Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar statue (http://www.utexas.edu/courses/romanciv/romancivimages7/)

Julius Caesar was one of the world's most well-known strategists. He was a Roman General in the time of the Roman Empire. He lived from around 100 BC to around 44 BC. He was known for his great sense of tactics and his extraordinary war achievements.

Julius Caesar first caused a political surprise when, in 63 BC, he was elected as Pontifex Maximus, the highest of all priests. There were others who were assured of their victory, so Caesar's victory surprised them, although he got more votes than all of his competitors together. He achieved his second political victory in 59 BC when he was elected as a Consul. He was popular with the people because he bypassed the Senate with reforms he made, giving the people the right to decide first.

However, when he was 40 years old and received the highest political honors of becoming a Proconsul, his historical career was just beginning. He lived outside of Rome for roughly 6 years and the series of brilliant offensive campaigns he waged against the tribes of Gaul, Belgium and Germany rivaled the successes of Rome's legendary generals. But because of his successes, the Roman Senate began to fear him. In January 49 BC, the Senate formally declared war against him, in spite of vetoes from the people's tribunes. On his way to Rome, he tried to avoid every possible confrontation with the Roman army, but it was not possible. When he crossed Rubicon River to march in battle, he spoke one of his famous sentences, "Let the dice fly high."

Julius Caesar managed to defeat the Senate's army and he became the Caesar of Rome. He continued to fight Pompey who led armies against him until Pompey was assassinated by the Egyptians who wanted to gain a good reputation with Caesar. Caesar was killed in 44 BC when the Senators of Rome decided he was too big a threat. They carefully planned his assassination. They distracted Caesar's friend, Mark Antony, at the gates and each Senator stabbed Caesar once with their daggers.