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Julius Caesar dicfatesa "comnientary"~a history ofone of his military campaigns.

V . - 1 — - .

Julius Caesar and the Death of the Reman RepublicCAST OF CHARACTERS

Citizens 1-7', people of RomeJulius Caesar, politician and generalPompey, politician and generalMarcus Crassus, politician and generalMarcus Cicero, SenatorAide to Caesar*Narrators A-D

' Indicates a fictitious character.

INTRODUCTIONIN 409 B.C., THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY-STATE OF ROMEdid something rare for their time. They banished their King andbecame a republic. The King was replaced by two elected consuls.A Senate and Assembly were organized to pass laws. But over thenext 300 years, as Rome became more powerful, its governmentgrew more corrupt. The oligarchy enriched itself with the slavelabor of conquered peoples. Many citizens went bankrupt, and thegap between rich landowners and everyone else became extreme.An atmosphere of great discontent led to political chaos and even-tually to the destruction of the Roman Republic. One man wouldput the final nail in its coffin: Julius Caesar.

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SCENE ONENarrator A: In 70 B.C., Rome is onthe verge of yet another crisis. Fornearly a century, it has been thescene of constant revolt. The city hasnot recovered from the strugglebetween two generals, Marius andSulla, that ended in Sulla's reign ofterror in 82 B.C. Meanwhile, theOptimates party, which controls theSenate, struggles with the party ofthe Populares, which controls theAssembly. Out in the street. . .Citizen I: Friend, I see that you havereturned from Cyrene [sigh-REE-nee;see map, p. 17]. You missed a lot ofexcitement.Citizen 2: So I hear. Politicianskilling one another. Competingarmies and mobs terrorizing thecity. Even in Cyrene, one had to becareful about using the namesMarius and Sulla in public.Citizen 3: The generals just get morepowerful. They use their battles toget rich from plunder [goods takenby force].Citizen I: And public office is open tothe highest bidder. As my friendCicero says, "There is one sure wayto win an election in Rome: Buy it."Narrator A: That year, in fact, theelections for consul are basically

Words to Know• consul *: the highest office in ancient Rome.

Two were elected every year and shared power,• dictator *: a ruler with absolute power; in

ancient Rome, an appointed office,• oligarchy (oh-ii-gar-kee): rule by a small group

of powerful individuals.• Optimates (op-tim-AH-teez)*\\\\& party of

the oligarchy.• Popuiares (pop-yoo-LAH-reez}*\ the party of

common citizens,• republic: government by citizens and tbeir

elected representatives,• triumvirate (try-UHM-vur-it)• ^n alliance of

three people,• See leiu'her's lidition for fu%'tber expLituiiions.

hought by two rich men, Pompeyand Crassus. Both are generals andpoliticians who fought for Sulla.They are also sworn enemies. Anambitious young politician observestheir success. A relative of Marius,he narrowly escaped being killed bySulla. His name is Julius Caesar.

SCENE TWONarrator 6: During the next decade,Caesar's influence grows. Betweenholding elective offices in Rome, heserves as the Governor of Spain. In60 B.C., Caesar returns to Rome. Hemeets with Pompey and Crassus.Julius Caesar: Greetings to you, gen-tlemen and noble Romans.Marcus Crassus: Why have youbrought us together? It is no secrethow we feel about each other.

Caesar: Yes, but I believe that we canalso help each other. Both of you haveprofitable agreements in Asia that arebeing blocked by the Senate. Pompey,the Senate also refuses to give land toyour veterans. If I am elected consul,it could be good for all of us. Further,if we appeal to the Assembly and getthe people on our side, the Senate willbe too nervous not to support us.Pompey: I like the way you think.Narrator B: The three men form a tri-umvirate. Caesar is elected one ofRome's two consuls for the year 59B.C. Despite the Optimates' resist-ance, Caesar gets two land actspassed. These grant land to poor citi-zens, including many of Pompey'ssoldiers. The Populares are delighted.Citizen 4: Did you hear? Pompey andCrassus stood on either side of Caesar

Caesar crosses the Rubicon to invade Italy, January 10,49 B.C.

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and defied the Senate. They said theywill fight anyone with the sword whoopposes Caesar's laws.Citizen 5: That Caesar is a slick one.When his co-consul Bibulus tried todelay a vote, Caesar had a bucketfulof dung dumped over his head.Narrator B: The triumvirate is furtherstrengthened when Pompey marriesCaesars daughter, Julia. In all, Cae-sar's year as consul is a big success forthe three men—much to the frustra-tion of the Senate.

