Julius Caesar. A life

193 Pages·2006·3.77 MB·English

by  Antony Kamm

JULIUS CAESAR
Did Caesar destroy the republic? What were the legality of his position
and the moral justification for his actions? How good a general
really was he? What was his relationship with Cleopatra? Why was he
assassinated? What happened next?
Julius Caesar was a brilliant politician who became sole ruler of a Roman
empire increased in size by his own military exploits. As a military strategist
he never lost a campaign; he was also a considerable speaker and historical
writer. A lavish spender, who at the outset of his career was often hugely in
debt, he had by his death amassed by various means a personal fortune esti-
mated as equal to one-seventh of the entire Roman treasury. His influence
was profound and his sexual habits were the scandal of the age.
Antony Kamm provides a fresh account, for the general reader and the
student, of Caesar’s life, set against the historical, political, and social
background of the times, with new translations from classical sources. Also
featured are key figures such as Marius, Sulla, Cicero, Catiline, Pompey, Cato,
Crassus, Clodius, Mark Antony, Servilia and her son Brutus, Gaius Octavius,
who became the emperor Augustus, and his sister Octavia, Calpurnius Piso
and his daughter Calpurnia (Caesar’s wife), and Cleopatra, as well as the
politicians who supported or opposed him and the military men who fought
for and against him. For those people interested in the end of the Roman
republic and the growth of the Roman empire, and the great figures of
Roman history, this new look at an extraordinary man will be indispensable.
Antony Kamm read Classics and English at Oxford University. He was
lecturer in publishing studies at the University of Stirling 1988–95. His
publications include Collins Biographical Dictionary of English Literature
(1993),The Romans: an introduction (Routledge, 1995), The Israelites: an intro-
duction (Routledge, 1999), Julius Caesar: a beginner’s guide (2002), The Last
Frontier: the Roman invasions of Scotland (2004), and for children, Scotland in
Roman Times (1998).

JULIUS CAESAR
A life
Antony Kamm
First published 2006
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2006 Antony Kamm
Line drawings by Jennifer Campbell
Copyright © Jennifer Campbell 2005
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Kamm, Antony.
Julius Caesar / Antony Kamm.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Caesar, Julius. 2. Rome—History—Republic, 265–30 B.C.
3. Heads of state—Rome—Biography. 4. Generals—Rome—
Biography. I. Title.
DG261.K36 2006
937′.05092—dc22
2005036603
ISBN10: 0–415–36415–9 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–415–41121–1 (pbk)
ISBN10: 0–203–01534–7 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–36415–7 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–41121–9 (pbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–203–01534–6 (ebk)
For
Derry Jeffares
(1920–2005)
academic, friend, and mentor

CONTENTS
List of figures ix
List of plans x
Acknowledgements xi
Map 1: Italy xii
Map 2: The Mediterranean xiii
Map 3: Gaul and southern Britain xiv
Map 4: Greece xv
Prologue: January 49 bc 1
1 The world of republican Rome 3
2 The man in the making 100–73 bc 19
3 The politician 73–63 bc 36
4 Praetor and consul 62–59 bc 48
5 The general: Gaul and Britain 58–55 bc 62
6 The general: Britain to the Rubicon 54–49 bc 80
7 The dictator: Civil War 49–48 bc 101
8 Egyptian interlude 48–47 bc 115
9 The dictator: Civil War 47–45 bc 125
10 The Ides of March 44 bc 139
vii
CONTENTS
11 Epilogue 44–27bc 152
Genealogical chart of the family of Julius Caesar 156
Simplified genealogical chart of the emperors from Augustus
to Nero 157
Table of dates 158
Principal sources 160
Index 163
viii
FIGURES
1.1 Senators 6
2.1 Family group 21
2.2 Coin depicting Sulla 26
3.1 Priests 45
6.1 Coin of Caesar 49 bc 85
6.2 Coin depicting prisoner representing Gaul 87
6.3 Coin possibly depicting Vercingetorix 89
7.1 Head of Pompey 104
8.1 Head of Caesar from Egypt 122
9.1 Bust of Caesar 133
10.1 Coin of Caesar 44 bc 143
10.2 Coin depicting Lucius Junius Brutus 146
10.3 Bust of Gaius Octavius 150
11.1 The Ides of March! 154
ix