390 BCE and the Sacking of Rome

by Kathleen NiBhriain

The Senonian Tribe of Celts was by now firmly established in the Po Valley. The Clusians (Etruscans) were fearful of the Celtic expansion, and asked Rome for help. Rome had no real ties to Clusium, but had been hearing about the Celts, and was also concerned about their expansion. Therefore, the Romans sent three envoys from the Fabii family to mediate between the Clusians and the Celts.

According to one source (Gerhard Herm), the Celts met with the Roman envoys and agreed to not wage war in exchange for land. The Clusians refused, and the Celts began fighting. The Clusians then got assistance from one of the Roman envoys, Quintis Fabius, who killed a Celtic chief. Another source (Peter Beresford Ellis) states that the Romans were not there to mediate at all, but actually to help the Clusians fight the Celts, and that it was Ambustus Fabius who killed the Celtic chief. At any rate, the Celts were highly offended that Rome had assisted the Clusians by killing one of thier chiefs, "contrary to all international law" [Herm], and appealed to the Roman legal system for the heads of the three Fabiian brothers.

"This was, at first glance, a bewildering train of events. Savages - in Roman and Etruscan eyes these warriors in their multi-coloured appearl could scarcely have seemed anything else - were appealing to the current protocol. But it was not all that bewildering: primative peoples frequently have a livelier sense of justice than those who have codified it."[3]

Whoever it was that killed the Celtic chief, scholars seem to agree that it was a member of the highly influential and powerful Fabii family. Rome not only refused, but sent an army of 40,000 to assist the Clusians in fighting the Celts. When the Celts learned of the Roman army moving towards them, Brennos (a Celtic chief - it is unclear whether this was his title or his name) left Clusium and marched the Celts off to meet the Romans [Ellis]. The Celts met the Romans at the River Allia, the Romans panicked at the sight of all those crazed Celts, and many Roman soldiers even drowned in the River in attempt to escape. A few made it back to Rome and informed the Senate about the battle at Allia (the date of the battle, July 18, became known as Alliaensis, and was considered thereafter to be a very bad day to do any public activity).

The Roman citizens, rightfully fearing that the Celts were headed toward Rome, fled in a panic (much like the soldiers at Allia). By the time the Celts arrived, Rome had been deserted, with the exception of several elderly particians. These old patricians were sitting in a courtyard, believing that if they were to sacrifice their lives for Rome in its most dire hour of need, Rome's enemies would then be thrown into panic and confusion, and Rome thereby saved. This nearly worked, as the Celts were indeed spooked by the sight of the completey vacant and defensless city, as well as the stately old men sitting silently in the courtyard, stoically awaiting their deaths. A Celtic warrior reached up to tug on the beard of one of the old men, and the old man promptly knocked him on his noggin with a staff. This apparently broke the spell of quietitude, and the Celts then killed the old men, looted Rome and headed for Capiol City (Capitoline), where a great many of the Romans had holed up.

The Celts then began to stage a battle on the Capitol City, which just happened to be on a hill. The bodies of dead and dying warriors would fall onto those who were still fighting, and so the Celts decided it might be better to lay seige to the Capitol City instead. Several things impeded the Celtic victory, namely: in typical Celtic fashion they did not bury the dead, and a plague broke out. There was also a sneak attack on the Capitol City at night which was thwarted by the cackling of geese. However, about seven months, later the Romans decided to negotiate and the Celts agreed to leave if the Romans would pay them 1,000 pounds of gold.

The Celts were accused of using false weights, upon which Brennos (the Celtic cheiftian) is said to have thrown his sword on the scales and loudly declare, "Vea victus", or "woe to the defeated".

This is a truly fascinating tale, with many intriguing details for which I did not have space in this short narrative. I would strongly encourage anyone interested in this matter to obtain a copy of Peter Berrisford Ellis' book, The Celtic Empire, as it contains a lot of detail I could not put here.

Sources:

The Celts, People Who Came Out of the Darkness, Gerhard Herm, St. Martin's Press, 1977, ISBN 312-12705-7

The Celtic Empire, Peter Berrisford Ellis, Carolina Academic Press, 1990, ISBN 0-89089-457-7

The Ancient Celts, Barry Cunliffe, Oxford University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-19-815010-5

prepared Kathleen NiBhriain

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