Caesar part 5 of 5 Final!
Caesar,part 5. The story of Gaius Julius Caesar.
Gaius Julius Caesar(13 July 100 BC 15 March 44 BC),
was a Roman military and political leader. He played a critical role in
the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.
A politician of the populares tradition, he formed an unofficial triumvirate
with Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus which dominated
Roman politics for several years, opposed in the Roman Senate by optimates
including Marcus Porcius Cato and Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus. His conquest
of Gaul extended the Roman world to the North Sea, and he also conducted
the first Roman invasion of Britain in 55 BC. The collapse of the triumvirate,
however, led to a stand-off with Pompey and the Senate. Leading his legions
across the Rubicon, Caesar began a civil war in 49 BC from which he became
the master of the Roman world.After assuming control of government, he began
extensive reforms of Roman society and government. He heavily centralised the
bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed "dictator in perpetuity"
(dictator perpetuo). A group of senators, led by Marcus Junius Brutus, assassinated
the dictator on the Ides of March (March 15) in 44 BC, hoping to restore the normal
running of the Republic. However, the result was another Roman civil war, which
ultimately led to the establishment of a permanent autocracy by Caesar's adopted
heir, Gaius Octavianus. In 42 BC, two years after his assassination, the Senate
officially sanctified Caesar as one of the Roman deities.Much of Caesar's life is
known from his own Commentaries (Commentarii) on his military campaigns,
and other contemporary sources such as the letters and speeches of his political
rival Cicero, the historical writings of Sallust, and the poetry of Catullus.
Many more details of his life are recorded by later historians, such as Appian,
Suetonius, Plutarch, Cassius Dio and Strabo.