The story of Julius Caesar is brief and important. The reign of julius caesar. Participation in the Gallic War

Gaius Julius Caesar (lat.Gaius Iulius Caesar). Born on July 12 or 13, 100 BC e. - died March 15, 44 BC e. Ancient Roman statesman and politician, military leader, writer. Consul 59, 48, 46, 45 and 44 BC e., dictator 49, 48-47 and 46-44 BC. e., great pontiff from 63 BC. e.

Gaius Julius Caesar was born into the ancient patrician Julian family.

In the 5th-4th centuries BC. e. Julia played a significant role in the life of Rome. Among the representatives of the family came, in particular, one dictator, one master of cavalry (deputy dictator) and one member of the college of decemvirs, who developed the laws of the Ten Tables - the original version of the famous laws of the Twelve Tables.

Like most families with an ancient history, the Julias shared a common myth about their origins. They traced their lineage to the goddess Venus through Aeneas. The mythical version of the origin of the Julians was well known already by 200 BC. e., and Cato the Elder wrote down a version about the etymology of the generic name Juliev. In his opinion, the first bearer of this name, Yul, received a nickname from the Greek word "ἴουλος" (fluff, the first hair on the cheeks and chin).

Almost all Julias in the 5th-4th centuries BC e. worn by the cognomen Yul, who was probably originally the only one in their family. The branch of the Julian Caesars probably descended from the Julian Yulov, although the links between them are unknown.

The first known Caesar was the praetor of 208 BC. e., mentioned by Titus Livy.

The etymology of the Caesar cognomen is not reliably known. and was forgotten already in the Roman era. Aelius Spartian, one of the authors of the biographies of the Augustus, wrote down four versions that existed by the 4th century AD. e .: “The most learned and educated people believe that the first one who was so named received this name from the name of the elephant (which in the language of the Moors is called Caesai), which he killed in battle; [or] because he was born of a dead mother and was cut out of her womb; or because he came out of the womb of the parent already with long hair; or because he had such brilliant blue-gray eyes that people do not have ".

Until now, the reliable etymology of the name is unclear, but more often the origin of the cognomen from the Etruscan language is assumed (aisar - god; the Roman names Cesium, Caesonium and Cesenius have a similar origin).

By the beginning of the 1st century BC. e. in Rome, two branches of the Julian Caesars were known. They were with each other in a fairly close, but not exactly established relationship. Two branches were registered in different tribes, and by the 80s BC. e. they also had a completely opposite political orientation, focusing on two warring politicians.

The closest relatives of the future dictator were guided by Guy Maria (Julia, Guy's aunt became his wife), and Caesars from another branch supported Sulla. Moreover, the latter branch played a greater role in public life than the one to which Guy belonged. Gaius's mother and grandmother's relatives could not boast of kinship with the gods, but they all belonged to the elite of Roman society - the nobility. Caesar's mother, Aurelius Cotta, belonged to the wealthy and influential plebeian Aurelian family. The relatives of Gaius' grandmother - Marcia - traced their lineage to the fourth Roman king Ancus Marcius.

Caesar's date of birth remains a matter of debate for researchers. Sources vary in their testimony on this matter. Indirect indications of most ancient authors allow the birth of the dictator to be dated to 100 BC. e., although Eutropius mentions that during the battle of Munda (March 17, 45 BC) he was 56 years old. In two important systematic sources about the life of the dictator - his biography of authorship and - the beginning of the text with stories about the circumstances of birth has not been preserved.

The reason for the discrepancies in historiography was, however, the discrepancy between the time of Caesar's studies of master's degrees with known practice: Caesar occupied all master's degrees earlier than the normal sequence (cursus honorum) by about two years.

Because of this, Theodor Mommsen suggested considering the date of birth of Caesar 102 BC. e. From the beginning of the 20th century, other options for resolving the discrepancy began to be proposed. Guy's birthday - July 12 or 13, also sparks discussion. The fourth day before the Ides of the quintile (July 12) is mentioned by Macrobius in the Saturnalia. Dio Cassius, however, says that after the death of the dictator, the date of his birth was moved from the 13th to the 12th July by a special decree of the second triumvirate. Thus, there is no consensus on the date of birth of Caesar. The year of his birth is most often recognized as 100 BC. e. (in France it is more often referred to as 101 BC, as suggested by Jerome Carcopino). The dictator's birthday is equally often considered 12 or 13 July.

The house where Caesar grew up was in Subura - a district of Rome who had a reputation for being dysfunctional. As a child, he studied Greek, literature, rhetoric at home. They practiced physical exercises, swimming, horse riding. Among the teachers of the young Guy, the great rhetorician Gnifon is known, who was also one of the teachers of Cicero.

Around 85 BC. e. Caesar lost his father: according to Pliny the Elder, he died, stooping to put on his shoes. After the death of his father, Caesar, who passed the initiation ceremony, actually headed the entire Julian family, since all the closest male relatives older than him died. Soon Guy became engaged to Cossutia, a girl from a wealthy family from the class of horsemen (according to another version, they managed to get married).

In the mid 80s BC. e. Cinna nominated Caesar to the honorary position of Jupiter's Flamin... This priest was bound by many sacred restrictions, which seriously limited the possibilities of taking master's degrees. To take office, he first had to marry a girl from a patrician family in the old confarreatio rite, and Cinna offered Guy his daughter Cornelia... Young Julius agreed, although he had to break off his engagement to Cossutia.

However, Caesar's entry into office is being questioned. According to Lily Ross Taylor, the great pontiff Quintus Muzio Scovola (opponent of Maria and Cinna) refused to hold Guy's inauguration ceremony. Ernst Bedian, however, believes that Caesar was nevertheless inaugurated. As a rule, the appointment of Caesar is viewed in historiography as an insurmountable obstacle to his further political career. However, there is also the opposite point of view: the occupation of such an honorary position was a good opportunity to strengthen the authority of the ancient family for this branch of Caesars, by no means all of whose representatives achieved the highest magistracy of the consul.

Soon after his marriage to Cornelia, Cinna was killed by mutinous soldiers, and a civil war broke out the following year, in which Caesar probably did not participate. With the establishment of the dictatorship of Lucius Cornelius Sulla and the beginning of proscriptions, Caesar's life was in danger: the dictator did not spare political opponents and personal enemies, and Gaius turned out to be the nephew of Gaius Marius and Cinna's son-in-law. Sulla demanded that Caesar divorce his wife, which was not a unique case of proving loyalty, but he refused to do so.

In the end, Sulla added Caesar's name to the proscription list and he was forced to leave Rome. Sources say that Caesar was in hiding for a long time, giving bribes to the Sullans who were looking for him, but these stories are unlikely. Guy's influential relatives in Rome, meanwhile, managed to obtain pardon for Caesar. An additional circumstance that softened the dictator was the origin of Caesar from the patrician class, whose representatives were never executed by the conservative Sulla.

Soon Caesar left Italy and joined the retinue of Mark Minucius Therma, governor of the province of Asia. The name of Caesar was well known in this province: about ten years ago, his father was its governor. Guy became one of the Terme contubernals - the children of senators and young horsemen, trained in military affairs and provincial government under the supervision of the current magistrate.

At first Term entrusted the young patrician with negotiations with the king of Bithynia Nicomedes IV. Caesar was able to convince the king to transfer part of his fleet to Therma so that the governor could capture the city of Mytilene on Lesbos, which did not recognize the results of the First Mithridates war and resisted the Romans.

The stay of Gaius with the Bithynian king subsequently became the source of many rumors about their sexual relationship. After the successful completion of this assignment, Terme sent troops against Mytilene, and the Romans soon took the city. After the battle, Caesar was awarded the civil crown (lat.corona civica) - an honorary military award, which relied on saving the life of a Roman citizen. After the capture of Mytilene, the campaign in Lesvos ended. Soon Term resigned, and Caesar went to Cilicia to her governor Publius Servilius Vatia, who was organizing a military campaign against the pirates. However, when in 78 BC. e. news of the death of Sulla came from Italy, Caesar immediately returned to Rome.

In 78 BC. e. Consul Marcus Aemilius Lepidus tried to stir up a revolt among the Italians in order to abolish the laws of Sulla. According to Suetonius, Lepidus invited Caesar to join the rebellion, but Guy refused. In 77 BC. e. Caesar brought to trial the Sullanian Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella on charges of extortion during the governorship in Macedonia. Dolabella was acquitted after leading court speakers supported him. The accusatory speech delivered by Caesar turned out to be so successful that it was circulated for a long time in handwritten copies. The next year, Guy began to prosecute another sullan, Guy Antony Hybrid, but he asked for protection from the tribunes of the people, and the trial did not take place.

Soon after the failure of the Anthony trial, Caesar went to improve his oratory skills to Rhodes to the famous rhetorician Apollonius Molon, the mentor of Cicero.

During the journey, Caesar was captured by pirates who had long traded in the Eastern Mediterranean. He was held on the small island of Farmakoussa (Farmakonisi) in the Dodecanese archipelago. The pirates demanded a large ransom of 50 talents (300,000 Roman denarii). Plutarch's version that Caesar, on his own initiative, increased the ransom amount from 20 talents to 50, is probably implausible.

Ancient authors colorfully describe Guy's stay on the island: he allegedly joked with the kidnappers and recited poems of his own composition to them. After the ambassadors of the cities of Asia ransomed Caesar, he immediately equipped a squadron to capture the pirates themselves, which he managed to do. Capturing his captors, Guy asked to judge and punish their new governor of Asia, Mark Junck, but he refused.

After that, Guy himself organized the execution of the pirates - they were crucified on crosses.

Suetonius adds some details of the execution as an illustration of Caesar's gentle character: “He swore to the pirates who had him in captivity that they would die on the cross, but when he captured them, he ordered them to be stabbed first and only then crucified”.

During his second stay in the East, Caesar once again visited the Bithynian king Nicomedes. He also fought at the very beginning of the Third Mithridates War at the head of a separate auxiliary detachment, but soon left the war zone and returned to Rome in about 74 BC. e. The following year he was co-opted into the priestly college of pontiffs to replace the deceased uncle of Guy Aurelius Cotta.

Soon Caesar wins military tribune elections... The exact date of his tribunate is unknown: 73 is often suggested, but the date is more likely to be 72 or 71 BC. e. What Caesar did during this period is not known for certain. It is suggested that Caesar could have been involved in suppressing the uprising of Spartacus- if not in combat, then at least in the training of recruits. It is also suggested that it was during the suppression of the uprising that Caesar became close to Marcus Licinius Crassus, who in the future played a significant role in the career of Guy.

At the beginning of 69 BC. e. Caesar's wife Cornelia and his aunt Julia die almost simultaneously. At their funeral, Guy made two speeches that attracted the attention of his contemporaries.

First, public speaking in memory of deceased women was practiced only from the end of the 2nd century BC. e., but even in them older matrons were usually remembered, but not young women. Secondly, in a speech in honor of his aunt, he recalled her marriage to Guy Marius and showed the people his wax bust. Probably, Julia's funeral was the first public demonstration of the image of the general since the beginning of the dictatorship of Sulla, when Maria was practically consigned to oblivion.

In the same year Caesar becomes a quaestor, which guaranteed him a seat in the Senate... Caesar performed the duties of a quaestor in the province of Far Spain. The details of his mission are unknown, although the quaestor in the province usually handled financial matters. Apparently, Guy accompanied the governor of Gaius Antistius Veta on trips around the province, carrying out his instructions. It was probably during the questure that he met Lucius Cornelius Balbus, who later became Caesar's closest associate.

Soon after returning from the province, Guy married Pompey, the granddaughter of Sulla (she was not a close relative of the influential Pompey the Great in those years). At the same time, Caesar began to openly lean towards the support of Gnaeus Pompey, in particular, he was almost the only senator who supported the Gabinius law on the transfer of extraordinary powers to Gnaeus in the fight against pirates.

Caesar also supported the law of Manilia on granting new command to Pompey, although here he was no longer alone.

In 66 BC. e. Caesar became the caretaker of the Appian Way and repaired it at his own expense (according to another version, he was engaged in the repair of the road in 65 BC, being an aedile). In those years, the main creditor of the young politician, who was not stingy with spending, was probably Crassus.

In 66 BC. e. Caesar was elected curule aedile for the following year, whose duties included the organization of urban construction, transport, trade, daily life in Rome and solemn events (usually at his own expense). In April 65 BC. e. new aedile organized and hosted the Megalesian Games, and in September the Roman Games, which, with their luxury, surprised even the Romans who were sophisticated in entertainment. Caesar shared the costs of both events equally with his colleague Mark Calpurnius Bibulus, but only Guy received all the glory.

Initially, Caesar planned to show a record number of gladiators at the Roman Games (according to another version, gladiator fights were staged by him in memory of his father), but the Senate, fearing a riot of many armed slaves, issued a special decree forbidding one person to bring more than a certain number of gladiators to Rome. ... Julius obeyed the restrictions on the number of gladiators, but gave each of them silver armor, thanks to which his gladiatorial battles were still remembered by the Romans.

In addition, the aedile overcame the resistance of the conservative senators and restored all the trophies of Guy Marius, the demonstration of which had been prohibited by Sulla.

In 64 BC. e. Caesar presided over the permanent criminal court in cases of robbery accompanied by murder (quaestio de sicariis). In the courts under his chairmanship, many participants in Sulla's proscriptions were convicted, although this dictator issued a law that did not allow criminal prosecution against them. Despite Caesar's vigorous activities to condemn the dictator's accomplices, the active performer of the murders of the proclaimed Lucius Sergius Catiline was fully acquitted and was able to nominate himself for the consulship the following year. Much of the lawsuits, however, were initiated by Caesar's opponent, Marcus Porcius Cato the Younger.

Caesar is the great pontiff:

At the beginning of 63 BC. e. the great pontiff Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius died, and the highest office in the system of Roman religious magistrates became vacant. In the late 80s BC. e. Lucius Cornelius Sulla brought back the ancient custom of co-optation of the high priests by the college of pontiffs, but shortly before the new elections, Titus Labienus returned the procedure for electing a great pontiff by voting in 17 tribes out of 35.

Caesar announced his candidacy. Alternative candidates were Quintus Lutatius Catulus Capitolinus and Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus. Ancient historians report numerous bribery during elections, due to which Guy's debts increased greatly. Since the tribes who voted were drawn by lot just before the elections, Caesar was forced to bribe representatives of all 35 tribes. Guy's creditors were sympathetic to spending on a prestigious but unprofitable position: a successful election testified to his popularity on the eve of the election of praetors and consuls.

According to legend, leaving home before the announcement of the results, he told his mother "Either I will return as a pontiff, or I will not return at all"; according to another version: "Today, mother, you will see your son as either a high priest or an exile."... The vote took place, according to various versions, either on March 6, or at the end of the year, and Caesar won. According to Suetonius, his advantage over his opponents was enormous.

Julius's election as great pontiff for life drew general attention to him and almost certainly guaranteed a successful political career. Unlike the flamin of Jupiter, the great pontiff could participate in both civil and military activities without serious sacred restrictions.

Although people who were consuls (consulars) were usually elected as great pontiffs, in Roman history there were also cases when this honorary position was occupied by relatively young people. Thus, Caesar could not be accused of becoming a great pontiff only because of exorbitant ambitions. Immediately after his election, Caesar took advantage of the right to live in the state house of the great pontiff and moved from Subura to the very center of the city, on the Sacred Road.

Caesar and the Catiline's conspiracy:

In 65 BC. e., according to some conflicting evidence of ancient historians, Caesar participated in an unsuccessful conspiracy of Lucius Sergius Catiline to seize power. However, the question of the "first conspiracy of Catiline" remains problematic. The evidence of the sources varies, which gives grounds for some researchers to deny the existence of the "first conspiracy" altogether.

Rumors about Caesar's participation in the first conspiracy of Catiline, if it existed, were spread by the opponents of Crassus and Caesar already in the 50s BC. e. and certainly not true. Richard Billous believes that the spread of rumors about the "first conspiracy" was beneficial to Cicero, and then to Caesar's political opponents.

In 63 BC. e., after his failure in the election of consuls, Catiline made a new, more famous attempt to seize power. The possible involvement of Caesar in the conspiracy was argued back in ancient times, but reliable evidence was never provided. In the days of the culmination of the crisis, Catulus and Piso demanded that Cicero arrest Caesar for complicity in the conspiracy, but to no avail. According to Adrian Goldsworthy, by 63 BC. e. Caesar could count on legal means of taking up new positions and was not interested in participating in the conspiracy.

