Julius Caesar
Roman general, politician and dictator (100-44 BCE): his career, the conquest of Gaul, the civil war, and his assassination.
Category: Figures
- 100 BCEJulius Caesar is born
Gaius Julius Caesar is born in Rome on 12 or 13 July 100 BCE, into the patrician Julian clan. Sources disagree on the day.
- 63 BCECaesar elected pontifex maximus
In 63 BCE Caesar wins the election for pontifex maximus, head of Rome's state religion, defeating Catulus and Servilius Isauricus.
- c. 60 BCEThe First Triumvirate takes shape
Caesar, Pompey and Crassus form an informal alliance, between July 60 and January 59 BCE. It has no legal standing, unlike the later Second Triumvirate. Ancient sources disagree on whether it came before or after Caesar's election as consul.
- 59 BCECaesar's consulship; Pompey marries Julia
Caesar holds the consulship in 59 BCE, allied with Pompey and Crassus. Pompey marries Caesar's daughter Julia the same year.
- 58 BCEGallic Wars
Caesar conquers Gaul between 58 and 50 BCE, starting by blocking the Helvetii's migration. Modern historians consider his own casualty figures, such as 430,000 Germani killed, to be exaggerated.
- 56 BCEConference at Luca
Caesar, Pompey and Crassus meet at Luca in summer 56 BCE to renew their alliance.
- 55 BCECaesar bridges the Rhine and lands in Britain
In 55 BCE Caesar crosses the Rhine on a bridge built in ten days, then sails for Britain, setting out after midnight on 23 August. He lands again in 54 BCE.
- 54 BCEJulia, wife of Pompey, dies
Caesar's daughter Julia dies in childbirth in 54 BCE. Some ancient writers saw her death as making a rift between Caesar and Pompey inevitable, but modern scholars treat this cautiously.
- September 52 BCEVercingetorix surrenders at Alesia
In September 52 BCE Caesar besieges the Gallic leader Vercingetorix at Alesia. After the relief army fails and disperses, Vercingetorix surrenders. He is paraded in Caesar's triumph and executed in 46.
- January 49 BCECaesar crosses the Rubicon
After the Senate demands on 7 January 49 BCE that he give up his command, Caesar crosses the Rubicon on 10 or 11 January with his army, starting a civil war against Pompey and the Senate.
- 49 BCECaesar's civil war
The war between Caesar and Pompey's senatorial side runs from January 49 to Caesar's victory at Munda on 17 March 45 BCE. It is fought in Italy, Spain, Greece, Egypt, Asia Minor and Africa.
- 48 BCEAlexandrian War; Caesar and Cleopatra
Besieged in the palace quarter of Alexandria, Caesar sides with Cleopatra against her brother Ptolemy XIII. After relief arrives and Ptolemy dies in early 47 BCE, he makes her queen. Caesarion is born around June.
- 48 BCEPompey is murdered in Egypt
Pompey is killed on arrival in Egypt on the orders of Ptolemy XIII. Caesar reaches Alexandria on 2 October 48 BCE and learns of the murder there.
- August 9, 48 BCEBattle of Pharsalus
On 9 August 48 BCE Caesar defeats Pompey at Pharsalus in central Greece. Pompey flees disguised as a commoner and sails to Egypt.
- 47 BCEAntipater helps Caesar; the Herodian rise
In 47 BCE Antipater the Idumaean, adviser to Hyrcanus II, helps Julius Caesar at Alexandria and is rewarded with Roman citizenship and the post of procurator of Judea. He gives his sons Phasael and Herod the governorships of Jerusalem and Galilee. He is poisoned in 43.
- August 2, 47 BCEBattle of Zela: "Veni, vidi, vici"
On 2 August 47 BCE Caesar defeats Pharnaces II of Pontus, son of Mithridates VI, at Zela. Plutarch says he reported it to Rome in the words "Veni, vidi, vici" ("I came, I saw, I conquered").
- 46 BCEBattle of Thapsus; Cato dies at Utica
In early 46 BCE Caesar defeats Metellus Scipio at Thapsus in North Africa. Cato the Younger, garrisoned at Utica, kills himself rather than submit. Scipio and King Juba of Numidia also die by their own hands.
- January 1, 45 BCEThe Julian calendar takes effect
Caesar proposes a calendar reform in 46 BCE, advised by the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria, and it takes effect on 1 January 45. To realign it with the seasons, 46 BCE is lengthened to 445 days.
- March 17, 45 BCEBattle of Munda
On 17 March 45 BCE Caesar defeats the Pompeians under Gnaeus and Sextus Pompeius in southern Spain, in the last battle of the civil war. Labienus is killed, and Gnaeus is hunted down afterward.
- 44 BCECaesar named dictator in perpetuity
In early 44 BCE Caesar is proclaimed dictator in perpetuity (dictator perpetuo). Weeks later a group of senators led by Brutus and Cassius kills him.
- March 15, 44 BCEAssassination of Julius Caesar
On the Ides of March a conspiracy of about 60, led by Brutus and Cassius, stabs Caesar, dictator in perpetuity, in the Curia of Pompey. The Republic is not restored: civil war follows.