77. Curio Invades Africa

Gaius Scribonius Curio is a unique character in Roman history. He combines great talent and abilities with a wild lifestyle and an unserious attitude. You'll remember we first talked about him in this podcast in connection with Marc Antony. There were rumors that these two were a little closer than just platonic friends. Maybe a lot closer.

I also said there were rumors of Curio possibly enjoying the sight of Marc Antony squeezing his body into a dress. I got that anecdote from a secondary source, but I have since dug into the primary source, and that's not quite what it says. The source is Cicero in his speech known as the Second Philipic. The whole speech is a character assassination of Marc Antony. Cicero describes Antony as a public prostitute in his youth, until, that is, Curio came along and, as if he had bestowed a matron's robe, a Stola, upon him, established him in an enduring and stable wedlock.

Essentially, he's painting a lord metaphor whereby Marc Antony is prostituting himself out around Rome until Curio comes along and rescues him, as if he had married him and given him a matron's robe. So, not literally saying that he wears a dress, but still every bit as scandalous. He is, after all, literally saying Marc Antony was a prostitute. That part isn't a metaphor. Of course, though, as I prefaced, this is an anecdote told to us by Cicero in a series of later speeches denouncing Marc Antony. And Cicero loved a good character assassination, as do all Romans. And Cicero was not above just blatantly lying. So, take it with a grain of salt.

Cicero also tells us that Curio's father banned Marc Antony from their house, but that Marc Antony would sneak in anyway, under the cover of darkness, through the roof tiles. In his second Phillipic, which it seems Cicero wrote but never actually delivered, Cicero directs his speech at Marc Antony, saying, “No boy ever bought for libidinous purposes (the root word there is libido, so you can guess what he's saying there.), so he says, “No boy ever bought for libidinous purposes was ever so much in the power of his master as you were in Curio's. How often did his father reject you from his house? How often did he set watchmen that you might not cross his threshold? While you, nevertheless, with night as your bedder, at the bidding of lust and the compulsion of your pay, were let down through the tiles.” So according to Cicero, at least, this was a lusty sexual affair these two were having.

Plutarch tells us that Curio was the person who corrupted Antony by introducing him to wine, women, and extravagant spending. And when Antony got himself into trouble due to the enormity of his debts, Cicero tells us Curio offered to stand surety for six million sesterces of this debt. This had really earned the ire of Curio the Elder, that is, our Curio's father. Cicero tells us he knows all of this because a young Curio had come to him at this time and, with tears in his eyes, thrown himself at Cicero's feet and begged him to defend Mark Antony should the elder Curio, his father, sue Mark Antony for the six million sesterces that the young Curio had stood surety for. Cicero then claims that it was he who convinced the elder Curio to essentially let his son Mark Antony off the hook by paying off the six million sesterces rather than by suing Mark Antony. He also says that he convinced the elder Curio to ban Mark Antony from his son's presence. Apparently, this didn't work. It would have done better to advise him to retile his roof.

Later, when the first triumvirate of Caesar, Pompeian and Crassus was created, Curio openly and loudly spoke in protest of the triumvirate. Almost a decade later, Caesar offered to pay some portion or all of Curio's massive debts. And so Curio flipped sides and was instrumental in blocking all the moves against Caesar in the lead-up to the crossing of the Rubicon.

Curio eventually even followed Caesar over the Rubicon. All of this we've mentioned in past episodes to some degree or other, but I figure a refresher couldn't hurt. Curio is, after all, the protagonist of our story today. And for that reason, I'd like to share with you a passage historian Christian Meier writes about Curio in his book ‘Caesar’. It's quite a long passage, but it does give you an excellent feel for Curio's one-in-a-kind personality.

And since this is such a long quote, and it is not some epic ancient quote, I hope you'll forgive me if I stumble over my words here or there. So Meier writes,
“Gaius Scribonius Curio was a ‘brilliant good-for-nothing’ (I imagine that comes from Cicero's letter.), a highly gifted, fiery and exceptionally charming young man of about thirty-four who had so far proved somewhat unreliable. He belonged to the plebeian nobility; his father was one of the most distinguished consulares, a relatively independent politician, and the two often collaborated.

Curio had always been pre-eminent among Rome's gilded youth. In 61, he was the leader of the ‘downy-bearded youths’, (another quote from Cicero) who championed Clodius with ebullient zeal in the popular assembly to prevent his being prosecuted over the Bona Dea scandal. In 59 he was the one person to attack Caesar loudly and insolently during the terror that followed his opponent's withdrawal from politics.(His opponent being Bibulus.) He was probably unsurpassed in his extravagances, devoted to wine and women, generous in all things, lavish even with what did not belong to him. He set the tone among his contemporaries, the best known among them being the witty Marcus Caelius and Marc Antony, who was destined for subsequent fame. They all emulated the model apparently set by the elder generation, though they lacked the scruples that ultimately kept their elders - with the exception of Caesar - within bounds.

