They were faced by an alliance of the three most powerful men in Rome. The point was emphasized when Caesar asked for Pompey’s support against those who opposed the bill, and the latter replied: “If anyone dares to draw a sword, I shall take up my shield as well.” (He emphasized that he meant what he said by summoning his veterans to Rome.) The velvet glove which Caesar had earlier displayed had been discarded. When it was suggested to Bibulus by the other Optimates that he should exercise his veto against his consular colleague he and Cato were attacked outside the temple of Castor by a crowd of people with armed men among them and forced to retreat to the safety of their homes. It was this open violence toward the senate which made it clear to all that the old days were indeed over. The rule of the three men—the First Triumvirate—had been established.

After this display of violence, Caesar put the bill to the people and it was immediately carried. A special clause laid down that within a given period all the senators had to take an oath to abide by it—thus preventing any further delaying tactics. All opposition was silenced and, although Cato and one or two others were still prepared to protest, it was pointed out to them by their friends and relatives that it would be not only political, but actual suicide to do so. Cicero indeed, who had prudently withdrawn to the country during this time of upheaval, wrote to Cato that “it would be foolish and indeed mad, to refuse to accept the accomplished fact.”

The hatred against Caesar was now manifest among all his opponents, for they had no doubt that it was his hand that lay behind not only the agrarian bill but also the violence with which leading members of the senate had been openly threatened. From this moment date nearly all the scurrilous attacks upon his private life and—if one doubts that he ever passed through a homosexual phase in his youth—it is clear that this was the worst that his enemies could impute against him. Bibulus, who now hated Caesar as much as anyone, after only four months of his term of office, now withdrew into his house for the rest of his consulship and became responsible for the widely-circulated and bitter jibe: “Pompey is king of Rome, and Caesar is his queen.”

It mattered little what was said. The fact remained that the senate had been powerless in the face of the triumvirate. Caesar’s dextrous handling of the situation—however sordid—was politically brilliant. He had right on his side, for the agrarian laws had long needed changing, and he had the people’s support for his actions. Pompey was satisfied, as were his veterans, and Pompey’s disposition of affairs in the East was now also ratified.

It remained to secure the concessions for the tax-farmers that Crassus had wanted and—despite fierce opposition from Cato—this was again achieved by taking the matter to the people. In the first six months of his consulship Caesar had succeeded in welding the triumvirate into an unbreakable chain against which the senate was powerless. He had also very naturally promoted his own interests, for he had endeared himself to the soldiers by his agrarian bill and, by his concessions to the tax-farmers, secured the approval of the knightly order (as well as almost certainly making money for himself). He now proceeded to extend the alliance by marrying Calpurnia, the daughter of a certain Piso. He was a friend of Clodius, had been involved in the Catiline conspiracy, and has been described as “an unprincipled debauchee and a cruel and corrupt magistrate.” Certainly he had considerable wealth and was to amass even more during a governship of Macedonia in which he plundered the province even beyond the limits that were normally considered tolerable in Rome.

Calpurnia was to be Caesar’s last wife and, although he continued as openly unfaithful to her as to his previous wives, she seems to have genuinely cared for him: he remained irresistible to women. At almost the same time another marriage also took place—one that again was of the greatest advantage to Caesar. The forty-seven-year-old Pompey married Caesar’s seventeen-year-old daughter, Julia, thus binding these two members of the triumvirate even closer together. Despite the considerable age difference, this too seems to have been a happy marriage. Indeed from now on the influence of Crassus, although only very slowly, seems to decline. Pompey had the money and power, Caesar’s finances had improved through his own manipulations and by marriage, while Crassus could in no way match Caesar in political ability.

Further violence ensued when the agrarian law was extended to include Campania, but yet again there was little or nothing that those opposed to the triumvirate could do since Caesar had the backing of the people while the other consul, Bibulus, had more or less abandoned his duties. Meanwhile the triumvirs had their eyes on Egypt, particularly Caesar because of his previous interest and Pompey because he regarded the whole East as very much his concern. Earlier, the annexation of the kingdom had been urged on the grounds of the reported will of the late Ptolemy. The reigning king, Ptolemy Auletes, father of the famous Cleopatra, was eager enough to retain control of his wealthy kingdom but he found that the Romans demanded an enormous price for their support. Yet he needed official recognition and support from Rome to shore up his very shaky hold upon the throne. Caesar, as consul, was the man to secure this, and he spoke on the King’s behalf before both senate and people urging an official confirmation of the royal title as well as an alliance of the republic with Egypt. The confirmation of Ptolemy’s title meant little to the Romans, but all could see that to guarantee the King’s position by an alliance was halfway to laying their hands on his country. The innocent (and one sometimes wonders how many there can have been in that city) might even see Caesar and Pompey as benefactors of Rome—as indeed they were.