SCENE THREENarrator C: The following year, Cae-sar receives a military command thatincludes the Roman province ofCisalpine Caul. [Today, that area isnorthern Italy and .southern France.]A brilliant general, Caesar begins asteady, brutal conquest of the rest ofCaul. In victory, Caesar builds hisown loyal army and source ofwealth. Back in Rome, Pompey wor-ries that Caesar's increasing powerwill threaten his own. He tries tohide his concern from his ally, the

Senator Marcus Cicero.Marcus Cicero: I don't trust Caesar.He is a snake.Pompey: Don't worry. I need Caesarnow, and I can control him.Cicero: I'm not so sure. The commonpeople of Rome think that Caesar haspromised them liberty. This "liberty"will end with his becoming a tyrant.Narrator C: In 54 B.C., Pompey's wife,Julia, dies. Her death cuts Pompey'sfamily tie with Caesar. The follow-ing year, Crassus is killed in battle.Now Pompey feels even morethreatened by Caesar. Allying him-self with the Senate, Pompey isappointed sole consul in 52 B.C.With total control, he makes hismove against his rival. Shortlythereafter, in Caul . . .Caesar: Here is another letter fromRome. The Senate wants to recallme and take my command. If I don'thave the protection of my army, theycan simply kill me. With me out ofthe way, Pompey will take over.Aide: The Senate says that you wantto make yourself into a dictator.

Caesar As if Pompey does not! Let'sface it, the Republic is dead. It is amere name, without a body or form.I won't go back to Rome defenseless.Narrator C: Caesar tries to avoid a warwith Pompey. But on January 7, 49B.C., the Senate declares that Caesarwill be considered a public enemy ifhe does not disband his army.Camped on the far side of the Rubi-con, a river at the border of Italy,Caesar considers his next move.Caesar: If I cross this river with mymen, it will mean war. I did notwant to have to do this. But Pompeyand the Senate have left me nochoice. The die is cast.Narrator C: On January 10,49 B.C.,Caesar begins leading his troopsacross the Rubicon. The civil war thatwill change Rome forever has begun.

SCENE FOURNarrator D: Pompey immediatelyretreats to Creece with his army.Caesar and his soldiers quicklycross the Adriatic Sea and attackPompey. In August 48 B.C., word

reaches Rome of thedecisive battle atPharsalus [far-SAY-luss].Citizen 6: Caesar wasgreatly outnumbered,but Pompey was outgen-eraled. Thousands ofPompey's soldierssurrendered or fled—many others were killedoutright. Pompey, too,ran for his life.Citizen 7:1 heard thatCaesar's men found allthe tents in Pompey'scamp decorated for a

Pompey is assassinatetlbefore he can reach shoreat Alexandria, Egypt.

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THEGPiQWTHOF

victory party. And Caesar atePompey's meal for him!NamlV B: Pompey flees across theMediterranean to Alexandria, Egypt.Trying to land there, he is killed byorder of one of the Pharaohs officials.But the war is not over yet. Caesarmust fight Pompey's allies and otherrebels in the provinces for the nextthree years. He is unable to return toRome for good until 45 B.C. There,he meets with Cicero.CiCtft: Caesar, we are grateful thatyou pardoned many of us for fightingon Pompey's side. I hope you will beso generous ro all of Rome's citizens.C M M T From the beginning, I haveonly sought to save Rome fromitself Now we must heal ourwounds. The poor shall be givenrelief, and private property will berespected. One day, after I haverestored order, perhaps the Republicwill be great again.

In 44 B.C., the Senate

makes Caesar dictator for life. ButCaesar has Uttie time to enjoy thepeace he has won. On March 15,44 B.C., he is assassinated in theSenate. Leading the plotters is oneof Pompey's allies whom Caesar hadpardoned, Marcus Brutus.

AFTERWORDJulitis Caesar's stamp on history

was huge. Historians say that hesaved the Roman state, enabling thespread of Creek and Roman thoughtthroughout the world. Culturally, heleft us invaluable histories of his time.The calendar we use today is basedon his reform of the Roman calendar.

It is doubtful that Caesar reallyplanned to restore the Republic—or that it could have been saved.Caesar's assassination resparked thecivil war. When the war fmallyended, in 30 B.C., Caesar's heir,Octavian, held power. Renaminghimself Augustus Caesar, he was the

Above: A profile ofCaesar. AncientGreeks and Romanshonored generals,athletes, and otherchampions withcrowns of laurelleaves. Caesarespecially desired tobe crowned withlaurel because hewas going bald.

first in a series of Emperors, whoruled the Roman Empire foranother five centuries. JS

Your TurnW O R D

1. consul

2. dictator

3. oligarchy

4. plunder5. republic

M A T C HA. ruler with

absolute powerB. goods taken hy

forceC. government by

citizensD. Roman high officeE. rule hy a small

group

THINK ABOUT IT1. What conditions led to turmoil

in the Roman Repuhlic?2. Was the leadership of a strong

ruler like Caesar hetter for theaverage Roman than the chaosof the Repuhlic? Explain.

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