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Timeline:
 July 100 B.C.- Caesar is born Gaius Julius Caesar.
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78 B.C.- Began his career as a criminal lawyer.
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62 B.C.- Caesar becomes praetor (judge)
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61-60 B.C.- Caesar is governor of the Roman province of Spain
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60 B.C.- Caesar, Pompey Magnus (Pompey the Great), and Marcus Crassus make an
agreement creating the First Triumvirate
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59 B.C.- Caesar is elected Consul with Pompey
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58-54 B.C.- Caesar conquers Gaul (Modern day France)
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54 B.C.- Caesar’s daughter and Pompey’s wife Julia dies in child birth ending the last bond
connecting Caesar and Pompey
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52 B.C.- Pompey arranges for himself to be elected as sole consul. With Crassus dead and no
other bond the split between Caesar and Pompey is complete.
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51 B.C.- Caesar is ordered by the Senate and Pompey to disband his army and return home.
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49 B.C.- Caesar crosses the Rubicon
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48 B.C.- Caesar defeats Pompey and his Senate allies in Brundisium, Greece
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47 B.C.- Caesar settles the dispute in Egypt putting Cleopatra as pharaoh, while Marc
Antony (Caesar’s second-in-command) is in Rome running the city improperly.
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46 B.C.- Caesar holds his Triumph for his victories in Gaul, Egypt, and over Pompey. He
begins his positive reforms to help the people, including many public work projects.
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44 B.C.- Caesar names himself dictator of Rome for life.
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March 15, 44 B.C.- Caesar is killed on the Ides of March, stabbed 23 times by a group of
Senators lead by Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius. The conspirators do not kill Marc
Antony making a critical error that will shape the future events.
Julius Caesar Journal Assignment
In class we have talked about Julius Caesar, possibly one of the most important figures in Roman
history. Using the timeline given in class create two journal entries as if you were Caesar. Your
journal entries should be written in a personal style, and the two journal entries should look at
two different stages of Caesars life. The journals can cover either: Caesar’s early life, his early
political life, his time fighting in Gaul, the Civil Wars, his time as dictator for life, or the day of
his death.
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Spelling and grammar count
Each journal must cover a different times period in Caesar’s life
Each journal must be written in a personal style as if you were Caesar himself
Each journal should be content heavy with accurate historical information
Each journal should be at least 3/4ths of a page long
Each journal should mention a famous name associated with Caesar (names will be provided)
Each journal should mention an event from Caesar’s life (timeline will be provided)
Famous Names Associated With Caesar
 Marcus Crassus (115-53 B.C.): A military general and a man of enormous wealth, called the
wealthiest man in Rome, he had an obsession with acquiring wealth using any selfish and
illegal way possible. He was best known for his part in ending the slave rebellion led by the
Thracian gladiator Spartacus. Crassus’ wealth makes him a good ally to the established war
hero Pompey and the up and coming Caesar forming the First Triumvirate. Unfortunately for
Crassus he fades into the background behind the two younger members dying in battle in
Parthia (came out of the break-up of Alexander’s Empire, modern day Syria, Iran, Iraq) in 53
B.C.
Marcus Crassus
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Pompey the Great (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, 106-47 B.C.): A great military general from
the lower class Pompey was a commoner who gained popularity with the people and the
army for his victories in Spain as well as against Cilician Pirate. A man who sought
recognition and power for his victories he was not ambitious enough to attack Rome. He held
the position of consul in 59 B.C. with Julius Caesar and was one of members of the First
Triumvirate. During the next 8 years while Pompey stayed in Rome Caesar gained more
popularity with the army for sharing in their hardships and the people for his victories. This
and other events cause Pompey to side with some senators calling for Caesar to disband his
army and return to Rome in 49 B.C. In 48 B.C. Pompey meets his end at the hands of former
Roman soldiers working for the Egyptian pharaoh, who killed him in order to secure the
loyalty of Caesar.
