Assassination of Caesar

[[The Assassination of Julius Caesar->The Assassination of Julius Caesar]] //An interactive history text by E.K.// [[Bibliography-> Bibliography]]

Your Score is $score You are the Roman Senator Marcus Junius Brutus in the year 44 B.C.E. Your closest friend and ally is Julius Caesar of Rome, who has just recently became //dictator perpetuo//, or dictator in perpetuity. Your ancestor is the great Lucius Junius Brutus, the founder of the Roman Republic, who had hopes of never letting a tyrant govern the reins of Rome again. Now you are in the exact position as your proud ancestor. Your fellow senators are desperately trying to get you to join the conspiracy against Caesar, known as the Liberators. They even say that they will not proceed on their plan to assassinate Caesar without your leadership. However, you cannot muster enough courage to conspire against the man who has treated you like his own son. You have two options, and two options only. You can either a.) Join the Liberators and conspire against Caesar, or b.) stay loyal to your close companion in Caesar. You cannot remain neutral. [[Rebel against Caesar-> Join the Liberators]] [[Side with Caesar-> Stay Loyal to Caesar]] (set: $score to 0)

Badian, E. "Marcus Junius Brutus." Edited by Kathleen Kuiper. Marcus Junius Brutus. Last modified July 20, 1998. Accessed January 19, 2017. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marcus-Junius-Brutus. Plutarch. Life of Brutus. Translated by Bernadotte Perrin. Vol. VI of Plutarch's Lives. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1918. ———. Life of Caesar. Translated by Bernadotte Perrin. Vol. VII of Plutarch's Lives. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1919. Strauss, Barry. The Death of Caesar: The Story of History’s Most Famous Assassination. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2015. Tempest, Kathryn. "The Great Conspiracy against Julius Caesar." Video file, 5:57. TED.com. December 18, 2014. Accessed January 19, 2017. http://ed.ted.com/lessons/ the-great-conspiracy-against-julius-caesar-kathryn-tempest. Wasson, Donald L. "The Murder of Julius Caesar." The Murder of Julius Caesar. Last modified May 15, 2015. Accessed January 19, 2017. https://www.ancient.eu/article/803/. Hisory.com Staff. "The Ides of March: Julius Caesar Is Murdered." History. Last modified 2009. Accessed April 15, 2017. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-ides-of-march-julius-caesar-is-murdered. Alchin, Linda. "Roman Punishment." Roman Punishment. Last modified 2017. Accessed April 16, 2017. http://www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/roman-life/ roman-punishment.htm. Cohen, Jennie. "Julius Caesar’s Stabbing Site Identified." Julius Caesar’s Stabbing Site Identified. Last modified October 11, 2012. Accessed April 15, 2017. http://www.history.com/news/ julius-caesars-stabbing-site-identified.

Your Score is $score You have made the decision to stay loyal to your friend and ally in Caesar. Your senators have decided that they will not conspire against Caesar because you will not lead them in doing so. [[Caesar Lives-> Caesar Lives]] (set: $score += 10)

Your Score is $score You have decided to conspire against Caesar, because of your uneasy feeling of him becoming a tyrant and to carry on the legacy of your ancestor, Lucius Junius Brutus. The odds are heavily in your favor, because you and the other conspirators outnumber Caesar sixty to one. However, you have just been informed that the Liberator's main mission is to assassinate Caesar on the Ides of March (March 15)... [[Warn Caesar About this Ominous Idea->Warn Caesar]] [[Stay Loyal to the Liberators->Stay Loyal to the Liberators]] (set: $score -= 5)

Your Score is $score You pretend to cooperate with the Liberators' plans to assassinate Caesar, but you decide to secretly back out of the Liberators, and alert Caesar of these plans. Caesar is shocked at the news and at the fact that some of the men that some of his most loyal trustees are deciding to conspire against him. He believes that if he consoles the conspirating senators and comes to a mutual agreement with them, they will not attack him. However, he is still very enraged that his own men want him dead, and feels the urge to punish them. You and Caesar have two options for what to do next. [[Hold an Impromptu Senate Meeting to Meet with the Supposed Conspirators -> Hold a Meeting]] [[Go Ahead and Plan a Full-Scale Attack Against the Liberators-> Fight Back Against the Liberators]] (set: $score += 5) (set: $didTheyWarn to true)

