2013 ALBERT CAMPBELL COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE MODEL UNITED NATIONS

PRESENTS…

Julius

Committee

Lead Chair: Jacky Lee

Chair: Kajena Ravindran

Introduction

First of all, I would like to give a warm welcome to all delegates attending Albert Campbell

Collegiate Institute’s Model United Nations Conference. My name is Jacky Lee and I will be your lead chair for this committee. Currently, I’m in grade eleven and absolutely love reading about history. I am a Redditor, League of Legends enthusiast, and someone who enjoys photography as well as running.

This background guide will help delegates understand the current situation at hand where the committee is set to begin in 51 BC. The Julius Caesar committee will be a joint crisis committee with two sides: Caesar and . Throughout the debate, there will be many updates on how events unfold in the region that delegates have to react to and find ways to make the best of the situation. In this guide I will also include links on how to make your own toga. Feel free to dress up, it is voluntary but will immensely add to the atmosphere of the committee.

Julius Caesar

General Information on the Roman Government and Military

At the creation of the , a constitution was agreed upon which incorporated ideas to spread out power as well as limit it. Throughout the years, many amendments have been made to the constitution and can reflect the tensions between the patricians who were the wealthy and the plebians who were the commoners. The Roman government follows the above chart from the least powerful being at the bottom to the most powerful at the top. Equestrians were those who have acquired at least 400 000 sesterces in wealth. Senators were politicians who had a strong influence over laws and had to have at least 1

000 000 sesterces and come from a prestigious family background. Plebians were forbidden from holding a spot at the senate. Only patricians were accepted as potential senators. were elected officials, magistrates of the lowest rank that were responsible for the treasury. were also magistrates and had to be elected. They were responsible for the welfare of and Julius Caesar local affairs such as its corn supply. , which are one level above the aediles had the second most power in the Roman government. They were responsible for Rome when the consuls which are the highest elected position were not present. Consuls had immense power but since there was in most cases two at any given time, either one could the other’s motions.

They were responsible for proposing laws, wars, and etc. These elected positions each had a prerequisite and a minimum age requirement. The law made politicians follow the structure above and as a result, reaching the position of consul would take many years of service. The of plebs were also elected positions however, it was only reserved for plebians. Over time, the influence of these have increased drastically ever since the creation of the position.

Further reading on the http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Roman_Republic.html

The Roman Republic was renowned for its brilliance when it came to warfare. Rome has won countless battles as a result of the experience of their soldiers and their military tactics. The largest group in the army was called a legion which consisted of about 6000 men. Legions were broken down to smaller groups such as contubernium, centuria, cohorts, and legio.

Please visit http://www.unrv.com/military/legion.php for a thorough explanation of the military structure of Roman armies. This information will be important as this is a crisis committee. Julius Caesar

Clash of Ideologies

Since the very beginning of the Republic, the senate has been seen as the most influential legislative body made up of renowned and noble politicians of the class. It was custom to present all proposed bills to the senate before further consideration. The senate’s immense power over Roman policies has put the elite at a strong advantage over everyday Romans in almost every aspect of life. They clearly represented the political platform of the , conservatives who favored the current structure of the Roman Republic and worked to maintain the balance of power in their favour. The undeniable influence of the senate was never challenged until the rise of Gracchus, who introduced his bill for fair land distribution, banning the wealthy from accumulating over 500 iugena from state owned lands to the People’s

Assembly without consulting the senate. This act effectively challenged the power of the senate, as well as forever marking bills associated with land distribution with the platform of the . Members of the populares strongly supported having a more equitable society where the commoners were not taken advantage of by the elite. Appalled by this unprecedented act, the Julius Caesar senate resorted to ruthlessness and orchestrated the killing of Gracchus and his supporters. As a result, tensions have started to grow from the opposing parties. Gracchus’s death in 133 BC is one of many maneuvers taken as a response to the other side. These clashes continue to get bloodier and bloodier.

Approaching the 1st Century, , has become the face of the populare movement as the back to back consul of Rome. He had the support of the general public along with the People’s Assembly through his social reforms such as changing the conditions for joining the army, making it easier for the poor to serve. Before his reign, Roman citizens were conscripted and as a result of the constant expansion of Rome, these soldiers were forced to live away from their property for long periods of time. This allowed their farms to accumulate debt and eventually be sold by senators. Professionalizing the removed the need for conscription and made soldiers more loyal to their generals who were responsible for sharing the spoils of war with them. This allowed him to successfully maintain power without the favour of the optimates for many years. His unprecedented career of multiple consulships without a ten year period has strongly weakened his opponents influence over Rome. Furthermore, the senate no longer had sole authority over legislation and on the other hand, the People’s Assembly were now equal to their counterparts. Marius’ reign was eventually ended by Lucius Cornelius who was a prominent general that led Rome to victory in many decisive battles in major conflicts such as the Social War. He was elected as consul in 88 BC alongside Marius but had lots of jealousy and hatred towards him. In 88 BC the Mithridatic War broke out due to the King of

