The assassination plot was led by a group of senators known as the Liberators, including Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, and other Roman aristocrats. Brutus, a close friend of Caesar, was particularly torn between his loyalty to Caesar and his belief in the Republic. Cassius, on the other hand, harbored personal resentment towards Caesar and played a key role in organizing the conspiracy.

The conspirators believed that by killing Caesar, they would restore the Republic and prevent the rise of a monarchy. They feared that Caesar aimed to crown himself as rex (king), which went against Roman values and traditions. Although Caesar publicly refused the title of king, his increasing power and influence suggested otherwise to his enemies.

The Assassination on the Ides of March

On March 15, 44 BCE, Caesar arrived at the Senate House (Curia of Pompey) in Rome, unaware of the deadly conspiracy against him. The conspirators had planned to attack him during the Senate meeting, where he would be without his loyal bodyguards.

As Caesar took his seat, the conspirators surrounded him. Casca was the first to strike, stabbing Caesar in the neck. As he tried to resist, the other senators joined in, stabbing him multiple times. According to historical accounts, he was stabbed 23 times, though only one wound—likely to the chest—was fatal.

One of the most famous moments from the assassination is the phrase "Et tu, Brute?" ("You too, Brutus?"), which, according to Shakespeare’s dramatization, were Caesar’s last words as he saw Brutus among his attackers. However, ancient sources such as Plutarch and Suetonius do not confirm these exact words, though they do mention that Caesar showed shock and disappointment upon seeing Brutus.

After the attack, Caesar collapsed at the base of Pompey’s statue, a symbolic moment as Pompey had been his former rival in the civil war. shutdown123