Hoja de repaso: Roman Power and Civil War

📋 Course Outline

1. Caesar’s dictatorship and cursus honorum
2. Pompey’s career and military campaigns
3. First Triumvirate pact and political agenda
4. Rising tensions and command dispute
5. Road to civil war and failed settlements
6. Rubicon, civil war battles and outcomes
7. Caesar’s clemency and consolidation of power
8. Caesar’s triumphs and dictator timeline
9. Political, administrative and economic reforms
10. Caesar rex debate and cult of rulership
11. Ides of March and assassination conspirators
12. End or beginning of the Republic

📖 1. Caesar’s dictatorship and cursus honorum

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Gaius Julius Caesar : Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman statesman and general whose career culminated in dictatorship and the end of the Republic.
• Cursus honorum : Cursus honorum was the ordered sequence of public offices in the Roman Republic that advanced a politician’s status.
• Pontifex maximus : Pontifex maximus was the chief priestly office in Rome, held by Caesar from 64 to 44 BCE.
• Dictator perpetuo : Dictator perpetuo was a form of dictatorship held for life, which Caesar received in 44 BCE.

📝 Essential Points

• Caesar’s cursus honorum included praetor in 62 BCE and consul in 59 BCE.
• Caesar served as proconsul in Gaul and Illyricum from 58 to 49 BCE.
• Caesar was dictator from 49 to 44 BCE before holding dictator perpetuo in 44 BCE.
• Caesar held consul again in 48 and in 46–44 BCE, after his first dictatorship.
• Caesar’s major military campaigns included the Gallic Wars and the Second Mithridatic War.
• Caesar’s rise is linked to the First Triumvirate (60–53 BCE) with Pompey and Crassus, plus agreements over elections and provinces.

💡 Memory Hook

Cursus honorum = ladder of offices; Caesar climbs to dictator (49–44) then life-dictator (44).

📖 2. Pompey’s career and military campaigns

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Pompey’s province of Africa : Pompey’s assigned command in the Roman Republic gave him authority in Africa during his consulship period.
• Pompey’s provinces of Spain : Pompey received command over both provinces of Spain, expanding his military and political influence in the west.
• Extraordinary consulship sine collega : Pompey held an exceptional consulship without a colleague, reflecting unusual political circumstances in 52 BCE.
• Lex de iure magistratuum : This law restricted how consuls could be elected, specifically targeting consular election in absentia.

📝 Essential Points

• In 55 BCE, Pompey’s consular year paired him with Crassus, while Pompey was assigned Africa and both Spanish provinces.
• The rising tensions between Pompey and the Senate developed from 54–50 BCE as Pompey drew closer to senatorial interests.
• Iulia’s death removed a key marriage alliance link, and the city saw unrest and competing speeches after the alliance ended.
• Crassus died at Carrhae in 53 BCE, removing a major obstacle that had helped keep Pompey and Caesar treating each other fairly.
• In 52 BCE, Pompey became extraordinary consul sine collega amid troubles over consular elections and unrest in Rome.
• The Lex de iure magistratuum prohibited consular election in absentia, and it was used as a measure against Caesar.

💡 Memory Hook

55 BCE: Pompey gets Africa + Spain; 53 BCE: Crassus at Carrhae; 52 BCE: Pompey extraordinary consul (no colleague).

📖 3. First Triumvirate pact and political agenda

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• First Triumvirate : A political alliance in the late Roman Republic that coordinated major commanders’ power to manage the state’s crisis.
• Pompey presiding over elections : A proposed arrangement where Pompey would oversee electoral processes to stabilize government during breakdown of normal rule.
• Cato’s law-first principle : A political stance that treats Pompey as subordinate to law rather than making law depend on Pompey’s authority.
• Senate’s voluntary handover : A decision where the senate grants Pompey exceptional authority voluntarily to avoid an even harsher takeover by necessity.
• Conference of Luca : A meeting in 56 BC used to negotiate the continuation and extension of Caesar’s and allied command arrangements.

📝 Essential Points

• After the third leading figure died, Roman writers likened the remaining struggle to wrestlers oiling and smearing each other, signaling intensified rivalry.
• Some demanded Pompey preside over elections, while Cato initially opposed using Pompey to secure the laws.
• Cato shifted when regular government had long failed and three armies occupied the forum daily, making the situation hard to correct.
• The senate’s plan aimed to use the most moderate unconstitutional measures as a “healing remedy” to preserve major interests.
• Bibulus proposed Pompey be chosen sole consul, with the alternative being that the state falls under its most powerful citizen.
• Cato ultimately approved, arguing that government is better than none and that Pompey would handle the crisis and protect the state once entrusted.

