He writes to his contacts requesting wolfhounds From britain, bears from the balkans,...

He writes to his contacts requesting wolfhounds From britain, bears from the balkans, Crocodiles from the nile, horses from Spain, And from africa, antelopes, gazelles, leopards, and lions. - It's pretty clear
from symmachus' letters That he's trying to leverage
the resources-- Such as they existed--
of the entire empire