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Vannius |
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Traduit de
l'anglais-Vannius était le roi de la tribu germanique Quadi. Selon Les
Annales de Tacite, Vannius est arrivé au pouvoir après la défaite du roi
Marcomannic Catualda par le roi Hermunduri de Vibilius, établissant le
royaume de Vannius. C'était la première unité politique dans la région qui
est maintenant la Slovaquie. Wikipédia (anglais) |
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Vannius (flourished in
1st century AD) was the king of the Germanic tribe Quadi. |
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According
to The Annals of Tacitus, Vannius came to power following
the defeat of the Marcomannic king Catualda by the Hermunduri king of Vibilius, establishing the kingdom of Vannius (regnum
Vannianum).[1] It was the first political unit in the area that is
now Slovakia. Vannius
was a client king of the Roman Empire and ruled from 20 AD to 50 AD. Tacitus writes that he was
"renowned and popular with his countrymen," but after a long reign,
he "became a tyrant, and the enmity of neighbours, joined to intestine
strife, was his ruin." Joined by Vangio
and Sido, sons of a sister of Vannius, Vibilius of
the Hermunduri again led the deposition. Emperor Claudius, decided to stay out of the
conflict, fearing that the Lugii and other Germanic tribes would be attracted by the
"opulent realm which Vannius had enriched during thirty years of plunder
and tribute."[2] |
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Vannius
was easily defeated by the Lugii and the Hermunduri, although he won some
credit through being wounded in battle. Vannius managed to flee to his fleet
on the Danube, and was
awarded lands in Pannonia by Claudius. His realm was subsequently divided between his
nephews Vangio and Sido. Tacitus writes that Vangio and Sido were
"admirably loyal" to the Romans, but among their subjects, by whom
they were "much loved" while seeking to acquire power, they became
"yet more hated when they acquired it."[3] |
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vibilius,
établissant le royaume de Vannius (regnum Vannianum). [1] C'était la première
unité politique dans la région qui est maintenant la Slovaquie. Vannius était
un client roi de l'Empire romain et a régné de 20 à 50 après JC. Tacitus
écrit qu'il était «renommé et populaire auprès de ses compatriotes», mais
après un long règne, il «devint un tyran, et l'inimitié des voisins, jointe
aux conflits intestinaux, fut sa ruine». Rejoint par Vangio et Sido, fils
d'une sœur de Vannius, Vibilius de l'Hermunduri dirigea à nouveau la
déposition. L'empereur Claudius, a décidé de rester en dehors du conflit,
craignant que les Lugii et d'autres tribus germaniques ne soient attirés par
le "royaume opulent que Vannius avait enrichi pendant trente ans de
pillage et d'hommage." [2] Vannius a été facilement vaincu par les Lugii
et les Hermunduri, bien qu'il ait gagné un certain crédit en étant blessé au
combat. Vannius réussit à fuir vers sa flotte sur le Danube et reçut des
terres en Pannonie par Claudius. Son royaume a ensuite été divisé entre ses
neveux Vangio et Sido. Tacitus écrit que Vangio et Sido étaient
"admirablement fidèles" aux Romains, mais parmi leurs sujets, par
qui ils étaient "beaucoup aimés" tout en cherchant à acquérir le
pouvoir, ils devinrent "encore plus détestés quand ils
l'acquirent." [3] |
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Translation based on Alfred John
Church and William Jackson Brodribb (1876) |
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In the
consulship of Sisenna Statilius Taurus and Lucius Libo there was a commotion
in the kingdoms and Roman provinces of the East. It had its origin among the
Parthians, who disdained as a foreigner a king whom they had sought and
received from Rome, though he was of the family of the Arsacids. This was
Vonones, who had been given as an hostage to Augustus by Phraates. For
although he had driven before him armies and generals from Rome, Phraates had
shown to Augustus every token of reverence and had sent him some of his
children, to cement the friendship, not so much from dread of us as from
distrust of the loyalty of his countrymen. |
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2[edit] |
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After the death of Phraates and
the succeeding kings in the bloodshed of civil wars, there came to Rome
envoys from the chief men of Parthia, in quest of Vonones, his eldest son.
Caesar thought this a great honour to himself, and loaded Vonones with wealth.
The barbarians, too, welcomed him with rejoicing, as is usual with new
rulers. Soon they felt shame at Parthians having become degenerate, at their
having sought a king from another world, one too infected with the training
of the enemy, at the throne of the Arsacids now being possessed and given
away among the provinces of Rome. "Where," they asked, "was
the glory of the men who slew Crassus, who drove out Antonius, if Caesar's
drudge, after an endurance of so many years' slavery, were to rule over
Parthians." Vonones himself too further provoked their disdain, by his
contrast with their ancestral manners, by his rare indulgence in the chase,
by his feeble interest in horses, by the litter in which he was carried
whenever he made a progress through their cities, and by his contemptuous
dislike of their national festivities. They also ridiculed his Greek
attendants and his keeping under seal the commonest household articles. But
he was easy of approach; his courtesy was open to all, and he had thus
virtues with which the Parthians were unfamiliar, and vices new to them. And
as his ways were quite alien from theirs they hated alike what was bad and
what was good in him. |
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3[edit] |
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Accordingly they summoned
Artabanus, an Arsacid by blood, who had grown to manhood among the Dahae, and
who, though routed in the first encounter, rallied his forces and possessed
himself of the kingdom. The conquered Vonones found a refuge in Armenia, then
a free country, and exposed to the power of Parthia and Rome, without being
trusted by either, in consequence of the crime of Antonius, who, under the
guise of friendship, had inveigled Artavasdes, king of the Armenians, then
loaded him with chains, and finally murdered him. His son, Artaxias, our
bitter foe because of his father's memory, found defence for himself and his
kingdom in the might of the Arsacids. When he was slain by the treachery of
kinsmen, Caesar gave Tigranes to the Armenians, and he was put in possession
of the kingdom under the escort of Tiberius Nero. But neither Tigranes nor
his children reigned long, though, in foreign fashion, they were united in
marriage and in royal power. |
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4[edit] |
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Next, at the bidding of Augustus,
Artavasdes was set on the throne, nor was he deposed without disaster to
ourselves. Caius Caesar was then appointed to restore order in Armenia. He
put over the Armenians Ariobarzanes, a Mede by birth, whom they willingly
accepted, because of his singularly handsome person and noble spirit. On the
death of Ariobarzanes through a fatal accident, they would not endure his
son. Having tried the government of a woman named Erato and having soon
afterwards driven her from them, bewildered and disorganised, rather indeed
without a ruler than enjoying freedom, they received for their king the
fugitive Vonones. When, however, Artabanus began to threaten, and but feeble
support could be given by the Armenians, or war with Parthia would have to be
undertaken, if Vonones was to be upheld by our arms, the governor of Syria,
Creticus Silanus, sent for him and kept him under surveillance, letting him
retain his royal pomp and title. How Vonones meditated an escape from this
mockery, I will relate in the proper place. |
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5[edit] |
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Meanwhile the commotion in the
East was rather pleasing to Tiberius, as it was a pretext for withdrawing
Germanicus from the legions which knew him well, and placing him over new
provinces where he would be exposed both to treachery and to disasters. Germanicus,
however, in proportion to the strength of the soldiers' attachment and to his
uncle's dislike, was eager to hasten his victory, and he pondered on plans of
battle, and on the reverses or successes which during more than three years
of war had fallen to his lot. The Germans, he knew, were beaten in the field
and on fair ground; they were helped by woods, swamps, short summers, and
early winters. His own troops were affected not so much by wounds as by long
marches and damage to their arms. Gaul had been exhausted by supplying
horses; a long baggage-train presented facilities for ambuscades, and was
embarrassing to its defenders. But by embarking on the sea, invasion would be
easy for them, and a surprise to the enemy, while a campaign too would be
more quickly begun, the legions and supplies would be brought up
simultaneously, and the cavalry with their horses would arrive, in good
condition, by the rivermouths and channels, at the heart of Germany. |
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To this accordingly he gave his
mind, and sent Publius Vitellius and Caius Antius to collect the taxes of
Gaul. Silius, Anteius, and Caecina had the charge of building a fleet. It
seemed that a thousand vessels were required, and they were speedily constructed,
some of small draught with a narrow stem and stern and a broad centre, that
they might bear the waves more easily; some flat-bottomed, that they might
ground without being injured; several, furnished with a rudder at each end,
so that by a sudden shifting of the oars they might be run into shore either
way. Many were covered in with decks, on which engines for missiles might be
conveyed, and were also fit for the carrying of horses or supplies, and being
equipped with sails as well as rapidly moved by oars, they assumed, through
the enthusiasm of our soldiers, an imposing and formidable aspect. The island
of the Batavi was the appointed rendezvous, because of its easy
landing-places, and its convenience for receiving the army and carrying the war
across the river. For the Rhine after flowing continuously in a single
channel or encircling merely insignificant islands, divides itself, so to
say, where the Batavian territory begins, into two rivers, retaining its name
and the rapidity of its course in the stream which washes Germany, till it
mingles with the ocean. On the Gallic bank, its flow is broader and gentler;
it is called by an altered name, the Vahal, by the inhabitants of its shore.
Soon that name too is changed for the Mosa river, through whose vast mouth it
empties itself into the same ocean. |
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7[edit] |
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Caesar, however, while the vessels
were coming up, ordered Silius, his lieutenant-general, to make an inroad on
the Chatti with a flying column. He himself, on hearing that a fort on the
river Luppia was being besieged, led six legions to the spot. Silius owing to
sudden rains did nothing but carry off a small booty, and the wife and
daughter of Arpus, the chief of the Chatti. And Caesar had no opportunity of
fighting given him by the besiegers, who dispersed on the rumour of his
advance. They had, however, destroyed the barrow lately raised in memory of
Varus's legions, and the old altar of Drusus. The prince restored the altar,
and himself with his legions celebrated funeral games in his father's honour.
To raise a new barrow was not thought necessary. All the country between the
fort Aliso and the Rhine was thoroughly secured by new barriers and
earthworks. |
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8[edit] |
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By this time the fleet had
arrived, and Caesar, having sent on his supplies and assigned vessels for the
legions and the allied troops, entered "Drusus's fosse," as it was
called. He prayed Drusus his father to lend him, now that he was venturing on
the same enterprise, the willing and favourable aid of the example and memory
of his counsels and achievements, and he arrived after a prosperous voyage
through the lakes and the ocean as far as the river Amisia. His fleet
remained there on the left bank of the stream, and it was a blunder that he
did not have it brought up the river. He disembarked the troops, which were
to be marched to the country on the right, and thus several days were wasted
in the construction of bridges. The cavalry and the legions fearlessly
crossed the first estuaries in which the tide had not yet risen. The rear of
the auxiliaries, and the Batavi among the number, plunging recklessly into
the water and displaying their skill in swimming, fell into disorder, and
some were drowned. While Caesar was measuring out his camp, he was told of a
revolt of the Angrivarii in his rear. He at once despatched Stertinius with
some cavalry and a light armed force, who punished their perfidy with fire
and sword. |
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9[edit] |
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The waters of the Visurgis flowed
between the Romans and the Cherusci. On its banks stood Arminius with the
other chiefs. He asked whether Caesar had arrived, and on the reply that he
was present, he begged leave to have an interview with his brother. That
brother, surnamed Flavus, was with our army, a man famous for his loyalty,
and for having lost an eye by a wound, a few years ago, when Tiberius was in
command. The permission was then given, and he stepped forth and was saluted
by Arminius, who had removed his guards to a distance and required that the
bowmen ranged on our bank should retire. When they had gone away, Arminius
asked his brother whence came the scar which disfigured his face, and on
being told the particular place and battle, he inquired what reward he had
received. Flavus spoke of increased pay, of a neck chain, a crown, and other
military gifts, while Arminius jeered at such a paltry recompense for
slavery. |
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10[edit] |
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Then began a controversy. The one
spoke of the greatness of Rome, the resources of Caesar, the dreadful
punishment in store for the vanquished, the ready mercy for him who
surrenders, and the fact that neither Arminius's wife nor his son were
treated as enemies; the other, of the claims of fatherland, of ancestral
freedom, of the gods of the homes of Germany, of the mother who shared his
prayers, that Flavus might not choose to be the deserter and betrayer rather
than the ruler of his kinsfolk and relatives, and indeed of his own people.
By degrees they fell to bitter words, and even the river between them would
not have hindered them from joining combat, had not Stertinius hurried up and
put his hand on Flavus, who in the full tide of his fury was demanding his
weapons and his charger. Arminius was seen facing him, full of menaces and
challenging him to conflict. Much of what he said was in Roman speech, for he
had served in our camp as leader of his fellow-countrymen. |
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11[edit] |
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Next day the German army took up
its position on the other side of the Visurgis. Caesar, thinking that without
bridges and troops to guard them, it would not be good generalship to expose
the legions to danger, sent the cavalry across the river by the fords. It was
commanded by Stertinius and Aemilius, one of the first rank centurions, who
attacked at widely different points so as to distract the enemy. Chariovalda,
the Batavian chief, dashed to the charge where the stream is most rapid. The
Cherusci, by a pretended flight, drew him into a plain surrounded by
forest-passes. Then bursting on him in a sudden attack from all points they
thrust aside all who resisted, pressed fiercely on their retreat, driving
them before them, when they rallied in compact array, some by close fighting,
others by missiles from a distance. Chariovalda, after long sustaining the
enemy's fury, cheered on his men to break by a dense formation the onset of
their bands, while he himself, plunging into the thickest of the battle, fell
amid a shower of darts with his horse pierced under him, and round him many
noble chiefs. The rest were rescued from the peril by their own strength, or
by the cavalry which came up with Stertinius and Aemilius. |
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12[edit] |
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Caesar on crossing the Visurgis
learnt by the information of a deserter that Arminius had chosen a
battle-field, that other tribes too had assembled in a forest sacred to
Hercules, and would venture on a night attack on his camp. He put faith in
this intelligence, and, besides, several watchfires were seen. Scouts also,
who had crept close up to the enemy, reported that they had heard the
neighing of horses and the hum of a huge and tumultuous host. And so as the
decisive crisis drew near, that he ought thoroughly to sound the temper of
his soldiers, he considered with himself how this was to be accomplished with
a genuine result. Tribunes and centurions, he knew, oftener reported what was
welcome than what was true; freedmen had slavish spirits, friends a love of
flattery. If an assembly were called, there too the lead of a few was
followed by the shout of the many. He must probe their inmost thoughts, when
they were uttering their hopes and fears at the military mess, among
themselves, and unwatched. |
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At nightfall, leaving his tent of
augury by a secret exit, unknown to the sentries, with one companion, his
shoulders covered with a wild beast's skin, he visited the camp streets,
stood by the tents, and enjoyed the men's talk about himself, as one extolled
his noble rank, another, his handsome person, nearly all of them, his
endurance, his gracious manner and the evenness of his temper, whether he was
jesting or was serious, while they acknowledged that they ought to repay him
with their gratitude in battle, and at the same time sacrifice to a glorious
vengeance the perfidious violators of peace. Meanwhile one of the enemy,
acquainted with the Roman tongue, spurred his horse up to the entrenchments,
and in a loud voice promised in the name of Arminius to all deserters wives
and lands with daily pay of a hundred sesterces as long as war lasted. The
insult fired the wrath of the legions. "Let daylight come," they
said, "let battle be given. The soldiers will possess themselves of the
lands of the Germans and will carry off their wives. We hail the omen; we
mean the women and riches of the enemy to be our spoil." About midday
there was a skirmishing attack on our camp, without any discharge of
missiles, when they saw the cohorts in close array before the lines and no
sign of carelessness. |
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The same night brought with it a
cheering dream to Germanicus. He saw himself engaged in sacrifice, and his
robe being sprinkled with the sacred blood, another more beautiful was given
him by the hands of his grandmother Augusta. Encouraged by the omen and
finding the auspices favourable, he called an assembly, and explained the
precautions which wisdom suggested as suitable for the impending battle.
"It is not," he said, "plains only which are good for the
fighting of Roman soldiers, but woods and forest passes, if science be used.
For the huge shields and unwieldly lances of the barbarians cannot, amid
trunks of trees and brushwood that springs from the ground, be so well
managed as our javelins and swords and closefitting armour. Shower your blows
thickly; strike at the face with your swords' points. The German has neither
cuirass nor helmet; even his shield is not strengthened with leather or
steel, but is of osiers woven together or of thin and painted board. If their
first line is armed with spears, the rest have only weapons hardened by fire
or very short. Again, though their frames are terrible to the eye and
formidable in a brief onset, they have no capacity of enduring wounds;
without, any shame at the disgrace, without any regard to their leaders, they
quit the field and flee; they quail under disaster, just as in success they
forget alike divine and human laws. If in your weariness of land and sea you
desire an end of service, this battle prepares the way to it. The Elbe is now
nearer than the Rhine, and there is no war beyond, provided only you enable
me, keeping close as I do to my father's and my uncle's footsteps, to stand a
conqueror on the same spot." |
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The general's speech was followed
by enthusiasm in the soldiers, and the signal for battle was given. Nor were
Arminius and the other German chiefs slow to call their respective clansmen
to witness that "these Romans were the most cowardly fugitives out of
Varus's army, men who rather than endure war had taken to mutiny. Half of
them have their backs covered with wounds; half are once again exposing limbs
battered by waves and storms to a foe full of fury, and to hostile deities,
with no hope of advantage. They have, in fact, had recourse to a fleet and to
a trackless ocean, that their coming might be unopposed, their flight
unpursued. But when once they have joined conflict with us, the help of winds
or oars will be unavailing to the vanquished. Remember only their greed,
their cruelty, their pride. Is anything left for us but to retain our freedom
or to die before we are enslaved? |
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When they were thus roused and
were demanding battle, their chiefs led them down into a plain named
Idistaviso. It winds between the Visurgis and a hill range, its breadth
varying as the river banks recede or the spurs of the hills project on it. In
their rear rose a forest, with the branches rising to a great height, while
there were clear spaces between the trunks. The barbarian army occupied the
plain and the outskirts of the wood. The Cherusci were posted by themselves
on the high ground, so as to rush down on the Romans during the battle. Our
army advanced in the following order. The auxiliary Gauls and Germans were in
the van, then the foot-archers, after them, four legions and Caesar himself
with two praetorian cohorts and some picked cavalry. Next came as many other
legions, and light-armed troops with horse-bowmen, and the remaining cohorts
of the allies. The men were quite ready and prepared to form in line of
battle according to their marching order. |
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Caesar, as soon as he saw the
Cheruscan bands which in their impetuous spirit had rushed to the attack,
ordered the finest of his cavalry to charge them in flank, Stertinius with
the other squadrons to make a detour and fall on their rear, promising himself
to come up in good time. Meanwhile there was a most encouraging augury. Eight
eagles, seen to fly towards the woods and to enter them, caught the general's
eye. "Go," he exclaimed, "follow the Roman birds, the true
deities of our legions." At the same moment the infantry charged, and
the cavalry which had been sent on in advance dashed on the rear and the
flanks. And, strange to relate, two columns of the enemy fled in opposite
directions, that, which had occupied the wood, rushing into the open, those
who had been drawn up on the plains, into the wood. The Cherusci, who were
between them, were dislodged from the hills, while Arminius, conspicuous
among them by gesture, voice, and a wound he had received, kept up the fight.
He had thrown himself on our archers and was on the point of breaking through
them, when the cohorts of the Raeti, Vendelici, and Gauls faced his attack.
By a strong bodily effort, however, and a furious rush of his horse, he made
his way through them, having smeared his face with his blood, that he might
not be known. Some have said that he was recognised by Chauci serving among
the Roman auxiliaries, who let him go. Inguiomerus owed his escape to similar
courage or treachery. The rest were cut down in every direction. Many in
attempting to swim across the Visurgis were overwhelmed under a storm of
missiles or by the force of the current, lastly, by the rush of fugitives and
the falling in of the banks. Some in their ignominious flight climbed the
tops of trees, and as they were hiding themselves in the boughs, archers were
brought up and they were shot for sport. Others were dashed to the ground by
the felling of the trees. |
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18[edit] |
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It was a great victory and without
bloodshed to us. From nine in the morning to nightfall the enemy were
slaughtered, and ten miles were covered with arms and dead bodies, while
there were found amid the plunder the chains which the Germans had brought with
them for the Romans, as though the issue were certain. The soldiers on the
battle field hailed Tiberius as Imperator, and raised a mound on which arms
were piled in the style of a trophy, with the names of the conquered tribes
inscribed beneath them. |
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That sight caused keener grief and
rage among the Germans than their wounds, their mourning, and their losses.
Those who but now were preparing to quit their settlements and to retreat to
the further side of the Elbe, longed for battle and flew to arms. Common
people and chiefs, young and old, rushed on the Roman army, and spread
disorder. At last they chose a spot closed in by a river and by forests,
within which was a narrow swampy plain. The woods too were surrounded by a
bottomless morass, only on one side of it the Angrivarii had raised a broad
earthwork, as a boundary between themselves and the Cherusci. Here their
infantry was ranged. Their cavalry they concealed in neighbouring woods, so
as to be on the legions' rear, as soon as they entered the forest. |
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All this was known to Caesar. He
was acquainted with their plans, their positions, with what met the eye, and
what was hidden, and he prepared to turn the enemy's stratagems to their own
destruction. To Seius Tubero, his chief officer, he assigned the cavalry and
the plain. His infantry he drew up so that part might advance on level ground
into the forest, and part clamber up the earthwork which confronted them. He
charged himself with what was the specially difficult operation, leaving the
rest to his officers. Those who had the level ground easily forced a passage.
Those who had to assault the earthwork encountered heavy blows from above, as
if they were scaling a wall. The general saw how unequal this close fighting
was, and having withdrawn his legions to a little distance, ordered the
slingers and artillerymen to discharge a volley of missiles and scatter the
enemy. Spears were hurled from the engines, and the more conspicuous were the
defenders of the position, the more the wounds with which they were driven
from it. Caesar with some praetorian cohorts was the first, after the
storming of the ramparts, to dash into the woods. There they fought at close
quarters. A morass was in the enemy's rear, and the Romans were hemmed in by
the river or by the hills. Both were in a desperate plight from their
position; valour was their only hope, victory their only safety. |
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21[edit] |
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The Germans were equally brave,
but they were beaten by the nature of the fighting and of the weapons, for
their vast host in so confined a space could neither thrust out nor recover
their immense lances, or avail themselves of their nimble movements and lithe
frames, forced as they were to a close engagement. Our soldiers, on the other
hand, with their shields pressed to their breasts, and their hands grasping
their sword-hilts, struck at the huge limbs and exposed faces of the
barbarians, cutting a passage through the slaughtered enemy, for Arminius was
now less active, either from incessant perils, or because he was partially
disabled by his recent wound. As for Inguiomerus, who flew hither and thither
over the battlefield, it was fortune rather than courage which forsook him.
Germanicus, too, that he might be the better known, took his helmet off his
head and begged his men to follow up the slaughter, as they wanted not
prisoners, and the utter destruction of the nation would be the only
conclusion of the war. And now, late in the day, he withdrew one of his
legions from the field, to intrench a camp, while the rest till nightfall
glutted themselves with the enemy's blood. Our cavalry fought with indecisive
success. |
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Having publicly praised his
victorious troops, Caesar raised a pile of arms with the proud inscription,
"The army of Tiberius Caesar, after thoroughly conquering the tribes
between the Rhine and the Elbe, has dedicated this monument to Mars, Jupiter,
and Augustus." He added nothing about himself, fearing jealousy, or
thinking that the conciousness of the achievement was enough. Next he charged
Stertinius with making war on the Angrivarii, but they hastened to surrender.
And, as suppliants, by refusing nothing, they obtained a full pardon. |
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When, however, summer was at its
height some of the legions were sent back overland into winter-quarters, but
most of them Caesar put on board the fleet and brought down the river Amisia
to the ocean. At first the calm waters merely sounded with the oars of a
thousand vessels or were ruffled by the sailing ships. Soon, a hailstorm
bursting from a black mass of clouds, while the waves rolled hither and
thither under tempestuous gales from every quarter, rendered clear sight
impossible, and the steering difficult, while our soldiers, terrorstricken
and without any experience of disasters on the sea, by embarrassing the
sailors or giving them clumsy aid, neutralized the services of the skilled
crews. After a while, wind and wave shifted wholly to the south, and from the
hilly lands and deep rivers of Germany came with a huge line of rolling
clouds, a strong blast, all the more frightful from the frozen north which
was so near to them, and instantly caught and drove the ships hither and
thither into the open ocean, or on islands with steep cliffs or which hidden
shoals made perilous. these they just escaped, with difficulty, and when the
tide changed and bore them the same way as the wind, they could not hold to
their anchors or bale out the water which rushed in upon them. Horses, beasts
of burden, baggage, were thrown overboard, in order to lighten the hulls
which leaked copiously through their sides, while the waves too dashed over
them. |
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As the ocean is stormier than all
other seas, and as Germany is conspicuous for the terrors of its climate, so
in novelty and extent did this disaster transcend every other, for all around
were hostile coasts, or an expanse so vast and deep that it is thought to be
the remotest shoreless sea. Some of the vessels were swallowed up; many were
wrecked on distant islands, and the soldiers, finding there no form of human
life, perished of hunger, except some who supported existence on carcases of
horses washed on the same shores. Germanicus's trireme alone reached the
country of the Chauci. Day and night, on those rocks and promontories he
would incessantly exclaim that he was himself responsible for this awful
ruin, and friends scarce restrained him from seeking death in the same sea.
At last, as the tide ebbed and the wind blew favourably, the shattered
vessels with but few rowers, or clothing spread as sails, some towed by the
more powerful, returned, and Germanicus, having speedily repaired them, sent them
to search the islands. Many by that means were recovered. The Angrivarii, who
had lately been admitted to our alliance, restored to us several had ransomed
from the inland tribes. Some had been carried to Britain and were sent back
by the petty chiefs. Every one, as he returned from some far-distant region,
told of wonders, of violent hurricanes, and unknown birds, of monsters of the
sea, of forms half-human, half beast-like, things they had really seen or in
their terror believed. |
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Meanwhile the rumoured loss of the
fleet stirred the Germans to hope for war, as it did Caesar to hold them
down. He ordered Caius Silius with thirty thousand infantry and three
thousand cavalry to march against the Chatti. He himself, with a larger army,
invaded the Marsi, whose leader, Mallovendus, whom we had lately admitted to
surrender, pointed out a neighbouring wood, where, he said, an eagle of one
of Varus's legions was buried and guarded only by a small force. Immediately
troops were despatched to draw the enemy from his position by appearing in
his front, others, to hem in his rear and open the ground. Fortune favoured
both. So Germanicus, with increased energy, advanced into the country, laying
it waste, and utterly ruining a foe who dared not encounter him, or who was
instantly defeated wherever he resisted, and, as we learnt from prisoners,
was never more panic-stricken. The Romans, they declared, were invincible,
rising superior to all calamities; for having thrown away a fleet, having lost
their arms, after strewing the shores with the carcases of horses and of men,
they had rushed to the attack with the same courage, with equal spirit, and,
seemingly, with augmented numbers. |
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The soldiers were then led back
into winter-quarters, rejoicing in their hearts at having been compensated
for their disasters at sea by a successful expedition. They were helped too
by Caesar's bounty, which made good whatever loss any one declared he had
suffered. It was also regarded as a certainty that the enemy were wavering
and consulting on negotiations for peace, and that, with an additional
campaign next summer the war might be ended. Tiberius, however, in repeated
letters advised Germanicus to return for the triumph decreed him. "He
had now had enough of success, enough of disaster. He had fought victorious
battles on a great scale; he should also remember those losses which the
winds and waves had inflicted, and which, though due to no fault of the
general, were still grievous and shocking. He, Tiberius, had himself been
sent nine times by Augustus into Germany, and had done more by policy than by
arms. By this means the submission of the Sugambri had been secured, and the
Suevi with their king Maroboduus had been forced into peace. The Cherusci too
and the other insurgent tribes, since the vengeance of Rome had been
satisfied, might be left to their internal feuds." When Germanicus
requested a year for the completion of his enterprise, Tiberius put a severer
pressure on his modesty by offering him a second consulship, the functions of
which he was to discharge in person. He also added that if war must still be
waged, he might as well leave some materials for renown to his brother
Drusus, who, as there was then no other enemy, could win only in Germany the
imperial title and the triumphal laurel. Germanicus hesitated no longer,
though he saw that this was a pretence, and that he was hurried away through
jealousy from the glory he had already acquired. |
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About the same time Libo Drusus,
of the family of Scribonii, was accused of revolutionary schemes. I will
explain, somewhat minutely, the beginning, progress, and end of this affair,
since then first were originated those practices which for so many years have
eaten into the heart of the State. Firmius Catus, a senator, an intimate
friend of Libo's, prompted the young man, who was thoughtless and an easy
prey to delusions, to resort to astrologers' promises, magical rites, and
interpreters of dreams, dwelling ostentatiously on his great-grandfather
Pompeius, his aunt Scribonia, who had formerly been wife of Augustus, his
imperial cousins, his house crowded with ancestral busts, and urging him to
extravagance and debt, himself the companion of his profligacy and desperate
embarrassments, thereby to entangle him in all the more proofs of guilt. |
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As soon as he found enough
witnesses, with some slaves who knew the facts, he begged an audience of the
emperor, after first indicating the crime and the criminal through Flaccus
Vescularius, a Roman knight, who was more intimate with Tiberius than himself.
Caesar, without disregarding the information, declined an interview, for the
communication, he said, might be conveyed to him through the same messenger,
Flaccus. Meanwhile he conferred the praetorship on Libo and often invited him
to his table, showing no unfriendliness in his looks or anger in his words
(so thoroughly had he concealed his resentment); and he wished to know all
his saying and doings, though it was in his power to stop them, till one
Junius, who had been tampered with by Libo for the purpose of evoking by
incantations spirits of the dead, gave information to Fulcinius Trio. Trio's
ability was conspicuous among informers, as well as his eagerness for an evil
notoriety. He at once pounced on the accused, went to the consuls, and demanded
an inquiry before the Senate. The Senators were summoned, with a special
notice that they must consult on a momentous and terrible matter. |
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Libo meanwhile, in mourning
apparel and accompanied by ladies of the highest rank, went to house after
house, entreating his relatives, and imploring some eloquent voice to ward
off his perils; which all refused, on different pretexts, but from the same apprehension.
On the day the Senate met, jaded with fear and mental anguish, or, as some
have related, feigning illness, he was carried in a litter to the doors of
the Senate House, and leaning on his brother he raised his hands and voice in
supplication to Tiberius, who received him with unmoved countenance. The
emperor then read out the charges and the accusers' names, with such calmness
as not to seem to soften or aggravate the accusations. |
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Besides Trio and Catus, Fonteius
Agrippa and Caius Vibius were among his accusers, and claimed with eager
rivalry the privilege of conducting the case for the prosecution, till
Vibius, as they would not yield one to the other, and Libo had entered without
counsel, offered to state the charges against him singly, and produced an
extravagantly absurd accusation, according to which Libo had consulted
persons whether he would have such wealth as to be able to cover the Appian
road as far as Brundisium with money. There were other questions of the same
sort, quite senseless and idle; if leniently regarded, pitiable. But there
was one paper in Libo's handwriting, so the prosecutor alleged, with the
names of Caesars and of Senators, to which marks were affixed of dreadful or
mysterious significance. When the accused denied this, it was decided that
his slaves who recognised the writing should be examined by torture. As an
ancient statute of the Senate forbade such inquiry in a case affecting a
master's life, Tiberius, with his cleverness in devising new law, ordered
Libo's slaves to be sold singly to the State-agent, so that, forsooth,
without an infringement of the Senate's decree, Libo might be tried on their
evidence. As a consequence, the defendant asked an adjournment till next day,
and having gone home he charged his kinsman, Publius Quirinus, with his last
prayer to the emperor. |
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The answer was that he should
address himself to the Senate. Meanwhile his house was surrounded with
soldiers; they crowded noisily even about the entrance, so that they could be
heard and seen; when Libo, whose anguish drove him from the very banquet he
had prepared as his last gratification, called for a minister of death,
grasped the hands of his slaves, and thrust a sword into them. In their
confusion, as they shrank back, they overturned the lamp on the table at his
side, and in the darkness, now to him the gloom of death, he aimed two blows
at a vital part. At the groans of the falling man his freedmen hurried up,
and the soldiers, seeing the bloody deed, stood aloof. Yet the prosecution
was continued in the Senate with the same persistency, and Tiberius declared
on oath that he would have interceded for his life, guilty though he was, but
for his hasty suicide. |
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His property was divided among his
accusers, and praetorships out of the usual order were conferred on those who
were of senators' rank. Cotta Messalinus then proposed that Libo's bust
should not be carried in the funeral procession of any of his descendants;
and Cneius Lentulus, that no Scribonius should assume the surname of Drusus.
Days of public thanksgiving were appointed on the suggestion of Pomponius
Flaccus. Offerings were given to Jupiter, Mars, and Concord, and the 13th day
of September, on which Libo had killed himself, was to be observed as a
festival, on the motion of Gallus Asinius, Papius Mutilus, and Lucius
Apronius. I have mentioned the proposals and sycophancy of these men, in
order to bring to light this old-standing evil in the State. Decrees of the
Senate were also passed to expel from Italy astrologers and magicians. One of
their number, Lucius Pituanius, was hurled from the Rock. Another, Publius
Marcius, was executed, according to ancient custom, by the consuls outside
the Esquiline Gate, after the trumpets had been bidden to sound. |
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On the next day of the Senate's
meeting much was said against the luxury of the country by Quintus Haterius,
an ex-consul, and by Octavius Fronto, an ex-praetor. It was decided that
vessels of solid gold should not be made for the serving of food, and that
men should not disgrace themselves with silken clothing from the East. Fronto
went further, and insisted on restrictions being put on plate, furniture, and
household establishments. It was indeed still usual with the Senators, when
it was their turn to vote, to suggest anything they thought for the State's
advantage. Gallus Asinius argued on the other side. "With the growth of
the empire private wealth too," he said, "had increased, and there
was nothing new in this, but it accorded with the fashions of the earliest
antiquity. Riches were one thing with the Fabricii, quite another with the
Scipios. The State was the standard of everything; when it was poor, the
homes of the citizens were humble; when it reached such magnificence, private
grandeur increased. In household establishments, and plate, and in whatever
was provided for use, there was neither excess nor parsimony except in
relation to the fortune of the possessor. A distinction had been made in the
assessments of Senators and knights, not because they differed naturally, but
that the superiority of the one class in places in the theatre, in rank and
in honour, might be also maintained in everything else which insured mental
repose and bodily recreation, unless indeed men in the highest position were
to undergo more anxieties and more dangers, and to be at the same time
deprived of all solace under those anxieties and dangers." Gallus gained
a ready assent, under these specious phrases, by a confession of failings
with which his audience symphathised. And Tiberius too had added that this
was not a time for censorship, and that if there were any declension in
manners, a promoter of reform would not be wanting. |
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34[edit] |
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During this debate Lucius Piso,
after exclaiming against the corruption of the courts, the bribery of judges,
the cruel threats of accusations from hired orators, declared that he would
depart and quit the capital, and that he meant to live in some obscure and
distant rural retreat. At the same moment he rose to leave the Senate House.
Tiberius was much excited, and though he pacified Piso with gentle words, he
also strongly urged his relatives to stop his departure by their influence or
their entreaties. Soon afterwards this same Piso gave an equal proof of a
fearless sense of wrong by suing Urgulania, whom Augusta's friendship had
raised above the law. Neither did Urgulania obey the summons, for in defiance
of Piso she went in her litter to the emperor's house; nor did Piso give way,
though Augusta complained that she was insulted and her majesty slighted.
Tiberius, to win popularity by so humouring his mother as to say that he
would go to the praetor's court and support Urgulania, went forth from the
palace, having ordered soldiers to follow him at a distance. He was seen, as
the people thronged about him, to wear a calm face, while he prolonged his
time on the way with various conversations, till at last when Piso's
relatives tried in vain to restrain him, Augusta directed the money which was
claimed to be handed to him. This ended the affair, and Piso, in consequence,
was not dishonoured, and the emperor rose in reputation. Urgulania's
influence, however, was so formidable to the State, that in a certain cause
which was tried by the Senate she would not condescend to appear as a
witness. The praetor was sent to question her at her own house, although the
Vestal virgins, according to ancient custom, were heard in the courts, before
judges, whenever they gave evidence. |
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I should say nothing of the
adjournment of public business in this year, if it were not worth while to
notice the conflicting opinions of Cneius Piso and Asinius Gallus on the
subject. Piso, although the emperor had said that he would be absent, held
that all the more ought the business to be transacted, that the State might
have honour of its Senate and knights being able to perform their duties in
the sovereign's absence. Gallus, as Piso had forestalled him in the display
of freedom, maintained that nothing was sufficiently impressive or suitable
to the majesty of the Roman people, unless done before Caesar and under his
very eyes, and that therefore the gathering from all Italy and the influx
from the provinces ought to be reserved for his presence. Tiberius listened
to this in silence, and the matter was debated on both sides in a sharp
controversy. The business, however, was adjourned. |
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A dispute then arose between
Gallus and the emperor. Gallus proposed that the elections of magistrates
should be held every five years, and that the commanders of the legions who
before receiving a praetorship discharged this military service should at once
become praetorselect, the emperor nominating twelve candidates every year. It
was quite evident that this motion had a deeper meaning and was an attempt to
explore the secrets of imperial policy. Tiberius, however, argued as if his
power would be thus increased. "It would," he said, "be trying
to his moderation to have to elect so many and to put off so many. He
scarcely avoided giving offence from year to year, even though a candidate's
rejection was solaced by the near prospect of office. What hatred would be
incurred from those whose election was deferred for five years! How could he
foresee through so long an interval what would be a man's temper, or domestic
relations, or estate? Men became arrogant even with this annual appointment.
What would happen if their thoughts were fixed on promotion for five years?
It was in fact a multiplying of the magistrates five-fold, and a subversion
of the laws which had prescribed proper periods for the exercise of the
candidate's activity and the seeking or securing office. With this seemingly
conciliatory speech he retained the substance of power. |
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He also increased the incomes of
some of the Senators. Hence it was the more surprising that he listened
somewhat disdainfully to the request of Marcus Hortalus, a youth of noble
rank in conspicuous poverty. He was the grandson of the orator Hortensius, and
had been induced by Augustus, on the strength of a gift of a million
sesterces, to marry and rear children, that one of our most illustrious
families might not become extinct. Accordingly, with his four sons standing
at the doors of the Senate House, the Senate then sitting in the palace, when
it was his turn to speak he began to address them as follows, his eyes fixed
now on the statue of Hortensius which stood among those of the orators, now
on that of Augustus:- "Senators, these whose numbers and boyish years
you behold I have reared, not by my own choice, but because the emperor
advised me. At the same time, my ancestors deserved to have descendants. For
myself, not having been able in these altered times to receive or acquire
wealth or popular favour, or that eloquence which has been the hereditary
possession of our house, I was satisfied if my narrow means were neither a
disgrace to myself nor burden to others. At the emperor's bidding I married.
Behold the offspring and progeny of a succession of consuls and dictators.
Not to excite odium do I recall such facts, but to win compassion. While you
prosper, Caesar, they will attain such promotion as you shall bestow.
Meanwhile save from penury the great-grandsons of Quintus Hortensius, the
foster-children of Augustus." |
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The Senate's favourable bias was
an incitement to Tiberius to offer prompt opposition, which he did in nearly
these words: - "If all poor men begin to come here and to beg money for
their children, individuals will never be satisfied, and the State will be
bankrupt. Certainly our ancestors did not grant the privilege of occasionally
proposing amendments or of suggesting, in our turn for speaking, something
for the general advantage in order that we might in this house increase our
private business and property, thereby bringing odium on the Senate and on
emperors whether they concede or refuse their bounty. In fact, it is not a
request, but an importunity, as utterly unreasonable as it is unforeseen, for
a senator, when the house has met on other matters, to rise from his place
and, pleading the number and age of his children, put a pressure on the
delicacy of the Senate, then transfer the same constraint to myself, and, as
it were, break open the exchequer, which, if we exhaust it by improper favouritism,
will have to be replenished by crimes. Money was given you, Hortalus, by
Augustus, but without solicitation, and not on the condition of its being
always given. Otherwise industry will languish and idleness be encouraged, if
a man has nothing to fear, nothing to hope from himself, and every one, in
utter recklessness, will expect relief from others, thus becoming useless to
himself and a burden to me." These and like remarks, though listened to
with assent by those who make it a practice to eulogise everything coming
from sovereigns, both good and bad, were received by the majority in silence
or with suppressed murmurs. Tiberius perceived it, and having paused a while,
said that he had given Hortalus his answer, but that if the senators thought
it right, he would bestow two hundred thousand sesterces on each of his
children of the male sex. The others thanked him; Hortalus said nothing,
either from alarm or because even in his reduced fortunes he clung to his
hereditary nobility. Nor did Tiberius afterwards show any pity, though the
house of Hortensius sank into shameful poverty. |
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39[edit] |
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That same year the daring of a
single slave, had it not been promptly checked, would have ruined the State
by discord and civil war. A servant of Postumus Agrippa, Clemens by name,
having ascertained that Augustus was dead, formed a design beyond a slave's
conception, of going to the island of Planasia and seizing Agrippa by craft
or force and bringing him to the armies of Germany. The slowness of a
merchant vessel thwarted his bold venture. Meanwhile the murder of Agrippa
had been perpetrated, and then turning his thoughts to a greater and more
hazardous enterprise, he stole the ashes of the deceased, sailed to Cosa, a
promontory of Etruria, and there hid himself in obscure places till his hair
and beard were long. In age and figure he was not unlike his master. Then
through suitable emissaries who shared his secret, it was rumoured that
Agrippa was alive, first in whispered gossip, soon, as is usual with
forbidden topics, in vague talk which found its way to the credulous ears of
the most ignorant people or of restless and revolutionary schemers. He
himself went to the towns, as the day grew dark, without letting himself be
seen publicly or remaining long in the same places, but, as he knew that
truth gains strength by notoriety and time, falsehood by precipitancy and
vagueness, he would either withdraw himself from publicity or else forestall
it. |
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It was rumoured meanwhile
throughout Italy, and was believed at Rome, that Agrippa had been saved by
the blessing of Heaven. Already at Ostia, where he had arrived, he was the
centre of interest to a vast concourse as well as to secret gatherings in the
capital, while Tiberius was distracted by the doubt whether he should crush
this slave of his by military force or allow time to dissipate a silly
credulity. Sometimes he thought that he must overlook nothing, sometimes that
he need not be afraid of everything, his mind fluctuating between shame and
terror. At last he entrusted the affair to Sallustius Crispus, who chose two
of his dependants (some say they were soldiers) and urged them to go to him
as pretended accomplices, offering money and promising faithful companionship
in danger. They did as they were bidden; then, waiting for an unguarded hour
of night, they took with them a sufficient force, and having bound and gagged
him, dragged him to the palace. When Tiberius asked him how he had become Agrippa,
he is said to have replied, "As you became Caesar." He could not be
forced to divulge his accomplices. Tiberius did not venture on a public
execution, but ordered him to be slain in a private part of the palace and
his body to be secretly removed. And although many of the emperor's household
and knights and senators were said to have supported him with their wealth
and helped him with their counsels, no inquiry was made. |
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41[edit] |
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At the close of the year was
consecrated an arch near the temple of Saturn to commemorate the recovery of
the standards lost with Varus, under the leadership of Germanicus and the
auspices of Tiberius; a temple of Fors Fortuna, by the Tiber, in the gardens
which Caesar, the dictator, bequeathed to the Roman people; a chapel to the
Julian family, and statues at Bovillae to the Divine Augustus. In the
consulship of Caius Caecilius and Lucius Pomponius, Germanicus Caesar, on the
26th day of May, celebrated his triumph over the Cherusci, Chatti, and
Angrivarii, and the other tribes which extend as far as the Elbe. There were
borne in procession spoils, prisoners, representations of the mountains, the
rivers and battles; and the war, seeing that he had been forbidden to finish
it, was taken as finished. The admiration of the beholders was heightened by
the striking comeliness of the general and the chariot which bore his five
children. Still, there was a latent dread when they remembered how
unfortunate in the case of Drusus, his father, had been the favour of the
crowd; how his uncle Marcellus, regarded by the city populace with passionate
enthusiasm, had been snatched from them while yet a youth, and how
short-lived and ill-starred were the attachments of the Roman people. |
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Tiberius meanwhile in the name of
Germanicus gave every one of the city populace three hundred sesterces, and
nominated himself his colleague in the consulship. Still, failing to obtain
credit for sincere affection, he resolved to get the young prince out of the
way, under pretence of conferring distinction, and for this he invented
reasons, or eagerly fastened on such as chance presented. King Archelaus had
been in possession of Cappadocia for fifty years, and Tiberius hated him
because he had not shown him any mark of respect while he was at Rhodes. This
neglect of Archelaus was not due to pride, but was suggested by the intimate
friends of Augustus, because, when Caius Caesar was in his prime and had
charge of the affairs of the East, Tiberius's friendship was thought to be
dangerous. When, after the extinction of the family of the Caesars, Tiberius
acquired the empire, he enticed Archelaus by a letter from his mother, who
without concealing her son's displeasure promised mercy if he would come to beg
for it. Archelaus, either quite unsuspicious of treachery, or dreading
compulsion, should it be thought that he saw through it, hastened to Rome.
There he was received by a pitiless emperor, and soon afterwards was
arraigned before the Senate. In his anguish and in the weariness of old age,
and from being unused, as a king, to equality, much less to degradation, not,
certainly, from fear of the charges fabricated against him, he ended his
life, by his own act or by a natural death. His kingdom was reduced into a
province, and Caesar declared that, with its revenues, the one per cent. tax
could be lightened, which, for the future, he fixed at one-half per cent.
