In September 48 BC, after Caesar defeated Pompey, he personally led a legion of more than 4,000 men in pursuit, but when he landed in Alexandria, Egypt, he was told that Pompey had been booby-trapped by the Egyptians.
In Egypt at this time, power was in the hands of the Greeks, and the king was a descendant of Ptolemy, a general of the famous Macedonian king Alexander the Great. But by the time of Ptolemy XIII, the king was only a 14-year-old boy, controlled by the eunuchs Portinus, the university scholar Theodotus, and the general Achias, and the idea of executing Pompey was exactly what they had, and they were also instigating the little king to go to war with his sister Cleopatra VII (also known as cleopatra).
The Egyptian eunuch Portinus in Cleopatra (1963).
Cleopatra (1963) by the Egyptian University of Theodotus
Egyptian general Achilas in Cleopatra (1963).
Caesar's execution made Caesar very angry, because a living old Pompey was obviously more useful, when the young Egyptian princess herself came to visit late at night and conquered Caesar with her young and feminine body, and Caesar decided to intervene in the internal disputes of the Ptolemaic royal family. On the Egyptian side, seeing that the Roman occupation army had been stationed in the palace for a long time, and the Roman soldiers often flaunted their might in the streets of Alexandria with weapons, and even publicly insulted Egyptian women, anti-Luo sentiment intensified, and a big war was inevitable.
Cleopatra VII, as the most legendary woman in Western history, has also appeared in a large number of versions in film and television works, and I will not list them all here due to space limitations. However, some historians believe that the real Cleopatra VII was dark-skinned and not very beautiful, but only with the help of Egypt's superb makeup skills, caesar and Antony were fascinated. Here I will temporarily list a few versions of Cleopatra whose appearance is in line with our aesthetics.
Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) features 32-year-old Hollywood superstar Vivien Leigh
In Cleopatra (1963), 31-year-old Hollywood superstar Elizabeth Taylor
The 27-year-old Chilean actress Riona Vieira in New Cleopatra (1999).
The Roman garrison was besieged by 20,000 Hellenistic Egyptian troops led by Achilas, and many of the people of Alexandria also participated spontaneously, but they were a ragtag group after all, and the two sides fought for many days around the water source and harbor in the streets of Alexandria, and there was no progress. In order to prevent the sea connection from being cut off, Caesar personally led his troops to capture the harbor lighthouse island, but more than 400 Roman soldiers fell into the water and died in the battle, and Caesar also fell into the water, even losing his coat.
Films depicting the Siege of Alexandria include the Hollywood blockbuster Cleopatra (1963) and Cleopatra (1999), but both depict sieges on the ground, not naval battles or reinforcements from the Eastern Allies. However, in contrast, the fourth episode of the second season of the american drama "Roman Empire" (2018), which is known as a documentary, is even more unreliable, in which the little king dared to put Caesar, who had just arrived in Egypt, under house arrest.
Ptolemy XIII in Cleopatra (1963).
Ptolemy XIII in the American drama Roman Empire (2018).
At Caesar's request, the Eastern Allies sent a mixed army (including Pontic, Jews, Bedouins, and Syrians) to land in the Nile Delta, and the Egyptians were forced to divide their forces to meet them, and they were defeated. Under the pursuit of the Romans, Ptolemaic XIII fled in a hurry, only to fall into the water and drown, and the dispute between the Ptolemaic royal family was completely resolved. Caesar then even took a boat with Yanhou to the Nile, exploring the egyptian state of the country and having fun.
Taking advantage of the Roman Civil War, the Romans' old rival in the East, the local kingdom revived under the leadership of King Fanaces, Caesar learned of the consequences and led his army north, and defeated the Pontus at the Battle of Zina in May 47 BC, after which Caesar sent a famous letter to Rome: "I have come, I have seen, I have conquered." The lands of Fanaces were then given to the Pontic Confederate tribes that had supported Caesar in Alexandria.
At this time, some of Caesar's veterans stationed in Rome staged a rebellion, because they had been serving for a long time, Caesar's promised salary increase was delayed, and Antony, who remained in Rome, commanded the cavalry legion to control the central square of Rome, but Caesar did not want to cause bloodshed, he quickly rushed back to Rome, and relied on his excellent eloquence to quell the mutiny, and promised to let everyone live a good life after the conquest of Africa. When the fourth episode of the second season of the American drama "Roman Empire" (2018) is mentioned here, he throws the pot to Anthony, saying that this person is completely good at internal politics.
In the American drama "Roman Empire", Anthony is so black that he can only drink all day
Gathered in Africa were pompeo's party, many of whom had escaped the Battle of Fasallu, many of whom had previously been elders, including the famous anti-Caesar leader Cato The Younger. By December 47 BC, Pompey's father-in-law, Scipio, and Caesar's former adjutant general, Labinus, had gathered an army of 50,000 men, as well as more than 50,000 men under The Numidian king Juba, who was an ally. By contrast, caesar landed in North Africa with only six legions totaling more than 25,000 men.