December 3, 63 BC e. Cicero presented evidence of the danger of the conspiracy, and the next day a number of the conspirators were declared state criminals. On December 5, the Senate, meeting in the Temple of Concord, discussed a measure of restraint for the conspirators: in extraordinary circumstances, it was decided to act without a court order. Decimus Junius Silanus, elected consul the following year, advocated the death penalty, a punishment that was rarely applied to Roman citizens. His proposal was met with approval.

Caesar spoke next.

His speech in the Senate, recorded by Sallust, is probably based on a real speech by Julius. Sallust's version of the speech contains both a widespread appeal to Roman customs and traditions, and an unusual proposal to sentence the conspirators to life imprisonment - almost never used in Rome - with confiscation of property.

After Caesar, Cicero spoke out, opposing the proposal of Guy (an edited transcript of his fourth speech against Catiline has been preserved). However, after the speech of the current consul, many were still inclined to the proposal of Julius, but the floor was taken by Marcus Porcius Cato the Younger, who decisively opposed Caesar's initiative. Cato also hinted at Caesar's involvement in the conspiracy and rebuked the vacillating senators for their lack of resolve, after which the Senate voted to betray the conspirators of the death penalty. Since the meeting on December 5 was held with open doors, people attentively listening outside reacted violently to Cato's speech, including his allusion to Caesar's connections with the conspirators, and after the meeting, they saw Guy off with threats.

Barely taking office as praetor on January 1, 62 BC. e. Caesar used the right of the magistrate's legislative initiative and proposed to the People's Assembly to transfer the authority to restore the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter from Quintus Lutacia Catulus to Gnei Pompey. Catulus was involved in the restoration of this temple for about 15 years and almost completed the work, but if this proposal was accepted, the dedicatory inscription on the pediment of this most important sanctuary of Rome would have mentioned the name of Pompey, and not Catulus, an influential opponent of Caesar.

Guy also accused Katul of embezzling public funds and demanded an account of the expenses. After a protest by the senators, the praetor withdrew his bill.

When on January 3 the tribune Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos proposed to recall Pompey to Rome to defeat the troops of Catiline, Guy supported this proposal, although the conspirators' troops were already surrounded and doomed to defeat. Apparently, Nepos - brother-in-law of Gnaeus - hoped with his proposal to give Pompey the opportunity to arrive in Italy without disbanding his troops. After a massive brawl provoked by Nepos in the forum, the determined Senate passed an emergency law to remove Nepos and Caesar from office, but a few days later Guy was reinstated.

In the fall, at the trial of Lucius Vettius, a participant in the Catiline conspiracy, the accused told the judge that he had evidence of Caesar's involvement in the conspiracy - his letter to Catiline. In addition, during interrogation in the Senate, the witness Quintus Curius said that he had heard personally from Catiline about Caesar's participation in the preparation of the rebellion. However, at the request of Gaius, Cicero testified that he told the consul everything he knew about the conspiracy, and thereby deprived the Curia of the reward for information and refuted his testimony. Against the first prosecutor, Caesar acted very decisively, arresting both Vettius (he did not appear at the next meeting and did not present evidence of the praetor's guilt), and the judge Novius Niger (he received a denunciation of the senior magistrate).

In December 62 BC. e. In the new house of Caesar, a holiday was held in honor of the Good Goddess with the participation of only women, but it was interrupted after a man, Publius Clodius Pulcher, secretly entered the house. The senators, having learned about the incident, decided to consider the incident sacrilege, and also demanded that the holiday be held anew and the guilty be punished. The latter meant the inevitable public disclosure of Caesar's personal life, since there were rumors that Clodius arrived at Caesar's house in a woman's dress precisely for his wife.

Without waiting for the court the pontiff divorced Pompey Sulla... The trial took place the following year, and Clodius was acquitted because Caesar refused to testify against him. Adrian Goldsworthy believes that Pompeii did have an affair with Claudius, but Caesar still hesitated to testify against the rapidly gaining popularity of the politician.

In addition, the majority of the judges in the collegium voted with illegible signs, not wanting to incur the ire of Clodius' supporters and opponents. During the trial, when Caesar was asked why he divorced his wife, if he knows nothing about what happened, he allegedly replied that Caesar's wife should be above suspicion(Various sources give different versions of this phrase. According to Michael Grant, Caesar meant that the wife of the great pontiff - the high priest of Rome should be beyond suspicion. The British historian also points to another possible reason that accelerated the divorce - the absence of children for several years of marriage ...

At the beginning of 61 BC. e. Caesar was supposed to go to the province of Far Spain, the westernmost in the Roman Republic, in order to rule it as a propraetor, but numerous creditors made sure that he did not leave Rome without paying off huge debts. Nevertheless, Crassus vouched for Caesar in the amount of 830 talents, although this huge amount hardly covered all the debts of the governor. Thanks to Crassus, Guy went to the province even before the end of the trial of Clodius. On the way to Spain, Caesar allegedly said, passing through a remote village, that "Would rather be first here than second in Rome"(according to another version, this phrase was uttered already on the way from Spain to Rome).

By the time Caesar arrived in the underdeveloped northern and northeastern parts of the province, there was strong discontent with Roman power and large debts. Caesar immediately recruited a militia from local residents to subjugate the disaffected regions, which was presented as the extermination of the bandits.

According to Dion Cassius, thanks to the military campaign, Caesar hoped to equal Pompey with his victories, although a lasting peace could be established without military action.

With 30 cohorts (about 12 thousand soldiers) at his disposal, he approached the Germinian mountains (the modern ridge of Serra da Estrela) and demanded that the local tribes settle in the flat territory in order to deprive them of the opportunity to use their fortifications in the mountains in the event of an uprising.

Dio Cassius believes that Caesar hoped for a refusal from the very beginning, since he expected to use this answer as a motive for an attack. After the hill tribes refused to obey, the viceroy's troops attacked them and forced them to retreat to the Atlantic Ocean, from where the highlanders sailed to the Berlenga Islands. Caesar ordered several troops to cross to the islands on small rafts, but the Lusitanians killed the entire Roman landing.

In the aftermath of this failure, Guy summoned a fleet from Hades and with his help transported large forces to the islands. While the commander conquered the mountain Lusitanians on the Atlantic coast, the neighbors of the exiled tribes began preparations to repel a possible attack by the governor. All summer, the propraetor subdued the scattered Lusitanians, taking by storm a number of settlements and winning one fairly large battle. Soon Caesar left the province and went to Brigantia (modern A Coruña), quickly capturing the city and its surroundings. In the end, the troops declared him emperor, which in the terminology of the middle of the 1st century BC. e. meant recognition as a victorious commander. Even then, Caesar showed himself to be a decisive commander, capable of quickly moving his troops.

After completing his campaign, Caesar turned to solving the everyday problems of the province. His energetic work in the administrative sphere manifested itself in the revision of taxation and in the analysis of court cases. In particular, the governor canceled the tax imposed as punishment for the support of Quintus Sertorius by the Lusitanians in the recent war. In addition, it ruled that creditors could not collect more than two-thirds of their annual income from debtors.

In the face of a difficult situation with the payment of loans and interest by the inhabitants of the province, such a measure turned out to be beneficial for both borrowers and lenders, since Caesar nevertheless confirmed the need for the obligatory repayment of all debts. Finally, Caesar may have banned the practice of human sacrifice in the provinces.

Some sources claim that the governor extorted money from wealthy residents of the province and robbed neutral tribes, but this evidence is probably based only on hearsay. Richard Billows believes that if Caesar had in fact openly plundered the province, political opponents would have immediately brought him to justice upon his return to Rome. In fact, there was no prosecution, not even a hint of its beginning, which indicates at least Caesar's caution.

Roman law of the 1st century BC e. provided for the responsibility of the governor for extortion, but did not establish clear boundaries between a gift and a bribe, and therefore sufficiently cautious actions could not qualify as bribery.

Caesar, on the other hand, could count on solid gifts, since the inhabitants of the province (especially the rich south) saw in the young aristocrat a potentially influential patron - the protector of their interests in Rome.

Masinta's extremely energetic defense showed them that Caesar would go to great lengths to protect his clients. Apparently, Caesar received the greatest income from civil activities in the southern part of the province, since the main military operations were fought in the poor northern and northeastern regions of Far Spain, in which it was hardly possible to get rich. After the governorship in the province, Caesar significantly improved his financial situation, and the creditors did not bother him anymore. Guy probably did not pay off all the debts, but he proved that he is able to pay off loans thanks to the occupation of new positions. As a result, the creditors could temporarily stop harassing Caesar, counting on a new, more advantageous appointment, which the opponents of Guy later tried to use.

At the beginning of 60 BC. e. Caesar decided to return to Rome without waiting for his successor. The early termination of the governor's office with the delegation of authority to a junior magistrate (probably a quaestor) was considered unusual, but sometimes practiced.

Having received reports of Caesar's victories, the Senate considered him worthy of triumph. In addition to this honorable celebration, in the summer of 60 BC. e. Caesar hoped to take part in the election of consuls next year, since he had reached the minimum age for a new position and had completed all previous master's degrees in the cursus honorum system.

However, the contender for the triumph did not have the right to cross the sacred boundaries of the city (pomery) before the start of the event, and a personal presence in Rome was required to register a candidate for consulship. Since the date for the election had already been set, Caesar asked the senators to grant him the right to register in absentia. There was already a precedent for such a decision in Roman history: in 71 BC. e. the senate allowed Gnaeus Pompey to stand as a candidate, who was also preparing a triumph.

Caesar's opponents were not in the mood to meet him. Having presented Guy with a choice between triumph and consulate, they may have hoped for Caesar's choice of triumph. hoping that Guy's creditors will not wait another year, but will demand their money immediately. However, Caesar had another reason not to postpone participation in the elections until next year: being elected to a new position in “his own year” (lat. Suo anno), that is, in the first year when it was permissible by law, was considered especially honorable.

At the last meeting of the Senate before the elections, when it was still possible to accept special permission, Cato took the floor and spoke all day, until the very close of the meeting. Thus, Caesar did not receive special permission, and he entered the city, choosing to take up a new position and abandoning his triumph.

By the summer of 60 BC. e. Caesar agreed to cooperate with the rich and educated, but little-known to the public, the Roman Lucius Lucceus, who also put forward his candidacy. According to Suetonius, "they agreed that Lucceus would promise his own money to the Centuries on behalf of both." The Roman author mentions that, with the approval of the senators, his rival Bibulus also bribed voters: his father-in-law Cato called this "bribery in the interests of the state." According to the results of the elections by the consuls for 59 BC. e. became Caesar and Bibulus.

Around this time, Caesar entered into secret negotiations with Pompey and Crassus to create a political alliance: in exchange for the support of Guy by the two most influential and wealthy Romans, the new consul pledged to pass several laws in their interests, which had previously been blocked by the Senate.

The fact is that Pompey, who returned from the Third Mithridates War back in 62 BC. e., still has not achieved the ratification of all orders made in the eastern provinces. He also could not overcome the resistance of the Senate on the issue of providing land allotments to the veterans of his army. Crassus also had reasons for dissatisfaction with the Senate, who defended the interests of the publicans (tax farmers), who unsuccessfully asked to reduce the amount of the ransom for the province of Asia.

By uniting around Caesar, both politicians hoped to overcome the resistance of the senators and pass laws beneficial to themselves. It is unclear what Caesar received from the union. Undoubtedly, the very rapprochement with two influential politicians and their equally high-ranking friends, clients and relatives was beneficial to him.

There is a version that when organizing the triumvirate, Caesar hatched plans to seize power with his help.(This point of view was shared, in particular, by Theodor Mommsen and Jerome Carcopino).

Despite the fact that Pompey and Crassus had long been at enmity and even obstructed the passing of laws in the interests of each other, Caesar managed to reconcile them. Suetonius claims that at first Caesar entered into an alliance with Pompey, however, Christian Meyer believes that at first he agreed to cooperate with Crassus, who is closer to him. It is possible that it was planned to include in the political union and the fourth member - Cicero.

The union of three politicians is now known as the first triumvirate (Latin triumviratus - "union of three husbands"), but this term arose by analogy with the later second triumvirate, whose members were officially called triumvirs.

The exact date of the creation of the triumvirate is unknown, which is a consequence of its secret nature. Following the conflicting versions of ancient writers, modern historians also offer different versions: July-August 60 BC. e., the period shortly before the elections or shortly after they were held, after the elections, or 59 BC. e. (in final form).

At the very beginning of the consulate, Guy ordered that the minutes of the meetings of the Senate and the People's Assembly be published daily: apparently, this was done so that citizens could track the actions of politicians.

Caesar, on behalf of the Roman Republic, recognized Ptolemy XII Avlet as the pharaoh of Egypt, which was tantamount to renouncing the claims to Egypt using the will (probably forged) of Ptolemy XI Alexander II, widely known in Rome. According to this document, Egypt was to pass under the rule of Rome, just as, according to the will of Attalus III, the Pergamon kingdom passed to the Roman republic. Ancient historians report that the matter was settled for a huge bribe, which was divided among the triumvirs.

Despite significant support for Caesar's initiatives at the beginning of the year, by the end of 59 BC. e. the popularity of the triumvirs fell sharply.

By the beginning of the proconsulate of Caesar, the Romans controlled the southern part of the territory of modern France, where the province of Narbonne Gaul was formed. At the end of March 58 BC. e. Guy arrived in Genava (modern Geneva), where he entered into negotiations with the leaders of the Celtic tribe of the Helvetians, who began to migrate due to the onslaught of the Germans. Caesar managed to prevent the Helvetians from entering the territory of the Roman Republic, and after they entered the lands of the Aedui tribe allied to the Romans, Guy pursued and defeated them. In the same year, he defeated the troops of the German leader Ariovistus, who was trying to gain a foothold in the Gallic lands of the left bank of the Rhine.

In 57 BC. e. Caesar, having no formal reason for war, attacked the Belga tribes in northeastern Gaul and defeated them in the battles on Axon and Sabis. The commander's legate Publius Licinius Crassus bloodlessly subjugated the lands in the lower reaches of the Loire. However, the following year, the Gauls conquered by Crassus united against the Roman conquest. Caesar was forced to divide his forces between Titus Labienus, who was supposed to subdue the Trever tribe in Belgica, Publius Crassus (he was entrusted with the conquest of Aquitaine) and Quintus Titurius Sabinus, who suppressed the peripheral tribes of the rebels. Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus began building a fleet on the Loire capable of fighting the coastal tribes, and Caesar himself went to Luca, where the triumvirs met and discussed current issues.

Returning to his troops, Caesar led an offensive against the rebellious Gauls. Guy and Sabinus captured all the rebel settlements, and Decimus Brutus destroyed their fleet in a naval battle.

In 55 BC. e. the commander defeated the Germanic tribes that crossed the Rhine. Then he crossed to the right bank of the river using a 400-meter bridge, built near the camp "castellum apud confluentes" (modern Koblenz) in just ten days.

The Roman army did not stay in Germany (during the retreat, the first bridge in history across the Rhine was destroyed), and already at the end of August, Caesar undertook a reconnaissance expedition to Britain - the first trip to this island in Roman history. However, due to insufficient preparation, he had to return to the continent within a month.

Next summer Caesar leads a new expedition to Britain, however, the Celtic tribes on the island continually retreated, weakening the enemy in minor clashes, and Caesar was forced to conclude a truce, which allowed him to report victory to Rome. Upon his return, Caesar divided his troops between eight camps concentrated in northern Gaul.

At the end of the year, the Belga tribes rebelled against the Romans and almost simultaneously attacked several places of their wintering. The Belgians managed to lure the XIV legion and five more cohorts (about 6-8 thousand soldiers) out of the fortified camp and interrupt them from an ambush. Caesar managed to lift the siege from the camp of Quintus Tullius Cicero, the brother of the orator, after which the Belgi abandoned the attack on the camp of Labienus. In 53 BC. e. Guy made punitive expeditions against the Belgian tribes, and in the summer he made a second trip to Germany, rebuilding (and again destroying during the retreat) the bridge over the Rhine. Faced with a shortage of troops, Caesar asked Pompey for one of his legions, to which Gnaeus agreed.

