best biography of julius caesar

Authors & Events

Recommendations

• New & Noteworthy
• Bestsellers
• Popular Series
• The Must-Read Books of 2024
• Popular Books in Spanish
• Coming Soon
• Literary Fiction
• Mystery & Thriller
• Science Fiction
• Spanish Language Fiction
• Biographies & Memoirs
• Spanish Language Nonfiction
• Dark Star Trilogy
• A Song of Ice and Fire
• Penguin Classics
• Award Winners
• The Parenting Book Guide
• Books to Read Before Bed
• Books for Middle Graders
• Trending Series
• Magic Tree House
• The Last Kids on Earth
• Planet Omar
• Beloved Characters
• The World of Eric Carle
• Llama Llama
• Junie B. Jones
• Peter Rabbit
• Board Books
• Picture Books
• Guided Reading Levels
• Middle Grade
• Activity Books
• Trending This Week
• Romantasy Books To Start Reading Now
• Page-Turning Series To Start Now
• Books to Cope With Anxiety
• Short Reads
• Anti-Racist Resources
• Staff Picks
• Memoir & Fiction
• Features & Interviews
• Emma Brodie Interview
• James Ellroy Interview
• Nicola Yoon Interview
• Qian Julie Wang Interview
• Deepak Chopra Essay
• How Can I Get Published?
• For Book Clubs
• Reese's Book Club
• Oprah’s Book Club
• happy place " data-category="popular" data-location="header">Guide: Happy Place
• the last white man " data-category="popular" data-location="header">Guide: The Last White Man
• Authors & Events >
• Our Authors
• Michelle Obama
• Zadie Smith
• Emily Henry
• Amor Towles
• Colson Whitehead
• In Their Own Words
• Qian Julie Wang
• Patrick Radden Keefe
• Phoebe Robinson
• Emma Brodie
• Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Laura Hankin
• Recommendations >
• Books To Read if You Love Challengers
• Western Romance Novels
• Insightful Therapy Books To Read This Year
• Historical Fiction With Female Protagonists
• Best Thrillers of All Time
• Manga and Graphic Novels
• happy place " data-category="recommendations" data-location="header">Start Reading Happy Place
• How to Make Reading a Habit with James Clear
• Why Reading Is Good for Your Health
• 10 Facts About Taylor Swift
• New Releases
• Memoirs Read by the Author
• Our Most Soothing Narrators
• Press Play for Inspiration
• Audiobooks You Just Can't Pause
• Listen With the Whole Family

The Best Julius Caesar Biographies for The Ides of March

While the ides of march is trivia 101 for shakespeare students, for the dictator gaius julius caesar it was a seriously lousy day. march 15 commemorates caesar’s assassination by conspirators in 44 bc. a brilliant politician, orator and military strategist, caesar propelled to power and inspired generations of personalities, from george washington to george bernard shaw. these five biographies shed light on an enigmatic and complex leader whose beliefs on war and power still resonate today. veni, vidi, vici.

by Tom Holland

Paperback $21.00, buy from other retailers:.

The Leadership Genius of Julius Caesar

By phillip barlag, hardcover $24.95.

The Landmark Julius Caesar

Paperback $33.00.

The Twelve Caesars

By suetonius, paperback $16.00.

Paperback $22.00

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Tumblr

More to Explore

Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

Raise kids who love to read

Today's Top Books

Want to know what people are actually reading right now?

An online magazine for today’s home cook

Just for joining you’ll get personalized recommendations on your dashboard daily and features only for members.

Top Ten Books on Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar has cast a shadow over western history for two millennia. He was a remarkable general, a people's champion, the destroyer of the Roman Republic and the creator of the Roman Empire. Each of these books not only try to tell Caesar's story but attempt to understand his impact on the world.

In the introduction to his biography of the great Roman emperor, Adrian Goldsworthy writes, “Caesar was at times many things, including a fugitive, prisoner, rising politician, army leader, legal advocate, rebel, dictator . . . as well as husband, father, lover, and adulterer.” In this landmark biography, Goldsworthy examines Caesar as a military leader, all of these roles and places his subject firmly within the context of Roman society in the first century B.C.

Freeman, Philip. Julius Caesar . (Simon and Schuster, 2008)

In this splendid biography, Freeman presents Caesar in all his dimensions and contradictions. With remarkable clarity and brevity, Freeman shows how Caesar dominated a newly mighty Rome and shaped its destiny. This book will captivate readers discovering Caesar and ancient Rome for the first time as well as those who have a deep interest in the classical world.

Suetonis, Grant, Robert, trans. The Twelve Caesars (New York: Penguin Books, 1979)

Osgood, Josiah. Caesar's Legacy: Civil War and the Emergence of the Roman Empire (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2006)

In April 44 BC the eighteen-year-old Gaius Octavius landed in Italy and launched his take-over of the Roman world. Defeating first Caesar's assassins, then the son of Pompey the Great, and finally Antony and the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, he dismantled the old Republic, took on the new name 'Augustus', and ruled forty years more with his equally remarkable wife Livia. Caesar's Legacy grippingly retells the story of Augustus' rise to power by focusing on how the bloody civil wars which he and his soldiers fought transformed the lives of men and women throughout the Mediterranean world and beyond. During this violent period, citizens of Rome and provincials came to accept a new form of government and found ways to celebrate it. Yet they also mourned, in literary masterpieces and stories passed on to their children, the terrible losses they endured throughout the long years of fighting.

Rubicon is vivid historical account of the social world of Rome as it moved from republic to empire. In 49 B.C., the seven hundred fifth year since the founding of Rome, Julius Caesar crossed a small border river called the Rubicon and plunged Rome into cataclysmic civil war. Tom Holland’s enthralling account tells the story of Caesar’s generation, witness to the twilight of the Republic and its bloody transformation into an empire. From Cicero, Spartacus, and Brutus, to Cleopatra, Virgil, and Augustus, here are some of the most legendary figures in history brought thrillingly to life.

Combining verve and freshness with scrupulous scholarship, Rubicon is not only an engrossing history of this pivotal era but a uniquely resonant portrait of a great civilization in all its extremes of self-sacrifice and rivalry, decadence and catastrophe, intrigue, war, and world-shaking ambition.

Marcus Porcius Cato: an aristocrat who walked barefoot and slept on the ground with his troops, political heavyweight who cultivated the image of a Stoic philosopher, a hardnosed defender of tradition who presented himself as a man out of the sacred Roman past—and the last man standing when Rome's Republic fell to tyranny. His blood feud with Caesar began in the chamber of the Senate, played out on the battlefields of a world war, and ended when he took his own life rather than live under a dictator.

Syme, Ronald, The Roman Revolution (Oxford, Oxford University, 2002).

`the most complete and the most challenging history of its subject which has appeared for many years, in England perhaps at any time ... Nor is this book only for the specialist, for the subject is of prime importance, the information is the best which modern research can provide.' Oxford Magazine

Related Articles

Jiménez, Ramon L., Caesar Against Rome: The Great Roman Civil War (New York, Praeger, 2006).

Caesar Against Rome is an absorbing narrative of the four-year Roman Civil War that began with Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon in 49 BCE. Focusing always on Caesar, the book sketches a panorama of Roman society―the first society to display the ambition, greed, and intrigue of modern politics―in the last century before Christ. Caesar was a complex and contradictory figure, extraordinarily talented and extremely ambitious, but at the same time vain, careless, and inclined to be forgiving. While Caesar's unusual show of mercy was a significant factor in winning popular support, soldiers, and towns to his side, it allowed all enemy leaders to return to the battlefield against him.

The Landmark Julius Caesar is the definitive edition of the five works that chronicle the mil­itary campaigns of Julius Caesar. Together, these five narratives present a comprehensive picture of military and political developments leading to the collapse of the Roman Republic and the advent of the Roman Empire.

Roman Warfare surveys the history of Rome's fighting forces from their inception in the 7th century BCE to the fall of the Western Empire in the 5th century CE. In non-technical, lively language, Jonathan Roth examines the evolution of Roman war over its thousand-year history. He highlights the changing arms and equipment of the soldiers, unit organization and command structure, and the wars and battles of each era. The military narrative is used as a context for Rome's changing tactics and strategy and to discuss combat techniques, logistics, and other elements of Roman war. Political, social, and economic factors are also considered.

• NONFICTION BOOKS
• BEST NONFICTION 2023
• BEST NONFICTION 2024
• Historical Biographies
• The Best Memoirs and Autobiographies
• Philosophical Biographies
• World War 2
• World History
• American History
• British History
• Chinese History
• Russian History
• Ancient History (up to c. 500 AD)
• Medieval History (500-1400)
• Military History
• Art History
• Travel Books
• Ancient Philosophy
• Contemporary Philosophy
• Ethics & Moral Philosophy
• Great Philosophers
• Social & Political Philosophy
• Classical Studies
• New Science Books
• Maths & Statistics
• Popular Science
• Physics Books
• Climate Change Books
• How to Write
• English Grammar & Usage
• Books for Learning Languages
• Linguistics
• Political Ideologies
• Foreign Policy & International Relations
• American Politics
• British Politics
• Religious History Books
• Mental Health
• Neuroscience
• Child Psychology
• Film & Cinema
• Opera & Classical Music
• Behavioural Economics
• Development Economics
• Economic History
• Financial Crisis
• World Economies
• Investing Books
• Artificial Intelligence/AI Books
• Data Science Books
• Sex & Sexuality
• Death & Dying
• Food & Cooking
• Sports, Games & Hobbies
• FICTION BOOKS
• BEST NOVELS 2024
• BEST FICTION 2023
• New Literary Fiction
• World Literature
• Literary Criticism
• Literary Figures
• Classic English Literature
• American Literature
• Comics & Graphic Novels
• Fairy Tales & Mythology
• Historical Fiction
• Crime Novels
• Science Fiction
• Short Stories
• South Africa
• United States
• Arctic & Antarctica
• Afghanistan
• Myanmar (Formerly Burma)
• Netherlands
• Kids Recommend Books for Kids
• High School Teachers Recommendations
• Prizewinning Kids' Books
• Popular Series Books for Kids
• BEST BOOKS FOR KIDS (ALL AGES)
• Ages Baby-2
• Books for Teens and Young Adults
• THE BEST SCIENCE BOOKS FOR KIDS
• BEST KIDS' BOOKS OF 2024
• BEST BOOKS FOR TEENS OF 2024
• Best Audiobooks for Kids
• Environment
• Best Books for Teens of 2024
• Best Kids' Books of 2024
• Mystery & Crime
• Travel Writing
• New History Books
• New Historical Fiction
• New Biography
• New Memoirs
• New World Literature
• New Economics Books
• New Climate Books
• New Math Books
• New Philosophy Books
• New Psychology Books
• New Physics Books
• THE BEST AUDIOBOOKS
• Actors Read Great Books
• Books Narrated by Their Authors
• Best Audiobook Thrillers
• Best History Audiobooks
• Nobel Literature Prize
• Booker Prize (fiction)
• Baillie Gifford Prize (nonfiction)
• Financial Times (nonfiction)
• Wolfson Prize (history)
• Royal Society (science)
• Pushkin House Prize (Russia)
• Walter Scott Prize (historical fiction)
• Arthur C Clarke Prize (sci fi)
• The Hugos (sci fi & fantasy)
• Audie Awards (audiobooks)

Make Your Own List

Nonfiction Books » History Books » Historical Figures

The best books on julius caesar, recommended by peter stothard.

The Last Assassin: The Hunt for the Killers of Julius Caesar by Peter Stothard

Julius Caesar was a populist politician and general of the late Roman Republic who immortalized himself not only by his beautiful writing about his military exploits, but also by the manner of his death. Here, British journalist and critic Peter Stothard , author of The Last Assassin, chooses five books to help you understand both the man and what motivated him and some of the people who have been inspired by him in the 2,000 years since he died.

Interview by Benedict King

Et Tu, Brute? The Murder of Caesar and Political Assassination by Greg Woolf

American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964 by William Manchester

Caesar and Cleopatra by George Bernard Shaw

The Complete Works of Julius Caesar by Julius Caesar

Imperial Projections in Modern Popular Culture by Sandra R. Joshel (Ed)

1 Et Tu, Brute? The Murder of Caesar and Political Assassination by Greg Woolf

2 american caesar: douglas macarthur 1880-1964 by william manchester, 3 caesar and cleopatra by george bernard shaw, 4 the complete works of julius caesar by julius caesar, 5 imperial projections in modern popular culture by sandra r. joshel (ed).

P erhaps, before we discuss your selection of books about Julius Caesar, you might briefly outline who Caesar was. As a non-Classicist, I think he conquered Gaul and Britain, and brought the Roman Republic to an end by crossing the Rubicon. He was then assassinated and said: ‘ Et tu, Brute ?’

And yes, he did cross the Rubicon, which was a shallow stream between Gaul and Italy. By crossing it with his army, in January 49 BC, he broke the rules designed to keep victorious armies away from Rome , began a civil war and gave the world a new term for an act from which you couldn’t go back.

Four years later, he might have said something like, ‘ Et tu Brute ,’ when he saw that one of his assassins on the Ides of March was the much loved son of his mistress. But, if he did, it would have probably been in Greek . It was quite usual for educated Romans to speak Greek. More importantly, he was a great writer in plain and elegant Latin . With words he established his place in the minds of his fellow Romans and of millions of people later by saying what he’d done—just as his death defined him for other writers.

By being assassinated he set a standard for thinking about the motives and consequences of assassination . For Romans, how you died was a very important summation of how you had lived. His death cemented what he’d written about what he had done. And the consequences of his death meant that no one ever forgot him.

Your book, The Last Assassin , deals with the pursuit of Julius Caesar’s assassins by his supporters, most notably his adopted son, Octavian, who would go on to become Emperor Augustus . What does that campaign to get back at his assassins tell us about the early establishment of his myth and reputation?

Caesar had many friends, as people who get to the top always do. But it turned out that some of those friends, for various reasons, were also his greatest enemies, so much so that they were prepared to kill him.

They each had slightly different motives, some of which are related to aspects of Caesar’s own character. Some hated him because they hadn’t become as rich under his watch as they felt he’d promised them they would be, or they’d hoped to be. One of them didn’t like him because he’d slept with his wife. Some didn’t like him because he pardoned them and made them feel, by his famous clemency, that somehow he was holding that over them. They felt ashamed of having been pardoned.

Others killed him because they were jealous of other people who hadn’t been as close to Caesar in the hard days in Gaul, but who seemed to have done almost as well as they had. There were lots of different personal reasons. One of them was upset that Caesar had stolen some lions he had planned to put in a circus show.

“For Romans, how you died was a very important summation of how you had lived”

But they all had this fear that Caesar, even if he wasn’t yet a tyrant in 44 BC, was going to become a tyrant and a single autocratic ruler of Rome. There had been brief periods in Roman history when there had been single autocratic rulers before, but the assassins had this idea that he was going to be different. They couldn’t know that, of course, but they thought he would become a kind of hereditary monarch and impose a different kind of tyranny that they wouldn’t be able to get rid of.

