Julius Caesar: Seizing Power and Transforming Rome

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Prior to Julius Caesar completely seizing control of the Roman Republic, various Consuls of Rome took advantage of their power and utilized it to be in sole control of the Republic. Two prominent examples include Marius and Sulla, who rose up the ranks of Roman politics to Consul and disheveled Rome. While these two men provide a sneak peak of what Julius Caesar would do, they did not come to close to matching Caesar’s influence on the Roman Republic. Caesar separated himself from these two men through political, social, and militaristic endeavors that led him to seize power. This process struck hard to the Roman political landscape because at the time of Caesar’s death the Republic was completely ended. Caesar intended for this to happen
Caesar saw this group of people as the ones who had been suppressed for such a lengthy time and that now it was time for them to speak up. The fact that he was seen as someone who cared for the common man increased his power because this way the people were in favor of anything that he proposed. For example while he was away fighting Gaul he had two of his Tribunes of the People in Rome passing legislation such as the grain dole, which gave free grain to the urban poor. Implications from Caesar’s social influence include the fact that he was the only man while still alive to have his face molded onto the coinage of Rome. This allowed for his popularity to increase throughout the Republic and then his whole aurora about him to be shrouded in an almost god-like reverence. The people would see his rise to power and his current status, while still looking out for the common man, as the ideal Roman citizen and truly representing what pietas means. This idea of pietas was very prevalent in Roman society and highlighted key manners of life that one should abide by: loyalty to the gods, to the Roman state, and to your ancestors. Caesar showed this vital aspect of Roman culture through his stressing of the Roman family and the worshiping of Roman gods through architecture. For example, when he launched a massive building program to erect his own Forum, he made sure to have a statue to the goddess of his ancestry Venus Genetrix. This veneration of a goddess helped illustrate his dedication to uphold pietas in the daily lives of the citizens of Rome. By being socially active from listening to the desires of Plebeians and implementing pietas in the daily activities of the city, Caesar was able to accumulate more power socially than other ruler had before him in the Roman

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