Julius Caesar and His Rise

Julius Caesar and His Rise to Power

Caesar served his first military campaign under Minucius Thermus in 81 BC, assisting in "stamping out the embers of resistance to Roman rule in the province of Asia." During this campaign Caesar was awarded the civic crown for saving the life of a fellow soldier the battle of Mytilene; this would be the first of a huge number of decorations Caesar would earn over his legendary career. After continuing campaigns in Asia and Cilicia, he returned to Rome in 78 BC once news of Sulla's death reached him, but his failure to preserve the Sullan constitution drove him back to the East a year later. Here he planned on avoiding the realm of politics by studying at Rhodes, but his plans were delayed by his kidnapping by pirates on the way, and foiled by a breakout of war before he completed his studies. In order to preserve the territory he had previously fought for, Caesar immediately raised a corps of volunteers to secure the lands in Asia. When relief came in the form of Lucullus, who assumed the command of the Roman troops in Asia, Caesar returned to Rome once again to take up his elected seat on the college of pontifices, which was left vacant by his uncle, C. Aurelius Cotta.

At this point in his life Caesar is known more of a man of pleasure, acquiring great debts and personal drama. While serving as praetor, Caesor supported proposals that Pompey favored. This put him at extreme odds with the senate, but proved to be a brilliant tactical move on Caesar's part since Pompey's return from the East was looming close. Once Pompey returned to Rome, he gained an ally in Caesar. Shortly, however, Pompey himself was alienated by the senate when they refused to ratify several acts he proposed and to grant lands to his now disbanded soldiers. Caesar took this opportunity to band together with Pompey and Crassus, who had great power and money and hated the existing governmental system, in an effort to end the rule of the oligarchy. This became the First Triumvirate, and their existence wiped out the existing constitutional government.

During this time, Caesar also served as the curator of the Appian Way, and continued to pursue his judicial goals until being elexted as curule aedile in 65 BC. This magistrate position was the next step in the Roman cursus honorum and a huge step towards his eventual election as Pontifex Maximus in 63 BC, after the death of the previous Pontifex Maximus, Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius. Eventually, by 61 BC, Caesar was finally assigned to serve as the Proconsular governor of further Spain, the province he served in as a quaestor.

Once in Hispania, Caesar demonstrated a genius sense of tactics and a grand reputation as a military commander. Considerable victories were won over the local Spanish tribes Between 61 BC and 60 BC, inspiring his men to hail him as Imperator in the field. This title held immense weight in the consideration of a triumph in Rome, but he would never see this triumph, opting instead to enter Rome to run for Consul, the highest political office in the Roman Republic, in 60 BC.

Even though Caesar had overwhelming popularity within the citizen assemblies, he still had some formidable enemies in the Senate, and he was forced to discover ways to manipulate the his alliances in order to secure the Consul position. Since he already had a friendship with the wealthy and influential Crassus, Caesar set out to woe Pompey into an alliance, even though Crassus and Pompey were at odds. Caesar demonstrated his negotiating powers by patching up the trouble between Crassus and Pompey, and was born the First Triumvirate in late 60 BC. Already secure with Crassus, by marrying the daughter of his client Piso, Caesar next strengthened his alliance with Pompey. Pompey was married to Caesar's daughter Julia. In addition, Caesar was given the Proconsulship of Cisalpine Gaul, Illyricum, and Gallia Narbonensis in an effort to achieve military prowess as well as political. As 59 BC came to a close, Caesar had the support of the people, along with the two most powerful men in Rome (aside from himself), and the opportunity for infinite glory in Gaul, which he took full advantage of, changing the face of the ancient world forever.

An agreement was reached with Pompey and Crassus in which Caesar would have his extension on his term as proconsul of Gaul while granting Pompey and Crassus a balance of power opportunity. Pompey and Crassus were to be elected as joint Consuls for 55 BC, with Pompey receiving Spain as his province and Crassus to get Syria. With the matter resolved, Crassus and Pompey returned to Rome to stand for the elections of 55 BC. Despite bitter resistance from the Optimates, including a delay in the election, the two were eventually confirmed as Consuls. Caesar quickly returned to Gaul set into motion the first Roman invasion of Britain. Though unsuccessful in the first invasion, Caesar succeeded in invasion a second time with the largest naval invasion in history until the Invasion of Normandy. At year's end in 55 BC, Caesar had traveled to the farthest point in the known world and had acquired most of Gaul under the sign of the Republic of Rome.

But soon tragedy would strike that would change the dynamics of Caesar's carefully orchestrated plans. In 54 BC, his daughter, Julia Caesaris, died in childbirth. Both Pompey and Caesar were devastated. On top of this tragedy, Crassus was killed in Parthia in 53 BC. Without Crassus or Julia, Pompey began to drift towards the Optimates faction, and him and Pompey drifted steadily apart.

