Ides of March

Ides of March

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Ides of March (disambiguation).

The Death of Julius Caesar (1806) by Vincenzo Camuccini

The Ides of March (/aɪdz/; Latin: Idus Martiae, Late Latin: Idus Martii)^[1] is the 74th day^{[citation needed]} in the Roman calendar, corresponding to 15 March. It was marked by several religious observances and was a deadline for settling debts in Rome.^[2] In 44 BC, it became notorious as the date of the assassination of Julius Caesar, which made the Ides of March a turning point in Roman history.

Ides[edit]

The Romans did not number each day of a month from the first to the last day. Instead, they counted back from three fixed points of the month: the Nones (the 5th or 7th, 8 days before the Ides), the Ides (the 13th for most months, but the 15th in March, May, July, and October), and the Kalends (1st of the following month). Originally the Ides were supposed to be determined by the full moon, reflecting the lunar origin of the Roman calendar. In the earliest calendar, the Ides of March would have been the first full moon of the new year.^[3]