Commentarii de Bello Civili
Encyclopedia
Commentarii
de Bello Civili (Commentaries on the Civil War), or Bellum Civile, is an account written by Julius Caesar
of his war
against Gnaeus Pompeius and the Senate
. Shorter than its counterpart on the Gallic War
, only three books long, and possibly unfinished, it covers the events of 49-48 BC, from shortly before Caesar's invasion of Italy to Pompey's defeat at the Battle of Pharsalus
and flight to Egypt
with Caesar in pursuit. It closes with Pompey assassinated, Caesar attempting to mediate rival claims to the Egyptian throne, and the beginning of the Alexandrian War.
Caesar's authorship of the Commentarii de Bello Civili is not disputed. However, its continuations on the Alexandrian
, African
and Hispanic
wars are believed to have been written by others: the 2nd century historian Suetonius
suggested Aulus Hirtius
and Gaius Oppius
as possible authors.
title Commentarii de Bello Civili is often retained as the title of the book in English translations of the work. The title itself is Latin for "Commentaries on the Civil War". It is sometimes shortened to just "Civil Wars", "About the Civil Wars", and "The Civil War", in English translations.
s. Each book is subdivided into numbered paragraphs. The books covers a two year period discussing the Roman Civil War during 49 and 48 BC. As governor of Gaul
, Caesar presents himself as the victim of a conspiracy occurring in Rome
led by his political enemies, including Gnaeus Pompeius, Scipio
, and Marcus Cicero. Throughout the commentaries he presents his cause as a noble one to restore order and return peace to the Roman people, while showing how his actions were justified. He also commonly presents himself as a humane liberal on the epicurean model. Caesar omits many details of the military campaigns, focusing in large part on the larger strategic situation and the reasoning behind the actions occurring.
Written as a narrative, the book begins with the expiration of Caesar's term as governor of Gaul and the party dominating the Roman Senate
ordering him to return to the city to face charges of misconduct and possible execution. Caesar explains how he was wronged by Pompeius and his cohorts, who refused to permit him the triumph
that was traditionally permitted to victorious generals. He proceeds with his army to invade Italy
from Gaul. Pompeius attempts to raise an army in southern Italy, but is forced to retreat with the army to Greece. Caesar continually points to his efforts to reach an accommodation with Pompeius, and attempts to portray Pompeius as a jealous man only interested in perpetuating a rule in which he and his inner circle control the Republic.
Caesar and his army follow Pompeius across the Adriatic Sea
to Greece after a mop up operation in Italy and in Spain. In Greece Pompeius initially has the stronger position with more troops controls many of the strategic areas. Caesar writes a lengthy monologue about the superiority of his army of elite veterans of the pacification of Gaul
, and dismisses Pompeius' tactics and the strength of his army. He points out that Pompeius' army was drawn largely from the provinces and was poorly trained. After Caesar successfully outmanoeuvred Pompeius's army in the eastern Balkans, Pompeius and his army gradually fall back into Macedonia
. Caesar then writes another monologue portraying Pompeius as a coward because of his refusal to make a stand against Caesar, whose army was beginning to have supply problems, and pointed to Scipio as the primary obstacle to peace. Caesar describes Scipio as maniacal and untrustworthy but weak villain concerned only with destroying Caesar. Scipio raises a personal army of his own from his provinces in Asia Minor
and moves to reinforce Pompeius.
The book climaxes with the Battle of Pharsalus
in June of 48. The lengthy battle and siege resulted in a decisive victory by Caesar's army. Pompeius and his cohorts flee to other areas of the Republic in an attempt to reverse their fortunes. Caesar then leads his army across the Mediterranean Sea
in pursuit of Pompeius, who had landed in Egypt
. There Pompeius was murdered, according to Caesar, by the Egyptians. Caesar ends the book with an epilogue on the Egyptians' lack of justification for killing Pompeius. He then proceeds to explain his reasoning for occupying Egypt with his army, using a succession crisis among the Egyptian royal family as his pretence. The Egyptians resisted and Caesar seized the Pharos
. The book ended with the line "Haec initia belli Alexandrini fuerunt." ("These things were the beginning of the Alexandrian war"). The events of the book were followed by the books Alexandrian
, African
and Hispanic
wars, written most likely by officers of Caesar's armies.
The book was for a time lost, but was rediscovered in Italian city archives in the Middle Ages
. The oldest known manuscripts of the commentaries date to the tenth century AD. Parts of the book have remained lost though, with at least sixteen passages known to be missing. Given its much shorter length when compared to Caesar's other works, and its abrupt ending, it is possible that he never finished the work, or that a significant part may still be missing. In 1469 the commentaries was republished in Rome from which most modern copies are now based. In 1809 Napoleon I
, Emperor of the French
, ordered a detailed look at the works of Caesar. Commentarii de Bello Civili, along with his other works were compiled into the Histiore de Jules Cesar, and served as an important history that renewed interest in Caesar. Commentarii de Bello Civili, along with Caesar's other literary works, became staple reading for Latin studies around the world because of the quality and excellent grammar employed by Caesar in his writings.
