Download The Rise of Caesar and the End of the Roman Republic

The Rise of Caesar and the End of the Roman Republic
A Roman named Crassus won honor by defeating a slave army led by a slave named Spartacus.
Another Roman, Pompey earned fame by ending piracy problems that were cutting off vital food
supplies. In the year 70 B.C.E., the Senate elected them as Rome's two consuls (gov’t leaders).
Meanwhile, thanks in part to his friendship with Crassus and Pompey, a young aristocrat named
Julius Caesar got involved with government. Caesar ran for and won the office in Rome that was
responsible for supervising public games. With money he had borrowed from Crassus, Caesar spent
lavishly on public entertainment, including gladiator contests, which added to his popularity with the
people of Rome.
Julius Caesar Conquers
Caesar's popularity among the common people of Rome grew. In 61 B.C.E., Caesar was sent to Spain
as a Propraetor -- a governor and military commander. There he expanded Roman rule against local
tribes to the peninsula's Atlantic coast. He gained more prestige and personal wealth. When his term
as governor ended, he returned to Rome with enough wealth to pay his enormous debts.
Meanwhile, the Senate refused to grant lands to Pompey's veterans -- despite the wealth Pompey
had added to Rome's treasury by his recent conquests -- and Pompey saw this as preventing him
from keeping faith with his men. In 59 B.C.E. Pompey accepted Caesar's invitation to form an alliance
as a counter to their opponents in the Senate. Crassus was annoyed with the Senate for the position
it took against bribery and his business interests. Although they disliked each other, these men
joined each other, creating a force known as the First Triumvirate: Pompey with his soldiers,
Crassus with his money, and Caesar with his popularity. (A type of oligarchy.)
Benefiting from this alliance, Caesar was elected consul in 58 B.C.E.. As consul he proposed to the
Senate a land bill for Pompey's veterans. The Senate did not respond. Pompey lent his veterans to
Caesar, and the veterans created a dominant military and people’s voice force in Rome. Caesar’s
reinforced his alliance with Pompey, who he had marry his daughter, Julia.
Caesar Goes to Gaul
Forbidden by law to run for a second term as consul, Caesar won a five-year appointment as
governor of Gaul. As governor, he launched a war to extend Roman rule over the unconquered
lands, occupied by about fifty tribes. These tribes had been fighting among themselves, and some of
them, respecting the power of Rome, allied themselves with Caesar. Caesar conquered Gaul, his
successes the result of good military tactics, well-disciplined troops and use of the kind of terror that
the Romans considered necessary and appropriate to frighten an enemy. Caesar was not a
bloodthirsty man, but popularity was important to him, and to maintain the support of his soldiers, he
submitted to their passion for blood. With his generosity and his brilliance as a commander, he won
their devotion.
East of the Rhine River, Caesar came into contact with a Germanic people he described as tall and
blond, warlike and utterly savage, people with wagons who had come from Scandinavia -- what is
now Denmark, southern Norway and Sweden. They were running from population growth, shortages
of food and wars between tribes. Already some of these Germans had settled on the western side of
the Rhine River. Caesar fought them. He made slaves of those his army captured and he made the
Rhine River the empire's frontier.
Caesar against the Senate
Romans welcomed Caesar's victories against their ancient enemy the Gauls, and they welcomed
extension of their empire. News of each of Caesar's victories inspired a celebration, while some
Senators remained unimpressed. The more glory that Caesar won, the more conservative Senators
feared him. They described his victories as cheap aggressions against inoffensive peoples.
Caesar knew that he needed support against the will of the Senate. In Gaul he acquired more wealth
with which to buy political support in Rome. But his position in Rome suffered with the death of his
daughter Julia, which ended an important tie between him and Pompey. Additionally, Crassus was
jealous of Caesar's successes in Gaul.
With Caesar agreeing, Crassus won appointment as governor of Syria. This put Crassus in charge of
Rome's relations with the Parthians, and it gave Crassus opportunity to win the glory that Caesar had
been winning. In the spring of 53 B.C.E., Crassus took an army of around forty thousand -- mainly
infantry -- from Syria and moved them into northeastern Mesopotamia. He had not taken the time to
learn much about the local geography and local people as Caesar had. Crassus’ ignorance and
impatience led to disaster. Much of his army was taken into captivity. While a captive, he died in a
scuffle with a Parthian officer.
