If there was one man in the history of the Roman Empire who had the greatest effect on the Roman population, it was surely Gaius Julius Caesar. Caesar, in his brief period in charge of Rome, made great improvements to the city and the lives of its inhabitants. His changes brought benefits to all the classes of Rome, from the plebs to the Nobiles, as well as setting up the Roman Empire for many more prosperous years to come. He made changes to all aspects of Rome, from the political system to the debt system to the calendar, as well as many others, nearly all of which benefited the Roman people.
In his time as dictator Caesar had a positive impact on the lower, working class of Rome. He reduced unemployment, debt and promoted many plebs to higher …show more content…
During his reign as emperor, Caesar built a new harbour and canal for Rome, drained the marshes and improved the grain supply. Caesar was faced with a shortage of grain in Rome when he came to power, which he solved by arranging better supervision of the supplies coming into Rome, as well as improving access to imported grain by building a new canal and harbour to service Rome (Boatwright, 2004). Moreover, he nearly halved the number of people who received government grain and imposed duties on foreign goods (Suetonius, 41). Whilst the halving of government grain rations did not benefit everybody, the improved access to overseas grain and better supervision of grain imports had an irrefutably positive impact on the Roman population. As well as improving the city’s grain supply, Caesar made a positive impact on the lives of the Roman population through his draining of the marshes outside the city. In order to reduce congestion and overpopulation in Rome, Caesar drained vast areas of marshy land around this city so that they could be built on to expand the city (Roman Empire.net, 2015), as well as implementing other measures to achieve this, which meant that Rome became less overpopulated and …show more content…
Caesar reformed the calendar, making it almost the same as today’s other than a few minor differences. The calendar previously was exceedingly inaccurate, to the point where summer harvest festivals were no longer in summer (Suetonius, 40), and Caesar saw the need to fix this. These changes had a positive impact on the Roman population, effectively normalising the year to be more logical. Finally, the most important way in which Caesar had an impact on the Roman population was through his reforms of the governmental and judicial systems. He made the punishment of crime much more severe (Suetonius, 43), and was very strict on the administration of justice, especially so when it came to corruption in the senate. This had a generally positive effect on the Roman population as it reduced crime rates and increased safety. Furthermore, Caesar reformed the government when he came to power after the Civil War, making himself dictator and king in all but name, but at the same time enlarging the senate and making changes to the government (Suetonius, 40). Despite all the reforms and benefits he brought to the people of Rome, he was still unpopular, especially so amongst the senate. However, he undeniably had a positive impact overall on the people of
In his time as dictator Caesar had a positive impact on the lower, working class of Rome. He reduced unemployment, debt and promoted many plebs to higher …show more content…
During his reign as emperor, Caesar built a new harbour and canal for Rome, drained the marshes and improved the grain supply. Caesar was faced with a shortage of grain in Rome when he came to power, which he solved by arranging better supervision of the supplies coming into Rome, as well as improving access to imported grain by building a new canal and harbour to service Rome (Boatwright, 2004). Moreover, he nearly halved the number of people who received government grain and imposed duties on foreign goods (Suetonius, 41). Whilst the halving of government grain rations did not benefit everybody, the improved access to overseas grain and better supervision of grain imports had an irrefutably positive impact on the Roman population. As well as improving the city’s grain supply, Caesar made a positive impact on the lives of the Roman population through his draining of the marshes outside the city. In order to reduce congestion and overpopulation in Rome, Caesar drained vast areas of marshy land around this city so that they could be built on to expand the city (Roman Empire.net, 2015), as well as implementing other measures to achieve this, which meant that Rome became less overpopulated and …show more content…
Caesar reformed the calendar, making it almost the same as today’s other than a few minor differences. The calendar previously was exceedingly inaccurate, to the point where summer harvest festivals were no longer in summer (Suetonius, 40), and Caesar saw the need to fix this. These changes had a positive impact on the Roman population, effectively normalising the year to be more logical. Finally, the most important way in which Caesar had an impact on the Roman population was through his reforms of the governmental and judicial systems. He made the punishment of crime much more severe (Suetonius, 43), and was very strict on the administration of justice, especially so when it came to corruption in the senate. This had a generally positive effect on the Roman population as it reduced crime rates and increased safety. Furthermore, Caesar reformed the government when he came to power after the Civil War, making himself dictator and king in all but name, but at the same time enlarging the senate and making changes to the government (Suetonius, 40). Despite all the reforms and benefits he brought to the people of Rome, he was still unpopular, especially so amongst the senate. However, he undeniably had a positive impact overall on the people of