Who was Julius Caesar & Why was he assassinated?

By Rachel Mink

Julius Caesar

Born into an aristocratic family around 100 BCE, Gaius Julius Caesar grew up in a Rome that could not yet handle its own size and power. Caesar came of age at the same time his uncle, Gaius Marius, became embroiled in a civil war with Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Following Sulla’s victory, Caesar was stripped of his inheritance and titles, and Caesar joined the military to avoid further persecution. 

Pompey the Great

Caesar later allied himself with Pompey the Great, a war hero who had been badly treated by the Senate, and Crassus, a wealthy Roman politician and general, both of whom hated each other. Despite this, they both helped Julius Caesar be elected to a various political offices, and not always by reputable means. Their alliance came to be known as the “First Triumvirate.” In 60 BCE Julius Caesar was elected to the office of Consul, the highest position within the republic.

Caesar soon secured the governorship of Gaul (France & Belgium), which gave him a power-base to recruit soldiers and conduct the military campaigns that would make his name and secure his fortune. Eventually the Triumvirate was badly strained. Pompey was increasingly jealous of Caesar’s success and Crassus still hated Pompey. When Crassus was killed in battle, Rome was on the brink of civil war, so Pompey was appointed consul as an emergency measure, thus ending the alliance of the Triumvirate. 

Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon

The Senate, led by Pompey, ordered Caesar to disband his army and return to Rome. Caesar felt the only way to protect himself was to seize power. In 49 BCE, Caesar famously led his troops across the Rubicon River into Italy and started a new civil war. Caesar pursued Pompey and his supporters across Eastern Europe and into Egypt, where Pompey was assassinated. 

Detail of Cleopatra and Caesar
1866 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme

There, Caesar became involved in Egypt’s own civil war, helping Cleopatra to win her throne. He also began a romantic relationship with her, despite his marriage. Over the next several years he conquered parts of Spain and Africa and defeated the remnants of the opposition. 

Back in Rome, however, Caesar famously pardoned almost all of his political enemies and carried out much-needed reforms, such as relieving debt, enlarging the Senate and establishing a new constitution. 

Dictatorship was always regarded as a temporary position, but in 44 BCE, Caesar was named “Dictator for Life” by the Senate. His success and ambition alienated strongly republican senators. A group of these, led by Cassius and Brutus, assassinated Caesar on March 15, 44 BCE. His assassination sparked the final round of civil wars that ended the Republic of Rome and gave rise to Rome’s first Emperor, Caesar’s great-nephew and heir: Octavius, who would eventually reign as Caesar Augustus.

Murder of Caesar
1865 painting by Karl Theodor von Piloty