The Senate turned to Pompey to establish law and order in a city where large groups or “gangs” were
forming and fighting -- perhaps some Senators also saw this as an opportunity to split Pompey from
his alliance with Caesar. The Senate decided to make Pompey the sole consul and to allow Pompey
to raise an army to restore order and to suppress the gangs that roamed the streets. Pompey was
delighted by the opportunity to do something heroic.
The Senate established special courts to prosecute those responsible for the recent disorders.
Pompey restored order. Then despite the illegality of second terms, Pompey won another term as
consul, leading one Senator to quip that any government was better than no government.
The Senate passed a bill that called for Caesar to be replaced as governor of Gaul. The Senate
demanded that Caesar disband his army and resign unconditionally. Caesar refused, and the Senate
appealed to Pompey for military support and voted in martial law. Rather than accept an end to his
career and perhaps death, Caesar chose to attack. On his way to Rome, some Italians and other
soldiers rushed to join his forces. Faced with a popular rising and the might of Caesar's army, most
of the Senate fled the city in panic, leaving behind their wives and children.
Caesar Triumphs against Pompey
Caesar entered Rome triumphant. People throughout Italy cheered his success. Rather than attempt
to crush those in Rome opposed to him, Caesar sought reconciliation -- while in Pompey's camp they
talked of revenge. For the security of his regime, Caesar had to defeat those armies loyal to Pompey.
He and his army went to Spain, and in forty days, triumphed against an army allied with Pompey.
They returned to Rome for eleven days while on their way to Greece to confront Pompey.
Caesar found that he had been declared dictator. Caesar presided over elections in which he was
also made consul, and he passed a law creating relief for debtors.
Caesar and his army confronted Pompey in Greece. (Pompey had twice as many infantrymen as Caesar and
seven thousand cavalry to Caesar's one thousand.) Caesar was brighter and his troops more experienced,
and his army crushed Pompey's army. Pompey fled toward Egypt. Continuing his policy of
reconciliation, Caesar offered a pardon to those whom Pompey left behind, and many of them joined
Caesar's armies, while others fled.
The young Egyptian king, Ptolemy XII, saw Pompey as a loser and a danger. He had Pompey
stabbed to death when Pompey arrived in Egypt. Three days later Caesar arrived with his army, and
Ptolemy offered Caesar Pompey's embalmed head as a trophy. Caesar was annoyed and dismayed.
Caesar found Egypt in political disarray, and he began asserting authority there that many Egyptians
believed was not his. He would have preferred reconciliation with Pompey, and he had the two
Egyptians who had taken part in Pompey's murder executed. He tried to settle a dispute within the
Ptolemy family and finally sided with the king's daughter, Cleopatra. In the streets and harbor at
Alexandria war erupted between Ptolemy XII and Caesar and his small force, with Caesar fighting
Roman naval forces that had remained loyal to Pompey. Reinforcements for Caesar arrived from
Palestine, and Caesar won. Ptolemy XII died in the conflict, and Caesar and his army remained in
Egypt for a couple of months.
Caesar married Cleopatra to her younger brother, as was the Egyptian custom, and he set the couple
upon Egypt's throne. Caesar and Cleopatra secretly wed and vacationed together on a ship on the
Nile, which would eventually lead to the birth of a son, Caesarian, by the two. On his return to Rome,
he defeated rebel armies throughout Asia Minor on his way. Caesar described this conflict with his
famous phrase, "I came, I saw, I conquered."
Caesar arrived in Rome with a great triumph parade that included forty elephants and delirious
crowds. Many Romans must have thought that their troubles were over, that at last a champion of
the people had secured power. Some saw his good fortune as having been granted by the gods.
Some elevated Caesar to a god.
Caesar and Reform
Returning to Rome, Caesar turned his attention to creating a stable government and solving
economic and social problems. Seeking order, he announced that the revolution was over. He
began to create politics of consensus and a government of laws -- but not democracy, which was
commonly believed to be an unruly form of government
He restored the Senate, which now consisted of many new members and fewer aristocrats, and he
accepted the title of "Dictator for Life." Some of the programs he created were:
 Reorganization of the courts
 Penalties for crimes committed by the rich and the poor were increased
 He upheld property rights and took steps toward the restoration of Rome's system of
finances and the creation of economic stability.
 He gave land in Gaul and Spain to veterans.
 To ease the burden of debt, he put restrictions on lending and borrowing.
 Improving housing for the poor; gave Romans temporary relief from rents
 Began welfare reform, and ruled that to go onto welfare in Rome. one had to wait for
someone to leave the program -- this was designed to discourage people from
coming to Rome to take advantage of welfare there. (Roughly eighty thousand whom he
disqualified from welfare he sent to new, overseas colonies. )
 New theaters and temples were built.
