Chapter 30 Battle of the Amon River (Part 2)
Since the manpower required to build three temples is still relatively large, Lepidus, in addition to leaving behind the three large groups of supervisors of the Serapis Legion, led other teams to retreat to the Zigzag-shaped camp in the center of the Kingdom Basin to rest. He also asked several brigades to cooperate with the Esio people to continue to attack the remaining troops of Garamantes in the remote mountains.
After a market day, Lepidus, with fifty slave soldiers and Spanish swordsmen, entered the enemy kingdom's so-called royal city lightly equipped with simple equipment. It was a relatively simple palace and a well-defended acropolis. However, in Gala The Manthes were hastily burned as they evacuated. Then the man who was named king used the lion-legged chair that could only be used by kings, and sat in the main hall of the palace full of ruined pillars. He wore the uniform of a Roman general and the blue crown of the Pharaoh royal family. , received the gifts and oaths of allegiance from Sammones and the Aesios, as well as the small statue of Venus presented by the legionnaires. After ten bulls and thirty sheep were sacrificed, they were made public in front of nearly 10,000 soldiers. Order to continue "hunting" the Garamantes:
"I have always believed that I have never been a monarch. This is very contrary to the concept of the Republic. It was just an expedient measure to temporarily govern this unruly place. I, the two great countries of Rome and Egypt, initiated this expedition, so this military operation It was completely legal, and authorized by the actual commander Basatus. My reason for attacking the Garamantes was very legitimate, because they tortured the friendly Aesios who were vassal to Rome like animals, so I punished them on behalf of justice. They, but their kingdom's military force is so powerful that if I give up halfway, it will definitely pose a serious threat to my logistics supply line when suppressing the Hasidic uprising in Cyrenaica. I remember a proverb says this. If God grants you wealth but you are timid, then God's wrath and destruction may follow. In the end, what we can do is to completely eradicate this kingdom, eliminate their elite aristocrats, and destroy this kingdom. The best weapons of the kingdom, the chariots, the fortresses, and the many weapons that would harm the Romans, let this land make swords and plowshares, and enjoy everlasting peace, I ask and encourage you now, my great and best warriors. Go and unite with the Esios, who are good at fighting in the mountains and caves, and kill all the Garamantes who have shaved the left side of their hair (their nobles will shave the left side of their hair) - my legionnaires took off one The head of a nobleman will be rewarded with five hundred sesterces; the head of a relative of a nobleman will be rewarded with 200 sesterces; if he is a military slave, he will be rewarded with 200 sesterces if he becomes a regular legionnaire; Anyone in the army will be rewarded with 10,000 dinars or 8,000 drachmas if he beheads him. But we must be aware that our purpose is not to kill like crazy, so you set fire to the cave. If so, we must have a temperate heart and preserve the lives of farmers and craftsmen. As long as the other party is willing to reveal their identity and search for possible hidden weapons, these people will be pardoned. "
Afterwards, Lepidus led his guards and advanced five hundred stadias along the river beside the abandoned royal city. Everywhere he looked were the corpses of the Garamantes and the burning corpses. In the village, every day at sunset, many soldiers with one or more heads in their belts came to ask for rewards. Among them was a centurion from Bagulus, who was credited with beheading seventeen people in a row with his men in one day. A nobleman, the heads of sixty-three noble relatives were nicknamed "Skull Necklace Craftsman".
Those Ethiopian people who were motivated by revenge were even more unrestrained in killing. These backward barbarians with ostrich feathers probably had not thought that one day they would be able to counterattack. They liberated all the slaves of the same race in the farms and mines, forming about four groups. The revenge army of thousands of people carried out indiscriminate massacres non-stop and committed horrific war crimes every day. The Garamantes, the bravest and most civilized nomads in Libya (of course they have long since transitioned to farming and military life), can now only live in caves like the Esios they despised before. As gophers who never saw the light of day, they could not even escape across the mountains, because further west, until the Pillar of Hercules, there was an uninhabited sea of sand.
About a month into the horrific journey, the cave where King Garamantes was hiding was found by Centurion Polo. Tus. Polo stood at the entrance of the cave and used the kindest tone possible to persuade the king to come out of the cave and accept mercy. The placement of the general.
But the king told the Aesio translator that he was neither willing to live in this fertile land with the Aesios, a lowly people, nor to go to Lepidus, because their ancestors had taught him that he As a king, he can only go to see foreign kings who were defeated by him.
"But our general is the monarch of Cyrenaica, and legally you are just his subordinate king." Before Polo could persuade him, the screams of women and children came from the cave, and he turned to the people behind him. The soldier shrugged and said, "Wait here quietly for a while, and then carry the royal body to the general to collect the reward."
King Garamantes committed suicide together with his seven wives, concubines, and eleven children in a dark cave. Their bodies were ceremoniously buried by Lepidus. Then Lepidus issued a severe decree, requiring that the roundup be stopped immediately, and all Garamantes Si captured the citizens and went with the Aisio people to help build the temple.
Two months later, three temples stood in front of the ruins of Asamangals. Lepidus only presented the spoils of war in front of the temple of the goddess of hunting, which was a promise he had made to his daughter. Then he announced to all the Ethiopians, the remaining Garamanthes, and the soldiers of the two legions that the Pharaoh had allowed him to establish a treasurer in this country!
All the soldiers cheered enthusiastically. Lepidus promised to take some time to let the scribes measure the land and then grant it to them. The farmers were the Ethiopians and Garamanthes. From then on, this kingdom would establish a Curia Assembly similar to the Roman Republic. The treasurer would occupy one-third of the seats, the Ethiopian nobles would occupy one-third, and the Garamanthes would also occupy one-third, in order to achieve long-term stability.
This was all a trick played by Lepidus. His seat allocation seemed very balanced, but in fact, Ecio and Garamanthes were completely hostile to each other. No matter which side showed signs of restlessness, the other side would definitely turn to him, so he always had two-thirds of the power to suppress the local area.
As for the revenge army composed of Ecio's liberated slaves, they were all "eaten" by Lepidus. He organized them into eight independent auxiliary battalions, using spears and slingshots to fight, and served as his vanguard in the northward expedition to Cyrene. "Because I am the one who saved you, I am your patron. I hope you poor people can understand this justice." (To be continued...)