Julius Caesar, Power-Hungry Villain Or Kind-Hearted Hero?

Great Julius Caesar, Power-Hungry Villain or Kind-Hearted Hero?

The republic was in crisis, and its citizens needed a strong, organized, devoted leader that would reform and bring it back to its former strength and glory. Rome was in a dysfunctional period of its history with rebellions on every street corner and power-hungry politicians killing off their competitors so they could become supreme leader of the then most powerful governmental system in the world. The commoners, or Plebeians, needed a political figure that they could trust, and they needed that politician to give them just the slightest hint of hope to aid them to strive to rebound the falling republic. That is where the well-known Roman leader comes in, and his name was Julius

Julius Caesar had that and more. He had the support of the Plebeian class because he worked with the people of Rome and wanted to see real change. Unlike many corrupt politicians during that time period that just wanted to benefit from their positions, Caesar wanted Rome to become stronger and better. During Caesar’s March on Rome, returning from Gaul, his army remained loyal to him rather than the city and government of Rome. They must have believed in and trusted him to make the best decisions for them. Why would they abandon their republic if they did not have a good reason? Shortly after he succeeded with his march on Rome to defeat his triumvirate member, Pompey, he was named Dictator for Life by the Senate. However, many of the Senate members did not want him to have that title because they were afraid he would become powerful enough to overthrow the Senate and become ultimate, supreme ruler. The Roman Senate was forced to bestow that honor upon him because of the political pressure from the Plebeian and slave classes. The common people put their support behind him because he planned to rebuild the republic from the bottom up, which would result in more money pouring in for the poor people. Not being liked by the Senate during that time, however, proved not to be beneficial, and the great leader was murdered by its members. The day of

During the time he was a military commander, he expanded Rome’s territories to include Egypt, Numidia, and Gaul. He was sent to Gaul to establish a colony. Within a short amount of time because of his battle strategy, Gaul was under the control of the Roman government. Caesar, on one of his other major conquests, and Cleopatra took the Egyptian throne from King Ptolemy XIII in 47 BC (Wikipedia, “Battle of the Nile”). Caesar placed Cleopatra as Queen of the Nile, and the rising power of Egypt was added to the Roman Empire. Capturing and making an ally of Egypt was a smart move, and it strengthened the Empire with trade opportunities and goodwill from the foreign land. A few invasions of Great Britain during the Gallic Wars were ordered and carried out by Caesar. Unfortunately, Rome was not able to capture Great Britain until nearly one hundred years after Caesar’s death (History Today, “Julius Caesar’s First Landing in Britain”). Anyone can clearly see that Julius Caesar, to the best of his abilities, tried to expand the Rome’s territories during and after it was a republic. He was a patriotic man that would use whatever it took to win a battle or war, but he wanted to expand the Roman Empire and make it even more powerful than it already