Although Rome recognized the need for a distinct leader, the power given to the leader was not absolute.  The Romans devised a system to avoid dictatorship and retain freedom, but at the same time maintain control of the affairs of the Empire.  These leaders, originally given the title of praetor, meaning “to lead the way” (Asimov 24), were elected.  Their terms of office were for one year and they could not succeed themselves.  Two praetors were elected each year and they both had to agree on issues before action was taken.  Later, the title was changed to consul, which is another way to say partners.  Praetors’ and consul’s main responsibility was to manage the armed forces of Rome and to lead the armies in warfare.  Quaestors were also selected two at a time for one year terms.  Their main role was to serve as judges and to supervise all criminal trials.

The Senate was designed to advise the Praetors or Consuls.  It originally consisted of one hundred representatives of clans that made up the city.  The men were chosen based on their age, experience and wisdom;  the word senate is Latin for “old men”.  The Senators, or Patricians, were expected to be obeyed.  In fact, the praetors had to “bow to the will of the senate” (Asimov 24).  This system of governing worked well for several centuries.

The government of Rome gradually evolved, as did the citizen’s opinion on dictatorship.  The Senate became corrupt with many Patricians being easily bribed.  Almost all of the power belonged to a distinct few. The idea of a dictator no longer caused fear, it was no longer unacceptable.  By the time Julius Caesar was a consul, the number had increased to three.  Pompey, Crassus and Caesar all had grudges against the Senate for one reason or another.  Caesar was upset because the Senate had tried to undercut his campaign for consulship.  The three consuls formed a private coalition, known as the First Triumvirate.  Together Pompey, Crassus and Caesar succeed in getting Caesar elected consul and in passing legislation that mainly benefited them.

Caesar became the governor of Cisalpine Gaul and part of Transalpine Gaul, where Rome had considerable power.  Right after he took on the new position the territory was threatened by Switzerland.  Immediately he crushed them and kept going.  These wars, which began in 58 B.C. and helped Caesar to establish his reputation as a great military leader, were known as the Gallic Wars.  Nine years later in 49 B.C., after constant warfare, he had stormed over eight hundred towns and conquered the area that is now France.

Both Pompey and the Senate were envious of Caesar’s success and they were also fearful of his ambitions.  They ordered Caesar to give up command and return to Rome.

He defied this order, therefore committing treason, and ended up fighting Pompey’s army.  Caesar followed Pompey’s army all the way to Egypt, where he killed Pompey and met Cleopatra.  He lived in Egypt with Cleopatra for a few years but eventually he went off to fight other wars, leaving Cleopatra pregnant with his child, Caesarion.

In 44 B.C. Julius Caesar returned home to Rome.  He was welcomed with a massive feast including twenty-two thousand tables.  Caesar was declared dictator of Rome by the now submissive Senate.

Caesar’s actions, such as defying the Senate’s order to return home, defeating the other consuls and his continuous warfare went against the concept of democracy in the Roman government.  He was ignoring the Senate, whom he was supposed to submit to, and had defeated his partners who were there to avoid dictatorship and encourage accountability.  He placed himself above all other Roman citizens, destroying the equality between himself, the Senate and the citizens.  And finally, he accepted the title of dictator, destroying the democracy in Rome.  The citizens did not even fear the loss of their beloved democracy.  They now looked upon Caesar as a god.

A group of Senators led by Cassius, Casca, Cinna and Brutus, who loved freedom and democracy concluded that they had to stop Caesar.  No one else seemed to understand the severity of what was occurring.  On March 15, 44 B.C., also known as the Ides of March, a total of sixty senators carried out their well-planned conspiracy to kill Julius Caesar right in the Senate in broad daylight.  The felt that this was the only solution to rid themselves of the threat that Caesar posed.
 
“Rome had begun, Romans liked to think, as a republic guided by a senate, but at the height of it’s power, the senators and their colleagues answered not to elected leaders but to emperors” (Time Frame 50).  Julius Caesar was a great threat to many of Rome’s strongest values.  By placing himself above everyone else, he demolished the democracy in the Roman Empire and the equality of all Romans.  There was no way to reason with him, and the only possible way to return to the method of democracy which had worked well for centuries was to kill Julius Caesar.
 
 Works Cited
 Asimov, Isaac.  The Roman Republic.  Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1966.
 
  Time Frame 400 BC – AD 200 Empires Ascendant. Alexandria: Time – Life Books Ltd., 1987.
 
 “Gaius Julius Caesar”
  http://moltenlava.com/uo/caesar.htm  (29 May 99)
 
 “The Government”
  http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/7036/Government.html  (May 29 99)
 
 Infonautics Corporation. “Encyclopedia.com – Results for Caesar Julius”
  1999
  http://aj.encyclopedia.com/articles/02124.html  (9 June 99)

A gong sounded every morning to open the public baths to the lines of people waiting.  Public baths were not only used to get clean but as a place to gossip, meet people, and show off.  They could be compared to modern day beaches.  The sexes were separated into two different areas; the men had the larger rooms.  The society levels at the baths were nonexistent, and gladiators, slaves, men, and women were treated equal.  Every town was expected to have at least one public bath, which each person was visited two to three times per week by a person.

