Question

What happened on March 15 in the year 44 B.C.?

a.
Caesar began a civil war.
b.
Caesar’s enemies killed him.
c.
The Council of the Plebs met.
d.
All enslaved people were freed.

Answer 1

Caesar was stabbed to death at a meeting of the Senate. As many as 60 conspirators, led by Brutus and Cassius, were involved.

Answer 2

The correct answer is B. On March 15, 44 BC, Caesar's enemies killed him.

Caesar was murdered on March 15, 44 BC, by a conspiracy directed by Cassius and Brutus (Roman senators), who alleged that Caesar was a tyrant. Caesar was a military man and politician whose dictatorship put an end to the Republic in Rome. Coming from one of the oldest families of the Roman patriciate, the Julius, Caesar was carefully educated with Greek masters. The assassination of Caesar unleashed a new civil war between his supporters and sympathizers (Octavius, Mark Antony and Lepidus), and the defenders of the Republic (Brutus and Cassius, mainly). This conflict ended with the victory of the supporters of Caesar in the double battle of Philippi, and the establishment of the Second Triumvirate in which Octavius, Mark Antony, and Lepidus shared out control of Rome.