Today is the Ides of March. On this day Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE) was assassinated by a group of conspirators, lead by Marcus Junius Brutus (85-42 BCE), who felt as if the old Republic of Roman was crumbling and a new entity, a kingdom, was arising in its place with Julius Caesar as King/Tyrant.
Nowhere explicitly is Julius Caesar mentioned in the NT; however, the future Roman domination of Judea that characterizes the social context of the NT is a ripple effect from Caesar. (One might also note the influence, perhaps, on the name of one centurion of the Augustan Cohort who is named Julius [Acts 27:1, 3]).
An exhibit at the British Museum is displaying the only known gold coin which commemorates this event. The coin was pierced in antiquity and perhaps worn as a talisman in order to celebration “liberation.” Numerous silver coins commemorating this event are extant. This coinage was minted by the conspirators who felt they were liberating Rome from a tyrant. (Of course, Octavian [the future Caesar Augustus] and Marc Antony felt differently). For the next several years Rome was involved in civil war. This link to the Guardian details this particular gold coin and its background.
NTStudies 