Born: 13 July 100 BCE.
Died: 15 March 44 BCE.
Julius Caesar is undoubtedly the most famous Roman leader in history. Although he achieved little during his brief reign as a dictator, compared to his successor Augustus, Caesar was one of Rome’s greatest generals and farsighted politicians. His accounts of his campaigns in the Gallic Wars and Roman Civil Wars remain classic primary sources among military historians. Ultimately, his career showed that only a monarchy in the form of a king, dictator, or emperor, could save Rome from anarchy.
Historical Background
Julius Caesar was born in 100 BCE to a patrician family in Rome, Italy. Caesar began his career in 84 BCE by marrying Cornelia, the daughter of Lucius Cornelius Cinna, who came from the Marian popularis party. They had a daughter named Julia in 76 BCE, and Caesar served in Asia Minor before returning to Rome to begin his political career where he achieved the ranks of quaestor in 68 BCE, aedile in 65 BCE, and pontifex maximus in 63 BCE. In 62 BCE, he became governor of Spain before becoming consul in 59 BCE, forming an alliance with Pompey and Crassus known as the First Triumvirate. Between 58 and 52 BCE, Caesar campaigned in Gaul where he decisively defeated the Gauls under Vercingetorix at the Battle of Alesia (52 BCE). Upon conquering Gaul, Caesar crossed the Rubicon River in 49 BCE and ignited the Roman Civil Wars. Caesar soon defeated his rival Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus (48 BCE) and pursued him to Egypt where he met and fell in love with Cleopatra. The couple had a son named Caesarion, and after securing the throne for the Ptolemaic queen, Caesar defeated Pompey’s remaining forces at Thapsus (46 BCE) and Munda (45 BCE). Upon returning to Rome, Caesar declared himself Dictator for life and was planning an invasion of the Parthian Empire before being stabbed to death by Roman senators in 44 BCE at the age of 55.
Historical Influences
Caesar was a very intelligent man who was not only a fine orator and patron of the arts, but was also a skilled general and tactician. Many historical figures had an influence on his life, most notably, Alexander the Great, Pompey, Crassus and Cleopatra. In 61 BCE, Caesar encountered a statue of Alexander the Great while in Spain and wept, remarking to his comrades that “it is matter for sorrow that while Alexander, at my age, was already king of so many peoples, I have as yet achieved no brilliant success?” (Plut. Caes. 11.6). Caesar was also influenced by Pompey and Crassus, who formed the First Triumvirate with Caesar in 59 BCE to dominate and influence Roman politics. When this alliance became strained after Crassus’ death in 53 BCE, Pompey became Caesar’s greatest rival in the Roman Civil Wars. Yet after Pompey’s murder by Ptolemy XIII in 48 BCE, Caesar wept at the sight of his rival’s severed head and ordered that the rest of his body be found and given a proper Roman burial. Shortly afterwards, Caesar encountered Cleopatra, the sister of Ptolemy XIII. The couple began a love affair and she travelled to Rome in 45 BCE to be with him. It is highly likely that Caesar's ideas of leadership, especially that expressed by Hellenistic kingship, were influenced by his relationship with Cleopatra.
Key Battle
Caesar’s signature battle was the Battle of Alesia (52 BCE). At Alesia, Caesar won by constructing two walls around the town to stop the Gauls under Vercingetorix from breaking out and the Gallic relief army under Commius and Vercassivellaunos from breaking in. The Gauls from both armies attempted to break in over a period of three days. On the third day, they attacked a weak spot in the Roman outer wall, but Caesar led 5,000 Germanic cavalry around the Gallic force and attacked them in the rear, which caused the Gallic relief army to rout. Vercingetorix surrendered the following day.
Historical significance
Julius Caesar was the man largely responsible for the transition of Rome from a Republic to an Empire. Although the title of Emperor wasn’t formed until the accession of Augustus in 27 BCE, Caesar was the first emperor in all but name. His legacy survived throughout the history of the Roman Empire, where all Roman emperors after him held the title Caesar, even if they were completely unrelated to him. Up until 1918 CE, German and Russian rulers used the title of Kaiser and Czar (which are both variations of the word Caesar) to represent their titles of emperor. If there was one flaw in Caesar’s leadership, it was the fact that after the end of the civil war in 45 BCE, Caesar wrongly assumed that everyone was won over by his charisma and generosity. As Nigel Rodgers points out, this miscalculation meant that “Rome paid for it with another two rounds of civil war” (Rodgers, 2007, p.45). Ultimately, his career has been both an inspiration and a warning to many later rulers on the dangers of acquiring too much individual power.
Bibliography
Grant, R.G. Commanders: History’s Greatest Military Leaders. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2010.
Plutarch. Life of Caesar. Translated by Bernadotte Perrin. London, Loeb Classical Library, 1919.
Rodgers, Nigel. The History and Conquests of Ancient Rome. London, Hermes House, 2007.
Royer, Lionel. “Vercingetorix Throws Down His Arms at the Feet of Julius Caesar.” Wikimedia Commons. Last revised April 26, 2015. www.commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Siege-alesia-vercingetorix-jules-cesar.jpg
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