Gaius Asinius Pollio (consul 40 BC) - Time in Hispania

Time in Hispania

When Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, Pollio was leading his forces in Hispania against Sextus Pompeius, distinguishing himself early on. He had accepted the commission reluctantly because of a personal enmity with another of Caesar's allies. Marcus Aemilus Lepidus was appointed the new governor of the province, but Pollio, while remaining loyal to Caesar's supporters, held out against him, announcing at Corduba that he would not hand over his province to anyone who did not have a commission from the Senate. A few months later his quaestor, Lucius Cornelius Balbus, absconded from Gades with the money intended to pay the soldiers, and fled to Mauretania. Pollio was then so severely defeated by Pompeius that he had to escape the battlefield in disguise.