Siege of Athens and Piraeus (87–86 BC)
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2017) |
Siege of Athens and Piraeus | |||||||
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Part of the First Mithridatic War | |||||||
Map of the Athenian city wall encompassing both Athens and Piraeus. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Roman Republic |
Kingdom of Pontus Athenian City-State | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Lucius Licinius Murena |
Commander-in-chief: Commanders Aristion (in command of Athens itself) | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
total: 37,000–44,000 5 | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Low |
400,000[4]
|
The siege of Athens and Piraeus was a siege of the
Historical context
The invasion of
The siege
Sulla marched towards Athens[when?] and upon his arrival he encountered his first problem. The main outer wall that had surrounded the city, connecting the main city with its port at Piraeus, was in ruins. As such, Sulla was forced to conduct two separate sieges, throwing up siege works surrounding both Athens and its port Piraeus. A force commanded by Archelaus defended Piraeus whilst another commanded by Aristion took up the main defense of Athens. The sea defense was considerably easier as a Pontic fleet dominated the nearby sea, facilitating reinforcement and replenishment whenever necessary. Furthermore, Piraeus already had ample supplies from the onset while Athens did not.
Sulla decided to first concentrate his attacks on Piraeus, seeing as without its port, there was no way that Athens could be resupplied. He sent Lucius Licinius Lucullus to raise a fleet from the remaining Roman allies in the eastern Mediterranean to deal with the Pontic navy. The first attack on the city was entirely repulsed, so Sulla decided to build huge earthworks. Wood was also needed, so he cut down everything, including the sacred groves of Greece, up to 100 miles from Athens main town. When more money was needed he “borrowed” from temples and Sibyls alike. The currency minted from this treasure was to remain in circulation for centuries and prized for its quality. Siege works were built to facilitate the next attack which was eventually successful in taking the outer wall of Piraeus.
Once the outer wall was taken, Sulla discovered that Archelaus had built more walls inside the city. Despite the complete encirclement of Athens and its port, and several attempts by Archelaus to raise the siege, a stalemate seemed to have developed. Roman attention was temporarily shifted towards Athens. Athens by now was starving, and grain was at famine levels in price. Inside the city, the population was reduced to eating shoe leather and grass. A delegation from Athens was sent to treat with Sulla, but instead of serious negotiations they expounded on the glory of their city. Sulla sent them away saying: “I was sent to Athens, not to take lessons, but to reduce rebels to obedience.”
Soon Sulla's camp was to fill with refugees from Rome, fleeing the massacres of Marius and Cinna. These also included his wife and children, as well as those of the
With Athens on the verge of starvation, Aristion grew less popular by the day. Greek deserters informed Sulla that Aristion was neglecting the Heptachalcum (part of the city wall). Sulla immediately sent sappers to undermine the wall. Nine hundred feet of wall was brought down between the Sacred and Piraeic gates on the southwest side of the city.
On 1 March 86 BC, after five months under siege, a midnight sack of Athens began. After the taunts of Aristion, Sulla was not in a mood to be magnanimous. Blood was said to have literally flowed in the streets, it was only after the entreaties of a couple of his Greek friends (Midias and Calliphon) and the pleas of the Roman Senators in his camp that Sulla decided enough was enough. After setting fire to large portions of the city, Aristion and his forces fled to the Acropolis where they had gathered a store of supplies over the preceding few weeks.
At the same time, Archelaus abandoned the city of Piraeus and concentrated his forces in the citadel of the city. Sulla, in a bid to stop an escape by Archelaus who would surely join his reinforcement army sent by Mithridates VI elsewhere in Greece, left the taking of the Acropolis to
While Aristion and his party were able to stave off the Roman attackers for some time, they eventually surrendered after their water ran out and after they had heard of the Pontic defeat at the Battle of Chaeronea (Perhaps late Spring). They were all executed shortly after their surrender.[9]
Consequences
After routing the Pontic army at the
Sulla's army took Athens on the Kalends of March,
It was punished severely, a show of vengeance that ensured Greece would remain docile during later civil wars and
See also
- First Mithridatic War
- Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix
References
- ^ Philip Matyszak, Mithridates the Great, Rome's Indomitable Enemy, p. 55; Tom Holland, Rubicon, p. 69.
