Assassination of Julius Caesar

44 BCERome, Italyhigh importance

On March 15, 44 BCE (the Ides of March), Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of about 60 Roman senators led by Brutus and Cassius. Caesar had been declared "dictator in perpetuity" just a month earlier, and the conspirators feared he would end the Roman Republic and make himself king. As Caesar entered the Senate, the senators surrounded him and stabbed him 23 times. According to the ancient historian Suetonius, Caesar's last words to Brutus were "You too, child?" (often rendered in Latin as "Et tu, Brute?"). Rather than saving the Republic, the assassination triggered a series of civil wars. Caesar's adopted heir Octavian (later Augustus) eventually defeated all rivals and became the first Roman Emperor, the very outcome the assassins had tried to prevent.

Key Takeaways

Caesar's assassination ended the Roman Republic rather than saving it

The civil wars that followed led to the rise of the Roman Empire under Augustus

One of history's most famous examples of unintended consequences

Key Figures

Julius Caesar

100 BCE – 44 BCE

Roman general and statesman whose rise to power ended the Roman Republic.

Augustus Caesar

63 BCE – 14 CE

First Roman Emperor who transformed Rome from a republic into an empire and ushered in the Pax Romana.