Julius Caesar

The Roman Empire was subjected in a part of its history to a change or transition in its form of government from a Republic to an Empire . In this process there were a large number of important and recognized characters, among them, Julius Caesar , a man whose fame is still discussed today.

What did

Julius Caesar was one of the most renowned politicians and generals of the last Roman Republic, who managed to considerably expand the entire Roman Empire before taking power and becoming the dictator of Rome, greatly facilitating the path to the system. imperial . Caesar was the owner of Rome and made himself consul and dictator . He used his power to undertake much-needed reform , alleviating debt , expanding the Senate , building the Iulium Forum, and revising the calendar .

Biography of Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar was born on July 13 of the year 100 BC was not born in an aristocratic place and their childhood have very few references, it is known that lived within a patrician family apparently descended from Aeneas , considered the son of Venus . Since he was ten years old, he came under the care of a teacher who specialized in Roman and Greek literature, Marco Antonio Gnifón, to educate him. He learned to read and write while translating Livy Andronicus’ Odyssey .

Thanks to his father’s sister who had married Cayo Mario , they managed to enter high positions in the popular party and in this way his father was able to occupy the position of pretura of the State . Then Julius Caesar left his childish garments to go on to receive the virile robe. His father died when he was 15 years old and then he married Cornelia , the daughter of one of the top leaders of the popular party who also had a lot of power in Rome.

After the Roman general Sila returned to Rome victorious, he was in charge of establishing a new form of state, an absolute dictatorship and forced all families to worship him, however, Julius Caesar refused and decided to go into exile in Asia . With the passage of time he was pardoned but decided not to return to Rome and that was how he began to work for Termes who gave him the rank of officer . He participated in the taking of Mytilene from Lesbos and for his good military behavior received a decoration. After Silas died, Caesar decided to return to Rome already with a great deal of experience in business and battle.

He managed to progress in the Roman political system , becoming successively quaestor , aedile and praetor . Back in Rome he made a pact with Pompey and Crassus , who helped him to be elected consul. The following year he was appointed governor of Roman Gaul , where he remained for eight years, adding to the Roman Empire all of present-day France and Belgium, and safeguarding Rome from the possibility of Gallic invasions.

Death

Julius Caesar died assassinated on March 15 of the year 44 BC in the Senate . He was the victim of a conspiracy that had been planned by various senators who opposed him and his autocracy- based ambitions . Marco June Brutus , Tenth June , Gaius Cassius and several other men were in charge of devising the plan and finally he was killed with several stabs. Among the murderers was Brutus , son of Servilia Cepiones who was also believed to be the sonfrom the same Julius Caesar. The last words of the emperor were: you too, my son ?

Political career

His political career had its beginnings when his family joined Cayo Mario through one of his aunts who married him. After a series of events he was under the protection of the propretor of Asia and for his bravery he was awarded the civic crown which gave him various privileges including being present at state events. Some time later he decided to return to Rome after the death of Sila and began to lead an important career in the courts thanks to his great ability to speak .

He managed to enter the College of Pontiffs on his 27th birthday , which represented a very important honor as it was one of the most important institutions in Rome. He appeared before the elections of military tribune which meant the preamble to the race polític a. Little by little he rose in his political career and was elected as a praetor in 73 BC.

In 68 BC he was already known in the field of politics and he looked for different ways to be able to ingratiate himself before the Roman people in order to increase his popularity for the elections of higher magistracies. In 64 BCE it had been postulated as one of the best promises in Roman politics and was part of the changes in the empire’s politics.

Later, the death of the Pontiff Maximus occurred , which was considered the most important position in Rome, Julius Caesar decided to run and, above all odds, he was the winner , this was what gave him the greatest boost in his political life.

Government of Julius Caesar

During his government, Julius Caesar managed to establish the military triumvirate together with Pompey and Crassus, but it was he who managed to achieve the dignity of consul. He managed to exercise strong power over the Senate and also gave great stability to the provinces that were part of the empire. He positively led the conquest of Gaul , Germania, and Britain. Although he had many military successes, he did not manage to improve the entire social and political situation in Rome.

Thus, in a civil war , the fall of the Roman Republic was precipitated and the empire was introduced . Upon defeating Pompey, he was appointed as a dictator for life . He was then in charge of giving money to the poor and created several jobs through the implementation of a public works plan . He gave land to thousands of citizens and perfected the Etruscan calendar . He also added a leap year every four years and thus succeeded in creating the Julian calendar.

