Crown of Julius Caesar. Who is Caesar? Gaius Julius Caesar - ancient Roman statesman and political figure, commander

Caesar Gaius Julius (102-44 BC)

Great Roman commander and statesman. The last years of the Roman Republic are associated with the reign of Caesar, who established the regime of sole power. His name was turned into the title of the Roman emperors; From it came the Russian words “tsar”, “Caesar”, and the German “Kaiser”.

He came from a noble patrician family. Young Caesar's family connections determined his position in the political world: his father's sister, Julia, was married to Gaius Marius, the de facto sole ruler of Rome, and Caesar's first wife, Cornelia, was the daughter of Cinna, Marius's successor. In 84 BC. young Caesar was elected priest of Jupiter.

Establishment of Sulla's dictatorship in 82 BC led to Caesar's removal from his priesthood and a demand for a divorce from Cornelia. Caesar refused, which resulted in the confiscation of his wife's property and the deprivation of his father's inheritance. Sulla later pardoned the young man, although he was suspicious of him.

Having left Rome for Asia Minor, Caesar was in military service, lived in Bithynia, Cilicia, and participated in the capture of Mytilene. He returned to Rome after the death of Sulla. To improve his oratory, he went to the island of Rhodes.

Returning from Rhodes, he was captured by pirates, ransomed, but then took brutal revenge by capturing sea robbers and putting them to death. In Rome, Caesar received the positions of priest-pontiff and military tribune, and from 68 - quaestor.

Married Pompeii. Having taken the position of aedile in 66, he was engaged in the improvement of the city, organizing magnificent festivities and grain distributions; all this contributed to his popularity. Having become a senator, he participated in political intrigues in order to support Pompey, who was busy at that time with the war in the East and returned in triumph in 61.

In 60, on the eve of the consular elections, a secret political alliance was concluded - a triumvirate between Pompey, Caesar and Crassus. Caesar was elected consul for 59 together with Bibulus. Having carried out agrarian laws, Caesar acquired a large number of followers who received land. Strengthening the triumvirate, he married his daughter to Pompey.

Having become proconsul of Gaul, Caesar conquered new territories for Rome. The Gallic War demonstrated Caesar's exceptional diplomatic and strategic skill. Having defeated the Germans in a fierce battle, Caesar himself then, for the first time in Roman history, undertook a campaign across the Rhine, crossing his troops across a specially built bridge.
He also made a campaign to Britain, where he won several victories and crossed the Thames; however, realizing the fragility of his position, he soon left the island.

In 54 BC. Caesar urgently returned to Gaul in connection with the uprising that had begun there. Despite desperate resistance and superior numbers, the Gauls were again conquered.

As a commander, Caesar was distinguished by decisiveness and at the same time caution, he was hardy, and on a campaign he always walked ahead of the army with his head uncovered, both in the heat and in the cold. He knew how to set up soldiers with a short speech, personally knew his centurions and the best soldiers and enjoyed extraordinary popularity and authority among them

After the death of Crassus in 53 BC. the triumvirate fell apart. Pompey, in his rivalry with Caesar, led the supporters of Senate republican rule. The Senate, fearing Caesar, refused to extend his powers in Gaul. Realizing his popularity among the troops and in Rome, Caesar decides to seize power by force. In 49, he gathered the soldiers of the 13th Legion, gave them a speech and made the famous crossing of the Rubicon River, thus crossing the border of Italy.

In the very first days, Caesar occupied several cities without encountering resistance. Panic began in Rome. Confused Pompey, the consuls and the Senate left the capital. Having entered Rome, Caesar convened the rest of the Senate and offered cooperation.

Caesar quickly and successfully campaigned against Pompey in his province of Spain. Returning to Rome, Caesar was proclaimed dictator. Pompey hastily gathered a huge army, but Caesar inflicted a crushing defeat on him in the famous battle of Pharsalus. Pompey fled to the Asian provinces and was killed in Egypt. Pursuing him, Caesar went to Egypt, to Alexandria, where he was presented with the head of his murdered rival. Caesar refused the terrible gift and, according to biographers, mourned his death.

While in Egypt, Caesar became immersed in the political intrigues of Queen Cleopatra; Alexandria was subdued. Meanwhile, the Pompeians were gathering new forces based in North Africa. After a campaign in Syria and Cilicia, Caesar returned to Rome and then defeated the supporters of Pompey at the Battle of Thapsus (46 BC) in North Africa. The cities of North Africa expressed their submission.

Upon returning to Rome, Caesar celebrates a magnificent triumph, arranges grandiose shows, games and treats for the people, and rewards the soldiers. He is proclaimed dictator for 10 years and receives the titles of “emperor” and “father of the fatherland.” Conducts numerous laws on Roman citizenship, reform of the calendar, which receives his name.

Statues of Caesar are erected in temples. The month of July is named after him, the list of Caesar's honors is written in gold letters on silver columns. He autocratically appoints and removes officials from power.

Discontent was brewing in society, especially in republican circles, and there were rumors about Caesar's desire for royal power. His relationship with Cleopatra also made an unfavorable impression. A plot arose to assassinate the dictator. Among the conspirators were his closest associates Cassius and the young Marcus Junius Brutus, who, it was claimed, was even the illegitimate son of Caesar. On the Ides of March, at a meeting of the Senate, the conspirators attacked Caesar with daggers. According to legend, seeing young Brutus among the murderers, Caesar exclaimed: “And you, my child” (or: “And you, Brutus”), stopped resisting and fell at the foot of the statue of his enemy Pompey.

Caesar went down in history as the largest Roman writer; his “Notes on the Gallic War” and “Notes on the Civil War” are rightfully considered an example of Latin prose.

Gaius Julius Caesar- ancient Roman statesman and politician (consul, dictator, great pontiff), commander, writer. The Latin language is studied using his works “Notes on the Gallic War” and “Notes on the Civil War”.

Brief biography of Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar (lat. Gaius Iulius Caesar) born 12 or July 13 at 100(according to some sources - in 101 or 102) BC.

The house where Caesar grew up was in Subure- an area of ​​Rome that had a reputation for being troubled. As a child, he studied Greek, literature, and rhetoric at home. He also did physical activities: swimming, horse riding.

Among the teachers of young Guy, a great rhetorician is known Gniphon, who was also one of the teachers Cicero. Around 85 BC. e. Caesar lost his father: according to Pliny the Elder, he died bending down to put on his shoes.

After the death of his father, Caesar, who had undergone the initiation rite, actually headed the entire Julian family, since all his closest male relatives older than him had died.

Caesar's career

Soon Guy became engaged to Cossucia, a girl from a wealthy family from the equestrian class. Coming from an ancient patrician family, Caesar consistently achieved all ordinary Roman positions and made a name for himself in the fight against conservative senators (optimates).

