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Top Ten Books on Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar has cast a shadow over western history for two millennia. He was a remarkable general, a people's champion, the destroyer of the Roman Republic and the creator of the Roman Empire. Each of these books not only try to tell Caesar's story but attempt to understand his impact on the world.

Goldsworthy, Adrian, Caesar: Life of a Colossus (Yale University Press, 2008)

In the introduction to his biography of the great Roman emperor, Adrian Goldsworthy writes, “Caesar was at times many things, including a fugitive, prisoner, rising politician, army leader, legal advocate, rebel, dictator . . . as well as husband, father, lover, and adulterer.” In this landmark biography, Goldsworthy examines Caesar as a military leader, all of these roles and places his subject firmly within the context of Roman society in the first century B.C.

"Adrian Goldsworthy is one of our most promising young military historians today."—Sir John Keegan, author of The Iraq War

Freeman, Philip. Julius Caesar . (Simon and Schuster, 2008)

In this splendid biography, Freeman presents Caesar in all his dimensions and contradictions. With remarkable clarity and brevity, Freeman shows how Caesar dominated a newly mighty Rome and shaped its destiny. This book will captivate readers discovering Caesar and ancient Rome for the first time as well as those who have a deep interest in the classical world.

"Can Alexander Hamilton possibly have been right that Julius Caesar was 'the greatest man who ever lived'? Reading Philip Freeman's pacy and panoptic narrative of Caesar's life from unpromising early beginnings to the fateful Ides is one very rewarding approach to answering that perennially fascinating question." -- Paul Cartledge, Professor of Greek History, University of Cambridge

Suetonis, Grant, Robert, trans. The Twelve Caesars (New York: Penguin Books, 1979)

As private secretary to Emperor Hadrian, the scholar Suetonius had access to the imperial archives and used them (along with eyewitness accounts) to produce one of the most colorful biographical works in history. The Twelve Caesars chronicles the public careers and private lives of the men who wielded absolute power over Rome, from the foundation of the empire under Julius Caesar and Augustus to the decline into depravity and civil war under Nero and the recovery that came with his successors.

Osgood, Josiah. Caesar's Legacy: Civil War and the Emergence of the Roman Empire (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2006)

In April 44 BC the eighteen-year-old Gaius Octavius landed in Italy and launched his take-over of the Roman world. Defeating first Caesar's assassins, then the son of Pompey the Great, and finally Antony and the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, he dismantled the old Republic, took on the new name 'Augustus', and ruled forty years more with his equally remarkable wife Livia. Caesar's Legacy grippingly retells the story of Augustus' rise to power by focusing on how the bloody civil wars which he and his soldiers fought transformed the lives of men and women throughout the Mediterranean world and beyond. During this violent period, citizens of Rome and provincials came to accept a new form of government and found ways to celebrate it. Yet they also mourned, in literary masterpieces and stories passed on to their children, the terrible losses they endured throughout the long years of fighting.

'… a fine achievement … A vision of the remarkable period now exists where none existed before. In his first book, Mr. Osgood provides an admirable demonstration of original scholarship, and he is to be warmly congratulated.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Holland, Tom. Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic (London, Anchor Press, 2003)

Rubicon is vivid historical account of the social world of Rome as it moved from republic to empire. In 49 B.C., the seven hundred fifth year since the founding of Rome, Julius Caesar crossed a small border river called the Rubicon and plunged Rome into cataclysmic civil war. Tom Holland’s enthralling account tells the story of Caesar’s generation, witness to the twilight of the Republic and its bloody transformation into an empire. From Cicero, Spartacus, and Brutus, to Cleopatra, Virgil, and Augustus, here are some of the most legendary figures in history brought thrillingly to life.

Combining verve and freshness with scrupulous scholarship, Rubicon is not only an engrossing history of this pivotal era but a uniquely resonant portrait of a great civilization in all its extremes of self-sacrifice and rivalry, decadence and catastrophe, intrigue, war, and world-shaking ambition.

Goodman, Rob. Rome's Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato: Mortal Enemy of Caesar (St. Martin's Griffen, 2014)

Marcus Porcius Cato: an aristocrat who walked barefoot and slept on the ground with his troops, political heavyweight who cultivated the image of a Stoic philosopher, a hardnosed defender of tradition who presented himself as a man out of the sacred Roman past—and the last man standing when Rome's Republic fell to tyranny. His blood feud with Caesar began in the chamber of the Senate, played out on the battlefields of a world war, and ended when he took his own life rather than live under a dictator.

Syme, Ronald, The Roman Revolution (Oxford, Oxford University, 2002).

The Roman Revolution is a profound and unconventional treatment of a great theme - the fall of the Republic and the decline of freedom in Rome between 60 BC and AD 14, and the rise to power of the greatest of the Roman Emperors, Augustus. The transformation of state and society, the violent transference of power and property, and the establishment of Augustus' rule are presented in an unconventional narrative, which quotes from ancient evidence, rarely refers to modern authorities, and states controversial opinions quite openly. The result is a book which is both fresh and compelling.

`the most complete and the most challenging history of its subject which has appeared for many years, in England perhaps at any time ... Nor is this book only for the specialist, for the subject is of prime importance, the information is the best which modern research can provide.' Oxford Magazine

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Jiménez, Ramon L., Caesar Against Rome: The Great Roman Civil War (New York, Praeger, 2006).

Caesar Against Rome is an absorbing narrative of the four-year Roman Civil War that began with Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon in 49 BCE. Focusing always on Caesar, the book sketches a panorama of Roman society―the first society to display the ambition, greed, and intrigue of modern politics―in the last century before Christ. Caesar was a complex and contradictory figure, extraordinarily talented and extremely ambitious, but at the same time vain, careless, and inclined to be forgiving. While Caesar's unusual show of mercy was a significant factor in winning popular support, soldiers, and towns to his side, it allowed all enemy leaders to return to the battlefield against him.

Kurt A. Raalaab, trans., The Landmark Julius Caesar: The Complete Works: Gallic War, Civil War, Alexandrian War, African War, and Spanish War (Anchor Books, 2019)

The Landmark Julius Caesar is the definitive edition of the five works that chronicle the mil­itary campaigns of Julius Caesar. Together, these five narratives present a comprehensive picture of military and political developments leading to the collapse of the Roman Republic and the advent of the Roman Empire.

The Gallic War is Caesar’s account of his two invasions of Britain and of conquering most of what is today France, Belgium, and Switzerland. The Civil War describes the conflict in the following year which, after the death of his chief rival, Pompey, and the defeat of Pompey’s heirs and supporters, resulted in Caesar’s emergence as the sole power in Rome. Accompanying Caesar’s commentaries are three short but essential additional works, known to us as the Alexandrian War, the African War, and the Spanish War. These were written by three unknown authors who were eyewitnesses and probably Roman officers.

Jonathan P. Roth, Roman Warfare (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009)

Roman Warfare surveys the history of Rome's fighting forces from their inception in the 7th century BCE to the fall of the Western Empire in the 5th century CE. In non-technical, lively language, Jonathan Roth examines the evolution of Roman war over its thousand-year history. He highlights the changing arms and equipment of the soldiers, unit organization and command structure, and the wars and battles of each era. The military narrative is used as a context for Rome's changing tactics and strategy and to discuss combat techniques, logistics, and other elements of Roman war. Political, social, and economic factors are also considered.

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The Best Julius Caesar Biographies for The Ides of March

While the ides of march is trivia 101 for shakespeare students, for the dictator gaius julius caesar it was a seriously lousy day. march 15 commemorates caesar’s assassination by conspirators in 44 bc. a brilliant politician, orator and military strategist, caesar propelled to power and inspired generations of personalities, from george washington to george bernard shaw. these five biographies shed light on an enigmatic and complex leader whose beliefs on war and power still resonate today. veni, vidi, vici.

by Tom Holland

Paperback $21.00, buy from other retailers:.

The Leadership Genius of Julius Caesar

By phillip barlag, hardcover $24.95.

The Landmark Julius Caesar

Paperback $33.00.

The Twelve Caesars

By suetonius, paperback $16.00.

Paperback $22.00

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Julius Caesar

Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar turned the Roman Republic into the powerful Roman Empire. An assassination ended his reign on the Ides of March.

Quick Facts

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Julius Caesar was a leader of ancient Rome who significantly transformed what became known as the Roman Empire by greatly expanding its geographic reach and establishing its imperial system. Allegedly a descendant of Trojan prince Aeneas, Caesar’s birth marked the beginning of a new chapter in Roman history. By age 31, Caesar had fought in several wars and become involved in Roman politics. After several alliances and military victories, he became dictator of the Roman Empire, a rule that lasted for just one year before his death in 44 BCE.

FULL NAME: Gaius Julius Caesar BORN: July 12, 100 BCE DIED: March 15, 44 BCE BIRTHPLACE: Rome, Italy SPOUSE: Cornelia (84–69 BCE), Pompeia (67–62 BCE), Calpurnia (59–44 BCE) CHILDREN: Julia Caesaris, Caesarion ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Cancer

Born Gaius Julius Caesar on July 12, 100 BCE, Caesar hailed from Roman aristocrats, though his family was far from rich. Little is known of Caesar’s early years, but during his youth an element of instability dominated the Roman Republic, which had discredited its nobility and seemed unable to handle its considerable size and influence.

When he was 16, his father, an important regional governor in Asia also named Gaius Julius Caesar, died. He remained close to his mother, Aurelia. Around the time of his father’s death, Caesar made a concerted effort to establish key alliances with the country’s nobility, with whom he was well-connected.

In 84 BCE, Caesar married Cornelia, the daughter of a nobleman. Caesar’s marriage to Cornelia drew the ire of the Roman dictator Sulla, as Cornelia’s father was Sulla’s political rival. Sulla ordered Caesar to divorce his wife or risk losing his property. The young Roman refused and escaped by serving in the military, first in the province of Asia and then in Cilicia. Caesar likely returned to Rome after Sulla’s death circa 79 BCE (another account states Caesar, with the help of his influential friends, eventually convinced Sulla to be allowed to return).

Back in Rome, Caesar and Cornelia had a daughter, Julia Caesaris, in 76 BCE. In 69 BCE, Cornelia passed away.

After Sulla’s death, Caesar began his career in politics as a prosecuting advocate. He relocated temporarily to Rhodes to study philosophy.

During his travels he was kidnapped by pirates. In a daring display of his negotiation skills and counter-insurgency tactics, he convinced his captors to raise his ransom, then organized a naval force to attack them. The pirates were captured and executed.

Caesar further enhanced his stature in 74 BCE when he put together a private army and combated Mithradates VI Eupator, king of Pontus, who had declared war on Rome.

Caesar began an alliance with Gnaeus Pompey Magnus, a powerful military and political leader. Soon after, in 68 or 69 BCE, he was elected quaestor (a minor political office). Caesar went on to serve in several other key government positions.

In 67 BCE, Caesar married Pompeia, the granddaughter of Sulla. Their marriage lasted just a few years, and in 62 BCE, the couple divorced.

In 61 to 60 BCE, Caesar served as governor of the Roman province of Spain. Caesar maintained his alliance with Pompey, which enabled him to get elected as consul, a powerful government position, in 59 BCE.

The same year, Caesar wed Calpurnia, a teenager to whom he remained married for the rest of his life. (He also had several mistresses, including Cleopatra VII , Queen of Egypt, with whom he had a son, Caesarion.)

At the same time Caesar was governing under Pompey, he aligned himself with the wealthy military leader Marcus Licinius Crassus. The strategic political alliance among Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus came to be known as the First Triumvirate.

For Caesar, the First Triumvirate partnership was the perfect springboard to greater domination. Crassus, a leader known as the richest man in Roman history, offered Caesar financial and political support that proved to be instrumental in his rise to power.

Crassus and Pompey, however, were intense rivals. Once again, Caesar displayed his abilities as a negotiator, earning the trust of both Crassus and Pompey and convincing them they’d be better suited as allies than as enemies.

In a controversial move, Caesar tried to pay off Pompey’s soldiers by granting them public lands. Caesar hired some of Pompey’s soldiers to stage a riot. In the midst of all the chaos, he got his way.

Not long after, Caesar secured the governorship of Gaul (modern-day France and Belgium). This allowed him to build a bigger military and begin the kind of campaigns that would cement his status as one of Rome’s all-time great leaders. Between 58 and 50 BCE, Caesar conquered the rest of Gaul up to the river Rhine.

As he expanded his reach, Caesar was ruthless with his enemies. In one instance he waited until his opponent’s water supply had dried up, then ordered the hands of all the remaining survivors be cut off.

All the while, he was mindful of the political scene back home in Rome, hiring key political agents to act on his behalf.

As Julius Caesar’s power and prestige grew, Pompey grew envious of his political partner. Meanwhile, Crassus still had never completely overcome his disdain for Pompey.

The three leaders patched things up temporarily in 56 BCE at a conference in Luca, which cemented Caesar’s existing territorial rule for another five years, granted Crassus a five-year term in Syria, and accorded Pompey a five-year term in Spain.

Three years later, however, Crassus was killed in a battle in Syria. Around this time, Pompey—his old suspicions about Caesar’s rise reignited—commanded that Caesar disband his army and return to Rome as a private citizen.

Rather than submit to Pompey’s command, on January 10, 49 BCE, Caesar ordered his powerful army to cross the Rubicon River in northern Italy and march toward Rome. As Pompey further aligned himself with nobility, who increasingly saw Caesar as a national threat, civil war between the two leaders proved to be inevitable. Pompey and his troops, however, were no match for Caesar’s military prowess. Pompey fled Rome and eventually landed in Greece, where his troops were defeated by Caesar’s legions.

By late 48 BCE, Caesar had subdued Pompey and his supporters in Italy, Spain, and Greece, finally chasing Pompey into Egypt. The Egyptians, however, knew of Pompey’s defeats and believed the gods favored Caesar: Pompey was assassinated as soon as he stepped ashore in Egypt. Caesar claimed to be outraged over Pompey’s murder. After having Pompey’s assassins put to death, he met with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII.

Caesar and Cleopatra forged an alliance (and a sexual relationship) that ousted her brother and co-regent, Ptolemy XIII, and placed Cleopatra on the throne of Egypt. A skilled political tactician, she and her son by Caesar, Caesarion, proved instrumental in international affairs for years, culminating in her liaison with Roman general Mark Antony .

Upon his triumphant return to Rome, Caesar was hailed as the father of his country and made dictator for life. Although he would serve just a year’s term, Caesar’s rule proved instrumental in reforming Rome for his countrymen.

Caesar greatly transformed the empire, relieving debt and reforming the Senate by increasing its size and opening it up so that it better represented all Romans. He altered the Roman calendar and reorganized the construction of local government.

Caesar also resurrected two city-states, Carthage and Corinth, which had been destroyed by his predecessors. And he granted citizenship to a number of foreigners. A benevolent victor, Caesar even invited some of his defeated rivals to join him in the government.

At the same time, Caesar was also careful to solidify his power and rule. He stuffed the Senate with allies and required it to grant him honors and titles. He spoke first at assembly meetings, and Roman coins bore his face.

Although Caesar’s reforms greatly enhanced his standing with Rome’s lower- and middle-class populations, his increasing power was met with envy, concern, and angst in the Roman Senate. A number of politicians saw Caesar as an aspiring king.

And Romans had no desire for monarchical rule: Legend has it that it had been five centuries since they’d last allowed a king to rule them. Caesar’s inclusion of former Roman enemies in the government helped seal his downfall.

Caesar was assassinated by political rivals in Rome on the Ides of March —March 15—in 44 BCE. It’s not clear whether Caesar knew of the plot to kill him: By all accounts, he planned to leave Rome on March 18 for a military campaign in what is now modern-day Iraq, where he hoped to avenge the losses suffered by his former political ally Crassus.

Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus , former rivals of Caesar who’d joined the Roman Senate, led Caesar’s assassination. Cassius and Brutus dubbed themselves “the liberators.”

Brutus’ involvement in the killing packed the most complicated backstory. During Rome’s earlier civil war, he had originally sided with Caesar’s opponent, Pompey. But after Caesar’s victory over Pompey, Brutus was encouraged to join the government. His mother, Servilia, was also one of Caesar’s lovers.

After his death, Caesar quickly became a martyr in the new Roman Empire. A mob of lower- and middle-class Romans gathered at Caesar’s funeral, with the angry crowd attacking the homes of Cassius and Brutus.

Just two years after his death, Caesar became the first Roman figure to be deified. The Senate also gave him the title “The Divine Julius.”

A power struggle ensued in Rome, leading to the end of the Roman Republic. Caesar’s great-grandnephew Gaius Octavian played on the late ruler’s popularity, assembling an army to fight back the military troops defending Cassius and Brutus. His victory over Caesar’s assassins allowed Octavian, who assumed the name Augustus, to take power in 27 BCE and become the first Roman emperor.

In November 2017, archaeologists announced the discovery of what they believed to be the first evidence of Caesar’s invasion of Britain in 54 BCE. The excavation of a new road in Ebbsfleet, Kent, revealed a 5-meter-wide defensive ditch and the remains of pottery and weapons. Experts from the University of Leicester and Kent County Council said the location was consistent with accounts of the invasion from the time period, and enabled them to pinpoint nearby Pegwell Bay as the likely landing spot for Caesar’s fleet.

