Caesar

 is a former Follower of the Apocalypse and the charismatic leader of the Caesar's Legion.

Background
Caesar is the undisputed leader of the Legion. His family onced lived near the Boneyard until his father was killed by raiders when he was two years old, forcing his mother and him to flee - eventually finding sanctuary with the Followers of the Apocalypse. He received a free education from the Followers and eventually became a full member; specializing in anthropology and linguistics (though he is also well-versed in modern history, as evidenced by his knowledge of the Enclave). He, along with another companion named Calhoun, was sent east to study tribal languages - a task he considered a waste of time. He was instructed to meet with a Mormon missionary named Joshua Graham who was a tribal specialist.

They were later captured by the Blackfoot tribe for ransom. At the time the tribe was at war with several other tribes, a war they were inevitably going to lose. Unwilling to be destroyed along with them, and against the wishes of his companions, Caesar chose to use his knowledge to train the Blackfoot tribe in the art of warfare after witnessing their lack of knowledge first hand. By showing them how to clean and maintain guns, operate with small unit tactics, create their own explosives and to strike at their weakest enemies first; divide et impera - divide and conquer. He quickly impressed them enough to the point where he was made their leader.

He also introduced the concept of total war to the tribes around them. They defeated the weakest of their enemies first and enslaved many of the able-bodied survivors but Caesar had the rest, including women and children, killed. When they confronted the next tribe, they brought an emissary back to view the carnage. Caesar knew that though the tribes had always fought each other via occasional skirmishes, he considered them to only be "playing at war". The concept of total war was an entirely new, and terrifying, facet to his strategy that they had never confronted before and would form the core of the Legion's tactics and outlook.

His other companion was sent back to the Followers to inform them of what he was doing and with Joshua Graham, formed the Legion out of the following tribes that had either been conquered or had chosen to capitulate to avoid total destruction. Caesar chose the concept of the Roman Empire to model the Legion after because of its parallels to what he considered the status-quo of the post-apocalyptic world. Ideologically, the Roman Empire was also appealing to him for its ability to assimilate those it conquered, the destruction of such "tribal" identities a key goal to the Legion's long-term strategy of unification. He intended to erase their individual identities and replace them all with a single, monolithic culture - the Legion - where individuals have no value outside of what they offer the greater whole; long term stability at all costs.

He had also seen his campaign as similar to that of his namesake, Julius Caesar, who crossed the river Rubicon and conquered the vast region of Gaul in Europe more than two thousand years earlier - he views the Colorado river in the same respect; crossing it will be the beginning of his unstoppable conquest of the west. By seizing New Vegas and driving back the NCR, Caesar felt that he would finally be able to elevate the Legion into a legitimate nation by giving it its own "Rome" - transforming the Legion from an nomadic army into a true empire; a militaristic, imperialist, autocratic, culturally homogenous empire whose ruler held undisputed power - a "Pax Romana".

Caesar is also referred to as the "Conqueror of the 86 Tribes" and whose Legion had never met any serious defeat until their confrontation with the NCR at the First Battle of Hoover Dam.

Though they had confronted the NCR before and had actually succeeded in destroying one of their major fortifications, Fort Aradesh, his forces (under Legate Graham) were devastated at Hoover Dam and would take several years to recover. Since that time, most of Caesar's forces have moved east of Texas, past the legendary cyclones that rage for most of the months of the year.

He regards the NCR as only an extension of the corruption that existed during the Old World and is ultimately doomed to failure and repeat the mistakes of the Old World. It exists as the antithesis to the Legion and as a catalyst for change that only a confrontation with it can bring. In his view, the NCR does not have a long-term solution to the problems of the Wasteland - the bombs had reset humanities progress and he believed the time had come to rebuild it into something new.

Appearances
Caesar appears in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes

 * Metzger, the leader of the Slavers Guild from the Den, was initially named Caesar.

Cezar Цезарь