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100 BCE
Birth
Gaius Julius Caesar was born on July 13, 100 B.C., in a not very aristocratic neighborhood of Rome. From the age of ten, Caesar was placed in the care of an illustrious teacher specialized in Greek and Roman literature, Marcus Antonius Gniphon, to take care of his education. He learned to read and write in Livius Andronicus' translation of the Odyssey. -
84 BCE
Marriage
Marries Cornelia. He is appointed flamen dialis or priest of Jupiter, which gives him a seat in the Senate.Caesar had a daughter with her, Julia, to whom he was linked all his life and for whom he always felt a deep affection, despite the fact that his marital relationship with Cornelia was almost circumstantial. At the beginning of his married life, Caesar must have joined the circle of important men that surrounded his aunt Julia, already widowed by Mario. -
82 BCE
Dictatorship of Sulla. Persecution of the Populars.
The Roman consul and general Sulla returned victorious to Rome and, as usual, took full revenge on his "popular" adversaries; he assassinated them. Sulla, who had some regard for patrician families inclined toward populism, demanded that Caesar repudiate Cornelia. Caesar responded to Sulla's messenger with a famous phrase ("tell your master that in Caesar only Caesar rules") and opted for exile in Asia. -
81 BCE
Departs for Asia Minor in the service of the governor Marcus Minucius Thermus. Strong friendship with King Nicomedes IV of Bithynia.
Caesar, however, did not dare to return to Rome and went into the service of the propretor Termes, who, because Caesar was the son of a member of the Senate, conferred on him the rank of officer.His military behavior earned him a decoration.
Termes then decided to send him to the court of Nicomedes IV, king of Bithynia. A close friendship developed between Nicomedes and Caesar, which was the subject of rumors, something very common at the time. -
78 BCE
Sulla dies. Julius Caesar returns to Rome.
Caesar undoubtedly thought that Sulla's death would allow him to make rapid progress among the populars, but he was wrong. Sulla had left everything well tied up. -
74 BCE
He furthered his knowledge of rhetoric in Rhodes. He was captured by pirates, from whom he took revenge after being released.
On the voyage he was kidnapped by the pirates who plagued the Mediterranean and who lived off the ransom they demanded for their victims. But the fear and respect that, as has been repeated, the pirates came to feel for him, are illustrative of Caesar's arrogance and his ability to fascinate even his enemies. Once free, he assembled a small army, chartered ships and attacked the pirates, whom he defeated, taking everything they possessed with him and his soldiers. -
73 BCE
Returns to Rome. Begins his political career.
Upon his return to Rome, Julius Caesar, a born politician, developed as a lawyer until about 71 BC. It was then that he began his cursus honorum by being appointed military tribune and, shortly thereafter, pontifex or pontiff. -
68 BCE
His wife Cornelia dies and he marries Pompeia, granddaughter of Sulla.
The second of Julius Caesar's wives was Pompeia, granddaughter of Lucius Cornelius Sulla. This marriage was much shorter and unhappier, as they married in 67 BC and were together until Caesar divorced her in 62 BC. In 64 BC his fiery affair with Servilia, the half-sister of one of his great political rivals, Cato the Younger, became public. Caesar would repudiate her in 62 B.C. when suspicion of adultery splashed her. -
60 BCE
First triumvirate of Caesar, Crassus and Pompey.
On the one hand, Crassus fought tirelessly in the uprising of the slaves led by Spartacus, since the slave trade was one of his main sources of income. On the other hand, Pompey, attacked the pirates in the Mediterranean, and confronted several revolutionaries in Asia Minor. Both returned with triumphant airs to the city of Rome. Julius Caesar, although he did not possess as much power as the previous ones, allied himself with them, since he was seen as a great skillful in the military field. -
59 BCE
Marries Calpurnia. Elected consul.
He married Calpurnia, daughter of an ally of the conservative triumvir. This marriage between a man in his forties and a young teenage girl was an attempt to father a son. Unfortunately, the marriage was childless. With the help of this alliance, Caesar was elected, with an overwhelming majority, consul in 59 B.C. a -
53 BCE
Crassus dies. Crisis of the triumvirate.
Crassus died at the Battle of Carras and, with Pompey killed, the first triumvirate came to an end. Caesar took the lead in power. -
51 BCE
He is appointed proconsul of Gaul. During the next seven years he leads the military campaigns known as the Gallic War.
The Gallic War was a military conflict between the Roman proconsul Julius Caesar and the Gallic tribes. Occurring between 58 BC and 51 BC, it was an intense period of history, in which the Roman Republic managed to completely subdue Gaul. The Gallic War finally ended with the Battle of Alesia in 52 BC. In this conflict the Romans managed to put an end to the brave, but troublesome, organized resistance of the Gauls. Thanks to this victory, the Romans were able to expand. -
49 BCE
The Senate declares Caesar an enemy of Rome. Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon with his troops and marches on Rome: start of the civil war.
The immense power accumulated by Caesar provoked the panic of the senatorial party, his long-time enemies. He started the civil war and occupied Picenas, Umbria and Etruria, went to Brindisi to intercept the passage of Pompey, although he did not succeed, and retraced his steps to enter Rome, where he summoned the Senate and imposed his conditions. The final battle would take place at Pharsalus. -
48 BCE
Defeats Pompey at Pharsalus, Thessaly. Pompey flees to Egypt, where he is assassinated. Julius Caesar moves to Alexandria. He meets Cleopatra.
Caesar won and Pompey fled to Alexandria. Then he arrived in Egypt accompanied by two legions, the tenth and the twelfth; in total, about six thousand men. After accommodating his men in the royal palace, he set out to put order in the difficult internal situation of the country of the Nile, divided by the confrontation between the two reigning brothers and husbands, Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra VII. Caesar and Cleopatra had an intense and famous love affair that would result in a son: Caesarion. -
47 BCE
Places Cleopatra on the throne of Egypt. Return to Rome, with absolute powers.
Caesar was thus absolute master of the Roman republic and of the Mediterranean world. The dream of his youth had been fulfilled: the totality of power, within the legal framework of the republic. -
44 BCE
Dies murdered.
Caesar went deceived to the Senate, where he was surrounded by a mob of senators who stabbed him twenty-three times before he died, covering his face with his toga.