Vincent Hoy 4/9/2014 Professor J. Duran History 101 / Spring 2014 Book Report Guide #1 A Perspective on Gentleman’s History In Michael Parenti’s, “The Assassination of Julius Caesar”, Parenti claims that Julius Caesar’s assassination was not an incident, and that his death would actually represent the war between the wealthy, powerful conservatives who call themselves, “gentleman historians” and positive supported lower-class citizens that believed in Caesar’s reforms. Since Caesar was gaining such an incredible amount of power and support from his people, the senate feared that Caesar’s influence would be push these reforms onto the lower-class citizens, and it would threaten and put the upper-classes privileged interests at risk. The …show more content…
In the victory over the battle of Pompey, supporters that sided with Pompey, Caesar still forgave them, “Surely not his former opponents, the defeated Pompey supporters like Cicero himself, who had been allowed to return to Rome and the Senate with their properties intact, and who were now his staunchest and most appreciative friends” (Parenti 172). Caesars concerns wasn’t to be biased and was only in favor of returning to the prosperous, content Rome. The aristocrats then decided to mastermind a plan with the senators in order to take Caesar’s life and remove his reign of reforms. Upon arrival, Caesar would be gathered around his senators and hear about Tillius Climber’s petition about allowing his brother to be return from being exiled. Delivering the first assault would be led by Casca, followed by a slash from Cassius, and after encountering twenty-three stab wounds, Caesar would bleed to death and lay motionless.
In America, our political system was just as greatly influenced by Caesar, which would create a place for democracy, where both classes of wealthy or poor, every citizen’s voices and opinions would be heard in our country. However the elites still resort to “gentlemen’s history” by arguing that whether the ignorant that believe that politics and history are only about power, the elitist still believed that living this way was the only way for them.
Plutarch considers Julius Caesar’s assassination to be justified. He believed the group felt they had to keep their plans in secret with a select few which they could trust to further their cause. Despite the fact that there prophesies and warnings alerting Caesar to his eminent Demise, the assassins continued their plan feeling that they would be deemed as “noble leaders of the commonwealth” when they had done this great deed. Because of Caesars hand in the murder of Pompey, it was believed to be a “divine appointment” to hold a senate meeting where there statue of Pompey stood for whom they also sought vengeance. Therefore at the start of the meeting, Plutarch states that when Cassuis turned and faced Pompey’s statues, this when Caesar walked in the room and the men struck him, making it look like it was providence. At the end, Brutus was prepared to make a speech but there was nothing but chaos. The elitist group had come to the agreement to only kill Caesar but when they sought Antony as a threat, Marcus felt enough had been done “restore Rome and saved Antony’s life,” illustrates
Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) was one of the most outstanding leaders in history. He was the first ruler of the Romano-Hellenic civilization and achieved his goals with great success throughout his life of 56 years. He was assassinated by the conspirators, who accused him for practicing tyranny. This essay will discuss whether it was right for the conspirators to murder Caesar and what its consequences were.
1. According to Ellis’s preface, explain what is so phenomenal about the founding of the United States?
In The Assassination of Julius Caesar, Michael Parenti highlights the many significant people and events that characterized the late Roman Republic. Specifically, he focuses on the time period between the election of Tiberius Grachus, to the rise of Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. In this account of history, Parenti presents the social, political, and economic aspects of the Roman culture from the perspective of the Roman commoner, or plebeian. Using this perspective, he also spends a great amount of time examining the causes and effects of the assassination of Julius Caesar. The views that Parenti presents in this book stand in sharp contrast with the views of many ancient and modern historians, and offer an interesting and enlightening perspective into class struggle in the society of the Roman republic.
Caesar's successes in Gaul, along with his growing power and wealth, drove Pompey. While Caesar was fighting in Gaul, Pompey proceeded with a legislative agenda for Rome, which revealed that he was now covertly allied with Caesar's enemies. Pompey also made it clear that Caesar would not be permitted to stand for Consul unless he turned over control of his armies. This would, of course, leave Caesar defenseless before his enemies. Pompey was elected consul without colleague in 52. The
Caesar was an accomplished military leader and general that rose to political prominence when he formed an alliance with two other generals—Marcus Junius Crassus and Gnaeus Pompeus Magnus (or Pompey, as he is often known). However, this three-legged partnership deteriorated quickly into all-out civil war between Caesar and Pompey. After a defeat in 48 B.C.E., Pompey sought asylum with Ptolemy XIII of Egypt, but was murdered by a member of the royal court. After Pompey's death, there seemed to be no one to oppose Caesar, and he returned to Rome a celebrated hero and soon a dictator for life. Less than five years later, Caesar's success would be brought to a sudden end by his murder on the Senate floor. In The Assassination of Julius Caesar, Plutarch indicates that this murder was planned and premeditated. Plutarch makes no judgement on the motivations behind this act, but makes
Caesar took to his seat in the Roman senate only to be surrounded by Roman conspirators. Tillius Cimber, one of the Roman senators, came up to Caesar to ask him a question. When Caesar said he didn’t want to answer his question, Climber took his toga that he was wearing and was stabbed below the throat. Caesar shouted, "Why, this is violence!" just as the stabbing took place. The rest of the conspirators stabbed Caesar multiple times until dead. The result of the assassination went the exact opposite as to what the conspirators wanted. Instead of hailing them, the Roman people hated them for what they had done, which sparked civil wars across Rome. Caesar Augustus became the new leader, but Rome never regained its original status after the Ides of March and continued to decline until its