Julius Caesar’s last days and the ensuing political clash between Octavian, Cassius, and Brutus have been famously captured in the five-act tragic play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare . It was first produced in 1599 or 1600, around the opening of the Globe Theater, and continues to entertain audiences today. Joseph Mankiewicz ’s 1953 film adaptation of the play—starring Louis Calhern as Caesar, Marlon Brando as Mark Antony, James Mason as Brutus, and John Gielgud as Cassius—is one of the most enduring retellings on the silver screen.

• For the immortal gods are accustomed at times to grant favorable circumstances and long impunity to men whom they wish to punish for their crime, so that they may smart the more severely from a change of fortune.
• If you must break the law, do it to seize power: In all other cases, observe it.
• What we wish, we readily believe, and what we ourselves think, we imagine others think also.
• The res publica is nothing—a mere name without body or shape.
• You too, my child?
• Now that I am the leading Roman of my day, it will be harder to pull me down from first to second place than degrade me to the ranks.
• No, I am Caesar, not king.
• For those closest to a man ought not to allow his death to end their loyalty to him.
• An omen! A prodigy! Let us march where we are called by such a divine intimation. The die is cast.
• I merely want to protect myself against the slanders of my enemies.
• My aim is to outdo others in justice and equity, as I have previously striven to outdo them in achievement.
• I came, I saw, I conquered.

Citation Information

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• Website Name: The Biography.com website
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• Last Updated: March 15, 2023

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8 Best Books About Julius Caesar: Your Ultimate List

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Interested in learning more about Julius Caesar?

He was a prominent figure in ancient Rome, known for his military conquests and political influence. Julius Caesar is not only famous for his rise to power but also his tragic demise.

If you’re curious about this captivating historical figure and want to delve deeper into his life, I’ve compiled a comprehensive reading list of eight books that will provide you with a wealth of knowledge.

Table of Contents

Best books about julius caesar.

Collected best books to explore the life of Julius Caesar and his leadership, power, and influence in his time in Rome and of the neighboring nations.

titles of the Books About Julius Caesar

The Gallic War by Julius Caesar

Start with Caesar’s own firsthand account of his military campaigns in Gaul. This book offers valuable insight into his strategic thinking and leadership abilities.

The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius

Explore the lives of all twelve emperors, including Julius Caesar, in this captivating biography . Suetonius delves into their triumphs, scandals, and political intrigues.

Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic by Tom Holland

Immerse yourself in the turbulent final years of the Roman Republic and the events that led to Caesar’s rise to power and ultimate downfall.

Caesar: Life of a Colossus by Adrian Goldsworthy

Julius Caesar: The Colossus of Rome is a comprehensive biography written by Adrian Goldsworthy. In this book, Goldsworthy delves into the life of Julius Caesar, exploring his rise to power, political accomplishments, military campaigns, and ultimate downfall. Goldsworthy’s extensive research and engaging narrative provide readers with a detailed and insightful portrayal of one of history’s most influential figures.

Julius Caesar by Philip Freeman

Delve into the captivating life of Julius Caesar through Philip Freeman’s engaging and accessible narrative. This book provides a solid overview of his life and legacy.

The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People’s History of Ancient Rome by Michael Parenti

The Assassination of Julius Caesar provides a detailed account of the events leading up to the assassination, including Caesar’s rise to power, his military campaigns, and the reforms he implemented. Parenti examines the societal and political implications of Caesar’s rule, offering insights into the impact of his policies on the Roman Republic.

The Ides: Caesar’s Murder and the War for Rome by Stephen Dando-Collins

Uncover the details and aftermath of Caesar’s assassination in this gripping account that examines the power struggle that ensued.

Caesar and Christ by Will Durant

Discover the intersection of Caesar’s reign with the rise of Christianity in this compelling work by acclaimed historian Will Durant.

Julius Caesar and the Transformation of the Roman Republic by tom stevenson

The book Julius Caesar and the Transformation of the Roman Republic is a comprehensive account of Julius Caesar’s life and the significant impact he had on the Roman Republic. Written by esteemed historian Tom Stevenson, this book delves deep into the political, military, and social aspects of Caesar’s career, providing readers with a thorough understanding of his rise to power and the subsequent transformation of the Roman Republic.

Who Was Julius Caesar?

Julius Caesar was a Roman politician, military general, and dictator who played a significant role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He was born in 100 BCE into a patrician family, and his early life was marked by political and military ambition.

Caesar rose to prominence through military victories and political maneuvering. He held various political offices, including consul and governor, and he successfully expanded Roman territory through military conquests in Gaul (modern-day France) and in other parts of the Roman world.

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Caesar’s political influence grew exponentially, and his populist approach endeared him to the common people. However, his rise to power also sparked resentment and fear among the senatorial elite who saw him as a threat to the Republican system.

In 49 BCE, Caesar crossed the Rubicon River with his army, which marked the beginning of a civil war against his political rival, Pompey. After several years of conflict, Caesar emerged victorious and declared himself dictator for life.

As dictator, Caesar implemented numerous reforms, including the reorganization of the Roman calendar, the granting of Roman citizenship to non-Roman residents, and the establishment of public works projects to alleviate poverty. However, his autocratic rule and disregard for traditional Republican norms led to increasing opposition from senators who saw him as a tyrant.

On March 15, 44 BCE, Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators led by Brutus and Cassius – an event famously known as the Ides of March. His death sparked further turmoil in Rome and ultimately led to the collapse of the Roman Republic.

Julius Caesar’s legacy is multifaceted. He is celebrated as a military genius, a great orator, and a skilled politician. His impact on Roman history and the subsequent development of Western civilization cannot be overstated. By studying Julius Caesar, we gain insights into the complex dynamics of power, the rise and fall of empires, and the interplay between individual leadership and broader historical forces.

Learning about Julius Caesar allows us to understand the challenges and successes of an influential figure who shaped the course of history. His story is a reminder of the importance of examining the past to gain a deeper understanding of the present and future.

Importance of Learning About Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar was a towering figure in ancient Roman history, and studying his life and accomplishments is valuable for several reasons. We gain insight into the political, military, and cultural dynamics of ancient Rome. We learn his impact on Western civilization and his enduring legacy make him a compelling figure to learn about.

One of the key reasons for studying Julius Caesar is the unparalleled political and military career he had. From his rise through the ranks of the Roman Republic to his eventual dictatorship. By understanding the political landscape and the methods Caesar used to consolidate his power, we can gain a deeper understanding of the Roman Republic and the factors that led to its transformation into the Roman Empire.

Caesar’s military campaigns and conquests also make him a fascinating figure to learn about. From his victorious campaigns in Gaul to his famous crossing of the Rubicon, Caesar demonstrated strategic brilliance and military prowess.

His military achievements not only expanded Rome’s territorial reach but also shaped the course of European history. By studying his military tactics and the impact of his conquests, we can gain insights into ancient warfare and the nature of empire-building.

Furthermore, learning about Julius Caesar allows us to explore the cultural and social aspects of ancient Rome. Caesar was a patron of the arts and sought to bring prosperity and stability to Rome.

He initiated various reforms and projects, such as the Julian calendar, that had a lasting impact on Roman society. By understanding Caesar’s cultural contributions and the society in which he lived, we can gain a richer perspective on ancient Rome and its achievements.

More than his historical significance, the story of Julius Caesar is full of narratives about power, ambition, corruption. The between democracy and autocracy are timeless and continue to be relevant today. And studying that, we can reflect on the complexities of human nature and the challenges of governance, providing valuable insights into our own society and political systems.

Learning about Julius Caesar is valuable because it allows us to delve into ancient Roman history, understand the political and military dynamics of the time, explore cultural and social aspects of ancient Rome, and reflect on timeless themes and issues. By studying Caesar, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the complexities of human civilization and the enduring legacy of one of the most influential figures in history.

Studying the life and accomplishments of Julius Caesar is valuable for a number of reasons. Not only was he a key figure in Roman history, but his actions and influence continue to shape the world we live in today. By understanding the motivations and consequences of his decisions, we can gain valuable insights into politics, leadership, and the complexities of power.

The comprehensive reading list provided in this article offers a range of books that delve into various aspects of Julius Caesar’s life. Whether you’re interested in a detailed biography, an exploration of his impact on the Roman Republic, or an examination of his reign and assassination, there is something for everyone. So dive into these books and embark on a journey to better understand one of history’s most renowned figures.

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Thank you for being here! Books were my best buddies since I was 12. Funny how I just wanna talk about what I have read through the years. Enjoy reading, loves! You can send me book and film recommendations too! Haha.

ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Julius caesar.

Julius Caesar was a Roman general and politician who named himself dictator of the Roman Empire, a rule that lasted less than one year before he was famously assassinated by political rivals in 44 B.C.

Anthropology, Archaeology, Social Studies, World History

Gaius Julius Caesar was a crafty military leader who rose through the ranks of the Roman Republic, ultimately declaring himself dictator for life and shaking the foundations of Rome itself.

Photograph by James L. Stanfield, National Geographic

Julius Caesar was a Roman general and politician who named himself dictator of the Roman Empire, a rule that lasted less than one year before he was famously assassinated by political rivals in 44 B.C.E.

Caesar was born on July 12 or 13 in 100 B.C.E. to a noble family. During his youth, the Roman Republic was in chaos . Seizing the opportunity, Caesar advanced in the political system and briefly became governor of Spain, a Roman province.

Returning to Rome, he formed political alliances that helped him become governor of Gaul , an area that included what is now France and Belgium. His Roman troops conquered Gallic tribes by exploiting tribal rivalries . Throughout his eight-year governorship , he increased his military power and, more importantly, acquired plunder from Gaul . When his rivals in Rome demanded he return as a private citizen , he used these riches to support his army and marched them across the Rubicon River, crossing from Gaul into Italy. This sparked a civil war between Caesar’s forces and forces of his chief rival for power, Pompey, from which Caesar emerged victorious .

Returning to Italy, Caesar consolidated his power and made himself dictator . He wielded his power to enlarge the senate, created needed government reforms, and decreased Rome’s debt. At the same time, he sponsored the building of the Forum Iulium and rebuilt two city-states, Carthage and Corinth. He also granted citizenship to foreigners living within the Roman Republic.

In 44 B.C.E., Caesar declared himself dictator for life. His increasing power and great ambition agitated many senators who feared Caesar aspired to be king. Only a month after Caesar’s declaration, a group of senators, among them Marcus Junius Brutus, Caesar’s second choice as heir, and Gaius Cassius Longinus assassinated Caesar in fear of his absolute power.

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October 19, 2023

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The name Julius Caesar is one that has stood the test of time, evoking images of power, conquest, and ultimate betrayal. As one of the most famous Roman emperors, Caesar's life and legacy have been studied and scrutinized for centuries. From his rise to power to his tragic downfall, his story has captivated the minds of historians, scholars, and everyday people alike. In this article, we will delve into the life of Julius Caesar, exploring the key events and accomplishments that shaped him into one of the greatest leaders of Ancient Rome . We will also examine the impact that he had on the empire and how his legacy continues to influence our world today. Join us on a journey through history as we uncover the fascinating story of Julius Caesar and his lasting mark on the world as we know it. To fully understand Julius Caesar, we must first look at the context of Ancient Rome and its political climate during his time.

This will provide a better understanding of how Caesar rose to power and the events that shaped his reign. 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 . In this article, we will take an in-depth look at the life and legacy of Julius Caesar, examining his early years, rise to power, and lasting impact on world history.

Caesar was born into a patrician family, which gave him a privileged upbringing and access to quality education. His father was a senator and governor, while his mother came from a prominent family. This background set the foundation for Caesar's political ambitions and shaped his character as a leader. As he grew older, Caesar studied rhetoric and law, which honed his skills in public speaking and persuasion.

These skills would prove essential in his future political career. In his early 20s, Caesar joined the military and quickly rose through the ranks due to his bravery and strategic mind. He gained experience in battle and earned the loyalty of his soldiers, who admired his leadership abilities. This would later be crucial in his rise to power.

Next, we will examine Caesar's role in transforming Rome into an empire and the lasting impact he had on world history. After returning from his military campaigns, Caesar used his influence to gain political power in Rome. He formed alliances with influential figures and became consul, the highest position in the Roman Republic. With this power, Caesar implemented reforms that benefited the lower classes and solidified his support among the people.

However, these actions also made him enemies among the elite, leading to a civil war between Caesar and his rival Pompey. Caesar emerged victorious and became the sole ruler of Rome, effectively ending the Republic and ushering in the era of the Roman Empire. This article will also cover key events such as the Gallic Wars and Caesar's assassination, providing insight into his leadership style and political strategies. Caesar's military campaigns in Gaul solidified his reputation as a brilliant commander and expanded the Roman Empire to its greatest extent.

However, his growing power and ambition made him a target for assassination. In 44 BC, a group of senators conspired against Caesar and killed him in the Senate. Despite his death, Julius Caesar's legacy continues to shape the world today. His military conquests, political reforms, and lasting impact on Western civilization make him one of the most influential figures in history.

The Transformation of Rome

The gallic wars.

The Gallic tribes, who had long resisted Roman rule, saw Caesar's appointment as an opportunity to unite and overthrow their oppressors. Caesar quickly realized the threat posed by the Gauls and launched a preemptive strike against them. His tactics were ruthless and effective, often involving surprise attacks and swift movements of his army. One of Caesar's most famous victories during the Gallic Wars was the Battle of Alesia in 52 BC. Against a much larger force led by Gallic leader Vercingetorix, Caesar employed a brilliant strategy of surrounding his enemies and cutting off their supplies. The Romans emerged victorious, solidifying their control over Gaul. Throughout the Gallic Wars, Caesar also implemented tactics such as building fortifications and bridges, using cavalry effectively, and forming alliances with local tribes.

Early Years and Rise to Power

Caesar's early political career began when he was appointed as a military tribune in 69 BC. He quickly rose through the ranks and gained recognition for his bravery and tactical skills on the battlefield. During this time, he also formed important political alliances that would later prove crucial to his rise to power. In 60 BC, Caesar formed the First Triumvirate with two other influential Roman leaders, Pompey and Crassus.

This alliance gave Caesar significant political influence and helped him secure the position of consul in 59 BC. As consul, Caesar implemented important reforms that gained him popularity among the people and further solidified his political power. Despite facing opposition and threats from his political rivals, Caesar continued to rise in power and was eventually appointed as governor of Gaul in 58 BC. During his time in Gaul, he led a series of successful military campaigns that expanded Rome's territory and brought him even more wealth and fame.

Caesar's Assassination and Legacy

Despite warnings from his wife Calpurnia and a soothsayer, Caesar went to the Senate that day, where he was stabbed to death by his own senators, including his close friend Brutus. The aftermath of Caesar's assassination was chaotic and tumultuous. It sparked a power struggle between Caesar's supporters, led by Mark Antony, and the assassins, led by Brutus and Cassius. This ultimately led to the defeat of the conspirators at the Battle of Philippi and the rise of Caesar's adopted son Octavian as the first Emperor of Rome. But Caesar's legacy did not end with his death. He left behind a lasting impact on world history, shaping the political and social landscape of ancient Rome and influencing leaders for centuries to come.

His legacy as a military leader, statesman, and author continues to be studied and admired today. He is credited with expanding the Roman Empire to its greatest extent, introducing significant political and social reforms, and laying the foundation for the Pax Romana - a period of relative peace and stability in the Mediterranean region. Furthermore, Caesar's assassination further solidified the concept of political violence in Roman society. It set a precedent for future leaders to use force and manipulation to gain and maintain power, ultimately leading to the downfall of the Republic and the rise of imperial rule. Julius Caesar's life and legacy continue to fascinate and intrigue people around the world. He was a complex and influential figure who played a crucial role in shaping the Roman Empire and the world as we know it today.

Through his military campaigns, political strategies, and reforms, Caesar left a lasting impact that is still felt in modern society. By understanding his life and legacy, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the impact of Ancient Rome on global events and cultures throughout history.

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Culture History

Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar was a Roman military general, statesman, and dictator who played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. He was born in 100 BCE and was assassinated in 44 BCE. Caesar’s military conquests, political maneuvers, and eventual dictatorship significantly impacted the course of Roman history.

Early Life and Rise to Power

Julius Caesar’s early life and rise to power are integral parts of his historical narrative, shaping the trajectory of his political and military career. Born into a patrician family on July 12 or 13, 100 BCE, in Rome, Caesar hailed from a line that claimed descent from the goddess Venus. His family lacked the immense wealth of some Roman nobility, but they were well-connected politically.

Caesar’s father died when he was 16, leaving him with the responsibility of heading the family. Despite his father’s demise, Caesar received an excellent education, studying rhetoric, literature, and philosophy in Rome and Rhodes. His eloquence and oratorical skills, evident later in his political career, were honed during these formative years.

Caesar’s entry into public life began with his election as military tribune in 72 BCE. This position marked the start of his military service and provided him with the opportunity to showcase his leadership abilities. Subsequently, he served as quaestor in Hispania (present-day Spain) in 69 BCE, where he displayed administrative competence, albeit facing financial challenges. This early experience in both military and administrative roles laid the groundwork for his later achievements.

The turning point in Caesar’s career occurred when he formed a political alliance with two influential figures, Pompey and Crassus, creating the First Triumvirate in 60 BCE. Although an informal coalition rather than a legally sanctioned entity, the Triumvirate allowed the trio to pool their resources and influence Roman politics. Caesar’s alliance with Pompey, a military hero, and Crassus, one of the wealthiest Romans, bolstered his own political and military standing.

