12. Julius Caesar could provide invaluable insights into politics, military strategy, and ancient history unobtainable from any other source
Rising through the ranks of the Roman Republic’s military, in 60 BCE Julius Caesar had leveraged himself into a leading position as a member of the First Triumvirate. Earning acclaim and fortune as a result of his legendary victories in the Gallic Wars, but becoming too powerful for the Senate to tolerate in the process, on January 10, 49 BCE, Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his legions and assumed control of the government. Emerging triumphant from the resultant civil war, Caesar was proclaimed “dictator for life” and begin the process of converting the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.
However, just five years later, a group of dissenters assassinated Caesar on the Ides of March, triggering a series of civil wars which would see Caesar’s adopted son rise as the first Imperator of Rome. One of the most skilled military commanders of the ancient world, if not human history at large, Caesar, in spite of his evident authoritarian and anti-democratic political leanings, was equally a strong and successful leader who oversaw the creation of arguably the greatest political entity to ever exist. Both traits would offer the modern world great wisdom and learning opportunities, providing insights otherwise lost to antiquity.