The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Roman Empire (19 page)

Pompey and Caesar were about as different as could be. Pompey fought under Sulla; Caesar's aunt was married to Marius. Pompey was careful and deliberate, Caesar daring and decisive. Pompey was neither particularly original nor good on his feet in public; Caesar was both. Pompey became the champion of the senatorial
optimates,
Caesar of the
populares.
Pompey wanted to be the most important and powerful Roman of his day, and Caesar . . . well, that was the problem: In that respect, they were both the same.

A very young Gnaius Pompeius distinguished himself under Sulla, who sarcastically nicknamed named him “Magnus” and the name stuck. After Sulla's death and still too young to stand for election, Pompey was given an extraordinary command against Sertorius in Spain, which he won (though some claimed Sulla had already done the lion's share). He became consul in 70 with Crassus and helped to restore the tribune powers that Sulla had taken away. He was then given an extraordinary command to clear the Mediterranean of pirates. He accomplished this by a progressive dragnet moving West to East across the entire sea in just three months. He was then appointed to another extraordinary command against Mithridates.

Pompey defeated Mithridates and went on to conquer Syria, Judaea, and Mesopotamia. His settlement of these lands was extremely influential and farsighted. He founded new cities and encouraged or restored others with privileges. He settled pirates on territory and gave them an alternative to piracy. He was influential on Judaism by choosing Hyrcanus, who was supported by the Pharasees, over his brother Aristobulus, who was supported by the Sadducees, for the throne of Judaea. In short, Pompey's achievements between his Mediterranean and eastern commands brought great wealth to Rome, safety to Mediterranean travel and commerce, and stability to the anarchy of the east.

When Pompey returned to Italy in 62
B
.
C
.
E
., there was great anxiety about what he would do with his army. To everyone's surprise, he disbanded it and made his way to Rome. He expected to be treated like a conquering hero and to win easy ratification of his settlements in the east and benefits for his veterans. But Pompey had made enemies in the senate, in particular among some members of the powerful Metelli family, whose toes he had stepped on as he pursued his extraordinary commands in the provinces where Metelli held posts. They and others in the senate insulted the Pompey, stymied his proposals, and eventually forced him into cooperation with Caesar and Crassus.

 
When in Rome
Standards
are the banners and/or emblems carried before the troops. It was Marius who introduced the silver eagle as the standard of the legion.

 
Lend Me Your Ears
“Good Romans, this very day you yourselves have seen the state, your way of life, your goods, fortunes, your wives and children, and even this very seat of most famous rule, our most blessed and beautiful city, snatched by the highest divine providence from fire, sword, and very nearly from the jaws of fate by my devotion, efforts, plans, and personal danger, and you behold it preserved and restored to you.”

—Cicero,
Against Catiline
3.1

There are three other major players in the years leading up to the civil war between Pompey and Caesar:

• Marcus Licinius Crassus
  (?–53
  B
  .
  C
  .
  E
  .). Crassus was a partisan of Sulla's and became the wealthiest man in Rome. He defeated the rebel Spartacus, and as consul with Pompey in 70
  B
  .
  C
  .
  E
  ., restored much of the tribunes' powers. Crassus joined his rivals, Pompey and Caesar, in 60
  B
  .
  C
  .
  E
  . in order to secure their individual aims (the first triumvirate). Crassus received a potentially lucrative campaign against the Parthians (in Persia), which ended in disaster. The Parthians killed Crassus and captured his
  standards
  at Carrhae in 53
  B
  .
  C
  .
  E
  .
  
• Marcus Tullius Cicero
  (106–43
  B
  .
  C
  .
  E
  .). Cicero, the influential orator, became consul in 63
  B
  .
  C
  .
  E
  . He foiled a plot by Catiline and others to take over the state, an event of which he never tired of talking. He wanted to forge a working alliance of the different political factions but was unable to moderate between Caesar and Pompey. Banished and then recalled to Rome, Cicero came back into prominence after Caesar's death. He attacked Antony in a series of speeches, and was executed by Antony's agents in 43
  B
  .
  C
  .
  E
  . when Antony, Octavian, and Lepidus formed the second triumvirate.
  
• Marcus Porcius Cato
  (95–46
  B
  .
  C
  .
  E
  .). Cato was the great-grandson of Carthage-must-be-destroyed Cato the Censor. A rigid and uncompromising (one might add pigheaded—no pun on Porcius) moralist, he became influential as the “conscience of Rome” and a determined opponent of Caesar. After a last reading of Plato's
  Phaedo,
  a discussion surrounding Socrates' suicide, Cato killed himself in Utica (near Carthage) to avoid being captured by Caesar's forces.
  

Gaius Julius Caesar was from an ancient aristocratic family that was supposedly relocated to Rome from Alba Longa when Rome destroyed that town in the fifth century
B
.
C
.
E
. Ambitious, quick-witted, and self-assured, Caesar possessed a natural talent for decisive action. After surviving Sulla's proscriptions, Caesar rose quickly as a
popularis
maintaining his identity as a Marian. He borrowed and spent enormous sums of money on public games at Aedile in 65
B
.
C
.
E
. He developed a reputation for generosity and magnanimity, and his popular appeal helped him achieve the post of Pontifex Maximus (chief priest) in 63
B
.
C
.
E
. He was sent to Spain as governor in 61
B
.
C
.
E
.

 
Veto!
The “first triumvirate
”
is technically a misnomer of later history because it was an unofficial arrangement. A triumvirate was an official board of three, such as was later formed by Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus.

Rome was in turmoil and gridlock in 60
B
.
C
.
E
. Although Cicero was still talking about the
concordia ordinis
(his concept of harmony between the various political and economic factions and parties), there was neither harmony nor order. Cato and other optimates had denied Pompey's requests for his eastern settlements and veterans' benefits; Cato and other optimates had blocked legislation favorable to Crassus and other equites; Cato and other optimates blocked Caesar's request, from Spain, to stand for the consulship
in abstentia.
Caesar surprised the optimates, returned to Rome, and ran successfully for consul.

Caesar, as consul, met with Crassus and Pompey, and the three informally agreed to work together. This cooperative agreement is known as the first triumvirate. Pompey and Crassus wanted their legislation, and Caesar wanted a command in Gaul. The optimates resisted every attempt, but eventually all three men got what they wanted. In addition, Caesar passed legislation distributing land to needy Romans, laws restricting the ability of provincial governors to abuse their authority, and instituted an ancient form of C-SPAN, the
Acta Diurna.
The
Acta
was a daily bulletin of the texts of laws and the essence of the debates in the senate and popular assembly. This was posted in the forum and distributed to Italy and the provinces.

 
Great Caesar's Ghost!
One of Caesar's most lasting achievements was to reform the Roman calendar from a 355-day lunar to a 365-day solar calendar. Caesar's birth month was renamed Julius (July) in his honor, and the next month later became August after his successor, Augustus. Pope Gregory XIII revised the “Julian” calendar in 1582 by adding ten days to make up for lost time and promoted moving year “0” from the birth of Rome to the birth of Jesus.

 
Roamin' the Romans
Although the site of the battle of Alesia is a matter of some dispute, it is generally agreed to be at the French town of Alise-Sainte-Reine in Burgundy.