The early life and reign of Julius Caesar Essay

The early life and reign of Julius Caesar - Essay Example Julius Caesars' early life and the beginning of his reign as leader of Rome was a very long, yet fulfilling journey. Where Julius Caesar was born and his upbringing influenced him greatly to become the leader of Rome. His accomplishments in his early reign were of extreme importance.Caesar was born in Rome into a well-known patrician family (gens Julia), which supposedly traced its ancestry to Julus, the son of the Trojan prince Aeneas (who according to myth was the son of Venus). A well-documented legend that exists is that, Caesar was born by Caesarian section and is therefore named that way, though it is considered improbable because at that time, it was only performed on dead women, and Julius Caesar's mother lived long after he was born. This legend is more likely a more recent creation, as the origin of the Caesarian section is in the Latin word for to cut, caedo, -ere, caesus sum.Caesar was raised in a modest apartment building (insula) in the Subura, a lower-class neighborhoo d of Rome. His family was not rich and by the then prevalent nobility at that time, there was not any wealthy or prominent family member in his family. However, they were socially distinguished since its members were patrician, and claimed descent from Venus and Aeneas. They had influential political connections and these were useful connections for his political aspirations. Caesar's aunt was married to the popular leader Marius, and he himself married Cornelia, the daughter of Cinna (a follower of Marius), refusing to divorce her when ordered to by the dictator Sulla. He was deeply in love with his wife and mourned her long and hard when Cornelia died in 69 BC. After that, he married for political gains though his choice of wife, Sulla's granddaughter Pompeia, who was also the daughter of Quintas Pompey, surprised quite a few in 67 BC. When Sulla died, Caesar began his political career in the Forum at Rome as an advocate, and his reputation as an orator grew in leaps and bounds. He was also known for his ruthless prosecution of former governors notorious for extortion and corruption. The great orator Cicero even commented, "Does anyone have the ability to speak better than Caesar" He had built solid relationships with Rome's great general and this was a point in his favor. He leaned more towards the populares side rather than the conservatives. The rivalry between Pompey and Caesar's benefactor, Crassus, seemed to have little effect on Caesar. Crassus continued to support Caesar's enormous debts over the next few years. Massive bribery with money borrowed from the rich and influential ex-consul Crassus also procured for him the politically important office of Pontifex Maximus in 63 BC. His personal life had a setback with the ending of his marriage. In 62 BC, Clodius, a Roman politician and Caesar's second wife, Pompeia, were involved in a scandal that took place at a religious festival at his house, concerning the violation of the secret rites of Bona Dea, and Caesar obtained a divorce, saying, "Caesar's wife must be above suspicion." Having served in Farther Spain as proconsul in 61 BC, he returned to Rome in 60 BC, ambitious for the consulate. He organized a coalition, known as the First Triumvirate, against a very strong opposing group, and was made up of made up of Pompey, commander in chief of the army; Crassus, who was powerful being the wealthiest man in Rome and Caesar himself. Pompey and Crassus had a strained relationship going but Caesar cleverly manipulated them to keep the arrangement in operation. Back in Rome in 60, he used force to pass legislation and took up the governorship of Gaul. He married Calpurnia, whose father Piso was made consul, and Pompey married Julia, daughter of Caesar and Cornelia. Caesar continued in Gaul, for eight long years and annexed the whole of modern France and Belgium to the Roman Empire, and making Rome safe from the possibility of Gallic invasions. Pompey and Crauss were constantly at each other's throat and Caesar kept