Julius Caesar and Malcolm X were influential men in their own rights. While they lived millennia apart and in extremely dissimilar societies, their lives have several parallels. Pundits and scholars of history concur that both defined and influenced the respective histories of their time and were loved or loathed in equal measure by those that their lives touched.
Malcolm X was an African American Muslim minister and human rights, activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of blacks, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against black Americans; detractors accused him of preaching racism and violence. He has been called one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history.…show more content… July 12 or 13, 100 BC to March 15, 44 BC) was a politically adept and popular leader of the Roman Republic who significantly transformed what became known as the Roman Empire by greatly expanding its geographic reach and establishing its imperial system. Caesar's birth marked the beginning of a new chapter in Roman history. By age 31, Caesar had fought in several wars and become involved in Roman politics. While Julius Caesar hailed from Roman aristocrats, his family was far from rich. When Caesar was 16, his father, Gaius Caesar died. He remained close to his mother, Aurelia. During Caesar's youth, an element of disorder and instability ruled the Roman Republic, which had discredited its nobility and seemed unable to handle its considerable size and influence. Around the time of his father's death, Caesar made a concerted effort to side with the country's nobility. The strategic political alliance among Julius Caesar, Marcus Licinius Crassus and Pompey came to be known as the First Triumvirate. At the same time, Caesar was governing under Pompey; he aligned himself with Crassus, a Roman general and politician who served valiantly during Sulla's rule. Crassus and Pompey, however, were intense rivals. Once again Caesar displayed his abilities as a negotiator, earning the trust of both Crassus and Pompey and convincing them they'd be better suited as allies instead of enemies. In an early controversial move, Caesar tried to pay off Pompey's soldiers by…show more content… Each and every person possesses some type of power over another thing. Some people are content with not having any power whatsoever and then there are people whose entire lives revolve around that thirst and need for power. Taking into consideration that both of these powerful leaders had this longing for power that ultimately led to their destruction we can identify many similarities and differences that may be relevant to their nature and the way they both lived, and died. The major difference between Julius Caesar and Malcolm X is the time period in which they were from. Malcolm X was born in the early 20's and Julius Caesar was born around 100 BC. These time periods are completely different eras from each other yet the thirst for power and a solid following was present in both of them. A key similarity between these two leaders is that their thirst for power and their ability to have an influential effect on people's lives was seen from a very early age. The experience of Caesar's kidnapping helps us to see another similarity between him and Malcolm X. Both men were considered very wise, intellectual and eloquent speakers. This worked very much to their advantage. They were quick to think on their feet and were able to persuade and convince people very easily. In-text: (Study Mode, 2018) Your Bibliography: Study Mode. (2018). Malcolm Essay - 1852 Words. [Online]