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In 51 BCE, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Rome’s greatest orator and one of its leading intellectuals, was reluctant to travel east to assume the office of governor of Cilicia. For a man whose entire life revolved around the political intrigues of the Roman Forum, a year’s administration of a remote province in Asia Minor was tantamount to exile. He wanted to participate actively in the political life of the capital and had successfully avoided any governorship in previous years. This time, he couldn’t refuse.
Cicero’s appointment was a consequence of Pompey’s law, which, in order to combat corruption, introduced a five-year gap between holding office in Rome and assuming the governorship. This created a personnel gap, which the Senate decided to fill by drawing lots for provinces among former consuls and praetors who had not previously held such positions. Cicero, as a former consul and praetor, was caught in this legal trap. Refusal would have been an act of insubordination and the end of his career, so he was forced to take up a new office, which he considered political marginalization. He accepted the appointment, constantly expressing hope that the governorship would not last longer than necessary – the law stipulated that it would end after a year, but for various reasons, such as wars, it could be extended longer, as determined by the Senate.
Today, thanks to the surviving letters he sent to his friends in Rome, we have a unique insight into Roman administration in territories far from the Eternal City itself and throughout Italy. Cicero, on the other hand, was provided with a testing ground where he could practically apply his ideals of just rule, proving that his sense of duty and integrity outweighed his personal ambitions.
Between Freedom and Duty
Cicero took over a province devastated by years of predatory exploitation by his predecessors. For many reasons, including information exchange that was incomparably more complex than today, provincial governors had wide latitude, and the Senate was unable to effectively investigate wrongdoings and enforce penalties against its own officials. As one might imagine, this created room for abuse, corruption, and exploitation, which many governors readily exploited. One might mention the infamous governorship of Gaius Verres in Sicily, who became known for his exceptional oppression of the local population – looting works of art, seizing grain reserves, bribery, and issuing biased verdicts – the list is long. Verres’ case led to a well-publicized trial, in which, at the request of the Sicilians, Cicero was appointed the chief prosecutor. The senator and then-sought-after lawyer boldly criticized the administration’s actions and argued in court how a governor should govern the region entrusted to him on behalf of Rome. Less than twenty years later, Marcus Tullius himself took over the administration of another province – Cilicia.
Cicero’s immediate predecessor in Cilicia was Appius Claudius Pulcher, whose reign left behind economic devastation – massive city debts and widespread poverty. In contrast to this practice, Cicero, from the outset, announced his edict of governorship, a manifesto of honesty and moderation. His program rested on three pillars. First, he drastically limited the ability of his staff to enrich themselves and their own expenses, abolishing many burdensome duties for local communities related to maintaining Roman administration. Second, he curbed the arbitrariness of the publicans – tax-holders who ruthlessly plundered the provinces. At that time, tax collectors themselves determined the amount of taxes collected. They were required to pay the established minimum to the state treasury, while any surplus went to the collectors’ pockets. Here, too, governors, through cooperation with the publicans, could achieve tangible profits. Cicero, on the other hand, although he could not abolish the system, attempted to negotiate fairer terms and protect the population from their abuses.
A Test of Integrity: The Judiciary
The most important element of his reign was judicial reform. Cicero personally presided over the courts, ensuring swift and, most importantly, impartial access to justice. His doors were open to everyone, and he earned a reputation as an incorruptible governor. As he himself wrote, he found the province on the verge of bankruptcy, and thanks to his actions, within a few months, cities began to repay their debts, and the provincial treasury saw a surplus for the first time in years.
The most famous episode that tested Cicero’s principles was the case of a loan granted to the city of Salamis in Cyprus (part of the province of Cilicia) by Marcus Junius Brutus, one of the most influential politicians in Rome. Brutus, later known as Caesar’s assassin, demanded repayment of the debt through his agent, Captius, at a usurious interest rate of up to forty-eight percent. Captius concealed the identity of the creditor from Cicero, using only a letter of recommendation from Brutus. Furthermore, he demanded that the governor use the Roman legions to collect the debt, which was clearly illegal. For Cicero, this was a no-win situation: pressure from his powerful friend in the capital on the one hand, and his own principles on the other.
Cicero refused. He refused to use the army and, in his edict, set the maximum interest rate at the legally stipulated twelve percent. He proposed a settlement that would allow for the debt to be repaid on fair terms, but his attitude infuriated Brutus. Furthermore, during the negotiations, it emerged that the money belonged to Brutus himself, further exposing Cicero to political consequences upon his return to the capital. Despite this, the governor persisted, proving that the ideal of just administration was more than just a slogan from his philosophical treatises. However, he was unable to force Captius to accept the debt at a lower interest rate, and the matter remained unresolved until the end of his governorship. Ultimately, it was only under the next consul and governorship that Brutus unfortunately recovered his debts with full interest.
Unexpected Military Success and a Longing for Triumph
Despite his pacifist attitude, which was rare in Rome, as the army was a relatively easy path to social advancement, Cicero also had to contend with military responsibilities. The eastern border was threatened by the Parthians, who had recently inflicted a crushing defeat on the Romans at Carrhae. Cicero, though not a military man, felt obliged to reorganize the army in the region and prepare the province for defense. This tempered the enemy’s inclinations, and that year resulted in only a few minor skirmishes. Once the immediate Parthian threat had passed, he led his two legions into the Amanus Mountains to quell the uprising of the local tribes that had been plaguing Cilicia for years. His campaign was a complete success – he captured the fortress of Pindenissum, and his grateful soldiers hailed him as Emperor. This formal victory, although Cicero himself admitted he had defeated a minor opponent, entitled him to the highest military distinction – a triumph in Rome. Somewhat ironically, this orator and philosopher, who disdained a military career, spent many months after returning to Rome seeking this honor. He had every right to do so, however. Ultimately, it was the poor population of the province that suffered the greatest damage from the rebellious tribes, and Cicero effectively demonstrated that Rome, if only committed, could provide them with effective protection.
Cicero’s reign in Cilicia, though it lasted only the legally mandated year, constitutes a unique chapter in the history of Roman administration. It was a short but incredibly intense period, during which one man resolved to govern the province not as a prize, but as an integral part of the Republic, to which justice and protection were due. Although his heart and mind were always in Rome and he devoted much attention to events in the capital, his actions in distant Cilicia demonstrated that he was not only a great theoretician of the state but also a committed and upright statesman. However, a truly ambiguous figure, he never spent a moment longer in the province entrusted to him. After twelve months, he set off back to the capital, leaving Cilicia, until the arrival of a new governor, under the management of an inexperienced quaestor who had accompanied Cicero since the beginning of his stay in the region. Although he did so with some reluctance, and with a sense of duty well done, he nevertheless turned his attention to what he considered more important matters taking place in Rome.
