The ides of March: Julius Caesar is murdered - Mar 15, 44 B.C. - HISTORY.com The Roman leader Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times by a mob of mutinous senators in 44 B.C. Could he possibly have survived long enough to utter his famous last words? Crime The ides of March: Julius Caesar is murdered Share this: The ides of March: Julius Caesar is murdered Author The ides of March: Julius Caesar is murdered URL Publisher A+E Networks Julius Caesar, the”dictator for life”of the Roman Empire, is murdered by his own senators at a meeting in a hall next to Pompey’s Theatre. The conspiracy against Caesar encompassed as many as sixty noblemen, including Caesar’s own protege, Marcus Brutus. Caesar was scheduled to leave Rome to fight in a war on March 18 and had appointed loyal members of his army to rule the Empire in his absence. The Republican senators, already chafing at having to abide by Caesar’s decrees, were particularly angry about the prospect of taking orders from Caesar’s underlings. Cassius Longinus started the plot against the dictator, quickly getting his brother-in-law Marcus Brutus to join.

Caesar should have been well aware that many of the senators hated him, but he dismissed his security force not long before his assassination. Reportedly, Caesar was handed a warning note as he entered the senate meeting that day but did not read it. After he entered the hall, Caesar was surrounded by senators holding daggers. Servilius Casca struck the first blow, hitting Caesar in the neck and drawing blood. The other senators all joined in, stabbing him repeatedly about the head. Marcus Brutus wounded Caesar in the groin and Caesar is said to have remarked in Greek, “You, too, my child?” In the aftermath of the assassination, Antony attempted to carry out Caesar’s legacy. However, Caesar’s will left Octavian in charge as his adopted son. Cassius and Brutus tried to rally a Republican army and Brutus even issued coins celebrating the assassination, known as the Ides of March. Octavian vowedrevenge against the assassins, two years later Cassius and Brutuscommitted suicide after learning that Octavian’s forces had defeated theirs at the Battle of Philippa in Greece. Antony took his armies east, where he hooked up with Caesar’s old paramour, Cleopatra.

Octavian and Antony fought for many years until Octavian prevailed. In 30 B.C., Antonycommitted suicide. Octavian, later known as Augustus, ruled the Roman Empire for many more years. Related Videos Beware the Ides of March! Julius Caesar's Fateful Day Beware the Ides of March! Julius Caesar's Fateful Day What were the Ides of March, and why was Julius Caesar warned about them? The death of Caesar, detail. Getty Images/Leemage/Hulton Fine Art Collection By N.S. Gill Updated November 18, 2016. The Ides of March (Eidus Martiae in Latin) is a day on the traditional Roman calendar that corresponds to the date of March 15th on our current calendar. It is most commonly associated with the assassination of Julius Caesar , on the Ides of March in the year 44 BC. A Warning The Ides of March became well-known and notorious as the official date of Julius Caesar’s assassination in the year 44 BC. Caesar ’s assassination was the result of a conspiracy by a coalition of Roman senators. CAESAR to SOOTHSAYER: The Ides of March are come.

SOOTHSAYER (softly): Ay, Caesar, but not gone. —Shakespeare's Julius Caesar According to Catullus , the haruspex Spurinna warned Caesar in mid-February 44, telling him that the next 30 days were to be fraught with peril, but the danger would end on the Ides of March. When they met on the Ides of March Caesar said "you are aware, surely, that the Ides of March have passed" and Spurinna responded, "surely you realize that they have not yet passed?" continue reading below our video What are the Seven Wonders of the World The Nick of Time: Why Caesar Had to Die There were said to be several plots to kill Caesar and for a multitude of reasons. According to Suetonius, the Sybelline oracle had declared that Parthia could only be conquered by a Roman king, and Cotta was planning to call for Caesar to be named king in mid-March. Brutus and Cassius, the main conspirators in the plot to kill Caesar, were magistrates of the Senate, and as they would not be allowed to either oppose the crowning of Caesar nor remain silent, they had to kill him.