First triumvirate

In 60 BC. e. organized first triumvirate together with two influential politicians - Gnaeus Pompey the Great and Marcus Licinius Crassus. Having passed the agrarian laws, Julius Caesar acquired a large number of followers who received land. Strengthening the triumvirate, he married his daughter to Pompey.

Gallic War

From 58 BC e. spent more than eight years in the territory of modern Switzerland, France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain in Gallic War, annexing a vast territory from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rhine to the Roman Republic and gaining fame as a talented commander.

Civil War

After the death of Crassus in 53 BC. e. the triumvirate fell apart. Pompey, in his rivalry with Julius Caesar, led the supporters of traditional Senate republican rule. The Senate, fearing Caesar, refused to extend his powers in Gaul.

At the beginning of 49 BC. e. began civil war due to irreconcilable differences with senators on the details of his return to Rome and on guarantees of judicial immunity for official crimes (bribery in elections, bribes to officials, violation of treaties, violent acts and other violations).

Within four years, the supporters of the Senate, grouped around Pompey, were defeated by Caesar in Italy, Spain (twice), Greece and Africa, and he also defeated the troops of the rulers of Egypt and Pontus.

Stick to the policy mercy, but at the same time executed a number of his key opponents. Having achieved complete victory over his opponents, he concentrated in his hands the power of the consul and the emergency powers of the dictator (eventually in the form of a lifelong position), and carried out a number of reforms in all spheres of society.

Attitude to the personality of Julius Caesar

During Caesar's lifetime, his deification began, the honorary title of a victorious commander "emperor" became part of his name, but he refused the power of the ancient Roman kings. After the assassination of Caesar, a group of senators led by Marcus Junius Brutus great-nephew of Caesar Guy Octavius took his name and received most of the inheritance under the will, subsequently becoming the first emperor.

Caesar was treated differently during his lifetime, and this tradition was preserved in the Roman Empire: his name was whitewashed in every possible way by supporters of the rulers, and oppositionists praised his victims and conspirators. The personality of Caesar was very popular in Middle Ages And New time.

In addition to his political and military activities, Caesar is also known as writer. Due to the simplicity and clarity of his style, his works are considered classics of ancient Roman literature and are used in teaching the Latin language. Titles go back to the name of Julius Caesar Kaiser and Tsar, as well as the name of the seventh month of the year in many languages ​​of the world - July.

In Rome, thereby hinting at his relationship with the goddess. Cognomen Caesar made no sense in Latin; Soviet historian of Rome A.I. Nemirovsky suggested that it comes from Cisre- the Etruscan name of the city of Cere. The antiquity of the Caesar family itself is difficult to establish (the first known one dates back to the end of the 5th century BC). The father of the future dictator, also Gaius Julius Caesar the Elder (proconsul of Asia), stopped in his career as a praetor. On his mother's side, Caesar came from the Cotta family of the Aurelian family with an admixture of plebeian blood. Caesar's uncles were consuls: Sextus Julius Caesar (91 BC), Lucius Julius Caesar (90 BC)

Gaius Julius Caesar lost his father at the age of sixteen; He maintained close friendly relations with his mother until her death in 54 BC. e.

A noble and cultured family created favorable conditions for his development; careful physical education later served him considerable service; a thorough education - scientific, literary, grammatical, on Greco-Roman foundations - formed logical thinking, prepared him for practical activity, for literary work.

Marriage and service in Asia

Before Caesar, the Julian family, despite their aristocratic origins, was not rich by the standards of the Roman nobility of that time. That is why, until Caesar himself, almost none of his relatives achieved much influence. Only his paternal aunt, Julia, married Gaius Marius, a talented commander and reformer of the Roman army. Marius was the leader of the democratic faction of the populares in the Roman Senate and sharply opposed the conservatives from the optimates faction.

Internal political conflicts in Rome at that time reached such severity that they led to civil war. After the capture of Rome by Marius in 87 BC. e. For a time, the power of the popular was established. The young Caesar was awarded the title of Flaminus Jupiter. But, in 86 BC. e. Mari died, and in 84 BC. e. During a riot among the troops, the consul Cinna, who usurped power, was killed. In 82 BC e. Rome was taken by the troops of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, and Sulla himself became dictator. Caesar was connected by double family ties with the party of his opponent - Maria: at the age of seventeen he married Cornelia, the youngest daughter of Lucius Cornelius Cinna, an associate of Marius and the worst enemy of Sulla. This was a kind of demonstration of his commitment to the popular party, which by that time had been humiliated and defeated by the all-powerful Sulla.

In order to perfectly master the art of oratory, Caesar specifically in 75 BC. e. went to Rhodes to the famous teacher Apollonius Molon. Along the way, he was captured by Cilician pirates, for his release he had to pay a significant ransom of twenty talents, and while his friends collected money, he spent more than a month in captivity, practicing eloquence in front of his captors. After his release, he immediately assembled a fleet in Miletus, captured the pirate fortress and ordered the captured pirates to be crucified on the cross as a warning to others. But, since they treated him well at one time, Caesar ordered their legs to be broken before the crucifixion in order to alleviate their suffering (if you break the legs of a crucified person, he will die quite quickly from asphyxia). Then he often showed condescension towards defeated opponents. This is where the “mercy of Caesar”, so praised by ancient authors, was manifested.

Caesar takes part in the war with King Mithridates at the head of an independent detachment, but does not remain there for long. In 74 BC e. he returns to Rome. In 73 BC e. he was co-opted to the priestly college of pontiffs in place of the deceased Lucius Aurelius Cotta, his uncle.

Subsequently, he wins the election to the military tribunes. Always and everywhere, Caesar never tires of reminding of his democratic beliefs, connections with Gaius Marius and dislike for aristocrats. Actively participates in the struggle for the restoration of the rights of the people's tribunes, curtailed by Sulla, for the rehabilitation of the associates of Gaius Marius, who were persecuted during the dictatorship of Sulla, and seeks the return of Lucius Cornelius Cinna - the son of the consul Lucius Cornelius Cinna and the brother of Caesar's wife. By this time, the beginning of his rapprochement with Gnaeus Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus began, on a close connection with whom he built his future career.

Caesar, being in a difficult position, does not say a word to justify the conspirators, but insists on not subjecting them to the death penalty. His proposal does not pass, and Caesar himself almost dies at the hands of an angry crowd.

Spain Far (Hispania Ulterior)

(Bibulus was consul only formally; the triumvirs actually removed him from power).

Caesar's consulate is necessary for both him and Pompey. Having disbanded the army, Pompey, for all his greatness, turns out to be powerless; None of his proposals pass due to the stubborn resistance of the Senate, and yet he promised his veteran soldiers land, and this issue could not tolerate delay. Supporters of Pompey alone were not enough; a more powerful influence was needed - this was the basis of Pompey’s alliance with Caesar and Crassus. The consul Caesar himself was in dire need of the influence of Pompey and the money of Crassus. It was not easy to convince the former consul Marcus Licinius Crassus, an old enemy of Pompey, to agree to an alliance, but in the end it was possible - this richest man in Rome could not get troops under his command for the war with Parthia.

