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The Siege and naval Battle of Massilia
Marseille

"Marseille" is the second-largest city of France and forms the third-largest aire urbaine, after those of Paris and Lyon, with a population recorded to be 1,516,340 at the 1999 census and estimated to be 1,605,000 in 2007....
 was an episode of Caesar's civil war
Caesar's civil war

The Roman civil war of 49 BC, sometimes called Caesar's Civil War, is one of the last conflicts within the Roman Republic. It was a series of political and military confrontations between Julius Caesar, his political supporters, and his Roman legion, against the traditionalist conservative faction in the Roman Senate, sometimes known as the O...
, fought in 49 BC.

Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 54 BC)

Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, consul 54 BC, was an enemy of Julius Caesar and a strong supporter of the aristocratical party in ancient Rome.He is first mentioned in 70 BC by Cicero as a witness against Verres....
 had become proconsul
Proconsul

Ancient RomeIn the Roman Republic, a proconsul was a promagistrate who, after serving as consul, spent a year as a Roman governor of a Roman province....
 of Gaul and sent to gain control of Massilia (modern Marseille
Marseille

"Marseille" is the second-largest city of France and forms the third-largest aire urbaine, after those of Paris and Lyon, with a population recorded to be 1,516,340 at the 1999 census and estimated to be 1,605,000 in 2007....
). As Caesar marched to Spain (en route to the Battle of Ilerda
Battle of Ilerda

The Battle of Ilerda took place in June 49 BC between the forces of Julius Caesar and the Spanish army of Pompey the Great, led by his legatus Lucius Afranius and Marcus Petreius....
), the Massiliots closed their gates to him. Roused by their hostile actions, he commenced a siege against Massilia. He also placed Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus
Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus

Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus was a Ancient Rome politician and general of the 1st century BC and one of Julius Caesar's assassins....
 in charge of his fleet there.

In late June, Caesar's ships, which were less skillfully built than those of the Massiliots and outnumbered, were defeated in a naval battle.

Gaius Trebonius, Caesar's legatus
Legatus

A legatus was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer. Being of Roman senate rank, his immediate superior was the dux, and he outranked all military tribunes....
, conducted the siege using a variety of siege machines including siege tower
Siege tower

A siege tower is a specialized siege engine, constructed to protect assailants and ladders while approaching the defensive walls of a fortification....
s, a siege-ramp, and a "testudo-ram".. Gaius Scribonius Curio
Gaius Scribonius Curio

Gaius Scribonius Curio was the name of a father and son who lived in the late Roman Republic....
, careless in adequately guarding the Sicilian Straits
Strait of Sicily

File:Strait of Sicily map.pngThe Strait of Sicily is the strait between Sicily and Tunisia. It is about 100 miles wide and divides the Tyrrhenian Sea and the western Mediterranean Sea from the eastern Mediterranean....
, allowed Lucius Nasidius to bring more ships to the aid of Ahenobarbus.






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The Siege and naval Battle of Massilia
Marseille

"Marseille" is the second-largest city of France and forms the third-largest aire urbaine, after those of Paris and Lyon, with a population recorded to be 1,516,340 at the 1999 census and estimated to be 1,605,000 in 2007....
 was an episode of Caesar's civil war
Caesar's civil war

The Roman civil war of 49 BC, sometimes called Caesar's Civil War, is one of the last conflicts within the Roman Republic. It was a series of political and military confrontations between Julius Caesar, his political supporters, and his Roman legion, against the traditionalist conservative faction in the Roman Senate, sometimes known as the O...
, fought in 49 BC.

Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 54 BC)

Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, consul 54 BC, was an enemy of Julius Caesar and a strong supporter of the aristocratical party in ancient Rome.He is first mentioned in 70 BC by Cicero as a witness against Verres....
 had become proconsul
Proconsul

Ancient RomeIn the Roman Republic, a proconsul was a promagistrate who, after serving as consul, spent a year as a Roman governor of a Roman province....
 of Gaul and sent to gain control of Massilia (modern Marseille
Marseille

"Marseille" is the second-largest city of France and forms the third-largest aire urbaine, after those of Paris and Lyon, with a population recorded to be 1,516,340 at the 1999 census and estimated to be 1,605,000 in 2007....
). As Caesar marched to Spain (en route to the Battle of Ilerda
Battle of Ilerda

The Battle of Ilerda took place in June 49 BC between the forces of Julius Caesar and the Spanish army of Pompey the Great, led by his legatus Lucius Afranius and Marcus Petreius....
), the Massiliots closed their gates to him. Roused by their hostile actions, he commenced a siege against Massilia. He also placed Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus
Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus

Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus was a Ancient Rome politician and general of the 1st century BC and one of Julius Caesar's assassins....
 in charge of his fleet there.

In late June, Caesar's ships, which were less skillfully built than those of the Massiliots and outnumbered, were defeated in a naval battle.

Gaius Trebonius, Caesar's legatus
Legatus

A legatus was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer. Being of Roman senate rank, his immediate superior was the dux, and he outranked all military tribunes....
, conducted the siege using a variety of siege machines including siege tower
Siege tower

A siege tower is a specialized siege engine, constructed to protect assailants and ladders while approaching the defensive walls of a fortification....
s, a siege-ramp, and a "testudo-ram".. Gaius Scribonius Curio
Gaius Scribonius Curio

Gaius Scribonius Curio was the name of a father and son who lived in the late Roman Republic....
, careless in adequately guarding the Sicilian Straits
Strait of Sicily

File:Strait of Sicily map.pngThe Strait of Sicily is the strait between Sicily and Tunisia. It is about 100 miles wide and divides the Tyrrhenian Sea and the western Mediterranean Sea from the eastern Mediterranean....
, allowed Lucius Nasidius to bring more ships to the aid of Ahenobarbus. He fought a second naval battle with Decimus Brutus, but withdrew defeated and sailed for Spain.

The Massiliots valiantly defended against the siege machines and works. They threw down burning pitch and pine-shavings and the Caesarians undermined the foundations of their city walls. At one point they seemed likely to surrender and declare a truce, but at night they cunningly destroyed the siege works in a gross violation of the treaty. They were then near surrender.

At the final surrender of Massilia, Caesar showed his usual leniency.

Trivia

  • The siege is the setting for Last Seen in Massilia in the Roma Sub Rosa
    Roma Sub Rosa

    Roma Sub Rosa is a series of mystery novels by Steven Saylor set in, and populated by noteworthy denizens of, Ancient Rome. The series is noted for its historical authenticity....
     detective series by Steven Saylor.