The next historical event that we will use to illustrate the powers of the money changers will be the creation of the Roman empire and the falling of the Roman Republic including the life and death of Julius Caesar. The story of Caesar's life and death is stimulating, filled with betrayals, and fascinating; however, the theme of exiling and murdering your own citizens is a theme that we will continue to see during Caesar’s life and assassination. The trend of powerful politicians, money changers, and senators killing their own citizens in order to maintain their status of wealth and influence should be becoming a reoccurring theme you see throughout human civilization during the course of these historical events we are discussing. We won’t be diving into every detail of Caesar's life and trying to understand the complexities of Roman politics during the time, as that would, like the other topics, take an entire book itself. What we will do is use the major themes and important characteristics of this event so you can begin to understand the composition of my argument that powerful politicians, money changers, and aristocrats will do anything to maintain their status and power before we begin to show you how we can take back the power for the lower and middle classes.
Historians are able to reconstruct the events through people like William Shakespeare who wrote a play about Julius Caesar in 1599. In addition, there were many people who witnessed the many proceedings that occurred throughout Caesar’s life and historians are able to gather many different perspectives and put together a well-versed and realistic story. One of the main contributors to how we understand so much about Julius Caesar's life is through Plutarch, who was a Roman historian who wrote a series of bibliographies about great Romans' lives that can be found in, “Parallel Lives or Plutarch's Lives”. Another important, but lesser-known primary source account from ancient writings Caesar’s life was written by Nikolas of Damascus. Many people underestimate the truth and impact of his stories, but he also studied many other important figures in Greek history such as Aristotle. Nikolas of Damascus also goes on to be a tutor for the son of Cleopatra and Antony after the death of Caesar. Furthermore, there are other Roman historians who lived during Caesar’s life that helps us understand the events that occurred in the 1st century BCE and the events described in this part of the chapter will be a combination of all of those stories, attempting to portray the truth as best as possible and help you understand the main themes of this chapter.
Gaius Julius Caesar was born into the Roman upper class, or patrician class, around July, 100 BCE in Rome, Italy; therefore, Caesar had privileges that a common Roman citizen would not have. From his early childhood, Caesar had the ability to study politics, math, and science and he used his knowledge to become an educated scholar and communicator. He began to socialize with other prominent Romans in the republic and began to make a name for himself by influencing those around him. There wasn’t much recorded about Caesar's early life, but what is known is that during the same time his father passed away when Caesar was 16 Caesar’s uncle, Gaius Marius, commenced a civil war within Rome against one of his most prominent political opponents, Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Gaius Marius had been elected consul for a record 7 times and was remembered for his improvements to the military and veterans within Rome. Before and after the civil war Gaius Marius would be remembered as one of the most influential figures in Roman history at this time.
The reason Gaius Marius and Sulla had differences and were fighting in a civil war began after Marius was running for his 7th consulship and was being heavily supported by a tribune in favor of proposing laws that increases roman citizenship and divided the land more equally to the citizens. Sulla was strongly against these laws and was in favor of preserving the land and wealth for the rich. Thus, a disagreement began and when the law was being proposed, a large riot began inside of the voting center, and the rioters forced Sulla to hide inside of one of Gaius Marius' homes in Rome. Inside, Gaius Marius and Sulla came to an agreement that would allow the law to pass, leading to the land and wealth is distributed.
Sulla was very disappointed about the results of the vote and the uprising and began his journey with his army back East, leaving Rome for the more rural areas of Italy. Once the law was passed, Marius was given the position to command an army and his first course of action was to send two soldiers to dismantle Sulla from his position and inform him that he would no longer be a commander. Sulla responded by refusing to step down and killing the two legates Gaius Marius had sent. After the killing of the two legates, Sulla commanded his army to begin a march on Rome, something that has never been done in the city’s history, as it was against many ancient traditions. Because of these traditions, Marius did not believe that Sulla would follow through with his army raiding Rome, which would lead to being a mistake. Because of how unsuspected the attack on Rome was, Marius was unprepared and at the last minute had to gather a small army of Gladiators that were no match against Sulla’s trained Roman Legions. Marius fled and was exiled while many of his closest supporters were executed.
