On The Alexandrian War. Andrea Pietro Cornalba
dead. Following this event, Caesar considered it more convenient for him to keep the king in his power, considering the ascendancy that he had over his subjects but also to make it appear that the war was not waged out of royal will, but only because of initiative of private citizens and unscrupulous adventurers.
110.
The troops at Achilla's disposal were not despicable either by numerical strength or by military experience: they amounted to 20,000 men of which a part was made up of former legionnaires of Aulus Gabinius, who had remained in Alexandria getting used to that licentious life and now forgetful of the good name of the Roman army and its discipline; many of these had married, and some also had children. Another part was made up of thieves and murderers gathered in Syria, Cilicia and neighbouring regions; also sentenced to death and exiles were enrolled with these. After all, Alexandria, for all our runaway slaves, was a safe haven as long as they enlisted in the army. It also happened, in the event that one of them had been taken over by the master, that the companions went to free him to take him back with them, considering this as the right thing being themselves in the same condition as the companion, and this action was a guarantee for all of them. This composite army used to tyrannise the pharaoh asking for the death of the unwelcome advisers, to plunder the assets of the wealthiest and to besiege the royal palace to obtain a salary increase, to expel the unwanted kings from the kingdom to put others in it. The strength of this army was also given by the presence of 2000 knights and by the fact that they were veterans of many wars on behalf of Alexandria among which the one who put Ptolemy XII on the throne (12), the one with the killing of the two sons of Bibulo and others against the Egyptian people, all things that made them expert soldiers.
111.
Trusting in the value of his soldiers and despising the small number of those available to Caesar, Achilla occupied that large part of the city of Alexandria which was not controlled by the Romans. In the first assault he tried to raid the residence chosen by Caesar to stay there, but the Roman cohorts located in the neighbouring streets supported the assault; but almost simultaneously he attacked at the port, which turned out to be the real target and a much more demanding attack to be repelled. The enemies had divided into squads to be able to fight in several ways, trying with a considerable number of soldiers to take over the many Egyptian warships present in the port. Among those were the 50 sent to aid Pompeo who had returned to Alexandria with the end of the war in Thessaly, it was a question of quadriremi and quinqueremi perfectly equipped and ready for battle. In addition to those there were 22 others, also equipped with a covered bridge, which served as a normal military garrison in Alexandria. If the Alexandrians had succeeded in regaining possession of those ships, they would have taken control of the port and all the surrounding sea, preventing Caesar from providing food and help. For this reason, at the port they fought fiercely, the Alexandrians in the hope of a quick victory, the Romans for their salvation. Caesar's men got the better of it, but since it was too large an area to be defended, Caesar thought it wise to set fire to all those ships and even those in the dry dock (the fire will also spread to the Great Library), so he immediately landed some soldiers at the Great Lighthouse at the mouth of the port.
112.
The Grande Faro is a large, very tall tower of admirable workmanship which bears the name of the island on which it was built; this island was in front of the city creating the port. The first kings of the city threw a long pier of 900 steps (675 meters) that united it to the city almost like a bridge, albeit with a narrow passage. On this island there is a district as big as a city whose inhabitants are also devoted to piracy on those ships that, due to inexperience or storm, end up defenceless too close to the island. Another thing to mention is the fact that due to the narrow access opening to the Grand Port, no one could enter it without the consent of the person who controls it. This is why Caesar, aware of the strategic value of that position for his supplies, while the enemies were busy at the port makes you land soldiers, occupied the Faro tower and placed a garrison there, thus ensuring the flow of wheat by sea and reinforcements which, moreover, he had already arranged to request from all the neighbouring provinces.
In other parts of the city where there was fighting, there were neither losers nor winners, mainly because of the too cramped places, so that few men were killed. During the night Caesar fortified those strategically important points that were in his possession. In that part of the city controlled by Caesar on the mainland, there was a part of the palace that Caesar had immediately used as his residence and a theatre connected to the palace that was used as a stronghold. That area was also connected to the king's port and shipyards; all these parts were fortified in the following days so that they became its walls, to have the possibility of not engaging in fights against one's will.
In the meantime, in the enemy camp it happened that the younger daughter of Ptolemy XII (12), in the hope of occupying the vacant kingdom, left the palace to take refuge with Achilla with the intent to conduct the war with him. But soon discord arose between them regarding the supreme command of the operations, triggering a contest of donations to the soldiers to ingratiate them. Meanwhile, the eunuch Potino, regent of the boy, even though he was with Caesar, sent ambassadors to Achilla urging him not to desist from the undertaking and remain in mind, but he was reported to Caesar who had him killed.
These were the beginnings of the Alexandrian war.
END OF THE BOOK (De Bello Civili)
On the Alexandrian War
De Bello Alexandrino
1.
Gaius Julius Caesar, even before the Alexandrian War broke out, had already called the fleet from Rhodes, Syria and Cilicia, asked for archers in Crete, cavalry in Malco I (1) King of the Nabataeans, made to look for war machines everywhere , in addition to food and aid. At the same time, in Alexandria, Caesar fortifies the part of the city under his control, building defensive works and displacing "tortoises" (military formations) and "cloaks" (an unclear term that can indicate many things or military units, more likely darts protections) where his defences appear weaker. It also creates loopholes in buildings to target the enemy; he knocks down nearby and useless buildings with rams and other means by reusing the recovered material to complete the construction of the defensive perimeter and when he takes possession of new buildings with weapons, he immediately includes them in the defence system.
2.
The Alessandrini, for their part, were not slow to react and wasted no time; they sent messengers and delegates throughout the Egyptian territory, gathering a large mass of armed men and war machines. Large arms workshops had been created in the city and all the skilled slaves had been included in the ranks, while the wealthy Alexandrians took care of feeding them and paying them.
The Alessandrini controlled the peripheral districts of the city; they had well distributed the many men at their disposal, while the more expert units were stationed at strategic points and exempted from the fortification works, so that they were always ready and operational. All crossroads and roads were closed by a triple bastion up to 40 feet high (10 meters, a measure that seems exaggerated or that perhaps refers to towers with much lower walls, however they would be 3/4 floors) and built with stones well squared. The lower quarters were defended by towers up to 10 floors high (one floor was slightly taller than a man then 15/18 meters) and there were other mobile ones, placed on wheels and moved with ropes and horses where needed .
3.
The city, rich and abundantly equipped with everything, had allowed the inhabitants, who were largely hardworking and skilled craftsmen, to build all those works suitable for war so well that, ours, seemed to be a copy of theirs; besides these, they made others of their own invention and, with all these, they fought in an orderly and well-coordinated way.
In addition to this, they added the determination infused by the incitement of their eminent representative, who in the city assemblies ironically stated that inexplicably the Romans had taken the habit of settling in Egypt: years before Aulus Gabinius had come with an army, then Pompey had come to seek refuge there, and even the murder of Pompey had not prevented Caesar from coming and stopping here; therefore they had to brigade to hunt it otherwise Egypt would have become a Roman province, and this had to be done now that