Caesar's Women is the fourth historical novel in Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series. A historical novel is a novel in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, in which the time of the action predates the lifetime of the author. ... Colleen McCullough (born 1 June 1937) is an internationally acclaimed Australian author. ... Masters of Rome is a series of historical fiction novels by author Colleen McCullough (b. ...

The novel is set during a ten-year interval, from 68-58 BC, which Gaius Julius Caesar spent mainly in Rome, climbing the political ladder and outmanouvering his many enemies. It opens with Caesar returning early from his quaestorship in Spain, and closes with his epochal departure for the Gallic campaigns. In Ancient Rome, several men of the Julii Caesares family were named Gaius (Caius) Julius (Iulius) Caesar, the most famous of which was the Dictator Julius Caesar. ...

Some of the pivotal moments include: Caesar's marriage to Pompeia; his curule aedileship; his narrow election as Pontifex Maximus in 63 BC; his praetorship in 62 BC; his divorce from Pompeia; his governorship of Further Spain; the first time he was hailed imperator on the field by his troops (for which success he could have secured a triumphal parade, but was blocked from doing so by Marcus Porcius Cato); the creation of the First Triumvirate, which Caesar formed with Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in 60 BC; his betrothal of his daughter Julia to Pompey; his marriage to Calpurnia; and his first consulship, in 59 BC. Pompeia Sulla (fl. ... Aedile (Latin Aedilis, from aedes, aedis temple, building) was an office of the Roman Republic. ... Alternate meanings: see Pontifex (disambiguation) In Ancient Rome, the Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the collegium of the Pontifices, the most august position in Roman religion, open only to a patrician, until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post. ... // Definition According to Cicero, Praetor was a title which designated the consuls as the leaders of the armies of the state. ... During the Roman Republic, Hispania Ulterior was a region of Hispania roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain. ... The Latin word imperator was a title originally roughly equivalent to commander during the period of the Roman Republic. ... A Roman Triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly honour the military commander (dux) of a notably successful foreign war or campaign and to display the glories of Roman victory. ... Marcus Porcius Cato (Latin: M·PORCIVS·M·F·CATO) (234 - 149 BC), Roman statesman, surnamed The Censor, Sapiens, Priscus, or Major (the Elder), to distinguish him from Cato the Younger (his great-grandson), was born at Tusculum. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Marcus Licinius Crassus (Latin: M·LICINIVS·P·F·P·N·CRASSVS[1]) (c. ... This article refers to the Roman General. ... Julia Caesaris (Classical Latin: IVLIA•CAESARIS) was the daughter of Gaius Julius Caesar the dictator, by Cornelia Cinna, and his only child in marriage. ... Calpurnia Pisonis (1st century BC), daughter of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi, was a Roman woman, third and last wife of Julius Caesar. ...

Despite the title, very little of the action has to do with the women in Caesar's life. Certainly, his divorce and re-marriage come into play, as does his daughter's marriage, his lengthy affair with Servilia and his close relationship with his mother, Aurelia. However, most of the plot is concerned with the political struggles of Caesar's rise to power, his conflict with the conservative 'boni' faction, and his election to each post on the Roman ladder of government. Servilia Caepionis (b. ... Aurelia Cotta or Aurelia (120 BC-54 BC) was the mother of Julius Caesar. ... Optimates (Good Men) were the aristocratic faction of the later Roman Republic. ... Imperium can, in a broad sense, be translated as power. ...

References

• McCullough, Colleen (1997-02-01). Caesar's Women. Avon. ISBN 978-0380710843.