Caesar

by Adrian Goldsworthy

After his father’s death Caesar was not simply an adult, but also the paterfamilias or head of the household. There were few close male relatives to guide his future career, but the young man from the beginning displayed considerable self-confidence.

Within a year he broke off the betrothal arranged for him at some earlier date by his parents. This was to a certain Cossutia, whose father was an equestrian not a senator. Her family was very wealthy, and would doubtless have provided a large dowry, but although this money would have been very useful for launching a political career the alliance offered few other advantages.

It is not clear precisely why Cinna chose to honour Caesar in this way. Clearly the execution of two Julii Caesares did not count against him, which in itself illustrates just how separate the two branches of the family were.

Marius was the boy’s uncle, which doubtless brought favour, but the importance of this link had diminished to some extent with Marius’ death early in 86 BC

The flamen had to be a patrician married to a patrician by an ancient, rarely used form of the wedding ceremony known as confarreatio

If so, then the decision to make him Flamen Dialis seems more than a little peculiar. The flaminate was one of Rome’s most ancient religious orders. There were fifteen of these priests all told, each dedicated to the worship of a particular deity, but three were of far greater importance and prestige than the rest.

These were the priests of Quirinus (Flamen Quirinalis), Mars (Flamen Martialis), and Jupiter (Flamen Dialis).

The great antiquity of the flaminate was attested by the host of strange taboos binding him, for the flamen and his wife were considered to be permanently engaged in the propitiation of the god, and so could not risk any form of ritual pollution.

Amongst many other things, the Flamen Dialis was not allowed to take an oath, to pass more than three nights away from the city, or to see a corpse, an army on campaign or anyone working on a festival day.

In addition he could not ride a horse, have a knot anywhere within his house or even in his clothing, and could not be presented with a table without food ...

Furthermore, he could only be shaved or have his hair cut by a slave using a bronze knife – surely another indication of antiquity – and the cut hair, along with other things such as nail clippings, had to be buried in a secret place. The flamen wore a special hat called the apex, which appears to have been made from fur, had a point on to...

The prestige of the Flamen Dialis was very great, and in the last century holders of this priesthood had asserted their right to sit in the Senate and hold magistra...

The taboos imposed by his priesthood ensured that he could not play a very active part in events, and it may be that this was why Octavius had wanted him as a colleague.

He went to the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill and there removed the apex hat, formally laying down his office, before cutting his wrists with a knife. He died roundly cursing Cinna and his supporters, but was careful to leave a note explaining that he had been careful to avoid polluting his priesthood.5

the ceremony was supposed to be conducted by two of Rome’s most senior priests, the Pontifex Maximus and the Flamen Dialis

The selection of Caesar for the vacant priesthood was a considerable honour, which would make him an important figure in the Republic and a member of the Senate at a very young age. Yet this prominence came at the price of severely limiting opportunities for his future career.

At best Caesar might hope to reach the praetorship like his father, but he could not have left Rome to govern a province and certainly would have had no opportunity for military glory.

Caesar had not yet begun to suffer from the epileptic fits to which he would be prone in later life.

At the time this was Quintus Mucius Scaevola, who was not a friend of the new regime, having already survived a murder attempt by one of Cinna’s henchmen. An ex-consul and a famous jurist – the Pontifex Maximus was not bound by such oppressive rules as the flamen and so could follow an active public career – Scaevola may have objected to Caesar on technical grounds, given Aurelia’s plebian status, or perhaps simply refused to bow to pressure from Cinna.

Rome’s first period of civil war – and indeed the latter conflicts – had little to do with conflicting ideology or policies, but were violent extensions of the traditional competition between individuals. Cinna had no revolutionary ambitions to reform the Republic, but craved personal power and influence within the existing system.

Therefore, once he had won these things through the use of force, his chief priority was to retain them. Already consul for 86 BC, Cinna made sure that he was elected to the office for 85 and 84 – quite probably only his name and that of a chosen colleague were allowed to be put forward as candidates.

consul he held imperium and so had a legal right to command the armies that he would need to protect himself from Sulla or any other rival. As a magistrate he was exempt from prosecution, for it seems that there was some activity in the courts at Rome, althoug...

Yet it could not restrain him or prevent his consecutive consulships, for in the end he controlled an army and the Senate did not. In Cinna’s Rome the Senate convened, the courts functioned and elections were held, creating at least a veneer of normality.

There was a remarkable elasticity in the main institutions of the Republic, which tended to continue running in some form under almost any circumstances, interrupted only temporarily by riot and bloodshed. Senators’ lives revolved around the doing of favours to win support, gaining influence and seeking office. Whatever the circumstances, they naturally continued to try and do these things as far as was possible.

