True Crime Friday: The Ides of March

True Crime Friday takes a stab at one of the most famous assassinations in history. Et tu, Ninetoes?

Hey there, true crime lovers! It is your favorite investigator, Ninetoes, and I am on the beat with The Case of Julius Caesar. I have my notebook in hand and coffee in my system, so let’s get to it!

This has to be one of the most famous killings in history. William Shakespeare wrote a play about it! I know because we read it in high school. Do high school kids read it anymore? In any event, this is a case that has always caught my attention throughout the years.

Caesar was a general who served Rome during the Gallic Wars. He conquered Gaul (basically modern-day France), and afterwards the Roman Senate demanded that he disband his army and return as a civilian. This did not set well with Caesar, and he crossed the Rubicon and plunged Rome into a civil war in 49 BC. This war lasted around five years, and after Caesar defeated the last of his opposition, he was declared dictator perpetuo (dictator in perpetuity) in early 44 BC.

Roman historian Titus Livius gave three incidents that led up to Caesar’s assassination between 45 and 44 BC.

The first was when the Roman senate voted to bestow a large number of honors on Caesar, which they decided to present to him formally. The senatorial delegation marched to the Temple of Venus Genetrix to present Caesar with these honors. Etiquette called for Caesar to rise and greet the senatorial delegation, which he did not do, and he joked that his honors needed to be cut back rather than increased. By rejecting the honors and not rising for the delegation, Caesar sent a strong message that he did not care about the senate.

The second incident occurred in January 44 BC. The tribunes Gaius Epidus Marullus and Lucius Caesetius Flavus noticed a crown of leaves on the head of the statue of Caesar on the Rostra in the Roman Forum. They ordered it removed as it was a symbol of Jupiter and royalty. It was not clear who put the crown there, but Caesar suspected the tribunes did it so they could publicly remove it. Shortly after this incident, Caesar was riding on horseback on the Appian Way to go to Rome, and a man greeted him as “Rex” (king), to which Caesar replied, “I am not rex, I am Caesar.” The Tribunes heard of this and had the man arrested. During a senate meeting, Caesar accused the tribunes of fostering opposition to him and had them removed from office. This action put Caesar on the wrong side of public opinion.

The third incident took place during the festival of Lupercalia, on February 15, 44 BC. Mark Antony, Caesar’s co-consul, climbed onto the Rostra and placed a crown on Caesar’s head, saying, “The people give you this through me.” There was little applause from the crowd. Caesar took it off, but Antony put it on his head again, and was met with little applause, again. Caesar took it off and set it to the side as a sacrifice, saying, “Jupiter alone of the Romans is king.” The crowd erupted in applause. Many believed that this was Caesar’s way of seeing if he had enough public support to be named king.

The conspiracy to assassinate Caesar was born after these incidents, and can be considered to be the original “No Kings” movement. In February of 44 BC, Cassius Loginus met with his brother-in-law, Marcus Brutus, and after some discussion, the two decided something had to be done to prevent Caesar from becoming the King of the Romans. Brutus believed that for this to be a legitimate cause for Rome, more notable people needed to be recruited. The two men preferred to recruit friends rather than acquaintances, and also men of a certain age. Reckless youths would not do for this. They assessed each potential recruit with innocent-sounding questions. In the end, they recruited around sixty people for their plot. The conspirators did not meet out in the open or in large groups. They met in small groups at each other’s homes. Among those recruited were: Pacuvius Labeo, Decimus Brutus, Gaius Trebonius, Tillius Cimber, Minucius Basilus, and the Casca Brothers. These were all from Caesar’s ranks. Each person had their own reason for wanting Caesar dead: from the good of Rome, to personal jealousy, to feeling snubbed by Caesar on a professional level.

The conspirators also considered recruiting Mark Antony. They agreed until Gaius Trebonius told the group that he had attempted to recruit Antony the summer before for another attempt and was turned down. If Antony would not join them, he would have to be killed as well before he could interfere with the assassination attempt. This split the group into two factions. Some wanted to kill everyone in Caesar’s orbit to undo his reforms, but some approved of Caesar’s reforms, but wanted to kill Mark Antony as well, just to be on the safe side.

Brutus was the voice of reason and told them that the only one to be assassinated was Caesar. If they kept Caesar’s reforms, but did away with Caesar the King, it would be a blow FOR the people. Discussions then went to where the assassination should take place. After much discussion, it was decided that the assassination should take place in the Roman Senate. Anywhere else, and Caesar would have friends who acted as protection for him, but in the senate, only senators were allowed. The other benefit is that it would not be seen as a political act, but a noble one committed on behalf of Rome. The next senate meeting to be held was on March 15, the Ides of March.

Caesar was late getting to the senate meeting. The reason is that his wife, Calpurnia, had a nightmare concerning his death. She begged Caesar not to go to the senate meeting, and after a while, Caesar gave in and cancelled the meeting. Decimus Brutus went to Caesar’s home and asked if a man of his stature would give in to a woman’s dreams, goading Caesar into going to the meeting.

On the way in, Caesar saw Titus Vestricius Spurinna and called out, “Well, the Ides of March have come!” Spurinna replied, “Aye, they have come, but they are not yet gone!” Caesar took his seat, and Cimber brought a petition to him to recall his exiled brother. He grabbed Caesar’s shoulder and pulled at his toga. Publius Servillius Casca produced a dagger and dealt a glancing blow at Caesar’s neck. Caesar caught Casca by the arm and was able to throw him away. Casca’s brother was able to stab Caesar in the side, and within moments, Caesar was attacked from all sides. He was stabbed twenty-three times, but only one, to his ribs, had been fatal.

Brutus stepped forward to say something to the senators not involved in the assassination, but they had all fled. The conspirators then marched through the city proclaiming “People of Rome, we are all free!”, but they were met with silence as everyone had locked themselves in their homes when they heard what had happened. All of the conspirators then fled.

Caesar’s body lay on the meeting floor for some time, until three slaves carried him home on a litter, one arm hanging down.

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.

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