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Ancient Rome, one of the greatest
superpowers in history,

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whose far-reaching legacy continues
to shape our lives.

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For close on 1,000 years
the Romans dominated
the known world.

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Theirs was an extraordinary empire
that heralded an age

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of unprecedented prosperity
and stability

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but that also ruled
through violence and oppression.

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Rome's rise to greatness wasn't
inevitable.

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Its epic history was often decided
by single, critical moments.

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In this series,
I'm exploring eight key days

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that I believe help to explain
Rome's remarkable success.

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To understand the full significance
of these eight days

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I'm travelling across
the Roman world...

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I am incredibly lucky to get access
to this archaeological site.

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..examining remarkable finds...

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The Germans are described by Caesar
as a kind of terrorist.

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..and investigating the complexities
of what it was to be Roman.

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No!

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Pompey and I had an agreement!

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This is the day in 49BC when Julius
Caesar crossed the Rubicon River

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at the head
of his all-conquering army.

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It was the start
of a bloody revolution...

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Cicero! Join the liberators!

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..that would lead to the destruction
of Rome's 500-year-old Republic.

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Gaius Julius Caesar was born
just a few hundred yards from here

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in 100BC, at a time when Rome still
referred to herself as a republic.

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Now, the Romans were very proud
of their ideal of liberty

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and that, as a republic,
her citizens had both a voice
and a vote.

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Rule was, in theory at least,
for the people.

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Assemblies and elections were open
to ordinary citizens

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but the powerful Senate was
dominated by a few elite families.

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As a republic, Rome had gone
from strength to strength.

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By the 1st century BC,

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Rome was the most powerful state
in the ancient world.

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Her empire stretched from what is
now Greece and Turkey in the east,

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across North Africa
to Spain in the west.

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She had defeated her great rival,
Carthage...
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Victory for Rome!
MEN CHEERING

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..and overcome a slave revolt
led by Spartacus.

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But Rome's victories came
at a price.

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Her lust for land led to the rise
of army generals

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who could deliver foreign conquests.

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Enriched by plunder,
these men accumulated
dangerous amounts of power.

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And one stood head and shoulders
above the rest.

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As a general and statesman, Julius
Caesar was in a class of his own,

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a man said to have
razor-sharp intellect

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and a clinical, steely ambition
to succeed.

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Caesar's rise would challenge
the very existence
of the republic itself.

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At this crucial moment
in Rome's history,

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the city had a stark choice -

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to stay true to its principles
of rule by the many

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or to stand by
and watch as power was subverted

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for the benefit of the few.

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These growing tensions would reach
a crisis point

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on what would prove to be
a momentous day

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when Caesar crossed
the Rubicon River,

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declaring war
on the Republic itself.

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I want to explore the events
around that day,

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a moment that would herald
the transformation of the Republic

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into an empire ruled
by a single man.

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Caesar first made his name
and his fortune when he led
the pitiless invasion of Gaul,

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a bloody military campaign
that reached a terrible climax

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in today's Netherlands.

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When Germanic tribes crossed into
Caesar's newly conquered territory,

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what followed was one of
the most vicious mass killings

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in Roman history.

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MEN YELLING

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In Caesar's account
of the Gallic Wars,

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he writes that the Germanic tribes
begged him for a truce.

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Instead, he ordered
that they be wiped out,

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a task his soldiers carried out
with ruthless savagery.

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SHOUTING AND GROANING

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At Caesar's side,
his loyal officer, Mark Antony.

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These representatives of the people
have come to talk peace.

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We'll have to disappoint them, then,
won't we?

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Run! Run into the forest!

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MAN CRIES OUT, MARK ANTONY CHUCKLES

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Hup!

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Caesar boasted that his troops
annihilated the tribes,

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killing around 150,000 men, women
and children.

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Up until now, historians have had to
rely on Caesar's written account

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as the only proof
for this horrifying episode.

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Remarkably, archaeologists working
here in the Netherlands believe

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they may have identified direct
evidence of the events that day

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and some of the key finds are being
held here

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in the National Museum in Leiden.
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This newly discovered,
chilling evidence was dredged

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from the nearby Maas River

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and analysed
by archaeologist Nico Roymans.

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What kind of evidence have you been
working with

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to piece together this story?

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Here you have a few examples.

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You have here a skull
of an adult person,

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about 60 years old, where the face
here was cut off by one sword blow.

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So that's really a mortal injury,
I can tell you.Yeah, yeah.

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That's horrific, isn't it? Yeah.

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Here an adult woman with a hole here
above one of the eyes

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caused by a Roman spearhead.

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It's interesting that you're finding
women here

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because we hear from the accounts
that women and children were
also slaughtered.

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That's exactly
what Caesar describes,

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that he tried to slaughter
the complete population.

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Historically, this is very exciting

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because it's very rare that we get
archaeological evidence like this

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absolutely buttressing,
in a very precise way,

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the written record.

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But emotionally, it's very hard
to look at some of this

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because you get a sense of the
ferocity of Caesar and his campaign.

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What he did here in
this northern fringe area of Gaul,

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there was clear cases of massacres
and even genocide.

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Finds like these should make us
redraw our mental picture of Caesar.

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As well as being an ambitious
and brilliant general,

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he was a brutal and callous warlord.

