The Assassination of Julius Caesar (The Ides of March, 44 B.C.E.)
Complete Julius Caesar Playlist | • Julius Caesar
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Sources:
Nicolaus of Damascus, "The Life of Augustus" | amzn.to/2VIUXGQ
Plutarch, "Parallel Lives: The Life of Julius Caesar" | amzn.to/2MaUGJC
Plutarch, "Parallel Lives: The Life of Antony" | amzn.to/2MaUGJC
Plutarch, "Parallel Lives: The Life of Brutus" | amzn.to/2MaUGJC
Plutarch, "Parallel Lives: The Life of Cicero" | amzn.to/2MaUGJC
Suetonius, "The Life of Julius Caesar" | amzn.to/2MaD3cY
Appian, "The Civil Wars, Book 2" | amzn.to/3157a9K
Cassius Dio, "Roman History, Book 44" | amzn.to/35wm6kv
Cicero, "Letters to Atticus, Book 13" | amzn.to/33oLLtz
---
Barry Strauss, "The Death of Caesar: The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination" | amzn.to/35wVRuj
Michael Parenti, "The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People's History of Ancient Rome" | amzn.to/33sagWZ
Stephen Dando-Collins, "The Ides: Caesar's Murder and the War for Rome" | amzn.to/2B2OtZT
Adrian Goldsworthy, "Caesar: Life of a Colossus" | amzn.to/35pJkZT
Philip Freeman, "Julius Caesar" | amzn.to/2oBO1PA
Anthony Everitt, "Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician" | amzn.to/2OH8o8B
Rhona Beare, "The Imperial Oath under Julius Caesar." Latomus 38, no. 2 (1979): 469-73 | www.jstor.org/stable/41531205
William C. McDermott, "Caesar's Projected Dacian-Parthian Expedition." Ancient Society 13/14 (1982): 223-31 | www.jstor.org/stable/44080153
Music:
"Réalité Virtuelle," by Dorian Pinto
"Blonde," by Nctrnm
"Inhale Exhale," by Braden Deal
"Hallon," by Christian Bjoerklund
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Caesar: "The best way to die is suddenly and unexpectedly." Decimus: "Bruh..."
It genuinely boggles the mind how many times little tiny changes would have changed the history of the known world. So many opportunities.
@@MrVlogman101 and they did. every version of the world would be fundamentally different if even just some foot soldier who happens to be a distant ancestor of a key character in history died. even our lives will change history in incomprehensible ways because of the small but existent influence they have on it
Daniel Gazizov just goes to show you how important every little decision in the moment is...
This comment was made before the video?
Pateron
Julius caesar: so how do i die? Time traveler: surrounded by friends...
Were they, though?
@@gonzaloh8086 He thought so up until they started stabbing him.
@@gonzaloh8086 honestly? ifeel like yea, they were actually still friends of his. most of them loved ceaser but they knew he was a dictator and there was only one thing to do to stop him. ive heard varied accounts of ceasers death some even talk about brutus weeping after and many of the senators in the conspiracy mourning him because they still were losing a friend. as brutus himself stated "i loved ceaser, but i loved the republic(rome) more" *paraphrased since i havent seen the other deeper accounts that state that for a long time.
@@FWAKWAKKA Eh, friends can communicate without knives. Most of the senators were politicians feeling like their positions weren't good enough. Saving the Republic my arse, the Republic was already dead and they wanted to be the one wearing its skin instead of Caesar.
@@LuizAlexPhoenix Likely it would have been a bit of both, since the internal workings of people can be messy. On one hand, yes, those senators would be after more power seeing how it would be threatened by Caesar, but... On the other hand, he's a colleague they've known for a long time and got to know. The whole "for the Republic" stuff was probably just a charade and was really just a posthumous justification of why they did it. Maybe that's it, maybe it isn't. I don't know, my time travel machine hasn't been working lately.
Brutus: "We did it guys! We saved the Republic!" Octavian: "I'm about to end this man's whole career."
Brutus: "We did it guys, tyranny is over!" Octavian: "More like under new management".
@@axelandersson6314 i love that Megamind reference Octavian: There is not fairy tales, there isn´t Easter Bunny and there is not more Republic
Octavius: My name is Octavius!
Octavius: My name is Augustus!
Octavian: "I don't think so bucko."
Caesar’s assassination be like 🟦🔪 🟧🔪 🟥 🟪🔪
Hey now! Cicero had nothing to do with this!
"Dont you bring him into this!"
I am amazed that we recognize Cicero not being a conspirator but also as THE GREEN square
@@nicmagtaan1132 I instinctively associate certain colored squares with people now thanks to this channel.
🤣
I find it perfectly fateful that Caesar's luck protected and warned him on every step of the way, while his vanity and ambition attracted him to his death.
True,if only he had read those papers he was being handed while walking down the way to the meeting
Honestly my opinion is Caesar was generally very smart I think he knew about the assassination plot but he didn’t know how many people there were. But I think he knew it was high ranking officials that were plotting it as well, but I think he decided to face it head on as he did with everything else in his career. Kind of poetic in my opinion.
This gave me chills. Very relatable imo.
@@leviuzumaki3903He thought it was safe, it was a senate stacked with his supporters after all.
What would you say about Cicero and his death?
“What about Cicero?” “Nah, he’s such a boomer.”
he has boomer vibe actually
Cicero being the little bitch he was, was probably involved...
Cicero did write that one letter to a friend in greece, referring to the later tribune Curio; " When the day came for the bill to be put to the Assembly under the terms of the senatorial decree, there was a flocking together of our goateed young bloods, the whole Catilinarian gang with little Miss Curio at their head, to plead for its rejection." -To Atticus in Epirus Cicero, 13 February 61 BC if i understand what ive read/heard correctly, goatees were considered effeminate by older romans, and were fashionable among the younger generation. its kinda neat to see what seems to be a generation gap from like 2000~ years ago
Cicero is the soyfather
@@dndboy13 Generation gaps are universal across Human history as far back as the Bronze Age. I can't remember which one but a documentary I saw detailed some clay tablet letters from a tin merchant in Mesopotamia to one of his business partners. In it he complains about how lazy his son is and worries that the son will ruin the family business when he dies. A later letter from the merchant says that the same "lazy" son led one of their caravans by himself and successfully defended it against bandits.
