THE ALEXANDRIAN WAR
At a stroke Ptolemy XIII was expected to accept as co-ruler the sister who had tried to exclude him from power altogether. Pothinus and the other inner circle of advisers stood to lose even more. To strengthen his own hand he sent messengers to Achillas and summoned the royal army to Alexandria. It was a provocative move, and Caesar arranged for two senior courtiers, who had in the past gone on Auletes’ behalf to Rome, to go to the army. Achillas was in no mood for talking and had the men attacked. One was killed and the other badly wounded, but carried away by his attendants.14
Caesar did not have enough men to risk battle outside the city and could not respond to this provocation. When Achillas arrived in the city he launched an assault almost immediately. Caesar’s men were able to hold their own after heavy fighting, largely because the restricted space made it difficult for the enemy to take advantage of their numbers. In the harbour were some seventy Ptolemaic warships. These included the squadron of fifty that had been sent to support the Pompeians. For much of the time these had been led with great success by Cnaeus Pompey himself, but when news of the defeat at Pharsalus had arrived they had abandoned him to return home. Now, Achillas was eager to seize them and then use them to prevent Caesar from retreating or getting reinforcements by sea.
The Romans struck first. After heavy fighting, Caesar’s men were able to secure control of the warships long enough to burn them. In the confusion the fire spread to the buildings near the harbour. Several were destroyed, including a warehouse used for storing scrolls from the Library. Achillas quickly threw a cordon round the areas occupied by the Romans. He raised a militia from the Alexandrians and seems to have found plenty of willing volunteers. The buildings in this part of Alexandria were large and strongly built of stone. Both sides built stone ramparts across the streets to block enemy attacks and also fortified the houses themselves, knocking down interior walls with battering rams where necessary. Achillas left the bulk of the labouring and guard duty to the militia, keeping his own soldiers in reserve for major assaults and to meet any Roman counter-attack. For the moment Caesar’s men held their own, but the pressure steadily mounted.15
Throughout the early stage of the fighting, Cleopatra, Ptolemy, Arsinoe, Pothinus, Theodotus and other courtiers all lived together with Caesar in the beleaguered palace. Caesar supervised the fighting by day and in the evenings returned to dine. At night he had the twenty-one-year-old queen as lively companion and lover. In spite of this prospect, for the first time in his life he took to staying up late, drinking and feasting with his friends and companions, although it was claimed that this was through fear of assassins. His barber overheard Pothinus plotting murder, and this and other reports were enough for Caesar to order the eunuch’s execution. That did not mean, however, that Caesar had no more enemies within the palace.16
Caesar and Cleopatra were lovers, but in spite of this he maintained his decision that she should rule jointly with her brother. Perhaps this was simply politic, but since he was already besieged and the royal army and most of the city were hostile there was no obvious reason for such caution. It is an indication that although he was fighting a war against supporters of Ptolemy, he was not so besotted with his new mistress that he was happy to give her everything. In any case, Cleopatra no doubt was confident that she could dominate her younger sibling. We do not know how she spent her days, whether she watched as her lover went out to fight. Many of the combats during these days would have been readily visible from the higher buildings.
Arsinoe had been offered joint rule of Cyprus, but clearly decided that there was an opportunity for far higher things. She slipped away from the palace accompanied by her tutor, the eunuch Ganymede, and perhaps other advisers, and joined Achillas. There was some friction as the general resented taking orders from a teenage girl and her teacher. This problem was solved in the traditional way for the Ptolemies when Achillas was murdered. Ganymede took his place and Arsinoe was proclaimed queen. No mention seems to have been made of a consort, but perhaps it was simply assumed that she would rule with her brother, Ptolemy XIII.17
The eunuch tutor probably had no military experience, but in the event prosecuted the siege well. Seawater was diverted to run into the cisterns used by the Romans, rendering their water supply undrinkable. Caesar set his men to digging new wells, and fortunately they were able to find them. He had now been reinforced by the Thirty-Seventh Legion, another former Pompeian formation, which managed to sail into the harbour, bringing supplies of food, as well as military equipment including artillery.