Caesar was a demagogue, a ruler who set his own rules bypassing the Senate to do what he liked, finding supporters in the Roman proletariat and his soldiers. The senate made Caesar dictator for life in February, but in truth, he had been the military dictator governing Rome from the field since 49. When he returned to Rome, he kept his stringent rules. The senators feared his power, and that he might overthrow the senate in favor of general tyranny. He was murdered near the Theatre of Pompey where the Senate was meeting on the Ides of March. What Are Ides, Anyway? The Roman calendar did not number days of an individual month sequentially from first to last as is done today. Rather than sequential numbering, the Romans counted backwards from three specific points in the lunar month, depending on the length of the month. Those points were the Nones (which fell on the fifth in months with 30 days and the seventh day in 31 day months), the Ides (the thirteenth or the fifteenth), and the Kalends (the first of the following month). The Ides typically occurred near a month’s midpoint; specifically on the fifteenth in March.

The length of the month was determined by the number of days in the moon's cycle: March's Ides date was determined by the full moon. A Historical Moment Before Caesar went to the theater of Pompey to attend the Senate meeting, he had been given advice not to go, but he did not listen. Doctors had advised him not to go for medical reasons, and his wife, Calpurnia, also did not want him to go based off of troubling dreams that she had. Caesar’s assassination transformed Roman history , as it was a central event in marking the transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. His assassination resulted directly in the Liberator’s Civil War, which was waged to avenge his death. With Caesar gone, the Roman Republic did not last long and was eventually replaced by the Roman Empire, which lasted approximately 500 years. The initial two centuries of the Roman Empire’s existence were known to be a time of supreme and unprecedented stability and prosperity.

The time period came to be known as “Roman Peace.” Anna Perenna Festival Before it became notorious as the day of Caesar's death, the Ides of March was a day of religious observations on the Roman calendar, and it is possible that the conspirators chose the date because of that. In ancient Rome, a festival for Anna Perenna (Annae festum geniale Pennae) was held on the Ides of March. Perenna was a Roman deity of the circle of the year. Her festival originally concluded the ceremonies of the new year, as March was the first month of the year on the original Roman calendar. Thus, Perenna’s festival was celebrated enthusiastically by the common people with picnics, eating, drinking, games, and general revelry. The Anna Perenna festival was, like many Roman carnivals , a time when celebrants could subvert traditional power relations between social classes and gender roles when people were allowed to speak freely about sex and politics. Most importantly the conspirators could count on the absence of at least a part of the proletariat from the center of the city, while others would be watching the gladiator's games. Sources Edited and updated by K. Kris Hirst Balsdon JPVD. 1958.

The Ides of March. Historia: Zeitschrift Für Alte Geschichte 7(1):80-94. The Ides of March: The Assassination of Julius Caesar Explained | Made From History The Ides of March: The Assassination of Julius Caesar Explained By Colin Ricketts Classical Antiquity , Romans / Last Updated: March 9, 2015 The date that Julius Caesar, the most famous Roman of them all, was killed at or on his way to the Senate is one of the most famous in world history. The events of the Ides of March – March 15th in the modern calendar – in 44 BC had enormous consequences for Rome, triggering a series of civil wars that saw Caesar’s great-nephew Octavian secure his place as Augustus, the first Roman Emperor. But what actually happened on this famous date? The answer must be that we will never know in any great detail or with any great certainty. There is no eye-witness account of Caesar’s death. Nicolaus of Damascus wrote the earliest surviving account, probably around 14 AD.

While some people believe he may have spoken to witnesses, nobody knows for sure, and his book was written for Augustus so may be biased. Suetonius’ telling of the tale is also believed to be fairly accurate, possibly using eye-witness testimony, but was written around 121 AD. The Conspiracy Against Caesar Even the briefest study of Roman politics will open a can of worms rich in plotting and conspiracies. Rome’s institutions were relatively stable for their time, but military strength and popular support (as Caesar himself showed), could rewrite the rules very quickly. Power was always up for grabs. Caesar’s extraordinary personal power was bound to excite opposition. Rome was then a republic and doing away with the arbitrary and often-abused power of kings was one of its founding principles. Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger – a key conspirator. In 44 BC Caesar had been appointed dictator (a post previously awarded only temporarily and in times of great crisis) with no time limit on the term. The people of Rome certainly saw him as a king, and he may have already have been regarded as a god.

