Kornelia Tsinilla The first wife of Julius Caesar, mother of his only legitimate daughter Julia Caesaris. Country: Italy

Biography of Cornelia Cinilla

Cornelia Cinilla was the first wife of Julius Caesar and the mother of his only legitimate daughter, Julia Caesaris. She was born to the patrician Lucius Cornelia Cinna, who held the position of consul from 87 to 84 BC, and a Roman woman named Annia. Her father was a supporter of Marius and in 84 BC, he led troops against Sulla, who was returning from the war with Mithridates. However, he was killed by his own soldiers in Liburnia (modern-day Croatia). In 85 BC, Caesar became a priest of Jupiter. Since this position could only be held by patricians who were not related to other classes, he broke off his engagement with Cosutia, the daughter of a wealthy horseman, whom he had been engaged to since childhood. In 83 BC, he married Cornelia Cinilla, presumably out of love. Shortly after their wedding, Sulla ordered Caesar to divorce his wife. Mark Piso, who married the widow of Lucius Cornelia Annia, received the same order. Unlike Piso, Caesar refused to comply.

It is unlikely that Sulla saw this proud seventeen-year-old youth as a strong political opponent; rather, it was most likely revenge against the descendants and relatives of Lucius Cornelia. However, Caesar was deprived of all his property, his position as a priest, and his wife's dowry. The couple had to go into hiding for some time as the threat of death was great. Caesar's mother, Aurelia Cotta, had to use all her influence to prevent Caesar from being included in the proscription lists. In 82 BC, Cornelia gave birth to their daughter, Julia Caesaris.

The family had to leave for Asia Minor, where Caesar served under the command of the praetor Marcus Minucius Thermus. The storm passed in 78 BC when Sulla died. The couple returned to Rome, where Cornelia lived permanently from that time on. In 68 BC, Cornelia died while giving birth to their second child, who also did not survive.