During the same time, on the deaths of Antiochus and Philopator, kings
respectively of the Commageni and Cilicians, these nations became excited, a
majority desiring the Roman rule, some, that of their kings. The provinces
too of Syria and Judaea, exhausted by their burdens, implored a reduction of
tribute. |
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43[edit] |
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Tiberius accordingly discussed
these matters and the affairs of Armenia, which I have already related,
before the Senate. "The commotions in the East," he said,
"could be quieted only by the wisdom, of Germanicus; own life was on the
decline, and Drusus had not yet reached his maturity." Thereupon, by a
decree of the Senate, the provinces beyond sea were entrusted to Germanicus,
with greater powers wherever he went than were given to those who obtained
their provinces by lot or by the emperor's appointment. Tiberius had however
removed from Syria Creticus Silanus, who was connected by a close tie with
Germanicus, his daughter being betrothed to Nero, the eldest of Germanicus's
children. He appointed to it Cneius Piso, a man of violent temper, without an
idea of obedience, with indeed a natural arrogance inherited from his father
Piso, who in the civil war supported with the most energetic aid against
Caesar the reviving faction in Africa, then embraced the cause of Brutus and
Cassius, and, when suffered to return, refrained from seeking promotion till,
he was actually solicited to accept a consulship offered by Augustus. But
beside the father's haughty temper there was also the noble rank and wealth
of his wife Plancina, to inflame his ambition. He would hardly be the
inferior of Tiberius, and as for Tiberius's children, he looked down on them
as far beneath him. He thought it a certainty that he had been chosen to
govern Syria in order to thwart the aspirations of Germanicus. Some believed
that he had even received secret instructions from Tiberius, and it was
beyond a question that Augusta, with feminine jealousy, had suggested to
Plancina calumnious insinuations against Agrippina. For there was division
and discord in the court, with unexpressed partialities towards either Drusus
or Germanicus. Tiberius favoured Drusus, as his son and born of his own
blood. As for Germanicus, his uncle's estrangement had increased the
affection which all others felt for him, and there was the fact too that he
had an advantage in the illustrious rank of his mother's family, among whom
he could point to his grandfather Marcus Antonius and to his great-uncle
Augustus. Drusus, on the other hand, had for his great-grandfather a Roman
knight, Pomponius Atticus, who seemed to disgrace the ancestral images of the
Claudii. Again, the consort of Germanicus, Agrippina, in number of children
and in character, was superior to Livia, the wife of Drusus. Yet the brothers
were singularly united, and were wholly unaffected by the rivalries of their
kinsfolk. |
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44[edit] |
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Soon afterwards Drusus was sent
into Illyricum to be familiarised with military service, and to win the
goodwill of the army. Tiberius also thought that it was better for the young
prince, who was being demoralised by the luxury of the capital, to serve in a
camp, while he felt himself the safer with both his sons in command of
legions. However, he made a pretext of the Suevi, who were imploring help
against the Cherusci. For when the Romans had departed and they were free
from the fear of an invader, these tribes, according to the custom of the
race, and then specially as rivals in fame, had turned their arms against
each other. The strength of the two nations, the valour of their chiefs were
equal. But the title of king rendered Maroboduus hated among his countrymen,
while Arminius was regarded with favour as the champion of freedom. |
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45[edit] |
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Thus it was not only the Cherusci
and their allies, the old soldiers of Arminius, who took up arms, but even
the Semnones and Langobardi from the kingdom of Maroboduus revolted to that
chief. With this addition he must have had an overwhelming superiority, had
not Inguiomerus deserted with a troop of his dependants to Maroboduus, simply
for the reason that the aged uncle scorned to obey a brother's youthful son.
The armies were drawn up, with equal confidence on both sides, and there were
not those desultory attacks or irregular bands, formerly so common with the
Germans. Prolonged warfare against us had accustomed them to keep close to
their standards, to have the support of reserves, and to take the word of
command from their generals. On this occasion Arminius, who reviewed the
whole field on horseback, as he rode up to each band, boasted of regained
freedom, of slaughtered legions, of spoils and weapons wrested from the
Romans, and still in the hands of many of his men. As for Maroboduus, he
called him a fugitive, who had no experience of battles, who had sheltered
himself in the recesses of the Hercynian forest and then with presents and
embassies sued for a treaty; a traitor to his country, a satellite of Caesar,
who deserved to be driven out, with rage as furious as that with which they
had slain Quintilius Varus. They should simply remember their many battles,
the result of which, with the final expulsion of the Romans, sufficiently
showed who could claim the crowning success in war. |
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46[edit] |
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Nor did Maroboduus abstain from
vaunts about himself or from revilings of the foe. Clasping the hand of
Inguiomerus, he protested "that in the person before them centred all
the renown of the Cherusci, that to his counsels was due whatever had ended
successfully. Arminius in his infatuation and ignorance was taking to himself
the glory which belonged to another, for he had treacherously surprised three
unofficered legions and a general who had not an idea of perfidy, to the
great hurt of Germany and to his own disgrace, since his wife and his son
were still enduring slavery. As for himself, he had been attacked by twelve
legions led by Tiberius, and had preserved untarnished the glory of the
Germans, and then on equal terms the armies had parted. He was by no means
sorry that they had the matter in their own hands, whether they preferred to
war with all their might against Rome, or to accept a bloodless peace."
To these words, which roused the two armies, was added the stimulus of
special motives of their own. The Cherusci and Langobardi were fighting for
ancient renown or newly-won freedom; the other side for the increase of their
dominion. Never at any time was the shock of battle more tremendous or the
issue more doubtful, as the right wings of both armies were routed. Further
fighting was expected, when Maroboduus withdrew his camp to the hills. This
was a sign of discomfiture. He was gradually stripped of his strength by
desertions, and, having fled to the Marcomanni, he sent envoys to Tiberius
with entreaties for help. The answer was that he had no right to invoke the
aid of Roman arms against the Cherusci, when he had rendered no assistance to
the Romans in their conflict with the same enemy. Drusus, however, was sent
as I have related, to establish peace. |
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47[edit] |
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That same year twelve famous
cities of Asia fell by an earthquake in the night, so that the destruction
was all the more unforeseen and fearful. Nor were there the means of escape
usual in, such a disaster, by rushing out into the open country, for there
people were swallowed up by the yawning earth. Vast mountains, it is said,
collapsed; what had been level ground seemed to be raised aloft, and fires
blazed out amid the ruin. The calamity fell most fatally on the inhabitants
of Sardis, and it attracted to them the largest share of sympathy. The
emperor promised ten million sesterces, and remitted for five years all they
paid to the exchequer or to the emperor's purse. Magnesia, under Mount
Sipylus, was considered to come next in loss and in need of help. The people
of Temnus, Philadelpheia, Aegae, Apollonis, the Mostenians, and Hyrcanian
Macedonians, as they were called, with the towns of Hierocaesarea, Myrina,
Cyme, and Tmolus, were; it was decided, to be exempted from tribute for the
same time, and some one was to be sent from the Senate to examine their
actual condition and to relieve them. Marcus Aletus, one of the expraetors,
was chosen, from a fear that, as an exconsul was governor of Asia, there
might be rivalry between men of equal rank, and consequent embarrassment. |
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48[edit] |
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To his splendid public liberality
the emperor added bounties no less popular. The property of Aemilia Musa, a
rich woman who died intestate, on which the imperial treasury had a claim, he
handed over to Aemilius Lepidus, to whose family she appeared to belong; and
the estate of Patuleius, a wealthy Roman knight, though he was himself left
in part his heir, he gave to Marcus Servilius, whose name he discovered in an
earlier and unquestioned will. In both these cases he said that noble rank
ought to have the support of wealth. Nor did he accept a legacy from any one
unless he had earned it by friendship. Those who were strangers to him, and
who, because they were at enmity with others, made the emperor their heir, he
kept at a distance. While, however, he relieved the honourable poverty of the
virtuous, he expelled from the Senate or suffered voluntarily to retire
spendthrifts whose vices had brought them to penury, like Vibidius Varro,
Marius Nepos, Appius Appianus, Cornelius Sulla, and Quintus Vitellius. |
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49[edit] |
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About the same time he dedicated
some temples of the gods, which had perished from age or from fire, and which
Augustus had begun to restore. These were temples to Liber, Libera, and
Ceres, near the Great Circus, which last Aulus Postumius, when Dictator, had
vowed; a temple to Flora in the same place, which had been built by Lucius
and Marcus Publicius, aediles, and a temple to Janus, which had been erected
in the vegetable market by Caius Duilius, who was the first to make the Roman
power successful at sea and to win a naval triumph over the Carthaginians. A
temple to Hope was consecrated by Germanicus; this had been vowed by Atilius
in that same war. |
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50[edit] |
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Meantime the law of treason was
gaining strength. Appuleia Varilia, grand-niece of Augustus, was accused of
treason by an informer for having ridiculed the Divine Augustus, Tiberius,
and Tiberius's mother, in some insulting remarks, and for having been convicted
of adultery, allied though she was to Caesar's house. Adultery, it was
thought, was sufficiently guarded against by the Julian law. As to the charge
of treason, the emperor insisted that it should be taken separately, and that
she should be condemned if she had spoken irreverently of Augustus. Her
insinuations against himself he did not wish to be the subject of judicial
inquiry. When asked by the consul what he thought of the unfavourable
speeches she was accused of having uttered against his mother, he said
nothing. Afterwards, on the next day of the Senate's meeting, he even begged
in his mother's name that no words of any kind spoken against her might in
any case be treated as criminal. He then acquitted Appuleia of treason. For
her adultery, he deprecated the severer penalty, and advised that she should
be removed by her kinsfolk, after the example of our forefathers, to more
than two hundred miles from Rome. Her paramour, Manlius, was forbidden to
live in Italy or Africa. |
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51[edit] |
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A contest then arose about the
election of a praetor in the room of Vipstanus Gallus, whom death had
removed. Germanicus and Drusus (for they were still at Rome) supported
Haterius Agrippa, a relative of Germanicus. Many, on the other hand,
endeavoured to make the number of children weigh most in favour of the
candidates. Tiberius rejoiced to see a strife in the Senate between his sons
and the law. Beyond question the law was beaten, but not at once, and only by
a few votes, in the same way as laws were defeated even when they were in
force. |
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52[edit] |
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In this same year a war broke out
in Africa, where the enemy was led by Tacfarinas. A Numidian by birth, he had
served as an auxiliary in the Roman camp, then becoming a deserter, he at
first gathered round him a roving band familiar with robbery, for plunder and
for rapine. After a while, he marshalled them like regular soldiers, under
standards and in troops, till at last he was regarded as the leader, not of
an undisciplined rabble, but of the Musulamian people. This powerful tribe,
bordering on the deserts of Africa, and even then with none of the
civilisation of cities, took up arms and drew their Moorish neighbours into
the war. These too had a leader, Mazippa. The army was so divided that
Tacfarinas kept the picked men who were armed in Roman fashion within a camp,
and familiarised them with a commander's authority, while Mazippa, with light
troops, spread around him fire, slaughter, and consternation. They had forced
the Ciniphii, a far from contemptible tribe, into their cause, when Furius Camillus,
proconsul of Africa, united in one force a legion and all the regularly
enlisted allies, and, with an army insignificant indeed compared with the
multitude of the Numidians and Moors, marched against the enemy. There was
nothing however which he strove so much to avoid as their eluding an
engagement out of fear. It was by the hope of victory that they were lured on
only to be defeated. The legion was in the army's centre; the light cohorts
and two cavalry squadrons on its wings. Nor did Tacfarinas refuse battle. The
Numidians were routed, and after a number of years the name of Furius won
military renown. Since the days of the famous deliverer of our city and his
son Camillus, fame as a general had fallen to the lot of other branches of
the family, and the man of whom I am now speaking was regarded as an
inexperienced soldier. All the more willingly did Tiberius commemorate his
achievements in the Senate, and the Senators voted him the ornaments of
triumph, an honour which Camillus, because of his unambitious life, enjoyed
without harm. |
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53[edit] |
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In the following year Tiberius
held his third, Germanicus his second, consulship. Germanicus, however,
entered on the office at Nicopolis, a city of Achaia, whither he had arrived
by the coast of Illyricum, after having seen his brother Drusus, who was then
in Dalmatia, and endured a stormy voyage through the Adriatic and afterwards
the Ionian Sea. He accordingly devoted a few days to the repair of his fleet,
and, at the same time, in remembrance of his ancestors, he visited the bay
which the victory of Actium had made famous, the spoils consecrated by
Augustus, and the camp of Antonius. For, as I have said, Augustus was his
great-uncle, Antonius his grandfather, and vivid images of disaster and
success rose before him on the spot. Thence he went to Athens, and there, as
a concession to our treaty with an allied and ancient city, he was attended
only by a single lictor. The Greeks welcomed him with the most elaborate
honours, and brought forward all the old deeds and sayings of their
countrymen, to give additional dignity to their flattery. |
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54[edit] |
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Thence he directed his course to
Euboea and crossed to Lesbos, where Agrippina for the last time was confined
and gave birth to Julia. He then penetrated to the remoter parts of the
province of Asia, visited the Thracian cities, Perinthus and Byzantium; next,
the narrow strait of the Propontis and the entrance of the Pontus, from an
anxious wish to become acquainted with those ancient and celebrated
localities. He gave relief, as he went, to provinces which had been exhausted
by internal feuds or by the oppressions of governors. In his return he
attempted to see the sacred mysteries of the Samothracians, but north winds
which he encountered drove him aside from his course. And so after visiting
Ilium and surveying a scene venerable from the vicissitudes of fortune and as
the birth-place of our people, he coasted back along Asia, and touched at
Colophon, to consult the oracle of the Clarian Apollo. There, it is not a
woman, as at Delphi, but a priest chosen from certain families, generally
from Miletus, who ascertains simply the number and the names of the
applicants. Then descending into a cave and drinking a draught from a secret
spring, the man, who is commonly ignorant of letters and of poetry, utters a
response in verse answering to the thoughts conceived in the mind of any
inquirer. It was said that he prophesied to Germanicus, in dark hints, as
oracles usually do, an early doom. |
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55[edit] |
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Cneius Piso meanwhile, that he
might the sooner enter on his design, terrified the citizens of Athens by his
tumultuous approach, and then reviled them in a bitter speech, with indirect
reflections on Germanicus, who, he said, had derogated from the honour of the
Roman name in having treated with excessive courtesy, not the people of
Athens, who indeed had been exterminated by repeated disasters, but a
miserable medley of tribes. As for the men before him, they had been
Mithridates's allies against Sulla, allies of Antonius against the Divine
Augustus. He taunted them too with the past, with their ill-success against
the Macedonians, their violence to their own countrymen, for he had his own
special grudge against this city, because they would not spare at his
intercession one Theophilus whom the Areopagus had condemned for forgery.
Then, by sailing rapidly and by the shortest route through the Cyclades, he
overtook Germanicus at the island of Rhodes. The prince was not ignorant of
the slanders with which he had been assailed, but his good nature was such
that when a storm arose and drove Piso on rocks, and his enemy's destruction
could have been referred to chance, he sent some triremes, by the help of
which he might be rescued from danger. But this did not soften Piso's heart.
Scarcely allowing a day's interval, he left Germanicus and hastened on in
advance. When he reached Syria and the legions, he began, by bribery and
favouritism, to encourage the lowest of the common soldiers, removing the old
centurions and the strict tribunes and assigning their places to creatures of
his own or to the vilest of the men, while he allowed idleness in the camp,
licentiousness in the towns, and the soldiers to roam through the country and
take their pleasure. He went such lengths in demoralizing them, that he was
spoken of in their vulgar talk as the father of the legions. Plancina too,
instead of keeping herself within the proper limits of a woman, would be
present at the evolutions of the cavalry and the manoeuvres of the cohorts,
and would fling insulting remarks at Agrippina and Germanicus. Some even of
the good soldiers were inclined to a corrupt compliance, as a whispered
rumour gained ground that the emperor was not averse to these proceedings. Of
all this Germanicus was aware, but his most pressing anxiety was to be first
in reaching Armenia. |
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56[edit] |
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This had been of old an unsettled
country from the character of its people and from its geographical position,
bordering, as it does, to a great extent on our provinces and stretching far
away to Media. It lies between two most mighty empires, and is very often at
strife with them, hating Rome and jealous of Parthia. It had at this time no
king, Vonones having been expelled, but the nation's likings inclined towards
Zeno, son of Polemon, king of Pontus, who from his earliest infancy had
imitated Armenian manners and customs, loving the chase, the banquet, and all
the popular pastimes of barbarians, and who had thus bound to himself chiefs
and people alike. Germanicus accordingly, in the city of Artaxata, with the
approval of the nobility, in the presence of a vast multitude, placed the
royal diadem on his head. All paid him homage and saluted him as King
Artaxias, which name they gave him from the city. Cappadocia meanwhile, which
had been reduced to the form of a province, received as its governor Quintus
Veranius. Some of the royal tributes were diminished, to inspire hope of a
gentler rule under Rome. Quintus Servaeus was appointed to Commagene, then
first put under a praetor's jurisdiction. |
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57[edit] |
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Successful as was this settlement
of all the interests of our allies, it gave Germanicus little joy because of
the arrogance of Piso. Though he had been ordered to march part of the
legions into Armenia under his own or his son's command, he had neglected to
do either. At length the two met at Cyrrhus, the winterquarters of the tenth
legion, each controlling his looks, Piso concealing his fears, Germanicus
shunning the semblance of menace. He was indeed, as I have said, a
kind-hearted man. But friends who knew well how to inflame a quarrel,
exaggerated what was true and added lies, alleging various charges against
Piso, Plancina, and their sons. At last, in the presence of a few intimate
associates, Germanicus addressed him in language such as suppressed
resentment suggests, to which Piso replied with haughty apologies. They
parted in open enmity. After this Piso was seldom seen at Caesar's tribunal,
and if he ever sat by him, it was with a sullen frown and a marked display of
opposition. He was even heard to say at a banquet given by the king of the
Nabataeans, when some golden crowns of great weight were presented to Caesar
and Agrippina and light ones to Piso and the rest, that the entertainment was
given to the son of a Roman emperor, not of a Parthian king. At the same time
he threw his crown on the ground, with a long speech against luxury, which,
though it angered Germanicus, he still bore with patience. |
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58[edit] |
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Meantime envoys arrived from
Artabanus, king of the Parthians. He had sent them to recall the memory of
friendship and alliance, with an assurance that he wished for a renewal of
the emblems of concord, and that he would in honour of Germanicus yield the
point of advancing to the bank of the Euphrates. He begged meanwhile that
Vonones might not be kept in Syria, where, by emissaries from an easy
distance, he might draw the chiefs of the tribes into civil strife.
Germanicus' answer as to the alliance between Rome and Parthia was dignified;
as to the king's visit and the respect shown to himself, it was graceful and
modest. Vonones was removed to Pompeiopolis, a city on the coast of Cilicia.
This was not merely a concession to the request of Artabanus, but was meant
as an affront to Piso, who had a special liking for Vonones, because of the
many attentions and presents by which he had won Plancina's favour. |
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59[edit] |
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In the consulship of Marcus
Silanus and Lucius Norbanus, Germanicus set out for Egypt to study its
antiquities. His ostensible motive however was solicitude for the province.
He reduced the price of corn by opening the granaries, and adopted many
practices pleasing to the multitude. He would go about without soldiers, with
sandalled feet, and apparelled after the Greek fashion, in imitation of
Publius Scipio, who, it is said, habitually did the same in Sicily, even when
the war with Carthage was still raging. Tiberius having gently expressed
disapproval of his dress and manners, pronounced a very sharp censure on his
visit to Alexandria without the emperor's leave, contrary to the regulations
of Augustus. That prince, among other secrets of imperial policy, had
forbidden senators and Roman knights of the higher rank to enter Egypt except
by permission, and he had specially reserved the country, from a fear that
any one who held a province containing the key of the land and of the sea,
with ever so small a force against the mightiest army, might distress Italy
by famine. |
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60[edit] |
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Germanicus, however, who had not
yet learnt how much he was blamed for his expedition, sailed up the Nile from
the city of Canopus as his starting-point. Spartans founded the place because
Canopus, pilot of one of their ships, had been buried there, when Menelaus on
his return to Greece was driven into a distant sea and to the shores of
Libya. Thence he went to the river's nearest mouth, dedicated to a Hercules
who, the natives say, was born in the country and was the original hero,
others, who afterwards showed like valour, having received his name. Next he
visited the vast ruins of ancient Thebes. There yet remained on the towering
piles Egyptian inscriptions, with a complete account of the city's past
grandeur. One of the aged priests, who was desired to interpret the language
of his country, related how once there had dwelt in Thebes seven hundred
thousand men of military age, and how with such an army king Rhamses
conquered Libya, Ethiopia, Media, Persia, Bactria, and Scythia, and held
under his sway the countries inhabited by the Syrians, Armenians, and their
neighbours, the Cappadocians, from the Bithynian to the Lycian sea. There was
also to be read what tributes were imposed on these nations, the weight of
silver and gold, the tale of arms and horses, the gifts of ivory and of
perfumes to the temples, with the amount of grain and supplies furnished by
each people, a revenue as magnificent as is now exacted by the might of
Parthia or the power of Rome. |
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61[edit] |
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But Germanicus also bestowed
attention on other wonders. Chief of these were the stone image of Memnon,
which, when struck by the sun's rays, gives out the sound of a human voice;
the pyramids, rising up like mountains amid almost impassable wastes of shifting
sand, raised by the emulation and vast wealth of kings; the lake hollowed out
of the earth to be a receptacle for the Nile's overflow; and elsewhere the
river's narrow channel and profound depth which no line of the explorer can
penetrate. He then came to Elephantine and Syene, formerly the limits of the
Roman empire, which now extends to the Red Sea. |
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62[edit] |
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While Germanicus was spending the
summer in visits to several provinces, Drusus gained no little glory by
sowing discord among the Germans and urging them to complete the destruction
of the now broken power of Maroboduus. Among the Gotones was a youth of noble
birth, Catualda by name, who had formerly been driven into exile by the might
of Maroboduus, and who now, when the king's fortunes were declining, ventured
on revenge. He entered the territory of the Marcomanni with a strong force,
and, having corruptly won over the nobles to join him, burst into the palace
and into an adjacent fortress. There he found the long-accumulated plunder of
the Suevi and camp followers and traders from our provinces who had been
attracted to an enemy's land, each from their various homes, first by the
freedom of commerce, next by the desire of amassing wealth, finally by
forgetfulness of their fatherland. |
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63[edit] |
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Maroboduus, now utterly deserted,
had no resource but in the mercy of Caesar. Having crossed the Danube where
it flows by the province of Noricum, he wrote to Tiberius, not like a
fugitive or a suppliant, but as one who remembered his past greatness. When
as a most famous king in former days he received invitations from many
nations, he had still, he said, preferred the friendship of Rome. Caesar
replied that he should have a safe and honourable home in Italy, if he would
remain there, or, if his interests required something different, he might
leave it under the same protection under which he had come. But in the Senate
he maintained that Philip had not been so formidable to the Athenians, or
Pyrrhus or Antiochus to the Roman people, as was Maroboduus. The speech is
extant, and in it he magnifies the man's power, the ferocity of the tribes
under his sway, his proximity to Italy as a foe, finally his own measures for
his overthrow. The result was that Maroboduus was kept at Ravenna, where his
possible return was a menace to the Suevi, should they ever disdain
obedience. But he never left Italy for eighteen years, living to old age and
losing much of his renown through an excessive clinging to life. Catualda had
a like downfall and no better refuge. Driven out soon afterwards by the
overwhelming strength of the Hermundusi led by Vibilius, he was received and
sent to Forum Julii, a colony of Narbonensian Gaul. The barbarians who
followed the two kings, lest they might disturb the peace of the provinces by
mingling with the population, were settled beyond the Danube between the
rivers Marus and Cusus, under a king, Vannius, of the nation of the Quadi. |
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64[edit] |
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Tidings having also arrived of
Artaxias being made king of Armenia by Germanicus, the Senate decreed that
both he and Drusus should enter the city with an ovation. Arches too were
raised round the sides of the temple of Mars the Avenger, with statues of the
two Caesars. Tiberius was the more delighted at having established peace by
wise policy than if he had finished a war by battle. And so next he planned a
crafty scheme against Rhescuporis, king of Thrace. That entire country had
been in the possession of Rhoemetalces, after whose death Augustus assigned
half to the king's brother Rhescuporis, half to his son Cotys. In this
division the cultivated lands, the towns, and what bordered on Greek
territories, fell to Cotys; the wild and barbarous portion, with enemies on
its frontier, to Rhescuporis. The kings too themselves differed, Cotys having
a gentle and kindly temper, the other a fierce and ambitious spirit, which
could not brook a partner. Still at first they lived in a hollow friendship,
but soon Rhescuporis overstepped his bounds and appropriated to himself what
had been given to Cotys, using force when he was resisted, though somewhat
timidly under Augustus, who having created both kingdoms would, he feared,
avenge any contempt of his arrangement. When however he heard of the change
of emperor, he let loose bands of freebooters and razed the fortresses, as a
provocation to war. |
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65[edit] |
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Nothing made Tiberius so uneasy as
an apprehension of the disturbance of any settlement. He commissioned a
centurion to tell the kings not to decide their dispute by arms. Cotys at
once dismissed the forces which he had prepared. Rhescuporis, with assumed
modesty, asked for a place of meeting where, he said, they might settle their
differences by an interview. There was little hesitation in fixing on a time,
a place, finally on terms, as every point was mutually conceded and accepted,
by the one out of good nature, by the other with a treacherous intent.
Rhescuporis, to ratify the treaty, as he said, further proposed a banquet;
and when their mirth had been prolonged far into the night, and Cotys amid
the feasting and the wine was unsuspicious of danger, he loaded him with
chains, though he appealed, on perceiving the perfidy, to the sacred
character of a king, to the gods of their common house, and to the hospitable
board. Having possessed himself of all Thrace, he wrote word to Tiberius that
a plot had been formed against him, and that he had forestalled the plotter.
Meanwhile, under pretext of a war against the Bastarnian and Scythian tribes,
he was strengthening himself with fresh forces of infantry and cavalry. He
received a conciliatory answer. If there was no treachery in his conduct, he
could rely on his innocence, but neither the emperor nor the Senate would
decide on the right or wrong of his cause without hearing it. He was
therefore to surrender Cotys, come in person transfer from himself the odium
of the charge. |
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1[edit] |
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THE
destruction of Messalina shook the imperial house; for a strife arose among
the freedmen, who should choose a wife for Claudius, impatient as he was of a
single life and submissive to eat the rule of wives. The ladies were fired
with no less jealousy. Each insisted on her rank, beauty, and fortune, and
pointed to her claims to such a marriage. But the keenest competition was
between Lollia Paulina, the daughter of Marcus Lollius, an ex-consul, and
Julia Agrippina, the daughter of Germanicus. Callistus favoured the first,
Pallas the second. Aelia Paetina however, of the family of the Tuberones, had
the support of Narcissus. The emperor, who inclined now one way, now another,
as he listened to this or that adviser, summoned the disputants to a conference
and bade them express their opinions and give their reasons. |
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Narcissus dwelt on the marriage of
years gone by, on the tie of offspring, for Paetina was the mother of
Antonia, and on the advantage of excluding a new element from his household,
by the return of a wife to whom he was accustomed, and who would assuredly
not look with a stepmother's animosity on Britannicus and Octavia, who were
next in her affections to her own children. Callistus argued that she was
compromised by her long separation, and that were she to be taken back, she
would be supercilious on the strength of it. It would be far better to
introduce Lollia, for, as she had no children of her own, she would be free
from jealousy, and would take the place of a mother towards her stepchildren.
Pallas again selected Agrippina for special commendation because she would
bring with her Germanicus's grandson, who was thoroughly worthy of imperial
rank, the scion of a noble house and a link to unite the descendants of the
Claudian family. He hoped that a woman who was the mother of many children
and still in the freshness of youth, would not carry off the grandeur of the
Caesars to some other house. |
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3[edit] |
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This advice prevailed, backed up
as it was by Agrippina's charms. On the pretext of her relationship, she paid
frequent visits to her uncle, and so won his heart, that she was preferred to
the others, and, though not yet his wife, already possessed a wife's power.
For as soon as she was sure of her marriage, she began to aim at greater
things, and planned an alliance between Domitius, her son by Cneius
Aenobarbus, and Octavia, the emperor's daughter. This could not be
accomplished without a crime, for the emperor had betrothed Octavia to Lucius
Silanus, a young man otherwise famous, whom he had brought forward as a
candidate for popular favour by the honour of triumphal distinctions and by a
magnificent gladiatorial show. But no difficulty seemed to be presented by
the temper of a sovereign who had neither partialities nor dislikes, but such
as were suggested and dictated to him. |
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4[edit] |
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Vitellius accordingly, who used
the name of censor to screen a slave's trickeries, and looked forward to new
despotisms, already impending, associated himself in Agrippina's plans, with
a view to her favour, and began to bring charges against Silanus, whose
sister, Junia Calvina, a handsome and lively girl, had shortly before become
his daughter-in-law. Here was a starting point for an accuser. Vitellius put
an infamous construction on the somewhat incautious though not criminal love
between the brother and sister. The emperor listened, for his affection for
his daughter inclined him the more to admit suspicions against his
son-in-law. Silanus meanwhile, who knew nothing of the plot, and happened
that year to be praetor, was suddenly expelled from the Senate by an edict of
Vitellius, though the roll of Senators had been recently reviewed and the
lustrum closed. Claudius at the same time broke off the connection; Silanus
was forced to resign his office, and the one remaining day of his praetorship
was conferred on Eprius Marcellus. |
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5[edit] |
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In the year of the consulship of
Caius Pompeius and Quintus Veranius, the marriage arranged between Claudius
and Agrippina was confirmed both by popular rumour and by their own illicit
love. Still, they did not yet dare to celebrate the nuptials in due form, for
there was no precedent for the introduction of a niece into an uncle's house.
It was positively incest, and if disregarded, it would, people feared, issue
in calamity to the State. These scruples ceased not till Vitellius undertook
the management of the matter in his own way. He asked the emperor whether he
would yield to the recommendations of the people and to the authority of the
Senate. When Claudius replied that he was one among the citizens and could
not resist their unanimous voice, Vitellius requested him to wait in the
palace, while he himself went to the Senate. Protesting that the supreme
interest of the commonwealth was at stake, he begged to be allowed to speak
first, and then began to urge that the very burdensome labours of the emperor
in a world-wide administration, required assistance, so that, free from
domestic cares, he might consult the public welfare. How again could there be
a more virtuous relief for the mind of an imperial censor than the taking of
a wife to share his prosperity and his troubles, to whom he might intrust his
inmost thoughts and the care of his young children, unused as he was to
luxury and pleasure, and wont from his earliest youth to obey the laws. |
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6[edit] |
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Vitellius, having first put
forward these arguments in a conciliatory speech, and met with decided
acquiescence from the Senate, began afresh to point out, that, as they all
recommended the emperor's marriage, they ought to select a lady conspicuous
for noble rank and purity, herself too the mother of children. "It
cannot," he said, "be long a question that Agrippina stands first
in nobility of birth. She has given proof too that she is not barren, and she
has suitable moral qualities. It is, again, a singular advantage to us, due
to divine providence, for a widow to be united to an emperor who has limited
himself to his own lawful wives. We have heard from our fathers, we have
ourselves seen that married women were seized at the caprice of the Caesars.
This is quite alien to the propriety of our day. Rather let a precedent be
now set for the taking of a wife by an emperor. But, it will be said,
marriage with a brother's daughter is with us a novelty. True; but it is
common in other countries, and there is no law to forbid it. Marriages of
cousins were long unknown, but after a time they became frequent. Custom
adapts itself to expediency, and this novelty will hereafter take its place
among recognized usages." |
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7[edit] |
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There were some who rushed out of
the Senate passionately protesting that if the emperor hesitated, they would
use violence. A promiscuous throng assembled, and kept exclaiming that the
same too was the prayer of the Roman people. Claudius without further delay
presented himself in the forum to their congratulations; then entering the
Senate, he asked from them a decree which should decide that for the future
marriages between uncles and brothers' daughters should be legal. There was,
however, found only one person who desired such a marriage, Alledius Severus,
a Roman knight, who, as many said, was swayed by the influence of Agrippina.
Then came a revolution in the State, and everything was under the control of
a woman, who did not, like Messalina, insult Rome by loose manners. It was a
stringent, and, so to say, masculine despotism; there was sternness and
generally arrogance in public, no sort of immodesty at home, unless it
conduced to power. A boundless greed of wealth was veiled under the pretext
that riches were being accumulated as a prop to the throne. |
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8[edit] |
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On the day of the marriage Silanus
committed suicide, having up to that time prolonged his hope of life, or else
choosing that day to heighten the popular indignation. His sister, Calvina,
was banished from Italy. Claudius further added that sacrifices after the
ordinances of King Tullius, and atonements were to be offered by the pontiffs
in the grove of Diana, amid general ridicule at the idea devising penalties
and propitiations for incest at such a time. Agrippina, that she might not be
conspicuous only by her evil deeds, procured for Annaeus Seneca a remission
of his exile, and with it the praetorship. She thought this would be
universally welcome, from the celebrity of his attainments, and it was her
wish too for the boyhood of Domitius to be trained under so excellent an
instructor, and for them to have the benefit of his counsels in their designs
on the throne. For Seneca, it was believed, was devoted to Agrippina from a
remembrance of her kindness, and an enemy to Claudius from a bitter sense of
wrong. |
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9[edit] |
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It was then resolved to delay no
longer. Memmius Pollio, the consul-elect, was induced by great promises to
deliver a speech, praying Claudius to betroth Octavia to Domitius. The match
was not unsuitable to the age of either, and was likely to develop still more
important results. Pollio introduced the motion in much the same language as
Vitellius had lately used. So Octavia was betrothed, and Domitius, besides
his previous relationship, became now the emperor's affianced son-in-law, and
an equal of Britannicus, through the exertions of his mother and the cunning
of those who had been the accusers of Messalina, and feared the vengeance of
her son. |
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10[edit] |
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About the same time an embassy
from the Parthians, which had been sent, as I have stated, to solicit the
return of Meherdates, was introduced into the Senate, and delivered a message
to the following effect:- "They were not," they said, "unaware
of the treaty of alliance, nor did their coming imply any revolt from the
family of the Arsacids; indeed, even the son of Vonones, Phraates's grandson,
was with them in their resistance to the despotism of Gotarzes, which was
alike intolerable to the nobility and to the people. Already brothers,
relatives, and distant kin had been swept off by murder after murder; wives
actually pregnant, and tender children were added to Gotarzes' victims,
while, slothful at home and unsuccessful in war, he made cruelty a screen for
his feebleness. Between the Parthians and ourselves there was an ancient
friendship, founded on a state alliance, and we ought to support allies who
were our rivals in strength, and yet yielded to us out of respect. Kings'
sons were given as hostages, in order that when Parthia was tired of home
rule, it might fall back on the emperor and the Senate, and receive from them
a better sovereign, familiar with Roman habits." |
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11[edit] |
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In answer to these and like
arguments Claudius began to speak of the grandeur of Rome and the submissive
attitude of the Parthians. He compared himself to the Divine Augustus, from
whom, he reminded them, they had sought a king, but omitted to mention Tiberius,
though he too had sent them sovereigns. He added some advice for Meherdates,
who was present, and told him not to be thinking of a despot and his slaves,
but rather of a ruler among fellow citizens, and to practise clemency and
justice which barbarians would like the more for being unused to them. Then
he turned to the envoys and bestowed high praise on the young foster-son of
Rome, as one whose self-control had hitherto been exemplary.
"Still," he said, "they must bear with the caprices of kings,
and frequent revolutions were bad. Rome, sated with her glory, had reached
such a height that, she wished even foreign nations to enjoy repose."
Upon this Caius Cassius, governor of Syria, was commissioned to escort the
young prince to the bank of the Euphrates. |
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12[edit] |
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Cassius was at that time
pre-eminent for legal learning. The profession of the soldier is forgotten in
a quiet period, and peace reduces the enterprising and indolent to an
equality. But Cassius, as far as it was possible without war, revived ancient
discipline, kept exercising the legions, in short, used as much diligence and
precaution as if an enemy were threatening him. This conduct he counted
worthy of his ancestors and of the Cassian family which had won renown even
in those countries. He then summoned those at whose suggestion a king had
been sought from Rome, and having encamped at Zeugma where the river was most
easily fordable and awaited the arrival of the chief men of Parthia and of
Acbarus, king of the Arabs, he reminded Meherdates that the impulsive
enthusiasm of barbarians soon flags from delay or even changes into
treachery, and that therefore he should urge on his enterprise. The advice
was disregarded through the perfidy Acbarus, by whom the foolish young
prince, who thought that the highest position merely meant self-indulgence,
was detained for several days in the town of Edessa. Although a certain
Carenes pressed them to come and promised easy success if they hastened their
arrival, they did not make for Mesopotamia, which was close to them, but, by
a long detour, for Armenia, then ill-suited to their movements, as winter was
beginning. |
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13[edit] |
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As they approached the plains,
wearied with the snows and mountains, they were joined by the forces of
Carenes, and having crossed the river Tigris they traversed the country of
the Adiabeni, whose king Izates had avowedly embraced the alliance of Meherdates,
though secretly and in better faith he inclined to Gotarzes. In their march
they captured the city of Ninos, the most ancient capital of Assyria, and a
fortress, historically famous, as the spot where the last battle between
Darius and Alexander the power of Persia fell. Gotarzes meantime was offering
vows to the local divinities on a mountain called Sambulos, with special
worship of Hercules, who at a stated time bids the priests in a dream equip
horses for the chase and place them near his temple. When the horses have
been laden with quivers full of arrows, they scour the forest and at length
return at night with empty quivers, panting violently. Again the god in a
vision of the night reveals to them the track along which he roamed through
the woods, and everywhere slaughtered beasts are found. |
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14[edit] |
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Gotarzes, his army not being yet
in sufficient force, made the river Corma a line of defence, and though he
was challenged to an engagement by taunting messages, he contrived delays,
shifted his positions and sent emissaries to corrupt the enemy and bribe them
to throw off their allegiance. Izates of the Adiabeni and then Acbarus of the
Arabs deserted with their troops, with their countrymen's characteristic
fickleness, confirming previous experience, that barbarians prefer to seek a
king from Rome than to keep him. Meherdates, stript of his powerful
auxiliaries and suspecting treachery in the rest, resolved, as his last
resource, to risk everything and try the issue of a battle. Nor did Gotarzes,
who was emboldened by the enemy's diminished strength, refuse the challenge.
They fought with terrible courage and doubtful result, till Carenes, who
having beaten down all resistance had advanced too far, was surprised by a
fresh detachment in his rear. Then Meherdates in despair yielded to promises
from Parrhaces, one of his father's adherents, and was by his treachery
delivered in chains to the conqueror. Gotarzes taunted him with being no
kinsman of his or of the Arsacids, but a foreigner and a Roman, and having
cut off his ears, bade him live, a memorial of his own clemency, and a
disgrace to us. After this Gotarzes fell ill and died, and Vonones, who then
ruled the Medes, was summoned to the throne. He was memorable neither for his
good nor bad fortune; he completed a short and inglorious reign, and then the
empire of Parthia passed to his son Vologeses. |
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15[edit] |
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Mithridates of Bosporus,
meanwhile, who had lost his power and was a mere outcast, on learning that
the Roman general, Didius, and the main strength of his army had retired, and
that Cotys, a young prince without experience, was left in his new kingdom with
a few cohorts under Julius Aquila, a Roman knight, disdaining both, roused
the neighbouring tribes, and drew deserters to his standard. At last he
collected an army, drove out the king of the Dandaridae, and possessed
himself of his dominions. When this was known, and the invasion of Bosporus
was every moment expected, Aquila and Cotys, seeing that hostilities had been
also resumed by Zorsines, king of the Siraci, distrusted their own strength,
and themselves too sought the friendship of the foreigner by sending envoys
to Eunones, who was then chief of the Adorsi. There was no difficulty about
alliance, when they pointed to the power of Rome in contrast with the rebel
Mithridates. It was accordingly stipulated that Eunones should engage the
enemy with his cavalry, and the Romans undertake the siege of towns. |
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16[edit] |
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Then the army advanced in regular
formation, the Adorsi in the van and the rear, while the centre was
strengthened by the cohorts, and native troops of Bosporus with Roman arms.
Thus the enemy was defeated, and they reached Soza, a town in Dandarica, which
Mithridates had abandoned, where it was thought expedient to leave a
garrison, as the temper of the people was uncertain. Next they marched on the
Siraci, and after crossing the river Panda besieged the city of Uspe, which
stood on high ground, and had the defence of wall and fosses; only the walls,
not being of stone, but of hurdles and wicker-work with earth between, were
too weak to resist an assault. Towers were raised to a greater height as a
means of annoying the besieged with brands and darts. Had not night stopped
the conflict, the siege would have been begun and finished within one day. |
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17[edit] |
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Next day they sent an embassy
asking mercy for the freeborn, and offering ten thousand slaves. As it would
have been inhuman to slay the prisoners, and very difficult to keep them
under guard, the conquerors rejected the offer, preferring that they should
perish by the just doom of war. The signal for massacre was therefore given
to the soldiers, who had mounted the walls by scaling ladders. The
destruction of Uspe struck terror into the rest of the people, who thought
safety impossible when they saw how armies and ramparts, heights and
difficult positions, rivers and cities, alike yielded to their foe. And so
Zorsines, having long considered whether he should still have regard to the
fallen fortunes of Mithridates or to the kingdom of his fathers, and having
at last preferred his country's interests, gave hostages and prostrated
himself before the emperor's image, to the great glory of the Roman army,
which all men knew to have come after a bloodless victory within three days'
march of the river Tanais. In their return however fortune was not equally
favourable; some of their vessels, as they were sailing back, were driven on
the shores of the Tauri and cut off by the barbarians, who slew the commander
of a cohort and several centurions. |
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18[edit] |
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Meanwhile Mithridates, finding
arms an unavailing resource, considered on whose mercy he was to throw
himself. He feared his brother Cotys, who had once been a traitor, then
become his open enemy. No Roman was on the spot of authority sufficient to
make his promises highly valued. So he turned to Eunones, who had no personal
animosity against him, and had been lately strengthened by his alliance with
us. Adapting his dress and expression of countenance as much as possible to
his present condition, he entered the palace, and throwing himself at the
feet of Eunones he exclaimed, "Mithridates, whom the Romans have sought
so many years by land and sea, stands before you by his own choice. Deal as
you please with the descendant of the great Achaemenes, the only glory of
which enemies have not robbed me." |
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19[edit] |
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The great name of Mithridates, his
reverse, his prayer, full of dignity, deeply affected Eunones. He raised the
suppliant, and commended him for having chosen the nation of the Adorsi and
his own good faith in suing for mercy. He sent at the same time envoys to
Caesar with a letter to this effect, that friendship between emperors of Rome
and sovereigns of powerful peoples was primarily based on a similarity of
fortune, and that between himself and Claudius there was the tie of a common
victory. Wars had glorious endings, whenever matters were settled by an
amnesty. The conquered Zorsines had on this principle been deprived of
nothing. For Mithridates, as he deserved heavier punishment, he asked neither
power nor dominions, only that he might not be led in triumph, and pay the
penalty of death. |
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20[edit] |
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Claudius, though merciful to
foreign princes, was yet in doubt whether it were better to receive the
captive with a promise of safety or to claim his surrender by the sword. To
this last he was urged by resentment at his wrongs, and by thirst for vengeance.
