Julius Caesar Background

Julius Caesar was born into one of the most honored families in Rome. His family's history went so far back that Caesar was thought to be a descent of some of the first Roman kings, and even a goddess (Unstead 19). Caesar was very determined to be a part of the political party in Rome, but was made an outcast by the Roman Senate due to his uncle’s disobedience to the Senate during his time spent in politics (20). Caesar then later led an army and spent the rest of his life in war (21). Although he spent most of his life in war, Caesar also liked to explore the world. One of the first maps ever created, called Mappa mundi, stated along its border ¨The world was first measured by Julius Caesar; the whole of the east was measured by Nicodoxus,
In Rome, there were two very different political parties, the Senate, which consisted of the upper-class, or the Popular party, which was made up of commoners. Caesar was born into a family of nobles, which was part of the Senate. Although his family consisted of nobles, Caesar’s uncle by marriage, Marius, was a well-known general who cared greatly about the poor (Unstead 19). Since the lower-class people of Rome still viewed his uncle as a hero, the Senate was very suspicious of Caesar. This was a problem for him, so he took a trip to Rhodes to spend some time away from Rome to stay safe (19-20). When Caesar made his return to Rome, he was viewed as a very intriguing man. He spent a large amount of money to put on theatrical shows for the homeless, even though he himself had a very small amount of money. Later on in his lifetime, Caesar, with help from Crassus, the wealthiest man in Rome, became the Governor of Spain. Not even two years after becoming governor, he returned back to Rome in search for a higher title (20). A year after becoming Consul, Caesar was awarded the Governorship of Gaul. That following March, he left Rome and did not return for nine years. Over the nine years that he was gone, people were shocked by his political speeches. The Romans never would have never expected Caesar to be able to lead an army, although as soon as he was given the opportunity, he proved himself worthy
On September 28th, 48 BC, Pompey was stabbed to death by two Roman officers that were his former servants. The Senate was very upset about Pompey’s death since they had been allies. They blamed Caesar for his death and called him a traitor. This event was one of the main reasons for the start of the Roman Civil War. After Pompey’s death, several of his men fled to Africa. With Juba, King of Numidia’s, help, the men started an army that was big enough to eventually invade the Italian peninsula and take over Rome. A man named Publius Sittius, a former Roman knight, was also in Africa at the same time as Caesar. During Sittius’ time there, he gathered a large number of high-skilled soldiers and created an army, serving as its leader. Sittius offered his men’s help to King Bocchus, who was the king of Mauretania, which was also a huge rival of King Juba. Caesar them became allies with Sittius, and they both worked together to defeat the Pompeians. With the help of Sittius, Caesar was able to hold off the Pompeians until the rest of his army arrived. Caesar was also able to separate the Pompeian forces so that they were much easier to attack.