Appian: Roman History, Vol. IV, The Civil Wars, Books 3.27-5

by Appian, Horace White

Appian (Appianus) was a Greek official of Alexandria. He saw the Jewish rebellion of 116 CE, and later became a Roman citizen and advocate and received the rank of eques (knight). In his older years he held a procuratorship. He died during the reign of Antoninus Pius who was emperor 138–161 CE. Honest admirer of the Roman empire though ignorant of the institutions of the earlier Roman republic, he wrote, in the simple 'common' dialect, 24 books of 'Roman affairs', in fact conquests, from the beginnings to the times of Trajan (emperor 98–117 CE). Eleven have come down to us complete, or nearly so, namely those on the Spanish, Hannibalic, Punic, Illyrian, Syrian, and Mithridatic wars, and five books on the Civil Wars. They are valuable records of military history.

The Loeb Classical Library edition of Appian is in four volumes.

Genres: History

688 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 150

About the author

Appian of Alexandria (/ˈæpiən/; Ancient Greek: Ἀππιανός Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Appianós Alexandreús; Latin: Appianus Alexandrinus; ca. AD 95 – ca. AD 165) was a Roman historian of Greek ethnicity who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius.

He was born circa 95 in Alexandria. He tells us, after having filled the chief offices in the province of Aegyptus (Egypt), he went to Rome circa 120, where he practised as an advocate, pleading cases before the emperors (probably as advocatus fisci), that in 147 at the earliest he was appointed to the office of procurator, probably in Egypt, on the recommendation of his friend Marcus Cornelius Fronto, a well-known litterateur. Because the position of procurator was open only to members of the equestrian order (the "knightly" class), his possession of this office tells us about Appian's family background.

His principal surviving work (Ῥωμαϊκά, known in Latin as Historia Romana and in English as Roman History) was written in Greek in 24 books, before 165. This work more closely resembles a series of monographs than a connected history. It gives an account of various peoples and countries from the earliest times down to their incorporation into the Roman Empire, and survives in complete books and considerable fragments. The work is very valuable, especially for the period of the civil wars.

The Civil Wars, five of the later books in the corpus, concern mainly the end of the Roman Republic and take a conflict-based approach to history.

Reviews

[Ellana Thornton-Wheybrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm biased. I love the transition era between the Late Republic and the Early Imperial, especially the era of the triumvirate. This volume covers that era.

A fascinating book.

[Stuart Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Roman Civil War after the death of Julius Caesar. The Julians, Octavian and Marc Antony, plus the Roman Shemp, Lepidicus, hold Rome, while the Pompeiians, Brutus and Cassius, have fled to Macedonia. Antony and Octavian are not exactly allies, and since Octavian is about 19 years old Antony does not take him seriously. But Octavian raises an army and bothers but doesn't really attack Antony as he subdues Decimus Brutus in Gaul. The situation of Antony and Octavian being sometimes enemies and sometimes allies continues throughout their triumvirate. At this time they join up and after the fall of Decimus they team up to take on Brutus and Cassius.

This leads to the Battle of Phillipi, where Brutus is energetic and powerful while Octavian is less effective. This starts a series of engagements where Octavian is proven to an ineffective general while being a brilliant politician, and Antony being the exact opposite. After Brutus and Cassius are defeated, thanks to Antony, Octavian returns to Rome and Antony goes to Egypt to be Cleopatra's boytoy. And everything is fine until the two of them finally battle it out for total control of the Empire. Or this is how it is taught is school, not how things actually happened.

While Octavian is in Rome he faces enormous challenges. Lucius Antony, Marc's brother, raises an army to restore the Republic. He is aided by Fulvia, Antony's wife, who also raises an army. All the while Sextus Pompeius, Pompey the Great's son, takes over Sicily and starves Rome with a massive fleet. Numerous times Octavian almost loses Rome, being both a poor general and alarmingly unlucky, and it takes years to end the war and drive Pompeius out of Sicily. He even has to call to Lepidicus for aid, in which Lepidicus is actually useful for once before overstepping himself and losing his army to Octavian.

All this sets the stage for the final showdown between Octavian and Antony. This work is exceedingly informative concerning the time between the Battle of Phillipi and the naval battle between Octavian and Antony. This period is practically ignored in most histories I have ever read. Another thing I find fascinating is this guy Dolabella. His name come up constantly from before the advent of Julius Caesar until his final defeat. He is like some kind of Godfather who makes important decisions and leads armies but is hardly ever mentioned as an important figure, though clearly he is. Also of note is the mentions of Cicero, who virtually takes over Rome while Antony and Octavian are in Gaul. Octavian even asks his to join him in running for Consul. Once again, Appian shows his disdain for Cicero as he points out that Cicero is a big talker when the big boys are away, but literally disappears when they are in town.

This is a seminal work on the Roman Civil Wars and should be read be any serious or even amateur historian.

[Legens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed second part of Appian's account of the Civil Wars - whereas the first part roughly covers history from the Gracchi to shortly after Caesar's murder (133-43), this one is dedicated to the events up to the defeat and death of Sextus Pompeius (43-35). A pity that Appian regards the final struggle between Octavian and Antony as not part of the Civil Wars.
Most haunting are the various stories of proscribed Romans, no matter if they are saved or not (book IV, chapter 5-6).

[James Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy Appian and he gives a real insight into the young Augustus.

[Chris Wolfington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this the 5th star because it's the only book that continuousy covers the period ranging from the Gracchi to the Second Triumvirate; unfortunately, it ends before the final showdown between Octavian and Mark Anthony at Actium. This Loeb publication is conveniently small, and contains the original Greek with translated English on the opposite page.

Appian is a credible historian and a decent writer. The plot line, if it can be called that, is like Game of Thrones to the max. This is the period when the Roman Republic first began its downfall, and ended in monarchy. If you're interested in this period then it's a must read, since as I said before, it's the only single, continuous work on the subject from antiquity.

P.S.-This is the second of two volumes on the Civil Wars. The third volume of the Loeb's edition of Appian is the first volume on the period.