Definitely not his year: Caesar
Caesar vs EVERYONE 44B.C.E
cool faces 😂
Got em
James Kirk rip me
It started off smoothly.
Me: Why’d you do it? Brutus: To save the republic Me: What did it cost? Brutus: The republic
haha lol
Lol
You could say the republic died with the grachi brothers tbh for the last decades after that strongmen were the norm and the death spiral was well on its way
@@powderedwiglouis1238 Yea the Gracchi being killed by the Optimates just to retain power is pretty tyrannical.
@@pompeythegreat297 the Gracchi had no one but themselves to blame. They utterly broke Roman politics by opening the Pandora's box that was the Tribune's veto. By abusing the veto to serve their own personal interests instead of respecting it as an absolute last resort they showed everyone how to do exactly like they did to seize power. The senate should have abolished the position of Tribune.
The poetic irony that the false offer of kingship was the one thing to finally condemn Caesar is so perfect it's hard to believe.
God and this is real life, no scripts no writers
I find it plausible. You want to bait the guy trying to be king, what would you do if not tease it in a silver platter?
@@anartismal historians are writers
Was it a false offer though?
@@anartismal a lot of this video definitly feels like something that didn't happen but was invented by historians to embellish the deed.
I will miss little red square Caesar, the way he would shimmy around the room and such, occasionally spinning when he got angry, or bouncing up and down when he was happy. Rest in spaghetti, never forgetti
Rest in salad.
😂😂😂😂
RIP rest in pasta
Don't worry, I think there'll be more than enough red squares in the future!
I never thought i could get so attached to a Red Square
Caesar *dying on the floor*: "Did you guys ask Tribune Aquilla for permission to kill me?"
Tribute "Ask Tribune Aquilla" Aquilla was actually one of the conspirators.
Aquilla: You motherffff...
So he did give his permission
@@Ghost77210 Well, you know nothing these days gets done without his permission. *shrug*
@@theblueknight9746 But Ceasar not necessarily knew that.
decimus’s lie about the title of king was honestly genius. i can’t imagine how stressful that lie must have been
The fact that it worked proves that the Senators and People's concerns of Caesar wanting to be a King was ultimately legit.
@@AniTube-ds8uz Oh, it's not a debate that JC was angling to become king. And it's of little debate that multiple generations of senatorial corruption had a lot to do with the events that lead to the ascension of someone like JC. I'll add that I suspect that JC quite likely changed a bit for the worse after the civil wars ended. After a long period of success and praise, I strongly suspect he came to believe in his own magic too much, and got too complacent. Evidence of this is contrasting some of his earlier acts of political shrewdness and general high intelligence to his acts of authoritarianism and hubris that sometimes had no subtlety.
In the end, he lied. They didn't turn him into a king. They turned him into a god.
The interesting thing about Decimus' lie about the King title is that if Caesar STILL stayed home after, it may have swayed Decimus' opinion on whether Caesar wanted to be acknowledged as king. Sadly for Caesar, temptation reveals the darkest parts of us all.
Or maybe he went just so the senators didnt hate him by taking it as an insult...
Sounds like a Greek play: his Hamartia was ambition and after it got him glory, it got him killed
@@habibi_sport312 the guy literally disrespected them for a long time already. Idk if he would care to disrespect them again.
this anecdote is not in the literature, historia made it up
@@jeremiahduran7238 Caesar was in preparation for his great war against first Dacia and then Parthia, he was about to leave the Republic in the (soon to be proven capable but cold) hands of his nobody nephew Octavian and more primarily yesmen. He couldnt afford to disrespect them so grievously at that opportune time especially since they were labelling him with a honour not a complaint as was usual.
imagine getting stabbed countless times by your homies after staying up late hungover and getting countless red flags
I imagine the dude that handed him then note was at first just going to tell him that there was a plan to assassinate him and then give him the note for details. Then he saw Decimus and he looked down at the note in his hand, saw Decimus' name at the top of the list and was just like "...shit."
I wish you didn't say that, it took me back to '96, bad memories!
@Lord Ball-sac the 2nd haha I was just messing around but you are right!
Watch the movie BULLY (based on a real case.. his own CHILDHOOD BEST FRIENDS turned on him!)
What if he knew he was going to die? Like a prophecy kind of thing. He avoided every possible sign.
"What about making Marc Antony our leader?" "Nah." "What about Cicero?" "Nah." "What about Caesar?" "In our plot to kill Julius Caesar?" "You can't deny he's a strong leader."
“I want to argue with you, but I can’t”
Sounds like a monty Python sketch. "What Caesar ever did for us?"
@@ronrozen2105 "Well, beat the Gauls, actually set foot in Britain, beat the Gauls again, beat Egypt...and beat the Optimates." "Well, aside from that"
@@ronrozen2105 My exact thought. I can hear John Cleese saying, "Julius Caesar IS the greatest leader in Roman history! But you can't put him in charge of the plot to kill *Julius Caesar*!"
Juilus Ceaser: *Exists* Also Juilus Ceaser: I am about to end this man's whole.
That thing about Decimus going to a friendly meal with Caesar and him talking about death is so mind boggling to me. The self control you need to have to not spill the beans in such a situation.
I mean yes but also the stakes were deadly either way. Had he spilled the beans he would have gotten himself and all his co-conspirators killed
while drunk, no less. that's a nearly supernatural level of composure.
It's survival mode. He knew if he said anything, he was screwed
Fun fact: Caesar's body was brought to his home where a doctor made the first reported extensive post mortem examination in history. The doctor discovered that only one stab was deep enough to kill, the others were little more than superficial cuts.