More than 60 high-ranking Romans, including Marcus Junius Brutus, who may have been Caesar’s illegitimate son, decided to do away with Caesar. They called themselves the Liberators, and their ambition was to restore the power of the Senate. The Ides of March This is what Nicolaus of Damascus records: The conspirators considered a number of plans for killing Caesar, but settled on an attack in the Senate, where their togas would provide cover for their blades. Rumours of a plot were going around and some of Caesar’s friends tried to stop him going to the Senate. His doctors were concerned by dizzy spells he was suffering and his wife, Calpurnia, had had worrying dreams. Brutus stepped in to reassure Caesar that he would be fine. He is said to have made some sort of religious sacrifice, revealing bad omens, despite several attempts to find something more encouraging. Again many friends warned him to go home, and again Brutus reassured him. In the Senate, one of the plotters, Tilius Cimber, approached Caesar under the pretext of pleading for his exiled brother. He grabbed Caesar’s toga, preventing him from standing and apparently signalling the attack.

Nicolaus recounts a messy scene with men injuring each other as they scramble to kill Caesar. Once Caesar was down, more conspirators rushed in, perhaps keen to make their mark on history, and he was reportedly stabbed 35 times. Caesar’s famous last words, ‘Et tu, Brute?’ are almost certainly an invention, given longevity by William Shakespeare’s dramatised version of events. The Aftermath: Republican Ambitions Backfire, War Ensues Expecting a hero’s reception, the assassins ran out into the streets announcing to the people of Rome that they were free again. But Caesar had been enormously popular, particularly with ordinary people who had seen Rome’s military triumphant while they had been well treated and entertained by Caesar’s lavish public entertainments. Caesar’s supporters were ready to use this people power to support their own ambitions. Augustus The Senate voted an amnesty for the assassins, but Caesar’s chosen heir, Octavian, was quick to return to Rome from Greece to explore his options, recruiting Caesar’s soldiers to his cause as he went. Caesar’s supporter, Mark Antony, also opposed the Liberators, but may have had ambitions of his own.

He and Octavian entered into a shaky alliance as the first fighting of a civil war began in northern Italy. On November 27th, 43 BC, the Senate named Antony and Octavian as two heads of a Triumvirate, together with Caesar’s friend and ally Lepidus, tasked with taking on Brutus and Cassius, two of the Liberators. They set about murdering many of their opponents in Rome for good measure. The Liberators were defeated in two battles in Greece, allowing the Triumvirate to rule for an uneasy 10 years. Mark Antony then made his move, marrying Cleopatra, Caesar’s lover and queen of Egypt, and planning to use Egypt’s wealth to fund his own ambitions. Both of them committed suicide in 30 BC after Octavian’s decisive victory at the naval Battle of Actium. By 27 BC Octavian could rename himself Caesar Augustus. He would go on to be remembered as the first Emperor of Rome. Octavian never called himself Emperor. He called himself ‘First Citizen’. the next Emperor called himself Emperor. GrahamLand Hi Ken. Thanks for your comment. I’ve reworded the last fact.

You are right about Augustus being Princeps, though if I recall correctly, most if not all historical sources I’ve seen refer to him as the first Emperor of Rome. Ides of March: What Is It? Why Do We Still Observe It? Ides of March: What Is It? Why Do We Still Observe It? View Images A later artist's conception of the funeral of Julius Caesar, who was killed on the Ides of March in 44 B.C. Illustration by C. Vottrier, Mary Evans Picture Library/Alamy Caesar: The ides of March are come. Soothsayer: Aye, Caesar, but not gone. —Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene 1 Related Content The Case for and Against Daylight Saving Time Thanks to Shakespeare's indelible dramatization, March 15—also called the Ides of March—is forever linked with the 44 B.C. assassination of Julius Caesar, and with prophecies of doom.

