Julius Caesar’s Role in Building the Roman Republic
1. Introduction
This paper explores how Julius Caesar played a crucial role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. The Roman Republic was founded in 509 BC, after the last of the Etruscan kings had been overthrown. It was a time of political and social change in Rome, and the Roman Republic was characterized by a system in which a pair of consuls, elected by the Senate, held power. However, over the centuries, the situation changed, as generals, particularly those who were successful in military campaigns, began to have greater influence. By the time of Julius Caesar, the Roman Republic was no longer functioning as an effective democracy. Instead, power was concentrated in the hands of a small number of men, and often the Senate was ignored. This research paper will explore the life and rise of Julius Caesar and the significant impacts that he made on the history of Rome. Well-known Roman writers such as Plutarch and Suetonius have written biographies about Julius Caesar, and it is from these that we are able to piece together information about significant events in Caesar’s life and the effect that he had on the Roman Republic. By gaining an understanding of the actions of Julius Caesar and the analysis of modern historians, we can begin to explore the nature of the collapse of the Roman Republic. In particular, Caesar’s role in changing the political and social structure of Roman society and how it eventually led to the formation of the Roman Empire can be closely examined. We will also consider the use of bias and propaganda in Roman politics and how the image of Julius Caesar has evolved over time. By the exploration of different historical views on Julius Caesar, a better, clearer understanding of the justification for his assassination could be achieved. This paper will proceed to explore his life and his actions, and to address the debate over whether or not he was a ‘tyrant’. This term is closely associated with his name, largely due to the fact that Rome made a transition from a Republic led by the Senate to an autocratic form of government, led by a single ruler. However, it is also important to take into account the positive reforms and work that Julius Caesar had carried out. By engaging with these competing ideas, it is hoped that further insight of the complex and fascinating nature of the Roman Republic can be achieved through this research paper.
1.1 Historical Background
For much of the last two millennia, the story of the Roman Empire has captured the imaginations of historians from across the world. Innumerable hours have been spent investigating and interpreting the political structures, military conquests, economies, and social developments that marked Rome’s ascendancy. However, when we ask precisely how the Romans managed to expand from a moderately sized city-state in central Italy to a vast, pan-Mediterranean Empire, then things become a lot more difficult to investigate. One of the first major hurdles faced by any researcher attempting to understand Roman history is the fact that much of the existing evidence was written after the event. Julius Caesar, the topic of our study and indeed all three of the men whose names make up the title of this essay – Gaius Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, and Marcus Licinius Crassus – were all figures from the late Roman Republic; a period marked by continuing and increasing political turmoil and violence. In some cases, the events of these years were recorded and documented in great detail by contemporaries, and yet there remains a huge amount still debatable even as to the rough ‘facts’ of who did what to whom and why. The contemporary nature of many sources does at least stand in favor of historians who maintain that Caesar’s own actions and the violence he meted out on his own state were consciously planned to give him dictatorial power; that is, the power he achieved was astounding but not at all accidental. He and his supporters presented him as the ‘savior of the Republic’, one who would reunite the governing classes and institute measures that would return stability and order to Roman political life. This research paper explores not only a narrative of Caesar’s rise to power and his conduct once power was seized but also the larger implications of his success in the changing dynamics of Roman society and statesmanship. It seeks to provide an overarching explanation of how one man could have managed to exert such a profound effect by investigating the interconnected historical layers of political culture, personal ambition, and long-held beliefs in the ‘mos maiorum’ – the way of the ancestors, an archaic Roman belief that stresses the importance of the old customs and traditions. Hope by presenting a more intricate analysis of Caesar’s motives and capacities for action, the often difficult reality of different ‘known facts’, and the changing nature of Roman society this paper will give a more comprehensive understanding of the roots of the transition from Republic to dictatorship, and thus the establishment of the life’s work of Julius Caesar.
