who is Julius Caesar and why is he famous? The great commander, politician and public figure, Gaius Julius Caesar was an outstanding personality, and his tragic death became a symbol of perseverance and a warning against betrayal.
Why was Julius Caesar killed?
A strong and strong-willed man with talents as both a politician and a military leader, Gaius Julius Caesar managed to achieve his high position solely through his own efforts. The transformation of the weak Roman republic into the largest state, numerous military victories and the defeat of the Gauls, the devotion of the common people and the support of the patricians led him to the post of consul - the highest rank that allows him to rule the country with absolute authority.
In fact, Caesar completely concentrated the administration of the republic in his hands, limiting the influence of the Senate to a minimum. Dictatorial powers in the hands of one, even a great man, outraged the patricians and caused hidden grumbling and discontent among those close to him. The dignitaries were dissatisfied with Caesar and his policies: he prevented some from realizing their ambitious plans, many wanted the return of the leading role of the Senate, some were personal enemies of the consul.
All these dissatisfied people made up a group of conspirators numbering about 80 people.
The masterminds behind the murder of Caesar were his comrade-in-arms Gaius Cassius and Marcus Brutus, whom Caesar loved like a son. 14 people were directly involved in the murder of Caesar. Caesar's death, according to the plans of his killers, was to occur at a meeting of the Senate on March 15, 44 BC. - this day became Caesar’s last.
It is known that in the last days before the death of Julius Caesar, they were warned more than once about the impending crime. Even on the way to the fateful meeting, some passer-by thrust into his hand a package with a list of the names of the conspirators and the date of the murder - but Caesar, seeing the name of Brutus in it, did not even read the letter to the end - the thought of betraying a loved one seemed so absurd to him.
Such gullibility, in addition to sentimental feelings, is also explained by a clear understanding that his death will only cause civil war and popular outrage. Unfortunately, the consul's opponents did not realize this and went all the way.
Death Day of Gaius Julius Caesar
Date of death of Caesar - March 15, 44 BC The consul entered the Senate and was greeted standing, and when he sat down, a group of conspirators began to surround the throne. The conspirator Tullius turned to the consul with a request to return his brother from exile, but, having received a refusal, he signaled to his accomplices. Caesar was hit in the back of the head, but he grabbed the sword with his hand. Other assassins arrived, inflicting wounds on Caesar with swords and daggers. They had previously established that everyone must strike the consul at least once. Senators watched the massacre in horror. Julius Caesar fiercely resisted his enemies and could have come out of this battle alive - but he saw his favorite Brutus in the crowd of attackers. “How are you, my child?” - said the amazed Caesar and turned away, covering his face with his clothes. After this, Caesar stopped resisting and resigned himself to his fate. Of the 23 wounds received, only one was fatal - his attackers did not even have the courage to strike him hard. Caesar died at the age of 55, at the height of his fame and in the prime of his life.
Eventsafter the death of Gaius Julius Caesar
The deceased Julius Caesar turned out to be a prophet - after his death, the position of the Democrats in the country only worsened, and despite the fact that the Senate forgave the conspirators, the republic soon collapsed. Brutus and Cassius fled, the rest were afraid of any public events.
The will of the deceased Julius Caesar was read out in the Senate. according to which he transferred most of his property to his nephew and successor Octavius Gaius, and divided the rest among people close to him - among them were his murderers, including Brutus. Caesar also ordered the distribution of large sums of money to all citizens of Rome. The people, outraged by the murder and betrayal, supported Gaius Octavius and Caesar's friend, commander Mark Antony, during whose funeral speech the square in front of the Senate was filled with a raging crowd.
Tomb of Julius Caesar
Became dictator for the 4th time, and consul for the 5th. His position seemed undeniable; the new honors decreed by the Senate corresponded to the already open deification. The days of Caesar's victories were celebrated every year as holidays, and every 5 years the priests and vestals performed prayers in his honor; the oath in the name of Caesar was considered legally valid, and all his future orders received legal force in advance. The month of the quintiles was renamed July, a number of temples were dedicated to Caesar, etc., etc.
But more and more often we heard talk about Caesar and the royal crown. The removal from office of the tribunes, whose power had always been considered sacred and inviolable, produced an extremely unfavorable impression. And soon after these events, Caesar was proclaimed dictator without a term limit. Preparations for the Parthian War began. In Rome, a rumor began to spread that in connection with the campaign the capital would be moved to Ilion or Alexandria, and in order to legitimize the marriage of Caesar with Cleopatra, a bill would be proposed according to which Caesar would receive permission to take as many wives as he wanted, just to have heir.
Caesar’s monarchical “manners,” either existing in reality or attributed to him by general rumor, alienated from him not only the Republicans, who for some time had counted on the possibility of reconciliation and alliance, but even Caesar’s obvious adherents. Thus, one of the main leaders of the future conspiracy, in accordance with the traditions of the branch of the Junie family to which he belonged, was a staunch supporter of the “democratic party.”
