Veni, Vidi, Vici

There is a temple in Capitoline Hill that many visitors of Rome often mistake for just another wishing well. Still intact with its fortitude and regularly lit by candles, that temple houses the stone upon which Julias Caesar was murdered, hence it was deemed as a divine spot for worshippers of ancient Rome. Myths and rituals, do hold a glorious portrayal of what is adored and treasured by the people who perform them. It kept me thinking, if that holds true, what made Caesar so good a leader that only his temple was placed in Roman Forum amongst gods? Here, I tried to find the answer to the sheer brilliance, agility and enormity of his leadership qualities based on my understanding of his life, I tried to explore what made or unmade him a great leader.

Win the Small Battles First

Coming from a family a washed from royal inheritance, Caesar knew all too well not to rush anything driven by the obsession for power. The bigger the ambition, the greater the time and effort needed to nurture and attain it. Throughout his military career, Caesar had myriad of opportunities to claim fame and accreditation for his valiant war tactics. One of his earliest feats was the fall of Spartacus- a person the Romans had revered in battlefields and thought to be invincible. But Caesar did the unthinkable, defeated him in what is thought to be the first Guerilla attempt. But when Pompey Magnus swiped away his credits for this gigantic success, he did not revolt, he let Pompey and Crassus fight over glory. He remained patient for he knew his ambitions were far bigger than this. Rather than getting on the wrong foot with either party, he chose to embrace the chaos to advance his political interests. He used the rife between Pompey and Crassus to take control over Senate and get to the position of Counsel General.

A little bit of self-promotion never hurts

Caesar went on to Gallic expedition to reclaim his honor as a statesman and a warrior, after becoming the subject to Crassus and Pompey’s conspiracies thereby getting overthrown from his position as Counsel General. And this time, unlike his past victories, he made sure Rome knew every bit of his success stories and more. For 10 years of Gallic and Celtic expansion, he regularly wrote about his war triumphs and idolizations of his brevity, courage and dexterity as a leader and, sent them to be read in Roman courts and city squares. One fascinating aspect of these records were his use of third person to address himself, only to make them more credible to readers. These accounts, known as the “Gallic Commentaries”, would go on to shaping his public image among the Roman citizens as well as the senate, who had been neglecting his valor and the extent of his wits thus far. Romans now knew they had a leader at hand, in case the senate fails them and this, uplifted and united them against the ongoing corruption and exploitation of Senate members and their oligarch accomplices. Was Caesar truly as heroic as portrayed by the Gallic commentaries? We may never know. But if a narrative of self-adulation makes you a mass-proclaimed leader, then what harm may it befall?

When the Going gets Tough, You become Tougher

Starting his career as an ordinary soldier, Caesar was well adept to the idea of pushing his limits even in a state of abundance. Because it is when one is faced with the toughest of ordeals, that one shines the brightest. During his conquest of Gaul, he cut down ration supplies from Rome to make his legions sustain on local food and supplies. He believed this would make the warriors hungrier for victory in each battle. At one point, Vercingetorix, one of the leaders of Gallic tribes, started the “scorching earth” campaign to cut Roman soldiers off of their rations. Caesar went a step further and built two walls around Alesia, which isolated both the Roman and Gallic warriors from the rest of the empire. It was his way of saying, “ If I die, I’ll take you down with me.” Although Historians deem this to be too harsh on Caesar’s front, I think this was a necessary gamble to play to invoke fear amid his enemies as well as angst for victory among his own legions. Eventually this exact fear of starvation led his soldiers to defeat the united tribes of Gaul and made Vercingetorix surrender to him.

Have Collaterals on your Allies and Enemies

When Caesar was captivated by Ramsis, he conspired with Cleopatra to achieve his freedom. This was one of the biggest and most important alliances in his lifetime and probably in history, which he played very strategically and cautiously. The balances were equal for both parties- one hand it ensured Cleopatra’s inheritance over Egyptian throne and on the other, it consolidated more power for Caesar so that he can return to Rome and rightfully reclaim his position as Counsel General. There was a sure cut leverage for both parties in this agreement, which made them responsible for their parts and to further the cause of one another. Much of the balance he stroke in this partnership, resulted from his predicaments in his previous political deals, namely the Triumvirate. Although it is distinguished as one of the greatest communions, I consider the Triumvirate as a failed contract undertaken by Caesar for it made him a pawn to Pompey and Crassus eventually.

Do the Right Thing, Even If it makes you a Minority

Throughout history, the most celebrated leaders were the ones who were the closest to the people and Caesar mastered this trait like no other. He ascended to leadership position at a critical juncture of Rome, when it was getting plunged into ruination owing to the rebellions, mass unemployment, food scarcity, corruption of senate and the inept and martial strategies of Mark Antony. Caesar had two choices before him- garner the confidence of Senate to secure his political career or, give the power back to people. Unlike his predecessors, he boldly chose the latter. Holding position in such a time can be quite daunting, especially when you are held back by bureaucracies and futile policies, hence he declared himself as Dictator and started governing Rome in iron fists. His projects on infrastructure development, calendar alignment, population census and standardization of municipal patterns, solved many of the prevalent problems so much so that Romans became the epitome of architectural, administrative and governance fines. Every project that he undertook was directly related to mass problems. From creating jobs for the immigrants to consolidating the territories, in each step of his dictatorship he chose to listen to the woes of the vulnerable rather than ruling from an ivory castle. He was a people’s leader through and through. Even in death, he united the lower class of Rome, who eventually precipitated the fall of the Republic.

Julias Caesar’s virtues made him one of the most enigmatic and successful leaders of all time, serving as an idol to many even hundreds of years after his reign. In fact, the words ‘Kaiser’ and ‘Czar’ essentially originated from the name ‘Caesar’. In all fronts, he was great and he defined greatness through his prowess as well as his pitfalls. In its truest sense,

HE CAME, HE SAW, HE CONQUERED!