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I accidentally posted this in the Post-1900 forum yesterday. It was moved here and then somehow moved back. So rather than let it languish, I thought I'd repost:
On the day he was assassinated, Julius Caesar was almost given warning of the plot against him not once, but twice:
A house-hold errand boy learned of the plot but not of it's planned date or location. He arrived at the Julii house just after Caesar left for the Forum, and sat to wait for his return so he could give Caesar the news.
A scholar and senator who knew of the plot wrote down all the details and handed the letter to Caesar on his entry to the Senate. Seeing the note would get passed off in the press of other supplicants, he instructed Caesar to read it immediately, and alone. Caesar almost did, but there were too many calls on his attention.
Moments later Julius Caesar was stabbed to death by member of the Senate. His body lay where it fell for many hours before household servants collected it and carried it through the streets of Rome to his family home.
What if either of these fore-warnings had reached Caesar? Would he have reacted violently (used his troops to seize ultimate control, claimed the previously offered Kingship?) or would his famous clemency have won out (he pardoned and welcomed many of Pompey's lieutenants following the Civil War). What would have been the result on the Republic/Empire?