How is Caesar a courageous soldier?

Answer 1

Caesar was a daring soldier and general. He received the civic crown (corona civica, a chaplet of common oak leaves woven to form a crown) which was the second highest Roman military decoration and was awarded to soldiers who by their courage saved the lives their commanders under fire. He was awarded the crown during the siege of Mytilene when he served in the army in Greece as a young man. This was a highly prestigious award.

As a commander Caesar often used daring tactics and fought when the odds seemed against him or when he was outnumbered. He effectively declared war on the forces on the Roman senate and, thus, of the Roman state when he refused to obey an order to disband his legions and crossed the River Rubicon. This river was the boundary between the Roman province of Gallia Cisalpina (in northern Italy) and Italia. As the governor of Gallia Cisalpina, Caesar was entitled to have his own troops there, but not in Italia, as this province was not under his jurisdiction. He marched on Rome and started the Great Roman Civil War. In the battles he fought in this war he was greatly outnumbered (15,000 v. 67,000 at Illerda, 15,000 v. 45,000 at Dyrrachium, 29-34,000 v. 49-52,000 at Pharsalus, 15,500 v. 32,000 at Ruspina and 40,000 v. 70,000 at Munda). He was also trapped in the lighthouse of Alexandria by the Egyptian army and he escaped by swimming his way to safety. In addition, he often jumped into the battle lines to urge his soldiers on, rather than stay behind the lines as most generals did. This took courage because his general's cloak made him a target for enemy javelins.