Continuing from yesterday, Caeser was left poor after his time as Aedile. Read here: https://steemit.com/history/@dracosalieri/roman-politics-caeser-in-the-senate
Today I would like to talk about the actual positions of power.
Praetor
Becoming a praetor was an important next step for Caesar as all ex-Praetors, those finishing their term, would get the right to serve as governor of a province. This was the best way for Caesar to make back his money as an unscrupulous governor could use their Imperium, a type of immunity, to make back the money they spent in order to advance in politics. Imperium also gave the right to lead armies. Being governor also gave the right to 20% of all the spoils of war so naturally, being in charge of more rebellious and distant provinces was preferred.
Imagine Caesar's embarrassment when he was given Italy to govern under the guise of 'dealing with bandits'. Enter one of the biggest thorns in Caesar's side, Cato, who was a staunch Conservative and disliked Caesar's arrogance, corruption and most importantly, land reforms! Sound familiar?
Caesar was eventually able to strongarm and manoeuvre his way into a different province.
Consul
When Caesar finally made it to the position of Consul (after conquests I would love to discuss later), he had some radical priorities to take care of. The first order of business was pushing forward his Land Reform bill that would grant all citizen soldiers a plot of land and income. Quite a brilliant move if we think about the rise of Rome and how important these soldiers were! There was a problem though... In my brief explanation of the Consul, I mentioned that there were 2 Consuls. The power would alternate month to month (holding Fasces) each of the consuls but they retained the right to Veto any bill or even the meeting of the Senate.
Along with Caesar, an old enemy with the strong backing of Cato was elected as Consul. This man was Bibbilus! As a conservative, he was opposed to the reforms planned by Caesar. Instead of waiting his turn to hold Fasces and destroy the bill from within, Bibbilus instead exercised his Veto as Caesar was introducing it for the vote by the people. Since Caesar was a strong populist, the crowd did not take this well and Bibbilus was forced to retreat to his Villa for the remainder of his term. Caesar was well pleased and used his time to pass the reform that would forever change Rome's geopolitical targets and start a conquest that is remembered to this day...
To be continued...
Caesar was undoubtedly a well remembered figure in history and we have not heard the last of him. Tommorrow I would like to do an overview of Roman Tactics so be sure to visit again.
For my first brief overview of the Cursus Honorum feel free to see: https://steemit.com/history/@dracosalieri/roman-politics-the-senate
