9. Civil War¶
Core Argument¶
In the chapter on the Civil War, the collapse of the First Triumvirate is traced to the defeat and death of Crassus at Carrhae in 53 BC, which left Caesar and Pompey as irreconcilable rivals. Pompey aligned with the Senate to defend the Republic and its aristocratic order, while Caesar commanded his legions. The real class basis of Caesarism, the chapter argues, was not the lumpenproletariat but the equites—bankers and financiers excluded from political power, whom Caesar used to seize control. Facing prosecution if he lost office, Caesar refused to disband his army. The Senate’s constitutional manoeuvres were a farce; power rested on armed force. Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BC, starting the civil war. He advanced rapidly as Italian provincials were indifferent and wealthy Latin families accepted bribes to stay neutral. He entered Rome without sacking it, was named dictator, and seized the treasury by force.
Cicero, in Pompey’s camp, was horrified by the bloodthirsty bragging of Pompey and his officers, who were already dividing plunder before victory was secured. Pompey blundered by calling on Eastern kings for aid, which Caesar exploited as propaganda: when Rome learned Pompey was enlisting barbarian kings, his support plummeted. At Pharsalus on 9 August 48 BC, Pompey commanded 45,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry against Caesar’s 22,000. Pompey was reluctant to fight but was pressured by overconfident subordinates. Caesar’s troops were undernourished but seasoned veterans; Pompey’s were inexperienced. The battle was decided by superior leadership. Caesar’s pre-battle speech justified his rebellion, warning of execution and Sulla’s massacres if they lost. He ordered his soldiers to strike at the faces of the young patrician cavalry, who panicked and fled. Caesar killed 15,000 of Pompey’s best troops. Pompey fled to Egypt and was murdered by its rulers seeking favour with Caesar.
The chapter insists that the Republic was already dead, its institutions monopolised by a slave-holding aristocracy. Caesar and Pompey represented factions of the same class; neither intended revolution. Caesar’s victory consolidated the existing order, not a class struggle. The Republic’s collapse was necessary, not accidental, as conditions demanded a strongman to impose order.