Editing Julius Caesar (section)

==Early life and career<span class="anchor" id="Early life and career of Julius Caesar"></span><span class="anchor" id="Childhood"></span><span class="anchor" id="Early life"></span>==
[[File:Marius Chiaramonti Inv1488.jpg|thumb|[[Gaius Marius]], Caesar's uncle and the husband of Caesar's aunt [[Julia (wife of Marius)|Julia]]. He was an enemy of Sulla and took Rome with Lucius Cornelius Cinna in 87&nbsp;BC.]]

Gaius Julius Caesar was born into a [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|patrician]] family, the {{lang|la|[[gens]] [[Julia gens|Julia]]}}, on 12 or 13 July 100&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{harvnb|Badian|2009|p=16|ps=, pursuant to Macr. ''Sat.'' 1.12.34, quoting a law by Mark Antony noting the date as the fourth day before the Ides of Quintilis. Only Dio gives 13 July. All sources give the year 100&nbsp;BC.}}</ref> The family claimed to have immigrated to Rome from [[Alba Longa]] during the seventh century&nbsp;BC after the third [[king of Rome]], [[Tullus Hostilius]], took and destroyed their city. The family also claimed descent from Julus, the son of Aeneas and founder of Alba Longa. Given that Aeneas was a son of Venus, this made the clan divine. This genealogy had not yet taken its final form by the first century, but the clan's claimed descent from Venus was well established in public consciousness.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|pp=32–33}} There is no evidence that Caesar himself was born by [[Caesarian section]]; such operations entailed the death of the mother, but [[Caesar's mother]] lived for decades after his birth and no ancient sources record any difficulty with the birth.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|p=35}}

Despite their ancient pedigree, the Julii Caesares were not especially politically influential during the middle republic. The first person known to have had the [[cognomen]] ''Caesar'' was a praetor in 208&nbsp;BC during the [[Second Punic War]]. The family's first consul was in 157&nbsp;BC, though their political fortunes had recovered in the early first century, producing two consuls in 91 and 90&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{harvnb|Badian|2009|p=14}}; {{harvnb|Goldsworthy|2006|pp=31–32|ps=. The consul of 157&nbsp;BC was [[Sextus Julius Caesar (consul 157 BC)|Sextus Caesar]]; the consuls of 91 and 90 were [[Sextus Julius Caesar (consul 91 BC)|Sextus Caesar]] and [[Lucius Julius Caesar (consul 90 BC)|Lucius Caesar]], respectively.}}</ref> [[Caesar's homonymous father]] was moderately successful politically. He married [[Aurelia (mother of Caesar)|Aurelia]], a member of the politically influential [[Aurelii Cottae]], producing – along with Caesar – two daughters. Buoyed by his own marriage and the marriage of [[Julia (wife of Marius)|his sister]] to the extremely influential [[Gaius Marius]], he also served on the [[Lucius Appuleius Saturninus|Saturninian]] land commission in 103&nbsp;BC and was elected praetor some time between 92 and 85&nbsp;BC; he served as proconsular governor of Asia for two years, likely 91–90&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{harvnb|Badian|2009|p=15}} dates the land commission to 103 per ''MRR'' 3.109; {{harvnb|Goldsworthy|2006|pp=33–34}}; {{harvnb|Broughton|1952|p=22}}, dating the proconsulship to 91 with praetorship in 92&nbsp;BC and citing, among others, {{CIL|1|705}} and {{CIL|1|706}}.</ref>

=== Life under Sulla and military service ===
[[File:Q. Pompeius Rufus, denarius, 54 BC, RRC 434-1 (Sulla only).jpg|thumb|Sulla, depicted on a coin minted by [[Quintus Pompeius Rufus (grandson of Sulla)|Quintus Pompeius Rufus]] in 54&nbsp;BC. Sulla took the city in 82&nbsp;BC, purged his political enemies, and instituted [[Constitutional reforms of Sulla|new constitutional reforms]].]]

