67. Ancient Arms Race

After 8 years of war and 9 years shouldering the responsibility of being governor of 3 provinces, not to mention all of the relentless politicking done during those years, Julius Caesar has earned himself a rest
There will be no rest for the weary though
Fortunately for Caesar he is a man famous for his energy
In 51 and 50 BC, after it becomes clear that Gaul is truly conquered, the domestic enemies start circling
Caesar has achieved everything he set out to do and more
He’s climbed the cursus honorum to the highest position and become consul
He’s managed to wrangle himself a lucrative Proconsular command and with it he’s paid back all the creditors who have been backing him and made himself rich
More importantly he’s achieved great military glory in the conquest of Gaul
His dignitas is at an all time high
And so ideally Caesar will return to Rome a conquering hero and finally everyone in his home city will have to acknowledge him for the great man he is
He’ll take his place as Rome’s preeminent citizen or at the very least he’ll hold that position jointly with Pompey
, everyone, friend and foe, family and stranger, Patrician and Plebian, rich and poor will have no choice but to give Caesar his due as he triumphs through Rome to celebrate his conquest
Caesar has worked a lifetime toward this reward
But the Optimates have other plans
Their opposition to Caesar and his policies has long since hardened into a sort of pathological hatred
They’re still holding a grudge against Caesar for his actions as Consul and they plan to prosecute him for these actions
The only reason they haven’t done this already is because as Proconsul Caesar has immunity from prosecution
In fact, over the past few years Cato has been known to often say he will impeach Caesar as soon as his army is dismissed and has even sworn an oath to do this
And so now Caesar’s term as Pro-consul is nearing its end and with it his immunity
And so the sharks smell blood in the water
Caesar is of course no fool and he is well aware of their plans
And he has no intention of being shamefully hauled into court to be tried by his enemies in a trial surrounded by the armed soldiers of Pompey
For make no mistake, that’s what trials in Rome have become
Cato has even said Caesar will be tried like Milo with soldiers surrounding the court
Pompey after being appointed sole consul brought his armed soldiers into Rome, an illegal and appalling affront to Roman sensibilities and sacrilegious to boot
Pompey being the consummate organizer he is, used his army to clean up the streets of gangs and to stand guard over trials
No longer will gangs be permitted to show up to trials and attack or kill those involved
Milo was one of the men tried in this fashion and he was duly exiled
Now Pompey doesn’t keep his unique position as Sole-consul for long
In a magnanimous gesture, 7 months into his term he invites his new father-in-law to be his con-consul ((plutarch Pompey))
But make no mistake, Pompey still has enormous power in Rome and in many ways he is acting as defacto ruler of Rome with the support of the Senate and it will continue this way even when his consulship ends (appian 25)
Caesar has no intention of putting himself at the mercy of that power
So what Caesar needs is to win another consulship
This will give him immunity from prosecution for another year
During this year, if he chooses to, he could use his great power and wealth to gain for himself another great command, almost certainly termed for many years thus again staving off any efforts to prosecute him
He could also reward his veterans with land and confirm his conquests of Gaul
No doubt he’d also find a way to pass some bills to please the common people
So Caesar plans to run for the consulship of 48BC at which point he will have waited 10 years since his last consulship as the law requires
Not that Pompey had obeyed that law
The problem in all of this is that technically Caesar needs to be physically in Rome to declare and canvass for office
But as a Proconsul with imperium, he can’t enter the city without laying down his command and losing his imperium, his immunity
So in order to run for Consul, Caesar will need to step down from his Proconsulship
This is a non-starter though since the second Caesar lays down his command and enters Rome the Optimates will haul him before a court
So what Caesar really needs is a special dispensation from the senate giving him permission to stand for Consul in absentia
Pompey and Crassus had both been allowed this privilege in the past, it’s not unheard of
This will allow Caesar to seamlessly move from Pro-consul to consul and then again to Pro-consul without ever losing his immunity to prosecution
It’s sort of ironic that the Optimates accuse Caesar of being power hungry but one of the main reasons he can’t give up power is because they will prosecute him if he does
Not that Caesar isn’t power hungry
He might very well have tried to stay in power even without Optimate threats
Now in the past, Caesar would have rammed through the required legislation with the help of his fellow triumvirs, Pompey and Crassus
But now Crassus has lost his head and Caesar’s daughter Julia who was married to Pompey is also dead
So no one is really sure where this leaves the alliance between Caesar and Pompey
And now, with the stage set, we begin our game of brinkmanship as the first maneuvers are made in what becomes an ancient arms race
Back in 52 BC, the same year Caesar won the battle of Aleisa he had managed, with Pompey’s help, to get a law passed by all 10 tribunes of the plebs which would allow him to stand for the consulship in absentia
Caesar also had the understanding that this law confirmed his term as Proconsul until 48 BC when he would become consul
Otherwise, why would he need a specific law allowing him to run in absentia?
