Why and How Was Julius Caesar Assassinated?

In 45 BC, Caesar won the final battle of the civil war, crushing the last of Pompy's forces at Munda in Spain. With that victory, he became the undisputed ruler of Rome and was granted the title dictator Perpetuous, dictator for life. Still, a few of his enemies remained at large.

One of them was Sexus Pompei, the son of Pompei the Great, who held control of Sicily. At the time, Sicily was vital to Rome. It was the republic's main source of grain, and whoever controlled the island had a major advantage in Roman politics.

Even so, Caesar wasn't eager to start another war. He had hoped to strike a deal with Pompy's son and resolve the situation peacefully. That wasn't out of the question since Rome wasn't desperate for grain.

Supplies were steady thanks to Caesar's relationship with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. The fertile Nile Delta kept Italy well stocked, helping to keep the capital's food supply secure. Caesar remained in Rome, where he focused on consolidating his power and preparing for a massive new military campaign, this time against Partha.

His popularity among the people was overwhelming. It was fueled by regular distributions of money and grain, lavish public spectacles funded by the state, and a widely praised decision to cancel back rent owed on housing in the capital. He hadn't forgotten the legionaries who had fought by his side for 13 long years, first in Gaul, then in the civil war.

Part of the army was discharged and veterans were generously rewarded with land grants in North Africa, Spain, Greece, and Panonia. The younger, more battle ready legions were kept in reserve. These were the troops Caesar planned to lead in his future campaign against Partha.

These actions not only strengthen his authority within the military, but also deepened the soldiers personal loyalty to him. To weaken the old senatorial aristocracy, especially the conservative optimate faction, Caesar expanded the Senate. He brought in a large number of new members from the provincial elite from Spain, Siciline, and Narban Gaul and North Africa.

He also granted senatorial status to many of his military commanders, former legit and officers who had served under him in Gaul during the civil war. As a result, the number of senators tripled, growing from 300 to 900. For Caesar, this wasn't just about increasing numbers.

He saw it as a chance to turn the Senate into a tool of his own power and a reliable way to tighten control over the provinces. After all, the new senators were expected to be personally loyal to him. At least, that was the plan.

But Caesar's unchecked power and sweeping reforms were causing growing unease among Rome's aristocracy. This was especially true for former supporters of Pompy and members of the Optimate faction who saw Caesar not as a reformer but a potential tyrant. Many suspected he aimed to destroy the republic and seize absolute power.

accusations that he intended to establish a monarchy became more frequent in Rome. That was a deadly serious charge. Romans took great pride in the fact that back in 509 BC, they had overthrown their last king, Tarkin the Proud, and founded the Republic.

Ever since, the very word Rex, king, had almost become a curse. Any suggestion of restoring royal power was seen as a direct threat to Roman liberty. Back in the 4th century BC, this fear had very real consequences.

Marcus Molinus Capatulinus, a hero of the defense of the Capoleian Hill during the Golic invasion, was executed merely on suspicion of wanting to make himself king. At the time, even a hint of royal ambition could be deadly. Yet Caesar, whether deliberately or not, was giving Romans more and more reasons to believe that was exactly what he wanted.

He received yet another honorary title, Potter Patrii, father of the fatherland. Public ceremonies were held in his honor, sacrifices were offered, and games and theatrical performances were staged. To many, this no longer looked like a tribute to a great statesman.

It looked like royal treatment. What's more, during Senate sessions, Caesar no longer used a traditional karu chair. Instead, he sat on a lavish, highbacked seat adorned with gold and ivory.

Most likely, this was due to chronic back pain. He was 55 years old, and decades of military campaigning had taken a toll on his health. Still, his opponents seized on the image, using it to fuel fresh rumors.

Caesar, they claimed, was already sitting on a throne. The situation was made worse by the symbolism surrounding Caesar. He regularly, not just during triumphs, wore a purple triumphal robe, red boots, and a golden laurel wreath.

To his enemies, these looked suspiciously like royal garments and a crown. It's hard to say exactly why he chose this appearance. The historian Sutonius speculated that the laurel wreath helped him hide his baldness, which reportedly bothered him.

At one Senate session, Caesar failed to stand as custom demanded to honor the senators. This may have simply been due to physical discomfort, but many took it as yet another sign of arrogance, a royallike disdain for Republican norms. Further fueling the fire were rumors about his relationship with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra.

People whispered that Caesar planned to marry her in defiance of Roman law, moved the capital to Alexandria, found a helenistic style monarchy, and named their son Cesarian as his heir. It's hard to say how much truth there was to these claims. Given the powers he'd already held as dictator for life, taking the title of king would have made little legal difference.

It would have been mostly symbolic, but Caesar's silence in the face of these provocations made it easier for many to believe the rumors weren't entirely unfounded. One of the most notorious scandals erupted when a royal daidum was placed on a statue of Caesar. The people's tribunes gas epidus Marilus and Lucius Cassetius Flavis discovered the golden daid on Caesar's statue in the forum and immediately ordered it removed.

