Julius Caesar (Royal)

Question 1

Birth of Julius Caesar

Life of Caesar

Answer 1

• Born to a praetor father and mother of noble birth in 100BCE. This meant that his family was established but not particularly wealthy or influential.
• Despite being born during the Roman Republic, Julius Caesar grew up under the rule of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, a general who he strongly opposed.

Question 2

Exile

Life of Caesar

Answer 2

• Stripped of his high priesthood (Jupiter) by Sulla in 82BCE, exiled and forced into hiding.
• He joined the Roman army, where he fought bravely in several battles.

Question 3

Pirates

Life of Caesar

Answer 3

• Captured by pirates while venturing out of Rome to Rhodes in 75BCE.
• He was held for ransom and released after a month, but afterwards hunted down his captors and had them crucified.

Question 4

Pontifex Maximus

Life of Caesar

Answer 4

• With the help of Crassus, Julius Caesar became pontifex maximus (head priest) of the Temple of Vesta in 63BCE, a lifetime role that places him at the top of the religious order.
• Others saw this as a purely ceremonial role, but Caesar saw the political opportunity.

Question 5

The Triumvirate

Life of Caesar

Answer 5

Alliance between Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey), Marcus Licinius Crassus (Crassus), Julius Caesar in 59BCE.

• With the support of the triumvirate, Pompey proposed the Agrarian Bill to redistribute wasteland in Italy to soldiers and the poor people.
• Solidified by marriage between Pompey and Caesar’s daughter, Julia

Question 6

Gallic Wars

Life of Caesar

Answer 6

Julius Caesar left Rome in 58BCE for the purpose of securing borders and conquering Gaul (modern-day France)

Question 7

Other Conquest Expeditions

Life of Caesar

Answer 7

58BCE: Swiss, Suebi, Belgians and Nervii tribes
54BCE: First Roman incursions into the British Isles through several expeditions

Question 8

Collapse of the Triumvirate

Life of Caesar

Answer 8

54BCE: Julia, daughter of Caesar and wife of Pompey, dies in childbirth.
53BCE: Crassus dies in the Battle of Carrhae.

Question 9

Rise of Pompey/Rubicon River

Life of Caesar

Answer 9

51 BCE: Now the leader of the senate, Pompey ordered Caesar to return to Rome for re-election as governor of Gaul, but he refused for fear of attack.
49 BCE: With his loyal thirteenth legion, Julius Caesar marched across the Rubicon River and into Italy, which was seen as an act of war and spurred Rome into civil war.

Question 10

Alexandria, Egypt

Life of Caesar

Answer 10

• Julius Caesar was elected consul of Rome and made a decisive victory over Pompey in the Battle of Pharsalus in 48BCE, who then fled to Egypt and was assassinated under the order of Ptolemy XIII, who hoped to form an alliance with Caesar in Egypt’s own civil war.
• Offended Caesar took the city of Alexandria, allying with Cleopatra instead. She became his lover, and he stayed in Egypt for 9 months until Ptolemy XIII was displaced in the Battle of the Nile.

Question 11

Dictator Perpetuo

Life of Caesar

Answer 11

• 45BCE
• Julius Caesar ruled without regard for the senate, including rebuilding the city of Carthage, creating a police force, introducing the Julian calendar and abolishing the tax system.
• Named his nephew, Octavian, as his heir, sowing dissent in the senate as they feared he would abolish the senate and become king.

Question 12

Assasination

Life of Caesar

Answer 12

• Assassinated by up to 60 senators and stabbed 23 times in 44BCE at the Theatre of Pompey.
• His killers called themselves ‘The Liberators’, who believed that their destiny was to save Rome from tyrannical rule. They were led by Brutus and included many veterans of Pompey’s defeated army.

Question 13

The Senate

Power and Authority

Answer 13

• During the Roman Republic, the senate was considered to be the top of society. This was seen as an improvement to the previous Roman Kingdom, as all individuals in the senate were equal in power.
• Individual prestige was still desired by all the senators, which could be achieved through the expansion of the “empire”, despite the fact that no man was meant to be more powerful than the other.
• Aristocratic factions backing the senate functioned in ways comparable to mafia families, where violence was a common political tool that was used to maintain power. Loyal followers were rewarded and disobedience not tolerated.

Question 14

Fear of the ‘King’

Power and Authority

Answer 14

• After the dissolution of the Roman Kingdom centuries prior, Romans decided they would never be ruled by one man and the word wrex (king) gradually became detested.
• The short tyranny of the general, Sulla, during Julius Caesar’s lifetime also instilled a fear of absolute power in one individual.
• As dictator perpetuo, Julius Caesar began to desire kingship, which can be linked to Rome’s ‘addiction’ to glory, being named after their first king (Romulus).
• Caesar held a ceremony where Mark Antony continually offered him a crown and he refused to cheers from the crowd.

Question 15

Representation of Julius Caesar

Power and Authority

Answer 15

• Most representations of Caesar were produced after his death and romanticised.
• For example, the men of the senate were depicted as mature and wise rather than handsome, in order to be trusted to run the state.

Question 16

Favour of the Common People

Power and Authority

Answer 16

• Formidable orator and charming speaker
• Stages highly popular gladiator games which put him into debt but gains him a strong following by appealing to the public
• Makes the senate apprehensive due to Caesar’s building bond with the common people
• Allowed him to be voted into being High Priest of the Temple of Vesta, home to the Vestal Virgins

Question 17

Military Success

Power and Authority

Answer 17

• Caesar’s military campaigns were presented to be done in the interest of Republican Rome. Throughout his career, he destroyed 300 tribes, 800 cities and killed 1 million people.
• Gaul marked Caesar’s achievements rivalling Pompey and wealth greater the Crassus
• Soldiers became more loyal to Caesar than to the republic after years of battle

Question 18

Rejection of the Old Order

Power and Authority

Answer 18

• Caesar rejects the old order of power by pardonning defeated individuals, robbing them of the honour of a simple moral code: victory or death.

