FAYE MOSS: Hello, and welcome to Superstars in History! I'm your host, Faye Moss, here to interview another famous face from the past. Today's guest had a very busy career. He was a priest, lawyer, military general, and eventually the leader of the Roman Republic. The month of July is even named after him. Straight from history, here is Julius Caesar!
JULIUS CAESAR: Thank you, Faye. What a colorful arena this is!
FAYE MOSS: I can't wait to hear about how you became so famous. You were born in Rome in 100 BC to a distinguished but poor family. Your humble beginnings obviously didn't hold you back.
JULIUS CAESAR: Certainly not. With my noble ancestry going back to the goddess Venus, I was clearly born to be a leader. I developed my skills as a speaker so that I could pursue a political career. When I was a young man, I was appointed high priest of Jupiter, which was a very important position. However, there were divisions in the republic at the time, and I made some powerful enemies. I was stripped of my position when I was 19 and fled Rome to save my life.
FAYE MOSS: Oh my! What did you do next?
JULIUS CAESAR: I joined the military so I would be far away from my political enemies. I earned a very important award for my bravery in battle. By the time I returned to Rome, my enemies were dead, and I was a hero. I became a lawyer, which gave me a chance to impress the public with my excellent speaking skills. But I wanted to improve those speaking skills even more so that I could win the hearts of the people and become a great leader. I set out for the Greek island of Rhodes to study oratory.
FAYE MOSS: Well, that turned out to be a very exciting trip!
JULIUS CAESAR: Yes, pirates captured our ship! Usually these pirates would sell passengers as slaves, but I was much too important for that. In my case the pirates asked for a ransom in silver. I was much more valuable than the sum they were demanding. I told them they should ask for double!
FAYE MOSS: That was bold of you. But the ransom was paid.
JULIUS CAESAR: Of course it was. When I got home, I raised a fleet of warships, found the pirates, and had them all executed. I am not a barbarian, though, and I ensured that their deaths were quick. Nonetheless, I taught the world a powerful lesson: It was not wise to provoke Julius Caesar.
FAYE MOSS: Well, you, um, certainly sent a strong message. Let's move on. What did you do when you got back to Rome?
JULIUS CAESAR: I knew the way to gain political power was to have the support of the masses. I borrowed money so that I could put on a spectacle of wealth. I hosted public feasts and plays and processions. I gave many gifts in return for political support and was elected to a series of prestigious positions in the Roman Republic.
FAYE MOSS: I guess it was okay to give gifts for favors in Rome?
JULIUS CAESAR: It was successful! Eventually I needed the support of more powerful people, so I joined with Crassus, one of the wealthiest men in Rome, and Pompey, a great general and politician. Together we formed a triumvirate and ruled Rome. Thanks in no small part to my military skill, we were able to expand Rome's territory. I conquered all of Gaul and crossed a sea to explore an island in the north.
FAYE MOSS: That island is Great Britain! And Gaul is now called France and Belgium. Back at home, though, things weren't exactly going your way.
JULIUS CAESAR: Crassus was killed in battle, and alas, Pompey turned against me. By now, my term of service had come to an end, and the senate ordered me to give up my command and return to Rome as a private citizen. I returned, and I brought my army with me. Had I returned alone, my enemies would have killed me. Pompey fled in fear, and within a year, I was the sole dictator of Rome.
FAYE MOSS: In ancient Rome "dictator" meant something different than it does today. It was an important political position in the Roman Republic, right?
JULIUS CAESAR: Yes, a dictator was appointed by the senate to lead Rome in times of emergency. It was a powerful position but had limited authority. After I defeated Pompey in Egypt and eliminated his supporters, I was named dictator for life.
FAYE MOSS: In Egypt you met Cleopatra and established good relations between Egypt and Rome. But I'm curious about something else you encountered there: the calendar. Your 12-month calendar with 365 days is the basis for the calendar we use today.
JULIUS CAESAR: Rome had a lunar calendar with 355 days, and it required confusing adjustments of extra days or months to stay regular. The Egyptians used a simpler solar calendar with 365 days. I was impressed by it and implemented a similar calendar in Rome. It was a great success, and of course, named after me: the Julian Calendar.
FAYE MOSS: And later the month of July was named for you too. You were widely seen as a reformer, and the calendar wasn't your only reform. What else did you do?
JULIUS CAESAR: I extended citizenship to many foreigners and allowed Jews to practice their faith. I also tried to make a fairer society by giving land to poor families and changing the rules of property ownership. I even shared the plunders of war with the citizens. I was very popular with the common people.
FAYE MOSS: You weren't popular with everyone, though. Many in the senate feared your power and were troubled that you were now in charge for life.
JULIUS CAESAR: That is true, and to please them, I tried to stay humble. I refused a crown and refused to be called king. I'm not sure if my position and power were the only reasons some people opposed me. Some of my decisions as ruler greatly upset people. I gave land and power to the poor and attempted to restrict the amount of wealth a single individual could amass. Because of this, I knew aristocrats in the senate were plotting against me. But I wasn't too worried.
FAYE MOSS: I'm not sure if it was wise not to worry. Maybe we should end here. Thank you for joining us today. We'll let you return to history now.
JULIUS CAESAR: It was my pleasure, Faye.
FAYE MOSS: In 44 BC on the fifteenth of March—or the Ides of March as the Romans called it—a group of senators unhappy with Caesar's rule surprised him at the senate. They stabbed him to death, and he died on the senate floor.
Caesar's killers said they murdered him to save the republic, but the result was quite different. Rome descended into civil war, and the Roman Republic eventually became the Roman Empire.
Thank you for joining me today! I'll see you next time on another episode of Superstars in History.