Your Final Score is $score Caesar continues to rule the great and proud Roman Empire, and you remain one of his closest advisors and trustees. The people of Rome, who are very pleased with Caesar's effectiveness as //dictator perpetuo//, continue to be happy and satisfied, and anarchy has not taken over because Caesar is not yet deceased. You remain one of the most well-liked people and government officials in all of Rome, and you remain in Rome for the rest of your life. In fact, Caesar, who is extremely pleased with you, names you as his heir. Although he does not have to worry about the Liberators anymore, Caesar eventually does realize his evident mistake of taking too much power in the Roman Republic, he is quickly changing his ways. The Great Roman Empire is sustained, and continues to thrive under Caesar's leadership. [[Bibliography-> Bibliography]] (if: $didTheyWarn is true)[Nice job! Great way of using your creative intelligence to fool those evil Liberators!Your future is looking bright as a young Roman politician, and you will be the reason why the Roman Republic still exists.] (else:)[] <h3><i>The End</h3></i>

Your Score is $score You have agreed to kill Caesar with the rest of your fellow Liberators. It is now March 15, 44 B.C.E.(the Ides of March). You and your cohort of senators have arranged a senate meeting just before Caesar's next military conquest. You arrive at the meeting and devise a plan on how to stab Caesar to his death. However, Caesar does not show up at the meeting for an abnormally long period of time. You, as the leader of the Liberators, can either wait for Caesar to eventually show up, or give up on the mission, assuming that Caesar has already caught your plan to assassinate him. [[Wait for Caesar->Stay at the Meeting]] [[Do not wait for Caesar and assume he has already figured out your ominous plan->Leave the Meeting]] (set: $score -= 10)

Your Score is $score You have delivered a fatal blow to Caesar, who dies shortly dies after being stabbed a total of twenty three times. However, when the people of Rome are informed of Caesar's death and the assassination by the senate, they are very displeased, and saw Caesar as an effective and benevolent leader. [[What Eventually Happened?->Aftermath]] (set: $score -= 40)

Your Final Score is $score You have chose to not stab Caesar, even though you are still part of the Liberators. You are still regarded as an assassin of Caesar, even though you technically did not "assassinate" him. You are very much hated by the Roman public for murdering their beloved Caesar, and you are still driven out of Rome by Caesar's good friend and coconsul, Marcus Antonius, due to your part in the assassination of Julius Caesar. Also, your fellow conspirators see you as a craven for not stabbing the most powerful man in Rome when he was begging for your mercy. [[Bibliography-> Bibliography]] <h3><i>The End</h3></i>

Your Final Score is $score Shortly after Caesar's death, Rome is in a state of anarchy and panic, not knowing what to do next. Many of your other fellow senators have fled Rome, while you and the other Liberators have quarentined yourselves from the enraged Roman public on the Capitoline Hill. Caesar's coconsul, Marcus Antonius, with the support of the Roman public, orders you to leave Rome. When Caesar's adopted son, Octavian takes Caesar's position by being his heir, he declares you and your fellow Liberators to be enemies of the state. After a series of civil wars, in which he defeats in the Battle of Philippi, you commit suicide in 42 B.C.E. Ironically, the ultimate result would be the exact opposite of what you and your fellow Liberators tried to prevent- tyranny. The great Roman Republic is longer no more, and the position of emperor was established. [[Bibliography-> Bibliography]] <h3><i>The End</h3><i>

