Julius Caesar Roman general, statesman and consul who defers all odds to get a king’s crown. Despite losing his father at the age of sixteen, nothing sets him back. He forcefully leaves his social life and homeland. He shows determination to get what he considers best for his people, despite being away from home.
Consequently, he gets an opportunity to deal with pirates in Cilicia (Canfora, page 4). While in Asia, he performs his duties well and wins trusts of Roman commanders. This gives him a considerable ground, for the task that awaits him back home. As much as Caesar spends his life in Asia, his wish to return home holds strong. A fact which shows in consequent political activities during his reign (Canfora, page 5).
After his father’s demise, he faces a lot of death threats by Sulla who sees him as a potential enemy. He is a threat to power thus, Sulla forcefully sends him away.
This is because of his undying wish to defend the opposition party. A tragedy that makes him realize the importance of fighting for his peoples’ benefit. His determination makes him run for his life while changing hiding places every night. Sulla’s supporters know about Caesars hideouts, but fail to take action. This makes Sulla a failure, as he faces resistance in his urge to kill Julius Caesar (Canfora, page 3).
The return of Julius Caesar to Rome upon Sulla’s death brings a sigh of relief to his people. This is because; honored magistrates trust him and make it possible for Caesar to survive and prosper (Canfora, page 4). His behavior and confidence shows the leadership in him, thus Caesar get honor from Lepidus.
Caesar has the ability to make decisions and determine who among his seniors stands a chance of initiating success. In Lepidus, he sees an adventurer who fails to provide reasonable offers that march his belief. He rejects Lepidus proposals upon his arrival in Rome. This enables Lepidus to see the leadership potential in Caesar and makes his wish to work with him in the government (Canfora, page 5).
Caesar knows the needs of his people, thus he does not allow leaders of bad characters to dominate Roman rule. He fails to fall prey of Lepidus bad initiatives and refuses his proposals. His move ends Lepidus political career, which involves benefiting from strong leaders.
As a result, Caesar’s opposite behavior shows his ability to change the politics of the Roman rule. He makes tough decisions that not only favor him, but also benefits other people. His decision to stay married to the Cinna’s daughter at a younger age and to oppose Lepidus form a strong base in his political move (Canfora, page 5).
His wish to move to the Roman political throne has Caesar align himself with leaders such as Pompey and Crassus (Nardo, page 28). This is because; Pompey does not support the Sullan constitution, a factor that is common between the two. Pompey then introduces Crassus to Caesar with whom together they share Roman leadership.
As a result, they form the first triumvirate in Rome. During their rule, Caesar prosecutes extortionists from the Sullan rule. He intends to clear crimes the Romans face during Sullas reign. This gives him more trust from his people as he deals with previous injustices (Canfora, page 6).
Caesar rises to the position of a military tribune, because of his knowledge in winning electoral campaigns. While in the position of a military tribune, he strives to defend the politics of populares and restore authority in the tribunes. In addition, he directs his efforts to secure return of Lepidus followers from Italy.
This reunites his people and increase his popularity among the Romans. Moreover, Caesar supports the election of Crassus into the position of a consular (Canfora, page 14). Caesar overlooks the misunderstanding between them and ensures that Crassus wins the elections. Thus, Caesar takes advantage in Crassus’s political position to achieve his dream for the Romans.
In addition to his mission of destroying the Sullan constitution together with Pompey and Crassus, Caesar makes good use of his position. In his new position as a quaestor, Caesar restores political honor to Marian faction. A gesture that makes him acceptable to the Romans, this shows during her aunt’s funeral (Canfora, page 15).
Consequently, Caesar reaches out to the people by showing a gesture full of feelings and gentleness. This is unusual of political leaders in Rome. He gives equal opportunities to women and supports their contribution. Thus, he is one politician with a difference to the people (Canfora, page 16).
Caesar has the ability to dominate and conquer, he is able to win the trust of the Romans and build his political position. During his political career, he achieves a lifelong dream of controlling a province in Further Spain. A move he starts by building connections with the province and developing a network of clients (Canfora, page 16).
This he considers important for stabilizing his political position just as Pompey, in whom he invests for political superiority does. His belief in justice enhances his acceptance by people from the province. He offers his services to them during his visit, a gesture that continues his work for the benefit of the province (Canfora, page 17).