Caesar's father did not seek a consulship during the domination of [[Lucius Cornelius Cinna]] and instead chose retirement.{{sfn|Badian|2009|p=16}} During Cinna's dominance, Caesar was named as ''[[flamen Dialis]]'' (a priest of [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]]) which led to his marriage to Cinna's daughter, [[Cornelia (wife of Caesar)|Cornelia]]. The religious taboos of the priesthood would have forced Caesar to forgo a political career; the appointment – one of the highest non-political honours – indicates that there were few expectations of a major career for Caesar.<ref>{{harvnb|Badian|2009|p=16|ps=. Badian cites {{harvnb|Suet. ''Iul.''|loc=1.2}} arguing that Caesar was actually appointed; because a divorced man could not be ''flamen Dialis'', the assertion that Caesar married one Cossutia then divorced her to marry Cornelia and become ''flamen'' in {{harvnb|Plut. ''Caes.''|loc=5.3}} is incorrect.}}</ref> In early 84&nbsp;BC, Caesar's father died suddenly.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|p=34}} After [[Sulla]]'s victory in the [[Sulla's civil war|civil war]] (82&nbsp;BC), Cinna's ''acta'' were annulled. Sulla consequently ordered Caesar to abdicate and divorce Cinna's daughter. Caesar refused, implicitly questioning the legitimacy of Sulla's annulment. Sulla may have put Caesar on the [[Proscription of Sulla|proscription lists]], though scholars are mixed.<ref>{{harvnb|Badian|2009|pp=16–17}}, stating Caesar was placed on the lists. Cf, stating Caesar was only summoned for interrogation, {{cite book |last=Hinard |first=François |title=Les proscriptions de la Rome républicaine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-3UaAAAAIAAJ |publisher=Ecole française de Rome |date=1985 |pages=64 |isbn=978-2-7283-0094-5 |oclc=1006100534 |language=fr}}</ref> Caesar then went into hiding before his relatives and contacts among the [[Vestal Virgins]] were able to intercede on his behalf.<ref>{{harvnb|Badian|2009|pp=16–17|ps=, also rejecting claims that Caesar hid by bribing his pursuers: "this is an example of how the [Caesar myth] pervades our accounts and makes it difficult to get at the facts... [that he bribed his pursuers] cannot be true, since confiscation of his fortune went with his proscription".}}</ref> They then reached a compromise where Caesar would resign his priesthood but keep his wife and chattels; Sulla's alleged remark he saw "in [Caesar] many Mariuses"<ref>{{harvnb|Plut. ''Caes.''|loc=1.4}}; {{harvnb|Suet. ''Iul.''|loc=1.3}}.</ref> is apocryphal.<ref>{{harvnb|Badian|2009|p=17|ps=, noting also that Sulla never killed any fellow patricians.}}</ref>

[[File:Augustus Bevilacqua Glyptothek Munich 317.jpg|thumb|Bust, from the imperial period, of a man – in this case [[Augustus]] – wearing the [[civic crown]] ({{langx|la|corona civica}}). Caesar won the civic crown for his bravery at the [[Siege of Mytilene (81 BC)|Siege of Mytilene]] in 81&nbsp;BC.]]

Caesar then left Italy to serve in the staff of the governor of Asia, [[Marcus Minucius Thermus]]. While there, he travelled to Bithynia to collect naval reinforcements and stayed some time as a guest of the king, [[Nicomedes IV of Bithynia|Nicomedes IV]], though [[Queen of Bithynia|later invective]] connected Caesar to a homosexual relation with the monarch.{{sfn|Badian|2009|pp=17–18}}<ref>{{harvnb|Suet. ''Iul.''|loc=2–3}}; {{harvnb|Plut. ''Caes.''|loc=2–3}}; {{harvnb|Dio|loc=43.20}}.</ref> He then served at the [[Siege of Mytilene (81 BC)|Siege of Mytilene]] where he won the [[civic crown]] for saving the life of a fellow citizen in battle. The privileges of the crown – the Senate was supposed to stand on a holder's entrance and holders were permitted to wear the crown at public occasions – whetted Caesar's appetite for honours. After the capture of Mytilene, Caesar transferred to the staff of [[Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus|Publius Servilius Vatia]] in Cilicia before learning of Sulla's death in 78&nbsp;BC and returning home immediately.{{sfn|Badian|2009|p=17}} He was alleged to have wanted to join in on the consul [[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (consul 78 BC)|Lepidus]]' revolt that year<ref>{{harvnb|Badian|2009|p=18}}, citing {{harvnb|Suet. ''Iul.''|loc=3}}.</ref> but this is likely literary embellishment of Caesar's desire for tyranny from a young age.{{sfn|Morstein-Marx|2021|p=35}}

