Caesar's Civil War by Goldsworthy Adrian;

Author:Goldsworthy, Adrian;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Published: 2022-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

This Roman gladius found in Slovenia dates to the 1st century BC. Many gladii had longer blades in this era than was usual under the Principate. (© National Museum of Slovenia; photo: Tomaž Lauko)

Pompey had left the battlefield almost as soon as his cavalry had been swept away. He had ridden back to his camp, instructing the guards there to maintain a careful watch, and then gone to his tent. Later, as the rout of his army became obvious, he laid aside his general’s cloak and left for the coast. If these accounts of his behaviour are accurate – and there must be some doubt, as they all come from hostile sources – his command at Pharsalus was remarkably spiritless, and his behaviour, being the first rather than the last to despair, utterly inappropriate for a Roman general. Caesar also claims that his men were astounded by the luxuries that they discovered in the Pompeian camp, items more suitable for effete Orientals than true Romans, although again this could well be propaganda.

Pompeian prisoners numbered 24,000, with supposedly another 15,000 killed. Nine eagles (the standard of an entire legion) and 180 signa (the standard of a century) were among the trophies. Once again most Pompeians were pardoned by Caesar, and he is supposed to have been especially pleased when his men brought in Marcus Brutus, son of one of his former mistresses and later leader of the conspirators who would murder him. Many other Pompeians escaped, but Ahenobarbus died in the pursuit. Some fugitives went to north Africa, but Pompey travelled to Egypt. Caesar’s own loss was comparatively light at 200 men, along with 30 centurions. Such a disproportionately high loss among these officers was not uncommon, the result of their aggressive and inevitably dangerous style of leadership.

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