Eli5: Why was it world-changing that Caesar crossed the Rubicon?
In: 1397
Rome – the preeminent power in Europe – was at a crisis point. It was a Republic, and had been, for centuries. But it controlled France, Spain, Greece, Italy, and a lot of other territory. At the time there were two groups of people in Rome: Reformers (Caesar’s people who wanted to improve the common man and reform the republic) and the Conservatives (who liked how they had power). The Conservatives moved Caesar into a position where he would be tried and convicted of corruption. This would embarrass the Reformers, and Caesar had no desire to be embarrassed.
Caesar was a governor (kinda sorta), and immune from prosecution. His term as governor ended. He had a huge army. He crossed the Rubicon, defeated the Conservatives, and then secured his position for life. The Conservatives didn’t like that, so they killed him; this led to the end of the republic, and the creation of the Roman Empire; which eventually led to (1) Christianity’s dominance in the world; (2) Feudalism, the Middle Ages, and the eventual Renaissance that birthed our current world; and (3) the return of Republican thought as the Middle Ages [kinda sorta] ended.
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