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Saturday, August 21, 2010 - 6:49 PM
All this however was described with exaggeration to the Senate,
in the speeches of those members who proposed a public thanksgiving, and
that on the days of the thanksgiving the prince should wear the triumphal
robe and enter Rome in ovation, lastly, that he should have statues on
the same scale as those of Mars the Avenger, and in the same temple. To
their habitual flattery was added a real joy at his having appointed Domitius
Corbulo to secure Armenia, thus opening, as it seemed, a field to merit.
The armies of the East were so divided that half the auxiliaries and two
legions were to remain in the province of Syria under its governor, Quadratus
Ummidius; while Corbulo was to have an equal number of citizen and allied
troops, together with the auxiliary infantry and cavalry which were in
winter quarters in Cappadocia. The confederate kings were instructed to
obey orders, just as the war might require. But they had a specially strong
liking for Corbulo. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire, with a view to the prestige which in
a new enterprise is supremely powerful, speedily accomplished his march,
and at Aegeae, a city of Cilicia, met Quadratus who had advanced to the
place under an apprehension that, should Corbulo once enter Armenia to
take command of the army, he would draw all eyes on himself, by his noble
stature, his imposing eloquence, and the impression he would make, not
only by his wisdom and experience, but also by the mere display of showy
attributes.
Meantime both sent messages to king Vologeses, advising him to
choose peace rather than war, and to give hostages and so continue the
habitual reverence of his ancestors towards the people of Rome. Vologeses,
wishing to prepare for war at an advantage, or to rid himself of suspected
rivals under the name of hostages, delivered up some of the noblest of
the Arsacids. A centurion, Insteius, sent perhaps by Ummidius on some previous
occasion, received them after an interview with the king. Corbulo, on knowing
this, ordered Arrius Varus, commander of a cohort, to go and take the hostages.
Hence arose a quarrel between the commander and the centurion, and to stop
such a scene before foreigners, the decision of the matter was left to
the hostages and to the envoys who conducted them. They preferred Corbulo,
for his recent renown, and from a liking which even enemies felt for him.
Then there was a feud between the two generals; Ummidius complained that
he was robbed of what his prudence had achieved, while Corbulo on the other
hand appealed to the fact that Vologeses had not brought himself to offer
hostages till his own appointment to the conduct of the war turned the
king's hopes into fears. Nero, to compose their differences, directed the
issue of a proclamation that for the successes of Quadratus and Corbulo
the laurel was to be added to the imperial "fasces." I have closely connected
these events, though they extend into another consulship.
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