Cicero praises his (meaning Curio's) rhetorical skills and tells us they were due not to training but to nature. He spoke with freedom and facility, at times pointedly, always thoughtfully. Everything seems to have come easily to him. It is impossible to decide whether he acted out of courage or levity. As late as 51, his friend Caelius remarked that he never did anything with deliberation. He possessed exuberance and joie de vivre, (I apologize for my French pronunciation there, it means exuberant enjoyment of life) and took such delight in the freedom he enjoyed that he behaved with the utmost nonchalance, shunning conformity; he did not want to be part of anything, but insisted on being his own man. He wanted to be something quite special, not as others would have him be, but as he chose to be. After all, everything came his way. He did not have to exert himself, and he was certainly not assiduous, nor was he easily impressed. He was guided by impulse, delighting in his levity and versatility, taking things as he pleased and committing himself to nothing.

Eduard Meyer remarks: (and Eduard Meyer is another historian, so he says, Eduard Meyer remarks), ‘Like Caesar, he combined a total disregard for the principles of political morality, a supreme and ostentatious nonchalance of bearing, with shrewd political judgment and a well-founded and ennobling consciousness of his capacity for achievement; he was far closer to Caesar than to Clodius, for instance, whose heir he seems otherwise to have been and whose widow, Fulvia, he married.’ (Meier then continues) Mommsen, (who is another historian, this one a Nobel Prize-winning historian, so he says Mommsen) spoke of Curio's, quote, ‘charming candour’ and discerned in him a spark of the Caesarian spirit. True, he had not grown up an outsider, and he did not have Caesar's energy and single-mindedness, at least not until 50 B.C. Caelius once said of himself that what he loved most was to be concerned about nothing; this applied to Curio too for much of his life. This meant that for a long time he conserved his rich potential undiminished. It accounts for his brilliance and the qualities that many found so enviable, whatever misgivings they might arouse in more earnest spirits. Caesar seems to have had a special liking for him. He describes him very sympathetically in his book on the Civil War. And during the Civil War he entrusted him with the most important tasks, in spite of or even because of his levity, or because he knew of what lay behind it.”

Like I said in the opening, Curio is quite the unique character. Now, I should preface the story I'm about to tell you, the story of Curio's invasion of North Africa, with a sort of disclaimer. You may remember Caesar's officer, Assinius Pollio. He was with Caesar at the crossing of the Rubicon. He will also be with Caesar at the Battle of Pharsalus. And later, Pollio will write his own history of the Civil War he took part in. He did not, however, take part in the Gallic Wars.

Many episodes ago, we talked about a critique Assinius Pollio made on Caesar's commentaries. According to Suetonius, he believed that Caesar's commentaries showed signs of carelessness and inaccuracy. He says that Caesar did not always check the reports of what others told him, and he says that Caesar was either disingenuous or forgetful when describing his own actions. Softening these criticisms, Palio adds that he thinks Caesar intended a revision. Now, it's worth wondering, what led Assinius Pollio a devoted Caesarian, to make such criticisms? Well, Assinius Pollio was on this invasion of Africa.He witnessed many of the events we are going to talk about, the complete catastrophe that this invasion turns into. And so, historian Adrian Goldsworthy writes that it may have been Caesar's flattering portrayal of Curio in the commentaries that led Assinius Pollio to cast doubt on the rest of Caesar's commentaries. Put otherwise, it may have been that the commentaries on this invasion, as written by Caesar, did not always align with Assinius Pollio's lived experience of the invasion. But then, of course, in this case, unlike most other events in the commentaries, Caesar's writing about an invasion he took no part in whatsoever. So, if his account of these events is less accurate here, well, I guess that shouldn't surprise us. Nevertheless, he is our main source for this campaign, so we will be using him heavily. And with all that said, let's get Curio's invasion of Africa started.

Curio had invaded Sicily with two legions. These were the legions which had defected to Caesar at Corfinium. No veterans of the Gallic Wars for young Curio. No. These were much too valuable. That'd be like giving the keys of the Lamborghini to your son who just got a license. Caesar doesn't trust Curio with those invaluable legions. So, instead, Curio gets given the old family car that's a little beat up. Legions with no experience who have already shown they are willing to turn traitor in a civil war. Granted, Ahenobarbus betrayed them first, but still, their defection doesn't exactly inspire confidence. At some point, Curio had then picked up another two legions for a total of four legions.

Curio then departs Sicily with the two Corfinium legions and 500 cavalry, leaving the remaining two legions to guard Sicily. He probably could have brought more men, but Curio has confidence in himself and doesn't think he will need so many men. Caesar tells us he scorned the forces of Publius Attius Varus from the outset, Varus being the man holding Africa for the Optimates.

