Julius Caesar is credited with transforming the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Caesar’s alliance with Pompey and Crassus (known as the first triumvirate) opposed the Republican elements in the senate, seeking to institute a more populist government. As a general, Caesar conquered the territory of Gaul and extended the Roman territory to the English Channel and the Rhine. When the senate opposed his continuing military campaign, Caesar was led into a civil war, which he won. Having defeated Pompey (who had sided with the senate during the civil war), Caesar became the leader of Rome. He ruled as dictator, suspending the Republican constitution, until his assassination in 44 BC.
Caesar’s accounts of his military campaigns remain classics of Latin prose and important sources for historical reconstructions of the period. The Gallic War recounts Caesar’s conquest of Gaul and his attacks on southern Britain. Civil Wars recounts the battles against Pompey during the Roman civil war. Alexandrian War, African War, and Spanish War recount Caesar’s battles in Alexandria, North Africa, and the Iberian Peninsula, respectively.
The Works of Julius Caesar contains the Loeb Classical Library editions of these five works. The collection contains each work in the original Latin, and English versions translated by prominent Latin scholars who are specialists on Caesar. You can pull up the English and Latin together for a side-by-side comparison. Right-click any Latin word to pull up lexical information and links to Latin resources in your library. Every word is indexed, allowing you to get near-instant search results with a click.
