Gaius Julius Caesar (July 13, 100 BC - March 15, 44 BC) was a Roman military and political leader

whose conquest of Gallia Comata extended the Roman world all the way to the Oceanus Atlanticus
and introduced Roman influence into modern France, an accomplishment whose direct
consequences are visible to this day. Caesar fought and won a civil war which left him undisputed
master of the Roman world, and began extensive reforms of Roman society and government.

Caesar began his political career in the Forum at Rome as an advocate, known for his oratory and
ruthless prosecution of former governors notorious for extortion and corruption. Aiming at
rhetorical perfection, Caesar travelled to Rhodes for philosophical and oratorical studies with the
famous teacher Apollonius Molo.

Caesar's debut as Pontifex was however marked by a scandal. Following the death of his wife
Cornelia, he had married Pompeia, a granddaughter of Sulla. As the wife of the Pontifex and an
important matrona, Pompeia was responsible for the organization of the Bona Dea festival in
December. These rites were exclusive to women and considered very sacred. However, Publius
Clodius Pulcher managed to get in the house disguised as a woman. This was absolute sacrilege and
Pompeia received a letter of divorce. Caesar himself admitted that she could be innocent in the plot,
but, as he said: "Caesar's wife, like the rest of Caesar's family, must be above suspicion."

Caesar waged war against various peoples, defeating the Helvetia (in Switzerland) in 58 BC, the
Belgic confederacy and the Nervi in 57 BC and the Venetia in 56 BC. On August 26th 55 BC he
attempted an invasion of Britain and, in 52 BC he defeated a union of Gauls led by Vercingetorix at
the battle of Alesia. His accounts of these campaigns were recorded in his commentaries De Bello
Galico ("On the Gallic Wars").

The Optimates, including Metellus Scipio and Cato the younger, fled to the south, not knowing that
Caesar had only his Tenth Legion with him. Caesar pursued Pompey to Brundisium, hoping to patch
up their deal of ten years before. Pompey eluded him, however, and Caesar made an astonishing 27-
day route-march to Spain to defeat Pompey's lieutenants in Spain. He then went back east, to
challenge Pompey in Greece where on July 10, 48 BC at Dyrrhacium Caesar barely avoided a
catastrophic defeat to Pompey. He decisively defeated Pompey's numerically superior army --
Pompey had nearly twice the number of infantry and considerably more cavalry -- at Pharsalus in an
exceedingly short engagement in 48 BC.

Pompey fled to Egypt, where he was murdered by an officer of King Ptolemy XIII. In Rome, Caesar
was appointed dictator, with Marcus Antonius as his master of the horse (magister equitum, or chief
lieutenant); Caesar resigned this dictatorate after eleven days and was elected to a second term as
consul with Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus as his colleague. He pursued Pompey to Alexandria,
where he camped his army and inadvertently got tangled in the Alexandrine civil war between
Ptolemy and his sister, wife, and co-regnant queen, the Pharaoh Cleopatra VII. Perhaps as a result of
Ptolemy's role in Pompey's murder, Caesar sided with Cleopatra; he is reported to have wept at the
sight of Pompey's head, which was offered to him by Ptolemy's chamberlain Pothinus as a gift. In any
event, Caesar defeated the Ptolemaic forces and installed Cleopatra as ruler, and began an affair
with her which produced his only known natural son, Ptolemy XV Caesar, better known as
"Caesarion".
Caesar returned to Rome, where he began to receive increasingly grandiose honors from the
Senate .He was given the title Pater Patriae ("Father of the Fatherland") and authorized to dress in
triumphal regalia at all times. He was appointed dictator a third time, and then nominated for nine
consecutive one-year terms as dictator, effectually making him dictator for ten years; he was also
given censorial authority as prefect of morals (praefectus morum) for three years.

The Roman Senate traditionally met in the Curia Hostilia, but it had been destroyed by fire years
before. As a result, Caesar summoned the Senate to meet in the Theatrum Pompeium (built by
Pompey) on the Ides of March (March 15) 44 BC. As the Senate convened, Caesar was attacked and
stabbed to death by a group of senators who called themselves the Liberators (Liberatores); the
Liberators justified their action on the grounds that they were preserving the Republic from Caesar's
alleged monarchical ambitions. Among the assassins were Gaius Trebonius, Decimus Junius Brutus,
Marcus Junius Brutus, and Gaius Cassius Longinus; Caesar had personally pardoned most of his
murderers or personally advanced their careers (Decimus Brutus was a distant cousin of Caesar and
named as one of his testamentary heirs). Caesar sustained 23 stab wounds, which ranged from
superficial to mortal, and fell at the feet of a statue of Pompey. His last words have been various
reported as:
Et tu, Brute? (Lat., "And you, Brutus?")
Caesar's violent death caused considerable unrest in Rome. A series of civil wars broke out, the first
of which between Decimus Brutus and Antonius resulted in the creation of the Second Triumvirate
of Caesar's distant cousin Antonius, his lieutenant Lepidus, and Caesar's grand nephew Gaius
Octavius (posthumously adopted by Caesar as "Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus"). This Triumvirate
deified Caesar as divus iulius and - seeing that Caesar's clemency had resulted in his murder -
proscribed its enemies and conducted a second civil war against Brutus and Cassius, whom Antonius
and Octavianus defeated at Philippi.

He was a very positive character who was loyal as well as courageous. Also he was not greedy as
he refused to take the crown 3 times. He gave land, reduced taxes, and gave citizenship and did
many more good things. But somewhere he was a bit foolish because he was easily swayed by
people’s words. Although this quality can be overlooked in front of his all positive qualities as he
was a strong leader for the Romans who changed the course of the history of the Greco - Roman
world decisively and irreversibly. With his courage and strength he created a strong empire .Today
whenever the name Julius Caesar is heard, it can only trigger the image of a great leader that led
Rome into prosperity.