A few years after the capture of Vei, a certain Roman named Marcus Caedicius, walking at night along a city street near the Temple of Vesta, heard a voice like thunder. This voice ordered Caedicius to inform the authorities as soon as possible that the Gauls would soon come and if the Romans did not strengthen the walls and gates, the city would be captured. Tseditsius obeyed, but no one paid attention to his message. This man was of humble origin, and the officials ignored the plebeian's story. But what was even more important was that the Romans did not even know who the Gauls were or how dangerous they were.
And the Gauls, the bulk of whom lived beyond the Alps in Gaul, crossed the high mountains and ousted the Etruscans from the Padus River valley. But they were not satisfied with this and began to attack Etruria itself. So they invaded the Etruscan city of Clusium. The Clusians were very frightened by this invasion. Seeing that they had little strength to repel the terrible invasion, they turned to Rome for help. The Romans found no reason to send help to the Clusians, but decided to send envoys to find out who the Gauls were. Three Fabius brothers were sent as ambassadors. They arrived at Clusium and then went to the Gallic camp. There the Gaulish leader Brennus told them that since the inhabitants of Clusium had more land than they could cultivate, the Gauls demanded that the excess land be given to them for settlement. When the ambassadors asked by what right the Gauls were making such a demand, Brenn replied that by the right of arms. Having received such an arrogant answer, the ambassadors returned to Clusium. The three Fabii were brave and ardent people. It seemed impossible to them to idle in the city while its inhabitants were at war. And so, when the Clusians decided to engage in battle with the Gauls, Fabius also wanted to take part in it. During the battle, one of the Fabii saw a Gaul in shining armor galloping ahead of him. His heart was filled with a thirst for battle, and he rode out on horseback from the Etruscan formation and attacked the Gaul. With a blow from his spear, Fabius killed the enemy and threw him off his horse. Having dismounted, he began to remove the armor from the defeated man, and at that moment he was recognized. When Brenn was informed that the Roman ambassadors were participating in the battle, and one of them had even killed a noble Gallic youth, Brenn’s anger knew no bounds. He ordered to stop the battle with the Clusians and prepare for the campaign against Rome.
Before the start of the campaign, Brenn gathered the elders for a meeting. They wisely suggested not to rush, because the Romans, as far as they know, are valiant people, and their state is powerful, so it is better to demand from them the extradition of violators of divine and human rights and only if they refuse to go to war against Rome, for then justice will be on the side of the Gauls. That's what Brenn did. Gallic ambassadors arrived in Rome demanding the extradition of the Fabii. The Senate began to discuss the current situation. Many senators, as well as fecial priests, guardians of justice and law, recognized the Gauls’ demand as fair and insisted on the extradition of the Fabii, especially the one who killed the Gallic warrior. But the Fabi family was too noble, it did a lot of useful and glorious things for Rome, so the senators did not dare to hand over the Fabi to the wild Gauls. It was also dangerous to refuse, because the matter was absolutely obvious and the demands of the Gauls were fair. Then the Senate decided to transfer the decision to the people's assembly. The assembly not only refused the Gauls their demands, but also elected all three Fabii to be military tribunes with consular powers. This choice angered the Gallic leader even more: the Romans turned out to be so unfair that they included criminals among the heads of their state.
After this, having prepared for the campaign, the Gauls moved towards Rome. Usually, in moments of severe danger, the Romans appointed a dictator who, having absolute power, could better concentrate forces to repel the enemy. But now the Romans showed carelessness. Perhaps the reason was ignorance of the impending danger: after all, the Gauls were still an unknown enemy; perhaps the Romans were blinded by their recent successes and became careless in their arrogance; maybe this is how fate has developed that governs human and state actions; maybe there was simply no person in Rome at that time to whom the citizens would entrust the dictatorship. The only person who could rise to the occasion, Camilla, was not in Rome at that time. The winner of Wei was pursued by his enemies, who envied him and accused him of all his sins; Camilla was even blamed for the too luxurious triumphal procession that he staged after the capture of Wei. As a result, Camillus was convicted and went into exile to the city of Ardea, where he was located at that moment.
