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The End of the Civil War
The civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey was an unprecedentedly violent event whose effects rippled throughout the Ancient Mediterranean world. The war disrupted agriculture, laid waste to the economy, and left thousands dead, chief among them being Roman elite and citizens of the outlying cities. Begun when Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his army in 49 BCE, it did not end even with Pompey’s death in 48 BCE, nor with Caesar’s return to Rome and pardoning by the Senate in 47 BCE. Pompey’s supporters, the Pompeians, mounted resistance across the Roman Empire. After defeating rebels in Africa, the Senate gave him the power of Dictator for 10 years and allowed him to celebrate four triumphs: over Gaul, Egypt, Asia, and Africa. Shortly after, however, another Pompeian rebellion rose in Spain, which Caesar narrowly defeated.
Caesar’s victory was largely due to the fact that he was a better general than Pompey, with a more powerful and faster army, allowing him to always be on the offensive. He was also able to always provide for his current and retired soldiers, garnering him popular support and loyalty among them. This popular support was not limited to soldiers: he received the favor of some senators, growing numbers of wealthy equites, centurions, veterans, and foot-soldiers and elites from Gaul and other areas where he had built his reputation. In addition, his repeated shows of mercy towards former enemies strengthened both the loyalty and number of his supporters, who came to be known as the factio. Adding to this strong support base were Caesar’s political, legislative, and rhetorical skills.
Caesar’s Reforms
His rule now secure, Caesar took advantage of his status as Dictator, which gave him control of the army and provinces, finances, foreign policy, and tribunal veto power over judicial decisions and legislation. In 47 BCE he renewed the Senate, raising its numbers to 900 and appointing a great number of his supporters, such as equites, certain freedmen, and ex-centurions.
Caesar also established several reforms during his reign. Chief among these was the Julian calendar, which would be used in the Western world for more than 1,600 years. He abolished collegia, social associations often used to forward political interests, and divided urban juries between equites and senators. He also extended Roman citizenship to certain territories, such as Cisalpine Gaul, and established several new colonies outside of the Italian peninsula in order to provide homes for de-mobilized soldiers, veterans, and Rome’s urban unemployed. He also attempted to institute a fixed land tax on provinces but was unsuccessful.
The Ides of March
In 44 BCE, Caesar relied on his senatorial supporters to elect him Dictator for Life—dictator perpetuum. His enemies, seeking to defend the Roman Republic, saw this as one step too close to tyranny. As Caesar planned an attack on Parthia, the Persian state in the far eastern reaches of Roman territories, about 60 conspirators planned an attack on Caesar. The conspirators, led by Cassius and Brutus and calling the liberatores, included both former Pompeian senators and embittered former supporters of Caesar. On March 15, 44 BCE—the Ides of March—Caesar was murdered in the Senate, just three days before he was to leave on his Parthian campaign.
While the individual conspirators may have had individual, opportunistic motives, in general, the assassins felt that they were acting to preserve the Republic from the growing tyranny and dictatorship of an individual who had only come to power through armed force. Anti-monarchy sentiments had been a common thread in Rome ever since the creation of the Republic, and many feared that Caesar was attempting to crown himself king. He also seemed to be showing growing indifference to the authority and prestige of the Senate, reducing their powers while increasing their numbers. Because of this, Caesar’s enemies felt that they needed to take extreme measures to protect the Republic—a government that, ironically, was no longer suited to the needs of a multi-continent empire with a changing socio-economic complexion.