However, times change and Caesar realizes his failure to achieve the best in life. He compares himself to Alexander who at his age is a king, ruling a big number of people (Edwards, page 7). He decides to make use of his political position and give himself the desired victory.
As a result, Caesar leaves the province before his term ends and returns to Rome (Nardo, page 30). His arrival marks the beginning of a change in his political career. He makes rules that favor his political wish and demands attention in complex politics. Similarly, Caesar maintains his political allies even though he wants to attain individual agendas (Canfora, page 19).
Caesar prepares for war while at the center of his political career. This he does due to the trust and support of Pompey and Crassus. He gets the right to maneuver and achieve personal advancements, an advantage he uses to assemble the best gladiators.
In choosing his gladiators, he uses his intelligence team to choose those who fight without favor and failure. In addition, Caesar trains his gladiators using Roman knights and senators who have skills in arms. This enables him to get into warfare as well as win, he manages to restore monuments to Marius military (Edwards, page 10).
Having his soldiers get the best training gives Caesar an opportunity to rival and conquer numerous states. His conquering of Gaul makes him a remarkable leader in Roman history. He builds a wall to prevent passage of the Helvetii through his province. He is reluctant to help the Helvetii and feels unsafe in having them get access to Santones. This is because the Helvetii have an equally strong army as the Romans (Caesar, page 5).
Caesar uses his army to fight the Helvetii in their attempt to conquer the Aedui territory. In addition, territories adjacent to the Aedui, seek help from Caesar to help protect themselves from the Helvetii. Caesar despite having a close relation to Dumnorix through his brother, he ensures control of the Helvetii (Caesar, page 11). He eventually manages to conquer adjacent territories and expand his Roman territories despite all challenges.
Obviously, Caesar gets activities made his way, he uses his position to initiate and win wars. In addition he spends a lot of government money in his political initiatives thus indebting his country. Consequently, his attempts to get money from other provinces fail making him desperate.
His last solution to resolving financial constraints is civil war. This he does to help deal with situation of Romans attacking him when in need of money. He allies Lucceius during political elections to enable them us his money in bribing people. This helps him win elections as he has no finances to maintain his political career (Canfora, page 27).
Caesar takes Rome through bloody wars that enable him to gain more wealth to offset his debts. He conquers Britain and gets their gold and palm for his use in barter trade (Canfora, page 29). He fights and conquers other territories belonging to powerful leaders. This makes a stronger political leader than his ally Pompey. As a result, their relationship is weakened and Pompey leaves for war Italy. In addition, he fights against Pompey who later dies in war after defeat by Caesar (Edwards page 34).
Because of his fear of attack after Pompey’s death, Caesar fights against King Ptolemy. His win enables him to conquer Egypt but he fails to make it a province. This is because; Egypt has chances of conquering Rome in the future. In addition, Caesar crosses into Syria and engages in war, he eventually defeats Pompey’s sons in Spain (Edwards, page 35).
However, as much as he wins many wars Caesar face challenges in two occasions, when Pompey attempts to overturn him in war. He also faces challenges while fighting his final battle in Spain. Moreover, he loses his close allies while battling in different parts of the world (Edwards, pg 36).
In conclusion, Caesar is a man of great abilities; he uses his authority to get every territory for his people. His eloquence in speech makes it possible for him to win the trust of different people. To date, not only does his work catch people’s attention but his pieces of writing remain memorable.
He earns glory and admiration from people over an art that enables him prospers in his political career (Edwards, page 56). In addition, Caesar demonstrates his skills in conquering territories and destroying his enemies using horses and arms. This he does at a speed that gives his enemies minimal chances of studying his moves (Edwards, page 57).
Works Cited
Caesar, Julius. Caesara Commentaries:On the Gallic and on the Civil War. Texas: El Parso Norte Press, 2005. Print.
Canfora, Luciano. Julius Caesar: The Life’s and Times of the People’s Dictator. Calfornia: University of California Press, 2007. Print.
Edwards, Catherine. Lives of the Caesars. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.
Nardo, Don. Julius Caesar: Roman General and Statesman. Minnesota: Capstone, 2008. Print.