44BC15 March 44 BC · Rome

Assassination of Julius Caesar

Sunken Roman temple ruins in Largo di Torre Argentina, beside where Caesar was killed — Photo: John Samuel. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On the Ides of March, senators led by Brutus and Cassius stabbed Julius Caesar to death in the Curia of Pompey, a meeting hall beside Pompey's theatre. They meant to save the Roman Republic, but the killing set off civil wars that ended with Caesar's adopted heir Octavian ruling alone as Augustus, the first Roman emperor.

Political History
Archaeology
Rome, Italy

Sites

Site 1: Largo di Torre ArgentinaSunken temple ruins and the base of the Curia where Caesar died.Map ↗
Site 2: Temple of Divus Julius, Roman ForumThe altar where Caesar's body was cremated, still left with flowers.Map ↗