Caesar’s Solution

Part I: Guided Notes.

Julius Caesar was a ______from a family with little ______. He married a wealthy noblewoman named Cornelia, but her father, who did not like Caesar, demanded that he divorce his new wife. Caesar refused, fleeing to East Asia. He practiced his war strategies in ______. When Cornelia’a father died, Caesar returned to Rome.

Caesar decided to enter politics. On his way to the city of Rhodes to study, he was captured by ______. He convinced the pirates to raise the amount of money they demanded for ransom; he thought he was worth more than what they demanded! After his family paid the ransom, Caesar ______the pirates and had them ______. Crucified means to nail someone to a cross, a method of punishment common in Rome. The people of Rome were impressed by Caesar’s fierce nature. Caesar continued to work his way up through the ranks until he became a ______.

After becoming ______, Caesar went off to conquer ______, a land north of Rome that was home to barbarian tribes. Julius Caesar spent 10 years fighting in Gaul where he gained ______and ______due to his conquests. Caesar was now a renowned military general and governor of Gaul.

While Caesar was in Gaul, his fellow consul ______grew jealous. He began to rally the patricians against Caesar. ______and the Senate demanded that Caesar return to Rome where he would be questioned for his actions. They demanded he return ______. Caesar saw this as a trap and refused. He crossed the ______with his army, which was considered the first act of war. The phrase “Crossing the ______” now means making an serious action that you can’t take back.

Caesar crossed the ______in 49 BCE and defeated Pompey by 47 BCE. However, Caesar did not have much time to rule in Rome, as he was often fighting his enemies in territories like Africa and Asia. Eventually, Caesar returned to Rome, declaring ______, which means ______. Caesar planned to ______the city, as he felt it his duty to help the people of Rome. It’s true that Caesar was now the ______of Rome, so the Roman Republic was on its last breath. This frightened several Senators of Rome, so they formed a plot to save the Republic. Even though Caesar ______his Roman enemies, helped ______, and created ______, the Senators felt he had too much power.

On March 15th, 44 BCE, also known as “The Ides of March,” Julius Caesar was invited to speak on the floor of the Senate. Once he arrived, ______Senators pulled out ______and ______. Caesar is rumored to have said ______, which means “And you Brutus?” Brutus was a good friend of Caesars, someone he trusted and cared about. With Caesar’s death, the Senators believed that they had saved the Republic. What they failed to realize, however, is that they were too late.

Part II: Caesar’s Solutions

Imagine you are Julius Caesar. You have just become dictator of Rome and you plan to help Rome recover from its problems.

First, write down the six problems the Roman Republic is facing:

Problem One / Problem Two / Problem Three
Problem Four / Problem Five / Problem Six

Second, write down a potential solution to each of the problems

Problem One / Problem Two / Problem Three
Problem Four / Problem Five / Problem Six

Lastly, you must decide: will you remain dictator of Rome, turning it into an Empire, or return it to a Republic? Why?
______
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