Gaius Julius Caesar
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Gaius Julius Caesar
Latin Gaius Iulius Caesar
A bust of Caesar from the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.
It was created around the reign of Trajan (the beginning of the II century AD) [1]
Dictator for life of the Roman Republic
from February to March 15, 44 BC.
Co ruler Marcus Aemilius Lepidus
Successor position abolished
Consul of the Roman Republic
from January 1 to March 15, 44 BC.
Co ruler Mark Antony
The suffect's successor is Publius Cornelius Dolabella
Consul without a colleague
from January 1 to October 1, 45 BC.
The predecessor of Gaius Julius Caesar and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus
The successor of the consuls suffects from October 1 Quintus Fabius Maximus, Gaius Trebonius and Gaius Caninius Rebilus
The Dictator
46-44 BC
Co ruler Mark Antony
Consul
46 BC
Co ruler Marcus Aemilius Lepidus
The predecessor of Quintus Fufius Calenus and Publius Vatinius
Successor Gaius Julius Caesar
The Dictator
48-47 BC
Co ruler Mark Antony
Consul
48 BC
Co ruler of Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus
Predecessor Gaius Claudius Marcellus and Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Crus
Successor Quintus Fufius Calenus and Publius Vatinius
The Dictator
49 BC
Predecessor Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Successor Gaius Julius Caesar
Consul
59 BC
Co ruler Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus
The predecessor of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer and Lucius Afranius
Successor Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus and Aulus Gabinius
The family of Julia, Julia Claudia
Father Gaius Julius Caesar the Elder
Mother Aurelia Cotta
Children of Julia (from his marriage with Cornelia);
in doubt: Ptolemy Caesarion (from Cleopatra)
Caesar.
The Great Siege.
The Great battles of antiquity
The Hour of Truth - The Great Commander Gaius Julius Caesar 365 Days TV [1:00: 01]
Gaius Julius Caesar (the authentic pronunciation is close to Kaisar; Lat.
Gaius Iulius Caesar [ˈgaːjʊs ˈjuːljʊs ˈkaesar]; 12 or 13 July 100 BC — 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman military and political leader, Consul and notable author of Latin prose.
Caesar played a significant role in the events that led to the fall of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire.
In 60 BC , Caesar, Crassus and Pompey formed a political alliance that dominated Roman politics for several years.
Their attempts to pursue politics through populist tactics were opposed by conservative elites in the Roman Senate, including by Cato the Younger, with the support of Cicero.
Caesar's conquest of Gaul, which was completed by 51 BC, expanded the territories of Rome to the English Channel and the Rhine.
Caesar became the first Roman general to break through the Rhine, where he built a bridge, and conducted the first invasion of Britain.
Content
1 The beginning of a career 2 The Triumvirate and the consulate 3 Caesar in Gaul.
Civil War 4 The civil war between Caesar and Pompey 5 After the Civil War.
The Assassination of Caesar 6 The identity of Caesar 7 Evaluation of Caesar's activities 8 See also 9 Sources 10 References
[edit] Early career
He was born in a very noble, but poor patrician family of the Julii, who traced their origin to the goddess Venus and King Ancus Marcius.
The exact date of his birth is unknown, since the initial lines of the corresponding biographical works of Plutarch and Suetonius have not been preserved.
During the reign of the dictator Sulla in Rome in 82-79 BC, he was forced to flee Rome and hide in Asia, since Caesar was a relative of Marius and Cinna, enemies of Sulla.
In addition, Sulla tried to divorce Caesar from his wife Cornelia, using his dictatorial powers.
During his exile, Caesar served the king of Bithynia and was once captured by pirates.
In exile, Caesar continued to receive education (in particular, on the island of Rhodes), which later helped him in his political career.
Caesar was a master of Latin writing, as well as an excellent orator.
Shortly after Sulla's departure from power, Caesar was elected to the junior civil position of quaestor.
The death of Sulla in 78 BC allowed a return to the former democratic traditions.
There were free elections of magistrates, the courts became equal again, and decisions were made not according to the dictator's wishes, but as the judges would vote.
Caesar was already quite a visible political figure, because he repeatedly brought magistrates to court, with whom the people were dissatisfied.
