Politician and general, Julius Caesar, was born into an aristocratic family in 100 BC and his early years were riddled with civil war and political events that made him leave Rome in fear for his life. However, he later managed to return and take up prestigious political positions. He took measures to cement his control of the government and many were concerned that he would reinstate the monarchy that had been abolished in favour of the republic. The commemoration marks the events of 44 BC when he was assassinated by a group of about 60 people, including Marcus Junius Brutus, one of the main instigators in the plot for his death. This event effectively destroyed the Roman republic and ushered in the new era of empires, meaning that from then on, a ruler would come to power through ancestry rather than election by the public.
Later on, the life and assassination of Julius Caesar became fodder for literary giants. Shakespeare wrote a tragedy based on his death and Dante made sure that those involved in the assassination were confined to the deepest part of hell in his classic work, The Divine Comedy.
Before the death of Julius Caesar, March 15 - which is known as the Ides of March - was associated with other, more religious events. In the Roman calendar, it was the day of the new year and the beginning of spring. The Ides of every month was reserved by Romans as sacred to the god Jupiter and it would have corresponded with the first full moon of each new year. Anna Perenna, one of the deities associated with the year, was celebrated through a festival involving festivities such as drinking and picnics. Other sources place the observance of Mamuralia, a ritual in which a man was covered in animal skins and beaten with sticks, and then possibly driven out of the city, as also occurring on this date, and also associated with the god Jupiter and the beginning of the new year.
Now the old religious festivals seem to have lost their significance in favour of a day devoted to the memory of one of the greatest rulers of Rome. Although he raised the ire of the aristocracy and other politicians with his drive for power, Caesar was instrumental in establishing the Julian calendar, implementing significant social and political reforms, and orchestrating the conquest of Gaul which made him a popular figure among ordinary Roman citizens. His memory lives on through the title of Caesar, which was used as the title of emperors for more than two centuries after his death in Italy and was also used in a modified form to refer to members of European royal families.
