How to Win a Civil War: The Case of Caesar (Gaius Iulius Caesar): Part-3

Sides and ideologies of the war

When Caesar crossed the river and reached Ariminum, he sent a letter to the consuls who had left Rome for Capua. In his letter he said that he wanted to meet with Pompeus to make peace and that Pompeus should do the same if he was asked to give up his army and province. In response, the consuls sent a letter saying that Pompeus would do the same if he returned to Gaul and demobilized his army there. Caesar, who wanted both sides to demobilize their troops at the same time, rejected them as unfair. The last chance to prevent war was now gone.

Although the civil war that was about to break out appeared to be a struggle between Caesar and Pompeus for control of the country, it had deeper causes. For example, when we look at those who supported Pompeus and Caesar, it is clear that the root of the problem was a class conflict. While Caesar was mainly supported by the plebs, that is, the common people, Pompeus seems to have been supported by the aristocrats and even became their plaything. 

It can be said that this was also influenced by the events of the recent past. Sulla, one of the parties to the civil war that had taken place earlier, was the leader of the aristocratic movement. Marisu and Cinna, who granted citizenship to Romanized foreigners, represented the populist movement. In other words, the class struggle between the aristocrats and the commoners was at the root of the first civil war.

The conflict between these two classes was caused by the corruption in the Roman state administration from 100 BC onwards, the aristocrats adding to their wealth with state funds and the increase in corruption. After the civil war of Sulla's reign came and went, the existing order of the state was preserved, but these causes of class conflict were not eliminated. On the contrary, the problems grew worse and the struggle between the populist movement and the aristocratic movement became more pronounced. 

Caesar, representing the populist movement, continued to pursue populist policies like his predecessors, granting citizenship to foreigners and distributing state lands to the people. Thus, the members of the aristocratic movement, who had been exploiting state resources for a long time, were joined by members of the populist movement, and the robbery scheme turned into a complete plunder. 

As a result, the state became too weak to absorb the increasing loss of revenue, making it impossible to maintain the existing ancient system of governance. Caesar's decision to not only distribute land and citizenship, but also to dismantle the aristocrat-dominated senate and to conduct his affairs through the People's Assembly turned the class struggle into armed conflicts and inflicted deeper wounds on the system of governance. 

There was a favorable environment in the country for Caesar to realize what he wanted without difficulty and finally dare to start a civil war. Because the existing order was seen as the result of Sulla's policies and practices that oppressed the people in 83 BC. Therefore, the masses of the people were looking for a savior. For this reason, they were ready to embrace Caesar, who distributed citizenship and land, as a savior. When Caesar was elected as consul, he showed that he was the man to fulfill this expectation by distributing land to the people and land to Romanized foreigners.

This was a move that gave Caesar a strategic advantage over his rivals. Without this move, Caesar would have had no chance in his struggle against Pompeus. Because when Caesar crossed the Rubicon, he became a rebel who rebelled against the state, and if it was thought that he was fighting for his personal interests, it would not have been possible for him to be accepted by all communities and cities when he entered Italy. But Caesar had long been the leader of the populist movement thanks to his strategic moves. 

Of course, personal ambition, pride and greed also played a major role in the civil war. Caesar's great military successes in Gaul aroused the jealousy of many people, and their efforts to have him removed from office caused him to fear trial and punishment. In this process, Pompeus had initially followed an indecisive and zigzagging policy due to his inability to give up the advantages provided by the alliance. But later; his unwillingness to let Caesar get too powerful, his submission to the pressure of the aristocrats and his desire to dominate Roman politics carried him to the leadership of the anti-Caesar camp. Thus, the Roman Empire was divided into two camps by gathering around two military and political leaders such as Caesar and Pompeus. 

Battles in Italy

When war became inevitable, Pompeus recruited soldiers from all over Italy. He also extorted money from towns and temples for his rapidly growing army. In doing so, he violated all human and religious rights. This situation created enmity against Pompeus among the people and clergy. Caesar, who closely followed these developments, used the reaction against Pompeus as a means of psychological operation. He made a speech to his soldiers and told them that Pompeus and his supporters not only did great injustice to him, but also committed great cruelty and oppression against the people and clergy. This speech increased the loyalty of his army to him.

