Battle of Telamon
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Telamon was fought between the Roman Republic
and an alliance of Gaul
s in 225 BC
. The Romans, led by the consul
s Gaius Atilius Regulus
and Lucius Aemilius Papus
, defeated the Gauls, thus extending their influence over northern Italy.
(the Po
valley in northern Italy) for many years. Indeed, when a force of Transalpine Gauls had crossed the Alps into Italy in 230 BC, it had been the Boii
of Cisalpine Gaul
who had repelled them. The Romans had sent an army but found it was not needed. However, when the Romans partitioned the formerly Gallic territory of Picenum
in 234 BC, this created resentment among its neighbours, the Boii and Insubres
.
In 225 BC, the Boii and Insubres paid large sums of money to the Gaesatae
, mercenaries from Transalpine Gaul led by Aneroëstes
and Concolitanus
, to fight with them against Rome. The Romans, alarmed by this Celtic mobilisation, made a treaty giving the Carthaginian
general Hasdrubal the Fair
unimpeded control of Hispania
so they could concentrate on the threat closer to home.
The Romans called upon their allies in Italy to supply troops. The consul Lucius Aemilius Papus
had four legions
of Roman citizens, 22,000 men in total, plus 32,000 allied troops, which he stationed the majority of his forces at Ariminum. He placed 54,000 Sabines and Etruscans on the Etruscan border under the command of a praetor
, and sent 40,000 Umbrians, Sarsinates, Veneti
and Cenomani
to attack the home territory of the Boii to distract them from the battle. The other consul, Gaius Atilius Regulus
, had an army the same size as that of Papus, but was stationed in Sardinia
at the time, and there was a reserve of 21,500 citizens and 32,000 allies in Rome itself, and two reserve legions in Sicily
and Tarentum
.
, three days' march from Rome, where both sides made camp. That night the Gauls, leaving their cavalry and their camp fires as a decoy, withdrew to the town of Faesulae (modern Fiesole
) and built defensive obstacles. In the morning the cavalry followed in full view of the Romans, who, thinking the enemy were retreating, pursued them. The Gauls, with the advantage of position, were victorious after a hard battle. Six thousand Romans died and the rest fell back to a defensible hill.
That night Papus arrived and made camp nearby. Aneroëstes persuaded the Gauls to withdraw along the Etruscan coast with their booty, and renew the war later when unencumbered. Papus pursued and harassed their rear but did not risk a pitched battle. The other consul, Regulus, had crossed from Sardinia, landed at Pisa
, and was marching towards Rome. His scouts met the Gauls' advanced foragers head on near Telamon (modern Talamone
), in an area called Campo Regio.
The Romans advanced from both directions, throwing volleys of javelins, which devastated the vulnerable Gaesatae at the rear, who were fighting naked with small shields. Some rushed wildly at the enemy and were slaughtered. Others withdrew into the body of the army, their retreat causing disorder among their allies.
The Roman javelin-throwers withdrew into the ranks, and the infantry advanced in maniples
. The Insubres, Boii and Taurisci held their ground tenaciously, but the Roman shields and thrusting short swords
were more effective in close combat than the Gallic smaller shields and slashing long swords, and the Romans gained the upper hand. Finally, the Roman cavalry rode down the hill onto the Gauls' flank. Their infantry was slaughtered and their cavalry put to flight.
Around 40,000 Gauls were killed and 10,000, including Concolitanus, taken prisoner. Aneroëstes escaped with a small group of followers, who committed suicide with him. Papus conducted a punitive expedition
against the Boii, and later used the spoils taken in his triumph
. The battle was recorded by some historians to be the last use of the war chariot
in continental Europe.
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
and an alliance of Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
s in 225 BC
225 BC
Year 225 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Papus and Regulus...
. The Romans, led by the consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
s Gaius Atilius Regulus
Gaius Atilius Regulus (consul 225 BC)
Gaius Atilius M.f. M.n. Regulus was one of the two Roman consuls who fought a Celtic invasion of Italy in 225 BC-224 BC; he however was killed in battle and beheaded...
and Lucius Aemilius Papus
Lucius Aemilius Papus
Lucius Aemilius Papus , or Lucius Aemilius Q.f. Cn.n. Papus, a member of the patrician gens Aemilia of the branch cognominated Papus, was a Roman general and statesman who led the Romans to victory over the Gauls in the Battle of Telamon in 225 BC.He was the son of Quintus Aemilius Papus, himself...
