Augustus, though now superior in naval force to Pompey, (for his ships were more numerous, as well as larger and stronger, though not so light and expeditious, nor so well manned,) was not willing to expose himself any more to the hazards of a sea-fight: he therefore appointed Agrippa commander-in-chief of his navy, with directions to cruise off Mylæ, a city on the northern coast of Sicily, where Pompey had assembled all his naval forces. As the possession of this important island was absolutely necessary to the reduction of Pompey's power, and the relief and supply of the city of Rome, Augustus, Lepidus, and another general were to invade it in three different places, while Agrippa was watching Pompey's fleet. The whole of Augustus's expeditions sailed from different ports of Italy at the same time; but they had scarcely put to sea, when a violent storm arose, in which a great number of his ships perished. On this occasion Augustus behaved with great presence of mind and judgment: his first object and care was to send Mæcenas to Rome, to prevent the disturbances which the intelligence of this disaster might occasion there: Mæcenas succeeded in his mission completely. In the meantime Augustus went in person to the several ports, into which his ships had escaped from the storm, encouraged and rewarded the workmen, and soon got his fleet refitted and ready for sea. In his second attempt to invade Sicily, which he put in execution as soon as his fleet was repaired, he was more successful than in his first; and Agrippa considerably weakened Pompey's naval forces, by defeating one of his admirals, from whom he captured thirty galleys. Pompey was still so formidable at sea, at least to the fears of Augustus, that, when he appeared unexpectedly on the coast of Sicily with his fleet, the latter was completely intimidated: apprehending that Pompey would land and attack his camp, he deserted it and went on board his fleet. Pompey, however, who always preferred naval enterprizes, attacked the fleet, put it to flight at the first onset, captured most of the ships, and burnt and sunk the remainder. Augustus with difficulty escaped in a boat; but, instead of returning to his camp, in Sicily, he fled to Italy, attended only by one domestic.
As soon as he recovered from his alarm, he, in conjunction with Lepidus, determined to attack Messina, in which place Pompey had deposited all his stores, provisions, and treasure. The city accordingly was closely invested, both by sea and land. Pompey, in this emergency, challenged Augustus to decide the war by a sea-fight, with 300 ships on each side. Augustus acceding to this proposal, both fleets were drawn up in line of battle, between Mylæ and Naulocus; the land forces having agreed to suspend hostilities, and wait the event of the engagement. Agrippa, who commanded Augustus's fleet, fought with great bravery, and was as bravely opposed by Pompey; their respective officers and men emulated their example. For a considerable time, the event was doubtful; but, at last, Pompey's fleet was defeated: only seventeen of his vessels escaped, the rest were taken or burnt. This victory Agrippa obtained at an easy rate, not more than three of his snips being sunk or destroyed. Augustus, who, according to all accounts, behaved in a most cowardly manner during the battle, was so fully sensible of the obligations he was under to Agrippa, that he immediately honoured him with a blue standard and a rostral crown, that is, a crown, the flower-work of which represented the beaks of galleys, and afterwards, when he became emperor, he raised him, by rank and honours, above all his other subjects. According to Livy, and some other authors, the rostral crown had never been given in any preceding wars, nor was it afterwards bestowed; but Pliny is of a different opinion, he says that it was given to M. Varro, in the war against the pirates, by Pompey.
After this signal and decisive defeat of his fleet, Pompey fled from Sicily to Asia, where he attempted to raise disturbances; but he was defeated, taken prisoner, and put to death.
We must now look back to the naval and commercial history of Rome, immediately after the defeat of the pirates by Pompey the Great. The immediate consequence of his success against them was the revival of trade among the people who inhabited the coasts of the Mediterranean; but the Romans, intent on their plans of conquest, or engaged in civil wars, had little share in it The very nature and extent, however, of their conquests, by making them masters of countries which were either commercial, or which afforded articles of luxury, gradually led them to become more commercial. Hitherto, their conquests and their alliances had been confined almost entirely to the nations on the Mediterranean, or within a short distance of that sea: but Julius Cæsar directed his ambition to another district of the world; and Gaul was added to the Roman dominions.
Transalpine Gaul comprehended Flanders, Holland, Switzerland, and part of Germany, as well as France, Its situation, having the ocean to the north and west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south, was particularly favourable to commerce; and though, when Caesar conquered it, its inhabitants in general were very ignorant and uncivilized, yet we have his express authority, that the knowledge they possessed of foreign countries, and commodities from abroad, made them abound in all sorts of provisions. About 100 years before the Christian era, the Romans, under pretence of assisting the people of Marseilles, carried their arms into Gaul, and conquered the district to the south of the Rhine.
