Epic Moments in History - The 9 Lives of Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a colossal figure who towered over his time and still casts a shadow on ours yet as is often the case with such Titans of the past their lives are often condensed into a single scene for Caesar this is his most famous last act on the Ides of March stabbed to death before the Senate by fellow Romans dramatic though this scene maybe we would however Pyramus to read but this last chapter of his incredible story in fact as with Alexander the Great he had a long history of cheating the Reaper today we'll be reliving the nine lives of Julius Caesar a quick thanks to Magellan TV for sponsoring this episode Caesar was born in 100 BC the final century of the Roman Republic these were troubled times the grand power which had emerged as top dog of the Mediterranean in 146 BC was now succumbing to rot at its foundations rising economic inequality the consolidation of power and the deterioration of political norms created a vicious cycle that sparked increasingly deadly internal conflicts as the peaceful transfer of power broke down control of Rome was now seized by military might with deadly consequences for the opposition this alarming deconstruction of society resulted in horrors never before seen within the city among these were the prescriptions a literal list posted in the form of all those who were to be hunted down and killed their heads displayed as grisly warnings at the age of 19 Caesar found himself on such a list though of little political relevance at the time he was the nephew of Marius and had married the daughter of Cinna both of these connections placed him in the camp opposite sulla who had just taken Rome with his legions as a part of the regime's reorganization of power the dictator ordered young Julius Caesar to divorce his wife a command he stubbornly refused notices were the soon issued for his arrest and he was forced to flee into the countryside with a bounty on his head Caesar became a fugitive affording patrols and any who might betray him as if things weren't bad enough he apparently contracted malaria and was apprehended by a group of soldiers whilst moving between safe houses luckily he was able to bribe his way out of custody with 12 thousand silver denarii the equivalent of almost 100 years of a soldier's pay eventually the pursuit relented when Caesar was pardoned thanks to the intercession of his mother and the lobbying of other influential figures this was the first of many instances where fortune seems to have saved him as we trace Caesars adventures across the Mediterranean I wanted to highly recommend the documentary julius caesar revealed which gives you a fantastic grounds ID view of his journey posted by classicist mary beard the film travels across the world to trace the great generals career from his beginnings in Rome to his headquarters in Spain his campaigns in Gaul his landing in Britain his crossing of the Rubicon and much more I'm happy to announce that you can watch this for free today through our sponsor Magellan TV founded by film makers this subscription service allows you to stream premium curated content in the genres of history science space and nature new programs are added on a weekly basis and can be watched anytime anywhere on your television laptop or mobile device a wide selection of content is available in 4k best of all there's no ads or limited access you can sign up and support the channel by going to Magellan tv.com slash Invicta following his political pardon Caesar was able to resume his public career by joining the military he went east to serve on the staff of Marcus Minucius thermos the governor of Asia the Roman forces were at the moment occupied with suppressing several cities which had recently partaken in the myth or Natick wars their operations brought them to the city of Medellin which was put under siege and eventually stormed it would appear that during the fighting the nineteen-year-old sea xur made such an example of himself that he won the civic crown one of Rome's highest awards for gallantry this coveted decoration was given to those who had risked their lives to save that of another soldier while no records of Caesars exact exploits survived according to the memoirs of mysterious Sabinas it appears that the honor specifically required that an individual not only save a fellow citizen but also slay the enemy who threatened them and hold their ground without retreating it would appear that Caesar had stared death in the face and not back down with this notch in his belt Caesar returned to Rome in 78 BC he continued a conventional political path and waded into the Roman law courts gaining experience exposure and reputation after several years of such activity he ventured east in 75 BC to continue his education in the great schools of philosophy and rhetoric however whilst making the journey his ship was intercepted by pirates off the coast of Asia Minor when they demanded 20 talents of silver for his release he merely laughed boasting that he was worth far more than that and suggested they demanded fifty talents instead messengers were then sent out to raise the money leaving Caesar with his fierce captors for 38 days according to Plutarch he held them in such disdain that they were treated more as his personal guard than jailers when he slept he ordered them to be quiet when they exercised he competed with them with great unconcerned when he wrote and read poetry to them in boredom he mocked any who did not appreciate it as illiterate