Greece attempting to challenge Roman conquests in his country. By this time Marius’ influence has decreased from its former glory and he was often not chosen to be the lead general for military campaigns. The senate has elected Sulla as the general for the Mithridatic War, Julius Caesar however, Marius saw this as an opportunity for a political maneuver. When Sulla left Rome to being preparations for war, Marius worked with the People’s Assembly to steal the command in the war for himself. Sulla was then ordered to relinquish his legions, but he .refused to disband and marched into Rome sparking a civil war, which was something that was never before done in all of Roman history. Being unprepared for such a massive attack, Marius was quickly defeated, forced to flee and Sulla was named Dictator. Using his unrestricted power, Sulla has undone most if not all of what Marius has worked for. This was not the end of Marius however, as the two sides fought back and forth, transferring control of the country many times until the death of

Marius in 86 BC. Many influential people along with senators were killed in this civil war. When

Sulla regained control of Rome and was once again dictator, he worked on strengthening and rebuilding the senate’s power by recruiting additional members. Also, he took away the People’s

Assembly’s ability to pass bills without the consultation of the senate first, thus weakening the assembly’s power tremendously. Sulla transformed what had been a government supporting populare ideals very quickly back to one of the optimates. He enforced plenty of measures to ensure that populares had little or no chance of gaining momentum. The most extreme measure used would be the posting of proscription lists with the names of all his political foes. These lists branded all those included as enemies of the Republic and placed bounties on their lives, causing chaos, as well as fear for many. Throughout his lifetime as dictator, there have been numerous violent outbreaks between Sulla supporters versus Marius supporters. Sulla’s brutal methods have left a lasting impression on the citizens of Rome even after his death in 78 BC. Political divide between Romans has brought the Republic to civil war on multiple occasions and may once again be a contributing factor of yet another one, this time between Julius Caesar and

Pompey. Julius Caesar

In 78 BC, Lepidus and Catulus were elected as consuls. Lepidus, who was a former ally of Sulla, attempted to undo the changes made by Sulla soon after his death. This included returning lands seized by Sulla back to the Italians. His legislations soon reveal that he strongly believed in the poplulare platform which angered his counterpart Catulus. A year later in 77 BC,

Lepidus allied himself with Sertorius, one of Marius’ former generals and launched a revolt against Rome. Pompey, who by now is a very prominent military leader has been granted by the senate and with Catulus, they were able to put an end to the revolt. Pompey was sent to deal with Sertorius in Hispania where his forces were united and had a stronghold. Being a gifted general, Sertorius provided Pompey with a challenge that he has never faced before.

Their forces fought for years until Sertorius’ death in 73 BC caused by corruption of his trusted advisors. Shortly after, Pompey easily defeated the rest of Sertorius’ troops and emerged as the hero of Hispania. These victories increased his popularity in Rome tremendously. In 70 BC,

Pompey and Crassus were elected as consuls. Together, even with their differences, they gave tribunes and the People’s Assembly the power and influence they formerly had before Sulla came into power. Political corruption was also addressed due to governors abusing their positions. This was done through the trial of Verres who was the Governor of Sicily at the time that neglected his citizens and wasted vast amounts of resources. In the following years (67 BC to 66 BC), Pompey is given command against pirates in the Mediterranean and in the Third

Mithridatic War. Once again Pompey demonstrates his military genius and wins decisive victories over his opponent, increasing his fame amongst the even further. These two successful campaigns provided Rome with safe trade routes and new lands towards the east.

In 64 BC, an ambitious Lucius Sergius Catilina who was elected in 68 BC attempts his first campaign for consulship but is defeated by Marcus Tullius , a brilliant Julius Caesar orator. After his failure, Catilina looked to the plebians and tried to gain their support through adopting a populist agenda with legislations that removed debt and redistributed land. These tactics accumulated support from the common masses but did not impress the Assembly of the

Centuries which was the body that elected consuls. Failing to achieve consulship for the second time did not stop Catilina. This time he created what was known as the Catilina Conspiracy in 63

BC which was a plot to have the elected consuls and many senators assassinated followed by slaves burning down Rome and the poor taking up arms. This would have allowed Catilina to seize control of Rome with his army in Central Italy (Ethuria). The conspiracy was supported heavily by the masses but was unsuccessful as Cicero miraculously avoided his assassination which he was tipped off about and brought the issue to the Senate. This was called the Catilinian