In 59 BCE, Caesar secured the powerful position of consul through the Triumvirate’s influence. His consulship marked a critical phase in his rise to power, as he navigated the complexities of Roman politics and consolidated support among the Roman populace. During his term, he pushed through legislation that addressed the land distribution issue, providing veterans with plots of land—a move that endeared him to the common people and strengthened his political base.

Caesar’s next significant step was obtaining the proconsulship of Gaul in 58 BCE. This appointment, which granted him command over Roman legions in Gaul (modern-day France, Belgium, and parts of Switzerland), was crucial for both military and political reasons. While Gaul was perceived as a province that required Roman control, it also provided Caesar with the opportunity to amass wealth and military glory.

Over the course of nearly a decade, from 58 BCE to 50 BCE, Caesar conducted a series of military campaigns in Gaul. His achievements in these campaigns showcased his strategic brilliance, tactical innovation, and an innate understanding of military logistics. The conquest of Gaul not only expanded Rome’s territories but also solidified Caesar’s reputation as a military genius.

Caesar’s Commentarii de Bello Gallico, his firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, demonstrates his prowess not only as a military commander but also as a skilled writer. The Commentarii served a dual purpose: narrating his military exploits for a Roman audience hungry for glory and shaping his own public image. Through these writings, Caesar skillfully portrayed himself as a capable and magnanimous leader, endearing himself to the Roman people.

While Caesar was achieving military success in Gaul, political tensions were escalating in Rome. His prolonged absence and accumulating power fueled suspicions among the Roman elite, particularly in the Senate. The triumviral arrangement with Pompey and Crassus began to unravel as Pompey aligned himself more closely with the Senate, distancing himself from Caesar.

The Senate, fearing Caesar’s growing influence and popularity, demanded that he disband his legions and return to Rome without the prospect of standing for consulship in absentia. However, Caesar was hesitant to comply, aware that returning to Rome without the protection of his armies could expose him to political and legal vulnerabilities.

The Rubicon River, a small waterway separating Gaul from Italy, became the symbolic threshold of Caesar’s defiance. Crossing the Rubicon in 49 BCE, Caesar uttered the famous phrase “alea iacta est” (“the die is cast”), signaling his decision to march on Rome and plunge the Republic into a civil war.

The ensuing conflict, known as the Roman Civil War, pitted Caesar against Pompey and the Senate. The decisive Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BCE resulted in Caesar’s victory, solidifying his control over the Roman state. Pompey fled to Egypt, where he was assassinated, and Caesar pursued his political adversaries, asserting dominance over Rome.

Upon returning to Rome, Caesar faced the challenge of consolidating power and implementing his vision for the Roman state. He embarked on a series of political and social reforms, aiming to address long-standing issues within Roman society. These reforms included the redistribution of land to veterans, the extension of Roman citizenship to more individuals, and the restructuring of the calendar into the Julian calendar.

Caesar’s political maneuvers, while applauded by the common people, stirred apprehension among those who cherished the traditional republican values. The Senate, fearing the concentration of power in one individual, grew increasingly uneasy. The culmination of these tensions unfolded on the Ides of March, March 15, 44 BCE, when a group of senators, including prominent figures like Brutus and Cassius, assassinated Caesar in the Theatre of Pompey.

Julius Caesar’s early life and rise to power reflect a complex interplay of political astuteness, military prowess, and the shifting dynamics of Roman society. From his humble beginnings to his triumphs in Gaul and the subsequent civil war, Caesar’s journey laid the groundwork for the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire . His legacy, marked by both admiration and controversy, remains a pivotal chapter in the annals of Western history.

Military Campaigns

Julius Caesar’s military campaigns stand as a testament to his strategic brilliance, bold leadership, and unparalleled military acumen. The most renowned of these campaigns occurred in Gaul, spanning from 58 BCE to 50 BCE, and were chronicled in Caesar’s own writings, Commentarii de Bello Gallico (Commentaries on the Gallic War).

Caesar’s proconsulship in Gaul marked a turning point in his career. Initially, his assignment seemed routine, involving the pacification of a region that had seen frequent uprisings. However, the scale and intensity of his campaigns surpassed expectations, and his accomplishments in Gaul became the cornerstone of his military reputation.

The Gallic Wars commenced with Caesar’s intervention in the Helvetii migration in 58 BCE. The Helvetii, a Celtic tribe, sought to migrate westward, causing concern among Roman allies. Caesar, viewing their movement as a potential threat to Roman stability, decisively defeated them at the Battle of Bibracte, showcasing his strategic foresight and military prowess.

Caesar’s campaigns in Gaul were marked by a series of engagements against various Gallic tribes, each presenting unique challenges. The Battle of Gergovia in 52 BCE, against the ambitious chieftain Vercingetorix, demonstrated Caesar’s adaptability and resilience. Though Caesar faced setbacks in this campaign, including a failed siege and a retreat, he ultimately regrouped and emerged victorious in the Siege of Alesia, effectively quelling the Gallic resistance.

A significant aspect of Caesar’s success in Gaul was his ability to forge alliances and divisions among the Gallic tribes. His diplomatic skill, coupled with a thorough understanding of local politics, allowed him to exploit internal rivalries and weaken Gallic unity. This divide-and-conquer strategy played a pivotal role in securing Roman dominance.

The Battle of Alesia, fought in 52 BCE, was a masterstroke in military strategy. Vercingetorix, recognizing the impending Roman siege, gathered Gallic forces in a fortified position. Caesar, undeterred, surrounded Alesia with a double fortification—a circumvallation to repel external reinforcements and a contravallation to defend against potential counterattacks. The Roman legions endured harsh conditions but ultimately prevailed, showcasing Caesar’s logistical prowess and strategic vision.

As Caesar continued to subjugate Gaul, his military campaigns extended beyond the borders of modern France. In 55 BCE and 54 BCE, he conducted two expeditions to Britain, seeking to expand Roman influence and gather intelligence. While the expeditions did not result in permanent conquests, they demonstrated Caesar’s audacity and willingness to explore new frontiers.

The Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BCE marked a critical juncture in Caesar’s military career. Facing off against Pompey, his former ally turned adversary, Caesar employed tactical brilliance to secure victory. Despite being outnumbered, Caesar exploited weaknesses in Pompey’s strategy, decisively defeating him. The Battle of Pharsalus solidified Caesar’s control over the Roman state, making him the undisputed master of Rome.

The Egyptian Campaign in 47 BCE showcased Caesar’s military prowess and political acumen. Following the Battle of Pharsalus, Caesar pursued Pompey to Egypt, where he became embroiled in the Egyptian civil war between Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy XIII. Caesar intervened decisively, aligning with Cleopatra and ensuring her ascent to the throne. This strategic move not only secured an alliance with Egypt but also showcased Caesar’s ability to navigate complex political landscapes.

Caesar’s military campaigns were characterized by a combination of strategic brilliance, tactical innovation, and adaptability. His legions, known for their discipline and loyalty, formed the backbone of his military success. Caesar’s personal leadership style, characterized by hands-on involvement in battles and the welfare of his troops, earned him the unwavering loyalty of his legions.

The Siege of Uxellodunum in 51 BCE, toward the end of the Gallic Wars, further demonstrated Caesar’s tenacity. The fortress of Uxellodunum, held by Gallic rebels, withstood a prolonged Roman siege. However, Caesar, determined to break the resistance, implemented a ruthless strategy. Upon capturing the stronghold, he imposed harsh penalties on the defenders, including cutting off the hands of those who had borne arms—an act that exemplified his resolve in maintaining Roman authority.

The military campaigns of Julius Caesar, while securing his position as a legendary commander, also raised concerns among the Roman elite. The prolonged duration of his proconsulship, coupled with his military successes, fueled fears of his growing power and ambitions. The crossing of the Rubicon River in 49 BCE, signaling the beginning of the Roman Civil War, marked a point of no return and set the stage for the eventual demise of the Roman Republic.

First Triumvirate

The First Triumvirate, a political alliance formed in 60 BCE, played a pivotal role in shaping the course of Roman history, paving the way for the rise of Julius Caesar and the eventual transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. Comprising three influential figures—Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey), and Marcus Licinius Crassus—the Triumvirate represented a strategic coalition of military prowess, political maneuvering, and financial influence.

Julius Caesar, a rising political figure known for his military exploits and charisma, formed a crucial part of the Triumvirate. Born into a patrician family, Caesar’s early political career saw him ascending through the Roman offices, showcasing his abilities as both a military commander and a shrewd politician. By aligning with Pompey and Crassus, Caesar sought to consolidate power and navigate the intricate political landscape of the late Roman Republic.

Pompey, also known as Pompey the Great, was a celebrated military general who had achieved fame through his victories in the East. Having been a part of the First Triumvirate, Pompey’s alliance with Caesar marked a notable shift in Roman politics. Initially, Pompey’s military prowess and popularity garnered him significant influence, but he found himself increasingly at odds with the Senate. The Triumvirate provided him with a powerful alliance to counterbalance the Senate’s influence and safeguard his interests.

Crassus, the wealthiest man in Rome at the time, was a seasoned politician and military commander. His financial resources were crucial in supporting the political aspirations of both Caesar and Pompey. Despite his wealth, Crassus sought military glory to match his political standing, and the Triumvirate offered him an opportunity to pursue his ambitions. Together, the three men formed a formidable trio that could effectively challenge the traditional power structures within the Roman Republic.

The formation of the Triumvirate was facilitated by mutual interests and complementary strengths. Caesar, as consul in 59 BCE, played a key role in brokering the alliance. The political landscape at the time was fraught with tensions, with various factions vying for control. Caesar’s consulship allowed him to shape the political climate in favor of the Triumvirate.

One of the earliest manifestations of the Triumvirate’s power was the passing of legislation known as the Lex Julia, which addressed the distribution of land to Pompey’s veterans and provided support for Caesar’s legislative agenda. This marked the beginning of the Triumvirate’s collaborative efforts in pursuing their individual goals while collectively challenging the Senate’s authority.

To solidify their alliance, Caesar gave his daughter Julia in marriage to Pompey, creating a familial tie between the two leaders. This marital connection was intended to strengthen the bonds of the Triumvirate, emphasizing the personal relationships that underpinned its political cohesion.

Despite the appearance of unity, tensions within the Triumvirate began to surface. The death of Julia in 54 BCE dealt a significant blow to the personal ties between Caesar and Pompey. Without this familial link, the Triumvirate faced strains as personal ambitions and conflicting interests took precedence.

Crassus’s death in 53 BCE further destabilized the alliance. His defeat at the Battle of Carrhae against the Parthians marked the end of his military aspirations and left a power vacuum within the Triumvirate. With Crassus gone, the delicate balance of power tilted, setting the stage for the eventual rivalry between Caesar and Pompey.

The breakdown of the Triumvirate became evident as Caesar’s proconsulship in Gaul drew to a close. The Senate, sensing an opportunity to curb Caesar’s influence, sought to limit his power upon his return to Rome. Pompey, once Caesar’s ally, found himself torn between loyalty to the Senate and maintaining a semblance of alliance with Caesar.

The situation reached a critical juncture in 50 BCE when the Senate demanded that Caesar disband his legions and return to Rome without the prospect of standing for consulship in absentia. Caesar, reluctant to expose himself to political vulnerability, chose to defy the Senate’s orders. Crossing the Rubicon River in 49 BCE, he famously declared, “alea iacta est” (“the die is cast”), initiating a civil war that would determine the fate of the Roman Republic.

The ensuing conflict, known as the Roman Civil War, pitted Caesar against Pompey and the Senate. Despite the historical camaraderie between Caesar and Pompey, the breakdown of the Triumvirate led to a bitter rivalry. The decisive Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BCE resulted in Caesar’s victory, marking a turning point in Roman history.

Pompey fled to Egypt, where he was ultimately assassinated. Caesar, upon arriving in Egypt, became embroiled in the Egyptian civil war between Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy XIII. His intervention on Cleopatra’s behalf further showcased the intersection of political and military dynamics in the wake of the Triumvirate’s dissolution.

The legacy of the First Triumvirate lies in its role as a catalyst for the unraveling of the Roman Republic. While the alliance initially served the interests of its members, personal ambitions, conflicting goals, and external pressures led to its disintegration. The breakdown of the Triumvirate set the stage for the rise of Julius Caesar and the subsequent shift from republic to empire, marking a transformative period in Roman history.

Crossing the Rubicon

The crossing of the Rubicon River by Julius Caesar in 49 BCE is a historic event that reverberated through the annals of Roman history, signaling the beginning of a civil war and ultimately leading to the demise of the Roman Republic. This fateful decision, immortalized by the phrase “alea iacta est” (“the die is cast”), marked a point of no return and set in motion a series of events that would reshape the political landscape of ancient Rome .

The Rubicon River served as a natural boundary between Cisalpine Gaul, where Julius Caesar held command, and the Roman Republic proper. Roman law strictly forbade any general from bringing an army across this river and into the Italian peninsula. This prohibition was designed to prevent military leaders from using their legions to seize power within Rome. The crossing of the Rubicon was, therefore, a direct challenge to the authority of the Roman Senate.

The events leading to Caesar’s decision to cross the Rubicon were rooted in the complex political dynamics of the time. The First Triumvirate, a political alliance formed in 60 BCE between Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus, had begun to unravel. The death of Crassus in 53 BCE created a power vacuum, and the subsequent death of Pompey’s wife, Julia (Caesar’s daughter), severed one of the personal ties that had bound the triumvirs together.

As Caesar’s proconsulship in Gaul neared its end in 50 BCE, the Senate, led by Pompey and his allies, sought to curtail Caesar’s influence upon his return to Rome. The Senate demanded that Caesar disband his legions and return to Rome without standing for consulship in absentia. This move was a calculated attempt to weaken Caesar’s political standing and prevent him from leveraging his military success in Gaul for further political gains.

Caesar, aware of the potential consequences of yielding to the Senate’s demands, faced a dilemma. Returning to Rome without the protection of his legions could expose him to political and legal vulnerabilities. The Senate, dominated by Pompey’s faction, had already demonstrated its intent to curb Caesar’s influence. The alternative, however, meant defying Roman law and initiating a civil war.

On January 10, 49 BCE, Caesar stood on the northern bank of the Rubicon with his legions. The Rubicon was not just a physical barrier; it represented the legal limit to a general’s authority. Caesar, contemplating the gravity of his decision, knew that crossing the Rubicon would trigger a conflict with the Senate, possibly leading to a civil war. The phrase “alea iacta est” is attributed to Caesar at this moment, signifying his acceptance of the irreversible course of action.

Caesar’s decision to cross the Rubicon was marked by both audacity and strategic calculation. Crossing the river with his army meant violating Roman law, an act that would bring about severe consequences. It was a move that would either secure his political survival or lead to his downfall. The die was cast, and there was no turning back.

The crossing of the Rubicon set off a chain reaction of events that unfolded rapidly. Caesar moved swiftly towards Rome, facing minimal resistance as many cities, including Ariminum and Rimini, opened their gates to him. The Senate, caught off guard, scrambled to respond to the sudden and bold advance of Caesar’s forces.

Pompey, realizing the gravity of the situation, opted to abandon Rome and retreat to the south. He hoped to gather forces, consolidate support, and prepare for a confrontation with Caesar. The strategic maneuvering on both sides marked the beginning of the Roman Civil War, a conflict that would determine the fate of the Roman Republic.

Caesar’s march towards Rome was marked by a series of decisive actions, including the capture of key cities and the securing of strategic alliances. The speed and efficiency of his movements showcased not only the loyalty of his legions but also the effectiveness of his military strategy.

The Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BCE was the climactic encounter of the Roman Civil War. It pitted Caesar against Pompey in a showdown that would decide the fate of the Republic. Despite being outnumbered, Caesar’s tactical brilliance and the discipline of his legions prevailed. The defeat of Pompey marked a turning point in Roman history, solidifying Caesar’s control over Rome.

The consequences of crossing the Rubicon were profound and far-reaching. By challenging the Senate’s authority, Caesar effectively ended the Roman Republic’s tradition of peaceful transitions of power. The political norms that had guided Rome for centuries were shattered, and the stage was set for the rise of autocratic rule.

Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon and the subsequent civil war led to a series of political and institutional changes. Caesar was appointed dictator perpetuo (dictator in perpetuity), consolidating unprecedented power in his hands. The Senate, stripped of its authority, became a symbolic body with limited influence. Caesar’s reforms, including the restructuring of the calendar into the Julian calendar, further reflected his imprint on Roman governance.

The crossing of the Rubicon and the events that followed culminated in the assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March in 44 BCE. While Caesar’s actions had transformed the political landscape, his death sparked new conflicts and power struggles. The vacuum left by Caesar’s demise ultimately paved the way for the rise of Caesar’s adopted heir, Octavian (later known as Augustus), and the establishment of the Roman Empire.

Dictatorship

Julius Caesar’s ascent to dictatorship marked a transformative period in Roman history, profoundly altering the political landscape and leading to the demise of the Roman Republic. From his crossing of the Rubicon in 49 BCE to his assassination on the Ides of March in 44 BCE, Caesar’s dictatorial rule left an indelible impact on Rome and set the stage for the subsequent transition from republic to empire.

Caesar’s appointment as dictator perpetuo (dictator in perpetuity) was a culmination of a series of events that unfolded during the Roman Civil War. The conflict emerged from the breakdown of the First Triumvirate, the political alliance between Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus. With Crassus dead and Pompey aligning himself with the Senate, Caesar found himself at odds with the Roman political establishment.

