10 Things You Might Not Know About Julius Caesar
He was captured by pirates, conquered huge parts of Europe, started a civil war and became one of the most powerful men in Rome. Then he was murdered by the people around him.
How much do you actually know about Julius Caesar?
Most people have heard his name. Some know about the famous assassination. Others remember the words "Et tu, Brute?" or perhaps the phrase "crossing the Rubicon".
But Caesar's life was far more complicated than the stories we normally hear.
He was a politician, general, writer and one of the most ambitious men in the Roman world. His actions changed Rome forever and helped set the stage for the Roman Empire.
His name wasn't simply Julius Caesar
Caesar's full name was Gaius Julius Caesar.
Roman names worked differently from the names we use today. Gaius was his personal name, Julius was his family name, and Caesar identified his particular branch of the Julian family.
The name "Caesar" eventually became much more than a family name. It became associated with Roman rulers and later influenced titles such as "Kaiser" and "Tsar".
He was captured by pirates
One of the strangest episodes of Caesar's early life happened when he was travelling across the Aegean Sea.
He was captured by pirates and held for ransom.
According to the ancient accounts, Caesar was unimpressed when the pirates demanded a relatively small ransom for his release. He apparently told them that they had underestimated his value and that they should demand more money.
While he was their prisoner, Caesar reportedly behaved less like a frightened hostage and more like someone who expected to be in charge.
After his ransom was paid and he was released, Caesar raised a fleet, hunted the pirates down and captured them.
He had them executed.
Much of what we know about this episode comes from later ancient writers, so some of the details may have been exaggerated over time. But the story became one of the most famous examples of Caesar's extraordinary confidence.
He was married three times
Caesar married three times during his life.
His first wife was Cornelia. They married when Caesar was still a young man and had a daughter together named Julia.
His second marriage was to Pompeia. The marriage eventually ended following a scandal involving another man entering Caesar's home during a religious ceremony.
Caesar's third and final wife was Calpurnia. They remained married until his assassination.
Marriage in Roman politics was often about much more than love. Political alliances, family connections and social status could all play an important role.
He conquered Gaul
Caesar is perhaps best known for his military campaigns.
Between 58 and 50 BC, he led Roman armies during the Gallic Wars.
Gaul covered a huge area of Western Europe, including much of what is now France and Belgium, as well as parts of surrounding countries.
Caesar's campaigns brought enormous amounts of territory, wealth and military prestige under Roman control.
They also made Caesar extremely powerful.
He wrote his own account of the campaigns, known as Commentarii de Bello Gallico, or Commentaries on the Gallic War.
The book is one of the most famous surviving accounts from ancient Rome. It is also worth remembering that Caesar was writing about his own military campaigns, so it was not exactly an unbiased account.
He crossed the Rubicon
After years of military success, Caesar's relationship with other powerful Roman politicians began to collapse.
The Roman Senate ordered him to give up his military command and return to Rome without his army.
Instead, Caesar crossed the Rubicon River with his troops.
This was a huge decision.
Roman generals were not supposed to bring their armies into Italy. By crossing the Rubicon with his soldiers, Caesar was effectively challenging the authority of the Roman government.
Civil war followed.
"The die is cast."
A famous phrase traditionally associated with Caesar's decision to cross the Rubicon.
Today, saying someone has "crossed the Rubicon" means that they have taken an action from which there is no easy return.
He fought against a former ally
Before Caesar became Rome's dominant political figure, he had formed a powerful political alliance with two other men: Pompey and Crassus.
This informal alliance is commonly known as the First Triumvirate.
Together, the three men were enormously influential.
But alliances in Roman politics could be fragile.
Eventually Caesar and Pompey became rivals.
Their rivalry eventually turned into civil war, with Caesar defeating Pompey's forces.
Pompey fled to Egypt, where he was killed shortly after arriving.
He became involved with Cleopatra
Caesar's arrival in Egypt brought him into contact with one of the most famous women in history: Cleopatra VII.
Cleopatra was involved in a struggle for the Egyptian throne, and Caesar became involved in the political conflict.
Their relationship became both personal and political.
Cleopatra later travelled to Rome and Caesar acknowledged their son, Caesarion.
Caesar's relationship with Cleopatra became one of the most famous stories from the ancient world, although it is important to remember that their relationship existed within a much larger political struggle involving Rome and Egypt.
Brutus wasn't simply "the man who betrayed him"
The name Brutus has become almost synonymous with betrayal.
Marcus Junius Brutus was one of the men involved in Caesar's assassination.
But their relationship was complicated.
Brutus had previously benefited from Caesar's actions, and Caesar had shown him considerable favour.
Despite this, Brutus eventually joined a group of senators who believed Caesar had become too powerful and that Rome's traditional Republic was in danger.
Brutus therefore wasn't simply a random enemy who suddenly attacked Caesar. He was a Roman politician who had to make a decision about where his loyalty lay — with Caesar or with the Republic.
He was assassinated on the Ides of March
On 15 March 44 BC, Caesar attended a meeting of the Roman Senate.
A group of conspirators surrounded him and attacked him with daggers.
Caesar was stabbed repeatedly and died at the scene.
The date became famous as the Ides of March.
You have probably also heard the famous line:
"Et tu, Brute?"
"And you, Brutus?"
However, this is largely a product of later literature, particularly Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. Ancient sources give different accounts of Caesar's final words, so we cannot confidently say that these were the exact words he spoke.
He never became emperor — but he helped create one
This is perhaps the most interesting part of Caesar's story.
Julius Caesar is often described as the first Roman emperor. Strictly speaking, he wasn't.
The first Roman emperor is generally regarded as Augustus.
But Caesar played an enormous part in making Augustus possible.
Caesar's great-nephew, Gaius Octavius, was only 18 years old when Caesar was assassinated.
Caesar's will named Octavius as his adopted son and heir.
Octavius inherited Caesar's name, wealth and political legacy. He would later become known as Augustus.
After Caesar's death, Rome entered another period of civil war. Octavian eventually defeated his remaining rivals and became the undisputed ruler of Rome.
In 27 BC, he was given the title Augustus. He became the first Roman emperor and began a new era in Roman history.
Caesar never became Rome's first emperor.
But without Caesar, there might never have been Augustus.
A man who changed Rome forever
Julius Caesar's life lasted only 55 years, but his influence lasted far longer.
He transformed Roman politics, expanded Roman territory, became enormously powerful and ultimately helped destroy the political system he had risen through.
His assassination was supposed to prevent one man from becoming too powerful.
Instead, it helped trigger another series of civil wars and eventually led to the rise of the Roman Empire.
Caesar's story is therefore not simply the story of a Roman general who was stabbed by his friends. It is the story of how one man's ambition helped change the course of Western history.