06-19-2023, 07:40 AM
Nathan wrote:
Nowhere in any of our sources are we told that Suetonius rode down to London, on reconnaissance or for any other reason.
Polybius never mentions how Regillus in 255 BC travelled to the River Bagradas. Polybius never mentions how Scipio travelled from Marseilles to Italy. Maybe, as some on this thread have mentioned, Suetonius went by boat. There is not enough information to come to a positive conclusion. Nothing can be ruled out.
Nathan wrote:
Instead he marched to London 'with wonderful resolution', thinking to establish his forces there 'as a seat of war'. Needless to say, he could not do this with cavalry alone, and certainly not only 120 of them.
That is reading too much into it. As I already stated in my previous post, 120 cavalry belongs to the republic. During this period, bodyguard cavalry amounted to ‘about’ 200 cavalry as per Arrian, or 200 as per Josephus. Interestingly, during the revolt Tacitus writes that “as Suetonius was far away, they applied for help to the procurator Catus Decianus. He sent “not more than two hundred men”, without their proper weapons. I wonder if this was Catus Decianus’ guard unit.
Nathan wrote:
If he was 'on reconnaissance', why would he need to go to London? He knew what London looked like and what its defences were like. The enemy were not at London. They were at Colchester. Why did he not ride to or towards Colchester?
Objection your honour, this is speculation.
Nathan wrote:
Our source (Tacitus) points out that Suetonius was a careful commander who planned everything thoroughly.
This can be interpreted that he “looked before he jumped.”
I remain open to a reconnaissance with his guard cavalry. I will not rule it out nor will defend it with my life. An open mind has more doorways. When all is said and done, there is not enough information to go on. However, I’m betting on John1 making the discovery concerning the location of the battlefield.
Nowhere in any of our sources are we told that Suetonius rode down to London, on reconnaissance or for any other reason.
Polybius never mentions how Regillus in 255 BC travelled to the River Bagradas. Polybius never mentions how Scipio travelled from Marseilles to Italy. Maybe, as some on this thread have mentioned, Suetonius went by boat. There is not enough information to come to a positive conclusion. Nothing can be ruled out.
Nathan wrote:
Instead he marched to London 'with wonderful resolution', thinking to establish his forces there 'as a seat of war'. Needless to say, he could not do this with cavalry alone, and certainly not only 120 of them.
That is reading too much into it. As I already stated in my previous post, 120 cavalry belongs to the republic. During this period, bodyguard cavalry amounted to ‘about’ 200 cavalry as per Arrian, or 200 as per Josephus. Interestingly, during the revolt Tacitus writes that “as Suetonius was far away, they applied for help to the procurator Catus Decianus. He sent “not more than two hundred men”, without their proper weapons. I wonder if this was Catus Decianus’ guard unit.
Nathan wrote:
If he was 'on reconnaissance', why would he need to go to London? He knew what London looked like and what its defences were like. The enemy were not at London. They were at Colchester. Why did he not ride to or towards Colchester?
Objection your honour, this is speculation.
Nathan wrote:
Our source (Tacitus) points out that Suetonius was a careful commander who planned everything thoroughly.
This can be interpreted that he “looked before he jumped.”
I remain open to a reconnaissance with his guard cavalry. I will not rule it out nor will defend it with my life. An open mind has more doorways. When all is said and done, there is not enough information to go on. However, I’m betting on John1 making the discovery concerning the location of the battlefield.
