In 85 BC Caesar's father died suddenly while putting on his shoes one morning, without any apparent cause, and at sixteen, Caesar was the head of the family. Marius died early in 86 BC, but his followers remained in power. He and his ally Lucius Cornelius Cinna seized the city and declared Sulla a public enemy, and Marius's troops took violent revenge on Sulla's supporters. Sulla responded by marching his army on Rome (the first time ever this happened and an influence for Caesar in his later career as he contemplated crossing the Rubicon), reclaiming his command and forcing Marius into exile, but when he left on campaign Marius returned at the head of a makeshift army. Caesar's uncle Gaius Marius was a popularis, Marius' protégé Lucius Cornelius Sulla was an optimas, and in Caesar's youth their rivalry led to civil war.īoth Marius and Sulla distinguished themselves in the Social War, and both wanted command of the war against Mithridates, which was initially given to Sulla but when Sulla left the city to take command of his army, a tribune passed a law transferring the appointment to Marius. These were not official political parties, but were instead loose confederations of like-minded individuals who would often switch sides. The optimates tended to be more conservative, defended the interests of the upper class and used and promoted the authority of the Senate the populares advocated reform in the interests of the masses and used and promoted the authority of the Popular Assemblies. Domestically, Roman politics was divided between politicians known as optimates and populares. The Social War was fought from 91 to 88 BC between Rome and her Italian allies over the issue of Roman citizenship, while Mithridates of Pontus threatened Rome's eastern provinces. The Marius-Sulla civil war Ĭaesar's formative years were a time of turmoil, and "savage bloodshed". Suetonius and Plutarch's biographies of him both begin abruptly in Caesar's teens the opening paragraphs of both appear to be lost. Little else is recorded of Caesar's childhood. Caesar had two older sisters, known as Julia Major and Julia Minor. Marcus Antonius Gnipho, an orator and grammarian of Gaulish origin, was employed as Caesar's tutor. His mother, Aurelia Cotta, came from an influential family which had produced several consuls. Caesar's father also called Gaius Julius Caesar, reached the rank of praetor, the second highest of the Republic's elected magistracies, and governed the province of Asia, perhaps through the influence of his prominent brother-in-law Gaius Marius. Dating disputes Family connections ĭespite their ancient pedigree, the Julii Caesares were not especially politically influential, having produced only three consuls. Caesar issued coins featuring images of elephants, suggesting that he favoured this interpretation of his name. The Historia Augusta suggests three alternative explanations: that the first Caesar had a thick head of hair (Latin caesaries) that he had bright grey eyes ( Latin: oculis caesiis) or that he killed an elephant ( caesai in Moorish, generally taken as Punic) in battle. The cognomen "Caesar" originated, according to Pliny the Elder, with an ancestor who was born by caesarean section (from the Latin verb to cut, caedere, caes-). However, much of his early career operated within standard aristocratic norms: his removal from the proscription lists, co-option into priesthoods, and activities in junior office show the connections he and his family had with the aristocracy and his budding attempts to go beyond its limits.Ĭaesar was born into an aristocratic family, the gens Julia, which claimed descent from Iulus, son of the legendary Trojan prince Aeneas, supposedly the son of the goddess Venus. Later biographers also embellished tales of his daring. Much of Caesar's early career has been embellished by later sources in an attempt to draw comparisons between his childhood and later life. His family status put him at odds with the Dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who almost had him executed. His father died when he was just 16, leaving Caesar as the head of the household. Julius Caesar was born on 12 July 100 BC into a patrician family, the gens Julia, which claimed descent from Iulus, son of the legendary Trojan prince Aeneas, supposedly the son of the goddess Venus. The career of Julius Caesar before his consulship in 59 BC was characterized by military adventurism and political persecution. JSTOR ( May 2023) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources.įind sources: "Early life and career of Julius Caesar" – news This article relies excessively on references to primary sources.
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