Master of Rome: A Life of Julius Caesar

Summary

By any measure, Julius Caesar is one of the most significant and famous figures in Roman history. Self-identified as a “popular” politician, he advocated for effective government to better the lives of average Romans, but believed such a government could not be based upon the existing democracy. Only through his personal authority and the massive organization he built to overthrow the government could the prosperity of all Rome’s citizens be ensured.

Through a careful analysis of the ancient sources, especially Caesar’s own writings, David Potter offers us a stunning and original portrait of this great general and statesman. Master of Rome reveals Caesar as a highly organized manager with an extraordinary ability to adjust to circumstances while maintaining the ancient equivalent of a positive “media presence.” After his death, Caesar’s followers put forward a narrative of his life that made his rise to power seem inevitable, but Caesar’s own writing tells us a different story—one of a detail-oriented general who demanded a high degree of accountability from his subordinates.

A critical aspect of Caesar’s philosophy of command was the need to find room for former enemies to serve in his organization. While this philosophy catapulted Caesar to great fame as a general during the wars in Gaul, when he attempted to put this method into effect in the wake of the civil war that established him as the master of Rome, it led to his brutal assassination in 44 BCE.

Master of Rome tells the dramatic story of one of history’s most intriguing figures, who rose from the fringes of Roman political society to unprecedented heights. Along the way, Potter identifies the extraordinary qualities that enabled Caesar to dominate the world in which he lived.

“This is a magisterial and eminently readable account of Caesar’s rise to power amidst the accelerating collapse of Rome’s democratic institutions. Paying particular attention to the principles of leadership and governance evident in Caesar’s writings and career, and to the personal qualities that made them effective, Master of Rome shows why Caesar still fascinates even two millennia after his assassination in 44 BCE.”—Cynthia Damon, University of Pennsylvania