At the beginning of 52 BC. e. most of the Gallic tribes united to fight the Romans. The leader of the rebels became Vercingetorig... Since the Gauls cut off Caesar in Narbonne Gaul from the main part of his troops in the north, the commander, using a deceptive maneuver, lured Vercingetorig into the lands of his native tribe, the Arverni, and he united with the main troops. The Romans took several fortified Gallic cities, but were defeated in an attempt to storm Gergovia. In the end, Caesar succeeded in blocking Vercingetorigus in the well-fortified fortress of Alesia and launching a siege.

The Gallic general called on all the Gallic tribes for help and tried to lift the Roman siege after their arrival. In the most weakly defended section of the fortifications of the siege camp, a fierce battle broke out, in which the Romans won the victory with some difficulty. The next day, Vercingetorig surrendered to Caesar, and the rebellion as a whole ended. In 51 and 50 BC. e. Caesar and his legates completed the conquest of distant tribes and individual groups of rebels. By the end of Caesar's proconsulship, all Gaul was subordinated to Rome.

During his entire stay in Gaul, the commander was aware of the events taking place in Rome and often intervened in them. This became possible due to the fact that two confidants of Caesar remained in the capital, with whom he constantly corresponded - Guy Oppius and Lucius Cornelius Balbus. They gave bribes to magistrates and carried out other orders of the commander.

In Gaul, under the leadership of Caesar, several legates served who later played a significant role in Roman history - Mark Antony, Titus Labienus, Lucius Munatius Plancus, Guy Trebonius and others.

Consuls 56 BC e. Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus and Lucius Marcius Philippe were hostile to the Triumvirs. Marcellinus obstructed the enactment of laws by Caesar's supporters and, more importantly, managed to secure the appointment of a successor to Caesar from among the yet-to-be-elected consuls of the following year. Thus, no later than March 1, 54 BC. e. Guy had to cede the province to his successor.

The most likely candidate to replace Caesar in Cisalpine Gaul was Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, a staunch opponent of the triumvirate. In addition, Caesar's opponents hoped to take away Narbonne Gaul from him. The first attempts to bring Caesar to trial, which failed due to the proconsul's judicial immunity until the end of his powers, date back to this time.

In mid-April 56 BC. e. the triumvirs gathered at Luca(modern Lucca; the city belonged to Cisalpine Gaul, which allowed Caesar to be present) to coordinate further actions.

They agreed that Pompey and Crassus would nominate themselves for consuls for the next year in order to prevent the election of opponents (in particular, Ahenobarbus). Since the outcome of the elections, held in full compliance with the law, was not obvious, the triumvirs decided to influence the elections by attracting legionnaires. Supporters of the Triumvirs had to push the elections to the end of the year, and Caesar promised to send all his soldiers to vote. After the election, Pompey and Crassus had to secure an extension of Caesar's powers for five years in exchange for the Caesarians' support for the distribution of several other provinces in their favor.

In the spring of 55 BC. e. the new consuls fulfilled their obligations assumed at the meeting in Luca: Caesar extended his powers in all three provinces for five years. In addition, Pompey received control over Far and Near Spain for the same period, and Crassus - Syria. In May or June 55 BC. e. Cicero, who became close to the triumvirate, actively supported, and possibly initiated a bill to compensate for the costs of maintaining Caesar's four new legions at public expense. This proposal was accepted. In exchange for Cicero's services to Caesar, the proconsul responded by including Quintus Tullius Cicero, the brother of the orator, among his legates.

In August or September 54 BC. e. Julia, daughter of Caesar and wife of Pompey, died in childbirth. However, the death of Julia and the failure of attempts to conclude a new dynastic marriage did not have a decisive impact on the relationship between Pompey and Caesar, and for several more years the relationship between the two politicians remained good.

A significantly greater blow to the triumvirate and to all Roman politics was dealt the death of Crassus at the Battle of Carrhae... Although Crassus was considered more of a "junior" triumvir, especially after the successful conquests of Caesar in Gaul, his wealth and influence smoothed out the contradictions between Pompey and Caesar.

At the beginning of 53 BC. e. Caesar asked Pompey for one of his legions for use in the Gallic War, and Gnaeus agreed. Soon, Caesar gathered two more legions to make up for the losses of his troops due to the Belga uprising.

In 53-52 BC. e. the situation in Rome was extremely tense due to the struggle (often armed) between the supporters of two demagogues - Clodius and Milo. The situation was greatly aggravated by the murder of Clodius by Milo's slave in January 52 BC. e. By this time, no consuls were elected, and there were calls in Rome to elect Pompey as consuls together with Caesar to restore order.

Caesar proposed to Pompey to organize a new dynastic marriage. According to his plan, Pompey was to marry Octavia the Younger, a relative of Caesar, and he himself intended to marry Pompey, the daughter of Gnaeus. Pompey refused the offer, after some time marrying Cornelia Metella, daughter of Caesar's longtime enemy Metellus Scipio. When it became clear that Caesar would not be able to return from Gaul to restore order in Rome, Cato (according to another version - Bibulus) proposed an emergency measure - the appointment of Gnaeus as consul without a colleague, which allowed him to make the most important decisions on his own. However, the Senate probably saw Pompey as a temporary coordinator for suppressing the unrest, and not as a long-term ruler.

Shortly after his appointment, the new consul initiated passing laws on violent acts (lex Pompeia de vi) and on electoral bribery (lex Pompeia de ambitu)... In both cases, the wording of the laws was clarified to meet the new requirements, stricter measures of restraint were established, and the court hearings in these cases were to be held under armed guard. Both decisions were retroactive. The law of bribery extended until 70 BC. e., and supporters of Caesar considered this decision a challenge to their patron.

At the same time, the tribunes of the people, with the approval of Pompey, adopted a decree allowing Caesar to nominate his candidacy for the consuls while absent from Rome, which he could not achieve in 60 BC. e. However, soon, at the suggestion of the consul, laws on magistrates and provinces were passed. Among the provisions of the first decree, there was a ban on seeking office in the absence of a candidate in Rome.

The new legislation was not only directed against Caesar, but also came into conflict with the recent decree of the tribunes. However, soon Pompey, who allegedly forgot to make an exception for Caesar, ordered the addition of a clause to the law on magistrates on the possibility of a special permit for applying without being present in the capital, but he did this after the law was approved.

Pompey's decrees brought uncertainty to Caesar's future after the end of his proconsulate. It is unclear when he could run for consular office for the following year under special permission - in 50 or 49 BC. e.

Due to the fact that Gnei amended the law on magistrates after its approval, Caesar's opponents had the opportunity to challenge the effect of this clarification and demand the mandatory presence of Caesar at the elections as a private person. Gaius was seriously afraid that immediately after his arrival in Rome and the end of immunity, Caesar's opponents, led by Cato, would bring him to trial.

Since the laws of Pompey were retroactive, Gaius could be held accountable for his actions in 59 BC. e. and before. In addition, it was unclear whether Caesar's successor should be appointed according to the old law or the new one. If the priority of Pompey's decree was recognized, the successor could replace Caesar in the province as early as March 1, 49 BC. e., and it was supposed to be one of the consuls five years ago. However, since the second consul Appius Claudius Pulcher managed to receive an appointment to Cilicia, Gaius was to be succeeded by his implacable opponent Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus.

Although Cato failed in this election of consuls, they elected Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Caesar's enemy. At the very beginning of the year Marcellus demanded that Caesar leave the province and disband all ten legions, citing the end of active hostilities after the capture of Alesia. However, the rebels continued to operate on the periphery of Gaul, and Marcellus' colleague Servius Sulpicius Rufus refused to support this proposal. Pompey tried to maintain the appearance of neutrality, but his statements testified to the rapid cooling of relations with Caesar.

Consuls 50 BC e. after Cato's refusal to participate in the elections, Guy Claudius Marcellus, a cousin of Mark and his associate, and Lucius Aemilius Paul became. The latter was not a staunch opponent of Caesar, and therefore Guy took advantage of his dire financial situation and persuaded him to cooperate for a huge bribe of 1,500 talents (approximately 36 million sesterces, or slightly less than the annual tax revenue from conquered Gaul).

In addition, to the side of Caesar, unexpectedly for everyone, one of his old opponents, Gaius Scribonius Curion, went over. Later sources attribute this change of political position to another bribe comparable to that received by Emilius Paul. It was Curio who used the tribunal veto to overturn the laws with which the senators tried to legalize the removal of Caesar. However, the tribune carefully concealed his run. In his public speeches, he positioned himself as an independent politician and defender of the interests of the people, and not Pompey or Caesar. In May 50 BC. e. the Senate, under the pretext of the Parthian threat, withdrew two legions from Caesar at once, including the one lent to him by Pompey.

As the end of the proconsul's office drew near, Caesar and his Roman opponents began vigorous efforts to defend their position in accordance with their vision of legislation.

By 50 BC. BC, when Caesar's break with Pompey became obvious, Caesar had significant support from the inhabitants of Rome and the population of Cisalpine Gaul, but among the nobles his influence was small and often relied on bribes.

Although the senate was generally reluctant to trust Caesar, the idea of ​​a peaceful settlement of the dispute was supported by the majority of the senators. Thus, 370 senators voted in support of Kourion's proposal on the need to simultaneously disarm both generals, and 22 or 25 against. However, Marcellus closed the meeting before the results of the vote were entered into the minutes. According to another version, the decision of the Senate was vetoed by the tribune Gaius Fournius.

Other proposals were received, although neither Caesar nor Pompey and his supporters were willing to give in. In particular, even before the election of magistrates, Gnaeus suggested that Caesar return to Rome on November 13, 50 BC. e., surrendering proconsular powers and troops to January 1, 49 BC. e. take office as consul. However, contemporaries noticed that Pompey clearly did not want reconciliation. Soon false rumors spread in Rome that Caesar had already crossed the borders of Italy and occupied Arimin, which meant the beginning of a civil war.

In 50 BC. e. Caesar succeeded in getting Mark Antony and Quintus Cassius Longinus into the plebeian tribunes the following year, but his candidate for consul Servius Sulpicius Galba failed. According to the results of the vote, convinced opponents of the proconsul were elected - Guy Claudius Marcellus, the full namesake and cousin of the consul of the previous year, as well as Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Cruz.

From the second half of the year Caesar begins to make persistent attempts to negotiate with the Senate, offering mutual concessions.

In particular, he agreed to abandon Narbonne Gaul and keep for himself only two legions and two provinces - Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum - subject to immunity and participation in the elections in absentia.

The senators refused to accept Caesar's proposal. In response, January 1, 49 BC. e. In Rome, a letter from Caesar was read, in which the proconsul's determination to defend by all available means his right to participate in elections in absentia was already expressed.

In response, the Senate ruled that Caesar should be considered an enemy of the state if he did not resign and disband the troops by a certain date, however, Antony and Longinus who took office vetoed, and the decree was not adopted. Several people, including Cicero, tried to mediate in the reconciliation of the two generals, but their attempts were unsuccessful.

On January 7, at the initiative of a group of senators led by Cato, an emergency law (lat. Senatusconsultum ultimum) was issued on the call of citizens to arms, which in fact meant a complete refusal to negotiate. Troops began to move into the city, and Antony and Longinus were made clear that their safety could not be guaranteed.

Both the tribunes and the already surrendered Kourion immediately fled from Rome to Caesar's camp - according to Appian, they left the city "at night, in a hired carriage, disguised as slaves."

On January 8 and 9, the senators decided to declare Caesar an enemy of the state, if he did not resign. They also approved his successors - Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus and Marcus Considius Nonianus - passing them Cisalpine and Narbonne Gaul. The recruitment of troops was also announced.

Caesar, back in December 50 BC. e. summoned the VIII and XII legions from Narbonne Gaul, but by the beginning of January they had not yet arrived. Although the proconsul had only about 5 thousand soldiers of the XIII Legion and about 300 cavalry at the disposal of the proconsul, he decided to act.

After the arrival of the tribunes who had fled from Rome to Caesar's camp, the commander gathered the troops at his disposal and addressed them with a speech. In it, he informed the soldiers about the violation of the sacred rights of the tribunes and about the reluctance of the senators to recognize his legal demands. The soldiers expressed their full support for their general, and he transferred them across the border river Rubicon(according to legend, before crossing the river, Caesar uttered the words "the lot is cast" - a quote from the comedy of Menander).

However, Caesar did not move towards Rome. On January 17, after receiving news of the beginning of the war, Pompey tried to start negotiations, but they were unsuccessful, and the commander sent his troops along the Adriatic coast. Most of the cities along the way didn't even try to fight back. Many supporters of the Senate retreated to Corfinius (modern Corfinio), where Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus was located.

Soon, 30 cohorts, or 10-15 thousand soldiers, were under his control. Due to the lack of a unified command (since Ahenobarbus had previously been appointed governor, Gnaeus did not have the authority to order him) Domitius was locked up in Corfinia and cut off from the troops of Pompey. After Caesar received reinforcements and the impossibility of lifting the siege, Ahenobarbus decided to flee the city with only friends. The commander's plans became known to his soldiers, after which the disgruntled troops opened the gates of the city to Caesar and gave him Ahenobarbus and their other commanders.

The troops stationed in Corfinia and the surrounding area, Caesar annexed to his army, and Ahenobarbus and his associates released.

Upon learning of the surrender of Corfinia, Pompey began preparations for the evacuation of his supporters to Greece. Pompey counted on the support of the eastern provinces, where his influence had been great since the Third War of Mithridates. Due to the lack of ships, Gnaeus had to transport his forces to Dyrrachium (or Epidamnos; modern Durres) in parts.

As a result, by the time of Caesar's arrival (March 9), not all of his soldiers had yet crossed. After Gnaeus refused to negotiate, Guy began a siege of the city and tried to block the narrow exit from the harbor of Brundisium, but on March 17, Pompey managed to get out of the harbor and leave Italy with the remaining troops.

The rapid development of events at the first stage of the war caught the populations of Rome and Italy by surprise. Many inhabitants of Italy supported Caesar, since they saw in him the successor of the cause of Gaius Maria and hoped for his patronage. Italic support for Caesar contributed greatly to the success of Caesar in the first stage of the civil war.

The attitude of the nobility towards Julius was mixed. The gentle treatment of the commanders and soldiers in Corfinia was aimed at persuading not to oppose Caesar, either by opponents or wavering representatives of the nobility.

Caesar's supporters Oppius and Balbus made every effort to present Caesar's actions to the whole republic as an act of outstanding mercy (lat. Clementia). Contributed to the pacification of Italy and the principle of encouraging the neutrality of all hesitant: "Meanwhile, as Pompey declared his enemies all who did not stand up to defend the republic, Caesar proclaimed that those who abstain and will not join anyone, he will consider friends.".

The widespread belief that the bulk of the senators fled Italy along with Pompey is not entirely true. It gained fame thanks to Cicero, who later substantiated the legitimacy of the “senate in exile” by the presence of ten consulars (former consuls) in its composition, but he hushed up the fact that there were at least fourteen of them left in Italy. More than half of the senators chose to remain neutral, sitting out on their estates in Italy.

Caesar was supported by many young people from noble, but poor aristocratic families, many representatives of the equestrian class, as well as various marginalized and adventurers.

Caesar was unable to immediately pursue Pompey in Greece, as Gnaeus commandeered all available military and transport ships. As a result, Guy decided to secure his rear, heading through Gaul, loyal to him, to Spain, where from 54 BC. e. were the legates of Pompey with seven legions.

Before the departure, Guy entrusted the leadership of Italy to Mark Antony, who received the powers of propraetor from him, and left the capital in the care of the praetor Mark Emilius Lepidus and the senators. In dire need of money, Guy took possession of the remains of the treasury. Tribune Lucius Caecilius Metellus tried to stop him, but Caesar, according to legend, threatened to kill him, adding that it is "much more difficult for him to say it than to do it."

In Narbonne Gaul, where all the Gaulish troops of Caesar were gathered, Caesar faced unexpected resistance from the richest city of Massilia (modern Marseille). Not wanting to stay halfway, Caesar left part of the troops to conduct the siege.

By the beginning of the campaign in Spain, according to the "Notes on the Civil War", the Pompeians Lucius Afranius and Mark Petreus had about 40 thousand soldiers and 5 thousand cavalrymen against about 30 thousand soldiers and 6 thousand horsemen at Caesar.

