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The surrender of Oricum occurred during the Civil War in 48 BC, when Caesar approached the city of Oricum in Illyricum with an armed force, and the Pompeian commander, Lucius Manlius Torquatus, surrendered without a fight.

Sequence of events

At the beginning of 48 BC, Caesar embarked from Brundisium with seven legions and six hundred select cavalry, which he carried on merchant ships, as his small number of warships was guarding Sardinia and Sicily against any approach by the Pompeians. Making for the coast of Illyricum, the fleet was driven to the Ceraunian Mountains, where the army disembarked at Palaeste, a day's march from Oricum. Caesar then sent the ships back to Italy to bring over the rest of his army.

Because it was impossible to bring his entire force to bear upon Oricum by the same route, Caesar divided his troops into several columns, which followed different routes through the mountains that same night. Although the individual columns might have been vulnerable to attack, they reached the city without incident, and re-assembled around daybreak. The Pompeian commander, Lucius Manlius Torquatus, was prepared to defend the town with a force of Parthinian soldiers, but was forbidden by the townsfolk to resist the entry of a Roman consul, and so surrendered the town and garrison without a battle. Caesar pardoned Torquatus, whom he dismissed unharmed, and entered the city.

On the other side of Oricum, two of Pompeius' lieutenants, Lucretius and Minucius, were guarding a grain fleet with eighteen warships. Unable to get the corn to sea following the capitulation of the city, they sank the loaded vessels to prevent Caesar from obtaining the whole supply, then fled to Dyrrachium.

Aftermath

From Oricum, Caesar marched on Apollonia, which likewise capitulated after the Pompeian commander, Lucius Staberius, unable to win the support of the townsfolk, fled before his approach. Although Caesar congratulated his army on their achievement, Pompeius arrived at Dyrrachium ahead of Caesar, and sent a fleet under his son, Gnaeus, who retook Oricum.

See also

• Battle of Dyrrachium

References

1. ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, vol. II, pp. 492, 493 ("Oricum").
2. ^ Appian, Bellum Civile, ii. 54.
3. ^ Caesar, De Bello Civili, iii. 11.
4. Broughton, Magistrates of the Roman Republic, vol. II, p. 277.
5. Broughton, Magistrates of the Roman Republic, vol. II, p. 283.
6. Caesar, De Bello Civili, iii. 12.
7. Appian, Bellum Civile, ii. 55, 56.
8. Caesar, De Bello Civili, iii. 40.

Bibliography

• Gaius Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Civili (Commentaries on the Civil War).
• Appianus Alexandrinus (Appian), Bellum Civile (The Civil War).
• Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1854).
• T. Robert S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, American Philological Association (1952–1986).

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