1.2 Purpose of the Research Paper
This paper is designed for history students who are interested in exploring the life of Julius Caesar and his profound impact on the Roman Republic. It is important to have some knowledge of the background of Julius Caesar because he grew up to be such a great figure in Roman history. This paper will start from his early life before moving on to the rise of this great figure. As a person of great ambition and having a very strong family background, Julius Caesar managed to climb up the political ladder very quickly. His alliance with Pompey and Crassus marked a turning point in Roman history. After the demise of both of his two allies, Julius Caesar was named as the appointed governor of Gaul, which is a great prospect and a very important victory for this great figure in his political career. The military success and the enormous popularity of Julius Caesar posed a serious challenge to the Senate and thus led to the famous civil war between his army and the Senate. His victory in the Senate opened a door for the dictator to implement a series of political and social reforms, and these reforms are still applicable in many countries in the modern world. This research is very important to us as the depth of the impact and the lasting effects of some of the problems that caused the demise of Roman democracy and led to the rise of the autocratic Roman Empire will be revealed. Also, the true motives and decisions behind the politicians that formed the Triumvirate will be unveiled. Thus, it will help us to evaluate the success of their ultimate goal, which is to effectively overcome the old Roman Senate, comprising of the aristocracy, jealousy, and prejudices, and make way for a fair and just ruling led by capable leaders. Last but not least, it is also interesting to find out about the actual reasons on how Republican Rome transformed into a dictatorship and the dictator then transformed the Republic into an even more unified and well-coherent autocratic Empire, which many countries are still following some of the strategies and reforms made by Julius Caesar back in the BC era.
2. Early Life and Rise of Julius Caesar
After the death of Marius and the rise of Sulla, Caesar’s life was in danger. Caesar was stripped of his inheritance, his wife’s dowry, and priesthood. He refused to divorce Cornelia, the daughter of Marius, and was forced to go into hiding. Through the intercession of his mother’s family, Caesar was able to obtain a pardon. Sulla’s reputation was not at all enhanced by his measures to secure the state by wholesale murder. Eventually, Sulla and Caesar came to an agreement, and Caesar left Rome to join the army. It was during this period that Caesar sailed to Asia Minor to study rhetoric. While in Asia, he received a petition from the citizens of Miletus in which they asked for his support and advocacy in some legal issue that they had pending. Caesar began to speak on their behalf but was told by the presiding magistrate that he was in violation of the law in that a former consul could not intercede as an advocate. Livy, a Roman historian, states that because of this event, Caesar was forced to leave Rome and went to study in Rhodes. However, most scholars doubt the accuracy of this account due to the fact that his studies in Rhodes with the famous Apollonius Molon were over by 75 B.C., in which he returned to Rome and began his political career. Caesar proved to be a successful advocate, as Suetonius and others have spoken of special privilege given to him. He also served through the regular military offices in Spain but went back to Rome in 68 BC, where his political career began in earnest. His hunger for power and his connection to Marius led some of the old adherents of Sulla, particularly the orator Cicero, to oppose Caesar’s rise. In fact, Caesar was beginning to gather private soldiers to himself and was suspected by the Senate of plotting to take over the government. A law was passed that required Caesar to disband his forces or risk being declared an enemy of the republic. Eventually, Caesar was declared an enemy of the state and in 49 BC, invaded Italy which led to the start of a civil war. He was named dictator perpetuus in 44 B.C., and it was during this time that the calendar, which became known as the Julian Calendar, was established. He was assassinated in the Senate on the Ides of March in 44 B.C., and this act resulted in another civil war. It was this period that ended the Roman Republic and started the Roman Empire. He set up a trust (known as the second period) in which he claimed to be more independent but was, in practice, one of the triumvirates. Throughout his life, although he held numerous political positions, he constantly sought and obtained tribunician powers from the Senate. This included sacrosanctity, which offered inviolability of his person and ensured that if he died, payment for everyone’s sins would take place. His desire for absolute rule was the culmination of a trend that was starting to emerge in the Roman Republic.