Because of Caesar's relationship and affiliation with his uncle Gaius Marius, he was directly affected by the loss in the civil battle. Caesar was forced to divorce his wife and stripped of his priesthood and inheritance by Sulla. Caesar’s mother did have a connection to Sulla and therefore asked for forgiveness on behalf of Caesar. Sulla agreed, but Caesar did not think it would be safe to continue to stay in Rome in case Sulla were to change his mind, which Romans were prone to do.
In response, Caesar left Rome for Cilicia, which is in modern-day Turkey, and because Caesar was no longer a priest, he would be able to join the military efforts for Rome in order to increase his reputation and status. While in the army, Caesar was a great soldier that received awards and praise for his bravery and heroicness. He always seemed to have a taste for conquering land and expanding the territory of Rome. At the time, having successful military campaigns was one of the simplest ways to gain noteworthy status and respect within the Roman Republic. Leaders who were successful in their military endeavors would gain the support of the plebians (lower and middle classes) by returning their sons, fathers, and brothers home from battle. The most successful in battle would gain support from the generals, senate, and magistrate because they were expanding and our carrying out their “vision” of the Roman Republic. Eventually, Sulla would die and after Caesar’s successful military campaigns that allowed him to garner influence and popularity around Rome, he now felt it was the appropriate time to return to his homeland and reframe his legacy.
After his arrival, Caesar campaigned in a number of elections and participated in numerous military campaigns that would eventually allow him to have the influence and power that he has been longing for. However, he wanted to become Consul, the most powerful position in Rome. In order to do so, he began a partnership with Marcus Licinius Crassus who was the richest man in Rome. Crassus had worked under Sulla and amassed large amounts of wealth through real estate investing during Sulla’s rule as a dictator. Therefore, it was fair to say that Caesar and Crassus had their differences. However, they realized that if they put those differences aside and used a combination of their expertise and wealth then they could ultimately lead Rome to success. In Caesar's eyes though, they were missing one more piece to the puzzle, one last bit of influence that would put their cooperation and influence over the Roman people and senate to the next level. His name was Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus or more commonly known as Pompey the Great or Pompey. Caesar began to resolve the disagreements between Pompey and Magnus and their three-way partnership would ultimately be settled when Pompey married Caesar’s daughter. Thus, an informal coalition was created, called the First Triumvirate, or the rule of three men. The three men understood the backlash they would receive from the other powerful senators, magistrates, and money changers, but regardless they believed with the money of the richest man in Rome, the influence of Pompey, and the communication skill of Caesar, they could accomplish anything.
(The green areas in the map above are the main areas that Caesar conquered during his military conquests).
Because of the monetary and social support from Magnus and Pompey, Caesar was elected to the position of Consul. In order to make the plebians and senate knowledgeable of this new partnership, Caesar proposed a law that would redistribute the land and resources being hoarded by the aristocrats and money changers to the Roman citizens and veterans who were becoming impoverished. When Caesar proposed the bill, he explained to the senators that if any of them had any opposition to the bill, then they could speak up and Caesar would remove that section from the law. However, during the senate meeting when Caesar proposed the bill, it was designed in a way that benefited everyone and took away from no one and none of the senators could find any flaws in the bill. Still, the money changers and senators wanted to keep the situation the way it was and once the triumvirate began to propose policy changes that benefited the masses, the money changers and aristocrats immediately started to plan how they could take them down and maintain their status of power. Even with the Senate and money changers actively against him, Caesar managed to go around the aristocrats and call to the plebians and tribunes for their support. Caesar began to pass laws without any opposition because of the massive support from the Plebians that no senator would dare go against.
Because of Caesar's massive military successes, he was very popular among the middle and lower classes because those were the people fighting in the wars. So, when Caesar was able to return the soldiers to their family, he was in high praise. In addition, Caesar was directly fighting for the lower and middle classes' rights and privileges, by attempting to pass laws that would allow them to become citizens, participate in voting, and be landowners of the newly conquered property. In addition, one of his most successful military conquests that gained him the most popular was his conquest of Gaul. During Caesar's military campaigns and political relationships with people in Rome, he was able to be granted Governor of 4 legions that occupied Northern Italy, South-Eastern Europe, and Southern Italy. A legion was the largest military unit in Rome, consisting of around 4200 infantry and 300 cavalries. Not only had Caesar garnered large territory under his direct control, but he was also building up a sizeable army that would become his most loyal supporters. Geographically, the provinces Caesar had control over were bordered by unconquered territory, giving Caesar the idea of extending the influence of Rome throughout the world and his legacy.
