Sabinus
Central Gubernator Carolina Mize (Columbus
Academy)
Everyone wants to be remembered. Everyone wants their story to be told through generations. But what if you were remembered for a mistake you made? What if your failure was how people remembered your name?
Throughout Caesar's De Bello Gallico, Caesar references many soldiers and legates who showed bravery, or, in some cases, cowardice fighting the Gauls. Quintus Titurius Sabinus was one of these legates mentioned in Caesar’s writing. In 56 BC, Sabinus was sent with three legions to defeat Viridovix and three rebelling tribes. He was successful, as Viridovix’s forces easily submitted to his authority. But this is not what Sabinus would be remembered for. Rather, Sabinus would be remembered for a mistake that cost not only his own life but the lives of 7500 Roman soldiers.
In 54 BC, in the middle of a famine, Gallic fighters attacked Roman soldiers foraging for wood nearby the camp. The Romans counterattacked, but Ambiorix, the leader of the Eburones, stepped in and announced that he had been forced to attack the Romans by pressure from other tribes. He claimed that a large group of Germans would attack the camp and that the Romans needed to leave. He promised to give the Romans safe passage to a nearby camp if they leave.
This provoked a great debate among the Romans. Should they stay and possibly be attacked by Germans, or should they trust Ambiorix and move to a nearby Roman camp? Sabinus argued vehemently that they were in danger and needed to leave immediately. Cotta, the other commander of the cohorts, argued against this, reasoning that the Romans were strong enough and had enough food to sustain a German attack. It almost seemed like Cotta would win the discourse until Sabinus raised his voice to catch the younger, more inexperienced soldiers’ attention, announcing that they would all die. This, of course, caused further panic in the camp until Cotta bent to Sabinus, and it was planned that the soldiers, with a huge lack of sleep, would set out in the morning.
Unfortunately, this plan would become a tragedy. While the Romans were marching to the nearest camp, the Gauls ambushed them. The Romans panicked, and the Gauls took advantage of this, surrounding them. Caesar adds in how Sabinus was timid and he did not inspire confidence, the opposite of a leader. Ultimately, Sabinus was tricked yet again by Ambiorix. When Ambiorix promised to spare the Romans, Sabinus negotiated surrender with Ambiorix, and while this happened, he was surrounded and killed. Meanwhile, thousands of soldiers died.
Caesar recounting this story forever immortalized Sabinus as a cowardly fool, who led the Romans’ to defeat. It doesn’t matter what Sabinus did before this, that he helped defeat Viridovix. He is only remembered for his fatal mistake. While many want to be remembered, sometimes it’s better to be forgotten.