The Conspirators had assassinated Caesar supposedly under the impression that by removing a tyrant, order and true Republican rule would be restored to Rome. If this was their intention, then it was horribly misjudged. What followed the death of Caesar was not peace, or a restoration of the Roman Republic, it was the Last Civil War of the Republican era.
By the end of it, a man with more power than Caesar could have dreamed of would-be leading Rome into a new era; the Roman Empire. Welcome to our series on the post-Caesar Civil Wars. With the upcoming Christmas, you are probably looking for a perfect gift for your loved ones.
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As Caesar’s dead body lay at the base of the statue of Pompey, chaos erupted. Senators, unaware of who was involved in the plot or who the targets were, ran from the Senate, fearing for their lives. The Conspirators some of whom had wounded each other also rushed out, brandishing their bloodstained daggers, and proclaiming the death of a tyrant.
All the public saw, however, was their leaders of government shouting and panicking, some covered in blood and others wielding weapons. In this chaos, Anthony, who had not entered the chambers, was able to slip away in disguise, barricading himself in his house. Some uninvolved Senators saw an opportunity to align with the Conspirators, and seized daggers themselves, and boasted of having taken part themselves.
The group merged with Decimus’ gladiators stationed outside of the Theatre and went to the center of Rome announcing that a Brutus had once more rid Rome of a king. The public, however, was not won over. Caesar had brought a short period of stability to Rome after a long Civil War and now, Senators were marching through the streets with armed gladiators.
The public was scared. Many of Caesar’s veterans were in the city and there was a general fear of what these veterans would do. To add to this terror, Lepidus, who had since heard the news of Caesar’s death, had gone to Tiber island where his soldiers were stationed.
He then marched them to the Campus Martius to await Antony’s arrival. They wanted vengeance but agreed that they could not wage war in the streets of Rome. Instead, they decided to bide their time to await the Conspirators’ next move.
The Conspirators reached the Capitoline and blockaded themselves on the hill. Heralds were sent to again proclaim the death of a tyrant. In response, the public shouted back that all they wanted was peace.
Cinna, who had been named praetor by Caesar, stepped forward and threw his official garb aside, saying it had been given by a tyrant and was thus illegal. He praised the conspirators, but the public remained unconvinced. Dolabella, who Caesar had picked to be Consul for when he left for Parthia announced that he would take office as Consul immediately.
He claimed to have had knowledge of the plot and praised the conspirators’ actions. The approval of a consul encouraged Cassius and Brutus who began negotiating with Dolabella. They once again insisted that their actions had been justified, and suggested that Sextus Pompey, son of Pompey, be recalled to Rome, along with others exiled by Caesar.
They next sent messengers to Antony and Lepidus arguing that what was done was done, and that all that they could do now was to continue working for the people of Rome. Caesareans still hungry for revenge were nervous, particularly of Decimus who owned the gladiators and was governor of Cisalpine Gaul, putting him in command of one of a significant army. They could not risk putting themselves at odds with him and agreed to negotiate.
Antony, who was still Consul for the year, ordered that the Senate be summoned. The Senate convened, with the conspicuous absence of the ringleaders of the conspiracy, despite them having their safety assured by Lepidus and Antony. Cinna, however, was present in his praetorian attire which he had previously denounced as being given by a tyrant.
The public, outraged at this hypocrisy, attacked him. He was almost killed by the mob but was saved by Lepidus’ soldiers who escorted him to his house. The Senate was divided: Some denounced the conspirators, a larger portion praised them, and others took a middle ground simply wanting peace.
It was initially proposed that a vote be taken. If the majority found Caesar to be a tyrant, then his laws would be voided. Before this vote could be taken, however, Antony stood and pointed out that Caesar had appointed many magistrates for the next 5 years.
If Caesar’s laws were illegal, so were these appointments. Dolabella, who was too young to legally run for Consul and whose only claim to the consulship was Caesar’s appointment, immediately changed his position, claiming to be horrified at the idea of honouring those who had murdered Caesar. Antony then also pointed out that Rome was full of Caesar’s veterans, and that they would likely not take kindly to Caesar’s laws being repealed.