The procedure followed at the baths seemed very relaxing. Citizens would first go to the unctuarium where oil was rubbed onto the skin, and they would exercise.  Then they would enter the tepidarium or the “warm” room, with heated floors and walls.  Here, they would lie around chatting and gossiping.  The last step was the caldarium, which was similar to a Turkish bath, hot and steamy.  Romans would sit and perspire, and their skin was scraped with a curved metal tool called a strigil.  They were served drinks and snacks in the hot bath, or calidarium.   Finally they would take a quick dip in the cold bath, the frigidarium.  After this lengthy process, men and women would enjoy massages where oils and perfumes were rubbed into their skin.

Many Roman citizens attended bloody spectacles at the famous colosseum.  The colosseum opened in A.D.80 and hosted 100 spectacles a year.  50,000 available seats were divided into social classes.  Women and poor people were seated on the fourth tier.  The most popular show featured at the colosseum was the gladiators.  They would show in the late afternoon and were often attended after the public baths.

The gladiators easily entertained and won over the crowd.  The gladiators were slaves, condemned criminals, prisoners of war, and often they were idols of young girls.  They would fight battles with animals or other opponents until death.  These bloody shows would entertain the citizens for hours.  Despite laws setting limits on earnings, many gladiators earned large sums and could buy freedom.

Banquets were attended for an exciting night of entertainment.  Banquets were a ceremony of civility, occasions for private men to savor their accomplishments and show off to peers.  Many people were invited; even the lower class was invited and treated equal.  The food was spicy and served medieval style, people sat around lounging couches on pedestal tables.

Many different types of entertainment went on at banquets.  The guests were expected to express views on general topics and noble subjects.  The host would hire professionals to provide music, dancing, and singing.  The longest time of the night was set aside for drinking.  It was tradition for them to never drink when they ate.  Men were expected to consume large amounts of alcohol.

Ancient Romans believed that entertainment was a very important part of civilization.  They would spend mornings socializing at baths, afternoons at the colosseum, and drink and eat all night at banquets.  Romans enjoyed being entertained similar to today society.  “To everything there was a season, and pleasure was no less legitimate than virtue.” (Paul Veyne, A History of Private Life from Pagan Rome to Byzantium, 183)

Nero made a more systematic reconstruction of the buildings.  He used brick concrete instead of wood.  Even though he did this, less than twenty years later half the city got on fire.  This probably happened because the Romans use torches, oil lamps, and cooked on gas stoves.  An hour couldn’t go without a fire starting somewhere.

The streets of Rome were also very noisy especially at night.  This was because Caesar said that chariots were allowed on the streets only after sunset.  The streets were also very crowded.  So even when the chariots weren’t there, the people were.  Another very chaotic place was the Argiletum.  This is the most known shopping center in the empire.  Most Romans didn’t own land.  “The average Roman had little privacy and still less money.”  Most Romans who lived in the city were craftsmen, shopkeepers, or general laborers.

“Trade was always conducted on a small scale.”  This was because each merchant was responsible for himself.  The large trading place was between the Forum and the Tiber.  The tradesmen and the bankers worked together.  The artisans and craftsmen had their own district.  If people were in the same trade, they would join together to form a collegia.

When children were born, they were placed at the front of their father’s house, so the father could inspect the baby.  The father could accept or reject the child.  To accept the child, the father would pick it up.  The baby is given a name eight or nine days later.  Children were sent to school at about age six or seven.  “The Twelve Tables decreed that a man might only sell his son three times.”

There are tree types of marriage in Rome.  Parents permission was required for all marriages.  One was the confarreatio, which was a religious ceremony.  The bride and groom would eat cake.  The second type of marriage was coemptio, which means purchase.  The last type of marriage was called usus.  Women could never be totally independent.  If she wasn’t under the authority of a husband, then she was owned by her father.  “Divorces were very common.”

Rome was a very advanced city.  It was also very strong.  Even though it was strong and advanced, it wasn’t very good to live there.  They had many problems.  We know this from survived writings about Rome.  Writers Horace and Juvenal didn’t think   that the city was very pleasant.  Writings about Alexandria and Antioch, smaller cities, made the cities seem like a more pleasant and quieter place than Rome.

It is likely that even if he made a decision that was initially looked down upon by the people, the people still knew that Agricola was altruistically making the decisions that he felt were best.  He would not have made a decision under the influence of somebody else for political reasons.  The citizenry could trust Agricola, which is something that can be said about only a handful of leaders.  Clearly, the reason he was held in such high regard wasn’t that he conquered a great deal of territory, or that he was a superior general, although those things help.  It was Agricola’s way of leading that people admired and respected.
 
One last example of a similar type of leader was Augustus Caesar.  Augustus defined the epitome of good leadership.
Tiberius, Gaius, and Caesar all could have learned some very valuable, life saving lessons from Augustus.  The most important lesson to be learned, perhaps, is moderation.  Augustus was very much like Agricola in that he considered a very good leader.  However, Augustus was emperor, and he had the power to do whatever he wanted, despite whether the people wanted it or not.  Why didn’t he?

Well, he actually did do what he wanted.  However, in accordance with the main point we have been discussing, he did so with a particular style and political strategy, so as not to offset social order.  He ruled very subtly.  He saw to it that he got what he wanted, yet he did so with such caution that it was disguised as interest in providing for the good of the citizens.  Therefore, Augustus’ reign supports the theory that a ruler can drive a selfish agenda, yet as long as the style and political strategy of the leader in question is favored by the people, then the leader can still be considered a good ruler.

