Editing Gnaeus Julius Agricola

{{Short description|Roman governor and general (40–93)}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Gnaeus Julius Agricola
| birth_date    = 13 June 40
| death_date    = 23 August 93 (aged 53)
| birth_place   = Forum Julii, [[Gallia Narbonensis]] (now [[Fréjus]], France)
| death_place   = [[Gallia Narbonensis]] (now [[Languedoc]] and [[Provence]], France)
| image         = Roman baths julius agricola 01.JPG
| caption       = A statue of Agricola erected at the [[Roman Baths (Bath)|Roman Baths]] at Bath in 1894
| nickname      = 
| allegiance    = [[Roman Empire]]
| serviceyears  = 58–85
| rank          = [[Proconsul]]
| commands      = [[Legio XX Valeria Victrix|Legio XX ''Valeria Victrix'']]<br />[[Gallia Aquitania]]<br />[[Roman Britain|Britannia]]
| unit          = 
| battles       = [[Battle of Watling Street]]<br />[[Battle of Mons Graupius]]
| awards        = [[Ornamenta triumphalia]]
| laterwork     = 
}}
'''Gnaeus Julius Agricola''' ({{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|g|r|ɪ|k|ə|l|ə}}; 13 June 40 – 23 August 93) was a Roman general and politician responsible for much of the [[Roman conquest of Britain]]. Born to a political family of [[Roman senate|senatorial]] rank, Agricola began his military career as a [[military tribune]] under governor [[Gaius Suetonius Paulinus]]. In his subsequent career, he served in a variety of political positions in [[Rome]]. In 64, he was appointed [[quaestor]] in [[Asia (Roman province)|Asia province]]. Two years later, he was appointed [[Plebeian Tribune]], and in 68, he was made [[praetor]]. During the [[Year of the Four Emperors]] in 69, he supported [[Vespasian]], general of the [[Roman Syria|Syrian]] army, in his bid for the throne.

When Vespasian became [[Roman emperor|emperor]], Agricola was made a [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|patrician]] and appointed governor of [[Gallia Aquitania]]. In 77, he was made [[Roman consul|consul]] and [[Governor of Roman Britain|governor of Britannia]]. As governor, he completed the conquest of what is today [[Wales]] and [[northern England]], and led his army to the far north of [[Scotland]], establishing forts across much of the [[lowlands]]. In 85, Agricola was recalled from Britain after an unusually lengthy service by Emperor [[Domitian]]. After his return, he retired from military and public life and died in 93. Most of what is known about Agricola and his governorship was written in the ''[[Agricola (book)|De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae]]'',<ref>[[Wikisource:Agricola|Tacitus, ''Agricola'']]; [[Dio Cassius]] ([https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/66* ''Roman History'' 66.20]) and three inscriptions found in Britain (including the [[Verulamium Forum inscription]]) also make reference to Agricola.</ref> a [[primary source]], written by [[Tacitus]], Agricola's son-in-law, and detailed archaeological evidence from northern Britain.<ref>Hanson, W.S. (1991), ''Agricola and the conquest of the north'' (2nd edn), London: Batsford.</ref>

==Early life==
Agricola was born in the ''[[Colonia (Roman)|colonia]]'' of [[Fréjus|Forum Julii]], [[Gallia Narbonensis]] (now [[Fréjus]], [[France]]). Agricola's parents were from noted political families of [[Roman senate|senatorial]] rank in [[Roman Gaul]]. Both of his grandfathers served as imperial governors. His father, Lucius Julius Graecinus, was a ''[[praetor]]'' and had become a member of the [[Roman Senate]] in the year of Agricola's birth. Graecinus had become distinguished by his interest in [[philosophy]]. Between August 40 and January 41, the emperor [[Caligula]] ordered his death, because he refused to prosecute the emperor's second cousin [[Marcus Junius Silanus (consul AD 15)|Marcus Junius Silanus]].<ref name="OCD">{{Citation  | last = Birley  | first = Anthony R.  | author-link = Anthony Birley  | contribution = Iulius Agricola, Cn.  | editor-last = Hornblower  | editor-first = Simon  | title = [[Oxford Classical Dictionary]]  | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]  | place = Oxford  | year = 1996  }}</ref>

His mother was Julia Procilla. The Roman historian [[Tacitus]] describes her as "a lady of singular virtue" who had a fond affection for her son. Agricola was educated in Massilia ([[Marseille]]), and showed what was considered to be an unhealthy interest in philosophy.