Caesar's troops with skillful maneuvers drove the enemy from Ilerda (modern Lleida / Lleida) to the hills, where it was impossible to find either food or water. On August 27, the entire Pompeian army surrendered to Caesar. Caesar sent all the soldiers of the enemy army to their homes, and allowed those who wished to join his army. After the news of the surrender of the Pompeians, most of the communities of Near Spain went over to the side of Caesar.

Guy soon set out for Italy overland. At the walls of Massilia, Caesar received news of his appointment as dictator on the initiative of the praetor Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. In Rome, Caesar exercised his dictatorial rights and organized the elections for magistrates for the following year.

Caesar himself and Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus were elected consuls; other posts went mainly to the supporters of the dictator. In addition, Guy used his right to legislative initiative and passed a number of laws designed not only to mitigate the consequences of war (for example, the law on loans), but also for the long term (granting full Roman citizenship to residents of certain cities and territories).

While Caesar was in Spain, Caesar's generals suffered defeat after defeat in Illyricum, Africa and the Adriatic Sea. However, Caesar was able to derive some benefit from Curion's defeat in Africa: it allowed him to assert that Pompey's position had become so desperate that he was forced to call upon the barbarians to help him. The unsuccessful actions of the legates on the Adriatic coast left Caesar with only one option for crossing to Greece - the sea.

Apparently, Caesar feared that in the spring Pompey would cross to Italy, and therefore began preparations for the landing in the winter of 49-48 BC. e. However, this idea was considered risky due to the unfavorable season for navigation, the dominance of the Pompeians at sea and the lack of food for a large army in Epirus. In addition, Guy was unable to collect enough ships to ferry the entire army.

However, January 4 or 5, 48 BC e. Caesar's fleet with about 20 thousand soldiers and 600 cavalrymen landed at Epirus, avoiding a meeting with the Pompeian fleet, which was led by Bibulus. Another part of Caesar's army, led by Mark Antony, managed to break through to Greece only in April.

Immediately after the landing, Caesar sent ambassadors to Pompey with a proposal to conclude a truce, but at the same time began to seize cities on the coast, which discredited any attempts to negotiate an end to the war.

Skillfully maneuvering, Caesar, after uniting with Antony, managed to encircle the superior forces of Gnaeus on the coastal hill near Dyrrachium and build strong fortifications that were supposed to protect the camp and the troops of Gaius from attacks from both the besieged and outside. This siege is notable not only for the superiority of the besieged over the besiegers, but also for the famine in the camp of the latter, in contrast to the normal supply situation at the besieged Pompey: according to Plutarch, Caesar's soldiers ate bread from roots by summer. Soon, Gnei took advantage of the access to the coast and his advantage at sea, landing part of the troops in the weakest point of the enemy's fortifications.

Caesar threw all his forces to repel the attack, but in a battle known as the Battle of Dyrrhachium (approximately July 10), Pompey put his opponent to flight. For some reason, Pompey did not dare to strike a decisive blow against Caesar - either because of Labienus's advice, or out of caution before Guy's possible tricks. After the battle, Caesar, according to Plutarch and Appian, said "Today, the victory would remain with the opponents, if they had someone to win".

Gathering the defeated troops, Caesar set out to the southeast, to fertile Thessaly, where he was able to replenish food supplies. In Thessaly, Caesar was joined by two legions of troops that he had previously sent to Macedonia for auxiliary operations. Nevertheless, the number of Pompey's soldiers exceeded the number of Caesar's troops by about two times (about 22 thousand versus about 47 thousand).

The opponents met at Farsal. For some time Pompey did not want to start a general battle in open areas and decided to give battle to Caesar only under pressure from the senators. According to legend, on the day before the battle, senators confident of victory began to distribute magistracy among themselves. Probably, Titus Labienus prepared a battle plan for Pompey, but Caesar was able to unravel the plans of the Pompeians and prepare countermeasures (after the battle, Gnaeus suspected that someone from his entourage had passed the plans to Caesar). On August 9, a decisive battle took place, the outcome of which was decided by Caesar's counterattack on the right flank. A total of 15,000 soldiers died in the battle, including 6,000 Roman citizens. More than 20,000 Pompeians surrendered the day after the battle, and among them were many nobles, including Marcus Junius Brutus and Guy Cassius Longinus.

Soon after the battle Caesar set off in pursuit of Pompey, but Gnaeus disorientated his pursuer and went through Cyprus to Egypt. It was only when Caesar was in the province of Asia that news of the new preparations of his enemy reached him, and he went to Alexandria with one legion (probably with the VI Iron).

Caesar arrived in Egypt a few days after the assassination of Pompey by the Egyptians. Initially, his stay in Egypt was delayed due to unfavorable winds, and the dictator tried to seize the opportunity to solve his urgent need for money. Guy hoped to recover from King Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator 10 million denarii of debts left by his father Ptolemy XII Avlet (a significant part of the debt was a bribe not fully paid for not recognizing the will of Ptolemy XI Alexander II).

For this, the commander intervened in the struggle of the supporters of Ptolemy XIII and his sister Cleopatra... Initially, Caesar probably hoped to mediate a dispute between brother and sister in order to extract the greatest benefit for himself and for the Roman state.

After Cleopatra secretly infiltrated Caesar's camp (according to legend, the queen was taken to the palace wrapped in a carpet), Guy went over to her side. Surrounded by Ptolemy, they decided to take advantage of the small number of Guy's troops to expel him from the country and overthrow Cleopatra. Most of the inhabitants of Alexandria supported the king, and the general uprising against the Romans forced Caesar to lock himself in the royal quarter, putting his life in great danger.

During the battle with the Egyptians, a fire broke out, which spread to the Library of Alexandria- the largest book collection of the ancient world. However, a large branch of the library in the Serapeum with copies of the scrolls survived, and most of the collection was soon restored.

In winter, Caesar withdrew his troops from the besieged palace and, after uniting with the arriving reinforcements, defeated the troops of Ptolemy's supporters. After Guy's victory elevated to the royal throne Cleopatra and the young Ptolemy XIV Theos Philopator II(Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator drowned in the Nile after a battle with the Romans), who traditionally ruled together.

Then the Roman commander spent several months with Cleopatra in Egypt, climbing up the Nile. Ancient writers considered this delay in the war to be caused by an affair with Cleopatra. It is known that the commander and the queen were accompanied by Roman soldiers, so Caesar, perhaps, was simultaneously engaged in reconnaissance and demonstration of power to the Egyptians. Before leaving in July 47 BC. e. Caesar left three Roman legions to maintain order in Egypt. In the summer of the same year, Cleopatra had a son, Caesarion, and the dictator is often considered the father of the child.

While Caesar was in Egypt, supporters of the defeated Pompey gathered in Africa. Leaving Alexandria, Caesar headed not to the west, where his opponents concentrated their forces, but to the northeast. The fact is that after the death of Pompey, the population of the eastern provinces and the rulers of neighboring kingdoms tried to take advantage of the situation in their own interests: in particular, Pharnaces II, the son of Mithridates VI, relying on the remnants of the Pontic kingdom, which Pompey assigned to him, tried to restore his father's empire. invading Roman possessions.

Having settled urgent matters in Syria, Caesar arrived in Cilicia with small forces... There he united with the remnants of the troops of the defeated Gnaeus Domitius Calvin and with the ruler of Galatia, Deiotar, who hoped to be forgiven for supporting Pompey. Guy met Pharnacs at Zela's, and on the third day defeated him. Caesar himself described this victory in three winged words: veni, vidi, vici (came, saw, won)... After defeating Pharnacs, Guy crossed over to Greece, and from there to Italy. After returning, Caesar managed to restore the location of several legions that rebelled in Italy, appearing before them with generous promises.

Having brought the legionaries to order, Caesar set out from Lilibey to Africa in December, once again neglecting the unfavorable conditions for navigation and sailing with only one legion of experienced troops. After ferrying all the troops and organizing supplies, Caesar lured Metellus Scipio and the Numidian king Yubu (the latter was once publicly humiliated by Gaius by pulling his beard during his trial) to fight in the vicinity of Thapsus.

April 6, 46 BC e. at Thapsus, a decisive battle took place. Although the "Notes on the African War" describes the development of the battle as rapid and the nature of the victory as unconditional, Appian describes the battle as extremely difficult. In addition, Plutarch cites the version that Caesar did not participate in the battle due to an epileptic seizure.

Many commanders of Scipio's army fled from the battlefield, but contrary to the declared policy of mercy, they were overtaken and executed at the direction of Caesar. Mark Petreus and Juba committed suicide, but Titus Labienus, Gnaeus and Sextus Pompey fled to Spain, where they soon organized a new center of resistance to Caesar.

After the victory at Thapsus, Caesar moved north to the well-fortified Utica. The commander of the city of Cato was determined to hold the city, but the inhabitants of Utica tended to surrender to Caesar, and Cato disbanded the troops and helped everyone to leave the city. When Guy approached the walls of Utica, Mark committed suicide. After returning to the capital Caesar conducted four triumphal processions in a row - for victories over Gauls, Egyptians, Pharnacs and Juba... However, the Romans understood that Caesar was partly celebrating victories over his compatriots.

Caesar's four triumphs did not end the civil war, since the situation in Spain remained tense: the abuses of the Caesarian governor of Far Spain, Quintus Cassius Longinus, provoked a rebellion.

After the defeated Pompeians arrived from Africa and organized a new center of resistance, the temporarily pacified Spaniards again opposed Caesar.

In November 46 BC. e. Guy decided to go to Spain in person to suppress the last hotbed of open resistance. By this time, however, most of his troops had already been disbanded: there were only two legions of experienced soldiers (V and X legions) in the ranks, all the other available troops consisted of newcomers.

March 17, 45 BC e., shortly after arriving in Spain, opponents clashed in Battle of Mund... In the hardest battle, Guy won. According to legend, after the battle, Caesar said that he "I often fought for victory, but now I fought for my life for the first time".

Killed at least 30 thousand Pompeian soldiers, among those killed on the battlefield was Labienus; Caesar's losses were significantly smaller. The dictator departed from his traditional practice of clementia: Gnaeus Pompey the Younger, who fled from the battlefield, was overtaken and killed, and his head was delivered to Caesar. Sextus Pompey barely managed to escape and even survived the dictator. After the victory at Munda, Caesar celebrated his fifth triumph, and he was the first triumph in Roman history in honor of the victory of the Romans over the Romans.

In the fall of 48 BC. BC, after receiving news of the death of Pompey, Caesar's colleague in the consulate Publius Servilius Vatia Isauric organized the second absentee appointment of Guy as dictator. This time, the rationale for the appointment of an extraordinary magistrate was probably the waging of war (the wording rei gerundae causa was used). The commander of the cavalry was Mark Antony, whom Caesar sent to rule Italy during his stay in Egypt. According to sources, Guy received unlimited power for one year instead of the usual six months for a dictator.

In the fall of 47 BC. e. the term of the dictatorship expired, but Caesar retained his proconsular powers, and on January 1, 46 BC. e. took office as consul. According to Dion Cassius, Caesar also received the powers of a plebeian tribune (tribunicia potestas), but some researchers (in particular, H. Skallard) doubt the veracity of this message.

After the Battle of Thapsus, Caesar became dictator for the third time.

The new appointment had a number of unusual features: firstly, there was no formal justification for occupying the position, and secondly, the position was provided for ten years, although, apparently, it had to be renewed annually. In addition to unlimited power, Guy's supporters arranged for him to be elected to the special position of "prefect of morals" (praefectus morum or praefectus moribus) for three years, which effectively gave him the powers of censor.

Since Caesar was already 54 years old at the time of his appointment, the ten-year magistracy of the dictator, taking into account the low average life expectancy in the ancient era, was actually considered as lifelong.

In 45 BC. e. Guy, in addition to the powers of a dictator, became a consul without a colleague, which did not allow the collegiality inherent in this magistracy to be realized, and only in October he refused the consulate, appointing two successors in his place - consuls-suffects.

In the same year, Guy supplemented his name by including the title "Emperor", which was used to designate a victorious commander (from now on, his full name became Imperator Gaius Iulius Caesar).

Finally, at the beginning of 44 BC. e. (no later than February 15) Caesar received another appointment as dictator. This time he received an extraordinary master's degree for life (Latin dictator perpetuus).

Caesar began to re-use the dictator's magistracy, which had previously been used in exceptional cases. Traditionally, the dictator was appointed for six months, and in the event of a more prompt resolution of the crisis situation, he was expected to resign early. Less than forty years ago, Sulla first awarded a master's degree for an indefinite period, but after reforms, he resigned and died a private person.

Caesar was the first to directly declare his intention to rule indefinitely. However, in fact, Caesar ruled the republic by right of the strong, relying on troops and numerous supporters, and his posts only gave the semblance of legitimacy.

The cult of personality and the sacralization of Caesar:

Caesar strengthened his power not only by taking new positions, reforming the political system and suppressing the opposition, but also by sacralizing his personality.

First of all, the legend about the relationship of the Julian Caesar clan with the goddess Venus was actively used: in accordance with ancient ideas, the descendants of the gods stood out from the general mass of people, and Caesar's claims as a direct descendant were even more serious.

Wishing to publicly show his connection with the gods, going beyond simple kinship, the dictator erected a luxuriously decorated temple of Venus at the Forum. He was dedicated not to Venus the Victorious (lat.Venus Victrix), as Caesar originally intended (this was his vow given before the battle of Pharsalus), but to Venus the Progenitor (lat.Venus Genetrix) - the legendary ancestor and Julius (in a straight line) , and all the Romans at the same time. He established a lavish cult in the temple and gave it one of the most important places in the hierarchy of Roman organized rituals.

The dictator also organized magnificent games at the temple and ordered them to be held in the future, appointing young men from noble families for this, one of which was Guy Octavius. Even earlier, on some coins minted by monetarians from among the representatives of the Julian clan, there was an image of the god Mars, to which the family also tried to build its clan, although less actively.

Caesar planned to build a temple to Mars in Rome, designed to popularize the lesser-known legend of the descent from this god. However, the dictator did not have time to implement this idea, and Octavian put it into practice. Some of the attributes of sacred power came to Caesar thanks to his office as the great pontiff.

From 63 BC e. Caesar not only enjoyed numerous priestly powers, but also had tremendous prestige.

Even before Caesar's first triumph, the Senate decided to grant him a number of honors, which began preparations for the sacralization of the personality of the dictator and the establishment of a new state cult. The success of this decision by the Senate was due to the flight of the majority of the adherents of the Roman tradition with Pompey and the dominance of the "new people" in the Senate. In particular, the chariot of the dictator and his statue in the image of the conqueror of the world were installed in the temple of Jupiter Capitoline, and thus the most important temple of Rome became dedicated to both Jupiter and Caesar.

The most important source reporting this honor - Dio Cassius - used the Greek word "demigod" (ancient Greek ἡμίθεος - hemitheos), which was usually applied to mythological heroes born from the connection between gods and people. However, the dictator did not accept this honor: soon, but by no means immediately, he canceled this decree.

The news of the dictator's victory in the Battle of Munda reached Rome on the evening of April 20, 45 BC. e., on the eve of the holiday of Parilius - according to legend, it was on this day (April 21) that Romulus founded Rome. The organizers decided to hold the next day of the game in honor of the winner, as if he were the founder of the city. In addition, in Rome, it was decided to build a sanctuary of Liberty in honor of Caesar the Liberator (Latin Liberator). The Senate also decided to install on the rostral tribune in the forum, from where the magistrates usually delivered speeches, a statue of Caesar, facing towards the people listening to the orators.

Soon, new steps were taken towards the deification of Caesar. First, after the dictator's return to Rome in May, his statue was placed in the temple of Quirinus, a deity identified with Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome. The dedication inscription on the statue read: "To the undefeated god."

At public expense, the construction of a new house for Caesar began, and its shape bore significant resemblance to temples - the houses of the gods. In circus performances, the image of Caesar made of gold and ivory was among the images of the gods. Finally, in 45 BC. e. coins with the image of Caesar in profile were minted, although before that images of living people were never placed on the coins.

At the beginning of 44 BC. e. the senate, and then the popular assembly, inspired by Mark Antony, issued a number of decrees that endowed Caesar with new privileges and gave him new honors. Among them - title of father of the fatherland (lat.parens patriae) with the right to place it on coins, the introduction for the Romans of the oath of the genius of Caesar, the transformation of his birthday into a holiday with sacrifices, the renaming of the month of quintile in July, the introduction of a mandatory oath to preserve all his laws for magistrates taking office.

