Julius Caesar was born in 100 BC.  Some 410 years before his birth, the Romans had overthrown the kings that ruled their city and had instituted the Republican system of government, in which Roman citizens were able to vote on legislation and to elect their magistrates each year. At the time of Caesar’s birth, Rome's power extended beyond the walls of the city, for Rome had established a large empire that stretched across much of the Mediterranean. The military victories that brought Rome to power were commemorated throughout the city.  Public buildings were full of sculptures and paintings brought to Rome from captured lands,

especially Greece.  By tradition, successful generals constructed "victory temples" dedicated to the god or goddess that had helped them win their war.     Like any young and noble Roman, Caesar would have been educated in his parents' home by a tutor.  At the age of 14 or 15, an official ceremony held in the Forum would have marked his new status as a man.  When he was 16, he was married to a noblewoman named Cornelia, the daughter of Cinna, a man of political importance in Rome.  Shortly thereafter, Caesar served in the Roman army in the Eastern Mediterranean and there distinguished himself amongst his peers.