So, they argued amongst themselves, probably suppressing their personal motivations, as to whether it was the right thing to kill a man like Caesar, who had done a great deal for Rome , but who was now on the brink, or over the brink, of establishing a tyranny. Sophisticated arguments were brought to bear about whether they should kill him, or whether the civil war that would probably follow from his death would be even worse.

Let’s move on to the books you’re recommending about Julius Caesar. First up is Et Tu, Brute?: the Murder of Caesar and Political Assassination by Greg Woolf. Tell us about why you’ve chosen this one.

Having to choose five books about Julius Caesar has been a great challenge. Caesar is someone whom you have to look at through many different lenses and prisms. He is not an easy character to see straight up. Looking at him might be compared to looking at the sun. He wasn’t the sun, except to some of his most extreme admirers. But if you try to look at him from one sole direction, it is rather blinding. So, the books I’ve chosen—and Greg Woolf is a very good introduction to this—try to look around Julius Caesar, to look at the ways different people saw him at the time and have seen him since. Woolf’s is a good account of how Caesar got to the Ides of March and what happened on the day. It’s quick and short and a very good start. But there’s also a long section on how the assassination reverberated through history, across Europe and across the Atlantic.

If he didn’t say ‘ Et Tu, Brute? ’ what did he say?

‘ Et tu, Brute? ’ was one of Shakespeare ’s many contributions. If he said something like it, it is more likely he said the Greek words, ‘kai su, teknon’ , which means ‘and you, my child’ and has been variously interpreted to mean ‘even you, who I’ve loved so much’ and ‘even you, the son of my mistress’ or ‘you, too, are going to be assassinated in your turn.’ Maybe it meant ‘I’ll see you in hell’ or a version of ‘up yours, Brutus.’ The Greek phrase has been interpreted in many different ways and Shakespeare’s ‘Et Tu, Brute?’ was just a convenient way of Shakespeare saying what a Roman might have said.

And just before we get on to the next book: we all know how Caesar died, but where did he come from? Was he born into a senatorial Roman family or did he pull himself up by his bootstraps?

He was born into a good family. All the people we’re talking about in the story, all Caesar’s assassins, were part of the elite, if you like, although the man that I have recently become most interested in, Cassius Parmensis, the last surviving assassin , wasn’t one of the top ones, which in some ways made his eyes a good lens through which to watch the action.

Caesar was a member of one of the elite families which had been rivals, squabbled and cooperated with each other, and fought against each other for hundreds of years, and had made Rome the extraordinary conqueror of so much. Gradually, it turned out that the bigger Rome’s empire, and the bigger the army its generals had, the more impossible it was to control them from the centre. So, Caesar, out in Gaul, with a lot of legions, was a lot more powerful than the Senate, which was supposed to be his master. So the system risked toppling over under its own weight.

“Caesar had many friends…But it turned out that some of those friends, for various reasons, were also his greatest enemies”

Let’s move on to American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964 by William Manchester. This is the life of the American general Douglas MacArthur, who was the ruler of occupied Japan after the Second World War . Why have you chosen this book?

This book is a great example of how long the idea of Caesar lived in the minds of people writing about soldiers and politicians. MacArthur was an extraordinary figure. He prided himself on his superiority to everybody else, to his speed and imagination. He didn’t like trench warfare or anything that was slow. He prized the unexpected. He was an egomaniac—not for nothing claimed by Donald Trump as his favourite general—and often cited by people who want to fight the establishment, who want to argue that the establishment is always plodding and slow and wants to do things the way it’s always done them.

Get the weekly Five Books newsletter

Donald Trump liked to compare himself to Douglas MacArthur just as MacArthur’s biographer liked the comparison to Julius Caesar. They were people who did things differently, who subverted the ideas of the elite to really work for the people. This is a continuous strand of thought since the death of Caesar—and the background to a big bit of Donald Trump’s mind.

And did MacArthur himself consciously model himself on Caesar?

Yes, he did, in many different respects. Caesar’s writings were designed to make him a hero back home, even when fighting a long way away. And MacArthur in the Pacific Islands was a master of making sure that everybody back home knew what he was doing and who was setting the big policies. He was never in retreat—only ‘advancing in another direction’, a very Julius Caesar-like thought. When MacArthur said, ‘the most important rules are the ones you break’, he was also echoing Caesar. He ruled postwar Japan like a Caesar. Eventually the American president at the time, Harry Truman, got fed up with this, decided that he was risking a war with China over Korea and, in April 1951, ordered him home.

Did MacArthur have any political ambitions? Did he end up in the Senate, or anything like that?

Let’s move on to George Bernard Shaw’s play, Caesar and Cleopatra . Tell us a bit about the play and why Shaw was drawn to this particular story. What’s the spin he puts on it?

Shaw had a very high view of himself and compared himself constantly to Shakespeare. He thought that, in respect of the handling of power, Shakespeare had got the Romans wrong. His idea was that Shakespeare was very good at dealing with failure and romance, but not very good at dealing with the great hero.

Shaw paints a portrait of Caesar in which his motivations, those that romantic biographers and filmmakers like to show as being all about love, were actually formed by hard-nosed, brutal political calculations and realities. Shaw was making comments, in a sense, on the British occupation of Egypt, which had started in 1882, and relating it to the Roman occupation. He took the hardest-nosed, de-romanticised view of that part of Caesar’s life—in contrast to the view put up by so many storywriters, balladeers and Shakespeare.

Shaw was very interested in Nietzsche and he thought that Caesar was an example of ‘the New Man’ who would solve the problems of the old world. He saw Pompey, whom Caesar had defeated after his crossing of the Rubicon, as part of the old world that had to be pushed aside.

Shaw was writing at a time a time when many people were keen to dismiss the old and corrupt and find new superheroes. He thought that Caesar was a great man who had not been able to find a vehicle to show his greatness.

And is it a good play, or a good read? Is it put on regularly still?

Let’s move on to the next of your books, The Complete Commentaries of Julius Caesar . There’s probably not much need for an explanation as to why you’ve chosen them, but tell us a bit about them and also a bit about why Caesar wrote them—it’s quite unusual for a general to be a great literary figure.

He had the talent and he had extraordinary stamina. He had people who helped him, secretaries and copiers. Some of his adjutants were effectively people helping him with his writing. One of the things they all said about him was that he had this gift for what we might now call multi-tasking. He could dictate six or seven letters, write a speech and watch where the enemy was going all at the same time. This was probably massively exaggerated but, clearly, then as now, some people are much better at that than others.

It sounds a bit like Churchill .

Exactly. And I think if you’ve got that skill and other people don’t, it’s useful to play it up because it does make you seem somewhat superhuman, even if actually you’re doing something that lots of ordinary people can do as well. We all know people who can only concentrate on one thing and people who can do four or five things at once. If one of those skills is elegant, clear writing, that is a rare and very useful gift.

“‘Et tu, Brute?’ was one of Shakespeare’s many contributions.”

One of the reasons why Caesar’s Gallic Wars became a set text for generations and generations of British, German, French and American schoolboys was not just because it showed a hero in his own voice—if you thought of Caesar as a hero—but it also had this extraordinarily disciplined, economical and beautiful use of language. He was an extraordinary writer and I don’t think Five Books on Julius Caesar would be complete without the Complete Works .

These include the famous Gallic Wars but also books for the period covered by Shaw’s play, the so-called Alexandrian War, the time when he was fighting to get Cleopatra established in Egypt. This one was probably written by admirers of Caesar, the so-called ‘continuators’, who fought with him in Gaul and other war zones and who finished the books off after he died. And you really can tell the difference in style between the books that Caesar wrote himself and the rest. The continuators keep the character of Caesar going but are unable to match Caesar’s Latin.

Were they written for the record or did they serve a political purpose?

The Commentaries absolutely served a political purpose, which is one of the reasons why they’re so clear and focused. He was fighting away from Rome for years and years at a time. But he still needed the support of the Romans and so he wanted them to know what he was doing, just like MacArthur, following him, did.

So the Commentaries on every year of the war in Gaul found their way, pretty deliberately, back to Rome and they were copied and people talked about them and said, ‘Isn’t Caesar doing fantastically well?’ And that’s where the assassins really got it so wrong, because the people knew that Caesar was doing all these great things, the soldiers knew that he was doing these great things. By modern standards, he was a genocidal egomaniac but on their terms he was doing very well by Rome.

Support Five Books

Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount .

That view was much advanced by the image of Caesar that Caesar had created himself. The Commentaries were a very important part of projecting that image, as it were over the top of the Senate, to the Roman people. Again, it’s that kind of language you get from Trump and other populists : you can bypass the elite and somehow get your message straight to the ordinary people.

Although we don’t know a lot about the publication of Caesar’s work, it is pretty clear that people in Rome had a very good idea of what he had achieved and these Commentaries were his way of making sure they did.

So, the Commentaries were a first-century BC version of Twitter, effectively.

To some extent. But they were more extensive and connected than that. They were more like newsreels, really. They were long and described every battle, or rather every battle he wanted you to know about. Any battle that he lost or nearly lost could be deemed not a battle at all and quietly edited out. But he was judicious. Not everything went well for him. When it came to Britain he wrote an account of his two attempts to conquer Britain, both of which were failures. He found reasons to explain that. He didn’t pretend that everything was absolutely wonderful which, of course, probably in itself improved the credibility of what he did say.

And do you get any sense from reading his Commentaries of what he was like as a private individual, beyond the carefully curated public figure?

Let’s move on to “Infamy! Infamy! They’ve All Got It in for Me!”, which is an essay by Nicholas Cull in Imperial Projections in Modern Popular Culture .

Yes. It’s a good part of a very good book. Carry on Cleo , one of the most popular of the Carry On films, is another important way of looking at Julius Caesar. The people who made the films would have probably laughed at the idea that they were a socio-political text, but Nicholas Cull is right to present them in that way. The plot of Carry On Cleo is a mishmash of the stories of Caesar and Cleopatra, Antony and Cleopatra, plus a bit about the invasion of Britain all mixed into one. It is quite a good reminder that a lot of the history we read, which all seems so clear-cut, might be just as much of a mash-up. But it’s also a sort of triple satire—on Caesar himself, on the British Empire (which by the 1960s was fading fast) and, perhaps most importantly, a satire on the new American hegemony. The whole film is based on the set of the great Richard Burton/Elizabeth Taylor Cleopatra film .

The Carry On producers said they could make a whole film about Cleopatra in the time that it would take Joseph Mankiewicz and his team to paint one wall of a set. Carry On Cleo was done on the cheap, very quickly, and had a wonderful script. And it has the amazing line of the assassination where Kenneth Williams, as a very camp Julius Caesar, comes storming out of a door with a dagger in his back and a lot of angry assassins behind him, and shouts, ‘Infamy! Infamy! They’ve all got it in for me!’ Many fans of British comedy in the postwar period say that the line was never bettered anywhere.

November 20, 2020

Five Books aims to keep its book recommendations and interviews up to date. If you are the interviewee and would like to update your choice of books (or even just what you say about them) please email us at [email protected]

Peter Stothard

Peter Stothard is an author, journalist and critic. He is a former editor of The Times and of The Times Literary Supplement . His books include Alexandria: The Last Nights of Cleopatra and On the Spartacus Road: A Spectacular Journey through Ancient Italy.

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

Five Books participates in the Amazon Associate program and earns money from qualifying purchases.

© Five Books 2024

Julius Caesar

Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar turned the Roman Republic into the powerful Roman Empire. An assassination ended his reign on the Ides of March.

Who Was Julius Caesar?

Quick facts, julius caesar early life, julius caesar’s political career, julius caesar and cleopatra, dictatorship, julius caesar’s death, archaeological discovery, julius caesar: a play by william shakespeare.

Julius Caesar was a leader of ancient Rome who significantly transformed what became known as the Roman Empire by greatly expanding its geographic reach and establishing its imperial system. Allegedly a descendant of Trojan prince Aeneas, Caesar’s birth marked the beginning of a new chapter in Roman history. By age 31, Caesar had fought in several wars and become involved in Roman politics. After several alliances and military victories, he became dictator of the Roman Empire, a rule that lasted for just one year before his death in 44 BCE.

FULL NAME: Gaius Julius Caesar BORN: July 12, 100 BCE DIED: March 15, 44 BCE BIRTHPLACE: Rome, Italy SPOUSE: Cornelia (84–69 BCE), Pompeia (67–62 BCE), Calpurnia (59–44 BCE) CHILDREN: Julia Caesaris, Caesarion ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Cancer

Born Gaius Julius Caesar on July 12, 100 BCE, Caesar hailed from Roman aristocrats, though his family was far from rich. Little is known of Caesar’s early years, but during his youth an element of instability dominated the Roman Republic, which had discredited its nobility and seemed unable to handle its considerable size and influence.

When he was 16, his father, an important regional governor in Asia also named Gaius Julius Caesar, died. He remained close to his mother, Aurelia. Around the time of his father’s death, Caesar made a concerted effort to establish key alliances with the country’s nobility, with whom he was well-connected.

In 84 BCE, Caesar married Cornelia, the daughter of a nobleman. Caesar’s marriage to Cornelia drew the ire of the Roman dictator Sulla, as Cornelia’s father was Sulla’s political rival. Sulla ordered Caesar to divorce his wife or risk losing his property. The young Roman refused and escaped by serving in the military, first in the province of Asia and then in Cilicia. Caesar likely returned to Rome after Sulla’s death circa 79 BCE (another account states Caesar, with the help of his influential friends, eventually convinced Sulla to be allowed to return).

Back in Rome, Caesar and Cornelia had a daughter, Julia Caesaris, in 76 BCE. In 69 BCE, Cornelia passed away.

After Sulla’s death, Caesar began his career in politics as a prosecuting advocate. He relocated temporarily to Rhodes to study philosophy.

During his travels he was kidnapped by pirates. In a daring display of his negotiation skills and counter-insurgency tactics, he convinced his captors to raise his ransom, then organized a naval force to attack them. The pirates were captured and executed.

Caesar further enhanced his stature in 74 BCE when he put together a private army and combated Mithradates VI Eupator, king of Pontus, who had declared war on Rome.

Caesar began an alliance with Gnaeus Pompey Magnus, a powerful military and political leader. Soon after, in 68 or 69 BCE, he was elected quaestor (a minor political office). Caesar went on to serve in several other key government positions.

In 67 BCE, Caesar married Pompeia, the granddaughter of Sulla. Their marriage lasted just a few years, and in 62 BCE, the couple divorced.

In 61 to 60 BCE, Caesar served as governor of the Roman province of Spain. Caesar maintained his alliance with Pompey, which enabled him to get elected as consul, a powerful government position, in 59 BCE.

The same year, Caesar wed Calpurnia, a teenager to whom he remained married for the rest of his life. (He also had several mistresses, including Cleopatra VII , Queen of Egypt, with whom he had a son, Caesarion.)

First Triumvirate

At the same time Caesar was governing under Pompey, he aligned himself with the wealthy military leader Marcus Licinius Crassus. The strategic political alliance among Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus came to be known as the First Triumvirate.

For Caesar, the First Triumvirate partnership was the perfect springboard to greater domination. Crassus, a leader known as the richest man in Roman history, offered Caesar financial and political support that proved to be instrumental in his rise to power.