After the Conquest of Gaul, Caesar has successfully extended Roman territory and his popularity and influence once again rose. As this influence rose, the senate became increasingly worried about the possibility that Caesar would dismantle the system that had allowed them to accumulate their wealth.
While Caesar was battling in his conquests, his daughter Julia, who had been Pompey’s wife died in childbirth. Instead of remarrying into Caesar’s family, Pompey chooses to marry one of Caesar’s most prominent political opponents, therefore, breaking the political and family bond between Pompey and Caesar. Then, Magnus, the richest person in Rome and the third piece to the political alliance had died in one of his own battles, effectively putting the First Triumvirate to an end. There was now a grasp for power between Caesar and Pompey. In response to seeing the first triumvirate break apart, the senate saw their chance to take back the power and restore the republic that had garnished them so much wealth. Caesar and Pompey were at the brink of civil war for quite a time. Caesar repeatedly attempted to put forth votes that would disarm both parties, but one of the measures the money changers and senators took was to persuade different tribunes or senators to veto Caesar’s proposal to disarm. After countless attempts by the Senators and Pompey to illegitimate Caesar and his influence, Caesar saw no other choice but to take his position by force. He began to march on Rome and when he crossed the Rubicon River, it was clear that Caesar had intentions of civil war.
As a result, the fearful Pompey and senators began to flee to the South of Italy after quick victories by Caesar. They were forced to leave the country altogether. Caesar continued his pursuit of Pompey and the Senators into Africa, where Caesar would be presented with the head of Pompey as a token of gratitude for Caesar. He was displeased and killed the assassins of Pompey. As Caesar was granting pardons to many of his previous political enemies. While Caesar was in Africa, he found himself in the midst of an Egyptian Civil war between a Pharoah of Egypt and Cleopatra who was the sister and wife of the Egyptian Pharoah. Because of the role the Pharoah played in the execution of Pompey, Caesar sided with Cleopatra, who would go on to be Caesar’s most famous mistress because of the luxurious king and queen lifestyle they lived together. After starting and maintaining the relationship with Cleopatra, Caesar finished his mission of ridding Rome of any relatives or supporters of Pompey and Caesar began campaigning again for a position of Consul back in Rome. When Caesar returned to Rome, he was massively celebrated by the people for his victory and success, yet the senators and money changers were displeased with the events that transpired and continued their plans to get rid of the popular Caesar. After the civil war transpired, Caesar has set a new tradition for what the constitution of Rome should be. In his eyes, there were three main goals that he was looking to accomplish. 1) He wanted to put an end to his former enemies in the outer regions of Rome by restoring the republic. 2) He sought to create a strong and unified central government in the center of Rome and lastly, 3) he wanted to unite all of the different provinces under the Roman name by expanding the reach of the nation.
In order to accomplish these tasks and because of the fragility of Rome at the time, Caesar was named Dictator of Rome by his peers. The Roman Dictator is different than the dictator title we think of today. The roman dictator was a person that would be responsible for withholding executive power, which isn’t a privilege given during normal times and was only used when there were periods of uncertainty or uprisings in Rome. The ultimate goal of the dictator was to keep the republic alive. As dictator, Caesar increased the size of the Senate, relieved many debts that were a burden to the lower and middle class, pardoned many of his previous enemies, attempted to unite Rome under one umbrella by expanding the definition of a citizen and their territory.
However, one of Julius Caesar’s most important reforms that are still felt and understood today was the changing of the calendar. Before Caesar’s changes, the calendar was based on the moon, which was inconsistent and could give the wrong dates and unpredictable seasons. The innovative Caesar implemented the Egyptian calendar which followed the sun and gave us the 325.25-day calendar with the extra day being put into a leap year every four years in February. He put the extra 3 months that the Romans were following into a previous year so that both calendars could be in alignment and the seasons would become much more predictable. The Julian calendar that was created on Jan 1 45 BCE is almost identical to the current calendar that we use today.
