Gnaeus Julius Agricola was born in the colony of Forum Julii. His grandfathers attained the highest equastrian rank of Imperial procurators. His father became a senator, but when he refused to impeach Marcus Silianus, was put to death. His mother's side of the family raised him and he was sent to Massilia as a child. Agricola served as a tribune under Suetonius Plautinus in Britain, then returned home to Rome to marry Domitia Decidiana and become Quaestor with Asia as his province. He spent a year in semi-retirement, then achieved the tribunate, and worked his way to become praetor. Afterwards, Galba appointed him to draw up an account of temple offerings. His mother was murdered in her home at Intermedii by force under Otho, and Agricola immediately joined the party of Vespasian, the eventual winner of Rome's civil war. Agricola had levied troops successfully, and then was later transferred to Legio XX in Britain, where he served with quiet distinction under Vettius Bolanus and Petillius Cerialis. Appointed Senator by Vespasian, in 74AD he drew the province of Aquitania as governor, and later became a consul. In 78AD, he became governor of Britain, conquered the rest of Wales, secured territory up through Scotland, dispersed the Caledonians at the Battle of Mons Graupius, and received Imperial thanks. Agricola's term for Britain ended, and he returned to Rome. Emperor Domitian, allegedly from envy, excused him from further service, though rumors of the governship of Syria swirled at the time. Agricola died shortly thereafter at age 56, a hint of Imperial poisoning in the air. Thou wast indeed fortunate, Agricola, not only in the splendor of thy life, but in the opportune moment of thy death. Thou submittedst to thy fate, so they tell us who were present to hear thy last words, with courage and cheerfulness, seeming to be doing all thou couldst to give thine Emperor full acquittal... Whatever we loved, whatever we admired in Agricola, survivs, and will survive in the hearts of men, in the succession of the ages, in the fame that waits on noble deeds. Over many indeed, of those who have gone before, as over the inglorious and ignoble, the waves of oblivion will roll; Agricola, made known to posterity by history and tradition, will liver forever. (Tacitus, Life of Agricola 45-46) Sources Tacitus. Complete Works of Tacitus, edited by Moses Hadas, Random House, 1942. Related Britain Before Agricola Overview of Roman Military Actions Prior to Mons Graupius Battle of Mons Graupius 84AD, Caledonia (Scotland) Roman Commanders in Britain Prior to Agricola Gnaeus Julius Agricola A Short Biography Back to War Lore: The List Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Coalition Web, Inc. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com