Crassus and Pompey, however, were intense rivals. Once again, Caesar displayed his abilities as a negotiator, earning the trust of both Crassus and Pompey and convincing them they’d be better suited as allies than as enemies.

Early Rule and Gallic Wars

In a controversial move, Caesar tried to pay off Pompey’s soldiers by granting them public lands. Caesar hired some of Pompey’s soldiers to stage a riot. In the midst of all the chaos, he got his way.

Not long after, Caesar secured the governorship of Gaul (modern-day France and Belgium). This allowed him to build a bigger military and begin the kind of campaigns that would cement his status as one of Rome’s all-time great leaders. Between 58 and 50 BCE, Caesar conquered the rest of Gaul up to the river Rhine.

As he expanded his reach, Caesar was ruthless with his enemies. In one instance he waited until his opponent’s water supply had dried up, then ordered the hands of all the remaining survivors be cut off.

All the while, he was mindful of the political scene back home in Rome, hiring key political agents to act on his behalf.

Civil War Against Pompey

As Julius Caesar’s power and prestige grew, Pompey grew envious of his political partner. Meanwhile, Crassus still had never completely overcome his disdain for Pompey.

The three leaders patched things up temporarily in 56 BCE at a conference in Luca, which cemented Caesar’s existing territorial rule for another five years, granted Crassus a five-year term in Syria, and accorded Pompey a five-year term in Spain.

Three years later, however, Crassus was killed in a battle in Syria. Around this time, Pompey—his old suspicions about Caesar’s rise reignited—commanded that Caesar disband his army and return to Rome as a private citizen.

Crossing the Rubicon

Rather than submit to Pompey’s command, on January 10, 49 BCE, Caesar ordered his powerful army to cross the Rubicon River in northern Italy and march toward Rome. As Pompey further aligned himself with nobility, who increasingly saw Caesar as a national threat, civil war between the two leaders proved to be inevitable. Pompey and his troops, however, were no match for Caesar’s military prowess. Pompey fled Rome and eventually landed in Greece, where his troops were defeated by Caesar’s legions.

By late 48 BCE, Caesar had subdued Pompey and his supporters in Italy, Spain, and Greece, finally chasing Pompey into Egypt. The Egyptians, however, knew of Pompey’s defeats and believed the gods favored Caesar: Pompey was assassinated as soon as he stepped ashore in Egypt. Caesar claimed to be outraged over Pompey’s murder. After having Pompey’s assassins put to death, he met with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII.

Caesar and Cleopatra forged an alliance (and a sexual relationship) that ousted her brother and co-regent, Ptolemy XIII, and placed Cleopatra on the throne of Egypt. A skilled political tactician, she and her son by Caesar, Caesarion, proved instrumental in international affairs for years, culminating in her liaison with Roman general Mark Antony .

Upon his triumphant return to Rome, Caesar was hailed as the father of his country and made dictator for life. Although he would serve just a year’s term, Caesar’s rule proved instrumental in reforming Rome for his countrymen.

Caesar greatly transformed the empire, relieving debt and reforming the Senate by increasing its size and opening it up so that it better represented all Romans. He altered the Roman calendar and reorganized the construction of local government.

Caesar also resurrected two city-states, Carthage and Corinth, which had been destroyed by his predecessors. And he granted citizenship to a number of foreigners. A benevolent victor, Caesar even invited some of his defeated rivals to join him in the government.

At the same time, Caesar was also careful to solidify his power and rule. He stuffed the Senate with allies and required it to grant him honors and titles. He spoke first at assembly meetings, and Roman coins bore his face.

Although Caesar’s reforms greatly enhanced his standing with Rome’s lower- and middle-class populations, his increasing power was met with envy, concern, and angst in the Roman Senate. A number of politicians saw Caesar as an aspiring king.

And Romans had no desire for monarchical rule: Legend has it that it had been five centuries since they’d last allowed a king to rule them. Caesar’s inclusion of former Roman enemies in the government helped seal his downfall.

Caesar was assassinated by political rivals in Rome on the Ides of March —March 15—in 44 BCE. It’s not clear whether Caesar knew of the plot to kill him: By all accounts, he planned to leave Rome on March 18 for a military campaign in what is now modern-day Iraq, where he hoped to avenge the losses suffered by his former political ally Crassus.

Who Killed Julius Caesar?

Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus , former rivals of Caesar who’d joined the Roman Senate, led Caesar’s assassination. Cassius and Brutus dubbed themselves “the liberators.”

Brutus’ involvement in the killing packed the most complicated backstory. During Rome’s earlier civil war, he had originally sided with Caesar’s opponent, Pompey. But after Caesar’s victory over Pompey, Brutus was encouraged to join the government. His mother, Servilia, was also one of Caesar’s lovers.

After Caesar’s Death

After his death, Caesar quickly became a martyr in the new Roman Empire. A mob of lower- and middle-class Romans gathered at Caesar’s funeral, with the angry crowd attacking the homes of Cassius and Brutus.

Just two years after his death, Caesar became the first Roman figure to be deified. The Senate also gave him the title “The Divine Julius.”

A power struggle ensued in Rome, leading to the end of the Roman Republic. Caesar’s great-grandnephew Gaius Octavian played on the late ruler’s popularity, assembling an army to fight back the military troops defending Cassius and Brutus. His victory over Caesar’s assassins allowed Octavian, who assumed the name Augustus, to take power in 27 BCE and become the first Roman emperor.

In November 2017, archaeologists announced the discovery of what they believed to be the first evidence of Caesar’s invasion of Britain in 54 BCE. The excavation of a new road in Ebbsfleet, Kent, revealed a 5-meter-wide defensive ditch and the remains of pottery and weapons. Experts from the University of Leicester and Kent County Council said the location was consistent with accounts of the invasion from the time period, and enabled them to pinpoint nearby Pegwell Bay as the likely landing spot for Caesar’s fleet.

Julius Caesar’s last days and the ensuing political clash between Octavian, Cassius, and Brutus have been famously captured in the five-act tragic play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare . It was first produced in 1599 or 1600, around the opening of the Globe Theater, and continues to entertain audiences today. Joseph Mankiewicz ’s 1953 film adaptation of the play—starring Louis Calhern as Caesar, Marlon Brando as Mark Antony, James Mason as Brutus, and John Gielgud as Cassius—is one of the most enduring retellings on the silver screen.

• For the immortal gods are accustomed at times to grant favorable circumstances and long impunity to men whom they wish to punish for their crime, so that they may smart the more severely from a change of fortune.
• If you must break the law, do it to seize power: In all other cases, observe it.
• What we wish, we readily believe, and what we ourselves think, we imagine others think also.
• The res publica is nothing—a mere name without body or shape.
• You too, my child?
• Now that I am the leading Roman of my day, it will be harder to pull me down from first to second place than degrade me to the ranks.
• No, I am Caesar, not king.
• For those closest to a man ought not to allow his death to end their loyalty to him.
• An omen! A prodigy! Let us march where we are called by such a divine intimation. The die is cast.
• I merely want to protect myself against the slanders of my enemies.
• My aim is to outdo others in justice and equity, as I have previously striven to outdo them in achievement.
• I came, I saw, I conquered.

Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn’t look right, contact us !

The Biography.com staff is a team of people-obsessed and news-hungry editors with decades of collective experience. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and award-winning journalists. Our staff also works with freelance writers, researchers, and other contributors to produce the smart, compelling profiles and articles you see on our site. To meet the team, visit our About Us page: https://www.biography.com/about/a43602329/about-us

Mark Antony

Napoleon Bonaparte

Queen Elizabeth II

Marcus Aurelius

Pontius Pilate

Maria Theresa

Alexander the Great

Nicholas II

Kaiser Wilhelm

Kublai Khan

• Biographies & Memoirs

Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime Try Prime and start saving today with fast, free delivery

Amazon Prime includes:

Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.

• Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
• Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
• Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
• A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
• Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
• Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access

Important:  Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.

Buy new: .savingPriceOverride { color:#CC0C39!important; font-weight: 300!important; } .reinventMobileHeaderPrice { font-weight: 400; } #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPriceSavingsPercentageMargin, #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPricePriceToPayMargin { margin-right: 4px; } -8% $21.97 $ 21 . 97 FREE delivery September 18 - 23 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35 Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com

Return this item for free.

We offer easy, convenient returns with at least one free return option: no shipping charges. All returns must comply with our returns policy.

• Go to your orders and start the return
• Select your preferred free shipping option
• Drop off and leave!

Save with Used - Good .savingPriceOverride { color:#CC0C39!important; font-weight: 300!important; } .reinventMobileHeaderPrice { font-weight: 400; } #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPriceSavingsPercentageMargin, #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPricePriceToPayMargin { margin-right: 4px; } $9.18 $ 9 . 18 FREE delivery September 20 - 27 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35 Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Benjamins Bookshelf

Sorry, there was a problem..

0.69 mi | SANTA CLARASanta Clara 95050

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Caesar: Life of a Colossus Paperback – Illustrated, January 28, 2008

Purchase options and add-ons.

• Print length 583 pages
• Language English
• Publication date January 28, 2008
• Dimensions 9.25 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• ISBN-10 0274745755
• ISBN-13 978-0274745753
• See all details

Frequently bought together

Similar items that ship from close to you

Editorial Reviews

From the author, about the author, product details.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0300126891
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press; Illustrated edition (January 28, 2008)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 583 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0274745755
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0274745753
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.25 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• #93 in Ancient Rome Biographies
• #413 in Ancient Roman History (Books)
• #1,479 in Political Leader Biographies

About the author

Adrian keith goldsworthy.

Adrian Goldsworthy has a doctorate from Oxford University. His first book, THE ROMAN ARMY AT WAR was recognised by John Keegan as an exceptionally impressive work, original in treatment and impressive in style. He has gone on to write several other books, including THE FALL OF THE WEST, CAESAR, IN THE NAME OF ROME, CANNAE and ROMAN WARFARE, which have sold more than a quarter of a million copies and been translated into more than a dozen languages. A full-time author, he regularly contributes to TV documentaries on Roman themes.

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 71% 21% 6% 1% 1% 71%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 71% 21% 6% 1% 1% 21%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 71% 21% 6% 1% 1% 6%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 71% 21% 6% 1% 1% 1%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 71% 21% 6% 1% 1% 1%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers find the book a great read with an excellent overview of Caesar and the late Roman Republic. They also describe the plot as engaging, daring, and innovative. Readers praise the writing style as well-written and easy to follow. They describe the content as very in depth and a good introduction to late BC Roman culture.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the book enlightening, captivating, and providing readers with a profound understanding of one of history's greatest. They also describe it as a lengthy read that moves smoothly. Readers also mention that the book is an outstanding example of biographies.

" Enjoyed the book immensely . Well written and stuck with the known facts of his life...." Read more

"...It is a work that both enlightens and captivates, providing readers with a profound understanding of one of history’s greatest colossi." Read more

"...and so forth are all incorporated into this fascinating and well written book ...." Read more

"...Perhaps, that is a good thing.This is a highly recommended book ." Read more

Customers find the book very in depth, superb, and varied. They say it sticks with the known facts and provides well balanced characterizations of both Pompey and Caesar. They also say it touches on every major event that happened in his life and is well-rounded and complete. Customers also say the book is truthful, detailed, and a great introduction to late BC Roman culture.

"Enjoyed the book immensely. Well written and stuck with the known facts of his life...." Read more

"...Life of a Colossus is an extraordinary biography that meticulously traces the life and career of one of history’s most iconic figures, Julius Caesar...." Read more

"...This is a very well-rounded and complete (as far as is probably possible) portrait of the man and the times he lived in, from his youth to his death..." Read more

"...writer, a good orator, a gifted politician, and one of the greatest generals in military history ...." Read more

Customers find the writing style compelling, clear, and apt. They also appreciate the detailed portrait of Caesar's military career and find the narrative easy to follow.

"...step is backed by ancient sources and modern scholarship, providing a well-rounded view of Caesar’s formative years...." Read more

"...as this book is dense but clearly written and accessible in in its delivery of fact." Read more

"...He was a great writer , a good orator, a gifted politician, and one of the greatest generals in military history...." Read more

Customers find the plot engaging, with battles and strategies discussed in great detail. They also mention the book features the greatest, most successful, daring, and innovative fighters.

"...historical and archaeological evidence into a coherent and engaging narrative ...." Read more

"...Overall, this highly engaging narrative should appeal to scholars and general readers alike, and has left me searching for Goldsworthy's other works." Read more

"...the above issues, this was a comprehensive text and an excellent introduction to the life of Julius Caesar." Read more

"...As Goldsworthy says, he was a colossus. The tale is so amazing , so legendary that it is hard to believe it wasn't all inevitable...." Read more

Customers find the biography an excellent overview of Caesar and the late Roman Republic. They also say that Caesar's military genius and political acumen are vividly brought to life. Readers also describe him as a good orator, gifted politician, and one of the greatest.

"...Wars (58-50 BC), where Caesar’s military genius and political acumen are vividly brought to life ...." Read more

"...He was a great writer, a good orator, a gifted politician , and one of the greatest generals in military history...." Read more

"...All in all, I found this to be an excellent biography of Caesar ...." Read more

"...The book does a great job of talking about Caesar from the beginning of his life, all the way to the end, and everything in between...." Read more

Customers find the book lively, engaging, and incisive. They also appreciate the delightful tone.

"...of Roman society, and so forth are all incorporated into this fascinating and well written book...." Read more

"...Goldworthy's account of Caesar's military triumphs in Gaul is lively and engaging, and he makes a strong case for the general reliability of Caesar..." Read more

"...There is a delightful tone to this book . Goldsworthy is not afraid to say what we do not and cannot know about Caesar's life...." Read more

"...A realively easy read, perhaps a little too easy, but nonetheless fascinating and very informative." Read more

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• Amazon Newsletter
• About Amazon
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Press Center
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Become an Affiliate
• Become a Delivery Driver
• Start a Package Delivery Business
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Become an Amazon Hub Partner
• › See More Ways to Make Money
• Amazon Visa
• Amazon Store Card
• Amazon Secured Card
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Credit Card Marketplace
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Registry & Gift List

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

• History & Society
• Science & Tech
• Biographies
• Animals & Nature
• Geography & Travel
• Arts & Culture
• Games & Quizzes
• On This Day
• One Good Fact
• New Articles
• Lifestyles & Social Issues
• Philosophy & Religion
• Politics, Law & Government
• World History
• Health & Medicine
• Browse Biographies
• Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates
• Bugs, Mollusks & Other Invertebrates
• Environment
• Fossils & Geologic Time
• Entertainment & Pop Culture
• Sports & Recreation
• Visual Arts
• Demystified
• Image Galleries
• Infographics
• Top Questions
• Britannica Kids
• Saving Earth
• Space Next 50
• Student Center

Julius Caesar summary

Learn about the life and career of julius caesar.

