Caesar and his family. Gaius Julius Caesar - great politician and commander

A family

Gaius Julius Caesar was born in Rome, in a patrician family from the Julius family, which played a significant role in the history of Rome from ancient times.

The Juliev family descended from Yul, the son of the Trojan prince Aeneas, who, according to mythology, was the son of the goddess Venus. At the height of his glory, in 45 BC. e. Caesar founded the temple of Venus the Ancestor in Rome, thus hinting at his relationship with the goddess. cognomen Caesar had no meaning in Latin; the Soviet historian of Rome A. I. Nemirovsky suggested that it comes from Cisre, the Etruscan name for the city of Caere. It is difficult to establish the antiquity of the Caesar family itself (the first known one dates back to the end of the 3rd century BC). The father of the future dictator, also Gaius Julius Caesar the Elder (proconsul of Asia), stopped his career as a praetor. On the maternal side, Caesar came from the Cotta family of the Aurelius Aurelius family with an admixture of plebeian blood. Caesar's uncles were consuls: Sextus Julius Caesar (91 BC), Lucius Julius Caesar (90 BC)

Gaius Julius Caesar lost his father at the age of sixteen; with his mother, he maintained close friendly relations until her death in 54 BC. e.

A noble and cultured family created favorable conditions for its development; careful physical education served him later a considerable service; a thorough education - scientific, literary, grammatical, on Greco-Roman foundations - formed logical thinking, prepared it for practical activities, for literary work.

First marriage and service in Asia

Before Caesar, the Julii, despite their aristocratic origin, were not rich by the standards of the Roman nobility of that time. That is why until Caesar himself, almost none of his relatives achieved much influence. Only his paternal aunt, Julia, married Gaius Maria, a talented general and reformer of the Roman army. Marius was the leader of the democratic faction of the populares in the Roman Senate and was bitterly opposed to the conservatives of the optimates faction.

Internal political conflicts in Rome at that time reached such a sharpness that they led to civil war. After the capture of Rome by Mary in 87 BC. e. for a time the power of the popular was established. The young Caesar was honored with the title of Flamin Jupiter. But, in 86 BC. e. Marius died, and in 84 BC. e. during a mutiny in the troops, Cinna was killed. In 82 BC e. Rome was taken by the troops of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, and Sulla himself became dictator. Caesar, on the other hand, was connected by double family ties with the party of his opponent - Maria: at the age of seventeen he married Cornelia, the youngest daughter of Lucius Cornelius Cinna, an associate of Marius and the worst enemy of Sulla. This was a kind of demonstration of his commitment to the popular party, by that time humiliated and defeated by the all-powerful Sulla.

In order to perfectly master the skill of oratory, Caesar specifically in 75 BC. e. went to Rhodes to the famous teacher Apollonius Molon. On the way, he was captured by Cilician pirates, he had to pay a significant ransom of twenty talents for his release, and while his friends collected money, he spent more than a month in captivity, practicing eloquence in front of the kidnappers. After his release, he immediately gathered a fleet in Miletus, captured a pirate fortress and ordered the captured pirates to be crucified on the cross as a warning to others. But, since they treated him well in their time, Caesar ordered to break their legs before the crucifixion in order to alleviate their suffering. Then he often showed leniency towards defeated opponents. This was the manifestation of the "Caesar Mercy" so praised by the ancient authors.

Caesar briefly participates in the war with King Mithridates at the head of an independent detachment, but does not remain there for long. In 74 BC. e. he returns to Rome. In 73 BC e. he was co-opted to the priestly college of pontiffs in place of the deceased Lucius Aurelius Cotta, his uncle.

Subsequently, he wins the election to the military tribunes. Always and everywhere, Caesar never tires of recalling his democratic convictions, connection with Gaius Marius and dislike for aristocrats. He actively participates in the struggle for the restoration of the rights of the people's tribunes, curtailed by Sulla, for the rehabilitation of the associates of Gaius Maria, who were persecuted during the dictatorship of Sulla, seeks the return of Lucius Cornelius Cinna, the son of the consul Lucius Cornelius Cinna and the brother of Caesar's wife. By this time, the beginning of his rapprochement with Gnaeus Pompey and Mark Licinius Crassus, on a close connection with whom he builds his future career, belongs.

Caesar, being in a difficult position, does not say a word in justification of the conspirators, but insists on not subjecting them to death. His offer does not pass, and Caesar himself almost perishes at the hands of an angry mob.

Spain Far (Hispania Ulterior)

(Bibulus was consul only formally, the triumvirs actually removed him from power).

The consulate of Caesar is necessary both to him and to Pompey. Having disbanded the army, Pompey, for all his greatness, turns out to be powerless; none of his proposals pass because of the stubborn resistance of the senate, and meanwhile he promised his veteran soldiers land, and this question could not be postponed. Supporters of one Pompey were not enough, a more powerful influence was needed - this was the basis of Pompey's alliance with Caesar and Crassus. The consul Caesar himself was in dire need of the influence of Pompey and the money of Crassus. It was not easy to convince the former consul Mark Licinius Crassus, an old enemy of Pompey, to agree to an alliance, but in the end it was possible - this richest man in Rome could not get troops under his command for the war with Parthia.

Thus arose what historians would later call the first triumvirate - a private agreement of three persons, sanctioned by no one and nothing but their mutual consent. The private nature of the triumvirate was also emphasized by its marriages: Pompey - to the only daughter of Caesar, Julia Caesaris (despite the difference in age and upbringing, this political marriage turned out to be sealed with love), and Caesar - to the daughter of Calpurnius Piso.

At first, Caesar believed that this could be done in Spain, but a closer acquaintance with this country and its insufficiently convenient geographical position in relation to Italy forced Caesar to abandon this idea, especially since Pompey's traditions were strong in Spain and in the Spanish army.

The reason for the outbreak of hostilities in 58 BC. e. in Transalpine Gaul there was a massive migration to these lands of the Celtic tribe of the Helvetians. After the victory over the Helvetians in the same year, a war followed against the Germanic tribes that invaded Gaul, led by Ariovistus, which ended in the complete victory of Caesar. The rise of Roman influence in Gaul caused unrest among the Belgae. Campaign 57 BC e. begins with the pacification of the Belgae and continues with the conquest of the northwestern lands, where the Nervii and Aduatuki tribes lived. In the summer of 57 BC. e. on the bank of the river Sabris held a grandiose battle between the Roman legions and the army of the Nervii, when only luck and the best skill of the legionnaires allowed the Romans to win. At the same time, a legion under the command of the legate Publius Crassus subjugated the tribes of northwestern Gaul.

Based on Caesar's report, the senate was forced to decide on a celebration and a 15-day prayer of thanksgiving.

As a result of three years of successful war, Caesar greatly increased his fortune. He generously gave money to his supporters, attracting new people to himself, and increased his influence.

That same summer, Caesar organizes his first, and the next, 54 BC. e. - the second expedition to Britain. The legions met here with such fierce resistance from the natives that Caesar had to return to Gaul with nothing. In 53 BC e. unrest continued in the Gallic tribes, who could not come to terms with oppression by the Romans. All of them were pacified in a short time.

After the successful Gallic Wars, Caesar's popularity in Rome reached its highest peak. Even such opponents of Caesar as Cicero and Gaius Valerius Catullus recognized the grandiose merits of the commander.

Conflict between Julius Caesar and Pompey

Ancient Roman coin with a portrait of Julius Caesar.

The brilliant results of the first expeditions colossally raised Caesar's prestige in Rome; Gallic money maintained this prestige no less successfully. Senate opposition against the triumvirate, however, was not dormant, and Pompey in Rome experienced a number of unpleasant moments. In Rome, neither he nor Crassus felt at home; both wanted military power. Caesar, in order to achieve his goals, it was necessary to continue his powers. Based on these desires in the winter - gg. a new agreement of the triumvirs took place, according to which Caesar received Gaul for another 5 years, Pompey and Crassus - a consulate for the 55th year, and then proconsulates: Pompey - in Spain, Crassus - in Syria. The Syrian proconsulship of Crassus ended in his death.

Pompey remained in Rome, where, after his consulship, complete anarchy began, perhaps not without the efforts of Julius Caesar. Anarchy reached such proportions that Pompey was chosen for 52 BC. e. consul without a board. The new rise of Pompey, the death of Pompey's wife, daughter of Caesar (54 BC), a series of his intrigues against the growing prestige of Caesar inevitably led to a rupture between the allies; but the revolt of Vercingetorix saved the situation for a time. Serious clashes began only in 51 BC. e. At the same time, Pompey figured in the role that he had long sought - in the role of the head of the Roman state, recognized by the Senate and the people, combining military power with civil power, sitting at the gates of Rome, where the Senate (Ancient Rome) was going to him, having proconsular power and disposing of strong seven-legged army in Spain. If earlier Pompey needed Caesar, now he could only be a hindrance for Pompey, which had to be removed as soon as possible, since Caesar's aspirations were incompatible with Pompey's position. The conflict, which had already matured personally in 56, was now mature politically as well; his initiative should have come not from Julius Caesar, whose position was incomparably worse politically and in relation to legality, but from Pompey, who had all the trump cards in his hands except the military, and the latter were few only in the first moments. Pompey put things in such a way that the conflict between him and Caesar was not their personal clash, but a clash between the revolutionary proconsul and the senate, that is, the legitimate government.

Cicero's correspondence serves as a documentary touchstone showing the authenticity of Caesar's own account of events in his political historical pamphlet entitled De bello civili. The 109th book of Titus Livius would have been of great importance if it had come down to us in the original and not in the extracts of Florus, Eutropius and Orosius. The basis of Livy's exposition was preserved for us, perhaps, by Dion Cassius. We also find a lot of data in a brief essay by an officer from the time of the emperor Tiberius, Velleius Paterculus; Suetonius gives a lot, something - the author of a historical poem from the time of the civil war, a contemporary of Nero, Lucan. Appian and Plutarch go back in their account of the civil war, probably to the historical work of Asinius Pollio.

According to the agreement of Caesar and Pompey in Lucca 56 and the law of Pompey and Crassus 55 that followed it, Caesar's powers in Gaul and Illyricum were to end on the last day of February 49; at the same time, it was definitely indicated that until March 1, 50, there would be no speech in the Senate about a successor to Caesar. In 52, only the Gallic troubles did not allow the gap between Caesar and Pompey to take place, caused by the transfer of all power into the hands of Pompey, as a single consul and at the same time proconsul, which upset the balance of the duumvirate. As compensation, Caesar demanded for himself the possibility of the same position in the future, that is, the union of the consulate and the proconsulate, or, rather, the immediate replacement of the procoxulate with the consulate. To do this, it was necessary to obtain permission to be elected consul for 48, without entering the city during 49, which would be tantamount to a renunciation of military power.

