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==Introduction==

Julius Caesar is one of the most famous leaders from the ancient world. His life and death are very well-known and still fascinate. He is regarded as one of the greatest generals who ever lived and the man who ended the Roman Republic and paved the way for the Imperial system. This article will examine how Caesar was able to rise to supreme power. It will present the key events and the factors that allowed him to become the dominant factor in the Roman World and to become the Emperor in all but name. This study will demonstrate that there were three key reasons for the rise of Caesar and these were his role in the First Triumvirate, his conquest of Gaul and his victories in the Civil Wars. These were the key stages in Caesar’s rise to the ultimate position in Rome.

==Caesar’s Early Life==

Caesar was born to a patrician Roman family who had once been very influential in the Republic. However, by the time of Caesar’s birth, their fortunes had been in decline for many years and they were no longer prominent, although his father did serve as a governor <ref> Freeman, Philip. Julius Caesar. Simon and Schuster, 2008), p. 16</ref>. We know very little about Caesar's childhood. Through his aunt, he was related to Gaius Marius, the great general and this led the young Julius to become associated with the popular (populares) party in Rome. These were aristocrats who had allied themselves with the poor. By the time he was sixteen, he was head of his family after the early death of his father. At this time, the bloody civil war between Marius and his enemy Sulla, head of the aristocratic or optimates party. After Sulla occupied Rome, Caesar had to go into hiding so he would not become another victim of the bloody proscriptions<ref> Plutarch, Life of Caesar, vi</ref>. When Marius regained control of the city, Caesar married a leading politicians daughter and became the high priest of Jupiter. However, when Sulla recaptured Rome, Caesar was stripped of his wealth and his office. He decided to join the army and served in Asia Minor and was decorated for bravery. Later after he was kidnapped by pirates he led a successful punitive expedition against them and was once again decorated for bravery. Caesar returned to Rome and became one of the leader of the Marian party or popular party <ref>Plutarch, vii</ref>. He was able to become very prominent in Rome because of his lavish expenditure and it was at this time that he forged a political alliance with Crassus one of the richest men in the city. Caesar was later elected Pontifex Maximus (chief priest) of Rome and secured himself the governorship of a province in Spain. In his new province he defeated some rebellious tribes and was accorded a Triumph and he was later nominated to the office of Consul, one of the most important roles in Rome (60 AD). At this stage, Caesar had a rather conventional career or the cursus honorum as it was known in Rome and one that was typical of a man of his class. However, a series of events which were brilliantly manipulated by Caesar and his military genius meant that he was to become the single most powerful Roman who lived, up to that point and the man who was to change Rome forever <ref> Grant, Michael. The Twelve Caesars (New York: Penguin Books, 1979), p 15</ref>.