Julius Caesar Crosses the Rubicon
The event known as Julius Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon occurred on January 11, 49 B.C., and marked a pivotal moment in Roman history. At this time, Julius Caesar was a prominent general and statesman who had significantly expanded Roman territories through military campaigns in Gaul and beyond. The Rubicon River served as a legal boundary; crossing it with an army was considered an act of insurrection against the Roman Senate, which had forbidden him from entering Italy with his legions. This bold move ignited a civil war against his rival, Pompey, and ultimately led to Caesar's rise to power.
The phrase "crossing the Rubicon" has since become a metaphor for making irrevocable decisions or embarking on significant new paths. Following his crossing, Caesar quickly took control of Rome and the wider Italian peninsula, eventually pursuing Pompey to Egypt, where Pompey was assassinated. Caesar's consolidation of power marked a transition from the Roman Republic to imperial rule, as he began to adopt titles and roles that defied traditional republican norms. His reign culminated in his appointment as dictator for life, a position that attracted both admiration and resentment, leading to his assassination on March 15, 44 B.C., which ended his dramatic rise and significantly impacted the course of Roman history.
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Julius Caesar Crosses the Rubicon
Julius Caesar Crosses the Rubicon
Julius Caesar, the Roman general, statesman, and ruler, helped turn ancient Rome from a republic into an empire. This transition consolidated power into the hands of a narrow elite and contributed to the corruption which helped cause Rome's eventual fall. One of the seminal events in this transition was Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon river on January 11, 49 b.c.
Caesar was born in 100 b.c. to an important Roman clan and entered politics in his twenties. It was a time of turmoil in the ancient Roman Republic, whose institutions had been weakened by decades of civil war and internal unrest. Caesar was one of several ambitious politicians, including the general Pompey, who had earned the title “the Great” in combat, and the wealthy orator Marcus Licinius Crassus. In 60 b.c. Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus formed the Triumvirate, an alliance that became the de facto ruling body of Rome. In 58 b.c. Caesar also became the governor of Roman Gaul, which covered what is now northern Italy and parts of southern France.
During Caesar's tenure the Helvetii, a local tribe, began migrating to new territories in Gaul. Caesar led six legions into combat against the Helvetii, defeated them, and decided to conquer the central and northern portions of Gaul not under Roman control. He defeated the indigenous tribes and crushed a revolt led by the Celtic leader Vercingetorix in 52 b.c. Caesar and his forces also invaded Britain, but that did not lead to lasting Roman rule. Meanwhile, in Caesar's absence Pompey had consolidated his position in Rome, especially after Crassus was killed in battle at Carrhae in the Middle Eastern provinces of Rome in 53 b.c. Pompey gradually manipulated the Roman Senate, still nominally the governing body of Rome, and took control of a formidable military force with the excuse of “protecting the state.”
Caesar's forces were outnumbered, but he was a brilliant general, and his legions were much more battle-ready than Pompey's. Caesar led his forces from what is today France into Italy and south toward the Rubicon, the ancient name of a river in northern Italy, now known as the Rubicone, which flows into the Adriatic Sea just north of Rimini (known in ancient times as Ariminum). During this period the Rubicon marked the boundary between the province of Cisalpine Gaul, under Caesar's control, and Roman Italy. The Roman Senate had forbidden Caesar from entering Roman Italy with his legions, and when he defied their orders it sparked a conflict with Pompey that culminated in Caesar's rise to power. The expression “to cross the Rubicon” is now synonymous with making a significant decision, committing to an irrevocable path, or beginning an important new chapter in one's life.
Pompey retreated and then fled to Greece. Caesar quickly took Rome, the rest of the Italian peninsula, and even the Roman province of Spain. He became the dictator of Rome and took his forces into Greece in pursuit of Pompey, who fled to Egypt, where he was assassinated. As Caesar followed Pompey into Egypt, he consolidated most of the eastern Mediterranean under his control. He began to make himself Roman dictator for life, in the process breaking many ancient Roman traditions, as when he had himself appointed consul for an unheard-of 10-year term starting in 45 b.c. Caesar also began to use the title imperator, or emperor, and assumed the office of pontifex maximus, or chief priest, making himself head of the Roman state religion and supervisor of the worship of the Roman pantheon of gods. On March 15, 44 b.c., Caesar was assassinated, ending his ambitious rise to power.