Second ROMAN civil war
The Second Roman Civil War began on January 10, 49 BC. c and confronted Julius Caesar and Pompey with the aim of achieving control of the Roman Republic. At unProfesor we offer you a complete summary of this historical event.
The passage from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire It is one of the most important and interesting events in ancient history. This change was caused by various factors, but one of the most important was the victory of Julius Caesar in the Second Roman Civil War. To know this event in depth it is important to talk about this key conflict in Roman history, and therefore in this lesson from a Teacher we offer you a summary of the second roman civil war knowing, also, its causes and consequences.
Index
- Causes of the Second Roman Civil War
- Summary of the Second Roman Civil War
- Consequences of the Second Roman Civil War
Causes of the Second Roman Civil War.
The beginning of the causes that led to the Second Roman Civil War can be found in the
59 a. C., being the year in which Julius Caesar reached the consul position. Caesar's government brought enormous changes to Roman society, but angered the Optimate camp, who believed that the reforms benefited the lower classes too much.In that position, Cesar looked for collaborators who could help him maintain power, being his allies in this case. Pompey and Crassus. The three reached an agreement by which they would help each other informally to be able to occupy the great positions of the state on a rotating basis, in what was called the First Triumvirate.
Thanks to these agreements, Caesar began the Gaul campaign, in which he achieved enormous wealth, worrying Optimates because of her growing popularity and wealth. At this time, the senators began to say that Caesar was betraying the republic with his actions, and they began to strongly support Pompey, considering that he was the only one who could stop him.
Shortly after, the triumvirate ended, since Crassus died on a campaign in Parthia and Julia, wife of Pompey and daughter of Julius Caesar, she died, ending the good relationship between both. It was at this moment that Julius Caesar set his eyes on Rome, beginning his campaign from Gaul.
In this other lesson we discover how the first roman civil war and also him origin of the Roman Empire.
Summary of the Second Roman Civil War.
On January 10, 49 BC. c. The so-called Second Roman Civil War begins that he faced the troops of Julius Caesar against Pompey for control of the Roman Republic. The starting point of the war was the passage of Caesar's troops across the Rubicon River, since it was prohibited to enter Rome with legions.
In the first moment, Julius Caesar's advance was total, reaching Rome with hardly any opposition. For this reason Pompey escaped from the capital of the republic, marching towards southern Italy, from where he would escape to Greece to try to increase his troops.
A few months later, Julius Caesar went to Hispania, where Pompey had a greater number of faithful. The idea of the Roman soldier was to cut off all possible support from Pompey, being able to eliminate any kind of ally that he could get. In less than a month, Julius Caesar achieved the surrender of Pompey's troops in Hispania, without shedding a single drop of blood.
After that, Julius marched towards Greece to confront Pompey and the bulk of his army, achieving an important victory in the Battle of Pharsalia. After this defeat, Pompey had to escape to Egypt, seeking support from the region, but he was assassinated by Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII.
After the death of Pompey, the war became very difficult for Julius Caesar, who only had to defeat the remains of Pompey's troops. Therefore, after defeating Cato the Younger in Thapso, and Pompey's sons in Hispania, we can say that he achieved victory in the war.
The Second Roman Civil War ends in 45 BC. c. with Caesar's victory.
Consequences of the Second Roman Civil War.
To finish this summary of the Second Roman Civil War, we must talk about the main consequences that brought the end of this war conflict, this being key to understanding the relevance it had for Roman history.
The consequences of the Second Roman Civil War were the following:
- Rome changed its calendar, moving to what is known as the Julian calendar. Also in honor of Julius Caesar, the month known as July was born.
- Caesar gave Roman citizenship to numerous Hispanic and Gallic provinces. This scared the Romans, as they considered it ended Roman tradition.
- Caesar increased the number of senators and high officials, allowing the inclusion of people from the provinces outside Rome in the Senate.
- He distributed the lands among the lower classes, in addition to changing taxes and allowing people from other provinces to have a law similar to that of the Romans.
- Julius Caesar began to have anti-republican behavior, performing actions that seemed similar to those of the ancient kings of Rome. This made part of the Senate fear that the dictator could end the republic and become monarch.
- Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators, some of whom were his allies, and it is said that the reason they murdered him was to save the republic from Caesar's tyranny.
- Caesar's successors were Octavian, Mark Antony and Lepidus. These formed the so-called Second Triumvirate and faced Caesar's assassins in the Third Roman Civil War.
- Octavian, later known as August, was named the first emperor of Rome, thereby ending the Republic and giving rise to the birth of the Roman Empire.
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Bibliography
- Mera, J. M. (1998). Hispanic cities before the Civil War. Space Time and Form. Series II, Ancient History, (11).
- Kovaliov, S. YO. (2007). History of Rome (Vol. 142). Akal Editions.
- Wiseman, T. Q. (1994). Caesar, Pompey and Rome, 59–50 BC. The Cambridge Ancient History, 9, 368-423.