The Armies of Agricola

My project detailed a story from the perspective of one of Agricola's soldiers or officers. It centered on the general's invasion of Britain during C.E. 78-84. Before my narrative took place, Agricola had been a strong supporter of the emperor Vespasian when he fought to take control of Rome. Following the principle of "quid pro quo," or giving "something for something," Vespasian rewarded Agricola with command of a legion in 69 C.E.

If there was one thing Agricola disliked, it was disorder. He was the guy who actually followed the pool rules. Soon upon arriving in Britain and securing a position of power, the general struck against rebels. Ironically, the legion Agricola commanded had been used by the previous commander to rebel against the ineffective governor. Nevertheless, Agricola quickly achieved control. I used those rather interesting circumstances to begin painting a picture of the general. He was able to take take a bizarre, chaotic situation and add Roman ideas of logic and order. In the process, I extrapolated that the native cultures probably wouldn't have been very significant to a person so confident in his civilization.

Commanding a legion was a vast responsibility. As Agricola must have known, armies were made and broken by strong leaders (Dando-Collins). For instance, a weak leader caused the Twelfth Legion Fulminata to lose their eagle standard, while strong leadership caused a legion to rescue Marcus Aurelius from far superior numbers of Germanic tribes. But no one ever doubted that Agricola was strong.

Later in my narrative, I skip forward a few years to when Agricola used his armies to destroy the Ordovices. They were an ancient tribe, having stood against Nero and lived, carrying strength. Unfortunately, the Ordovices were not content with Roman rule, so Agricola virtually obliterated them on the battlefield. To the general, rebellion was a disease that had to be treated with the utmost severity.

Caledonians vs. Romans

After putting down that rebellion, Agricola faced the Caledonians, a far greater threat. Their forces were much larger than Agricola's. They knew the land. They were fighting for home and country. In the end, though, they didn't stand a chance. Roman tactical abilities, augmented by Agricola's undoubtable expertise, and carefully positioned armies led to a total rout. No one could have argued that a few hundred casualties suffered compared to the Caledonians' tens of thousands was anything but a success. And yet, Domitian recalled Agricola soon after, at the height of his glory. Why? I asked myself. What could prompt an emperor to lose one of his most valuable clients? The answer may have been the Roman way of ambition and betrayal.

The narrator of my project was an officer close to Agricola. But every Roman had the emperor as the ultimate patron. One possible explanation of Agricola's removal, supported by Tacitus, was that someone realized how powerful Agricola was growing. Popular among soldiers, experienced with governing, and able to gain power and manipulate a political situation deftly, Agricola could have been a legitimate threat. The narrator of my story related that information to Domitian in the hopes of a reward.

Whether Agricola was truly a threat to the emperor, or the general was recalled for sinister reasons, or betrayal and greed played a part in his campaigns has been lost to history. All we can do is wonder.

Dando-Collins, Stephen. Legions of Rome: The Definitive History of Every Roman Legion. St.
    Martin's Press, New York, New York. 2010.
Johnson, Ben. "The Romans In Scotland." Historic UK. Web.
"Julius Agricola." Biography on Undiscovered Scotland. Web.
Tacitus. De vita Julii Agricolae. Rome. 98.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Gnaeus Julius Agricola."
    Encyclopædia Britannica. Web.