"That line of the soothsayer, 'Beware the ides of March,' is a pithy line, and people remember it, even if they don't know why," said Georgianna Ziegler, head of reference at Washington, D.C.'s Folger Shakespeare Library. Until that day Julius Caesar ruled Rome . The traditional Republican government had been supplanted by a temporary dictatorship, one that Caesar very much wished to make permanent. But Caesar's quest for power spawned a conspiracy to have him killed, and on the Ides of March, a group of prominent Romans brought him to an untimely end in the Senate House. It Wasn't Just Caesar Who Paid the Price on Ides of March Aside from its historical connection, the concept of the Ides of March would have resonated with English citizens in 1599, the year Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar was probably performed, Ziegler said. "This whole business of the Ides of March and timekeeping in the play would have had a strong impact on audiences," she said.

"They were really struck by the differences between their Julian calendar [a revision of the Roman calendar created by Caesar] and the Gregorian calendar kept in Catholic countries on the continent." Because the two calendars featured years of slightly different lengths, they had diverged significantly by the late 16th century and were several days apart. (For more on complications caused by the Julian and Gregorian calendars, see "Leap Year 2012: Why We Need February 29." ) In Roman times the Ides of March was mostly notable as a deadline for settling debts. That calendar featured ides on the 15th in March, May, July, and October or on the 13th in the other months. The word's Latin roots mean "divide," and the date sought to split the month, originally at the rise of the full moon. But because calendar months and the lunar cycle are slightly out of sync, this connection was soon lost. Ides of March Assassins: Heroes or Murderers? The Ides of March took on special significance after Caesar's assassination—but observance of the anniversary at the time varied among Roman citizens.

"How they felt depended on their political position," said Philip Freeman, a classicist at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and the author of Julius Caesar. "Some were thrilled that Caesar had died, and some were horrified," he said. The debate about Caesar's fate has extended through the ages and was taken up by some major literary figures. In Dante's Inferno, for example, Caesar is in Limbo, a relatively pleasant place in hell reserved for virtuous non-Christians. "But Brutus [one of the leaders of the assassination] is down in the very center of hell with Judas, being munched on by Satan—it's about as bad as you can get," Freeman said. The Folger library's Ziegler thinks the Bard had a more balanced view. "I think Shakespeare shows both of them as being humans with their own weaknesses and strong points," she said. Whether they were heroes or murderers, the real-life Ides of March assassins were subjected to less than pleasant outcomes. "Within a couple of years Brutus and [fellow assassin] Cassius were dead," Freeman noted.

"They were not able to bring back the Republic, and really what they did was usher in more of a permanent dictatorship under the future Roman emperors—the opposite of what they intended." Comment on This Story Beware the Ides of March: Assassinations That Shook the World | TIME.com Beware the Ides of March: Assassinations That Shook the World On the anniversary of Julius Caesar's assassination, TIME recalls other politically motivated murders that shook the world — and in some cases changed the course of history March 15, 2013 Read Later Assassination as a political tool is as old as … well, as old as politics. By knife, gun and garrote, in dynastic fratricides, bloody palace intrigues and modern presidential killings, the murder of a head of state — whether by a lone wolf or a clan of executioners — sends a singular message: we’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take it anymore. First thing on our agenda toward setting things right? A change in leadership, no ballot box required. The Ideas of March, of course, is famous as the day in 44 BC on which Julius Caesar himself was assassinated by a group of Roman senators.