In addition, annual sacrifices were introduced for the safety of Caesar, one tribe was renamed in his honor, all temples in Rome and Italy were obliged to install his statues. A collegium of the Julian Lupercs (junior priests; lat. Luperci Iuliani) was created, and in Rome, the construction of the Temple of Concord was to begin in honor of the pacification of the state. In the end, the Senate authorized the beginning of the construction of the temple of Caesar and his Mercy (lat.Clementia) and created a new priestly office specifically to organize the worship of a new deity, appointing Mark Antony to it.

The creation of a special priest of the highest level for the veneration of Guy put him on a par with Jupiter, Mars and Quirin. The other gods of the Roman pantheon were served by priests and colleges of lower levels. The deification of Caesar completed the creation of a new state cult. Lily Ross Taylor believes that at the beginning of 44 BC. e. the senate decided to consider Caesar a god. His deification was finally confirmed posthumously by a special decree of the Second Triumvirate in 42 BC. e.

By 44 BC. e. Caesar also accepted a number of honors that brought him closer to the Roman kings. So, he constantly wore the clothes of a triumphant and a laurel wreath, which also created the impression of constant triumph.

Suetonius, however, notes that Caesar used the right to constantly wear a laurel wreath due to baldness.

In addition, he refused to rise from the throne when the senators approached him. The latter circumstance caused particular indignation in Rome, since only absolute monarchs enjoyed such privileges. Nevertheless, he stubbornly refused the old Roman title of king (lat. Rex), although this could be a consequence of the calculation.

February 15, 44 BC e. at the festival of Lupercalia, he rejected the diadem proposed by Mark Antony - a symbol of monarchical power. Already after his assassination, rumors spread that at the meeting on March 15 it was planned to declare him king, but only for the provinces - territories outside Rome and Italy.

Perhaps Caesar did not want the restoration of royal power in its Roman form, since this implied the election of a new ruler after the death of the previous one. Lily Ross Taylor suggested that Guy wanted to create a system in which the transfer of power would be carried out by inheritance, as was the case in the Hellenistic monarchies.

In the process of sacralizing his power, the dictator was clearly guided by the one who adopted the traditions of government from the conquered Persians. In addition, the first steps towards the deification of the Macedonian ruler appeared after a visit to Egypt, as in the case of Caesar, where both rulers could personally get acquainted with the monumental evidence of the sacralization of the power of the pharaohs, although Guy was much more careful in announcing the final deification.

It is possible that for Caesarion, who was born of Cleopatra, the last living heiress of Alexander's empire, Caesar had further plans that he did not have time to implement. However, the paternity of the dictator was questioned even in ancient times and Caesarion was never declared the official heir of Guy.

Julius Caesar's reforms:

Using a combination of different powers and not meeting open opposition in the Senate and the People's Assembly, Caesar carried out a series of reforms in 49-44 BC. e.

The details of the dictator's activities are known mainly from the writings of the authors of the era of the Empire, and there is very little evidence of contemporaries on this issue.

In the sphere of government, Caesar increased the number of the majority of the colleges of the curule (senior) magistrates. The number of praetors elected annually increased from 8, first to 14, and then to 16. The number of quaestors was increased by 20 people annually, and aediles by 2 at the expense of aediles ceriales, who controlled the supply of bread.

The number of augurs, pontiffs, and members of the College of Quindezemvir also increased.

The dictator arrogated to himself the right to nominate candidates for key positions: at first it was done unofficially, and then he officially received this right. He removed unwanted candidates from the elections. Guy often promoted people of common origin to high positions: it is known that more than half of the consuls elected under the patronage of Caesar were "new people" (homines novi), among whose ancestors there were no consuls.

The dictator also replenished the Senate, which was empty as a result of civil strife in the 50s BC. e. and civil war. In total, Caesar revised the lists of senators three times and, according to Dion Cassius, eventually brought their number to 900 people, but this number was hardly accurate and constant. Many of the people included in the Senate did not belong to the old Roman families, but to the provincial aristocracy and the equestrian class. Contemporaries, however, spread rumors that both the children of freedmen and barbarians were enrolled in the number of senators.

The dictator revised the system of recruiting judges for permanent criminal courts (quaestiones perpetuae), granting half of the seats to senators and equestrians instead of the previous third, which became possible after the expulsion of the era tribunes from the collegiums.

Caesar legislatively joined the ranks of the patrician class, whose representatives traditionally held some important positions in the religious sphere. Most of the patrician families have already died out, and by the middle of the 1st century BC. e. there are only a little more than ten of them left.

Dismissed many public collegia (collegiae), a large part of which in the 50s BC. e. was used to recruit armed supporters of demagogues and to bribe voters in the polls.

Assessments of Caesar's political reforms vary. A number of researchers see in his political activities the actual establishment of a "democratic monarchy" (Theodor Mommsen), a Hellenistic or Eastern monarchy (Robert Yurievich Vipper, Eduard Meyer) or the Roman version of an absolute monarchy (Matthias Geltzer, John Bolsdon).

In an effort to enlist the support of the inhabitants of the provinces, Caesar actively bestowed various benefits and privileges on them. Residents of several cities (in particular, Hades and Olisipo) received full Roman citizenship, and some others (Vienne, Tolosa, Avennio and others) received Latin law.

At the same time, only the cities of the western provinces received Roman citizenship, while the Hellenized policies of Greece and Asia Minor did not receive such privileges, and the Greek cities of Sicily received only Latin law.

Physicians and liberal arts teachers who lived in Rome received full Roman citizenship.

The dictator reduced taxes from Narbonne Gaul, and also transferred the provinces of Asia and Sicily to direct payment of taxes, bypassing the tax farmers. The dictator made adjustments to the process of distributing free bread, which took away a significant part of the state budget expenditures. First, the lists of recipients of free bread were cut in half - from more than 300 to 150 thousand (this reduction is sometimes associated with a drop in the total population due to civil wars). Secondly, some of the former recipients were able to relocate to new colonies in various provinces of the Roman state. Caesar's demobilized soldiers also received land plots and did not create an additional burden on the grain distribution system.

Among other measures for colonization, Caesar repopulated Carthage and Corinth, destroyed by the Romans simultaneously in 146 BC. e. To solve the important task of increasing the number of people fit for military service, Caesar took various measures to support fathers with many children.

In an effort to limit uncontrolled emigration to the provinces, Caesar forbade the full-fledged residents of Rome and Italy between the ages of 20 and 40 to leave the Apennines for more than three years in a row, and the children of senators could go to the province only as soldiers or members of the viceroy's retinue.

To replenish the budgets of urban communities, Caesar decided to return to Italy trade duties on imported goods.

Finally, to partially solve the problem of unemployment, the dictator issued a decree that at least a third of the shepherds in Italy should be recruited from free people, not slaves.

Caesar's extensive construction projects, both in Rome and outside the capital, also pursued the task of reducing unemployment. By 46 BC. e. the construction of the new Forum of Caesar, which began during the Gallic War, was completed (only the ruins of the temple of Venus the Ancestor, which was laid according to a vow made before the Battle of Pharsal, have survived to this day). The dictator undertook to rebuild the Senate building, which burned down in 52 BC. BC: Faust Sulla, who had previously been entrusted with this mission by the Senate, was killed during the civil war.

As a punishment for a number of crimes, Caesar consolidated exile, and ordered that half of the fortune be confiscated from the rich.

He also issued new laws against luxury: the use of personal stretchers, pearl jewelry, purple-dyed clothing was prohibited, in addition to which the trade in refined products was regulated and the luxury of tombstones was limited.

Guy also planned to create in Rome a large library based on the model of Alexandria and Pergamon, entrusting the organization to the encyclopedist Mark Terence Varro, but the death of the dictator upset these plans.

Finally, in 46 BC e. Caesar announced the reform of the Roman calendar... Instead of the previous lunar calendar, a solar calendar was introduced, developed by the Alexandrian scientist Sozigen and consisting of 365 days with one additional day every four years. However, in order to carry out the reform, it was first necessary to bring the current calendar in line with astronomical time. The new calendar was used throughout Europe throughout sixteen centuries, until the development of a slightly revised version of the calendar, called the Gregorian, on behalf of Pope Gregory XIII.

Assassination of Julius Caesar:

At the beginning of 44 BC. e. in Rome, there was a conspiracy among the Roman nobles, dissatisfied with the autocracy of Caesar and feared rumors about the coming name of him tsar. Mark Junius Brutus and Guy Cassius Longinus are considered the inspirations of the conspiracy. In addition to them, many other prominent persons were involved in the conspiracy - both the Pompeians and the supporters of Caesar.

The conspiracy around Brutus, apparently, was not the first attempt to kill the dictator: the conspiracy of 46 BC is known, although without details. e. and preparations for an assassination attempt by Gaius Trebonius. At this time, Caesar was preparing for a war with Parthia, and rumors spread in Rome about his upcoming appointment as king and about the transfer of the capital to Troy or Alexandria.

The implementation of the plans of the conspirators was scheduled for a meeting of the Senate in the curia of Pompey near his theater on March 15 - Ides of March according to Roman time. The ancient authors accompany the description of the events that preceded the Ides of March with a listing of various signs and indications that the well-wishers tried to warn the dictator, but by coincidence he did not listen to them or did not believe their words.

After the meeting began, a group of conspirators gathered around Lucius Tillius Zimber, who asked Caesar for forgiveness for his brother, while another group stood behind Caesar. When Cimbrus began to pull the toga from Caesar's neck, signaling the conspirators, Publius Servilius Casca, standing behind, struck the first blow in the neck of the dictator. Caesar fought back, but when he saw Mark Brutus, then, according to legend, said "And you, my child!" in Greek (Old Greek καὶ σὺ τέκνον).

According to Plutarch, Guy fell silent at the sight of Brutus and ceased to resist. The same author notes that Caesar's body happened to be near the statue of Pompey standing in the room, or was deliberately transferred there by the conspirators themselves. In total, 23 wounds were found on Caesar's body.

After the funeral games and several speeches, the crowd burned Caesar's corpse at the forum, using the benches and tables of market traders for the funeral pyre: “Some offered to burn it in the Temple of Jupiter Capitoline, others in the curia of Pompey, when suddenly two unknown persons appeared, belted with swords, brandishing darts, and set fire to the building with wax torches. Immediately, the surrounding crowd began to drag dry brushwood, benches, judicial chairs, and everything that had been brought into the fire into the fire. Then the flutists and actors began to strip off the triumphal garments they had worn for such a day, and, tearing them apart, threw them into the flames; old legionnaires burned the weapons with which they adorned for the funeral, and many women - their clothes that were on them, bulls and children's dresses ".

According to Caesar's will, each Roman received three hundred sesterces from the dictator, the gardens over the Tiber were transferred to public use. The childless dictator, unexpectedly for everyone, adopted his grand-nephew Guy Octavius ​​and gave him three-quarters of his fortune. Octavius ​​changed his name to Guy Julius Caesar, although he is better known in historiography as Octavian. Some Caesarians (in particular, Mark Antony) unsuccessfully tried to achieve recognition as the heir of Caesarion instead of Octavian. Subsequently, Antony and Octavian formed a second triumvirate together with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, but after a new civil war, Octavian became the sole ruler of Rome.

Shortly after Caesar's assassination, a bright comet appeared in the sky. Since it was very bright (its absolute stellar magnitude is estimated at -4.0) and appeared in the sky during the ceremonial games in honor of Caesar by Octavian, the belief spread in Rome that it was the soul of a murdered dictator.

Family and personal life of Julius Caesar:

Caesar was married at least three times.

The status of his relationship with Cossutia, a girl from a wealthy equestrian family, is not entirely clear, due to the poor preservation of sources about Caesar's childhood and youth. Traditionally, it is assumed that Caesar and Cossutia were engaged, although Guy's biographer Plutarch considers Cossutia to be his wife.

The dissolution of relations with Cossutia occurred, apparently, in 84 BC. e.

Very soon Caesar married Cornelia, daughter of the consul Lucius Cornelius Cinna.

The second wife of Caesar was Pompey, the granddaughter of the dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla (she was not a relative of Gnaeus Pompey). The marriage took place around 68 or 67 BC. e. In December 62 BC. e. Caesar divorces her after a scandal at the festival of the Good Goddess.

For the third time, Caesar married Calpurnia from a wealthy and influential plebeian family. This wedding took place, apparently, in May 59 BC. e.

Around 78 BC e. Cornelia gave birth to Julia. Caesar organized the engagement of his daughter to Quintus Servilius Tsepion, but then changed his mind and passed her off as Gnaeus Pompey.

While in Egypt during the civil war, Caesar cohabited with Cleopatra, and presumably in the summer of 46 BC. e. she had a son known as Caesarion (Plutarch specifies that this name was given to him by the Alexandrians, and not by the dictator). Despite the similarity of names and time of birth, Caesar did not officially recognize the child as his own, and his contemporaries knew almost nothing about him before the assassination of the dictator.

After the Ides of March, when Cleopatra's son was circumvented in the will of the dictator, some Caesarians (in particular, Mark Antony) tried to get him to be recognized as the heir instead of Octavian. Due to the propaganda campaign unfolding around the issue of Caesarion's paternity, it is difficult to establish his relationship with the dictator.

According to the unanimous testimony of ancient authors, Caesar was distinguished by sexual promiscuity. Suetonius gives a list of his most famous mistresses and gives him the following description: "By the general opinion, he was greedy and wasteful for amorous pleasures."

A number of documents, in particular, the biography of Suetonius' authorship, and one of the epigram poems of Catullus, sometimes allow Caesar to be ranked among the famous homosexuals.

Robert Etienne, however, draws attention to the extreme scarcity of such evidence - as a rule, the story with Nicomedes is mentioned. Suetonius calls this rumor "the only stain" on Guy's sexual reputation. Such hints were made, among others, by ill-wishers. However, modern researchers draw attention to the fact that the Romans reproached Caesar not with homosexual contacts themselves, but only with a passive role in them. The fact is that in the Roman view, any actions in the "penetrating" role, regardless of the sex of the partner, were considered normal for a man. On the contrary, the passive role of the man was considered reprehensible. According to Dion Cassius, Guy vehemently denied all hints of his connection with Nicomedes, although he usually rarely lost his temper.

Guy Julius Caesar is one of the most famous Roman military and political figures, as well as a writer, a great pontiff.

The future dictator was born into the rich and glorious Yuliev family in 100 BC Julius' childhood was no different from the childhood of other children of wealthy families in Rome. At the age of fifteen, the young man lost his father and he had to head the entire Yuliev family.

As a great orator Caesar in the seventies of the first century BC. takes part in the political struggle that began after the death of Emperor Sulla.

V 73 year Caesar becomes a military tribune. V 69 year he is already a quaestor, and therefore a member of the Senate. This position forced him to go to Spain.
V 61 year Julius becomes a prophet and again goes to Spain and immediately began to suppress small rebellions dissatisfied with the Roman government, and then completely unleashed a wide campaign, which ended with complete success, for which the soldiers called him emperor - that is, a victorious commander. After these events, in 59 year Caesar becomes consul.

V 57 year began the famous conquest of Caesar previously unconquered Gaul. This war went on for seven long years, but Caesar still managed to conquer the seemingly unyielding Gallic tribes and completely seize power in Gaul.

WITH 49 on 45 years BC Caesar becomes a participant in the civil war from which he emerges victorious, after which his sole power in the Roman Republic is established. As a dictator, Caesar undertook a number of important political reforms, some of which were not in the spirit of some senators.

The senators feared that Caesar would become king and 44 year conspiracy that led to the assassination of the great commander and politician. The main conspirator is his Brutus, who could possibly have been his own son.

Caesar was killed 15 Martha as a result 23 stab wounds. His adopted son, Octavian, would soon become the first Roman emperor.