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Today he'd be called a war criminal.

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He destroyed hundreds
of towns and settlements,

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enslaved and killed
hundreds of thousands,

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possibly even millions of Gauls.

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What Caesar wanted was
personal power and glory,

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setting him on a direct
collision course with the ideals
of the Roman Republic.

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Rome's overseas conquests had
produced a new breed of general,

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men whose enormous personal
influence threatened to destabilise

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the entire system
of Roman government.

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Three, in particular, were hungry
for power
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and the foremost amongst them
was the conqueror of Gaul -
Julius Caesar.

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A state whose politics were supposed
to be played out

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in the public spaces and buildings
of the Forum

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was about to have
its future threatened
by a sleazy backroom deal.

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170 miles north of the capital,

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Rome's three most powerful citizens
met

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to launch a conspiracy to divide up
control of the vast Roman Empire.

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Calling the shots - Caesar himself.

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Before him, Crassus, the commander
who defeated Spartacus

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and the richest man in Rome.

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Pompey the Great, a brilliant
general, conqueror of the east,

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and husband
to Caesar's daughter Julia.
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Spain for you, Pompey.

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Syria for you, Crassus.

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Syria.

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More triumphs, more trophies.

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More gold, Crassus.

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He doesn't need more gold.

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You don't need any more triumphs.

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And for you, Caesar?

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The extension of my governorship
of Gaul.

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Five more years,

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supported by fresh finance
from the Senate.

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The stubborn old dogs of the Senate
will fight it.

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The stubborn old dogs of the Senate
will be no match

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for the three of us.

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This was a power grab, a plan
to seize control of the Republic.

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Three of the richest men in Rome,

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each at the head
of a battle-hardened army,

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working together
to further their own interests -

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truly the stuff of nightmares
for the old order in the Senate.

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Now, there's a rather brilliant
thing about the situation here

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because we have an eye witness

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right at the heart
of the Roman political system.

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His name was Marcus Tullius Cicero
and he wasn't just any old observer

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but an incredibly astute
and prolific commentator.

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Thanks to his speeches
and his hundreds of letters,

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we know what was going on at the
actual time that it was happening.
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Cicero came from obscure beginnings
here in Arpino,

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some 60 miles south of Rome.

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Despite the way he's been portrayed
in this statue,

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Cicero wasn't a conquering hero.

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He was a lawyer and a politician,

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although he was widely regarded
as the very best orator
in the whole of Rome.

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But his political instincts were
very conservative.

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The values of the Republic meant
everything to him.

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He was also astute enough to know
that politics was a dangerous game.

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Violence was a constant threat from
mobs loyal to Caesar and his allies.

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Oppose Caesar, Pompey or Crassus

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and you risked intimidation
or sometimes even assassination.

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It was something that Cicero had
experienced first-hand

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when his beloved home in Rome was
ransacked by a hostile mob.

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So, Cicero felt forced to pledge
his loyalty to the three generals.

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But what is fascinating is that
if you read his private letters,

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then these reveal his real
heartfelt fears for the future.

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He writes in the summer of 56BC
to his friend, Atticus.

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"You will not believe the treachery
of these, our leaders,

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"as they would have themselves.

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"Farwell to straight, true,
honest politics."

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But the gang of three's
power-sharing plot was short lived.

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The great Crassus might have beaten
Spartacus

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but out on campaign
against the Parthian Empire,

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he was defeated in battle.

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30,000 of his soldiers were lost

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and the General himself was
taken prisoner.

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Are you thirsty, Roman?

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Legends about the use of molten gold

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to murder the infamously wealthy
Crassus were recorded

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by the Roman historian Cassius Dio.

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With Crassus gone, the gang of
three's deal was dead in the water.

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Caesar acted swiftly
to shore up his power,

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putting himself forward
for the highest political office
in Rome,

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the Consulship.

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But there was a problem.

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In order to run for office,
Roman law stated

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that a general must give up command
of his armies.

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The agreement that had been thrashed
out down there in the heart of Rome

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by the citizens of the Republic was

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that a candidate had to be
a civilian.

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The thing was,
Caesar had absolutely no intention

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of giving up the source
of his power -

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his position as general
in command of a loyal army.

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Seeking to build support
for his candidacy,

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Caesar needed the endorsement
of a senior Senator.

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Cicero! My dear friend!

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So he summoned
Rome's greatest orator

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to his military headquarters
in Ravenna,

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then part of southern Gaul.

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Don't go upsetting him, you old dog,

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or you'll have me to answer to.

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You wish to be elected Consul
in the upcoming elections.

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Yes. My governorship of Gaul is
coming to an end.

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But you want to keep your armies.

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I don't think that would be
acceptable to the Senate.

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The Senate seems determined
to punish and humiliate me

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for bringing glory to Rome.

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The law would have to be rewritten.

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Rewrite it, then.

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Huh!

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Why not? They follow you like sheep.

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Your opponents rise to their feet
every day
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to declare you an enemy
of the Senate and of Rome itself.

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They are trying their best to turn
Pompey round to their side.

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Pompey and I had an agreement!

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I cannot be left defenceless.

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I simply must be treated
with the respect due
to my rank and experience.

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I will see what I can do.

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I think you will find it the safest
and most honourable path.

