Julius Caesar: The Most Influential People In Rome

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Julius Caesar is one of the most important and influential people in Rome. He was popular and successful for several reasons but he eventually met his downfall when other senators fear and oppose him. In 59 BC, Julius Caesar was elected consul (the highest elected political office) in Rome. He made friends with general Pompey the Great and Crassus, the richest man in Rome. They formed the First Triumvirate. In 53 BC, Crassus died and Caesar and Pompey began to drift apart and turn into enemies. The senate supported Pompey, who was the sole consul in Rome. In 50 BC, Caesar proposed that both Pompey and him should lay down their commands on the army but this angered the Senate and they refused. On 10th January 49 BC, Julius Caesar with his legion, the Legio XIII Genima, crossed the Rubicon…show more content…
He also said ‘Alea iacta est’ (The die is cast). Thus, Caesar’s military action declared the beginning of a civil war. Pompey then escaped to Capua with his allies and politicians. Pompey also commanded Domitius to be the leader of 11500 elite Roman soldiers and to attack Caesar southwards. When Domitius ignored Pompey’s orders of turning back, he had to surrender about 3 legions of soldiers near Corfinium. At Brundisium, Pompey escaped to Epirus in March 49 BC. After returning to Rome in December 49 BC, Caesar was elected as dictator, with Mark Antony as Master of the Horse. Caesar only kept his dictatorship for 11 days, soon after he renewed pursuit of Pompey, who fled to Greece and was training up soldiers. At Brundisium, Caesar assembled an army which was around 15000 soldiers, and crosses the Strait of Otranto to Palaesta in Epirus. On 10 July 48 BC, Pompey battled Caesar in the Battle of Dyrrhachium, but Caesar retreated as 1000 soldiers of his had died. Pompey misinterpreted this as a trap, and didn’t continue to attack Caesar. Pompey could have won the Civil War just like that.
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