Julius_Caesar

History Fair Project Why Was Julius Caesar A Great Hero' By: Czarina Deguzman Julius Caesar was known as one of the greatest generals in history. One of his achievements consisted of never having to lose a battle. He was also a clever politician and was very popular in Rome. His popularity later helped him become a powerful dictator. He used his power to help Rome reform, to relieve debt, and enlarge the senate. Julius Caesar was born on July 12, 100 BC and died on March 15, 44 BC in Rome, Italy. He was considered as one of the most cultured and literate Romans, in Rome. As he grew older, he became a general in many upcoming battles. Julius Caesar was one of history's most brilliant generals. He made his mark by conquering Gaul, during the Gallic Wars against Gallic tribes, from 58 BC till 51 BC. He then proceeded to win a major civil war against the Roman general and former alliance, Pompey. Caesar wanted to have more power. He realized that in order to have it, he needed to bypass the senate. To do this, he needed allies. This alliance consisted of Pompey, who had the wealth and the military power, Crassus, who also had the wealth and some important political connections, and of course, Caesar, who had the brains and the skills. This political alliance, became known as the First Triumvirate. Eventually, the Triumvirate weakened, especially with Crassus’s death. Soon after, Pompey and the senate turned against Julius. In 40 BC, Caesar defeated Pompey at Pharsalus in Greece. After the defeat, Pompey was assassinated. When Caesar returned to Rome in 46 BC, he became appointed as dictator for ten years, then two years later, he was appointed as dictator for life. Before Caesar’s reign of power, a political crisis was developing in Rome. For example, they could not control the armies nor the generals. Julius Caesar saw this as an opportunity to use the problems and dilemmas to create his own supreme political and military power. He was able to make alliances and deals with other senators, and in return, he wanted their support. He also promised political favors for them. But, as his power grew, the Senate started to resent his power. Senators of the Roman Republic became worried. They thought that Caesar was becoming way more powerful than they were. Because of this, they decided to concoct a plan to assassinate him. It is said, that a long tradition going back to the ancient Greeks, that the act of killing a tyrant, was a good and glorious deed, which is exactly what they were trying to achieve. They believed that by removing Caesar, it would restore their authority and access to power. The assassination, was carried out by a group of Roman senators, whom of which consisted off of Caesar’s friends, colleagues and former rivals. Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus were the leaders of the plan to kill Caesar. On March 15, 44 BC, at a meeting of the Senate, they killed Caesar by stabbing him twenty three times. His last words were supposedly to Brutus, whom Caesar had treated like a son. He had asked him, “Et tu Brute'” which meant "and you too, my son'" in Greek. The Roman middle and lower classes, among whom Caesar was very popular with, were angry that the Senators had killed their hero. Because of this, the Roman Republic was thrown into a civil war, which eventually marked the end of the Roman Republic. Although some would say that Julius Caesar was a good leader, some people have an opinion, otherwise. Through the eyes of some, Caesar is portrayed as an unforgiving, ambitious dictator. One of the reasons that they thought that he was a corrupt ruler, was because he started civil wars for his own personal conflicts with other leaders. But, even though he was a corrupt leader at times, without Julius Caesar, the Roman Empire, would not have existed. He was a great importance in Rome's history because the empire would have collapsed without him. He helped bring Rome back to the top. He knew what he was doing, but the senators still feared the Republic's fall. He demonstrated many accomplishments such as his numerous and often brilliant victories, and he also evoked tremendous loyalty in his troops.