The most famous Roman general and statesman, conqueror of Gaul: he brought about the effective end of the Republic. After building up an army in Gaul, Caesar marched against the Senate in 49 BCE, and defeated his rival Pompey at the battle of Pharsalus. As dictator of Rome, he launched a series of political and social reforms before he was assasinated by a group of nobles in the Senate House on the Ides of March.
The only publications that can still be read, are his fascinating Commentaries on the War in Gaul (De bello Gallico) and his Commentaries on the Civil War. The first text was written in Gaul, and contains seven books, each covering a single year from 58 to 52. An eighth book carries the story to the outbreak of the Civil War, but is written by one Hirtius (who is perhaps also the author of The Spanish War). In these books, Caesar is his own herald: in a simple and compressed style, he shows himself involuntarily fighting necessary wars.