Ancient Rome : from the earliest times down to 476 A. D Part 12

Meanwhile a dangerous enemy was threatening Italy within her own borders. In 73 a band of gladiators, under the leaders.h.i.+p of one of their number, named SPARTACUS escaped from the training school at Capua and took up a strong position on Mount Vesuvius. They were joined by large numbers of slaves and outcasts of every description, and were soon in a position to defeat two Praetors who were sent against them.

The next year they a.s.sumed the offensive; and Spartacus found himself at the head of 100,000 men. Four generals sent against him were defeated; and for two years he ravaged Italy at will, and even threatened Rome.

But intestine division showed itself in his ranks; his lieutenants grew jealous of him, and his strength began to wane.

In 71 the command of the war was given to CRa.s.sUS, who finished it in six months. Spartacus fell, fighting bravely, near Brundisium. Pompey, returning from the Sertorian war in Spain, met five thousand of those who had escaped from the array of Spartacus. These he slew to a man.

Cra.s.sus pointed the moral of his victory by hanging, along the road from Rome to Capua, six thousand captives whom he had taken.

Mithradates meanwhile, taking advantage of the troubles at Rome, was again in arms, and in 74 LUCIUS LICINIUS LUCULLUS was sent against him.

Lucullus, of plebeian birth, first distinguished himself in the Social War, where he gained the favor of Sulla, and accompanied him, as Quaestor, in his campaign against Mithradates in 88. With Cotta he was chosen to the consuls.h.i.+p in 74. The province of Cilicia was a.s.signed to him, Bithynia to Cotta. Mithradates invaded Bithynia, defeated Cotta, and besieged him at Chalcedon.

Lucullus, after reorganizing and disciplining his army, went to the aid of his colleague, drove the king into Pontus, and defeated him at Cabira in 72, and his fleet at Tenedos in 71, compelling him to take refuge with his son-in-law, TIGRaNES, King of Armenia.

Lucullus endeavored to work reforms in the administration of provincial governments in the East. The revenues of the provinces were farmed out, and the measures of Lucullus were intended to protect the tax-payers against the tax-gatherers (_publicani_). His reforms met with bitter opposition at Rome, especially from the Equites, whose chief source of income was often this same tax-farming. Intrigues against him by persons sent from Rome began to create dissatisfaction among his troops. He had been a severe disciplinarian, and so it was all the easier to turn the soldiers against him.

In 68 he won a victory over Tigranes and Mithradates, at the river Arsanias; but his legions refused to follow him farther, and he was obliged to lead them into winter quarters in Mesopotamia. The next year his soldiers again mutinied, and he was replaced by Pompey.

Returning to Rome, Lucullus spent the rest of his days in retirement, dying about 57. He was very rich, and was famed for the luxurious dinners which he gave.

POMPEY AND CRa.s.sUS.

The Sullan system stood for nine years, and was then overthrown, as it had been established, by a soldier. It was the fortune of Pompey, a favorite officer of Sulla, to cause the first violation of the laws laid down by his general.

GNEIUS POMPEIUS MAGNUS (106-48) led a soldier's life from his boyhood to his death. When a youth of seventeen he fought by his father's side in the civil struggles between Marius and Sulla. He was a partisan of the latter, and connected himself with the cause of the aristocracy. He defeated the followers of Marius in Sicily and Africa, and in 81 was allowed to enjoy a triumph, though still an Eques and not legally qualified. Sulla then greeted him with the surname of Magnus, which he ever afterwards bore. He was then sent to Spain, with what success we have seen in the previous chapter. In 70 Pompey and MARCUS LICINIUS CRa.s.sUS were elected Consuls amid great enthusiasm.

Cra.s.sus (108-53), the conqueror of Spartacus, had ama.s.sed immense wealth by speculation, mining, dealing in slaves, and other methods. Avarice is said to have been his ruling pa.s.sion, though he gave large sums to the people for political effect.

Neither Pompey nor Cra.s.sus, according to the laws pa.s.sed by Sulla, was eligible to the consuls.h.i.+p. The former had never been Quaestor, and was only thirty-five years old; the latter was still Praetor, and ought to have waited two years.

The work of Sulla was now quickly undone. The Tribunes regained their prerogative, the veto. The control of the criminal courts was transferred again from the Senate to the Equites, and the former body was cleared of its most worthless members, who had been appointed by Sulla.

For three years (70-67) after the expiration of his consuls.h.i.+p, Pompey remained quietly at Rome. He was then put in charge of an expedition against the Greek pirates. From the earliest times these marauders had been in the habit of depredating on the sh.o.r.es of the Mediterranean.