Therefore, upon considering the lives of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, Julius Caesar, Agricola, and Augustus Caesar, it is clear that people in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire considered a leader’s particular actions more that his agenda when deciding whether or not a leader is worthy of being called “great” or being assassinated. Obviously, a leader’s agenda and accomplishments are important factors, but we have seen with these five particular leaders that sometimes accomplishments do not matter.  What matters greatly are the steps taken by a leader to obtain goals or satisfy certain needs.

When he was young, Caesar lived through one of the worst decades in the history of Rome. The city was assaulted and captured by Roman armies twice. First, in eighty-seven BC by the leaders of the populares. (Caesars aunt and uncle, Marius and Cinna.) Cinna was killed the year that Caesar married Cornelia. The second attack against the city happened in eighty-two BC. Marius enemy Sulla, leader of the optimates, carried out the attack. On each occasion the massacre of political opponents was followed by the confiscation of their property. (Fowler, p.24)

Caesar knew that his public speaking needed improvement, he therefore announced that he was leaving to study on the island of Rhodes. His professor was the famous Greek rhetorician, Apollonius Molon. When he was off the coast of Anatolia pirates kidnapped him. They demanded a large ransom for his return. Caesar broke free from the pirates and captured a large number of them. He then returned to Rome to engage in a normal political career. (Grant, p.9-11)

In the Roman political world Pompey and Crassus challenged the dominance of the optimates. Quintus Latatius Catulus and Lucius Licinius Lucullus led the optimates. Sulla was responsible for creating their careers. Caesar married Pompeia after Cornelias death. Then, in sixty-five BC he was appointed aedile. The aedile was in charge of the programs of the city such as games, spectacles, and shows. As aedile, Caesar gained claim to the leadership of the populares. (Grant, p.12)

Before leaving Rome to govern Spain for a year, Caesar divorced his wife because of an allegation that she had been involved in the offense of Publis Clodius. Clodius was awaiting trial for breaking into Caesars home the previous December. While on his trip to Spain, Caesar was very successful. He returned in a short time with considerable military glory and enough money to pay off all his debts. (Abbott, p.64)

A short while after his trip, Caesar was elected for consul in fifty-nine BC. He joined a political alliance with Pompey and Crassus. This alliance was named the first triumvirate. Pompey possessed a great influence through his splendid abilities and military renown. Crassus was powerful through his wealth. Caesar developed a plan to reconcile them, and then of favoring himself with their united aid in accomplishing his own deeds. (Abbott, p.71)

Caesars purpose in the triumvirate was to gain a large military command. Pompey wanted a part of the eastern settlement and land allotments for his discharged troops. An agrarian bill authorizing the purchase of land for Pompeys soldiers was passed in fifty-nine BC. This law did not go over well with the senators because they were selfish with the lands they had annexed to their estates.

The Senators tried to block legislation with the help of Marcus Bibulus. He postponed the voting by declaring that the heavens were unfavorable to legislation. Caesar disregarded Bibulus behavior, and the remainder of the legislative program was carried out. (Thaddeus, p.116)

Caesar had control of three provinces for five years. They were Cisalpine Gaul, Transalpine Gaul, and Illyria. Caesar became determined to conquer and rule the entirety of Gaul. After his defeat of the Belgic tribes in the north, and the submission of the maritime tribes on the Atlantic seaboard, he believed he had conquered the entire area of Gaul. Caesar then decided to make two expeditions, one across the Rhine and the second across the Straits of Dover to Britain. While in Britain, he received the submission of the supreme commander of the southeast Britons, Cassivellaunus. (Grant, p.55)

In my opinion, by fifty-three BC the first triumvirate had totally broken apart. Caesar now had an extreme amount of personal power, wealth, and prestige. His relations with Pompey had ended when Caesars daughter Julia died. (Pompey was married to Julia.) Then, Crassus left for his province of Syria with the intention of at last overcoming the military glory of Caesar and Pompey. While in Mesopotamia, the Parthians murdered Crassus and three-quarters of his forty-four thousand man army. (Grant, p.75)

In Rome, the senate proposed a negotiated compromise between Caesar and Pompey. It stated that Caesar would give up his military command and attend the consular election, under the condition that Pompey would abandon his military command at the same time. The two were supposed to go into Rome to find a new ruler. The law passed, Caesar was ordered to leave his army behind and cross the Rubicon into Rome alone. Caesar knew that if he left his army behind he would be killed. So, he brought his soldiers along and marched across the Rubicon. This was an expression of his power directed towards the senate and Pompey. His armies quickly defeated those of the senate in Italy, and soon controlled the entire Italian peninsula. He defeated Pompeys troops in many battles and became the dictator of Rome. Caesar then shaped the senate to his liking, and adding three hundred members. (Abbott, p.128)

From the information I have gathered from the book written by Fowler, it is hard to say whether or not Caesar and Cleopatra had an affair. A passage from Julius Caesar; some writers, like Mr. Froude, believe that a relation between Caesar and the Egyptian princess Cleopatra, is merely a story made up at a later date. He finds the story to be a foolish tale that we should just reject. If the story held true it would have happened like so. In October of forty-eight BC Caesar arrived in Egypt and stayed until the following June. He fell in love with Cleopatra and her son Caesarion. (Fowler, p.311)

