caesar
In history it is rare to find truly great leadership, but every once in a while someone comes along so charismatic that even his enemies cannot but admire him. Rome in the first century B.C. was replete with statesmen, generals and leaders who to this day are remembered as being among the greatest and most fascinating that ever lived. But there is no doubt as to the most memorable of these. Gaius Julius Caesar lived from 100 to 44 B.C. and though his life began and ended with Rome beset by internal strife and the threat of civil war, he did more than anyone to consolidate the power of Rome and facilitate the rise of the Roman empire. It is true that the political and social climate of Rome had been changing rapidly for two hundred years before Caesar, but it is a moot point whether Rome would have proceeded towards monarchy without Caesar. The important thing is that he did live and reshape the Roman world; the life of Caesar was the catalyst for four centuries of the most extensive and influential empire in human history. Aside from his legendary military prowess, shrewd political mind, oratorical and literary brilliance, reputation for even handedness and demagogic appeal, part of what fascinates us even today about Caes
Though his death cast Rome into greater political upheaval, Caesar's greatness as a leader made possible the ultimate settlement of the conflict and the people's acceptance of a monarchy. He made Rome recognize that she had grown too large to be ruled by a cumbersome, outdated Republic. An empire must be ruled by an emperor, not a senate. Caesar's "reforms and concern for more efficient government foreshadowed the best intentions of later rulers"(Hooper, 295). Even though the stage had been set for "revolution" by men like the Gracchi, Marius and Sulla, Pompey, Lucullus and Crassus, it was Caesar who brought the act to fulfillment and at his death transformed the Roman world. Ultimately, though, he was too great of a leader. His vision was so far beyond that of his contemporaries that it was impossible for them to understand him. As Hooper notes, "like a teacher he seemed always to be directing affairs in a world of children, yet too far above them all to care about hurting any. To less gifted men however, his aloofness, even if mixed with kindness, was thought to be patronizing. They could not believe that in his heart he really cared about them. Caesar never bothered to ask for another man's opinion"(297). He was like a fictional character, too good to be true. Plutarch perhaps sums it up best: "Caesar was born to do great things and to seek constantly for distinction. His many successes...only served to kindle in him fresh confidence for the future, filling his mind with projects of still greater actions and with a passion for new glory, as thoug
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Julius Caesar, Crassus Caesar, Mark Antony, , Penguin Books, University Press, 44 bc, Bibliography CITED, roman world, York Penguin, york penguin books, penguin books, york penguin,
Approximate Word count = 1053
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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