October 23 - Marcus Junius Brutus Commits Suicide

This Day in History: 23 October 2020

 

23 October 42 B.C.

 

2062 years ago, today, Marcus Junius Brutus, a leading conspirator in the assassination of Julius Caesar, died by suicide after his defeat at the second battle of Philippi. Mark Antony, out of great respect, ordered Brutus' body to be wrapped in Antony's most expensive purple mantle, but this was later stolen, and Antony ordered the thief to be executed. Brutus was later cremated, and his ashes were sent to his mother, Servilia. His wife, Porcia, was reported to have committed suicide upon hearing the news of her husband's death. However, there is some dispute to if this was the case.

 

Two years before his death, Brutus had joined Gaius Cassius in the plot against Julius Caesar, believing this would bring about the restoration of the Roman Republic. However, Caesar's assassination would instead plunge the Roman world into a series of civil wars. After being defeated by Antony at a battle in Philippi, Greece, Cassius killed himself. Brutus also took his own life once his army was crushed by Antony and Octavian, who would soon turn against each other. In 27 B.C., the Roman Republic was lost forever when the first emperor of Rome, being Octavian as Augustus Caesar, ascended.

 

Want to find out more about Brutus? Click here for more information, or here for more about the assassination of Caesar.