💡 Memory Hook

Law-first → Cato resists, then crisis forces a senate “gift” to Pompey (better limited rule than none).

📖 4. Rising tensions and command dispute

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Caesar’s military command : A political-military authority Caesar sought to keep rather than relinquish to the Senate during the command dispute.
• Pompey’s remarks : Pompey’s public statements about Caesar’s provinces and the timing of decisions that shaped how people judged the conflict.
• Caesar’s consulship in absentia : A plan for Caesar to run for consul while remaining in command, avoiding personal withdrawal from his army.
• Curio’s opposition : Curio’s readiness to resist Caesar’s position with strong, uncompromising political action.
• Pompey’s illness at Naples : A serious illness Pompey suffered at Naples, followed by recovery and public thanksgiving rituals.

📝 Essential Points

• Caesar’s consulship timeline included the end of his initial five-year grant around late 55 or early 54 BC and a later five-year extension passed in 55 BC.
• The debate over Caesar’s provinces turned on whether Pompey believed decisions could be made fairly before the Kalends of March and without hesitation after it.
• Pompey’s replies implied that whether Caesar disobeyed the Senate or blocked a decree through a proxy, the outcome was effectively the same.
• A hypothetical question about Caesar choosing to be consul while keeping his army was answered by Pompey with a comparison to his son taking a stick to him.
• The dispute was framed as a choice: Caesar either forgoes candidature to keep his command, or if elected he must retire from command.
• After Pompey recovered from illness at Naples, Neapolitans and neighboring peoples held thanksgiving festivals, spreading throughout Italy for many days.

💡 Memory Hook

Pompey’s “Kalends of March” line + “stick to me” analogy = same outcome whether Caesar disobeys or blocks a decree.

📖 5. Road to civil war and failed settlements

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Pompey’s arrogance : Pompey’s overconfidence after public celebrations leads him to underestimate Caesar and dismiss the need for preparation.
• Caesar’s military necessity : Caesar’s view is that he cannot remain safe or survive if he gives up his army.
• Pompey’s consul condition : Pompey’s political demand is that Caesar cannot be elected consul unless Caesar surrenders his army and provinces.
• Failed settlement proposal : A proposed compromise requires both sides to surrender their military forces, but it cannot resolve the underlying conflict.

📝 Essential Points

• Public rejoicing across Italy is portrayed as fueling Pompey’s arrogance rather than preventing war.
• Pompey abandons earlier caution and assumes Caesar can be defeated without armed opposition or preparation.
• Pompey mocks those who fear war and claims armies will appear wherever he stamps in Italy.
• The political dispute centers on whether Pompey will block Caesar’s consulship unless Caesar yields army and provinces.
• Caesar argues he cannot survive if he leaves his army, so the sides cannot accept a mutual disarmament settlement.

💡 Memory Hook

Rejoicing → Pompey’s overconfidence → underestimation of Caesar → war becomes unavoidable.

📖 6. Rubicon, civil war battles and outcomes

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Rubicon : A river crossing that symbolized Caesar’s decision to enter civil war against the Roman state.
• Caesar’s army dilemma : A strategic problem where Caesar believed he could not survive if he left his forces behind.
• Pompey’s levies : Recruitment actions by Pompey to raise troops for defending the Republic.
• Caesar’s disband and accountability proposal : A political offer requiring both sides to surrender forces, disband armies, and submit accounts of their actions.
• City mourning : A public reaction in Rome treating the political crisis as a major civic calamity.

📝 Essential Points

• Caesar’s supporters argued he could not safely survive if he abandoned his army and provinces.
• Caesar proposed a mutual settlement: both sides would surrender military forces rather than fight immediately.
• Cicero described a looming outcome if neither side went to the Parthian campaign: quarrels would be settled by force and weapons.
• Rome responded to the crisis with public mourning, and leading officials moved to meet Pompey.
• Marcellus and Lentulus urged Pompey to defend the country and to use ready forces while levying more troops.
• Pompey’s recruitment met resistance: some refused, some joined reluctantly, while many demanded a settlement of the dispute.

💡 Memory Hook

Rubicon = “cross and commit”: Caesar’s survival depended on staying with his army, so the dispute turned into war.

