The Ides of March: Caesar's Murder and the War for Rome

By Oliver Bullough

Book Overview

Unraveling the many mysteries surrounding the murder of Julius Caesar

The assassination of Julius Caesar is one of the most notorious murders in history. Two thousand years after it occurred, many compelling questions remain about his death: Was Brutus the hero and Caesar the villain? Did Caesar bring death on himself by planning to make himself king of Rome? Was Mark Antony aware of the plot, and let it go forward? Who wrote Antony's script after Caesar's death? Using historical evidence to sort out these and other puzzling issues, historian and award-winning author Stephen Dando-Collins takes you to the world of ancient Rome and recaptures the drama of Caesar's demise and the chaotic aftermath as the vicious struggle for power between Antony and Octavian unfolded. For the first time, he shows how the religious festivals and customs of the day impacted on the way the assassination plot unfolded. He shows, too, how the murder was almost avoided at the last moment.

A compelling history that is packed with intrigue and written with the pacing of a first-rate mystery, The Ides will challenge what you think you know about Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470425237
• ISBN13: 9780470425237
• Release Date: February 2010
• Publisher: Trade Paper Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.6" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Masterfully insightful, dynamic and engaging!

The Ides is a masterfully insightful, dynamic and engaging book that breathes new life into the people and places it covers. It is a captivating interjection into a conversation too long dominated by worn out academic reflections. Tom Tiballi, 'Philadelphia City Paper' literary review.

Can A Book Be Scholarly and Thrilling?

Quite simply, Yes! Dando-Collins(DC) scholarly work reads like a novel. If history was presented like this, there would be no drop-outs. The political machinations of the time of Caesar's death are fascinating and DC lays it out in wonderful detail. His variety of sources give differing accounts and seemingly leaves it up to you to decide and ponder whether Cesar's murder was justified. The book however is not without...

Was Caesar's Murder Justified?

The Ides by historian Stephen Dando-Collins is an extremely readable book on a disturbing and in many ways intriguing subject - the quest for a noble cause through an ignoble act. A schophant senate showers Julius Caesar with honors and titles, including dictator for life, until there remains no other to bestow but one : King of Rome. Five centuries have gone by since the expulsion of kings. No one wants them back. Rome is...