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Background for Julius Caesar Julius Caesar rose to power during the period called the Late Republic, when military commanders used their troops to take control of the government. There was, however, a major difference between Caesar and the generals who preceded him (Sulla, Marius, and Pompey, for example). The difference was the improvements Caesar made in the Rome he loved. To enhance Rome physically, Caesar embarked on an extensive building and engineering program. His new, colonnaded Forum Iulium (Julian Forum) showcased spectacular buildings. They were set around a new temple dedicated to Venus Genetrix (Venus the Mother), the goddess from whom Caesar’s family claimed descent. Additionally, great public works were undertaken. Rome was a city of great urban sprawl and unimpressive brick architecture, and desperately needed a renewal. A new Rostra of marble was built, along with courthouses and marketplaces. A public library under the great scholar Marcus Terentius Varro was also under construction. The Senate house, the Curia Hostilia, which had been recently repaired, was abandoned for a new marble project to be called the Curia Julia. The city Pomerium (sacred boundary) was extended, allowing for additional growth. Caesar also had plans to construct an entire public library system and a new canal near Rome to improve transportation. To ensure that Rome would become a center of learning, Caesar conferred privileges to all teachers of the liberal arts. Although he was unable to complete these projects, they set the stage for the glorious building program of Caesar’s successor, Augustus. Bolstering the morale of the people was an important aspect of Caesar’s improvements. After decades of Rome’s physical destruction during the civil wars, citizens could now see their city rebuilt and take pride in its beautification. Caesar also made them feel a part of what was happening, because he had Senate and court proceedings published daily. Determined to help Rome’s economic conditions, Caesar initiated several reforms. He reduced the amount of debt people owed. He also settled his troops on land throughout Italy instead of burdening Rome with a larger population. He even sent 80,000 of Rome’s poor and unemployed to establish colonies throughout the provinces. The modern Spanish cities of Seville, Tarragona, and Cartagena are three of the forty colonies established under Caesar’s plan. He ordered cities like Carthage and Corinth to be rebuilt and founded new towns, such as Arles and Seville. In Asia Minor and Sicily, he introduced a new system of taxation, which protected the subjects from extortion. Caesar was the first Roman leader to address the feeling of dissatisfaction among the Roman people so extensively. His resettlement helped to relieve Rome of many discontented poor. Under revised rules, ex-slaves could hold office in the colonies. The new settlers — many former welfare recipients — saw hope for a better future. Such programs also resulted in a reduction in the grain handed out to impoverished people. In fact, under Caesar’s settlement plan, the grain dole was cut by more than 50 percent. To make these changes official and permanent, Caesar needed political support. To achieve this, he increased the number of senators from 600 to 900, adding people who were not politicians—bankers and farmers, for example—to the senatorial rank. Not only did this policy offer Roman citizens the prospect of advancement, but it also created a broader-based Senate, one that was more responsive to the needs of the people. He also increased the number important government officials – praetores from ten to twelve, aediles from four to six, and quaestores from twenty to forty. The last measure granted some justice in provincial taxation, but did not establish a serious professional bureaucracy as yet. As part of Caesar’s reform agenda he also took on various social ills. He passed a law that prohibited citizens between the ages of 20 and 40 from leaving Italy for more than three years, unless on military assignment. Theoretically, this would help preserve the continued operation of local farms and businesses, and prevent corruption abroad. If a member of the social elite did harm, or killed a member of the lower class, then all the wealth of the perpetrator was to be confiscated. Caesar demonstrated that he still had the best interest of the state at heart, even if he believed that he was the only person capable of running it. In 63 BC Caesar had been elected Pontifex Maximus, and one of his roles as such was settling the calendar. A complete overhaul of the old Roman calendar proved to be one of his most long lasting and influential reforms. In 46 BC, Caesar established a 365-day year with a leap year every fourth year (this Julian Calendar was subsequently modified by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 into the modern Gregorian calendar). As a result of this reform, a certain Roman year (mostly equivalent to 46 BC in the modern Calendar) was made 445 days long, to bring the calendar into line with the seasons. Nine veteran legions were finally disbanded in 45BCE. The soldiers who had been with since the war in Gaul were paid an additional silver talent (21 kg or the equivalent of 26 year's pay). Several legions were constituted as a partial substitute. These moves reduced the potential for civil wars in the future. Debts were a serious problem, because interest had been sky-high during the Civil War. Caesar disappointed radical reformers (like Marcus Caelius Rufus) who had expected a total cancellation. Caesar decreed, however, that the debtors should satisfy their creditors according to a valuation of their possessions at the price which they had paid for them before the civil war, deducting whatever interest already had been paid. This arrangement wiped out about a fourth part of the debts. As a legislator, Caesar prepared standard regulations for the municipal constitutions and proposed a law against extravagance. The Jews – who had helped him during the Egyptian campaign – were protected. He even planned a codification of all existent Civil Law (a project not executed until 438 CE). Caesar's most important policy was his lavish granting of citizenship: those who were subjected by the Romans could receive a set of extra civil rights and a small share in the benefits of empire. During the Social War, the Italian allies had received this Roman Citizenship from Caesar's uncle; Caesar extended the privilege first to the Gauls along the Po, and – later – to some Gauls that he had subdued. The inhabitants of many individual towns received the privilege too. To the dismay of the old aristocracy, Caesar even started to recruit new senators from outside Italy. Today, Caesar’s best-known project is his revision of the calendar, but many of his endeavors paved the way for future changes. Even though he died before all his reforms were implemented, his plans clearly showed concern for the common citizen. In addition, his was a vision created and directed by one man. This set an inspiring precedent for Augustus and the emperors who ruled the Roman world for the next 1,500 years.