65438 BC+000 BC ~ 44 BC
Gaius julius caesar, a famous military and political leader in Rome, was born in a period of great political turmoil.
In the second century BC, the Romans established a huge empire after defeating Carthage for the second time. This victory made many Romans rich, but the continuous wars disrupted Rome's social system and economic system, and many farmers were robbed of their property. The original Roman Senate was only the Senate of a small city. Practice has proved that it can no longer reasonably govern such a huge empire. Political corruption, corruption and bribery are prevalent everywhere, and all the places around the Mediterranean are under the fatuous rule of the Romans. From about 133 BC, Rome experienced long-term turmoil. Politicians, military generals and people's leaders are intrigued for power and interests. Guerrillas (such as those in Liu Ma in 87 BC and Sola in 82 BC) often haunt Rome, attacking the east and disrupting the west. Although the fact of fatuous rule is well known, most Roman citizens want to continue to maintain the political system. Julius Caesar may be the first important political leader: he clearly realized that this kind of democracy is not worth saving, because it is hopeless.
Caesar was born in a noble family with a long history and received a good education. He entered politics when he was young. His various positions, alliances, and details of political rise are complicated, and I don't intend to describe them here. But it is worth mentioning that in 58 BC, at the age of 42, he was appointed as the governor of three provinces under the jurisdiction of Rome. These three provinces are Gaul (located in northern Italy) on the south side of the Alps, Iliricon (located in the coastal area of modern Yugoslavia) and Bognis Gaul (located in the coastal area of southern France). At that time, he commanded four Roman legions, with about 20 thousand soldiers.
During the period from 58 BC to 5 1 BC, Caesar led these four legions and invaded and conquered all other parts of Gaul, including France and Belgium today and parts of Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. Although his troops were not as good as their opponents in number, they defeated the tribes of Gaul and incorporated all the territory north of the Rhine into the territory of Rome. He also sent two troops across the sea to England, but it didn't achieve permanent results.
Caesar, who had become an important political figure at that time, won the hearts of the people because he conquered Gaul and returned to Rome to become a world-loved hero. He is very powerful, but his political opponents are jealous of him. When he finished his military command, the Roman Senate ordered him to return to Rome as an ordinary citizen. Caesar was afraid that if he returned to Rome without troops, his political opponents would take this opportunity to kill him. His idea is not unreasonable. So on the night of 65438+ 10 to 10 in 49 BC, Caesar led his troops across the Rubicon River in northern Italy and went straight to Rome to show his contempt for the Senate. This obvious illegal act triggered a civil war, with Caesar's legion on one side and troops loyal to the Senate on the other. The civil war lasted for four years and ended in Caesar's complete victory. The last battle was held in Manda, Spain on March 7, 45 BC.
Caesar concluded that he was best suited to establish the effective and enlightened autocracy that Rome needed. He returned to Rome in 10 BC and soon became a lifelong dictator. In February 44 BC, someone tried to crown him, but he refused. But because he was a military dictator, this did not reassure the opposition who supported the political system. On March 15, 44 BC (the famous March 15), Caesar was assassinated by a group of conspirators at the Senate meeting.
In his later years, Caesar began to plan a vigorous reform movement. He planned to relocate the army elders throughout the Roman Empire and let the poor in Rome move to new communities. He extended Roman citizenship to several newly conquered peoples. He planned to establish a unified municipal system in Italian cities, planned huge construction projects and the compilation of Roman code, and implemented many other reforms. But he failed to establish a satisfactory constitutional government for Rome, which may be the main reason for his early death.
Because there was only one year between Caesar's victory in Manda and his assassination in Rome, many of his plans were never implemented, so it is hard to say how enlightened and effective his government would have been if he had not been assassinated. Among all his reforms, the most lasting one is the implementation of the calendar. The calendar he practiced has been used to this day, with only a few modifications.
Julius Caesar is one of the smartest political figures in history and has many talents. He is a successful politician, an outstanding general, an excellent speaker and writer. His book The Battle of Gaul describes the conquest of Gaul, which has long been regarded as a first-class literary work, and many students think it is the most popular and touching of all Latin literary works. Caesar is decisive, brave, handsome and handsome. He was a playboy, and even by the standards of the time, he was a womanizer (his most famous affair was with Cleopatra).
People often criticize Caesar's personality. He was desperate for power, and of course he made a fortune by taking advantage of his position. But unlike most ambitious politicians, he is usually neither pious nor hypocritical. In the war with Gaul, Caesar was cruel, but he was especially generous to his defeated opponent.
Caesar in Germany and the czar in Russia both come from the word "Caesar", which is the prestige enjoyed by his name. His reputation is always much more prominent than that of his nephew Augustus Caesar, the real founder of the Roman Empire. But Julius Caesar's influence on history is not equal to his great reputation. Undoubtedly, he played an important role in the process of overthrowing Rome and China, but his importance in this respect cannot be exaggerated, because Rome and the regime are already on the verge of collapse.
Caesar's most important contribution is that he conquered Gaul, and the territory he conquered was ruled by Rome for almost five centuries. During this period, these areas were completely romanized, and Roman laws, customs and languages were practiced, and later Roman Christianity was practiced. Today's French basically comes from spoken Latin.
