Julius Caesar ( 100 B.C.E.-44 B.C.E. ) was a towering human body of ancient Rome , a populist politician and brilliant military strategian who overthrew acorrupt popish republicand crown himself dictator for life . His romanticist exploits and bloody treason were red-hot enough to fuel two different Shakespeare gambol , and historians have squirm over his bequest — Good Shepherd , tyrant or tragic submarine ? — for more than 2,000 years .
And today most people still know his name , even though they ’re not certain why . Here are nine must - bed facts about Caesar .
1. He Wasn’t Born by C-Section
First , let ’s dispel the years - old rumor that Caesar was the original , or at least the most famousCaesareanbaby . Philip Freeman , a classics professor at Pepperdine University and author of the biography " Julius Caesar , " says it ’s extremely unlike that Caesar was surgically deliver millennia before anesthesia or antibiotic drug .
" In those days , a light speed - part was almost always a death judgment of conviction for a mother , but Caesar ’s mother lived 50 years after his birth , " says Freeman in an e-mail audience . " The story belike comes from Caesar ’s name in Latin , which count very much like the word ' to cut off . ' "
And for the record , Caesar had nothing to do with the Caesar salad either . That was invented in 1924by an Italian - born chef name Caesar Cardini working in Tijuana , Mexico .
2. He Was a Political ‘Progressive’
" cautious " and " progressive " are modern terms , but they ’re often applied to the partizan feud between Caesar ’s followers and those of his Roman political foeman , Cato the Younger .
Richard Billows , a history professor at Columbia University and author of " Julius Caesar , The Colossus of Rome , " says that Rome in the first century B.C.E. had become hopelessly crooked , overlook by elite syndicate called Optimates who doled out political favors for immediate payment .
" Cato the Younger , the conduce conservativist , insist that the traditional governing system ruled by the elites was utterly fine as it was , " says Billows . " The corruption problem was n’t institutional or systemic , indicate Cato the Younger , but a moral one . "
Caesar thought that was frill . The only room to rout out putrescence was to replace the unequal to elite group with skilled governors and generals , some recruit from alfresco of Rome in its inflate strange provinces .
Cicero , the great writer and orator , debate that the best way to keep corrupt officials in line was to install a rector of immaculate personal standing to behave as a kind of supreme judge . Caesar liked the rector musical theme but wanted to take it a footfall further .
" Caesar believed that ending depravity was not something you could do by moral persuasion ; you call for literal business leader , " sound out Billows . " The rector ask to have the index to depose and punish superior general and governors who did n’t behave themselves . In other Holy Scripture , Rome need a dictator . "
3. He Viciously Conquered Gaul (Modern France)
Caesar proved his political genius betimes , forming pacts with political rivals and gettingelected as consul of Romein 59 B.C.E. at 41 years one-time . But if he was move to make his case for becoming the independent ruler of Rome , he take to show his strength as a military drawing card .
For hundred , Rome and its dominion had been terrorized by infest tribes from the north . Rather than just fighting off these Teutonic and Gaelic hordes , Caesar decided to push northward and curb the whole of Gaul , which had roughly the same borders as mod France .
By Caesar ’s admittedly exaggerated account of his seven - year war in Gaul , his USA kill 1 million people , enslaved another 1 million , and subjugated the remaining 1 million .
" Not anywhere near a million were killed or enslave , but it certainly illustrates that it was a passably awful cognitive process , " says Billows . " Caesar believed in the Roman Empire , and he clearly felt that it was necessary for Roman power to extend up through Gaul . "
More significantly , says Billows , Caesar knew from experience that political fights in Rome were seldom settled by philosophical debate . Ultimately , if he wanted to overcome his political enemy , he would require to use force .
" So , the seduction of Gaul , to a great part , is about the training of an USA that he could rely on to take restraint of Rome , " enunciate Billows .
4. He Was Behind the Phrase ‘Cross the Rubicon’
In New idiom , " crossing the Rubicon " is making a decisiveness or have a footstep from which there is no turn back . In the yr 49 B.C.E. , Caesar marched his army out of Gaul and back toward Rome .
" The Rubicon River was the boundary between Caesar ’s province as governor and Italy right , which no governor was allowed to enter with an US Army , " say Freeman . " When he pass over the Rubicon with his troops , he was in capable rebellion against Rome . "
write a 100 later , the Roman historiographer Plutarchdescribed Caesar ’s inner turmoilas he took " the dreadful footstep " and " idea of the suffering which his crossing the river would bring upon mankind , as well as " the fame of the story of it which they would leave to posterity . " Indeed Caesar ’s decision to cross the Rubicon squeeze Rome into a crashing civil war in which Caesar defeated the much big regular army of the Senate led by Pompey the Great .
