Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great were two of the greatest generals Rome had ever produced. Together they had brought vast stretches of territory under Roman dominion. In 49 BC they turned against each other and plunged Rome into civil war. Legion was pitched against legion in a vicious battle for political domination of the vast Roman world. Based on original sources, Adrian Goldsworthy provides a gripping account of this desperate power struggle. The armies were evenly matched but in the end Caesar's genius as a commander and his great good luck brought him victory in 45 BC.
Introduction: The Roman Republic and its growing problems
Chapter 1. Background to war: The First Triumvirate
Chapter 2. Warring sides: Legion against legion
Chapter 3. Outbreak: Crossing the Rubicon
Chapter 4. The fighting: Civil War
Chapter 5. Portrait of a soldier: Caesar’s centurions
Chapter 6. The world around war: A Mediterranean war
Chapter 7. Portrait of a civilian: Cicero and the Civil War
Chapter 8. How the war ended: The Ides of March
Chapter 9. Conclusion and consequences: Civil wars and the end of the Republic