Gaius Julius Caesar[a] (/ˈsiːzər/ SEE-zər, Latin: [ˈɡaːɪ.ʊs ˈjuːlɪ.

ʊs
ˈkae̯sar]; 12 July 100 BC[b] – 15 March 44 BC),[c] better known by
his nomen gentilicium and cognomen Julius Caesar, was
a Roman statesman and military general who played a critical role
in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the
rise of the Roman Empire. He was also a historian and author
of Latin prose.
In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus and Pompey formed the First Triumvirate,
a political alliance that dominated Roman politics for several years.
Their attempts to amass power as Populares were opposed by
the Optimates within the Roman Senate, among them Cato the
Younger with the frequent support of Cicero. Caesar rose to become
one of the most powerful politicians in the Roman Republic through a
number of his accomplishments, notably his victories in the Gallic
Wars, completed by 51 BC. During this time, Caesar became the first
Roman general to cross both the English Channel and the Rhine
River, when he built a bridge across the Rhine and crossed the
Channel to invade Britain. Caesar's wars extended Rome's territory to
Britain and past Gaul. These achievements granted him unmatched
military power and threatened to eclipse the standing of Pompey, who
had realigned himself with the Senate after the death of Crassus in
53 BC. With the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate ordered Caesar to
step down from his military command and return to Rome. Leaving his
command in Gaul meant losing his immunity from being charged as a
criminal for waging unsanctioned wars. As a result, Caesar found
himself with no other options but to cross the Rubicon with
the 13th Legion in 49 BC, leaving his province and illegally
entering Roman Italy under arms.[3] This began Caesar's civil war,
and his victory in the war by 45 BC put him in an unrivaled position of
power and influence.
After assuming control of government, Caesar began a program of
social and governmental reforms, including the creation of the Julian
calendar. He gave citizenship to many residents of far regions of the
Roman Republic. He initiated land reform and support for veterans. He
centralized the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually
proclaimed "dictator for life" (Latin: "dictator perpetuo"), giving him
additional authority. His populist and authoritarian reforms angered
the elites, who began to conspire against him. On the Ides of
March (15 March), 44 BC, Caesar was assassinated by a group of
rebellious senators led by Gaius Cassius Longinus, Marcus Junius
Brutus and Decimus Junius Brutus, who stabbed him to death.[4]
[5] A new series of civil wars broke out and the constitutional
government of the Republic was never fully restored. Caesar's
adopted heir Octavian, later known as Augustus, rose to sole power
after defeating his opponents in the civil war. Octavian set about
solidifying his power, and the era of the Roman Empire began.
Much of Caesar's life is known from his own accounts of his military
campaigns and from other contemporary sources, mainly the letters
and speeches of Cicero and the historical writings of Sallust. The
later biographies of Caesar by Suetonius and Plutarch are also
major sources. Caesar is considered by many historians to be one of
the greatest military commanders in history.[6] His cognomen was
subsequently adopted as a synonym for "Emperor"; the title
"Caesar" was used throughout the Roman Empire, giving rise to
modern cognates such as Kaiser and Tsar. He has frequently
appeared in literary and artistic works, and his political philosophy,
known as Caesarism, inspired politicians into the modern era.
Contents
1
Early life and career
2
Consulship and military campaigns
2.1
Conquest of Gaul
2.2
Civil war
3
Dictatorship and assassination
3.1
Dictatorship
3.1.1
Political reforms
3.2
Assassination
3.3
Aftermath of the assassination
3.4
Deification
4
Personal life
4.1
Health and physical appearance
4.2
Name and family
4.2.1
The name Gaius Julius Caesar
4.2.2
Family
4.3
Rumors of passive homosexuality
5
Literary works
5.1
Memoirs
6
Legacy
6.1
Historiography
6.2
Politics
6.3
Depictions
6.4
Battle record
7
Chronology of life
8
See also
9
Notes
10
References
11
Sources
11.1
Primary sources
11.1.1
Own writings
11.1.2
Ancient historians' writings
 11.2
Secondary sources
12
External links
Early life and career
Main article: Early life and career of Julius Caesar

Gaius Marius, Caesar's uncle.

