Happy Birthday, Julius Caesar

On this date in 100 B.C. (or 102 B.C. depending on who you ask), Gaius Julius Caesar (or GAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR in the Latin of his day), who would one day be dictator of Rome, was born. Caesar was perhaps one of the most influential men to have ever walked the Earth. When he led a legion across the Rubicon river on Jan. 10, 49 B.C., he forever changed the course of world history. It was that singular action that set in motion a chain of events transforming a small republic into a global empire. It was through the unity of this empire, with its security and well-constructed roads, that the teachings of an obscure Jewish rabbi were able to easily spread and become the center of the world's largest religion. He reformed the calender, making it a 365-day calendar with leap years every fourth year. It was in use until Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 modified it into the modern calendar. Caesar was a military genius and an astute politician whose reforms benefited the lower and middle classes.

As a testament to his influence, his name became a title of power and from his assassination on March 15, 44 B.C., until Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria's reign ended in A.D. 1946, there was always at least one head of state bearing his name as a title.

Happy 2,107th (or 2,109th, depending on which historian you ask) Birthday, GAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR.