Julius Caesar Military Career

The start of Julius Caesar 's military career

Julius Caesar 's military career started as a political career. When a very high and important office in Rome became vacant - the office of High Priest. Julius Caesar wanted it, but there was an obstacle. The High Priest was elected by the senate. So Julius Caesar came up with a plan. Julius Caesar had a friend introduce a bill in the people's assembly that would return to them the right to elect the High Priest. The people's assembly, although equal to the Senate, was a legislative body made up of representatives from the middle and lower classes. The bill was approved and shortly after, the assembly voted Julius Caesar into office. The senate now knew what it had before only suspected: Julius Caesar was shrewd and ambitious. Julius Caesar was a man to keep an eye on.

The aristocratic, or patrician party, was headed by two men - Cicero, the greatest orator of Rome and the only man who could surpass Caesar in public speaking, and Cato. Standing against them were Julius Caesar and Crassus, patrician by birth but aligned with the populace. In modern terms, Cato and Cicero were conservatives, even reactionaries. Julius Caesar and Crassus were liberals, democrats in certain principles. But all four were hungry for power. The only other man to be reckoned with was Pompey, who still hadn't committed to either side. Julius Caesar set out to change that.

Julius Caesar 's divorce from his wife

Before Julius Caesar could settle matters with Pompey, Caesar had to resolve a personal scandal involving his wife Pompeia. Every year in Rome a feast was held in honor of the goddess Bona Dea at the house of one of Rome's leading women. The feast was for women only - no men allowed. In 62 B.C. when Julius Caesar was 38 years old, Pompeia was chosen as hostess for the event. For some reason, probably her own amusement and pleasure, she smuggled in a young man, disguised as a woman. Unfortunately, his deep voice gave him away and the society matrons were outraged. The young man was brought to trial for blasphemy and Cicero, one of the conservative opponents of Julius Caesar, testified against him. Julius Caesar too was called to testify but he refused to say anything against the young man. The case was eventually dropped but soon afterward, Julius Caesar surprised Rome by divorcing Pompeia.  Julius Caesar explained his action with the now famous comment: "Caesar's wife must be above suspicion." It was a hard comment to take seriously, in view of Julius Caesar 's own loose morals, which were well known in Rome, but it served the purpose of holding the loyalty of his followers.

Julius Caesar appointed governor of the Spanish province

When he was 39, Julius Caesar took another leap forward when he was appointed governor of the Spanish province. With this appointment, came a profound change in Julius Caesar 's character. Julius Caesar suddenly lost his idle and pleasure seeking ways and turned himself into a first class-soldier. Julius Caesar campaigned with his troops, sharing the same hardships of plain food, long marches, and sleeping in the open in all kinds of weather. Julius Caesar expanded the province, winning new lands for Rome off the Atlantic coast, and straightened out the messy finances of the area. Julius Caesar returned to Rome triumphant, and with his new power he formed an alliance with Pompey, who had quarreled with the senate. Now the three of them - Caesar, Pompey, and Crassius - were a united force determined to take over the government of Rome. They were called the triumvirate. Caesar then took his third and last wife - Calpurnia, the daughter of one of Pompey's important officials.

Everything was now in place, and Julius Caesar 's rise to the top proceeded swiftly. Julius Caesar managed to push through any legislation he desired, by a variety of methods. If the senate was uncooperative, Julius Caesar took his bills to the people's assembly, where he always had support. When powerful men like Cato tried to speak against him, he would call up Pompey's guards and have his opponents driven from the forum. Julius Caesar manipulated important appointments for his supporters. For himself, Julius Caesar maneuvered an appointment that put him in charge of the territories of Gaul, in what is known today as France. No sooner was he appointed than he heard that a Germanic tribe was preparing to invade Gaul. Immediately Caesar gathered his troops and headed north, never dreaming that he wouldn't return to Rome again for nine years.

Victories in Julius Caesar 's military career

These nine years - when Caesar was between the ages of 42 and 51 - were the years of his great military victories and the peak of his brilliance and energy. The troops he led into Gaul were the finest in the world and among the finest in all of history. They were highly trained, well-disciplined, and dedicated. Soldiers in the Roman army signed on for twenty years and swore allegiance, not to Rome, but to their general. The backbone of the army were the officers known as centurions. They trained the troops and led them into action, and their skill and experience was so extensive, they often helped the generals plan their campaigns. Each centurion was in charge of a 100-man unit called a century. A full Roman legion consisted of sixty units, or 6,000 men. The regular foot soldiers were called legionaries. They carried two eight-foot javelins which they could hurl twenty yards, and a sword for hand-to-hand combat. Each wore a tunic of iron mail and carried a rectangular shield that covered him from chin to ankle. The soldiers wore helmets with a wide neckpiece and iron flaps that could be used to cover the sides of their faces. Julius Caesar 's army also had a corps of engineers who planned and built forts, laid out roads, repaired weapons, and came up with all the clever devices Caesar thought up for defeating his enemies - sometimes a wall so they couldn't retreat, sometimes a ramp so he could gain access to a fort, sometimes a bridge so he could reach them across a river. Like Alexander the Great before him, he innovated his way to victory, time and time again. He adapted to every different battle and circumstance and changed his methods and weapons to suit each one. He attacked with speed and full force, often surprising the enemy and breaking its organization early in the battle. He himself was everywhere at once, shouting encouragement, keeping his men in formation, and even leading them into battle.