==Political career==
He began his career in Roman public life as a military [[tribune]], and served in Britain under [[Gaius Suetonius Paulinus]] from 58 to 62. He was probably attached to the ''[[Legio II Augusta]]'', but was chosen to serve on Suetonius's staff<ref>''Agricola'' [[Wikisource:Agricola#5|5]]</ref> and thus almost certainly participated in the suppression of [[Boudica]]'s uprising in 61.

Returning from Britain to [[Rome]] in 62, he married [[Domitia Decidiana]], a woman of noble birth. Their first child was a son. Agricola was appointed as ''[[quaestor]]'' in 64, which he served in the [[Asia (Roman province)|province of Asia]] under the corrupt proconsul [[Titianus|Lucius Salvius Otho Titianus]]. While he was there, his daughter, Julia Agricola, was born, but his son died shortly afterwards. He was [[tribune]] of the plebs in 66 and ''[[praetor]]'' in June 68, during which time he was ordered by the Governor of Spain [[Galba]] to take an inventory of the temple treasures.

During that time, the emperor [[Nero]] was declared a public enemy by the Senate and committed suicide, and the period of civil war known as the [[Year of the Four Emperors]] began. Galba succeeded Nero, but was murdered in early 69 by [[Otho]], who took the throne. Agricola's mother was murdered on her estate in [[Liguria]] by Otho's marauding fleet. Hearing of [[Vespasian]]'s bid for the empire, Agricola immediately gave him his support. Otho meanwhile committed suicide after being defeated by [[Vitellius]].

After Vespasian had established himself as emperor, Agricola was appointed to the command of the ''[[Legio XX Valeria Victrix]]'', stationed in Britain, in place of [[Marcus Roscius Coelius]], who had stirred up a mutiny against the governor, [[Marcus Vettius Bolanus]]. Britain had revolted during the year of civil war, and Bolanus was a mild governor. Agricola reimposed discipline on the legion and helped to consolidate Roman rule. In 71, Bolanus was replaced by a more aggressive governor, [[Quintus Petillius Cerialis]], and Agricola was able to display his talents as a commander in campaigns against the [[Brigantes]] in northern England.

When his command ended in 73, Agricola was enrolled as a [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|patrician]] and appointed to govern [[Gallia Aquitania]]. There he stayed for almost three years. In 76 or 77, he was recalled to Rome and appointed suffect [[consul]],<ref>Duncan B. Campbell, "The consulship of Agricola", ''[[Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik]]'' 63 (1986), pp. 197-200, for the possible dates. {{JSTOR|20186374}}</ref> and betrothed his daughter to [[Tacitus]]. The following year, Tacitus and Julia married; Agricola was appointed to the [[College of Pontiffs]], and returned to Britain for a third time, as its [[Governor of Roman Britain|governor]] (''[[Legatus Augusti pro praetore]]'').

==Governor of Britain==
[[File:Agricola.Campaigns.78.84.jpg|frameless|right|201px]]
Arriving in midsummer of 77, Agricola discovered that the [[Ordovices]] of north Wales had virtually destroyed the Roman cavalry stationed in their territory. He immediately moved against them and defeated them. His campaign then moved onto [[Anglesey]] where he [[Roman conquest of Anglesey|subjugated the entire island]]. Almost two decades earlier, Governor [[Gaius Suetonius Paulinus]] had attempted the same but Roman forces had to withdraw in 60 CE because of the outbreak of the [[Boudica|Boudican rebellion]]. 