It was soon evident that Sulla was not about to allow himself to be replaced, but Flaccus may well have attempted to negotiate with him with a view to their joining forces against Mithridates.

However, Flaccus was promptly murdered by his own quaestor, Caius Flavius Fimbria, who took over the army and tried to defeat Pontus on his own.

By 85 BC as it became clear that the war with Mithridates was drawing to a close, Cinna and his associates threw themselves into raising troops and massing supplies for what they saw as the inevitable clash with Sulla.

Sulla had been poor and revelled in the company of actors and musicians, professions considered extremely disreputable. Such behaviour was bad enough in his youth, and far worse for a senator and magistrate, but Sulla remained loyal to his old friends throughout his life.

He was a heavy drinker, enjoyed feasting and was widely believed to be very active sexually, taking both men and women as lovers.

Afterwards he always presented himself as a proconsul of Rome, denying the validity of Marius’ and Cinna’s declaration proclaiming him an enemy of the State. Sulla was a man whose self-proclaimed epitaph would be that he had never failed to do good to a friend or harm to an enemy.

As far as Sulla was concerned his imperium and command were legitimate, and his opponents had acted illegally and as enemies of the Republic. Therefore it was both his right and duty to suppress them by any means necessary.

It was also important for him to protect his own dignitas, for his achievements deserved respect for himself and his family. The Romans openly stressed the great part played by luck in all human activities, especially warfare, and – anticipating Napoleon – believe...

Commanders were not supposed to rely on blind chance, and were to make every preparation possible to ensure success, but in the chaos of war the best plans could fall...

Both men were ruthlessly ambitious, but the belief that their success was divinely ordained, and therefore right, further boosted their already considerable self-confidence.

Soon afterwards the soldiers mutinied – probably through a reluctance to fight other Romans, although our sources are contradictory on this point – and Cinna was killed by his own men.

The odds against Sulla were huge, but his opponents consistently failed to make the most of their numbers, and army after army was defeated, or on one occasion persuaded to defect en masse.

Few of the leaders opposing him displayed much military talent. After a lull during the winter months the campaign resumed and Sulla was able to take Rome in 82 BC. A sudden enemy counter-offensive led to a desperate battle outside the Colline Gate. During the fighting Sulla himself narrowly escaped being killed and one wing of his army collapsed, but in the end the remainder of his troops carried on to win a victory.

Just as the Marian capture of Rome had greatly surpassed Sulla’s march on the City in the scale of massacre and execution it brought, now both were eclipsed by the savagery of Sulla’s return.

Addressing the Senate in the Temple of Bellona on the outskirts of Rome, the victor’s speech was accompanied by the screams of thousands of captured soldiers – mostly Italians who were treated more harshly than Romans – being executed a short distance away.

The victims were principally either senators or equestrians. Several lists were posted and, though we have no precise figure, the total amounted to some hundreds.

Sulla’s power came directly from his control of an army that had defeated all his rivals, but the man who had done so much to defend his legitimacy as proconsul soon gave himself a more formal position to justify his domination of the State.

At times of severe crisis the Republic had occasionally set aside its fear of the rule of one man and had appointed a dictator, a single magistrate with supreme imperium.

had always been a temporary post, laid down after six months, but Sulla discarded these restrictions and s...

He was named dictator legibus faciendis et rei publicae constituendae (dictator to make laws and reconstitute the State) by a vote in the Popular Assembly. His office was unprecedented, as was the violence he used to crush any opposition. On one occasion he casually ordered the execution of his own senior officer in the Forum becaus...

Caesar was about eighteen when Sulla’s army took Rome for the second time. He had not taken any part in the civil war. His father-in-law Cinna was dead and there is no evidence to suggest a particularly close relationship with the Younger Marius.

Sulla instructed the youth to divorce his wife. He had given similar orders to other men, at times arranging a more favourable match for them, often involving some of his own female relations.

Caesar was the only man to refuse, and to persist in that refusal in spite of threats and offers of favours, quite possibly including a marriage link to the dictator’s family.

Sulla’s threats became stronger. Cornelia’s dowry was confiscated and added to the Republic’s Treasury as punishment.

Whatever the extent of his public opposition to Sulla, this was a dangerous path and soon led to orders being issued for his arrest, which was usually a prelude to execution. It is unclear whether Sulla himself gave these instructions, and it may actually be that the initiative was taken by some of his subordinates. If so, then the dictator soon seems to have learned of it and did not at first do anything to restrain his men.

Caesar fled from Rome and sought sanctuary in Sabine territory to the north-east. The dictator’s forces were active throughout Italy – he would soon give orders for the demobilisation and settlement of some 120,000 veterans, which gives an indication of the sheer size of his army.