Afterward, Caesar attacked some of the Sullan aristocracy in the courts but was unsuccessful in his attempted prosecution of [[Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella]] in 77&nbsp;BC, who had recently returned from a proconsulship in Macedonia. Going after a less well-connected senator, he was successful the next year in prosecuting [[Gaius Antonius Hybrida]] (later consul in 63&nbsp;BC) for profiteering from the proscriptions but was forestalled when a tribune interceded on Antonius' behalf.<ref>{{harvnb|Alexander|1990|p=71}} (Trial 140) noting also that Tac. ''Dial.'', 34.7 wrongly places the trial in 79&nbsp;BC; {{harvnb|Alexander|1990|pp=71–72}} (Trial 141).</ref> After these oratorical attempts, Caesar left Rome for Rhodes seeking the tutelage of the rhetorician [[Apollonius Molon]].{{sfn|Badian|2009|p=18}} While travelling, he was intercepted and ransomed by pirates in a story that was later much embellished. According to Plutarch and Suetonius, he was freed after paying a ransom of fifty [[Talent (measurement)|talent]]s and responded by returning with a fleet to capture and execute the pirates. The recorded sum for the ransom is literary embellishment and it is more likely that the pirates were sold into slavery per [[Velleius Paterculus]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pelling |first=C B R |title=Plutarch: Caesar |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-814904-0 |location=Oxford |oclc=772240772 |pages=139–41}} {{harvnb|Vell. Pat.|loc=2.42.3}} reports that the governor wanted to enslave and sell the pirates but that Caesar returned quickly and had them executed. Pelling believes the second part of Vell. Pat.'s narrative – along with other sources ({{harvnb|Plut. ''Caes.''|loc=1.8–2.7}}; {{harvnb|Suet. ''Iul.''|loc=4}}) – are literary embellishment and that the pirates were enslaved and sold.</ref> His studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the [[Third Mithridatic War]] over the winter of 75 and 74&nbsp;BC; Caesar is alleged to have gone around collecting troops in the province at the locals' expense and leading them successfully against Mithridates' forces.<ref>{{harvnb|Badian|2009|p=19|ps=, calling the story in {{harvnb|Suet. ''Iul.''|loc=4.2}} that Caesar called up auxiliaries and with them drove Mithridates' prefect from the province of Asia, "a striking example of the Caesar myth... [that is] difficult to believe".}}</ref>

=== Entrance to politics ===
While absent from Rome, in 73&nbsp;BC, Caesar was co-opted into the [[pontifices]] in place of his deceased relative [[Gaius Aurelius Cotta]]. The promotion marked him as a well-accepted member of the aristocracy with great future prospects in his political career.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|p=78}} Caesar decided to return shortly thereafter and on his return was elected one of the [[military tribunes]] for 71&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{harvnb|Badian|2009|p=19}}; {{harvnb|Broughton|1952|pp=114, 125}}; {{harvnb|Vell. Pat.|loc=2.43.1}} (pontificate); {{harvnb|Plut. ''Caes.''|loc=5.1}} and {{harvnb|Suet. ''Iul.''|loc=5}} (military tribunate).</ref> There is no evidence that Caesar served in war – even though [[Third Servile War|the war]] on [[Spartacus]] was on-going – during his term; he did, however, agitate for the removal of Sulla's disabilities on the plebeian tribunate and for those who supported Lepidus' revolt to be pardoned.<ref>{{harvnb|Badian|2009|p=19}}, citing {{harvnb|Suet. ''Iul.''|loc=5}}.</ref> These advocacies were common and uncontroversial.{{sfn|Morstein-Marx|2021|p=63}} The next year, 70&nbsp;BC, [[Pompey]] and [[Marcus Licinius Crassus|Crassus]] were consuls and brought legislation restoring the plebeian tribunate's rights; one of the tribunes, with Caesar supporting, then brought legislation pardoning the Lepidan exiles.<ref>{{harvnb|Badian|2009|pp=19–20|ps=, also noting senatorial support for the pardons}}; {{harvnb|Broughton|1952|pp=126, 128, 130 n. 4|ps=, argues the tribunician law recalling the Lepidan exiles must postdate the consular law in 70 which removed Sulla's suppression of tribunician legislative initiative.}}</ref>