Julius Caesar , (born July 12/13, 100 bce , Rome—died March 15, 44 bce , Rome), Celebrated Roman general, statesman, and dictator. A patrician by birth, he held the prominent posts of quaestor and praetor before becoming governor of Farther Spain in 61–60. He formed the First Triumvirate with Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus in 60 and was elected consul in 59 and proconsul in Gaul and Illyria in 58. After conducting the Gallic Wars, during which he invaded Britain (55, 54) and crossed the Rhine (55, 53), he was instructed by the Senate to lay down his command, Senate conservatives having grown wary of his increasing power, as had a suspicious Pompey. When the Senate would not command Pompey to give up his command simultaneously, Caesar, against regulations, led his forces across the Rubicon River (49) between Gaul and Italy, precipitating the Roman Civil War. Pompey fled from Italy but was pursued and defeated by Caesar in 48; he then fled to Egypt, where he was murdered. Having followed Pompey to Egypt, Caesar became lover to Cleopatra and supported her militarily. He defeated Pompey’s last supporters in 46–45. He was named dictator for life by the Romans. He was offered the crown (44) but refused it, knowing the Romans’ dislike for kings. He was in the midst of launching a series of political and social reforms when he was assassinated in the Senate House on the ides of March by conspirators led by Cassius and Brutus. His writings on the Gallic and Civil wars are considered models of classical historiography.

• The Impact on the Environment: Understanding the Effects of Climate Change
• Exploring World History Through Government Documents
• Understanding the Causes of World War I
• A Fascinating Look into the World of Pharaohs
• Knights and Chivalry
• Code of Conduct
• Armor and Weapons
• Medieval Life
• Health and Medicine
• Holidays and Celebrations
• Serfs and Peasants
• Kings and Lords
• City-States
• Gods and Goddesses
• Julius Caesar
• Industrial Revolution
• Impact on Society
• World War II
• Allied Powers
• Atomic Bomb
• World War I
• Treaty of Versailles
• Major Battles
• Leaders and Rulers
• Alexander the Great
• Queen Elizabeth I
• Napoleon Bonaparte
• Activists and Reformers
• Nelson Mandela
• Susan B. Anthony
• Mahatma Gandhi
• Scientists and Inventors
• Thomas Edison
• Marie Curie
• Albert Einstein
• Fall of the Berlin Wall
• Cuban Missile Crisis
• Civil Rights Movement
• Martin Luther King Jr.
• Segregation
• Climate Change
• Renewable Energy
• Greenhouse Effect
• Impact on Environment
• African Cultures
• Egyptian Culture
• Nigerian Culture
• Asian Cultures
• Japanese Culture
• Indian Culture
• Chinese Culture
• Latin American Cultures
• Aztec Civilization
• Mayan Civilization
• Inca Civilization
• Natural Disasters
• Tsunami in Japan
• Hurricane Katrina
• Pompeii Eruption
• Important Events
• Signing of the Declaration of Independence
• Discovery of Penicillin
• Moon Landing
• Cultural Achievements
• Renaissance Art
• Ancient Chinese Inventions
• Assessment Tools
• Projects and Presentations
• Writing Assignments
• Quizzes and Tests
• Teaching Methods
• Interactive Learning
• Primary Sources
• Role-playing
• Educational Resources
• Online Databases
• Educational Games
• Museums and Exhibits
• Photographs and Artifacts
• Government Documents
• Diaries and Letters
• Online Sources
• Websites and Blogs
• Digital Archives
• Books and Literature
• Historical Fiction
• Biographies
• Julius Caesar: The Life and Legacy of a Roman Emperor
• Ancient Civilizations

The name Julius Caesar is one that has stood the test of time, evoking images of power, conquest, and ultimate betrayal. As one of the most famous Roman emperors, Caesar's life and legacy have been studied and scrutinized for centuries. From his rise to power to his tragic downfall, his story has captivated the minds of historians, scholars, and everyday people alike. In this article, we will delve into the life of Julius Caesar, exploring the key events and accomplishments that shaped him into one of the greatest leaders of Ancient Rome . We will also examine the impact that he had on the empire and how his legacy continues to influence our world today. Join us on a journey through history as we uncover the fascinating story of Julius Caesar and his lasting mark on the world as we know it. To fully understand Julius Caesar, we must first look at the context of Ancient Rome and its political climate during his time.

This will provide a better understanding of how Caesar rose to power and the events that shaped his reign. Julius Caesar is a name that is known worldwide, even centuries after his death. He was a Roman general, statesman, and historian who played a crucial role in the rise of the Roman Republic and the eventual transition to the Roman Empire . In this article, we will take an in-depth look at the life and legacy of Julius Caesar, examining his early years, rise to power, and lasting impact on world history.

Caesar was born into a patrician family, which gave him a privileged upbringing and access to quality education. His father was a senator and governor, while his mother came from a prominent family. This background set the foundation for Caesar's political ambitions and shaped his character as a leader. As he grew older, Caesar studied rhetoric and law, which honed his skills in public speaking and persuasion.

These skills would prove essential in his future political career. In his early 20s, Caesar joined the military and quickly rose through the ranks due to his bravery and strategic mind. He gained experience in battle and earned the loyalty of his soldiers, who admired his leadership abilities. This would later be crucial in his rise to power.

Next, we will examine Caesar's role in transforming Rome into an empire and the lasting impact he had on world history. After returning from his military campaigns, Caesar used his influence to gain political power in Rome. He formed alliances with influential figures and became consul, the highest position in the Roman Republic. With this power, Caesar implemented reforms that benefited the lower classes and solidified his support among the people.

However, these actions also made him enemies among the elite, leading to a civil war between Caesar and his rival Pompey. Caesar emerged victorious and became the sole ruler of Rome, effectively ending the Republic and ushering in the era of the Roman Empire. This article will also cover key events such as the Gallic Wars and Caesar's assassination, providing insight into his leadership style and political strategies. Caesar's military campaigns in Gaul solidified his reputation as a brilliant commander and expanded the Roman Empire to its greatest extent.

However, his growing power and ambition made him a target for assassination. In 44 BC, a group of senators conspired against Caesar and killed him in the Senate. Despite his death, Julius Caesar's legacy continues to shape the world today. His military conquests, political reforms, and lasting impact on Western civilization make him one of the most influential figures in history.

The Transformation of Rome

The gallic wars.

The Gallic tribes, who had long resisted Roman rule, saw Caesar's appointment as an opportunity to unite and overthrow their oppressors. Caesar quickly realized the threat posed by the Gauls and launched a preemptive strike against them. His tactics were ruthless and effective, often involving surprise attacks and swift movements of his army. One of Caesar's most famous victories during the Gallic Wars was the Battle of Alesia in 52 BC. Against a much larger force led by Gallic leader Vercingetorix, Caesar employed a brilliant strategy of surrounding his enemies and cutting off their supplies. The Romans emerged victorious, solidifying their control over Gaul. Throughout the Gallic Wars, Caesar also implemented tactics such as building fortifications and bridges, using cavalry effectively, and forming alliances with local tribes.

Early Years and Rise to Power

Caesar's early political career began when he was appointed as a military tribune in 69 BC. He quickly rose through the ranks and gained recognition for his bravery and tactical skills on the battlefield. During this time, he also formed important political alliances that would later prove crucial to his rise to power. In 60 BC, Caesar formed the First Triumvirate with two other influential Roman leaders, Pompey and Crassus.

This alliance gave Caesar significant political influence and helped him secure the position of consul in 59 BC. As consul, Caesar implemented important reforms that gained him popularity among the people and further solidified his political power. Despite facing opposition and threats from his political rivals, Caesar continued to rise in power and was eventually appointed as governor of Gaul in 58 BC. During his time in Gaul, he led a series of successful military campaigns that expanded Rome's territory and brought him even more wealth and fame.

Caesar's Assassination and Legacy

Despite warnings from his wife Calpurnia and a soothsayer, Caesar went to the Senate that day, where he was stabbed to death by his own senators, including his close friend Brutus. The aftermath of Caesar's assassination was chaotic and tumultuous. It sparked a power struggle between Caesar's supporters, led by Mark Antony, and the assassins, led by Brutus and Cassius. This ultimately led to the defeat of the conspirators at the Battle of Philippi and the rise of Caesar's adopted son Octavian as the first Emperor of Rome. But Caesar's legacy did not end with his death. He left behind a lasting impact on world history, shaping the political and social landscape of ancient Rome and influencing leaders for centuries to come.

His legacy as a military leader, statesman, and author continues to be studied and admired today. He is credited with expanding the Roman Empire to its greatest extent, introducing significant political and social reforms, and laying the foundation for the Pax Romana - a period of relative peace and stability in the Mediterranean region. Furthermore, Caesar's assassination further solidified the concept of political violence in Roman society. It set a precedent for future leaders to use force and manipulation to gain and maintain power, ultimately leading to the downfall of the Republic and the rise of imperial rule. Julius Caesar's life and legacy continue to fascinate and intrigue people around the world. He was a complex and influential figure who played a crucial role in shaping the Roman Empire and the world as we know it today.

Through his military campaigns, political strategies, and reforms, Caesar left a lasting impact that is still felt in modern society. By understanding his life and legacy, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the impact of Ancient Rome on global events and cultures throughout history.

Grace Thompson

Grace Thompson is a dedicated historian and writer, contributing extensively to the field of world history. Her work covers a wide range of topics, including ancient civilizations, cultural histories, and significant global events like the World Wars. Known for her meticulous research and clear, engaging writing style, Grace makes complex historical subjects accessible to readers. Her articles are a valuable resource for both students and educators, providing deep insights into how historical events shape the modern world.

New Articles

• The Fascinating World of Biographies: A Comprehensive Look into Historical Figures and Events

Explore the world of biographies and get a better understanding of global events throughout history. Learn about specific historical figures, facts, and educational resources to deepen your knowledge.

• A Journey Through the City-States of Ancient Greece

Discover the rich history and culture of the city-states of Ancient Greece, from prominent figures to important facts and educational resources.

• Discover the Richness of Chinese Culture

Uncover the Fascinating and Diverse Aspects of Chinese Culture

• The Cuban Missile Crisis: A Defining Moment in World History

Explore the events and significance of the Cuban Missile Crisis in the context of global history and the Cold War.

Top Articles

• Understanding Historical Fiction: A Comprehensive Overview

• The Power of Role-Playing: Exploring World History Through Immersive Education

• The Devastation of Hurricane Katrina: A Look Back at One of the Deadliest Natural Disasters in World History

• Discovering Daily Life in Medieval Times
• Uncovering the Mysteries of Mummies
• Diaries and Letters: Exploring Primary Sources of World History
• A Brief History of Major Battles in World War I
• Napoleon Bonaparte: The Rise and Fall of a Revolutionary Leader
• An Overview of Mythology in Ancient Greece
• Understanding the Crusades: A Journey Through Medieval Times
• Holidays and Celebrations: Exploring World History Through Medieval Times
• A Brief History of Factories in the Modern Era
• Understanding the Impact of the Atomic Bomb
• Understanding Indian Culture: A Journey Through Time
• Rosa Parks: The Mother of the Civil Rights Movement
• Podcasts for Exploring World History
• Understanding the Allied Powers in World War II
• The Rise and Fall of Gladiators in Ancient Rome
• Writing Assignments: A Comprehensive Guide to World History Education
• Discovering the Genius of Thomas Edison
• A Journey to the Moon: Exploring the History of the Moon Landing
• Exploring the Rich History of the Aztec Civilization
• Exploring the Rise and Fall of the Empire: A Journey Through Ancient Rome
• A Brief Overview of Albert Einstein's Life and Contributions
• Discover the Impact of Susan B. Anthony on World History
• Exploring Primary Sources in World History
• Museums and Exhibits: Unlocking the Secrets of World History
• Exploring Projects and Presentations in World History
• Exploring Ancient Chinese Inventions
• The Marvelous Pyramids of Ancient Egypt: An Introduction to One of the World's Greatest Wonders
• Exploring the World of Manors
• The Devastating Pompeii Eruption: A Comprehensive Look into One of the World's Most Notorious Natural Disasters
• Understanding the Code of Conduct in Medieval Times
• The Power of Online Databases: Unlocking the Secrets of World History
• Textbooks: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding World History
• Websites and Blogs: A Comprehensive Overview of World History Resources
• Exploring the World of Gods and Goddesses
• The Signing of the Declaration of Independence: A Pivotal Moment in World History
• Discovering Egyptian Culture
• Marie Curie: A Pioneer in Science and History
• Understanding Segregation: A Comprehensive Look at Global Events and the Civil Rights Movement
• Photographs and Artifacts: Exploring the Past Through Primary Sources

Inventions Throughout History: A Journey Through the Modern Era and Industrial Revolution

• Understanding Serfs and Peasants in Medieval Times
• Impact on Society During the Industrial Revolution
• Discovering the Richness of Japanese Culture
• A Brief Overview of the Fascinating Inca Civilization
• Exploring the Fascinating World of Armor and Weapons
• Exploring the World of Renewable Energy
• The Discovery of Penicillin: Uncovering the Life-Saving Antibiotic
• The Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi
• The Fascinating World of Renaissance Art
• The Fascinating World of the Inca Civilization: A Journey Through Latin American Cultures

Martin Luther King Jr.: A Champion for Civil Rights

• Understanding Tsunami in Japan
• A Brief History of Kings and Lords: Exploring Medieval Times and Feudalism
• Understanding the Greenhouse Effect: An Overview of Global Climate Change
• Exploring Nigerian Culture
• Nelson Mandela: A Leader in the Fight for Equality
• Exploring the World Through Educational Games

Alexander the Great: The Legendary Leader Who Conquered the World

• The Fall of the Berlin Wall: A Defining Moment in World History
• A Journey Through History: Exploring Digital Archives
• Exploring the Life and Reign of Queen Elizabeth I
• The Impact and Significance of the Treaty of Versailles in World History
• Health and Medicine in Medieval Times: Exploring the Connection between Body and Mind
• Exploring World History Through Interactive Learning
• The Cold War's Impact on the Space Race: A Comprehensive Overview
• Exploring the Fascinating Mayan Civilization: A Journey Through Time
• Understanding Quizzes and Tests in World History

Which cookies do you want to accept?

• Best Books 2023
• My Book DNA
• Love audiobooks? Try Audible Plus for free!
• For Authors

The most recommended books on Julius Caesar

Who picked these books meet our 45 experts..

Christopher Harris Author

Stephanie Marie Thornton Author

Stephanie Dray Author

Malayna Evans Author

Sheila R. Lamb Author

Simon Leyland Author

What type of Julius Caesar book?

