Test 2: Caesar and Octavian Flashcards
Who is Caesar associated with?
Marius, who married Caesar’s paternal aunt and Cinna’s daughter, whom he married
What did these connections force him to do?
Flee Rome after Sulla took control
What was Caesar’s early career like?
- Lived in a slum
- Worked as a lawyer, developing a reputation for oratory
- Studied rhetoric at Rhodes
How did Caesar gain popularity?
- Manipulated shifting alliances to maintain friendship with both populares and optimates
- Staged lavish public games to win support
What was Caesar’s dilemma for the consulship?
In the running for a triumph, meaning he had to stay outside Rome, but to stand for office he had to be inside the pomerium and give up the imperium a triumphant general was required to possess
What was Caesar’s approach in his consulship?
Populist approach with a land law that would benefit Pompey and his veterans, as well as legislation that favoured Crassus and his publicani
How did Caesar obtain a governorship?
Through the plebeian tribune P. Vatinius in Cisalpine Gaul and Illyria
How did Caesar capitalize on anxieties surrounding the Gauls?
He took his troops out of Transalpine Gaul, violating Sulla’s law and without seeking permission
What was the result of the conferences of Luca?
Pompey and Crassus elected consuls for 55 BCE
- Pompey received Spain and Crassus decided on Syria
How did Pompey engage in self-promotion?
- Sent subordinates to Spain
- Oversaw the completion of his theatre complex
How did Caesar engage in self-promotion?
Built a new forum in Rome which included a Temple of Venus Genetrix
- Publicly endorses his claims to divine descent
What brought on Crassus’ decline?
His defeat at Carrhae in 53 BCE
What was happening in Gaul during Crassus’ campaign?
- Extraordinarily violent and self-serving campaigns
- Over one million inhabitants of Gaul are thought to have been murdered and another million sold into slavery
Who defeated Caesar at Gergovia and where was he from?
Vercingetorix from Gaul
Where did Caesar lay siege to Vercingetorix?
Alesia in eastern Gaul
What was the beginning of chaos in Rome?
- Julia died in childbirth
- With Crassus’ death, the triumvirate is down to two men
- Pompey still supported Caesar in public, but was getting closer to Caesar’s enemies in the senate
Which plebeian tribune vetoed a proposal to declare Caesar a public enemy?
Marc Antony
What is clemency?
Mercy to opponents if they joined Caesar
What caused the Civil War?
Caesar crossing the Rubicon river