Oration where Cicero accused Catilina of the conspiracy and suggested that it was another dispute between the two political parties. When Catilina left Rome and headed for Ethuria, the senate named him as an enemy of the Republic along with his supporters. Cicero was given full support by the senate to resolve the issue which he used to target key players in the conspiracy who still resided in Rome. Working with a Gallic tribe who was part of the conspiracy, Cicero obtained letters from the conspirators which were evidence for their crimes. The leaders were sentenced to execution without trial which was carried out by Cicero shortly after. Many opposed these executions including Julius Caesar who is the (chief religious figure) at the time and called them extreme. As a result of this political dispute gang violence begins in the streets of Rome.

In 59 BC, after garnering immense popularity, Caesar was elected consul with Marcus

Calpurnius Bibulus. During this consulship, Cicero was exiled for his unlawful execution of the conspirators. As for Caesar, he abused his power by using illegal tactics such as intimidation Julius Caesar with soldiers during his consulship to achieve his controversial reforms and policies. When his term as consul ended, Caesar was appointed the commission of the Roman provinces surrounding Gaul. He used this opportunity to launch what is known as the Gallic Wars.

.

Bust of Sulla Bust of Marius

Current Situation

In 51 BC the Roman Republic has suffered immense damage to its economy along with civil unrest that continues to rage on. A couple of years ago, before the death of Marcus Licinius

Crassus in 53 BC, the situation was a lot more stable. Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus were part of a “secret” alliance called the First . Their combined wealth and personal armies has allowed them to have complete control of Roman politics. After this bond had deteriorated due to the death of one of its members and Julia, who was Caesar’s daughter that had been married to

Pompey in 54 BC, the situation has worsened. Pompey has never formally declared which political party he was affiliated with; some of his actions reflected those of his father who often switched sides for his own personal benefit. Seeing this obvious sign of weakness between Julius Caesar

Caesar and Pompey, the optimates devised up a plan to recruit Pompey as their leader. This was done by having him elected as sole consul in 52 BC giving him just about all the powers of a dictator but held him accountable for any heinous crimes he may commit. Formerly Caesar’s ally, Pompey now sole consul, has passed bills that were clearly against Caesar and could threaten his political career.

Pompey the Great

Topic 1: Julius Caesar’s Growing Influence

In 51 BC, Caesar is finishing out his term as Governor of Gaul after being appointed in leading the conquests of what is now a province of Rome in 58 BC. Julius Caesar’s successful military campaigns have won him lots of respect and influence over Rome. His victories in his conquest of central Europe along with the short expedition into Britain which has never been done before by the Romans have made him a national hero. All the lands he has conquered in

Gaul have left a major issue needing to be solved by the senate and that is, “How can we impede his increasing power and possibly end Caesar’s political career?” With growing influence and tremendous ambition, the senate becomes wary of the situation at hand. They believe that he is a Julius Caesar threat to the constitution since he has “populare tendencies” and has gone against their interests on multiple occasions. Many individuals with noteworthy status are still waiting at their chance to prosecute Caesar for his abuse of power during his consulship in 59 BC. That year alone,

Caesar has shown that he will resort to anything to get what he wanted. If Julius Caesar returns to Rome as a private citizen after his term as Governor of Gaul is over, he could be held accountable as he no longer has imperium, immunity to charges. However, a bill was passed by tribunes giving Caesar the right to run for consul while he remained in Gaul. If he gets elected as consul, he will be once again being safe from legal repercussions. By 53 BC, Caesar has effectively increased his resources. He now had a personal army which consisted of ten legions

(about 60 000 men) and a significant amount of money from the Gallic Wars with the addition of taxing the newly conquered lands. These factors have aroused suspicions from the senate that

Caesar’s intentions are to gain complete control of the country as a dictator. They strongly believe that something needs to be done at this moment to stop him from gaining any more popularity. By this time the optimates have started to launch multiple propaganda campaigns to try and convince Romans that allowing anyone with populare tendencies to become consul will create chaos and destroy what is currently a democratic Rome. Is this really as big of an issue as the senate claims it is as the prevalent social problems in Rome under optimate rule are starting to consume everyday life.

Focus Questions:

1. Should Caesar be allowed to run for consul even though he has charges ready against him?

2. Is it dangerous to allow one individual to obtain so much power?

3. Does Caesar need to be held accountable for his abuse of power regardless of his imperium? Julius Caesar

Map of Gaul

Topic 2: Economy

One issue politicians at this time have failed to address is the failing economy of Rome.

