Greek art and philosophy have permeated Roman…
March 45 BCE
Greek art and philosophy have permeated Roman culture, and Rome sees itself as the civilizer of the barbarians.
At the moment, however, the Romans are engaged in what historians will call the Great Roman Civil War.
Caesar, a politician of the populares tradition, had formed an unofficial triumvirate with Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus that had dominated Roman politics for several years, but was fiercely opposed by conservative “optimates” like Marcus Porcius Cato and Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus.
His conquest of Gaul has extended the Roman world all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, and he also conducted the first Roman invasion of Britain in 55 BCE; the collapse of the triumvirate, however, had led to a standoff with Pompey and the Senate.
Leading his legions across the Rubicon, Caesar had begun a civil war in 49 BCE.
Made dictator in 46, Caesar has for some months led his troops in skirmishes with the forces of Gnaeus and Sextus Pompeius, the sons of the murdered Pompey the Great, in Spain; together with Metellus Scipio, Cato the Younger and other senators, they had been prepared to oppose Caesar and his army to the end.
In the Africa province, Caesar had defeated Metellus Scipio and Cato, who had subsequently committed suicide, at the Battle of Thapsus in 46.
Gnaeus had escaped once again, this time to the Balearic Islands, where he joined Sextus.
Together with Titus Labienus, a former general in Caesar's army, the Pompey brothers have crossed over to the Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula, comprising modern Spain and Portugal), where they have raised yet another army.
After a long series of withdrawals, the Pompeiians take up a position on the high ground at Munda, near Urso (modern Osuna) on March 17, 45.
Caesar halts, luring the Pompeians down into battle.
The fight rages for hours, Caesar himself entering the fray to bolster his veteran Tenth Legion.
The rest of Gnaeus' army misunderstands their commander's tactical shift of troops to meet a Roman cavalry attack.
Thinking a retreat has begun, they break, and in the battle and the panicked escape that follow, Titus Labienus and an estimated thirty thousand men of the Pompeian side die.
Gnaeus and Sextus manage to escape once again.
However, this time, supporters are difficult to find because it is by now clear Caesar has won the civil war.
Within a few weeks, Gnaeus Pompeius is caught and executed for treason.
Caesar is now the undisputed master of the Roman world.