Julius Caesar Assassination Essay

Julius Caesar and Abraham Lincoln have many similarities and differences. They both undeniably made history within their lifetimes. When comparing the two one thing in their history comes to mind, their assassination. The assassinations are similar based on the fact that they were done by people who disagreed with Caesar’s and Lincoln’s ideas of ruining their countries. They were both in very different time periods, but they are still similar in reason.

In todays world Caesar is considered a dictator and a demagogue. Based on that Caesars assassination was done to protect the republic. The group that was responsible for the assassination of Caesar called themselves the liberators, and were lead by Junius Brutus and Cassius Longinus. Many plans have been laid out by the group, as documented by Nicolaus of Damascus. The liberators speculated on the beast way to kill Caesar, some suggested to do it on one of his many walks down the Sacred Way.

Another plan suggested by the group involved conducting the act of a gladiatorial show. This allowed the group to carry weapons, and would have made it easy to stab him with their swords without suspicion. Another plan involved assassinating Caesar at the elections where he had to cross a bridge prior to appointing magistrates to the Maritus Campus. This plan would involve pushing him off the bridge, then have others waiting below to kill him. A majority of the group went with the plan of killing him while he was sitting at the senate, since this would leave him exposed.

Two days before the assassination, Cassius held a meeting with the liberators and told them that if their plan ever leaked, they should kill themselves. On March Ides of 44 BC, or March 15 in the Roman Calend...

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...was contrary to Roman law the restricted him to enter Rome because he was governor of Gaul at the time. One flaw the Caesar had was his strong ambition. It made him overconfident, and made him feel as though he were invincible. Since his soldiers loved and respected him, he thought he would pursue whatever he wanted. This is what lead to his death.

Both Julius Caesar and Abraham Lincoln are men known for the way they shaped Rome and the United States with their influences. Many things can be used to compare the two, but the fact that they were both assassinated by people who were against their use of power is the best comparison. President Lincoln was killed for his support of equal rights for blacks and the end of slavery, which people were to stubborn to comprehend at that time. Caesar on the other hand was killed because of his abuse of power and office.