Julius Caesar (Civ6)/Civilopedia

The template for all would-be dictators to come, Julius Caesar was a military man who cultivated the support of the common people and military as a path to power against an established oligarchy. His rise marked the end of the Roman Republic and the beginnings of the Empire.
The gens Julia were not much, as patrician families go, despite their alleged origins with the goddess Venus. They were elevated to the rank of noble (i.e., patrician, as opposed to plebian) in the relatively distant time but were a minor note in the Roman republic. Julius Caesar’s story begins when he becomes the head of the family in 85BC and is almost immediately targeted by the new winner of a bloody civil war between Caesar’s kin, Gaius Marius, and Lucius Sulla. Caesar lost what little inheritance his family had and his ability to serve as a priest of Jupiter. Having relatively little, Caesar went into the military. The choice would prove dramatic.
In an episode from his early military career, Caesar was captured by pirates on the Aegean sea. He made friends with the men and encouraged them to ask for more money than he was worth, joking that, when free, he would track them down and destroy them. They took his advice... and for his end, he immediately carried out his threat.
In his early career, Caesar was noted as an opponent of Senatorial corruption and a favorite of the military. As he moved up in ranks, winning the consulate in 59BC and becoming a member of the ”triumvirate,” an alliance of Caesar and two powerful allies, Caesar curried favor with the common people, forcing land redistribution and threatening nobility with his soldiers when conflicts emerged. This won him enemies, and he secured a governorship over the fractious regions of Gaul to protect himself from retaliation. This move, too, was to shape his future.
War meant opportunity. Caesar relentlessly pushed against Gallic forces – including Ambiorix – in the Gallic Wars. But while he was away, Caesar’s opponents were actively undermining his support at home, citing irregularities in his consular election. Caesar’s once-ally Pompey assumed singular control, and senators urged for both men to disarm and thus re-establish a legal order. Neither did. Worse, Caesar began marching his victorious legions back from Gaul towards Rome.
And here was the river Rubicon. Active armies were forbidden in Rome proper, and to cross the great river would signal a hostile action. Caesar paused here before declaring alea icata est – the die is cast. He crossed the river and altered the course of history. Civil war erupted, but Caesar’s military planning was such that he outmaneuvered his opponent Pompey, chasing him out of Italy and to Spain and Greece. Returning to Rome, Caesar was appointed dictator. It is a move that later dictators would emulate.
Consolidating power was the next move. With a mixture of guile and menace, Caesar cowed the Senate and, famously, intervened on behalf of Cleopatra in Egypt (who became his lover). While his public persona was one favoring commoners, he restricted the power of non-nobles, both in artisans’ guilds as well as in legal reforms. In deference to Rome’s expansion, Caesar allowed for some degree of decentralization, extending legal rights beyond Italy and allowing local cities more freedom to govern as they saw fit. His dictatorship relied both on informal intimidation (he simply refused several moves by the Senate) as well as new legal powers bestowed on him by the Senate.
Here, the power of the Senate seemed to be severely shaken. It is no wonder that enemies conspired against him. And so they did. At a meeting of the Senate in which Caesar was to speak, he was stabbed 23 times, most notably by his supposed friend, Brutus. While we know ”et tu, brute” from Shakespeare, his final words are recorded as "kai su, teknon" (you too, child?) in Greek.
Afterward, the empire was thrown into tumult. The masses still had Caesar’s support, now on his general Antony’s shoulders, and the would-be leaders Brutus and Cassius were forced to flee. At the same time, Caesar’s adopted son Octavian claimed the right to rule, and so came a war of seemingly all against all. The assassins were hunted down and killed, as well as Antony, who had sought refuge with Cleopatra. Octavian was to become Augustus Caesar.
Caesar’s legacy reinforced the power of populism combined with military arms, as well as the audacity of ambition. Would-be emperors such as Napoleon and Bolivar took their inspiration from Caesar, and monarchies that styled themselves “Kaiser,” “Tsar,” or “Qaisar” took their name wholesale from the Roman emperor.