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100 - 44 BC
Renowned Roman general. His military exploits enthralled the Romans. This admiration proved invaluable in his rise to power. He invaded Gaul and Britain, in the Civil War he defeated Pompey and in the Alexadrine war was brought into contact with Cleopatra, whose power over him did not cease until his death. On his return from Africa in 44 the crown was offered to him, a circumstance which caused the aristocratic party to plot his assassination.
Caesar in Film
Career Highlights
Roman statesman and general, born of patrician parents. Although his relatives were mostly members of the senatorial party, Caesar supported the popular cause.
He served as a soldier in the East, taking no effective part in politics. Was appointed successively military tribune, quaestor, aedile in 65 B.C. and pontiflex maximus in 63 B.C.
Caesar became praetor in 62 B.C., and supported Pompey and Crassus in the Triumvirate, he obtained the consulship in 61 B.C., and in 59 B.C. the governorship of Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul and Illyria.
Two invasions were threatening, one from German tribes under Ariovistus, the other from the Helvettii. Caesar subdued these tribes in his Gallic campaign and reduced Gaul to submission. During this campaign he twice invaded Britain, in 55 and 54 B.C.
When his period of command ended, he was ordered by the Senate to disband his army, but Caesar refused. By doing this he committed the unconstitutional act of leading his army across the Rubicon into Roman territory. Pompey fled to the East. Caesar was elected Consul again in 48 B.C., and overawed Rome with force.
He defeated Pompey at Pharsalia in the same year. In 46 B.C. after quelling a mutiny begun by Scipio, he was appointed dictator for ten years.
In 45 B.C. he crushed Pompey's sons, who were raising an army in Spain. He returned to Rome but was murdered in the Senate in 44 B.C. by the extreme republicans.
Caesar was a brilliant general, and also a great statesman, tempering his rule with mercy. He was the greatest of the succession of military leaders which had helped to destroy the Republic and lay the foundations of the Empire. This Commentaries on the Gallic War and the Civil War are a model of lucid Latin prose.
He served as a soldier in the East, taking no effective part in politics. Was appointed successively military tribune, quaestor, aedile in 65 B.C. and pontiflex maximus in 63 B.C.
Caesar became praetor in 62 B.C., and supported Pompey and Crassus in the Triumvirate, he obtained the consulship in 61 B.C., and in 59 B.C. the governorship of Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul and Illyria.
Two invasions were threatening, one from German tribes under Ariovistus, the other from the Helvettii. Caesar subdued these tribes in his Gallic campaign and reduced Gaul to submission. During this campaign he twice invaded Britain, in 55 and 54 B.C.
When his period of command ended, he was ordered by the Senate to disband his army, but Caesar refused. By doing this he committed the unconstitutional act of leading his army across the Rubicon into Roman territory. Pompey fled to the East. Caesar was elected Consul again in 48 B.C., and overawed Rome with force.
He defeated Pompey at Pharsalia in the same year. In 46 B.C. after quelling a mutiny begun by Scipio, he was appointed dictator for ten years.
In 45 B.C. he crushed Pompey's sons, who were raising an army in Spain. He returned to Rome but was murdered in the Senate in 44 B.C. by the extreme republicans.
Caesar was a brilliant general, and also a great statesman, tempering his rule with mercy. He was the greatest of the succession of military leaders which had helped to destroy the Republic and lay the foundations of the Empire. This Commentaries on the Gallic War and the Civil War are a model of lucid Latin prose.
Caesar in Print
CAUTION: Extreme Graphic Violence
Assassination of Julius Caesar scene from HBO's Rome
The Name of Caesar
Caesar was a powerful family of ancient Rome, which included Gaius Julius Caesar, whose grand-nephew and adopted son Augustus assumed the name of Caesar and passed it on to his adopted son Tiberius. From then on, it was used by the successive emperors, becoming a title of the Roman rulers. The titles 'tsar' in Russia and 'kaiser' in Germany derived from the name Caesar.
References
- A detailed overview of the life of Julius Caesar
- The New International Illustrated Encyclopaedia Volume 2, Page 4 1954.
- Pears Cyclopaedia, Twenty-Ninth Edition, page 306, 1926.
- Dictionary of World History, 1993, Helicon Publishing
Written by Caesar himself!
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