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====Background====Caesar was a member of the Roman aristocracy and he was a lifetime member of the popular faction. This was a party of nobles who claimed to be serving the interests of the common people. Caesar became one of the most powerful men in Rome when he joined the First Triumvirate. He used his new-found power to secure a consulship and the command of several legions which he used to wage war in Gaul. Following his conquest of Gaul, he was the most powerful man in Rome and he was feared by the Roman Senate. To safeguard his position Caesar marched on Rome and this began a civil war.<ref> Goldsworthy, Anthony. <i>Caesar: Life of a Colossus </i> (Yale, Yale University Press, 2006), p. 261</ref>. Caesar fought the ''Optimate'' army, initially led by Pompey the Great. He defeated Pompey at Pharsalus and later in a series of battles across the Mediterranean defeated several armies opposed to his rule. By 43 BC Caesar was by far the most important man in Rome and he had himself made dictator for life. This aroused the deep hated of many in the Roman aristocracy. A conspiracy was formed by several leading Roman nobles, whose titular leader was Brutus, someone whom Caesar knew well. The Roman general had pardoned many of the conspirators and had even appointed some of them to high office. The members of the plot called themselves the liberators. The plot involved luring Caesar to Pompey’s theatre where gladiatorial games were to be held in his honour<ref>Plutarch, Life of Caesar, xxxi</ref>. The Roman leader was notoriously reckless when it came to his personal security. He refused bodyguards and he declared that to live surrounded by guards was not a life he wanted. Caesar had only a few personal attendants who escorted him everywhere. On the Ides of March (15th of March), the conspirators lured their target to the Theatre of Pompey. Here after one of the conspirators seized his toga, up to sixty assailants stabbed Caesar, who later died because of blood loss. It is important to understand the motivations of those who killed the great Roman general. They believed that he wanted to become king and to end the Republic. The killers of Caesar were all Republicans and they believed in the Roman Constitution and the rule of the Senate. Brutus and the others believed that they were delivering the Romans from the tyranny of the conqueror of Gaul. The assassination of Caesar was carried out to protect the Republic and to preserve the ancient Constitution of the city<ref> Goldsworthy, p. 314</ref>.
==The Rise ==Immediate Aftermath of Octavian and the End of the Roman RepublicAssassination====Perhaps the most important result [[File: Ass of caesar three.jpg|300px|thumb|left| A cameo of the Mark Anthony]]The death of Caesar was shocking, but the assailants expected that the rise people of his grand-nephew OctavianRome would rally to them and support their actions. He had not been particularly close to However, most of the great general population remained wary and neutral, while many people and politicianespecially the political gangs, but he was one who controlled large areas of the city, were angered by the killing of his last living male relativesCaesar. It seemed that In the days after the victor of so many battles saw something assassination, there was an eerie calm in the young man and Octavian was to prove his grandcity. Mark Anthony became the de-uncle right. The death facto leader of Caesar cleared the way for Caesarean party in the rise of Octavian and city, even though he was to prove to be one had fallen out of the most calculating and brilliant politicians favor in the entire Roman era recent years with Caesar.<ref> GoldsworthyOsgood, AdrianJosiah. Augustus<i>Caesar's Legacy: First Emperor Civil War and the Emergence of Rome the Roman Empire</i> (Yale, Yale New York: Cambridge University Press(USA), 20102006), p. 213 113</ref>He arranged a political compromise that allowed the killers of Caesar to go unpunished and for those who had been appointed by the dead man to remain in office. This made it possible to maintain some semblance of order in the city. The lower class became increasingly incensed when they learned more about the death of Caesar. <ref> Plutarch, <i>Life of Anthony</i>, xxiv</ref> The young will of Caesar was surprising because he designated Octavian , his grand-nephew, as his son and heir. Mark Anthony who was able not even mentioned by Caesar in his will. Octavian immediately returned from Greece and instantly became one of the most influential men in Rome. This only added to manipulate the situation confusion in Rome. The Senate decided to make himself master of the Roman worldsupport Octavian because they distrusted Mark Anthony. For example, he goaded Mark Anthony into a war became worried about his safety and he was forced to flee Rome. After fleeing, Anthony assembled an army of five legions but was defeated him by Octavian and the forces of the Senate at the Battle of ActiumMutina in Northern Italy (43 B.C.). The two consuls for that year were also killed during the battle. Antony was forced to retreat, and his cause seemed lost, but the Senators undermined their position with Octavian. After the battle, the Senate tried to take Octavian's army away and hand it over to one of Caesar's assassins.