During the civil wars of Rome they had become much bolder, so that the city was compelled to take an active part against them. They had paralyzed the trade of the Mediterranean, and even the coasts of Italy were not safe from their raids.

GABINIUS, a Tribune, proposed that Pompey should hold his command for three years; that he should have supreme authority over all Roman magistrates in the provinces throughout the Mediterranean, and over the coasts for fifty miles inland. He was to have fifteen lieutenants, all ex-praetors, two hundred s.h.i.+ps, and all the troops he needed.

In three months the pirates were swept from the sea.

The next year (66) Pompey's powers were still further enlarged by the MANILIAN LAW, proposed by the Tribune Manilius. By this law the entire control of the Roman policy in the East was given to Pompey. His appointment was violently opposed by the Senate, especially by CATULUS, the "father of the Senate," and by the orator HORTENSIUS; but CICERO with his first political speech (_Pro Lege Manilia_) came to Pompey's a.s.sistance, and to him was given the command by which he became virtually dictator in the East. His operations there were thoroughly successful, and, though he doubtless owed much to the previous victories of Lucullus, he showed himself an able soldier. Mithradates was obliged to flee across the Black Sea to Panticapaeum (Kertch).

In the year 64 Pompey went to Syria, took possession of the country in the name of Rome, and made it a province.

Next he was invited to act as judge between Hyrca.n.u.s and Aristobulus, two aspirants to the Jewish throne. His decision was contrary to the wishes of the people, and to enforce it he led his army against Jerusalem, which he captured after a siege of three months. He installed Hyrca.n.u.s on the throne on condition of an annual tribute.

Meanwhile Mithradates had returned to Pontus for the prosecution of his old design; but so great was the terror inspired by the Roman arms, that even his own son refused to join him. Desperate at the turn affairs had taken, the aged monarch put an end to his own life in 63, after a reign of fifty-seven years. With him ceased for many years all formidable opposition to Rome in Asia.

Besides Syria, Pontus, to which Bithynia was joined, and Crete were now made provinces. Cilicia was reorganized, and enlarged by the addition of Pamphylia and Isauria. The three countries in Asia Minor not yet provinces, but dependencies, were Galatia, ruled by Deiotarus; Cappadocia, by Ariobarzanes; and Paphlagonia, by Attalus.

After an absence of nearly seven years, Pompey returned to Rome, January 1, 61, and enjoyed a well earned triumph. He was forty-five years old, had accomplished a really great work, had founded several cities which afterwards became centres of Greek life and civilization, and was hailed as the conqueror of Spain, Africa, and Asia.

The rest of Pompey's life is closely connected with that of Caesar. His wife, Julia, was Caesar's daughter, and thus far the relations between the two men had been friendly.

Pompey's absence in the East was marked at Rome by the rise to political importance of CAESAR and CICERO, and by the conspiracy of CATILINE.

CHAPTER XXVII. CAESAR.--CICERO.--VERRES.

The Caesars were a family belonging to the Julian _gens_, which claimed descent from IuLUS, the son of AENeAS. Eight generations of Caesars had held prominent places in the commonwealth. They had been Consuls, Praetors, Censors, Aediles, and were aristocrats of the moderate wing.

The direct ancestry of GAIUS JULIUS CAESAR can be traced no further back than his grandfather. This gentleman, of the same name as the great Caesar, married Marcia, who claimed descent from Ancus Marcius, the fourth King of Rome. They had three children, Gaius Julius, the father of the Dictator, s.e.xtus Julius, and Julia, who became the wife of Marius. Gaius Julius held no higher office than Praetor. He was married to Aurelia, a stately woman of simple and severe tastes. Their son Gaius was born on July 12th, 100.

During Cinna's consuls.h.i.+p (86), Caesar is first mentioned as a youth, tall, slight, handsome, with dark, piercing eyes, sallow complexion, and features refined and intellectual. The b.l.o.o.d.y scenes attending the proscription of his uncle Marius, to whose party his father belonged, must have made a deep impression upon him. One of his most intimate companions was CICERO, who was six years his senior.

Marius had seen in his nephew the materials which make great men, and determined to help him to promotion. He made him, when scarcely fifteen, a priest of Jupiter (_flamen dialis_), which sacred office carried with it a handsome income.

Shortly after the death of his father, in 84, Caesar married Cornelia, the daughter of Cinna. By this marriage he was connected more closely with the popular party, whose champion he remained.

When Sulla returned to Rome from his Eastern campaign, Caesar was but eighteen. In the wholesale murders that followed, his party was ruined, his nearest friends dispersed or killed. He himself was yet free from proscription, for Sulla wished to win such a promising young man to his own side. He made proposals that Caesar divorce his wife and marry one whom he might select. Caesar refused. Force was then tried. His priesthood was taken from him, and his wife's dowry. His estate was confiscated, and, when this had no effect, he was himself declared an outlaw, and a price was set on his head. Influential friends, however, interceded in his behalf, and the Dictator was finally persuaded to pardon him; but with reluctance, and with the remark that in Caesar was the making of many a Marius. The youth then left Italy, and joined the army in Asia.