This part of Gaul, long before the Romans invaded it, was celebrated for its commerce, which was carried on very extensively at the port of Marseilles. We have already mentioned, that this city was founded, or, at least, greatly increased by the Greeks. As the colonists could not, from the narrow boundaries of their territory, and the barrenness of the soil, support themselves by their own industry on land, they applied themselves to the sea: at first, as fishermen; then, as pirates; and afterwards, as merchants. For forty years they are said to have been the most warlike, as well as the most commercial people who frequented the Mediterranean, and were celebrated for the excellent construction and equipment, both of their merchant ships, and their ships of war. Their maritime laws and institutions were nearly as much celebrated and respected as those of the Rhodians. The wealth which the inhabitants of Marseilles had acquired by commerce, and which was contained or displayed in their fleets, arsenals, and magazines, and in their public buildings, drew upon them the envy of their more savage and poorer neighbours; and it is probable they would have fallen a prey to their more warlike habits, had they not formed an alliance with the Romans, who sent an army to their assistance. The commander of this army, after defeating their enemies, granted them all the harbours, and the whole sea-coast, between their city and the confines of Italy; and thus at once secured their safety and extended their territory. A short time afterwards, Marius conferred on them another benefit, not inferior in importance and utility. While he was waiting for the Cimbri in Transalpine Gaul, he was under great difficulty to procure provisions up the Rhone, in consequence of the mouth of the river being obstructed with sand-banks. To remedy this inconvenience, he undertook a great and laborious work, which, from him, was called Fossa Marina: this was a large canal, beginning at his camp, near Arles, and carried on to the sea, which was fed with water from the Rhone; through this canal, the largest transports could pass. After his victory over the Cimbrians, Marius gave this canal to the people of Marseilles, in return for the support and supplies they had afforded him in his war against them. As there was no passage into the interior of this part of Gaul, except either through the Rhone or this canal, the Marseillians, who were now masters of both, enriched themselves considerably, partly by the traffic they carried on, and partly by the duties they levied on all goods which were sent up the canal and the river. In the civil war between Pompey and Cæsar, they took part with the former, who, in return, gave them all the territory on the western bank of the Rhone. Cæsar, exasperated at their hostility towards him, and at their ingratitude (for he, on the conquest of Gaul, had enlarged their territories, and augmented their revenues), blocked up their port by sea and land, and soon obliged them to surrender. He stripped their arsenals of arms, and obliged them to deliver up all their ships, as well as deprived them of the colonies and towns that were under their dominion.
The Marseillians, in the pursuit of commerce, made several voyages to distant, and, till then, unknown parts of the world: of these, the voyage of Pytheas, the extent, direction, and discoveries of which we have already investigated, was the most remarkable and celebrated. Euthymenes, another Marseillian navigator, is said to have advanced to the south, beyond the line; but little credit seems due to the very imperfect accounts which we possess of his voyage. The Marseillians also planted several colonies on the coasts of Gaul, Italy, and Spain, viz. Nicæa, Antipolis (Antibes,) Telo Martius (Toulon,) &c.
Arelas (Arles) was also a place of some trade, and celebrated for its manufactures, especially its embroidery, and its curious and rich works in gold and silver. It was at this place that Cæsar built, in the short period of thirty days, the twelve galleys which he used in blocking up the port of Marseilles; and he manned them with its inhabitants;--a proof, as Huet observes, that they were well versed in maritime affairs at this time.
Narbo Marcius (Narbonne) was founded by Marius: it soon became, according to Strabo and Diodorus Siculus, a place of very great trade. The British tin, besides other articles, was brought by land-carriage through the centre of Gaul, and exported, either from it or Marseilles, to the different countries on the Mediterranean. It derived great importance and wealth, from its being a convenient place of rest and refreshment for the Roman troops, as they passed from the Pyrennees to the Alps, or from the Alps to the Pyrennees. Its harbour was crowded with ships from Africa, Spain, Italy, &c.; but, in the latter ages of the Roman Empire, it fell into decay, principally in consequence of the course of the river being changed, so that it no longer ran through it. The Romans endeavoured to supply this misfortune, by cutting a canal to the sea, the traces and remains of which are still visible.
Lugdunum (Lyons), at the confluence of the Rhone and Arar, was founded by Manucius Plancus, after the death of Julius Caesar. In the time of Augustus, according to Strabo, it had increased so much, by means of its commerce, that it was not inferior to any city in Gaul, except Narbonne. Indeed, not long after the entire conquest of Gaul by the Romans, the advantages which that country might derive, with respect to foreign commerce, and internal trade, by its rivers, seem to have been fully and clearly understood. The head of the Saone being near to that of the Moselle and the Seine, merchandize was easily conveyed by land from one of these rivers to the other. The Rhone also received many goods by means of the rivers which joined it, which were conveyed, not only to the Saone, but also to the Loire, in carriages. The Seine brought up goods almost as far as the Moselle, from which they were conveyed to the Rhine. In the fourth year of Nero's reign, the commander of the Roman army in Gaul joined the Saone and the Moselle by a canal; and, though these canals were generally made by the Romans, for purposes connected with the army, yet they were soon applied to commerce. The merchandize of the Saone was brought by land carriage to the Seine, and by it conveyed to the ocean, and thence to Britain. There seems to have been regular and established companies of watermen on these rivers, whose business it was to convey goods on them: an ancient inscription at Lyons mentions Tauricius of Vannes, as the general overseer of the Gallic trade, the patron or head of the watermen on the Seine and Loire, and the regulator of weights, measures, and carriages; and other ancient inscriptions state, that the government of the watermen who navigated the Rhone and the Saone, was often bestowed on Roman knights.