Later that same year Pompey passed a law that made it illegal for anyone to stand for office in absentia
Was this an oversight or an intentional warning shot? Impossible to know
Caesar’s allies duly protest at this to which Pompey adds a clause to his law creating an exception for Caesar after the law had already been passed and inscribed in bronze
It’s unclear if this last minute addition really had any legal force to it
That year Pompey also creates a law that requires men to wait five years after their consulship to take a proconsulship
This was meant to break the system of taking on massive debts to win the consulship and then get a province right after where you would make yourself rich by exploiting the locals and thus pay back your creditors
The idea is that the lenders won’t want to wait 5 years for their return on investment
Since, with the passing of this law, the recent consuls could not immediately become proconsuls, Rome had to draw from ex-consuls that had elected not to govern a province
What all this means for Caesar is that rather than getting 18 months notice if the senate plans to replace him in his Proconsulship he could now be replaced instantly by some ex-consul
That’s a problem for Caesar and again, it’s unclear whether Caesar is just collateral damage or if Pompey was fully aware of what this law meant for Caesar
That same year Pompey also extends his own proconsular command of spain, further increasing his power
Now, so far it’s quite possible that Pompey wasn’t intentionally attacking Caesar, he may just have been reforming the government and didn’t think of how those reforms would affect Caesar
And Pompey gathering more power by extending his proconsulship in Spain may possibly just have come down to the fact that the man likes special commands and likes to be important
That one I’m not so sure about though. I think he was probably strengthening himself against the threat of Caesar
So if this is an arms race, Pompey has just started producing new and bigger missiles and he has aimed some of those missiles at Caesar which he assures Caesar was an oversight
If you’re Caesar this has to worry you a little
Now the threats and maneuvering against Caesar have been a little ambiguous up to this point but this is where that changes
What happens next is the true opening salvo, the first chess move of many in what becomes an extremely complex game of political chess
Like in any arms race, both sides are industriously making themselves stronger in case war comes even as they claim to want peace and even as they hold peace talks
Of course both sides are balancing the desire to win public opinion with the desire to win the political contest or to win an actual war if it comes to that
And with regard to peace, it can be difficult to know how committed to peace each side is or if it is all just lip service to appear to want peace in the public eye
As we’ve talked about before, Cato runs for the consulship of 51 BC and loses
This is an obvious bullet dodged for Caesar
We can only imagine what would have happened if Cato had been elected
However, a man named Marcus Claudius Marcellus does manage to get elected consul for 51 BC
He is one of 3 … MarceliI? Marcelluses? That will be elected to the consulship in a row
In 51BC this marcellus is elected consul, in 50BC his cousin Marcellus is elected consul and in 49BC another Marcellus, the brother to the first consul and cousin to the second, is elected consul
This first Marcellus is an aristocrat, an optimate and an enemy of Caesar’s
So after the battle of Alesia, Marcellus tries to have Caesar recalled from Gaul early claiming that since Gaul was already conquered there was no need for Caesar to serve out the rest of his term
He also effectively tries to cancel Caesar’s ability to stand for Consul in absentia by claiming that the law Pompey had passed banning the practice of standing for office in absentia supersedes Caesar’s law allowing him to do this
Pompey does not back either of these proposals
With the death of Julia and Crassus, Caesar and Pompey are no where near as close allies as they once were but by 51 BC they aren’t full blown enemies yet
There is still some respect and friendship there even if it is increasingly a mask
So Pompey says he won’t back any proposal that recalls Caesar before his term ends
At some point in 51 BC the consul Marcellus seems to have gotten frustrated with his lack of progress against Caesar in the senate
So he decides to strike at Caesar in a purely spiteful way
A way which is indicative of the utter vitriolic hate the Optimates have for Caesar at this point
One of Caesar’s three provinces is Cisalpine Gaul, essentially meaning Gaul on this side of the Alps
It corresponds with what is today Northern Italy
This province is further divided into a region north of the river Po called Transpadane Gaul and a region to the south of the River Po
Just as today we have States and then counties within states
Well back when Caesar was consul he had established a colony called Novum Comum as part of one of his land bill
This colony was located in Transpadane Gaul, that part of Northern Italy north of the Po River
Now, the people of Caesar’s colony Novum Comum have what the Romans call Latin Rights
This is the next best thing to citizenship
It gives you more rights than a conquered community, but not as many as citizenship
However, each man that becomes a magistrate of a latin rights community is awarded citizenship
Regardless of this, Caesar has treated all the people of Transpadane Gaul like citizens for as long as he has been Proconsul
Well Marcellus the consul manages to get his hands on one of these ex-magistrates of Novum Comum who is therefore a citizen
Marcellus then has this man beaten with rods or flogged for some unknown offense
This is not only an ugly and brutal thing to do, it’s also a massive humiliation
You see, Roman citizens cannot be beaten with rods like this
They are exempt from this punishment
So by seizing and beating this man Marcellus is making the statement that he doesn’t consider this man or others like him to be real citizens
But really the only reason any of this is being done is because this man comes from a colony founded by Caesar in a province governed by Caesar
In other words, he is a man from Caesar’s power base
And if you can’t strike Caesar, the next best thing is to attack someone connected to him to show that Caesar can’t protect them
In case anyone missed the point, after the beating Marcellus tells the man to go back to Caesar and show him his stripes (scars)
As you can see, the Optimate vitriol for Caesar is ugly, brutal and very emotional
Cicero writes about this incident to a friend and calls this action by Marcellus disgraceful
But these are the sorts of people Caesar has to negotiate with b
Also during 51 BC Marcellus starts trying to get Pompey to take back the legion he had lent to Caesar
Remember we talked about the first legion which came from a different sequence
That legion was raised in Caesar’s territory but was technically Pompey’s legion
In fact, they had even sworn an oath to Pompey
Pompey being an ally of Caesar at the time had lent this legion to Caesar
Pompey keeps putting this off saying he will take back his legion when he’s ready
Seeing a dead end there, Marcellus moves forward with other attacks on Caesar
Among other things, he keeps pushing for a debate in the senate about Caesar’s provinces
Pompey responds to this at a senate meeting by saying that he won’t settle anything with regard to Caesar’s provinces until March 1 of 50 BC, but after that date he won’t hesitate
This statement greatly encourages the opponents of Caesar, it seems Pompey is finally coming around to their side
A senator then asks Pompey what he will do if Caesar wants to be Consul and keep his army?
