Appian of Alexandria, Civil Wars, Horace White (Translator), 4.8.60

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[60] Dolabella was spending his time in Ionia, having put Trebonius to death, levied tribute on the towns, and hired a naval force, by means of Lucius Figulus, from the Rhodians, Lycians, Pamphylians, and Cilicians. When this was in readiness he advanced toward Syria, leading two legions by land while Figulus proceeded by sea. After he had learned of the forces of Cassius he passed on to Laodicea,¹ a city friendly to himself, situated on a peninsula, fortified on the landward side and having a roadstead in the sea, so that supplies might be easily obtained by water and he might sail away securely whenever he wished. When Cassius learned this, fearing lest Dolabella should escape him, he threw up a mound across the isthmus, two stades in length, composed of stones and all sorts of material brought together from suburban houses and tombs, and at the same time sent to Phoenicia, Lycia, and Rhodes for ships.²

Civil Wars. Appian of Alexandria. Horace White (Translator). New York. 1899.

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Current edition Perseus

The Roman History: The Civil Wars (English) (Appianus. The Roman History of Appian of Alexandria, Volume 2: The Civil Wars. White, Horace, translator. New York: The Macmillan Company. London: Macmillan and Co. Ltd. 1899.)

Editions (1)

Ἐμφυλίων Πρώτη Perseus (Appianus. Appiani Historia Romana, Volume 2. Mendelssohn, Ludwig, editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1881.) — 4.8.60 focus

[60] Δολοβέλλας δὲ διέτριψε μὲν περὶ τὴν Ἰωνίαν, κτείνων Τρεβώνιον καὶ ταῖς πόλεσιν ἐπιβάλλων ἐσφορὰς καὶ ναυτικὸν ἀγείρων ἐπὶ μισθῷ διὰ Λευκίου Φίγλου παρά τε Ῥοδίων καὶ Λυκίων καὶ Παμφύλων καὶ ἐκ Κιλικίας· ὡς δέ οἱ τάδε ἕτοιμα ἦν· ἐπῄει τῇ Συρίᾳ, κατὰ μὲν τὴν γῆν αὐτὸς μετὰ δύο τελῶν, διὰ δὲ τῆς θαλάσσης ὁ Φίγλος. πυθόμενος δὲ τῆς Κασσίου στρατιᾶς ἐς Λαοδίκειαν οἰκείως ἔχουσάν οἱ παρῆλθεν, ἐπί τε χερρονήσου συνῳκισμένην καὶ τὰ ἐκ τῆς γῆς ὠχυρωμένην καὶ ἐς τὸ πέλαγος ἔχουσαν ὅρμον, ὅθεν ἔμελλεν εὐπορήσειν τε ἀγορᾶς ἀπὸ θαλάσσης καὶ ἀδεῶς, ὅτε βούλοιτο, ἀποπλευσεῖσθαι. ὧν αἰσθανόμενος ὁ Κάσσιος καὶ δεδιώς, μὴ αὑτὸν ὁ Δολοβέλλας διαφύγοι, τόν τε ἴσθμὸν ἔχου διστάδιον ὄντα, λίθους καὶ πᾶσαν ὕλην ἐξ ἐπαύλεων καὶ προαστείων καὶ τάφων συμφέρων, καὶ ἐπὶ ναῦς περιέπεμπεν ἔς τε Φοινίκην καὶ Λυκίαν καὶ Ῥόδον.

Notes on the current edition

Civil Wars

1. There were five Laodiceas in the dominions of the Seleucidae, all named after the mother of Seleucus ( Syr. 57). This one was on the coast of Syria, the modern Latikiyeh.

2. Among the letters of Cicero are two written by P. Lentulus, the quaestor of Trebonius, dated Perge, Pamphylia, May 29 and June 2, the former to Cicero and the latter to the Senate, which throw light on the movements of Dolabella before he shut himself up in Laodicea. He says that he has learned from deserters from Dolabella’s army that before throwing himself into the latter place Dolabella tried to get possession of Antioch, but was not allowed to enter. Then he made several attempts to gain entrance by force, but was each time repulsed with severe loss. After losing about a hundred men he fled by night from Antioch in the direction of Laodicea, leaving his sick and wounded. That night nearly all of his Asiatic troops deserted him, and 800 of them returned to Antioch and surrendered themselves to the officers whom Cassius had left to guard the town. The remainder, of whom my informants were a part, came into Cilicia by way of Mount Amanus. They said that Cassius, with his entire army, was only four days’ march from Laodicea when Dolabella started thither, for which reason I am confident that this most infamous robber will get his deserts sooner than we had anticipated. ( Ad Fam. xii. 15.)

Appian of Alexandria Civil Wars 4.8.60

Horace White (Translator)

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