Agricola also expanded Roman rule north into [[Caledonia]] (modern [[Scotland]]). In the summer of 79, he pushed his armies to the estuary of the river Taus, usually interpreted as the [[Firth of Tay]], virtually unchallenged, and established some forts. Though their location is left unspecified, the close dating of the fort at [[Elginhaugh]] in Midlothian makes it a possible candidate. He established himself as a good administrator by reforming the widely corrupt corn levy as well as through his military successes. He introduced Romanising measures, encouraging communities to build towns on the Roman model and gave a Roman education to sons of native nobility; albeit, as Tacitus notes, for the cynical reason of pacifying the aggressive tribes in Britannia for the servitude of Rome.<ref>Tacitus, ''Agricola'' [[Wikisource:Agricola#21|21]]</ref>

=== Hibernia===
In 81, Agricola "crossed in the first ship" and defeated peoples unknown to the Romans until then. Tacitus, in Chapter 24 of ''Agricola'', does not tell us what body of water he crossed.<ref>Tacitus, ''Agricola'' [[Wikisource:Agricola#24|24]]</ref> Modern scholarship favours either the [[Firth of Clyde]] or [[Firth of Forth]]. Tacitus also mentions [[Ireland|Hibernia]], so southwest Scotland is perhaps to be preferred.<ref>{{cite book|first=W.S. |last=Hanson |year=1991|title=Agricola and the conquest of the north|edition=2nd|publisher= Batsford, London|pages= 93–96}}</ref> The text of the ''Agricola'' has been amended here to record the Romans "crossing into trackless wastes", referring to the wilds of the Galloway peninsula.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Campbell|first1=Duncan B.|title=Mons Graupius AD 83: Rome's battle at the edge of the world|date=2010|publisher=Osprey|location=Oxford|isbn=9781846039263}}</ref> Agricola fortified the coast facing Ireland, and Tacitus recalls that his father-in-law often claimed the island could be conquered with a single [[Roman legion|legion]] and [[auxiliaries (Roman military)|auxiliaries]]. He had given refuge to an exiled Irish king whom he hoped he might use as the excuse for conquest. This conquest never happened, but some historians believe the crossing referred to was in fact a small-scale exploratory or [[punitive expedition]] to Ireland,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Di Martino|first1=Vittorio|title=Roman Ireland|date=2006|publisher=Collins|location=Cork|isbn=9781905172191}}</ref> though no Roman camps have been identified to confirm such a suggestion.<ref>See, in general, {{cite journal |first=Duncan B. |last=Campbell |title=Did the Romans invade Ireland? |journal=Ancient Warfare|volume=8|issue=2|date=2014|pages=48–52}}</ref>

[[Irish legend]] provides a striking parallel. [[Tuathal Teachtmhar]], a legendary [[High King of Ireland|High King]], is said to have been exiled from Ireland as a boy, and to have returned from Britain at the head of an army to claim the throne. The traditional date of his return is between 76 and 80, and [[archaeology]] has found Roman or Romano-British artefacts in several sites associated with Tuathal.<ref>{{cite journal |first=R. B. |last=Warner |date=1995 |title=Tuathal Techtmar: a myth or ancient literary evidence for a Roman invasion?| journal=Emania|issue=13|url=https://www.academia.edu/7149513}}</ref>

===The invasion of Caledonia (Scotland)===
[[File:Agricola.Campaigns.80.84.jpg|frameless|right|200px]]
[[File:Roman generals and emperors closeup in the frieze of the Great Hall of the National Galleries Scotland by William Brassey Hole 1897.jpg|thumb|left|upright=2.0|Agricola among Roman generals and emperors in this frieze from the Great Hall of the National Galleries Scotland by William Brassey Hole 1897]]
The following year, Agricola raised a fleet and encircled the tribes beyond the Forth, and the [[Caledonians]] rose in great numbers against him. They attacked the camp of the ''[[Legio IX Hispana]]'' at [[Night combat|night]], but Agricola sent in his cavalry and they were put to flight. The Romans responded by pushing further north. Another son was born to Agricola this year, but died before his first birthday.

