| Term Paper Title | Julius Caesar |
| # of Words | 1382 |
| # of Pages (250 words per page double spaced) | 5.53 |
Julius Caesar
Caesar, Gaius Julius (100-44 BC), Roman general and statesman, who laid the
foundations of the Roman imperial system.
Early Life
Born in Rome on July 12 or 13, 100 BC, Caesar belonged to the prestigious Julian clan;
yet from early childhood he knew controversy. His uncle by marriage was Gaius Marius,
leader of the Populares. This party supported agrarian reform and was opposed by the
reactionary Optimates, a senatorial faction. Marius was seven times consul (chief
magistrate), and the last year he held office, just before his death in 86 BC, he exacted a
terrifying toll on the Optimates. At the same time he saw to it that young Caesar was
appointed flamen dialis, one of an archaic priesthood with no power. This identified him
with his uncle's extremist politics, and his marriage in 84 BC to Cornelia, the daughter of
Marius's associate, Cinna, further confirmed him as a radical. When Lucius Cornelius
Sulla, Marius's enemy and leader of the Optimates, was made dictator in 82 BC, he issued
a list of enemies to be executed. Although Caesar was not harmed, he was ordered by
Sulla to divorce Cornelia. Refusing that order, he found it prudent to leave Rome. He did
not return to the city until 78 BC, after Sulla's resignation.
Caesar was now 22 years old. Unable to gain office, he left Rome again and went to
Rhodes, where he studied rhetoric; he returned to Rome in 73 BC, a very persuasive
speaker. The year before, while still absent, he had been elected to the pontificate, an
important college of Roman priests.
Triumvirate
In 71 BC Pompey the Great, who had earned his epithet in service under Sulla, returned to
Rome, having defeated the rebellious Populares general Sertorius in Spain. At the same
time Marcus Licinius Crassus, a rich patrician, suppressed in Italy the slave revolt led by
Spartacus. Pompey and Crassus both ran for the consulship—an office held by two
men—in 70 BC. Pompey, who by this time had changed sides, was technically ineligible,
but with Caesar's help he won the office. Crassus became the other consul. In 69 BC,
Caesar was elected quaestor and in 65 BC curule aedile, gaining great popularity for his
lavish gladiatorial games. To pay for these, he borrowed money from Crassus. This united
the two men, who also found common cause with Pompey. When Caesar returned to
Rome in 60 BC after a year as governor of Spain, he joined forces with Crassus and
Pompey in a three-way alliance known as the First Triumvirate; to cement their
relationship further, Caesar gave his daughter Julia to Pompey in marriage. Thus backed,
Caesar was elected consul for 59 BC despite Optimate hostility, and the year after (58
BC) he was appointed governor of Roman Gaul.
Gallic Wars
At that time Celtic Gaul, to the north, was still independent, but the Aedui, a tribe of
Roman allies, appealed to Caesar for help against another Gallic people, the Helvetii,
during the first year of his governorship. Caesar marched into Celtic Gaul with six legions,
defeated the Helvetii, and forced them to return to their home area. Next, he crushed
Germanic forces under Ariovistus (flourished about 71-58 BC). By 57 BC, following the
defeat of the Nervii, Rome was in control of northern Gaul. (A last revolt of the Gauls, led
by Vercingetorix, was suppressed in 52 BC.)
Power Play
While Caesar was in Gaul, his agents attempted to dominate politics in Rome. This,
however, threatened Pompey's position, and it became necessary for the triumvirs to
arrange a meeting at Luca in 56 BC, which brought about a temporary reconciliation. It
was decided that Caesar would continue in Gaul for another five years, while Pompey and
Crassus would both be consuls for 55 BC; after that, each would have proconsular control
of provinces. Caesar then went off to raid Britain and put down a revolt in Gaul. Crassus,
ever eager for military glory, went to his post in Syria. Provoking a war with the Parthian
Empire, he was defeated and killed at Carrhae in 53 BC. This removed the last buffer
between Caesar...Read entire document
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