barbarians and as they all laughed he made a habit of threatening to crucify them once the ransom was paid Caesar made haste to the town of Meletis and at the age of 25 with no prior elected office raised a small force of ships which he led right back to the pirate base they were shocked to say the least the Pirates were captured along with their treasure and Caesars recently paid ransom true to his promise eventually had them crucified this tale is a remarkable attestation to the young patricians character his fearlessness determination and quick action had once again guided him through a situation which could have easily seen him killed if they were attempted by a man of lesser fortitude that being said it should be noted that the story may have been greatly embellished by its protagonist Caesar went on to continue his study in Rhodes returning to Rome in 73 BC to begin his ascent of the cursus honorum in earnest in quick succession he attained the following posts pontiff military Tribune Quay store curator of the Appian Way a dial Pontifex Maximus praetor and finally progra tour where he earned a triumph while fighting in Hispania ulterior each advancement added to his political capital this along with vast sums of money was spent to win him the coveted position of consul for 59 BC such was the importance of the election that Caesar had even forgotten celebrating his triumph to run at this point he also forged a political alliance with both Pompey and Crassus which has become known today as the first triumvirate together the three were able to push forward much of their agendas in the face of senatorial opposition though their heavy-handed tactics would earn them enemies crucially while consul Caesar secured his next position with a five-year command of the provinces in northern Italy and southern Gaul in 58 BC at the age of 41 he set out for this new post what followed would be eight years of hard-fought campaigning known to us as the Gallic Wars it all began when Cesar first involved himself in Gaul under the pretext of helping allied tribes and maintaining peace yet each conflict widened the scope of his campaign and created more opportunities for the proconsul to find grounds to fight yet another battle in essence Caesar had willingly entered the sinking sands of Gallic affairs and took every opportunity to twist and turn himself ever deeper by 54 BC he had effectively gained control of all Gaul through a series of defensive Wars only to find these gains at risk of being wiped out by a widespread uprising led by Vercingetorix in 52 BC the two would clash decisively at Alesia in what would be the climax of the Gallic Wars here Caesars 10 legions managed to trap Vercingetorix and is approximately 80,000 soldiers by constructing an 11 mile long wall of circum fill a ssin which included 23 forts powervr a Gallic relief force supposedly numbering over 250,000 was on its way to face this new threat the legions hunkered down and built another ring of Defense's this time facing outwards when the Gallic hosts finally arrived they encamped on the surrounding hills and made a formidable show of force both sides prepared for the coming showdown while cavalry battled in the plains the next day saw a frenzy of activity as the Romans reinforced their battlements while the Gauls constructed ladders climbing ropes and ditch filling equipment to overcome that that night fierce cries and trumpets echoed across the hills as the relief army launched an all-out assault on Rome's out of fortifications while Vercingetorix assailed the inner walls the fighting was intense however thanks to the deployment of reserves and the sheer scale of the legionary defences the Romans were able to hang on for their lives and repulse the attacks the next wave came in the following days when diversionary Gallic attacks struck across the breadth of the fortifications at noon the main blow landed when 60,000 Gauls spilled over the north western slopes onto a vulnerable Roman camp once again vercingetorix launched his own attacks on the inner walls the legions were spread dangerously thin as they attempted to defend themselves on all fronts in weaker areas the pressure proved overwhelming and the Gauls managed to breach the defenses pouring over the walls and tearing down towers while the Roman commanders desperately shifted forces to plug the gaps Caesar himself rode between the sector's rallying the men and driving them to great feats of Valor when the gulls began to overrun the northwestern camp things went from bad to worse however Caesar personally led his cavalry and several cohorts in a counter-attack that ground the advance to a halt the outcome of the battle and the campaign hung in the balance ultimately it was the goals who cracked first when a well-placed cavalry attack struck their flanks unexpectedly the spirit of the Gauls was broken and with it came the collapse of the rebellion Caesar had faced the full might of Rome's worst nightmare spaten deaths faced and proved himself its master the conquest of Gaul brought Caesar untold wealth and prestige however while the public rejoiced back in Rome his political homecoming was looking far less enthusiastic at the heart of the issue were the conditions under which he would be allowed to return many in the Senate saw him as a threat and wanted him to relinquish much of his power to Caesar these unilateral concessions risked putting him at the mercy of his enemies eager to cut short his career or his life what unfolded over the following months would be a complicated series