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The | The assassination of Julius Caesar was the result of a conspiracy done with many Roman senators who also happened to be members of the Roman branch of the [[Hidden Ones]], a precursor group to the [[Assassin Brotherhood]]. They stabbed [[Caesar]] to death in a location that was adjacent to the Theatre of Pompey on March 15, 44 BCE. | ||
Before his assassination, [[Caesar]] was the dictator of the [[Roman Republic]], having recently been declared ''dictator perpetuo'' by the Senate of the [[Roman Republic]]. This declaration made several senators fear that [[Caesar]] wanted to overthrow the Senate in favor of tyranny. The conspirators were unable to restore the [[Roman Republic]], and the ramifications of the assassination led to the Liberators' civil war and ultimately to the Principate period of the [[Roman Empire]]. | |||
Meanwhile, the [[Order of the Ancients]] had also secretly supported Caesar, although he may not have even known of their existence. This attracted the attention of several Hidden Ones, most notably [[Aya]], [[Marcus Junius Brutus]] and [[Gaius Cassius Longinus]]. Together, they secretly recruited the senators, at least forty of which were members of the Senates and secretly chose to eliminate Caesar for the good of the people. | Meanwhile, the [[Order of the Ancients]] had also secretly supported [[Caesar]], although he may not have even known of their existence. This attracted the attention of several [[Hidden Ones]], most notably [[Aya]], [[Marcus Junius Brutus]] and [[Gaius Cassius Longinus]]. Together, they secretly recruited the senators, at least forty of which were members of the Senates and secretly chose to eliminate [[Caesar]] for the good of the people. | ||
==The Assassination== | ==The Assassination== | ||
===Plotting the Assassination=== | ===Plotting the Assassination=== | ||
In 44 BCE, after Caesar had declared himself dictator-for-life, the Hidden Ones met in a [[Colosseum Vault|temple]] hidden beneath what would eventually become [[Santa Maria in Aracoeli]], in the heart of the city. Cassius tasked Brutus with creating the plan for the assassination, and each time the Assassins met in the temple, the conspiracy took shape.<ref name="ACB">''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''</ref> | In 44 BCE, after [[Caesar]] had declared himself dictator-for-life, the [[Hidden Ones]] met in a [[Colosseum Vault|temple]] hidden beneath what would eventually become [[Santa Maria in Aracoeli]], in the heart of the city. Cassius tasked Brutus with creating the plan for the assassination, and each time the [[Assassins]] met in the temple, the conspiracy took shape.<ref name="ACB">''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''</ref> | ||
Brutus ultimately chose to attack Caesar when he entered the Senate on the Ides of March, a date that had been presented to Brutus through the strange visions he received while in the temple. In the Senate, Caesar would be alone, without the help of the inner circle and vulnerable to attack. The Assassins chose to act as a group, ensuring that each of the conspirators was devoted to the task.<ref name="ACB" /> | Brutus ultimately chose to attack [[Caesar]] when he entered the Senate on the Ides of March, a date that had been presented to Brutus through the strange visions he received while in the temple. In the Senate, [[Caesar]] would be alone, without the help of the inner circle and vulnerable to attack. The [[Assassins]] chose to act as a group, ensuring that each of the conspirators was devoted to the task.<ref name="ACB" /> | ||
===Defeating Septimius and assassinating Caesar=== | ===Defeating Septimius and assassinating Caesar=== | ||
[[File:FallofanEmpireRiseofAnother03.jpg|250px|thumb|Aya facing Lucius Septimius]] | [[File:FallofanEmpireRiseofAnother03.jpg|250px|thumb|Aya facing Lucius Septimius]] | ||
That day, Caesar's wife attempted to convince him not to attend the Senate, delaying his arrival and leading the Assassins to fear that the plot had been found out. Brutus persisted nevertheless, waiting for Caesar at the Senate for Caesar's eventual arrival. [[Lucius Septimius]] stated to Julius Caesar that the Roman people loved him and saw him as their God. Caesar expressed his doubts that the Senate would not be convinced to join him so easily, to which Septimius issues him that they just might. Aya instructed Brutus and Longinus to await for her signal to kill Caesar before engaging Lucius Septimius in battle. Lucius Septimius engaged Aya in battle and was killed in the process.<ref name="ACB" /><ref name="ACO">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]''</ref> | That day, Caesar's wife attempted to convince him not to attend the Senate, delaying his arrival and leading the [[Assassins]] to fear that the plot had been found out. Brutus persisted nevertheless, waiting for [[Caesar]] at the Senate for Caesar's eventual arrival. [[Lucius Septimius]] stated to [[Julius Caesar]] that the Roman people loved him and saw him as their God. [[Caesar]] expressed his doubts that the Senate would not be convinced to join him so easily, to which Septimius issues him that they just might. [[Aya]] instructed Brutus and Longinus to await for her signal to kill [[Caesar]] before engaging [[Lucius Septimius]] in battle. [[Lucius Septimius]] engaged [[Aya]] in battle and was killed in the process.<ref name="ACB" /><ref name="ACO">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]''</ref> | ||
[[File:FallofanEmpireRiseofAnother11.jpg|250px|thumb|Aya stabbing Caesar]] | [[File:FallofanEmpireRiseofAnother11.jpg|250px|thumb|Aya stabbing Caesar]] | ||
When Aya snuck into the Senate, she stabbed Caesar from behind, giving the signal for the other conspirators to attack | When [[Aya]] snuck into the Senate, she stabbed [[Caesar]] from behind, giving the signal for the other conspirators to attack him. Although [[Caesar]] resisted at first, he soon recognized his former friend and colleague Brutus amongst the crowd and feeling betrayed and heartbroken, resigned himself to his fate, with Brutus delivering the final killing blow. [[Caesar]] was stabbed twenty-three times by the [[Assassins]] and died on the Senate floor as the attackers left the building.<ref name="ACB" /><ref name="ACO" /> | ||
==Aftermath== | ==Aftermath== | ||
After the assassination, the Senate passed an amnesty on Caesar's assassins, which was proposed by Caesar's friend and co-consul [[Marcus Antonius]]. Nonetheless, uproar among the population forced Brutus and Cassius to flee the city, and the republic soon erupted into a series of civil wars.<ref name="ACB" /> | After the assassination, the Senate passed an amnesty on Caesar's assassins, which was proposed by Caesar's friend and co-consul [[Marcus Antonius]]. Nonetheless, uproar among the population forced Brutus and Cassius to flee the city, and the republic soon erupted into a series of civil wars.<ref name="ACB" /> | ||
Eventually, armies under the command of Caesar's allies clashed with those of Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi in [[Macedonia]]. Faced with certain defeat, the two Assassins fled once more and committed suicide. In the following years, Caesar's grandnephew [[Augustus]] took the throne and founded the [[Roman Empire]] in 27 BCE.<ref name="ACB" /> | Eventually, armies under the command of Caesar's allies clashed with those of Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi in [[Macedonia]]. Faced with certain defeat, the two [[Assassins]] fled once more and committed suicide. In the following years, Caesar's grandnephew [[Augustus]] took the throne and founded the [[Roman Empire]] in 27 BCE.<ref name="ACB" /> | ||
== Trivia == | |||
* Caesar supposedly received numerous prophetic signs foretelling his impending death. The most famous of them was the dream of his wife, Calpurnia, the night before the assassination. | |||
* No one told Caesar to "Beware the Ides of March". In fact, this line comes from the soothsayer in Shakespeare’s play <em>Julius Caesar</em>, though it's a fair rendering of the historical accounts. | |||
* The assassination didn’t take place in the Roman forum, but in the Theatre of Pompey. At the time of Caesar’s death, the theater was being used by the Senate as a temporary meeting place. Now, it's a cat sanctuary. | |||
* It is really unclear what Caesar's last words were, but most accounts have stipulated he said, "Et tu, Brute?" which roughly translates from Latin to "And you too, Brutus?" | |||
* [[Caesar]] was stabbed twenty-three times. The first blow, in the neck, came from Servilius Casca. After that, chaos ensued. It is said that out of the wounds he sustained, the only one that was Out of the twenty-three stab wounds [[Caesar]] sustained on March 15, the only one that proved to be fatal was a stab wound he received to his breast. | |||
* The problem with the estimated sixty conspirators was that they were nothing more than amateurs at murder. A good example is where most of the stab wounds hit rib cage bone, which is excruciatingly painful but not fatal. | |||
* The conspirators waited until [[Caesar]] took his seat in his golden chair for the tribunal of the Senate at the Theatre of Pompey, which meant that some of them were in a position to approach [[Caesar]] from behind and stab him in the back. This was because he had no body guards to protect him from being killed. | |||
* [[Caesar]] was saved from a very quick death by the thick folds of his woollen toga, which soaked up a lot of the blood. It was also said that the simple dagger blades Caesar's killers used were easily could be easily concealed in their togas. | |||
* It is stipulated that if Mark Antony had not been deliberately kept in a long conversation outside the room, he would have rushed to Caesar's aid. | |||
* Even though Caesar also had an entourage that included former soldiers and axe-wielding gladiators, they were not allowed in the Senate, so he had no bodyguards to protect him when he was killed. | |||
* Although it's still debated today, Caesar's killers were rational, highly-educated men. Brutus and Cassius were both praetors, a position second only to consuls while Casca was a tribune of the people. | |||
* It's unclear of whether or not Caesar knew of the plot to kill him, but by all accounts he planned to leave Rome on March 18 for a military campaign in what is now modern-day Iraq, where he hoped to avenge the losses suffered by his former political ally, Crassus. | |||
==Reference== | ==Reference== | ||
Revision as of 20:09, 19 March 2018
The assassination of Julius Caesar was the result of a conspiracy done with many Roman senators who also happened to be members of the Roman branch of the Hidden Ones, a precursor group to the Assassin Brotherhood. They stabbed Caesar to death in a location that was adjacent to the Theatre of Pompey on March 15, 44 BCE.