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Despite Cicero's pledge of support,

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Caesar's enemies in the Senate
denied his request
to keep his armies,

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arguing instead that he be stripped
of his command in Gaul.

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The story goes
that when Caesar heard

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that the Senate planned
to cancel his command

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he clapped his hand
to the hilt of his sword

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and declared,
"This will give it to me."

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Big talk was edging closer
to the possibility of outright war

239
00:18:05,418 --> 00:18:08,046
between Caesar and the Senate.

240
00:18:09,041 --> 00:18:13,938
So, where did Pompey,
the other surviving member
of the gang of three,

241
00:18:13,979 --> 00:18:16,885
stand on all of this?

242
00:18:16,925 --> 00:18:20,309
He had tried to remain on good terms
with both Caesar and the Senate

243
00:18:20,349 --> 00:18:25,285
but now, with the Republic
in crisis, he'd had to pick a side.

244
00:18:29,068 --> 00:18:31,178
Cicero was following
all of this closely

245
00:18:31,218 --> 00:18:33,368
from one of his villas outside Rome.

246
00:18:33,409 --> 00:18:38,425
His letters give us a unique insight
into history as it happened

247
00:18:38,465 --> 00:18:41,252
and as events escalated towards
chaos,

248
00:18:41,291 --> 00:18:43,123
they grow ever more despairing.

249
00:18:43,162 --> 00:18:48,220
In the winter of 50BC he was writing
almost daily to his friend Atticus.

250
00:18:48,260 --> 00:18:50,808
Just listen to this
from early December.

251
00:18:51,803 --> 00:18:54,231
"These men are fighting
for personal power

252
00:18:54,272 --> 00:18:56,939
"at society's risk.

253
00:18:56,979 --> 00:19:00,961
"Caesar's become so strong
that all hope of resistance rests

254
00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:04,145
"with a single citizen,"
meaning Pompey.

255
00:19:04,185 --> 00:19:06,455
And soon after that,
on December 18th,

256
00:19:06,495 --> 00:19:11,233
he is crystal clear
about Rome's fate.

257
00:19:11,273 --> 00:19:15,971
"The political situation gives me
greater terror every day.

258
00:19:17,007 --> 00:19:19,156
"All we want is peace

259
00:19:19,196 --> 00:19:23,178
"but a victory may produce
a tyrant."

260
00:19:24,850 --> 00:19:27,040
Cicero was desolate,
261
00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:31,261
with a front-row seat
as Rome geared up for civil war,

262
00:19:31,300 --> 00:19:37,232
a war that would destroy
the Republic that he so loved.

263
00:19:38,825 --> 00:19:42,369
Just a few days after that letter,
matters came to a head.

264
00:19:42,409 --> 00:19:48,739
The Senate asked Pompey
to defend the Republic,
with arms if necessary.

265
00:19:48,779 --> 00:19:50,809
Forced to make a decision,
he accepted

266
00:19:50,850 --> 00:19:53,318
and a state of emergency was
declared.

267
00:19:53,357 --> 00:19:57,459
Caesar was then ordered
to relinquish his military command

268
00:19:57,499 --> 00:20:00,445
and to return to the city
without his army.

269
00:20:01,839 --> 00:20:04,626
Caesar was now faced
with a critical dilemma.

270
00:20:06,139 --> 00:20:10,001
To remain in Gaul meant forfeiting
his political power to his enemies.

271
00:20:10,041 --> 00:20:14,659
Returning to Rome without an army
would verge on the suicidal.

272
00:20:16,491 --> 00:20:22,144
The only other option was one that
would have devastating consequences.

273
00:20:22,184 --> 00:20:27,719
From his base in Ravenna, Caesar
planned to travel through the night,

274
00:20:27,758 --> 00:20:31,581
to meet his army
at the Rubicon River,

275
00:20:31,621 --> 00:20:35,005
the frontier
with the Roman homeland.

276
00:20:35,045 --> 00:20:39,823
According to the law, any general
leading troops across this border

277
00:20:39,862 --> 00:20:42,491
would be declared a public enemy.

278
00:20:42,530 --> 00:20:47,785
Crossing the Rubicon would be,
quite simply, a declaration of war

279
00:20:47,826 --> 00:20:50,094
against the Republic of Rome.

280
00:20:53,002 --> 00:20:55,152
Secrecy was paramount.

281
00:20:57,939 --> 00:21:01,681
Not a word to anyone or I'll come
to that filthy little hovel of yours
and slit your throat.

282
00:21:01,721 --> 00:21:03,473
Understand?

283
00:21:03,513 --> 00:21:04,747
Good.

284
00:21:07,454 --> 00:21:09,007
The choice that Caesar would make

285
00:21:09,047 --> 00:21:11,716
on the banks of the Rubicon River
the following morning

286
00:21:11,755 --> 00:21:14,382
would change the course of history.

287
00:21:26,486 --> 00:21:29,274
Caesar's conflict with the Senate
had reached crisis point.

288
00:21:29,314 --> 00:21:33,852
He rode through the night to meet up
with his army at the Rubicon,

289
00:21:33,892 --> 00:21:37,157
the border with the Roman homeland.

290
00:21:47,907 --> 00:21:50,097
Whoa, whoa, whoa.

