Back from Spain in 59 b. c., Caesar was elected co-consul with Bibulus and managed to establish such a degree of control that the comedians of the day referred to “the consulship of Julius and Caesar, instead of Bibulus and Caesar.” By then, however, it was clear that only three men in Rome really mattered: Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey (PAHM-pee; 106-48 b. c.).
Caesar had just returned from his defeat of Mithra-dates, and together the three formed the First Triumvirate (try-UM-vuhr-eht), or government of three. Pompey even married Caesar's daughter Julia. Despite their mutual claims of loyalty, however, the First Triumvirate was an uneasy alliance, since none of the three trusted one another. The inevitable conflict would be delayed for many years while Caesar went to Gaul (modern-day France).
Anxious to gain military glory in Gaul, Caesar went looking for a war, and he soon had one. When the Helvetii (hel-VEE-shee-ie), from what is now Switzerland, tried to cross Gaul without permission from Caesar, he drove them back. Other tribes then asked him to drive out the Suebi (SWAY-bee) from Germany, which he did; then he conducted the first Roman invasion of Britain in 55 and 54 b. c. to prevent the Celts on that island from aiding their cousins on the mainland. After this, he had to fight more tribes in Gaul. Caesar killed perhaps a million people but put all of Gaul firmly under Roman control.
Julius Caesar, sword raised.
Library of Congress.
Back in Rome, the alliance with Pompey had grown shaky. Julia died in 54 B. C., breaking that bond between the two men. In the following year,
Crassus was killed in Asia. Pompey began marshalling forces against Caesar. Although Caesar managed to win a few more allies with some carefully placed bribes, it was clear that a showdown was near.
World History
