In an atmosphere of general servility and flattery, Caesar's character began to change for the worse. He became impatient and irritable. Often losing control of himself, he allowed himself a disdainful attitude towards others, which he had never allowed before. The number of those dissatisfied with Caesar was constantly growing. Friends more than once urged him to be vigilant and careful, but Julius rejected these proposals, declaring that “it is better to die once than to constantly expect death.”
Caesar's tolerance for people who were hostile to him was amazing. Whenever rumors of a conspiracy reached him, Caesar limited himself to declaring by a special edict that he knew everything and advised him to come to his senses.
But for a long time, a group of Roman aristocrats was developing a plan for the physical elimination of the dictator. The mastermind of the conspiracy was the praetor Gaius Cassius Longinus. During the civil war he fought on the side of Pompey. After the war, Caesar not only forgave him, but also accepted him into his circle of friends and gave him the position of praetor. However, it seemed to Cassius, who was seething with personal anger towards Caesar, that he deserved more. He managed to drag 60 people into the conspiracy, including Servius Galba, Gaius Trebonius, Decimus, Junius Brutus. Probably, the impetus for the conspiracy was also the appointment of Caesar as permanent dictator, which finally destroyed the illusions regarding the restoration of the republic. A Senate meeting was scheduled for March 15, 44. There were rumors that Caesar would be given the title of king.
Brutus played a special role in the conspiracy. Caesar once loved his mother, Servilia, very much. There was even a rumor that Brutus was Caesar's illegitimate son. In the war between Caesar and Pompey, Brutus joined the latter. Brutus was not killed on Caesar's orders. After the end of the civil war, he showered Brutus with his favors. He did all this for the sake of Servilia. If he wanted, Brutus could become the most influential person in the state after Caesar, and over time take first place in it. This was precisely the fate that awaited Brutus, but Cassius incited and hurried him. Soon Brutus takes the side of Cassius.
The soothsayer Spurina predicted his imminent death. But Caesar was in no hurry to die. His departure for the war against Parthia was scheduled for March 18.
The Ides of March was designated by the conspirators to assassinate the dictator. On the eve of his death, he was invited to dinner. Suddenly the conversation turned to death and someone turned to Caesar with the question of what kind of end he wanted for himself. Caesar immediately replied: “Unexpected!”
On the night of March 15, when Caesar was already asleep, all the doors and windows in the bedroom swung open as if by a blow. Awakened by the noise, Caesar opened his eyes. Looking closely, he saw that it was Calpurnia, his wife, whose marriage took place in 59 BC, sobbing in her sleep. e. Caesar did not wake her.
In the morning, Calpurnia, shedding tears, begged her husband to postpone the Senate meeting: in a dream she dreamed that she was holding her husband in her arms, bleeding. Caesar decides to stay home. But the conspirators, not wanting to postpone their plans, send Brutus to him. Yielding to his persuasion, Caesar goes to the senators.
Julius Caesar approached Pompey's curia. Seeing Spurinna at the entrance, who had once predicted that he would die on the Ides of March, Caesar jokingly remarked that the Ides of March had come, but the prediction had not come true. “Yes, they have arrived, but have not passed yet,” answered the fortuneteller.
Taking advantage of Caesar's delay, someone gives him a note that exposes the impending assassination attempt. But due to the multitude of petitioners surrounding him in a tight ring, he was unable to read it. So he entered the Senate, holding a note in his hand.
At Caesar's entrance, one group of conspirators, as agreed, took a place behind his chair. Another group surrounded Caesar immediately near the doors. One of the conspirators grabbed Caesar's toga and pulled it towards himself. This was the signal to attack.
