CAESAR ULIUS ULIUS J CI GUIDE: VENI, VIDI, VI VIDI, VENI, ACKGROUND B GENERAL CRISIS Table of Contents Welcome Letter……………………………………………………….……………2 I. Geography of the Republic………………………………………………3 II. A Brief History of Rome……………………………………………...…4 III. Government of the Republic……………………………………………..6 IV. The Economy of Rome…………………………………………………..8 V. The Roman Military……………………………………………………10 VI. Roman Culture………………………………………………………….11 VII. Religion in the Republic………………………………………………..13 VIII. Technology of the Time………………………………………………...15 IX. International Relations………………………………………………….17 X. Roman Relations with Egypt…………………………………………...18 XI. Social Classes in the Roman Republic………………………………….18 XII. Roman Architectural Development……………………………………..19 XIII. The First Triumvirate…………………………………………………...20 XIV. The Life of Caesar………………………………………………………21 1 ante diem X Calendās Iunias MMDCCLXXI A.U.C. Salvēte, honorable delegates. It is our privilege to welcome you to EmpireMUNC V. In the spirit of building empires, we are proud to simulate life in the Roman Empire, one of the history’s greatest civilizations whose impact remains visible to the present day. Ahead of you, you have the exciting opportunity to explore the life and tumultuous times of one of its most consequential rulers, Julius Caesar. Settle into your quadriga and don your finest toga as you prepare to bask in the glory of Rome. My name is Kang Huh, and I have the pleasure of serving as your Chair this year. I am a former scholar of the Latin language (if you are currently in AP Latin and struggling through De Bello Gallico or The Iliad, I sympathize), and am now a Senior studying Finance and Politics. In addition to staffing your committee, I serve as the President of the NYU Model United Nations Club. While my days of formal Latin studies are behind me, my passion for the Classics burns just as brightly. Joining me is Mocha Sastry, who is going to be serving as your Crisis Director. She is a Senior studying History, with a specific interest in the rise and fall of ancient western civilizations, and Politics on the pre-law track. In her off time, she helps run a social initiative start-up in the city. Mocha’s excited to finally have a practical use for all those Ancient Greece and Rome classes, and is passionate about making this committee the best it can be. This committee as a concept has been five years in the making, and we truly hope to deliver an enjoyable weekend to you all. If you have any questions, feel free to send an email to either me or Mocha. We happily welcome any correspondences about expectations for the weekend, questions about the committee, or even a simple salutation. Otherwise, we look forward to hosting you in November. Until then, we wish you the very best of luck. Bonam fortūnam! Kang Huh Rhea Mocha Sastry Chair, Caesar Crisis Director, Caesar EmpireMUNC V EmpireMUNC V [email protected] [email protected] 2 Veni, Vidi Vici: The Life and Times of Julius Caesar I. Geography of the Republic During the 6th century BCE, thanks to the achievements of the powerful and wealthy Etruscan, Rome became one of the important states in Latium alongside Tivoli, Praeneste, and Tusculum. Although these Latin states had disputes that occasionally even led to war, they generally banded together against outside threats. Since the inception of Roman Republic in 509 BCE, the Romans expanded their territories at the expense of the Etruscan states. As Rome grew increasingly dominant in Latium, the remaining Latins banded together and waged war, although this Latin war (340-338 BCE) ended quickly with Rome’s victory. During the first two centuries since its establishment, the Roman Republic focused on extending its power over the rest of Italy through a combination of conquest and colonization. After three wars with the Samnites to the north and the Pyrrhic War (280-275 BCE) against the Greeks to the south, Rome secured the Italian Peninsula. Rome spent the following century competing for control over the Mediterranean. This resulted in the Punic Wars (264-146 BCE) against Carthage in Northern Africa, as well as conflicts with Syria, Macedonia, Greece, and Egypt. By the 1st century BCE, Rome had expanded to include North Africa, most of the Iberian Peninsula, France, Greece, and much of the eastern Mediterranean. Attaining control over all of these territories allowed Rome to become the main established commercial power in the entire Mediterranean area but governing all of these lands and its diverse peoples proved to be challenging. In addition, there was no shortage of external threats and growing powers outside of Rome. The Romans, as expected, faced these threats head on leading to conflicts such as the Cimbrian War (113-101 BCE) with the Germanic tribes of 3 Cimbri, the Mithridatic Wars (89-63 BCE) fighting Mithridates the Great, the ruler