Since the Daidm was a symbol of both Jupiter and monarchy, the gesture caused a major public uproar. Tensions escalated even further on January 26th when during a journey along the Aion way, several people in the crowd called out to Caesar, hailing him as Rex, king. Caesar deflected with a clever word play, replying, "Nonsume Rrex said Caesar.

I am not a king but Caesar. " playing on the fact that Rex was both a title and a cognomomen. Still, the tribunes ordered the arrest of the man who had first shouted the word Rex.

Caesar responded harshly. He accused the tribunes of stirring up opposition, stripped them of their offices, and expelled them from the Senate. The move shocked many as the position of tribune was considered sacred and the tribunes themselves were traditionally untouchable.

The decision damaged Caesar's reputation among the plebbeians. The final most alarming signal came during the festival of Lupricalia on February 15th 44 BC. In front of a large crowd, Mark Anthony, Caesar's co-consul at the time, approached him and attempted to place a diadem on his head, saying, "The people offer this to you through me.

" The crowd's reaction was muted, and Caesar refused. Anthony tried again and again. Caesar declined.

Finally, Caesar took the Daidam but immediately offered it to the temple of Jupiter, declaring that only Jupiter had the right to be king of the Romans. This gesture was met with applause from the crowd. Still, many believe the entire scene had been a staged provocation, a way to test the waters.

Had the crowd reacted favorably, Caesar might have accepted the crown. His enemies quickly began spreading an alternative version of the event that Anthony had intended to offer the Daidm as a sacrifice, but Caesar had reached for it eagerly, hoping to accept it. And so Caesar continued to walk a fine line between dictator and king.

More and more people began to believe that he was preparing to take the final step. By late February or early March of 44 BC, a conspiracy had formed in Rome with a single goal to assassinate gas Julius Caesar. Over 60 senators were involved, though history has preserved the names of only about 20.

At the head of the plot were Marcus Ununius Brutus and gas Casius Longinus. Both were close acquaintances of Caesar, although they had sided with Pompy during the Civil War. After his victory, Caesar not only forgave them, but allowed them to return to political life and granted them prestigious positions.

But gratitude soon gave way to unease and unease to hatred. Several of Caesar's former comrades in arms also joined the conspiracy. Among them was Desimus Ununius Brutus, one of his most loyal legit during the golic campaigns and the civil war.

Caesar had given him much, honors, positions, and trust. His betrayal remains one of the most puzzling. Some historians believe that he may have been swayed by his relative, Marcus Brutus, who stood at the heart of the conspiracy.

The list of conspirators also included other former legit and officers of the dictator. Gas trebonus service Galba Tilius Kimber Lucius Manukius Basilus and others. One of the most prominent among them Publius Servlus Kasa, one of Caesar's oldest and most trusted friends.

According to legend, it was Kaska that struck the first blow. The motives of the conspirators varied. Some genuinely believed Caesar was seeking kingship and posed a threat to the republic.

Others were frustrated that their hopes for rewards or influence had gone unfulfilled. Still, others were driven by personal resentment or fear of being pushed out of power. The conspiracy wasn't impulsive.

It was carefully planned. At first, the plotters considered killing Caesar in the forum, a public space rich with political symbolism. But they quickly realized that the forum could easily fill with Caesar's supporters who might rush to his aid if he were being attacked.

So, the plan was changed. The assassination would take place during a session of the Senate, a closed setting where guards were not allowed and where the conspirators would have the advantage in numbers. It offered the chance to act swiftly, decisively, and without outside interference.

Initially, some conspirators pushed for a more extreme course of action to not only kill Caesar but his closest allies, Mark Anthony and Marcus Leipidus. However, Brutus strongly opposed this. He is believed to have been genuinely committed to preserving Republican ideals and wanted the assassination to be seen not as a bloody coup, but as a symbolic act of liberation.

On the eve of the fatal Senate session, Caesar remained confident and calm despite numerous warning signs. Friends repeatedly urged him to keep a personal guard, at least a few legionaries by his side. But Caesar stubbornly refused.

His response would go down in history. Better to die once than to live in constant fear of death. These words rang out with pride, almost stoic in their calm, and at the same time carried a sense of fatalism.

Caesar's wife, Kulpernia, reportedly had a troubling dream that night, a vision of her husband's death. The next morning, during religious ceremonies, the priests declared the omens unfavorable. Caesar who had always taken these auguries seriously decided to cancel his appearance at the Senate session.

This threw the entire plot into jeopardy. In just 2 days, Caesar was set to depart on his campaign against Partha, accompanied by loyal troops. Once he left, the conspirators would likely lose all access to him.

Realizing they might never get another chance, the conspirators turned to deception, they sent Desimus Ununius Brutus, one of Caesar's closest and most trusted allies, to persuade him. Brutus urged Caesar not to cancel, warning that it would appear as an insult to the Senate. Caesar agreed.

According to the accounts of Aion, Suetonius, and Casius Dio, Caesar had several chances to avoid his fate. One of his friends, having learned of the conspiracy, rushed to warn him, but arrived too late. Caesar had already left for the Curia.

