Book Twenty - The Crisis Intensifies
A coin minted commemorating the accession of Gaius and honoring his brother Lucius
—In the consulship of Gaius Julius Caesar for the Third Time as Augustus and Marcus Aurelius Cotta for the Second Time…
The earliest months of the year saw considerable developments along the eastern border, which had begun in the previous year. Marcus Servilius had corresponded with Germanicus, whom was in Cappadocia in that year, and from their collaborations had surmised that the newly raised Caesar was the perpetrator of their calamities. Servilius himself, given his ties to the son of the divine Drusus, both in friendship as well as in patronage, was fearful for his life should he return to Rome and instead gathered his personal guard and fled Ancyra to join in the order of battle assembling at Caesarea. Their number had grown to twenty-five thousand with these additions, but Piso had encountered further encumbrances among the military order of the East. Gaius Aviola had gathered his entourage and prepared to depart his command in the following year in correspondence with the orders sent from Rome, however his soldiers in the months hence had heard of the death of Caesar and did not recognize the acclaim to which the senate had elevated the new princeps. The Legio VI Ferrate, commanded by another friend of Germanicus, Decimus Asiaticus, and the Legio XXIV Parthica, commanded personally by Aviola both refused Piso entry to their castra, and he was forced to rally the singular compliant legion, the X Fretensis, and head south to Aegypt. He believed that the two legions therein would accept his imperatorship of the East, as he had acted upon orders directly sent from the new princeps.
However, the governor of Aegypt, Gaius Galerius, whom had been consul three years hence with Cotta, had received personal orders in the imperial insignia to refuse entry to Piso, whom was of senatorial rank and could not dwell among the estates of the princeps without expressed allocation thereby. When Piso’s legion was refused, the humbled patrician was realized with the gravity of his predicament. He had been abandoned by his patron, despite that Caesar was his nephew-in-law. However, he would imbue his singular legion with a fervor befitting a man facing his own mortality, and they would march North, uniting with a force of foederati from among the number of the Arabs, commanded by their noblemen from Petra. This assemblage stormed the castrum of Aviola and the loyal cohorts were routed into the desert. Aviola himself fled into the castrum of Asiaticus, where they would be joined in short order by the legions of Germanicus, bringing their total number up to thirty thousand in comparison with Piso’s ten thousand.
When the legion of Piso arrived at Colonia Berytus to engage with Asiaticus, he was disheartened to see the standards of Germanicus joined in their order of battle. The bloodshed between these legions was brief and light. The flanks of Piso had been overwhelmed within a few hours by the superior numbers and their lines broke, with many centurions defecting to the forces of Germanicus and Asiaticus. Those who did not surrender were crucified for their treasons, along with a number of their Arab compatriots which had been captured. Piso had been found to have committed suicide shortly after the battle, and his corpse and property was defaced by the infuriated legionaries of the East, whom had felt betrayed in their castra by the usurper Piso. However, upon their capitulation, a number of general staff and officials whom had served with the rebellion divulged to an inquiring Germanicus that it had been Caesar whom had authored the actions of Piso. In the savvy style of his diplomacy and his fear of the intensification of any tensions, Germanicus had these knowledgable men executed such that they would now sow disquiet among the castra of his own legions, whom Germanicus feared would incur him to march on Rome. The discomforted prince would remain at Berytus for the remainder of the year in secret correspondence with his brother in Rome, and would contemplate his future courses of action when Caesar heard of these recent occurrences, while his deputies would govern Syria and Cappadocia in his stead.
However, as news of the conflagration in the East had spread, numerous legions would grow disquieted in their composure among their auxiliae in their castra along the various rivers which they garrisoned in defense of the Empire. In particular, the legions in several portions of Germania, including those commanded by Marcus Plautius Silvanus, whom had been consul twelve years hence. These were complemented by an accompanying mutiny by the legions of Illyricum, which were governed by Sextus Pompeius, whom had been consul likewise with Silvanus, although Pompeius was not complicit in this mutiny and had in fact been expelled from his province for his compliance with Caesar. The young Caesar was incensed by this flagrant disregard for his supreme imperium in their provinces. He immediately ordered his brother Agrippa to travel personally to the castra at Illyricum from his own at Moesia and quiet these brigands. Toward these ends he was given broad license, including a large treasury and imperium over the secondary province.
