BOOK II

1. In the three hundred and sixty-fifth year since the founding of the city, but the first after it had been captured, the offices were changed. Instead of two consuls, military tribunes with consular power were made. From this time on, the Roman state began to grow; for in the same year, Camillus conquered the state of the Volsci, who had warred against them for seventy years. He also defeated the cities of the Aequi and Sutrini, capturing them after their armies were destroyed, and celebrated three triumphs at the same time.

2. Additionally, Titus Quintius Cincinnatus pursued the Praenestini, a people who had brought war up to the gates of Rome, to the river Allia and defeated them. He joined eight cities that were under them to the Romans; he attacked Praeneste itself and accepted its surrender. All these things were accomplished by him in twenty days, and a triumph was decreed for him.

3. But indeed, the office of military tribune did not last long, for after some time it was resolved that no more would be made, and four years passed in the city in such a way that there were no higher positions of power there. However, military tribunes with consular authority assumed the position again and remained for three years; then consuls were made again.

4. Camillus died in the consulship of Lucius Genucius and Quintus Servilius. Honor second to that of Romulus was given to him.

5. Titus Quintius was sent as dictator against the Gauls, who had come to Italy. They had encamped by the fourth milestone from the city across the river Aniene. There, a most noble young senator, Lucius Manlius, entered into single combat with, and killed, a Gaul who had challenged him. Then, after removing the Gaul’s torque [a metal ring worn around the neck], he placed it on his own neck and received for all-time, for himself and his descendants, the surname “Torquatus.” The Gauls were routed, and soon after, were defeated by the dictator Caius Sulpicius. Soon after, the Tuscans were defeated by Caius Marcius, and eight thousand captives were led in triumph.

6. A census was held again. Since the Latins, who had been subjugated by the Romans, were unwilling to furnish soldiers, recruits were only taken from the Romans. Ten legions were formed, which came out to sixty thousand or more men in arms. So great was Roman power in warfare, even though the Roman state was still small. After they set out against the Gauls with Lucius Furius as general, a certain Gaul challenged the Romans to send out their best man. A tribune of the soldiers, Marcus Valerius, volunteered, and as he advanced armed, a raven landed on his right shoulder. Soon after, when they were joined in combat, the same raven attacked the eyes of the Gaul with its wings and talons so that he could not see properly. Thus, the Gaul was slain by the tribune Valerius. The raven not only gave Valerius a victory, but also a name, for afterwards, he was called “Corvinus” [a name meaning raven]. He was made consul at twenty-three years of age on account of this deed.

7. The Latins, who had refused to supply soldiers, began also to demand from the Romans that one of the consuls be chosen from their people and the other one from the Roman people. After this was refused, a war was undertaken against the Latins, and they were defeated in a great battle. A triumph was held on account of their subjugation. Statues were placed for the consuls on the rostra for their part in the victory. Also, in the same year, Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Macedonian.

8. Now the Romans were beginning to become powerful; for a war was waged with the Samnites, who were at the one hundred and thirtieth milestone from the city, between Picenum, Campania, and Apulia. Lucius Papirius Cursor set out for the war with the title of dictator. When he returned to Rome, he ordered Quintus Fabius Maximus, the master of horse whom he had left in charge of the army, not to fight while he was absent. After finding a favorable opportunity, Quintus Fabius Maximus fought most successfully and destroyed the Samnites. He was condemned to die by the dictator because he had fought against his orders, but was freed because of his great popularity with the soldiers and people. Such a great uproar arose against Papirius that he himself was almost killed.

9. Afterwards, in the consulship of Titus Veturius and Spurius Postumius, the Samnites defeated the Romans (a great disgrace for them) and sent them under the yoke. However, the peace the Romans made with them out of necessity was ended by the Senate and people. After this, the Samnites were defeated by the consul Lucius Papirius, and seven thousand of them were sent under the yoke. Papirius celebrated a triumph over them. The censor Appius Claudius constructed the Aqua Claudia and the Via Appia at this time. After renewing the war, the Samnites defeated Quintus Fabius Maximus and slew three thousand of his men. Later, his father, Fabius Maximus, while serving as his lieutenant, defeated the Samnites and took many of their towns. Then, both consuls, Publius Cornelius Rufinus and Manius Curius Dentatus, were sent against the Samnites and wore them out in a series of large battles. They then ended the war which had lasted for forty-nine years. There was no other enemy within Italy who had tested Roman strength more.