On the other hand it was argued that it would be undertaking a war in a
country without roads, on a harbourless sea, against warlike kings and
wandering tribes, on a barren soil; that a weary disgust would come of tardy
movements, and perils of precipitancy; that the glory of victory would be
small, while much disgrace would ensue on defeat. Why should not the emperor
seize the offer and spare the exile, whose punishment would be the greater,
the longer he lived in poverty? Moved by these considerations, Claudius wrote
to Eunones that Mithridates had certainly merited an extreme and exemplary
penalty, which he was not wanting in power to inflict, but it had been the
principle of his ancestors to show as much forbearance to a suppliant as they
showed persistence against a foe. As for triumphs, they were won over nations
and kings hitherto unconquered. |
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21[edit] |
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After this, Mithridates was given
up and brought to Rome by Junius Cilo, the procurator of Pontus. There in the
emperor's presence he was said to have spoken too proudly for his position,
and words uttered by him to the following effect became the popular talk:
"I have not been sent, but have come back to you; if you do not believe
me, let me go and pursue me." He stood too with fearless countenance
when he was exposed to the people's gaze near the Rostra, under military
guard. To Cilo and Aquila were voted, respectively, the consular and
praetorian decorations. |
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22[edit] |
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In the same consulship, Agrippina,
who was terrible in her hatred and detested Lollia, for having competed with
her for the emperor's hand, planned an accusation, through an informer who
was to tax her with having consulted astrologers and magicians and the image
of the Clarian Apollo, about the imperial marriage. Upon this, Claudius,
without hearing the accused, first reminded the Senate of her illustrious
rank, that the sister of Lucius Volusius was her mother, Cotta Messalinus her
granduncle, Memmius Regulus formerly her husband (for of her marriage to
Caius Caesar he purposely said nothing), and then added that she had
mischievous designs on the State, and must have the means of crime taken from
her. Consequently, her property should be confiscated, and she herself
banished from Italy. Thus out of immense wealth only five million sesterces
were left to the exile. Calpurnia too, a lady of high rank, was ruined,
simply because the emperor had praised her beauty in a casual remark, without
any passion for her. And so Agrippina's resentment stopped short of extreme
vengeance. A tribune was despatched to Lollia, who was to force her to
suicide. Next on the prosecution of the Bithynians, Cadius Rufus, was
condemned under the law against extortion. |
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23[edit] |
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Narbon Gaul, for its special
reverence of the Senate, received a privilege. Senators belonging to the
province, without seeking the emperor's approval, were to be allowed to visit
their estates, a right enjoyed by Sicily. Ituraea and Judaea, on the death of
their kings, Sohaemus and Agrippa, were annexed to the province of Syria. It
was also decided that the augury of the public safety, which for twenty-five
years had been neglected, should be revived and henceforth observed. The
emperor likewise widened the sacred precincts of the capital, in conformity
with the ancient usage, according to which, those who had enlarged the empire
were permitted also to extend the boundaries of Rome. But Roman generals,
even after the conquest of great nations, had never exercised this right,
except Lucius Sulla and the Divine Augustus. |
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24[edit] |
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There are various popular accounts
of the ambitious and vainglorious efforts of our kings in this matter. Still,
I think, it is interesting to know accurately the original plan of the
precinct, as it was fixed by Romulus. From the ox market, where we see the
brazen statue of a bull, because that animal is yoked to the plough, a furrow
was drawn to mark out the town, so as to embrace the great altar of Hercules;
then, at regular intervals, stones were placed along the foot of the Palatine
hill to the altar of Consus, soon afterwards, to the old Courts, and then to
the chapel of Larunda. The Roman forum and the Capitol were not, it was
supposed, added to the city by Romulus, but by Titus Tatius. In time, the
precinct was enlarged with the growth of Rome's fortunes. The boundaries now
fixed by Claudius may be easily recognized, as they are specified in the
public records. |
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25[edit] |
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In the consulship of Caius
Antistius and Marcus Suilius, the adoption of Domitius was hastened on by the
influence of Pallas. Bound to Agrippina, first as the promoter of her
marriage, then as her paramour, he still urged Claudius to think of the
interests of the State, and to provide some support for the tender years of
Britannicus. "So," he said, "it had been with the Divine
Augustus, whose stepsons, though he had grandsons to be his stay, had been
promoted; Tiberius too, though he had offspring of his own, had adopted
Germanicus. Claudius also would do well to strengthen himself with a young
prince who could share his cares with him." Overcome by these arguments,
the emperor preferred Domitius to his own son, though he was but two years
older, and made a speech in the senate, the same in substance as the
representations of his freedman. It was noted by learned men, that no
previous example of adoption into the patrician family of the Claudii was to
be found; and that from Attus Clausus there had been one unbroken line. |
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26[edit] |
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However, the emperor received
formal thanks, and still more elaborate flattery was paid to Domitius. A law
was passed, adopting him into the Claudian family with the name of Nero.
Agrippina too was honoured with the title of Augusta. When this had been done,
there was not a person so void of pity as not to feel keen sorrow at the
position of Britannicus. Gradually forsaken by the very slaves who waited on
him, he turned into ridicule the ill-timed attentions of his stepmother,
perceiving their insincerity. For he is said to have had by no means a dull
understanding; and this is either a fact, or perhaps his perils won him
sympathy, and so he possessed the credit of it, without actual evidence. |
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27[edit] |
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Agrippina, to show her power even
to the allied nations, procured the despatch of a colony of veterans to the
chief town of the Ubii, where she was born. The place was named after her.
Agrippa, her grandfather, had, as it happened, received this tribe, when they
crossed the Rhine, under our protection. During the same time, there was a
panic in Upper Germany through an irruption of plundering bands of Chatti.
Thereupon Lucius Pomponius, who was in command, directed the Vangiones and
Nemetes, with the allied cavalry, to anticipate the raid, and suddenly to
fall upon them from every quarter while they were dispersed. The general's
plan was backed up by the energy of the troops. These were divided into two
columns; and those who marched to the left cut off the plunderers, just on
their return, after a riotous enjoyment of their spoil, when they were heavy
with sleep. It added to the men's joy that they had rescued from slavery
after forty years some survivors of the defeat of Varus. |
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28[edit] |
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The column which took the
right-hand and the shorter route, inflicted greater loss on the enemy who met
them, and ventured on a battle. With much spoil and glory they returned to
Mount Taunus, where Pomponius was waiting with the legions, to see whether the
Chatti, in their eagerness for vengeance, would give him a chance of
fighting. They however fearing to be hemmed in on one side by the Romans, on
the other by the Cherusci, with whom they are perpetually at feud, sent
envoys and hostages to Rome. To Pomponius was decreed the honour of a
triumph; a mere fraction of his renown with the next generation, with whom
his poems constitute his chief glory. |
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29[edit] |
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At this same time, Vannius, whom
Drusus Caesar had made king of the Suevi, was driven from his kingdom. In the
commencement of his reign he was renowned and popular with his countrymen;
but subsequently, with long possession, he became a tyrant, and the enmity of
neighbours, joined to intestine strife, was his ruin. Vibillius, king of the
Hermunduri, and Vangio and Sido, sons of a sister of Vannius, led the
movement. Claudius, though often entreated, declined to interpose by arms in
the conflict of the barbarians, and simply promised Vannius a safe refuge in
the event of his expulsion. He wrote instructions to Publius Atellius Hister,
governor of Pannonia, that he was to have his legions, with some picked
auxiliaries from the province itself, encamped on the riverbank, as a support
to the conquered and a terror to the conqueror, who might otherwise, in the
elation of success, disturb also the peace of our empire. For an immense host
of Ligii, with other tribes, was advancing, attracted by the fame of the
opulent realm which Vannius had enriched during thirty years of plunder and
of tribute. Vannius's own native force was infantry, and his cavalry was from
the Iazyges of Sarmatia; an army which was no match for his numerous enemy.
Consequently, he determined to maintain himself in fortified positions, and
protract the war. |
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30[edit] |
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But the Iazyges, who could not
endure a siege, dispersed themselves throughout the surrounding country and
rendered an engagement inevitable, as the Ligii and Hermunduri had there
rushed to the attack. So Vannius came down out of his fortresses, and though
he was defeated in battle, notwithstanding his reverse, he won some credit by
having fought with his own hand, and received wounds on his breast. He then
fled to the fleet which was awaiting him on the Danube, and was soon followed
by his adherents, who received grants of land and were settled in Pannonia.
Vangio and Sido divided his kingdom between them; they were admirably loyal
to us, and among their subjects, whether the cause was in themselves or in
the nature of despotism, much loved, while seeking to acquire power, and yet
more hated when they had acquired it. |
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31[edit] |
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Meanwhile, in Britain, Publius
Ostorius, the propraetor, found himself confronted by disturbance. The enemy
had burst into the territories of our allies with all the more fury, as they
imagined that a new general would not march against them with winter beginning
and with an army of which he knew nothing. Ostorius, well aware that first
events are those which produce alarm or confidence, by a rapid movement of
his light cohorts, cut down all who opposed him, pursued those who fled, and
lest they should rally, and so an unquiet and treacherous peace might allow
no rest to the general and his troops, he prepared to disarm all whom he
suspected, and to occupy with encampments the whole country to the Avon and
Severn. The Iceni, a powerful tribe, which war had not weakened, as they had
voluntarily joined our alliance, were the first to resist. At their
instigation the surrounding nations chose as a battlefield a spot walled in
by a rude barrier, with a narrow approach, impenetrable to cavalry. Through
these defences the Roman general, though he had with him only the allied
troops, without the strength of the legions, attempted to break, and having
assigned their positions to his cohorts, he equipped even his cavalry for the
work of infantry. Then at a given signal they forced the barrier, routing the
enemy who were entangled in their own defences. The rebels, conscious of
their guilt, and finding escape barred, performed many noble feats. In this
battle, Marius Ostorius, the general's son, won the reward for saving a
citizen's life. |
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32[edit] |
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The defeat of the Iceni quieted
those who were hesitating between war and peace. Then the army was marched
against the Cangi; their territory was ravaged, spoil taken everywhere
without the enemy venturing on an engagement, or if they attempted to harass
our march by stealthy attacks, their cunning was always punished. And now
Ostorius had advanced within a little distance of the sea, facing the island
Hibernia, when feuds broke out among the Brigantes and compelled the
general's return, for it was his fixed purpose not to undertake any fresh
enterprise till he had consolidated his previous successes. The Brigantes
indeed, when a few who were beginning hostilities had been slain and the rest
pardoned, settled down quietly; but on the Silures neither terror nor mercy
had the least effect; they persisted in war and could be quelled only by
legions encamped in their country. That this might be the more promptly
effected, a colony of a strong body of veterans was established at
Camulodunum on the conquered lands, as a defence against the rebels, and as a
means of imbuing the allies with respect for our laws. |
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The army then marched against the
Silures, a naturally fierce people and now full of confidence in the might of
Caractacus, who by many an indecisive and many a successful battle had raised
himself far above all the other generals of the Britons. Inferior in military
strength, but deriving an advantage from the deceptiveness of the country, he
at once shifted the war by a stratagem into the territory of the Ordovices,
where, joined by all who dreaded peace with us, he resolved on a final
struggle. He selected a position for the engagement in which advance and
retreat alike would be difficult for our men and comparatively easy for his
own, and then on some lofty hills, wherever their sides could be approached
by a gentle slope, he piled up stones to serve as a rampart. A river too of
varying depth was in his front, and his armed bands were drawn up before his
defences. |
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Then too the chieftains of the
several tribes went from rank to rank, encouraging and confirming the spirit
of their men by making light of their fears, kindling their hopes, and by
every other warlike incitement. As for Caractacus, he flew hither and thither,
protesting that that day and that battle would be the beginning of the
recovery of their freedom, or of everlasting bondage. He appealed, by name,
to their forefathers who had driven back the dictator Caesar, by whose valour
they were free from the Roman axe and tribute, and still preserved inviolate
the persons of their wives and of their children. While he was thus speaking,
the host shouted applause; every warrior bound himself by his national oath
not to shrink from weapons or wounds. |
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Such enthusiasm confounded the
Roman general. The river too in his face, the rampart they had added to it,
the frowning hilltops, the stern resistance and masses of fighting men
everywhere apparent, daunted him. But his soldiers insisted on battle, exclaiming
that valour could overcome all things; and the prefects and tribunes, with
similar language, stimulated the ardour of the troops. Ostorius having
ascertained by a survey the inaccessible and the assailable points of the
position, led on his furious men, and crossed the river without difficulty.
When he reached the barrier, as long as it was a fight with missiles, the
wounds and the slaughter fell chiefly on our soldiers; but when he had formed
the military testudo, and the rude, ill-compacted fence of stones was torn
down, and it was an equal hand-to-hand engagement, the barbarians retired to
the heights. Yet even there, both light and heavy-armed soldiers rushed to
the attack; the first harassed the foe with missiles, while the latter closed
with them, and the opposing ranks of the Britons were broken, destitute as
they were of the defence of breast-plates or helmets. When they faced the
auxiliaries, they were felled by the swords and javelins of our legionaries;
if they wheeled round, they were again met by the sabres and spears of the
auxiliaries. It was a glorious victory; the wife and daughter of Caractacus
were captured, and his brothers too were admitted to surrender. |
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There is seldom safety for the
unfortunate, and Caractacus, seeking the protection of Cartimandua, queen of
the Brigantes, was put in chains and delivered up to the conquerors, nine
years after the beginning of the war in Britain. His fame had spread thence,
and travelled to the neighbouring islands and provinces, and was actually
celebrated in Italy. All were eager to see the great man, who for so many
years had defied our power. Even at Rome the name of Caractacus was no
obscure one; and the emperor, while he exalted his own glory, enhanced the
renown of the vanquished. The people were summoned as to a grand spectacle;
the praetorian cohorts were drawn up under arms in the plain in front of
their camp; then came a procession of the royal vassals, and the ornaments
and neck-chains and the spoils which the king had won in wars with other
tribes, were displayed. Next were to be seen his brothers, his wife and
daughter; last of all, Caractacus himself. All the rest stooped in their fear
to abject supplication; not so the king, who neither by humble look nor
speech sought compassion. |
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When he was set before the
emperor's tribunal, he spoke as follows: "Had my moderation in
prosperity been equal to my noble birth and fortune, I should have entered
this city as your friend rather than as your captive; and you would not have
disdained to receive, under a treaty of peace, a king descended from
illustrious ancestors and ruling many nations. My present lot is as glorious
to you as it is degrading to myself. I had men and horses, arms and wealth.
What wonder if I parted with them reluctantly? If you Romans choose to lord
it over the world, does it follow that the world is to accept slavery? Were I
to have been at once delivered up as a prisoner, neither my fall nor your
triumph would have become famous. My punishment would be followed by
oblivion, whereas, if you save my life, I shall be an everlasting memorial of
your clemency." Upon this the emperor granted pardon to Caractacus, to
his wife, and to his brothers. Released from their bonds, they did homage
also to Agrippina who sat near, conspicuous on another throne, in the same
language of praise and gratitude. It was indeed a novelty, quite alien to
ancient manners, for a woman to sit in front of Roman standards. In fact,
Agrippina boasted that she was herself a partner in the empire which her
ancestors had won. |
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The Senate was then assembled, and
speeches were delivered full of pompous eulogy on the capture of Caractacus.
It was as glorious, they said, as the display of Syphax by Scipio, or of
Perses by Lucius Paulus, or indeed of any captive prince by any of our
generals to the people of Rome. Triumphal distinctions were voted to
Ostorius, who thus far had been successful, but soon afterwards met with
reverses; either because, when Caractacus was out of the way, our discipline
was relaxed under an impression that the war was ended, or because the enemy,
out of compassion for so great a king, was more ardent in his thirst for
vengeance. Instantly they rushed from all parts on the camp-prefect, and
legionary cohorts left to establish fortified positions among the Silures,
and had not speedy succour arrived from towns and fortresses in the
neighbourhood, our forces would then have been totally destroyed. Even as it
was, the camp-prefect, with eight centurions, and the bravest of the
soldiers, were slain; and shortly afterwards, a foraging party of our men,
with some cavalry squadrons sent to their support, was utterly routed. |
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Ostorius then deployed his light
cohorts, but even thus he did not stop the flight, till our legions sustained
the brunt of the battle. Their strength equalized the conflict, which after a
while was in our favour. The enemy fled with trifling loss, as the day was on
the decline. Now began a series of skirmishes, for the most part like raids,
in woods and morasses, with encounters due to chance or to courage, to mere
heedlessness or to calculation, to fury or to lust of plunder, under
directions from the officers, or sometimes even without their knowledge.
Conspicuous above all in stubborn resistance were the Silures, whose rage was
fired by words rumoured to have been spoken by the Roman general, to the
effect, that as the Sugambri had been formerly destroyed or transplanted into
Gaul, so the name of the Silures ought to be blotted out. Accordingly they
cut off two of our auxiliary cohorts, the rapacity of whose officers let them
make incautious forays; and by liberal gifts of spoil and prisoners to the
other tribes, they were luring them too into revolt, when Ostorius, worn out
by the burden of his anxieties, died, to the joy of the enemy, who thought
that a campaign at least, though not a single battle, had proved fatal to
general whom none could despise. |
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The emperor on hearing of the
death of his representative appointed Aulus Didius in his place, that the
province might not be left without a governor. Didius, though he quickly
arrived, found matters far from prosperous, for the legion under the command of
Manlius Valens had meanwhile been defeated, and the disaster had been
exaggerated by the enemy to alarm the new general, while he again magnified
it, that he might win the more glory by quelling the movement or have a
fairer excuse if it lasted. This loss too had been inflicted on us by the
Silures, and they were scouring the country far and wide, till Didius hurried
up and dispersed them. After the capture of Caractacus, Venutius of the
Brigantes, as I have already mentioned, was pre-eminent in military skill; he
had long been loyal to Rome and had been defended by our arms while he was
united in marriage to the queen Cartismandua. Subsequently a quarrel broke
out between them, followed instantly by war, and he then assumed a hostile
attitude also towards us. At first, however, they simply fought against each
other, and Cartismandua by cunning stratagems captured the brothers and
kinsfolk of Venutius. This enraged the enemy, who were stung with shame at
the prospect of falling under the dominion of a woman. The flower of their
youth, picked out for war, invaded her kingdom. This we had foreseen; some
cohorts were sent to her aid and a sharp contest followed, which was at first
doubtful but had a satisfactory termination. The legion under the command of
Caesius Nasica fought with a similar result. For Didius, burdened with years
and covered with honours, was content with acting through his officers and
merely holding back the enemy. These transactions, though occurring under two
propraetors, and occupying several years, I have closely connected, lest, if
related separately, they might be less easily remembered. I now return to the
chronological order. |
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In the fifth consulship of
Tiberius Claudius with Sextius Cornelius Orfitus for his colleague, Nero was
prematurely invested with the dress of manhood, that he might be thought
qualified for political life. The emperor willingly complied with the flatteries
of the Senate who wished Nero to enter on the consulship in his twentieth
year, and meanwhile, as consul-elect, to have pro-consular authority beyond
the limits of the capital with the title of "prince of the youth of
Rome." A donative was also given to the soldiery in Nero's name, and
presents to the city populace. At the games too of the circus which were then
being celebrated to win for him popular favour, Britannicus wore the dress of
boyhood, Nero the triumphal robe, as they rode in the procession. The people
would thus behold the one with the decorations of a general, the other in a
boy's habit, and would accordingly anticipate their respective destinies. At
the same time those of the centurions and tribunes who pitied the lot of Britannicus
were removed, some on false pretexts, others by way of a seeming compliment.
Even of the freedmen, all who were of incorruptible fidelity were discarded
on the following provocation. Once when they met, Nero greeted Britannicus by
that name and was greeted in return as Domitius. Agrippina reported this to
her husband, with bitter complaint, as the beginning of a quarrel, as
implying, in fact, contempt of Nero's adoption and a cancelling at home of
the Senate's decree and the people's vote. She said, too, that, if the
perversity of such malignant suggestions were not checked, it would issue in
the ruin of the State. Claudius, enraged by what he took as a grave charge,
punished with banishment or death all his son's best instructors, and set persons
appointed by his stepmother to have the care of him. |
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Still Agrippina did not yet dare
to attempt her greatest scheme, unless Lusius Geta and Rufius Crispinus were
removed from the command of the praetorian cohorts; for she thought that they
cherished Messalina's memory and were devoted to her children. Accordingly,
as the emperor's wife persistently affirmed that faction was rife among these
cohorts through the rivalry of the two officers, and that there would be
stricter discipline under one commander, the appointment was transferred to
Burrus Afranius, who had a brilliant reputation as a soldier, but knew well
to whose wish he owed his promotion. Agrippina, too, continued to exalt her
own dignity; she would enter the Capitol in a chariot, a practice, which
being allowed of old only to the priests and sacred images, increased the
popular reverence for a woman who up to this time was the only recorded
instance of one who, an emperor's daughter, was sister, wife, and mother of a
sovereign. Meanwhile her foremost champion, Vitellius, in the full tide of his
power and in extreme age (so uncertain are the fortunes of the great) was
attacked by an accusation of which Junius Lupus, a senator, was the author.
He was charged with treason and designs on the throne. The emperor would have
lent a ready ear, had not Agrippina, by threats rather than entreaties,
induced him to sentence the accuser to outlawry. This was all that Vitellius
desired. |
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Several prodigies occurred in that
year. Birds of evil omen perched on the Capitol; houses were thrown down by
frequent shocks of earthquake, and as the panic spread, all the weak were
trodden down in the hurry and confusion of the crowd. Scanty crops too, and
consequent famine were regarded as a token of calamity. Nor were there merely
whispered complaints; while Claudius was administering justice, the populace
crowded round him with a boisterous clamour and drove him to a corner of the
forum, where they violently pressed on him till he broke through the furious
mob with a body of soldiers. It was ascertained that Rome had provisions for
no more than fifteen days, and it was through the signal bounty of heaven and
the mildness of the winter that its desperate plight was relieved. And yet in
past days Italy used to send supplies for the legions into distant provinces,
and even now it is not a barren soil which causes distress. But we prefer to
cultivate Africa and Egypt, and trust the life of the Roman people to ships
and all their risks. |
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In the same year war broke out
between the Armenians and Iberians, and was the cause of very serious
disturbances between Parthia and Rome. Vologeses was king of the Parthians;
on the mother's side, he was the offspring of a Greek concubine, and he obtained
the throne by the retirement of his brothers. Pharasmanes had been long in
possession of Iberia, and his brother, Mithridates, ruled Armenia with our
powerful support. There was a son of Pharasmanes named Rhadamistus, tall and
handsome, of singular bodily strength, trained in all the accomplishments of
his countrymen and highly renowned among his neighbours. He boasted so
arrogantly and persistently that his father's prolonged old age kept back
from him the little kingdom of Iberia as to make no concealment of his
ambition. Pharasmanes accordingly seeing the young prince had power in his
grasp and was strong in the attachment of his people, fearing too his own
declining years, tempted him with other prospects and pointed to Armenia,
which, as he reminded him, he had given to Mithridates after driving out the
Parthians. But open violence, he said, must be deferred; artful measures,
which might crush him unawares, were better. So Rhadamistus pretended to be
at feud with his father as though his stepmother's hatred was too strong for
him, and went to his uncle. While he was treated by him like a son, with
excessive kindness, he lured the nobles of Armenia into revolutionary
schemes, without the knowledge of Mithridates, who was actually loading him with
honours. |
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He then assumed a show of
reconciliation with his father, to whom he returned, telling him all that
could be accomplished by treachery was now ready and that he must complete
the affair by the sword. Meanwhile Pharasmanes invented pretexts for war;
when he was fighting with the king of the Albanians and appealing to the
Romans for aid, his brother, he said, had opposed him, and he would now
avenge that wrong by his destruction. At the same time he gave a large army
to his son, who by a sudden invasion drove Mithridates in terror from the
open country and forced him into the fortress of Gorneas, which was strongly
situated and garrisoned by some soldiers under the command of Caelius Pollio,
a camp-prefect, and Casperius, a centurion. There is nothing of which
barbarians are so ignorant as military engines and the skilful management of
sieges, while that is a branch of military science which we especially
understand. And so Rhadamistus having attempted the fortified walls in vain
or with loss, began a blockade, and, finding that his assaults were despised,
tried to bribe the rapacity of the camp-prefect. Casperius protested
earnestly against the overthrow of an allied king and of Armenia, the gift of
the Roman people, through iniquity and greed of gain. At last, as Pollio
pleaded the overpowering numbers of the enemy and Rhadamistus the orders of
his father, the centurion stipulated for a truce and retired, intending, if
he could not deter Pharasmanes from further hostilities, to inform Ummidius
Quadratus, the governor of Syria, of the state of Armenia. |
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By the centurion's departure the
camp prefect was released, so to say, from surveillance; and he now urged
Mithridates to conclude a treaty. He reminded him of the tie of brotherhood,
of the seniority in age of Pharasmanes, and of their other bonds of kindred,
how he was united by marriage to his brother's daughter, and was himself the
father-in-law of Rhadamistus. "The Iberians," he said, "were
not against peace, though for the moment they were the stronger; the perfidy
of the Armenians was notorious, and he had nothing to fall back on but a
fortress without stores; so he must not hesitate to prefer a bloodless
negotiation to arms." As Mithridates wavered, and suspected the
intentions of the camp-prefect, because he had seduced one of the king's
concubines and was reputed a man who could be bribed into any wickedness,
Casperius meantime went to Pharasmanes, and required of him that the Iberians
should raise the blockade. Pharasmanes, to his face, replied vaguely and
often in a conciliatory tone, while by secret messages he recommended
Rhadamistus to hurry on the siege by all possible means. Then the price of
infamy was raised, and Pollio by secret corruption induced the soldiers to
demand peace and to threaten that they would abandon the garrison. Under this
compulsion, Mithridates agreed to a day and a place for negotiation and
quitted the fortress. |
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Rhadamistus at first threw himself
into his embraces, feigning respect and calling him father-in-law and parent.
He swore an oath too that he would do him no violence either by the sword or
by poison. At the same time he drew him into a neighbouring grove, where he
assured him that the appointed sacrifice was prepared for the confirmation of
peace in the presence of the gods. It is a custom of these princes, whenever
they join alliance, to unite their right hands and bind together the thumbs
in a tight knot; then, when the blood has flowed into the extremities, they
let it escape by a slight puncture and suck it in turn. Such a treaty is
thought to have a mysterious sanctity, as being sealed with the blood of both
parties. On this occasion he who was applying the knot pretended that it had
fallen off, and suddenly seizing the knees of Mithridates flung him to the
ground. At the same moment a rush was made by a number of persons, and chains
were thrown round him. Then he was dragged along by a fetter, an extreme
degradation to a barbarian; and soon the common people, whom he had held
under a harsh sway, heaped insults on him with menacing gestures, though
some, on the contrary, pitied such a reverse of fortune. His wife followed
him with his little children, and filled every place with her wailings. They
were hidden away in different covered carriages till the orders of
Pharasmanes were distinctly ascertained. The lust of rule was more to him
than his brother and his daughter, and his heart was steeled to any
wickedness. Still he spared his eyes the seeing them slain before his face.
Rhadamistus too, seemingly mindful of his oath, neither unsheathed the sword
nor used poison against his sister and uncle, but had them thrown on the
ground and then smothered them under a mass of heavy clothes. Even the sons
of Mithridates were butchered for having shed tears over their parent's
murder. |
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Quadratus, learning that
Mithridates had been betrayed and that his kingdom was in the hands of his
murderers, summoned a council, and, having informed them of what had
occurred, consulted them whether he should take vengeance. Few cared for the
honour of the State; most argued in favour of a safe course, saying
"that any crime in a foreign country was to be welcomed with joy, and
that the seeds of strife ought to be actually sown, on the very principle on
which Roman emperors had often under a show of generosity given away this
same kingdom of Armenia to excite the minds of the barbarians. Rhadamistus
might retain his ill-gotten gains, as long as he was hated and infamous; for
this was more to Rome's interest than for him to have succeeded with glory."
To this view they assented, but that they might not be thought to have
approved the crime and receive contrary orders from the emperor, envoys were
sent to Pharasmanes, requiring him to withdraw from Armenian territory and
remove his son. |
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Julius Pelignus was then
procurator of Cappadocia, a man despised alike for his feebleness of mind and
his grotesque personal appearance. He was however very intimate with
Claudius, who, when in private life, used to beguile the dullness of his
leisure with the society of jesters. This Pelignus collected some provincial
auxiliaries, apparently with the design of recovering Armenia, but, while he
plundered allies instead of enemies, finding himself, through the desertion
of his men and the raids of the barbarians, utterly defenceless, he went to
Rhadamistus, whose gifts so completely overcame him that he positively
encouraged him to assume the ensigns of royalty, and himself assisted at the
ceremony, authorizing and abetting. When the disgraceful news had spread far
and wide, lest the world might judge of other governors by Pelignus,
Helvidius Priscus was sent in command of a legion to regulate, according to
circumstances, the disordered state of affairs. He quickly crossed Mount
Taurus, and had restored order to a great extent more by moderation than by
force, when he was ordered to return to Syria, that nothing might arise to
provoke a war with Parthia. |
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For Vologeses, thinking that an
opportunity presented itself of invading Armenia, which, though the
possession of his ancestors, was now through a monstrous crime held by a
foreign prince, raised an army and prepared to establish Tiridates on the
throne, so that not a member of his house might be without kingly power. On
the advance of the Parthians, the Iberians dispersed without a battle, and
the Armenian cities, Artaxata and Tigranocerta, submitted to the yoke. Then a
frightful winter or deficient supplies, with pestilence arising from both
causes, forced Vologeses to abandon his present plans. Armenia was thus again
without a king, and was invaded by Rhadamistus, who was now fiercer than
ever, looking on the people as disloyal and sure to rebel on the first
opportunity. They however, though accustomed to be slaves, suddenly threw off
their tameness and gathered round the palace in arms. |
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Rhadamistus had no means of escape
but in the swiftness of the horses which bore him and his wife away. Pregnant
as she was, she endured, somehow or other, out of fear of the enemy and love
of her husband, the first part of the flight, but after a while, when she
felt herself shaken by its continuous speed, she implored to be rescued by an
honourable death from the shame of captivity. He at first embraced, cheered,
and encouraged her, now admiring her heroism, now filled with a sickening
apprehension at the idea of her being left to any man's mercy. Finally, urged
by the intensity of his love and familiarity with dreadful deeds, he
unsheathed his scymitar, and having stabbed her, dragged her to the bank of
the Araxes and committed her to the stream, so that her very body might be
swept away. Then in headlong flight he hurried to Iberia, his ancestral
kingdom. Zenobia meanwhile (this was her name), as she yet breathed and
showed signs of life on the calm water at the river's edge, was perceived by
some shepherds, who inferring from her noble appearance that she was no
base-born woman, bound up her wound and applied to it their rustic remedies.
As soon as they knew her name and her adventure, they conveyed her to the
city of Artaxata, whence she was conducted at the public charge to Tiridates,
who received her kindly and treated her as a royal person. |
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In the consulship of Faustus Sulla
and Salvius Otho, Furius Scribonianus was banished on the ground that he was
consulting the astrologers about the emperor's death. His mother, Junia, was
included in the accusation, as one who still resented the misfortune of exile
which she had suffered in the past. His father, Camillus, had raised an armed
insurrection in Dalmatia, and the emperor in again sparing a hostile family
sought the credit of clemency. But the exile did not live long after this;
whether he was cut off by a natural death, or by poison, was matter of
conflicting rumours, according to people's belief. A decree of the Senate was
then passed for the expulsion of the astrologers from Italy, stringent but
ineffectual. Next the emperor, in a speech, commended all who, from their
limited means, voluntarily retired from the Senatorian order, while those
were degraded from it who, by retaining their seats, added effrontery to
poverty. |
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During these proceedings he
proposed to the Senate a penalty on women who united themselves in marriage
to slaves, and it was decided that those who had thus demeaned themselves,
without the knowledge of the slave's master, should be reduced to slavery; if
with his consent, should be ranked as freedwomen. To Pallas, who, as the
emperor declared, was the author of this proposal, were offered on the motion
of Barea Soranus, consul-elect, the decorations of the praetorship and
fifteen million sesterces. Cornelius Scipio added that he deserved public
thanks for thinking less of his ancient nobility as a descendant from the
kings of Arcadia, than of the welfare of the State, and allowing himself to
be numbered among the emperor's ministers. Claudius assured them that Pallas
was content with the honour, and that he limited himself to his former
poverty. A decree of the Senate was publicly inscribed on a bronze tablet,
heaping the praises of primitive frugality on a freedman, the possessor of
three hundred million sesterces. |
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Not equally moderate was his
brother, surnamed Felix, who had for some time been governor of Judaea, and
thought that he could do any evil act with impunity, backed up as he was by
such power. It is true that the Jews had shown symptoms of commotion in a
seditious outbreak, and when they had heard of the assassination of Caius,
there was no hearty submission, as a fear still lingered that any of the
emperors might impose the same orders. Felix meanwhile, by ill-timed
remedies, stimulated disloyal acts; while he had, as a rival in the worst
wickedness, Ventidius Cumanus, who held a part of the province, which was so
divided that Galilea was governed by Cumanus, Samaria by Felix. The two
peoples had long been at feud, and now less than ever restrained their
enmity, from contempt of their rulers. And accordingly they plundered each
other, letting loose bands of robbers, forming ambuscades, and occasionally
fighting battles, and carrying the spoil and booty to the two procurators,
who at first rejoiced at all this, but, as the mischief grew, they interposed
with an armed force, which was cut to pieces. The flame of war would have
spread through the province, but it was saved by Quadratus, governor of
Syria. In dealing with the Jews, who had been daring enough to slay our
soldiers, there was little hesitation about their being capitally punished.
Some delay indeed was occasioned by Cumanus and Felix; for Claudius on
hearing the causes of the rebellion had given authority for deciding also the
case of these procurators. Quadratus, however, exhibited Felix as one of the
judges, admitting him to the bench with the view of cowing the ardour of the
prosecutors. And so Cumanus was condemned for the crimes which the two had
committed, and tranquillity was restored to the province. |
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55[edit] |
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Not long afterwards some tribes of
the wild population of Cilicia, known as the Clitae, which had often been in
commotion, established a camp, under a leader Troxobor, on their rocky
mountains, whence rushing down on the coast, and on the towns, they dared to
do violence to the farmers and townsfolk, frequently even to the merchants
and shipowners. They besieged the city Anemurium, and routed some troopers
sent from Syria to its rescue under the command of Curtius Severus; for the
rough country in the neighbourhood, suited as it is for the fighting of
infantry, did not allow of cavalry operations. After a time, Antiochus, king
of that coast, having broken the unity of the barbarian forces, by cajolery
of the people and treachery to their leader, slew Troxobor and a few chiefs,
and pacified the rest by gentle measures. |
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56[edit] |
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About the same time, the mountain
between Lake Fucinus and the river Liris was bored through, and that this
grand work might be seen by a multitude of visitors, preparations were made
for a naval battle on the lake, just as formerly Augustus exhibited such a
spectacle, in a basin he had made this side the Tiber, though with light
vessels, and on a smaller scale. Claudius equipped galleys with three and
four banks of oars, and nineteen thousand men; he lined the circumference of
the lake with rafts, that there might be no means of escape at various
points, but he still left full space for the strength of the crews, the skill
of the pilots, the impact of the vessels, and the usual operations of a
seafight. On the raft stood companies of the praetorian cohorts and cavalry,
with a breastwork in front of them, from which catapults and balistas might
be worked. The rest of the lake was occupied by marines on decked vessels. An
immense multitude from the neighbouring towns, others from Rome itself, eager
to see the sight or to show respect to the emperor, crowded the banks, the
hills, and mountain tops, which thus resembled a theatre. The emperor, with
Agrippina seated near him, presided; he wore a splendid military cloak, she,
a mantle of cloth of gold. A battle was fought with all the courage of brave
men, though it was between condemned criminals. After much bloodshed they
were released from the necessity of mutual slaughter. |
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57[edit] |
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When the sight was over, the
outlet of the water was opened. The careless execution of the work was
apparent, the tunnel not having been bored down so low as the bottom, or
middle of the lake. Consequently after an interval the excavations were
deepened, and to attract a crowd once more, a show of gladiators was
exhibited, with floating pontoons for an infantry engagement. A banquet too
was prepared close to the outflow of the lake, and it was the means of
greatly alarming the whole company, for the water, in the violence of its
outburst, swept away the adjoining parts, shook the more remote, and spread
terror with the tremendous crash. At the same time, Agrippina availed herself
of the emperor's fright to charge Narcissus, who had been the agent of the
work, with avarice and peculation. He too was not silent, but inveighed
against the domineering temper of her sex, and her extravagant ambition. |
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58[edit] |
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In the consulship of Didius Junius
and Quintus Haterius, Nero, now sixteen years of age, married Octavia, the
emperor's daughter. Anxious to distinguish himself by noble pursuits, and the
reputation of an orator, he advocated the cause of the people of Ilium, and
having eloquently recounted how Rome was the offspring of Troy, and Aeneas
the founder of the Julian line, with other old traditions akin to myths, he
gained for his clients exemption from all public burdens. His pleading too
procured for the colony of Bononia, which had been ruined by a fire, a
subvention of ten million sesterces. The Rhodians also had their freedom
restored to them, which had often been taken away, or confirmed, according to
their services to us in our foreign wars, or their seditious misdeeds at
home. Apamea, too, which had been shaken by an earthquake, had its tribute
remitted for five years. |
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59[edit] |
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Claudius, on the other hand, was
being prompted to exhibit the worst cruelty by the artifices of the same
Agrippina. On the accusation of Tarquitius Priscus, she ruined Statilius
Taurus, who was famous for his wealth, and at whose gardens she cast a greedy
eye. Priscus had served under Taurus in his proconsular government of Africa,
and after their return charged him with a few acts of extortion, but
particularly with magical and superstitious practices. Taurus, no longer able
to endure a false accusation and an undeserved humiliation, put a violent end
to his life before the Senate's decision was pronounced. Tarquitius was
however expelled from the Senate, a point which the senators carried, out of
hatred for the accuser, notwithstanding the intrigues of Agrippina. |
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60[edit] |
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That same year the emperor was
often heard to say that the legal decisions of the commissioners of the
imperial treasury ought to have the same force as if pronounced by himself.
Lest it might be supposed that he had stumbled inadvertently into this opinion,
its principle was also secured by a decree of the Senate on a more complete
and ample scale than before. It had indeed already been arranged by the
Divine Augustus that the Roman knights who governed Egypt should hear causes,
and that their decisions were to be as binding as those of Roman magistrates,
and after a time most of the cases formerly tried by the praetors were
submitted to the knights. Claudius handed over to them the whole
administration of justice for which there had been by sedition or war so many
struggles; the Sempronian laws vesting judicial power in the equestrian
order, and those of Servilius restoring it to the Senate, while it was for
this above everything else that Marius and Sulla fought of old. But those
were days of political conflict between classes, and the results of victory
were binding on the State. Caius Oppius and Cornelius Balbus were the first
who were able, with Caesar's support, to settle conditions of peace and terms
of war. To mention after them the Matii, Vedii, and other too influential
names of Roman knights would be superfluous, when Claudius, we know, raised
freedmen whom he had set over his household to equality with himself and with
the laws. |
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61[edit] |
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Next the emperor proposed to grant
immunity from taxation to the people of Cos, and he dwelt much on their
antiquity. "The Argives or Coeus, the father of Latona, were the
earliest inhabitants of the island; soon afterwards, by the arrival of Aesculapius,
the art of the physician was introduced and was practised with much fame by
his descendants." Claudius named them one by one, with the periods in
which they had respectively flourished. He said too that Xenophon, of whose
medical skill he availed himself, was one of the same family, and that they
ought to grant his request and let the people of Cos dwell free from all
tribute in their sacred island, as a place devoted to the sole service of
their god. It was also certain that many obligations under which they had
laid Rome and joint victories with her might have been recounted. Claudius
however did not seek to veil under any external considerations a concession
he had made, with his usual good nature, to an individual. |
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62[edit] |
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Envoys from Byzantium having
received audience, in complaining to the Senate of their heavy burdens,
recapitulated their whole history. Beginning with the treaty which they
concluded with us when we fought against that king of Macedonia whose
supposed spurious birth acquired for him the name of the Pseudo Philip, they
reminded us of the forces which they had afterwards sent against Antiochus,
Perses and Aristonicus, of the aid they had given Antonius in the pirate-war,
of their offers to Sulla, Lucullus, and Pompeius, and then of their late
services to the Caesars, when they were in occupation of a district
peculiarly convenient for the land or sea passage of generals and armies, as
well as for the conveyance of supplies. |
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63[edit] |
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It was indeed on that very narrow
strait which parts Europe from Asia, at Europe's furthest extremity, that the
Greeks built Byzantium. When they consulted the Pythian Apollo as to where
they should found a city, the oracle replied that they were to seek a home
opposite to the blind men's country. This obscure hint pointed to the people
of Chalcedon, who, though they arrived there first and saw before others the
advantageous position, chose the worse. For Byzantium has a fruitful soil and
productive seas, as immense shoals of fish pour out of the Pontus and are
driven by the sloping surface of the rocks under water to quit the windings
of the Asiatic shore and take refuge in these harbours. Consequently the
inhabitants were at first money-making and wealthy traders, but afterwards,
under the pressure of excessive burdens, they petitioned for immunity or at
least relief, and were supported by the emperor, who argued to the Senate
that, exhausted as they were by the late wars in Thrace and Bosporus, they
deserved help. So their tribute was remitted for five years. |
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64[edit] |
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In the year of the consulship of
Marcus Asinius and Manius Acilius it was seen to be portended by a succession
of prodigies that there were to be political changes for the worse. The
soldiers' standards and tents were set in a blaze by lightning. A swarm of
bees settled on the summit of the Capitol; births of monsters, half man, half
beast, and of a pig with a hawk's talons, were reported. It was accounted a
portent that every order of magistrates had had its number reduced, a
quaestor, an aedile, a tribune, a praetor and consul having died within a few
months. But Agrippina's terror was the most conspicuous. Alarmed by some
words dropped by Claudius when half intoxicated, that it was his destiny to
have to endure his wives' infamy and at last punish it, she determined to act
without a moment's delay. First she destroyed Lepida from motives of feminine
jealousy. Lepida indeed as the daughter of the younger Antonia, as the
grandniece of Augustus, the cousin of Agrippina, and sister of her husband
Cneius, thought herself of equally high rank. In beauty, youth, and wealth
they differed but slightly. Both were shameless, infamous, and intractable,
and were rivals in vice as much as in the advantages they had derived from
fortune. It was indeed a desperate contest whether the aunt or the mother
should have most power over Nero. Lepida tried to win the young prince's
heart by flattery and lavish liberality, while Agrippina on the other hand,
who could give her son empire but could not endure that he should be emperor,
was fierce and full of menace. |
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65[edit] |
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It was charged on Lepida that she
had made attempts on the Emperor's consort by magical incantations, and was
disturbing the peace of Italy by an imperfect control of her troops of slaves
in Calabria. She was for this sentenced to death, notwithstanding the
vehement opposition of Narcissus, who, as he more and more suspected
Agrippina, was said to have plainly told his intimate friends that "his
destruction was certain, whether Britannicus or Nero were to be emperor, but
that he was under such obligations to Claudius that he would sacrifice life
to his welfare. Messalina and Silius had been convicted, and now again there
were similar grounds for accusation. If Nero were to rule, or Britannicus
succeed to the throne, he would himself have no claim on the then reigning
sovereign. Meanwhile, a stepmother's treacherous schemes were convulsing the
whole imperial house, with far greater disgrace than would have resulted from
his concealment of the profligacy of the emperor's former wife. Even as it
was, there was shamelessness enough, seeing that Pallas was her paramour, so
that no one could doubt that she held honour, modesty and her very person,
everything, in short, cheaper than sovereignty." This, and the like, he
was always saying, and he would embrace Britannicus, expressing earnest
wishes for his speedy arrival at a mature age, and would raise his hand, now
to heaven, now to the young prince, with entreaty that as he grew up, he
would drive out his father's enemies and also take vengeance on the murderers
of his mother. |
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66[edit] |
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Under this great burden of
anxiety, he had an attack of illness, and went to Sinuessa to recruit his
strength with its balmy climate and salubrious waters. Thereupon, Agrippina,
who had long decided on the crime and eagerly grasped at the opportunity thus
offered, and did not lack instruments, deliberated on the nature of the
poison to be used. The deed would be betrayed by one that was sudden and
instantaneous, while if she chose a slow and lingering poison, there was a
fear that Claudius, when near his end, might, on detecting the treachery,
return to his love for his son. She decided on some rare compound which might
derange his mind and delay death. A person skilled in such matters was
selected, Locusta by name, who had lately been condemned for poisoning, and
had long been retained as one of the tools of despotism. By this woman's art
the poison was prepared, and it was to be administered by an eunuch, Halotus,
who was accustomed to bring in and taste the dishes. |
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67[edit] |
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All the circumstances were
subsequently so well known, that writers of the time have declared that the
poison was infused into some mushrooms, a favourite delicacy, and its effect
not at the instant perceived, from the emperor's lethargic, or intoxicated
condition. His bowels too were relieved, and this seemed to have saved him.
Agrippina was thoroughly dismayed. Fearing the worst, and defying the
immediate obloquy of the deed, she availed herself of the complicity of
Xenophon, the physician, which she had already secured. Under pretence of
helping the emperor's efforts to vomit, this man, it is supposed, introduced
into his throat a feather smeared with some rapid poison; for he knew that
the greatest crimes are perilous in their inception, but well rewarded after
their consummation. |
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68[edit] |
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Meanwhile the Senate was summoned,
and prayers rehearsed by the consuls and priests for the emperor's recovery,
though the lifeless body was being wrapped in blankets with warm
applications, while all was being arranged to establish Nero on the throne. At
first Agrippina, seemingly overwhelmed by grief and seeking comfort, clasped
Britannicus in her embraces, called him the very image of his father, and
hindered him by every possible device from leaving the chamber. She also
detained his sisters, Antonia and Octavia, closed every approach to the
palace with a military guard, and repeatedly gave out that the emperor's
health was better, so that the soldiers might be encouraged to hope, and that
the fortunate moment foretold by the astrologers might arrive. |
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69[edit] |
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At last, at noon on the 13th of
October, the gates of the palace were suddenly thrown open, and Nero,
accompanied by Burrus, went forth to the cohort which was on guard after
military custom. There, at the suggestion of the commanding officer, he was
hailed with joyful shouts, and set on a litter. Some, it is said, hesitated,
and looked round and asked where Britannicus was; then, when there was no one
to lead a resistance, they yielded to what was offered them. Nero was
conveyed into the camp, and having first spoken suitably to the occasion and
promised a donative after the example of his father's bounty, he was
unanimously greeted as emperor. The decrees of the Senate followed the voice
of the soldiers, and there was no hesitation in the provinces. Divine honours
were decreed to Claudius, and his funeral rites were solemnized on the same
scale as those of Augustus; for Agrippina strove to emulate the magnificence
of her great-grandmother, Livia. But his will was not publicly read, as the
preference of the stepson to the son might provoke a sense of wrong and angry
feeling in the popular mind. |
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1[edit] |
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THE
destruction of Messalina shook the imperial house; for a strife arose among
the freedmen, who should choose a wife for Claudius, impatient as he was of a
single life and submissive to eat the rule of wives. The ladies were fired
with no less jealousy. Each insisted on her rank, beauty, and fortune, and
pointed to her claims to such a marriage. But the keenest competition was
between Lollia Paulina, the daughter of Marcus Lollius, an ex-consul, and
Julia Agrippina, the daughter of Germanicus. Callistus favoured the first,
Pallas the second. Aelia Paetina however, of the family of the Tuberones, had
the support of Narcissus. The emperor, who inclined now one way, now another,
as he listened to this or that adviser, summoned the disputants to a conference
and bade them express their opinions and give their reasons. |
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2[edit] |
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Narcissus dwelt on the marriage of
years gone by, on the tie of offspring, for Paetina was the mother of
Antonia, and on the advantage of excluding a new element from his household,
by the return of a wife to whom he was accustomed, and who would assuredly
not look with a stepmother's animosity on Britannicus and Octavia, who were
next in her affections to her own children. Callistus argued that she was
compromised by her long separation, and that were she to be taken back, she
would be supercilious on the strength of it. It would be far better to
introduce Lollia, for, as she had no children of her own, she would be free
from jealousy, and would take the place of a mother towards her stepchildren.