A paradoxical situation was created in which the all-powerful dictator, who had seemingly reached the pinnacle of power and honor, actually found himself in a state of political isolation. The people were no longer happy with the situation in the state: secretly and openly indignant at autocracy, they looked for liberators. When foreigners were admitted to the Senate, papers appeared with the inscription: “Good morning! Don’t show new senators the way to the Senate!”
The conspiracy to assassinate Caesar took shape at the very beginning of 44. It was led by Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. He not only forgave these supporters who once opposed Caesar with arms in their hands, but also gave them honorary positions: both of them became praetors.
The composition of the other conspirators is also curious: in addition to the main conspirators Marcus Brutus, Gaius Cassius and such prominent Pompeians as Qu. Ligarius, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, L. Pontius Aquila (and several other less prominent figures), all the other participants in the conspiracy were, until recently, obvious supporters of the dictator. L. Tullius Cimbri, one of the people closest to Caesar, Servius Galba, Caesar's legate in 56 and his candidate for the consulate in 49, L. Minucius Basil, also Caesar's legate and praetor in 45, brothers Publius and Gaius Helmet. In total, more than 60 people took part in the conspiracy.
Meanwhile, preparations for a new Parthian war were in full swing. Caesar scheduled his departure to the army on March 18 (to Macedonia), and on March 15 a meeting of the Senate was planned, during which the quindecemvir L. Aurelius Cotta (consul of 65) was supposed to make a decision in the Senate to award Caesar the royal title, based on the prophecy, discovered in the Sibylline books, according to which only a king can defeat the Parthians.
The conspirators hesitated whether to kill Caesar on the Campus Martius, when at the elections he called the tribes to vote, having divided into two parts, they wanted to throw him off the bridge, and below pick him up and stab him, or attack him on the Sacred Road or at the entrance to the theater . But when it was announced that on the Ides of March the Senate would gather for a meeting in the Curia of Pompey, everyone willingly gave preference to this particular time and place.
The dictator knew that his life was in danger, or at least guessed. And although he refused the honorary guard decreed for him, saying that he did not want to live in constant fear, nevertheless, he somehow threw out the phrase that he was not afraid of people who love life and know how to enjoy it, but people inspire him with greater fear pale and thin. In this case, Caesar was clearly alluding to Brutus and Cassius.
The ill-fated Ides of March in history acquired a common meaning as a fateful day. The assassination of Caesar and the ominous omens that preceded it are described quite dramatically by ancient authors. For example, they all unanimously point to many phenomena and signs, ranging from the most innocent, such as flashes of light in the sky, unexpected noise at night, and up to such terrible signs as the absence of a heart in a sacrificial animal or a story that on the eve of a murder A wren bird with a laurel sprig in its beak flew into the Curia of Pompey, pursued by a flock of other birds, which overtook and tore it to pieces.
And a few days before the murder, Caesar learned that the herds of horses, which he dedicated to the gods when crossing the Rubicon and released to graze in the wild, stubbornly refused food and shed tears.
The signs didn't stop there. The day before his murder, Caesar dined with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and when the topic of what kind of death was best came up, Caesar exclaimed. "Sudden!" At night, after he had already returned home and fell asleep in his bedroom, all the doors and windows suddenly opened. Awakened by the noise and bright light of the moon, the dictator saw that his wife Calpurnia was sobbing in her sleep: she had a vision of her husband being stabbed in her arms and bleeding to death.
As the day approached, she began to persuade her husband not to leave the house and to cancel the Senate meeting, or, at the very least, to make sacrifices and find out how favorable the situation was. Apparently, Caesar himself began to hesitate, because he had never before noticed in Calpurnia a penchant for superstition and omens.
But when Caesar decided to send Mark Antony to the Senate in order to cancel the meeting, one of the conspirators, and at the same time especially a man close to the dictator, Decimus Brutus Albinus, convinced him not to give new reasons for reproaches of arrogance and to at least go to the Senate himself in order to personally dissolve the senators.
According to some sources, Brutus led Caesar out of the house by the hand and went with him to Pompey’s curia; according to other sources, Caesar was carried in a stretcher. And even on the way to the Senate, several warnings were revealed to him. First he met the fortuneteller Spurinna, who predicted to Caesar that on the Ides of March he should beware of great danger. “But the Ides of March have arrived!” - the dictator remarked jokingly. “Yes, they have arrived, but have not passed yet,” the fortuneteller calmly answered.
Then a slave tried to contact Caesar, allegedly aware of the conspiracy. However, pushed aside by the crowd surrounding the dictator, he was unable to inform him about this. The slave entered the house and told Calpurnia that he would wait for Caesar to return, because he wanted to tell him something very important.
In the end, Artemidorus of Cnidus, Caesar’s guest and an expert in Greek literature, who also had reliable information about the planned murder of Caesar, handed him a scroll that outlined everything he knew about the preparations for the assassination attempt. Seeing that the dictator was handing over all the scrolls handed to him along the way to the trusted slaves around him, Artemidorus allegedly approached Caesar and said: “Read this, Caesar, yourself, and do not show it to anyone else, and immediately! This is written about a matter that is very important to you.” Caesar took the scroll in his hands, but due to numerous petitioners he was unable to read it, although he tried to do so more than once. He entered the Curia of Pompey, still holding the scroll in his hands.
