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Chapter 7 - Taking Sides

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2021

Robert Morstein-Marx
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Barbara
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Summary

The crossing of the Rubicon was not the decisive moment it is typically held to be. The Senate had already issued what was in effect a declaration of war, yet Caesar paused after his entry into Italy and initiated discussion of a settlement which even Cicero thought would take effect. Even after Caesar resumed his march it remained unclear until Pompey’s actual embarkation at Brundisium whether there really was a war on.Despite a long scholarly tradition accepting the tendentious claims of Pompey’s side to represent "the Republic," prosopographical analysis shows that the Senate and the Roman nobility who held such authority therein were both deeply divided, while our sources are unanimous that the ordinary citizens of Rome and Italy, including many equites and local officials, were favorable to Caesar, or at least not disposed to cooperate with the Senate's Final Decree. Cicero himself had not tried very hard to join Pompey in his dash to Brundisium, misled (he said) by his belief that a settlement would come about. Even after Pompey's departure from Italy he was far from resolved upon taking his side, not because of innate indecision but the deep ambiguities of the political situation.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • Taking Sides
  • Robert Morstein-Marx, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Book: Julius Caesar and the Roman People
  • Online publication: 05 August 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108943260.007
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  • Taking Sides
  • Robert Morstein-Marx, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Book: Julius Caesar and the Roman People
  • Online publication: 05 August 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108943260.007
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Taking Sides
  • Robert Morstein-Marx, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Book: Julius Caesar and the Roman People
  • Online publication: 05 August 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108943260.007
Available formats
×