Caesar, before his departure to Spain, had ordered Gaius Antonius (6), Antony’s elder brother, to march round north of the Adriatic to hinder any attempt by Pompey to invade Italy from that direction. Southward of Illyricum, guarding the mouth of the Adriatic, the fleet of 48Cornelius Dolabella (c.40; fl.49-43 BC) (cos.44 BC) was increased to forty ships and ordered to move up to support Antonius. These forces advanced unopposed and made their headquarters on the island of Curicta (=Krk), between Istria and northern Illyria.
The admirals of Pompey’s fleet in the Adriatic, Octavius (3) and 03Scribonius Libo, attacked the squadron of Dolabella, destroyed all his ships, and cut off Antonius on the island. In an attempt to extricate him, an army under 13Minucius Basilus and Sallustius Crispus (=Sallust; c.51; fl.52-c.35 BC) came from Italy but with the seas dominated by enemy ships they only managed to evacuate a quarter of his troops before the rest were starved into mutiny and went over to Pompey.
While most of Pompey’s fleet was involved in this blockade, Octavius began capturing various Dalmatian islands and ports in what was left of the summer. He reduced most of the towns except for Salonae (mid east coast Adriatic, near Split). The city was protected by its natural position on a hill with a number of wooden towers reinforcing the defences.
Octavius constructed five camps around the city and began a regular siege. Eventually, the defenders decided to attack Octavius’ camps. The women and children took up positions on the walls to deceive the Romans into believing that the walls were still manned. This bought time for defenders to attack the enemy camps and defeat each of them in turn. Octavius and his surviving troops fled back to their ships and eventually made their way to Pompey at Dyrrhachium.
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