They claimed to be acting over fears that Caesar's unprecedented concentration of power during his dictatorship was undermining the Roman Republic.

The ramifications of the assassination led to his martyrdom, the Liberators' civil war and ultimately to the Principate period of the Roman Empire.

Caesar had served the Republic for eight years in the Gallic Wars, fully conquering the region of Gaul (roughly equivalent to modern-day France).

[4] According to Roman historian Cassius Dio, after the Senate had voted to bestow a large number of honours upon Caesar, they decided to present them to him formally, and marched as a senatorial delegation to the Temple of Venus Genetrix.

[7] Regardless of the reasoning, by practically rejecting a senatorial gift and not acknowledging the delegation's presence with proper etiquette, Caesar gave the strong impression that he no longer cared about the Senate.

One day in January, the tribunes Gaius Epidius Marullus and Lucius Caesetius Flavus discovered a diadem on the head of the statue of Caesar on the Rostra in the Roman Forum.

[13] According to Suetonius, Caesar's assassination ultimately occurred primarily due to concerns that he wished to crown himself the king of Rome.

While it took only one man to murder another, Brutus believed that for the assassination of Caesar to be considered a legitimate removal of a tyrant, done for the sake of their country, it must include a large number of Rome's leading men.

[18] They attempted to strike a balance: they aimed to recruit enough men to surround Caesar and fight his supporters, but not so many that they would risk being discovered.

[19] The ancient sources report that in the end, around sixty to eighty conspirators joined the plot, although the latter number may be a scribal error.

[20] Notable conspirators included Pacuvius Labeo, who answered affirmatively on 2 March when Brutus asked him whether it was wise for a man to put himself into danger if it meant overcoming evil or foolish men;[21] Decimus Brutus, who joined on 7 March after being approached by Labeo and Cassius;[22] Gaius Trebonius,[23] Tillius Cimber, Minucius Basilus, and the brothers Casca (Publius and another whose name is unknown), all men from Caesar's own ranks;[24] and Pontius Aquila, who had been personally humiliated by Caesar.

Cicero, the famous orator, was trusted by both Cassius and Brutus, and had made it no secret that he considered Caesar's rule oppressive.

The conspirators claimed to be acting based on the principles of law and justice, he told them, and it would be unjust to kill Antony.

[45] Calpurnia had no doubt heard Spurinna's warnings of great peril to Caesar's life, which helps explain her visions.

Caesar attempted to fight back, but tripped and fell; the men continued stabbing him as he lay defenseless on the lower steps of the portico.

Both Cassius Dio and Suetonius state that he said nothing,[53] nevertheless, both mention that others have written that Caesar's last words were the Greek phrase "καὶ σύ, τέκνον;"[60][61] (transliterated as "Kai su, teknon?

According to Suetonius, after the murder all the conspirators fled; Caesar's body lay untouched for some time afterwards, until finally three slaves put him on a litter and carried him home, with one arm hanging down.

He and no other was moved to pity Rome on the day that Caesar died, when he veiled his radiance in gloom and darkness, and a godless age feared everlasting night.

Yet in this hour Earth also and the plains of Ocean, ill-boding dogs and birds that spell mischief, sent signs which heralded disaster.

How oft before our eyes did Etna deluge the fields of the Cyclopes with a torrent from her burst furnaces, hurling thereon balls of fire and molten rocks.

Horror beyond words, beasts uttered human speech; rivers stood still, the earth gaped upon; in the temples ivory images wept for grief, and beads of sweat covered bronze statues.

King of waterways, the Po swept forests along in the swirl of his frenzied current, carrying with him over the plain cattle and stalls alike.

Nor in that same hour did sinister filaments cease to appear in ominous entrails or blood to flow from wells or our hillside towns to echo all night with the howl of wolves.

Never fell more lightning from a cloudless sky; never was comet's alarming glare so often seen.A wax statue of Caesar was erected at the Forum displaying the 23 stab wounds.

Antony capitalized on the grief of the Roman mob and threatened to unleash them on the optimates, perhaps with the intent of taking control of Rome himself.

[73] Upon hearing of his adoptive father's death, Octavius abandoned his studies in Apollonia and sailed across the Adriatic Sea to Brundisium.

With passage of the Lex Titia on 27 November 43 BC,[74] the Second Triumvirate was officially formed, composed of Antony, Octavian, and Caesar's Master of the Horse Lepidus.

[77] It engaged in the legally sanctioned murder of a large number of its opponents in order to fund its forty-five legions in the second civil war against Brutus and Cassius.

Antony, meanwhile, married Caesar's lover, Cleopatra, intending to use the fabulously wealthy Egypt as a base to dominate Rome.

[86] Following the assassination of Caesar and the ensuing civil war afterward, multiple novels, plays, and films were created surrounding the plot.