Guy Julius Caesar (G. Julius Caesar) is one of the greatest commanders and statesmen of Rome and of all times. The son of a father of the same name and the brilliantly educated Aurelia, he was born on July 12, 100 BC, and died on March 15, 44. Caesar came from an ancient patrician family, which considered the Trojan Aeneas its ancestor. Among his teachers are the rhetoricians M. Anthony Gnitho and Apollonius (Molon) from Rhodes. The leader of the Roman aristocrats (optimates) Sulla pursued the young Caesar, a close relative of his political enemy, the head of the democrats (populars) Marius. Despite the youth of Gaius Julius, Sulla considered him a dangerous man. He said that “there are a hundred Maries sitting in this boy.” Only thanks to the urgent requests of his influential relatives did Sulla not subject Caesar to proscriptions. However, the young man then had to leave for Asia. Only after the death of Sulla (78) Caesar returned to Rome, but soon left it again to improve his eloquence with the rhetorician Apollonius in Rhodes.

From the year of Julius Caesar's second return to the capital (73), his political activity began. Closely related by family relations to the Democratic Party, he tried with boundless generosity to win the favor of the people and restore their political influence by destroying the aristocratic institutions of Sulla. In 68, Caesar was quaestor in Spain south of the Ebro, in 65 he became an aedile, in 63 high priest (pontiff). He prudently stayed away from the democratic conspiracy of Catiline, but still, when analyzing the case, he tried to spare its participants from the death penalty. After fulfilling his praetorship (62), Julius Caesar went to his assigned province of Spain beyond the Ebro and paid off his huge debts from there. Returning to Italy the following year, he put forward his candidacy for consul. The first person of the Roman state was then Gnaeus Pompeius, who was at odds with the aristocratic Senate. Shortly before this, Pompey won brilliant victories in the East over the kings of Pontus and Armenia (Mithridates and Tigranes). But the Senate now refused to approve the order introduced by Pompey in Asia and did not give a worthy reward to his soldiers. The indignant Pompey united (60) against the Senate optimates with the largest Roman banker, Crassus, and with Caesar, who had already become one of the main leaders of the popular party. This union of “three husbands” was called the first triumvirate.

Lifetime bust of Julius Caesar

Elected as consul for 59 thanks to the influence of the triumvirate, Caesar, not paying attention to the protests of his optimate colleague Bibulus, distributed land to 20 thousand of the poorest citizens, attracted the equestrian (commercial and industrial) class to his side by deducting a third from payments for the collection of taxes, fulfilled Pompey's wishes. After Julius Caesar assumed the consular post, the triumvirate arranged for his appointment for five years as governor of the provinces of Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul - the regions where the military power closest to Italy was located. The most dangerous opponents of the triumvirate, supporters of the Senate Cicero and Cato the Younger, were removed from Rome under the guise of honorary assignments.

In 58, Julius Caesar went to his province. During his governorship, which was then extended, he conquered all of Gaul to Rome and created for himself an army that was unconditionally loyal and battle-tested. In the first year, he defeated the Helvetian tribe at Bibracta (near present-day Autun), which planned to move deeper into Gaul, as well as the Suevi prince of the Germans, Ariovistus, who, having conquered the strong people of the Aedui, considered himself the ruler of all Gallic lands. These successes extended Roman influence as far as the Seine. In 57 and 56 Caesar defeated the Belgian, Armoric and Aquitanian tribes. To secure the borders of Gaul, Gaius Julius crossed the Rhine in 55 and 53 and crossed into Britain in 55 and 54. When in 52, after a difficult struggle, he suppressed the general uprising of the Gallic peoples, led by the brave and cautious leader of the Arverni Vercingetorix (the main battles took place at Gergovia and Alesia), the conquest of the country was finally strengthened. From this time on, Gaul began to quickly assimilate Roman morals and Roman institutions.

Continuing to quarrel with the Senate in Rome, the triumvirs sealed their alliance at a meeting in Lucca (56). There it was determined that Pompey and Crassus would become consuls for the year 55, and Caesar's Gallic governorship would be extended for another five years. The optimates' opposition to the decisions of the Lucca Conference turned out to be powerless. However, soon the death of Caesar’s daughter, Julia, the former wife of Pompey (54), and the death of Crassus, who wanted to gain military laurels in the East (53), weakened the connection between the two surviving triumvirs. Concerned about Caesar's growing influence after the Gallic conquests, Pompey approached the Senate, which made him sole consul for 52. Caesar sought a consulate for the year 48, because only in this way could he, after a secondary governorship, achieve approval of his orders in Gaul. He asked permission to remain in his province until taking office and to run for a consular post in absentia. But the optimates decided to separate him from the army; mediation negotiations were unsuccessful. In the early days of 49, the Senate decreed that Caesar must immediately disband his troops or be declared an enemy of the state. The Senate gave Pompey the authority of commander-in-chief.

Bust of Caesar in military uniform

Although Julius Caesar most often acted generously with his opponents, the new monarchical system continued to provoke fierce resistance. It also seemed to many that Caesar wanted to eliminate the remnant of the republican appearance and openly put on himself the royal diadem. The campaign against the Parthians conceived by Gaius Julius was supposed to give rise to the granting of royal dignity to him. A number of his former followers conspired against Caesar, many of whom were showered with his favors. They were led by praetors Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. The convening of the Senate on the Ides of March (March 15), 44, in the Curia of Pompey for a meeting on granting Caesar royal power outside Italy accelerated the determination of the conspirators. They attacked Gaius Julius right in the meeting room. With 23 wounds, he fell at the statue of Pompey. They said that Caesar did not even resist when he saw Brutus, whom many considered his illegitimate son, among his killers. (For more details, see articles

Gaius Iulius Caesar - commander, politician, writer, dictator, high priest. He came from an ancient Roman family of the ruling class and consistently sought all government positions and led a line of political opposition to the senatorial aristocracy. He was merciful, but sent a number of his main opponents to execution.