Pallas again selected Agrippina for special commendation because she would
bring with her Germanicus's grandson, who was thoroughly worthy of imperial
rank, the scion of a noble house and a link to unite the descendants of the
Claudian family. He hoped that a woman who was the mother of many children
and still in the freshness of youth, would not carry off the grandeur of the
Caesars to some other house. |
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3[edit] |
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This advice prevailed, backed up
as it was by Agrippina's charms. On the pretext of her relationship, she paid
frequent visits to her uncle, and so won his heart, that she was preferred to
the others, and, though not yet his wife, already possessed a wife's power.
For as soon as she was sure of her marriage, she began to aim at greater
things, and planned an alliance between Domitius, her son by Cneius
Aenobarbus, and Octavia, the emperor's daughter. This could not be
accomplished without a crime, for the emperor had betrothed Octavia to Lucius
Silanus, a young man otherwise famous, whom he had brought forward as a
candidate for popular favour by the honour of triumphal distinctions and by a
magnificent gladiatorial show. But no difficulty seemed to be presented by
the temper of a sovereign who had neither partialities nor dislikes, but such
as were suggested and dictated to him. |
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4[edit] |
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Vitellius accordingly, who used
the name of censor to screen a slave's trickeries, and looked forward to new
despotisms, already impending, associated himself in Agrippina's plans, with
a view to her favour, and began to bring charges against Silanus, whose
sister, Junia Calvina, a handsome and lively girl, had shortly before become
his daughter-in-law. Here was a starting point for an accuser. Vitellius put
an infamous construction on the somewhat incautious though not criminal love
between the brother and sister. The emperor listened, for his affection for
his daughter inclined him the more to admit suspicions against his
son-in-law. Silanus meanwhile, who knew nothing of the plot, and happened
that year to be praetor, was suddenly expelled from the Senate by an edict of
Vitellius, though the roll of Senators had been recently reviewed and the
lustrum closed. Claudius at the same time broke off the connection; Silanus
was forced to resign his office, and the one remaining day of his praetorship
was conferred on Eprius Marcellus. |
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5[edit] |
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In the year of the consulship of
Caius Pompeius and Quintus Veranius, the marriage arranged between Claudius
and Agrippina was confirmed both by popular rumour and by their own illicit
love. Still, they did not yet dare to celebrate the nuptials in due form, for
there was no precedent for the introduction of a niece into an uncle's house.
It was positively incest, and if disregarded, it would, people feared, issue
in calamity to the State. These scruples ceased not till Vitellius undertook
the management of the matter in his own way. He asked the emperor whether he
would yield to the recommendations of the people and to the authority of the
Senate. When Claudius replied that he was one among the citizens and could
not resist their unanimous voice, Vitellius requested him to wait in the
palace, while he himself went to the Senate. Protesting that the supreme
interest of the commonwealth was at stake, he begged to be allowed to speak
first, and then began to urge that the very burdensome labours of the emperor
in a world-wide administration, required assistance, so that, free from
domestic cares, he might consult the public welfare. How again could there be
a more virtuous relief for the mind of an imperial censor than the taking of
a wife to share his prosperity and his troubles, to whom he might intrust his
inmost thoughts and the care of his young children, unused as he was to
luxury and pleasure, and wont from his earliest youth to obey the laws. |
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6[edit] |
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Vitellius, having first put
forward these arguments in a conciliatory speech, and met with decided
acquiescence from the Senate, began afresh to point out, that, as they all
recommended the emperor's marriage, they ought to select a lady conspicuous
for noble rank and purity, herself too the mother of children. "It
cannot," he said, "be long a question that Agrippina stands first
in nobility of birth. She has given proof too that she is not barren, and she
has suitable moral qualities. It is, again, a singular advantage to us, due
to divine providence, for a widow to be united to an emperor who has limited
himself to his own lawful wives. We have heard from our fathers, we have
ourselves seen that married women were seized at the caprice of the Caesars.
This is quite alien to the propriety of our day. Rather let a precedent be
now set for the taking of a wife by an emperor. But, it will be said,
marriage with a brother's daughter is with us a novelty. True; but it is
common in other countries, and there is no law to forbid it. Marriages of
cousins were long unknown, but after a time they became frequent. Custom
adapts itself to expediency, and this novelty will hereafter take its place
among recognized usages." |
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7[edit] |
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There were some who rushed out of
the Senate passionately protesting that if the emperor hesitated, they would
use violence. A promiscuous throng assembled, and kept exclaiming that the
same too was the prayer of the Roman people. Claudius without further delay
presented himself in the forum to their congratulations; then entering the
Senate, he asked from them a decree which should decide that for the future
marriages between uncles and brothers' daughters should be legal. There was,
however, found only one person who desired such a marriage, Alledius Severus,
a Roman knight, who, as many said, was swayed by the influence of Agrippina.
Then came a revolution in the State, and everything was under the control of
a woman, who did not, like Messalina, insult Rome by loose manners. It was a
stringent, and, so to say, masculine despotism; there was sternness and
generally arrogance in public, no sort of immodesty at home, unless it
conduced to power. A boundless greed of wealth was veiled under the pretext
that riches were being accumulated as a prop to the throne. |
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8[edit] |
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On the day of the marriage Silanus
committed suicide, having up to that time prolonged his hope of life, or else
choosing that day to heighten the popular indignation. His sister, Calvina,
was banished from Italy. Claudius further added that sacrifices after the
ordinances of King Tullius, and atonements were to be offered by the pontiffs
in the grove of Diana, amid general ridicule at the idea devising penalties
and propitiations for incest at such a time. Agrippina, that she might not be
conspicuous only by her evil deeds, procured for Annaeus Seneca a remission
of his exile, and with it the praetorship. She thought this would be
universally welcome, from the celebrity of his attainments, and it was her
wish too for the boyhood of Domitius to be trained under so excellent an
instructor, and for them to have the benefit of his counsels in their designs
on the throne. For Seneca, it was believed, was devoted to Agrippina from a
remembrance of her kindness, and an enemy to Claudius from a bitter sense of
wrong. |
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9[edit] |
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It was then resolved to delay no
longer. Memmius Pollio, the consul-elect, was induced by great promises to
deliver a speech, praying Claudius to betroth Octavia to Domitius. The match
was not unsuitable to the age of either, and was likely to develop still more
important results. Pollio introduced the motion in much the same language as
Vitellius had lately used. So Octavia was betrothed, and Domitius, besides
his previous relationship, became now the emperor's affianced son-in-law, and
an equal of Britannicus, through the exertions of his mother and the cunning
of those who had been the accusers of Messalina, and feared the vengeance of
her son. |
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10[edit] |
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About the same time an embassy
from the Parthians, which had been sent, as I have stated, to solicit the
return of Meherdates, was introduced into the Senate, and delivered a message
to the following effect:- "They were not," they said, "unaware
of the treaty of alliance, nor did their coming imply any revolt from the
family of the Arsacids; indeed, even the son of Vonones, Phraates's grandson,
was with them in their resistance to the despotism of Gotarzes, which was
alike intolerable to the nobility and to the people. Already brothers,
relatives, and distant kin had been swept off by murder after murder; wives
actually pregnant, and tender children were added to Gotarzes' victims,
while, slothful at home and unsuccessful in war, he made cruelty a screen for
his feebleness. Between the Parthians and ourselves there was an ancient
friendship, founded on a state alliance, and we ought to support allies who
were our rivals in strength, and yet yielded to us out of respect. Kings'
sons were given as hostages, in order that when Parthia was tired of home
rule, it might fall back on the emperor and the Senate, and receive from them
a better sovereign, familiar with Roman habits." |
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11[edit] |
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In answer to these and like
arguments Claudius began to speak of the grandeur of Rome and the submissive
attitude of the Parthians. He compared himself to the Divine Augustus, from
whom, he reminded them, they had sought a king, but omitted to mention Tiberius,
though he too had sent them sovereigns. He added some advice for Meherdates,
who was present, and told him not to be thinking of a despot and his slaves,
but rather of a ruler among fellow citizens, and to practise clemency and
justice which barbarians would like the more for being unused to them. Then
he turned to the envoys and bestowed high praise on the young foster-son of
Rome, as one whose self-control had hitherto been exemplary.
"Still," he said, "they must bear with the caprices of kings,
and frequent revolutions were bad. Rome, sated with her glory, had reached
such a height that, she wished even foreign nations to enjoy repose."
Upon this Caius Cassius, governor of Syria, was commissioned to escort the
young prince to the bank of the Euphrates. |
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12[edit] |
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Cassius was at that time
pre-eminent for legal learning. The profession of the soldier is forgotten in
a quiet period, and peace reduces the enterprising and indolent to an
equality. But Cassius, as far as it was possible without war, revived ancient
discipline, kept exercising the legions, in short, used as much diligence and
precaution as if an enemy were threatening him. This conduct he counted
worthy of his ancestors and of the Cassian family which had won renown even
in those countries. He then summoned those at whose suggestion a king had
been sought from Rome, and having encamped at Zeugma where the river was most
easily fordable and awaited the arrival of the chief men of Parthia and of
Acbarus, king of the Arabs, he reminded Meherdates that the impulsive
enthusiasm of barbarians soon flags from delay or even changes into
treachery, and that therefore he should urge on his enterprise. The advice
was disregarded through the perfidy Acbarus, by whom the foolish young
prince, who thought that the highest position merely meant self-indulgence,
was detained for several days in the town of Edessa. Although a certain
Carenes pressed them to come and promised easy success if they hastened their
arrival, they did not make for Mesopotamia, which was close to them, but, by
a long detour, for Armenia, then ill-suited to their movements, as winter was
beginning. |
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13[edit] |
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As they approached the plains,
wearied with the snows and mountains, they were joined by the forces of
Carenes, and having crossed the river Tigris they traversed the country of
the Adiabeni, whose king Izates had avowedly embraced the alliance of Meherdates,
though secretly and in better faith he inclined to Gotarzes. In their march
they captured the city of Ninos, the most ancient capital of Assyria, and a
fortress, historically famous, as the spot where the last battle between
Darius and Alexander the power of Persia fell. Gotarzes meantime was offering
vows to the local divinities on a mountain called Sambulos, with special
worship of Hercules, who at a stated time bids the priests in a dream equip
horses for the chase and place them near his temple. When the horses have
been laden with quivers full of arrows, they scour the forest and at length
return at night with empty quivers, panting violently. Again the god in a
vision of the night reveals to them the track along which he roamed through
the woods, and everywhere slaughtered beasts are found. |
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14[edit] |
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Gotarzes, his army not being yet
in sufficient force, made the river Corma a line of defence, and though he
was challenged to an engagement by taunting messages, he contrived delays,
shifted his positions and sent emissaries to corrupt the enemy and bribe them
to throw off their allegiance. Izates of the Adiabeni and then Acbarus of the
Arabs deserted with their troops, with their countrymen's characteristic
fickleness, confirming previous experience, that barbarians prefer to seek a
king from Rome than to keep him. Meherdates, stript of his powerful
auxiliaries and suspecting treachery in the rest, resolved, as his last
resource, to risk everything and try the issue of a battle. Nor did Gotarzes,
who was emboldened by the enemy's diminished strength, refuse the challenge.
They fought with terrible courage and doubtful result, till Carenes, who
having beaten down all resistance had advanced too far, was surprised by a
fresh detachment in his rear. Then Meherdates in despair yielded to promises
from Parrhaces, one of his father's adherents, and was by his treachery
delivered in chains to the conqueror. Gotarzes taunted him with being no
kinsman of his or of the Arsacids, but a foreigner and a Roman, and having
cut off his ears, bade him live, a memorial of his own clemency, and a
disgrace to us. After this Gotarzes fell ill and died, and Vonones, who then
ruled the Medes, was summoned to the throne. He was memorable neither for his
good nor bad fortune; he completed a short and inglorious reign, and then the
empire of Parthia passed to his son Vologeses. |
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Mithridates of Bosporus,
meanwhile, who had lost his power and was a mere outcast, on learning that
the Roman general, Didius, and the main strength of his army had retired, and
that Cotys, a young prince without experience, was left in his new kingdom with
a few cohorts under Julius Aquila, a Roman knight, disdaining both, roused
the neighbouring tribes, and drew deserters to his standard. At last he
collected an army, drove out the king of the Dandaridae, and possessed
himself of his dominions. When this was known, and the invasion of Bosporus
was every moment expected, Aquila and Cotys, seeing that hostilities had been
also resumed by Zorsines, king of the Siraci, distrusted their own strength,
and themselves too sought the friendship of the foreigner by sending envoys
to Eunones, who was then chief of the Adorsi. There was no difficulty about
alliance, when they pointed to the power of Rome in contrast with the rebel
Mithridates. It was accordingly stipulated that Eunones should engage the
enemy with his cavalry, and the Romans undertake the siege of towns. |
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Then the army advanced in regular
formation, the Adorsi in the van and the rear, while the centre was
strengthened by the cohorts, and native troops of Bosporus with Roman arms.
Thus the enemy was defeated, and they reached Soza, a town in Dandarica, which
Mithridates had abandoned, where it was thought expedient to leave a
garrison, as the temper of the people was uncertain. Next they marched on the
Siraci, and after crossing the river Panda besieged the city of Uspe, which
stood on high ground, and had the defence of wall and fosses; only the walls,
not being of stone, but of hurdles and wicker-work with earth between, were
too weak to resist an assault. Towers were raised to a greater height as a
means of annoying the besieged with brands and darts. Had not night stopped
the conflict, the siege would have been begun and finished within one day. |
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Next day they sent an embassy
asking mercy for the freeborn, and offering ten thousand slaves. As it would
have been inhuman to slay the prisoners, and very difficult to keep them
under guard, the conquerors rejected the offer, preferring that they should
perish by the just doom of war. The signal for massacre was therefore given
to the soldiers, who had mounted the walls by scaling ladders. The
destruction of Uspe struck terror into the rest of the people, who thought
safety impossible when they saw how armies and ramparts, heights and
difficult positions, rivers and cities, alike yielded to their foe. And so
Zorsines, having long considered whether he should still have regard to the
fallen fortunes of Mithridates or to the kingdom of his fathers, and having
at last preferred his country's interests, gave hostages and prostrated
himself before the emperor's image, to the great glory of the Roman army,
which all men knew to have come after a bloodless victory within three days'
march of the river Tanais. In their return however fortune was not equally
favourable; some of their vessels, as they were sailing back, were driven on
the shores of the Tauri and cut off by the barbarians, who slew the commander
of a cohort and several centurions. |
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Meanwhile Mithridates, finding
arms an unavailing resource, considered on whose mercy he was to throw
himself. He feared his brother Cotys, who had once been a traitor, then
become his open enemy. No Roman was on the spot of authority sufficient to
make his promises highly valued. So he turned to Eunones, who had no personal
animosity against him, and had been lately strengthened by his alliance with
us. Adapting his dress and expression of countenance as much as possible to
his present condition, he entered the palace, and throwing himself at the
feet of Eunones he exclaimed, "Mithridates, whom the Romans have sought
so many years by land and sea, stands before you by his own choice. Deal as
you please with the descendant of the great Achaemenes, the only glory of
which enemies have not robbed me." |
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The great name of Mithridates, his
reverse, his prayer, full of dignity, deeply affected Eunones. He raised the
suppliant, and commended him for having chosen the nation of the Adorsi and
his own good faith in suing for mercy. He sent at the same time envoys to
Caesar with a letter to this effect, that friendship between emperors of Rome
and sovereigns of powerful peoples was primarily based on a similarity of
fortune, and that between himself and Claudius there was the tie of a common
victory. Wars had glorious endings, whenever matters were settled by an
amnesty. The conquered Zorsines had on this principle been deprived of
nothing. For Mithridates, as he deserved heavier punishment, he asked neither
power nor dominions, only that he might not be led in triumph, and pay the
penalty of death. |
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Claudius, though merciful to
foreign princes, was yet in doubt whether it were better to receive the
captive with a promise of safety or to claim his surrender by the sword. To
this last he was urged by resentment at his wrongs, and by thirst for vengeance.
On the other hand it was argued that it would be undertaking a war in a
country without roads, on a harbourless sea, against warlike kings and
wandering tribes, on a barren soil; that a weary disgust would come of tardy
movements, and perils of precipitancy; that the glory of victory would be
small, while much disgrace would ensue on defeat. Why should not the emperor
seize the offer and spare the exile, whose punishment would be the greater,
the longer he lived in poverty? Moved by these considerations, Claudius wrote
to Eunones that Mithridates had certainly merited an extreme and exemplary
penalty, which he was not wanting in power to inflict, but it had been the
principle of his ancestors to show as much forbearance to a suppliant as they
showed persistence against a foe. As for triumphs, they were won over nations
and kings hitherto unconquered. |
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After this, Mithridates was given
up and brought to Rome by Junius Cilo, the procurator of Pontus. There in the
emperor's presence he was said to have spoken too proudly for his position,
and words uttered by him to the following effect became the popular talk:
"I have not been sent, but have come back to you; if you do not believe
me, let me go and pursue me." He stood too with fearless countenance
when he was exposed to the people's gaze near the Rostra, under military
guard. To Cilo and Aquila were voted, respectively, the consular and
praetorian decorations. |
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In the same consulship, Agrippina,
who was terrible in her hatred and detested Lollia, for having competed with
her for the emperor's hand, planned an accusation, through an informer who
was to tax her with having consulted astrologers and magicians and the image
of the Clarian Apollo, about the imperial marriage. Upon this, Claudius,
without hearing the accused, first reminded the Senate of her illustrious
rank, that the sister of Lucius Volusius was her mother, Cotta Messalinus her
granduncle, Memmius Regulus formerly her husband (for of her marriage to
Caius Caesar he purposely said nothing), and then added that she had
mischievous designs on the State, and must have the means of crime taken from
her. Consequently, her property should be confiscated, and she herself
banished from Italy. Thus out of immense wealth only five million sesterces
were left to the exile. Calpurnia too, a lady of high rank, was ruined,
simply because the emperor had praised her beauty in a casual remark, without
any passion for her. And so Agrippina's resentment stopped short of extreme
vengeance. A tribune was despatched to Lollia, who was to force her to
suicide. Next on the prosecution of the Bithynians, Cadius Rufus, was
condemned under the law against extortion. |
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Narbon Gaul, for its special
reverence of the Senate, received a privilege. Senators belonging to the
province, without seeking the emperor's approval, were to be allowed to visit
their estates, a right enjoyed by Sicily. Ituraea and Judaea, on the death of
their kings, Sohaemus and Agrippa, were annexed to the province of Syria. It
was also decided that the augury of the public safety, which for twenty-five
years had been neglected, should be revived and henceforth observed. The
emperor likewise widened the sacred precincts of the capital, in conformity
with the ancient usage, according to which, those who had enlarged the empire
were permitted also to extend the boundaries of Rome. But Roman generals,
even after the conquest of great nations, had never exercised this right,
except Lucius Sulla and the Divine Augustus. |
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There are various popular accounts
of the ambitious and vainglorious efforts of our kings in this matter. Still,
I think, it is interesting to know accurately the original plan of the
precinct, as it was fixed by Romulus. From the ox market, where we see the
brazen statue of a bull, because that animal is yoked to the plough, a furrow
was drawn to mark out the town, so as to embrace the great altar of Hercules;
then, at regular intervals, stones were placed along the foot of the Palatine
hill to the altar of Consus, soon afterwards, to the old Courts, and then to
the chapel of Larunda. The Roman forum and the Capitol were not, it was
supposed, added to the city by Romulus, but by Titus Tatius. In time, the
precinct was enlarged with the growth of Rome's fortunes. The boundaries now
fixed by Claudius may be easily recognized, as they are specified in the
public records. |
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In the consulship of Caius
Antistius and Marcus Suilius, the adoption of Domitius was hastened on by the
influence of Pallas. Bound to Agrippina, first as the promoter of her
marriage, then as her paramour, he still urged Claudius to think of the
interests of the State, and to provide some support for the tender years of
Britannicus. "So," he said, "it had been with the Divine
Augustus, whose stepsons, though he had grandsons to be his stay, had been
promoted; Tiberius too, though he had offspring of his own, had adopted
Germanicus. Claudius also would do well to strengthen himself with a young
prince who could share his cares with him." Overcome by these arguments,
the emperor preferred Domitius to his own son, though he was but two years
older, and made a speech in the senate, the same in substance as the
representations of his freedman. It was noted by learned men, that no
previous example of adoption into the patrician family of the Claudii was to
be found; and that from Attus Clausus there had been one unbroken line. |
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However, the emperor received
formal thanks, and still more elaborate flattery was paid to Domitius. A law
was passed, adopting him into the Claudian family with the name of Nero.
Agrippina too was honoured with the title of Augusta. When this had been done,
there was not a person so void of pity as not to feel keen sorrow at the
position of Britannicus. Gradually forsaken by the very slaves who waited on
him, he turned into ridicule the ill-timed attentions of his stepmother,
perceiving their insincerity. For he is said to have had by no means a dull
understanding; and this is either a fact, or perhaps his perils won him
sympathy, and so he possessed the credit of it, without actual evidence. |
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Agrippina, to show her power even
to the allied nations, procured the despatch of a colony of veterans to the
chief town of the Ubii, where she was born. The place was named after her.
Agrippa, her grandfather, had, as it happened, received this tribe, when they
crossed the Rhine, under our protection. During the same time, there was a
panic in Upper Germany through an irruption of plundering bands of Chatti.
Thereupon Lucius Pomponius, who was in command, directed the Vangiones and
Nemetes, with the allied cavalry, to anticipate the raid, and suddenly to
fall upon them from every quarter while they were dispersed. The general's
plan was backed up by the energy of the troops. These were divided into two
columns; and those who marched to the left cut off the plunderers, just on
their return, after a riotous enjoyment of their spoil, when they were heavy
with sleep. It added to the men's joy that they had rescued from slavery
after forty years some survivors of the defeat of Varus. |
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The column which took the
right-hand and the shorter route, inflicted greater loss on the enemy who met
them, and ventured on a battle. With much spoil and glory they returned to
Mount Taunus, where Pomponius was waiting with the legions, to see whether the
Chatti, in their eagerness for vengeance, would give him a chance of
fighting. They however fearing to be hemmed in on one side by the Romans, on
the other by the Cherusci, with whom they are perpetually at feud, sent
envoys and hostages to Rome. To Pomponius was decreed the honour of a
triumph; a mere fraction of his renown with the next generation, with whom
his poems constitute his chief glory. |
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At this same time, Vannius, whom
Drusus Caesar had made king of the Suevi, was driven from his kingdom. In the
commencement of his reign he was renowned and popular with his countrymen;
but subsequently, with long possession, he became a tyrant, and the enmity of
neighbours, joined to intestine strife, was his ruin. Vibillius, king of the
Hermunduri, and Vangio and Sido, sons of a sister of Vannius, led the
movement. Claudius, though often entreated, declined to interpose by arms in
the conflict of the barbarians, and simply promised Vannius a safe refuge in
the event of his expulsion. He wrote instructions to Publius Atellius Hister,
governor of Pannonia, that he was to have his legions, with some picked
auxiliaries from the province itself, encamped on the riverbank, as a support
to the conquered and a terror to the conqueror, who might otherwise, in the
elation of success, disturb also the peace of our empire. For an immense host
of Ligii, with other tribes, was advancing, attracted by the fame of the
opulent realm which Vannius had enriched during thirty years of plunder and
of tribute. Vannius's own native force was infantry, and his cavalry was from
the Iazyges of Sarmatia; an army which was no match for his numerous enemy.
Consequently, he determined to maintain himself in fortified positions, and
protract the war. |
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But the Iazyges, who could not
endure a siege, dispersed themselves throughout the surrounding country and
rendered an engagement inevitable, as the Ligii and Hermunduri had there
rushed to the attack. So Vannius came down out of his fortresses, and though
he was defeated in battle, notwithstanding his reverse, he won some credit by
having fought with his own hand, and received wounds on his breast. He then
fled to the fleet which was awaiting him on the Danube, and was soon followed
by his adherents, who received grants of land and were settled in Pannonia.
Vangio and Sido divided his kingdom between them; they were admirably loyal
to us, and among their subjects, whether the cause was in themselves or in
the nature of despotism, much loved, while seeking to acquire power, and yet
more hated when they had acquired it. |
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Meanwhile, in Britain, Publius
Ostorius, the propraetor, found himself confronted by disturbance. The enemy
had burst into the territories of our allies with all the more fury, as they
imagined that a new general would not march against them with winter beginning
and with an army of which he knew nothing. Ostorius, well aware that first
events are those which produce alarm or confidence, by a rapid movement of
his light cohorts, cut down all who opposed him, pursued those who fled, and
lest they should rally, and so an unquiet and treacherous peace might allow
no rest to the general and his troops, he prepared to disarm all whom he
suspected, and to occupy with encampments the whole country to the Avon and
Severn. The Iceni, a powerful tribe, which war had not weakened, as they had
voluntarily joined our alliance, were the first to resist. At their
instigation the surrounding nations chose as a battlefield a spot walled in
by a rude barrier, with a narrow approach, impenetrable to cavalry. Through
these defences the Roman general, though he had with him only the allied
troops, without the strength of the legions, attempted to break, and having
assigned their positions to his cohorts, he equipped even his cavalry for the
work of infantry. Then at a given signal they forced the barrier, routing the
enemy who were entangled in their own defences. The rebels, conscious of
their guilt, and finding escape barred, performed many noble feats. In this
battle, Marius Ostorius, the general's son, won the reward for saving a
citizen's life. |
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The defeat of the Iceni quieted
those who were hesitating between war and peace. Then the army was marched
against the Cangi; their territory was ravaged, spoil taken everywhere
without the enemy venturing on an engagement, or if they attempted to harass
our march by stealthy attacks, their cunning was always punished. And now
Ostorius had advanced within a little distance of the sea, facing the island
Hibernia, when feuds broke out among the Brigantes and compelled the
general's return, for it was his fixed purpose not to undertake any fresh
enterprise till he had consolidated his previous successes. The Brigantes
indeed, when a few who were beginning hostilities had been slain and the rest
pardoned, settled down quietly; but on the Silures neither terror nor mercy
had the least effect; they persisted in war and could be quelled only by
legions encamped in their country. That this might be the more promptly
effected, a colony of a strong body of veterans was established at
Camulodunum on the conquered lands, as a defence against the rebels, and as a
means of imbuing the allies with respect for our laws. |
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The army then marched against the
Silures, a naturally fierce people and now full of confidence in the might of
Caractacus, who by many an indecisive and many a successful battle had raised
himself far above all the other generals of the Britons. Inferior in military
strength, but deriving an advantage from the deceptiveness of the country, he
at once shifted the war by a stratagem into the territory of the Ordovices,
where, joined by all who dreaded peace with us, he resolved on a final
struggle. He selected a position for the engagement in which advance and
retreat alike would be difficult for our men and comparatively easy for his
own, and then on some lofty hills, wherever their sides could be approached
by a gentle slope, he piled up stones to serve as a rampart. A river too of
varying depth was in his front, and his armed bands were drawn up before his
defences. |
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Then too the chieftains of the
several tribes went from rank to rank, encouraging and confirming the spirit
of their men by making light of their fears, kindling their hopes, and by
every other warlike incitement. As for Caractacus, he flew hither and thither,
protesting that that day and that battle would be the beginning of the
recovery of their freedom, or of everlasting bondage. He appealed, by name,
to their forefathers who had driven back the dictator Caesar, by whose valour
they were free from the Roman axe and tribute, and still preserved inviolate
the persons of their wives and of their children. While he was thus speaking,
the host shouted applause; every warrior bound himself by his national oath
not to shrink from weapons or wounds. |
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Such enthusiasm confounded the
Roman general. The river too in his face, the rampart they had added to it,
the frowning hilltops, the stern resistance and masses of fighting men
everywhere apparent, daunted him. But his soldiers insisted on battle, exclaiming
that valour could overcome all things; and the prefects and tribunes, with
similar language, stimulated the ardour of the troops. Ostorius having
ascertained by a survey the inaccessible and the assailable points of the
position, led on his furious men, and crossed the river without difficulty.
When he reached the barrier, as long as it was a fight with missiles, the
wounds and the slaughter fell chiefly on our soldiers; but when he had formed
the military testudo, and the rude, ill-compacted fence of stones was torn
down, and it was an equal hand-to-hand engagement, the barbarians retired to
the heights. Yet even there, both light and heavy-armed soldiers rushed to
the attack; the first harassed the foe with missiles, while the latter closed
with them, and the opposing ranks of the Britons were broken, destitute as
they were of the defence of breast-plates or helmets. When they faced the
auxiliaries, they were felled by the swords and javelins of our legionaries;
if they wheeled round, they were again met by the sabres and spears of the
auxiliaries. It was a glorious victory; the wife and daughter of Caractacus
were captured, and his brothers too were admitted to surrender. |
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There is seldom safety for the
unfortunate, and Caractacus, seeking the protection of Cartimandua, queen of
the Brigantes, was put in chains and delivered up to the conquerors, nine
years after the beginning of the war in Britain. His fame had spread thence,
and travelled to the neighbouring islands and provinces, and was actually
celebrated in Italy. All were eager to see the great man, who for so many
years had defied our power. Even at Rome the name of Caractacus was no
obscure one; and the emperor, while he exalted his own glory, enhanced the
renown of the vanquished. The people were summoned as to a grand spectacle;
the praetorian cohorts were drawn up under arms in the plain in front of
their camp; then came a procession of the royal vassals, and the ornaments
and neck-chains and the spoils which the king had won in wars with other
tribes, were displayed. Next were to be seen his brothers, his wife and
daughter; last of all, Caractacus himself. All the rest stooped in their fear
to abject supplication; not so the king, who neither by humble look nor
speech sought compassion. |
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When he was set before the
emperor's tribunal, he spoke as follows: "Had my moderation in
prosperity been equal to my noble birth and fortune, I should have entered
this city as your friend rather than as your captive; and you would not have
disdained to receive, under a treaty of peace, a king descended from
illustrious ancestors and ruling many nations. My present lot is as glorious
to you as it is degrading to myself. I had men and horses, arms and wealth.
What wonder if I parted with them reluctantly? If you Romans choose to lord
it over the world, does it follow that the world is to accept slavery? Were I
to have been at once delivered up as a prisoner, neither my fall nor your
triumph would have become famous. My punishment would be followed by
oblivion, whereas, if you save my life, I shall be an everlasting memorial of
your clemency." Upon this the emperor granted pardon to Caractacus, to
his wife, and to his brothers. Released from their bonds, they did homage
also to Agrippina who sat near, conspicuous on another throne, in the same
language of praise and gratitude. It was indeed a novelty, quite alien to
ancient manners, for a woman to sit in front of Roman standards. In fact,
Agrippina boasted that she was herself a partner in the empire which her
ancestors had won. |
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The Senate was then assembled, and
speeches were delivered full of pompous eulogy on the capture of Caractacus.
It was as glorious, they said, as the display of Syphax by Scipio, or of
Perses by Lucius Paulus, or indeed of any captive prince by any of our
generals to the people of Rome. Triumphal distinctions were voted to
Ostorius, who thus far had been successful, but soon afterwards met with
reverses; either because, when Caractacus was out of the way, our discipline
was relaxed under an impression that the war was ended, or because the enemy,
out of compassion for so great a king, was more ardent in his thirst for
vengeance. Instantly they rushed from all parts on the camp-prefect, and
legionary cohorts left to establish fortified positions among the Silures,
and had not speedy succour arrived from towns and fortresses in the
neighbourhood, our forces would then have been totally destroyed. Even as it
was, the camp-prefect, with eight centurions, and the bravest of the
soldiers, were slain; and shortly afterwards, a foraging party of our men,
with some cavalry squadrons sent to their support, was utterly routed. |
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Ostorius then deployed his light
cohorts, but even thus he did not stop the flight, till our legions sustained
the brunt of the battle. Their strength equalized the conflict, which after a
while was in our favour. The enemy fled with trifling loss, as the day was on
the decline. Now began a series of skirmishes, for the most part like raids,
in woods and morasses, with encounters due to chance or to courage, to mere
heedlessness or to calculation, to fury or to lust of plunder, under
directions from the officers, or sometimes even without their knowledge.
Conspicuous above all in stubborn resistance were the Silures, whose rage was
fired by words rumoured to have been spoken by the Roman general, to the
effect, that as the Sugambri had been formerly destroyed or transplanted into
Gaul, so the name of the Silures ought to be blotted out. Accordingly they
cut off two of our auxiliary cohorts, the rapacity of whose officers let them
make incautious forays; and by liberal gifts of spoil and prisoners to the
other tribes, they were luring them too into revolt, when Ostorius, worn out
by the burden of his anxieties, died, to the joy of the enemy, who thought
that a campaign at least, though not a single battle, had proved fatal to
general whom none could despise. |
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The emperor on hearing of the
death of his representative appointed Aulus Didius in his place, that the
province might not be left without a governor. Didius, though he quickly
arrived, found matters far from prosperous, for the legion under the command of
Manlius Valens had meanwhile been defeated, and the disaster had been
exaggerated by the enemy to alarm the new general, while he again magnified
it, that he might win the more glory by quelling the movement or have a
fairer excuse if it lasted. This loss too had been inflicted on us by the
Silures, and they were scouring the country far and wide, till Didius hurried
up and dispersed them. After the capture of Caractacus, Venutius of the
Brigantes, as I have already mentioned, was pre-eminent in military skill; he
had long been loyal to Rome and had been defended by our arms while he was
united in marriage to the queen Cartismandua. Subsequently a quarrel broke
out between them, followed instantly by war, and he then assumed a hostile
attitude also towards us. At first, however, they simply fought against each
other, and Cartismandua by cunning stratagems captured the brothers and
kinsfolk of Venutius. This enraged the enemy, who were stung with shame at
the prospect of falling under the dominion of a woman. The flower of their
youth, picked out for war, invaded her kingdom. This we had foreseen; some
cohorts were sent to her aid and a sharp contest followed, which was at first
doubtful but had a satisfactory termination. The legion under the command of
Caesius Nasica fought with a similar result. For Didius, burdened with years
and covered with honours, was content with acting through his officers and
merely holding back the enemy. These transactions, though occurring under two
propraetors, and occupying several years, I have closely connected, lest, if
related separately, they might be less easily remembered. I now return to the
chronological order. |
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In the fifth consulship of
Tiberius Claudius with Sextius Cornelius Orfitus for his colleague, Nero was
prematurely invested with the dress of manhood, that he might be thought
qualified for political life. The emperor willingly complied with the flatteries
of the Senate who wished Nero to enter on the consulship in his twentieth
year, and meanwhile, as consul-elect, to have pro-consular authority beyond
the limits of the capital with the title of "prince of the youth of
Rome." A donative was also given to the soldiery in Nero's name, and
presents to the city populace. At the games too of the circus which were then
being celebrated to win for him popular favour, Britannicus wore the dress of
boyhood, Nero the triumphal robe, as they rode in the procession. The people
would thus behold the one with the decorations of a general, the other in a
boy's habit, and would accordingly anticipate their respective destinies. At
the same time those of the centurions and tribunes who pitied the lot of Britannicus
were removed, some on false pretexts, others by way of a seeming compliment.
Even of the freedmen, all who were of incorruptible fidelity were discarded
on the following provocation. Once when they met, Nero greeted Britannicus by
that name and was greeted in return as Domitius. Agrippina reported this to
her husband, with bitter complaint, as the beginning of a quarrel, as
implying, in fact, contempt of Nero's adoption and a cancelling at home of
the Senate's decree and the people's vote. She said, too, that, if the
perversity of such malignant suggestions were not checked, it would issue in
the ruin of the State. Claudius, enraged by what he took as a grave charge,
punished with banishment or death all his son's best instructors, and set persons
appointed by his stepmother to have the care of him. |
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42[edit] |
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Still Agrippina did not yet dare
to attempt her greatest scheme, unless Lusius Geta and Rufius Crispinus were
removed from the command of the praetorian cohorts; for she thought that they
cherished Messalina's memory and were devoted to her children. Accordingly,
as the emperor's wife persistently affirmed that faction was rife among these
cohorts through the rivalry of the two officers, and that there would be
stricter discipline under one commander, the appointment was transferred to
Burrus Afranius, who had a brilliant reputation as a soldier, but knew well
to whose wish he owed his promotion. Agrippina, too, continued to exalt her
own dignity; she would enter the Capitol in a chariot, a practice, which
being allowed of old only to the priests and sacred images, increased the
popular reverence for a woman who up to this time was the only recorded
instance of one who, an emperor's daughter, was sister, wife, and mother of a
sovereign. Meanwhile her foremost champion, Vitellius, in the full tide of his
power and in extreme age (so uncertain are the fortunes of the great) was
attacked by an accusation of which Junius Lupus, a senator, was the author.
He was charged with treason and designs on the throne. The emperor would have
lent a ready ear, had not Agrippina, by threats rather than entreaties,
induced him to sentence the accuser to outlawry. This was all that Vitellius
desired. |
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43[edit] |
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Several prodigies occurred in that
year. Birds of evil omen perched on the Capitol; houses were thrown down by
frequent shocks of earthquake, and as the panic spread, all the weak were
trodden down in the hurry and confusion of the crowd. Scanty crops too, and
consequent famine were regarded as a token of calamity. Nor were there merely
whispered complaints; while Claudius was administering justice, the populace
crowded round him with a boisterous clamour and drove him to a corner of the
forum, where they violently pressed on him till he broke through the furious
mob with a body of soldiers. It was ascertained that Rome had provisions for
no more than fifteen days, and it was through the signal bounty of heaven and
the mildness of the winter that its desperate plight was relieved. And yet in
past days Italy used to send supplies for the legions into distant provinces,
and even now it is not a barren soil which causes distress. But we prefer to
cultivate Africa and Egypt, and trust the life of the Roman people to ships
and all their risks. |
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44[edit] |
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In the same year war broke out
between the Armenians and Iberians, and was the cause of very serious
disturbances between Parthia and Rome. Vologeses was king of the Parthians;
on the mother's side, he was the offspring of a Greek concubine, and he obtained
the throne by the retirement of his brothers. Pharasmanes had been long in
possession of Iberia, and his brother, Mithridates, ruled Armenia with our
powerful support. There was a son of Pharasmanes named Rhadamistus, tall and
handsome, of singular bodily strength, trained in all the accomplishments of
his countrymen and highly renowned among his neighbours. He boasted so
arrogantly and persistently that his father's prolonged old age kept back
from him the little kingdom of Iberia as to make no concealment of his
ambition. Pharasmanes accordingly seeing the young prince had power in his
grasp and was strong in the attachment of his people, fearing too his own
declining years, tempted him with other prospects and pointed to Armenia,
which, as he reminded him, he had given to Mithridates after driving out the
Parthians. But open violence, he said, must be deferred; artful measures,
which might crush him unawares, were better. So Rhadamistus pretended to be
at feud with his father as though his stepmother's hatred was too strong for
him, and went to his uncle. While he was treated by him like a son, with
excessive kindness, he lured the nobles of Armenia into revolutionary
schemes, without the knowledge of Mithridates, who was actually loading him with
honours. |
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45[edit] |
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He then assumed a show of
reconciliation with his father, to whom he returned, telling him all that
could be accomplished by treachery was now ready and that he must complete
the affair by the sword. Meanwhile Pharasmanes invented pretexts for war;
when he was fighting with the king of the Albanians and appealing to the
Romans for aid, his brother, he said, had opposed him, and he would now
avenge that wrong by his destruction. At the same time he gave a large army
to his son, who by a sudden invasion drove Mithridates in terror from the
open country and forced him into the fortress of Gorneas, which was strongly
situated and garrisoned by some soldiers under the command of Caelius Pollio,
a camp-prefect, and Casperius, a centurion. There is nothing of which
barbarians are so ignorant as military engines and the skilful management of
sieges, while that is a branch of military science which we especially
understand. And so Rhadamistus having attempted the fortified walls in vain
or with loss, began a blockade, and, finding that his assaults were despised,
tried to bribe the rapacity of the camp-prefect. Casperius protested
earnestly against the overthrow of an allied king and of Armenia, the gift of
the Roman people, through iniquity and greed of gain. At last, as Pollio
pleaded the overpowering numbers of the enemy and Rhadamistus the orders of
his father, the centurion stipulated for a truce and retired, intending, if
he could not deter Pharasmanes from further hostilities, to inform Ummidius
Quadratus, the governor of Syria, of the state of Armenia. |
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46[edit] |
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By the centurion's departure the
camp prefect was released, so to say, from surveillance; and he now urged
Mithridates to conclude a treaty. He reminded him of the tie of brotherhood,
of the seniority in age of Pharasmanes, and of their other bonds of kindred,
how he was united by marriage to his brother's daughter, and was himself the
father-in-law of Rhadamistus. "The Iberians," he said, "were
not against peace, though for the moment they were the stronger; the perfidy
of the Armenians was notorious, and he had nothing to fall back on but a
fortress without stores; so he must not hesitate to prefer a bloodless
negotiation to arms." As Mithridates wavered, and suspected the
intentions of the camp-prefect, because he had seduced one of the king's
concubines and was reputed a man who could be bribed into any wickedness,
Casperius meantime went to Pharasmanes, and required of him that the Iberians
should raise the blockade. Pharasmanes, to his face, replied vaguely and
often in a conciliatory tone, while by secret messages he recommended
Rhadamistus to hurry on the siege by all possible means. Then the price of
infamy was raised, and Pollio by secret corruption induced the soldiers to
demand peace and to threaten that they would abandon the garrison. Under this
compulsion, Mithridates agreed to a day and a place for negotiation and
quitted the fortress. |
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47[edit] |
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Rhadamistus at first threw himself
into his embraces, feigning respect and calling him father-in-law and parent.
He swore an oath too that he would do him no violence either by the sword or
by poison. At the same time he drew him into a neighbouring grove, where he
assured him that the appointed sacrifice was prepared for the confirmation of
peace in the presence of the gods. It is a custom of these princes, whenever
they join alliance, to unite their right hands and bind together the thumbs
in a tight knot; then, when the blood has flowed into the extremities, they
let it escape by a slight puncture and suck it in turn. Such a treaty is
thought to have a mysterious sanctity, as being sealed with the blood of both
parties. On this occasion he who was applying the knot pretended that it had
fallen off, and suddenly seizing the knees of Mithridates flung him to the
ground. At the same moment a rush was made by a number of persons, and chains
were thrown round him. Then he was dragged along by a fetter, an extreme
degradation to a barbarian; and soon the common people, whom he had held
under a harsh sway, heaped insults on him with menacing gestures, though
some, on the contrary, pitied such a reverse of fortune. His wife followed
him with his little children, and filled every place with her wailings. They
were hidden away in different covered carriages till the orders of
Pharasmanes were distinctly ascertained. The lust of rule was more to him
than his brother and his daughter, and his heart was steeled to any
wickedness. Still he spared his eyes the seeing them slain before his face.
Rhadamistus too, seemingly mindful of his oath, neither unsheathed the sword
nor used poison against his sister and uncle, but had them thrown on the
ground and then smothered them under a mass of heavy clothes. Even the sons
of Mithridates were butchered for having shed tears over their parent's
murder. |
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48[edit] |
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Quadratus, learning that
Mithridates had been betrayed and that his kingdom was in the hands of his
murderers, summoned a council, and, having informed them of what had
occurred, consulted them whether he should take vengeance. Few cared for the
honour of the State; most argued in favour of a safe course, saying
"that any crime in a foreign country was to be welcomed with joy, and
that the seeds of strife ought to be actually sown, on the very principle on
which Roman emperors had often under a show of generosity given away this
same kingdom of Armenia to excite the minds of the barbarians. Rhadamistus
might retain his ill-gotten gains, as long as he was hated and infamous; for
this was more to Rome's interest than for him to have succeeded with glory."
To this view they assented, but that they might not be thought to have
approved the crime and receive contrary orders from the emperor, envoys were
sent to Pharasmanes, requiring him to withdraw from Armenian territory and
remove his son. |
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49[edit] |
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Julius Pelignus was then
procurator of Cappadocia, a man despised alike for his feebleness of mind and
his grotesque personal appearance. He was however very intimate with
Claudius, who, when in private life, used to beguile the dullness of his
leisure with the society of jesters. This Pelignus collected some provincial
auxiliaries, apparently with the design of recovering Armenia, but, while he
plundered allies instead of enemies, finding himself, through the desertion
of his men and the raids of the barbarians, utterly defenceless, he went to
Rhadamistus, whose gifts so completely overcame him that he positively
encouraged him to assume the ensigns of royalty, and himself assisted at the
ceremony, authorizing and abetting. When the disgraceful news had spread far
and wide, lest the world might judge of other governors by Pelignus,
Helvidius Priscus was sent in command of a legion to regulate, according to
circumstances, the disordered state of affairs. He quickly crossed Mount
Taurus, and had restored order to a great extent more by moderation than by
force, when he was ordered to return to Syria, that nothing might arise to
provoke a war with Parthia. |
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50[edit] |
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For Vologeses, thinking that an
opportunity presented itself of invading Armenia, which, though the
possession of his ancestors, was now through a monstrous crime held by a
foreign prince, raised an army and prepared to establish Tiridates on the
throne, so that not a member of his house might be without kingly power. On
the advance of the Parthians, the Iberians dispersed without a battle, and
the Armenian cities, Artaxata and Tigranocerta, submitted to the yoke. Then a
frightful winter or deficient supplies, with pestilence arising from both
causes, forced Vologeses to abandon his present plans. Armenia was thus again
without a king, and was invaded by Rhadamistus, who was now fiercer than
ever, looking on the people as disloyal and sure to rebel on the first
opportunity. They however, though accustomed to be slaves, suddenly threw off
their tameness and gathered round the palace in arms. |
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51[edit] |
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Rhadamistus had no means of escape
but in the swiftness of the horses which bore him and his wife away. Pregnant
as she was, she endured, somehow or other, out of fear of the enemy and love
of her husband, the first part of the flight, but after a while, when she
felt herself shaken by its continuous speed, she implored to be rescued by an
honourable death from the shame of captivity. He at first embraced, cheered,
and encouraged her, now admiring her heroism, now filled with a sickening
apprehension at the idea of her being left to any man's mercy. Finally, urged
by the intensity of his love and familiarity with dreadful deeds, he
unsheathed his scymitar, and having stabbed her, dragged her to the bank of
the Araxes and committed her to the stream, so that her very body might be
swept away. Then in headlong flight he hurried to Iberia, his ancestral
kingdom. Zenobia meanwhile (this was her name), as she yet breathed and
showed signs of life on the calm water at the river's edge, was perceived by
some shepherds, who inferring from her noble appearance that she was no
base-born woman, bound up her wound and applied to it their rustic remedies.
