Roman Political Climate

100 B.C. to 44 B.C.

Pre-100 B.C.

To understand the political climate Caesar was born into, one most understand the figures that dominated Rome during his early life

Two figures dominated Rome at this time: Lucius Cornelius Sulla and Gaius Marius

Marius

Gaius Marius was born in 157 B.C. A “novus homo,” he frequently butted heads with patricians during his young life

Military success helped his reputation and in 119 B.C., he was voted tribune of the plebs

During his time in Senate, he fought for land reform and greater land-distribution for the masses

In 115 B.C., he was sent to govern Hispania, upon his return, he married a patrician, Julia (Caesar’s aunt)

In 107 B.C., he successfully won his first race for consul and by 100 B.C., he was heading into his 6th consulship

In 100 B.C., he successfully beat back an invasion of Cimbri and Teutones (defeating them so badly that they would not threaten Rome for another 2 generations), the Senate bestowed upon him the honor of being called the “third founder of Rome.”

Sulla

Lucius Cornelius Sulla was born into the patrician clan Cornelia in 138 B.C.

In his early life, he received an excellent patrician education

In 107 B.C., serving under Marius in the Jugurthine War, he persuaded King Bocchus I of Mauretania to surrender Jugurtha of Numidia to the Romans

The publicity of the event catapulted Sulla’s political career

100 B.C.

Marius’s 6th consulship in 100 B.C. would prove to be disastrous

Tribune of the Plebs, Saturninus, brought forth an ambitious bill regarding distribution of conquered land for veterans

Part of this bill included an oath given by all Senators that they would not protest the future of this bill or else they would face exile

The plebs despised this bill and Marius, who was once known as a “man of the people,” dropped in popularity

Retirement

The next year, when Saturninus wished to have an associate elected to consul, he hired thugs to attack the rival candidate

The Senate declared Senatus Consultum Ultimum and Marius swept into the forum with soldiers to restore peace

Marius made an effort to save Saturninus, but he was stoned to death The entire handling of the event isolated Marius from both nobles and

common-folk He left Italy for the East in 98 B.C., negotiating peace with Mithridates

VI of Pontus He was elected an Augur in 96 B.C., returning to Rome with a better

reputation than he had left it

The age-old rivalry

In the following years, the rivalry between the Optimates (Patricians) and Populares (Plebs) intensified

A deeply personal rivalry developed between Sulla (an Optimate) and Marius (a Populares), they would become known as the leaders of their respective groups

Direct war was avoided, however, when the War of the Allies broke out in 90 B.C.

The War of the Allies

Sparked by the assassination of Marcus Livius Drusus in 91 B.C., Italian cities doted throughout rebelled

Roman citizenship was a privilege, to not have it meant a complete lack of personal liberty and respect

The war was disastrous for the Romans, whose armies were severely beaten in almost every battle

Marius, after several disappointing battles, retired from the war

Sulla, however, became a victorious general and he was granted consulship in 88 B.C.

The first march on Rome

Tribune of the Plebs Sulpicius, in an effort to end the War of Allies, suggested a series of bills that would grant citizenship and representation to the rebelling Italians

Sulpicius, an ally of Marius, also suggested taking Sulla’s command and giving it to Marius

Sulla was enraged by such suggestions, and, being an Optimate, hated the idea of so many Italians being granted citizenship

Sulla decided to march on Rome and take back the Senate Marius, however, was able to escape and hid in a colony in North

Africa were his veterans resided

Back-and-forth

Upon his return, Sulla outlawed Sulpicius’ laws, rejecting any suggestions for complete Italian citizenship

He departed from Rome to battle Mithridates, who was slaughtering Romans through out the East

Cinna, an ally of Marius, was elected consul the next year and reinstated all of Sulpicius’ reforms

Wishing to keep Sulla out of Rome when he returned from war, Cinna invited Marius to return

Flocked by his veterans and old troops, Marius marched on Rome

Marius is back

Maddened by bloodthirst, Marius went on a rampage around Rome, allowing his soldiers to kill any Sullans they came across

He displayed hundreds of heads in the Forums Marius was elected to his 7th consulship Marius died only 17 days into his consulship, dying in 86 B.C. Cinna, during this time, ironed out the citizenship bill and

every Italian tribe was granted full citizenship and representaiton

Civil War

Sulla, victorious from war with Mithridates, returned to Italy only to find Marian troops blocking the roads back to Rome

Sulla made quick-work of Cinna and Carbo (the two consuls who were Marians)

Marius’s son, the remaining commander, committed suicide when Praeneste, the last Marian bastion, fell

It did not take until 80 B.C. for the Marians to fully be dislodged from Italy

Now in full control of the Republic, Sulla declared himself dictator rei publicae constituendae (dictator for reorganizing the government)

Sulla’s reforms

Now in control, Sulla set about fixing the flaws that had led to war between him and Marius

He passed a treason law, kept Cinna’s citizenship reform, and he created criminal courts throughout Italy to handle all major crimes

His reforms were widely regarded as what preserved the Republic for another 50 years

Sulla: Bloodthirsty Dictator?

Most Roman historians, despite recognizing what he did to save the Republic, would write of Sulla as a terrible dictator

Sulla introduced Proscription lists, which sought revenge for all those who had fought against Sulla

Young Julius Caesar, being related to both Marius and Cinna, was on one of these proscription lists, he was forced to flee Rome

In his memoirs, Sulla wrote that he regretted sparing Caesar, as he had possessed “dangerous political ambition.” He is quoted as telling some of his comrades, “In this Caesar there are many Mariuses.”

The end of Sulla

In 81 B.C., Sulla stepped down from his dictatorship and retired to his villa near Puteoli to write his memoire

He died in 78 B.C. His state funeral was the largest funeral

procession ever recorded in Rome (until Augustus’s funeral in 14 A.D.)

The Republic post-Sulla

Sulla’s retirement marked a return to normal governance (dual consulship rule)

While Sulla’s proscription list had been incredibly damaging, with so few political opponents left, the Senate ran relatively smoothly

Alliance?

In an election marked by widespread corruption, Caesar won consulship in 59 B.C.

He created an alliance among himself, Crassus, and Pompey, known as the First Triumvirate

The alliance was officially marked by the marriage of Caesar’s daughter Julia to Pompey

The First Triumvirate

The Triumvirate was doomed to fail from the start Other than cooperative support for a land redistribution

law for the poor, Pompey (an Optimate) and Caesar (who viewed himself as a populares) often fought

Crassus, who had been a buffer between the two, died during a rebellion in Syria and the disdain between Pompey and Caesar intensified

Caesar, having massive debt, finished his consulship and set off to Gaul

Civil War Again

In 50 B.C., the Senate, headed by Pompey, ordered Caesar to return to Rome

In 49 B.C., he passed the Rubicon river and marched on Rome (sound familiar???)

Forces led by Pompey fled Rome, Caesar declared himself dictator

What followed was a bloody civil war, ending with Pompey’s death in 48 B.C.

Caesar as dictator

Caesar pardoned all who had rebelled against him during the war

He then instituted a series of ambitious reforms that settled civil unrest and appealed greatly to the masses

Not all was well: Caesar was assassinated in the senate and despite his assassins’ wishes, the Republic was finished

Works Cited

Forumromanum. FORUM ROMANUM, n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://www.forumromanum.org/history/morey20.html>.

Heritage History. Heritage-History, n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://www.heritage-history.com/www/heritage.php?Dir=wars&FileName=wars_sullacivil.php>.

Janus Quirinus. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://janusquirinus.org/essays/Apollo/Background/MS1.html>.