For his quaestorship in 69&nbsp;BC, Caesar was allotted to serve under [[Gaius Antistius Vetus (praetor 70 BC)|Gaius Antistius Vetus]] in [[Hispania Ulterior]]. His election also gave him a lifetime seat in the Senate. However, before he left, his aunt Julia, the widow of Marius died and, soon afterwards, his wife Cornelia died shortly after bearing his only legitimate child, [[Julia (daughter of Caesar)|Julia]]. He gave eulogies for both at public funerals.<ref>{{harvnb|Badian|2009|p=20}}; {{harvnb|Broughton|1952|p=132}}. {{harvnb|Badian|2009|p=21}} cites {{harvnb|Suet. ''Iul.''|loc=6.1}} for the incipit of Caesar's eulogy.</ref> During Julia's funeral, Caesar displayed the images of his aunt's husband Marius, whose memory had been suppressed after Sulla's victory in the civil war. Some of the Sullan nobles – including [[Quintus Lutatius Catulus Capitolinus|Quintus Lutatius Catulus]] – who had suffered under the Marian regime objected, but by this point depictions of husbands in aristocratic women's funerary processions was common.{{sfn|Morstein-Marx|2021|p=43}} Contra Plutarch,{{sfn|Plut. ''Caes.''|loc=5.2–3}} Caesar's action here was likely in keeping with a political trend for reconciliation and normalisation rather than a display of renewed factionalism.{{sfn|Morstein-Marx|2021|pp=43–46}} Caesar quickly remarried, taking the hand of Sulla's granddaughter [[Pompeia (wife of Caesar)|Pompeia]].<ref>{{harvnb|Morstein-Marx|2021|p=46|ps=, noting also that Plutarch omits this detail likely because it "would indeed have been embarrassing for his Marian representation of Caesar" (internal citations and quotation marks omitted).}}</ref>

=== Aedileship and election as ''pontifex maximus'' ===
For much of this period, Caesar was one of [[Pompey]]'s supporters. Caesar joined with Pompey in the late 70s to support restoration of tribunician rights; his support for the law recalling the Lepidan exiles may have been related to the same tribune's bill to grant lands to Pompey's veterans. Caesar also supported the ''[[lex Gabinia]]'' in 67&nbsp;BC granting Pompey an extraordinary command against piracy in the Mediterranean and also supported the ''[[lex Manilia]]'' in 66&nbsp;BC to reassign the Third Mithridatic War from its then-commander [[Lucullus]] to Pompey.{{sfn|Gruen|1995|p=79–80}}
[[File:Julius Caesar & C. Cossutius Maridianus, denarius, 44 BC, RRC 480-19.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Denarius of C. Cossutius Maridianus, 44 BC, with the head of Julius Caesar as pontifex maximus on the obverse. The legend on the reverse mentions A. A. A. F. F.]]

Four years after his aunt Julia's funeral, in 65&nbsp;BC, Caesar served as [[curule aedile]] and staged lavish [[Ludi|games]] that won him further attention and popular support.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mouritsen |first=Henrik |title=Plebs and politics in the late Roman Republic |date=2001 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-511-04114-4 |oclc=56761502 |page=97}} See also {{harvnb|Broughton|1952|p=158}} and {{harvnb|Plut. ''Caes.''|loc=6.1–4}}.</ref> He also restored the trophies won by Marius, and taken down by Sulla, over [[Jugurthine War|Jugurtha]] and the [[Cimbrian War|Cimbri]].{{sfn|Broughton|1952|p=158}} According to Plutarch's narrative, the trophies were restored overnight to the applause and tears of joy of the onlookers; however, any sudden and secret restoration of this sort would not have been possible – architects, restorers, and other workmen would have to have been hired and paid for – nor would it have been likely that the work could have been done in a single night.{{sfn|Morstein-Marx|2021|pp=46–47}} It is more likely that Caesar was merely restoring his family's public monuments – consistent with standard aristocratic practice and the virtue of {{lang|la|[[pietas]]}} – and, over objections from Catulus, these actions were broadly supported by the Senate.{{sfn|Morstein-Marx|2021|pp=48–49}}

