Julius Caesar Guided Notes The Early Years  Born to a not-so-well-off ______family in 100 BC in a plebeian neighborhood of Rome.  After a civil war, Caesar was left penniless and almost lost his life while still a teenager.  He joined the army at age ____ and serves for ______years.  The (Legal) Rungs of Power  Was elected a ______at age 30.  At age 34 he was put in charge of public ______. He spent lavishly, and won great popularity.  Was elected ______at age 36. This post was for life, and brought power, wealth, and prestige (plus a big house in the Forum!)  At age 39, then became military governor in ______, where he earned his reputation as a general.  Was elected Consul, the highest office in Rome, at age 41. Gaul  After his Consulship, Caesar makes sure he’s appointed ______of Illyricum, Italian Gaul, and then Gaul-across-the-Alps.  This gives him the opportunity to command troops again, and to conquer territory.  This also gives him the opportunity for great ______. Risking All  Crassus dies in battle in Parthia.  The Senate convinces Pompey to oppose Caesar rather than work with him.  Caesar, after eight years in Gaul, is ordered to surrender his armies and return to Rome (to stand trial!).  Caesar invades Italy with his ______. Civil War--Again!  Pompey and the leading Senators flee to Greece to ready their army.  Caesar easily takes ______, ______, and ______.  Outnumbered two to one, he faces Pompey in Greece, and crushes him.  Pompey flees to Egypt. Caesar’s Coins  Caesar was the first Roman to have his face put on a coin while he was still alive  The Romans believed only ancestors and gods could be pictured  Caesar was equating himself with gods and Eastern kings Ego sum Caesar  He has himself appointed ______. Caesar now rules alone, using friends, freedmen, and slaves to govern--ignoring the Senate. The Ides of March  A group of over fifty ______decide that enough is enough--they are not ready to relinquish power and control of Rome to one man.  They conspire to ______Caesar on March 15, 44 BC.  They invite him to be crowned and declared ______. He arrives to find 50 Senators with knives hidden in their togas. They promptly stabbed him to death. The Aftermath  Caesar’s body is cremated in a massive public demonstration in the Forum. A temple is built to Divine Julius in that spot.  The conspirators are forced to ______.  Civil war again breaks out, with Caesar’s right-hand-man, Marc Antony, and his heir, Octavian, conquering the armies of Brutus, Cassius, and the Senators. Caesar’s Lasting Impact  Caesar provided a blueprint for rising to absolute power in Rome--a blueprint both ______and Antony followed.  His name became one of the titles for the Roman emperors. The more modern “Czar” and “Kaiser” derive from his name too.  Caesar began the practice of granting Roman ______to conquered peoples. This helped to prolong the expansion and maintenance of the Roman Empire. Caesar’s Lasting Impact  His Commentaries are one of the great pieces of Latin literature.  He inspired one of ______most celebrated plays.  His reform of the calendar has been changed very little over the past two millenia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4nzbC5vYLY