pass to the lands on its northern frontier, which it devolved upon Augustus to conquer and to shape. The towns of northern Italy were constantly exposed to the descents of unreclaimed Alpine tribes, who could not be finally quelled as long as they possessed a land of refuge beyond the mountains, among the kindred barbarians of Raetia. For the security of Italy it was imperative to subdue these troublesome neighbors, and in order to do so effectively it was necessary to occupy Raetia and Vindelicia. This task was accomplished without difficulty in 15 B.C., by the stepsons of the Emperor. Drusus invaded Raetia from the south, and vanquished the enemy in battle. Tiberius, who was then governor of Gaul, marched from the north to assist him, and the Vindelici were defeated in a naval action on the waters of the Lake of Brigantium. The tribes of the “restless Genauni” and the “swift Breuni” appear to have played a prominent part in the Vindelician war. The decisive battle which gave Raetia to Rome was fought near the sources of the Danube, under “the fortunate auspices” of Tiberius, on the 1st of August. By these campaigns the countries which corresponded to Bavaria, Tyrol, and eastern Switzerland became Roman; a new military frontier was secured, and direct communications were established between northern Italy and the upper Danube and upper Rhine. The military province of Raetia was placed under an imperial prefect, and the troops which used to be stationed in Cisalpine Gaul could now be transferred to an advanced position. Augusta Vindelicum was founded as a military station near the frontier of the new province, and still preserves under the name Augsburg the name of the ruler who did so much for Romanizing western Europe. For Romanizing Raetia itself, indeed, neither he nor his successors did much; no Roman towns were founded here, as in the neighboring province of Noricum.
The conquest of the dangerous Salassi, who inhabited the valley of the Duria, between the Graian and Pennine Alps, was successfully accomplished by Terentius Murena, brother-in-law of Maecenas in 25 B.C. The people was exterminated, and a body of praetorian soldiers was settled in the valley, through which roads ran over the Graian Alps to Lugudunum, and over the Pennine into Raetia. The new city was called Augusta Praetoria; the Emperor’s name survives in the modern Aosta, whore the old Roman walls and gates are still to be seen. The western Alps between Gaul snd Italy were formed into two small districts, the Maritime Alps, and the Cottian Alps, of which the former was governed by imperial prefects. At first the Cottian district formed a dependent state, not under a Roman commander, but under its own prince Cottius, from whom it derived its name (regnum Cottii). Owing to his ready submission, he was left in possession of his territory, with the title praefectus civitatium. His capital Segusio survives as Susa, and the arch which he erected in honor of his over-lord Augustus (8 B.C.) is still standing. Through this “prefecture” (as it seems to have been) ran the Via Cottia from Augusta Taurinorum (Turin) to Arelate (Arles). The pacification of the Alps, though it presented nothing brilliant to attract historians, conferred a solid and lasting benefit on Italy, and Italy gratefully recognized this by a monument which she set up in honor of the Emperor on a hill on the Mediterranean coast, near Monaco. The reduction of 46 Alpine peoples is recorded in the inscription, which has been preserved.
Few relics of the Roman occupation have been found in Raetia; it is otherwise with the neighboring province of Noricum, which included the lands now called Styria and Carinthia, along with a part of Carniola and most of Austria. Here traffic had prepared the way for Roman subjugation; Roman customs and the Latin tongue were known beyond the Carnic Alps, and when the time came for the land to become directly dependent on Rome, no difficulty was experienced. An occasion presented itself in 16 B.C. when some of the Noric tribes joined their neighbours the Pannonians in a plundering incursion into Istria. At first treated as a dependent kingdom, Noricum soon passed into the condition of an imperial province under a praefect or procurator, but continued to be called regnum Noricum. No legions were stationed in either Raetia or Noricum, only auxiliary troops; but the former province was held in check by lesions of the Rhine army at Vindonissa, and Noricum was likewise surveyed by legions of the Panuonian army, stationed at Poetovio, on the Drava (Drave). The organization of Noricum on the model of Italy was carried out by the Emperor Claudius. The land immediately beyond the Julian Alps, with the towns of Emona and Nauportus, belonged to Illyricum, not to Noricum, but it subsequently became a part of Italy.