📖 7. Caesar’s clemency and consolidation of power

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Extraordinary commands : Extraordinary commands were exceptional legal-military authorities that went beyond ordinary provincial or consular powers.
• Senatus consultum ultimum : A senatus consultum ultimum was an emergency senatorial decree authorizing extreme measures to protect the state.
• Alea iacta est : Alea iacta est is the phrase Caesar used to mark that the die was cast once he acted decisively.
• Tribunicial intervention : Tribunicial intervention was the power of tribunes to block or act against measures, historically restored by force when needed.

📝 Essential Points

• In 50 BCE, tribune C. Scribonius Curio proposed that both Caesar and Pompey surrender extraordinary commands, disband armies, submit to the people, and account for their actions.
• A proposed settlement required Caesar to renounce Gaul and dismiss most forces, while retaining two legions and Illyricum and waiting for a second consulship.
• Negotiations failed because Lentulus refused to convene the senate and Cato attacked Pompey’s handling, preventing agreement from taking effect.
• After the failed talks, Caesar’s supporters conceded dismissal of one of Caesar’s two legions, but continued senate resistance kept the settlement from succeeding.
• When Caesar heard negotiations had failed, he ordered his legion to cross the Rubicon, and the phrase alea iacta est signaled irreversible action.
• In his address after the crossing, Caesar framed the conflict as retaliation for wrongs by his enemies and argued Pompey had been misled by jealousy and attempts to diminish Caesar’s standing.

💡 Memory Hook

Rubicon = “die cast”: failed talks → decisive crossing → Caesar justifies action by listing enemy wrongs.

📖 8. Caesar’s triumphs and dictator timeline

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Dyrrhachium : Dyrrhachium is the 48 BCE battle in Epirus where Pompey defeated Caesar.
• Pharsalus : Pharsalus is the 48 BCE final battle in Thessaly where Caesar won decisively.
• Ptolemy XIII advisers : Ptolemy XIII advisers are the agents who murdered Pompey after his arrival in Egypt.
• Tribunicial intervention : Tribunicial intervention is the right of tribunes to act in the state, described as being altered by later precedents.
• Thirteenth Legion : The Thirteenth Legion is the unit present at the disorder that publicly pledged to defend Caesar and the tribunes.

📝 Essential Points

• In 48 BCE both armies were in Epirus, leading to the Battle of Dyrrhachium where Pompey won.
• After Dyrrhachium, the decisive final battle occurred at Pharsalus in Thessaly in 48 BCE, where Caesar achieved a great victory.
• Pompey fled to Egypt after Pharsalus and was treacherously murdered on arrival by advisers of Ptolemy XIII.
• Caesar argues that a new precedent had degraded tribunicial intervention by branding it as shameful and crushing it by arms.
• Caesar contrasts Sulla and Pompeius: Sulla stripped tribunicial power but left intervention free, while Pompeius removed even earlier privileges.
• Caesar claims that senatorial calls to arms were only prevented in limited cases: pernicious laws, tribunicial violence, popular secession, or seizure of temples and elevated positions.

💡 Memory Hook

48 BCE: Dyrrhachium (Pompey wins) → Pharsalus (Caesar wins) → Pompey to Egypt, murdered by Ptolemy XIII advisers.

📖 9. Political, administrative and economic reforms

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Clemency of Caesar : Clemency of Caesar : A policy of mercy after victory, where captured people were often spared and reintegrated rather than executed.
• Incorporation into legions : Incorporation into legions : A practice of absorbing many prisoners into Caesar’s own military units to restore manpower and loyalty.
• Immunity for prominent men : Immunity for prominent men : A selective pardon granted to influential captives, reducing political resistance after conquest.
• Alexandrian War : Alexandrian War : A conflict in Egypt tied to the dispute over the throne, in which Caesar supported Cleopatra VII.

📝 Essential Points

• In 48 BCE, Caesar’s opponents were defeated in Greece, with Pompey fleeing to Egypt where he was murdered on arrival.
• Caesar supported Cleopatra VII in the Egyptian throne dispute during the Alexandrian War.
• From 47–45 BCE, Caesar finished off remaining Pompeian forces with victories at Thapsus (46 BCE) and Munda (45 BCE).
• After taking enemy positions, Caesar showed clemency by sparing many captives and incorporating most of them into his legions.
• Caesar granted immunity to many men of prominence, including Brutus, who later killed him.

💡 Memory Hook

Clemency = “spare, absorb, pardon”: capture → legions; elites → immunity.