Ganymede decided that he must cut Caesar off from the sea. Considerable ingenuity was exercised in assembling a fleet. Patrol boats from the Nile were brought to the city and old, half-forgotten warships resting in various royal dockyards were found and repaired. Beams were taken from the roofs of major buildings including gymnasia and reshaped into oars. Yet it was easier to gather ships than it was to train the crews that would operate them to the peak of efficiency. In a series of battles fought in and around the great harbour, Caesar’s outnumbered vessels – many of them manned by Rhodians and other Greek allies – more than held their own.18
Caesar decided that controlling Pharos Island was the key to holding the harbour and keeping access open to further reinforcements. His men had seized a small foothold on the island early in the siege. Now he launched an attack, landing ten cohorts of legionaries and capturing a larger area. On the next day a follow-up attack to secure the long bridge began well. Then a group of sailors were panicked and the confusion and fear spread to the legionaries, who fled back to the boats from which they had landed. Caesar was already on board one vessel when a stream of fugitives swarmed over the side. He dived into the sea and swam to the safety of another boat. Some sources say that he left his reddish-purple general’s cloak behind and that this was carried off as a trophy by the enemy. Suetonius denies this, but most accounts agreed that the middle-aged commander showed remarkable nonchalance, swimming with his left hand above the water to protect some important documents.19
Whether or not Cleopatra watched this encounter – and at such a distance she could anyway have seen little detail – she must have known fear over the fate of her lover. If Caesar died, then the Romans would be defeated and she was unlikely to survive. The siege continued into the first weeks of 47 BC. At this point a deputation of leading Alexandrians came to Caesar and begged him to send Ptolemy to them, since they were weary of the tyranny of Arsinoe and her tutor. Perhaps they were genuinely unpopular, although it is equally likely that the men involved were simply out of favour with the new queen and hoped for better from her brother. The struggle for power amongst the royal family and the elite who hoped to manipulate them never slackened for a moment during the fighting with the Romans. There was never any question of uniting against the foreign occupier.
Caesar let the boy go, even though the lad pleaded not to be sent from his presence. Once free, and his sister removed or at least made subordinate, Ptolemy readily urged his army on to fight against the Romans. Ganymede disappears from our sources and may have perished in the power struggle. Some of Caesar’s officers are supposed to have mocked his naivety in being fooled by a child. The author of the Alexandrian War instead believed that he had cynically let Ptolemy go to divide the enemy command.20
Things were turning in Caesar’s favour, and soon he heard of the approach of a relief army, which had marched overland and stormed Pelusium. This force may not have included a single Roman and was led by Mithridates of Pergamum – the child of one of Mithridates of Pontus’ generals and, rumour said, the bastard son of the king himself. Once again, Antipater led a Jewish contingent on behalf of Hyrcanus II the High Priest. Ptolemy ‘led’ the bulk of his army away from Alexandria to meet them. Caesar followed. In the street fighting in the capital, the Gabinians and the rest of the royal soldiers had performed well. In such situations the burden of command falls mainly on junior leaders. In the more open count
ry of the Delta, they were quickly outmanoeuvred and out-fought. The successive changes of high command were unlikely to have helped.
Caesar won a rapid victory. The royal army was destroyed and the young Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile as he fled. Arsinoe was taken prisoner; Pothinus and Achillas were already dead. Theodotus, the remaining man held most responsible for the murder of Pompey, somehow managed to escape to Syria.21
Cleopatra had gambled and won. She had gone to Caesar, becoming his ally and his lover. Now he confirmed her as queen, but a marriage was arranged to Ptolemy XIV because it was against tradition for a woman to rule alone. He was young, and she would make sure that no faction of manipulative courtiers would coalesce around him. The king and queen were given Cyprus as well as Egypt, restoring something of the glory of the kingdom in past years.