After many of his reforms were enacted and the Senate continued to reign down awards and accolades upon Caesar, he named himself Dictator Perpeuto or the dictator for life. In Rome, this was a very controversial and oxymoronic statement. Like we talked about previously, Roman Dictators were usually only allowed to keep the title for 6-12 months to maintain the republic during times of uprisings or catastrophic events that threaten the republic. For the people, it was odd to hear Caesar name himself Dictator for life. It was the first time the Romans have heard of such a thing; besides, with Caesar hanging around the Queen of Egypt in Cleopatra and wanting all this power, it sounded as if Caesar was attempting to become a king himself. Kingship and monarchies were strictly forbidden in the republic because nearly 400 years earlier their ancestors fought to ensure the end of a kingdom and monarchy, in order to create the Roman Republic. Senators and Money changers began to panic and quickly deceived a plan to end the power of Caesar.
Caesar was planning a three-year military campaign fighting against the Parthians in an attempt to conquer more land for Rome. Caesar planned on leaving March 18 and as that day grew closer, the conspiracies toward taking Caesar’s life grew as well. Some of Caesar’s closest friends and political allies began to warn him of the imminent danger from the 60 senators who wanted to see his Demise. On one occasion, Spurinna, who was Caesar’s oracle, warned him about, “The Ides of March” Which to Romans was the 74th day of the calendar year and notable for the deadline to pay back debts for the previous year. The Ides of March would go on to be an infamous line used to describe March 15 and the assassination of Caesar.
The senators had a plan to lure Caesar into the Senate Chambers where the murder would take place. One of Caesar's possible son’s Damascus Brutus, explain to Caesar that the Senate would be voting on the obligation for people to call Caesar King. When Caesar showed up, he had no bodyguards with him and he failed to stand up for the senate. At that moment, a majority of the 60 senators that were planning this attack sprung on him with short knives and stabbed him over 20 times. Once the deed was done, the senators were in shock and didn’t know what to do. So, they burst out of the Senate chambers leaving the people worried, afraid and confused. In order to try to explain the situation, Brutus stood at the Olympic statue while Caesar was being carried away by slaves, all the while the Roman people were frustrated, crying and shouting because of the death of Caesar who had brought the Roman middle and lower classes so much prosperity.
(Temple of Jupiter, where Brutus spoke from as the slaves were carrying away Julius Caesar’s body from Pompey’s Works. A building that was destroyed and parts were used to build during the Middle ages.)
Once the funeral of Caesar occurred, his close supporter, Mark Antony made an empowered speech that praised Caesar for the prosperity he had brought to the Roman Republic and specifically the plebian classes.
Yet another civil war occurred over the death of Caesar and in Caesars will it was foreseen that Mark Antony would receive a majority of his wealth, but a shock to everyone occurred when it was revealed that Octavian, Caesar’s 18-year-old great-nephew would go on to inherit the majority of his wealth. Now, with the backing of the people, Mark Antony and Octavian took part in another civil war that brewed over the power vacuum that was left from the death of Caesar. With the supporters of him on one side and the money changers and senate on the opposition, bloodshed had to take place in order to see who would be crowned victorious.
Ultimately, Octavian and Antony proved to triumph with Caesar’s killers scared out of Rome. A second Triumvirate was created with Antony, Octavian, and one other. Shortly after, Antony and Octavian would end up turning on each other for a struggle for power, and Octavian would go on to dismantle the historical Roman Republic, become Octavian Augustus and the first Emperor of the Roman Empire in 27 BCE.
I hope after telling the historical events of the end of the roman republic, the very early start to the Roman empire, and the assassination of Julius Caesar’s life you can begin to see a reoccurring theme in our world history. If you don’t, I will give it to you. A small group of powerful politicians and money changers has the ability to dismantle, destroy and decapitate anyone who they feel threatens their current status of power and wealth. To the people, Julius Caesar was considered a deity among gods because of the great fortune and prosperity he had brought them, but the senators and money changers felt that they couldn’t allow the wealth, land, influence, and power of the human civilization to be enjoyed by the very people who forged it with their labor.
