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As thechaos unfolded on Capitol Hill last week, it quickly became apparent that wewere watching history in the making. An enraged mob, encouraged by thepresident, storming the home of American democracy and attempting to vent theirpolitical frustrations, left many aghast at the scenes unfolding on theirtelevision screens. As the dust settles on Capitol Hill, the search forhistorical precedent is already underway — with the riots marking the firsttime that the Capitol has been breachedsince the War of 1812. However, we can lookeven further into the past to see examples of violent mobs seizing control ofpolitical institutions.
The Roman Republic was no stranger to violence anddisorder, and the years before its collapse into civil war and autocracy offera stark warning for modern day democracies. In the last years of the freerepublic, Rome saw an uptick in domestic conflict and civil strife — withviolence often spilling out onto the streets.
Just as last week saw rioters descend on Washington, in52 BC Rome would also see its seat of government occupied by armed protesters,with the Roman senate building set ablaze and burnt to the ground. For thosewishing to understand the events of the past week, the burning of the Romansenate provides a valuable insight into what may happen next. The rise of Clodius
The deadly violence of 52 can be traced to the rise ofone man — Publius Clodius Pulcher. A man of noble birth, Clodius had achequered past that was plagued by indiscretion and scandal, and his reputationwould not fail to raise eyebrows among the conservative aristocrats in theRoman senate. In 58 Clodius was elected tribune, and at once looked to make aname for himself by taking on the conservative faction known as the Optimates.
As tribune Clodius supported several laws that took aimat the establishment, including a measure to prevent public business from beingobstructed by the recording of religious omens — which had previously been usedas a tool to thwart political opponents. However, the most important lawforwarded by Clodius focused on capital punishment, with the ambitiouspolitician supporting a measure to prevent Roman citizens from being put todeath without a trial.
This second measure was particularly important, as itwas aimed directly at one man in particular — Marcus Tullius Cicero. Cicero wasRome’s foremost orator and a former consul, and his conservative sentimentsmade him a perfect target for Clodius. A few years earlier, in December 63, aconspiracy was hatched by a politician named Catiline — who sought to overthrowthe government and murder the senate.
The conspiracy was unmasked in time and Cicero, who wasconsul at the time, had put supporters of Catiline to death for their role inthe plot. Whilst the affair had provided a huge boost to Cicero’s ownreputation, it offered Clodius ammunition to take down a key member of theestablishment.
To get his measure against Cicero passed, Clodiusgathered his supporters and encouraged them to take to the streets andintimidate anyone that sided with the former consul. The loyal supporters ofClodius harassed and assaulted those who stood in his way, and Cicero wasforced to flee Rome — after which he was officially exiled.
Anarchy on the streets
With Cicero’s exile, Clodius had claimed a massivescalp. After his victory, Clodius even had Cicero’s house on the Palatine Hilldestroyed — with a temple dedicated to Liberty built in its place. However, hisopponents were not about to go down without a fight.
The response was led by Pompey, one of Rome’s greatestgenerals and a highly distinguished politician, who took up the cause of Ciceroand sought his return to the city. Violence quickly flared up again, andtribunes were wounded in the Forum — with Cicero’s brother Quintus onlynarrowly surviving. It was at this point that the conservative faction in thesenate decided that they had no choice but to fight fire with fire.
The conservatives knew that they needed a counterweightto Clodius — and Titus Annius Milo provided them with the firepower that theyneeded. Milo was able to call on his own loyal following who could take to thestreets and meet the forces of Clodius head on, with Rome descending furtherinto a state of anarchy.
After some back and forth, Pompey was eventually able tocall upon the Roman people and push the mob of Clodius out of the Forum.Cicero’s recall was then put to a vote andaccording to Plutarch“it is said that thepeople never passed any vote with such unanimity”. Pompey and Milo had gainedthe upper hand, but the violence was set to continue.
In 53, the next flashpoint came. Milo announced hiscandidacy for the consulship — which only served to further rile up Clodius andhis gang. The election campaigns for that year were marred throughout byviolence and disorder, with the situation becoming so volatile that electionshad to be postponed.
Things would come to a head on 18 January 52. A strokeof luck meant that the gangs of Milo and Clodius wouldrun into each otheroutside of the city,and as to be expected, street fights again broke out. This time, however, theclash would end in tragedy for the ringleaders — with Clodius fatally stabbedduring the fracas.
The storming of the senate
As news of the incident filtered back to Rome, thesupporters of Clodius began to gather in the Forum. Tensions ran high as hisbody was brought into the city, and the scene quickly turned to chaos. The mobbegan to rip benches out of the senate house and use them as a funeral pyre fortheir leader, with the blaze quickly spiraling out of control. As the smokecleared, it became apparent that the angry mob had burnt the senate house tothe ground — leaving Rome’s seat of political power as little more than a pileof ashes.
The assault on the senate house would elicit a strongresponse from Rome’s political establishment. Asenatus consultum ultimumwaspassed by the senate to allow the perpetrators to be prosecuted — with Pompeytasked with restoring order to the city. As a hugely successful general, Pompeywas chosen for hisimperium,which would allow him to raise and command troops in the face of this violentinsurrection.
In their effort to combat the mobs, the senate wouldalso take the dramatic step of canceling elections for the year and grantingPompey an unprecedented sole consulship. Pompey would spend his year as consulprosecuting those responsible for the violence (including Milo) and restoringorder to the city.
When looking upon the relentless drama unfolding in Washingtontoday, the events of 52 serve as a warning formodern day America. Just as many viewed theviolent clashes between Clodius and Milo as a sign of the Roman Republic’sdeteriorating health, the same can be said of the armed rioters who marched onCapitol Hill last Wednesday. And if comparisons are to be made between the two,it makes grim reading for observers today.
Despite Pompey’s push to restore order, Rome would finditself embroiled in a violent civil war only a few years after the burning ofits senate house. Whilst it would be the partisans of Caesar and Pompey — andnot Clodius and Milo — who would plunge the Roman Republic into internal conflict,the escalating violence and political divisions seen during the 50s certainlyhelped to inflame the situation.
Hopefully, the United States of today isnot at such a perilous step and the politics of violence can be renounced byits political establishment. Because if the behavior seen on Capitol Hill goesunchecked, Roman history suggests that dark clouds may be on the horizon.