The Yuliev family originated from a noble family, which, according to legend, descended from the goddess Venus.

Julius Caesar's mother, Avrelia Kotta, was from the noble and wealthy Aurelian family. My paternal grandmother came from the ancient Roman family of Marcii. Ancus Marcius was the fourth king of Ancient Rome from 640 to 616. BC e.

Childhood and youth

We have not received exact data about the time of birth of the emperor. Today it is generally accepted that he was born in 100 BC. e., however, the German historian Theodor Mommsen believes that it was 102 BC. e., and the French historian Jerome Carcopino points to 101 BC. e. Both July 12 and July 13 are considered birthdays.

Dear reader, to find an answer to any question about holidays in Italy, use. I answer all questions in the comments under the relevant articles at least once a day. Your guide in Italy Artur Yakutsevich.

Gaius Julius spent his childhood in the poor ancient Roman region of Subura. Parents gave their son a good education, he studied Greek, poetry and oratory, learned to swim, rode horseback and developed physically. In 85 BC. e. the family lost its breadwinner and Caesar, after initiation, became the head of the family, since none of the older male relatives remained alive.

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Beginning of a career as a politician

In Asia

In the 80s BC. e. The military leader Lucius Cornelius Cinna proposed the person of Gaius Julius to replace the flamenes, priest of the god Jupiter. But for this he needed to marry according to the solemn ancient rite of confarreatio, and Lucius Cornelius chose his daughter Cornelia Cinilla as his wife for Caesar. In 76 BC. e. The couple had a daughter, Julia (Ivlia).

Today, historians are no longer sure about the inauguration ceremony of Julius. On the one hand, this would prevent him from engaging in politics, but, on the other, the appointment was a good way to strengthen the position of the Caesars.

After the betrothal of Gaius Julius and Cornelia, there was a riot in the troops and the military attacked Cinna, he was killed. The dictatorship of Lucius Cornelius Sulla was established, after which Caesar, as a relative of the opponent of the new ruler, was outlawed. He disobeyed Sulla, refused to divorce his wife and left. The dictator searched for the disobedient man for a long time, but, as time passed, he pardoned him at the request of his relatives.
Caesar soon joined Marcus Minucius Thermus, governor of the Roman province of Asia Minor - Asia.

Ten years ago, his father held this position. Julius became an equites (equites) of Marcus Minucius, a patrician who fought on horseback. The first task that Therm gave to his contubernal was to negotiate with the Bithynia king Nycomed IV. As a result of successful negotiations, the ruler transfers Thermae a flotilla to take the city of Mytilene on the island of Lesvos, which did not accept the results of the First Mithridatic War (89-85 BC) and resisted the Roman people. The city was successfully captured.

For the operation on Lesbos, Gaius Julius received a civilian crown - a military award, and Marcus Minucius resigned. In 78 BC. e. Lucius Sulla dies in Italy and Caesar decides to return to his homeland.

Roman events

In 78 BC. e. The military leader Marcus Lepidus organized a revolt of the Italians (Italici) against the laws of Lucius. Caesar then did not accept the invitation to become a participant. In 77-76. BC e Gaius Julius tried to sue Sulla's supporters: the politician Cornelius Dolabella and the commander Antonius Hybrida. But he failed, despite his brilliant indictments.

After this, Julius decided to visit the island of Rhodes (Rhodus) and the school of rhetoric of Apollonius Molon, but on the way there he was captured by pirates, from where he was later rescued by Asian ambassadors for fifty talents. Wanting revenge, the former captive equipped several ships and himself took the pirates prisoner, executing them by crucifixion. In 73 BC. e. Caesar was included in the collegial governing body of the pontiffs, where his uncle Gaius Aurelius Cotta had previously ruled.

In 69 BC. e. Caesar's wife Cornelia died during the birth of her second child; the baby also did not survive. At the same time, Caesar's aunt, Julia Maria, also dies. Soon Gaius Julius becomes a Roman ordinary magistrate (magistratus), which gives him the opportunity to enter the Senate. He was sent to Far Spain (Hispania Ulterior), where he took upon himself the resolution of financial issues and the execution of orders from the propraetor Antistius Vetus.

In 67 BC. e. Caesar married Pompeia Sulla, Sulla's granddaughter. In 66 BC. e. Gaius Julius becomes caretaker of the most important public road in Rome, the Appian Way (Via Appia), and finances its repair.

College of Magistrates and elections

In 66 BC. e. Gaius Julius is elected magistrate of Rome. His responsibilities include expanding construction in the city, maintaining trade and public events. In 65 BC. e. he held such memorable Roman games with gladiators that he managed to amaze his sophisticated citizens.

In 64 BC. e. Gaius Julius was the head of the judicial commission (Quaestiones perpetuae) for criminal trials, which allowed him to bring to account and punish many of Sulla's henchmen.

