Julius Caesar Survives

The Rule of Caesar
On the Ides of March in 50 BCE Gaius Julius Caesar, Dictator of Rome and Imperator of the Gaulic Legions was informed of a plot to kill him in a petition he recieved on the way to the Senate House. He orders a personal slave to have his bodyguard and lictors to assemble near the Senate door and recalls Marcus Antonius, the ruling Consul, from a meeting and has him meet Caesar at the Senate for the day's session. As warned, the assasines attack and attempt to kill Caesar, but with Antonius there and the lictors and bodyguards coming in at the first sign of trouble, Caesar lives with only minor wounds. The so called "Liberators" are arrested, and tried for treason.

Caesar recovers and begins to set the Republic to rights by filling the vacancies made by Senators tried for treason or for those who have been strck off the lists by the Caesarian Censors for treason, loss of property qualification, or immorality with loyal Italian tribes and Plebs. Using his power as Dictator he gives them land and income to qualify.

Caesar's Reforms
Caesar launches a series of reforms to change the way the Republic functions. First, he establishes a professional civil service that ensures that Senators have professional advice in all their domestic and provincial posts, and to replace the tax farmers that were gouging the provinces and to keep governors in line. Second, he orders the construction of a canal from Ostia to Rome and an expansion of the port. Next, Caesar professionalises the legal profession, creating licences for lawyers, has Roman Law codified, and makes the ad hoc courts continuious.