Was Julius Caesar A Good Leader

The assassination of Julius Caesar was just because Caesar was a vengeful tyrant that became much too powerful after defeating some of Rome’s greatest adversaries; however, some believed that Caesar was a forceful leader who took necessary actions for a man in his position. Caesar was often seen as vengeful and spent a greater part of his dictatorship defeating his enemies and expanding his own power. In fact, Caesar’s tyrannical dictatorship even extended to his own peers. After defeating a great deal of his most prominent enemies, most of which happened to be Roman senators and generals, Caesar declared himself ruler for life. This declaration and the events that ensued left 60 Roman senators and politicians no other option than to remove Caesar from his throne. However, some saw Caesar as a just ruler despite his harshness, and say his actions were appropriate for a man of his time and social ranking.
Forming alliances with Crassus, one of the wealthiest men in Rome, Caesar was able to obtain the position of Rome in 59 BCE as well as the governor of Gaul. It was during this time that Caesar neglected his duties as a political leader of great importance and strived for personal gain by attacking and enslaving Romans in Spain and Gaul. Furthermore, instead of facing prosecution for his actions, Caesar

illegally crossed the Rubicon with the 13 Legion, an action that was highly illegal and greatly concerned the lot of Roman senators. After his actions, a civil war was sparked in which Caesar defeated Pompey the Great as well as other high ranking Roman officials and officers.
After defeating the most prominent of his enemies, Caesar declared himself dictator for life and shortly thereafter abolished all elections, decimated the power of the Tribunes, and essentially poured the foundation for future serfdom in Rome.

Additionally, Caesar attempted to defeat even more of his enemies by cancelling debts owed to them and forcing 20- 40-year-old Italians to remain in Italy. Caesar had his image imprinted on every coin, forced statues of him to be built almost everywhere, and either killed or imprisoned any of those who believed he was a tyrant. This behavior raised concerns among the senators who eventually decided to take

action.
Caesar’s overwhelming power eventually lead to his assassination on the Ides of March in 44 BCE. He was killed by a group of 60-odd Roman senators who repeatedly inflicted Caesar with stab wounds from swords. Among Caesar’s conspirators were Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, it is often said that Brutus was the last to stab Caesar. After the death of Caesar, strange happenings such as the burning of a comet in the sky for seven days as well as the ruin of the year’s harvest.
Although Caesar was often seen as a vengeful tyrant who cared only for himself, some saw him as one of the greatest leaders of the time. This is because he created the 10th Legion and proved himself to be an adept military ruler. Also, Caesar reformed the Roman calendar and greatly increased the size of the Roman Senate. However, everything that Caesar did was only to increase his influence with the people of Rome. For instance, the only reason Caesar expanded the Roman Senate, was so that he could fill it with allies who would later advocate for him. Additionally, Caesar only ruled as dictator for a year before he was assassinated, the majority of his actions beforehand that are often seen as being good were only a campaign that Caesar was a part of in an attempt to gain popularity with the people, one which succeeded.
Caesar’s rise to power was relatively quick but his downfall was even more so, and, although he may have acted as men of his time would, Caesar killed or organized the killing of numerous people and did nothing but advocate for himself and attempt to expand his power. Although Caesar did greatly reform parts of the Roman government and proved himself a skilled leader, it only took Caesar one year as dictator to try to imprint himself into the lives of the Roman people in the worst ways possible and secure his title as a tyrant. Furthermore, Caesar neglected Roman tradition and values in a variety of ways and endeavored only to gain power. That being said, Caesar’s assassination was just because he proved himself to be vengeful, tyrannical, and much too powerful.