Volume 3: The First Crotone War Chapter 12: Tarantum's Aid

In the assembly, some were still complaining that two hundred drachmas was too much.

Others retorted that it needed to be higher, so the freedmen would feel that becoming a citizen of Amendolara was not easy and would learn to cherish it.

The next day, word came from Registrar Raphias: the magistrate’s wife, Cheiristoya, had prepaid the fees for ten freedmen, while Mesis had also advanced the money for six.

Only then did everyone realize the value of these freedmen. Leaving aside Mesis’s sharp eye for talent—he had scraped together along the Persian road quite a few literate, numerate men, along with skilled artisans—even the ordinary slaves were mostly strong-bodied. They had been laborers in the baggage camp, had endured multiple battles, and with a little training could become competent soldiers. More importantly, they were mainly Persian farmers. In the Mediterranean region, three groups had excellent experience in crop cultivation: the Persians, whose fertile lands of the Two Rivers had nurtured outstanding farmers; the Egyptians, whose annually flooding Nile Valley made them love only two things—farming and worshiping the gods; and the Carthaginians, whose two great assets were maritime trade and agriculture, for which they had even compiled a farming manual. As for the Greeks, because the homeland’s soil was barren, they were more inclined to maritime trade, herding sheep and goats, growing olives and making wine, and handicrafts… These new citizens, having spent their lives marching and fighting everywhere, were completely ignorant of farming.

Thus, everyone rushed forward, and the three hundred freedmen were quickly divided up. Citizens who failed to hire a freedman had to go to the Tarentum market to buy slaves (at that time, Tarentum had the largest slave market in Magna Graecia). Some citizens even eyed the many freedmen in neighboring Thurii—but that is a story for later.

After the Senate finished dealing with the proposal on slaves, it did not adjourn immediately, because Mariji had returned from Tarentum.

By sea, Amendolara was not far from Tarentum; boarding a ship at the port of Thurii, with favorable winds, one could arrive in less than two hours. Davos had made a mistake by sending Mariji as an envoy to Tarentum—of course, at that time he had no better talent available. As a Persian, Mariji initially could not find an entrance in Tarentum. Fortunately, Archytas had anticipated this situation and wrote a letter for Mariji to deliver to his father Hestiarchos. With Mariji’s flattery and the generous, exotic gifts he brought, the senior senator Hestiarchos energetically mediated on his behalf. As a result, the Tarentine Senate and magistrates showed enthusiasm toward Amendolara’s initiative to seek an alliance with Tarentum.

Of course, it was not because of Hestiarchos alone that Tarentum showed enthusiasm for the mercenaries’ proposal. The real reason was that although Tarentum and Thurii had been at peace for decades and both had joined the defensive league, it was a loose league with little binding power. Since Tarentum had championed the league’s establishment, it actively contributed, but some city-states had deep, accumulated hatreds; they were doing well just not undermining each other—for example, Croton and Locri. Even Tarentum had some lingering resentment toward Thurii. After all, Tarentum, as one of the foremost great states of Magna Graecia, had suffered two consecutive defeats against a newly founded city-state. Though a peace treaty was eventually signed and Heraclea was jointly founded, Tarentum had lost considerable face in Magna Graecia. Now that Amendolara, once an ally of Thurii, sought an alliance with Tarentum, the Tarentine Senate felt greatly honored. Moreover, Amendolara’s joining could well protect their dependent city, Heraclea—why would they disagree!

But another request Mariji made put them in a difficult position: claiming that Amendolara had just suffered war and was desperately short of supplies for survival, he asked Tarentum for assistance. For a newly concluded ally, and Tarentum being a wealthy city-state, providing some material aid was a simple matter. However, the amount Mariji requested was quite large, forcing the senators to discuss the aid.

Not until the next day, when Archytas returned with his troops to Tarentum and reported his expedition’s progress to the Senate, did he strongly emphasize the mercenaries’ combat effectiveness and their leader Davos’s outstanding military talent. He also stressed that the current Amendolara was ruled by these mercenaries—the new citizens.

Earlier, Mariji had already praised the mercenaries’ performance in annihilating the Lucanian allied forces, but this had aroused dissatisfaction among some senators, who thought he was trying to claim Tarentum’s glory. Now that their trusted Archytas also spoke these words, and heaped praise on Davos, they realized that this newborn Amendolara could do more than just shield Heraclea from the wind and rain. Consequently, not only did they not reduce the quantity of supplies Mariji requested, but they even added a few extra items.

