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CAESAR
Gaius Julius Caesar was an extremely powerful politician and a brilliant
general. He also gained the respect as a good leader and was appointed
dictator of Rome. Caesar helped Rome and the present day world become
what it is today by his great leadership qualities.
Caesar was born on July 13, 100 BC. Legend has it that Caesar was born
threw an incision in his mothers stomach, that is how the term Caesarean
Section originated (Isenberg, pg 11). Caesars father was also named Gaius
Julius Caesar as was his father. Caesar mother name was Aurelia which was
connected with the prominent Aurelii family (Ward, pg 1). Caesar had three
names because he was the eldest son. His personal name is Gaius, his second
name is the name of his family's clan (Julius), and his third name is the
family name (Caesar), which means "hairy."
Caesar was introduced into politics at a very young age. Almost
everyone in Caesars family had a position in the senate or held a political
office. When Caesar was twelve, he went to the Curia which is the Senate
House to listen to speeches and debates and watch the statesmen at work.
Caesar was also often found at the Regia which is the offices of the High
Priest because his uncle, Cuius Cotta held an important position in the
College of Priests.
Caesar learned a lot from his uncle, Gaius Marius (Grant, pg 34).
Marius
was involved in politics at a very young age, just as Caesar was. It was very
difficult being a young man involved in a career that mostly adults were in
charge of, but Marius won the loyalty of the common people and was
elected
into consul in 108 BC. Marius was also a brilliant general who won a lot of
battles for Rome and its people.
Caesar was also in the military and held a rank as general. Caesar led his
troops to many battles and was rarely defeated. During this time, his military
was one of the strongest in all of Europe. Caesar learned a lot of his military
strategies from his uncle, Marius who was probably one of the greatest
military leaders to ever live.
Caesars political success had a lot to do with getting on the common
peoples side and helping to meet their needs. By doing this, people gladly
elected him into higher positions. Caesar was also a strong supporter of the
military and wanted to keep it as strong as it could be. While in the military,
Caesar was an aedile which is a person in charge of games. When he was
doing this, he went into debt. In 61 BC., Caesar became governor of Further
Spain. While in Spain, his military action restored his finances. In 60 BC.,
Caesar was elected to the consulate with the support of Crassus and Pompey.
Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey formed the first Triumvirate which is a form
of
government. After forming the Triumvirate, Caesar obtained a reduction of
the Asian tax contracts for Crassus, land for Pompeys veterans, and Caesar
received the governorships of Illyricum, Cisalpine Gaul, and Transalpine
Gaul. Caesar was also given control of a large army, which he used to take
over Gaul. He gained a lot of strength from the Gallic Wars, which lasted
from 58 to 51 BC.
Caesar had a couple of wives. His first was Pompeia who he married in
68 BC. Pompeia was the granddaughter of Sulla and a relative of Pompey.
After 6 years, Caesar divorced Pompeia after assuming she was with another
man. Caesars next wife was Calpurnia, who he married in 58 BC. Caesar
had
one child, Julia and another adopted son, Octavian, who later takes over
Rome.
In 59 BC., Julia married Pompey. Strain encouraged by Crassus,
developed between Caesar and Pompey. The "Triumvirate" was renegotiated
in 56 BC., but the death of Julia in 54 BC. and Crassus in 53 BC. and the
great success of Caesar in Gaul eventually destroyed Caesars relationship
with Pompey. On January 10, 49 BC., Caesar crossed the Italy border which
started civil war. Caesars stronger army defeated Pompeys army and forced
Pompey to withdraw to Greece.
In 49 BC., Caesar was appointed dictator of Rome and in 44 BC. he was
appointed dictator for life. While dictator, Caesar introduced many reforms,
such as limiting the distribution of free grain, founding citizen colonies,
introducing the Julian calendar on January 1, 45 BC., and enlarging the
senate. And at the same time he reduced debts, revised the tax structure, and
extended Roman citizenship to non-Italians. On March 15, 44 BC., two of
Caesars partners, Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus stabbed
Caesar to death at a meeting of the senate in Pompeys theater. After Caesars
death, his adopted son Octavian took his place as dictator. Besides being a
great leader, he was also an accomplished orator and writer. His two
surviving works On the Gallic War and On the Civil War introduced
personal
war commentaries into our literature.
To sum things up, Gaius Julius Caesar was a powerful leader in our
history. Caesar struggled to make Rome a good place and he did a fine job at
doing it. Julius Caesar will always be remembered as not just a man, but as a
great leader.