Of Emperors and Fishermen

The Pirates of Caesars Rome

Matthew Shelley
ANTH 439
Sea Rovers
Dr. John Dorwin
08MAR13
 Of Emperors and Fishermen: The Pirates of Caesars Rome

In 74 BCE, Julius Caesar, future Emperor of Rome was kidnapped by

Cilician pirates. The event would eventually lead to a rapid expansion of

powers for the Consul, which allowed for the ascension of the Triumvirate

and eventually the complete decay of Roman Republic and the rise of the

Roman Empire. The story has been told and retold and embellished to the

point that its original purpose as a sort of propaganda has mixed with the

history, lending a sense of classical heroism to Caesars very real life. What

is certain is there is a sudden spike in Roman shipbuilding and naval

strength due to a shift in focus from war against Mithridates to patrols

against pirates.

Throughout the existence of humanity, there have been many who

made their living from the Mare Nostrum, the Mediterranean. Fishing, trade,

shipping, as well as theft, extortion, and murder. Piracy in the region dates

to at least the Late Bronze Age [Gabbert 1986], although to put the start

date for Mediterranean Piracy at the dawn of time would not be an

overstatement. The unnumbered islands of the Aegean, the long, rocky,

unpopulated coastlines allowed for an ideal playground for early raiders.

How piracy began isn't difficult to imagine. Because of it's rockiness, many

areas were not suitable for agriculture, limiting growth for coastal villages.

Such areas would have access to boats, seafaring skills and knowledge of
navigation. When the seas bounty was scarce, the highway robbery of other

regions was easily applied to the passing sea traffic. Early trade vessels

hugged the coastline, forcing slow merchant ships into densely traveled

regular routes impossible on the open ocean [Ormerod 1967:15]. Such

trade ships, laden with treasures, could only pass by so many times before

fishermen who were intimately familiar with their local waters would find

new careers as pirates. As trade networks grew, giving the raiders more

prey to target, so too did the pirates grow in power, giving rise to entire

enclaves. Speed was their greatest ally, although some ventured as far

inland as ten miles [Semple 1916:136] relying on their roots in land raiding.

This necessity for escape gave some amount of cushion for cities such

as Athens, Tiryns, and Mycenae, and gave rise to the building of twin-cities,

such as Athens and Piraeus or Rome and Ostia, so that there was a coastal

city for quick sea trade and rapid communication, and paired with it a more

inland city for overland trade and defense. “If we remember that piracy was,

for centuries, a normal feature of Mediterranean life, it will be realized how

great has been the influence which it exercised on the life of the ancient

world. [Ormerod 1967:14]. There was no way to effectively deal with the

pirates, and as trade networks grew and flourished so too did the pirates. It

was a free and lucrative career, and any man who knew his way about a

boat could do it. In a very short amount of time, one could find their income

multiplied a hundred fold and enjoy a much easier life for themselves and
their kin. Many who were boarded by pirates themselves became pirates,

the pay being far greater if they joined the crew. Other times, the captured

were sold into slavery, netting an incredible return for the raiders. The slave

trade around Crete became known as “the Golden Sea” it was so profitable.

Indeed, most major slave ports were simultaneously pirate ports so

inextricably linked were the two enterprises. According to Greek historian

Strabo, as many as 10,000 slaves were sold a day in the port of Delos,

which along with Cilicia doubled as a thriving den for piracy. Being

kidnapped by pirates became so common it became the primary theme of

many Greek dramatists.

It is this world reflected in the morality plays of the age. Even for

those living far from the coast or any danger of raiding, the concept of a

pirate and what it entailed was widespread. For those involved, it was a way

of life, but to the people of Greece, then later Rome they were villains to

cast a hero against, the disposable evil for morality plays, much like the role

German soldiers of World War II through to Terrorists and Extremists have

occupied a similar role in media today; flat, simple characters meant to be

guiltless killings, so evil or irredeemable beyond salvation. In one such play,

a child refuses to support his father because the father had refused to

ransom him from pirates as punishment for having previously killed his own

brother for adultery; Is the son acting against the law on the support of the

parents?[Wyke 2008:25] This, by Seneca, and many other morality plays,

became influential in the early Christian church, such was the extent of their

renown and influence.

By the 2nd Century BCE, all romanticism had disappeared from the

Roman notion of a pirate. They were declared communes hostes gentium;

enemies of all mankind. [Møller 2008:10] With slave markets drying up and

ports become more and more inhospitable, the remaining pirate enclaves

became more desperate and more brazen, attacking anyone unprotected.

The profit had dropped out of slavery, and so these raiders adapted and

sought ransoms. They quickly discovered the higher the position of their

captive, the higher the ransom that would be paid for their safe return. The

nobility now threatened directly, purges of pirate dens such as the Balearic

Isles in 120 BCE became commonplace. As a result, the pirates became

consolidated and organized, and coastal territories not under Roman

protection would need to make some arrangement with the remaining

pirates, or suffer their unshielded wrath. Those who could come to an

accord became havens at Crete and Cilicia. These pirate cities even enjoyed

the sponsorship of the Seleucid Empire, since it was too weak to overpower

them.

