The Tragedy and Life of Julius Caesar - Essay Example

GAIUS JULIUS CAESAR Why, man, he doth bestride the narrowworld Like a Colossus, and we petty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about To find ourselves dishonorable graves. William Shakespeare1 Gaius Julius Caesar, a famous Roman military and political leader, was born in Rome in 100 B.C. in the period of extraordinary political disorder in the country. In the II century B.C. after the victory over Carthago in the second Punic war, Romans originated an enormous empire. These conquests made a great number of Roman citizens very rich. However, the wars seriously broke the social and economic bases of Rome. Many peasants were deprived of their property. The Roman Senate, which initially was a certain form a small city administrative council, now proved own incapacity to govern the enormous empire. Moreover political corruption was prevailed to the full extend, and the entire Mediterranean suffered from the inefficient administration of Rome. Just about since 133 B.C. in Rome itself had began continuous period of disorders. Politics, generals and demagogues fought for the power. Partisan armies (such as army of Marius in 87 B.C. and the army of Sulla in 82 B.C.) passed Rome marching. Although the Senate's incapacity to govern was clear to everybody, the majority of Roman citizens wanted to restore the republic government. Julius Caesar was, probably, the first political leader, who clearly understood, that this government was no longer worth of being preserved. Caesar came from the family of patricians, which itself had been originated from Julus - the son of Aeneas, the legendary Trojan hero, who had been born by the goddess named Aphrodite (Venus). Having such renowned ancestors, it was rather simple to Caesar to get a high post in the Roman republic. However, following the family tradition he became a priest of Jupiter, the supreme God of Rome. Strict rules forbade him to leave the city more than for two nights, to divorce with the wife, and to take weapon in his hands. But Julius's fate predetermined the other. Roman politics was divided between two factions, the optimates, who favored aristocratic rule, and the populares, who preferred to appeal directly to the electorate. He became one of the leaders of the populares party, but his patrician origin prevented him from holding the position of tribune, which Caesar had so much wished for. The majority of Caesar's family belonged to the senatorial party of optimates, which represented the interests of old aristocracy. However, Caesar from the very beginning of his political career joined to populares. The reason for this was his kinship to Gaius Marius, a great soldier, whose outstanding career had become an exemplar for young Julius. Caesar' mother Aurelia Cotta occurred from the notable patrician family, and was a real example of Roman matron, whose strictness and exactingness helped to bring her son up as a real soldier and statesman. They lived in a modest house in the Subura, a lower class neighborhood of Rome2, where Marcus Antonius Gnipho, an orator and grammarian, who originally came from Gaul, was employed as Caesar's tutor. He got a good education and went in for politics in his youth. In 68 B.C. Caesar became the quaestor. His main responsibility was to control the state exchequer and finances. From now it gave him the right to be named the Senator. On being appointed to the position of Aedile, whose responsibility was not only to control the order and building in the city, but also arrangement of different festival, Caesar outdid all his predecessors making unprecedented expenditures for the public entertainments. Spending a lot of money for different kinds of the ceremonies and theatre performances, dinners and feasts, he won the hearts of Roman plebs. 320 pairs of gladiators with armament and armors made from pure silver, which Julius arrange for one of holidays, affected Romans so much that people began to tell legends about Julius's fantastic generosity. But since the Aedile had to arrange entertainments spending his own money, no wonder that Caesar was head over heels in debt. However it was worth it. In 63 B.C. Caesar proposed his candidature for the post of supreme priest (pontifex maximus) and due to his popularity he conquered two strongest enemies and got it. . Later on the love of Roman plebs caused dissatisfaction and fears of the majority of senators and nobility. Some political enemies, on accusing Caesar with the help of the false dilation in plot against the Republic, brought him to put on trial. But Caesar won this process. Then they attempted to remove him from the post of the supreme priest. But the times of Sulla already passed, and the infuriated crowds of plebs rushed into the senate, threatening by weapon, with the requirement to revoke this decision. In 61 B.C., after having responsibilities of praetor, who controlled the highest judicial authority, Caesar was assigned to become a protector of Lusitani (the province of Spain). After gaining a number of the victories over the local tribes, Caesar obtained from senators the right for the triumph. A general might obtain this right, in case there are more than 5 thousand soldiers of enemy were killed during the war or in the course of military actions were seized the prisoners from royal family. In 58 B.C. at the age of forty-two years old Julius was appointed the governor of three Roman provinces: Cisalpine Gaul (North Italy), Illyricum (the Western Balkans) and Transalpine Gaul (the South coast of France). Caesar had achieved much in his first 42 years, doing more than many men twice his age had done3. That time four Roman legions, about twenty thousand people altogether, was under the Julius Caesar's command. During the period from 58 to 51 B.C. Julius used these forces for the invasion and the seizure of the entire Gaul - the region, which by the territory can be compared with the contemporary territory of France and Belgium together with