“If you must break the law, do it to seize power: in all other cases observe it”- Julius Caesar, the man who is known as one of the most fascinating political figures of all time. The one who through his military genius, expanded the Roman Republic to include parts of what are now Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium. Although the hero had many followers and admirers, he was ultimately stabbed to death by his own fellow politicians. Caesar was born in July, 100 B.C.E to Gaius Caesar and Aurelia. The family claimed a noble history but hadn’t produced many influential people till then. Caesar’s father had achieved an average position in politics due to which the family was allowed certain traditional entitlements and offices. Caesar …show more content…
In 62 BC, he was elected praetor in Farther Spain. In 61 to 60 BC he served as governor of the Roman province of Spain. Then, in 59 BC, Caesar was elected as a consul, the most significant political post, through his alliance with Pompey. As soon as he became consul, Caesar waged a successful campaign against some tribes in Lusitania. He was awarded the right of triumph for his victory despite the fact that many of his enemies accused him of provoking the war. Till then, Caesar had achieved fair amount of political success but he still wasn’t much popular among his peers. In order to fulfill his dream of developing Rome, Caesar needed more political success through alliances. He found the best two alliances that would take him further to the path of success. He first aligned with the Roman General Pompey then he allied with a powerful Roman politician Crassus. Further, Caesar’s alliance with Pompey was strengthened with the marriage of Caesar’s only daughter Julia with Pompey. This alliance proved significant for Caesar as he received wealth and military might from Pompey and important political contacts through …show more content…
The Romans didn’t have much command over the province, but they did have some connections to the further side of the border. Caesar speedily took benefit of these connections to extend the boundaries of Rome beyond the borders of Gaul. Caesar decided to invade Britain, whose tribes seemed to have close relations with Gaul. These expeditions were well-celebrated by the Romans as for the first time Rome had expanded so far. However, Vercingetorix, a noble tribesman of Gaul, with his men, surprisingly rose against Caesar, threatening his power in Gaul. In the beginning, Caesar lost a few battle against Vercingetorix but then defeated him ultimately. Vercingetorix with his men had taken refuge in a fortress in Alesia. Caesar trapped his rivals by building his own fortification walls around the fortress. After various attempts to win the battle, Vercingetorix had finally
As stated by McKay, “Caesar took the first step to break down the barriers between Italy and the provinces, extending citizenship to many of the provincials who had supported him. He also took measures to cope with Rome’s burgeoning population. He drew up plans to send his veterans and some eighty thousand of the poor and unemployed to colonies throughout the Mediterranean” (A History of Western Society). Caesar understood the problems Rome was facing and he gained the political power to begin to fix them. His reforms made Rome and Italy much closer allies.
Caesar achieved many things in the time he served as a ruler. He was very well liked among the people; however, he was too liked. The other members of the Senate saw him a threat to the Republic because the idea of a king coming to power was not a popular one. So, at a meeting where Mark Anthony offered the crown to Julius Caesar,
Caesar himself documented a letter in 46 BC, stating his political aims to achieve ‘peace for the provinces, and security for the Empire’ (source 11). Although possibly serving as propaganda, Caesar essentially represents himself as champion of Rome. This did indeed occur, as Caesar established stability by establishing a uniform system of government among the provinces, and also reforming the tax system in order to reduce corruption (source 9). In addition, measures were passed in order to relieve debt and stabilise the economy, while the amount of senators was increased to 900, simultaneously increasing the number of praetors, questers and aediles (source 9). By increasing the number of senatorial positions, essentially, Caesar was transferring power to the plebeians, which is an obvious contradiction to claims Caesar was merely seeking personal glory, as his power was used to enhance
His past shaped him to be a very well-respected man. Caesar began his political career when he won the popular vote of a military tribuneship over his rival Gaius Popillius. The position he was elected is a very low position but a stepping stone to the senate. After winning the election his Aunt had passed away. Julia was the wife of Marius.
Death of the Republic 91202 James Morrissey Power in a name Julius Caesar was popular among the citizens of Rome. Caesar had gained this popularity due to his successes in war for Rome and the laws he created for the wellbeing of Rome. The reason Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC was due to declaring himself dictator for life of Rome. This is because the term dictator was considered a toxic word in Roman politics as almost all previous dictators had been tyrants in Roman history. The senators who assassinated Caesar believed that they would be celebrated for killing Caesar .
