24.20
Just at
the time when the consuls were withdrawing from Casilinum after their
success, Gracchus sent some cohorts, which he had raised in Lucania under
an officer of the allies, on a plundering expedition in the enemy's territory.
Whilst they were scattered in all directions Hanno attacked them and
inflicted on them as great a loss as he had suffered at Beneventum, after
which he hurriedly retreated into Bruttium lest Gracchus should be on his
track. Marcellus went back to Nola, Fabius marched into Samnium to lay
waste the country and to recover by force of arms the cities which had
revolted. His hand fell most heavily on Caudium; the crops were burnt far
and wide, cattle and men were driven away as plunder, their towns were
taken by assault; Compulteria, Telesia, Compsa, and after these Fugifulae
and Orbitanium, amongst the Lucanians Blandae and the Apulian town of
Aecae, were all captured. In these places 25,000 of the enemy were either
killed or made prisoners and 370 deserters were taken, whom the consul sent
on to Rome; they were all scourged in the Comitium and then flung from the
rock. All these successes were gained by Q. Fabius within a few days.
Marcellus was compelled to remain quiet at Nola owing to illness. The
praetor, Q. Fabius, was also meeting with success; he was operating in the
country round Luceria and captured the town of Acuca, after which he
established a standing camp at Ardaneae.
While the Roman generals were thus engaged elsewhere Hannibal
had reached Tarentum, utterly ruining and destroying everything as he
advanced. It was not till he was in the territory of Tarentum that his army
began to advance peaceably; no injury was inflicted, no foragers or
plunderers left the line of march, and it was quite apparent that this
self-restraint on the part of the general and his men was solely with a view to
winning the sympathies of the Tarentines. When, however, he went up to the
walls and there was no such movement as he expected at the sight of his
army, he went into camp about a mile from the city. Three days before his
arrival M. Valerius, the propraetor, who was in command of the fleet at
Brundisium, had sent M. Livius to Tarentum. He speedily embodied a force
out of the young nobility, and posted detachments at the gates and on the
walls wherever it seemed necessary, and by being ever on the alert day and
night gave no chance to either the enemy or the untrustworthy allies of
making any attempt themselves or hoping for anything from Hannibal. After
spending some days there fruitlessly and finding that none of those who had
paid him a visit at Lake Avernus either came in person or sent any messenger
or letter, he recognised that he had been misled by empty promises and
withdrew his army. He still abstained from doing any injury to the Tarentine
territory, although this affectation of mildness had done him no good so far.
He still clung to the hope of undermining their loyalty to Rome. When he
came to Salapia the summer was now over, and as the place seemed suitable
for winter quarters he provisioned it with corn collected from the country
round Metapontum and Heraclea. From this centre the Numidians and
Moors were sent on marauding expeditions through the Sallentine district
and the pasture lands bordering on Apulia; they brought away mostly
quantities of horses, not much plunder of other kinds, and as many as 4000
of these were distributed amongst the troopers to be trained.