As soon as they knew her name and her adventure, they conveyed her to the
city of Artaxata, whence she was conducted at the public charge to Tiridates,
who received her kindly and treated her as a royal person. |
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52[edit] |
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In the consulship of Faustus Sulla
and Salvius Otho, Furius Scribonianus was banished on the ground that he was
consulting the astrologers about the emperor's death. His mother, Junia, was
included in the accusation, as one who still resented the misfortune of exile
which she had suffered in the past. His father, Camillus, had raised an armed
insurrection in Dalmatia, and the emperor in again sparing a hostile family
sought the credit of clemency. But the exile did not live long after this;
whether he was cut off by a natural death, or by poison, was matter of
conflicting rumours, according to people's belief. A decree of the Senate was
then passed for the expulsion of the astrologers from Italy, stringent but
ineffectual. Next the emperor, in a speech, commended all who, from their
limited means, voluntarily retired from the Senatorian order, while those
were degraded from it who, by retaining their seats, added effrontery to
poverty. |
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53[edit] |
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During these proceedings he
proposed to the Senate a penalty on women who united themselves in marriage
to slaves, and it was decided that those who had thus demeaned themselves,
without the knowledge of the slave's master, should be reduced to slavery; if
with his consent, should be ranked as freedwomen. To Pallas, who, as the
emperor declared, was the author of this proposal, were offered on the motion
of Barea Soranus, consul-elect, the decorations of the praetorship and
fifteen million sesterces. Cornelius Scipio added that he deserved public
thanks for thinking less of his ancient nobility as a descendant from the
kings of Arcadia, than of the welfare of the State, and allowing himself to
be numbered among the emperor's ministers. Claudius assured them that Pallas
was content with the honour, and that he limited himself to his former
poverty. A decree of the Senate was publicly inscribed on a bronze tablet,
heaping the praises of primitive frugality on a freedman, the possessor of
three hundred million sesterces. |
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54[edit] |
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Not equally moderate was his
brother, surnamed Felix, who had for some time been governor of Judaea, and
thought that he could do any evil act with impunity, backed up as he was by
such power. It is true that the Jews had shown symptoms of commotion in a
seditious outbreak, and when they had heard of the assassination of Caius,
there was no hearty submission, as a fear still lingered that any of the
emperors might impose the same orders. Felix meanwhile, by ill-timed
remedies, stimulated disloyal acts; while he had, as a rival in the worst
wickedness, Ventidius Cumanus, who held a part of the province, which was so
divided that Galilea was governed by Cumanus, Samaria by Felix. The two
peoples had long been at feud, and now less than ever restrained their
enmity, from contempt of their rulers. And accordingly they plundered each
other, letting loose bands of robbers, forming ambuscades, and occasionally
fighting battles, and carrying the spoil and booty to the two procurators,
who at first rejoiced at all this, but, as the mischief grew, they interposed
with an armed force, which was cut to pieces. The flame of war would have
spread through the province, but it was saved by Quadratus, governor of
Syria. In dealing with the Jews, who had been daring enough to slay our
soldiers, there was little hesitation about their being capitally punished.
Some delay indeed was occasioned by Cumanus and Felix; for Claudius on
hearing the causes of the rebellion had given authority for deciding also the
case of these procurators. Quadratus, however, exhibited Felix as one of the
judges, admitting him to the bench with the view of cowing the ardour of the
prosecutors. And so Cumanus was condemned for the crimes which the two had
committed, and tranquillity was restored to the province. |
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55[edit] |
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Not long afterwards some tribes of
the wild population of Cilicia, known as the Clitae, which had often been in
commotion, established a camp, under a leader Troxobor, on their rocky
mountains, whence rushing down on the coast, and on the towns, they dared to
do violence to the farmers and townsfolk, frequently even to the merchants
and shipowners. They besieged the city Anemurium, and routed some troopers
sent from Syria to its rescue under the command of Curtius Severus; for the
rough country in the neighbourhood, suited as it is for the fighting of
infantry, did not allow of cavalry operations. After a time, Antiochus, king
of that coast, having broken the unity of the barbarian forces, by cajolery
of the people and treachery to their leader, slew Troxobor and a few chiefs,
and pacified the rest by gentle measures. |
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56[edit] |
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About the same time, the mountain
between Lake Fucinus and the river Liris was bored through, and that this
grand work might be seen by a multitude of visitors, preparations were made
for a naval battle on the lake, just as formerly Augustus exhibited such a
spectacle, in a basin he had made this side the Tiber, though with light
vessels, and on a smaller scale. Claudius equipped galleys with three and
four banks of oars, and nineteen thousand men; he lined the circumference of
the lake with rafts, that there might be no means of escape at various
points, but he still left full space for the strength of the crews, the skill
of the pilots, the impact of the vessels, and the usual operations of a
seafight. On the raft stood companies of the praetorian cohorts and cavalry,
with a breastwork in front of them, from which catapults and balistas might
be worked. The rest of the lake was occupied by marines on decked vessels. An
immense multitude from the neighbouring towns, others from Rome itself, eager
to see the sight or to show respect to the emperor, crowded the banks, the
hills, and mountain tops, which thus resembled a theatre. The emperor, with
Agrippina seated near him, presided; he wore a splendid military cloak, she,
a mantle of cloth of gold. A battle was fought with all the courage of brave
men, though it was between condemned criminals. After much bloodshed they
were released from the necessity of mutual slaughter. |
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57[edit] |
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When the sight was over, the
outlet of the water was opened. The careless execution of the work was
apparent, the tunnel not having been bored down so low as the bottom, or
middle of the lake. Consequently after an interval the excavations were
deepened, and to attract a crowd once more, a show of gladiators was
exhibited, with floating pontoons for an infantry engagement. A banquet too
was prepared close to the outflow of the lake, and it was the means of
greatly alarming the whole company, for the water, in the violence of its
outburst, swept away the adjoining parts, shook the more remote, and spread
terror with the tremendous crash. At the same time, Agrippina availed herself
of the emperor's fright to charge Narcissus, who had been the agent of the
work, with avarice and peculation. He too was not silent, but inveighed
against the domineering temper of her sex, and her extravagant ambition. |
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58[edit] |
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In the consulship of Didius Junius
and Quintus Haterius, Nero, now sixteen years of age, married Octavia, the
emperor's daughter. Anxious to distinguish himself by noble pursuits, and the
reputation of an orator, he advocated the cause of the people of Ilium, and
having eloquently recounted how Rome was the offspring of Troy, and Aeneas
the founder of the Julian line, with other old traditions akin to myths, he
gained for his clients exemption from all public burdens. His pleading too
procured for the colony of Bononia, which had been ruined by a fire, a
subvention of ten million sesterces. The Rhodians also had their freedom
restored to them, which had often been taken away, or confirmed, according to
their services to us in our foreign wars, or their seditious misdeeds at
home. Apamea, too, which had been shaken by an earthquake, had its tribute
remitted for five years. |
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59[edit] |
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Claudius, on the other hand, was
being prompted to exhibit the worst cruelty by the artifices of the same
Agrippina. On the accusation of Tarquitius Priscus, she ruined Statilius
Taurus, who was famous for his wealth, and at whose gardens she cast a greedy
eye. Priscus had served under Taurus in his proconsular government of Africa,
and after their return charged him with a few acts of extortion, but
particularly with magical and superstitious practices. Taurus, no longer able
to endure a false accusation and an undeserved humiliation, put a violent end
to his life before the Senate's decision was pronounced. Tarquitius was
however expelled from the Senate, a point which the senators carried, out of
hatred for the accuser, notwithstanding the intrigues of Agrippina. |
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That same year the emperor was
often heard to say that the legal decisions of the commissioners of the
imperial treasury ought to have the same force as if pronounced by himself.
Lest it might be supposed that he had stumbled inadvertently into this opinion,
its principle was also secured by a decree of the Senate on a more complete
and ample scale than before. It had indeed already been arranged by the
Divine Augustus that the Roman knights who governed Egypt should hear causes,
and that their decisions were to be as binding as those of Roman magistrates,
and after a time most of the cases formerly tried by the praetors were
submitted to the knights. Claudius handed over to them the whole
administration of justice for which there had been by sedition or war so many
struggles; the Sempronian laws vesting judicial power in the equestrian
order, and those of Servilius restoring it to the Senate, while it was for
this above everything else that Marius and Sulla fought of old. But those
were days of political conflict between classes, and the results of victory
were binding on the State. Caius Oppius and Cornelius Balbus were the first
who were able, with Caesar's support, to settle conditions of peace and terms
of war. To mention after them the Matii, Vedii, and other too influential
names of Roman knights would be superfluous, when Claudius, we know, raised
freedmen whom he had set over his household to equality with himself and with
the laws. |
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Next the emperor proposed to grant
immunity from taxation to the people of Cos, and he dwelt much on their
antiquity. "The Argives or Coeus, the father of Latona, were the
earliest inhabitants of the island; soon afterwards, by the arrival of Aesculapius,
the art of the physician was introduced and was practised with much fame by
his descendants." Claudius named them one by one, with the periods in
which they had respectively flourished. He said too that Xenophon, of whose
medical skill he availed himself, was one of the same family, and that they
ought to grant his request and let the people of Cos dwell free from all
tribute in their sacred island, as a place devoted to the sole service of
their god. It was also certain that many obligations under which they had
laid Rome and joint victories with her might have been recounted. Claudius
however did not seek to veil under any external considerations a concession
he had made, with his usual good nature, to an individual. |
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Envoys from Byzantium having
received audience, in complaining to the Senate of their heavy burdens,
recapitulated their whole history. Beginning with the treaty which they
concluded with us when we fought against that king of Macedonia whose
supposed spurious birth acquired for him the name of the Pseudo Philip, they
reminded us of the forces which they had afterwards sent against Antiochus,
Perses and Aristonicus, of the aid they had given Antonius in the pirate-war,
of their offers to Sulla, Lucullus, and Pompeius, and then of their late
services to the Caesars, when they were in occupation of a district
peculiarly convenient for the land or sea passage of generals and armies, as
well as for the conveyance of supplies. |
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63[edit] |
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It was indeed on that very narrow
strait which parts Europe from Asia, at Europe's furthest extremity, that the
Greeks built Byzantium. When they consulted the Pythian Apollo as to where
they should found a city, the oracle replied that they were to seek a home
opposite to the blind men's country. This obscure hint pointed to the people
of Chalcedon, who, though they arrived there first and saw before others the
advantageous position, chose the worse. For Byzantium has a fruitful soil and
productive seas, as immense shoals of fish pour out of the Pontus and are
driven by the sloping surface of the rocks under water to quit the windings
of the Asiatic shore and take refuge in these harbours. Consequently the
inhabitants were at first money-making and wealthy traders, but afterwards,
under the pressure of excessive burdens, they petitioned for immunity or at
least relief, and were supported by the emperor, who argued to the Senate
that, exhausted as they were by the late wars in Thrace and Bosporus, they
deserved help. So their tribute was remitted for five years. |
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64[edit] |
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In the year of the consulship of
Marcus Asinius and Manius Acilius it was seen to be portended by a succession
of prodigies that there were to be political changes for the worse. The
soldiers' standards and tents were set in a blaze by lightning. A swarm of
bees settled on the summit of the Capitol; births of monsters, half man, half
beast, and of a pig with a hawk's talons, were reported. It was accounted a
portent that every order of magistrates had had its number reduced, a
quaestor, an aedile, a tribune, a praetor and consul having died within a few
months. But Agrippina's terror was the most conspicuous. Alarmed by some
words dropped by Claudius when half intoxicated, that it was his destiny to
have to endure his wives' infamy and at last punish it, she determined to act
without a moment's delay. First she destroyed Lepida from motives of feminine
jealousy. Lepida indeed as the daughter of the younger Antonia, as the
grandniece of Augustus, the cousin of Agrippina, and sister of her husband
Cneius, thought herself of equally high rank. In beauty, youth, and wealth
they differed but slightly. Both were shameless, infamous, and intractable,
and were rivals in vice as much as in the advantages they had derived from
fortune. It was indeed a desperate contest whether the aunt or the mother
should have most power over Nero. Lepida tried to win the young prince's
heart by flattery and lavish liberality, while Agrippina on the other hand,
who could give her son empire but could not endure that he should be emperor,
was fierce and full of menace. |
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65[edit] |
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It was charged on Lepida that she
had made attempts on the Emperor's consort by magical incantations, and was
disturbing the peace of Italy by an imperfect control of her troops of slaves
in Calabria. She was for this sentenced to death, notwithstanding the
vehement opposition of Narcissus, who, as he more and more suspected
Agrippina, was said to have plainly told his intimate friends that "his
destruction was certain, whether Britannicus or Nero were to be emperor, but
that he was under such obligations to Claudius that he would sacrifice life
to his welfare. Messalina and Silius had been convicted, and now again there
were similar grounds for accusation. If Nero were to rule, or Britannicus
succeed to the throne, he would himself have no claim on the then reigning
sovereign. Meanwhile, a stepmother's treacherous schemes were convulsing the
whole imperial house, with far greater disgrace than would have resulted from
his concealment of the profligacy of the emperor's former wife. Even as it
was, there was shamelessness enough, seeing that Pallas was her paramour, so
that no one could doubt that she held honour, modesty and her very person,
everything, in short, cheaper than sovereignty." This, and the like, he
was always saying, and he would embrace Britannicus, expressing earnest
wishes for his speedy arrival at a mature age, and would raise his hand, now
to heaven, now to the young prince, with entreaty that as he grew up, he
would drive out his father's enemies and also take vengeance on the murderers
of his mother. |
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66[edit] |
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Under this great burden of
anxiety, he had an attack of illness, and went to Sinuessa to recruit his
strength with its balmy climate and salubrious waters. Thereupon, Agrippina,
who had long decided on the crime and eagerly grasped at the opportunity thus
offered, and did not lack instruments, deliberated on the nature of the
poison to be used. The deed would be betrayed by one that was sudden and
instantaneous, while if she chose a slow and lingering poison, there was a
fear that Claudius, when near his end, might, on detecting the treachery,
return to his love for his son. She decided on some rare compound which might
derange his mind and delay death. A person skilled in such matters was
selected, Locusta by name, who had lately been condemned for poisoning, and
had long been retained as one of the tools of despotism. By this woman's art
the poison was prepared, and it was to be administered by an eunuch, Halotus,
who was accustomed to bring in and taste the dishes. |
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67[edit] |
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All the circumstances were
subsequently so well known, that writers of the time have declared that the
poison was infused into some mushrooms, a favourite delicacy, and its effect
not at the instant perceived, from the emperor's lethargic, or intoxicated
condition. His bowels too were relieved, and this seemed to have saved him.
Agrippina was thoroughly dismayed. Fearing the worst, and defying the
immediate obloquy of the deed, she availed herself of the complicity of
Xenophon, the physician, which she had already secured. Under pretence of
helping the emperor's efforts to vomit, this man, it is supposed, introduced
into his throat a feather smeared with some rapid poison; for he knew that
the greatest crimes are perilous in their inception, but well rewarded after
their consummation. |
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68[edit] |
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Meanwhile the Senate was summoned,
and prayers rehearsed by the consuls and priests for the emperor's recovery,
though the lifeless body was being wrapped in blankets with warm
applications, while all was being arranged to establish Nero on the throne. At
first Agrippina, seemingly overwhelmed by grief and seeking comfort, clasped
Britannicus in her embraces, called him the very image of his father, and
hindered him by every possible device from leaving the chamber. She also
detained his sisters, Antonia and Octavia, closed every approach to the
palace with a military guard, and repeatedly gave out that the emperor's
health was better, so that the soldiers might be encouraged to hope, and that
the fortunate moment foretold by the astrologers might arrive. |
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69[edit] |
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At last, at noon on the 13th of
October, the gates of the palace were suddenly thrown open, and Nero,
accompanied by Burrus, went forth to the cohort which was on guard after
military custom. There, at the suggestion of the commanding officer, he was
hailed with joyful shouts, and set on a litter. Some, it is said, hesitated,
and looked round and asked where Britannicus was; then, when there was no one
to lead a resistance, they yielded to what was offered them. Nero was
conveyed into the camp, and having first spoken suitably to the occasion and
promised a donative after the example of his father's bounty, he was
unanimously greeted as emperor. The decrees of the Senate followed the voice
of the soldiers, and there was no hesitation in the provinces. Divine honours
were decreed to Claudius, and his funeral rites were solemnized on the same
scale as those of Augustus; for Agrippina strove to emulate the magnificence
of her great-grandmother, Livia. But his will was not publicly read, as the
preference of the stepson to the son might provoke a sense of wrong and angry
feeling in the popular mind. |
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Annals (Tacitus) |
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From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia |
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Jump
to navigationJump to search |
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"The
Annals" redirects here. For the academic publication by the American
Academy of Political and Social Science, see American Academy of
Political and Social Science § The Annals. |
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A copy of
the second Medicean manuscript of Annals, Book 15, chapter 44 |
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The Annals (Latin: Annales) by Roman historian and
senator Tacitus[1] is a history of the Roman
Empire from the reign of Tiberius to that of Nero, the years AD 14–68.[2] The Annals are an important source
for modern understanding of the history of the Roman Empire during the 1st
century AD;[3] it
is Tacitus' final work, and modern historians generally consider it his
greatest writing.[4] Historian Ronald Mellor calls it "Tacitus's crowning achievement,” which
represents the "pinnacle of Roman historical writing".[5] |
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Tacitus' Histories and Annals together amounted to 30 books; although some scholars
disagree about which work to assign some books to, traditionally 14 are
assigned to Histories and 16 to Annals. Of the 30 books referred to by Jerome about half have survived.[2] |
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Modern scholars believe that as a Roman senator, Tacitus had access
to Acta Senatus—the
Roman senate's records—which provided a solid basis for his work.[4] Although Tacitus
refers to part of his work as "my annals", the title of the
work Annals used
today was not assigned by Tacitus himself, but derives from its year-by-year
structure.[2][3] The name of the current manuscript seems to be "Books
of History from the Death of the Divine Augustus" (Ab Excessu divi Augusti Historiarum Libri). |
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Contents |
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·
1Background and structure |
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· 2Content
and style |
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·
3Provenance and authenticity |
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· 4In
popular culture |
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· 5See also |
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·
6References |
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· 7Further
reading |
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· 8External
links |
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Background
and structure[edit] |
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The Fire of Rome, July 64, during the
reign of Nero,
by Karl von Piloty,
1861. |
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The Annals was Tacitus' final work and provides a key source for
modern understanding of the history of the Roman
Empire from the beginning of the reign
of Tiberius in
AD 14 to the end of the reign of Nero, in AD 68.[3] Tacitus wrote the Annals in at least 16 books, but books 7–10 and parts of books 5,
6, 11 and 16 are missing.[3] |
|
The period covered by the Histories (written before
the Annals) starts
at the beginning of the year AD 69, i.e. six months after the death of Nero and continues to the death
of Domitian in
96.[3] It
is not known when Tacitus began writing the Annals, but he was well into
writing it by AD 116.[2] Modern scholars believe that as a senator, Tacitus had
access to Acta Senatus, the Roman senate's records, thus providing a solid basis for
his work.[4] |
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Together the Histories and the Annals amounted to 30 books.[2] These thirty books are referred to by Saint Jerome, and about half of them
have survived.[2] Although some scholars differ on how to assign the books
to each work, traditionally fourteen are assigned to Histories and sixteen to
the Annals.[2] Tacitus' friend
Pliny referred to "your histories" when writing to him about his
earlier work.[2] Although Tacitus refers to part of his work as "my
annals", the title of the work Annals used today was not assigned by Tacitus himself, but
derives from its year-by-year structure.[2][3] |
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Of the sixteen books in Annals, the reign of Tiberius
takes up six books, of which only Book 5 is missing. These books are neatly
divided into two sets of three, corresponding to the change in the nature of
the political climate during the period.[3] |
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The next six books are devoted to the reigns
of Caligula and Claudius. Books 7 through 10 are
missing. Books 11 & 12 cover the period from the treachery of Messalina to the end of Claudius'
reign. |
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The final four books cover the reign of Nero and Book 16 cuts off in the
middle of the year AD 66.[3] This leaves the material that would have covered the final
two years of Nero's reign lost.[2] |
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Content and
style[edit] |
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Tacitus documented a Roman imperial system of
government that originated with the Battle of Actium in September 31 BC. Yet Tacitus chose not to start then,
but with the death of Augustus Caesar in AD 14, and his succession by Tiberius.[4] |
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As in the Histories, Tacitus maintains his thesis of the necessity of the principate. He says again that
Augustus gave and warranted peace to the state after years of civil war, but
on the other hand he shows us the dark side of life under the Caesars. The history of the beginning
of the principate is also the history of the end of the political freedom
that the senatorial aristocracy, which Tacitus viewed as morally decadent,
corrupt, and servile towards the emperor, had enjoyed during the republic.
During Nero's reign there had been a widespread diffusion of literary works
in favor of this suicidal exitus illustrium
virorum ("end of the illustrious
men"). Again, as in his Agricola, Tacitus is opposed to those who chose useless martyrdom
through vain suicides. |
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In the Annals, Tacitus further improved the style of portraiture that he had
used so well in the Historiae. Perhaps the best portrait is that of Tiberius, portrayed in an
indirect way, painted progressively during the course of a narrative, with
observations and commentary along the way filling in details.[2] Tacitus portrays
both Tiberius and Nero as tyrants who caused fear in their subjects.[2] But while he views
Tiberius as someone who had once been a great man, Tacitus considers Nero as
simply despicable.[2] |
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Provenance
and authenticity[edit] |
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Corvey
Abbey, where Annals 1–6 were discovered.[6] |
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Since the 18th century, at least five
attempts have been made to challenge the authenticity of the Annals as having been written by
someone other than Tacitus, Voltaire's criticism being perhaps the first.[7] Voltaire was generally critical of Tacitus and said that
Tacitus did not comply with the standards for providing a historical
background to civilization.[8] In 1878, John Wilson Ross and, in 1890, Polydore Hochart
suggested that the whole of the Annals had been forged by the Italian scholar Poggio Bracciolini (1380–1459).[9][10][11] According
to Robert Van Voorst this
was an "extreme hypothesis" which never gained a following among
modern scholars.[11] |
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The provenance of the manuscripts containing the Annals goes back to the Renaissance. While Bracciolini had
discovered three minor works at Hersfeld Abbey in Germany in 1425, Zanobi
da Strada (who died in 1361) had probably
earlier discovered Annals 11–16 at Monte Cassino where he lived for some
time.[6][12] The
copies of Annals at Monte Cassino were probably moved to Florence by Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375), a
friend of da Strada, who is also credited with their discovery at Monte
Cassino.[12][13][14] Regardless of whether the Monte Cassino manuscripts were
moved to Florence by Boccaccio or da Strada, Boccaccio made use of the Annals
when he wrote Commento di Dante c. 1374 (before the birth of Poggio Bracciolini), giving
an account of Seneca's
death directly based on the Tacitean account in Annals book 15.[15][16] Francis
Newton states that it is likely[why?] that Annals 11–16 were in Monte
Cassino during the first half of the rule of
Abbot Desiderius (1058–1087) who later became Pope
Victor III.[17] Annals 1–6 were then independently discovered at Corvey Abbey in Germany in 1508
by Giovanni Angelo Arcimboldi, afterwards Archbishop of Milan, and were first
published in Rome in 1515 by Beroaldus, by order of Pope Leo X, who afterwards deposited the manuscript in the Medicean
Library in Florence.[6] |
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In popular
culture[edit] |
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In Donna Leon's third Commissario Brunetti novel Dressed for Death (1994), the
protagonist reads Tacitus' Annals in his spare time in the evenings, and various references
to that material are made throughout the novel. Tacitus is also mentioned
briefly in "The Mysteries of Udolpho" volume VI chapter VIII |
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See also |
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VANNIUS, f. ab Hisp. Vanno,
vel Banno, Balneum : nisi sit nomen loci. Charta inter Conc.
Hispan. tom. 3. pag. 168 : |
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Et
conclude per illum flumen usque intrat Lor in Sylæ, et item ad aquiaria et
per Vannios. |
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From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia |
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Vannius was
the king of the Germanic tribe Quadi. He lived in the 1st century. The Kingdom of Vannius (regnum Vannianum) was in the western
part of present day Slovakia and it was the first political unit in Slovak area. He was a client King
of Pannonia and Dalmatia and served from 17-20AD under the reign of Tiberius. |
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Vannes |
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Pour les articles homonymes, voir Vanne
(homonymie). |
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Vannes |
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De haut en bas et de gauche à droite : les remparts de Vannes, des maisons à pans
de bois, les vieux lavoirs, les lavoirs et la tour
de connétable, une ruelle de l'intra muros et le
clocher de l'église Saint-Patern. |
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Blason |
Logo |
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Administration |
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Pays |
France |
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Région |
Bretagne |
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Département |
Morbihan (préfecture) |
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Arrondissement |
Vannes (chef-lieu) |
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Intercommunalité |
Golfe du
Morbihan - Vannes Agglomération |
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(siège) |
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Maire |
David Robo (DVD) |
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Mandat |
2020-2026 |
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Code postal |
56000 |
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Code commune |
56260 |
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Démographie |
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Gentilé |
Vannetais |
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Population |
53 438 hab. (2018 |
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municipale |
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Densité |
1 654 hab./km2 |
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Population |
79 795 hab. (2017) |
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agglomération |
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Géographie |
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Coordonnées |
47° 39′ 21″ nord,
2° 45′ 37″ ouest |
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Altitude |
Min. 0 m |
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Max. 56 m |
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Superficie |
32,30 km2 |
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Élections |
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Départementales |
Cantons de Vannes-1, Vannes-2 et Vannes-3 |
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(bureau centralisateur) |
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Législatives |
Première
circonscription |
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Localisation |
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Géolocalisation sur la carte : France |
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Voir sur la carte
administrative de Bretagne |
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Voir sur la carte
topographique du Morbihan |
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Voir sur la carte
administrative de France |
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Voir sur la carte
topographique de France |
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Liens |
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Site web |
vannes.bzh [archive] |
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modifier |
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Vannes /van/Note 1 Écouter (en breton Gwened : [ˈɡɥeːnet] en gallo Vann) est une commune française située dans l’ouest de la France sur la côte sud de la région
Bretagne. La ville, située en Basse-Bretagne, est la préfecture
du département du Morbihan, et le siège d'une agglomération de
168 351 habitants. Centre économique et destination touristique1 à la tête
d’une aire urbaine de
158 549 habitants au 1er janvier 2017i 1, et d'une population municipale de 53 218 habitants
au 1er janvier 2016i
2, Vannes est la 4e agglomération de la région Bretagnei 3 en nombre d'habitants, et le 3e pôle universitaire
de Bretagne2. |
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La
ville est bâtie en amphithéâtre au fond du golfe du
Morbihan ; la vieille ville est enfermée dans
ses remparts, groupée autour de la cathédrale
Saint-Pierre ; elle a été aménagée en zone
piétonne et offre des commerces installés dans des demeures à pans de bois, dites
aussi à colombages. |
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Après
la guerre qui opposa
les Vénètes aux légions de César, l’administration romaine fait
de Darioritum, nom antique de la ville, la civitas des Vénètes à la fin
du ier siècle av. J.-C. sous
le règne d'Auguste3. La ville accueille l’évêché et les ordres religieux catholiques en 465 lors du concile de Vannes. Ce concile
consacre Patern,
saint patron de la cité, saint fondateur de
Bretagne et premier évêque attesté de Vannes4,5. |
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Au cœur
d'un comté qui forme
un espace-frontière, la cité est conquise en 578 par le roi Waroch II qui organise le Bro Waroch, espace politique dont Vannes est la capitale. Sa position
centrale en Bretagne-sud confère à Vannes et à ses chefs politiques et
religieux un rôle prédominant. Les comtes et évêques de Vannes sont des personnages clés de l'équilibre entre la Bretagne et la France. |
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Ville
du missus Nominoe, cité
royale de Bretagne à
la fin du Ier millénaire, Vannes devient après la guerre de Succession de Bretagne le
siège de la puissance ducale. Théâtre de l'Union de
la Bretagne à la France en 1532, Vannes connaît un essor
religieux exceptionnel au cours des xvie et xviie siècles avant de sombrer dans la langueur jusqu'aux années 1870 et l'installation de
régiments. L'après Première Guerre mondiale marque le temps des mutations alors que l'après Seconde Guerre mondiale marque
celui de la croissance économique et démographique. |
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Vannes, la cité des Vénètes, constitue un
point de départ pour les excursions vers la célèbre « petite mer ».
Quant à la vieille ville médiévale regroupée autour de sa cathédrale Saint-Pierre et
entourée de remparts,
elle est visitée pour son patrimoine
architectural6.
Ce quartier compte de nombreuses rues piétonnes surplombées par de très
vieilles maisons à colombages. |
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Sommaire |
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·
1Géographie |
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o
1.1Localisation |
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o 1.2Communes limitrophes |
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1.3Topographie |
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o 1.4Hydrographie et hydrologie |
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1.5Climat |
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o 1.6Voies de communication et transports |
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· 2Urbanisme |
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o 2.1Morphologie urbaine |
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o
2.2Quartiers |
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o
2.3Logement |
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o 2.4Projets d’aménagement |
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· 3Toponymie |
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o 3.1Le nom de Darioritum |
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o
3.2Le nom de Vannes |
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· 4Histoire |
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· 5Politique
et administration |
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o 5.1Découpage administratif |
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o 5.2Tendances politiques et résultats |
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o 5.3Administration municipale |
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o 5.4Instances judiciaires et
administratives |
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o
5.5Défense |
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o 5.6Sécurité |
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o 5.7Jumelages et partenariats |
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·
6Population et société |
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o
6.1Démographie |
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o
6.2Enseignement |
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o 6.3Manifestations culturelles et
festivités |
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o
6.4Santé |
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o
6.5Sports |
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o
6.6Médias |
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o 6.7Cultes et lieux de culte |
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o
6.8Langue bretonne |
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· 7Économie |
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o 7.1Revenus de la population et fiscalité |
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o
7.2Emploi |
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o
7.3La technopole |
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o 7.4Démographie des entreprises |
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o 7.5Marchés et commerces |
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· 8Culture
locale et patrimoine |
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o 8.1Lieux et monuments |
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o 8.2Patrimoine culturel |
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o 8.3Personnalités liées à la commune |
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o 8.4Héraldique, drapeau et logotype |
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· 9Notes et
références |
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o
9.1Notes |
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o 9.2Références |
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· 10Voir
aussi |
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o
10.1Bibliographie |
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o
10.2Articles connexes |
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o
10.3Liens externes |
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Géographie[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Localisation[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Vannes sur les rives nord du golfe du Morbihan. |
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Vannes
se situe sur les rives nord du golfe du Morbihan, sur l'estuaire de la Marle au sud-centre de la péninsule armoricaine. La ville,
située sur le littoral sud breton entre le golfe
du Morbihan au sud et les landes de Lanvaux au nord, est à
la fois en bord de mer et à l'intérieur des terres en étant distante de
15 km de l'océan Atlantique en direction du sud-ouest. Desservie par la RN 165, l'agglomération vannetaise est
localisée sur un axe qui comprend quelques-unes des plus grandes
agglomérations de Bretagne : Brest, Quimper, Lorient, Vannes et Nantes. |
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Vannes
est située à 400,7 km à l'ouest de Paris7. Les deux aéroports proposant des vols réguliers vers d'autres
villes françaises sont l'aéroport de
Nantes-Atlantique et l'aéroport de Lorient-Bretagne-Sud. Par
la route, Vannes se situe à 110 km de Rennes, de Nantes, à 120 km de Quimper et à
460 km de Paris (soit cinq heures8 par l'autoroute). |
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Vannes s'est
développée autour du centre historique qui se trouve à la jonction de trois
collines : la colline du Mené où est situé l'intra-muros de la ville, la
colline de Boismoreau où est situé le quartier Saint-Patern et la colline de
la Garenne qui accueille l'hôtel de la préfecture, les jardins de la
préfecture, le parc de la Garenne ainsi que le siège du conseil général
du Morbihan. |
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La porte Saint
Vincent, principale porte d'entrée de la vieille ville, baigne au pied
du port de plaisance dont
l'accès se fait par un chenal (direction sud-nord) de 1 500 mètres
qui mène les bateaux du pont de Kérino au bassin à flot. |
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Représentations cartographiques de la commune |
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Carte
OpenStreetMap |
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Carte
topographique |
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Communes limitrophes[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Communes limitrophes de Vannes |
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Plescop |
Saint-Avé |
Saint-Nolff |
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Ploeren |
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Theix-Noyalo |
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Arradon |
Golfe du Morbihan |
Séné |
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Toutes sont
situées dans la communauté d'agglomération Golfe du Morbihan - Vannes
Agglomération. À l’extrémité sud de la ville,
au-delà de l’estuaire de la Marle, se trouve l’île
d’Arz qui accueille la commune du même nom
(254 habitants). |
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Topographie[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Cette section
est vide, insuffisamment détaillée ou incomplète. Votre
aide est la bienvenue ! Comment faire ? |
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Source9. |
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Hydrographie et
hydrologie[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Localisation de Vannes au fond du golfe du Morbihan
- Zone Belle-île, Baie de Quiberon, Golfe du Morbihan. |
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Située
au nord de l'estuaire de Vannes où se jettent les rivières de la Marle, du Vincin et de Séné, la ville est bâtie au fond
du golfe du Morbihan.
Le golfe est classé parmi les baies fermées, c'est-à-dire celles qui ne communiquent avec la
mer que par un étroit goulet. Le golfe connaît un cycle de marée perturbé, il est sillonné
par des courants et des contre-courants qui s'alternent créant tourbillons et
remous. D'autre part, le marnage (amplitude maximale entre la haute et la basse mer) est
plus faible à l'intérieur qu'à l'extérieur puisque l'ouverture du golfe est
faible et le bassin étendu. Cette diminution du marnage est sensible dans le
golfe du Morbihan (110 km2 pour une ouverture de 900 m). Avec une hauteur d’eau
de 4,5 m, le marnage moyen est relativement faible à Vannes. Avec
5 m à Port-Navalo et 4,5 m à Vannes, le marnage du golfe est très
faible par rapport à celui de pleine mer (environ 8 m). |
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L'étroitesse
du goulet de Port-Navalo et
la configuration topographique du golfe créent des courants parmi les plus
violents du littoral français. Les courants
marins les plus violents peuvent atteindre
3,8 m/s dans la
Passe des Moutons, entre Locmariaquer et Port-Navalo lors des forts coefficients (120). |
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Le
golfe du Morbihan, qui est classé en zone
conchylicole, appartient au Réseau Natura 200010 en tant que Zone spéciale
de conservation dans son ensemble et Zone de protection spéciale pour
l'estuaire de la Marle, la réserve naturelle
nationale des marais de Séné, la partie Est et
le marais de Pen an Toul situé au Sud de Baden. C'est un site remarquable par la qualité de son milieu marin
et sa forte productivité biologique. Des mammifères
marins y sont présents, par exemple le grand dauphin et la loutre. On y trouve aussi des
chauves-souris, notamment le grand murin, le grand rhinolophe et le petit rhinolophe. |
|
Climat[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Relevé météorologique de Vannes 1981 - 2010 à 3
mètres d'altitude |
|
Mois |
jan. |
fév. |
mars |
avril |
mai |
juin |
jui. |
août |
sep. |
oct. |
nov. |
déc. |
année |
|
Température minimale moyenne (°C) |
3 |
2,6 |
4,5 |
6,2 |
9,6 |
12,1 |
14,2 |
13,6 |
11,6 |
9,1 |
5,6 |
3,3 |
8 |
|
Température moyenne
(°C) |
6,2 |
6,2 |
8,7 |
10,8 |
14,2 |
17,1 |
19,1 |
18,8 |
16,8 |
13,1 |
9,3 |
6,6 |
12,2 |
|
Température maximale
moyenne (°C) |
9,3 |
9,8 |
12,8 |
15,4 |
18,8 |
22 |
24,1 |
23,8 |
21,8 |
17,2 |
12,8 |
9,8 |
16,5 |
|
Nombre de jours avec
gel |
8,9 |
9,1 |
4,4 |
1 |
0,1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0,3 |
3,3 |
8,3 |
35,4 |
|
Ensoleillement
(h) |
71 |
97 |
141 |
185 |
183 |
239 |
239 |
220 |
202 |
122 |
95 |
95 |
1 889 |
|
Précipitations (mm) |
93,2 |
67,8 |
70,9 |
56 |
64,4 |
48,5 |
49,7 |
43,9 |
57,4 |
102,9 |
82,4 |
97,4 |
837,5 |
|
Nombre de jours avec
précipitations |
12,9 |
9,4 |
11,5 |
9,9 |
9,5 |
7,7 |
7 |
7 |
7,6 |
11,9 |
12,1 |
12,2 |
118,7 |
|
Source : Météo Bretagne [archive], Météo Passion [archive] |
|
Diagramme climatique |
|
|
J |
F |
M |
A |
M |
J |
J |
A |
S |
O |
N |
D |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9,3 |
9,8 |
12,8 |
15,4 |
18,8 |
22 |
24,1 |
23,8 |
21,8 |
17,2 |
12,8 |
9,8 |
|
|
3 |
2,6 |
4,5 |
6,2 |
9,6 |
12,1 |
14,2 |
13,6 |
11,6 |
9,1 |
5,6 |
3,3 |
|
|
93,2 |
67,8 |
70,9 |
56 |
64,4 |
48,5 |
49,7 |
43,9 |
57,4 |
102,9 |
82,4 |
97,4 |
|
|
Moyennes : •
Temp. maxi et mini °C • Précipitation mm |
|
|
Située
sur la côte sud de la péninsule bretonne et sur les rives nord du Golfe du Morbihan, le climat de Vannes
est influencé par l'océan Atlantique proche et bénéficie d'un climat océanique. Ce climat se
caractérise par des hivers doux et pluvieux, et des étés frais et
relativement humides, sachant que le maximum de précipitations se produit
durant la saison froide. L'ensoleillement moyen est supérieur à
2 000 heures par an 11. |
|
Le tableau ci-dessous indique les : |
|
|
| 'Relevés des records de
températures, les records de pluviométrie depuis 1962 ainsi que les records de
vitesse de vent depuis 198212. |
|
|
Mois |
Janv. |
Fév. |
Mars |
Avr. |
Mai |
Juin |
Juil. |
Août |
Sept. |
Oct. |
Nov. |
Déc. |
Année |
|
Températures maximales records (°C) depuis 1962 |
16,7 |
18,8 |
23,7 |
27,9 |
30 |
38 |
37,7 |
39,1 |
32,1 |
28,5 |
21,2 |
17.3 |
- |
|
Années des températures maximales |
2003 |
1998 |
2005 |
1984 |
2010 |
1976 |
2012 |
1990 |
2005 |
1997 |
1978 |
1978 |
1997 |
|
Températures minimales records (°C) depuis 1962 |
-11,8 |
-11 |
-8,7 |
-3 |
-1,1 |
1,6 |
6,4 |
4,5 |
2 |
-2,5 |
-5,3 |
-8,2 |
- |
|
Années des températures minimales |
1963 |
2012 |
2005 |
1986 |
1979 |
1989 |
1982 |
1986 |
1972 |
1997 |
2007 |
1962 |
- |
|
Vitesse du vent maximale en km/h depuis
1982 |
133 |
126 |
137 |
94 |
94 |
86 |
94 |
86 |
104 |
122 |
97 |
119 |
- |
|
Années des records |
1998 |
1990 |
2008 |
2004 |
2000 |
1990 |
2004 |
2004 |
1993 |
1987 |
1987 |
1999 |
- |
|
Précipitations maximales (hauteur en mm) depuis 1961 |
48,7 |
46,9 |
46,4 |
33,2 |
43,2 |
49,2 |
63,4 |
59,3 |
44 |
51,6 |
41.2 |
50,7 |
2 000 (max) |
|
1 973 (min) |
|
Voies de
communication et transports[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
|
|
|
Plan et réseau routier du centre-ville. |
|
|
Dès l'Antiquité, Darioritum était située sur
la route de l'Océan, voie romaine reliant Lyon à Brest. La capitale des Vénètes était
un important carrefour d’où convergeaient six voies
romaines, la première vers Locmariaquer, la seconde vers Hennebont, la troisième vers Corseul, avec embranchement sur Carhaix, la quatrième vers Rennes, la cinquième vers Rieux, et la sixième vers Arzal, avec embranchement sur Port-Navalo. |
|
Réseau routier[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Vannes est
située sur un carrefour entre l'axe autoroutier qui relie Nantes à Brest (RN
165) et l'axe rapide RN 166 vers Ploërmel puis RN 24 vers Rennes. Vannes est également située
sur la route européenne 60 qui relie Brest à Nantes. |
|
|
La
portion de la RN 165 limitée à 90 km/h, qui commence au niveau de
la commune de Séné et
se termine peu après la frontière qui sépare Vannes de la commune de Ploeren constitue la rocade de
Vannes. La rocade de forme semi-circulaire est située au nord du centre-ville
de Vannes et sert de frontière entre les deux parties de la ville. À l'ouest
de la ville, la rocade dessert les deux grandes zones commerciales :
la ZC de Parc Lann au
nord et la ZC de Kerlann au sud. À l'est, deux sorties desservent des zones
d'activités : la zone industrielle du
Prat au sud et les zones artisanales et
commerciales de Pentaparc et du Chapeau Rouge au nord. Les sorties « centre-ville » se
situent, d'une part et d'autre, au niveau du centre
d'incendie et de secours et de la
piscine Vanocéa. |
|
Entre
1988 et 2016, le pont de Kerino, situé à l'embouchure de la Marle, au sud du port de plaisance,
permettait aux véhicules de franchir la rivière. Depuis le 24 juin 2016,
le tunnel de Kerino permet
de ne plus interrompre le trafic des véhicules pour laisser passer les
bateaux. |
|
Réseau ferroviaire[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
|
Gare de Vannes. |
|
|
Article détaillé : Gare de Vannes. |
|
|
Vannes
est une destination desservie par la ligne Savenay -
Landerneau longeant la côte sud de la Bretagne, qui constitue l'essentiel de
la relation Nantes - Brest. Une gare routière, située à
proximité immédiate de la gare ferroviaire, permet de gagner les communes non desservies par les voies
ferrées, la gare maritime de Vannes, l'aéroport de
Vannes. La gare de
Vannes a fait l'objet, de 2006 à 2009, de
profondes transformations avec intégration d'une verrière, mise aux
normes pour les personnes handicapées et aménagement des parkings environnants. |
|
Les
trains de l'Intercités Hendaye - Quimper et de l'Intercités de nuit Lyon - Quimper desservent la gare de la ville, construite en 1862.
