Julius Caesar: A Life From Beginning to End (Military Biographies Book 3) by Hourly History

Author:Hourly History [History, Hourly]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Hourly History
Published: 2016-06-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Three

When in Rome

Caesar returned to Italy in September of 48 BCE. Some twenty months had passed since the start of his Macedonian Campaign and his pursuit of Pompey. For most of 48 BCE Caesar had managed to maintain very efficient contact with his deputies and other subordinates, curiously enough however he had made no mention of Pompey’s demise. The reason for this silence on the issue could have been in order to avoid unnecessary discord and intrigue developing while he was still far from Rome.

Caesar most likely thought that it would be best that they heard the news when he was there in person to handle the fallout of such a dramatic statement. So it was that he waited until he was back in the capital of the Republic before he put the dead general’s personal signet ring on display, officially dashing the hopes that anyone might have had that Pompey still lived.

With his archenemy finally put away, in October of 48 BCE Caesar was declared dictator. Along with Caesar’s own title, his colleague Marc Antony was named “Master of the Horse,” which essentially could be called the position of Vice Dictator.

The title Master of the Horse actually originates from the idea that during a battle the dictator would stay with his infantry while his second in command would be in charge of the cavalry. So it would be that Marc Antony was left as the master of Rome when Julius Caesar departed once again for a final campaign against the remaining supporters of Pompey in North Africa.

Concentrating the main invasion force in Sicily at the outset of this operation, Caesar’s main problem was finding adequate transport ships and supplies for his troops. Caesar was growing impatient camping out on the beach of Lilybaeum on December 17th 47 BCE when he extolled his men to pick up the pace and hurry the rest of the army back to North Africa.

Initially Caesar had only one legion of men with him in this Sicilian city, but soon five more joined him on the island. Wasting no time, Caesar packed each unit as it arrived into the waiting transport ships. In these few ships, space was the most critical commodity that Caesar had; his men were given strict orders not to pack anything that wasn’t absolutely crucial. This left many with just about nothing but the shirt on their backs.

While he forced his soldiers into such threadbare dire straits, Caesar was hoping that he could obtain most of the resources that they needed when they landed on the coast of North Africa. After their meager belongings were stowed away, Caesar and his men then finally set sail on December 25th, and found land three days later on December 28th 47 BCE.

With just 3,500 legionaries and 150 cavalry, Caesar landed in the port city of Hadrumetum, once again on African soil. His first few steps weren’t easy; it is said that he lost his footing, tripped and actually fell down flat on his face, right there in front of his men.

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