Was Julius Caesar A Tyrant Essay

Julius Caesar- Hero or Tyrant?

When you hear the name Julius Caesar, what comes to mind? A time that one in this day and age could never have experienced would only think of the prehistoric. Some would say without his existence, where would our government be today. Julius Caesar entered into a career as a Roman politician. he conquered huge areas of land which lead to the expansion of the Roman Empire and became a dictator of Rome. Julius Caesar was born in the city of Rome on July 12, 100 B.C. He accomplished much from his personal qualities, but most don’t know that his great upbringing gave him an advantage. He was one of the most important political and military leaders in the history of Rome. Although some may think of him as a

hero others think of him as a naive leader.

Some nobles were jealous because Julius Caesar was so successful. Others believed that it was bad for one man to have so much power. Was Julius Caesar a Hero or Tyrant? Despite, the fact that he killed many to get where he was and in his willingness to gain power he lost his life, Julius Caesar was the best thing that could have possibly happen to Rome. He was a great leader because he led well and gained glory and wealth for the Empire. Caesar is known to be a very great leader but in Spain and Gaul, Caesar betrayed Roman allies by terminating their towns and enslaving friends of Romans. One wouldn’t say he was or was not good, evil, or bad. It was simply the fact that people dedicated themselves to his leadership until their own downfalls of death; without even being forced to, that’s how powerful he was. He certainly wasn't a tyrant, though his enemies tried to portray him as so. He was a Roman of the first class,

with extreme perseverance and ambition.
Julius Caesar was a Roman statesman, writer and general. He was the son of Gaius Caesar and Aurelia. His father was the Governor of Gaul from 58 to 49 BC. His political upbringing would sometime in the future give him an advantage. When, Caesar was fifteen years old, his father died, and with everyone's expectations of being next in power, he went left. Instead he set out to better himself. Caesar left Rome and then on went to join the army. When he won the Gallic Wars, it gave him more power and with that, he made a name for himself as a leader of war. His ambition as a brave soldier presented a very important trait that was essential in politics. The power he possessed lead him to the path of taking control of the Roman Republic and becoming dictator. In 65 BC, he was put in charge of public entertainment in Rome and the great impression he made later landed him the governor of Gaul. He commanded an army of 50,000 loyal men to kill his enemies in Rome and overseas. In 45 BC, he was pronounced as emperor, and ruled Rome as a dictator. In the midst of being emperor, came change and with change came conflict. He was loved by the people but as for republican senators, they opposed. In opposition to Caesar's rule, politicians Cassius and Brutus planned and succeed the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. As stated above, Julius Caesar was loved by the people. He provided change that in the end was all for a greater good. He made the Roman Empire bigger which had been a problem even before he was born. He even made huge changes in the internal political system of Rome which included the reduce of the national debt, reform of the Roman calendar, control of the grain dole, strengthening of the middle class, and increased the size of the Roman Senate. Despite Julius Caesar’s arrogant authority, he did have fair political aims for Roman society.
Caesar conquered Gaul and a piece of Britain and used some of the riches from this for building projects in Rome for support.

He basically set the standard for having an Emperor and Rome lasted about another five hundred years with this, so he could not of been that bad as many portrayed him to be. He realized that the old Republic was unable to rule an Empire so great. When Caesar was forty years old he received the highest political honors of becoming a Proconsul. If he was not a great leader Rome would have expanded the way it did and it would not be as successful. People looked up to him more than the enemies he made throughout his life. Julius was a smart and successful man that went very far in life. It is interesting that he changed the calendar and made three hundred and sixty five days and a leap year. Despite the feelings of some, multiple honors were given to Caesar. He was awarded the titles of liberator and imperator. Lastly, he was named both the father of his country as well as a consul for ten years. Even with all the great things he did, Julius Caesar suffered 23 stab wounds on the Ides of March but only one of them, the second stab wound he received to the breast, was fatal. The famous oil painting The Death of Caesar by Frenchman Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904) portray the sudden aftermath of the brutal slaying. The members of the Senate felt that Caesar was trying to gain too much power and that he was a threat to the Republic. They felt like their own

status was being threatened. These led to the plotting of his assassination One of the most appalling feature of the plot was the participation of Marcus Brutus, Caesar's protégé, whose life Caesar had recently spared following defeat in battle. Some accounts of March 15, 44 B.C., the day Caesar was killed, claimed Caesar was giving a note warning him of the plot as he entered the Senate. When he entered, he was surrounded and stabbed repeatedly.
Even though, Julius Caesar can be described as a winning man in all aspects, he still had his faults that led to his downfall. Caesar can be described as naïve. Trust was his biggest flaw. So on to speak, giving his old enemies a seat in his government's empire was his biggest mistake. The plan to kill him was because of his self assurance in these senators. He only had a few political agents by his side of position in Rome when he was on his campaigns. In addition, having only a few political agents made it so simple for the senators to have him killed when he arrived home. Julius Caesar let his trust and good heart blind him. Also pride is one of Caesar’s major flaws. A reason for this was when Calpurnia, Caesar’s wife, asked him not to go to the Capitol because of a dream that frighten her. Calpurnia asks Caesar to tell the Roman Emperor that he is sick and that is the reason why he will not be going but Caesar refused to lie because he would appear cowardly. But even after Caesar wife told him not to go he still went to the Senate house because he believed that the senate was going to make him king that day. He received multiple signals to be careful before stepping outside but he did not listen. His pride caused him to be assassinated. Another was while they were walking a soothsayer walked up to Caesar to "beware the ides of march" and he completely ignored it this showed that he only cares about things when it benefits him. Another example that made Caesar seem like a ruthless leader was when he took wealth and power away from the successful and powerful senators and Lords and gave it to the Urban Proletariat of Rome, but I believe that if he was focused about power, he would have pleased the senators and wealthy and would have not helped majority of the lower class people progress as much. Some of his actions does seem selfish but we can not deny the fact that all Caesar wanted was to make Rome better.
I personally admire Caesar and I think he set the standards for what a great leader should be. Caesar was a very interesting person. It is quite hard for anyone to say that he is not a smart, hardworking, inspiring individual. He was resourceful and bold, I think Caesar is a hero because he inspires people to this very day. He was a hero, but to the people of Rome. During his last six months before his assassination, most of his tasks were to make Rome a better place for the common people. Though me may of did some things that made him seem very bad at the end of the day all he wanted was what was best for Rome and the people.