This Day in
History: Julius
Caesar is Assassinated March 15, 44 B.C.
The Ides of March As Caesar entered a hall
adjacent to the Theatre of
Pompey, he was surrounded by
several Roman Senators yielding daggers. In the ensuing attack,
the Roman dictator was
stabbed 23 times, including
by his protege, Marcus Brutus. Caesar's final words — said to be in
response to the sight of Brutus
among the assassinators —
are recorded as "You too, child?" Led by Cassius Longinus, the
conspiracy to assassinate Caesar
included as many as 60 nobleman. It stemmed from his
tensions with the Senate,
and his recent appointment
as "dictator in perpetuity." His death is widely
considered the beginning
of the end of the Roman Republic.