Gnaeus Julius Agricola

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Gnaeus Julius Agricola

Statue of Agricola at Bath.jpg

A statue of Agricola erected at the Roman Baths at Bath in 1894

Born 13 June 40

Gallia Narbonensis

Died 23 August 93 (aged 53)

Gallia Narbonensis

Allegiance Roman Empire

Years of service 58–85

Rank Proconsul

Commands held Legio XX Valeria Victrix

Gallia Aquitania

Britannia

Battles/wars Battle of Watling Street

Battle of Mons Graupius

Awards Ornamenta triumphalia

Gnaeus Julius Agricola (/əˈɡrɪkələ/; 13 June 40 – 23 August 93) was a Roman Italo-Gallic general
responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain. Written by his son-in-law Tacitus, the De vita
et moribus Iulii Agricolae is the primary source for most of what is known about him,[1] along with
detailed archaeological evidence from northern Britain.[2]

Agricola began his military career in Britain, serving under governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus. His
subsequent career saw him serve in a variety of positions; he was appointed quaestor in Asia
province in 64, then Plebeian Tribune in 66, and praetor in 68. He supported Vespasian during the
Year of the Four Emperors (69), and was given a military command in Britain when the latter became
emperor. When his command ended in 73, he was made patrician in Rome and appointed governor
of Gallia Aquitania. He was made consul and governor of Britannia in 77. While there, he completed
the conquest of what is now Wales and northern England, and led his army to the far north of
Scotland, establishing forts across much of the Lowlands. He was recalled from Britain in 85 after an
unusually lengthy service, and thereafter retired from military and public life.

Contents

1 Early life

2 Political career

3 Governor of Britain

3.1 Agricola in Ireland?

3.2 The invasion of Caledonia (Scotland)

4 Later years

5 See also

6 References

7 Sources

8 External links

Early life

Agricola was born in the colonia of Forum Julii, Gallia Narbonensis (now Fréjus, France). Agricola's
parents were from noted political families of senatorial rank in Roman Gaul. Both of his grandfathers
served as imperial governors. His father, Lucius Julius Graecinus, was a praetor and had become a
member of the Roman Senate in the year of his birth. Graecinus had become distinguished by his
interest in philosophy. Between August 40 and January 41, the Emperor Caligula ordered his death
because he refused to prosecute the Emperor's second cousin Marcus Junius Silanus.[3]

His mother was Julia Procilla. The Roman historian Tacitus describes her as "a lady of singular
virtue". Tacitus states that Procilla had a fond affection for her son. Agricola was educated in
Massilia (Marseille), and showed what was considered an unhealthy interest in philosophy.

Political career

He began his career in Roman public life as a military tribune, serving in Britain under Gaius
Suetonius Paulinus from 58 to 62. He was probably attached to the Legio II Augusta, but was chosen
to serve on Suetonius's staff[4] and thus almost certainly participated in the suppression of Boudica's
uprising in 61.
Returning from Britain to Rome in 62, he married Domitia Decidiana, a woman of noble birth. Their
first child was a son. Agricola was appointed as quaestor for 64, which he served in the province of
Asia under the corrupt proconsul Lucius Salvius Otho Titianus. While he was there, his daughter, Julia
Agricola, was born, but his son died shortly afterwards. He was tribune of the plebs in 66 and praetor
in June 68, during which time he was ordered by the Governor of Spain Galba to take an inventory of
the temple treasures.

During that same, the emperor Nero was declared a public enemy by the Senate and committed
suicide, and the period of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors began. Galba succeeded
Nero, but was murdered in early 69 by Otho, who took the throne. Agricola's mother was murdered
on her estate in Liguria by Otho's marauding fleet. Hearing of Vespasian's bid for the empire,
Agricola immediately gave him his support. Otho meanwhile committed suicide after being defeated
by Vitellius.

After Vespasian had established himself as emperor, Agricola was appointed to the command of the
Legio XX Valeria Victrix, stationed in Britain, in place of Marcus Roscius Coelius, who had stirred up a
mutiny against the governor, Marcus Vettius Bolanus. Britain had revolted during the year of civil
war, and Bolanus was a mild governor. Agricola reimposed discipline on the legion and helped to
consolidate Roman rule. In 71, Bolanus was replaced by a more aggressive governor, Quintus
Petillius Cerialis, and Agricola was able to display his talents as a commander in campaigns against
the Brigantes in northern England.

When his command ended in 73, Agricola was enrolled as a patrician and appointed to govern Gallia
Aquitania. There he stayed for almost three years. In 76 or 77, he was recalled to Rome and
appointed suffect consul,[5] and betrothed his daughter to Tacitus. The following year, Tacitus and
Julia married; Agricola was appointed to the College of Pontiffs, and returned to Britain for a third
time, as its governor (Legatus Augusti pro praetore).

Governor of Britain

Agricola.Campaigns.78.84.jpg

Arriving in midsummer of 77, Agricola discovered that the Ordovices of north Wales had virtually
destroyed the Roman cavalry stationed in their territory. He immediately moved against them and
defeated them. He then moved north to the island of Mona (Anglesey), which Suetonius Paulinus
had failed to subjugate in 60 because of the outbreak of the Boudican rebellion, and forced its
inhabitants to sue for peace. He established a good reputation as an administrator, as well as a
commander, by reforming the widely corrupt corn levy. He introduced Romanising measures,
encouraging communities to build towns on the Roman model and educating the sons of the native
nobility in the Roman manner.

Agricola also expanded Roman rule north into Caledonia (modern Scotland). In the summer of 79, he
pushed his armies to the estuary of the river Taus, usually interpreted as the Firth of Tay, virtually
unchallenged, and established some forts. Though their location is left unspecified, the close dating
of the fort at Elginhaugh in Midlothian makes it a possible candidate.

Agricola in Ireland?

In 81, Agricola "crossed in the first ship" and defeated peoples unknown to the Romans until then.
Tacitus, in Chapter 24 of Agricola,[6] does not tell us what body of water he crossed, although most
scholars believe it was the Clyde or Forth, and some translators even add the name of their
preferred river to the text; however, the rest of the chapter exclusively concerns Ireland, so
southwest Scotland is perhaps to be preferred.[7] The text of the Agricola has been amended here
to record the Romans "crossing into trackless wastes", referring to the wilds of the Galloway
peninsula.[8] Agricola fortified the coast facing Ireland, and Tacitus recalls that his father-in-law
often claimed the island could be conquered with a single legion and auxiliaries. He had given refuge
to an exiled Irish king whom he hoped he might use as the excuse for conquest. This conquest never
happened, but some historians believe the crossing referred to was in fact a small-scale exploratory
or punitive expedition to Ireland,[9] though no Roman camps have been identified to confirm such a
suggestion.[10]