Your guide to Julius Caesar, the Roman general and dictator

Born around 100 BC, Gaius Julius Caesar was elected Consul of the Roman Republic for the year 59 BC, having formed an informal alliance with two statesmen who were formerly opponents, Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus. The alliance was known as the First Triumvirate. It was an alliance that covered plenty of bases: Caesar’s grasp of politics was married to Pompey’s military stature and the financial clout of Crassus. Politically, Caesar favoured the Populares, a faction of the Republic advocating social reforms that won them the support of the people. Their opponents were Optimates, conservatives whose aim was to safeguard the interests of the privileged elites. Many of these Optimates could be found in the 600-strong Senate, ensuring that the populist Caesar would, throughout his political life, find little support on its benches.

Consulships lasted for just a year, with the holders unable to seek re-election for a decade. The Senate had attempted to put Caesar merely in charge of Italy’s forests and cattle trails, rather than handing him a military governorship. However, it was toothless – operating, in practice, in a debating and advisory capacity – and the passing of legislation through the people’s assemblies promoted Caesar to the position of Governor of Illyricum (western Balkans) and Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy), with Transalpine Gaul (what is now southern France) later added to his portfolio. The duration of his governorship was also set at five years, rather than the traditional single year.

During this time as a governor – which was subsequently extended to a ten-year tenure ­– Caesar oversaw a highly successful military campaign that included the conquering of Gaul and a couple of expeditions to Britain in 55 and 54 BC, precipitating the full Roman invasion nearly a century later. In 50 BC, towards the end of those ten years and with the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate called for Caesar to relinquish his military role and return to Rome. Politically, this was dangerous for Caesar. Not only had Crassus died and the ever-dangerous Pompey had realigned himself with the Senate, but leaving the territories under his control would expose Caesar to possible prosecution for corruption and exceeding the limits of his authority.

• Read more about Caesar’s British gamble

What happened when Caesar crossed the Rubicon?

As he reached the geographical limits of his jurisdiction on his journey back to Rome, Caesar had a clear choice: either venture forth without his troops and face the almost inevitable curtailing of his powers or be accompanied illegally by his soldiers in an act that would be interpreted as a declaration of civil war. Approaching the modest stream known as the Rubicon that separated Cisalpine Gaul from Italy, he made up his mind. He wouldn’t be travelling on alone and unarmed. He reportedly announced his decision with three words of Latin: Alea iacta est (the die is cast). The Rubicon was crossed.

The seemingly unavoidable civil war broke out. Caesar the rebel, who had left his territory under arms, gradually gained momentum over the following four years, systematically removing his main Optimates opponents. Marcus Junius Brutus and Cicero surrendered, while Pompey was killed in Egypt. Elsewhere in North Africa Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio committed suicide shortly after his defeat at the Battle of Thapsus in 46 BC.

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Caesar the dictator

Caesar assumed complete control of the republic and was appointed dictator for a ten-year period shortly after Thapsus. In 44 BC, his title was upgraded to Dictator perpetuo; he was now dictator for life. During his time as supreme leader, he was able to introduce many of the social and political reforms longed for by his supporters among the populace, including centralising bureaucracy, redistributing public land to the poor, and extending citizenship to far-reaching corners of the republic.

Opponents of these populist measures still dominated the make-up of the Senate and a conspiracy against the Dictator perpetuo was launched. On the fifteenth day of March in 44 BC ­– the Ides of March – as he arrived to address the Senate, Caesar met his mortal fate. The knives were out.

• The death of Caesar: do we know the whole story?

Following his bloody death, the republic dissolved back into civil war. The ultimate winner of this power-grab was Octavian, Caesar’s great-nephew and adopted heir, who rose to take sole control. Billing himself as Augustus, he became the first Roman emperor, overseeing the transition from republic to empire. He would be the one-man ruler for more than four decades, from 27 BC onwards. His more famous adoptive father managed just a handful of years as dictator.