I came, I saw, I conquered

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

"I came, I saw, I conquered" - even schoolchildren know this phrase. These words were written by Gaius Julius Caesar in a letter to Rome, in which he described his victory over the Bosporan kingdom. Upon returning home, his legions, covered in glory, participated in a solemn procession through the streets of the city. A wooden board was carried in front of Caesar, on which was the inscription "I came, I saw, I conquered" in Latin. The great commander achieved his goal and became the ruler of the Roman Empire.

The start of the journey

Caesar was born in a hot summer, in a month that was originally called Quintilius. It was later renamed July, in honor of Emperor Julius. The family of Caesar was noble and very ancient. His father died early. The mother, who belonged to the Aurelius family, took care of the education of her son. She invited the best teachers to him, who taught the young Caesar history, philosophy, languages, and literature. The future emperor was interested in stories about the campaigns of the famous Alexander the Great. He carefully studied military leadership. But he was especially good at eloquence. Caesar did not have an athletic build. As a result, I wanted to learnto influence the audience with the help of methods of persuading oneself to be right and succeeded a lot in this. At this point in his life, it would be appropriate to paraphrase his famous dictum as "I came, I saw, I persuaded."

Gaius Julius Caesar realized early on that it was possible to quickly achieve power by gaining the support of the common people. He arranged theatrical performances, gladiatorial games, handed out money. The people soon fell in love with him.

Soon, Caesar began to serve as a priest in the temple of Jupiter and received a seat in the Senate. However, the then dictator Sulla was opposed to the young man and in the end the latter had to flee to the island of Lesbos. At that time there was a war with King Mithridates. Caesar showed considerable courage by participating in battles, for which he was awarded an oak wreath.

On his return to Rome, Caesar was elected to the post of military tribune. The speeches of the young speaker were a huge success. Soon he was elected pontiff, and then the ruler of Italy. However, Caesar never forgot about his desire to rule Rome.

Caesar's Victories

Julius knew that he was not the only one who wanted to take the place of the emperor. Joining forces with Mark Crassus and Gnei Pompey, he was about to oppose the senate. The latter quickly found a way out and offered all three new possessions. Caesar got Gaul, which he ruled for 10 years. He conquered new possessions, grew rich and cherished the dream of becoming the first in Rome. Probably even then his slogan was “I came, I saw, I conquered.”

Pompey seized powercalled Caesar to Rome not as a ruler, but as a private individual. The latter decided that this was a good moment to overthrow the existing government and establish his own.

The battle between the former allies took place in Greece, where Pompey was defeated. This was the last battle of Caesar on his way to his dream. In Rome, the title of emperor awaited him.

Conspiracy

Caesar's reforms did not find support in the Senate. He ignored rumors of a conspiracy and paid for it with his life. Despite the short term of his reign, Caesar managed to do a lot for Rome. All subsequent emperors called themselves Caesars in memory of his greatness.

Caesar's books, like hundreds of aphorisms and expressions such as "I came, I saw, I conquered", have historical value.