The Liberators' War

44 BC: The Ides of March and Aftermath

Caesar’s assassination on March 15, 44 BC, orchestrated by Brutus, Cassius, and over 60 senators, aimed to restore republican governance by eliminating a perceived tyrant. Plutarch captures their intent: “They struck to free Rome from a king” (Life of Brutus, 18). Yet the act misfired politically: Caesar’s populist support and the loyalty of his legions turned public sentiment against the Liberators. Octavian, Caesar’s adopted heir, arrived in Rome by May, leveraging his inheritance - Caesar’s name and wealth - to rally veterans. Antony, consul in 44 BC, initially brokered an amnesty via the Senate, sparing the assassins but seizing Caesar’s papers to bolster his own power. Appian notes the tension: “The murderers gained pardon, but not trust” (Civil Wars, 2.143).

The Liberators’ political strategy faltered as they underestimated Octavian’s ambition and Antony’s guile. Brutus and Cassius, assigned minor governorships (Crete and Cyrene), instead fled east to Greece and Asia Minor, exploiting their senatorial authority to raise armies and funds. Suetonius remarks: “They turned provinces into arsenals, defying Rome’s will” (Julius Caesar, 80).

43 BC: The Second Triumvirate and Proscriptions

By late 43 BC, Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate, legalized by the Lex Titia, granting them dictatorial powers for five years. Their political maneuver was brutal: proscriptions targeted 2,000 equites and 300 senators, including Cicero, whose execution in December 43 BC symbolized the Senate’s eclipse. Appian details the purge: “Blood flowed in the Forum… their wealth fueled the war” (Civil Wars, 4.17). This terror financed an army of 120,000, aimed at crushing the Liberators’ eastern stronghold.

43 BC: The Battle of Mutina

The war’s first clash occurred at Mutina, where Antony besieged Decimus Brutus, a conspirator and governor of Cisalpine Gaul. The Senate, allied with Octavian and consuls Hirtius and Pansa, sought to relieve Decimus. Antony fortified Mutina with trenches and cavalry screens, but Octavian’s legions broke through in April 43 BC, forcing Antony’s retreat. Plutarch notes the cost: “Hirtius and Pansa fell, yet Antony lost the field” (Life of Antony, 17). Though a tactical defeat, Antony regrouped, while Octavian’s victory, tainted by Decimus’s later murder, solidified his alliance with Antony against the Liberators.

42 BC: Mobilization in the East

Brutus and Cassius amassed 80,000 men in 19 legions across Macedonia and Asia, bolstered by eastern client kings like Rhodes and taxes from plundered provinces. Their strategy was defensive: fortifying Philippi’s plains, they controlled the Via Egnatia, securing supply lines from Asia. The triumvirs, with 100,000 troops and 13,000 cavalry, advanced from Italy, relying on naval superiority to land at Dyrrhachium. Appian describes the stakes: “Here the Republic’s fate was decided” (Civil Wars, 4.105).

First Battle of Philippi (October 3, 42 BC)

The initial engagement saw Brutus and Cassius encamped on twin hills, linked by a palisade. Antony, commanding the triumviral left, launched a surprise assault on Cassius’s position, using marshlands to conceal his approach. His legions breached the camp, cutting Cassius’s supply lines. Misinterpreting Brutus’s simultaneous victory over Octavian’s wing as a total defeat, Cassius took his life. Plutarch recounts: “Cassius died by his own hand, undone by haste” (Life of Brutus, 43). Brutus held the field, capturing Octavian’s camp, but the loss of Cassius weakened their cohesion.

Second Battle of Philippi (October 23, 42 BC)

Brutus, pressured by his officers to attack, faced the triumvirs’ reformed line across Philippi’s plain. His strategy, a frontal advance to break their center, overextended his 40,000 men. Antony and Octavian countered with a pincer: Antony’s cavalry outflanked Brutus’s left, while Octavian’s legions pinned the right. The Liberators’ line buckled under relentless pressure, and Brutus fled, committing suicide as pursuit closed in. Appian narrates: “Seventeen thousand fell… the assassins’ dream perished” (Civil Wars, 4.138). Philippi’s twin battles annihilated the Liberators’ forces, ending their resistance.

42 BC: Division and Legacy

Victory at Philippi cemented the triumvirate’s dominance. Octavian and Antony divided the empire, west to Octavian, east to Antony, marginalising Lepidus. The war’s spoils funded veteran settlements, though tensions between the triumvirs foreshadowed further strife. Brutus and Cassius’s deaths extinguished the senatorial cause, paving Octavian’s path to autocracy.