No shit that Was literally said in the Video. Pls just stfu with These like farming comments if its in the damn Video bro.
what do you know senators are weak willed and have noodles arms
@@vincenthammons6705 no, the other stabs from fellow senators had more a moral purpose, like "we are part of this and we claim it"
>moral purpose You need to check yourself 😂
Do you have a source for this? I wanna read more about it.
moral of the story: when your atheist wife start believing in bad signs from her dream, you probably should really listen.
Exactly like the bad dreams of the wife of another roman official 'stuck in a thankless administrative job in Syria' like Cassius was supposed to: Pontius Pilatus.
The Writers wrote the divine intervention
(tips fedora)
@@user-py2st6vq3m but does his indecisiveness for executing jesus is his reason to be transferred to wasteland region called Syria?
KoeSeer Syria, a wasteland??? That was literally one of the most profitable regions. Probably second to egypt. There’s a reason Crassus took Syria as his bribe.
"And with that, everything went back to normal. Cicero and Mark Anthony mended their ways and opened a bakery together, Octavian found his calling as a roman gladiator, and Cassius made a mint selling elephant skin rugs. Noone ever rebelled against the Republic again." - The next video, presumably.
ApocalexNow sounds like the ending of game of thrones
@@jaegar2786 you are missing the part when Cicero finally gains control over Rome, and he decides to burn the city and slaughter everyone
And Mark Antony was perfectly okay with the conspiracy, during Caesar’s funeral he definitely didn’t rile the crowd against the conspirators. Nope, he was totally fine with the assassination as he totally wouldn’t team up with Octavian and Lepidus to form a triumvirate and wage a civil war against the conspirators, not at all.
[The Beatles "You say Goodbye, While I Say Hello" starts playing as smiling photos of each conspirator flash onto the screen accompanied by corresponding text]
Pablo Longobard And then Lepidus becomes emperor somehow.
And here I am, again, on March 15th. Smh still can’t believe he’s gone
This truly displays how dramatic and theatrical history can be, and how life is such a game of mere inches. Multiple potential events shifted one way or another could have helped Caesar survive or avoid the plot. If the conspirators approached Antony he most likely would have told Caesar, if Caesar had cancelled the meeting, if Caesar had read the scroll, so many chances that were missed in one of the most important historical events in Roman and world history.
Even the priest’s warnings.
@@unclecharles Spurinna even warned Caesar that his life would be at risk if he didn't leave Rome.
This was the 23rd video about Caesar, which is also the exact amount of times Caesar was stabbed.
The dedication here is amazing!
Another conspiracy ! ⚠️
Also only one of the 23 videos was mortal
Too soon dawg
And my birthday is October 23,conincidentaly the day Brutus comited suicide,also my name is Cesar.
“It relies on the strength of some nerdy ass senators.” A quote I didn’t know I wanted to hear but I’m glad I did.
All of them, I suspect, had at least some military experience. It's not so much that they were nerdy as it is that a 40-year old officer is likely to be at a disadvantage against a 25-year old grunt.
@@christosvoskresye Most of their military experience was commanding from afar. Both Marc Antony and Caesar prouded themselves on fighting alongside their legions. Their fear was justified.
An incorrect quote.
That was some real wisdom there..
@Hernando Malinche Tell that to Caesar in Alesia, and other examples where he fought alongside his troops. Probably with an escort of elite guards, but still more than most politicians did in that era.
"Once Caesar was gone, everything else got easier" Octavius, Anthony and the Empire: *You have no idea how wrong you were*
That last statement toward Cicero is a reference to a senate meeting before the civil war. As rumors spread that caesar was marching on Rome with 4 legions, Cicero told everyone that he was leaving, and for the rest of the senators to enjoy being Caesar’s slaves
That is some prime sarcasm lol
@@McDonaldsCalifornia he was probably mad he got stabbed
literally was not cicero who said that
You know you're a bad assassin when you try to stab a defenseless target from behind, and he's just like 'bro, what are you doing, we're trying to legislate here,' and he just pushes you away. What's even worse is he seems like the most motivated of all of them.
Legit made me crack up laughing 😆😆😆
I don't think it's so surprising. Most humans are extremely reluctant to perform violence. These weren't soldiers, they were legislators. Can you imagine stabbing another defenseless human, let alone the most powerful man in that part of the world? Kind of a terrifying prospect.
Antillicus Let alone, your childhood friend? Like Jesus, Casca was in a surprisingly difficult position
@@littlebigheroman Well, 10 years of military service was the minimum standard for a political career in the Roman republic. And the conspirators had all spent the past 5 years fighting a civil war. So they *were* soldiers as well as legislators. But otherwise, I agree :)
Id say if Anthony was in his chair they would have been screwed but they new that.
The last thing that Caesar did on his last night alive was spend hours talking to his wife. Thats kinda sweet.
They had to do sooner or later since Ceasar was busy seeing other women
Now a days he would have just been on Twitter and Instagram pretending that it was time well spent
@@JaredPizza back in the day it was seen as more “normal”. It was a totally different world with different values
@@funeraltrash9933 ikr talking to your wife is so backwards glad we're out of that hellhole
@@GameyCat the barbarity... thankfully we can ignore our significant other now and look at our phones
I spent the last week slowly working my way through the Julius Caesar playlist here starting on the Ides of March, and I have to say that this video was a brilliant culmination of a lot of hard work by Historia Civilis. The death of Caesar kind of gets you in the feels. Love him or hate him (and many people probably felt a little of both), there probably never will be guy quite like Julius Caesar again in world history.
With the possible exception of Jesus, Caesar is by far one of the oldest characters in history whose name still is commonly known today. For a long time, even the name 'Caesar' was synonymous with power, and many kingly titles such as 'Kaiser' and 'Tzar' were derived from his name.
Viva Caesar
I was rooting for Pompey which I feel like everybody else hates. Fitting that Caesar died under his statue.
@@o_sch I dont know how you could, even those whomst worship the Roman republic to a ridiculous extent have to admit he was just Caesar but more bloodthirsty and stupid in this situation. He wouldnt of pardoned any Caesarians like Caesar did to pompeians, he wouldve established himself as a second Sulla and overall he wouldve just been less competent and left the system to continue to rot and die.
