The Battle of Pharsalus
By 49 BC, Julius Caesar had spent ten years conquering Gaul, with side expeditions across the English Channel to Britain and across the Rhine into Germany. At this time, his enemies in the Roman Senate were conspiring not only to deprive Caesar of his Proconsular powers that allowed him to govern his provinces, but to bring him to trial in Rome on charges that he considered to be trumped up. It was Caesar’s desire to return to Rome unmolested in order to run for a second term as Consul, or supreme magistrate in Rome.
Caesar arrived in the town of Ravenna in Northern Italy accompanied by a single legion to await events and to negotiate an agreement with the Senate, as well as with his former partner in the First Triumvirate and now rival Gnaeus Pompey. Caesar’s enemies in the Senate would not budge. When their measures were vetoed by the Tribunes, who were allies of Caesar, the Tribunes were driven from Rome.
Seeing no other choice, Caesar crossed the Rubicon, the river that was the traditional barrier between the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul and Italy proper with his single legion, sending word that other legions now in Gaul would also march south. Upon crossing the Rubicon, Caesar is said to have shouted, “Alae iacta est!” or, “The die is cast!”
Alarmed by the approach of Caesar with an army, the Senate charged Pompey with the defense of Rome. Pompey, believing that he had insufficient troops of dubious quality to face Caesar’s army of battle hardened veterans, choice a strategic withdraw, first south to Brundesium and then across the Adriatic into Macedonia where he could gather more troops. Most of the Senate followed him.
Caesar swiftly overran Northern Italy and entered Rome unopposed. While organizing the governance of Rome, Caesar still faced the problem of dealing with Pompey’s forces, not only in Macedonia, but in the west, in Spain in particular. Caesar decided to strike first in the west, besieging and taking the city of Massila (modern Marseille) and then defeating enemy forces under Pompey’s lieutenants in Spain.
Now, Caesar decided to face Pompey directly. His task was daunting. Pompey had superior numbers as well as a fleet and the support of most of the eastern provinces. Nevertheless, Caesar crossed the Adriatic with two legions and set out in pursuit of Pompey.
Dyrrhachium Campaign
Though his forces greatly outnumbered Caesars army, Pompey declined to give battle. Pompey knew that his troops were not up to the quality of Caesar’s veterans and his army had a large number of cavalry, light infantry and missile troops that were difficult to handle. Pompey instead chose to wait Caesar out, cutting off his supplies, and attempting to starve him.
Caesar marched north toward Pompey’s fortified camp at Dyrrhachium. Caesar attempted to invest Pompey, in order to starve him out. Instead, Pompey attacked Caesar’s left, caving it in, forcing Caesar to flee the field. Caesar retreated toward Thessaly, picking up some reinforcements from Italy led by Marc Antony. Finally, Caesar turned to give battle at Pharsalus.
The Battle
Caesar anchored his troops with the River Enipeus on the left. He deployed his legions in three lines, with a fourth in reserve, and his cavalry on the right flank. Caesar had 23,000 legionaries, 5-10,000 auxiliaries, and about 1,400 cavalry. Pompey confronted him with three lines of legionaries and his cavalry on the left facing Caesar’s cavalry. He had 50,000 legionaries, 4,200 auxiliaries, and 4-7,000 cavalry.
The legionaries on both sides closed with one another and locked in combat, producing a stalemate. While auxiliaries skirmished on Caesar’s left, Titus Labienus, who had once been one of Caesar’s closest friends, but was now one of Pompey’s Generals, led a cavalry charge that routed Caesar’s cavalry and auxiliaries on Caesar’s right. But Caesar sent in the fourth line to halt the envelopment and, using their javelins as thrusting spears, routed Pompey’s cavalry in turn.
Caesar’s fourth line gave chase, driving Pompey’s cavalry into the foothills of Dogandzis. Then the fourth line wheeled and took Pompey’s main army in the rear. Caesar’s main forced renewed its attack from the front and in short order, Pompey’s army was all but destroyed or captured. Pompey and a few followers fled the field.
Aftermath
Pompey fled to Alexandria in Egypt, closely pursued by Caesar. Before Caesar could catch up to Pompey, he was murdered at the orders of King Ptolemy. Ptolemy, a teenager who was controlled by his court ministers, was locked in a civil war with his sister, Cleopatra for the throne of Egypt. When Caesar arrived in Alexandria, he set about to put an end to the civil war, which turned out to include putting an end to Ptolemy and putting Cleopatra on the throne as sole ruler of Egypt. Caesar and Cleopatra became lovers and had a son, named Caesarion.
Caesar then set about mopping up the rest of his opposition, in campaigns in Africa, Asia Minor, and finally Spain. By the beginning of 44 BC he was the absolute master of the Roman world. He began to make plans for massive reforms of the Roman Republic, as well as a campaign against the Parthian Empire to the east of Roman territory. The reforms included expanding the Senate and various public works projects.
Caesar was not to enjoy his power for very long. On the Ides of March, March 15th, in 44 BC he was set upon and murdered during a meeting of the Senate in the Theater of Pompey. The assassins, all of them Senators, many of whom who had received pardons from Caesar for supporting Pompey, thought to restore the Republic by killing Caesar. Instead, they were all dead within two years and a new order was created, under a triumvirate that included Marc Antony and Caesar’s great nephew, Octavian, who was later to become the first Emperor of Rome.