These legions, whom had surely selected this occasion for their treason solely due to the death of the elder Caesar, were cowed by the presence of Agrippa, and a multitude of their cowardly membership denounced the revolutionaries among their number. Agrippa would dismiss these sycophants and instead address the multitude of the complicit legionaries at the gate of their castrum. He at once expressed his indignation at their pettiness and impiety. They were in violation of their oaths and had committed a sacrilege, incurring great dishonor upon their standards as well as upon their duties. Agrippa further inquired as to the ends toward which they disregarded their oaths. Did these legionaries believe that by demanding an audience with Caesar and casting out their appointed imperator that they would be lauded with coronae and awarded a sum of sesterces? The centurions were at once shamed into compliance and presented the instigators to Agrippa in chains. They were at once tried and a number of them were executed or made to perform labor in the imperial mines. The legions of Germania were likewise cowed by Dolabella and Marcus Silvanus was recalled to Rome. In his place, Marcus Vipstanius Gallus, whom had been consul four years hence, would be sent to govern Germanic Coloniensis and the legions therein.
Caesar would be relieved at these reports from Agrippa and Dolabella, as well as those of Germanicus, although he would be cautioned by the patronage of Germanicus provided to Asiaticus, Aviola, and Servilius, despite that he welcomed the governors dispatched in the imperial dignity. He resolved to requisition, from his lieutenant Galerius, an additional levy against the landholders holding leases from among the ager publicus in Aegypt. The dividends from this levy would be distributed among the legions of the East which had remained loyal to Germanicus and advertised broadly among the various castra on the limits of the Empire. Germanicus himself publicly praised the generosity of the wise Caesar, although he recognized this donative as an extension of patronage which could potentiate an outcome of undermining the loyalty commanded by his own personage among the eastern legions. He would proceed with caution, deferring to the judgements of his allies both at Rome and in his provinces, and cautioning not to enrage Caesar with blatant disrespect or insubordination.
Caesar and his consular colleague, Cotta, set themselves to work establishing their allies as the dominant party among the senate. In this they would answer the opposition of the previous year, among the number of which sat Cinna Magnus and Gaius Pollio as well as the elder prefect Petronius, although Petronius would be dismissed and replaced by Quintus Naevius Sutorius Macro in that year. Cinna had been at court with Agrippa for numerous months in the consulship of Regulus and Gallus, and Agrippa’s subsequent correspondence with Caesar had informed him of the ambition of Cinna, who shared this with his ancestor. Caesar in his savviness resolved to award Cinna with numerous honors for his service in Moesia and likewise resolved to have his appointment to the proconsulship of Lusitania, over which the senate now held jurisdiction. He had no choice but to accept this honor, for to refuse would be an insult to Caesar, of whom Cinna was fearful, and he took as part of his staff several of his allies including Gnaeus Tremellius and Gaius Varro, whom had been consul ten years hence, and both of whom were wary of Caesar. However, Caesar cautioned against dismissing his most powerful opposition, the senior censor Marcus Lepidus and his brother Lepidus Minor, as doing so would break with the precedent set by the divine Drusus and possibly threaten his earned legitimacy among the number of the senate.
Lucius had overseen the unfolding of events over the two years since his return to Rome and remained in the background for fear of alienation from either of his powerful relatives. He had spent these years entertaining at his household a variety of senatorial guests, including his father-in-law Cotta, as well as a number of allies of his family, such as the family of Appius Claudius, as well as cultivating a close relationship with Drusus. Drusus himself enjoyed excellent relations with a great multitude of the senatorial as well as equestrian orders, although these relationships were not so overt that they appeared to threaten the supremacy of Caesar. Tiberius likewise consulted with the pontiffs and augurs over the course of the year and came to be fearful of the auspices of Mars, which had been uncertain in that year. His brother had neglected to correspond with them, but Tiberius knew of the military acumen of his brother as well as of Aviola and Asiaticus, and feared that they were desirous toward revolution, which could incur bloodshed not seen since the conflagration at Actium in the consulship of Augustus for the fourth time and Crassus. To this end Tiberius resolved to incur some opposition to Caesar from within rather than without.