Caesar's health was by nature very weak, but the commander trained and tempered every day, which greatly strengthened him: he was tall and well-built, he could give odds to any young Roman, especially in battle;
Caesar was such an energetic person that he could simultaneously do several important things at once: read, write and dictate to someone four or even seven letters at once;
Caesar practically did not drink wine and was picky about food;
During the war against the Gallic tribes, Caesar wrote the literary work "Notes on the Gallic War", and after the Civil War - "Notes on the Civil War";
The ruler of Egypt, Cleopatra, was Caesar's mistress for a long time and even gave birth to a child from him, who was named Caesarion;
At the time of the murder, Caesar resisted when he was stabbed several times, but the resistance ended when the dictator saw that there was a knife in the hands of Brutus. Then he said the famous phrase: "And you, Brutus?", After which he obediently stopped and did nothing when the senators began to strike one blow after another. Caesar died only after 23 stab wounds;
In honor of the great Roman commander and politician, one of the months of the year was named - July;
Under the leadership of Caesar, one of the most mobile legions in Rome was formed - VI The Iron Legion, which in the future became the hero of many films, computer games and songs;
The famous Roman proverb, probably known to everyone, belongs to the mouth of Caesar. It sounds like "I came, I saw, I conquered." It corresponded to the deed of Caesar, who never suffered defeat, if he really took on something.

Guy Julius Caesar- ancient Roman statesman and politician (consul, dictator, great pontiff), commander, writer. His works "Notes on the Gallic War" and "Notes on the Civil War" are used to study the Latin language.

Brief biography of Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar (lat. Gaius Iulius Caesar) was born on 12 or July 13 at 100(according to some sources - in 101 or 102) BC.

The house where Caesar grew up was in Subure- an area of ​​Rome that had a reputation for being dysfunctional. As a child, he studied Greek, literature, rhetoric at home. He also went in for physical: swimming, horse riding.

A prominent rhetorician is known among the teachers of young Guy Gniphone who was also one of the teachers Cicero... Around 85 BC. e. Caesar lost his father: according to Pliny the Elder, he died, stooping to put on his shoes.

After the death of his father, Caesar, who passed the initiation ceremony, actually headed the entire Julian family, since all the closest male relatives older than him died.

Caesar's career

Guy soon became engaged to Cossutia, a girl from a wealthy equestrian family. Descended from an ancient patrician family, Caesar consistently pursued all ordinary Roman positions and made a name for himself in the fight against conservative senators (optimates).

First triumvirate

In 60 BC. e. organized first triumvirate together with two influential politicians - Gnei Pompey the Great and Mark Licinius Crassus. By passing agrarian laws, Julius Caesar acquired a large number of adherents who received land. Strengthening the triumvirate, he gave his daughter in marriage to Pompey.

Gallic war

From 58 BC e. spent more than eight years on the territory of modern Switzerland, France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain in Gallic War, having annexed to the Roman Republic a huge territory from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rhine and gaining fame as a talented commander.

Civil War

After the death of Crassus in 53 BC. e. the triumvirate disintegrated. Pompey, in his rivalry with Julius Caesar, led the supporters of the traditional Senate republican rule. The Senate, fearing Caesar, refused to renew his powers in Gaul.

At the beginning of 49 BC. e. started civil war due to irreconcilable disagreements with senators on the details of their return to Rome and on guarantees of judicial immunity for malfeasance (bribery at elections, bribes to officials, violation of contracts, violent actions and other violations).

Within four years, supporters of the Senate, grouped around Pompey, were defeated by Caesar in Italy, Spain (twice), Greece and Africa, and he also defeated the troops of the rulers of Egypt and Pontus.

Sticking to politics mercy, but at the same time executed a number of his key opponents. Having achieved a complete victory over his opponents, he concentrated in his hands the power of the consul and the extraordinary powers of the dictator (in the end - in the form of a life-long position), carried out a series of reforms in all spheres of society.

Attitude towards the personality of Julius Caesar

During the life of Caesar, his deification began, the honorary title of the victorious commander "Emperor" became part of his name, however, he renounced the power of the ancient Roman kings. After the assassination of Caesar by a group of senators led by By Mark Junius Brut great-nephew of Caesar Guy Octavius took his name and received most of the inheritance by will, later becoming the first emperor.

Caesar was treated differently during his lifetime, and this tradition was preserved in the Roman Empire: his name was whitewashed in every possible way by the supporters of the rulers, and the opposition praised his victims and conspirators. Caesar's personality was very popular in Middle Ages and New time.

In addition to political and military activities, Caesar is also known as literary man... Due to the simplicity and clarity of style, his compositions are considered classics of ancient Roman literature and are used in teaching Latin. Titles go back to the name of Julius Caesar kaiser and king, as well as the name of the seventh month of the year in many languages ​​of the world - July.

Guy Julius Caesar is the greatest commander and statesman of all times and peoples, whose name has become a household name. Caesar was born on July 12, 102 BC. As a representative of the old patrician family of the Julians, Caesar plunged into politics as a young man, becoming one of the leaders of the Popular Party, which, however, contradicted family tradition, since the family members of the future emperor belonged to the Optimate Party, which represented the interests of the old Roman aristocracy in the Senate. In ancient Rome, as well as in the modern world, politics was closely intertwined with family relations: Caesar's aunt, Julia, was the wife of Gaius Mary, who was in turn the then ruler of Rome, and the first wife of Caesar, Cornelia, is the daughter of Cinna, the successor of all that same Maria.

The development of Caesar's personality was influenced by the early death of his father, who died when the young man was only 15 years old. Therefore, the upbringing and education of the teenager completely fell on the shoulders of the mother. And the well-known Roman teacher Mark Anthony Gnifon, the author of the book "On the Latin Language", was the home tutor of the future great ruler and commander. Gnifon taught Guy to read and write, and also instilled a love of public speaking, and instilled in a young man respect for the interlocutor - a quality necessary for any politician. The lessons of the teacher, a true professional of his time, made it possible for Caesar to truly develop his personality: to read the ancient Greek epic, the works of many philosophers, to get acquainted with the victories of Alexander the Great, to master the techniques and tricks of oratory - in a word, to become an extremely developed and versatile person.

The surrender of the Gallic leader Versirengetorix to Caesar. (Painting by Lionel Royer. 1899)

However, the young Caesar showed particular interest in the art of eloquence. Caesar was presented with the example of Cicero, who made his career largely thanks to his excellent mastery of oratory - an amazing ability to convince listeners that he was right. In 87 BC, a year after the death of his father, in the year of his sixteenth birthday, Caesar donned a one-color toga (toga virilis), which symbolized his maturity.
Matured Caesar began his career, becoming a priest of the supreme god of Rome, Jupiter, and asked the hand of Cornelia. The girl's consent allowed the young politician to receive the necessary support in power, which would become one of the starting points that predetermined his great future.

However, the political career of the young Caesar was not destined to take off too quickly - Sulla seized power in Rome (82 BC). He told Guy to divorce his young wife, but upon hearing a categorical refusal, he stripped him of his priesthood and all his property. Only the patronizing position of Caesar's relatives, who were in Sulla's inner circle, saved his life.

Nevertheless, this sharp turn in fate did not break Caesar, but only contributed to the formation of his personality. Having lost his priestly privileges in 81 BC, Caesar embarked on a military career, traveling to the East to take part in his first military campaign under Minucius (Mark) Therma, the purpose of which was to suppress the centers of resistance to power in the Roman province of Asia (Minor Asia, Pergamum). During the campaign, Caesar received his first military glory. In 78 BC, during the storming of the city of Mytilene (the island of Lesvos), he was awarded the sign "oak wreath" for saving the life of a Roman citizen.

However, Caesar decided not to devote himself exclusively to military affairs. He continued his political career, returning to Rome after the death of Sulla. Caesar spoke at trials. The young speaker's speech was so captivating and temperamental that crowds of people gathered from the street to listen to him. So Caesar multiplied his supporters. Although Caesar did not win a single judicial victory, his speech was recorded, and his phrases diverged into quotations. Caesar was truly passionate about oratory and was constantly improving. To develop his oratorical talents, he went to Fr. Rhodes to learn the art of eloquence from the renowned rhetorician Apollonius Molon.

In politics, Guy Julius Caesar remained loyal to the Popular Party - a party whose loyalty had already brought him certain political successes. But after in 67-66. BC. the senate and consuls Manilius and Gabinius endowed Pompey with tremendous powers, Caesar, in his public speeches, increasingly began to speak out for democracy. In particular, Caesar proposed to revive the forgotten procedure for conducting the trial by the people's assembly. Apart from democratic initiatives, Caesar was a model of generosity. Having become an aedile (an official who oversaw the state of the city infrastructure), he did not skimp on decorating the city and organizing mass events - games and shows, which won immense popularity among the common people, for which he was also elected a great pontiff. In a word, Caesar strove to increase his popularity among citizens in every possible way, playing an increasing role in the life of the state.

62-60 BC can be called a turning point in the biography of Caesar. During these years he served as governor in the province of Far Spain, where for the first time he truly revealed his outstanding managerial and military talent. Service in Further Spain allowed him to get rich and pays off debts that did not give him a deep breath for a long time.

In 60 BC. Caesar triumphantly returned to Rome, where a year later he was elected to the post of senior consul of the Roman Republic. In this regard, the so-called triumvirate was formed on the Roman political Olympus. Caesar's consulate suited both Caesar himself and Pompey - both claimed a leading role in the state. Pompey's supporters, who disbanded his army, which triumphantly suppressed the Spanish uprising of Sertorius, were not enough, a kind of combination of forces was needed. Therefore, the alliance of Pompey, Caesar and Crassus (the winner of Spartacus) was most welcome. In short, the triumvirate was a kind of an alliance of mutually beneficial cooperation of money and political influence.

Caesar's military career began with his Gallic proconsulate, when large military forces entered the jurisdiction of Caesar, which allowed him to begin his invasion of Transalpine Gaul in 58 BC. After victories over the Celts and Germans in 58-57. BC. Caesar begins to conquer the Gallic tribes. Already in 56 BC. e. the vast territory between the Alps, Pyrenees and the Rhine came under the rule of Rome.
Caesar rapidly developed success: he crossed the Rhine and inflicted a number of defeats on the Germanic tribes. The next dizzying success of Caesar was two campaigns in Britain and its complete submission to Rome.

Caesar did not forget about politics either. While Caesar and his political companions - Crassus and Pompey - were on the verge of breaking. Their meeting took place in the city of Luca, where they reaffirmed the validity of the agreements, distributing the provinces: Pompey got control of Spain and Africa, Crassus - Syria. Caesar's powers in Gaul were extended for the next 5 years.

However, the situation in Gaul left much to be desired. Neither thanksgiving prayers, nor the festivities organized in honor of Caesar's victories failed to tame the spirit of the freedom-loving Gauls, who did not abandon their attempts to get rid of Roman rule.

In order to prevent an uprising in Gaul, Caesar decided to adhere to a policy of mercy, the basic principles of which formed the basis of all his policies in the future. Avoiding excessive bloodshed, he forgave the repentant, believing that the living Gauls, who owed his life to him, were more needed than the dead.

But even this did not help prevent the impending storm, and 52 BC. e. marked the beginning of the General Gaul uprising under the leadership of the young leader Virzingetorix. Caesar's position was very difficult. The number of his army did not exceed 60 thousand people, while the number of the rebels reached 250.3 million people. After a series of defeats, the Gauls switched to the tactics of guerrilla warfare. Caesar's conquests were in jeopardy. However, in 51 BC. e. in the battle of Alesia, the Romans, although not without difficulty, defeated the rebels. Vircingetorix himself was captured and the uprising began to subside.

In 53 BC. e. a fateful event for the Roman state happened: Crassus died in the Parthian campaign. From that moment on, the fate of the triumvirate was predetermined. Pompey did not want to comply with the previous agreements with Caesar and began to pursue an independent policy. The Roman Republic was on the verge of collapse. The dispute between Caesar and Pompey for power began to acquire the character of an armed confrontation.

At the same time, the law was not on the side of Caesar - he was obliged to obey the Senate and renounce his power claims. However, Caesar decides to fight. "The die is cast," said Caesar and invaded Italy with only one legion at his disposal. Caesar moved in the direction of Rome, and the hitherto invincible Pompey the Great and the Senate surrendered city after city. Roman garrisons, originally loyal to Pompey, joined Caesar's army.

Caesar entered Rome on April 1, 49 BC. e. Caesar implements a number of democratic reforms: a number of punitive laws of Sulla and Pompey were canceled. An important innovation of Caesar was the empowerment of the inhabitants of the provinces with the rights of citizens of Rome.

The confrontation between Caesar and Pompey continued in Greece, where Pompey fled after the capture of Rome by Caesar. The first battle with the army of Pompey at Dyrrhachium was unsuccessful for Caesar. His troops fled in disgrace, and Caesar himself almost died at the hands of his own standard-bearer.

Cleopatra and Caesar. Painting by artist Jean-Léon Jerome (1866)

The next battle of Pharsalus, which took place on August 9, 48 BC. e., became much more successful for Caesar, ending with the complete defeat of Pompey, as a result of which he was forced to flee to Egypt. Caesar began to subjugate Greece and Asia Minor. Caesar's road now lay in Egypt. However, Pompey no longer posed any threat to Caesar - he was killed by the Egyptians, who felt in which direction the wind of political changes in the world was blowing.

He felt global changes and the Senate, which completely sided with Caesar, proclaiming him an indefinite dictator. But, instead of taking advantage of the favorable political situation in Rome, Caesar delved into the solution of Egyptian affairs, carried away by the Egyptian beauty Cleopatra. Caesar's active position on internal political issues resulted in an uprising against the Romans, one of the central episodes of which was the burning of the famous Library of Alexandria. However, Caesar did not abandon his interventionist intentions, and Cleopatra ascended the throne, and Egypt came under Roman patronage. This was followed by nine months, during which Caesar, struck by the beauty of Cleopatra, leaving all state and military concerns, stayed in Alexandria.

However, Caesar's carefree life soon ended. In Rome and on the outskirts of the empire, a new turmoil was brewing. The Parthian ruler Pharnaces threatened the dominions of Rome in Asia Minor. The situation in Italy also escalated - even previously loyal veterans of Caesar began to rebel. Pharnace's army on August 2, 47 BC e. was defeated by the army of Caesar, who informed the Romans of such a quick victory with a short message: “He came. Saw. Won."

And in September 47 BC. e. Caesar returned to Rome, his presence alone was enough to end the unrest. Returning to Rome, Caesar celebrated a magnificent triumph, dedicated to the victory in four operations at once: Gaul, Pharnace, Egyptian and Numidian. Caesar's generosity was unprecedented: in Rome, 22,000 tables were laid with treats for the citizens, and the games, in which even war elephants participated, surpassed in entertainment any mass events ever hosted by a Roman ruler.

Vasily Surikov. The assassination of Julius Caesar. C. 1875

Caesar becomes a lifelong dictator, he is given the title "Emperor". The month of his birth is named after him - July. Temples are erected in his honor, his statues are placed among the statues of the gods. The oath form "in the name of Caesar" becomes generally binding during court hearings.

Using tremendous power and authority, Caesar develops a new set of laws ("Lex Iulia de vi et de majestate"), reforming the calendar (the Julian calendar appears). Caesar plans to build a new theater in Rome, a temple of Mars, several libraries. In addition, preparations began for campaigns against the Parthians and Dacians. However, these grandiose plans of Caesar were not destined to come true.

Even the policy of mercy, unswervingly pursued by Caesar, could not prevent the emergence of those dissatisfied with his power. So, despite the fact that the former supporters of Pompey were forgiven, for Caesar this act of mercy ended badly.

Among the Romans, rumors spread about Caesar's desire to further absolutize power and transfer the capital to Asia Minor. Many of those who considered themselves undeservedly deprived in the distribution of ranks and titles, as well as citizens who were sincerely concerned about the fate of the Roman Republic, formed a conspiracy, the number of participants in which reached about 60 people. So Caesar suddenly found himself in political isolation.

On March 15, 44 BC, two days before the date of his speech on the campaign to the East, at a meeting of the Senate, Caesar was killed by conspirators led by former supporters of Pompey. The plans of the assassins were realized in front of numerous senators - a crowd of conspirators pounced on Caesar with daggers. According to legend, noticing among the murderers his loyal supporter young Brutus, Caesar exclaimed doomly: "And you, my child!" (or: "And you, Brutus") and fell at the feet of the statue of his sworn enemy Pompey.

