Julius Caesar: Outrage Runs Through Rome

After Julius Caesar was plotted against and killed in 44 BCE by two Roman Senators, Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, who thought, along with other senators that Julius was trying to become a dictator of the Empire (Badian) and therefore wanted to get rid of him. Mark Antony he was next in line to the

After the assassins of Caesar such as Brutus and Cassius have gained power, they face opposition from the supporters of Caesar such as Mark Anthony and Octavius. As Mark Antony and Octavius have ensued a battle against Brutus and Cassius, the Romans have split themselves up over the death of Caesar. While Cassius and Titinius have died, the death of Caesar has heralded the death of the opponents of Caesar. Realizing this ,Brutus calls to the spirit of Julius Caesar, “O, Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet,- Thy spirit walks abroad and turns our swords-In our proper entrails.”5:3:94-96 With the might of Caesar’s spirit turning the swords of his opponents to kill themselves, the spirit of Caesar has killed the assassinators. As the assassins are dying, the spirit and might of Julius Caesar have killed off those that have killed him.

The three men combined their resources, set aside their personal differences, and seized control of the state.” (Wasson) However, this was alliance weak. Crassus and Caesar saw that with his army, Pompey was the strongest in the group, which the other two sought to correct. To raise armies of their own, both Crassus and Caesar went on campaigns to further extend the boundaries of Rome’s Empire, while Pompey stayed in Rome. Crassus went to the Parthian Empire with the intentions of conquering it, however the Parthians got the better of him and killed him in 53 BCE. At the same time, Caesar went north to the Gauls in Europe, extending the empire to the Rhine River and the English Channel.

Augustus – Chen 7I Discuss Augustus’ use of propaganda in BOTH establishing AND maintaining his power. Augustus, born as Gaius Octavius, started his rise to power when his great-uncle, Julius Caesar, was assassinated during the Ides of March, 15 March 44 B.C. Julius Caesar was named dictator for 10 years and a small group of around 60 Romans became wary of his power threatening the republic. And so the group of conspirators assassinated Caesar in the hopes of ‘saving Rome’. Fortunately for Octavian (as he was known at the time), relativity fortunately anyway, in Caesar’s will, he had adopted him as his son and made him his heir which helped kick-start his rise to power.

In 1891, Irish author Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) observed “ Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion. In “The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar” the senators killed Caesar because they felt he was too ambitious. Brutus is supposed to be Caesar's “BFF” but he ends up stabbing him in the back. Brutus' decision to stab Caesar in the back wasn't an easy one.

After the civil war had ended with Pompey’s defeat, Caesar quickly gained political power and control over the Roman Republic, becoming a temporary dictator in 49. During his reign he was seen as an effective leader implementing a number of reforms in Roman society and earning the people’s unwavering support and admiration. Unfortunately, on March 15, 44 BCE Caesar was assassinated by conspirators and marked one of the most significant turning points in Roman history. The cause to conspire against Caesar was a combination of both political fear and personal animosity. By gauging the accounts written by Suetonius and Nicolaus it was clear that Caesar’s surge in power had given him too much leverage over the governance of Rome to the extent that the senate could no longer compete with him.

The people you would take a bullet for are usually the ones behind the trigger. Like for example in the play, Julius Caser by William Shakespeare, shows an example of betrayal. On how Brutus betrays Caesar by murdering him. "Et tu Brutus" was the last word Caser said when Brutus stab him as he falls and so what is Caesar saying? “Et tu, Brute?” meaning even you Brutus as Caesar falls to death as he was murder by Brutus and senators on the idles of March.

Why did Caesar attack the Gauls? It wasn’t until the spring of 58 BC, that Julius Caesar took over his duty as governor of Cisalpine and Gaul. During his tenure as governor, Caesar became aware of a chieftain leader by the name of Ariovistus. Ariovistus, was a leader of the Germanic people who yearned to make himself king and ruler over all of Gaul. Caesar suspected the possibility of an attack by the Gauls, and how an attack might pose a serious threat to Roman security.

The Gallic War ended in September 52 BC at the Battle of Alesia. After the Gallic War was followed by the civil war, Caesar chased his enemies into Greece and defeating them there. Caesar then went to Egypt, where he defeated the pharaoh and named Cleopatra as the Queen of Egypt. Julius Caesar remained the “Roman Dictator” until he was assassinated on March 15, 44

During the civil strife that followed the murder of Julius Caesar her first husband Nero had joined the party of the assassins and fought at Philippi. After the Republicans were defeated there, he turned to the party of Mark Antony specifically to Antony’s brother L. Antonius. Pompey was attracting remnants of Rome’s upper class. From there he and Livia and their small son Tiberius moved on to Greece. Amnesty for adherents of Antony allowed them to return to Rome in 39.