A member of the patrician gens Julia, Lucius Julius Caesar was the son of the homonymous consul of 90 BC and Fulvia.
During his consulship, senatorial decrees were passed which limited the number of attendants who could accompany candidates during election campaigns.
As befitting his status as a former consul, Lucius was placed in charge of Gallia Narbonensis;[10] commanding 10,000 men, he was responsible for ensuring that the rebellion of Vercingetorix did not spread into Narbonese Gaul.
Lucius Caesar was then caught up in the events of the civil war, as the Senate, under the influence of Marcus Porcius Cato, demanded that his cousin Gaius give up his armies and his imperium when his proconsular command came to an end.
After the majority of the Senate fled Rome, Lucius remained in the capital while his cousin Gaius fought against the armies led by Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus.
However, the legions became mutinous, forcing Mark Antony, the Master of the Horse, to leave Rome to deal with them in 47 BC.
Desperate to remain neutral as the disputes between the Caesarean faction and the liberatores worsened, Lucius Julius Caesar retired to Neapolis.
However, when two of the ex-consuls decided to withdraw from the delegation (Cicero and Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus), the embassy was disbanded.