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QLDAncient HistoryQuick questions
Unit 4: People, power and authority (Julius Caesar)
Quick questions on The rise of Julius Caesar: triumvirate, Gaul, the Rubicon and dictatorship for QCE Ancient History Unit 4
2short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is the First Triumvirate (60 BC)?Show answer
In 60 BC Caesar formed an informal political alliance, later called the First Triumvirate, with Pompey the Great (Rome's leading general, whose eastern settlement the Senate was blocking) and Marcus Licinius Crassus (Rome's richest man). The alliance was a private bargain, not a constitutional office: each man used the others to get what the Senate denied him. It secured Caesar the consulship of 59 BC. As consul he passed laws benefiting Pompey's veterans and Crassus's business interests, often over fierce senatorial opposition, and obtained for himself an extended military command in Gaul.
What is the conquest of Gaul (58 to 50 BC)?Show answer
Caesar's proconsular command in Gaul transformed him. Over eight campaigning seasons he conquered the whole of Gaul (roughly modern France and Belgium), crossed the Rhine into Germany, and twice invaded Britain (55 and 54 BC). The decisive moment was the defeat of the Gallic confederation under Vercingetorix at the siege of Alesia in 52 BC. The conquest gave Caesar three things essential to power: immense wealth from plunder and slaves, a battle-hardened army personally loyal to him, and fame across Rome.
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