Interesting Facts

1.)Julius Caesar was born in Subura, Rome on July 13, 100 BCE.

2.) The medical term "Caesarian section", is often attributed to an ancient story, told in the first century A.D. by Pliny the Elder, which claims that an ancestor of Caesar was delivered in this manner.

3.)His complete name is Gauis Julius Caesar.

4.)He belonged to the prestigious Julian (Julii) clan.

5.)Marius Gauis, 7 times Consul, was his uncle by marriage.

6.)In 86 BCE, at age 14, he was appointed ’flamen dialis’, one of an archaic priesthood with no       power.

7.)In 84 BCE, he married Cornelia, daughter of Cinna, a close associate of Marius.

8.)He was ordered by Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Marius enemy, who was made dictator in 82 BCE, to divorce Cornelia. Julius refused and had to leave Rome and returned only in 78 BCE after Sulla’s resignation.

9.)In 69 BCE, Julius Caesar was elected ‘quaestor’ and in 65 BCE as ‘curule aedile’.

10.)He was Governor of Spain for 3 years from 63-60 BCE.

11.)In 60 BCE, the First Triumvirate (alliance of three) was formed in the persons of Pompey, Crassus and Cesar.

12.)Caesar gave his daughter Julia to Pompey in marriage to strengthen the alliance.

13.)In 59 BCE, Julius Caesar was elected Consul.

14.)In 58 BCE, he was appointed Governor of Roman Gaul and defeated the Helvetii, the Germans and others.

15.)His daughter Julia died in 54 BCE.

16.)He was reelected Consul in 48 BCE and was made Consul for life in 45 BCE.

17.)The Senate declared Julius Caesar ‘Dictator’ for life. After which, he started wearing robe, crown and scepter and used the title imperator.

18.)Julius Caesar was also declared as Pontifex maximus or head of the state religion.

19.)Julius Caesar was also in total command of the armies.

20.)When Julius was a young man, he was awarded the Corona Civica (civic crown) for valor while fighting in Asia Minor.

21.)He was also awarded the title of Pater Patriae (Father of the Fatherland).

22.)Mark Anthony had been appointed as flamen (priest) to Caesar shortly before the latter’s assassination.

23.)Divus Iuliusor Divus Julius (the divine Julius or the deified Julius) was the official title that was given to Caesar posthumously by decree of the Roman Senate on 1 January 42 BCE.

24.)Julius Caesar was the first historical Roman to be officially deified. The cult of Divus Iulius was promoted by both Octavian and Mark Antony.

25.) After the death of Antony, Octavianus, as the adoptive son of Caesar, assumed the title of Divi Filius (son of a god).

26.)Caesar's cognomen would itself become a title; it was greatly promulgated by the Bible, by the famous verse "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's".

27.)Caesar became the German Kaiser and Slavic Tsar/Czar. The last tsar in nominal power was Simeon II of Bulgaria whose reign ended in 1946; for two thousand years after Julius Caesar's assassination, there was at least one head of state bearing his name.

28.)Pompeia, his second wife, was a granddaughter of Sulla. He divorced her.

29.)Julius Caesar married Calpurnia in 59 BCE for political motives.

30.)Julius Caesar married 3 times. His first marriage was to Cornelia Cinnilla, from 83 BCE until her death in childbirth in 69 or 68 BCE. His second marriage was to Pompeia, from 67 BC until he divorced her around 61 BCE. His third marriage was to Calpurnia Pisonis, from 59 BC until Caesar's death.

31.)He is known to have been romantically involved with 3 women namely; Cleopatra VII of Egypt who bore him a son- Caesarion, Servilla Caepiones the mother of Brutus (one of his assassins), and Eunoe – queen of Mauretania the wife of Bogudes.

32.)Caesar and Cleopatra VII (Queen of Egypt) were romantically involved for 14 years but could not marry, because under the Roman law, marriage was only allowed between two Roman citizens.

