Historical Facts

116

Julius Caesar is remembered today as one of the greatest conquerors the world has ever seen.

In his day, though, he had his fair share of political enemies who took advantage of a rumor to label Caesar “Queen of Bithynia.”

Rumor was that Caesar had been the secret lover of Nicomedes IV, king of Bithynia.

This would have happened around 80 BC when a young Caesar traveled there as an ambassador to raise a fleet.

While it’s impossible to determine whether the rumor was true or not, Suetonius treated it as fact.

He mentioned Caesar’s relationship with King Nicomedes as the only stain on his reputation. He also talked of several instances where it was brought up.

A certain Octavius called Pompey “king” and Caesar “queen” during an assembly, and a poem had the line “All the Gauls did Caesar vanquish, Nicomedes vanquished him.”