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Gaius Julius
Caesar
CAESAR HAD MORE THAN A MERE NAME AND MILITARY
REPUTATION: HIS ENERGY COULD NEVER REST AND HIS ONE
DISGRACE WAS TO CONQUER WITHOUT WAR. HE WAS ALERT AND
HEADSTRONG; HIS ARMS ANSWERED EVERY SUMMONS OF
AMBITION OR RESENTMENT; HE NEVER SHRANK FROM USING THE
SWORD LIGHTLY; HE FOLLOWED UP EACH SUCCESS AND
SNATCHED AT THE FAVOR OF FORTUNE, OVERTHROWING EVERY
OBSTACLE ON HIS PATH TO SUPREME POWER, AND REJOICING TO
CLEAR THE WAY BEFORE HIM BY DESTRUCTION. --LUCAN, BELLUM
CIVILE I, 143-150
The Early Years

Born to a not-so-well-off patrician
family in 100 BC in a plebeian
neighborhood of Rome.

After a civil war, Caesar was left
penniless and almost lost his life
while still a teenager. (kidnaped by
pirates)
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He joined the army at age 18 and
served for four years.
The (Legal) Rungs of Power

Was elected a Senator at age 30.
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At age 34 he was put in charge of
public entertainments. He spent
lavishly, and won great popularity.

Was elected Pontifex Maximus, head of
the principal college of priests, at age
36. This post was for life, and brought
power, wealth, and prestige (plus a big
house in the Forum!)

At age 39, then became military
governor in Spain, where he earned his
reputation as a general.

Was elected Consul, the highest office
in Rome, at age 41.
The First Triumvirate
Wealth, popularity, military
commands are all creating
new and great opportunities
for personal power.
 Marcus Licinius Crassus: the
Richest man in Rome
 Cnaeus Pompeius Magnus
(AKA Pompey): the most
successful General of the time
 Caesar: up-and-coming,
popular, and Consul

Gaul
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After his Consulship, Caesar makes sure he’s appointed
governor of Illyricum, Italian Gaul, and then Gaul-acrossthe-Alps.
This gives him the opportunity to command troops again,
and to conquer territory.
This also gives him the opportunity for great wealth.
Through his
Commentaries of the
war, published back in
Rome, he gains even
greater celebrity.
•
Risking All

Crassus dies in battle in Parthia.

The Senate convinces Pompey to oppose
Caesar rather than work with him.

Caesar, after eight years in Gaul, is
ordered to surrender his armies and return
to Rome (to stand trial!).

Caesar invades Italy with his Legions.
Alea iacta est! The die is cast.--Caesar, crossing the
Rubicon into Italy with his army. (Suetonius, Life of
Caesar)
Civil War--Again!

Pompey and the leading Senators flee to
Greece to ready their army.

Caesar easily takes Italy, Rome, and
Spain.

Outnumbered two to one, he faces
Pompey in Greece, and crushes him.

Pompey flees to Egypt.
Caesar’s Coins


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Caesar was the first
Roman to have his
face put on a coin
while he was still alive
The Romans believed
only ancestors and
gods could be
pictured
Caesar was equating
himself with gods and
Eastern kings
Ego sum Caesar

He has himself appointed Dictator-forLife. Caesar now rules alone, using
friends, freedmen, and slaves to govern-ignoring the Senate. Was Caesar a
KING?

Starts wearing an all-purple toga: the
garment of a triumphal general
representing the god Jupiter. Was
Caesar a GOD?
CLEOPATRA
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Became Queen of
Egypt at the age of 17
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Joint Ruler of Egypt with
her brother Ptolomy XII

Egyptian custom meant
that she had to marry
him

Ptolomy was aged 12
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He died aged 18
Ptolomy
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Ptolomy and Cleopatra did
not get along.
Ptolomy’s advisors drove
Cleopatra out into the
desert so Ptolomy XIII could
rule alone.
Pompey fled to Egypt after
being defeated by Julius
Caesar
Ptolomy had Pompey
beheaded and presented
his head to Julius Casar
Ptolomy’s Mistake



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This was a big
miscalculation – Pompey
was still Consul of Rome
and Julius Caesar’s son-inlaw
Julius Caesar demanded
that Pompey’s assassins
be handed over to him
Ptolomy refused
Julius Caesar fought
against Ptolomy’s army.
Ptolomy, weighted by his
armor of gold, drowned in
the River Nile
Cleopatra’s third brother
Ptolomy XIV becomes joint
ruler
Julius and Cleopatra

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Julius Caesar had
Cleopatra restored to
the throne of Egypt
Cleopatra became
Caesar’s mistress
Cleopatra’s son
Caesarean was
probably Caesar’s son
She and Caesarean
lived in Rome with
Julius.
Caesar refused to
recognize Caesarean
as his heir
The Ides of March

A group of over fifty Senators decide that
enough is enough--they are not ready to
relinquish power and control of Rome to one
man.
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They conspire to murder Caesar on March 15, 44
BCE.

They invite him to be crowned and declared
King of Rome. He arrives to find 50 Senators with
knives hidden in their togas. They promptly
stabbed him to death.

This coin, issued by Brutus,
commemorates Caesar’s assassination.
Brutus had hoped he and the other
conspirators would be seen as heroes
liberating the Republic from a tyrant.
The Aftermath

Caesar’s body is cremated in a massive
public demonstration in the Forum. A
temple is built to Divine Julius in that spot.
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The conspirators are forced to flee.

Civil war again breaks out, with Caesar’s
right-hand-man, Marc Antony, and his
heir, Octavian, conquering the armies of
Brutus, Cassius, and the Senators.
Caesar’s Lasting Impact

Caesar provided a blueprint for rising to
absolute power in Rome--a blueprint both
Octavian and Antony followed.

His name became one of the titles for the
Roman emperors. The more modern
“Czar” and “Kaiser” derive from his name
too.

Caesar began the practice of granting
Roman citizenship to conquered peoples.
This helped to prolong the expansion and
maintenance of the Roman Empire.
Caesar’s Lasting Impact
 His
Commentaries are one of the
great pieces of Latin literature.
 He
inspired one of Shakespeare’s
most celebrated plays.
 His
reform of the calendar has been
changed very little over the past
two millenia.
 The
month July is named for him.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=YDbEGeK-wvc
Caesar Quiz

What year was Caesar born?

What terrible event did he experience as a young
man?

At what age did he join the army?
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At the age of _____ he became a Senator.
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By the age of 41 Caesar was elected __________
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The 1st Triumvirate was Caesar, P_____________
and C______________.
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Why is Caesar called back to Rome by the
Senate?
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What is Caesars answer to this call to Rome?

As Caesar gains great power he begins to think of
himself as a _______________
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P_________________ flees to Egypt after being
defeat by Caesar, Ptolomy removes his__________
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Ceasar attacks ________________and falls in love
with ___________________ and returns her to the
Throne of ________________.

March 15, 44 BCE known as the ___________ of
March was not a good day for Ceasar! Why?