A group of conspirators believed that Julius Caesar had become too powerful. They felt that if he became the king of Rome he would turn corrupt and use his power to create a bad society. Marcus Brutus, Caesars best friend and Cassius, led a group of members in a conspiracy to kill Caesar. On the Ides of March he was stabbed to death at a meeting of the senate. He fell at the feet of Pompeys statue, as if his death were a sacrifice offered to satisfy his enemys revenge. Three of Caesars slaves circled his dead body. They counted twenty-seven stab wounds on Caesars body, and only one wound was found to be fatal. Mark Antony prepared a notable funeral ceremony and gave a memorable speech. After the ceremony, Caesars body was burned. A few months later a second triumvirate was formed. It consisted of Mark Antony, Octavian, and Marcus Lepidus. First the group was empowered to rule Rome, then they pursued Caesars murderers. (Abbott, p.311)

Caesar was a major part of the Roman Empire because of his strength and his strong war strategies. His dictatorship was the key part in Romes transition from republic to empire. It was a strong empire because of his courage and intelligence. I see Caesar as a military genius. I think he saw himself as having a talent in war ever since his first battle in Gaul. He definitely was good at fighting to get himself out of sticky situations, either by fighting or talking. He led his troops through many battles, and escaped from pirates alone. I find the story about the pirates hilarious, not only did he escape, but he captured a large number of them as well. My last paper I presented for you was on George Washington. I think that they were a lot alike. They both knew how to dictate, lead troops in war, and run a country. Both men built a country out of nothing. Not only were they strong militarily but politically as well. When they talked people listened. When I said that Caesar built a country out of nothing he really did. He had to reconstruct everything, the army, navy, treasury, laws, trade, and the system of government. He also was behind the smaller tasks, like the calendar, weights and measures, and language. It takes a powerful person to complete such things.

I think that Julius Caesar resembled a king. Although he was not, he acted upon certain things as a one. When he controlled the empire he wrote laws to benefit himself and the good of the country. I do not think Caesars story ended properly though. The world might be a little different today had he not been murdered. Caesars family might have built a kingdom, and God only knows what else. In one of my sources there is a coin celebrating the death of Caesar. I do not see how they could celebrate the death of someone who gave them so much. Julius Caesar is probably the most famous person in history. I think that I have shown why.

No matter what he wanted he was propelled into politics. Many of his relatives were senators or held other important political offices. He listened to many political discussions between his family which had substantial influences on him. He was trained to be a politician by his tutor Antonius Gnipho. He studied Greek and Latin literature, philosophy, and most important, rhetoric or the art of persuasive argument. At the age of twelve he was brought to the senate house to watch speeches and debates.

As a kid he wrote numerous poems and plays. Augustus believed that these writings might tarnish his reputation, when he became emperor he burned all of Caesar works. Caesar was a very handsome boy and for that matter man too. He dressed in a style all his own. He was not very strong as boy. All male children were expected to be good athletes. Caesar acquired skills in running, fencing, and horseback riding. He became capable of physical feats that would astonish his childhood friends. His health was a bit frail as a kid. At an early age he became somewhat deaf and after he was thirty he suffered occasionally from fits of epilepsy. He was rather tall for a man from his time, he grew to be about five feet eight inches tall.

In Roman tradition the fathers arranged their children’s’ marriages at an early age. Caesar’s father arranged his marriage with a young woman named Cossutia. Caesar hated this idea. He wanted to control his own life. He had a strong will of his own. But he had lots of respect for his father so he agreed to marry Cossutia. The marriage did not last long, only a few months. Soon after the wedding Caesar divorced his bride. A little later Caesar’s father died. When Caesar was nineteen he fell deeply in love with a woman named Cornelia. Cornelia was Cinna’s daughter and Cinna was Marius’ most powerful colleague and co-consul. This entangled Caesar even more with politics. Having Marius as an uncle and Cinna as a father-in-law. Soon after the marriage Caesar and Cornelia had a daughter, whom they named Julia after his aunt and Marius’ wife.

Marius and Cinna were elected consuls while Sulla was at war with Mithridates in 86 BC. Soon after both Cinna and Marius died. It left their party leaderless and could not stop Sulla from taking control of the republic. When Sulla took control he forced Caesar to divorce Cornelia as a test of loyalty. He refused to divorce the love of his life. He knew that men had been killed for far less serious things. He knew his life was in danger, he avoided execution by leaving Rome for the hilly country side near Rome. Caesar eluded hunters and police with a small group of his slaves for a few weeks. Then he became weak and sick from exposure, exhaustion, and a lack of sleep since he had been sleeping on the ground. While he was sick his slaves carried him around. One night Caesar and his slaves ran into one of Sulla’s men in the hills, even in his state of being he managed to keep the man from arresting him and bringing him into Rome. Soon after this incident Caesar found out some of his powerful friends were going to try and get him a pardon. He returned to Rome. After Cornelia nursed him back to health he was summoned to the forum. He went there and came face to face with Sulla who with a slight move of hand could have him executed on the spot. His friends pleaded that he was just a boy; hotheaded, and his refusal had nothing to do with politics. Sulla granted Caesar a pardon by saying, “You have made your point, and you can have him, but always bear in mind that one Caesar is worse than a dozen Mariuses.” Even though Caesar had a pardon he knew that he was not safe in Rome. He would leave the first chance he got.