More than once it seemed to the conspirators that they were about to be exposed. One of the senators, taking Publius Servilius Casca by the hand, said: “You are hiding it from me, my friend, but Brutus told me everything.” Casca, in confusion, did not know what to answer, but he continued, laughing, “Where will you get the funds necessary for the position of aedile?”
Senator Popilius Lena, seeing Brutus and Cassius talking to each other in the curia, suddenly approached them and wished them success in what they had planned and advised them to hurry up. Brutus and Cassius were very frightened by such a wish, especially since when Caesar appeared, Popilius Lena detained him at the entrance with some serious and very lengthy conversation. The conspirators were already preparing to commit suicide before they were captured, but at that moment Popilius Lena said goodbye to the dictator. It became clear that he was turning to Caesar with some kind of matter, perhaps a request, but not a denunciation.
There was a custom that when consuls entered the Senate they made sacrifices. And now it was precisely now that the sacrificial animal turned out to have no heart. The dictator cheerfully noted that something similar had already happened to him in Spain, during the war. The priest replied that even then he was exposed to mortal danger, but now all the testimony is even more unfavorable. Caesar ordered a new sacrifice, but this too was unsuccessful. Not considering it any longer possible to delay the opening of the meeting, the dictator entered the curia and went to his place.
Further events in Plutarch’s description look like this: “When Caesar appeared, the senators rose from their seats as a sign of respect. The conspirators, led by Brutus, divided into two groups: some stood behind Caesar’s chair, and others came out to meet him, together with Tullius Cymbrus, to ask for his exiled brother; With these requests, the conspirators escorted the dictator all the way to his chair. Caesar, sitting in a chair, refused their request, and when the conspirators approached him with even more persistent requests, he expressed his displeasure to them.
Then Tullius, grabbing Caesar's toga with both hands, began to pull it off his neck, which was a sign for the conspirators. The tribune of the people, Publius Servilius Casca, was the first to strike with his sword in the back of the head; this wound, however, was shallow and not fatal. Caesar turned, grabbed and held the sword. Almost at the same time, both shouted: the wounded Caesar in Latin: “Scoundrel Casca, what are you doing?”, and Casca in Greek, addressing his brother: “Brother, help!” The senators who were not privy to the conspiracy, struck by fear, did not dare to run, nor to defend Caesar, nor even to scream.
Either the murderers themselves pushed Caesar's body to the plinth on which the statue of Pompey stood, or it ended up there by accident. The base was heavily splattered with blood. One might have thought that Pompey himself had come to take revenge on his enemy, who lay prostrate at his feet, covered with wounds and still trembling. Caesar is said to have received 23 wounds. Many of the conspirators, directing blows against one, wounded each other in the confusion.”
Before attacking Caesar, the conspirators agreed that they would all take part in the murder and, as it were, taste the sacrificial blood. That is why Brutus struck Caesar in the groin. Fighting off the assassins, the dictator rushed about and screamed, but when he saw Brutus with a drawn sword, he threw a toga over his head and exposed himself to the blows.
This dramatic scene of the murder of Caesar is depicted by ancient historians quite consistently, with the exception of certain details: Caesar, defending himself, pierced the hand of Casca, who struck him the first blow, with a sharp stylus ("style"), and seeing Marcus Junius Brutus among his killers, he allegedly said: Greek: “And you, my child!” - and after that he stopped resisting.
Brutus's mother, Servilia, was one of Caesar's most beloved concubines. One day he gave her a pearl worth 150,000 sesterces. In Rome, few doubted that Brutus was the fruit of their love, which did not prevent the young man from taking part in the conspiracy.
“After the murder of Caesar, writes Plutarch, Brutus stepped forward, as if wanting to say something about what had been done. But the senators, unable to bear it, rushed to flee, sowing confusion and insurmountable fear among the people. Some locked their houses, others abandoned their money changers and trading premises unattended; many ran to the scene of the murder to look at what had happened, others fled from there, having already seen enough.
Mark Antony and Mark Aemilius Lepidus, closer friends of the dictator, escaped from the curia and hid in other people's houses.
The conspirators, led by Brutus, not yet calmed down after the murder of Caesar, flashing their naked swords, gathered together and headed from the curia to the Capitol. They did not look like fugitives: they joyfully and boldly called the people to freedom, and people of noble birth who met along the way were invited to take part in their procession.
The next day, the conspirators, led by Brutus, went to the Forum and made speeches to the people. The people listened to the speakers, expressing neither displeasure nor approval, and by their complete silence showed that they pitied Caesar, but honored Brutus.