2.1 Family Background and Education
Caesar was born into a patrician family, who enjoyed a relatively high political standing in the Roman Republic. According to Huzar, the Julii claimed descent from Aeneas, the mythical Trojan hero who fled to Italy after the sacking of Troy. Caesar’s father, Gaius Caesar, governed the Asia province of the Roman Republic and the family had a long history of holding high positions within the Republic. Furthermore, the Julii Caesaris were connected to the Populares, the faction in Roman politics that was more aligned with the lower classes as opposed to the Optimates, who were the established upper class. This would have a significant effect on Caesar’s life and political career, as he ended up becoming one of the most famous leaders of the Populares. But while the family history was connected to the political system of the Roman Republic itself, it was not as if they were all powerful and above the law. When Caesar was 16 years old, his father died unexpectedly which saw him and his two sisters’ rights to inherit but also a significant amount of debt. As a result, the family’s standing was significantly reduced. Both the prestige and wealth being lost meant that the Junii Caesares were not able to hold the high positions of influence that they had under Gaius until Julius has already started his political career. Such a family background is of crucial importance to understanding the choice of career and the immense struggle that Caesar went through to achieve his goals. However, it must be remembered that the accounts of Caesar’s life in terms of his family and early career are largely of patrician sources and all accounts are from after his murder which raise questions as to the accuracy of some details.
2.2 Military Career and Political Ambitions
After completing his education, Caesar began a career in the military. At the age of 20, he was awarded the civic crown for his part in a military campaign. This was a great honor. Military success allowed him to enter Roman politics. Caesar formed an agreement with Pompey and Crassus, two very important politicians. Together they dominated Roman politics. Caesar was elected governor of two provinces in Spain. This was an important step on the political ladder. As a governor, Caesar could command armies, which he used in campaigns to enlarge the Roman Empire. Romans were worried by Caesar’s success. They thought that he may try to make himself king of Rome. Many people in cities across the Roman world supported Caesar’s enemies. They attacked anyone who was thought to be a supporter of Caesar. In response, many of Caesar’s enemies were killed. This fighting only helped Caesar and in 49 B.C. he was appointed the dictator of Rome and given emergency powers to solve the many problems that Rome was facing. He was elected dictator for life in 45 B.C. However, in the month of his greatest triumph in Rome, Caesar was assassinated. Caesar’s assassination is just the first step in the death of the Roman Republic. He is no longer a man, but a figurehead representing order, unity and prosperity. His assassins are no longer noble defenders of their ancient rights, but murderers and usurpers of power. The events that happened after his assassination would see the end of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire under his grandnephew Octavian, later known as the first Emperor of Rome, Augustus. His death would also bring about new birth because it gave life to one of the most powerful and lasting figures in world history.
2.3 Alliance with Pompey and Crassus
Initially, both Pompey and Caesar were consuls in the year 52. In the year 60, the two formed a political alliance with a consul named Marcus Licinius Crassus. The political alliance among the three statesmen was a stepping stone for Julius Caesar to consolidate his power. Despite having different political ideologies, Pompey and Caesar went from being rivals to sharing total power. Crassus, although a mediocre politician, was an influential financier and a great military force. His support to the alliance was a valuable asset. The three formed the first triumvirate in 60 BC, after successful lobbying by Caesar. This was the first major step in establishing absolute power, which eventually led to the fall of the Roman Republic. All the powers of the state were placed in the hands of the triumvirs for an extended period. After five years of consolidating power outside Rome, Caesar returned to the city. Through the Poblilian law, he extended his provinces and his command for another five years. Crassus died in 53 from wounds, which started the breakdown of the first triumvirate as conflicts of interest among the members resurfaced. Caesar began campaigning for support to vie for the consulship in his absence. This situation led to political tensions with the optimates, a conservative senatorial faction. The tensions grew to the extent of civil war within Rome. Pompey died in Egypt after being defeated by Caesar in 48 BC. He had fled from Rome after losing senatorial support and tried to regroup, but was murdered upon arrival in Egypt. The empire fell into the hands of Julius Caesar.
