To wit, Pompey accused him of insubordination and treason. Brave, cunning, inspiring, and charismatic – by rights, Julius Caesar should have been the most glorious political celebrity in … on the banks of the Rubicon, Julius Caesar faced a critical choice. During the ten years, Caesar used his military forces to conquer Gaul and to invade Britain, which was popular with the people, however his enemies claimed it was without explicit authorization by the Senate.[7]. The following year, Caesar defeated the last of the Optimates under his former lieutenant Labienus in the Battle of Munda and became Dictator perpetuo (Dictator in perpetuity or Dictator for life) of Rome. Accordingly he marched his army over the river; [then] he showed them the tribunes of the Plebs, who on being driven from Rome had come to meet him, and in the presence of that assembly, called on the troops to pledge him their fidelity; tears springing to his eyes [as he spoke] and his garments rent from his bosom. The Senate, fearful of Caesar, reduced the number of legions he had,[5] then demanded that he relinquish command of his army. A man of strikingly noble mien and graceful aspect appeared close at hand, and played upon a pipe. Caesar knew that he needed the legions to deal with Pompey's supporters in North Africa since the latter had mustered 14 legions. Pompey escaped to Brundisium, there awaiting sea transport for his legions, to Epirus, in the Republic's eastern Greek provinces, expecting his influence to yield money and armies for a maritime blockade of Italy proper. that the interposition of the tribunes in his favor had been utterly rejected, and that they themselves had fled Rome, he immediately sent forward some cohorts, yet secretly, to prevent any suspicion of his plan; and to keep up appearances, he attended the public games and examined the model of a fencing school which he proposed building, then - as usual - sat down to table with a large company of friends. There had been many civil wars in the previous century but the one started by Caesar was to change Roman history forever. When Julius Caesar led his troops from Gaul in January of 49 B.C.E., he paused on the northern end of a bridge. Following this, Antony and Caesar's adopted son Octavius would fight yet another civil war against remnants of the Optimates and Liberatores faction, ultimately resulting in the establishment of the Roman Empire. Either he acquiesced to the Senate's command or he moved southward to confront Pompey and plunge the Roman Republic into a bloody civil war. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Crossing the Rubicon: Caesar's Decision and the Fate of Rome. Caesar's allies in the Senate, especially Mark Anthony, Curio, Cassius and Caelius Rufus, tried to defend their patron, but were threatened with violence. The Crossing of the Rubicon By Marcus Annaeus Lucanus | 2020-11-09T17:08:45-06:00 February 1st, 2017 | Categories: Civilization , Poetry , Rome , Western … With a loss of 1,000 veteran legionaries, Caesar was forced to retreat southwards. THE DIE IS NOW CAST!' In fact, the foundations of Rome’s unique representative government had been crumbling for more than 50 years before Caesar’s river excursion. The lights went out. Crossing the Rubicon: Caesar's Decision and the Fate of Rome - Kindle edition by Fezzi, Luca. Ashamed to demand money, the men began to call out for their discharge. This panel shows an episode from the life of Julius Caesar, narrated in Suetonius’ Lives of the twelve Caesars , retelling the crossing of the Rubicon by Cesar and his troupes. Eventually, in March 49 BC, Pompey escaped and fled by sea to Epirus, leaving Caesar in complete command of Italy.[12]. Indeed, for his Pontic triumph, that may well have been the label displayed above the spoils. Afterwards pacifying Roman Hispania. Onroute he started the Siege of Massilia. From this we get 2 staggering expressions, both meaning a similar component. Caesar also knew that he did not have the funds to give the soldiers their back pay, much less the money needed to induce them to re-enlist for the North African campaign. A dramatic account of the fateful year leading to the ultimate crisis of the Roman Republic and the rise of Caesar’s autocracy When the Senate ordered Julius Caesar, conqueror of Gaul, to disband his troops, he instead marched his soldiers across the Rubicon River, in violation of Roman law. Agreeing, his army called for action. of his province, he halted for a while, and revolving in his mind the importance Caesar's Civil War (49–45 BC) was one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire. In 50 bc the Senate ordered Julius Caesar, the increasingly ambitious conqueror of Gaul, to disband his troops. August, Caesar quelled a mutiny of his veterans in Rome. "Crossing the Rubicon", and "the die is forged". Caesar feigned indignation and then allowed himself to be won over. An ancient Roman law forbade any general from crossing the Rubicon River and entering Italy proper with a standing army. He went on to tell them that they would all be discharged immediately. The river Rubicon was considered to be the dividing line between Italy and the rest of the Empire. Caesar pursued the Pompeian army to Alexandria, where he camped