Julius Caesar Biography

Julius Caesar was born in Rome July 13, 100 BC, to an aristocratic family with a family tree that extended back to the founding of Rome. His full name was Gaius Julius Caesar. Caesar started his education at age six with a private tutor, and studied Roman law and public speaking as he got older. He married Cornelia, the daughter of a powerful politician, when he was 17. He was an excellent public speaker, and Caesar started climbing the ranks of the Roman political system.
In 61-60 BC he served as governor of the Roman province of Spain. When he came back to Rome in 60 BC as a forty year old man, Caesar made a deal with the powerful general Pompey and a wealthy Roman named Crassus. They helped him to get elected as consul for 59 BC. A consul position was similar to a president but there were two consuls, and the position was only held for one year. The following year, he was appointed governor of Roman Gaul. He stayed in Gaul for eight years. During this time, he expanded it to include all of modern France and Belgium. He also protected Rome from Gallic invasions. He made two expeditions to Britain, in 55 BC and 54 BC.
Politics in Rome had changed and become hostile while Caesar was in Gaul. Many of the leaders, even Pompey, were jealous of Caesar. When Caesar decided that he was going to return to Rome and run for consul again, the Roman Senate insisted that he give up the command of his army first. Caesar refused and led his army across the Rubicon River to Rome, which started a civil war.

Caesar took control of Rome in 49 BC and spent the next year and a half fighting Pompey. He finally defeated Pompey and then chased him all the way to Egypt. When he got to Egypt, the Pharaoh had Pompey killed and gave his head to Caesar as a gift. Caesar became romantically involved with the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra, during this time and