Gaius Julius Caesar was born into a patrician family, the gens Julia,
which claimed descent from Julus, son of the
legendary Trojan prince Aeneas, supposedly the son of the
goddess Venus.[7] The Julii were of Alban origin, mentioned as one
of the leading Alban houses, which settled in Rome around the mid-7th
century BC, following the destruction of Alba Longa. They were
granted patrician status, along with other noble Alban families.[8] The
Julii also existed at an early period at Bovillae, evidenced by a very
ancient inscription on an altar in the theatre of that town, which
speaks of their offering sacrifices according to the lege Albana, or
Alban rites.[9][10][11] The cognomen "Caesar" originated, according
to Pliny the Elder, with an ancestor who was born by Caesarean
section (from the Latin verb to cut, caedere, caes-).
[12] The Historia Augusta suggests three alternative explanations:
that the first Caesar had a thick head of hair (Latin caesaries); that he
had bright grey eyes (Latin oculis caesiis); or that he killed an
elephant during the Punic Wars (caesai in Moorish) in battle.
[13] Caesar issued coins featuring images of elephants, suggesting
that he favored the latter interpretation of his name.
Despite their ancient pedigree, the Julii Caesares were not especially
politically influential, although they had enjoyed some revival of their
political fortunes in the early 1st century BC.[14] Caesar's father, also
called Gaius Julius Caesar, governed the province of Asia,[15] and
his sister Julia, Caesar's aunt, married Gaius Marius, one of the most
prominent figures in the Republic.[16] His mother, Aurelia Cotta,
came from an influential family. Little is recorded of Caesar's
childhood.[17]
In 85 BC, Caesar's father died suddenly,[18] so Caesar was the head
of the family at 16. His coming of age coincided with a civil
war between his uncle Gaius Marius and his rival Lucius Cornelius
Sulla. Both sides carried out bloody purges of their political opponents
whenever they were in the ascendancy. Marius and his ally Lucius
Cornelius Cinna were in control of the city when Caesar was
nominated as the new Flamen Dialis (high priest of Jupiter),[19] and
he was married to Cinna's daughter Cornelia.[20][21]
Following Sulla's final victory, though, Caesar's connections to the old
regime made him a target for the new one. He was stripped of his
inheritance, his wife's dowry, and his priesthood, but he refused to
divorce Cornelia and was forced to go into hiding.[22] The threat
against him was lifted by the intervention of his mother's family, which
included supporters of Sulla, and the Vestal Virgins. Sulla gave in
reluctantly and is said to have declared that he saw many a Marius in
Caesar.[17] The loss of his priesthood had allowed him to pursue a
military career, as the high priest of Jupiter was not permitted to
touch a horse, sleep three nights outside his own bed or one night
outside Rome, or look upon an army.[23]
Caesar felt that it would be much safer far away from Sulla should the
Dictator change his mind, so he left Rome and joined the army, serving
under Marcus Minucius Thermus in Asia and Servilius
Isauricus in Cilicia. He served with distinction, winning the Civic
Crown for his part in the Siege of Mytilene. He went on a mission
to Bithynia to secure the assistance of King Nicomedes's fleet, but
he spent so long at Nicomedes' court that rumours arose of an affair
with the king, which Caesar vehemently denied for the rest of his life.
[24]
Hearing of Sulla's death in 78 BC, Caesar felt safe enough to return to
Rome. He lacked means since his inheritance was confiscated, but he
acquired a modest house in Subura, a lower-class neighbourhood of
Rome.[25] He turned to legal advocacy and became known for his
exceptional oratory accompanied by impassioned gestures and a high-
pitched voice, and ruthless prosecution of former governors notorious
for extortion and corruption.

Dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla stripped Caesar of the priesthood

On the way across the Aegean Sea,[26] Caesar was kidnapped
by pirates and held prisoner.[27][28] He maintained an attitude of
superiority throughout his captivity. The pirates demanded a ransom of
20 talents of silver, but he insisted that they ask for 50.[29][30] After
the ransom was paid, Caesar raised a fleet, pursued and captured the
pirates, and imprisoned them. He had them crucified on his own
authority, as he had promised while in captivity[31]—a promise that
the pirates had taken as a joke. As a sign of leniency, he first had their
throats cut. He was soon called back into military action in Asia,
raising a band of auxiliaries to repel an incursion from the east.[32]
On his return to Rome, he was elected military tribune, a first step in a
political career. He was elected quaestor for 69 BC,[33] and during
that year he delivered the funeral oration for his aunt Julia, and
included images of her husband Marius in the funeral procession,
unseen since the days of Sulla. His wife Cornelia also died that year.
[34] Caesar went to serve his quaestorship in Hispania after her
funeral, in the spring or early summer of 69 BC.[35] While there, he is
said to have encountered a statue of Alexander the Great, and
realised with dissatisfaction that he was now at an age when
Alexander had the world at his feet, while he had achieved
comparatively little. On his return in 67 BC,[36] he married Pompeia,
a granddaughter of Sulla, whom he later divorced in 61 BC after her
embroilment in the Bona Dea scandal.[37] In 65 BC, he was
elected curule aedile, and staged lavish games that won him further
attention and popular support.[38]
In 63 BC, he ran for election to the post of Pontifex Maximus, chief
priest of the Roman state religion. He ran against two powerful
senators. Accusations of bribery were made by all sides. Caesar won
comfortably, despite his opponents' greater experience and standing.
[39] Cicero was consul that year, and he
exposed Catiline's conspiracy to seize control of the republic; several
senators accused Caesar of involvement in the plot.[40]
After serving as praetor in 62 BC, Caesar was appointed to
govern Hispania Ulterior (the western part of the Iberian Peninsula)
as propraetor,[41][42][43] though some sources suggest that he held
proconsular powers.[44][45] He was still in considerable debt and
needed to satisfy his creditors before he could leave. He turned
to Marcus Licinius Crassus, the richest man in Rome. Crassus paid
some of Caesar's debts and acted as guarantor for others, in return for
political support in his opposition to the interests of Pompey. Even so,
to avoid becoming a private citizen and thus open to prosecution for
his debts, Caesar left for his province before his praetorship had
ended. In Spain, he conquered two local tribes and was hailed
as imperator by his troops; he reformed the law regarding debts, and
completed his governorship in high esteem.[46]
Caesar was acclaimed Imperator in 60 BC (and again later in 45 BC).
In the Roman Republic, this was an honorary title assumed by certain
military commanders. After an especially great victory, army troops in
the field would proclaim their commander imperator, an acclamation
necessary for a general to apply to the Senate for a triumph.
However, he also wanted to stand for consul, the most senior
magistracy in the republic. If he were to celebrate a triumph, he would
have to remain a soldier and stay outside the city until the ceremony,
but to stand for election he would need to lay down his command and
enter Rome as a private citizen. He could not do both in the time
available. He asked the senate for permission to stand in absentia,
but Cato blocked the proposal. Faced with the choice between a
triumph and the consulship, Caesar chose the consulship.[47]
Consulship and military campaigns
Main articles: Military campaigns of Julius Caesar and First
Triumvirate

