Gaius Julius Caesar (c. 140 BC – 85 BC) was a

Roman senator The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

, a supporter of his brother-in-law,

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

, and the father of Roman dictator

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

Biography

Caesar was married to

Aurelia Aurelia may refer to: People * Version of feminine given name Aurélie * Aurelia (mother of Caesar) * Aurelia gens, a Roman family * Aurelia Browder, American civil rights activist * Astrud Aurelia, American drag queen Science * ''Aurelia'' (c ...

, a member of the

Aurelii The gens Aurelia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, which flourished from the third century BC to the latest period of the Empire. The first of the Aurelian gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Aurelius Cotta in 252 BC. From then to th ...

and Rutilii families. They had two daughters, known as Julia Major and Julia Minor, and a son, Gaius, who was born in 100 BC. He was the brother of Sextus Julius Caesar (

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

in 91 BC). Caesar's progress through the ''

cursus honorum The ''cursus honorum'' (; , or more colloquially 'ladder of offices') was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The '' ...

'' is well known, although the specific dates associated with his offices are controversial. According to two ''elogia'' erected in Rome long after his death, Caesar was a commissioner in the colony at

Cercina Cercina () is a ''frazione'' (rural borough) of the municipality of Sesto Fiorentino, in the Metropolitan City of Florence, central Italy, located on the slopes of Mount Morello Monte Morello is the highest mountain (934 m.) in the Flore ...

military tribune A military tribune (Latin ''tribunus militum'', "tribune of the soldiers") was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribune as a stepping stone ...

, quaestor,

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

, and

propraetor In ancient Rome a promagistrate ( la, pro magistratu) was an ex-consul or ex-praetor whose ''imperium'' (the power to command an army) was extended at the end of his annual term of office or later. They were called proconsuls and propraetors. Thi ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. The dates of these offices are unclear. The colony is probably one of Marius' of 103 BC. Broughton dated the praetorship to 92 BC, with the quaestorship falling towards the beginning of the 90s BC. Sumner dated his term as propraetor of Asia from sometime in 92 to at least January or February 90 BC. Brennan, on the other hand, has dated the governorship to the beginning of the decade. Caesar died suddenly in 85 BC, in Rome, while putting on his shoes one morning. Another Caesar, possibly his father, had died similarly in Pisa. His father had seen to his education by one of the best orators of Rome,

Marcus Antonius Gnipho Marcus Antonius Gnipho (''fl.'' 1st century BC) was a grammarianMcNelis, C. (2007) "Grammarians and rhetoricians" in Dominik, W. and Hall, J. (eds.) ''A companion to Roman rhetoric''. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, pp. 285-296. and teacher of rhetor ...

. In his will, he left Caesar the bulk of his estate, but after Marius's faction had been defeated in the civil war of the 80s BC, this inheritance was confiscated by the dictator Sulla.Suetonius, ''Julius'
1

Family

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Footnotes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Julius Caesar, Gaius 2nd-century BC births 85 BC deaths 2nd-century BC Romans 1st-century BC Romans Ancient Roman generals Ancient Roman politicians Family of Julius Caesar

Gaius Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People * Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist *Gaius Acilius *Gaius Antonius *Gaius Antonius Hybrida *Gaius Asinius Gallus *Gaius Asinius P ...

Roman governors of Asia Roman Republican praetors