of political maneuvers involving many of Rome's most powerful players yet the stubbornness brinksmanship rumours and misinformation which plagued the escalating crisis ultimately forced Caesars hand like a cornered animal he was compelled to take action and famously crossed the Rubicon under arms in 49 BC the die was cast Caesar quickly drove towards Rome with the 13th Legion catching his opponents off guard a strong military opposition failed to materialize and there was little resistance offered by the general population which respected the general and were not subjected to any marauding or slaughter as he advanced ultimately Caesars opponents which now included Pompey were forced to shamefully abandon Italy and take up the fight from the eastern provinces with little time to spare Caesar placed Antony in control of Italy and set off to assert his control of Spain before returning once more to pursue Pompey ins now in Greece he concentrated 12 legions in Brundusium and prepared to make the crossing of the Adriatic however due to the small number of troop transports available he was only able to ferry half the army over before being cut off by the large enemy Navy to make matters worse Pompey soon arrived with his main force likely outnumbering Caesar two-to-one as the months dragged on Caesar grew increasingly desperate for help from Italy and resolved to personally go rally reinforcements he disguised himself as one of his own slaves bearing an important message and boarded a small merchant ship anchored nearby the vessel set out to sea but was met with strong winds as the weather worsened into a storm the Sailor struggled against the elements and attempted to turn back when Caesar threw off his disguise and commanded them forward claiming that his famous luck would see them through the perils ahead the men redoubled their efforts but such was the strength of the storm that the ship apparently came close to foundering several times finally they were so beaten that the craft was forced to limp back to shore this had been an extremely dangerous move considering the enemy blockade and the treacherous winter weather though Caesars luck may not have gotten him back to Italy it had saved him from literally sinking into the abyss eventually Antony managed to make the crossing with four legions joining Caesar for a concerted push to take the port Supply Depot of Dirac iam Pompey was quick to react and managed to arrive before Caesar had a chance the Seas of the town the armies encamped less than two miles apart atop high ground a standoff ensued as neither side could directly attack the others strong position Pompey had the advantage of drawing supplies from the sea while Caesar was forced to forage from the surrounding lanes in the long run this was to Pompey's advantage so Caesar decided to begin constructing a line of fortifications to protect his foraging parties and besieged the enemy as the walls began to go up Pompey responded with his own the two armies now raced to out-build one another with many small battles being fought to control key locations for construction or to test for weaknesses along the line eventually the encirclement would run 17 miles with a deep populated no-man's land covered by slingers archers and siege engines in mid-summer Pompey launched a midnight attack against the vulnerable southern sector punching through and established a camp which now threatened to outflank the whole line Caesar responded with a new camp to counter pomp ease and decided to regain the advantage by assaulting one of the nearby forts which had recently been occupied by the Pompeians the attack was initially successful but the fighting became bogged down within the fort and some of Caesars troops sent to flank the position were unable to find their way around a long rampart this delay allowed Pompey to launch a fierce counter-attack with five legions and a large body of cavalry Caesars outnumbered troops risks being cut off and panicked the commentaries state that everywhere there was chaos fear and flight Caesar tried to rally the line personally as he had done many times before but to no avail apparently when he attempted to grab one of the fleeing soldiers the terrified man stabbed at Caesar with the spiked end of his standard the general was only saved by the quick action of a bodyguard who sliced off the assailants arm Caesar head all control of the situation he would later even common that had the enemy driven home their advantage he would have been defeated that day however as fate would have it Pompey eased off and Caesar was able to withdraw with his army and his life after the defeat at Dirac iam Caesar was able to reform and reinforce his army such that he felt once again ready to challenge Pompey the two would clash famously at the Battle of Pharsalia in 48 BC Pompey may have had the numerical advantage but Caesars men were more experienced as a result Pompey had his infantry deployed in deep formations with orders to hold their ground while he gambled on a massive cover attack on the left flank to win him his victory however Caesar was able to counter this move by secretly placing a reserve of six cohorts behind his own cavalry this proved decisive not only was the enemy mounted assault repulsed but the counter-attack helped to outflank Pompey 'he's main line and precipitate its collapse yet in the aftermath of this great victory Pompey managed to slip away Caesar pursued him to Alexandria only to be presented with the severed head of his opponent which had been cut off by the Pharaohs