How long was julius caesar dictator

The same year, Caesar wed Calpurnia, a teenager to whom he remained married for the rest of his life. At the same time Caesar was governing under Pompey, he aligned himself with the wealthy military leader Marcus Licinius Crassus. The strategic political alliance among Caesar, Pompey and Crassus came to be known as the First Triumvirate. For Caesar, the First Triumvirate partnership was the perfect springboard to greater domination.

Crassus, a leader known as the richest man in Roman history, offered Caesar financial and political support that proved to be instrumental in his rise to power. Crassus and Pompey, however, were intense rivals. Once again, Caesar displayed his abilities as a negotiator, earning the trust of both Crassus and Pompey and convincing them they'd be better suited as allies than as enemies. In a controversial move, Caesar tried to pay off Pompey's soldiers by granting them public lands.

Caesar hired some of Pompey's soldiers to stage a riot. In the midst of all the chaos, he got his way. Not long after, Caesar secured the governorship of Gaul modern-day France and Belgium. This allowed him to build a bigger military and begin the kind of campaigns that would cement his status as one of Rome's all-time great leaders. Between 58 and 50 B. As he expanded his reach, Caesar was ruthless with his enemies. In one instance he waited until his opponent's water supply had dried up, then ordered the hands of all the remaining survivors be cut off.

All the while, he was mindful of the political scene back home in Rome, hiring key political agents to act on his behalf. Meanwhile, Crassus still had never completely overcome his disdain for Pompey. The three leaders patched things up temporarily in 56 B. Three years later, however, Crassus was killed in a battle in Syria. Around this time, Pompey—his old suspicions about Caesar's rise reignited—commanded that Caesar disband his army and return to Rome as a private citizen.

Rather than submit to Pompey's command, on January 10, 49 B. As Pompey further aligned himself with nobility, who increasingly saw Caesar as a national threat, civil war between the two leaders proved to be inevitable. Pompey fled Rome and eventually landed in Greece, where his troops were defeated by Caesar's legions. By late 48 B. The Egyptians, however, knew of Pompey's defeats and believed the gods favored Caesar: Pompey was assassinated as soon as he stepped ashore in Egypt.

Caesar claimed to be outraged over Pompey's murder. After having Pompey's assassins put to death, he met with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra.

Caesar and Cleopatra forged an alliance and a sexual relationship that ousted her brother and co-regent, Ptolemy XIII, and placed Cleopatra on the throne of Egypt.

A skilled political tactician, she and her son by Caesar, Caesarion, proved instrumental in international affairs for years, culminating in her liaison with Roman general Mark Antony. Upon his triumphant return to Rome, Caesar was hailed as the father of his country and made dictator for life. Caesar greatly transformed the empire, relieving debt and reforming the Senate by increasing its size and opening it up so that it better represented all Romans.

He altered the Roman calendar and reorganized the construction of local government. Caesar also resurrected two city-states, Carthage and Corinth, which had been destroyed by his predecessors. And he granted citizenship to a number of foreigners. He implemented a number of wide-ranging reforms, including the introduction of the Julian calendar. Cause of death: He was assassinated by a group of nobles on the Ides of March.

Succeeded by: his great-nephew, Augustus. For presidents, emperors and other leaders whose lives were prematurely curtailed by assassination, their respective — usually dramatic — demises often overshadow what they actually achieved during their time in power. And so it is with Julius Caesar too. His military conquests and the social measures he introduced receive less exposure. The alliance was known as the First Triumvirate. Politically, Caesar favoured the Populares, a faction of the Republic advocating social reforms that won them the support of the people.

Their opponents were Optimates, conservatives whose aim was to safeguard the interests of the privileged elites. Many of these Optimates could be found in the strong Senate, ensuring that the populist Caesar would, throughout his political life, find little support on its benches.

Consulships lasted for just a year, with the holders unable to seek re-election for a decade. The duration of his governorship was also set at five years, rather than the traditional single year.

In 50 BC, towards the end of those ten years and with the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate called for Caesar to relinquish his military role and return to Rome. Politically, this was dangerous for Caesar. But when he led his troops across the Rubicon River in defiance of the Roman Senate , he distinguished himself for the ages and set Rome on a path of transformation from republic to empire.

In 59 B. He knew he needed a great military victory to win lasting glory beyond politics, so he set out to conquer the long-defiant Gauls—Celts who lived in modern-day France. The Gaul leader Vercingetorix was paraded in chains through Rome before being ritually strangled.

In January 49 B. The act was a declaration of civil war and a direct challenge to Pompey and his troops, who were enlisted to protect the interests of the Senate. Caesar drove Pompey out of Italy and chased him to Greece. Pompey fled to Egypt, but he was betrayed and killed when he came ashore. As Caesar pursued Pompey loyalists in North Africa, he became politically and romantically entangled with the queen Cleopatra and had a son with her named Caesarion.

Caesar returned, triumphant, to Rome in 46 B. As ruler, he enacted several beneficial measures for Rome. He increased the size of the Senate for broader participation and opened citizenship to more foreigners. He also was magnanimous to his opponents, including Marcus Junius Brutus, a supporter of Pompey.

When he declared himself dictator for life in 45 B. On the Ides of March March 15 , 44 B. Though the conspirators eliminated Caesar himself, they neither thwarted his plans nor saved the republic. The Senate posthumously granted him the title Divine Julius, making him the first historical Roman to be deified. All rights reserved. Culture Reference.