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Julius Caesar
Caesar sought the office of consul in 60BC. He had recently returned from Spain where he served a y ear as governor. The two consuls at the time were Crassus and Pompey, the leaders of the war against the slave revolt. Rather than become involved in a struggle, Caesar convinced Crassus, Pompey, and the Roman Senate to name him a third consul. This coalition of three equal rulers later became known as the First Triumvirate. When Caesar’s year-long term as consul ended, he used his influence to get himself appointed governor of Gaul. Gaul was a territory northwest of the Italian peninsula. He led an army that captured most of Western Europe. Caesar’s successes on the battlefield made him the most popular man in Rome. In 49BC,
the Senate ordered Caesar to return to Rome, but to leave his army behind.
Caesar feared that his opponents would destroy him, so he ignored the
order and marched his army back to Rome. Caesar’s orders clearly
told him not to bring his army across the Rubicon River. When he marched
the army across the river, he knew he faced an important decision. Caesar
knew that if he obeyed the senate and disbanded his army, his career would
be over; but if he marched his troops across the river, the Senate would
order Pompey and his army to retaliate. Today when people say they are
“crossing the Rubicon,” they refer to a Caesar’s army seized control of Italy while Pompey and his army fled to Greece. Caesar hunted Pompey and defeated his army. Pompey then escaped to Egypt with Caesar in pursuit. When Caesar arrived in Egypt, the ten-year-old king of Egypt, Ptolemy XIII, presented Caesar with Pompey’s decapitated head. The Roman people admired Caesar as a war hero and a strong leader. In 46BC, they elected him dictator of Rome. A dictator is a ruler with complete control. In that time, dictators were temporary rulers elected in times of crisis, but Caesar was elected because of his popularity. The last Roman dictator had been elected almost 150 years earlier, at the end of the second Punic War. Caesar used his power to make many changes in Rome, often without approval from the Senate. He instituted the Julian calendar of 365¼ days. Caesar’s calendar is closely related to the calendar we use today. The month of July is named in honor of Caesar. A year after his election as dictator, the Roman people elected Caesar “dictator for life.” The Roman senators were outraged at Caesar’s power and popularity. On March 15, 44BC, Caesar was met by a mob of sixty senators who stabbed the dictator to death. |
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To cite this page: |
Rome
was a huge and very rich empire after the second Punic War, but the Senate
did a poor job of running the republic. The senate was designed to govern
a city, not a growing empire. The senators often took bribes or were not
careful about how they voted in the forum. Many Romans wanted a strong
leader, and the ambitious Julius Caesar was an obvious choice.
very
significant decision that cannot be undone.