Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman.
According to one account, he never became an Emperor. (COMIC: Crossing the Rubicon [+]Loading...["Crossing the Rubicon (comic story)"])
Biography
In 101 BC, the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn Smythe met Caesar's parents, Gaius Julius Caesar the Elder and Aurelia on two occasions and witnessed the birth of his elder sister Julia Caesar in January of that year. Julius Caesar was born in July 100 BC. (AUDIO: 100 BC [+]Loading...["100 BC (audio story)"])
At some point, Caesar was married to Pompeia. After a scandalous incident in which a man managed to enter Pompeia's Bona Dea festival, Caesar promptly divorced her, as, in his own words, his wife must be "above suspicion". (PROSE: Sarah Jane and the Temple of Eyes [+]Loading...["Sarah Jane and the Temple of Eyes (short story)"])
In 55 BC, Winston Churchill assisted Caesar in a battle against Britons. Later he persuaded them to join forces against the Bronze God. (AUDIO: Living History [+]Loading...["Living History (audio story)"])
In 49 BCE, Caesar was planning to cross the Rubicon with his army. The Tremas Master's attempt to poison him and take over the command was thwarted by the Seventh Doctor and Ace. (COMIC: Crossing the Rubicon [+]Loading...["Crossing the Rubicon (comic story)"]) The Tenth Doctor offered to take Rose Tyler to see Caesar crossing the Rubicon. (TV: Tooth and Claw [+]Loading...["Tooth and Claw (TV story)"]) A year later in 48 BCE, he gained full control of Rome following the death of Pompey. (PROSE: The Slave War [+]Loading...["The Slave War (short story)"])
Caesar had a son, Caesarion, with Cleopatra. (PROSE: The Last Pharaoh [+]Loading...["The Last Pharaoh (novel)"])
The Fourth Doctor claimed to have saved Caesar from drowning in the River Tiber, (AUDIO: Phantoms of the Deep [+]Loading...["Phantoms of the Deep (audio story)"]) while the Fifth Doctor also claimed to have met Caesar, describing him as "a splendid chap." (PROSE: Empire of Death [+]Loading...["Empire of Death (novel)"])
Dictatorship and death
In 44 BC, Julius Caesar was made the Dictator of Rome for life. It was the highest office the Roman Republic and was usually only granted for short periods of time during emergencies. (PROSE: State of Change [+]Loading...["State of Change (novel)"])
According to one account, the Doctor was the soothsayer who told Caesar to "beware the Ides of March." (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Stones of Blood [+]Loading...["Doctor Who and the Stones of Blood (novelisation)"])
On 15 March 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated (PROSE: The Ruby's Curse [+]Loading...["The Ruby's Curse (novel)"]) by a group of conspirators that included Brutus. The murder has become a popular theme for paintings. One of such paintings hung in John Thurloe's Parliament chambers above the mantel. (PROSE: The Roundheads [+]Loading...["The Roundheads (novel)"]) According to the Fifth Doctor, Caesar was killed by "people he thought were his friends and allies". (PROSE: Rome [+]Loading...["Rome (short story)"]) The event was a fixed point in time. (PROSE: Time Traveller's Diary [+]Loading...["Time Traveller's Diary (novel)"])
Legacy
William Shakespeare wrote a play based on the life of Julius Caesar. General Mariah Learman planned to use her time machine to watch the premiere performance of this play. (AUDIO: The Time of the Daleks [+]Loading...["The Time of the Daleks (audio story)"])
Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once.
References
The Brigadier reflected that the Themne of Rokoye in Sierra Leone, whom he had met in 1957, were probably less advanced than the Britons when Julius Caesar invaded, but were good people. (PROSE: The Dying Days [+]Loading...["The Dying Days (novel)"])
Thanks to River Song's hallucinogenic lipstick, the Auton Romans believed that the Doctor was Julius Caesar. (TV: The Pandorica Opens [+]Loading...["The Pandorica Opens (TV story)"])
Behind the scenes
- According to Gallifrey Academy Report, one of the contents of The Doctor Who Fun Book not deemed valid by this Wiki, the Doctor was told off during his schooling for bringing the actual Julius Caesar to his Latin class on several occasions.
- In "The Slave Traders", Ian Chesterton quotes part of a speech from Shakespeare's work, but neither the name of the play nor the author is explicitly mentioned in the episode.
- Timothy Dalton portrayed Caesar in the 1999 film Cleopatra.