📖 10. Caesar rex debate and cult of rulership

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Caesar : A Roman leader whose actions and writings are used to illustrate how power was presented and judged in late Republican politics.
• Brutus : A key conspirator whose absence and later appearance in Caesar’s presence are used to show Caesar’s emotional reaction to events.
• Cato the Younger : A Roman statesman whose death is discussed through Caesar’s reported remark about sparing life and preserving reputation.
• Triumph : A formal Roman victory procession used by Caesar to display conquest through staged spectacle and inscriptions.
• Cult of rulership : A political-religious style of honoring rulers through public display and symbolic acts that help legitimize authority.

📝 Essential Points

• Plutarch reports Caesar’s reaction to Brutus: Caesar was distressed when Brutus was missing, then pleased when Brutus was brought safely to him.
• Plutarch reports Caesar’s remark on Cato’s death: Caesar “begrudged” Cato his death because Cato had refused sparing Caesar’s life.
• The text argues that if Cato had accepted life being spared, it would not have harmed Cato’s reputation but would have enhanced Caesar’s.
• After ending wars, Caesar celebrated five triumphs, with four occurring within a single month at short intervals.
• Caesar’s Gallic triumph included a chariot axle break and a torchlit ascent to the Capitol, with 40 elephants bearing lamps on both sides.
• In Caesar’s Pontic triumph, the procession featured the three-word inscription “I came, I saw, I conquered,” emphasizing speed rather than the war’s events.

💡 Memory Hook

Triumphs + inscriptions turn conquest into legitimacy: “I came, I saw, I conquered” = speed made public.

📖 11. Ides of March and assassination conspirators

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Ides of March : The Ides of March is the Roman date associated with Caesar’s assassination and the sudden end of his rule.
• Assassination conspirators : Assassination conspirators are the group of men who planned and carried out Caesar’s killing in the late Republic context.
• Latin festival : The Latin festival was a Roman religious celebration whose rites preceded the public moment involving Caesar’s statue.
• Tribunes Epidius Marullus and Caesetius Flavus : These tribunes are named officials who ordered the removal of a laurel crown and the arrest of the man who crowned Caesar’s statue.
• Laurel crown with white fillet : The laurel crown with a white fillet is the symbolic regalia placed on Caesar’s statue, implying royal honors.

📝 Essential Points

• Suetonius reports the phrase “I came, I saw, I conquered” as a mark of how fast the war was finished, not as a description of events.
• A laurel crown with a white fillet was placed on one of Caesar’s statues during the return from the Latin festival.
• Tribunes Epidius Marullus and Caesetius Flavus ordered the fillet removed and the crown-giver taken to prison.
• Caesar responded by severely reprimanding the tribunes and dismissing them from office.
• The incident is presented as contempt for the senate and as a public affront tied to suggestions of kingship.

💡 Memory Hook

Symbol check: laurel crown + white fillet = “king” signal; tribunes remove it; Caesar punishes them.

📖 12. End or beginning of the Republic

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Lupercalia feast : A Roman festival during which public ceremonies could be used to stage political messages.
• Jupiter Optimus Maximus : A major Roman god whose cult could be invoked to frame political acts as religious rather than royal.
• Sibylline books prophecy : A collection of prophetic texts used to justify political decisions by claiming divine prediction.
• Alexandria or Ilium report : A circulating rumor that Caesar planned to relocate and reorganize power away from Rome.

📝 Essential Points

• Caesar rejected the kingly title after the crown episode, responding “I am Caesar, and no king.”
• During Lupercalia, Antony repeatedly placed a crown on Caesar’s head, but Caesar removed it and sent it to the Capitol for Jupiter.
• A rumor claimed Caesar would withdraw to Alexandria or Ilium to transfer imperial power and drain Italy with new levies.
• Another rumor added that Lucius Cotta would propose granting Caesar the title of king based on a Sibylline prophecy about Parthians.
• The episode links the “end or beginning” question to how royal symbolism and succession planning intensified after Caesar’s rise.

💡 Memory Hook

Crown→Capitol: Caesar rejects “king” by sending the crown to Jupiter, not keeping it on his head.