- ^ We do not know if Sulla's legions were at full strength, we do know that at the subsequent Battle of Chaeronea Sulla commanded 17,000 Romans.
- ^ Plutarchus, Lucius Mestrius. The Life of Sulla. Book 12. p. 2.
- Velleius Paterculus, Marcus. Historiae Romanae ad M. Vinicium Libri Duo, II, 23.3.
- ^ Plutarchus, Lucius Mestrius. The Life of Sulla. Book 12. p. 1.
- Appianus Alexandrinus. The Mithridatic War. Rome. p. 22. Archived from the originalon 2015-11-16. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- Appianus Alexandrinus. The Mithridatic War. Rome. p. 22. Archived from the originalon 2015-11-16. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- Livius Patavinus, Titus. Periochae Ab Urbe Condita Libri, 78.1(in Latin). Rome.
- ^ Plutarchus, Lucius Mestrius. The Life of Sulla. Book 14. p. 7.
- ^ Plutarchus, Lucius Mestrius. The Life of Sulla. Book 14. p. 6.
- ^ Plutarchus, Lucius Mestrius. The Life of Sulla. Book 14. p. 7.
Bibliography
Contemporary sources
- Appian (1995). Lendering, Jona (ed.). Appian, The Mithridatic Wars. Translated by White, Horace. Livius.org. Archived from the original on 2015-11-16. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- Florus (2018). Thayer, William (ed.). Florus: Epitome of Roman History. Translated by Forster, E.S. penelope.uchicago.edu.
- Livy (2014). The History of Rome. Translated by Baker, George. University of Adelaide. Archived from the original on 2019-08-10. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
- Plutarch (2012). Thayer, William (ed.). The Life of Sulla. Translated by Perrin, Bernadotte. penelope.uchicago.edu.
- Velleius (2018). Thayer, William (ed.). Velleius Paterculus: The Roman History. Translated by Shipley, Frederick W. penelope.uchicago.edu.
Modern sources
- Antonelli, Giuseppe (1992). Mitridate, il nemico mortale di Roma (in Italian). in Il Giornale - Biblioteca storica. Milan. p. 49.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Brizzi, Giovanni [in Italian] (1997). Storia di Roma. 1. Dalle origini ad Azio (in Italian). Bologna.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Dowling, M.B. (2000). "The Clemency of Sulla". Historia. 49 (3): 303–340.
- Eckert, A. (2016). Lucius Cornelius Sulla in der antiken Erinnerung. Jener Mörder, der sich Felix nannte. Berlin/New York.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Hoff, M.C. (1997). "Laceratae Athenae. Sulla's Siege of Athens in 87/6 B.C. and its Aftermath". In Hoff, M.C.; Rotroff, S.I. (eds.). The Romanization of Athens. Oxford. pp. 33–51.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Kuin, Inger N.I. (2018). "Sulla and the Invention of Roman Athens". Mnemosyne. 71 (4): 616–639. S2CID 165670272.
- Piganiol, André (1927). La conquête romaine (in French).
- Ruggeri, C. (2006). "Silla e la conquista di Atene nell' 86 a.C.". In Amann, P.; Pedrazzi, M.; Taeuber, H. (eds.). Italo-Tusco-Romana. Festschrift für Luciana Aigner-Foresti zum 70. Geburtstag am 30. Juli 2006. Vienna. pp. 315–324.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Santangelo, F. (2007). Sulla, the Elites and the Empire. A Study of Roman Policies in Italy and the Greek East. Leiden.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Thein, A. (2014). "Reflecting on Sulla's Clemency". Historia. 63 (2): 166–186. S2CID 159609145.
External links
- "First Mithridatic War (89 BC-85 BC)". HistoryofWar.org. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
- "The First Mithridatic War (88 BC-84 BC)". Roman-Empire.info. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
- "The Siege of Athens (Autumn del 87 BC-Summer 86 BC)". HistoryofWar.org. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
- "The Siege of Piraeus (Autumn 87 BC-Spring 86 BC)". HistoryofWar.org. Retrieved 8 January 2011.