Today I would like to write something about the first sack suffered by Rome, the one built by the Senones Gauls, led by Brennus, of the 387 b.C. It is time to learn more about the first real tragic event suffered by Rome.
It all began on July of the 387 b.C. near Allia, a small tributary of the Tiber north of Rome. Incredibly the Romans were stormed by the Gauls. The main battle was fought in the open field, and on one side there were the disciplined and organized Romans who fought following the tactics of the Greek phalanx, for the roman historians (even if it is very hard to believe that the Romans already fought in that way), while, on the other hand, there was a bunch of men, lacking a real military strategy, screaming and whooping, swinging their weapons in iron. According to the writings of Titus Livy who, I remember, lived centuries after the fact, a man who sometimes simply used his imagination, we can think that the Romans lost because, perhaps, underestimated the enemy, being surprised by their real power. Let me write what Titus Livy wrote about this moment: "As soon as the cries of the Gauls reached the ears of those closest to the side and those furthest behind, the Romans, even before seeing that enemy never met before and without not saying try the fight, but even without echoing the cry of battle, they fled intact and unharmed. There were no casualties in battle".
After all, it was the first time that the Gauls, from their lands in central Europe, went down in the south meeting the young community of Rome. Perhaps the Romans were greatly impressed by men who fought almost naked, and that, above all, drew weapons in a good iron (the Gauls were skilled in metallurgy), using war chariots in combat. Their ferocity and determination, their being so different from everything with which the Romans were accustomed, brought to stinging defeat. So it happened just the day after the battle of Allia, that the Gauls led by Brennus reached Rome, looking at the Seven Hills. Raiding and looting, they came finally very close to the Capitoline hill, a defensive stronghold of the city and the area fortified. The leading citizens and senators, the nobles and the last roman citizens decided to barricade there.
Brennus tried to do everything in order to conquer the last piece of Rome, even the night sortie (which went wrong thanks to the geese sacred to Juno, which, from their sacred precinct of the temple dedicated to the Goddess, made so great a noise, to warn, and at night, the attempt of the Gauls take the Capitol under the light of the stars). But he failed. For this reason he found another solution: to starve Rome. At the end the Romans found an agreement with Brennus, in order to survive. And Brennus asked for a thousand pounds of gold. Exorbitant amount that the Romans, however, were able to pay, up to when Brennus began to demand more and more. As we can see in this picture, Titus Livy tells us how Brennus, who was not satisfied by the offer of roman, began to add more and more items to the scales, which would establish the achievement of a threshold of 1000 pounds.
The threshold, therefore, went gradually rising, until Brennus added his heavy iron sword. Probably it was the memorable moment that someone said Vae victis or "Woe to the defeated". The Latin phrase that emphasizes the submission status of a community vis-à-vis the enemy, clearly victorious. Finally, however, following the tradition and the words written by Livy, the general Furius Camillus, who years before defeated Veii conquering it but who was later expelled and banished from the roman community, suddenly returned from his exile, at the head of an army, being able to let go of Brennus from Rome. I described you what we know about this historical episode thanks to the literary sources that we have today. But in the next article I will describe you how, often, what seems to be a tradition does not mean that it is the reality...