Julius Essays (1347 words) - Ancient Rome, 1st Millennium BC

Julius Caesar Julius Caesar, a Roman general and statesman, laid the foundations of the Roman imperial system. Born in Rome on July 12 or 13, 100 BC, Caesar belonged to the prestigious Julian clan; yet from early childhood he knew controversy. His uncle by marriage was Gaius Marius, leader of the Populares. This party supported agrarian reform and was opposed by the reactionary Optimates, a senatorial faction. Marius was seven times consul (chief magistrate), and the last year he held office, just before his death in 86 BC, he exacted a terrifying toll on the Optimates. At the same time he saw to it that young Caesar was appointed flamen dialis, one of an archaic priesthood with no power. This identified him with his uncle's extremist politics, and his marriage in 84 BC to Cornelia, the daughter of Marius's associate, Cinna, further confirmed him as a radical. When Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Marius's enemy and leader of the Optimates, was made dictator in 82 BC, he issued a list of enemies to be executed. Although Caesar was not harmed, he was ordered by Sulla to divorce Cornelia. Refusing that order, he found it prudent to leave Rome. He did not return to the city until 78 BC, after Sulla's resignation. Caesar was now 22 years old. Unable to gain office, he left Rome again and went to Rhodes, where he studied rhetoric; he returned to Rome in 73 BC, a very persuasive speaker. The year before, while still absent, he had been elected to the pontificate, an important college of Roman priests. In 71 BC Pompey the Great, who had earned his epithet in service under Sulla, returned to Rome, having defeated the rebellious Populares general Sertorius in Spain. At the same time Marcus Licinius Crassus, a rich patrician, suppressed the slave revolt in Italy led by Spartacus. Pompey and Crassus both ran for the consulship?an office held by two men?in 70 BC. Pompey, who by this time had changed sides, was technically ineligible, but with Caesar's help he won the office. Crassus became the other consul. In 69 BC, Caesar was elected quaestor and in 65 BC he was in charge of public events, gaining great popularity for his lavish gladiatorial games. To pay for these, he borrowed money from Crassus. This united the two men, who also found common cause with Pompey. When Caesar returned to Rome in 60 BC after a year as governor of Spain, he joined forces with Crassus and Pompey in a three-way alliance known as the First Triumvirate; to cement their relationship further, Caesar gave his daughter Julia to Pompey in marriage. Thus backed, Caesar was elected consul for 59BC despite Optimate hostility, and the year after (58 BC) he was appointed governor of Roman Gaul. At that time Celtic Gaul, to the north, was still independent, but the Aedui, a tribe of Roman allies, appealed to Caesar for help against another Gallic people, the Helvetii, during the first year of his governorship. Caesar marched into Celtic Gaul with six legions, defeated the Helvetii, and forced them to return to their home area. Next, he crushed Germanic forces under Ariovistus (flourished about 71-58 BC). By 57 BC, following the defeat of the Nervii, Rome was in control of northern Gaul. (A last revolt of the Gauls, led by Vercingetorix, was suppressed in 52 BC.) While Caesar was in Gaul, his agents attempted to dominate politics in Rome. This, however, threatened Pompey's position, and it became necessary for the triumvirs to arrange a meeting at Luca in 56 BC, which brought about a temporary reconciliation. It was decided that Caesar would continue in Gaul for another five years, while Pompey and Crassus would both be consuls for 55 BC; after that, each would have proconsular control of provinces. Caesar then went off to raid Britain and put down a revolt in Gaul. Crassus, ever eager for military glory, went to his post in Syria. Provoking a war with the Parthian Empire, he was defeated and killed at Carrhae in 53 BC. This removed the last buffer between Caesar and Pompey; their family ties had been broken by the death of Julia in 54 BC. In 52 BC, with Crassus out of the way, Pompey was made sole consul. Combined with his other powers, this gave him a formidable position. Jealous of his younger rival, he determined to break Caesar's power, an objective that could not be achieved without first depriving him of his command in Gaul. In order to protect himself, Caesar suggested that

Tips For Taking A Sample Copy Of An Essay

Tips For Taking A Sample Copy Of An EssayOne of the most difficult tasks in writing a paper is to go through a sample copy of an essay. Papers that are given as samples tend to be a bit short on content and tends to be more of a blueprint for the entire project. This can be a major disadvantage, because one can not really properly practice the essay until he or she has read the sample.The only way you can possibly do this is by actually doing it. Even with the written portion of the exam being a mock test, there are still many students who are skeptical about what they will actually get from taking the exam. If you think about it, all students have gone through it and for those students, the samples were certainly nothing more than practice sheets.Students will often use a pen and paper in the demonstration, but that is only because it is the easiest thing to do. The purpose of the sample is to help a student to see what to write about. For example, the sample could use words like 'h ypothesis 'hypothetical' or even the term 'equivalence 'proof' as possible words to use in a paper.Also, if you are a good writer, you may want to take note of the word limits and write according to them. The reason for this is so that you can have some guidelines to follow. You don't want to go too overboard, and you also don't want to get yourself into a jam with an essay that is out of the box. Just use the samples as a guideline, and write according to it.As you read through the sample, try to remember what sort of topics will appeal to your writing skills. That way, you can put that into action. You can look for the right topics to work on at this stage, because the sample copies will indicate what topics were considered. This way, you will be able to create your own essay that fits your level of knowledge.Have a notebook with you so that you can jot down ideas as you go along. If you haven't really taken the time to think about your topic, then you probably will not be able to come up with one. In the case of a term paper, that is okay, because you can always revisit the topic and find a better idea. This will help you with your essay.Having a writer's block is something that all writers have encountered at one point or another. The key is to break out of it and keep writing. By practicing with the sample essay, you are able to avoid writing one that doesn't interest you, while you are writing another that does.So there you have it - a few tips to help get you out of a rut. You do not need to sit and memorize one hundred thousand words of study material just to get by. You can utilize a sample copy of an essay as a guide to help you with your topic. You can find sample papers online and read the sample as many times as you wish to complete it.