Many of the laws pertained to the veterans, including providing for their retirement, and voiding these would almost certainly lead to a revolt by some of the most experienced soldiers of the Republic. Finally, Cicero took the stage, advocating moderation. He pointed out that seeking vengeance would only beget more violence, and that their duty was to move forward in a way that was best for the people.
His solution was simple and effective; all of Caesar’s actions as Dictator would be ratified, and the Conspirators’ lives would be spared. Antony was willing to agree on the condition that Caesar is given a public funeral, and that his will be read in public. All parties agreed, and a compromise had finally been reached.
Following this meeting in the Senate, the Conspirators addressed the Romans from the Capitoline. Calling themselves Liberators, they claimed that Caesar had robbed the Republic of its freedom by assigning magistrates for the next five years and had committed sacrilege by imprisoning a Tribune. The irony of this is not hard to spot.
The Senators, including the supporters of the Liberators, had just confirmed that Caesar’s magistrate positions would be upheld. They had the opportunity to revoke these privileges and had denied it. Moreover, though Caesar had indeed imprisoned a Tribune of the Plebs, the Liberators had murdered a Dictator, a far more serious sacrilegious offence.
Brutus and Cassius also promised to give land to Caesar’s veterans, though as Antony had pointed out, there was little choice but to appease the veterans. Nevertheless, the crowd was assured by the two men that they at least seemed to be seeking peace, rather than further war. With the official pardoning of the Liberators made public, Cassius, Brutus, and the other conspirators finally agreed to come down from the Capitol, but only after Antony and Lepidus agreed to send their sons as hostages.
As had been decided earlier, Caesar’s will was read to the public: he gave his private gardens to the people to be used as a public space and gave each citizen in Rome 75 drachmae - roughly two months wages. His primary heir was the grandson of his sister - Octavian, a blood relation, who was only 19 years old. Octavian’s life has so far been uneventful.
He had made his first major public appearance when he gave his eulogy for his grandmother and had asked to join Caesar during his African campaign but had been prevented from doing so by his mother. Instead, he had been allowed to join Caesar during his Spanish Campaign but had been too sick to take part in any meaningful way. While Caesar’s will was being read, Octavian was undergoing military training in Illyria alongside the 6 Legions Caesar had picked for his Parthian Campaign, not expecting this sudden change in power, wealth, and prestige.
Perhaps even more shocking was Caesar’s secondary heir, who was to inherit the wealth if Octavian had died before Caesar: Decimus Brutus, one of the leading assassins in the plot. Upon hearing the will, the people began turning against the Liberators. Caesar’s body was brought out with the crowd lamenting loudly, and the stage was set for Antony to have arguably his most impressive moment in Roman politics.
He read all the laws passed by Caesar that would now be upheld, giving particular weight to those that related to the people specifically. He read all the titles that Caesar had been granted, Protector of the Country, Father of the Country, and emphasized the sanctity of Caesar’s offices. Antony broke down into tears, and then lifted the bloodied toga of Caesar on a spear for all to see, bringing the crowd to a boiling point.
Finally, he unveiled a wax replica of Caesar with 23 stab wounds. At this point, the Liberators hurried from the Forum and the crowd erupted into chaos. The crowd rampaged, burning down the senate chambers where Caesar had been assassinated, and hunting for the Liberators throughout the city.
Most either fled Rome or barricaded in their homes with armed guards. One man, Cinna, who happened to share his name with one of the conspirators, was mistaken for being the Cinna who had been involved in the plot and was quite literally torn to pieces. They seized Caesar’s body, carrying it to the Capitol to burn and bury him with the gods, but were stopped by the priests of the temple.
Instead, they took Caesar’s body back to the forum. Benches, parts of stalls, any wood that they could get their hands on was piled into a huge pyre and Caesar’s body was burnt atop it. As his body burnt, people flung dedications onto the pyre, including weapons, armour, jewelry, and clothes.
With one speech, Antony had turned the public against the Liberators and forced them to flee. The only ones who remained were Cassius and Junius Brutus who, as Praetors of Rome, only held power within the city. Antony was the master of Rome.
At first, the Senate blamed him for the riot and hunting of the Liberators. However, Antony worked quickly to win them over. A man called Amatius claimed to be the grandson of Gaius Marius, and thus related to Caesar, and had been a leading figure in the riots.