the parts of Switzerland, Germany and Holland. Notwithstanding the fact that troops of Caesar were small, they completely destroyed the Gallic tribes and joined to Roman dominions the entire territory up to the Rhine. The seizure Gaul made Caesar, who was already a prominent political figure in Rome, a popular hero. To the opinion of his enemies Julius Caesar was too popular and too powerful. In January of 49 BC there was a panic that reigned in Rome. The senators, leaving their property, were scuttling to the ports in order to escape from Italy as soon as possible. The senate on the morrow of its 'defender' Pompey almost in full strength ran to Greece, saving from bloody repressions and new proscriptions, which was so familiar to Romans from the times of Sulla. However, the senators' fear was groundless. The one who went to Rome - the conqueror of Gaul, famous Caesar, was not going to chastise anybody. Caesar had to pass a long way to get to apex of authority. In spite of all failures, he finally was close to his goal - to become a master of Rome. When the period of his military command elapsed, Julius was ordered to return to Rome as a private individual - i.e., without the army. Caesar suspected that in case he returns to Rome without his troops, his enemies would use any possibility to break him. At night between the 10th and 11th January of 49 B.C. he bid straight defiance to the Senate of Rome. He passed with the army across the river named Rubicon, which is in North Italy, and marching directed his steps to Rome. This obviously illegal action kindled the Civil War between Caesar's legions and the forces of the Senate. It lasted four years and ended by the entire victory of Caesar. The last battle occurred near the city of Munda in Spain on the 7th of March 45 B.C. By that time Caesar already understood that he is the only person who was able to provide an effective and enlightened despotism, which Rome that time did require. He returned to Rome in October 45 B.C. and soon became the lifelong dictator. In February 44 B.C. Caesar was proposed to get the throne, but he refused. But as it was obvious that Caesar was already the military and political leader in the country, his refusal did not convince his enemies-republicans. The 15th of March 44 B.C. at the session of the senate the group of conspirators killed Julius Caesar. Last years of life Caesar worked out the extensive program of reforms. He had the plan to resettle military veterans and Roman poor to new communities through the entire empire. Julius granted Roman citizenship to some additional groups of people. He planned to establish the standardized system of government for Italian cities. He also developed the wide program of building, the program of codification of Roman laws and many other reforms. However Caesar did not manage to establish the efficient enough constitutional system of Rome administration, and this, obviously, was the main reason for the dictator's fall. And unfortunately the majority of his plans were never realized. As a matter of fact one of his reforms got quite a prolonged effect to the world history. It is the adoption of new calendar. The calendar put into effect by Julius Caesar, just slightly altered, remains in force in these latter days. Certainly Caesar was one of the most brilliant political figures in the history, who possessed variety of talents. He was successful politician, magnificent general, outstanding orator and writer. His book 'Gallic War', which described the seizure of Gaul, considered being the classics of literature. It should be mentioned that the book is 'divided into eight books, of which only the first seven, taking the narrative down to the autumn of 52 B.C. were written by Caesar. The eights was added, shortly after Caesar's death, by his friend Aulus Hirtius, who had served with him'4. However, the true influence of Julius Caesar on history is not equal to his glory. He really played a significant role in the Roman Republic decline, but his impact should not be exaggerated, since the republic government in Rome had been already ruined. The most important achievement of Julius Caesar was the conquest of Gaul. The territories seized by him remained under the Roman administration for almost five centuries. Within this period they underwent the significant influence of Rome. Population of these territories adopted majority of Roman laws, customs, language, and later also Christianity. Contemporary French language to a considerable degree originated from the conversational Latin of those times. Caesar's conquest of Gaul exerted its influence on Rome itself, as it ensured the protection from attacks from the North for several centuries. As a whole the seizure of Gaul was a kind of safety factor for the entire Roman Empire. The character of Julius Caesar is often criticized. He indeed sought for the power and definitely used his political connections in order to become rich. However, in contradiction to the majority of more ambitious politicians, he was neither dodger nor liar. In the war against Gaul he demonstrated cruelty, but, from other side, he manifested loyalty to the prostrated Roman enemies. The respect, which world civilization feels for Caesar, is proved by the fact that both German emperor title 'Kaiser' and Russian emperor title 'Czar' originated from the word 'Caesar'. Julius was always more famous than his grandnephew August Caesar, the real founder of Roman Empire. It was obvious that as dictator for life, Caesar was king of the Rome in all but name5. Bibliography: 1. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Washington Square Press New Folger's Ed edition ed., 1992. 2. Suetonius Tranquillus. "The Life of Julius Caesar." 23 Feb. 2007 . 3. "Life of Gaius Julius Caesar." 2001. Kevin Wheeler. 23 Feb. 2007 . 4. Caesar, Julius, Stanley A Stanley, and Jane Gardner. The Conquest of Gaul. Penguin Classics, 1983. 5. Thorne, James. Julius Caesar: Conqueror and Dictator . The Rosen Publishing Group, 2003. Read More