The plebiscite of 52, held in March by the entire tribune college, gave Caesar the requested privilege, which Pompey did not contradict. This privilege contained, according to custom, the tacit continuation of the proconsulship until January 1, 48. Julius Caesar's luck in the fight against Vercingetorix made the government regret the concession made - and in the same year a series of military laws were passed against Caesar. Pompey continued his power in Spain until 45; in order to eliminate the possibility for Caesar to immediately resume the proconsulate after the consulate, a law was passed that prohibited the departure to the province earlier than 5 years after the addition of the magistracy; finally, right at the abolition of the privilege just given, a decree was confirmed that forbade the pursuit of magistracies without being in Rome. To the already passed law, contrary to all legality, Pompey added, however, a clause confirming the privilege of Caesar.

In 51, the happy end of the Gallic wars gave Caesar the opportunity to again actively speak in Rome. He asked the Senate, seeking from him a formal recognition of the privilege, to continue the proconsulate at least in part of the province until January 1, 48. The Senate refused, and this put the question of appointing a successor to Julius Caesar on the queue. Legal, however, was the trial of this case only after March 1, 50; up to this time, any intercession of tribunes friendly to Caesar was formally completely thorough. Caesar sought to personally settle his relationship with Pompey; extreme in the Senate did not want to allow this; the middle ones looked for a way out, finding it in the fact that Pompey stood at the head of the army assigned to the Parthian war, urgently needed in view of the defeat and death of Crassus. Pompey himself was seriously ill and spent most of his time away from Rome.

In 50 g, things should have taken a sharper turn, especially since Caesar found himself an agent of genius in political intrigue - Curio, who was elected tribune for this year. Of the consuls, one - Aemilius Paul - was on the side of Caesar, the other - G. Marcellus - was completely against him, as the leader of the Senate ultra-conservatives. The goal of Curio was to quarrel the Senate and Pompey and force the latter to enter into relations with Caesar again. To this end, he opposed every decision of the senate on the provinces and demanded that legality be fully restored, that is, that both Pompey and Caesar renounce their powers. In the spring, Pompey became very ill; during his recovery, he agreed in writing to the conditions of Curio and, finally recovering, moved to Rome. He was accompanied by a continuous triumph; meetings, prayers, etc., gave him confidence that all of Italy was for him. Despite this, even at Rome, he did not take back the consent he had given. It is very possible that at the end of 50 there was a new diplomatic campaign of Caesar, challenging Pompey to an agreement; Parthia was probably pointed out as a means of reconciliation. Pompey could be there in his realm and renew his eastern laurels. An indicator of Caesar's peaceful mood and the possibility of an agreement is that Caesar gave, at the request of the Senate, two of his legions (one lent to him by Pompey) and sent them to Italy in the direction of Brundusia.

In the autumn of 50, Caesar finally appeared in northern Italy, where he was met by a copy of the celebrations given to Pompey. In November he was again in Gaul, where a political demonstration, which had just taken place in Italy, was followed by a military one, in the form of a review of the legions. The year was drawing to a close, and the situation was still extremely uncertain. The reconciliation between Caesar and Pompey finally failed; a symptom of this is that the Caesarian legions, which had been sent in November to Brundusium, were detained at Capua and then waited for events in Luceria. In the Senate, G. Marcellus energetically sought to have Julius Caesar declared illegally in power and an enemy of the fatherland, for which there were no legal grounds. The majority of the Senate, however, was in a peaceful mood; the Senate most desired that Caesar and Pompey both resign their powers. Marcellus' main opponent was Curio. On December 10, he could no longer function as a tribune: on this day, new tribunes entered. But even now Marcellus did not succeed in capturing the senate with him; then, not wanting to transfer the matter into the hands of the new consuls, accompanied by several senators, without any authority, on December 13, he appeared in the Cuman villa of Pompey and handed him the sword to protect the free order. Pompey, having decided to go to war, seizes the opportunity and goes to the legions in Luceria. The act of December 13, Caesar quite rightly considers the beginning of the turmoil - initium tumultus - on the part of Pompey. Pompey's actions were illegal and were immediately (21 December) proclaimed as such in a speech by Antony, one of Julius Caesar's legates and tribunes of that year. Curio personally informed Caesar, who was at that time in Ravenna, about what had happened. The situation remained uncertain, but Pompey had two excellent legions in his hands, he enlisted the support of one of the people closest to Caesar - T. Labienus; Caesar, on the other hand, had only one legion of veterans in Italy and, in the event of an offensive, had to act in a country hostile to him - at least it seemed to Pompey - a country. However, even now Pompey probably meant to settle the final scores not in Italy, but in the provinces.

For Caesar, the most important thing was to gain time; the pretext for starting hostilities was already in his hands, but there were few forces for the war. In any case, it was to his advantage that the start of action should come as a surprise to his enemies. Curio delivered an ultimatum to Caesar on January 1 in the Senate. Caesar announced his readiness to lay down power, but together with Pompey, and otherwise threatened with war. The threats provoked open opposition from the Senate: Pompey should not relinquish power, Caesar should resign it before July 49; both were, however, quite legal. The tribunes M. Anthony and Cassius protested against the senatus-consultant. After that, however, discussions continued about how to find a modus vivendi without war. Caesar wanted the same. Until January 7, Rome received its new, milder conditions. Pompey was to go to Spain; for himself, Caesar asked for the continuation of power until January 1, 48, at least only in Italy, with an army of only 2 legions. Cicero, who appeared on January 5 under the walls of Rome after returning from his Cilician proconsulship, achieved a further concession: only Illyria and 1 legion were demanded by Caesar. Pompey, however, did not agree to these conditions either.

On the 7th of January the senate assembled and made every effort to get the tribunes to retract the intercession on the 1st of January. Antony and Cassius were unshakable. The consul then demanded their removal from the senate. After a heated protest by Antony, Cassius, Caelius Rufus and Curio left the Senate and, in the clothes of slaves, secretly, in a hired cart, fled to Caesar. After the removal of the tribunes, extraordinary powers were given to the consuls by the Senate, in order to prevent confusion. In a further meeting outside the walls of the city, in the presence of Pompey and Cicero, the decretum tumultus was voted, that is, Italy was declared under martial law; provinces were distributed, money was allocated. The commander-in-chief was actually Pompey, by name - four proconsuls. The whole point now was how Caesar would react to this, whether his grandiose preparations for war with him would intimidate him.

The news of the actions of the Senate, Caesar received from the fugitive tribunes on January 10. He had about 5,000 legion soldiers at his disposal. Half of these forces were stationed on the southern border of the province, near the Rubicon River. It was necessary to act as soon as possible in order to take the Senate by surprise, before the official news came about the Senate demands of January 1, finally carried out in a legal manner. On the day of the 10th, Caesar secretly devotes the necessary orders from everyone, at night - again secretly - with several relatives he rushes to the army, crosses the border of his province - the Rubicon - and captures Arimin, the key of Italy. At the same time, Antony, with another part of the army, goes to Arretius, who also captures with an unexpected onslaught. In Arimin, Caesar is caught by the envoys of the Senate recruiting new troops. Caesar answers them that he wants peace, and promises to clear the province by July 1, so long as Illyria remains behind him, and Pompey retires to Spain. At the same time, Caesar insistently demands a meeting with Pompey. Meanwhile, terrible rumors are spreading in Rome. The Senate, upon the return of the ambassadors, having forced Pompey's consent, sends them back to Caesar. There should be no meeting with Pompey (the senate could not allow an agreement between them); Caesar is promised a triumph and a consulate, but first of all he must clear the occupied cities, go to his province and disband the army. Meanwhile, on January 14 and 15, Ancona and Pisaurus were occupied by Caesar. The hopes of the Senate and Pompey that Caesar would give them time to prepare were dashed.

It was difficult for Pompey, with his recruits and two of Caesar's legions, to go on the offensive, and it was difficult to put everything at stake in defending Rome. In view of this, without waiting for the return of the embassy, ​​Pompey leaves Rome on January 17 with almost all of the Senate, sealing the treasury, in a terrible hurry. From now on, Capua becomes the main apartment of Pompey. From here he thought, taking the legions in Luceria, to capture Picenum and organize defense there. But already on January 27-28, Picenum, with its main point Aximus, found itself in the hands of Caesar. The garrisons of the occupied cities passed to Caesar; his army grew, the spirit rose. Pompey finally decided to abandon Italy and organize resistance in the East, where he could command alone, where there was less interference from all sorts of colleagues and advisers; the senators did not want to leave Italy. They left the treasury in Rome, hoping to return, against the will of Pompey. Meanwhile, the embassy returned from Caesar with nothing; there was no more hope for negotiations. It was necessary to force Pompey to defend Italy. Domitius Ahenobarbus with 30 cohorts locks himself in Corfinia and calls Pompey to the rescue. For the proceeds, the Senate promises the treasury demanded by Pompey. But Pompey takes advantage of the time while J. Caesar is besieging Domitius in order to concentrate forces in Brundusia and organize a crossing. In mid-February Corfinius was taken; Y. Caesar hurries to Brundusia, where everything is ready for defense. On March 9, the siege begins; On the 17th, Pompey deftly diverts the attention of the enemy, puts the army on ships and leaves Italy. From this point on, the fight is transferred to the provinces. During this time, the Caesarians managed to occupy Rome and establish some semblance of government there.

Caesar himself appeared in Rome only for a short time in April, seized the treasury and made some orders about the actions of his legates during his absence. In the future, it seemed to him two ways of action: either to pursue Pompey, or to turn against his forces in the west. He chose the latter, apparently because the eastern forces of Pompey were less terrible to him than the 7 old legions in Spain, Cato in Sicily and Var in Africa. It made it easier for him to operate in Spain and the fact that his rear was covered by Gaul, and success at the very beginning was especially important and expensive. The main danger was Spain, where Pompey's three legates commanded - Aphranius, Petreus and Varro. In Gaul, Caesar was detained by Massilia, who took the side of Pompey. Caesar did not want to waste time here; he left three legions to besiege the city, while he himself quickly moved to the river Sicoris, where his legate Fabius was waiting for him, camped against the fortified camp of the Pompeians near the city of Ilerda. After long and tedious operations, Caesar managed to force the Pompeians to leave their strong camp. With a quick march and a brilliant detour, he made the position of the enemy retreating to the Ebro so difficult that Pompey's legates had to surrender. Varro also had no choice. Here, as in Italy, J. Caesar did not resort to executions and cruelties, which greatly facilitated the possibility of capitulation of troops in the future. On the way back, Caesar found Massilia completely exhausted and accepted her surrender.

