Veni, vidi, vici. 'I came, I saw, I conquered.' These are the words of the man who changed the course of Greco-Roman history. Gaius Julius Caesar (13 July 100 BC - 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman military and political leader. He was born in Rome. His father Gaius Caesar, died when Caesar was 16 years old, and it was his mother Aurelia, who proved to be quite influential in his life. Caesar's family was part of Rome's original aristocracy, called patricians, although they were not rich or particularly influential. At the time of Caesar's birth, the number of patricians was small, and their status no longer provided political advantage.

Gaius Julius Caesar was a great soldier and statesmen and played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. As a young man he rose through the administrative ranks of the Roman republic, accumulating power until he was elected consul in 59 B.C. Over the next 15 years he led Roman armies against enemies abroad, especially in Gaul, while fighting Pompey and others for political control at home. In 45 B.C. he reached his ultimate success, being named dictator of Rome for life. That rule was short-lived: the next year he was stabbed to death in the Senate by a group led by his follower Marcus Junius Brutus (Answers.com, 2009).

Julius Caesar had been the subject of controversy since before he was assassinated. It is believed that a leader must have ambition to succeed, and Julius Caesar had plenty of it. He set Rome on the path to empire, but he has been criticized that his success made him believe he was a living god and blinded him to the dangers that eventually did him in. Shakespeare wrote about Julius Caesar in a play that made the Ides of March infamous. Caesar wrote about military accomplishments in the third person. His Gallic Wars is a popular text for second-year Latin students.