, defeated the Gauls, thus extending their influence over northern Italy.
Mobilization
Rome had been at peace with the tribes of Cisalpine GaulCisalpine Gaul
Cisalpine Gaul, in Latin: Gallia Cisalpina or Citerior, also called Gallia Togata, was a Roman province until 41 BC when it was merged into Roman Italy.It bore the name Gallia, because the great body of its inhabitants, after the expulsion of the Etruscans, consisted of Gauls or Celts...
(the Po
Po River
The Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face...
valley in northern Italy) for many years. Indeed, when a force of Transalpine Gauls had crossed the Alps into Italy in 230 BC, it had been the Boii
Boii
The Boii were one of the most prominent ancient Celtic tribes of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul , Pannonia , in and around Bohemia, and Transalpine Gaul...
of Cisalpine Gaul
Cisalpine Gaul
Cisalpine Gaul, in Latin: Gallia Cisalpina or Citerior, also called Gallia Togata, was a Roman province until 41 BC when it was merged into Roman Italy.It bore the name Gallia, because the great body of its inhabitants, after the expulsion of the Etruscans, consisted of Gauls or Celts...
who had repelled them. The Romans had sent an army but found it was not needed. However, when the Romans partitioned the formerly Gallic territory of Picenum
Picenum
Picenum was a region of ancient Italy. The name is an exonym assigned by the Romans, who conquered and incorporated it into the Roman Republic. Picenum was the birthplace of such notables as Pompey the Great and his father Pompeius Strabo. It was situated in what is now Marche...
in 234 BC, this created resentment among its neighbours, the Boii and Insubres
Insubres
The Insubres were a Gaulish population settled in Insubria, in what is now Lombardy . They were the founders of Milan . Though ethnically Celtic at the time of Roman conquest , they were most likely the result of the fusion of pre-existing Ligurian, Celtic and "Italic" population strata with Gaulish...
.
In 225 BC, the Boii and Insubres paid large sums of money to the Gaesatae
Gaesatae
The Gaesatae were a group of Gaulish warriors who lived in the Alps near the river Rhône and fought against the Roman Republic in the Battle of Telamon of 225 BC...
, mercenaries from Transalpine Gaul led by Aneroëstes
Aneroëstes
Aneroëstes was one of the two leaders of the Gaesatae, a group of Gaulish mercenaries who lived in the Alps near the Rhône and fought against the Roman Republic in the Battle of Telamon of 224 BC. He and his colleague Concolitanus were hired by the Boii and Insubres in response to the Roman...
and Concolitanus
Concolitanus
Concolitanus was one of the two leaders of the Gaesatae, a group of Gaulish mercenaries who lived in the Alps near the Rhône and fought against the Roman Republic in the Battle of Telamon of 224 BC. He and his colleague Aneroëstes were hired by the Boii and Insubres in response to the Roman...
, to fight with them against Rome. The Romans, alarmed by this Celtic mobilisation, made a treaty giving the Carthaginian
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
general Hasdrubal the Fair
Hasdrubal the Fair
Hasdrubal the Fair was a Carthaginian military leader.He was the brother-in-law of Hannibal and son-in-law of Hamilcar Barca...
unimpeded control of Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
so they could concentrate on the threat closer to home.
The Romans called upon their allies in Italy to supply troops. The consul Lucius Aemilius Papus
Lucius Aemilius Papus
Lucius Aemilius Papus , or Lucius Aemilius Q.f. Cn.n. Papus, a member of the patrician gens Aemilia of the branch cognominated Papus, was a Roman general and statesman who led the Romans to victory over the Gauls in the Battle of Telamon in 225 BC.He was the son of Quintus Aemilius Papus, himself...
had four legions
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
of Roman citizens, 22,000 men in total, plus 32,000 allied troops, which he stationed the majority of his forces at Ariminum. He placed 54,000 Sabines and Etruscans on the Etruscan border under the command of a praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
, and sent 40,000 Umbrians, Sarsinates, Veneti
Adriatic Veneti
The Veneti were an ancient people who inhabited north-eastern Italy, in an area corresponding to the modern-day region of the Veneto....
and Cenomani
Cenomani (Cisalpine Gaul)
The Cenomani , was an ancient tribe of the Cisalpine Gauls, who occupied the tract north of the Padus , between the Insubres on the west and the Veneti on the east. Their territory appears to have extended from the river Addua to the Athesis...
to attack the home territory of the Boii to distract them from the battle. The other consul, Gaius Atilius Regulus
Gaius Atilius Regulus (consul 225 BC)
Gaius Atilius M.f. M.n. Regulus was one of the two Roman consuls who fought a Celtic invasion of Italy in 225 BC-224 BC; he however was killed in battle and beheaded...
