The assassination of Caesar on the ides of March
at the end of September 46 BC, for almost two weeks, Julius Caesar celebrated in Rome his success in four wars fought in the previous years: in Gaul, in Egypt, in Pontus, and in Africa. Covered with a gold-embroidered purple cloak, he toured the city of Rome mounted on a chariot and accompanied by several carts that displayed to the people the large loot obtained. A celebration as grand as that had never been seen in Rome.
Almost two years later, on March 15, 44 BC, he was assassinated in the Senate, the victim of a conspiracy orchestrated by a group of senators opposed to his autocratic ambitions. Gaius Cassius, Marcus Junius Brutus, Decimo Junius, and a group of more than sixty people, the so-called Liberators, materialized their disastrous plan, during the Ides of March, when Caesar was next to the statue of Pompey, to who, paradoxes of fate, had defeated four years ago in the battle of Farsalia, in Greece. Tilio Cimbro and Servilio Casca dealt him the first blows, which were followed by several stab wounds that ended his life. Why was Caesar assassinated?
In October 2012, a Spanish-Italian team led by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) announced the discovery of the exact place where Julio César was stabbed, in the center of the background of the Curia de Pompeyo, in the Largo di Torre Argentina, a busy square in the center of Rome.
Augustus, the adoptive son and successor of Julius Caesar, marked the place where the infamous murder was committed by means of a concrete structure three meters wide by more than two meters high. The archaeological complex was discovered at the end of the twenties, during the Mussolini government, and since then it has served as a refuge for a large part of Rome’s stray cats.
Why was Julius Caesar assassinated?
What reasons led to the assassination of Julius Caesar? | front page
There are many unknowns surrounding the past. One of them takes us to Ancient Rome and is linked to the murder of Julius Caesar. Although the motives seem clear, all the agents who participated in the conspiracy are not so clear. To resolve any doubts we may have, we have invited Pedro Huertas, a historian who can be read on the blog Rome was not made in a day, to the program. Audio section: 13:16-1:10:02.
To begin this historical journey we must place ourselves in the 1st century BC. A quite complex and turbulent time in which Julius Caesar was reaching more and more levels of power. Curiously, he was about to be assassinated in his youth by Sulla, but he left at the head of Asia until the death of the dictator and consul.
And Julius Caesar passed the Rubicon
Great strategists and military man quickly won the sympathy of the legions and whoever has the army had the power. This caused suspicion on the part of the Senate. Surely the turning point that marked a path of no return in the game of power came with the Gallic War (58 BC – 51 BC), and its outcome in the battle of Alesia.
Pedro Huertas speaks to us throughout the program of the absorption process of said power that he will unleash with a civil war (49 BC-45 BC). In this way, once Vercingetorix has fallen and been captured, Julius Caesar will organize the new province under the fearful gaze of the Senate. The chamber was afraid of the disappearance of the Republic and the return of a monarchical regime. At this point, we know the episode that took place when our protagonist crosses the Rubicon River under the famous phrase: Ale Jacta est (the die is cast). This would be the beginning of the end for Pompey and his faction of him.
the ideas of march
After the fall of Pompey and the campaign in Egypt, Julius Caesar triumphantly returned to Rome where he was named consul and perpetual dictator. The conspiracy was increasingly present, so much so that on March 15, 44 BC, a group of senators assassinated Julius Caesar with a dagger. A death that has been a source of inspiration for writers and artists for centuries after.
Lastly, Pedro Huertas recommends a series of works and authors to delve deeper into the figure of a character whose legacy endured during the Empire.
If you want to know more and learn about the role of Cleopatra, Pompey, Crassus, Marco Antonio, Sulla, Cicero, and Cato, don’t miss the program.
cultural news
Aroa Velasco brings us the main cultural news of the week. First of all we talked about a campaign that has been carried out to save Velázquez’s house in Seville. Next, we echo an editorial promoted by the writer Arturo Pérez Reverte. Next, we know a new record in the sale of a work of art. Finally, Aroa takes us to the National Museum of Ancient Art in Lisbon due to a controversy linked to the institution. Audio section: 4:12-12:17.