A Roman army led by Crassus finally defeated Spartacus and his men. In 67 B.C., he married Pompeia, a granddaughter of Sulla and relative of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great), with whom he formed an important alliance. How did Julius Caesar come to power? What were the consequences of Caesar's assassination? Caesar defeated Pompey's forces and entered Rome in 46 B.C.E., triumphant and unchallenged. But Caesar hired a private fleet to hunt them down and had the pirates crucified for their crimes. But Caesar hired a private fleet to hunt them down and had the pirates crucified for their crimes. This page was last edited on 1 May 2023, at 04:31. Julius Caesar, (born July 12/13, 100 bce, Romedied March 15, 44 bce, Rome), Celebrated Roman general, statesman, and dictator.A patrician by birth, he held the prominent posts of quaestor and praetor before becoming governor of Farther Spain in 61-60. Hoping to prevent Caesar from invading Egypt, the child pharaoh Ptolemy VIII had Pompey killed on September 28, 48 B.C. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. They divvied up the Roman provinces to suit themselves. He gave citizenship to many residents of far regions of the Roman Republic. Together, these three men seized control of the Roman Republic, and Caesar was elevated to the office of consul-general of the Roman Republic. Julius Caesar Caesar soon began his political career in earnest. His Roman troops conquered Gallic tribes by exploiting tribal rivalries. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. The Roman governing class had consequently come to be hated and discredited at home and abroad. Caesar and his armies pursued Pompey to Spain, Greece and, finally, Egypt. For the full article, see, The first triumvirate and the conquest of Gaul, Antecedents and outcome of the civil war of 4945, https://www.britannica.com/summary/Julius-Caesar-Roman-ruler. and Marcus Licinius Crassus (11253 B.C. Augustus and the empire Alcohol-free bars, no-booze cruises, and other tools can help you enjoy travel without the hangover. He was born to Gaius Caesar and Aurelia Caesar in 100 BC on either July 12th or 13th (his exact birthdate is unknown) in Suburra, Italy, a region of the Roman empire. [7] This allowed him to establish a network of supporters such as Clodius who were to protect and advance his interests. . Edited by Robert Cowley and Geoffrey Parker. Caesar changed the course of the history of the Greco-Roman world decisively and irreversibly. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. Julius Caesar had an army of 50,000 loyal men that fought for him. Roman historian Suetonius, Julius Caesar spoke mainly Greek and not Latin, as was the case with most patricians at the time. [11] This was based largely on his military prowess and his success on countless battlefields around Europe and the Middle East. Typically, dictators served for a limited time (usually six months), then stepped down. The pair never married but their long-term affair produced a son, Ptolemy XV Caesar, known as Caesarion. Julius Caesar is a leader of an army who after some time took over Rome and ruled for may years.Once Julius Caesar took over power, he transformed what became known, the Roman Empire, he did this by hugely expanding its geography and establishing its "Imperial System". What was the First Triumvirate of Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus? They were right, and the triumvirate soon controlled Rome. In William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, the title character manages to utter "Et tu, Brute?" He became military tribune and then quaestor of a Roman province in 69 B.C., the same year his wife Cornelia died. In the aftermath of the conquest of Gaul, he sent his troops across the Rubicon and occupied Rome. When the autocratic Caesar rejected it at the Lupercalia, there were grave doubts about his sincerity. Laws were altered to suit his needs. To avert civil war, Julius Caesar, whose reputation was growing because of his military successes, suggested a 3-way partnership. Julius Caesar was famous not only for his military and political successes, but . But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! He was an alluring pioneer and got outstanding amongst other known figures on the Roman political scene. Any prosecution was extremely unlikely to succeed. Even people who know nothing of Caesar as a historic personality are familiar with his family name as a title signifying a ruler who is in some sense uniquely supreme or paramountthe meaning of Kaiser in German, tsar in the Slavonic languages, and qayar in the languages of the Islamic world. It has also provided many well-known quotes attributed to Shakespeare, not Caesar including: A Timeline of the Life of Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar returned to Rome with his army. En route he was captured by pirates (one of the symptoms of the anarchy into which the Roman nobility had allowed the Mediterranean world to fall). Caesar reduced the powers of the Senate so as to make it an advisory council only. Start your free trial today. The conqueror of the Gauls maneuvered Pompey into a battle at Pharsalus in modern Greece. ", Forum Romanum Index to Caesar's works online, Digital Prosopography of the Roman Republic, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julius_Caesar&oldid=1152590934, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from April 2023, Articles with minor POV problems from April 2023, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2023, Articles lacking reliable references from April 2023, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2020, Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from April 2023, Articles with