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Caesar's Civil War: 49–44 BC (Osprey
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E S S E N T I A L H I S TO R I E S
EH
EH
CAESAR’S
CIVIL WAR
49–44 bc
Ad ri a n Gol dswor thy
ESS-layout.Caesar's civil War.v14.indd 1 11/08/2022 14:40

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In reference to the image on page 75: Istenič, Janka,
ROMAN MILITARY EQUIPMENT FROM THE RIVER
LJUBLJANICA. Typology, Chronology and Technology.
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CO N T E N T S
PRO L O GUE 5
I N TRODUCT ION 9
B ACK GROUN D TO WA R 18
The First Triumvirate
WA R RIN G SIDES 30
Legion against legion
OU TB R EA K 39
Crossing the Rubicon
THE FIG H T ING 50

Civil War
T H E WOR L D A ROUN D WAR 92

A Mediterranean war
HOW T H E WA R ENDED 104

The Ides of March
C O N CL USION A ND CON SEQ U ENCES 115

Civil wars and the end of the Republic
C HRON OL OGY 134
G LO S SA RY 137
F U RTH ER R EA DIN G 140
A B OUT T H E A UT H OR 142
IN D E X 1 43

PRO LOGU E
Julius Caesar remains famous to this day, even though

the Classics no longer play much role in education. He
is remembered as a statesman, as a great soldier, as the
lover of Cleopatra, and because of Shakespeare’s play
(even though he is murdered early in Act 3 and the
real tragic hero of the play is Brutus). Journalists use
expressions like ‘Crossing the Rubicon’, ‘The die is cast’,
or ‘The Ides of March’, confident that the references will
be sufficiently understood to make their point. All three
refer to moments covered in this book.
Caesar was widely considered the most successful
commander in Rome’s history, with Pliny the Elder
noting that he fought and won more battles than
anyone else, although also lamenting the heavy death
toll resulting from his campaigns. Yet like all Roman
commanders until Late Antiquity, Caesar was not a full-
time soldier, but a politician following a career in public
life that brought him civil as well as military posts. In
his youth he spent little time with the army, although
he managed to win an award for bravery, the corona
civica, in his late teens and gave hints of immense self-
confidence. At the age of 39 he was appointed to govern
one of Rome’s Spanish provinces and from then on until
his death in his 56th year, his life was dominated by OPPOSITE
warfare in way that had never been true before. Thus, the This bust from
battles Pliny mentions were all fought in this last period Tusculum is
of his life and it was then that he forged his reputation as probably the most
a military genius. Hindsight means that we do not find accurate depiction
any of this surprising, but like Alexander or Napoleon of Caesar in later
or Lee we come to his campaigns expecting to see signs life. Many of the
later images of
of immense talent and knowing that as military leaders Caesar tended to
these men were special. At the time, Romans, and idealise his features.
especially other senators, had no reason to expect that (Adam Eastland Ar t
Caesar would overrun Gaul so rapidly. Even after this, + Architecture /
they may have wondered whether Caesar and his army Alamy Stock Photo)

6 CAESAR’S CIVIL WAR 49–44 bc
would match up so well against disciplined opponents,

let alone against the proven talent of Pompey. Whatever
their feelings about Caesar and his cause, relatively few
senators shared Caelius Rufus’ opinion that he had the
better army and was much more likely to win. Far more
of them placed their trust in Pompey’s record, and, after
his death, in the prestige of the remaining commanders,
or preferred to remain neutral.
Caesar was not simply a great general, but a
remarkably fluent writer and it is well known that the
bulk of our evidence for his campaigns comes from his
own Commentaries. (In the case of the Civil Wars, we are
a little better off as from the end of 48 bc the accounts of
the remainder of the conflict were written by others after
Caesar’s death, albeit by men who had served under him
and were admirers). Many generals would surely envy
this, although few men of action have matched Caesar’s
skill with words – Churchill is an obvious exception,
but there are not many others. Overtly dispassionate,
referring to himself in the third person, and often vague
about his own activities, allowing readers – or at the
time often listeners, since books were expensive and
public readings common – to imagine for themselves
appropriately heroic actions, the Commentaries
combine pacy storytelling with self-serving propaganda.
Whatever the details, the overwhelming impression is
that when Caesar was present – or his influence most
obviously felt – the right decisions were made and his
men fought with an unsurpassed skill and heroism as
true Romans. That critics of individual decisions or of
OPPOSITE Caesar’s generalship more widely have found plenty
A coin minted during of ammunition in his own narrative, let alone reading
Caesar’s dictatorship, between the lines of his account, highlights its essential
showing him wearing honesty, but also its subtlety. Allowing the reader to see
the laurel wreath of apparent misjudgements only reinforces the overall sense
a triumphing general.
The right to wear
of immense ability and the undoubted ultimate success.
this on all public However we judge Caesar as a commander, the
occasions helped to simple truth remains that he did keep winning, and that
conceal his receding setbacks like Dyrrachium did not turn into catastrophic
hairline. (akg-images) defeats. He never lost a war, and his ultimate failure