Curio and his army then sail two days and three nights before reaching the Roman province of Africa, modern Tunisia. And if you look at a map of Tunisia today, you will see a peninsula or a cape jutting out, almost reaching out for Sicily. Today, it is known as Cape Bon. This is the part of Tunisia Curio sailed to and the region our story takes place around. Not specifically on the cape, but just the northwest of it. As always, I will post a map of the area on Instagram and Facebook. It's not an elegant map, but it will do the trick.

Now, this region of Tunisia north of the cape is where the great foe of Rome, Carthage, was once situated. Carthage, of course, had been Rome's great enemy during the 3rd and 2nd century BC. And Rome had fought three epic wars against her until Rome finally won and utterly annihilated Carthage. Wiped her city, her culture, her history, and basically her people off the map. In many ways, that determination to obliterate Carthage betrayed the depths of the Romans' fear of Carthage.

Well, Curio comes in to land at a place called Anquillaria, on the northern side of that Tunisian cape. There was a Pompeian fleet of 12 ships that was supposed to be guarding the coast led by Lucius Caesar the Younger. But seeing the size of Curio's fleet, young Lucius Caesar takes off. He then beaches his ship and travels over land to a not-too-distant city. The rest of his ships follow by sea. 12 of Curio's ships pursue Lucius Caesar and end up towing his now empty trireme back to Curio's fleet. Almost like a trophy, a trophy that they can then use in their war efforts. Curio then disembarks his army and sends his fleet under the command of a man named Marcius Rufus ahead to the city of Utica. Utica is a city on the coast, northwest of where they have landed. It is not on the cape.

Curio then marches two days with his army until he reaches the river Bagradas, near Utica. Leaving the bulk of his army in camp under command of a man named Gaius Caninius Rebilius, Curio takes his cavalry ahead to explore what Caesar calls Castra Cornelia. Castra Cornelia was the site of one of the camps of Publius Cornelius Scipio, better known to us as Scipio Africanus, when he took the Second Punic War to Hannibal's homeland. So, this campaign is sort of happening in the shadows or ghost of Carthage and the Second Punic War.

Caesar says Curio wanted to scout out Castra Cornelia for potential use as a camp, since it was thought to be a suitable location. Which makes sense, Scipio Africanus had chosen it for a reason after all. But it's hard to imagine that playing at being the great Scipio Africanus didn't also appeal to Curio. Anyway, they scout this location and it looks good to Curio, very defensible. Castra Cornelia is a ridge that juts out into the sea, with the sides of the ridge being steep and rough. Also, Caesar tells us that, as the crow flies, it was a little more than one mile from Utica. As the crow flies is the key phrase in that sentence though. Between Castra Cornelia, the camp, and Utica, the city, is a stream and a large marsh. So really, to get to Utica, you have to go around the marsh, which is about a six mile detour. Well, okay, six miles isn't so bad.

So Curio moves forward to start scouting out the area around Utica. As he gets closer to the city itself, Curio spies the camp of Publius Attius Varus. Remember, this is the Roman man in charge of this region for the Pompeians. Varus was also the man who had held Auximum for Pompey in Italy. That is, until the inhabitants refused to shut Caesar out and told Varus to look to the future and his own danger. After that subtle threat, Varus had fled to Pompey and eventually ended up in Africa.

Getting back to this African campaign, Varus' camp is joint to the wall of Utica. On its other side is the city's enormous theater. This means Varus' camp can only be approached through the narrow lane between the city walls and the theater. In other words, it's a strong position. But Varus' camp fortifications aren't all that Curio notices. Curio looks around and can't help but notice that the roads are choked with civilians fleeing with possessions in their hands and driving animals. All of them headed for the safety of Utica, scared as they are of the sudden appearance of Curio's cavalry. So, Curio sets his cavalry onto them, as Caesar writes, to despoil them and treat them as booty. And what a world, where one day you can be a humble shepherd, minding your business, taking care of your sheep, and then suddenly your sheep and possessions are seized and you are enslaved and sold God knows where.

That's your new life. You are now a slave. I always think it's funny that when people believe they have been reincarnated from some person in history, it's always like a Roman general or a centurion or a Napoleonic marshal. No one ever says, yeah, I was a shepherd or a farmer and then all my possessions got stolen and I was enslaved. Even though, by the numbers, that is a much more likely story than having been some Roman general in a past life. There aren't all that many of those.

Anyway, Varus sees this and sends 600 Numidian cavalry and 400 Numidian infantry out to combat Curio's force and rescue the peasants. These Numidians had been sent earlier by their king, Juba, to reinforce Varus. King Juba has a traditional bond of friendship with Pompey's family, which is why he's working with Pompey in the Civil War. The Numidians clash with Curio's cavalry and Caesar tells us they were unable to withstand the very first impact of Curio's men. The Numidians quickly retreat back to Varus' camp at a loss of 120 men.

