Julius Caesar's strange behavior was caused by mini-strokes, claim doctors

Doctors have claimed that Julius Caesar's symptoms, which included vertigo, dizziness and weakness in his limbs, were may be the result of mini-strokes rather than the epilepsy.

Doctors at Imperial College claim that a diagnosis of mini-strokes makes sense of symptoms described in Greek and Roman writings, the Gurdian reported.

Health problems that blighted the Roman general Julius Caesar may have resulted from a spate of mini-strokes, according to a fresh review of his symptoms.

In one of the most prominent incidents, Caesar collapsed at the battle of Thapsus in 46BC and had to be carried to safety.

In his biography of Caesar, the Greek historian Plutarch suggested the fall was an epileptic attack. The diagnosis has prevailed for centuries since, though scholars have not been short of other proposals, including bad migraines and seizures brought on by malaria or a parasitic brain infection caught during his Egyptian campaign.

Until now, the possibility that Caesar suffered from cardiovascular disease, or was prone to strokes, has been largely ruled out because he was apparently otherwise well in private and state affairs.

A mini-stroke might also have led to Caesar's apparently emotional response to a speech by Cicero in his later years. Caesar's complexion changed, he began to shake, and he dropped a handful of documents on hearing the great orator.

Another attack might account for his failure to stand up as senators honoured him, an act that was interpreted as defiant.

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.

The doctors argued that for a man of Caesar's prominence, there are simply too few detailed accounts of his attacks for the diagnosis to be credible.