This is how what historians would later call the first triumvirate arose - a private agreement of three persons, not sanctioned by anyone or anything other than their mutual consent. The private nature of the triumvirate was also emphasized by the consolidation of its marriages: Pompey to Caesar’s only daughter, Julia Caesaris (despite the difference in age and upbringing, this political marriage turned out to be sealed by love), and Caesar to the daughter of Calpurnius Piso.

At first, Caesar believed that this could be done in Spain, but a closer acquaintance with this country and its insufficiently convenient geographical position in relation to Italy forced Caesar to abandon this idea, especially since the traditions of Pompey were strong in Spain and in the Spanish army.

The reason for the outbreak of hostilities in 58 BC. e. in Transalpine Gaul there was a mass migration to these lands of the Celtic tribe of the Helvetii. After the victory over the Helvetii in the same year, a war followed against the Germanic tribes invading Gaul, led by Ariovistus, ending in the complete victory of Caesar. Increased Roman influence in Gaul caused unrest among the Belgae. Campaign 57 BC e. begins with the pacification of the Belgae and continues with the conquest of the northwestern lands, where the tribes of the Nervii and Aduatuci lived. In the summer of 57 BC e. on the bank of the river Sabris took place a grandiose battle of the Roman legions with the army of the Nervii, when only luck and the best training of the legionnaires allowed the Romans to win. At the same time, a legion under the command of legate Publius Crassus conquered the tribes of northwestern Gaul.

Based on Caesar's report, the Senate was forced to decide on a celebration and a 15-day thanksgiving service.

As a result of three years of successful war, Caesar increased his fortune many times over. He generously gave money to his supporters, attracting new people to himself, and increased his influence.

That same summer, Caesar organized his first, and the next, 54 BC. e. - second expedition to Britain. The legions met such fierce resistance from the natives here that Caesar had to return to Gaul with nothing. In 53 BC e. Unrest continued among the Gallic tribes, who could not come to terms with oppression by the Romans. All of them were pacified in a short time.

By agreement between Caesar and Pompey in Lucca in 56 BC. e. and the subsequent law of Pompey and Crassus in 55 BC. e. , Caesar's powers in Gaul and Illyricum were to end on the last day of February 49 BC. e. ; Moreover, it was definitely indicated that until March 1, 50 BC. e. there will be no talk in the Senate about a successor to Caesar. In 52 BC e. Only the Gallic unrest prevented a break between Caesar and Pompey, caused by the transfer of all power into the hands of Pompey, as a single consul and at the same time proconsul, which upset the balance of the duumvirate. As compensation, Caesar demanded for himself the possibility of the same position in the future, that is, the union of the consulate and the proconsulate, or, rather, the immediate replacement of the proconsulate by the consulate. To do this, it was necessary to obtain permission to be chosen as consul in 48 BC. e. , not entering during 49 BC. e. to the city, which would be tantamount to a renunciation of military authority.

Late in the spring, Caesar left Egypt, leaving Cleopatra and her husband, Ptolemy Jr. as queen (the elder was killed at the Battle of the Nile). Caesar spent 9 months in Egypt; Alexandria - the last Hellenistic capital - and the court of Cleopatra gave him many impressions and a lot of experience. Despite urgent matters in Asia Minor and the West, Caesar went from Egypt to Syria, where, as the successor of the Seleucids, he restored their palace in Daphne and generally behaved like a master and monarch.

In July, he left Syria, quickly dealt with the rebel Pontic king Pharnaces and hurried to Rome, where his presence was urgently needed. After the death of Pompey, his party and the party of the Senate were far from broken. There were quite a few Pompeians, as they were called, in Italy; They were more dangerous in the provinces, especially in Illyricum, Spain and Africa. Caesar's legates barely managed to subjugate Illyricum, where Marcus Octavius ​​had been resisting for a long time, not without success. In Spain, the mood of the army was clearly Pompeian; All the prominent members of the Senate party gathered in Africa, with a strong army. There were Metellus Scipio, the commander-in-chief, and the sons of Pompey, Gnaeus and Sextus, and Cato, and Titus Labienus, and others. They were supported by the Moorish king Juba. In Italy, the former supporter and agent of Julius Caesar, Caelius Rufus, became the head of the Pompeians. In alliance with Milo, he started a revolution on economic grounds; using his magistracy (praetour), he announced a deferment of all debts for 6 years; when the consul removed him from the magistracy, he raised the banner of rebellion in the south and died in the fight against government troops.

In 47 Rome was without magistrates; M. Antony ruled it as magister equitum of the dictator Julius Caesar; the troubles arose thanks to the tribunes Lucius Trebellius and Cornelius Dolabella on the same economic basis, but without the Pompeian lining. It was not the tribunes that were dangerous, however, but Caesar’s army, which was to be sent to Africa to fight the Pompeians. The long absence of Julius Caesar weakened discipline; the army refused to obey. In September 47, Caesar reappeared in Rome. With difficulty he managed to calm the soldiers who were already moving towards Rome. Having quickly completed the most necessary matters, in the winter of the same year Caesar crossed over to Africa. The details of this expedition of his are poorly known; a special monograph on this war by one of his officers suffers from ambiguities and bias. And here, as in Greece, the advantage was initially not on his side. After a long sitting on the seashore awaiting reinforcements and a tedious march inland, Caesar finally succeeds in forcing the battle of Thapsus, in which the Pompeians were completely defeated (April 6, 46). Most of the prominent Pompeians died in Africa; the rest escaped to Spain, where the army took their side. At the same time, fermentation began in Syria, where Caecilius Bassus had significant success, seizing almost the entire province into his own hands.

On July 28, 46, Caesar returned from Africa to Rome, but stayed there only for a few months. Already in December he was in Spain, where he was met by a large enemy force led by Pompey, Labienus, Atius Varus and others. The decisive battle, after a tiring campaign, was fought near Munda (March 17, 45). The battle almost ended in Caesar's defeat; his life, as recently in Alexandria, was in danger. With terrible efforts, victory was snatched from the enemies, and the Pompeian army was largely cut off. Of the party leaders, only Sextus Pompey remained alive. Upon returning to Rome, Caesar, along with the reorganization of the state, prepared for a campaign in the East, but on March 15, 44 he died at the hands of the conspirators. The reasons for this can only be clarified after analyzing the reform of the political system that was started and carried out by Caesar in the short periods of his peaceful activity.