The crossing of the Rubicon in 49 BCE was a decisive move that set the Roman Civil War into motion. Caesar, aware of the political risks, defied the Senate’s orders and marched his legions into Italy. The ensuing conflict saw decisive battles, including the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BCE, where Caesar emerged victorious, securing control over Rome.

Caesar’s rise to dictatorship was facilitated by the breakdown of traditional Roman political norms. The Senate, once the primary governing body, found itself weakened and unable to resist Caesar’s growing power. The dictator perpetuo title, bestowed upon Caesar by the Senate in 44 BCE, granted him unprecedented authority, effectively making him the sole ruler of Rome.

As dictator, Caesar implemented a series of reforms aimed at addressing social and political issues within the Roman Republic. His policies reflected a blend of pragmatism and a desire for populist support. One significant reform was the distribution of land to veterans, a move intended to reward his loyal soldiers and alleviate social tensions in Rome.

Caesar’s agrarian reforms aimed at providing land to the poor, particularly those who had served in his legions during the Gallic Wars. This measure not only helped secure the loyalty of his veteran soldiers but also endeared him to the urban poor, a significant constituency in Roman politics. By addressing issues of land distribution, Caesar sought to strengthen his support base and foster social stability.

In addition to domestic reforms, Caesar initiated changes to the Roman calendar, which resulted in the adoption of the Julian calendar. This calendar, named after Caesar, introduced a 365-day year with a leap year, aligning more closely with the solar year. The Julian calendar, with later adjustments, formed the basis for the modern Gregorian calendar.

While Caesar’s reforms addressed immediate concerns and garnered support from certain segments of society, they also raised concerns among those who cherished the traditional republican values. The concentration of power in the hands of a single individual contradicted the foundational principles of the Roman Republic, where power was meant to be distributed among elected officials.

The Senate, despite its diminished influence, remained a symbol of republican governance. The traditionalists within the Senate feared Caesar’s autocratic rule and resented the erosion of their authority. Tensions between Caesar and the Senate persisted, as exemplified by incidents like the infamous refusal to rise in his honor and the offer of a crown during the Lupercalia festival, which Caesar rejected to avoid the appearance of aspiring to kingship.

Caesar’s refusal to accept the crown at the Lupercalia festival demonstrated his awareness of the sensitivities surrounding monarchical symbols in Rome. Despite his dictatorial powers, Caesar was mindful of the need to maintain a facade of republican governance to appease those who still clung to the ideals of the Roman Republic.

The term “dictator perpetuo” itself reflected a delicate balance. While the title conferred immense power upon Caesar, it retained a semblance of legality by maintaining the term “dictator,” a position traditionally appointed during times of crisis and for a limited duration. However, the open-ended nature of Caesar’s dictatorship, combined with his accumulation of various titles and offices, effectively concentrated power in his hands without the checks and balances inherent in the Roman system.

Caesar’s rule, despite its transformative nature, faced significant opposition. The Senate, led by figures like Brutus and Cassius, viewed Caesar as a threat to the republican order and conspired against him. The assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March in 44 BCE, carried out by a group of senators, including some of his closest associates, marked a dramatic turn of events.

The assassination of Caesar did not restore the Roman Republic but, instead, plunged Rome into a new round of civil wars. The power vacuum left by Caesar’s death led to a struggle for control, with figures like Octavian (Caesar’s adopted heir), Mark Antony , and Marcus Lepidus forming the Second Triumvirate. This alliance sought to avenge Caesar’s death, eliminate his assassins, and reestablish control over Rome.

The Battle of Philippi in 42 BCE resulted in the defeat of the forces led by Brutus and Cassius, solidifying the Triumvirs’ control over Rome. In the aftermath, internal conflicts between Octavian and Antony arose, eventually leading to the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE. Octavian emerged victorious, and in 27 BCE, he became the first Roman Emperor, marking the official transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire.

The dictatorship of Julius Caesar, while short-lived, left an enduring impact on the course of Roman history. His rule highlighted the vulnerabilities of the Roman Republic and underscored the challenges inherent in maintaining a balance between republican ideals and the practical demands of governance. The events following Caesar’s assassination paved the way for the establishment of the Roman Empire, fundamentally altering the nature of Roman governance and influencing the trajectory of Western civilization .

Assassination

The assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March in 44 BCE stands as one of the most consequential events in Roman history, triggering a chain reaction that ultimately led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. This dramatic act, carried out by a group of senators including some of Caesar’s closest associates, exposed the deep-seated tensions within Roman society and the struggle for power in the wake of Caesar’s dictatorial rule.

The political landscape leading up to Caesar’s assassination was marked by a complex web of alliances, rivalries, and shifting loyalties. Julius Caesar, having crossed the Rubicon in 49 BCE and defeated his adversaries in the Roman Civil War, had consolidated unprecedented power as dictator perpetuo. While some supported his autocratic rule, others viewed him as a threat to the traditional republican order.

The Senate, the symbolic heart of Roman governance, found itself marginalized and resentful of Caesar’s concentration of power. The traditionalists within the Senate, led by figures like Cassius and Brutus, feared that the Republic’s foundational principles were being eroded, and Rome was veering towards a one-man rule. The idea of a monarch, a concept anathema to Roman republican ideals, loomed large in their minds.

The conspirators against Caesar, commonly known as the Liberators, comprised a mix of senators, military officers, and politicians. Cassius Longinus, a senator with a deep-seated resentment toward Caesar, played a prominent role in organizing the conspiracy. Brutus, despite his close association with Caesar and his familial ties, was persuaded to join the plot by Cassius and others who saw him as a figurehead capable of garnering broader support.

The conspirators framed their actions as a noble endeavor to preserve the Roman Republic and prevent the emergence of a tyrant. They believed that eliminating Caesar would restore the traditional balance of power and protect the republican institutions that had defined Roman governance for centuries.

The stage was set on the Ides of March, March 15, 44 BCE, when Caesar was scheduled to attend a meeting of the Senate at the Theatre of Pompey. The conspirators, armed with daggers and driven by a sense of duty, positioned themselves among the senators. Caesar, perhaps influenced by his overconfidence or a disregard for the warnings he had received, proceeded to the Senate, unaware of the imminent threat.

As Caesar entered the Senate chamber, the conspirators surrounded him, and the first dagger was drawn. According to historical accounts, the initial stab came from Casca, one of the conspirators, followed by a frenzied onslaught of blows from multiple assailants. The sheer number of wounds inflicted upon Caesar, including the infamous participation of Brutus, reflected the intensity of the conspirators’ resolve.

The assassination of Julius Caesar unfolded in a chaotic and brutal manner. The act itself, while shocking, was symbolic of the deep-seated anxieties and conflicting visions for the future of Rome. The conspirators, in their bid to preserve the republic, resorted to political violence, setting off a series of events that would have profound consequences for the Roman state.

Contrary to the conspirators’ expectations, the assassination did not result in the restoration of the Roman Republic. Instead, it plunged Rome into a new round of turmoil. The vacuum left by Caesar’s death led to power struggles among various factions vying for control. The Liberators, far from being hailed as saviors, were met with hostility from the Roman populace.

Mark Antony, Caesar’s loyal supporter, skillfully exploited the public sentiment against the conspirators. His funeral oration, delivered at Caesar’s funeral, stirred emotions and turned public opinion against the Liberators. The phrase “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears” from Antony’s speech is immortalized by William Shakespeare and captures the rhetorical prowess employed to manipulate the crowd’s sentiments.

The events following Caesar’s assassination culminated in the formation of the Second Triumvirate, an alliance between Octavian (Caesar’s adopted heir), Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus. This coalition sought to avenge Caesar’s death, eliminate his assassins, and restore order to Rome. The Battle of Philippi in 42 BCE resulted in the defeat of the forces led by Brutus and Cassius, solidifying the Triumvirs’ control over Rome.

The assassination of Julius Caesar and its aftermath highlighted the fragility of the Roman political system. The republic, once a bastion of stability and civic virtue, succumbed to internal strife and external threats. The ideals of the Roman Republic, built on the principles of checks and balances, were compromised by the pursuit of personal power and the erosion of political norms.

The demise of the Roman Republic paved the way for the emergence of the Roman Empire. Octavian, later known as Augustus, capitalized on the political chaos to consolidate power and establish the principate. In 27 BCE, he became the first Roman Emperor, marking the formal transition from the republic to the empire.

The assassination of Julius Caesar remains a compelling and often debated episode in history. Some view it as a tragic attempt to salvage the republic, while others see it as a futile effort that ultimately contributed to the erosion of the very values the conspirators sought to protect. Regardless of one’s interpretation, the events surrounding Caesar’s death underscore the complex interplay of power, ambition, and political ideals in the tumultuous tapestry of Roman history.

Impact on Rome

The assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March in 44 BCE had profound and far-reaching consequences, reshaping the political landscape of Rome and setting the stage for the transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. The impact of Caesar’s death reverberated through the city, triggering a series of events that would ultimately redefine the nature of Roman governance.

One immediate effect of Caesar’s assassination was the eruption of political turmoil and civil unrest in Rome. The vacuum left by Caesar’s death created a power struggle among various factions vying for control. The conspirators, known as the Liberators, failed to gain the support they anticipated from the Roman populace. Instead, they faced hostility, as many citizens viewed Caesar as a popular and benevolent leader who had brought stability to Rome.

Mark Antony, Caesar’s loyal supporter, skillfully capitalized on the public sentiment against the conspirators. His funeral oration, delivered at Caesar’s funeral, incited a wave of anger and indignation among the Roman citizens. The crowd, moved by Antony’s rhetoric, turned against the Liberators, whom they now saw as traitors to the memory of the fallen leader.

The events following Caesar’s assassination led to the formation of the Second Triumvirate, an alliance between Octavian (Caesar’s adopted heir), Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus. This coalition was driven by a shared desire to avenge Caesar’s death, eliminate his assassins, and restore order to Rome. The Triumvirs initiated a series of proscriptions, targeting those deemed enemies of the state. Brutus and Cassius, among other conspirators, were hunted down and met their demise in the Battle of Philippi in 42 BCE.

The aftermath of the civil war marked a significant turning point for Rome. The Second Triumvirate, despite achieving its immediate objectives, faced the challenge of maintaining stability and consolidating power. The power-sharing agreement between Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus was tenuous, and internal tensions within the triumviral alliance began to surface.

The relationship between Octavian and Antony, in particular, became strained. Antony, captivated by his affair with Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, drifted away from Rome both politically and personally. Octavian, meanwhile, sought to secure his position and extend his influence within the Roman state.

The Battle of Actium in 31 BCE marked the culmination of the power struggle between Octavian and Antony. Octavian’s fleet, under the command of Agrippa, decisively defeated the combined forces of Antony and Cleopatra. The defeat led to Antony and Cleopatra’s suicides, and Octavian emerged as the sole master of Rome.

In 27 BCE, Octavian officially restored power to the Roman Senate, claiming to have returned the republic to its traditional form. However, his actions spoke otherwise. Octavian, now hailed as Augustus, became the first Roman Emperor, marking the beginning of the Roman Empire. The transition from republic to empire marked a profound transformation in the structure of Roman governance.

The impact of Caesar’s assassination on Rome extended beyond the political realm. It had social, cultural, and economic repercussions that reshaped the fabric of Roman society. The proscriptions initiated by the Second Triumvirate resulted in the purging of individuals deemed enemies of the state. This led to widespread bloodshed, as citizens were targeted for their wealth, political affiliations, or perceived threats to the triumvirs’ authority.

The proscriptions also had economic consequences. Confiscation of property and assets from the proscribed individuals contributed to a redistribution of wealth within Roman society. The ensuing instability and fear further weakened the foundations of the Roman Republic, as citizens grappled with the consequences of political violence and uncertainty.

The transition from republic to empire initiated a shift in cultural and societal values. The Roman Republic, with its emphasis on civic virtue and shared governance, gave way to the autocratic rule of the emperors. Augustus, in particular, sought to restore traditional Roman values, emphasizing the importance of moral conduct, family, and public service. The concept of the “Pax Romana” (Roman Peace) emerged during the early years of the empire, reflecting a period of relative stability and prosperity.

The imperial system introduced a new dynamic to Roman society. The emperors, while often holding absolute power, needed to balance the support of the army, Senate, and populace to maintain stability. Augustus, in crafting the image of the principate, presented himself as the “first citizen” rather than a monarch. This subtle manipulation of political symbols aimed to preserve the illusion of a restored republic while consolidating imperial authority.

The architectural landscape of Rome also underwent significant changes during the imperial period. Augustus initiated a series of monumental building projects, including the construction of the Forum of Augustus and the completion of the Temple of Caesar. These structures served not only as symbols of imperial grandeur but also as tools for shaping public perception and reinforcing the legitimacy of Augustus’s rule.

The impact of Caesar’s assassination on Rome was multi-faceted, leaving an enduring imprint on the city’s history and trajectory. The assassination itself marked the end of the Roman Republic, but the subsequent power struggles and transformations paved the way for the establishment of the Roman Empire. The transition from republic to empire ushered in an era of autocratic rule marked by the concentration of power in the hands of emperors, fundamentally altering the nature of Roman governance and shaping the course of Western civilization .

The establishment of the Roman Empire brought about a consolidation of authority, but it also raised questions about the balance between individual power and the principles of the Roman Republic. Augustus, the first emperor, skillfully navigated these complexities, presenting himself as a restorer of traditional Roman values while simultaneously wielding unprecedented authority.

The imperial system introduced a new administrative structure with a centralization of power in the emperor’s hands. While the Senate continued to exist, its role evolved into one of advisory rather than legislative. The emperor’s will, backed by the military, became the ultimate authority in matters of governance. This shift in political dynamics had a lasting impact on the Roman political psyche.

The imperial period also witnessed an expansion of Roman territory and influence. Under emperors like Trajan and Hadrian, the Roman Empire reached its greatest territorial extent, encompassing vast regions from Britannia to Mesopotamia. This expansion brought about cultural exchange, economic prosperity, and the spread of Roman influence, but it also posed challenges in terms of governance and administration.

The concept of citizenship underwent changes during the imperial era. While citizenship had been a prized status in the Roman Republic, the emperors extended it to various communities within the empire as a means of fostering loyalty and integration. This inclusive approach, known as the “Romanization” of the empire, sought to bind diverse regions under a common Roman identity.

The imperial period also witnessed the flourishing of Roman literature, art, and architecture. Augustan literature, often characterized by poets like Virgil and Horace, celebrated the virtues of the new imperial age. Roman art and architecture reflected a fusion of classical styles with innovative elements, leaving a legacy that influenced later artistic traditions.

Economically, the Roman Empire experienced both prosperity and challenges. The integration of diverse regions into a unified economic system facilitated trade, agricultural development, and technological advancements. However, issues such as taxation, economic inequality, and occasional financial crises also posed challenges to the stability of the empire.

The imperial succession became a critical factor in the longevity and stability of the Roman Empire. While some emperors, like Augustus and Trajan, were successful in securing smooth successions, others faced instability and conflict. The adoption of heirs, as exemplified by emperors such as Nerva adopting Trajan, became a strategic means of ensuring continuity.

Despite its strengths, the Roman Empire faced internal and external threats. Internally, issues such as political corruption, economic disparities, and military challenges posed significant risks. Externally, the empire contended with invasions by Germanic tribes, the Parthians in the east, and later, the formidable Sassanian Empire.

The decline of the Roman Empire, often attributed to a combination of internal and external pressures, unfolded gradually over centuries. Factors such as political instability, economic challenges, military decline, and the sheer vastness of the empire contributed to its eventual fragmentation. The division of the Roman Empire into the Western and Eastern Roman Empires marked a pivotal moment, with the Western Roman Empire succumbing to external pressures in 476 CE.

The legacy of Rome, however, endured. The Roman Empire’s contributions to law, governance, architecture, engineering, language, and culture left an indelible mark on subsequent civilizations. The principles of Roman law, embodied in the Justinian Code, continued to influence legal systems throughout Europe. The Latin language evolved into the Romance languages, and Roman engineering marvels such as aqueducts and roads persisted for centuries.

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History Books » Historical Figures

The best books on julius caesar, recommended by peter stothard.

The Last Assassin: The Hunt for the Killers of Julius Caesar by Peter Stothard

Julius Caesar was a populist politician and general of the late Roman Republic who immortalized himself not only by his beautiful writing about his military exploits, but also by the manner of his death. Here, British journalist and critic Peter Stothard , author of The Last Assassin, chooses five books to help you understand both the man and what motivated him and some of the people who have been inspired by him in the 2,000 years since he died.

Interview by Benedict King

Et Tu, Brute? The Murder of Caesar and Political Assassination by Greg Woolf

American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964 by William Manchester

Caesar and Cleopatra by George Bernard Shaw

The Complete Works of Julius Caesar by Julius Caesar

Imperial Projections in Modern Popular Culture by Sandra R. Joshel (Ed)

1 Et Tu, Brute? The Murder of Caesar and Political Assassination by Greg Woolf

2 american caesar: douglas macarthur 1880-1964 by william manchester, 3 caesar and cleopatra by george bernard shaw, 4 the complete works of julius caesar by julius caesar, 5 imperial projections in modern popular culture by sandra r. joshel (ed).

P erhaps, before we discuss your selection of books about Julius Caesar, you might briefly outline who Caesar was. As a non-Classicist, I think he conquered Gaul and Britain, and brought the Roman Republic to an end by crossing the Rubicon. He was then assassinated and said: ‘ Et tu, Brute ?’

