Julius Caesar’s Impacts on City of Rome

JAY BUDDHDEV

Sam, Nie

ENGL 100, Critical Reading & Writing I

6th October 2017.

Julius Caesar’s Impacts on City of Rome

                The short story written by Jason Karpf entitled as “I Came. I saw. I Spun” is used to reflect Caesar's ability as a general to quell the uprising and also to ensure the Roman senate knew his role in the victory that helped the Roman Empire remain one of the largest and most powerful in the known world during that time. The First Paragraph of story overviews the qualities found in military leader which helps in enhancing their reputation and also in providing protection to his county. Jason Also describes how Cesar took full credit for the victory and how his popularity grew even more with his soldiers and the Roman citizens. Julius Caesar changed Rome and the world in three important aspects, which includes changes implemented in Roman currency, end of roman republic by turning into an empire and also by expanding Rome territories.

                As soon as Caesar was appointed as dictator for life, he began issuing coins with his own portrait on them. The imagery on coins took an important step when Julius Caesar issued coins bearing his own portrait. At that time coins were considered as an important means of disseminating this image throughout the empire, and so it was considered as an ultimate campaign illustrating marketing career. Coins often attempted to make the emperor appear god like through associating the emperor with attributes normally seen in divinities, or emphasizing the special relationship between the emperor and a particular deity by producing a preponderance of coins depicting that deity. During his reign as dictator, he had to deal with widespread debt in Rome, so he formed a financial and political partnership with Marcus Licinius Crassus, which helped to alleviate the debt in a way that satisfied both lenders and borrowers. As Caesar was killed during 44 BC, he never saw completion of any of the projects that he started but his impact on the city of Rome continued even after his death. Thirteen years after Caesar’s death, his victory over his enemies was completed and that was assumed as completion of Roman Empire, followed by the name Augustus Caesar.

                The Roman Republic was experiencing dramatic changes such as, the chief governing council of the Roman Republic turned out to be         ineffective in administration of the vast Empire and sooner victorious generals started computing for powers which further resulted into political crises. While Caesar was fighting in Gaul, Pompey and the senate ordered him to return Rome without his army, but he brought his army with him in defiance of the senate’s order. This fateful decision led to a civil war, when he decisively defeated Pompey’s forces he returned to Rome, with victory and rich plunder. Upon his return he was appointed as a dictator of Rome and its territories. As Caesar began to centralize the government and take greater command of authority and institute reforms, his position with the senate grew ominous. Hence, in order to save the Republic, a plan was hatched by the senate (who called themselves Liberators) to assassinate Cesar for his dishonor. And when he was called to the forum to sign a petition, the conspirators fell upon him and murdered him. This act would set a series of further civil wars, which would ultimately leat to demise of the Republic and the formation of Empire.