[b][font:6a3b=&quot]Julius Caesar was a Roman
politician and general who conquered Gaul (present-day France) and made himself
supreme ruler of the Roman Empire. He was murdered by a group of his political
enemies in 44 bc.[/font][/b]


[b][color:6a3b=red][font:6a3b=&quot]EARLY LIFE AND EXILE[/font][/color][/b]


[b][font:6a3b=&quot]Gaius Julius Caesar was
born in 100 bc into one of Rome's
leading families—the Julians. They were the political opponents of the
successful general Lucius Sulla. When Sulla became dictator (supreme ruler) of
Rome in 82 bc he had several
members of Caesar's family executed. Julius Caesar himself escaped a death
sentence, but he was forced to leave Rome and go into exile. During this time
he studied politics and speech-writing on the Greek island of Rhodes.[/font][/b]


[b][color:6a3b=red][font:6a3b=&quot]RETURN TO ROME[/font][/color][/b]


[b][font:6a3b=&quot]In 78 bc, after Sulla's death,
Caesar returned to Rome and began a career in politics. In 69 bc he was elected a city magistrate, and
four years later he became the official in charge of the public games in Rome.
He became very popular with the citizens of Rome because he put on spectacular
gladiatorial contests. Caesar formed a political alliance with another
successful general, who was known as Pompey the Great, and a banker named
Crassus. Caesar gave his support to Pompey, and Crassus financed Caesar's
gladiatorial contests. In 61 bc he
was appointed governor of Spain, where he began to learn military skills.[/font][/b]


[b][color:6a3b=red][font:6a3b=&quot]CONQUEST OF GAUL[/font][/color][/b]


[b][font:6a3b=&quot]In 60 bc Caesar, Pompey and Crassus
formally joined forces to make themselves rulers of Rome. This arrangement is
known as the First Triumvirate (or committee of three members). Pompey and
Crassus remained in Rome, while Caesar spent the next seven years conquering
Gaul. Later he wrote a long book, [i]The Gallic Wars[/i], in which he described
his victories in great detail. In 53 bc
Crassus was killed while leading an expedition to Syria. This left Caesar and
Pompey as rivals for the control of Rome. In 49 bc
Caesar crossed the River Rubicon (the boundary between Gaul and Italy) and led
his army into Italy to seize control of Rome.[/font][/b]


[b][color:6a3b=red][font:6a3b=&quot]CIVIL WAR[/font][/color][/b]


[b][font:6a3b=&quot]Pompey fled to Greece
where he began organizing an army against Caesar. In 48 bc Caesar sailed to Greece and defeated Pompey's army at the
Battle of Pharsalus. Pompey escaped to Egypt where he was murdered. When Caesar
arrived in Egypt he had a love affair with Cleopatra, the beautiful daughter of
the Egyptian king, and he made her queen of Egypt. Caesar then travelled to
Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) where he defeated the last of Pompey's
supporters.[/font][/b]


[b][color:6a3b=red][font:6a3b=&quot]MURDER PLOT[/font][/color][/b]


[b][font:6a3b=&quot]When Caesar returned to
Rome he had himself declared dictator for life, and this upset many people.
According to Roman law a dictator could only rule for a few years during an
emergency. By making himself dictator for life, Caesar seemed to be trying to
make himself king of Rome. Most Romans hated the idea of being ruled by a king.
Some of Caesar's closest advisers, including Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius
Cassius Longinus, began to plot against him. In 44 bc a group of the plotters stabbed Caesar to death while he
was walking through Rome. Caesar's death started a civil war, out of which his
nephew Octavian (who was later called Augustus) emerged as the first emperor of
Rome.[/font][/b]


[b][font:6a3b=&quot]Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007. ©
1993-2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.[/font][/b]