291
00:21:50,137 --> 00:21:54,238
If Caesar crossed the Rubicon
at the head of his army,

292
00:21:54,277 --> 00:21:58,578
it would be an act of treason,
an open violation of Roman law.

293
00:22:01,324 --> 00:22:04,033
This would trigger
a devastating civil war

294
00:22:04,072 --> 00:22:06,939
between Caesar and the Republic.

295
00:22:11,319 --> 00:22:15,659
If he turned back, he'd lose his
command and be tried as a traitor.

296
00:23:04,911 --> 00:23:07,220
WOMAN: Do not go further.

297
00:23:29,158 --> 00:23:31,348
Did I...?You passed out.

298
00:23:31,388 --> 00:23:33,538
I had to haul you out of the river
like a fish.

299
00:23:36,485 --> 00:23:40,705
I saw a figure, a woman...

300
00:23:42,178 --> 00:23:44,925
..rising out of the water.

301
00:23:47,752 --> 00:23:49,982
She told me to go no further.

302
00:23:51,057 --> 00:23:53,445
A dream.

303
00:23:53,486 --> 00:23:56,432
HORSE NEIGHS, MEN SHOUTING

304
00:23:57,387 --> 00:23:58,980
They're here.

305
00:24:02,165 --> 00:24:03,679
Say no more of this.

306
00:24:11,164 --> 00:24:13,711
The author Lucan's story
of this ghostly vision,

307
00:24:13,752 --> 00:24:18,848
as Caesar stood on the threshold
of all-out rebellion, speaks

308
00:24:18,887 --> 00:24:21,675
of the troubled state of his mind.

309
00:24:21,715 --> 00:24:25,377
The decision that Caesar would make
on that day

310
00:24:25,418 --> 00:24:29,200
would transform the fate
of the Roman Empire.

311
00:24:33,779 --> 00:24:37,960
Soldiers of the 13th, loyal friends.
312
00:24:40,110 --> 00:24:43,812
I have been your commander
for nine years.

313
00:24:43,853 --> 00:24:48,033
We meet here today
on the banks of the Rubicon

314
00:24:48,073 --> 00:24:54,682
because the Senate and Pompey have
decreed

315
00:24:54,722 --> 00:25:01,411
that unless I relinquish my command,
I shall be branded an enemy of Rome.

316
00:25:03,322 --> 00:25:08,459
Gaius Julius Caesar,
an enemy of Rome!

317
00:25:08,498 --> 00:25:10,330
How dare they?

318
00:25:14,909 --> 00:25:16,660
Now we have a choice.

319
00:25:17,735 --> 00:25:21,199
We turn back...

320
00:25:21,239 --> 00:25:24,822
or we cross this river

321
00:25:24,863 --> 00:25:29,043
and we fight against my enemies

322
00:25:29,082 --> 00:25:33,422
to prove my honour and my station.

323
00:25:34,379 --> 00:25:36,409
What is it to be, men?

324
00:25:47,438 --> 00:25:50,344
On the 10th of January, 49BC,

325
00:25:50,384 --> 00:25:55,600
Julius Caesar urged his horse
into the icy waters
of the Rubicon River.

326
00:25:57,272 --> 00:26:01,851
This apparently simple act would set
off a chain of events

327
00:26:01,891 --> 00:26:05,036
that would come to define
the Roman Empire.

328
00:26:11,208 --> 00:26:15,587
Even now, crossing a Rubicon means
reaching a point of no return,

329
00:26:15,627 --> 00:26:19,847
an act with permanent consequences.

330
00:26:19,887 --> 00:26:22,714
Caesar had started a civil war

331
00:26:22,754 --> 00:26:26,775
and that decision would shape
the course of Roman civilisation,

332
00:26:26,815 --> 00:26:32,947
which means that its fall-out
still impacts on all of us today.

333
00:26:41,228 --> 00:26:46,126
For Cicero, whatever he intended,
and whoever won these battles,

334
00:26:46,166 --> 00:26:51,660
the real loser could only be
the 500-year-old Republic.

335
00:26:52,974 --> 00:26:55,164
"We should have resisted Caesar
when he was weak.

336
00:26:55,204 --> 00:26:57,314
"That would have been easy.

337
00:26:57,353 --> 00:27:00,858
"Now we face eleven legions,
cavalry at his command,

338
00:27:00,898 --> 00:27:03,446
"the city rabble, corrupt youth.

339
00:27:03,486 --> 00:27:06,670
"A leader of such authority
and daring -

340
00:27:06,710 --> 00:27:09,099
"against this we must either fight

341
00:27:09,139 --> 00:27:12,803
"or admit his candidature
in the law."

342
00:27:12,842 --> 00:27:16,824
And then he comes up with something
really interesting.

343
00:27:16,863 --> 00:27:20,049
"'Better fight that be a slave,'
you say?

344
00:27:20,088 --> 00:27:23,273
"For what? A death sentence
if you're beaten

345
00:27:23,313 --> 00:27:27,375
"and if you win,
slavery all the same."

346
00:27:29,007 --> 00:27:32,790
What Cicero is saying is
that because this is a civil war,

347
00:27:32,830 --> 00:27:35,935
everything is already lost.