Caesar spent longer than he needed in Egypt after the war was won. For a time, perhaps even for months, he and Cleopatra took a long cruise down the Nile. The Ptolemies were famous for their vast pleasure boats, but enough other vessels crammed with soldiers accompanied them to turn this into a grand procession. It was a statement of the power and legitimacy of the queen – and to a lesser extent her brother.22
Yet Caesar did not have to go in person to make such a statement. He would leave behind three legions to ensure that his nominee remained in power and she did not become too independent. There was a political dimension to the cruise, but it would be a mistake to see that as its sole, even main purpose. Caesar had been almost constantly on campaign for more than a decade. Weary, facing a world in which he must single-handedly sort out the problems of the Republic, which no longer contained rivals worth competing against, the appeal of a pleasure cruise is obvious. In Alexandria he had seen the tomb and corpse of Alexander. Now he could view the antiquities of ancient Egypt, which intrigued Greeks and Romans alike. All the while he had the company of his clever, exciting and beautiful young lover, helping him to forget his age and his cares. In hindsight, the months Caesar spent in Egypt were a serious mistake, allowing the surviving Pompeians time to recover and renew the civil war. Yet in the circumstances it is hard to blame him.
Cleopatra was pregnant by the time her lover left, called away to deal with a new war in Asia Minor.
[XIV]
MASTER OF HORSE
Antony had done well at Pharsalus, but in its aftermath Caesar once again preferred to employ him in an essentially political rather than a military role and he was sent back to Italy. Definite news of Pompey’s defeat took some time to reach Rome. Caesar seems to have been reluctant to boast of triumphing over such an illustrious Roman or perhaps wanted to delay the news until Pompey himself was taken or killed. Reports came slowly and were mingled with plenty of rumour, so that the Senate’s initial response was cautious. Antony landed in Brundisium in the autumn of 48 BC, bringing with him a substantial part of the army from Macedonia. By this time the scale of Caesar’s victory was evident and the senators were desperate to show their loyalty by voting him honours.
Caesar was given a range of powers, including the right to declare war and peace, and to deal as he chose with captured Pompeians. He was also named dictator for the second time. This was not a short-term expedient, allowing him to hold elections, but a means of making legal the supremacy that he already in fact possessed. The traditional six-month limit to the dictatorship was extended to a year. Sulla had had no time limit to his dictatorship so this was marginally more moderate.1
The decision to become dictator was presumably made by Caesar himself and then tactfully suggested to a willing Senate. Equally, he must have selected Antony to be his subordinate or Master of Horse (Magister Equitum). Strangely, this proved more controversial than the dictatorship itself. Some of his fellow augurs questioned whether it was legitimate for anyone to be Master of Horse for longer than six months. At thirty-five, Antony was also young for such a senior position, especially since he had so far only been quaestor and tribune. The objections were brushed aside.2
In the absence of the dictator, his Master of Horse was effectively the most powerful man in the Republic. There was a lot for Antony to do. The legions returning to Italy needed to be kept occupied and content to prevent any repeat of the mutiny of the previous year. There were also all the normal tasks of government to keep going. When a dictator was appointed, the imperium of other magistrates lapsed. Elections for the most senior magistrates for 47 BC had in any case been postponed until Caesar returned, and only those such as tribunes, who were selected by the Concilium Plebis, campaigned and were elected.
