The Life of Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar, or more formidably known as Julius Caesar, was born in July 100 BCE in Rome to an aristocratic family with roots to the city's early founders.
Caesar became head of his family at the age of 16 after his father died. He then joined the Roman army to escape the violent reign of the dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Sulla had set out to kill and exile his enemies, with Caesar being one of them.
While in the army, Caesar made a name for himself as one of the greatest military commanders of Rome. He returned to Rome a military hero and rose to political power as a lawyer and public speaker.
In 59 BCE he was elected to numerous political positions, with his highest being that of consul of the Roman Republic. Caesar struck a deal with the other consuls, Pompey the Great and Crassus, creating the First Triumvirate in 60 BCE.
Each member of the Triumvirate brought an objective to help overcome the corrupt Senate and ensure their popularity and power in Rome.
Caesar became governor of Gaul, a province of Rome that encompassed Northern Italy, Switzerland, and France. During the period between 58-51 BCE, Caesar had fantastic military success in Gaul which brought him great popularity back in Rome. He conquered the areas we now know as France, Belgium, southern Holland, western Germany, and most of Switzerland.
After the death of Crassus, the balance of power in the Triumvirate was disturbed. Pompey allied himself with the Roman Senate against Caesar. In 48 BCE Caesar pushed Pompey and his army out of Italy and chased them to Egypt. After his defeat of Pompey in 48 BCE, Caesar was named dictator perpetuo, partly because he had named so many of his supporters to the Senate.
In 47 BCE, Caesar wanted to consolidate his power in Egypt. Cleopatra smuggled herself in to meet with Caesar to discuss plans to take over the Egyptian throne. The two became lovers and allies needing each other to secure power for themselves. Caesar defeated the Pharaoh and named Cleopatra as ruler.
Throughout Caesar’s rise to power he created many enemies. In 44 BCE he was named emperor for life. Worried that he had become too powerful and would end the Roman Republic, his opponents in the Senate, including his friends Brutus and Cassius, led a plot to assassinate him. In 44 BCE, on the "Ides of March," Caesar was attacked and killed as he entered a meeting with the Senate.