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March 15, 44 BC
Theatre of Pompey
Controversial Leader Assassinated
By Jake Traub
A bust of the controversial leader
Today was either a sad day or a happy day depending on your views of Caesar.
For me today was quite joyous. Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Senate. This same
senate which at one point was incredibly loyal and true to Caesar ultimately came to
resent him in such a strong manor, that the decision to kill him was all but unanimous.
Caesar had made a name for himself as he conquered his rival Pompey. After
conquering northern Italy, the legions of people loyal to Pompey in Spain, he then
pursued Pompey in Greece. Once Pompey fled Greece and headed to Egypt, the
Egyptians welcomed Caesar with Pompey’s head. Caesar returned to Rome and started
acting like a king. The senators became deeply offended at Caesar’s behavior. There was
such an uprising brewing I knew this was going to happen. These people who sided with
Pompey wanted him dead. There were idealists that believed in the republic who wanted
him dead. Even his own friends who respected him as a leader resented his policies of
reconciliation with his former enemies.
I always believed Caesar was a smart man. He knew this was coming, as did his
wife, who dreamed on March 15th that he would be killed. Yet Caesar was a proud man
who drew strength from his successful command of others as shown in the quote “I had
no shield with me but I snatched one from a soldier in the rear ranks and went forward to
the front line. Once there, I called to all the centurions by name and shouted
encouragement to the rest of the men….. My arrival gave the troops fresh hope…” –
Julius Caesar, Commentaries.
This may have given him just too much comfort as he decided not to cancel the
meeting as his wife begged him to. Caesar, pressed for time, chose not to read a note
passed on to him by his friend Artemidorous which detailed the proposed attack. My
sources told me that Caesar entered the meeting with trepidation, anxious to get it over
with. There was a man, Jullius Cimber, who approached Caesar begging to pardon his
brother. When Caesar dismissed him, he begged some more and grabbed Caesar’s toga.
That was the signal for Casca to rush him. Others followed and soon it was no match for
Caesar as he was overpowered and killed. I could not be happier as I still remain loyal to
Pompey.
Freeman, Philip. Julius Caesar. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008. Print.
“The Assassination of Julius Caesaer,44 BC,” EyeWitness to History,
www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2004).