Leòmhann said:
If it's anywhere near accurate
It's not.
Leòmhann said:
, then Gaius Julius may have, in his dealings with Spartacus and the slave war, actually picked up many of his virtues (forgiveness, mercifulness, compassion, charity, etc) during this early stage in his life and military career, since Spartacus, at least in this series' portrayal of him, is depicted as being not only a tenacious, expert fighter, but also a brilliant strategist, tactician, and a genuine, living embodiment of inspiration to his people (one who was similarly wise, and, at times, when the situation called for it, exhibited patience, compassion, mercifulness, etc).
There are some curiosities about the situation that do bear looking into as far as we are able considering the dearth of documentation, but it seems that the only probable interaction Caesar may have had with the rebelling slaves might have been through Crassus.
In 75 BC, Caesar went abroad - ostensibly to study with the rhetorician Apollonius Molo. On his way to Rhodes, his ship was intercepted by pirates and Caesar was taken captive for ransom.
I find this story to be just a tad problematic since a similar story is told about Publius Clodius Pulcher, though with a slightly different outcome, but both stories laying emphasis on the amount of the ransom money. In Clodius' case, no one was willing to pay what was demanded; in Caesar's case, he insisted that the pirates should demand more, and it was paid. So there's that odd note which is odd because, supposedly, Spartacus also had troubling dealings with the pirates.
At this point in time, Caesar was 25 years old. He continued to Miletus, in Asia Minor, where his ransom had been raised, and got together a force to go after the pirates (so it is said). It is said that, during his time with the pirates, he developed some regard for them so that, even though he ordered that they be crucified, he showed his mercy by having their throats cut beforehand.
Anyway, at the end of this adventure, Caesar finally made it to Rhodes to "study". Apparently he did well because his rhetorical style was highly praised even by that arch-villain, Cicero.
In 74 BC, war with Mithridates of Pontus had broken out again and Caesar took a ship there and raised troops to defeat the invaders.
Towards the end of 74 BC or in early 73 BC, Caesar was appointed to the college of pontiffs. (During 73 BC, his only known child, Julia, was born.) One of the pontiffs was Servilius Isauricus under whom Caesar had served in Asia Minor somewhat earlier than the above recounted adventures. When he heard of his appointment, he left Rhodes. He traveled with two friends and ten slaves in a small craft. At one point during the voyage, it was thought that pirates were again spotted. Caesar changed out of his fancy clothes and strapped a dagger to his thigh to be ready just in case. It was a false alarm.
On his return to Rome, in the year 73, he was again active in the courts, prosecuting Roman officials for graft and corruption. He filed charges against Marcus Iuncus on behalf of the Bithynian people probably due to his former friendship with their late king. It is at this point that the filthy minded Cicero made the accusation that Caesar had been more "friendly" with this king than others might have thought. This defamatory remark got legs and haunted Caesar the rest of his life.
It was in the year 73 BC also, that the trial of the Vestals took place that became something of an issue during the Catilinarian Conspiracy created by Cicero ten years later. But that's another story that I'm working on. You could say it was Rome's "9-11 Event".
In 73 or 72, Caesar stood for election as Military Tribune. The Military Tribuneship was different from the Tribunes of the Plebs and their role was exclusively military. It was a useful role for gaining popularity with the voters.
None of the sources mention where Caesar was posted as M.Tribune. The silence may suggest that he served in Italy and since this is the period we are interested in, the great slave war headed by Spartacus, we are justified in speculating that this was the beginning of Caesar's relationship with Crassus who had been sent to quell this rebellion. Crassus was about 40 at the time and Caesar about 27. They were, apparently, friends until Crassus died on campaign while part of the first unofficial triumvirate.
Crassus is an interesting guy. He had been forced to flee Italy after the murder of his father and brother by the Marians, followers of Caesar's uncle Marius. He then became a follower of Sulla who went after Caesar because of his family connection to Marius. Certainly, it looks like strange bedfellows. However, it was thought that Crassus was bitter toward Sulla because Sulla did not give him credit for his victories on Sulla's behalf.
Crassus is one of the most mysterious figures of the entire time period. He was THE richest man in Rome and it seems that NOBODY crossed him. Ever. And again, I bring up the prosecution of the Vestals in the year 73 BC because Crassus himself was one of the accused.
In any event, since nothing is known about Caesar's career as a M.Tribune, no one can say if he took part in the slave war, but it is probable that he did serve, and possibly under Crassus. It is known that during his time as Tribune that he spoke in favour of a proposal for restoration of the powers of the Tribunes of the Plebs which Sulla had taken from them. There was clearly widespread enthusiasm for this among the plebs.
The probability of Caesar serving at least competently under Crassus is heightened by the fact that in the next decade, Caesar was substantially aided by Crassus in all his political doings and, as just mentioned, they seem to have been friends and collaborators until Crassus' death.
Leòmhann said:
Although I have listened to the audio version of all Caesar's Commentaries (really excellent, enlightening, by the way), I don't recall his having recounted anything pertaining to his involvement in the slave rebellion/war.
Caesar gave almost no biographical details of any kind in his writings so that doesn't mean anything one way or the other.