Caesar met in Ariminum with the members of the People's Assembly, who had fled Rome for supporting him, and sent word to his troops to follow him. Meanwhile, he continued to negotiate with Pompeus and the senators who supported him through letters and messengers. In his letters to Caesar, Pompeus told him not to pursue personal ambition and to withdraw and demobilize his troops. Caesar responded to Pompeus' and the senators' requests in this direction; that he was being treated unfairly, that Pompeus was in the same position as him, and that he should implement what was asked of him first. In other words, diplomacy continued until the last moment.

In the meantime, Caesar started to capture settlements from his position with small forces and without clashes. Some people who supported Pompeus fortified the cities they dominated with their soldiers and prepared them for defense against Caesar. However, as Caesar advanced, they abandoned these cities and moved away towards Rome due to the favoritism of the people and local rulers towards Caesar. They were pursued by Caesar's troops and the soldiers in the retreating troops scattered. Some of these soldiers went home and some of them joined Caesar. Some of the troops who did not join Caesar were captured along with their Pompeian commanders, but Caesar pardoned them instead of punishing them. 

These developments caused great fear in Rome. Prominent people started to leave the city. Pompeus, who was in the city at the time, also left the city and went to the place where his two legions previously taken from Caesar were located. Things were not going as he expected. The recruitment was going wrong and he could not gather enough soldiers. So he took some of his troops and went to Capua, where he thought it would be safer. Here, he recruited soldiers by force from the peasants to whom Caesar had distributed land, and from gladiators with the promise of freedom. 

Upon these developments, Caesar advanced rapidly. Every settlement he reached showed his support to Caesar and helped his army. The places he did not visit sent envoys to him, offering their support and responding to his request to send troops. As Caesar advanced rapidly, the commanders of Pompeus' troops became frightened and abandoned their positions. As a result, many of their soldiers deserted. In order to prevent this, Pompeus sent his most trusted men to the troops holding Caesar's advance. These men took command of the fleeing troops and tried to recruit new soldiers. 

Meanwhile, Caesar was searching for fleeing soldiers from Pompeus' troops and recruiting them into his own army. Many cities opened their gates when they saw Caesar's troops approaching, and soldiers from these cities joined him. Pompeus' troops began burning bridges to slow Caesar's advance, but Caesar managed to cross them before they were burned. 

As Caesar advanced, the people of some cities sent secret messengers to Caesar to let him know that they supported him but could not do so because Pompeus' troops were in their cities. So Caesar sent some of his troops to these cities. Seeing Caesar's army, the people of the cities opened their gates and the soldiers of Pompeus' commanders joined Caesar. Seeing this, the command delegation had to flee without troops. 

Thus, while Pompeus' troops were decreasing, Caesar's troops were rapidly increasing with the participation of troops from Gaul and volunteer Gauls. However, there were towns that did not join Caesar and did not surrender. These towns were besieged by digging ditches around them. But Pompeus, realizing that his field defense by dispersing his troops in this way did not work, changed his strategy. He thought that he could defeat Caesar in a possible square battle by gathering his troops together. For this reason, he informed his commanders in the besieged cities to leave the city secretly and join him. 

Realizing this, the soldiers captured their commander, handed him over to Caesar and opened the city gates. Caesar treated the command of these troops well, protecting them from the attacks of the soldiers and the townspeople. As a result, the commanders of the troops and prominent people in many cities began to appeal to Caesar to guarantee their lives. Thus, while Pompeus' army and his supporters were rapidly dwindling, Caesar was able to advance without great resistance.

Receiving this news, Pompeus gathered his troops around him in all the cities Caesar had not yet reached. He also recruited new soldiers from shepherds and peasants to increase his strength. But as soon as the new recruits saw Caesar's army, they surrendered and joined him. Pompeus quickly became the underdog. Caesar was getting stronger and stronger.

Nevertheless, Caesar sent word that there was still time to meet Pompeus face to face and make peace. When he received no response to these appeals, he sent some of his troops to Sicily. Thus, the battles, which had previously been fierce only on land, spread to the coast and intensified. When the fighting intensified, Caesar once again sent news to Pompeus and the consuls, but since the consuls were not on Pompeus' side, he again failed to achieve peace.