Julius Caesar

  • Julius Caesar (ruled 49-44 BCE) was Rome’s greatest General, Statesman and the Author of many Works.
  • Although he ended the Roman Republic when he became Dictator for Life between 49-44 BCE, historians consider his heir by adoption, Octavian, to be the first Roman Emperor.

1.0 BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS

  • .NAME:
    • Gaius Julius Caesar
  • JULIUS CAESAR’S DATES OF REIGN AS DICTATOR:
    • 49 – 44 BCE
  • FAMILY DYNASTY:
  • JULIUS CAESAR DATE OF BIRTH AND DEATH:
    • 12th or 13th July c. 100 BCE – 15 March 44 BCE (Aged 55)
  • JULIUS CAESAR’S PLACE OF BIRTH AND DEATH:
  • JULIUS CAESAR’S PREDECESSOR:
  • JULIUS CAESAR’S SUCCESSOR:
  • JULIUS CAESAR SUCCEEDED TO POWER BECAUSE:
  • JULIUS CAESAR’S FATHER:
  • JULIUS CAESAR’S MOTHER:
    • Aurelia Cotta (21 May 120 BCE – 31 July 54 BCE) from a family where several members had been Consul.
  • JULIUS CAESAR’S WIVES AND CHILDREN:
    • Cornelia Cinna Minor (c.84-69 BCE)
      • Julia Caesaris (b. c.83-d. 54 BCE) (Married to Pompey)
    • Pompeia Sulla (68-63 BCE)
      • (No children)
    • Calpurnia Pisonia (59-44 BCE))
      • (No children)
    • Queen Cleopatra VII (48-44 BCE)
      • Cleopatra was his Consort, but they were not married. They had one son:
      • Caesarion Ptolemy XV Philopater Philometor Caesar (b. 23 June 47-d. 23 August 30 BCE)
    • Julius Caesar’s Son and Heir by Adoption:
      • Octavian: Caesar 27 BCE-14 CE (adopted in 44 BCE in his Will)
  • DIED PEACEFULLY OR ASSASSINATED:
  • WHERE BURIED:

2. A GOOD OR BAD RULER

  • JULIUS CAESAR’S CHARACTER:
    • Very ambitious and tenacious.
    • He was unusually energetic, both intellectually and physically.
    • He was a prolific writer of books, letters, speeches and pamphlets.
    • In war and in politics he showed generosity to his defeated opponents.
  • JULIUS CAESAR’S POPULARITY
    • His troops were devoted to him, in part because of his extraordinary Military Successes.
    • But he made many political enemies, resulting in the Assassination of Julius Caesar.
  • FAMOUS QUOTES BY JULIUS CAESAR:
    • Veni, Vidi, Vici
      • ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’: 47 BCE Julius Caesar’s written report on his war with Pharnaces II of Pontus, from Suetonius: Julius 37.
    • Alea Jacta Est
    • ‘Divide et impera’
    • ‘Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt’
      • ‘Men readily believe what they wish’: Julius Caesar ‘De Bello Gallico’ Book III Chap. 18.
    • ‘Galia est Pacata’
    • ‘Nam si violandum est jus, regnandi gratia violandum est: aliis rebus pietatem colas’
      • ‘If you must break the Law, do it to seize power. In all other cases obey it.’
    • ‘Sed fortuna, quae plurimum potest cum in reliquis rebus tum praecipue in bello, parvis momentis magnas rerum commutationes efficit: ut tum accidit’
      • ‘Fortune, which has a great deal of power in other affairs but particularly in war, can produce large changes with very small forces.’

