Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-308) and index.

The exciting, dramatic story of one of historys most famous events-the death of Julius Caesar-now placed in full context of Romes civil wars by eminent historian Barry Strauss.Thanks to William Shakespeare, the death of Julius Caesar is the most famous assassination in history. But what actually happened on March 15, 44 BC is even more gripping than Shakespeares play. In this thrilling new book, Barry Strauss tells the real story.Shakespeare shows Caesars assassination to be an amateur and idealistic affair. The real killing, however, was a carefully planned paramilitary operation, a generals plot, put together by Caesars disaffected officers and designed with precision. There were even gladiators on hand to protect the assassins from vengeance by Caesars friends. Brutus and Cassius were indeed key players, as Shakespeare has it, but they had the help of a third man-Decimus. He was the mole in Caesars entourage, one of Caesars leading generals, and a lifelong friend. It was he, not Brutus, who truly betrayed Caesar.Caesars assassins saw him as a military dictator who wanted to be king. He threatened a permanent change in the Roman way of life and in the power of senators. The assassins rallied support among the common people, but they underestimated Caesars soldiers, who flooded Rome. The assassins were vanquished; their beloved Republic became the Roman Empire.An original, fresh perspective on an event that seems well known, Barry Strausss book sheds new light on this fascinating, pivotal moment in world history.