Prologue 7

was political, misreading the mood of the senators who

conspired against him. The campaigns described in this
book were all civil wars, with the exception of the Zela
campaign and Alexandria, although there many of his
opponents were former Roman soldiers in service of the
Ptolemies. Civil war plagued Rome’s Republic from 88
to 31 bc, as it would later plague the Roman Empire
from the 3rd century ad until the final collapse in the
West in ad 476. The impact of these Roman against
Roman clashes on the development of the army is rarely
considered, so it is worth reminding ourselves that the
last five years of Caesar’s life, and many of his hardest
campaigns, were waged against armies led by men he
knew well, following the same doctrines and tactics.
Hard though it for us to take in, almost none of
Rome’s civil wars was fought over matters of ideology.
The war following Caesar’s death is a partial exception,
even though Brutus and Cassius quickly started to
behave just like the other warlords of the era, bribing
their men to keep their loyalty. These were conflicts
about personal prestige and power, and, as Pliny noted,
they caused immense suffering. Large parts of the
Mediterranean world were plundered as the rival armies
faced off against each other. Caesar felt justified fighting
the war to protect his honour and status – they wanted
it, as he declared after Pharsalus. At the same time those
opponents saw their own determination to end his
career as equally justified. Yet many of those caught up
in the conflict had little choice in the matter. Militarily
the war is interesting because of the wide variety of
situations it created, and the relentless, aggressive and
flexible way that it was fought, especially by Caesar.
Politically it mattered, because Caesar’s victory and
subsequent murder set the scene for the rise of the man
who would become Caesar Augustus and create a regime
that established the rule of emperors and did so much to
shape Western culture.

IN T RO D U C T I O N
The Roman Republic and its

growing problems
Although originally a monarchy, Rome had become a
Republic near the end of the 6th century bc. Such political
revolutions were commonplace in the city-states of the
ancient world, but after this Rome proved remarkably
stable, free from the often violent internal disputes
that constantly beset other communities. Gradually at
first, the Romans expanded their territory, and by the
beginning of the 3rd century bc they controlled virtually
all of the Italian peninsula. Conflict with Carthage, which
began in 265 (all dates are bc unless stated otherwise) and
continued sporadically until that city was utterly destroyed
in 146, resulted in the acquisition of overseas provinces.
By this time Rome dominated the entire Mediterranean
world, having defeated with ease the successor kingdoms
which had emerged from the break-up of Alexander the
Great’s empire.
Roman expansion continued, and time and time
again its legions were successful in foreign wars, never
losing a conflict even if they sometimes suffered defeat
in individual battles. Yet, the stability and unity of
purpose which had so characterised Roman political life
for centuries began to break down. Politicians started
to employ violent means to achieve their ends, the
disputes escalating until they became civil wars fought
on a massive scale. A succession of charismatic military
leaders emerged, men able to persuade their soldiers to
fight other Romans. In 49 Julius Caesar, faced with the
choice between being forced out of politics altogether or
starting a civil war, invaded Italy. His success effectively
tolled the death knell of the Republican political system,
for after his victory he established himself as sole ruler
of the Roman world. Caesar was murdered because his
power was too blatant, and the assassination returned