Commentarii
Commentarii are notes to assist the memory, or memoranda. This original idea of the word gave rise to a variety of meanings: notes and abstracts of speeches for the assistance of orators; family memorials, the origin of many of the legends introduced into early Roman history from a desire to...
de Bello Civili (Commentaries on the Civil War), or Bellum Civile, is an account written by Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
of his war
Caesar's civil war
The Great Roman Civil War , also known as Caesar's Civil War, was one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire...
against Gnaeus Pompeius and the Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
. Shorter than its counterpart on the Gallic War
Commentarii de Bello Gallico
Commentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting local armies in Gaul that opposed Roman domination.The "Gaul" that Caesar...
, only three books long, and possibly unfinished, it covers the events of 49-48 BC, from shortly before Caesar's invasion of Italy to Pompey's defeat at the Battle of Pharsalus
Battle of Pharsalus
The Battle of Pharsalus was a decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War. On 9 August 48 BC at Pharsalus in central Greece, Gaius Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the republic under the command of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus...
and flight to Egypt
Aegyptus (Roman province)
The Roman province of Egypt was established in 30 BC after Octavian defeated his rival Mark Antony, deposed his lover Queen Cleopatra VII and annexed the Ptolemaic kingdom of Egypt to the Roman Empire. The province encompassed most of modern-day Egypt except for the Sinai Peninsula...
with Caesar in pursuit. It closes with Pompey assassinated, Caesar attempting to mediate rival claims to the Egyptian throne, and the beginning of the Alexandrian War.
Caesar's authorship of the Commentarii de Bello Civili is not disputed. However, its continuations on the Alexandrian
De Bello Alexandrino
De Bello Alexandrino is a Latin work continuing Julius Caesar's commentaries, De Bello Gallico and De Bello Civili. It details Caesar's campaigns in Alexandria and Asia. Though normally collected and bound with Caesar's authentic writings, the authorship of the work has been debated since antiquity...
, African
De Bello Africo
De Bello Africo is part of the Caesarian corpus. Its authorship is disputed, though scholarly consensus has ruled out Julius Caesar as the author...
and Hispanic
De Bello Hispaniensis
De Bello Hispaniensi is a book said to be written by Julius Caesar, though its authorship is heavily disputed. It details Caesar's campaigns on the Iberian Peninsula.-See also:* Commentarii de Bello Gallico...
wars are believed to have been written by others: the 2nd century historian Suetonius
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....
suggested Aulus Hirtius
Aulus Hirtius
Aulus Hirtius was one of the consuls of the Roman Republic and a writer on military subjects.He was known to have been a legate of Julius Caesar's starting around 54 BC and served as an envoy to Pompey in 50. During the Roman Civil Wars he served in Spain, he might have been a tribune in 48, and...
and Gaius Oppius
Gaius Oppius
Gaius Oppius was an intimate friend of Julius Caesar. He managed the dictator's private affairs during his absence from Rome, and, together with Lucius Cornelius Balbus, exercised considerable influence in the city...
as possible authors.
Title
The LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
title Commentarii de Bello Civili is often retained as the title of the book in English translations of the work. The title itself is Latin for "Commentaries on the Civil War". It is sometimes shortened to just "Civil Wars", "About the Civil Wars", and "The Civil War", in English translations.
Contents
Caesar organized his commentaries into three separate books, at that time written on individual scrollScroll
A scroll is a roll of parchment, papyrus, or paper, which has been drawn or written upon.Scroll may also refer to:*Scroll , the decoratively curved end of the pegbox of string instruments such as violins...
s. Each book is subdivided into numbered paragraphs. The books covers a two year period discussing the Roman Civil War during 49 and 48 BC. As governor of Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
, Caesar presents himself as the victim of a conspiracy occurring in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
led by his political enemies, including Gnaeus Pompeius, Scipio
Scipio
-Classical:* Scipio, a representation of the Cornelii Scipiones, branch of the illustrious Cornelii family from Ancient Rome.* Scipio Africanus, Roman general who defeated Hannibal at Zama, the final battle of the Second Punic War....
, and Marcus Cicero. Throughout the commentaries he presents his cause as a noble one to restore order and return peace to the Roman people, while showing how his actions were justified. He also commonly presents himself as a humane liberal on the epicurean model. Caesar omits many details of the military campaigns, focusing in large part on the larger strategic situation and the reasoning behind the actions occurring.
Written as a narrative, the book begins with the expiration of Caesar's term as governor of Gaul and the party dominating the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
ordering him to return to the city to face charges of misconduct and possible execution. Caesar explains how he was wronged by Pompeius and his cohorts, who refused to permit him the triumph
Roman triumph
The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...
that was traditionally permitted to victorious generals. He proceeds with his army to invade Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
from Gaul. Pompeius attempts to raise an army in southern Italy, but is forced to retreat with the army to Greece. Caesar continually points to his efforts to reach an accommodation with Pompeius, and attempts to portray Pompeius as a jealous man only interested in perpetuating a rule in which he and his inner circle control the Republic.
