Free Sample Essays > European History
Roman History: Julius Caesar
same, until the arrival of Roman general Lucius Sulla, who became dictator in 82 BCE after emerging victorious from Rome’s first civil war. Sulla aimed to restore the traditional powers of the Senate through a series of extensive reforms, and showed the Roman people a glimpse of one-man rule, and also revealed that the way to power lay in military muscle. The idea of a single leader was now surfacing.
In the 66 BCE, General Pompey of Rome made himself prominent through his conquest of eastern Asia Minor, Syria and Palestine. However, the Senate, reluctant to accept the rising popularity of any one man, refused to acknowledge his achievements. Pompey, and two other leaders of the time, Julius Caesar and Marcus Crassus, then formed a three-man political alliance known as the ‘First Triumvirate’ in 60 BCE in an attempt to seize control. However, it was not long before the First Triumvirate began to collapse as a result of the strong personal ambitions of those involved. Crassus died in 53 BCE, leaving only Pompey and Caesar remaining. In 51 BCE, Pompey, both jealous and fearful of Caesar’s power after Caesar’s conquest of Gaul, then turned back to the conservative Senate and ordered Caesar to relinquish his command. Caesar refused, and invaded Italy in 49 BCE, emerging supreme in 45 BCE. Eventually, the citizens honoured Caesar by voluntarily voting him dictator for life in 45 BCE.
Caesar, having gained absolute power, now used it to implement important reforms– he tried to restrict dishonest practices in government; he improved the calendar, he reorganised the government system in Italy and most importantly, he attended to the needs of the poor by establishing colonies, distributing free grain, government services and improving the infrastructure. Although some may accuse Caesar of applying these reforms simply to retain popularity, the end result is that the gap between the lower and upper classes was reduced. Despite this, Caesar was popular with neither the Senate nor the Republicans. The Senate was treated with near-indifference, and the Republicans did not like Caesar’s autocratic status. On 15 March, 44 BCE (the Ides of March), Caesar was assassinated by a group of aristocrats as he entered a meeting of the Senate. The people were outraged– they had preferred the reforms of one man rather than the empty promises of the Republic. Caesar was honoured by the people after death by an elaborate funeral.
The eventual fall of the Republic, and the rise of a man like Caesar was indeed a logical conclusion following the events after the Third Punic War. A mix of factors after the conflict drove the lower classes into poverty, and, because the cries of the exploited poor fell upon a deaf Senate, the advent of a small group of outstanding reformers was inevitable, and the First Triumvirate was formed. However, with such lust for power in the alliance, an eventual clash resulting in the emergence of the strongest leader, Caesar, was unavoidable. Thus, supported by the vote of the people, Rome eventually came [next page]