Assassination of Julius Caesar

The assassination of Julius Caesar was the result of a conspiracy by members of, at the time, newly-founded Roman Hidden Ones, spearheaded by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, and Aya, who recruited an additional 40 Roman Senators. The conspirators enacted their plan on the Ides of March, 44 BCE, stabbing Caesar to death in the Theatre of Pompey's Curia during a Senate meeting.

Before his assassination, Caesar was the de facto ruler of the Roman Republic, having recently been appointed dictator perpetuo by the Roman Senate. This declaration made several Senators fear that Caesar wanted to overthrow the Senate in favor of tyranny. Despite successfully planning out and executing Caesar's assassination, 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.

The assassination also served to weaken the Order of the Ancients' influence over the Republic, as Caesar had become the Order's figurehead in Rome. The Hidden Ones, opposing the Order's goals, believed that Caesar's death would rob the Ancients of their leader and prevent them from further meddling with Roman politics, but greatly underestimated the reach of their enemies' influence. Ultimately, Caesar's death was only a minor setback for the Order, who appointed his adopted son Octavian as their new leader and helped him transform the Republic into an Empire.

The assassination

Plotting the assassination

"We will lure him to the Senate, where none of his allies may enter. The visions have shown me that we must strike on this day of Mars, that today my resolve will be tested and that I must not falter."

―Brutus in his journal, about planning the assassination.

In 44 BCE, after Caesar had declared himself dictator for life, many senators began to fear Caesar's growing power following his appointment. The Hidden Ones met in a vault hidden beneath the Temple of Juno, in the heart of Rome. Cassius tasked Brutus with creating the plan for the assassination, and each time the Hidden Ones met in the temple, the conspiracy took shape.

The Colosseum Vault, where the conspiracy took shape

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 vault. At the Senate, Caesar would be alone, unprotected by his inner circle and thus vulnerable to an attack. The Hidden Ones chose to act as a group, ensuring that each of the conspirators was devoted to the task. They recruited at least 40 Senators and called themselves the Liberatores.

The day before the assassination was set to take place, Aya, accompanied by Brutus, killed Magnus, a Roman orator spreading pro-Caesar propaganda. The Hidden Ones hoped that Magnus' death would send a clear message, but it had the opposite effect as it only strengthened Caesar's resolve to take control of the Republic. Realizing Caesar could not be reasoned with, Aya desired to assassinate him immediately, but Brutus advised her to wait for the Ides of March, claiming that Romans responded to spectacle and that killing Caesar publicly was the only way to send their message across.

Killing Septimius and Caesar

"The tyrant is dead! You are free now!"

―Brutus, after delivering the final stab to Caesar.

On 15 March 44 BCE, Caesar's wife Calpurnia, feeling something was amiss, attempted to convince him not to attend the Senate meeting that day, delaying his arrival and leading the Hidden Ones to fear that the plot had been found out. Brutus persisted nevertheless, waiting at the Theatre of Pompey for Caesar's eventual arrival.

After being joined by Aya and Cassius, the three Hidden Ones witnessed Lucius Septimius speaking to Caesar outside the Theatre's Curia, telling the dictator that the people of Rome loved him and saw him as their god. Caesar remarked that the Senate would not be convinced as easily to follow him, to which Septimus promised to be Caesar's "wolf" in "that parliament of clucking hens". After Caesar left to prepare for the meeting, Brutus and Cassius went to delay him while Aya fought Septimius.

Aya stabbing Caesar

Following a fierce duel, Aya prevailed and slew Septimius. She then proceeded to the Curia, where she disguised herself with a cloak before Brutus arrived and tried to hand her his dagger, which he had received from Caesar himself. However, Aya told him to keep it and decided to stab Caesar with her Hidden Blade. After she delivered the first blow, the other conspirators followed suit, stabbing Caesar with their daggers a total of twenty-three times.

Caesar initially fought back, but resigned to his fate after recognizing Brutus, who delivered the final blow. As Caesar dropped to the Curia's floor, dead, Brutus raised his bloodied dagger and announced that the dictator was dead and that the people of Rome had regained their freedom. Aya briefly spoke to Caesar during his final moments before she joined the other Hidden Ones in leaving the building.

Aftermath

"Caesar is dead, stabbed twenty-three times by his own countrymen, many of whom he once considered friends. Dead not for his deeds, but for fear of what he would have become."

―Brutus in his journal, following Caesar's death.

Immediately following the assassination, the citizens of Rome were infuriated by the news of Caesar's death, as the dictator had become highly popular among the common people. They demanded the heads of all the assassins involved, but especially Brutus and Cassius, who had spearheaded the conspiracy.

Caesar's friend and co-consul Marcus Antonius capitalized on the people's fear and anger to rally them against the Hidden Ones, but was eventually defeated by Aya, Brutus, and Cassius. The trio spared Antonius' life, having come to regret their decision to murder Caesar publicly and believing that another senseless killing would only further alienate the people.

Marcus Antonius defeated by the Hidden Ones

The Senate eventually passed an amnesty on Caesar's assassins, which was proposed by Antonius. Nonetheless, the uproar among the population forced Brutus and Cassius to flee Rome, and the Republic soon erupted into a series of civil wars. In 42 BCE, 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 Hidden Ones fled once more and committed suicide.

In the following years, Caesar's grandnephew and adopted son Octavian consolidated his power over both the Roman Republic and the Order of the Ancients, and eventually founded the Roman Empire in 27 BCE.

Behind the scenes

In the 2010 video game Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, the protagonist Ezio Auditore can find the Scrolls of Romulus, papers that served as part of Brutus' incomplete journal. In the second scroll, Brutus records his thoughts in the lead-up to Caesar's assassination and says that the assembled conspirators, including himself, number exactly 40 individuals, which is in accordance with historical documentation tallying the perpetrators at upwards of 60 men.

In the French version of Assassin's Creed: Origins, Caesar's last words are the famous sentence "Tu quoque, mi fili?", even though the original version of the game omits the Latin version of the phrase altogether in place of the English translation.

Gallery

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  Aya stabbing Caesar
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  Caesar being stabbed by the senators
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  Aya observing the assassination
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  Brutus declaring Caesar's death
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  Caesar's body lying on the ground

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Origins (first appearance)
  • The Hidden Ones (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Origins comic
• Echoes of History (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game