Perhaps the most famous murder victim ever?
The Romans had an odd way of denoting dates. Instead of just numbering the days of the month, they counted backward from certain named days: the Kalends (the first day of the month); the Nones (usually the fifth) and the Ides (usually the thirteenth.) So, for example, January 28 would be called “four days before the Kalends of February.” It’s four days instead of three because of another quirk in the Roman system: they counted both ends of a series, not just one as we do. In four months of the year, March, May, July and October, the Nones and Ides shifted two days–to the seventh and fifteenth.
Given the Romans’ unique approach to mathematics it makes their engineering accomplishments–their roads, bridges and aquaducts are still in use today–all the more remarkable.
As we know from reading Shakespeare in high school English class, Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March in 44 BC. We’re also told by Shakespeare and various Roman historians that Caesar was warned to “Beware the Ides of March” which makes the date as famous as the murder itself.
Based on the influence the Romans had on our system of government (ever wonder where the words “republic” and “Senate” come from?) it’s not a bad idea to know something about them. There are thousands of good books, including some terrific histories by Anthony Everitt
For the more visually inclined, there is the HBO series of a couple years ago. Rome
was based on a lot of historical evidence. There’s plenty of the political intrique, sex and violence too, that made ancient Rome such an interesting subject for historians and voyeurs alike.