@@germania5374Millions of Buddhists, Taoists, and Confucians would disagree.
Can we appreciate the irony of Decimus calling the prophetic dreams superstitious nonsense to the pontifex maximus? Isn't that like saying to the pope that a sign from God they saw was just Christian Mumbo jumbo?
It would be exactly like that.
But wasn't his wife atheist ?
@@kris1123259 Actually, isn’t it pretty ironic that Caesar, the religious leader of rome, was married to a woman who wasn’t religious?
@@trevordillon1921 i havent really read up much on his wife but... just from a glance it doesnt seem likely that she would believe that no gods existed, being religious back then had a bit of a different meaning since pretty much everyone was religious by the standards of today it was just a matter of how much they went in on the ceremonial shit n stuff
The pope IS the pontifex Maximus, when Constantine converted the empire to. Christianity he took the title from the pagan one to a Christian one.
Someone ask Tribune Aquila if it's okay to assassinate Caesar.
He was probably okay with it, since he was one of the conspirators.
😂🤣
I think Tribune Aquila give his approval.
Ceasar liked this comment.
@@fristi61 r/wooosh
Assassins: "We saved the republic!" Octavian: "Well yes, but actually no!"
Roger Warburg Narrator: they didn’t
Assassins: kill Caesar for the sake of the Romans and the republic. Romans: loved Caesar and now want to assassinate the assassins. Assassins: surprise Pikachu face
Decimus: "We did it Marcus, we saved the city!"
0:52 "[Caesar] issued Cassius a full and complete pardon." In a later video, you complain about how cruel Octavian was to his defeated enemies. This might be the reason. Don't underestimate how stories like Cassius' ingratitude can become a lesson. The Japanese took a similar lesson from the leniency shown to Yoritomo.
Octavian did actually show mercy to quite a few people, it was mainly just the conspirators and non-roman enemies who he was ruthless with.
@@omegacardboard5834 forcing tiberius to remarry and having caesarian murdered were pretty pretty moves though imo
@@segfault- sure but you can't just let a direct son of Caesar live if you're supposed to be Caesar's heir. It's brutal, but I doubt Caesar wouldn't have done the same if in Octavian's shoes
@@segfault- If anything those were the most obvious threats to his power. Dick moves if he was a normal person, just the cost of daily bussiness for a princeps.
@@ManiacalClone But even if he were Caesar's son, how could he ever prove it? And who in the Senate would even allow such a claim, given their fear of upsetting Octavian? Besides, even if Octavian didn't kill Caesarion, what purpose would he have served anyway? It's not like he would automatically inherit the greatness of Julius Caesar just because of his lineage. He probably would have ended up joining Cleopatra's Greek allies and living a life of luxury, unless he harbored ambitious plans. But even if he did, convincing Roman legions, whose wealth came from the state controlled by Octavian, to leave and join him would have been nearly impossible. They wouldn't risk another civil war and the loss of more loved ones just to enthrone an Egyptian king based on claims made by an Egyptian queen they despised and a "traitor" like Antony, who was willing to give away Roman-conquered regions to her. The Romans wouldn't have rallied behind Caesarion, even if he were genuinely Caesar's son, and risk undoing the Pax Romana, the Roman peace, established by Augustus. Moreover ignoring the Will of Caesar himself, who knew he had a son with Cleopatra, yet still chose Octavian as his heir. No chance. I understand why Octavian did what he did, and even if Caesarion had survived, he likely wouldn't have amounted to nothing more than a wealthy man with "powerful" allies, living under the thumb of the Caesars. But maybe Augustus just didn't want to deal with headache and just did away with him similarly to how he got rid of the governor of Egypt when he built a statue of himself after being declared Imperator by his legions. Just not worth the trouble.
The more I learn about these Romans, the more I realize that it's a miracle that we've made it this far.
Oh for sure. Human history in general is like that, it’s ridiculous
I always find it funny when people talk about how culture is violent now, as if it hasn’t been that way through history, even worse
There had to be something in the water considering Nero later
The invention shown in your profile picture should be enough to realise that. The fact that we had to waste human ingenuity on a solution to a problem that we created purely for death is astoundingly disappointing.
Just think, Caesars life was almost saved by a bad hangover.
That would have been the best hangover in history
@@merrittanimation7721 indeed
LMAO
Not only a hangover, but an overdramatic wife. A wife he apparently cheated on farily regularly... (Although, I don't know if it qualifies as OVERdramatic, when you end up being right - even though by accident.)
@Mike H A soothsayer probably in the know...
Brutus: "Congratulations, Cicero! You've regained your liberty!" Cicero: "UHHHHHHHHHHH"
Heh
Cicero has such a way with words
Cicero: You just stabbed a guy to death not 2 minutes ago. He’s still over there!
I think Cicero got roasted there.
I wonder what that means
I'm not religious, but the huge number of signs he was getting, and the number of things which almost stop the assassination, really makes me feel like someone up there was trying to help him.
The luck of Ceasar sent sighn after sighn to warn him. His arrogance and thurst for power blinded him at this point. How appropriate he only attended the meeting because he thought the senators were going to allow him to use the title King.
Decimus lie being ultimetly a question of wether Caesar wanted to be the king is very poetic actually, had he said no he would have lived
The sad thing is that none of Historia Civilis’ future subscribers will feel and understand the build up to this video.
We few. We happy few. We band of history nerds.
Yes, fantastic series. It was honestly stressfull waiting lol even though we knew the outcome.
I literally screamed when I saw this vedio.
I got so excited I closed my ck2 achievements speedrun
When i saw this on my alerts i gasped for joy. Ive been waiting for this one..
I just love it that even though everyone is literally squares it is much more impressive and enchanting than most other documentaries.
I think it's because it's easier to follow what each individual is doing at the very moment and it keeps significant actions clear. No distractions. While live-action is impressive and all, a lot is lost due to framing and points of view. You never see this top-down view for an entire scene where individual characters are easily tracked even in huge crowds at all times.