Caesar also made an excellent speech during the funeral of his wife, after which he became considered an excellent speaker.
In this speech, he particularly touched on the topic of the origin of his kind from the goddess Venus.
Finally, Caesar secretly restored the busts of his relative Gaius Marius, which Sulla had destroyed in due time.
A few years later, Caesar won the election of praetor with a large advantage due to his abilities as an orator and his great popularity among the plebeians, who made up the majority of the voters.
However, Caesar spent a lot of money to support his popularity, including organizing games for the people, as a result of which his financial situation deteriorated greatly.
It was at this time that Caesar became close to Crassus, one of the richest Romans of that time.
Crassus saw in Caesar levers to fight against his enemy Pompey and therefore generously made Caesar rich.
In 63 BC, after the death of the great pontiff Quintus Caecillius Mettell Pius, Caesar was elected to this very honorary position and became the guardian of Roman religious traditions, although two very famous people — Isauricus and Catullus also claimed the post.
However, in the time of Caesar, the old Roman religious traditions were almost not observed, and new cults appeared in Rome, brought from Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt and the Middle East, so the functions of the great pontiff were much smaller than before.
In the same 63 BC , Rome experienced the largest attempt by those dissatisfied with the existing system of government to commit a coup d'etat — the Catiline conspiracy.
It was believed that Caesar was involved in the conspiracy, and earlier, in 65 BC, he was allegedly one of the main persons of the first attempt of the conspiracy.
However, there was no evidence of Caesar's participation in the conspiracy, so no direct charges were brought against him.
However, Cato the Younger, in his speech in the Senate, tried to accuse Caesar of the conspiracy, but Cicero, who led the disclosure of the conspiracy and the punishment of the perpetrators, did not take measures against Caesar, given Caesar's popularity among the Plebeians.
After the praetorship in Rome, Caesar left for the province of Distant Spain, which was subordinate to him for some time.
In Spain, Caesar conducted several small military campaigns and gained the skills of a warrior and commander, which later came in handy for him in Gaul.
Plutarch tells us that when Caesar was traveling to Spain, which was subordinate to him, and when he passed through a small settlement, Caesar, in response to some joke of his friends, said: "As for me, I would rather be the first here than the second in Rome."  [edit]
Triumvirate and Consulate
Caesar became a major and well known independent political figure, relying on the Roman plebeians, despite his Patrician origin.
Caesar also had his first enemies first of all, they were senators from old and respected families who were very critical of the so called "populars", to which Caesar belonged.
When Caesar returned from Spain, he tried to simultaneously achieve a triumph and fight for the election of consuls.
At the same time, it was possible to participate in the elections only in person, and in this case Caesar would have lost the opportunity to hold a triumph.
At first, the majority of senators agreed to give Caesar the opportunity to participate in the elections through proxies.
However, when the day of voting on the issue came, Cato the Younger began a filibuster a speech that lasted all day, and therefore Caesar was forced to sacrifice the triumph for the consulate.
In the same 60 BC, Caesar, dissatisfied with the Senate, created the "first triumvirate" with the participation of Pompey and Crassus — major politicians of the older generation and former Sullans who were also dissatisfied with the recent actions of the senators.
Pompey and Crassus had previously been hostile to each other, but Caesar managed to reconcile them and interest them in creating a common coalition against the senators.
With the support of these major politicians, Caesar began to seek the highest state position — the consulate.
Moreover, he entered into an alliance with Lucius Lucceius, a rather rich man — it was planned that the people would choose Caesar and Lucceius as consuls.
The senators, led by Cato the Younger, opposed them in the elections of Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, whom they generously supplied with gold and their support.
With his help, they planned to minimize Caesar's influence on state affairs, since the consulate was a collegial position, and all important decisions had to be made only with the consent of both consuls.
Caesar and Bibulus were elected at the elections[2].
Caesar dealt with Bibulus quite cruelly — the supporters of the first forced him to hide, not allowing him to engage in direct duties[2][3].
Cato's supporters, who formed the majority in the Senate, actively opposed all the laws of Caesar, which were aimed at improving the life of the Plebeians.
In response, Caesar arrested Cato and intimidated Cicero — the two leaders of the senatorial party.