Casca was the first to strike in the back of the head. But, ashamed of his insolence, he only slightly offended Caesar. Julius, having no weapons, began to defend himself with the style in his hand (a pointed writing stick). But there were too many conspirators. Caesar rushed about and screamed, but when he saw Brutus with his sword drawn, he exclaimed: “And you, my child!” With these words, Caesar threw a toga over his head and exposed himself to blows. Wounded, he fell at the feet of the statue of Pompey, heavily spattering it with his blood. Having attacked Caesar, many of the conspirators injured each other in the confusion. Caesar received 23 wounds. Everyone fled; Lifeless, he remained lying until three slaves, putting him on a stretcher, with his arm hanging down, carried him home. And among so many wounds, only one, according to the doctor Antistius, turned out to be fatal - the second, inflicted in the chest. It is worth noting that the conspirators planned to throw the body of the murdered man into the Tiber, confiscate the property, and repeal the laws, but they did not dare out of fear of the consul Mark Antony and the chief of cavalry Lepidus. In his will, Caesar appointed the three grandchildren of his sisters as heirs: Gaius Octavius left three quarters of the property, Lucius Pinarius and Quintus Pedia the last quarter. At the end of the will, he also adopted Gaius Octavius and gave him his name. Decimus Brutus was among the heirs in the second degree. He bequeathed to the people the gardens over the Tiber for public use and three hundred sesterces to each citizen. The day of the funeral was announced, a funeral pyre was built on the Campus Martius near the tomb of Julia, and in front of the rostral tribune there was a gilded building similar to the temple of Venus the Ancestress; inside there was a bed of ivory, covered with purple and gold, at the head of which was a pillar with the clothes in which Caesar was killed. It was clear that everyone who came with offerings would not have enough day for the procession: then they were ordered to converge on the Field of Mars without order, by any means. Some friends remained suspicious that Caesar himself did not want to live longer, and therefore did not care about his weakening health and neglected the warnings of signs and the advice of friends. Others think that he relied on the last decree and oath of the Senate and after that even refused the guard of Spaniards with swords accompanying him; others, on the contrary, believe that he preferred to face the treachery threatening from everywhere once, rather than avoid it in eternal anxiety. Some even report that he often said: his life is dear not so much to him as to the state - he himself has long ago achieved the fullness of power and glory, but the state, if anything happens to him, will not know peace.
He died in the fifty-sixth year of his life and was considered among the gods, not only by the words of decrees, but also by the conviction of the crowd. Of his killers, almost none lived more than three years after this and none died a natural death. All of them were convicted and all died in different ways: some in a shipwreck, some in battle. And some struck themselves with the same dagger with which they killed Caesar.
Nikolai Svanidze, historian
Julius Caesar was killed because in the Roman Republic, and Rome was still a republic at that time, the elite was not ready for dictatorship. She was not yet ready for autocratic authoritarian rule. And even when performed by such a great man as Julius Caesar, this did not make a positive impression on the top of Roman society. That is, the murder of Julius Caesar was a manifestation of the love of freedom, which was then still present in the Roman political elite.
Vladimir Erlikhman, candidate historical sciences; ZhZL series editor
It was a conspiracy of conservatives, that is, old people. The definition of senate is an assembly of elders, and most of the conspirators were from the senate. By that time, the liquidation of the republic in Rome had been going on for almost a century, but it was Caesar who made it irrevocable. Naturally, supporters of the republic, by which they understood the power of a narrow circle of the republican elite, were unhappy with this and tried to eliminate it. They did not have any mass support, because by that time the then republic had already become an anachronism, this became clear to everyone. In general, even in the Senate itself they had a minority, and this anecdotal conspiracy would inevitably have failed if Caesar himself had not allowed it to come true.
We know that he did not pay attention to all the warnings and on the day of his murder he behaved completely fatalistically - this was described by all historians of that time. He was really tired of power and, perhaps, of life. At that time he was a very old man and, apparently, decided - come what may. Only this allowed the plans of these conspirators, unpopular among the elite and having absolutely no historical perspective, to come true.
Korolenkov Anton Viktorovich, andhistorian, writer
The order that he created did not suit the part of his circle that organized the conspiracy, since they were not used to this. The republican system in their eyes was as natural as the rising and setting of the sun. Anthony, who knew about the conspiracy, according to the sources, but did not give them up. Judging by all the signs, he was aiming for Caesar’s place and understood that if he died, he would take his place. Who, moreover, orchestrated the conspiracy? Mostly Republicans, although some of Caesar’s people also supported him. But, apparently, they simply did not expect him to take so much power; even for them it was unusual.
It’s one thing to take first places in the conditions of a republican game, and another thing when this game is completely canceled and replaced with appointments. This was very unusual for them. If we talk about why Caesar did not predict the conspiracy, then, most likely, on the one hand, he was simply dizzy with success, and on the other, he could have overestimated the mental abilities of those around him. His entire system was tied to one person, and it was easy to guess that if he was killed, a new civil war would begin. And so it happened. He understood this, but those who killed him apparently did not understand. He thought—and he was right—that power was not on their side. Because Caesar's killers lost. And not only did they lose personally, but they also lost their case. People have a tendency to sometimes overestimate the intellectual abilities of those around them, especially those who are very smart. For him, the average level of thinking was what for others was an unattainable height. It seemed obvious to him that no one would dare do this. You can cite simplest example: when Henry de Guise was informed that Henry III would kill him, he said that he would not dare. But he dared.