In 81 BC he got his chance. He was offered a spot on the staff of proconsul Thermus. He immediately excepted the offer. Thermus was going to Asia Minor to control the rebellious Mytileneans. Soon after arriving in Asia Minor Caesar was sent to make sure Nicomedes, king of Bithynia on the Black Sea, had kept his promise to bring his fleet of ships to help Thermus control the Mytileneans. When Caesar arrived in Bithynia he was astonished by the king’s luxuries. The king really showed off his wealth. On Caesar’s first night in Bithynia he slept on a bed of gold and on the second he was the guest of honor at a banquet. Caesar and Nicomedes became close friends and the king gave his young friend who he had come to admire gifts of money. Caesar did not forget his mission and the ships were sent to Thermus’ aid. Caesar had to leave Bithynia and return to his duties in the army, which he did reluctantly. Mytilene was taken by storm and Caesar won the civic crown, Rome’s highest award for courage. Caesar was kept busy with administrative duties in Asia Minor. Caesar was going to join up with the navy to stop the pirates in the eastern Mediterranean until he got word that Sulla was dead.

Caesar was now twenty-two and he would start his political career. He returned to Rome and had a joyous reunion with his wife and daughter. He refused to ally himself with the Sulla or the Marius political party. He decided not to be a politician just yet. For the time being he wrote poetry and touched down in science. He through huge parties that plunged him in to debt. Many money lenders felt that Caesar would be in a position to pay them back many times over.

Caesar knew he could make a name for himself by prosecuting or defending an official who had committed crimes while in office. Caesar decided he would prosecute the former governor of Macedonia, Gnaeus Dolabella, who had used public funds greedily. Caesar’s speeches and case was well organized and made a good impression on the judges but Caesar lost the case. Dolabella had hired two of the best lawyers in Rome. Caesar’s debts were growing and his career was baffled again. He decided to leave Rome again. He boarded a ship for the East.

His ship was nearing the coast of Asia Minor when pirates attacked the ship and took Caesar prisoner. They demanded a ransom of about thirty thousand dollars but Caesar bitterly told the pirates he was worth seventy-five thousand dollars. The pirates happily changed the ransom. Caesar’s friends quickly set out to raise the money. Caesar was held hostage by his captors for thirty-eight days. During those five weeks Caesar acted as if the pirates were his body guards and not captors. He wrote verses and speeches and the pirates that did not admire his speeches and verses, he called them illiterate to their faces. He would often threaten to hang them they attributed this to a boyish playfulness. They were very wrong. As soon as the ransom arrived he scurried off to make a force of men from nearby towns offering them all the money and possessions they could get off the ship. He apprehended all of the pirates and carried out the threat he made while prisoner, he hung every one of them there and then. He continued to his original destination, he island of Rhodes. On the island he studied rhetoric with the famous teacher Apollonius Molon. He soon found out that his mother’s brother, Cotta, the priest, had died and now there was an open spot in the College of Priests. The seat was being held for Caesar. This post was important because it could lead to the office of High Priest of Rome. In 74 BC, the twenty-six year old, Caesar, went back to Rome to try and jump-start his career again.

Caesar had four wives. His first wife was Cossutia. The marriage was arranged by Caesar’s father. The marriage only lasted a couple months and then they were divorced. His second wife was Cornelia, Cinna’s daughter. Caesar fell deeply in love with her when he was nineteen. Cornelia died while Caesar was quaestor. His third wife was Pompeia she was Sulla’s grand-daughter. He married into the family of one of his enemies. A festival that was being held by Pompeia excluded all men from the holy festival. Men were not even allowed to know what happens at the festival. On the day of the festival Caesar had to leave his house, during the day he got an urgent message from his mother telling him to come home. When he came home he found Clodius hiding in the house watching the events. Caesar divorced Pompeia a few days later because he thought that she had snuck Clodius in. His last wife was in 59 BC to Calpurnia and was politically motivated. Piso was Calpurnia’s father and the year after the marriage Caesar arranged for Piso to be consul. Calpurnia remained Caesar’s wife till his death in 44 BC.

