<snip> > > Julius Ceasar was one of the principles in the Roman Civil War. In > > 49 BC he and his army crossed the Rubicon, a river outside of Rome. > > This is regarded as the tipping point at which he showed himself > > to be fully committed to seizing power. After you cross the Rubicon, > > there is no going back. > > Not quite accurate. What crossing the river did was indicate his desire to > break the Triumvirate with Pompey (Crassus being killed at the battle of > Carrhea). He was off fighting in Gaul when Pompey was elected sole Consul > in 52BC. In 51BC he conquered Gaul and wrote De Bello Gallico (another > western book on warfare). The Senate ordered him to give up his command > and he crossed the river. Pompey fled to Greece. Caesar (not Ceasar) > defeats Pompey at Pharsalia in Greece. His real bitch was not to take over > Rome or start a civil war, but to retain his command of his legions. > Unfortunately with the political climate, it was all or nothing.
No Choate, that is not true. Crossing the Rubicon was declaring war on those in power in Rome (& on Rome itself to be technical). The rules were quite clear: cross the Rubicon with a legion = declaration of war. Caesar's "bitch", as you call it, was that he was sent to serve in far corners of the empire while Pompey stayed in Rome and stirred up the Senate against him. By the time he was told to give up his command and come back to Rome, it was to face charges of financial impropriety and questions of treason (what started as an investigation into his financial behavior as Curia of the Vestal College turned into accusations of attempting to subvert the Republican ideals, i.e., it was feared that he wished to be named King). If he had come home alone (sans legions as directed) he would have been arrested; if he had stayed away (which he did for a few months) ignoring the call to return he was acting in a treasonous way and eventually an army would have come looking for him; and so - with the only option left to march on Rome - he did so. And he did so with every intention of unseating Pompey and taking over the Consulship. And yes, by all accounts Caesar's goal was individual glory. He wanted the Consulship, felt he had been cheated out of it, and staying with his legions as a General was not his desire - he desired his legions stay loyal and make him Consul - thus the rather large bribes and the rather large debt that caused the initial call for investigation in the Senate. -elyn > > > -- > ____________________________________________________________________ > > James Choate - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - www.ssz.com > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- >
