Julius Caesar is the most well known person in the Roman Empire. Through history, his name is mentioned many times in scriptures, plays, artistic representations and fables. His life left a legacy that is both very interesting and extremely well-known. [1]Julius Caesar revolutionized Rome with his Political, Social and Economic changes.
When people hear the word Caesar, they really do not know whom they are talking about. There have been many Caesar’s in history and in the late empire the term was used to address the emperor in general. Julius, however is probably the most well known of all of the Caesar family. With all famous people, they usually have some sort of revolutionary method of coming into power. Julius broke long standing laws in Rome by bringing his entire army into the city. Before this, no army had ever set foot inside the city of Rome itself. Because of this, he became the “Agressor”.
Caesar was a member of what was known as the triumvirate. Himself, Crassus and Pompey were three military leaders who commanded vast armies. A conflict between Caesar, Crassus and Pompey led for the need for Caesar to use military force.
There is a saying, when somebody crosses the line that they “Crossed the Rubicon”. This was derived from Caesar’s army crossing the Rubicon river and henceforth people recognized Caesar as crossing the line.
In ancient Rome, dictators could be named in times of war, for generally no longer than it takes to solve the conflict at hand. Caesar was given dictator powers for life. This was the first time that this happened in the history of Rome. This gave him ultimate control over the affairs of the republic. Caesar was now the first dictator.
Because he was given this amount of power, many people, especially the senate became enraged. [2]The senate forsaw that Caesar would try to become supreme ruler of Rome. They hoped that his rival, Pompey would defeat him. By taking control of Rome by force, he defeated the very same system that he wanted to defend.
Even though Caesar had control of Rome, things were far from under control. Many thought that Pompey was superior to Caesar. This would cause a long lasting rivalry between the two. Over the next few years Caesar would try to gain the trust of the senate. His ultimate goal was to be named King of rome, and essentially he was. He just did not officially have the title.
The senate sensed that Caesar wanted control of the Empire, and they knew that something had to be done. A group of people led by [3] by Marcus Junius Brutus (died 42 BC) and Gaius Cassius Longinus (died 42 BC). On March 15th 44 BCE, Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times at the foot of the statue of his rival, Crassus.
Even though he is dead, his legacy still followed him. In the 40’s, he had taken veterans and re located them to southern Italy.[4] These people formed colonies and formed modern day Sicily. Roman citizenship was limited to people inside the city itself, but it was Caesar who expanded the rights of citizenship to people outside the city. [5]
“But that great divine power or genius, which had watched over him [Caesar] and helped him in his life, even after his death remained active as an avenger of his murder, pursuing and tracking down the murderers over every land and sea until not one of them was left and visiting with retribution all, without exception, who were in any way concerned either with the death itself or with the planning of it.” Plutarch, Life, 69.
After his death it was clear that his legacy would move on. His rise to power had been tramatic enough for the population of rome and now that he was dead, the fear that a power struggle would take place captivated many Roman citizens.
Julius Caesar, even though through history was thought to be a brutal man, had stabilized the state of the empire. Now, after his death years of turmoil and wars lie ahead. His changes revolutionized the political system and the social system of the empire. He brought an army into rome, was given the power of dictator for life and was looking for the title of king. His legacy is one that shaped Rome and Italy, and is sure to live on.
[1] http://www.roman-empire.net/republic/caesar.html
[2] http://www.roman-empire.net/republic/caesar.html
[3] http://www.roman-empire.net/republic/caesar.html
[4] http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/766_Julius_Caesar-7.html
[5] http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/766_Julius_Caesar-7.html