During his absence, Curio ousted Cato from Sicily and managed to cross over to Africa, but here, after ephemeral successes, he could not withstand the onslaught of the Pompeian troops and the Moorish king Yuba and died with almost all of his army. Caesar now faced a difficult task. Pompey's forces were, however, weaker, but on the other hand, he completely owned the sea and managed to thoroughly organize the quartermaster's unit. His strong cavalry, the allied contingents of the Macedonians, Thracians, Thessalians, and others also gave him a great advantage. The land route to Greece, where Pompey established himself, was closed; G. Antony, who occupied Illyria, was forced to surrender with his 15 cohorts. It remained here, too, to hope for speed and surprise of action. The main apartment of Pompey, his main reserves were in Dyrrhachia; he himself was at Thessalonica, his army at Perea. Quite unexpectedly, on November 6, 49, Caesar sailed with 6 legions from Brundusium, captured Apollonia and Orik and moved to Dyrrhachium. Pompey managed to warn him, and both troops confronted each other at Dyrrhachium. Caesar's position was unenviable; the small number of troops and the lack of provisions made themselves felt. Pompey, however, did not dare to fight with his not very reliable army. Around spring, M. Anthony managed to deliver the remaining three legions, but this did not change the situation. Fearing the arrival of Pompey's reserve from Thessaly, Caesar sent part of his army against him, and with the rest he tried to block Pompey. Pompey broke through the blockade, and inflicted a severe defeat on Caesar. After that, Caesar had only to lift the blockade and leave to join his Thessalian army. Here Pompey overtook him at Pharsalus. The Senate party in his camp insisted that a decisive battle be given. The superiority of forces was on the side of Pompey, but training and spirit were entirely on the side of the 30,000th army of J. Caesar. The battle (June 6, 48) ended in the complete defeat of Pompey; the army almost completely surrendered, Pompey fled to the nearest harbor, from there to Samos and finally to Egypt, where he was killed, by order of the king. Caesar pursued him and appeared after his death in Egypt.

With a small army, he entered Alexandria and intervened in the internal affairs of Egypt. He needed Egypt as the richest country and attracted him with its complex and skillful administrative organization. He was also delayed by his connection with Cleopatra, the sister and wife of the young Ptolemy, the son of Ptolemy Auletes. The first act of Caesar was to install Cleopatra, who had been driven out by her husband, in the palace. In general, he ruled in Alexandria as a sovereign master, as a monarch. This, in connection with the weakness of Caesar's troops, raised the entire population in Alexandria to its feet; at the same time, an Egyptian army approached Alexandria from Pelusius, proclaiming Arsinoe queen. Caesar was locked up in the palace. An attempt to find a way out to the sea by capturing the lighthouse failed, to appease the rebels by sending Ptolemy - too. Caesar was rescued by the arrival of reinforcements from Asia. In a battle near the Nile, the Egyptian army was defeated, and Caesar became the master of the country (March 27, 47).

Late in the spring, Caesar left Egypt, leaving Cleopatra as queen and her husband, the younger Ptolemy (the elder was killed in the battle of the Nile). Caesar spent 9 months in Egypt; Alexandria - the last Hellenistic capital - and the court of Cleopatra gave him a lot of impressions and a lot of experience. Despite pressing matters in Asia Minor and in the West, Caesar from Egypt goes to Syria, where, as the successor of the Seleucids, he restores their palace in Daphne and generally behaves like a master and monarch.

In July, he left Syria, quickly dealt with the rebellious Pontic king Pharnaces and hurried to Rome, where his presence was urgently needed. After the death of Pompey, his party and that of the senate were far from broken. There were many Pompeians, as they were called, in Italy; they were more dangerous in the provinces, especially in Illyricum, Spain and Africa. Caesar's legates hardly managed to subdue Illyricum, where for a long time, not without success, M. Octavius ​​led the resistance. In Spain, the mood of the troops was clearly Pompeian; in Africa, all the prominent members of the Senate party gathered, with a strong army. Here were Metellus Scipio, the commander in chief, and the sons of Pompey, Gnaeus and Sextus, and Cato, and T. Labienus, and others. They were supported by the Moorish king Yuba. In Italy, the former supporter and agent of J. Caesar, Caelius Rufus, became the head of the Pompeians. In alliance with Milo, he started a revolution on economic grounds; using his magistracy (praetorship), he announced a deferment of all debts for 6 years; when the consul dismissed him from the magistracy, he raised the banner of rebellion in the south and died in the fight against government troops.

In 47 Rome was without magistrates; M. Antony was in charge of it, as magister equitum of the dictator Julius Caesar; Troubles arose thanks to the tribunes L. Trebellius and Cornelius Dolabella on the same economic grounds, but without the Pompeian lining. However, it was not the tribunes that were dangerous, but Caesar's army, which was to be sent to Africa to fight the Pompeians. The long absence of J. Caesar weakened discipline; the army refused to obey. In September 47, Caesar reappeared in Rome. With difficulty, he managed to calm the soldiers, who were already moving towards Rome. Having quickly finished with the most necessary matters, in the winter of the same year, Caesar is transported to Africa. The details of this expedition of his are poorly known; a special monograph on this war by one of his officers is obscure and biased. And here, as in Greece, the advantage was initially not on his side. After a long sitting on the seashore in anticipation of reinforcements and a tiring campaign inland, Caesar finally manages to force the battle of Tatz, in which the Pompeians were utterly defeated (April 6, 46). Most of the prominent Pompeians perished in Africa; the rest fled to Spain, where the army sided with them. At the same time, unrest began in Syria, where Caecilius Bassus had significant success, seizing almost the entire province in his hands.

July 28, 46 Caesar returned from Africa to Rome, but stayed there only a few months. Already in December, he was in Spain, where he was met by a large enemy force led by Pompeii, Labienus, Atius Varus and others. A decisive battle, after a tiring campaign, was given near Munda (March 17, 45). The battle nearly ended in Caesar's defeat; his life, as recently in Alexandria, was in danger. With terrible efforts, the victory was wrested from the enemies, and the Pompeian army was cut in large part. Of the leaders of the party, only Sextus Pompey survived. Upon his return to Rome, Caesar, along with the reorganization of the state, was preparing for a campaign in the East, but on March 15, 44, he died at the hands of the conspirators. The reasons for this can be clarified only after analyzing the reform of the political system, which was initiated and carried out by Caesar in the short periods of his peaceful activity.

The power of J. Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar

For a long time of his political activity, J. Caesar clearly understood to himself that one of the main evils that cause a serious illness in the Roman political system is the instability, impotence and purely urban character of the executive power, the selfish and narrow party and class nature of the power of the senate. From the first moments of his career, he openly and definitely struggled with both. And in the era of the Catiline conspiracy, and in the era of the extraordinary powers of Pompey, and in the era of the triumvirate, Caesar consciously pursued the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe centralization of power and the need to destroy the prestige and importance of the senate.

Individuality, as far as one can judge, did not seem necessary to him. The agrarian commission, the triumvirate, then the duumvirate with Pompey, for which J. Caesar held on so tenaciously, show that he was not against collegiality or the division of power. It cannot be thought that all these forms were for him only a political necessity. With the death of Pompey, Caesar actually remained the sole head of state; the power of the senate was broken and power was concentrated in one hand, as once in the hands of Sulla. To carry out all the plans that Caesar had conceived, his power had to be as strong as possible, perhaps unrestricted, possibly complete, but at the same time, at least at first, it should not formally go beyond the framework of the constitution. The most natural thing - since the constitution did not know a ready-made form of monarchical power and treated royal power with horror and disgust - was to combine in one person the powers of an ordinary and extraordinary nature near one center. The consulate, weakened by the whole evolution of Rome, could not be such a center: a magistracy was needed, not subject to intercession and veto of the tribunes, combining military and civil functions, not limited by collegiality. The only magistracy of this kind was the dictatorship. Its inconvenience in comparison with the form invented by Pompey - the combination of a sole consulate with a proconsulate - was that it was too vague and, giving everything in general, did not give anything in particular. Its extraordinaryness and urgency could be eliminated, as Sulla did, by pointing out its constancy (dictator perpetuus), while the uncertainty of powers - which Sulla did not consider, since he saw in the dictatorship only a temporary means for carrying out his reforms - was eliminated only by the above connection . Dictatorship, as a basis, and next to it a series of special powers - that, therefore, is the framework in which J. Caesar wanted to put and put his power. Within these limits, his power developed as follows.

In the year 49 - the year of the beginning of the civil war - during his stay in Spain, the people, at the suggestion of Praetor Lepidus, choose him as dictator. Returning to Rome, J. Caesar passes several laws, collects comitia, at which he is elected consul for the second time (for the year 48), and renounces dictatorship. In the next year 48 (October-November) he received dictatorship for the 2nd time, on the 47th year. In the same year, after the victory over Pompey, during his absence, he receives a number of powers: in addition to the dictatorship - a consulate for 5 years (from the age of 47) and tribune power, that is, the right to sit with the tribunes and conduct investigations with them - moreover, the right to name to the people their candidate for magistracies, with the exception of plebeian ones, the right to distribute provinces without lot to the former praetors [Provinces are still allocated to former consuls by the senate.] and the right to declare war and make peace. Caesar's representative in Rome this year is his magister equitum, the dictator's assistant M. Antony, in whose hands, despite the existence of consuls, all power is concentrated.

In 46, Caesar was both dictator (since the end of April) for the third time, and consul; second consul and magister equitum was Lepidus. This year, after the African war, his powers are significantly expanded. He is elected dictator for 10 years and at the same time the leader of morals (praefectus morum), with unlimited powers. Moreover, he receives the right to vote first in the Senate and to occupy a special seat in it, between the seats of both consuls. At the same time, his right to recommend candidates for magistrates to the people was confirmed, which was tantamount to the right to appoint them.

In 45 he was dictator for the 4th time and at the same time consul; his assistant was the same Lepidus. After the Spanish war (January 44) he was elected dictator for life and consul for 10 years. From the latter, as, probably, from the 5-year consulate of the previous year, he refused [In 45 he was elected consul at the suggestion of Lepid.]. The inviolability of the tribunes is added to the power of the tribunes; the right to appoint magistrates and pro-magistrates is extended by the right to appoint consuls, to allocate provinces to proconsuls, and to appoint plebeian magistrates. In the same year, Caesar was given the exclusive authority to dispose of the army and the money of the state. Finally, in the same year 44, he was granted lifelong censorship and all his orders were approved in advance by the Senate and the people.