A denarius depicting Julius Caesar, dated to February–March 44 BC—

the goddess Venus is shown on the reverse, holding Victoria and a
scepter. Caption: CAESAR IMP. M. / L. AEMILIVS BVCA
In 60 BC, Caesar sought election as consul for 59 BC, along with two
other candidates. The election was sordid – even Cato, with his
reputation for incorruptibility, is said to have resorted to bribery in
favour of one of Caesar's opponents. Caesar won, along with
conservative Marcus Bibulus.[48]
Caesar was already in Marcus Licinius Crassus' political debt, but he
also made overtures to Pompey. Pompey and Crassus had been at
odds for a decade, so Caesar tried to reconcile them. The three of
them had enough money and political influence to control public
business. This informal alliance, known as the First Triumvirate ("rule
of three men"), was cemented by the marriage of Pompey to Caesar's
daughter Julia.[49] Caesar also married again, this time Calpurnia,
who was the daughter of another powerful senator.[50]
Caesar proposed a law for redistributing public lands to the poor—by
force of arms, if need be—a proposal supported by Pompey and by
Crassus, making the triumvirate public. Pompey filled the city with
soldiers, a move which intimidated the triumvirate's opponents.
Bibulus attempted to declare the omens unfavourable and thus void
the new law, but he was driven from the forum by Caesar's armed
supporters. His lictors had their fasces broken, two high
magistrates accompanying him were wounded, and he had a bucket of
excrement thrown over him. In fear of his life, he retired to his house
for the rest of the year, issuing occasional proclamations of bad
omens. These attempts proved ineffective in obstructing Caesar's
legislation. Roman satirists ever after referred to the year as "the
consulship of Julius and Caesar."[51]
When Caesar was first elected, the aristocracy tried to limit his future
power by allotting the woods and pastures of Italy, rather than
the governorship of a province, as his military command duty after
his year in office was over.[52] With the help of political allies, Caesar
secured passage of the lex Vatinia, granting him governorship
over Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy) and Illyricum (southeastern
Europe).[53] At the instigation of Pompey and his father-in-law
Piso, Transalpine Gaul (southern France) later added after the
untimely death of its governor, giving him command of four legions.
[53] The term of his governorship, and thus his immunity from
prosecution, was set at five years, rather than the usual one.[54]
[55] When his consulship ended, Caesar narrowly avoided prosecution
for the irregularities of his year in office, and quickly left for his
province.[56]
Conquest of Gaul
Main article: Gallic Wars