Shakespeare immortalized the date with a phrase now recognized around the English-speaking world — “Beware the Ides of March” — although it’s likely that many of those who occasionally employ the phrase probably have no clue 1) who first uttered the line (it was a soothsayer in the Bard’s 1599 Tragedy of Julius Caesar) or 2) what it actually refers to. Nevertheless, on the Ides of March 2013, TIME recalls not only that long-ago assassination of Gaius Julius Caesar, but a series of other politically motivated murders that shook the world — and in some cases changed the course of history. The Ides of March - Mar 15, 44 B.C. - HISTORY.com The Ides of March Publisher A+E Networks Gaius Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome, is stabbed to death in the Roman Senate house by 60 conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. Caesar, born into the Julii, an ancient but not particularly distinguished Roman aristocratic family, began his political career in 78 B.C. as a prosecutor for the anti-patrician Popular Party.

He won influence in the party for his reformist ideas and oratorical skills, and aided Roman imperial efforts by raising a private army to combat the king of Pontus in 74 B.C. He was an ally of Pompey, the recognized head of the Popular Party, and essentially took over this position after Pompey left Rome in 67 B.C. to become commander of Roman forces in the east. In 63 B.C., Caesar was elected pontifex maximus, or “high priest,” allegedly by heavy bribes. Two years later, he was made governor of Farther Spain and in 64 B.C. returned to Rome, ambitious for the office of consul. The consulship, essentially the highest office in the Roman Republic, was shared by two politicians on an annual basis. Consuls commanded the army, presided over the Senate and executed its decrees, and represented the state in foreign affairs. Caesar formed a political alliance–the so-called First Triumvirate–with Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus, the wealthiest man in Rome, and in 59 B.C. was elected consul.

Although generally opposed by the majority of the Roman Senate, Caesar’s land reforms won him popularity with many Romans. In 58 B.C., Caesar was given four Roman legions in Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum, and during the next decade demonstrated brilliant military talents as he expanded the Roman Empire and his reputation. Among other achievements, Caesar conquered all of Gaul, made the first Roman inroads into Britain, and won devoted supporters in his legions. However, his successes also aroused Pompey’s jealousy, leading to the collapse of their political alliance in 53 B.C. The Roman Senate supported Pompey and asked Caesar to give up his army, which he refused to do. In January 49 B.C., Caesar led his legions across the Rubicon River from Cisalpine Gaul to Italy, thus declaring war against Pompey and his forces. Caesar made early gains in the subsequent civil war, defeating Pompey’s army in Italy and Spain, but was later forced into retreat in Greece. In August 48 B.C., with Pompey in pursuit, Caesar paused near Pharsalus, setting up camp at a strategic location.

When Pompey’s senatorial forces fell upon Caesar’s smaller army, they were entirely routed, and Pompey fled to Egypt, where he was assassinated by an officer of the Egyptian king. Caesar was subsequently appointed Roman consul and dictator, but before settling in Rome he traveled around the empire for several years and consolidated his rule. In 45 B.C., he returned to Rome and was made dictator for life. As sole Roman ruler, Caesar launched ambitious programs of reform within the empire. The most lasting of these was his establishment of the Julian calendar, which, with the exception of a slight modification and adjustment in the 16th century, remains in use today. He also planned new imperial expansions in central Europe and to the east. In the midst of these vast designs, he was assassinated on March 15, 44 B.C., by a group of conspirators who believed that his death would lead to the restoration of the Roman Republic. However, the result of the “Ides of March” was to plunge Rome into a fresh round of civil wars, out of which Octavian, Caesar’s grand-nephew, would emerge as Augustus, the first Roman emperor, destroying the republic forever.

Related Videos The Ides of March: The assassination of Julius Caesar and how it changed the world - Telegraph History The Ides of March: The assassination of Julius Caesar and how it changed the world Caesar's death paved the way for the Roman empire after a bloody cycle of civil wars, and secured him the hallowed immortality he always craved La Mort de César (ca. 1859–1867) by Jean-Léon Gérôme By Dominic Selwood Comments Spurinna was a haruspex. His calling was vital, if a little unusual, requiring him to see the future in the warm entrails of sacrificial animals. At the great festival of Lupercalia on the 15th of February 44 B.C., he was a worried man. While priests were running around the Palatine Hill hitting women with thongs to make them fertile, Spurinna was chewing over a terrible omen. "Spurinna knew it was a terrible sign: a sure portent of death." The bull that Julius Caesar, Dictator of Rome , had sacrificed earlier that day had no heart. Spurinna knew it was a terrible sign: a sure portent of death.

