Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 2 - Government, Society, and Culture in the Roman Empire

Government and Diplomacy 201

HesaysthatatAntioch,nearDaphnê,hechancedtomeettheIndian

ambassadorswhohadbeendespatchedtoCaesarAugustus;thatthelet-

terplainlyindicatedmorethanthreeambassadors,butthatonlythree

hadsurvived(whomhesayshesaw),buttherest,mostlybyreasonof

thelongjourneys,haddied;andthattheletterwaswritteninGreek

on a skin; and that it plainly showed that Porus was the writer, and

that,althoughhewasrulerofsixhundredkings,stillhewasanxious

tobeafriendtoCaesar,andwasready,notonlytoallowhimapas-

sage through his country,wherever hewished to go, but also to co-

operatewithhiminanythingthatwashonourable.Nicolaussaysthat

thiswasthecontentofthelettertoCaesar,andthatthegiftscarriedto

Caesarwerepresentedbyeightnakedservants,whowerecladonlyin

loin-clothsbesprinkledwithsweet-smellingodours;andthatthegifts

consistedoftheHermes,amanwhowasbornwithoutarms,whomI

myself haveseen,andlargevipers,andaserpenttencubitsinlength,

andarivertortoisethreecubitsinlength,andapartridgelargerthan

avulture.

WehappentoknowfromCassiusDio’sRoman Historythatthisembassy,or
whatwasleftofit,appearedbeforeAugustuswhenhewasspendingthewin-
terof20–19b.c.onSamos(54,9,8–10).Augustushadalsospenttheprevious
winteronSamos,andthereanEthiopianembassyhadreachedhim,senton
bytheprefectof Egypt.Straboagaingivesaveryilluminatingaccountof
thereactionofthisEthiopianembassy,originallysentbyQueenCandace,
when the prefect told the embassy that they must go on from him to the
Emperor(Geography,17,1,54,820–21):

MeantimeCandacemarchedagainstthegarrisonwithmanythousands

ofmen,butPetroniussetouttoitsassistanceandarrivedatthefortress

first;andwhenhehadmadetheplacethoroughlysecurebysundryde-

vices,ambassadorscame,buthebadethemgotoCaesar;andwhenthey

assertedthattheydidnotknowwhoCaesarwasorwheretheyshould

havetogotofindhim,hegavethemescorts;andtheywenttoSamos,

since Caesar was there and intended to proceed to Syria from there,

afterdespatchingTiberiustoArmenia.Andwhentheambassadorshad

obtainedeverythingtheypledfor,heevenremittedthetributeswhich

hehadimposed.

Theambassadors’reactionintroduces,veryearlyinthehistoryoftheEm-
pire,aquestiontobecomeofeverincreasingrelevance,especiallyfromthe
middleofthesecondcenturyonwards.Ifitwerenecessarytoappearbefore