Gaius Aelius Gallus was a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
prefect
Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area.
A prefect's ...
of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
from 26 to 24 BC. He is primarily known for a
disastrous expedition he undertook to
Arabia Felix
Arabia Felix (literally: Fertile/Happy Arabia; also Ancient Greek: Εὐδαίμων Ἀραβία, ''Eudaemon Arabia'') was the Latin name previously used by geographers to describe South Arabia, or what is now Yemen.
Etymology
The term Arabia ...
(modern day
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
) under orders of
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
.
Life
Aelius Gallus was the 2nd ''
praefect
''Praefectus'', often with a further qualification, was the formal title of many, fairly low to high-ranking, military or civil officials in the Roman Empire, whose authority was not embodied in their person (as it was with elected Magistrates) but ...
'' of Roman Egypt (''Aegyptus'') in the reign of
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
during the years 26–24 BC. He replaced
Cornelius Gallus
Gaius Cornelius Gallus (c. 70 – 26 BC) was a Roman poet, orator and politician.
Birthplace
The identity of Gallus' purported birthplace, '' Forum Iulii'', is still uncertain, and it is based on the epithet "Foroiuliensis" that Jerome gave to h ...
, with whom he has often been confused.
Aelius Gallus was also known to be an intimate friend of the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
geographer
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
and has been identified with the Aelius Gallus frequently quoted by Galen, whose remedies are stated to have been used with success in his Arabian expedition.
The
expedition to Arabia Felix, of which an account is given by his friend Strabo, as well as by
Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
and
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...
turned out to be a complete failure. In this expedition, Strabo mentioned
Ilasaros
Ilasaros (centuryBCE) or Il Sharih Yahdhib ( xsa, 𐩱𐩡 𐩦𐩧𐩢 𐩺𐩢𐩳𐩨, ʾls²rḥ Yḥḍb; ar, إلشرح يحضب) was a king from the Bakil tribe, related to the Banu Hamdan, which took control over the Kingdom of Sabaʾ. H ...
as the controller of
Hadhramaut
Hadhramaut ( ar, حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ, Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt; Hadramautic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, ''Ḥḍrmt'') is a region in South Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, parts of western Oman and southern Sau ...
at that time.
Gallus undertook the expedition from Egypt by the command of Augustus, partly with a view to explore the country and its inhabitants, and partly to conclude treaties of friendship with the people, or to subdue them if they should oppose the Romans, for it was believed at the time that Arabia was full of all kinds of treasures.
When Aelius Gallus set out with his army, he trusted to the guidance of a
Nabataea
The Nabataean Kingdom (Nabataean Aramaic: 𐢕𐢃𐢋𐢈 ''Nabāṭū''), also named Nabatea (), was a political state of the Arab Nabataeans during classical antiquity.
The Nabataean Kingdom controlled many of the trade routes of the region, ...
n called
Syllaeus, who deceived and misled him. A long account of this expedition through the desert is given by Strabo—who derived most of his information about Arabia from his friend Aelius Gallus. Aelius Gallus initially set sail with 10,000 infantry consisting of Romans and Roman allies, among whom were five-hundred Jews and one thousand Nabataeans.
[''Strabo's Geography'', Book xvi, chapter 4.] They crossed the Red Sea, and after fourteen days landed at
Leucê Comê, in the land of the
Nabataeans
The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic language, Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabian Pe ...
.
Thence, they proceeded by foot and by camel to the land of Aretas. Thence, they passed through a wasteland called Ararenê, occupied by a nomadic people, and thence proceeded another fifty days until reaching
Najran
Najran ( ar, نجران '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen. It is the capital of Najran Province. Designated as a new town, Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom; its population has risen fr ...
.
From there they marched another six days where they arrived at a certain river where they joined battle with the local inhabitants, having slain 10,000 of them. Afterwards, they took the city called Asca, which had been forsaken by its king; and thence the Roman army proceeded to a city called
Athrula; and, having mastered it without a struggle, Aelius Gallus placed a garrison in it, arranged for supplies of grain and dates for his march and advanced to a city called Marsiaba.
The burning heat of the sun, the bad water, and the want of every thing necessary to support life, produced a disease among the soldiers that was altogether unknown to the Romans, and destroyed the greater part of the army; so that the Arabs were not only not subdued, but succeeded in driving the Romans even from those parts of the country which they had possessed before. At this time, Aelius Gallus and his army had spent six months on their military campaign in Arabia, on account of his treacherous guide, while he effected his retreat in sixty days, obliged to return to
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
, having lost the greater part of his force. The campaign is the subject of a 1951 novel, ''The Eagle and the Sun'' by
Lord Belhaven
Lord Belhaven and Stenton, of the County of Haddington, is a Lordship of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1647 for Sir John Hamilton, 2nd Baronet, with remainder to his heirs male.
