Facts About Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar and the Rubicon

Legend has it that as Julius Caesar reached the Rubicon, he hesitated. As he pondered, a figure of superhuman size was seen on the bank. It snatched a trumpet from a soldier, blew a mighty blast, and then ran into the river and crossed it. Caesar, accepting this as a sign from the gods, was said to remark: "Iacta alea est" - "The die is cast."

Julius Caesar marched through northern Italy unchallenged - forces along the way either retreated or joined his army. Day by day, Julius Caesar advanced and day-by-day Pompey retreated further into the south of Italy. When Pompey's army fled to Spain, leaving Pompey himself in Italy, Caesar followed them, and in only two months had control of the entire province. Then he headed back to the southern tip of Italy to defeat Pompey himself. The two armies met on the plain of Pharsalia in the summer of 48 B.C. to fight the decisive battle of the civil war. Pharsalia was a disaster for Pompey and Julius Caesar barely managed to escape with his life. Julius Caesar fled to Egypt where he hoped he'd be given asylum, but instead the Egyptians, anxious to win favor with the powerful Caesar, executed Pompey. It's said that when Caesar arrived in Egypt days later and was presented with the head of his enemy and former friend, he wept.

Julius Caesar and Cleopatra

When Julius Caesar arrived in Egypt, the country was in the middle of a power struggle between Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy, and Cleopatra had been forced into exile. Upon Julius Caesar 's arrival, she returned, allegedly hidden in a rolled up carpet, and pleaded with him for help. Although the relationship between Julius Caesar and Cleopatra has been glamorized by many writers, including Shakespeare, and dramatized in modern movies, it was indeed a romance. Although her beauty has been exaggerated, Cleopatra was then a spirited and ambitious young woman of 21, and Julius Caesar admired and related to her. Julius Caesar restored her to the throne of Egypt and took her as his mistress, lingering in Egypt so long that his men feared he would lose his influence in Rome. Julius Caesar finally left, after making plans for Cleopatra to join him there later.

Julius Caesar arriving back in Rome

On his way back, Julius Caesar stopped first in Asia Minor, where he defeated armies that were trying to annex lands in the eastern area. After his victory at Zela, in what is now Turkey, he sent a dispatch to Rome with the immortal message Veni, Vidi, Vici - "I came, I saw, I conquered." When Julius Caesar finally made it back to Rome the year was 47 B.C. and he was 53 years old. Marc Antony had been ruling in his absence, but Antony was an ineffectual ruler who spent most of his time amusing himself with his rowdy friends.

Julius Caesar very quickly took charge. He filled the spaces left empty in the senate when Pompey's followers had deserted, and had himself elected consul. But Julius Caesar had barely begun to reorganize when word reached him that many of Pompey's followers, including Cato and two of Pompey' sons, had gathered an army of 35,000 men in Africa and were preparing to reclaim Rome. Julius Caesar sailed for Africa, knowing that a fierce campaign awaited him, and that rulership of Rome hung in the balance. In the first battle, his troops managed to trap the enemy on a narrow isthmus over the water, and the army was slain to the very last man. There were a few more battles and before long, Julius Caesar was in control of all of Roman Africa. Julius Caesar now reigned supreme in the entire Mediterranean world. When he returned to Rome he was honored with the forty days of celebration and four processions that were his greatest moment of triumph. There would be only one more triumph before the career of Julius Caesar came abruptly to an end.

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