About the Real Caesar

    Caesar was born around 100 B.C. and he was named Gaius Julius Caesar.  His father was a low-ranking Roman officer.  His mother was the daughter of a former consul.  They weren't very wealthy and didn't have a lot of power.  They were connected with Rome's aristocrats, though.  Caesar claimed that he was an ancestor of the ancient Roman king Ancus Marius and the goddess Venus (Aphrodite).  His aunt married a man named Gaius Marius, who came from a humble background and became a politician and general.  

    When Caesar was 15, his father died.  A civil war was raging in Rome at the time.  Caesar married Cornelia, the daughter of Cinna, a popular leader.  But, it didn't help Caesar because Cinna was murdered by his enemy.  A man named Sulla took over the government.  Sulla tried to make Caesar divorce Cornelia, but Caesar refused and went into hiding.  Sulla eventually was persuaded to pardon Caesar.  but he told his followers that Caesar would bring about the downfall of the patrician party.

    In his mid twenties, Caesar was captured by pirates.  He befriended the pirates and jokingly said that he would have them all hunted down and killed.  And after the pirates released him, he did just that.  

    Caesar had many wives through his life.  The wife that he was married to during Shakespeare's play was Calpurnia.

    Caesar's greatest conquests were the conquest of Britain and Gaul.  The senate proclaimed him dictator for life.  Although Caesar publicly refused crowning or becoming king, some people thought that Caesar was trying to restore monarchy.  On the Ides, or 15th, of March, Caesar was murdered by a group of his close colleges.  Although Caesar was dead, his cousin Octavius became the emperor.  Later, the name Caesar became the word for emperor.