![]() The Roman Republic was much more democratic than many assume from the popular image of toga-wearing, dormouse-eating oligarchs, vying for power in the closed shop of the Senate house. After erupting again into civil war, the last vestiges of the Republic were extinguished when Caesar’s heir emerged the sole survivor to establish an absolute monarchy. When he was finally removed, it wasn’t a legal repudiation at the ballot box-it was the grisly assassination of a dictator perpetuus, and the damage had already been done. Rather, his tenure left the state mortally divided, paralyzed by brutal street violence and sliding toward civil war-a war that Caesar himself would eventually lead against his internal enemies to become the most powerful man in the world-this time, for life. The choice made by the Republic guaranteed that, ultimately, it did not survive the premiership of Caesar. politics, revealing cracks in the ability of institutions to withstand the creep of authoritarianism. But the consulship of Julius Caesar shattered this illusion in the same way that Trump and Trumpism have radically reconfigured the boundaries of acceptability in modern U.S. Romans had assumed their Republic could weather the threat of iconoclastic populism, that their norms were sacrosanct, that their system couldn’t be brought down. Like Trump, Caesar spoke directly to the people, railing against traditional elites, complaining about noncitizens taking jobs and encouraging violence. Most objectionable to his critics, however, was the explosive form of his message, which threatened to tear the fabric of the state apart. Opponents even ridiculed the way he attempted to hide that he was balding, wearing an oak-wreath to disguise his thinning hair. Deeply concerned with appearances, he performed lavish demonstrations of wealth, exhibiting a penchant for displays of as much gold as possible-and did so by taking on eye-watering amounts of credit. Embroiled in numerous shocking sex scandals, he never shook the rumour that as a young man he had had an affair with King Nicomedes IV, prompting the derisory nickname, “the Queen of Bithynia.”Ĭaesar was mired, too, in crippling debt-accrued in the promotion of his own image as he sought to deliver the most ostentatious festivals and gladiatorial games. He was regularly derided for his personal foibles. As a leader, questions were constantly raised about his fitness for office more than simply unconventional, he operated within an entirely new set of rules, overturning procedure and bending the law whenever it was expedient. Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire.Like Trump, Julius Caesar was already a celebrity when he took the highest office in Rome-and despised by much of the ruling class. With his soldiers deserting him, Mark Antony took his own life and Cleopatra chose the same course, committing suicide on 12 August 30 BC. Octavian pursued them and captured Alexandria in 30 BC. Octavian was victorious and Cleopatra and Mark Antony fled to Egypt. In 31 BC, Mark Antony and Cleopatra combined armies to take on Octavian's forces in a great sea battle at Actium, on the west coast of Greece. They subsequently had three children - two sons and a daughter. In 41 BC, Mark Antony, at that time in dispute with Caesar's adopted son Octavian over the succession to the Roman leadership, began both a political and romantic alliance with Cleopatra. Ptolemy XIV died mysteriously at around this time, and Cleopatra made her son Caesarion co-regent. Cleopatra followed Caesar back to Rome, but after his assassination in 44 BC, she returned to Egypt. ![]() ![]() ![]() In 47 BC, Cleopatra bore Caesar a child - Caesarion - though Caesar never publicly acknowledged him as his son. Ptolemy was killed in the fighting and another brother was created Ptolemy XIII. Cleopatra, who had been exiled by her brother, was reinstalled as queen with Roman military support. Caesar followed and he and Cleopatra became lovers. Pompey fled to the Egyptian capital Alexandria, where he was murdered on the orders of Ptolemy. In 48 BC, Egypt became embroiled in the conflict in Rome between Julius Caesar and Pompey. Whether she was as beautiful as was claimed, she was a highly intelligent woman and an astute politician, who brought prosperity and peace to a country that was bankrupt and split by civil war. They were married, in keeping with Egyptian tradition. When her father Ptolemy XII died in 51 BC, Cleopatra became co-regent with her 10-year-old brother Ptolemy XIII. She is celebrated for her beauty and her love affairs with the Roman warlords Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.Ĭleopatra was born in 69 BC - 68 BC. © Cleopatra VII was the last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty, ruling Egypt from 51 BC - 30 BC. ![]()
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