When Mariji read the terms of the alliance with Tarentum in the assembly, the old citizens listened without much reaction. An alliance was an alliance—only the partner had changed from Thurii to Tarentum; the content was hardly different. What caught their attention was this Persian, now a citizen of Amendolara, Mariji himself. Not only because of his fluent Greek, but also because they recalled that he had instigated two laws that had left the old citizens with mixed emotions.

Then Mariji read the list of Tarentine aid supplies: one hundred tons of grain, one thousand catties of salted fish, two hundred sets of round shields and spears, one hundred bolts of linen cloth…

With each item’s quantity announced, the faces of the old citizens grew more delighted. Finally, before Mariji had finished reading, everyone cheered: Tarentum is truly generous! Leaving aside everything else, the one hundred tons of grain alone would sustain the entire population of Amendolara for six months. By then, Amendolara’s wheat fields would be ready for harvest. Thus, Amendolara’s greatest difficulty was solved effortlessly, and the senators felt as if they were dreaming.

“Because the quantities are so large, Tarentum will ship them in several batches by sea to Heraclea and then transport them here. The first batch will arrive tomorrow!” As soon as Mariji finished speaking, everyone applauded.

At that moment, Davos seized the opportunity and declared loudly: “Gentlemen, in recognition of Mariji’s great contributions to Amendolara, I propose that Mariji, citizen of Amendolara and commercial officer of the city-state, become a senator of the Senate!”

The proposal received enthusiastic support from the new citizens, and the old citizens reluctantly raised their hands as well.

Next, the Senate decided that Chief Magistrate Cornelius and Ephor Antonios would lead a delegation to Tarentum the following day to express gratitude to the allies and to discuss further details of the alliance treaty.

After the Senate meeting ended, Mariji followed Davos out of the assembly.

“Thank you, lord, for your help! To make me a citizen of Amendolara, appoint me commercial officer, and even a noble senator!” Mariji said gratefully.

“It seems I didn’t deceive you,” Davos chuckled.

“Lord, you always keep your word—how could you deceive anyone!” Mariji seemed to have forgotten what he had said when he first came to Magna Graecia.

“Mariji, remember, this was not my decision. It was the senators’ reward for your contributions to Amendolara!” Davos was both modest and cautionary.

Mariji looked around, then lowered his voice: “What Senate! I know that without you, lord, I wouldn’t even be a citizen of Amendolara. Mariji will always be loyal to you, Lord Davos!”

Mariji spoke with sincere emotion. Davos smiled again and said, “It seems you still need to gradually adapt to life as a citizen of a Greek city-state.”

Mariji was about to continue, but Davos patted him on the shoulder and asked, “How is Tarentum?”

Mariji, a clever man, did not press further. Instead, he said seriously, “Too short a time; I just made a quick tour. I felt that Tarentum’s city is large, with many people, and quite a few wealthy individuals… Their port has many merchant ships, the market is bustling, the daily trade volume is probably considerable…” Mariji’s face showed envy.

Davos nodded and asked, “I heard the Messapians are raiding Tarentum. What is the situation now?”

If he had not joined the mercenary army, Mariji would not have cared about such matters, let alone been able to give a detailed account. But having followed the mercenaries, he had gained some understanding of military affairs: “The Messapians have already withdrawn. Their raiding force consists mainly of cavalry and light infantry. They don’t engage Tarentum’s heavy infantry head-on; they only harass the fields outside Tarentum. However, Tarentum can do nothing about them, because they simply cannot catch the Messapians.”

“Cavalry? Do the Messapians have many cavalry?” Davos asked sharply.

“I don’t know. But I heard that to the south of Tarentum, the terrain has no continuous high mountains and few rivers; mostly it is flat grassland. So the Messapians graze large herds of cattle, sheep, and horses there.”

Davos felt a stir. He had originally thought that on the Apennine Peninsula, apart from the Gauls in the north, who bred many horses due to the vast plains and marshes of the Po River valley and thus had strong cavalry, the other polities were mostly infantry-based, with only a few cavalry for show. He did not expect that in the south, on the “heel” of “Italy’s boot,” there was a tribe whose main strength was cavalry (in fact, Mariji’s intelligence was wrong; the Messapian army was not cavalry-dominated). He made a mental note to have Antonios investigate this Messapian power carefully during his delegation’s visit to Tarentum.

Note: The Messapians (Messapi) are said to have migrated from Illyria (the area of modern Epirus and Albania) to the “heel” of southern Italy very early, predating the great Greek colonization, so they are also considered indigenous peoples.