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Yulia TsezarisDaughter of Julius Caesar, wife of Pompey the Great.
Country:
 Italy |
Content:
- Biography of Julia Caesaris
- Marriage to Pompey the Great
- The Marriage Ceremony
- Tragic Loss
- Julia's Burial
- Legacy
Biography of Julia Caesaris
Early LifeJulia Caesaris, the daughter of Julius Caesar and his first wife Cornelia Cinnam, was born in 82 or 83 BC. After her mother's death during childbirth, Julia was raised by her grandmother, Aurelia Cotta, who was also Caesar's mother. Like many noble patrician women, Julia was seen as a tool in her father's hands, helping him further his career.
Marriage to Pompey the Great
Initially, Caesar planned to marry Julia to Faustus Cornelius Sulla, but in 67 BC, Servilia proposed a betrothal between Julia and her son from her first marriage, Marcus Junius Brutus. Caesar agreed to this arrangement. However, when the time for the marriage came, Caesar broke off the engagement, paid Brutus the promised dowry of 100 talents of gold, and married Julia to his political ally Pompey the Great.
The Marriage Ceremony
The wedding followed the confarreatio ceremony, the most solemn and intricate form of marriage ceremony, reserved only for patricians. During this ceremony, the bride was handed over from the father to the groom, emphasizing the wife's complete dependence on her husband. The ceremony was conducted in the presence of the high pontiff and Jupiter's flamen. Dissolving such a marriage was almost impossible. It seems that this marriage was a happy one, despite the 23-year age difference between the spouses. According to Plutarch, the newlyweds were deeply in love. Julia was beautiful and virtuous to such an extent that Pompey temporarily lost interest in politics in favor of his home and family.
Tragic Loss
The couple did not have any children. Julia suffered a miscarriage in 55 BC after a riot broke out during the elections, and Pompey's toga was stained with blood. When a slave brought her the news, Julia lost consciousness, thinking that Pompey had been killed, which led to premature labor. In August 54 BC, Julia died during childbirth. Her child, most likely a girl, did not survive and died a few days after her mother.
Julia's Burial
Pompey was devastated by Julia's death. He wanted to bury her at his villa on the Alban Hills, but the Romans, who held Julia in high regard, demanded her remains to be buried in the Campus Martius. Pompey needed the Senate's permission for this. During the hearings, the consul of that year, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, tried to oppose granting such permission, but the Senate voted in favor. Julia's remains were buried in the Campus Martius.
Legacy
Soon after her death, Pompey and Caesar became enemies. By the mid-50s BC, Julia was the only connection between these two men.
Caesar mourned Julia deeply, and in 46 BC, he held games in her honor in August. Several cities, including Colonia Iulia and the city of Heliopolis (modern-day Baalbek, Lebanon), were also named after Julia.
In 44 BC, it was originally planned to cremate Caesar's body near Julia's burial site. However, Mark Antony decided that the best location would be the Forum.