Maxim Shevchenko, journalist
The Roman political system was somewhat different, not the same as we imagine it today. When the Romans talked about democracy, a republic, and the power of the people, they had in mind primarily religious concepts. The city itself is a deity from the Roman point of view. Service to the city, the form of organization of power, the Senate, the proconsuls established by the founding fathers of the city - all this is sacred and sacred. Caesar was accused of seeking to usurp power, to tyranny. And the republicans, supporters of the old Roman laws and old Roman traditions, hatched a conspiracy, which led to the murder of Caesar. This overlapped with competition between equestrian and patrician families.
But initially, of course, Caesar spoke from the point of view of modernization, authoritarianization, and concentration of resources. The imperial reform corresponded to the historical tasks that the Roman Republic had come to at that time. After winning Punic Wars Rome began to control such world spaces that it was impossible to solve the problem of managing these spaces through the Senate, that is, through domination and coordination of the interests of several patrician families. Ultimately, it was this modernization form that found political embodiment in the personality of Octavian Augustus, who was the adopted son of Caesar. The story of Caesar shows us that democracy is not always progress, and authoritarianism is not always regression. Authoritarian reform - Caesar's idea - was more consistent with the tasks that the Roman Empire set for itself as a state striving for world domination. His opponents just didn’t understand this. They couldn't agree more. Brutus, Cassius, Cicero and several others. This is where his murder took place.
.) The most famous of them were: the then praetor, an adherent of Pompey, Marcus Junius Brutus, with whose mother the dictator lived on the most friendly terms and who, after the Battle of Pharsal, was pardoned by Caesar; Gaius Cassius Longinus, who soon after the battle of Pharsalus handed over his fleet to Caesar, and at the time of the conspiracy held the office of praetor in Rome; the then praetor of Upper Italy, Decimus Junius Brutus, a friend and supporter of Caesar; finally, Publius Servilius Casca, who also always belonged to Caesar’s party and in 43 BC was elected to the tribunes of the people. The orator Cicero sympathized with Caesar's murderers, but did not take part in the conspiracy: he was incapable of a task in which one could not limit oneself to advice and speeches alone, but had to act decisively.
The cause of the conspirators was accelerated by Caesar's unfortunate desire for external splendor and his thoughtless efforts to accustom the people to the idea of royal power. At one festival, the consul Anthony, before a meeting of the people, offered Caesar a diadem, but the people remained silent, instead of greeting Caesar with exclamations, and Caesar chose to refuse the royal decoration offered to him. Another time, the statue of Caesar was crowned with a diadem. Finally, in one solemn procession, several people loudly hailed Caesar as king. The tribunes ordered them to be taken into custody, but for this, by order of Caesar, they were deprived of their posts, under the pretext that they themselves had carried out this trick in order to bring suspicion upon Caesar. The officials in charge of the books of the soothsayer Sibyl assured that, judging by the prediction contained in one of them, the Roman people would defeat the Parthians only when the king led the army. As a result of this, they say, the Senate had to, for a happy end to the Parthian war, give the dictator permission to be called king everywhere outside Italy. All this prompted the conspirators to kill Caesar earlier than they initially expected.
They decided to fulfill their intention in the Senate meeting, despite the fact that the Senate consisted mostly of Caesar's creatures. They wanted to show the Roman people that they had not committed an insidious murder - but as the best Roman citizens, they wanted to take revenge for the insult to the ancient institutions of the republic. Having chosen murder to achieve their goal, the conspirators should have killed Anthony as well: then their case would not have had such sad consequences that it acquired later. Indeed, there was talk between them about the murder of this most dangerous follower of Caesar; but one of the conspirators, who owed something to Anthony, did not give his consent.
On the fifteenth of March, 44 BC, Caesar, intending to set off on a Parthian campaign in a few days, scheduled a meeting of the Senate in the sacred hall of the theater built by Pompey. The conspirators took advantage of this circumstance to carry out the murder plan. They say that Caesar was warned of the mortal danger by a dream of his wife and some other omens, but due to his decisive character he did not pay attention to the warnings. Without a doubt, all such stories are based on the fact that the then state of affairs in itself aroused fear for the life of Caesar. Moreover, people like to connect all events with extraordinary phenomena. The secret of the assassination attempt was not violated by anyone, and only on the way to the Senate meeting, Caesar, along with other papers, received a written report about the existence of the conspiracy, but he was unable to read it.
Assassination of Julius Caesar in the Senate. Artist V. Camuccini, 1798
Each of the conspirators had a dagger under his toga. When the meeting opened, one of them stood before Caesar and asked him to pardon his exiled brother. Other conspirators also approached the dictator, as if to support the request with their petition. Casca was the first to attack Caesar, but only wounded him. “Scoundrel! - Caesar cried, grabbing his hand. - What are you doing?" At that moment, other conspirators rushed at him with daggers. Caesar thought about defending himself, but in vain. Seeing that there was no salvation, he covered his head with a toga and, covered with twenty-three wounds, fell and died at the foot of the statue of Pompey. The exclamation to Casca was Caesar's last words.
