As a result of the financial burdens of his consulship in 59 BC, Julius Caesar incurred significant debts. To strengthen Rome's position among the Gauls, he had paid substantial money to Ariovistus, king of the Suebi, to cement an alliance. However, through his influence via the First Triumvirate, the political alliance which comprised Marcus Licinius Crassus, Pompey and himself, during his consulship, Caesar had secured his assignment as proconsul to two provinces, Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum, by passage of the "lex Vatinia". When the governor of Transalpine Gaul, Metellus Celer, died unexpectedly, the province was also awarded to Caesar at the suggestion of Pompey and Caesar's father-in-law, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus. In the law granting him command of the provinces, Caesar was given a five-year term as governor.