In this way, Caesar became a full-fledged monarch, remaining within the limits of constitutional forms [For many of the extraordinary powers there were precedents in the past life of Rome: Sulla was already a dictator, repeated the consulate of Marius, disposed of in the provinces through his agents Pompey, and more than once; Pompey, however, was given by the people unlimited disposition of the money resources of the state.]. All aspects of the life of the state were concentrated in his hands. He disposed of the army and provinces through his agents - the pro-magistrates appointed by him, who were made magistrates only on his recommendation. The movable and immovable property of the community was in his hands as a lifelong censor and by virtue of special powers. The Senate was finally eliminated from the leadership of finance. The activities of the tribunes were paralyzed by his participation in the meetings of their collegium and the tribunal power and tribune sacrosanctitas granted to him. And yet he was not a colleague of the tribunes; having their power, he did not have their name. Since he recommended them to the people, he was the highest authority in relation to them. He disposes of the Senate arbitrarily, both as its chairman (for which he mainly needed a consulate), and as the first to give an answer to the question of the presiding officer: since the opinion of the almighty dictator was known, hardly any of the senators would have dared to contradict him. .

Finally, the spiritual life of Rome was also in his hands, since already at the beginning of his career he was elected the great pontiff, and now the power of the censor and the leadership of morals joined this. Caesar did not have special powers that would give him judicial power, but the consulate, the censorship, and the pontificate had judicial functions. Moreover, we also hear about Caesar's constant arguing at home, mainly on questions of a political nature. Caesar also sought to give the newly created power a new name: it was the honorary cry with which the army greeted the winner - imperator. Y. Caesar put this name at the head of his name and title, replacing them with his personal name Guy. By this, he gave expression not only to the breadth of his power, his imperium, but also to the fact that from now on he leaves the ranks of ordinary people, replacing his name with the designation of his power and eliminating from it at the same time an indication of belonging to one clan: the head of state cannot be called like any other Roman C. Iulius Caesar - he is Imp (erator) Caesar p (ater) p (atriae) dict (ator) perp (etuus), as his title says in inscriptions and on coins.

On the power of J. Caesar, and especially on his dictatorships, see Zumpt, Studia Romana, 199 et seq.; Mommsen, Corp. inscr. latinarum", I, 36 et seq.; Gunter, "Zeitschrift fur Numismatik", 1895, 192ff.; Groebe, in the new edition of Drumann's "Geschichte Roms" (I, 404ff.); cf. Herzog, Geschichte und System. (II, 1 ff.).

Foreign policy

The guiding idea of ​​Caesar's foreign policy was the creation of a strong and integral state, with natural, if possible, borders. Caesar pursued this idea in the north, and in the south, and in the east. His wars in Gaul, Germany and Britain were caused by the need he realized to push the border of Rome to the ocean on the one hand, to the Rhine, at least on the other. His plan for a campaign against the Getae and Dacians proves that the Danube border also lay within the limits of his plans. Within the border that united Greece with Italy by land, Greco-Roman culture was supposed to reign; the countries between the Danube and Italy and Greece were to be as much a buffer against the peoples of the north and east as the Gauls were against the Germans. Closely connected with this is Caesar's policy in the East. Death overtook him on the eve of a campaign in Parthia. His Eastern policy, including the actual annexation of the Roman state of Egypt, was aimed at rounding off the Roman Empire in the East. The only serious opponent of Rome were the Parthians here; their affair with Crassus showed that they had in mind a broad, expansive policy. The revival of the Persian kingdom ran counter to the tasks of Rome, the successor of the monarchy of Alexander, and threatened to undermine the economic well-being of the state, which was entirely based on the factory, monetary East. A decisive victory over the Parthians would have made Caesar, in the eyes of the East, the direct successor of Alexander the Great, the rightful monarch. Finally, in Africa, J. Caesar continued a purely colonial policy. Africa had no political significance; its economic significance, as a country capable of producing a huge amount of natural products, depended to a large extent on regular administration, stopping the raids of nomadic tribes and recreating the best harbor of northern Africa, the natural center of the province and the central point for exchange with Italy - Carthage. The division of the country into two provinces satisfied the first two requests, the final restoration of Carthage - the third.

Reforms of J. Caesar

In all of Caesar's reforming activities, two main ideas are clearly noted. One is the need to unite the Roman state into one whole, the need to smooth out the difference between the citizen-owner and the provincial slave, to smooth out the strife of nationalities; the other, closely related to the first, is the streamlining of the administration, close communication between the state and its subjects, the elimination of intermediaries, and a strong central authority. Both of these ideas are reflected in all of Caesar's reforms, despite the fact that he carried them out quickly and hastily, trying to use the short intervals of his stay in Rome. In view of this, the sequence of individual measures is random; Caesar each time took on what seemed to him the most necessary, and only a comparison of everything he did, regardless of chronology, allows us to capture the essence of his reforms and notice the harmonious system in their implementation.

Caesar's unifying tendencies were reflected primarily in his policy towards parties among the leading classes. His policy of mercy in relation to opponents, with the exception of irreconcilable ones, his desire to attract everyone to state life, without distinction of party and mood, allowing him to among his close former opponents, undoubtedly testify to the desire to merge all differences of opinion about his personality and his regime. . This unifying policy explains the widespread trust in all, which was the cause of his death.

The unifying tendency towards Italy is also clearly visible. We have come down to one of the laws of Caesar, concerning the regulation of certain parts of municipal life in Italy. True, it is now impossible to assert that this law was the general municipal law of J. Caesar (lex Iulia municipalis), but it is still undoubted that it immediately supplemented the statutes of individual Italian communities for all municipalities, served as a corrective for them all. On the other hand, the combination in the law of the norms governing the city life of Rome and the municipal norms, and the significant likelihood that the norms of urban improvement of Rome were obligatory for municipalities, clearly indicates a tendency to reduce Rome to municipalities, to elevate municipalities to Rome, which from now on must was only the first of the Italian cities, the seat of the central government and a model for all similar centers of life. A general municipal law for the whole of Italy, with local differences, was unthinkable, but some general rules were desirable and useful and clearly indicated that, in the end, Italy and its cities represent one united whole with Rome.

Assassination of Julius Caesar

Caesar was assassinated on March 15, 44 BC. e. on the way to the Senate meeting. When friends once advised the dictator to beware of enemies and surround himself with guards, Caesar replied: “It is better to die once than to constantly expect death.” One of the conspirators was

Bust of Julius Caesar from the collection of the British Museum. Photograph of Roger Fenton commissioned by the British Museum. Approximately 1856 Royal Photographic Society

Julius Caesar is probably the most famous character of ancient, and indeed of all ancient history. Only Alexander the Great can compete with him. Countless volumes of scholarly works, popular biographies, and fiction have been written about Caesar. He has been played in films by such prominent actors as John Gielgud, Rex Harrison, Klaus Maria Brandauer and Ciarán Hinds. Around any outstanding historical figure, sooner or later, a husk of myths and legends grows. Neither did Caesar.

Myth 1. His name was Caius Julius Caesar

Let's start with the name. Caesar, like almost every Roman boy from a good family, had three names: firstly, the prenomen, or personal name (Gaius), - there were very few of them in Ancient Rome, Guy was one of the most common; secondly, the nomen, or generic name (Iulius), and thirdly, the cognomen, originally a nickname with some dictionary meaning, attached to the branch of the genus and becoming hereditary (Cicero - Pea, Naso - Nosy). What the word Caesar meant is unknown. There were many explanations: Caesar himself claimed that it was an “elephant” in the “Moorish language”, and Pliny the Elder raised the word to the verb caedo, “cut, cut”, claiming that the very first Caesar (not ours, but one of his ancestors) was born from a cut uterus, that is, as a result of a procedure later known as a caesarean section. Already thanks to the glory of our Julius Caesar, his cognomen in various forms entered many languages ​​of the world as a synonym for the ruler - Caesar, Kaiser, Tsar.

The variant Kai (and not Gaius) Julius Caesar has been around in everyday speech for a very long time. It is also found in literature: for example, in Turgenev's fantastic story "Ghosts", in Ilf and Petrov's "The Golden Calf", or in Bulgakov's "White Guard". A search in the corpus of texts of Russian literature produces 18 results for the query "Kai Julius" versus 21 - "Gaius Julius", almost equally. Ivan Ilyich in Tolstoy recalls an example from the “Logic” of the German Kantian philosopher Johann Gottfried Kiesewetter: “Kai is a man, people are mortal, therefore Kai is mortal” (in Kiesewetter: “Alle Menschen sind sterblich, Caius ist ein Mensch, also ist Caius sterblich” ). This is also, of course, "Kai" Julius Caesar. In languages ​​with Latin-based graphics, the variant Caius instead of Gaius also continues to occur - not only in novels, but also, for example, in the books of the contemporary British popularizer of antiquity, Adrian Goldsworthy. Such writing is the result not only of a misunderstanding, but of a peculiar ancient Roman idea of ​​loyalty to traditions.

Although the sounds [k] and [g] were always distinguished in Latin, this difference was not reflected in writing at first. The reason was that the Etruscan (or some other Northern Italic) alphabet from which Latin developed did not have a stop [g]. When the volume of written information began to increase, and literacy spread (in antiquity, in principle, there were not so many free people who could not read and write at least at a primitive level), it became necessary to somehow distinguish between letters denoting dissimilar sounds, and C was attached tail. As the linguist Alexander Pipersky notes, the letter G is an innovation with a diacritic like the letter Y, only more successful in a historical perspective. The letter Yo, as you know, was popularized by Karamzin, and Roman lovers of antiquities recorded that G was introduced into the alphabet by a certain Spurius Carvilius, a freedman and the first owner of a private elementary school in Rome, in the 3rd century BC. e.

The capital letter C, denoting the sound [g], was often used as the initial of the names Guy and Gnei (C and CN, respectively). Such initials were found in dedicatory inscriptions, on tombstones, and in other contexts of increased importance. The Romans were very neurotic about such things and preferred not to change anything in them. Therefore, in inscriptions from the II century BC. e. we often see the letter G where it should be (for example, in the word AVG, an abbreviation for Augustus), but at the same time the name Guy is abbreviated in the old fashioned way as C. The same with the name Gnei, which is abbreviated as CN (however, the form "Knei ”, as far as I know, is not found anywhere in Russian).

Most likely, it was this ambiguity that caused the bifurcation of the popular Roman name into the correct Guy and the erroneous Kai. Kai from Andersen's The Snow Queen is most likely not related to Caesar - this is a common Scandinavian name, and there are many other etymological hypotheses about its origin, mainly dating back to the Frisian languages.

Myth 2. We know what he looked like.

Let's look at some sculpted portraits.

The first is the so-called Tusculan portrait, excavated in 1825 by Lucien Bonaparte (Napoleon I's brother). It is kept in the Museum of Antiquities of the city of Turin. Several more sculptural images, stored in the National Roman Museum, the Hermitage, the New Carlsberg Glyptothek in Copenhagen, and others belong to the same type.

