Julius Caesar's rise to power and influence in Rome

Julius Caesar was a historical figure who has never failed to fascinate the people. He was a Roman army general and a politician as well. He put an end to the republican government in Rome and it was due to him that the reign of emperors began in Rome. Julius Caesar used the hardships and sufferings of the people of that time as a tool to develop his military as well as political power in Rome. Julius Caesar is considered as one of the most influential and powerful leaders in the world. His live as well as his death has been celebrated through rich literature and art. (Julius Caesar biography, 1-2)

Julius Caesar confronted his first major political success in the year 63 B.C.E, when he was elected as the 'pontifex maximus', this was the chief religious office. It was an important political position and hence presented Julius with many opportunities. After that, in the year 62 B.C he was elected at the position of 'praetor'. He performed his responsibilities of praetor in Spain. Caesar grabbed the opportunities that were presented to him and started an aggressive campaign against the native tribes that were present in a Roman province which was located in the West of Europe. Some of the political opponents of Julius Caesar claimed that, Caesar was responsible for starting a war in Rome. (Julius Caesar biography, 1-2)

On the fifteenth of March, Caesar was being murdered in the Senate of Pompey by a group, which consisted of his old friends and associates. After the murder of Julius Caesar, Rome entered in to the thirteenth civil war. Julius Caesar is regarded as a man of great courage and bravery by some people, whereas, the others consider him as the founder of Roman Empire. As a whole, Julius Caesar was an over influential leader and a genius figure who has been equaled only by a few people in the history. (Julius Caesar biography, 1-2)

Julius Caesar's Birth and Childhood

In 100 BCE, Julius Caesar was born in the family of Aurelia and Gaius Julius Caesar, who was a praetor. His family was a noble and aristocratic one. His aunt, Julia, was the wife of Gaius Marius, who as an influential leader of a popular group. Though Caesar's family had noble roots but at the time of his birth his family was neither rich nor famous in Rome. (MacManus, 1-7) As the social war started in Italy in late 91, Caesar's uncle, Sextus Caesar, who was among the consuls, died while he was conducting campaigns and as a result of his death Caesar's father was left as the only living adult member of the family, which was an extended one in nature. And there is a great probability that Caesar's father provided for the children of his brothers and sisters and acted as their guardian. Julius Caesar was raised by his mother, Aurelia, who was very well-known for her wisdom and intelligence. She trained the boy not only through his childhood but also through his adolescence and manhood as well. (Billows, 33-34)

Most of the peoples have the pinion that, people who turned out to be great in their mature years are generally very serious in their young years as well. But this was not the case where Julius Caesar is concerned. Julius was a joyful and a happy person in his young years. He was a tall and a handsome boy and had the ability to socialize easily. And he was always able to fascinate people through his good manners. Even though, Caesar had a strong background and belonged to a family that had an influential standing in the society, and both of these assets had the ability to provide him with power and position, but Caesar, in his early years, was never interested in availing these advantages for himself. In his young years, Caesar was much more interested in fulfilling his personal pleasures rather than becoming a military officer or a politician. (Abbott, 12)

Caesar' Education

One of the most important issues in the life of a child is education but no specific details about the educational life of Julius Caesar are present in the vast literature. (Billows, 34). Julius Caesar had an ambition to be an orator. He studied Greek language and also read the works that were being compiled by the Greek authors. Apart from that Julius also attended the lectures on philosophy. Julius also had great interest in learning to write and speak fluently as the power of writing and speech gave a man great political advantage in those times. (Abbott, 12-13)

After the death of Julius Caesar's father, his mother never married again and continued to give her sole attention to the young boy. She was a very prominent figure in her house and died in the year 54 BC. After the death of his mother, when Julius Caesar emerged out of his home as an upper class Roman boy, he confronted a two part education. The formal education that Julius Caesar had gained consisted of his ability to read and write both Greek and Latin languages and the knowledge and information about the classic poets of Greece. In addition to that, Caesar was also taught a lot about the Greek philosophy and most importantly about the art of rhetoric. (Billows, 34)

