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The (in English: Gabinians) were 2000 Roman legionaries and 500 cavalrymen stationed in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
by the Roman general
Aulus Gabinius Aulus Gabinius (by 101 BC – 48 or 47 BC) was a Roman statesman and general. He was an avid supporter of Pompey who likewise supported Gabinius. He was a prominent figure in the latter days of the Roman Republic. Career In 67 BC, when trib ...
after he had reinstated the Pharaoh
Ptolemy XII Auletes Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysus Philopator Philadelphus ( grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος Νέος Διόνυσος Φιλοπάτωρ Φιλάδελφος, Ptolemaios Neos Dionysos Philopatōr Philadelphos; – 51 BC) was a pharaoh of the Ptolemai ...
on the Egyptian throne in 55 BC. The soldiers were left to protect the King, but they soon adopted the manners of their new country and became completely alienated from the
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
. After the death of Auletes in 51 BC, they helped his son
Ptolemy XIII Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator ( grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος Θεός Φιλοπάτωρ, ''Ptolemaĩos''; c. 62 BC – 13 January 47 BC) was Pharaoh of Egypt from 51 to 47 BC, and one of the last members of the Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BC) ...
in his power struggle against his sister
Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
and even involved
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
, the supporter of Cleopatra, during
Caesar's Civil War Caesar's civil war (49–45 BC) was one of the last politico-military conflicts of the Roman Republic before its reorganization into the Roman Empire. It began as a series of political and military confrontations between Gaius Julius Caesar an ...
up to the siege of Alexandria (48–47 BC) in violent battles.


Protecting power of Ptolemy XII in Egypt

In 58 BC, Pharaoh Ptolemy XII "Auletes" had to leave Egypt and went into political exile in Rome due to a popular revolt, and his daughter
Berenice IV Berenice IV Epiphaneia ( grc-gre, Βερενίκη; 77–55 BC, born and died in Alexandria, Egypt) was a Greek princess and Queen of the Ptolemaic dynasty. From 58–55 BC, Berenice IV ruled Egypt during the political exile of her father Ptolemy ...
seized the throne. Three years later, Aulus Gabinius, the Roman
proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...
of
Roman Syria Roman Syria was an early Roman province annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC by Pompey in the Third Mithridatic War following the defeat of King of Armenia Tigranes the Great. Following the partition of the Herodian Kingdom of Judea into te ...
, restored the king to the throne after a short campaign. Then he left a part of his army, called after him the ''Gabiniani'', in Egypt for the king's protection. These Roman troops also included Gallic and German horsemen. Because Egypt was nominally independent, the ''Gabiniani'' were not a Roman occupying army but mercenaries of Ptolemy XII. According to
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
, they soon adopted the dissipated way of life of the
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, Alexandri ...
ns, while they neglected Roman discipline. Nevertheless they still possessed a great fighting strength because Caesar described them as very dangerous enemies in the Alexandrinian war. They married Egyptian women and had already fathered children with them before the arrival of Caesar in Egypt (48 BC). Over time, they lost their connection with Rome and became a loyal protecting power of Ptolemy XII, who used them in fights against rebellious subjects.


