Cæsar was also made to feel that attachment to Antony meant hostility to himself; for two legions despatched by him to Spain were refused passage through the province by Q. Fufius Calenus and Ventidius Bassus, Antony’s legates in Gallia Transalpina.[178] Alarmed by the aspect of affairs, he tried to come to some understanding with Lucius and Fulvia, but found them resolutely hostile. The mediation of officers in the army, of private friends and Senators proved of no avail; though he produced the agreement drawn up between Marcus and himself, and offered to allow the Senate to arbitrate on their disputes. Satisfied that by the refusal of this offer Lucius and Fulvia had put themselves in the wrong, he determined to rely upon his army. For Lucius had been collecting men among those offended by Cæsar, and Fulvia, accompanied by many Senators and equites, had occupied Præneste with a body of troops, to which she regularly gave the watchword as their commander, appeared among them wearing a sword, and frequently harangued the men.
The men of Cæsar’s army, no doubt acting on a hint from himself, now took the matter into their own hands. They suddenly entered Rome, affirming that they wished to consult the Senate and people. Assembling on the Capitol, with such citizens as ventured to come, they ordered the agreement between Cæsar and Antony to be read, voted its confirmation, constituted themselves judges between the disputants, and named a day on which Fulvia, Lucius, and Cæsar were to appear before them at Gabii. Having ordered these resolutions to be written out and deposited with the Vestals, they peaceably dispersed. Cæsar was present and of course consented to appear; but Lucius and Fulvia, though at first promising to attend at Gabii, did not do so. They scoffed at the idea of a mob of soldiers, a senatus caligatus[179] (a “Tommy-Atkins-parliament”), presuming to speak for Senate and people. They were therefore voted in their absence to be in the wrong, and Cæsar’s acta were confirmed. The show of legality thus gained for him was used by his officers to justify the collection of money in all directions. Temples were stripped of silver ornaments to be coined into money, and troops were summoned from Cisalpine Gaul, which in spite of the claims of Marcus Antonius, was now made a part of Italy without a provincial governor having a right to maintain troops.[180] Lucius also, as consul, enrolled men wherever his authority was acknowledged, and once more there was civil war in Italy. It was in many respects a recrudescence of the republican opposition lately headed by Brutus and Cassius. For Sextus Pompeius had been joined by Murcus with vessels carrying two legions and 500 archers, and was reinforced with the remains of the armies of Brutus and Cassius, which had taken refuge in Cephallenia. In Africa Antony’s legate, Titus Sextius, though he had surrendered the province to Cæsar’s legate Lurco, had resumed possession and put Lurco to death. Lastly, Domitius Ahenobarbus was threatening Brundisium with seventy ships. It was not clear how far these movements were known or approved by Antony; but the old republican party hoped that their upshot would be the dissolution of the triumvirate, the downfall of Cæsar, and the restoration of the old constitution.
Open war between Augustus and L. Antonius B.C. 41-40.
For the present Cæsar left Sextus Pompeius alone. But he sent a legion to Brundisium and summoned Salvidienus with his six legions from his march into Spain. Salvidienus had been opposed by Antony’s legates Pollio and Ventidius, and was now harassed in his rear by them when he turned homeward along the via Cassia. Open hostilities, however, began elsewhere. Some legions at Alba Fucensis showed signs of mutiny, and both Cæsar and Antonius started for Alba, hoping to secure their adhesion. But Antonius got there first, and by lavish promises won them to his side. Cæsar only came in time to skirmish with Antonius’s rearguard under C. Furnius, and then moved northward to renew his attack on Furnius, who had retreated to Sentinum in Umbria. On his way he unsuccessfully attacked Nursia, where Antonius had a garrison, and while he was thus engaged Antonius himself led his main army to Rome. Such troops as Cæsar had left in or near the city surrendered to him; while Lepidus, without attempting resistance, fled to Cæsar,[181] and the other consul made no opposition. Lucius summoned a contio, declared that he meant to depose Cæsar and Lepidus from their unconstitutional office, and to re-establish the just authority of the consulship, with which his brother Marcus would be fully satisfied. His speech was received with applause; he was hailed imperator; and the command in a war was voted to him, though without the enemy being named. Reinforced by veterans of his brother’s army he started along the via Cassia to intercept the returning Salvidienus.