3. JULIUS CAESAR’S EARLY LIFE

  • 81 BCE At the age of 19, Caesar traveled to Rhodes to study Rhetoric under Cicero‘s Tutor, Apollonius Molon, but was captured by Pirates. He dealt with them in a manner typical of his future career.
  • 81 BCE Julius Caesar and the Pirates of Cilicia.
  • c.73 BCE Elected Military Tribune.
  • 73-71 BCE Spartacus and the Servile War. It is not known if Caesar was involved in this war or not.
  • 69 BCE Elected as Quaestor
  • 69 BCE His wife Cornelia died.
  • 87 BCE Caesar returned to Rome and married Sulla‘s grandaughter Pompeia Sulla.
  • 66 BCE Curator of the Via Appia.
  • c.65 BCE Elected Aedile
  • 63 BCE Caesar organised the Prosecution against Gaius Rabirius, with another Tribune Titus Labienus, for the murder of Lucius Appuleius Saturninus 37 years before. Rabirius used Cicero and Quintus Hortensius to defend himself. Although the case was dropped through a technicality, Caesar had made his point.
  • 63 BCE He was elected Pontifex Maximus.
  • 63 BCE Cicero read out the Proof of the Catiline Conspiracy. Caesar was accused of being implicated by Cato, whereby Crassus would become Dictator and Caesar become Magister Equitum. He was acquitted of the charges.
  • 62 BCE Elected Praetor, but suspended from Office by the Roman Senate for being too contentious.
  • 62 BCE Julius Caesar divorced his wife Pompeia Sulla to avoid a scandal.
  • Appointed Governor of Hispania Ulterior, and defeated the Lusitani and Callaici, where his Legions hailed him as Imperator.
  • 60 BCE The Roman Senate awarded him a Roman Triumph. But to accept, he had to remain a soldier. However, he preferred to stand for election as Consul which he could only do as a private citizen. So he resigned his command in the Army and did not receive the Roman Triumph.

4. JULIUS CAESAR’S RISE TO POWER

Phase I: The First Triumvirate (60 BCE)

Phase II: The Gallic Wars (58-51 BCE)

Phase III: Great Roman Civil War (49-45 BCE)

  • Crossing the Rubicon
    • After returning from Gaul, Caesar was camped at Ravenna with two legions awaiting the Roman Senate‘s decision.
    • 10 January 49 BCE Julius Caesar crossed the River Rubicon with a single Legion, the Legio XIII Gemina This act started the Civil Wars.
    • He is quoted by Suetonius as saying Alea Jacta Est – ‘The die has been cast’.
    • When he arrived in Rome his enemies had fled to the Provinces, and he encountered no opposition.

Phase IV: Julius Caesar is appointed Dictator (49-44 BCE)

  • He embarked on a Campaign to defeat all Opposition and take control of the Roman Republic.
    • 49 BCE Appointed Dictator to supervise the elections, but he resigns after 11 days.
    • 48 BCE Appointed Dictator but with no fixed end date..
    • 46 BCE Appointed Dictator for the next ten years.
    • 44 BCE February Appointed Dictator for life, but was assassinated one month later on the 15 March.

5. REIGN OF JULIUS CAESAR

  • JULIUS CAESAR’S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ROMAN SENATE:
  • Dictator (49-44 BCE):
    • After assuming control of the Roman Republic, Julius Caesar bypassed the Roman Senate, concentrated all power in himself, and declared himself ‘Dictator Perpetuus’ (Dictator in Perpetuity).
    • This concentration of all power in one individual was a preparation for the future Office of Roman Emperor.
  • JULIUS CAESAR’S MILITARY CAMPAIGNS/ REFORMS:
  • JULIUS CAESAR’S DOMESTIC POLICY: TAXATION
    • Caesar introduced a Sales Tax fixed at 1%.
  • JULIUS CAESAR AND THE PROVINCES:
  • JULIUS CAESAR’S RELIGIOUS REFORMS:
  • Julian Calendar (45 BCE)
    • This was a reform of the Roman Calendar that then remained in place until the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar in 1582 CE.