Yes, he did conquer Gaul—between 58 and 50 BC—killing maybe a million Gauls in the process, also getting too rich and too powerful for traditional Roman politics to cope with him. No, he didn’t conquer Britain—even though his skill as a self-propagandist has often led people to think that he did. He had two goes at invading Britain, 55 and 54 BC, and was knocked back both times—more by the weather than the Britons.

And yes, he did cross the Rubicon, which was a shallow stream between Gaul and Italy. By crossing it with his army, in January 49 BC, he broke the rules designed to keep victorious armies away from Rome , began a civil war and gave the world a new term for an act from which you couldn’t go back.

Four years later, he might have said something like, ‘ Et tu Brute ,’ when he saw that one of his assassins on the Ides of March was the much loved son of his mistress. But, if he did, it would have probably been in Greek . It was quite usual for educated Romans to speak Greek. More importantly, he was a great writer in plain and elegant Latin . With words he established his place in the minds of his fellow Romans and of millions of people later by saying what he’d done—just as his death defined him for other writers.

By being assassinated he set a standard for thinking about the motives and consequences of assassination . For Romans, how you died was a very important summation of how you had lived. His death cemented what he’d written about what he had done. And the consequences of his death meant that no one ever forgot him.

Your book, The Last Assassin , deals with the pursuit of Julius Caesar’s assassins by his supporters, most notably his adopted son, Octavian, who would go on to become Emperor Augustus . What does that campaign to get back at his assassins tell us about the early establishment of his myth and reputation?

Caesar had many friends, as people who get to the top always do. But it turned out that some of those friends, for various reasons, were also his greatest enemies, so much so that they were prepared to kill him.

They each had slightly different motives, some of which are related to aspects of Caesar’s own character. Some hated him because they hadn’t become as rich under his watch as they felt he’d promised them they would be, or they’d hoped to be. One of them didn’t like him because he’d slept with his wife. Some didn’t like him because he pardoned them and made them feel, by his famous clemency, that somehow he was holding that over them. They felt ashamed of having been pardoned.

Others killed him because they were jealous of other people who hadn’t been as close to Caesar in the hard days in Gaul, but who seemed to have done almost as well as they had. There were lots of different personal reasons. One of them was upset that Caesar had stolen some lions he had planned to put in a circus show.

“For Romans, how you died was a very important summation of how you had lived”

But they all had this fear that Caesar, even if he wasn’t yet a tyrant in 44 BC, was going to become a tyrant and a single autocratic ruler of Rome. There had been brief periods in Roman history when there had been single autocratic rulers before, but the assassins had this idea that he was going to be different. They couldn’t know that, of course, but they thought he would become a kind of hereditary monarch and impose a different kind of tyranny that they wouldn’t be able to get rid of.

So, they argued amongst themselves, probably suppressing their personal motivations, as to whether it was the right thing to kill a man like Caesar, who had done a great deal for Rome , but who was now on the brink, or over the brink, of establishing a tyranny. Sophisticated arguments were brought to bear about whether they should kill him, or whether the civil war that would probably follow from his death would be even worse.

Let’s move on to the books you’re recommending about Julius Caesar. First up is Et Tu, Brute?: the Murder of Caesar and Political Assassination by Greg Woolf. Tell us about why you’ve chosen this one.

Having to choose five books about Julius Caesar has been a great challenge. Caesar is someone whom you have to look at through many different lenses and prisms. He is not an easy character to see straight up. Looking at him might be compared to looking at the sun. He wasn’t the sun, except to some of his most extreme admirers. But if you try to look at him from one sole direction, it is rather blinding. So, the books I’ve chosen—and Greg Woolf is a very good introduction to this—try to look around Julius Caesar, to look at the ways different people saw him at the time and have seen him since. Woolf’s is a good account of how Caesar got to the Ides of March and what happened on the day. It’s quick and short and a very good start. But there’s also a long section on how the assassination reverberated through history, across Europe and across the Atlantic.

If he didn’t say ‘ Et Tu, Brute? ’ what did he say?

‘ Et tu, Brute? ’ was one of Shakespeare ’s many contributions. If he said something like it, it is more likely he said the Greek words, ‘kai su, teknon’ , which means ‘and you, my child’ and has been variously interpreted to mean ‘even you, who I’ve loved so much’ and ‘even you, the son of my mistress’ or ‘you, too, are going to be assassinated in your turn.’ Maybe it meant ‘I’ll see you in hell’ or a version of ‘up yours, Brutus.’ The Greek phrase has been interpreted in many different ways and Shakespeare’s ‘Et Tu, Brute?’ was just a convenient way of Shakespeare saying what a Roman might have said.

And just before we get on to the next book: we all know how Caesar died, but where did he come from? Was he born into a senatorial Roman family or did he pull himself up by his bootstraps?

He was born into a good family. All the people we’re talking about in the story, all Caesar’s assassins, were part of the elite, if you like, although the man that I have recently become most interested in, Cassius Parmensis, the last surviving assassin , wasn’t one of the top ones, which in some ways made his eyes a good lens through which to watch the action.

Caesar was a member of one of the elite families which had been rivals, squabbled and cooperated with each other, and fought against each other for hundreds of years, and had made Rome the extraordinary conqueror of so much. Gradually, it turned out that the bigger Rome’s empire, and the bigger the army its generals had, the more impossible it was to control them from the centre. So, Caesar, out in Gaul, with a lot of legions, was a lot more powerful than the Senate, which was supposed to be his master. So the system risked toppling over under its own weight.

“Caesar had many friends…But it turned out that some of those friends, for various reasons, were also his greatest enemies”

Let’s move on to American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964 by William Manchester. This is the life of the American general Douglas MacArthur, who was the ruler of occupied Japan after the Second World War . Why have you chosen this book?

This book is a great example of how long the idea of Caesar lived in the minds of people writing about soldiers and politicians. MacArthur was an extraordinary figure. He prided himself on his superiority to everybody else, to his speed and imagination. He didn’t like trench warfare or anything that was slow. He prized the unexpected. He was an egomaniac—not for nothing claimed by Donald Trump as his favourite general—and often cited by people who want to fight the establishment, who want to argue that the establishment is always plodding and slow and wants to do things the way it’s always done them.

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Donald Trump liked to compare himself to Douglas MacArthur just as MacArthur’s biographer liked the comparison to Julius Caesar. They were people who did things differently, who subverted the ideas of the elite to really work for the people. This is a continuous strand of thought since the death of Caesar—and the background to a big bit of Donald Trump’s mind.

And did MacArthur himself consciously model himself on Caesar?

Yes, he did, in many different respects. Caesar’s writings were designed to make him a hero back home, even when fighting a long way away. And MacArthur in the Pacific Islands was a master of making sure that everybody back home knew what he was doing and who was setting the big policies. He was never in retreat—only ‘advancing in another direction’, a very Julius Caesar-like thought. When MacArthur said, ‘the most important rules are the ones you break’, he was also echoing Caesar. He ruled postwar Japan like a Caesar. Eventually the American president at the time, Harry Truman, got fed up with this, decided that he was risking a war with China over Korea and, in April 1951, ordered him home.

Did MacArthur have any political ambitions? Did he end up in the Senate, or anything like that?

Let’s move on to George Bernard Shaw’s play, Caesar and Cleopatra . Tell us a bit about the play and why Shaw was drawn to this particular story. What’s the spin he puts on it?

Shaw had a very high view of himself and compared himself constantly to Shakespeare. He thought that, in respect of the handling of power, Shakespeare had got the Romans wrong. His idea was that Shakespeare was very good at dealing with failure and romance, but not very good at dealing with the great hero.

Shaw paints a portrait of Caesar in which his motivations, those that romantic biographers and filmmakers like to show as being all about love, were actually formed by hard-nosed, brutal political calculations and realities. Shaw was making comments, in a sense, on the British occupation of Egypt, which had started in 1882, and relating it to the Roman occupation. He took the hardest-nosed, de-romanticised view of that part of Caesar’s life—in contrast to the view put up by so many storywriters, balladeers and Shakespeare.

Shaw was very interested in Nietzsche and he thought that Caesar was an example of ‘the New Man’ who would solve the problems of the old world. He saw Pompey, whom Caesar had defeated after his crossing of the Rubicon, as part of the old world that had to be pushed aside.

Shaw was writing at a time a time when many people were keen to dismiss the old and corrupt and find new superheroes. He thought that Caesar was a great man who had not been able to find a vehicle to show his greatness.

And is it a good play, or a good read? Is it put on regularly still?

Let’s move on to the next of your books, The Complete Commentaries of Julius Caesar . There’s probably not much need for an explanation as to why you’ve chosen them, but tell us a bit about them and also a bit about why Caesar wrote them—it’s quite unusual for a general to be a great literary figure.

He had the talent and he had extraordinary stamina. He had people who helped him, secretaries and copiers. Some of his adjutants were effectively people helping him with his writing. One of the things they all said about him was that he had this gift for what we might now call multi-tasking. He could dictate six or seven letters, write a speech and watch where the enemy was going all at the same time. This was probably massively exaggerated but, clearly, then as now, some people are much better at that than others.

It sounds a bit like Churchill .

Exactly. And I think if you’ve got that skill and other people don’t, it’s useful to play it up because it does make you seem somewhat superhuman, even if actually you’re doing something that lots of ordinary people can do as well. We all know people who can only concentrate on one thing and people who can do four or five things at once. If one of those skills is elegant, clear writing, that is a rare and very useful gift.

“‘Et tu, Brute?’ was one of Shakespeare’s many contributions.”

One of the reasons why Caesar’s Gallic Wars became a set text for generations and generations of British, German, French and American schoolboys was not just because it showed a hero in his own voice—if you thought of Caesar as a hero—but it also had this extraordinarily disciplined, economical and beautiful use of language. He was an extraordinary writer and I don’t think Five Books on Julius Caesar would be complete without the Complete Works .

These include the famous Gallic Wars but also books for the period covered by Shaw’s play, the so-called Alexandrian War, the time when he was fighting to get Cleopatra established in Egypt. This one was probably written by admirers of Caesar, the so-called ‘continuators’, who fought with him in Gaul and other war zones and who finished the books off after he died. And you really can tell the difference in style between the books that Caesar wrote himself and the rest. The continuators keep the character of Caesar going but are unable to match Caesar’s Latin.

Were they written for the record or did they serve a political purpose?

The Commentaries absolutely served a political purpose, which is one of the reasons why they’re so clear and focused. He was fighting away from Rome for years and years at a time. But he still needed the support of the Romans and so he wanted them to know what he was doing, just like MacArthur, following him, did.

So the Commentaries on every year of the war in Gaul found their way, pretty deliberately, back to Rome and they were copied and people talked about them and said, ‘Isn’t Caesar doing fantastically well?’ And that’s where the assassins really got it so wrong, because the people knew that Caesar was doing all these great things, the soldiers knew that he was doing these great things. By modern standards, he was a genocidal egomaniac but on their terms he was doing very well by Rome.

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That view was much advanced by the image of Caesar that Caesar had created himself. The Commentaries were a very important part of projecting that image, as it were over the top of the Senate, to the Roman people. Again, it’s that kind of language you get from Trump and other populists : you can bypass the elite and somehow get your message straight to the ordinary people.

Although we don’t know a lot about the publication of Caesar’s work, it is pretty clear that people in Rome had a very good idea of what he had achieved and these Commentaries were his way of making sure they did.

So, the Commentaries were a first-century BC version of Twitter, effectively.

To some extent. But they were more extensive and connected than that. They were more like newsreels, really. They were long and described every battle, or rather every battle he wanted you to know about. Any battle that he lost or nearly lost could be deemed not a battle at all and quietly edited out. But he was judicious. Not everything went well for him. When it came to Britain he wrote an account of his two attempts to conquer Britain, both of which were failures. He found reasons to explain that. He didn’t pretend that everything was absolutely wonderful which, of course, probably in itself improved the credibility of what he did say.

And do you get any sense from reading his Commentaries of what he was like as a private individual, beyond the carefully curated public figure?

Let’s move on to “Infamy! Infamy! They’ve All Got It in for Me!”, which is an essay by Nicholas Cull in Imperial Projections in Modern Popular Culture .

Yes. It’s a good part of a very good book. Carry on Cleo , one of the most popular of the Carry On films, is another important way of looking at Julius Caesar. The people who made the films would have probably laughed at the idea that they were a socio-political text, but Nicholas Cull is right to present them in that way. The plot of Carry On Cleo is a mishmash of the stories of Caesar and Cleopatra, Antony and Cleopatra, plus a bit about the invasion of Britain all mixed into one. It is quite a good reminder that a lot of the history we read, which all seems so clear-cut, might be just as much of a mash-up. But it’s also a sort of triple satire—on Caesar himself, on the British Empire (which by the 1960s was fading fast) and, perhaps most importantly, a satire on the new American hegemony. The whole film is based on the set of the great Richard Burton/Elizabeth Taylor Cleopatra film .

The Carry On producers said they could make a whole film about Cleopatra in the time that it would take Joseph Mankiewicz and his team to paint one wall of a set. Carry On Cleo was done on the cheap, very quickly, and had a wonderful script. And it has the amazing line of the assassination where Kenneth Williams, as a very camp Julius Caesar, comes storming out of a door with a dagger in his back and a lot of angry assassins behind him, and shouts, ‘Infamy! Infamy! They’ve all got it in for me!’ Many fans of British comedy in the postwar period say that the line was never bettered anywhere.

November 20, 2020

Five Books aims to keep its book recommendations and interviews up to date. If you are the interviewee and would like to update your choice of books (or even just what you say about them) please email us at [email protected]

Peter Stothard

Peter Stothard is an author, journalist and critic. He is a former editor of The Times and of The Times Literary Supplement . His books include Alexandria: The Last Nights of Cleopatra and On the Spartacus Road: A Spectacular Journey through Ancient Italy.

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Your guide to Julius Caesar, the Roman general and dictator

The vicious assassination of Julius Caesar at the hands of his opponents in the Roman Senate can often obscure the military conquests and social reform he achieved in his prematurely ended life. Find out more about the man who rose to become a 'dictator for life' in ancient Rome…

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Who was Julius Caesar?

Gaius julius caesar: a biography.

For presidents, emperors and other leaders whose lives were prematurely curtailed by assassination, their respective – usually dramatic – demises often overshadow what they actually achieved during their time in power. John F Kennedy’s murder in Dallas in 1963 continues to be of infinitely more interest to the casual historian than his New Frontier programme of domestic legislation.

And so it is with Julius Caesar too. Thanks in no small part to the pen of William Shakespeare, Caesar’s death – at the hands of a knife-wielding conspiracy of Roman senators – is familiar to all. His military conquests and the social measures he introduced receive less exposure.

Born around 100 BC, Gaius Julius Caesar was elected Consul of the Roman Republic for the year 59 BC, having formed an informal alliance with two statesmen who were formerly opponents, Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus. The alliance was known as the First Triumvirate. It was an alliance that covered plenty of bases: Caesar’s grasp of politics was married to Pompey’s military stature and the financial clout of Crassus. Politically, Caesar favoured the Populares, a faction of the Republic advocating social reforms that won them the support of the people. Their opponents were Optimates, conservatives whose aim was to safeguard the interests of the privileged elites. Many of these Optimates could be found in the 600-strong Senate, ensuring that the populist Caesar would, throughout his political life, find little support on its benches.

Consulships lasted for just a year, with the holders unable to seek re-election for a decade. The Senate had attempted to put Caesar merely in charge of Italy’s forests and cattle trails, rather than handing him a military governorship. However, it was toothless – operating, in practice, in a debating and advisory capacity – and the passing of legislation through the people’s assemblies promoted Caesar to the position of Governor of Illyricum (western Balkans) and Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy), with Transalpine Gaul (what is now southern France) later added to his portfolio. The duration of his governorship was also set at five years, rather than the traditional single year.

During this time as a governor – which was subsequently extended to a ten-year tenure ­– Caesar oversaw a highly successful military campaign that included the conquering of Gaul and a couple of expeditions to Britain in 55 and 54 BC , precipitating the full Roman invasion nearly a century later. In 50 BC, towards the end of those ten years and with the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate called for Caesar to relinquish his military role and return to Rome. Politically, this was dangerous for Caesar. Not only had Crassus died and the ever-dangerous Pompey had realigned himself with the Senate, but leaving the territories under his control would expose Caesar to possible prosecution for corruption and exceeding the limits of his authority.

More like this

• Read more about Caesar’s British gamble

What happened when Caesar crossed the Rubicon?

As he reached the geographical limits of his jurisdiction on his journey back to Rome, Caesar had a clear choice: either venture forth without his troops and face the almost inevitable curtailing of his powers or be accompanied illegally by his soldiers in an act that would be interpreted as a declaration of civil war. Approaching the modest stream known as the Rubicon that separated Cisalpine Gaul from Italy, he made up his mind. He wouldn’t be travelling on alone and unarmed. He reportedly announced his decision with three words of Latin: Alea iacta est (the die is cast). The Rubicon was crossed .

The seemingly unavoidable civil war broke out. Caesar the rebel, who had left his territory under arms, gradually gained momentum over the following four years, systematically removing his main Optimates opponents. Marcus Junius Brutus and Cicero surrendered, while Pompey was killed in Egypt. Elsewhere in North Africa Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio committed suicide shortly after his defeat at the Battle of Thapsus in 46 BC.

