History Bites: Caesar Assassination

A clip from the fourth season episode of History Bites, "Who Killed J.F.C.?" A parody of Ted Koppel on Nightline looks back on Caesar's assassination and questions the offical story that it was a government conspiracy. History Bites can be seen on The Comedy Network in Canada.

Category:

Comedy

Tags:

• History
• Bites
• Julius
• Caesar
• assassination
• Ted
• Koppel
• Nightline
• conspiracy

[samandal007]

"Whatever B.C. means."

[gimmeeedollah101]

haha "Mabey a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away" but not here

[Xenu]

@BoojumFed There were the tribunes which existed until the Senate completely wiped them out before the civil war broke out. Once Caesar came into power he began shifting power from the Senate to the more democratic Tribal Assembly. There was very little that was democratic about the Senate & it was certainly not the only representational body in existence either before or after the C.War. On the contrary, it was the least representational & Caesar was killed because he was extending the vote.

[Xenu]

... As for the dictatorship, if you want to argue that this would ultimately have turned into a permanent, anti-democratic ruling class, that is certainly possible. History is full of democratic countries who created authoritarian institutions in times of danger only to have those authoritarian institutions destroy democracy even once the threats had been defeated. But Caesar was killed because he was transforming the overwhelming power of the Senate to the far more democratic Tribal Assembly.

[Xenu]

... and under Pompey & the Senate the office of the Tribunes was completely wiped out, disenfranchising the majority of Roman citizens & leaving the Senate solely in control of the government. After Caesar crossed the Rubicon and took power he initiated numerous popular reforms which I can go into if desired, allowed Jews to freely practice their religion and allowed Athens to reintroduce a democracy for the first time in 100 yrs...

[Xenu]

... he bribed the guards & escaped or was saved by the conservatives in his family. Once he was able to return to politics - rather than joining the oligarchs - he allied with Licinius Macer, the tribune, & pushed for democratic reforms & elimination of Sulla's edicts. All this time the Senate was abrogating more power to itself & trying to destroy the tribunes as an institution. In violation of the constitution they made Pompey the sole consul of Rome...

[Xenu]

@thenut Things were a little more complicated than that. Caesar had always been of the democratic party. During Sula's tyranny he was arrested for his relation to Gaius Marius & Cornelius Cinna, both famous popularii. His life would be spared only if he publicly embraced the tyranny & married a woman of Sula's choice. This would have placed him close to the center of power. Instead he chose to be executed rather than to denounce the democratic cause. He was spared either because ....

[thenutintheushanka18]

@Xenu No, he was stabbed by senators(most of whom were aristocrats), but how can he be a man of Democracy by declaring himself dictator for life, an reducing the senate to a figurehead? He took away the Senate's power! Why wouldn't they stab him! I can't believe the revisionism I see these days!

[suzieq0805]

@imperatorcaesar100 Listen to the intro, they refer to the events of 20 years previously - so 24 BC is correct

[Dalbert342]

Wait,wouldn't it be 'Olivius Stonus'?

[imperatorcaesar100]

24 BC it was 44 BC all the writers of this episode had to do was a simple reference.