Caesar in Asia Minor

By D.B.
Latin Temporis Staff Writer

"Veni Vidi Vici!" were the words of Julius Caesar when he returned from a conquest from Asia Minor. When Julius was elected consul in 695 AUC, the first Triumvirate having Julius, Crassus and Pompey was enacted and appointed Caesar as governor. This was due to the power gained through military conquest. Soon Caesar had a large amount of territory in Northern France, Belgium and southern Great Britain.

Not long after Crassus died in a war against the Parrhians in the Middle East, Pompey turned against Caesar and turned the Senate against him. They wanted Caesar to hand over his generalship and province. Caesar ordered his troops to cross the Rubicon River, which separated his province from Italy, meaning that if he crossed the river he would be committing a crime against the state.

The Civil War started as soon as one of his legions finished crossing the Rubicon. The war fought with Pompey ended at Pharsalus, Greece. Shortly after, Pompey was assassinated by the Egyptians, whom he thought were on his side. While in Asia Caesar fought another war, which he summed up with the words "Veni, Vidi, Vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered).

Caesar returned to Rome to be appointed dictator by the Senate. He reformed the government in many ways, but the ways were only meaningless. Caesar's power also made him Emperor of Rome.

Many Romans did not like the way Caesar was running things, so, on the Ides of March (March 15), 709 AUC, a group of conspirators, led by Gaius Cassus Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus, assassinated Caesar as he entered the Senate with no bodyguards and protection.

Sources:
www.wsu.edu:8000/~dee/ROME/JULIUS.HTM ( Encarta '99)

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