In 63 BC. e. Quintus Metellus Pius died, vacating the lifelong seat of Pontifex Maximus. Caesar decides to put forward his own candidacy for her. The opponents of Gaius Julius are the consul Quintus Catulus Capitolinus and the commander Publius Vatia Isauricus. After numerous bribes, Caesar wins the election by a large margin and moves to live on the Sacred Road (via Sacra) in the state housing of the pontiff.

Participation in the conspiracy

In 65 and 63 BC e. one of the political conspirators, Lucius Sergius Catilina, twice attempted a coup. Marcus Tullius Cicero, being an opponent of Caesar, tried to accuse him of participating in conspiracies, but could not provide the necessary evidence and failed. Marcus Porcius Cato, the informal leader of the Roman Senate, also testified against Caesar and ensured that Gaius Julius left the Senate persecuted by threats.

First triumvirate

Praetura

In 62 BC. BC, using the powers of praetor, Caesar wanted to transfer the reconstruction of the plan of Jupiter Capitolinus (Iuppiter Optimus Maximus Capitolinus) from Quintus Catulus Capitolinus to Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, but the Senate did not support this bill.

After the proposal of the tribune Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos, supported by Caesar, to send Pompey with troops to Rome to pacify Catiline, the Senate removed both Quintus Caecilius and Gaius Julius from their posts, but the second was quickly restored.
In the fall, the trial of the Catiline conspirators took place. One of its participants, Lucius Iulius Vettius, who spoke out against Caesar, was arrested, as was the judge Novius Nigerus, who accepted the report.

In 62 BC. e. Caesar's wife Pompey organized a festival in their house dedicated to the Good Goddess (Bona Dea), which could only be attended by women. But one of the politicians, Publius Clodius Pulcher, came to the holiday; he dressed up as a woman and wanted to meet Pompeii. Senators found out about what happened, considered it a shame and demanded a trial. Gaius Julius did not wait for the outcome of the trial and divorced Pompeia so as not to expose his personal life to the public. Moreover, the spouses never produced any heirs.

In Farther Spain

In 61 BC. e. The trip of Gaius Julius to Far Spain as propraetor was postponed for a long time due to the presence of a large number of debts. The general (Marcus Licinius Crassus) vouched for Gaius Julius and paid off part of his loans.

When the new propraetor arrived at his destination, he had to deal with the dissatisfaction of the inhabitants with the Roman authorities. Caesar gathered a detachment of militia and began to fight the “bandits.” The commander with an army of twelve thousand approached the Serra da Estrela mountain range and ordered the local residents to leave there. They refused to move and Gaius Julius attacked them. The highlanders went across the Atlantic Ocean to the Berlenga Islands, killing all their pursuers.

But Caesar, after a series of thoughtful operations and strategic maneuvers, still conquers the popular resistance, after which he was awarded the honorary military title of emperor, victor.

Gaius Julius was also active in the daily affairs of the subordinate lands. He presided over court hearings, introduced tax reforms, and eradicated the practice of sacrifice.

During his period of activity in Spain, Caesar was able to pay off most of his debts thanks to rich gifts and bribes from residents of the wealthy south. At the beginning of 60 BC. e. Gaius Julius relinquishes his assigned powers ahead of schedule and returns to Rome.

Triumvirate

Rumors about the victories of the propraetor soon reached the Senate and its members considered that Caesar's return should be accompanied by a triumph (triumphus) - a ceremonial entry into the capital. But then, before the triumphant event, Gaius Julius was not allowed, by law, to enter the city. And since he also planned to take part in the upcoming elections for the post of consul, where his personal presence was required for registration, the commander abandoned his triumph and began to fight for a new position.

By bribing voters, Caesar nevertheless becomes consul, and with him the military leader Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus wins the elections.

In order to strengthen his own political position and existing power, Caesar enters into a secret conspiracy with Pompey and Crassus, uniting two influential politicians with opposing views. As a result of the conspiracy, a powerful alliance of military leaders and politicians appears, called the First Triumvirate (triumviratus - “union of three husbands”).

Consulate

In the first days of the consulate, Caesar began to submit new bills to the Senate for consideration. The first agrarian law was adopted, according to which the poor could receive plots of land from the state, which it bought from large landowners. First of all, land was given to large families. To prevent speculation, new landowners had no right to resell their plots for the next twenty years. The second bill concerned the taxation of farmers in the province of Asia; their contributions were reduced by one third. The third law dealt with bribes and extortion; it was adopted unanimously, unlike the first two.

To strengthen the connection with Pompey, Gaius Julius married his daughter Julia to him. Caesar himself decides to marry for the third time, this time his wife is Calpurnia, daughter of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus.

Proconsul

Gallic War

When Gaius Julius, after the expiration of his term, resigned as consul, he continued to conquer lands for Rome. During the Gallic War (Bellum Gallicum), Caesar, displaying extraordinary diplomacy and strategy, skillfully took advantage of the disagreements of the Gallic leaders. In 55 BC. e. He defeated the Germans who crossed the Rhine (Rhein), after which in ten days he built a bridge 400 meters long and attacked them himself, the first in the history of Rome. He was the first of the Roman commanders to invade Great Britain, where he carried out several brilliant military operations, after which he was forced to leave the island.

In 56 BC. e. A regular meeting of the triumvirs took place in Lucca, at which it was decided to continue and develop political support for each other.

By 50 BC. e. Gaius Julius suppressed all the uprisings, completely subjugating his former territories to Rome.