The extent of the Roman Republic in 40 BC after Caesar's conquests

Caesar was still deeply in debt, but there was money to be made as a
governor, whether by extortion[57] or by military adventurism. Caesar
had four legions under his command, two of his provinces bordered on
unconquered territory, and parts of Gaul were known to be unstable.
Some of Rome's Gallic allies had been defeated by their rivals at
the Battle of Magetobriga, with the help of a contingent
of Germanic tribes. The Romans feared these tribes were preparing
to migrate south, closer to Italy, and that they had warlike intent.
Caesar raised two new legions and defeated these tribes.[58]
In response to Caesar's earlier activities, the tribes in the north-east
began to arm themselves. Caesar treated this as an aggressive move
and, after an inconclusive engagement against the united tribes, he
conquered the tribes piecemeal. Meanwhile, one of his legions began
the conquest of the tribes in the far north, directly opposite Britain.
[59] During the spring of 56 BC, the Triumvirs held a conference, as
Rome was in turmoil and Caesar's political alliance was coming
undone. The Lucca Conference renewed the First Triumvirate and
extended Caesar's governorship for another five years.[60] The
conquest of the north was soon completed, while a few pockets of
resistance remained.[61] Caesar now had a secure base from which to
launch an invasion of Britain.
In 55 BC, Caesar repelled an incursion into Gaul by two Germanic
tribes, and followed it up by building a bridge across the Rhine and
making a show of force in Germanic territory, before returning and
dismantling the bridge. Late that summer, having subdued two other
tribes, he crossed into Britain, claiming that the Britons had aided one
of his enemies the previous year, possibly the Veneti of Brittany.
[62] His intelligence information was poor, and although he gained a
beachhead on the coast, he could not advance further. He raided out
from his beachhead and destroyed some villages. Then he returned to
Gaul for the winter.[63] He returned the following year, better
prepared and with a larger force, and achieved more. He advanced
inland, and established a few alliances. However, poor harvests led to
widespread revolt in Gaul, which forced Caesar to leave Britain for the
last time.[64]

Vercingetorix throws down his arms at the feet of Julius Caesar,

painting by Lionel Royer. Musée Crozatier, Le Puy-en-Velay, France.
While Caesar was in Britain his daughter Julia, Pompey's wife, had
died in childbirth. Caesar tried to re-secure Pompey's support by
offering him his great-niece in marriage, but Pompey declined. In 53 BC
Crassus was killed leading a failed invasion of the east. Rome was on
the brink of civil war. Pompey was appointed sole consul as an
emergency measure, and married the daughter of a political opponent
of Caesar. The Triumvirate was dead.[65]
Though the Gallic tribes were just as strong as the Romans militarily,
the internal division among the Gauls guaranteed an easy victory for
Caesar. Vercingetorix's attempt in 52 BC to unite them against Roman
invasion came too late.[66][67] He proved an astute commander,
defeating Caesar at the Battle of Gergovia, but Caesar's elaborate
siege-works at the Battle of Alesia finally forced his surrender.
[68] Despite scattered outbreaks of warfare the following year,
[69] Gaul was effectively conquered. Plutarch claimed that during
the Gallic Wars the army had fought against three million men (of
whom one million died, and another million were enslaved),
subjugated 300 tribes, and destroyed 800 cities.[70]
Civil war
Main article: Caesar's Civil War
Further information: Alexandrine war, Early life of Cleopatra VII,
and Reign of Cleopatra VII

A Roman bust of Pompey the Great made during the reign

of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD), a copy of an original bust from 70–60
BC, Venice National Archaeological Museum, Italy
In 50 BC, the Senate (led by Pompey) ordered Caesar to disband his
army and return to Rome because his term as governor had finished.
[71] Caesar thought he would be prosecuted if he entered Rome
without the immunity enjoyed by a magistrate. Pompey accused
Caesar of insubordination and treason. On 10 January 49 BC, Caesar
crossed the Rubicon river (the frontier boundary of Italy) with only a
single legion, the Legio XIII Gemina, and ignited civil war.
Upon crossing the Rubicon, Caesar, according to Plutarch and
Suetonius, is supposed to have quoted the Athenian
playwright Menander, in Greek, "the die is cast".[72] Erasmus,
however, notes that the more accurate Latin translation of the
Greek imperative mood would be "alea iacta esto", let the die be
cast.[73] Pompey and many of the Senate fled to the south, having
little confidence in Pompey's newly raised troops. Pompey, despite
greatly outnumbering Caesar, who only had his Thirteenth Legion with
him, did not intend to fight. Caesar pursued Pompey, hoping to capture
Pompey before his legions could escape.[74]
Pompey managed to escape before Caesar could capture him. Heading
for Spain, Caesar left Italy under the control of Mark Antony. After an
astonishing 27-day route-march, Caesar defeated Pompey's
lieutenants, then returned east, to challenge Pompey in Illyria, where,
on 10 July 48 BC in the battle of Dyrrhachium, Caesar barely avoided
a catastrophic defeat. In an exceedingly short engagement later that
year, he decisively defeated Pompey at Pharsalus, in Greece on 9
August 48 BC.[75]

Cleopatra and Caesar, 1866 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme

