Unlike the mélange of loyalist troops, Caesar’s nine legions were nearly all veterans, and many of them had fought for him in Gaul. He chose to first eliminate the larger army before they could organize. River Rubicon. AncientPages.com - On 9 August 48 BC, the Battle of Pharsalus was fought between Julius Caesar and Pompeius Magnus ("Pompey the Great") who fled to Egypt. He … Pompey had the backing of a majority of senators, and his army significantly outnumbered the experienced Caesarean legions. Battle of Pharsalus. By March he had been reinforced with four of his Gallic legions and advanced on Brundisium, but not before Pompey and the Senate abandoned Italia to regroup in Epirus. Caesar hoped to kill this plan in its infancy. He crushed the loyalists at Ilerda in August and forced the surrender of two legions in Córdoba the following month. He swept through the region, seizing Apollonia and Oricum along the way to Dyrrhachium. Caesar successfully routed Pompey’s levies somewhere near Pharsalus (now Farsala, Greece). Falling back, Caesar's cavalry led Labienus' horsemen into the line of supporting infantry. Labienus. Finally forcing a crossing that winter, Caesar was soon joined by additional troops under Mark Antony. Name of the river Caesar crossed. Nevertheless, scholars on both sides agree that Pompey positioned his legions on a slope a few miles away from Caesar’s camp in the valley and that the Enipeus was a defining natural landmark. Caesar’s own cavalry was quickly overwhelmed and retreated a little. Nearly 15,000 of Pompey’s men were killed in battle however, according to Caesar, only around 6,000 were actually soldiers with the rest being servants attending to … Through the summer, the two armies maneuvered against each other, with Caesar attempting to besiege Pompey at Dyrrhachium. Pompey was thoroughly stunned by his army’s destruction and fled by sea to Egypt in the hope that young Ptolemy XIII would grant him refuge. Shortly after arriving at Alexandria, he was murdered by the Egyptians. Although Pompey had a larger army, he knew that Caesar's troops were more experienced, and might win in a pitched battle. After winning a series of minor victories, Caesar was defeated by the Gauls at Gergovia when his men failed to execute his battle plan. The Senate had only two legions in Italia—the two that Caesar had sent—and faltering support in the north complicated its ability to levy fresh troops. Q203681 In the Battle of Pharsalus, on 9 August 48 BCE, the Roman general Julius Caesar defeated the troops of the Roman Senate, commanded by his rival Pompey the Great. Battle. Ptolemy XIII sent Pompey's head to Caesar in an effort to win his favor, but instead secured him as a furious enemy. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. As his army collapsed, Pompey fled the field. Seeing Pompey move off the mountain on August 9, Caesar deployed his smaller army to meet the threat. He entered the nation during a civil war between Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra VII. Some sources indicate that battle may have taken place on June 6/7 or June 29. He was loath to surrender the rest of his legions, nine of which were wintering in Gaul. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Then, leaving a sizeable garrison in Italia, Caesar reunited with some of his Gallic forces in southern Gaul before crossing into Hispania. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Pharsalus. Caesar’s legions then rushed forward again, this time engaging in combat with their swords. The bountiful eastern provinces and client kingdoms raised the Senate’s fighting force to nine legions on the ground and a 300-ship fleet that dominated the sea. There he built fortifications around the city and blockaded it for six months, during which time Antony was able to reach Caesar with the four legions from Brundisium. Pompey himself donned plain clothes and evaded capture. What happened to Pompey in Alexandria? This setback did not hinder Caesar, though. Myles Hudson was an Editorial Intern at Encyclopædia Britannica. In January 10, 49 BC Caesar crossed the Rubicon River with one legion. simply cite Caesar’s “brilliance as a general,” which alone brought victory at the battle.2 Similarly, Caesar’s “personal military superiority” wo… According to Suetonius (Roman historian who wrote The Life of the Caesars), Caesar uttered the phrase alea iacta est (“the die has been cast”). Where did Caesar attack before he faced Pompey. The question is, what would Pompey had to have done to win this battle (and not the war, by refusing engagement until Caesar's men were starving and forced to capitulate). Updates? Caesar chose to cross over the Pindus Mountains and into the province of Macedonia, where he found a fertile valley to feed his troops while he awaited his enemies. Wheeling left, this combined force of infantry and cavalry struck into Pompey's left flank. At this point Pompey ordered Labienus on his left to charge with the cavalry against Caesar’s right wing, and the mass of horses thundered across the plain with the archers and slingers in tow. This saw his men execute a direct assault against the town when he had desired them to conduct a false retreat to lure Vercingetorix off a nearby hill. Kennedy Hickman is a historian, museum director, and curator who specializes in military and naval history. He was soon swayed from this course by his generals, various senators, and other influential Romans who wished him to give battle. Also, he held his third line in reserve. 