Here Caesar served his apprentices.h.i.+p as a soldier. He joined the forces of the Praetor Thermus, who had been sent against the pirates that were making their head-quarters in Lesbos. The Praetor, finding his troops insufficient to accomplish his work, sent Caesar to Nicomedes, a Roman ally and the King of Bithynia, to obtain additional forces. He was successful in his mission, and, upon his return to Lesbos, distinguished himself for his bravery in the attack upon Mitylene, and was awarded the oak wreath, a coveted honor, for saving the life of a fellow-soldier.

Caesar is next seen in Cilicia, serving under Servilius, in a campaign against the pirates who were marauding along the coast of that country.

While here he was informed of Sulla's death, and at once left the army and returned home (77). The next year he began his struggle with the n.o.bility by prosecuting for extortion Dolabella, a former Governor of Macedonia. Dolabella was a favorite of the Senate, and his cause was theirs. The best talent was engaged to defend him, and Caesar lost the case.

Feeling his deficiency as an orator, Caesar went to Rhodes and studied rhetoric under the famous Apollonius. He had recovered his property and priesthood, and could well afford the time. While on his way he was captured by pirates, and not released until a ransom of some $50,000 was raised and paid. Upon arriving at Miletus he at once got together some vessels, returned to the island where he had been in captivity, seized the crew of pirates, took them to Pergamus, and had them tried, convicted, and crucified. He then resumed his journey to Rhodes, where he remained two years in the pursuit of his studies. Then the report of the uprisal of Mithradates reached him, and he at once crossed over to the mainland, collected a body of volunteers, and saved Caria to Rome.

Having finished his studies, Caesar returned to Rome and lived quietly for a time with his wife and mother, watching the course of events.

While Caesar was thus preparing himself for the great struggle in which he was destined to take the leading part, Cicero, the companion of his youth, was beginning to attract attention at Rome.

MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO (106-43) was a townsman of Marius. He belonged to the Equites, and received a good education under the best Greek teachers. As he ripened into manhood, he chose in politics the party opposed to Caesar, and for a profession he selected the bar, hoping to gain fame as a speaker before the Senate, and finally to become one of its members. He took part in the Social War (89), but during the troubled times that followed he remained quietly engaged in literary pursuits. His first public oration (80), the defence of Roscius, who was falsely accused of murdering his father, was a great success, and guaranteed for him a brilliant future. Cicero improved the next few years by study and travel in Asia and Greece. Shortly after his return, in 75, he was elected Quaestor, and thus became a member of the Senate.

His year of office he spent in Sicily, in the performance of his duties.

There he obtained an insight into the corrupt extortions of the Roman governors. Five years later, he conducted his famous case against Verres.

VERRES had been a follower of Sulla, and during the proscriptions had ama.s.sed some property. Afterwards he held official positions in Greece and Asia, where he became notorious for his greediness and cruelty. With the money thus acquired, he had bought his election to the praetors.h.i.+p, became Senator, and was sent by his colleagues to govern Sicily.

His government there may have been no worse than that of many other proconsuls in the different provinces, but we have a fuller account of it owing to the prosecution of Cicero, whose speeches against Verres are preserved.

Verres was Governor of Sicily for three years. In his official position, he was judge of all civil and criminal cases. Every suit brought before him he gave to the party that could pay him best. Property was confiscated on false charges, and works of art of great value were stolen. By such a course Verres collected, it is said, property to the value of $4,000,000. Two thirds of this he expected to spend in silencing accusations. The rest he hoped to enjoy in peace, but Cicero's eloquence forced him to abandon his defence and retire into exile.

It was about this time that Caesar finished his rhetorical studies abroad, and returned home. He was elected Military Tribune as a reward for what he had accomplished in Caria. Two years later, in 68, he was elected Quaestor, thereby acquiring a seat in the Senate. At this time his aunt Julia died, and, as one of her nearest relatives, he delivered the funeral oration.

Caesar was now beginning to know Pompey, and saw that their interests were common. The latter, although but six years older, was already a great man and a distinguished soldier. Cornelia, Caesar's wife, died, and he married for a second wife Pompeia, the cousin of Pompey. When sent as Quaestor to Farther Spain, in 67, he completed the work begun by Pompey and settled the finances of the troubled country, a task which he found the easier as he was known to belong to the popular party, of which Marius and Sertorius had been leaders.