In the summer of 83, Agricola faced the massed armies of the Caledonians, led by [[Calgacus]], at the [[Battle of Mons Graupius]].<ref>On the battle in general, see Duncan B. Campbell, ''Mons Grapius AD 83'' (2010), pp. 57-83.</ref> Tacitus estimates their numbers at more than 30,000.<ref>Tacitus, ''Agricola'' [[Wikisource:Agricola#29|29]]</ref> Agricola put his auxiliaries in the front line, keeping the legions in reserve, and relied on close-quarters fighting to make the Caledonians' unpointed slashing swords useless as they were unable to swing them properly or utilise thrusting attacks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0081:chapter=36|title=Cornelius Tacitus, The Life of Cnæus Julius Agricola, chapter 36|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu|access-date=12 April 2018}}</ref> Even though the Caledonians were put to rout and therefore lost this battle, two thirds of their army managed to escape and hide in the Highlands or the "trackless wilds" as Tacitus calls them. Battle casualties were estimated by Tacitus to be about 10,000 on the Caledonian side and 360 on the Roman side.

A number of authors have reckoned the battle to have occurred in the [[Grampian Mountains|Grampian]] [[Mounth]] within sight of the [[North Sea]].<ref>On the battle's location, see Duncan B. Campbell, "Search for a lost battlefield", ''Ancient Warfare'' Vol. 8 issue 1 (2014), pp. 47-51.</ref> In particular, Roy,<ref>William Roy, ''The Military Antiquities of the Romans in Britain'', 1793</ref> Surenne, Watt, Hogan<ref name="Hogan">C. Michael Hogan, ''Elsick Mounth'', The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18037 Megalithic.co.uk]</ref> and others have advanced notions that the site of the battle may have been [[Kempstone Hill]], [[Megray Hill]] or other knolls near the [[Raedykes]] [[Roman camp]]; these points of high ground are proximate to the [[Elsick Mounth]], an ancient [[trackway]] used by Romans and Caledonians for military manoeuvres. However, following the discovery of the [[Roman camp]] at [[Durno]] in 1975, most scholars now believe that the battle took place on the ground around [[Bennachie]] in Aberdeenshire.<ref>{{cite journal|first=J.K. |last=St Joseph |title=The camp at Durno, Aberdeenshire, and the site of Mons Graupius |journal=Britannia |volume=9 |date=1978 |pages=271–287|doi=10.2307/525942 |jstor=525942 |s2cid=162345615 }}</ref>

Satisfied with his victory, Agricola extracted hostages from the Caledonian tribes. He may have marched his army to the northern coast of Britain,<ref>{{cite web |first=Stan |last=Wolfson |date=2002 |url=http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/fartherlands/appendix.html |title=The Boresti: The creation of a myth |website=Tacitus, Thule and Caledonia |access-date=2007-12-17 |archive-date=2018-07-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723033640/http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/fartherlands/appendix.html |url-status=dead }} In the manuscript of Agricola 38.2: ''In finis Borestorum exercitum deducit'' - He led his army down into the territory of the Boresti" may be emended to: ''in finis boreos totum exercitum deducit'' - He led his entire army down into the northern extremities"</ref> as evidenced by the probable discovery of a Roman fort at [[Cawdor]] (near [[Inverness]]).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://her.highland.gov.uk/hbsmrgatewayhighland/DataFiles/LibraryLinkFiles/38961.pdf |title=Excavations at Cawdor 1986 |access-date=2009-07-11 |archive-date=2012-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219033047/http://her.highland.gov.uk/hbsmrgatewayhighland/DataFiles/LibraryLinkFiles/38961.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

He also instructed the [[prefect]] of the fleet to sail around the north coast, confirming (allegedly for the first time) that Britain was in fact an island.