The following day, the haruspex oversaw another sacrifice in the hope it would give cause for optimism, but it was just as bad: the animal had a malformed liver. There was nothing for it but to tell Caesar. In grave tones, Spurinna warned the dictator that his life would be in danger for a period of 30 days, which would expire on the 15th of March. Caesar dismissed the concerns. Although in his scramble for political power he had been made the chief priest of Rome (Pontifex Maximus), he was a campaign soldier by trade, and not bothered by the divinatory handwringing of seers like Spurinna. The Ides of March As the 30 days passed, nothing whatsoever happened. Yet when the 15th of March dawned, Caesar’s wife awoke distressed after dreaming she held his bloodied body. Fearing for his life, she begged him not to leave the house. His dreams, too, had also been unsettling. He had been flying through the air, and shaken hands with Jupiter. But he pushed any concerns aside.

The day was an important annual celebration in Rome’s religious calendar, and he had called a special meeting of the Senate. His first appointment of the day was a quick sacrifice at a friend’s house. Spurinna the seer was also there. Caesar joked that his prophecies must be off as nothing had happened. Spurinna muttered that the day was not yet over. The sacrifices proceeded, but the animals’ innards were blemished and the day was plainly inauspicious. Caesar knew when to call it a day, and agreed to postpone the meeting of the Senate and to go home. Julius Caesar Photo: Alamy Later that morning, his fellow military politician and protégé Decimus called round, urging him to come to the Senate in case his absence was seen as mocking or insulting. Persuaded by his friend, soldier to soldier, Caesar agreed to go in person to announce the meeting would be postponed. Shortly after, a slave arrived at Caesar’s house to warn him of the plot against his life. But he was too late: Caesar had left.

A short while later, a man named Artemidorus of Cnidus pushed through the jostling crowds and handed Caesar a roll setting out details of the plot. But the crowds were so thick he had no chance to read it. The conspiracy and assassination The main Senate House was being rebuilt on Caesar’s orders, so the meeting was instead at the Curia behind the porticoed gardens attached to the great Theatre of Pompey. Another round of animal sacrifices before the start of the session was unfavourable, and Caesar waited outside, troubled. Again Decimus spoke with him. Unaware of his friend’s treachery, Caesar allowed himself to be led towards the chamber by the hand. Decked out in his triumphant general’s reddish-purple toga embroidered in gold, Julius Caesar, Dictator of Rome, entered the Senate’s meeting room, and ascended his golden throne. 10 facts about the Ides of March murder The end came quickly. A group of Senators approached the dais. Daggers were produced from the capsae document chests the slaves had recently brought in. The metal flashed. In a frenzied attack, the most powerful man in Rome was stabbed 23 times.

He fell, still clutching the unread scroll warning him to stay away. In the English-speaking world, we know a slightly different story, thanks to Shakespeare. He lifted Caesar’s dramatic dying words, “Et tu, Brute?” from an earlier play by Richard Edes, and made them a part of the assassination mythology. In reality, most Roman writers state that Caesar said nothing, but merely pulled his toga up over his face. They do note, however, that some people were spreading the story that Caesar had gasped, “καὶ σὺ, τέκνον?/You too, my child?” to Brutus. (Many Romans of all classes were bilingual, with the more educated frequently preferring to speak Greek.) Most famously, however, Shakespeare does away with Spurinna, the venerable entrails-gazer, and instead invents a soothsayer in a crowd, who shouts the famous prophetic warning to Caesar, “Beware the Ides of March!” It is, perhaps, one of Shakespeare’s most famous lines and, as a direct result, “the Ides” has come to mean a date of doom.