Pompey the Great
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Mark Antony (Marcus Antonius, 83-30 B.C.): A brilliant military general and second-incommand under Julius Caesar and was a close military advisor to Caesar. Antony was known
for his loose moral living, gambling, and violent nature along with his military ability. He
would serve as tribune in 49 B.C. and his firing from that office was another reason why
Caesar marched on Rome. Antony leads Rome as Caesar fights Pompey and his allies and
then settles the disputes in Egypt. An ineffective politician Antony ran Rome more like a
dictator than a democratic leader. On return of Caesar Antony takes his place as second-incommand of the city, and upon Caesar’s death is in the best position, with a legion at his call
to take the open position of Caesar. The mistake of the senators for not killing Antony with
Caesar, and the lack of Antony’s political ability lead to another civil war for the rule of
Rome.
Mark Antony
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Cicero (Marcus Tulllius Cicero, 106-43 B.C.): One of the most famous speakers, senators,
and lawyers in Roman history Cicero was a critique of Caesar’s, and later Mark Antony and
Octavian. Known for his moderate views Cicero viewed himself as the savior of the Roman
Republic always defending the republic with his words. While he was not one of the
assassins who killed Caesar, Cicero wrote and spoke in support of all of those men. He met a
violent end when Antony ordered his execution in 43 B.C., and Antony than had Cicero’s
hands nailed to the doors of the Forum.
Marcus Cicero
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Marcus Brutus (Marcus Junius Brutus, 85-42 B.C.): Brutus was from a famous Roman
family, his ancestor was a leading man in the revolt and overthrowing of the tyrant, Etruscan
king Tarquin the Proud. A man of ideals Brutus was considered to be a perfect Roman, and
to quote Mark Antony, Brutus’ eventual enemy, “This was the noblest Roman of them all”
(Mark Antony). He served in the army and as the governor of some of Gaul. He was a friend
of Caesar’s, which may have been due to Caesar’s affair with Brutus’ mother, but after the
civil war with the Senate and Pompey where Brutus sided against Caesar he was pardoned
and accepted as a friend by Caesar once again. The pressure of his family’s past and his ideal
beliefs in the Republic led Brutus to form the conspiracy group who assassinated Caesar one
the Ides of March in 44 B.C. In 42 B.C. Brutus is defeated by Octavian and Mark Antony in
Macedonia, and as a good Roman would do he commits suicide.
Marcus Brutus
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Octavian (Gaius Julius Octavius Caesar, 63 B.C.-14 A.D.): From birth Octavian had
connections to powerful people. He was the grandnephew of the soon to be up and coming
Julius Caesar, and like Caesar he possessed ambition with a calculating cruelty. Physically he
was weak and prone to sickness. He served under Caesar in 46 B.C. in Spain even though he
was delicate health wise, and in 44 B.C. at the age of 18 he was named Caesar’s son by
adoption in the will of the now assassinated dictator. The young man was thrown into the
middle of the political stage of Rome and was set to make a big impact on the stream of
events. It being Octavian’s idea that all of the conspirators must be hunted down and killed.
Octavian
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Julia (Julia Pompeius, between 83-76 B.C.-54 B.C.): Julia was the daughter of Julius Caesar,
and in 59 B.C. she was married to Pompey as a way to finish the agreement between the
three men, Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar, in the First Triumvirate. She was Pompey’s fourth
wife, and the only one he married for a political purpose. Even though that was the
motivation Pompey showed his softer side as he had a deep love for Julia. This caused
Pompey to be criticized by many of his opponents. In 54 B.C. Julia died giving birth to the
couples’ second child, who died a few days later. This event is so important because it broke
the only bond that had held Caesar and Pompey together after the death of Crassus and set
the two men on their collision course.
Julia
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Cleopatra (Cleopatra VII, 69 B.C.-30 B.C.): Cleopatra was the ruler of Egypt being placed on
the throne with the backing of Caesar, himself and continued to rule after Caesar’s death.
Known not for her beauty but for her powerful grasp of the art of seduction Cleopatra gained
Caesar’s support through these methods. She would give birth to Caesar’s son Ptolemy XIV,
or Caesarion. She would later use the same tactics with another famous Roman, Marc
Antony. Politically, she would rule Egypt effectively keeping the grain supply flowing to
Rome, which was the most important reason Rome needed stability in this area. She died at
the age of 39 by suicide in the form of a bite from an asp, which is an Egyptian cobra.
Cleopatra