The Roman Republic
WhatconsequencesdidRomanpoliticalhistoryhaveforthepopulations
of the different regions? Suppose, for example, that we ask ourselves not
aboutCaesarandhisrivalsbutaboutthoseAlpinevillagers.Atthetimeto
which the anecdote relates the Alpine passes from Italy into Gaul are re-
portedtohavebeendangerousandunsecured.MerchantsandevenRoman
armiestravellingoverthemhadtopayhightollstothemountainpeoples,
andCaesar’seffortstochangethathadnolastingeffect.^3 Yet,bycontrast,Vit-
ruviushappenstopreserveaninstanceofhowCaesar’soperationsdidserve
to integrate one mountain village into a wider economy. One year when
he was operating in the foothills of the Alps—probably the eastern Alps,
betweenAquileiaandVirunum—Caesarorderedthelocalcommunitiesto
providesupplies.Onefortifiedvillage(castellum)refusedandwasbesieged.
Attemptstoburndownitswoodentowerstotallyfailed,demonstratingthe
propertiesofthelarchwoodofwhichtheywerebuilt.Inconsequencethe
villageearnednotonlytheLatinname‘‘Larignum’’butalsoatradeinlarch-
wood,which by Augustus’ timewas in use in the towns along the Po and
downthecoastsouthwardstoRavenna,Ariminum,Pisaurum,andFanum.^4
Bycontrast,theSalassioftheVald’Aostawerefinally‘‘integrated’’bymili-
tarydefeatin..; , combatants and , non-combatants were
sold as slaves,while a Roman colony was established at Aosta.^5 In this case
theinterventionoftheRomanstatewasdrasticanddecisive.Elsewhereit
mightbemorepartial,indirect,andindecisive—partialinbothsenses,for
CaesarsoonlearnedinGaulthatthebarbarianorsemi-barbarianpeoplesof
thewestcouldgoinforfactionfightsjustassavageasthoseatRome,andhe
intervenedrepeatedlyinthemhimself.ThesamewastrueintheAlpinearea
itself.In..Cicero’sfriendCaeliuswearilyreportedfromsomewherein
northernItalythatagarrisoncommanderservinginPompey’sforcesinthe
MaritimeAlpshadbeenbribedbyonefactionamongtheIntimiliitomur-
deralordleadertherenamedComitius,whowasaformerhostofCaesar.
The people of Intimilium had reacted by taking to arms, and Caelius was
obligedtosetoffwithsomecohortsthroughthesnowtorestoreorder.^6
Thecommoncharacteristicofthesecases,allfromtheAlpineregion,is
thattheyshowaninteractionbetweentheactivitiesoftheRomanstateinthe
. Caesar,BG,,,and,,–.
. Vitruvius,,,–.SeeJ.Sasel,‘‘CastellumLarignum(Vitr.,,),’’Historia
():–,forthesuggestedidentificationwithLarix in Itinerarium Antonini,.See
nowR.Meiggs,Trees and Timber in the Ancient Mediterranean World(),ff.
. Strabo,Geography,,(–);CassiusDio,,–;cf.Appian,./–;ILS
(showingthatsomesurvivingSalassiwereincludedinthepopulationofthecolony).
. Cicero,Fam.,,(ShackletonBailey,no.).