great+leaders,+golden+ages.+-+roman

At about 100 B.C.E, Rome controlled most of the Mediterranean. Rome was only getting bigger and bigger. Military generals and politicians struggled for control of the Roman republic. Julius Caesar was one of them. When Julius conquered Gaul, he was told to come back home without his army. He went back home but with his army and started a civil war. After killing his rival Pompey, he made himself the dictator of Rome. He made a lot of changes right away. He gave land to his soldiers, free grain to poor citizens, ordered a new calendar and granted Roman citizenship to people who were not born in Rome. Many people did not like his changes so they ordered his execution. Julius Caesar was stabbed to death. Rome fell to complete chaos. Nobles, politicians and military leaders fought to take Caesar’s place. Augustus Caesar became the emperor of Rome after all the fighting. After Julius Caesar was killed, there was a 200-year peace called the Pax Romana.