Caesar (II)

Such was the world into which the young, ambitious Caesar was born and would prove invaluable to his political success. Tall, handsome, charming, sexually insatiable, and among the foremost orators of his generation, he embarked on a rather traditional career path for most of his life. After initial military service in the East (and a kidnapping by pirates that he eventually crucified in retribution), he oversaw financial affairs in Hispania (Spain) as quaestor. Possessing extraordinary vanity, he was said to have despaired upon seeing a statue of Alexander the Great, a man who had conquered much of the known world by thirty years old, in contrast to Caesar who had yet to enter prominence.

Caesar's situation began to change at the age of thirty-seven, when he was successfully elected Pontifex Maximus, the chief priesthood (religious stature played important roles in Roman politics). By this time, Caesar was outwardly populist in his political strategy; he acquired great debt for spending on public displays, restored trophies of Marius, and prosecuted men who had gained from Sulla's rule. Ever the opportunist, he acquired a taste for aligning himself with positions that made him stand out, even if it distanced him from the majority. At thirty nine, Caesar was appointed to govern southern Iberia for a year in which he tackled a widespread debt problem and enacted a swift military campaign against Spanish barbarians. Around this time, his personal debts caused him to seek financial assistance from one of the richest Romans in history, Marcus Licinius Crassus, a man who would quickly prove to be a valuable ally in the years to come.

After a year, Caesar concluded his successful governorship and was presented with a dilemma. His success in Iberia awarded him Rome's most prestigious military ceremony, the Roman triumph. Such an occasion was a tremendous honor for an aristocrat, but doing so at the time would have prevented him from finally running for consul. Caesar must have reasoned that a year of political inactivity would have ultimately proven detrimental (his debts was making him a prime target for persecution from his optimate enemies), for he chose to turn down the triumph in order to run for the consulship. Initially, Caesar was opposed by several members of the optimates who no doubt saw his populist nature as a threat to their stature, but in the end, he was victorious by a comfortable margin.

For a year, Caesar was now one of the two most powerful men in Rome, along with Marcus Bibulus. It was at this time that Caesar formed the famously-known "triumvirate" with Crassus and Pompey the Great, a man who was currently the most famous military commander in Rome and who had received an unprecedented three triumphs. Both men, along with Caesar, were currently of the populares faction, despite having animosity towards each other, and likely chose to side with the consul due to their reforms being continually blocked by a small faction of the optimates in the senate. Using Crassus' wealth, Pompey's popularity, and Caesar's current political power, the triumvirate was able to exert considerable influence in the Republic.

Once again, a land reform was made the center of legislation. Such a law would distribute land to many of Pompey's veterans and the urban poor and was once again popular with the citizenry. Despite anticipated opposition from the optimates, only a minor incident of violence occurred and the reform was eventually passed. Caesar successfully outmaneuvered his opponents for the rest of his consulship, passing a law that more closely regulated the behavior of governors, recognized the rule of Ptolemy XII in Egypt, and married his daughter Julia to Pompey in a final act of solidifying their friendship. By the end of his term, his conservative co-consul Bibulus was all but forgotten in the shadows of the triumvirate's success. At the end of Caesar's term, no doubt with Crassus' and Pompey's assistance, he was named proconsul, granting him governorship of three regions of Gaul (modern France), as well as the command of four legions. From this point onward, Caesar would experience success that would make him the most famous Roman in history.

To provide detail on Caesar's military campaigns in Gaul would be overwhelming, for it is the best period in which we have personal insight from a work known as the Commentaries, written by Caesar himself. His success against the Gaulish tribes allowed him to expand the territory of the Roman Republic (which would survive for centuries), brought Britain into the sphere of Roman influence, and earned him tremendous fame from the Roman people. To this day, Caesar is considered one of history's greatest military commanders and strategists (his Commentaries, for example, was studied and admired by Napoleon).

Gaul would consume eight years of Caesar's political life and by the end, the triumvirate was beginning to unravel. Crassus was killed in a foolish campaign against Parthia in an attempt to bolster his reputation and Pompey was named consul "without colleague" by the Senate. Slowly, Pompey's disposition towards Caesar had begun to sour, with little evidence to suggest that such a change was anything other than jealousy towards Caesar's rising prestige. Indeed, not only had Caesar conquered most of Gaul, his deals with the tribes had solidified the territories as stable provinces and new trade networks from plundered revenues helped the Roman economy flourish. Caesar had become a war hero and despite Pompey holding sole power in Rome, he was slowly falling under Caesar's shadow. Mounting political pressure from the senatorial optimates, who apparently saw Caesar as a greater political threat, forced Pompey to withdraw his support for his former colleague, particularly after Caesar's daughter Julia died from childbirth.