348
00:27:35,975 --> 00:27:40,315
Legitimate, political power cannot
be won by the sword

349
00:27:40,354 --> 00:27:44,256
and if Pompey triumphed,
there was nothing to say
350
00:27:44,296 --> 00:27:47,522
that he wouldn't end up
being a tyrant.

351
00:27:47,561 --> 00:27:52,737
Death or moral slavery would be
the only outcome.

352
00:27:55,365 --> 00:27:57,754
An epic showdown loomed.

353
00:27:57,793 --> 00:28:01,019
Caesar marched south
from the Rubicon to Rome.

354
00:28:01,059 --> 00:28:04,642
But Pompey and his supporters
abandoned the city,

355
00:28:04,682 --> 00:28:07,866
fleeing to Greece,
where they raised a huge army.

356
00:28:07,907 --> 00:28:11,093
Caesar sailed east to meet them

357
00:28:11,132 --> 00:28:14,158
and the two sides finally confronted
one another

358
00:28:14,198 --> 00:28:16,308
at the decisive battle of Pharsalus.

359
00:28:21,285 --> 00:28:24,510
Facing Pompey's forces on the plains
of central Greece,

360
00:28:24,550 --> 00:28:27,377
Caesar found himself
in a perilous position -

361
00:28:27,417 --> 00:28:32,076
isolated, short of provisions
and seriously outnumbered.

362
00:28:33,947 --> 00:28:38,485
But then Caesar's men,
battle-hardened veterans, employed

363
00:28:38,525 --> 00:28:43,303
superior strategy and fighting
skills and defied military logic

364
00:28:43,343 --> 00:28:46,330
to win Caesar his greatest victory.

365
00:28:46,369 --> 00:28:52,102
After this crushing defeat,
Pompey went on the run,

366
00:28:52,142 --> 00:28:53,455
fleeing to Egypt.

367
00:28:57,995 --> 00:29:00,224
Caesar pursued him there,

368
00:29:00,264 --> 00:29:03,847
hoping to persuade
the Egyptian king, Ptolemy,

369
00:29:03,888 --> 00:29:06,555
to hand over his great adversary.

370
00:29:06,595 --> 00:29:12,727
Conqueror of the world
and mightiest of the Romans...

371
00:29:13,881 --> 00:29:17,465
..you are made safe by this gift.

372
00:29:30,843 --> 00:29:32,833
How is this a gift?

373
00:29:34,506 --> 00:29:37,492
It is your enemy's ring

374
00:29:37,531 --> 00:29:39,323
and his head.

375
00:29:41,155 --> 00:29:43,186
This is the head of a great general,
376
00:29:43,225 --> 00:29:45,774
a Consul of Rome.

377
00:29:47,008 --> 00:29:50,192
And my son-in-law.

378
00:29:53,896 --> 00:29:57,042
Tell your king I demand

379
00:29:57,081 --> 00:30:00,585
that the assassins of this great man

380
00:30:00,625 --> 00:30:03,929
be executed without delay.

381
00:30:03,969 --> 00:30:08,747
Caesar's reaction to Pompey's death
might seem strange

382
00:30:08,787 --> 00:30:14,003
but it could be put down to
his anger at a missed opportunity.

383
00:30:14,042 --> 00:30:19,497
Rather than have his enemies killed
he preferred to offer them mercy
or clemency,

384
00:30:19,537 --> 00:30:24,275
proving the reach of his power
and persuading people to his side.

385
00:30:24,315 --> 00:30:29,172
Whether Caesar's mercy was sincere
or just for show,

386
00:30:29,213 --> 00:30:34,468
with Pompey dead there was no doubt
he had absolute power.

387
00:30:34,507 --> 00:30:37,932
Cicero was one of the many
who publicly praised him

388
00:30:37,972 --> 00:30:40,400
for his willingness to forgive.
389
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:45,497
But in truth, he held out little
hope for Rome under Caesar's rule.

390
00:30:45,537 --> 00:30:47,687
In the security
of his private correspondence

391
00:30:47,726 --> 00:30:53,500
Cicero wrote,
"Liberty has been lost."

392
00:30:55,530 --> 00:30:59,273
In 46BC, when Caesar
finally returned to Rome,

393
00:30:59,313 --> 00:31:01,901
the Senate granted him a triumph,

394
00:31:01,940 --> 00:31:04,688
a glorious procession into the city.

395
00:31:04,727 --> 00:31:07,953
The Romans always loved
a military parade

396
00:31:07,993 --> 00:31:09,784
and it's no different today.

397
00:31:09,825 --> 00:31:13,527
Caesar's victory appeared
to be complete.

398
00:31:13,567 --> 00:31:17,907
The newly tamed Senate awarded
Caesar with powers and honours

399
00:31:17,946 --> 00:31:20,614
unheard of in the history
of the Republic,

400
00:31:20,654 --> 00:31:26,109
titles like Prefect of the Morals
and Father of the Fatherland.

401
00:31:26,149 --> 00:31:29,294
They even gave him
his own religious cult

402
00:31:29,333 --> 00:31:32,041
where he was worshipped
as a kind of demigod.

403
00:31:33,235 --> 00:31:38,969
Then, in 44BC, his birthday was
declared a public holiday

404
00:31:39,009 --> 00:31:45,857
and the month of Quintilis was
renamed Julius - July - after him.