Around this time, Curio's warships arrive. Remember, after disembarking his army, he had sent his fleet by sea to meet him at Utica. They have now arrived. Using these warships as a threat, Curio proclaims to the 200 supply ships anchored off the coast of Utica that he will consider as enemies any ships which do not take themselves to Castra Cornelia, that new camp or really old camp that used to be Scipio Africanus'. Caesar then tells us that the 200 ships instantly lifted anchor and did as they were told. This now provides Curio with lots of supplies for his army.

Curio then takes his cavalry and heads back to his original camp along the Bagradas River. Back at camp, Curio's men hail him as Imperator, which it seems he accepts. This is an ominous sign. It's never a good look for a Roman general to accept the title of Imperator after having won a small skirmish. This is something that makes you eligible for a triumph. Soldiers might hail you as Imperator after winning a battle like Alesia. That would be appropriate. But for a general to allow his troops to hail him as Imperator after his very first small skirmish, well, that's a sign of a general who doesn't have both feet on the ground. That's the sign of a man who can't tell a great decisive victory from a small skirmish. It's the sign of a general who gets carried away given just a little bit of success and becomes overconfident.

After all, we saw Crassus do something very similar in the lead up to the Battle of Carrhae. Of course, there are exceptions too though. Cicero allowed his soldiers to declare him Imperator after a small campaign mainly fought by his subordinates, and it did not presage disaster. And since we did mention the Battle of Alesia, this has made me realize that in the entirety of the Gallic Wars, and all the writing Caesar did on them, Caesar never once mentions his soldiers hailing him as Imperator. And that isn't because it didn't happen. After all, Caesar will one day stage a triumph for the conquest of Gaul. Being hailed as Imperator by your soldiers is a prerequisite for a triumph. So his soldiers must certainly have hailed him as Imperator at some point. Probably multiple times. Those guys are devoted to Caesar after all. They're fanatics. Caesar just never mentions it. I imagine in an effort to stay, or to appear, humble. Though he had no problem mentioning the record-setting number of days of Thanksgiving he had received as votes from the Senate.

Getting back to Curio, Caesar tells us that the next day Curio marched his army to Utica and encamped near the city. However, Appian tells the story quite differently. He writes that before moving his army to camp outside Utica, Curio takes them to make camp at Castra Cornelia. Again, that's the site where Scipio Africanus made camp for a time when fighting the Carthaginians. Appian tells us that Curio's opponents knew something of his personality and ambitions. They were also well aware of Castra Cornelia.

And so, before Curio even arrives in Africa, they figure that Curio will want to camp his army at Castra Cornelia in imitation of the great Roman general. A chance to really walk in his footsteps. And so, as Curio is sailing from Sicily to Africa, these opponents poison the water in the area around Castra Cornelia. And, as I've already said, Curio now takes the bait, according to Appian, and moves his army to Castra Cornelia. Apparently, his previous scouting of the area didn't discover that the water was poisoned.

Curio's army immediately falls sick. Appian writes that after drinking the water, Curio's men's eyesight became dim, as in a mist, and they fell into a deep, torpid sleep. After this, they experienced frequent vomiting and spasms that affected their whole bodies. Appian writes that, once Curio realizes what's happening, only then does he move his camp closer to Utica. But in doing so, he leads his army through the extensive and formidable marsh that lies between Castra Cornelia and Utica, all while the army is weakened from illness caused by the poison. It just brings this image to mind of an army of men slogging their way through a giant marsh, all while throwing up and having full-body spasms. Not a great look.

As I said earlier, Caesar makes no mention of this whatsoever. He just tells us Curio moved his camp to outside of Utica. Now, it could be that Caesar left this out so as to not make Curio look bad. It could also be omissions like this that led Assinius Pollio to claim that Caesar's commentaries showed signs of carelessness or inaccuracy. As I said earlier, Assinius Pollio is on this campaign. If this poisoning really happened, he may have been one of the men who got sick. If Caesar then leaves out that bit of the story, you can imagine how that might irritate Assinius Pollio.

However, Appian is the only source that mentions this incident, and he was writing 200 years after these events. So the other possibility is that he got his facts wrong and Caesar didn't omit anything. Either way, take your pick, Curio and his army eventually end up setting up camp outside of Utica. But before they can finish constructing their fortifications, the cavalry on patrol report that they spotted a large contingent of cavalry and infantry sent by King Juba approaching Utica. At the same time, a great cloud of dust appears on the horizon. A moment later, the head of the column comes into view.

Caesar tells us that Curio was startled by this sudden appearance. But he does jump into action. He orders his cavalry to ride out to meet this column and, as Caesar writes, bear the brunt of the initial onset. Basically, their job is to slow down and delay the advance of the Numidian force. As that is happening, Curio pulls his legions away from working on the camp defenses and begins getting them organized for battle.