Arda Unaltay yes !
The reason is that the oral story telling is as ancient as Homer's Iliad and the Oddessy handed down for centuries by being voiced
@@Caldera01 Absolutely. It appears the narrator does an amazing job of giving us facts and likely suppositions rather than hyperbolic hearsay. I feel like I actually am so much closer to what truly happened after watching each video and far more educated than before.
This is a dramatic reenactment.
Tifa Lockhart was the second person that got stabbed in front of an Italian Senate. This is truly a tragedy.
This is the ideal use of KZhead. In a better world everything worth knowing would get this thorough, brilliantly clear treatment
"I came. I saw. I conquered." - ■
Today on history channel: how this square's disagreement with this other square caused a civil war.
veni vidi vici
I square'd
Wow... I haven't heard the english Version and this just sounds awful. The Latin or German versions are far better in my opinion, the have a shorter rhythm
The end of an era :( R.I.P. to Historia Civilis's Julius Caesar series.
No way man! There is SO much aftermath! The assassination might as well not even have been halftime.
And the start of a new era Hello Gaius Octavian
The crisis of the third century: *distant laughter*
If he does the Alexander series and discuss the chaos following his death, oh boy. After all, his death resulted in the unstable Mediterranean states that was ripe for conquest.
@@anthonyhans5825 I'm excited, personally. Caesar may be Historia Civalis' favourite, but Octavian's my boi.
I watched the entire series on a movie projector. You absolutely nailed this whole series and your whole channel is amazing. It doesnt feel as cheesy or incomplete as history popularization documentaries, yet the delivery is very clear and understandable, you provide context and disclaimers about some debatable assumptions. Amazing work, charming and witty delivery, more immersive than any movie ever made about Roman history. Bravo dude!
i don’t know why it’s so heartbreaking to learn about caeser’s death. maybe it’s because the people who killed him were people he trusted and loved dearly, or maybe it’s his because there were so many chances for him to learn about it and stop it. or maybe he did know, and he just knew his time was up, or he didn’t believe it because he loved those people. always makes me upset thinking about his final moments.
Tbf this is a poetic, almost drama-esque, possibly perfect, way to die. To bring an end to such a character in such a betrayal. It wouldn't be the same if he died of old age, or of a medical condition, or in battle. I think out of all the outcomes, this was ironically the best one.
read about gaddafi accomplishments in libya, same vibe. managed to transform an illiterate stone age colony into a solid country thats among the top 10 countries to be a citizen of.
@@Jack-he8jv Gaddafi was a raping, drug-addicted dictator... his personal photographer and ex-security guard told as much, like that he had this habit of he met a women he'd wanted to rape, he touched on her shoulder in a particular way as a sign to his security detail, that he wanted to have that women be brought later to him, no matter if she wished to do so or not. He used amphetamines, and rambled for HOURS on national television... He may have been ambitious and idealistic in his younger years, but he clearly betrayed both these traits over time. And to bring a country out of misery, when it is as resource-rich as Libya, especially by giving most of the control over these resources to his own family, while leaving some leftovers for the people, is not the most difficult thing in the world. I don't argue that what happened to Libya after Gaddafi's death was an improvement, to say the least, but I can't stand people idolizing someone as decrepit and corrupt as Gaddafi. What happened to Libya, was and is depressing, but Gaddafi in a way caused it as well, he trampled on certain groups, so that they revolted when they got the chance, some argue he was to lenient on his enemies, but I'd argue him wanting to stay in power until he died of his substance abuse and old age, was much rather the thing that brought him down. I find the notion that dictators should be as harsh as possible, like the Kims in North Korea, to stay in power, rather then give up power, a sickening prospect.
@@caIigula complete propaganda, while he is only human and obviously wouldn't be a saint, he is still a great man of character and ethics. you dont bring a country from stone age to one of the top 30 countries to live in for "all" citizens, in a mere 3 decades by being a selfish man. just look at sub-africa, half of the countries there have tens to hundered of times the natural resource of libya, multiple hundreds in population resource, while the only ones benefiting are the corrupt leaders.
@@Jack-he8jvlybia top 10 country to be a citizen of wtf are you smoking
Brutus: *savagely murders Cesar wit the boys* The senate: o_o Brutus: ayo Cicero
Cracking open a bold one with the boys
Stabbing open a crowned one with the bois
" stabbed Caesar between the legs " Dude that's brutal
*Brutus ;^)
your aorta runs in your inner thighs, there are and in the armpit is the best place to score a fatal knife wound
@@mogyesz9 caesar was also screwing his mom so..
There's a possibility that Caesar was literally Brutus' father. Rumors existed about it at the time, anyway, but it's impossible to prove.
Perhaps, symbolically, he meant something along the lines of "may there never be another Caesar"
was rooting for caesar the whole time despite the fact i knew that outcome, what a tragic story. imagine being betrayed but some of the people closest to you.
He had it coming. I used to be on his side but as I grew up i realized he was a tyrant and I see the conspirators failing to bring back the republic as the real tragedy
@@jsealejandro06 I disagree mostly, the senate was way worse and set the stage for someone like Caeser to come in,
Sure Caesar had it coming, but you can’t switch up on your homies fr 😭
@@jsealejandro06 And then you grow up some more and realise that the Optimates were playing out the exact same pattern they had done multiple time over beginning with the Gracchi brothers. Caesar wasn't killed because he was threatening the Republic, there's nothing about his behaviour that actually suggests he wanted to rule as a tyrant over Rome. Caesar was killed because he was threatening the financial interests of the abusive elites, because he advocated on behalf of the common citizens. The Senate had a long history of slandering populist reformers as tyrants seeking to destroy the Republic before Caesar came onto the scene.
imagine being a tyrant idk
Laenus was definitely trolling, he knew what the actual conspiracy was and just wanted to mess with cassius and decimus
And with that, the great red square known as Julius Caesar is polygone.