Rome to another period of civil war, which ended

only when Caesar’s nephew and adopted son Octavian
defeated his last rival in 31. It was left to Octavian, later
given the name Augustus, to create the regime known as
the Principate, a monarchy in all but name, returning
stability to Rome and its empire at the cost of a loss of
political freedom.
The Roman republican system was intended to
prevent any individual or group within the state from
gaining overwhelming and permanent power. The
Republic’s senior executive officers or magistrates, the
most senior of whom were the two consuls, held power
(imperium) for a single year, after which they returned
to civilian life. A mixture of custom and law prevented
any individual being elected to the same office in
successive years, or at a young age, and in fact it was
rare for the consulship to be held more than twice
by any man. Former magistrates, and the pick of the
wealthiest citizens in the state formed the Senate, a
permanent council which advised the magistrates and
also supervised much of the business of government,
for instance, despatching and receiving embassies. The
Senate also chose the province (which at this period still
meant sphere of responsibility and only gradually was
acquiring fixed geographical associations) to be allocated
to each magistrate, and could extend the imperium of a
man within the same province for several years.
Roman politics was fiercely competitive, as senators
OPPOSITE
pursued a career that brought them both civil and military
Unlike Caesar, responsibilities, sometimes simultaneously. It was very
Augustus was not rare for men standing for election to advocate any specific
a great general. policies, and there was nothing in any way equivalent
However, he had the to modern political parties within the Senate. Each
knack of finding able aristocrat instead tried to represent himself as a capable
subordinates and man, ready to cope with whatever task the Republic
making sure their
required of him, be it leading an army or building
success was attributed
to him. (Photo By an aqueduct. Men paraded their past achievements
DEA / A. DAGLI and – since often before election they personally had
ORTI/De Agostini via done little – the achievements of past generations of
Getty Images) their family. Vast sums of money were lavished on the

electorate, especially in the form of games, gladiator

shows, feasts and the building of great monuments. This
gave great advantages to a small core of established and
exceptionally wealthy families who as a result tended
to dominate the senior magistracies. In the 1st century
there were eight praetorships (senior magistracies of
lower ranking than consulships), and even more of the
less senior posts, but still only ever two consulships. This
meant that the majority of the 600 senators would never
achieve this office. The higher magistracies and most of
all the consulship offered the opportunity for the greatest
responsibilities and therefore allowed men to achieve the
greatest glory, which enhanced their family name for the
future. The consuls commanded in the most important
wars, and in Rome military glory always counted for
more than any other achievement. The victor in a great
war was also likely to profit from it financially, taking a
large share of the booty and the profits from the mass
enslavement of captured enemies. Each senator strove
to serve the Republic in a greater capacity than all his
contemporaries. The propaganda of the Roman elite
is filled with superlatives, each man striving to achieve
bigger and better deeds than anyone else, and special
credit was attached to being the first person to perform
an act or defeat a new enemy. Aristocratic competition
worked to the Republic’s advantage for many generations,
for it provided a constant supply of magistrates eager to
win glory on the state’s behalf.
However, in the late 2nd century bc the system
began to break down. Rome had expanded rapidly, but
the huge profits of conquest had not been distributed
evenly, so a few families benefited enormously. The gap
between the richest and poorest in the Senate widened,
and the most wealthy were able to spend lavishly to
promote their own and their family’s electoral success.
It became increasingly expensive to pursue a political
career, a burden felt as much by members of very old
but now modestly wealthy families as by those outside
the political elite. Such men could only succeed by
borrowing vast sums of money, hoping to repay these

Introduction 13
debts once they achieved the highest offices. The risk Underneath the
of failure, which would thus bring financial as well as palace of the
political ruin, could make such men desperate. At the Emperor Domitian
on the Palatine Hill
same time men from the richest and most prestigious
lies a 1st century
families saw opportunities to have even more bc house. A good
distinguished careers than their ancestors by flouting deal of politics took
convention and trying to build up massive blocks of place in aristocrats’
supporters. Both types were inclined to act as populares, houses. (Author)
an abusive term employed by critics to signify men who
appealed to the poorer citizens for support by promising
them entertainment, subsidised or free food, or grants
of land. The popularis was an outsider, operating beyond
the bounds of and with methods unattractive to the well-
established senators. It was a very risky style of politics,
but one which potentially offered great opportunities.
In 133 a radical tribune – the ten tribunes of the plebs
were magistrates without military responsibilities who
were supposed to protect the interests of the people
– from one of the most prestigious families, Tiberius

Sempronius Gracchus, was lynched by a mob of senators

when he tried to gain re-election to a second year of
office. In 121, his brother Caius, who pursued an even
more radical agenda, was killed by his opponents in
something that came close to open fighting in the very
centre of Rome. Yet a small number of men began to
have previously unimaginable electoral success, as many
of the old precedents restricting careers were broken.
From 104 to 100, a successful general named Caius
Marius was elected to five successive consulships.
In the same period the conversion of the Roman
army into a professional force fundamentally altered
its relationship with the rest of society. Until this
time the legions had been militia forces, all citizens
who possessed a certain property qualification being
obliged to serve when called upon by the Republic.
The wealthiest, able to provide themselves with a horse
and the necessary equipment, served as cavalry, the

