Beware the Ides of March – The Assassination of Caesar

By March 44 BC, Julius Caesar had established himself as the undisputed master of Rome. After surviving the breakup of the Triumvirate and the ensuing civil war, which spanned across three different continents, Caesar had seen off all challengers and had cemented his position as dictator. Within Rome itself, concerned citizens looked on and pondered their own fate. Would Caesar eventually lay down his position and retire from public life, as Sulla had done as dictator a generation ago? Or would Caesar look to bring down the ailing Republic once and for all, and re-establish a monarchy in Rome.  As the Ides of March approached, the Roman people would not have to wait any longer for their answer. 

The Background

After defeating Pompey at the battle of Pharsalus (48 BC), Julius Caesar would spend the next few years bringing a bloody civil war to a close. Darting from Greece to Egypt, Rome to Spain, Caesar would stamp his authority on the state and destroy the remaining Pompeian forces. Having completely obliterated all challengers, Caesar found himself as the undisputed first citizen of the Republic. As to be expected with such a divisive figure as Caesar, plenty within the Senate still saw him as their enemy. However, by 44 BC it was clear that from both a political and military perspective, Caesar’s enemies were powerless to oppose him. With this in mind, a plot was formed by disgruntled Senators who looked to utilise the only weapon they had left against the dictator – assassination.

It was not as if Caesar had done much to protect himself personally. Earlier in the year, Caesar had offended many in the Senate when he was publicly offered a symbolic crown by Mark Antony – which he had rejected twice. Despite him rejecting this act of political theatre by Antony, this sparked fears that Caesar wished to overthrow the century’s old Republic and install himself as a monarch.  A year prior to this, in 45 BC, Caesar was officially given the title of a deity (god), with this again offending the traditional sentiments of the Senate.  Caesar prided himself in his lack of protection when conducting public business, stating that he would prefer death to being feared. As a result of this he openly walked around the Forum with just his lictors, and refused to pay any attention to rumoured plots upon his life. It was ultimately this sense of openness and goodwill that would prove to be Caesar’s downfall. 

The Ides of March

Lepidus: “What is the sweetest kind of death?” 

Caesar: “The kind that comes without warning” 

As Caesar approached Pompey’s Assembly Hall, the location that the Senate were due to meet on the Ides of March, he saw a soothsayer who had previously warned him of a plot against his life. “The day which you warned me against is here,” Caesar remarked, “and I am still alive” – to which the soothsayer supposedly replied “it is here – but it is not yet past”. Upon arriving at the hall, Caesar was mobbed by Senators who appear eager to greet him. As the mob pushed the dictator on to his chair, daggers were drawn and the blows started raining down upon him. Over 60 Senators joined the affray, stabbing him with daggers across his body. Caesar then covered his head with the ribbons of his toga and awaited death. His assassins came not just from enemies and opponents, but also those that had served under him whilst campaigning in Gaul, alongside some that had been pardoned by Caesar after the civil war. This included both Decimus and Marcus Brutus – with Decimus Brutus having served as a commander under Caesar - alongside the plots ringleader Cassius Longinus (a former Pompeian).

The assassination of Caesar remains one of history’s great scenes. The impact it would have not just on the Republic itself and its wider transformation to a monarchy, but also modern art and literature, would prove immense. To Caesar, the greatest pain may well have not been the violence itself, but the sense of betrayal he felt towards the plotters. Although Caesar now lay dead beneath the statute of Pompey that was housed in the assembly hall - an irony that was not lost on Romans at the time - his legacy and name would influence Roman history for generations to come.