(1) Mōtum interim in Asiā bellum est ab Aristonīcō Eumenis fīliō quī ēx concubīnā susceptus fuerat. Hic Eumenēs frāter Attalī fuerat. Adversus eum missus P. Licinius Crassus īnfīnīta rēgum habuit auxilia. Nam et Bīthȳniae rēx Nīcomēdēs Rōmānōs iūvit et Mithradātēs Ponticus, cum quō bellum posteā gravissimum fuit, et Ariarātus Cappadox et Pylaemēnēs Paphlagōn. Victus est tamen Crassus et in proeliō interfectus est. Caput ipsīus Aristonīcō oblatum est, corpus Smyrnae sepultum.
(2) Posteā Perperna, cōnsul Rōmānus, quī successor Crassō veniēbat audītā bellī fortūnā, ad Asiam celerāvit et aciē victum Aristonīcum apud Stratonīcēn cīvitātem, quō cōnfūgerat, famē ad dēditiōnem conpulit. Aristonīcus iussū senātūs Rōmae in carcere strangulātus est. Triumphārī enim dē eō nōn poterat, quia Perperna apud Pergamum Rōmam rediēns diem obierat.
notes
War with Aristonicus, 131 BCE
Livy, Epitome 59. Justin, History of the World 36.4.
(1) ab Aristonīcō: Aristonicus, the natural son of Eumenes, laid claim to Pergamum in 133 BCE and led an enormously popular uprising. P. Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus (consul in 131) was defeated by him in 130 BCE. Perperna (consul in 130) overcame Aristonicus at Stratoniceia in Caria in 130 BCE, but died shortly afterwards (Bird).
Eumenēs frāter Attalī fuerat: see Attalus III.
īnfīnīta rēgum habuit auxilia: allies of the Romans included Nicomedes II, king of Bithynia, Mithridates V of Pontus, and Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia.
cum quō bellum posteā gravissimum fuit: Eutropius is mistaken here. Mithridates V assisted in the war against Aristonicus; his son, Mithridates VI, will be the famous enemy of Rome (cf. Brev. 4.4–5, 5.6 et al.).
ipsīus: Crassī
corpus Smyrnae sepultum: supply est. Smyrnae is locative (AG 427.3).
(2) Perperna: see Marcus Perperna, consul of 130 BCE
successor: "as successor," used here in apposition to quī
audītā bellī fortūnā: ablative absolute using a perfect passive participle (AG 419)
aciē victum Aristonīcum apud Stratonīcēn cīvitātem, quō cōnfūgerat, famē ad dēditiōnem conpulit: order: conpulit Aristonīcum, victum apud Stratonīcēn cīvitātem, quō cōnfūgerat, ad dēditiōnem famē.
apud Stratonīcēn cīvitātem: the Battle of Stratoniceia occurred later that year in 130 BCE. Stratoniceia was a city on the upper Caïcus near modern Siledik. Possibly a Seleucid polis foundation ... from the beginning of the 2nd cent. BC under Pergamum. It was probably here - not in Stratoniceia in Caria - that Aristonicus was taken prisoner by Perperna in 130 BC (Hans Kaletsch in Brill's New Pauly s.v. Stratoniceia).
in carcere strangulātus est: a common punishment for famous enemies of Rome, including Jugurtha in Brev. 4.27, and the followers of Catiline in Brev. 6.15 (Smith, carcer). According to Hazzard,
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The Mamertine prison [was] at the foot of the Capitoline Hill. This was the only prison in Rome in early times. In it most of the famous captives of the Romans were strangled. It consisted of an upper and lower chamber. The term Tullianum sometimes applied to the prison as a whole is more properly restricted to the lower dungeon. Sallust in the Catiline gives an impressive picture of the lower vault in which Jugurtha perished. "There is," he says, "in the prison a chamber named the Tullianum, about twelve feet below the surface of the earth. It is surrounded by walls, and covered by a vaulted roof of stone; but its appearance is repulsive and fearful, because of the neglect, and the darkness, and the stench" (55.3-4).
