Julius Caesar

1563 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Julius Caesar Death

Julius Caesar was born on the thirteenth day of the month Quintilis in the year of 100 BC. His full name was Gaius Julius Caesar, the same as his father’s. Gaius was his given name and Julius was his surname. He was a strong political and military leader who changed the history of the Greco-Roman world.

This paper will answer the following questions: What happened during his early political career? How did he become a strong dictator of the Roman Empire? What events led up to the making of the first triumvirate? What happened during his reign as dictator of Rome? What events led up to his assassination?

Julius Caesar is probably the most famous leader in history. (Grant, table of dates p.1, and foreword p.xxi)When he was young, Caesar lived through one of the worst decades in the history of Rome. The city was assaulted and captured by Roman armies twice. First, in eighty-seven BC by the leaders of the populares. (Caesar’s aunt and uncle, Marius and Cinna.) Cinna was killed the year that Caesar married Cornelia.

The second attack against the city happened in eighty-two BC. Marius’ enemy Sulla, leader of the optimates, carried out the attack. On each occasion the massacre of political opponents was followed by the confiscation of their property. (Fowler, p.24)Caesar knew that his public speaking needed improvement, he therefore announced that he was leaving to study on the island of Rhodes. His professor was the famous Greek rhetorician, Apollonius Molon.

When he was off the coast of Anatolia pirates kidnapped him. They demanded a large ransom for his return. Caesar broke free from the pirates and captured a large number of them. He then returned to Rome to engage in a normal political career. (Grant, p.9-11)In the Roman political world Pompey and Crassus challenged the dominance of the optimates.

Quintus Latatius Catulus and Lucius Licinius Lucullus led the optimates. Sulla was responsible for creating their careers. Caesar married Pompeia after Cornelia’s death. Then, in sixty-five BC he was appointed aedile. The aedile was in charge of the programs of the city such as games, spectacles, and shows.

As aedile, Caesar gained claim to the leadership of the populares. (Grant, p.12)Before leaving Rome to govern Spain for a year, Caesar divorced his wife because of an allegation that she had been involved in the offense of Publis Clodius. Clodius was awaiting trial for breaking into Caesar’s home the previous December.

Show More
Related

  • How Caesar contributed to the breakdown of the Roman republic

    1119 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the Republic, the people of Rome had a major disinclination towards any sort of Royalty, which is why when Caesar attempted to lead undemocratically indefinitely, he disrupted one of the core stances that romans shared communally. Caesar over indulged in power when he retitled himself as ‘dictator in perpetuo’. “And as Caesar was coming down from Alba into the city they ventured to hail him as king. But at this the people were confounded, and Caesar, disturbed in mind, said that his name was not King, but Caesar, and seeing that his words produced an universal silence, he passed on with no very cheerful or contented looks…..But the most open and deadly hatred towards him was produced by his passion for the royal power.” Caesars egotism and self-importance made him uncherished by members of the senate. “Everybody knew that Caesar's ego would never allow him to play second fiddle to another senator, and it was equally well-known that another famous military leader, Pompey the Great, had similar ambitions. In January 49, more or less at...

    Read More

  • Harry S. Truman and Julius Caesar Research Paper

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    Julius Caesar was one of Rome’s most memorable leaders because of the wars he won and the way his life was ended. Caesar was born in 100 B.C. His mother was Aurelia Caesar who supposedly birthed him by Caesarean section. Caesar’s father was Gaius Caesar. His family had noble, patrician roots, but they were neither rich nor influential during this period. Although Caesar was only a noble he believed that he was higher than other mortals and viewed himself as a descendant of the gods. He looked very highly upon himself a...

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar Dbq

    529 Words  | 2 Pages

    Julius Caesar elected himself as the dictator of Rome. He became a favorite to many of the people of the lower classes. Unlike many leaders, Caesar valued the poor. Most people agreed with his decisions, but some of the higher classes’ did not. On March 15 44 BCE, now called the Ides of March, a few of Caesars’ closest peers decided to murder Caesar. Marcus Brutus killed Julius Caesar, on March 15.

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar, The Selfish Dictator

    1406 Words  | 3 Pages

    Julius Caesar (July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general, statesman, Consul, and author of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. On March 15 44 B.C.E, the Roman dictator Julius Caesar was murdered. There are multiple accounts of this incident, while all accounts came after the death of Caesar, the writing on the incident portray Julius Caesar to have been a selfish dictator.

    Read More

  • How Did Julius Caesar Affect Rome?

    1129 Words  | 3 Pages

    Julius Caesar, born Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus Augustus, was born into a family of patricians. In fact, he was able to trace his lineage back to Romulus, the first king of Rome (Gill, N.S.). His birth of around July 12, 100 B.C., marked a new beginning for Rome (Julius Caesar). Caesar was a talented negotiator, and that fact helped him on his rise to power. Julius Caesar began his career in politics by becoming a prosecuting advocate. In roughly 68 B.C., he was elected quaestor, which was a Roman official that was elected annually. Becoming a quaestor was needed before becoming a senator. In around 60 B.C., Caesar became a governor of the province of Spain (Gill, N.S.). His rise to power was extremely fast. In 59 B.C., an alliance with his rival Pompey allowed him to be elected a consul, which in the Roman Republic was the highest elected office. Julius Caesar’s political power was quickly rising.

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar

    877 Words  | 2 Pages

    Afterwards, Caesar’s friends came around to pay the ransom and the pirates, they released him to go and spend their money as they wish. But that didn’t mean it was over for Caesar; after the pirates ran away they were captured and put in prison for their crime at the hand of Caesar. “Caesar [then] took the pirates out of prison and...

