Titus Labienus Titus Labienus ( ca . 100 BC – March 17 , 45 BC ) was a professional Roman soldier in the late Roman Republic . He served as Tribune of the Plebs in 63 BC , and is remembered as one of Julius Caesar ' s lieutenants , mentioned frequently in the accounts of his military campaigns . He was the father of Quintus Labienus . Biography . Early career . Reasoning from the fact that his praetor ship was in 60 or 59 BC , Titus Labienus most likely was born in 99 or 98 BC . Many sources suggest that he came from the town of Cingulum in Picenum . His family was of equestrian status . He most likely had early ties with Pompey during his time as a patron for Picenum and his desire to rise in military rank . His early service was ca . 78 – 75 BC in Cilicia under Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus . Tribune of the Plebs , Trial of Gaius Rabirius . In 63 BC , Titus Labienus was a Tribune of the Plebs with close ties to Pompey . Gaius Julius Caesar was also working closely with Pompey and therefore he and Labienus occasionally cooperated . These interactions were the seed that eventually developed into a friendship between Labienus and Caesar . At Caesar ’ s instigation , Labienus accused Gaius Rabirius of high treason ( perduellio ) for the murder of the tribune Lucius Appuleius Saturninus and of his uncle Titus Labienus in 100 BC . The purpose of this trial was to discredit the so - called " final decree of the Senate " ( senatus consultum ultimum ) , an emergency measure of the senate commonly used against the Populares and the Roman assemblies . Labienus used the antiquated procedure of the duumviri , used in the early republic , against Rabirius . The procedure bypassed normal criminal law and Rabirius would be tried without defense . Since tribunes were sacrosanct , it was seen as an act against the gods to kill one . Thus punishment of the culprit was seen as more of a cleansing to appease the gods . The killing was seen as a pollution so profound that a normal criminal trial was unnecessary and immediate cleansing was necessary to avoid the wrath of the gods . The duumviri were assigned to accuse under the pretense of obvious guilt and cleanse the culprit through scourging . Rabirius appealed to the Century Assembly and Cicero spoke in his defense . However , before the assembly could vote , Metellus Celer used his powers as an augur to claim the sightings of bad omens and take down the flag in Janiculum . This postponed the trial . Rabirius was ultimately sentenced to exile , as he was unable to pay an unreasonable fine . In the same year Labienus carried a plebiscite returning the elections of the pontifices to the people . This indirectly secured for Caesar the dignity of Pontifex Maximus , by his act of supporting Labienus in this cause ( Dio Cassius xxxvii . 37 ) . Labienus was more a soldier than politician , and primarily used his office as a gateway to secure himself positions of high military command . After his term as tribune , Labienus served as Caesar ’ s legate in Gaul . Lieutenant under Caesar in Gaul . Labienus acted as Caesar ’ s second in command during his campaign in Gaul and was the only legate mentioned by name in Caesar ’ s writings about his first campaign . He was a skilled cavalry commander and could be considered a military genius , rivaling Caesar himself in tactical command . However Caesar , as " imperator " , took credit for many of the accomplishments of his subordinates , especially Labienus . Labienus commanded the winter quarters in Vesontio in 58 BC . He also had full command of the legions in Gaul during Caesar ’ s absence , as his " legatus pro praetore " . He had this privilege when Caesar was administering justice in Cisalpine Gaul as well as during Caesar ’ s second campaign in Britain ( in 54 BC ) . In 57 BC , during the Belgian campaign , in a battle against the Atrebates and Nervii near Sabis , Labienus , commanding the 9th and 10th legions , defeated the opposing Atrebates force and proceeded to take the enemy camp . From there he sent the 10th Legion against the rear of the Nervii line while they were engaged with the rest of Caesar ’ s army , single - handedly turning the tide of battle and securing Caesar the victory . Labienus is also credited with the defeat of the Treviri under Indutiomarus . Labienus spent days with his army fortified in their camp , while Indutiomarus harassed him daily in an attempt at intimidation and demoralization . Labienus waited for the right moment , when Indutiomarus and his forces were returning to their camp disorganized , to send out his cavalry through two gates . He gave them the orders to first kill Indutiomarus , then his trailing forces on their return . Labienus ’ s men were successful , and with the death of their leader , the Treviri army scattered . The Treviri forces later regrouped under relatives of Indutiomarus and moved upon Labienus , setting up camp across the river from his legions , waiting for reinforcements from the Germans . Labienus feigned a withdrawal , enticing the Treviri to cross the river , after which he turned around and had his men attack . Being in such a disadvantageous position , the Treviri forces were shattered . After hearing this , the German