Volume 3: The First Crotone War, Chapter 3: The First Senate Meeting (3)

Cornelius could now see clearly: Davos was restructuring the political framework of a new Amendolara. With Davos already in control of Amendolara and the Senate, the only thing Cornelius could do was nod.

Naturally, the appointments of these two men passed smoothly as well.

“Lord… Magistrate, after we cleared out the spoils seized from the Lucanians, the treasury of Amendolara has only a little over three thousand drachmas…” Mesis reminded.

“Ha! Just elected and already starting work—this public official’s enthusiasm is way too high!” Epithenis joked, and the crowd burst into laughter.

“Three thousand silver coins—that’s not even one talent…” Davos murmured, frowning slightly.

Cornelius felt his face burn. He quickly explained, “Amendolara has no harbor, and not many merchants come to trade. As for the stone quarry we’ve opened, many other city-states have their own. Only Heraclea buys some from us each year…”

“It seems we need to establish a commercial officer, someone specifically in charge of trade, to think of more ways to earn money for Amendolara,” Davos said.

Mesis’s eyes lit up. He immediately spoke up, “I recommend Mariji for that commercial officer position!”

“Oh? Have you patched things up with him now?” Davos asked, somewhat surprised.

In truth, it wasn’t that Mesis had improved his relationship with Mariji, but rather that Mesis wouldn’t stand in the way of money—because Mariji truly knew how to earn it, and Mesis was well aware of that.

“Mariji may be a Persian, but his commercial skills are really strong. The market he ran near our camp was a great success!” Olivus shouted from the back rows.

“I also agree with him being commercial officer. I’ve been to that market—it was indeed very lively,” Epithenis added.

“Olivus has his eye on the man’s daughter and is trying to curry favor with his future father-in-law,” Matonis chimed in, exposing Olivus’s old secrets.

“Shut up, you big oaf!” Olivus snapped.

“Quiet! The Senate is a sacred place, not a venue for insults! Whoever speaks out of turn again will be thrown out!” Davos glared at the two men. It had been a good proposal, but their meddling risked causing others to misread the situation.

Matonis and Olivus quickly fell silent.

“This Mariji—he’s a Persian?” Cornelius asked doubtfully.

“He was, but later, because of persecution by the Persian king, he defected with his whole family. He fought alongside us through Persia, came with us to Magna Graecia, and took part in the battle against the Lucanians. He is one of our mercenary comrades, so he is now a citizen of Amendolara. This morning, I dispatched him as an envoy to Tarentum to negotiate an alliance. He truly is an exceptionally talented man! I believe that with him as commercial officer, our treasury’s gold and silver will increase significantly!” Davos praised Mariji highly.

Cornelius listened intently. He hesitated at Davos’s proposal and glanced several times at Raphias, as if to say: You’re the new Registrar—don’t you have an opinion? Don’t leave all the opposition to me!

Raphias hesitated, then stood up and said, “But he’s a Persian… No Greek city-state has ever—"

“So what if he’s Persian! As long as he sincerely wishes to become our citizen and has already rendered us so many services, we should accept him!” Davos abruptly stood up, facing everyone in the assembly, and said loudly, “I was planning to say some things at a more opportune time, but since the Registrar has raised this sensitive issue, let me share some of my views with you.”

“Everyone knows that in almost all Greek city-states, citizenship is hard to obtain. The richer and stronger the city-state, the harder it is. For example, in Sparta, it’s nearly impossible for an outsider to gain citizenship. In Athens, the current rule is that only a child whose both parents are Athenians can become an Athenian citizen upon reaching adulthood. Why is citizenship so hard to get?” Davos posed the question loudly. The assembled men fell silent for a moment, especially the new citizens, who recalled the sweat and blood they had paid, the enormous risks they had endured to earn that citizenship. Davos’s words struck a chord.

“Because they fear outsiders sharing in the political rights, lands, and wealth of the city-state!” Alexis said bitterly.

“Exactly! This selfishness of Greek city-states has led them to reject outsiders, and at the same time, they have given up the chance to grow stronger! After Athens’ disastrous defeat in Sicily, it never recovered—why? Because they didn’t have enough young adult citizens. Sparta, even though it now dominates Greece, relies mainly on mercenaries and allies for overseas campaigns—why? Because they have only about 3,500 citizens, and they need to prevent a revolt of the Helots at home. Sparta’s war-loving citizens will only dwindle, and eventually it will lose its Greek hegemony. Look at our neighbor Thurii: after losing the battle against the Lucanian coalition, even knowing we had defeated the Lucanians, they were so cautious they didn’t even dare open their gates—why? Because they don’t have enough young citizens left, and they fear we might storm in and plunder them.”

Everyone laughed, including the old citizens. On the matter of Thurii, they all shared the same understanding.

“Then consider Persia, where we once went. Is Persia’s territory big?” Davos asked.

“Big! Huge!” the new citizens answered in unison.

“Do the Persians have many people?”

“Many! People of all races!”

“You know, Persia started out as just a small tribe, oppressed by the Medes. But their tribal leader, Cyrus, was very wise and open-minded. He treated neighboring tribes amicably and generously accepted other peoples. The races oppressed by the Medes, who dominated the Mesopotamian plain, flocked to him. Eventually, even their former enemies, the Medes, surrendered to Persia. Persia rolled downhill like a snowball, growing bigger and bigger, and in just a few decades, a small tribe turned into a great empire…”

Everyone listened attentively to Davos’s account of Persian history, including the well-educated Cornelius and his peers, who knew little about the great Eastern power and found the story fascinating.

“Why is the Persian Empire powerful? Because it tolerantly accepts other peoples as its own. Just as the Mediterranean is vast because countless rivers flow into it.” Davos’s words made the crowd ponder.

“As I said before, if you’re content to just farm day after day in a small city-state until other city-states and powers grow strong, march their armies to your gates, and force you to surrender and become their vassals—then I’ll say no more. But if you aren’t satisfied with today’s mediocrity and want to make Amendolara stronger, so that it no longer suffers bullying from other powers, then remember: people are always a city-state’s greatest wealth! Our Amendolara should not imitate other city-states in being closed and conservative! We must be open! We must sincerely accept everyone willing to join Amendolara and contribute to its prosperity—no matter where they come from. Only then will our strength grow quickly and increase! You might say that Amendolara doesn’t have enough land and wealth to share with them—but that’s because you’re only staring at the narrow land of Amendolara!”

Davos swept his gaze across the assembly, pointed his left hand forcefully toward the west, and said with brimming passion: “Look around us: to the west are the Lucanians and Bruttians; to the east, the Messapians, Peucetii, and Daunians; and I hear to the north there are the Samnites… and many other native peoples. Do the lands and wealth they possess not suffice for sharing?!”

“Defeat them! Seize their lands!…” The platoon leaders, led by Matonis, howled with excitement, and most of the other new citizens were ablaze with fervor, for this was the first time their leader Davos had shown them such grand aspirations. For these former mercenaries, who had broadened their horizons in Persia, after satisfying the basic need of becoming city-state citizens, Davos gave them an even greater ambition. It immediately provided new motivation for these men, who could no longer farm, herd, or do agricultural work and were accustomed to the battlefield, and it became their lifelong goal. It also became the greatest source of support for Davos to consolidate his power.