Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Neither from the city of Rome, nor a pedigreed patrician, Gaius Marius was still elected consol a record-breaking seven times. He drastically reformed the Roman army by recruiting volunteers from both urban and rural areas. These volunteers owned no land, so the general promised them land in exchange for their services. However, the soldiers did not swear an oath of loyalty to the senate, but to the general, and this professional army was no longer under the state. Marius created a new system of recruitment that placed power in the general’s hands, and the growth of the army ensured continued military success due to the high number of fresh soldiers available for each campaign. Marius was a successful Roman general and military reformer, and his improvements were profound and effective. He left a powerful legacy and in order to increase his prestige, he married into the Julii Caesars. Marius became the uncle of Julius Caesar.
Julius Caesar was born in Rome on July 12, 100 BC, to Gaius Julius Caesar Sr. and Aurelia. He was the only son of three children born into the prestigious Julian clan, and they claimed descent from Venus. Unlike most nobles who lived lavish lives in Palatine, Julius Caesar grew up in Subura, the city’s poorest and most densely populated region.   Julius began his early education by studying the grammatica, then proceeding down the traditional path of study in rhetoric, oratory, philosophy, literature, Greek and music. Caesar concluded his education by traveling

to the Island of Rhodes to study with the orator Molo. Julius married Cinna’s granddaughter Cornelia, and they had his only child, Julia. Julius Caesar was very popular with the people in Rome. He had charisma that drew people in and his soldiers were extremely loyal to him.
Julius Caesar began his career with joining the army, and because of his achievements, he was awarded the civic crown. In 79BC, after Sulla died, Caesar returned to Rome to launch his...