3. Consolidation of Power
The conquest of Gaul was a significant factor in the consolidation of power by Caesar. Gaul was a region in Western Europe which included modern day France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy and parts of the Netherlands. It was a wealthy and developed region, with a population of around one million people at the time. In 58 BC, Caesar launched a military campaign in the region that lasted for eight years, resulting in the complete annexation of Gaul for the Roman Republic. This was an important development in his career because it provided him with a substantial military power base, as well as expanding the Roman world and bringing wealth and slaves into the Republic. From a political perspective, Caesar was able to present this conquest as part of his strategy to secure the Republic and spread Roman civilization. Evidence of this is found in various sources from Roman antiquity. For example, both Caesar’s own accounts of the Gallic War, and also the writings of the Roman historian Sallust, suggest that Caesar’s motives were defensive; he was protecting the Roman Province from large migrating groups. In terms of military reforms, the conquest of Gaul contributed to the professionalization of the Roman legions. These were the standard units of the Roman army at the time, comprising almost 6000 men. Caesar systematically expanded and improved the legions that served under his command in Gaul, making them the most efficient and disciplined force in the ancient world at the time. Some of the key military reforms that Caesar implemented or developed whilst in Gaul include the formation of specialist units, the introduction of training regimes, and the re-organization of legion structures. The specialist units, which were called ‘Cohorts’, were somewhat like the modern idea of task forces. These were used in different operations and were not permanently assigned to a group of soldiers. In contrast, ‘Legions’ were more permanent and were the traditional units of the Roman army. Successful punishment, reward and a regular payment system motivated the soldiers to serve well; unlike the largely conscripted enemies of Rome, the Roman legions were professional soldiers. This professionalization gave Caesar much more scope and freedom in military activities and campaigns and also provided stability and order for the conquered territories in Gaul.
3.1 Conquest of Gaul and Military Reforms
After serving in several key government positions, such as quaestor and consul, Julius Caesar obtained his first proconsulship in 58 BC – a title granted to retired consuls that allowed them to govern a province in the Roman republic. Caesar’s Gaulic campaign began with the Helvetian and German invasions of Gaul, which provided Caesar with the perfect excuse to march into Gaul, thereby guaranteeing his army protection from the two enemy tribes. This led to tensions between the Roman republic and the Gauls, resulting in a series of military engagements, then eventually Roman occupation of Gaul in its entirety. Over the next eight years, Caesar’s forces fought the native tribes and by 50 BC, Rome had annexed all of Gaul, defending its own northern territories from the Germanic tribes and expanding the republic’s hegemony through the capture of new territories and the assimilation of previously conquered lands in Gaul’s dimensions. This conquest had a lasting impact on Caesar’s own military career and upon the republic. On the level of military achievement, Caesar’s victory in Gaul had removed a serious threat to the security of Rome. His ability won significant battles accompanied by America, building a bridge across the Rhine River, an enormously difficult engineering task which showcased Roman technological superiority and also expanded Rome’s borders as far as German soil. Not only did this provide a rallying point for the troops and a reason to continue resistance, it also served as a base of operations for future Roman expansion across the river. On the political stage, Caesar’s conquest of Gaul provided him with a powerful base from which he could launch himself into the apex of Roman politics. His success had inspired his soldiers to great feats of valor and the acquisition of loot and land – no less than a third of Gaul was handed out to his veterans in land grants – consolidated their favor towards him. This would feed into the transformation of Caesar’s political identity from son of a noble revolutionary to a populist leader as he sought the consulship, furthering his political ambition in the Roman republic. This time period saw the rise of Caesar to the status of folk hero in Rome, with his own troops and ranks swelling as the campaign continued. This would contrast the allegiance of the ruling senate, whom – disgusted by his decision to bypass their authority and directly propose laws to the Legislative Assembly over the heads of the republic – would openly turn against him in his path to the dictatorship of the Roman republic.