12 Literary Piece 1670 Words | 7 Pages. Advancing through Thessaly, Pompey encamped his army on the slopes of Mount Dogantzes in the Enipeus Valley, approximately three and a half miles from Caesar's army. With the whole of the Italian Peninsula now in his grasp, Caesar observed that while Pompey’s small army was across the Adriatic Sea, seven loyalist legions were still stationed in Hispania, albeit without a general. With their flank crumbling and fresh troops assaulting their front, Pompey's men began to give way. Pompey pursued them, likely under duress; his fellow senators were growing anxious and demanded a swift end to what had now been over a year and a half of civil war. Prelude to the Battle. Caesar made a near disastrous attack on Pompey's camp, and was forced to pull away to regroup. In this decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War, on this day, Gaius Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the republic under the command of Pompey. Pompey’s army suffered some 15,000 casualties, and 24,000 of its soldiers were taken prisoner. In his monumental Battle Studies (1870), Ardant du Picq dedicated five pages to quoting Caesar’s account of the battle verbatim, and then he cited “the genius of the chief” as the deciding factor.1 The lazy (or rushed!) The Battle of Pharsalus. Battle of Pharsalus, (48 bce), the decisive engagement in the Roman civil war (49–45 bce) between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. Fox News hosts question network's Ariz. call for Biden Caesar’s victory at Pharsalus was the deciding battle of the civil war. Little is known about Caesar’s casualties; he personally reported 230 dead or missing legionaries, although that improbably low number should be treated with skepticism. The Battle of Dyrrachium (or Dyrrhachium) on 10 July 48 BC was a battle during Caesar's Civil War that took place near the city of Dyrrachium (in what is now Albania).It was fought between Julius Caesar and an army led by Gnaeus Pompey who had the backing of the majority of the Roman Senate.The battle was a victory for Pompey, albeit not a decisive one. Defeating Pompey's forces in Spain, he shifted east and began preparing for a campaign in Greece. They were surprised to find him on the shores of Epirus in January with seven veteran legions. The Great Roman Civil War, also known as Caesar’s War, was the culmination of a long-running political conflict within the Roman elite. He was beheaded by Ptolemy's advisors and his head was pickled. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. He decided that war was favourable. Realizing Pompey's goal, Caesar halted his army approximately 150 yards from the enemy to rest and reform the lines. Here he also placed his missile troops and cavalry, the latter of which was led by Titus Labienus and numbered nearly 7,000 men. With which element were Caesars men able to push back Pompey's cavalry. 5 hours ago. Using their javelins to thrust at the enemy cavalry, Caesar's men halted the attack. His army destroyed, Pompey fled to Egypt seeking aid from King Ptolemy XIII. The Battle of Colmar (58 BCE): one of the first battles of the Gallic War, in which Caesar defeated an army led by the Germanic leader Ariovistus.. The Battle of Thapsus was an engagement in Caesar's Civil War that took place on February 6, 46 BC near Thapsus (in modern Tunisia).The Republican forces of the Optimates, led by Quintus Caecilius Metellus Scipio, were decisively defeated by the veteran forces loyal to Julius Caesar. This was by no means the end of the war. On January 10–11, 49 bce, Caesar took Legio XIII Gemina across the Rubicon River and into Italia proper. Pharsalus Battlefield was the setting for one of the most decisive and important battles of ancient Rome – the defeat of Pompey the Great by Julius Caesar. Caesar had crossed the Rubicon in January 49 B.C., returning home from military assignment without permission. With the immediate threat of Pompey removed, Caesar quickly consolidated his position in the western parts of the Republic. After wintering at Dyrrhachium, Pompey intended to invade Italy and save the republic from despotism, as his mentor Sulla had done over 30 years earlier. Following the battle of Pharsalus, Caesar and his supporters (the Populares) had won a decisive victory in the ongoing civil war against Rome. The battle of Pharsalus (9 August 48 BC) was the decisive battle of the Great Roman Civil War, and saw Caesar defeat Pompey and the Senate’s main army.Although the war continued for another three years, Pharsalus ended any realistic chance that Caesar could be defeated, and the war would have ended soon if Caesar hadn’t become entangled in Egyptian affairs. Which river did Pompey use to cover his right flank. For several days the armies formed for battle each morning, however, Caesar was unwilling to attack up the slopes of the mountain. Consider how Caesar won that battle, and why the United States of America could never win such a battle today, under this administration. However, neither Pompey nor Labienus saw the eight cohorts that Caesar had planted behind his cavalry. on what historians calculate is about Aug. 9. Julius Caesar won a major triumph over the forces of Pompey the Great at Pharsalus, in 48 B.C. Ordering the charge, Caesar's men began advancing. In 58 BCE, Julius Caesar had invaded Central Gaul.The pretext had been the plan of the Helvetians to migrate to Aquitania, something that the Roman general considered unacceptable. Even men who had been bitter enemies were allowed not only to return … Pompey did not immediately follow up on his success. Pompey had even married Caesar’s daughter Julia to help cement the alliance between them. Caesar gave them the signal to attack. Caesar refused to meet Pompey on this disadvantageous ground and was in the process of striking his tents to march elsewhere when he saw that Pompey had inexplicably descended onto the plain. He fled from his camp as the enemy stormed it and made his way to the coast. They then marched east. Prelude to Battle Almost two years before the two rivals met at Pharsalus, the Roman Republic, split by a half century of political unrest, had drifted into civil war. 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