<ref> Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars, xxiv</ref> The Senate's miscalculation persuaded Octavian to enter an alliance with Anthony and Lepidus. This became the Second Triumvirate. The Triumvirate seized power and then divided the legions and provinces among the three men. The aim of the Triumvirate was to make him master consolidate control of Rome and avenge the assassination of Caesar. They soon occupied Rome and launched a campaign of terror in the city, summarily killing their enemies. However, the entire Roman world''Optimates'' and Caesar's assassins rejected the Triumvirate's authority and started a second civil war.<ref>Galinsky, Karl. <i>Augustan Culture</I>. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1998), p. Octavian learned from 89</ref> ====The Civil War====Those who were involved in the assassination of Caesar were placed under the command of Cassius and he did not make Brutus. They controlled much of the same mistakes as eastern portion of the legendary leaderEmpire. He was very respectful Antony and Octavian sailed with an army to confront their enemies and the Senators two armies confronted each other at Phillipa in modern Macedonia or Northern Greece. The two armies clashed and observed all after two decisive battles, the proceduresfollowers of Caesar prevailed. This The battles had been closely fought and it was to placate the sensibilities personal bravery of Mark Anthony and the general Agrippa that ensured victory for the Roman aristocracySecond Triumvirate. Octavian made sure that he did not goad The liberators and their ''Optimates'' allies all died in the senators’, but he also controlled them battle or its aftermath.<ref> Suetonius, Life <i>Lives of Augustusthe Caesar</i>, cviivii</ref>Brutus and Cassius committed suicide in the aftermath of the defeat. The defeat at Philippi was decisive and it effectively ended the Optimates as a military force. CaesarThe Senate was also effectively neutered by the Triumvirate's heir slowly concentrated victory. Successive defeats and a series of proscriptions had decimated the old Republican elite and they lost most of their power. Those who wanted to preserve the old ideas of the Republic no longer had the means or perhaps the will to prevent the concentration of power into his own hands and created an Imperial system under in the guise lands of one or two men.<ref>Osgood, p 227</ref> The assassination of Caesar was motivated by a desire to restore the old Republican systemand restore the influence of the Senate. He safeguarded his position by sharing power with In essence, the Senators and assassination was a spectacular failure. Instead of restoring the rest of republic, the old Roman aristocracyRepublic was destroyed. Many welcomed ====The Second Triumvirate==== <dh-ad/>The Second Triumvirate saw the stability that he offeredrise of Octavian and Mark Anthony, and he governed who became the Empire wiselymost powerful man in Rome. However, he Lepidus was also slowly undermining decidedly the junior partner in the Empirepolitical arrangement. Octavian, Mark Anthony and Lepidus divided the Roman Empire between them, but Anthony and Caesar's preheir soon deftly side-eminence was confirmed when he was granted lined Lepidus. Anthony assumed responsibility for the pacification of the east which had become restive after the civil wars. Anthony successful reimposed Roman control over the Eastern section of the title AugustusRoman Empire. Such The relationship between Mark Anthony and Octavian was his hold on power sealed by a series of marriages. However, in truth, the two men were never really allies and both knew that he was able to pass on his position there would be a day of reckoning. Still, the Second Triumvirate allowed Octavian and Mark Anthony to his designated heir and established rule the first Roman Imperial dynastyEmpire. For this, Augustus, is regarded as Octavian was the first Roman Emperor real power in Rome and he observed the founder forms of an Imperial the Republican system. <ref>Holland, Tom, <i>Rubicon: The assassins Last Years of the Roman Republic</i> (London, Anchor Books, 2003), p. 207 </ref> In the east, Mark Anthony began a relationship with the Ptolemaic Queen of CaesarEgypt, Cleopatra IV. For a brief period, simply paved the way Roman territories were divided between Octavian who presented himself as champion old-fashioned Roman values and beliefs and Mark Anthony who seemed to be creating a personal domain for himself and Cleopatra in the rise east. For the entire duration of the man Second Triumvirate, the Senate was subservient to Octavian and Anthony. The political arrangement between Anthony and Octavian that was made possible by the assassins who was sought to quietly dismantle preserve the Republic, did much to undermine the old system of governance and politics.<ref> OsgoodHolland, p. 452298</ref>. ====The Rise of Octavian and the End of the Roman Republic====