On Apil 13th, Antony had Amatius executed without a trial and this won him the support of the Senate, but severely damaged his standing with the Plebians, who took to the forum in protest. In response, Antony dispersed the crowd with soldiers, then proceeded to execute the ringleaders. In less than a month, Antony had alienated himself from the Plebs and aligned himself firmly with the Senate.
To further secure this alliance, Antony abolished the office of Dictator and even suggested that Sextus Pompey be recalled, and named Commander of the Seas. The Senate eagerly accepted, and even Cicero was for a time won over by Antony. However, it did not take long for Antony to begin abusing his power.
He began spending Caesar’s vast fortune, which was in his care to distribute to Octavian and Caesar’s other heirs, and fabricated various legislation, purportedly written by Caesar, to further his own agenda. He paid huge gifts to win cities and foreign princes to his side, began naming new members of the Senate, and amassed a huge bodyguard, perhaps of as many as 6,000 Caesarean veterans who had fought alongside Antony. Lepidus, who was the other leader of the Caesarean party, had been advocating for revenge, but Antony was quick to placate him with a marriage of his daughter to Lepidus’ son, and an appointing Lepidus as Pontifex Maximus.
Antony was focusing power into his own hands, making Cassius and Brutus wary. They had no supporters amongst the Plebs or veterans, and the Senate was now being increasingly won over by Antony. Both men subtly excused themselves from politics in Rome and retreated to their houses in the country.
From here they sent messages to Decimus in Cisalpine Gaul to ready his Legions, and to Trebonius in Asia and Tillius in Bithynia to begin raising funds. By this point, Antony had effectively held as much power as Caesar had done, and rumours circulated that he was seeking a province with an army to command. Some Senators were still not supporting him though, which encouraged Dolabella, the other Consul for the year, to oppose Antony whenever possible.
Antony, however, was aware of how ambitious Dolabella was and encouraged the young man to request the command of Syria for the following year, including command of Caesar’s planned Parthian campaign. Rather than put this to the Senate first, as was the custom, Antony persuaded Dolabella to take the proposed law straight to the people. Syria had been assigned to Cassius, however, and the Senate attempted to block the proposal, but Antony was able to force it through.
The law was passed, and Dolabella was thus given command of Syria and the Legions. Antony then requested the Senate to give him the governance of Macedonia, a province Caesar had assigned to Brutus. With Dolabella being given such a rich and powerful province, this seemed a relatively small demand, Macedonia having no legions, so the Senate relented.
Cassius was compensated with the governance of Crete and Cyrenaica, while Brutus was given Bithynia. Meanwhile, Octavian had still been in Illyria, debating his best course of action. Some encouraged him to take control of the army that he had been training with and take revenge.
His parents, however, wrote to him to come to Rome as a private citizen, in order to attract as little attention as possible, claim his wealth and retire. Octavian knew he had to be in Rome to understand the situation and so, he left the army and sailed across the Adriatic. When he arrived in Italy, more accurate information regarding the assassination and Caesar’s will was sent to him.
Still, he was uneasy, many encouraging him to renounce the adoption by Caesar completely. When he arrived in Brundisium, however, huge crowds flocked to him, and veterans greeted him as Caesar’s son. Octavian immediately accepted the adoption, officially changing his name to Gaius Julius Caesar.
Hearing this, more and more soldiers, veterans, and sympathisers flocked to his side. Along with them came more news from Rome, the appointments of Antony and Dolabella, the proposed recall of Sextus Pompey and other exiles, and more. With his increasingly large retinue, Octavian now made his way to Rome.
However, as a private citizen, Octavian had no real power in Rome. Antony was the man with all the power and, more importantly for Octavian, all of Caesar’s possessions, including his vast fortune. In order to have any real power in the city, Octavian needed this money.
He not only had Caesar’s legacy of 75 drachmae to each citizen to distribute but also political allies to repay and others to bribe. Octavian thanked Antony for giving Caesar a proper burial, but criticised him for not having seized the moment when the populace was on his side to hunt the Liberators down, and for having given too many concessions to the Senate, Brutus, and Cassius. Finally, he asked for the gold that Caesar had amassed for his war against Parthia in order to pay the citizens of Rome, and also asked Antony to either give him a loan from his private purse or from the treasury, to cover his other expenses, while Octavian would immediately put his properties up for sale in order to pay these debts.
