JULIUS CAESAR
I.
The First Triumvirate
A. After Sulla retired, three men competed for power in Rome
1. Crassus
a. The wealthiest man in Rome
b. Was famous in Rome for crushing a slave revolt led by the gladiator Spartacus
1) Spartacus was a gladiator/slave who led a revolt of 70,000 slaves
2) They fought two major battles against Roman armies, before Crassus’ army defeated them
3) Spartacus and other leaders were crucified
2. Pompey Magnus (the Great)
a. Was famous in Rome for crushing the Cilician Pirates
1) Senate gave Pompey special powers to command army/navy for 3 years to eliminate the pirates
2) He did it in 3 months
b. So he took the army to conquer Syria and Palestine (without permission of Senate)
1) When he returned, the Senate refused to recognize his conquests and refused to give him land for his
veterans
3. Julius Caesar
a. Belonged to a noble, but not wealthy, patrician family
b. He was popular with the common people because he was Marius’ nephew by marriage
B. In 60 BCE, Crassus, Pompey, and J. Caesar formed a political alliance, known as the First Triumvirate
1. Each one agreed to support the goals of the other two
a. J. Caesar wanted a 5-year command to conquer Gaul
b. Pompey wanted the Senate to officially annex Syria and Palestine to the Roman Empire, and he wanted land
for his veterans
c. Crassus wanted to command an army to conquer Parthia (Persia)
2. They sealed the alliance by having Pompey marry Julius Caesar’s daughter Julia
3. All three got what they wanted
II. Civil War
A. End of the First Triumvirate
1. Pompey and Caesar did not always get along
2. Two things caused the end of the First Triumvirate
a. Death of Crassus (in battle against the Parthians)
b. Death of Julia (Daughter of Caesar, wife of Pompey)
B. Caesar’s conquests in Gaul made him very popular in Rome
1. Caesar had become very popular with the common people by sending his account of his conquests, Commentaries
on the Gallic Wars, back to Rome
2. Pompey and the Senate were worried that Caesar was becoming too popular, and therefore too powerful,
especially with the command of a loyal army
3. The Senate demanded that Caesar disband his army and return to Rome, but Caesar refused
C. Caesar marched his army across the Rubicon River and into Italy
1. It was illegal to bring a provincial army into Italy (for good reason, it turned out)
2. Crossing the Rubicon was therefore an act of war
3. As he crossed Caesar is said to have declared, “The die is cast!”
4. Caesar’s quick action caught the Roman legions by surprise, and defeated them with barely a fight; Pompey fled to
northern Greece
D. Caesar defeated Pompey’s army in (48 BCE); Pompey fled to Egypt
III. Caesar in Egypt (48-46 BCE)
A. Caesar followed Pompey to Egypt where he discovered that the young pharaoh Ptolemy XIII had ordered Pompey to
be killed
1. Ptolemy offered Caesar Pompey’s pickled head as a gift—Caesar was not amused—he is said to have burst into
tears at the sight
B. Caesar then fell in love with Ptolemy’s sister Cleopatra
1. Her father had made Cleopatra and Ptolemy co-rulers upon his death, which had just led to a civil war between
them
2. Cleopatra is said to have had herself delivered to Caesar rolled up in a carpet to get past the guards in Ptolemy’s
palace
3. Caesar sided with Cleopatra and helped her to defeat the forces of her brother and claim the throne of Egypt
1) (He also secured a reliable supply of grain from Egypt for the people of Rome.)
2) In the fighting, Caesar’s army accidentally set fire to the Great Library of Alexandria, destroying
irreplaceable documents and works of literature, science, philosophy that had been kept there.
4. Caesar and Cleopatra were married in an Egyptian ceremony (though Caesar already had a Roman wife back
home)
a. Cleopatra bore him a son: Caesarion
5. Most Roman citizens were not pleased with the idea of Caesar marrying a foreign wife and having a son of mixed
heritage
C. On his way back to Rome, Caesar detoured to Asia Minor, where he put down a revolt, uttering his famous remark:
“Veni, Vidi, Vici!” (“I came, I saw, I conquered!”)
IV. Caesar’s rule in Rome (45-44 BCE)
A. Caesar forgave his political opponents—they suffered no punishment for opposing him
B. Caesar became a king in all but name (Many felt he was destroying the Republic)
1. He was elected “Dictator for life”
2. He was declared “Father of the Country”
3. He had his image stamped on coins and his statue placed among those of Kings of Rome in the Temple of
Romulus
4. He gave the Senate no power, and required Senators to stand while he sat (like a king in his court)
5. He appointed the government officials
6. The Plebeian Council became a “rubber stamp” organization (approving everything he proposed)
7. He claimed his tight hold on power was needed to restore order, strength, and prosperity to Rome
C. He instituted a series of reforms in Rome:
1. He restricted the grain dole (free grain) to only those in need
2. He established colonies abroad to provide land for the landless and veterans
3. He began huge public works programs (building roads, bridges, temples) to provide work for the unemployed
4. He doubled the size of the Senate, giving business people (plebeians) a chance to belong to the Senate.
5. He limited the use of slave labor on large estates to open up jobs to the unemployed
6. He reformed the calendar, instituting the Julian Calendar (based largely on the Egyptian calendar), basically the
calendar we use today
D. He also made changes to improve conditions for the people in the provinces:
1. He reduced taxes and cracked down on dishonest provincial governors and publicans
2. He granted Roman citizenship to some people in the provinces
3. He allowed some non-Italians to become Senators (many Roman senators didn’t like this)
V. The Conspiracy against Caesar
A. Many Senators saw Caesar as the destroyer of the Republic, and many believed he was planning to pass his authority
on to an heir (perhaps the half-Egyptian Caesarion, his only son, though he had also adopted his grand-nephew
Octavian)
B. 60 Senators plotted to kill him
1. Among the ringleaders were Marcus Brutus (a former friend and supporter) and Gaius Cassius (a former supporter
of Pompey)
2. A soothsayer had reportedly warned Caesar to “Beware the Ides of March!” (March 15th), but he ignored the
warning
C. On the Ides of March 44 BCE, Caesar was stabbed 23 times on the steps of the Senate house, ironically at the foot of
a statue of Pompey
1. He reportedly struggled until he noticed his fried Brutus among the attackers; at that point he muttered, “Et tu,
Brute?” and died (at the age of 56).
2. Upon his death, Rome fell into chaos—none of the conspirators had a plan for what to do after he was dead
VI. The Second Triumvirate
A. Instead of returning to a republic, the Romans turned to three men who created the Second Triumvirate
1. Octavian Caesar (Julius Caesar’s great-nephew and adopted son)
2. Marc Antony (Julius Caesar’s loyal friend)
3. Lepidus (the minor partner in the triumvirate—was quickly removed from power by receiving the “honor” of
becoming Pontifex Maximus—high priest)