Your Score is $score You have decided to stay at the senate meeting in hopes of Caesar arriving, and assuming that your plan is secret. Good news! He finally arrives after an abnormally long delay. Wasting no time, you and your 59 other fellow conspirators surround Caesar, unleashing dagger knives from your togas. Caesar is extremely confused about what is going on, and you each take turns delivering blows to Caesar, with the odds extremely in your favor. Nevertheless, Caesar relentlessly puts up a fight. Finally it is your turn to stab Caesar. When Caesar sees you with your dagger, he hopelessly exclaims "You, too, my child!", covers up his face, and gives up the fight. Caesar has just instantaneously given up and hope that you will come to his rescue, or that you will defend his honor when his dies after the stabbing. However, you see Caesar in a helpless position, and suddenly, you are having second thoughts on whether to actually "assassinate" Caesar, and are hesitant of stabbing him. Your fellow conspirators are urging you to finish him off and put his life and Rome's tyranny to an end. You can either not stab Caesar, and not get influenced by the senator's peer pressure, making a case that there is no point to do so since he was stabbed a total of 22 other times, or you could get sucked in by all the peer pressure, and finish Caesar's life off. [[Do not stab Caesar because he is practically dead->Do not Stab Caesar]] [[Stab Caesar, and finish him and Rome's tyranny off->Stab Caesar]] (set: $score -= 20)

Your Score is $score You have decided to leave the meeting and give up on any hopes of dethroning Caesar, assuming that he somehow figured out your "secret" plan. [[Caesar Lives-> Caesar Lives]]

Your Score is $score You have decided to not stab Caesar, making a point that there is no need to stab him because he has been stabbed 22 other times, ensuring his death. [[Caesar Dies, but you Did not Kill him-> You did not Kill Caesar]] (set: $score -= 15)

Your Score is $score You and Caesar decide to hold an impromptu senate meeting to figure out who are the supposed conspirators, and to indirectly find out what their true motives are. At the meeting, some senators behave normally around Caesar, while others behave hostile and arrogantly, ignoring most of the information that Caesar tells them. Judging from the actions of the senators, you and Caesar deduce who the true Conspirators are, and confirm your thoughts on their plan to assassinate Caesar. You and him decide to plan an attack against them on the day of the senate meeting before Caesar sets out for his next military conquest. [[Wait, Plan, and Go for the Meeting-> Go to the meeting]] [[Hide Caesar from the Liberators->Hide Caesar]] (set: $score += 20)

Your Score is $score You and Caesar decide not to further investigate into the motives of the conspirators. All there is left to do now is to wait until March 15, the day of the scheduled meeting, and to strategize how you two are going to fight back against the 59 conspirators. [[Wait, Plan, and Go for the Meeting-> Go to the meeting]] (set: $score += 20)

Your Score is $score After a rally with the people of Rome before the meeting, Caesar informs the guards of Pompey's Theater of the conspirators plans to assassinate him, and summons them to hide in a room nearby, and tells them to only come out when ordered by him. Caesar walks into the Seante meeting to find you and the 59 Liberators circled around him, armed with daggers. They do not have an intimation that you are about to betray them. Just before senator Servilius Casca can strike the first blow on Caesar, you draw out your sword and quickly stab him, leading to his death. Caesar then summons the guards to come out, and a massacre breaks out. However, the Liberators prove no match for you, Caesar, and the guards, and after a few minutes, with the gorgeous theater now looking like a war zone, all the Liberators have suffered their bloody and gory deaths. After your victory against the conspirators, you and Caesar tearfully yet elatedly embrace each other. [[Aftermath-> Caesar Lives]] (set: $score += 40)

Your Score is $score The day is March 15, 44 B.C.E., and you and the 59 Liberators gather in the Curia of Pompey, a meeting place inside Pompey's Theater. However, Caesar is nowhere to be seen or heard from. Even at the rally that was scheduled today, Caesar was nowhere to be found. The Liberators are extremely confused, and decide to leave the meeting. However, they did not expect the unexpected- Caesar is going to try them for treason. The conspirators are all found guilty, and sentenced to life in prison. They are also stripped of their titles and relieved of their positions as senators. [[Aftermath-> Caesar Lives]] (set: $score += 40)