, had an army the same size as that of Papus, but was stationed in Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
at the time, and there was a reserve of 21,500 citizens and 32,000 allies in Rome itself, and two reserve legions in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
and Tarentum
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
.
Gaulish victory at Faesulae
The Gauls overran Etruria and began to march to Rome. The Romans' troops stationed on the Etrurian border met them at ClusiumClusium
Clusium was an ancient city in Italy, one of several found at the site. The current municipality of Chiusi partly overlaps this Roman walled city. The Roman city remodeled an earlier Etruscan city, Clevsin, found in the territory of a prehistoric culture, possibly also Etruscan or proto-Etruscan...
, three days' march from Rome, where both sides made camp. That night the Gauls, leaving their cavalry and their camp fires as a decoy, withdrew to the town of Faesulae (modern Fiesole
Fiesole
Fiesole is a town and comune of the province of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a famously scenic height above Florence, 8 km NE of that city...
) and built defensive obstacles. In the morning the cavalry followed in full view of the Romans, who, thinking the enemy were retreating, pursued them. The Gauls, with the advantage of position, were victorious after a hard battle. Six thousand Romans died and the rest fell back to a defensible hill.
That night Papus arrived and made camp nearby. Aneroëstes persuaded the Gauls to withdraw along the Etruscan coast with their booty, and renew the war later when unencumbered. Papus pursued and harassed their rear but did not risk a pitched battle. The other consul, Regulus, had crossed from Sardinia, landed at Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, and was marching towards Rome. His scouts met the Gauls' advanced foragers head on near Telamon (modern Talamone
Talamone
Talamone is a town in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Orbetello, province of Grosseto, in the Tuscan Maremma....
), in an area called Campo Regio.
The Battle
Regulus put his troops in fighting order and advanced, attempting to occupy a hill above the road by which the Gauls must pass. The Gauls, unaware of Regulus' arrival, assumed that Papus had sent some of his cavalry ahead, and sent some of their own cavalry and light infantry against them to contest the hill, but as soon as they knew what they were up against they deployed their infantry facing both front and rear. They placed the Gaesatae and Insubres at the rear against Papus, and the Boii and Taurisci at the front against Regulus, their wings protected by wagons and chariots. A small force guarded the booty on another hill nearby. The battle over the main hill was fierce, and despite Papus sending cavalry to assist, Regulus was killed and his head brought to the Gallic leaders. Eventually, however, the Roman cavalry secured possession of the hill.The Romans advanced from both directions, throwing volleys of javelins, which devastated the vulnerable Gaesatae at the rear, who were fighting naked with small shields. Some rushed wildly at the enemy and were slaughtered. Others withdrew into the body of the army, their retreat causing disorder among their allies.
The Roman javelin-throwers withdrew into the ranks, and the infantry advanced in maniples
Maniple (military unit)
Maniple was a tactical unit of the Roman legion adopted from the Samnites during the Samnite Wars . It was also the name of the military insignia carried by such unit....
. The Insubres, Boii and Taurisci held their ground tenaciously, but the Roman shields and thrusting short swords
Gladius
Gladius was the Latin word for sword, and is used to represent the primary sword of Ancient Roman soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those used by the Greeks. From the 3rd century BC, the Romans adopted swords similar to those used by the Celtiberians and others during the early...
were more effective in close combat than the Gallic smaller shields and slashing long swords, and the Romans gained the upper hand. Finally, the Roman cavalry rode down the hill onto the Gauls' flank. Their infantry was slaughtered and their cavalry put to flight.
Around 40,000 Gauls were killed and 10,000, including Concolitanus, taken prisoner. Aneroëstes escaped with a small group of followers, who committed suicide with him. Papus conducted a punitive expedition
Punitive expedition
A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a state or any group of persons outside the borders of the punishing state. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavior, but may be also be a covered revenge...
against the Boii, and later used the spoils taken in his triumph
Roman triumph
The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...
. The battle was recorded by some historians to be the last use of the war chariot
Chariot
The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
in continental Europe.