• 10 key Roman dates you need to know

Caesar the dictator

Caesar assumed complete control of the republic and was appointed dictator for a ten-year period shortly after Thapsus. In 44 BC, his title was upgraded to Dictator perpetuo ; he was now dictator for life. During his time as supreme leader, he was able to introduce many of the social and political reforms longed for by his supporters among the populace, including centralising bureaucracy, redistributing public land to the poor, and extending citizenship to far-reaching corners of the republic.

Opponents of these populist measures still dominated the make-up of the Senate and a conspiracy against the Dictator perpetuo was launched. On the fifteenth day of March in 44 BC ­– the Ides of March – as he arrived to address the Senate, Caesar met his mortal fate. The knives were out.

• The death of Caesar: do we know the whole story?

Following his bloody death, the republic dissolved back into civil war. The ultimate winner of this power-grab was Octavian, Caesar’s great-nephew and adopted heir, who rose to take sole control. Billing himself as Augustus , he became the first Roman emperor, overseeing the transition from republic to empire . He would be the one-man ruler for more than four decades, from 27 BC onwards. His more famous adoptive father managed just a handful of years as dictator.

Did Julius Caesar really wear a laurel wreath? BBC History Revealed explains…

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Julius Caesar biography: Facts & history

Julius Caesar became the most powerful person in Rome. Money and war paved the way for him.

• Growing influence

Timeline of Caesar's life

Additional resources, bibliography.

Caius Julius Caesar was born around July 13, 100 B.C. and was stabbed to death in the Roman senate on March 15, 44 B.C. 

By the time he was killed he had been appointed Rome's dictator for life and was the most powerful person in the Roman Republic . "He was a politician and statesman who eventually took supreme power in the Roman Republic and made himself a monarch in every practical respect, although he never took the name king," wrote historian Adrian Goldsworthy in his book " Caesar: Life of a Colossus " (Yale University Press, 2006). 

"In his fifty-six years, he was at times many things, including a fugitive, prisoner, rising politician, army leader, legal advocate, rebel, dictator — perhaps even a god — as well as a husband, father, lover and adulterer," Goldsworthy wrote. 

Related: The Roman Empire: Rulers, expansion and fall

Caesar's father was also named Caius (sometimes spelled Gaius) and his mother's name was Aurelia. While the term " Caesarean section " is named for him, there is no evidence that this birthing method was used to deliver Julius Caesar. "Although the procedure would later bear his name, there is no ancient evidence to suggest that Caesar was delivered by Caesarean section, although the procedure was known in the ancient world," Goldsworthy wrote.

Caesar was born into a wealthy family with a noble lineage. Members of his family were "patricians, which meant that they were members of the oldest aristocratic class at Rome, who in the early Republic had monopolized power, ruling over the far more numerous plebeians," wrote Goldsworthy. While his family was not particularly powerful at the time Caesar was born, some of his ancestors had held positions as senior officials in the Roman Republic, Goldsworthy noted. 

Caesar was politically active as a teenager, opposing Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who became dictator of Rome in 82 B.C., according to the ancient Greek author Plutarch (lived A.D. 46 to A.D. 116) in his book "Parallel Lives." One of Sulla's most prominent opponents, Gaius Marius, had married into Caesar's family, and this may have influenced Caesar's decision. Sulla was fond of having his opponents murdered, and the teenage Caesar was forced to flee Rome, Plutarch wrote. At one point he was captured by Sulla's soldiers but escaped by paying a bribe. 

Related: Why did Rome fall?

Caesar was able to return to Rome after Sulla died in 78 B.C., but he left soon after to study oratory on Rhodes, an island near modern-day Turkey. At some point on his journey he was captured by pirates, who, at least according to several near-contemporary writers, fatally underestimated Caesar. "When the pirates demanded twenty talents for his ransom, he [Caesar] laughed at them for not knowing who their captive was, and of his own accord agreed to give them fifty," Plutarch wrote (translated by Bernadotte Perrin). Plutarch doesn't say what the talents were made of, but silver is likely. How much a Roman talent could weigh at a given time is a subject of debate among historians but was likely somewhere between 60 to 100 pounds (27 to 45 kilograms) in Caesar's time.

While the money was being collected, Caesar spent time with the pirates. He "wrote poems and sundry speeches which he read aloud to them, and those who did not admire these he would call to their faces illiterate barbarians, and often laughingly threatened to hang them all. The pirates were delighted at this, and attributed his boldness of speech to a certain simplicity and boyish mirth," Plutarch wrote.

However, Caesar's threats to kill the pirates were no joke. After the ransom was paid and Caesar was released, he "immediately manned vessels and put to sea from the harbour of Miletus [in modern-day Turkey] against the robbers. He caught them, too, still lying at anchor off the island," Plutarch wrote, adding that Caesar "took the robbers out of prison, and crucified them all, just as he had often warned them."

Caesar's growing influence

Caesar's political career gradually took off after his return to Rome around 74 B.C., and he used his family's wealth and skills to help grow his power. 

"He [had] a large and gradually increasing political influence in consequence of his lavish hospitality and the general splendour of his mode of life," Plutarch wrote. 

Caesar was an eloquent speaker who was even able to turn personal tragedies into political gains. When his first wife, Cornelia, died in 69 B.C., Caesar used her funeral to grow his support by breaking with tradition and giving an oration that appealed to the people and showcased his caring side. 

Caesar also spent lavishly, going into debt so that he could continue to give out gifts and buy political support. "He was unsparing in his outlays of money, and was thought to be purchasing a transient and short-lived fame at a great price, though in reality he was buying things of the highest value at a small price," Plutarch wrote. A pattern emerged where Caesar was elected or named to a position, spent large amounts of his own money on public projects, games or other benefits, and then was elected or named to another office. 

Caesar also served as a Roman governor controlling part of Iberia from 61 to 60 B.C., where he commanded an army that fought against tribes who opposed Roman rule. 

When he was in Spain, Caesar took time to read what he could about the history of Alexander the Great . Caesar wept as he did so. When Caesar "was at leisure and was reading from the history of Alexander, he was lost in thought for a long time, and then burst into tears," Plutarch wrote. When Caesar's friends asked why, Caesar replied: "While Alexander, at my age, was already king of so many peoples, I have as yet achieved no brilliant success?" Plutarch wrote. 

While Caesar was able to buy and maneuver his way into senior positions he was forced to go deeper into debt and eventually formed an alliance with Marcus Licinius Crassus, one of the wealthiest people in Rome, who agreed to financially assist Caesar in exchange for his political support. The two men eventually allied with Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey, a powerful Roman general and politician, to form a triumvirate that ruled over the Roman Republic. Caesar married his daughter Julia to Pompey around 59 B.C. to forge a closer alliance. 

In 58 B.C., Caesar was given command of a large military force in Gaul and used the opportunity to conquer it, making a name for himself as a military commander. Between 58 B.C. and 50 B.C. his armies gradually conquered Gaul and even succeeded in landing in Britain (though they didn't stay for long). His forces also fought Germanic tribes on the frontiers of what is now Germany. 

Related: Massive hoard of Roman-era silver coins unearthed in Germany

The death toll was immense. "In his triumph in 46 [B.C.] Caesar listed the number of [enemy] soldiers killed in all his battles — thus not only in Gaul — as 1,192,000," wrote Kurt Raaflaub, emeritus professor of classics and history at Brown University, in the New England Classical Journal in 2021. While the military death toll may be exaggerated, Raaflaub noted that this total doesn't include non-combatants among the people killed during Caesar's military campaigns.

"It was not only the Roman sword that inflicted death on the Gallic population. Large parts starved to death because the harvests were confiscated or destroyed and their settlements and farmsteads burned, or they froze to death when the legions drove them out of their settlements in winter and burned down buildings, villages and towns," Raaflaub wrote.

Caesar documented his military campaign in a series of books collectively known as the "Gallic Wars." While Caesar made claims that he tried to arrange truces and agreements with the tribes from Gaul he also stated that he had no qualms about harming civilians. After one group he called the "Sigambri" fled from his army he "burned all their villages and houses, and cut down their corn," Caesar wrote (translation by W. A. McDevitte & W. S. Bohn). He used the same tactics when he landed in Britain. "Damage should be done to the enemy in ravaging their lands," he wrote.

The triumvirate between Caesar, Crassus and Pompey didn't last. Julia died giving birth in 54 B.C., which ended the marriage alliance between Caesar and Pompey. Crassus, meanwhile, was killed fighting the Parthians in modern-day Turkey in 53 B.C.

Without Crassus to balance power, tensions between Caesar and Pompey increased, and in January 49 B.C. Caesar led his troops across the Rubicon River (the boundary of northern Italy) and marched on Rome. According to some historical records, as Caesar crossed the Rubicon he said the now-famous phrase that's often translated as "the die is cast." 

Pompey abandoned Rome and retreated to Greece and the Balkan peninsula to gather reinforcements. He faced Caesar in Greece at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 B.C., but suffered a decisive defeat. Pompey fled to Egypt , hoping to gain support from Egypt's teenage pharaoh Ptolemy XIII. Ptolemy was supposed to co-rule with his sister-wife Cleopatra VII , but he refused to acknowledge her, and instead he ruled alone while Cleopatra was in exile. 

Instead of assisting Pompey, Ptolemy killed him and presented his head to Caesar when he arrived in Alexandria. Ptolemy expected Caesar to react positively at having his enemy removed, but Caesar was not happy and had not wanted the pharaoh to kill Pompey, Plutarch wrote. Caesar stayed in Egypt for about a year, ordering that Cleopatra VII take up her position as co-ruler of Egypt. In response, Ptolemy tried to fight Caesar and Cleopatra but was killed in 47 B.C. 

Cleopatra and Caesar began a romance that resulted in her giving birth to a son, Caesarion. Whether the child was truly Caesar's is a matter of debate among historians, and Caesar never acknowledged the child as his own. 

After Pompey's death Caesar was the sole ruler of the Roman Republic, but his battles were not over.

While Pompey was dead there were still forces that were loyal to him, and some Roman senators, such as Cato the Younger, refused to accept Caesar's rule. Caesar fought successful battles against these forces in North Africa and Spain. There were also battles against Pontus, a Black Sea kingdom that Pompey had defeated just a few decades earlier. After a successful battle against a force from Pontus, Caesar supposedly uttered words in Latin that are translated as "I came, I saw, I conquered," or "I came, saw and conquered." But no matter how much conquering Caesar did there were still many in Rome who opposed the idea of one man, Caesar in particular, having so much power. This resentment came despite the fact that Caesar was very willing to pardon former opponents.

"His regime was not repressive and he pardoned and promoted many former enemies," Goldsworthy wrote. In contrast, Sulla, who had been sole ruler of Rome between 82 B.C. and 78 B.C. had thousands of his fellow Romans murdered after he took power.

Related: Where is Cleopatra's tomb?

In 45 B.C. Caesar implemented a new calendar system in Rome, now called the Julian calendar , which featured 365 days a year plus an extra day in February every four years. This calendar system, which Caesar learned about in Alexandria, brought the Roman calendar closer in line to the actual seasons. The month that Caesar was born was eventually named "July" in Caesar's honor. 

The new calendar "was a far more significant outcome of his visit to Egypt than any dalliance with Cleopatra," wrote Mary Beard, a professor of classics at the University of Cambridge, in her book "SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome" (Profile Books, 2015).

In January 44 B.C., the Roman senate named Caesar "dictator for life." While Caesar had enough overall support from the senate to get the measure passed there were many senators, led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, who were opposed to giving Caesar the title. Brutus and Cassius had fought against Caesar before, but both had been forgiven by Caesar and were able to retain their positions in the senate. On March 15, a date known as the Ides of March , a group of senators stabbed Caesar to death in the senate itself. 

A group of senators, according to Plutarch, distracted Caesar by presenting him with several petitions. Then, a senator named Tullius seized Caesar's toga "with both hands and pulled it down from his neck," wrote Plutarch, noting that this tugging was the signal for others to start stabbing Caesar. A senator named Casca then stabbed Caesar in the neck with a dagger. The conspirators surrounded Caesar and stabbed him from different directions. Brutus, a man whom Caesar had pardoned, also stabbed Caesar, supposedly in the groin, Plutarch wrote. 

"It is said that he [Caesar] received twenty-three [stab wounds]; and many of the conspirators were wounded by one another, as they struggled to plant all those blows in one body," wrote Plutarch. When William Shakespeare wrote a play about Caesar in the 16th century, he included the line "et tu Brutus?" as Caesar's last words (which can be translated as "you too Brutus?"); however, there is no evidence that he actually said this in real life. 

In the wake of Caesar's death, three major factions amassed power in Rome. One was led by Octavian, Caesar's great-nephew, who in Caesar's will was named as his adopted son and heir. The other was led by Mark Antony, one of Caesar's generals, while Brutus and Cassius led the other faction. Rome once again fell into civil war. 

July 13, 100 B.C.: Caesar was born in the Suburra area of Rome. 

82 B.C.:  Sulla become dictator of Rome; Caesar speaks out against him and is forced to flee Rome.

78 B.C.: Sulla dies and Caesar returns to Rome shortly afterward.

75 B.C.: Caesar goes to Rhodes to study oratory but is detained by pirates. 

74 B.C.: Caesar returns to Rome, gets involved with politics, using family fortune to amass influence.

69 B.C.: Caesar's first wife Cornelia dies. Caesar gives speech about her that increases his popularity.

61-60 B.C.: Caesar serves as governor of Iberia, defeats tribes who oppose Roman rule.

60 B.C.: Caesar, Crassus and Pompey form triumvirate to rule Rome.

59 B.C.: Caesar's daughter Julia marries Pompey. 

58-50 B.C.: Caesar campaigns in Gaul and England, conquering a vast amount of territory.

54 B.C.: Julia dies giving birth to Pompey's child, who also does not survive.

53 B.C.: Crassus is killed fighting the Parthians.

January 49, B.C.: Caesar crosses the Rubicon and marches on Rome.

August 9, 48 B.C.: Caesar defeats Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus in Greece; Pompey flees to Egypt.

September 48 B.C.: Pompey killed by Egyptian pharaoh Ptolemy XIII; Caesar is presented with the head and is reportedly disgusted at the way Pompey was treated.

September 48 B.C. – January 47 B.C.: Caesar restores Cleopatra VII to power. Ptolemy XIII fights against Caesar and Cleopatra's forces but is killed.

June 47 B.C.: Caesarion, the son of Caesar and Cleopatra VII, is born. Caesar doesn't acknowledge the child as his own. 

45 B.C.: Caesar implements new calendar system in Rome that has 365 days in a year and an extra day in February every four years.

January 44 B.C.: Senate names Caesar "dictator for life."

March 15, 44 B.C.: Caesar is stabbed to death in the Roman senate.

• The National Council of Teachers of English has a plethora of lesson plans related to Julius Caesar.
• Philip Freeman's 2009 book reveals in great detail "a biography of the cunning Roman conqueror Julius Caesar."
• This History Channel video describes how Julius Caesar sparked civil war.

Beard, Mary (2015) SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome . Profile Books

Goldsworthy, Adrian (2006) Caesar: Life of a Colossus . Yale University Press

Raaflaub, Kurt (2021) Caesar and Genocide: Confronting the Dark Side of Caesar's Gallic Wars . New England Classical Journal, Iss 1

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Owen Jarus is a regular contributor to Live Science who writes about archaeology and humans' past. He has also written for The Independent (UK), The Canadian Press (CP) and The Associated Press (AP), among others. Owen has a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Toronto and a journalism degree from Ryerson University. 

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Biography Online

Julius Caesar Biography

“Veni, Vidi, Vici.” “I came, I saw, I conquered.”

– Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was born into a noble family with a long pedigree of serving the Roman Republic. He gained a good education, but when he was 16 his father died, and it left Caesar in a difficult position due to an ongoing civil war which made his family a target. His inheritance was stripped from Caesar, leaving him with little money. He worked as an advocate and became known for his powerful oratory.

Surrender of Gallic chieftains after the Battle of Alesia (52 BC)

In 59 BC, Caesar was elected Consul to the Roman Senate, where he proposed a law to redistribute lands to the poor. However, this was opposed by many other senators. Instead, he was given command over Roman armies in northern Italy, southern France and southeastern Europe. Over the next seven years, Caesar led his armies to conquer large areas of Europe. It included modern-day France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and as far north as Britain. Despite, facing forces with greater numbers of men, the superior military capabilities and tactics of the Romans enabled Caesar to make a dramatic expansion of the Roman Empire. The historian Plutarch claimed that Caesar’s army fought over 3 million men, of which 1 million were killed, and approximately 800 cities were destroyed in the campaign. He is widely regarded as a pre-eminent military genius.

Caesar’s exploits made him popular with his soldiers and ordinary people back in Rome. However, his popularity only made his political enemies more nervous about Caesar and in 50 BC the Senate, led by Pompey, ordered Caesar to disband his army and return to Rome. Caesar had good reason to fear he would be tried and executed, but with the support of his soldiers and public opinion, he ignored the summons and returned to Rome with his army in tow. On 10 January 49 BC, he crossed the Rubicon river with one legion. As he crossed the river, he is said to have remarked. “The die is cast.”

Caesar then pursued and defeated armies loyal to Pompey. This allowed him to return in triumph to Rome, where he was re-elected to a second consulship.

