Julius Caesar
Crossed the Rubicon
Julius Caesar was a Roman military general and statesman whose conquest of Gaul and subsequent seizure of power transformed the Roman Republic.
His name became synonymous with supreme rule—Caesar evolved into a title adopted by Roman emperors and later by German kaisers and Russian tsars.
To cross the Rubicon, as Caesar did with his army in 49 BCE, means to take an irreversible step.
His assassination on the Ides of March (March 15, 44 BCE) remains a cultural touchstone for political betrayal.
Shakespeare's dramatization gave English the warning Beware the Ides of March and the dying words Et tu, Brute?
Legislative governing body
- republicState with elected leaders
- consulDiplomat in foreign city
- tribuneSpeaker's raised platform
- forumGathering place for discourse
toga · legion · centurion · patrician · plebeian · Pompey · Cicero · triumvirate
Ruler with total control
- ambitionDesire for achievement
- powerEnergy transfer rate
- authorityPower to enforce obedience
- reformImprove by correcting faults
calendar · populares · optimates · clemency · autocrat · sovereignty · imperator · governance
Roman who killed Caesar
- CassiusRoman senator, assassin
- Ides of MarchFateful mid-March date
- daggersShort double-edged blades
- conspiracyClandestine coordinated scheming
et tu Brute · stabbing · betrayal · tyrannicide · soothsayer · portent · liberators · March 15
Roman conquest of tribes
- legionsGreat many, or armies
- conquestDefeating and seizing control
- campaignOrganized effort toward goal
- generalWidespread, not specialized
triumph · siege · Britain · invasion · cavalry · infantry · strategy · tactics
Disastrous or sorrowful event
- GlobeFamous Elizabethan theatre
- ElizabethanOf late 1500s England
- soliloquyDramatic speech to oneself
- iambic pentameterUnstressed-stressed pattern, five feet
drama · folio · thespian · stage · monologue · quartos · Stratford-upon-Avon · Brutus
senate
Legislative governing body
forum · toga · legion · centurion · patrician · plebeian · Pompey · Cicero · triumvirate · praetor
dictator
Ruler with total control
reform · calendar · populares · optimates · clemency · autocrat · sovereignty · imperator · governance · tyrant
Brutus
Roman who killed Caesar
- CassiusRoman senator, assassin
- Ides of MarchFateful mid-March date
- daggersShort double-edged blades
conspiracy · et tu Brute · stabbing · betrayal · tyrannicide · soothsayer · portent · liberators · March 15 · toga
Gallic Wars
Roman conquest of tribes
- legionsGreat many, or armies
- conquestDefeating and seizing control
- campaignOrganized effort toward goal
general · triumph · siege · Britain · invasion · cavalry · infantry · strategy · tactics · battle
tragedy
Disastrous or sorrowful event
- GlobeFamous Elizabethan theatre
- ElizabethanOf late 1500s England
- soliloquyDramatic speech to oneself
iambic pentameter · drama · folio · thespian · stage · monologue · quartos · Stratford-upon-Avon · Brutus · Cassius
- Ancient RomeRome, gladiator, gladiators, Colosseum, Coliseum
- European HistoryFrench Revolution, Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Industrial Revolution
- historical figureshistorical figures, leaders, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Joan of Arc
- Italian HeritageRome, Florence, Venice, Vatican, Tuscany
- Ancient Romanspatricians, consuls, Marcus Aurelius, Nero, Trajan
- Caesar's legacyRoman Empire, Augustus, dictatorship, Senate, assassination
Julius CaesarGeorge Washington
Marcus Aurelius · Diogenes · Cicero · Solon · Pericles
Julius CaesarBrutus
Roman who killed Caesar
Cassius · Cicero · tyrannicide · Pompey
Julius CaesarCeltic tribes
Ancient speakers of Gaelic-type languages