In 60 BC, three of Rome's most powerful men stood at a political impasse. Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus had returned from the Third Mithridatic War two years earlier, seeking ratification of his eastern settlements and land for his veterans. Marcus Licinius Crassus, one of the wealthiest citizens in history, needed tax contracts renegotiated after publicani over-bid during the war. Gaius Julius Caesar, recently returning from Hispania Ulterior, faced a senate determined to block his consulship ambitions. Each man possessed enough influence to cause chaos but lacked the collective power to force through their specific goals against a gridlocked Senate.
Cato the Younger and Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer formed an obstructive coalition specifically to stop these three. They mobilized former allies like Lucullus to demand reviews of Pompey's eastern arrangements. This opposition forced Pompey to look elsewhere for support. He secured elections for allies like Lucius Afranius and Lucius Flavius, yet they too were stymied by religious scandals and procedural delays. The failure of individual attempts to pass legislation drove them together. Plutarch places the alliance before Caesar's election, while Cassius Dio suggests it formed afterward. A letter from Caesar to Cicero dated December 60 BC implies the pact was still being negotiated at that time. The alliance emerged as a secret understanding to use mutual influence to bypass constitutional vetoes.
Caesars Consulship Of 59 Bc
The year began with Caesar proposing a lex agraria, an agrarian law designed to resettle veterans on public land in Campania. He published draft minutes of Senate debates and set the bill on the agenda, taking a conciliatory tone. The bill promised to repopulate desolate areas and distribute credit among twenty commissioners without including himself. Pompey pledged to provide shields if anyone raised swords against the bill. Yet Cato the Younger launched a filibuster arguing the people would be too gracious to Caesar.
Caesar threatened to send Cato to the carcer, Rome's small jail, provoking mass indignation among senators. Realizing his mistake, he released Cato immediately. Moving to the forum, Caesar summoned Bibulus to explain his opposition. When Bibulus failed to articulate objections beyond claiming he would not permit innovation, Caesar exposed his alliance by summoning Pompey and Crassus. A mob assaulted Bibulus, throwing him from the rostra and breaking his fasces. The law passed despite this violence. The next day, Bibulus called a meeting to annul the law, but the Senate refused.
Later that year, Caesar moved two further bills: one for a one-third write-down of tax bills owed by publicani for Crassus, and another ratifying Pompey's eastern settlement. Lucullus was forced into public humiliation when Caesar threatened prosecution over Pompey's settlements. In May, Caesar lifted the exemption of Campania from his agrarian bill. Pompey wed Caesar's daughter Julia to seal their bond. Publius Vatinius secured passage of a law granting Caesar provinces in Illyricum and Cisalpine Gaul for five years.