Caesar's conquest of Gaul also had an important influence on Rome itself, ensuring that Italy was not invaded by the north for centuries. In fact, the conquest of Gaul was also a factor to ensure the security of the entire Roman Empire.
Without Caesar, would the Romans have conquered Gaul sooner or later? The Romans were not superior to the Gaul tribe in number and technology. But Rome expanded rapidly before and after Caesar conquered Gaul. Due to the strong fighting capacity of Roman army at that time, the distance between Rome and Gaul was close, and the discord among Gaul tribes, Gaul seemed to have no possibility of maintaining independence. But in any case, Caesar was a general who defeated the huge Celtic army and conquered Gaul. The main reason why he entered this book lies in this achievement.
Precautions:
(1) refers to julian calendar, which is the predecessor of the solar calendar commonly used in most countries today. In 46 BC, Julius Caesar decided to adopt it, hence the name. The average length is 365.25 days per year, 365 days per calendar year, 4 years 1 in leap year and 366 days in leap year. Every year is 65438+February, 3 1 day in a single month, 30 days in two months, only 29 days in a normal year and 30 days in a leap year. His successor, Augustus, subtracted 1 day from February and added it to August (named Augustus because of its name in August), and changed it to September, where 1 1 month was an abortion and 10 month was a big month. Julian calendar was larger than Uni-President 1 1 min 14 seconds, and accumulated to 1 the end of the 6th century, and the vernal equinox was advanced from March 2 1 to March1. Later, Pope Gregory XIII ordered it to be revised in 1582, and it became the current Gregorian calendar.
Caesar's death
In 44 BC, Caesar was elected dictator for life. Although the Senate, citizens' assembly and various officials were formally retained, in fact everything was subordinate to Caesar. His birth was deified and he became the supreme ruler of the Roman world.
During Caesar's dictatorship, a series of reform measures were taken to strengthen centralization of authority and consolidate the ruling foundation. Through these reform measures, Caesar strengthened the alliance between the Roman Empire and other empires on the one hand, and enhanced the status of the provinces on the other hand, weakening the power of elders and nobles. Therefore, Caesar's dictatorship and reform were resolutely opposed by some elders and nobles, whose representatives were Brutu and Gaius Gaius Cassius Longinus Langjinus. Brutu was a subordinate of Pompeii, Caesar's main political enemy. Now he was forgiven by Caesar and continued to trust and reuse him.
Caesar and Pompeii both served as consuls in their early years. When Caesar fought in the western part of the Roman Empire, Pompeii also made many achievements in the eastern part of the Empire (part of Turkey and Syria today). Although Pompey was a close friend of Caesar, he was very jealous of Caesar. More and more places were conquered by Caesar, and his prestige among soldiers was increasing day by day, which made Pompeii deeply uneasy. In 49 BC, he urged the Senate to remove Caesar's military power and ordered him to return to Rome from Gaul immediately.
Caesar was ordered to know that this was a conspiracy of Pompeii. After careful consideration, he decided to return to Rome with his army and take this opportunity to establish a dictatorship in Rome.
Caesar led the army to a small river called Rubicon. According to Roman law, a general cannot lead his troops across the river without receiving an order. Otherwise, it will be punished as treason. Caesar made a decisive decision and shouted to his men, "The dice have been thrown!" " "He mounted his horse and jumped into the river, followed by the army, and soon crossed the Rubicon River.
Pompey didn't expect Caesar to March into Rome so decisively, but he couldn't be satisfied and had to flee to Greece with 25 thousand people. After Caesar entered Rome, he forced the Senate to agree that he would become the "dictator" of Rome, and then he gained the power to rule the whole Italian peninsula. When the situation in Rome stabilized a little, Caesar immediately marched into Greece and crusaded against Pompeii. Pompeii was defeated and fled to Egypt. Caesar followed him to Egypt. In order to please Caesar, the king of Egypt sent someone to assassinate Pompeii and gave his bloody head to Caesar. Look, Caesar's face fell and he turned away. The arrogant dictator didn't want to see his political opponents killed by others. He ordered the execution of those who killed Pompeii.
At this time, the Ptolemy dynasty in Egypt was fighting for the throne. Caesar embraced Cleopatra, the queen famous for her beauty, and lived in her deep palace for half a year.
Then, his army once again entered Asia Minor, and it took only five days to quell the rebellion of Pompeii's subordinate Prince Bendu. He wrote a good news in the simplest Latin and sent it back to the Senate, which read: "Veni, vidi, vici" (meaning "I came, I saw it, I won"). This battle report fully shows the characteristics of Caesar's rapid use of troops. Two years later, Caesar marched westward from North Africa and put out the resistance of Pompeii's two sons in Spain. But he forgave Pompeii's generals and regarded them as his subordinates. The most important thing is Brutu.
