00:00 Gaius Julius Caesar was born on July 13, 100 BC to a noble family.
00:18 However, they had very little wealth and as a result, the family had very little influence
00:23 or power in Rome.
00:25 In 85 BC, Caesar's father died suddenly, making Gaius the head of the family at age
00:31 16.
00:34 Caesar was politically active as a teenager and opposed the new dictator of Rome, Lucius
00:38 Cornelius Sulla.
00:40 Sulla was fond of having his opponents murdered, so the teenage Caesar was forced to flee Rome,
00:45 leaving behind his new wife Cornelia.
00:48 At one point he was captured by Sulla's soldiers, but he managed to escape by paying
00:52 them a bribe.
00:54 Caesar returned to Rome and was reunited with Cornelia after Sulla died.
00:58 And in 76 BC, the couple had a daughter, Juliet.
01:02 The following year, Caesar, by then in his mid-twenties, was kidnapped by pirates in
01:06 the Aegean Sea while traveling.
01:09 But when Caesar discovered the low price for his ransom, he was insulted and insisted on
01:13 a greater sum.
01:15 While the money was being collected, he charmed the pirates with his "boldness of speech."
01:20 But soon after his release, he sought revenge and had his former kidnappers executed.
01:25 Caesar's political career was slow to take off, but he gradually built up his support
01:29 and reputation, and even used personal tragedies for political gain.
01:33 Such as when Cornelia died in 69 BC, Caesar broke with tradition and used her funeral
01:38 to grow his support by giving a speech that appealed to the people and showcased his caring
01:43 side.
01:45 He spent lavishly, borrowing heavily, and eventually going into debt so that he could
01:49 continue to give out gifts and buy political influence.
01:53 Caesar moved up the political ladder of Rome by being elected or named to multiple offices.
01:59 Caesar formed an alliance with the extremely wealthy politician Marcus Licinius Crassus
02:05 and the powerful general and politician Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, later known as Pompey the
02:10 Great.
02:11 The three men formed a three-way coalition called the Triumvirate that ruled over the
02:15 Roman Republic.
02:18 Caesar also married his only daughter, Julia, to Pompey around 59 BC to forge a closer alliance.
02:24 The same year he himself entered his third marriage, this time to the teenage Calpurnia,
02:29 the daughter of another powerful senator.
02:32 The alliance paid off, and the following year Caesar was placed in charge of a large military
02:36 force in Gaul.
02:39 He used the opportunity to conquer the entire region, earning himself a reputation as a
02:43 capable military commander and making himself fabulously wealthy.
02:47 However, in 54 BC, Julia died during childbirth, and a year later Crassus was killed in battle,
02:54 which ended the Triumvirate and broke Caesar's alliance with Pompey.
02:59 By that time, Pompey had begun supporting a conservative faction of the Roman Senate,
03:03 which declared Julius Caesar an enemy, as the two former allies contended for leadership
03:08 of the entire Roman state.
03:13 In 49 BC, Caesar led his troops across the boundary of northern Italy at the Rubicon
03:17 River and marched on Rome, uttering the now-famous phrase that's often translated as "The
03:24 die is cast."
03:25 Caesar's move against Rome took Pompey by surprise.
03:29 He was forced to flee Rome and Italy.
03:32 Pompey defeated Caesar at the Battle of Dyrrhachium in Albany, but was himself defeated in Greece
03:37 at the Battle of Pharsalus, which ultimately enabled Caesar to become dictator for life.
03:42 Caesar's army pursued Pompey all the way to Egypt.
03:46 Pompey was hoping to rally support there, but was instead killed at the hands of the
03:50 Egyptians.
03:52 The following year, Caesar took over Egypt and reinstated Cleopatra as its queen and
03:56 co-ruler with her younger brother.
03:59 Cleopatra and Caesar began a romance, but Caesar could not marry Cleopatra, as Roman
04:03 laws did not allow polygamy and he was still married to Calpurnia.
04:08 Cleopatra gave birth to a son, Caesarion, whom Caesar never acknowledged as his own.
04:14 After Pompey's death, Julius Caesar assumed control of the government as the sole ruler
04:19 of the Roman Republic.
04:21 But the battles were not over.
04:24 In a letter to the Senate around 47 BC, after he had achieved a quick victory in northern
04:28 Turkey, Caesar wrote the words "Vini vidi vici" - I came, I saw, I conquered.
04:36 No matter how much Caesar conquered, there were still many in Rome who opposed the idea
04:40 of one man, and Caesar in particular, having so much power.
04:45 But the Roman people loved Caesar's military strength, political skills, and diplomatic
04:49 savviness.
04:50 Caesar advocated for his people.
04:52 He aimed to reduce debt and unemployment, as well as to improve the ordinary Roman people's
04:57 living standards.
04:58 He also supported those who had fought for him, and he made plans for the distribution
05:02 of land to about 15,000 of his veterans.
05:06 He offered jobs to the poor to work in Rome's overseas colonies, granted citizenship to
05:11 foreigners living in the Republic, and even pardoned former opponents.
05:15 Finally, the most lasting contribution was his reform of the calendar.
05:21 After learning about the calendar system in Egypt, Caesar implemented his own in 45 BC.
05:27 The new Julian calendar had 365 days a year and was intended to be in sync with the solar
05:33 cycle.
05:34 And because the actual solar year is almost 365 and a quarter days long, Caesar created
05:40 a leap day every four years to make up the difference.
05:45 The Julian calendar was the norm in most of the Western world until the Gregorian calendar,
05:50 a more modified version, was introduced in the late 16th century.
05:55 The month that Caesar was born was eventually named July in his honor.
05:59 So after finally returning to Rome, Caesar became dictator for life in 44 BC.
06:05 But we all know how that ended.
06:07 On March 15th of that year, a date known as the Ides of March, a group of senators who
06:13 had feared that Caesar would overthrow the Senate and make himself king, stabbed Caesar
06:17 to death in the Senate itself.
06:20 The senators were quite sly and arranged for more than 60 individuals to be involved in
06:25 the killing to prevent any one person from taking the blame.
06:29 His dear friend and mistress's son, Marcus Junius Brutus, was likely involved in the
06:34 coup, although Caesar's supposed last words, "Et tu, Brute?" or "You too, Brutus?"
06:39 were actually coined by Shakespeare.
06:42 Caesar was the first person in history to have an autopsy, proving he was stabbed 23
06:47 times, and the fatal wound was to his aorta.
06:52 The whole point of Caesar's assassination was to prevent dictatorship, yet even with
06:56 Caesar's death, this did not happen.
06:59 Not only was he already beloved while alive, he left every citizen in Rome three months'
07:03 wages when he died.
07:06 Mark Anthony, Caesar's friend, gave a speech that enraged a fire in the hearts of the Roman
07:10 people.
07:11 Caesar's death resulted in numerous civil wars that ended the Roman Republic and began
07:16 the Roman Empire.
07:18 His adopted son, Octavian, eventually became the first Roman emperor and was known as Augustus
07:23 Caesar thereafter.
07:26 In fact, the name Caesar became a title for sovereign leaders in many languages, such
07:30 as the Russian word "Tsar" and the German word "Kaiser," making sure that Julius
07:35 Caesar will never be forgotten.
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