Julius Caesar- Fame and Fate Part Twelve

Cicero was almost driven to hysteria. He was certainly no soldier or military strategist, but he could see what a catastrophe the abandonment of Rome had been. In one of his desperate letters to Atticus, he complained, "As it is, we wander about like beggars with our wives and children, all our hopes dependent upon a man who falls dangerously ill once a year, and yet we were not even expelled but summoned from our city!" (Cicero, To Atticus, 8.2.). Domitius Ahenobarbus was the only one who attempted to take a stand against Caesar. Ahenobarbus did not have any strategic plans worth mentioning. His attempt was born more by his hatred of Julius Caesar and stubbornness. He decided to make his stand at the town of Corfinium, which was the same town the Italian rebels had decided to make their capital forty years earlier. Using this town wasn't a very smart move by Domitius. The idea of the Republic meant little to many who lived there. But one thing they did know was that Julius Caesar was an heir to Marius, that great proponent of Italian's rights and the enemy of Pompey-the same Pompey who was the ally of Sulla. Sulla, who had killed so many Italians in decades before. The town surrendered and Domitius was brought before Caesar. He begged for death. Caesar refused and sent Domitius on his way. Living in the 21st century, this might have seemed to be an act of mercy. However, in the ancient Republic there was no worse humiliation than to owe one's life to the favor of another.

This policy of clemency also had the effect of reassuring fence-sitters that Caesar was no Sulla. There would be no proscription lists and even his greatest enemies lives would be spared. It is also interesting to note here that during the Catiline conspiracy of 63 BC, Caesar had proposed the novel idea of life imprisonment for the guilty. This unheard of idea was rejected at the the time. but obviously Caesar's famed ideas of clemency didn't start only after crossing the Rubicon. The news of the "Pardon of Corfinium" was gladly received in Rome. There was absolutely no chance that there would be a popular uprising against Caesar now. The only republican stronghold was the port city of Brundisium. This was a great port in the southeast, on the heel of the Italian peninsula and it was Rome's gateway to the East. If Caesar could capture Brundisium the war would be over. A desperate race against time started for both sides now. Caesar was brought the news that half of the enemy's army had already sailed, commanded by the two consuls. However, Caesar also learned as he made haste south from Corfinium that Pompey was still at port with the other half. He knew that Pompey would have to wait until the fleet returned from Greece.

When Caesar arrived at Brundisium, he ordered his men to throw a breakwater across the gap in the harbor's mouth. Pompey's move was to have three story towers built on the decks of merchant ships, then sending them across the harbor to bombard missiles on Caesar's engineers. A pitched battle continued for days. The breakwater was still not complete when sails were spotted at sea. Pompey's fleet was returning from Greece. The ships were able to dock and Pompey was able to evacuate. Julius Caesar's last hope of a quick and relatively painless end to the war evaporated. By morning the sails of Pompey's fleet were no longer to be seen. It was just about two and a half months since Caesar had crossed the Rubicon. Pompey was very lucky for his reputation in the East. He began taking command of the eastern province's legions and sent out summonses to client kings that he had either put or confirmed on their thrones. These kings came to Pompey's aid with a fervor that showed it was Pompey himself and not the Republic they were rallying to. Cicero confessed to Atticus that Pompey had told him of his plans to defeat Caesar, and these plans distressed him. The grain supplies were to be cut off and the provinces occupied. "From the very first, Pompey's plan has been to plunder the whole world, and the seas too, to whip up barbarian kings into a frenzy, to land armed savages on our shores, and to mobilize vast armies," a worried Cicero wrote. (Cicero, To Atticus, 8.11.).

I plan to have the next post here in a day or two unless something prevents. The image is of a mosaic unearthed at Herculaneum, one of two major cities destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 AD, the other city being Pompeii. Peace and be well to anyone stopping by!