of the large kingdom of Pontus in Asia, and a campaign against the Cilician pirates taking advantage of a power vacuum over the Mediterranean. This leaves us at 49 BCE, with Rome struggling to maintain authority over its many territories and surrounded by enemies cautious of Rome’s continuously growing power. II. A Brief History of Rome The Social War The Social War began in 91 BCE, between the Roman Republic and several cities in Italy that had been Roman allies in the years before. It lasted 4 years and ended in a decisive victory for the Roman Military. The war originated with the Picentes because they were not afforded citizenship by the Romans, as the Romans ruled most of the Italian peninsula but did not give Italian cities citizenship rights, whether they voluntarily allied with Rome or not. This inequality was deemed unacceptable, and cities on the peninsula rose to war against Rome and were defeated. However, in the aftermath, Rome gave most other cities citizenship rights to avoid another uprising. Sulla’s Civil Wars Sulla and Gaius Marius had an established rivalry from the end of the Social War, where Sulla won consulship, and commanded an army against King Mithridates-- a position that Marius wanted for himself. Marius used his influence to reverse the decision and get command of the army from the Senate. However, the soldiers were loyal to Sulla, and marched with him on the city of Rome itself-- an unprecedented event in Roman history. Marius attempted to retaliate by raising an army of gladiators, but eventually was forced to flee. Sulla and his supporters passed a death sentence on Marius, which was never fulfilled. He was named a public enemy by Sulla in the Senate, who then went on to fight Mithridates as planned. 4 Once Sulla left Rome, Maruis and his son, Marius the Younger, returned to Rome with an army, and began to kill the supporters of Sulla. He exiled Sulla, declared himself and his ally, Cinna, consuls before his death, leaving Cinna sole control of Rome. Sulla, hearing of this, came back and had his troops surround the city, and he entered, taking Rome quickly and easily. His easy victory and subsequent conquering of Rome saw him established Dictator of Rome. in 82 BCE. The Catilinarian Conspiracy Much later on, after many wars on foreign soil and the expansion of the Roman Republic, came another civil war in Rome in the Catilline Conspiracy- a plot by the Senator Luicius Sergius Catilina to overthrow the consulship of Marcus Cicero and Gaius Hybrida. Catalina had been an unsuccessful candidate for consul in years previous and gathered public support for his plans and policies. When failed to be elected yet again, he assembled an army and planned to commit arson as well as murder of a majority of the Senators, and eventually take control of the government. In 63 BCE, Cicero discovered the plot through his mistress, and escaped death. Catalina was accused by Cicero in front of the Senate, and fled Rome under the guise of “voluntary exile”, although he was eventually condemned to death without a trial by Cicero and the Senate. The Formation of the First Triumvirate The first triumvirate was an informal alliance between three of the most influential political figures in the late Roman Republic- Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great and Marcus Crassus. Caesar and Pompey had a large, extensive patronage network that helped them gain favor and support in the senate, and Crassus was the largest landlord in Rome, making him the richest man. The three together could gather enough support to counter the influence of the 5 Roman Senate, which had begun to monopolize Roman politics. The alliance was secret, until the three voted together publicly on a land law in 58 BCE. The alliance was not one of similar morals or values, but one of personal advantage for all three members. Beginning of Caesar’s Civil War After Crassus’ death in the Battle of Carrhae during the Gallic Wars, Pompey and Caesar were left without a buffer between them, and their relationship worsened over time. Pompey was the heir apparent, with support from the Senate to be the sole Consul in Rome. However, Caesar, hailed the champion of the common people, had introduced and advocated for a series of reforms in government, was not about to step down. However, the Senate disliked his level of power and demanded he step down from his army command, which he refused to do unless Pompey did the same. Now, we wait with baited breath to see what will happen, as he bides his time on the other side of the Rubicon River, with Pompey in Rome. III. Government of the Republic Structure of the Government During the age of the Roman Republic, Rome grew to embrace democratic governance that date back to 509 BC, following the overthrow of monarchy and the institutional of several constitutional reforms.