Literature:
Grant M. Julius Caesar. Priest of Jupiter. - M .: Tsentrpoligraf, 2005.
Plutarch. Comparative biographies. Julius Caesar. M., 1964.Vol. 3.
Utchenko S.L. Julius Caesar. M., 1984.
Freeman Philip Julius Caesar. - SPb .: AST, Astrel, 2010

One of the greatest statesmen and military leaders in the history of mankind was Guy Julius Caesar... During his reign, he incorporated Britain, Germany and Galia into the Roman state, on whose territory modern France and Belgium are located. Under him, the principles of dictatorship were laid, which served as the foundation for the Roman Empire. He also left behind a rich cultural heritage, and not only as a historian and writer, but also as the author of immortal aphorisms: “I came, I saw, I won”, “Every man is a blacksmith of his own destiny”, “The lot is cast” and many others. His name itself has become firmly established in the languages ​​of many countries. From the word "Caesar" came the German "Kaiser" and the Russian "Tsar". The month in which he was born is named in his honor - July.

Caesar's youth passed in an atmosphere of acute struggle between political groups. Having fallen out of favor with the then dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Caesar had to leave for Asia Minor and serve there military service, simultaneously fulfilling diplomatic assignments. The death of Sulla again opened the road to Rome for Caesar. As a result of his successful promotion up the political and military ladder, he became consul. And in 60 BC. formed the first triumverat - a political alliance with Gnei Pompey and Mark Licinius Crassus.

Military victories

For the period from 58 to 54 BC. the troops of the Roman Republic, led by Julius Caesar, captured Galia, Germany and Britain. But the conquered territories were restless, rebellions and uprisings broke out every now and then. Therefore, from 54 to 51 BC. it was necessary to continually recapture these lands. The years of war greatly improved Caesar's financial condition. He easily spent the wealth he had, gifting and gaining popularity to his friends and supporters. The influence of Caesar on the army that fought under his command was also very great.

Civil War

During the time that Caesar was at war in Europe, the first triumverat managed to disintegrate. Crassus died in 53 BC, and Pompey became close to Caesar's eternal adversary - the Senate, which on January 1, 49 BC. decided to remove the powers of the consul from Caesar. This day is considered the day of the beginning of the civil war. Caesar here was able to show himself as a skillful commander, and after two months of civil war, his opponents surrendered. Caesar became a lifelong dictator.

Rule and death

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INTRODUCTION

Julius Caesar (lat.Imperator Gaius Iulius Caesar - Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar (* July 13, 100 BC - March 15, 44 BC) - ancient Roman statesman and politician, commander, writer.

Caesar's activities radically changed the cultural and political image of Western Europe and left an outstanding mark on the lives of subsequent generations of Europeans.

THE LIFE OF CAESAR AND HIS FAMILY

Guy Julius Caesar(authentic pronunciation close to Kaysar; lat. Gaius Iulius Caesar[ˈGaːjʊs ˈjuːliʊs ˈkae̯sar]; July 12 or 13, 100 BC e. - March 15, 44 BC BC) - ancient Roman statesman and politician, military leader, writer.

Gaius Julius Caesar was born into the ancient patrician Julian family. In the 5th-4th centuries BC. e. Julia played a significant role in the life of Rome. Among the representatives of the family came, in particular, one dictator, one master of cavalry (deputy dictator) and one member of the college of decemvirs, who developed the laws of the Ten Tables - the original version of the famous laws of the Twelve Tables.

Caesar was married at least three times. The status of his relationship with Cossutia, a girl from a wealthy equestrian family, is not entirely clear, due to the poor preservation of sources about Caesar's childhood and youth. Traditionally, it is assumed that Caesar and Cossutia were engaged, although Guy's biographer Plutarch considers Cossutia to be his wife. The dissolution of relations with Cossutia occurred, apparently, in 84 BC. e. Very soon Caesar married Cornelia, daughter of the consul Lucius Cornelius Cinna. The second wife of Caesar was Pompey, the granddaughter of the dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla (she was not a relative of Gnaeus Pompey); the marriage took place around 68 or 67 BC.

e. In December 62 BC. e. Caesar divorces her after a scandal at the festival of the Good Goddess (see section "Pretura"). For the third time, Caesar married Calpurnia from a wealthy and influential plebeian family. This wedding took place, apparently, in May 59 BC. e.

Around 78 BC e. Cornelia gave birth to Julia. Caesar organized the engagement of his daughter to Quintus Servilius Tsepion, but then changed his mind and passed her off as Gnaeus Pompey. While in Egypt during the civil war, Caesar cohabited with Cleopatra, and presumably in the summer of 46 BC. e. she had a son known as Caesarion (Plutarch specifies that this name was given to him by the Alexandrians, and not by the dictator). Despite the similarity of names and time of birth, Caesar did not officially recognize the child as his own, and his contemporaries knew almost nothing about him before the assassination of the dictator. After the Ides of March, when Cleopatra's son was circumvented in the will of the dictator, some Caesarians (in particular, Mark Antony) tried to get him to be recognized as the heir instead of Octavian. Due to the propaganda campaign unfolding around the issue of Caesarion's paternity, it is difficult to establish his relationship with the dictator.

A number of documents, in particular, the biography of Suetonius' authorship, and one of the epigram poems of Catullus, sometimes, as a rule, mentions the story of Nikomedes. Suetonius calls this rumor “ the only spot"On Guy's sexual reputation. Such hints were made, among others, by ill-wishers. However, modern researchers draw attention to the fact that the Romans reproached Caesar not with homosexual contacts themselves, but only with a passive role in them. The fact is that in the Roman view, any actions in the "penetrating" role, regardless of the sex of the partner, were considered normal for a man.

On the contrary, the passive role of the man was considered reprehensible. According to Dion Cassius, Guy vehemently denied all hints of his connection with Nicomedes, although he usually rarely lost his temper.

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES GAY JULIUS CAESAR

Guy Julius Caesar is the greatest commander and statesman of all times and peoples, whose name has become a household name. Caesar was born on July 12, 102 BC. As a representative of the old patrician family of the Julians, Caesar plunged into politics as a young man, becoming one of the leaders of the Popular Party, which, however, contradicted family tradition, since the family members of the future emperor belonged to the Optimate Party, which represented the interests of the old Roman aristocracy in the Senate. In ancient Rome, as well as in the modern world, politics was closely intertwined with family relations: Caesar's aunt, Julia, was the wife of Gaius Mary, who was in turn the then ruler of Rome, and the first wife of Caesar, Cornelia, is the daughter of Cinna, the successor of all that same Maria.

The development of Caesar's personality was influenced by the early death of his father, who died when the young man was only 15 years old.

Guy Julius Caesar

Therefore, the upbringing and education of the teenager completely fell on the shoulders of the mother. And the well-known Roman teacher Mark Anthony Gnifon, the author of the book "On the Latin Language", was the home tutor of the future great ruler and commander. Gnifon taught Guy to read and write, and also instilled a love of public speaking, and instilled in a young man respect for the interlocutor - a quality necessary for any politician. The lessons of the teacher, a real professional of his time, made it possible for Caesar to truly develop his personality: to read the ancient Greek epic, the works of many philosophers, to get acquainted with the history of the victories of Alexander the Great, to master the techniques and tricks of oratory - in a word, to become an extremely developed and versatile person.

However, the young Caesar showed particular interest in the art of eloquence. Caesar was presented with the example of Cicero, who made his career largely thanks to his excellent mastery of oratory - an amazing ability to convince listeners that he was right. In 87 BC, a year after the death of his father, in the year of his sixteenth birthday, Caesar donned a one-color toga (toga virilis), which symbolized his maturity.

However, the political career of the young Caesar was not destined to take off too quickly - Sulla seized power in Rome (82 BC). He told Guy to divorce his young wife, but upon hearing a categorical refusal, he stripped him of his priesthood and all his property. Only the patronizing position of Caesar's relatives, who were in Sulla's inner circle, saved his life.

Nevertheless, this sharp turn in fate did not break Caesar, but only contributed to the formation of his personality. Having lost his priestly privileges in 81 BC, Caesar embarked on a military career, traveling to the East to take part in his first military campaign under Minucius (Mark) Therma, the purpose of which was to suppress the centers of resistance to power in the Roman province of Asia (Minor Asia, Pergamum). During the campaign, Caesar received his first military glory. In 78 BC, during the storming of the city of Mytilene (the island of Lesvos), he was awarded the sign "oak wreath" for saving the life of a Roman citizen.

Gaius Julius Caesar is a great politician and commanderHowever, Caesar decided not to devote himself exclusively to military affairs. He continued his political career, returning to Rome after the death of Sulla. Caesar spoke at trials. The young speaker's speech was so captivating and temperamental that crowds of people gathered from the street to listen to him. So Caesar multiplied his supporters. Although Caesar did not win a single judicial victory, his speech was recorded, and his phrases diverged into quotations. Caesar was truly passionate about oratory and was constantly improving. To develop his oratorical talents, he went to Fr. Rhodes to learn the art of eloquence from the renowned rhetorician Apollonius Molon.

In politics, Guy Julius Caesar remained loyal to the Popular Party - a party whose loyalty had already brought him certain political successes. But after in 67-66. BC. the senate and consuls Manilius and Gabinius endowed Pompey with tremendous powers, Caesar, in his public speeches, increasingly began to speak out for democracy. In particular, Caesar proposed to revive the forgotten procedure for conducting the trial by the people's assembly. Apart from democratic initiatives, Caesar was a model of generosity. Having become an aedile (an official who oversaw the state of the city infrastructure), he did not skimp on decorating the city and organizing mass events - games and shows, which won immense popularity among the common people, for which he was also elected a great pontiff. In a word, Caesar strove to increase his popularity among citizens in every possible way, playing an increasing role in the life of the state.

62-60 BC can be called a turning point in the biography of Caesar. During these years he served as governor in the province of Far Spain, where for the first time he truly revealed his outstanding managerial and military talent. Service in Further Spain allowed him to get rich and pays off debts that did not give him a deep breath for a long time.

In 60 BC. Caesar triumphantly returned to Rome, where a year later he was elected to the post of senior consul of the Roman Republic. In this regard, the so-called triumvirate was formed on the Roman political Olympus. Caesar's consulate suited both Caesar himself and Pompey - both claimed a leading role in the state. Pompey's supporters, who disbanded his army, which triumphantly suppressed the Spanish uprising of Sertorius, were not enough, a kind of combination of forces was needed. Therefore, the alliance of Pompey, Caesar and Crassus (the winner of Spartacus) was most welcome. In short, the triumvirate was a kind of an alliance of mutually beneficial cooperation of money and political influence.

Caesar's military career began with his Gallic proconsulate, when large military forces entered the jurisdiction of Caesar, which allowed him to begin his invasion of Transalpine Gaul in 58 BC. After victories over the Celts and Germans in 58-57. BC. Caesar begins to conquer the Gallic tribes. Already in 56 BC. e. the vast territory between the Alps, Pyrenees and the Rhine came under the rule of Rome.

Caesar rapidly developed success: he crossed the Rhine and inflicted a number of defeats on the Germanic tribes. The next dizzying success of Caesar was two campaigns in Britain and its complete submission to Rome.

Caesar did not forget about politics either. While Caesar and his political companions - Crassus and Pompey - were on the verge of breaking. Their meeting took place in the city of Luca, where they reaffirmed the validity of the agreements adopted, distributing the provinces: Pompey got the administration of Spain and Africa, Crassus - Syria. Caesar's powers in Gaul were extended for the next 5 years.

However, the situation in Gaul left much to be desired. Neither thanksgiving prayers, nor the festivities organized in honor of Caesar's victories failed to tame the spirit of the freedom-loving Gauls, who did not abandon their attempts to get rid of Roman rule.

In order to prevent an uprising in Gaul, Caesar decided to adhere to a policy of mercy, the basic principles of which formed the basis of all his policies in the future. Avoiding excessive bloodshed, he forgave the repentant, believing that the living Gauls, who owed his life to him, were more needed than the dead.

But even this did not help prevent the impending storm, and 52 BC. e. marked the beginning of the General Gaul uprising under the leadership of the young leader Virzingetorix. Caesar's position was very difficult. The number of his army did not exceed 60 thousand people, while the number of the rebels reached 250.3 million people. After a series of defeats, the Gauls switched to the tactics of guerrilla warfare. Caesar's conquests were in jeopardy. However, in 51 BC. e. in the battle of Alesia, the Romans, although not without difficulty, defeated the rebels. Vircingetorix himself was captured and the uprising began to subside.

In 53 BC. e. a fateful event for the Roman state happened: Crassus died in the Parthian campaign. From that moment on, the fate of the triumvirate was predetermined. Pompey did not want to comply with the previous agreements with Caesar and began to pursue an independent policy. The Roman Republic was on the verge of collapse. The dispute between Caesar and Pompey for power began to acquire the character of an armed confrontation.

At the same time, the law was not on the side of Caesar - he was obliged to obey the Senate and renounce his power claims. However, Caesar decides to fight. "The die is cast," said Caesar and invaded Italy with only one legion at his disposal. Caesar moved in the direction of Rome, and the hitherto invincible Pompey the Great and the Senate surrendered city after city. Roman garrisons, originally loyal to Pompey, joined Caesar's army.

Caesar entered Rome on April 1, 49 BC. e. Caesar implements a number of democratic reforms: a number of punitive laws of Sulla and Pompey were canceled. An important innovation of Caesar was the empowerment of the inhabitants of the provinces with the rights of citizens of Rome.

The confrontation between Caesar and Pompey continued in Greece, where Pompey fled after the capture of Rome by Caesar. The first battle with the army of Pompey at Dyrrhachium was unsuccessful for Caesar. His troops fled in disgrace, and Caesar himself almost died at the hands of his own standard-bearer. However, Pompey no longer posed any threat to Caesar - he was killed by the Egyptians, who felt in which direction the wind of political changes in the world was blowing.

He felt global changes and the Senate, which completely sided with Caesar, proclaiming him an indefinite dictator. But, instead of taking advantage of the favorable political situation in Rome, Caesar delved into the solution of Egyptian affairs, carried away by the Egyptian beauty Cleopatra. Caesar's active position on internal political issues resulted in an uprising against the Romans, one of the central episodes of which was the burning of the famous Library of Alexandria.

However, Caesar's carefree life soon ended. In Rome and on the outskirts of the empire, a new turmoil was brewing. The Parthian ruler Pharnaces threatened the dominions of Rome in Asia Minor. The situation in Italy also escalated - even previously loyal veterans of Caesar began to rebel. Pharnace's army on August 2, 47 BC e. was defeated by the army of Caesar, who informed the Romans of such a quick victory with a short message: “He came. Saw. Won."

Caesar's generosity was unprecedented: in Rome, 22,000 tables were laid with treats for the citizens, and the games, in which even war elephants participated, surpassed in entertainment any mass events ever hosted by a Roman ruler. Caesar becomes a lifelong dictator, he is given the title "Emperor". The month of his birth is named after him - July. Temples are erected in his honor, his statues are placed among the statues of the gods. The oath form "in the name of Caesar" becomes generally binding during court hearings.

Using tremendous power and authority, Caesar develops a new set of laws ("Lex Iulia de vi et de majestate"), reforming the calendar (the Julian calendar appears). Caesar plans to build a new theater in Rome, a temple of Mars, several libraries. In addition, preparations began for campaigns against the Parthians and Dacians. However, these grandiose plans of Caesar were not destined to come true.

Even the policy of mercy, unswervingly pursued by Caesar, could not prevent the emergence of those dissatisfied with his power. So, despite the fact that the former supporters of Pompey were forgiven, for Caesar this act of mercy ended badly.

On March 15, 44 BC, two days before the date of his speech on the campaign to the East, at a meeting of the Senate, Caesar was killed by conspirators led by former supporters of Pompey. The plans of the assassins were realized in front of numerous senators - a crowd of conspirators pounced on Caesar with daggers. According to legend, noticing among the murderers his loyal supporter young Brutus, Caesar exclaimed doomly: "And you, my child!" (or: "And you, Brutus") and fell at the feet of the statue of his sworn enemy Pompey.

CONCLUSION

During his reign, Caesar carried out a number of important reforms and was active in lawmaking. The Romans bowed before their ruler, but there were also dissatisfied. A group of senators did not like the fact that Caesar actually became the sole ruler of Rome, and on March 15, 4 BC. the conspirators killed him right at the meeting of the Senate. The death of Caesar was followed by the death of the Roman Republic, on the ruins of which the great Roman Empire, of which Julius Caesar so dreamed, appeared.

Rome in the era of Julius Caesar was the first city with a population close to a million.

