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==Background==
Caesar was a member of the Roman aristocracy and he was a lifetime member of the popular faction. This was a party of nobles who claimed to be serving the interests of the common people. Caesar became one of the most powerful men in Rome when he joined the First Triumvirate. He used his new-found power to secure a consulship and the command of several legions which he used to wage war in Gaul. Following his conquest of Gaul, he was the most powerful man in Rome and he was feared by the Roman Senate. To safeguard his position Caesar marched on Rome and this began a civil war<ref> Goldsworthy, Anthony. Caesar: Life of a Colossus (Yale, Yale University Press, 2006), p. 261</ref>. Caesar fought the ''Optimate '' army, initially led by Pompey the Great. He defeated Pompey at Pharsalus and later in a series of battles across the Mediterranean defeated several armies opposed to his rule. By 43 BC Caesar was by far the most important man in Rome and he had himself made dictator for life. This aroused the deep hated of many in the Roman aristocracy. A conspiracy was formed by several leading Roman nobles, whose titular leader was Brutus, someone whom Caesar knew well. The Roman general had pardoned many of the conspirators and had even appointed some of them to high office. The members of the plot called themselves the liberators, meaning the liberators. The plot involved luring Caesar to Pompey’s theatre where gladiatorial games were to be held in his honour<ref>Plutarch, Life of Caesar, xxxi</ref>. The Roman leader was notoriously reckless when it came to his personal security. He refused bodyguards and he declared that to live surrounded by guards was not a life he wanted. Caesar had only a few personal attendants who escorted him everywhere. On the Ides of March, the conspirators lured their target to the Theatre of Pompey. Here after one of the conspirators seized his toga, up to sixty assailants stabbed Caesar, who later died because of blood loss. It is important to understand the motivations of those who killed the great Roman general. They believed that he wanted to become king and to end the Republic. The killers of Caesar were all Republicans and they believed in the Roman Constitution and the rule of the Senate. Brutus and the others believed that they were delivering the Republic from the tyranny of the conqueror of Gaul. The assassination of Caesar was carried out to protect the Republic and to preserve the ancient Constitution of the city<ref> Goldsworthy, p. 314</ref>.
[[File: Ass of caesar one.jpg|200px|thumb|left|An 18th century painting of Caesar’s assassination]]
==Immediate Aftermath of the Assassination==
The death of Caesar was a great shock to many. Those who had killed him, styled themselves the Liberators and they expected that the people of Rome would rally to them and support their actions and that this would save the Republic. However, most of the population remained wary and neutral, while many people and especially the political gangs, who controlled large areas of the city, were angered by the killing of Caesar. In the days after the assassination there was an eerie calm in the city. Mark Anthony became the de-facto leader of the Caesarean party in the city, even though he had fallen out of favour in recent years with his former general<ref> Osgood, Josiah. Caesar's Legacy: Civil War and the Emergence of the Roman Empire (New York: Cambridge University Press (USA), 2006), p. 113</ref>. He arranged a political compromise that allowed the killers of Caesar to go unpunished and for those who had been appointed by the dead man to remain in office. This was able to maintain some semblance of order in the city. The lower class became increasingly incensed when they learned more about the death of Caesar and Anthony threatened to unleash them against the senators<ref> Plutarch, Life of Anthony, xxiv</ref>. The reading of the will of Caesar came as a surprise, he made his grand-nephew his son and heir. This shocked Mark Anthony who was not even mentioned by Caesar in his will. Octavian returned from Greece and as Caesar’s heir he became one of the most powerful men in Rome. This only added to the confusion in Rome. The Senate supported Octavian, who distrusted Mark Anthony and he was forced to flee the city. He assembled an army of five legions but was defeated by Octavian and the forces of the Senate at the Battle of Mutina in Northern Italy (43 B.C.). The two consuls for that year were also killed during the battle. Antony was forced to retreat, and his cause seemed lost, but he was fortunate. The Senate tried to take his army away from Octavian and give it to one of the assassins of Caesar<ref> Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars, xxiv</ref>. This persuaded Octavian to enter an alliance with Anthony and Lepidus. This was the so-called Second Triumvirate and it divided the legions and provinces among the three allies. The aim of the alliance was to avenge the assassination of Caesar. They soon occupied Rome and launched a campaign of terror in the city, summarily killing their enemies. However, their rule was opposed by the Optimates and the assassins of Caesar and this led to another civil war<ref>Galinsky, Karl. Augustan Culture. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1998), p. 89</ref>.