Caesar had many important roles and offices. His uncle, Marius, got him his first job. Marius announced that Caesar would be the Priest of Jupiter. In those days Romans worshipped the traditional gods. Many complex rituals were binded to the worshipping to the gods. Deserving young adults were given ceremonial posts in religious institutions. One of his functions was to be the junior clerk for the Vestal Virgins. The Vestal Virgins were high women in Roman society who served the goddess Vesta. Caesar respected these ladies. His next high position was as one of the priests in the college of Pontiffs. He got this role when his uncle, Cotta, suddenly died. He worked hard at this job. In 68 BC Caesar decided to run for quaestor, or officers who tended to the budget, checked expenditures, and were responsible for finances. He need an enormous sum of money to run for office, which he did not have. He needed a financier. His financier was Crassus who would turn out to be an important part of Caesar’s life. Caesar won the election easily but he owed Crassus a hefty sum of money. Caesar did an exceptionally good job as Quaestor. At this time there were twenty other Quaestors. Quaestors were automatically members of the Senate. As Quaestors he spent money very quickly. His debts grew to 830,000 dollars but Crassus was there to bail him out. Next, Caesar got an administrative position in Spain. He spent a while in Spain and was fascinated by the culture in Spain. He once stared a statue of Alexander the Great and started to weep saying that Alexander had died as old as Caesar was at the time Caesar continued on about how he had not accomplished anything compared to Alexander the Great. When Caesar returned to Rome he was elected aedile, or people who supervised civic affairs, such as water supply, roads, the public games, and the repair of buildings. The election cost him more than the previous one for quaestor. Part of his job was to amuse the people of Rome. Caesar outdid anyone in history by hiring no fewer than 640 gladiators for just one performance and he armored them in silver. His debts grew even larger but he never kept accounts of the money he owed. Caesar became populare’s party leader. Then Caesar married off one of his sisters to a rich moneylender. Soon after he became Pontifex Maximus, or the head of the College of Pontiffs who were priest. In other words he became the high priest of Rome. He had no right to become Pontifex Maximus, nobody this young had ever become Pontifex Maximus. When the role of Pontifex Maximus opened up he made a bid for it. He was not only confirmed as Pontifex Maximus it helped him to become respected by conservatives and it let him live in official residence. People would throw stones at consuls or tribunes but to throw a stone at the Pontifex Maximus was a terrible felony. One of his enemies named Cato yelled at Caesar and called him a drunkard, everyone knew Caesar was not a drunkard, so it made Cato look ridiculous. Finally, this gave Caesar a little more popular and he was elected praetor, or a senior judge, this was an important post. As praetor Caesar distinguished himself by being a fair-minded and able judge. He worked hard and found out the leadership problems of Rome. When his praetorship was over he was forty-one years old. Caesar then got the governorship of Spain. This was his first time being at the head of an army. As governor he always had an army at his disposal. If he did not get this governorship he would have been ruined, at that time he owed 3,250,000 dollars, the largest sum in Rome’s history. They tried to keep him from going to Spain but once again Crassus and some other rich men bailed him out. As governor of Spain he sold prisoners of war into slavery and he took a share of the local taxes which was all considered proper to do. He made lots of money by doing these things and soon had enough to pay back all his debts. His money problems were behind him. Caesar did a very good job in Spain. He fought a small war, restrained an army of rebels in Lusitania, reached Galicia and looked at the Atlantic for the first time. He proved himself to be a great leader and administrator. When he returned to Rome he decided to run for consulship. There were a few obstacles that Caesar had to overcome. Caesar had to get past the senate, controlled by the Optimates, who would not allow Caesar to have a triumph in spite of his victories in Spain. Second, the senate decided that consuls should not be able to get big posts after their terms. Caesar wanted to be pro-consul after his term as consul. The senate decided he should get the role of commissioner of forests. Caesar decided to make what is now called the First Triumvirate. The First Triumvirate consisted of Caesar, Crassus and Pompey. Together they were invincible. Pompey had the army, Crassus had the money, and Caesar had the political genius. It was formed in 60 BC, the next year Caesar was elected consul. He pulled some strings and instead of becoming his assigned role of Commissioner of Forests he became pro-consul for Cisalpine Gaul and Illyria for five years. Soon after he became pro-consul for Transalpine Gaul. By 56 BC most of Gaul had been subdued. His five years as pro-consul for Gaul were extended five more years. The Senate would prosecute Caesar for many crimes if he entered Italy, so he stayed out of Italy until he could be elected consul and be immune from prosecution. The Senate decided Caesar would have to disband his army by a certain date or he would become a public enemy. When Caesar got the news of what the Senate decided he pondered for many days on what to do. He finally came to a conclusion, he decided he would march on Rome. This was the toughest decision Caesar ever made in his entire life. He knew a civil war would be a sure bet but the events may lead him to being a dictator. What he was going to do would destroy the Roman republic. If he did not do it his career and life would be doomed. The Rubicon river was the southern boundary line of his control. If he passed it he would be a public enemy. The Rubicon is not an impressive-looking stream. The water was brown and muddy. Yet this river could change the course of history. In 49 BC Caesar and his men crossed the Rubicon. It is said that as Caesar crossed ghosts appeared on the coast of the river and flames shot up in the sky, it is even said that the gods could be heard moaning but Caesar paid no attention. Caesar was greatly outnumbered and was at a major disadvantage. Caesar took control of Italy in an incredible six weeks. Caesar walked into Rome and the frightened senate named him dictator. He resigned from his dictatorship after only eleven days and made himself consul as he originally planned. Caesar had five triumphs in his lifetime. After one of his victories he was again appointed dictator the length of the term was undefined. Then in 46 BC he was elected to a third dictatorship, meanwhile he served four terms as consul and was also tribune. All this time he had held his position of Pontifex Maximus. Caesar was the first person in Roman history to get the permanent title of Imperator which meant victorious general. As dictator he made many reforms. Caesar redistributed state lands in Italy and founded new colonies overseas. This gave land to thousands of ex-soldiers who had no land. He began such public works projects as building roads and buildings and draining marshes around Rome. This gave jobs to thousands of Romans who had not been able to find work. He planned and paid for gladiatorial games that were free to the public. This kept the poor and the idle from turning into angry mobs. He doubled the size of the Senate. This made each senator less powerful but it also gave business people a chance to become senators. He cut back the activities of publicans. He gave Roman citizenship to Greeks, Spaniards, and Gauls. He adopted a new calendar based on the Egyptian calendar.

