How Did Julius Caesar Cause The Civil War

In this essay, we will look at the causes of the outbreak of Civil War in Rome in 49BC and the reason why Julius Caesar was greatly responsible for it. Although it is clear that Caesar was the main cause of the Civil War, we must not neglect to mention other factors which contributed to it. As such, we will consider whether Caesar’s refusal to give up his armies, the actions of the optimates against the populares or fear of prosecution, led to the war. This essay is, therefore, only concerned with the events leading up to the war and not the specifics of the war itself.

Firstly, Caesar’s account of the war, the Commentarii De Bello Civile, outlines what happened up to 49BC and the events of the Civil War. Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon, supposedly a river in northern Italy near Rimini, is often heralded as the start of the civil war. It is rare to have such commentary from people directly involved in these events and this can lead to the assumption that this text is completely trustworthy. It is an account written by Caesar and so attempts to justify his actions therefore we must take caution when considering

This demonstrates one of the reasons for the outbreak of the war. The Senate did not want to relinquish its power or authority to Caesar and so opposed his actions. Plutarch tells us that at a time, Pompey was willing to grant Caesar some of his demands but was actually denied the chance by Lentulus, the consul. This suggests that the optimates, if they wanted peace at all, wanted it on their own terms and not those of Caesar. Thus, there is a clear clash between the ideals of the optimates and populares politician. An optimate politician stood for traditional Roman ideals whilst a popularis politician stood for the rights of the people at Rome. Pompey and Caesar are notable popularis