405
00:31:45,897 --> 00:31:50,157
But Caesar was walking
a dangerous path.

406
00:31:50,197 --> 00:31:54,218
To many observers he seemed to be
behaving like a king

407
00:31:54,258 --> 00:31:57,682
and since the founding
of the Republic

408
00:31:57,723 --> 00:32:01,943
the Romans had a deep hatred
of kings and tyrants.

409
00:32:03,814 --> 00:32:05,248
..otherwise, it's good.

410
00:32:05,287 --> 00:32:08,990
Underground opposition to Caesar's
autocratic rule was growing.

411
00:32:18,984 --> 00:32:23,801
And ancient writers tell us
that Caesar was plagued
with a mystery illness

412
00:32:23,841 --> 00:32:27,783
that further threatened
to undermine his authority.
413
00:32:27,823 --> 00:32:30,490
HE GASPS

414
00:32:39,568 --> 00:32:41,439
WOMAN: Do not go further.

415
00:32:44,864 --> 00:32:49,960
Plutarch describes Caesar
as suffering from distemper
in the head.

416
00:32:52,229 --> 00:32:57,286
Suetonius writes of
sudden fainting fits and nightmares.

417
00:32:59,477 --> 00:33:03,538
Caesar, might we have
a brief audience?

418
00:33:09,550 --> 00:33:11,381
Cicero, Brutus.

419
00:33:13,412 --> 00:33:15,880
What have you come to say?

420
00:33:18,787 --> 00:33:21,056
Caesar Dictator, hear my petition.

421
00:33:27,148 --> 00:33:31,169
Will he not stand
to speak to Senators?

422
00:33:31,209 --> 00:33:33,956
Perhaps he thinks
we should all kneel before him,

423
00:33:33,996 --> 00:33:37,420
like subjects.

424
00:33:37,461 --> 00:33:42,835
Unaware of Caesar's illness,
the Senators were greatly offended
by his failure to stand.

425
00:33:42,875 --> 00:33:46,021
They saw it as an insult
to their rank

426
00:33:46,060 --> 00:33:49,923
and evidence of his desire to rule
as their king.

427
00:33:49,962 --> 00:33:52,112
Well, do you have something to say?

428
00:33:57,965 --> 00:33:59,717
Do you?

429
00:34:01,310 --> 00:34:02,584
DOOR CLOSES

430
00:34:02,623 --> 00:34:07,043
According to Plutarch, Caesar later
claimed his failure to rise

431
00:34:07,083 --> 00:34:08,397
was due to his sickness,

432
00:34:08,437 --> 00:34:13,334
causing his senses to be,
"speedily shaken and whirled about."

433
00:34:16,439 --> 00:34:20,541
Caesar's curious behaviour was
great ammunition for his opponents.

434
00:34:20,580 --> 00:34:26,513
Some ancient sources blamed
his growing arrogance
on his recurrent seizures

435
00:34:26,553 --> 00:34:30,575
and that idea has been dismissed as
just a convenient excuse.

436
00:34:30,614 --> 00:34:36,547
But intriguing new research is now
casting light on the relationship

437
00:34:36,586 --> 00:34:39,653
between Caesar's health
and his behaviour.
438
00:34:39,692 --> 00:34:43,992
Dr Hutan Ashrafian has applied
modern medical knowledge

439
00:34:44,032 --> 00:34:46,461
to the symptoms of Caesar's illness,

440
00:34:46,500 --> 00:34:50,402
symptoms that we know about
entirely from descriptions

441
00:34:50,442 --> 00:34:51,955
in historical accounts.

442
00:34:53,309 --> 00:34:54,942
Clearly as a successful general,

443
00:34:54,981 --> 00:34:57,211
Julius Caesar was healthy
for most of his life.

444
00:34:57,251 --> 00:35:00,675
But he starts suffering
from some symptoms of falling

445
00:35:00,714 --> 00:35:01,949
and headaches

446
00:35:01,989 --> 00:35:04,178
and this has been brought down to us
over the years

447
00:35:04,218 --> 00:35:06,409
as having suffered from epilepsy.

448
00:35:06,448 --> 00:35:09,753
Why did you have a problem
with epilepsy? Why is that unlikely?

449
00:35:09,792 --> 00:35:13,137
Epilepsy is a disease
that typically presents in childhood

450
00:35:13,177 --> 00:35:16,442
but what we know from Julius Caesar
was that he was healthy
for most of his life

451
00:35:16,482 --> 00:35:19,508
and then in middle age
he has these diseases.

452
00:35:19,548 --> 00:35:22,972
That's highly unusual and doesn't
fit in with the story of epilepsy.

453
00:35:23,011 --> 00:35:24,724
It fits much better, actually,

454
00:35:24,763 --> 00:35:27,669
with a disease of the furring up
of the arteries going to the brain

455
00:35:27,710 --> 00:35:29,422
or cerebrovascular disease.

456
00:35:29,462 --> 00:35:31,731
And what would be the symptoms
of that?

457
00:35:31,771 --> 00:35:35,433
So, typically the symptoms
of cerebrovascular disease are
weakness in the limbs,

458
00:35:35,474 --> 00:35:37,385
blindness, temporarily.