33.)Julius Caesar have two children; Julia with Cornelia (his first wife) who was born in 83 BCE, Caesarion with Cleopatra VII who was born in 47 BCE

34.)Caesarion was killed at age 17 by Octavianus during the battle between the latter and Mark Anthony. By that time, Cleopatra and Mark Anthony were allies and romantically involved to each other.

35.)Marcus Junius Brutus, one of Julius Caesar’s assassins, was believed to be Julius Caesar’s illegitimate son with Servilla because they were lovers when they were young.

36.)Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus was his adopted son, his great-nephew by blood, who later became Emperor Augustus.

37.)He was a gifted writer with a clear and simple style. His book ‘Commentaries’ is a major source of information about the early Celtic and Germanic tribes.

 38.)Julius Caesar is one of the best orators during his lifetime.

39.)Among ancient military commanders, he is considered next to Alexander the Great.

40.) In 44 BCE, Julius Caesar changed the name of the month Quintilis to Julius (July).

41.)In 45 BCE, he changed the old Roman calendar, known as Julian Calendar; fixed the normal year at 365 days and the leap year every 4^th year at 366 days.

42.)Julius Caesar was the first to print his own bust on a Roman minted coin

43.)In a deck of cards, Julius Caesar is the King of Diamonds. The King of Spades is the biblical King David, the King of Clubs is Alexander the Great and the King of Hearts is Charlemagne.

44.)In physical appearance, Julius Cesar was tall. His eyes are black and his complexion is fair.

45.)It was thought that the reason why Julius Caesar started wearing a crown after his declaration as dictator for life was to cover his receding hairline which was becoming very evident.

46.)He is sometimes thought to have suffered from epilepsy but other scholars it is more certain that he was plagued by malaria.

47.)Julius Caesar invented the first recorded encryption technique known now as the Caesar cipher. It was a code technique to send military messages. This simple and effective code involved letter shifting of 2 to the right, A becomes C, B becomes D, etc…so "CAESAR" would read ‘ECGUCT’.

48.)There were no sufficient evidence to prove that Julius Caesar have had same sex relationships. Accusations like this during those days were common as a form of character assassination.

49.)Julius Caesar was assassinated by Brutus and others in Theatre of Pompey, Rome on March 15, 44 BCE inside the senate receiving 23 fatal stabs. He was 55 years of age.

50.)Julius Caesar’s successor was his adopted son – his great nephew, Octavian, who took the name Augustus Caesar and was the first Roman Emperor.

After His Death

The conspirators wanted to restore the republic, but instead, another round of horrors followed. There were

 troops; there were politicians who aspired to Caesar's autocratic power; and they were prepared to use the troops.Marc Antony, the consul, was now the official head of the state, and his first act was to secure the co-operation of the commander of Caesar's troops outside Rome, Lepidus. Shortly after sunset, he confiscated Caesar's papers and treasury. Having the men and the money, he could negotiate from a position of strength, and on March 16, he announced a meeting of the Senate, which was to take place on the next day. During this meeting, he dictated the murderers a compromise: they were to receive amnesty while Caesar's acts were to be respected, and he would be worshiped as a god. From now on, Marc Antony was in charge of the city.That very day, Piso opened the testament of his son-in-law. It contained precisely the material that Marc Antony needed: Caesar left his gardens as a park to the city of Rome, and gave every inhabitant a large amount of money. On 20 March, the corpse was burned on the forum. The Roman mob saw the blood-stained cloak, and heard of the money that was to be distributed among them. Then, Marc Antony delivered a short funeral oration, in which he inflamed their emotions: that night, Caesar's murderers had to escape from the city that they had wished to liberate.