Pompey responds to what he sees as a stupid question with an equally stupid question, saying “What if my son wants to attack me with a stick?”
Essentially casting Caesar in the role of his son who will be disciplined easily if he gets out of line
Eventually they come to an agreement to discuss Caesar’s command on March 1 50 BC
This meeting where this is being discussed is in 51 BC so this debate on Caesar’s command will be in the following year
This date of March 1 50 BC brings up a very important question
When does Caesar’s command expire?
You would think this would be an easy question to answer, ‘Caesar’s command begins on this date and therefore ends on that date’
But apparently there was disagreement on how the law giving Caesar a 5 year extension should be interpreted
Caesar believes that the 5 year extension on his command in Gaul was a 5 year extension to the 5 year term he already had
In other words, the clock on the 5 years extension wouldn’t start ticking until the first 5 year term ends thus giving Caesar an even 10 years as Proconsul
This interpretation makes a lot of sense to me
The optimates and probably Pompey too see it differently
They seem to believe that Caesar’s 5 year extension gives him a 5 year term from the date the law was passed making his command something more like 8 years in total
So… March 1, 50 BC may have been the date Pompey feels Caesar’s command is over and therefore he is willing to discuss his provinces then
Well, 50 BC rolls around and on the surface things aren’t looking good for Caesar
Yet another Marcellus is elected consul
He is the cousin of the last Marcellus and just like his cousin, he hates Caesar
This is despite the fact that he is married to Caesar’s great-niece Octavia, the older sister to Octavian, the future Emperor Augustus
Now, things may look bleak for Caesar but not all is as it appears
Rome of course has 2 consuls
The second of these consuls Caesar is able to bring over to his side via a fat bribe
Even more importantly Caesar lays out enormous sums of money to bribe a young flashy talented and reckless tribune named Curio
We’ve mentioned Curio before, he was part of the whole Clodius and Marc Antony group
Curio is a bold, eloquent, and energetic young man with the love of the common people, a willingness to piss off the senate not to mention a penchant for showmanship
Curio has been a vocal opponent of Caesar and the triumvirate in the past
But as a man with staggering debts, when Caesar offers a hefty bribe or possibly even to pay off his debts altogether, Curio hops over to Caesar’s side with enthusiasm
Curio also may have been frustrated by the senate’s opposition to some of his bills he was trying to get passed
This probably only encouraged him to join Caesar
Although Appian tells us Curio intentionally put forward some outlandish bills so that when they got shot down he could have and excuse to flip sides
Having charged so much for his services, Curio is determined to be of great value to Caesar and he will live up to his price
Well that magic date of March 1 50 BC rolls around when the senate is supposed to debate Caesar’s command
The senate meets and Marcellus the consul proposes that someone should be sent to replace Caesar in Gaul
Probably to his surprise, his co-consul is silent and doesn’t back him or fight the motion
Remember, Caesar has bribed this man
The senate then debates the idea of sending a replacement for Caesar but when the debate comes to Curio, he seconds Marcellus’ motion but adds to it that if Caesar has give up his command and legions, Pompey should too
Suddenly Pompey and the Optimates are put on the backfoot
Caesar through Curio has gone on the offensive and regained the initiative
No longer is he defending his own position, now he’s going after Pompey’s position and treating himself as an equal to Pompey
But what gives this proposal teeth is that Caesar is saying he is willing to relinquish command as long as Pompey does does the same
It’s such a reasonable compromise that it’s hard to fight against it without looking unreasonable and unfair
And it’s a big risk for Caesar who will be giving up his army and his immunity before he can run for consul
Curio goes on to say that with this proposal enacted the Republic will be free from the threat of Caesar and Pompey
He also says that if they strip Caesar of his command but leave Pompey with his command then they will be accusing one man of seeking tyranny while making the other a tyrant
Meaning that while they accuse Caesar of seeking to be a tyrant they will be making Pompey into an actual unopposed tyrant
Now if the Optimates really have the best interests of the Republic in mind, they should agree to this
Sure they won’t be able to punish Caesar for his actions as Consul which they see as illegal, but civil war will be avoided
But the Optimates don’t support this fair proposal because they aren’t looking out for the Republic, they are trying to win against Caesar
Plain and simple, beating and humiliating Caesar has become more important to them than protecting the Republic and the people of Rome
Pompey doesn’t support the proposal either but for different reasons
First, Pompey’s command still has years left on it