This mid-1st-century-BC Roman wall painting in Pompeii, Italy,

showing Venus holding a cupid is most likely a depiction
of Cleopatra VII of Ptolemaic Egypt as Venus Genetrix, with her
son Caesarion as the cupid, similar in appearance to the now lost
statue of Cleopatra erected by Julius Caesar in the Temple of Venus
Genetrix (within the Forum of Caesar). The owner of the House of
Marcus Fabius Rufus at Pompeii walled off the room with this painting,
most likely in immediate reaction to the execution of Caesarion on
orders of Augustus in 30 BC, when artistic depictions of Caesarion
would have been considered a sensitive issue for the ruling regime.
[76][77]
In Rome, Caesar was appointed dictator,[78] with Mark Antony as
his Master of the Horse (second in command); Caesar presided over
his own election to a second consulship and then, after 11 days,
resigned this dictatorship.[78][79] Caesar then pursued Pompey to
Egypt, arriving soon after the murder of the general. There, Caesar was
presented with Pompey's severed head and seal-ring, receiving these
with tears.[80] He then had Pompey's assassins put to death.[81]
Caesar then became involved with an Egyptian civil war between the
child pharaoh and his sister, wife, and co-regent queen, Cleopatra.
Perhaps as a result of the pharaoh's role in Pompey's murder, Caesar
sided with Cleopatra. He withstood the Siege of Alexandria and later
he defeated the pharaoh's forces at the Battle of the Nile in 47 BC
and installed Cleopatra as ruler. Caesar and Cleopatra celebrated their
victory with a triumphal procession on the Nile in the spring of
47 BC. The royal barge was accompanied by 400 additional ships, and
Caesar was introduced to the luxurious lifestyle of the Egyptian
pharaohs.[82]
Caesar and Cleopatra were not married. Caesar continued his
relationship with Cleopatra throughout his last marriage—in Roman
eyes, this did not constitute adultery—and probably fathered a son
called Caesarion. Cleopatra visited Rome on more than one occasion,
residing in Caesar's villa just outside Rome across the Tiber.[82]
Late in 48 BC, Caesar was again appointed dictator, with a term of one
year.[79] After spending the first months of 47 BC in Egypt, Caesar
went to the Middle East, where he annihilated the king of Pontus; his
victory was so swift and complete that he mocked Pompey's previous
victories over such poor enemies.[83] On his way to Pontus, Caesar
visited Tarsus from 27 to 29 May 47 BC (25–27 Maygreg.), where he
met enthusiastic support, but where, according
to Cicero, Cassius was planning to kill him at this point.[84][85]
[86] Thence, he proceeded to Africa to deal with the remnants of
Pompey's senatorial supporters. He was defeated by Titus
Labienus at Ruspina on 4 January 46 BC but recovered to gain a
significant victory at Thapsus on 6 April 46 BC over Cato, who then
committed suicide.[87]
After this victory, he was appointed dictator for 10 years.
[88] Pompey's sons escaped to Spain; Caesar gave chase and
defeated the last remnants of opposition in the Battle of Munda in
March 45 BC.[89] During this time, Caesar was elected to his third
and fourth terms as consul in 46 BC and 45 BC (this last time without
a colleague).
Dictatorship and assassination
While he was still campaigning in Spain, the Senate began bestowing
honours on Caesar. Caesar had not proscribed his enemies, instead
pardoning almost all, and there was no serious public opposition to
him. Great games and celebrations were held in April to honour
Caesar's victory at Munda. Plutarch writes that many Romans found
the triumph held following Caesar's victory to be in poor taste, as
those defeated in the civil war had not been foreigners, but instead
fellow Romans.[90] On Caesar's return to Italy in September 45 BC, he
filed his will, naming his grandnephew Gaius Octavius (Octavian,
later known as Augustus Caesar) as his principal heir, leaving his vast
estate and property including his name. Caesar also wrote that if
Octavian died before Caesar did, Decimus Junius Brutus
Albinus would be the next heir in succession.[91] In his will, he also
left a substantial gift to the citizens of Rome.
Between his crossing of the Rubicon in 49 BC, and
his assassination in 44 BC, Caesar established a new constitution,
which was intended to accomplish three separate goals.[92] First, he
wanted to suppress all armed resistance out in the provinces, and thus
bring order back to the Republic. Second, he wanted to create a strong
central government in Rome. Finally, he wanted to knit together all of
the provinces into a single cohesive unit.[92]
The first goal was accomplished when Caesar defeated Pompey and
his supporters.[92] To accomplish the other two goals, he needed to
ensure that his control over the government was undisputed,[93] so
he assumed these powers by increasing his own authority, and by
decreasing the authority of Rome's other political institutions. Finally,
he enacted a series of reforms that were meant to address several
long-neglected issues, the most important of which was his reform of
the calendar.[94]
Dictatorship

