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Beah Davee Marie H. Somozo IV-Gluon March 4, 2014

CaesarsRise to Glory and his Inevitable Fall

The name Caesar can be associated with greatness. It is a name that has built upempires and overthrown republics. It is a name that symbolizes power and strength. It is a namewith great imperial significance starting with it being the old title of the heir apparent to the

Roman throne and of whose derivations include the German Kaiser and the Russian tsar.

When I think about the name Caesar, I think about the great Julius Caesar.

Gaius Julius Caesar was a man made out of steel. His brilliant mind and aptitude in

reading the people enabled him to reach the heights he reached before his violent fall. He was aman who could do a lot of things and an absolute genius in the things he did. Despite his

unfortunate childhood, his brilliance was something that couldnt be hidden.

First, he displayed a great aptitude in public speaking. He was a formidable orator, one

that could make the people stop in their tracks just to hear him speak. His fame rose and he

landed the office of curule aedile. Due to his position, he had to sponsor gladiatorial games.

Despite having next to nothing, he was able to hold lavish and elaborate gladiatorial matches thatendeared him to the masses. His popularity rose and using the peoples favour(and running up

more debts), he won election to the post of Pontifex Maximus.

He then allied himself with Crassus and Pompey in order to secure the post of consul. He

then turned to military glory after securing his own province. He rode up and down the land

fighting the Gallic tribes with his self-proclamation that it was for the greater glory of Rome.

There he showed his prowess as a military commander and tactician. He especially showed thisduring his battle with Vercingetorix, where they won despite being outnumbered 5 to 1. Due to

this, the resistance of the gauls ended and he became known as a man who men would follow

anywhere.

His rising power and fame threatened Pompey and the senate so much that they decided

to stop him from getting even more powerful. They relieved Caesar of his command on the fieldand ordered him to return to Rome. Now, not only would this strip Caesar of his power but it was

also a barb against his honour. He cannot surrender. Unhesitatingly, he marched his men straight

into Italy causing uproar and starting a civil war. He eventually came out as the victor and was

given the title of Dictator of Rome. Certain senators were unnerved and jealous of his power sothey conspired to remove him from the picture, permanently. On the Ides of March, Julius Caesar

was assassinated. His death sparked the beginning of Rome's transition from republic to empire

which was achieved under his adopted sons, Octavius, tutelage.

Now there are certain things that caught my attention. I noticed that Julius Caesars way

of thinking reminded me of The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli. I saw that he put great

importance in the way people viewed him. It was apparent in the way he held the lavish games tohis refusal of the crown Mark Anthony offered him when the people reacted in an unfavourable

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manner. Which correlates with Machiavellis advice to princes that their people must not hate

them for the populaces goodwill is the first line of defenceand better than any fortress. Another

is when he allied himself with Crassus and Pompey in order to gain power. While extremelybrilliant, he knew that he lacked in reputation and wealth and decided that he could account for

this by forming an alliance with the two most powerful people of Rome. This reminds me of

Machiavellis saying for princes to surround themselves with wise advisers. While largelydifferent from Caesars situation, it is similar in the aspect that you surround yourself withpeople useful to you in order to gain something from them. It made me see the similarities in the

way of thinking people have when it comes to gaining power.

I also noticed that despite the Romans expelling their king and wanting nothing to do

with any rex; they still celebrated their founding which had monarchical roots in which Romulus,

the founder of Rome, was their first king. Now, I understand that it was in honour of their

founding but it still showed their fascination in the thought of a strong man leading them tounprecedented glory. Which, I think is a bit hypocritical but considering it all, we all long for

someone strong to protect us but fear the truly powerful for they have the power to hurt us.

The documentary made me open my eyes to Romes past. While Julius Caesar may have

employed certain methods that we think inhumane, ruthless and tyrannical, there is no changing

the fact that their system was crumbling anyway. I applaud the Romans for living under such

tension for centuries, but eventually everything will have to explode. It would have beendestroyed by someone else and instead studying on Julius Caesar, we might be studying on some

other person who did the same things Caesar did who caused the system downfall. Also, Caesar

also showed being an adept statesman as hisreforms did stabilize the Mediterranean world.

Whether one sees Caesar as an immoral tyrant, with an insatiable lust for power or as a

ruthless but adept statesman, it was his actions that helped shape Rome and to an extension, the

world. His legacy will live on and he will continue on puzzling and fascinating the nextgenerations.