Caius Cassius was the ringleader in a conspiracy against Caesar. Cassius gathered a small group of citizens to join him in a plot to murder Caesar. In those days the killing of a ruler for patriotic reasons was not a crime! In February of 44 BC he was appointed dictator for life. This pushed his assassinators over the edge. Caesar wanted to lead armies again in new and glorious conquests. He made plans to leave Rome for two years and lead an army. He was to leave on March 19. This meant the assassination had to take place soon, Cassius had to make final plans. Caesar knew something was wrong he had spies everywhere and a soothsayer openly said that he would be killed. He refused to take precautions and even dismissed his bodyguard. This whole time he refused to be crowned king. Caesar was scheduled to attend a meeting on the Ides, or fifteenth, of March, that was the day the conspirators would attack. On March fourteenth Caesar’s wife had terrible dreams of her husband’s death. In the morning his wife pleaded with him not to go. Caesar postponed the session. One of the conspirators named Decimus Brutus came to Caesar’s house and persuaded him to come to the session. He gave in and came to the session. His wife’s try to save him failed. When Caesar entered the Senate a group formed around him and stabbed him to death. He was stabbed 23 times then fell on a statue of Pompey. So Caesar died. Caesar had a great life and then was stabbed because people were jealous of him.

Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman whose dictatorship was pivotal in Rome’s transition from republic to empire. When he was young Caesar lived through one of the most horrifying decades in the history of the city of Rome. The city was assaulted twice and captured by Roman armies, first in 87 BC by the leaders of the populares, his uncle Marius and Cinna. Cinna was killed the year that Caesar had married Cinna’s daughter Cornelia. The second attack upon the city was carried our by Marius’ enemy Sulla, leader of the optimates, in 82 BC on the latter’s return from the East. On each occasion the massacre of political opponents was followed by the confiscation of their property. The proscriptions of Sulla, which preceded the reactionary political legislation enacted during his dictatorship left a particularly bitter memory that long survived.

Caesar left Rome for the province of Asia on the condition that he divorce his wife because Sulla would only allow him to leave on that condition. When he heard the news that Sulla had been killed he returned to Rome. He studied rhetoric under the distinguished teacher Molon.

In the winter of 75-74 BC Caesar was captured by pirated and, while in their custody awaiting the arrival of the ransom money which they demanded, threatened them with crucifixion , a threat which he fulfilled immediately after his release. He then returned to Rome to engage in a normal political career, starting with the quaetorship which he served in 69-68 BC in the province of Further Spain.

In the Roman political world of the sixties the dominance of the optimates was challenged by Pompey and Crassus. The optimates, led by Quintus Lutatius Catulus and Lucius Licinius Lucullus , were chiefly men whose careers had been made by Sulla. Pompey and Crassus were consuls in 70 BC and had rescinded the most offensively reactionary measures of Sulla’s legislation. During Pompey’s absence from 67 to 62 BC during his campaigns against the Mediterranean pirates, Mithridates, and Crassus, his jealous rival. Caesar married Ponpeia after Cornelia’s death and was appointed aedile in 65 BC As aedile , Caesar returned to Marius’ trophies to their former place of honor in the Capitol, thus laying claim to leadership of the populares.

When Caesar was a praetor, he supported a tribune who wanted Pompey recalled to restore order in Rome. As a result, Caesar was suspended from office for a period and antagonized Catulus. Before leaving Rome to govern Further Spain for a year, Caesar divorced his wife Pompeia because of the allegation that she had been implicated in the offense of Publius Clodius. The latter was then awaiting trial for breaking into Caesar’s house the previous December disguised as a woman at the festival of the Bona Dea, which no man is allowed to attend.

After his return from a successful year administrating Spain Caesar was elected consul for 59 BC through political alliance with Pompey and Crassus . This alliance was called the first triumvirate. Caesar’s purpose was to gain a big military command. Pompey for his part sought the ratification of his Eastern settlement and land allotments for his discharged troops. Crassus sought a revision of the contract for collecting taxes in the province of Asia. An agrarian bill authorizing the purchase of land for Pompey’s veterans was passed in January of 59 BC at a disorderly public assembly which Caesar’s fellow consul Calpurnius Bibulus, was thrown from the platform and his consular insignia were broken. Bibulus tried to stop Caesar and his supporters from passing any further law but was only able to postpone the creation of the new laws by saying that the skies would not permit it because there was stormy weather and they were very superstitious. Caesar disregarded Bibulus’ behavior and the remainder of the legislative program of the triumvirate was carried through. As a result of this action Caesar and his friends incurred bitter attacks. Their political opponents continued to claim that the whole of the legislation was unconstitutional and invalid.

Caesar had secured for five years the governorship of three provinces. The provinces were Cisalpine Gaul , Transalpine Gaul , and Illyricum . He left Rome and remained in Gaul until his invasion of Italy. He continued north of the Alps each summer and he would leave his army there in garrison each winter while he came south to conduct the civil administration of Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum and to keep in contact with Rome.

