Many believed that the ruling class had run the country into the ground and there needed to be a change. Rome at this time was having political problems, which I’ll mention in a second. Either way, his father’s death made Caesar the man of the house at a fairly young age. This was said to have been from natural causes, which could have been a lion attack at this time in history. But that didn’t stop Gaius from straight-up dying when Caesar was 16. I won’t get too bogged down in the history of Roman politics, I just want to set the scene for a little later.Ĭaesar’s parents, Gaius Caesar and Aurelia, were apparently very respectable people. However, to keep a balance of power, the senate (made up of other patrician family members), would select candidates to become consuls, but it was the plebeians that would actually elect them. As I said, patrician’s were able to become consul, but plebians could not. They both hold the position for a year and have the power to veto each other’s decisions. Except it is always a co-consulship meaning the post is always shared between two people. The consul in Roman politics is generally the president. What being patrician did afford Caesar and his family is the ability to become consul. However, as they were poor/rich people, they had no particular political clout. As I mentioned, Caesar’s family was patrician. The upper-class was referred to as the patricians, with the lower-class being referred to as the plebians. In Rome, you were either upper-class or you weren’t. Now, I should also mention the class structure of Rome, since I’ve already mentioned it once and it will come up again. Although, it is noted that the family was not snobbish. I believe this was due to the fact that the Julia family was very ancient, and obviously god-like. You see, most Alban families, like Caesar’s, were granted upper-class status. So, obviously, they just had to be related to Ascanius, the son of Venus.Ĭaesar’s family was not actually wealthy at the time of his birth, but they were still considered upper-class. It’s pretty far-fetched to claim ancestry from a member of Roman mythology, but the family did have a particular reason for claiming it.Īscanius was the legendary king of Alba Longa, an ancient city near Rome. He was said to have been the son of the goddess Venus. They claimed to be descended from the Roman mythological character, Euryleon (or Ascanius, or Julus). This family was quite lofty with their ancestral claims. Gaius Julius Caesar was born 12 July 100 BC near Rome.
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