Читать книгу Secrets Of The Rubicon. Rome’s Ruby Red Line онлайн

23 страница из 43

Many legionaries and settlers were offered this land beside this border as a reward, which they accepted, laid down their arms and colonized that place, which was called Roman-dia or Roman-via, which meant Roman crossing or road to Rome.

And, still today, there is a road that crosses it, which is called Via Romea, that is, Road to Rome and, that land, Romagna.

But Caesar suggested that his best Gallic legionaries continued fighting and, as a reward, he proposed to give them Rome itself in exchange, if they followed and supported him in his march to conquer Rome.

However, Roman legionaries and officers were also among Caesar's soldiers. Much discord and many doubts soon arose among them regarding the legitimacy and appropriateness of such an act.

Several Roman legionaries considered such a proposal sacrilegious and that they should remain loyal to Rome forever, while those in favor of the populares²¹ and of Caesar's uncle, Gaius Marius, who had been defeated years before by Sulla, wanted nothing more than to redeem themselves and take revenge on Rome and its optimates.²²