Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus

Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus (died 43 BC) was a Roman politician and general of the 1st century BC and one of Julius Caesar's assassins.

Life

Early Life

Decimus Brutus was a distant cousin of Julius Caesar, and spent his youth running wild with Publius Clodius and Mark Antony.

During the Wars

He was a legate in Caesar's army during the Gallic wars. Caesar's trust and Decimus Brutus' own military skill are illustrated by the fact that Decimus Brutus was given the command of the fleet that waged war against the rebellious Veneti. In a decisive sea battle characterized by perserverance, ingenuity, and luck, Decimus Brutus succeeded in destroying the Veneti fleet. Using sickle-like hooks fitted on long poles, Decimus Brutus attacked the enemy's sails, leaving them immobilized and easy prey to Roman boarding parties. When the Republican Civil War broke out, Decimus Brutus chose to side with his old commander, Caesar, and was entrusted once again with fleet operations. The Greek city of Massilia(present-day Marsielle) chose to side with Pompey the Great. Caesar, in a hurry to reach Spain and cut Pompey off from his legions, left Decimus Brutus in charge of the naval blockade of Massilia. Within thirty days, Decimus Brutus built a fleet from scratch and secured the capitulation of Massilia.

Ides of March

When Caesar returned to Rome as dictator after the final defeat of the Republican faction in the battle of Munda (45 BC), Decimus Brutus joined the "Liberatores", a conspiracy plotting to assassinate Caesar to try and achieve more than his ancestors (an attitude all-important in the Roman way of life). He had an ancestral connection to the tyrannicide Lucius Junius Brutus, and so was a natural leader to them. Caesar continued to trust Brutus and, since he was a relative , mentioned him in the will he made in October 45. Moreover, in 44 BC, he was elected praetor by the centuriate assembly, by personal appointment of Caesar. Decimus Brutus was chosen to be praetor peregrinus and destined to be the governor of Cisalpine Gaul in the following year.

On the Ides of March (March 15), when Caesar vacillated unsure of whether he ought to go to the Senate, Decimus Brutus persuaded him not to disappoint the Senate which had been in session for some time awaiting his arrival. His purpose was to send a signal to rest of the conspirators, waiting in the Forum. When Caesar arrived in Pompey's theatre for the senate meeting, Decimus and the rest of the conspirators attacked and assassinated him.

Consequences and Death

The assassins received an amnesty the next day, issued by the senate at the instigation of Mark Antony, Caesar's fellow consul. But the situation was not peaceful: Rome's population and the legionaries of Caesar's legions wanted to see the conspirators punished. The group decided to lie low and Decimus used his office of praetor peregrinus to stay away from Rome. The climate of reconciliation soon passed and slowly the conspirators were starting to feel the strain of the assassination. Thus, at the beginning of 43 BC, Decimus hurried to his province and started to levy his own troops. He was ordered by the Senate to surrender his province to Antony but refused. This was the act of provocation to which Antony was only too happy to respond. With his own political situation on the verge of disaster, and himself declared public enemy, defeating Decimus was for Antony a way to regain his ascendancy and get control of the strategically important Italian Gaul.

Brutus issued coins to his troops ^*, and demonstrated his skill for campaigning. He first gave Antony the impression he was withdrawing toward Rome, but suddenly occupied Mutina, laying in provisions for a protracted siege. Antony obliged him, and blockaded Decimus Brutus' forces, intent on starving them out.

However, the consuls of the year, Aulus Hirtius and Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus, marched northward to raise the siege. Guided by Cicero, the Senate was inclinced to view Mark Antony as an enemy. Octavian, the nineteen-year-old heir of Caesar, and already raised to the rank of propraetor, accompanied Pansa north. The first confrontation occurred on April 14 at the battle of Forum Gallorum, where Antony hoped to deal with his opponents piece-meal. Antony defeated the forces of Gaius Pansa and Octavian, which resulted in Pansa suffering mortal wounds. However, Antony was then defeated by a surprise attack from Hirtius. A second battle on 21 April at Mutina resulted in a further defeat for Antony and Hirtius' death. Antony withdrew, unwilling to become the subject of a double circumvallation as he had at Alesia.

With the siege raised, Decimus Brutus cautiously thanked Octavian, now commander of the legions that had rescued him, from the other side of the river. Octavian coldly indicated he had come to oppose Antony, not aid Caesar's murderers. Decimus Brutus was given the command to wage war against Antony, but many of his soldiers deserted to Octavian. His position deterioating by the day, Decimus Brutus fled, attempting to reach Macedonia, where Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus had stationed themselves. He left Italy, abandoning his legions, but was killed shortly afterwards by a Gallic Chief loyal to Mark Antony.

References