Titles, Dictatorships, and Death

Although his rival was eliminated, much work remained to make Caesar's position secure. He adopted a policy of special clemency, or mercy, toward his former enemies and rewarded political opponents with public office. For himself he adopted the old Roman position of dictator, a ruler with absolute power.There has been much debate about what political role Caesar planned for himself. He certainly thought the old government was weak and desired to replace it with some form of rule by a single leader. Just before his death, Caesar was appointed dictator for life. About the same time, he began issuing coins with his portrait on them, something never before practiced in Rome up to that time. Caesar was planning major improvements to transform the capital of the empire he commanded. New colonial foundations were under way, and he reordered the defective Roman calendar.In Rome dissatisfaction was growing in the Senate over the increasingly permanent nature of Caesar's rule. A conspiracy (secret plan) was formed to remove Caesar and restore the government to the Senate. The conspirators hoped that, with Caesar's death, government would be restored to its old republican form and all of the factors that had produced Caesar would disappear. The conspiracy progressed with Caesar either ignorant of it or not recognizing the warning signs. On the Ides of March (March 15), 44 B.C.E. , he was stabbed to death in the Senate house of Pompey by a group of men that included old friends and allies.

With Caesar's murder, Rome plunged into thirteen years of civil war. Caesar remained for some a symbol of an over-dominant leader, and for others the founder of the Roman Empire whose ghost has haunted Europe ever since. For all, he is a figure of genius and courage equaled by few in history.

Taking Over Land

In 59 B.C.E. Caesar won an election to become consul, or an official ruling over foreign lands. The Senate, immediately moving to block his hopes of future political power, assigned him to lands that offered Caesar no possibilities for military glory. Caesar, who desired more glamorous political and military opportunities, saw that he needed allies to overcome his opponents in the Senate.Caesar soon found the alliance that would become known as the First Triumvirate. He aligned himself with the Roman General Pompey (106–48 B.C.E. ), who brought wealth and military might, and Crassus (140–91 B.C.E. ), a powerful Roman politician who brought important political connections. Caesar was awarded the governorship of Gaul, a Roman province occupied by several tribes. While Roman control in Gaul was limited, Rome did have political relations with tribes beyond the actual border of the province. Caesar quickly took advantage of these connections and the shifting power position in Gaul to extend the realm of Roman control.Caesar decided to undertake an expedition against Britain, whose tribes maintained close contacts with Gaul. These expeditions in 55 and 54 B.C.E. created great enthusiasm in Rome, as for the first time Roman arms had advanced overseas to conquer new peoples. Caesar probably thought that his main task of conquest was complete. In 52 B.C.E. , however, Gaul rose in widespread rebellion against Caesar under Vercingetorix, a nobleman of the tribe of the Arverni. This revolt greatly threatened Caesar's power base.At the same time, the political situation in Rome was equally chaotic. The tribune (Roman official) Clodius had been murdered, and his death was followed by great disorder in Rome. Caesar had crossed the Alps to watch the changing conditions in Rome. When the news of revolt in Gaul reached him, he recrossed the Alps and rallied his divided army. Caesar's forces lost several battles to Vercingetorix and the Arverni. Vercingetorix made the mistake of taking refuge in the fortress of Alesia, however. Caesar used the best of Roman siege techniques and encircled the fortress to capture the enemy. Soon Vercingetorix was forced to surrender.

Family of Julius Caesar

While it has long been disputed, it's estimated that Julius Caesar was born in Rome on July 12 or 13, 100 BC. While he hailed from Roman aristocrats, his family was far from rich. When Caesar was 16 his father, Gaius Caesar, died. He remained close to his mother, Aurelia. At around the time of his father's death, Caesar made a concerted effort to side with the country's nobility. His marriage to Cornelia, the daughter of a noble, had drawn the ire of Rome's dictator, Sulla, who ordered the young Roman to divorce his wife or risk losing his property. Caesar refused and found escape in the military, serving first in the province of Asia and then in Cilicia.His personal life meanwhile offered up tragedy when his wife, Cornelia, passed away in 69 BC. Two years later he remarried, taking Pompeia, a distant relative of Pompey, as his wife. Their marriage lasted just a few years, and in 62 BC the couple divorced.