Shadowicon - Before The Storm

[Instrumental]

[In 60 BC, Caesar entered into a political alliance with Crassus and Pompey that was to dominate Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to amass power for themselves through populist tactics were opposed within the Roman Senate by the conservative elite. Caesar's achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse Pompey's standing. The balance of power was further upset by the death of Crassus in 53 BC. Political realignments in Rome finally led to a stand-off between Caesar and Pompey, the latter having taken up the cause of the Senate. Ordered by the senate to stand trial in Rome for various charges, Caesar marched from Gaul to Italy with his legions, crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC. This sparked a civil war from which he emerged as the unrivalled leader of the Roman world.

As Caesar gained more and more political power some members of the Roman senate (Senatus Populusque Romanus) began fearing that the rule of the patrician's elite might be coming to an end. A group of senators, led by Marcus Junius Brutus, plotted the assassination attempt on the dictator on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC, hoping to restore the constitutional government of the Republic.

On that day Caesar was due to appear at a session of the Senate. Mark Antony, having vaguely learned of the plot the night before from a terrified Liberator named Servilius Casca, and fearing the worst, went to head Caesar off. The plotters, however, had anticipated this and, fearing that Antony would come to Caesar's aid, had arranged for Trebonius to intercept him just as he approached the portico of Theatre of Pompey, where the session was to be held, and detain him outside.]