This guy is siding with the rich elites he said Caesar denied the people the right to elect officials he appointed when he should well know the plebs had to vote for who their wealthy benefactors decreed. Caesar did take a lot of power but undeniably he made reforms that benefited the poor of Rome and was beloved by them.
Caesar had to be a charismatic and extremely bold man to do the things he did. It took a lot of guts to attend that last Senate meeting. Thanks to Barry Strauss I learned a few details here I didn't know. Also: For students of the era, A great audiobook ("The Assassination Of Julius Caesar, A Peoples History") about Caesar by Michael Parenti gives us much detail on Caesars "good works" he was trying to push through. Works that were intended to help, feed, employ, and basically elevate the plebs. The Oligarch Senators felt he was pandering to the Pleb Mob.
Caesar politically went after Cicero in a big way. No one else at the time really had the power to do so except possibly Marcus Antonius on a different level. @@manuelkong10
@@manuelkong10Cicero is upheld for his philosophy but sadly he was really just another among many oligarchs tearing at Rome’s wealth like dogs. Sad to see what the conspirators did to Caesar.
What’s really amazing about the memory of Julius Caesar’s death is that: 1)shakesphere did get some key facts right and at least got some of the motives correct despite being very limited in his sources, 2)in comparison a show like Hamilton which benefits from more open scholarships compared to old England got more stuff wrong.
Hamilton got most stuff wrong cause that was the idea for artistic purposes I guess. Hamilton himself is played by Lin Manuel Miranda. Hamilton was not Hispanic of course.
The biggest risk for the conspirators appears to have been Caesar's personal popularity. Had they stabbed Caesar on the street, outraged onlookers would likely have turned on them.
Caesar was a dictator. In public he would have been carried on a litter and been surrounded by his lictors so no one would have been able to come up to him
You didn't mention Cicero's head and hands being nailed to the podium in the Senate house . When Roman blood no longer mattered , Rome no longer mattered.
54:38 The model - wax image - of Julius Caesar's body was not on a crane, it was nailed to a cruciform tropaeum---in other words, a *cross!* Mark Anthony was able to rotate the tropaeum showing all 23 stab wounds.
Great lecture. What I would like to understand more clearly is what is new about his interpretation or sources. None of this surprised me, however elegant the delivery.
This guy should have studied Latin before saying anything about Julius Caesar. The map should include Caesar's conquest of Britannia. Watch Michael Parenti's lecture The Assassination of Julius Caesar for an accurate look at Rome and Caesar available on RU-vid.
Nothing he said is new. He didn't add anything to what Mommsen, an actual historian, said 200 years ago, and what has been repeated since. No new evidence was pointed to, no new theories. Literally just "a playwright most of you haven't read got it wrong 500 years ago"
Enjoyed the lecture, thanks for posting. I learned a few details that I was previously unaware of. I assume that the "new light" was that Caesar was killed because the senators and aristocrats felt threatened by the terms of his dictatorship -- the prospect of the republic being turned into an autocracy -- rather than merely out of jealousy. But I thought that this was already widely known; I had read about it when I first became interested in ancient Rome back in the early 1980s.
Caesar had all the trappings of kingship save for the title itself? And why would he want the title which was despised in Rome? And wouldn't it have been a well known fact that client kings answered to Caesar or the Republic anyway? Accepting the title of king in the Rome of Caesar's time would seem to have been an outright act of stupidity. I suspect that Caesar's refusal of the title was no ruse or anything of the sort.
Sulla only held the office of dictator for a short time, before he left. Caesar was beloved by the plebs and his legions. Caesar didn’t read the senate and was unaware of how deep the hatred for him by the Senators really was. He began to believe in his own superiority and that was his eventual downfall.
True, Livy notes hundreds of years later that it may have been the very senators that searched for him after his disappearance that were responsible for his disappearance. Livy's suspicions are raised because Romulus was known for being unpopular with the senate. Did any of this happen? Who knows. This story before the Gallic sack of Rome (essentially Roman prehistory) and is about a man who was raised by a wolf. Having that said, I agree that there is at least enough to the senatorial regicide to take the claim seriously.
He showed a couple of photos of the part of the Theater of Pompeii where Caesar was killed and also showed the exact spot where the murder occurred, but he failed to identify it when the slide came up. He kept flipping back and forth between slides instead. It took place at the site at the base of the pine tree that he showed.
Everything we know points to Caesar being very popular with the common people. It was the Roman aristocrats, what 'Mencius Moldbug' today calls 'The Cathedral' that wanted Caesar dead and gone.
This speaker is a trained historian and classicist. Michael Parenti is neither of these things. This lecture presents historical research that is grounded in the sources and actual pieces of evidence.
