In the spring of 58 BC Caesar took up his duties as a governor of Cisalpine and Narbonese Gaul, in an effort to launch a successful political career. Caesar could not choose a better moment in history to execute his undertaking; the whole of Gaul were about to be plunged into a savage war.
“If you must break the law, do it to seize power: in all other cases observe it.” Julius Caesar
Caesar knew that he needed a prestige of military conquest if he was ever to consolidate his hold on power; he risked his own life, and his family fortune, by raising four new legions at his own expense, and against the categorical wishes of the senate, but in the end the risk will pay off. Caesar took it for granted that the liberation of Gaul from the tribes invading from the north, was also a conquest of it. He wasted no time, and reorganized it under Roman authority, with the pretext that in no other way it could be protected. (Durant, 1972).
When the smoke and dust started to settle down over the conquered Gaul town of Alesia (52BC), Gaius Julius Caesar couldn’t yet possibly know, that he just added to the Roman Empire, a country twice the size of Italy, and opened the markets of 5.000,000 people to the Roman trade. (Durant, 1972).
Conquering foreign lands, and incorporating them into the Rome will become a way for the patrician families to ensure the immortality of their names, and the growth of
Utilizing the four steps of battle analysis, this paper sets forth to describe Julius Caesar’s first invasion in Britain in 55 BC, the key players, why Caesar failed and how the outcome could have been in his favor had he collected sufficient intelligence prior to his mission.
The Roman Empire conquered land at a previously unparalleled rate, within the known world, affecting its institutions from the rest of the Empire’s prevalence. From Hispania to Britannia sweeping across the mediterranean, gaining Egypt, ending in Persia; the absorption of Carthage and North Africa, and finally the civil war being won by Augustus, all brought upon the negative effects of their conquest. The Empire continued to grow from the year 200 B.C.E. to the year 200 C.E.; this growth had many effects upon the Empire. Although expansion and conquest are often good, seen as liberating, or wholly expansive in mathematical, philosophic, and scientific thought, this is not inherently the case. The Roman Empire’s expansion was not entirely as powerful and awe inspiring as many claim it to be; the greedily performed collection of lands resulted in many negative outcomes. These outcomes largely presented Rome with an issue they would never be able to recover from: empiric decay. The effects of militaristic expansion, of the Roman Empire, resulted in the decay of previously prosperous economic, political, and social institutions.
Julius Caesar’s desired conquest, to take power caused him to expand the Roman Empire, this makes him a good leader because he’s taking action. He wouldn’t want people to control him, he would want to control them. Caesar’s conquest of Gaul resulted in him becoming governor. How many times did he lose battle out of his nine years there? Only two. During this time, he conquered all land east of the Rhine River (World Book). Britain was invaded twice by Caesar’s troops which reflects that he was motivated to take control of
Another sizeable contributing factor to the expansion of the Roman Empire was the sacking of Rome by the Gauls in 390 B.C.. “The Romans were completely dumbfounded by the wild and undisciplined charge of the howling Gauls. The Roman’s tightly packed phalanx, a military formation they had adopted from the Greeks of
The era dominated by Roman empire is one the most well-known and influential periods of history, home to famous names from Julius Caesar to Jesus Christ. At its height, Rome’s territory stretched from the Atlantic coastline to the Middle East, reigning over 60 million people, one-fifth of the population of the ancient world. However, the Roman empire’s treatment of their conquered people’s and their own citizens ultimately led to the permanent downfall of Rome.