court hoping to gain his favor as the Roman general planned his next moves he marched his small force of troops into the Royal quarters of the city unfortunately it stumbled into the middle of a civil war as a result of this fact and the ill will many Egyptians bore towards the meddling Romans he soon found himself besieged with in Alexandria by the hostile citizens and an army of 20,000 over the following months Caesar and his just 4,000 troops fended off attacks on their position small naval battles were even fought in the harbor between hastily crewed ships on both sides luckily the Romans were reinforced by some ships carrying additional soldiers supplies and artillery yet their position was still desperate and access to the sea had to be defended at all costs in this vein Caesar decided to seize control of Pharos Island he launched diversionary attacks with worships and landed 10 cohorts however during the operation an Egyptian counter-attack overwhelmed Caesar and his men attempting to secure the Pharos bridge in a panic the soldiers threw themselves back onto the boats as they were being slaughtered Caesars own ship was mobbed by desperate men and became swamped with the enemy closing in he threw off his armor and generals cloak dove into the sea and swam for his life this was one of Caesars most serious defeats and cost him over 800 casualties once again however he escaped with his life eventually a relief force from Syria would come to his rescue and defeat the Egyptian army ending the Alexandrian war in the aftermath Caesar pacified Egypt by backing Cleopatra's claim to the throne he even took a three-month break cruising down the Nile with her and the Roman army but such Pleasant Affairs could not last his opponents were still active across the Mediterranean and the civil war was far from over in 47 BC Caesar mounted a speedy campaign against far Nessie's of Pontus before returning to Rome to settle affairs at the end of the year the legions were marshalled and Sicily for an attack on North Africa with much difficulty Caesar crossed first with six legions and established a base a truce Pina though more reinforcements were on their way he was for the moment greatly outnumbered by the enemies 10 legions and the army of their ally King Juba which supposedly boasted over 100 elephants in early January Caesar was carrying out a large foraging expedition when an enemy force was spotted approaching and what appeared to be large infantry columns in response Caesar drew up his men in a wide line to prevent him from being outflanked however to his surprise the enemy formation were actually a mix of heavy and light infantry along with almost 10,000 cavalry as these approached they quickly fanned out and began to swarm their opponents Caesars men attempted to strike back but found themselves swatting at a horde of gnats that was slowly nine away at their formations with missiles Caesar gave strict orders that no man was to advance more than four paces from their unit and both verbally and physically kept his men in line but as the enemy worked its way around his smaller force he was at risk of being engulfed entirely Caesar ordered the men into a defensive Orbis at his command the cohorts then charged out on all sides unleashing volleys of pilla this carefully controlled push bought the army enough breathing room to be in marching again however the enemy quickly returned harassing the exhausted troops as they painstakingly withdrew finally the Haggard remains of the force made it to high ground by nightfall and escaped by the skin of their teeth this defeat would have been far worse but thanks to Caesars excellent control of the men he and his army avoided the massacre which befell Crassus under similar circumstances against the Parthian 'he's over the following months caesar would display more caution until finally being reinforced by four legions arriving from italy he returned to the offensive and precipitated the massive battle of thapsus which featured around a 120,000 men to any thousand horses and 60 elephants the encounter was a brief but bloody affair which saw Caesar victorious and resulted in the end of the civil war in the African theatre in 46 BC he returned to Rome here the general would celebrate his great victories with lavish festivities and four consecutive triumphs he wielded extraordinary power but seems to avoided the bloody history of his predecessor sulla in a sweeping series of reforms Caesar would launch programs that touch many different sections of society from agrarian law reform to public work projects and even the reorganisation of the calendar this whirlwind of activity lasted less than a year before Caesar once again set off this time to suppress the final embers of the Civil War smouldering in Spain at the time the rebel forces in Spain had come under the command of Pompey son næss and sexist who were in control of 13 legions and numerous auxiliaries Caesar arrived with eight legions including only two veteran legions despite being outnumbered he nonetheless took the offensive marching directly on the provincial capital of Cordoba defended by sexist næss soon arrived and Caesar withdrew to beseech the smaller town of Hettie guaa Naas followed but was unable to stop the town from being taken in early 45 BC defections and desertion --zz from the Pompey and cause now accelerated and forced Nyhus to offer battle at the ridge outside the town of Munda Caesar advanced bringing the fight up the hill to the enemy which refused to budge the battle that followed was some of