Julius Caesar Killed

Nightmare before Julius Caesar was killed

The night before Julius Caesar was killed, his wife Calpurnia had horrible dreams, which she took as an omen. The next morning she begged Julius Caesar not to go to the senate. Julius Caesar, though unimpressed by her dreams, wasn't feeling well, and decided to stay home after all. When Julius Caesar failed to appear at the senate building, the conspirators were worried, suspecting he had discovered their plot. One of them volunteered to visit Caesar's house and see if he could determine what was going on.

When the senator arrived and was told about Calpurnia's dream, he ridiculed it and suggested it wasn't proper for a man such as Caesar to be influenced by a woman. Julius Caesar, who was feeling better by this time, agreed to go to the senate as planned.

How was Julius Caesar killed?

As Julius Caesar stepped from his litter before the senate building, a friend rushed up and quickly handed him a note. But the crush of the crowd was so great, that Julius Caesar had no chance to read it. Just before Julius Caesar entered the building, he saw a soothsayer who sometime earlier had warned him about the Ides of March. "The Ides of March have come," he said. "Yes," she replied. "But not gone."

As Julius Caesar crossed the threshold into the senate, his friend Marc Antony began to follow him, but was detained in conversation by one of the conspirators. Inside, Julius Caesar walked to his seat. A small group of men approached him and one of them, while begging for a favor, pulled back Julius Caesar 's toga to reveal his chest and neck. It was the signal agreed upon beforehand.

The others all attacked as one, thrusting their daggers into Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar received twenty wounds, many from men who had accepted his favors and whom Julius Caesar believed were his friends. Julius Caesar struggled and fought against them but it's said that Julius Caesar gave up the fight when he saw Brutus approach.

Brutus who stabbed and killed Julius Caesar

As Brutus stabbed him, Julius Caesar covered his face with his toga and moaned Et tu Brute? -"You too, Brutus?" Some say he actually said "Even you, my son?" Then Julius Caesar collapsed and died. As soon as the mighty Julius Caesar fell, there were cries from the rest of the senate, and everyone fled the room. When the assassins appeared with their bloody daggers, people fled the streets in terror. For weeks after, the streets of Rome were rocked by riots. Eventually the assassination was avenged. Several thousand Romans were executed for the death of Julius Caesar, including the renowned orator Cicero. Brutus and Cassius committed suicide when their armies were later defeated by Antony. Later Antony himself was killed in battle, and Cleopatra, who had taken him as her lover, committed suicide. Cato had killed himself after the defeat of Pompey. Almost every participant in this historical saga of ancient Rome met a violent death.

The governorship of Rome passed to Julius Caesar 's nephew Octavian, as specified in his will. It would fall to Octavian, who renamed himself Augustus, to rule the glorious empire that Julius Caesar had begun.