Julius Caesar

When the name Julius Caesar is heard, it can only trigger the image of a great leader that led Rome into prosperity. Caesar's military excellence brought more power and more land; that lead to the increase of size and strength in Rome. His dictatorship helped the stability and prosperity in Rome. Caesar's assassination lead to a monarchy that was ruled by Octavin. His death lead to a domino effect ending in the ultimate collapse of the Roman Empire. Many people of the 21st century follow the path of Julius Caesar and try to be as great as he was. The assassination of Julius Caesar was a tragedy due to the contributions he made to Rome's prosperity during his life, and the chaos that occurred in Rome after his death. The contributions that Caesar made towards the strength of Rome's success, and the chaos and collapse of Rome after his death made the assassination of Julius Caesar a tragedy.

Julius Caesar was assassinated by his own senate on March 15 44 BC; also known as the Ides of March. As he was walking in to the senate house, a man told him to beware the Ides of March. He ignored this statement and walked into the senate house. At this time some of the Senate members surrounded Caesar in a stealthy manner and tugged on his toga. As he looked around he was stabbed by many of the senate members multiple times. He collapsed to the ground and lay on the marble floor dead, next to the feet of Pompey's statue. (Nardo 94)

Caesar's military eminence helped Rome prosper into one of the greatest and most memorable civilizations in history. His campaigns helped Rome grow larger in size and in power. His victories in Egypt, Pontus, Gaul, Africa, and parts in the Asia Minor were some of Caesar's greatest honors, (Bruns 99) and is considered "the most powerful national leader in history"(Nardo 73) because of his conquests. The major reason for his strong army was due to the fact that the senate favored him. The senate gave him three provinces for the span of five years, instead of one province for one year. With this ruling, he had "a chance to build a stronger personal army"(34). The strategies and tactics used by Caesar made his death even more tragic because of his excellent leadership and planning. Caesar planned wars by legionary battles. He would not just send his entire army in all at one, but instead send a minimum amount of soldiers in the initial fight. Then he would send relief replacements to support the fighting force and finally reserve troops outside the battlefield for support, or for a final assault with fresh troops. (Fuller 91) With the planning Caesar made, his military campaigns were very successful. Due to Caesar's excellent campaigns, his assassination was a major loss to Rome.

The political power Caesar possessed helped in the prosperity and happiness of Rome. His perception of prosperity in Rome dealt with mostly the Plebeians. He increased the number of senators from five hundred to nine hundred, and to fill the vacant seats he selected many of the plebeians. Due to the new jobs that Caesar gave the poor, they became faithful supporters (Caesar: The causes for his assassination) He also helped the poor by checking the spread of luxury throughout Rome to ensure that no one was living too richly or too poorly. (Fuller 63) The people of Rome loved Caesar, and that was one of the qualities that made him such a powerful leader. Caesar knew how to use the power he had and knew when he was abusing it; his power was used mostly for the good of Rome. An example of the use of his power would be the problem with the veterans. He gave thousands of Veterans pieces of land so that their family could farm and make money. (Fuller 63) This was also another way to make his soldiers fight better, because they had their land, family, and leader to fight for. This is the type of power Caesar used helped the prosperity of Rome. With his power, he also corrupted the Senate. He ordered that all transactions were to be made public, and summaries of all debates and proposed bills were posted in the forum for all to see. (Fuller 65) With this act Caesar made Rome a prosperous, open, and trustworthy place to live. With the political power Caesar possessed, and the way he used it for the benefit Rome, his death was tragic because of the power and leadership Rome lost.

After the assassination of Julius Caesar the Senate lost what they were trying to protect - a democratic society. The outcome of Caesar's death lead to a monarchy lead by the first emperor, Octavin, Caesar's nephew. This was easy for Octavin to obtain, because the people of Rome were looking for a new form of Government, due to the fact that the people thought the Senate was corrupt. Their love for Octavin "gave him more dictatorial power than they would have given Caesar". (The Roman Emperors, 10) With