Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar is arguably the most famous leader of the Roman Empire, and for good reason! This was a man who spent most of his adult life at war. First, the Senate of Rome commanded him to conquer Gaul (our France). Nobody expected him to get very far but, in just a few years, Caesar had not only taken over that huge territory but also parts of Hispania (Spain) and Britannia (England) as well! Soon he had become so successful that people back home at Rome were frightened that Caesar might come back and take over the Empire. They started attacking his name at home to try and collect support to oppose him. Instead, this caused exactly what they had feared. Caesar marched on Rome, took it over, and then went to war with every senator who stood against him. This had him traveling from Greece, to Egypt, and back to Rome before he was done. When he settled in as emperor, he created a lot of programs that helped the poor and made Rome function better than it ever had. But this scared the remaining senators, who decided to assassinate him. Thus Caesar died before he could implement many of the policies that he wanted.

What made Caesar so successful? Conquering France, parts of Spain and England, and then seizing control of the largest Empire in the world wasn't something he could do by himself. So was it leadership then? Caesar's men loved him. He always made sure to pay them on time, inspire them into battle, and give them land after they served him well. He was wildly popular with the poor people of Rome. A big part of this was because he knew how important their support was; he made sure to give away lots of money and food whenever he could so that he could count on them, especially when he came back to rule Rome. When he was emperor, he also made the Roman Senate bigger so that he could have foreign noblemen from Gaul come in to be a part of it. By doing so, he made it so that the lands that he had conquered were far less likely to rise up against him. They felt represented.

But, then again, Caesar must have failed as a leader in some respects. After all, he was assassinated by a number of the Romans he was supposed to be leading! It's also worth pointing out that just because someone is good at leading an army doesn't mean they are good at leading a country. Julius Caesar tried to put in programs that helped the people, but he did this in a way that did not include the upper class, which angered them immensely. Lastly, Caesar changed Rome's government from a republic to a dictatorship. It never changed back, and future emperors were so bad at their job that the Roman Empire eventually fell apart. As a result, it could be argued that Julius Caesar was the original cause of the Roman Empire's destruction!

The Colosseum of Rome

What do you think? Was Julius Caesar a good leader or a bad one? Or was he a mix of both? What do you think is the most important quality of a leader? Does Julius Caesar measure up? Share in the comments section below!

Sources and Further Information -
http://www.biography.com/people/julius-caesar-9192504
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/caesar_julius.shtml
http://www.livius.org/caa-can/caesar/caesar01.html
http://www.history.com/topics/julius-caesar