Caesar and his army follow Pompeius across the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
to Greece after a mop up operation in Italy and in Spain. In Greece Pompeius initially has the stronger position with more troops controls many of the strategic areas. Caesar writes a lengthy monologue about the superiority of his army of elite veterans of the pacification of Gaul
Gallic Wars
The Gallic Wars were a series of military campaigns waged by the Roman proconsul Julius Caesar against several Gallic tribes. They lasted from 58 BC to 51 BC. The Gallic Wars culminated in the decisive Battle of Alesia in 52 BC, in which a complete Roman victory resulted in the expansion of the...
, and dismisses Pompeius' tactics and the strength of his army. He points out that Pompeius' army was drawn largely from the provinces and was poorly trained. After Caesar successfully outmanoeuvred Pompeius's army in the eastern Balkans, Pompeius and his army gradually fall back into Macedonia
Macedonia (Roman province)
The Roman province of Macedonia was officially established in 146 BC, after the Roman general Quintus Caecilius Metellus defeated Andriscus of Macedon, the last Ancient King of Macedon in 148 BC, and after the four client republics established by Rome in the region were dissolved...
. Caesar then writes another monologue portraying Pompeius as a coward because of his refusal to make a stand against Caesar, whose army was beginning to have supply problems, and pointed to Scipio as the primary obstacle to peace. Caesar describes Scipio as maniacal and untrustworthy but weak villain concerned only with destroying Caesar. Scipio raises a personal army of his own from his provinces in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
and moves to reinforce Pompeius.
The book climaxes with the Battle of Pharsalus
Battle of Pharsalus
The Battle of Pharsalus was a decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War. On 9 August 48 BC at Pharsalus in central Greece, Gaius Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the republic under the command of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus...
in June of 48. The lengthy battle and siege resulted in a decisive victory by Caesar's army. Pompeius and his cohorts flee to other areas of the Republic in an attempt to reverse their fortunes. Caesar then leads his army across the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
in pursuit of Pompeius, who had landed in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. There Pompeius was murdered, according to Caesar, by the Egyptians. Caesar ends the book with an epilogue on the Egyptians' lack of justification for killing Pompeius. He then proceeds to explain his reasoning for occupying Egypt with his army, using a succession crisis among the Egyptian royal family as his pretence. The Egyptians resisted and Caesar seized the Pharos
Pharos
Pharos may refer to:Lighthouses:* The Pharos of Alexandria, a tower built on the island of Pharos that became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World* The Pharos, either of two Roman lighthouses built at Dubris...
. The book ended with the line "Haec initia belli Alexandrini fuerunt." ("These things were the beginning of the Alexandrian war"). The events of the book were followed by the books Alexandrian
De Bello Alexandrino
De Bello Alexandrino is a Latin work continuing Julius Caesar's commentaries, De Bello Gallico and De Bello Civili. It details Caesar's campaigns in Alexandria and Asia. Though normally collected and bound with Caesar's authentic writings, the authorship of the work has been debated since antiquity...
, African
De Bello Africo
De Bello Africo is part of the Caesarian corpus. Its authorship is disputed, though scholarly consensus has ruled out Julius Caesar as the author...
and Hispanic
De Bello Hispaniensis
De Bello Hispaniensi is a book said to be written by Julius Caesar, though its authorship is heavily disputed. It details Caesar's campaigns on the Iberian Peninsula.-See also:* Commentarii de Bello Gallico...
wars, written most likely by officers of Caesar's armies.
Criticism and revival
Modern historians lament that fact that Caesar omits many important details about the military events, primarily because the book is the only source known to exist for many of the events that occurred in it, but also because it was written from the unique perspective of the most powerful figure in the Republic and one of the most notable generals in human history. Caesar also does not present a neutral picture and at every opportunity distorts the goals and positions of his enemies in favour of his own position, but does so in a subtle manner sometimes difficult to detect.The book was for a time lost, but was rediscovered in Italian city archives in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. The oldest known manuscripts of the commentaries date to the tenth century AD. Parts of the book have remained lost though, with at least sixteen passages known to be missing. Given its much shorter length when compared to Caesar's other works, and its abrupt ending, it is possible that he never finished the work, or that a significant part may still be missing. In 1469 the commentaries was republished in Rome from which most modern copies are now based. In 1809 Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
, Emperor of the French
Emperor of the French
The Emperor of the French was the title used by the Bonaparte Dynasty starting when Napoleon Bonaparte was given the title Emperor on 18 May 1804 by the French Senate and was crowned emperor of the French on 02 December 1804 at the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, in Paris with the Crown of...
, ordered a detailed look at the works of Caesar. Commentarii de Bello Civili, along with his other works were compiled into the Histiore de Jules Cesar, and served as an important history that renewed interest in Caesar. Commentarii de Bello Civili, along with Caesar's other literary works, became staple reading for Latin studies around the world because of the quality and excellent grammar employed by Caesar in his writings.
External links
- At Perseus ProjectPerseus ProjectThe Perseus Project is a digital library project of Tufts University that assembles digital collections of humanities resources. It is hosted by the Department of Classics. It has suffered at times from computer hardware problems, and its resources are occasionally unavailable...
: Caesar's Civil War- De Bello Civili, English translation by William Duncan, ed.; also includes a Latin text edition - Latin only; also includes books 2 and 3.