10. After several years time, the Gauls again joined with the Tuscans and Samnites against the Romans, but as they were marching towards Rome, they were annihilated by the consul Cnaeus Cornelius Dolabella.

11. War was declared at this time against the Tarentines, who still live at the end of Italy, because they caused injury to some Roman ambassadors. The Tarentines requested assistance from Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, who was descended from the line of Achilles. He soon came to Italy, and for the first time, the Romans fought with an enemy from across the sea. The consul Publius Valerius Laevinus was sent against him. Laevinus captured several scouts of Pyrrhus and ordered for them to be led around the camp and shown the whole army. Then, they were to be released in order to announce to Pyrrhus everything the Romans were doing. Soon, they joined in battle and Pyrrhus was on the verge of flight, but he was victorious due to the use of elephants, which were unknown to the Romans and which they feared. Soon after, darkness brought an end to the fighting, and Laevinus fled in the night. Pyrrhus took eighteen hundred Roman prisoners, treated them honorably, and buried the dead. When he saw the Roman dead lying with wounds in front and fierce expressions even in death, he was said to have raised his hands to the sky and lamented that he could have been the master of the whole world if it had been his fortune to have soldiers such as these.

12. Then, after joining with the Samnites, Lucanians, and Bruttii, Pyrrhus headed towards Rome, devastating everything by fire and sword, and laying waste Campania before arriving at Praeneste, by the eighteenth milestone from the city. Soon after, he retreated to Campania out of fear of an army that was following him with a consul. Delegates were sent to him for the sake of redeeming the captives and were honorably received by him. He sent the captives to Rome without ransom. Pyrrhus so admired Fabricius, one of the Roman delegates, that when he found out he was poor, he tried to entice Fabricius to cross over to his side by promising him one fourth of his kingdom, but he was scorned by Fabricius. This filled Pyrrhus with such admiration of the Romans that he sent an ambassador, a distinguished man named Cineas, to seek peace on fair terms. The terms were that Pyrrhus would keep only that part of Italy which he had already taken by arms.

13. The Romans were unhappy with the peace terms. Cineas returned to Pyrrhus with a reply from the Senate that there would be no peace unless he left Italy. Then, the Romans ordered that all the prisoners that Pyrrhus had sent back to Rome should be regarded as infamous because they had been captured while armed. They would not be able to return to their former standing until they had brought back the spoils of two slain enemy soldiers. When Pyrrhus asked Cineas what type of place he had found Rome to be, he replied that he had seen a nation of kings, and indeed, almost every man there was the type of man that Pyrrhus alone was considered to be in Epirus and the rest of Greece. The consuls Publius Sulpicius and Decius Mus were sent as generals against Pyrrhus. After the battle was joined, Pyrrhus was wounded and his elephants were killed. Twenty thousand of Pyrrhus’ men were cut down as opposed to only five thousand of the Romans. Pyrrhus was forced to flee to Tarentum.

14. After a year’s time, Fabricius (who earlier, as a delegate, could not be bribed although he had been offered one fourth of Pyrrhus’ kingdom) was dispatched against Pyrrhus. Since he and the king had camps close to one another, Pyrrhus’ physician came to him at night, promising he would kill Pyrrhus with poison if something was offered to him in return. Fabricius ordered him to be led back to his master in chains and for Pyrrhus to be told of the threats against his life that the physician had made. Subsequently, the king, so impressed by Fabricius, is reported to have said, “Fabricius is a man who would be harder to divert from his integrity than the sun from its course.” The king then set out for Sicily. Fabricius held a triumph after defeating the Lucanians and Samnites. Next, the consuls Manius Curius Dentatus and Cornelius Lentulus were sent against Pyrrhus. Curius fought against him, savaged his army, sent him fleeing to Tarentum, and took his camp. On that day, twenty-three thousand of the enemy were slain. Curius triumphed during his consulship and was the first to bring elephants, four in number, to Rome. Pyrrhus soon left Tarentum and was killed at Argos, a city of Greece.

