Death of Caesar
Part 3
Cleopatra was
now in control of Egypt as she had always desired and she wanted
to keep it that way. Caesar also stayed in Egypt after taking
control of it and Cleopatra ordered her servants to prepare a
large boat filled with Egypt’s finest accessories. This boat was
to travel along the
Nile and stop at many cities. It was protected by Caesar’s
guards who traveled alongside. Soon after, Cleopatra found that
she was pregnant with Caesar’s child. The small boy was born on
June
23, 47 B.C. This child affirmed that Cleopatra and Caesar were
lovers but they also needed each other to succeed. With both of
them being extremely ambitious, they planned to make a dynasty
like no other before and of course Egypt would be the center of
this newly devised plan. This led Cleopatra to believe her son
would be the first ruler of their newly planned empire.
Meanwhile in
Rome
many messages were being sent to Caesar. He could not close his
eyes anymore and soon had to return to his country and deal with
the situation that was brewing. Caesar left behind three legions
(soldiers) that were expected to care for Cleopatra and for
Alexandria. They were left behind to maintain peace. Back home,
Caesar celebrated his victorious wars. Many citizens of Rome
stood along the streets and cheered Caesar. Many of his
prisoners were marched through the streets including Cleopatra’s
half sister Arsinoe. After celebrating his victories throughout
Rome
he asked for Cleopatra to visit him as his ally. Cleopatra
quickly accepted the invitation and went to Rome. She took her
younger brother Ptolemy XIV just in case her brother had any
plans to start a revolt against her. To honor Cleopatra, Caesar
erected a temple to the goddess Venus and he had a statue of
Cleopatra erected. This angered many Romans and many saw
Cleopatra as a woman using their beloved Caesar as a means to
strengthen her power.
Many of the people of
Rome
could not accept the fact that Caesar had erected a statue of
Cleopatra in the center of the city. This angered many of them
because they could not accept that a foreigner from Egypt was
accepted among Rome’s greatest leader. Many believed Caesar had
gone too far. They were afraid that
Rome
would fall and many were concerned and outraged. At the same
time, many Roman citizens supported Caesar. Soon after the
victorious celebrations, the Senate appointed him the sole
counsel of
Rome
for five years. Once appointed the sole counsel, he began to
remove many of the men from the senate and replaced them with
his friends. Later he asked them to declare Cleopatra and
Ptolemy as friends and allies of Rome. He also prepared a decree
that would allow him to marry many women -- including Cleopatra.
Caesar once again returned to the battlefield and in the spring
of 45 B.C. he won the battle between Munda, Pompey’s son. In
addition, he soon set his eyes on Parthia, which was never
conquered. To win
Parthia
would be the ultimate victory. If he conquered
Parthia
his statues would be god like. He would be considered a true
warrior and would win the support of his country. Caesar, who
had set his mind on conquering Parthia, began making plans to
soon leave for this new campaign. Cleopatra decided to also
leave Rome due to many enemies and the lack of support by Roman
citizens.
While Caesar planned his mission, several high ranking Romans in
the senate thought Caesar was ready to proclaim himself as
emperor. Many of the men who disliked Caesar were led by two men
named Brutus and Cassius. Both men gathered their henchmen and
their plot to kill Caesar was begun. Word soon spread throughout
Rome
and many friends warned Caesar of the plans in place to
assassinate him. He ignored them and on March, 44 B.C, he was
stabbed to death by many of the Senators. The Senators had
concealed knifes in their cloaks and thus their plot to kill
Caesar had been carried out. Caesar was murdered and lay dead
beside a statue of his enemy Pompey.
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