Gabiniani
Encyclopedia
The Gabiniani were Roman troops left in Egypt by Aulus Gabinius
after his military restoration of Ptolemy XII on the Egyptian throne in 55 BC. The soldiers were to protect the king, but they soon adopted the manners of their new country and became completely alienated from the Roman Empire. After the death of Ptolemy XII they helped his son Ptolemy XIII in the power struggle against his sister Cleopatra VII and even involved Julius Caesar
, the powerful supporter of Cleopatra, in the Alexandrinian war
(48-47 BC) in violent battles.
Because Egypt was nominally independent the Gabiniani were not a Roman occupying army but mercenaries of Ptolemy XII. According to the report of Caesar they soon adopted the dissipated way of life of the Alexandrians, while they neglected Roman discipline. Nevertheless they still possessed a great fighting strength because Caesar described them as very dangerous enemies in the Alexandrinian war. They married Egyptian women and had already fathered children with them before the arrival of Caesar in Egypt (48 BC). So they lost more and more the ties to Rome and became a loyal protecting power of Ptolemy XII, who used them in fights against rebellious subjects.
ns had inflicted a devastating defeat on the Romans in the Battle of Carrhae
. Three years later – at the beginning of the year 50 BC – the governor of Syria, Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus
, sent two of his sons to Egypt to recruit the Gabiniani for the war against the Parthians. But the Gabiniani did not want to give up their comfortable life in the Ptolemaic Empire to fight against the dangerous Parthians. Therefore they killed the sons of Bibulus.
Cleopatra continued the pro-Roman politic of her father and did not hesitate to have the murderers arrested and handed over in chains to Bibulus, because a simple averment of the queen not to be guilty of the crime would surely not have been enough for the mourning father. This action turned the Gabiniani into bitter enemies of the queen. But it was more important for Cleopatra to maintain good relations with Rome; therefore she had to hand over the murderers of the sons of Bibulus. Valerius Maximus
claims that the Syrian proconsul sent the murderers back because not he but the senate in Rome was responsible for the punishment of the criminals. The German historian Christoph Schäfer does not believe this version and assumes instead that the proconsul himself did pronounce the judgement because he had the legal authority and besides he must have sent the murderers to Rome and not to Egypt if he really thought that only the senate had the sentencing competence. Christoph Schäfer believes that Cleopatra’s break with the Gabiniani was the main cause of her loss of power that soon ensued. At this time at the latest the Gabiniani joined the party of Ptolemy XIII and his three influential guardians and advisors, Pothinus
, Achillas
, and Theodotus of Chios
.
In the spring of 49 BC Gnaeus Pompeius
, the oldest son of the triumvir Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus
, came to Egypt to ask for military aid in the civil war against Julius Caesar that had just broken out. At this time Ptolemy XIII had succeeded in sharing the power with his older sister Cleopatra and both rulers complied with the petition. Among other things they sent 500 horsemen of the Gabiniani to Pompeius and now the Gabiniani did not refuse to go to war.
At the end of 49 BC Cleopatra was driven out of Alexandria at the instigation of Pothinus. Probably in connection with this action Caesar accuses the Gabiniani that they were so much used to the old customs of the Alexandrinian soldiers that they demanded the execution of friends of kings, tried to raise their pay by the siege of the palace and that they deposed kings and brought other men to power.
After his decisive defeat in the Battle of Pharsalus
Pompey fled to the coast of Egypt and demanded help and support from the Ptolemaic government. The advisors of Ptolemy XIII were not willing to get involved into the Roman civil war and decided the murder of Pompey to satisfy the victorious Caesar. Pothinus and his companions allegedly also feared that Pompey would try to incite the former Roman soldiers in the Ptolemaic army – who partly had earlier fought under his command – to be able to win the power over Egypt. But it is very doubtful whether the Gabiniani could have been convinced to take part in such a step because they were already so deeply rooted in the land of the Nile
. Indeed two leading members of the Gabiniani, the former Roman tribune Lucius Septimius and the centurion Salvius, participated in the assassination of Pompey (25 July 48 BC according to the Julian calendar).