Introduction 15
moderately well off as heavy infantry, the poorer as light The Sacra Via ran
infantry and the poorest rarely served at all. In a real through the hear t
sense the army represented a cross-section of Roman of the Forum
Romanum and was
society under arms. For these men service in the army the route for a
was not a career but a duty to the Republic. As men of triumph. The Temple
property – most were farmers – they easily returned to of the Divine Julius,
civilian life after each period of service. However, as visible on the
the empire expanded, wars tended to last longer and left, was erected
be fought further away, while there was a growing need near the place
for permanent garrisons to protect conquered territory. where Caesar was
cremated. (Author)
A decade of service in a garrison in one of the Spanish
provinces could well mean ruination for the owner of
a small farm. Service became increasingly unpopular
and the eventual solution was to turn to men willing
to make the army their profession. A soldier’s pay was
low, the conditions of his service extremely harsh, and
a military career tended only to be attractive to the
poorest citizens, who in the past had not been obliged

THE ROMAN WORLD IN 50 BC
ESS-layout.Caesar's civil War.v14.indd 16

Placentia Po Aquileia
Mutina Bononia REGNUM
GALLIA BOSPORI
CISALPINE Ravenna
on
ILL
bic
Massilia GAUL Ariminum YR
Ru IC
R
UM
Narbo Perusia
RIO
ris
TE
Ebro ITALIA Scodra
CI
Corfinium
Sico
Ilerda CORSICA
Roma Philippi
IA
Lissus
Brundisium
AN
Capua Dyrrhachium PONTUS
HI
Tarraco
SP
Apollonia Thessalonica
SP
Tarentum Zela
HI
Oricum BITHYNIA
NI
AN
THESSALIA
IA
SARDINIA Corcyra
EPIRUS Pergamum
UL
Pharsalus GALATIA
TE
Actium
L U S ITA
IO
Sardis CAPPADOCIA
R
is Patrae
Baet Corduba Lilybaeum SICILIA Athens Ephesus Zeugma
Hispalis Corinth Tarsus
Munda Utica
CILICIA
Gades das Xanthus Antioch
Bagra Hadrumetum
NUMIDIA AFRICA
Ruspina Leptis SYRIA
Thapsus
MAURETANIA
Tyre
Alexandria Pelusium
AEGYPTUS
0 100 miles
Regions loyal to Pompey in late 50 BC
N il u s
0 200 km Regions loyal to Caesar in late 50 BC
11/08/2022 14:41
Introduction 17
to serve. Such men proved excellent soldiers, but when

the war ended and their legion was disbanded they had
nothing to return to in civilian life. The Senate refused
to acknowledge this change, maintaining that military
us service was a duty requiring no formal reward, and
made no provision to provide for discharged soldiers.
Individual commanders began to demand land for their
veteran soldiers, wanting to settle them in colonies on
conquered territory. Soldiers started to become more
loyal to generals who offered such rewards than to the
Republic which neglected them.
The rise of the professional army was probably the
most important of the problems besetting the Republic
with which the Senate failed to deal, but it was by no
means the only one. Italy’s economy and society had
been profoundly changed by Roman expansion and
the influx of huge numbers of slaves. The population
of Rome itself had swollen to 1,000,000 by the end of
the 1st century bc, a high proportion of them without
steady employment. Popularis politicians who tried to
address the problems of dispossessed farmers or the
urban or rural poor were sure of winning support. All
of these factors produced a dangerous instability. In
88 the consul Publius Cornelius Sulla led his legions
to seize power in Rome when Marius tried to seize
Regions loyal to Caesar in late 50 BC
the command allocated to him. Civil war followed,

leading to Sulla eventually becoming dictator for more
than a year. After this, stability never really returned
to the Republic for more than very brief periods,
as attempted coups, political violence and civil war
followed each other with monotonous regularity.
Sulla was a member of an old aristocratic family that
had fallen on hard times, and had to use extreme
methods to achieve the distinguished position within
the Republic that he felt his birth warranted. There
were several other men from similar backgrounds
200 km
who acted in a similar way, and the most successful of

these was Caius Julius Caesar.
0

B AC K GROU N D TO WA R
The First Triumvirate
For nearly two years Sulla ruled as dictator with absolute