La ville est également desservie par les lignes 2 (Rennes-Quimper), 3
(Quimper-Nantes), 12 (Vannes-Lorient), 19 (Redon-Vannes) et 27 (Saint-Brieuc-Vannes-Lorient) du TER Bretagne13. |
|
Le TGV dessert
Vannes sur la ligne Paris - Quimper. À partir du 2018 le parcours Paris -
Vannes se fait en moyenne en 2 h 30. |
|
|
Vélos[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Article détaillé : Vélocéo. |
|
|
Vannes
possède un réseau cyclable de
54 km14.
dont l'expansion et la modernisation est l'un des objectifs du plan de déplacements urbains. Par
ailleurs, Vannes a été dotée, entre juin 2009 et juin 2017, d'un système
de vélopartage baptisé Vélocéo et géré par Transdev pour le compte de la
municipalité, remplacé en 2018 Vélocéo, un système de vélos en libre-service à assistance électrique. |
|
Transports aériens[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Article détaillé : Aéroport de Vannes. |
|
|
Vannes
dispose d'un aéroport situé sur la commune de Monterblanc15. L'aéroport de Vannes
officiellement appelé « Aéroport de Vannes - Golfe du Morbihan »,
est depuis janvier 2008 la propriété de la Golfe du
Morbihan - Vannes Agglomération. La société
d’exploitation de Vannes aéroport (SEVA) est le gestionnaire de l’aéroport de
Vannes - Golfe du Morbihan depuis le 1er janvier 2007. La SEVA est une filiale du
groupe canadien SNC-Lavalin qui gère deux autres aéroports en France. |
|
L'aéroport
qui est à usage civil, ouvert au trafic national et international (sur
demande) a comme principales activités l'aviation d'affaires, l'aviation de
tourisme et l'aviation de loisirs. L'aéroport accueille l'aéroclub de Vannes,
le club ULM du Golfe
et l'école de parachutisme de Vannes. |
|
Transports collectifs[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
|
|
|
Bus de la ligne 1 à l'arrêt République. |
|
|
Article
détaillé : Transports en commun de Vannes. |
|
|
Le
réseau de transport collectif urbain et périurbain de la ville, nommé Kicéo, est
exploité par la Compagnie des Transports Golfe du Morbihan - Vannes
Agglomération (CGTMVA)16, une entreprise filiale du groupe RATP Dev. Le réseau est composé de 21
lignes régulières : 15 lignes urbaines (dont une en soirée), 5 lignes
périurbaines, une navette de centre-ville ainsi qu'un service de transport à la demande. Le réseau est
organisé « en étoile », où presque toutes les lignes passent par le
centre-ville de Vannes. L'autorité organisatrice de
la mobilité, chargée du développement des transports collectifs et de leur
financement à Vannes et son agglomération est la Communauté
d'agglomération de Vannes-Golfe du Morbihan. |
|
Vannes
est également desservie par 7 lignes d'autocar du réseau BreizhGo17, le service de transports collectifs interurbains
développé et financé par le conseil régional
de Bretagne. Vannes compte deux gares routières, l'une située place de la Libération et l'autre
à proximité de la gare ferroviaire. |
|
Urbanisme[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Morphologie urbaine[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Une
enquête, dont l'objet est le recensement du patrimoine architectural de
Vannes, est réalisée depuis 1997p 1. Cette enquête est le fruit d'un
partenariat entre l’État et la municipalité vannetaise et a permis le
recensement des quartiers de la ville. |
|
|
La
notion de quartier prend
plusieurs significations à Vannes. Dans le langage courant, un quartier
désigne un espace urbain pourvu d'une identité commune sur le plan
architectural, social et fonctionnel. De plus, la mise en place des conseils de quartier s'est basée
sur un nouveau découpage de l'espace territorial vannetais. |
|
Quartiers[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
·
Albert Ier |
|
|
·
Beaupré |
|
|
·
Bernus |
|
|
·
Cliscouët |
|
|
·
Conleau |
|
|
·
Kercado |
|
|
·
La Gare |
|
|
·
La Madeleine |
|
|
·
Saint-Patern |
|
|
·
Route de Nantes |
|
|
·
Le Rohan |
|
|
·
Le Trussac |
|
|
·
Les Casernes |
|
|
·
La Retraite |
|
|
·
Le Pont Vert |
|
|
·
Le Bel Air |
|
|
·
Tohannic |
|
|
·
Le Jointo |
|
|
·
Le Mené |
|
|
·
Le Pargo |
|
|
·
Le Port |
|
|
·
Jeanne d'Arc |
|
|
·
Ménimur |
|
|
·
Intra-muros |
|
|
·
Lalande |
|
|
·
Bécel |
|
|
Logement[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
|
|
|
Vue des toits de la vieille-ville de Vannes. |
|
|
|
La Place des Lices avant les travaux de suppression
du parking. |
|
|
En 2006, on dénombrait à Vannes
29 176 logements : 26 449 résidences
principales (soit 90,65 % de l'ensemble
des logements), 858 résidences secondaires (soit 2,94 %), 181 logements occasionnels (soit
0,6 %) et 1 689 logements vacants (soit 5,79 %). Sur
l'ensemble de ces logements, on dénombre 9 566 logements
individuels soit 32,78 % et 19 424 logements dans un immeuble collectif soit
66,57 %i 4. |
|
Pour ce
qui est des résidences principales, leur époque d'achèvement s'établit de la
manière qui suit pour l'année 2004. Sur les 25 896 résidences,
4 229 datent d'avant 1949 soit une part de 16,33 % ;
8 392 datent d'une période comprise entre 1949 à 1974 soit
32,40 % ; 5 840 résidences principales datent de 1975 à
1989 soit 22,55 % et 7 435 datent de 1990 à 2004 soit 28,71 %i 5. S'agissant du nombre
de pièces des
résidences principales en 2006, 3 006 en ont une soit 11,37 %,
5 020 en comptent deux soit 18,98 %, 5 280 en possèdent trois
soit 19,96 % et 13 144 en possèdent quatre et plus soit une part de
49,7 %i 4.
Le confort de ces résidences principales n'est pas identique. En effet,
cent-quatorze résidences n'ont pas de baignoire, ni douche soit 0,43 %i 6, 26 202 ont un
chauffage central soit près de 99 % des résidences, alors que 247 n'en
ont pas soit 1 %i 7, 17 240 bénéficient d'un garage ou d'un parking soit 65,18 %i 8. |
|
En
2007, le prix de l'immobilier à Vannes a dépassé celui de Rennes : le prix moyen au mètre
carré de l'habitat ancien à Vannes (2 342 €) est nettement
supérieur à celui de Lorient (1 606 €). Le prix moyen d'un appartement neuf à
Vannes était d'environ (3 500 €/m2). Le centre ville de Vannes est le quartier le plus cher, quant
aux quartiers situés près du Golfe, ils connaissent une augmentation
régulière du prix du logement18. |
|
Un quart des acquéreurs à Vannes sont des retraités
et la ville présente la particularité d'avoir des acquéreurs âgés,
49 ans en moyenne. On peut noter qu'en 2007, 32 % des acquéreurs
n'étaient pas originaire du Morbihan. Parmi les non morbihannais, 9 %
viennent d'Île-de-France et 6 % d'Ille-et-Vilaine. L'offre concerne pour
62 % des transactions des logements de 2 et 3 pièces. Les habitants
d'Île-de-France représentent 25 % des acheteurs sur le littoral
du Golfe du Morbihan. |
|
De
nombreux organismes d'attribution de logements
sociaux sont présents sur la commune. On y
trouve des offices publics de l'habitat (OPH) tels qu'Office Public Communal
d'HLM Vannes Golfe Habitat19 ou encore l'office public départemental du Morbihan Bretagne Sud Habitat20. |
|
Projets
d’aménagement[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Cette section
est vide, insuffisamment détaillée ou incomplète. Votre
aide est la bienvenue ! Comment faire ? |
|
|
Rive gauche[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Une
concertation a été initiée en 2017 en vue de l'aménagement de la rive gauche du port21. Les décisions relatives
à ce projet, initialement attendues en 201922, ont été reportées sine
die après les élections23. |
|
|
Toponymie[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Le nom de Darioritum[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
|
|
|
Table de Peutinger -
Darioritum se situe au nord du Golfe d'Aquitaine, près de la Loire (Riger) et de Rennes (Condate). |
|
|
Dans l'Antiquité, le peuple gaulois des Vénètes s'installe sur la rive
sud de la péninsule Armoricaine. Jules César, dans ses Commentaires sur la
Guerre des Gaules, est le premier auteur à citer le
peuple celte mais ne cite aucune capitale pour les Vénètes. Jusqu'au iie siècle, les auteurs romains et
grecs citent à de nombreuses reprises le peuple des Vénètes, mais il faut
attendre le iie siècle et la Géographie de Ptolémée pour mettre un nom sur
la capitale sud-armoricaine : Δαριοριτον (var. Δαριοριγον), nom gaulois grécisé signifiant peut-être « gué des
chênes »24. |
|
À l'époque gallo-romaine, ce nom est
adapté et latinisé sous
différentes formes : Darioritum (la forme la plus courante), Dariorigum, Dartorigum, etc. Darioritum se trouve également
sur la Table de Peutinger, copie du xiiie siècle d'une ancienne carte romaine où figurent les routes et les
villes principales de l'Empire romain. Il est cependant remplacé par l'ethnonyme Veneti à partir du iiie siècle25. |
|
Le nom de Vannes[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Attestations
anciennes26. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
·
400 : Benedetis |
|
|
·
vie siècle : Veneticam
urbem, Venitus civitatem |
|
|
·
viie siècle : Venetis |
|
|
·
818 : Veneda |
|
|
·
833 : Vednedia |
|
|
·
850 : Venedi |
|
|
·
862 : Venedia |
|
|
·
1187 : Vanetensis |
|
|
·
1263 : Vennes |
|
|
·
1288 : Venes |
|
|
·
1300 : Vanes |
|
|
·
1311 : Vennes |
|
|
·
1332 : Vannes |
|
|
·
1333 : Venetensis
diocesis |
|
|
·
1334 : Vanne |
|
|
·
1339 : Vannes |
|
|
·
1428 : Vennes |
|
|
·
1560 : Vannes |
|
|
·
1561 : Vennes |
|
|
·
1592 : Vannetois |
|
|
·
1636 : Vennes |
|
|
·
1693 : Euesché
de Vennes |
|
|
·
1709 : Vennes |
|
|
·
1719 : Vennes |
|
|
Vannes
apparaît sous le nom latin de Benetis dans le document administratif romain Notitia dignitatum datant de 40027. |
|
|
Le nom
de Vannes provient du peuple des Vénètes qui eurent comme capitale Darioritum, nom antique de la ville pendant la période gallo-romaine. Le nom de Vénètes est commun à plusieurs
peuples antiques dont l’un habitait le sud de l’Aremorica (celtique Veneti). |
|
Sous le
Bas Empire, lorsque les diocèses ont succédé aux circonscriptions romaines calquées sur
les cités gauloises,
les chefs lieu ont pris le nom des peuples gaulois au génitif. César
mentionne que le peuple gaulois établi dans le golfe du Morbihan était celui
des Vénètes et
l'évêché de Vannes est un des plus anciens d'Armorique. C'est pourquoi les
linguistes font procéder Vannes du celtique armoricain Venetīi « cité des Vénètes ». |
|
À la
fin de l’Empire romain, la ville
est couramment appelée civitas Venetum dans les textes, « la cité des Vénètes »,
d'après le nom du peuple dont sont issus ses premiers habitants. Ce phénomène
(l'abandon de l'ancien nom gaulois et l'adoption d'une nouvelle appellation
évoquant le nom des habitants) affecte vers le ive siècle la plupart des
anciennes cités gauloises de la moitié nord de la France : ainsi, Paris, ancien Lutetia, vient du nom des Parisii ; Nantes, ancien Condevincum , de celui
des Namnètes. Ces
mutations toponymiques sont caractéristiques du Bas-Empire romain. |
|
|
|
|
Feuillet du Notitia dignitatum - Dux
tractus Armoricani et Nervicani. |
|
|
Dans
le Notitia Galliarum,
compilation du ive siècle des cités gauloises
sous la Tétrarchie,
l'auteur nomme la Cité des Vénètes située dans la gaule lyonnaise III : In provintiis gallicanis quæ ciuitates sint, Provintia
Luddunensium Tertia : Ciuitas Venetum. Dans
le Notitia dignitatum, compilation par un auteur anonyme du ve siècle de toutes les
dignités tant civiles que militaires de l'Empire
romain, l'auteur nomme Benetis comme capitale du préfet
militaire : Sous les ordres de
l’honorable duc de la division Armoricani et
Nervicani : - Le commandant des soldats maures chez les Vénètes, à
Benetis. |
|
Au
cours du Moyen Âge, Venetis devient Vennes, par accentuation sur la
première syllabe qui entraîne la disparition du [t]28. Cette forme va subsister jusqu'au xviiie siècle, où les deux formes sont
utilisées conjointement dans les écrits de l'époqueNote
2. Durant cette période, le nom de la ville
est également mentionné sous différentes formes : Veneda (en 818), Guéned ou Guenette, Vanes (vers 1300), etc. |
|
Le nom de la
ville est Gwened (en breton), prononcé [dzɥinˈjɛt] en breton vannetais ou [gɥinˈjɛt]) et Vann (en gallo). Il est mentionné sous la forme guenet dans le Catholicon29. |
|
|
Ce nom
se prononce Djuened en
breton et s'écrit Gwened ou Wened. Certains ont été tentés de traduire, de façon strictement
littéraire, le nom breton de la ville en français, et l'on interprété comme signifiant « blé blanc »30 (gwenn « blanc »; ed « blé »). En 2008, dans un communiqué du maire François
Goulards 1,
s'exprimant sur la culture bretonne, on retrouve aussi cette tentative d'y
voir le mot breton gwenn, et de donner à Gwened la signification de « La Blanche ». Cette étymologie populaire est
fantaisiste31. |
|
La
forme Gwened en breton
peut s'expliquer en partie par le débarquement de populations galloises
venues de la région de Gwynedd entre le ive siècle et le vie siècle. La correspondance phonétique entre le peuple celtique Vénète
et les bretons du Gwynedd laisse penser à une origine ethnique commune dont
les deux branches auraient conservé des liens commerciaux et diplomatiques
durant l'âge d'or du commerce de l'étain. Cette origine ethnique commune
aurait en commun la racine celtique vindo- qui a les sens de « blanc, beau, blond, sacré, de
bonne race »32. Cependant, Venet- a été brittonisé tout à fait régulièrement en Gwened (par l'intermédiaire d'une
forme vieux breton Wened), sans avoir recours à une hypothétique influence galloise,
dont le résultat aurait d'ailleurs été *Gwined. Par ailleurs, vindo- est la racine gauloise qui signifie « blanc,
heureux », c'est le même mot que le celtique
insulaire *vindā qui explique le vieux breton guinn « blanc,
lumineux » (néobreton gwenn), le vieux cornique guyn « blanc » et le gallois gwynn (féminin gwenn) « blanc ». |
|
Une
hypothèse mieux étayée sur le plan phonétique pour expliquer étymologiquement
l'ethnonyme Veneti, dont dérive le nom de la
ville, est qu'il repose sur la racine indo-européenne *wen « aimer, désirer »
(sanskrit van-o-ti, vánati « il
aime », van-a « charme »;
latin ven-us et Venus, etc.), et signifier « les
amis, les compatriotes »33. Plus précisément, il s'agit de la forme allongée celtique et
indo-européenne occidentale veni- (autrement écrite ueni-) qui désigne le « clan, famille, lignée » (cf. vieux
breton guen « race,
famille » > breton gouenn « race »; germanique commun *weniz « ami » >
vieux norrois vinr,
islandais vinur,
norvégien venn),
mais dont la suffixation en -et- implique le sens dérivé de « apparentés,
amicaux » ou « marchands ». Dans cette hypothèse les Vénètes
pourraient aussi être « les parents » ou « les
marchands »34. |
|
Vannes est la forme en usage dans la majorité des langues
utilisant les caractères latins, sauf dans les langues celtiques comme
le gallois ou
le gaélique qui
privilégient la forme bretonne Gwened. |
|
|
Histoire[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
|
Bataille du Morbihan. |
|
|
|
Prise de Vannes en 1342. |
|
|
Articles détaillés : Histoire
de Vannes et Chronologie
de Vannes. |
|
|
La
ville de Vannes est fondée lors de la Conquête
romaine de la Gaule. Le peuple des Vénètes est soumis par César en 56 av. J.-C.. Sous l’Empire romain, elle est appelée Darioritum, mais reprend le nom du
peuple dont elle est la civitas à la fin de l’Empire. Des colons bretons (venus de l’actuelle
Grande-Bretagne) ainsi que des soldats maures sont installés à cette époque pour protéger la région des
pirates saxons.
C’est aussi entre le iiie siècle et le ve siècle que la ville se fortifie et se christianise. |
|
Vers 465, un concile régional se tient à
Vannes et consacre Saint Patern comme le premier évêque de
la ville : c'est la naissance de l'évêché de Vannes. Conquise en 578 par Waroch, la ville devient la capitale
du royaume du Broërec, avant d’être rattachée à la Bretagne en 851. |
|
En 753, le roi des Francs Pépin
le Bref vainc les Bretons et prend Vannes.
Pour contenir les Bretons, il organise une zone-tampon sous administration
militaire, la Marche de Bretagne composée du Vannetais, du Nantais, du Rennais et d'un bout du Maine. Vannes en est une des capitales. L'empereur Louis le Débonnaire réunit en
septembre 818 son
armée est assemblée à Vannes35 (alors souvent appelée Veneda ou Venedia) avant de la lancer à l'assaut des forces du roi Morvan Lez-Breizh qui l'avait
défié. |
|
Ville
du missus Nominoë, Vannes
est une des cités royales de l'éphémère royaume
de Bretagne. En partie détruite lors des invasions vikings au xe siècle, la ville connaît de
nombreux sièges jusqu'à la fin de la guerre de
Succession de Bretagne avant de devenir la
résidence préférée des ducs Jean IV et Jean V. |
|
La Chambre des comptes de Bretagne est
créée à Vannes et y siège jusqu'en 1491-1499 ainsi
que le parlement de Bretagne qui devient cour souveraine en 1485. Le Parlement reste à Vannes
jusqu'en 1553, date
à laquelle Nantes et Rennes se le disputent. Vannes
est la première capitale de l'État breton et le siège de son administration
supérieure. La ville reste pourtant de taille modeste. |
|
Lors de
la Révolution française, la
ville est partagée entre le parti de la Convention (les Républicains) et
la Chouannerie. |
|
|
Préfecture
du Morbihan, Vannes
continue son développement depuis le xixe siècle malgré l’activité maritime qui s’effondre à la même
époque. À partir des années 1870, la ville se dote de nouveaux bâtiments publics et connaît un
regain d’activité avec l'arrivée du chemin de fer et l’installation de
régiments. |
|
Vannes était
alors une ville de garnison (le 116e régiment
d'infanterie, le 28e régiment
d'artillerie et le 35e régiment d'artillerie y
étaient basés). |
|
|
Politique
et administration[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
|
|
|
Hôtel de Ville de Vannes. |
|
|
L'agglomération
de Vannes s'est organisée en une communauté
d'agglomération qui regroupe
vingt-quatre communes que sont Arradon, Baden, Le Bono, Elven, Le
Hézo, Île-aux-Moines, Île d'Arz, Larmor-Baden, Meucon, Monterblanc, Noyalo, Plescop, Ploeren, Plougoumelen, Saint-Avé, Saint-Nolff, Séné, Sulniac, Surzur, Theix, Trédion, Treffléan, La Trinité-Surzur et Vannes. De plus, du fait de son statut de chef-lieu de
département et de canton, Vannes concentre les administrations. Elle est le
siège de la préfecture du Morbihan, du Conseil général du Morbihan et de la trésorerie générale. |
|
Découpage
administratif[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
De 1790 à 1982, Vannes est le chef-lieu du canton de Vannes-Est et,
depuis 1982, chef-lieu de trois cantons. |
|
|
Code |
Canton |
Conseillers
départementaux |
Population
(2017) |
|
|
56 19 |
Vannes-1 |
Les Républicains |
François Goulard |
UD |
Christine
Penhouet |
32 205 habitants |
|
|
56 20 |
Vannes-2 |
UD |
Denis Bertholom |
UD |
Nadine Frémont |
39 286 habitants |
|
|
56 21 |
Vannes-3 |
UDI |
Gilles Dufeigneux |
UD |
Gaëlle Favennec |
33 861 habitants |
|
|
Le nouveau découpage territorial entre
en vigueur en 2015.
Vannes reste le bureau centralisateur de 3 cantons redécoupés : |
|
|
·
le canton de Vannes-1 correspond au centre de la ville et compte
32 205 habitants en 2017 ; |
|
|
·
le canton de
Vannes-2 compte 9 communes (Arradon, Baden, Le
Bono, l'Île-aux-Moines, l'Île-d'Arz, Larmor-Baden, Plescop, Ploeren et Plougoumelen) ainsi que la fraction ouest de la commune de Vannes et compte
39 286 habitants en 2017 ; |
|
|
·
le canton de
Vannes-3 compte 5 communes (Meucon, Monterblanc, Saint-Avé, Saint-Nolff et Treffléan) ainsi que la fraction est
de la commune de Vannes et compte 33 861 habitants en 2017. |
|
|
|
Tendances politiques
et résultats[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Article
connexe : Élections municipales de 2014 dans le Morbihan. |
|
|
On
retient de Vannes sa qualité de ville bourgeoise, à l'opposé de sa
voisine lorientaise plus
ouvrière et positionnée à gauche de l'échiquier politique. La présence des ducs et des évêques a favorisé l'apparition
des marchands et des artisans. C'est une ville de négoce et de marchés36. |
|
Politiquement,
c'est une ville ancrée à droite. Le maire UMP David Robo est élu maire de la ville le 6 avril 2011 à la suite de
l'accession de François Goulard à la tête du Conseil général du Morbihan. L'ancien député
maire UMP François Goulard fut, au début de
son premier mandat de maire de la ville en 2001, membre du RPR et à la tête d'une
liste UDF-RPR. Cette liste, composée lors des
municipales 2001, s'inscrivait dans la continuité des mandats précédents, une
grande partie des conseillers de cette liste appartenant à la majorité
municipale de Pierre Pavec, maire centriste de Vannes de 1983 à 200137. |
|
Au référendum sur le traité constitutionnel pour l’Europe du 29 mai 2005,
les Vannetais ont majoritairement voté pour la Constitution européenne, avec
62,73 % de Oui contre 37,27 % de Non avec un taux d’abstention de
27,22 % (France entière : Non à 54,67 % - Oui à 45,33 %).
Ces chiffres ne sont pas conformes à la tendance nationale, celle-ci se
trouvant en opposition. |
|
Malgré
l'ancrage de la ville à droite, lors de l’élections
législatives de 2012 pour la 1re circonscription du Mobihan, le
député UMP François
Goulard (48,96 % soit 10 438 voix) est battu au second tour
par le socialiste Hervé Pellois38 (51,04 % soit
10 882 voix). Ce résultat étant conforme à la tendance nationale. |
|
[afficher] |
|
Résultats des dernières élections présidentielles |
|
|
|
|
Administration
municipale[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Articles
détaillés : Élections municipales de 2008 à
Vannes, Liste des
maires de Vannes et Élections municipales de 2014 dans le Morbihan. |
|
|
Liste des maires de Vannes
depuis la Libération |
|
|
Période |
Identité |
Étiquette |
Qualité |
|
|
mai-45 |
mars-65 |
Francis Decker |
MRP |
Photographe |
|
|
Conseiller général du canton de Vannes-Est (1951-1970) |
|
|
mars-65 |
mars-77 |
Raymond Marcellin |
RI |
Avocat et plusieurs fois ministre |
|
|
Sénateur du Morbihan (1974-1981) |
|
|
Conseiller général du canton de Sarzeau (1953-1998) |
|
|
Président
du conseil général du Morbihan (1964-1998) |
|
|
mars-77 |
mars-83 |
Paul Chapel |
UDF-PR |
Professeur de lettres classiques |
|
|
Député de la 1re circonscription du Morbihan (1978-1981) |
|
|
Conseiller général du canton de
Vannes-Ouest (1974-1979) |
|
|
mars-83 |
mars-01 |
Pierre Pavec |
UDF-PR |
Conseiller général du canton de Vannes-Ouest (1985-1998) |
|
|
mars-01 |
mai-04 |
François Goulard |
DL (2001)45 |
Haut fonctionnaire |
|
|
UMP |
Député de la 1re circonscription du Morbihan (1997-2004) |
|
|
mai-04 |
déc-06 |
Norbert Trochet |
UMP |
Cadre de l'industrie pharmaceutique |
|
|
déc-06 |
avr-11 |
François Goulard |
UMP |
Haut fonctionnaire |
|
|
Député de la 1re circonscription du Morbihan (2007-2012) |
|
|
avr-11 |
En cours |
David Robo |
UMP-LR (2011-2017)47 |
Assistant social |
|
|
Réélu
en 2014 et 202046 |
DVD |
Conseiller régional de Bretagne (depuis 2015) |
|
|
Depuis
le 6 avril 2011, le maire
est David Robo qui
succède à François Goulard, président du conseil général du
Morbihan, député et ancien secrétaire d'État aux Transports
et à la mer et ministre de l'Enseignement
supérieur et de la recherche. Le maire de Vannes
est adhérent de la Fédération des maires des
villes moyennes, la FMVM48. Les services administratifs sont installés dans les locaux de
l'hôtel de ville depuis 1886 et également dans les locaux du centre administratif
municipal, situé à deux pas de celui-ci. |
|
Le conseil municipal vannetais est
composé d'un maire et de quarante-cinq conseillers municipaux. Parmi ces
conseillers municipaux, on dénombre treize maires-adjointss 2. Il y a un seul groupe
majoritaire contre deux groupes d'opposition « Votez pour Changer »
(PS, Union démocratique bretonne, Verts, Parti
radical de gauche) et « Vannes Projet
Citoyens »49 (DVG)
nés de la scission de la coalition « Votez pour Changer » créée
lors du second tour des élections municipales
de mars 2008. |
|
Lors
des élections municipales
de mars 2008, la liste du maire sortant, François Goulard, tête de la liste
« Vannes avec vous », a été élu avec une majorité absolue de
51,59 % soit 10 950 voix contre 48,41 % soit
10 275 voix pour Nicolas le Quintrec, tête de la liste « Votez
pour changer - Vannes 2008, agir et vivre ensemble »50. |
|
Les élections municipales de 2014 à
Vannes ont été marquées par un nombre important de listes (7), ce qui
constitue par ailleurs le nombre le plus important de candidats recensés pour
briguer la mairie. Malgré cela la liste « Vannes, c'est ensemble »,
menée par le maire sortant David Robo, a été élue dès le premier
tour avec 52.77 % des suffrages exprimés. C'est la première fois depuis
les années Raymond Marcellin qu'une élection municipale est remportée en un seul tour.
Les sièges au sein du conseil municipal, élu le 23 mars 2014, se répartissent
de la manière suivantes 2 : |
|
|
|
Groupe |
Nom |
Président |
Effectif |
Statut |
|
|
|
|
|
UMP-UDI-MODEM |
Vannes, c'est ensemble |
David Robo |
37 |
Majorité |
|
|
|
|
|
CAP21-EELV-PRG-PS-UDB-VPC |
L’alternance |
Simon Uzenat |
5 |
Opposition |
|
|
|
|
|
FN |
Vannes Bleu Marine |
Bertrand Iragne |
2 |
Opposition |
|
|
|
|
|
DVG |
Vannes au centre |
Nicolas Le Quintrec |
1 |
Opposition |
|
|
|
Aux
élections municipales tenues le 15 mars 2020, la liste conduite par David
Robo obtient dès le premier tour la majorité des voix (50,92 %) mais
dans un contexte de très faible participation (39.54 %). La pandémie du
Covid 19 empêche l'installation immédiate du nouveau conseil municipal51. Il faudra attendre le
25 mai pour que la nouvelle équipe soit installée et que David Robo soit élu
maire52. Les
résultats en nombre de sièges sont53 : |
|
|
|
Groupe |
Nom |
Président |
Effectif |
Statut |
|
|
|
|
|
DVD |
Vannes, c'est vous |
David Robo |
35 |
Majorité |
|
|
|
|
|
DVG-DVG |
Ensemble, libérons les
énergies Vannetaises ! |
Simon Uzenat |
5 |
Opposition |
|
|
|
|
|
En marche |
Marchons pour Vannes |
Patrick le Mestre |
4 |
Opposition |
|
|
|
|
|
DVG |
Vannes Projet Citoyen |
François Riou |
1 |
Opposition |
|
|
|
Instances
judiciaires et administratives[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
|
|
|
Palais de justice. |
|
|
Vannes
compte de nombreuses institutions administratives et judiciaires. La ville est administrativement la préfecture du Morbihan54, siège du Conseil général du Morbihan55 et de la trésorerie générale. Elle possède un palais de justice disposant
d'un tribunal de grande instance, d'un tribunal d'instance, d'un tribunal de commerce, d'un conseil de prud'hommes. On y trouve aussi un ordre des avocats au barreau de Vannes56. En tant que chef-lieu
départemental, la commune abrite la chambre des huissiers du Morbihan, la chambre
des notaires du
Morbihan57,
la chambre de métiers et de l'artisanat du Morbihan58 ainsi qu'une délégation de la chambre de commerce et d'industrie du Morbihan59. La ville dispose d'un
commissariat de police, d'une maison d'arrêt et est le siège du groupement de gendarmerie départementale du
Morbihan. On se doit également de signaler la présence d'administrations
telles que la conservation des hypothèques et le centre des impôts60. |
|
Défense[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Articles détaillés : 3e
régiment d'infanterie de marine et Histoire militaire de Vannes. |
|
|
Depuis 1963, Vannes est la ville de garnison
du 3e RIMa ainsi que d'un
détachement du 2e régiment du matériel de Bruz. |
|
|
Le 1er janvier 2011,
à la suite de la création de la base de défense pilote de Coëtquidan le 1er janvier 2010,
est créé la base de défense de Vannes-Coëtquidan, intégrant le 3e RIMa ainsi que les Écoles de Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan.
Une base de Défense est
une aire géographique qui regroupe dans son périmètre les formations du ministère de la Défense dont
l'administration générale et le soutien commun sont mutualisés. |
|
Sécurité[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Vannes
rencontre les difficultés inhérentes aux villes qui supportent une croissance
rapide : congestion des routes, trafics et délinquances. Selon des
classements successifs établis par le magazine Le
Point, Vannes est classée 11e ville la plus sûre
de France en 200361, 15e en 200662 et 23e pour l'année 200863. |
|
Services départementaux[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
La
ville est le siège de l'état-major du Groupement de gendarmerie départementale du Morbihan64, de la compagnie de gendarmerie départementale de Vannes qui
couvre le sud-est du département et de l'escadron de gendarmerie mobile de
Vannes qui a pour mission principale et spécifique la sécurité publique et le
maintien de l'ordre. |
|
Vannes
est le siège de la Direction départementale de la
Sécurité publique du Morbihan. La circonscription de sécurité publique de
Vannes compte 136 fonctionnaires de police et 32 adjoints de sécurité soit un total de 168 personnels en janvier 200965, ainsi que trois
structures recevant du public : l'hôtel de Police et ses deux
commissariats de secteur (Kercado et Ménimur). Le Service départemental
d'incendie et de secours (SDIS) du Morbihan
siège également à Vannes. Le groupement de Vannes couvre l'ouest du
département avec 26 centres d'incendie et de secours,
86 sapeurs-pompiers professionnels et 917 sapeurs-pompiers
volontaires66. |
|
Vidéo surveillance[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Depuis
avril 2008, la municipalité vannetaise a mis en place, pour un coût de plus
de 1 000 000 €67 un dispositif de vidéosurveillance de la voie publique. Composé de 29 caméras mobiles68 et d'un centre de supervision urbaine (CSU) aménagé au
sous-sol de l’hôtel de ville qui reçoit et enregistre en permanence les
images filmées par les caméras, le système est contrôlé par des agents
municipaux en journée et par les services de police la nuit. Les trois
objectifs majeurs de ce dispositif sont : le renforcement des mesures de
prévention contre les actes de violence urbaine, la protection des bâtiments
publics et la régulation du trafic routiers 3. Ce système est contrôlé par un comité d'éthique composé d'avocats, de spécialistes du droit et d'élus. Ce comité rend
un rapport annuel69. |
|
Jumelages et
partenariats[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
|
|
|
Stèle du jumelage à Cuxhaven. |
|
|
La
ville de Vannes est jumelée avec plusieurs villes européennes et entretient
des relations de partenariat avec une ville malienne et une ville polonaise. Il faut rappeler que le jumelage est une relation établie
entre deux villes de pays différents qui se concrétise par des échanges
socio-culturelss 4. |
|
La ville de Vannes
est jumelée avec : |
|
|
· |
|
|
Mons (Belgique) depuis 1952 ; |
|
|
· |
|
|
Cuxhaven (Allemagne) depuis 1963 ; |
|
|
· |
|
|
Fareham (Angleterre) depuis 1967. |
|
|
Charte de partenariat : |
|
|
· |
|
|
Barouéli (Mali) ; |
|
|
· |
|
|
Wałbrzych (Pologne) depuis le 2 octobre 2001. |
|
|
Population
et société[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Démographie[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Au 1er janvier 2016,
Vannes possède une population de 53 218 habitantsi 2, une unité urbaine de
79 217 habitantsi 9, une agglomération de 166 661 habitantsi 10 ainsi qu'une
population dans l'aire urbaine de 157 077 habitantsi
1. Il est à noter que la ville est la
deuxième plus peuplée du département après Lorient et la 5e de la région Bretagne (sur 1 232)i 11. |
|
Évolution démographique[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
L'évolution
du nombre d'habitants est connue à travers les recensements
de la population effectués dans la commune
depuis 1793. À partir de 2006, les populations
légales des communes sont publiées
annuellement par l'Insee.
Le recensement repose désormais sur une collecte d'information annuelle,
concernant successivement tous les territoires communaux au cours d'une
période de cinq ans. Pour les communes de plus de 10 000 habitants
les recensements ont lieu chaque année à la suite d'une enquête par sondage
auprès d'un échantillon d'adresses représentant 8 % de leurs logements,
contrairement aux autres communes qui ont un recensement réel tous les cinq
ans70,Note 3 |
|
En 2018, la
commune comptait 53 438 habitantsNote 4, en augmentation de 0,77 % par rapport à 2013 (Morbihan : +2,52 %, France hors Mayotte : +2,36 %). |
|
|
Évolution
de la population [ modifier ] |
|
|
|
1793 |
1800 |
1806 |
1821 |
1831 |
1836 |
1841 |
1846 |
1851 |
|
|
9 131 |
9 131 |
10 902 |
11 289 |
10 395 |
11 623 |
11 737 |
12 974 |
12 356 |
|
|
|
|
|
Évolution
de la population [ modifier ], suite (1) |
|
|
|
1856 |
1861 |
1866 |
1872 |
1876 |
1881 |
1886 |
1891 |
1896 |
|
|
14 329 |
14 564 |
14 560 |
14 690 |
17 946 |
19 284 |
20 036 |
21 504 |
22 189 |
|
|
|
|
|
Évolution
de la population [ modifier ], suite (2) |
|
|
|
1901 |
1906 |
1911 |
1921 |
1926 |
1931 |
1936 |
1946 |
1954 |
|
|
23 375 |
23 561 |
23 748 |
21 402 |
22 089 |
22 413 |
24 068 |
28 189 |
28 403 |
|
|
|
|
|
Évolution
de la population [ modifier ], suite (3) |
|
|
|
1962 |
1968 |
1975 |
1982 |
1990 |
1999 |
2006 |
2011 |
2016 |
|
|
30 411 |
36 576 |
40 359 |
42 178 |
45 644 |
51 759 |
53 079 |
52 784 |
53 218 |
|
|
|
|
|
Évolution
de la population [ modifier ], suite (4) |
|
|
|
2018 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
|
53 438 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
|
De 1962 à
1999 : population sans doubles comptes ; pour les dates suivantes : population municipale. |
|
(Sources :
Ldh/EHESS/Cassini jusqu'en 199971 puis Insee à partir de 200672.) |
|
Histogramme de
l'évolution démographique |
|
|
|
|
Pyramide des âges[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
La pyramide des âges montre une
population vieillissante. En 2016, la part des plus de soixante cinq ans représentait
24,42 % de la population totale contre 19,07 % en 2006, tandis que celle des moins de
quarante ans atteignait 45,45 % en 2016 et 51,54 % en 2006. |
|
Évolution de la
pyramide des âges de la ville de Vannes |
|
Comparaison entre
les années 2006i 12 et 2016i 13 en nombre
d'individus. |
|
Pyramide des âges en 2006 en nombre d'individus. |
|
|
Hommes |
Classe d’âge |
Femmes |
|
|
839 |
0 à 3 ans |
785 |
|
|
721 |
3 à 5 ans |
762 |
|
|
1 392 |
6 à 10 ans |
1 201 |
|
|
2 047 |
11 à 17 ans |
1 983 |
|
|
3 952 |
18 à 24 ans |
3 549 |
|
|
5 160 |
25 à 39 ans |
4 966 |
|
|
4 437 |
40 à 54 ans |
5 446 |
|
|
2 542 |
55 à 64 ans |
3 171 |
|
|
2 868 |
65 à 79 ans |
4 289 |
|
|
917 |
80 ans ou plus |
2 051 |
|
|
Pyramide des âges en 2016 en nombre d'individus. |
|
|
Hommes |
Classe d’âge |
Femmes |
|
|
707 |
0 à 3 ans |
719 |
|
|
756 |
3 à 5 ans |
722 |
|
|
1 267 |
6 à 10 ans |
1 172 |
|
|
2 113 |
11 à 17 ans |
1 895 |
|
|
3 232 |
18 à 24 ans |
2 944 |
|
|
4 395 |
25 à 39 ans |
4 268 |
|
|
4 149 |
40 à 54 ans |
4 999 |
|
|
2 924 |
55 à 64 ans |
3 963 |
|
|
3 537 |
65 à 79 ans |
5 137 |
|
|
1 372 |
80 ans ou plus |
2 948 |
|
|
Population immigrée[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
En 2006, 1 389 personnes
immigrées étaient recensées dans la commune soit 2,6 % de la populationi 14, chiffre supérieur à
la moyenne bretonne (1,69 %) mais inférieur à la moyenne nationale
(5,77 %). Cette proportion est deux fois moins importante que pour une
ville comme Rennes mais
légèrement supérieure à Quimper. Parmi ces personnes, 15,33 % viennent de l'Union européenne, 14,6 % du Maghreb. Les nationalités les plus
représentées sont les turcs (524), puis les algériens et enfin les marocainsi 15 |
|
La
communauté turque est particulièrement présente dans la vie associative de
Vannes. L'association culturelle des Turcs de l’ouest créée à Vannes en 1983
a pour but de faire connaître et de transmettre la culture, la religion, les
traditions, les coutumes turques, de créer des liens entre les communautés et
de favoriser l’échange culturel, d'apporter une aide aux familles d’origine
turque dans leurs démarches administratives, de donner une éducation
religieuse par l’intermédiaire d’un imam envoyé par le ministère des affaires religieuses turc et
de donner des informations sur la population turque de Vannes et son pays73. |
|
Enseignement[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Les écoles et lycées vannetais dépendent de
l'académie de Rennes. |
|
|
Enseignement primaire[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
On dénombre à
Vannes, pour la rentrée 2008s 5, 32 écoles
(primaires et maternelle), dont vingt-deux écoles gérées par la commune
(sept écoles maternelles, six écoles primaires, huit écoles élémentaires) et onze écoles privées. |
|
|
Écoles de Vannes |
|
|
Écoles primaires |
Écoles maternelles |
Écoles élémentaires |
Écoles privées |
|
|
·
École Jacques Prévert |
·
École Anne de Bretagne |
·
École La Madeleine |
·
École Nicolazic |
|
|
·
École La Rabine |
·
École Armorique |
·
École de Cliscouët |
·
École Pierre-René Rogue |
|
|
·
Groupe scolaire Beaupré Lalande |
·
École Brizeux |
·
École Calmette |
·
École Saint-Patern |
|
|
·
Groupe scolaire de Tohannic |
·
École Cliscouët |
·
École Armorique |
·
École St Vincent Ferrier |
|
|
·
École de Rohan |
·
École Joliot Curie |
·
École Brizeux |
·
École Françoise d'Amboise |
|
|
·
Groupe scolaire de Kerniol |
·
École Calmette |
·
École Jules Ferry |
·
École Diwan |
|
|
|
·
École Pape Carpantier |
·
École Jean Moulin |
·
École Sainte-Marie |
|
|
|
|
·
École Madame de Sévigné |
·
École Sainte-Bernadette |
|
|
|
|
·
École Saint-Guen |
|
|
|
|
·
École du Sacré-Cœur |
|
|
|
|
|
·
École Sainte Jéhanne d'Arc |
|
|
Enseignement secondaire[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Vannes compte sept collèges et huit lycées dont trois lycées publics et cinq lycées privés. |
|
|
Collèges et lycées de Vannes |
|
|
Collèges publics |
Lycées publics d'enseignement général ou/et technologique |
|
|
·
Collège Jules Simon |
·
Lycée Alain-René-Lesage |
|
|
·
Collège Antoine de Saint-Exupéry |
·
Lycée Charles-de-Gaulle |
|
|
·
Collège Diwan |
Lycées privés
d'enseignement général ou/et technologique |
|
|
Collèges privés |
· Lycée
privé Saint-Paul |
|
|
·
Collège Notre-Dame Le Ménimur |
·
Lycée privé Saint-Georges |
|
|
·
Collège Sacré-Cœur |
·
Collège-Lycée-Prépa Saint-François-Xavier de Vannes |
|
|
·
Collège Saint-François Xavier |
·
Lycée privé Saint-Joseph |
|
|
|
·
Lycée privé Notre-Dame-Le Ménimur |
|
|
|
Lycées
professionnels publics |
|
|
|
·
Lycée Jean-Guéhenno |
|
|
Enseignement supérieur[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Vannes
représente le troisième pôle universitaire de Bretagne, après Rennes et Brest. Alors qu'en 1986, Vannes accueillait 1 500 étudiants, en 2000, ils étaient plus de 5 200
et fin 2006, près de
6 500s 6.
Outre les établissements et enseignements décrits ci-dessous, il ne faut pas
oublier les multiples Brevets de Techniciens
Supérieurs dispensés dans les lycées
vannetais. |
|
Composantes de l'Université de Bretagne Sud |
|
|
|
|
|
L’ESPE de Vannes,
école interne de l’université de Bretagne-Occidentale avec laquelle
travaille l’université pour la formation des enseignants du secondaire. |
|
|
L'université de Bretagne-Sud, créée en
février 1995, est
implantée conjointement à Vannes, Lorient et Pontivy. L'université dispense de nombreux DUT, licences et maîtrises ainsi qu'une école d'ingénieur. |
|
|
·
La faculté de Droit, de sciences économiques et de
gestion, située sur le campus de Tohannic. |
|
|
·
La faculté des Sciences et Sciences de l'Ingénieur
située conjointement sur le campus de Tohannic à Vannes et sur le campus de
Saint-Maudé à Lorient. |
|
|
|
· L’Institut universitaire de
technologie de Vannes, situé sur le campus de Kercado et qui propose des
formations professionnalisantes au niveau bac + 2 et bac + 3, dans les
domaines de la gestion, du commerce, de l'informatique, de la statistique et
de l'informatique décisionnelle. |
|
·
L'École nationale
supérieure d'ingénieurs de Bretagne Sud, école d'ingénieurs spécialisée en
informatique est située sur le campus de Tohannic. |
|
|
|
On peut également remarquer la présence d’établissements
de recherche regroupant différents laboratoires tels que l’Institut de
recherche sur les entreprises et les administrations, le centre de
recherche Yves Coppens (situé sur le campus de Tohannic), le
Laboratoire de Mathématiques et Applications des Mathématiques ainsi que le
Laboratoire de Recherche en Informatique - Valoria. |
|
Enseignement privé |
|
|
L'Université Catholique de l'Ouest Bretagne Sud, située sur le territoire de la commune d'Arradon à l'ouest de la ville,
propose des formations universitaires dans les domaines de l'information et
de la communication, des sciences de l'éducation, des langues, de l'histoire,
des lettres, du tourisme, du commerce, du breton et de la théologie. |
|
Classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles |
|
|
·
Les classes
préparatoires scientifiques du lycée Alain-René-Lesage (PTSI, PT, MPSI, MP) |
|
|
·
Les classes
préparatoires littéraires (hypokhâgne et khâgne B-L) du lycée Saint-François-Xavier. |
|
|
École d'ingénieurs |
|
|
·
L’ICAM Bretagne Groupe ICAM, école d'ingénieurs généralistes par la voie
de l'alternance. |
|
|
École de commerce |
|
|
·
Antenne de l'École supérieure de commerce de Bretagne. Les formations
dispensées sont le programme ESC Cadre, programme en formation continue et le
Bachelor en Management Programme Administration des Entreprises, cursus post
bac en management. |
|
|
École supérieure du professorat et de l'éducation |
|
|
·
L'École supérieure du
professorat et de l'éducation de Vannes,
composante de l'Université de Bretagne-Occidentale, est chargé de la formation des enseignants du premier et du second degrés. |
|
|
|
École supérieure en architecture intérieure |
|
|
·
L'institut de formation artistique et technique de Vannes (IFAT) prépare à
l'obtention du Diplôme d'études supérieures techniques pour le
métier d'architecte d'intérieur et propose une année d'étude en classe
préparatoire pour les concours des écoles d'art supérieures. |
|
|
Manifestations
culturelles et festivités[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
|
|
|
Le jardin des remparts pendant l'exposition Photo de mer. |
|
|
La cité des Vénètes se base sur une
histoire vieille de plus de 2 000 ans afin de faire vivre des
événements culturels tout au long de l'année. Parmi ceux-ci, on peut trouver
des événements consacrés à l'histoire de la ville et à son patrimoine ainsi
que des festivals musicaux et des salons. |
|
· L’Éveil du
boucan74 |
|
|
Festival
de musique fondé en 2002 sous le nom de Festi’ Vannes et rebaptisé
L’Éveil du boucan en 2014. Ce festival de musique se déroule dans les bars du
centre-ville de Vannes au mois d'avril, il est ouvert à tous les styles de
musiques. |
|
|
· Tradi'
deiz75 |
|
|
En
avril, Kendalc'h organise à Vannes une journée spéciale pour les cercles
celtiques de toute la Bretagne, de la Loire-Atlantique et de l'Île-de-France,
qui sont évalués dans des épreuves de danses traditionnelles ; un grand
défilé se tient en fin de journée et tous se rejoignent au jardin des
remparts pour les résultats des épreuves et une danse des mille. |
|
·
Semaine du Golfe |
|
|
Fête maritime se déroulant tous les deux ans avant
la semaine de l'Ascension dans les communes littorales du golfe du
Morbihan. |
|
|
·
Salon du livre en Bretagne76 |
|
|
En juin, le Salon du livre, créé en 2008, se situe dans les jardins
des remparts. |
|
|
·
Fêtes historiques de Vannes |
|
|
Manifestation se déroulant à la mi-juillet et
retraçant les grandes périodes de l'histoire de la ville. |
|
|
·
Jazz en ville |
|
|
En
juillet/août, le festival de musique jazz créé en 2016 est l’héritier de Jazz à Vannes (1980-2015), il est organisé par la ville de Vannes. |
|
|
·
Fêtes d’Arvor |
|
|
En août, les Fêtes d’Arvor mettent en avant
la culture bretonne. |
|
|
·
Vannes Photos Festival77 |
|
|
Créé en 2003
sous la forme d'un festival consacré aux photos maritimes, il s'ouvre à
d'autre thématiques et change de nom à partir de 2017. |
|
|
·
Jubilé de Saint Vincent Ferrier |
|
|
Pour marquer
les 600 ans de la prédication de saint Vincent Ferrier en Bretagne, l'évêque du diocèse
de Vannes Mgr Centène a décidé d'organiser un jubilé entre le 4 mars 2018 et au 5 avril 2019,
date anniversaire de la mort du prédicateur dominicain à Vannes78. |
|
|
Santé[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Le Centre
hospitalier Bretagne Atlantique (hôpital P. Chubert) est situé Boulevard
Maurice Guillaudot à proximité de la gare, au nord. Il existe également
plusieurs cliniques dans l'agglomération, dont la Clinique Océane, rue Joseph
Audic. |
|
|
Sports[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
|
|
|
La ville est un des pôle de la Sailing Valley bretonne, des
navires de course comme Groupama 4 y sont construits. |
|
|
La
pratique du sport dans l'agglomération vannetaise est diversifiée. La
situation de la ville au bord du Golfe est propice aux activités nautiques,
et attire beaucoup d'entreprises liées à la Sailing
Valley79. En
outre, la municipalité souhaite encourager sa population à pratiquer toutes
les disciplines grâce à l'existence de nombreux complexes sportifs. |
|
Les équipements
sportifs de la ville s'étendent sur 71 hectares dont
190 000 m2 de terrains gazonnés, 81 000 m2 de
plateaux d’EPS, 40 000 m2 de surfaces bâties, ainsi que des
équipements sportifs privés conventionnés : quatre terrains de football
(22 000 m2) et sept salles de sports (1 700 m2). |
|
|
Le Rugby club vannetais évolue
depuis la saison 2016-2017 en Pro D2, une grande première pour un club breton depuis l'avènement du
professionnalisme dans le rugby. |
|
|
Complexes polyvalents[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
·
Complexe UCK-NEF du
Bondon : |
|
|
L'association
UCK-NEF80, née
en 1922 de la
fusion de L'Union Clisson Korrigan (1906) et des Nouvelles Équipes Féminines (1946), est installée dans son complexe omnisports de
3 300 m2 situé dans le quartier du Bondon au nord du centre ville.
