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<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" >01 Caesar's Death: A Haze Hanging Over Rome</h1>
On March 15, 44 BC, Gaius Julius Caesar died. The famous Julius Caesar, the most prominent military commander and statesman in the history of the Roman Republic, was assassinated by 14 Roman senators, the most deadly of which came from his illegitimate son.
Whoops, the benevolent one kills the sword, and the overlord kills the sword in the person, how sad!
Caesar, the roman consul with great achievements in battle, had countless achievements in his life, pacifying Gaul, killing the king of Egypt, destroying the kingdom of Numidia in North Africa, unifying the chaotic Roman Empire, and even the famous Cleopatra, who was also intimidated by the obscenity of Julius Caesar, had to take off his clothes and kneel before him to sing conquest.
The death of Julius Caesar, on the surface, is a carnival and victory for the assassins, but in fact, this group of invisible assassins is destroying their own patrons! Shortly after Caesar's death, Cicero, Rome's most eminent writer, said in a letter to a friend in frustration: If you knew this, why did you assassinate Caesar in the first place?
One of the greatest mysteries in Roman history, caesar's death was shrouded in a thick fog from beginning to end:
Caesar's followers, defenders of the Republic, apostates, each has its own agenda.
What is the motivation for faith, self-interest, jealousy, honor, hatred?
The three events that led to the conspiracy, a public sacrifice to turn the tide.
Who is dedicated to the country? Who is spying on power?
Who misjudged the situation? Who's doing it step by step?
So, behind the death of Julius Caesar, what kind of earth-shattering conspiracy is hidden? Why did the elders of Rome not hesitate to destroy the Great Wall and assassinate Caesar? Cicero, Brutus, Cassius, Dechimus... Who were the initiators of the assassination plot among the most famous figures in Roman history? Who were the key figures in carrying out this conspiracy?
Barry Strauss, professor of history and Western classics at Cornell University, is a leading expert in the field of ancient military history. He was praised: "Strauss had a rare talent for freely shaping narrative history, shaping characters who seemed to be frozen in marble forever and bringing them back to life." ”
To analyze the truth behind this assassination plot and the significant impact of Caesar's death on Rome. Barry Strauss took a unique approach, focusing on the final stage of Caesar's life, combing through the historical records of Nigulaus, Plutarch, Appian, Suetonius, Andeo of Damascus, and combining modern archaeology, modern medicine, and ancient weapons research to interpret the motives and demands of various parties, and analyzing in detail the historical details of the main conspirators, the choice of assassination sites, and how to hide weapons.
On the basis of rigorous evidence, Strauss stripped away the cocoon and advanced layer by layer, the narrative was compact, the climax was repeated, and there was an immersive sense of tension and invigorating reading. No wonder some people say this about him and his Death of Caesar:
"With a keen historical eye and the rhythm of a thriller novel, the author vividly recreates the last years of the lives of Rome, Julius Caesar and members of the Cabal in 44 BC. A story that deeply reflects human nature, involving all the men and women involved in this famous event. This is history. History is supposed to be written in this way. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >02 Fatal Knife: The Cause of Illegitimate Children's Anti-Purpose</h1>
Even Caesar's opponents had to admit that in the history of Rome, Caesar was indeed the most popular consul. Therefore, his supporters and even the entire population of the city of Rome sincerely hoped that he would become the true king of Rome.
Once, Caesar's most loyal subordinate, Antony, presented Caesar with a crown at a public rally, which was similar to Song Taizu's "yellow robe plus body". Of course, Caesar was not Song Taizu, so he himself explicitly rejected this "gift", but at this time it still deeply stimulated the elders of Rome, but they began to worry that if Caesar, who had achieved great success, had the idea of becoming emperor, he would destroy the republic on which Rome was founded.
Another incident that occurred later exacerbated the antagonism between Caesar and the senators was that Caesar actively reorganized his army and prepared to conquer Parthian and rescue the 10,000 Roman soldiers who had been captured by the Parthian Empire.
We know that many times, the founding emperors will use some folk proverbs to create momentum for their own regime, such as "Chen Shengxing, the king of Great Chu", "The sky is dead, the yellow sky is standing", all of which are the case. In Rome at that time, there were also rumors that only a true king could conquer Parthia!
In the eyes of the Romans, the victory over Parthia was a breeze for Caesar, the god of war. Therefore, the Roman senators feared that Caesar would ascend the throne after his victory over Parthia.
Speaking of which, most of these Roman senators had previously been opponents of Caesar, and not long ago they had turned against Caesar on the battlefield, but thanks to Caesar's magnanimity, they not only did not blame these opponents in the past, but also let them hold the position of senator in the Roman Senate.
Among the senators who conspired against Caesar were the two most important leaders, Marcus Brutus and Cassius Longinus.
Brutus's mother, Severia, is said to be Caesar's favorite mistress, and Brutus is Severia's illegitimate son for Caesar. Brutus had joined Caesar's greatest rival, Gnaeus Pompey, and after Pompey's defeat, Brutus, under Caesar's patronage, eventually returned to Rome unscathed, and was appointed by Caesar as governor and legal officer. Cassius was a fierce general under Pompey, and the navy he led caused great trouble for Caesar, and after Pompey's death, Caesar admired Cassius's ability and forgave him.
