Story Highlights
- Historical event:
- 15. March 44 BC
- The conspirators killed him after he was appointed dictator of Rome for life. As many as 60 senators conspired against him, led by Brutus and Cassius.
The famous “Ides of March” (15 March according to Roman calendar), the day when conspirators killed Julius Caesar, fall on this day.
He had recently been declared dictator for life, and the aim of the conspirators was to rid Rome of his dictatorial rule.
Namely, according to the Roman republican laws, dictators could only have temporary power and their role was to govern in times of crisis, after which they would stand down from the leading position and return Rome to the state of Republican democracy.
Gaius Julius Caesar, however, usurped indefinite power, and as such became a threat to the future of the Republic.
As many as 60 senators conspired against him, led by Brutus and Cassius. On this day they met him at the entrance of Theatre of Pompey in Rome.
Senators surrounded him and stabbed him with swords. According to the autopsy (the first known autopsy in history!) it was found that he was stabbed 23 times, of which only one wound was fatal, the one in the chest.
There are several reports on Caesar’s last words. Suetonius says that his last phrase was in Greek: “Kai su teknon?” (“You too, child?”), which referred to Brutus.
Specifically, Brutus’ mother was Caesar’s mistress, and some even speculated that Caesar was his father.