Through the medium of Lucius, Caesar was convinced to recall his brother Agrippa to Rome for a consulship in the next year. Cotta was in support of this move, as he was desirous of the Moesian proconsulship for himself, and Caesar knew that dispatching his closest lieutenant would encourage the loyalty of the legions along the Danuvius. He would likewise recall Pompeius and assign the proconsulship of Illyricum to Mamercus Aemilius Scaurus, whom had been consul two years hence with Nerva. The year closed with an assemblage of powerful persons at Rome and a diffusion of partisans of the young Caesar into the provinces, although the entourage of Germanicus remained in power in the East and the two factions sought multitudes of clients in opposition to their mutual influence.
Piso's legionaries looting Syrian towns as the locals try to refuse them supplies
—In the consulship of Gaius Julius Caesar for the Fourth Time as Augustus and Decimus Laelius Balbus for the Second Time…
Caesar became increasingly conscious of the assemblage of opposition to his reign among the ranks of the senate. However, an outright seizure of offices and banishment of any dissidents would likely galvanize the great multitude of the austere council, and thus Caesar resolved to consolidate a greater number of the praetorians at Rome. He installed an ally of the divine Drusus, Lucius Aelius Saturninus, whom was the elder prefect of the praetorian castrum at Mutina, as the superior officer of a group of six cohorts which would station themselves at a castrum just to the North of the Campus Martius, which had previously housed only two cohorts of the praetorians.
Having dispatched his most capable lieutenants to serve as imperators in the provinces, Caesar resolved to consolidate his influence among the resident masses of the senate. With the return of the demagogue, Gaius Cassius Longinus from his proconsulship in Africa, he employed his considerable rhetorical and legal skill to gain support among the senate. Although Cassius himself was not well liked among the elder senators, his considerable temper and passion of speech would appeal to the younger pedarii of senatorial rank whom exercised no authority on the floor of the senate but for their inherited wealth. Cassius would likewise serve as the shepherd of the senate on the behalf of Caesar as he busied himself with other matters.
On the ides of Aprilis, Agrippa would arrive with his entourage at Rome, and would be greeted heartily by the people of Rome as well as by Drusus and Caesar. He was immediately summoned to the household of Tiberius by Lucius where they, along with their cousin Drusus, were enamored with the status of the Empire with which they were confronted. This conference of princes resolved that they whichever course of action they take, it must take the form of a unanimous decision on their part. Any divisions on their part would certainly incur considerable bloodshed both at Rome and among the multitude of their clients as well as the legions. However, there was already considerable division between them with respect to that with which the Empire was already confronted. Drusus and Agrippa were desirous that Germanicus might divulge the insubordinate legates Aviola and Asiaticus, as Caesar had already dispatched Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus, whom was the son of the former censor Cossus Lentulus Gaetulicus, to assume the proconsulship of Syria along with a number of his own legates. Although their respective legions had not yet sworn oaths of loyalty to Caesar, and all of the legions of the East excepting the III Cyrenaiaca, which Galerius had transferred to the command of Lentulus Gaetulicus, remained at the castrum of Germanicus. This included the X Fretensis, which had taken considerable losses at the Battle of Colonia Berytus and for which Germanicus ordered a levy be taken from throughout Cappadocia.
However, Tiberius opposed this, as he had served alongside these legates in Syria and in Cappadocia and knew that they were both competent in their command and loyal to the imperial insignia. Although Agrippa dismissed this, as loyalty on their part would preclude their refusal of the orders of Caesar, which they had done. This concilia of the Julii resolved to draft a plea which would be designated for Germanicus, although Caesar would not be informed of this contact. This decision was made because Caesar himself had decried to the senate that no contact was to be made with the army of Germanicus, although he was insistent that his nephew was not in revolt nor was he acting on his own will but rather on orders from Caesar.