In 63&nbsp;BC, Caesar stood for the praetorship and also for the post of {{lang|la|[[pontifex maximus]]}},<ref>{{harvnb|Morstein-Marx|2021|pp=64, 64 n. 129|ps=, noting that it is not clear which election was first; it is more likely, however, that elections were late and therefore that the pontifical election occurred first. Dio's claim of elections in December is clearly erroneous. {{harvnb|Broughton|1952|p=172 n. 3}}.}}</ref> who was the head of the [[College of Pontiffs]] and the highest ranking state religious official. In the pontifical election before the [[Roman tribe|tribes]], Caesar faced two influential senators: [[Quintus Lutatius Catulus Capitolinus|Quintus Lutatius Catulus]] and [[Publius Servilius Isauricus]]. Caesar came out victorious. Many scholars have expressed astonishment that Caesar's candidacy was taken seriously, but this was not without historical precedent.<ref>{{harvnb|Morstein-Marx|2021|pp=64–65|ps=, noting the victory of curule aedile [[Publius Licinius Crassus Dives (consul 205 BC)|Publius Licinius Crassus]] in 212 over senior consulars and plebeian tribune [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 96 BC)|Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus]] over consulars.}}</ref> Ancient sources allege that Caesar paid huge bribes or was shamelessly ingratiating;<ref>{{harvnb|Morstein-Marx|2021|p=66}}, citing {{harvnb|Suet. ''Iul.''|loc=13}}; {{harvnb|Plut. ''Caes.''|loc=7.1–4}}; {{harvnb|Dio|loc=37.37.1–3}}.</ref> that no charge was ever laid alleging this implies that bribery alone is insufficient to explain his victory.{{sfn|Morstein-Marx|2021|pp=67–68}} If bribes or other monies were needed, they may have been underwritten by Pompey, whom Caesar at this time supported and who opposed Catulus' candidacy.{{sfn|Gruen|1995|pp=80–81}}

Many sources also assert that Caesar supported the land reform proposals brought that year by plebeian tribune [[Publius Servilius Rullus]], however, there are no ancient sources so attesting.{{sfn|Morstein-Marx|2021|p=69 n. 148}} Caesar also engaged in a collateral manner in the trial of [[Gaius Rabirius (senator)|Gaius Rabirius]] by one of the plebeian tribunes – [[Titus Labienus]] – for the murder of Saturninus in accordance with a [[senatus consultum ultimum]] some forty years earlier.{{sfn|Morstein-Marx|2021|p=71}}<ref>{{Harvnb|Alexander|1990|p=110|ps=&nbsp;(Trials 220–21).}}</ref> The most famous event of the year was the [[Catilinarian conspiracy]]. While some of Caesar's enemies, including Catulus, alleged that he participated in the conspiracy,<ref>{{harvnb|Gruen|1995|p=80|ps=, citing Sall. ''Cat.'', 49.1–2.}} See also {{harvnb|Suet. ''Iul.''|loc=17}}.</ref> the chance that he was a participant is extremely small.<ref>{{harvnb|Morstein-Marx|2021|pp=72–77|ps=, placing it around 2.5 per cent.}} {{harvnb|Gruen|1995|p=429 n. 107}} calls the view that Caesar was one of the masterminds of the conspiracy "long... discredited and requires no further refutation".</ref>

=== Praetorship ===
Caesar won his election to the praetorship in 63&nbsp;BC easily and, as one of the praetor-elects, spoke out that December in the Senate against executing certain citizens who had been arrested in the city conspiring with Gauls in furtherance of the conspiracy.{{sfn|Morstein-Marx|2021|pp=85–86, 90}} Caesar's proposal at the time is not entirely clear. The earlier sources assert that he advocated life imprisonment without trial; the later sources assert he instead wanted the conspirators imprisoned pending trial. Most accounts agree that Caesar supported confiscation of the conspirators' property.<ref>{{harvnb|Morstein-Marx|2021|p=92}}. Earlier sources being Cic. ''Cat.'', 4.8–10 and Sall. ''Cat.'', 51.42. Later sources include {{harvnb|Plut. ''Caes.''|loc=7.9}} and {{harvnb|App. ''BCiv.''|loc=2.6}}.</ref> Caesar likely advocated the former, which was a compromise position that would place the Senate within the bounds of the {{lang|la|lex Sempronia de capite civis}}, and was initially successful in swaying the body; a later intervention by [[Cato the Younger|Cato]], however, swayed the Senate at the end for execution.{{sfn|Gruen|1995|pp=281–82}}

[[File:Cicero Denounces Catiline in the Roman Senate by Cesare Maccari.png|thumb|upright=1.35|[[Cicero]], consul in 63&nbsp;BC, depicted in an 1889 [[fresco]] denouncing Catiline and exposing his conspiracy before the Senate. When conspirators within the city were later arrested, Cicero referred their fate to the Senate, triggering a debate in which Caesar as praetor-elect participated.]]