Tusculan portrait from the Museum of Antiquities of Turin. Dated to 50-40 BC.© Gautier Poupeau / Wikimedia Commons

Copy of a Tusculan portrait. 1st century BC e. - I century AD e.© J. Paul Getty Trust

Copy from a Roman original of the 1st century AD. e. Italy, 16th century© State Hermitage Museum

The second common type of portrait of Caesar is the so-called bust of Chiaramonti (now kept in the Vatican Museums). Adjacent to it is another bust from Turin, sculptures from Parma, Vienna and a number of others.

The famous "Green Caesar" is kept in the Berlin Antique Collection.

Finally, in the fall of 2007, another alleged bust of Julius Caesar was raised from the bottom of the Rhone River near the French city of Arles.

A good selection of sculptural portraits of Caesar can also be viewed here.

It is noticeable that even within one type, the portraits are not very similar to each other, and if one compares one type with another, it is not at all clear how it can be the same person. At the same time, ancient Roman portrait sculpture was distinguished by a very high level of realism and consistently achieved portrait likeness. To be convinced of this, it is enough to look at the numerous portraits of later emperors - Augustus, for example, or Marcus Aurelius. They cannot be confused with each other or with anyone else.

What's the matter? The fact is that almost all ancient sculptural portraits that have come down to us are not signed, and their attribution is highly guesswork. Signed portrait images were found only on coins, and Caesar was the first of the Romans, whose image appeared on coins during his lifetime (this happened in 44 BC, and already on March 15 of this year, on the ever-memorable Ides of March, he was killed ). Caesar's denarius, minted by the mint official Marcus Mettius, became the model for all later coins of the imperial time.

The 55-year-old Caesar was depicted on a denarius with realism characteristic of the late Republican era: a very long neck with folds, a protruding Adam's apple, a wrinkled forehead, a thin face, in some versions - wrinkles at the corners of the eyes, a wreath, which, according to rumors, Caesar camouflaged baldness. But still, the coin is a special genre, and the attribution of a sculptural bust on the basis of a stylized numismatic picture is an unreliable business. Of course, archaeologists from Arles wanted as many people as possible to know about the Roman bust of outstanding quality - which, undoubtedly, is a rare find, and this should also help finance the work. And for such a purpose, the "bust of Julius Caesar" is more suitable than the "bust of an unknown Roman." The same caution should be applied to all other sculptural images of "Julius Caesar".

In how the public imagines a character, reputation is often more important than believability. If you Google images of Emperor Vitellius, the first thing you'll see is a bust from the Louvre depicting an obese, arrogant man with a triple chin. This fits well with the image of the emperor, who, according to Suetonius, "was most distinguished by gluttony and cruelty." But the surviving coins show a completely different face - a man also not thin, but certainly not snub-nosed.

Bust of a man (pseudo-Vitellius). Copy from an earlier sculpture. 16th century© Wikimedia Commons

Denarius of Emperor Vitellius. 69 year© Wikimedia Commons

Myth 3. He could do several things at the same time.

Have you ever heard from your mother or grandmother “Don’t read while eating, you are not Gaius (or Caius) Julius Caesar”? At the heart of this warning is the notion that Caesar could multitask and that this kind of multitasking was unique to him, beyond the reach of most people.

Firstly, this meme is most common in Russia. In Western European cultures, there is no such fixed expression, although the fact itself is known and sometimes mentioned. However, finding it in the sources is not so easy. Suetonius says nothing about this in his biography of Caesar. Plutarch, referring to a certain Oppius, notes that Caesar "during the campaign also practiced, sitting on a horse, dictating letters, simultaneously occupying two or even ... even more scribes." This remark is inserted between the mention of dashing physical dexterity (“He was able, taking his hands back and folding them behind his back, to put his horse at full speed” - if it seems to you that this is not so difficult, I remind you that the ancient riders did not use stirrups) and a story about the invention of the SMS (“It is said that Caesar first came up with the idea of ​​talking with friends about urgent matters by means of letters, when the size of the city and exceptional employment did not allow meeting in person”).

Pliny the Elder speaks somewhat more about this feature in his monumental work Natural History. He finds the quickness of mind, which distinguished Caesar, unprecedented: “It is reported that he could write or read and at the same time dictate and listen. He could dictate to his secretaries four letters at a time, and on the most important issues; and if he was not busy with anything else, then seven letters each. Finally, Suetonius in the life of Augustus notes that Julius Caesar during circus games “read letters and papers or wrote answers to them”, for which he was criticized, and Augustus made efforts not to repeat this PR mistake of his adoptive father.

We see that we are not talking about real parallel processing, but (as it happens with computers) about quickly switching from one task to another, about the competent distribution of attention and prioritization. The life of a public person in antiquity posed tasks for his memory and attention that were incomparable with those that modern people have to solve: for example, any speech, even many hours, had to be memorized (of course, there were opportunities for improvisation, but the general outline in any case had to keep in mind). Nevertheless, even against this background, Caesar's abilities made an indelible impression on his contemporaries.

Napoleon Bonaparte, whose desire to imitate and surpass Caesar is well documented, was also famous for his ability to dictate up to seven letters at a time and, according to the memoirs of one of his secretaries, Baron Claude Francois de Meneval, attributed this superpower to his virtuoso mastery of a technique that in modern managerial jargon is called compartmentalization. . “When I want to be distracted from some business,” Napoleon said, according to Meneval, “I close the box in which it is stored and open another. The two things never mix, don't bother or tire me. When I want to sleep, I close all the drawers." This system of spatial visualization of topics or tasks also dates back to classical antiquity.

Bonus track. Where was Julius Caesar killed?

Caesar was killed on his way to a meeting of the Senate. This fact, combined with the authority of Shakespeare (who places the assassination scene somewhere near the Capitol - that is, perhaps in the Forum, over the western part of which the Capitol Hill rises), gives many the erroneous impression that he was killed directly in the Senate building. . The building of the Senate stands on the Forum even now and is even called the Julian Curia. But at the time of Caesar, he was not there: the old curia burned down during the unrest that preceded his reign, he ordered the construction of a new one, but did not have time to see it (it was completed under Augustus; the building that has survived to this day is even later, from the time of Emperor Diocletian) .

While there was no permanent place for meetings, the senators gathered wherever they could (this practice has always existed and did not stop after the construction of the curia). In this case, the seat was the portico of the recently erected Theater of Pompey; there the conspirators attacked Caesar. Today, this point is located in a square called Largo di Torre Argentina. In the 1920s, the ruins of four very old temples of the Republican era were discovered on it. Under Augustus, the site of Caesar's assassination was walled up as a curse, and a public latrine was built nearby, the remains of which can still be seen today.

Sources

• Gaius Suetonius Tranquill. Life of the Twelve Caesars. Divine Julius.
• Caius Pliny Secundus. Natural history.
• Plutarch. Comparative biographies. Alexander and Caesar.
• Balsdon J. P. V. D. Julius Caesar and Rome.
• Goldsworthy A. Caesar: Life of a Colossus.

  New Haven; London, 2008.

• A Companion to Julius Caesar.

Name: Gaius Julius Caesar

Age: 56 years old

Place of Birth: Rome, Italy

A place of death: Rome, Italy

Activity: ancient roman commander

Family status: was married

Gaius Julius Caesar - Biography

He is still reminded of the words symbolizing power - king, Caesar, Kaiser, emperor. Julius Caesar Guy was endowed with many talents, but remained in history thanks to the main one - the ability to please people

Origin played a significant role in Caesar's success - the Julius family, according to the biography, was one of the most ancient in Rome. The Julias traced their lineage to the legendary Aeneas, the son of the goddess Venus herself, who fled from Troy and founded the dynasty of Roman kings. Caesar was born in 102 BC, when the husband of his aunt, Gaius Marius, defeated a thousands of German army near the borders of Italy. His father, whose name was also Gaius Julius Caesar, did not reach heights in his career. He was proconsul of Asia. However, the relationship of Caesar Jr. with Marius promised the young man a brilliant career.

At the age of sixteen, Gaius Jr. married Cornelia, daughter of Cinna, Marius' closest associate. In 82 or 83 B.C. their daughter Julia was born, the only legitimate child of Caesar, despite the fact that he began to produce illegitimate children in his youth. Often leaving his wife to be bored alone, the descendant of Venus wandered around the taverns in a cheerful company of drinking companions. He was distinguished from his peers only by his love of reading - Guy read all the books in Latin and Greek that he could find, and more than once amazed his interlocutors with knowledge in various fields.

Being a fan of the ancient sages. he did not believe in the constancy of his life, peaceful and secure. And he turned out to be right - after the death of Mary, a civil war broke out in Rome. Sulla, the leader of the aristocratic party, came to power and began repressions against the Marians. Guy, who refused to divorce Cinna's daughter, was deprived of his property, and he himself was forced to hide. “Look for the wolf cub, there are a hundred Marievs in it!” the dictator demanded. But by that time Caesar had already departed for Asia Minor, to the friends of his recently deceased father.

Not far from Miletus, his ship was captured by pirates. A smartly dressed young man attracted their attention, and they asked for a large ransom for him - 20 talents of silver. "Inexpensive you appreciate me!" - answered Caesar and offered 50 talents for himself. Having sent his servant to collect a ransom, he spent two months "visiting" the pirates.

Caesar behaved very boldly with the robbers - he forbade them to sit in his presence, called them boors and threatened to crucify them. Having finally received the money, the pirates released the impudent man with relief. Caesar immediately rushed to the Roman military authorities, equipped a couple of ships and overtook his captors in the same place where he was held captive. Having taken money from them, he actually crucified the robbers - however, he ordered those who were sympathetic to him to be strangled.

Sulla had died by then, but his supporters from the optimates party retained influence, and Caesar was in no hurry to return to the capital. He spent a year in Rhodes, where he studied eloquence - the ability to make speeches was necessary for the polity he was determined to become.

From the school of Apollonius Molon, where Cicero himself studied, Guy emerged as a brilliant orator, ready to conquer the capital. He made his first speech in 68 BC. at the funeral of his aunt, the widow Maria, he ardently praised the disgraced commander and his reforms, causing a stir among the Sullans. It is curious that at the funeral of his wife, who died in an unsuccessful birth a year earlier, he did not say a word.

The speech in defense of Marius was the beginning of his election campaign - Caesar put forward his candidacy for the post of quaestor. This insignificant post made it possible to become a praetor, and then a consul - the highest representative of power in the Roman Republic. Having borrowed from whomever possible a huge amount, a thousand talents, Caesar spent it on sumptuous feasts and gifts to those. on whom his election depended. At that time, two commanders, Pompey and Crassus, fought for power in Rome, to whom Caesar alternately offered his support.