@@airtours1990 :: You're underestimating Parenti. He has a PhD in Political Science from Yale. W / or w /o degrees, research can be carried out by almost anyone w / the strong desire for History. W / or w / o degrees, they all rely on historical references. This professor, from Cornell, is regurgitating information you can find from many other historians who don't go beyond the accepted history of The Ides of March & what really lead to Julius Caesar's assassination. He doesn't mention any of Julius Caesar's reforms :: --- rent control --- alleviating the tax burden of the masses --- interrupting the financial privileges of the Senator's --- changes to the system that would be considered Progressive, now Historicans, for the most part, BS people. Parenti does not BS. That's why he's "Parenti". Michael Parenti mentions in his book :: _The Assassination of Julius Caesar_ the Gaius (sp) Brothers who were also assassinated because of their Progressive Reforms. If you haven't read Parenti's book, imho, you should give it a shot for this professor needs to go back & do more in-depth research because Parenti makes him look & sound historically programmed.
It's been all rewritten and its about the current (long term) psychotic leaders maintain power... they are eternal scoundrels, killers and liars always pathetically painting themselves as heroes and real heroes (as I assume this video does without watching it) and ever demeaning real heroes more and more with each generation. It is the way of what I call the Yorksalem bloodlines, spread far and wide, identified by RH-blood, blue blood, and a vastly different genetically psychotic mental structure
I highly agree with those who criticize this lecture and stress its poor quality in comparison with the profound insight of Parenti's talks on the same subject. It seems that Barry Strauss still is in the era of the «histoire événementielle». How is it possible?
This presentation is full of inaccuracies, misinterpretations and lacks any understanding of political context. Besides that the speaker mentions that Shakespeake is no historian and then uses Shakespeare again and again as an historical reference. Try Freedman or Parenti. This is just ad hominem blahblah.
I have heard that one of the reasons that triggered Caesar's assassination was an incident when Cleopatra presented baby Cesarean to Caesar in public (in Rome), and he carried the baby, giving him some sort of legitimacy... Although I'm not sure if this event really occurred. Could somebody clarify this??? Thanks.
I have never heard or read about such event in any sources and it seems quite unrealistic. Holding a baby in his arms by his father for Romans was equal with legitimization of the child. A Roman was not allowed to marry a foreign woman. For a man of such position that would mean a political suicide. Too many formal objections.
Caesar might well have acknowledged his son by Cleopatra. She would have wanted him to. Likely, she considered herself to be his plural wife, regardless of what Roman law had to say on the subject (polygamy was legal in Egypt). The act would have been political suicide had he still been an elected official, but he had already been declared "dictator for life", which meant that he would never have to face the voters again. And it is common enough for highly successful people to believe that ordinary rules don't apply to them. Caesar was neither the first nor the last prominent person to be a victim of his own hubris.
I thought this was fantastic, great speaker not dull or monotonous or anything like, this professor knows his stuff, fresh, and a point of view that's very interesting, well done and thank you for the opportunity to be able to learn on this level.
I have a follow up video. Utube user sheds light on how History professor trolled away 1 plus hrs of my life with old news rebranded as new. In laymans terms HE LIED.
This guy says: Shakespeare was not an Historian...Do you know how many Historian have gotten History completely wrong? Do you know how many Historians have intentionally lied about History for one reason or another.? Being a Historian doesn't mean you actually know what you are talking about.
Nicholas, Nickolas, Nikolas, Nikolaus or Nicolas is a male given name, derived from the Greek name Νικόλαος (Nikolaos), which is a compound of (νίκη = nikē) 'victory' and (λαός = laos) 'people'. Wins people over.
Wow Dr. Strauss how many achievments can you get, you are starting to sound likes Caesar! Do you think his life more of a result of skill or luck? I've read a few books and there were many times where the stars aligned such as in Gaul or Germania. It's quite poetic how if it was luck the one time where he had the most to lose he ignored all the signs in the moments before his death.
+Isabella H , to be fair, I think most of the times in which he ignored omens was when Bibulus tried to road block him during their consulship in 59. There is the whole event where he was troubled by a dream in which he had sex with his mother, and that he was going to stay home on the Ides of March on Calpurnia's urging, so I wouldn't say he did too much ignoring of omens when they weren't done for political reasons (a la, Bibilus.)
Dirk No-wit-ski Luck my fuckin arse, in Gaul he depended on a huge intelligence network and even when marching further and further into Gaul he never did so without being thoroughly briefed and then taking calculated risks.
Good grief! A professor of history who cannot read between the lines. To begin with: not dictator in perpetuity but commander. Pray tell, would his belonging to the Populares faction mean anything, and that his family had to flee that nice kind humanitarian dictator Augustus Pinochet, I mean Sulla, had any indication on his politics? Does the fact that he forgave debts, distributed ration to the people, raised taxes on luxury, did land reform, etc etc all at the expense of the senatorial class, those “saintly men”, fabulously rich with huge land holdings and dozens of villas, worked by slaves in the hundreds and even thousands, had anything to do with his assassination by those same men? And he was such an arrogant dictator that he did not even persecute his enemies, even as they were plotting against him, by the way very uncharacteristic of roman ways, and so much of Caesar’s character that he does not look into. The fact is they were a mafia, and in fact that’s where the modern mafia got its inspiration for its modus operandi. Be real!
