The Murder of Julius Caesar

Initial Reports coming in…

• ...Caesar was apparently stabbed several times in the back while in the Senate building. There were lots of people around at the time and there are no eyewitness reports to identify the murderer at this time. It is not clear whether people other than senators were present, although that seems quite likely given the amount of noise in the Senate chamber. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the killing yet and nobody has tried to personally gain from the murder yet. Guards on duty are unable to provide a full list of people who left the building after the killing due to the commotion.

• An armed guard has been sent to the homes of other leading Senators to protect them and a group of generals has been asked to arrange further investigations.

The Public Reaction!Newspapers of Rome give different opinions about the murder…

The Roman Times“A Great loss”Julius Caesar, conqueror of Gaul and Britannia has been murdered. No longer

can Rome call upon her greatest son to lead us to more victories and further glory. This day shall long be remembered as one of the saddest in Rome's Glorious history.

The Daily Parchment“New Hope”Rome has been given a new hope of lasting peace and democracy following

the brave actions of an unknown killer. Julius Caesar's plans to become king have finally been stopped by the courageous act of this unknown activist. No longer will Romans have to wake in fear of another tyranny, Rome is once again free to be ruled by the Senate and can again look brightly towards her future.

Who would kill Caesar?

The Roman Police have made some preliminary inquiries and have discovered several groups of people with clear motives to kill Julius Caesar.

The EvidenceThe Generals say…Source 1

"Caesar was a great leader, his authority over the troops was never challenged by the men. Rome gained power and prestige as a result of his fabulous leadership. Why would any soldier wish to have him dead? His loss is great, he will be sorely missed by all of Rome.“

Source 2"He treated his men with contempt, leading them into battles that were bound to end in misery for many of our troops. The glory of Rome? He doesn't know the meaning of a glorious victory! His men fight through fear of him, they'll be glad that he's gone: the armed forces of the roman empire have never responded to threats for long. I'd not be surprised if one of his own men had stabbed him in the back.“

Source 3"Julius Caesar was respected by the other generals. He was brave and courageous. Caesar led the army on expeditions that no other general would even dare to consider; and look at what we have gained from this! The new world over the ocean, bear skins, slaves and Tin are now plentiful in Rome thanks to his journey's into Briton and beyond. He feared nothing and has gained the world for Rome. What evil has taken him from us?“

Source 4"His Excellency showed that he was the greatest warrior of all time. He was undefeated in battle and an excellent diplomat. Our enemies shiver at the sound of his name. Most capitulated within minutes. The other generals are in awe of Julius, he was their leader, their idol and the one that they aspired to please."

The Evidence (Part 2)

Other Politicians say…

Source 5"Some senators hated Caesar. They wanted to prevent him becoming a King.“

Source 6“Caesar had powerful enemies within the Senate. They had plotted against him several times before and were scared of him because he was so successful and popular. These senators would happily kill him to improve their chances of success.“

Source 7"Julius Caesar had nothing to fear from the Seante. He won them wars and the people loved the Senate because of that."

So far…So far you have been provided with very little actual evidence about the murder of Julius Caesar. Historians are often faced with lots of evidence that is based on peoples opinions rather than actual facts.

The initial reports that you have received outline just a few factual details about the case. You know that Caesar has been stabbed and that he died as a result of his wounds. You found out from the report that there were lots of people around at the time.

You have also been told that the centurions on duty cannot identify the killer. You need to look for further evidence in order to find the killer.

The two different newspaper reports carry different interpretations of the events. The Roman Times thinks that Caesar was Rome’s greatest leader and that the murder is a horrible crime. The Daily Parchment is glad that Caesar has been killed because this means that there is now a chance of Rome regaining a democracy. The two papers are written by people who have very different opinions.

The opinions of the generals also demonstrates a number of different ways of looking at Caesar. Sources one, three and four suggest that the soldiers will be unhappy about Caesar's murder. An alternative reason is given by Source two. This source suggests that Caesar was a bully and that his men disliked the way he treated them.

A young historian can infer a lot from these sources. Source four, for example, suggests that the other generals were in aware of Caesar. This may have made some of them jealous of his power.

New Developments…• Caesar was stabbed 23 times.

• Eye Witness reports state that senators were present at the time.

• Brutus, one of the leading Senators has been implicated: he has no alibi.

• Caesar's servants report that a note warning him not to go to the senate was received by Caesar: he ignored it.

• Pro-Republic senators are rejoicing. Elections for new consuls are being hastily prepared.

• Brutus has stated that he wishes to be consul.

• Marc Anthony, Octavian and Lepidus have expressed their anguish and have promised to bring Caesar's murderers to justice.

Caesar’s DeathJulius Caesar was murdered by a group of senators who were angry that he had been made 'ruler for life'. This group included Brutus.

Caesar had become a consul in 59BC and had quickly fallen out with the other elected consul, Bibulus. Caesar had wanted to make drastic changes to the way that Rome was ruled and used his position as a successful and popular general to take control of Rome.

He did this by starting a Civil War. Caesar fought to have power and do things his own way. He didn't want the other senators to be killed and upon winning the civil war he had pardoned most of his supporters. It was these men who later conspired against him and had him killed.

When he won the Civil War, Caesar was made ruler of Rome for life: but he refused to be crowned King. Even so there were many people who thought that he wanted to be a king. His opponents were angry that the power of the Senate and the consuls had been reduced. they wanted the people, not Caesar, to elect the Consuls and were very angry that Caesar had special powers. This was not what the republic was meant to be about. (The last king of Rome had been deposed so the people could have a real say in the way that Rome was ruled).

Caesar’s DeathHowever, Caesar did have many supporters. They argued that Caesar deserved the special powers as he had proved himself to be the best General and leader that Rome had. Caesar was forgiving and had only fought to get what was best for Rome: if he wanted to be King he would have taken the crown and killed all of his opponents, which he hadn't done.

After his murder power was seized by his supporters, Marc Anthony, Octavian and Lepidus. They were very powerful generals who took power by force and killed many of Caesar's opponents at the battle of Phillipi.

The empire was then split into two with Anthony and Octavian ruling half each (Lepidus retired). By 33BC though these men were arguing and another Civil War broke out.

Octavian won and was later proclaimed emperor of the whole of the Roman Empire.

Your Newspaper Story

CAESAR ASSASSINATED! Julius Caesar has died following a bloodthirsty attack on him on the steps of the Senate building. Bystanders report that…

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Julius Caesar will be remembered by the Romans for both the good and bad things that he did. Here's a list of some of the things that he will be remembered for:

1.2.3.4.5.