The Senate, caring about the oblivion of the past and about general reconciliation, on the one hand, honored Caesar with divine honors and did not cancel even his most unimportant orders, and on the other hand, distributed the provinces among the conspirators who followed Brutus, honoring them with appropriate honors; therefore everyone thought that the state of affairs in the state had strengthened and the best balance had been achieved again.”
“He often said that his life was dear not so much to him as to the state - he himself had long ago achieved the fullness of power and glory, but the state, if anything happens to it, will not know peace and will be plunged into even more disastrous civil wars,” he wrote Suetonius.
These words of Caesar turned out to be prophetic. “After opening Caesar’s will, it turned out that he left a significant sum of money to each Roman citizen,” notes Plutarch. Seeing how his corpse, disfigured by wounds, was carried through the Forum, the crowds of people did not maintain peace and order; They piled benches, bars and money changers' tables from the Forum around the corpse, set it all on fire and thus burned the body.
Then some, grabbing burning brands, rushed to set fire to the houses of Caesar's killers, while others ran throughout the city in search of the conspirators in order to seize them and tear them to pieces on the spot. But none of the conspirators could be found, since they all hid safely in their homes.”
When, after many years, the flames of a brutal civil war subsided, the victorious emperor, Caesar's heir and founder of the Roman Empire, built a marble temple of the Divine Julius in the center of the Forum on the spot where the dictator's funeral pyre burned.
Throughout the history of the Roman Empire, all emperors bore the name of Caesar: it became a common noun and turned into a title.
In an atmosphere of general servility and flattery, Caesar's character began to change for the worse. He became impatient and irritable. Often losing control of himself, he allowed himself a disdainful attitude towards others, which he had never allowed before. The number of those dissatisfied with Caesar was constantly growing. Friends more than once urged him to be vigilant and careful, but Julius rejected these proposals, declaring that “it is better to die once than to constantly expect death.”
Caesar's tolerance for people who were hostile to him was amazing. Whenever rumors of a conspiracy reached him, Caesar limited himself to declaring by a special edict that he knew everything and advised him to come to his senses.
But for a long time, a group of Roman aristocrats was developing a plan for the physical elimination of the dictator. The mastermind of the conspiracy was the praetor Gaius Cassius Longinus. During the civil war he fought on the side of Pompey. After the war, Caesar not only forgave him, but also accepted him into his circle of friends and gave him the position of praetor. However, it seemed to Cassius, who was seething with personal anger towards Caesar, that he deserved more. He managed to drag 60 people into the conspiracy, including Servius Galba, Gaius Trebonius, Decimus, Junius Brutus. Probably, the impetus for the conspiracy was also the appointment of Caesar as permanent dictator, which finally destroyed the illusions regarding the restoration of the republic. A Senate meeting was scheduled for March 15, 44. There were rumors that Caesar would be given the title of king.
Brutus played a special role in the conspiracy. Caesar once loved his mother, Servilia, very much. There was even a rumor that Brutus was Caesar's illegitimate son. In the war between Caesar and Pompey, Brutus joined the latter. Brutus was not killed on Caesar's orders. After the end of the civil war, he showered Brutus with his favors. He did all this for the sake of Servilia. If he wanted, Brutus could become the most influential person in the state after Caesar, and over time take first place in it. This was exactly the fate that awaited Brutus, but Cassius incited and hurried him. Soon Brutus takes the side of Cassius.
The soothsayer Spurina predicted his imminent death. But Caesar was in no hurry to die. His departure for the war against Parthia was scheduled for March 18.
The Ides of March was designated by the conspirators to assassinate the dictator. On the eve of his death, he was invited to dinner. Suddenly the conversation turned to death and someone turned to Caesar with the question of what kind of end he wanted for himself. Caesar immediately replied: “Unexpected!”
On the night of March 15, when Caesar was already asleep, all the doors and windows in the bedroom swung open as if by a blow. Awakened by the noise, Caesar opened his eyes. Looking closely, he saw that it was Calpurnia, his wife, whose marriage took place in 59 BC, sobbing in her sleep. e. Caesar did not wake her.
In the morning, Calpurnia, shedding tears, begged her husband to postpone the Senate meeting: in a dream she dreamed that she was holding her husband in her arms, bleeding. Caesar decides to stay home. But the conspirators, not wanting to postpone their plans, send Brutus to him. Yielding to his persuasion, Caesar goes to the senators.
Julius Caesar approached Pompey's curia. Seeing Spurinna in front of the entrance, who had once predicted that he would die on the Ides of March, Caesar jokingly remarked that the Ides of March had come, but the prediction had not come true. “Yes, they have arrived, but have not passed yet,” answered the fortuneteller.
Taking advantage of Caesar's delay, someone gives him a note that exposes the impending assassination attempt. But due to the multitude of petitioners surrounding him in a tight ring, he was unable to read it. So he entered the Senate, holding a note in his hand.
At Caesar's entrance, one group of conspirators, as agreed, took a place behind his chair. Another group surrounded Caesar immediately near the doors. One of the conspirators grabbed Caesar's toga and pulled it towards himself. This was the signal to attack.
