Julius Caesar, Kidnapped

In the days of Julius Caesar, pirates roamed the Mediterranean. The Roman navy didn’t bother attacking them as they were paid to provide servants for Roman senators. The slaves worked the plantations in Italy.

In 75 BC, Julius Caesar was sailing on the Aegean Sea when he was kidnapped by Cilician Pirates. Rather than acting like a captive, Caesar acted like their leader. He even demanded silence while he slept. He wrote and recited poetry, played games, and exercised with the pirates.

Eventually, the pirates demanded ransom for their prisoner. When they told Caesar they were demanding twenty silver talents, he laughed at them. Apparently, they still didn’t understand who they had kidnapped. He demanded they ask for fifty talents, to which the pirates readily agreed. After all, that would be over one million dollars in today’s money.

Caesar sent some of those with him home to collect the money. He was left with one friend and two servants to contend with his captors. It took thirty-eight days to collect the silver, which was promptly delivered to the pirates. The pirates then set Caesar free.

During his time in captivity, Caesar had promised the pirates that when freed, he would return and have them put to death. They never took this threat very seriously. Caesar was unable to get official permission to return and carry out judgment against the pirates. So he decided to try and do so himself. Caesar gathered men, readied ships, and set sail for the harbor of Miletus where their ship had laid anchor.

He captured the pirates and placed them in a prison. Then he reclaimed not only the silver but also took the pirates’ spoils for himself. True to his word, the pirates were all punished as promised.