The stands were burning with thirst to meet the enemy as quickly as possible. They did not wait for a happy sign during the sacrifices and did not even ask the augurs what the outcome of the battle would be. In a hurry, they led the Roman army out of the city and headed towards the enemy. The meeting of opponents took place on the banks of the small river Allia, which flows into the Tiber somewhat north of Rome. There, on the banks of the Allia on July 18, 390 BC. e. and this unhappy battle broke out. The Gallic army was quite numerous, and the Roman commanders decided to stretch their formation as much as possible to resist the Gauls. But as a result of this, the Roman system turned out to be loose, and in the center the two wings of the Roman army barely met at all. This circumstance played a fatal role. The left wing of the Romans was completely defeated; many soldiers, trying to escape, rushed into the Tiber, but, not knowing how to swim, drowned. The majority, however, managed to cross and escape in Veii, recently restored, where they hoped to hide under the protection of the repaired walls, without even trying to send news of their defeat to Rome. At the location of the right wing there was a small hill. The defeated Romans retreated there and were able to resist the enemies for some time, but were eventually driven back. The remnants of the Roman army fled to the city without even closing the city gates behind them. Thus ended this unhappy battle. The day July 18 was called "Allia's day" and declared unlucky; for many centuries the Romans did not begin any business on this day.
And then panic began in Rome. There was no news from those who fled to Veii; everyone decided that they had died, and the city was filled with crying. If the Gauls had immediately moved towards the city after their victory, they would have taken it without any difficulty. But they hesitated. At first the Gauls could not believe the speed of their victory, and then they began to divide the trophies captured in the Roman camp. Many Romans took advantage of this delay to leave the city. Some dispersed to nearby villages, while others headed to neighboring cities. It was important to save the city's shrines. Some of them were placed in huge vessels, which usually served as containers for all kinds of provisions, and buried in an appointed place, which later became sacred. And the rest decided to take them out of the city. The priests and priestesses with their luggage joined the general crowd of those leaving Rome. In this crowd was a certain Lucius Albinus, he was carrying his wife, small children and his meager belongings in a cart. By chance, he noticed next to his cart the exhausted Vestal Virgins, who were wandering, clutching sacred objects to their chests. Albinus immediately ordered his household to get out of the cart and put the Vestals there with their cargo, while he and his family walked alongside until they all arrived in the Etruscan city of Caere.
Those remaining in Rome began to consult what to do next. Marcus Manlius offered to take refuge on the Capitol and wait out the siege there. He was an honored warrior, who had participated in numerous battles since the age of sixteen, was covered with many scars and had a large number of military awards. Three years ago he was consul and won a victory over his enemies. His advice seemed very reasonable. Weapons and everything necessary to withstand the siege were carried to the Capitol. Soldiers and many women took refuge behind the walls of the Capitol. A significant part of the Senate also moved there. Only the oldest senators, among whom were former consuls and victors of past battles, decided to meet the enemies at the gates of their homes.
After delaying for several days, the Gauls entered the city. Not knowing him, they walked carefully, fearing a possible ambush. But the city was empty, and only near some of the houses, which looked richer, were old men with long beards sitting, leaning on staves. At first the Gauls decided that these were statues. One of them, unable to overcome curiosity, approached Marcus Papirius and either stroked his beard or tugged him slightly. Without rising from his chair, Papirius struck him with the ivory staff he held in his hands. The stunned Gaul pulled out his sword and hacked Papirius to death. The incident served as a signal - the Gauls rushed to the sitting old men and destroyed them all. Having done this, they could not calm down and continued to attack everyone they met on the way. The Gauls broke into abandoned houses, plundered them, and then set them on fire. The Romans, taking refuge in the Capitol, looked helplessly at the death of their hometown.
Having ravaged and almost completely destroyed Rome, the Gauls tried to storm the Capitol. But it was quite well fortified, guards were posted everywhere, and selected detachments of warriors were stationed in places where the enemy was most likely to break through. When the Gauls had already risen almost to the middle of the slope of the Capitoline Hill, the Romans attacked them from above and threw them down. Then, having failed to take the fortress by storm, Brenn began a siege. At the same time, he sent part of the Gallic soldiers to the outskirts of Rome to ruin them and capture booty. Such a detachment also approached Ardea, where Camillus lived in exile. He convinced the Ardean youths to arm themselves and repel the Gauls. They enthusiastically followed the illustrious Camillus. In a stubborn battle, the young men defeated their enemies. This was the first time the Gauls were defeated. The news quickly spread among the Romans. It inspired the warriors who were in Veii, and they, gradually freed from fear of the Gauls, again became eager to fight. They invited Camillus to elect him as commander. Camillus agreed, but for the election to be legal, a decision of the Senate was needed. Most of the senators were on the Capitol. Then one young man named Pontius Cominius volunteered to go to Rome to the Capitol and inform the Romans there about Camillus’s victory and the decision of the army, and get the approval of the senators.
And so Cominius wrapped himself in tree bark and threw himself into the Tiber. The current brought him to Rome to the foot of the Capitol. He climbed a slope so steep that it was impossible to imagine that a person could walk there. Rising to the top of the Capitol, Cominius informed those gathered about recent events. The besieged greeted this news with joy. At the meeting, the senators unanimously adopted a law appointing Camillus as dictator. Having received the decision, Cominius descended at night along the same slope to the Tiber and sailed to Veii. In Veii, the entire Roman army that had gathered by this time welcomed the news of the official appointment of Camillus as dictator.