Bust of Julius Caesar, posthumous portrait of the 1st century

AD, Altes Museum, Berlin

Statue of Julius Caesar, Via dei Fori Imperiali, Rome

When Caesar returned to Rome, the Senate granted him triumphs for
his victories, ostensibly those over Gaul, Egypt, Pharnaces, and Juba,
rather than over his Roman opponents.[citation
needed] When Arsinoe IV, Egypt's former queen, was paraded in
chains, the spectators admired her dignified bearing and were moved
to pity.[95] Triumphal games were held, with beast-hunts involving
400 lions, and gladiator contests. A naval battle was held on a
flooded basin at the Field of Mars.[96] At the Circus Maximus, two
armies of war captives, each of 2,000 people, 200 horses, and 20
elephants, fought to the death. Again, some bystanders complained,
this time at Caesar's wasteful extravagance. A riot broke out, and only
stopped when Caesar had two rioters sacrificed by the priests on the
Field of Mars.[96]
After the triumph, Caesar set out to pass an ambitious legislative
agenda.[96] He ordered a census be taken, which forced a reduction
in the grain dole, and decreed that jurors could only come from the
Senate or the equestrian ranks. He passed a sumptuary law that
restricted the purchase of certain luxuries. After this, he passed a law
that rewarded families for having many children, to speed up the
repopulation of Italy. Then, he outlawed professional guilds, except
those of ancient foundation, since many of these were subversive
political clubs. He then passed a term-limit law applicable to
governors. He passed a debt-restructuring law, which ultimately
eliminated about a fourth of all debts owed.[96]
The Forum of Caesar, with its Temple of Venus Genetrix, was then
built, among many other public works.[97] Caesar also tightly
regulated the purchase of state-subsidised grain and reduced the
number of recipients to a fixed number, all of whom were entered into
a special register.[98] From 47 to 44 BC, he made plans for the
distribution of land to about 15,000 of his veterans.[99]
The most important change, however, was his reform of the calendar.
The Roman calendar at the time was regulated by the movement of the
moon. By replacing it with the Egyptian calendar, based on the sun,
Roman farmers were able to use it as the basis of consistent seasonal
planting from year to year. He set the length of the year to 365.25 days
by adding an intercalary/leap day at the end of February every fourth
year.[94]
To bring the calendar into alignment with the seasons, he decreed that
three extra months be inserted into 46 BC (the ordinary intercalary
month at the end of February, and two extra months after November).
Thus, the Julian calendar opened on 1 January 45 BC.[94][96] This
calendar is almost identical to the current Western calendar.
Shortly before his assassination, he passed a few more reforms.
[96] He established a police force, appointed officials to carry out his
land reforms, and ordered the rebuilding of Carthage and Corinth. He
also extended Latin rights throughout the Roman world, and then
abolished the tax system and reverted to the earlier version that
allowed cities to collect tribute however they wanted, rather than
needing Roman intermediaries. His assassination prevented further
and larger schemes, which included the construction of an
unprecedented temple to Mars, a huge theatre, and a library on the
scale of the Library of Alexandria.[96]
He also wanted to convert Ostia to a major port, and cut a canal
through the Isthmus of Corinth. Militarily, he wanted to conquer
the Dacians and Parthians, and avenge the loss at Carrhae. Thus, he
instituted a massive mobilisation. Shortly before his assassination, the
Senate named him censor for life and Father of the Fatherland, and
the month of Quintilis was renamed July in his honour.[96]
He was granted further honours, which were later used to justify his
assassination as a would-be divine monarch: coins were issued
bearing his image and his statue was placed next to those of the
kings. He was granted a golden chair in the Senate, was allowed to
wear triumphal dress whenever he chose, and was offered a form of
semi-official or popular cult, with Mark Antony as his high priest.[96]
Political reforms
Main article: Constitutional reforms of Julius Caesar

La clémence de César, Abel de Pujol, 1808

The history of Caesar's political appointments is complex and
uncertain. Caesar held both the dictatorship and the tribunate, but
alternated between the consulship and the proconsulship.[93] His
powers within the state seem to have rested upon these magistracies.
[93] He was first appointed dictator in 49 BC, possibly to preside over
elections, but resigned his dictatorship within 11 days. In 48 BC, he
was reappointed dictator, only this time for an indefinite period, and in
46 BC, he was appointed dictator for 10 years.[100]
In 48 BC, Caesar was given permanent tribunician powers,[101][failed
verification] which made his person sacrosanct and allowed him to
veto the Senate,[101] although on at least one occasion, tribunes did
attempt to obstruct him. The offending tribunes in this case were
brought before the Senate and divested of their office.[101] This was
not the first time Caesar had violated a tribune's sacrosanctity. After
he had first marched on Rome in 49 BC, he forcibly opened the
treasury, although a tribune had the seal placed on it. After the
impeachment of the two obstructive tribunes, Caesar, perhaps
unsurprisingly, faced no further opposition from other members of the
Tribunician College.[101]
When Caesar returned to Rome in 47 BC, the ranks of the Senate had
been severely depleted, so he used his censorial powers to appoint
many new senators, which eventually raised the Senate's membership
to 900.[102] All the appointments were of his own partisans, which
robbed the senatorial aristocracy of its prestige, and made the Senate
increasingly subservient to him.[103] To minimise the risk that
another general might attempt to challenge him,[100] Caesar passed
a law that subjected governors to term limits.[100]
In 46 BC, Caesar gave himself the title of "Prefect of the Morals",
which was an office that was new only in name, as its powers were
identical to those of the censors.[101] Thus, he could hold censorial
powers, while technically not subjecting himself to the same checks
to which the ordinary censors were subject, and he used these powers
to fill the Senate with his own partisans. He also set the precedent,
which his imperial successors followed, of requiring the Senate to
bestow various titles and honours upon him. He was, for example,
given the title of "Father of the Fatherland" and "imperator".[100]
Coins bore his likeness, and he was given the right to speak first
during Senate meetings.[100] Caesar then increased the number of
magistrates who were elected each year, which created a large pool
of experienced magistrates, and allowed Caesar to reward his
supporters.[102]
Caesar even took steps to transform Italy into a province, and to link
more tightly the other provinces of the empire into a single cohesive
unit. This addressed the underlying problem that had caused
the Social War decades earlier, where persons from outside Rome or
Italy did not have citizenship. This process, of fusing the entire Roman
Empire into a single unit, rather than maintaining it as a network of
unequal principalities, would ultimately be completed by Caesar's
successor, the Emperor Augustus.
In February 44 BC, one month before his assassination, he was
appointed dictator in perpetuity. Under Caesar, a significant amount of
authority was vested in his lieutenants,[100] mostly because Caesar
was frequently out of Italy.[100] In October 45 BC, Caesar resigned
his position as sole consul, and facilitated the election of two
successors for the remainder of the year, which theoretically restored
the ordinary consulship, since the constitution did not recognise a
single consul without a colleague.[102]

