On March 15, known in the ancient Roman calendar as the Ides of March, one of the most famous assassinations in history took place. In 44 BC, Julius Caesar was murdered by a group of senators during a meeting of the Roman Senate in Rome.
The event took place in the Curia of the Theatre of Pompey, where the Senate was temporarily meeting. A conspiracy of around sixty senators surrounded Caesar and stabbed him repeatedly. Among the leading conspirators were Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, both of whom believed that Caesar’s growing power threatened the traditions of the Roman Republic.
What were the Ides?
To modern readers, “Ides of March” can sound mysterious, but in reality it was simply a date in the Roman calendar. The Romans did not number the days of the month as we do today. Instead, they counted days in relation to three fixed points:
- the Kalends, the first day of the month
- the Nones, usually the 5th day (the 7th in March, May, July, and October)
- the Ides, usually the 13th day (the 15th in those same four months)
In March, therefore, the Ides fell on the 15th. The term Idus may originally have referred to the middle of the month and was likely connected to the full moon in the early Roman lunar calendar.
A festival day before tragedy
Long before Caesar’s assassination gave the date its ominous reputation, the Ides of March was an ordinary festival day in Rome. It was associated with Mars, the patron god of soldiers and—according to Roman tradition—the father of Romulus.
The day included religious ceremonies and celebrations marking the military season that began in early spring.
The end of the Republic
Caesar’s assassins believed that killing him would restore the authority of the Senate and preserve the Roman Republic. Instead, the assassination triggered a series of civil wars that ultimately led to the rise of Caesar’s adopted heir, Augustus, and the establishment of the Roman Empire.
Today the Ides of March is remembered mainly because of that dramatic turning point in Roman history. The phrase “Beware the Ides of March,” popularized centuries later in the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, has ensured that March 15 remains one of the most recognizable dates of the ancient world.
For readers of Asterix, it is also a reminder that the world of Caesar’s Rome—so often mocked in the adventures of our favorite Gauls—was a place where political intrigue could be just as dramatic as any comic strip battle with the Roman legions.
On March 15, known in the ancient Roman calendar as the Ides of March, one of the most famous assassinations in history took place. In 44 BC, Julius Caesar was murdered by a group of senators during a meeting of the Roman Senate in Rome.
The event took place in the Curia of the Theatre of Pompey, where the Senate was temporarily meeting. A conspiracy of around sixty senators surrounded Caesar and stabbed him repeatedly. Among the leading conspirators were Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, both of whom believed that Caesar’s growing power threatened the traditions of the Roman Republic.
What were the Ides?
To modern readers, “Ides of March” can sound mysterious, but in reality it was simply a date in the Roman calendar. The Romans did not number the days of the month as we do today. Instead, they counted days in relation to three fixed points:
- the Kalends, the first day of the month
- the Nones, usually the 5th day (the 7th in March, May, July, and October)
- the Ides, usually the 13th day (the 15th in those same four months)
In March, therefore, the Ides fell on the 15th. The term Idus may originally have referred to the middle of the month and was likely connected to the full moon in the early Roman lunar calendar.
A festival day before tragedy
Long before Caesar’s assassination gave the date its ominous reputation, the Ides of March was an ordinary festival day in Rome. It was associated with Mars, the patron god of soldiers and—according to Roman tradition—the father of Romulus.
The day included religious ceremonies and celebrations marking the military season that began in early spring.
The end of the Republic
Caesar’s assassins believed that killing him would restore the authority of the Senate and preserve the Roman Republic. Instead, the assassination triggered a series of civil wars that ultimately led to the rise of Caesar’s adopted heir, Augustus, and the establishment of the Roman Empire.
Today the Ides of March is remembered mainly because of that dramatic turning point in Roman history. The phrase “Beware the Ides of March,” popularized centuries later in the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, has ensured that March 15 remains one of the most recognizable dates of the ancient world.
For readers of Asterix, it is also a reminder that the world of Caesar’s Rome—so often mocked in the adventures of our favorite Gauls—was a place where political intrigue could be just as dramatic as any comic strip battle with the Roman legions.