The republic of Rome was not for the people. This is dishonest spin in how this is portrayed. It was for their oligarch class. Caesar was a democratic reformer
Phil K I already answered you, you weirdo. Why are you being so hostile? This guy is specifically referring to a single historical account that is considered not very credible. He also sounds a bit biased based on what I assume are his political views. Now stop replying to me with your awful grammar.
Phil K Yeah forgive me for criticizing the misinformation in the lecture, I should just shut up and accept whatever people say. You are an idiot, and I'm muting you.
60 senators were involved and the conspiracy still didn't leak. Looks like a great many people wanted Caesar gone. Extraordinary to learn that there were more Caesarians than Pompeians among The Liberators.
Caesar: What is wrong with you people? I keep telling you I do NOT want to be King! I just want to be Dictator for Life. Can't you tell the difference?
I take issue with his stance @ 38:55 Caesar wanted to walk the streets like a normal person and face any detractors head on, as Sulla had done before him after Sulla had seized Rome in the Social War, subsequently retiring in Rome. "Near the end of 81 BC, Sulla, true to his traditionalist sentiments, resigned his dictatorship, disbanded his legions and re-established normal consular government. He stood for office (with Metellus Pius) and won election as consul for the following year, 80 BC. He dismissed his lictors and walked unguarded in the Forum, offering to give account of his actions to any citizen. In a manner that the historian Suetonius thought arrogant, Julius Caesar would later mock Sulla for resigning the Dictatorship." Wikipedia
Highly credentialed and erudite tool delivers a partisan anti-Caesarian screed. Larded with half-truths and lies of omission. Even the video's thumbnail is not an image of Julius Caesar, but of Octavian.
Similar to Caesar, Augustus believed in the liberty to speak. When Augustus caught his own grandson reading Cicero's writings (likely to included negativities about Caesar), August told him to learn well. Caesar never has been and never will be afraid of words.
the freeze frame for this video - witch drew me to it in the first place - cuz the only part of the title I could see was "Cornell history professor sheds new light on the death of" i saw the freeze frame pic nd i swear its Octavian/Augustus lol then i noticed it said Caesar when i clicked on it - anyway thanks for the comments guys wont even bother watching then based on what few of you are saying specially callyharley
What a great presentation!! They dont make History Professors like this any more. If could talk to a person of that era, it would would be Cicero by his breadth of experience in his years in this era and his depth of learning!! He stayed too long. Marc Anthony wanted him dead for his diatribes against Anthony in Senate, My understanding was Antony demanded his death as part of the agreement to join the Triumvirate!! Sad end for a great scholar of the olde Republic!! He brilliantly played off the political forces and played the game a long time but the historical forces of the time in the end brought him down!! He was an antique but did not realize it!!
Mediocre lecture at best. The fact that history is regarded only as department in his field of discipline comes out as pretty obvious after seeing his limited knowledge. Also i expected better rethoric skills from a humanistic studies proff
Romans hated, despised, were allergic to the word king. So knowing this, Ceasar stated that his desire was to be a dictator instead. The one who dictates the rules. The same thing in a nutshell and in principle if you ask me.
New is to bash Caesar some more... all part of the ministry of Culture's massive rewrite of history. Caesar's assasins, the family of Cassius, live, prosper, spread, still have power and gradually try to rewrite him into more and more of a villain while making themselves heroes...they are precisely today's Dem Senate in 2020, long planning their own dictatorship, they must assassinate the populist leader beloved of the people... and they begin by calling him a dictator and trying to make that label stick. Caesar turned down the Kingship twice.... good thing he did. It was a trap to have an excuse to kill him. They killed him anyways... that long time society of infiltraters and assassins I now call (from their later branches) the york salem bloodline, aka, English bloodlines, they took over England by York and infiltrated America (nearly complete) by the main first colony of Salem, Massachusetts. Same psychotics with blue Rh- blood, which indicates Chimpanzee genes, a chimpanzee species, born by lab in Crete and release in 1444 bc. It's alot to take in, in a paragraph, but that is the reality. Take it is a presupposition and you'll see it fixes most of the holes in history...
As some have already pointed @Theseustoo Astyages lame. All the arguments are based on this hypothesis. Historically speaking, we CAN NOT affirm with certainty that he wanted to be the king, therefore although very well done with some good arguments, the other side should have been displayed. Furthermore, the reforms obviously brought conflict some factions of the Roman Senate and would have caused a clash.