Question 19

Denarius of Brutus

Archaeological Evidence

Answer 19

Commissioned by Brutus to commemorate the death of Julius Caesar.

• Incripted with “EID MAR”, referencing the Ides of March when Caesar was assassinated.
• Two daggers, symbolising the stabbings of Caesar
• The face of Brutus

Question 20

Mausoleum of Julius Caesar

Archaeological Evidence

Answer 20

• Made from marble with complicated inscriptions, demonstrating amassed wealth
• Contained a multitude of items, including his death mask
• Located within the city walls
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Question 21

Death Mask of Julius Caesar

Archaeological Evidence

Answer 21

• 23 stab wounds
• Originally a full-body mould commissioned by Mark Antony to call Caesar’s followers to arms
• Anguished facial expressions

Question 22

Statue of Julius Caesar

Archaeological Evidence

Answer 22

• Embodies both life and death, reflecting a lasting legacy and immortalisation in death
• Detailed military attire to capture his dominance, influence and military accomplishments

Question 23

Painting of Julius Caesar

Archaeological Evidence

Answer 23

• Centrally positioned and elevated above the crowd
• Purple cloak is colour of nobility and authority
• Position in front of building emphasises connection to state and religious power
• Diverse crowd reflects influence over different social classes

Question 24

He fixed the daily pay of the regular soldiers at double what it had been and occasionally gave each man a slave.”
(Suetonius, Julius Caesar, c. 110 CE)

Written Evidence

Answer 24

Improved the living conditions of the army → portrays him as a well-liked leader

Question 25

He entertained the city with the magnificent spectacle of a gladiatorial show, a sham battle of cavalry, infantry, and even mounted elephants.”
(Velleius, Compendium of Roman History, c. 20 CE)

Written Evidence

Answer 25

Caesar entertained his people to gain support and improve the living conditions of everyday Ancient Romans → led him to gain authority

Question 26

“Caesar’s character was a combination of genius, memory, thoroughness, culture, intellect and industry.”
(Cicero, 43 BCE)

Written Evidence

Answer 26

• Establishes Caesar’s diverse range of capabilities contributing to his maintenance of power once in a high societal position.
• Ruling over Rome required significant intelligence and understanding of societal values. Caesar’s rise to power highlights this understanding as he has experienced the highs and lows of life in Rome.

Question 27

“Then indignantly he reprimanded them, first and foremost because they thought it their business to ask or to consider in which direction or with what purpose they were being led.”
(Caesar’s Account, Chapter 39, Book 1)

Written Evidence

Answer 27

• Outlines Caesar’s power over his military by stating how Caesar established his dominance and superiority over them by ‘reprimanding them’.
• Caesar is ultimately breaking from traditional rule by going against his military, as shown by the soldiers thinking whether ‘to ask or to consider in which direction…they were being led’. As well as this, it is widespread.
• One cannot control a nation without having control of the military.

Question 28

“Caesar had an excellent natural gift to speak well before the people…he would be the first and chiefest man of war and authority…which in the end [his eloquence and power] brought him to be lord of all Rome.”
(Plutarch, Life of Caesar)

Written Evidence

Answer 28

Power is defined as the ability to persuade
others which Caesar performs in his great skill of public speaking which allowed him to gain the favour of the people and hence rise to power over Rome.

Question 29

“Her [his aunt Julia’s] mother was a descendant of kings… a family founded by the Roman King Ancus Marcius, and her father, of gods— since the Julians (of which we Caesars are a branch) reckon descent from the Goddess Venus. Thus Julia’s stock can claim both the sanctity of kings, who reign supreme among mortals, and the reverence due to gods, who hold even kings in their power.”
(Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars)

Written Evidence

Answer 29

• Depicts Caesar’s authority to rule by making salient his link to royal and divine lineage.
• A eulogy at the funeral of his aunt Julia described his aunt’s descendance from a line of kings and the Goddess Venus, elucidating Julius Caesar’s own authority as a member of the family branch.

Question 30

“Caesar subjected the Roman people to oppression… Is there anyone, except Antony who did not wish for his death or who disapproved of what was done?… Some didn’t know of the plot, some lacked courage, others the opportunity. None lacked the will.”
(Marcus Tullius Cicero)

Written Evidence

Answer 30

• Caesar was supposedly a figure hated by all— a tyrannical, oppressive leader.
• The Senate was unanimous in their wish for him to die, for the good of Rome.

Question 31

“…a certain soothsayer forewarned him of a great danger which threatened him on the Ides of March, and that when the day was come, as he was going to the senate-house, he called to the soothsayer, and said laughing, “The Ides of March are come”; to which the soothsayer answered softly, “Yes, but they are not gone.”
(Plutarch, Life of Caesar)

Written Evidence

Answer 31

• Emphasises Caesar’s pride and its role in his death as despite the warnings he received, he proceeded into “great danger”
• Depicts Caesar’s death as preventable and his own fault.

Question 32

“Each murderer now bared his dagger, and they all closed in on Caesar in the circle, pushing him this way and that like a wild beast surrounded by hunters.”
(Plutarch, Life of Caesar)

Written Evidence