In his estimation, Caesar’s command is already up and therefore it’s apples to oranges
One is a case of a commander whose command is over, meaning Caesar, the other is a case of a commander who still has years left on his command meaning Pompey
But far more importantly, Pompey cannot abide the idea of Caesar being treated as his equal
In fact, many years later, looking back on events, the Roman poet Lucan will write the famous lines, “Caesar could not accept a superior, nor Pompey an equal”
And I’d say that’s spot on
Caesar believes that his great conquests in Gaul entitle him to return to Rome as Pompey’s equal, Pompey’s pride will not accept this
And that’s a big reason for Pompey siding with the Optimates
He isn’t an inveterate Caesar hater like the Optimates
What motivates Pompey is that his pride cannot allow him to put Caesar on equal terms and, more than likely, he feels threatened by Caesar
After all, if Caesar comes back an equal, his superior political skills will allow him to quickly outmaneuver Pompey and therefore grow stronger than Pompey
Well Appian says many in the senate, oppose Curio’s motion on the grounds that Pompey’s command hasn’t expired
I imagine this reasoning is just a pretext for not wanting Caesar to escape prosecution
Curio doubles down and becomes more obstinate saying that both men are suspicious of each other and therefore there can be no lasting peace unless both Caesar and Pompey are made into private citizens without provinces or armies
Again, this is very reasonable and makes a lot of sense
But still the senate resists the proposal and it goes nowhere
Eventually the meeting breaks up and afterward Curio is cheered by the Plebeians
They escort him home and shower him with flowers
They see him as being the only man willing to go against Pompey and Caesar in the interest of peace
Of course, they don’t seem to be aware that he is working for Caesar but more importantly this reaction from the populace shows they want peace more than anything
This argument over whether both men would lay down their commands or just Caesar, turns into a deadlock that lasts for months
Any time the senate tries to put forward a proposal about Caesar’s command, Curio vetoes it
The senate starts demanding Caesar leave his province by November 13th which Pompey seems to back
Curio continues to veto these proposals saying that Caesar’s command should not be discussed separately from Pompey’s
Either they both lay down their commands or neither does
In April Caelius, a friend of Curio’s and protegee to Cicero writes a letter to Cicero and gives him an update on the situation
In this letter Caelius writes, “This is the scene – the whole thing - Pompey, just as if he was not attacking Caesar, but making a fair settlement for him, blames Curio for making trouble. At the same time he is absolutely against Caesar becoming consul before giving up his province and army. He is getting a rough ride from Curio, and his entire third Consulship is attacked. You mark my words, if they try to crush Curio with all their might, Caesar will come to the rescue; if instead, as seems most likely, they are too frightened to risk it, then Caesar will stay as long as he wants.”
June of 50 BC comes around and surprisingly the Consul Marcellus suggests negotiating with the tribunes to break the deadlock
The senate rejects this
Now there begins to be talk of sending either Pompey or Caesar to Syria to fight the Parthians
That region of the empire is still dealing with fallout from Crassus’ disaster
This idea is scrapped though with the Optimates unwilling to let Caesar go and yet unwilling to let Pompey go either afraid that they will lose their protector from Caesar if he does
Essentially they see Pompey as the only thing standing between them and the evil Caesar
Now as I said earlier, this whole contest is like an ancient arms race
Both sides want the other to disarm but neither wants to disarm themselves
Now in the case of nuclear weapons, it’s the threat of mutually assured destruction that keeps both sides negotiating and looking for common ground
In this case, it’s the threat of civil war that is keeps both sides negotiating
The problem is while no one can will a nuclear holocaust, a civil war can very much have a winner
So of course when trying to come to an arms control agreement, there has to be some level of trust between the two sides
Trust that the other side is negotiating in good faith and actually wants to de-arm rather than secretly plotting to win the potential civil war
In this case there is very little trust, but It’s about to crash to zero
A different solution to the Parthian problem is proposed
The idea is put forward that to be fair to both sides, both Pompey and Caesar should each send one of their legions to Syria to fight the Parthians
This way the empire can be protected and neither man is disadvantaged more than the other
This would be your ancient arms control agreement to lower the amount of weapons on each side and establish trust that both sides will abide by their agreement and lower tensions
Both Pompey and Caesar agree to this idea as it seems fair and reasonable
So Caesar says he will give up the 15th legion
And Pompey says he will give up the 1st legion
Wait a second..
