As a military commander, Julius Caesar expanded Roman territory. As a politician he changed Rome from a republic to a military dictatorship. He only ruled a short time but launched an empire that lasted a thousand years. 

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His initial political venture was to support Pompey’s constitutional reforms in 70 B.C. From this political base, his first step was to be appointed governor of Spain. He allied himself with Pompey and Crassus to run successfully for a Senate seat, though the majority of the Senate opposed him. With a foot in the Senate door, politically, he turned to what would become a standard strategy for acquiring power in imperial Rome. He used public funds to win popular support. In this case, he allotted public lands to military veterans who were without pensions. 

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He became the military governor of the northern Italian provinces, including southern Gaul (France) in 58 B.C. and went on to conquer the balance of Gaul in the next eight years. This tipped the balance of power to him in his drive to restrict the power of the Senate. In 49 B.C., the Senate ordered him to remain in Gaul and not return to Italy. He defied their orders and brought his army to Rome. His old collaborator, Pompey, set up a naval blockade in an attempt to defeat him by preventing his re-supply. With Pompey’s murder in 48 B.C., Caesar was left as the sole master of the Roman world.

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Rome’s influence extended beyond its formal borders, however. Caesar’s diplomacy included a brief affair with Cleopatra VII when he toured Egypt. This secured the southeastern segment of the Mediterranean. Having accomplished this alliance, he returned to Rome to be declared dictator in 47 B.C. 

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Initially, he set out to solidify his realm and extinguish the remaining areas of rebellion. To better secure the Mediterranean’s eastern coast, Antipater (Herod’s father) was forgiven of his previous support of Pompey and made “procurator” (epitropos) of Judea. Caesar then put down the revolts in Rome’s farthest areas of Africa and Spain. Upon his return to Rome in 45 B.C., he set about to reorganize the empire. In that reorganization, he granted amnesty to his previous Senate opponents, including Cassius and Brutus. 

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He was killed on March 15, 44 B.C. by Senate conspirators who feared he would declare himself king. Following the aftermath of the ensuring civil war, Octavian and Marc Antony would declare him a god in 42 B.C.  

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