WHO WAS JULIUS CAESAR?

CLICK HERE FOR THE NEW 'GARDEN OF EADEN’ WEBSITE AND SEED SHOP

Gaius Julius Caesar July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He also greatly extended the Roman empire before seizing power and making himself dictator of Rome, paving the way for the imperial system.

Julius Caesar was born in Rome on 12 or 13 July 100 BC into the prestigious Julian clan. His family were closely connected with the Marian faction in Roman politics. Caesar himself progressed within the Roman political system, becoming in succession quaestor (69 BC), aedile (65 BC) and praetor (62 BC). In 61-60 BC he served as governor of the Roman province of Spain.

Back in Rome in 60 BC, Caesar made a pact with Pompey and Crassus, who helped him to get elected as consul for 59 BC. The following year he was appointed governor of Roman Gaul where he stayed for eight years, adding the whole of modern France and Belgium to the Roman empire, and making Rome safe from the possibility of Gallic invasions. He made two expeditions to Britain, in 55 BC and 54 BC.

Julius Caesar, in his famous account of the Gallic Wars of the 50s BC, provided readers at home with a blood-curdling description of the Germanic tribes he encountered in battle:

'...The various tribes regard it as their greatest glory to lay waste as much as possible of the land around them and to keep it uninhabited. They hold it a proof of a people's valour to drive their neighbours from their homes, so that no-one dare settle near them. No discredit attaches to plundering raids outside tribal frontiers. The Germans say that they serve to keep young men in training and prevent them from getting lazy...'

Caesar then returned to Italy, disregarding the authority of the senate and famously crossing the Rubicon river without disbanding his army. In the ensuing civil war Caesar defeated the republican forces. Pompey fled to the Egyptian capital Alexandria, where he was murdered on the orders of Ptolemy. Caesar followed and he and Cleopatra became lovers. Cleopatra, who had been exiled by her brother, was reinstalled as queen with Roman military support. Ptolemy was killed in the fighting and another brother was created Ptolemy XIII. In 47 BC, Cleopatra bore Caesar a child - Caesarion - though Caesar never publicly acknowledged him as his son. Cleopatra followed Caesar back to Rome where he made himself consul and dictator and therefore master of Rome.

He used his power to carry out much-needed reform, relieving debt, enlarging the senate, building the Forum Iulium and revising the calendar. Dictatorship was always regarded a temporary position but in 44 BC, Caesar took it for life. His success and ambition alienated strongly republican senators. A group of these, led by Cassius and Brutus, assassinated Caesar on the Ides of March 44 BC. This sparked the final round of civil wars that ended the Republic and brought about the elevation of Caesar's great nephew and designated heir, Octavian, as Augustus, the first emperor.

For related articles click onto:
All about Valencia
ATHENS: How to get to Athens City from Athens International Airport
ATHENS: How to get to Athens city from Athens International Airport?
ATHENS: The Arch of Hadrian
ATHENS: The Arch of Hadrian
ATHENS: The Acropolis
ATHENS: The Caryatids
ATHENS: The Caryatids
ATHENS: The Parthenon
ATHENS: The Parthenon
ATHENS: The Temple of Zeus
ATHENS: Tower of the Winds
ATHENS: The Tower of the Winds
BATH: Roman Baths
Caesar
Cleopatra's Needle
EGYPT: What is a Mummy?
EGYPT: Where is the river Nile?
EGYPT: Where is the source of the Nile?
ENGLAND: Hever Castle
ENGLAND: Knole House - the Ghosts!
ENGLAND: Sissinghurst
ENGLAND: Where is Stonehenge?
FRANCE: The Versailles Gardens
ROMAN ENGLAND: Who was Gnaeus Julius Agricola?
GREECE: The Ancient Olympics
GREEK HISTORY: Who was Archimedes?
GREEK HISTORY: Who was Archimedes?
Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder  Plot
Hot Spa
How to get to Villa d'Este from Rome
ITALIAN HISTORY: Who was Christopher Columbus?
ITALIAN HISTORY: Who was Julius Caesar?
ITALY: Rome Pictures
ITALY: What is Pompeii?
ITALY: Where is Pompei?
LONDON: Big Ben
LONDON: Big Ben
LONDON: Buckingham Palace
LONDON: Cleopatra's Needle
LONDON: The Eye of London
LONDON: The Houses of Parliament
LONDON: The London Eye
LONDON: The Tower of London
LONDON: The Tower of London
LONDON: Tower Bridge
LONDON: Who was Guy Fawkes?
PARIS: The Arc de Triomphe
PARIS: The Eiffel Tower
PARIS: The Louvre
PARIS: Where is the Eiffel Tower?
PARIS: Where is the Louvre?
Queen Victoria
Rembrandts House
Rembrandt Museum
ROMAN BRITAIN: Who was Gnaeus Julius Agricola?
Roman England: The Kings Bath
Roman Food
Rome: Gladiator
Rome: The Coliseum
Rome: Gladiator Graveyard Discovered! 
Rome: Gladiator School
Rome: How to get to Villa Adriana from Rome
Rome: How to get to Villa D'Este from Rome
Rome: How to make Roman Bread - panis
Rome: Julius Caesar
Rome: Opening Times for Villa D'Este
Rome: Photographs of and around the Colosseum at Night
Rome: The Roman Colosseum
ROME: The Pantheon
Rome: The Pantheon
Rome: The Pyramid of Rome 
Rome: Roman Ships 
Rome: Villa Adriana - Tivoli
Rome: What did Gladiators Eat?
Rome: What did the Romans Eat?
ROME: Villa d'Este
ROME: What was a Gladiator?
Rome: Who were the Ancient Gladiators?
The Acropolis
The Assassination of Lincoln
The Boston Tea Party
ROME: The Colosseum
ROMAN HISTORY: What did the Romans Eat?
The Fountain of Youth
VALENCIA: The Lonja de la Seda
VALENCIA: La Lonja de la Seda
VALENCIA: The Turia River
Valencia - How to get to Valencia City from Valencia Airport
Villa d'Este
Was Abraham Lincoln a Vampire?
What is the Fountain of Youth?
What is the Louvre?
What is Stonehenge?
What to do in Valencia
Where is the Nile?
Where is Sorrento?
Where is the Source of the Nile?
Where was Abraham Lincoln from?
Where to find the Fountain of Youth?
Who was Abraham Lincoln?
Who was Archimedes?
Who was Christopher Columbus?
Who was Guy Fawkes?
Who was Julius Caesar?
Who was King Canute?
Who was Queen Victoria?
Who was Rembrandt?
Who was Wyatt Earp?
William and Kate - First Baby
Based on an article from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/caesar_julius.shtml
Images care of http://juliuscaesarsjohnson1.blogspot.co.uk/ and http://www.cosmiq.de/qa/show/450507/warum-waren-caesars-letzte-worte-auch-du-brutus-der-legende-nach-in-griechisch-und-nicht-latein/ and http://thedorkfishexpress.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/all-roads-lead-to-chicago.html