WI: Caesar Not Granted Same Provinces

This is tough to get around.
Bear in mind that Crassus and Pompey are likely to prioritise distancing themselves from the second coming of Saturnius/Gracchus/Catiline over trying to plough through the remaining legislative programme of the triumvirate. Tame consuls come round every year, but a treason conviction is forever. The optimates know that as soon as Caesar's imperium ends they can get him in the dock, so they bribe sufficiently to beat Clodius in the elections for tribune of the plebs and successfully revoke the lex Vatinia because Pompey's veterans aren't in town to intimidate the voters. Caesar spends a year surveying roads in Italy, then either comes home to face the music or finds out if he actually does prefer being first man in a provincial village to second man in Rome.

Crassus and Caesar had been allied for 10 years before the formation of the so-called Triumvirate. And they did not achieve much together.
This is perhaps true (though most historians put their alliance at 65BC at the earliest, so six years rather than 10). However, neither is in a meaningful office during this period: Crassus is censor and Caesar is praetor, neither of which command the same legislative clout as a consul or even a tribune of the plebs. As such, the amount they could actually achieve is pretty limited.

Pompey was well aware of the immense political skills of Caesar. He knew that the optimates only wanted to separate him from Caesar in order to first éliminateur Caesar, then to deal get rid of him, Pompey.
Though this does sort of beg the question of why he sided with the optimates and then provoked Caesar into a civil war, a mere five years after the death of Caesar's daughter broke the alliance between the two.

The key alliance was that between Pompey and Caesar.
Again, this sort of begs the question of why Caesar fought to have Crassus included in the renewed triumvirate against Pompey's complaints, despite Caesar and Pompey having had a semi-separate alliance late in Caesar's consulate, and why four years after Crassus's death Pompey and Caesar were at war. The answer would seem to be that the key alliance was between all three, that they recognised this at the time, and that each was willing to compromise in the interest of keeping the other two on board.

Galliano Cisalpina was the most important of all provinces at the time. Because It was the province where one was able to recruit goods roman soldiers more than any where else in the world. It's from this province that came most of Caesar's recruits.
Caesar probably recruited heavily from there because it was in his area of command. The Senate raised five legions in Italy with almost no notice; they had twelve at Pharsalus (Greece), thirteen at Munda (Spain), and another twelve at Thapsus (Africa), so it's hardly the most important Roman province even in military terms. As for whether the soldiers were better than elsewhere- well, I think that Caesar, his senior officers and years of experience fighting the Gauls helped.
 
I don't think most historians date the alliance between Caesar and Crassus no sooner than 65.

Crassus backed many young promising politicians and financed their campaigns by granting them huge loans. Caesar being the most indebted man on the political stage in the sixties, their relations certainly began before 65 when Caesar had to finance never seen expenses during his aedilship.

Pompey began distancing himself from Caesar because, as someone wrote (maybe Cicero), he could not bear an equal (while The other, Caesar, could not bear a superior).

The first triumvirate has been distorted and misinterpreted since the origins. It was much less a triple alliance than a double alliance.

In the beginning, Caesar was the junior partner and Poloey and Crassus were the senior partners. But, besides of his exceptional skills, Caesar brought an enormous value added because he was the link between Pompey and Crassus. Pompey and Crassus just could not bear each other.

Crassus' main actions consisted in political guerilla warfare against Pompey who was the most powerful figure of the roman political stage in the sixties.

Few people are aware that, after Caesar's passed a law granting publicani a rebate on the the asian tax farm he favoured his alliance with Pompey rather his alliance with Crassus. He distanced himself from Crassus. Only Caesar and Pompey shared the enormous bribe (6000 talents) king Ptolemy of Egypt had to pay to obtain récognition from the Senate. That's why Crassus quickly chose a new lieutenant in the person of ... Clodius. And he used Clodius to put pressure on Caesar and to exert political guerilla at the expenses of Pompey.

The Triumvirate always was threatened by collapse. Except for the first months, from the super of 60 to the sprint of 59, It was much less a triple alliance than 2 double alliances (one between Caesar and Crassus and the other between Caesar and Pompey).

Pompey himself tempted to play his own card and to reestablish his superiority by trying (unsuccessfully) to obtain a new oriental command in Egypt.

In late 56, the triumvirate was in ruins. But Caesar rather easily convinced Pompey and Crassus that they would lose enormously if they broke their alliance. If they split, the optimates would become dominant like they had been in the late sixties. And they would ruin Caesar's as well as Pompey's position.

For Crassus, though his political weight had become weaker than Caesar's and Pompey's in 57/56, Crassus was able some way to blackmail his 2 partners. Crassus was the best connected among the optimates. He was the one who had the most important connections in the highest and in the Senate. His 2 sons were married precisely in these years with Cornelia, daughter of Metellus Scipio, and with Caecilia Metella, daughter of (probably) Metellus Creticus.
That's why he got such a huge price as the syrian command.

The legions in Africa, Macedonia or Asia were in majority italian legions or italian recruits who happened to be positioned there.
That's why holding Italy (I mean Italy + Cisalpina) was so strategic. That's why Pompey and Caesar took so much care of the province of Cisalpina.
 
Bear in mind that Crassus and Pompey are likely to prioritise distancing themselves from the second coming of Saturnius/Gracchus/Catiline over trying to plough through the remaining legislative programme of the triumvirate. Tame consuls come round every year, but a treason conviction is forever. The optimates know that as soon as Caesar's imperium ends they can get him in the dock, so they bribe sufficiently to beat Clodius in the elections for tribune of the plebs and successfully revoke the lex Vatinia because Pompey's veterans aren't in town to intimidate the voters. Caesar spends a year surveying roads in Italy, then either comes home to face the music or finds out if he actually does prefer being first man in a provincial village to second man in Rome.
That would work.


Though this does sort of beg the question of why he sided with the optimates and then provoked Caesar into a civil war, a mere five years after the death of Caesar's daughter broke the alliance between the two.
Well you could take Gruen's view (which I kind of do, though I'm just starting to read the book again so I'll get back to that when I get there) Pompey didn't really want to side against Caesar and held out hope til the last second of a compromise (as did Caesar). In Gruen's estimation, it was Curio acting alone for his own political benefit that prevented reconciliation.
 
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