Julius Caesar Essay

Submitted By wirrum6
Words: 675
Pages: 3

Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar ( July 100 B.C 15, March 44 B.C) was a roman general, statesman, consul and notable author of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the roman republic, and the rise of the roman empire.

In 60 B.C, Caesar, Crassus and Pompey formed a political alliance that was to dominate roman politics for several years. Their attempts to amass power through populist tactics were opposed by the conservative elite ( they wished to limit the power of the popular assemblies and the tribunes of the Plebs, and to extend the power of the senate, which was viewed as more dedicated to the interests of the Aristocrats who held the reins of power). Caesars conquest of Gaul completed by 51 B.C, extended Rome’s territory to the English channel and the Rhine. Caesar became the first to cross both when he built a bridge across the Rhine and conducted the first invasion of Britain. These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse the standing of Pompey, who had realigned himself with the senate after the death of Crassus in 53 B.C (Marcus Licinius Crassus, was a Roman general and a politician who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic). With the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate ordered Caesar to lay down his military command and return to Rome. Caesar refused, and marked his defiance in 49 B.C, by crossing the Rubicon with a legion leaving his province and illegally entering Roman territory under arms. Civil war resulted, from which he emerged as the unrivaled leader of Rome. After assuming control of government, Caesar began a program of social and governmental reforms, including the creation of the Julian calendar. He centralized the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed “dictator in perpetuity”. But the underlying political conflicts had not been resolved and on the “Ides of March”(March 15th), Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators led by Marcus Junius Brutus. A new series of civil wars broke out, and the constitutional government of the republic was never restored. Caesar’s adopted heir Octavian, later known as Augustus, rose to sole power, and the era of the Roman Empire began. Much of Caesars life is known from his own accounts of his military campaigns, and from other contemporary sources. Caesar is deemed to be one of the greatest military commanders of history.

Caesar’s early life and career

Caesar was born into a patrician (aristocratic) family. In 85