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Roman Times
All the News Romans Need to Know
March 16, 44
Rome
Biography: Julius Caesar
By James Goldstein
Julius Caesar was born in 100
BCE into a Patrician family. In 87 BCE
he was chosen as the priest of Jupiter or
the Flamen Dialis, the highest priest in
Rome. In 84 BCE he married Cornelia
his first wife. Because of his status as a
high priest, he needed to marry a
patrician, but over time he came to love
her. When a rival political faction took
over Rome, Caesar was stripped of his
status as a priest. He fled Rome and
joined the military.
his army because he was afraid he would
be prosecuted for war crimes. He defied
the order to disband his army, started a
small civil war and won. In 46 BCE he
is appointed dictator for 10 years, a
break from the Roman law and tradition
that a dictatorship should only last 6
months. And in 45BCE he coerced the
Senate into appointing him dictator for
life. In 44 BCE he is murdered on the
Ides of March by senate each one
stabbing him to share the blame.
In 69 BCE tragedy struck as
Cornelia died. In 67 BCE Caesar
married his second wife Pompeia. It was
a short marriage because 5 years later in
62 BCE he divorced Pompeia. In 60
BCE the First Triumvirate begins which
was an political alliance between Gaius
Julius Caesar, Marcus Licinius Crassus,
and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus to futher
their political goals.
In 58 BCE the Gallic Wars began. They
were wars fought between pagan Gallic
tribes and Caesar's army in the territory
north of Rome The wars were mainly
fought to raise the citizens’ political
opinion of Caesar. Much territory was
gained. In 51 BCE the Gallic War ends
and in 50 BCE Caesar was asked to
return to Rome and disband his army. In
49 BCE Caesar crossed the Rubicon, the
river that divided Rome from Gaul, with
A Sculpture of Caesar
Source Julius Caesar by Philip
Freeman