Julius Caesar was a man of many talents. Born into the patrician class, Caesar was intelligent, educated, and cultivated. An excellent speaker, he possessed a sharp sense of humor, charm, and personality. All of these traits combined helped make him a skilled politician.
Moreover, Caesar was a military genius. His many successful military campaigns gained him broad support and popularity among the common people. Caesar also won the undying loyalty of his soldiers, who supplied him with the necessary muscle to seize power.
Julius Caesar began his rise to power in 60 B.C.E. by forging an alliance with another general, Pompey, and a wealthy patrician, Crassus. Together, these three men assumed control of the Roman Republic, and Caesar was thrust into the position of consul. Historians have since dubbed the period of rule by these three men the First Triumvirate.
Over time, however, the triumvirate broke down. Crassus was killed in battle, and Pompey began entertaining ideas of ruling without the dangerously popular Caesar. While Caesar was fighting in Gaul (modern-day France), Pompey and the Senate ordered Caesar to return to Rome without his army. But when Caesar crossed the Rubicon River in northern Italy, he brought his army with him in defiance of the senate's order. This fateful decision led to a civil war. Caesar defeated Pompey's forces and entered Rome in 46 B.C.E., triumphant and unchallenged.
Upon his return, Caesar made himself dictator and absolute ruler of Rome and its territories. During his rule, he enacted several reforms. Caesar founded many colonies in newly conquered territories and provided land and opportunity for poor Romans who chose to migrate there. He reduced the number of slaves and opened citizenship up to people living in the provinces. Finally, he created a new calendar named the Julian calendar. This very calendar, with a few minor adjustments, is the same one used around the world today.
In 44 B.C.E., Julius Caesar ordered the Senate to make him dictator for life. Typically, dictators served for a limited time (usually six months), then stepped down. Caesar's actions threatened to end the Republic once and for all. Fearing this change, a group of senators plotted and executed the murder of Caesar on the Ides of March. Although the senators succeeded in ending Caesar's life, they did not realize at that time that the Republic had died with him.
I found this UShistory.org