dē eō: Aristonicus
diem obierat: lit., "he had met his day" = "he died" (Hazzard)
vocabulary
Core Vocabulary | Numbers | Dates
|
Asia, ae, f. |
Asia; the Roman province of Asia Minor |
|
Aristonīcus, ī, m. |
a natural son of Eumenes II., king of Pergamus |
|
Eumenēs, is, m. |
king of Pergamus, 197–159 B.C. |
|
concubīna, ae, f. |
a concubine |
|
Attalus, ī, m. |
Kings of Pergamon: 1. Attalus I., 241–197 B.C.; 2. Attalus Philadelphus, 159–138 B.C.; 3. Attalus Philometor, 138–133 B.C. |
|
adversus and adversum, prep. with accus., facing, in opposition to, against |
|
|
P. |
abbreviation of the praenomen or nomen Publius |
|
Licinius, ī, m. the name of a Roman gens. |
(1) C. Fabius Licinius, consul 273 B.C.; (2) (P. Flavius) Licinius, Roman emperor 307–324 A.D. |
|
Crassus, ī, m. |
a Roman family name. (1) Appius Claudius Crassus, decemvir; (2) M. Licinius Crassus, the triumvir, consul 70 B.C.; (3) P. Licinius Crassus, consul 171 B.C.; (4) P. Licinius Crassus, called Dives Mucianus, consul 131 B.C. |
|
īnfīnītus, a, um [in + fīniō], adj. |
unbounded, vast, enormous; numberless; as subst., īnfīnītum, ī, n., a large amount, a large number |
|
Bīthȳnia, ae, f. |
a country in Asia Minor, on the Propontis and Black Sea |
|
Nicomēdīs, is, m. |
(1) Surnamed Epiphanes, king of Bithynia, 149–91 B.C.; (2) Surnamed Philopator, king of Bithynia, 91–74 B.C. |
|
Mithradātēs, is, m. |
surnamed the Great, king of Pontus 120—63 B.C. |
|
Ponticus, a, um, adj. |
pertaining to Pontus; Ponticum (mare), the Black Sea |
|
Ariarātus, ī, m. |
called Cappadox, king of Cappadocia, 220–162 B.C. |
|
Cappadox, ocis, m. |
a Cappadocian |
|
Pylaemēnēs, is, m. |
king of Paphlagonia |
|
Paphlagōn, onis, m. |
a Paphlagonian |
|
obeō, īre, īvī (iī), itus |
to go to meet; attend to, perform; die, perish |
|
Smyrna, ae, f. |
one of the most flourishing and important sea—ports of Asia Minor |
|
sepeliō, īre, īvī (iī), sepultus |
to bury, inter |
|
Perperna, ae, m. |
(M.) Perperna, consul 130 B.C. |
|
successor, ōris [succēdō], m. |
a follower, successor |
|
Crassus, ī, m. |
a Roman family name. (1) Appius Claudius Crassus, decemvir; (2) M. Licinius Crassus, the triumvir, consul 70 B.C.; (3) P. Licinius Crassus, consul 171 B.C.; (4) P. Licinius Crassus, called Dives Mucianus, consul 131 B.C. |
|
celerō, āre, āvī, ātus [celer, swift] |
to hasten |
|
Stratonīcē, ēs, f. |
a city in Caria in Asia Minor |
|
cōnfugiō, ere, fūgī, —— |
to flee, take refuge |
|
dēditiō, ōnis [dēdō], f. |
a surrender |
|
compellō, ere, pulī, pulsus |
to urge on, incite, impel |
|
(iussus, ūs) [iubeō], m., only in the abl. sing. iussū |
by order of, command |
|
carcer, eris, m. |
prison |
|
strangulō, āre, āvī, ātus |
to strangle, throttle, kill |
|
triumphō, āre, āvī, ātus |
to celebrate a triumph |
|
Pergamum, ī, n. |
a city in Mysia in Asia Minor |