Julius Caesar was a unique military leader and a devoted Roman. His loyalty and dedication to his country was demonstrated through his conquests throughout his reign. Caesar was one of the three men who made up the First Triumvirate and he came out on top. Pompey and Crassus completed the Triumvirate. Pompey was a successful military general and Crassus had great power and wealth in Rome. However, Crassus was killed in his attempt to conquer Parthia and Pompey was executed in Egypt under the rule of King Ptolemy. King Ptolemy feared offending Caesar and sent him Pompey’s head. The plebeians loved and respected Caesar and wanted him as their king. However, Caesar was noble and declined the offer. The citizens of Rome would not take no for an
“Wherefore rejoice? What conquest brings he home? - What tributaries follow him to Rome, To grace in captive bonds his chariot-wheels?”
The Audiences' Perception of Cassius and Brutus in Shakespeare Julius Caesar was one of the most influential political and military leaders in history, and helped establish the vast Roman empire. Caesar’s triumph in a civil war amongst others made him the absolute ruler of Rome, but political jealousies and fears that he would become king among his opponents led to his assassination. In 59 BC the Senate decided on a Triumvirate to lead them rather than electing two consuls. The three men were Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great and Marcus Licinius Crassus. When Caesar returned to Rome in 60 BC after a year as governor of Spain, he joined forces with Crassus and Pompey to form the First Triumvirate.
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus reigned from 616 to 578 B.C. and was the fifth king. According to legend, he was born in Etruria and wasn’t royal blood at all. He moved to Rome and became wonderful friends with King Ancus Marcius, who made him the guardian of his children. When the king died, Priscus was elected king and built many monuments and the Temple of Jupiter. His son, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, reigned from 534 – 310 B.C. and the last of the Seven Legendary Kings. Superbus was a tyrant who took away the rights of the lower class men. After his son did a crime, he was drove out of the throne and was The Lupercalia Festival, also known as the Feast of Lupercal, is often described with conflicted details by classical and Christian writers. We have an idea of what happened at the Lupercalia Feast, but not everything. We don’t know which god was celebrated, where the feast was held, or the origin the feast came from. Lupercalia is one the most famous Roman holidays and associated with Valentine’s Day. It’s the setting for Julius Caesars’s refusal towards the crown. Lupercalia was a full month before the Ides of March, March 15th. The Feast of Lupercal was celebrated on February 15th or February 13th – 15t.h, covering modern day Valentine’s Day. The Feast of Lupercal is sacrifices of goats and dogs for the fertility god, Lupercus. Two men would dress in nothing but goat skin covering their loins and slapped people with the goat skin. If you got slapped and it was hard for your family to become pregnant, then it would mean that your family would soon have a child.
Plutarch writes of Caesar’s character, “He had an ability to make himself liked which was remarkable in one of his age, and he was very much in the good graces of the ordinary citizen because of his easy manners and the friendly way in which he mixed with people” (Plutarch 257). By examining Caesar’s character, one can understand how he used his love of the people to gain power and to keep it with his military victories which had brought a vast amount of wealth and land to Rome. Caesar embarked on creating Rome’s biggests debts in order to achieve friends. Plutarch remarks on Caesar’s enemies who “thought that this influence of his would soon come to nothing, once he stopped spending money, and they stood aside and watched it grow among the common people. Later on it had become too great for anything to be done about it, and was plainly aimed at a complete revolution in the state” (Plutarch 257). Caesar relied on friendship, and used his friends tactically in forming the First Triumvirate with Pompey and Crassus, and he was able to gain their followers while also establishing his own name. Caesar learned from Sulla’s decree of proscriptions on one’s enemies and instead pardoned his enemies to make them his friends. This ultimately would turn out be disastrous for Caesar, as those whom he pardoned would switch sides at the last minute and stab
It was clear to the people of Rome that the concerns of the common man were now of little importance to the aristocrats that held positions in government. Additionally, new policies paid the army with gold and land instead of it being a public service for the good of the Roman Republic leading soldiers to be more loyal to the generals than the republic itself. Julius Caesar, a successful military leader, utilized the control he had over his soldiers to rise to prominence in Roman politics in 78-60 BCE. Caesar joined the 1st triumvirate, a mutual split of power between himself, Pompey, and Crassus for control of Rome, but after the death of Crassus and the defeat of Pompey in Northern Italy was the only remaining leader. Caesar then focused on social and economic reforms that addressed the class inequality that resulted from the aftermath of the Gracchi brothers, subsequently making him very popular with the commoners. Caesar most likely saw his popularity as an advantage, knowing that having the people of Rome on his side would make it much more difficult for him to be stripped of his title. Unfortunately, popularity would prove not to be enough to keep Caesar in office. Because Caesar’s initiative was focused around the concerns of the common man, some of Caesar’s senate did not approve of the way he was utilizing his power. In 44 BCE, Julius Caesar would be stabbed to death while in a senate meeting. Upon hearing that Caesar had fallen to the aristocrats, his followers, mostly commoners, were enraged and caused the Roman Republic to go into a state of disarray once
His first contribution to Rome’s downfall came in the form of the formation of the First Triumvirate, which enabled him to illegally take Gaul, and further undermine the senate. Caesar made his way to power by gaining important alliances. Unlike Marius, he was born into a fairly important high class family in Rome. The First Triumvirate, formed in 60BC was composed of himself, Crassus and Pompey. Crassus was the wealthiest man in Rome at the time, and Pompey had just been awarded his third Triumph. The mere existence of such a group undermined the ideals of the senate, as it worked on the basis that no one man could have enough power to do anything without the support of the senators. The Triumvirs worked to achieve their own individual goals, whilst simultaneously supporting one another. Caesar was consul in 59BC, with Marcus Bibulus, and made the sheer influence of the three men public with the introduction of his land redistribution law. Crassus and Pompey supported this proposal, and Pompey filled Rome with his soldiers. Bibulus tried to void the law but Caesar’s armed supporters drove him out of the senate and forced him into house arrest. This meant that Caesar essentially had a sole consulship and gained enough power and support to overturn his proposed governorship and allowed himself