Informed of these transactions Cæsar hurried to Rome, leaving Sentinum still besieged. But it was Agrippa who struck the decisive blow. With such forces as he could collect he, too, marched on the heels of Antonius along the via Cassia, and occupied Sutrium, about thirty miles from the city. This cut off L. Antonius’s communications with Rome, who, with Salvidienus in front of him and Agrippa in his rear, could neither advance or retire along the Cassia without fighting. With an enemy on both sides of him he did not venture to give battle, but turned off the road to Perusia. At first he encamped outside the town expecting to be soon relieved by Pollio and Ventidius. But finding that they were moving slowly, and that three hostile armies—under Cæsar, Agrippa, and Salvidienus—were threatening him, he retired within the walls; where he thought he might safely winter. Cæsar at once began throwing up lines of circumvallation, and cut him off from all chance of supply. Perusia is on a hill overlooking the Tiber and the Trasimene lake. But its position, almost impregnable to assault, made it also somewhat easy to blockade. Fulvia was active in urging the legates of Antony in Gaul and North Italy to come to the relief of Lucius. But Pollio and Ventidius hesitated and doubted, not feeling certain of the wishes of Marcus; and though Plancus cut up one legion on its march to join Cæsar, neither he nor any of the others ventured to engage him when he and Agrippa threw themselves in their way. Pollio retired to Ravenna, Ventidius to Ariminum, Plancus to Spoletium, leaving Lucius to his fate; while Fufius Calenus remained in the Alpine region without stirring. Meanwhile Salvidienus proceeded to Sentinum, which he took, and shortly afterwards received the surrender of Nursia.
B.C. 40 Cos, C. Asinius Pollio, Cn. Domitius Calvinus. Fall of Perusia.
Livia.
Cæsar was thus able to use his whole force against Perusia. The blockade lasted till March, B.C. 40, when L. Antonius was compelled to surrender by hunger. Cæsar had taken an active share in the siege throughout, and had run serious risks, at one time being nearly captured in a sally of gladiators while engaged in sacrifice; at another being in danger from a mutiny in his own army. On the fall of Perusia the townsmen suffered severely from the victorious soldiery, apparently without the order, and perhaps against the wish, of Cæsar; and in the course of the sack the town itself was accidentally set on fire and in great part destroyed. There is again a conflict of testimony as to Cæsar’s severities. Suetonius says that he executed a great number, answering all appeals with a stern “Death!” (moriendum est): and his enemies asserted that he deliberately enticed L. Antonius into the war to have an excuse for thus ridding himself of his opponents. Some also reported that he caused 300 to be put to death on the Ides of March, at an altar dedicated to Iulius. On the other hand, it is certain that L. Antonius was allowed to go away in safety; and Livy says that Cæsar pardoned him and “all his soldiers.” Appian attributes the death of such leading men as fell to the vindictiveness of the soldiers. Velleius, of course, takes the same view; while Dio, equally of course, agrees rather with Suetonius. The first writer to mention the Perusinæ aræ is Seneca; but as his object was to contrast the clemency of Nero with the cruelty of Augustus, it is fair to suspect that he was not very particular as to the historical basis for his allegations. If there were some executions and also some altar dedicated to Iulius—both of which are more than probable—it would be easy for popular imagination to connect the two. No doubt all in Perusia who were implicated in the assassination, or had been on the proscription lists, would have short shrift.[182] The altar story is unlike the usual good sense of Augustus; but it seems that in this siege he desired to emphasise the fact that he was the avenger of his “father,” some at least of the leaden bullets used by the slingers bearing the words Divom Iulium.[183] At any rate, whether during the siege or by executions after it, there seems no doubt that at Perusia a blow was struck at the old republican party—already decimated by civil war and proscription—from which it never recovered. The victory, moreover, left Cæsar supreme in Italy. The legates of M. Antonius for the most part abandoned their legions and went to join him, or to Sicily to join Sextus Pompeius, who was already negotiating with Antony. Fufius Calenus, indeed, refused to surrender his eleven legions; but he died shortly afterwards, and his son handed them over to Cæsar. Plancus, abandoned by his two legions, escaped to Antony. Ventidius seems to have done the same; while Pollio, though not leaving Italy, hung about the east coast in expectation of Antony’s arrival. Among others, Tiberius Nero abandoned a garrison which he was commanding, and, with his wife Livia (soon to be the wife of Augustus) and his infant son (afterwards the Emperor Tiberius), fled to Sextus Pompeius. Thither also went Antony’s mother Iulia, whom Pompeius received with respect and employed as envoy to her son; while Fulvia embarked at Brundisium and sailed to Athens to meet her husband. In Italy there was no one to rival Cæsar, who by these surrenders and desertions had now a formidable army. What he had still to fear was a combination of Antony and Sextus Pompeius and an invasion of Italy by their joint forces.
Fresh terms with M. Antonius.
Marriage with Scribonia, B.C. 40.