The occupation of Raetia and Noricum was of great and permanent importance for the military defence of the Empire against the barbarians of central Europe. A line of communication was secured between the armies on the Danube and the armies on the Rhine.
SECT. VI. — ILLYRICUM AND THE HAEMUS LAND
The subjugation of Illyricum was the work of the first Emperor. Istria and Dalmatia were counted as Roman lands under the Republic, but the tribes of the interior maintained their independence, and plundered their civilized neighbors in Macedonia. Roman legions had been destroyed, and the eagles captured by these untamed peoples, in 48 B.C. under Gabinius, and in 44 B.C. under Vatinius. To avenge these defeats was demanded by Roman honor, and to pacify the interior districts was demanded by Roman policy. The younger Caesar undertook this task, when he had dealt with Sextus Pompeius, and discharged it with energy and success. In 35 B.C. he subdued the smaller tribes all along the Adriatic coast, beginning with Doclea (which is now Montenegro) near the borders of the Macedonian province, and ending with the Iapydes who lived in the Alpine district northeast of Istria. At the same time his fleet subdued the pirates who infested the coast islands, especially Curzola and Meleda. The Iapydes, whose depredations extended to northern Italy, and who had ventured to attack places like Tergeste and Aquileia, offered a strenuous resistance. When the Roman army approached, most of the population assembled in their town Arupium, but as Caesar drew nearer fled into the forests. The strong fortress of Metulum, built on two summits of a wooded hill, gave more trouble. It was defended by a garrison of 3000 chosen warriors, who foiled all the Roman plans of attack, until Caesar, with Agrippa by his side, led his soldiers against the walls. On this occasion Caesar received some bodily injuries. The energy of the Romans, inspirited by the example of their leader, induced the besieged to capitulate; but when the Romans on entering the town demanded the surrender of their arms, the Iapydes, thinking that they were betrayed, made a desperate resistance in which most of them were slain; and the remainder, having slain the women and children, set fire to their town.
Having thus subdued the Iapydes, Caesar marched through their country down the river Colapis (Kulpa), which flows into the Save, and laid siege to the Pannonian fortress of Siscia (whose name is preserved in Sissek), situated at the junction of the two streams. It was not the first time that a Roman force had appeared before the walls of Siscia, but it was the first time that a Roman force did not appear in vain. Having thrown a bridge across the river, Caesar surrounded the stronghold with earthworks and ditches, and with the assistance of some tribes on the Danube, got together a small flotilla on the Save, so that he could operate against the town by water as well as by land. The Pannonian friends of the besieged place made an attempt to relieve it, but were beaten back with loss; and having held out for thirty days, Siscia was taken by storm. A strong position was thus secured for further operations, whether against the Pannonians, or against the Dacians. A Roman fortress was built, and garrisoned with twenty-five cohorts under the command of Rufius Geminus. Caesar returned to Italy towards the end of the year (35 B.C.), but during the winter the conquered Pannonian tribe rebelled, and Rufius came into great straits. Dark rumors of his situation, for he was unable to send a sure message, reached Caesar, who was at that moment planning an expedition to Britain. He immediately hastened to the relief of Siscia, and let the Britannic enterprise fall through. Having delivered Rufius from the danger, he turned to Dalmatia and spent the rest of the year 34 B.C. in reducing the inland tribes, which now, forgetting their tribal feuds, combined in a great federation to fight for their freedom. They mustered an army 12,000 strong, and took up a position at Promona (now Teplin, north-east of Sebenico) a place impregnable by nature, and strengthened further by art. The name of their leader was Versus. By a skillful piece of strategy Caesar forced the enemy to give up their advanced lines of defence, and retreat into the fortress, which he prepared to reduce by starving the garrison out and for this purpose built a wall five miles in circuit. Another large Dalmatian force under Testimus came to relieve the place, but was completely defeated. The defenders of Promona simultaneously made an excursion against the besiegers, but were driven back, and some of their pursuers penetrated into the fortress with them. A few days later it was surrendered. The fall of Promona