At the beginning of the engagement, Labinus surrounded Caesar's forces, but was unable to annihilate them. Soon, as the Mauritanians conquered the homeland of King Juba of Numidia, Juba was forced to leave with his army. The Pompeian remnant army under them could have used siege tactics to drive Caesar into the sea, but in a hurry to fight, they failed to break through Caesar's camp several times, and then collapsed under Caesar's counterattack, Labinus was forced to flee to Spain, and Scipio simply jumped into the sea to commit suicide.
Caesar then attacked the remnants of Pompeii, who were still trapped in the interior of the Utica fortress in North Africa, and Cato jr. in the fortress did not want to surrender, and directly committed suicide with a short sword. Also committing suicide was King Juba of Numidia, after which the Kingdom of Numidia finally became an overseas province under Roman rule. Most current film and television works are not interested in war in Africa, and the 2002 historical blockbuster "Julius Caesar" can rarely mention the story of Caesar's siege of Utica and Cato jr.'s suicide.
The anti-Caesar leader Cato Jr. in Julius Caesar (2002).
In June 47 BC, Caesar, after pacifying Africa, returned to Rome and not only fulfilled his monetary promise to the veterans, but also held a grand battle performance to appease the Roman people. Subsequently, at Caesar's request, the Senate was forced to appoint him as dictator for ten years (previously only half a year's term), which was a temporary legal determination of the legitimacy of his separate rule in Rome.
At this time, Pompeius's party gradually formed a climate in Spain, led by Caesar's old friend Labinus and Faro, who had fought against Curio in North Africa, who jointly elected Pompey's two sons, Ugnace and Secktus, as leaders, and soon gathered more than 60,000 people, including even many emancipated slaves. In November 47 BC, Caesar again led a large army to Spain, accompanied by his nephew Octavian and his young friend Agrippa, the first time the two of them went to war.
Although the veteran generals advised Ugnace and Secktus not to confront Caesar head-on, the young and vigorous brothers insisted on a decisive battle with Caesar because of their paper superiority, and Labinus had to agree. Caesar, for his part, was more cautious and eventually lured Labinus to a decisive battle with him at Monta in March 46 BC, Caesar's soldiers were initially frightened by the inferiority of their forces, but Caesar personally participated in the battle, which inspired the morale of the soldiers.
Stills from The Roman Emperor (2003): Caesar fights Pompeius
In this battle, pompeii's remnants were once again tragically destroyed, and they were all annihilated in the pursuit operation, and Rapinus, Farrow and other famous generals under Pompey were all killed. Ugnath fled in a hurry with 150 retinues, only to be chased by Caesar's army at the site of the foot wound and beheaded. Sextus successfully absconded in disguise, and he later blended into the pirate clique in the western Mediterranean and made a comeback under the name of "Pompey The Little", becoming Octavian's fierce rival.
The only mention of the Spanish war is the 2003 Spanish historical film Augustus (also known as "The Roman Emperor"), after all, Octavian personally participated in the battle, but this film has many changes to historical facts, such as the film's Pompeian army commander became Sextus, and in order to praise Caesar, the film arranged a peaceful ending for the Battle of Monta and the touching scene of Caesar's interpretation of Cectus.
Sextus (Pompey the Younger) in Roman Emperor (2003) surrenders to Caesar
After pacifying Spain, Caesar appointed the cavalry commander Rebida as the Spanish governor, and when he returned to Rome, he was already a 57-year-old man, but he was still preparing new plans of conquest like Alexander the Great, including attacking the Dacians in the lower Danube, attacking the Parthians again, and attacking the Germans around the north shore of the Black Sea, in addition to his high-profile announcement of the marriage to Cleopatra VII, who bore him a son, Caesarion. But only half a year later, Caesar was suddenly assassinated.
Caesar, son of Caesar in Cleopatra (1963).
The masterminds of Caesar's assassination were the senator Marco Brutus and the former governor of Syria, Cassius, both of whom were part of pompey, but were spared only because of Caesar's magnanimity, and were re-invited by Caesar to participate in politics. But this group was the heart of Caesar, and in order to ensure success, Cassius used coercive and seductive words to win over Caesar's mistress's son (also known as Caesar's illegitimate son) Brutus, who had always regarded himself as a defender of the Roman Republic system and hated Caesar's unique position.
Cassius in Julius Caesar (2002).
Brutus in Julius Caesar (1953).
On March 15, 44 B.C., when Caesar greeted the senators who had just gone to work as usual in the Senate, Brutus himself took a dagger and stabbed him several times, and More than 20 allies, including Cassius, also came forward to stab him, and Caesar died at the hands of a group of conspirators.
Oil painting: The Assassination of Caesar
The assassination of Caesar has always been regarded as a major tragedy of the Western classical era, and the famous British Renaissance playwright Shakespeare also wrote the historical drama "The Life and Death of Julius Caesar" based on this event, and many films depicting Caesar's assassination are based on the script, such as the Hollywood business card "Julius Caesar" filmed in 1953.
Shakespeare and Julius Caesar