The 1st legion is the legion Pompey had lent to Caesar
Pompey has pulled the infamous legion switcheroo
he is essentially trying to trick Caesar into giving up 2 legions while he gives up none
Pompey has taken this fair compromise designed to keep the balance of power, build trust and decrease the size of both men’s armies and instead he’s attempting to use it to gain an advantage in a potential civil war
Any trust that Julius Caesar had that Pompey and the Optimates were equally committed to de-escalating the situation and finding a peaceful resolution has gone out the window
It is crystal clear now that Pompey and the Optimates are not negotiating in good faith
They are trying to win in this contest against Caesar
They are not trying to come to an agreement
Despite all of this, Caesar decides to send both of the legions to join the Parthian war anyway, depriving him of 2 legions and Pompey of none
Caesar is still intent on coming to a negotiated peace and he is still trying to win the war for public opinion
Obeying the dictates of Pompey and the senate even when they are being this slippery and conniving will show the neutrals that he really is intent on making peace
Because keep in mind, most people are not on Caesar or Pompey and the Optimates’ sides
Most people are in the middle and just want peace
That’s often the way it is, with two opposing and extreme minorities dragging the silent majority into civil strife

Now… if Caesar still has any doubts in his mind that Pompey and the Optimates are negotiating in bad faith, they now make it abundantly clear
Caesar sends his two legions to Italy to then be sent on to the Parthian war
Before they leave he gives every soldier a bonus of 250 Denarii
That is more than a year’s wage for a soldier
Insurance that they will continue to be positively disposed to Caesar if it comes to civil war
Well these 2 legions march down to Capua, near modern Naples, and… they just sit there
They aren’t sent to the East to fight the Parthians as promised
That is an outrageous act of bad faith
Pompey and the senate have tricked Caesar into giving up 2 of his legions under false pretenses
It’s very hard to see how they can be trusted in any future negotiations
Now, Pompey’s trick may have worked, but this whole incident inadvertently leads to disastrous consequences for Pompey and the Optimates
A young nobleman is sent to take command of these 2 legions from Caesar
When this young nobleman returns with the legions he tells tales of Caesar’s army being disaffected, even near rebellion having been worn out by all the campaigning
All they desire is to go home and they are suspicious Caesar wants to make himself a tyrant
He goes so far as to tell Pompey that Caesar’s soldiers hate him so much and love Pompey so much that as soon as Pompey appears, they will defect to him
Of course, nothing could be further from the truth
And it’s hard to know whether this was an intentional scheme by Caesar or if the man spreading this information was just an uninformed dummy
It’s common when two sides are engaged in an arms race or a cold war for both sides to do and say everything they can to make themselves appear stronger than they actually are
It can be a form of deterrence to avoid war
There’s the famous story of Nikita Kruschev declaring that the Soviet Union was producing “missiles like sausages”
This of course was just a bluff
The USSR had only half a dozen ICBM’s at the time
But if Caesar has bribed this young noblemen to do the opposite of what Kruschev was doing…
To trick his enemy into thinking he is weaker than he really is…
Well that doesn’t look so much like deterrence then
That looks a lot more like someone who is actively courting war, a war he intends to win
But given all the lengths Caesar goes to to try to negotiate a peaceful settlement, this seems unlikely to me
I think it’s more likely a combination of ignorance and wishful thinking on the part of the young aristocrat and Pompey
Any way around it, this piece of false intelligence is one of multiple factors that will lead Pompey down a disastrous course
You see, the senate and the Optimates can only be as inflexible and hard headed as they are when negotiating with Caesar because they have the backing of Pompey, Rome’s greatest general
If not for Pompey they’d have to treat Caesar sitting above Rome at the head of his veteran legions with more deference
So the Optimates and the senate take their confidence from Pompey
The problem is, Pompey is overconfident
We already saw him compare Caesar to his son attacking him with a stick
A ridiculous idea and an easy problem to solve
It’s in part, statements like this that will lead the Optimates to dig in their heels and back Caesar into a corner
Pompey hearing that Caesar’s legions are mutinous and ready to defect to his side only increases this false sense of confidence
Because of course, if you think your opponent’s army won’t fight for him, it’s going to lead you to overplay your hand
And with this being the case… the nightmare scenario then stikes for the Optimates… Pompey falls dangerously ill
Pompey is in Naples at the time or Neapolis as it was known then
And when the people of Neapolis hear he has fallen dangerously sick they begin praying and offering sacrifices for his good health
The neighboring towns and cities hear of this and they join in and begin praying sacrificing
This spreads and soon the whole of Italy is offering sacrifices in the hope that it will restore Pompey’s health
No doubt due to all these sacrifices and prayers, Pompey makes a full recovery
And when word of this spreads, all of Italy holds festivals and thanksgivings lasting days
People throng to see Pompey
So many people that they clog the roads, villages and ports, everywhere partying and celebrating his recovery
On his journey back to Rome Pompey’s way is lead by torchbearers wearing garlands as people throw flower at him
It’s all a magnificent show of appreciation for a man who has provided countless great services to the people of Rome
But given Pompey’s love and need for adoration… what do you imagine this does to his mental state?
Well, Pompey’s already inflated ego begins to balloon from all this
If all of Italy is behind him, how can Caesar worry him?