 New construction projects for improving trade by sea and for improving harbors.
Caesar laid plans for economic improvements across the empire. He began enlisting men of talent
into public service, and he saw the need for improvement in the organization of municipal (city)
governments throughout Italy. He sought to bind citizens in the provinces closer to Rome by doing
away with laws that made distinctions between them and the citizens of Rome. He gave Roman
citizenship to Gauls who had fought alongside him when he was governor there.
He created better government in territories governed by Rome, including Judea. He gave Jews there
a greater autonomy, reduced their taxes, exempted them from having to serve in Rome's armies, and
he allowed them freedom again to worship their god.
Caesar placed a learned man in charge of Rome's library, and he laid plans for an increase in
government involvement in Rome's public education. He gave Roman citizenship to Greek teachers
in hope of encouraging them to come to Rome. Caesar also had the calendar revised. The old
calendar was a hodgepodge of contributions by various priests. He drew from the expertise of
astronomers and mathematicians, the result being the basic calendar of today.
Assassination
Some among Rome's privileged saw Caesar as responsible for an end to the republic, and rather
than patience and compromise, they opted for a return to the politics of violence: assassination.
They did not understand that political improvements would need time and consensus and respect for
law and that assassinating Caesar would bring neither. Like most assassins they had little grasp of
what would follow their deed.
Some of the conspirators were former supporters of Caesar who hoped to advance their own careers.
Some were from families as distinguished as Caesar's who resented his condescending air of
superiority toward them and others.
The conspiracy to assassinate Caesar was led by a former first commander under Pompey, Gaius
Cassius. Another conspirator, Marcus Brutus, was a senator who continued to pretend friendship
with Caesar and who saw the conspiracy as patriotism that would rid Rome of problems.
Caesar had heard rumors of a plot, but he had not surrounded himself with spies, and he knew
nothing of who the plotters were or when they might strike.
On the morning of March 15, 44 B.C.E., Caesar went to a meeting at the Forum to ratify his using the
title of king when outside Italy -- a title for dealing with foreign peoples, who understood authority
mainly by that name. As he often did, he went without his bodyguards, but he was accompanied by a
rugged companion: one of his former generals and Rome's other consul, Mark Antony (Marcus
Antonius).
Brutus believed that killing Antony would be an injustice, so another conspirator detained Antony in
conversation as Caesar made his way to his seat. It appeared that people were approaching Caesar,
as usual, to exchange words and ask for favors. Along side a statue of Pompey, someone pulled at
Caesar's cloak. Someone else stabbed him from behind in the neck. Caesar turned and wrestled
with the assailant. As many as sixty others joined in the attack, wounding one another in the fray.
Nearby senators looked on, some of them stunned.
Caesar saw Brutus with his knife raised and asked him: "You too my son?" Stabbed twenty-three
times, Caesar fell to the floor and died.
News of Caesar's assassination spread fast in Rome. Two days after the assassination, Mark Antony
emerged in public with a personal force that he had organized. “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend
me your ear, I come here today not to bury Caesar, but to praise him... “ As the surviving consul, he
accepted power and spoke favorably of the powers of the Senate.
The Senate was glad to be rid of Caesar but wished to avoid civil war, and in a show of conciliation it
voted for a public funeral for Caesar. The funeral was spectacular, and included many foreigners in
the crowd who joined the mourning, some believing that Caesar's death was the signal of the end of
the world. And some believed that Caesar's assassins should be punished. From the crowd of
mourners came the retaliation that had failed to come from Caesar's top lieutenants. Packs of
outraged people rushed to the vacated homes of those rumored to be the assassins
The Ascent of Caesar's Nephew, Octavian
A month after Caesar's death, his eighteen year-old grand-nephew, Octavian, arrived in Italy from the
East, where he had been waiting to serve Caesar in a military campaign. Octavian had served with
Caesar in Spain, and Caesar had adopted him and made him his heir.
Antony considered himself Caesar's political heir, not Octavian. He controlled Caesar's private
fortune, which he had quickly spent. Octavian paid the gift of money that Caesar had promised
citizens in his will -- which Antony refused to pay. He paid for athletic games in honor of Caesar, and
at these games a comet streaked across the sky. The crowd thought it was Caesar's star, a sign of
Caesar's immortality, a sign of Caesar having risen, and a sign of heavenly favor bestowed upon
Octavian. News of Caesar's star spread rapidly across the empire. Octavian inherited the affection
of soldiers and civilians who had worshiped Caesar. Many of Caesar's veterans gathered around
Octavian and proclaimed their devotion to him, and war between Octavian and Antony appeared
imminent.
