The Rise of Caesar

When you think of Julius Caesar do you think of him as the successful general, the political man, the man who led the genocide of the Gauls, the womanizer, or the charismatic leader who stopped at nothing to get what he wanted? “Et tu brute?” Those were Caesar’s last words spoken when the Roman Senate stabbed him 23 times right in the middle of the Curia. He spoke these words to his once good friend and apprentice, Marcus Brutus. What can lead a Senate and a former apprentice to murder Julius Caesar right on the Senate floor?

Gaius Julius Caesar was born in 100 BCE to a noble family who held deep roots in political power. This included his aunt Julia who was the wife of Gaius Marius, the leader of the Popular faction. Even with roots in politics, Caesar’s family had not tasted power or wealth in a while. Caesar grew up in a time where Rome was in utter disregard and democracy was breaking down within the Roman Republic. Violence riddled the empire and Rome had almost descended in a state of anarchy by Caesars time. This is what Caesar had grown up in and he had a lot of motivation to restore his family’s wealth and power. As a young man, Caesar went off to serve in the military but when dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla passed away, Caesar returned to Rome to begin his political career as a prosecuting advocate. Everyone wanted to see this charismatic political figure, and Caesar himself began to think very highly of himself.

While on his way to the isle of Rhodes, notorious pirates kidnapped Caesar and a ransom was immediately posted. Yet, Caesar was not what the pirates expected him to be like in the slightest. Being that Caesar looked like he held a high rank in Roman society and that he knew of his perceived worth, he convinced his captors to raise the ransom and promised that when he became a free man he would return and murder each pirate. He kept his word and when Caesar was released he organized a small naval fleet, murdering every last pirate.

Upon his return to Rome, Caesar continued his military campaign in 65 BC in Hispania to contain a band of rebels. It is in Hispania that he showed the leadership and courage that he would be remembered for during the rest of his life. Using his soaring popularity, he went back to Rome to make his campaign for consulship. He held Rome’s most prestigious position as well as control of all military forces posted around their territory. He became a very good politician with his incredibly convincing speeches, propaganda, and populist ideas. He showed himself as a leader who wanted to implement change in their current system, and the conservative politicians saw this as a threat. However, there was very little they could do about this. Even though the Senators could not stop this movement, they could stop him from gaining control of the wealthy providence of Gaul. Caesar lacked wealth but knew that if the Senate gave him control of Gaul and win the election, his family wealth and honor would be restored.

To do this, Caesar set forth a plan that no one ever saw coming. He set up a meeting with Marcus Crassus, one of the richest men in Rome, and the celebrated general Gnaeus Pompey Magnus, one of the most powerful military figures in Rome. With Crassus’ wealth and Pompey’s military influence, they joined with Caesar to create The Triumvirate. Due to their help, Caesar was able to become consul in 60 BC and with that became governor of not one but two provinces in Gaul with a 5-year term.

Caesar set his sights on the rest of the continent and what comes next is unlike anything that ever happened. The Helvetians were on the march and Caesar was going to have none of that. They were seen as savages and when Caesar told Rome of the threat his people allowed Caesar to go after them. He defeated them in an almost genocidal way and if it not for his success it would have been seen as brutal and illegal by the Roman people. People were beginning to worry that Caesar was becoming too powerful and too wealthy. People see that Caesar was gaining more and more wealthy, creating a large and more powerful army, and buying political power all throughout Italy. Even his apprentice, Marcus Brutus began to see greed and over reaching ambition within Caesar. He began to worry about his political power and the future of the aristocracy. Conservative leaders decided that this must stop and worries that a person with this much power would go over the Senate’s ahead and go straight to the people. This would only decrease the amount of power the Senate had. In a attempt to calm the conservatives down, Caesar sent Crassus to talk to them and it was successful. Crassus had gained another term of consul and his first military command but when he went to invade the kingdom of Parthia, Crassus was met by an ambush and was murdered. Caesar has lost one of his most important supporters. Not only that, but Pompey’s wife, Caesar’s daughter Julia, died in childbirth and Pompey was never the same again as all connections with Caesar was broken. The Triumvirate was no more.

The Turning Point

Due to the rivalry between Pompey and Caesar, violence once again broke out. Political supporters from each side attacked one another to a point where the Senate building in Rome was burnt to the ground. Even in Gaul, Caesar was having problems with a new commander Vercingetorix. Caesar with his power hungry attitude was not in a good situation; he was almost murdered in Gaul and was rejected by Pompey to re-enter his family and become allies once again. He needed to salvage Gaul or that would be the end of Caesar. As Vercingetorix and his clan begin to die off due to starvation, the rest of Gaul headed to defend their people and the Battle of Alesia had begun. In 52 BC, the dream of Gaul’s independence from Caesar died as Vercingetorix surrendered to Caesar and much of northern Europe into the Roman Empire. Caesar, with no control of most of northern Europe, had begun taking the Roman Empire away from the Mediterranean. He had also gained more power than Pompey and wanted to come back to Rome and reap the benefits of his military success and show the rest of Rome that he was their true leader and some may say king.

Caesar’s Failures

Julius Caesar’s political rivals grew more hateful as he began to put them in his shadow. In 49 BC the aristocrats insisted that Caesar release his army and return to Rome. Caesar knew that if he returned his enemies would murder him so he refused. On the bed of the Rubicon River, Caesar had a very important decision to make. Either leave his army and head back to Rome by himself to be killed or cross with his army and begin a civil war. Caesar knew that his popularity was at its peak, and that when he crossed with his army he it would only grow in numbers while Pompey’s held questionable loyalty. Pompey retreated to Greece in order to grow his army in a land where he had support. They two squared off and Caesar’s army of veterans defeated Pompey’s men. Pompey ultimately retreated to Egypt where he was beheaded. The head was later sent to Caesar and according to Plutarch, “When Pompey’s head was brought to him he refused to look at him but he mourned his death.”

 Caesar’s Fall From Grace

With his rivals now dead Caesar had all the power he wanted. Julius Caesar had become the most powerful man in Rome. He began to rebuild the nation by changing tax laws and establishing colonies, becoming the first leader of Rome to control an empire. Unwilling to share his power with anyone he declared himself dictator for life; he had essentially transformed into a king in every way but the name. Now if Caesar did become “King” the fear was that people will lose the power to vote and to express their opinions. The Senate feared a tyranny and a dictator who held too much power. This did not sit well with the Senate and even Brutus knew that change was necessary. Brutus was Caesar’s close friend who believed he was always second to Caesar. Brutus felt that he must defend Rome and liberty from Caesar’s power. In 44 BC, in the name of Liberty, 40 conspirators lead by Caesar’s own friend, Marcus Brutus, planned and executed the assassination of Julius Caesar. The conspirators stabbed Julius Caesar 23 times in the middle of the Senate floor. Julius Caesar’s last words were “Et tu brute?” “You too, Brutus?” The Senate believed that Caesar had destroyed the Republic’s most cherished tradition: no one man could be the leader of Rome. While the conspirators had hoped for the assassination to lead to freedom, anarchy was the result of Caesar’s assassination. They lacked a plan for after the assassination, and eventually an empire was born from the ashes. The long-term reality was that each aristocrat had intended to defeat each other and gain power, which meant the Republic was doomed with or without Caesar. Yet it was Caesar’s adoptive son Octavian who made this work. The age of emperors had begun, born from the blood of Caesar’s demise.

Depicted here is the stabbing of Julius Caesar by the Senate.