Julius Caesar and Other Assassinations Essay Example for Free

Julius Caesar and Other Assassinations Essay Former President Jimmy Carter said â€Å"We will not learn to live together in peace by killing each other†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Jimmy Carter – Nobel Lecture). This statement is supported by the countless events of history and the many accounts of death from the past. Death is a natural but heartbreaking event affects all who were once close to the now deceased. But the reaction of the people who knew the dead may react differently to the incident. The moment we humans take our first breath, our death begins but for many people the time is not right. The response of a population is greatly dependent on the reasoning of the death. Murderous acts are committed for different reasons that infect the mind of those who carry out such an inhumane action. The murder of a powerful Roman is forever reenacted in the play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare. The clashing art of betrayal and loyalty drive the characters to war. In the last century, the murders of two political figures around the world emulate the death of Julius Caesar as it is portrayed in Shakespeare’s play. Both assassinations of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and the late former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto are similar to Caesar’s. The result of all three assassinations is violence that ravages the streets and civilizations of their respective areas. Julius Caesar was born near July 13, 100 B. C. and grew up to a family of politics. An early introduction to politics helped Caesar gain his reputation in Rome as a potential official. At the same time that Caesar was presenting himself as an official in the Roman Senate, he displayed a powerful, deadly reputation as a general. Caesar was captured on his route towards Rhodes, in the attempt to become a better orator which would help him politically. He manipulated his captors to the point where they were doing his biddings (Bio. True Story). Then when he was let go, Caesar raised a navy and arrested the pirates that held him captive; he crucified them for their effort to keep him in custody (Bio. True Story). Upon his return back to Rome, Caesar was elected praetor which was the first political office one could hold in Roman society. Caesar’s political rising would gain momentum with the help of marrying prominent women and victories in battle. Caesar defeated many armies during his rise to power. Over a span of 13 years he defeated a number of separate armies. Capturing Gaul and defeating the praised Roman, Pompey, added to Caesar’s popularity among the people of Rome. Shakespeare’s play begins with the people praising Caesar as he returns from his success against Pompey (Shakespeare 1. 1). But not everyone in Rome is celebrating Caesar’s return. Caesar’s friend and a Roman official, Brutus, as well as Cassius, Cinna and others, is planning a coup to assassinate Caesar. The heedful soothsayer warns Caesar of the Ides of March but Caesar completely disregards his counsel. The blithe Caesar is too euphoric with the praise he is receiving from the people that he disdains the soothsayer. And the conspirators plan is executed with on the Ides of March. Caesar’s death is imminent since the beginning of the first scene and he is killed with the conspirators stabbing him at the foot of Pompey’s statue (Shakespeare 3. 3). Caesar’s friend, Mark Antony, is given permission to speak to the people on behalf of Caesar’s side of the happening and his lament persuades the people of Rome to turn against the conspirators. The conspirators’ actions are committed based on an alleged â€Å"ambition† that would later consume Caesar but Antony provided facts to counteract their argument. The people begin to ravage the Roman Empire after Antony’s mourning speech. Chaos runs through the streets and there is no way to assuage this rampage. The angered population of Rome roams the streets killing hundreds of innocent people, along with government officials. They will find a reason to kill, an example being the murder of Cinna the Poet just because he shares the name with Cinna the Conspirator (Shakespeare 3. ). The assassination of Julius Caesar destroys Rome and causes a war. Rome is a headless chicken; it is running amok without any cerebration. Not only is there anarchy in Rome, two opposing armies are being raised. Antony, along with Octavius and Lepidus, is building his army to oppose the burgeoning armies of Brutus and Cassius (Shakespeare 4. 1-2). The aftermath of Caesar’s murder has Rome destroyed and the government corrupt. A little less than two thousand years later, another European murder changed the world. Treaties between all the European powers of the late 1800’s and early 1900 kept peace between the countries but tension quickly arose in Eastern Europe. Austria successfully annexed the two provinces, Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a cash settlement given to Turkey. But Serbian Empire did not agree to this because they wanted both regions as their own territories (Sowards). This annexation led umbrage in Serbia and unfortunately a murder for the heir to the Austria-Hungarian Empire. The Austria-Hungarian Empire’s heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was scheduled to visit Sarajevo for a military inspection in the city (History. om). He and his wife, Sophie, arrived in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, on their anniversary date (History. com). They, alongside his motorcade, left the army camp with the intent of going to City Hall. But as they