6. JULIUS CAESAR’S PERSONAL LIFE

  • CHILDHOOD AND EARLY LIFE:
    • 91-82 BCE The Social War.
    • 88-82 BCE Civil Wars. Sulla finally defeated Marius in 82 BCE.
    • 85 BCE At 16 years old, Julius Caesar became the Head of the Family when his Father died unexpectedly.
    • 84 BCE He was nominated to become the High Priest of Jupiter.
    • 82-80 BCE Sulla was Dictator, and in 82 BCE he conducted a Mass Proscription of his enemies. Because Julius Caesar was married to Cinna’s daughter, Cornelia, his name was on the list of Proscribed men. He was forced to escape from Rome, and joined the Army. Although he was reprieved by family intervention, he did not return to Rome until Sulla died in 78 BCE.

  • Julius Caesar and the Pirates of Cilicia

    • In 79 BCE. as a young man of 19 years old, Caesar was seized by the Pirates of Cilicia and ransomed for an extortionate 50 Talents, on route from Rome to Rhodes.
    • He was held for forty days on the island of Farmaco, east of Limnos, where he joked that he would have them all crucified after his release.
    • After the ransom had been paid and he was released, Caesar went to Miletus where he hired a fleet. He then returned to Farmaco, located his captors and delivered them to Marcus Junius, the Governor of Asia in Pergamon, where they were imprisoned. When the Governor hesitated to put them on Trial, Caesar returned to the prison, removed them and had them all crucified. In a display of mercy, to avoid a protracted death, he ordered their throats to be cut.
  • PERSONAL INTERESTS:
  • Works:
    • Commentari De Bello Gallico ‘The Gallic Wars’:
      • 7 Books, each covering a single year, covering the Campaigns in Gaul, Germania and Britannia between 58-50 BCE, with an 8th book added by his General Aulus Hirtius, after his death.
    • ‘Commentari de Bello Civili’  ‘The Civil War’:
  • LANGUAGES SPOKEN:
    • Latin and Greek.

7. CONSEQUENCES OF JULIUS CAESAR’S REIGN

  • EXPANSION OR CONTRACTION OF THE STATE UNDER JULIUS CAESAR:
  • Expansion:
    • The Empire expanded massively to include Gaul, the area of modern France and Belgium, up to the Rhine.
  • ENRICHMENT OR BANKRUPTCY OF THE STATE:
  • The State was Bankrupted by civil wars, but Caesar made several Reforms to help restore the Economy.
    • The Civil Wars had seriously indebted the Economy of Rome.
    • Caesar froze property prices at pre-war levels.
    • He made it illegal to hoard cash worth more than 60,000 sesterces.
    • He cancelled all interest payments due since 49 BCE and gave tenants the right to one whole year rent free.
    • He reduced unemployment by a programme of building works and offers to emigrate to the Provinces.
  • JULIUS CAESAR’S MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS

8. THE SUCCESSION TO JULIUS CAESAR

Assassination of Julius Caesar (44 BCE):

Outcome of the Assassination:

Octavian named as Heir:

  • But after the Will was obtained from the Vestal Virgins and read out, it was an obscure 18 year old, Octavian, who had been been named Julius Caesar‘s Heir. The Conspirators appeared to have successfully achieved Power, and Mark Anthony had been clearly sidelined.
  • However, Octavian then returned to Rome, acquiring several Legions and allying himself with Mark Anthony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. Together they formed an Alliance known as the Second Triumvirate to pursue Julius Caesar‘s assassins. Between 44-31 BCE A period of Civil Wars followed.

Second Triumvirate (43-33 BCE)

Battle of Actium (31 BCE)

Roman Empire commenced under its First Emperor

  • Octavian, having eliminated all opposition, was able to concentrate all power in one Office, calling himself Augustus Caesar. This began the Principate (27 BCE to 284 CE), from the Latin ‘Princeps’ meaning ‘First among equals’.
  • Thus, Octavian achieved Julius Caesar’s ambition.

9. BUILDINGS AND MONUMENTS

10. BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • Classical Sources:
    • Suetonius:
      • The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Book I: The Life of Julius Caesar
    • Plutarch:
      • The Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans: Caius Julius Caesar
  • William Shakespeare:
    • Julius Caesar (Play performed on 21st Sept 1599 CE) containing many famous quotations.

 

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