The Assassination of Julius Caesar

Since the dawn of time, human civilization has arrived at countless crossroads.
Upon encountering these crossroads, the helm of the entire civilization is mainly
steered by one man's decision. His decision can either propel humanity into a
golden age or threaten to undo the monumental efforts of their predecessors.
Similarly, Roman Senator Marcus Junius Brutus also found himself as the ship's
captain, which would either lead the Roman empire into prosperity or catapult it
into ruin.

During this time, Julius Caesar was the leader of the Roman Republic. He was an
immensely popular leader who had won the hearts of the people. Due to his
continuous success in wars and his generous distribution of land to the poor,
the Roman public was in awe of their leader.

In light of Caesar’s popularity, despite Rome being a republic, he was bestowed
with the title of dictator, giving him emergency powers for a limited time. In 44
B.C. E, he made himself a permanent dictator which gave him those powers for an
indefinite timeframe. The senators, including Brutus, were alarmed at this
development as this seemed like a step towards reestablishing Rome as a monarchy which their ancestors had tried to prevent. To the senators, it felt like all the efforts of their ancestors were about to be undone if they did not take matters into their own hands.

A group of senators plotted the assassination of Julius Caesar. The individuals
leading the conspiracy were Gaius Cassius Longinus and Brutus himself. Whether
Brutus wanted to be involved was a dilemma in and of itself. Brutus was extremely
close to Caesar and over the years, they had developed a bond akin to that of a
father and son. As far as Brutus was concerned, this was the assassination of his
father.

Despite this, Brutus led the Senators alongside Longinus. After a Senate meeting
on 15th March 44 B.C.E, as many as 60 Senators surrounded Caesar and
unsheathed their daggers. A slaughter ensued and Caesar frantically struggled
against his fate until he saw Brutus’ face. After seeing the face of the man he
called son among his assassins, Caesar gave up clinging to life and heartbreakingly embraced death.

This assassination has sparked controversy for millennia, and there has been no definitive verdict on whether Brutus’s actions were justifiable. In the next post in this trilogy, the subject matter will revolve around the two polarising viewpoints on the matter and their portrayal in classic literature.