When Curio's cavalry reach the Numidian force, they catch them completely off guard. Caesar says the Numidians have been marching along without apprehension and without bothering to keep in order. Therefore, when Curio's cavalry swoops down upon them, they are unable to maneuver and soon find themselves in disarray. In the end, they are routed before Curio even has time to get his infantry lined up for battle. Much of the Numidian infantry are killed. The royal cavalry, however, are able to race along the shore and thus escape to Utica, where they take refuge.

With victory secured, Curio and his men then, presumably, go back to fortifying their camp. The following night, two of Curio's centurions, both of the Marsii, a tribe in Italy, defect to Varus along with 22 of their men. These centurions then tell Varus that all of Curio's men are disaffected. They tell him it is essential that he come face to face with Curio's army to give them an opportunity to speak with him.

Caesar tells us he does not know whether the centurions said this because they actually believed it or because they were telling Varus what they thought he wanted to hear. By way of explanation, Caesar then writes one of his great insights on human psychology. It's a quote you will sometimes see when Julius Caesar quotes are posted online. He writes, “For we readily believe what we wish were so, and we hope that others feel as we do.”

Varus buys this story hook, line, and sinker because, as Caesar said, he wants it to be true. The next morning, he leads his army out of camp and arrays them for battle. Curio responds in kind. Both armies stand facing each other with a small, narrow valley between them. Varus has a man named Sextus Quinctilius Varus with him, so another Varus, though we will call him Quinctilius as Caesar does to avoid confusion. Quinctilius was at the siege of Corfinium when Ahenobarbus' legions defected to Caesar after they got wind that Ahenobarbus was planning to abandon them.

And remember, Curio's legions are those legions from Corfinium. Well, Quinctilius starts to ride around Curio's lines, calling out to Curio's soldiers not to forget their oath to Ahenobarbus and to himself as Ahenobarbus' quaestor. He pleads with the men not to bear arms against their comrades who had lived through Corfinium with them, meaning men like himself. Basically, he is trying to invoke some sort of bond they were supposed to have forged during Corfinium. He also pleads with them not to fight on behalf of people who call them deserters.That is, he is saying Curio and Caesar's side in general call them deserters.

Finally, he dangles the hope of financial rewards if they follow him and Varus. Caesar says there was no response from Curio's soldiers whatsoever. Eventually, it becomes clear that neither side is going to attack, so both armies return to their camps. Once Curio's army gets back into camp, though, Caesar says everyone was seized with a powerful fear. This fear was rapidly intensified by different remarks people made. In the commentaries, Caesar writes,
“Everyone, in fact, was forming personal opinions, adding to what he had heard from others something of his own fear. When one of these views had passed from one source to several other people and each ad passed it on to someone else, there would seem to be several authorities for the story. It was a civil war; the men involved were of a type to indulge readily in gossip and follow the version they preferred; these were legions which a little time before had been on the opposing side. For even Caesar’s kindness had lost some of its effect from the frequency with which it was offered.”

And there's another fascinating insight on human psychology, as well as an insight into Caesar's mind, his clemency, and our story more generally. Caesar points out that sometimes when you show too much kindness too often, it becomes devalued. Call it kindness inflation. People value it less because they take it for granted.

Caesar believes the kindness he has shown these soldiers isn't being adequately appreciated because of how often and how freely he shows his generosity or kindness. And what's really interesting is that Caesar is aware of all this. He is aware that his frequent clemency, his generosity to his soldiers, even to enemy soldiers, is beginning to be taken for granted. He's not blind to this. It's strange to say, but it's almost as if you have to be severe or strict or brutal every so often, or else people think that you can't be any of these things, and that you're only kind or clement or generous because that's all you know how to be.

In other words, it's less valued by others if they think it isn't a choice. And they have to be shown every so often that there is an alternative possible. But you choose to show kindness. You choose to show clemency.

Getting back to our story and to Curio's camp, Caesar tells us there were various unpleasant stories going around with regard to the two centurions who had defected and those who had followed them. He does not tell us what those stories were. But he does tell us that uncertainty was ill-received, and some reports were actually invented by men who wished to appear better informed.

Well, something needs to be done about this gloomy and chaotic atmosphere. So Curio holds a council of war. At this council, some of the officers believe they should make every effort to attack Varus' camp. These men make the case that when the army is in a mood like this, idleness is the most dangerous. Or, to use a modern saying, idle hands are the devil's playground. A second group of men advocate for withdrawing to Castra Cornelia in the early hours of the morning. This would give the soldiers time to calm down and come to their senses. Also, if they are attacked and come under pressure, they will have easy access to their ships. They can then board these ships and sail to Sicily if need be.

According to Caesar, Curio listens to both plans and thinks he's never heard such a load of nonsense. He tells his officers that the one plan is as faint-hearted as the other is foolhardy. Why would they attack a fortified camp from an unfavorable position? He points out to his council that, “While success wins for their commanders the goodwill of their men, failure earns their hatred.”

