- He would be shamed and then exiled
- He would be executed for illegal warfare and treason
- He would be assassinated sometime after arriving
Caesar knew this and everyone else did too.
Why was this the case? Well, it’s something of a complex story. Let’s dive into it.
It was 50 BC and the Senate had demanded Caesar relinquish his command and return to Rome. Caesar had spent the last 9 years conquering Gaul, invading Britian, invading Germania, and becoming a legend. Why did they do this? Well, they wanted to destroy Caesar.
You see about 9 years ago Caesar served as Consul- basically President. While President he broke a few rules to get things done and made himself a lot of enemies. You see at the time Rome was split between 2 factions- the conservative Optimates who HATED Caesar and the populist Populares who Caesar was the leader of. The Optimes were pro “nobility” and thus they controlled the Senate while the Optimates controlled the Tribuneships.
When Caesar broke the law as Consul the Optimates could do nothing. You see Caesar held Imperium.
Let’s focus on this because it REALLY matters. What’s Imperium? It was a set of privileges given to high-ranking Roman officials. It allowed them to command Armies, conduct diplomacy, and in general represent the Roman State. Having Imperium meant you were the embodiment of Rome itself. Above all Imperium meant you were immune from legal prosecution. You could kill a man and be totally fine so long as you had Imperium. However, once that Imperium expired- they could still come after you.
When Caesar’s term as Consul ended he became Governor of 3 provinces and went on to command 10 total Legions. Governors, like Consuls, help Imperium. This makes sense considering Governors needed to conduct diplomatic relations and command local troops.
Caesar was given a 5-year term as Governor right after his term as Consul ended. As the 5 years came to a close Caesar got himself a 5-year extension bringing his total term as Governor to 10 years. Why 10 years? Because there had to be a 10-year gap between terms as Consul. Caesar wanted to go from Governor to Consul right away with no gap.
Anyway as Caesar reached year 9 of his 10-year Governorship his enemies finally made a move against him. They argued before the Senate that Caesar’s 5-year Governorship extension started when it was approved- not when his original 5-year term ended. This would mean Caesar’s term as Governor would end after 9 years and not 10.
If Caesar’s term as Governor ended and he wasn’t able to immediately become Consul than there would be a gap- a gap where he had no Imperium. No Imperium meant his enemies could charge him with various crimes and destroy him.
Caesar tried to have his allies veto the Senate and a host of other things but when this failed Caesar went to his troops, offered them a pay raise, and stationed them closer to Italy. That was that.
Here’s an interesting thought. Why didn’t Caesar and the Senate negotiate? I mean certainly in the months of conflict they could have found some comment ground to avoid a Civil War neither side wanted.
Well, they actually did negotiate. The Optimates sent Cicero, Cato, and Pompey to negotiate with Mark Antony and a few more of Caesar’s allies. Cicero- the best of all the men there- badly wanted to avoid a Civil War. Caesar had empowered Antony to make a deal.
- Caesar would relinquish command of 9 of his 10 legions and 2 of his 3 provinces. This would leave Caesar with 1 Legion and 1 Province. Enough to protect Caesar but not enough to threaten Rome.
- Caesar would serve as Consul 1 more time and be done