approached City Hall, seven assassins (six who were armed) proceeded onto the sidewalk adjacent to the route the Archduke was on. Bombs were thrown and exploded on the street but nothing injured Ferdinand or his wife. One of the cars in Ferdinand’s caravan and several pedestrians were injured but he continued on. But, his auspicious trip in Sarajevo ended on the route back from City Hall. One of the assassins, Gravelo Princip, was present during the unfortunate mistake of Ferdinand’s driver. He had turned on the wrong street and in the undertaking of reversing allowing Princip to approach the car (Sowards). He fired two shots: one hitting the Archduke in the neck and the other penetrating Sophie’s stomach, causing her to die instantly (â€Å"World War One†). This murder caused a disastrous chain of events that had the globe at war. Austria was able to put the Serbian government responsible for the crime because the assassins were a part of a Serbian group. But Serbia had allies through treaties with Russia while Austria-Hungary had ties to Germany. Along with Russia came France because of their alliance and France carried in Britain. Within a few weeks after Ferdinand’s murder, Europe erupted in conflict. The middle of Europe was in arms against both the eastern and western fronts. Associations with other countries brought all of Europe into the war (Sowards). The United States was later dragged in to keep trade alive with France and England. All hemispheres were present on the battlefield, later ending in one of the deadliest wars in all of history. Just as in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, the death of an official led to a war. Political problems are the reason for wars and other international affairs. But political problems do not always solely create problems internationally, but also in individual countries. In recent years, the Middle East has been in political turmoil. Terroristic groups are running corrupted governments and late former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has fallen victim to them. Bhutto was a precocious girl having attended Harvard’s Radcliffe College and soon after at Oxford University in England. Her family was downgraded when her father was hanged under the new government that had just taken power upon her return (â€Å"Benazir Bhutto†). She also experienced the arbitrary persecution of the government ruled by the military when she was arrested many times. She protested the government as often as she could but she always fled to avoid persecution; Bhutto would return to England after being released (Benazir Bhutto). Then in 1988, she became one of the youngest persons to hold the office as Prime Minister, as well as being the first woman to take the position. Two years later, she was removed from office after another corrupted leader won the presidency. Reelected in 1993, she was only in office another three years until the president again dismissed her from being the Prime Minister for Pakistan (â€Å"Benazir Bhutto†). She was later sent into exile for more than ten years (â€Å"Benazir Bhutto†). Later she returned in 2007 to help her political party campaign. Unfortunately terroristic activity attacked her at rallies where more than 100 people were killed. The last two murder attempts left Bhutto dead in her limousine with a bullet wound to the neck (â€Å"Benazir Bhutto†). She was pronounced dead at the hospital two miles away from the devastated scene. There are many conspiracies behind the assassination but the terrorist who killed Bhutto detonated a bomb that was strapped to his body as soon as he killed her. Immediately after the proclamation of her death, supporters filled the hospital. Bhutto’s casket was carried down the halls and stairs of the hospital high over the heads of those who mourned her death (â€Å"Benazir Bhutto†). A former Prime Minister before Bhutto states â€Å"†¦ [Today] is the saddest day [in Pakistan’s history]† (â€Å"Benazir Bhutto Assassinated†). Riots broke out all over Pakistan from the streets of Karachi to just outside Bhutto’s hospital. The entire country was being destroyed due to the people’s reaction to the murder. The police were given the permission to open fire on any protestor potentially violent (The Guardian). The chaos that was present in the streets was so dangerous that citizens were advised to stay home (â€Å"Benazir Bhutto Assassinated†). The riots that happened in Pakistan were very similar to the riots in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar; it was not safe to be outside and even more dangerous if you had some relation to the murderers. Pakistan’s corruption was then put into the spotlight even more than it was before because of this murder. The chance of freedom that Bhutto brought with her into office ended once the bullet ended her life. The act of mourning can quickly turn violent in the attempt to avenge someone’s death. Reacting cursorily without thinking heedfully is dangerous because in all three cases of the people of Rome in Julius Caesar, the countries that started World War I after Franz Ferdinand’s death and the people of Pakistan created havoc and destroyed their own homes. There will always be resentment towards people with power depending on one’s point of view. Of course there will be opposing viewpoints and radicals will take it to extremes so that their side will come out victorious. But these differences do not change the fact that what happened was completely wrong. Assassinations of political figures ruin the families and friends of the deceased, along with the country they are from. It becomes a national tragedy for many. Violence only begets violence.