A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

.552 CAESAR.
cordingly, when Pompey came up with Caesar,
who was encamped on the plains of Pharsalus or
Pharsalia, in Thessaly, he offered him battle, which
was readily accepted by Caesar. Their numbers
were very unequal: Pompey had 45,000 footsoldiers and 7000 horse, Caesar 22,000 foot-soldiers
and 1000 horse. The battle, which was fought on
the 9th of August, B. c. 48, according to the old
calendar, ended in the total defeat of Pompey's
army. Pompey fled to the court of Egypt, pursued
by Caesar, but was murdered there before the
latter arrived in the country. [POMPEIUS.]
The battle of Pharsalia decided the fate of the
republic. When news of it reached Rome, various
laws were passed, which conferred in fact supreme
power upon Caesar. Though absent, he was nominated dictator a second time, and that not for
six months or a shorter time, but for a whole year.
He appointed M. Antonius his master of the horse,
and entered upon the office in September of this
year (B. c. 48), so that the commencement and
termination of his dictatorship and consulship did
not coincide, as some modern writers have represented. He was also nominated to the consulship
for the next five years, but this privilege he did
not avail himself of; he was invested, moreover,
with the tribunicial power for life, and with the
right of holding all the comitia for the election of
the magistrates, with the exception of those for
the choice of the plebeian tribunes; and it was for
this reason that no magistrates except the tribunes
of the plebs were elected for the next year, as
Caesar did not return to Rome till September in
B. c. 47
Caesar went to Egypt, as we have already said,
in pursuit of Pompey, and upon his arrival there,
he became involved in a war, which detained him
several months, and gave the remains of the Pompeian party time to rally and to make fresh preparations for continuing the war. The war in Egypt,
usually called the Alexandrine war, arose from
Caesar's resolving to settle the disputes respecting the succession to the kingdom. Caesar determined that Cleopatra, whose fascinations completely won his heart, and her elder brother Ptolemy should reign in common; but as this decision
was opposed by the guardians of the young king,
a war broke out between them and Caesar, in
which he was for some time exposed to great danger on account of the small number of his forces.
But, having received reinforcements, he finally
prevailed, and placed Cleopatra and her younger
brother on the throne, as the elder had perished in
the course of the contest. It was soon after this,
that Cleopatra had a son by Caesar. [CAESARION;
CLEOPATRA.]
After bringing the Alexandrine war to a close,
in the latter end of March, a. c. 47, Caesar marched
through Syria into Pontus in order to attack Pharnaces, the son of the celebrated Mithridates, who
had defeated Cn. Domitius Calvinus, one of Caesar's
legates. This war, however, did not detain him
long; for Pharnaces, venturing to come to an open
battle with the dictator, was utterly defeated, on
the 2nd of August, near Zela. He thence proceeded to Rome, settling the affairs of the provinces
in the way, and arrived in the capital in September. As the year of his dictatorship was nearly
expiring, he caused himself to be appointed to the
dignity again for a year, and he nominated
M. Aemilius Lepidus his master of the horse.

CAESAR.

His third dictatorship consequently begins before
the termination of the year 47. The property
of Pompey and of several others of the aristocracy was now confiscated and sold by public
auction. That he might the more easily reward his own friends, the dictator increased the
number of praetors and of the members of the
priestly colleges, and also introduced a great number of his partizans into the senate. For the remainder of this year he elevated Q. Fufius Calenus
and P. Vatinius to the consulship, but he caused
himself and his master of the horse, M. Aemilius
Lepidus to be elected consuls for the next year. It
was during this time that he quelled a formidable
mutiny of his troops which had broken out in
Campania.
Caesar did not remain in Rome more than two
or three months. With his usual activity and
energy, he set out to Africa before the end of the
year (B. c. 47), in order to carry on the war against
Scipio and Cato, who had collected a large army
in that country. Their forces were far greater
than Caesar could bring against them at present;
but he was well aware of the advantage which
a general has in acting on the offensive, and
had too much reliance on his own genius to be
alarmed by mere disparity of numbers. At the
commencement of the campaign, however, Caesar
was in considerable difficulties; but, having been
joined by some of his other legions, he was able to
prosecute the campaign with more vigour, and finally
brought it to a close by the battle of Thapsus, on
the 6th of April, B. c. 46, in which the Pompeian
army was completely defeated. Cato, finding himself unable to defend Utica, put an end to his own
life. The other towns in Africa submitted to the
conqueror, and Caesar was thus able to be in Rome
again by the latter end of July, according to the
old calendar.
Caesar was now the undisputed master of the
Roman world. As he drew near to Rome, great
apprehensions were entertained by his enemies
lest, notwithstanding his former clemency, he should
imitate Marius and Sulla, and proscribe all his
opponents. But these fears were perfectly groundless. A love of cruelty was no part of Caesar's
nature; and, with a magnanimity which victors
rarely shew, and least of all those in civil wars, he
freely forgave all who had borne arms against him,
and declared that he should make no difference
between Pompeians and Caesarians. His object
was now to allay animosities, and to secure the
lives and property of all the citizens- of his new
kingdom. As soon as the news of his African victory reached Rome, and before he himself arrived
there, a public thanksgiving of forty days was decreed in his honour, and the dictatorship was bestowed upon him for ten years, and the censorship,
under the new title of "Praefectus Morum," for
three years. Caesar had never yet enjoyed a triumph; and, as he had now no further enemies to
meet, lie availed himself of the opportunity of celebrating his victories in Gaul, Egypt, Pontus, and
Africa by four magnificent triumphs. None of
these, however, were in honour of his successes in
the civil war; and consequently his African triumph was to commemorate his victory over Juba,
and not over Scipio and Cato. These triumphs
were followed by largesses of corn and money to
the people and the soldiers, by public banquets,
and all sorts of entertainments. Never before had