The Siege and naval Battle of Massilia was an episode of Caesar's civil war

Caesar's civil war

The Great Roman Civil War , also known as Caesar's Civil War, was one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire...

, fought in 49 BC

49 BC

Year 49 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lentulus and Marcellus...

.

Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus

Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 54 BC)

Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, consul 54 BC, was an enemy of Julius Caesar and a strong supporter of the aristocratic party in the late Roman Republic.He is first mentioned in 70 BC by Cicero as a witness against Verres...

 had become proconsul

Proconsul

A proconsul was a governor of a province in the Roman Republic appointed for one year by the senate. In modern usage, the title has been used for a person from one country ruling another country or bluntly interfering in another country's internal affairs.-Ancient Rome:In the Roman Republic, a...

 of Gaul and was sent to gain control of Massilia (modern Marseille

Marseille

Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

) in order to oppose Caesar. As Caesar marched to Spain (en route to the Battle of Ilerda

Battle of Ilerda

The Battle of Ilerda took place in June 49 BC between the forces of Julius Caesar and the Spanish army of Pompey the Great, led by his legates Lucius Afranius and Marcus Petreius...

), the Massiliots closed their gates to him, having allied with Ahenobarbus and the Optimates. Roused by their hostile actions, he commenced a siege against Massilia, leaving the newly raised XVII, XVIII, and XIX legions to conduct the siege. These were the same legions that would be wiped out at Teutoburg Forest 58 years later. He also placed Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus

Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus

Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus was a Roman politician and general of the 1st century BC and one of the leading instigators of Julius Caesar's assassination...

 in charge of his fleet there.

After the siege had begun, Ahenobarbus arrived in Massilia to defend it against the Caesarian forces. In late June, Caesar's ships, although they were less skillfully built than those of the Massiliots and outnumbered, were victorious in the ensuing naval battle.

Gaius Trebonius, Caesar's legatus

Legatus

A legatus was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer. Being of senatorial rank, his immediate superior was the dux, and he outranked all military tribunes...

, conducted the siege using a variety of siege machines including siege tower

Siege tower

A siege tower is a specialized siege engine, constructed to protect assailants and ladders while approaching the defensive walls of a fortification. The tower was often rectangular with four wheels with its height roughly equal to that of the wall or sometimes higher to allow archers to stand on...

s, a siege-ramp, and a "testudo-ram".
Gaius Scribonius Curio

Gaius Scribonius Curio

Gaius Scribonius Curio was the name of a father and son who lived in the late Roman Republic.-Father:Gaius Scribonius Curio was a Roman statesman and orator. He was nicknamed Burbulieus for the way he moved his body while speaking...

, careless in adequately guarding the Sicilian Straits

Strait of Sicily

The Strait of Sicily is the strait between Sicily and Tunisia. It is about wide and divides the Tyrrhenian Sea and the western Mediterranean Sea from the eastern Mediterranean. Its maximum depth is ....

, allowed Lucius Nasidius to bring more ships to the aid of Ahenobarbus. He fought a second naval battle with Decimus Brutus in early September, but withdrew defeated and sailed for Spain.

The Massiliots valiantly defended against the siege machines and works. They threw down burning pitch and pine-shavings and the Caesarians undermined the foundations of their city walls. At one point they seemed likely to surrender and declare a truce, but at night they cunningly destroyed the siege works in a gross violation of the treaty. They were then near surrender.

At the final surrender of Massilia, Caesar showed his usual leniency and Lucius Ahenobarbus escaped to Thessaly in the only vessel that was able to escape from the Populares. Afterwards, Massilia lost its independence and was absorbed into the Roman Republic

Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

.

Trivia

• The siege is the setting for Last Seen in Massilia in the Roma Sub Rosa
  Roma Sub Rosa
  Roma Sub Rosa is the title of the series of mystery novels by Steven Saylor set in, and populated by, noteworthy denizens of ancient Rome. The series is noted for its historical authenticity. The phrase "Roma Sub Rosa" means, in Latin, "Rome under the rose"...
  
  detective series by Steven Saylor.