5. He Eschewed the Title of ‘King’ for ‘Dictator for Life’
billow says that Caesar ’s triumph in the civic war effectively stop the traditional Romanic system of political science .
" From that breaker point on , Rome is governed by a monarch who oversees the whole system and determines who is going to regularise where , who is going to lead which armies , where Rome goes to warfare and where it make peace , " say Billows . " It was an effective , effective , centralised organization where everything is answerable to one central authority figure . "
Officially , Caesar ’s deed was dictator , which literally means " the one who dictates " or gives orders . In Ancient Rome , authoritarian were special magistrates convey in to solve impermanent emergency . Today , the Holy Writ " potentate " holds strong negative connotation , but in Caesar ’s time the title everyone avoided was " king . "
" Romans grew up on storey on how the kings had become cruel and tyrannical , and that ’s why they had to be overthrown so Rome could become a republic , " enunciate Billows . " Caesar ’s enemies constantly accused him of seek to top himself Martin Luther King Jr. , and Caesar always enjoin , ' Rome will never be rule by a magnate . ' But what ’s in a password ? "
In 45 B.C.E. , Caesar declared himself " dictator for perpetuity . " So much for the temporary spear .
6. He Lent His Name to the Titles of ‘Czar’ and ‘Kaiser’
When Caesar ’s adopted inheritor Augustus became the first emperor of Rome , he move by the name Caesar Augustus , and all subsequent Roman Catholic emperors also post the deed Caesar , a sign of how fear Caesar was as a military and political leader .
That regard / fearcarried over into other culture . The Russian Good Book tsar or tzar is a variant of Caesar , as is Kaiser in German .
7. That Fling With Cleopatra Was Mainly for Political Reasons
When Caesar and his army drive Pompey out of Rome in the polite state of war , Caesar chased Pompey ’s men all the way to Egypt . There , Caesar met Queen Cleopatra , with whom he had a secret love affair . For Cleopatra , half Caesar ’s age and athirst for political leverage , love likely had nothing to do with it . In fact modern-day accounts place more stress on Cleopatra ’s reason and cunning rather than her hypothesise lulu .
" [ Caesarion , the Word she bore to Caesar ] definitely gaveCleopatrastatus in the center of the Egyptians , but more importantly it bind Caesar to her , " says Freeman . In fact , Cleopatra moved to Rome after their son was born and dwell there until Caesar was assassinate . He evenerected a statue to her , much to the discouragement of the Romans .
8. Caesar Was a Terrific Writer
In addition to being a political genius and military loss leader , Caesar was also a fertile and accomplished author . He write lengthy histories of his military conquering , penned his own speeches and even dabbled in poetry .
" I ca n’t opine of anyone else in chronicle who has show such over-the-top command of three different fields : politics , war and lit , " say Billows .
The story conk out that Caesar was such a wizard with words that he could prescribe several dissimilar piece of writing at the same time . He ’d havethree copyist in the same room , one taking dictation for an administrative missive , one write up a speech to the Senate and another writing down Caesar ’s exploits in Gaul . surge says Caesar would alternate seamlessly between each scribe like a chess game original playing multiple game at once .
Caesar even publish a joke book . They were n’t his jokes , but he was a fan of humor , especially Cicero ’s . So , Caesar had a scribe follow Cicero around writing down his best zinger , which he assembled into a book .
Caesar also found timeto reform the annual calendarto the one we still use now .
9. He May Not Have Said ‘Et Tu, Brute’
Although he had fanatical livelihood among the citizenry , Caesar made more than his fair ploughshare of political enemies in the Roman Senate , include Marcus Junius Brutus , who had backed Pompey in the polite state of war . They felt that Caesar had pile up too much power .
On March 15 , the infamous " Ides of March , " Brutus and a cell of plotter murdered Caesar , stabbing him 23 times with double - edged dagger . They did it at a Senate confluence in full purview of 200 spectator , but the plotters were excuse .
harmonize tosome sources , Caesar ’s last word of honor were n’t Shakespeare ’s famous " Et tu , Brute ? " ( " You , too , Brutus ? " ) but " You , too , my child ? " Either direction , Caesar was shocked to see his friend among the people stabbing him .
After Caesar ’s demise , his birth month of Quintilis was renamed in his honor as " Julius " – what we known in English as " July . "
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