Honor and power is what drives the conspirators to assassinate Julius Caesar in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. Caesar is now the single leader of Rome, and members of the Senate have concerns that he will abuse his sole power. Therefore, they plot and accomplish the assassination of Caesar in an attempt to rebuild the balance of Rome. Rome falls into chaos with an unknown future with no central leader for the people to follow. In Act I, Scene 2, Cassius, a member of the Senate, explains to his friend, Brutus, that Caesar is not the god he makes himself out to be. Instead, he argues both he and Brutus are equal to Caesar and are just as deserving of the throne. Cassius’ speech to Brutus diminishes Caesar’s godly demeanor through
Brutus turned on his best friend and stabbed him in the back. In Julius Caesar’s final moments he noticed his best friend as a traitor. “Et tu, Brute! Then fall, Caesar”, these are Caesars last words as he is stabbed in the back by his friend. Since Brutus thought what he did was for Rome, he did not kill his best friend out of spite or hate he killed his best friend Julius Caesar so that Rome could live. Brutus was tricked into believing that Caesar would not be fit to be king, and would destroy the place Brutus loves, Brutus killed Caesar to protect Rome. Despite what Brutus did, he did only what he thought was the only thing he could do to save Rome. He thought not about his position he thought about the people. Yet he killed Caesar off
Antony and Brutus are both loyal, noble men and their loyalties shape their characters, drives their actions, and decides the very future of Rome. Brutus loves Caesar, but he loves Rome more. Antony has no need to choose between his country and best friend. Before Caesar's death both men are guarded and somewhat a secret to the reader. After Caesar's murder, however, their true personalities emerge. Antony and Brutus may seem the same, and that was they are in theory, from their positions, character traits, to the very friend's they keep they are alike almost to a point of absurdity. In practice, though, you will find them rather different due to the mistakes and decisions made by both parties.
Caesar was the instigator behind the first triumvirate. He was the one that realised the potential behind an alliance with Pompey and Crassus to fill his political ambitions. He resolved the differences between the two in order to be elected consul in 59BC. The alliance combined Caesar’s enormous popularity and legal reputation with Crassus’s fantastic wealth as well as Pompey and his wealth and military reputation. Caesar started the first triumvirate due to the fact that he wished to gain the support of the two largest men in Rome (other than himself). The carrot that Caesar offered was designed to convince Pompey and Crassus to join him. Crassus wanted tax concessions for the equites after tax returns in the eastern parts of the roman republic had not returned as much profit as expected (the senate was loath to hand out money to the equites). Pompey wanted confirmations of his eastern settlements as well
After the death of Roman general, statesman, and dictator, Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, two very wealthy and powerful men of Rome, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Marcus Licinius Crassus began to grow hostile towards one another over power and leadership roles. Due to the fact that both men were backed by armies of their own, this was not viewed as a simple quarrel between two men. In efforts to avoid civil war, Julius Caesar suggested a three-way alliance. This unofficial partnership is known as the first Triumvirate. Having earned his title of Magnus for his countless victories and conquest, Pompey was Rome’s most famous general. Likewise, Julius Caesar was known for his eloquent speeches in the Senate, but it was his martial talents shown in Gaul and Britannia that were swiftly rising him up the ladder, making way for a new legend. Lastly, Marcus Licinius Crassus was not only a successful politician, but also the richest man in Rome. For
The first of many problems was the collapse of the Triumvirate. The Triumvirate was one of the main parts of the government of Rome, with which there were three leaders, which at the time were Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus. This was never truly working all that great, but held itself together by the marriage of Caesar's daughter Julia, to Pompey, and the friendship Caesar and Crassus shared. But, all this came to an end when Crassus was killed in a battle against a Parthian army. Then, not too long afterwards, Julia was murdered by someone who had broken into her home. This, destroyed the bond between Caesar and Pompey, and made them drift apart. Caesar seeing all this taking place, attempted to restore the bond by proposing to Pompey's only daughter, but was not allowed to by Pompey.
...cted upon the system. Thus, though Pompey was unarguably, being part of the three way alliance, an important player in the downfall of the Republic, others like Caesar and Crassus also played part.
After marching to Rome, Sulla became dictator in 82 BC. After Sulla, the First Triumvirate: Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar, owned virtually all power in Rome, yet each had his own desire to defeat the other two and become Emperor. When Crassus died in battle, Caesar had his chance. He defeated Pompey and marched to Rome, victorious. After declaring himself Dictator for Life, Caesar was assassinated, and another Civil War ensued.... ...
In 59 BC they formed the Triumvirate, and a year later made Caesar Consul. Caesar dominates the Consul, and is constantly seeking more power. In 50 BC Caesar invades Gaul (modern-day France). The Triumvirate had fallen apart by 49 BC; Crassus had died in battle in a military campaign again the Partheons in 53 BC. Julia, Caesars daughter who was married to Pompey had passed of natural causes. This was essentially the only thing connecting Caesar and Pompey together on good standings. When Caesar was away conquering lands, Pompey formed an alliance with the Senate. If Pompey outlawed Caesar, he’d be given the title of Consu...