When a cabal of Roman Senators assassinated
Julius Caesar on March 15th, 44 B.C.E., they were making a bet. They were betting that Caesar's extraordinary
tyrannical powers would die with him. They were betting that the Roman Republic
was more resilient than any one man. Only time would tell if they were right. No spoilers. In the moments after Caesar's assassination,
the Conspirators marched out of the Theatre of Pompey and proudly showed off their blood-soaked
weapons, hands, and clothing. In fact, many Conspirators who had failed
to get in on the action ran over and dipped their hands in Caesar's blood just for appearances. Caesar's co-Consul Antony had not been present
for the assassination - he had been strategically detained outside. When he learned of Caesar's fate, he threw
on some clothing to disguise himself as a slave, rushed home, and began planning his
flight from the city. As a group, the Conspirators crossed the pomerium
and marched on the the Capitoline Hill, escorted by armed gladiators. They picked up a bunch of followers along
the way. Somebody grabbed a pole, placed the iconic
hat worn by freed slaves on it, and carried it high in the air before the victorious Conspirators. The tyrant was dead. Rome was free. Word began to spread throughout the city. The ringleaders of the successful conspiracy,
Decimus, Cassius, and Brutus, were overjoyed. But by the time they reached the Capitoline
Hill, the city was falling into a bit of a panic. The streets were empty. The rumour was that a group of Senators and
gladiators had gone mad and were indiscriminately killing people on sight. People were fleeing to their homes. Several Conspirators, including Brutus, addressed
a small crowd, saying in part, "there's no reason to be upset. Nothing bad has happened. Nobody has been murdered. A tyrant has been killed!" We don't have a lot of details from this speech,
but the general vibe is that it didn't go over that well. When the crowd was informed of Caesar's death,
and they mostly just listened in silence. For all of Caesar's faults, he was popular
with the people. Now, the future of Rome was uncertain. Speaking of an uncertain future, the Conspirators
didn't really know what to do next. All of their planning had basically ended
at Caesar's death. There had always been vague notions of a political
movement to restore and revitalize the Republic, but nobody really knew what that meant. They needed a leader. The conspiracy had begun with a meeting between
Decimus, Cassius, and Brutus, and so there was a general feeling among the Conspirators
that one of them should take the reins. Decimus was immediately deemed to be too controversial. To the extent that there was public anger
out there, it was mostly directed at Decimus. People were already becoming aware of the
extent of his betrayal. The fact that Decimus and Caesar broke bread
the night before his assassination would become a big deal in the days to come. Decimus was fine with this. He was a military man, and had very little
experience with (or taste for) politics. Cassius was another possibility, but he was
another military man with a reputation as a hot-head. Personally, he had very little time for diplomacy. Not a great quality in a politician. That left Brutus. He didn't have a lot of political experience,
but he was a deep thinker and a good public speaker. He also had a famous name, claiming to be
a descendant of another Brutus who had founded the Republic by expelling the last King of
Rome. The message of "another Brutus, expelling
another King, founding another Republic" was powerful. That settled it. Going forward, Brutus would be the public
face of this new political movement. The Conspirators couldn't be sure how the
world would react to Caesar's murder. For the time being they decided to use their
armed gladiators to barricade themselves on the Capitoline Hill. It's worth noting that there has been lots
of second guessing as to whether or not this was a smart move, since occupying the capitol
seems less like a political movement thing and more like an insurrectionist thing. Nevertheless, that's what they did. On the Capitoline Hill, they waited. No word from Antony, who was now Rome's highest
ranking politician. No word from Lepidus, Caesar's old right hand
man, who was Tiber Island in command of a full legion. Late in the day, Brutus and the Conspirators
decided to make the first move. They sent a bunch of former Consuls to Antony's
home to negotiate. Lepidus was invited too. The Conspirators told Antony and Lepidus that
they had no intention of seizing power. They merely wanted to restore Republican ideals. They invited Antony and Lepidus to participate
in that restoration. Antony and Lepidus made no promises at this
time, but they all agreed to hammer this out at a formal Senate meeting the day after tomorrow. Antony cancelled his plans to flee the city. The Conspirators considered this a success. A political settlement seemed on the horizon. That evening, the Conspirators fanned out
throughout the city, meeting privately with so-called "neutral" Senators. Nobody knew what would happen during this
Senate meeting, but they needed to know that they had numbers on their side. But they weren't the only ones busy that night. Under the cover of darkness, Lepidus's legion
moved off of Tiber Island, crossed the pomerium, and occupied key government buildings in the
Roman Forum. While this was happening, Antony met with
Caesar's wife, now widow, Calpurnia. With her permission, Antony took control of
a portion of Caesar's vast fortune, and all of his private correspondence. This transfer was an informal signal from
Calpurnia indicating who should be the heir to Caesar's political movement. A massive win for Antony. The
Senate meeting took place in the Temple of Tellus, on neutral ground, way over on the
Esquiline Hill. Lepidus stationed soldiers just outside the
