5 Fascinating Stories That Make Julius Caesar a Real Badass
By: Peter Preskar
Tags: War, Politics, Ancient History, Roman, History

5 Fascinating Stories That Make Julius Caesar a Real Badass

Even after 2000 years, everyone knows who Julius Caesar was

Julius Caesar — artistic depiction (Image: Devianart/@Mariusz Kozik)

Julius Caesar (100–44 BC) captivated our imagination for millennia. William Shakespeare dedicated a play in his honor. We named the seventh month of the year (July) after him. Even words for a ruler in German (‘Kaiser’) and in Russian (‘tsar’) originate from his surname.

Here are five actual stories that made Caesar legendary.

1. Asking his kidnappers to demand a much higher ransom for his release

A ship from the times of Julius Caesar (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

During his voyage to Rhodes in 75 BC, twenty-five years old Caesar was kidnapped by pirates. They demanded twenty talents of silver (approximately 620 kg of silver, or $600.000) as a ransom. Caesar laughed at them, saying he was worth at least fifty talents (1550 kg of silver). Consequently, the pirates requested a ransom of fifty talents.

It took thirty-eight days for the Romans to gather the money and during that time Caesar was writing poetry and reciting it to the pirates. He behaved like he was their boss, even demanding that they were quiet when he went to bed.

Caesar joked with the pirates that he would hunt them down and crucify them when he was a free man again.

As it happens, Caesar was not joking. After the ransom was paid, Caesar raised his private army and hunted down the pirates. He crucified each one of them.

2. Winning despite being outnumbered five to one

Vercingetorix surrenders to Caesar (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Caesar’s campaign against the Gauls in modern-day France made him rich and famous. However, his eventual victory didn’t come easily. After he had conquered Gaul, the Gauls, led by Vercingetorix, revolted. The war boiled down to the Siege of Alesia in 52 BC.

80.000 Gauls hid inside of the fortified town. Caesar had a force of 60.000 men. His legionaries built a wall around the town to prevent anyone from escaping. Upon hearing that the relief force of 250.000 Gauls was on its way, Caesar built a second wall that faced the direction of the relief force.

Once the relief force arrived, the Gauls attacked from the inside and from the outside of the wall. The battle raged on for three days. Caesar personally joined the battle and successfully galvanized the morale of his troops. The Romans won, Alesia surrendered, and Vercingetorix was captured.

3. Saying: “The die is cast”

Caesar is leading his men — artistic depiction (Image:wallpapersafari.com)

Roman generals were not allowed to enter Italy with their army. A symbolic border was at the Rubicon river in Northern Italy.

After the successful Gallic campaign, Caesar was summoned back to Rome. However, he knew the Roman Senate would remove him from the position of power to curb his influence.

So, Caesar gambled on his fate. He uttered these legendary words:

Alea iacta est (“The die is cast”)

Then he crossed the Rubicon with his army and marched directly towards Rome. The Senate panicked and fled the city. A civil war (49–45 BC) ensued.

After winning the civil war, Caesar became the de facto ruler of the Roman Republic.

4. Having sex with the hottest women of his time

Modern-day depiction of Cleopatra (Image: zeenews.india.com)

Egyptian Queen Cleopatra (69–30 BC) was a femme fatale of the Roman era. Charming and intelligent, she was a notorious seductress. Whether Caesar seduced her or she seduced him is a matter of discussion. But certainly, Caesar was not a conqueror only on the battlefield, he was also a conqueror in bed.

Cleopatra even gave birth to his son Caesarion in 47 BC. She lived with Caesar in Rome until his assassination in 44 BC. The legendary beauty set fashion trends, the Roman women mimicked her pearl jewelry and Egyptian haircuts.

5. Winning over rebellious legions with just one word

Roman legionaries (Image: historyanswers.co.uk)

In the middle of the civil war (49–45 BC), Caesar was nearly bankrupt. In order to beat the Republican forces, he needed every single of his soldiers. Yet, his legionaries in Italy rebelled. They wanted their promised reward money and a discharge from service.

On his return from Egypt to Italy, Caesar walked into the military camp without bodyguards. He asked his soldiers why were they rebelling and once they explained the reason, he said to them:

“Citizens.”

By addressing them as citizens, he told them they were no longer soldiers. He discharged them and promised to pay their reward after he defeated the Republicans with another army.

Ashamed, his legionaries begged him to take them back into service. They even promised to execute the rebel leaders.

Caesar pardoned every single of his soldiers and later defeated the Republican forces.

Conclusion

Caesar was a charismatic, intelligent, and risk-taking leader. His ambition and confidence changed the course of Roman history. His assassination in 44 BC symbolized the end of the Roman Republic and the birth of the Roman Empire.