The influence Julius Caesar has had on Western Civilization has been profound. Politician, general, orator, author and later, dictator, Julius Caesar continues to titillate the imagination and enliven historical discussions. His tremendous military conquests, his affair with Cleopatra in Egypt, and his immortal claim: veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw, I conquered), have lived in infamy for modern students of classic Roman lore (CarpeNoctum). His famed assassination at the hands of his once loyal friends and supporters inspired both a Shakespearean tragedy (et tu, Brute?) as well as five hundred more years of domination by the Roman Empire. His accomplishments cannot but diminish those of all others that lived in his time.
Born in 100 BCE, Caesar's early years were devoted to political pursuits; his family connections and his capacity for bribery facilitated a post-by-post ascension through the Roman senate. In 60 BCE, Caesar made a three-way pact with two powerful, wealthy, and most importantlyùdisgruntledù Roman citizens, thus forming the "first triumvirate". This triumvirate, using bribes and other manners of persuasion, helped to get Caesar elected to the prestigious office of consul, where he then used violence to push through legislation that benefited his two coconspirators as well as himself. Caesar granted himself the governorship of Gaul at this time, thus marking the true beginning of Caesar's career as a general (BBCi).
In 58 BCE, Caesar went to Gaul and stayed there for eight years, waging wars and gaining the respect and admiration of those that followed him into battle. Caesar's Gallic conquests added the whole of modern day Belgium, Holland and France to the Roman Empire (Lannom 40). Caesar defeated German tribes, becoming the first Roman general to cross the Rhine River (Francese 46); he defended southwestern Gaul from invaders hailing from modern day Switzerland; he invaded Britain, and amassed the...