Julius Caesar

In January 49 BC, a Roman general led one legion across a small river. That step was against the law. It started a civil war and ended Rome’s old Republic. His name was Julius Caesar.

In this lesson, we follow Caesar from the First Triumvirate to the Gallic Wars. We see the crossing of the Rubicon and his rule as dictator. We end with his murder on the Ides of March and what came next.

1How did Caesar rise to power?

Gaius Julius Caesar was born in 100 BC into an old patrician family. He grew up in a Republic where a few men fought for power. Caesar learned to win votes and make allies.

In 60 BC, he joined two powerful men, Pompey and Crassus. Pompey was a famous general. Crassus was very rich. The three made a private pact to share power.

Today we call this pact the First Triumvirate. The name is modern, and it was never an office. It was only an informal alliance. With its help, Caesar became consul in 59 BC.

• Caesar was born in 100 BC into a patrician family.
• In 60 BC, he allied with Pompey and Crassus.
• The First Triumvirate was informal, not an office.

2What were the Gallic Wars?

After his consulship, Caesar took command of provinces in Gaul. Gaul meant roughly today’s France, Belgium and Switzerland. He fought there from 58 to 50 BC.

The wars began when a tribe called the Helvetii tried to migrate. Caesar then pushed on until he ruled all of Gaul. He even crossed the Rhine and the English Channel. His two trips to Britain gained little.

The key moment came in 52 BC. A Gallic chief named Vercingetorix led a great revolt. Caesar besieged him at Alesia and won. After that, Gaul belonged to Rome.

• The Gallic Wars ran from 58 to 50 BC.
• Caesar beat Vercingetorix at Alesia in 52 BC.
• Caesar wrote his own account, the Commentarii de Bello Gallico.

3Why did crossing the Rubicon matter?

By now, Caesar had a loyal army and great fame. The Senate feared him. Pompey, once his ally, had turned against him. The Senate ordered Caesar to give up his command.

In early January 49 BC, Caesar refused. He led a single legion south over the Rubicon river. That river marked the edge of his province. A general could not bring an army across it into Italy.

Caesar knew this was open defiance. Ancient writers say he said, “the die is cast”. The step began a civil war.

• January 49 BC: Caesar crosses the Rubicon with one legion.
• He defied the Senate‘s order to give up command.
• The crossing began Caesar’s civil war.

4How did Caesar win the civil war?

Caesar moved fast. Pompey and many senators left Italy. The decisive fight came on 9 August 48 BC. At Pharsalus in Greece, Caesar’s smaller veteran army beat Pompey’s larger one.

Pompey fled to Egypt. There, courtiers of the young king Ptolemy XIII killed him. Caesar followed soon after. In Egypt, he sided with Cleopatra in her struggle with her brother.

Cleopatra later bore a son in 47 BC. He was nicknamed Caesarion, or “Little Caesar”. Caesar went on to defeat the last of his foes in the civil war.

• 9 August 48 BC: Caesar wins at Pharsalus.
• Pompey is killed in Egypt by Ptolemy’s courtiers.
• Cleopatra’s son Caesarion was born in 47 BC.

5What did Caesar do as ruler?

Caesar now held huge power. He pardoned many of his enemies. He also built public works and settled his veterans in new colonies. He gave citizenship to people in Spain and northern Italy.

His best-known reform was the calendar. The old Roman calendar followed the moon and drifted from the seasons. In 46 BC, Caesar introduced a solar calendar. It had 365 days and a leap day every fourth year.

This Julian calendar spread across the Roman world. It stayed in wide use for over 1,600 years. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII replaced it with the Gregorian calendar we use today.

• Caesar pardoned many foes and built public works.
• 46 BC: the Julian calendar, with 365 days and a leap day.
• 1582: the Gregorian calendar replaced it.

6Why was Caesar killed?

In early 44 BC, Caesar was named “dictator in perpetuity”. That meant dictator for life. Many senators were afraid. They thought he wanted to make himself king.

A group of about sixty senators plotted to stop him. Their leaders were Marcus Brutus, Gaius Cassius and Decimus Brutus. On 15 March 44 BC, the Ides of March, they struck.

The attack came in the Senate meeting at the Curia of Pompey. Caesar was stabbed about 23 times. He died on the spot.

• Early 44 BC: Caesar becomes dictator for life.
• 15 March 44 BC: killed by senators led by Brutus and Cassius.
• He was stabbed about 23 times at the Curia of Pompey.

7What came after Caesar?

The killers said they were saving the Republic. They were wrong. New civil wars broke out at once. The Republic never fully recovered.

Caesar’s will named his young great-nephew, Octavian, as his main heir. Octavian took Caesar’s name and won the struggle for power. In 27 BC, he became Rome’s first emperor, Augustus.

So Caesar was never an emperor. He was a dictator who cleared the path for one.

• The assassins failed to save the Republic.
• Octavian was Caesar’s heir.
• 27 BC: Octavian becomes Augustus, the first emperor.

8What are the exam traps?

• The First Triumvirate (60 BC) was informal. The dictatorship (44 BC) was a formal office.
• The Rubicon (49 BC) began the civil war. Pharsalus (48 BC) decided it.
• Caesar was never emperor. Augustus was the first.
• The Julian calendar (46 BC) came before the Gregorian (1582).
• The Second Triumvirate came after Caesar’s death, not before.