No need for preparations against Caesar, no need to compromise with Caesar
Pompey begins to show contempt for Caesar and mock and laugh at those afraid of a civil war
When some in the senate express concerns to Pompey that they see no army to defend Rome if Caesar marches on the city, Pompey replies with a calm smile and says that he has but to stamp upon the earth to fill Italy with armies (Plutarch, Caesar)
It’s comments like this that cause the optimates and the senate to be just as overconfident as Pompey
Now, going back a little, when Pompey was lying sick in Naples he sent a letter to the Senate
In this letter he stated that he would give up his command even though his term was not up
Our ancient source for this part of the story is Appian and Appian says Pompey did this to make a show of how fair he was being and to rouse resentment against Caesar since Caesar wasn’t going to give up his command even though his enemies say his term is up
And of course, Caesar can’t give up his command or he will be hauled before a hostile court controlled by Pompey
Upon arriving in Rome Pompey speaks to the Senate and again says he will give up his command, and then says that Caesar will happily lay down his command too
Now of course, Pompey and Caesar haven’t come to any sort of agreement on this and this is a high handed move on the part of Pompey
And Appian says the reason for Pompey saying all of this is so replacements will be sent to take over Caesar’s provinces while Pompey himself is just bound by a promise to step down
In other words, Pompey never said when he would step down
This is another trick
Not a very clever one
I think Cicero’s protegee Caelius who is a contemporary on these events hit the nail on the head when he wrote of Pompey, “...for he is accustomed to think one thing and say another, and yet is not clever enough to conceal his real aims.” (CXCI (F VIII, 1) M. CAELIUS RUFUS TO CICERO (ON HIS JOURNEY TO CILICIA) ROME, 24 MAY-1 JUNE, 51BC)
Curio, Caesar’s bribed tribune of the plebs sees right through this
He says to Pompey, what we need is not a promise of a resignation but an immediate resignation
Caesar will lay down his command when Pompey does, and in fact, Pompey should lay down his command first
He even flips the script, essentially saying it isn’t Pompey you need to protect you from Caesar, but Caesar to protect you from Pompey
Or at the very least that you need both of them to protect you from each other or neither of them, but to leave one in power and not the other is dangerous
And he has a point with regards to Pompey being an unacknowledged danger to the Republic, or perhaps a danger that is somehow being overshadowed by this fear and hatred of Caesar
After all, Pompey de facto dictator of Rome and even has soldiers inside the city
Curio then begins attacking Pompey personally, saying that Pompey is aiming for supreme power
Curio then demands that both men lay down their commands or both be labeled public enemies and troops should be levied to fight against them
Of course this is a ridiculous idea with no teeth to it
Curio is just trying to hide the fact that he’s been bribed by Caesar by appearing to be neutral
Pompey gets angry at this attack and after threatening Curio he storms out of the meeting
Now, in any arms race, it’s essential to have a good understanding of what the other side is doing with their arms
Miscalculations on this front can be disastrous
This is one of the big reasons the US and the Soviet Union put so much effort into spying during the Cold War
There’s the famous story of the Soviet soldier, Stanislav Petrov who got a false reading on his radar in 1983 that the US had launched not 1 but 5 missiles at the Soviet Union
In that climate, in the cold war, it could and probably was assumed that these missiles were nuclear weapons
So a false understanding of what the other side is doing with their weapons like this could be catastrophic
Stanislav was supposed to pick up the phone to tell his superiors so they could launch an immediate counter-strike against the US
Luckily for the entire world, Stanislav decided not to pick up the phone that day and took the gamble that it was a false reading
He was right
Ancient Rome doesn’t have to worry about nuclear holocausts but it’s also not so lucky as to have cool-headed reasonable men at its helm seeking peace and showing restraint
In October of 50 BC wild rumors spread through an increasingly paranoid Rome that Caesar has concentrated four legions in Northern Italy for an attack
Like the radar reading of American missiles the Soviet soldier saw, this rumor is false
Caesar only has one legion in Northern Italy, he is not concentrating his forces
Fortunately this spark does not lead to war but it does ratchet up the tension in Rome and these sorts of false rumors will continue to push the Republic toward war
At this point Rome is suffering what you might call, collective PTSD flashbacks
The civil wars between Marius and Sulla are still in living memory
Pompey fought in those wars
Many Romans lived through those terrible times
Many others died either on the battle field or in political purges by Marius and Sulla
No one could forget Marius walking through the streets of Rome with bands of slaves at his side, killing anyone Marius didn’t salute back
No one could forget the proscription lists or death lists Sulla routinely posted in Rome
These events were seared into many of the Romans’ minds and so they have no illusions about what Civil war will mean
Cicero, who is living through all these events wrote about his concerns in December of 50 BC, saying, “For no one can be certain of the result when once we come to fighting: but everyone is certain that, if the loyalists are beaten, this man will not be more merciful than Cinna in the massacre of the nobility, nor less rapacious than Sulla in confiscating the property of the rich.” -Cicero on Caesar (CCXCVII (A VII, 7))
In that same letter Cicero also vents his frustration on the poor way in which this whole contest with Caesar has been handled from the beginning
He’s confounded that Pompey and the Optimates have waited until Caesar has become this powerful to challenge him
And at this point, Caesar is so powerful that going against him will have disastrous consequences that won’t be good for anyone
He writes, “We should have resisted him when he was weak, and that would have been easy. Now we are confronted by eleven legions, cavalry at his desire, the Transpadani, the city rabble, all these tribunes, a rising generation corrupted as we see, a leader of such influence and audacity. With such a man we must either fight a pitched battle, or admit his candidature in virtue of the law. "Fight," say you, "rather than be a slave." To what end? To be proscribed, if beaten: to be a slave after all, if victorious?”
