
He carried on the war not for the sake of personal gain or power, nor through anger, but for the sake of warlike deeds in themselves; hence he was accounted at once a lover and a master of war. -Cassius Dio
I finished my article on Viriathus for Issue #4-2007 of Ancient Warfare Magazine today. The theme for the issue is “The Roman conquest of Spain 218 BC – 24 BC.”
Viriathus was a Lusitanian patriot who led the confederated tribes of western Iberia against Roman occupation. The heart of the Lusitanian resistance, this gifted tactician and guerrilla fighter fought Rome to a stalemate. In the article, I discuss the rise of Portugal’s national hero; his election as warleader following Galba’s treacherous peace offering ca. 150 BC; his campaigns against Caius Vetilius, Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus, and Servilius Cipianus; followed by his death at the hands of Lusitanian traitors in 139 BC. I tried to focus on Lusitanian guerrilla tactics in the face of superior Roman training and equipment, and how the Lusitanian resistance, though doomed, inspired that of the Cantabri to the north, which lasted for another hundred years.
Issue 4-2008 is slated for release on November 26th.