Did you come up with that on the spot, or have you been waiting AGES to finally say it?
HealingBlight That is clever on so many levels......
@@wj11jam78 On the spot. :)
@@HealingBlight Nice
Too soon, man. Too soon
Roses are red, Violets are are blue. The Republic is dying, Brutus, y-y-you too?
jemielnic Caesar still smashed his mom
jemielnic the groin has large arteries and veins close to each other that will cause major blood loss if cut. The groin has historically been a place to stab because of its importance and difficulty to cover in plate armor.
"UWU slide it in me senpai" - Caesar as Brutus stabbed him probably
@jemielnic Yeah, but you don't make someone a eunuch by just cutting his genitals off and letting him bleed.
jemielnic It’s slightly above the actual crotch, on the pelvis usually below where your stomach stops. It also includes your thighs on either side but to lesser extent.
As a long time viewer this journey was amazing. Seeing Caesar starting out as a senator up to his death. While we may never know how his next conquests would play out (perhaps they would lead to quicker fall of Rome, who knows) i feel like his whole life was still complete in every sense of this word. Conquesting lots of new land, engaging in tons of hard fought battles, with the only enemy he could not truly defeat being the Rome itself. While of course he could read conspiracy letter, not attend the senate etc. it all didn't truly matter, because his death would leave a lasting legacy behind even shortly after conquesting the Gaul. The rest of the journey this absolute legend crossed is just like fuckton of delicious cherries on top.
The man was a dictator... killing the whole of France just so he could be the leader in Rome
Imagine how all three of the original conspiracists felt right after the fact. How Decimus had essentially made Cesar go to his death. How Cassius felt looking at the statue of Pompey realizing he was going to do what Pompey had wanted to do years earlier. And how Brutus felt as he plunged his knife into Cesar and he said “You to Brutus?”
Was Tribune Aquila ok with this? The conspiracy didn't check with him.
Fawful0 this is the best comment
Fawful0 Only real fans get this one 🤣
Others were asking earlier. Of course, I was ok with this.
Amazing comment!!!!
Yeah I was a bit surprised that Historia Civilis didn't make some passing mention of him in the video because of the meme, but tribune Aquila was actually one of the conspirators. He didn't do anything significant, so he was probably not mentioned because there were already quite a few characters to keep track of.
The entire thing is just ridiculously cinematic, with all the near misses of the conspiracy being nullified or discovered and then the final scene with Caesar dying beneath the statue of Pompey
What is so surprising to me is the amount of detail about this conspiracy that survived and that is known today.
The lesson I learn here is, if you're ill, don't go into work. Caesar died for us to learn that lesson.
schools: YOU SHALL COME AND OBEY
School shootings: oh really now?
Amen
My boss don’t care
This means that you have misunderstood what Caesar did. "If you are ill, don't go to work." I mean is this the lesson you have learnt? You didn't understand the politics prevailing in Ancient Rome at that time. Many reputed Roman politicians, Generals and rulers met their demise through their assassinations. You just study the deaths of the Gracchi brothers, Sertorius, Pompeius Magnus, etc. Also study how the Roman rulers like Caligula, Galba, Domitian, Commodus and Caracalla met their demises. Only then can you infer keeping in mind the Roman politics at that time.
"Decimus was with Caesar at Alesia. You might even say he was in Caesar's inner circle" Well done my friend, well done.
yep looks like not many got it, but have my like
@@vladescu3g We all have different exterior square colors, but we all know that deep inside we're all the same. A circle.
I really had to think on that one...god I feel stupid.
Holy shit I just got it
explain please
As I continue to watch videos on KZhead, I realize more and more that this may be my favorite video (history or otherwise) on this site. The narration, the music, it's all perfectly done in my mind.
TIME FOR MY ANNUAL WATCH
“You too my child?” Right in the feels.
“I am sorry big one.”
And then he stabbed Caesar right in the groin. Me thinks he might not have been as cool with Caesar ****ing his mother as he'd let on.
Kai su teknon?
Feels? Nah, right in the man's junk apparently. Fucking terrible.
Roger G2 the groin was a common place to stab in antiquity battles, short swords and shield walls crashing together meant that the throat and the groin (femoral artery) were common places to score a kill (it’s why Spartans carried super short swords). I think if Brutus had stabbed Caesar’s genitals that would have been specifically recorded by history.
I can't believe I felt emotional to a death of a little red square
Petar Todorović same
It isn’t that weird since he was a real person.
Jasper Thompson r/wooosh
Yep
Indeed, no one but HC can make me feel torn over the fates of simple polygons.
Studying history is like unraveling a captivating mystery, with each discovery offering a glimpse into the lives and aspirations of our ancestors. It's a journey worth taking.
Wow. Thank you for this amazing series on Caesar's life. I binge watched it like a TV series. Seriously. This should be made into a proper series for television.
HBO's Rome is pretty good.
@@aca347 No it isn't. The show is over-hyped as shit. The moment they had Octavian hook up with his literal sister it went downhill from there. I think people are just desperate for a series on Caesar they just accepted the shitty version HBO gave us.
Conspiracy: “Restore normalcy” Octavius: *Hello there*
Mark Antony: General Octavian!
@@hopkinsonhoppyxd8080 It's like when I seized power from the Directoire
Conspirators: "We have finally brought back the Republic!" Lepidus, Marc and Octavian: *"ALLOW US TO INTRODUCE OURSELVES"*
Napoleon Bonaparte l'Empreur de la Francois waaaait a minute. Who’s the real emperor and who us Napoleon the third?
the angel from my nightmare
"What are you gonna do? Stab me? " -Julius Caesar
Imagin if they did that would have been crazy
Titiedius: yes
I have no evidence in support of it happening any other way so you must be right.
Caesar: You are a saucy boy. Brutus and others: What you egg? *he stabs him*
"what you egg?" *he stabs him*
The music is so haunting. It gives me chills.
Cant believe its been 3 years since this masterpiece was released. I remember eagerly waiting for episode of Caesar's death to come for a year, and you did NOT disappoint.