• ✓ Serendipity
• Most recommended
• Newest books
• Oldest books

Filter Julius Caesar books

• Fiction (13)
• Nonfiction (19)
• Action & adventure (1)
• Ancient (13)
• Ancient Rome (10)
• Architecture (1)
• Biography & autobiography (5)
• Civilization (1)
• Classical (1)
• Classics (1)
• Coming of age (1)
• Epistolary (1)
• European (1)
• Fairy tales (1)
• Fantasy (3)
• Government (1)
• Graphic novels (1)
• Historical fantasy (1)
• Historical fiction (9)
• Historical romance books (1)
• History (17)
• Italian (1)
• Literary (3)
• Magical realism (1)
• Military (7)
• Military strategy (1)
• Mythology (1)
• Parodies (1)
• Political (2)
• Political science (2)
• Politics (1)
• Presidents & heads of state (1)
• Reference (2)
• Revolutionary (1)
• Romance (2)
• Science fiction (1)
• Suspense (1)
• Suspense thriller (1)
• Thriller (2)
• Western (1)
• Aesthetics (1)
• Ancient Rome (13)
• Augustus (3)
• Battlement (1)
• Cleopatra (2)
• Election (1)
• Ethiopia (1)
• Etymology (1)
• French Revolution (1)
• General officer (3)
• Genghis Khan (1)
• Germany (1)
• Head of state (2)
• Henry VIII (1)
• High school (North America) (1)
• Industrial Revolution (1)
• John F. Kennedy (1)
• Korean War (1)
• Los Angeles (1)
• Missing person (1)
• New York City (1)
• Pablo Picasso (1)
• Paganism (1)
• Parthia (1)
• Pirates and Piracy (1)
• Roman Britain (2)
• Roman emperor (2)
• Roman Empire (1)
• Roman Republic (6)
• Sentience (1)
• Sociology of literature (1)
• Statesperson (1)
• Time travel (1)
• Typeface (1)
• University student (1)
• William Shakespeare (2)
• William the Conqueror (1)
• World War I (1)
• Children (1)
• Toddlers (1)
• Middle school (1)
• 3 year old (1)
• 4 year old (1)
• 5 year old (1)
• 6 year old (1)
• 7 year old (1)
• 8 year old (1)
• Preschool (1)
• Kindergarten (1)
• 1st grade (1)
• 2nd grade (1)
• 3rd grade (1)
• New books (1)
• Published 2022 (1)

By Allan Massie ,

From my list on getting right inside the minds of historical people .

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the author of the Byzantine Trilogy (in 4 parts). These books depict the difficult beginning, decadent apogee, and sad end of the Byzantine empire. I think it is important to make historical fiction vivid, to immerse the reader in a distant time and place, with all its sights, smells, sounds, and tastes, as experienced by someone who was really there. I am also interested in what people believed, and why. For that reason, my historical novels are all first-person narratives, stories told by the people who lived through them.  Here are some of the fictional memoirs that inspired me to start writing.

Christopher's book list on getting right inside the minds of historical people

Why did Christopher love this book?

Boldly venturing into territory already claimed by Robert Graves, Allan Massie gives us the life of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Full of authentic detail, both witty and serious, bawdy and censorious, this book makes ancient Rome thoroughly believable to modern readers. Augustus vividly describes his ruthless rise to power following the assassination of Julius Caesar, and reflects on his life and achievements, justifying his schemes, deceptions and crimes. Would we have done the same in his place? Maybe, if civilization depended on it.

I particularly like the two Prefaces, in which author, citing fake scholars and non-existent institutions, persuades us that this work of fiction has been translated from an ancient manuscript found in a monastery. I have used the same trick myself.

1 author picked Augustus as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it .

• Books like Augustus
• Book lists with this book
• Why do people like this book?
• Julius Caesar
• Ancient Rome
• Roman emperors
• Historical fiction
• Bookshop.org

The Memoirs of Cleopatra

By Margaret George ,

From my list on historical fiction women who changed the world .

My graduating class in high school once designated me as “the most likely to start a feminist revolution.” That was a lot to live up to, but I’ve made a very small stab at it by writing about women who have changed our world. I love to bring awareness about the contributions great women have made in history, but I also want modern women to see themselves in these struggles. I always say that Historical Fiction is an exercise of empathy, and I hope my work encourages women today to get involved and make a difference in the world, too.

Stephanie's book list on historical fiction women who changed the world

Why did Stephanie love this book?

In many ways, this book started my writing career. I picked up this novel in an airport on the way to our honeymoon destination and found myself so inspired by Margaret George’s wonderfully emotive writing that I dreamed of writing a book.

I was also inspired by the tragic ancient queen whose war with Rome changed the course of Western civilization. Love her or hate her, Cleopatra is the most famous woman in history, and this novel beautifully illustrates her bravery, intelligence, and romantic heart.

It’s dramatic, well-researched, and a big, beautiful saga that you can sink into.

3 authors picked The Memoirs of Cleopatra as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it .

The mesmerizing story of Queen Cleopatra in her own words - by bestselling novelist Margaret George, author of The Autobiography of Henry VIII and Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles. Told in the first person - from the young queen's earliest memories of her father's tenuous rule to her own reign over one of the most glittering kingdoms in the world - this is an enthralling saga of ambition and power. It is also a tale of passion that begins when the twenty-one-year-old Cleopatra, desperate to return from exile, seeks out the one man who can help her: Julius… show more.

• Books like The Memoirs of Cleopatra
• Ancient Egypt

By Morgan Llywelyn ,

From my list on pagans, saints, and love .

I just looked this up. The word is Hibernophile. I love all things Irish even though I'm American, and distantly, Irish American. My inspiration for the Brigid of Ireland trilogy met at the intersection of genealogy research and discovering druids. The novel Druids by Morgan Llywelyn which I read soon after The Mists of Avalon impacted so much of my future writing I love research, too. Finding my family roots—immigrants to the New York marble quarries during the Famine—was the impetus for tying these two things together. This—researching Catholicism in Ireland—led me to Patrick and Brigid.  I live, teach, and write in the mountains of Virginia.

Sheila's book list on pagans, saints, and love

Why did Sheila love this book?

This was the first book that made me realize druids had been real, and that entire belief system was nearly—in historical chronology — stamped out by the Roman Empire. The story focuses on a young druid, Ainvar, who befriends Vercingetorix, the Celtic warrior who was brought to Rome in chains by Julius Caesar. While the setting is in Gaul, I began to understand the beliefs of the druid life that was very nearly lost. Where Rome’s war with the druids of Gaul was bloody and decisive, the Irish conversion took a different path. I wanted to find out why the two histories, the change from druid to Christian, was so dramatically different.

1 author picked Druids as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it .

• Books like Druids
• Science fiction

By Roy Porter ,

From my list on London for the curious .

Simon's book list on London for the curious

Why did Simon love this book?

An interesting but idiosyncratic overview of the history and the resultant growth of London. The result is a book full of interesting insights, amusing anecdotes, and historical highlights. A vivid celebration of the city, but also an elegy for its decline, bubbling with statistics and anecdotes, from Boadicea to Betjeman.

1 author picked London as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it .

This dazzling and yet intimate book is the first modern one-volume history of London from Roman times to the present. An extraordinary city, London grew from a backwater in the Classical age into an important medieval city, a significant Renaissance urban center, and a modern colossus. Roy Porter paints a detailed landscape--from the grid streets and fortresses of Julius Caesar and William the Conqueror to the medieval, walled "most noble city" of churches, friars, and crown and town relationships. Within the crenelated battlements, manufactures and markets developed and street-life buzzed. London's profile in 1500 was much as it was at… show more.

• Books like London
• William the Conqueror
• The Middle Ages
• European history

The Cats on Ben Yehuda Street

By Ann Redisch Stampler , Francesca Carabelli (illustrator) ,

From my list on the loving bond between people and cats .

I have always loved cats and have lived with many: Princess Sheba Darling, Precious Sammy Dearest, Couscous Kerouac, P.C. (Perfect Cat), Neshama, and Mitzi. Each cat has a distinct personality and quickly taught me how things were going to go: some cats are lap cats, some are not. Some cats are finicky, some cats will eat anything. Some cats slept on my pillow, some cats prowled—and yowled—all night long. In addition to cats, I have always loved picture books and have written many about cats including: Cats, Cats, Cats!   Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale With A Tail , A-B-C Cats , 1-2-3 Cats , and The Best Cat In The World .

Lesléa's book list on the loving bond between people and cats

Why did Lesléa love this book?

I love that this book features a character who is grumpy and (at first) doesn’t like cats! Mr. Modiano thinks cats are a nuisance, but when a neighbor’s cat, Ketzie goes missing, guess who searches for her and brings her home? And guess who then adopts a cat of his own? And finally, shares a cup of tea with his neighbor who has been trying for a long time to befriend him? Many people are not fond of cats until one special feline sneaks into their heart. I love that this book shows a character’s concern for his neighbor inspires him to open his heart. And the illustrations are adorable!

1 author picked The Cats on Ben Yehuda Street as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it . This book is for kids age 3 , 4 , 5 , and 6 .

There are lots of cats on Ben Yehuda Street, but it is the friendship between a little grey cat with a pink collar and a fluffy white stray cat that brings two lonely neighbors together.

• Books like The Cats on Ben Yehuda Street
• New York City
• Coming soon!

Shakespeare in a Divided America

By James Shapiro ,

From Robert's 3 favorite reads in 2023 .

Robert's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Why did Robert love this book?

I bought Shakespeare in a Divided America in the misguided belief that the author was the son of an old friend and colleague. The other attraction was Shakespeare himself: My mother was a high school English teacher, and the words of the Bard were a lingua franca at our dinner table. The book did not disappoint! 

In a series of chapters that carry the reader from the 1830s to the 2020s, Shapiro shows how Shakespeare’s plays have been entwined with the politics and culture of the nation on subjects ranging from race to manifest destiny, from immigration to same sex love.

The author is a professor of English at Columbia University who has written award-winning books about Shakespeare. What he offers here is an exciting intellectual journey. Drawing from original sources, he connects the dots to show how Othello was used by John Quincy Adams to support his opposition to… show more.

2 authors picked Shakespeare in a Divided America as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it .

One of the New York Times Ten Best Books of the Year * A National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist * A New York Times Notable Book A timely exploration of what Shakespeare's plays reveal about our divided land. "In this sprightly and enthralling book . . . Shapiro amply demonstrates [that] for Americans the politics of Shakespeare are not confined to the public realm, but have enormous relevance in the sphere of private life." -The Guardian (London) The plays of William Shakespeare are rare common ground in the United States. For well over two centuries, Americans of all stripes-presidents… show more.

• Books like Shakespeare in a Divided America
• The sociology of literature
• William Shakespeare
• American history

The Landmark Julius Caesar

By Kurt A. Raaflaub (editor) , Robert B. Strassler (editor) ,

From my list on for aspiring Roman history buffs .

I’m a professor of Roman history who teaches and writes about the social world of the ancient Romans. I’m drawn to the topic of ancient Rome because it seems simultaneously familiar and alien: the people always “feel real” to me, but the many cultural differences between Rome and modern America prod me to contemplate those aspects and values of my own world that I take for granted. I enjoy the high moral stakes of the political machinations as well as the aesthetic beauty of the artistic creations of Rome. And the shadow of Rome still looms large in American culture, so I find the study of antiquity endlessly instructive.

Paul's book list on for aspiring Roman history buffs

Why did Paul love this book?

I think this is the single best edition of Julius Caesar’s original compositions: the footnotes, maps, battle diagrams, and appendices offer a treasure trove of information for the Roman history buff without overwhelming the casual reader.

(I had a particular interest in Appendix C, on “Roman Calendars, Dates, and Time,” where I learned that the main reason winter operations rarely occurred in ancient warfare was the inability to feed their animals.)

The translations struck me as contemporary sounding yet never sacrifice accuracy for clarity. I recommend this book as a perfect gateway for the fan of ancient Rome to enter the realm of authentic ancient Roman literature.

2 authors picked The Landmark Julius Caesar as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it .

The Landmark Julius Caesar is the definitive edition of the five works that chronicle the mil­itary campaigns of Julius Caesar. Together, these five narratives present a comprehensive picture of military and political developments leading to the collapse of the Roman republic and the advent of the Roman Empire.   The Gallic War is Caesar’s own account of his two invasions of Britain and of conquering most of what is today France, Belgium, and Switzerland. The Civil War describes the conflict in the following year which, after the death of his chief rival, Pompey, and the defeat of Pompey’s heirs and supporters,… show more.

• Books like The Landmark Julius Caesar

By Edward Rutherfurd ,

From my list on turning you into a novelist .

Loads of people want to be writers and the dream can come true! It did for me. So, I want to tell people about the books that have helped to turn me into a novelist. Initially, I wrote journalistic pieces about bizarre leisure activities for various British newspapers and magazines: I lay on a bed of nails, walked on red hot coals, met people who collect bricks as a hobby...and even lost my underpants while performing on the flying trapeze! (No kidding!) But my ultimate goal was always to become a novelist. Then, one day, I discovered the subject I just had  to turn into a novel. And the result was... Death and Mr. Pickwick . 

Stephen's book list on turning you into a novelist

Why did Stephen love this book?

This novel was a massive influence on me. Rutherfurd takes the city of London as his subject, and follows the life of the city through the centuries, taking in Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Normans etc…right through to modern times. I don't have quite such a huge canvas in my book, but I do follow a series of historical events in a manner which is somewhat reminiscent of Rutherfurd . Rutherfurd takes you on a wonderful journey. 

“A TOUR DE FORCE . . . London tracks the history of the English capital from the days of the Celts until the present time. . . . Breathtaking.”—The Orlando Sentinel A master of epic historical fiction, Edward Rutherford gives us a sweeping novel of London, a glorious pageant spanning two thousand years. He brings this vibrant city's long and noble history alive through his saga of ever-shifting fortunes, fates, and intrigues of a half-dozen families, from the age of Julius Caesar to the twentieth century. Generation after generation, these families embody the passion, struggle, wealth, and verve of the… show more.

• The Industrial Revolution
• King Henry VIII
• Literary fiction

Why Cicero Matters

By Vittorio Bufacchi ,

From Paul's 3 favorite reads in 2023 .

Paul's 3 favorite reads in 2023

This is a wonderful book. It makes the case for Cicero’s continuing importance to us all, especially in an era in which democratic values are under threat. 

Written in a clear accessible style that avoids technical jargon and any need to have a detailed knowledge of Roman history, this is a book that will appeal to anyone interested in either today’s political situation or the legacy of Rome.

1 author picked Why Cicero Matters as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it .

Why Cicero Matters shows us how the Roman philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius, better known as Cicero, can help realize a new political world. His impact on humanitarianism, the Enlightenment and the Founding Fathers of America is immense. Yet we give Julius Caesar all our attention. Why? What does this say about modern politics and political culture? This book gives us Cicero as an antidote to the myth of the strong man of history. Reading Cicero's On Duties alongside two more introspective philosophical texts, On Friendship and On Old Age, we see how Cicero turned politics into a higher, intellectual… show more.

• Books like Why Cicero Matters
• Ancient philosophy

By John Crowley , Melody Newcomb (illustrator) ,

From my list on what it is like to be a wild animal .

I have written about the environment as a journalist since 2005, for magazines and newspapers including National Geographic, The New York Times, and Outside . For my last book, I wanted to write about animals as individuals—not just as units in a species, the way they are often thought of by conservationists. Diving into research about animal selfhood was an amazing journey. It helped shape my book, but it also changed the way I see the world around me—and who and what I think of as “people”! 

Emma's book list on what it is like to be a wild animal

Why did Emma love this book?

I don’t read very much fiction (although I want to read more!) but I thought it would be interesting to check out some novels where animals are main characters.

I read several, and this is the one I still think about all the time. The main character is a crow and although the book is a fantastical mytho-poetic adventure through time and space, it is also a wonderful exercise in cross-species empathy.

While you are reading, you really feel like you understand what it means to be a crow. It really stuck with me; I found it really rich and wondrous. 