During the First Mithridatic War (89-85 BCE), Roman Consul and

Dictator Sulla Felix had to requisition ships wherever he could find them to

attempt to counter Mithridates fleet. Despite the patchwork nature, the

Roman navy defeated the Pontic navy at Tenedos. Before this, Rome only
enforced its will over the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian Seas, and sent forces by

land to clear the Ligurian and Illyrian coasts[Starr 1989:62]. Immediately

following the war, they positioned around 100 ships in the Aegean as well,

but only in an effort to deter Mithridates. The rapid growth of the pirates

quickly outpaced the Roman efforts. Over the next decade, the pirates

raided Italy itself and defeated several Roman commanders. Plutarch

counted their ships at a thousand, with over four hundred cities taken. This

now posed a major threat to the Roman Hegemony and Economy. More

importantly, the steady flow of grain from Africa into Rome was disrupted by

the pirates. This led to a state of panic in the city in 74 BCE. Marcus

Antonius, father of Marc Antony, was appointed Praetor with extraordinary

imperium against the pirate threat. He failed, defeated off of Crete, where

he perished.

The turning point in the history of piracy in the Roman Republic was a

story which draws heavily on as much of the popular concept surrounding

pirates as it does the truths it alleges to tell. In recording the lives of great

men of the age, many biographers felt there was no formative period for

such men, and as a result the tales regarding their childhood are almost

certainly apocryphal. In such tales, the subject behaves exactly within the

character of their adult selves, and the circumstances are extraordinary if

not supernatural, but in all cases humiliating. These political biographers

felt no compunction to assign a unique personality, distinctive

characteristics, or as shaped by early life experiences. Instead their concern

is to illustrate general traits through which the reader might assess their

ethical value[Wyke 2008:22].

Subsequently, when it is recorded that in 74 BCE, a nineteen year old

Julius Caesar traveled to Rhodes to study oratory and en route was captured

by pirates, he is not a callow youth; he is a fully formed despot already,

whose retribution is exacted like an act of nature. The tale of Caesar and

the pirates took on its own mythos, being told and retold for some time

before losing favor until the late 20th century. Plutarch has the most detailed

example, although how much is his own embellishment is unclear. As it

stands, Caesar himself was the only recorded survivor of the encounter, so

the events as relayed logically would have been told by him.[Meier

1982:108]

On the voyage to Rhodes, Caesar was captured by pirates off the

island of Pharmacussa, six miles south of Miletus. They demanded a ransom

of twenty talents. Caesar is reported to have laughed at this figure, mocking

the pirates as fools for not recognizing the importance of their prisoner, and

that they should charge fifty talents, nearly two tons of silver. At the time,

the youth was hardly notable, yet even here is represented as a majestic

figure, likely an embellishment by Plutarch. However, it is certain that

Caesars companions and slaves visited nearby coastal towns to collect the

money, and held them responsible due to their inadequate control over the
local waters. Eight and Thirty days Caesar spent with the pirates, and was

to have conducted himself with aristocratic nonchalance, demanding quiet

when he wanted to sleep, composing poems and then reading them aloud,

and jokingly threatening to string them all up once he was free. As soon as

his ransom was paid, he chartered a handful of ships at Miletus, and ran the

pirates down. He captured them all and took their booty for his own. When

brought before the governor of Asia minor, justice hesitates, and Caesar

takes their punishment into his own hands. He has the lot of them crucified

for his ordeal, but his clemency is expressed by having their throats slit (in

some versions, strangled) before the actual crucifixion.[Meier 1982:108]

There may well be some truth to this story, given how commonplace

kidnapping and piracy was in the areas at the time. But given Caesar was

likely the originator of the details, they peculiarly act to his benefit.[Wyke

2008:24] Now the tale serves his greater narrative. By demanding they

double their ransom, he protects himself by drawing their attention to his

great value, and by actually collecting the sum shows the level of allegiance

his servants hold for him. Even at the time, much attention was given to the

story's contrast between the ineffective timidity of the magistrate and the

bold decisive action by Caesar, a simple Roman citizen who held no office.

The bold youth ignores his superiors and makes great strides towards

justice, while the governor cannot make such a decision, although his office

demands it. Finally, the story shows Caesar has the organizational skills to
collect such a huge sum like an authorized tax collector, assume command

of an armed fleet, win a naval victory and punish his tormentors. Even the

severity of his justice seemed reasonable to his contemporaries. For

Valerius Maximus, Suetonius and the Deified Julius, this tale simply solidifies

Caesars Godhood. His ascension from abject prisoner in the belly of a pirate

ship to vengeful reaver becomes a climactic example for the aristocracy to

follow towards virtue. On one hand, it casts Caesar in a commendable light;

strategic thinking, self assurance, charisma, decisiveness and audacity. But

on the other, it exposes his faults just as clearly; arrogance, reckless

bravado, bloodthirsty cruelty and imperiousness. Upon his return, he was

made Tribune.

