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Julius Caesar
Caesar was a politician and general of the late Roman
republic, who greatly extended the Roman empire before
seizing power and making himself dictator of Rome, paving
the way for the imperial system.
Julius Caesar was born in Rome on 12 or 13 July 100 BC
into the prestigious Julian clan. Caesar himself progressed
within the Roman political system. In 61-60 BC he served
as governor of the Roman province of Spain. Back in Rome
in 60, Caesar made a pact with Pompey and Crassus, two
other high ranking Roman Military leaders, who helped
him to get elected as consul for 59 BC. The following year
he was appointed governor of Roman Gaul where he
stayed for eight years, adding the whole of modern France
and Belgium to the Roman empire, and making Rome safe
from the possibility of invasions.
Caesar then returned to Italy, disregarding the authority of the senate and famously crossing the Rubicon river
without disbanding his army. In the ensuing civil war Caesar defeated the republican forces. Pompey, their
leader, fled to Egypt where he was assassinated. Caesar followed him and became romantically involved with
the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra.
Caesar was now master of Rome and made himself consul and dictator. He used his power to carry out muchneeded reform, relieving debt, enlarging the senate, building the Forum and revising the calendar. Dictatorship
was always regarded a temporary position but in 44 BC, Caesar took it for life. His success and ambition angered
republican senators. A group of these, led by Cassius and Brutus, assassinated Caesar on the Ides (15) of March
44 BC. This sparked the final round of civil wars that ended the Republic and brought about the elevation of
Caesar's great nephew and designated heir, Octavian, as Augustus, the first emperor.
Julius Caesar is the most well known person in the Roman Empire. Through history, his name is mentioned many
times in scriptures, plays, artistic representations and fables. His life left a legacy that is both very interesting
and extremely well-known. Julius Caesar revolutionized Rome with his Political, Social and Economic changes.
When people hear the word Caesar, they really do not know whom they are talking about. There have been
many Caesar's in history and in the late empire the term was used to address the emperor in general. Julius,
however is probably the most well known of all of the Caesar family. With all famous people, they usually have
some sort of revolutionary method of coming into power. Julius broke long standing laws in Rome by bringing
his entire army into the city. Before this, no army had ever set foot inside the city of Rome itself. Because of this,
he became the "Aggressor". There is a saying, when somebody crosses the line that they "Crossed the Rubicon".
This was derived from Caesar's army crossing the Rubicon river and henceforth people recognized Caesar as
crossing the line.
In ancient Rome, dictators could be named in times of war, for generally no longer than it takes to solve the
conflict at hand. Caesar was given dictator powers for life. This was the first time that this happened in the
history of Rome. This gave him ultimate control over the affairs of the republic. Caesar was now the first
dictator.
Because he was given this amount of power, many people, especially the senate became enraged. The senate
foresaw that Caesar would try to become supreme ruler of Rome. They hoped that his rival, Pompey would
defeat him.
Even though Caesar had control of Rome, things were far from under control. Many thought that Pompey was
superior to Caesar. This would cause a long lasting rivalry between the two. Over the next few years Caesar
would try to gain the trust of the senate. His ultimate goal was to be named King of rome, and essentially he
was. He just did not officially have the title.
The senate sensed that Caesar wanted control of the Empire, and they knew that something had to be done. A
group of people led by Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus . On March 15th 44 BCE, Julius Caesar was
stabbed 35 times at the foot of the statue of his rival, Pompey.
Even though he is dead, his legacy still followed him. In the 40's, he had taken veterans and re-located them to
southern Italy. These people formed colonies and formed modern day Sicily. Roman citizenship was limited to
people inside the city itself, but it was Caesar who expanded the rights of citizenship to people outside the city.
After his death it was clear that his legacy would move on. His rise to power had been traumatic enough for the
population of Rome and now that he was dead, the fear that a power struggle would take place captivated many
Roman citizens. After his death years of turmoil and wars lay ahead.
Julius Caesar, even though through history he was thought to be a brutal man, he had stabilized the state of the
empire. His changes revolutionized the political system and the social system of the empire. He brought an army
into Rome, was given the power of dictator for life and was looking for the title of king.