At some point during the fall of 50 BC Censors are elected
Fortunately for Caesar, one of the Censors is his father-in-law
Unfortunately for Caesar, the other Censor is a man named Appius Claudius, older brother to the infamous Clodius of the street gangs
Appius Claudius has supported Caesar in the past but now has made an abrupt about face and is a full throated Optimate
In what many in Rome see as a farce, Appius Claudius, who doesn’t have a very sterling reputation, starts purging the Senate of men he feels are unfit to be in the senate
In these purges Appius Claudius seems fixate mainly on men who support Caesar
It’s certainly a clever strategy if not particularly designed to build trust and goodwill with Caesar
If you can’t get what you want in the senate because Caesar has too many supporters, why just eject his supporters from the senate
Of course, this just adds to Caesar’s growing sense that the Optimates are not negotiating in good faith
Caesar’s father-in-law doesn’t seem to have much of a stomach to stand up to Appius Claudius either
One of the men purged from the senate is the historian Sallust
Like others purged, he leaves Rome to join Caesar
But when Appius Claudius tries to purge Curio form the senate, finally Caesar’s father-in-law joins forces with the Consul Caesar had bribed to put a stop to this
Giving up on his attempt to throw Curio out of the Senate, Appius Claudius gives a speech telling the senate what he really thinks of Curio
It must have been one heck of a character assassination because Curio becomes so enraged he ends up tearing the Censor Appius’s robes as a brawl breaks out in the senate
In the end, despite the consul Marcellus’ attempt to hold Curio to account for the fight, Curio keeps his seat in the senate
December 1 of 50 BC rolls around and another senate meeting is held
Again the debate is Caesar’s command
Caesar’s enemies really want to separate these two issues of Pompey relinquishing command and Caesar relinquishing command
They feel that these are two different issues that have nothing to do with each other
So they put forward two different proposals
The first, should a successor be sent to take over Caesar’s command?
The majority of the senate votes in favor of this
The second proposal asks if Pompey should be deprived of his command?
Most of the Senate votes against this
This is not a good look for Caesar
Clearly Pompey has more support
But then up pops Curio, and he begins doing what he has been doing all year long
He starts tying these two issues together
He puts forward a third proposal saying that both Caesar and Pompey should lay down their commands
The senate votes on this and 370 senators vote yes and only 22 vote against it
So it’s now clear that most senators want both of these men to lay down their commands, they just want to avoid civil war, they want peace
Only a small minority are against this idea
This small minority was made up of most of the great names of the Republic
The oligarchy of the Republic if you will, the Optimates
The consul Marcellus then ignores all of these votes and dismisses the meeting in disgust saying to the senators, "Have your way, be slaves to Caesar." - Appian 30
As you can see and as we’ve said before, there is a sort of pathological hatred of Caesar among a powerful clique in Rome
Shortly after this December Senate meeting a new rumor sweeps through Rome
Caesar has massed his legions and marched on Rome
Caesar is coming, the war has begun!
Only, again, this rumor is false
Caesar hasn’t massed his legions and he hasn’t marched on Rome
But no one in Rome knows this, and as we said before, there is quite a jumpy atmosphere in Rome and Rome is not being led by men exhibiting rational self-restraint
So in response to these rumors, the senate meets and at this meeting the Consul Marcellus urges the senators to name Caesar a public enemy and to use the 2 legions sitting at Capua against him
Remember, these are the 2 legions Caesar had handed over for the war against Parthia
Marcellus wants to use Caesar’s own legions against him
Probably not the best idea
Curio rejects all of this and tells everyone that stories of Caesar invading Italy are false rumors
After debating this, the majority of the Senate is still looking to avoid war and so they vote against Marcellus’ proposal
In response to this, Plutarch tells us, “Marcellus, however, rose and declared that he would not sit there listening to speeches, but since he saw ten legions already looming up in their march over the Alps, he himself also would send forth a man who would oppose them in defence of his country.” Plutarch Pompey, 58
Undeterred, Marcellus takes it upon himself to pull one of the great idiotic moves of all time
Whatever the restrained and cautious thing to do to avoid pushing the two sides into civil war would have been… Marcellus does the exact opposite
With no permission from the senate and therefore no legal authority, this man who is an optimate and therefore defender of traditional Roman government and the rights of the senate… goes with the consuls-elect to Pompey and presents Pompey with a sword and says to him:
"I and my colleague command you to march against Caesar on behalf of your country, and we give you for this purpose the army now at Capua, or in any other part of Italy, and whatever additional forces you yourself choose to levy." (Appian book 2 para 31)
Not only is Marcellus not working toward peace, he seems to be attempting to hurl his city headlong into civil war
Of all the things Marcellus could have done, this was probably the most inflammatory
What’s more, none of this is legal
While at the same time accusing Caesar of being a self-serving tyrant who ignores the law and tramples on the authority of the senate… Marcellus has ignored the senate’s wishes and without legal authority has handed 2 legions over to Pompey and ordered him to march against Caesar
Did I mention all of this is illegal?
And to be clear, Caesar is the furthest thing from an angel and he has routinely broken the law and gone against the senate when it suits him… but he he hasn’t been the one depicting himself as the defender of the senate’s authority and of the traditional Roman laws and customs… the Optimates have
And, one more thing, the consul Marcellus who has given Pompey this sword and commanded him to fight Caesar…
When civil war does eventually come
This man who has done so much to push his countrymen into civil war… will declare himself neutral and refuse to fight
He will not be the only Optimate to do this
And, let’s not forget that Pompey and the Optimates have now tricked Caesar into giving up 2 legions under false pretext that they have now given to Pompey
We’ve already said it's become difficult for Caesar to trust Pompey and the Optimates in peace negotiations, now it’s become downright impossible
And as for Pompey?
