Napoleon And Caesar Essay Research Paper Napoleon

Napoleon And Caesar Essay, Research Paper

Hire a custom writer who has experience.
It's time for you to submit amazing papers!


order now

Napoleon and Caesar

Napoleon Bonaparte s success as a military leader and vanquisher can besides be seen in another great leader, Julius Caesar. Both Napoleon and Caesar achieved great glorification by conveying their states out of convulsion. It was Caesar, that Napoleon modeled himself after, he wanted to be as great, if non greater than Caesar.

Looking to the yesteryear, Napoleon knew what steps to take in order to accomplish success Napoleon devoured books on the art of war. Volume after volume of military theory was read, analyzed and criticized. He studied the runs of history s most celebrated commanding officers ; Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Frederick the Great and his favourite and most influential, Julius Caesar ( Marrin 17 ) .

Julius Caesar was the strong leader for the Romans who changed the class of history of the Greco & # 8211 ; Roman universe resolutely and irreversibly. Caesar was able to make the Roman Empire because of his strength and his strong war schemes ( Duggan 117 ) .

Julius Caesar was to go one of the greatest generals, suppressing the whole of Gaul. In 58 BC, Caesar became governor and military commanding officer of Gaul, which included modern France, Belgium, and parts of Switzerland, Holland, and Germany West of the Rhine. For the following eight old ages, Caesar led military runs affecting both the Roman hosts and folks in Gaul who were frequently viing among themselves. Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman whose absolutism was polar in Rome s passage from democracy to empire ( Duggan 84 ) .

Caesar s rules were to maintain his forces united ; to be vulnerable at no point, to strike quickly at critical points ; to trust on moral factors, such as his repute and the fright he inspired, every bit good as political agencies in order to see the trueness of his Alliess and the submissiveness of the conquered states. He made usage of every possible chance to increase his opportunities of triumph on the battleground and, in order to carry through this, he needed integrity of all his military personnels ( Duggan 117 ) .

From the clip that he had foremost faced conflict in Gaul and discovered his ain military mastermind, Caesar was obviously fascinated and obsessed by military and imperial jobs.

He gave them an absolute precedence over the more delicate by no less cardinal undertaking of revising the Roman fundamental law. The demand in the latter domain was a solution which would present such elements of dictatorship, which were necessary to look into corruptness and administrative failing ( Grant, Caesar 61 ) .

The narrative of all his conflicts and wars has been preserved in Caesar s written history, Commentaries on the Gallic Wars, originally published in 50 B.C. For this period, Caesar is the lone existent beginning supplying first-hand descriptions of Britain. While no uncertainty self-serving in a political sense when written, Caesar s history is however regarded as fundamentally accurate and historically dependable ( Frere 68 ) .

Caesar was appointed dictator for a twelvemonth get downing in 49 B.C. , for two old ages in 48 B.C. , for 10 old ages in 46 B.C. and eventually dictator for life in 44 B.C. Taking over as Dictator for life, enabled Caesar to derive unrestricted power. He was able to run a strong military and even though he was considered merely a dictator he wrote Torahs that really made him hold the same powers as a male monarch. The plotters saw the job that had arised and so they planned the slaying of Caesar on the Ides of March. Caesar was killed and there was another triumvirate ( authorities ruled by three ) formed. Caesar was a strong military leader that had showed strength and bravery to take over the town and he was able to organize a civilisation that was strong militarily and politically ( Grant, Caesar 187 ) .

Caesar was one of the great generals of history ; his name became synonymous with leading, therefore the rubrics Kaiser, and Tsar.

Having been promoted over the caputs of older officers, Napoleon s unbroken tally of triumphs over the ground forcess of both Austria and Piedmont established his credibleness as a commanding officer, while his concern for his antecedently ill-equipped soldiers won their trueness. During the storming of a span at Lodi, he fought aboard his military personnels, and earned from them the moniker of & # 8220 ; the small bodily & # 8221 ; ( Castelot 68 ) .

Under the new authorities Napoleon was made commanding officer of the Gallic ground forces in Italy. During this run the Gallic realized how smart Napoleon was. He developed a tactic that worked really expeditiously. He would cut the enemy s ground forces in to two parts, so throw all his force on one side before the other side could rejoin them ( Weidhorn 86 ) .

Napoleon read Caesar s Comments on the Gallic Wars and took note of the propaganda he used. Napoleon would besides utilize favourable descriptions of conflict to sell himself to the Directory and to the people. Letters were written that showed Napoleon as the master even when he lost conflicts in Egypt.

The factuality of these letters were ne’er tested but proved to be a force in demoing his strength and ability to take an ground forces against far bigger enemies ( Marrin 99 ) .

Bonaparte returned to happen the Directory was a muss. He, in his selfish manner, saw this as the perfect clip for self-advancement. So in November of 1799 he overthrew the Directory. Bonaparte set up a authorities called the Consulate. He was the first of three consuls. Three old ages subsequently he made himself first consul for life. Everyone in France loved Napoleon at that clip. Then he started increasing his power ( Marrin 81-82 ) .

Napoleon started naming himself Napoleon I, alternatively of General Bonaparte. He had complete political and military power in France. But he still hadn T built up his great eastern imperium. The

Austrian s had been defeated at Marenegro. The German provinces and England were tired of contending so they signed a peace pact of Aimens in 1802. This was the first clip since 1792 that France was at peace with the whole universe.