Germanicus, upon receiving this correspondence, would inform those under his asylum that Agrippa and Lucius would protect them from prosecution should they return to Rome and submit to Caesar. They would dwell on this crossroads for a great number of nights before Servilius resolved to return to Rome, as did numerous of his compatriots which had fled Galatia two years hence. However, Asiaticus and Aviola resolved to remain at Cesarea, where Germanicus would return before the end of the year as a concession, allowing Lentulus Gaetulicus to assume his command at Antioch with two legions, including the Legio III Cyrenaiaca.
Servilius and his entourage arrived at Rome two days before the Ides of September and humbled themselves before Caesar in the forum before the assembled senate. Caesar received them graciously in their submission although he dismissed them from that session and revoked their titles and offices, barring them from provincial service for the duration of his term. However, on the night before the Ides of September, a contubernium of the praetorians invaded the household of Servilius and strangled him in his bed. When the senate became learned of this, a number of them denounced Caesar, whom they all believed had ordered the execution, although there was no evidence of this. Lepidus the censor turned his rhetorical prowess against Caesar and his cronies among the number of the senate and Caesar himself was driven from the Forum in fury, for which Lepidus was lauded at length by his comrades.
However, Caesar would not stand for this affront to his dignity, and at the next session of the senate, a century of the praetorian guard was assembled in the forum. They dragged Lepidus from his rostrum and Caesar stripped him of his censorial rank, banishing him from Rome shortly thereafter. In his place, Caesar elevated Lucius Calpurnius Piso the augur, whom was the younger brother of Gnaeus Piso, the proconsul whom had committed suicide in Syria in the previous year, and whom was the half-brother-in-law of Caesar by his half-sister Vipsania Agrippina. This appointment, of a relative of the man whom had marched at the head of an army against Germanicus, signaled clearly to all observers that the new Caesar would not hesitate in his effort to centralize authority under his own auspices, even against his own family members. Caesar furthermore appointed to a consulship, Faustus Cornelius Sulla Lucullus, whom was the son of the consul Lucius Sulla, and whom was a cousin of Caesar’s stepfather before his adoption by the divine Augustus, Lucius Cornelius Lentulus. Faustus Sulla, as well as his brother Lucius Sulla Magnus, both commanded respect in the senate from the auspices of their ancestries.
However, there was dissent burgeoning from among their number as the senators became increasingly fearful of reprisals from the wrathful Caesar, and several of them, including Lentulus Scipio, whom had long been recalled from his command in Syria, were friends of both Lucius and Tiberius. When Caesar became learned of these dissatisfactions, he was incensed that a multitude of senators had communicated their distaste to other members of his family rather than to himself. Caesar resolved at once to try a number of these men for their treasons against him, including Mamercus Lepidus and Marcus Junius Blaesus, both of whom were respected men of praetorial rank. Their defenses were undertaken by the most distinguished lawyers of the senate including Aulus Licinius Nerva and Marcus Crassus Frugi. Despite the pleadings of several of the jurists, senators, and families of these senators, Caesar cast judgement down upon these men, banishing them from Italy and confiscating their estates into the ager publicus and the considerable largess of the imperial treasury.
Agrippa at this time became nervous and spoke privately with his sister Agrippina, whom was the wife of Germanicus and the mother of their numerous children. He confessed that he feared for her safety as well as the safety of her children and urged her to flee to Syria and take refuge with her husband. His personal guard would escort her to Ostia under cover of darkness where she would board a ship bound for Tarsus, where Marcus Gallus, the consul of five years hence, had been assigned the proconsulship in the previous year. Gallus shared a personal friendship with Agrippa from their time spent serving on the senate, and he would provide shelter and passage for her to Caesarea where she would reunite with Germanicus.