History
This branch of the prominent ...
, who had done military and civilian service in the region.
[Lord Belhaven. ''The Eagle and the Sun'' London: John Murray, 1951]
Aelius Gallus was recalled by Augustus for failure to pacify the
Kushite
The Kingdom of Kush (; Egyptian: 𓎡𓄿𓈙𓈉 ''kꜣš'', Assyrian: ''Kûsi'', in LXX grc, Κυς and Κυσι ; cop, ''Ecōš''; he, כּוּשׁ ''Kūš'') was an ancient kingdom in Nubia, centered along the Nile Valley in what i ...
s and was succeeded as praefect by
Gaius Petronius
Gaius Petronius or Publius Petronius (c. 75 BC – after 20 BC) was the second and then fourth Prefect of Roman Aegyptus.
History
Petronius led a campaign into present-day central Sudan against the Kingdom of Kush at Meroë, whose Kandake ...
, a military commander and close friend of Augustus.
References
Citations
Bibliography
* (fr) J. Pirenne, "L'expédition d'Aelius Gallus en
Arabie heureuse", in ''Le royaume sud-arabe de
Qatabān et sa datation'',
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, 1961.
* (ge) H. von Wissmann, "Die Geschichte des Sabäerreichs und des Feldzug des Aelius Gallus", ''
Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt
, commonly referred to by its German acronym, ''ANRW'', or in English as ''Rise and Decline of the Roman World'', is an extensive collection of books dealing with the history and culture of ancient Rome. Akin to a journal and published in various ...
'', t. 9.1,
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
-
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, 1976, pp. 308-544.
* (fr) A. G. Loudine, "H von Wissmann, Die Geschichte des Sabäerreichs und des Feldzug des Aelius Gallus", (
book review
__NOTOC__
A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit.
A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece, summary review or scholarly revie ...
) in ''Bibliotheca orientalis'', 37 (1980), pp. 363-365.
* (ge) M.-Th. Raepsaet-Charlier, ''Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt, Geschichte und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neueren Forschung''. II. Principat. 9, 2 (
book review
__NOTOC__
A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit.
A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece, summary review or scholarly revie ...
), ''l'Antiquité Classique'', 49 (1980), p. 521-522.
*
W. L. Westermann
William Linn Westermann (September 15, 1873 – October 4, 1954) was an American historian and papyrologist who served as the president of the American Historical Association in 1944. He was regarded as an expert on the economy of the ancient wo ...
, "Aelius Gallus and the Reorganization of the irrigation system of Egypt under Augustus", ''
Classical Philology
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
'', 12 (1917), pp. 237.
* S. Jameson, "Chronology of the campaigns of Aelius Gallus and Gaius Petronius", ''
Journal of Roman Studies
The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies (The Roman Society) was founded in 1910 as the sister society to the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies.
The Society is the leading organisation in the United Kingdom for those intereste ...
'', 58 (1968), pp. 71-84.
* S. E. Sidebotham, "Aelius Gallus and Arabia", ''Latomus'', 45 (1986), pp. 590-602.
* (ge) K. Buschmann, "Motiv und Ziel des Aelius-Gallus-Zuges", ''
Die Welt Des Orients
Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life.
Die may also refer to:
Games
* Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers
Manufacturing
* Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicondu ...
'', 22 (1991), pp. 85-93.
* (ge) C. Marek, "Die Expedition des Aelius Gallus nach Arabien im Jahre 25 v.Chr.", ''
Chiron
In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs".
Biography
Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology ...
'', 23 (1993), pp. 121-156.
* P. Mayerson, "Aelius Gallus at Cleopatris (Suez) and on the Red Sea", ''
Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies
''Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1958 by John J. Bilitz. It is published by Duke University Press and devoted to the culture and history of Greece from Antiquity to the Renaissa ...
'', 36 (1995), pp. 17-24.
* R. Simon, "Aelius Gallus’ Campaign and the Arab Trade in the Augustan Age", ''
Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae
''Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Akadémiai Kiadó (Budapest, Hungary). It covers oriental studies, including Turkic, Mongolian, Manchu-Tungusian, Chinese, Japanese, ...
'', 55 (2002), pp. 309–318.
* (ge) Heinrich Krueger, ''Der Feldzug des Aelius Gallus nach dem glucklichen Arabien unter Kaiser Augustus'', 1862
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aelius Gallus, Gaius
Roman governors of Egypt
1st-century BC Roman governors of Egypt
1st-century BC Romans
Gallus, Gaius
Ancient history of Yemen