The man who loves more than anything to be the center of attention and to be given special commands? The man who loves when everyone needs to depend on him as the great man?
How do you think he reacts to this sword and this request to save the city from Caesar?
Well Pompey happily accepts these 2 legions and the order to defend the city against Caesar, of course
Pompey begins recruiting troops to swell his army but Plutarch tells us that Pompey had a hard time in recruiting
Some of the troops refuse the summons
Others come reluctantly
Most of them, we are told, cry out that they want a peaceful settlement of all this
Despite all of this posturing by the Optimates and Pompey, no aggressive moves are made outside of the recruiting
Probably largely due to the fact that Caesar has not in fact invaded Italy and that any troops recruited are the definition of green and won’t stand a chance against Caesar’s hardened veterans
They also don’t want to be the ones blamed for starting the war
All of this being said, the move to hand legions and command to Pompey was clever in one way
Pompey as a Proconsul with Imperium cannot enter the city
He’s staying just outside Rome
Curio, as a Tribune has the opposite problem, he’s not allowed to leave Rome
So when when Marcellus goes to illegally gift this sword to Pompey and all the powers that come with it, Curio couldn’t be there to obstruct
Nevertheless Curio publicly denounces this move by Marcellus the Consul and demands the Consuls make a proclamation for citizens to ignore Pompey’s recruitment
Before Curio is able to get anywhere with this this his term of office runs out
Upon his term expiring and with it the protections the office of Tribune provides, Appian tells us Curio flees Rome in fear for his life and takes shelter with Caesar
Presumably he felt he had pissed off so many powerful men Rome was not safe for him anymore
Meanwhile, back in Rome the warmongering attitude seems to be increasing by the day
Some men even seem to be motivated by the prospect of profiting from war
In early December when Cicero met with Pompey he says that Pompey seemed to already assume the existence of downright war
Pompey said at this meeting that Caesar’s friend and subordinate in Gaul Hirtius, the man who wrote the final book of the Gallic Wars, had visited Rome a few days before and had only stayed for a few hours, not even bothering to meet with Pompey
There was even a meeting scheduled between one of Caesar’s agents Balbus and Pompey’s father-in-law the next day and yet Hirtius left Rome the night before the meeting
Pompey seems to have interpreted all of this as Caesar being uninterested in further peace dialogues, hence Pompey assuming war already exists
This warlike attitude will continue to progress in Pompey and by late December Cicero will say Pompey doesn’t even seem to have a wish for peace
With that, 50 BC ends and the fateful year of 49BC rolls around
The Consuls in office in 49 BC look even more worrying for Caesar than they had in 50 BC
Once of the Consuls is yet another Marcellus, this is the third Marcellus elected Consul in a row
He is brother to the first consul Marcellus and cousin to the second consul Marcellus
So as you can imagine, he isn’t a big fan of Caesar
The second consul is a man named Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Crus
We’ll simply call him Lentulus
Cicero described Lentulus as having “an utter aversion to the trouble of thinking.”
Caesar claims Lentullus bragged that he wanted to be a second Sulla, the man who marched on Rome and put citizens on death lists
Lentulus will turn out to be far more extreme in his stance against Caesar than the third Marcellus
It’s not all bad news for Caesar though
Luckily he’s managed to get 2 men loyal to him elected tribunes
The first is Quintus Cassius Longinus, who is not the same Cassius that assassinated Caesar
The second and far more important is Mark Antony
I have mentioned Mark Antony a number of times in this podcast so far but I’ve never formally introduced him as a character in our story
Well starting now he begins to come out onto center stage
Antony is actually a distant relative of Caesar’s and it seems he didn’t have the easiest childhood with his father dying when he was 9 and his subsequent stepfather being put to death by Cicero as one of the Cataline conspirators
Antony will grow up into a bull of a man with the personality to match
In fact, people will often compare Antony to Hercules which his family claimed to be descended from and he even sports a beard and dresses to match the part
We are told Antony showed great promise in his youth but was then corrupted by Curio who introduced him to drinking, womanizing and lavish spending
This lavish spending lead to crushing debts
This wild lifestyle lead him to eventually flee Rome to go to the East for a time
There Antony found his talents lied in war
An exceptionally brave soldier and gifted battlefield commander, his willingness to banter, eat and drink with his men will win him their devotion throughout his life
Antony has a combustible personality and seemed to engage in anything he did with gusto, passion and excessive showmanship
With a strong force of personality and a physique like Hercules he is not an easy man to intimidate
Just the man Caesar needs to hold his ground against the combined weight of all the august men in the senate
And that is where we will end today with Antony taking over for Curio as Caesar’s tribune in Rome and the fateful year of 49BC about to begin

In our next episode, the moment we've all been waiting for, Caesar will make his legendary crossing of the Rubicon launching the entire Mediterranean into war and forever changing the world.

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I’m your host Trevor Fernes, and I will talk to you on the next episode of The March of History