the hardest of the campaign at one point caesar's line even began to buckle and break the outcome of the Civil War hung in the balance but at this critical moment Caesar took fate into his hands and galloped to meet the crisis he threw off his helmet shaming the men to their faces when this was not enough the general dismounted grabbed a shield from one of the soldiers and plunged towards the frontlines yelling this shall be the end of my life and of your military service Caesar then charged out to within ten paces of the enemy alone in no-man's land he fearlessly dodged missiles are caught them on his shield this incredible feat shamed his retreating comrades first one officer came to his side then another and finally the entire battle line took up the fight alongside their commander the tenth Legion eventually punched a hole in the enemy line while the caesarian cavalry began to turn the flanks soon the Pompeian army collapsed the Civil War was effectively over it had truly come down to the wire and Caesar is later recounted as saying that he had often fought for victory but this time he had fought for his life [Music] now at the end of 46 BC Caesar finally returned to Rome as its undisputed master on top of controlling the entire military and treasure he was made dictator for ten years which was soon extended to life in all but name he had effectively become a monarch yet we should note that while he did concentrate power at the expense of the traditional nobility his regime was neither bloody nor excessively repressive and we have no good contemporary evidence to show that he intended to reshape Rome system of government into a permanent monarchy nonetheless it was still up to Caesar to persuade his fellow citizens to accept this new status quo for the average citizen this was not so hard they greatly benefited from the stability of peace without bearing much of the costs associated with the higher level political reorganizations for the elites the costs were more pronounced especially amongst the senatorial class nonetheless a surprisingly large amount simply bowed their head and adapted to the situation ultimately however some 60 senators would not submit and conspired to assassinate the dictator these liberators would act quickly to set a trap on March 15 44 BC Caesar made his way towards the Theatre of Pompey for a meeting of the Senate history records many foreboding omens leading up to these events but it is difficult to tell which actually occurred what does seem clear is that Caesar was not suspicious and remained either unaware or dismissive of the whispers of betrayal apparently when Caesar arrived the conspirators welcomed him inside while taking his co-counsel Marc Anthony aside the dictator then seated himself before the senators who were beginning to fill the hall but before the meeting formally began the conspirators surrounded him ostensibly with the intent of to grant a plea suddenly wouldn't grabbed his toga at this predetermined signal they drew daggers and violently began to stab and slash at Caesar he struggled but was overwhelmed by the bloody Mele collapsing at the base of Pompey statue just shy of his 56th birthday Gaius Julius Caesar was dead unfortunately this is where we shall draw the curtain on Caesars story his was a life so overflowing with experiences that when struggles to fathom how it could have belonged to one man a tale of countless scenes each deserving of its own great play born into the turbulence of the late Republic Caesar not only bore witness to history but forged it as with Alexander the Great he was driven on by his force of will with seeming immunity to death and destruction in its wake that is until Caesar too met his untimely end departing this mortal plane to enter the whole of colossal figures from our past again a special thanks is owed to our sponsor Magellan TV for making this video possible sign up today to start streaming their fantastic documentaries on ancient history I'd like to also thank our supporters on patreon and their many talented researchers writers and artists who made this video possible please consider contributing to fund future content if you found this topic interesting check out these related videos about our fascinating past be sure to LIKE and subscribe for more history and check out our description for ways to support the channel thanks for watching

Channel: Invicta

Views: 409,378

Rating: 4.9262619 out of 5

Keywords: epic moments in history, epic moments, the 9 lives of julius caesar, julius caesar death, julius caesar documentary, roman empire, roman history, battle of alesia, battle of thapsus, battle of dyrrhachium, gallic wars, julius caesar, roman army documentary, roman army, historia civilis, julius caesar pirates, cursus honorum, first triumvirate, roman civil war, roman republic, siege of alesia, crossing the rubicon, battle of pharsalus, pompey, ancient history

Id: BZA-EUvYHrk

Length: 29min 53sec (1793 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 24 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/Oakley_HiDef]

I just released a documentary video covering the career of Julius Caesar and highlighting the many times he cheated the reaper before his luck finally ran out on the Ides of March. Here is a list of timestamps:

1. 0:50 - Proscriptions
2. 4:00 - Civic Crown
3. 5:05 - Captured By Pirates
4. 7:11 - The Gallic Wars
5. 11:57 - The Storm
6. 15:04 - The Battle of Dyrrhachium
7. 17:35 - Trapped in Egypt
8. 20:23 - Surrounded in Africa
9. 22:53 - Surviving Munda
10. 26:12 - Ides of March