Some claim that Caesar, seeing Brutus between his murderers before his death, said to him with grief: “And you, my son?” But this news is refuted by most ancient historians. Having agreed with this story, one would have to accept as truth another legend, the falsity of which is undoubted. It is known that Caesar had a close relationship with Brutus' mother. On this basis, some argue that Brutus was the son of Caesar, although Caesar was only fifteen years older than him. Taking into account such a slight difference in age, we can directly say that Caesar, turning to Brutus, used the word “son” only to express his friendly disposition towards him.
POLITICAL ASSASSINATIONS (Part 1 - GAIUS JULIUS CAESAR)This topic was suggested to me by my reader Nadezhda. If you remember, I'm carried away new topic very easy. I don’t know how long my fascination with political assassinations will last; everything will probably depend on the number of paintings found. But for now I’m opening a new series. Let me make a reservation right away that I do not pursue the goal of talking in detail about the historical figures being presented (they are known, and you can find a lot of interesting and detailed material on the Internet), the main goal is to collect and present to you a gallery of paintings dedicated to the event being described. Shall we begin?
Gaius Julius Caesar
Gaius Iulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar
Marcus Junius Brutus CaepioAncient Roman state and politician, dictator, commander, writer.
The assassination of Julius Caesar was the result of a conspiracy by a group of senators led by Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus. The conspirators wanted to overthrow Julius Caesar, who during the civil war turned from a military leader into the sole ruler of Rome. Caesar's reign as dictator of the Roman Republic lasted more than four years. The Senate had no real power. However, the authority of the Senate was also undermined by Caesar's predecessors. A group of senators wanted to restore the Senate to its former importance and, to this end, hatched a conspiracy.Apollonio di Giovanni di Tommaso (1415-1465) Assassination of Julius Caesar. Pushkin Museum
Medieval illustration The Assassination of Caesar.
The most convinced and decisive of the bearers of republican and national traditions entered into an agreement with each other and decided to kill Julius Caesar. In order to attract the people to their side, they lured to their side the young senator Marcus Junius Brutus Caepio (Marcus Junius Brutus Caepio, 85, Rome-42 BC, Philippi, Macedonia). He began to receive anonymous demands from different sides, prompting him to break with Caesar. In these anonymous letters, the senator was reminded of his namesake ancestor, who liberated Rome from royal power. Finally, the senator who was a quaestor in the army of Licinius Crassus during his campaign against the Parthians, Gaius Cassius Longinus, attracted Brutus to his side, and his example prompted about 80 noble Romans to join the conspiracy against Caesar. An interesting fact is that Brutus’s mother, Servilia, was Caesar’s mistress for many years, and later brought her daughter Junia the Third to the dictator. The energetic and talented Cassius became the soul of the conspiracy, but Brutus was considered its head.
Thomas Nast The Political Death of a Bogus Caesar.1868
E.H. Figer Asesinato de César ante la estatua de Pompeyo. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien
Caesar's gullibility, which was one of the points of his political program, handed him over to the unarmed and unsuspecting conspirators for slaughter. March 15, 44 BC e. The conspirators killed Caesar in the Senate meeting room, near the Theater of Pompey.
Vincenzo Camuccini La Morte di Cesare. 1803-05 Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Roma
Raffaele Giannetti The Last Senate of Julius Caesar. 1867
The signal for the attack was given by Senator Lucius Tillius Cimber, who was at first a zealous supporter of Caesar, but after Caesar refused to return his brother from exile, he switched to the opposite camp and joined the conspirators. Cimber signaled to his comrades by pulling Caesar's toga off.
Jean-Léon Gérôme Muerte de César. 1867
Karl Theodor von Piloty Murder of Caesar. 1865
Since each of the senators individually did not want to take a sin on their souls, they agreed that each would deliver at least one blow with a stele, since entry into the Senate with weapons was prohibited. Let me remind you that a stylus (Greek stylos) is a stick with a sharp end for writing on waxed boards. Surprisingly, the first blows could not kill Caesar. He tried to resist, and after the first blow he pierced the hand of one of the attackers with his stele.