15. In the four hundred and sixty-first year since the founding of the city, during the consulship of Caius Fabius Licinius and Caius Claudius Canina, ambassadors, sent by Ptolemy, came to Rome from Alexandria and obtained from the Romans the friendship which they had sought.

16. In the consulship of Quintus Olgunius and Caius Fabius Pictor, the Picentes started a war and were defeated by the next consuls, Publius Sempronius and Appius Claudius. A triumph was held over them. The Romans also founded the cities of Ariminum in Gaul and Beneventum in Samnium.

17. During the consulship of Marcus Atilius Regulus and Lucius Julius Libo, war was declared against the Sallentines of Apulia. The Brundisians were taken along with their city, and a triumph was celebrated over them.

18. In the four hundred and seventy-seventh year, although the name of the city of Rome was already famous, arms had still not yet been brought outside of Italy. Therefore, in order to determine the strength of the Romans, a census was held. The number of citizens was found to be two hundred and ninety-two thousand, three hundred and thirty-four, although the wars had never ceased since the founding of the city. For the first time, war was undertaken against the Africans, in the consulship of Appius Claudius and Quintus Fulvius. The Romans fought in Sicily, and Appius Claudius held a triumph over the Africans and King Hiero of Sicily.

19. In the following year, during the consulship of Valerius Marcus and Otacilius Crassus, the Romans accomplished great things in Sicily. The Tauromenitani, Catinenses, and fifty additional cities were received into allegiance. In the third year, the war against Hiero, king of the Sicilians, was resolved. He, along with all of the Syracusan nobility, obtained peace from the Romans and paid them two hundred silver talents. The Africans were defeated in Sicily, and for the second time, a triumph was held in Rome over them.

20. In the fifth year of the Punic war, which was waged against the Africans, during the consulship of Caius Duillius and Cnaeus Cornelius Asina, the Romans fought for the first time at sea after building beaked ships which they called “Liburnian" galleys. The consul Cornelius was undone by treachery. Duillius defeated the Carthaginian commander after joining in battle. He captured thirty-one ships and sank fourteen; he took prisoner seven thousand of the enemy and killed three thousand. No other victory was more pleasing to the Romans because they were already invincible on land, but now they were also powerful at sea. In the consulship of Caius Aquilius Florus and Lucius Scipio, Scipio ravaged Corsica and Sardinia, led away many thousands of prisoners from there, and celebrated a triumph.

21. In the consulship of Lucius Manlius Vulso and Marcus Atilius Regulus, the war was taken to Africa. A battle was fought at sea against the Carthaginian commander Hamilcar, and he was defeated, for he retreated after losing sixty-four ships. The Romans lost twenty-two ships. After the Romans crossed over into Africa, the first city they reached, Clypea, surrendered to them. The consuls proceeded all the way to Carthage, and after causing much destruction, Manlius returned to Rome victorious, bringing back twenty-seven thousand prisoners, and Atilius Regulus remained in Africa. Regulus drew up his army for battle against the Africans. He was victorious fighting against three Carthaginian generals, killing eighteen thousand of the enemy, capturing five thousand men and eighteen elephants, and receiving seventy-four cities into allegiance. The defeated Carthaginians then sought peace from the Romans. Since Regulus was unwilling to grant this except under the harshest conditions, the Africans sought assistance from the Lacedaemonians. The Lacedaemonians sent Xanthippus, and with him as general, the Roman general Regulus was defeated in a great slaughter. Only two thousand men escaped from the whole Roman army. Five hundred men were captured with Regulus, thirty thousand were slain, and Regulus himself was thrown into chains.