[edit] Caesar in Gaul.
Civil War
The Gallic War (animated map)
- The Roman Republic before the war↗ - Caesar's actions
↗ - actions of the Gauls and their allies
X battles; the ancient toponym is indicated first, the modern one is indicated in parentheses (if any)
The cities through which he passed are indicated in gray Caesar's Way; the modern name of the city is given in parentheses
Neutral and allied tribes of Rome are indicated in gray italics
Enemy tribes, generals and cities are indicated in blue
After the end of his consulship, Caesar went to Gaul.
The Gallic War lasted almost 10 years almost without interruptions.
During this time, Caesar and his legions gradually subjugated the entire territory of modern France, as well as part of Belgium, to Rome.
During the Gallic campaign, Caesar became very popular among the legionnaires.
Later, it was the unconditional support of the legions that allowed Caesar to start a civil war and defeat his enemies in turn.
During his stay in Gaul, Caesar closely followed the affairs in Rome and corresponded with Pompey and Crassus.
However, when Crassus died in Syria, and the popularity of Caesar, caused by the victories in Gaul and the expansion of the Roman state, overshadowed the popularity of Pompey, the latter concluded an alliance with the senate hostile to Caesar.
The Senate, with the consent of Pompey, began to demand the return of Caesar to Rome for the reason that the war was already over.
Moreover, the senators demanded to disband the legions and give the Senate a full account of their actions, while Pompey quickly gathered an army (officially — for the campaign against Parthia).
Caesar refused to do this, and after that the civil war of 49-45 BC began.
[edit] Civil War between Caesar and Pompey
During this war, Caesar held companies in Italy, Spain, Greece and Egypt.
On January 10, 49 BC , Caesar crossed the border river Rubicon and quickly captured Rome, from which the entire Senate, led by Pompey, managed to escape.
The latter decided to organize resistance to Caesar in Greece and sailed from Italy.
Caesar first campaigned against the Pompeians in Spain and only then landed in Greece.
The first few battles were unsuccessful for Caesar, but he managed to transfer military operations from the mountainous Epirus (modern Albania and western Greece) to the Aegean coast.
The main battle of the civil war took place there — the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC, in which Caesar completely defeated Pompey's army.
Pompey fled to Egypt, but there he was captured and killed by order of the Egyptian king.
After Caesar arrived in Egypt, he intervened in the internal Egyptian intrigues on the side of the candidate for the royal throne Cleopatra.
After the victory, Caesar began an African campaign in the territory of modern Tunisia, where Caesar was opposed by his old enemy Cato the Younger.
Cato committed suicide during the siege of the fortress of Utica by Caesar.
Finally, Caesar held the last campaign again in Spain, where he defeated the last Pompeians.
Military actions of the civil war of 49-45 BC .
A thin black line shows the borders of the Roman Republic, the dotted line shows the borders of the provinces
↗ — Caesar's actions;
↗ — actions of Caesar's associates;
↗ - Pompey's actions;
Caesar's victories and the cities he took Pompey's victories are major cities
[edit] After the Civil War.
The Assassination of Caesar
Karl Theodor von Piloty The Assassination of Caesar in the Senate
Even during the civil war, the Romans gave Caesar almost all possible titles, and in February 44 BC , Caesar was declared dictator for life with the consent of the entire Roman people.
At the same time, some of his supporters actively promoted the idea of assigning Caesar also a royal title, which caused a very restrained reaction among the Romans and extremely negative among some patricians.
Although Caesar refused to accept the royal title, it is the desire for open royal power that is considered the main reason for the attempt on his life.
In view of the fact that Caesar was going to go to war against Parthia, the dissatisfied patricians agreed to kill Caesar as soon as possible.
Caesar was assassinated on March 15, 44 BC during a meeting of the Senate.
The conspirators, among whom there were people very close to Caesar, inflicted 23 daggers on him.
[edit] The identity of Caesar
Caesar is perhaps the most famous Roman.
Even his contemporaries emphasized his positive habits and abilities, and kept silent about the negative ones.
His personality has always been in the center of public attention, so many descriptions of his personality have come down to us.
