Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar was born in Rome on July 12 100 B.C.E. Gaius Caesar, his father, died when he was 16 years old. His mother Aurelia was very influential in his life. The Caesar family was of aristocratic descent and were therefore patricians, yet not very wealthy or politically influential.
In 86 B.C.E. Caesar joined the forces of a Roman nobleman and was appointed flamen dialis. Although this position was not very important or influential, it was a way of entering Rome's political circle. Caesar began to drift to the more radical side of Roman politics by marrying Cornelia, the daughter of Lucius Cornelius Cinna in 84 B.C.E. When ordered to divorce his wife, Caesar refused and left Rome to serve in the military. When Caesar returned in 78 B.C., he became a prosecuting advocate. He then traveled to Rhodes to study rhetoric and was captured by pirates. While in captivity, he had the pirates raise his ransom to bring attention and fame to himself, and then formed a naval force and defeated the pirates. He then had the pirates crucified.
Caesar then began his ascent up the political ladder by taking positions in Roman politics including quaestor, curule aedile in 65 B.C.E., pontifex maximus in 63 B.C.E., Governor of Farther Spain in 61 B.C.E. consul in 59 B.C.E., and Governor of Roman Gaul in 41 B.C.E. When Caesar crossed the Rubicon River, the small river dividing Italy from Gaul, the Roman Civil War began. The present ruler, Pompey fled Rome and in three months, Caesar was the ruler of all of Italy. Caesar extended his control by taking Spain and forced Pompey to Egypt where he was murdered.
In 48 B.C.E., Caesar took the title of Dictator and returned to Rome briefly only to return to Africa to fight his opponents. Then again in 45 B.C.E., Caesar returned to Rome to organize his Empire. On March 15, 44 B.C.E., the ides of March, 60 Senators plotted to assassinate Caesar and as he entered the Senate building, he was stabbed 23 times, the last blow by his close friend Marcus Junius Brutus, where Caesar's famous last words as he lay dying were said, "Et tu Brutus?", or "And you Brutus?". After Caesar's death Rome had another civil war lasting 13 years.
The first of the Roman emperors, Augustus halted a bloody civil war, governed with wisdom and power, and united and kept peace in Rome for many years.
Augustus was born with the name "Octavian." Well schooled in philosophy, rhetoric, and military skills as a child, he was adopted by his uncle Julius Caesar and became his heir. When Caesar was assassinated, Octavian raised an army to claim his inheritance and avenge his uncle's murder. At the battle of Actium in 31 BC, he defeated the last of his opponents, Mark Anthony, and took control of Rome.
To legalize his power, the Senate named him Imperium proconsular maius infinitum in 23 BC, which awarded him control over the provinces and the army. He reasoned that taking control was the only way to sustain the empire. Even though Rome was a nominally a republic, he ran it as an autocracy. He acted in the name of the Senate, and the Senate reflected his will to keep people satisfied that the government was working together.
Augustus also satisfied the people with by being their leader and keeping them proud of Rome. He constructed temples to encourage and place importance in Roman religion. He was a patron of the arts, gladly spending money to improve the artwork of Rome, and encouraged the wealthy class to follow suit. To improve the moral climate of the empire, Augustus tried to revive the traditional Roman religion. He also tried to fortify the traditional Roman family by creating laws which punished adultery and required marriage and the remarriage of widows.
To more effectively govern the Roman empire, he developed an imperial civil service. To more effectively govern the city of Rome, he divided it into 14 wards, and organized a bureaucracy to control them. The Urban cohorts were his police force for the wards, and either senators or Augustus himself served as ward leaders.
The military was probably the focal point of his leadership. He had a great military mind, and used his military strength well. He organized the military with himself at the head, and used it to control the frontier regions of the Roman empire as well as invade new countries. Among his claims made include Spain, Gaul, Egypt, and Armenia. He also signed a peace treaty with Parthia, showing he used wisdom as well as aggression.
Augustus died with honor, and was remembered well by his people. He gave Roman control to his stepson Tiberius for he had no other living male offspring. He was a great leader for the Roman empire. His wisdom and intelligence benefited the people of his empire, for he was a strong yet fair ruler.
The Roman government was very influential in the citizen's lives. The government did not award citizens the same freedoms we enjoy today. All citizens had to serve in the army and class distinctions determined your future in society. The Roman government at times, operated under a dictatorship or an autocracy with a senate presenting laws which could be vetoed for any reason. The Emperor had influence in business and economics because he could create laws and ordinances to help or hurt an industry.
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