Conflict with Cleopatra VII

After the death of Ptolemy XII (51 BC), his two oldest surviving children,
Ptolemy XIII Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator ( grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος Θεός Φιλοπάτωρ, ''Ptolemaĩos''; c. 62 BC – 13 January 47 BC) was Pharaoh of Egypt from 51 to 47 BC, and one of the last members of the Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BC) ...
and
Cleopatra VII Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
, were supposed to succeed jointly on the throne as husband and wife, but the young queen soon ousted her brother and husband and ruled alone. She quickly came into a serious conflict with the ''Gabiniani''. In 53 BC the powerful Parthians had inflicted a devastating defeat on the Romans in the
Battle of Carrhae The Battle of Carrhae () was fought in 53 BC between the Roman Republic and the Parthian Empire near the ancient town of Carrhae (present-day Harran, Turkey). An invading force of seven legions of Roman heavy infantry under Marcus Liciniu ...
, and three years later – at the beginning of the year 50 BC – the governor of Syria,
Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus (c. 102 – 48 BC) was a politician of the Roman Republic. He was a plodding conservative and upholder of the established social order who served in several magisterial positions alongside Julius Caesar and conceived a ...
, sent two of his sons to Egypt to recruit the ''Gabiniani'' for the war against the Parthians. The Gabiniani, however, did not want to give up their comfortable life in the Ptolemaic Empire to fight against the Parthians so they killed Bibulus's sons. Cleopatra continued the pro-Roman policies of her father. She immediately had the murderers arrested and handed over in chains to Bibulus. This action turned the Gabiniani into bitter enemies of the queen as Cleopatra wanted to maintain good relations with Rome. The Roman historian,
Valerius Maximus Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...
, claimed that the Syrian proconsul sent the murderers back to Egypt because the senate in Rome, not he, was responsible for the punishment of the criminals, who were still Roman citizens. The German historian Christoph Schäfer did not believe this version and pointed out that the proconsul probably punished the killers instead, since he had the legal authority and had he believed that the murderers could only be judged by the Senate he would not have returned them to Egypt anyway, but to Rome. Schäfer believes that Cleopatra's break with the Gabiniani was the main cause of her subsequent loss of power because her actions led to the mercenaries joining those who supported Ptolemy XIII and his three influential guardians and advisors,
Pothinus Pothinus or Potheinos ( grc-gre, Ποθεινὸς; early 1st century BC – 48 or 47 BC), a eunuch, was regent for Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. He is most remembered for turning Ptolemy against his sister and co ...
,
Achillas Achillas ( el, Ἀχιλλᾶς) was one of the guardians of the Egyptian king Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator, and commander of the king's troops, when Pompey fled to Egypt in 48 BC. He was called by Julius Caesar a man of extraordinary daring, a ...
, and Theodotus of Chios. In the spring of 49 BC Gnaeus Pompeius, the oldest son of the triumvir,
Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
, came to Egypt to ask for military aid in the civil war against Julius Caesar that had just broken out. At this time Ptolemy XIII had regained equal power with Cleopatra, and both rulers complied with the petition. Among other things, they sent 500 ''Gabiniani'' horsemen to Pompey. This time the ''Gabiniani'' did not refuse to go to war. At the end of 49 BC Cleopatra was driven out of Alexandria at the instigation of Pothinus. Probably in connection with this action, Caesar accused the ''Gabiniani'' of being so much used to the old customs of the Alexandrinian soldiers that they demanded the execution of friends of kings, they tried to raise their pay by besieging the palace, and they deposed kings and brought other men to power. After Pompey's decisive defeat in the
Battle of Pharsalus The Battle of Pharsalus was the decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War fought on 9 August 48 BC near Pharsalus in central Greece. Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the Roman Republic under the command of Pompey ...
, he fled to the coast of Egypt and demanded help and support from the Ptolemaic government. The advisors of Ptolemy XIII were not willing to get involved in the Roman civil war and decided to murder Pompey in an attempt to please the victorious Caesar. Pothinus and his companions allegedly also feared that Pompey would try to incite the former Roman soldiers in the Ptolemaic army – who had earlier fought under his command – so that he could gain control over Egypt. It is considered unlikely that the ''Gabiniani'' could have been convinced to take part in such an action given their close connection to the Egyptian monarchy and community. Indeed two leading members of the ''Gabiniani'', the former
tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...
Lucius Septimius Lucius Septimius was a Roman soldier and mercenary who is principally remembered as one of the assassins of the triumvir Pompey the Great. At the time of the assassination (48 BC) Septimius was serving the Ptolemies of Egypt as a mercenary. He ...
and the
centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...
Salvius, participated in the assassination of Pompey (25 July 48 BC according to the Julian calendar).


War against Caesar

Caesar arrived in Egypt a few days after the assassination of Pompey. In spite of the elimination of his enemy, he did not leave the country and supported the expelled Cleopatra in the Ptolemaic power struggle. Pothinus organized military opposition against Caesar. In the Alexandrinian war that followed, the ''Gabiniani'' played an important role: they were the core divisions of Achillas' army that comprised 20,000 infantrymen and 2000 cavalrymen. The forces of Caesar were one-fifth the size of his opponent's. Caesar relates in his ''
Commentarii de Bello Civili ''Commentarii de Bello Civili'' ''(Commentaries on the Civil War)'', or ''Bellum Civile'', is an account written by Julius Caesar of his war against Gnaeus Pompeius and the Roman Senate. It consists of three books covering the events of 49� ...
'' that fugitive criminals and exiles from the neighbouring Roman provinces had joined the ''Gabiniani'' because the government recruited them to swell the ranks of their army.Caesar, ''Commentarii de Bello Civili'' 3.110.1-4 After the successful conclusion of the Alexandrinian war, Caesar replaced the ''Gabiniani'' with three reliable legions, the XXVII, XXVIII and XXIX. These served as the Roman occupying army of Egypt and were tasked with protecting Cleopatra but also to ensure the queen's loyalty to Rome.


Notes


References

* Michael Grant, ''Cleopatra'', 1972 and 1974 (here used a German edition of 1998), , pp. 35–36, 74-75, 78, 86, 102. * Christoph Schäfer, ''Kleopatra'', Darmstadt 2006, , pp. 28, 41-43, 50-51. {{italic title Celtic warfare Early Germanic warfare Military history of the Ptolemaic Kingdom Military units and formations of the Roman Republic Military units and formations established in the 1st century BC