As the politics in the Roman Empire began to shift around 50 B.C., Julius Caesar’s action of crossing the Rubicon, an act of war, tipped the Roman political situation. At this specific moment, Roman politics tipped in a whole new direction. Prior to this movement the Roman people were governed by a republic, meaning the Roman Senate had the majority of the power along with two consuls, similar to American Presidents, who served one-year terms. Caesar at the time was essentially a governor in Gaul, current day Spain, and disagreed with the Senates’ direction. The majority of the Roman Senate was made up of rich aristocrats, who were determined to further empower themselves and ignore the needs of the general public. Caesar, oppositely, supported