Why didn’t the Roman group conquer Arabia? The Romans did actually try to irruption Arabia. still, it failed. Miserably. Ancient Arabia was nicknamed” the wet dream of the Roman Empire” by my history schoolteacher for a truly good reason
Not only was Arabia squished in between three major mainland’s making the region a strategic trading ground between different conglomerates it was also inhabited by truly, truly rich businesses ripe for pillaging similar as the Nabataeans( who lived in ultramodern day Syria) and the Sabaeans( who settled in ultramodern day Yemen).
And the voguish part about Arabia It was vulnerable. There was no central area guarding Arabia before the rise of Islam. rather there were numerous businesses that were divided among themselves. This made them easy targets for the Romans who only had to pick off each area one at a time.
So in 1 BC, Augustus ordered the governor of Roman Egypt, Aelius Gallus, to go to Arabia via the Red Sea and conquer it. Not only was Aelius given, 000 men by Augustus but the Nabataeans decided to cooperate with Rome in expedients of being spared from the forthcoming domination.
Everyone in Rome knew that the irruption would work. I mean, it had to, how can the muscle of Rome lose to a bunch of Arabians? They were wrong. The irruption of Arabia would end up being one of the worst military disasters for the Roman Empire. In fact, goods got so bad that Augustus swept documents of the irruption under the carpet as it was that much of a failure. Which is why the irruption of Arabia is not that well known.
The adventure to Arabia was ruinous. Dozens of Roman vessels were destroyed by storms and shallow rocky swell likewise. Sickness and complaint killed hundreds of dogfaces before they had a chance to die fighting for Rome. still, worst of all was the lack of inventories the Romans had brought. No bone allowed that the Arabian crusade would last long, so the Romans packed minimal inventories for their apparently short trip.
Fun fact it was not a short trip. important of the food onboard the vessels was eaten by the crew leaving truly multitudinous inventories for the factual irruption. Starvation and madness forced the Romans to chamber out the time- eschewal so they could regroup and conscript original men.
Once the Romans had eventually arrived onto Arabian soil they were accredited by Syllaios, a nice but dodgy looking companion transferred by the Nabataean King himself to prop the Romans. Little did the sick Romans know that Syllaios was actually a cover agent for the Nabataean government who intimately wanted the Romans to fail in their domination.
Syllaios ’ job was to make the Romans go on a wild goose chase around Arabia so that their inventories and men would thin out, allowing the Arabians to strike and destroy the Romans in a quick and bloody swoop.
For weeks upon weeks Syllaios led the Romans each over Arabia only stopping at original cosmopolites to make the Romans innocent about his real program. still, the flexible Roman army carried on and after 6 months of wandering through endless discipline the megacity of NE grana was captured.
Unbeknownst to the Romans, Sylvius had informed the king of the Romans‘ whereabouts and advised that now was the time for an immediate strike. Hundreds of Arabian legionnaires attacked the Romans, fully taking them by surprise. With little to no inventories and food, the Romans slightly stood a chance against the heathens. Yet they still won with minimum casualties proving yet again that the Roman army was the swish of its time.
Seeing that everything was going to shit, Syllaios decided that it was time for him to intrude in Roman affairs yet again. With the Roman passage pushing through the Arabian promontory by the skin of its teeth Syllaois advised an immediate drive into the Sabaean capital of Marib which was known for its scents and silk.
still, Marib was just another of Syllaios traps. staying for the Romans were 6- meter thick walls guarded by some of Arabia’s voguish men. The Romans besieged the megacity but only for six days. The Romans, heavily demoralized with ails and failure of inventories as well as the violent heat said “ fuck it ” and called off their passage. Syllaios job was done yet he was betrayed by a comrade and only slightly escaped an army of angry Romans looking for vengeance.
Within two months the shattered remnants of the passage returned to Alexandria. Nearly all of the colors failed from starvation, conditions heat stroke and prostration. Only 7 failed during combat according to Aelius Gallus.
After that disaster the Romans Norway ventured into Arabia again. For failing Augustus, Aelius Gallus was fired from being governor of Egypt and was succeeded by Gaius Petronius a military commander and close friend of Augustus. Syllaios came known as the man who stopped the Roman irruption, and ended up getting a popular figure in Arabia.
Still he failed 9 BCE under suspicious circumstances. As for the, 000 men, numerous decomposed trying to take Arabia. Those who survived were flashed back as the bones “ who fucked up at Marib ”.
