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Julius Caesar

The result unforeseen by the assassins was that Caesar's death precipitated the end of the Roman Republic.[105] The Roman middle and lower classes, with whom Caesar was immensely popular and had been since before Gaul, became enraged that a small group of high-browed aristocrats had killed their champion. Antony, who had been drifting apart from Caesar, capitalised on the grief of the Roman mob and threatened to unleash them on the Optimates, perhaps with the intent of taking control of Rome himself. But, to his surprise and chagrin, Caesar had named his grandnephew Gaius Octavian his sole heir, bequeathing him the immensely potent Caesar name as well as making him one of the wealthiest citizens in the Republic.[106] Gaius Octavian became, for all intents and purposes, the son of the great Caesar, and consequently also inherited the loyalty of much of the Roman populace. When Caesar's funeral was held several days later in the Roman Forum, Antony did not give the speech that Shakespeare penned for him more than 1600 years later ("Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears..."), but he did give a dramatic eulogy that appealed to the common people, a reflection of public opinion following Caesar's murder. Further, it was announced to the public during the funeral oration that Caesar in his will had left his private gardens on the Tiber to the Roman public as well as 300 sesterces to every enrolled Roman citizen. (While 300 sesterces was not a fortune, such was the equivalent of three month's wages for the average Roman worker, a very nice gift.) These bequests, combined with Antony's funeral oration, only served to increase Caesar's posthumous stature among the populace, increasing the grief at his death as well as the rage against his assassins. The crowd at the funeral boiled over, throwing dry branches, furniture and even clothing on to Caesar's funeral pyre, causing the flames to spin out of control, seriously damaging the Forum. The mob then attacked the houses of Brutus and Cassius, where they were repelled only with considerable difficulty, ultimately providing the spark for the Liberators' civil war, fulfilling at least in part Antony's threat against the aristocrats.[107] However, Antony did not foresee the ultimate outcome of the next series of civil wars, particularly with regard to Caesar's adopted heir. Octavian, aged only 19 at the time of Caesar's death, proved to have considerable political skills, and while Antony dealt with Decimus Brutus in the first round of the new civil wars, Octavian consolidated his tenuous position.

Caesar was still deeply in debt, and there was money to be made as a provincial governor, whether by extortion[53] or by military adventurism. Caesar had four legions under his command, two of his provinces, Illyricum and Gallia Narbonensis, bordered on unconquered territory, and independent Gaul was known to be unstable. Rome's allies the Aedui had been defeated by their Gallic rivals, with the help of a contingent of Germanic Suebi under Ariovistus, who had settled in conquered Aeduan land, and the Helvetii were mobilising for a mass migration, which the Romans feared had warlike intent. Caesar raised two new legions and defeated first the Helvetii, then Ariovistus, and left his army in winter quarters in the territory of the Sequani, signaling that his interest in the lands outside Gallia Narbonensis would not be temporary.[54]

Caesar's conquest of Gaul extended the Roman world to the North Sea,

Roman

Roman

Roman

Roman

Roman

Pompey

Pompey

Pompey

Mark Antony

Pompey,

Pompey,

Pompeia

Three candidates stood for the consulship: Caesar, Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, who had been aedile with Caesar several years earlier, and Lucius Lucceius. The election was dirty. Caesar canvassed Cicero for support, and made an alliance with the wealthy Lucceius,

Brutus

Grandson from Julia

Honours and titles

Died 15 March 44 BC

Gaius Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar

Caesar[

Caesa

They met when they were 21 (Cleopatra) and 52 (Caesar). On 23 June 47 BC Cleopatra gave birth to a child, Ptolemy Caesar,nicknamed Caesarion which means "little Caesar".

To safeguard herself and Caesarion, she had Antony order the death of her sister Arsinoe

On 25 December 40 BC, Cleopatra gave birth to twins fathered by Antony, Alexander Helios

After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC

When Ptolemy XIV died - allegedly poisoned by his older sister

Queen Cleopatra returned to the palace rolled into a Persian carpet and had it presented to Caesar by her servants:

Cleopatra VII

Cleopatra

Πτολεμαῖος ΙΕʹ Φιλοπάτωρ Φιλομήτωρ Καῖσαρ , Καισαρίων

When Octavian invaded Egypt in 30 BC, Cleopatra VII sent Caesarion, then seventeen years old, to the Red Sea port of Berenice for safety, with possible plans of an escape to India. Octavian captured the city of Alexandria on August 1, 30 BC, the date that marks the official annexation of Egypt to the Roman Republic

Mark Antony had committed suicide prior to Octavian's entry into the capital; Cleopatra followed his example by committing suicide on August 12, 30 BC. Caesarion's guardians, including his tutor, either were themselves lured by false promises of mercy into returning the boy to Alexandria or perhaps even betrayed him; the records are unclear. Octavian had Caesarion executed there, with the words "Two Caesars is one too many". No events concerning his death have been documented. Due to his young age of 17 years it is supposed he was executed by strangulation.

Octavian then assumed absolute control of Egypt. The year 30 BC was considered the first year of the new ruler's reign according to the traditional chronological system of Egypt. In lists of the time Octavian himself appears as a Pharaoh and the successor to Caesarion.

when he was killed on orders of Octavian,

Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar

In addition to his Greek name and nicknames, Caesarion also had a full set of royal names in the Egyptian language

Numbering the Ptolemies is a modern invention; the Greeks distinguished them by nickname. The number given here is the present consensus; but there has been some disagreement in the nineteenth century about which of the later Ptolemies should be counted as reigning. Older sources may give a number one higher or lower, but the same epithet

document.write(''); After the assassination, the senators fled, leaving Caesar's body on the Senate floor where it lay for a few hours before three slaves carried it to his wife

Calpurnia, especially, who was frightened by some visions in her dreams,

The Assassination of Julius Caesar, 44 BC