Civil War

In 53 BC. e. Crassus dies and the triumvirate ceases to exist. A struggle began between Pompey and Julius. Pompey became the head of the republican government, and the Senate did not extend the powers of Gaius Julius in Gaul. Then Caesar decides to revolt. Having gathered soldiers, with whom he was extremely popular, he crosses the border river Rubicone and, seeing no resistance, captures some cities. Frightened Pompey and his close senators flee the capital. Caesar invites the rest of the Senate to rule the country together.

In Rome, Caesar is appointed dictator. Pompey's attempts to prevent Gaius Julius failed, the fugitive himself was killed in Egypt, but Caesar did not accept the enemy's head as a gift; he mourned his death. While in Egypt, Caesar helps Queen Cleopatra, conquers Alexandria, and in North Africa annexes Numidia to Rome.

Murder

The return of Gaius Julius to the capital is accompanied by a magnificent triumph. He does not skimp on awards for his soldiers and commanders, arranges feasts for the citizens of the city, organizes games and mass spectacles. Over the next ten years, he is proclaimed "emperor" and "father of the fatherland." He issues many laws, including laws on citizenship, on the structure of the state, against luxury, on unemployment, on the issuance of free bread, changes the time system and others.

Caesar was idolized and given great honor by erecting his statues and painting his portraits. He had the best security, he was personally involved in the appointment of people to government positions and their removal.

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Gaius Julius Caesar is probably the most famous historical figure in Italy. Few people do not know the name of this great ancient Roman political and statesman and outstanding commander. His phrases become catchphrases; just remember the famous “Veni, vidi, vici” (“I came, I saw, I conquered”). We know a lot about him from chronicles, memories of his friends and enemies, and his own stories. But we don’t know the exact answer to the question of when Gaius Julius Caesar was born.

When was Gaius Julius Caesar born?

He was born on July 13 in 100 BC (according to other biographical sources this is 102 BC). He came from the noble Julius family, his father was the proconsul of Asia, and his mother came from the Aurelian family. Thanks to his origin and good education, Caesar could make a brilliant military and political career. Guy was interested in the history of the great campaigns, especially Alexander the Great. Caesar studied Greek, philosophy and literature, but most of all he wanted to study oratory. The young man sought to convince and influence the audience through his speech. Caesar quickly realized how he could win over the people. He knew that support among ordinary people would help him reach heights faster. Caesar organized theatrical performances and distributed money. The people quickly responded to such attention from Caesar.

Caesar receives, under the patronage of his mother, the position of priest of Jupiter in 84 BC. e. However, the dictator Sulla was against this appointment and did everything to ensure that Caesar left and lost all his fortune. He goes to Asia Minor, where he does military service.

In 78 BC, Gaius Julius Caesar returns back to Rome and begins to actively engage in public activities. To become an excellent speaker, he took lessons from the Rhetor Molon. He soon received the position of military tribune and priest-pontiff. Caesar becomes popular and is elected aedile in 65 BC. e., and in 52 BC. e. becomes praetor and governor of one of the provinces of Spain. Caesar proved himself to be an excellent leader and military strategist.

However, Gaius Julius aspired to rule, he had grandiose plans for his future political career. He concludes a triumvirate with Crassus and the general Pompey, they opposed the Senate. However, people from the Senate understood the degree of the threat and offered Caesar a position as ruler in Gaul, while the other two participants in the alliance were offered positions in Syria, Africa and Spain.

As proconsul of Gaul, Caesar carried out military operations. So, he conquered the trans-Alpine territory of Gaul and reached the Rhine, pushing back the German troops. Gaius Julius proved himself to be an excellent strategist and diplomat. Caesar was a great commander, he had a huge influence on his charges, he inspired them with his speeches, in any weather, at any time he led the army.

After the death of Crassus, Caesar decides to seize power in Rome. In 49 BC, the commander and his army crossed the Rubicon River. This battle becomes victorious and one of the most famous in Italian history. Pompey flees the country, fearing persecution. Caesar returns to Rome victorious and proclaims himself autocratic dictator.

Caesar carried out government reforms and tried to improve the country. However, not everyone was happy with the autocracy of the dictator. A conspiracy was brewing against Gaius Julius. The organizers were Cassius and Brutus, who supported the republic. Caesar heard rumors of an impending threat, but he ignored them and refused to strengthen his guard. As a result, on March 15, 44 BC. e. the conspirators fulfilled their plan. In the Senate, Caesar was surrounded and the first blow was dealt to him. The dictator tried to fight back, but, unfortunately, he failed and died on the spot.

His life radically changed not only the history of Rome, but also world history. Gaius Julius Caesar was born under the republic, and after his death a monarchy was established.

Gaius Julius Caesar- ancient Roman statesman and politician (consul, dictator, great pontiff), commander, writer. The Latin language is studied using his works “Notes on the Gallic War” and “Notes on the Civil War”.

Brief biography of Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar (lat. Gaius Iulius Caesar) born 12 or July 13 at 100(according to some sources - in 101 or 102) BC.

The house where Caesar grew up was in Subure- an area of ​​Rome that had a reputation for being troubled. As a child, he studied Greek, literature, and rhetoric at home. He also did physical activities: swimming, horse riding.

Among the teachers of young Guy, a great rhetorician is known Gniphon, who was also one of the teachers Cicero. Around 85 BC. e. Caesar lost his father: according to Pliny the Elder, he died bending down to put on his shoes.

After the death of his father, Caesar, who had undergone the initiation rite, actually headed the entire Julian family, since all his closest male relatives older than him had died.