Denarius (42 BC) issued by Gaius Cassius Longinus and Lentulus

Spinther, depicting the crowned head of Liberty and on the reverse a
sacrificial jug and lituus, from the military mint in Smyrna. Caption: C.
CASSI. IMP. LEIBERTAS / LENTVLVS SPINT.
Near the end of his life, Caesar began to prepare for a war against the
Parthian Empire. Since his absence from Rome might limit his ability to
install his own consuls, he passed a law which allowed him to appoint
all magistrates, and all consuls and tribunes.[102] This, in effect,
transformed the magistrates from being representatives of the people
to being representatives of the dictator.[102]
Assassination
See also: Assassination of Julius Caesar
On the Ides of March (15 March; see Roman calendar) of 44 BC,
Caesar was due to appear at a session of the Senate. Several Senators
had conspired to assassinate Caesar. Mark Antony, having vaguely
learned of the plot the night before from a
terrified liberator named Servilius Casca, and fearing the worst, went
to head Caesar off. The plotters, however, had anticipated this and,
fearing that Antony would come to Caesar's aid, had arranged
for Trebonius to intercept him just as he approached the portico of
the Theatre of Pompey, where the session was to be held, and detain
him outside (Plutarch, however, assigns this action of delaying Antony
to Brutus Albinus). When he heard the commotion from the Senate
chamber, Antony fled.[104]
According to Plutarch, as Caesar arrived at the Senate, Tillius
Cimber presented him with a petition to recall his exiled brother.
[105] The other conspirators crowded round to offer support. Both
Plutarch and Suetonius say that Caesar waved him away, but Cimber
grabbed his shoulders and pulled down Caesar's tunic. Caesar then
cried to Cimber, "Why, this is violence!" ("Ista quidem vis est!").[106]
The senators encircle Caesar, a 19th-century interpretation of the
event by Carl Theodor von Piloty
Casca simultaneously produced his dagger and made a glancing thrust
at the dictator's neck. Caesar turned around quickly and caught Casca
by the arm. According to Plutarch, he said in Latin, "Casca, you villain,
what are you doing?"[107] Casca, frightened, shouted, "Help, brother!"
in Greek ("ἀδελφέ, βοήθει", "adelphe, boethei"). Within moments, the
entire group, including Brutus, was striking out at the dictator. Caesar
attempted to get away, but, blinded by blood, he tripped and fell; the
men continued stabbing him as he lay defenceless on the lower steps
of the portico. According to Eutropius, around 60 men participated in
the assassination. He was stabbed 23 times.[108]
According to Suetonius, a physician later established that only one
wound, the second one to his chest, had been lethal.[109] The
dictator's last words are not known with certainty, and are a
contested subject among scholars and historians alike. Suetonius
reports that others have said Caesar's last words were the Greek
phrase "καὶ σύ, τέκνον;"[110] (transliterated as "Kai su, teknon?": "You
too, child?" in English). However, Suetonius' own opinion was that
Caesar said nothing.[111]
Plutarch also reports that Caesar said nothing, pulling his toga over his
head when he saw Brutus among the conspirators.[112] The version
best known in the English-speaking world is the Latin phrase "Et tu,
Brute?" ("And you, Brutus?", commonly rendered as "You too,
Brutus?");[113][114] best known from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar,
where it actually forms the first half of a macaronic line: "Et tu,
Brute? Then fall, Caesar." This version was already popular when the
play was written, as it appears in Richard Edes's Latin play Caesar
Interfectus of 1582 and The True Tragedie of Richarde Duke of Yorke
& etc. of 1595, Shakespeare's source work for other plays.[115]