I don’t know how accurate the version using a stylus as a murder weapon is, since many sources write that Caesar was stabbed to death with daggers, and artists also depict daggers in their paintings.Cecil Doughty The murder of Julius Caesar. 1975
Paul Berenson The Assassination of Julius Caesar 1996
According to legend, when it was Brutus’s turn to strike, Caesar shouted in surprise the now famous phrase “And you, Brutus?” However, versions of Caesar’s last phrase in response to Brutus’ presence vary. The Roman historian Suetonius claimed that the last words of Gaius Julius were the phrase “And you, my child?” And according to Plutarch, Caesar said nothing at all when he saw Brutus among the killers. As a result, Caesar died from twenty-three stab wounds.
Vasily Surikov The Assassination of Julius Caesar. 1875
Ivan Kirillov The Assassination of Caesar. 2008
Among the famous participants in the conspiracy, historians name the military leader, legate Caesar
Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus (ca. 84 - 43 BC), Gaius Cassius of Parma, Lucius Minucius Basil, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Minor (ca. 52 BC) -after 30 BC), Publius Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, about 72 - 42 BC), Publius Turullius, Pacuvia Antistia Labeo. Lucius Tullius Cimbri and Gaius Sentius Saturninus.
The brothers Publius Servilius Casca Long and Gaius Servilius Casca took part in the murder, as well as Lucius Cornelius Cinna the Younger (about 95 - after 44 BC), whose sister Cornelia was his first wife Julius Caesar.Irina Gornostaeva The murder of Julius Caesar. 2003
Alexey Filatov The Assassination of Caesar. 2003
However, the assassination of Caesar led to another civil war and hastened the end of the Roman Republic. The middle and lower classes of Rome, among whom Caesar was popular, were furious that a small group of aristocrats had killed Caesar. Antony appeals to the common people, gathers a large crowd of Romans and threatens to march them on the Senate, most likely with the intention of taking control of Rome. But Caesar named his grandnephew Gaius Octavian his only heir. Octavian, who was only 19 years old, showed considerable political skill. Very soon he dealt with Brutus and Cassius, formed the Second Triumvirate and, after defeating the troops of Antony and Cleopatra in Actium, became the first Roman emperor under the name Augustus.
But that's another story...
(Polls on the WTO in LJ)
(Poll on attitudes towards the faction of the UNITED RUSSIA party in the State Duma)
Original post and comments at
Before examining the causes of Caesar's death, as well as their consequences, it is necessary to reveal the identity of this man.
Gaius Julius Caesar is a great Roman military leader, consul, statesman and politician. During his lifetime, Caesar was famous for his excellent health and determination; he had excellent military leadership talents.
Caesar himself achieved all the high positions in the republic. All he had was a name, but at first there were no funds or support.
First of all, he should be noted as a military leader. Under his command, all of Gaul was captured, which no one had managed to do before. Caesar inflicted a crushing defeat on the Gallic tribes and they stopped resisting.
Julius Caesar reformed the republic and laid the foundation for the formation of an empire. In 46 BC. e. Caesar achieved that he became the sole ruler of the republic, and the Senate began to play a much smaller role.
Reasons for killing Caesar
As already mentioned, Julius Caesar achieved that he became a dictator. He concentrated all branches of power in himself, and significantly reduced the powers of the Senate. This, of course, caused serious dissatisfaction on the part of the senators. They were afraid that Caesar would destroy the republic and establish imperial power, turning Rome into an empire where the Senate would no longer be the main body of government.
This is considered to be the main cause of Caesar's death. He was also a very trusting person, and in particular he trusted Brutus, who was the initiator of the conspiracy against Caesar.
Caesar was killed during a meeting of the Senate on March 15, 44 BC. e. About eighty senators opposed Caesar and managed to bring daggers into the hall. When one of the senators gave the signal to attack, everyone attacked him and stabbed him several times. However, this did not break Caesar; as historians say, he desperately fought back. But when he saw Brutus among the conspirators, whom he loved like a son, he stopped resisting. Caesar's last words were: “And you, my child?”
Julius Caesar died from more than twenty stab wounds. Historians claim that Caesar remained alive for a long time, despite the huge number of wounds, he held out until the guards arrived.
Consequences of Caesar's assassination
Caesar's death came as a shock to the entire republic. Caesar's closest friends, like the army, wanted to avenge the murder of the greatest of the Romans. Among the people, Julius Caesar was a respected man; almost all segments of society wanted the death of the conspirators.
Mark Antony and Octavian dealt with Brutus and Cassius. Octavian was named Caesar's heir and became the first Roman emperor.
The Senate hoped that Caesar's death would preserve the republic, but everything happened exactly the opposite. The murder accelerated changes in the state, the Republicans were unable to consolidate their position in power, tarnishing their name, and then Octavian, supported by the people, as a man who avenged the death of Caesar, received the imperial throne, and the conspirators were executed.