The above words were spoken by Gaius Julius Caesar after his victory at the Battle of Zela in 47 B.C.. "Vini, Vidi, Vici" is one of the most well known sayings in the modern world. It translates as "I came, I saw, I conquered". Without a doubt we can say today that Caesar was one of the greatest Generals that ever lived.
Julius was born on July 13, 100 B.C. to a patrician (or elite) family. His ancestors are said to be Lulus, son of the famous Prince Aeneas who was a survivor of the Trojan War. Julius grew up in a country of political unrest, a time of political wars, each party wanting power and control. His family had no strong political ties except for having three consuls and his father being a Praetor and governor of Asia. At the age of sixteen his father would die, there were no apparent causes. At the young age of sixteen he become the head of his house. The following year he would become a high priest to jupiter (a Roman "god") known as a flamen dialis. Caesar would have to become married if he wanted to be a priest. So he married Cinna daughter of Cornelia in 83 B.C. when she was 13 and he was 18 years old. This title would be held by him until his entry into the Roman Army.
Caesar The Soldier
Caesar, Sun Tzu, Napoleon Boneparte, Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Genghis Khan, Miyamoto Musashi and Erwin Rommel are seen today as some of the greatest military strategist and tacticians to ever live. Napoleon, while writing on the Great Captains, said this about Caesar, "Caesar's principals were the same as Alexander and Hannibal: keep the forces concentrated, do not be vulnerable at any point, move swiftly against the important points, taking into account psychological conditions, the reputation of one's arms and the fear that they inspire, and also taking the political means to keep allies loyal and conquered peoples obedient, to give every possible chance to assure victory on the battlefield and to concentrate all of one's troops there. He was at one and the same time a man of great genius and great audacity."
Caesar would make his name known by winning the Civic Crown. Their crown was made out of common oak leaves woven in the shape of a crown. This was the second highest military decoration a citizen soldier could earn. It meant that the wearer had saved comrades during a battle and that he had held the ground so that the enemy could not advance. Caesar was a military genius.
The Dictatorship and Death of Caesar
The people loved Caesar, he brought victory and honor to Rome, but they worried about electing him as Dictator because they thought he might strip powers away from the people as did Sulla in 82 B.C.. When Caesar was made lifetime Dictator or Dictator Perpetuus, he made great reforms in the Roman society and government. Roman Dictator's are different than today's. The Consuls would nominate a few people and then the Senate would choose who would serve. The man chosen would then serve for a six month span. They could rule by decree if they so chose to. They did not have to answer to the Senate as the Consuls did.
All men's day's here on earth are numbered, and for Julius the clock stopped on March 15, 44 B.C.. Caesar was murdered by the Senate, the very men who helped to bring him to power. It is often those who put men in power that later kill the men they install there. A few years after his death, the Senate would elevate the now dead Caesar, and make Him a Roman "god". Just as God's word says in Proverbs 8:36 "But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death."
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