Pompey And Julius Caesar Research Paper

Main Ideas

As the Roman army successfully fought their enemies in battle, there were many conflicts within the enemy itself. Because the Roman government mainly comprised of patricians, many people were unhappy.

Farmers in ancient Rome encountered many problems. Many farmers were struck with poverty and debt issues because they were not able to tend to their fields while they were at war. Along with that, farmers were not allowed to participate in the latifundia which was a farming association created by the wealthy. This caused the farmers to suffer great poverty, sell their land, and move into the cities. Indeed, looking for jobs was not easy and the desperateness of these farmers caused many irresponsible leaders to come into power.

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In return, they would receive wages as well as land. However, these soldiers remained loyal to their generals, not their country. This gave the generals great power, such as the one to pass laws that would provide land. Soon, Marius was against another general Sulla, who later appointed himself dictator and changed the Roman government for the worse.

After Sulla, many fought for power. A triumvirate was created between Crassus who was the richest man in Rome, Pompey, and Julius Caesar. Pompey and Julius Caesar were successful military leaders.

The three members of the triumvirate were each military generals of different cities. Caesar, who was a general of France, battled many enemies and became well-known to the lower classes. After Crassus's death during a battle in 52 BC, Pompey was asked to return to Italy and become its sole leader. The Senators also asked Caesar to forfeit his army, return to Rome, and possibly face death. However, Caesar decided to stay loyal to his army, arrived at Rome by crossing the Rubicon, and demolished Pompey's

He also earned fame as he replaced the Senate with those who were loyal to him, providing new jobs and colonies, offering citizenship to more people, and ordered owners to hire more free people. Caesar also created the Julian calendar with 365 days, 12 months, and a leap year which was later revised and revolutionized as the Gregorian Calendar. Although some were happy with Caesar's rule, others were not and assassinated him on the March 15, 44 BC.

Caesar's death resulted in a second Civil War. A Second Triumvirate was created with Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus.

It was not long until the Second Triumvirate started getting into conflict. Octavian told Lepidus to retire from politics, and the remaining two split Rome between themselves. Later, Antony fell in love with Cleopatra, which gave Octavian a reason to declare war against him. On his second attempt, Antony and Cleopatra killed themselves, and Octavian was the sole ruler of Rome. He was also the foundation of the Roman Empire.

Unlike Caesar, Octavian did not name himself dictator, but instead, restored the representative government. He knew this was what the Senators and citizens, such as Cicero, favored. Knowing that the Senate was too weak, Octavian gave some power to the Senate, but majorly put himself in charge. He later changed his name to Augustus, which is how he is often noted as these