Caesar's Betrothal

In 85 BCE Julius Caesar's father died. After the death of his father, Caesar was betrothed and was possibly going to be married to a young wealthy woman, named Cossutia. But Caesar's betrothal to Cossutia was broken after a few years and at the age of eighteen years he married a young woman named, Cornelia. Cornelia was the daughter of an important member of the Popular faction. Cornelia gave birth to the only legitimate child of Julius Caesar, his daughter Julia. (MacManus 1-7)

First Triumvirate

In the year 59 BCE, Caesar won the elections and he was elected as consul, which can be defined as an official who has the responsibility to conquer foreign lands. As the senate wanted to deprive Caesar of all the opportunities of positive political growth, it designated him with the areas, the conquest of which had brought him no prestige and glory as a military man. Caesar, on the other hand, wanted more glory and prestige; therefore, he realized that he needed his associates and allies to overcome his adversaries in the Senate. (Julius Caesar biography, 1-2)

Caesar was able to find out an alliance that could overcome his enemies and opponents in the Senate. He, therefore, aligned himself with military general Pompey and a noble and powerful Roman politician Crassus and this alliance came to be known as 'the First Triumvirate'. This alliance brought both military power and strong political connections to Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar further sealed this alliance by marrying his only daughter, Julia, to Pompey. (Julius Caesar biography, 1-2)

Revolt in Gaul

Caesar was then awarded with the governorship of Gaul. Gaul, at that time, was occupied by several tribes but Rome had strong political connections in this area. Caesar immediately took advantage of these relationships in order to extend the rule of Rome in the province of Gaul. In 55 and 54 BC Caesar decided to invade some tribes in Britain. This invasion stir new enthusiasm in the people of Rome as it was the first time in history that Rome had tried to launch an expedition against the overseas tribes. After these expeditions, Caesar was of the view point that his main aim of conquest was complete. But in the 52 BC people of Gaul stood in rebellion against Caesar under the leadership of Vercingetorix, who was a nobleman in Gaul. This rebellion posed serious threats to the political and military power and prestige of Julius Caesar. (Julius Caesar biography, 1-2)

Along with the rebellion, the political conditions of Rome were in great chaos. The tribune of Rome was being murdered and Rome was in great political unrest. Caesar had crossed the Alps in order to review and monitor the conditions of Rome but on his way he got the news of the rebellion and headed back to Gaul. Even though, Caesar lost a few battles but in the end, with the use of efficient strategies and innovative weapons, he and his men surrounded the Fortress of Alesia and Vercingetorix and his army were forced to surrender. (Julius Caesar biography, 1-2)

Dissolving the Triumvirate

As Caesar was busy in handling his conquests and battle, he remained away from Rome for most of the time. This absence weakened the political position of Julius Caesar in Rome. But at the same time the victories and the conquests of Julius Caesar were promoted publically. His commentaries, in which he described his campaigns and conquests, were greatly appreciated by the reading community of Rome. Caesar, through his commentaries, tried to show the best side of his victories and emphasized on defending the allies and the friends of the Rome against the adversaries and enemies of Rome. Rome went under great expansion, around six hundred and forty thousand square miles, as the result of the conquests of Julius Caesar. (Julius Caesar biography, 1-2)

Pompey, on the other hand, stayed in Rome and presented himself as a great leader in the times of unrest and chaos. The alliance between Pompey and Caesar was weakened by the death of Julia in the year 54 BC, which put an end to an important relationship between the two men. Apart from that, the bond was further affected, negatively, by the death of Crassus in 53 BC. (Julius Caesar biography, 1-2)