3.2 Crossing the Rubicon and the Civil War
Thirdly, in January of 49 BC, Caesar led a single legion, the Legio XIII Gemina, south over the Rubicon from Cisalpine Gaul to Italy. His subsequent dithyramb claimed that it was out of his control, that the senate and the conservatives in Rome had nearly forced him to take up arms against his will. This declaration of war was the first time in the history of Rome that a peace was systematically broken with force on the orders of one man and the republicans were being nothing but naive, as a result of Caesar was completely aiming for conflict and waited for the opportunity to strike. Now again the conflict between him and Cato concerned a military arrangement that the Republicans had failed to meet, however Caesar was by now confident in his position as leader and succeeding with his calls for accommodation. This is especially clear when the king of Persia tendered to Caesar what he would have won in war, but Caesar instead chose to go on and challenge. This shows how Caesar was never going to allow a real threat to his position of power to exist and this was part of the reason why the republicans kept failing to meet him, not because their calls for union changed but because by now Caesar probably wasn’t going to accept anything less than being God. After over 600 years of a republic, that had since the days of the Gracchi failed to adapt to meet the demands of an ever-changing and increasing Empire, Caesar became the assumptive ruler and geographical region began a period of rule which would last over four centuries.
3.3 Dictatorship and Political Reforms
When Caesar returned to Rome in 46 BC, he was appointed “dictator perpetuo” (“dictator in perpetuity”, or “dictator for life”). The position of dictator was an established institution in Rome, but the power given to a dictator was normally only for a term of six months, with the purpose of leading the state in times of emergency. By becoming “dictator perpetuo”, Caesar was effectively a monarch, and this is how his rule has often been seen. Around this time, he also introduced a number of political reforms. Caesar wanted to restructure the Roman state in order to prevent the opportunity for future civil wars, which had been what had allowed Caesar to come to power. He increased the number of magistrates and allowed more people to join the Senate. This allowed people who might disagree with the existing senators and be against the old status quo to come to power. It also allowed Caesar to put some of his own supporters into positions of power, and so help him to maintain his position as dictator. He also wanted to work with the other governments in the Roman state – the assemblies of the people (he put in a rule that said that year-on-year at least one of the two consuls had to be elected by the assemblies rather than the Senators) and the magistrate who lead them (he put in rules that said that the Senate could not simply stop a magistrate’s bills from being passed, but the magistrate could stop Senate legislation). This was not just to give the people of Rome more say in how the state was run, but also to check some of the power of the Senate, which was a very conservative body. These sorts of changes were limited, and less than many writers tend to think. They did not go so far as to stop the continuing civil war, but they did create new bases for power. However, they upset many of the old elite in Rome, and certainly many of the Senators. Their benefit to Caesar’s own position of course do beg the question of how far these changes were to benefit the state, and how far they were to keep Caesar in power, and he was mindful to constantly undermine the Senate’s power in favour of his own. His continued actions to pressurise the Senate – such as allowing provinces to appeal directly to him rather than the Senate for justice – and remove the powers of the elitist factions within it eventually led to his assassination, perhaps an inevitable result of the dictator’s attempts to undermine the Senate but still recognisable as a measure of his systematic marginalisation of the power bases in the Roman state that could have threatened his rule. His changes didn’t last long, but with the return of the Republic also came the end of the Senate as the governing body of Rome – the Empire of Augustus was to be a very different political animal.