Caesar's career

Soon Guy became engaged to Cossucia, a girl from a wealthy family from the equestrian class. Coming from an ancient patrician family, Caesar consistently achieved all ordinary Roman positions and made a name for himself in the fight against conservative senators (optimates).

First triumvirate

In 60 BC. e. organized first triumvirate together with two influential politicians - Gnaeus Pompey the Great and Marcus Licinius Crassus. Having passed the agrarian laws, Julius Caesar acquired a large number of followers who received land. Strengthening the triumvirate, he married his daughter to Pompey.

Gallic War

From 58 BC e. spent more than eight years in the territory of modern Switzerland, France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain in Gallic War, annexing a vast territory from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rhine to the Roman Republic and gaining fame as a talented commander.

Civil War

After the death of Crassus in 53 BC. e. the triumvirate fell apart. Pompey, in his rivalry with Julius Caesar, led the supporters of traditional Senate republican rule. The Senate, fearing Caesar, refused to extend his powers in Gaul.

At the beginning of 49 BC. e. began civil war due to irreconcilable differences with senators on the details of his return to Rome and on guarantees of judicial immunity for official crimes (bribery in elections, bribes to officials, violation of treaties, violent acts and other violations).

Within four years, the supporters of the Senate, grouped around Pompey, were defeated by Caesar in Italy, Spain (twice), Greece and Africa, and he also defeated the troops of the rulers of Egypt and Pontus.

Stick to the policy mercy, but at the same time executed a number of his key opponents. Having achieved complete victory over his opponents, he concentrated in his hands the power of the consul and the emergency powers of the dictator (eventually in the form of a lifelong position), and carried out a number of reforms in all spheres of society.

Attitude to the personality of Julius Caesar

During Caesar's lifetime, his deification began, the honorary title of a victorious commander "emperor" became part of his name, but he refused the power of the ancient Roman kings. After the assassination of Caesar, a group of senators led by Marcus Junius Brutus great-nephew of Caesar Guy Octavius took his name and received most of the inheritance under the will, subsequently becoming the first emperor.

Caesar was treated differently during his lifetime, and this tradition was preserved in the Roman Empire: his name was whitewashed in every possible way by supporters of the rulers, and oppositionists praised his victims and conspirators. The personality of Caesar was very popular in Middle Ages And New time.

In addition to his political and military activities, Caesar is also known as writer. Due to the simplicity and clarity of his style, his works are considered classics of ancient Roman literature and are used in teaching the Latin language. Titles go back to the name of Julius Caesar Kaiser and Tsar, as well as the name of the seventh month of the year in many languages ​​of the world - July.

Crisis of the Roman Republic

In the 1st century BC. The Roman Republic was in a long and deep crisis, caused primarily by the inconsistency of the management system with the level of the tasks facing it. The laws and traditions in force at that time were created at a time when Rome was a relatively small polis, surrounded by rural territories under its control. As it turned out, they were poorly adapted to the needs of a state that included all of Italy and owned vast lands of the Mediterranean.

The system of government in the Roman Republic from the very beginning was dual - it was based on two poorly compatible principles: on the one hand, the widespread use of self-government and direct democracy, on the other, the preservation of the dominance of the hereditary aristocracy, from which the Senate was formed (de facto - the highest authority). power in the state). In principle, in Rome during the republic there was a well-thought-out and quite effective system of checks and balances, which, as a rule, did not allow either the Senate or other administrative institutions to monopolize power and at the same time established clear and clear rules of the game. However, it lost its force when Rome became the center of a huge empire with numerous subjects, and its population, a significant proportion of which was a destructive lumpen stratum, numbered in the hundreds of thousands of people.

Direct democracy simply could not work with such a large population, and the Romans did not think of representative democracy. The masses became a crowd that could be easily manipulated. Elections became a competition of purses - candidates for government positions (and almost all of them in the Roman Republic were elected) spent huge amounts of money on gifts and bribing voters. Moreover, it was possible to count on covering expenses only if one got to the highest levels of power, for which it was necessary to go through all the career steps, and there were obviously fewer such lucrative positions than the number of ambitious people willing to take them. Intrigues within the ruling elite turned into a fierce struggle between parties recruiting followers from among the declassed elements. Sometimes necessary decisions were pushed through with the help of armed force, while others were canceled with reference to heavenly signs.

Civil wars of unprecedented severity befell Rome. In the 80s BC. The Italian cities allies of Rome rebelled, dissatisfied with their secondary position. Through a series of bloody battles, the Romans put out this fire, and residents of the union cities received full citizenship, but immediately the struggle of parties split the republic itself. Their leaders - Sulla and Marius (and after his death in 84 BC - Cinna) - had already openly turned their weapons against each other, and the victors dealt with the vanquished, using the mechanism of executions, confiscations and exiles. In 82, Sulla, who won the battle, received dictatorial powers with the sanction of the popular assembly.

One of the victims of this war almost became young Julius Caesar, a native of an old noble family, connected by family ties with the leaders of the losing party (his aunt was married to Marius, and he himself married Cinna’s daughter). Only the intercession of his relatives before the dictator helped him stay alive, but the career of a priest, for which Caesar was prepared from childhood, was interrupted at the very beginning. To avoid arrest and execution, young Caesar, forced to flee Rome, violated the ban imposed on the priests of Jupiter, according to which they were not allowed to leave the city.