The power of Julius Caesar

Statue of Caesar in the garden of the Palace of Versailles (1696, sculptor Coustou)

Over the long period of his political activity, Julius Caesar clearly understood that one of the main evils causing a serious illness of the Roman political system is the instability, impotence and purely urban nature of the executive power, the selfish, narrow party and class nature of the power of the Senate. From the early moments of his career, he openly and definitely struggled with both. And in the era of the conspiracy of Catiline, and in the era of extraordinary powers of Pompey, and in the era of the triumvirate, Caesar consciously pursued the idea of ​​​​centralization of power and the need to destroy the prestige and importance of the Senate.

Monument to Julius Caesar in Rome

Individuality, as far as one can judge, did not seem necessary to him. The agrarian commission, the triumvirate, then the duumvirate with Pompey, to which Yu. Caesar clung so tenaciously, show that he was not against collegiality or the division of power. It is impossible to think that all these forms were for him only a political necessity. With the death of Pompey, Caesar effectively remained the sole leader of the state; the power of the Senate was broken and power was concentrated in one hand, as it once was in the hands of Sulla. In order to carry out all the plans that Caesar had in mind, his power had to be as strong as possible, as unconstrained as possible, as complete as possible, but at the same time, at least at first, it should not formally go beyond the framework of the constitution. The most natural thing - since the constitution did not know a ready-made form of monarchical power and treated royal power with horror and disgust - was to combine in one person powers of an ordinary and extraordinary nature around one center. The consulate, weakened by the entire evolution of Rome, could not be such a center: a magistracy was needed, not subject to intercession and veto of the tribunes, combining military and civil functions, not limited by collegiality. The only magistracy of this kind was the dictatorship. Its inconvenience compared to the form invented by Pompey - the combination of a sole consulate with a proconsulate - was that it was too vague and, while giving everything in general, did not give anything in particular. Its extraordinaryness and urgency could be eliminated, as Sulla did, by pointing to its permanence (dictator perpetuus), while the uncertainty of powers - which Sulla did not take into account, since he saw in the dictatorship only a temporary means for carrying out his reforms - was eliminated only through the above connection . Dictatorship, as a basis, and next to this a series of special powers - this, therefore, is the framework within which Yu. Caesar wanted to place and placed his power. Within these limits, his power developed as follows.

In 49 - the year of the beginning of the civil war - during his stay in Spain, the people, at the suggestion of the praetor Lepidus, elected him dictator. Returning to Rome, Yu. Caesar passed several laws, assembled a comitia, at which he was elected consul for the second time (for the year 48), and abandoned dictatorship. The next year 48 (October-November) he received dictatorship for the 2nd time, in 47. In the same year, after the victory over Pompey, during his absence he received a number of powers: in addition to the dictatorship - a consulate for 5 years (from 47) and tribunic power, that is, the right to sit together with the tribunes and carry out investigations with them - in addition, the right to name the people their candidate for magistracy, with the exception of the plebeians, the right to distribute provinces without drawing lots to former praetors [Provinces to former consuls are still distributed by the Senate.] and the right to declare war and make peace. Caesar's representative this year in Rome is his magister equitum - assistant to the dictator M. Antony, in whose hands, despite the existence of consuls, all power is concentrated.

In 46, Caesar was both dictator (from the end of April) for the third time and consul; Lepidus was the second consul and magister equitum. This year, after the African war, his powers are significantly expanded. He was elected dictator for 10 years and at the same time the leader of morals (praefectus morum), with unlimited powers. Moreover, he receives the right to be the first to vote in the Senate and occupy a special seat in it, between the seats of both consuls. At the same time, his right to recommend candidates for magistrates to the people was confirmed, which was tantamount to the right to appoint them.

In 45 he was dictator for the 4th time and at the same time consul; his assistant was the same Lepidus. After the Spanish War (January 44), he was elected dictator for life and consul for 10 years. He refused the latter, as, probably, the 5-year consulate of the previous year [In 45 he was elected consul at the suggestion of Lepidus.]. The immunity of the tribunes is added to the tribunician power; the right to appoint magistrates and pro-magistrates is extended by the right to appoint consuls, distribute provinces among proconsuls and appoint plebeian magistrates. In the same year, Caesar was given exclusive authority to dispose of the army and money of the state. Finally, in the same year 44, he was granted lifelong censorship and all his orders were approved in advance by the Senate and the people.

In this way, Caesar became a sovereign monarch, remaining within the limits of constitutional forms [For many of the extraordinary powers there were precedents in the past life of Rome: Sulla was already a dictator, Marius repeated the consulate, he ruled in the provinces through his agents Pompey, and more than once; Pompey was given by the people unlimited control over the funds of the state.] All aspects of the life of the state were concentrated in his hands. He disposed of the army and provinces through his agents - pro-magistrates appointed by him, who were made magistrates only on his recommendation. The movable and immovable property of the community was in his hands as a lifelong censor and by virtue of special powers. The Senate was finally removed from financial management. The activities of the tribunes were paralyzed by his participation in the meetings of their collegium and the tribunician power and tribunician sacrosanctitas granted to him. And yet he was not a colleague of the tribunes; having their power, he did not have their name. Since he recommended them to the people, he was the highest authority in relation to them. He disposes of the Senate arbitrarily both as its chairman (for which he mainly needed the consulate), and as the first to answer the question of the presiding officer: since the opinion of the almighty dictator was known, it is unlikely that any of the senators would dare to contradict him .

Finally, the spiritual life of Rome was in his hands, since already at the beginning of his career he was elected great pontiff and now the power of the censor and the leadership of morals were added to this. Caesar did not have special powers that would give him judicial power, but the consulate, the censorship, and the pontificate had judicial functions. Moreover, we also hear about constant court negotiations at Caesar’s home, mainly on issues of a political nature. Caesar sought to give the newly created power a new name: this was the honorary cry with which the army greeted the winner - imperator. Yu. Caesar put this name at the head of his name and title, replacing his personal name Guy with it. With this he gave expression not only to the breadth of his power, his imperium, but also to the fact that from now on he leaves the ranks of ordinary people, replacing his name with a designation of his power and at the same time eliminating from it the indication of belonging to one family: the head of state cannot be called like any other Roman S. Iulius Caesar - he is Imp(erator) Caesar p(ater) p(atriae) dict(ator) perp(etuus), as his title says in the inscriptions and on coins.

