Julius Caesar - Biography, Achievements and Quotes

Gaius Julius Caesar (July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general, statesman, Consul and notable author of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus and Pompey formed a political alliance that was to dominate Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to amass power through populist tactics were opposed by the conservative elite within the Roman Senate, among them Cato the Younger with the frequent support of Cicero. Caesar's conquest of Gaul, completed by 51 BC, extended Rome's territory to the English Channel and the Rhine. 

Caesar became the first Roman general to cross both when he built a bridge across the Rhine and conducted the first invasion of Britain. These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse the standing of Pompey, who had realigned himself with the Senate after the death of Crassus in 53 BC. With the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate ordered Caesar to lay down his military command and return to Rome. Caesar refused, and marked his defiance in 49 BC by crossing the Rubicon with a legion, leaving his province and illegally entering Roman territory under arms. Civil war resulted, from which he emerged as the unrivaled leader of Rome.

After assuming control of government, Caesar began a program of social and governmental reforms, including the creation of the Julian calendar. He centralised the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed "dictator in perpetuity". But the underlying political conflicts had not been resolved, and on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC, Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators led by Marcus Junius Brutus. A new series of civil wars broke out, and the constitutional government of the Republic was never restored. Caesar's adopted heir Octavian, later known as Augustus, rose to sole power, and the era of the Roman Empire began.

Much of Caesar's life is known from his own accounts of his military campaigns, and from other contemporary sources, mainly the letters and speeches of Cicero and the historical writings of Sallust. The later biographies of Caesar by Suetonius and Plutarch are also major sources. Caesar is deemed to be one of the greatest military commanders of history.

