Most of Roman society was indebted in 63 BCE, both noble and commoners alike. Nobles like Caesar (and Cataline) had borrowed heavily to finance political campaigns. The difference was that Caesar had succeeded in his cursus honorum and Cataline was repeatedly blocked from his efforts to be elected consul. Had Caesar not acquired the gold of Gaul it is questionable that he could have extricated himself from the reported 25 million sesterces in debt he owed to many notables as of about the mid 50s, especially Crassus. Among Cataline's suporters were veterans of Sulla's wars who had been given appropriated lands. But these guys were soldiers, not farmers, and many of them had found it rough going and so were heavily in debt to moneylenders. Although Cataline's rebellion was easily defeated, it raised to the fore the problem of the indebted in Roman society, a political issue that Caesar took up to great advantage some years later. Roman law on debt at this time was very severe; read Cicero's pro Quinctio on the humilition of being 'sold up" for debt with resulting infamia. For a patrician or other noble, infamia was political and social death. In about 48-47 BCE, after being made dictator, Caesar arranged for valuations of land at pre civil war prices to be remitted in payment of debt, and forgiveness of partial interest and rents accrued; but he avoided the radical debt forgiveness programs of other demagogues (like Cataline). He was able to give something to both debtors and creditors alike, and defuse the debt crisis that followed the civil war, circa 49-47 BCE. His measures allowed a "soft landing" to the Roman economy which had become very dependent on extensions of credit. I would argue that his laws regarding amelioration of debt were one of his greatest legacies. Some scholars surmise that he was the author of the Lex Julia de bonis cendenis, or "cessio bonorum", the ancestor to our modern bankruptcy laws. This law allowed a debtor to surrender his assets, except a minimal amount necessary for sustinence, and avoid infamia while gaining repose from further debt collection actions. Anyone interested in reading more about Caesar and the debt crisis of 49 BCE, or the place of debt in Cataline's conspiracy, is encouraged to visit my domus, and look for the article I intend to post in about a month or so called "The Insolvency Law of Ancient Rome"