Ray Fearon as Mark Antony and Paterson Joseph as Brutus in Gregory Doran's Julius Caesar. Photo: Nigel Norrington The Roman calendar In fact, it implies neither good nor bad. In Rome’s impossibly complicated calendar, every month had an Ides. Although Monty Python spelled out many of the Romans’ achievements, a user-friendly dating system was not among them. In the mists of time, the early Romans began each month at the new moon. They called that day the Kalends (Kalendae). Two weeks later came the full moon, which they named the Ides (Idus). Midway between the two was the half-moon, which they referred to as the Nones (Nonae). For some inexplicable reason, they then chose to refer to every other day in the month in terms of its relationship to the next one of these coming up. So they would say, “five days before the Kalends of March,” or “three days before the Nones of June”. The Kalends was always the 1st of the month. Over time, the others came to fall on set days.

In March, May, July, and October, the Nones was the 7th and the Ides was the 15th. For the remaining months, the Nones was the 5th and the Ides was the 13th. Therefore the 4th of July was IIII Nones July (ie four days before the Nones - the calculation is inclusive, so both the 4th and the 7th are counted). Although every month had an Ides in the middle, the date chosen by Caesar’s murderers was nevertheless significant. Traditionally, the Roman year started on the 1st of March, meaning the Ides was the first full moon of the year. It was a major celebration, and the festival of Anna Perenna, the goddess of the cycle of the year. Her special gift was to reward people with long life. Caesar’s assassins clearly thought they were giving long life to Rome (and their own political careers) by removing the dictator they believed was blighting it all. A world changing aftermath As it happens, the murder of Caesar did turn out to be a key moment in history. Caesar may have brought Rome glory in his conquest of Gaul.

He may have started and won a civil war that eventually vested absolute power in him. He may have begun highly popular social and political reforms, and even had time to abolish the chaotic ever-changing calendar and bring in his “Julian calendar,” which lasted a millennium and a half until tweaked by Pope Gregory in 1582. But in his muscular assumption of power, and his popularity among the citizenry, he threatened the deep vested interests of the patricians, who had run the Republic and the Senate for so long. It was enough to seal his fate. "The murder of Caesar did turn out to be a key moment in history." With Caesar gone, Rome spiralled into another cycle of civil wars, which resulted in one of the most significant constitutional transformations in history. The Eternal City abandoned its trademark republican system of government and became an empire. In place of the Senate electing two consuls each year as joint heads of state, they transferred power to a largely omnipotent emperor. Ever since, people have argued which system was better.

Supporters of the Republic point to how it threw off the tyrannical king Tarquin the Proud and introduced elements of democracy, with power held by the patricians and the plebeians: SPQR, Senatus Populusque Romanus. They note how it found fame and glory in conquering almost all the Mediterranean basin: Italy, Spain, France, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, spreading its influence far beyond ancient Latium. Advocates of the Empire, on the other hand, highlight that the Republic was in reality a hereditary oligarchy in the hands of the wealthy patrician families who ran the all-powerful Senate with no genuine voice for the plebeians, women, or slaves. They also point out that the Republic was too weak to govern effectively at home or abroad, instead relying on “bread and circuses” to keep its citizens happy amid endless civil wars. They note that Rome only truly became a great power under the might of the Empire, which lasted even longer than the Republic, and in the East until A.D. 1453. The history of the world in funny puns Caesar himself remains equally as contested a character.

He embodies the conflict between Republic and Empire like no one else. He was a military colossus, original thinker, compelling writer, magnetic orator, dynamic reformer, and magnanimous politician. Yet he was also manipulative, narcissistic, egotistical, sexually predatory, shockingly savage in war even by Roman standards, and monomaniacally obsessed with acquiring absolute power for himself. Little did Spurinna the haruspex know, as he pored over the succession of hot entrails in early 44 B.C., that the man who teased him about his dud prophecies would, within two years, rise from the tomb as “the Divine Julius” (Divus Iulius), Rome’s first resident to be declared a god. Far from heralding doom, the Ides of March, in fact, finally brought Caesar the hallowed immortality he always craved. Julius Caesar Assassinated | World History Project Mar 15 -0044 BC Julius Caesar Assassinated On the Ides of March (or March 15), 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was assassinated, at the foot of a statue of Pompey where the Senate was meeting.

