Caesar and the Pirates

Revolutions, like forest fires, are far easier to start than to end.  Countless revolutionary leaders have discovered the difficulty of disbanding an army after the battles have ended.  Thousands of unemployed young men, unable to find work in a civilian workforce in an economy struggling to recover from the disruptions of war, have all too often returned to violence as way of life simply to survive.

After the American Civil War, for example, restless veterans frequently either turned to crime or became mercenaries in the seemingly endless revolutions in Latin America.  Similarly, Boers who had been forced into exile by the British after their defeat during the Boer War in Africa, fought for several armies during the Mexican Revolution.

Perhaps no military leader solved the problem of how to “fire” angry young men with weapons better than Julius Caesar, who carved out new cities in conquered territory as a reward for his loyal veterans.  Not only did the presence of these soldiers help to Romanize the newly acquired territory, but it removed the possibility of these men being used in a military coup against Caesar by moving the veterans far from Rome.

Caesar probably learned this lesson after being captured by pirates.

Following the Marian-Sulla Civil War in 89 BCE, revolutions and violence erupted throughout the Mediterranean area, providing new employment opportunities to men who had been trained to fight, but couldn’t find work after the previous battles had ended.  Many of these young men turned to piracy and were collectively known as the Cilician pirates.  Carthage had been destroyed and Ptolemaic Egypt was collapsing from internal rot (several centuries of sibling marriage by the pharaohs will do that), which led to a power vacuum at sea.  

Based out of what is now Western Turkey, the notorious Cilician pirates did what pirates have always done:  they preyed on commercial shipping and kidnapped the rich for large ransoms.  These sea raiders were renowned for incredible violence but were also known to honor their ransoms and to release their captives unharmed…if they were paid.  Since the pirates were also known to profit from the growing slave trade, captives not ransomed were sold far from their homes.

That the pirates honored ransoms was not to say that they were trustworthy—treating their captives fairly was just a good business practice.  In fact, the pirates were more than capable of acting treacherously, as they did with Spartacus, the former gladiator who led a slave revolt that was almost successful.  Spartacus had contracted with the pirates to transport his army (for a large fee) to Sicily.  After accepting the payment, the pirates reneged on their promise and left Spartacus and his army abandoned on the beach, at the mercy of a Roman Army not known for dispensing mercy.

Julius Caesar was a wealthy twenty-five-year-old attorney who was already well known for prosecuting the supporters of Sulla, when he set sail for Rhodes to study oratory to further his professional career.  As you have already guessed, a band of the Cilician pirates seized Caesar and his entire party, intending to ransom the young Caesar for an incredible sum:  twenty talents of silver (then worth about half a million sesterces).

Comparing the relative value of money in different cultures across a gap of more than two millennia, with widely varied purchasing power, is almost impossible, but this amount was at least the equivalent of $150,000 today and probably more.  As large as that sum was for a young lawyer, Caesar ridiculed the pirates, laughingly insisting that he was worth more than twice that.  At Caesar’s insistence, the pirates raised the ransom amount to 50 talents, or 1,200,000 sesterces.  This was a brilliant tactic by Caesar as it guaranteed that the pirates treated their valuable captive like a king until they were paid.

Caesar took full advantage of his captor’s new respect and sent almost all of his entourage out to raise the large ransom, retaining only two slaves to see to his daily needs.  While he waited, Caesar acted as if he were on vacation, dining well, sleeping late, and truly enjoying himself.  When the pirates entertained themselves with games or sporting contests, Caesar joined in, frequently besting the pirates (particularly after he taught the pirates how to play Roman games).  When Caesar decided to take an afternoon nap, he sent his slaves out to order the pirates to keep quiet so as not to interrupt his sleep.  Caesar also wrote frequently, composing poetry which he read to his captors.  

More than anything else, Caesar ridiculed his captors, making frequent jokes at their expense.  At one point, he even offered to take over the leadership of the gang, promising that under his command, the pirates would each make more money.  He taunted the pirates, frequently telling them that he would one day crucify the lot of them—a taunt that the pirates treated as a joke from their new friend.

After thirty-eight days, Caesar’s associates returned and paid the unusually large ransom.  As promised, the Cilician pirates promptly released Caesar, who made his way to Miletus, the Roman capital of Asia Minor.  There, he raised a small army, hired enough ships to transport it and set out to search for his former captors.  He eventually discovered them on the same small island where they had held him captive.  

Catching the pirates off guard, Caesar and his force quickly captured the pirates and recovered not only the ransom he had paid, but considerable other stolen loot, as well.  Caesar transported the pirates back to Miletus, where he told the Roman governor to execute the pirates.  When the governor refused, saying he didn’t have the proper authority, Caesar ignored the governor and had the pirates crucified, exactly as he had told him he would do.  

Caesar obviously knew that the Roman government wasn’t going to complain that he had usurped proper authority.  And Caesar knew that his actions were going to win him the admiration of the Roman citizens, and that with the admiration of the masses became political power.

Caesar's experience with the Cilician pirates is a reminder of his ruthlessness and his willingness to do whatever it took to achieve his goals.  It also shows that he was not afraid to stand up to even the most dangerous enemies.

Eight years after Caesar was released, the Roman Senate appointed Pompey, the Great, to deal with the Cilician pirates.  Pompey quickly assembled a large fleet and went on to defeat the pirates in a series of decisive battles.  He then established a system of naval patrols to prevent the pirates from resurfacing.  This victory also made Pompey popular with the Roman people, eventually setting up the contest between the two men for control of Rome. 

But that’s a different and much longer story.