Who is Julius Caesar from Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician and what is their importance?

Only a few years Cicero's junior, Julius Caesar was early on Cicero's good friend and a friend of his family. Their lives were intertwined in a number of ways and their careers and fame rose together. However, over time Cicero and Caesar's interests grew apart when Caesar's desire for power led him to abandon loyalty to the Roman republican form of government. Caesar's prowess as a military general led him to gain great fame, as much as the great Roman general Pompey. Together with Crassus, they led the First Triumvirate until Crassus was eclipsed and Pompey and Caesar began to plot against one another. Eventually their scheming led to civil war. Caesar was too politically and militarily shrewd for Pompey and ultimately brought about his death, becoming the first Dictator of Rome.