temple. Brutus decided that for their own safety,
none of the Conspirators should attend the meeting. This was perhaps a foolish move, and it was
much criticized after the fact, but Lepidus's soldiers inside of Rome's pomerium were making
everybody nervous. The Conspirators sent a bunch of prominent
Senators to advocate on their behalf, including perhaps the most prominent Senator of all,
Marcus Tullius Cicero. The Senate was broadly supportive of what
the Conspirators had done. They agreed that Caesar showed kingly ambitions,
and many argued that the Senate should somehow thank the Conspirators for their service to
the Republic. Antony rose to speak. He said that a Roman Consul had been assassinated,
and Caesar's soldiers would not tolerate the Senate THANKING his killers. That would be a step too far. Another question facing the Senate, just as
important, was whether or not they considered Caesar a tyrant. If Caesar was declared a tyrant, all of his
political acts would be declared illegal and would be repealed. Caesar had pushed through a tonne of legislation,
this would be incredibly chaotic. Additionally, anybody appointed to office
by Caesar would have to step down. Antony offered a compromise. He said that if the Senate would agree to
ratify all of Caesar's acts, he would agree to offer the Conspirators, not exactly thanks,
but amnesty. A truce. An end to the violence. Cicero made a long speech in favour of Antony's
compromise position, and with his support, the Senate made it official. All of Caesar's legislation was ratified by
the Senate. The Conspirators were granted immunity for
Caesar's murder. An interesting footnote to all of this is
that Cicero would later write that he did NOT feel free to speak his mind during this
Senate meeting. The Conspirators had their gladiators, Antony
and Lepidus had their soldiers, and Cicero had nothing. He saw a chance at peace and he took it, but
in no way was he comfortable with ratifying Caesar's illegal actions. That evening, as a symbol of their reconciliation,
Antony hosted Cassius for dinner, and Lepidus hosted Brutus. At the Antony-Cassius dinner, Antony tried
to lighten the mood by joking around and asking if Cassius had a dagger hidden on him. Cassius replied, "I own such a dagger, and
if you follow in Caesar's footsteps, maybe you'll get to see it some day!" Good Lord! Cassius's reputation as a hot-head was well-earned. Soon after this rapprochement between the
two factions, a small group of Caesarians met in Antony's home and opened up Caesar's
last will and testament. Its contents were surprising. Caesar's will stipulated that every adult
male citizen receive, from his personal estate, the equivalent to like 3 months' wages for
a Roman soldier. A truly mind-blowing expense, incredibly generous,
and enough money to really make a difference in the lives of Rome's poor. He also gifted to the Roman people one of
his estates on the other side of the Tiber, saying that it should be converted into a
public park. After those expenses were met, the rest of
his vast fortune would be broken up like this. Octavius, Caesar's sister's grandson, would
receive 75% of whatever was left. The remaining 25% would be split between two
of Octavius's cousins. In the will, these three beneficiaries were
referred to as Caesar's "primary heirs." He also named a number of secondary heirs,
who were basically named just in case everybody else was dead. These secondary heirs would also be responsible
for bringing up any of Caesar's nonexistent children. Dang, I guess Caesar really was ambitious. Antony was named as a secondary heir, but
so was Decimus, one of the chief architects of Caesar's assassination! This really goes to show the full extent of
Decimus's betrayal. But that was all preamble to the shocking
reveal contained within the will. Caesar's would posthumously adopt his 18 year
old great-nephew as his son and heir. In doing this, he gave Octavius the most precious
thing he possessed. He gave him his name. Caesar. Reportedly, Antony felt slighted by Caesar's
will. He considered himself the heir to Caesar's
political movement, but apparently Caesar didn't feel the same way. Octavius wasn't even in Rome, he was off in
Illyricum preparing for a military campaign that would never come. Thousands and thousands of people attended
Caesar's funeral. Roman funerals were highly theatrical events. I won't get into all the details, but just
for example, rich people would hire actors to dress up as the deceased party to give
speeches on their behalf. This was in addition to musical acts, parades,
all kinds of wild stuff. Caesar's funeral was... a lot... even by Roman
standards. His body was carried into the Forum by a phalanx
of veterans of the Gallic Wars. Before them, on the tip of a spear, they carried
the clothes that Caesar was wearing when he died, still crusted with his blood. The veterans placed Caesar's body on a golden
shrine high up on a speaking platform. Then, several of Caesar's friends and colleagues
spoke to the crowd. This is where Antony gives his famous "friends,
Romans, countrymen" speech in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The speech is worth reading on your own simply
because it's a great piece of writing, but it's not accurate. What actually happened in way weirder. Antony read a list of Caesar's achievements
to the crowd, and after every item, he gestured to Caesar's dead body as if to say "and this
is what happened to him!". He made a particular point of reminding the
crowd that the Senate had taken an oath to protect Caesar's life with their own. At this he raised his arms to the heavens
and turned toward the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus in the distance, shouting, "Oh Jupiter,
[...] for my own part I am prepared to defend Caesar according to my oath, [...] but since
it is the view of my equals that what we have decided will be for the best, I pray that