459
00:35:37,425 --> 00:35:40,888
It could be difficulty in hearing,
it could be a difficulty of balance.

460
00:35:40,928 --> 00:35:43,835
And very rarely it could be
even having visions.

461
00:35:43,875 --> 00:35:45,826
And that's very interesting.

462
00:35:45,865 --> 00:35:48,254
Do you think that is actually
affecting Caesar,
463
00:35:48,295 --> 00:35:50,166
that kind of history is being played
out

464
00:35:50,205 --> 00:35:52,953
because he's got
this medical condition? I think so.

465
00:35:52,992 --> 00:35:57,651
In Julius Caesar's case, he became
quite emotionally unstable

466
00:35:57,691 --> 00:35:59,124
towards the end of his life

467
00:35:59,164 --> 00:36:01,991
and this was described
in several sources.

468
00:36:02,031 --> 00:36:05,056
If Caesar really did think
he was dying

469
00:36:05,097 --> 00:36:10,272
or was spurred on by a kind of
enhanced sense of recklessness,

470
00:36:10,313 --> 00:36:12,820
then he could well have wanted
to try to secure his legacy.

471
00:36:12,860 --> 00:36:17,479
And it seems as though that was
exactly what he was trying to do.

472
00:36:17,519 --> 00:36:21,500
He kicked off
a massive building programme,

473
00:36:21,540 --> 00:36:24,446
rebranding the city of Rome.

474
00:36:24,486 --> 00:36:27,115
He ordered up
a whole new Senate House,

475
00:36:27,155 --> 00:36:28,946
the Curia Julia,

476
00:36:28,986 --> 00:36:33,764
and even a new Forum,
the Forum Iulium.

477
00:36:33,803 --> 00:36:37,307
And right at its centre
he built this massive temple

478
00:36:37,347 --> 00:36:40,532
to Venus Genetrix, Venus the Mother,

479
00:36:40,572 --> 00:36:44,673
declaring to the Roman world
that this was the goddess

480
00:36:44,713 --> 00:36:46,942
who was the ancestor of his family.

481
00:36:49,968 --> 00:36:54,866
Then, in 44BC, just a few days
after he'd failed to stand
for the Senators,

482
00:36:54,906 --> 00:36:59,205
Caesar made himself
dictator for life -

483
00:36:59,246 --> 00:37:02,232
a king in all but name.

484
00:37:05,019 --> 00:37:10,035
Rome's Republic had been replaced
by a military dictatorship.

485
00:37:10,075 --> 00:37:13,101
The Senate had been systematically
stripped of its powers,

486
00:37:13,141 --> 00:37:16,804
its ranks swelled
with Caesar's loyal supporters.

487
00:37:19,630 --> 00:37:22,100
Five years after Caesar crossed
the Rubicon,

488
00:37:22,140 --> 00:37:27,156
a small group of Senators now
decided that he'd gone too far

489
00:37:27,196 --> 00:37:30,939
and what they did next
would reverberate through history.

490
00:37:39,339 --> 00:37:43,600
In 44BC, five years after
he'd crossed the Rubicon,

491
00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:47,223
Caesar was established
as dictator for life.

492
00:37:47,263 --> 00:37:51,364
For some, yearning for the liberties
of the Republic,

493
00:37:51,404 --> 00:37:54,589
Caesar had proved himself
a power mad tyrant.

494
00:37:54,629 --> 00:37:59,089
A small group of Senators
now decided they had to act.

495
00:38:00,243 --> 00:38:02,473
I hope this won't be
another waste of time.

496
00:38:02,512 --> 00:38:06,574
On the Ides of March, Cicero
attended a meeting of the Senate,

497
00:38:06,614 --> 00:38:10,755
unaware that inside,
Caesar's fate had been sealed.

498
00:38:10,794 --> 00:38:12,267
MEN SHOUTING

499
00:38:18,001 --> 00:38:19,752
What's happening? What's going on?
500
00:38:24,968 --> 00:38:28,233
Cicero! Liberty has been recovered.

501
00:38:28,272 --> 00:38:29,547
We are free!

502
00:38:29,587 --> 00:38:31,139
Join the liberators.

503
00:38:45,114 --> 00:38:47,027
When Caesar had entered the chamber,

504
00:38:47,066 --> 00:38:49,972
he was surrounded
by around 20 conspirators

505
00:38:50,012 --> 00:38:51,765
who stabbed him to death.

506
00:38:51,804 --> 00:38:54,193
Oh...

507
00:38:56,024 --> 00:39:01,240
In the autopsy afterwards, doctors
counted 23 wounds on his body.

508
00:39:25,527 --> 00:39:29,589
The murder of Gaius Julius Caesar
took place here,

509
00:39:29,629 --> 00:39:33,730
right at the heart of Pompey's
massive theatre complex.

510
00:39:33,770 --> 00:39:35,879
It was a messy business,

511
00:39:35,919 --> 00:39:39,264
with the conspirators slashing
one another in the confusion.

512
00:39:39,304 --> 00:39:43,007
Those who physically had
Caesar's blood on their hands
513
00:39:43,047 --> 00:39:45,515
were closely connected
to the dictator.

514
00:39:45,555 --> 00:39:48,979
Casca, who struck first, was
an old friend.