During the following 14 months of peace Napoleon drastically altered Europe and reshaped France. He became president of the Italian Republic, he reshaped Switzerland with France. He annexed Piedmont, Parma, and the island of Elba to France ( Marrin 82-86 ) .

Through his military feats and his ruthless efficiency, Napoleon rose from obscureness to go Napoleon I, Emperor of France. He is both a historical figure and a fable, Napoleon was one of the greatest military commanding officers in history. He has besides been portrayed as a power hungry vanquisher. Napoleon denied being such a vanquisher. He argued that, alternatively, he had attempted to construct a federation of free peoples in a Europe united under a broad authorities. But if this was his end he intended to accomplish it by concentrating power in his ain custodies ( Castelot 96 ) . However, in the provinces he created, Napoleon granted fundamental laws, introduced jurisprudence codifications, abolished feudal system, created efficient authoritiess and fostered instruction, scientific discipline, literature and the humanistic disciplines ( Castelot 97 ) .

Emperor Napoleon proved to be a brilliant civil decision maker. One of his greatest accomplishments was his supervising of the alteration and aggregation of Gallic jurisprudence into codifications. The new jurisprudence codifications, seven in figure, incorporated some of the freedoms gained by the people of France during the Gallic revolution, including spiritual acceptance and the abolishment of serfhood. The most celebrated of the codifications, the Code Napoleon or Code Civil, still forms the footing of French civil jurisprudence ( Marrin 90 ) .

Bonaparte should hold learned from Caesar s one error of holding excessively much power, because it would finally do him to be exiled to the island of Elba. The Grand Alliance had crushed Napoleon s Grande Armee. Napoleon tried suppressing all of Europe, but non all of Europe wanted to be ruled by a military dictator. Alternatively, they wanted the return of the Bourbon imperium, where peace could be restored and power limited so no swayer could take affairs into his ain custodies once more. Excessively much power finally became the ruin of Napoleon as it did Caesar. Peoples became fearful and did non like that one individual could command all of Europe. In the beginning they were supportive because he ended the wars and combat, but now he brought it back which made his citizens oppose him and what he stood for ( Weidhorn 193 ) .

Napoleon and Caesar took their struggling states out of convulsion and gave them order, and for that the people loved them. Caesar put an terminal to the Gallic and Civil wars that Rome was involved in, with that, he entered into power. Napoleon took France out of the Gallic Revolution by subverting the so authorities, the Directory.

Napoleon instated a new authorities the Consulate and crowned himself foremost Consul and three old ages subsequently, Consul for life, Caesar became all powerful when named dictator for life. Both work forces knew in order to be a successful leader, they had to hold the full support of the armed forces.

Power and district were increased, because there ground forcess were ever the biggest and responsible for seting down any rebellions that might happen. Caesar introduced propaganda and Napoleon followed his lead. Favorable histories were written which proved to give them a political border, and the support of the people. Caesar was a friend of his people and gave many lands to his soldiers and to the hapless, he built Bridgess, roads and water company. Napoleon was besides civil in the beginning of his reign, get rid ofing serfhood, go throughing Torahs and allowing cosmopolitan male right to vote. Both work forces were good liked until they abused there powers and privileges. They fell for the same ground, excessively much power. Caesar was murdered because his function as dictator came to shut to being a male monarch and Napoleon did non cognize where to pull the line and his ground forces finally turned against him.

Napoleon Bonaparte was able to lift to power because of another great general that came before him, Julius Caesar. Napoleon was a success because he looked to the yesteryear, and emulated Caesar ; he built up his ground forces, conquered most of Europe, became a dictator for life and finally fell from power, because like Caesar, he did non cognize where to pull the line.

Bibliography

Carlyle, Thomas. The Gallic Revolution Complete and Unabridged. New York: Random House, Inc. , 1837.

Castelot, Andre. Napoleon. New York: Harper & A ; Row Publishers Inc. , 1971.

Duggan, Alfred. Julius Caesar A Great Life in Brief. New York: Borzoi Books, 1996.

Ellis, Peter Berrsford. Caesar s Invasion of Britian. New York: New York University Press, 1978.

Frere, Sheppard. Britannia: A History of Roman Britain ( 3rd edition ) . London: Routledge & A ; Kegan Paul, 1987.

Grab, Walter. The Gallic Revolution The Beginning of Modern Democracy. London: Bracken Books, 1989.

Grant, Michael. Julius Caesar. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1969.

Grant, Michael. Caesar. Chicago: Follett Printing Company, 1975.

Herold, J. Christopher. The Age of Napoleon. New York: American Heritage Publishing Co. , Inc. , 1963.

Herold, J. Christopher and Marshall B. Davidson. The Horizon Book of The Ageof Napoleon. New York: American Heritage Publishing Co. , Inc. , 1963.

Lawford, James. Napoleon The Last Campaigns 1813-1815. New York: Crown Publishers Inc. , 1977.

Marrin, Albert. Napoleon and The Napoleonic Wars. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.

Weidhorn, Manfred. Napoleon. New York: Macmillian Publishing Company, 1986.

32e

Categories