Foreign policy

The guiding idea of ​​Caesar's foreign policy was the creation of a strong and integral state with natural borders, if possible. Caesar pursued this idea in the north, south, and east. His wars in Gaul, Germany and Britain were caused by his perceived need to push the border of Rome to the ocean on the one hand, and at least to the Rhine on the other. His plan for a campaign against the Getae and Dacians proves that the Danube border lay within the limits of his plans. Within the border that united Greece and Italy by land, Greco-Roman culture was to reign; the countries between the Danube and Italy and Greece were supposed to be the same buffer against the peoples of the north and east as the Gauls were against the Germans. Caesar's policy in the East is closely related to this. Death overtook him on the eve of the campaign to Parthia. His eastern policy, including the actual annexation of Egypt to the Roman state, was aimed at rounding out the Roman Empire in the East. The only serious opponent of Rome here were the Parthians: their affair with Crassus showed that they had in mind a broad expansionist policy. The revival of the Persian kingdom ran counter to the objectives of Rome, the successor to the monarchy of Alexander, and threatened to undermine the economic well-being of the state, which rested entirely on the monetary East. A decisive victory over the Parthians would have made Caesar, in the eyes of the East, the direct successor of Alexander the Great, the legitimate monarch. Finally, in Africa, Julius Caesar continued a purely colonial policy. Africa had no political significance: its economic importance, as a country capable of producing huge quantities of natural products, depended largely on regular administration, stopping the raids of nomadic tribes and re-establishing the best harbor in northern Africa, the natural center of the province and the central point for exchange with Italy - Carthage. The division of the country into two provinces satisfied the first two requests, the final restoration of Carthage satisfied the third.

Reforms of Julius Caesar

In all of Caesar's reform activities, two main ideas are clearly noted. One is the need to unite the Roman state into one whole, the need to smooth out the difference between the citizen-master and the provincial-slave, to smooth out the differences between nationalities; the other, closely related to the first, is the streamlining of administration, close communication between the state and its subjects, the elimination of intermediaries, and a strong central government. Both of these ideas are reflected in all of Caesar’s reforms, despite the fact that he carried them out quickly and hastily, trying to take advantage of the short periods of his stay in Rome. Because of this, the sequence of individual measures is random; Caesar each time took on what seemed most necessary to him, and only a comparison of everything he did, regardless of chronology, makes it possible to grasp the essence of his reforms and notice a harmonious system in their implementation.

Caesar's unifying tendencies were reflected primarily in his policy towards parties among the ruling classes. His policy of mercy towards his opponents, with the exception of irreconcilable ones, his desire to attract everyone to public life, without distinction of party or mood, his admission of his former opponents among his close associates, undoubtedly testifies to the desire to merge all differences of opinion about his personality and his regime . This unifying policy explains the widespread trust in everyone, which was the reason for his death.

The unifying tendency also has a clear effect in relation to Italy. One of Caesar's laws concerning the regulation of certain parts of municipal life in Italy has reached us. True, it is now impossible to assert that this law was the general municipal law of Yu. Caesar (lex Iulia municipalis), but it is still certain that it immediately supplemented the statutes of individual Italian communities for all municipalities and served as a corrective for all of them. On the other hand, the combination in the law of norms regulating the urban life of Rome and municipal norms, and the significant likelihood that the norms of urban improvement of Rome were mandatory for municipalities, clearly indicates a tendency to reduce Rome to municipalities, to elevate municipalities to Rome, which from now on should was only the first of the Italian cities, the seat of central power and a model for all similar centers of life. A general municipal law for all of Italy with local differences was unthinkable, but some general norms were desirable and useful and clearly indicated that in the end Italy and its cities represented one whole united with Rome.

Assassination of Julius Caesar

Caesar was assassinated on March 15, 44 BC. e. at a meeting of the Senate. When friends once advised the dictator to beware of enemies and surround himself with guards, Caesar replied: “It is better to die once than to constantly expect death.” One of the conspirators was Brutus, one of his close friends, whom he considered his son. According to legend, seeing him among the conspirators, Caesar cried out in Greek: “And you, my child? " and stopped resisting. The most likely version of Plutarch is that Caesar did not say anything when he saw Brutus among the killers. Caesar had a stylus in his hands - a writing stick, and he somehow resisted - in particular, after the first blow, he pierced the hand of one of the attackers with it. When Caesar saw that resistance was useless, he covered himself from head to toe with a toga in order to fall more decently (this was customary among the Romans; Pompey also covered himself with a toga so that they would not see his face during death). Most of the wounds inflicted on him were not deep, although many were inflicted: 23 puncture wounds were found on his body; The frightened conspirators themselves injured each other, trying to reach Caesar. There are two different versions of his death: that he died from a fatal blow (the more common version; as Suetonius writes, it was a second blow to the chest) and that death was due to blood loss. After Caesar was killed, the conspirators tried to make a speech to the senators, but the Senate fled in fear. Some scholars believe that Caesar himself gave up his life. He did not listen to his wife’s advice that day, dismissed the few guards and did not even pay attention to the note from an anonymous friend (this note was hardly pulled out of Caesar’s hands during the “autopsy”). He could wish for death due to attacks of an unusual illness and did not resist very much. It was rumored that he suffered from epilepsy.

Gaius Julius Caesar as a writer

A broad education, grammatical and literary, gave Caesar the opportunity, like most educated people of that time, to be active not only in politics, but also in literature. Caesar's literary activity in his mature years was, however, not a goal for him, but a means of a purely political nature. Two of his literary works that have survived to this day: “Notes on the Gallic War” (Commentarii de bello gallico) and “Notes on the Civil War” (Commentarii de bello civili) (the first in 7, the second in 3 books) - are nothing more than political tools to influence public opinion.

The "Commentarii de bello gallico" was written after the end of the struggle with Vercingetorix, but before the break with Pompey, probably in 51 BC. e. They characterize the entire course of the Gallic war until the decisive actions of 52 BC. e. inclusive. Their goal, obviously, was to show Rome how much Caesar had done during the 8 years of his proconsulate, how much he had achieved and how wrong those who said that he was looking for war were. The comments definitely suggest that all Gallic campaigns were the result of aggressive actions by the Gauls and Germans themselves. The hero of the story is, first of all, himself (he is spoken of in the third person), but even more so is his army, strong, brave, seasoned, devoted to their leader to the point of oblivion. Caesar's story was in this regard a demonstration at the Senate and a monument to the army, Caesar's veterans. The ancient critics were clearly aware that before them was only material for the historian, and not a complete historical work; Caesar himself clearly indicated this, giving his work the title of comments (notes, protocol).

The books “Commentarii de bello civili”, which speak about events from January 1, 49 BC, are even more imbued with political trends. e. until the Alexandrian War, which they promise to tell. Failure to fulfill this promise on the one hand, a number of indications that the comments were written after the end of the civil wars give the right to conclude that Caesar was unable to complete his work. Caesar is trying in every possible way to show that he was forced to war not so much by Pompey as by the Senate. There is no feeling of hostility towards Pompey; in relation to him there are only a number of subtle critical remarks, not devoid of causticity, but this is all the more damaging to the Senate and individual representatives of the Senate party. The most poisonous arrows are aimed at minor figures. “Scipio (Pompey’s father-in-law), having suffered several defeats (in Syria) near Mount Amana, proclaimed himself emperor” (you need to know that the title of emperor was given for victories and troops). Lentulus, when Julius Caesar approaches Rome, only manages to open the reserve treasury, but flees without having time to seize the money from there, etc.