22. In the consulship of Marcus Aemilius Paulus and Servius Fulvius Nobilior, both Roman consuls departed for Africa with a fleet of three hundred ships and defeated the Africans in a naval battle. The consul Aemilius sank one hundred and four of the enemy’s ships, captured thirty with soldiers, and killed or captured fifteen thousand of the enemy. He enriched his soldiers with an immense amount of booty. Africa would have been conquered then, but food was so scarce that the army could not stay longer. As the consuls were returning around Sicily with the victorious fleet,  they were shipwrecked. There was such a great storm that out of four hundred and sixty-four ships, only eighty could be saved. So great a storm at sea was previously unheard of. The Romans repaired two hundred ships right away,and their spirit was not broken by any of this.

23. The consuls Cnaeus Servilius Caepio and Caius Sempronius Blaesus departed for Africa with two hundred and sixty ships and captured several cities. As they were returning with a great amount of booty, they were shipwrecked. Therefore, since the Romans were unhappy with the continuous naval disasters, the Senate decreed that they would abstain from fighting at sea, and only sixty ships would be kept for the protection of Italy.

24. In the consulship of Lucius Caecilius Metellus and Caius Furius Placidus, Metellus defeated the leader of the Africans in Sicily, who had one hundred and thirty elephants and large forces with him. Metellus killed twenty thousand of the enemy, captured twenty-six elephants, and collected the rest of the elephants, which were wandering around, with the help of the Numidians, whom he had for assistance. He brought the elephants to Rome with great pomp, and one hundred and thirty of them filled all the roads. After these disasters, the Carthaginians sought from Regulus, the general whom they had captured, that he depart for Rome, make peace with the Romans, and arrange an exchange of captives.

25. When Regulus arrived at Rome, he was led into the Senate and did not act at all like a Roman. He said that from the day he had been captured by the Africans, he had ceased to be Roman. He prevented his wife from embracing him and urged the Senate not to make peace with the Carthaginians, for they had no hope left after being broken by so many disasters. He himself was not so important that so many thousands of prisoners should be returned in exchange for an old man like him and a few others who had been captured. He obtained his request, and nobody gave the Africans seeking peace an audience. The Romans offered to keep him in Rome, but he returned to Carthage. He said that he would not remain in the city since he could no longer hold the position of an honorable citizen after having served the Africans. Therefore, after returning to Africa, he was killed by every type of torture.

26. In the consulship of Publius Claudius Pulcher and Lucius Junius, Claudius fought, although the auspices were unfavorable, and was defeated by the Carthaginians. Out of two hundred and twenty ships, he fled with thirty. Ninety ships were captured with soldiers on board, and the rest of them were sunk. The other consul also lost a fleet, this time by shipwreck. However, his army was unhurt because the shore was nearby.

27. During the consulship of Caius Lutatius Catulus and Aulus Postumius Albinus, in the twenty-third year of the Punic war, Catulus managed the war against the Africans. He set out with three hundred ships to Sicily. The Africans prepared four hundred ships against him. Never before had so many men fought at sea. Lutatius Catulus boarded his ship weak from being wounded in an earlier battle. The Romans fought with great valor near Lilybaeum, a city of Sicily. Sixty-three Carthaginian ships were taken, one hundred and twenty-five were sunk, thirty-two thousand of their men were captured, thirteen thousand were slain, and a staggering amount of gold, silver, and booty was taken by the Romans. This battle was fought on March 10th. The Carthaginians immediately asked for peace, and it was granted to them. The Roman prisoners who were being held by the Carthaginians were returned. The Carthaginians asked permission to buy back their prisoners. The Senate ordered the ones who were in the custody of the state to be given back without cost. Moreover, those who were held by private citizens were to be returned to Carthage and their owners compensated, but they would be paid from the public treasury rather than by the Carthaginians.

28. Quintus Lutatius and Aulus Manlius were elected as consuls and waged war against the Falisci, a once powerful people of Italy. Both consuls together finished the war within six days of arriving. They slaughtered fifteen thousand of the enemy and granted peace to the rest, but took half of their land from them.

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