As for this whole business about “withdrawing”, I say in air quotes, to Castra Cornelia, what is that but ignominious retreat? Curio says that such a retreat will antagonize their army. Curio tells his officers, “No man with a sense of honor should be made to suspect he is not fully trusted. For that diminishes his zeal; nor should a ruffian be allowed to know that he is feared, for our fear will merely increase his insolence.”

To me, those sound like Caesar's words. That sounds like the kind of observation of human psychology that Caesar tends to make in his commentaries. But anyway, Curio continues with his speech and essentially says they aren't doing either of these plans. Instead, they will stay the course they are currently on. He then dismisses the council. Curio next calls his troops to an assembly and speaks to them at length. The first thing he does is to start gassing up his troops, building up their confidence. He tells them that they played a major role in helping win Italy for Caesar. For this reason, Caesar has the most friendly of feelings towards them.


He contrasts this with Pompey and his allies, who he says think very ill of you. He points out that Pompey had suffered no defeats in Italy. Rather, it was their action, switching to Caesar's side, that dislodged Pompey and made him flee Italy. He asks them,
“Have you not heard of Caesar's successes in Spain? He has routed two armies, defeated two generals, and taken over two provinces. And all of this was done within 40 days of coming within reach of his opponents.”

He tells them, “You followed Caesar when victory was uncertain. Now that the issue is settled, are you going to follow the loser when you should be reaping the rewards of your good service?” He then flips what Quinctilius had told them on its head and tells them that the Pompeians think of them as deserters and betrayers, not the Caesareans. He says, “They say you've deserted and betrayed them, and they mention your first oath. Did you really desert Lucius Domitius or did Domitius desert you?” Lucius Domitius or Domitius being Ahenobarbus. He continues, “Was it not he who abandoned men who were ready to endure all that fortune might bring? Did he not try to save himself by running away without your knowledge? You were betrayed by him. Was it not by Caesar's kindness that you were spared? How could you be held by an oath when the general himself threw away his symbols of office, abandoned his command and became a private individual? And was then himself captured and came under the power of another?”

Curio then goes on to recount his recent services to his soldiers and these small victories he has already helped them to win. Finally, he ends his speech with a flourish and a bit of a guilt trip, saying, “I indeed chose to call myself a soldier of Caesar's. You have hailed me as Imperator. If you have changed your minds, I return your gift. Give me back my own name in case you should seem to have bestowed the honor on me in mockery.”.

Caesar tells us the soldiers were upset by this speech. They interrupted Curio frequently and were very hurt at being suspected of disloyalty. As Curio leaves the assembly, they urge him to be bold and not to hesitate to put their courage and loyalty to the test by joining battle. And now with his army all fired up for battle, all doubts forgotten, Curio decides not to waste this enthusiasm and to indeed engage in battle at the earliest opportunity. Caesar says this decision met with unanimous approval among his army. The next morning, Curio arrays his men for battle.

Varus doesn't hesitate to reply in kind. Now both armies stand facing each other just as they had previously. And again, that same small valley stands between the two armies. Caesar describes it by saying, “It was not very big, but the sides were difficult and steep to climb.”. Neither general wants their army to be the one that has to climb down into the valley and then climb back up to the other side in order to attack the enemy. That is a massive terrain disadvantage. So for a time, both armies just stand there waiting for the other to make a move. Then, all at once, Caesar says, Varus' left wing comes into view going down into the valley. This force is comprised of all of Varus' cavalry along with a good number of light infantry. In response, Curio sends his cavalry and two cohorts from his right wing to meet them.

Caesar specifies that the men of the two cohorts were Marrucini, an Italian tribe, but they are regular Roman heavy infantry. Varus' men are unable to withstand the ferocity of their initial charge. His cavalry, as Caesar writes, give their horses reign and flee back to the main army. In doing so, they abandon the light infantry who are then surrounded and killed by Curio's men. Caesar writes that all of Varus' army turned to watch them flee and be cut down.

As this is happening, a man named Rebulius is standing, or perhaps riding, next to Curio. He is one of Caesar's lieutenants and Curio had brought him along to draw on his extensive military experience. Rebulius now turns to Curio and says, “You see the enemy terrified, Curio. Why hesitate to make use of your opportunity?” Curio takes a moment to remind his army of the assurances they had made him the previous day. Then, ordering them to follow him, charges at their head.

Quickly, they run into difficulties with the terrain. The exit on the far side of the valley is so steep and difficult that the men in front are unable to climb out without help from the men behind and below them. But rather than using this opportunity to force Curio's army back, Varus' army is just frozen by fear. Caesar writes that their minds were taken up with their own fear and with the rout and slaughter of their comrades. Because of this, they had no thought of resisting. In fact, they already believed they were being surrounded by Curio's cavalry. And so, Caesar continues, before a javelin could be thrown and before Curio's men could get any nearer, Varus' whole army turns tail and flees back towards their camp.

