Caesar

by Pat Southern

Julius Caesar was born in 100 BC and grew up in a turbulent period of corruption and violence in Ancient Rome. After an unspectacular beginning he was elected consul in 59 BC, when the Romans suddenly realised that this rising politician harboured sweeping ambitions that would ultimately transform the state. For ten years Caesar's plans were put on hold while he conquered the whole of Gaul, laying the foundations of his military reputation. After the civil wars with Pompey the Great and his sons, Caesar turned his attention to the government, and it became clear that he entertained grandiose schemes for reform. He worked rapidly to put these schemes into effect, sweeping aside conventional procedures and senatorial debate. It was his methods rather than his political programme that made men turn against him, and strike him down on the Ides of March 44 BC. The conspirators planned nothing beyond the assassination, and in the civil wars that followed, Caesar's great nephew Octavian took up where Caesar left off, and turned the Republic into the Empire.

Genres: History, Biography

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2001

Reviews

[Leon McNair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caesar

"Caesar thought in terms of the whole Roman world… he thought in broad, sweeping, long-lasting terms, not puny annul steps in Rome; he was brimming with common-sense and grandiose plans… Caesar wanted more than the system could give him, and so he had to change the system" p.189

Shrewd, calculating, pragmatic. A politician and military strategist: he never wasted his time or breath, and was an opportunist to better his own position. Though his talent eclipsed all senators and rulers before him, the author reveals how at his early years it wasn't always apparent; this may be down to his shrewd calculations and ability to "read" the political atmosphere within the Senate, but what was also apparent was his seeming dedication to be ordained in the priesthood of Jupiter, and becoming a High Priest.

Caesar's story and triumph is a famous one. It is also a tragic one. And his death, seized on by a circle of political conspirators that lamented over the power they lost to govern Rome and secure high offices, was not celebrated as one might think of a tyrant. Instead, everyone panicked. They panicked, because Caesar had the mind and the talent - or so he had thought as Dictator perpetuo before going to war with the Parthians - to reconstruct the Roman world into an Empire as he saw fit to expand. The book explores the many excitable and famous scenes of Caesar, from his campaigns in Gaul fighting the Helvetii, Aedui, Goths, and the encounters of the tragic-hero Vercingetorix; to his Triumvirate with Crassus and Pompey. The cat-and-mouse chase between Caesar and Pompey which led them to Egypt, just as the legend of the illustrious Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII were at war for the kingdom in Alexandria, introduced a new saga with problems for Caesar to extinguish.

The life of Caesar, and the events that surrounded him and Rome, were dramatic and chaotic. Only recently did Rome have a ready army of the likes we are so familiar with, as it was Gaius Marius, Caesar's uncle, who radically reformed the farmer-soldiery citizen status into a self-sufficient, mobile, military might. Caesar made good use of the disciplined legions at his command, and they were loyal to him. Ultimately, whilst there is a lot to unpack in this book, it does a great job at narrating Caesar's life, capturing the reader's attention towards the main points of influence and change.

[Ismael Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've gotta say: at this point reading yet another book about Caesar's life wasn't the most exciting prospect ever for me.

Southern, however, has done an amazing job by not creating just another biography but a book about the fall of the Republic and the role Julius Caesar had in it. The contraposition of the different sources is also extremely helpful when it comes to those particular aspects that still remain unclear nowadays.

A very well composed summary that will be extremely useful specially to those unfamiliar with these history changing events.

[abi · Rating 3 out of 5]

i can see why this works as a text book - it progresses from a to b to c with an absolute linearity; it gives you the facts, chronologically... but that's about it. it's informative, but it's dry. there's no character, there's no flare, it's just a constant root-march through caesar's life (mainly his time fighting to conquer gaul). although it gives a lot of surface-level information, it also takes a lot of energy to stay focused on the content, and what is given isn't given in much detail.

[Bonnie_blu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a brief tour through Caesar"s life, and it hits all the important events. However, it is not 100% accurate and continues to present as "facts" events that have been disproven, such as, the burning of the Alexandrian library. It has been proven that Caesar did not burn it down but Southern states that he did.

[Brie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think if I had read/studied this on my own. I probably would have enjoyed it.


It's a classic for a reason but sadly school either makes it or breaks it. In my case, ruins it.