Notes

Synopsis: Julius Caesar's birth, around July 12 or 13, 100 B.C., marked the beginning of a new chapter in Roman history. By age 31, Caesar had fought in several wars and had become involved in Roman politics. He became dictator of the Roman Empire. This led to a revolt by a group of senators and Caesar's eventual assassination on March 15, 44 B.C.

Early Years

A politically skillful and popular leader of the Roman Republic, Julius Caesar significantly transformed what became known as the Roman Empire. He greatly expanded its geographic reach and established its imperial system.

It's believed that Julius Caesar was born in Rome on July 12 or 13, 100 B.C. His family claimed to be descendants of the Trojan Prince Aeneas, who escaped the destruction of Troy, according to legend. Although they were Roman aristocrats, they were far from rich. When Caesar was 16 his father, Gaius Caesar, died, but he remained close to his mother, Aurelia.

The Rome of Caesar's youth was unstable. The republic had no faith in its nobility and seemed unable to handle its considerable size and influence.

At around the time of his father's death, Caesar made a large effort to side with the country's nobility. His marriage to Cornelia, the daughter of a noble, had drawn the ire of Rome's dictator, Sulla, who ordered him to divorce his wife or risk losing his property. Caesar refused and joined the military.

Following the death of Sulla, Caesar returned to Rome to begin his career in politics. He moved to Rhodes to study philosophy, but during his travels was kidnapped by pirates and then organized a naval force to attack them. The pirates were captured and executed.

When Caesar returned to Rome he began to work with Pompey, a leader of Rome. Not long after, in 68 or 69 B.C., Caesar was elected quaestor, a low-level political office, and then went on to serve in several other key government positions under Pompey.

His wife passed away in 69 B.C., and two years later he remarried Pompeia, who was a distant relative of Pompey. The couple divorced a few years later.

A Skilled Politician

As Caesar was building his political partnership with Pompey, he also strategically aligned himself with Marcus Licinius Crassus, who had served during Sulla's rule. The Roman general and politician was called the wealthiest man in Roman history, which was of great benefit to Caesar.

This partnership among the three men came to be known as the First Triumvirate. For Caesar, the power it gave him was the perfect springboard to greater control over Rome.

Caesar became governor of Gaul, which is present-day France and Belgium. As he conquered more territory, he showed his ruthlessness with his enemies. In one instance, he waited until his opponents' water supply had gone dry, and then ordered the hands of all the remaining survivors be cut off.

Father Of His Country

Caesar eventually went to war against Pompey, chasing him into Egypt, where he was killed. In Egypt, Caesar allied himself with Cleopatra, with whom he had a son, Caesarion.

After returning to Rome, Caesar was made dictator for life and hailed as the Father of his Country.

He served just a year before his assassination, but in that short period Caesar transformed Rome. He increased the size of the Senate and opened it up so that it better represented all Romans. He changed the Roman calendar and reorganized local government, granted citizenship to a number of foreigners, and invited some of his defeated rivals to join him in the government, which would be his downfall.

Building his power and rule, Caesar stuffed the Senate with allies and forced the senators to grant him honors and titles. Roman coins bore his face.

The Assassination And Rome's Fall

Although Caesar's reforms were popular with Rome's lower- and middle-class citizens, the Senate was another matter. A number of politicians thought he wanted to be king. According to Roman legend, by the time Caesar came to power it had been five centuries since they had last allowed a king to rule them.

Caesar's wish to include his former Roman enemies in the government led to his downfall. Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus were both former enemies who had joined the Senate. Together, the two of them led the assassination of Caesar on March 15, 44 B.C., called the Ides of March.

It is not clear whether Caesar knew ahead of time of the plot to kill him. What was clear, though, was that the conspirators, who dubbed themselves "the liberators," needed to act fast. Caesar had plans to leave Rome on March 18 for a military campaign in what is now modern-day Iraq.

Following Caesar's death, a power struggle broke out in Rome, leading to the end of the Roman Republic.

Caesar quickly became a martyr in the new Roman Empire, and just two years after his death he became the first Roman figure to be deified, or made a god. The Senate also gave him the title "The Divine Julius."

Caesar's great-grandnephew, Gaius Octavian, assembled an army to fight the military troops that were defending Cassius and Brutus. His victory over Caesar's assassins allowed Octavian, who later called himself Augustus, to take power in 27 B.C. and become the first Roman emperor.