Attacks on the Pompeians serve only to highlight more clearly the legality and necessity of Caesar's actions. Throughout the entire work there is a repeated indication, firstly, of Caesar’s constant desire to end the matter peacefully and of the fact that all his attempts were proudly and unreasonably rejected by Pompey; secondly, to the fact that in all battles he spared the enemy troops and sought, where possible, to end the matter with the least bloodshed or without it at all; Along with this, he also spares individuals, the leaders of the Pompeian party, while Pompey’s camp only thinks about executions, revenge and proscriptions (the latter is fully confirmed by the Pompeian Cicero in a number of his letters); finally, only Caesar relies on the true sympathy of the Italian municipalities and provinces. Caesar carefully and in detail notes how one city after another drove the Pompeians out of their walls and enthusiastically admitted Caesar's troops. Next to the good will (voluntas) of Italy, the heroism and dedication of the army, represented mainly by soldiers and lower officers, comes to the fore; already from the “Commentarii de bello civili” it is clear that the new regime is going to rely on Italy, the provinces and especially the army.

The historical accuracy of the comments has already been discussed. An excellent literary description of them is given by Cicero (“Brutus”, 75, 262), however, not without some flattery: “they are naked, straight and beautiful, all ornaments of speech have been removed from them, like clothes. Wanting to prepare material for use by others who would undertake to write history, Caesar may have rendered a service to the more stupid of them, who may wish to twist (his account) with hot tongs; he scared away intelligent people from treating the same topic; There is nothing more pleasing to history than pure and brilliant brevity.” Indeed, the main literary advantage of the commentaries is the clarity and simplicity of presentation and style, not devoid of some pathos in moments of uplift, the concreteness of the images and the subtle characteristics of not only individuals, but also entire nations, especially the Gauls.

Of the works of Gaius Julius Caesar that have not reached us, the most voluminous were probably the collections of his speeches and letters. His two pamphlets, entitled “Auticatones,” were of a purely political nature. These pamphlets were responses to the literature generated by the death of Cato of Uticus - literature in which Cicero was the first to speak. Caesar sought to prove that the panegyrics of Cato were exaggerated. These pamphlets were written in 45 BC. e. , in the camp at Munda. Caesar's poetic works were purely literary works: “Praise of Hercules”, the tragedy “Oedipus”, the poem “Iter”, which describes his journey from Rome to Spain in 46 BC. e. We also have information about one of his scientific works, in 2 books - “De analogia”, a grammatical treatise, where the famous grammatical dispute between analogists and anomalists was examined and resolved in favor of the former, that is, in favor of the principle of regularity. Several additions were added to Caesar's comments after his death, which were long considered to be the works of Caesar himself. This is the 8th book of commentaries on the Gallic war, speaking about the events of 51 and 50, undoubtedly written by Hirtius; further “Commentarii de bellum Alexandrinum”, where, in addition to events in Alexandria, events in Asia, Illyria and Spain are considered, “Bellum Africanum” - the events of the African war, and “Bellum Hispanicum” - the second Spanish war. It is difficult to say who the authors of the last three additions are. There is no doubt that the Spanish and African wars were described by their participant, perhaps by a person close to the 5th Legion. Regarding bellum Alexandrinum, it is possible that here too the author is Hirtius. Additions to the commentaries have been preserved along with them in a number of manuscripts of the same root (do the publishers designate this version?); only the comments on the Gallic War were preserved in another edition, which seems to be better (?).

After the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, his great-nephew Octavian, the future Emperor of Rome, who was only 19 years old at the time, was forced to leave the city. But the Senate began to look for Caesar's murderers, and when his will was opened, it turned out that Caesar had adopted Octavian and left him most of his inheritance. Having learned about this, Octavian returned to Rome and announced that he accepted the inheritance and would fight against the murderers of Caesar, which actually meant a struggle for power in Rome, for the place of emperor.

The sixth month of the Roman calendar, Sextile, was renamed in his honor and called August.

In those years, Rome was formally governed by the Senate, which consisted of about 900 representatives of noble families. But in fact, real power passed into the hands of 40-year-old Mark Antony, a commander and friend of Caesar, who had the army under his command. A significant part of the money left by Caesar was given to him by Caesar's wife, Calpurnia. And Antony refused to share with Octavian, explaining that the money allegedly had to be spent on bribery in the Senate.

Octavian was forced to sell his property in order to begin a campaign against Antony. He looked for people in the Senate who would support him, reproached Antony for seizing Caesar's money, and accused him of connivance - he gave Caesar's murderers the opportunity to leave Rome with impunity. As a result, Octavian gained confidence in Cicero, a famous orator whose opinion was taken into account in the Senate. Cicero supported Octavian, called him “divine youth” and made 14 speeches in the Senate against Antony. Cicero exposed and accused Mark Antony, claiming that if he became emperor, he would disperse the Senate and execute many.

Having gained confidence in the Senate, Octavian immediately sent loyal people to Antony’s troops, convincing the soldiers to go over to his side, promising everyone a generous reward. Thanks to Cicero, Octavian received the position of propraetor, and Anthony was declared an enemy of the fatherland. And immediately Octavian was entrusted with the command of the troops, which he led against the troops of Mark Antony and achieved victory over them, but he did not pursue his enemy. Realizing that he could not achieve power in Rome alone, Octavian proposed... an alliance to Anthony. He agreed. And already the two of them met with another supporter of Caesar, Marcus Lepidus, and the three of them agreed to jointly act... against the Senate. They formed the so-called Second Triumvirate and compiled proscription lists where they included their enemies - the name of Cicero was listed first.

It was on the orders of Octavian that Cicero was killed. And the triumvirate began a war against the Roman governors in the provinces, against everyone who opposed them. The senators did not immediately understand that the “divine youth” was a hypocritical, two-faced man, that on the way to power he was ready to eliminate anyone - enemy and friend.

Octavian Augustus, as researchers later wrote, had neither special oratorical abilities nor the gift of a commander, but he knew how to select loyal people whom he placed in high positions and commanded them. After the collapse of the triumvirate, Octavian organized a campaign against Anthony, who went to Egypt and stayed with Cleopatra. And again Anthony was proclaimed an enemy of the fatherland. He was unable to withstand the advancing troops of Octavian and committed suicide.

After returning from the Egyptian campaign in 27 BC, Octavian enjoyed a triumph and a grand celebration in Rome. From that moment on, he became first in the Senate, retaining command of 75 legions and the title of emperor with the name Caesar Augustus, which meant “divine,” and proclaimed the restoration of the republic.

Gaius Julius Caesar had many talents, but he remained in history thanks to the main one, his ability to please people. Origin played a significant role in Caesar's success - the Julian family, according to biographical sources, was one of the most ancient in Rome. Julia traced her ancestry back to the legendary Aeneas (son of the goddess Venus), who fled from Troy and founded the dynasty of Roman kings. Caesar was born in 102 BC, at that time his aunt's husband Gaius Mari defeated an army of thousands of Germans on the Italian border. His father, whose name was also Gaius Julius Caesar, did not achieve heights in his career. He was proconsul of Asia. But Caesar the Younger’s relationship with Marius opened up a brilliant future for the young man.

