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Julius Caesar

Type Figure Region Italy Time c. -100–-44 Also known as Caesar

Military commander and statesman of the late Roman Republic, of aristocratic birth yet a champion of the popularis faction.…

Timeline

  1. c. -100–-59Rome · LazioBorn into the gens Julia, he experienced the turmoil of the civil wars between Marius and Sulla in his youth. Rose to prominence through oratory, debt, and popular support, serving successively as quaestor, aedile, and pontifex maximus, and built ties with strongmen such as Pompey and Crassus, laying the groundwork for his future consulship.
  2. -60–-53Rome · LazioFormed a secret alliance with Pompey and Crassus, breaking the Senate's checks. Served as consul in 59 BCE and pushed through an agrarian law and ratification of Pompey's eastern settlements; after leaving office he obtained military command of Gaul. The alliance gradually dissolved after Crassus was killed at Carrhae.
  3. -58–-50Gaul · GaulLed armies to conquer most of Gaul, crossed the Rhine twice to intimidate the Germanic tribes, and campaigned in Britain. Recorded the campaigns in Commentarii de Bello Gallico, accumulating vast wealth, veteran loyalty, and political capital, which deeply alarmed the Senate and Pompey at the prospect of his return to Rome.
  4. -49–-44Rome · LazioCrossed the Rubicon to launch civil war, defeated Pompey at Pharsalus and elsewhere, and while pursuing him into Egypt supported Cleopatra VII. After returning he became dictator for life, reformed the calendar and the Senate's structure, was seen by conservative senators as destroying the republic, and was assassinated on the Ides of March.

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