What did Julius Caesar do to get himself assassinated?

Answer 1

He went to the senate and got killed by his friends. That's how he was assassinated.

People thought he was a terrible ruler and chose to rebel.

Part of the first answer is true, there is, however, more to the story of Caesar's assassination then that. Here are some additional pieces of information, some of which contradicts the first answer:

* The Roman Senate awarded Caesar the title of dictator. The inital title was to be a term of ten years, later they extended Caesar's Dictatorship for life;

* Caesar was popular with two important segments of ancient Rome, the military and the common people of Rome;

* Caesar's legion veterans respected him for the conquests he led them in along with the booty he shared with them as well. He also tried to find land and colonies for retired military veterans;

* Caesar began certain land reforms which helped the common Roman;

* Caesar's public works projects also helped ease Roman unemployment;

To the extent of what information is added, it would seem that Caesar was not a candidate for assassination. However, there remained problems that caused a conspiracy to form against him. Here is why:

* Caesar had granted forgiveness and pardons to many of his former enemies in the Civil War he won against the Senate and their general Pompeius;

* Many of these senators took advantage of their pardons to plot Caesar's death;

* Caesar's relationship with Cleopatra did not serve him well. Cleopatra was not Roman but a Greek who ruled Egypt. This gave his enemies more of an incentive to kill him;

* Some of the Senators, 17 or so, were in the conspiracy to slay Caesar because they believed he wanted the title of king, which was a hated title based on Rome's past;

* The idea that he wanted to be king combined with the fear some senators had about Caesar's absolute power gave them concern; and

* The assassins believed that with Caesar out of the way, the former Roman Republic could be restored. This meant the republic dominated by the Senate.