Andrew Cox
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Join date : 2009-11-10
Age : 28
Location : Romascant
 |  Subject: Rome Attacks Veii (405-396 BC) Wed Nov 11, 2009 5:53 pm | |
| In 405 BC, Rome sets out to eleminate its closest rival, the Etruscan city of Veii. The siege lasted ten years from 405 - 396 BC. For a long period of time, the Etruscans had invaded Rome, and now Rome was ready to go on the offense.
The siege of Veii was very haphazard. This is mainly because of the number of rulers that were elected during the siege. All evidence suggests that the siege was mainly a loose blockade. This is mainly because the Romans were also involved in fighting other enemies. There were several plausible attempts over the years to end the siege. In 403 BC, Rome attempted to build siege ramps to go over the city walls. The ramps were burnt down during the night by Veii defenders. In 402 BC, Veii got allies and was able to push most of the Romans back into the city, but was not able to hold them for long.
In 396, the last year of the siege, M. Furius Camillus was appointed as dictator. He reorganized the troops, and expanded the army besieging Veii. To capture the city, he ordered a tunnel be dug under the walls, just like what was done in the siege of Fidenae. The tunnel came out in the Temple of Juno, inside the citadel of Veii. The Romans were able to open the gates to let the army in, and finally conquer Veii.
The fall of Veii nearly doubled the land that was directly under the control of Rome. It also gave the growing empire more men to help expand and build itself.Source: http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/siege_veii.html | |
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