Learn All About Julius Caesar's Children: Facts No One Told You About!

Gaius Julius Caesar, also known as one of the greatest dictators of Rome, had three wives throughout his life.

However, his children's lives, not unlike his own, were strife with tragedy. He had few children in his life, with only one of them being legitimate - his first and only daughter, Julia.

Though he reportedly did have a son with the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, the Roman Caesar decided to adopt his great-nephew as his own to lead after him. Caesar's adopted son, Augustus Caesar, would go on to become the first emperor of Rome after his assassination in 44 BC.

It is very unlikely that any true descendants of Julius Caesar walk among us, as his illegitimate children are unknown. However, Augustus did have a daughter, Julia the Elder, who had at least six biological children.

So, though there are no known descendants of Caesar (we could have descendants of his illegitimate offspring unknowingly walking among us! ), we do definitely have the descendants of Augustus Caesar, who carry the Caesar name.

The vicious emperors Caligula and Nero were descended from Julia. To learn more about Caesar and his tragic children, read on!

If you enjoy this article, you may enjoy our pages on Cleopatra's children and Elvis Presley's children.

Who were the first two children of Julius Caesar?

The first two children Caesar had were his oldest daughter, Julia Caesaris, who was a result of his marriage with his first wife Cornelia and Ptolemy XV Caesar or 'Little Caesar', who was his son with the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. However, only Julia remains his legitimate child out of the two.

It is thought that Caesar Augustus, or Octavius as he was formerly known, was one of Caesar's children, however, he was his great-nephew who Caesar adopted as his own. After Caesar's death, Augustus received all of Caesar's power, property, and wealth as stated in his will, and proceeded to crown himself the first emperor of the Roman empire.

He ultimately ended up killing Caesar's son Caesarion in Egypt, as he saw him as a threat to his position seeing as he was Julius's trueborn son.

Julius Caesar's Children With Cornelia

Julius Caesar's first wife was Cornelia, a girl from a wealthy and influential family who he married when he was 16 years old. Woe befell the married couple when they were separated shortly after they were married, with the dictator at that time, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, ordering that they divorce as Julius's uncle was his political opponent.

However, Julius refused and went into hiding, leaving Rome and Cornelia behind. Upon the death of Sulla, in 78 BC, Julius returned to Rome and his reunion with Cornelia led to the birth of their first child - a daughter named Julia Caesaris.

Julia remained Caesar's only legitimate child birthed through his wives.

He was 22 at the time of her birth. Unfortunately, she passed away in 54 BC, at the age of merely 24.

Julius Caesar's Children With Pompeia

Julius Caesar married Pompeia, his second wife, in 67 BC after the early death of his first wife, Cornelia, after only 13 years of marriage.

Pompeia was a wealthy girl and also the granddaughter of Lucius Cornelius Sulla. However, they divorced after a few years due to problems in their marriage, and no heirs were born through their union.

He married his third and also last wife, Calpurnia shortly after in 59 BC, and did not produce any more legitimate children until his death in 44 BC.

He was known to have many external affairs during this period, however, no records have been kept of any children born from them. It is very likely that no children were produced during his marriage to Calpurnia as she was infertile and unfortunately unable to conceive.

This did cause a rift in their marriage with Caesar being disappointed because he wanted a male heir to carry on his legacy.

Despite this, Calpurnia was a faithful and loving wife to Caesar, but he indulged in many unfaithful encounters over the years. Calpurnia chose to turn a blind eye towards these and remained by his side until his assassination in 44 BC.

What happened to the children of Julius Caesar?

Julius Caesar had only two known children, and one adopted child, however, it is quite possible that he fathered more illegitimate children through his extramarital affairs.

His one and only legitimate child and his oldest daughter, Julia, died during childbirth while pregnant with the child of her husband, Pompey the Great. It is also widely believed that Julius and Cleopatra, the last active Queen of Egypt, had a child together, who would be the last Pharoah of Egypt alongside his mother.

Ptolemy XV Caesar, or Caesarion as he was more popularly known, was born in 47 BC while Julius Caesar was in the company of Cleopatra in Egypt.

Caesarion was ultimately killed on the orders of Octavius, Julius's adopted son, as he perceived him as a threat. He was only 17 at the time. After his death, Egypt was annexed as a part of the Roman empire under the rule of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus 'Octavian' Caesar.

As for the first emperor of Rome, he was actually Julius Caesar's great-nephew - his sister's grandson.

Contrary to belief, Julius Caesar never had any relations with his sister, and simply took in Augustus as his adopted son due to the lack of a male heir.

After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, Augustus took charge of Rome and expanded its borders greatly, even forming the second Triumvirate with Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus to avenge the death of his great-uncle.

He lived a long life, dying in the year 14 AD of natural causes.

The Reason Why Julius Caesar's Daughter Died In Childbirth

Julius Caesar's daughter, Julia Caesar, was given by him to Pompey, one of his most powerful political allies and closest friends, in marriage. She was 30 years younger than him at the time of their marriage, but Pompey was fully devoted to her and loved her deeply.

They wed in the April of 59 BC, and Pompey's love for his wife soon became clear as he seemed to put her before all his political endeavors.

In 55 BC, when Julia was pregnant with their first child, Pompey was caught in a revolting mob, and the blood of some of the rioters splattered his robes. He removed his toga and instructed one of his slaves to carry it back to his house, where it was seen by the heavily pregnant Julia, who feared the worst.

Her shock caused her to go into premature labor and miscarry, which greatly impacted her health afterward.

The next year, she fell pregnant again and died in childbirth, as her body was unable to get better from the trauma of the miscarriage. Her ashes were laid to rest in the field of Mars.

Fortunately, she passed away before the rift between her father and husband came to be, which ultimately led to Pompey's death at the hands of Ptolemy XIII.

Did You Know...

Julius Caesar founded the Julian calendar, which is very similar to the 12-month Gregorian calendar which we use today. In his honor the month Quinticlis was named Julius, or July.

Following suit, his adopted son, Augustus took the month, Sextillia, and named it August! Both months took one day each from February, adding it to their own months to make them longer, which is why poor February is the shortest month of the year.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for facts about Julius Caesar's children then why not take a look at David Ginsberg's children or Prince Philip's children.