Casca was the first to strike in the back of the head. But, ashamed of his insolence, he only slightly offended Caesar. Julius, having no weapons, began to defend himself with the style in his hand (a pointed writing stick). But there were too many conspirators. Caesar rushed about and screamed, but when he saw Brutus with his sword drawn, he exclaimed: “And you, my child!” With these words, Caesar threw a toga over his head and exposed himself to blows. Wounded, he fell at the feet of the statue of Pompey, heavily spattering it with his blood. Having attacked Caesar, many of the conspirators injured each other in the confusion. Caesar received 23 wounds. Everyone ran away; Lifeless, he remained lying until three slaves, putting him on a stretcher, with his arm hanging down, carried him home. And among so many wounds, only one, according to the doctor Antistius, turned out to be fatal - the second, inflicted in the chest. It is worth noting that the conspirators planned to throw the body of the murdered man into the Tiber, confiscate the property, and repeal the laws, but they did not dare out of fear of the consul Mark Antony and the chief of cavalry Lepidus. In his will, Caesar appointed the three grandchildren of his sisters as heirs: Gaius Octavius left three quarters of the property, Lucius Pinarius and Quintus Pedia the last quarter. At the end of the will, he also adopted Gaius Octavius and gave him his name. Decimus Brutus was among the heirs in the second degree. He bequeathed to the people the gardens over the Tiber for public use and three hundred sesterces to each citizen. The day of the funeral was announced, a funeral pyre was built on the Campus Martius near the tomb of Julia, and in front of the rostral tribune there was a gilded building similar to the temple of Venus the Ancestress; inside there was a bed of ivory, covered with purple and gold, at the head of which was a pillar with the clothes in which Caesar was killed. It was clear that everyone who came with offerings would not have enough day for the procession: then they were ordered to converge on the Field of Mars without order, by any means. Some friends remained suspicious that Caesar himself did not want to live longer, and therefore did not care about his weakening health and neglected the warnings of signs and the advice of friends. Others think that he relied on the last decree and oath of the Senate and after that even refused the guard of Spaniards with swords accompanying him; others, on the contrary, believe that he preferred to face the treachery threatening from everywhere once, rather than avoid it in eternal anxiety. Some even report that he often said: his life is dear not so much to him as to the state - he himself has long ago achieved the fullness of power and glory, but the state, if anything happens to him, will not know peace.
He died in the fifty-sixth year of his life and was considered among the gods, not only by the words of decrees, but also by the conviction of the crowd. Of his killers, almost none lived more than three years after this and none died a natural death. All of them were convicted and all died in different ways: some in a shipwreck, some in battle. And some struck themselves with the same dagger with which they killed Caesar.
Gaius Iulius Caesar - commander, politician, writer, dictator, high priest. He came from an ancient Roman family of the ruling class and consistently sought all government positions and led a line of political opposition to the senatorial aristocracy. He was merciful, but sent a number of his main opponents to execution.
The Yuliev family originated from a noble family, which, according to legend, descended from the goddess Venus.
Julius Caesar's mother, Avrelia Kotta, was from the noble and wealthy Aurelian family. My paternal grandmother came from the ancient Roman family of Marcii. Ancus Marcius was the fourth king of Ancient Rome from 640 to 616. BC e.
Childhood and youth
We have not received exact data about the time of birth of the emperor. Today it is generally accepted that he was born in 100 BC. e., however, the German historian Theodor Mommsen believes that it was 102 BC. e., and the French historian Jerome Carcopino points to 101 BC. e. Both July 12 and July 13 are considered birthdays.
Gaius Julius spent his childhood in the poor ancient Roman region of Subura. Parents gave their son a good education, he studied Greek, poetry and oratory, learned to swim, rode horseback and developed physically. In 85 BC. e. the family lost its breadwinner and Caesar, after initiation, became the head of the family, since none of the older male relatives remained alive.
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Beginning of a career as a politician
In Asia
In the 80s BC. e. The military leader Lucius Cornelius Cinna proposed the person of Gaius Julius to replace the flamenes, priest of the god Jupiter. But for this he needed to marry according to the solemn ancient rite of confarreatio, and Lucius Cornelius chose his daughter Cornelia Cinilla as his wife for Caesar. In 76 BC. e. The couple had a daughter, Julia (Ivlia).
Today, historians are no longer sure about the inauguration ceremony of Julius. On the one hand, this would prevent him from engaging in politics, but, on the other, the appointment was a good way to strengthen the position of the Caesars.
After the betrothal of Gaius Julius and Cornelia, there was a riot in the troops and the military attacked Cinna, he was killed. The dictatorship of Lucius Cornelius Sulla was established, after which Caesar, as a relative of the opponent of the new ruler, was outlawed. He disobeyed Sulla, refused to divorce his wife and left. The dictator searched for the disobedient man for a long time, but, as time passed, he pardoned him at the request of his relatives.
Caesar soon joined Marcus Minucius Thermus, governor of the Roman province of Asia Minor - Asia.
