The first century BC was a time of great men
in Rome. Great, but destructive. Men such as Sulla, Marius, Cicero, Cato, Crassus,
Pompey and Caesar, whose military or political careers would be studied for centuries to
come. Individually, each of these men had the skills
and abilities to bring glory and prosperity to Rome. However, when put in conflict with each other,
they would lead to the destruction of the Republic which had lasted for almost 450 years. This is the story of the Great Roman Civil
War. By that point, you probably have watched everything
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and Save 70% nordvpn.com/KingsandGenerals or the link in the description! Don’t forget to use the coupon code KingsAndGenerals! In order to fully understand how the Great
Roman Civil War, also known as Caesar’s Civil War, began, we need to grasp the cultural
and historical background. Since the mid-2nd century BC the Roman Republic
had started fracturing with the assassination of the Gracchi brothers, Tiberius and Gaius,
two revolutionary and popular politicians. Their deaths underlined the growing social
divide between the upper and lower classes in Rome, and the instability carried on into
the following decades with revolts in Sicily, the Social war with Italian allies, and ultimately
the civil wars of Sulla and Marius at the start of the first century BC. Those two showed the political rift between
those who believed power came from the plebs, the Populares like Marius, and those who believed
power came from the Senate, the Optimates [optimits], such as Sulla. Moreover, their war had exposed flaws in the
Roman Republican system, proving that political and military power could be easily subverted. Though after his victory Sulla had, as Dictator,
introduced legislation to try and stop anyone following in his footsteps, the precedent
had already been set; a general could march on Rome, take it by force, and impose his
own will on the Republic. If enough soldiers were personally loyal to
an individual general, the Senators could do little to curtail that man's power. Furthermore, the Republic’s constitution,
with its numerous checks and balances, was proving to be one of the crucial factors in
its destruction: powerful politicians were able to paralyze the government by blocking
the legislation they disagreed with. Often it took either a dictatorship or martial
law to break the stalemate. It was in this political environment that
the first triumvirate had emerged. Consisting of Crassus, Pompey and Caesar the
triumvirate dictated political life for the majority of the era. Crassus was an established politician and
the richest man in Rome, bankrolling the triumvirate and paying bribes as necessary. Pompey was Rome’s most accomplished general. Following the Social War, he fought alongside
Sulla in his Civil War and later led campaigns in Sicily, Africa, Pontus and Syria. This brought him large amounts of wealth,
numerous political allies, and the loyalty of thousands of veterans. Caesar, at 41 years old, was the youngest
and least established of the 3. He had held the positions of quaestor and
aedile [eedayyl], and had shown promise as a praetor in Spain. However, Caesar was pontifex maximus, the
highest religious official in Rome. Through this office, Caesar had the power
to pass divine laws and to postpone elections due to signs from the gods. Additionally as one of the leaders of the
Populares, Caesar had already established himself as a populist, and had significant
clout with the masses. By 59 BC the Triumvirate was established. Caesar was already indebted to Crassus, and
his alliance with Pompey was solidified by marrying his daughter Julia to Pompey. Though never an official coalition, these
three men controlled almost every aspect of the Republic. Crassus influenced the Senate and aristocracy,
the Optimates, with bribes. Pompey's military prestige effectively gave
him control of the veterans and the way they would vote. And Caesar could control the masses. With the support of Pompey and Crassus, Caesar
was elected to the consulship in 59 BC, and immediately passed land reform legislation
to provide land to Pompey's veterans, and ratified Pompey’s Eastern conquests. Initially, following Caesar’s consulship,
the Senate made him an overseer of woods and pastures in Italy rather than a governor of
a province as was the norm for an ex-consul. However, the Triumvirate was able to overturn
this decision: Caesar was given the governorship of Illyria, Cisalpine Gaul and Transalpine
Gaul, along with four legions, for the extent of 5 years as opposed to the usual one. Though it is clear that the Triumvirates did
abuse their power to achieve their own means, it did benefit Rome in some ways, pushing
through much-needed laws, such as the settling of veterans, without risk of the Senate creating
a stalemate. In this same year, Clodius Pulcher became
Tribune of the Plebs. Clodius had given up his patrician status