Before his assassination, Caesar was the dictator of the Roman Republic, having recently been declared dictator perpetuo by the Senate of the Roman Republic. This declaration made several senators fear that Caesar wanted to overthrow the Senate in favor of tyranny. The conspirators were unable to restore the Roman Republic, and the ramifications of the assassination led to the Liberators' civil war and ultimately to the Principate period of the Roman Empire.
Meanwhile, the Order of the Ancients had also secretly supported Caesar, although he may not have even known of their existence. This attracted the attention of several Hidden Ones, most notably Aya, Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. Together, they secretly recruited the senators, at least forty of which were members of the Senates and secretly chose to eliminate Caesar for the good of the people.
The Assassination
Plotting the Assassination
In 44 BCE, after Caesar had declared himself dictator-for-life, the Hidden Ones met in a temple hidden beneath what would eventually become Santa Maria in Aracoeli, in the heart of the city. Cassius tasked Brutus with creating the plan for the assassination, and each time the Assassins met in the temple, the conspiracy took shape.[1]
Brutus ultimately chose to attack Caesar when he entered the Senate on the Ides of March, a date that had been presented to Brutus through the strange visions he received while in the temple. In the Senate, Caesar would be alone, without the help of the inner circle and vulnerable to attack. The Assassins chose to act as a group, ensuring that each of the conspirators was devoted to the task.[1]
Defeating Septimius and assassinating Caesar
That day, Caesar's wife attempted to convince him not to attend the Senate, delaying his arrival and leading the Assassins to fear that the plot had been found out. Brutus persisted nevertheless, waiting for Caesar at the Senate for Caesar's eventual arrival. Lucius Septimius stated to Julius Caesar that the Roman people loved him and saw him as their God. Caesar expressed his doubts that the Senate would not be convinced to join him so easily, to which Septimius issues him that they just might. Aya instructed Brutus and Longinus to await for her signal to kill Caesar before engaging Lucius Septimius in battle. Lucius Septimius engaged Aya in battle and was killed in the process.[1][2]
When Aya snuck into the Senate, she stabbed Caesar from behind, giving the signal for the other conspirators to attack him. Although Caesar resisted at first, he soon recognized his former friend and colleague Brutus amongst the crowd and feeling betrayed and heartbroken, resigned himself to his fate, with Brutus delivering the final killing blow. Caesar was stabbed twenty-three times by the Assassins and died on the Senate floor as the attackers left the building.[1][2]
Aftermath
After the assassination, the Senate passed an amnesty on Caesar's assassins, which was proposed by Caesar's friend and co-consul Marcus Antonius. Nonetheless, uproar among the population forced Brutus and Cassius to flee the city, and the republic soon erupted into a series of civil wars.[1]
Eventually, armies under the command of Caesar's allies clashed with those of Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi in Macedonia. Faced with certain defeat, the two Assassins fled once more and committed suicide. In the following years, Caesar's grandnephew Augustus took the throne and founded the Roman Empire in 27 BCE.[1]
Trivia
- Caesar supposedly received numerous prophetic signs foretelling his impending death. The most famous of them was the dream of his wife, Calpurnia, the night before the assassination.
- No one told Caesar to "Beware the Ides of March". In fact, this line comes from the soothsayer in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, though it's a fair rendering of the historical accounts.
- The assassination didn’t take place in the Roman forum, but in the Theatre of Pompey. At the time of Caesar’s death, the theater was being used by the Senate as a temporary meeting place. Now, it's a cat sanctuary.
- It is really unclear what Caesar's last words were, but most accounts have stipulated he said, "Et tu, Brute?" which roughly translates from Latin to "And you too, Brutus?"
- Caesar was stabbed twenty-three times. The first blow, in the neck, came from Servilius Casca. After that, chaos ensued. It is said that out of the wounds he sustained, the only one that was Out of the twenty-three stab wounds Caesar sustained on March 15, the only one that proved to be fatal was a stab wound he received to his breast.
- The problem with the estimated sixty conspirators was that they were nothing more than amateurs at murder. A good example is where most of the stab wounds hit rib cage bone, which is excruciatingly painful but not fatal.
- The conspirators waited until Caesar took his seat in his golden chair for the tribunal of the Senate at the Theatre of Pompey, which meant that some of them were in a position to approach Caesar from behind and stab him in the back. This was because he had no body guards to protect him from being killed.
- Caesar was saved from a very quick death by the thick folds of his woollen toga, which soaked up a lot of the blood. It was also said that the simple dagger blades Caesar's killers used were easily could be easily concealed in their togas.
- It is stipulated that if Mark Antony had not been deliberately kept in a long conversation outside the room, he would have rushed to Caesar's aid.
- Even though Caesar also had an entourage that included former soldiers and axe-wielding gladiators, they were not allowed in the Senate, so he had no bodyguards to protect him when he was killed.
- Although it's still debated today, Caesar's killers were rational, highly-educated men. Brutus and Cassius were both praetors, a position second only to consuls while Casca was a tribune of the people.
- It's unclear of whether or not Caesar knew of the plot to kill him, but by all accounts he planned to leave Rome on March 18 for a military campaign in what is now modern-day Iraq, where he hoped to avenge the losses suffered by his former political ally, Crassus.
Reference
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