Ides of March
Midpoint day in the Roman month of March
Why this is trending
Interest in “Ides of March” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-07-18.
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Key Takeaways
- The Ides of March ( ) is the day on the Roman calendar marked as the Idus , roughly the midpoint of a month, of Martius, corresponding to 15 March on the Gregorian calendar.
- 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.
- Instead, they counted back from three fixed points of the month: the Nones (the 5th or 7th, eight 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).
- Martius (March) was the first month of the Roman year until as late as the mid-second century BC, an order reflected in the numerical names of the months of September (the seventh month) through December (the tenth month) not corresponding to their current position on the Gregorian calendar.
- As a fixed point in the month, the Ides accumulated functions set to occur every month, and was the day when debt payments and rents were due.
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Source summary
WikipediaThe Ides of March () is the day on the Roman calendar marked as the Idus, roughly the midpoint of a month, of Martius, corresponding to 15 March on the Gregorian calendar. It was marked by several major religious observances. 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.
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, eight 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. Martius (March) was the first month of the Roman year until as late as the mid-second century BC, an order reflected in the numerical names of the months of September (the seventh month) through December (the tenth month) not corresponding to their current position on the Gregorian calendar. In the earliest Roman calendar, the Ides of March would have been the first full moon of the new year. As a fixed point in the month, the Ides accumulated functions set to occur every month, and was the day when debt payments and rents were due.
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