Caesar became determined to conquer and make a province of the whole of Gaul. After his defeat of the Belgic tribes in the north and the submission of the maritime tribes on the Atlantic seaboard, he believed that the task had all but been accomplished. Caesar decided to make two short reconnaissance expeditions, one across the Rhine. and the other across the Straits of Dover to Britain. In a longer and more serious invasion of Britain he crossed the Thames and received the submission of the supreme commander of the southeastern Britons, Cassivellaunus.

Caesar had avoided recall to Rome at the end of the five years of command voted to him by coming to a fresh agreement with Pompey and Crassus at Luca. The optimates in control of the senate, now awake to the immense increase in Caesar’s personal power, wealth, and prestige, kept Pompey in Italy, allowing him to govern his Spanish provinces by deputies. Pompey’s own attachment to Caesar was broken when Caesar’s daughter Julia to whom Pompey had been happily married since 59 BC died in 54 BC Crassus was killed by the Parthians at Carrhae in Mesopotamia. In planning Caesar’s return to civil life in Rome he could assume that as soon as he lost the immunity from prosecution which his military command conferred, his political enemies would endeavor to secure his exile by prosecuting him in the courts either for bribery or for the use of force in politics. In Rome there was support in the senate for a negotiated compromise when Curio put forth the proposal by which Caesar would give up his military command and stand in person at the consular election on condition that Pompey abandon his military command at the same time. On January 7, 49 BC Antony and one of his fellow tribunes were warned that their lives would be in danger if they sustained their veto and the proclamation of military law was passed. Caesar was told to leave his troops behind and cross the Rubicon into Rome alone. Caesar knew that this was a death sentence for him so he did not leave his troops but marched into the city and caused a civil war. He defeated Pompey’s troops in many battles and became the dictator of Rome.

From the time that he had first faced battle in Gaul and discovered his own military genius, Caesar was evidently fascinated and obsessed by military and imperial problems. He gave them an absolute priority over the more delicate by no less fundamental task of revising the Roman constitution. The need in the latter sphere was a solution which would introduce such elements of authoritarianism as were necessary to check corruption and administrative weakness.

Caesar’s first dictatorship was simply a commission to enable him to hold elections in the absence of the consuls of the year who were with Pompey, but after the news of Pharsalus, Caesar was created dictator again; after Tapsus he was made dictator for ten years and in the winter of 45 BC he was appointed perpetual dictator.

When Caesar was out of Italy after 49 BC real power lay in the hands of his representatives. When he was dictator the most important of these representatives was his “master of the horse”. This representative was Mark Antony. Much resentment was felt by prominent senators like Cicero on account of the great power and influence of such against of Caesar. Caesar’s military dominance was established beyond the possibility of successful challenge, the senate gave him a profusion of personal honors which were out of keeping with Roman tradition, reflecting as they did the extravagant distinctions accorded earlier to the Hellenistic kings. The month of July was named after Caesar and his statue was placed in the temple of Quirinus.

Caesar was considered to be a dictator for life. According to the traditional Republican constitution this office was only to be held for six months during a dire emergency. Caesar also obtained honors to increase his prestige. He wore the robe, crown, and scepter of a triumphant general and used the title imperator. He was also in command of the armies. Caesar used his dictatorship and used it to increase his power. With all of his powers he was pretty much the king of Rome. Mark Antony was his major supporter and he helped convince the others to allow Caesar to have these abilities, but it led to some problems.

A group of conspirators had been formed against Caesar because they felt that he had too much power and that if he became the king of Rome he would become corrupt and use his powers to create a bad society. The senate resented his actual position that was shown in the sixty member conspiracy which Marcus Brutus had organized to kill him. On the Ides of March , two days before he was due to leave Rome on his great eastern expedition, he was stabbed to death at a meeting of the senate in Pompey’s new theater. He fell dead at the foot of Pompey’s statue. Pompey was avenged, as well as Bibulus and Cato. After a provocative funeral oration by Mark Antony, Caesar’s body was burned by the mob in the forum. When at the games in his honor the following July a comet appeared and it was regarded as evidence of his godhead and he was formally consecrated and “divus Julius,” or divine Julius. Octavius, whose name became Caesar Octavianus after his adoption by Caesar’s will, solved, by his creation of the Roman principate, the constitutional problem that Caesar failed to solve.

Caesar had started as a consul and had formed the first triumvirate with Crassus and Pompey. They had taken over the Roman civilization and had controlled for a while. When Crassus was killed and agreement was made. Pompey and Caesar were supposed to give up their military and enter the city of Rome to find a real ruler. Pompey was in on the deal and he was supposed to take over. Caesar knew that if he entered the city of Rome without his troops he would be killed by Pompey and so he crossed the Rubicon with his troops and attacked Rome. He took over as a dictator for life and gained a lot of power. He was able to run a strong military and even though he was considered only a dictator he wrote laws that actually made him have the same powers as a king. The conspirators saw the problem that had arisen and so they planned the murder of Caesar on the Ides of March. Caesar was killed and there was another triumvirate formed. Caesar was a strong military leader that had showed strength and courage to take over the town and he was able to form a civilization that was strong militarily and politically.