This earned him the position of quaestor and later aedile, the official in charge of the festivities in the Eternal City. Unlike other politicians, he generously gave the people not bread, but entertainment - either gladiator fights, or musical competitions, or the anniversary of a long-forgotten victory. Ordinary Romans were delighted with him. He earned the sympathy of an educated public by creating a public museum on Capitoline Hill, where he exhibited his rich collection of Greek statues. As a result, he was elected without any problems to the post of supreme pontiff, that is, a priest.

Don't believe in anything but your luck. Caesar had difficulty maintaining seriousness during magnificent religious ceremonies. However, the position of pontiff made him inviolable. This saved his life when the Catalina conspiracy was uncovered in 62. The conspirators were going to offer Caesar the post of dictator. They were executed, but Guy survived.

In the same year 62, he became praetor, but he accumulated so many debts that he was forced to leave Rome and go as governor to Spain. There he quickly amassed a fortune, ruining the recalcitrant cities to the ground. He generously shared the surplus with his soldiers, saying: "Power is strengthened by two things - the army and money, and one without the other is unthinkable." Grateful soldiers declared him emperor - this ancient title was given as a reward for a major victory, although the governor did not win a single such victory.

After that, Caesar was elected consul, but this position was no longer the limit of his dreams. The republican system was living out its last days, things were moving towards autocracy, and Guy was determined to become the true ruler of the Eternal City. To do this, he had to enter into an alliance with Pompey and Crassus, whom he briefly reconciled.

In 60, a triumvirate of new allies seized power. To secure the alliance, Caesar gave his daughter Julia to Pompey, and he himself married his niece. Moreover, rumor attributed to him a relationship with the wives of Crassus and Pompey. Yes, and other Roman matrons, according to rumors, were not spared the attention of the loving descendant of Venus. The soldiers sang a song about him: "Hide your wives - we are leading a bald libertine to the city!"

He really went bald early, was embarrassed by this and obtained permission from the Senate to constantly wear the triumphant laurel wreath on his head. Lysina. according to Suetonius. was the only flaw in Caesar's biography. He was tall, well built, his skin was light, his eyes were black and lively. In food he was moderate, he also drank very little for a Roman; even his enemy Cato said that "Caesar alone of all carried out a coup d'état while sober."

He also had another nickname - "the husband of all wives and the wife of all husbands." According to rumors, in Asia Minor, the young Caesar had an affair with the king of Bithynia, Nicomedes. Well, the morals in the then Rome were such that it could very well be true. In any case, Caesar never tried to shut the mouth of scoffers, professing a completely modern principle "whatever they say, if only they say." Mostly good things were said - in his new post, he still generously supplied the Roman mob with circuses, to which bread was now added. People's love was not cheap, the consul again got into debt and in irritation called himself "the poorest of the citizens."

He breathed a sigh of relief when, after a year in the office of consul, he, according to Roman custom, had to resign. Caesar made sure that the Senate sent him to manage Schllia - the current France. The Romans owned only a small part of this rich country. For eight years, Caesar managed to conquer all of Schllia. But, oddly enough, many Gauls loved him - having learned their language, he asked with interest about their religion and customs.

Today, his "Notes on the Gallic War" is not only the main source of biography about the Gauls, who went into oblivion not without the help of Caesar, but one of the first examples of political PR in history. In them, Caesar boasted. that he took 800 cities by storm, exterminated a million enemies, and enslaved another million, giving their lands to Roman veterans. Grateful veterans told on all corners that in the campaigns Caesar walked with them, encouraging those who were lagging behind. He rode like a born rider. He slept in a wagon under the open sky, only in the rain hiding under a canopy. At a halt, he dictated two or even three letters to several secretaries on various topics.

So lively in those years, Caesar's correspondence was explained by the fact that after the death of Crassus in the Persian campaign, the triumvirate came to an end. Pompey, however, increasingly distrusted Caesar, who had already surpassed him in fame and fortune. At his insistence, the senate recalled Caesar from Gillia and ordered him to report to Rome, leaving the army on the frontier.

The decisive moment has come. At the beginning of 49, Caesar approached the border river Rubicon north of Rimini and ordered five thousand of his soldiers to cross it and move on Rome. They say that at the same time he uttered another historical phrase - "the die is cast." In fact, the die had been cast much earlier, when young Gaius was learning the intricacies of politics.

Even then, he realized that power is given into the hands of only those who sacrifice everything else for it - friendship, family, a sense of gratitude. The former son-in-law of Pompey, who helped him a lot at the beginning of his career, now became the main enemy and, without having time to gather strength, fled to Greece. Caesar with his army went after him and. not letting him come to his senses, he defeated his army at Pharsalus. Pompey fled again, this time to Egypt, where local dignitaries killed him, deciding to earn the favor of Caesar.

Togo was quite satisfied with this outcome, especially since he gave him the opportunity to send an army against the Egyptians, accusing them of killing a Roman citizen. Demanding a huge ransom for this, he was going to pay off the army, but everything turned out differently. The young Cleopatra, the sister of the ruling king Ptolemy XTV, who appeared before the commander, unexpectedly offered herself to him - and at the same time her kingdom.

Before leaving for Gaul, Caesar married for the third time - to the rich heiress Calpurnia, but was indifferent to her. He fell in love with the Egyptian queen as if she had bewitched him. But over time, she also experienced a real feeling for the aging conqueror of the world. Later, under a hail of reproaches, Caesar received Cleopatra in Rome, and she listened to even worse reproaches for having gone to him, the first of the Egyptian rulers to leave the sacred valley of the Nile.

In the meantime, the lovers were besieged by the rebellious Egyptians in the harbor of Alexandria. To save themselves, the Romans set fire to the city. destroying the famous library. They managed to hold out until the arrival of reinforcements, and the uprising was crushed. On the way home, Caesar casually defeated the army of the Pontic king Pharnaces, reporting this to Rome with the famous phrase: "I came, I saw, I conquered."

He had to fight twice more with the adherents of Pompey - in Africa and Spain. Only in 45 he returned to Rome, devastated by civil wars, and was declared dictator for life. Caesar himself preferred to call himself emperor - this emphasized his connection with the army and military victories.

Having achieved the desired power, Caesar managed to do three important things. First, he reformed the Roman calendar, which the sarcastic Greeks called "the worst in the world." With the help of Egyptian astronomers. sent by Cleopatra, he divided the year into 12 months and ordered to add an extra leap day to it every four years. The new, Julian calendar turned out to be the most accurate of the existing ones and lasted one and a half thousand years, and the Russian church still uses it. Second, he gave amnesty to all his political opponents. Thirdly, he began to mint gold coins, on which, instead of the gods, the emperor himself was depicted in a laurel wreath. After Caesar, they began to officially call the Son of God.

From this there was only a step to the royal title. Flatterers had long offered him the crown, and Cleopatra had just given birth to his son Caesarion, who could become his heir. It seemed tempting to Caesar to found a new dynasty by uniting the two great powers. However, when the closest associate Mark Antony publicly wanted to put on him the golden royal crown, Caesar pushed him away. Maybe he decided that the time had not yet come, maybe he did not want to turn from the only emperor in the world into an ordinary king, of which there were many around.

The smallness of what was done is easy to explain - Caesar peacefully ruled Rome for less than two years. The fact that at the same time he was remembered for centuries as a great statesman is another manifestation of his charisma, which affects his descendants as strongly as his contemporaries. He planned new transformations, but the Roman treasury was empty. To replenish it. Caesar decided on a new military campaign, promising to make the Roman emperor the greatest conqueror in history. He decided to crush the Persian kingdom, and then return to Rome by the northern route, conquering the Armenians, Scythians and Germans.

Leaving the capital, he had to leave reliable people “on the farm” in order to avoid a possible rebellion. Caesar had three such people: his devoted comrade-in-arms Mark Antony, Gaius Octavian adopted by him, and the son of his longtime mistress Servilia Mark Brutus. Antony attracted Caesar with the decisiveness of a warrior, Octavian - with the cold prudence of a politician. It is more difficult to understand what connected Caesar with the already middle-aged Brutus, a boring pedant, an ardent supporter of the republic. Nevertheless, Caesar promoted him to power, publicly calling him his "dear son." Perhaps, with the sober mind of a politician, he understood that someone should remind him of the republican virtues, without which Rome would rot and perish. At the same time, Brutus could reconcile his two comrades, who clearly did not like each other.

Caesar, who knew everything and everyone. didn't know or didn't want to know. -that his "son", along with other Republicans, is plotting against him. The emperor was informed about this more than once, but he brushed it aside, saying: "If so, then it is better to die once than to constantly live in fear." The attempt was scheduled for the Ides of March, the 15th day of the month when the emperor was to appear in the Senate. Suetonius' detailed account of this event gives the impression of a tragic action in which Caesar played the role of the victim, the martyr of the monarchical idea, as if by notes. A warning note was handed to him outside the Senate building, but he waved it off.

One of the conspirators, Decimus Brutus, distracted the burly Anthony at the entrance so as not to interfere. Tillius Cimbrus grabbed Caesar by the toga - this is a signal to the others - and Servilius Casca struck him the first blow. Then the blows rained down one after another - each of the killers tried to contribute, and in the dump they even wounded each other. Then the conspirators parted, and Brutus approached the barely alive dictator leaning against a column. The “son” silently raised the dagger, and the slain Caesar fell dead, having managed to utter the last historical phrase: “And you, Brutus!”

As soon as this happened, the terrified senators, who became unwitting spectators of the murder, rushed to run. The killers also fled, dropping their bloodied daggers. The corpse of Caesar lay in an empty building for a long time, until the faithful Calpurnia sent slaves for him. The body of the dictator was burnt in the Roman forum, where the temple of the divine Julius was later erected. The month of quintiles was renamed July (Iulius) in his honor.

The conspirators hoped for the loyalty of the Romans to the spirit of the republic. but the firm power established by Caesar seemed more attractive than republican chaos. Very soon, the townspeople rushed to look for the murderers of the emperor and put them to cruel death. Suetonius ended his story about the biography of Gaius Julia with the words: “None of his murderers lived after that for more than three years. They all died in different ways, and Brutus and Cassius struck themselves with the same dagger with which they killed Caesar.

Gaius Julius Caesar had many talents, but he remained in history thanks to the main one, this is the ability to please people. Origin played a significant role in Caesar's success - the Julius family, according to biographical sources, was one of the most ancient in Rome. Julia had their pedigree from the legendary Aeneas (son of the goddess Venus), who escaped from Troy and founded the dynasty of Roman kings. Caesar was born in 102 BC, at that time the husband of his aunt Gaius Marius defeated a thousands of German army on the border of Italy. His father, who was also named Gaius Julius Caesar, did not achieve heights in his career. He was proconsul of Asia. But the relationship of Caesar Jr. with Marius opened up a brilliant future for the young man.

