Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar, born on 12 or 13 July 100 BC and killed on 15 March 44 BC, was a Roman general, politician, and writer. He held the position of dictator of the Roman Republic almost without interruption from 49 BC until his death. As part of the First Triumvirate, he commanded Roman forces during the Gallic Wars, overcame his political opponent Pompey in a civil war, and took near-absolute control, being named dictator for life in 44 BC. His actions helped set the stage for the Republic’s downfall and the start of the Roman Empire.

In 60 BC, Caesar formed the First Triumvirate with Crassus and Pompey, an informal political pact that dominated Roman politics for years. Many senators, including Cato the Younger (with private backing from Cicero), opposed their power-grabbing. Caesar rose to prominence through military successes in the Gallic Wars, which ended by 51 BC and greatly expanded Roman territory. During these wars, he invaded Britain and built a bridge over the Rhine River. These feats, plus the loyalty of his veteran soldiers, threatened to overshadow Pompey’s standing. The alliance between Caesar and Pompey gradually fell apart, and by 50 BC Pompey had sided with the Senate. With his command ending and the Gallic Wars mostly over, the Senate ordered Caesar to give up his army and come back to Rome. In early January 49 BC, Caesar openly defied the Senate by crossing the Rubicon River with his army and marching toward Rome. This started Caesar’s civil war, which he won, leaving him with nearly unchallenged power by 45 BC.

After taking control of the government and pardoning many of his enemies, Caesar implemented various reforms and public projects. He introduced the Julian calendar to replace the old lunisolar republican calendar, reduced the grain dole, settled his veterans in new colonies abroad, greatly expanded the Senate, and granted citizenship to communities in Spain and what is now northern Italy. In early 44 BC, he was declared “dictator in perpetuity.” Fearing his power, his control over the state, and the chance he might declare himself king, a group of senators led by Brutus and Cassius killed him on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC. A fresh wave of civil wars broke out, and the Republic’s constitutional government was never fully restored. Caesar’s great-nephew and adopted heir Octavian, later called Augustus, became the sole ruler after defeating his opponents thirteen years later. Octavian then consolidated his power, turning the Republic into the Roman Empire as its first emperor.

Caesar was a skilled writer and commentator; much of what we know about his life comes from his own accounts of his military campaigns. Other contemporary sources include Cicero’s letters and speeches and Sallust’s historical works. Later biographies by Suetonius and Plutarch are also important. Many historians consider Caesar one of the greatest military commanders ever. His family name, Caesar, later became a synonym for emperor, used throughout the Roman Empire and giving rise to modern titles like Kaiser and Tsar. He has often appeared in literature and art.

Caesar was born into a patrician family on 12 or 13 July 100 BC. The family claimed to have moved to Rome from Alba Longa in the seventh century BC after King Tullus Hostilius destroyed that city. They also claimed descent from Julus, son of Aeneas and founder of Alba Longa. Since Aeneas was a son of Venus, this made the clan divine. This genealogy was not fully developed by the first century, but the family’s claimed link to Venus was well known. There is no evidence Caesar was born by Caesarian section; such operations killed the mother, but Caesar’s mother lived for decades after his birth, and no ancient sources mention any birth difficulties.

Despite their ancient lineage, the Julii Caesares were not very politically powerful during the middle Republic. The first person known to have the cognomen Caesar was a praetor in 208 BC during the Second Punic War. The family’s first consul was in 157 BC, though their political fortunes improved in the early first century, producing two consuls in 91 and 90 BC. Caesar’s father, also named Gaius Julius Caesar, was moderately successful politically. He married Aurelia, from the influential Aurelii Cottae family, and they had Caesar and two daughters. Boosted by his own marriage and his sister’s marriage to the powerful Gaius Marius, he served on the Saturninian land commission in 103 BC and was elected praetor sometime between 92 and 85 BC; he then served as proconsular governor of Asia for two years, likely 91–90 BC.

During the rule of Lucius Cornelius Cinna, Caesar’s father did not seek a consulship and instead retired. Under Cinna, Caesar was appointed flamen Dialis (a priest of Jupiter), which led to his marriage to Cinna’s daughter, Cornelia. The priesthood’s religious restrictions would have forced Caesar to give up a political career; the appointment—one of the highest non-political honors—suggests few expected a major career for him. In early 84 BC, Caesar’s father died suddenly.