New land laws as well as redistributions have caused many poor Roman farmers to move their families into urban cities. Furthermore, they could not make enough money through agriculture as some of the Roman allies could produce more crops at a lower price. In these cities that populated a vast majority of these citizens, unemployment rates are very high and there is simply no work available. This was a direct result of the use of slave laborers. There was no way that

Roman citizens could compete with free work along with the competition from others like themselves. Unemployment has caused many to turn to gang violence and disrupting the peace.

Things have gotten gradually worse for the common Roman citizen, but conditions continue to benefit the rich who profited heavily from their slaves. With every military conquest Rome achieves, the number of working slaves have increased significantly. There is a shared discontent with the slaves of the urban cities and some begin to chant the name Spartacus, the famous gladiator who led The Third Servile War against the Roman Republic which Crassus put an end Julius Caesar to in 71 BC. Delegates must implement measures to prevent another major outbreak of revolution.

Focus Questions:

1. Is it the current system’s fault why there is so much unemployment? What kind of legislations can help the situation?

2. Should the government hand out commodities such as grain to help some of the homeless?

3. What kind of measures is needed to prevent another slave uprising?

Topic 3: Citizenship and Political Corruption

The Social War (91 – 88 BC) was another example of a civil war that occurred in the

Republic. Marcus Livius Drusus, a tribune of the plebs proposed to make all the Italian allies eligible for . Shortly after he was assassinated in what is another optimate and populare dispute. This war was caused by the discontent of Rome’s Italian allies that sought after citizenship and proper representation in the government. Roman citizenship allowed those who obtained it many benefits over those who did not. This included the right to vote and own property making it very desirable. Julius Caesar

(Please read http://www.aboutroma.com/romans.html for more information on Roman Citizenship)

The death of Drusus was the final event that caused the tensions to erupt. Being ignored time and time again caused the Italians to organize themselves into a 100 000 men strong force which was enough to put pressure on Rome. After some decisive battles, the Romans were the victors and in order to relieve some of the tension, legislation called the lex Julia was passed granting those who submitted or remained loyal to the Republic citizenship. These new citizens were enfranchised but steps were taken so that their votes did not have as much value; they were not distributed amongst the thirty-five tribes of Rome proportionally. Even though many Italians were now satisfied with their citizenship, there was still a major issue with representation and tensions still lingered in some parts. Moreover, many Roman citizens were unhappy with the new influx of citizens, since there was hatred for these “foreigners” having influence over

Roman politics. Politicians are also taking advantage of the high unemployment rates and simply paying or intimidating for votes with the threat of violence. Corruption has taken over many parts of the Roman government and there is little that can be done to hold abusers accountable for their actions. Serious changes must be made to stabilize the situation at hand as Rome is being consumed with civil unrest. It will be up to the delegates to address these major issues of

Roman society or face another civil war.

Focus Questions:

1. Do the number of Italian citizens need to be limited or should they all have citizenship?

2. How can the system be made so that all citizens will have proper representation?

3. What can be done about the political corruption in the Republic, as well as the harassment of voters during elections?

Julius Caesar

Helpful Links

1. Toga Guide - http://www.howtomakeatoga.info/

2. Toga Guide - http://how-to-make-a-toga.blogspot.ca/

3. Toga Guide - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6OV3uy8JMY

4. Timeline for Julius Caesar - http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/caesar.html

5. Gallic Wars - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallic_Wars

6. - http://www.unrv.com/economy.php

7. Social War -

http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/republicanromanbattles/g/092807SocialWar.htm

8. Marius vs. Sulla -

http://www.heritage-history.com/www/heritage.php?Dir=wars&FileName=wars_sullacivil.php

Links to Pocasts for Extensive Information http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2008/11/29--tiberius-gr.html http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2008/11/30--gaius-gracc.html http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2008/11/31a--marius-the.html http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2008/11/31b--marius-the.html http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2008/11/32--the-social.html http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2008/11/33--marius-and.html http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2008/11/34--no-greater.html http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2008/11/35--crassus-and.html http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2008/12/36--i-am-sparta.html http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2008/12/37-go-east-young-man.html Julius Caesar http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2008/12/38-the-catiline-conspiracy-the- history-fo-rome.html http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2009/01/39-the-young-julius-caesar- chronicles-the-history-of-rome.html http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2009/01/40-in-the-consulship-of-julius- and-caesar-the-history-of-rome.html http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2009/01/41a-the-gallic-wars-the-history- of-rome.html http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2009/01/41b-the-gallic-wars-the-history- of-rome.html http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2009/02/42-meanwhile-back-in-rome-the- history-of-rome.html http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2009/02/43-insert-well-known-idiom- here-the-history-of-rome.html