Essay --

The Importance of Julius Caesar as Dictator Julius Caesar was born in a wealthy and well-known family. His father, Gaius Julius Caesar, was governor of the province of Asia, while his aunt was married to one of the most important figures in the Roman Republic, Gaius Marius. At age sixteen, his father died and life became tough for Caesar as he became the head of the family. Later on his life, a civil war broke out between his uncle and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, a Roman general. Sulla won the war and stripped anyone of his or her inheritance who was connected to Gaius Marius, which included Caesar who ended up fleeing from Rome. As years went by, Sulla would eventually die and Caesar would return back to Rome where he would start his political career. He became the governor of all of Gaul and as a military genius he defeated tribes like the Helvetians, the Germans, and the Nervii. When he came back to Rome again, he created the first Triumvirate with Pompeius Magnus, Marcus Licinius Crassus. This was to help him gain power of Roman Republic. When Crassus died in a battle, a civil war broke out over the control of Rome between Pompey and the Senate against Julius Caesar. Caesar would win the war and become the sole ruler â€Å"dictator† of Rome where he created many reforms that stabilized the Mediterranean world. Julius Caesar dictatorship led to the reforms of the political system, social life, calendar, and helped with the creation of the Roman Empire. During his time as dictator, Julius Caesar reformed the corrupt Roman political system. Before he took over, nobles would bribe people in the assemblies for votes. For instance, â€Å"A noble would give a voter some money or a piece of his land in exchange for the voter’s vote†(Smith, 201).... ...to many positive things, which includes the reform of the political system, the social life, the calendar, and he also helped with the creation of the Roman Empire. He fixed the political system by replacing the corrupt voting system with a controlled election. Roman citizenship became a lot easier to get and people around the Mediterranean received more legal rights. He also reformed the calendar so it could catch up to the solar year, which was named the Julian calendar. Today many countries calendars including us, is based on the Julian calendar. Julius Caesar became a very popular leader for the people of Rome and was on verge to become the first Roman Emperor. His assassination would eventually lead to the collapse of the Roman Republic and the rise of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus. Without Julius Caesar, Rome’s history would have been completely different.