Civil war

Caesar returned to home in 50 BC and Senate declared him guilty for misusing his powers as a consul and decided to put him on a trial. Caesar was now confronted with two options; he could either accept the order of the senate, and put an end to his political career, or he could start a war against the present government. Caesar decided to start a civil war. (Julius Caesar biography, 1-2)

In the beginning of the war Pompey and the Senate seemed very powerful as they had rich resources at their disposal. But Caesar, on the other, had a tough and loyal army, great strategies and innovative weapons and technique. Caesar won the strong loyalty of his men by keeping himself in the front place while facing deadly situations in the battle field. In addition to that, Caesar also had a strong position in Italy and Gaul. Moreover Caesar was fighting for his own interest and was not confronted with division of opinions and interest, which was one of the main reasons of Pompey's defeat. (Julius Caesar biography, 1-2)

Pompey quickly surrendered in Italy and moved back to East. Caesar quickly took hold in Italy and Gaul and finally on the 9th of August in 48 BC, Caesar defeated Pompey in the battle of Pharsalus. Pompey left Rome and immediately ran away to Egypt where he was being by a young pharaoh, named Ptolemy. Caesar also went to Egypt after Pompey and in Egypt he got indulged in the struggle for power. The major result of Caesar's type in Egypt was his affair with Cleopatra, who was Ptolemy's sister. (Julius Caesar biography, 1-2)

Consolidation of the empire

After taking hold of the Roman Empire, Caesar realized that the empire needed great attention and improvement. He chose to adapt the position of a dictator for himself and implemented a policy of mercy for his political enemies and also appointed them on political positions. He also issued coins with his picture on their face. He planned to transform the capital of the Roman Empire. In addition to that, under the reign of Julius Caesar, many new colonial foundations were under their way and a defective Roman calendar was also recorded. (Ancient Rome and Early Christianity, 500 B.C. -- A.D.500)

Death and legacy

In the Roman Senate, dissatisfaction prevailed regarding the growing rule of Julius Caesar and hence a conspiracy was being planned to put an end to his reign and to give the power in the hands of the Senate. The senate was of the viewpoint that by putting an end to the rule of Julius Caesar the government would regain its old republican form and would put an end to all the factors that gave birth to Julius Caesar. The conspiracy kept on progressing and Caesar was either unaware of it or he did not pay much attention to the warnings. Finally on the 15th of March in 44 BC, he was being murdered by a group of people, including his old friends and allies, in Pompey's Senate house. After Caesar's murder, the thirteenth civil war broke out in Rome. (Ancient Rome and Early Christianity, 43)

Conclusion:

Julius Caesar is regarded as the man of great courage and bravery by a number of people. He is considered as a great legend in the history of world. He was a great military commander and a brilliant strategist and with the help of his strategies and great ideas he brought massive expansions in Rome. As a politician, he was the first one to put an end to the republican form of government and he is often regarded as the father of Roman Empire. (Ancient Rome and Early Christianity, 43)

Work Cited

Abbott, Jacob. History Of Julius Caesar. 1. 1. Medellin: Medellin Digital, 1904. Web. .

Ancient Hist.- Caesar HSC practice. Sydney: University of Technology, 2012. 1-3. Web. .

Ancient Rome and Early Christianity, 500 B.C. -- A.D.500. Austin: Lake Travis Independent School District, 2005. Web. . Billows, Richard. Julius Caesar: The Colossus of Rome. 1. 1. New York: Routledge, 2009. Web. .

Julius Caesar biography. Rocklin: Rocklin High School, 2005. Web. .

"Julius Caesar General, Writer, Politician, Dictator-King?." Trans. Array Ancient Rome and Early Christianity. Mexico: McDougal Littell Inc., 2005. 43. .

MacManus, Barbara. Julius Caesar: Historical Background. New York: The College of New Rochelle, 2001. 1-7. Web. 6 Jul. 2013. .

Smith, Smith. Julius Caesar. New Brunswick: Rutgers University, 1-2. Web. 6 Jul. 2013. .