Julius Caesar’s development into a professional politician, and his eventual demise, was instrumental in the fall of the Republic, because of the Senate’s dislike of his populist base, proposals, and personal ambition. Likewise Caesar was a very conniving politician, “Caesar's very first enactment after becoming consul was, that the proceedings, both of the senate and of the people should day by day be compiled and published.” As consul, he was able to appear as a beneficiary to the people, yet deep down was in it for himself. In his Commentaries on the Gallic Wars, Caesar never takes fault, but deflects blame to his soldiers or second-in-commands for their campaign
On January 10 to 11, 49 BC, Caesar led troops across the river Rubicon. As Pompey further aligned himself with nobility, who increasingly saw Caesar as a national threat, civil war between the two leaders proved to be inevitable. In the end, however, Pompey and his troops were no match for Caesar’s military campaign. By late 48 BC, Caesar had pushed his enemies out of Italy and pursued Pompey into Egypt. There Pompey was killed, and Caesar aligned himself with the Egyptian queen
“Even the noblest men can be seduced by power; it has the power to kill, to distort, and to corrupt” Through this passage, Matthew Sims captures in essence how individuals often turn to betrayal and deception in order to gain their heart’s desires. This characteristic is not only present in life, but can also be seen in modern and classical literature, including the well known work of Julius Caesar. In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the lust for power transcends any one individual and ultimately leads to death and corruption of not only Caesar, but also of Brutus and Cassius. The play begins with Caesar parading through the streets of Rome as he triumphs in his victory over Pompey. However, Brutus, Cassius, and many others hatch a plot to
The Roman senator Gaius Cassius was found dead yesterday from an apparent suicide during the bloody Battle of Philippi. Once thought of as clever man, Cassius lead a group of conspirators to kill the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. On the third of October, 42 BC, Cassius and his forces met the Second Triumvirate, formed by Marc Antony and Octavius at Philippi. At Philippi, the forces clashed with each other, each with the same goal hoping to defeat their adversaries. Unfortunately for Cassius, his men were vanquished by the soldiers of Antony in a long and grueling bloodshed. Men screamed for their lives, and charged at each other with no remorse to try and advance. Seeing his forces were no match for Antony’s, Cassius started to smell defeat
Caesar decided to cross the Rubicon river with a legion and consequently ignited civil war. Pompey was forced to flee south. Pompey managed to escape before Caesar was able to capture Pompey. Caesar headed east to try to defeat Pompey. He defeated Pompey in Greece but he fled. Caesar returned to Rome where he was appointed dictator. He was heading to Egypt on pursuit of Pompey and arrived at the beheading of Pompey. Pompey was captured when he arrived at Egypt, Ptolemy captured him and ordered him to be beheaded. Caesar was given Pompey’s head. Because of this he became heavily involved with the Egyptians and their people. This would result in him fighting their wars, between Ptolemy and Cleopatra. Caesar defended Cleopatra. After spending years fighting against Ptolemy, Caesar managed to defeat the Pharos’s army and he appointed Cleopatra as the
Although many details have not been released, I have learned the list of suspects of the crime includes, Marcus Brutus & Cassius Longinus, along with sixty or more other Senate members. These men were later detained by Roman officials, as this was the group seen with Caesar moments before his death. As secrets of a conspiracy are slowly unfolding, many Roman’s think Caesar had displeased the senators by achieving total control over the Roman Army. One citizen, who wishes to remain anonymous said, “They, (the Senate), were afraid that Caesar would gain complete authority, and that would threaten the future of the Roman Republic.” According to another source within the Senate, “Caesar did not rise to greet a group of senators who were granting new honors upon him and that probably angered the Senate more. I
Julius Caesar was undoubtedly a man who changed history. His life and its story have inspired generations of awe and scrupulous study. Many would argue he is the most influential man in recorded history. However, can the great Caesar truly be declared a ‘event-making man’, according to the criteria of the Great Man Theory? Did he truly influence the course of history through his own extraordinary acts of will and leadership? Or was he simply a fortunate man who appeared in the right place at the right time, being only the pawn of a greater scheme? By following and exploring the political ideals and abilities of Caesar, as well as his military ability and prowess, this essay hopes to clearly
In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Caesar is going to be crowned king, but Cassius does not think he is capable of ruling over Rome. Because of this he tries to convince Brutus, who is a good friend of Caesar’s, to assist him and some others in killing Caesar. At first Brutus refuses, but he later contemplates more about his decision and determines that Caesar is not strong enough to be king and may go insane with power, causing the citizens of Rome to live in tyranny. At this point, Brutus starts working with Cassius and several other conspirators to devise a plan to assassinate Caesar before the crowning ceremony. When the day arrives, all of the men, including Cassius and Brutus, had a dagger and distracted Caesar while Casca was the first to attack, with the others immediately following suit. Brutus was the last to stab Caesar, and as Caesar died, his last words were “Et tu, Bruté?”, which translates to “And you Brutus?”. Shortly after Caesar’s death, Brutus goes outside to tell the people of Rome what has happened and why Caesar had to be killed. They initially agree with Brutus and believe it was what had to be done, but after Antony, Caesar’s right hand who loved him dearly, gave his speech, the Roman citizens changed their minds and wanted to kill the conspirators.