At 16, young Caesar marries Cornelia, daughter of Cinna, Marius's closest associate. Around 83 BC. they had a daughter, Julia, the only legitimate child of Caesar, - at the same time, he had illegitimate children already in his youth. Often leaving his wife alone, Caesar, in the company of drinking companions, roamed the taverns. He differed from his peers only in that he loved to read - Caesar read all the books in Latin and Greek that he could find, and more than once amazed his interlocutors with knowledge in various fields.

Being an admirer of the ancient sages, he did not believe in the constancy of his life, peaceful and prosperous. And he was right - when Marius died in Rome, a civil war began. Sulla, the leader of the aristocratic party, took power into his own hands and began repressions against the Marians. Guy, who refused to divorce his daughter Cinna, was deprived of his property, and he himself was forced into hiding. “Look for the wolf cub, there are a hundred Marievs in it!” demanded the dictator. However, Guy, meanwhile, had already gone to Asia Minor, to the friends of his recently deceased father.

Not far from Miletus, his ship was captured by pirates. The smartly dressed young man interested them, and they demanded a large ransom for him - 20 talents of silver. "Inexpensive you appreciate me!" - answered the descendant of Venus and offered 50 talents for himself. Having sent his servant to collect a ransom, he was "visiting" the pirates for two months.

Julius Caesar behaved rather defiantly with the pirates - he forbade them to sit in his presence, called them boors and threatened to crucify them. Having finally obtained the money, the pirates released the impudent one with relief. Guy immediately went to the Roman military authorities, equipped several ships and overtook his captors in the same place where he was in captivity. Having taken money from them, he actually crucified the pirates - however, those who were more sympathetic to him, he first ordered to be strangled.

Sulla died in the meantime, but his party supporters retained power, and Julius Caesar was in no hurry to return to the capital. He spent a year in Rhodes, learning eloquence - the ability to speak was necessary for the politician he was determined to become.

From the school of Apollonius Molon, where Cicero himself studied, Caesar emerged as a brilliant orator, ready to conquer Rome. He delivered his first speech in 68 BC. at the funeral of his aunt, the widow Maria, he ardently praised the disgraced commander and his reforms, thereby causing a stir among the Sullans. An interesting fact is that at the funeral of his wife, who died in an unsuccessful birth a year earlier, he did not utter a word.

The speech in defense of Marius was the beginning of his election campaign - Julius Caesar put forward his candidacy for the post of quaestor. Such an insignificant post made it possible to become a praetor, and then a consul - the highest representative of power in the Roman Republic. Having borrowed from whom he could only a huge amount, 1000 talents, the descendant of Venus spent it on magnificent feasts and gifts to those on whom his election depended. In those days, two generals, Pompey and Crassus, were fighting for power in Rome, to whom Gaius offered his support in turn.

This earned him the position of quaestor, and later an aedile, an official who was in charge of the festivities in Rome. Unlike other politicians, he generously gave the people not bread, but entertainment - now gladiator fights, then music competitions, then the anniversary of a long-forgotten victory. Ordinary Romans were delighted with him. He earned the sympathy of the educated Roman stratum of society by creating a public museum on the Capitoline Hill, where he exhibited his rich collection of Greek statues. As a result, he was chosen for the position of supreme pontiff, that is, a priest.

Don't believe in anything but your luck. Julius Caesar struggled to remain serious during lavish religious ceremonies. However, the position of pontiff made him inviolable. This saved his life when Catalina's plot was uncovered in 62. The conspirators gathered to offer Guy the post of dictator. They were executed, but Caesar survived.

In the same year 62 BC. he becomes praetor, but got into such debt that he was forced to leave the Eternal City and go as governor to Spain. There he quickly made a fortune, bringing the recalcitrant cities to ruin. He generously shared the surplus with his soldiers, saying: "Power is strengthened by two things - the army and money, and one without the other is unthinkable." He was declared emperor by grateful soldiers - this ancient title was given as a reward for a major victory, although the governor did not win a single such victory.

After that, Gaius is elected consul, but this position was too small for him. The days of the republican system were coming to an end, things were moving towards autocracy, and Julius Caesar was determined to become the true ruler of Rome. To do this, he had to enter into an alliance with Pompey and Crassus, whom he managed to reconcile for a short time.

60 BC A triumvirate of new allies seized power. To consolidate the alliance, Caesar gave his daughter Julia to Pompey, and he himself married his niece. Moreover, rumor attributed to him a relationship with the wives of Crassus and Pompey. Yes, and other Roman matrons, according to rumors, he did not bypass his attention. The soldiers sang a song about him: "Hide your wives - we are leading a bald libertine to the city!"

In fact, he went bald early, was embarrassed by this, and obtained permission from the Senate to wear the triumphant laurel wreath on his head all the time. The bald head, according to Suetonius, was the only flaw in Julius Caesar's biography. He was tall, well-built, had fair skin, black and lively eyes. In food, he knew the measure, he also drank quite a bit for a Roman; even his enemy Cato said that "Caesar alone of all carried out a coup d'état while sober."

He also had another nickname - "the husband of all wives and the wife of all husbands." There were rumors that in Asia Minor, the young Caesar had a connection with the king of Bithynia, Nicomedes. Well, morals in ancient Rome were such that it could very well be true. In any case, Guy never tried to shut the mouth of scoffers, professing a completely modern principle "no matter what they say, just say it." As a rule, they spoke well - in his new post, as before, he generously supplied the Roman mob with circuses, to which he now added bread. People's love was not cheap, the consul got into debt again and in irritation called himself "the poorest of the citizens."

He breathed a sigh of relief when, after a year in the office of consul, he, according to Roman customs, had to resign. Caesar got from the Senate that he would be sent to manage Shllia - the current France. The Romans owned only a small part of this rich country. For 8 years, Julius Caesar was able to conquer all of Schllia. But, oddly enough, many Gauls loved him - having learned their language, he asked with curiosity about their religion and customs.

Today, his "Notes on the Gallic War" is not only the main source of biography about the Gauls, who went into oblivion not without the help of Caesar, but one of the first historical examples of political PR. In them, the descendant of Venus boasted. that he stormed 800 cities, exterminated a million enemies, and another million were enslaved, giving their lands to Roman veterans. Veterans said with gratitude on all corners that on campaigns Julius Caesar walked next to them, encouraging those who were lagging behind. He rode like a born rider. He spent the night in a wagon under the open sky, only in the rain he covered himself with a canopy. At a halt, he dictated two or even three letters to several secretaries on various topics.

Caesar's correspondence, which was so lively in those days, was explained by the fact that after the death of Crassus in the Persian campaign, the triumvirate came to an end. Pompey, however, increasingly distrusted Caesar, who already surpassed him in fame and fortune. At his insistence, the Senate recalled Julius Caesar from Gillia and ordered him to appear in the Eternal City, leaving the army on the border.

The decisive moment has come. At the beginning of 49 BC. Caesar approached the border river Rubicon north of Rimini and ordered 5,000 of his soldiers to cross it and advance on Rome. They say that at the same time he once again uttered the historical phrase - "the die is cast." In fact, the die was cast much earlier, when the young Caesar was learning the intricacies of politics.

Already in those days, he realized that power is given into the hands of only those who can sacrifice everything else for it - friendship, family, a sense of gratitude. The former son-in-law of Pompey, who helped him a lot at the beginning of his career, now became the main enemy and, without having time to gather strength, fled to Greece. Caesar with his army set off after him and, not allowing himself to come to his senses, defeated his army at Pharsalus. Pompey fled again, this time to Egypt, where local dignitaries killed him, deciding to earn the favor of Julius Caesar.

This outcome was quite beneficial for Tom, especially since it gave him a reason to send an army against the Egyptians, accusing them of killing a Roman citizen. Demanding a huge ransom for this, he wanted to pay off the army, but everything turned out differently. Young Cleopatra, the sister of the reigning king Ptolemy XTV, who appeared to the commander, suddenly offered herself to him - and, in the place with her, her kingdom.

Guy, before going to Gaul, married a third time - to the rich heiress Calpurnia, but did not feel feelings for her. He fell in love with Cleopatra as if she had bewitched him. But over time, she also experienced a real feeling for the aging Caesar. Later, the conqueror of the world, under a hail of reproaches, received Cleopatra in the Eternal City, and she listened to even worse reproaches for having gone to him, the first of the Egyptian rulers to leave the sacred valley of the Nile.

In the meantime, the lovers were besieged by the rebellious Egyptians in the harbor of Alexandria. For salvation, the Romans set fire to the city. destroying the famous Alexandrian Library. They were able to hold out until reinforcements arrived, and the uprising was put down. On the way home, Julius Caesar casually defeated the army of the Pontic king Pharnaces, reporting this to Rome with the famous phrase: "I came, I saw, I conquered."

He had a chance to fight two more times with the adherents of Pompey - in Africa and Spain. Only in 45 BC. he returned to Rome, ravaged by civil wars, and was declared dictator for life. Julius Caesar himself preferred to call himself emperor - this emphasized his connection with the army and military victories.

Having achieved the desired power, the descendant of Venus managed to do three important things. First, he reformed the Roman calendar, which the caustic Greeks called "the worst in the world." With the help of Egyptian astronomers sent by Cleopatra, he divided the year into 12 months and ordered that an extra leap day be added to it every 4 years. The new, Julian calendar turned out to be the most accurate of the existing ones and lasted one and a half thousand years, and the Russian church uses it to this day. Second, he gave amnesty to all his political opponents. Thirdly, he began to mint gold coins, on which instead of the gods Caesar himself was depicted in a laurel wreath. After Caesar, they began to officially call the Son of God.

From this there was only a step to the royal title. Flatterers had long offered him the crown, and the Egyptian queen had just given birth to his son Caesarion, who could be his heir. It seemed tempting to Caesar to establish a new dynasty by uniting the two great powers. But when the closest associate Mark Antony publicly wanted to put on him the golden royal crown, Caesar pushed him away. Maybe he decided that the time had not yet come, maybe he did not want to turn from the only emperor in the world into an ordinary king, of which there were many around.

The smallness of what was done is easily explained - Julius Caesar peacefully ruled Rome for less than two years. The fact that he was remembered for centuries as a great statesman is another manifestation of his charisma, which has an impact on his descendants as much as on his contemporaries. They planned new transformations, but the treasury of Rome was empty. To replenish it. Caesar decided to embark on a new military campaign that promised to make him the greatest conqueror in history. He wanted to crush the Persian kingdom, and then return to the Eternal City by the northern route, conquering the Armenians, Scythians and Germans.