Caesar: ‘e tu, my child?’ Brutus: [Proceeds to stab Caesar’s nuts]
Caeser: 'e tu Brutu?' Brutus: *Dagger go Stab, in your nuts*
a last injustice of humiliation...so sad.
@@gildedpeahen876 it was clearly a power move
@@butterskywalker8785 yes, its a last emasculation, a last embarrassment, basically a last fuck you. makes me sad.
@Cliven Longsight never thought of that, but probably played a part.
Politicans: My alliegance is to the people, to Democracy! The people: Ya know Caesar was a pretty cool dude actually..
Dangers of populism 101.
You either serve the people or serve the elite. Can't ever have both.
@@0Raik And these cocksuckers thrive mainly in democracies.
[Redacted] if Ceasar had just decided to allow senate rule or reform Rome’s political system then I feel like he could have lived and continued his contributions to Rome.
@@concisecipher1 Not sure if that was possible at that point.
That whole assasination was incredibly close call. It shows how coincidences rule the world.
coincidences don't exist.
@@alexalexx3330No. Its fate.
"You too, my child?" The amount of betrayal he must of felt is almost saddening.
I feel so cheated knowing that the reality of Caesar’s death is far more entertaining than every depiction I’ve ever watched. Excellent video
The one in Rome is rather close, but not close enough.
I could legitimately feel my heart racing when the deed had begun. The description of the event brought the scene to life for me.
A lot of the theatrics we definitely don’t know for sure but it sure is entertaining
The story has been re-written so many times to fit a more entertaining role. I wonder how much of the accepted truth is actually truth.
@@Thumbsupurbum Caesar died. That much we know for sure. Everything else is just hear say. As with most of ancient history.
"This is violence" sounds like such a "I can't believe you've done this" guy thing to say.
Caesar: Wait a minute, this is violence...
Well I mean the fact it happened during a senate meeting where weapons were contraband meant that those simple words carried heavy weight.
hold on im stabbed.. wow thats illegal
This was a terrible mistake in human history and an act of cowardice.
Gentlemen you can’t fight in here! This is the war room!
20:45 that bold face lie was a test on Caesar's morality. If he was not vain enough to be persuaded to attend the senate meeting for his kingship, he would still be alive.
To be fair to the 90%, some of them where being useful by keeping other senators back. Even if they weren't actively doing anything, they gave the appearance of a large enough force to beat back resistance.
Never thought some coloured squares could make me so emotional RIP Caesar
The Last Mover. Indeed, these little squares invoke all of the emotions of a wonderful story but without having to input all the extra fluff. Like upturned outstretched hands or clothing etc, the important things are plot, characters and motivations, the rest is done by the narrator which is first rate in my books.
Caesar is clearly the villain of this story. His death was deserved, he was an enemy of Rome.
@@qwertyuiopaaaaaaa7 HE WAS A CONSUL OF ROME !
Grimm you must be a Pompeian you don’t belong here
@@qwertyuiopaaaaaaa7 No, he was a colored square.
“Superstitious nonsense.”- A Roman
Hahahaahahahaha. Most underated comment
😂😂
Ironic isn't it...
How were romans superstitious?
You say this w 666 likes
Decimus’s quick thinking that morning might have been one of the smartest things in recorded history. Genius level shit there
25:57 Laenas: The world's first troll.
Actually caesar's last words translated were, "And not you, Tribune Aquila?"
Very underrated comment
lol
I heard a different translation that more like "have you ran this past Tribune Aquila first?" XD
You win
I'd like to think his last words were, "..and you, Brutus?..and not you, Tribune Aquila?"
Brutus: Congratulations Cicero! You’ve regained your liberty! Cicero: Ok..... Cool. Thanks for that... Did you have to stab him in the balls?
Cicero: Where your honor tho, brutus? (you backstabbing bastard)
@@TheVergile The irony is, Cicero later gets killed by Antony, someone who wanted to become the emperor.
@@BatCostumeGuy “someone who wanted to become an emperor” is a pretty loose description for people during the second triumvirate era.
@@BatCostumeGuy Cicero got killed by Anthony my man
@@sampolle6989 Oh sorry, my bad.
I don't know why, but everytime I watch this I am struck with such a sense of sorrow. Truly the assassination of Caesar was a tragedy. This one event is truly the fulcrum on which the entire history of Rome shifted.
Anyone here on the Ides of March 2022?
Brutus to Cicero: DO NOT RESIST. YOU ARE BEING LIBERATED.
And Cicero died because of this. R.I.P Cicero your highness
Caesar: wants to get up from his golden throne **You can't fast travel when enemies are nearby.**
Sic semper etc
Cicero to Trebonius (another conspirator) in a letter: "How I could wish that you had invited me to that most glorious banquet on the Ides of March". He wanted Anthony dead as well but Anthony assassinated Cicero in the end.
Cicero: OH MAN... I CAN feel the LIBERATION runnninngg alll ovvverr muhh boddyyy!! NNNn
This felt like the most epic Season finale to a history series
HBO's Rome was exactly that
@@terranman4702 HBO's Game of Thrones was exactly not that. :(
Peto Barca when did they end that it’s still on season 4. At least in my opinion
@@MM-xm5vx Yeah, it's a pretty simple delimiter. Everything adapted from the books (s1 to s4) is great. Everything afterwards is mediocre to awful. They're good adapters but bad story-writers.
More like Series finale😢
I miss Caesar already but it’s comforting to know that Octavian came in clutch
Octavian was a brutal and cruel ruler. He paled in comparison to Caesar.