Caesar achieved a vast amount of greatness but also suffered substantially as well while in the triumvirate. Julius Caesar’s role in the First Triumvirate proves interesting and deserves vigorous examination. The First Triumvirate was when three people, Pompey, Julius Caesar, and Crassus, formed a group so they could all achieve what they want. With all of their powers combined they would soon become extremely powerful.
The alliance combined Caesar’s enormous popularity and legal reputation with Crassus’s fantastic wealth and influence and Pompey’s equally spectacular wealth and military reputation. The formation of the first triumvirate was critical due to the fact “ it’s formation was the turning point in the history of the free state” (Scullard), which determined the fate of the republic declining. The effect of Scullard sources is resource efficient and reliable as he heightens our understanding about the military and political happenings of the time. When Crassus died after the battle of Carrhae, Pompey gradually drifted with his alliance with Caesar. Caesar’s popularity with the people soared, presenting a threat to the power of the senate and to Pompey.
Julius Caesar left an everlasting impact on the world during his short time on earth. Julius Caesar started his reign in Spain when he became governor in 61 BCE, then only one year later he created the first triumvirate with his allies Crassus, and Pompey. As Julius Caesar continued his road to success, he became consul in 59 BCE. After becoming Consul for one year he spread his power to Gaul and became governor there in 58 BCE serving two four year terms. For the eight years Caesar expanded his power by winning every single battle he fought.
Faced with these two choices, Caesar chose the consulship over the triumph. In 59BC, Caesar won as consul, which was one of the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic. Caesar was already in Crassus' political debt, but he also made overtures to the General Pompey. Pompey and Crassus had been at odds for decades, leading to Caesar trying to reconcile them. This was a way of dominating Roman politics through alliance, enough wealth and political influence to control public business.
Caesar’s expedition in Gaul was to some extent the cause of the breakup of the First Triumvirate. While Caesar’s expedition in Gaul brought him unrivaled glory and status, which might have upset the First Triumvirate balance of power and turned the senate against him, due to instability in Roman politics, the alliance between Caesar and Pompey was already on uneasy grounds. Crassus’ death during his campaign in Parthia unsettled the First Triumvirate, resulting in a faceoff for power between Caesar and Pompey and a tip in balance that even further lessened the power of the senate. Historians such as Goldsworthy even argue that Pompey was reluctant to go to war and had not the Senate intervened, the alliance could have continued. Before Caesar’s expedition in Gaul, Caesar only a politician with little military experience (Goldsworthy 15).
This discursive analysis will centre around Caesar’s position in history through a focus on his characteristics as exhibited in sources. His appeal as a fascinating historical character through his ambitious nature and popularity amongst the people will first be examined, followed by a discussion on how Caesar achieved his prominent position in history resulting from his contributions
Considering Caesar’s approval surrounded by the senate, it gave him a copious number of enemies because other politicians were jealous of the number of things that he had accomplished in the republic. He also gave former enemies, ones he had previously conquered, positions in government. Some of these positions included the senate. This was ultimately the biggest mistake during his reign due to the fact that, these people conducted the assassination plot for
“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies while still alive.” This quote by 2pac relates to the tragedy of Julius Caesar. Caesar had so much potential and did many things for Rome. Caesar was murdered for the sole fact that others were afraid of a tyrant running Rome.
While the first societies were built by man, the rules of every society since have have dictated the actions and beliefs of each individual. In the Roman Society presented in William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, Julius Caesar is on the verge of being crowned king, and some of his fellow Romans are none too pleased with this. Julius Caesar takes place in ancient Rome in 44 b.c. At this time, Rome was the center of a large empire, but their society had its fair share of problems. Their society gives much of the wealth and power to a select few people while many power-hungry men vie to be absolute leaders.
Julius Caesar was the Dictator of Rome in 42 BC who accomplished many things. Many people believed that he was a hero, but Julius Caesar was a very ambitious dictator and was more of a villain than a hero. Julius Caesar was a villain because he didn’t think first before doing something, he forced the Senate to name him dictator for life and he also was a glory hound and put his needs before the republic. To begin with, Julius Caesar was a was a glory hound and put his needs before the republic. Caesar used his power as dictator more towards his advantage instead of helping the people in Rome.