Brutus, Marcus Junius

(c.85-42 BC) Roman senator and politician who supported Pompey the Great but was made governor of Cisalpine Gaul after Julius Caesar's victory in the civil war. In 44 BC he was leader of the republican party and a principal conspirator, with Gaius Cassius Longinus, in the assassination of Caesar. He was defeated at Philippi by Octavian (Augustus) in 42 BC.