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Notes for future inclusion in Assassination of Julius Caesar[edit]
Causes[edit]

After news of Caesar's victory in the Civil War was heard of, the Senate began flattering him with honors. The senators named Caesar Pater Patriae, "Father of the Fatherland", gave Caesar the title of liberator and authorized the creation of a "Temple of Liberty",

Conspiracy (donecheckY)[edit]

According to Plutarch,[1] the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar began with a meeting between Cassius Longinus and his brother-in-law Marcus Brutus in February 44 B.C.E.[2] Next, Brutus and Cassius recruited Decimus Brutus to join them.[3] All three were Roman senators.

The three men then began to recruit others. They attempted to strike a balance: they aimed to recruit enough men to surround Caesar and fight his supporters, but not so many that they would risk being discovered. They preferred friends to acquaintances and recruited neither reckless youths nor feeble elders. In the end, Brutus, Cassius and Decimus recruited senators near the age of forty, as were they. The men assessed each potential recruit with innocent-sounding questions.[4] The ancient sources report that in the end, around sixty to eighty conspirators joined the plot, although the latter number may be a scribal error.[5] Notable conspirators included Gaius Trebonius, Servilius Casca, Tillius Cimber, and Pontius Aquila.[6]

According to Nicolaus of Damascus, the conspirators included Caesar’s soldiers, officers, and civilian associates, and while some joined the conspiracy due to concerns over Caesar’s authoritarianism, many had self-interested motives such as jealousy: feeling that Caesar had not rewarded them enough or that he had given too much money towards Pompey’s former supporters.[7] The conspirators styled themselves as the Liberatores (Liberators).[8] The conspirators did not meet openly but instead assembled at each others’ homes[9] and in small groups[10] in order to plan the assassination.

First, the conspirators discussed the addition of two other men to the conspiracy. Cicero, the famous orator, was trusted by both Cassius and Brutus, but the conspirators felt he lacked daring; at that time, Cicero was over sixty, and the conspirators thought he would be too likely to put safety over speed when planning the assassination.[11] Next, the conspirators considered Mark Antony, aged thirty-nine and one of Caesar’s best generals.[12] The conspirators were reaching a consensus to recruit him until Gaius Trebonius spoke. He revealed that he had personally approached Antony the summer before and asked him to join a different conspiracy to end Caesar’s life. Antony had turned him down. This reveal of the rejection to the old conspiracy caused the recruitment idea to fall apart.[13]

Now, however, a new idea took place. Antony was strong because of his familiarity with the soldiers, and powerful due to his consulship. The conspirators should therefore assassinate Antony as well.[13] Eventually, this idea was expanded upon and split the conspirators into two factions. The optimates, the "Best Men" of Rome, supporters of Pompey,[14] wanted to go back to the way things were before Caesar. This would entail killing both Caesar and all the men around him, including Antony, and reverting Caesar's reforms.[10] The populares,[14] former supporters of Caesar, did not agree to this. They liked Caesar's reforms, and did not agree to a purge. However, even they agreed to kill Antony.[15]

Brutus disagreed with both. The conspirators claimed to be acting based on the principles of law and justice. It would be unjust to kill Antony. While the assassination of Caesar would be viewed as the killing of a tyrant, he said, the killing of Caesar and his supporters would only be seen as a politicized murder and the work of Pompey's former supporters. By keeping Caesar's reforms intact, he stated, they would both keep the support of the Roman people, who Brutus believed opposed Caesar the king, not Caesar the reformer, and the support of Caesar's soldiers. His argument convinced the other conspirators. They began making plans for his assassination.[16]

The conspirators believed that how and where they assassinated Caesar would make a difference. An ambush in a secluded area would have a different impact on public opinion than an assassination in the heart of Rome. The conspirators came up with multiple ideas for the assassination. They considered an attack on Caesar while he was walking on the Via Sacra, the "Sacred Street". Another idea was to wait to attack him during the elections for new consuls. The conspirators would wait for Caesar to begin crossing the bridge that all voters crossed as part of the election procedures,[17] and then topple him over the rail and into the water. There would be conspirators waiting in the water for Caesar, with daggers drawn. A different plan was to attack at a gladiatorial game, which had the benefit that nobody would be suspicious of armed men.[18]

Finally, somebody brought up a different plan. What if the conspirators assassinated Caesar at one of the senate meetings?[18] All other plans had one detractor: while Caesar had no bodyguards, he asked his friends to protect him in public. Most of these were imposing and dangerous-looking and the conspirators were afraid that they would interfere with the assassination. This detriment would not be an issue, since only senators were allowed in the Senate House.[19] The conspirators ultimately settled on this as the chosen plan. Caesar would be leaving the city on 18 March to embark on a military campaign against the Getae and the Parthians. The last senate meeting before that date was on the 15th, the Ides of March, and so the conspirators chose this as the day of the assassination.[18]

In the days leading up to the Ides, Caesar was not completely oblivious to the conspirators' planning. According to Plutarch, a seer warned Caesar to be on his guard against a great peril to him on the Ides of March.[20] Suetonius identifies this seer as a haruspex named Spurinna.[21]

Ides of March[edit]

A seer had previously warned Caesar to be on his guard against a great peril to him on the Ides of March. On the Ides, Caesar was making his way to the senate house when he caught sight of the seer. “Well, the Ides of March have come!” Caesar jested. “Aye, the Ides have come,” said the seer, “but they are not yet gone.”[20]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Parenti, Michael, 1933- (2004). The assassination of Julius Caesar : a people's history of Ancient Rome. New Press. p. 167. ISBN 1-56584-942-6. OCLC 56643456.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Strauss, Barry S., author. (2015). The death of Caesar : the story of historys most famous assassination. p. 67. ISBN 1-4516-6881-3. OCLC 913303337. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Strauss 2015, p. 81.
  4. ^ Strauss 2015, p. 87-88.
  5. ^ Strauss 2015, p. 93.
  6. ^ Strauss 2015, p. 16-17.
  7. ^ Strauss 2015, p. 88.
  8. ^ "The Death of Caesar | History Today". www.historytoday.com. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  9. ^ Donnelley, Paul (2012). Assassination!. United Kingdom: Dataday Publishing. p. 22.
  10. ^ a b Strauss 2015, p. 97.
  11. ^ Strauss 2015, p. 95.
  12. ^ Strauss 2015, p. 15.
  13. ^ a b Strauss 2015, p. 96.
  14. ^ a b M. A., Linguistics; B. A., Latin. "Ancient Roman History: Optimates". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  15. ^ Strauss 2015, p. 97-98.
  16. ^ Strauss 2015, p. 98.
  17. ^ Strauss 2015, p. 99.
  18. ^ a b c Parenti 2003, p. 169.
  19. ^ Strauss 2015, p. 104.
  20. ^ a b Plutarch. Plutarch’s Lives. Translated by Bernadotte Perrin. London: W. Heinemann, New York: Macmillan, 1914-1926.
  21. ^ Suetonius, Divus Julius 81.
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