The Roman Republic

Who's who?

Julius Caesar

His Frenemies

Pompey the Great

Crassus

The First Triumvirate

His Enemies

Cicero

Brutus

83 BC - Pompey and Crassus assists Sulla in the Civil War against Marius (Marius was the uncle of Julius Caesar)

Marius

Marius

• Novus homo (new man - first man in his family to become a consul)
• a plebeian who became a consul
• successful military commander
• reorganised Rome's army
• he was elected as consul 6 times

Sulla

Sulla

• made himself dictator of Rome
• undertook bloody reprisals against his enemies - thousands were executed
• he attempted to reduce political instability by restricting 'the people's' access to power
• made it illegal for tribunes to hold a higher office. . .which is what Marius did

Sulla

• after introducing his reforms he gave up the dictatorship
• his laws strengthened the position of aristocratic senators. . .but left the people bitter towards the aristocracy

Marius and Sulla are important to this story because their style of leadership will influence both Pompey and Caesar

Spartacus

Crassus lead the Roman attack against Spartacus, Pompey 'assisted' (came in at the eleventh hour and stole Crassus' glory)

Pompey and Crassus become joint consuls in 70BC
They basically ignored every law that Sulla - there commander - had put in place

Meanwhile. . .

Caesar

• emerged as a political force to be considered - populares
• became quaestor in 69BC
• next ten years his career followed the cursus honorum
• he was unconventional and popular, the optimates did not like that

Meanwhile. . .

Pompey

• was given the task of solving Rome's pirate problem in the Mediterranean and dealing with a Middle-Eastern king who threatened Roman territory
• he succeeded in both of these commands
• the optimates worried that Pompey could be a second Sulla
• he had little political success on his return to Rome

Meanwhile. . .

Solution

The First Triumvirate

• lasted from 60-53BC
• an agreement between Pompey, Crassus and Caesar to work together
• 'Triumvirate' is misleading because it was a legally established body - unlike this alliance which was not official and it remained a secret for some time

Caesar

Caesar

• Given the province of Gaul and undertakes conquest there - 58-51BC

Trouble in Rome

• Clodius (a troublemaker) becomes a Tribune and forces Cicero to be exiled
• Period of unrest follows the death of Clodius and there is violence in Rome

Crassus dies while fighting the Parthians in 53BC and that's the end of the triumvirate

Pompey opposes Caesar and joins the optimates in 51BC saying Caesar must answer for crimes he committed during his reign as consul.

Civil War 49-45BC

• Caesar crosses the Rubicon River and civil war between Pompey and Caesar commences
• Caesar wins and is made dictator for life. . .which only lasted one year as he was assassinated in 44 BC

This time the senate appointed a triumvirate (known as the second triumvirate) which was comprised of Mark Antony (Caesar's friend), Octavian (Caesar's nephew/adopted son) and Lepidus (a military commander) which lasted from 43-33BC.

Civil War 33-32

• Lepidus was removed
• Antony fights Octavian
• Cleopatra decides to back Antony
• 31 BC, Octavian defeats Antony and Cleopatra at the battle of Actium

Octavian becomes. . .

Caesar Augustus