2013 ALBERT CAMPBELL COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE MODEL UNITED NATIONS PRESENTS… Julius Caesar Committee Lead Chair: Jacky Lee Chair: Kajena Ravindran Julius Caesar 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 Pompey. 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 Roman Republic, 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. Quaestors were elected officials, magistrates of the lowest rank that were responsible for the treasury. Aediles were also magistrates and had to be elected. They were responsible for the welfare of Rome and Julius Caesar local affairs such as its corn supply. Praetors, 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 veto 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 tribune of plebs were also elected positions however, it was only reserved for plebians. Over time, the influence of these tribunes have increased drastically ever since the creation of the position. Further reading on the Roman constitution 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 patrician 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 optimates, 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 Tiberius 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 populares. 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, Gaius Marius, 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 Roman army 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 Sulla 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.