Gaius Cassius Longinus

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. After the deed was done, Cassius and Brutus fled Rome and gathered an army, but were ultimately defeated by Caesar's successors at the Battle of Philippi. Preferring death to capture, Cassius committed suicide.