disputed statements from April 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. The union terrified the Roman Senate who knew that a partnership between three such powerful men would prove unstoppable. Though some of the most powerful noble families were patrician, patrician blood was no longer a political advantage; it was actually a handicap, since a patrician was debarred from holding the paraconstitutional but powerful office of tribune of the plebs. Fearing this change, a group of senators plotted and executed the murder of Caesar on the Ides of March. Before the Fall of the Roman Republic, Income Inequality and Xenophobia After his father died suddenly in 85 B.C., Caesar became head of his family at age 16 right in the middle of a civil war between his uncle Marius and the Roman ruler Lucius Cornelius Sulla. The requirements and the costs of a Roman political career in Caesars day were high, and the competition was severe; but the potential profits were of enormous magnitude. Despite objections by the Senate, he used his legions to conquer Gaul and invade Britain. You cannot download interactives. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. ), the senators, led by Gaius Cassius Longinus,Decimus Junius Brutus Albinusand Marcus Junius Brutus, stabbed Caesar 23 times, ending both his reign and his life as he fell bleeding onto the Senate floor at the feet of a statue of Pompey. These two men entered into an alliance and they invited Caesar to join their informal arrangement. It was true that Sextus Caesar, who was perhaps the dictators uncle, had been one of the consuls for 91 bce; and Lucius Caesar, one of the consuls for 90 bce, was a distant cousin, whose son and namesake was consul for 64 bce. When Caesar entered Egypt, Ptolemy gifted him Pompeys severed head. After the deaths of Pompeys wife (and Caesars daughter) Julia in 54B.C. ("And you, Brutus?"). All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. 10 Facts About Julius Caesar's Rise to Power | History Hit How this animal can survive is a mystery. Meanwhile, Caesar's power grew while in Gaul. A series of successful military and political maneuvers, along with the support of Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus (known as the richest man in Rome), helped Caesar get elected as senior Roman consul in 59 B.C. [10] Pompey escaped, after Pharsalus and he and other senators vowed to continue the war. He also appears to have been genuinely popular among many ordinary Romans. Spartacus (109-71 B.C.E.) Here they assembled a number of legions. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-first-triumvirate-and-julius-caesar-111506. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Terror's tool was a new one, the proscription list, by which large numbers of important, wealthy people, and often senators, were killed; their property, confiscated. Updated: November 4, 2019 | Original: October 27, 2009. San Jose State University.Julius Caesar. Caesar, Crassus and Pompey soon formed an informal alliance (strengthened by the marriage of Caesars daughter Julia to Pompey) known as the First Triumvirate. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Access hundreds of hours of historical video, commercial free, with HISTORY Vault. When Caesar returned to Rome in 50 B.C.E. He was revered in the city but not even he could persuade the Senate to grant his veterans lands. he was made dictator of Rome for ten years, outraging his political opponents and setting the stage for the eventual end of the Roman Republic. When the Senate would not command Pompey to give up his command simultaneously, Caesar, against regulations, led his forces across the Rubicon River (49) between Gaul and Italy, precipitating the Roman Civil War. How Did Octavian Build The Roman Empire | ipl.org In this situation, nothing could get done and there was political gridlock. In public funeral orations in their honour, Caesar found opportunities for praising Cinna and Marius. But when Caesar crossed the Rubicon River in northern Italy, he brought his army with him in defiance of the senate's order. Julius Caesar began his rise to power in 60 B.C.E. Over the centuries, many of his words have become famous quotes, such as: "I came, I . Julius Caesar, (born July 12/13, 100 bce, Romedied March 15, 44 bce, Rome), Celebrated Roman general, statesman, and dictator. Caesar next spent a few years in Egypt and Asia before returning to Rome, where he began a platform of reform. Caesar soon began his political career in earnest. Julius Caesar granted citizenship to many colonials, thus widening his base of support. and Crassus in 53 B.C., Pompey aligned with Caesars opponents and ordered him to give up his army and return to Rome. After the suppression of Catilines conspiracy in 63 bce, Caesar, as well as the millionaire Marcus Licinius Crassus, was accused of complicity. Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. In 67 B.C., he married Pompeia, a granddaughter of Sulla and relative of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great), with whom he formed an important alliance. On the Ides of March (March 15, 44 B.C. The first triumvirate and the conquest of Gaul, Antecedents and outcome of the civil war of 4945, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julius-Caesar-Roman-ruler, Social Studies for Kids - Biography of Julius Caesar, Spartacus Educational - Biography of Julius Caesar, Live Science - Julius Caesar biography: Facts and history, World History Encyclopedia - Julius Caesar, The History Learning Site - Biography of Julius Caesar, Julius Caesar - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Julius Caesar - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), The western Mediterranean during the Punic Wars.