Ides of March

Since the assassination of Roman leader Julius Caesar, March 15 has marked many gloomy events in history, such as wars, natural disasters, epidemics and economic crises. In Western conceptions, the Ides of March is considered a day of bad luck. The ancient Roman calendar did not number the days sequentially like today, but they had three fixed landmarks: Nones (5th or 7th), Ides (13th or 15th), and Kalends (first day of the next month). Ides is often used to refer to the 15th of March, May, 7, 10 and the 13th of the remaining months. The Ides of March is known to be an overcast day.

History of Ides of March

March 15, 44 BC marked the assassination of the leader of the Roman Republic Julius Caesar, the result of a conspiracy by many senators. An oracle warned Caesar that there would be bad luck on the Ides day of March. According to the ancient Roman biographer Plutarch, on his way to the Pompey Theater to attend a meeting with the senators, Caesar passed the oracle and joked, "The Ides of March have come." , implying that the oracle was wrong. However, the prophet replied, "Yes, sir Caesar, but the day is not over yet." In the end, Caesar died from being stabbed a total of 23 times.

According to Smithsonian magazine, during the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) between England and France to compete for territory and the French throne, the French army on March 15, 1360 carried out robbers, rapes and murders lasting 48 hours in the south of England. The English king at the time, Edward III, abandoned his raid and plunder in France in retaliation, realizing that "the French could act aggressively in his kingdom, just as the English made in France," according to Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Barbara Tuchman.

On March 15, 1889, a storm passed through Apia, the Independent State of Samoa, sinking 6 warships, including three American ships and three German ships, killing 200 sailors, and severely affecting them to transportation here.

Also on March 15, 1939, during World War II, only six months after the Czechoslovak leaders ceded the Sudetenland to the Nazis, the Nazi army entered Czechoslovakia, capturing the provinces of Bohemia and Moravia, theoretically erased Czechoslovakia from the world map because it was forcibly dissolved and partially annexed to Nazi Germany. In fact, the Czech government in exile existed during this period while Slovakia was independent from the Czech Republic. On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia was peacefully divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic is the legal successor to Czechoslovakia.

On March 15, 1941, a sudden blizzard swept across the northern Great Plains, killing at least 60 people in North Dakota, Minnesota, and six in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

On March 15, 1988, NASA released a report stating that the ozone layer in the Northern Hemisphere was depleting three times faster than predicted. The report also said that CFCs are responsible for the ozone hole in Antarctica.

On March 15, 2003, the World Health Organization issued a global alert about a mysterious respiratory disease reported in China, Singapore, Canada and Vietnam. This disease was later called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

The Ides of March is not only a sad day of ancient Rome, but also a concept that is understood as the "gloomy day of mid-March" today. There are many events in the middle, near and contemporary history that took place on this day with the loss of life and property. For example, the storm on March 15, 1889, which sank 6 American and German warships, killing 200 soldiers, or the blizzard that took place on the same day in 1941 in the US, killing more than 66 people...

Observing Ides of March

On the day of the Ides of March, you can search for information related to the events that took place on the Ides of March in history to find out why the Ides Of March is called an overcast day. Share your insights on social media with the hashtag #IdesOfMarch.