Julius Caesar was born in 100 BC to Aurelia and Gaius Julius Caesar, a patrian family. The name "Julius" comes from Iulius, the family name. This comes from Iulus, the name of Venus' son.
At the time of his birth, Rome was still a republic and the empire was only beginning. The senators ruled, motivated by the greed of power in the hope of becoming either a consul or a praetor, the two senior posts which carried imperium, the legal right to command an army. With the help of the army at your command, from those posts it was possible to conquer new territories and so gain a triumph and the pleasure of knowing that your name would be remembered forever in statues and inscribed in monuments, paid for by the war.
