The three men consolidated their power through many resolutions. Caesar was able to oust him, however, and so he withdrew and issued religious decrees to invalidate Caesar's decisions.Īs consul, he enacted important agrarian laws that provided land to Pompey's veterans (discharged soldiers) in the face of opposition from the senators. However, he had to share the office with the Optimate M. With the help of the Triumvirate, Gaius Julius Caesar was elected consul in 59 BC against the opposition of the Optimate party. At the same time, he was able to enrich himself by exploiting the province so that he could repay his debts and have enough bribes to run for consul. He fought there against local tribes and reformed the administration. With the help of a guarantee from Crassus, Gaius Julius Caesar received the office of propraetor (governor) in 61 BC in Spain. This desecration became public knowledge and to avoid suspicion he separated from Pompeia. A man in women's clothing had gained access to a cult festival in Caesar's house. Pompeia was head of a secret fertility cult from which men were excluded under penalty. However, he became embroiled in scandal due to his second wife Pompeia, a granddaughter of Sulla. In 63 BC Julius was elected pontifex maximus (high priest) and then became praetor. Due to his lifestyle, large debts accumulated. He organized elaborate gladiatorial games and became very well known and popular among the people. He passed through various political offices and gave lavish banquets. He then became first Roman emperor and changed his name to Caesar Augustus.īack in Rome, he became a member of the College of Priests as a pontiff in 73 BC and was able to exert influence over the Roman state cult. The successor of Gajus Julius Caesar then became Octavian. Some men ran up to him and began to attack and kill him. On March 15, 44 BC, Caesar entered the Senate. The leaders of the plot were Cassius and Brutus. Therefore, they planned an assassination. Some people of the Roman elite felt that Caesar was too powerful and sensed that the end of the Roman Republic was coming. He instigated many reforms and even changed the calendar to the now famous Julian calendar with 365 days and a leap year. In 46 BC Caesar returned to Rome and was now dictator for life. There, however, he was killed by Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII, and he presented Caesar with Pompey's head as a gift. He finally defeated him and pursued him to Egypt.

Caesar spent the next 18 months fighting Pompey. He further and went 'over the Rubicon' a small river north of Rome and marched into Rome. There they also wanted to impeach him for his unscrupulous actions against the Gauls.

The Senate demanded that Caesar come to Rome without the army. Among the people, however, Caesar was very popular. In Rome, the mood among the powerful turned against Julius Caesar and even Pompey became his rival. At the age of 40 Julius Caesar was elected consul, the highest ranking position in the Roman Republic, then he became governor of the province of Gaul and had responsibility for 4 legions. Julius Caesar quickly made a career for himself and allied himself with the influential men like General Pompey. When Sulla died, Caesar returned to Rome a military hero. Caesar joined the army and left Rome to avoid Sulla and his allies. The dictator of Rome, Sulla, was at enmity with both Caesar's uncle Marius and Caesar's father-in-law Cinna. The young Caesar soon found himself in the middle of a power struggle between two factions in the government. These were important skills that he would need as a leader of Rome.Īt the age of seventeen, his father died and he married Cornelia, the daughter of a powerful politician in Rome. He was taught by the private tutor named Marcus Antonius Gnipho and learned to read, write, Roman law and rhetoric. Julius Caesar was born in Subura, Rome in 100 BC into a wealthy, aristocratic family. He came saw and conquered and ended the roman republic

Gaius julius caesar timeline