@@leon6777 yes but his comparative lack of mercy to Caesar is probably what led him to being emperor, whereas Caesar let his republican enemies into the senate whenever almost at their own will, leading to his assassination. Plus Augustus was arguably the best administrator to ever exist, next to people like Caesar himself, Aurelian, Rameses III. He created the Pax Romana. literally the longest time human civilization has gone without a great power conflict
@@lostvayne3977 correct me if I'm wrong(and I'm meaning this seriously and not in a smarmy way), but wasn't that the whole point of the democracy in the Roman senate? And wasn't a large number of the conspirators in the assassination part of the Reform(Caesarean) faction? Also what do you mean by administrator? I thought big Agrippa was the top administrator(going by his time as Edile anyway) in the place? I lost a lot of respect for Caesar's heir with the whole "the birds will see to your funeral", said to a fellow Roman, his ineptitude as a military commander and most importantly his desecration of the temple of Vesta and literally assaulting the Vestal Virgins(a crime punishable by only death) for political gains over Antony. Agrippa on the other hand had it all, he did most of Octavian's fighting for him, was extremely ahead of his time with battle tactics with his ideas of wars on multiple fronts and(correct me if I'm wrong) absolutely knocked it out of the park during his year as Edile. It's a shame how he perished and Octavian was extremely clever to have him as a close confidant/friend/lover(I don't know if there was any of the latter happening but going by the culture of Rome it was more than likely, especially how Octavian dealt with the death of Agrippa). Just researched the Pax Romana for a bit, and while the foundations were laid by Octavian, it was not without the usual internal power struggles. I can't wait to see the HC video on Nero
@@lostvayne3977 sorry for the long comment I can give you the tl;dr if you'd like
@@leon6777 I can excuse Octavian for acting cruelly with the “birds” quote but he was undoubtedly devastated by Caesar’s death and seeking revenge on the assassins isn’t unreasonable. I actually think the reason he made the fathers and sons watch each other die was to make them feel what it was like to lose someone close to you helplessly. As for his lack of ability in warfare, he had Agrippa, a close friend and a downright genius. Agrippa allowed Octavian to play to his strengths and vice versa. However the loss of such a great general is evidently crippling as it was a struggle for Augustus to find anyone with remotely the same level of ability as him. However sacrilege in the temple of vesta could be seen as too far. Disrespecting the gods over political propaganda was a serious offence. However, the vestal virgins were not harmed, and powerlessly allowed Octavian to take Antony’s will. The law had been broken many a time by both sides and this was just one more of them. But yes, Agrippa was the best Aedile ever in my opinion. And definitely one of the best generals in world history.
So it was March and Caesar was feeling a little uneasy. So he went to the oracle to seek assurance. He asks the oracle, "How will I die?" She looks at him, places a hand on his shoulder and reassuringly states "surrounded by friends."
I've never felt to much emotion for squares before, better than the Game of Thrones ending
Anything is better than GoT ending
@@Kules23 Even twilight?
@@jorenvanderark3567 *almost anything, never seen Twilight though, don't need to.
I swear!
Better than house of cards
"Ah shit, I should have seen this coming" -🟥 This homeboy, probably.
Glorious.
So accurate!
“lol ur dead bro” -🟦
"did ya mum " - 🟥
"Good day gentlemen, I'm here to change the world" 🟪 this guy probably
Just watched the entire playlist, just started the video. One of my favorite series I’ve watched in years, Julius Caesar is one of my favorite historical figures, because of my sophomore English teachers, who made us act out the play in her class, and broke me out of my shell. (Love you Mrs. J)
I never knew that the famous stab of Brutus was actually aimed at Ceasar's groin. How savage...
*"If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could ever imagine."* - Gaius Julius Caesar
I have a feeling that maybe he was not issuing an original statement. On the other hand, he must have thought "Well, I am dead, so sue me if I infringe someone's else copyright"
@Brylle Cruz I am pretty sure the person you're replying to was joking.
*tells Octavian to learn the ways of the Senate from Cicero as a Force Ghost* THAT DID NOT WORK WELL EITHER LOL
Don't you mean "Αν με χτυπήσεις, θα γίνω πιο ισχυρός από ό, τι θα μπορούσες ποτέ να φανταστείς" because we know he said it in Greek* 😂😂😂 *Sorry but modern Greek is the only translation available on Google Translate.
I mean, he did technically become more popular since ge was literally proclaimed a god
Brutus: Once Caesar is gone, everything will be easier. *Starts a civil war*
lul
The rest of the senate “ well that escalated quickly “
How should have ended Julius Caesar: I am the SENATE! Brutus: Not yet. Julius Caesar: It's treason, then. *_AAAAAGGGGHHHH_*
I like the ironny of Caesar's ego and love of pomp and circumstance what leads to his own demise. The lie Decimus told him made little to no sense, as Caesar had already been shown how the people especially the senate wouldn't accept him as an actual king, however he still believed it because he wanted to believe it.
Incredible how you managed to make this video so engaging with simple squares as characters
The statue of pompey should have been a giant orange square lol.
The Blue Knight a giant light orange square
i forgot it was pompey coz it wasnt an orange square. i was like "statue of who?"
What a missed opportunity. lol
I totally agree haha
And a overly obvious attempt to hide baldness with the most RIDICULOUS comb over anyone has ever seen
Whoever says Avengers Endgame was the greatest cinematic buildup of all time clearly isn’t a Historia Civilis subscriber.
There's no fking build up to Endgame......
@@teegamew766 Except maybe like 21 movies in the span of 10 years, many of which are the childhood of an entire generation, that you didn't bother watching and jumped into the conclusion...?
Was it wrong of me to giggle at the grown men sniffling in the theater when Tony Stark died? Pure silliness.
Wtf are you talking about? Endgame was bloody awful. I don’t think I have ever seen a worse marvel movie. They had so much to work with and they fucked it up. Does anyone actually think endgame had great cinematic build up??
@@dolphinlover3001 Yes, actually. Apparently it's actually quite good, and even though you might not like it, you're talking about the movie, whereas the "cinematic buildup" refers to the preceding titles in the series, which was quite large and/or great. Of course, I wouldn't know about Endgame, because I haven't watched and probably won't watch it.
Oh man, this is the first video from this guy I watched. Even without any context it was still extremely good, but after watching the entire Roman history series first it just hits different…
Great use of music. I like that he saved a piece we haven't heard before for after the death of Caesar.