Julius Caesar was a very popular reformer and military general in Rome. He brazenly led his troops across the Rubicon River in 49 BC in an effort to secure complete control of Rome from his rival, Pompey. He was successful in his quest to utilize his loyal military forces to control the entire peninsula. Pompey did not have success against Caesar and fled to Greece and then Egypt. Caesar's forces pursued Pompey to both places and had him eliminated in Egypt. This left the Senate with a vexing question: What is to be done with Caesar? It seemed that his political influence and power could not be contained. Caesar even declared himself dictator for life, which was unprecedented. The Senate was very concerned about the power that he acquired in such short order and they decided that he should be assassinated for the good of the Republic.

Why did the senators kill Julius Caesar?

Julius Caesar was very popular. He was part of the First Triumvirate government in Rome. Julius Caesar, along with Pompey and Crassus, ruled Rome. Caesar had a command in Gaul, Pompey had a command in Spain, and Crassus had a command in Syria. After Crassus died, Julius Caesar was ordered to give up his rule. Caesar was very popular and this alarmed some people.

Of course, Julius Caesar didn’t give up his command. He fought and defeated Pompey. Julius Caesar was made dictator in 45 BC. As dictator, Julius Caesar made many reforms. He gave land to the poor and increased the number of senators in the Roman Senate to 900. However, some of the Roman senators thought Julius Caesar would remain dictator and take power from the Roman Senate. There was concern that Julius Caesar would end the Roman Republic. Thus, they developed a plan to kill him, which was eventually successful on Ides of March.