Because of the assassination of Julius Caesar and the soothsayer's exchange about it with Julius Caesar, in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar tragedy, the Ides of March now signifies a fateful day. Before the assassination of Julius Caesar, the Ides of March was simply a division of the calendar based on the phases of the moon. In some months, the Ides is on the 15th, and in others, it is the 13th. [See Roman Calendar.] Additionally, March's Ides marked the beginning of the consular year, since the two annually elected Roman consuls took office on the Ides from c. 220 B.C. to 153, when they began to take office on the Kalends of January (what we call New Year's Day). The Ides of March | Mental Floss The Ides of March Image credit: Like us on Facebook Today is March 15th, which is known as the Ides of March. So, what does that mean, exactly? And how are we supposed to celebrate? The Calendar You've heard the line "Beware the Ides of March".

I used to joke that more people should beware the "Ides of April" because that is the day US income taxes are due. However, I found that the ides of April is on the 13th. In the Roman calendar , the ides falls on the 15th for March, May, July, and October, and on the 13th for all the other months . The line we know is from the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar. A soothsayer warned Caesar to "Beware the Ides of March," which turned out to be the day he was assassinated by Brutus and a group of conspirators. That is why the term "ides" stays with us, when other Roman calendar terms, such as kalends and nones have fallen out of use. Julius Caesar Julius Caesar was killed on March 15th, in the year 44 B.C.E. Julius had once had an affair with Brutus' mother, and afterward was always protective of Marcus Junius Brutus Caepio , even when the younger man sided against Julius' forces in a war against Pompey for the rule of Rome in the year 49 B.C.E.

Caesar won that one, and set himself up as a king instead of the leader of a republic. Brutus and the other senators could not abide that, and conspired to get rid of Julius. Brutus was only one of many who stabbed Caesar, but as the one closest to him, it was reported at the time that Caesar expressed shock at Brutus' participation. The Soothsayer Titus Vestricius Spurinna was a haruspex, or a person who read the future in animal entrails. He is also assumed to have been an astrologer, because of the exact date he gave Caesar. In fact, Spurinna warned Caesar at least twice: first, to beware the ides of March, and then on March 15th when Caesar confronted Spurinna, the seer warned Julius that the day was not yet over. Vehicle In 1970, the band The Ides of March released the song "Vehicle," which became their only big hit. After breaking up in 1973, the group reformed in 1990 and is still performing on the oldies circuit.

The group changed their name in 1966 after one of the musicians studied the Shakespeare play in high school. It was the name of the band that insured radio airplay for the song "Vehicle" every March 15th forever after. Toga Run A modern commemoration of sorts is held in Rome, where the local chapter of the Hash House Harriers ("A drinker's club with a running problem") stages a toga run. However, due to modern work schedules, the event was held over the weekend. A fun run, dinner, and pub crawl Saturday night were followed by the toga run on Sunday . In this video, you see how they re-enacted the death of Caesar two days ago. And why not? They were already dressed in togas! The Brides of March The Brides of March is an annual event in which participants dress up in thrift store wedding gowns (white, please) and go on a group parade and pub crawl . Besides the founding group in San Francisco, there are Brides of March chapters in Los Angeles, Portland, Austin, Arizona, and other areas. Again, because of the modern work week, the gatherings are scheduled on a weekend.

The San Francisco event will be Saturday the 19th this year. Image by Flickr user Roberta Romero . The Movie A new movie named Ides of March is in production now. The film is produced and directed by George Clooney, who also stars along with Ryan Gosling. It's a political story, based on a play that is loosely based on Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign. Filming is going on now in Cincinnati. It is scheduled to hit theaters in October. We have as much reason to celebrate the Ides of March as any other non-official holiday , such as Square Root Day or Talk Like a Pirate Day or Towel Day . How would you suggest we celebrate the Ides of March? More from mental_floss...

Question: Who was assassinated on the Ides of March?
Answer: Julius Caesar