Julius Caesar addressed his mutinous soldiers as Quirites, a Roman term for citizens acting in their civilian rather than military capacity. The word was deliberately pointed: by calling them civilians instead of soldiers, Caesar implied that he accepted their demand to leave his service.
The famous episode is generally dated to 47 BC, not 49 BC. In 47 BC, veteran troops at Rome demanded discharge and the rewards they believed Caesar owed them. Caesar appeared before them despite the danger, announced that he would release them, and addressed them as Quirites. The unexpected form of address helped shame the mutineers into reaffirming their identity as soldiers.
Quirites was not simply a synonym for “soldiers.” It referred to Roman citizens in a peacetime or civic role, distinct from their status as members of an army. Caesar’s choice therefore turned an ordinary form of address into a sharp psychological tactic.
The date can be confused because Caesar also faced a mutiny at Placentia in 49 BC. The best-known Quirites episode, however, belongs to the later mutiny of 47 BC. Suetonius and other ancient writers preserve the story, with some differences in how they present the surrounding events.