43.19
After
this he led his army back to Oaeneus with the intention of becoming master
of the place, as its situation would be a convenience to him as affording
amongst other things a passage to Libeates, where Gentius had his seat of
government. Whilst he was marching past a strongly held fort called
Daudracum, some who knew the country assured him that nothing would be
gained by the capture of Oaeneus if Daudracum was not in his power; its
position was more advantageous in every way. When he had brought up his
army, the whole of the garrison surrendered. He was much elated at gaining
the place so much more quickly than he had expected, and as he saw what
terror the approach of his army created, he went to reduce eleven other
fortified posts in the same way. Very few had to be stormed; the rest
surrendered voluntarily, and 1500 Roman soldiers who were stationed in
these forts were made prisoners. Carvilius Spoletinus had been most useful
to him in negotiating the surrenders by asserting that he and his men had not
been treated cruelly or harshly. Then he arrived before Oaeneus. This place
could only be taken by a regular siege; it was considerably stronger than the
other places both in the number of its defenders and in the strength of its
fortifications. It is encircled on one side by the river Artatus, and on the
other by a very lofty and almost impassable mountain. These advantages
gave the townsmen courage to resist.
Perseus completely invested the town and began to construct a
raised way against the upper part of it which was to overtop the walls. While
this work was being completed there was continual fighting and sorties in
which the townsmen tried to defend their own walls and at the same time
impede the progress of the enemy's siege-works. A large part of the
population were carried off by the various accidents of war, and the
survivors were rendered useless through their wounds and the incessant toil
and exertions by day and night alike. As soon as the raised way was
connected to the walls the king's cohort, who bear the title of "nicatores,"
passed over it, and at the same time the walls were scaled at many points and
a simultaneous assault was delivered on all sides of the city. All the adult
males were put to the sword, their wives and children were placed under
guard and the rest of the booty went to the soldiers. After this victory he
returned to Stuberra and sent Pleuratus, the Illyrian, who was a refugee in
his suite, and Adaeus, a Macedonian from Beroea, on a mission to Gentius.
Their instructions were to give an account of Perseus's summer and winter
campaigns against the Romans and the Dardanians, and also the results of his
winter expedition in Illyria. They were to urge Gentius to form a league of
friendship with him and the Macedonians.