After the successful conclusion of the Alexandrinian war, Caesar replaced the Gabiniani by three reliable legions that served as Roman occupying army of Egypt. These troops were to protect the reign of Cleopatra but also to ensure the queen's loyalty to Rome.
Aulus Gabinius
Aulus Gabinius, Roman statesman and general, and supporter of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, was a prominent figure in the later days of the Roman Republic....
after his military restoration of Ptolemy XII on the Egyptian throne in 55 BC. The soldiers were to protect the king, but they soon adopted the manners of their new country and became completely alienated from the Roman Empire. After the death of Ptolemy XII they helped his son Ptolemy XIII in the power struggle against his sister Cleopatra VII and even involved Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
, the powerful supporter of Cleopatra, in the Alexandrinian war
Siege of Alexandria (47 BC)
The Siege of Alexandria was a series of skirmishes and battles occurring between the forces of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII between 48 and 47 BC...
(48-47 BC) in violent battles.
Protecting power of Ptolemy XII in Egypt
In 58 BC Ptolemy XII had to leave Egypt and went in the exile to Rome. Three years later Aulus Gabinius, the Roman proconsul of Syria, restored the king after a short campaign to the throne. Then he left a part of his army, the Gabiniani, in Egypt for the protection of the future reign of the king. These Roman troops also included Gallic and German horsemen.Because Egypt was nominally independent the Gabiniani were not a Roman occupying army but mercenaries of Ptolemy XII. According to the report of Caesar they soon adopted the dissipated way of life of the Alexandrians, while they neglected Roman discipline. Nevertheless they still possessed a great fighting strength because Caesar described them as very dangerous enemies in the Alexandrinian war. They married Egyptian women and had already fathered children with them before the arrival of Caesar in Egypt (48 BC). So they lost more and more the ties to Rome and became a loyal protecting power of Ptolemy XII, who used them in fights against rebellious subjects.
Conflict with Cleopatra VII
After the death of Ptolemy XII (51 BC) his two oldest surviving children, Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra VII, should together succeed him on the throne. But the young queen soon ousted her brother and husband from the power and ruled alone. She quickly came into a serious conflict with the Gabiniani. In 53 BC the powerful ParthiaParthia
Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
ns had inflicted a devastating defeat on the Romans in the Battle of Carrhae
Battle of Carrhae
The Battle of Carrhae, fought in 53 BC near the town of Carrhae, was a major battle between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic. The Parthian Spahbod Surena decisively defeated a Roman invasion force led by Marcus Licinius Crassus...
. Three years later – at the beginning of the year 50 BC – the governor of Syria, Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus
Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus
Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus was a politician of the late Roman Republic.Bibulus was the son in law of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticencis. In 59 BC he was elected consul, supported by the optimates, conservative republicans in the Senate and opponents of Julius Caesar's triumvirate...
, sent two of his sons to Egypt to recruit the Gabiniani for the war against the Parthians. But the Gabiniani did not want to give up their comfortable life in the Ptolemaic Empire to fight against the dangerous Parthians. Therefore they killed the sons of Bibulus.
Cleopatra continued the pro-Roman politic of her father and did not hesitate to have the murderers arrested and handed over in chains to Bibulus, because a simple averment of the queen not to be guilty of the crime would surely not have been enough for the mourning father. This action turned the Gabiniani into bitter enemies of the queen. But it was more important for Cleopatra to maintain good relations with Rome; therefore she had to hand over the murderers of the sons of Bibulus. Valerius Maximus
Valerius Maximus
Valerius Maximus was a Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes. He worked during the reign of Tiberius .-Biography:...
claims that the Syrian proconsul sent the murderers back because not he but the senate in Rome was responsible for the punishment of the criminals. The German historian Christoph Schäfer does not believe this version and assumes instead that the proconsul himself did pronounce the judgement because he had the legal authority and besides he must have sent the murderers to Rome and not to Egypt if he really thought that only the senate had the sentencing competence. Christoph Schäfer believes that Cleopatra’s break with the Gabiniani was the main cause of her loss of power that soon ensued. At this time at the latest the Gabiniani joined the party of Ptolemy XIII and his three influential guardians and advisors, Pothinus
Pothinus
Pothinus , a eunuch, was regent for Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Egypt. He is most remembered for turning Ptolemy against his sister and co-ruler Cleopatra VII, thus starting a civil war, and for having Pompey decapitated and presenting the severed head to Julius...
