Historical Facts About Stuff

Facts About Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar is ancient Rome's most famous figure and one of the world's most known 'dictators'. A brilliant politician and general, his accomplishments and influence were so significant that other languages have words meaning "ruler" that derive from his name, such as "kaiser" in German and "Tsar" in Russian. He's even got his own month; Quintilis, the month in which Caesar was born, was renamed Julius (July) in his honour. 

1. "Julius" is actually his middle name. His full name is "Gauis Julius Caesar".

2. He was captured by Pirates. While he was travelling to Rhodes in the year 75 BCE to study with Apollonius, his ship was taken by pirates. These pirates originally demanded a ransom, but when Caesar heard their number, he laughed. They don't know who they captured, he said. Caesar offered them more than double what they had wanted. 
For over a month he stayed with the pirates, as his servants set about collecting the money. He played with them when he wanted to, and told them to shut up when he didn't. He read poems and stories that he had written, and if they didn't show their appreciation, he would call them illiterate savages to their faces. 
Soon the ransom arrived from Miletus and, as soon as he had paid it and been set free, he immediately manned some ships and set sail from the harbor of Miletus against the pirates. He found them still there, lying at anchor off the island, and he captured nearly all of them.
A little while later, he crucified them.

3. Julius Caesar (excuse me, Gauis Caesar) wore a laurel crown to cover his baldness. In many paintings he is depicted as wearing a victorious laurel crown, however, people didn't just wear laurel crowns around town (people would wonder if you're odd or vain or both), so historians think that either he posed for the paintings, or he was a bit odd and wore the crown anyway. 

4. Julius Caesar was a proud man (this one is no surprise!). When he was captured by his enemy Sulla, Caesar was forced to kneel before him, and beg for forgiveness. Now, Caesar didn't mind groveling, as it was only temporary, but when Sulla told him that he could live if he married a new wife. This was too much, and while the screams of other dying people could clearly be heard from where this exchange was taking place, Caesar didn't give in. The vast majority of people (from any time-period) would have agreed to Sulla's offer, but Caesar refused. 

5. Crossing the Rubicon.  The Rubicon is a river in northern Italy. It was against Roman law for anybody to bring an army into Italy. But, in 49 BCE, Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon with a legion of his soldiers. Even governors of Roman provinces (which Caesar was) were not allowed to bring any part of their army within Italy itself and, if they tried, they automatically forfeited their right to rule, even in their own province. The only ones who were allowed to command soldiers in Italy were high-ranking citizens such as consuls or praetors. This act of leading his troops into Italy would have meant Caesar's execution and the execution of any soldier who followed him, had he failed in his conquest. Caesar was initially heading to Rome to stand trial for various charges, by order of the Senate. According to the historian Suetonius, Caesar wasn't at first sure whether he'd bring his soldiers with him or come quietly, but he ultimately made the decision to march on Rome. After a four year war with his enemy, Pompey, was defeated and fled to Egypt, where he was assassinated. Gaius Julius Caesar was no 'Dictator of Rome'.

[Side not again: Dictator in Rome didn't mean the same thing as it does today. Caesar was very popular with the people, and although he was an emperor (in all but name) he was still thought of as coming from the common folk. 
Dictator just meant ruler and Caesar had the power to command the entire military, as well as take command if the Empire was in a state of emergancy.]