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Dyrrhachium (48 BCE)
Unless otherwise indicated,
pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. Photos can
be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes, but you have to acknowledge
Livius. |
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Dyrrhachium, modern Durrës in Albania, is at the beginning of
the Via Egnatia, the Roman road that connected the Adriatic Sea with Macedonia
and the Aegean Sea. The town became the center of a series of military
engagements during the Second Civil War (49-48), in which Julius
Caesar (picture) fought against Pompey the Great and overthrew the
Roman Republic.
In January 49, Caesar had invaded Italy at the Rubico,
and Pompey had evacuated Italy, which could not be defended against Caesar's
experienced soldiers (17 March). After a lightning campaign in Spain, Caesar
directed his attention to Greece, where Pompey was building an army that
consisted of nine legions. He wanted to invade Italy, and needed Dyrrhachium
as his base. When the campaign started, he was still collecting his army
to the southeast of this port.
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Caesar employed eleven legions
(V Alaudae,
VI
Ferrata,
VII,
VIII,
VIIII,
X
Equestris,
XI,
XII,
XIII,
XIV,
XXVII), but was unable to transport more than seven across the Adriatic
Sea. Having landed at Apollonia, south of Dyrrhachium, Caesar immediately
sent two legions to the east, to prevent Pompey from receiving reinforcements.
With the remaining five units, Caesar marched to the north and placed his
camp between Pompey and Dyrrhachium. When Pompey arrived, he built his
camp at a hill called Petra, "rock". Because his men were untrained,
he declined battle. |
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Therefore, Caesar started to build fortifications. This would prevent
Pompey's soldiers from obtaining food from the countryside, prevented his
cavalry from attacking, and -even more important- would give the impression
that Pompey was besieged and did not dare to fight. So, Caesar's men contructed
twenty-four forts and a wall of 22 kilometers.
Pompey started to build counter-works. There were several fights between
the two Roman forces, in which Caesar's Ninth legion suffered badly, and
the building of the circumvallations continued. In his History of the
Civil War, Caesar tells that during one fight in a southern fort (see
map), one centurion received no less than 120 blows on his shield - evidence
of the discipline and high morale of the legionaries.
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Pompey the Great
(Louvre)
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The southernmost part of Caesar's fortifications were still unfinished,
and it was absolutely imperative for Pompey
to break away from his camp before the circle would be closed. This became
even more urgent after Caesar's lieutenant Marc Antony arrived with the
remaining four legions. During a night, 7 July according to the Roman calendar
(which is out of step with ours), Pompey ordered his soldiers to attack
the unfinished part of Caesar's fortifications, and after a day of fighting,
Caesar had to admit that he would not be able to regain control of this
part of the battlefield. This meant that his circumvallation could not
be closed, and he immediately broke off the siege, marching off to Thessaly
in the east.
He had lost many men, had given Pompey a chance to train his recruits,
and had no line of communication back to Italy. Still, his men remained
disciplined and motivated, and within a month, they would prove their worth
at Pharsalus.
A satellite photo can be found here.
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Jona Lendering
© 2005
Latest revision: 31 March
2006
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