L'UCK-NEF compte huit associations sportives fédérées et environ
1 300 licenciés. Parmi les huit associations se trouve une
section Volley-Ball qui
propose des entraînements dans trois complexes vannetais : UCK-NEF,
Kercado et Richemont. L'équipe masculine du Vannes
Volley-Ball, née en 2006 de la fusion de l'UCK-NEF et du Véloce Vannetais, évolue
la session 2008/2009 en National 3. |
|
·
Centre Sportif de Kercado : |
|
|
Plus
grand complexe sportif de Vannes, le Centre Sportif de Kercado est situé à l'ouest de la
ville, accolé au lycée Alain-René Lesage et au campus de Kercado (IUT de
Vannes). Le complexe est composé de trois salles de sports, une salle
spécifique de gymnastique, une salle d'armes, un pas de tir à l'arc couvert, un terrain d'honneur de football, deux terrains
stabilisés, un terrain gazonné de football en
salle, une piste
d'athlétisme en résisport, une piste
d'athlétisme en enrobé, neuf courts de tennis extérieurs, un parcours sportif, cinq plateaux d'EPS, un
stand de tir à l'arc, un skatepark et une aire de lancer d'athlétisme. |
|
·
Complexes de Tennis : |
|
|
Il
existe deux grands complexes consacrés au tennis. D'une part, le complexe de tennis du Pargo, comportant cinq
courts couverts et deux courts extérieurs, qui est le siège du Tennis Club
Vannetais. D'autre part, le complexe de tennis de Kérizac/Ménimur comportant deux courts
couverts et deux courts extérieurs et dont le club résidant est le Vannes
Ménimur Tennis Club. |
|
Stades[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
|
|
|
Le Stade de la Rabine. |
|
|
·
Stade de la Rabine, Complexe Sportif du Perenno et
Stade du Foso |
|
|
Le Stade de la Rabine, plus grand stade
de football et de rugby de Vannes est le lieu des rencontres du Vannes Olympique Club, club fondé
en 1998 par
fusion du « Véloce Vannetais » et du « FC Vannes »
(ex-UCK) et évoluant pour la saison 2009-2010 en Ligue 2 après avoir fini Champion de France de National lors de la saison 2007-2008. Le Rugby Club Vannetais utilise
aussi le Stade de la Rabine. Le complexe
sportif du Pérenno, siège du club situé sur la
commune voisine de Theix, et le Stade du Foso, sont réservés aux entraînements des
joueurs professionnels ainsi qu'aux autres équipes du club. Le complexe du
Foso qui accueille l'équipe de football
américain des Mariners de Vannes, comporte
également une piste d'athlétisme en enrobé, trois plateaux d'EPS (basket-ball, handball et tennis), une structure artificielle d'escalade ainsi qu'un boulodrome. |
|
·
Stade Jo Courtel : |
|
|
Le
complexe Jo Courtel, composé d'un terrain d'honneur de rugby et de deux
autres terrains de rugby, accueille les matchs et les entraînements du Rugby Club Vannetais, club de rugby à XV évoluant pendant
la saison 2007-2008 en Fédérale 1 et depuis la
saison 2016-2017 en ProD2. |
|
Autres installations[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Autres
principales installations sportives de la ville de Vanness 7 |
|
|
Stades |
Gymnases, entretien physique |
Installations nautiques |
Divers |
|
|
·
Stade de Larmor-Gwened |
·
Gymnase Yvonne Sauvet |
·
Piscine Municipale de Kercado : |
·
Patinoire "Patinium" : |
|
|
·
Stade Michelin |
·
Salle Richemont |
Neptune Club Vannetais, nage
avec palme. |
Quartier du Bondon |
|
|
·
Stade de Kérizac/Ménimur |
·
Salle des Pompiers |
Cercle des Nageurs de Vannes, |
·
Ferme de Roscanvec : |
|
|
Complexes sportifs |
·
Salle de Boxe de la Ferme de Kérizac |
Association de Sauvetage |
Pas de tir et parcours de
chasse de tir à l'arc. |
|
|
·
Complexe de Bécel |
·
Gymnase Brizeux |
et Secourisme du Pays de
Vannes. |
·
Aérodrome du Pays de Vannes : |
|
|
·
Complexe de Kerniol - Saint-Exupéry |
·
Salle d'haltérophilie et de musculation |
·
Piscine Municipale "VanOcéa" |
Aéro-Club et Centre de
parachutisme sportif |
|
|
·
Complexe Sportif de Kerbiquette : |
·
Square de la Bourdonnaye : |
·
Piscine d’eau de mer de Conleau |
·
«Pointe des Émigrés» au Vincin : |
|
|
L'AS Cobra, club de Muay-thaï. |
Judo Club 56, club d'arts martiaux. |
· Port
de plaisance |
Parcours de santé |
|
|
|
|
·
Étang au Duc |
·
Vélodrome à Kermesquel |
|
|
|
|
·
Cercle d'Aviron de Vannes81 |
|
|
|
· |
|
|
|
|
Piscine VanOcéa. |
|
|
|
|
|
· |
|
|
Canoés de mer |
|
|
Événements sportifs[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Athlétisme |
|
|
·
Semi-marathon Auray-Vannes82 : Créée en 1975, cette épreuve de course à pied se dispute sur
route sur une distance de 21,1 km entre les villes d'Auray et de Vannes au mois de
septembre. Ce semi-marathon est labellisé international par la Fédération française d'athlétisme. |
|
|
|
·
Ultra Marin Raid Golfe du Morbihan83 : Cet événement
créé en 2005 consiste à faire le tour complet du Golfe du Morbihan soit
177 km en empruntant principalement des sentiers côtiers. Il est
organisé au mois de juin, il y a plusieurs courses84 : |
|
|
o
le grand raid (177 km tour complet du
Golfe avec passage en bateau entre Locmariaquer et Arzon) |
|
|
o le raid (87 km) |
|
|
o le trail (56 km) |
|
|
o la ronde des douaniers (36 km) |
|
|
o la marche nordique (28 km) |
|
|
·
Marathon de Vannes85 : Créée en 2000, cette épreuve de course à pied se dispute sur route sur une distance de
42,195 km sur le territoire vannetais au mois d'octobre. Ce
marathon est labellisé national par la Fédération
française d'athlétisme. |
|
|
·
La Vannetaise : Cette course, créée en 2007, se dispute sur une
distance de 6 km. Épreuve réservée aux femmes, les bénéfices sont
intégralement versés à Faire Face Ensemble, association qui accompagne les
personnes atteintes du cancer et leurs proches. |
|
|
·
Trail des Remparts de Vannes86,87: Créées en 2010, deux
courses urbaines sur 7 km et 15 km sont organisées le
premier dimanche de juillet. De nombreuses animations pour les enfants font
de cette course un événement festif. |
|
|
|
·
Corrida vannetaise88 : Organisée le dernier dimanche de l'année par
l'association Courir Auray-Vannes, cette course festive de
8 km permet à de nombreux coureurs d'exhiber leurs déguisements. |
|
|
Aviron |
|
|
Le Cercle
d'aviron de Vannes organise chaque année depuis 2014 la Régate des Souris. Le
départ et l'arrivée sont fixés au pont de Kérino et le circuit contourne les îles Logoden par le Sud. |
|
|
Basket-ball |
|
|
Vannes
accueille, en juin 2013, des matchs du championnat d'Europe féminin. Douze
matchs de premier tour se déroulent au complexe sportif de Kercado. |
|
|
Cyclisme |
|
|
· La ville accueillit à de nombreuses reprise des étapes du Tour de France. Elle fut ville
d'arrivée ou/et de départ à douze reprises : 1925, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1947, 1954, 1985, 1993, 2000 et 2015 ; ce qui fait de Vannes, après Brest et Rennes, la ville bretonne où le tour a
fait le plus de haltes. |
|
Équitation |
|
|
·
Jump du Golfe89: |
|
|
Concours
indoor de saut d'obstacles créé
en 1999. La
compétition est classée Pro Élite, le plus haut niveau pour une compétition de ce type. |
|
|
Football |
|
|
La
ville a accueilli, au sein du stade de la Rabine, plusieurs manifestations dans le monde du football féminin.
Telle que la Coupe du monde de football
militaire féminine en 2016 ou encore la finale
de la Coupe de France féminine le 19 mai 2017, opposant le Paris Saint-Germain à l'Olympique lyonnais. La ville de Vannes
verra plusieurs matchs se dérouler chez elle, en août 2018, pendant la Coupe du monde féminine de football U20 (match d'ouverture, demi-finales, match pour la 3e place et finale). |
|
Nautisme |
|
|
·
Régate Vannes-les Açores-Vannes : |
|
|
Créée
en 1988 à l'initiative
de la Société des Régates de Vannes, cette course de voiliers Pogo est organisée entre Vannes
et Horta. Disparue
depuis 1994 après
trois éditions, la course à la voile renaît en 2009 sur un parcours aller-retour
de 2 400 miles et une régate dans la baie d'Horta, au cœur de
l'archipel portugais. L'épreuve, initialement réservée aux 6,50 m, est
ouverte aux Pogo 8.50 et 10.50, et peut être disputée en solo ou en double. |
|
·
Course-Croisière Vannes-Fareham : |
|
|
Course-croisière
à la voile entre Vannes et la ville de Fareham dans le comté d'Hampshire en Angleterre. Créée en 2001, cette course se déroule tous les deux ans dans le cadre du
jumelage entre les deux villes. |
|
|
Roller |
|
|
En 2013, 2014
et 2016, le Vannes Roller Marathon a été organisé par l'association GROL Vannes Agglo [archive] sur un circuit urbain avec plusieurs courses (dont
semi-marathon et marathon). L'édition 2016 comptait pour la coupe de France
de Roller90 |
|
|
Rugby à XV |
|
|
Vannes
accueille, en juin 2013, le Championnat du monde junior. Les
matchs de la poule B, les demi-finales et finale se déroulent au stade de la Rabine. Vannes a en outre
accueilli le 18 mars 2016 dans le cadre du Tournoi
des Six Nations 2016 le match France - Angleterre des équipes féminines
ou encore le test match Fidji - Japon le 26 novembre 2016 au stade
de la Rabine. |
|
Divers |
|
|
·
Tournoi des Vénètes : |
|
|
Créées
en 1988, ces joutes nautiques se déroulent
dans le port de plaisance où se confrontent les équipes des villes du Pays de Vannes. Les joutes sont
organisées par le Kiwanis Club de Vannes. |
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Médias[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Presse[modifier | modifier le code] |
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|
Outre la presse quotidienne nationale française,
la presse de
Vannes et sa région est représentée essentiellement par les deux journaux
quotidiens régionaux présents en Bretagne : Le Télégramme et Ouest-France. |
|
|
D'autres
magazines locaux permettent de suivre l'actualité généraliste ou régionaliste
sur papier ou via leur site internet : Mensuel
du Golfe du Morbihan, Bretagne Magazine... On peut également
citer « Vannes Mag », le magazine municipal vannetais, ainsi que
« Morbihan Magazine », le magazine du conseil général du Morbihan. L'Agence Bretagne Presse actif sur
tout le territoire breton, édite sur son site internet des publications qui proviennent
de diverses associations culturelles, de syndicats et de mouvements
politiques actifs en Bretagne (environ un millier de structures accréditées),
et d'un réseau de correspondants. « Le P'tit Zappeur », d'origine
vannetaise, est le 1er réseau français de magazines TV gratuits. |
|
En matière de presse
économique, on note la présence du mensuel Le Journal des
entreprises présent en Morbihan. |
|
|
Radios locales[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
La ville est couverte par des antennes locales
de radios : |
|
|
·
RMS sur 89.6 FM, la
radio associative du sud du Morbihan |
|
|
·
RCF Sud Bretagne Vannes sur
90.2 FM, la radio chrétienne du Diocèse de
Vannes. |
|
|
·
Virgin Radio Vannes sur 92.4 FM, elle émet le programme national de
Virgin Radio et des décrochages locaux. |
|
|
·
Radio Bro Gwened sur
94.8 FM, la radio associative de Pontivy qui propose des émissions en breton et d'autres en
français. Elle remplace la fréquence vannetaise de Radio Korrigans. |
|
|
·
Alouette sur 96.7
FM, la radio vendéenne émettant sur le Sud de la Bretagne91 ainsi que sur
les Pays de la Loire,
une partie du Centre,
le Poitou-Charentes et
le Limousin92. Ses studios se trouvent en Vendée, aux Herbiers. |
|
|
·
Radio Caroline sur
99.5 FM, elle est une radio locale commerciale émettant sur l'Armorique. Ses studios se trouvent
à Rennes, sur
l'avenue Chardonnet. |
|
|
·
France Bleu Armorique sur
101.3 FM, elle est la radio locale publique basée à Rennes. Elle bénéficie d'une large
couverture sur le Morbihan grâce à cette fréquence, qui émet depuis la tour
hertzienne TDF de Moustoir-Ac. |
|
|
·
Hit West Vannes sur
107.1 FM, elle est la radio régionale du Grand
Ouest français. Elle appartient au groupe Précom tout comme les régies
publicitaires de Virgin Radio en Bretagne et dans les Pays de la
Loire. |
|
|
·
Radio Korrigans est diffusée sur son site internet93. Elle diffusait ses
programmes sur le 94.8 FM jusqu'en 2006, année du non-renouvellement de son
autorisation d'émettre. |
|
|
· LaRG’ (La
Radio du Golfe), radio associative sur 89.2 FM94. |
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Télévisions locales[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
·
France 3 Bretagne est
présente sur Vannes et propose des éditions du 12/13 et du 19/20 en langue
bretonne. Elle est diffusée sur Vannes et tout le Morbihan grâce à la tour
hertzienne TDF du Moustoir-Ac. |
|
|
·
Enfin, la chaîne de télévision locale TébéSud (anciennement Ty Télé) diffuse
des émissions sur le Morbihan et un décrochage d'une heure par jour permet de s'informer
de la vie locale du bassin vannetais et du reste du département. Elle est
basée à Lorient. |
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Cultes et lieux de
culte[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Culte catholique[modifier | modifier le code] |
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|
Articles
détaillés : Diocèse de Vannes, Liste des évêques de Vannes et Liste des édifices
religieux de Vannes. |
|
|
Vannes
est le siège du diocèse de Vannes depuis le ve siècle et rattachée à la province
ecclésiastique de Rennes. Le 29 novembre 1801,
les diocèses bretons sont réorganisés. Le diocèse de Vannes se voit rattaché
une partie du diocèse de Saint-Malo. L'évêque actuel est monseigneur Raymond Centène qui a choisi de
s'entourer de trois prêtres au service de la mise en œuvre du projet
diocésain pastoral et missionnaire dans le diocèse de Vannes pour les années
2009-2015c 1:
le père Maurice Roger, vicaire général; le père Jean-Pierre Penhouet, vicaire
épiscopal chargé du projet diocésain et
délégué diocésain à l’apostolat des laïcs et le père Gaétan Lucas, vicaire épiscopal chargé des
prêtres, des diacres et des laïcs ayant une lettre de mission. Il remplace à
cette fonction monseigneur François-Mathurin
Gourvès, évêque de Vannes de 1991 à 2005. La ville
compte 6 paroisses en
2009. Parmi les lieux de pèlerinage, les deux principaux sont la cathédrale Saint-Pierrec 2 où repose le tombeau de Saint Vincent Ferrier et l'Église Saint-Patern dédiée à l'un
des saints fondateurs de Bretagnec 3 qui est une étape du Tro
Breiz. Les églises Saint-Pie-X,
Saint-Vincent-Ferrier, Saint-Guenc 4 et Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes sont les
autres églises de Vannes, siège d'une paroisse et fondée après le xixe siècle. |
|
La Fraternité
Sacerdotale Saint Pie X dispose avec la chapelle Sainte-Anne d'un lieu
de culte à Vannes. |
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Protestantisme[modifier | modifier le code] |
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|
·
L'Église protestante unie
de France a une paroisse
« Vannes-Morbihan est »c 5. Les cultes hebdomadaires et cérémonies religieuses ont lieu au
temple de Vannes, situé entre l'hôtel de ville et le Palais des arts et des congrès. |
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Autres cultes[modifier | modifier le code] |
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·
Islam :
Actuellement, la ville dispose de deux salles de prières pour les fidèles
musulmans, un projet de mosquée est en coursc
6,c
7 |
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|
·
Judaïsme : La ville
ne possède pas de synagogue, les juifs de Vannes sont rattachés au rabbin de Nantes : Consistoire israélite de
Nantes. |
|
|
·
Bouddhisme : Le
Centre bouddhique zen Sōtō de Vannes est le plus grand centre bouddhique zen de
l'ouest de la Francec 8. |
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Langue bretonne[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Ya d'ar brezhoneg[modifier | modifier le code] |
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L’adhésion à la charte Ya
d'ar brezhoneg a été votée par le Conseil
municipal le 12 octobre 2007. |
|
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La commune a reçu le label de niveau 1 de la
charte le 8 décembre 2007. |
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Enseignement[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
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À la
rentrée 2018,
560 élèves étaient scolarisés à Diwan et dans les filières bilingues publiques et catholiques95. |
|
|
L'école Diwan scolarise 112 élèves à
la rentrée 2018 en maternelle et primaire. Le collège Diwan accueille
129 collégiens en 2018. |
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Petite enfance[modifier | modifier le code] |
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La première crèche par immersion « Babigoù
Breizh » a été créée à Vannes en 2011. |
|
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Emglev Bro Gwened[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
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Emglev Bro Gwened |
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« L'Entente du pays de Vannes » regroupe
des associations culturelles bretonnes afin de pourvoir ensemble à la
défense, la promotion et la diffusion de la culture bretonne sous
toutes ses formes, y compris linguistique, de favoriser l’entraide, la
communication et la coopération entre ses adhérents. |
|
La « maison de pays » Ti ar Vro est située rue de la
Loi à Vannes et rayonne sur le pays Vannetais. |
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Économie[modifier | modifier le code] |
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|
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|
Si
on l'estime en termes d'emplois, l'économie du pays vannetais est surtout
basée sur le tertiaire. L'industrie est essentiellement un
tissu de PMI, les secteurs les plus importants étant l'agroalimentaire (160 entreprises,
1 900 salariés), la production de produits intermédiaires (390 entreprises,
4 000 salariés) et le nautisme (80 entreprises, 500 emplois)s 8. Arrive ensuite
la construction et,
finalement, l'agriculture et
les produits de la mer. La recherche est essentiellement publique, via l'université
de Bretagne-Sud, néanmoins quelques PME de
recherche se sont développées en biochimie (Archimex) et en informatique. La ville en tant que préfecture du Morbihan abrite une multitude
d'organismes économiques et financiers. Elle est le siège de la Chambre de métiers et de l'artisanat du
Morbihan et d'une délégation de la Chambre de
commerce et d'industrie du Morbihan. On peut citer
le Tribunal de commerce. L'économie locale bénéficie également du tourisme grâce
au Golfe du Morbihan et
à ses monuments historiques. |
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Revenus de la
population et fiscalité[modifier | modifier le code] |
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|
Le revenu fiscal médian par ménage était
en 2006 de 17 564 €, ce qui place Vannes au 8 890e rang parmi les
30 687 communes de plus de 50 ménages en métropolei 16. En 2001, le revenu moyen étant de
16 679 €/an ce qui est légèrement supérieur à la moyenne
nationale de 15 027 €/ani 17,i 18. Au niveau de la fiscalité, on dénombre 435 Vannetais redevables de l'impôt sur la
fortune (ISF). L'impôt moyen sur la fortune à
Vannes est de 4 841 €/an contre 5 683 €/an pour
la moyenne nationale. Le patrimoine moyen des Vannetais redevables de l'ISF
est estimé à environ 1 414 111 €/an. |
|
Le taux de
fiscalité directe locale96 de la commune pour l'année 2008 est le suivant. Ce taux regroupe le taux de la taxe d'habitation, le taux foncier
bâti, le taux non foncier bâti et le taux de la taxe professionnelle. |
|
|
Le taux
de la taxe d'habitation s'élève,
au niveau communal à 14,92 %, au niveau intercommunal à 0 %, et au
niveau départemental à 7,51 %. Le taux
foncier bâti se monte au niveau communal à
18,42 %, au niveau intercommunal à 0 %, au niveau départemental à
11,25 % et au niveau régional à 2,97 %. Le taux foncier non bâti se
chiffre, au niveau communal à 48,67 %, au niveau intercommunal à
0 %, au niveau départemental à 25,64 % et au niveau régional à
4,13 %. Pour ce qui est du taux de la taxe
professionnelle, au niveau communal à 0 %, au
niveau intercommunal à 15,56 %, au niveau départemental à 7,33 % et
au niveau régional à 3,13 %97. |
|
Pour
l'année 2001, en
comparaison de Rennes, à Vannes, 60 % des revenus déclarés sont d'origine
salariale contre 68 % à Rennes. Les revenus des professions
indépendantes ont un poids plus grand, comme les retraites. Les cadres sont proportionnellement
moins nombreux à Vannes qu'à Rennes mais un peu plus d'ouvriers et surtout plus d'employés. Les artisans, commerçants, chefs d'entreprise et les retraités - aisés ou modestes -
sont plus présentsi 17. |
|
Le
quartier de Tohannic dans le sud-est de la ville connaît le revenu médian le
plus élevé avec 20 600 €. Quatre autres quartiers, si l'on exclut
les quartiers peu peuplés, dépassent 17 000 € :
Bernus-Kergypt-Keruzen-Campen, Rive Gauche du Port, Trussac, Le Pargo-Bois de
Vincin. De l'autre côté de l'échelle des revenus, six quartiers n'atteignent
pas 13 000 € : Ménimur-1 et 2, Kercado-1 et 2, Caserne-Centre Hospitalier, Cliscouet. Les quartiers de
Ménimur-1 et Kercado-1 sont les plus défavorisés avec un revenu médian de
6 500 € seulementi 17. |
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Emploi[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Au recensement de 2006, la ville comptait
39 812 emplois dont environ 92 % de salariés et 8 % de
non salariési 19. Ces emplois se répartissaient très majoritairement
(86,35 %) dans le secteur tertiairei 20 (administration,
enseignement, santé, commerce, services, transports, immobilier). Cette
répartition reflète le développement touristique de la station balnéaire. |
|
Répartition des
emplois par domaines d'activité |
|
|
|
|
Agriculture |
Industrie |
Construction |
Tertiaire |
dont Commerce |
dont Services |
|
|
Vannes |
0,69 % |
8,34 % |
4,62 % |
86,35 % |
13,7 % |
72,65 % |
|
|
Moyenne nationale |
3,51 % |
15,2 % |
6,4 % |
74,84 % |
13,3 % |
61,54 % |
|
|
Sources des données : INSEEi 21 |
|
|
La
population active comptait 23 824 personnes, soit un taux d'activité de 67,9 %.
Parmi celles-ci, 20 975 avait un emploi et 2 849 étaient en
chômage, soit un taux d'emploi de 59,7 % et un taux
de chômage de 8,1 %i 22, inférieur de
0,2 point au taux national et supérieur de 1,3 points par rapport à
la moyenne départementale égale à 6,8 %. Parmi les personnes ayant un
emploi, 68 % travaillaient dans la commune et 27,1 % dans d'autres
communes du département. Les transports domicile-travail se faisaient très
majoritairement (73,22 %) en voitures particulières. |
|
Répartition des
emplois par catégories socioprofessionnelles |
|
|
|
|
Agriculteurs |
Artisans, commerçants, |
Cadres, professions |
Professions |
Employés |
Ouvriers |
|
|
chefs d'entreprise |
intellectuelles |
intermédiaires |
|
|
Vannes |
0,3 % |
4,3 % |
14,38 % |
29 % |
34,1 % |
17,9 % |
|
|
Moyenne nationale |
0,2 % |
5,9 % |
15,39 % |
24,6 % |
28,7 % |
23,17 % |
|
|
Sources des données : INSEEi 21 |
|
|
La technopole[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
La
ville de Vannes et son pays est une technopole représentée par la société VIPE (Vannes Innovation
Promotion Expansion). Quatre axes stratégiques de développement ont été
définis : la valorisation des produits naturels (technologies
d’extraction, de purification, de retraitement), le traitement de
l’information (création logicielle, systèmes de gestion logistique), la santé
et bien-être (télémédecine, instrumentation, produits de bien-être) ainsi que les loisirs
et le nautisme (engins de loisirs en milieu naturel, ingénierie nautique).
Les entreprises technopolitaines sont réparties sur l’ensemble du territoire
du Pays de Vannes mais tout particulièrement sur le Parc d’Innovation
Bretagne Sud (PIBS) épicentre du technopôle, situé au sud-est de la ville. |
|
Vannes
est une ville internet98 et a obtenu le label @@@ en 200599, le label @@@@ en 2006100, puis le label @@@@@ depuis 2007101,102,103,104. Ce label récompense les villes les plus dynamiques en matière
de nouvelles technologies. La ville a également été primée deux fois
aux Trophées de la communication 2008105. Le concours national « Les Trophées de la
communication », organisé par l’association Wexcom récompense chaque
année les meilleurs outils, acteurs ou actions de communication de l’année.
Vannes concourait à ces Trophées 2008 dans deux catégories distinctes; elle
se classe à la 3e place de ce concours pour son site Internet et à la 2e pour le Vannes Mag, le bulletin d'information
municipale de la ville. |
|
Démographie des
entreprises[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
|
|
|
Brit Air, monocoque d'Armel Le Cléac'h construit aux
chantiers Multiplast. |
|
|
Le
nombre total d'entreprises et d'établissements, hors agriculture, au 31 décembre 2007 était
de 4 551i 23 et 432 entreprises ont été créées en 2007. Ces entreprises appartiennent
très majoritairement aux secteurs « services »
(3 072 entreprises, soit 67,5 %) et « commerce et
réparations » (990 entreprises, soit 21,8 %). Les entreprises
sans personnel salarié, soit 2 136 entreprises, représentent
46,9 % du total. On dénombre 566 entreprises de plus de dix
salariési 23,
toutefois ces dernières emploient 83,75 % des salariés. Entre 1998 et
2004, le taux d'évolution du nombre de créations d'entreprises est de
28,5 %, soit le plus haut taux de la région Bretagne. |
|
Les
trois principales entreprises en chiffre d'affaires présentes sur la commune
de Vannes, agglomération incluse, sont le groupe
CECAB avec un chiffre
d'affaires de 1,3 milliard d'euros en
2008, Evialis avec
un chiffre d'affaires de 758 millions d'euros en 2007106 et le groupe Diana Ingrédients avec un chiffre d'affaires
de 318 millions d'euros en 2008. L'association VIPE a défini une liste
d'entreprises qui forment la tête de proue de l'économie de l'agglomération
vannetaise107.
On trouve parmi celles-ci Michelin, Groupama, Crédit agricole du Morbihan, Carrefour, Intermarché, les Transports frigorifiques
européens, Saupiquet, le groupe Isatech, Wind River
Systems, le groupe
Saur, Aserti Electronic, Archimex, etc. |
|
Nautisme |
|
|
La
présence du secteur nautique est très marquée à Vannes. Un pôle d'excellence dans la
conception et la construction nautique consacré à la compétition a été créé
au sein du Parc du Golfe, un parc d'activité situé sur la rive droite
du port de la ville.
Parmi les entreprises implantées à Vannes, on peut noter la présence de
Multiplast dont plusieurs réalisations détiennent des records mondiaux à la
voile : les catamarans Orange I-II et Groupama III, le trimaran Géronimo, le monocoque Brit Air, etc. |
|
D'autres
leaders sont également présents à Vannes : Bic Sport, leader mondial de la planche à voile et du
surf ; Plasmor, leader français du kayak de mer (en procédure collective
depuis le 24 octobre 2018108) et Seagull, leader
mondial du char à voile. Vannes est également le siège français du plus grand
voilier au monde, North Sails, ainsi que de nombreux cabinets d'architectes
navals. Sur le Pays de Vannes, plus de 80 entreprises représentant près
de 500 emplois appartiennent au secteur du nautisme. |
|
Marchés et commerces[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
En
semaine, deux halles sont ouvertes au public : les Halles des Lices et
la Halle aux Poissons. Chaque mercredi et samedi a lieu un marché dans le
centre-ville de Vannes. Dans le quartier de Ménimur, un marché alimentaire a
également lieu le mardi et le vendredi matin. |
|
Halles des Lices |
|
|
Le
bâtiment dans lequel se situe les Halles des Lices date de 1912. Implanté sur le site de l’ancien
hôtel de Rosmadec (xviie siècle), sa construction avait
alors suscité de vives réactions parmi les Vannetais. Il a été restructuré au
printemps 2001 pour
offrir un meilleur cadre de travail aux commerçants. Il était nécessaire
qu'il soit mis en conformité avec les règles sanitaires. |
|
Dans la
rédaction du cahier des charges d’appel à candidatures pour le projet
architectural, le conseil municipal a laissé une large place à la créativité
et la possibilité éventuelle de conservation des éléments anciens. Sur les 4
projets réceptionnés, le jury de concours et le conseil ont retenu celui du
cabinet Peiffer, Freycenon, Plays. |
|
Culture
locale et patrimoine[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Lieux et monuments[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
Article
détaillé : Monuments historiques à Vannes. |
|
|
Vannes
est classée Ville d'Art et d'Histoire et abrite de nombreux monuments et lieux culturels de premier ordre. Des
guides-conférenciers organisent des visites à la découverte de l'intra-muros
et du Vieux Vannes, de son patrimoine et de son histoire. L'agglomération vannetaise compte
trois édifices distingués par l’attribution du label patrimoine du xxe siècleNote 5. Vannes compte 272 monuments et objets classés ou inscrits à
l'inventaire des monuments historiques109. |
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La commune est
une ville fleurie ayant obtenu quatre fleurs en 2008110 et la distinction Grand
Prix au palmarès 2007 du concours des villes et villages fleuris et est détentrice de deux étoiles au guide Vert Michelin. |
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Patrimoine civil[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Patrimoine fortifié[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Les remparts vus des jardins. |
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Article détaillé : Remparts de Vannes. |
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Les
remparts de Vannes sont le système de fortifications érigées entre les iiie et xviie siècles, sur des vestiges gallo-romains, pour protéger la
cité des pillards et des armées ennemies. Fondée par les Romains à la fin du ier siècle av. J.-C. sous
le règne d’Auguste,
la civitas Venetorum se voit contrainte de
se protéger derrière un castrum à la fin du iiie siècle, alors même qu'une crise majeure secoue l’empire romain. Cette première enceinte
demeure la seule protection de la cité pendant plus d’un millénaire. C’est à
l’époque du duc Jean IV, à la fin du xive siècle, que l’enceinte de la
ville est réédifiée et étendue vers le sud pour protéger les nouveaux
quartiers. Le duc veut faire de Vannes non seulement un lieu de résidence
mais également une place forte sur laquelle il peut s’appuyer en cas de
conflit. La superficie de la ville intra-muros est doublée et le duc adjoint
à la nouvelle enceinte sa forteresse de
l’Hermine. |
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Les guerres de la Ligue de la fin
du xvie siècle obligent la ville à
se doter de plusieurs bastions polygonaux (Gréguennic, Haute-Folie, Brozilay,
Notre-Dame). L’éperon de la Garenne est le dernier ouvrage défensif construit
à Vannes vers 1630.
À partir de 1670, le
roi Louis XIV vend
morceau par morceau les éléments des remparts afin de financer ses guerres.
L'événement le plus significatif est, en 1697, le don à la ville de Vannes des ruines du château de
l'Hermine, qui servent alors au réaménagement du port et à l'entretien des
bâtiments municipaux. |
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Les
aménagements urbains du xixe siècle ont pour conséquence
la démolition de plusieurs segments de la muraille nord et ouest. Il faut
attendre la destruction partielle en 1886 de la porte Prison, un des plus vieux accès à la vieille
ville, pour voir des vannetais attachés à leur patrimoine se réunir pour
former une association de défense du patrimoine en 1911. S’ensuit la mise en place
progressive de la protection des remparts au titre des monuments historiques entre 1912 et 1958. Depuis plusieurs décennies, la
ville entreprend la remise en état et la mise en valeur des parties des
remparts dont elle est propriétaire. Clé de voûte du patrimoine vannetais et
élément touristique par excellence, les remparts de Vannes comptent parmi les
rares fortifications urbaines qui subsistent encore en Bretagne. |
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Patrimoine médiéval[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Vannes et sa femme. |
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Enseigne Vannes et sa femme |
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Sur une
maison à colombages datant du xvie siècle ayant appartenu à Gilles de
Bretagne et inscrite monument historique111, à l'angle des rues Noé
et Pierre-René Rogue dans l'intra-muros, se trouve un des emblèmes de la
ville. L'enseigne Vannes et sa femme, surmontée des bustes d'un couple en
pierre peinte sans mains, est un des symboles de la ville dont on ne sait pas
l'origine. Cette sculpture pourrait être une enseigne commerciale,
probablement l'enseigne d'un cabaret. Cette enseigne joviale est voisine
du château Gaillard,
hôtel particulier, ancien siège du Parlement
de Bretagne et aujourd'hui musée
d'archéologie. |
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Maisons à pans de bois |
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La
ville possède un important patrimoine de maisons à
pans de bois — près de 220112,113 — plaçant la ville
au deuxième rang par leur nombre en Bretagne, derrière Rennes114. Les plus anciennes de
ces maisons à colombage datent du xve siècle. Les plus remarquables, du fait des couleurs employées, des
décors et des encorbellements, datent du xvie siècle. On retrouve ces maisons typiques dans l’intra-muros près de la
cathédrale ainsi que dans le quartier Saint-Patern et sur la rive droite du port. Les
rez-de-chaussées sont occupés depuis l’origine par des boutiques, ainsi on
retrouve certaines enseignes originales sur les murs de ces maisons colorées
au charme indéniable. |
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Place Henri-IV. |
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Intra Muros. |
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Rive droite du port. |
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Place Henri-IV. |
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Musée des Beaux-Arts La Cohue de Vannes |
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La tour polygonale du Château-Gaillard. |
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Musée
des Beaux-Arts de la ville depuis 1982, la Cohue, mot d'origine bretonne (coc'hug signifiant halles) utilisé au Moyen Âge pour désigner les
lieux de marché dans les villes, appartient au duc de Bretagne. Sa partie la plus
ancienne remonte au xiiie siècle et l'édifice est agrandi aux xive et xviie siècles. Situé en
plein cœur de la ville face à la cathédrale
Saint-Pierre, le lieu fut le siège du palais de la
justice ducale jusqu'en 1796. À partir de 1675, le parlement de Bretagne exilé à Vannes y tint séances. La Cohue accueille
les États de Bretagne à dix reprises de 1431 à 1703. En 1532, ce fut dans cet édifice que l'acte d'Union de la Bretagne à la France fut
signé. |
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Château-Gaillard |
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Construite
en 1410 par Jean de
Malestroit, évêque de Saint-Brieuc et de Nantes, chancelier de Jean V depuis 1408, cette demeure médiévale est rachetée en 1457 par le duc de Bretagne qui y installe
les États de Bretagne. C'est dans cette cour souveraine que les vassaux du duc votent les impôts.
En 1485, François II confie le rôle
des États dans les contentieux à une cour de justice, le Parlement de Bretagne qui siège
également à Vannes. |
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En 1554, alors que le Parlement
s'installe à Rennes,
le roi de France Henri II vend l'Hôtel. Au xviie siècle, l'hôtel appartient à Pierre de Sérent, Président du Présidial de Vannes, qui commandite la
réalisation du cabinet des Pères du désert composé de soixante-six panneaux de bois représentant de
tous les pays et de toutes les époques d'après des gravures reproduisant
l'œuvre du peintre Maarten de Vos. En 1912, la Société polymathique du
Morbihan rachète le Château Gaillard et le
confie à la municipalité vannetaise en 2000 afin de créer un musée d'Histoire et d'Archéologie qui
permet la conservation et la présentation au public de ses collections. |
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Quartier Saint-Patern |
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Autre patrimoine civil[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Château de l'Hermine. |
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Jardin du Château de l'Hermine. |
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Château de l’Hermine (ou Hôtel Lagorce) |
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Le
bâtiment actuel date de 1785 et n’a plus rien à voir avec la forteresse qu’évoque Bertrand d’Argentré dans
son Histoire de Bretagne de 1582. Le château tire son nom de la forteresse construite
entre 1380 et 1385 par le duc Jean IV afin de renforcer
l’enceinte de Vannes et y avoir une résidence. La forteresse est adjointe de
vastes dépendances où il crée un parc, le terrain s’étendant de la Garenne à
l’étang au Duc.
Sous Louis XIII,
le château à l’abandon est partiellement détruit et c’est Louis XIV qui en fait
donation à la ville de Vannes en 1697. Les pierres du château servent alors aux réparations des
bâtiments dont la ville avait la charge, ainsi qu'à la construction des quais
du port. La forteresse est pratiquement en ruine lorsque la ville vend son
emplacement et ses soubassements à Julien Lagorce, un traiteur, qui en fait
l’hôtel actuel. Par la suite, la demeure devint successivement une école
d’artillerie en 1874 puis
le siège de la Trésorerie Générale jusqu’en 1974, date à laquelle la ville de Vannes en fait l’acquisition pour
y installer l’école de droit du Morbihan. Aujourd’hui, le Château de l’Hermine est le siège de l’Institut culturel de Bretagne. |
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Hôtel de ville |
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L'Hôtel de Ville, avec la statue du connétable de Richemont par Arthur Le Duc. |
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Remplaçant
une mairie ancienne et en mauvais état, l'hôtel de ville de Vannes est un
projet du maire républicain Émile Burgault qui en 1847 établit les premiers fondements. C'est quarante ans plus
tard que celui-ci sera réalisé. Érigé sur la place du marché, cet hôtel de
ville voulu par les républicains après leur victoire sur les monarchistes
en 1878 est le
triomphe des idées républicaines. Bâti sur les plans de l'architecte Amand Charier, fils de Marius Charier,
l'hôtel de ville de style de la Renaissance
italienne est encadré par deux pavillons. Sa
façade principale s'orne d'un frontispice comportant une horloge, et, au
fronton, le blason de la ville. Un grand campanile à carillon le surmonte,
rappel du beffroi d'autrefois. La façade est particulièrement travaillée :
grands pilastres des pavillons et colonnes engagées, à chapiteaux
corinthiens, frontons alternativement triangulaires et cintrés, cartouches et
bustes, supports du frontispice, volutes. L'édifice est inauguré par le
ministre des Postes Félix Granet le 11 juillet 1886115, mais il coûte plus de
800 000 francs soit deux fois le montant du devis initial fixé
en 1880. Ce monument
fait l’objet d’une inscription au titre des monuments
historiques depuis le 2 décembre 1992116. |
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La préfecture du Morbihan. |
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Hôtel et jardins de la Préfecture |
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Inaugurée
le 23 août 1865 sous Napoléon III, la nouvelle
préfecture du Morbihan est construite par l'architecte départemental Émile Amé sur le site de l'ancien
couvent des jacobins tout près du quartier Saint-Patern. Cet édifice, bâti
sur un plan en U, s'apparente au style
Louis XIII avec son corps de
30 mètres de large. Le décor du fronton fait référence à l'Empire (aigle
impérial) et à l'histoire bretonne avec les représentations de Nominoé, comte de Vannes et d'Alain Barbe-Torte, deux héros de
l'indépendance bretonne. |
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L'hôtel
de la préfecture est entouré d'un parc de cinq hectares. La plus grande
partie est composée d'un jardin à l'anglaise dessiné en 1862 par Louis-Sulpice Varé,
architecte-paysagiste de Paris, auteur du bois
de Boulogne. Placé en contrebas de l'aile des
archives, un jardin à la française de 5 000 m2 fut redessiné en
1975. |
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Hôtel et jardins de Limur |
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Cet
Hôtel particulier en forme de L, a sa façade principale sur la rue et une
aile en retour au sud. Un jardin à la française occupe les arrières de
l'Hôtel. Il fut construit vers 1685 par Raymond le Doulx, chanoine de la cathédrale de Vannes originaire
de Bordeaux. À la
Révolution, il est saisi à Armand de Gouvello, parti en émigration, et,
en 1795, l'hôtel de
Limur est le siège d'une commission militaire chargée de juger les
prisonniers du Débarquement de Quiberon. L'hôtel est ensuite la propriété de Mahé de Villeneuve, maire
sous le Consulat et l'Empire, puis de Joseph-François Danet, receveur général
du département. En 1820, la ville projette d'en faire sa mairie mais le projet est
avorté. Jusqu'en 1947, la famille de Limur demeure dans l'Hôtel, date à laquelle la
ville de Vannes en devient propriétaire. Le musée des Beaux-Arts aujourd'hui
situé à La Cohue y
emménage de 1955 à 1968. Classé monument
historique en 1993, l'Hôtel de Limur connaît
une restauration complète depuis 1996. Elle accueille entre ses murs des
concerts et des expositions. |
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Jardins des Remparts. |
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Remparts et jardin. |
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Tour du Connétable, remparts et jardins. |
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Lavoirs sur la Marle. |
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Ancienne mairie de Vannes. |
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Lavoirs de la Garenne sur la Marle |
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Ces
lavoirs en galerie couverte ont été construits entre 1817 et 1821 et
restaurés en 2006117. |
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Cimetière de Boismoreau |
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Plusieurs jardins sont à signaler : |
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Jardin de la Garenne |
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Jardin des remparts |
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Jardin de collection florale des Salines de Conleau |
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Patrimoine religieux[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Article
détaillé : Liste des édifices religieux de Vannes. |
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Cathédrale Basilique Saint-Pierre de Vannes. |
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Façade de la cathédrale. |
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Façade de la Cathédrale Basilique Saint-Pierre de
Vannes. |
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La
première cathédrale de Vannes fut détruite en 919 lors des raids vikings en Bretagne. Une nouvelle cathédrale fut construite
vers 1020 par
l'évêque Judicaël et
son frère Geoffroi Ier, duc de Bretagne, dans
un style roman mais
on ignore si c'est au même emplacement. Faite de granit et continuellement
modifiée par l'addition de nouvelles structures, la cathédrale est un édifice
extrêmement composite. À la fin du xiie siècle ou au début du xiiie siècle, les évêques Rouaud et Guéthenoc réédifient une nouvelle
cathédrale dont subsistent la base du clocher et quelques pans du chœur. La
reconstruction en style gothique, décidée par l'évêque Yves de
Pontsal, se fit aux xve et xvie siècles, entre 1454 et 1520. Elle fut rendue nécessaire du fait que l'ancien sanctuaire
était devenu trop petit pour faire face à l'affluence des pèlerins qui se
pressaient autour du tombeau de saint Vincent
Ferrier, mort à Vannes en 1419 et enterré dans le chœur de
la cathédrale. Elle est édifiée grâce aux offrandes des pèlerins venus se
recueillir sur le tombeau du saint que le pape Calixte III vient de
canoniser. De cette époque datent la nef, le transept et le porche du croisillon nord. Ce porche comprend, suivant la coutume bretonne,
douze niches destinées à recevoir les statues des douze apôtres. Au xvie siècle fût également
construite une chapelle ronde à étage, la chapelle du Saint-Sacrement, petit joyau de style Renaissance, accolé à la façade
nord du transept, au niveau de la cinquième travée. La tour nord est la principale structure héritée de l'ancienne
construction romane. Les voûtes et le chœur ne furent construits qu'au xviiie siècle entre 1771 et 1774. Enfin, la tour sud et la façade occidentale avec son porche
datent du milieu du xixe siècle. Ce monument fait l’objet d’un classement au titre des monuments historiques depuis
le 30 octobre 1906118. |
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Église Saint-Patern |
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Clocher de l'église Saint Patern. |
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Tout
comme pour la Cathédrale de Vannes, l'église Saint Patern fut détruite au xe siècle lors des invasions normandes en Bretagne. L'édifice est
reconstruit au siècle suivant et est pendant tout le Moyen Âge une importante
étape de pèlerinage. Saint Patern, premier évêque attesté de l'évêché
de Vannes est un des sept saints fondateurs de Bretagne.