=== Findings ===
In 2019, GUARD Archaeology team led by Iraia Arabaolaza uncovered a marching camp dating to the 1st century AD in [[Ayr]], used by Roman legions during the invasion of Roman General Agricola. According to Arabaolaza, the fire pits were split 30 meters apart into two parallel lines. The findings also included clay-domed ovens and 26 fire pits dated to between 77- 86 AD and 90 AD loaded with burnt material and charcoal contents. Archaeologists suggested that this site had been chosen as a strategic location for the Roman conquest of [[Ayrshire]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-05-24|title=New evidence uncovered for Roman conquest of Scotland|url=https://www.heritagedaily.com/2019/05/new-evidence-uncovered-for-roman-conquest-of-scotland/123820|access-date=2020-09-13|website=HeritageDaily - Archaeology News|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Lost Roman marching camp sheds new light on invasion of Scotland|url=https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/lost-roman-marching-camp-sheds-new-light-invasion-scotland-1416571|access-date=2020-09-13|website=www.scotsman.com|language=en}}</ref>

==Later years==
Agricola was recalled from Britain in 85, after an unusually long tenure as governor. Tacitus claims [[Domitian]] ordered his recall because Agricola's successes outshone the emperor's own modest victories in Germany. He re-entered Rome unobtrusively, reporting as ordered to the palace at night. 

The relationship between Agricola and the emperor is unclear; on the one hand, Agricola was awarded triumphal decorations and a statue (the highest military honours apart from an actual [[Roman triumph|triumph]]); on the other, Agricola never again held a civil or military post, in spite of his experience and renown. He was offered the governorship of the province of Africa, but declined it, whether due to ill health or (as Tacitus claims) the machinations of Domitian.

In 93, Agricola died on his family estates in Gallia Narbonensis aged fifty-three.  Rumours circulated attributing the death to a poison administered by the emperor Domitian, but no positive evidence for this was ever produced.

==See also==
* [[Cawdor (Roman fort)]]
* [[History of Northumberland]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* [[Anthony Birley]] (1996), “Iulius Agricola, Cn.”, in Hornblower, Simon, ''[[Oxford Classical Dictionary]]'', Oxford: Oxford University Press
* [[Duncan B. Campbell|Duncan B Campbell]], ''Mons Graupius AD 83'', Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2010. 96pp.
* "Agricola's Campaigns", special issue of ''[[Ancient Warfare (magazine)|Ancient Warfare]]'', 1/1 (2007)
* Wolfson, Stan. ''Tacitus, Thule and Caledonia: the achievements of Agricola's navy in their true perspective''. Oxford, England: Archaeopress, 2008. 118pp. (BAR British series; 459).

==External links==
{{wikisource|Agricola}}
* [http://www.roman-britain.co.uk/people/julius-agricola/ Gnaeus Julius Agricola] at [http://www.roman-britain.co.uk/ the Roman-Britain.co.uk] 
* [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9090 Germania and Agricola] at [[Project Gutenberg]]
* [http://dcc.dickinson.edu/tacitus-agricola/preface Agricola] at [[Dickinson College Commentaries]] - Latin text with notes and vocabulary

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{{s-bef|before=[[Gaius Catellius Celer|Gaius Catellius Celer Gaius Arruntius Catellius Celer]],<br/>and [[Marcus Arruntius Aquila (consul 77)|Marcus Arruntius Aquila]]|as=Suffect consul}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of early imperial Roman consuls|Suffect Consul]] of the [[Roman Republic]]|regent1='''ignotus''' |years=77}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Decimus Junius Novius Priscus]],<br/>and [[Lucius Ceionius Commodus (consul 78)|Lucius Ceionius Commodus]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Sextus Julius Frontinus]]}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[[Roman governors of Britain]]|years= 78–85}} 
{{s-aft|after=[[Sallustius Lucullus]]}}
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{{Ancient Rome topics}}
{{Ancient seafaring}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Julius Agricola, Gnaeus}}
[[Category:40 births]]
[[Category:93 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Fréjus]]
[[Category:1st-century Gallo-Roman people]]
[[Category:Generals of Vespasian]]
[[Category:Generals of Domitian]]
[[Category:Roman governors of Britain]]
[[Category:Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome]]
[[Category:Tacitus]]
[[Category:Julii|Agricola, Gnaeus]]
[[Category:Roman governors of Gallia Aquitania]]
[[Category:Ancient Massaliotes]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman generals]]
[[Category:Imperial Roman praetors]]