and became involved with the Alexandrine Civil War between Ptolemy and his sister, wife and co-regent, Cleopatra VII. Either he acquiesced to the Senate's command or he moved southward to confront Pompey and plunge the Roman Republic into a bloody civil war. The political situation is discussed in depth in the ancient histories of Appian and Cassius Dio. The First Triumvirate (so denominated by Cicero), comprising Julius Caesar, Crassus and Pompey, ascended to power with Caesar's election as consul in 59 BC. He escaped to Capua with those politicians who supported him, the aristocratic Optimates and the regnant consuls. He snatched a trumpet from one of them and ran to the river with it; then sounding the "Advance!" Were it not for the support of my army they would have passed judgement upon me in spite of my achievements.’ (Caesar looking at the bodies of dead senators after Pharsalus) By 50 the mood in Rome was increasingly tense. To do so was treason. At Nicopolis Pharnaces had defeated what little Roman opposition the governor of Asia, Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus, could muster. To remain in Gaul meant forfeiting his power to his enemies in Rome. The crossing of a small stream in northern Italy became one of ancient history's most pivotal events. Suetonius was a Roman historian and biographer. Crossing the Rubicon After Caesar spent 51 BC and the better part of 50 BC touring his newly conquered province of Gaul, political chaos was developing back in Rome. Julius Caesar pausing on the banks of the Rubicon. Crossing the Rubicon: In 49 BCE, Julius Caesar marched his army across the Rubicon River. Belatedly, Pompey requested Domitius to retreat south to rendezvous with Pompey's forces. A major reason for Pompey's defeat was miscommunication among front cavalry horsemen. This tiny stream would reveal Caesar's intentions and mark the point of no return. and he set forward on his journey as privately as, Even as he hesitated this incident occurred. A dramatic account of the fateful year leading to the ultimate crisis of the Roman Republic and the rise of Caesar’s autocracy When the Senate ordered Julius Caesar, conqueror of Gaul, to disband his troops, he instead marched his soldiers across the Rubicon River, in violation of Roman law. When Caesar approached the speaker's dais, a hush fell over the mutinous soldiers. But once let us pass this little bridge, - and nothing is left but Afterwards, Caesar renewed his pursuit of Pompey in Greece. Through that reverse psychology, Caesar re-enlisted four enthusiastic veteran legions to invade North Africa without spending a single sesterce. Thanks, … However, after sunset some mules from a near-by mill were put in his carriage, Crossword Answers for "Caesar's location before crossing the rubicon… Caesar, however, had been reinforced by two more legions from Gaul (the eighth and the twelfth) and twenty-two cohorts of recruits (recruited by Curio) and in fact outnumbered Domitius five to three. But what did really happen that day and how much do we really know about the event? As Caesar progressed southwards, Pompey retreated towards Brundisium, initially ordering Domitius (engaged in raising troops in Etruria) to stop Caesar's movement on Rome from the direction of the Adriatic seaboard. That night Anthony, Cassius, Curio and Cealius Rufus fled from Rome and headed north to join Caesar.[8]. Caesar was later proclaimed dictator first for ten years and then in perpetuity. Caesar bluntly addressed them as "citizens", instead of "soldiers," a tacit indication that they had already discharged themselves by virtue of their disloyalty. CROSSING THE RUBICON: Caesar’s Decision and the Fate of Rome. At Ilerda he defeated the politically-leaderless Pompeian army, commanded by the legates Lucius Afranius and Marcus Petreius. At the Rubicon . As the Senate's chosen commander and with the backing of at least one of the current consuls, Pompey commanded legitimacy, but Caesar's military crossing of the Rubicon rendered him a de jure enemy of the Senate and the people of Rome. From Brundisium, Caesar crossed the Strait of Otranto with seven legions to the Gulf of Valona (not Palaesta in Epirus [modern Palase/Dhermi, Albania], as reported by Lucan),[13] prompting Pompey to consider three courses of action: (i) to make an alliance with the King of Parthia, an erstwhile ally, far to the east; (ii) to invade Italy with his superior navy and/or (iii) to force a decisive battle with Caesar. It had never occurred to them that Caesar did not need them. Born with unbridled political ambition and unsurpassed oratory skills, Julius Caesar manipulated his way to the. An ancient Roman law forbade any general from crossing the Rubicon River and entering Italy proper with a standing army. While he is presenting his own position in a favoura- of the step he meditated, he turned to those about him, saying: 'Still we Crossing the Rubicon: Caesar’s Decision and the Fate of Rome by Luca Fezzi (translated from the Italian by Richard Dixon) presents a tale of ambition and politics and civil war. The optimates despised Caesar and his conquests (viewing much of his campaigning as unwarranted and illegal) and looked for every opportunity to strip him of his command.