Another messenger also missed him by mere minutes, arriving just after the dictator had entered the building. One version of the story claims that on his way to the Senate, someone handed Caesar a note warning him about the plot, but instead of reading it, he simply tucked it into the bundle of documents where it remained unopened. Even earlier, as Plutarch recounts, a well-known soothsayer had warned Caesar, "Beware the eyides of March," that is March 15th.

On the day of the Senate session, as Caesar made his way to the Curia, he happened to spot the same seer on the street. According to Suetonius, he remarked with a touch of irony. The eyides of March have come.

To which the seer calmly replied, "Yes, but they have not yet passed. " The signs had been more than clear, but fate had already made its choice. That day, the Senate session was not held in the usual Curia, which was closed for renovations, but in the theater of Pompei.

The symbolism was grimly ironic. It was beneath the statue of Pompy, Caesar's greatest rival in the Civil War, that Caesar's own end, would come. The conspirators gathered in the theater ahead of time, waiting for the dictator to arrive.

Mark Anthony arrived before him. Strong and physically imposing, Anthony was known not only as a politician but also as a seasoned soldier. His presence made the conspirators uneasy.

Though they had numbers on their side, they feared Anthony might intervene, disrupt the plan, or give Caesar a chance to escape. To neutralize the threat, gas trebonius, a fellow soldier and trusted ally of Anthony, approached him under the pretense of a private and urgent conversation. He led Anthony outside and deliberately delayed him in the street.

Anthony suspected nothing. Meanwhile, Caesar entered the chamber. He took his seat of honor at the head of the Senate directly beneath the statue of Pompy.

One of the conspirators approached with a request, supposedly asking Caesar to allow his exiled brother to return. As he came closer, he suddenly grabbed Caesar by the toga. Caesar tried to push him away and shouted, "This is violence.

" At that moment, Publius Cervilius Kasa struck the first blow with a dagger. The wound was shallow. It merely grazed Caesar's shoulder.

Shocked, Caesar tried to rise. Another conspirator struck and then the blows came in a flurry. One after another.

Caesar collapsed to the floor. According to some accounts, with the last of his strength, he pulled the edge of his toga over his head, a Roman gesture of dignity in the face of death. He was brought down by those he had once called friends.

The famous phrase at two brute and you brutus had no basis in ancient sources. It comes from William Shakespeare's play and became a staple of popular culture. Shakespeare loosely adapted a version of Caesar's last words found in Suatonius who claims Caesar seeing Brutus among the attackers exclaimed in Greek kaisu technon you too my child.

However, scholars consider this detail highly unreliable for several reasons. Plutarch, by contrast, writes that Caesar simply groaned and said nothing at all. 23 stab wounds were counted on Caesar's body, but only one, likely inflicted by Cvilius, proved fatal.

Of the more than 60 conspirators, only a small number actually took part in the attack itself. Gas Julius Caesar did not die at the hands of enemies, but by those he had pardoned, promoted, and considered friends. After the assassination, the conspirators hoped the people would welcome them as liberators of the republic.

They believed that their act would be seen as a noble sacrifice for the sake of Roman freedom. But reality turned out to be very different. The public reaction was the opposite of what they had expected.

Most Romans did not support the assassins. On the contrary, a wave of mourning swept through the city. Caesar was genuinely grieved.

To many, he wasn't a tyrant, but a leader and a reformer who cared for the common people, for the veterans, and for the state. And now he lay dead, killed by the very men he had once raised to power. The climax came with Mark Anony's funeral speech.

He was not only Caesar's political ally, but also his co-consul and close friend. Speaking before the crowd, Anthony held up Caesar's bloodstained toga and described in vivid detail every blow, every wound, every betrayal. Then he read Caesar's will in which the fallen dictator left a large portion of his estate to the people, a monetary gift for every citizen, and public access to his gardens on the right bank of the tibber.

The crowd erupted with emotion. Grief and fury merged into a powerful wave of outrage. No longer did the people see the conspirators as defenders of the republic.

They only saw murderers. Panic swept through the city and riots broke out in the streets. Caesar was not buried in the family tomb of the Uli.

Instead, an enraged crowd carried his body to the Roman forum and in front of thousands burned it on an improvised p. People threw branches, furniture, clothing, anything they could find into the flames. It was more than a burial.

It was the people's farewell to their leader. Afterward, the conspirators were forced to flee the city. They received none of the support that they had so confidently expected.

Some escaped to the provinces. Others tried to rally the backing of the army. But Rome had already made its choice.

In the years that followed, most of the conspirators met violent ends. Some in battle, some at the hands of the people, and some by suicide. like Marcus Ununius Brutus.

Caesar's death did not bring back the republic. On the contrary, it unleashed a new and even bloodier civil war. One that would ultimately end with the birth of the empire.

But that's another story. Once again, if you've made it to the end of this video, we really appreciate it if you liked and subscribed. We have a whole team behind this, and we really love seeing you follow along on our journey through ancient civilizations.

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