As some of us will remember from our history readings, the Roman republic was, after the much earlier coalition of Greek city-states, the best known experiment in democratic government from the ancient world.  And to the progression of Rome from a republic to an empire, even setting the stage for it’s eventual destruction, the reign of the Roman general and dictator Julius Caesar was pivotal.  Today, historians recognize Caesar as a military genius.  Through force of arms, he expanded the republic northward all the way to the English Channel, and eastward to the Rhine river in what today is west-central Germany.

The death of Julius Caesar in 44-BC coincided roughly with the period in which Rome was transitioning from a republic to an empire, from a democratic form of government to an autocracy, but together, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire lasted almost a thousand years.

Late last year, Diane Rufino posted a very good, very entertaining essay about the years between the reign of Julius Caesar and the demise of the Roman Empire about five hundred years later.  Here is an excerpt:

… Caesar left Rome after his term as consul ended to take up a governorship he demanded in southern France.  Ignoring the orders of the Senate, he raised his own army, and led a path of conquest throughout all of Gaul.  Marc Antony, another brilliant general, was with Caesar at this time in Gaul and was making a name for himself.

After eight years, word grew that Julius Caesar was returning home.  The Senate was afraid that he would bring his army and march on Rome and pleaded with Pompey to organize resistance.  But Pompey was torn.  Caesar was his friend.  His wife was Caesar’s daughter and he loved her deeply.  But Pompey did as asked and began to build an army.  Unfortunately he could not do so in time and when Caesar marched into Rome, Pompey was forced to flee.  Caesar eventually bought off, threatened, or intimidated members of the Senate, and at his command, they crowned him Emperor and gave him concentrated powers for a period of ten years.  The people began to call him a tyrant.  Senators called him a tyrant.  Caesar countered by assuring them that he needed the power “to save the republic” and that after the ten years was up he would turn control back to the Senate.  He didn’t trust the Senate …

Settle in, and read the whole thing at Rufino’s blog, HERE.