In addition to Brutus and Cassius, the conspiratorial assassin of Caesar included Decius, a talented young general under Caesar who had followed Caesar on an expedition to Gaul and won Caesar's trust. But it was this most important general of Caesar's total betrayal.
The opposition, represented by these three men, began to plot and plan the assassination of Caesar in order to prevent Caesar from becoming emperor. After some careful planning, they set the assassination date for March 15, because Caesar would lead an army to the Parthian Empire on the 18th, and this would be their last chance.
On March 15, 44 BC, in the early morning, Caesar sat on the golden throne as usual, waiting for the meeting to begin. Suddenly, the robe he was wearing was tightly held by an Assassin who was quietly approaching, making him unable to move, and the other Assassins gathered around, ready to stab Caesar's neck with a dagger, and although Caesar flashed quickly, the dagger still stabbed him in the chest. An enraged Caesar shouted at the mob, "This is atrocity! Then picked up an iron pen and tried to fight back.
At this moment, all the Assassins rushed up, and sharp blades came from all directions to Caesar. In just a split second, Caesar was shot 23 times and leaned against the wall. His eyes were already covered with blood, and his vision gradually became blurred. But at this moment, Caesar vaguely saw a familiar figure among the Assassins. When he finally recognized the man, he angrily rebuked him in Greek: "You too, my child!" ”
At the end of the conversation, he no longer struggled, nor resisted, but covered his head with his robe and covered his feet with his robe in order to make himself die more dignified. In the next instant, the ambitious king died under the assassins' swords.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >03 The Fall of Rome: The Impact of Caesar's Death on Politics</h1>
The Assassins who orchestrated the assassination saw Caesar as a dictator intent on becoming emperor. They had thought that by killing Caesar, they would save the Roman republic. But these people never expected that Caesar's death would hasten the collapse of the republic. As Barry Strauss says in his book:
After Caesar's death, "only legions could save the Roman Republic from legionnaire rule." ”
The day after Caesar's death, the Roman senators, led by Brutus, prepared a public speech to explain the justice of The Assassination of Caesar to the Roman populace, but they were almost killed on the spot by the angry populace. It was only then that these politically ill-informed elders realized in horror that the assassination of Caesar was tantamount to stabbing a huge honeycomb.
On the third day after Caesar's death, people found the will he had made before his death. When the will was made public, all the assassins were stunned.
It turned out that Caesar had entrusted all the assassins in this will, for example, Dechimus, who led Caesar into the meeting, was arranged to be the heir to the throne of the first heir Octavian, and at the same time served as the guardian of Caesar's widow and the governor of Northern Italy, while the governor of Asia, the governor of Bithynia, the governor of Africa and other important positions would be held by the senators involved in his assassination.
In the face of such a will, the elders were naturally ashamed and embarrassed. Originally, according to Caesar's will, they could all become feudal officials of the Roman Empire, but now it is even more difficult for them to save their lives in front of the angry Roman people. A Roman nobleman who supported the assassination of Caesar, after seeing this will, could not help but sigh with his face: If he knew this, why did he kill Caesar in the first place?
In November 43 BC, Caesar's old subordinate Antony, Caesar's adopted son Octavian, and Caesar's loyal follower, the Roman high priest Libida, together formed the "last three-headed alliance" of the Roman Empire. The first thing the three giants sat together to discuss was to avenge Caesar.
Soon, the big three together announced a wanted notice. The murderers involved in Caesar's assassination were naturally to be executed, so the names of Brutus, Cassius, and Decius appeared on this list. And Cicero, the wall-head grass that sways back and forth, has also become a thorn in Anthony's eyes, and he wants to get rid of it quickly.
In the end, Cicero was killed by a search team sent by Antony, the head and right hand were nailed in front of the Senate; Decius was beheaded by Antony; Brutus and Cassius were not willing to be tied up, and raised an army to confront Antony and Octavian, and finally died on the battlefield of Philippi; as for the other assassins, they were also killed in the massacre in the city of Rome.
Caesar was canonized as a god after his death and revered by the Romans as "Holy Julius". We can still see the ruins of the Temple of Caesar today, and there are still people who regularly go to the altar to lay flowers in memory of rome's last dictator. However, the Great English writer Shakespeare seems to have a different view of Caesar's merits, and in his works, he describes Caesar as follows: "Behind the infamy, the merits are buried together." ”
Yes, Caesar's talent and exploits are indeed worth remembering for posterity, but his black history of trampling on the Roman republic in order to maintain his dictatorship, and his wild killings in Gaul, resulting in the death or enslavement of millions, has been selectively forgotten.
In any case, Caesar passed on to Octavian the method of controlling the Senate by military dictatorship, and from then on there was no power to prevent Rome from a republic to an empire. Caesar planned it all, but he couldn't see it.