The beginning of Caesar's political activity

It is obvious that Caesar began his political career as the leader of a democracy. According to Mommsen, Caesar, as the head of the popular party, “held its banner high for thirty years, never changing or hiding his convictions; he remained a democrat even when he became a monarch.” However, Caesar's main support was still the army.

“Democracy,” writes Mommsen, “has already been striving for a number of years to transfer the highest magistracy into the hands of one of its adherents, in order to thereby acquire its own military strength.” Relying on the army, Caesar managed to achieve fame and wealth and seize power in the state.

The popularity of Caesar, a talented strategist and generous commander, was extraordinary among the legions. Mommsen's opinion that the military machine in Rome did not serve any party, but its commander, seems fair. That is why, the historian believes, Caesar matured “the fatal plan to put this military machine at the service of his ideals and to create through violence the civil society that seemed to his mental gaze; he wanted to introduce the army into the sphere of the civil state and subordinate it to the civil state.”

According to Plutarch, Caesar instilled courage and love of glory in his soldiers by “the fact that he generously distributed honors and gifts.” He convinced the soldiers that the captured wealth “he does not collect for his own luxury,” but “keeps this wealth as a reward for military merit,” “distributes it to the most distinguished of the soldiers.”

Suetonius testifies: “When frightening rumors about the enemy spread, he did not deny or minimize the enemy forces to encourage the soldiers, but, on the contrary, exaggerated them with his own inventions.”

“He did not always notice the soldiers’ misdeeds and did not always punish them properly. He pursued and punished fugitives and rebels cruelly.” “With all this, he achieved rare devotion and courage from the soldiers.” The centurions offered him their savings, “the soldiers promised to serve him voluntarily, without pay or rations.”

There were also mutinies among his troops, says Suetonius. "Caesar never yielded to the rebels, but always resolutely went against them." “When the soldiers of the tenth legion with violent threats demanded dismissal and rewards, Caesar without hesitation went to the soldiers and gave them dismissal.” But when the commander addressed them “Citizens!” (instead of the usual “Warriors!”), this changed the mood of the soldiers, and they voluntarily followed Caesar to Africa, where the war was going on. “But even here he punished all the main rebels, reducing their promised share of booty and land by a third.”

There are known riots of legionnaires in 48 and 47. BC. In 48 BC, in Spain, the rebels never returned to Caesar, they joined other commanders, and in 45 BC. (in the civil war) fought against Caesar. In 47 BC. Caesar decided to get rid of the rebels: he sent many to dangerous posts - to death.

The power of Julius Caesar

Over the long period of his political activity, Julius Caesar clearly understood that one of the main evils causing a serious illness of the Roman political system is the instability, impotence and purely urban nature of the executive power, the selfish and narrow party and class nature of the power of the Senate.

From the early moments of his career, he openly and definitely struggled with both. And in the era of the Catiline conspiracy, and in the era of the extraordinary powers of Pompey, and in the era of the triumvirate, Caesar consciously pursued the idea of ​​​​centralization of power and the need to destroy the prestige and importance of the Senate. Individuality, as far as one can judge, did not seem necessary to him: the agrarian commission, the triumvirate, then the duumvirate with Pompey, to which Julius Caesar clung so tenaciously, show that he was not against collegiality or the division of power.

It is impossible to think that all these forms were for him only a political necessity. With the death of Pompey, Caesar effectively remained the sole leader of the state; the power of the Senate was broken and power was concentrated in one hand, as it once was in the hands of Sulla. In order to carry out all the plans that Caesar had in mind, his power had to be as strong as possible, as unconstrained as possible, as complete as possible, but at the same time, at least at first, it should not formally go beyond the framework of the constitution. The most natural thing (since the constitution did not know a ready-made form of monarchical power and treated royal power with horror and disgust) was to combine in one person powers of an ordinary and extraordinary nature around one center.

The consulate, weakened by the entire evolution of Rome, could not be such a center: a magistracy was needed, not subject to intercession and veto of the tribunes, combining military and civil functions, not limited by collegiality. The only magistracy of this kind was the dictatorship. Its inconvenience compared to the form invented by Pompey - the combination of a sole consulate with a proconsulate - was that it was too vague and, while giving everything in general, did not give anything in particular. Its extraordinaryness and urgency could be eliminated, as Sulla did, by pointing out its permanence (dictator pegrètuus), while the uncertainty of powers - which Sulla did not take into account, since he saw in the dictatorship only a temporary means for carrying out his reforms - was eliminated only through the above connection .

Dictatorship as a basis, and next to this a series of special powers, are, therefore, the framework within which Julius Caesar wanted to place and placed his power. Within these limits, his power developed as follows.

In 49 (the year the civil war began), during his stay in Spain, the people, at the suggestion of the praetor Lepidus, elected him dictator. Returning to Rome, Caesar passed several laws, assembled a comitia, at which he was elected consul for the second time (in 48), and abandoned the dictatorship.

The next year 48 (October-November) he received dictatorship for the 2nd time, in 47. In the same year, after the victory over Pompey, during his absence he received a number of powers: in addition to the dictatorship - a consulate for 5 years (from 47 g) and tribunician power, that is, the right to sit together with the tribunes and carry out investigations with them - in addition, the right to name to the people their candidate for magistracy, with the exception of plebeian ones, the right to distribute provinces without drawing lots to former praetors and the right to declare war and make peace. Caesar's representative this year in Rome is his magister quitum - assistant to the dictator M. Antony, in whose hands, despite the existence of April) for the third time, and consul; Second Consuls, all power is concentrated.