515
00:39:49,019 --> 00:39:53,200
Marcus Brutus was the son
of a long-standing mistress

516
00:39:53,239 --> 00:39:55,270
and Decimus Brutus was a cousin,

517
00:39:55,309 --> 00:39:58,694
as well as others who'd been
personally forgiven by Caesar

518
00:39:58,734 --> 00:40:01,322
for their allegiance to Pompey.

519
00:40:01,362 --> 00:40:04,428
But all these personal histories
were put aside

520
00:40:04,468 --> 00:40:08,648
in a frantic bid
to murder their master

521
00:40:08,688 --> 00:40:11,276
and to restore the Republic
and its values.

522
00:40:14,143 --> 00:40:17,527
For Caesar's enemies,
he'd come to represent

523
00:40:17,567 --> 00:40:21,349
everything that they'd been
brought up to fear and to despise.

524
00:40:21,389 --> 00:40:24,534
He was a tyrant,
an all-powerful dictator,

525
00:40:24,574 --> 00:40:28,396
an enemy of the Republic,

526
00:40:28,436 --> 00:40:31,622
an enemy of the idea that was Rome.

527
00:40:34,727 --> 00:40:38,589
Cicero had spent most of Caesar's
tyranny either praising the dictator

528
00:40:38,629 --> 00:40:40,898
or sulking in semi-retirement.

529
00:40:40,938 --> 00:40:46,353
But with Caesar's murder,
he sprang back into life.

530
00:40:46,393 --> 00:40:50,813
He didn't go and join the murderers
when they'd regrouped
on Capitoline Hill

531
00:40:50,853 --> 00:40:54,038
but he did write this
to one of them.

532
00:40:54,078 --> 00:40:58,457
"Congratulations. I rejoice.

533
00:40:58,497 --> 00:41:01,205
"I love you and have your interests
at heart."

534
00:41:01,244 --> 00:41:05,265
And then he later added,
"How I wish that you'd invited me

535
00:41:05,306 --> 00:41:08,451
"to that splendid feast
on the Ides of March.

536
00:41:08,491 --> 00:41:10,641
"There would have been
no leftovers,"

537
00:41:10,681 --> 00:41:13,667
by which he meant
that he'd have made sure

538
00:41:13,707 --> 00:41:18,127
that Mark Antony and Caesar's other
supporters had also been killed.

539
00:41:18,166 --> 00:41:21,630
Later, he wrote
justifying the murder,

540
00:41:21,670 --> 00:41:26,009
describing tyranny as a crime
punishable by death,

541
00:41:26,050 --> 00:41:28,717
a crime against humanity.

542
00:41:30,071 --> 00:41:34,252
Through history, Caesar's name would
be taken by despots

543
00:41:34,291 --> 00:41:36,123
and imperial leaders
across the world,

544
00:41:36,163 --> 00:41:41,657
from Roman Caesars to Russian Csars
and German Kaisers.

545
00:41:41,697 --> 00:41:47,033
And the story of his rise and fall
reflects a battle
that still rages today,

546
00:41:47,073 --> 00:41:50,417
wherever democracy,
with all its flaws,

547
00:41:50,456 --> 00:41:53,164
is pitted against tyranny.

548
00:41:55,075 --> 00:41:57,344
In the days and weeks
after Caesar's murder,

549
00:41:57,384 --> 00:42:00,450
Cicero and others worked hard
to restore the Republic,

550
00:42:00,490 --> 00:42:02,880
to avoid more violence.

551
00:42:02,919 --> 00:42:05,108
But it was too late.

552
00:42:05,148 --> 00:42:08,214
Caesar's followers whipped up
a hunger for revenge

553
00:42:08,254 --> 00:42:10,683
and chased his assassins
from the city.

554
00:42:10,722 --> 00:42:16,495
Soon, Rome was in the grip
of yet another brutal civil war.

555
00:42:17,691 --> 00:42:21,273
All this violence stemmed
from one pivotal moment,

556
00:42:21,314 --> 00:42:25,255
when Caesar crossed the Rubicon
in 49BC.

557
00:42:25,294 --> 00:42:29,357
It was an act that ensured the
destruction of the Roman Republic

558
00:42:29,396 --> 00:42:32,581
and the downfall
of some of its greatest figures.

559
00:42:32,621 --> 00:42:38,355
Within just ten years, Pompey,
Brutus, Caesar, Cato, Cicero

560
00:42:38,394 --> 00:42:41,142
had been killed
or committed suicide.

561
00:42:41,182 --> 00:42:47,194
Murder begat murder,
civil war begat civil war.
562
00:42:47,234 --> 00:42:51,813
A point of no return
really had been crossed.

563
00:42:51,852 --> 00:42:57,346
Next time - the day that Caesar's
adopted heir, Octavian, triumphed

564
00:42:57,386 --> 00:43:00,054
over his rival Mark Antony

565
00:43:00,094 --> 00:43:05,389
and was acclaimed Augustus,
the first emperor of Rome.

566
00:43:05,429 --> 00:43:08,097
Rome, still mourning the death
of Julius Caesar,

567
00:43:08,137 --> 00:43:11,680
will not be prepared
nor will it see you coming.

568
00:43:11,720 --> 00:43:13,671
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