Their Commerce, As Well As That Of All The States On The
Mediterranean, Being Much Molested And Injured By The Pirates, They
Undertook, Of Their Own Accord, And At Their Own Expence, To Root Them Out;
And In This They Completely Succeeded.
But that commerce, on account of which they were so very anxious to keep at
peace, involved them in war.
Their most lucrative trade was with Egypt.
When hostilities began between Ptolemy and Antigonus, the latter insisted
that they should join him; this they refused to do; upon which his fleet
blockaded Rhodes, to prevent their commerce with Egypt. The Rhodians were
thus compelled to act against him in their own defence, in order to free
their harbour. The raising of the blockade, and the defeat of his fleet,
incensed Antiochus; and to the remonstrances and entreaties of the Rhodians
to be permitted to remain at peace, he replied, "that they must declare war
against Ptolemy, admit his fleet into their harbour, and give hostages for
the performance of these articles." War now was inevitable, and great
preparations for it were made on both sides: the attack on the city was
committed by Antigonus to his son Demetrius; for this purpose he collected
a fleet of 200 ships of war, 170 transports with 40,000 men on board, and
1000 vessels laden with provisions, stores, warlike engines, etc. This
immense armament was composed partly of pirates and mercenaries, who were
induced to join Demetrius, by the hope of partaking in the plunder of
Rhodes. It is foreign to our purpose to enter on the details of this
memorable siege: the Rhodians trusted principally to their own valour and
resources; from Ptolemy, however, they received most ample and seasonable
supplies of provisions: at one time he sent them 300,000 measures of corn;
a few days afterwards Cassandra sent them 100,000 bushels of barley, and
Lysimachus 400,000 bushels of corn, and as many of barley: these supplies,
the valour of the inhabitants, and the ill success of some new and immense
engines, on which Demetrius had mainly depended, at length induced him to
raise the siege and make peace with the Rhodians.
The Rhodians endeavoured to make up for the time they had lost, and the
money they had expended, during their war with Antiochus, by applying
themselves entirely to navigation and commerce; so that, according to
Polybius, they became masters of the sea, and the most opulent and
flourishing state of those times. The next war in which they were engaged
was occasioned entirely by their attention and regard to their commercial
interests. We have already slightly noticed this war; but in this place it
will be proper to go more into detail respecting it. The people of
Byzantium determined to lay a toll on all ships that traded to the Euxine,
in order to defray an annual tribute which they were obliged to pay to the
Greeks. As one of the most important and lucrative branches of the commerce
of Rhodes was to the countries lying on this sea, they were much aggrieved
by this toll, and endeavoured to persuade the Byzantines to take it off,
but in vain.
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