4.2 Caesar's Consulship (59 BC)

How Caesar used his consulship to BULLDOZE through opposition, the CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATIONS that made 59 BC so significant, and why this single year laid the groundwork for the FALL OF THE REPUBLIC.

What You'll Learn

How Caesar achieved the Triumvirate's goals through force and manipulation
Why Bibulus's "watching the skies" was a desperate but futile protest
How Clodius became a political weapon against Cicero
Why the five-year Gallic command was the seed of civil war

The constitution has been shipwrecked.

- Cicero, Letters to Atticus 2.21

A Year That Changed the Republic

The Crisis

The Triumvirate had three blocked goals:

Land for Pompey's veterans
Ratification of Pompey's eastern settlement
A real military command for Caesar

The conservative Senate had blocked ALL of these.

The Solution

Caesar's consulship would:

Bypass the Senate via popular assemblies
Use violence to silence opposition
Ignore religious vetoes entirely
Set precedents that would destroy the Republic

Key Context: Caesar's consulship represents a pivotal moment when the traditional checks and balances of the Roman Republic were SYSTEMATICALLY CIRCUMVENTED. The methods used in 59 BC would become the template for the Republic's final decades.

Caesar's Three Goals

For Pompey

Pass a land bill to provide farms for Pompey's veterans - tens of thousands of soldiers waiting THREE YEARS for their promised reward.

For Pompey

Ratify Pompey's eastern settlement - his arrangements of provinces, client kingdoms, and boundaries that the Senate had been blocking.

For Caesar

Secure a long-term military command - NOT the "forests and cattle-paths" the Senate had planned, but a REAL province with armies.

The Attack on Bibulus

Constitutional Violation: A consul was physically attacked and driven from the forum. Bibulus had a basket of dung dumped on his head. His fasces (symbols of office) were broken. This was an UNPRECEDENTED assault on the collegiality that made the Republic function.

"The Consulship of Julius and Caesar"

Bibulus withdrew from public life, declaring he would "watch the skies" (obnuntiatio) - a religious excuse to suspend public business.

Bibulus retreated to his house for the rest of the year
He issued edicts declaring all legislation invalid
Caesar simply IGNORED him and continued governing
Romans joked it was "the consulship of Julius and Caesar" - because Bibulus had become invisible

Bibulus shut himself up in his house, and for the remaining eight months of his consulship did not go out of doors, but kept issuing edicts full of attacks and accusations against his colleague.

- Plutarch, Life of Caesar

Key Insight: Bibulus's protest was LEGALLY significant but PRACTICALLY useless. He demonstrated that the Republic's checks only worked when everyone agreed to respect them. Caesar showed that a determined consul with armed backing could simply IGNORE the rules.

The Land Bill

The Bill's Merits

Used only PUBLIC land, not confiscation
Funded by eastern conquest revenues
Addressed a legitimate need (veteran settlement)
Overseen by a commission (not just Caesar)

Why the Senate Rejected It

It would benefit POMPEY (their enemy)
It would enhance CAESAR's reputation
Cato led obstruction through filibuster
Political spite trumped good governance

Bypassing the Senate

Traditional process: Senate discusses -> Senate approves -> Assemblies vote
Caesar's process: Senate refuses -> Go directly to assemblies -> Use Pompey's veterans to ensure passage

This set a CRUCIAL PRECEDENT: a consul with sufficient backing could ignore the Senate entirely.

The Violence: When Bibulus tried to speak against the bill in the assembly, Pompey's veterans attacked him. Armed men filled the forum. Opposition was physically impossible. This was not debate - it was INTIMIDATION.

Clodius: Creating a Political Weapon

Who Was Clodius?

Born a PATRICIAN (the Claudii were ancient nobility)
Notorious for the Bona Dea scandal
Personal enemy of CICERO
Popular with the urban plebs
Willing to use violence for political ends

The Adoption Trick

Patricians COULD NOT be tribunes of the plebs
Clodius was "adopted" by a 20-year-old plebeian
This was legally ABSURD
But Caesar as consul (and pontifex maximus) approved it
Now Clodius could run for tribune in 58 BC

Caesar looked on while Clodius was adopted... though he was pontifex maximus and had power to forbid what was being done against all the laws.

- Dio Cassius, Roman History

The Lex Vatinia: Caesar's Command

CISALPINE GAUL

Northern Italy (the Po Valley). This put Caesar close to Rome.

ILLYRICUM

The Adriatic coast (modern Croatia/Albania).

TRANSALPINE GAUL (added later)

Southern France - this opened the door to UNLIMITED warfare.

Why This Was Extraordinary

The Numbers

FIVE years (normal was ONE)
THREE provinces (normal was ONE)
FOUR legions (20,000+ soldiers)
Power to appoint legates
Control of recruitment

Why It Mattered

Time to BUILD an army loyal to HIM
Opportunity for MILITARY GLORY
Wealth from CONQUEST and PLUNDER
Proximity to Rome for POLITICAL influence
IMMUNITY from prosecution

Seeds of Civil War: The provincial command secured in 59 BC would eventually give Caesar the military resources to challenge the Senate directly. The army he built in Gaul would cross the Rubicon with him in 49 BC. This five-year command was the FOUNDATION of everything that followed.

Caesar's enemies had hoped to confine him to the woods and cattle-trails of Italy as his province. Instead, he received an army and provinces from which he could threaten the whole state.

