Caesar and the colony at Butrint

Julius Caesar first arrived at Butrint in 48 BC. Engaged in the war against his fellow Roman, Pompey, he arrived to seek provisions for his army from the rich pastures and fishing around Butrint. after that the sources are silent until, in 44 BC, Caesar awarded Butrint Roman status and declared it a suitable location for settling veteran soldiers.

Ostensibly the reason for the veteran colony was Butrint failing to pay its taxes. However, of greater imperative was undoubtedly the strategic position of Butrint. Much of the civil war between Caesar and Pompey had been fought in the Adriatic with each of the generals seeking to establish power bases along the coast; having routed Pompeian forces from Corcyra (Corfu), for Caesar to hold Butrint too would effectively have ensured control of the Straits.

However, the inhabitants of Butrint did not welcome the prospect of veteran soldiers on their land and appealed to Titus Pomponius Atticus for assistance. The rich and influential Atticus had substantial landholdings around Butrint, and agreed to help by paying the taxes owed. In Rome, Atticus’ friend the orator Cicero kept up a constant lobbying of Caesar eventually managing to extract a promise that the veteran colony would not be realised at Butrint.

All might have been well if Caesar had not been killed in March 44 BC. The general’s promise had not been ratified by the senate and much confusion reigned as to the status of Butrint. In the end Atticus and Cicero were forced to cede defeat: the colonists arrived at Butrint and the city, as suggested by its new coinage, was named Colonia Iulia Buthrotum in honour of Caesar.

However, the group of settlers and colonists was not the invasion of veteran soldiers the city had feared, but rather a smaller group of civilians. These were not only more easily integrated into the city but their presence now gave the city an illustrious status as a Roman town.

 

• The Roman Colony
• Caesar and the colony at Butrint
• The millionaire: Titus Pomponius Atticus
• Augustus and the refoundation of the colony
• Butrint and Nero