reinforcements turned around . Labienus ’ victory over the Parisii in Lutetia in the Battle of Agendicum is another example of his tactical genius . Sending five cohort s back towards Agedincum , and himself crossing the Sequana River with three legions , he tricked the enemy into thinking that he had divided his army and was crossing the river in three different locations . The enemy army split into thirds and pursued Labienus . The main body met Labienus which he subsequently surrounded with the rest of his legions . He then annihilated the reinforcements with his cavalry . In September , 51 BC , Caesar made Labienus governor of Cisalpine Gaul . Defection from Caesar , command under Pompey in Civil War . Before Caesar took Rome , Labienus left him in Gaul and joined Pompey . He was rapturously welcomed on the Pompeian side , bringing 3 , 700 Gallic and German cavalry with him . In the book , " Biography of Titus Labienus , Caesar ’ s Lieutenant in Gaul " , Tyrrell notes that modern historians describe Labienus ' actions as defection from Caesar , and do not hesitate to call him a “ deserter ” or “ renegade ” , possibly due to their liking for Caesar . Tyrrell recognizes that in the end Labienus can be described as a man who “ joined the legitimate government in its struggle against a revolutionary proconsul who placed his own dignitas above his country ( Tyrrell , 36 ) . Tyrrell points out , however , that " Labienus had proved on every occasion his capacity for independent command . He could easily have felt himself Caesar ’ s equal in the field . Although a praetorius since 59 or 58 , a consulship with its subsequent provincial army was not forthcoming . The consulship with Caesar , even if seriously planned , would not have altered the balance of power between them . Antonius ’ election to the augurate , the first step to the consulship , showed the direction of Caesar ’ s purposes . Caesar ’ s enemies held out a new opportunity to gain an army . Three years later he could boast that he had won the loyalty of his troops ( BAf . 19 . 3 ) . " Beyond that , we cannot go . " . Pompey made Labienus commander of the cavalry . He attempted to convince Pompey to face Caesar in Italy and not retreat to Hispania ( Iberian Peninsula , comprising modern Spain and Portugal ) to regroup , in his claims that Caesar ’ s army was thin and weakened after his campaign in Gaul . But his ill fortune under Pompey was as marked as his success had been under Caesar . From the defeat at the Battle of Pharsalus , he fled to Corcyra , and after hearing of the death of Pompey , proceeded to Africa . He created confidence in the followers of Pompey by lying to them ; he told them that Caesar had received a mortal wound at the Battle of Pharsalus . He was able by mere force of numbers to inflict a slight check upon Caesar at the Battle of Ruspina in 46 BC . By condensing his force into dense formations , he tricked Caesar into thinking he had only foot soldiers , was able to rout Caesar ’ s cavalry and surround Caesar ’ s army . He was unable to defeat Caesar ' s army , and was forced to leave the field . After the defeat at the Battle of Thapsus he joined Gnaeus Pompey the Younger in Hispania . Death came to Labienus in the Battle of Munda , an evenly matched conflict between the armies of Caesar and the sons of Pompey . King Bogud , an ally of Caesar , and his army also approached the Pompeians from the rear . Labienus was commanding the Pompeians ’ cavalry unit at the time and saw this and took the cavalry from the front lines to meet him . The Pompeian legions misinterpreted this as a retreat , became disheartened and began to break . Pompey suffered massive casualties during the rout . This defeat ended the Roman Civil War . Labienus was killed during the rout . He was buried but according to Appian ( BC2 . 105 ) , his head was brought to Caesar . Fictional accounts . Labienus is featured in " The Gods of War " , a novel by British author Conn Iggulden . He was also an important minor character in the later " Masters of Rome " novels by Australian author Colleen McCullough . In these , his first appearance is in the Trial of Rabirius , but this is placed rather later in the political year than it is usually stated as having been , orchestrated by Caesar as a reaction to Cicero ' s decision to have several Catiline conspirators executed without trial while the " Senatus Consultum Ultimum " is in force - rather than as a prior warning against such an action before the decree was even in place . He then falls on hard times because he had drawn the disfavour of Pompey for having an affair with his Picentine wife Mucia Tertia . He is portrayed latterly as a very capable but fierce and cruel soldier and commander , whose brilliance wins battles in Gaul , but whose brutality went some way towards alienating Caesar ' s Gallic allies and thus causing the battles in the first place . McCullough takes a somewhat different interpretation of the events , and has Caesar shunning Labienus , instead of Labienus defecting to Pompey . In the novels , Caesar disowns Labienus when it comes to civil war , not wanting him on his side because he is too cruel and unpredictable . Labienus was also featured in the BBC One docudrama " " .