For example, it is known that Caesar had a bald head, and therefore he used the opportunity to constantly wear a laurel wreath[4].
He was accused of leading a depraved lifestyle — some called him "the husband of all wives and the wife of all husbands"[5].
At the same time, everyone noted that Caesar did not drink wine in large volumes, which is why Cato the Younger noticed that "Caesar was the only one of all who took up the coup d'etat sober"[6].
Because of his way of life and especially because of the need to support his popularity, Caesar plundered the provinces subordinate to him as in times of war, and in Gaul he even plundered the largest temples of the Gauls.
In addition, in the year of his consulship, Caesar, using his powers, replaced 3,000 Roman pounds of gold with copper in the state treasury[7].
Caesar was an excellent master of weapons and controlled a horse[8], and also perfectly conducted all the battles in which he participated.
He was on very good terms with his soldiers, and they almost never opposed him, even if he led them to a civil war against other Roman citizens.
Contemporaries also note his softness.
Whenever possible, Caesar sought to reconcile with all his enemies[9], even with Pompey and Cato.
Caesar was happy to receive Cicero, who was one of the leaders of the conservative majority of senators.
After the victory in the civil war, Caesar allowed all the Pompeians to return to Rome, and none of them was punished.
He did not execute the conspirators about whom he was aware, but only said that he knew all their plans[10].
The reign of Caesar is considered one of the main moments in the process of transition from the Republic to the Empire, because it was he who began to trample on republican state customs and establish new ones.
The outstanding historian, the Nobel Prize winner in literature, Theodor Mommsen, in his fundamental "Roman History", exalted Caesar by all means, simultaneously belittling all contemporary politicians, and above all Pompey.
However, it is often believed that Mommsen's position was influenced by political events in Germany at the end of the XIX century.
Many of the historians of the early twentieth century polemicized with Mommsen about his views, including his explicit Caesarian positions.
In later works, including modern ones, Caesar's activity is evaluated more neutrally and taking into account the background of a very complex era that is modern to him.
From the cognomen of Caesar, the Germanic name of the monarch kaiser and the Slavic tsar are derived.
In honor of Caesar, the month of his birth (formerly Quintilius) is also named, the name of which has passed into many European languages.
[edit] See also
Caesar and the Jews
[edit] Sources
↑ Zanker P.
The Irritating Statues and Contradictory Portraits of Julius Caesar // A Companion to Julius Caesar (ed. by M. Griffin).
— Malden; Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, 2009.
- P. 311-313.
↑ 2,0 2,1 Plutarch.
Comparative biographies.
Caesar, 14 ↑ Gaius Suetonius Tranquille.
The life of the Twelve Caesars.
The Divine Caesar, 20, 1 Га Gaius Suetonius Tranquille.
The life of the Twelve Caesars.
The Divine Caesar, 45 ↑ Gaius Suetonius Tranquille.
The life of the Twelve Caesars.
The Divine Caesar, 52 ↑ Gaius Suetonius Tranquille.
The life of the Twelve Caesars.
The Divine Caesar, 53 ↑ Gaius Suetonius Tranquille.
The life of the Twelve Caesars.
The Divine Caesar, 54 ↑ Gaius Suetonius Tranquille.
The life of the Twelve Caesars.
The Divine Caesar, 57 ↑ Gaius Suetonius Tranquille.
The life of the Twelve Caesars.
The Divine Caesar, 73 ↑ Gaius Suetonius Tranquille.
The life of the Twelve Caesars.
The Divine Caesar, 75
[edit] Links
Plutarch — "Comparative biographies".
Alexander the Great and Caesar Gaius Suetonius Tranquille - "The Life of the Twelve Caesars".
The Divine Caesar S. L. Utchenko Julius Caesar Latin texts of Caesar and his Successors
Source — "http://cyclowiki.org/w/index.php?title=Gaius Julius Caesar&oldid=661649"
Categories: Personalities alphabetically Julius Caesar Writers of Ancient Rome Military leaders of Ancient Rome Latin historians Latin speakers Orators of Ancient Rome Historians of Ancient Rome Memoirists of Ancient Rome Deified monarchs of Julia Claudius Julia Characters of the "Divine Comedy" Victims of political murders
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