Old Enemies - Same Consulship - Creating "Alauda" Legionnaires

Near the end of my consulship, Gaius Memmius and Lucius Domitius, two praetors, demanded to the Senate that there should be an inquiry into the conduct of Pompey, Crassius, and myself as consuls. I went to the Senate to refer to the matter, but they would not discuss it with me. After three wasted days of waiting to hear about the inquiry, I left for Gaul. Those were three days I could have spent helping to preserve the Rome's glory in Gaul. It was three days that could have been spent to better my career, but instead, I was at home. The Senate, after I had left, charged my quaestor with various irregularities for their first step towards their attempt at impeaching me. Soon after, Lucius Antistius, a tribune of the Roman people, stood in the Forum, and he arraigned me. However, I appealed to the whole college of Roman Tribunes, pleading that my absence was of national importance, the glory of Rome. They put off the trial. Furthermore, to prevent this incredibly dense situation to ever reoccur, I made a point of placing chief magistrates of every year under certain obligations to me. I also refused to support any further candidates from being elected unless they did not cause me any trouble or speak against me. The new candidates had to see my cause, and they have to defend my cause while I was absent from Rome. If they did not defend my cause while I'm away, I would not be able to bring glory to the Republic, and if I cannot succeed, Rome would not succeed. I made sure that the candidates would not go back on their promises by oath, and sometimes, they singed a contract to me.
However, it became difficult when Lucius Domitius campaigned for consul, and he openly stood against me and threatened my cause. Domitius threatened to remove me from my military command, though he failed while he was a praetor. I called upon Crassus and Pompey to meet in Luca, a settlement in my governed providence, to convince them to prolong my governorship of Gaul for five years, and I asked them to oppose Domitius' candidature for consul. It was a success. In this success, I took upon the advantage, and I expanded my regular army by raising more legions at my own expense. Some recruits for the legions were Gallic. One man recruited from Transalpine Gaul referred to the raising of the army as "Alauda," meaning that I trained and equipped Gallic men in Rome's providence in Roman style. I would then make all the Gallic men into full Roman citizens.


Sources Used:

Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Penguin Classics Revised Edition, December 18, 2007. Print

Marriage to Calpurnia, Julia's Bethroal to Pompey, and Governor of Gaul

It was a great time being Consul to the greatest Republic in the world. I married Calpurnia, the daughter of Lucius Piso, who was my successor to the Consulship I hold. It was not the only marriage between Roman consuls. I betrothed my dearest daughter, Julia, to wed my co-consul, Gnaeus Pompey. The small problem was that Julia was engaged to Servilius Caepio. Servilius had recently expressed his support for me in my efforts against Bibulus. It was a horrible blow that I had to commit against such a supporter, but I need to make important ties with Pompey. To hold ties with a co-consul would present significant opportunities in the future. I always go to Pompey to present debates in the Senate. He flouted the tradition that a consul would continute throughout his consulship term, a year, to preserve precedence and order established for speakers on the Kalends of January in the Senate.
It wasn't long after the weddings that I secured the goodwill of my father-in-law, Piso, and the goodwill of Pompey. It was then I began to look at the providences of Rome: Hispania, Africanus, Gaul, etc. After short consideration of all the possible providences, the good choice was Gaul. Only Gaul would provide a good conquest of wealth and triumph. However, I was appointed governor of Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum. Vatinius proposed the governorship to me, but after Vatinius' proposal, the Senate added Transalpine Gaul to my jurisdiction. I believe the Senate proposed to add Transalpine Gaul to my jurisdiction because they feared that people would demand that I should have the providence if it were to be denied to me. I was so elated by this appointment that I couldn't help speak to others about it, including senators. Some people though that I was just 'stomping' upon my opponents by boasting, but perhaps, I couldn't help myself. Someone interjected with a sneer as I was speaking to others, and they stated that a woman would find the appointment not easy. I answered with pride, "Why not? Semiramis was supreme in Syria, and the Amazons once ruled over a large part of Asia."