Antony was completely taken aback. Octavian had no power, had no leverage, and really had no right to be so critical, and making requests from Antony, so he was quick to refuse. He pointed out that, like it or not, the Senators were the representative body of Rome.
Caesar had not, Antony made clear, left Octavian the Roman government in his will. As such, neither he nor Octavian had any right to overrule the constitution. Regarding the money, Antony found Octavian’s requests laughable.
Antony claimed that, though Caesar had been a rich man, but much of his wealth was distributed across a number of assets, many of which were now disputed by various individuals. Some of these had been seized after his assassination, others had not yet been liquified into cash. In reality, Antony had already spent a significant amount of Caesar’s fortune and had deliberately slowed down the process of Octavian’s adoption to further handicap the young man.
Antony made it clear that, once Caesar’s assets had been assessed and the many individual disputes resolved, Octavian would get a portion of the remaining money. Octavian left in a fury. Octavian and Antony were immediately at loggerheads.
Lawsuits were levelled against Octavian, contesting a number of the assets he had inherited, as some had belonged to men who Caesar had exiled, but had now been allowed to return, while others claimed that some of the assets were seized by Caesar unjustifiably. Antony, his brother Gaius, who was a city praetor, and Dolabella, presided over many of these cases and ensured that Octavian got the worst of it. Octavian was forced to put all his inherited properties up for sale in order to find the money to settle these various cases.
This went on until two men, Pedius and Pinarius, appealed to Antony. They had also been given part of Caesar’s wealth in his will, and were worried that there would be nothing left after the various lawsuits. They pointed out that Caesar’s will had been clear, and that the Senate had agreed to uphold Caesar’s actions.
Antony conceded somewhat, allowing Pedius and Pinarius to take their share of Caesar’s money now, but withheld Octavian’s share, saying that, though the Senate had agreed to uphold Caesar’s actions, it was also not proper to ignore the disputes of many individuals just for Octavian’s sake. Pedius and Pinarius quickly took their share, planning on using it to in turn fund Octavian. Antony and his brother were due to hold Games, which would be done in Brutus’ name.
The aim was to bolster support for Brutus and Cassius in order to hopefully get the people to reconcile with the two, thus giving the brothers two more powerful allies in the Senate who would be indebted to them. Octavian, however, opposed this. He sold all his properties at the lowest price he could, used what personal money he had, and the money from Pedius and Pinarius to finally pay Caesar’s gift of money to the people.
Octavian had gone through so much to get this money that the gift was now seen as more a gift from him, than from Caesar. When the Games were held and the heralds paid by the Antony’s began to call for the return of Brutus and Cassius, many of the people, now thoroughly won over by Octavian, stormed onto the arena, stopping the Games until Antony’s heralds were forced to stop their appeal. Octavian had gained a victory.
When Brutus and Cassius heard of what happened, they were furious. This had been their last gambit at returning to Rome through popular support. Now they planned to go to Macedonia and Syria and take those provinces by force.
The men who had professed to killing Caesar to protect Rome had now completely abandoned the city, leaving it contested between Octavian and Antony. However, one man who had long claimed to be a saviour of Rome did stay: Cicero. He had been quick to realise that Antony was simply hoarding power for himself and, despite the danger to his life presented by the powerful Antony, he now aligned himself with Octavian.
It had only been 6 months since the assassination of Caesar and the stage was once again set for war. In Rome, the relationship between Octavian and Cicero, and Antony was almost at breaking point. Meanwhile, the Liberators were starting to gather their forces, Decimus in Cisalpine Gaul, Trebonius in Asia, and Brutus and Cassius en route to their respective provinces.
In Sicily, Sextus Pompeius, still not yet officially recalled to Rome, had amassed a sizable force. The entire Roman world was, once again, about to be plunged into Civil War. In our next video we will talk about the beginning of this Civil War, so make sure you are subscribed and have pressed the bell button to see it.
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