The Death of Caesar, Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1867

According to Plutarch, after the assassination, Brutus stepped forward
as if to say something to his fellow senators; they, however, fled the
building.[116] Brutus and his companions then marched to the Capitol
while crying out to their beloved city: "People of Rome, we are once
again free!" They were met with silence, as the citizens of Rome had
locked themselves inside their houses as soon as the rumour of what
had taken place had begun to spread. Caesar's dead body lay where it
fell on the Senate floor for nearly three hours before other officials
arrived to remove it.
Caesar's body was cremated, and on the site of his cremation,
the Temple of Caesar was erected a few years later (at the east side
of the main square of the Roman Forum). Only its altar now remains.
[117] A life-size wax statue of Caesar was later erected in the forum
displaying the 23 stab wounds. A crowd who had gathered there
started a fire, which badly damaged the forum and neighbouring
buildings. In the ensuing chaos, Mark Antony, Octavian (later Augustus
Caesar), and others fought a series of five civil wars, which would end
in the formation of the Roman Empire.
Aftermath of the assassination
The result unforeseen by the assassins was that Caesar's death
precipitated the end of the Roman Republic.[118] The Roman middle
and lower classes, with whom Caesar was immensely popular and had
been since before Gaul, became enraged that a small group of
aristocrats had killed their champion. Antony, who had been drifting
apart from Caesar, capitalised on the grief of the Roman mob and
threatened to unleash them on the Optimates, perhaps with the intent
of taking control of Rome himself. To his surprise and chagrin, Caesar
had named his grandnephew Gaius Octavius his sole heir (hence the
name Octavian), bequeathing him the immensely potent Caesar name
and making him one of the wealthiest citizens in the Republic.[119]

Bust of Mark Antony made during the Flavian dynasty (69-96 AD).

Marc Antony's Oration at Caesar's Funeral by George Edward

Robertson
The crowd at the funeral boiled over, throwing dry branches, furniture,
and even clothing on to Caesar's funeral pyre, causing the flames to
spin out of control, seriously damaging the Forum. The mob then
attacked the houses of Brutus and Cassius, where they were repelled
only with considerable difficulty, ultimately providing the spark for
the civil war, fulfilling at least in part Antony's threat against the
aristocrats.[120] Antony did not foresee the ultimate outcome of the
next series of civil wars, particularly with regard to Caesar's adopted
heir. Octavian, aged only 18 when Caesar died, proved to have
considerable political skills, and while Antony dealt with Decimus
Brutus in the first round of the new civil wars, Octavian consolidated
his tenuous position.
To combat Brutus and Cassius, who were massing an enormous army
in Greece, Antony needed soldiers, the cash from Caesar's war chests,
and the legitimacy that Caesar's name would provide for any action he
took against them. With the passage of the lex Titia on 27 November
43 BC,[121] the Second Triumvirate was officially formed, composed
of Antony, Octavian, and Caesar's loyal cavalry commander Lepidus.
[122] It formally deified Caesar as Divus Iulius in 42 BC, and Caesar
Octavian henceforth became Divi filius ("Son of the divine").[123]
Because Caesar's clemency had resulted in his murder, the Second
Triumvirate reinstated the practice of proscription, abandoned since
Sulla.[124] It engaged in the legally sanctioned killing of a large
number of its opponents to secure funding for its 45 legions in the
second civil war against Brutus and Cassius.[125] Antony and
Octavian defeated them at Philippi.[126]

Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, Caesar's adopted heir

Afterward, Mark Antony formed an alliance with Caesar's lover,
Cleopatra, intending to use the fabulously wealthy Egypt as a base to
dominate Rome. A third civil war broke out between Octavian on one
hand and Antony and Cleopatra on the other. This final civil war,
culminating in the latter's defeat at Actium in 31 BC and suicide in
Egypt in 30 BC, resulted in the permanent ascendancy of Octavian,
who became the first Roman emperor, under the name Caesar
Augustus, a name conveying religious, rather than political, authority.
[127]
Julius Caesar had been preparing to invade Parthia, the Caucasus,
and Scythia, and then march back to Germania through Eastern
Europe. These plans were thwarted by his assassination.[128] His
successors did attempt the conquests of Parthia and Germania, but
without lasting results.
Deification
See also: Divus Julius and Caesar's Comet
Julius Caesar was the first historical Roman to be officially deified. He
was posthumously granted the title Divus Iulius (the divine/deified
Julius) by decree of the Roman Senate on 1 January 42 BC.
The appearance of a comet during games in his honour was taken
as confirmation of his divinity. Though his temple was not dedicated
until after his death, he may have received divine honours during his
lifetime:[129] and shortly before his assassination, Mark Antony had
been appointed as his flamen (priest).[130] Both Octavian and Mark
Antony promoted the cult of Divus Iulius. After the death of Caesar,
Octavian, as the adoptive son of Caesar, assumed the title of Divi
Filius (son of a god).