During his year as praetor, Caesar first attempted to deprive his enemy Catulus of the honour of completing the rebuilt [[Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus]], accusing him of embezzling funds, and threatening to bring legislation to reassign it to Pompey. This proposal was quickly dropped amid near-universal opposition.{{sfn|Morstein-Marx|2021|p=102}} He then supported the attempt by plebeian tribune [[Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos (consul 57 BC)|Metellus Nepos]] to transfer the command against Catiline from the consul of 63, Gaius Antonius Hybrida, to Pompey. After a violent meeting of the [[comitia tributa]] in the forum, where Metellus came into fisticuffs with his tribunician colleagues Cato and [[Quintus Minucius Thermus (governor of Asia)|Quintus Minucius Thermus]],{{sfn|Morstein-Marx|2021|pp=102–04}} the Senate passed a decree against Metellus – Suetonius claims that both Nepos and Caesar were deposed from their magistracies; this would have been a constitutional impossibility<ref>{{harvnb|Morstein-Marx|2021|p=107|ps=, citing {{harnvb|Suet. ''Iul.''|loc=16}}.}} Dio reports a [[senatus consultum ultimum]]. {{harvnb|Broughton|1952|p=173|ps=, citing {{harvnb|Dio|loc=37.41}}.}}</ref> – which led Caesar to distance himself from the proposals: hopes for a provincial command and need to repair relations with the aristocracy took priority.{{sfn|Morstein-Marx|2021|p=109}} He also was engaged in the [[Bona Dea]] affair, where [[Publius Clodius Pulcher]] sneaked into Caesar's house sacrilegiously during a female religious observance; Caesar avoided any part of the affair by divorcing his wife immediately – claiming that his wife needed to be "above suspicion"{{sfn|Plut. ''Caes.''|loc=10.9}} – but there is no indication that Caesar supported Clodius in any way.<ref>{{harvnb|Morstein-Marx|2021|p=110|ps=, adding in notes that the affair is usually interpreted as an attempt to destroy Clodius' career and that Caesar may have been a secondary target due to expectations that he would reject political pressure for a divorce.}}</ref>

[[File:Cato Volubilis bronze bust.jpg|thumb|Bronze bust of Cato, Caesar's principal opponent in the Catilinarian debate and also a personal enemy. Cato may have been responsible for the law requiring declarations of candidacy in person within the {{lang|la|[[pomerium]]}}.{{sfn|Drogula|2019|pp=97–98}}]]

After his praetorship, Caesar was appointed to govern [[Hispania Ulterior]] ''pro consule''.<ref>{{harvnb|Broughton|1952|pp=173, 180}}. Most sources give a proconsular dignity. After the Sullan era, all magistrates were prorogued ''pro consule''. {{cite web |last1=Badian |first1=Ernst |last2=Lintott |first2=Andrew |title=pro consule, pro praetore |website=Oxford Classical Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.5337 |year=2016|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.5337 |isbn=978-0-19-938113-5 }}</ref> Deeply indebted from his campaigns for the praetorship and for the pontificate, Caesar required military victory beyond the normal provincial extortion to pay them off.{{sfn|Morstein-Marx|2021|pp=109–10}} He campaigned against the [[Callaeci]] and [[Lusitanians|Lusitani]] and seized the Callaeci capital in northwestern Spain, bringing Roman troops to the Atlantic and seizing enough plunder to pay his debts.{{sfn|Broughton|1952|p=180}} Claiming to have completed the peninsula's conquest, he made for home after having been hailed {{lang|la|[[imperator]]}}.{{sfn|Morstein-Marx|2021|pp=110–11}} When he arrived home in the summer of 60&nbsp;BC, he was then forced to choose between a triumph and election to the consulship: either he could remain outside the {{lang|la|[[pomerium]]}} (Rome's sacred boundary) awaiting a triumph or cross the boundary, giving up his command and triumph, to make a declaration of consular candidacy.{{sfn|Morstein-Marx|2021|p=111}} Attempts to waive the requirement for the declaration to be made in person were filibustered in the Senate by Caesar's enemy Cato, even though the Senate seemed to support the exception.{{sfn|Morstein-Marx|2021|pp=112–13}} Faced with the choice between a triumph and the consulship, Caesar chose the consulship.<ref>{{harvnb|Morstein-Marx|2021|p=114}}; {{harvnb|Plut. ''Caes.''|loc=13}}; {{harvnb|Suet. ''Iul.''|loc=18.2}}.</ref>