[[File: Ass of Augustus.jpg|200px|thumb|left| A statue of Augustus]]
Perhaps the most important result of the death of Caesar was the rise of his grand-nephew Octavian. He had not been particularly close to the great general and politician, but he was one of his last living male relatives. It seemed that the victor of so many battles saw something in the young man and Octavian was to prove his grand-uncle right. The death of Caesar cleared the way for the rise of Octavian and he was to prove to be one of the most calculating and brilliant politicians in the entire Roman era.<ref> Goldsworthy, Adrian. <i>Augustus: First Emperor of Rome</i> (Yale, Yale University Press, 2010), p. 213 </ref>
The young Octavian was able to manipulate the situation to make himself master of the Roman world. For example, he goaded Mark Anthony into a war and he defeated him at the Battle of Actium. This was to make him master of the entire Roman world. Octavian learned from the assassination of Caesar and he did not make the same mistakes as the legendary leader. He was very respectful to the Senators and observed all the procedures. This was to placate the sensibilities of the Roman aristocracy. Octavian made sure that he did not goad the senators’, but he also controlled them.<ref> Suetonius, Life of Augustus, cvii</ref> Caesar's heir slowly concentrated power into his own hands and created an Imperial system under the guise of a Republican system. He safeguarded his position by sharing power with the Senators and the rest of the Roman aristocracy. Many welcomed the stability that he offered and he governed the Empire wisely.
====Additional Reading====* Syme, Ronald, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0192803204/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0192803204&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=a10af7542e214cda24649ca76457ed62 The Roman Revolution]</i> (Oxford, Oxford University, 2002).* Canfora, Luciano, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00720XI0A/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00720XI0A&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=5de475b6b8ead57e112dcda8479acc57 Julius Caesar: The People's Dictator]</i> (Edinburg, Edinburgh University Press, 2006).* Jiménez, Ramon L., <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0275966208/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0275966208&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=20b9b0d1ca2a488932321afa4bb22afa Caesar Against Rome: The Great Roman Civil War]</i> (New York, Praeger, 2006).* Goldsworthy, AnthonyAdrian, <i>[https://www.amazon. com/gp/product/0300126891/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0300126891&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=e3d7ca205d235ca4f80c8f42d215447a Caesar: Life of a Colossus ]</i> (YaleUniversity Press, 2008)* Freeman, Philip. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743289544/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0743289544&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=04b3744690637472a5e2eb2eb8dc57c6 Julius Caesar]</i>. (Simon and Schuster, 2008)* Grant, Michael. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486822192/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0486822192&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=707967b3998ed8e0ee4b02e887ee7b50 The Twelve Caesars]</i> (New York: Penguin Books, 1979)* Osgood, Yale Josiah. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521671779/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0521671779&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=78feb0248f30b4a6c2cfaa0048334c9f Caesar's Legacy: Civil War and the Emergence of the Roman Empire]</i> (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2006)* Holland, Tom.[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400078970/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1400078970&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=a25657c34ca67cbf377bd8dfbc462c2c Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic] (London, Anchor Press, 2003)* Goodman, Rob. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1250042623/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1250042623&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=4c9157524f8c44ff12d67a6dff4613ad Rome's Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato: Mortal Enemy of Caesar]'' (St. Martin's Griffen, 2014)
====References====<References/>[[Category:Roman History]][[Category:Ancient History]][[Category:Wikis]][[Category:Julius Caesar]]{{Contributors}}