Leaving Rome, he had to leave "on the farm" reliable people in order to avoid a possible rebellion. Gaius Julius Caesar had three such people: his devoted comrade-in-arms Mark Antony, Gaius Octavian adopted by him, and the son of his longtime mistress Servilia Mark Brutus. Antony attracted the emperor with the decisiveness of a warrior, Octavian with the cold prudence of a politician. It is more difficult to understand what could connect Caesar with the already middle-aged Brutus, a boring pedant, an ardent supporter of the republic. And yet, Caesar promoted him in power, publicly calling him his "dear son." Perhaps, with a sober mind of a politician, he understood that someone should remind him of the republican virtues, without which the Eternal City would rot and perish. At the same time, Brutus could try on two of his comrades, who clearly did not like each other.

The emperor, who knew everything and everything, did not know - or did not want to know or believe - that his "son", along with other republicans, was plotting against him. Caesar was informed about this more than once, but he brushed it off, saying: "If so, then it is better to die once than to constantly live in fear." The attempt was scheduled for the Ides of March - the 15th day of the month when Guy was supposed to appear in the Senate. Suetonius' detailed account of this event gives the impression of a tragic action in which the emperor played the role of the victim, the martyr of the monarchical idea, as if by notes. A warning note was handed to him outside the Senate building, but he waved it off.

One of the conspirators, Decimus Brutus, distracted the burly Anthony at the entrance so as not to interfere. Tillius Cimbrus grabbed Julius Caesar by the toga - it was a signal for the others - and Servilius Casca hit him first. Then the blows rained down one after another - each of the killers tried to contribute, and in the dump they even wounded each other. After the conspirators parted, and Brutus approached the emperor, barely alive, leaning against the column. The “son” silently raised the dagger, and the slain descendant of Venus fell dead, having managed to utter the last historical phrase: “And you, Brutus!”.

As soon as this happened, the terrified senators, who had become unwitting spectators of the murder, rushed to run. The killers also fled, dropping their bloodied daggers. The corpse of Julius Caesar lay in an empty building for a long time, until the faithful Calpurnia sent slaves for him. The emperor's body was burnt in the Roman forum, where later a temple of the divine Julius was erected. The month of quintiles was renamed July (Iulius) in his honor.

The conspirators hoped for the loyalty of the Romans to the spirit of the republic, but the firm power established by the dictator seemed more attractive than republican chaos. Pretty soon, the townspeople rushed to look for Caesar's killers and put them to a cruel death. Suetonius ends his story about the biography of Gaius Julia with the words: “None of his murderers lived after that for more than 3 years. They all died in different ways, and Brutus and Cassius struck themselves with the same dagger with which they killed Caesar.

V. Erlikhman

CAESAR (Caesar) Gaius Julius (100 or 102 - 44 BC), Roman dictator at 49, 48-46, 45, from 44 - for life. Commander. He began political activity as a supporter of the republican group, holding the positions of a military tribune in 73, an aedile in 65, a praetor in 62. Seeking a consulate, in 60 he entered into an alliance with G. Pompey and Crassus (1st triumvirate). Consul in 59, then governor of Gaul; in 58-51 he subordinated to Rome the whole of trans-Alpine Gaul. At 49, relying on the army, he began the struggle for autocracy. Having defeated Pompey and his supporters in 49-45 (Crassus died in 53), he became the head of state. Having concentrated in his hands a number of the most important republican posts (dictator, consul, etc.), he became in fact a monarch. Killed in a Republican conspiracy. Author of Notes on the Gallic War and Notes on Civil Wars; reformed the calendar (Julian calendar).

CAESAR Gaius Julius (Gaius Julius Caesar), (July 13, 100 - March 15, 44 BC), Roman politician and commander. The last years of the Roman Republic are connected with the reign of Caesar, who established the regime of sole power. The name of Caesar was turned into the title of the Roman emperors; subsequently, the Russian words "tsar", "caesar", the German "kaiser" came from him.

Youth

He came from a noble patrician family: his father held the position of praetor, and then proconsul of Asia, his mother belonged to the noble plebeian family of Aurelius. The young Caesar's family connections determined his position in the political world: his father's sister, Julia, was married to Gaius Marius, the de facto sole ruler of Rome, and Caesar's first wife, Cornelia, was the daughter of Cinna, Marius' successor. In 84, the young Caesar was elected priest of Jupiter. The establishment of the dictatorship of Sulla in 82 and the persecution of the supporters of Marius affected the position of Caesar: he was removed from the priesthood and demanded a divorce from Cornelia. Caesar refused, which entailed the confiscation of his wife's property and the deprivation of his father's inheritance. Sulla, however, pardoned the young man, although he was suspicious of him, believing that "there are many Marievs in the boy."

The beginning of military and state activities

Having left Rome for M. Asia, Caesar was in military service, lived in Bithynia, Cilicia, and participated in the capture of Mitylene. He returned to Rome after the death of Sulla, spoke at the trials. In order to improve his oratory, he went to Fr. Rhodes to the famous rhetor Apollonius Molon. Returning from Rhodes, he was captured by pirates, paid a ransom, but then cruelly took revenge, capturing the sea robbers and putting them to death. In Rome, Caesar received the posts of priest-pontiff and military tribune, and from 68 - a quaestor, married Pompey, a relative of Gnaeus Pompey - his future ally and then enemy. Having taken the post of aedile in 66, he was engaged in the improvement of the city, organizing magnificent festivities, grain distributions; all this contributed to its popularity. Having become a senator, he participates in political intrigues in order to support Pompey, who at that time was engaged in a war in the East and returned in triumph in 61.

First triumvirate

In 60, on the eve of the consular elections, a secret political alliance was concluded - a triumvirate - between Pompey, Caesar and the winner of Spartacus Crassus. Caesar was elected consul for 59 years together with Bibulus. By passing the agrarian laws, Caesar acquired a large number of adherents who received the land. Strengthening the triumvirate, he gave his daughter in marriage to Pompey.

Gallic War

Having become, at the end of his consular powers, proconsul of Gaul, Caesar conquered new territories here for Rome. In the Gallic war, the exceptional diplomatic and strategic art of Caesar, his ability to use the contradictions among the Gallic leaders, was manifested. Having defeated the Germans in a fierce battle on the territory of modern Alsace, Caesar not only repelled their invasion, but then he himself, for the first time in Roman history, undertook a campaign across the Rhine, transporting troops across a specially built bridge. Caesar made a campaign in Britain, where he won several victories and crossed the Thames; however, realizing the fragility of his position, he soon left the island.

In 56, during a meeting of the triumvirs in Luke with Caesar, who arrived for this from Gaul, a new agreement was concluded on mutual political support. In 54, Caesar urgently returned to Gaul in connection with the uprising that had begun there. Despite desperate resistance and superior numbers, the Gauls were again subjugated, many cities were captured and devastated; by 50 Caesar restored the territories subject to Rome.

caesar commander

As a commander, Caesar was distinguished by decisiveness and at the same time caution. He was hardy, in the campaign he always walked ahead of the troops - with his head uncovered and in the heat, and in the cold, and in the rain. Caesar knew how to set up the soldiers with a short and well-constructed speech, he personally knew his centurions and the best soldiers and enjoyed extraordinary popularity and authority among them.

Civil War

After the death of Crassus in 53, the triumvirate fell apart. Pompey, in his rivalry with Caesar, led the supporters of traditional senatorial republican rule. The Senate, fearing Caesar, refused to extend his powers in Gaul. Realizing his popularity among the troops and in Rome itself, Caesar decides to seize power by force. On January 12, 49, he gathered the soldiers of the 13th legion, delivered a speech to them and made the famous crossing of the river. Rubicon, thus crossing the border of Italy (the legend ascribes to him the words "the die is cast", pronounced before the crossing and marked the beginning of the civil war).

In the very first days, Caesar occupied several cities without encountering resistance. Rome began to panic. Confused Pompey, the consuls and the senate left the capital. Entering Rome, Caesar summoned the remainder of the Senate and proposed cooperation in the joint administration of the state. Caesar quickly and successfully campaigned against Pompey in his province of Spain. Returning to Rome, Caesar was proclaimed dictator. Pompey, united with Metellus Scipio, hastily gathered a huge army, but Caesar inflicted a crushing defeat on him in the famous battle of Pharsalus; Pompey himself fled to the Asian provinces and was killed in Egypt. Pursuing Pompey, Caesar went to Egypt, to Alexandria, where he was presented with the head of a murdered rival. Caesar refused a terrible gift, and, according to the stories of biographers, mourned his death.

While in Egypt, Caesar intervened in political intrigues on the side of Queen Cleopatra; Alexandria was subjugated. Meanwhile, the Pompeians, of whom Cato and Scipio came to the fore, were gathering new forces based in North Africa. After a campaign in Syria and Cilicia (it was from here that he wrote in the report "I came, I saw, I conquered"), he returned to Rome and then in the battle of Taps (46) in North Africa defeated the supporters of Pompey. The cities of North Africa expressed their obedience, Numidia was annexed to the Roman possessions, turned into the province of New Africa.

caesar dictator

Upon returning to Rome, Caesar celebrates a magnificent triumph, arranges grandiose spectacles, games and treats for the people, rewards soldiers. He is proclaimed dictator for a 10-year term, and soon receives the titles of "emperor" and "father of the fatherland." Caesar passes laws on Roman citizenship, on city government, on the reduction of grain distributions in Rome, as well as a law against luxury. He reforms the calendar that bears his name.

After the last victory over the Pompeians at Munda (in Spain, 45), Caesar began to show immoderate honors. His statues were erected in temples and among the images of kings. He wore red royal boots, red royal vestments, had the right to sit on a gilded chair, and had a large honorary guard. The month of July was named after him, and a list of his honors was written in gold letters on silver columns. Caesar autocratically appointed and removed officials from power.

Conspiracy and assassination of Caesar

In society, especially in republican circles, discontent was brewing, there were rumors about Caesar's desire for royal power. An unfavorable impression was also made by his connection with Cleopatra, who lived at that time in Rome. A conspiracy arose to assassinate the dictator. Among the conspirators were his closest associates Cassius and the young Marcus Junius Brutus, who was even claimed to be Caesar's illegitimate son. March 15, 44 BC e. - on the Ides of March - at a meeting of the Senate, the conspirators, in front of frightened senators, attacked Caesar with daggers. According to legend, when he saw young Brutus among the killers, Caesar exclaimed: "And you, my child" (or: "And you, Brutus"), stopped resisting and fell at the foot of the statue of his enemy Pompey.

Caesar went down in history as the largest Roman writer - his "Notes on the Gallic War" and "Notes on the Civil War" are rightfully considered a model of Latin prose.