3. Authorities & decisions: Julius Caesar: Rome, Wealth & Expansion

Decision-makers, laws and consequences

The Roman Senate assigned Julius Caesar provincial commands in 58 BCE. Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BCE in defiance of the Senate’s demand that he surrender command. After victory in civil war, he accumulated exceptional offices and was named dictator perpetuo in 44 BCE.

The Senate did not act as a unified constitutional court: rival aristocratic factions used armed force. Caesar’s assassination in March 44 BCE was followed by further civil wars, and Octavian became Augustus in 27 BCE.

Institutional consequences

The authorities identified above acted within institutions that determined who could govern, enforce decisions and challenge official power. The resulting changes to political participation, legal status, military control or property administration are part of the historical record of this specific event, rather than evidence that every later government followed the same path.