Caesar pursued Pompey to Egypt, where Pompey was killed and Caesar formed an alliance with Cleopatra in an Egyptian civil war. With Caesar’s help, Cleopatra emerged victorious and she was installed as ruler of Egypt. Caesar and Cleopatra had an affair and produced a son Caesarian out of wedlock. Cleopatra visited Caesar in Rome.

Caesar gradually increased his power until he was proclaimed dictator for life. At the time, the Roman Empire was beset with corruption, fratricidal conflict and gross inequality. Caesar saw that Republican government was not working and he felt the only way to restore strong, stable government was through centralisation of power and authority in a strong leader. Although Caesar defeated supporters of Pompey in conflict, he was not as ruthless with political opponents as he might have done. He created many new loyal senators, but some old aristocratic senators remained.

As leader, Caesar tried to introduce many reforms into the Roman Empire, such as introducing a new calendar based on the Egyptian model of the sun, rather than the old system based on the moon. The Julian calendar began on 1 January 45 BC and is the basis for the modern western calendar. He also passed laws to redistribute power and wealth towards a greater section of society. He also sought to bring the Italian provinces into a more cohesive national unit. Caesar offered Roman citizenship to a greater scope of people. He published coins with his own image on. Despite ambitious plans to create a new constitution, he never enacted it.

The murder of Caesar

Despite Caesar’s power and popularity with the public, Senators were concerned that Caesar was heading towards a totalitarian state where the Senate would be completely abolished and they would lose increasing amounts of wealth and land due to Caesar’s policy of redistribution. Meeting in secret, senators, such as Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, and Marcus Junius Brutus decided to murder Caesar while he was in the Senate as only senators were allowed there.

In the days leading up to the assassination, Caesar had received warnings his life was in danger, but in keeping with his personal outlook on life, he dismissed threats of his personal safety and ignored any extra measures for safety.

On 15 March 44 BC, the senators hid knives in their cloaks and then attacked Caesar on the steps of the Senate. His final words are disputed, but Caesar is said to have expressed surprise the senators turned on him. In his famous play, Shakespeare offered a fictional account with the famed words “Et Tu Brutus, then fall Caesar” Caesar died from multiple knife wounds.

In the aftermath of Caesar’s death, the Roman republic hastened to its demise – contrary to the aims of the conspirators. There was widespread mourning amongst the poorer sections of society for the loss of Caesar and the conspirators fled. Caesar had named his adoptive son Octavian as his heir. This led to a civil war between Mark Anthony and Octavian for control. Octavian prevailed and took the name, Caesar Augustus. Augustus went on to complete many of his father’s plans.

Julius Caesar became a powerful symbol of earthly power. He was by all accounts a charismatic figure, brilliant orator, powerful writer and someone who connected with ordinary people. He has a supreme self-confidence in his own abilities. His life and attitude is often summed up in his own words:

Veni, Vidi, Vici. “I came, I saw, I conquered.”

Caesar became a title imbued with almost god-like significance. The German Kaiser and Tzar in Russia are derived from Caesar.

He married three times. Cornelia (84–69 BC; her death) Pompeia (67–61 BC; divorced) Calpurnia (59–44 BC; his death) He only had one child born in wedlock – Julia with his first wife Cornelia. Julia was renowned for her beauty and virtue.

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan. “ Biography of Julius Caesar” , Oxford, UK www.biographyonline.net , Published: 22 June 2019.

Caesar – by Adrian Goldsworthy (Authat Amazon

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Julius Caesar: 6 Ways He Shaped the World

By: Christopher Klein

Updated: September 22, 2023 | Original: July 14, 2023

More than 2,000 years after his death, Julius Caesar remains one of history’s most momentous figures. His military and political achievements transformed ancient Rome and left a legacy that still endures—from our idioms (“crossing the Rubicon”) to our calendar. The following are six of the most important legacies of the renowned Roman military commander and dictator.

1. Caesar expanded Roman rule in Europe.

After being appointed governor of Rome’s northern territory of Gaul in 58 B.C., Caesar vastly extended the boundaries of the Roman Republic across Europe, all the way to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and English Channel. During the bloody eight-year Gallic Wars, his legions conquered local tribes in present-day France, Belgium and Switzerland.

In 55 B.C., Caesar’s army built a timber bridge spanning the Rhine River in just 10 days—a marvel of military engineering. Then, Roman troops marched across the waterway for the first time ever to subdue German tribes threatening eastern Gaul. Later that year, the Roman general commanded the first of two expeditions across the English Channel. These initial incursions into Britain laid the foundation for Rome’s eventual conquest of much of the island.

2. He started a civil war by ‘crossing the Rubicon.’

Through his masterful battlefield tactics and willingness to fight in combat, Caesar earned the respect and loyalty of his soldiers. He also earned the jealousy of Pompey, his former political ally in the First Triumvirate who effectively ran Rome. When Pompey’s supporters in the Roman Senate demanded that Caesar disband his army and return to Rome as a civilian, he refused.

Instead, in 49 B.C., Caesar brazenly led a legion across the Rubicon River, which divided Gaul and Rome, sparking a civil war. Forces supporting Caesar on one side and Pompey on the other battled as far away as Spain, Greece and North Africa. Although outnumbered, Caesar’s legions defeated Pompey’s army in a decisive battle at Pharsalus, Greece, in 48 B.C., prompting Pompey to flee to Egypt. But before he could even step ashore, he was assassinated at the behest of the teenaged pharaoh Ptolemy XIII . Ptolemy, it turned out, sought Caesar’s support in Egypt’s own civil war—one that had pitted him against his co-regent and sister, Cleopatra VII .

Ancient Empires

Watch the three-episode documentary event, Ancient Empires . Available to stream now.

3. Caesar installed Cleopatra on the Egyptian throne.

When Roman reinforcements arrived in early 47 B.C., Caesar’s forces defeated Ptolemy’s army in the Battle of the Nile. After the young king drowned in the Nile River while fleeing the battle, Caesar installed Cleopatra and her 12-year-old half-brother, Ptolemy XIV, as co-regents, but the queen held the true power.

But Ptolemy gravely miscalculated. When he presented Caesar with Pompey’s severed head upon his arrival in Alexandria, the reaction wasn’t gratitude; it was horror. Caesar promptly executed Pompey’s assassins and sided with Cleopatra in Egypt’s civil war.

According to the ancient historian Plutarch, Caesar had the 21-year-old Cleopatra transported into the royal palace where he had taken residence by having her smuggled inside a linen sack filled with dirty laundry. As urban warfare erupted in Alexandria, the pair began a romance while besieged in the palace for six months.

Around the time Caesar returned to Rome, Cleopatra gave birth to a boy believed to be his son. The Egyptian queen named him Ptolemy XV, but Alexandrians mockingly referred to the boy as Caesarion, “Little Caesar.”In 46 B.C., Cleopatra and her infant son moved into a villa on the banks of Rome’s Tiber River, and the married Caesar continued to visit his mistress in apparent violation of Rome’s bigamy laws.

Following Caesar’s murder, Cleopatra returned to Egypt and later had a love affair and alliance with Caesar’s deputy, Mark Antony . The pair committed suicide after Augustus defeated their armies in 31 B.C.

4. He ruled over Rome as a dictator.

Buoyed by the support of his army and Rome’s plebeians (non-elite citizens), Caesar emerged from his war with Pompey with tremendous power. After being named dictator of Rome for 10 years in 46 B.C., he declared himself “dictator for life” the following year. Caesar’s sweeping reforms—such as granting property to retiring soldiers, redistributing land to the poor and canceling debts—proved popular with the military and Rome’s lower and middle classes.

Caesar’s reforms angered elites, as did his disregard for the Roman Senate and republican tradition. A cult of personality developed around Caesar as he minted coins with his image, celebrated his birthday as a public holiday and ruled the Senate from a golden throne.

5. His assassination led to the collapse of the Roman Republic—and the rise of the Roman Empire.

Caesar’s autocratic rule heralded the dawn of the Roman Empire. Dozens of senators who believed Caesar’s concentration of absolute power threatened the republic’s democratic institutions plotted his murder , which occurred on the Ides of March in 44 B.C.

Rather than saving the 400-year-old Roman Republic, however, the assassination accelerated its demise . In their attempt to thwart a dictator, the senators inadvertently created an emperor . Caesar’s heir, Augustus, emerged from a lengthy civil war as Rome’s supreme leader after purging his enemies, murdering Caesar’s assassins and cracking down on republicans. Augustus deified Caesar (effectively making Augustus the son of a god) and ushered in the autocratic Roman Empire, which lasted for approximately five centuries.

6. He introduced the modern calendar.

Caesar was so powerful that he changed time. The traditional Roman calendar, which was based on the 355-day lunar year, required constant revisions since it fell out of sync with seasons and festivals. Aided by the Greek mathematician and astronomer Sosigenes, Caesar enacted the Julian calendar, which was based on the 365¼-day solar year with a “ leap day ” added every four years.

To reboot the calendar, 46 B.C. spanned 445 days before Caesar’s system took effect on January 1 in 45 B.C. The Julian calendar predominated in most of the Western world for 16 centuries. Since each solar year is slightly less than 365¼ days, the Julian calendar gained one day every 131 years. By the 1500s, the calendar was 10 days out of step with the seasons. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII modified the calendar by eliminating 10 days from that year and decreeing that only one out of every four centennial years would be leap years. The Julian calendar is still in use in portions of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

An additional legacy of Caesar can be seen on the calendar. Following Caesar’s assassination, the name of his birth month was changed from Quintilis to Julius (July) in his honor.

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Julius Caesar

By kristen richard | feb 20, 2020.

MILITARY (0100–0044); ROME, ITALY

A powerful politician, army general, and emperor, Julius Caesar helped transform Rome into one of the most powerful empires in history. Caesar was beloved by many; however, his power also garnered much resentment from his fellow politicians. Read on for more about Caesar's life, his affair with Cleopatra, his assassination, and the famous William Shakespeare play that helped immortalize him, despite taking plenty of liberties with the true story.

1. Julius Caesar was born on either July 12 or 13, 100 BCE, but likely not via cesarean section.

For centuries, it was believed Julius Caesar was the first baby born via Cesarean section, but that's likely far from the truth. A 10th-century Byzantine-Greek historical encyclopedia called may be the source of the confusion, since it claims C-sections got their name from Caesar himself, stating :

"The emperors of the Romans receive this name from Julius Caesar, who was not born. For when his mother died in the ninth month, they cut her open, took him out, and named him thus; for in the Roman tongue dissection is called ‘Caesar.’"

The story, however, is highly unlikely for several reasons. First, C-sections were already performed in Rome at the time. For centuries, there was a law that required C-sections be performed under certain circumstances, which was instated during the reign of Numa Pompilius , who ruled from 715–673 BCE, long before Caesar.

According to the law, if a woman died while pregnant, she had to undergo a C-section, because it was against Roman beliefs to bury a mother with her baby in her womb. The law also stated that dying pregnant women must undergo a C-section to attempt to save the life of the baby. The Suda mistakenly says Caesar’s mother, Aurelia Cotta, died during childbirth. But we know Caesar's mother lived well into his adulthood, and some historians believe she may have even outlived him, so it's unlikely she underwent a C-section and survived.

2. William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar left out a key player in Julius Caesar’s assassination.

William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar , is set in 44 BCE . It explores what lead to the assassination of Caesar and the aftermath. One of the most famous quotes from the play, uttered by Caesar upon his death, is “ et tu, Brute ?” or “and you, Brutus?” But Caesar didn’t actually say that; he didn’t even know Brutus particularly well.

The real traitor was Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus . However, he was barely mentioned in the play, and his name was spelled incorrectly. In actuality, he was like a friend to Caesar. The emperor even gave him a job in politics to help restore the name of his disgraced family, and they fought alongside each other in battle. But in the end, Decimus played a key role in the assassination.

3. Julius Caesar and Cleopatra had an affair that led to a son named Caesarion.

Caesar and Cleopatra’s affair was about more than lust; it was a relationship the both of them needed to reach their own goals. For Cleopatra to secure her place on Egypt's throne, she needed an army; more accurately, she needed Caesar's vast army. On Caesar's end, he needed access to Cleopatra's incredible wealth (imagine a fortune far greater than Bill Gates 's today) to pay off debts and keep his own position in power. Cleopatra would eventually go to Rome with Caesar, where he was apparently very open about their affair. Together, they had a son, Caesarion , and Caesar's public displays of affection even included having a statue erected of Cleopatra in Rome's Temple of Venus Genetrix. She remained in Rome until Caesar was assassinated , which ultimately forced her and her son to flee.

4. Julius Caesar was assassinated on March 15, 44 BCE, after he was stabbed 23 times.

In 44 BCE, Caesar declared himself dictator for life. While many of his changes and reforms were well-received by lower- and middle-class populations , other politicians grew anxious about his ever-growing power. The animosity eventually boiled over, and on March 15, 44 BCE, the emperor was stabbed to death by what's been described as a group of approximately 40 senators.

5. Julius Caesar was Kidnaped by Pirates and demanded they ask for a higher ransom.

When Caesar was 25 years old, he was sailing the Aegean Sea and was kidnaped by Cicilian pirates . The pirates said they were going to demand 20 talents of silver (about $600,000 today), but, apparently, Caesar laughed in their face and told them they should ask for 50 (about 1550 kg of silver). While his associates went off to get the ransom, Caesar was forced to wait in captivity as the money was gathered and delivered. After he was freed, he gathered a small group of soldiers, hunted the pirates down, slit their throats, and took his silver back.

6. Julius Caesar had three wives during his life.

Caesar married Cornelia , his first wife, in 84 BCE. They had a daughter together but Cornelia died in 69 BCE. In 67 BCE, he married Pompeia, who he later divorced. Julius Caesar then married Calpurnia in 59 BCE, and they remained together until his death.

7. You Can visit the site Where Julius Caesar was assassinated.

Largo di Torre Argentina is Rome’s oldest open-air square, and it was where Caesar was stabbed around 23 times on March 15, 44 BCE. It fell into disrepair during the following centuries, but after a $1.1 million restoration project, the historic site will be open to the public in 2021.

8. A bust thought to be of Julius Caesar was found in 2007.

Some historians and archeologists believe a bust pulled from the Rhône River in France in 2007 is actually of Julius Caesar . If so, it would be the only surviving statue made of the emperor while he was alive. Since most visual representations of Caesar were made after his death, historians say they tend to be idealized versions of him. But this bust is thought to resemble the leader as he really looked, showing a receding hairline and wrinkles developing on his forehead. It’s currently housed at Musée Départmental de l’Arles Antique .

Famous Julius Caesar Quotes.

• “I came, I saw, I conquered.” Or “ Veni, Vidi, Vici ,” in Latin
• “Men willingly believe what they wish.”
• “If you must break the law, do so to seize power: In all other cases observe it.”
• “No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected.”
• “I love treason but hate the traitor.”

Famous quotes from William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar .

• “Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once.”
• “Death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.”
• “Beware the Ides of March.” (said by a fortune-teller)

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The History Hit Miscellany of Facts, Figures and Fascinating Finds

The Life of Julius Caesar in 55 Facts

Colin Ricketts

24 jul 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. A victorious general, popular political leader and prolific author, his memoirs are a vital historical source for the era.

1. Julius Caesar was born in July 100 BC and named Gaius Julius Caesar

His name may have come from an ancestor being born by caesarean section.

2. Caesar’s family claimed to be descended from the gods

The Julia clan believed they were offspring of Iulus, son of Aeneas Prince of Troy whose mother was supposed to be Venus herself.

3. The name Caesar may have had many meanings

It could be that an ancestor had been born by caesarean section, but might have reflected a good head of hair, grey eyes or celebrated Caesar killing an elephant. Caesar’s own use of elephant imagery suggests he favoured the last interpretation.

4. Aeneas was legendarily a forefather of Romulus and Remus

His journey from his native Troy to Italy is told in the Aeneid by Virgil, one of the great works of Roman literature.

5. Caesar’s father (also Gaius Julius Caesar) became a powerful man

He was governor of the province of Asia and his sister was married to Gaius Marius, a giant of Roman politics.

6. His mother’s family was even more important

Aurelia Cotta’s father, Lucius Aurelius Cotta, was Consul (the top job in the Roman Republic) like his father before him.

7. Julius Caesar had two sisters, both called Julia

Bust of Augustus. Photo by Rosemania via Wikimedia Commons.

Julia Caesaris Major married Pinarius. Their grandson Lucius Pinarius was a successful soldier and provincial governor. Julia Caesaris Minor married Marcus Atius Balbus, giving birth to three daughters, one of whom, Atia Balba Caesonia was the mother of Octavian, who became Augustus, Rome’s first emperor.

8. Caesar’s uncle by marriage, Gaius Marius, is one of the most important figures in Roman history

He was consul seven times and opened up the army to ordinary citizens, defeating invading Germanic tribes to earn the title, ‘Third Founder of Rome.’

9. When his father died suddenly in 85 BC. the 16-year-old Caesar was forced to go into hiding

Marius was involved in a bloody power struggle, which he lost. In order to stay away from the new ruler Sulla and his possible revenge, Caesar joined the army.

10. Caesar’s family was to remain powerful for generations after his death

Photo by Louis le Grand via Wikimedia Commons.

The Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and Caligula were all related to him.

11. Caesar began his military career at the Siege of Mytilene in 81 BC

The island city, situated on Lesbos, was suspected of helping local pirates. The Romans under Marcus Minucius Thermus and Lucius Licinius Lucullus won the day.

12. From the start he was a brave soldier and was decorated with the Civic Crown during the siege

This was the second highest military honour after the Grass Crown and entitled its winner to enter the Senate.