Sources Used:

Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Penguin Classics Revised Edition, December 18, 2007. Print

In the Consulship of Julius and Caesar - Lucullus kneels before Caesar

With Bibulus at home most of the time, it enabled me to be Consul alone. It was an amazing feeling to be the only Consul with a voice. Neither the Senate or I had to listen to Bibulus and his bad omens to delay laws or motions in the Senate. I governed alone, and as well as, I did as I pleased, mostly. When I had to sign documents to be passed as laws or other forms through the Senate, I began to sign them as "In the Consulship of Julius and Caesar" as a joke. Apparently, it wasn't very funny to most of the senate or Bibulus for that matter. A lot of gossip among Romans went around about my sole consulship, and some of the gossip was quite humorous.
I put my sole consulship to good use. I partitioned that two districts of Campania and a plain of Stellas for agricultural purposes to Roman families with three or more children, and it would be farmed on behave of the commonwealth. These families would be selected by appointed commissioners rather than random picking through lots. The republicans asked for relief, but I cancelled a third of their obligations. Further, I gave them warnings not to let people bid too high for the contracts in the future. Most of the other pleas that I received, I granted with ease. None of the other pleas that I granted were opposed or had anyone intervene. It was a big victory of the Roman people.
When there is calm there will always be a storm coming. Marcus Cato tried delaying the proceedings with useless debate in the Senate. I had a lictor forcibly remove Cato from the Senate house, and the lictor took him to prison. Lucius Lucullus opposed me way too far in one day's proceedings that his methods were becoming unbecoming of the ways in which a senator or official of Rome should conduct himself in the Senate. Lucullus took it too far. I angrily threatened him with legal proceedings to the point that he fell to his knees and begged for my pardon with his rash actions.
Cicero, in one proceedings, made a wonderful speech about the evils of his time, and I granted a long awaited request of Cicero's to have one of his enemies, Publius Clodius, to transfer the status of Clodius from a patrician to a plebeian. By the time the speech was done and the request was granted, it was the ninth hour of the day and late into the proceedings.
I hatched a plan that Vettius announce of our rival factions had began to plan an assassination attempt on Pompey. Vettius mentioned some Roman names of the opposing factions, but everyone was suspicious of the affair that it led to absolutely nothing. To make sure the plan didn't backfire all the way on to me, I poisoned my agent to cover my tracks.


Sources used:

Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Penguin Classics Revised Edition, December 18, 2007. Print

The Agriarian Law - Tiberius and Caesar

As Consul, I had an idea that I thought necessary to the Republic and the Roman people. The idea was that there should be a daily record of the proceedings in the Senate. These proceedings should be taken by a man who will write them down, and that man should be in the business of publishing. That way, the Roman people would know what happens in the Senate, and the people can see how they run the Republic, good or bad. Another practice that had been made obsolete previous to my consulship is the practice of an orderly walking in front of the Consul or Consuls while the lictors walk behind the consuls into the Senate. I reinstated this practice because I knew how much the Senate did not want me to be Consul. A Consul has never been murdered on the Senate floor, but I wanted to take precaution by making an orderly walk in front of me, just in case an assassin by the Senate would approach my front. Call it paranoia, but I figure it as necessary due to my unpopularity in the Senate.
The next thing I saw too as a Consul was to put into effect the Agrarian Law. Wealthy senators and wealthy landowners had for many years dominated the ownership of lands in the Republic, and for the sake of the Roman people against these greedy land owners, I enacted the law so that the less fortunate would have better division between public lands, private lands, and common pastures. The wealthy would like to believe that the public lands that they rent were their own private lands. This practice must end. Similar attempts at reform of lands existed in the time of Tiberius Gracchus, and with that in mind, it is not hard to imagine why I put the practice of an orderly walking in front of me while in public to the Senate house. Greedy men would do anything to hold what they have, and as long as they take the public's land as their own, their must be division between them and what is owe to the Roman people. My former rival, now colleague- Bibulus, attempted to delay the passing of the Agrarian law, and he stated that the omens were not right for the passing of the law. What a load of horse dung. Bibulus had large pockets as the rest of the Senate does. I saw it as a necessity for Bibulus to be driven from the Senate house by force from the Forum due to his corrupt views and prevention of the Agrarian Law. 
The day after I had Bibulus thrown out of the Forum by force, Bibulus complained to the Senate, but no one heard his cries. He was so frustrated that he stayed at home with his resentment. Bibulus attempted to, on later laws, reject laws on bad omens, and once again, everyone did not listen to Bibulus.


