Transcript Crossing the Rubicon Task

Crossing the Rubicon Task
• Read the quote and comment you have been assigned from
pp. 374 – 378 of Bradley.
• Discuss it with your partner and form a view about whether
Caesar was justified in crossing the Rubicon.
• Refer to the timeline on pp. 368 – 375 of Bradley if you
need to check relevant context.
• Think carefully about how the action looks in the light of
the Roman constitution and the events of the preceding
decade.
• You may want to phrase your conclusion in definite terms.
Alternatively, you can explain the arguments for and against
Caesar’s actions.
• Prepare to explain your conclusion to the class.
Justified
according to
who? Against
what
measure?
Or???
Or according
Caesar’s own
morality and
beliefs? Was
he
consistent?
Justified according
to us and our
standards of
morality and
political
behaviour?
Or according
to Roman
standards in
the 1st Century
BC?
JUSTIFIED???
Consistency with the
behaviour of others in
that period…
According to
the standards
of the Roman
constitution?
Quote 1
“… He [Caesar] was resolved to invade Italy if
force were used against the tribunes of the
people who had vetoed the senate’s decree
disbanding his army by a given date. Force was,
in effect, used, and the tribunes fled towards
Cisalpine Gaul, which became Caesar’s pretexts
for launching the Civil War.”
Suetonius, Life of Julius Caesar
(Bradley, p. 374)
Quote 1
• Suetonius (& Plutarch) think this was a
pretext; a justification but not the real reason
for Caesar’s actions.
• It is argued that Caesar used this action by
the Senate for propaganda purposes,
particularly amongst his own troops in Gaul.
• Argument that the flight of the tribunes was
staged.
• Caesar subsequently treated tribunes in the
same way Antony & Cassius allegedly were.
Quote 2
• “Additional motives are suspected, however:
Pompey’s comment was that because Caesar
had insufficient capital to carry out his
grandiose schemes or give the people all that
they had been encouraged to expect on his
return, he chose to create an atmosphere of
political confusion.”
Suetonius, Life of Julius Caesar
(Bradley, p. 376)
Quote 2
• Caesar had been sending huge quantities of wealth
back to Rome, eg. Curio’s debts, building of the
Basilica
• Caesar had been very generous with his troops
• Broke into the treasury in 49 BC (after crossing the
Rubicon and starting the Civil War)
• May have felt he needed large sums of money to
bribe his way out of prosecution if he became a
private citizen…
• Therefore, it is possible that he was motivated by
money.
Quote 3
“Another view is that he dreaded having to
account for the irregularities of his first
consulship… [and] he said in these very words:
“They would have condemned me regardless of
all my victories – me, Gaius Caesar – had I not
appealed to my army for help.”
Suetonius, Life of Julius Caesar
(Bradley, p. 376)
Quote 3
• Caesar feared the indignity of prosecution
(less than the penalty).
• Caesar himself wrote about how important
prestige had always been to him.
• Caesar believed he was being unfairly
targeted.
Quote 4
• “It has also been suggested that constant
exercise of power gave Caesar a love of it; and
that, after weighing his enemies’ strength
against his own, he took his chance of fulfilling
his youthful dreams of making a bid for the
monarchy: Cicero seems to have come to a
similar conclusion.”
Suetonius, The Life of Julius Caesar
Bradley (p. 377)
Responsibility for the War
(Bradley, p. 377)
• Crossing the Rubicon was an act of treason
• Caesar may not have expected war but that
his enemies would quickly capitulate
• Pompey devoted to maintaining his
supremacy and not allowing Caesar to
become his equal
• Optimates wanted to destroy Caesar