it is for the best!" Antony was saying that the only thing preventing
him from avenging Caesar's death was the compromise that he had hammered out with the Conspirators. Several Senators raised a note of protest,
but Antony continued, telling the crowd that it was all water under the bridge. What mattered now was the future. He warned of another Civil War. He then raised his arms to the sky once more
and began to weep, crying out that he would gladly give his own life for Caesar's. He went over and grabbed the spear carrying
Caesar's bloody clothes waved it before the frothing crowd for all to see. The actor pretending to be Caesar then raised
his voice, quoting what at the time was a famous play, "to think that I saved these
men just so they could destroy me." On cue, a giant wax figure was hoisted into
the air. This figure showed all 23 of Caesar's wounds
in graphic detail, including the humiliating ones to the face and to the groin. The crowd was already worked up into a fervor,
and now, the dam finally broke. They surged forward and took control of Caesar's
body. The mob now had a mind of its own. There was a funeral pyre prepared on the Campus
Martius, but that was no longer good enough for them. Instead, they took Caesar's body up to the
Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. Lepidus's soldiers were stationed nearby,
and they were able to repel the mob and save the temple. The mob then returned to the Forum, stormed
some nearby law courts, and began breaking down wooden benches. They would make their own pyre. Caesar's body was placed upon a makeshift
pyre in the middle of the Roman Forum, and the pyre was lit. As a sign of respect, nearby soldiers spontaneously
began throwing their weapons and armour into the fire. What followed genuinely turned into mass hysteria. People began throwing their jewelry into the
fire. People began ripping their own clothes off
their bodies and throwing it in the fire. Nearby buildings were stormed and looted so
that even more valuables could be thrown into the blaze. The mob was completely out of control now. Several groups showed up outside the homes
of Brutus and Cassius with the intention of dragging them outside and doing who-knows-what
to them. Wisely, the Conspirators had gone into hiding
at the first sign of trouble. As a plan B, the mob tried to burn down their
estates, but armed guards were able to repel them. The madness spread throughout the city and
persisted all through the night. By the next morning, several important buildings
in the Roman Forum had been consumed by Caesar's funeral pyre. Caesar's assassins had lost the support of
the people. Caesar's funeral marked a dramatic shift in
Roman politics. I mean, you don't get any more dramatic than
Caesar being murdered during a Senate meeting, but what I'm saying is that things were never
the same after his funeral. As we've seen, the events of recent days had
featured people brashly bringing weapons across the pomerium. Lepidus had done it with his soldiers. Decimus had done it with his gladiators. This was supposed to be a death penalty offense,
but in the chaos following Caesar's death nobody had bothered to enforce this rule. From his position as Consul, Antony made an
announcement. From now on, soldiers would be permitted to
cross the pomerium under arms, but nobody else. Lepidus's legion could come and go as it pleased,
but Decimus's gladiators could not. The Conspirators saw this as a power grab,
which it was, but they didn't have the votes in the Senate to do anything about it. Antony followed this up with a written letter
to the three main Conspirators, Decimus, Cassius, and Brutus, informing them that as Consul,
he could no longer guarantee their safety. Regrettably, too many soldiers wanted vengeance
for Caesar. It doesn't take a genius to see the threat
hidden in that message. The Conspirators were outraged, but what could
they do? What Antony said about the soldiers was true. Besides, were they going to insist on being
able to bring their armed thugs across the pomerium? How would that go over with the public? Decimus had had enough. Next year, he was scheduled to take over as
the governor of Cisalpine Gaul, which according to Caesar's example was Rome's most strategically
significant province. It wouldn't hurt to head up there early to
start making preparations. Cassius and Brutus spent some more time weighing
their options, but they couldn't come up with anything. They eventually decided to retire to the Italian
countryside and wait for the situation in Rome to cool down. On his way up north, Decimus wrote to Trebonius,
another Conspirator, who was on his way to his province in Asia Minor. Something to the effect of, "Get ready. If Antony makes a move, we might need you
to raise an army." Cicero was distraught over the abrupt retreat
of the Conspirators. He wrote to his friend, "Can it be true? Is this all that our noble Brutus has accomplished
- that he should have to live at Lanuvium, and Trebonius should have to slink to his
province by side-roads? That all the acts, memoranda, words, promises,
and projects of Caesar should have more validity than if he were still alive?" Another politician put it even more succinctly,
writing to Cicero of the rising tensions and the possibility of yet another Civil War. "If a man of [Caesar's] genius was unable
to find a way out, what hope do we have now?"
how are little squares so goddamn enthralling?!
Without a doubt the best Roman history YouTube channel out there. I recommend watching his chronological order playlist
So are they all, all honourable men
I wonder if we'll ever hear about that guy Octavian again...
Historia Civilis is so good. Such simple graphics but such excellent storytelling.
“When beggars die, there are no comets seen; the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.”
God I miss HBO's ROME.
Been watching this channel for years and absolutely love it!!
nice