2 authors picked Ka as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it .

“Ka is a beautiful, often dreamlike late masterpiece.” —Los Angeles Times “One of our country’s absolutely finest novelists.” —Peter Straub, New York Times bestselling author of Interior Darkness and Ghost Story From award-winning author John Crowley comes an exquisite fantasy novel about a man who tells the story of a crow named Dar Oakley and his impossible lives and deaths in the land of Ka. A Crow alone is no Crow. Dar Oakley—the first Crow in all of history with a name of his own—was born two thousand years ago. When a man learns his language, Dar finally gets the… show more.

• Books like Ka
• Los Angeles
• Historical fantasy
• Magical realism

Sign Up Today

Start your 14 day free trial today

History Hit Story of England: Making of a Nation

Who Was Julius Caesar? A Short Biography

Colin Ricketts

30 jul 2018.

The most famous Roman of them all was never himself Emperor. But Julius Caesar’s military and political domination of Rome – as popular general, consul and finally dictator – made the switch from republican to imperial government possible.

Born to power

Caesar was born into the Roman political ruling class, on 12 or 13 July 100 BC.

He was named Gaius Julius Caesar, like his father and grandfather before him. Both had been republican officials, but the Julian clan’s greatest link to high power when Julius was born was through marriage. Caesar’s paternal aunt was married to Gaius Marius, a giant of Roman life and seven times consul.

Caesar learned early that Roman politics was bloody and factional. When Gaius Marius was overthrown by the dictator Sulla, the Republic’s new ruler came after his vanquished foe’s family. Caesar lost his inheritance – he was often in debt throughout his life – and he headed for the distant safety of overseas military service.

Once Sulla had resigned power, Caesar, who had proved himself a brave and ruthless soldier, began his political climb. He moved up the bureaucratic ranks, becoming governor of part of Spain by 61-60 BC.

Conqueror of Gaul

There is a story that in Spain and aged 33, Caesar saw a statue of Alexander the Great and wept because by a younger age, Alexander had conquered a vast empire.

He made it to the top as part of a team, joining forces with the massively wealthy Crassus and the popular general Pompey to take power as the First Triumvirate, with Caesar at its head as consul.

After his term ended he was sent to Gaul. Recalling Alexander the Great, he set upon a bloody campaign of eight years of conquest, which made him fantastically wealthy and powerful. He was now a popular military hero, responsible for Rome’s long-term safety and a huge addition to its northern territory.

Crossing the Rubicon

Pompey was now a rival, and his faction in the senate ordered Caesar to disarm and come home. He came home, but at the head of an army, saying “let the die be cast” as he crossed the Rubicon River to pass the point of no return. The ensuing four-year civil war sprawled across Roman territory leaving Pompey dead, murdered in Egypt, and Caesar undisputed leader of Rome.

Caesar now set about putting right what he thought was wrong with a Rome that was struggling to control its provinces and was riddled with corruption. He knew that the vast territories Rome now controlled needed a strong central power, and he was it.

He reformed and strengthened the state, acted on debt and over spending and promoted child birth to build Rome’s numerical strength. Land reform particularly favoured military veterans, the backbone of Roman power. Granting citizenship in new territories unified all of the Empire’s peoples. His new Julian Calendar, based on the Egyptian solar model, lasted until the 16th century.

Caesar’s assassination and civil strife

The Roman office of dictator was meant to grant extraordinary powers to an individual for a limited period in the face of crisis. Caesar’s first political enemy, Sulla, had overstepped those bounds but Caesar went further. He was dictator for just 11 days in 49 BC, by 48 BC a new term had no limits, and in 46 BC he was given a 10-year term. One month before he was killed that was extended to life.

Showered with further honours and powers by the Senate, which was packed with his supporters and which in any case he could veto, there were no practical limits on Caesar’s power.

The Roman Republic had rid the city of kings yet now had one in everything but name. A conspiracy against him was soon hatched, led by Cassius and Brutus, who Caesar may have believed was his illegitimate son.

On the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC, Caesar was stabbed to death by a group of around 60 men. The killing was announced with cries of: “People of Rome, we are once again free!” A civil war saw Caesar’s chosen successor, his great nephew Octavian, take power. Soon the republic really was over and Octavian became Augustus, the first Roman Emperor .

You May Also Like

How a find in Scotland opens our eyes to an Iranian Empire

Do you know who built Petra?

The Dark History of Bearded Ladies

Did this Document Legitimise the Yorkists Claim to the Throne?

The Strange Sport of Pedestrianism Got Victorians Hooked on Coca

Puzzle Over These Ancient Greek Paradoxes

In Ancient Rome, Gladiators Rarely Fought to the Death

Archaeologists Uncover Two Roman Wells on a British Road

Young Stalin Made His Name as a Bank Robber

3 Things We Learned from Meet the Normans with Eleanor Janega

Reintroducing ‘Dan Snow’s History Hit’ Podcast with a Rebrand and Refresh

Don’t Try This Tudor Health Hack: Bathing in Distilled Puppy Juice

• History Classics
• Your Profile
• Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window)
• This Day In History
• History Podcasts
• History Vault

Julius Caesar: 6 Ways He Shaped the World

By: Christopher Klein

Updated: September 22, 2023 | Original: July 14, 2023

More than 2,000 years after his death, Julius Caesar remains one of history’s most momentous figures. His military and political achievements transformed ancient Rome and left a legacy that still endures—from our idioms (“crossing the Rubicon”) to our calendar. The following are six of the most important legacies of the renowned Roman military commander and dictator.

1. Caesar expanded Roman rule in Europe.

After being appointed governor of Rome’s northern territory of Gaul in 58 B.C., Caesar vastly extended the boundaries of the Roman Republic across Europe, all the way to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and English Channel. During the bloody eight-year Gallic Wars, his legions conquered local tribes in present-day France, Belgium and Switzerland.

In 55 B.C., Caesar’s army built a timber bridge spanning the Rhine River in just 10 days—a marvel of military engineering. Then, Roman troops marched across the waterway for the first time ever to subdue German tribes threatening eastern Gaul. Later that year, the Roman general commanded the first of two expeditions across the English Channel. These initial incursions into Britain laid the foundation for Rome’s eventual conquest of much of the island.

2. He started a civil war by ‘crossing the Rubicon.’

Through his masterful battlefield tactics and willingness to fight in combat, Caesar earned the respect and loyalty of his soldiers. He also earned the jealousy of Pompey, his former political ally in the First Triumvirate who effectively ran Rome. When Pompey’s supporters in the Roman Senate demanded that Caesar disband his army and return to Rome as a civilian, he refused.

Instead, in 49 B.C., Caesar brazenly led a legion across the Rubicon River, which divided Gaul and Rome, sparking a civil war. Forces supporting Caesar on one side and Pompey on the other battled as far away as Spain, Greece and North Africa. Although outnumbered, Caesar’s legions defeated Pompey’s army in a decisive battle at Pharsalus, Greece, in 48 B.C., prompting Pompey to flee to Egypt. But before he could even step ashore, he was assassinated at the behest of the teenaged pharaoh Ptolemy XIII . Ptolemy, it turned out, sought Caesar’s support in Egypt’s own civil war—one that had pitted him against his co-regent and sister, Cleopatra VII .

Ancient Empires

Watch the three-episode documentary event, Ancient Empires . Available to stream now.

3. Caesar installed Cleopatra on the Egyptian throne.

When Roman reinforcements arrived in early 47 B.C., Caesar’s forces defeated Ptolemy’s army in the Battle of the Nile. After the young king drowned in the Nile River while fleeing the battle, Caesar installed Cleopatra and her 12-year-old half-brother, Ptolemy XIV, as co-regents, but the queen held the true power.

But Ptolemy gravely miscalculated. When he presented Caesar with Pompey’s severed head upon his arrival in Alexandria, the reaction wasn’t gratitude; it was horror. Caesar promptly executed Pompey’s assassins and sided with Cleopatra in Egypt’s civil war.

According to the ancient historian Plutarch, Caesar had the 21-year-old Cleopatra transported into the royal palace where he had taken residence by having her smuggled inside a linen sack filled with dirty laundry. As urban warfare erupted in Alexandria, the pair began a romance while besieged in the palace for six months.

Around the time Caesar returned to Rome, Cleopatra gave birth to a boy believed to be his son. The Egyptian queen named him Ptolemy XV, but Alexandrians mockingly referred to the boy as Caesarion, “Little Caesar.”In 46 B.C., Cleopatra and her infant son moved into a villa on the banks of Rome’s Tiber River, and the married Caesar continued to visit his mistress in apparent violation of Rome’s bigamy laws.

Following Caesar’s murder, Cleopatra returned to Egypt and later had a love affair and alliance with Caesar’s deputy, Mark Antony . The pair committed suicide after Augustus defeated their armies in 31 B.C.

4. He ruled over Rome as a dictator.

Buoyed by the support of his army and Rome’s plebeians (non-elite citizens), Caesar emerged from his war with Pompey with tremendous power. After being named dictator of Rome for 10 years in 46 B.C., he declared himself “dictator for life” the following year. Caesar’s sweeping reforms—such as granting property to retiring soldiers, redistributing land to the poor and canceling debts—proved popular with the military and Rome’s lower and middle classes.

Caesar’s reforms angered elites, as did his disregard for the Roman Senate and republican tradition. A cult of personality developed around Caesar as he minted coins with his image, celebrated his birthday as a public holiday and ruled the Senate from a golden throne.

5. His assassination led to the collapse of the Roman Republic—and the rise of the Roman Empire.

Caesar’s autocratic rule heralded the dawn of the Roman Empire. Dozens of senators who believed Caesar’s concentration of absolute power threatened the republic’s democratic institutions plotted his murder , which occurred on the Ides of March in 44 B.C.

Rather than saving the 400-year-old Roman Republic, however, the assassination accelerated its demise . In their attempt to thwart a dictator, the senators inadvertently created an emperor . Caesar’s heir, Augustus, emerged from a lengthy civil war as Rome’s supreme leader after purging his enemies, murdering Caesar’s assassins and cracking down on republicans. Augustus deified Caesar (effectively making Augustus the son of a god) and ushered in the autocratic Roman Empire, which lasted for approximately five centuries.

5 Things You Might Not Know About Julius Caesar

Find out five fascinating facts about the man who famously proclaimed “I came, I saw, I conquered.”

How Julius Caesar’s Assassination Triggered the Fall of the Roman Republic

Julius Caesar’s killers attempted to thwart a dictator. They inadvertently created an emperor.

8 Reasons Why Rome Fell

Find out why one of history's most legendary empires finally came crashing down.

6. He introduced the modern calendar.

Caesar was so powerful that he changed time. The traditional Roman calendar, which was based on the 355-day lunar year, required constant revisions since it fell out of sync with seasons and festivals. Aided by the Greek mathematician and astronomer Sosigenes, Caesar enacted the Julian calendar, which was based on the 365¼-day solar year with a “ leap day ” added every four years.

To reboot the calendar, 46 B.C. spanned 445 days before Caesar’s system took effect on January 1 in 45 B.C. The Julian calendar predominated in most of the Western world for 16 centuries. Since each solar year is slightly less than 365¼ days, the Julian calendar gained one day every 131 years. By the 1500s, the calendar was 10 days out of step with the seasons. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII modified the calendar by eliminating 10 days from that year and decreeing that only one out of every four centennial years would be leap years. The Julian calendar is still in use in portions of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

An additional legacy of Caesar can be seen on the calendar. Following Caesar’s assassination, the name of his birth month was changed from Quintilis to Julius (July) in his honor.

HISTORY Vault: Colosseum

The Roman Empire is vividly brought to life through the lens of the Colosseum.

Sign up for Inside History

Get HISTORY’s most fascinating stories delivered to your inbox three times a week.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Networks. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.

More details : Privacy Notice | Terms of Use | Contact Us

ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Julius caesar.

Julius Caesar was a Roman general and politician who named himself dictator of the Roman Empire, a rule that lasted less than one year before he was famously assassinated by political rivals in 44 B.C.

Anthropology, Archaeology, Social Studies, World History

Gaius Julius Caesar was a crafty military leader who rose through the ranks of the Roman Republic, ultimately declaring himself dictator for life and shaking the foundations of Rome itself.

Photograph by James L. Stanfield, National Geographic

Julius Caesar was a Roman general and politician who named himself dictator of the Roman Empire, a rule that lasted less than one year before he was famously assassinated by political rivals in 44 B.C.E.

Caesar was born on July 12 or 13 in 100 B.C.E. to a noble family. During his youth, the Roman Republic was in chaos . Seizing the opportunity, Caesar advanced in the political system and briefly became governor of Spain, a Roman province.

Returning to Rome, he formed political alliances that helped him become governor of Gaul , an area that included what is now France and Belgium. His Roman troops conquered Gallic tribes by exploiting tribal rivalries . Throughout his eight-year governorship , he increased his military power and, more importantly, acquired plunder from Gaul . When his rivals in Rome demanded he return as a private citizen , he used these riches to support his army and marched them across the Rubicon River, crossing from Gaul into Italy. This sparked a civil war between Caesar’s forces and forces of his chief rival for power, Pompey, from which Caesar emerged victorious .

Returning to Italy, Caesar consolidated his power and made himself dictator . He wielded his power to enlarge the senate, created needed government reforms, and decreased Rome’s debt. At the same time, he sponsored the building of the Forum Iulium and rebuilt two city-states, Carthage and Corinth. He also granted citizenship to foreigners living within the Roman Republic.

In 44 B.C.E., Caesar declared himself dictator for life. His increasing power and great ambition agitated many senators who feared Caesar aspired to be king. Only a month after Caesar’s declaration, a group of senators, among them Marcus Junius Brutus, Caesar’s second choice as heir, and Gaius Cassius Longinus assassinated Caesar in fear of his absolute power.

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Last Updated

October 19, 2023

User Permissions

For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.

Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service .

Interactives

Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.

Related Resources

Your guide to Julius Caesar, the Roman general and dictator

The vicious assassination of Julius Caesar at the hands of his opponents in the Roman Senate can often obscure the military conquests and social reform he achieved in his prematurely ended life. Find out more about the man who rose to become a 'dictator for life' in ancient Rome…

• Share on facebook
• Share on twitter
• Share on whatsapp
• Email to a friend

Who was Julius Caesar?

Gaius julius caesar: a biography.

For presidents, emperors and other leaders whose lives were prematurely curtailed by assassination, their respective – usually dramatic – demises often overshadow what they actually achieved during their time in power. John F Kennedy’s murder in Dallas in 1963 continues to be of infinitely more interest to the casual historian than his New Frontier programme of domestic legislation.

And so it is with Julius Caesar too. Thanks in no small part to the pen of William Shakespeare, Caesar’s death – at the hands of a knife-wielding conspiracy of Roman senators – is familiar to all. His military conquests and the social measures he introduced receive less exposure.

