L'Histoire du Meilleur Centurion de Jules César - Marcos Scaeva

Marcus Cassius Scaevus is known to have been one of the greatest centurions of Julius Caesar during the civil wars of the first century BC. Scaevus impressed Julius Caesar with his bravery and loyalty when, although he lost an eye and was brutally wounded, he continued to advance against the legions of Pompey the Great. Let's delve into the history of this brave centurion. We know little about the life of Scaevus before he decided to enlist in the Roman army. During the Gaul Wars, he served alongside Julius Caesar as a simple legionnaire and was the first rank of the legions sent to fight in Britannia in 55 BC. When Scaevus and other legionnaires landed on the beach of the Bretons, everything seemed peaceful. Caesar ordered him to guard the ship while the others established their camp. Shortly after, Bretons appeared to attack Scaevus, throwing arrows at him. The legionnaire managed to defend himself with his shield, but the Bretons surrounded him for a face-to-face fight. Even alone against a large number of opponents, Scaevus fought with a lot of courage and skill, defeating several Bretons and resisting for a long time. He managed to escape the fight, but left behind him a large part of his armor, which had been torn from him. On the way to the camp, Scaevus, in addition to being injured, feared to be punished by the general for leaving his helmet and shield behind him. He managed to find Caesar and apologized to him for what had happened. Caesar, instead of punishing him, was impressed by his courage and promoted him centurion. From that moment on, Marcus Cassius Scaevus became an example of bravery to follow for Caesar's legionnaires and was chosen to command his own century. Seven years later, Rome was plunged into a civil war, opposing the two most powerful generals of the Republic, Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. In 48 BC, during the Battle of Pharsalus, Caesar challenged Pompey's forces, forcing him to flee to Dyrrachium, a city on the Adriatic coast, where he tried to reorganize the legions to face Caesar's army again. Pompey established his headquarters there and fortified the city with a complex system of trenches and walls. During this period, several centurions of Caesar's high rank were injured and Marcus Cassius Scaevus was chosen to command a cohort of the 6th legion of about 500 soldiers. According to the Roman historian Suetonius, this cohort was chosen to defend a stronghold. Knowing this, Pompey sent an entire legion of 6,000 men to confront Scaevus' cohort. Julius Caesar's soldiers were disadvantaged by a twelfth, the fear being too strong, they decided to give up. But Marcus Cassius Scaevus, who already had the combat experience in numerical inferiority, encouraged his men not to give up and to confront Pompey's army. The soldiers decided to fight. The battle was intense. Scaevus defeated several enemy soldiers with his only sword, but he also received several blows. An arrow wounded him in the left eye, blinding him. Suetonius recounted the situation of Scaevus, blind in one eye, injured in the thigh and shoulder, with no less than 120 holes in the shield. Pompey's troops fired about 3,000 arrows during the battle, but the centurion did not give up. Withdrawing the arrow from his eye, Marcus Cassius Scaevus ordered his soldiers not to retreat and continued to fight with even more courage. A few minutes later, the centurion collapsed as he had lost blood. The later historian described what had happened. Scaevus called the enemy to surrender. Two soldiers of Pompey's legion surrendered on the spot, but Scaevus cut the shoulder of one of them with his sword, wounded the other in the face, then fled with the help of his soldiers. Julius Caesar, after learning this, promoted Scaevus again, this time as Primus Pilus, the highest rank of centurion of the legion. And Caesar did not make him serve in any legion, but in his favorite, the 10th Equestrian Legion. Scaevus received a reward of 200,000 sesterces and his salary was multiplied by 3. The story of Marcus Cassius Scaevus inspired many Roman soldiers over the centuries. He was considered an example of bravery and loyalty, even if he was disadvantaged. If you liked discovering the story of this brave Roman centurion, don't hesitate to like the video and subscribe to our channel.