Caesar's death
The Assassination of Julius Caesar occurred on 15 March 44 BC when a group of conspiring Roman senators assassinated the Roman dictator Julius Caesar at the Theatre of Pompey in Rome, stabbing him 23 times with daggers. Caesar's assassins sought to protect the Roman Republic from being transformed into a monarchy, and they called themselves the Liberatores; two years later, they would be defeated by Caesar's nephew Octavian and his right-hand man Mark Antony at the Battle of Philippi, avenging Caesar's death.
Background[]
On 16 January 44 BC, Julius Caesar was granted the title of "dictator for life" by the Roman Senate following his victory over Pompey the Great and his allies during the Roman Civil War. Caesar - a populist general and statesman - proposed pro-plebeian laws which would threaten the financial privileges of the Senate class, and it was rumored that he sought the title of "King of Rome", which had not existed since 509 BC. Many of Caesar's former allies, including Gaius Cassius Longinus, Marcus Junius Brutus, and Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, formed a group of conspirators known as the Liberatores, who plotted to assassinate Caesar and prevent him from being able to restore the monarchy. Caesar was warned by a soothsayer to "beware the Ides of March", but Caesar ignored the warning, believing the man to be crazy. On that day, 15 March 44 BC, he decided to head to the Theatre of Pompey to attend a session of the Senate.
Assassination[]
The conspirators washing their hands in Caesar's blood
Caesar, Cassius, Brutus, and several other Roman senators headed towards the Theatre of Pompey, and there were two ignored signs that Caesar would be assassinated: Aristodemus Knidos gave Caesar a letter warning him of the conspiracy, but it remained unopened by the time that Caesar had been assassinated; in addition, the Senator Popilius Lena wished Cassius that his enterprise that day would thrive (possibly referring to Tillius Cimber's petition), after which Cassius expressed his concerns that the plot had been discovered. However, Caesar remained unaware of the plot, and he arrived at the theatre and sat in a chair to hear Cimber's petition. At the same time, Senator Trebonius prevented Mark Antony from entering the Theatre of Pompey.
As Caesar heard Cimber's petition, Servilius Casca approached Caesar from behind and stabbed him with a dagger, delivering the first blow. As Caesar staggered away from his chair, Lucius Cornelius Cinna delivered the second blow to him, followed by several other senator's daggers. Caesar was repeatedly stabbed before turning to face his old friend Brutus, who was preparing to stab him. A shocked and betrayed Caesar asked, Et tu, Brute? ("You too, Brutus?"), and Brutus proceeded to stab him with his own dagger. Caesar was pushed back towards a statue of Pompey, where his last words were, "Then fall, Caesar." Caesar then collapsed, dead, and the assassins then addressed the Senators who had witnessed the affair. Cinna proclaimed, "Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead! Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets." Cassius then asked of the senators, "Some to the common pulpits, and cry out 'Liberty, freedom, and enfranchisement!'" To justify the murder, Brutus told the senators, "People and senators, be not affrighted; Fly not; stand stiff: ambition's debt is paid." Casca then requested that Brutus go to the pulpit and speak to the Roman masses about the justifications for Caesar's assassination, and Decius Brutus had Cassius join him.
Aftermath[]
Brutus arranged for Mark Antony to bring out Caesar's body and speak at his funeral, but he warned him to not blame the Liberatores for Caesar's death, instead telling him to speak well of Caesar and to remind the crowd that the Liberatores allowed him to do so.
Brutus' speech[]
Brutus' speech to the crowd
Brutus was the first to speak to the crowd, and he asked for the crowd to listen to him and think about his words. He said that he loved Caesar just as much as any of his dear friends had, but that he loved Rome more than he loved Caesar. He then asked the crowd if they would rather die slaves while Caesar was alive, or if they would rather live in a world in which Caesar was dead. Brutus then said that he had killed Caesar because of his ambition, and he said that his actions would only offend enemies of Rome; he then asked the crowd if any of them would identify as enemies of Rome. The entire crowd responded, "None, Brutus, none," and Brutus then continued his speech, noting that Antony was bringing Caesar's body out for burial. He then told the crowd that he would use the same dagger with which he had killed Caesar on himself if it was for the good of Rome, but the crowd shouted, "Live, Brutus! Live! Live!" Some in the crowd suggested that Brutus should be granted a triumph, that he should be given a statue with his ancestors, or that he should become Caesar. When Brutus decided to speak again, the crowd fell silent, and Brutus asked them to stay behind for Antony's eulogy of Caesar.
Antony's speech[]
Antony speaking to the crowd
Antony proceeded to speak to the Roman masses, appealing to their emotions with a speech praising what Caesar had done for Rome, his sympathy with the poor, and his refusal of the crown from him at the Lupercal feast:
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus Hath told you Caesar was ambitious: If it were so, it was a grievous fault, And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it. Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest-- For Brutus is an honourable man; So are they all, all honourable men-- Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral. He was my friend, faithful and just to me: But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man. He hath brought many captives home to Rome Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept: Ambition should be made of sterner stuff: Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man. You all did see that on the Lupercal I thrice presented him a kingly crown, Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition? Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And, sure, he is an honourable man. I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, But here I am to speak what I do know. You all did love him once, not without cause: What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him? O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason. Bear with me; My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, And I must pause till it come back to me.
Caesar's funeral
Antony then showed Caesar's lifeless body to the crowd to have them shed tears and gain sympathy for their fallen hero, and he also teased the crowd about Caesar's will. Antony then roused the mob to drive the conspirators from Rome, despite declaring his intentions against it:
Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up To such a sudden flood of mutiny. They that have done this deed are honourable: What private griefs they have, alas, I know not, That made them do it: they are wise and honourable, And will, no doubt, with reasons answer you. I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts: I am no orator, as Brutus is; But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man, That love my friend; and that they know full well That gave me public leave to speak of him: For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth, Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech, To stir men's blood: I only speak right on; I tell you that which you yourselves do know; Show you sweet Caesar's wounds, poor poor dumb mouths, And bid them speak for me: but were I Brutus, And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony Would ruffle up your spirits and put a tongue In every wound of Caesar that should move The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny.
Antony then revealed that, in his will, Caesar had granted 75 drachmae to each Roman citizen, and also gave his personal estates and orchards to the people. Antony ended this proclamation by praising Caesar, saying "Here was a Caesar! When comes such another?" The angry crowd then began to riot and search out the assassins with the intention of killing them, and Antony said, "Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot, take thou what course thou wilt!" The people of Rome proceeded to riot, killing the poet Helvius Cinna after confusing him for the conspirator Cinna, and Cassius and Brutus later fled Rome, and Antony, Caesar's nephew Octavian, and Caesar's general Marcus Aemilius Lepidus formed a triumvirate to govern the republic.