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Political Thinkers
Julius Caesar
(c.100-44 B.C.)
One of the most well known rulers of
ancient Rome,
Julius Caesar was born during a time of notable transformation for the
Roman Empire. His
family was politically connected to Gaius Marius, the leading general and
consul, who would influence Caesar at an early age. Caesar’s education was
typical for a child of a patrician Roman family, and his interest was in a
political career. In his teens, he married the daughter of an ally of Marius;
however, when Lucius Cornelius Sulla – an advisory of Marius – came into power
in Rome,
he ordered Caesar to divorce his wife. Caesar refused, and joined the Roman
army, receiving the
Corona Civica (Civic
Crown) for his service.
Caesar returned to
Rome
after Sulla’s death in 78 B.C., and began to practice law. He became known as a
respected orator, even winning the praise of
Cicero,
who had studied in Rhodes.
To further increase his oratory skills, Caesar traveled to
Rhodes in 75 B.C,
but was intercepted and kidnapped by pirates. After his release, he fought in
Asia,
and on his return to Rome
in 72 B.C. he was elected military tribune. Within ten years he advanced from
quaestor to aedile to praetor; and in 60 B.C., he had entered an alliance with
Pompey and Crassus, forming the First Triumvirate. The following year, Caesar
was elected consul, and he was appointed Governor of Roman Gaul a year later.
During this time he had married twice, further advancing his career.
After eight years
in Gaul,
and two invasions on
Britain,
Caesar had added much of (what is now) central
Europe to the
Roman Empire.
While in Gaul,
he wrote
Bellum Gallicum, his account of the Gallic and
Civil wars. In 50 B.C., Caesar was ordered to revoke his command of the Roman
army and return to Rome
without a title to protect him. Fearing prosecution, Caesar and his troops
crossed the
Rubicon River
– the border of Gaul
– and entered into Civil War with
Rome.
After battling Pompey’s army, following him to
Egypt
(where Pompey died), and forming an alliance with Cleopatra, in 46 B.C. Caesar
returned to Rome
in victory, and declared himself consul and dictator. Until his murder in 44
B.C., Caesar instituted many reforms that have affected society today, among
them the revision of the calendar.
LINKS:
Julius
Caesar Historical Background
Caesar's
Commentaries on the Gallic and Civil Wars
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Written by
Janice Mancuso
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