Relationship with Cleopatra

While he was chasing Pompey in Egypt he met Cleopatra . According to the story, she wrapped herself in a carpet that was given to Julius Caesar and when he opened it, he came out completely naked and together they spent the night. It is said that Cleopatra wanted to ally herself with Rome in order to return to the throne of Egypt , which had been taken from her by her brother. This is how Julius Caesar reunited Cleopatra’s brothers and divided the kingdom, leaving her as queen of Egypt. Their relationship was born Ptolemy XV in the month of June of the year 47 BC

Physical characteristics

Regarding his physical characteristics, it is said that Julius Caesar was a strong man , tall, slim but with defined muscles . His face had a rather pointed nose , his chin was typical of Roman features, and he was bald , which actually caused him a physical complex.

Personality

He had a very eloquent personality , was extremely bold , intelligent , lavish and liked to spend money without any measure. He had strange tastes and did not hesitate to punish his enemies. He was a man of strong character , determined to achieve everything he set out to do.

Nicknames

He had two nicknames while he lived, the first of which was ” strabo ” because he apparently suffered from strabismus and his other nickname was ” vopiscus ” as he was the survivor of a pair of twins.

Parents

His father was Gaius Julius Caesar an important politician and military man from Rome who was also a member of the gens Julia. His mother Aurelia was a renowned Roman lady who belonged to the Aurelia gens.

Wives

There were three wives that were part of Julius Caesar’s life:

• Cornelia : daughter of the consul Lucio Cornelio Cinna. She died in her second childbirth.
• Pompeii : granddaughter of Lucio Cornelio Sila, a marriage that was characterized by being very short and also very unhappy.
• Calpurnia : was his last wife and was a malicious woman and an enemy of Cleopatra who was the lover of Julius Caesar. Daughter of Lucio Calpurnio Pisón Cesonino.

Sons

Together with Cornelia he had a daughter whom he named Julia and she was the only legitimate descendant of Julius Caesar in his life. It is also considered that Caesarion was the illegitimate son between Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.

Importance

Thanks to Julius Caesar it was possible to break with the Republic and later an empire was formed . He was one of the most important characters in ancient Rome mainly for his work in the field of politics , literature and the military . One of the most important conquerors who managed to assume absolute power to avoid the total fall of Rome even if this cost him his life. His autocratic model was maintained for many centuries in the western world that gradually managed to implement the concept of the citywithin the world. A large part of the aspects that you see today have been based on the aspects that were promoted by him.

Acknowledgments

In the memory of Julius Caesar, a lunar crater was named after him, as well as a comet , Caesar, one of the brightest comets that is linked to the history of this emperor.

Works of Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar was also a great writer and is in fact considered one of the main exponents of the Latin language. Among his main works are the following:

• Comments on Gaul’s campaigns
• Comments on the civil war

These works were also written using excellent Latin with syntactic perfection . They are faithful proof of the author’s erudition and were used as a type of propaganda before the Senate and the Roman people. In them, Julius Caesar made reference to the Roman army , its organization, tactics , techniques and different types of weapons .

Phrases

Among its main phrases are the following:

• Divide and gain power.
• What we want we can easily believe, what we think, we imagine that others think.
• I have lived long enough in both years and accomplishments.
• Which death is preferable for everyone? The unexpected.
• Death, which is a necessary end, will come when it has to come.
• I am constant like the star in the north.
• All the bad precedents begin as justified measures.
• Caesar must be a heartless beast.
• Believing is the essence of life.

Presence in popular culture

In popular culture it is common to hear and observe the story of Julius Caesar in various literary and cinematographic works . Several books were written in his honor and in them you can find the history and work of this emperor. Some of them are:

• The Tragedy of Julius Caesar , a play by Shakespeare.
• In the movie Cleopatra appears as her lover and as an important warrior.
• The historical novel called The Ides of March by Thornton Wilder.
• Novel César by Allan Massie.
• It also appears in the fourth canto of La Divina Comedia .

As for the cinema , the character has appeared in several films and on television series. Part of her story can be found in the Cleopatra tape recorded in 1963. His character has also been part of the comic and several series where the history of the Roman Empire is narrated include him as part of the historical cast.

Curiosities about Julius Caesar

Some curiosities of Julius Caesar are mentioned below:

• Julius Caesar has his own month , which corresponds to the fifth month of the Roman calendar.
• He was kidnapped by a group of pirates when he was 25 years old.
• He was one of the best writers of the time.
• He arranged the calendar and adapted the year to the course of the sun, establishing a total of 365 days.