The defeat of Vercingetorix lead to an effective end of the Gallic Wars. The whole campaign resulted in 800 conquered cities, 300 subdued tribes, one million men sold to slavery and another three million dead in battle fields.

The years 50 BC and 49 BC were pivotal. It is during this time that Caesar's control and shelter from prosecution for his action in Spain was about to expire. Caesar badly desired the ability to run for the Consulship in abstentia, thereby allowing him the safe transfer of protection from his Proconsular Imperium, granted by his command in Gaul, to that of the actual Consulship once again. By this time, however, Pompey, likely the only man able to smooth things over, had clearly sided with the Optimates. Laws were passed while Pompey was Consul without colleague that forced a candidate to be present in Rome to run for office.

Caesar's only options throughout were either to surrender willingly and face certain prosecution, or go to war. On January 1, 49 BC and the days immediately following, the Senate rejected Caesar's final peace proposal and declared him a public enemy. Around the 10th of January 49 BC, word reached Caesar and he marched south with the 13th Legion from Ravenna towards the southern limit of Cisalpine Gaul's border. He is then reported to have muttered the now infamous phrase, from the work of the poet Menander, "Alea iacta est," usually quoted as "The die is cast." Crossing the Rubicon, Caesar officially invaded Italy, starting the civil war. Despite having two legions to Caesar's one, Caesar's Gallic legions were on the move to join him so Pompey and the rest of Caesar's opposition had little choice but to leave Rome immediately and abandon Italy to Caesar. When Caesar entered Rome, he was elected Dictator, but only served for 11 days when he left office and served as Consul instead.

Caesar first faced Pompey on July 10, 48 BC at Dyrrhacium, where Caesar barely avoided a catastrophic defeat. Despite this near-defeat, Caesar decisively defeated Pompey's much larger army. Following the defeat at Pharsalus, the majority of the remaining Pompeian forces surrendered to Caesar, and the major part of the war was essentially over. Pompey himself fled to Egypt, where his own horrible fate awaited him. Caesar followed the Egypt, on Pompey's heals. While there, he would place Cleopatra on the throne of Egypt and use her as the key to controlling the vast wealth of Egypt, securing her reign in 47 BC by upholding Ptolemy XII's will.

By the campaign season of 47 BC, Caesar left Egypt and began an overland march through the far eastern provinces. Heading towards the trouble with Pharnaces, Caesar traveled through Judaea and Syria, accepting apologies and granting pardons to those foreign kings and Roman governors who had supported Pompey. Caesar met King Pharnaces in the battle of Zela. His victory was so swift and so complete that he commemorated it in his triumph with the words: Veni Vidi Vici ("I came, I saw, I conquered").

Thence, in 46 BC, he proceeded to Africa to deal with the remnants of Pompey's senatorial supporters under Cato the Younger. He quickly gained a significant victory at Thapsus over the forces of Metellus Scipio, who was killed in battle, and Cato the Younger. After Cato saw that his forces were defeated by Caesar, in traditional Roman fashion, he fell on his sword and committed suicide.

Despite this great loss for the Senatorial faction, Pompey's sons Gnaeus Pompeius and Sextus Pompeius, together with Titus Labienus, Caesar's former propraetorian legate (legatus propraetore) and second in command in the Gallic War, escaped to Spain, where they continued to resist Caesar's dominance of the Roman world. Caesar arrived in Spain in late November or early December of 46 BC, with 8 legions and 8,000 cavalry of his own. Caesar's arrival was completely unexpected by the enemy, and the surprise gave him an early advantage.

In March of 45 BC, the two armies faced off in the battle of Munda with Pompey holding the high ground. Caesar was forced to march uphill against the strong enemy position, but he was never one to shirk from a chance at open battle. Caesar's army overwhelmed the retreating enemy and was merciless in its zeal to end the war. It would turn out to be the final major battle and victory of Caesar's career, and one that effectively ended land-based resistance.

Caesar returned to Italy in September, 45 BC, and among his first tasks was to file his will, naming Octavian as his solo heir. While away, the Senate had already begun bestowing honors on Caesar. Even though Caesar had not proscribed his enemies, instead pardoned nearly every one of them, there seemed to be little open resistance to Caesar, at least publicly.

Great games and celebrations were to be held on April 21to honor Caesar's great victory. Along with the games, Caesar was honored with the right to wear triumphal clothing, including a purple robe (reminiscent of the kings of Rome) and laurel crown, on all public occasions. A large estate was being built at Rome's expense, and on state property, for Caesar's exclusive use. The title of Imperator also became a legal title that he could use in his name for the rest of his life.