- Suetonius, Life of Caesar (paraphrased)

Cicero's Response

The constitution has been shipwrecked.

- Cicero, Letters to Atticus 2.21

Why Cicero Refused to Join

His Reasons

It violated his principle of concordia ordinum
It meant abandoning the Senate he championed
He believed (naively) in constitutional solutions
His PRIDE would not let him submit

The Consequences

Clodius (now tribune) attacked him in 58 BC
A law was passed exiling anyone who had executed citizens without trial
This targeted Cicero for the Catilinarian executions
Cicero fled into EXILE for over a year

The Lesson: Cicero's principled stand was ADMIRABLE but COSTLY. It showed that in the new political reality, principles without POWER were merely words. The Triumvirate crushed those who opposed them - and Cicero's exile proved it.

What 59 BC Demonstrated

Collegial government was fragile: A determined consul could rule without his colleague
The Senate could be bypassed: Popular assemblies could override senatorial opposition
Violence was now normalised: Armed supporters became an accepted political tool
Religious vetoes were meaningless: Obnuntiatio only worked if everyone agreed to respect it
Personal agendas trumped public good: Legislation served the Triumvirs, not Rome

The Road to Civil War

Road to Civil War

This year laid the groundwork:

Caesar gained an army loyal to HIM
Precedents for bypassing the Senate were set
Violence became an accepted political tool
The methods of 59 BC became STANDARD PRACTICE

Constitutional Collapse

The Republic's checks and balances FAILED because:

They depended on VOLUNTARY compliance
They had no enforcement mechanism
They assumed elites would play by the rules
They couldn't handle COORDINATED opposition

The Ultimate Lesson: Caesar's consulship proved that the Roman Republic's survival depended not on its constitution, but on the WILLINGNESS of powerful men to respect that constitution. When they chose not to, there was no mechanism to stop them.

Key Points Summary

Triumvirate Goals

Land bill for Pompey's veterans; ratification of eastern settlement; five-year Gallic command for Caesar

Bibulus

Driven from forum with violence; retreated to "watch the skies"; made himself politically invisible

Clodius

Adopted into plebeian family via legal fiction; would become tribune and exile Cicero in 58 BC

Key Points Summary

Lex Vatinia

Five-year command of Gaul with four legions; foundation for Caesar's military power

Cicero

Refused to join Triumvirate; became target for Clodius; exiled in 58 BC

Legacy

Precedents for bypassing Senate; normalisation of violence; seeds of civil war planted

Exit Question 1

Question 1 of 5

How did Caesar pass his legislation despite senatorial opposition and Bibulus's vetoes?

Caesar bypassed the Senate entirely by taking legislation directly to the popular assemblies. When Bibulus tried to use his consular veto or religious objections (obnuntiatio), Caesar simply IGNORED them. Pompey's veterans filled the forum, using violence and intimidation to silence opposition. Bibulus was physically attacked and driven from the forum, eventually retreating to his house to "watch the skies" for the rest of the year - a protest that was legally significant but practically meaningless.

Exit Question 2

Question 2 of 5

Why was Clodius's adoption into a plebeian family significant, and what purpose did it serve?

Clodius was a PATRICIAN, which meant he could not hold the tribunate of the plebs. Caesar arranged for him to be "adopted" by a 20-year-old plebeian - a legal fiction that was absurd but technically valid since Caesar as pontifex maximus approved it. This allowed Clodius to run for tribune in 58 BC, where he became a POLITICAL WEAPON for the Triumvirate. His main target was Cicero, whom he would drive into exile for executing the Catilinarian conspirators without trial.

Exit Question 3

Question 3 of 5

What made Caesar's provincial command (the Lex Vatinia) so extraordinary and dangerous?

The command was extraordinary in several ways: it lasted FIVE YEARS (normal was one); it included THREE provinces (Cisalpine Gaul, Illyricum, and later Transalpine Gaul); it gave Caesar FOUR legions; and it allowed him to appoint his own legates and control recruitment. This was DANGEROUS because it gave Caesar time to build an army loyal to HIM personally, not to Rome. It provided immunity from prosecution, proximity to Rome for political influence, and the resources for conquest that would make him the most powerful man in the Roman world.

Exit Question 4

Question 4 of 5

Why did Cicero refuse to join the Triumvirate, and what were the consequences?

Cicero refused because joining would have violated his principle of concordia ordinum (harmony between the Senate and equites) and meant abandoning the senatorial cause he championed. He believed (perhaps naively) in constitutional solutions and his pride would not let him submit. The consequences were severe: without Triumvirate protection, he became a target. In 58 BC, Clodius passed a law exiling anyone who had executed citizens without trial, specifically targeting Cicero for the Catilinarian executions. Cicero spent over a year in exile, his property destroyed.

Exit Question 5

Question 5 of 5

What did Caesar's consulship reveal about the weaknesses of the Roman Republican constitution?

Caesar's consulship revealed that the Republic's checks and balances depended on VOLUNTARY compliance - there was no enforcement mechanism when someone chose to ignore them. Collegial government failed when one consul used violence against the other. Religious vetoes only worked if everyone agreed to respect them. The Senate could be bypassed through direct appeals to the assemblies. Most fundamentally, 59 BC showed that when powerful individuals decided to ignore the rules and had sufficient force to back them up, there was NOTHING the constitution could do to stop them. The Republic survived not through its institutions but through elite consensus - and that consensus was breaking down.