Sources used:

Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Penguin Classics Revised Edition, December 18, 2007. Print

Caesar, a Consul of Rome and the Triple Pact

As I was in the candidacy for Consul to Rome, the Optimates did not like the idea of Lucius and I joining forces for consulship. I think that the Optimates fear me, and that if I were to join forces with Lucius, nothing would stop me from gaining what I wanted. However, they couldn't be more wrong. I, like the false accusations of the Catilinarian, would not to harm the Republic of Rome, and I want to be a part of greatness that is Rome. I want to live up to my roots and the House of the Julii.
There was a bribing game for the bid of the consulship in Rome between us, Caesar and Lucceius, and them, the Optimates and Bibulus. I heard later that Cato himself had put money into the bribing funds of the Optimates and Bibulus. One person overheard Cato saying that this bribery would be exceptional due to their beliefs that I was endangering Rome by being elected to Consul. Regardless of the bribe race, Bibulus and I were both elected Consuls. The Optimates prejudice towards me did not stop after the election of consuls. They swore that after my term of consulship was over they would put measures in Rome to where I would not receive a significant providence of Rome to govern. Some people rumored that after my consulship was up that I would be put in charge of Rome's forests and public pasturelands in Italia.
There was one person I could turn to who had just as much frustration with the Senate, Gnaeus Pompey. Pompey had been at odds with the Senate waiting for their approval of the steps he had taken to defeat the Mithridates. I believed the best way to put more distance between the Senate, who wanted me out of Rome, would be to resolve the problems of Pompey and Marcus Crassus. They had problems with each other because they could not agree on certain policies that put them at odds when they were both consuls. I brought them together, and with out triple pact, we swore to oppose policies that any of them would oppose in the Senate.

Sources Used:

Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Penguin Classics Revised Edition, December 18, 2007. Print

Accusations to Consul Elections

How foul and low must some people be to think that I had anything to do with the Catilinarian conspirators?! I'm outraged. Some rumors have gone through Rome stating that my name was among the list of conspirators handed to Novius Niger by an imformer, Lucius Vettius. Quintus Curius must be out of himself to have given the Senate a different list with my name on it. I have nothing but strengthened the Republic through my legitimacy through positions I have held and nothing less. Quintus Curius is nothing but swine who was the first to betray his band of thugs. Curius lied even more by stating that the list, that somehow appeared with my name on it, came directly from Catiline herself, and that he could produce a letter in my hand-writing that was directed towards her.
I object full-heartedly towards this accusation. I appealed to Cicero, the consul, to remember that I came towards him voluntarily to warn him about the whole conspiracy, and that Curius was not entitled to a bounty. When they found Vettius' statements to be forfeit, the crowd of Romans nearly tore him to pieces! I sent the man to jail along with Novius Niger.
After an interesting period with the Catilinarian conspiracy, the Republic appointed me to the providence of Further Hisapnia. I saw it as an opportunity to get away from the creditors who were at my throat. Once more, they attempted to keep me in Rome, possibly trying to take me to court. Furthermore, I saw the interests of our Spanish allies who needed help against aggression. However, I wasn't there long. Some would say that I "pacified" Rome's providence of Hispania, and returned to Rome really quickly. Due to this rapid pacification of Hispania, I demanded a triumph. I have also decided that I would stand for consulship of Rome. However, I was disappointed to hear that the consul election dates had already been announced to the public, which meant that I could not be a candidate for consul unless I entered the city as a Roman citizen. Rome once again spoke for me with an outcry against the regulations, and they wanted me to be exempt from the regulations because I was the govern of Hispania. The only misfortune to this outcry was that I had to forgo the triumph I demanded so that I could be included in the consulship elections. The other candidates in the consul elections are: Lucius Lucceius and Marcus Bibulus. I knew Lucius. I went to him as a friend, and suggested that we ally ourselves together. Lucius was a wealthy man, and with my influence, we could have joint candidacy.

Sources Used:

Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Penguin Classics Revised Edition, December 18, 2007. Print