l l D I D YO U K N O W i a m S h a k e s p e a r e s p l a y Julius is told to beware the In Wi ides refers to the Caesar C a e s a r ides of March The time around the 15th of the month To d a y t h o s e f a m o u s w o r d s a r e sometimes used as a warning
JULIUS CAESAR R ome’s Remarkable G e neralandStatesma n Julius Caesar was a brilliant general and a gifted writer But most important he helped create the ancient Roman Empire Early in his career Caesar formed a bond with the two most powerful men in Rome the wealthy Crassus and the general Pompey In 59 BC they helped elect Caesar as one of Rome’s two consuls the government’s highest rank After a year as consul Caesar left Rome to govern Gaul now France There he earned a reputation as a military leader He stopped uprisings and invasions and he even landed in Britain Caesar also wrote detailed accounts of his battles While Caesar was in Gaul Crassus was killed Sculpture of Julius Caesar in the National Museum in Naples Bettmann Corbis Pompey now controlled Rome and he turned against Caesar He declared Caesar a criminal and ordered him to break up his army Instead Caesar declared war and marched to Rome Pompey fled to Greece At that time Rome was governed by a senate a supreme council But Caesar felt the government was corrupt and needed a strong leader In 49 BC he declared himself dictator and he spent five years fighting a civil war against Pompey to make his rule secure Some of the Roman senators worried that Caesar had too much power On March 15 44 BC they murdered Caesar on the floor of the Senate In the short time he led Rome Caesar proved to be a great statesman The changes he made helped begin the 500-year Roman Empire And for almost 2,000 years after his death some world leaders used a form of the title caesar such as Kaiser in Germany and czar in Russia S EA R C H LIG H T Fill in the blank Caesar took power in Rome after defeating ___________ his former political supporter LEARN MORE READ THESE ARTICLES ASHOKA CHARLEMAGNE CLEOPATRA By crossing over the stream known as the Rubicon in 49 BC Caesar basically declared war against the Roman Senate Crossing the Rubicon the subject of this engraving became a phrase that means taking a step from which there’s no turning back Bettmann Corbis former political supporter Answer Caesar took power in Rome after defeating Pompey his 9
D I D YO U K N O W Castro was a very good basebal is said he once even tried out for the Senators a professional p l a y e r I t in Washington D C l team basebal l 10
FIDEL CASTRO S EA R C H LIG H T True or false The United States has also supported Castro’s rule in Cuba The ManWho C hangedCuba In the 1950s General Fulgencio Batista ruled the Caribbean island of Cuba His rule was harsh and often violent and some large American companies grew rich while many Cubans remained poor Fidel Castro was a young lawyer who believed Batista’s rule was unfair There were no free elections in Cuba so Castro organized a military force to overthrow Batista Castro bought guns with his own money and attacked Batista’s forces in 1953 The attack failed badly and after two years in prison Castro went to Mexico to make a new plan Soon he and about 80 other rebels arrived in Cuba They hid in the mountains and fought a guerrilla war using small-scale battles and making hit-and-run attacks Batista finally fled Cuba in 1959 Castro became Cuba’s leader and created a communist government Under Castro’s rule the people lost many of the same rights that Batista had taken away and poverty was still a problem Many Cubans left their homeland or tried to do so But Castro also greatly increased many benefits to the Cuban people Education and health services were free and every citizen was guaranteed work The United States Cuba’s near neighbor strongly opposed Castro’s government They even tried to overthrow it in 1961 But the Soviet Union another communist country Fidel Castro in 1960 Bettmann Corbis supported Castro The United States complained when Castro let the Soviets set up nuclear weapons in Cuba The protest almost led to a war but the weapons were soon removed In the late 20th century there was unrest among Cubans and Castro relaxed some of his strictest controls He finally stepped down as the country’s leader in 2008 LEARN MORE READ THESE ARTICLES SIMÓN BOLÍVAR NELSON MANDELA MAO ZEDONG Fidel Castro often spoke out strongly against people who disagreed with his communist government in Cuba Here he speaks at a rally in 2003 AFP Corbis opposed Castro and has supported attempts to overthrow him Answer FALSE Since the early 1960s the United States has 11