4. Impact on the Roman Republic
During his rule, Julius Caesar made some crucial reforms that helped the transition from the dying Roman Republic to the newly forming Roman Empire. The traditional view is that he was a dictator and that the Senate had lost all its power and significance. However, the current interpretation is that he made many reforms to try and strengthen the Republic and give the people a fair and just rule. After his reform aimed at aiding in the rise of the Republic to Empire is that his successor, Octavian (also known as Augustus), started to form the first, what we now call, Roman Empire. One of Caesar’s major changes to the Republic was to strengthen the Central Government. All the way from its birth in 509 BC, the power in the Roman Republic was split or divided between two Consuls, the Senate and the Assemblies. Caesar increased the number of magistrates who could be elected thereby increasing that power of the Central Government. He also managed to decrease the power the Senate held by allowing them to only meet on a lesser number of days. To ensure that his laws went through the Senate without a debate, he filled all the positions with his supporters, which caused even more hatred towards him. Another change made by Caesar is that he granted the citizenship to people living in Roman Provinces. This was a major boost of the Roman Government in maintaining control over the Provinces. Also, it enabled people from the Provinces to travel to Rome without being on a special citizenship, even though few did. It helped in increasing the popular base of Caesar’s power, and demonstrating the unity of the Roman people under his rule.
4.1 Transformation of the Political System
The centuries of revolution – Camera copies may be available. Authorities.
The “transformation of the political system” can be seen as the transformation from a state in which the Senate did have the final say in determining the constitution of laws, to a state in which all the legal quads carried out by two elected officials, the Tribunes, and the Plebeian Assembly. Roman writers sometimes referred to Julius Caesar as the “first man”. This was not a declaration that he was the first dictator, and indeed he wasn’t, Dictators had been appointed in Rome before but the “first man” to the Romans meant the most prominent citizen. St Luke records that Augustus ordered that the whole world should be “enrolled”. This enrolment was the first step to levying a poll tax, so that the Emperor could get a better idea of the wealth of his subjects. Josephus wrote that “Caesar ordered that the entire Roman people should be ‘enrolled’.” It is sometimes thought that this refers to the event under discussion, Caesar’s order for a census, and so it is taken as good evidence that the ‘enrolment’ was a census and that it was on that occasion that the decree for the whole world to be registered went forth. But in fact the passage in Josephus is best taken to refer to the enrolment made by Augustus in 8 BC. Modern dictionaries all define a census as an official enumeration of the population with details as to age, sex, occupation, and property. Different methods of taxation were used in Rome. There were direct taxes such as solique and wine tax which had to be paid by the producer and the tax could not be pass on to the regular purchaser. There was a lower duty on imported wine than on wine produced in Italy and Gaul was exempt until 222 BC. The ‘first man’ was an unofficial position. It is difficult to say when it was first awarded to Caesar, but the events around the time of Julia’s death demonstrate that he put up a fight. In 54 BC, when Pompey’s wife died, Julia offered herself as a new wife to Pompey, as she was the widow of his great rival. This could potentially bring Caesar and Pompey closer together. But in 54 BC the Julian Laws were declared. These laws changed the political constitution and two very important things were included in them that would have helped Caesar. The first law increased the number of Plebeian Tribunes to the magic number of ten. This could be important because Plebeian Tribunes had the power to veto legislation and they also had the power to protect any Roman citizen from punishment. This must have been too much power for the Senate and previously they had only allowed five to be elected. But when this law was declared we are told the whole of Rome was filled with ”triumph and joy” and the Senate agreed to ratify the decree. This source was written before 46 BC. The second law was a response to problems that had been building since Sulla’s Dictatorship and was a return to the power and independence given to the Plebeian Assembly and the Tribunes. These two laws were a great victory for Caesar. If they had been brought in with any normal process and a false news day or something then it would certainly be a popular upraise. But instead Caesar used the death of Pompey’s wife, followed by Julia’s death to ensure he was in the strongest of positions and no one could seriously dispute his laws. The two laws resulted in Caesar gaining approval to greater powers and new position so it can be argued by these laws, not his achievements or ability, he became “first man” and the latter laws were as a result of the power Caesar gained while in office and would not have had such an impact if he had not become “first man”.
