The Alexandrian War E-Book

Gaius Julius Caesar

• Herausgeber: DigiCat
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

The Alexandrian War presents a captivating exploration of military strategy and political intrigue in the waning days of the Roman Republic. Through an artful tapestry of narrative styles, it reveals the complexities of warfare while providing a gripping account of Julius Caesar's tumultuous campaigns in Egypt. This collection enlightens with vivid descriptions of battles and diplomatic maneuvers, capturing the raw intensity and strategic brilliance that marked a turning point in Caesar's legacy. The anthology stands out for its ability to convey the multifaceted nature of war, blending factual military accounts with dramatic storytelling. Collectively authored by Gaius Julius Caesar, Aulus Hirtius, and Gaius Oppius, these works offer unparalleled insights into both historical and authorial contexts. Caesar's involvement ensures a first-hand perspective on his own machinations, while the contributions of Hirtius and Oppius afford the necessary breadth, layering their narrative voices into a cohesive study of Roman military history. Together, these accounts illuminate the cultural and literary factors that shaped the period, reflecting the ancient Roman thirst for power and expansion while contributing significantly to our comprehension of Roman historiography. For readers inclined towards history, The Alexandrian War is an indispensable anthology offering a multiplicity of perspectives on a seminal epoch. This collection provides a unique gateway into the era's geopolitics, marshaling military and literary analysis to enrich understanding of ancient Rome's narrative tradition. It encourages readers to engage with these pivotal documents not only as historical records but as literary artifacts, fostering a reflective dialogue on the enduring influence these accounts wield in the broader context of classical literature and antiquity's enduring legacy.

Leseprobe

Gaius Julius Caesar, Aulus Hirtius, Gaius Oppius

The Alexandrian War

 

EAN 8596547167648

DigiCat, 2022 Contact: [email protected]

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When the war broke out at Alexandria, Caesar sent to Rhodes, Syria, and Cilicia, for all his fleet; and summoned archers from Crete, and cavalry from Malchus, king of the Nabatheans. He likewise ordered military engines to be provided, corn to be brought, and forces dispatched to him. Meanwhile he daily strengthened his fortifications by new works; and such parts of the town as appeared less tenable were strengthened with testudos and mantelets. Openings were made in the walls, through which the battering-rams might play; and the fortifications were extended over whatever space was covered with ruins, or taken by force. For Alexandria is in a manner secure from fire, because the houses are all built without joists or wood, and are all vaulted, and roofed with tile or pavement. Caesar's principal aim was, to inclose with works the smallest part of the town, separated from the rest by a morass toward the south: with these views, first, that as the city was divided into two parts, the army should be commanded by one general and one council; in the second place, that he might be able to succor his troops when hard pressed, and carry aid from the other part of the city. Above all, he by this means made sure of water and forage, as he was but ill provided with the one, and wholly destitute of the other. The morass, on the contrary, served abundantly to supply him with both. (Latin)

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Nor were the Alexandrians remiss on their side, or less active in the conduct of their affairs. For they had sent deputies and commissioners into all parts, where the powers and territories of Egypt extend, to levy troops. They had carried vast quantities of darts and engines into the town, and drawn together an innumerable multitude of soldiers. Nevertheless workshops were established in every part of the city, for the making of arms. They enlisted all the slaves that were of age; and the richer citizens supplied them with food and pay. By a judicious disposition of this multitude, they guarded the fortifications in the remoter parts of the town; while they quartered the veteran cohorts, which were exempted from all other service, in the squares and open places; that on whatever side an attack should be made, they might be at hand to give relief, and march fresh to the charge. They shut up all the avenues and passes by a triple wall built of square stones, and carried to the height of forty feet. They defended the lower parts of the town by very high towers of ten stories: besides which, they had likewise contrived a kind of moving towers, which consisted of the same number of stories, and which being fitted with ropes and wheels, could, by means of horses, as the streets of Alexandria were quite even and level, be conveyed wherever their service was necessary. (Latin)

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The city abounding in every thing, and being very rich, furnished ample materials for these several works: and as the people were extremely ingenious, and quick of apprehension, they so well copied what they saw done by us that our men seemed rather to imitate their works. They even invented many things themselves, and attacked our works, at the same time that they defended their own. Their chiefs every where represented: "That the people of Rome were endeavoring by degrees to assume the possession of Egypt; that a few years before Gabinius had come thither with an army; that Pompey had retreated to the same place in his flight; that Caesar was now among them with a considerable body of troops, nor had they gained any thing by Pompey's death; that Caesar should not prolong his stay; that if they did not find means to expel him, the kingdom would be reduced to a Roman province: and that they ought to do it at once, for he, blockaded by the storms on account of the season of the year, could receive no supplies from beyond the sea." (Latin)

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Meanwhile, a division arising between Achillas, who commanded the veteran army, and Arsinoe, the youngest daughter of king Ptolemy, as has been mentioned above, while they mutually endeavored to supplant one another, each striving to engross the supreme authority, Arsinoe, by the assistance of the eunuch Ganymed, her governor, at length prevailed, and slew Achillas. After his death, she possessed the whole power without a rival, and raised Ganymed to the command of the army; who, on his entrance upon that high office, augmented the largesses of the troops, and with equal diligence discharged all other parts of his duty. (Latin)

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