Cilician pirates
The year 146 BC marked the end of Carthage, leaving a vast power vacuum across the Mediterranean Sea. Rome stood as the only major power remaining, yet its navy remained small and relied on hiring ships for specific expeditions. This absence of a strong Roman fleet allowed smaller communities to turn to piracy for survival or profit. Crete became a primary haven, its civil wars driving much of the population toward raiding activities. The island's strategic position in the middle of the sea made it an ideal base for operations. Cilicia offered another refuge with its natural harbors and defensible geography along the southern coast of Asia Minor. Diodotus Tryphon, king of the Seleucid Empire from 139 to 138 BC, actually supported these pirates to strengthen his own political position. Scipio Aemilianus visited the region around 140 BC and reported that local governments were too weak to handle the threat. Rome chose not to spend resources to eliminate them, partly because piracy supplied cheap slaves to Roman landowners. Consequently, the pirates grew into the most considerable naval force in the Eastern Mediterranean by the early first century BC. They established bases throughout the entire Mediterranean basin, coordinating large fleets over wide areas. Cassius Dio noted that many war fugitives joined their ranks, making them harder to catch than ordinary bandits. These groups pillaged coastal fields and towns, causing shortages of grain imports that affected Rome directly. Towns in Italy, including Ostia, the port of Rome itself, suffered attacks where ships were burnt and goods plundered. Pirates seized important Romans and demanded ransoms, mocking those who claimed Roman citizenship. Plutarch recorded that they captured more than one thousand ships and took four hundred towns as prizes. The sea became unnavigable for trade, leading to food scarcity and hunger within the city of Rome.
One of the primary sources of income for Cilician pirates was the capture and sale of human beings. Rome's economy had become heavily dependent on slave labor, with landowners operating large plantations across Sicily and other provinces. When the Republic was not engaged in active warfare, it needed an alternative supply of workers. Pirates filled this gap, becoming Rome's most consistent supplier of enslaved people. This arrangement created powerful interest groups within Rome, particularly among the business class, who lobbied against any action that might disrupt the flow of cheap labor. The island of Delos emerged as the central hub of the Mediterranean slave market during its peak years. Historical records indicate that ten thousand slaves passed through Delos' markets in a single day at the height of their operations. Other significant markets existed in Rhodes and Alexandria, but none matched the scale of Delos. Western Asia served as the main source region, where piracy and Roman tax farmers reduced local populations. The demand for slaves increased alongside the expansion of plantation systems, creating a harsher form of slavery. This economic dependency meant that many Romans benefited from the very chaos they claimed to oppose. The destruction of Carthage and the decline of Ptolemaic Egypt left no strong naval power to challenge these operations. As a result, the pirate networks thrived, supplying the labor force that sustained Roman agriculture and industry.
Marcus Antonius led the first major Roman campaign against the pirates in 102 BC with an army and fleet. The pirates fled before his forces, allowing Antonius to proclaim victory and receive a triumph from the Senate. However, the threat did not disappear; the pirates regrouped on Crete and soon returned to their original bases in Cilicia. For over two decades, Rome ignored the problem while dealing with other military threats. Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus received command in 79 BC to fight piracy in Cilicia. He conducted both naval and land campaigns against pirate strongholds, including operations against the Isauri people living in the Taurus Mountains. Although he won several victories and earned the title Isauricus, his efforts provided only temporary relief. After he departed, the pirate problem resurfaced with renewed vigor. The third campaign began in 68 BC when pirates raided Ostia, burning the consular war fleet within fifteen miles of Rome. This attack caused famine conditions as starving citizens took to the Forum demanding action. Appian noted that Lucius Licinius Murena and his successor Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus had accomplished nothing substantial against the scattered force. The difficulty lay in eliminating a large, lawless group without a single country controlling them. They operated across the entire Mediterranean, defeating some Roman commanders even off the coast of Sicily. Trade disruption led to food shortages and hunger throughout Italy. Towns became winter quarters for pirates who settled on land and relied on informal networks of mutual assistance.