Superb Facts About Julius Caesar

• The young Julius went to Rhodes to study oratory, but on his way he was captured by pirates whom he charmed and seemingly befriended. After he was freed, Julius arranged to have the pirates executed.
• Julius entered the course of advancement (cursus honorum) in the Roman political system as quaestor in 68 or 69 B.C.
• Curule Aedile
• In 65 B.C., Julius Caesar became curule aedile and then managed to be appointed to the position of pontifex maximus, contrary to convention, since he was so young.
• Praetor
• Julius Caesar became praetor for 62 B.C. and during that year divorced his second wife for not being above suspicion, in the Bona Dea scandal involving Claudius/Clodius Pulcher.
• Consul
• Julius Caesar won one of the consulships in 59 B.C. The chief advantage for him of this top political position was that following the term in office, he would become governor (proconsul) of a lucrative province.
• Proconsul
• Julius Caesar himself was guilty of many extra-marital affairs, -- with Cleopatra, among others. One of the most significant relations was with Servilia Caepionis, the half-sister of Cato the Younger. Because of this relationship, it was thought possible that Brutus was Julius Caesar's son.
• Male Lover
• Julius Caesar was taunted all his life with charges of having been the lover of King Nicomedes of Bithynia.
• Wives
• Julius Caesar married Cornelia, a daughter of Marius' associate, Lucius Cornelius Cinna, then a relative of Pompey named Pompeia, and finally, Calpurnia.
• Julius Caesar engineered a 3-way division of power with enemies Crassus and Pompey that was known as the Triumvirate.
• Second-year Latin students are familiar with the military side of Julius Caesar's life. As well as conquering the Gallic tribes, he wrote about the Gallic Wars in clear, elegant prose, referring to himself in the third person. It was through his campaigns that Julius Caesar was finally able to work his way out of debt, although the third member of the triumvirate, Crassus, also helped.
• As a young man Caesar was captured by pirates and released when other Romans paid his ransom. He then had the pirates captured and crucified.
• When Caesar beheld a statue of Alexander the Great, he broke down in tears because he was the same age as Alexander when he conquerered his empire, and Caesar as yet had no conquests to compare.
• The Julian calender that we use today was also named after Julius Caesar, because he commissioned it.
• At around the time of his father's death, Caesar made a concerted effort to side with the country's nobility. His marriage to Cornelia, the daughter of a noble, had drawn the ire of Rome's dictator, Sulla, who ordered the young Roman to divorce his wife or risk losing his property. Caesar refused and found escape in the military, serving first in the province of Asia and then in Cilicia.
• Following the death of Sulla, Caesar returned to Rome to begin his career in politics as a prosecuting advocate. He relocated temporarily to Rhodes to study philosophy, but during his travels there was kidnapped by pirates. In a daring display of his negotiation and counter-insurgency tactics, he convinced his captors to raise his ransom. He then organized a naval force to attack them. The pirates were captured and executed.
• His stature was enhanced further in 74 BC when he put together a private army and combated Mithradates VI Eupator, king of Pontus, who had declared war on Rome.
• When Caesar returned to Rome he began to work with Pompey, a former lieutenant under Sully, who'd switched sides following the dictator's death. Not long after, in 68 or 69 BC, Caesar was elected quaestor (a base political office) and then went to serve in several other key government positions under Pompey.
• There have been a lot of interpretations about the origin of the cognomen "Caesar". According to Pliny the Elder, it was derived from a Latin term Caedere which means to cut. So, people who were born through a cesarean section owned this cognomen. Another interpretation according to Historia Augusta states that the first Caesar had killed an elephant in a battle, had thick head of hair, and also had bright gray eyes, and because Caesar had issued coins with elephant images, it depicted that he liked this interpretation of his name the most.
• Speaking of marriage, Julius Caesar married thrice in his lifetime. His first marriage was with Cornelia in 83 BC. She died in 68 or 69 BC due to childbirth, so, Julius Caesar married for the second time to Pompeia whom he divorced shortly in 61 BC. His last and third marriage was with Calpurnia Pisonis which took place in 59 BC.
• Caesar is considered to be one of the greatest military strategists and tacticians in history, along with Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan and Napoleon.
• Caesar and Cleopatra were romantically involved for 14 years but could not marry, because she was Queen of Egypt and under Roman law, marriage was only allowed between two Roman citizens.
• Ceasar was given many accolades and honors during his leadership such as Pater Patriae (Father of the Fatherland), Pontifex Maximus (Highest Priest), and he eventually took the title Dictator. The title Dictator angered members of the Senate, who felt this challenged the very republic Caesar had created. Member of his Senate eventually murdered him famously on March 15th, which is referred to as the "Ides of March". After his assassination, he was even given the title Divus ("god") because he was so loved by the public.
• In 85 BC, when Caesar was just sixteen, he became the head of the family when his father died suddenly while putting on his shoes one morning, without any apparent cause.
• Despite his very well known affair with Cleopatra, it was also believed that Caesar was bisexual, having had affairs with several men including Nicomedes IV of Bithynia.
• Julius Caesar was also the first one to print his own snap on the Roman coin. Even the Bible quotes "Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's." ~ Mathew 22: 17-21!
• Do you know that the modern calendar is very similar to the Roman calendar, and it was Julius Caesar who changed the old Roman Calendar which earlier followed the changes in the moon, but later on started following the changes in the Sun. He was the one who introduced the Julian Calendar and set the days to 365 days, with the leap year having 366 days!
• Another change that was brought by Julius Caesar is that he was represented as the King of Diamonds in the Deck of cards in Rome. The King of Spades was represented by King David, the Biblical king, the King of Hearts was Charlemagne, and the King of Clubs was Alexander the Great.
• Brutus, who was also suspected to be the illegitimate son of Caesar, assassinated Caesar on 15th March, also known as the Ides of March, along with several others. He was stabbed 23 times. His last words, according to Suetonius are reported to be "Tu quoque, Brute, fili mi!", which is translated as "You too, Brutus, my son!" !
• Even after his death, Caesar was given the title of Divus, which means God by the people of Rome. 
• This was added to the various honors that were bestowed upon him during his lifetime which included the honor of Pater Patriae, which means Father of the Fatherland; Dictator for life; and Pontifex Maximus, which means the Highest Priest, to name a few. He was also the consul in 59 BC and the proconsul after his term as consul ended.
• After his assassination, his adopted son Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, who was his grand-nephew by blood, became the successor of his empire. He was later known as Emperor Augustus.
• Julius Caesar refused to obey the command of the Senate, but instead led his troops across the Rubicon river, which started civil war.
• Caesar was known to be careful or abstemious in his consumption of wine and was said to have been particular in his hygiene, including having himself depilitated. I don't have a source for this.

Superb Quotes by Julius Caesar

• But in ourselves, that we are underlings
• Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.
• We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar;
• And in the spirit of men there is no blood:
• Let's kill him boldly, but not wrathfully;
• Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods,
• Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds
• When beggars die, there are no comets seen;
• The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes
• Cowards die many times before their deaths;
• I love treason but hate a traitor.
• Men willingly believe what they wish.
• It is not these well-fed long-haired men that I fear, but the pale and the hungry-looking.
• I am constant as the northern star
• Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more
• Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
• I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him
• This was the most unkindest cut of all
• There is a tide in the affairs of men
• This was the noblest Roman of them all