    Read More

  • Julius Caesars Impact on Rome

    1460 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the Roman Republic, a quaestor was a public official who supervised the financial affairs of the state and conducted audits. In 65 B.C., Julius Caesar was appointed to the position of Pontifex Maximus, this was much to people's disbelief because Caesar was so young. Pontifex Maximus gave Caesar the position of high priest in the College of Pontiffs, which was the most important position in the ancient Roman church. Caesar won against two powerful senators that had greater experience and power. Despite much uproar, Caesar was chosen to be governor of Spain....

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar Death Essay

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    July 13, 100 B.C, marked a beginning of a new part in Roman history. This day marked the birth of the greatest political figure in Rome, Julius Caesar. Caesar’s rise throughout Rome’s political levels of Rome came fast and it was that many people in the Senate believed that Julius Caesar was becoming too powerful to quickly and that Caesar was becoming a threat for the Republic. Caesar

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar

    510 Words  | 2 Pages

    Julius Caesar is the leader of Rome and is seeking to become king in a matter of time. Though he is a good military strategist, he lacks knowledge in running government and is too greedy to have any concern for the peasants when he is alive. Caesar is all about conquering and power and he is afraid of nothing. Before he is murdered, he says “The things that threatened me ne’er looked but on my back. When they shall see the face of Caesar, they are vanished” (II, ii, 575). Th...

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar Biography

    1171 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 79 BC Caesar saved the life of a citizen in battle for which he was presented the civic crown (oak leaves). Caesar was sent on a mission to the embassy to Nicomedes, by his general to obtain a fleet of ships and he was successful. Caesar was known as a powerful speaker, so when the dictator Sulla died in 78, Caesar returned back to Rome and started a career as a lawyer. Caesar advanced within the Roman political system. In 69 BC, he became the financial advisor. In 65 BC, he became an assistant to the tribune. In 62 BC, he became a commander of an army. Once finished with the army, he became the Roman province of Spain’s Governor. Once Caesar completed his term as governor, he returned to Rome and was elected into consulship. A year after joining the consulship, Caesar became the Roman Gaul Governor. He held this term for eight years. While in the office of Governor, Caesar added France and Belgium to the Roman Empire making Rome safe from the possibility of Gallic invasions.

    Read More

  • Why Is Caesar Responsible For The Fall Of The Republic

    1305 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most notably, two of his generals, Antony and Lepidus, were members of the second triumvirate. Some of his assassins even rose to prominence serving under him, like Decimus Brutus . And of course, Octavian could begin his rise to power because Caesar adopted him posthumously in his will. Even though a dead man could not adopt someone, Gaius Octavius changed his name and became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, and his position as Caesar 's son was incredibly important for him in the coming civil

    Read More

  • Caesars Conquest Of Gaul

    2383 Words  | 5 Pages

    Gaius Julius Caesar, born 100 B.C.E. in Rome to the impoverished patrician Julian Clan, knew controversy at an early age. Nephew to Populare Gaius Marius, he was earmarked by the Optimate dictator Sulla for prosciption after his refusal to divorce his Populare wife, Cinna. Fleeing Rome, and not returning until after Sulla’s resignation in 78 B.C.E, upon his return he gained a position as a pontificate, an important Roman priesthood. Slowly but surely throughout his lifetime he worked his way up the political ladder, eventually becoming Consul, and finally Dictator Perpeteus – Dictator for life. One of the most influential political and military leaders of all time, Caesar was also a highly intelligent man and an exceptional orator. However, acquiring this absolute power was no mean feat, and Caesar had well equipped himself through previous expeditions with all the resources necessary to gain power in Ancient Rome.

    Read More

  • Biography On Julius Caesar

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    Julius Caesar was born on the 13th day of the month Quintilis (now July) in the year of 100 B.C. His full name was Gaius Julius Caesar, the same as his father's name. Gaius was his given name and Julius was his surname. Caesar was the name of one branch of the Julian family. Its original meaning was "hairy.” Caesar's family was not prominent, but they claimed to be descended from Venus as well as the kings of Alba Langa. In spite of that fiction, Caesar was well connected through his relatives and received some important government assignments during his youth. Julius Caesar was the dictator of Rome from 61-44 BC. At the time of his birth, Rome was still a republic and the empire was only beginning. Caesar made his way to be considered a head of Rome by 62 BC, but many of the senate felt him a dangerous, ambitious man. The senate did their best to keep him out of consulship. He finally became consul in 59 BC. In Caesar, they saw only the threat of a king, a word that was linked with the word “tyrant” that is cruel or unjust rule.

    Read More

  • Compare/Contrast Julius Caesar to Alexander the Great

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    Caesar was born into a traditional influential and respected family. It is this influence that he used to make his way to the top of the Roman leadership. His use in warfare and military conquests are legendary although he had at first concentrated in pursuing political actions. He won the first elections in his political career at the early forties. He was el...

    Read More

  • Private Schools Are Better Than Public Schools Essay

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the United States there are 116,240 K–12 schools. 23% of them are private schools. The other 77% are public schools. Some say private schools are better than public schools, while others say public schools are better. I can only speak the benefits many will receive from attending my school. Private schools were actually the only schools around before public schools started. The first private schools were established by the religious missionaries of the Roman Catholic Church in Florida and Louisiana. Organized systems of public education did not take shape until the 1840s. St Croix Lutheran is more efficient, safer, more reliable, and holds a much higher level of education, than the public school. St Croix teaches a faster and more educational curriculum than many other schools which allows students to excel more easily.

    Read More

More about Julius Caesar

Open Document