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Hello in 49 BC a Roman army marched south from the Alps and crossed the

Rubicon a shallow river which marked the northern border of the territory controlled by the city of Rome.

The Army was led by a young general called Julius Caesar, and when he crossed the Rubicon he ignited a series of civil wars that led eventually

to the overthrow of the Roman Republic and the establishment of the Roman Empire.

Julius Caesar could be the ultimate case study for the view that history is made by great men.

He extended the borders of Roman power to the English Channel, introduced political reforms that

echo down to the present day, and left accounts of it all that are considered high

points of Latin literature.

He is also famous for the manner of his death, murdered on the steps of the Senate in one of the

most notorious political assassinations in history. But was Caesar a power-crazed tyrant or a

visionary statesman willing to do whatever he took to see through much-needed reforms?

With me to discuss Julius is Maria Maria Weik, Professor of Latin at University College London,

Chris Pelin, Regis Professor of Greek at the University of London, at the University of Oxford, sorry, and Catherine Steele Professor of Classica at the University of Glasgow.

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