Now, during this flight, quite a wild story takes place. One of Curio's men of the lowest ranks, Caesar says, a man named Fabius, a Paelignian, that's his Italian tribe, somehow manages to catch up with the head of the retreating Pompeian army and mingles with them as if he's part of their army. Fabius immediately begins looking around for Varus, their general.

He starts calling out for Varus loudly by name. And to Varus, it appears that one of his men has something urgent to tell him. So after hearing his name yelled out several times, Varus stops and asks Fabius who he is and what he wants. And now, with confirmation of which man Varus is, Fabius aims a sword blow at Varus' exposed arm. He very nearly kills Varus with this blow. But Varus manages to lift his shield to parry the blow. Fabius, as you might imagine, is then surrounded by Varus' soldiers and killed. Fabius had been clever, he had been bold, but in the end, he was perhaps too clever for his own good. Even if he had killed Varus, he likely still would have been surrounded and killed in the same way.

But as all this unfolds, Varus' army continues to flee and Curio's army continues to chase. When Varus' army reaches their camp, they suddenly hit a bottleneck trying to get through the gates of the camp. Caesar writes that more men died here, crushed in this panic, than died of wounds from the battle or the retreat. Curio's men continue to pursue them and almost manage to push them right out of the camp. Some of Varus' men even continue to flee right through the camp and into Utica. But in the end, the fortifications of the camp are too strong for Curio's men. They had come out with the intention of engaging in a pitched battle rather than a siege, and so they had none of the necessary equipment with them to attack the camp.

So, Curio turns his men around and leaves them back to his camp in victory. 600 of Varus' men had been killed, 1,000 wounded. As for Curio's army, they lost only a single man, Fabius, the man who had tried to sneakily assassinate Varus.

After Curio leaves, Caesar writes that all of Varus' wounded men and all those pretending to be wounded retreated into Utica. Seeing this makes Varus realize how demoralized his men are. And so, after leaving a trumpeter and a few tents in camp for, as Caesar puts it, appearances' sake, Varus leads the rest of his men into Utica in the early hours of the morning in silence. And that is where we'll end our narrative today. Thus far, outside of possibly having been poisoned at Castra Cornelia, things have gone very well for Curio and his army. That run of good luck comes to its end in our next episode, when King Jube of Numidia arrives on the scene and Curio's invasion comes to its climax.

Now, before our ending quote, I have a reminder and a few shoutouts for you. First, don't forget to check out the merchandise on our website. We have a new version of the Bibulus t-shirt, and buying new merch helps to support the show, so please do. Speaking of supporting the show, I've also listed some history books I recommend on my website with a link to those books on Amazon. So, if you haven't already, go ahead and check that out. I've only added a few books so far, but I'll keep adding more and the list will grow as time goes by.

You also may have noticed I've been turning a lot of clips from the podcast into reels with images and posting them on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube. I'm working with a guy who is basically a freelancer to help create those videos. I pick out the clips and he creates the images using AI and puts them to music and makes them into the video that they are.

The hope is that, in addition to entertaining you guys and bringing the stories to life a little bit more, it also draws in new listeners to the show via social media. So far it's worked out well, I think. I know some people get a little crazy about AI. It makes them angry in some way, and I've had some angry comments, or just occasional ones. But obviously, as you listeners well know, I'm sure I don't have to tell you this, but the narration, the writing, the research, everything about this show, and therefore about the audio to those clips, is always me. It's my own voice, it's my own research, my own writing. All of it's me. I'm just using AI to illustrate the stories I tell. That is it. So I just want to be perfectly clear about that. Anyway, if you guys have any thoughts on these videos, I'm happy to hear them. You can always feel free to comment or shoot me a DM on any social media platform.

Now for shoutouts. I want to give a huge shoutout to Dave, who has been a big listener and supporter of the show for some time now. Dave made a very generous contribution to help support the March of History via PayPal in July. And for that, I say thank you, Dave, for your generosity, and I'm happy to have you as a listener. I also want to give a big thank you to Tony, who sent a tip via Venmo in July to show his appreciation and to help support the show. Thank you so much, Tony, for your generosity and for your support.

Next, we have our patrons. We have Mark, Liga, Laurie, Scott, Peggy, Carey, Desert Legionnaire, Jared, Timothy, Zaire, Glenn, and Tony. I thank you all, as always, for your continued support of the March of History and for your generous contributions.