Antony now had even greater power and responsibilities than in the previous year and, once again, showed little restraint in enjoying them. Cicero later claimed that Cytheris rushed to greet him at Brundisium when he landed. This does seem to have been much more than a casual affair and Antony was happy to be seen in public with his mistress. He also continued his friendships with other actors and performers, spending a good deal of time in their company. Back in Rome, he attended the wedding celebrations of the actor Hippias and the next day appeared in his official capacity considerably the worse for wear. Presiding over a meeting of the People’s Assembly, he was obviously badly hung over. Suddenly nausea overtook him and he vomited into the cloak held out by one of his companions – or into his own lap in Cicero’s probably exaggerated version. Antony does not appear to have cared. Years later when attacked over his heavy drinking, he replied with a pamphlet called On his Drinking which boasted of his prowess. Rather than bow to convention he preferred to shock.3
There was a similar spirit in his choice of company. Loyalty to friends regardless of their social status may often be admirable, and Antony genuinely seems to have enjoyed the lively companionship of actors, dancers and musicians. Probably, much like today, the theatrical culture was one in which flattery was as warmly given as received. Yet no one could ever really forget that he was who he was, and none of his companions could forget that he merely deigned to spend time with them. Antony was utterly convinced of his high birth and how this and his own merit meant that he deserved to be one of the most important men in the Republic. He did not need the approval of other senators to confirm this, and no doubt enjoyed their dismay and disgust. Whatever they thought of him, he remained an Antonius. At the moment, he also effectively had supreme power and even the most disapproving of them must come to him to ask for any favour.
Antony summoned and presided over meetings of the Senate. This and other public business he tended to conduct with a sword at his hip. A Roman magistrate inside the city was supposed to be overtly civilian. Antony ignored the convention and was also frequently escorted by soldiers. Others had done the same during the civil wars, as had Pompey in his sole consulship of 52 BC, but it was not the way the Republic was supposed to be seen to function. Antony was blatantly a conqueror and keen to enjoy the fruits of victory.4
Cicero complained that many of Pompey’s supporters before Pharsalus had already been dividing up the spoils they planned to take from the Caesareans and anyone who had been neutral. Now Antony led the Caesareans in a similar race to profit from victory, although they did remain bound by Caesar’s refusal to treat neutrals as his enemies and his willingness to pardon those who surrendered. It did not matter too much, because there were plenty of wealthy, eminent and dead Pompeians whose assets could be seized. Antony confiscated a grand house to live in, as well as other spoils, and tended to make decisions favouring himself and his friends, including some of the actors and others considered disreputable.
The victory in Macedonia had also created other problems. Some Pompeians had surrendered directly to Caesar. He was said to have been especially pleased to welcome Servilia’s son Brutus, but the latter’s brother-in-law Cassius was also pardoned in this way. Cicero and some others had travelled back to Italy, assuming that Caesar would swiftly return and they could ask him in person for clemency. Instead, the newly named dictator had chased after Pompey and then become embroiled i
n the Alexandrian War.
Cicero’s status was unclear, especially since he had not yet formally laid down his imperium as proconsul of Cilicia, so was still accompanied by his lictors. Antony had been ordered by Caesar not to let former enemies come back to Italy without his specific approval. The Master of Horse therefore informed Cicero that he must leave and wait in the provinces somewhere or risk punishment. The latter responded by saying that he had been encouraged to return by his son-in-law Dolabella, a staunch Caesarean who had assured him of Caesar’s goodwill. Antony passed a decree exempting Cicero and one other by name from the ban on returning to Italy. The orator was less than pleased to be singled out so publicly. His nervousness only increased as the months wore on and Caesar did not return from Egypt, while news came that the Pompeians were raising strong forces in North Africa.5
Antony was neither subtle nor tactful in the way he wielded power and this did nothing to make Caesar’s new regime popular. There were also very many problems to deal with and, even if he had not spent so much energy in feasting and pleasure, it is quite possible that he would not have been able to cope. As it was, discontent was allowed to fester and only needed a spark – or the appearance of an ambitious leader – to turn into violent disorder. Festivals were given, mostly in Caesar’s name and generally at his expense, but this did nothing to resolve the deeper unrest.6
DEBT, PROPERTY AND TAND
Antony was one of many on both sides who went into the civil war massively in debt. It was not just a problem restricted to the aristocracy. Life was expensive, especially in Rome itself where most people lived in rented accommodation. In the past, leaders such as Catiline had rallied many to their cause with the cry of‘new tablets’ (novae tabulae), promising to abolish all existing debts. Plenty of debtors had hoped for the same from Caesar, but in 49 BC he proved moderate. Debts were to be paid, but property valued at pre-war prices to make this easier.
Antony and Cleopatra Page 20