1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,960 Speaker 1: Hello, Hello, everyone, Welcome to this day in History class, 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: where we bring you a new tidbit from history every day. 3 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:25,279 Speaker 1: Today is March fifteen. The day was March b c E. 4 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: A conspiracy against Roman dictator Julius Caesar came to a 5 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:37,200 Speaker 1: violent end when his own senators assassinated him. Caesar's power 6 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: as a military commander and political leader had been rising steadily. 7 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:45,920 Speaker 1: He greatly expanded Rome's territories, and he set the stage 8 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: for Rome to become an empire. Caesar conquered Gaul, defeated 9 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,280 Speaker 1: Pompey the Great at the Battle of Farsilus, and named 10 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: his grand nephew Octavian his heir. He initiated a bunch 11 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: of social and political reforms too. Caesar created a police force, 12 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:08,320 Speaker 1: abolished the tax system, ordered land redistribution for the poor, 13 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:13,759 Speaker 1: granted citizenship to foreigners, ordered Carthage and Corinth to be rebuilt, 14 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:18,440 Speaker 1: and reformed the Roman calendar. In forty four b c. 15 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,960 Speaker 1: He was appointed Dictator perpetuous or dictator of the Roman 16 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: Republic with no term limit. Caesar was a celebrated leader, 17 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: and Rome prospered under his reign, but his senators thought 18 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:35,319 Speaker 1: that he was becoming too powerful. And that he would 19 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:39,480 Speaker 1: soon get rid of the Senate and become king. Another 20 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:43,040 Speaker 1: line of thought maintains that the senator's motives were more personal, 21 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: as Caesar threatened their privileged interests. There aren't any eyewitness 22 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 1: accounts of Caesar's assassination, but there are some early accounts 23 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: of the day's events, like the one Nicolaus of Damascus 24 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: wrote Sarka fourteen cell. We do know is that the Liberators, 25 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:05,360 Speaker 1: as they called themselves, were a group of Roman elites 26 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 1: who were conspiring to assassinate Caesar to remove him from power. 27 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:13,959 Speaker 1: There were as many as sixty people involved in the plot, 28 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 1: some who were in it for personal gain, some who 29 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,520 Speaker 1: were against Caesar's policies or didn't like the way he 30 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:25,840 Speaker 1: was changing the republic. Among them were Marcus Junius Brutus 31 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: and Guius Cassius Longinus, former enemies of Caesar's who had 32 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 1: joined the Senate, as well as Decimus Junius Brutus and 33 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:39,920 Speaker 1: Guius Tribonius, who had been loyal to Caesar. Caesar was 34 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 1: getting ready to invade the Parthian Empire, and he was 35 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: going to leave Rome on March eighteen to fight so 36 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 1: on March fift b c. Infamously known as the IDEs 37 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 1: of March. Caesar was set to attend a Senate meeting 38 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:58,600 Speaker 1: at the Theater of Pompey. Months before, he had dismissed 39 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 1: his bodyguard. Knowing that Caesar was going to leave soon, 40 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: the liberators followed through with their plan to kill the dictator. 41 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:10,359 Speaker 1: Caesar was sick and hesitant to attend the Senate meeting, 42 00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:15,240 Speaker 1: but Decimus convinced him to go anyway. At the meeting 43 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:20,880 Speaker 1: were hundreds of senators, tribunes, slaves, and secretaries. Mark Antony, 44 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:24,959 Speaker 1: Caesar's right hand was delayed outside of the portico where 45 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:29,600 Speaker 1: the meeting was being held bushes tillas. Timber, the governor 46 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: of Bethania, walked up to Caesar on his throne to 47 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:37,760 Speaker 1: hand him a petition and pulled back Caesar's toga at 48 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 1: Simber signal tribune Publius Servilius Casca was the first to 49 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: strike Caesar with his knife, having hidden double edged daggers 50 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: beneath their Togas the rest of the assassins stabbed the dictator. 51 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: Caesar was stabbed twenty three times, but an autopsy report 52 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:58,800 Speaker 1: later said that only one of the knife wounds had 53 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 1: been a fatal blow. It was later reported that Caesar's 54 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: last words were you too, my child, and the play 55 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 1: Julius Caesar Shakespeare suggested that Caesar instead said it to Brute, 56 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:19,320 Speaker 1: surprised at his friend Marcus Brutus's betrayal. A couple of 57 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,880 Speaker 1: days after the murder, mark Antony called a meeting of 58 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:26,600 Speaker 1: the Senate and proposed a compromise where the assassins would 59 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:29,800 Speaker 1: be let off the hook, but Caesar's laws and appointments 60 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: would remain in place, but that deal didn't go through. 61 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: Caesar was largely popular with the lower and middle classes, 62 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:42,599 Speaker 1: and many mourned his death. A series of civil wars ensued. 63 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 1: Mark Antony linked up with Octavian to defeat Marcus Brutus 64 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:51,839 Speaker 1: and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi. Later, Octavian defeated 65 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:56,120 Speaker 1: Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium, and eventually 66 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:02,440 Speaker 1: Octavian took the name Augustus, meaning revere, one, lofty, or supreme, 67 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 1: and became the first Roman emperor. Caesar's death have precipitated 68 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:12,679 Speaker 1: a totally new era for Rome. I'm Eve Jeff Cote, 69 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today 70 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. If you have any burning questions 71 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: or comments to tell us. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, 72 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:30,279 Speaker 1: and Facebook at t d i h C Podcast. Tune 73 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:36,480 Speaker 1: in tomorrow for another Day in History.