to hold the position, and used it to push a number of populist reforms with the support
of the Triumvirate, such as the establishment of a grain dole. Clodius had also learned how effective violence
could be in politics and had put together trained gangs who would harass and assault
any politicians who got in his way, and he was even able to force the influential Cicero
into exile. After just one year of Clodius and his gangs
ruling the streets of Rome, it became clear that the Triumvirate would not be able to
control him. Clodius had even gone so far as to attempt
to assassinate Pompey when the latter suggested recalling Cicero from exile. In response, Pompey allowed another tribune,
Milo, an Optimate, to raise his own gangs to counter Clodius’. No weapons were meant to be allowed in Rome,
but each side secretly armed themselves with daggers and swords, employing thugs and even
gladiators. For the next few years, the two tribunes and
their gangs battled regularly in the streets. Rome was in chaos. The Triumvirate was reaffirmed in 56 BC, after
which Pompey and Crassus extended Caesar’s term as governor by another 5 years, while
Caesar sent veterans from Gaul back to Rome to ensure that Pompey and Crassus would be
elected consuls for the year 55-54BC. However, soon after, the Triumvirate began
to fracture. In 54 BC Julia died in childbirth, severing
the personal connection between the two triumvirs. In 53 BC Crassus embarked on his disastrous
Parthian campaign, subsequently dying at the Battle of Carrhae. Moreover, the following year, Clodius was
killed by Milo. With Clodius dead and the Triumvirate broke,
Pompey and Caesar were left as the two most powerful men in Rome. Chaos in the city only increased, as during
Clodius’ funeral, his supporters started a riot. His body was taken to the Senate house to
be burnt on a pyre, and the Senate building itself was destroyed. In desperation, the Senate turned to Pompey. In 52BC Pompey was named sole Consul and given
extraordinary powers. Soldiers were marched into the capital, trials
held under armed guard, and executions made. This was ruthless but effective, and order
was restored. The Senate awarded Pompey with an extended
term of governance of Hispania, as well as powers similar to those that Caesar held in
Gaul. Pompey decided to leave the governance of
his provinces to lieutenants. His quelling of the riots had bought him the
adoration of the Senate and Optimates, and he was not willing to give up such power and
influence by leaving Rome. The Senate had their own ambitions. With Clodius dead, Caesar was left as the
leader of the Populares. Cato and other Senators were becoming increasingly
worried that Caesar might choose to exploit his popularity and march on Rome. He was, in the Senate’s mind, a threat to
the Republic. The more this was said, the more Pompey agreed. When the Triumvirate was first formed, Pompey
had little to fear from Caesar. However, Caesar's Gallic Wars allowed him
to accumulate wealth, popularity with the masses, and a core of loyal, battle-hardened
veterans. Caesar had grown his army to around 10 Legions,
approximately 50,000 men, more than double what he had originally been assigned. Moreover, the majority of these legions had
been raised by Caesar personally, led by Caesar in battle, and thus would undoubtedly be loyal
to him. It had taken Sulla only six legions to march
on Rome, and there was every chance that Caesar could do the same. As a result, the Senate, and in particular
the prominent Cato the Younger, begun rallying an anti-Caesar alliance in the Senate, mainly
consisting of Optimates. With Pompey and Caesar already positioned
to confront each other as the two most powerful men in Rome, the Senate turned to Pompey to
lead the Optimates and remove Caesar as a threat. The problem that the Senate faced was that
Caesar was simply too powerful. His army was too large to be confronted head-on,
and his popularity was too great for him to be defeated in an election. At this time in 52 BC Caesar was still governor
of Gaul, and had applied to run for the office of consul in absentia for the year 48BC, his
term as governor ending in 49BC. With 52BC being such a chaotic year with riots
in Rome, Caesar’s application had been allowed with little thought, but now presented a problem. Holding the office of governor or consul gave
Caesar legal immunity. If he ran in absentia for the consulship,
he would certainly win due to his vast popularity, and his legal immunity would continue. Moreover, he would be able to use this term
as consul to push legislation to protect himself. It was undeniable that Caesar had committed
crimes as consul, including stirring political violence against a fellow consul, as well
as crimes as a governor by instigating wars in Gaul and Britain that were not authorized
by the Senate. The Senate could not defeat Caesar militarily,
nor could they defeat him in the voting booths. A solution was needed. Cato had already made it clear that given
