Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar was a powerful ruler of the Roman Empire. Before he gained the title of emperor, he had political ambition and great oratorical ability. He was the consul of Rome, and later he served as the governor of Gaul. He eventually conquered the Celts and dominated over the Germanic peoples. As Julius Caesar gained power, he also gained favor for his bravery and skill in battle. However, Pompey his rival dominated Rome, which Julius Caesar desired to control. As Julius Caesar’s fame grew, he also became a threat to the Roman Senate, who did not favor rule by one man. The Senate gave Caesar an ultimatum: he had to demobilize his army or risk being an enemy of the Rome. Caesar made a monumental decision. He decided to cross the Rubicon, in 49 BC, and entered Rome to dispel Pompey and his associates. Crossing the Rubicon with a standing army was a huge act for Caesar because doing such was treasonous. However, Caesar wanted to flex his muscles and prove that he would be a strong leader. After he crossed the Rubicon from northern Italy, Caesar entered Rome and drove his rival Pompey to Greece. He then made a declaration that he was the dictator of Rome.

                                     
 
As the dictator of Rome, Julius Caesar was no friend of the Senate. In 44 BC, he declared that he was the dictator for life over the Roman Empire. Many of the senators were dismayed at this declaration and began to plot his demise.

A group of senators led by Brutus and Cassius organized a plan to murder Julius Caesar. Brutus had an agreeable personality and was a nobleman who loved justice, which he assumed Julius Cesar was averting by declaring himself the emperor for life. Cassius was brooding and more severe. He had been a soldier, and he grew wary of Cesar and his egotism. On March 15, 44 BC, known as the Ides of March, the political leaders brutally stabbed Julius Caesar at the Theatre of Pompey in the center of Rome. Cassius is assumed to have organized the assassination by stirring up Brutus against his friend, Julius Caesar.  Caesar had no idea what fate awaited him by whom he thought were his trusted friends.

                           
                                                      Theatre of Pompey

In William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, he immortalizes the poignancy of the scene where Brutus, whom Caesar thought of as a son, betrays him. In the play, Caesar uttered these famous words to Brutus: “et tu, Brute” (and you too, Brutus). Shakespeare used these lines to demonstrate Cesar’s unawareness of the plot against him by those he thought were his trusted friends.

                                              

Since his death, however, Julius Caesar has not faded into oblivion. He remains popular through Shakespeare’s epic play about his assassination. Caesar remains a hero in Rome. A monument, along with his grave in the Roman Forum, commemorates his death; and people still place flowers on his grave in the Roman Forum to honor his life. Despite Julius Caesar’s assassination, he remains a popular historical figure.

                                             Recommended Readings

“The Assassination of JULIUS CAESAR in the SENATE HOUSE at ROME.”
     New London Magazine, 1785-1789 3:28 (August 1787): 414.

Kamm, Antony. Julius Cease: A Life.  New York: Routledge, 2006.

Markels, Julian, and William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
     New York: Scribner,1961.

Dando-Collins, Stephen. The Ideas: Caesar’s Murder and the War for Rome.
     Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2010.