At the age of 16, young Caesar marries Cornelia, daughter of Cinna, Marius's closest ally. Around 83 BC. they had a daughter, Julia, Caesar’s only legitimate child, although he already had illegitimate children in his youth. Often leaving his wife alone, Caesar wandered around the taverns in the company of his drinking buddies. He differed from his peers only in that he loved to read - Caesar read all the books in Latin and Greek that he could find, and more than once amazed his interlocutors with his knowledge in a wide variety of fields.

Being an admirer of the ancient sages, he did not believe in the constancy of his life, peaceful and prosperous. And he was right - when Mari died, a civil war began in Rome. The leader of the aristocratic party, Sulla, took power into his own hands and began repressions against the Marians. Guy, who refused to divorce Cinna's daughter, was deprived of his property, and he himself was forced to go into hiding. “Look for the wolf cub, there are a hundred Maries sitting in it!” - the dictator demanded. However, Guy, meanwhile, had already gone to Asia Minor, to the friends of his recently deceased father.

Not far from Miletus, his ship was captured by pirates. The smartly dressed young man interested them, and they demanded a large ransom for him - 20 talents of silver. “You value me inexpensively!” - answered the descendant of Venus and offered 50 talents for himself. Having sent his servant to collect the ransom, he was “guest” with the pirates for two months.

Julius Caesar behaved quite defiantly with the pirates - he forbade them to sit in his presence, called them boors and threatened to crucify them on the cross. Having finally received the money, the pirates were relieved to let the impudent man go. Guy immediately went to the Roman military authorities, equipped several ships and overtook his captors in the same place where he was captured. Having taken their money, he actually crucified the pirates - however, those who were more sympathetic to him, he first ordered to be strangled.

Sulla, meanwhile, died, but his party supporters retained power, and Julius Caesar was in no hurry to return to the capital. He spent a year in Rhodes, studying eloquence - the ability to speak was necessary for the politician he firmly decided to become.

From the school of Apollonius Molon, where Cicero himself studied, Caesar emerged as a brilliant orator, ready to conquer Rome. He gave his first speech in 68 BC. at the funeral of his aunt, the widow Maria, he passionately praised the disgraced commander and his reforms, thereby causing a stir among the Sullans. An interesting fact is that at the funeral of his wife, who died during an unsuccessful birth a year earlier, he did not utter a word.

A speech in defense of Marius became the beginning of his election campaign - Julius Caesar put forward his candidacy for the post of quaestor. Such an insignificant post provided the opportunity to become a praetor, and then a consul - the highest representative of power in the Roman Republic. Having borrowed from whomever he could a huge sum, 1000 talents, the descendant of Venus spent it on magnificent feasts and gifts to those on whom his election depended. At that time, two generals, Pompey and Crassus, were fighting for power in Rome, to whom Guy alternately offered his support.

This brought him the position of quaestor, and then aedile, the official in charge of the festivities in Rome. Unlike other politicians, he generously gave the people not bread, but entertainment - either gladiator fights, or music competitions, or the anniversary of a long-forgotten victory. Ordinary Romans were delighted with him. He earned the sympathy of the educated Roman stratum of society by creating a public museum on Capitol Hill, where he exhibited his rich collection of Greek statues. As a result, he was chosen for the position of supreme pontiff, that is, priest.

Believing in nothing but my luck. Julius Caesar had difficulty maintaining seriousness during lavish religious ceremonies. However, the position of pontiff made him inviolable. This saved his life when the Catalina conspiracy was discovered in 62. The conspirators gathered to offer Guy the post of dictator. They were executed, but Caesar survived.

In the same 62 BC. he becomes praetor, but got into such debt that he was forced to leave the Eternal City and go to Spain as governor. There he quickly made a fortune, bringing rebellious cities to ruin. He generously shared the surplus with his soldiers, saying: “Power is strengthened by two things - troops and money, and one is unthinkable without the other.” The grateful soldiers declared him emperor - this ancient title was given as a reward for a major victory, although the governor did not win a single such victory.

After this, Guy was elected consul, but this position was too small for him. The days of the republican system were coming to an end, things were moving toward autocracy, and Julius Caesar was determined to become the true ruler of Rome. To do this, he had to enter into an alliance with Pompey and Crassus, whom he did not manage to reconcile for long.

60 BC — a triumvirate of new allies seized power. To consolidate the alliance, Caesar gave his daughter Julia to Pompey, and he himself married his niece. Moreover, rumor attributed to him a relationship with the wives of Crassus and Pompey. And, according to rumors, he did not ignore other Roman matrons. The soldiers sang a song about him: “Hide your wives - we are leading a bald libertine into the city!”

He actually went bald at an early age, was embarrassed about it, and obtained permission from the Senate to wear the triumphant laurel wreath on his head all the time. Baldness, according to Suetonius, was the only flaw in the biography of Julius Caesar. He was tall, well built, his skin was fair, his eyes were black and lively. He knew moderation when it came to food, and he also drank quite little for a Roman; even his enemy Cato said that “Caesar was the only one who carried out a coup d’etat while sober.”

He also had another nickname - “the husband of all wives and the wife of all husbands.” There were rumors that in Asia Minor the young Caesar had a relationship with the king of Bithynia, Nicomedes. Well, the morals in ancient Rome were such that this could well be true. In any case, Guy never tried to silence the scoffers, professing the completely modern principle of “no matter what they say, as long as they say it.” As a rule, they said good things - at his new post, as before, he generously supplied the Roman mob with spectacles, to which he now added bread. People's love was not cheap, the consul again fell into debt and, in irritation, called himself “the poorest of citizens.”

He breathed a sigh of relief when, after a year as consul, he had to resign, according to Roman customs. Caesar got the Senate to send him to rule Schlia - present-day France. The Romans owned only a small part of this rich country. In 8 years, Julius Caesar was able to conquer all of Scotland. But, oddly enough, many Gauls loved him - having learned their language, he curiously asked about their religion and customs.

Today, his “Notes on the Gallic War” is not only the main source of biography about the Gauls, who went into oblivion not without the help of Caesar, but one of the first historical examples of political PR. The descendant of Venus showed off in them. that they stormed 800 cities, exterminated a million enemies, and enslaved another million, giving their lands to Roman veterans. Veterans spoke with gratitude on all corners that during the campaigns Julius Caesar walked next to them, encouraging those lagging behind. He rode his horse like a natural rider. He spent the night in a cart under the open sky, only taking shelter under a canopy when it rained. At a halt, he dictated two or even three letters to several secretaries on various topics.

