As an aid to students, teachers and parents, we have constructed an A–Z of the World taken from E. H. Gombrich’s, A Little History of the World. We’ve shared bite size introductions to historical figures, events and periods – using Gombrich’s magical words – along with links to free resources, so that readers of all ages can discover more. For B, Gombrich covers Marcus Brutus and Julius Caesar.
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Brutus (and Julius Caesar)
E. H. Gombrich: Julius Caesar was the most popular of all the Roman generals. He knew how to win the hearts of the masses, and had raised colossal sums of money for magnificent festivals and gifts of grain. But more than that, he was truly a great general, one of the greatest there has ever been. One day he went to war. A few days later, Rome received a letter from him with just three Latin words: veni, vidi, vici – meaning ‘I came, I saw, I conquered.’ That is how fast he worked!
Caesar conquered France – in those days known as Gaul – and made it a province of Rome. After the conquest of Gaul, Caesar turned his army towards Italy. He was now the most powerful man in the world. Other generals who had previously been his allies he attacked and defeated and he was able to add Egypt to the Roman empire.
‘You too, Brutus, my son?’
Since Caesar was now the mightiest man on earth, he could have become king of the Roman empire, and he might not have objected to that. But the Romans were jealous of him – even his best friend Brutus – and they didn’t want to be ruled by him. Fearing that Caesar would get the better of them, they decided to murder him. During a meeting in the Senate they surrounded him and raised their daggers to stab him. Caesar defended himself. But when, among his assailants, he caught sight of Brutus, he is reported to have said: ‘You too, Brutus, my son?’ and then let them strike him down, without making any further attempts to resist. This happened in 44 BC.
Discover more A-Z blogposts here.
Free Resources to Learn More about Brutus, Julius Caesar and Ancient Rome
At the time of publication, these resources were free to use:
BBC Bitesize (KS2)
Roman Empire
BBC History
Romans
Julius Caesar
BBC In Our Time
Julius Caesar
Ancient History Encyclopedia
The Murder of Julius Caesar
The School Run
Julius Caesar
Khan Academy
Ancient Rome
Know the Romans
Ancient Rome
FutureLearn
Rome: A Virtual Tour of the Ancient City
The Yale Blog
Marcus Brutus, The Noblest Roman of Them All – Kathryn Tempest
This page provides access to a list of free online resources. It is not intended to endorse any particular resource.
About the book
A Little History of the World
E. H. Gombrich
The World has existed for over 4 billion years, but humanity arrived much more recently. Here E. H. Gombrich brings to life the full story of human experience on Earth. He paints a colourful picture of remarkable people and events, from Confucius to Catherine the Great, from the invention of art to the destruction of the Berlin Wall.