Caesar's victory was warmly welcomed by the Romans. Some people want to support him as emperor. There has been no emperor in Rome since Tacvin was driven away in 509 BC. The Romans hated the emperor and opposed his restoration. Although Caesar wanted to be emperor very much, he dared not make a move. On a festival, Consul Anthony suddenly put a crown on Caesar's head. But only a few people applauded and most people sighed. Seeing this situation, Caesar decided that it was not the right time to be the emperor, so he took off his crown and threw it on the ground. Anthony quickly picked up the crown and put it on him. He threw it away again. When Caesar repeatedly refused to wear the crown, people cheered and paid tribute to him.
Although Caesar didn't become emperor, he already had many honorable titles: "lifelong protector", "father of the motherland" and so on. The law stipulates that he sits on a throne of gold and ivory to handle official business, and his portrait is placed with the gods. He gained the power of dictatorship indefinitely.
Some people see that Caesar's power is getting bigger and bigger, and he will wear the crown one day. Therefore, they organized a cabal and decided to get rid of him. One of these conspirators was Brutu, whom Caesar trusted.
On March 15, 44 BC, the Senate held a meeting. Caesar came to the conference hall alone. Although he was warned in advance that someone would try to assassinate him on this day, he still refused to accept the guard. He said, "It is cowardly to ask the guards to protect you." Caesar strode into the hall, sat down in Huang Jinbao's seat and said with a smile, "Isn't this March 15?" At this time, the conspirators all hid daggers and surrounded him like friends. One of them ran to him and grabbed his purple robe, as if he had something to ask him. So this is the signal to start working. The crowd swarmed and stabbed Caesar with daggers. Caesar was unarmed. He struggled to get the purple robe and resisted. He was stabbed in the waist. Then, a sword plunged into his thigh again. Seeing that this sword was stabbed by Brutu, his most trusted, he couldn't help exclaiming, "Ah, and you, Brutu!" He gave up his resistance and fell down, covering his face with a purple robe and letting the enemy stab him. He was stabbed 23 times. Three of them were fatal and died at the foot of the statue of Pompeii.
On the day before attending the Senate meeting, Caesar was having dinner with his cavalry commander, Lei Bida, when he suddenly asked a question, "What is the best way to die?" Everyone expressed their views one after another. Finally Caesar said that he was willing to die suddenly. Unexpectedly, his prediction came true the next day.
After Caesar was killed, brutus said, "I love Caesar, but I love Rome more!" " "But no one in Rome was happy about Caesar's death. When the murderers walked out of the Senate with bloody daggers in their hands, contrary to the cheers they had expected, they only saw the crowd with cold expressions and suspicious eyes.
Cleopatra is Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt.
Cleopatra VII, Queen of Egypt, is one of the most attractive women in the past dynasties. She has great wisdom and beauty and uses them to serve Egypt's long-term political goals. Cleopatra, with Greek tradition and culture, was one of the Ptolemaic monarchs after Alexander the Great conquered Egypt. Her father Ptolemy XII appointed his eldest son Ptolemy to rule Egypt with her. Cleopatra ascended the throne in 5 1 BC. Three years later, young Ptolemaic supporters deported Cleopatra.
In 48 BC, Caesar came to Egypt in pursuit of his opponent Pompeii. When Corey Opper heard that Caesar was in Alexander the Great's palace, she ordered one of her servants to wrap her in a carpet with gold foil as a gift to Caesar. Caesar was conquered by her beauty, and 52-year-old Caesar decided to help her regain the throne. Ptolemy XIII was deposed, and Caesar ordered Cleopatra's brother Ptolemy XIV to take power with her.
Cleopatra gave birth to a son named Caesar, which means "Little Caesar". Cleopatra followed Caesar back to Rome with their children and lived in Caesar's villa on the outskirts of Rome, where Caesar often visited her. In 44 BC, Cleopatra returned to Egypt after Caesar was assassinated. Soon Ptolemy XIV was killed, probably poisoned by Cleopatra. The queen appointed her son Caesario to be in power with her, and began the rule of Ptolemy Caesar. The civil war that broke out again after Caesar's assassination divided the Roman Empire. As the ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire, marc anthony summoned Cleopatra to Tarsus in Asia Minor to clarify her statement that she was helping his enemies. The queen arrived on a luxury yacht, dressed like Venus. She entertained Anthony. Anthony was attracted by her beauty and followed her to Alexandria. After a pleasant winter with Cleopatra, Anthony returned to Rome. He married Octavian, a relative of Octavian. But he still loves Cleopatra who gave birth to his twins. When he returned to the East, he summoned Cleopatra on his way to resist Parthia's expedition and married her. Octavian declared war on Cleopatra angrily and openly. Anthony and Cleopatra sent 500 warships. Octavian blocked these warships on the west coast of Greece, and then in 3 1 BC, the famous Yachtoni followed Cleopatra to break through the blockade and escape, but his fleet was wiped out. Octavian arrived in Alexandria the next year and defeated Anthony again. Cleopatra took refuge in the mausoleum she built for herself. Anthony thought Cleopatra had died for him, so he drew his sword and committed suicide in a real Roman way. Soon, the messenger arrived and told Cleopatra that she was still alive. On his deathbed, he insisted that someone should take him to see Cleopatra and let him die in her arms. Then Cleopatra also committed suicide, which is said to have been killed by a poisonous snake.