Julius Caesar | History | The Roman Military

Julius Caesar

Probably one of the most influential figures in Roman history, Caesar was also probably one of their better generals. He was especially well known for how much his troops liked him, mostly because he gave them larger shares of whatever they plundered. As a result, he could get his army to stick with him, no matter what the situation, even if what they were doing was against Roman law, like when he ordered his troops to cross the Rubicon, the point which no general was allowed to take his armies past. Because of this, he was able to keep pursuing Vercingetorix through Gaul, even when food became very scarce. This lead to his conquest of Gaul, one of the largest areas of the Roman area, which today is called France. When the Republic collapsed, he became one of the members of the ruling Triumvirate, along with Crassus and Pompey. Eventually, after Crassus was killed, Caeser took out Pompey and appointed himself dictator for life.