an opportunity, he would put Caesar on trial himself. All that was needed was for Caesar to be a
private citizen. As a result, through some cunning, yet ultimately
contrived, readings of the law, the Senate insisted that Caesar’s governorship would
end in 52 BC and not 50 BC, and that he should resign command of his army. Caesar refused. He understood that as soon as he lost his
legal immunity the Senate would have him put on trial. He also knew that his governorship was, in
fact, legal, and that he had the right to continue his governorship in command until
the previously agreed date at the end of 49BC. The 52BC deadline passed without issue, and
Caesar’s command continued. For the next two years, the Pompeiian faction
in the Senate, headed by Cato, increasingly demanded Caesar’s resignation, whilst the
Caesarean faction, headed by Curio and Mark Antony, both Plebeian Tribunes, continually
blocked and vetoed such legislation. In December 50BC, Pompey himself offered to
resign his command if Caesar would first. The Caesareans vehemently opposed this, insisting
that Pompey be first to resign. Neither side was willing to be exposed and
undefended. That same month, Caesar marched with one Legion
to Ravenna, and wrote a letter to the Senate attempting to negotiate, again insisting that
if Pompey resigned his command first, so would he. Whether Caesar marched his Legion to Ravenna
simply to winter there, or if he meant it as an actual threat, is not clear. However, rumours spread that Caesar, in fact,
had 4 Legions with him, not just one. To the Senate, it appeared Caesar was attempting
to threaten and blackmail them. In response, they again ordered him to step
down immediately, and authorised Pompey to start amassing legions to defend Rome. Caesar, once again, attempted to negotiate. He offered to resign his governorship of Transalpine
Gaul, Cisalpine Gaul and the majority of his Legions, but requested to keep governorship
of Illyricum, along with two Legions, until the original deadline - the end of 49BC - and
that he be allowed to run for consul for 48BC, hoping to extend his legal immunity. However, this was still a reasonable deal
for the Senate, and it would achieve their aim of severely limiting Caesar’s power
and influence. Cicero acted as a mediator for the deal and
negotiated Caesar down to just one Legion and two provinces. Pompey was willing to accept. However, key Optimate Senators, including
Cato and the consul Lentulus, refused the deal. While Pompey was not as ardently devoted to
the Senate, the hard-line Optimates like Cato and Lentulus hated the notion that the Senate
might be forced to negotiate. On the 7th of January, the Senate voted again
to immediately strip Caesar of all his powers and armies. Once again, Caesar’s Tribunes in the Senate,
Curio and Antony, vetoed the legislation. The Senate had expected as much and passed
the Senatus Consultum Ultimum, the Final Act, an un-vetoable act that suspended all laws
and gave all powers to the Consuls, effectively declaring a national emergency, and they declared
Caesar an enemy of the state. The Consuls for the year, Lentulus and Marcellus,
both hard-line Optimates, immediately passed all their powers to Pompey, effectively giving
Pompey full control of the Roman Republic. That same night, Caesar’s allies in Rome
fled to Ravenna to join him. The stage was now set. After years of attempted negotiations, a complete
impasse had been reached. The division between the two parties, the
Populares and Optimates, was the same division that had led to the deaths of the Gracchi,
and the wars of Sulla and Marius. The Populares largely consisted of younger
men from less established families, such as Mark Anthony, Trebonius and Curio, or lesser
members of noble families, such as Decimus Brutus. The Pompeiian Optimates, on the other hand,
were mainly aristocrats of noble families, including Pompey's two sons, Gnaeus and Sextus,
Ahenobarbus, Metellus Scipio, a descendant of the famous Scipio Africanus, Cato the Younger,
and Cicero. The societal rift between these two groups,
which had first become apparent almost 100 years ago with the deaths of the Gracchi,
was about to plunge the Republic into chaos once again. On the 10th of January 49BC, Caesar left Ravenna
with the 13th Legion and his allies from Rome. They halted at a small river that marked the
border of the province of Italy; the Rubicon. It was forbidden for any general to cross
this boundary with arms or an army; to do so would be a clear declaration of war. Caesar spent a long time weighing his options. Caesar’s own family had been persecuted
and hunted in the aftermath of Sulla’s Civil War, he knew well how destructive such wars
were. However, he also knew that if he disbanded
his army, he would be likely exiled or executed. After almost a day’s deliberation, Caesar
made his choice. Alea iacta est - the die is cast. The Great Roman Civil War had begun. Now that the stage is set, the battles of
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