![]() Roman historian Suetonius depicts Caesar as undecided as he approached the river and attributes the crossing to a supernatural apparition. In doing so, he deliberately broke the law on imperium and made armed conflict inevitable. Julius Caesar led a single legion, Legio XIII, south over the Rubicon from Cisalpine Gaul to Italy to make his way to Rome. Julius Caesar Julius Caesar, depicted as pausing on the banks of the Rubicon Generals were thus obliged to disband their armies before entering Italy. If a general entered Italy in command of an army, both the general and his soldiers became outlaws and were automatically condemned to death. Furthermore, obeying the commands of a general who did not legally possess imperium was a capital offense. Any magistrate who entered Italy at the head of his troops forfeited his imperium and was therefore no longer legally allowed to command troops.Įxercising imperium when forbidden by the law was a capital offense. Roman law specified that only the elected magistrates ( consuls and praetors) could hold imperium within Italy. The governors then served as generals of the Roman army within the territory they ruled. Governors of Roman provinces were appointed promagistrates with imperium (roughly, "right to command") in one or more provinces. ![]() On the northwestern side, the border was marked by the river Arno, a much wider and more important waterway, which flows westward from the Apennine Mountains (its source is not far from the Rubicon's source) into the Tyrrhenian Sea. According to some authors, he uttered the phrase alea iacta est ("the die is cast") before crossing.ĭuring the late Roman Republic, the river Rubicon marked the boundary between the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul to the northeast and Italy proper (controlled directly by Rome and its allies) to the south. As it was illegal to bring armies into Italy (the northern border of which was marked by the river Rubicon) his crossing the river under arms amounted to insurrection, treason, and a declaration of war on the state. As his term of governorship ended, the Senate ordered him to disband his army and return to Rome. Caesar had been appointed to a governorship over a region that ranged from southern Gaul to Illyricum. His crossing of the river precipitated Caesar's civil war, which ultimately led to Caesar's becoming dictator for life ( dictator perpetuo). Scholars usually place it on the night of 10 and 11 January because of the speeds at which messengers could travel at that time. Its meaning comes from allusion to the crossing of the river Rubicon by Julius Caesar in early January 49 BC. The phrase " crossing the Rubicon" is an idiom that means "passing a point of no return". The modern Rubicon river (dark blue), believed to be the same river crossed by Caesar Only a month after Caesar’s declaration, a group of senators, among them Marcus Junius Brutus, Caesar’s second choice as heir, and Gaius Cassius Longinus assassinated Caesar in fear of his absolute power.Look up cross the Rubicon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ![]() His increasing power and great ambition agitated many senators who feared Caesar aspired to be king. In 44 B.C.E., Caesar declared himself dictator for life. He also granted citizenship to foreigners living within the Roman Republic. At the same time, he sponsored the building of the Forum Iulium and rebuilt two city-states, Carthage and Corinth. ![]() He wielded his power to enlarge the senate, created needed government reforms, and decreased Rome’s debt. Returning to Italy, Caesar consolidated his power and made himself dictator. This sparked a civil war between Caesar’s forces and forces of his chief rival for power, Pompey, from which Caesar emerged victorious. When his rivals in Rome demanded he return as a private citizen, he used these riches to support his army and marched them across the Rubicon River, crossing from Gaul into Italy. Throughout his eight-year governorship, he increased his military power and, more importantly, acquired plunder from Gaul. His Roman troops conquered Gallic tribes by exploiting tribal rivalries. Returning to Rome, he formed political alliances that helped him become governor of Gaul, an area that included what is now France and Belgium. Seizing the opportunity, Caesar advanced in the political system and briefly became governor of Spain, a Roman province. During his youth, the Roman Republic was in chaos. Julius Caesar was a Roman general and politician who named himself dictator of the Roman Empire, a rule that lasted less than one year before he was famously assassinated by political rivals in 44 B.C.E.Ĭaesar was born on July 12 or 13 in 100 B.C.E.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |