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5.2 The War Itself

📚 A-Level Classical Civilisation ⏱️ 45 min 📊 Politics of the Late Republic

Overview

This lesson gives you an overview of the civil war itself - from Caesar crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC through to Pompey's death in Egypt in 48 BC, and the mopping-up campaigns that followed. The focus is on what happened, how the Republic broke down further through the conflict, and how the growing tensions between Caesar and Pompey ended with Pompey's murder.

📜 WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

  • How Caesar swept through Italy and why Pompey abandoned Rome
  • Why Caesar went to Spain first before chasing Pompey
  • The Battle of Pharsalus and the death of Pompey
  • What happened after Pompey died - Egypt, Africa, Spain
  • How the war showed the Republic was effectively finished

The War in Context

On paper, Pompey should have won this war. He had the Senate's backing, control of the eastern provinces, and naval superiority. Caesar had one thing going for him: speed. He moved faster than anyone expected, and that changed everything.

Throughout the war, Caesar also pursued a deliberate policy of clemency - pardoning defeated enemies rather than killing them. This was the opposite of what Sulla had done a generation earlier, and it served as powerful propaganda. It also, as we'll see, left his future assassins alive.

The Big Picture
The civil war proved that the Republic's institutions no longer mattered. The Senate could declare Caesar a public enemy, but only an army could stop him. From this point on, whoever controlled the legions controlled Rome.
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Italy & Spain (49 BC)

After crossing the Rubicon, Caesar advanced rapidly south through Italy. Most towns surrendered without a fight. At Corfinium, he captured the Pompeian commander Domitius Ahenobarbus - and then released him. This set the tone for the whole war: Caesar would show mercy where Sulla had shown cruelty.

I will try to conquer by my clemency and generosity, and so win over the Roman people.
- Caesar, Letters

Pompey, meanwhile, decided not to defend Rome. He withdrew to Brundisium and then sailed to Greece, planning to gather a larger army in the East. Strategically this made sense - he had more allies and resources there - but it looked like he was running away. Caesar now controlled Italy without a major battle.

Why Spain First?

Rather than chase Pompey immediately, Caesar turned west. There were seven Pompeian legions in Spain, and he couldn't leave them behind him. At Ilerda, he defeated the Pompeian forces and - again - released the prisoners rather than punishing them.

I go to fight an army without a leader; then I will fight a leader without an army.
- Caesar, on his strategy

Back in Rome, Caesar briefly assumed the dictatorship to pass emergency legislation (debt relief, grain supplies), then resigned it and got himself elected consul for 48 BC. This gave his position a veneer of constitutional legality - he was using traditional Republican offices to legitimise what was, in reality, a revolution.

What to Remember
By the end of 49 BC, Caesar controlled Italy and Spain, held the consulship, and had established a pattern of CLEMENCY that contrasted sharply with the Senate's panic. Pompey was in Greece building an army. The decisive confrontation was coming.

Pharsalus & the Death of Pompey (48 BC)

In early 48 BC, Caesar crossed the Adriatic to Greece with a smaller force. Pompey had assembled a much larger army - roughly 45,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry against Caesar's 22,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry. Pompey also had the backing of most of the Senate, who had set up a government-in-exile.

The two sides manoeuvred for months before meeting at Pharsalus in central Greece. Pompey's plan relied on his superior cavalry to outflank Caesar, but Caesar anticipated this and placed a hidden reserve line of infantry to counter the cavalry charge. It worked. Pompey's cavalry broke, his infantry was encircled, and the battle became a rout.

They would have it so. After all my great deeds, I, Gaius Caesar, would have been condemned had I not sought the help of my army.
- Caesar, surveying the dead at Pharsalus (Suetonius)

Pompey's Death

Pompey fled to Egypt, hoping for shelter from the young king Ptolemy XIII. Instead, Ptolemy's advisors decided to curry favour with Caesar by having Pompey murdered as he stepped ashore. He was stabbed to death in a boat, within sight of his wife.

When Caesar arrived in Egypt and was presented with Pompey's severed head, he reportedly wept - whether from genuine grief for his former ally and son-in-law, or as a calculated display of magnanimity, is debated. Either way, his greatest rival was gone.

💀 The End of Pompey: Pompey had been Rome's greatest general, the conqueror of the East, and the most powerful man in the Republic for two decades. His murder in Egypt - at the hands of a foreign court trying to pick the winning side - showed just how far the old order had fallen.

Why Pharsalus Matters
Pharsalus ended the Republic's last real chance of resisting Caesar. The Senate had staked everything on Pompey's army, and lost. With Pompey dead, there was no credible alternative leader. Whatever came next would depend entirely on Caesar.

After Pompey (47-45 BC)

Pompey's death didn't end the war. Pockets of senatorial resistance continued for another three years. Here's what happened:

Egypt (48-47 BC)

Caesar got drawn into a dynastic war in Egypt between Ptolemy XIII and his sister Cleopatra. He backed Cleopatra, was besieged in Alexandria for months, and nearly died. Eventually reinforcements arrived, Ptolemy drowned, and Cleopatra became queen. She and Caesar had a son, Caesarion. While Caesar was stuck in Egypt, his enemies were regrouping in Africa.

Africa: Thapsus (46 BC)

The remaining Optimates - including Metellus Scipio and Cato the Younger - had assembled a large force in North Africa with the help of King Juba of Numidia. Caesar defeated them at the Battle of Thapsus. This battle was notably bloodier than earlier engagements - Caesar's troops massacred many who tried to surrender. Scipio died at sea; Juba killed himself. Cato chose suicide at Utica rather than accept Caesar's pardon, becoming the most famous Republican martyr (covered in detail in Lesson 5.3).

Spain: Munda (45 BC)

Pompey's sons, Gnaeus and Sextus, raised yet another army in Spain. At Munda, Caesar fought what he called the hardest battle of his life. Around 30,000 Pompeians were killed. Gnaeus was caught and executed; Sextus escaped and would cause trouble for years to come.

I have often fought for victory; at Munda I fought for my life.
- Caesar (attributed, Appian, Civil Wars 2.104)

The War at a Glance

📊 TIMELINE

  • 49 BC - Caesar crosses the Rubicon, sweeps through Italy, secures Spain
  • 48 BC - Battle of Pharsalus; Pompey murdered in Egypt
  • 48-47 BC - Caesar in Egypt (Alexandrian War, Cleopatra)
  • 46 BC - Battle of Thapsus in Africa; Cato's suicide
  • 45 BC - Battle of Munda in Spain; war effectively over
So What?
By 45 BC, Caesar had defeated every army sent against him. He returned to Rome as the undisputed master of the Roman world. The Republic existed in name only. The question now was not WHETHER Caesar would rule, but how - and whether anyone would try to stop him. The answer came on the Ides of March.

Exit Questions

Test your understanding of the civil war.

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Key Takeaways

📝 SUMMARY

  • Caesar swept through Italy in 49 BC; Pompey withdrew to Greece to build a larger army
  • Caesar secured Spain first, then pursued Pompey to Greece
  • At Pharsalus (48 BC), Caesar defeated Pompey despite being heavily outnumbered
  • Pompey was murdered in Egypt - the end of the Republic's last credible resistance leader
  • Caesar then fought further campaigns in Egypt, Africa (Thapsus), and Spain (Munda)
  • The later battles were bloodier, showing the breakdown of Caesar's earlier policy of mercy
  • By 45 BC, Caesar was the undisputed master of Rome - the Republic was finished in all but name
Next Lesson: Cato's Suicide →