Search results
Dec 1, 2007 · Although Latin, Greek and the ancient world in general are no longer central to modern education, Julius Caesar still remains a household name. During his intensely dramatic...
Dec 12, 2023 · Julius Caesar is a name that is known worldwide, even centuries after his death. He was a Roman general, statesman, and historian who played a crucial role in the rise of the Roman Republic and the eventual transition to the Roman Empire .
Gaius Julius Caesar [a] (12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and subsequently became dictator from 49 BC until his assassination in 44 BC.
- Overview
- Family background and career
Julius Caesar's family was old Roman nobility, but they were not rich. His father died when he was 16, but he received significant support from his mother.
How did Julius Caesar change the world?
Julius Caesar was a political and military genius who overthrew Rome’s decaying political order and replaced it with a dictatorship. He triumphed in the Roman Civil War but was assassinated by those who believed that he was becoming too powerful.
How did Julius Caesar die?
Julius Caesar was murdered in the Roman Senate House by a group of nobles on March 15, 44 BCE. The assassination plot was led by Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus.
How did Julius Caesar come to power?
Caesar’s gens, the Julii, were patricians—i.e., members of Rome’s original aristocracy, which had coalesced in the 4th century bce with a number of leading plebeian (commoner) families to form the nobility that had been the governing class in Rome since then. By Caesar’s time, the number of surviving patrician gentes was small; and in the gens Julia the Caesares seem to have been the only surviving family. Though some of the most powerful noble families were patrician, patrician blood was no longer a political advantage; it was actually a handicap, since a patrician was debarred from holding the paraconstitutional but powerful office of tribune of the plebs. The Julii Caesares traced their lineage back to the goddess Venus, but the family was not snobbish or conservative-minded. It was also not rich or influential or even distinguished.
Britannica Quiz
Famous Deaths in History Quiz
A Roman noble won distinction for himself and his family by securing election to a series of public offices, which culminated in the consulship, with the censorship possibly to follow. This was a difficult task for even the ablest and most gifted noble unless he was backed by substantial family wealth and influence. Rome’s victory over Carthage in the Second Punic War (218–201 bce) had made Rome the paramount power in the Mediterranean basin; an influential Roman noble family’s clients (that is, protégés who, in return, gave their patrons their political support) might include kings and even whole nations, besides numerous private individuals. The requirements and the costs of a Roman political career in Caesar’s day were high, and the competition was severe; but the potential profits were of enormous magnitude. One of the perquisites of the praetorship and the consulship was the government of a province, which gave ample opportunity for plunder. The whole Mediterranean world was, in fact, at the mercy of the Roman nobility and of a new class of Roman businessmen, the equites (“knights”), which had grown rich on military contracts and on tax farming.
Military manpower was supplied by the Roman peasantry. This class had been partly dispossessed by an economic revolution following on the devastation caused by the Second Punic War. The Roman governing class had consequently come to be hated and discredited at home and abroad. From 133 bce onward there had been a series of alternate revolutionary and counter-revolutionary paroxysms. It was evident that the misgovernment of the Roman state and the Greco-Roman world by the Roman nobility could not continue indefinitely and it was fairly clear that the most probable alternative was some form of military dictatorship backed by dispossessed Italian peasants who had turned to long-term military service.
Exclusive academic rate for students! Save 67% on Britannica Premium.
Aug 21, 2024 · FULL NAME: Gaius Julius Caesar BORN: July 12, 100 BCE DIED: March 15, 44 BCE BIRTHPLACE: Rome, ... Meanwhile, Crassus still had never completely overcome his disdain for Pompey.
- editor@biography.com
- Staff Editorial Team And Contributors
Jul 24, 2018 · Though his name has come to mean monarch or ruler, Julius Caesar was never an Emperor of Rome. However, first as Consul then as Dictator for life, he paved the way for the end of the Republic and the dawn of the Empire.
People also ask
Who was Gaius Julius Caesar?
Who was Julius Caesar and what did he do?
Was Julius Caesar an emperor?
How did Julius Caesar get his name?
Who were Julius Caesar parents?
How long did Julius Caesar rule the Roman Empire?
Julius Caesar was born in Rome on 12 or 13 July 100 BC into the prestigious Julian clan. His family were closely connected with the Marian faction in Roman politics.
