Osprey Essential Histories 42 : Caesar's Civil War 49-44 BC

In January 49 BC Julius Caesar made the famous night crossing of the River Rubicon. This was the historic boundary between Italy and the provinces that no general was allowed to cross without permission from the Senate. With this action he deliberately entered into a civil war that lasted four years and raged across Italy, Spain, Africa, Greece, Asia and Egypt. His opponent was Pompey the Great, a former ally but now Caesar's political enemy. Together Caesar and Pompey, two of the greatest generals Rome had ever produced, had brought vast stretches of territory under Roman dominion. Now their legions were turned against each other, fighting not for issues or noble ideals but for political domination. Vast numbers of troops were put into the field. Some were veterans with a decade or more of continuous campaigning behind them, while others were raw volunteers or conscripts. On each side the men were formed into legions with the same basic organisation, equipment and tactical system. The similarity between the rival armies encouraged the battles of this conflict to be especially hard fought and bloody, but in the end Caesar's genius as a commander and his great good luck brought him victory in 45 BC. Just one year later he was assassinated, plunging the Roman world into further bloodshed and turmoil. Text by Adrian Goldsworthy.

Contents

• Introduction
• Chronology
• Background to War : The First Triumvirate
• Warring Sides : Legion against Legion
• Outbreak : Crossing the Rubicon
• The Fighting : Civil War
• Portrait of a Soldier : Caesar's Centurions
• The World around War : A Mediterranean war
• Portrait of a Civilian : Cicero and the Civil War
• How the War Ended : The Ides of March
• Conclusion and Consequences : Civil Wars and the End of the Republic
• Glossary
• Further Reading
• Index