![]() Sulla’s victims included Caesar’s uncle, the general and seven-time consul Gaius Marius. ![]() Caesar’s father, also named Gaius Julius Caesar, had served Rome as the city’s praetor (military or civilian commander) and as proconsul (governor) to Asia, while his mother, Aurelia Cotta, came from an influential Roman family.įrom 82 to 80 B.C., Lucius Cornelius Sulla made himself dictator of Rome and purged the city of his political enemies. into a patrician family that claimed to be descended from Julus, son of the Trojan prince Aeneas, who in turn was the supposed son of the goddess Venus. Gaius Julius Caesar was born in July 100 B.C. It was August 9, 48 B.C.Ĭaesar’s fate – and that of the Roman Republic – hung in the balance as the Battle of Pharsalus began in earnest. Caesar knew that the imminent battle was his last chance, warning his men that if they lost at Pharsalus they would be at Pompey’s mercy and probably slaughtered. ![]() Caesar’s army was almost out of supplies and had no clear line of retreat, while Pompey’s soldiers held the high ground, were far more numerous and better supplied. The tactical advantages seemed greatly in Pompey’s favor. Surviving that near defeat, Caesar marched inland and at Pharsalus again met Pompey and his army. He pursued Pompey and was almost conquered in July 48 B.C. Unopposed, Caesar marched triumphantly into Rome, where he was declared dictator but he had still to defeat the optimate force. Led by Pompey and his optimates (conservative supporters), the Senate fled Rome, first to Brundisium in southern Italy and then across the Adriatic Sea to Rome’s Greek provinces. In January 49 B.C., he led his legion across the shallow Rubicon River and entered Italy – a virtual declaration of war against the Roman Republic. Instead, Caesar marched from Gaul with the XIII Legion. The roots of this conflict reached back to 50 B.C., when the Roman Senate, feeling threatened by Caesar’s popularity with the Roman people in the wake of his Gallic conquests, ordered Caesar to disband his army in Gaul and return to Rome to face prosecution for several claimed offenses. At Pharsalus, however, Caesar’s soldiers confronted other disciplined Roman legionaries in a battle certain to decide the outcome of a brutal civil war. Under Caesar’s charismatic leadership, these war-hardened legionaries had often won battles while fighting greatly outnumbered by fierce Gallic warriors. Pompey’s 50,000-man army greatly outnumbered Caesar’s 20,000 soldiers yet Caesar’s troops were seasoned veterans of the years-long, hard-fought campaigns that had conquered Gaul (modern-day France) and greatly expanded Roman-ruled territory. Charismatic leadership and brilliant tactics gained Caesar an empire and made him ruler of Rome.įor several days, Julius Caesar had watched the army of his fellow Roman but bitter enemy Pompey (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus) forming near Pharsalus in the central region of Roman-ruled Greece.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |