The Conquest of Gaul Gaius Julius Caesar was born 100 B.C. in Rome to the impoverished patrician Julian Clan, and know knew controversy early age. Through this conflicts he slowly but surely throughout his lifetime worked his way up the political ladder, becoming Consul and finally Dictator Perpeteus, or Dictator for life. He is deemed as one of the most influential political and military leaders of all time, a highly intelligent man and an exceptional orator. Acquiring this absolute power however, was no easy feat, and Caesar had well equipped himself through previous expeditions of Europe and the ancient world with all the resources necessary to gain power in Ancient Rome.
Even though the Roman Empire was strong, there was one major problem in the Empire, which would be its over expansion that caused both Empire and the republic became unstable and eventually broke down. The Roman Empire was said to be the strongest empire that was ever built. The empire controlled and ruled the largest area in European history for over a thousand years, covering about 2.2 million square miles across Europe. Their military had several advantages such as rapid development of the latest technology and due to their advanced engineering skills of the Romans in building roads. Their roads had a strong stone surface which also allowed water to run off to the sides.
Name: kartik Patel Subject: history 101 Professor: Dr. Gilbert stack Essay: Hannibal Hannibal Hannibal, a Carthaginian general and one of the greatest generals that ever lived was renown for his strategies and courageousness, such as crossing the Alps and using the bottleneck strategy at Lake Tradesmen. He used strategies that a lot of generals at this time, especially Roman generals, would never think of and in doing this he almost destroyed the Roman republic. From the middle of the 3rd century to the middle of the 2nd century BC, Carthage was engaged in a series of wars with Rome (Dorey, P 57). These wars, known as the Punic Wars, ended
Leaders That Changed the World Alexander the Great, Caesar Augustus, and Constantine were without a doubt three of the most influential leaders of ancient times. Their ambition and achievements have had a permanent impact on western civilization, shaping it into what it is now. Whether it was the military prowess of Alexander, the social and political reforms of Augustus, or the religious enthusiasm of Constantine, all of these men helped shaped the western civilization into what it is today. In terms of military ability, all three of these men were gifted commanders. Alexander however is the one who is most recognized due to his military achievements.
The military strength and wealth he gained through his conquests in Gaul would pave his way to a successful career. He was so successful in his campaign that he became famous for his phrase “I came, I saw, I conquered” and the modern historian H.H Scullard even describes him as a man with “outstanding abilities”. Thus the Gallic Wars played a significant role in Julius Caesar’s Career, both politically and militarily. Caesar’s reputation as a General, who is considered to be more prominent than Pompey the great, was not comprehended until the Gallic Wars. Instead he was known to be one of the ablest orators and “most adroit politicians of the day”[F.B Marsh] and his military skills were most likely not rated very highly.
The comparison comes as both nations always try to influence or help other nations that need help with either military force or diplomacy. Adrian Goldsworthy showed to the readers the political and military reasons why Ancient Rome fell apart and compares their ups and downs to a nation now that has overcome their ups and downs and still be strong nation. Many nations now learn from past nation’s mistake and try their harder to overcome it and not to make the same decision again. The Romans were still be a great empire today if they had the written notes about the mistakes they made from one emperors to the other of from one form of government to the new form of government as the current nations have
His attempt to revive the Roman Empire was a successful one, both in terms of power and longevity. Justinian’s legacy would be that of the most successful Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. The empire expanded under Justinian because of his ability to pick exceptional advisors. The men that he gave power to owed this to him, and were very loyal. Despite many periods of financial and military crisis where the empire faced threats from all sides, it always managed to come through, often due to the Emperor’s advisors.
One of the most influential people in Rome was Marcus Cicero, a great philopsoper as we say and exam most of his work today we see a story of a honored and respected man as well as loyal, but his loyalty would prove to be his greatest downfall and which would lead to his exicution. (pg. 149) Rome was built of lawyers, judges, and philosophers. (pg. 149) The romans were more practical thinkers and philosophers.
A standard way that the Emperors used their power was for military purposes. Because Rome was a large and thriving empire; a strong army was needed for equally attacking and defending against opposition. Emperors could effortlessly find new recruits for enlistment to the Roman legions. This would provide the advantage of larger numbers of soldiers in a battle. This benefit allowed tactics such as the ‘wedge’ to be executed as more soldiers could reinforce the wedge from behind, which would consequently break the enemies’ formation (Roman Empire.net 2012).
Roman strategies allowed Rome to control their towns with ease. The Roman imperial army was undefeated in any major campaigns. Records have even shown Roman feats when they were outnumbered. The soldiers’ desire for recognition and promotion played a big factor in this of course. The soldiers would charge off to fight by enemy forts afraid of what the other men would think of them.