Julius Caesar Written by
Illustrated by
Anita Ganeri
Laura Sua
Contents Rome 2
Egypt 20
Early days 4
Dictator 22
Growing up 6
Murder! 24
Danger in Rome 8
The Roman Empire 26
Fleeing Rome 10
Glossary 28
Back to Rome 12
Index 29
Caesar goes to Gaul 14
“I came, I saw, I conquered” 30
Invading Britain 16 Caesar marches into Rome 18
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Rome At the beginning of the 1st century
BCE,
Rome was
the most powerful city in the world. It ruled the lands around the Mediterranean Sea, from modern-day France to North Africa, and beyond. the Roman Empire in the 1st century bce
Britain
Germany Atlantic Ocean
France
Ita
ly
Spain Mediterranean Sea
ROME Greece
North Africa Lands ruled by Rome
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Rome was governed by a group of men, called senators. They usually came from rich and important Roman families. Together, they were called the Senate. They met in the Senate House in Rome to talk about the army, law and order, and how Rome should be run. The two most important officials were called consuls. They were in charge of the Senate and the Roman army. 3
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Early days Gaius Julius Caesar was born in July 100
BCE
into a rich and
important Roman family. His father, who had the same name, was a senator. The family lived in a large house in a crowded neighbourhood, called the Subura. Julius didn’t go to school. He was taught at home by a tutor, called Marcus Antonius Gnipho. Marcus quickly saw that Julius was very good at writing and learning different languages.
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Fact Like m many an Romans, Julius was ggiven iven tthree names. He was called G Gaius as that was his fath her er’ss n father’s name. Julius came from Julii, th the name of the group to w hich his family belonged. which C esar was the surname of Ca Caesar h close family. his
a statue of Julius Caesar as a young man 5
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Growing up Like all Roman boys, Julius officially became an adult when he was about 14 years old. A special ceremony was held where Julius was given an adult’s toga to wear. This is a long piece of cloth that’s wrapped around the body and worn over a short tunic.
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Julius also stopped wearing his bulla, which was a charm worn around the neck. All children wore a bulla to keep away evil spirits. When he was 16 years old, Julius’s father died suddenly and Julius became head of the family. He had to look after his mother and sister. He also got married to Cornelia, the daughter of one of the most important men in Rome. This marriage helped Julius to start his career in politics, but the couple were also happy together and had a baby bulla
daughter, called Julia. Lucius Cornelius Cinna
Gaius Julius Caesar Annia
Cornelia
Aurelia
GAIUS JULIUS CAESAR
Julia
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Danger in Rome At that time, Rome was a dangerous place to live. There were two groups of people who wanted to have all the power in Rome. One was called the Populares and the other was called the Optimates. There was lots of fighting between the two groups. Caesar’s family was on the side of the Populares. His uncle had led the group before his death. Afterwards, Caesar’s father-in-law, Cinna, became leader.
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When Cinna was killed in the fighting, the Populares knew they’d lost. The Senate chose the leader of the Optimates, a man called Sulla, to be dictator. This meant that Sulla now had control of all officials and the Roman army. Sulla didn’t like Caesar because Caesar’s family supported the Populares, and Caesar’s wife, Cornelia, was Cinna’s daughter. Sulla told Caesar to divorce Cornelia to show his loyalty to Rome. Caesar refused, but he’d made a dangerous enemy. The safest thing now was for him to leave Rome.
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