Ten years ago, his father held this position. Julius became an equites (equites) of Marcus Minucius, a patrician who fought on horseback. The first task that Therm gave to his contubernal was to negotiate with the Bithynia king Nycomed IV. As a result of successful negotiations, the ruler transfers Thermae a flotilla to take the city of Mytilene on the island of Lesvos, which did not accept the results of the First Mithridatic War (89-85 BC) and resisted the Roman people. The city was successfully captured.
For the operation on Lesbos, Gaius Julius received a civilian crown - a military award, and Marcus Minucius resigned. In 78 BC. e. Lucius Sulla dies in Italy and Caesar decides to return to his homeland.
Roman events
In 78 BC. e. The military leader Marcus Lepidus organized a revolt of the Italians (Italici) against the laws of Lucius. Caesar then did not accept the invitation to become a participant. In 77-76. BC e Gaius Julius tried to sue Sulla's supporters: the politician Cornelius Dolabella and the commander Antonius Hybrida. But he failed, despite his brilliant indictments.
After this, Julius decided to visit the island of Rhodes (Rhodus) and the school of rhetoric of Apollonius Molon, but on the way there he was captured by pirates, from where he was later rescued by Asian ambassadors for fifty talents. Wanting revenge, the former captive equipped several ships and himself took the pirates prisoner, executing them by crucifixion. In 73 BC. e. Caesar was included in the collegial governing body of the pontiffs, where his uncle Gaius Aurelius Cotta had previously ruled.
In 69 BC. e. Caesar's wife Cornelia died during the birth of her second child; the baby also did not survive. At the same time, Caesar's aunt, Julia Maria, also dies. Soon Gaius Julius becomes a Roman ordinary magistrate (magistratus), which gives him the opportunity to enter the Senate. He was sent to Far Spain (Hispania Ulterior), where he took upon himself the resolution of financial issues and the execution of orders from the propraetor Antistius Vetus.
In 67 BC. e. Caesar married Pompeia Sulla, Sulla's granddaughter. In 66 BC. e. Gaius Julius becomes caretaker of the most important public road in Rome, the Appian Way (Via Appia), and finances its repair.
College of Magistrates and elections
In 66 BC. e. Gaius Julius is elected magistrate of Rome. His responsibilities include expanding construction in the city, maintaining trade and public events. In 65 BC. e. he held such memorable Roman games with gladiators that he managed to amaze his sophisticated citizens.
In 64 BC. e. Gaius Julius was the head of the judicial commission (Quaestiones perpetuae) for criminal trials, which allowed him to bring to account and punish many of Sulla's henchmen.
In 63 BC. e. Quintus Metellus Pius died, vacating the lifelong seat of Pontifex Maximus. Caesar decides to put forward his own candidacy for her. The opponents of Gaius Julius are the consul Quintus Catulus Capitolinus and the commander Publius Vatia Isauricus. After numerous bribes, Caesar wins the election by a large margin and moves to live on the Sacred Road (via Sacra) in the state housing of the pontiff.
Participation in the conspiracy
In 65 and 63 BC e. one of the political conspirators, Lucius Sergius Catilina, twice attempted a coup. Marcus Tullius Cicero, being an opponent of Caesar, tried to accuse him of participating in conspiracies, but could not provide the necessary evidence and failed. Marcus Porcius Cato, the informal leader of the Roman Senate, also testified against Caesar and ensured that Gaius Julius left the Senate persecuted by threats.
First triumvirate
Praetura
In 62 BC. BC, using the powers of praetor, Caesar wanted to transfer the reconstruction of the plan of Jupiter Capitolinus (Iuppiter Optimus Maximus Capitolinus) from Quintus Catulus Capitolinus to Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, but the Senate did not support this bill.
After the proposal of the tribune Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos, supported by Caesar, to send Pompey with troops to Rome to pacify Catiline, the Senate removed both Quintus Caecilius and Gaius Julius from their posts, but the second was quickly restored.
In the fall, the trial of the Catiline conspirators took place. One of its participants, Lucius Iulius Vettius, who spoke out against Caesar, was arrested, as was the judge Novius Nigerus, who accepted the report.
In 62 BC. e. Caesar's wife Pompey organized a festival in their house dedicated to the Good Goddess (Bona Dea), which could only be attended by women. But one of the politicians, Publius Clodius Pulcher, came to the holiday; he dressed up as a woman and wanted to meet Pompeii. Senators found out about what happened, considered it a shame and demanded a trial. Gaius Julius did not wait for the outcome of the trial and divorced Pompeia so as not to expose his personal life to the public. Moreover, the spouses never produced any heirs.
In Farther Spain
In 61 BC. e. The trip of Gaius Julius to Far Spain as propraetor was postponed for a long time due to the presence of a large number of debts. The general (Marcus Licinius Crassus) vouched for Gaius Julius and paid off part of his loans.