As Western Rome expanded past the Mediterranean, it’s foreign prospects dwindled. As a result,
Julius Caesar was and still is considered to be one of the greatest military generals in history. His combination of leadership skills, military genius, and speaking ability propelled him to the forefront of Roman society. Born on June 12/13 100 B.C., Caesar was born into an ancient aristocratic family. Around the age of 16 after his father had died, Caesar had joined the military. It was apparent from this time onward that Caesar was especially gifted in the arts of strategy and warfare. By the age of 30 Caesar had begun making political strides in his perpetual quest for glory and prominence. During this time he would work closely with his friend and future mortal enemy, Pompey. In the next ten years, Caesar would become governor of Spain and ascend to the position of consul. His partnership with Marcus Licinius Crassus further increased Caesar’s rise to power, as Crassus himself was a powerful politician and general, who was arguably the wealthiest man in all of Rome. Along with Pompey, the three men formed what came to be known as the First Triumvirate. Although Caesar was aligned with Pompey, he never ceased to find ways outmaneuver him, qualities that would eventually precipitate Rome’s civil war. Continuing his military conquests, Caesar would become the governor of Gaul, which is now modern day Belgium and France. After ascending to this position, he’d engage in a near decade-long conquest of Gaul known as the Gallic War. Probably his most successful battle and
Julius Caesar expanded the Roman Republic to its furthest extent at the time to engulf Gaul, present day France, into the empire. (Julius Caesar Gaul, 2012). Caesar's conquering of Gaul paved the way for vast riches to enter Rome. Having so many soldiers with so much wealth from Gaul returning all at once
The Roman military was one of the most powerful and successful militaries of all time because they trained stronger troops, created superior weaponry and had better leadership than any other military in their time-period. The Roman military’s leadership was a crucial factor in the Roman’s success as demonstrated by military general Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar was one of the better generals of his time-period because his troops appreciated him more, mostly because Caesar allowed them to have a large share of whatever they plundered. With Caesar allowing his troops to have a large portion of whatever they seize, he could get his army to follow his every command no matter what the situation was, even if it was considered illegal in Roman law. Caesar broke Roman law, when he ordered his troops to cross the Rubicon, which is the point where no general could take his armies past and because of this, Caesar continued pursing his conquest of Gaul. Gaul is one of the largest areas of the Roman area, known today as France After the Roman Empire collapsed, Caesar became a member of the ruling “Triumvirate,” as well as Crassus and Pompey. Caesar then set out to eliminate the other members and when he took out Pompey, Caesar appointed himself dictator for life. Caesar was an important leader to the Roman success because he was able to control his troops no matter if the situation was legal or illegal and if food was scarce, his troops followed his every command, which made them a
Julius Caesar military activities were significant in Gaul, Germany and Britain, which as a result contributed to the fall of the Roman Republic. The combined result of Rome’s wars of expansion and competition among its leading men placed immense strain on the republic system. Julius Caesar, an ambitious man, craved the need for power, which he saw Gaul as an opportunity to conquer as Gaul lacked political unity and discipline. With the help of his devoted army and his genius with military tactics, Caesar was able to conquer Gaul with its advantages in favor for himself, gaining popularity as well as exploring new foreign grounds where no Roman has been before. However with great power Caesar was faced with new enemies and the challengers of Roman senate, which contributed to the fall of the Roman republic.
(Julius Caesar Biography) Caesar began to have more adversaries once he started getting more power. With the measure of expert Caesar had, he transformed into a risk to the agents and the country (since he kept taking off various enhancements.) Caesar expected to control however much land and power as could be normal. Even though Caesar required tremendous control, he had envisioned that it was best for Rome to have serenity. He communicates that "It is more fundamental for Rome than for myself that I should survive. I have for quite a while been happy with power and splendor; be that as it may, should anything happen, Rome will welcome no peace. Another normal war will break out under much more unpleasant conditions than the
However, much of the conquest was an act of aggression prompted by personal ambition (not unlike the conquests of Alexander the Great). Fighting in the summers, he would return to Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy) in the winters and manipulate Roman politics through his supporters,” (Kebric).
Julius Caesar’s military activities in Gaul, Germany and Britain impacted the Roman Republic greatly. Caesar was a man of ambition as Mommsen wrote that “Caesar's aim was the highest which a man is allowed to propose himself” and through his expansion of Rome he was not quiet in involving himself in the story. By providing for himself and boosting his legacy throughout the campaigns he also gave great benefits to Rome. The two military activities notably Gaul and Germany brought in luscious wealth for the Roman Republic. This success was enough to gain solid control over the new provinces. Although this solid control only lasted for a limited time and showed who was capable of leading. It was the Britain campaign that sought a different impact
Julius Caesar’s exceptional leadership skills begin with his victories in the Gallic Wars. The Gallic Wars were battles in Gaul with Caesar and his men fighting various rebelling Gallic tribes. These Gallic rebellions were caused by a population boom within the tribes of Gaul, causing them to leak into Roman territory (Gallic
'I came, I saw, I conquered.' These are the words of the man who changed the history of the world. This paper will show how no other man in the history of the world represented military and political power better than Julius Caesar. He became a legend for his military exploits and great leadership ability.