power and only laid this down when he went into
voluntary retirement. Before he did so, Sulla attempted
to restore the Senate’s position within the Republic,
confirming its traditional powers and filling it with his
supporters. He passed a law that was intended to prevent
army commanders from following his own example
and using their legions outside their own provinces
without permission. The career pattern (cursus honorum)
followed by Roman senators was also to be regulated
more closely. The Republic was not to be dominated by
a few individuals, but guided by the collective wisdom
OPPOSITE of the 600 senators.
Pompey was
Caesar’s ally in
Sulla’s reforms were reactionary, impractical and
59 bc ; the bond weakened by the example of his own rise to power,
strengthened when so that many Romans did not consider them to be
he married Caesar’s legitimate. Most importantly Sulla had failed to do
daughter. Her death, anything to cater for the demands of the army on a
and the death of permanent basis, so that discharged soldiers continued
Crassus, weakened to have no source of livelihood and were therefore still
the alliance and
contributed to the
inclined to follow any commander who promised them
Civil War. (Photo land. The chaos of the civil war and the rapid collapse
by PHAS/Universal of the Sullan constitution fostered a continuation of
Images Group via political disorder and eventually the renewal of open
Getty Images) war in 49. This period also had a profound influence

on the careers and attitudes of the main protagonists in

49–45. Caesar himself first rose to prominence during
Sulla’s dictatorship, narrowly avoiding execution by the
dictator when he publicly celebrated his relation by
marriage to Marius at a family funeral.
However, a far more dramatic role was played
by Cnaeus Pompey, who in 83 came to the support
of Sulla at the head of three legions raised from his
family’s estates and veterans who had served under his
late father, Pompeius Strabo (‘squinty’). At the time
Pompey was only 23 and, having never held public
office, had no legal authority on which to base his
power. Fighting with distinction in Italy, Sicily and
north Africa, Pompey was granted the title Magnus
(‘The Great’) by Sulla, though this may have been
more than a little ironic. After Sulla’s retirement,
the Senate continued to employ the services of this
private citizen and his personal army to suppress an
attempted coup in Italy in 78 and then to fight the last
of Marius’ adherents in Spain. Employing Pompey,
rather than a legally appointed magistrate under their
control, set an exceptionally bad precedent. Probably
the Senate felt that, since Pompey and his legions
existed, it was better to use him than risk his turning
against them.
In 71 Pompey returned victorious from Spain, and
decided to stand for the consulship for the following
year. He was too young, and had held none of the
normally required junior magistracies, but he kept
his legions outside the city as a scarcely veiled threat.
Marcus Licinius Crassus, who had just returned
from suppressing Spartacus’s slave rebellion, took the
opportunity to retain his own army and in turn declared
himself a candidate for the consulship. Crassus was
exceptionally wealthy, his fortune based originally on
property confiscated from Sulla’s executed opponents.
The Senate was forced to permit their candidature and
the Roman people, who were on the whole well disposed
to both men after their successes, duly elected Pompey
and Crassus as consuls for 70. Thus Pompey at the age

Background to War 21
of 36 entered the Senate directly as a consul, an utterly

unprecedented action. His military record was already
spectacular, but, given his age, he clearly expected to be
given further important tasks.
Since Sulla’s reforms, a magistrate remained in Rome
itself during his year of office. He was then appointed as
a promagistrate to govern a province. Former consuls, or
proconsuls, were sent to the most important provinces
while former praetors, or propraetors, went to the less
significant areas. The appointment as governor was
normally made for a year, but could, if the Senate
chose, be renewed for additional 12-month periods at
the end of this time. As governor, the promagistrate
possessed supreme military and civil power within his
province, dispensing legal decisions or leading an army
as the situation required. He could not be recalled or
prosecuted until his term of office expired. A governor’s
powers (or imperium) lapsed as soon as he re-entered
Rome and he became a private citizen again, simply
one senator among many. The Senate had traditionally
chosen the provinces for each new political year,
although individual magistrates were then normally
allocated a task by lot. In 88 Marius had arranged for
a popular vote giving him the command in the Asian
War, a move which prompted Sulla’s march on Rome.
In 67 Pompey employed the same method of a vote in
the People’s Assembly (concilium plebis) to give him a
wide-ranging command against the pirates plaguing the
Mediterranean. A combination of careful organisation,
massive resources, and a willingness to accept the
surrender of pirate communities and resettle them
elsewhere, allowed Pompey to achieve victory in under
two months. In 66 another law was passed by the people
sending Pompey to Asia to fight against Mithridates
of Pontus. This meant that the existing commander
in this war, Lucullus, who had achieved great success,
was replaced in spite of the Senate’s desire to leave him
in charge. Since the war was virtually over before he
arrived, it took little time for Pompey to complete the
defeat of Mithridates, who committed suicide when his

