Caesar becoming dictator for life would have meant the death of the Republic and the birth of the Empire. The people would have lost the power to elect senators and Caesar would have gained all power in the Empire. The Roman people wanted Caesar to be king and dictator for life, but the senators did not. They wanted to keep power in the hands of the people and out of the control of any one person. In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar the Roman public is saddened and outraged by the death of their beloved leader and turns against the Senate, after Antony, Caesar's friend and advisor, convinces him to do so (Shakespeare 136). As a result, there was a civil war between the second triumvirate, Antony, Octavian and Lepidus, and the Senate. The second triumvirate wins and creates the Roman Empire (Giulio Sfondo). Ironically, the Senate's intentions to keep the Republic intact by killing Caesar only brought chaos and a crippling civil war to Rome. They killed Caesar to preserve the Roman Republic but only destroyed it