In 46, Caesar was also a dictator (finally Lepidus was consul and magister equitum. This year, after the African War, his powers expanded significantly. He was elected dictator for 10 years and at the same time the head of morals (praefectus morum), with unlimited powers. Moreover, he receives the right to be the first to vote in the Senate and occupy a special seat in it, between the seats of both consuls. At the same time, his right to recommend candidates for magistrates to the people was confirmed, which was tantamount to the right to appoint them.

In 45 he was dictator for the 4th time and at the same time consul; his assistant was the same Lepidus. After the Spanish War (January 44), he was elected dictator for life and consul for 10 years. He refused the latter, as well as, probably, the 5-year consulate last year. The immunity of the tribunes is added to the tribunician power; the right to appoint magistrates and pro-magistrates is extended by the right to appoint consuls, distribute provinces among proconsuls and appoint plebeian magistrates. In the same year, Caesar was given exclusive authority to dispose of the army and money of the state.

Finally, in the same year 44, he was granted lifelong censorship and all his orders were approved in advance by the Senate and the people. In this way, Caesar became a sovereign monarch, remaining within the limits of constitutional forms. All aspects of the life of the state were concentrated in his hands. He disposed of the army and provinces through his agents - pro-magistrates appointed by him, who were made magistrates only on his recommendation. The movable and immovable property of the community was in his hands as a lifelong censor and by virtue of special powers. The Senate was finally removed from financial management. The activity of the tribunes was paralyzed by his participation in the meetings of their collegium and the tribunician power and tribunician sacrosanctitas granted to him. And yet he was not a colleague of the tribunes; having their power, he did not have their name. Since he recommended them to the people, he was the highest authority in relation to them. He disposes of the Senate arbitrarily both as its chairman (for which he mainly needed the consulate), and as the first to answer the question of the presiding officer: since the opinion of the almighty dictator was known, it is unlikely that any of the senators would dare to contradict him .

Finally, the spiritual life of Rome was in his hands, since already at the beginning of his career he was elected great pontiff and now the power of the censor and the leadership of morals were added to this. Caesar did not have special powers that would give him judicial power, but the consulate, the censorship, and the pontificate had judicial functions. Moreover, we also hear about constant court negotiations at Caesar’s home, mainly on issues of a political nature.

Caesar sought to give the newly created power a new name: this was the honorary cry with which the army greeted the winner - imperator. Julius Caesar put this name at the head of his name and title, replacing his personal name Guy with it. With this he gave expression not only to the breadth of his power, his imperium, but also to the fact that from now on he leaves the ranks of ordinary people, replacing his name with a designation of his power and at the same time eliminating from it the indication of belonging to one family: the head of state cannot be called like any other Roman S. Iulius Caesar - he is Imp (erator) Caesar p (ater) p (atriae) dict (ator) pegr (etuus), as his title says in the inscriptions and on coins.

Foreign policy. Roman Empire at the end of the reign of Julius Caesar

The guiding idea of ​​Caesar's foreign policy was the creation of a strong and integral state, with natural borders if possible. Caesar pursued this idea in the north, south, and east.

His wars in Gaul, Germany and Britain were caused by the need he realized to push the border of Rome to the ocean on one side, to the Rhine, at least on the other. His plan for a campaign against the Getae and Dacians proves that the Danube border lay within the limits of his plans. Within the border that united Greece and Italy by land, Greco-Roman culture was to reign; the countries between the Danube and Italy and Greece were supposed to be the same buffer against the peoples of the north and east as the Gauls were against the Germans.

Caesar's policy in the East is closely related to this. Death overtook him on the eve of the campaign to Parthia. His eastern policy, including the actual annexation of Egypt to the Roman state, was aimed at rounding out the Roman Empire in the East. The only serious opponent of Rome here were the Parthians; their affair with Crassus showed that they had a broad expansive policy in mind. The revival of the Persian kingdom ran counter to the objectives of Rome, the successor to the monarchy of Alexander, and threatened to undermine the economic well-being of the state, which rested entirely on the factory, money-laden East. A decisive victory over the Parthians would have made Caesar, in the eyes of the East, the direct successor of Alexander the Great, the legitimate monarch.

Finally, in Africa, Yu. Caesar continued a purely colonial policy. Africa had no political significance; Its economic importance, as a country capable of producing huge quantities of natural products, depended to a large extent on regular administration, stopping the raids of nomadic tribes and re-establishing the best harbor in northern Africa, the natural center of the province and the central point for exchange with Italy - Carthage. The division of the country into two provinces satisfied the first two requests, the final restoration of Carthage satisfied the third.

Reforms of Julius Caesar

In all of Caesar's reform activities, two main ideas are clearly noted. One is the need to unite the Roman state into one whole, the need to smooth out the difference between the citizen-master and the provincial-slave, to smooth out the differences between nationalities; the other, closely related to the first, is the streamlining of administration, close communication between the state and its subjects, the elimination of intermediaries, and a strong central government. Both of these ideas are reflected in all of Caesar’s reforms, despite the fact that he carried them out quickly and hastily, trying to take advantage of the short periods of his stay in Rome. Because of this, the sequence of individual measures is random; Caesar each time took on what seemed most necessary to him, and only a comparison of everything he did, regardless of chronology, makes it possible to grasp the essence of his reforms and notice a harmonious system in their implementation.