Caesar's correspondence was so lively in those days due to the fact that after the death of Crassus in the Persian campaign, the triumvirate came to an end. Pompey increasingly did not trust Caesar, who already surpassed him in both fame and wealth. At his insistence, the Senate recalled Julius Caesar from Gillia and ordered him to report to the Eternal City, leaving the army on the border.

The decisive moment has arrived. At the beginning of 49 BC. Caesar approached the border river Rubicon north of Rimini and ordered 5,000 of his soldiers to cross it and advance to Rome. They say that at the same time he once again uttered the historical phrase - “the die is cast.” In fact, the die was cast much earlier, even when the young Caesar was mastering the intricacies of politics.

Already in those days, he realized that power is given into the hands only of those who can sacrifice everything else for it - friendship, family, a sense of gratitude. Pompey's former son-in-law, who helped him a lot at the beginning of his career, now became his main enemy and, not having time to gather his strength, fled to Greece. Caesar and his army set off after him and, without allowing him to come to his senses, defeated his army at Pharsalus. Pompey fled again, this time to Egypt, where local dignitaries killed him, deciding to earn the favor of Julius Caesar.

This outcome was quite beneficial for Tom, especially since it gave him a reason to send an army against the Egyptians, accusing them of murdering a Roman citizen. Having demanded a huge ransom for this, he wanted to pay off the army, but everything turned out differently. Young Cleopatra, the sister of the ruling king Ptolemy XTV, who came to the commander, suddenly offered herself to him - and along with her, her kingdom.

Before going to Gaul, Guy married for the third time - to the rich heiress Calpurnia, but did not have feelings for her. He fell in love with Cleopatra as if she had bewitched him. But over time, she also experienced a real feeling for the aging Caesar. Later, the conqueror of the world, under a hail of reproaches, received Cleopatra in the Eternal City, and she listened to even worse reproaches for going to him, the first of the Egyptian rulers to leave the sacred Nile Valley.

In the meantime, the lovers found themselves besieged by the rebel Egyptians in the harbor of Alexandria. To save themselves, the Romans set the city on fire. destroying the famous Library of Alexandria. They were able to hold out until reinforcements arrived, and the uprising was crushed. On his way home, Julius Caesar casually defeated the army of the Pontic king Pharnaces, reporting this to Rome with the famous phrase: “I came, I saw, I conquered.”

He had the opportunity to fight two more times with Pompey’s followers - in Africa and Spain. Only in 45 BC. he returned to Rome, devastated by civil wars, and was declared dictator for life. Julius Caesar himself preferred to call himself emperor - this emphasized his connection with the army and military victories.

Having achieved the desired power, the descendant of Venus managed to do three important things. First, he reformed the Roman calendar, which the sarcastic Greeks called “the worst in the world.” With the help of Egyptian astronomers sent by Cleopatra, he divided the year into 12 months and ordered an extra leap day to be added to it every 4 years. The new Julian calendar turned out to be the most accurate of the existing ones and lasted one and a half thousand years, and the Russian Church uses it to this day. Second, he granted amnesty to all his political opponents. Third, he began to mint gold coins, on which, instead of gods, Caesar himself was depicted in a laurel wreath. After Caesar, they began to officially call him the Son of God.

From this there was only one step left to the royal title. Flatterers had long offered him the crown, and the Egyptian queen had just given birth to his son Caesarion, who could be his heir. It seemed tempting to Caesar to found a new dynasty, uniting the two great powers. But when his closest ally Mark Antony publicly wanted to put a golden royal crown on him, Caesar pushed him away. Maybe he decided that the time had not yet come, maybe he didn’t want to turn from the only emperor in the world into an ordinary king, of which there were many around.

The little that was done is easily explained - Julius Caesar ruled Rome peacefully for less than two years. That he was remembered for centuries as a great statesman is another manifestation of his charisma, which influenced his descendants as strongly as his contemporaries. They planned new transformations, but the treasury of Rome was empty. To replenish it. Caesar decided to set out on a new military campaign that promised to make him the greatest conqueror in history. He wanted to crush the Persian kingdom, and then return to the Eternal City by the northern route, conquering the Armenians, Scythians and Germans.

Leaving Rome, he had to leave reliable people “on the farm” in order to avoid a possible rebellion. Gaius Julius Caesar had three such people: his devoted comrade-in-arms Mark Antony, his adopted Gaius Octavian, and the son of his longtime mistress Servilia Mark Brutus. Antony attracted the emperor with the decisiveness of a warrior, Octavian with the cold prudence of a politician. It is more difficult to understand what could connect Caesar with the already middle-aged Brutus, a boring pedant, an ardent supporter of the republic. And yet Caesar promoted him in power, publicly calling him his “dear son.” Perhaps, with the sober mind of a politician, he understood that someone must remind him of the republican virtues, without which the Eternal City would rot and perish. At the same time, Brutus could try on his two comrades, who clearly did not like each other.

The Emperor, who knew everything and everyone, did not know - or did not want to know or believe - that his “son”, along with other Republicans, was plotting against him. Caesar was informed about this more than once, but he brushed it off, saying: “If this is so, then it is better to die once than to constantly live in fear.” The assassination attempt was scheduled for the Ides of March - the 15th day of the month, when Guy was supposed to appear in the Senate. Suetonius's detailed account of this event creates the impression of a tragic action in which the emperor, as if to perfection, played the role of a victim, a martyr of the monarchical idea. Outside the Senate building, a warning note was handed to him, but he shrugged it off.

One of the conspirators, Decimus Brutus, distracted the burly Anthony at the entrance so as not to interfere. Tillius Cymbrus grabbed Julius Caesar by the toga - this was a signal to the others - and Servilius Casca struck him first. Then the blows rained down one after another - each of the killers tried to make their contribution, and in the melee they even wounded each other. Afterwards, the conspirators parted, and Brutus approached the barely alive emperor, leaning against a column. The “Son” silently raised the dagger, and the struck descendant of Venus fell dead, having managed to utter the last historical phrase: “And you, Brutus!”

As soon as this happened, the horror-stricken senators, who became unwitting spectators of the murder, rushed to run. The killers also fled, throwing away their bloody daggers. The corpse of Julius Caesar lay for a long time in an empty building, until the faithful Calpurnia sent slaves to retrieve it. The emperor's body was burned in the Roman Forum, where the temple of the divine Julius was subsequently erected. The month of the quintiles was renamed July (Iulius) in his honor.

The conspirators hoped that the Romans would be faithful to the spirit of the republic, but the firm power established by the dictator seemed more attractive than republican chaos. Pretty soon, the townspeople rushed to look for Caesar's killers and put them to brutal death. Suetonius ends his story about the biography of Gaius Julia with the words: “None of his murderers lived after this for more than 3 years. They all died in different ways, and Brutus and Cassius killed themselves with the same dagger with which they killed Caesar.”

V.Erlikhman