The Enemies of Rome

The Enemies of Rome:
From Hannibal to
Attila the Hun

In this book the British historian Philip Matyszak presents 17 enemies of Rome who are divided into four groups, corresponding to four different periods:

PART I - Hannibal, Philip V, Viriathus, Jugurtha

PART II - Mithridates VI, Spartacus, Vercingetorix, Orodes II, Cleopatra

PART III - Arminius, Boudica, Josephus, Decebalus

PART IV - Shapur I, Zenobia, Alaric, Attila

There is one chapter for each of the 17 enemies and an introduction to each of the four parts. In addition, there is a general introduction and a conclusion. The book ends with a bibliography and an index.

There are 72 illustrations in black-and-white: maps, drawings and photos.

Matyszak quotes extensively from ancient sources, and sometimes he also uses archaeological material. He tries to explain the conflicts connected with each of the 17 enemies, and he succeeds to a large extent. His account is interesting and relevant. But I have to mention a few points that bother me:

(1) The bibliography is one long list (three pages). The titles are listed in alphabetical order by the last name of the author. This is often a good idea, but not in this case. This book presents 17 enemies of Rome, so obviously the bibliography should follow the same pattern. There should be 17 sections with a few titles for each of the 17 enemies.

(2) The map of the Roman Empire (on p 6-7) claims Mithridates was born in 120 BC. This is not true, and Matyszak knows it: on page 82 he explains that 120 BC is the year in which Mithridates succeeded to the throne, “though only eleven years of age.” This gives a date of birth around 131 BC, which is true.

(3) On page 115, Matyszak says Vercingetorix was born “sometime around 78 BC.” The map of the Roman Empire says 80 BC, but this is not a problem, since both dates are approximate. On page 116 he says:

“For most of Vercingetorix’s childhood during the 80s BC, Rome was not an active threat.”

 

This is wrong: Vercingetorix was a child in the 70s and the 60s. He lived during the Roman Republic: we have to count backwards!

(4) On page 143, Matyszak says:

“Ptolemy was uncertain how Caesar would regard Pompey’s assassination.”

 

The author raises a question, but he never gives the answer. The answer is: Caesar was very angry. The assassination of Pompey was probably one of the reasons why he decided to support Cleopatra against Ptolemy.

(5) Illustration # 32 on page 207 shows a relief from Naqs-i Rustam. The caption reads in part:

“The cloaked figure kneeling before the king is the captured emperor Valerian…”

 

This is wrong. There are two figures in front of the Persian king. One is kneeling, one is standing. The kneeling figure is Marcus Julius Philippus (also known as Philip the Arab), who was emperor 244-249 and who (perhaps) was captured by Shapur and paid a high ransom for his freedom. The standing figure is Valerian who holds out both his arms towards the Persian king as a sign of surrender. The two Roman emperors were not prisoners at the same time. The relief combines two different situations into one image.

The victory relief of Shapur and two Roman emperors at Naqs-i-Rustam.
This picture is borrowed from Wikipedia.

(6) In chapter 13 Matyszak presents the Dacian leader Decebalus. He gives an account of the Dacian wars, but he never explains why Trajan went to war against Dacia. The real motive was economic: he needed money! The Dacian wars gave Trajan a huge profit which enabled him to embark on an extensive building program.

For information about the economic motive, see The Dacian Stones Speak by Paul MacKendrick (1975, 2000), which is actually listed in Matyszak's bibliography. See also chapter VI of Terry Jones' Barbarians by Terry Jones and Alan Ereira (2006, 2007)

(7) Part I of the book has the headline: “From the Ebro to the Nile.” The river Ebro is a symbol of Spain and Hannibal, while the river Nile is a symbol of Egypt and Cleopatra. But Part I covers the period 247-104 BC, and during those years the Romans did not control Egypt. The river Nile is not mentioned until page 145, in Part II, in chapter 9 which is about Cleopatra. Therefore this headline is misleading.

(8) On page 283, Matyszak mentions the famous church father Augustine, who lived and worked for more than thirty years in Hippo Regius (today Annaba) in present-day Algeria:

“In the year Augustine died, the Vandal tribe conquered his native city of Carthage.”

Almost everything is wrong here: Augustine was not born in Carthage, but in Thagaste (today Souk Ahras), about 100 km south of Hippo Regius. He died in Hippo Regius in August 430, a few months after the Vandals began a siege of his city. The Vandals invaded Africa in 429 and began a siege of Hippo Regius in June of the following year. They conquered Carthage, but not until 439, i.e. nine years after the death of Augustine.

The 17 persons presented in this book have one thing in common: they were enemies of Rome. But otherwise they were very different. They lived at different times, in different places, inside or outside the Roman Empire. Moreover, their social and economic positions were very different. Most of them are men, but three of them are women (Cleopatra, Boudica, and Zenobia). Some of them were captured and paraded in chains in a Roman triumph after which they were executed (Jugurtha and Vercingetorix). Some of them committed suicide in order to avoid this fate (Hannibal, Cleopatra, and - perhaps - Boudica).

Some of them – like Hannibal – wanted war. Hannibal decided to provoke and attack the Romans. He was asking for it. While others – like Boudica – never wished for a war with Rome.

Many, but not all of them, were defeated by Rome. All the internal enemies like Spartacus were defeated by Rome. But many of the external enemies were never defeated by Rome: for instance Arminius, Shapur and Attila the Hun.

This book is well written, and it has an interesting perspective, but for reasons explained above, I can only give it four out of five stars.

PS. Two British authors - Terry Jones and Alan Ereira - attempted a somewhat similar project with their book Terry Jones' Barbarians: An Alternative Roman History (hardcover 2006, paperback 2007). For more information about this volume see my blog: Terry Jones' Barbarians.

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Philip Matyszak,
The Enemies of Rome:
From Hannibal to Attila the Hun,
Thames & Hudson, hardcover 2004, paperback 2008, 296 pages

 

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