And the situation of those besieged on the Capitol became more and more difficult. They had almost no provisions left. The Gauls, to their surprise, saw the traces of a man climbing an inaccessible slope to the Capitol, and decided that where one had passed, many could pass. One night they also decided to climb the steep bank. A small detachment was posted at this place, but the sentry, whose shift fell at this time, fell asleep, so the Gauls climbed almost to the top without hindrance. A little more, and they would have broken into the Capitol, and the exhausted Romans would have had no hope of salvation. But just not far from this place there was a temple of Juno Moneta, that is, the adviser, and behind its fence lived sacred geese dedicated to her. Although the besieged were tormented by hunger, no one raised a hand against the goddess’s birds. Hearing the rustle of footsteps of the rising Gauls, the geese raised a cry that woke up the Roman soldiers. Manlius was the first to wake up. He immediately grabbed his weapon and with a blow from his shield, throwing the rising Gaul into the abyss, he called all his comrades to arms. The Romans attacked the Gauls and began to throw them off the path. Throwing down their weapons, clinging to the ledges of the rock, they tried to somehow hold on so as not to fall into the deadly abyss. Thus, the Gauls' attempt to capture the last stronghold of Rome failed. Everyone praised Manlius, and each soldier brought him half a pound of spelt and a quart of wine. In the conditions of the ensuing famine, this was a royal reward. The merit of Juno's geese was not forgotten either. Since then they began to say that the geese saved Rome. And the sentry who slept through the attack of the Gauls was executed.
Hunger tormented the besieged more and more. But the Gauls also began to suffer from lack of food, and they were also annoyed by the unusual climate. And in this difficult time, one soothsayer on the Capitol suggested that the Romans, paradoxical as it may seem, collect all the bread they had left and throw the baked corigs, one piece at a time, to the Gallic guards. Brenn couldn't understand anything. He, like all the Gauls, was sure that the Romans’ supplies had long since run out, and hunger was about to force them to surrender. Now the besieged suddenly began to throw bread at his sentries. This means, the Gallic leader reasoned, there was enough grain on the Capitol and it would not be possible to starve out the besieged; he no longer dared to take the fortified hill by attack, and then the Roman army led by Camillus was ready to attack them from Vei. And Brennus himself proposed to the Romans to conclude a truce. They agreed. Negotiations began on peace terms. In the end, the Gauls agreed to leave Rome for an appropriate ransom. We agreed on a thousand pounds of gold.
It was not a very large amount, but in a devastated city it was extremely difficult to find. The treasury was plundered, and its remains could not amount to such a sum. Then the Roman matrons (mothers of families) began to take off their gold jewelry and donate them for ransom. Finally the day came when Roman ambassadors brought gold to the Gauls. They put it on the scales and began to weigh it. Suddenly one of the Romans noticed that the Gauls’ weights were incorrect and reprimanded them. Brenn, enraged, threw his heavy iron sword onto the scales and demanded that this weight be paid as well. To the timid objections of the Romans, he answered briefly: “Woe to the vanquished!” The Romans had to agree. But then Camillus appeared with the army he had brought from Wei. He demanded that the payments be stopped, saying that with the election of a dictator, the remaining officials lose their powers, and he, being a dictator, did not give anyone the right to conduct any negotiations with the Gauls. The Gauls entered into an argument, and not so much a fight as a dump began. Brennus, seeing that in the cramped city the Gauls could not even deploy into battle formation, ordered his soldiers to leave Rome. They retreated to Gabii, and there a new battle took place, in which the Romans were victorious. Having thus lost the required ransom, the Gauls left Roman borders.
Rome was saved. Everyone praised Manlius and gave him the honorary nickname Capitolia. They praised Camille even louder. But the saved city lay in ruins. It seemed that the Romans would not have the strength to restore it. Voices were heard louder and louder that it was necessary to leave the old place and move to a new one, for example in Veii. The Senate even met to discuss this issue. Camillus insisted on staying and rebuilding the city in even greater glory. During a meeting of the Senate, soldiers returning from guard duty passed by, and their commander gave the usual command “Standard bearer, set up the banner!” We're staying here! Hearing this, the senators took his words as a divine sign. All debate about resettlement ceased. The restoration of Rome began. And in the place where a mysterious voice warned Caedicius about the impending invasion of the Gauls, the Romans erected an altar dedicated to the “Speaking Broadcaster.”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru