Why Was Julius Caesar Assassinated? From the Rubicon to the Ides of March

Julius Caesar was assassinated on 15 March 44 BC, the Ides of March, by a group of Roman senators led by Brutus and Cassius, who stabbed him at least twenty-three times. They did it because, a few weeks earlier, he had been proclaimed "dictator in perpetuity", dictator for life, and many senators believed the Roman Republic could not survive one man holding that much power permanently. The irony is that his murder did not save the Republic. Within a generation his adopted heir became Rome's first emperor.

Here is how a politician from an old but not especially rich family became the most powerful man in the Mediterranean, and why that power got him killed.

An ambitious young man in a dangerous city

Caesar was born on 12 or 13 July 100 BC in the Suburra, a crowded district of Rome. He grew up during a period of political violence, when generals marched armies into Roman politics and rivals were executed by proscription lists.

One of the most famous stories about his youth is that he was captured by pirates and held for ransom. He was indeed captured and ransomed, but later writers embellished the story, and one ancient historian suggests the pirates were more likely sold into slavery than crucified as the popular version claims. It is a good example of how Caesar's life became legend even while people who knew him were still alive.

The alliance that changed Rome

In 60 BC Caesar formed an informal political alliance with two of the most powerful men in Rome: Pompey, a celebrated general, and Crassus, the richest man in the city. Historians call it the "First Triumvirate", though that label is a modern one and somewhat misleading, because it was a private deal rather than an official office.

With their support, Caesar was elected consul, Rome's highest annual office, for 59 BC. After his year in office he took command of Roman provinces in Gaul, and that command made his career.

The Gallic Wars

Over the following years Caesar fought a long series of campaigns across what is now France, Belgium and beyond, and by 51 BC his string of victories was complete. The decisive moment came in 52 BC at Alesia, where he besieged the Gallic leader Vercingetorix. After Caesar's victory, Vercingetorix surrendered.

Caesar also wrote about these wars himself, in the Commentaries on the Gallic War, covering operations from 58 to 52 BC. The book is written in clear, plain Latin and describes Caesar in the third person, which makes it read like neutral reporting. It was, of course, also excellent publicity. For centuries it was one of the first real Latin texts that students read.

Crossing the Rubicon

The Gallic Wars made Caesar rich, famous and loved by his soldiers, and that frightened the Senate. Crassus had died in 53 BC, and Pompey moved closer to Caesar's enemies. The Senate ordered Caesar to give up his army.

Instead, in early January 49 BC, he led a legion across the Rubicon, the small river marking the boundary of his province. Bringing an army into Italy was illegal, and the crossing started a civil war. According to the ancient biographers Plutarch and Suetonius, he is supposed to have quoted a line from the Greek playwright Menander as he crossed, the line usually given in Latin as alea iacta est, "the die is cast". Today "crossing the Rubicon" means passing a point of no return.

Civil war, Egypt and "veni, vidi, vici"

Caesar defeated Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus in Greece on 9 August 48 BC. Pompey fled to Egypt, where he was killed as soon as he arrived in Alexandria.

Caesar followed him to Egypt and became involved in a struggle for the Egyptian throne, siding with the young queen Cleopatra VII. Around June 47 BC Cleopatra gave birth to a son by Caesar, named Caesarion.

That same year Caesar defeated King Pharnaces at Zela in Asia Minor so quickly that he summed up the campaign in three Latin words: veni, vidi, vici, "I came, I saw, I conquered". It is one of the most efficient boasts in history.

Reforms: the calendar we almost still use

By 45 BC Caesar had defeated his remaining opponents and held near-unchallenged power. He used it for a wave of reforms. The most lasting was the calendar. Rome's old calendar had drifted badly out of step with the seasons, and Caesar replaced it with a solar calendar of 365 days with a leap day added every fourth year, which took effect in 45 BC. The Julian calendar was used across Europe for more than 1,600 years, and the Gregorian calendar we use today is a small correction of it.

Even the month you might be reading this in may carry his name: Quintilis, the month of his birth, was renamed Julius in his honour, which became July.

Dictator for life

Rome had used dictators before, but only for short emergencies. In early 44 BC Caesar was proclaimed dictator in perpetuity. He wore special clothing, his image appeared on coins, and the Senate voted him honours that looked uncomfortably like those of a king. Romans had hated the idea of kings for nearly five centuries.

For senators who believed in the Republic, and for others who resented losing their own influence, this was the breaking point. By February 44 BC there were some sixty conspirators.

The Ides of March

On 15 March 44 BC, at a Senate meeting held in the Theatre of Pompey, the conspirators surrounded Caesar and stabbed him at least twenty-three times. Brutus, whom Caesar had pardoned and favoured, was among the leaders.

What did he say? According to one ancient account, he fell in silence. A different tradition has him reply to Brutus in Greek, "you too, child?" The famous Latin line "Et tu, Brute?" ("You too, Brutus?") is best known from Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, written more than 1,600 years later.

Why the killing backfired

The assassins expected Rome to celebrate. Instead the city turned against them. Caesar's great-nephew Octavian, whom he had adopted as his heir, used Caesar's name and popularity to win a new round of civil wars. He later became Augustus, the first Roman emperor. The senators killed a man to stop one-man rule and ended up handing it to his son.

His name outlived everything. "Caesar" became a title for rulers, and it survives in words such as the German Kaiser and the Russian tsar.

Learn with Caesar: English phrases from his story

Caesar's life has given English a surprising number of everyday expressions:

Phrase	Meaning	Example
cross the Rubicon	pass a point of no return	Once we signed the lease, we'd crossed the Rubicon.
the die is cast	the decision is made and can't be undone	I've sent the application; the die is cast.
beware the Ides of March	a warning of coming trouble (from Shakespeare)	The report is due on the 15th. Beware the Ides of March!
I came, I saw, I conquered	a quick, complete success	Exam done in thirty minutes: I came, I saw, I conquered.
Et tu, Brute?	a joking complaint about betrayal by a friend	You ate the last cookie? Et tu, Brute?

Try this: Write three sentences about a decision in your own life using "cross the Rubicon", "the die is cast" and one past-tense verb from this article (defeat, surrender, pardon, rename). Saying them aloud is the fastest way to make these idioms your own.