Ses reliques, conservées à Vannes, attirent la foule des pèlerins du Tro Breiz. Le pèlerinage crée de
grands troubles dans la ville au xive siècle. Le clergé de Saint Patern et les chanoines de la cathédrale se
disputent le droit de présenter les reliques, de recevoir les vénérations, et
donc les offrandes. Les fidèles de la paroisse de Saint Patern défendent
leurs droits contre les chanoines aidés par des sergents du duc. Les
paroissiens font le guet et s'enferment dans l'église à l'arrivée des
partisans des chanoines. Le clergé recommande cependant aux fidèles de jeter
les offrandes par les fenêtres de l'église. L'affaire est réglée par l'intervention
du clergé de Rome. Au xve siècle, le pèlerinage fut en partie délaissé après le passage et la
prédication de Saint Vincent Ferrier, qui fit de l'ombre au saint fondateur. L'église romane fut
victime des tempêtes en 1721-1726.
L'édifice actuel a été reconstruit dès 1727 sur les plans de l'architecte vannetais Olivier Delourme. Le grand escalier,
la tour de granit et sa lanterne sont commencés en 1769, mais la flèche ne peut être
achevée qu'en 1826.
De janvier 2007 à
mars 2008, l'église
connaît une restauration complète dans le style baroque d'origine : toiture,
charpente et voûte en lambris, enduits, étanchéité, installations
électriques, consolidation du clocher, réfection complète du dallage avec
intégration d'un plancher chauffant, ré-aménagement du chœur avec la pose
d'un ensemble de stalles de chœur en chêne massif sculpté datant de 1695, ayant été initialement
installées aux Carmes de Ploërmel, puis ayant transité par la chapelle des Ursulines de Saint-Pol-de-Léon119. |
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Chapelle Saint-Yves |
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Place de l'Hôtel de Ville et Chapelle Saint-Yves. |
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Inscrite
aux monuments historiques depuis le 29 septembre 1975,
la chapelle, dépendant du collège Jules-Simon, fut construite de 1661 à 1685 sur les plans du frère Charles Turmel, architecte de la Compagnie de Jésus. La chapelle est
inspiré des modèles baroques italiens et représentative du style jésuite de
l'époque. Élevée alors que la ville connaît un important essor religieux avec
l'installation de nombreuses communautés et la construction de couvents,
maisons de retraite ou chapelles, la chapelle Saint-Yves est édifiée sur un
soubassement en granit. Les deux niveaux sont coiffés d'un haut fronton, dans
lequel est gravé le monogramme des Jésuites IHS (Jesus
Hominum Salvator). Les volumes de cette chapelle
sont simples, une nef unique, un chœur réduit. Catherine de Francheville, mécène,
fait inscrire sur le linteau du portail Fundavit
eam Altissimus (C'est
le Très Haut qui a construit cette chapelle).
Le gouverneur de Vannes, Claude de Lannion, fait don de 3 000 livres
pour la confection d'un retable réalisé par le retablier nantais Jean Boffrand. Ce retable aux colonnes
de marbre noir à chapiteaux corinthiens est doté d'ailes dont les niches sont
meublées de deux statues. Le tableau au cœur du retable est consacré au
triomphe de saint Ignace de Loyola. La chapelle est actuellement en cours de réhabilitation120. |
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Port de plaisance[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Article détaillé : Port de Vannes. |
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Rive gauche du port. |
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La nouvelle esplanade du port de Plaisance. |
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Afin de faciliter le traitement de l'information
sous une forme automatisée, on utilise pour Vannes la chaîne de caractères
codifiées VA, selon la liste des quartiers maritimes. |
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Le Corbeau des mers |
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Ce
bateau dont le nom fait référence au grand cormoran, est un navire de pêche de type caseyeur spécialisé dans le ramassage des langoustes. C'est un voilier en bois
de type sloop construit
en 1931 au
chantier Belbehoc'h de Crozon pour un patron-pêcheur de
l'île de Sein. Le Corbeau des mers s'est rendu
célèbre pour avoir répondu, ainsi que le Rouanez-ar-Péoc'h et le Maris Stella, à l’appel du 18 juin 1940 du
général De Gaulle.
C'est ainsi que, le 26 juin 1940121, Pierre Couillandre et vingt-sept Sénans s'embarquent pour
l'Angleterre. Île-de-Sein recevra pour son attitude durant cette période la médaille de la libération122. En 1981, il est racheté par le Musée de
la résistance bretonne de Saint-Marcel123. Après sa restauration en 1987, il obtient son classement aux monuments
historiques en 1991. Géré par une association loi de
1901, il organise des voyages en mer dans un but
éducatif. Son port d'attache reste Vannes bien que son immatriculation
soit alréenne (AY
1684). |
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Les Trois Frères |
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Ce
bateau est un sinago,
dernier bateau de pêche de ce type construit en 1943. Il appartient à
l'association Les Amis du Sinagot124 de Vannes
depuis 1985.
Construit en 1943 au chantier Querrien au Bono, il a été lancé sous le nom de Solveig. Le sinago est une
chaloupe de pêche à deux mâts, appelé avant chaloupe de Séné (commune du golfe du Morbihan). Il porte deux
voiles au tiers, couleur rouge brique. Sa coque est en chêne, passée au coaltar. Il a subi une première
restauration en 1988,
au chantier Michelet à Conleau, et une seconde, en 1992, au chantier du Guip125 à l’île aux Moines. |
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Patrimoine culturel[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Langue et culture bretonne[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Pendant
longtemps, Vannes a été considérée comme étant une enclave française en
terre bretonne.
Aujourd'hui, la culture bretonne s'exprime pleinement dans la cité. Lors de
l'émigration des Bretons en
Armorique, Vannes constituait un îlot gallo-romain, qui influença localement
le breton par un petit nombre d'emprunts au roman. Par la suite, elle se bretonnisa à la fin du haut Moyen Âge et
demeura longtemps un bastion du breton alors que Saint-Brieuc par exemple, basculait au français et influençait
progressivement ses environs. |
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Le Bagad Melinerion évolue en première catégorie du championnat national des bagadoù. |
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Lors de la
réouverture du Palais des Arts, la ville a symboliquement dénommé le théâtre : Théâtre
Anne-de-Bretagne et Vannes accueille également un bagad, le Bagad Melinerion (bagad de 1re catégorie). |
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Vannes
est une ville pionnière dans le renouveau de la culture bretonne. Ainsi, un
département de musique traditionnelle a été créé au sein du conservatoire et
le 8 décembre 2007, Vannes a signé la charte de l’office public de la langue bretonne Ya d'ar brezhonegs 9. À la rentrée 2007, 1 137 enfants étaient inscrits dans des écoles
primaires bilingues de la commune126. |
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Musées[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Vannes
dispose au sein de son centre historique de deux musées classés musées de France. Le musée d'archéologie du Morbihan, situé dans un hôtel
du xve siècle est installé dans
l'ancien hôtel du Parlement de Bretagne dit le Château-Gaillard. Ce musée consacré à l'histoire du Morbihan accueille les
collections de la Société polymathique du
Morbihan, collections remontant à la préhistoire.
Le musée est très riche en objets préhistoriques provenant, pour la plupart,
des premières fouilles des mégalithes du Morbihan : Carnac, Locmariaquer, presqu'île de Rhuys, qui permirent de mettre au jour de très belles pièces. L'autre
musée de la ville est la Cohue située en face de la Cathédrale
Saint-Pierre et présente des œuvres d'horizons
divers : peintures contemporaines, figuratives, d'artistes bretons
(notamment une collection d'œuvres de Geneviève
Asse127), etc. |
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Théâtres et salles de spectacle[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Le
principal complexe accueillant les concerts, les salons et les congrès, se
nomme le Chorus. Situé sur
un terrain de six hectares au sein du parc du Golfe, un parc d'activité du
sud-ouest de la ville, le Chorus est un complexe pluri-fonctionnel. Un autre
complexe, l'Echonova, lieu de musiques actuelles de l'agglomération
vannetaise inauguré en 2010, est situé sur le territoire de la ville voisine de Saint-Avé128. |
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Les
concerts de musique classique et de musiques du monde sont joués à l’auditorium des Carmes, composante du
conservatoire de musique de Vanness 10 situé rive droite du port de plaisance. Les pièces
théâtrales, quant à elles, sont représentées au théâtre Anne de Bretagnes 11, théâtre localisé dans
le Palais des Arts et des Congrès. |
|
Enfin, Vannes accueille le siège de l'association
Motocultor Fest Prod, qui organise divers concerts à vannes même, et surtout
chaque mois d'août le Motocultor Festival dans des communes
limitrophes de Vannes (par manque de terrains disponibles sur la commune de
Vannes). |
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Depuis 2016,
Le Ker, un parc à thème a ouvert. Ce musée se consacre à l'histoire bretonne
à partir de la Préhistoire et
jusqu'à la bataille des Vénètes qui opposa les Celtes aux armées de Jules César129. |
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Cinéma[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Le cinéma apparaît dès 1901 à Vannes. Les premières
projections des films produits par les frères
Lumières se font sous chapiteau ou bien alors
au théâtre de la Cohue et dans les locaux du patronage Saint-François qui
deviendra le cinéma de la Garenne. |
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En 2009, Vannes dispose de deux cinémas pour un total de quatorze salles
de cinéma dont : |
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·
le « cinéville la
Garenne » (12 Bis Rue Alexandre Le Pontois),
construit en 1925 (cinq
salles) et classé cinéma d'art et d'essai ; |
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· le
« cinéville Parc-lann » (Rue Aristide Boucicaut), construit
en 2005 (neuf salles). |
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Histoire des cinémas vannetais |
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Façade conservée de l'Eden en 2010. |
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Le
premier cinéma vannetais est créé en 1922 par Robert Damilot, un décorateur parisien. Une
façade Art déco représentant
des motifs floraux et végétaux est réalisée et la capacité de l'ancienne
salle de Roller Skating est portée à 900 places. Le cinéma propose un
orchestre, un balcon et un promenoir. Racheté en 1966, le cinéma est rebaptisé « Comédia » puis « Universel ». L'ouverture du
Palais des Arts compromet un projet de programmation de spectacles autres que
cinématographiques. En 1981, le cinéma change de propriétaire et de nom pour devenir le
cinéma « l’Eden »p 2. Le bâtiment est
agrandi en hauteur et par l’arrière, il comporte trois salles de 225, 156 et
128 places. Le cinéma ferme ses portes en 2003 faisant place à un complexe
immobilier qui intègre la façade repeinte et entretenue. |
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En 1925, l'abbé Guillaume, professeur de
dessin au collège Saint-François-Xavier, crée, dans l'ancienne salle de patronage Saint-François proche
du plateau de la Garenne face aux remparts, une salle de cinéma de
1 000 places décorée de panneaux évocateurs de sites et de
monuments du Morbihan peints par l'artiste vannetais Victor Guesde. En 1951, la salle connaît des
réaménagements devenus obligatoires mis en œuvre par l’architecte vannetais
Guy Claubert de Clery qui dessina les plans de l'église Saint-Pie X.
La Soredic,
propriétaire du cinéma en 1970, en fait un complexe de trois salles. Aujourd'hui, le « Cinéville La Garenne »p 3 comporte cinq
salles de 316 à 75 fauteuils. La Soredic, également propriétaire de
l'autre cinéma vannetais, a passé une convention avec la mairie de Vannes et
l’association Cin’écran afin de promouvoir la programmation d’Art et Essai. |
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Le
troisième cinéma de la ville, « le Royal »p 4, fut construit en 1936 par Léonce Liets en place et lieu d'un garage, plus
anciennement des bains-douches privés créés en 1863 non loin de l'Hôtel de
Ville. La façade, très étroite, est habillée d'un oriel à deux niveaux, de
forme semi-circulaire correspondant aux parties privées. La salle à la façade
étroite surmontée d’un oriel de 500 places à deux étages se déploie en
arrière. Le « Royal »
ferma ses portes le 23 octobre 2001,
laissant place à une librairie. La salle est complètement restructurée mais
conserve sa face étroite en béton enduit. |
|
Le dernier et
plus grand cinéma vannetais est inauguré en 2005 dans la zone commerciale de Parc Lann au Nord-Ouest de la
ville. « Le cinéville Parc Lann », propriété du groupe Soredic, est un multiplexe de neuf salles. |
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Une ville cinéphile |
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Avec
deux cinémas en activité, dont un consacré aux films d'art et d'essais,
Vannes est attachée au septième Art. Avec en 2006, 494 000 entrées pour 52 000 habitants
(9,55 entrées/habitant130), 475 000 entrées pour 52 000 habitants
(9,19 entrées/habitant131) en 2007 et 530 000 entrées pour
53 000 habitants (10,02 entrées/habitant132) en 2008, les cinémas vannetais occupent
la tête du classement régional de la fréquentation des salles de cinéma selon
les études effectués par le Centre National
Cinématographique (CNC). La fréquentation
enregistrée a connu une hausse de 86,2 % entre 2005 et 2006, deuxième plus forte progression
sur le territoire national après Calais. |
|
Vannes est également le lieu d'un événement lié au septième
art : les « Rencontres du Cinéma européen », organisé par
l'association Cin'écran. |
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Personnalités liées
à la commune[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Article
détaillé : Personnalités liées à Vannes. |
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Héraldique, drapeau
et logotype[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Héraldique[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Articles détaillés : Armorial
des communes du Morbihan et Blason de Vannes. |
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Les armes de Vannes se blasonnent ainsi : « De gueules à l'hermine passante d'argent, colletée et bouclée d'argent, cravatée
d'hermine doublée
d'or ». |
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À droite : Grandes armes de Vannes. |
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Ce
blason a été enregistré à l'armorial général de France de 1696. L'hermine a été popularisée par
le duc Jean IV qui
baptisa de ce nom le château qu'il bâtit à Vannes et l'ordre
de chevalerie qu'il fonda en 1381. C'est à Vannes que fut proclamée
en 1532, devant le
roi François Ier, l'Union de la Bretagne à la France. |
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Porte Saint-Vincent. |
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Ces
armoiries sont connues depuis le xve siècle. L'hermine et
sa moucheture typique est traditionnellement attribuée à la Bretagne, dont Vannes a été l'une
des capitales. L'écu
est timbré d'une couronne murale. La couronne murale à quatre tours (anciennement à trois tours)
rappelle que Vannes est la préfecture du MorbihanNote 6. Les supports de
l'écu, deux lévriers,
rappellent ceux qui furent offerts à François Ier lorsqu'il vint à
Vannes le 4 août 1532 pour le traité d'union
perpétuelle. Le lévrier est symbole de fidélité et de noblesse. |
|
La devise de la ville
est « Da'm Buhez », ce qui signifie « À ma vie », a comme
origine le duc Jean IV qui institua en 1381 l'ordre chevaleresque de
l'Hermine. Les chevaliers de l'Ordre portaient au
cou un collier auquel pendait une hermine au naturel qu'on voit dans le
blason de la ville. La devise qui était celle de l'Ordre, rappelle le fait
historique dont Vannes a été le théâtre. À ma
vie est également la devise des ducs de
la maison de Montfort. |
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Drapeau[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Article détaillé : Drapeau de Vannes. |
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Drapeau de Vannes |
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Utilisation |
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Caractéristiques |
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Proportions |
02:03 |
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Adoption |
xxe siècle |
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Éléments |
Hermine blanche sur fond rouge portant un manteau
d'hermine |
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La ville
utilise comme drapeau sa bannière armoriée : une
hermine passante blanche sur fond rouge portant un manteau d'hermine. |
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Une différence
est notable entre le blason et le drapeau, en effet, l'hermine du drapeau est
bouclée et accolée de la jarretière flottante de Bretagne alors que l'hermine
du blason est cravatée d'hermine doublée d'or. |
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Le fond
rouge symbolise le royaume du Broërec dont la capitale fut Vannes. Une miniature du xve siècle donne à ce royaume
du Moyen Âge un
drapeau à la croix dentelée de rouge accompagnée d'hermines d'où la couleur
rouge du fond de ce drapeau. L'hermine au naturel est le symbole de la Bretagne. À l'origine représentée sous
la forme d'une moucheture, l'hermine est plus rarement apposée sous sa forme naturelle.
En Bretagne, il
existe une multitude de villes utilisant des mouchetures d'hermines en tant
qu'éléments dans leur blason ou drapeau. Au contraire, seules quelques-unes
d'entre elles utilisent l'hermine au naturel comme symbole. Les exemples les
plus connus sont, à l'exception du blason et du drapeau vannetais, le blason
et drapeau malouin et
le drapeau moderne de la province du Vannetais. La jarretière flottante de Bretagne symbolise l'ordre de l'Hermine. |
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Le
drapeau de la ville, bien que connu d'un grand nombre de Vannetais et de
Bretons, n'est que peu usité. On peut retrouver le drapeau de la ville à la
place d'honneur (gauche) sur le parvis de l'hôtel de ville à côté du Gwenn ha du, du drapeau français et du
drapeau européen, sur le port de plaisance. |
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Logotypes[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Le logo de la mairie
de Vannes représente une hermine naturelle placée sur deux bandes mouvantes, une bleu
marine et l'autre de bronze. Une moucheture
d'hermine de bronze est située sur la bande du
dessus et une bleu-marine sur la bande du dessous. En dessous du nom de la
ville est apposée une phrase : Morbihan
Capitale. |
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Notes et
références[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
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Notes[modifier | modifier le code] |
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1. ↑ Prononciation en français de France retranscrite phonémiquement selon la norme
API. |
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2. ↑ Voir par exemple : Dom
Joseph Vaissète, Géographie
historique, ecclésiastique et civile, Paris,
1755, p. 503 ; Consulter en
ligne [archive]. |
|
|
3. ↑ Par convention
dans Wikipédia, le principe a été retenu de n’afficher dans le tableau des
recensements et le graphique, pour les populations légales postérieures à
1999, que les populations correspondant à une enquête exhaustive de
recensement pour les communes de moins de 10 000 habitants, et que
les populations des années 2006, 2011, 2016, etc. pour les communes de plus
de 10 000 habitants, ainsi que la dernière population légale
publiée par l’Insee pour l'ensemble des communes. |
|
4.
↑ Population municipale légale en vigueur au
1er janvier 2021, millésimée 2018, définie dans les limites
territoriales en vigueur au 1er janvier 2020, date de référence
statistique : 1er janvier 2018. |
|
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5. ↑ Le label patrimoine du xxe siècle a été créé en 1999 par le Ministère de la
Culture et de la Communication. Il signale à
l’attention du public les édifices et ensembles urbains remarquables de ce
siècle en matière d’architecture - DRAC
Bretagne [archive] |
|
|
6. ↑ Note circulaire du ministère de la Culture du 12 juillet 2001 :
Conseils pour la création d'armoiries par des collectivités |
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Références[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
·
Site de la mairie [archive] |
|
|
1. ↑ Communiqué du maire [archive]. |
|
|
2. ↑ Revenir plus haut en :a et b « http://www.mairie-vannes.fr/vannes-citoyenne/le-conseil-municipal/elus-vannetais/ »(Archive • Wikiwix • Archive.is • Google • Que faire ?) |
|
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3. ↑ Vidéo surveillance [archive] |
|
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4. ↑ Relations internationales [archive]. |
|
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5. ↑ Enseignement primaire [archive] |
|
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6. ↑ Études supérieures [archive] |
|
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7. ↑ Installations sportives [archive]. |
|
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8. ↑ Le tissu économique vannetais [archive] |
|
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9. ↑ Charte de l'Office de la langue
bretonne [archive] |
|
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10. ↑ Page du Conservatoire de musique [archive] |
|
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11. ↑ Théâtre Anne de Bretagne [archive] |
|
|
·
Site du patrimoine de la région Bretagne [archive] |
|
|
1. ↑ Liste des Quartiers vannetais [archive] |
|
|
2. ↑ « Cinéma L'Eden » [archive], sur Patrimoine de la région Bretagne |
|
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3. ↑ « Cinéma La Garenne » [archive], sur Patrimoine de la région Bretagne |
|
|
4. ↑ « Cinéma Le Royal » [archive], sur Patrimoine de la région Bretagne |
|
|
·
Données INSEE [archive] : Démographie - Emploi - Économie - Logement |
|
|
1. ↑ Revenir plus haut en :a et b « Évolution et structure de
la population en 2016 - Aire urbaine de Vannes (055) » [archive], sur Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (consulté le 24 décembre
2019) |
|
|
2. ↑ Revenir plus haut en :a et b « Populations légales 2016
- Commune de Vannes (56260) » [archive], sur Institut national de la
statistique et des études économiques (consulté le24 décembre 2019) |
|
|
3. ↑ Recensement 2008 - Communauté
d'Agglomération du Pays de Vannes [archive] |
|
|
4. ↑ Revenir plus haut en :a et b Recensement 2006 - Logements par
type, catégorie et nombre de pièces [archive]. |
|
|
5. ↑ Recensement 2006 -Logements
construits avant 2004 par type, catégorie et époque d'achèvement de la
construction [archive]. |
|
|
6. ↑ Recensement 2006 - Résidences
principales par type de logement, installations sanitaires et statut
d'occupation [archive]. |
|
|
7. ↑ Recensement 2006 - Résidences
principales par type de logement, statut d'occupation et mode de chauffage [archive]. |
|
|
8. ↑ Recensement 2006 - Résidences
principales par type de logement, statut d'occupation et présence d'un
emplacement de stationnement [archive]. |
|
|
9. ↑ « Évolution et structure de
la population en 2016 - Unité urbaine de Vannes (56501) » [archive], sur Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (consulté le 24 décembre
2019) |
|
|
10. ↑ « Évolution et structure de
la population en 2016 - Intercommunalité-Métropole de CA Golfe du Morbihan -
Vannes Agglomération (200067932) » [archive], sur Institut national de la
statistique et des études économiques (consulté le24 décembre 2019) |
|
|
11. ↑ « Bretagne : la
population des communes au 1er janvier 2016 » [archive], sur Institut national de la
statistique et des études économiques, 27
décembre 2018 (consulté le 24 décembre
2019) |
|
|
12. ↑ « Population par sexe et
âge regroupé en 2006 - Commune de Vannes » [archive], sur Institut national de la
statistique et des études économiques (consulté le 24 décembre 2019) |
|
|
13. ↑ « Population par sexe et
âge regroupé en 2016 - Commune de Vannes » [archive], sur Institut national de la
statistique et des études économiques (consulté le 24 décembre 2019) |
|
|
14. ↑ « Population totale par
sexe, âge et nationalité » [archive], sur site de l'Insee, 2006 (consulté le 8
octobre 2009) |
|
|
15. ↑ « Population totale par
catégorie socioprofessionnelle et nationalité » [archive], sur site de l'Insee, 2006 (consulté le 8 octobre 2009) |
|
|
16. ↑ « CC-Résumé
statistique/com,dep,zone empl » [archive], sur site de l'INSEE(consulté le 9 septembre 2009) |
|
|
17. ↑ Revenir plus haut en :a b et c Données INSEE synthétisées par
l'internaute.com [archive] |
|
|
18. ↑ Vannes, Des revenus élevés,
comme à Rennes, mais d'origine différente - Octant 99 [archive] |
|
|
19. ↑ Recensement 2006 - Emplois au
lieu de travail par sexe, âge, statut et temps de travail [archive] |
|
|
20. ↑ Recensement 2006 - Emplois au
lieu de travail par sexe, statut et secteur d'activité économique [archive] |
|
|
21. ↑ Revenir plus haut en :a et b Recensement 2006 - Emplois au
lieu de travail par sexe, catégorie socioprofessionnelle et secteur
d'activité économique [archive] |
|
|
22. ↑ « Recensement 2006 -
Population de 15 à 64 ans par type d'activité » [archive], sur recensement.insee.fr |
|
|
23. ↑ Revenir plus haut en :a et b « INSEE - Chiffres clefs de
la ville de Vannes » [archive], sur INSEE Statistiques locales (consulté le 11 octobre
2009) |
|
|
·
Cultes |
|
|
1. ↑ « Équipe épiscopale » [archive], sur Diocèse de Vannes (consulté le10 octobre 2009) |
|
|
2. ↑ « Site internet » [archive], sur Paroisse St Pierre (consulté le10 octobre 2009) |
|
|
3. ↑ « Site internet » [archive], sur Paroisse St Patern (consulté le10 octobre 2009) |
|
|
4. ↑ « Site internet » [archive], sur Paroisse St Guen (consulté le10 octobre 2009) |
|
|
5. ↑ « Paroisse protestante de
Vannes » [archive], sur Église protestante unie de
France (consulté
le 10 octobre 2009)] |
|
|
6. ↑ « François Goulard cherche
un terrain pour implanter une mosquée » [archive], sur Mensuel du Golfe du
Morbihan, 11 avril 2008(consulté le 9 octobre 2009) |
|
|
7. ↑ « A Menimur on prie dans
une cave faute de mieux » [archive], sur Ouest-France, 23 avril 2008 (consulté
le 9 octobre 2009) |
|
|
8. ↑ « Vannes, des bouddhistes
dans la ville » [archive], sur Le Télégramme, 30 décembre 2008 (consulté
le 10 octobre 2009) |
|
|
·
Autres |
|
|
1. ↑ « Vannes » [archive], sur PavillonBleu.org(consulté le 2
septembre 2009). |
|
|
2. ↑ « Atlas Régional Bretagne -
Effectifs d'étudiants en 2017-2018 » [archive], sur Ministère de
lʼEnseignement supérieur, de la Recherche et de lʼInnovation (consulté le24 décembre 2019) |
|
|
3. ↑ La Géographie de Ptolémée, Localisation de la Gaule
lyonnaise, Livre II, Chapitre VII. |
|
|
4. ↑ « Annales de philosophie chrétienned’Augustin
Bonnetty, Volume 5 » [archive], sur Google Books (consulté le 2 septembre 9) |
|
|
5. ↑ Bernard Rio,
Vannes, Éditions Jean-Paul Gisserot, 2004, p. 7. |
|
|
6. ↑ « Vannes » [archive], sur Conseil national des Villes et Villages Fleuris (consulté le2 septembre 9) |
|
|
7. ↑ « Calcul de l'orthodromie
entre Vannes et Paris » [archive] (consulté le 8 octobre
2009) |
|
|
8. ↑ « Vannes à Paris » [archive], sur fr.mappy.com (consulté le 8 octobre 2009) |
|
|
9. ↑ Bernard
Rio, op. cit., p. 3. |
|
|
10. ↑ Golfe du Morbihan sur le site
Natura 2000 [archive] |
|
|
11. ↑ [1] [archive] |
|
|
12. ↑ Records climatologiques à Vannes
- lameteo.org [archive] |
|
|
13. ↑ TER Bretagne [archive]. |
|
|
14. ↑ « Vannes. Une réunion publique sur la pratique du
vélo », Ouest-France, 16 avril 2019 (lire en ligne [archive]). |
|
|
15. ↑ Site de l'Aéroport de Vannes [archive]. |
|
|
16. ↑ [2] [archive]. |
|
|
17. ↑https://www.breizhgo.bzh/sites/default/files/inline-files/carte_reseau_56.pdf [archive] |
|
|
18. ↑ Prix de l'immobilier à Vannes [archive], Ouest-France, 8 avril 2008. |
|
|
19. ↑ Vannes-Golfe-Habitat [archive]. |
|
|
20. ↑ Bretagne Sud Habitat [archive]. |
|
|
21. ↑ Olivier Cléro, « Vannes. Une concertation sur
l'aménagement de la rive gauche », Ouest-France, 7 janvier 2017 (lire en ligne [archive]) |
|
|
22. ↑ « Vannes - Vannes. Ce qui
vous attend en 2019 » [archive], sur Le Telegramme, 2 janvier 2019 (consulté
le 7 mars 2019) |
|
|
23. ↑ Patrick CROGUENNEC, « Rive
gauche du port de Vannes. Le maire décide le report du projet » [archive], sur Ouest-France.fr, 25 septembre
2019 (consulté le 22 avril 2020) |
|
|
24. ↑ Histoire de Vannes et de sa
région, Privat, 1988, p. 9. |
|
|
25. ↑ Christine
Ferlampin-Acher, Denis Hüe, Lignes et lignages dans la littérature
arthurienne, Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2007, p. 155. |
|
|
26. ↑ « Résultats concernant
« Vannes » » [archive], sur la base KerOfis, Office public de la langue
bretonne (consulté
le18 juillet 2016). |
|
|
27. ↑ Pierre Merlat, Les
Vénètes d'Armorique, Éditions Archéologie en
Bretagne, 1981, p. 5. |
|
|
28. ↑ Jean
Huchet, « Tout savoir sur l'origine et la signification des noms de
villes et de lieux dans l'ouest », Dimanche
Ouest-France, 2007, p. 12. |
|
|
29. ↑ Gwennolé Le Menn, Jehan
Lagadeuc, Le vocabulaire breton du Catholicon (1499),
Skol, 2001, p. 90. |
|
|
30. ↑ Émile Souvestre, Le
Foyer breton : contes et récits populaires, Volumes
1-2, p. 46, 1858. |
|
|
31. ↑ Yann Brekilien, Nous partons pour la Bretagne, Presses universitaires de France, 1980, p. 237. |
|
|
32. ↑ Jean Markale, La grande épopée des Celtes, Pygmalion, 1998, p. 57. |
|
|
33. ↑ Henry,
Victor, Lexique Étymologique des termes les plus usuels du Breton
Moderne, Faculté des Lettres de Rennes, Rennes, 1900. |
|
|
34. ↑ Xavier
Delamarre, Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise, éditions Errance,
2003, p. 311-312. |
|
|
35. ↑ « Il [Louis] marcha de
sa personne en Bretagne avec une armée considérable, et tint à Vannes
l'assemblée générale de la nation. Entrant ensuite dans la province dont il
vient d'être parlé, il prit toutes les places fortes des rebelles, et se
rendit bientôt maître sans beaucoup de fatigue du pays entier. Après en effet
que Morman qui s'y était arrogé l'autorité royale au mépris de l'usage
constant des Bretons, eut été tué par les troupes de l'empereur il ne se
trouva plus un seul Breton qui résistât, ou qui refusât soit d'obéir aux
ordres qu'il recevait, soit de fournir les otages qu'on exigeait de
lui » — Annales d'Éginhard, (Année 818) |
|
36. ↑ Bernard Rio, op.
cit., p. 24. |
|
|
37. ↑ Campagne pour les élections
municipales de 1983 - INA [archive]. |
|
|
38. ↑ Résultats des élections législatives 2012 indexés sur le
site officiel du Ministère de l'intérieur [archive]. |
|
|
39. ↑ « Tous les jeux de données
de 1965 à 2012 au format XLS en une archive » [archive] [xls], sur data.gouv.fr (consulté le 11 mars 2020) |
|
|
40. ↑ « Résultats de l'élection
présidentielle de 1995 dans la commune de : Lorient » [archive], sur www.politiquemania.com (consulté le10 mars 2020) |
|
|
41. ↑ « Résultats de l'élection
présidentielle 2002 » [archive], sur interieur.gouv.fr (consulté le 10 mars 2020) |
|
|
42. ↑ « Résultats de l'élection
présidentielle 2007 » [archive], sur interieur.gouv.fr (consulté le 10 mars 2020) |
|
|
43. ↑ « Résultats de l'élection
présidentielle 2012 » [archive], sur interieur.gouv.fr (consulté le 10 mars 2020) |
|
|
44. ↑ « Résultats de l'élection
présidentielle 2017 » [archive], sur interieur.gouv.fr (consulté le 10 mars 2020) |
|
|
45. ↑ « Portrait : François Goulard », L'Obs, 3 juin 2005 (lire en ligne [archive]). |
|
|
46. ↑ « Municipales 2020 :
David Robo réélu maire de Vannes, 13 adjoints à ses côtés » [archive], sur Actu.fr, 26 mai 2020 (consulté le26 mai 2020) |
|
|
47. ↑ « David Robo, maire de Vannes, quitte Les
Républicains », Ouest-France, 1er septembre 2017 (lire en ligne [archive]). |
|
|
48. ↑ Fédération des maires des villes
moyennes [archive]. |
|
|
49. ↑ Vannes Projet Citoyens [archive]. |
|
|
50. ↑ Résultats sur le website de
France 3 [archive]. |
|
|
51. ↑ « Résultats municipales
2020 à Vannes » [archive], sur Le Monde.fr (consulté le 9 mai 2020) |
|
|
52. ↑ « Municipales 2020 :
David Robo réélu maire de Vannes, 13 adjoints à ses côtés » [archive], sur actu.fr (consulté le 6 juillet 2020) |
|
|
53. ↑ « Elections municipales à
Municipales Vannes » [archive], sur Le Télégramme(consulté le 6 juillet 2020) |
|
|
54. ↑ Préfecture du Morbihan [archive]. |
|
|
55. ↑ Conseil général du Morbihan [archive]. |
|
|
56. ↑ Barreau de Vannes [archive]. |
|
|
57. ↑ Chambre des notaires du Morbihan [archive]. |
|
|
58. ↑ Chambre de métiers de
l’artisanat de Vannes [archive]. |
|
|
59. ↑ Chambre de commerce et
d'industrie du Morbihan [archive]. |
|
|
60. ↑ Village de la justice [archive]. |
|
|
61. ↑ [PDF] Où vit-on le
mieux ?, Classement Le Point, 27 janvier 2005 - Comparatif 2001-2003 [archive]. |
|
|
62. ↑ Délinquance : Ma ville
est-elle dangereuse ?, Classement Le
Point, 2006 - Comparatif 2003-2006 [archive]. |
|
|
63. ↑ [PDF]Classement Le Point, 2008 - Comparatif 2003-2008 [archive]. |
|
|
64. ↑ Gendarmerie du Morbihan [archive]. |
|
|
65. ↑ Départementale de la Sécurité
Publique du Morbihan [archive]. |
|
|
66. ↑ sdis56.fr [archive]. |
|
|
67. ↑ « Vidéo surveillance, une
certaine idée de la ville. » [archive], sur site de Vannes Projet
Citoyens, 17 avril 2009 (consulté le15 février 2011) |
|
|
68. ↑ « Deux nouvelles caméras à
Kercado » [archive], sur Le Télégramme, 24 février 2011 (consulté le 28 février 2011) |
|
|
69. ↑ « Aucune atteinte aux
libertés en 2009 » [archive], sur Ouest-France., 10 juillet 2010 (consulté
le 15 février 2011) |
|
|
70. ↑ L'organisation du recensement [archive], sur insee.fr. |
|
|
71. ↑ Des villages de Cassini aux
communes d'aujourd'hui [archive] sur le site de l'École des
hautes études en sciences sociales. |
|
|
72. ↑ Fiches Insee - Populations légales de la commune pour les
années 2006 [archive], 2007 [archive], 2008 [archive], 2009 [archive], 2010 [archive], 2011 [archive], 2012 [archive], 2013 [archive], 2014 [archive], 2015 [archive], 2016 [archive], 2017 [archive] et 2018 [archive]. |
|
|
73. ↑ Association culturelle des turcs
de l’ouest - Vannes [archive] |
|
|
74. ↑ L’Éveil du boucan [archive] |
|
|
75. ↑ Kendalc'h [archive] |
|
|
76. ↑ Livres en Bretagne [archive] |
|
|
77. ↑ Festival la mer en images [archive] |
|
|
78. ↑ « Vannes - Vannes-2019.
Saint-Vincent Ferrier : l’année du jubilé » [archive], sur Le Telegramme, 1er janvier 2019 (consulté le7 mars 2019) |
|
|
79. ↑ « Voile: en Bretagne, la
Sailing Valley affiche sa soif de conquête » [archive], dans Le Point, le 22 octobre 2018, consulté sur www.lepoint.fr le 14 mai 2020 |
|
|
80. ↑ UCK-NEF [archive] |
|
|
81. ↑ http://www [archive].aviron-vannes.fr/ |
|
|
82. ↑ Semi-Marathon Auray-Vannes [archive] |
|
|
83. ↑ [3] [archive] |
|
|
84. ↑ « Présentation de l'Ultra
Marin » [archive], sur http://www.raid-golfe-morbihan.org/ [archive] (consulté le10 février 2015) |
|
|
85. ↑ Marathon de Vannes [archive] |
|
|
86. ↑ Trail de Vannes [archive] |
|
|
87. ↑ « Vannes. Record de
participation au trail des remparts » [archive], sur Le Telegramme, 24 juin 2018 (consulté
le 17 décembre 2018) |
|
|
88. ↑ Auray-Vannes [archive] |
|
|
89. ↑ Jump du Golfe [archive] |
|
|
90. ↑ « Les courses de roller,
reines du bitume vannetais » [archive], sur Ouest-France.fr(consulté le 13 avril 2016) |
|
|
91. ↑ Elle est également présente dans le Finistèresur Morlaix (101.2 FM) et Landivisiau (88.6 FM) grâce au
rachat de Tempo la radio, radio locale d'Henvic. Elle émet depuis sous le nom "Tempo programme
Alouette" et propose des décrochages locaux spécialement pour ses
auditeurs finistériens. |
|
|
92. ↑ Elle a
racheté Magic la Radio en mai 2013. Elle émet aujourd'hui sous le nom
"Magic Programme Alouette" et propose du contenu spécifique sur les
fréquences limousines. |
|
|
93. ↑ radiokorrigans.fr [archive] |
|
|
94. ↑ site de la LaRG’ [archive] |
|
|
95. ↑ http://www.opab-oplb.org/98-kelenn.htm [archive] |
|
|
96. ↑ Données fiscales publiées par le Ministère du budget, des comptes publics et de la fonction
publique [archive] « Copie archivée »(version
du 23 avril 2009 sur l'Internet Archive) |
|
|
97. ↑ Délibérations taux applicables dans les collectivités
territoriales en 2008 - Ministère du budget,
des comptes publics et de la fonction publique [archive] |
|
|
98. ↑ Label Ville Internet [archive] |
|
|
99. ↑ « Palmarès 2005 » [archive], sur www.villes-internet.net (consulté le 8 octobre 2009) |
|
|
100.↑ « Palmarès 2006 » [archive], sur www.villes-internet.net (consulté le 8 octobre
2009) |
|
|
101.↑ « Palmarès 2007 » [archive], sur www.villes-internet.net (consulté le 8 octobre
2009) |
|
|
102.↑ « Palmarès 2008 » [archive], sur www.villes-internet.net (consulté le 8 octobre
2009) |
|
|
103.↑ « Palmarès 2009/2010 »(Archive • Wikiwix •Archive.is • Google • Que faire ?), sur www.villes-internet.net (consulté le 17 décembre
2009) |
|
|
104.↑ « Palmarès 2011 » [archive], sur www.villes-internet.net (consulté le 16 janvier
2011) |
|
|
105.↑ « Palmarès 2008 » [archive], sur www.trophees-communication.com (consulté le16 janvier 2011) |
|
|
106.↑ « CA Evialis - exercice 2007 » [archive], sur Evialis (consulté le 11 octobre 2009) |
|
|
107.↑ « Liste des entreprises leaders » [archive], sur vip-expansion.fr (consulté le11 octobre 2009) |
|
|
108.↑ « "P L A S M O R" à THEIX-NOYALO (331996660), CA,
bilan, KBIS - Infogreffe » [archive], sur www.infogreffe.fr(consulté le 11 juin 2019) |
|
|
109.↑ « Œuvres à Vannes » [archive], sur base Mérimée du ministère
de la culture et de la communication (consulté le 13 octobre 2009) |
|
|
110.↑ « Palmarès 2008 » [archive], sur Conseil National des
Villes et Villages Fleuris (consulté le8 octobre 2009) |
|
|
111.↑ Notice no PA00091793 [archive], base Mérimée, ministère français de la
Culture |
|
|
112.↑ Cinq siècles de pans de bois à Vannes,
Vannes, Les amis de Vannes, coll. « Bulletin des Amis de
Vannes / Hors-série no 4 », décembre 2012, 112 p. (ISSN 0395-4293),
« Inventaire des maisons en pans de bois de Vannes réalisé d'avril à
juin 2011 », p. 103-107 |
|
|
113.↑ « À Vannes, on recense 220 maisons en pans de bois » [archive], sur www.ouest-france.fr, 11 janvier
2013 (consulté le 13 janvier 2013) |
|
|
114.↑ « Maisons à pans-de-bois, patrimoine emblématique » [archive], sur Office de Tourisme (consulté le 18 août 2020) |
|
|
115.↑ Centenaire de l'hôtel de ville de Vannes, Rennes Soir - FR3
Bretagne - 10/07/1986 [archive] |
|
|
116.↑ Notice no PA00091814 [archive], base Mérimée, ministère français de la
Culture |
|
|
117.↑ « Les lavoirs de la Garenne » [archive], sur Mairie de Vannes |
|
|
118.↑ Notice no PA00091772 [archive], base Mérimée, ministère français de la
Culture |
|
|
119.↑ « Les stalles vont
être restaurées », Le Télégrame, 12 septembre 2009 (lire en ligne [archive]) |
|
|
120.↑ Augustin
Bordet, « Vannes. La rénocation de la Chapelle Saint-Yves se
poursuit », Ouest-France, 26 janvier 2018 (lire en ligne [archive]) |
|
|
121.↑ Événements du mois de juin 1940 à l'île de Sein [archive]. |
|
|
122.↑ Île-de-Sein, Compagnon de la Libération par décret du 1er janvier 1946 [archive]. |
|
|
123.↑ « Musée de la résistance
bretonne »(Archive •Wikiwix • Archive.is • Google • Que faire ?). |
|
|
124.↑ site officiel des Amis du
Sinagot [archive]. |
|
|
125.↑ Chantier du Guip [archive]. |
|
|
126.↑ (fr) Office
de la langue bretonne, Situation de
l’enseignement bilingue en Bretagne en 2008,
octobre 2008, disponible en ligne [4] [archive], consulté le 16
janvier 2009 |
|
|
127.↑ « Musée des beaux arts, collection d'art moderne » [archive] (consulté le10 février 2015) |
|
|
128.↑ L'Echonova [archive] |
|
|
129.↑ « Le Ker Article du Parisien » [archive], sur www.le-ker.bzh (consulté le 19 avril 2017) |
|
|
130.↑ « Géographie du cinéma en 2006, Le dossier # 304/Octobre
2007 » [archive], sur Centre National
Cinématographique |
|
|
131.↑ « Géographie du cinéma, Le dossier # 308/Septembre
2008 » [archive], sur Centre National
Cinématographique |
|
|
132.↑ « Géographie du cinéma, Le dossier # 312/Septembre
2009 » [archive], sur Centre National
Cinématographique |
|
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Voir aussi[modifier | modifier le code] |
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Sur les autres
projets Wikimedia : |
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·
Vannes, sur Wikimedia Commons |
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·
Vannes, sur le Wiktionnaire |
|
|
Bibliographie[modifier | modifier le code] |
|
|
·
Pierre Thomas-Lacroix, Vannes, Van Oest, 1949 |
|
|
·
Tal Houarn, Aimer
Vannes et le Golfe, Ouest-France, 1988 |
|
|
·
Le Goff T.J.A., Vannes
et sa région, Ville et campagne dans la France du xviiie siècle, Yves Salmon Éditeur, 1989 |
|
|
·
Bas, P. Le, A. Guilbert, L'abbé J.-J. Bourrasse, P.
De Courcy, Ch.-F. Aubert, Mme De Lalaing, P. Joanne, Vannes
son histoire et son port, Éditions Du Bastion, 1992 |
|
|
·
Olivier Furon, Vannes, Éditions Alan Sutton, 1995 |
|
|
·
Revue Pays De
Bretagne, 1996, no 7, Vannes, une ville
d'histoire en quête d'avenir, Éditions Freeway |
|
|
·
Olivier Gilleron., Vannes, Le Téméraire, 1997 |
|
|
·
Yvon Boëlle, Vannes
et Le Golfe Du Morbihan, Ouest-France, 1998 |
|
|
·
Hélène Martin-Le Guen, Vannes Golfe Du Morbihan, Éditions
Déclics, 2002 |
|
|
·
Armand Fleuriot, Regards
sur Vannes & Le Golfe Du Morbihan, Coiffard
Édition, 2003 |
|
|
·
Bernard Rio, Vannes, Éditions Jean-Paul Gisserot, 2004 |
|
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·
Michel Dugué, Vannes,
Pour Mémoire, Éditions Apogée, 2004 |
|
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|
·
Bertrand Frélaut, Histoire
de Vannes, Éditions Jean-Paul Gisserot, 2005 |
|
|
|
|
|
·
Christian Chaudré, Vannes
- Histoire Et Géographie Contemporaine ,
Éditions Palantines, 2006 |
|
|
|
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·
Sous la direction de Jean-Marie Pérouse de Montclos
- Guide du patrimoine. Bretagne -Monum. Éditions du patrimoine - Paris - 2002 - (ISBN 978-2-85822-728-0) |
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| : document utilisé comme source pour la rédaction de cet
article. |
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Articles connexes[modifier | modifier le code] |
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·
Siège de Vannes |
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·
Liste des communes du Morbihan |
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Liens externes[modifier | modifier le code] |
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·
(fr)(br)(en)(es)(de) Site de la mairie [archive] |
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·
Notices d'autorité |
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o
Fichier d’autorité international virtuel |
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o Bibliothèque nationale de France (données) |
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o
Système universitaire de documentation |
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o Bibliothèque du Congrès |
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o
Gemeinsame Normdatei |
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o Bibliothèque nationale d’Israël |
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o WorldCat Id |
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o WorldCat |
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·
Ressource relative à la géographie |
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o Insee (communes) [archive] |
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