, Achillas
Achillas
Achillas was one of the guardians of the Egyptian king Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator, and commander of the king's troops, when Pompey fled to Egypt in 48 BC...
, and Theodotus of Chios
Theodotus of Chios
Theodotus of Chios was the rhetoric tutor of the young Egyptian king Ptolemy XIII.- Biography :Theodotus of Chios was a trained rhetorician and the tutor of Ptolemy XIII. He was one of the three influential men who led the guardianship for the young Egyptian king after the death of Ptolemy XII...
.
In the spring of 49 BC Gnaeus Pompeius
Gnaeus Pompeius
Gnaeus Pompeius should not be confused with his father, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, known as "Pompey the Great."Gnaeus Pompeius , also known as Pompey the Younger , was a Roman politician and general from the late Republic .Gnaeus Pompeius was the elder son of Pompey the Great Gnaeus Pompeius should...
, the oldest son of the triumvir Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
, came to Egypt to ask for military aid in the civil war against Julius Caesar that had just broken out. At this time Ptolemy XIII had succeeded in sharing the power with his older sister Cleopatra and both rulers complied with the petition. Among other things they sent 500 horsemen of the Gabiniani to Pompeius and now the Gabiniani did not refuse to go to war.
At the end of 49 BC Cleopatra was driven out of Alexandria at the instigation of Pothinus. Probably in connection with this action Caesar accuses the Gabiniani that they were so much used to the old customs of the Alexandrinian soldiers that they demanded the execution of friends of kings, tried to raise their pay by the siege of the palace and that they deposed kings and brought other men to power.
After his decisive defeat in the Battle of Pharsalus
Battle of Pharsalus
The Battle of Pharsalus was a decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War. On 9 August 48 BC at Pharsalus in central Greece, Gaius Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the republic under the command of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus...
Pompey fled to the coast of Egypt and demanded help and support from the Ptolemaic government. The advisors of Ptolemy XIII were not willing to get involved into the Roman civil war and decided the murder of Pompey to satisfy the victorious Caesar. Pothinus and his companions allegedly also feared that Pompey would try to incite the former Roman soldiers in the Ptolemaic army – who partly had earlier fought under his command – to be able to win the power over Egypt. But it is very doubtful whether the Gabiniani could have been convinced to take part in such a step because they were already so deeply rooted in the land of the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
. Indeed two leading members of the Gabiniani, the former Roman tribune Lucius Septimius and the centurion Salvius, participated in the assassination of Pompey (25 July 48 BC according to the Julian calendar).
War against Caesar
Caesar arrived in Egypt a few days after the assassination of Pompey. In spite of the elimination of his enemy, he did not leave the country and supported the expelled Cleopatra in the Ptolemaic power struggle. Pothinus organized military opposition against Caesar. In the Alexandrinian war that followed, the Gabiniani played an important role: they were the core divisions of Achillas' army that comprised 20.000 infantrymen and 2000 cavalrymen. The forces of Caesar were one-fifth the size of his opponent's. Caesar relates in his Commentarii de Bello Civili that fugitive criminals and exiles from the neighbouring Roman provinces had joined the Gabiniani because the government recruited them to swell the ranks of their army.After the successful conclusion of the Alexandrinian war, Caesar replaced the Gabiniani by three reliable legions that served as Roman occupying army of Egypt. These troops were to protect the reign of Cleopatra but also to ensure the queen's loyalty to Rome.