Sicilian revolt
| Sicilian revolt | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Roman civil wars | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Roman Republic with forces of Octavian's Roman, Lepidus' Roman and Mark Antony's Roman | The forces of Sextus Pompeius | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Octavian Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Mark Antony Marcus Aemilius Lepidus |
Sextus Pompey Menas |
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| Strength | |||||||||
| More than 200,000 | |||||||||
The Sicilian revolt was a revolt against the Second Triumvirate of the Roman Republic which occurred between 44 BC and 36 BC. The revolt was led by Sextus Pompey, and ended in a Triumvirate victory.
Sextus' father, Pompey, had been an enemy of Julius Caesar for many years, and this enmity finally boiled over in 49 BC with the beginning of Caesar's Civil War. Pompey was executed in 48 BC by the Egyptians, but Sextus and his brother, Gnaeus Pompeius, continued fighting until 45 BC, when it was clear that Caesar was the victor. After Munda Sextus' brother was executed but Sextus himself escaped to Sicily.
When Julius Caesar was assassinated on March 15, 44 BC, Sextus' name was placed on a proscription list formed by Marcus Lepidus, Marcus Antonius, and Octavian, the members of the Second Triumvirate. The list was designed not only to fill Rome's treasury, but to help in the Second Triumvirate's war on the Cassii and Bruti families, and listed all of Caesar's other enemies and their relatives.
Upon finding his name upon this list, Sextus decided to pick up where his father had left off. He selected Sicily as his base, capturing several cities, including Tyndaris, Mylae, and the provincial capital, Messina. Other cities, such as Syracuse, gave in to Sextus' revolt and joined his forces. Sextus soon became a serious force in the civil war following Caesar's death. He amassed a formidable army and a large fleet of warships. Many slaves and friends of his father joined his cause, hoping to preserve the Roman Republic, which was quickly turning into an empire. The multitudes of slaves joining Sextus often came from the villas of patricians, and this desertion hurt the Romans so much that the Vestal Virgins prayed for it to stop.
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