![]() ![]() They were right, and the triumvirate soon controlled Rome. The union terrified the Roman Senate who knew that a partnership between three such powerful men would prove unstoppable. A series of successful military and political maneuvers, along with the support of Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus (known as the richest man in Rome), helped Caesar get elected as senior Roman consul in 59 B.C.Ĭaesar, Crassus and Pompey soon formed an informal alliance (strengthened by the marriage of Caesar’s daughter Julia to Pompey) known as the First Triumvirate. One year later, Caesar became governor of Spain. after a politician incited a major scandal by disguising himself as a woman and making his way into a sacred women’s festival hosted by Pompeia. Two years later, he was elected Pontifex Maximus.Ĭaesar divorced Pompeia in 62 B.C. In 65 B.C., Caesar became aedile - an important Roman magistrate - and produced lavish games in the Circus Maximus which endeared him to the public but threw him heavily into debt. In 67 B.C., he married Pompeia, a granddaughter of Sulla and relative of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great), with whom he formed an important alliance. He became military tribune and then quaestor of a Roman province in 69 B.C., the same year his wife Cornelia died. Political RiseĬaesar soon began his political career in earnest. But Caesar hired a private fleet to hunt them down and had the pirates crucified for their crimes. Reportedly, Caesar acted more like a domineering leader with the pirates than their captive.Īfter his ransom was paid, the pirates let him go. In 75 B.C., as he crossed the Aegean Sea in route to Rhodes to study philosophy and oratory, murderous pirates captured Caesar. After Sulla’s death in 78 B.C., Caesar returned to Rome and became a successful prosecutor widely known for his oratory skills. His family intervened and convinced Sulla to spare Caesar’s life however, Sulla stripped Caesar of his inheritance.ĭespite the reprieve, Caesar left Rome, joined the army and earned the prestigious Civic Crown for his courage at the Siege of Mytilene in 80 B.C. This sparked the final round of civil wars that ended the Republic and brought about the elevation of Caesar's great nephew and designated heir, Octavian, as Augustus, the first emperor.In 82 B.C., Sulla won the civil war and ordered Caesar to divorce Cornelia. A group of these, led by Cassius and Brutus, assassinated Caesar on the Ides (15) of March 44 BC. His success and ambition alienated strongly republican senators. Dictatorship was always regarded a temporary position but in 44 BC, Caesar took it for life. He used his power to carry out much-needed reform, relieving debt, enlarging the senate, building the Forum Iulium and revising the calendar. Caesar followed him and became romantically involved with the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra.Ĭaesar was now master of Rome and made himself consul and dictator. Pompey, their leader, fled to Egypt where he was assassinated. In the ensuing civil war Caesar defeated the republican forces. He made two expeditions to Britain, in 55 BC and 54 BC.Ĭaesar then returned to Italy, disregarding the authority of the senate and famously crossing the Rubicon river without disbanding his army. ![]() The following year he was appointed governor of Roman Gaul where he stayed for eight years, adding the whole of modern France and Belgium to the Roman empire, and making Rome safe from the possibility of Gallic invasions. Back in Rome in 60, Caesar made a pact with Pompey and Crassus, who helped him to get elected as consul for 59 BC. In 61-60 BC he served as governor of the Roman province of Spain. Caesar himself progressed within the Roman political system, becoming in succession quaestor (69), aedile (65) and praetor (62). His family were closely connected with the Marian faction in Roman politics. Julius Caesar was born in Rome on 12 or 13 July 100 BC into the prestigious Julian clan. © Caesar was a politician and general of the late Roman republic, who greatly extended the Roman empire before seizing power and making himself dictator of Rome, paving the way for the imperial system. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |