31.10
Whilst
all men's minds were turned to the Macedonian war, rumours suddenly arose
of an outbreak of the Gauls, the last thing that was apprehended. The
Insubres and Cenomani in conjunction with the Boii, who had induced the
Celines and Ilvates and the other Ligurian tribes to join them, had taken up
arms under Hamilcar, a Carthaginian general, who had held a command in
Hasdrubal's army and had remained in the country. They had stormed and
sacked Placentia and in their blind rage had destroyed most of the city by
fire, hardly 2000 men being left amid the smoking ruins. Thence, crossing the
Po, they advanced with the intention of sacking Cremona. Hearing of the
disaster which had overtaken their neighbours the townsmen had time to
close their gates and man their walls so that they might, at all events, be able
to stand a siege and send a message to the Roman praetor before the final
assault. I,. Furius Purpureo was in charge of that province at the time, and
acting under the resolution of the senate had disbanded his army, retaining
only 5000 from the Latin and allied contingents. With this force he was
encamped in the neighbourhood of Ariminum. In a despatch to the senate he
described the serious condition of his province; of the two military colonies
which had weathered the terrible storm of the Punic War one was taken and
destroyed by the enemy and the other was being attacked. His own army
could not render assistance to the colonists in their distress unless he was
willing to expose his 5000 allied troops to be massacred by the 40,000 of the
enemy -that number was under arms -and by incurring such a fatal disaster
himself raise the courage of the enemy who were exulting over the
destruction of a Roman colony.
