law
Lex Iulia agraria (59 BC)
Caesar's Agrarian Law
also: lege agraria, his Agrarian Law, lex Iulia agraria
Caesar's agrarian law of 59 BC (his first consulship), which distributed public land --- primarily in Campania --- to Pompey's veterans and the urban poor. Among its provisions it explicitly ratified the civic status of Volaterrae and exempted its territory from redistribution, confirming Cicero's earlier advocacy on the town's behalf. This law is cited in Fam. 13.4 as the legal basis for Volaterrae's protection.
Reading notes
- Ad Atticum 2.1 §6 What you ask about the agrarian law
The land-distribution bill then in contention, which Caesar would carry as consul in 59 BC; in mid-60 it had "cooled down." Cicero's relations with Pompey turn on his stance toward it.
- Ad Atticum 2.3 §3 we must bravely resist the agrarian law
Caesar's land-distribution bill of 59 BC; Cicero weighs three responses (resist, keep quiet, or help) as he decides how to position himself toward the consul and his coalition.
- Ad Atticum 2.15 §1 to make a fund for agrarian distribution
Caesar's agrarian law of 59 BC needed land or money to settle Pompey's veterans and the urban poor; Cicero puzzles over where the resources could be found without provoking resistance. The answer, as the next letter reveals, was Caesar's distribution of the public land of Campania.
- Ad Atticum 2.18 §2 by the Julian laws
The agrarian legislation Caesar carried as consul in 59 BC, of which the Campanian law was the second and most contested part. "The Julian laws" here are these statutes whose terms the oath protected.
- Ad Familiares 13.4 §2 C. Caesar in his first consulship ratified this act of mine by his Agrarian Law
Caesar passed agrarian legislation in 59 BC (his first consulship) that distributed public land. Among its provisions, it explicitly exempted the territory of Volaterrae from redistribution, ratifying Cicero's earlier advocacy on the town's behalf.