Negotiation as a tool for legitimacy in the Roman civil war of 49-48 BCE: 'A new policy for achieving victory' (Cic . Att . 9.7C.1)

In a letter to friends in March 49 BCE, Caesar wrote of his ‘new policy of conquering’ through which he would achieve victory through reconciliation, compassion and generosity. This chapter examines the role Caesar’s ‘policy’ assigns to the art of diplomatic negotiation and how this in turn was used to legitimise an individual’s position within an ideological framework of crudelitas and clementia. The significance of letter-writing as a tool for diplomatic communication in the unstable political landscape of the early 40s – due to the physical and social distances experienced – was something Caesar understood well and manipulated to his advantage. Even when physical distances were closed, the affirmation or rejection of social interactions were means through which to legitimise oneself diplomatically and this chapter examines the social mechanisms of interpersonal relations and amicitia (friendship), through which space for diplomacy in civil war were constructed.