Lucius Tillius Cimber (died 42BC) was a Roman senator, one of the assassins of Julius Caesar and the one to give the signal for the attack on him.
Cimber was initially one of Caesar's strongest supporters. Caesar granted Cimber governorship of the provinces of Bithynia and Pontus in 44BC. He may also have been Praetor in the same year.[1] Cicero once used Cimber's influence on Caesar to help a friend.[2]
It is not known why he joined the conspiracy, but Seneca states that he was motivated by ambition. His role was to initiate the attack, by petitioning Caesar to recall his exiled brother. Plutarch states that other assassins pretended to add their own petitions to Cimber's. According to Suetonius, Caesar gestured him away, but Cimber grabbed hold of him by the shoulders and pulled down Caesar's tunic. Caesar then cried to Cimber, "Why, this is violence!" ("Ista quidem vis est!").[3] At the same time, Casca produced his dagger and made a glancing thrust at the dictator's neck. The other assassins then joined in.
After Caesar's death Cimber left for Bithynia to raise a fleet in support of the leaders of the assassins, Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius. According to the pseudo-Brutus letters (purporting to be letters between Brutus and Cicero), he defeated Publius Cornelius Dolabella, and provided naval support to Brutus and Cassius's invasion of Macedonia.[4] He is last heard of shortly before the Battle of Philippi and is assumed to have been killed during the campaign.
According to Seneca, Cimber was a bold active man, but was a heavy drinker and prone to violence.[5][1] He may have been the inspiration for the character Tillius in Horace's Satires, who epitomises raw ambition.[1]
He appears as a minor character in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, in which his name is given as "Metellus Cimber".
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