Antony against the Senate
The relationship between Antony, at the end of his term as consel, and the Senate fell apart.
Antony was thought of as wanting to follow in the footsteps of Caesar. The Senate refused Antony's
attempt to have Octavian declared a public enemy. Instead, the Senate made Octavian a senator
and declared Antony an outlaw.
Octavian, Antony and the End the Republic
Octavian was uncomfortable allied with the Senate, and he saw opportunity in overthrowing those
responsible for his uncle's assassination. He signaled Antony that he was willing to create an alliance
against those they both opposed. Some were to claim that Octavian and Antony agreed that they
had better hang together or they might eventually hang separately. A new triumvirate, Antony,
Octavian, and a man named Lepidus was created. The Plebeian Assembly passed a law giving the
triumvirate dictatorial powers for five years.
Octavian and Antony launched a massacre against those who had conspired against Caesar. Three
hundred senators were killed, destroying much of what had been Rome's old governing elite. Caesar
was declared a god of the Roman state. The two most prominent of Caesar's assassins, Cassius and
Brutus, had fled east and had taken command of armies there. Antony and Octavian waged war
against them in Macedonia. Brutus and Cassius committed suicide.
Octavian Versus Antony and Cleopatra
Antony was considered the senior member of Rome's ruling triumvirate, and he was named authority
over most of Gaul and over all of Rome's Eastern Empire. Octavian ruled in Rome, Italy and Gaul.
Lepidus was left with only the promise of rule in Northern Africa west of Egypt.
Touring in the eastern part of the empire, Antony ordered Egypt's ruler, Cleopatra, to appear before
him. She arrived in Alexandria in her gilded ship with purple sails and silver-lined oars, and there the
two spent the winter together.
Octavian and Antony Renew Their Hostilities
The law that had granted the Triumvirate five years of dictatorial power expired in 38 B.C.E., and the
Plebeian Assembly extended the dictatorship another five years. Also, that year, Antony returned to
the east and married Octavian’s widowed sister Octavia, hoping to help better their relationship.
Octavian married into the aristocratic Drusus family, taking Livia Dursilla as his wife.
In the east, Antony renewed his contacts with Cleopatra. Antony needed Cleopatra's wealth to
pursue his career, and Cleopatra wanted to revive boundaries of the old Ptolemy kingdom of her
forefathers. Within a year, Antony sent his pregnant wife, Octavia, back to Rome from Egypt. Antony
lived in opulence with Cleopatra. He acknowledged publicly that he had fathered twins by Cleopatra -
- a boy and girl -- while in Rome, Antony's wife (Octavian's sister) presided with dignity over Antony' s
household, caring for Antony's other children.
The Romans still associated marriage with morality, and many looked upon Anthony's association
with Cleopatra with disgust and saw Octavia as a mistreated heroine. Octavian was outraged by
what he saw as Antony's mistreatment of his sister.
Antony's funds were now depleted, and he was more dependent on the wealth of Cleopatra. To
please her, he staged a ceremony at which he pronounced her "Queen of Kings" and distributed to
her children the titles that were traditionally given to children of royalty. Antony declared Cleopatra's
thirteen year-old son by Caesar, Caesarion, as Julius Caesar's legitimate son and as heir to the rule
of Egypt, Cyprus and a part of Syria. Antony declared Cleopatra's six-year old boy as king of
Armenia. He gave the boy's twin sister titles to Libya and other lands. And he declared Cleopatra's
two year-old son as king of Phoenicia.
Making Caesar's son by Cleopatra Caesar's legitimate son was equivalent to putting the boy ahead of
Octavian, who was merely Caesar's nephew and adopted son. This increased Octavian's
displeasure with Antony. Antony gave word that he wanted Octavia and her children out of his house
This severed the final bond between Octavian and Antony.
Octavian Triumphs
In the summer of 32 B.C.E. Antony's divorce from Octavia was announced. Rumor spread in Italy that
Antony wanted to make Cleopatra queen of Rome and to transfer Rome's government to Egypt. By
now many Romans saw him as a renegade from Roman tradition.
Backed by opinion across Italy and much of Rome's western provinces, Octavian, as consul, obtained
a declaration of war against Cleopatra -- but not against Antony. It was to be a war against a
foreigner, putting Antony in a position of treason. Antony's troops also disliked Cleopatra. Their
morale was low, and some high ranking officers among them deserted to Octavian.
