Times Ancient Roman
By: Corey Kardos, Madison Bang, Megan Pang
The Famous People "Roming" the World
Julius Caesar
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Augustus the Great
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Constantine the Great
His father became the Western Roman emperor in 305 B.C., and after his father's death, Constantine fought to take power. He became the Western emperor in 312 B.C. and the sole Roman emperor in 324 B.C.. Constantine was also the first emperor to adhere to Christianity. He issued an edict that protected Christians in the empire and converted to Christianity on his deathbed in 337 B.C..
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Julius Caesar Biography
Early Life
Caesar grew up in a time when Roman Politics were divided and Lucius Cornelius Sulla was purging Rome of political enemies. His dad died when Caesar was 16 years old. He would now need to take charge of the family. At seventeen he was nominated to be the new high priest of Jupiter. He later married Lucius Cinna's daughter. Sulla wanted political enemies to be exiled or dead, Caesar hid, he left to join the army.
In the army, Caesar won The Civic Crown. After sometime in the military, Sulla died and Caesar returned to Rome because he felt safe. Caesar had to live in a modest house, in a low class neighborhood because when Sulla wanted to cut down competition, he took away the inheritance of Caesar.
Once he traveled across the Aegean Sea, Caesar was kidnapped by pirates. He joked with the Pirates about crucifying them. After Caesar paid the ransom to get out, he came back with a fleet of ships. He then captured the Pirates and crucified them.
After this, he ran for Pontifex Maximus, and won. After this position he was appointed to govern in Spain. In Spain he conquered two local tribes. Caesar went back to Rome, and won a title as consul.
The Conquest of Gaul
As a consul, Caesar was still in deep debt. This was a tiny bit of stress, he had to control 4 legions. Germanic tribes were deafening some of Rome's allies, Caesar defeating them before they migrated south, close to Italy. Then, tribes in the northeast began to raise armies, Caesar defeated them as soon as possible. He then went to Britain because Caesar claimed the Britons helped and enemy of Rome.
Caesar's the first attempt in Britain got him a beachhead, the second advanced inland, and established alliances. Caesar had to return home in the winter because citizens in Gaul had poor harvests and started a revolt. In 52 B.C. another revolt occurred, this time larger. The rebels and Gallic tribes united. This team won in several engagements. But the fun ended when Caesar caused them to surrender.
Back in Britain, Caesar's daughter and Pompey's wife died (the same person). Pompey then married a daughter of one of Caesar's political enemy. Crassus died in 53 B.C in a failed invasion. The Triumvirate (was the name of the political alliance of Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus) had died.
In January 44 B.C., Caesar and his 13th legion crossed the Rubicon River and ignited a civil war against Pompey. Pompey and the senate fled to the south, Caesar found them and pursued Pompey, trying to capture him. Pompey squeezed out and fled. Caesar put him aside, and made a 27 day route-march to Spain and defeated Pompey's lieutenants.
Caesar then traveled to Greece in July of 48 B.C.. There Caesar almost lost to Pompey. Later in 48 B.C., Caesar defeated Pompey's side. Pompey scattered to Egypt. He chose wrong because there Pompey was murdered. Caesar put his dictatorship aside to help Cleopatra VII fight the child Pharaoh because of Pompey's murder. In 47 B.C., Caesar and Cleopatra won. Later in the year the celebrated. Caesar and Cleopatra could not marry by Roman law, but they kept in touch.
In late 48 B.C., Caesar was chosen as dictator for a year. In that year he annihilated the King of Pontus in the Middle East. Afterwards, he dealt with what was left of Pompey's supporters. Caesar what's elected for dictator for another 10 years. In 46 B.C he won another battle over Cato.
Caesar's civil war was one of the last political military conflicts in the Roman Republic. In a four year battle, Caesar defeated the last of the Optimates and became Dictator perpetual of Rome. This lead to the Roman Empire.
Assassination and Dictatorship
During his early career, Caesar had seen how chaotic the Roman Republic had become, and the republican machinery had broken down under the weight of imperialism. Once Julius came into rule, the central government had become powerless. The provinces had been transformed into independent principalities under the absolute control of their governors. The army had replaced the constitution as the means of accomplishing political goals, and with this weak central government, politics had spiraled out of control, and the status quo had been maintained by a corrupt aristocracy, which saw no need to change a system and had made its members rich.
In 49 BC, during his crossing of the Rubicon River along with his assassination in 44 BC, Caesar established a new constitution, which was intended to accomplish three separate goals. First, he wanted to suppress all armed resistance out in the provinces in which to bring order back to the empire. Next, he wanted to create a strong central government in Rome. Finally, he wanted to bring the entire empire together into one cohesive unit. The first goal was accomplished when Caesar defeated Pompey and his supporters. To complete the other two goals, he needed to make sure that his control over the government was undisputed, and so he increased his own authority, in which was the fall of authority from Rome's other institutions .
Reforms
During his times, Julius made a series of reforms that were meant to address many neglected issues. His most important was his change to the calendar. He established a police force, hired officials to carry out his land reforms, and ordered the rebuilding of Carthage and Corinth.
He also extended Latin rights throughout the Roman world, and then changed the tax system and reverted to the earlier version that allowed cities to collect tribute however they wanted, rather than needing Roman intermediaries. This insane prevented further and larger schemes, which included the construction of an unprecedented temple to Mars, a huge theater, and a library on the scale of the Library of Alexandria. Julius wanted to convert Ostia to a more advanced port, and dug a canal through the Isthmus of Corinth.
Another reform was he distinguished a massive mobilization to conquer the Dacians, Parthians and avenge the loss at Carrhae. Before his assassination, the Senate named him censor for life and Father of the Fatherland. The month of Quintilis was renamed July in his honor. He was granted further honors, which were later used to justify his assassination.
In February 44 BC, one month before his assassination, he was appointed dictator for life. Under Caesar, a significant amount of authority was vested in his lieutenants, mostly because Caesar was frequently out of Italy.
In October 45 BC, Caesar resigned his position as sole consul, and facilitated the election of two successors for the remainder of the year which theoretically restored the ordinary consulship, since the constitution did not recognize a single consul without a colleague.
In 48 BC, Caesar was given permanent tribunician powers, which made his person sacrosanct and allowed him to veto the Senate, although on at least one occasion, tribunes did attempt to obstruct him. The offending tribunes in this case were brought before the Senate and divested of their office. This was not the first time that Caesar had violated a tribune's sacrosanctity. After he had first marched on Rome in 49 BC, he forcibly opened the treasury although a tribune had the seal placed on it. After the impeachment of the two obstructive tribunes, Caesar, perhaps unsurprisingly, faced no further opposition from other members of the Tribunician College.
In 46 BC, Caesar gave himself the title of "Prefect of the Morals", which was an office that was new only in name, as its powers were identical to those of the censors. Thus, he could hold censorial powers, while technically not subjecting himself to the same checks that the ordinary censors were subject to, and he used these powers to fill the Senate with his own partisans.
Set the precedent, which his imperial successors followed, of requiring the Senate to bestow various titles and honors upon him; Ex: "Father of the Fatherland" and "imperator".
Consulship and Dictatorship
Miltary Campaigning
To help his chance of election, he proposed the idea of redistributing public lands to the poor. This made the aristocracy try to limit the amount of power Julius had after he was elected. Caesar then overthrew the aristocracy's limits and instead took control over northern Italy, southeastern Europe, and southern France.