LIST OF USED LITERATURE

1. Goldsworthy A. Caesar. - M .: Eksmo

2. Grant M. Julius Caesar. Priest of Jupiter. - M .: Tsentrpoligraf

3. Durov V. S. Julius Caesar. Man and writer. - L .: Publishing house of Leningrad State University

4. Kornilova E. N. "The myth of Julius Caesar" and the idea of ​​dictatorship: Historiosophy and literature of the European circle. - M .: Publishing house MGUL

5. Utchenko S. L. Julius Caesar. - M .: Thought

6.https: //ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Julius_Caesar

The dominant group in the state remained the nobility; true, among the Roman aristocracy there were supporters of Caesar. During the fight against Pompey, there were many young nobles in his camp, whose older relatives fought on the side of Pompey. Unlike Sulla Caesar dealt graciously with his opponents. Only the property of Pompey and his most consistent supporters was confiscated. Many of Caesar's former opponents received amnesty.

After defeating his enemies, Caesar definitely takes the path of reconciliation with the old aristocracy. He showered favors on prominent aristocrats who were former supporters of Pompey. They are elected to the highest public office, sent to the provinces, and received as a gift of ownership. Caesar's social policy is characterized by the desire to find support from various social groups, and this is reflected in the numerous reforms he has carried out.

Caesar's Legislation

The last years of Caesar's activity were marked by anti-democratic reforms carried out in the spirit of the optimists and those Caesarians who shared the views of Sallust: the number of plebeians who enjoyed the right to receive free bread and some other products from the state was reduced from 320 to 150 thousand. A law was promulgated, again prohibiting the collegia, restored shortly before Clodius. In order to reduce the number of the Roman homeless and unemployed poor, 80 thousand urban proletarians were evicted by Caesar in the colony.

Of the activities carried out in the interests of the Italians, the Julius law on municipalities was of particular importance, a significant part of which is known from the inscription that has survived to our time.

The reign of Julius Caesar

This law, proposed by Caesar, but carried out, apparently, in 44 after his death, provided the cities with autonomy in resolving local issues, established the rules for the selection of city magistrates, gave privileges to veterans, but at the same time limited the right of association.

In the spirit of anti-plutocratic tendencies, laws were passed that protected the identity of debtors. A number of measures were supposed to help raise agriculture. The law, which limited the amount that individuals could keep in their hands, was supposed to increase the funds invested in land holdings. Caesar owns extensive projects for drainage of swamps, soil drainage and road construction, which were only partially implemented. In the interests of the Italian rural proletariat, he established that no less than a third of the shepherds employed in the latifundia were to be freeborn.

Back in 59, in the year of his consulate, Caesar passed a strict law against extortion in the provinces (lex Julia de repetundis), which retained its basic significance for the entire duration of the Empire. Later, the tax system was streamlined: the activities of the publicans were limited and put under control; redemption for indirect taxes remained, while direct taxes in some provinces began to be paid to the state directly by representatives of the communities.

A number of measures were supposed to promote the development of exchange. In Italy, the harbor of Rome, Ostia, was deepened; in Greece, it was planned to dig a canal through the Isthmus of Corinth. Since the time of Caesar, gold coins have been minted regularly. The Roman denarius is finally converted into a single coin for. the whole West. In the East, however, the same diversity of monetary systems was preserved.

Caesar also carried out a reform of the calendar. With the help of the Egyptian mathematician and astronomer Sozigen, from January 1, 45, the reckoning of time was introduced that survived the Roman Empire for several centuries, and existed in Russia until the beginning of 1918 (the so-called Julian calendar). Caesar intended to codify Roman law, which was carried out only in the era of the late Roman Empire.

Caesar succeeded in accomplishing only a little of what he had planned. The whole system of his reforms was supposed to streamline the various relationships and prepare the merger of Rome and the provinces into a Hellenistic monarchy. Rome was to retain its significance only as the main city of the Roman world power, the residence of the monarch. However, they even said about Caesar that he intended to move the capital to Alexandria or Ilion.

Caesar is characterized by a combination in his reforms and projects of the traditional principles of the popular party, monarchist ideas prevalent in the countries of the Hellenistic East, and some of the provisions of the Roman conservatives. In the spirit of the latter, he issued or intended to issue prohibitions against luxury and against debauchery. In the interests of the most influential circles of the nobility, some of the senatorial surnames were classified as patricians (lex Cassia).

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The end of the war, Caesar's reforms.

The dictator opposed Pharnaces son of Mithridates, in the battle of Zele, the Roman troops utterly defeated the opponents (47 BC).

Upon his return from Rome, Caesar carried out a series of reforms.

1. The arrears of rent for the last year were canceled if this payment did not exceed 2,000 sesterces.
2. The law on the deduction of paid interest from the principal amount of the debt was confirmed.
3. Moneylenders were prohibited from raising interest rates above the established rate under threat of punishment.
4. Caesar took measures to demobilize and pay awards, settle his legionnaires on the sites. For resettlement, the lands of Pompey and his most prominent supporters were used. In addition to the remnants of the ager publicus, Caesar bought up a lot of land for its normal value, which allowed him to meet the land needs of his veterans. He also pioneered the distribution of land to veterans in the province.

The measures taken somewhat stabilized the situation in Italy and the eastern provinces. However, the military threat continued to exist. In Africa there was an army of Pompeians led by Pompey's father-in-law Scipio. In the spring of 46 BC. significant forces were sent to Africa, where the Pompeians were defeated near the city of Thapsa. All cities in the province surrendered to the victor.

Caesar celebrated 4 triumphs in honor of the victory in the four largest military companies. However, the war is not over yet. The sons of Pompey, Sextus and Gnaeus, as well as Caesar's former supporter Labienus, managed to propagandize the legions in Spain in their favor and gather impressive forces. In March 45 BC. opponents met in southern Spain near the city of Munda. In a stubborn and bloody battle, Caesar managed to snatch victory. After this victory, Caesar becomes the sole ruler of the Mediterranean state.

One of the first measures was the official consolidation of autocracy, Caesar was proclaimed by the Senate as the eternal dictator. He received the rights of a permanent proconsular empire, i.e. unlimited power over the provinces. An important prerogative of Caesar was to get him the right to recommend candidates for master's positions.

The unlimited powers of the dictator were supplemented with appropriate external attributes: a purple-colored cloak of a triumphant and a laurel wreath on his head, a special ivory chair with decorations. Steps were taken towards the deification of the new ruler of the state. Caesar vigorously developed the idea that the goddess Venus is the ancestor of the Julian family, and he is her direct descendant.

Reforms:

1. Reorganization of the Senate. Many opponents of the dictator were removed from the Senate, many were forgiven by Caesar. But a significant number of his supporters entered the Senate, and its composition expanded to 900 people.
2. In the popular assembly, Caesar recommended people for office. Veterans and the city plebs bribed by handouts began to predominate in its composition.
3. The number of master's degrees was increased. Caesar attracted his friends and supporters to carry out state affairs, carried out direct appointments to office.
4. Measures were also taken to strengthen the provincial local levels of government. Control over the activities of the governors was tightened. In some provinces, Caesar's confidants were sent to control. The right to collect direct taxes was transferred to local authorities. Roman tax farmers were left with the privilege of collecting only indirect taxes. Caesar's provincial policy pursued the goal of a more organic unification of the center. This was also facilitated by the policy of distributing the rights of Roman citizenship to entire settlements and cities. Provinces were included in the structure of the Roman state.
5. Ordering in the system of local self-government in municipalities, colonies, cities and settlements. Intensification of economic activity of the population. It was possible to return to the ground the masses of Roman legionnaires.
6. Trade promotion: in 46 BC the previously destroyed large shopping centers of the Mediterranean - Corinth and Carthage were restored, the commercial port of Rome Ostia was reconstructed.
7. Reform of the Roman calendar and the transition to a new system of chronology. January 1, 45 BC era, a new chronology system was introduced, called the Julian calendar.

Caesar's multifaceted reformatory activity was dictated by the need to solve a number of pressing social and political problems that had accumulated in society during the civil wars. As the experience of Roman history has shown, the creation of a new social and political order was possible only under the conditions of a monarchical system.

Caesar's reforms and the establishment of a monarchy strengthened the opposition. A conspiracy was drawn up against Caesar, led by Junius Brutus, Cassius Login and Decimus Brutus, Cicero became the ideological inspirer of the conspiracy. The conspiracy was successful, Caesar was killed by conspirators in the Senate.

Th triumvirate.

According to the conspirators' plan, the assassination of the dictator was supposed to lead to the abolition of the emerging monarchical structures and the automatic restoration of the republican system. However, many among the population supported the policy of centralization and a change in the political system.

After the assassination of Caesar, a sharp polarization of political forces arose. Roman society was divided into supporters of the traditional republican system and supporters of the Caesar program. The Republican party was led by Cicero, Brutus and Cassius, the Caesarians were led by Caesar's closest associates, Mark Antony, Emilius Lepidus, Guy Octavius.

The Caesarians had the support of some of the senators. Caesar's many veterans were also their stronghold. It was they who began to play the main role in maintaining and consolidating the regime established by Caesar. Caesarian veterans demanded a decisive reprisal against the conspirators. In essence, the Caesarian army got out of the control of its leaders and did not so much carry out their political program as dictated its will to the immediate rulers, the Senate, the People's Assembly, and the provinces.

In October 43 BC. Mark Antony, Aemilius Lepidus, Guy Octavius ​​concluded an agreement on the establishment of the 2nd triumvirate. The Roman Senate, surrounded by the legions of Octavian, could not help but approve this agreement. Under this law, the triumvirs received unlimited power for 5 years.

The Triumvirs launched real terror against their opponents. Bloody proscripts were drawn up (300 senators, over 2000 horsemen and many thousands of people of ordinary rank). They were supplemented several times by numerous denunciations of people, often settling personal scores. Scammers first appeared in Rome.

The proscriptions of the 2nd triumvirate led to the physical destruction of the Roman aristocracy, oriented towards the republican order, to the redistribution of property.

The reign of Guy Julius Caesar

Ordinary residents also suffered. Were selected 18 cities in Italy with the most fertile soils, the inhabitants were driven from the land, and the confiscated land was distributed among the veterans.

Republican leaders Marcus Junius Brutus and Cassius Longinus managed to prepare a strong army that was being formed in Macedonia. 42 BC one of the bloodiest battles in Roman history took place near the city of Philippi. The victory was won by the Triumvirs. Brutus and Cassius committed suicide.

The Triumvirs failed to overcome the contradictions that arose in their midst. In 36 BC. Emilius Lepidus, governor of the African provinces, tried to oppose Octavian, but was not supported by his own army. He was removed from power and exiled to one of his estates.

Power was divided between Antony, who ruled the eastern provinces, and Octavian, who ruled Italy, the western and African provinces. The decisive battle between Antony and Octavian took place in 31 BC. at Cape Akzia in western Greece. Complete victory was won by the forces of Octavian. Mark Antony fled to Alexandria with his wife Cleopatra VII. The following year, Octavian launched an offensive against Egypt. Egypt was captured by Octavian, and Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide.

Occupation of Egypt in 30 BC summed up the long period of civil wars that ended with the death of the Roman republic. The official heir of Caesar, his adopted son Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian, who opened a new historical era with his reign - the era of the Roman Empire, became the single ruler of the Roman Mediterranean state.

Caesar Gaius Julius (102-44 BC)

Great Roman general and statesman.

The last years of the Roman Republic are associated with the reign of Caesar, who established a regime of sole power. His name was converted into the title of the Roman emperors; from him came the Russian words "Tsar", "Caesar", the German "Kaiser".

Came from a noble patrician family. The family ties of the young Caesar determined his position in the political world: his father's sister, Julia, was married to Guy Marius, in fact the sole ruler of Rome, and Caesar's first wife, Cornelia, was the daughter of Cinna, Maria's successor. In 84 BC. young Caesar was elected priest of Jupiter.

Establishment of the dictatorship of Sulla in 82 BC led to the removal of Caesar from the priesthood and the demand for a divorce from Cornelia. Caesar refused, which entailed the confiscation of his wife's property and the deprivation of his paternal inheritance. Sulla later pardoned the young man, although he was suspicious of him.

After leaving Rome for Asia Minor, Caesar was in military service, lived in Bithynia, Cilicia, participated in the capture of Mytilene. He returned to Rome after the death of Sulla. For the sake of improving oratory, he went to the island of Rhodes.

Returning from Rhodes, he was captured by pirates, was ransomed, but then severely revenged by capturing the sea robbers and putting them to death. In Rome, Caesar received the posts of priest-pontiff and military tribune, and since 68 - quaestor.

Married to Pompey. Having taken the post of aedile in 66, he was engaged in the improvement of the city, the organization of magnificent festivals, grain distribution; all this contributed to his popularity. After becoming a senator, he participated in political intrigues with the aim of supporting Pompey, who was engaged at that time in the war in the East and returned in triumph in 61.

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

Becoming proconsul of Gaul, Caesar conquered new territories for Rome. In the Gallic war, Caesar's exceptional diplomatic and strategic skill was manifested. After defeating the Germans in a fierce battle, Caesar himself then, for the first time in Roman history, undertook a campaign across the Rhine, ferrying troops across a specially built bridge.
He made a campaign to Britain, where he won several victories and crossed the Thames; however, realizing the fragility of his position, he soon left the island.

In 54 BC. Caesar urgently returned to Gaul in connection with the uprising that had begun there. Despite the desperate resistance and superiority in numbers, the Gauls were again subdued.

As a commander, Caesar was distinguished by decisiveness and at the same time caution, he was hardy, on a campaign he always went ahead of the army with an uncovered head in both heat and cold. He knew how to tune the warriors with a short speech, he personally knew his centurions and the best soldiers and enjoyed extraordinary popularity and authority among them.

After the death of Crassus in 53 BC. the triumvirate disintegrated. Pompey, in his rivalry with Caesar, led the supporters of Senate republican rule. The Senate, fearing Caesar, refused to renew his powers in Gaul. Realizing his popularity among the troops and in Rome, Caesar decides to seize power by force. In 49, he gathered the soldiers of the 13th Legion, delivered a speech to them and made the famous crossing of the Rubicon River, thus crossing the border of Italy.

In the very first days, Caesar occupied several cities without encountering resistance. Panic began in Rome. Confused, Pompey, the consuls and the senate left the capital. After entering Rome, Caesar called the remainder of the Senate and offered cooperation.

Caesar quickly and successfully campaigned against Pompey in his province of Spain. Returning to Rome, Caesar was proclaimed dictator. Pompey hastily gathered a huge army, but Caesar inflicted a crushing defeat on him in the famous battle of Pharsalus. Pompey fled to the Asian provinces and was killed in Egypt. In pursuit of him, Caesar went to Egypt, to Alexandria, where he was presented with the head of a slain rival. Caesar refused a terrible gift and, according to the stories of biographers, mourned his death.

While in Egypt, Caesar plunged into the political intrigues of Queen Cleopatra; Alexandria was subdued. Meanwhile, the Pompeians were gathering new forces based in North Africa. After a campaign in Syria and Cilicia, Caesar returned to Rome and then, in the battle of Thapsus (46 BC) in North Africa, defeated the supporters of Pompey. The cities of North Africa have shown their obedience.

Upon his return to Rome, Caesar celebrates a magnificent triumph, arranges grandiose spectacles, games and treats of the people, rewards the soldiers. He is proclaimed a dictator for 10 years, receives the titles of "Emperor" and "Father of the Fatherland." Conducts numerous laws on Roman citizenship, reform of the calendar that bears his name.

Statues of Caesar are erected in temples. The month of July is named in honor of him, the list of Caesar's honors is written in gold letters on silver columns. He arbitrarily appoints and removes officials from power.

In society, especially in republican circles, discontent was ripening, rumors circulated about Caesar's desire for royal power. His connection with Cleopatra also made an unfavorable impression. There was a conspiracy to assassinate the dictator. Among the conspirators were his closest associates Cassius and the young Mark Junius Brutus, who, it was claimed, was even Caesar's illegitimate son. In the March Ides, at a meeting of the Senate, the conspirators attacked Caesar with daggers. According to legend, seeing young Brutus among the murderers, Caesar exclaimed: "And you, my child" (or: "And you, Brutus"), stopped resisting and fell to the foot of the statue of his enemy Pompey.

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