4.2 Social and Economic Reforms
Another significant area in which Caesar effected reforms was in the all-important arena of Roman economics. Tiberius Gracchus had tried and failed to redistribute land just over a hundred years previously. The problem was that large landowners who had huge estates and employed slave labour did not want to sell any of their land. This meant that the poorer citizens had very little chance of obtaining land and many chose, or were forced, to move to the city of Rome. Caesar’s land reforms therefore were nothing new, it was the fact that he managed to carry them out to such great effect. The rich (patrician) classes had always tried to block these laws. Caesar however was now in a unique position as dictator. He could effectively do what he wanted. His reforms were fundamental in providing land for the poor but also initiated a fundamental shift in the economic make up of the Roman Republic. By appointing his own followers as governors of the provinces, he ensured that they stayed loyal to him. Also, and perhaps crucially, these governors were able to give Caesar money for himself and the central government. This money might did not only come from the wealth of the provinces but also through taxes. By importing Roman methods of administration, he could control and monitor the amount of taxes that were due. This in turn created stability throughout the Republic essay pro, in terms of both the economy and also of the provinces themselves. It was truly a win-win situation for all as Rome became even more prosperous through the conquering of the world. All of a sudden, thousands of prisoners were being brought back and sold as slaves so there was even more money coming into the economy. The resettlement of these new lands meant that there were new opportunities for the urban poor and for the rich to increase their incomes. And by modernising the provinces, Caesar gave them the chance to develop and increase their own wealth too. So, Caesar’s reforms transformed not only the Roman Republic and the wider empire, they set in place mechanisms and initiated social and economic changes that would shape Rome for the next five centuries, right up until the fall of the Roman Empire in the west.
4.3 Legacy and Historical Significance
The assassination of Caesar led to the resurgence of the Roman Republic under Augustus, his adopted heir. However, the epoch of civil wars and political strife paved the way for the fall of the Roman Republic and the emergence of the Roman Empire. Caesar’s assassination also solidified the future of political violence as a means to achieve power in Rome. Many other ambitious leaders attempted to precede Caesar and began jostling for the control of the Republic. As a result, a series of bloody civil wars brought the republic to an end and the exorbitant power of ambitious dictators was established. The autocracy of Augustus and following emperors was legitimized by the apparent inefficiency of the Senate and other political bodies, which seemed unable to prevent the endemic corruption that had taken hold. The reign of Caesar and the end of the Roman Republic marked a victory for the traditional principles of the republic and marked the start of the imperial order. The creation of this new imperial order, topped by an Emperor and his desultory or adopted heirs was by far the most significant impact of Caesar on Rome and its political system. Empires and autocratic regimes were not unfamiliar to world history, what made the Roman Empire significant was to the inordinate tradition of Republic. The slow process of undermining the old order; with, for example, magistrates performing certain tasks becoming perpetual bureaucratic posts, allowed the Romans to ease into what was in essence a total conversion of the political system and in this way the new order that Caesar created was inescapable from the destruction of the Roman Republic. The emperors that succeeded Augustus further developed the potential and it wasn’t unrivalled until the inception of the Roman Empire that the full extent of the power that the emperor had was clear. The power that the Roman Empire held would go on to shape world history and become what many consider the greatest and strongest empire of the ancient world. Caesar’s assassination was a brilliant political act carried out in the name of liberty. The fact that this brutal act had to be cloaked with the pretext of the greater good and personal freedom speaks volumes to the enduring strength of republicanism in the Roman psyche. Although the death of Caesar extinguished the possibility of a restored republic in the short term, the very nature of his assassination reveals the long lasting influence of this political movement. The ideals of the conspirators lived on and ultimately inspired notable thinkers like Machiavelli and Cicero, who would adapt and mould the philosophy to influence republics for generations to come. However, the campaign of libertas championed by the conspirators was abandoned and their dreams of a new Roman government under the power of the Senate would never come to fruition until the time of Augustus, where he reintroduced damaged republican values in the constitution and used his consular powers to stabilize the Roman world. This period of history would later be revered as the “Augustus Restoration” and even though Augustus’s alterations to the traditional values of the Roman Republic bore the eventual creation of the Roman Empire, it was an unmistakable attestation to the lasting influence of Caesar’s assassination and the subsequent campaign of libertas.
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