When the new propraetor arrived at his destination, he had to deal with the dissatisfaction of the inhabitants with the Roman authorities. Caesar gathered a detachment of militia and began to fight the “bandits.” The commander with an army of twelve thousand approached the Serra da Estrela mountain range and ordered the local residents to leave there. They refused to move and Gaius Julius attacked them. The highlanders went across the Atlantic Ocean to the Berlenga Islands, killing all their pursuers.
But Caesar, after a series of thoughtful operations and strategic maneuvers, still conquers the popular resistance, after which he was awarded the honorary military title of emperor, victor.
Gaius Julius was also active in the daily affairs of the subordinate lands. He presided over court hearings, introduced tax reforms, and eradicated the practice of sacrifice.
During his period of activity in Spain, Caesar was able to pay off most of his debts thanks to rich gifts and bribes from residents of the wealthy south. At the beginning of 60 BC. e. Gaius Julius relinquishes his assigned powers ahead of schedule and returns to Rome.
Triumvirate
Rumors about the victories of the propraetor soon reached the Senate and its members considered that Caesar's return should be accompanied by a triumph (triumphus) - a ceremonial entry into the capital. But then, before the triumphant event, Gaius Julius was not allowed, by law, to enter the city. And since he also planned to take part in the upcoming elections for the post of consul, where his personal presence was required for registration, the commander abandoned his triumph and began to fight for a new position.
By bribing voters, Caesar nevertheless becomes consul, and with him the military leader Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus wins the elections.
In order to strengthen his own political position and existing power, Caesar enters into a secret conspiracy with Pompey and Crassus, uniting two influential politicians with opposing views. As a result of the conspiracy, a powerful alliance of military leaders and politicians appears, called the First Triumvirate (triumviratus - “union of three husbands”).
Consulate
In the first days of the consulate, Caesar began to submit new bills to the Senate for consideration. The first agrarian law was adopted, according to which the poor could receive plots of land from the state, which it bought from large landowners. First of all, land was given to large families. To prevent speculation, new landowners had no right to resell their plots for the next twenty years. The second bill concerned the taxation of farmers in the province of Asia; their contributions were reduced by one third. The third law dealt with bribes and extortion; it was adopted unanimously, unlike the first two.
To strengthen the connection with Pompey, Gaius Julius married his daughter Julia to him. Caesar himself decides to marry for the third time, this time his wife is Calpurnia, daughter of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus.
Proconsul
Gallic War
When Gaius Julius, after the expiration of his term, resigned as consul, he continued to conquer lands for Rome. During the Gallic War (Bellum Gallicum), Caesar, displaying extraordinary diplomacy and strategy, skillfully took advantage of the disagreements of the Gallic leaders. In 55 BC. e. He defeated the Germans who crossed the Rhine (Rhein), after which in ten days he built a bridge 400 meters long and attacked them himself, the first in the history of Rome. He was the first of the Roman commanders to invade Great Britain, where he carried out several brilliant military operations, after which he was forced to leave the island.
In 56 BC. e. A regular meeting of the triumvirs took place in Lucca, at which it was decided to continue and develop political support for each other.
By 50 BC. e. Gaius Julius suppressed all the uprisings, completely subjugating his former territories to Rome.
Civil War
In 53 BC. e. Crassus dies and the triumvirate ceases to exist. A struggle began between Pompey and Julius. Pompey became the head of the republican government, and the Senate did not extend the powers of Gaius Julius in Gaul. Then Caesar decides to revolt. Having gathered soldiers, with whom he was extremely popular, he crosses the border river Rubicone and, seeing no resistance, captures some cities. Frightened Pompey and his close senators flee the capital. Caesar invites the rest of the Senate to rule the country together.
In Rome, Caesar is appointed dictator. Pompey's attempts to prevent Gaius Julius failed, the fugitive himself was killed in Egypt, but Caesar did not accept the enemy's head as a gift; he mourned his death. While in Egypt, Caesar helps Queen Cleopatra, conquers Alexandria, and in North Africa annexes Numidia to Rome.
Murder
The return of Gaius Julius to the capital is accompanied by a magnificent triumph. He does not skimp on awards for his soldiers and commanders, arranges feasts for the citizens of the city, organizes games and mass spectacles. Over the next ten years, he is proclaimed "emperor" and "father of the fatherland." He issues many laws, including laws on citizenship, on the structure of the state, against luxury, on unemployment, on the issuance of free bread, changes the time system and others.
Caesar was idolized and given great honor by erecting his statues and painting his portraits. He had the best security, he was personally involved in the appointment of people to government positions and their removal.
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“If they remember me, they will remember you too!” Me, a foundling, the son of unknown parents, and you, the son of the astrologer king and the miller’s daughter, the beautiful Pyla."
(M. A. Bulgakov Master And Margarita)
Julius Caesar - his name and the name Brutus have become household names for many in everyday life;
Do a lot of things like Caesar.
Wise as Caesar.
Betrayed like Brutus.
The last statement has always caused me doubts. What kind of person was Brutus? Especially after reading the Gospel. The execution and death of Jesus is associated with Judas’ betrayal of his beloved disciple, but many facts speak not of betrayal, but of an incorrect understanding of Judas’s participation in this sorrowful mission.
