![]() However, it turned out that the Senate had made a disastrous mistake. It is probably at this early stage of the war, that constituted the Sixteenth legion. Caesar's perspectives did not look great: nine of his legions were still on duty in Gaul ( text). In doing so, he crossed the river Rubicon, thereby invading Italy and provoking the Second Civil War. In the night of 10/11 January, the Thirteenth legion advanced to Rimini, where he could control the passes across the Apennines. Caesar heard the news in Ravenna, and knew that he had to make a choice between prosecution and rebellion preferring the dignity of war over the humiliation of a process, Caesar chose to rebel, quoting his favorite poet Menander, "the die is cast" ( alea iacta est). In 49 BCE, on the seventh of January, the Senate demanded Caesar to hand over his ten well-trained legions to a new governor. ![]() And it was not hard to see who this general would be: Pompey. If Caesar refused to obey, he would be declared an enemy of the state the Senate would be forced to appoint a commander with extraordinary powers. Cato had charged him with war crimes in Germania, and many people remembered Caesar's first consulship and the Spanish War. If the latter obeyed, he was no longer immune to prosecution. (The question whether this was lawful remains unanswered: in 52, the People's Assembly had allowed Caesar to run for consul without being present.) After some deliberations, Pompey obeyed the Senate. (The tense atmosphere of distrust is described here.) An overwhelming majority in the Senate (400 against 22) wished both dynasts to lay down their extraordinary commands before the consular elections in December 50. One of the camps has been identified at Hermeskeil.Īfter Crassus' death, only Pompey and Caesar remained, and the Senate feared a civil war from which a king would arise. He started to train his army in the valley of the Moselle, far away from the Senate's spies. He must have understood that he was regarded with suspicion. Caesar obeyed, but discovered that the legions were never employed in Syria. ![]() The Senate demanded Caesar's First and Fifteenth Legions to be sent to the east. Crassus was killed in action at Carrhae in 53. Crassus was less fortunate: after his consulship, he became governor of Syria with special prerogatives, but was defeated by the Parthians, who lived in Mesopotamia and Iran. Pompey was successful: in 52, he was elected " consul without colleague" and yielded almost dictatorial authority. When Caesar was in Gaul and organized the conquered territories, Pompey and Crassus tried to enlarge their power too. ![]()
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