And now for our five-star reviews. First, we have a review from RedHawk482. I saw this review on my website, but it says it pulled it from Apple, though when I check Apple, your review is not there, RedHawk, so I don't know what to make of that. I don't know if it's because you posted your review from outside the U.S., but my website is not supposed to be able to pull Apple reviews from outside the U.S., so it's a mystery to me, but it did make it to my website. And I should say, while I bring that up, that Apple has removed my ability to see reviews on Apple left from outside the U.S. So if you're listening from the U.K., from Canada, from Australia, from Germany, and you've left a review and you want to get the credit for leaving that review and have me read it out on the show, just screenshot it, send it to me in a DM, and I'll make sure I read it on the next show. Anyway, back to RedHawk.

His or her title is “5 stars”. They then write, “Great Podcast! Trevor does a fantastic job with his research and narrations. Highly recommend for anyone who is a history buff like me. Well done!” Well thank you, RedHawk, for your kind review, and I'm happy to hear you appreciate both the research and the narration that goes into the show.

Our next review is from Chris A. Peirson. Chris listed his whole name on his review, so I figured I'd read it. From now on, if you list your first and last name on your review, I assume you want your last name read out as well, which I'm perfectly fine with. Chris's review is from my website, and his title reads, “Veni. Vidi. Vici.” And I knew right when I saw that title that I was going to love this review. Chris then writes, “If Julius Caesar, who was excellent in everything he did, was a podcaster in today's world, he would be giving this podcast. And then, in all caps, “YES ITS THAT GOOD.”. Thank you, Chris. Given the subject matter of this podcast and all the detail we've gone into about Caesar's spectacular abilities, your review is as high a compliment as I can imagine. So again, thank you. And for those wondering about Veni, Vidi, Vici, I came, I saw, I conquered; this is one of Julius Caesar's most famous quotes, though it has not yet happened in our story yet. So that's all I'll say for now.

In this episode, I'm going to read one more review, since with our monthly release schedules as I continue to recover from poor health, with that slow release schedule, some of these reviews have been waiting quite a while to be read. So let's do a third.

The 3rd and final 5 star review is by Daniel Zafir on Apple Podcasts, which, as I said, also shows up on my website. Daniel's title reads, “Must Listen!!”. Daniel's review then says, “I was looking for a good Caesar podcast and found this one. Trevor's passionate storytelling is not only engaging, but also very well researched and accurate. I enjoy Trevor's focus on the many different personalities of Caesar's time. This makes the historical figures accessible and interesting to learn about. I found this podcast in late February and listened from the start and caught up about a month ago. I must say I miss Brandon's collaboration. He asks a lot of good questions a general audience is thinking. Congrats on his new work and props to Trevor for sticking through the podcast during difficult health issues.”

Well, thank you so much, Daniel, for that spectacular review. I think you nailed it as to the points I really focus on when creating this podcast. That is, making it well researched and telling a gripping story. And of course, I love to focus on the wild and vibrant personalities of the late Roman Republic. As for Brendan's name, well, we covered that in our last episode, so I won't go into detail again. But your review was well before last episode came out. So you are excused. But for future reviewers, it's Brendan, B-R-E-N-D-A-N!

The final thing I'll say, Daniel, is I appreciate your recognition of me for sticking it out through these health issues. It has not been easy. Most days I feel awful. I have a lot of voice trouble when recording these. You may notice more voice cracks than it used to be. All of these things come from the illness. It affects a million different systems in my body. But slowly, very, very slowly, things are improving. And I will come out stronger on the other side for it eventually. It's just a question of how long that takes. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

And now for our ending quote. “I and my companions suffer from a disease of the heart which can be cured only with gold.”

And that is a quote said by one Hernan Cortez to the very first Aztec ambassador he met. And really, what a wild thing to tell an ambassador in your first meeting with him. The Aztecs would have done well to kill him right there and then. By the way, one day I plan to do a whole series on conquistadors and, I say in air quotes, “explorers”. A lot of these guys did a lot more killing than exploring, but they tended to go hand in hand. Cortez and the conquest of the Aztecs we could do, Pizarro and the conquest of the Inca, Francisco Orellana’s traversing of the Amazon, maybe Cabeza de Vaca and his epic journey across America, possibly Columbus and Magellan.

There are a ton of these incredible stories worth telling. I wouldn't do them all in a row because then this would just become like an explorers podcast. But I would do one and maybe then a different biography or maybe two biographies and then another one. But over the years eventually we would get through most or maybe even all of these age of exploration stories. They're truly incredible!

But I should say that will not be the subject for our next biography after Caesar. We still have a ways to go on Caesar, but I already have the next one picked out. In fact, I've had the next one picked out since before I picked Caesar for the first one. So it's been waiting in the wings for a long time. I do reserve the right to change my mind, but so far I'm pretty dead set on that next biography. I won't tell you yet. I'll tell you at the end of Caesar.

And that's all for today. So thank you all for listening. And don't forget to share the show with others and everyone you know both in person and on social media. It helps the show to grow. And I will talk to you in the next episode of The March of History.