Changes

Jump to: navigation, search

Why was Julius Caesar assassinated

134 bytes added, 06:57, 11 May 2018
no edit summary
====The Assassination of Julius Caesar====
By March 44 BCE, it appears that there was an extensive conspiracy aimed at the removal of Caesar from power. The members of the conspiracy were all prominent Romans who were known to the great general<ref> Syme, Ronald, The Roman Revolution (Oxford, Oxford University, 2002), p 218</ref>. The sources on the assassination and the conspiracy are not contemporary and there are some contradictions in them. However, many of the facts of the assassination can be established with a great deal of certainty. The guiding spirit behind the conspiracy is believed to be Cassius, a leading Roman senator. The members of the plot called themselves the liberators, meaning the liberators. The plot involved luring Caesar to Pompey’s theatre where gladiatorial games were to be held in his honour. The Roman leader was notoriously reckless when it came to his personal security. He refused bodyguards and he declared that to live surrounded by guards was not a life he wanted. Caesar had only a few personal attendants who escorted him everywhere. On the Ides of March (the 15th of March) the gladiatorial games were staged. Caesar was expected to come, and he was the guest of honour. Typically, he was late, and this alarmed the conspirators. Then nominal leader of the conspirators was Brutus, who was well known to Caesar. It is alleged that the great Roman had been the lover of Brutus’ mother. Brutus had fought against Caesar at Pharsalus but had been pardoned. Despite this Brutus, agreed to lure Caesar to the theatre to ensure that the plan could be put in motion. He was successful, and he managed to persuade the, de-facto ruler of Rome to attend. As Caesar was entering the theatre where the games were to be held, one of the conspirators approached the leader. He pretended to hand a petition to Caesar. It appears that he was alone as he had left some servants behind in a rush to get to the theatre. More significantly the group had delayed Mark Anthony and he was not accompanying Caesar. This meant that Caesar was alone and virtually defenceless. One of the conspirators possible Casca according to the Greek historian Plutarch seized the toga of Caesar. This shocked him, because as he was dictator his person was sacrosanct. The group of conspirators then drew knives from their toga and proceeded to stab Caesar. It is estimated that up to fifty men, all members of the Roman senatorial order attacked him. Not all of them were able to get near the man they hated and who they believed was a threat to Rome. It was later revealed that Caesar had been stabbed over thirty times and that he died from blood loss. It is reported that his last words were ‘Et Tus Bruti’, meaning you too Brutus. It appears that he regarded Brutus as a kind of son<ref>Plutarch, Life of Julius Caesar, xxv </ref>. This is not stated in all of the sources. Several of the sources state that the great general died at the foot of a statue of his great enemy Pompey.
[[File: Ass 2.jpg|200px|thumb|left|A bust of Brutus]]
By March 44 BCE, members of the Roman elite conspired to remove of Caesar from power. The members of the conspiracy were all prominent Romans who knew Caesar.<ref>Syme, Ronald, <i>The Roman Revolution</i> (Oxford, Oxford University, 2002), p 218</ref> The sources on the assassination and the conspiracy could be best described as imperfect. None of the sources are contemporary and they often contradict each other.
 
However, many of the facts of the assassination have been established with a great deal of certainty. The guiding spirit behind the conspiracy was Cassius, a leading Roman senator. The members of the plot called themselves the liberators. They sought liberate Rome from Caesar's rule/ The plot involved luring Caesar to Pompey’s theatre where gladiatorial games were to be held in his honour. Caesar was notoriously reckless when it came to his personal security. He refused bodyguards and he declared that to live surrounded by guards was not a life he wanted. Caesar had only a few personal attendants who escorted him everywhere.
 
On the Ides of March (the 15th of March) the gladiatorial games were staged. Caesar was expected to come and he was the guest of honour. On the day, he was late which alarmed the conspirators. The nominal leader of the conspirators, Brutus, agreed to bring Caesar to the theatre. Brutus and Caesar were well acquainted. Caesar and Brutus's mother were alleged to have been lovers. Brutus had also fought against Caesar at Pharsalus, but he had been pardoned by Caesar. Despite this long history, Brutus agreed to lure Caesar to the theatre to help their plan into place. Brutus ultimately convinced Caesar to attend the games.
 
As soon Caesar as entered the theatre, one of the conspirators approached the him. The conspirator pretended to hand a petition to Caesar. At this time, not only did Caesar not have any guards, her servants had also fallen behind him. The group had also successfully delayed Mark Anthony, one of Caesar's staunchest allies. This delay prevented Anthony from being by Caesar's side. Caesar was left alone and virtually defenceless.
 
One of the conspirators, possibly Casca, according to the Greek historian Plutarch seized the toga of Caesar. Caesar was surprised and shocked by his action. The group of conspirators then drew knives from their toga and proceeded to repeatedly stab Caesar. It is estimated that up to fifty men, all members of the Roman senatorial order attacked him. Not all of them were able to get near the man they hated and who they believed was a threat to Rome.
 
It was later revealed that Caesar had been stabbed over thirty times and that he died from blood loss. While it is somewhat disputed by historical sources, some sources claimed that Caesar's last words were ‘Et Tu Bruti’, meaning you too Brutus. Brutus's betrayal would have been especially shocking because Caesar viewed Brutus almost as a son.<ref>Plutarch, <i>Life of Julius Caesar</i>, xxv </ref> Several of the sources also state that the Caesar died at the foot of a statue of his hated rival and enemy - Pompey.
====Caesar wanted to be king====
Retrieved from "https://www.dailyhistory.org/Special:MobileDiff/12041"

Navigation menu