Caesar's unifying tendencies were reflected primarily in his policy towards parties among the ruling classes. His policy of mercy towards his opponents, with the exception of irreconcilable ones, his desire to attract everyone to public life, without distinction of party or mood, his admission of his former opponents among his close associates, undoubtedly testifies to the desire to merge all differences of opinion about his personality and his regime . This unifying policy explains the widespread trust in everyone, which was the reason for his death.

The unifying trend is also clearly evident in relation to Italy. One of Caesar's laws concerning the regulation of certain parts of municipal life in Italy has reached us. True, it is now impossible to assert that this law was the general municipal law of Yu. Caesar (lex Iulia municipalis), but it is still certain that it immediately supplemented the statutes of individual Italian communities for all municipalities and served as a corrective for all of them. On the other hand, the combination in the law of norms regulating the urban life of Rome and municipal norms, and the significant likelihood that the norms of urban improvement of Rome were mandatory for municipalities, clearly indicates a tendency to reduce Rome to municipalities, to elevate municipalities to Rome, which from now on should was only the first of the Italian cities, the seat of central power and a model for all similar centers of life. A general municipal law for all of Italy with local differences was unthinkable, but some general norms were desirable and useful and clearly indicated that, in the end, Italy and its cities represent one whole united with Rome.

Evaluation of Julius Caesar's management system

Caesar's work remained unfinished, and this must be kept in mind when considering reforms in the field of lawmaking and government. One of the sources gives an assessment of everything that was done, but perhaps it would be correct to single out from the whole list of measures taken by Caesar those that were subsequently of great importance and indicated that Caesar had a keen sense of the problems of the empire and knew how to solve them.

The allied war led to the extension of the right of Roman citizenship to the territory of Italy up to the Po River (now Padus). All that remained was to grant this right to the inhabitants of Transpadan Italy, to establish a unified system of local administration and to create representative institutions. As a result, the interests of all Italian citizens will be represented in the government of Rome by at least several votes. Caesar never reached a final understanding of the importance of this step, like other statesmen of antiquity. But the first measure to establish control over Italy was to grant civil rights to the inhabitants of Transpadania, whose claims Caesar consistently defended. In 45 BC. he enforced the Lex Iulia Municipalis (Julius' law on municipalities), a piece of legislation, some important fragments of which are written on two bronze tablets found at Heraclea, near Tarentum.

This law also applies to the law enforcement and sanitary conditions of Rome. Based on this, Mommsen argued that the assertion that Caesar intended to reduce the status of Rome to a municipal city was incorrect. It is unlikely that this was the case; Caesar did not make any far-reaching changes in the management of the capital. They were made later by Augustus. But the presence of the mentioned articles in the Lex Iulia Municipalis can be considered as an amendment to the bill. The law stipulates the structure of local senates; their members had to be at least thirty years old and perform military service. People sentenced to punishment for various crimes, insolvents or those who discredited themselves by immoral behavior did not have the right to be elected senators. The law obliged local magistrates to conduct a census at the same time as in Rome, and within sixty days to send the census data to the capital. Existing excerpts from the law say little about the decentralization of government functions, but from the Lex Rubria (Rubrian law), which was written for the transpadan areas, whose inhabitants Caesar gave the right to Roman citizenship (at the same time it must be remembered that Cisalpine Gaul remained a province until 42 BC), we can conclude that municipal magistrates retained the right to act independently in many cases.

However, Caesar was dissatisfied with the unified system of local authorities that took shape in Italy. He was the first to carry out large-scale colonization of lands that extended beyond the sea. This began with the people's tribunes Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. As consul, in 59 BC. Caesar established veteran colonies in Campania, enacting the Lex Iulia Agraria (Julian Agrarian Law), and even established rules for the founding of such settlements.

Having become dictator, he created numerous colonies in both the eastern and western provinces, in particular in Corinth and Carthage. Explaining this policy of Caesar, Mommsen emphasized that “the dominance of the urban communities of Rome on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea was coming to an end,” and said that the first step of the “new Mediterranean state” was “to atone for the two gross violations of the law that this urban community committed over civilization." However, we cannot agree with this point of view. The sites for the founding of Caesar's colonies were chosen based on the location of trade routes, and the idea that the citizens of Rome should cease to occupy a dominant position in the Mediterranean basin could not occur to the dictator. Many residents of the colonies were veterans who fought under Caesar. The majority also consisted of the urban proletariat. There is a document establishing a colony at Urso in southern Spain. This colony was called Colonia Iulia Genetiva Urbanorum. The penultimate word in the name comes from Venus the Mother, the ancestor of the house of Julia, the last word indicates that the colonists came from ordinary townspeople. Accordingly, for municipalities, freedom at birth is not a necessary condition, as in Italy.

By founding colonies, Caesar spread Roman civilization to them. During the Republic, it existed only within the borders of the Apennine Peninsula. Lack of time prevented Caesar from implementing other projects, such as digging a canal across the Isthmian (Corinthian) Isthmus. The purpose of this plan was to establish trade and communication between all Roman dominions. Caesar's contemporaries said that before his death, the dictator planned to restore the empire within its natural borders and was going to start a war with the Parthian kingdom. If victorious, the Roman army would reach the Euphrates.

Among other acts of Caesar, one should highlight the decision to ensure that the empire was governed in the true sense of the word and was no longer exploited by the rulers. The dictator exercised strict control over his governors (legati), who, due to military subordination, were responsible to him for the administration of their provinces