Who was Cassius Longinus, the Leader of the Plot to Kill Caesar?

"Gaius Cassius Longinus (circa 86-42 BCE) was a leader of the 'Liberators', the faction of Roman senators who assassinated Julius Caesar on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BCE. Motivated by a desire to save the Roman Republic from collapsing under one-man rule, or by a host of other more selfish reasons, Cassius plotted to kill Caesar along with approximately 60 other senators, including his brother-in- law, Marcus Junius Brutus."

"Cassius was born around 86 BCE - perhaps on 3 October - to the gens Cassia, a distinguished patrician family. His father was a senator who served as governor of Cisalpine Gaul around the time of the Third Servile War against the rebel gladiator Spartacus. Indeed, the elder Cassius was soundly defeated by Spartacus and his slave army near Mutina (Modena) in 72 BCE and, if the historian Plutarch is to be believed, was lucky to escape the battlefield with his life."

Gaius Cassius Longinus led the Liberators who assassinated Julius Caesar on 15 March 44 BCE. He was driven by motives ranging from preserving the Republic to personal ambition. After the assassination, Cassius and Brutus fled Rome and raised forces to oppose Caesar's successors. They were defeated at the Battle of Philippi, after which Cassius committed suicide to avoid capture. Cassius was born circa 86 BCE to the patrician gens Cassia. His father, a senator and governor of Cisalpine Gaul, suffered defeat by Spartacus near Mutina in 72 BCE. Cassius studied philosophy in Rhodes, learned Greek, and befriended Cicero, who praised his bravery but noted a fierce temper.

Read at World History Encyclopedia