Born around 100 BC, Gaius Julius Caesar was elected Consul of the Roman Republic for the year 59 BC, having formed an informal alliance with two statesmen who were formerly opponents, Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus. The alliance was known as the First Triumvirate. It was an alliance that covered plenty of bases: Caesar’s grasp of politics was married to Pompey’s military stature and the financial clout of Crassus. Politically, Caesar favoured the Populares, a faction of the Republic advocating social reforms that won them the support of the people. Their opponents were Optimates, conservatives whose aim was to safeguard the interests of the privileged elites. Many of these Optimates could be found in the 600-strong Senate, ensuring that the populist Caesar would, throughout his political life, find little support on its benches.

Consulships lasted for just a year, with the holders unable to seek re-election for a decade. The Senate had attempted to put Caesar merely in charge of Italy’s forests and cattle trails, rather than handing him a military governorship. However, it was toothless – operating, in practice, in a debating and advisory capacity – and the passing of legislation through the people’s assemblies promoted Caesar to the position of Governor of Illyricum (western Balkans) and Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy), with Transalpine Gaul (what is now southern France) later added to his portfolio. The duration of his governorship was also set at five years, rather than the traditional single year.

During this time as a governor – which was subsequently extended to a ten-year tenure ­– Caesar oversaw a highly successful military campaign that included the conquering of Gaul and a couple of expeditions to Britain in 55 and 54 BC , precipitating the full Roman invasion nearly a century later. In 50 BC, towards the end of those ten years and with the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate called for Caesar to relinquish his military role and return to Rome. Politically, this was dangerous for Caesar. Not only had Crassus died and the ever-dangerous Pompey had realigned himself with the Senate, but leaving the territories under his control would expose Caesar to possible prosecution for corruption and exceeding the limits of his authority.

More like this

• Read more about Caesar’s British gamble

What happened when Caesar crossed the Rubicon?

As he reached the geographical limits of his jurisdiction on his journey back to Rome, Caesar had a clear choice: either venture forth without his troops and face the almost inevitable curtailing of his powers or be accompanied illegally by his soldiers in an act that would be interpreted as a declaration of civil war. Approaching the modest stream known as the Rubicon that separated Cisalpine Gaul from Italy, he made up his mind. He wouldn’t be travelling on alone and unarmed. He reportedly announced his decision with three words of Latin: Alea iacta est (the die is cast). The Rubicon was crossed .

The seemingly unavoidable civil war broke out. Caesar the rebel, who had left his territory under arms, gradually gained momentum over the following four years, systematically removing his main Optimates opponents. Marcus Junius Brutus and Cicero surrendered, while Pompey was killed in Egypt. Elsewhere in North Africa Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio committed suicide shortly after his defeat at the Battle of Thapsus in 46 BC.

• 10 key Roman dates you need to know

Caesar the dictator

Caesar assumed complete control of the republic and was appointed dictator for a ten-year period shortly after Thapsus. In 44 BC, his title was upgraded to Dictator perpetuo ; he was now dictator for life. During his time as supreme leader, he was able to introduce many of the social and political reforms longed for by his supporters among the populace, including centralising bureaucracy, redistributing public land to the poor, and extending citizenship to far-reaching corners of the republic.

Opponents of these populist measures still dominated the make-up of the Senate and a conspiracy against the Dictator perpetuo was launched. On the fifteenth day of March in 44 BC ­– the Ides of March – as he arrived to address the Senate, Caesar met his mortal fate. The knives were out.

• The death of Caesar: do we know the whole story?

Following his bloody death, the republic dissolved back into civil war. The ultimate winner of this power-grab was Octavian, Caesar’s great-nephew and adopted heir, who rose to take sole control. Billing himself as Augustus , he became the first Roman emperor, overseeing the transition from republic to empire . He would be the one-man ruler for more than four decades, from 27 BC onwards. His more famous adoptive father managed just a handful of years as dictator.

Did Julius Caesar really wear a laurel wreath? BBC History Revealed explains…

STUDENT OFFER - Get access to our Collector's Edition when you try 5 issues for £5

Sign up for the weekly HistoryExtra newsletter

Sign up to receive our newsletter!

By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy . You can unsubscribe at any time.

Student offer - 5 issues for £5

+ Access to a trove of study aides

USA Subscription offer!

Save 76% on the shop price when you subscribe today - Get 13 issues for just $45 + FREE access to HistoryExtra.com

HistoryExtra podcast

Listen to the latest episodes now

Julius Caesar

MILITARY (0100–0044); ROME, ITALY

A powerful politician, army general, and emperor, Julius Caesar helped transform Rome into one of the most powerful empires in history. Caesar was beloved by many; however, his power also garnered much resentment from his fellow politicians. Read on for more about Caesar's life, his affair with Cleopatra, his assassination, and the famous William Shakespeare play that helped immortalize him, despite taking plenty of liberties with the true story.

1. Julius Caesar was born on either July 12 or 13, 100 BCE, but likely not via cesarean section.

For centuries, it was believed Julius Caesar was the first baby born via Cesarean section, but that's likely far from the truth. A 10th-century Byzantine-Greek historical encyclopedia called may be the source of the confusion, since it claims C-sections got their name from Caesar himself, stating :

"The emperors of the Romans receive this name from Julius Caesar, who was not born. For when his mother died in the ninth month, they cut her open, took him out, and named him thus; for in the Roman tongue dissection is called ‘Caesar.’"

The story, however, is highly unlikely for several reasons. First, C-sections were already performed in Rome at the time. For centuries, there was a law that required C-sections be performed under certain circumstances, which was instated during the reign of Numa Pompilius , who ruled from 715–673 BCE, long before Caesar.

According to the law, if a woman died while pregnant, she had to undergo a C-section, because it was against Roman beliefs to bury a mother with her baby in her womb. The law also stated that dying pregnant women must undergo a C-section to attempt to save the life of the baby. The Suda mistakenly says Caesar’s mother, Aurelia Cotta, died during childbirth. But we know Caesar's mother lived well into his adulthood, and some historians believe she may have even outlived him, so it's unlikely she underwent a C-section and survived.

2. William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar left out a key player in Julius Caesar’s assassination.

William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar , is set in 44 BCE . It explores what lead to the assassination of Caesar and the aftermath. One of the most famous quotes from the play, uttered by Caesar upon his death, is “ et tu, Brute ?” or “and you, Brutus?” But Caesar didn’t actually say that; he didn’t even know Brutus particularly well.

The real traitor was Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus . However, he was barely mentioned in the play, and his name was spelled incorrectly. In actuality, he was like a friend to Caesar. The emperor even gave him a job in politics to help restore the name of his disgraced family, and they fought alongside each other in battle. But in the end, Decimus played a key role in the assassination.

3. Julius Caesar and Cleopatra had an affair that led to a son named Caesarion.

Caesar and Cleopatra’s affair was about more than lust; it was a relationship the both of them needed to reach their own goals. For Cleopatra to secure her place on Egypt's throne, she needed an army; more accurately, she needed Caesar's vast army. On Caesar's end, he needed access to Cleopatra's incredible wealth (imagine a fortune far greater than Bill Gates 's today) to pay off debts and keep his own position in power. Cleopatra would eventually go to Rome with Caesar, where he was apparently very open about their affair. Together, they had a son, Caesarion , and Caesar's public displays of affection even included having a statue erected of Cleopatra in Rome's Temple of Venus Genetrix. She remained in Rome until Caesar was assassinated , which ultimately forced her and her son to flee.

4. Julius Caesar was assassinated on March 15, 44 BCE, after he was stabbed 23 times.

In 44 BCE, Caesar declared himself dictator for life. While many of his changes and reforms were well-received by lower- and middle-class populations , other politicians grew anxious about his ever-growing power. The animosity eventually boiled over, and on March 15, 44 BCE, the emperor was stabbed to death by what's been described as a group of approximately 40 senators.

5. Julius Caesar was Kidnaped by Pirates and demanded they ask for a higher ransom.

When Caesar was 25 years old, he was sailing the Aegean Sea and was kidnaped by Cicilian pirates . The pirates said they were going to demand 20 talents of silver (about $600,000 today), but, apparently, Caesar laughed in their face and told them they should ask for 50 (about 1550 kg of silver). While his associates went off to get the ransom, Caesar was forced to wait in captivity as the money was gathered and delivered. After he was freed, he gathered a small group of soldiers, hunted the pirates down, slit their throats, and took his silver back.

6. Julius Caesar had three wives during his life.

Caesar married Cornelia , his first wife, in 84 BCE. They had a daughter together but Cornelia died in 69 BCE. In 67 BCE, he married Pompeia, who he later divorced. Julius Caesar then married Calpurnia in 59 BCE, and they remained together until his death.

7. You Can visit the site Where Julius Caesar was assassinated.

Largo di Torre Argentina is Rome’s oldest open-air square, and it was where Caesar was stabbed around 23 times on March 15, 44 BCE. It fell into disrepair during the following centuries, but after a $1.1 million restoration project, the historic site will be open to the public in 2021.

8. A bust thought to be of Julius Caesar was found in 2007.

Some historians and archeologists believe a bust pulled from the Rhône River in France in 2007 is actually of Julius Caesar . If so, it would be the only surviving statue made of the emperor while he was alive. Since most visual representations of Caesar were made after his death, historians say they tend to be idealized versions of him. But this bust is thought to resemble the leader as he really looked, showing a receding hairline and wrinkles developing on his forehead. It’s currently housed at Musée Départmental de l’Arles Antique .

Famous Julius Caesar Quotes.

• “I came, I saw, I conquered.” Or “ Veni, Vidi, Vici ,” in Latin
• “Men willingly believe what they wish.”
• “If you must break the law, do so to seize power: In all other cases observe it.”
• “No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected.”
• “I love treason but hate the traitor.”

Famous quotes from William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar .

• “Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once.”
• “Death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.”
• “Beware the Ides of March.” (said by a fortune-teller)

Who was Julius Caesar?

Julius Caesar transformed Rome from a republic to an empire, grabbing power through ambitious political reforms.

Few Romans would have chosen young Julius Caesar (ca 100–44 B.C.) as the man most likely to succeed on a grand scale and dominate their world. But when he led his troops across the Rubicon River in defiance of the Roman Senate , he distinguished himself for the ages and set Rome on a path of transformation from republic to empire.

Caesar made the political prime time at around age 40 by forging the First Triumvirate with Pompey the Great, noted general and statesman, and Marcus Licinius Crassus, one of Rome’s richest men. In 59 B.C., Caesar was elected consul.

He knew he needed a great military victory to win lasting glory beyond politics, so he set out to conquer the long-defiant Gauls—Celts who lived in modern-day France. Caesar’s seven-year Gaul campaign ended triumphantly in 51 B.C. The Gaul leader Vercingetorix was paraded in chains through Rome before being ritually strangled. In all, Caesar’s campaign killed or enslaved more than a million Gauls, a crushing victory that deepened the growing rivalry with Pompey, who had taken Caesar’s place as consul.

In January 49 B.C., Julius Caesar and his army crossed the Rubicon River into Italy, the boundary beyond which he could not legally command troops. The act was a declaration of civil war and a direct challenge to Pompey and his troops, who were enlisted to protect the interests of the Senate. Caesar drove Pompey out of Italy and chased him to Greece. Though Pompey had assembled an army twice the size of Caesar’s, Caesar defeated him decisively at Pharsalus in 48 B.C.

Pompey fled to Egypt, but he was betrayed and killed when he came ashore. As Caesar pursued Pompey loyalists in North Africa, he became politically and romantically entangled with the queen Cleopatra and had a son with her named Caesarion.

Caesar returned, triumphant, to Rome in 46 B.C. As ruler, he enacted several beneficial measures for Rome. He increased the size of the Senate for broader participation and opened citizenship to more foreigners. He also was magnanimous to his opponents, including Marcus Junius Brutus, a supporter of Pompey.

Caesar’s ambitious power grabs through political reform alienated many senators. When he declared himself dictator for life in 45 B.C., he sealed his fate. Threatened by Caesar’s tyranny, a group of conspirators—led by Brutus—plotted against him. On the Ides of March (March 15), 44 B.C., Caesar was assassinated , stabbed 23 times.

Though the conspirators eliminated Caesar himself, they neither thwarted his plans nor saved the republic. His designated heir, Octavian, outlasted Caesar’s antagonists and became the first Roman emperor. In keeping with Caesar’s eternal quest for glory, in death he acquired one last title and tribute. The Senate posthumously granted him the title Divine Julius, making him the first historical Roman to be deified.

Related Topics

• ANCIENT ROME
• ANCIENT HISTORY
• PEOPLE AND CULTURE

You May Also Like

The first sack of Rome wasn't when you think it was

Meet the only woman privy to the plot to kill Julius Caesar

He was the golden boy of ancient Rome. Did someone want him dead?

These mosaics survived a millennia. Here's what they revealed about ancient Rome.

Meet 5 of history's most elite fighting forces

• Environment
• Paid Content

History & Culture

• History & Culture
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Your US State Privacy Rights
• Children's Online Privacy Policy
• Interest-Based Ads
• About Nielsen Measurement
• Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
• Nat Geo Home
• Attend a Live Event
• Book a Trip
• Inspire Your Kids
• Shop Nat Geo
• Visit the D.C. Museum
• Learn About Our Impact
• Support Our Mission
• Advertise With Us
• Customer Service
• Renew Subscription
• Manage Your Subscription
• Work at Nat Geo
• Sign Up for Our Newsletters
• Contribute to Protect the Planet

Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society Copyright © 2015-2024 National Geographic Partners, LLC. All rights reserved

Julius Caesar biography: Facts & history

Julius Caesar became the most powerful person in Rome. Money and war paved the way for him.

• Growing influence

Timeline of Caesar's life

Additional resources, bibliography.

Caius Julius Caesar was born around July 13, 100 B.C. and was stabbed to death in the Roman senate on March 15, 44 B.C. 

By the time he was killed he had been appointed Rome's dictator for life and was the most powerful person in the Roman Republic . "He was a politician and statesman who eventually took supreme power in the Roman Republic and made himself a monarch in every practical respect, although he never took the name king," wrote historian Adrian Goldsworthy in his book " Caesar: Life of a Colossus " (Yale University Press, 2006). 

"In his fifty-six years, he was at times many things, including a fugitive, prisoner, rising politician, army leader, legal advocate, rebel, dictator — perhaps even a god — as well as a husband, father, lover and adulterer," Goldsworthy wrote. 

Related: The Roman Empire: Rulers, expansion and fall

Caesar's father was also named Caius (sometimes spelled Gaius) and his mother's name was Aurelia. While the term " Caesarean section " is named for him, there is no evidence that this birthing method was used to deliver Julius Caesar. "Although the procedure would later bear his name, there is no ancient evidence to suggest that Caesar was delivered by Caesarean section, although the procedure was known in the ancient world," Goldsworthy wrote.

Caesar was born into a wealthy family with a noble lineage. Members of his family were "patricians, which meant that they were members of the oldest aristocratic class at Rome, who in the early Republic had monopolized power, ruling over the far more numerous plebeians," wrote Goldsworthy. While his family was not particularly powerful at the time Caesar was born, some of his ancestors had held positions as senior officials in the Roman Republic, Goldsworthy noted. 