But let’s dwell on the historical events that took place on March 15, 44 BC. On this day, the murder of the First Person of the Roman State, Gaius Julius Caesar, took place. When, in front of the senators, the conspirators rushed at 56-year-old Caesar and stabbed him with short swords, leaving 23 wounds on Caesar’s body.
What do we know about those days in history;
The works of Plutarch, who described the life of Caesar, were published. Volumes of historical narratives about this event and scientific historical research have been written substantiating the possibility of betrayal by Brutus,
where the main conspirators were Marcus Brutus and Cassius Longinus.
I tried to understand the intricacies of this historical event, driven by the desire to establish the motives, reasons and participation of the perpetrators of this murder, a professional in such research, the head of the forensic investigation department, Italian Colonel Luciano Garafano. Together with a group of psychologists at Harvard University and a group of forensic pathologists, psychiatrists and criminologists, using modern methods from Scotland Yard, he conducted a new investigation into the murder of Julius Caesar.
As a result of examining the scene of the murder and having familiarized himself with the documents on the autopsy of the corpse of Julius Caesar, Garafano conducted an investigative experiment at the crime scene. Based on findings from surviving historical documents, experts have concluded that Caesar knew that a group of senators was planning an attempt on his life. They also proved that Caesar actually arranged his own murder. Garafano, based on his own experience investigating murders. And together with experts from Scotland Yard, he came to the conclusion that the fatal blow could only have been dealt by one of several conspirators who were at that moment next to Caesar. After carrying out complex research work, Harvard University psychology professor Harold Burstein established the fact whether Caesar knew about the intentions of his opponents, and whether he was aware that he was going to be killed. After analyzing all the available evidence and information obtained about this murder with the help of modern computer technology, Grafano was able to recreate a model of the last hours and minutes of Caesar’s life before his death.
An investigative experiment was conducted in which the murder scene was recreated. People matching the build, height and other descriptions of the participants in this event were involved in the staging of the murder.
They were shod and dressed in clothes appropriate to that time, and had the type of weapons that they could then wield. The conduct of this investigative experiment was recorded by several movie cameras to fully establish the actions of the participants, their body movements, the sequence of strikes, at what angle they were struck, at what distance they were from Caesar and whose strike could be the most fatal and the last one that interrupted the life of the Emperor.
People deify historical figures too much, forgetting that they are also people, and nothing human is alien to them, including illness.
It is Caesar's state of health that explains his behavior in the Senate, when he could not utter a word and get up from his throne after the senators addressed him. After which the conspirators attacked him.
Plutarch described in great detail the state of Caesar's health in the last days and hours of his life. Despite his age - 56 years old, he was already practically incompetent due to illnesses. Modern doctors, using available archival records and based on the achievements of modern medicine, gave their conclusions about Caesar’s health status, a consequence of a stroke, and progressive Alzheimer’s. Vivid manifestations of illness had already visited the patient more than once at performances in the circus, when Caesar could not even move his hand or speak, which was not hidden from the people next to him. Probably, long before this day, in the hours when his illness was weakening, Caesar realized that one day he would finally lose control of himself and turn from a formidable Emperor into a vegetable.
But the wise Caesar, the power-hungry Emperor of the Roman Empire, could not afford this, to become a laughing stock who had lost his legal capacity.
According to Inspector Garafano and Professor Burstein, Caesar himself developed a plan for his own suicide through someone else’s hands and carried it out. Caesar did not want his line of power to be interrupted after his death.
He outplayed his opponents. His death was a wise decision, his death in exchange for power for his successor and heir, Octavian.
Thus, Caesar outplayed his conspirators and extended the reign of his family. Having finished with his death what he could not finish in life.
Destruction - the death of one, and the exaltation to the kingdom of another to continue their affairs! Truly a wise decision by Caesar, who built his kingdom on Earth.
Among the conspirators, there was an agreement that each member of the conspiracy was to strike Caesar so that no one would escape responsibility for his murder.
Among his killers was Brutus, whom Caesar treated like a son.
According to one version of the murder, when he saw that Brutus wanted him dead, Caesar stopped resisting. His blow was the last and fatal for Caesar, as established by the investigative experiment of investigator Luciano Garafano. It was Gaius Julius Caesar who said:
“It is better to die once than to constantly expect death.”
An interesting historical fact is that the conspirators lived no more than three years after the assassination attempt, and some of them committed suicide - they hanged themselves. Brutus committed suicide by throwing himself on a sword, which was set up at his request by one of his friends.
The name Brutus in the mass consciousness is associated as a traitor, and the name Caesar as a man of exceptional abilities who did many things at the same time.
Is it possible to read the “Case” of Caesar’s assassination as investigated and closed? Has the rumor about Brutus as a traitor been debunked?
Political life and the struggle for power continues today, in the “senates” - parliaments there are scandals and fights, but so far without such stabbings.