Furthermore, on the Nones of December, the conciliate of princes conferred with one another again in the household of Tiberius. Agrippa, whom had staunchly defended the actions of Caesar in their previous meetings, wavered in his conviction. Lucius feared that Caesar, in his gradual replacement of the provincial commands within the hands of his clients and allies, was desirous that he might march against Germanicus in Cappadocia, whereafter he might turn his considerable acumen and clientele upon themselves, for fear of usurpation. Caesar himself had not spoken to Lucius in several months, instead spending his days enamored with conferences among his political allies both in the senate and in the provinces, constantly fearing the downfall of his regime. The concilium was dismissed by Tiberius whom had grown exhausted in his time at Rome, wishing instead to return to his studies but fearful that his absence from Rome might thrust the city into the waiting arms of the cunning Caesar. He advised that Agrippa assume his joint consulship with Caesar in the following year and based on his judgements they would proceed with a course of action.
Agrippina arrives in Cilicia with her children
—In the consulship of Gaius Julius Caesar for the Fifth Time as Augustus and Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Postumus for the Second Time…
Caesar was made aware that his sister, Agrippina, had departed Rome for Caesarea with her children. He at once suspected Germanicus to have engineered this traffic, as preparations to eventually march on Rome to depose him, although Agrippa worked to quiet these apprehensions, assuring Caesar that Agrippina had moved of her own will, desiring that her children might not be absent their father for too long a time. Caesar was calmed by his co-consul’s assurances, and his consolidation of control over the legions enabled Caesar, in his foresight, to reinforce the borders of the Empire against the numerous pressures emerging from the barbaricum.
Germanicus, upon the arrival of his wife and children, had heard the fate of Servilius as well as the other numerous senators and their affiliates at the hands of wrathful Caesar, and he at once warned Asiaticus and Aviola, as well as their numerous associated personages of the threat to their lives. The Julian prince at once determined that Caesar would be wise to dispatch assassins, and Germanicus at once delegated a number of cohorts from among his clients which would monitor the portae at his castrum. These cohorts would only admit persons individually approved for such audiences by Germanicus and would likewise defend the household of his family as well as those households of Germanicus’ trusted allies. Exiled from their homes, and fearful that mighty Caesar possessed designs on their lives, the court of Germanicus became determined to make for themselves a contingency should Caesar make use of the direct and overwhelming force of the legions. Commanding the loyalty of numerous legions and auxiliae totaling more than thirty-thousand, Germanicus and his court would recruit additional auxiliae from among a multitude of Armenians, Parthians, Pontics, Scythians, as well as from a number of the inhabitants of the Empire whom themselves were not foreigners. To this end, Germanicus began to seize the portion of the portoriae which crossed the border of Cappadocia which was shared with Pontus, Commagena, and Armenia, as well as Cilicia and Syria.
On the other quarters of the Empire, the numerous multitude of Sueves, whom had settled on the further banks of the Albis had frequently been found to have trafficked a number of their personages onto the hither banks, such that they might enjoy the fruits of the Empire’s wealth. However, Vipstanius Gallus had been given broad license by Caesar to combat these measures to the fullest extent of his discretion, and he sought to prosecute these brigands with the fullest might of his legions. He at once engaged their number near the site of the Battle of Lake Virunium, where they were routed in short order and their villages were burned. The kings of the Sueves and the Langobards pleaded with Gallus for peace, which he at once entertained in their lamentations. Gallus imposed a levy on these polities, whereafter the remainder of their multitude would be settled far from the frontier in Belgica, such that they would no longer disquiet the legionary castra on the Albis.
Caesar himself was busied with numerous designs for campaigns on the various quarters of the Empire. Having spent his younger years possessed with commands in Germania, Illyricum, and Syria, he was imbued with numerous ambitions for further glories abroad, however, his position in Rome must be secured lest he leave the city vulnerable to usurpation in his absence. To this end, he continued the system of trials which allowed him to remove obstinate persons from the senate. Caesar used the wealth confiscated during these trials to renovate the entrance to his imperial residence, which clarified to the obstructionists in Rome that this new Caesar was just as powerful and auspicious as the divine Augustus, from whom he had directly descended, and despite the best efforts of the first princeps, the rule of law was dead within the city of Rome.