It is often believed, among the less educated, that the Roman civil war was caused by Caesar's desire to seize absolute control of Rome. As is often the case, the accusations against Caesar find themselves carrying the burden of proof, for there is nothing to suggest that he had such motives. Rather, his intention was to run for consul again upon his return to Rome and obtain legal protection from his enemies. Despite this, Caesar was ordered by the senate to relinquish control of his armies and return to Rome upon the expiration of his proconsular authority, where the Senate would undoubtedly attempt to persecute him under exaggerated charges. Caesar's fate appeared inescapable and after bitter negotiation and lack of compromise from the optimates, he gave up on legal recourse altogether and marched his fiercely loyal armies across the Rubicon river into Italy, an act of open rebellion. Once again, Rome was plunged into civil war, initiated by the petty senatorial elite seeking to protect their nobility.

The Senate was initially confident that Caesar would be crushed; they had all of Rome's resources at their disposal and Pompey was certainly a competent commander. However, it became quickly apparent that they had misjudged the situation. Caesar moved rapidly through Italy, gathering support from the local communities and pardoning those who rose against him, an act of astonishing generosity. The pace by which he moved towards Rome hampered the Senate's ability to mobilize sufficient legions and their support among the citizenry was shifting in favor of Caesar's cause. Additionally, Pompey refused to meet Caesar in person for negotiation, frustrating hopes for compromise. Realizing that Rome could not be properly defended, Pompey and the optimates abandoned the city.

Caesar had taken Rome and all of Italy virtually unopposed. Understandably, the people of Rome feared the same seizure of power in the manner of Sulla. Amazingly, Caesar took Rome without bloodshed, pardoned enemies, and addressed the people to assure them that his actions were solely out of dispute with the senatorial elite. Rome was taken, but the episodes of Sulla were never repeated. After securing the treasury funds, Caesar launched a quick offensive in Spain before returning to Rome again. Caesar was briefly appointed dictator in order to secure new elections and was made consul in 48 B.C, after which he resigned the dictatorship (eleven days in total).

Pompey, in his old age, appeared to have grown increasingly cowardly and reserved in his strategy throughout the Civil War. Indeed, much of Caesar's time would be spent chasing him across the East, at every point hoping to negotiate a truce and avoid bloodshed, despite Pompey refusing to cooperate. Pompey's cowardice would culminate in what should have been a decisive victory against Caesar at Dyrrhachium (modern Albania) where, despite utterly routing Caesar's army,  he did not pursue and allowed Caesar to regather his strength. Pompey's overconfidence would turn the tide against him at the Battle of Pharsalus, where a heavily outnumbered Caesar would miraculously destroy Pompey's largely inexperienced army. The optimates would never recover. Pompey fled to Egypt, but was decapitated by Ptolemy XIII in the hopes of winning Caesar's favor and the rest of his opponents scattered across the Mediterranean. The Republic, as they knew it, had ended.

Caesar pursued Pompey to Egypt, but was devastated to learn of his demise. He lost a former friend and the opportunity to pardon his greatest opponent. Indeed, Ptolemy made a fatal error in assassinating Pompey, for Egypt was in the midst of its own civil war between him and his older sister, Cleopatra. Caesar aligned himself with her cause (becoming her lover in the process) and ultimately succeeded in defeating Ptolemy's armies after a lengthy siege in Alexandria, placing Cleopatra as ruler. No doubt exhausted of war (and seemingly endless victory), Caesar took a lengthy vacation in Egypt with her, enjoying the hospitality of royalty and the ancient monarchy. An uprising in the East forced Caesar to leave Egypt and defeat Pharnaces II of Pontus, Rome's old enemy. A foolish offensive by the enemy allowed Caesar to destroy Pharnaces in an incredible five days time, after which he uttered his famous phrase "veni, vidi, vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered).

Caesar regrouped in Italy, where he was appointed dictator for a year in 48 B.C in order to oversee elections, appoint magistrates, and tackle (temporarily) Rome's enormous debt crisis. Placing Marc Antony in charge of Rome (a disastrous decision he later rescinded), he traveled to Africa where he destroyed a large army gathered by old Republican enemies. The invincible, but exhausted Caesar was finally able to crush the last remaining opposition in Spain during the years 46-45 B.C.

For three and a half years, civil war consumed the Roman republic, a state whose political machinery was already crumbling under external crises and the inability of the aristocracy to properly respond. With the addition of his campaigns in Gaul, Caesar had been constantly at war for over a decade and one may have suspected that upon returning to Rome as dictator, he'd seek to rest on his laurels, perhaps to the detriment of society. This was not to be the case. To the contrary, Caesar would be as busy as ever, undertaking an enormous administrative program to deal with long-standing problems facing the city and her provinces. He had not executed his opponents or initiated proscriptions, instead pardoning them and sought to establish new alliances. Caesar was not Sulla and never at any point in the war had he moved against his own people in the same manner. His power was absolute, but how he sought to wield it would be seen during the short time leading to his assassination, the Republic's reckoning.