Advancement was in no way limited to young Julius Caesar. In the

closing of the Third Servile War, Crassus had decimated the forces of

Spartacus. Pompey, returning with a force from an incursion into Hispania,

came across the remnants of Spartacus' army and claimed victory over the

slave revolt for himself, infuriating Crassus. This added to Pompey's

popularity and in 70 BCE, at only 35 years of age and not yet even a

senator, Pompey is elected overwhelmingly to Consul. This is a meteoric

rise unparalleled. Conservative factions within the senate questioned the

legality of his ascension, this upstart who only claimed to stand for the

interests of the nobility [Holland 2004:150]. Two years later, a fleet was

assembled for the purpose of eradicating piracy in the Mediterranean, and

Pompey was placed in command of it, heightening suspicions again

regarding the legality of these honors heaped upon this man[Boak

1922:160]. Pompey received little popular support in this endeavor outside

of Caesar, until the Tribune of Plebs Aulus Gabinius proposed a Lex Gabinia

in 67 BCE, giving Pompey full imperium over the Mediterranean Seas, and

fifty miles inland. Pompeius Magnus now held sway over every other

military commander in the East.

At his disposal were now 500 warships, 120,000 infantry, and 5,000

cavalry and three years to deal with the piracy[De Souza 2002:149]. He

assigned each of his thirteen legates their own area, and directed their

fleets. In a mere forty days, the entire Western Mediterranean was reported

clear [Boak 1922:160]. Within three months of launching his endeavor,

Pompey had “defeated” the pirate fleet at Cilicia by offering full pardons for

all. De Souza finds that “Pompey had officially returned the Cilicians to their

own cities, which were ideal bases for piracy and not– as Dio would have it–

for the dignified reformation of pirates as farmers. Pompey's entire

campaign is therefore in question; its description as "war" is hyperbole–

some form of treaty or payoff is likely, with Pompey as chief negotiator. This

was standard practice, but undignified and seldom acknowledged; Rome's

generals were supposed to wage and win wars. A decade on, in the 50s BC,

the Cilicians and pirates in general remained a nuisance to Rome's sea

trade.”[De Souza 2002:170] Especially questioned was a resettlement

policy which moved the former raiders to the newly named Pompeiopolis.

This didn't change the fact that Pompey had ensured the delivery of

grain to the city, which is the primary prerequisite for being a hero to the

citizenry of the time. He was hailed as the first man of Rome, and was

named Primus inter pares; first among equals. However the incredible

efficiency with which Pompey dispatched his mission guaranteed it would not

be long before his next appointment, commanding the Roman fleet in its

efforts against Mithridates. By the 40s BCE, Cicero disapproved of the state

of piracy, and the funded resettlement stating “we give immunity to pirates

and make our allies pay tribute.”[De Souza 2002:177]

“Pompey made his preparations for the war at the end of the winter, entered

upon it at the commencement of spring, and finished it in the middle of the

summer.” -Cicero

Piracy is a cyclic factor. It ebbs and flows alongside the more familiar

businesses, and has just as much influence on the development of the

surrounding region as any legal enterprise. Around the world and

throughout history, the pirate can be seen as a barometer for the conditions

of the desperate in an increasingly marginalized society. Many have claimed

to provide a solution once and for all to the eternal problem of sea raiders,

from Pharaohs to Emperors, Kings to Presidents. Even if they are

successful, it is a momentary reprieve, the conditions to promote piracy

continually rears its head throughout history. If that solution is one of swift

justice and a violent end, it only serves to hone the pirates to a keener edge,

to consolidate and regroup more powerful than before.

The Piracy of China was hinged primarily on the Governments ever

shifting whims toward control and exclusion of trade. In times of exploration

and relaxed norms, the pirates were seldom heard from. But in times of

closed borders and strictly controlled government trade, the pirate rose

again. In the Golden Age of Piracy, the European powers used privateers to

meddle in each others affairs, creating pirates of their very own to prey on

the plump, burdened Spanish Galleons, so loaded as they were with New

World silver.

In the end for Pompey, his pirate hunting fleet may have caught the

popular attention, but it was shrewd discussion and agreements which

resulted in am understanding between the pirates and the Roman

Hegemony. They essentially were bought off, and Pompey still came out a

hero. He was a man who understood the vital role the impression of means

plays in fulfilling such a public office. It was not enough that he solve the

pirate issue with gold, he needed a showpiece, a dazzling set of car keys to

dangle in front of the plebs, and in return they would invest greater and

greater power and authority in him and his.

Today, piracy is still a thing in parts of the world, although the waters
of the Mediterranean are somewhat settled today, our own culture does not

rely on pirates to act as villains in our spectacles. For that we have

terrorists. A crisis affects the empire, be it Roman or American, and in a

panic over the steady flow of goods into their land, they identify their

nemesis, a pirate for Rome, a terrorist for 21st century America. Then, in the

name of combating this cyclic evil once and for all, more and more power

gets invested into fewer and fewer people. We would of course do well to

learn from our closest parable from such a bygone age before Pax Romana.
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