Assassination of Julius Caesar

Assassination of Julius Caesar
Part of the Crisis of the Roman Republic
The Death of Julius Caesar by Vincenzo Camuccini, 1806
Location	Curia of Pompey, Theatre of Pompey, Ancient Rome
Coordinates	41°53′43″N 12°28′37″E / 41.89528°N 12.47694°E / 41.89528; 12.47694
Date	15 March 44 BC; 2,068 years ago
Target	Julius Caesar
Attack type	Assassination by stabbing
Perpetrators	60 or more Roman senators
Ringleaders	Marcus Junius Brutus Gaius Cassius Longinus Decimus Brutus Albinus Gaius Trebonius

This article is part of a series about Julius Caesar
Personal Family Works Laudatio Iuliae amitae Anticato Commentarii de Bello Civili Commentarii de Bello Gallico De analogia Poems Quotes Alea iacta est Veni, vidi, vici Ut est rerum omnium magister usus Military campaigns Mytilene Gallic Wars Arar Bibracte Vosges Axona Sabis Atuatuci Octodurus Morbihan Invasions of Britain Ambiorix's revolt Avaricum Gergovia Alesia Uxellodunum Civil War Corfinium Brundisium Ilerda Dyrrhachium Pharsalus Alexandrian war Siege Battle of the Nile Zela Ruspina Corduba Thapsus Munda Planned invasion of the Parthian Empire Assassination Ides of March coin Theatre of Pompey Curia of Pompey Last words Et tu, Brute? Caesar's Comet Legacy Cultural depictions Eponyms Life of Caesar Temple of Caesar Caesarism Julio-Claudian dynasty Title Crossing the Rubicon
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Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator, was assassinated on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC by a group of senators during a Senate session at the Curia of Pompey, located within Rome's Theatre of Pompey. The conspirators, numbering between 60 and 70 individuals and led by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, and Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, stabbed Caesar approximately 23 times. They justified the act as a preemptive defense of the Roman Republic, asserting that Caesar's accumulation of lifelong political authority—including his perpetual dictatorship and other honors—threatened republican traditions.

The assassination failed to achieve its immediate objective of restoring the Republic's institutions. Instead, it precipitated Caesar's posthumous deification, triggered the Liberators' civil war (43–42 BC) between his supporters and the conspirators, and contributed to the collapse of the Republic. These events ultimately culminated in the rise of the Roman Empire under Augustus, marking the beginning of the Principate era.