Science Julius Caesar may have suffered mini-strokes, say doctors Centuries-old diagnosis of epilepsy may be overturned by new research which suggests that Caesar suffered a number of strokes Doctors at Imperial College claim that a diagnosis of mini-strokes makes sense of symptoms described in Greek and Roman writings. The great military leader, who was instrumental in the rise of the Roman empire, suffered a host of medical ailments, from vertigo, dizziness and insensibility to limb weakness that on occasion caused him to fall over. “He reported symptoms of headaches, vertigo and later on mentioned giddiness and insensibility, when he could not stand up as senators honoured him.” 
 
 Caesar famously collapsed at the Battle of Thapsus in 46BC and had to be carried to safety. “All of the symptoms reported in Caesar’s life are compatible with him having multiple mini-strokes,” said Francesco Galassi, a medical doctor at Imperial who conducted the analysis with Hutan Ashrafian, a surgeon at the college. Born in 100BC, Caesar rose swiftly through the political system, conquered Gaul, and crossed the Rubicon river under arms, sparking the civil war that ultimately left him dictator of Rome. “To date, possible cardiovascular explanations have always been ruled out on the grounds that until his death he was supposedly otherwise physically well during both private and stately affairs,” said an excerpt of the study written by Francesco Galassi and Hutan Ashrafian. The doctors, who researched ancient works including those by Roman scholar Pliny the Elder, also suggested that damage to the brain caused by the mini-strokes could have led to his changing personality and depression in later life. At the time of Caesar’s reign, epilepsy was considered a “sacred disease”, and it may have suited him, and his chosen heir, Octavian, to maintain that he suffered from the disorder.  Bill Maher tells Judy Miller: It’s the 4th Estate’s job to ‘call bullsh*t on the military-industrial complex’ 
 
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– Julius Caesar crumpled to the ground during the Battle of Thapsus in 46BC, and theories for the dizziness and limb weakness said to have caused that fall have ranged from epilepsy to malaria seizures and parasitic infection, the Guardian notes. But now two Imperial College London researchers have proposed his vertigo and subsequent personality changes may have been the result of mini-strokes, the AFP reports. The study in Neurological Sciences posits that even though a series of small cardiovascular failures makes more sense than the prevailing epilepsy theory, the explanation has been widely ignored "on the grounds that until his death he was supposedly otherwise physically well during both private and stately affairs." In addition to Caesar's reported physical symptoms—including the vertigo and headaches, as well as "giddiness and insensibility"—the researchers note a seemingly significant change in the Roman statesman's mental state as the years went on: He apparently suffered from depression, which they believe may have been caused by stroke-induced brain damage. The scientists point out research suggesting both Caesar's father and another relative died suddenly while putting their shoes on, and that "even if Caesar participated in an active lifestyle and may have benefited from a Mediterranean diet, there is the added possibility of genetic predisposition toward cardiovascular disease," per the Guardian. (Caesar was the guy behind leap year.)