Julius Caesar Research Paper

Julius Caesar was one of the most influential people to ever walk the streets of Rome. His popularity among both rich and poor citizens ultimately led to his success in office as consul and dictator as well as the general of the renowned Roman army. Gaius Julius Caesar was born in 100 B.C. to an aristocratic family said to have descended from Venus, the goddess of love, beauty, and prosperity. His adopted son, born Gaius Octavian (later given the name Augustus) went on to start the Roman Empire after his father’s rule of the crumbling Roman Republic ended. It is said that he turned the city of Rome from stone into marble, embellishing the face of the city and the entire empire. During his rule as emperor, Rome experienced a time of peace, known as the Pax Romana, that would last for over 200 years. At the age of seventeen, Julius Caesar married Cornelia, the daughter of an ally of Marius. After a short military campaign in Asia, he traveled to Rhodes (an island off the coast of Greece) to study public speaking, or oratory

Marius was elected for one of the consul positions five times in a row. This would eventually lead to those laws being changed. He was also known for his war against the Roman statesman Sulla. This conflict was also known as the social wars. Due to Caesar’s popularity, he became Sulla’s political target. He eventually left Rome for Anatolia. In Anatolia, he became a court officer. After Sulla’s death in 78 B.C. he decided to head back to Rome, however his ship was caught by pirates. The story goes that the pirates demanded a ransom sum of 20 Talons. However, Caesar is astonished that they do not know of his significance and he demanded that he be ransomed for 50 Talons. Upon returning to Rome he made the decision to gather an army and return to the pirates for revenge. He and his army slaughtered all of the pirates. This was the emergence of his military