13. An ambassadorial mission to Bithynia in 80 BC was to haunt Caesar for the rest of his life

He was sent to seek naval help from King Nicomedes IV, but spent so long at court that rumours of an affair with the king started. His enemies later mocked him with the title ‘the Queen of Bithynia’.

14. Caesar was kidnapped by pirates in 75 BC while crossing the Aegean Sea

He told his captors the ransom they had demanded was not high enough and promised to crucify them when he was free, which they thought a joke. On his release he raised a fleet, captured them and did have them crucified, mercifully ordering their throats cut first.

15. When his enemy Sulla died, Caesar felt safe enough to return to Rome

Sulla was able to retire from political life and died on his country estate. His appointment as dictator when Rome was not in crisis by the Senate set a precedent for Caesar’s career.

16. In Rome Caesar lived an ordinary life

Photo by Lalupa via Wikimedia Commons.

He wasn’t rich, Sulla having confiscated his inheritance, and lived in a working class neighbourhood that was a notorious red-light district.

17. He found his voice as a lawyer

Needing to earn money, Caesar turned to the courts. He was a successful lawyer and his speaking was very highly praised, though he was noted for his high-pitched voice. He particularly liked prosecuting corrupt government officials.

18. He was back in military and political life soon

He was elected a military tribune and then quaestor – a travelling auditor –  in 69 BC. He was then was sent to Spain as a governor.

19. He found a hero on his travels

In Spain Caesar is reported to have seen a statue of Alexander the Great. He was disappointed to note that he was now the same age as Alexander had been when he was master of the known world.

20. More powerful offices were soon to follow

Emperor Augustus in the robes of Pontifex Maximus.

In 63 BC he was elected to the top religious position in Rome, Pontifex Maximus (he had been a priest as a boy) and two years later he was governor of a large part of Spain where his military talent shone through as he defeated two local tribes.

21. Popularity and political office were expensive in Rome

Caesar was forced to leave Spain before his term of office ended, opening him to private prosecution for his debts.

22. Caesar sought out rich friends to back his ambitions

As a result of his debt Caesar turned to the richest man in Rome (and possibly in history by some accounts), Marcus Licinius Crassus. Crassus helped him out and they were soon to be allies.

23. In 65 BC he spent a fortune he didn’t have on gladiators

Caesar knew that popularity could be bought. Already deeply in debt, he staged a massive gladiator show, apparently to honour his father, who had died 20 years previously. Only new Senate laws on gladiator numbers limited the display to 320 pairs of fighters. Caesar was the first to use gladiators as such public, crowd-pleasing spectacles.

24. Debt might be one of the most important drivers of Caesar’s career

His conquests in Gaul were partly financially motivated. Generals and governors could make large sums from tribute payments and plunder. One of his first acts as dictator was to pass debt reform laws that eventually wiped clean around a quarter of all debts.

25. Bribery brought him to power

Caesar’s first taste of real power came as part of the First Triumvirate with Pompey and Crassus. Pompey was another popular military leader and Crassus the money man. Caesar’s successful election to the consulship was one of the dirtiest Rome had seen and Crassus must have paid Caesar’s bribes.

26. Rome was already expanding into Gaul by the time Caesar went north

Parts of northern Italy were Gallic. Caesar was governor of first Cisalpine Gaul, or Gaul on ‘our’ side of the Alps, and soon after of Transalpine Gaul, the Roman’s Gallic territory just over the Alps. Trade and political links made allies of some of Gaul’s tribes.

27 The Gauls had threatened Rome in the past

In 109 BC, Caesar’s powerful uncle Gaius Marius had won lasting fame and the title ‘Third Founder of Rome’ by stopping a tribal invasion of Italy.

28. Inter-tribal conflicts could mean trouble

Roman coin showing Gallic warrior. Photo by I, PHGCOM via Wikimedia Commons.

A powerful tribal leader, Ariovistus of the Germanic Suebi tribe, won battles with rival tribes in 63 BC and could become the ruler of all of Gaul. If other tribes were displaced, they might head south again.

29. Caesar’s first battles were with the Helvetii

Germanic tribes were pushing them out of their home territory and their path to new lands in the West lay across Roman territory. Caesar was able to stop them at the Rhone and move more troops north. He finally defeated them in the Battle of Bibracte in 50 BC, returning them to their homeland.

30. Other Gallic tribes demanded protection from Rome

Ariovistus’ Suebi tribe were still moving into Gaul and at a conference other Gallic leaders warned that without protection they would have to move – threatening Italy. Caesar issued warnings to Ariovistus, a previous Roman ally.

31. Caesar showed his military genius in his battles with Ariovistus

Photo by Bullenwächter via Wikimedia Commons.

A long preamble of negotiations finally led to pitched battle with the Suebi near Vesontio (now Besançon). Caesar’s largely untested legions, led by political appointments, proved strong enough and a 120,000-strong Suebi army was wiped out. Ariovistus returned to Germany for good.

32. Next to challenge Rome were the Belgae, occupants of modern Belgium

They attacked Roman allies. The most warlike of the Belgian tribes, the Nervii, nearly defeated Caesar’s armies. Caesar later wrote that ‘the Belgae are the bravest’ of the Gauls.

33. In 56 BC Caesar went west to conquer Armorica, as Brittany was then called

Armorican coin. Photo by Numisantica – http://www.numisantica.com/ via Wikimedia Commons.

The Veneti people were a maritime force and dragged the Romans into a long naval struggle before they were defeated.

34. Caesar still had time to look elsewhere

In 55 BC he crossed the Rhine into Germany and made his first expedition to Britannia. His enemies complained that Caesar was more interested in building personal power and territory than his mission to conquer Gaul.

35. Vercingetorix was the Gauls’ greatest leader

Regular rebellions became particularly troublesome when the Arverni chieftain united the Gallic tribes and turned to guerrilla tactics.

36. The Siege of Alesia in 52 BC was Caesar’s final victory

Caesar built two lines of forts around the Gallic stronghold and defeated two larger armies . The wars were all but ended when Vercingetorix rode out to throw his arms at Caesar’s feet. Vercingetorix was taken to Rome and later strangled.

The height of Caesar’s power

37. the conquest of gaul made caesar hugely powerful and popular – too popular for some.

He was ordered to disband his armies and return home in 50 BC by conservative opponents led by Pompey, another great general and once Caesar’s ally in the Trumvirate.

38. Caesar ignited civil war by crossing the Rubicon River into northern Italy in 49 BC

Historians report him saying ‘let the die be cast.’ His decisive move with just one legion behind him has given us the term for crossing a point of no return.

39. The civil wars were bloody and long

Photo by Ricardo Liberato via Wikimedia Commons.

Pompey first ran to Spain. They then fought in Greece and finally Egypt. Caesar’s civil war was not to end until 45 BC.

40. Caesar still admired his great foe

Pompey was a great soldier and might easily have won the war but for a fatal mistake at the Battle of Dyrrhachium in 48 BC. When he was murdered by Egyptian royal officials Caesar is said to have wept and had his killers executed.

41. Caesar was first briefly appointed Dictator in 48 BC, not for the last time

A one-year term was agreed later that same year.  After defeating Pompey’s last allies in 46 BC he was appointed for 10 years. Finally, on 14 February 44 BC he was appointed Dictator for life.

42. His relationship with Cleopatra, one of the most famous love affairs in history, dates from the civil war

Although their relationship lasted at least 14 years and may have produced a son – tellingly called Caesarion –  Roman law only recognised marriages between two Roman citizens.

43. Arguably his longest lasting reform was his adoption of the Egyptian calendar

It was solar rather than lunar, and the Julian Calendar was used in Europe and European colonies until the Gregorian Calendar reformed it in 1582.

44. Unable to celebrate the killing of fellow Romans, Caesar’s triumph celebrations were for his victories abroad. They were on a massive scale

Four-hundred lions were killed, navies fought each other in miniature battles and two armies of 2,000 captured prisoners each fought to the death. When rioting broke out in protest at the extravagance and waste Caesar had two rioters sacrificed.

45. Caesar had seen that Rome was becoming too big for democratic Republican government

The provinces were out of control and corruption was rife. Caesar’s new constitutional reforms and ruthless military campaigns against opponents were designed to turn the growing Empire into a single, strong, centrally-governed entity.

46. Advancing the power and glory of Rome was always his first aim

He reduced wasteful expenditure with a census that cut the grain dole and passed laws to reward people for having more children to build up Rome’s numbers.

47. He knew he needed the army and the people behind him to achieve this

Mosaic from a Roman veterans’ colony.

Land reforms would reduce the power of the corrupt aristocracy. He made sure 15,000 army veterans would get land.

48. His personal power was such that he was bound to inspire enemies

The Roman Republic had been built on the principle of denying outright power to one man; there were to be no more kings. Caesar’s status threatened this principle. His statue was placed among those of the former kings of Rome, he was an almost divine figure with his own cult and high priest in the shape of Mark Anthony.

49. He made ‘Romans’ of all the Empire’s people

Granting citizen’s rights to conquered people would unite the Empire, making new Romans more likely to buy into what their new masters had to offer.

50. Caesar was killed on 15 March (the Ides of March) by a group of as many as 60 men. He was stabbed 23 times

The plotters included Brutus, who Caesar believed was his illegitimate son. When he saw that even he had turned against him he is said to have pulled his toga over his head. Shakespeare, rather than contemporary reports, gave us the phrase ‘Et tu, Brute?’

50. Caesar’s rule was part of the process of turning Rome from a republic into an empire

Sulla before him had also had strong individual powers, but Caesar’s appointment as Dictator for life made him an emperor in all but name. His own chosen successor, Octavian, his great nephew, was to become Augustus, the first Roman Emperor.

51. Caesar expanded Rome’s territories

The rich lands of Gaul were a huge and valuable asset for the Empire. By stabilising the territories under imperial control and giving rights to new Romans he set the conditions for later expansion that would make Rome one of history’s great empires.

52. Emperors were to become god-like figures

Temple of Caesar.

Caesar was the first Roman to be granted divine status by the state. This honour was to be granted to many Roman Emperors, who could be proclaimed gods on their death and did what they could to link themselves to their great predecessors in life. This personal cult made the power of institutions like the Senate much less important – if a man could win public popularity and demand the loyalty of the military he could become Emperor.

53. He introduced Britain to the world and to history

Caesar never achieved a full invasion of Britain, but his two expeditions to the islands mark an important turning point. His writings on Britain and the Britons are among the very first and provide a wide-ranging view of the islands. Recorded British history is reckoned to start with the successful Roman takeover in 43 AD, something Caesar set the grounds for.

54. Caesar’s historical influence is greatly increased by his own writings

To the Romans Caesar was undoubtedly a figure of great importance. The fact that he wrote so well about his own life, particularly in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico, a history of the Gallic Wars, has meant that his story was easily passed on in his own words.

55 Caesar’s example has inspired leaders to try to emulate him

Even the terms Tzar and Kaiser derive from his name. Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini consciously echoed Rome, seeing himself as a new Caesar, whose murder he called a ‘disgrace for humanity.’

The word fascist is derived from fasces, symbolic Roman bunches of sticks – together we are stronger. Caesarism is a recognised form of government behind a powerful, usually military leader – Napoleon was arguably a Caesarist and Benjamin Disraeli was accused of it.

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Articles on ancient history

Gaius Julius Caesar: Sources

Gaius Julius Caesar (13 July 100 - 15 March 44 BCE), Roman statesman, general, author, famous for the conquest of Gaul (modern France and Belgium) and his subsequent coup d'état. He changed the Roman republic into a monarchy and laid the foundations of a truly Mediterranean empire.

Most entertaining is the biography by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus , which is the first of the Lives of the twelve Caesars . The biographer was in charge of the imperial archives under the emperor Hadrian (who ruled 117-138): in this capacity, Suetonius had access to some of the best possible information. He uses it critically: for example, about Caesar 's death circulated a story that he had expected the assault, but was shocked to discover that Brutus was one of the conspirators, and that his last words were '"You too, my son?" Suetonius makes clear that he has some doubts about this anecdote.

Describing someone's life is a meaningless thing to do, unless there is some moral to be learned. Suetonius' moral is clear: if a man has the total freedom and the absolute power of a Roman emperor, he must be strong indeed if he wants to remain honest. To show this, he is fond of stories about cruelty and sexual deviations. Of course, this makes him one of the most interesting authors of antiquity, but sometimes he seems to portray his emperors a nuance too black.

Another moralist is the Greek author Plutarch of Chaeronea (45-120 CE), who was a few years younger than Suetonius and covered more or less the same ground. His biography is meant as a counterpart to a Life of Alexander the Great : consequently, the moral is totally different, namely that Greeks and Romans have much more in common than they want to admit.

These two biographies give us the outline of Caesar's life, a mere skeleton. It should be given flesh with other information, for which Caesar's own writings are very important.

The correspondence of Cicero cannot be dismissed. To a large extent, his Letters to Atticus are private correspondence and they give us first-rate information about the political life in Rome in Caesar's days. As these letters were rediscovered during the reign of Caesar's descendant Nero (who was emperor 54-68 CE), several unbecoming letters about Caesar were not published. The same selection was made in the collections of Cicero's Letters to Friends and Letters to Brutus . Cicero's speeches are very informative, especially On the provinces for the consuls , For Marcellus , For Ligarius and the Philippic speeches against Mark Antony .

On Caesar's behavior in 63, our most important source is The Catiline Conspiracy by Caesar's partisan Sallust , or -to use his full name- Gaius Sallustius Crispus (86-34 BCE). Perhaps he is also the author of a Letter to Caesar , in which the author suggests some reforms.

The books on Caesar by the historian Titus Livius (59 BCE - 17 CE; better known as Livy ) have not survived, but excerpts are still extant. It is possible that Plutarch used this text when he wrote his biographies: his Life of Caesar has already been mentioned, but biographies of Brutus, Cato the Younger, Cicero , Crassus , Mark Antony and Pompey are most informative too. In the first quarter of the third century, the Greek historian Cassius Dio based part of his description of the fall of the Roman Republic (books 36-44 of his Roman History ) on Livy. For the struggle over Caesar's inheritance, he is undoubtedly our most important source.

There's an awful lot of modern literature on the subject, although most of it deals with details. A good start is the Cambridge Ancient History , volume IX of the second edition (1994), "The last age of the Roman Republic", edited by J.A. Crook, A. Lintott and E. Rawson.

JULIUS CAESAR: THE MAKING OF A DICTATOR

Premieres Tuesdays, April 2 - 16, 2024 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV / PBS App

JULIUS CAESAR: THE MAKING OF A DICTATOR is a new three-part BBC-produced historical docudrama that explores how the nearly five-centuries-old Roman democracy was overthrown in just 16 years. The story of a brazen power grab that saw Julius Caesar consolidate the vast Roman Republic in his own hands, the series is told through the eyes of an expert cast of British and American historians, scholars, and political operatives (including a former head of MI5).

Illustrated with artful dramatic moments and packed with contemporary resonances, JULIUS CAESAR has all the elements of the best political thrillers, with complex power dynamics playing out for enormous stakes.

EPISODE GUIDE:

Episode 1: “High Priest” premieres Tuesday, April 2 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV - The first episode traces Caesar’s ambitious rise as he seeks to become Consul, the highest political position in Rome. He forms dangerous alliances and bends the rules of the Republic, courting the popular vote, exploiting division, and using bribery and intimidation to get his own way. But his unconventional approach to politics and disregard for established customs sets him at odds with the conservative elite within the Senate. And one man — Cato — is determined to bring him down.

Episode 2: “Veni Vidi Vici” premieres Tuesday, April 9 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV - Caesar has brokered an uneasy alliance with the two other most powerful men in the Republic, Pompey and Crassus, and the trio dominate the political system. Caesar leaves Rome to take the governorship of Gaul — modern-day France — to conquer its people and win greater power and prestige. But events beyond his control threaten to unravel his plans and leave him isolated. Backed into a corner, he makes a decision that will change the course of the Republic — and Western history — forever.

Episode 3: “Ides of March” premieres Tuesday, April 16 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV - As Caesar takes control of Rome and consolidates his grip over the Republic, he awards himself ever-greater powers. Appointed dictator for one year to restore peace, he soon extends this to ten years and then becomes “Dictator for Life.” His ambition turned to tyranny, Caesar has become untouchable, and Rome is now essentially a dictatorship. A handful of senators, including some of his closest allies, plot to end his rule in the only way they can: by taking his life. But will that be enough to save the Republic?

Watch On Your Schedule: All three episodes of JULIUS CAESAR: THE MAKING OF A DICTATOR will be available to stream on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS App , available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.

Credits: BBC Studios production for PBS and BBC . Series Producer and Director: Emma Frank . Executive Producer: Alexander Leith . Narrated by Janet McTeer. Featuring Andonis James Anthony as Julius Caesar.

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Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator

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The dramatic story of how nearly five centuries of ancient Roman democracy was overthrown in just 16 years… by one man. This is the story of a brazen, ambitious power-grab that saw Julius Caesar consolidate the vast power of Rome in his own hands.

High Priest

Caesar enters into dangerous alliances and bends the rules of the Republic in his bid to become Consul: the highest political position in Rome. But one man – Cato – is hellbent on bringing him down.

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Episode Extras

The Catiline Conspiracy

The Republic

All episodes, julius caesar: the making of a dictator: season 1.

Ides of March

Veni Vidi Vici

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