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History and Evolution:
By William E. Steinman:
Part 30, Julius Caesar 2:
Triumph and Defeat:
October 20, 2003:
With his triumphs in Gaul, Caesar was prepared to settle some old scores in Rome. While busy conquering Gaul, Caesar still had time to conspire with his agents and allies in Rome. In that, he used his newly acquired wealth to advantage. With the help of hired agents, Caesar, Pompey and Crassus divided up the empire. Caesar got five more years to rule Gaul, and Pompey and Crassus got the consulships for 55 BC. Also Crassus got to rule in Syria and Pompey took Spain for the same amount of time.
This agreement did not last for several reasons. In the case of Crassus, his power was eliminated when he lost a decisive battle against the Parthians. Pompey, became jealous of Caesar's power and began to cooperate with the nobles who justifiably feared Caesar. Caesar had many political enemies who would rather see him done in. Hence, there was a great deal of political maneuvering between the nobles and Caesar's agents. The thrust of the noble's conspiracy was to get Caesar to surrender his governorship and thus his command becoming a private citizen. For sure this would leave him defenseless before his enemies. To secure his cooperation he was promised the consulship for 49 BC.
Realizing the duplicity that was common to Rome, Caesar was reluctant to participate in this arrangement. The crisis culminated when the Senate ordered Caesar to lay down his command or become a public enemy. It was not inconsistent with Rome's history to treat it's heros this way. Of course, Caesar was not ignorant of history. It is certain he noticed what had happened to Pompey when he dismissed his army too soon. As a result, Caesar was pushed into a path he probably would not have chosen.
Late in 49 BC, he led his army across the Rubicon and marched on Rome. The Rubicon was just a small stream that separated Cisalpine Gaul from Italy. So began the civil war and "crossing the Rubicon" became a famous synonym for passing the point of no return. The Senate fled as Caesar easily drove his opponents out of Italy. Then he turned to Spain and quickly defeated Pompey. He drove Pompey into Africa and Egypt where he was murdered by someone else. While in Egypt he intervened in a local succession and managed to install Cleopatra on the throne at Alexandria. After messing around with Cleopatra for a while, Caesar returned to Rome as dictator. The republic of the nobles was at an end.
His enemies were persistent however and he had to do battle again in Africa in 46 BC and in Spain in 45 BC. Finally, he was able to return to Rome and begin the reforms he had planned many years before. He did not have much time. On the "ides of March," March 15 of 44 BC, Caesar was murder in the Senate house at Rome. It is difficult to sympathize with a man as ruthless as was Caesar. However, it is ironic that it was his magnanimity that was his undoing.
Although deliberately vicious with non Romans, Caesar was more then generous with his Roman enemies after they were defeated. He had seen how Sulla's negative behavior toward his Roman enemies had just created more dissent and more enemies. So Caesar made clemency a matter of policy. Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus, two key conspirators, were former enemies who he forgave, trusted, and brought into his government. That was a mistake. As a thank you they conspired to murder him and the phrase "Et tu, Brute" became synonymous with accusations of betrayal. It still echoes on the lips of pseudointellectual sophomores the world over.
The underlying purpose of the conspiracy was the hope of restoring the nobility to power in Rome. There was also a fear of the increasing power of Caesar. He was for all practical purposes becoming an absolute ruler or monarch. As to restoring the nobility to power, it was not to be. The system was corrupt beyond repair and would have fallen with or without Caesar's rise to power. It was simply a time for change as the ensuing events were to demonstrate.
All the conspiracy really did was to ensure Caesar's immortality. He became a martyr in Roman history. Caesar simply hastened the end of a rotten system and was killed for his trouble. In his whole career, he was bent on a path of political reform. It can never be known what he might have done, had he lived. We can only look at what he achieved in the few months he had.
He did reform the calendar to the 365 day cycle we still use. He also established standard patterns, by law, for self government of local political units in most Roman territories. He also restored the corporate identities of Capua, Carthage, and Corinth. These were cities whose identities had been destroyed by Rome's expanding empire. Beyond that, he granted Roman citizenship to many people of the occupied territories.
There is no doubt that Caesar was a power dominate beyond compare in his time. He was both a brilliant military genius and a political virtuoso. In oratory, it is possible he outdid Cicero. To be sure, Cicero had the disadvantage of fighting for a losing cause. That was the maintenance of the Republic of Rome and the rule of the nobility.
Although most of the writings of Caesar have been lost, what remains show the talent of a literary genius. It seems Caesar was good at everything he tried, even sexually. There are enough rumors and accounts to establish that he was equally at home in bed with men or women. For sure, this behavior was not at all uncommon in the Greco-Roman world of his time.
In summary, we can say that Caesar was a rather complete genius
who single handedly changed the course of human history. We can
only speculate about the impact he might have had in his remaining
years had he lived, perhaps another twenty or thirty years. As
it is, his assassination plunged Rome into a long and bitter civil
war.
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