The death of general Crassus, in 53 a. a., established a political crisis between the two remaining members of the First Triumvirato: Julius Caesar and Pompeu. At this time, the Roman Senate decided to support Pompey by granting him the leadership of the government against the various armed groups that threatened the political stability of Rome. With that, Julius Caesar was forced to surrender the armies that were under his control.
Not accepting the handover of power, Julius Caesar led his subordinates in the legendary crossing of the Rubicão River, which would take them towards the Italian Peninsula. Between the years of 49 and 48 a. C., he led a civil war that forced the Roman senators and Pompey to flee from Rome to Greece. Determined to secure power in his hands, he pursued the Roman senators. In the meantime, Pompey ended up fleeing to the kingdom of Egypt.
With the help of Egyptian ministers, Pompey was eventually assassinated. In this way, Julius Caesar was able to establish a new phase in Roman political history. With the support of soldiers and commoners, he amassed a number of titles. After being consecrated as Pontiff Maximus, he was elevated to the status of Perpetual Dictator, having the right to create new laws. Not leaving his military vocation aside, he conquered territories in Spain, Africa and turned Egypt into a Roman province.
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Among other actions, Júlio César organized the carrying out of several public works and reorganized the state's financial framework. In addition, he extended the right of citizenship to other regions of the vast Roman territories and allowed the Gauls to occupy seats in the Senate. Another important transformation was linked to the modification of the Roman calendar, which added the month of July in its honor and stipulated the use of a leap year every four years.
Another well-known event in Julius Caesar's life was his love affair with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. During his speeches, many Roman senators expressed their complete disapproval of the dictator's involvement with a foreign woman. In a short time, the senators' dissatisfaction was responsible for organizing a plot that ended Julius Caesar's government. In the year 44 a. a., under the command of Brutus and Cassius, a group of senators assassinated the dictator.
Those responsible for the assassination of Julius Caesar failed to come to power. General Marco Antônio, loyal to the former dictator, persecuted every one of those who participated in the political coup. Furthermore, under the influence of the statesman and philosopher Cicero, the members of the Senate decided to hand over control of Rome to Caius Octavius, adopted son of Julius Caesar.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUSA, Rainer Gonçalves. "The dictatorship of Julius Caesar"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/a-ditadura-julio-cesar.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
