A professor of history and classics describes the actual events of March 15, 44 BC, when Julius Caesar was murdered during the Roman civil wars, and comparies them to those outlined by William Shakespeare in his famous play.--Publisher's description. Thanks to William Shakespeare, the death of Julius Caesar is the most famous assassination in history. But what actually happened on March 15, 44 BC is even more gripping than the play. Strauss shows Caesar's assassination was a carefully planned paramilitary operation, put together by disaffected officers and designed with precision. The assassins rallied support among the common people, but they underestimated Caesar's soldiers, who flooded Rome. The assassins were vanquished; their beloved Republic became the Roman Empire.

Part I. Return to Rome -- Riding with Caesar -- The best men -- Decision in a villa -- Caesar's last triumph -- Part II. Blood on the stones -- The birth of a plot -- Wanted: assassins -- Caesar leaves home -- Murder -- A republic in the balance -- A funeral to remember -- Part III. The road back -- The struggle for Italy -- Vengeance -- Augustus.