Antony, with Cleopatra at his side, moved with his army to a strong point in western Greece. There,
near the town of Actium, Octavian's talented commander, Agrippa, defeated Antony in a great sea
battle, and Antony and Cleopatra fled back to Egypt. Nine months later, Octavian and his forces
arrived in Egypt. Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra became Octavian's prisoner, and fearing that
Octavian would take her back as display as his triumph, she sent herself as a goddess into the world
of the dead -- using the bite of what was probably a cobra.
NOTE
Octavian saw both Caesarion and Cleopatra's eldest son by Antony as dangerous rivals and had them executed,
but he adopted into his own family the other children of Cleopatra and Antony, including the daughters of Antony and
Octavia.
In the summer of 29 B.C.E., Octavian returned to Rome. His fellow Romans believed they had seen the
end of war and strife, and they hailed him as the “Prince of Peace” and benefactor of mankind.
Celebrations lasted for days. The Senate gave Octavian the permanent title "Commander Imperitor"
-- from which the English word emperor is derived.
Octavian Rules as Emperor Augustus
In 27 B.C.E., Octavian began his seventh term as consul, and on the first day of that year he
renounced his consulship and declared that he was surrendering all powers to the Senate, including
control of the army. It was a bogus withdrawal from power. As Octavian expected, the Senate
responded by returning much of his power, claiming that it was doing so for the sake of unity.
Octavian held the title of princeps, which could be translated as leader, or, in German, führer. In
keeping with his great prestige, the Senate gave him a title that had the ring of his being divinely
chosen, Augustus Caesar, and the Senate made it law that he be included in the prayers of Rome's
priests. In appearance, the Republic had been restored, but in fact ultimate power still lay with
Octavian -- Augustus Caesar.
Augustus and Pax Romana
From the years 27 through 24 B.C.E., Augustus continued as consul, and he spent those years outside
Rome, administering and organizing, first in Gaul and then in Spain. In 26 B.C.E., to protect
commerce, he allowed a military expedition to be sent against southern Arabs who were trying to
maintain a monopoly of trade with India and the coast of Somalia. While Augustus toured Gaul and
Spain, Romans were enthusiastic over rumors that he was planning an invasion of Britain. But
Augustus had had his fill of war, he decided to leave Britain alone. (Most of Britain's tribal chieftains were
friendly toward Rome and wished to maintain and develop trade with the continent.)
Augustus' policy of peace was the mainstay of the relatively stable time called the Pax Romana.
Augustus Patronizes and Builds
Augustus had begun building projects soon after his return from his war against Cleopatra, his first
project was repairing temples. In the years that followed, he gave Romans bread, games and
magnificent shows, paying for these with both public and his own money. He began to complete
buildings that had been left unfinished after Caesar's death, and he encouraged Rome's highest
ranking military officers to spend for public works and public parks some of the wealth they had
received as war prizes. The construction of a new aqueduct was completed, splendid new public
baths were built, new roads, and once a city of sun-dried brick, under Augustus, became a city of
marble.
The new roads improved communications and helped trade. Mail service improved, improvements
were made in civil administration, and he created self-government for cities and provinces. He also
created urban fire departments and urban police forces. Augustus also restored power to small
farmers, believing that they had contributed to making Rome the power that it was.
Religious Study and Protecting the Race
As was tradition among the Romans. He tried setting an example by dressing without extravagance
and by living in a modest house. He emphasized the worship of those gods he thought had given him
victory in battle, among them the god Apollo.
Augustus tried to persuade one of the foremost writers of his time, the poet Horace, to create a work
comparable to Homer's Iliad, that would inspire Romans to the worship of the state's traditional gods
and give the Romans pride in their history and their race. Horace was not interested, but the poet
Virgil was. Virgil wrote the Aeneid, a story about the gods and the founding of the Roman race, a
myth about the Romans having descended from Trojans who had fled the flames of Troy. Aeneas
was described as the son of the goddess Venus and the Trojan Anchises. According to Virgil, among
the descendants of Aeneas was Rhea Silva, who married Mars and gave birth to Romulus and
Remus. Virgil described Julius Caesar as a more distant descendant of Aeneas.
Augustus is Rome’s first emperor = Rome is now considered an empire. Many other emperors will
follow and continue to expand Rome’s territory until it grows and grows and becomes the largest
empire the world has ever seen!