Caesar was politically active as a teenager, opposing Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who became dictator of Rome in 82 B.C., according to the ancient Greek author Plutarch (lived A.D. 46 to A.D. 116) in his book "Parallel Lives." One of Sulla's most prominent opponents, Gaius Marius, had married into Caesar's family, and this may have influenced Caesar's decision. Sulla was fond of having his opponents murdered, and the teenage Caesar was forced to flee Rome, Plutarch wrote. At one point he was captured by Sulla's soldiers but escaped by paying a bribe. 

Related: Why did Rome fall?

Caesar was able to return to Rome after Sulla died in 78 B.C., but he left soon after to study oratory on Rhodes, an island near modern-day Turkey. At some point on his journey he was captured by pirates, who, at least according to several near-contemporary writers, fatally underestimated Caesar. "When the pirates demanded twenty talents for his ransom, he [Caesar] laughed at them for not knowing who their captive was, and of his own accord agreed to give them fifty," Plutarch wrote (translated by Bernadotte Perrin). Plutarch doesn't say what the talents were made of, but silver is likely. How much a Roman talent could weigh at a given time is a subject of debate among historians but was likely somewhere between 60 to 100 pounds (27 to 45 kilograms) in Caesar's time.

While the money was being collected, Caesar spent time with the pirates. He "wrote poems and sundry speeches which he read aloud to them, and those who did not admire these he would call to their faces illiterate barbarians, and often laughingly threatened to hang them all. The pirates were delighted at this, and attributed his boldness of speech to a certain simplicity and boyish mirth," Plutarch wrote.

However, Caesar's threats to kill the pirates were no joke. After the ransom was paid and Caesar was released, he "immediately manned vessels and put to sea from the harbour of Miletus [in modern-day Turkey] against the robbers. He caught them, too, still lying at anchor off the island," Plutarch wrote, adding that Caesar "took the robbers out of prison, and crucified them all, just as he had often warned them."

Caesar's growing influence

Caesar's political career gradually took off after his return to Rome around 74 B.C., and he used his family's wealth and skills to help grow his power. 

"He [had] a large and gradually increasing political influence in consequence of his lavish hospitality and the general splendour of his mode of life," Plutarch wrote. 

Caesar was an eloquent speaker who was even able to turn personal tragedies into political gains. When his first wife, Cornelia, died in 69 B.C., Caesar used her funeral to grow his support by breaking with tradition and giving an oration that appealed to the people and showcased his caring side. 

Caesar also spent lavishly, going into debt so that he could continue to give out gifts and buy political support. "He was unsparing in his outlays of money, and was thought to be purchasing a transient and short-lived fame at a great price, though in reality he was buying things of the highest value at a small price," Plutarch wrote. A pattern emerged where Caesar was elected or named to a position, spent large amounts of his own money on public projects, games or other benefits, and then was elected or named to another office. 

Caesar also served as a Roman governor controlling part of Iberia from 61 to 60 B.C., where he commanded an army that fought against tribes who opposed Roman rule. 

When he was in Spain, Caesar took time to read what he could about the history of Alexander the Great . Caesar wept as he did so. When Caesar "was at leisure and was reading from the history of Alexander, he was lost in thought for a long time, and then burst into tears," Plutarch wrote. When Caesar's friends asked why, Caesar replied: "While Alexander, at my age, was already king of so many peoples, I have as yet achieved no brilliant success?" Plutarch wrote. 

While Caesar was able to buy and maneuver his way into senior positions he was forced to go deeper into debt and eventually formed an alliance with Marcus Licinius Crassus, one of the wealthiest people in Rome, who agreed to financially assist Caesar in exchange for his political support. The two men eventually allied with Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey, a powerful Roman general and politician, to form a triumvirate that ruled over the Roman Republic. Caesar married his daughter Julia to Pompey around 59 B.C. to forge a closer alliance. 

In 58 B.C., Caesar was given command of a large military force in Gaul and used the opportunity to conquer it, making a name for himself as a military commander. Between 58 B.C. and 50 B.C. his armies gradually conquered Gaul and even succeeded in landing in Britain (though they didn't stay for long). His forces also fought Germanic tribes on the frontiers of what is now Germany. 

Related: Massive hoard of Roman-era silver coins unearthed in Germany

The death toll was immense. "In his triumph in 46 [B.C.] Caesar listed the number of [enemy] soldiers killed in all his battles — thus not only in Gaul — as 1,192,000," wrote Kurt Raaflaub, emeritus professor of classics and history at Brown University, in the New England Classical Journal in 2021. While the military death toll may be exaggerated, Raaflaub noted that this total doesn't include non-combatants among the people killed during Caesar's military campaigns.

"It was not only the Roman sword that inflicted death on the Gallic population. Large parts starved to death because the harvests were confiscated or destroyed and their settlements and farmsteads burned, or they froze to death when the legions drove them out of their settlements in winter and burned down buildings, villages and towns," Raaflaub wrote.

Caesar documented his military campaign in a series of books collectively known as the "Gallic Wars." While Caesar made claims that he tried to arrange truces and agreements with the tribes from Gaul he also stated that he had no qualms about harming civilians. After one group he called the "Sigambri" fled from his army he "burned all their villages and houses, and cut down their corn," Caesar wrote (translation by W. A. McDevitte & W. S. Bohn). He used the same tactics when he landed in Britain. "Damage should be done to the enemy in ravaging their lands," he wrote.

The triumvirate between Caesar, Crassus and Pompey didn't last. Julia died giving birth in 54 B.C., which ended the marriage alliance between Caesar and Pompey. Crassus, meanwhile, was killed fighting the Parthians in modern-day Turkey in 53 B.C.

Without Crassus to balance power, tensions between Caesar and Pompey increased, and in January 49 B.C. Caesar led his troops across the Rubicon River (the boundary of northern Italy) and marched on Rome. According to some historical records, as Caesar crossed the Rubicon he said the now-famous phrase that's often translated as "the die is cast." 

Pompey abandoned Rome and retreated to Greece and the Balkan peninsula to gather reinforcements. He faced Caesar in Greece at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 B.C., but suffered a decisive defeat. Pompey fled to Egypt , hoping to gain support from Egypt's teenage pharaoh Ptolemy XIII. Ptolemy was supposed to co-rule with his sister-wife Cleopatra VII , but he refused to acknowledge her, and instead he ruled alone while Cleopatra was in exile. 

Instead of assisting Pompey, Ptolemy killed him and presented his head to Caesar when he arrived in Alexandria. Ptolemy expected Caesar to react positively at having his enemy removed, but Caesar was not happy and had not wanted the pharaoh to kill Pompey, Plutarch wrote. Caesar stayed in Egypt for about a year, ordering that Cleopatra VII take up her position as co-ruler of Egypt. In response, Ptolemy tried to fight Caesar and Cleopatra but was killed in 47 B.C. 

Cleopatra and Caesar began a romance that resulted in her giving birth to a son, Caesarion. Whether the child was truly Caesar's is a matter of debate among historians, and Caesar never acknowledged the child as his own. 

After Pompey's death Caesar was the sole ruler of the Roman Republic, but his battles were not over.

While Pompey was dead there were still forces that were loyal to him, and some Roman senators, such as Cato the Younger, refused to accept Caesar's rule. Caesar fought successful battles against these forces in North Africa and Spain. There were also battles against Pontus, a Black Sea kingdom that Pompey had defeated just a few decades earlier. After a successful battle against a force from Pontus, Caesar supposedly uttered words in Latin that are translated as "I came, I saw, I conquered," or "I came, saw and conquered." But no matter how much conquering Caesar did there were still many in Rome who opposed the idea of one man, Caesar in particular, having so much power. This resentment came despite the fact that Caesar was very willing to pardon former opponents.

"His regime was not repressive and he pardoned and promoted many former enemies," Goldsworthy wrote. In contrast, Sulla, who had been sole ruler of Rome between 82 B.C. and 78 B.C. had thousands of his fellow Romans murdered after he took power.

Related: Where is Cleopatra's tomb?

In 45 B.C. Caesar implemented a new calendar system in Rome, now called the Julian calendar , which featured 365 days a year plus an extra day in February every four years. This calendar system, which Caesar learned about in Alexandria, brought the Roman calendar closer in line to the actual seasons. The month that Caesar was born was eventually named "July" in Caesar's honor. 

The new calendar "was a far more significant outcome of his visit to Egypt than any dalliance with Cleopatra," wrote Mary Beard, a professor of classics at the University of Cambridge, in her book "SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome" (Profile Books, 2015).

In January 44 B.C., the Roman senate named Caesar "dictator for life." While Caesar had enough overall support from the senate to get the measure passed there were many senators, led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, who were opposed to giving Caesar the title. Brutus and Cassius had fought against Caesar before, but both had been forgiven by Caesar and were able to retain their positions in the senate. On March 15, a date known as the Ides of March , a group of senators stabbed Caesar to death in the senate itself. 

A group of senators, according to Plutarch, distracted Caesar by presenting him with several petitions. Then, a senator named Tullius seized Caesar's toga "with both hands and pulled it down from his neck," wrote Plutarch, noting that this tugging was the signal for others to start stabbing Caesar. A senator named Casca then stabbed Caesar in the neck with a dagger. The conspirators surrounded Caesar and stabbed him from different directions. Brutus, a man whom Caesar had pardoned, also stabbed Caesar, supposedly in the groin, Plutarch wrote. 

"It is said that he [Caesar] received twenty-three [stab wounds]; and many of the conspirators were wounded by one another, as they struggled to plant all those blows in one body," wrote Plutarch. When William Shakespeare wrote a play about Caesar in the 16th century, he included the line "et tu Brutus?" as Caesar's last words (which can be translated as "you too Brutus?"); however, there is no evidence that he actually said this in real life. 

In the wake of Caesar's death, three major factions amassed power in Rome. One was led by Octavian, Caesar's great-nephew, who in Caesar's will was named as his adopted son and heir. The other was led by Mark Antony, one of Caesar's generals, while Brutus and Cassius led the other faction. Rome once again fell into civil war. 

July 13, 100 B.C.: Caesar was born in the Suburra area of Rome. 

82 B.C.:  Sulla become dictator of Rome; Caesar speaks out against him and is forced to flee Rome.

78 B.C.: Sulla dies and Caesar returns to Rome shortly afterward.

75 B.C.: Caesar goes to Rhodes to study oratory but is detained by pirates. 

74 B.C.: Caesar returns to Rome, gets involved with politics, using family fortune to amass influence.

69 B.C.: Caesar's first wife Cornelia dies. Caesar gives speech about her that increases his popularity.

61-60 B.C.: Caesar serves as governor of Iberia, defeats tribes who oppose Roman rule.

60 B.C.: Caesar, Crassus and Pompey form triumvirate to rule Rome.

59 B.C.: Caesar's daughter Julia marries Pompey. 

58-50 B.C.: Caesar campaigns in Gaul and England, conquering a vast amount of territory.

54 B.C.: Julia dies giving birth to Pompey's child, who also does not survive.

53 B.C.: Crassus is killed fighting the Parthians.

January 49, B.C.: Caesar crosses the Rubicon and marches on Rome.

August 9, 48 B.C.: Caesar defeats Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus in Greece; Pompey flees to Egypt.

September 48 B.C.: Pompey killed by Egyptian pharaoh Ptolemy XIII; Caesar is presented with the head and is reportedly disgusted at the way Pompey was treated.

September 48 B.C. – January 47 B.C.: Caesar restores Cleopatra VII to power. Ptolemy XIII fights against Caesar and Cleopatra's forces but is killed.

June 47 B.C.: Caesarion, the son of Caesar and Cleopatra VII, is born. Caesar doesn't acknowledge the child as his own. 

45 B.C.: Caesar implements new calendar system in Rome that has 365 days in a year and an extra day in February every four years.

January 44 B.C.: Senate names Caesar "dictator for life."

March 15, 44 B.C.: Caesar is stabbed to death in the Roman senate.

• The National Council of Teachers of English has a plethora of lesson plans related to Julius Caesar.
• Philip Freeman's 2009 book reveals in great detail "a biography of the cunning Roman conqueror Julius Caesar."
• This History Channel video describes how Julius Caesar sparked civil war.

Beard, Mary (2015) SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome . Profile Books

Goldsworthy, Adrian (2006) Caesar: Life of a Colossus . Yale University Press

Raaflaub, Kurt (2021) Caesar and Genocide: Confronting the Dark Side of Caesar's Gallic Wars . New England Classical Journal, Iss 1

Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now

Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.

Owen Jarus is a regular contributor to Live Science who writes about archaeology and humans' past. He has also written for The Independent (UK), The Canadian Press (CP) and The Associated Press (AP), among others. Owen has a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Toronto and a journalism degree from Ryerson University. 

Possible 'mega' fort found in Wales hints at tension between Romans and Celtics

2,200-year old battering ram from epic battle between Rome and Carthage found in Mediterranean

Boat-ramming orcas may be using yachts as target practice toys, scientists suggest

Most Popular

• 2 Specialist 'carbon nanotube' AI chip built by Chinese scientists is 1st of its kind and '1,700 times more efficient' than Google's
• 3 We now know why tarantulas are hairy — to stop army ants eating them alive
• 4 Horse domestication didn't happen the way we think it did
• 5 50,000 'knots' scattered throughout our DNA control gene activity

• Discussions
• Reading Challenge
• Kindle Notes & Highlights
• Favorite genres
• Friends’ recommendations
• Account settings

Julius Caesar Books

Quotes Tagged “Julius Caesar”

Videos Tagged “Julius Caesar”

Welcome back. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account.

• Ask LitCharts AI
• Discussion Question Generator
• Essay Prompt Generator
• Quiz Question Generator

• Literature Guides
• Poetry Guides
• Shakespeare Translations
• Literary Terms

Julius Caesar

William shakespeare.

Ask LitCharts AI: The answer to your questions

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Julius Caesar: Introduction

Julius caesar: plot summary, julius caesar: detailed summary & analysis, julius caesar: themes, julius caesar: quotes, julius caesar: characters, julius caesar: symbols, julius caesar: literary devices, julius caesar: quizzes, julius caesar: theme wheel, brief biography of william shakespeare.

Historical Context of Julius Caesar

Other books related to julius caesar.

• Full Title: The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
• When Written: 1599
• Where Written: England
• When Published: 1623
• Literary Period: Renaissance
• Genre: Tragic drama; history play
• Setting: Rome and environs, 44 B.C.E.
• Climax: Brutus’s suicide
• Antagonist: Cassius
• Point of View: Dramatic

Extra Credit for Julius Caesar

Time Warp. As in many of his plays, Shakespeare manipulates time in Julius Caesar , both for dramatic convenience and to make the setting less foreign to his audience. For example, the time between Caesar's triumphal march with Pompey's sons and the defeat of Cassius and Brutus was around two years in real life, but Shakespeare compresses it into two months. And at one point a mechanical clock strikes the time, yet such clocks wouldn’t be invented for over 1,000 years after the play takes place!

Et tu, Bruté? Despite the title of Julius Caesar , one could argue that this play could just as easily be titled the Tragedy of Brutus . Caesar dies less than halfway through the play and has fewer lines than several other major characters. The story of the noble Brutus being undone by his dispassionate logic and his trust in Cassius conforms much more closely to the literary model of tragedy.

• Quizzes, saving guides, requests, plus so much more.