Julius Caesar was a famous Roman general and statesman, who laid the foundations of the Roman leadership system. He had a fascinating life at a time when much of the world was in chaos and in-fighting. He had a successful military career which was his platform to run for various elected positions. Like all rulers, there are many sides to every story; Caesar contributed a great deal to the development of Rome and many parts of Europe, but he was also conquering lands and people, which by virtue of war means death and destruction. History is generally more favorable toward him than not, and for this reason I thought I'd blog about this great Roman leader. This brings me to an other scintillating edition of: The Saturday Seven: Facts About Julius Caesar
1. His life was brief, just 56 years: born July 12 100 BC and died March 16, 44 BC
2. His reign of Rome was just five years, from 49 BC to 44 BC
3. Caesar is considered to be one of the greatest military strategists and tacticians in history, along with Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan and Napoleon.
4. Caesar and Cleopatra were romantically involved for 14 years but could not marry, because she was Queen of Egypt and under Roman law, marriage was only allowed between two Roman citizens.
5. Ceasar was given many accolades and honors during his leadership such as Pater Patriae (Father of the Fatherland), Pontifex Maximus (Highest Priest), and he eventually took the title Dictator. The title Dictator angered members of the Senate, who felt this challenged the very republic Caesar had created. Member of his Senate eventually murdered him famously on March 15th, which is referred to as the "Ides of March". After his assassination, he was even given the title Divus ("god") because he was so loved by the public.
6. In 85 BC, when Caesar was just sixteen, he became the head of the family when his father died suddenly while putting on his shoes one morning, without any apparent cause.7. Despite his very well known affair with Cleopatra, it was also believed that Caesar was bisexual, having had affairs with several men including Nicomedes IV of Bithynia.
And finally, just for the record, the Caesar salad was not invented by Caesar, it was developed in a restaurant in San Diego California in 1924!
-Rick Rockhill
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