ancient sources the wealth was not distributed equally between the Patricians and the Plebeians. The economical situation seemed to worsen for the Plebeians from 180 BC onwards, while people like the Scipios built luxury mansions around Rome. Speculations about corruption were daily topic, but unfortunately no one tried to challenge the rich families. Miss governance of the provinces seemed to increase as well, for example the rumour was that Numerius Cornelius Scipio, a cousin of the victor from the second Macedonian war, used his position as a governor in Sicily to put as much money in his pocket as possible.
But the corruption of the noble families was also a possibility for new Senators to reform the system. One of these men was a Plebeian called Gaius Caecilius Metellus. He was born in Rhegion in 207 BC to the Caecilian gens. This Plebeian gens was one of the richer and prestigious families in Rome who had already produced a few consuls. They were known for their rather conservative sense of politics. Metellus served as a soldier in the First Macedonian war and became a Quaestor in Sicily therafter. There he got to know Numerius Cornelius Scipio and became witness to the corruption, while at the same time the cousin of Numerius, Tiberius Cornelius Scipio Asina, came back from the second Macedonian war as a triumphant war hero. Afterwards he served as a Plebeian Tribune and Plebeian Aedile, both positions he used for architectural improvements to Rome (as we will see later). After serving as a Praetor in Sardinia in 168 BC he returned to Rome to fight against the widespread corruption.
Fabius - Ab Urbe Condita (written at about 50 BC)
Book XXVIII
At the end of the year 586 AUC [168 BC] Caius Caecilius Metellus returned to Rome after serving in Sardinia. His service was superb, he came to a rather troubled region and left with order and morality restored. Magistrates in Sardinia were said to work hard and efficient even 20 years after Metellus left.
When he returned to Rome the corrupt nobility did not take any notice of it at all, despite his public speeches against corruption throughout his years. It is remarkable that Metellus started to work the very first day he came back. For a man of his character, there was never an idle moment. Each day had to be used to work for the best of Rome and its people. He only took a day off to visit friends and relatives he had in Rome, but besides that he already dealt with his clients on the very first day.
Before Metellus could stand up against the widespread corruption and loss of morality by the Senate he had to work with his clients. Since he had been gone for over a year this work took over the first months and it wasn’t until the spring of the next year [167 BC] that he could go to the courts.
In late March Metellus decided that the time was right. The day before making his announcement he organized a small festivity in his house to invite friends and political allies. The next day Metellus publicly announced his actual endeavour with a small speech: “For too long the nobility in the Senate has stood and watched while some men with influence put their power to enrich them selves first before the needs of Rome. As a firm believer in the greatness of the Roman Senate and its people it is my obligation to bring those responsible to court and see them convicted. I therefore announce to put, among others, Caius Cornelius Sulla [Sullas son], Marcus Cornelius Lentulus and foremost Tiberius Cornelius Scipio Asina, victor in Spain and Macedon, before court.
A history of Rome, by Prof Alfred Kennard, 2002 New York
Among the nobility the accusation from Metellus was quite the shock. Even though everyone seemed to know that Scipio was corrupt, his deeds to Rome, his ancestry of two great victors against the Carthaginians was enough to let him live with his flaws. Metellus was a calm man of principle, who wanted to see order and honesty restored to the Senate. But he also had the momentum at his side, his proclamation to bring the corrupt people to court was quite the news and made Metellus instantly popular among the masses. Resisting such a man could mean possible riots and disorder among the Plebeians and the Scipios knew that very well.
The only chance for them was to face Metellus in court and use his weapons against him. The Scipios tried to confront him directly in court and delayed the procedure wherever they could. The sessions went on till October of the same year, when Metellus got unexpected support. The youngest son of Sulla, Marcus Cornelius Sulla supported Metellus in court and spoke out against his older brother Gaius. Spurius Sulla had already withdrawn from daily politics in 169 BC and retired to a villa north to Rome. Fabius interprets that the popular Spurius Sulla, fearing that his name might be put to shame through his son Gaius, told Marcus Sulla to speak out against his brother. While the famous Sulla retired indeed as a rich man, it was said that he did so rather honestly and even if he made money by illegal means, at least he spent a good portion to the public cause.
Eventually Metellus won the case and the convicted Senators, among them Numerius Cornelius Scipio and Tiberius Cornelius Scipio Asina, went into exile. Metellus had become the hero of Rome and immediately the next year he became consul. Within one year the Plebeian Senator became the most prominent member of the Senate and would guide Roman politics for the next years.
Re: [Multi-AAR] - History of men - EB part
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