In 66 BC, Pompey received extraordinary powers under the lex Gabinia to eliminate the Cilician pirates completely. He organized his effort into two distinct stages: first clearing the western Mediterranean, then overwhelming forces trapped in the east. His western campaign lasted exactly forty days, during which he swept through with his own powerful fleet. Pompey divided the Mediterranean into thirteen districts, assigning each a fleet and commander to maintain constant vigilance. Those pirates who escaped fled toward the eastern Mediterranean where they gathered at their strongholds. The eastern campaign required forty-nine days to complete, bringing the total duration to eighty-nine days in the summer of 66 BC. At Coracesium, Pompey won a decisive victory and blockaded the town until the Cilician pirates surrendered all harbors and fortified islands. Strabo recorded that Pompey destroyed one thousand three hundred pirate vessels of various sizes. He spared many lives, recognizing that desperation had driven them to piracy. Surrendered pirates were resettled in southern Asia Minor where populations remained sparse. Many found new homes at Soli, which was renamed Pompeiopolis after its founder. Additional settlements were established at Mallus, Adana, and Epiphaneia within Cilicia. The Romans distributed wealth collected from the pirates while releasing prisoners of value intended for ransom. Other captives were still sold into slavery despite the general amnesty. This two-stage operation removed the stranglehold on Mediterranean commerce that had threatened Rome with famine.
Julius Caesar experienced firsthand the dangers of piracy when he was kidnapped by Cilician raiders in 75 BC. Then aged twenty-five, Caesar demanded his captors raise the ransom from twenty talents to fifty talents, claiming it better suited his status. His retinue quickly raised the money before returning him to their stronghold near Rhodes. After release, Caesar assembled a small army and fleet to capture the same pirates who had mocked him. He crucified them as promised, though he first cut their throats as an act of leniency. Plutarch described how pirates would mock Roman captives by pretending fear and begging for mercy. If the prisoner believed the mockery seriously, they dressed him in Greek athletic shoes and a toga before pushing him overboard. Quintus Sertorius, a renegade Roman general, allied with pirates after being driven from Hispania. Together they attacked Pityussa, the southernmost Balearic Island, using it as a base until a Roman war-fleet drove them out. They regrouped in Baetica where the pirates decided to break with Sertorius and sail to Africa. Publius Clodius Pulcher faced humiliation when seized by pirates while patrolling Cilicia's coastline in 67 BC. The governor of Cyprus offered only two talents for his release, far less than expected. Amused by this paltry sum, the pirates released him anyway without demanding further payment. Spartacus reportedly brokered a deal with Cilician pirates during the Third Servile War to smuggle rebels across to Sicily. In 71 BC, the pirates deserted Spartacus, forcing him to abandon plans to cross the sea.
Plutarch recorded that Cilician pirates were the first to celebrate the mysteries of Mithras within their communities. When some of these pirates were resettled in Apulia by Pompey, they may have brought the religion with them. This practice eventually sowed seeds that would blossom into Roman Mithraism during the latter part of the first century AD. Their mockery of Roman captives formed another distinctive cultural element described by ancient historians. Pirates would pretend fear when a prisoner claimed Roman citizenship, then dress him in Greek athletic shoes and a toga. After satisfying themselves with the joke, they invited the man to step off a ladder into the sea or pushed him overboard if he refused. These customs reflected both their disdain for Roman authority and their own unique social codes. The cult of Mithras spread through these displaced populations, connecting pirate traditions with later religious developments. Plutarch noted that fourteen sacred sanctuaries in Greece had been plundered by these groups. They captured more than one thousand ships and took four hundred towns as prizes during their peak operations. The combination of military power, economic exploitation, and religious innovation made the Cilician pirates a complex force in Mediterranean history.
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Common questions
Who were the Cilician pirates and when did they operate?
The Cilician pirates were a naval force operating in the Mediterranean Sea during the 2nd and 1st century BC. They became the most considerable naval power in the Eastern Mediterranean by the early first century BC after Rome failed to eliminate them.
What was the primary source of income for Cilician pirates?
One of the primary sources of income for Cilician pirates was the capture and sale of human beings. Historical records indicate that ten thousand slaves passed through Delos markets in a single day at the height of their operations.
When did Pompey defeat the Cilician pirates and how long did it take?
Pompey received extraordinary powers under the lex Gabinia in 66 BC to eliminate the Cilician pirates completely. His two-stage operation lasted exactly eighty-nine days, with forty days clearing the western Mediterranean and forty-nine days completing the eastern campaign.
How did Julius Caesar interact with Cilician pirates in 75 BC?
Julius Caesar experienced firsthand the dangers of piracy when he was kidnapped by Cilician raiders in 75 BC while aged twenty-five. He demanded his captors raise the ransom from twenty talents to fifty talents before they released him, later crucifying them as promised.
Where were surrendered Cilician pirates resettled by Pompey?
Surrendered pirates were resettled in southern Asia Minor where populations remained sparse. Many found new homes at Soli which was renamed Pompeiopolis after its founder, along with additional settlements established at Mallus, Adana, and Epiphaneia within Cilicia.