📅 Key Dates

Date	Event
64–44 BCE	Pontifex maximus (Caesar)
62 BCE	Praetor (Caesar)
59 BCE	Consul (Caesar)
58– 49 BCE	Proconsul: Gaul, Illyricum (Caesar)
49–44 BCE	Dictator (Caesar)
44 BCE	Dictator perpetuo (Caesar)
48 BCE	Consul (Caesar)
46–44 BCE	Consul (Caesar)
60 – 53 BCE	First Triumvirate
56 BCE	Conference at Luca

📊 Synthesis Tables

Caesar vs Pompey: cursus honorum (as given)

Figure	Key offices	Military command
Caesar	Pontifex maximus (64–44 BCE); Praetor (62 BCE); Consul (59 BCE); Dictator (49–44 BCE); Dictator perpetuo (44 BCE); Consul (48, 46–44 BCE)	Proconsul: Gaul, Illyricum (58–49 BCE)
Pompey	Consul (70, 55, 52 BCE)	Proconsul of Cilicia, Africa, Spain

⚠️ Common Pitfalls & Confusions

1. Mixing up Caesar’s dictatorship dates: he is dictator from 49–44 BCE, then receives dictator perpetuo in 44 BCE.
2. Assuming Pompey and Caesar’s dispute was only about provinces: the text frames it also as whether Caesar can be consul while keeping his army.
3. Confusing the Lex de iure magistratuum with a general election ban: it specifically prohibits consular election in absentia and is used against Caesar.
4. Thinking Pompey’s “Kalends of March” line means fairness will be decided after that date: the replies imply the outcome is effectively the same whether Caesar disobeys or blocks a decree.
5. Believing the “I came, I saw, I conquered” inscription describes battle events: the text says it emphasizes the speed of completion, not the war’s episodes.
6. Treating Caesar’s clemency as purely executions avoided: the text stresses incorporation into legions and immunity for prominent men.
7. Assuming Caesar’s “I am Caesar, and no king” means he never faced royal symbolism: the crown episode and Lupercalia crown placement are explicitly described.

✅ Exam Checklist

1. Define cursus honorum and list Caesar’s offices in the order given (pontifex maximus, praetor, consul, proconsul, dictator, consul again, dictator perpetuo).
2. State Caesar’s proconsular command and the dictatorship timeline exactly as given (Gaul/Illyricum; dictator 49–44 BCE; dictator perpetuo 44 BCE).
3. List Caesar’s major campaigns mentioned (Gallic Wars; Second Mithridatic War) and connect his rise to the First Triumvirate (60–53 BCE).
4. Give Pompey’s cursus honorum offices as stated (consul 70, 55, 52 BCE; proconsul of Cilicia, Africa, Spain) and identify the civil war context (vs. Caesar).
5. Explain the First Triumvirate pact elements from the course: private agreement (Pompey married Caesar’s daughter Iulia) and the agenda items (Caesar’s agrarian law; Pompey’s veterans land settlement; Clodius elected).
6. Describe the renewal of the pact at the conference at Luca (56 BCE) and the renewed proconsular assignment in Gallia to Caesar plus consulate for Crassus and Pompey in 55 BCE.
7. Reconstruct the rising tensions sequence (54–50 BCE): Pompey closer to the Senate, Iulia’s death, Crassus dies at Carrhae in 53 BCE, and Pompey’s extraordinary consulship sine collega in 52 BCE with Lex de iure magistrau
8. Explain the command dispute logic using the “Kalends of March” and vetoes/veto-proxy replies, and the “stick” analogy about Caesar keeping his army while running for consul.
9. Summarize the road to war: Pompey’s illness at Naples, the thanksgiving festivals, Pompey’s arrogance after rejoicing, and the two propositions Caesar faces (forgo candidature or retire from command).
10. Describe the failed settlements and final offer: Curio’s 50 BCE proposal (surrender extraordinary commands, disband, submit, account), the 49 BCE pressure from Cato, and why negotiations failed (Lentulus/Cato preventing/
11. Explain the Rubicon moment: when Caesar heard negotiations failed he ordered his legion to cross the Rubicon, alea iacta est, and what Caesar says in his address (wrongs by enemies; tribunicial intervention branded and “
12. List the key battle timeline in 48 BCE (Dyrrhachium; Pharsalus) and the outcome for Pompey (fled to Egypt and murdered by advisers of Ptolemy XIII).
13. State Caesar’s clemency measures after victory (incorporation into legions; immunity for prominent men) and the Alexandrian War link (supporting Cleopatra VII).
14. Recall Caesar’s triumphs and cult symbolism: five triumphs (4 in a single month), Gallic triumph spectacle (axle break; torchlight; 40 elephants), Pontic triumph inscription (“I came, I saw, I conquered”).