Gaius Julius Caesar. Renowned military general, statesman, author, and historian, you probably don't know much about him except for the fact that he was dictator of the Roman Republic and supposedly said, et tu brute, before being stabbed to death. Well, this video will cover Caesar's entire life, in less than four minutes. Gaius Julius Caesar was born on July 12th, 100 BCE in Rome. His parents were both from extremely influential families, his father being a praetor governing a province near modern-day Istanbul, And his mother's family produced many consuls, or kind of like modern-day prime ministers.
Nobody knows what else Caesar did in his childhood. The two famous biographies written of him, written by Suetonius and Plutarch, two famous historians, only began when he was a teenager. Then, when Caesar was about 15, in 85 BCE, his father died and Caesar became head of his family. Caesar then got married, but Caesar's uncle, Gaius Marius, was fighting a war and lost, so he was exiled.
The person who won the war, Sulla, targeted Caesar, since he was related to the guy who lost, and stripped Caesar of his inheritance. Caesar was forced to go into hiding, but his mother's family, who were supporters of Sulla, the guy who won, persuaded Sulla to pardon Caesar. Caesar, however, thought that Sulla might still come after him, so he left Rome and joined the Roman army, winning the civic crown, a high award in the Roman army, for his part in the siege of Mytilene, which was basically a rebellion suppression. Then, in 79 BCE, Sulla voluntarily stepped down from the post of dictator and died a year later.
Then Caesar was kidnapped by pirates. While he was kidnapped, the pirates asked for 20 talents of gold as ransom. Caesar said, no, I'm not worth 20 talents of gold, I'm worth 50. Ask for 50 talents as ransom. Now! The pirates did so, the ransom was paid, and then Caesar hunted down the pirates and killed them all.
In the year 73 BCE, he became a pontifex, or Roman priest. Then Caesar was elected a military tribune, the bottom ring on the ladder of Roman politics, and thus began his political career. In the year 63 BCE, he ran for Pontifex Maximus, or head priest of the Roman Empire, and won.
The next year, in 62 BCE, he became a praetor, and the year after that, he became governor of Hispania Ulterior, or southern Spain. The year after that, in 60 BCE, Caesar ran for the post of consul, and won. Here, he joined an alliance between himself and two other guys, Pompey and Crassus.
The alliance was called the First Triumvirate, or Rule of Three Men. Since consulships only lasted a year, Caesar was then assigned a governorship after his consulship expired, but he wasn't content with that. Since he was governor of a province, he had control over four legions, or about 20,000 soldiers.
Over the next eight years, from 58 to 50 BCE, Caesar conquered Gaul, or modern-day France. In the year 50 BCE, the Roman Senate, headed by Pompey, ordered Caesar to return to Rome and disband his army. Caesar said no, and both sides prepared for war. The next year, in 49 BCE, Caesar crossed the Rubicon, the boundary where no army was to cross, and famously said, the die is cast. For the next four years, the Roman Republic was in a civil war, with Caesar eventually coming out on top in 45 BCE.
The next year, in 44 BCE, a month before he was assassinated, Caesar proclaimed himself a dictator in perpetuity. A lot of people didn't like this, and a plot to assassinate Caesar was hatched. About a month or two later, exact figures are disputed. On March 15th, 44 BCE, Caesar walked into the Senate.
As he was about to take his seat, a crowd of senators surrounded him. They pulled off his toga and started stabbing him. He was stabbed 23 times. Interestingly enough, there's no evidence or proof that he said, at two brute. Most evidence points to him saying nothing while he was being stabbed.
After Caesar was assassinated, the Roman Republic collapsed. beginning another civil war, and in 27 BCE, Caesar's adopted son Octavian became head of the new Roman Empire. So, that's the life of Gaius Julius Caesar in four minutes. If you liked the video, then be sure to subscribe and like. If you didn't like the video, then press the dislike button twice, and then, for good measure, press the like button.
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