How was Julius Caesar courageous?

Answer 1

Julius Caesar was one of the top leaders that ancient Rome ever produced. Ultimately his courage was part of his demise. Yes, it can be said that he was not wise and this lack of wisdom was part of his failure however few can dispute certain areas where his courage profited the Roman empire:

A. Caesar's conquest of Gaul was a huge military campaign that ultimately added what is now most of France and more to the territories controlled by Rome. The wealth from Gaul added to the Roman treasury and placed Rome in a superior position in Western Europe.

B. Caesar's battles with Pompey ended with victory. It took courage to battle with a powerful friend of the Roman Senate. He could have easily "retired" and save himself the risk of losing important battles and the risk of losing his life.

C. Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon and marching on to Rome was courageous. There was no guarantee that he would be successful. His life was placed in risk but he succeeded.

D. Caesar's battles in Spain against the legions of Pompey's sons was another display of courage. He again could have lost his life if he and his legions were not victorious.

E. In his role of dictator, his policies and plans which challenged the status quo were acts of courage. He knew that his programs would irritate many members of the Senate, but he did not back down.

F. Caesar forgave many of his enemies who had supported Pompey. With his control of the legions, he could have had support in not forgiving his former enemies. This show of clemency took courage and of course helped end his life.

G. Caesar's plans to challenge the powerful Parthian empire took courage. The Parthians had many previous victories against Rome. They were on the outer edges of the Roman empires eastern provinces. He easily could have not planned a campaign against them. His plans ended when his life did however.

H. Caesar would rather face death than live in fear of death so his removal of his body guards showed courage. Plans to assassinate him might never progressed if he done what later Augustus did, namely use plenty of personal security measures to protect himself.