Julius+Caesar

=//**Julius Caesar**//= In the July, of the year 100 BC a certain Gaius Julius Caesar was born. A prominent statesman, whose popularity among “the commons” stemmed from his extravagance and liberality; he would freely give money out in bribes to secure loyalty on his way to consul and praetorship. Establishing his prowess as a Roman general through his conquest of Gaul (which extended Rome’s influence to the English channel and the Rhine) and later through the invasion of Britain.

Caesar and Pompey formed a political tag team of destruction in the year 60 BC. Together they went on to decimate Roman politics for many years, their joint populist tactics (which were in attempts to amass power) were opposed by the contrary conservative Roman elite within the Senate. As Caesar rallied his legions during his conquests, he developed unrivaled military power which posed a threat to Pompey. After political realignments for fear of Caesar’s growing strength the Senate ordered Caesar (who was in Gaul at the time) to stand trial in Rome for varying charges. Caesar then took an unprecedented action in his march for Italy with his legions. When they crossed the Rubicon in 49 BC it sparked a civil war (or series rather) from which he emerged victorious over Pompey to become the unparalleled leader of Rome.

After assuming control of the government, Caesar started a series of reforms of the Roman society and government. Centralizing the Roman government, Caesar was King in all but name (he was even offered the crown, but he refused). Paving the way for the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire, the Roman people loved Caesar so much that they allowed one man to rule or at least to stand above the rest. That is until a group of self righteous Senators, led by a certain Marcus Brutus assassinated him on the Ides of March (March 15th) 44 BC. Caesar is said to have uttered the words “You to child?” (which referred to Brutus), then he is said to have covered his face with his toga and resigned to his fate, as he was surrounded by the group of sixty senators and stabbed to death. They hoped to restore the Republic, but all they did was launch it into civil war, where Caesar’s adopted son and nephew Octavius (later Emperor Augustus) would go on to battle for control with Mark Antony and later Brutus, from which he would emerge victorious.

After the defeat of Brutus, Antony formed an alliance with queen Cleopatra of Egypt in attempt to overtake Octavius in a civil war. He was inevitably defeated at Actium, which resulted in the permanent rule of Octavius. Who then went on to become the first Roman emperor, under the name of Augustus Caesar. In life Caesar still affects us, one of the reforms he passed while still alive was the realignment of the calendar, and we still use his revision to this day. He set up the leap year system and realigned the seasons with the months and set that a year contained 365 days. Not to mention the month of July was renamed in his honor and the month of August was likewise renamed in Augustus' honor.

"Julius Caesar." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. Web. 19 Jan. 2012. . Suetonius. //The Twelve Caesars.// Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, 1957. Print.

Plutarch, and H. W. M. Parr. //Plutarch's Life of Julius Caesar //. London: Macmillan, 1915. Print.