/biz/ - Business & Finance

>>9185899


While Caesar was friendly with the pirates, he didn’t appreciate being held captive. He told the pirates that, after his ransom was paid, he would hunt them down and have them crucified. Once he was freed, he made good on his promise: Despite being a private citizen, Caesar managed to quickly raise a small fleet which he took back to the island where he had been held captive. Apparently the pirates hadn’t taken his threats seriously, because they were still there when he arrived. A short fight ensued which Cesar won. Whereupon he captured the pirates and took back his 50 talents of silver, along with all their possessions.

He locked the pirates up at the prison at Pergamon, and then traveled to meet the proconsul of Asia, Marcus Junius, to petition to have the pirates executed. The proconsul refused: He wanted to sell the pirates as slaves and take the spoils for himself. Undeterred, Caesar traveled back to Pergamon where the Cilician pirates were being held and ordered that they be crucified on his own authority. Before they went through that ordeal, however, Caesar showed some leniency for their time together—he cut their throats.