own son turned against him. Pompey then proceeded

to campaign throughout the near east, for instance,
intervening in a domestic squabble between the kings
of Judaea. After a three-month siege, Pompey took
Jerusalem. He and his officers went into the Holy of
Holies in the Great Temple, although they declined to
take any of its treasures. This was a great propaganda
success, the Roman aristocracy always striving to be the
first to do any spectacular deed. As well as his military
operations, Pompey carried out extensive administrative
reform of the east. Provincial boundaries were altered,
cities founded or refounded with new constitutions and
relations with client kingdoms regulated. Many aspects
of his settlement would endure for over 500 years.
Pompey had acquired so much glory and plunder
on his campaigns that he had no serious rival within the
Senate, and there was growing fear of what he would do
when he returned to Italy. Many wondered whether he
might copy Sulla and seize absolute power by force. In
fact, Pompey behaved in a manner that was scrupulously
correct, disbanding his army almost as soon as it had
landed in Brundisium, and returning to Rome to
celebrate an especially lavish triumph. He seems to have
simply wanted to take his place as one of the Senate’s
most important members, but he also had two immediate
political objectives. The first was to gain formal approval
for all of his reforms in the eastern provinces. The second OPPOSITE
was to secure grants of land for the soldiers who had served Sulla was the
first Roman to
him so well. In spite of his tremendous prestige, and in part lead his legions
because he had spent so much time on campaign and so against Rome
little at Rome, Pompey was a poor politician. His speech itself. As dictator
in the Senate fell flat, and he did not seem to know how to he ruthlessly
use his great reputation and wealth to achieve his ends. He slaughtered his
was opposed, most notably by Crassus, who was jealous enemies. Caesar’s
of Pompey’s prestige; Lucullus, who resented having been clemency was a
deliberate attempt
superseded in the command against Mithridates; and to show that he was
Cato the Younger, who disliked the revolutionary nature different. (Photo
of Pompey’s career and was reluctant to see him prosper. by CM Dixon/Print
Time and again this opposition thwarted any attempt to Collector/Getty
ratify Pompey’s settlement or grant land to his veterans. Images)

Roman public life The impasse dragged on for nearly two years and was
was focused around finally resolved in a manner that astounded most senators.
the Forum in the In 60 Julius Caesar returned from Further Spain,
hear t of the city. As where he had served as a propraetorian governor and
pontifex maximus,
Caesar lived in the
campaigned with success against local tribes. Six years
official residence or younger than Pompey, Caesar’s career had been fairly
Regia on the right. conventional up to this point, although his lavish
(Author) spending on games and public feasting, combined with
his rakish lifestyle, had won him numerous political
enemies. Having won the right to celebrate a triumph,
Caesar hoped this honour would permit him to win
the consulship for 59. However, candidates had to
present themselves for election in the city itself, and
a general, still in command of the troops who would
march in procession behind his chariot during the

triumph, was not permitted to enter Rome until the

day of the ceremony. Unable to gain an exemption,
Caesar gave up his right to a triumph, dismissed his
troops, and entered the city as a civilian. Thwarted, his
opponents arranged for one of the consular provinces
for the next year to be the supervision of the forests
and country paths of Italy, a command without any
troops or opportunities for profit and glory.
Around this time Caesar made approaches to
both Crassus and Pompey and managed to reconcile
them. Together the three men formed a secret political
alliance, which is known by historians as the First
Triumvirate. To cement the alliance, Pompey married
Caesar’s daughter Julia, a union which, for all its
political inspiration, proved to be a remarkably happy
one. In return for supporting his candidature, Caesar
undertook to gain land for Pompey’s veterans and
to secure the ratification of his Eastern Settlement.
Crassus paid off the massive debts Caesar had incurred
in the promotion of his career, and gained a secure place
as one of the most powerful men in the state. Caesar
won the election and during his year of office was able
to override his consular colleague, Lucius Calpurnius
Bibulus. On several occasions large numbers of
Pompey’s veterans packed into the forum and voting
assemblies, using threats or actual force to control the
voting. One common joke at the time was that this year
Rome had two consuls – Julius and Caesar. Together
the three members of the triumvirate possessed massive
patronage. Many senators owed them money, especially
Crassus, who was highly skilled in using his fortune
to win influence, and all had to go to the triumvirs if
they wished to secure an appointment to any of the
more senior positions in the army or government. Both
Crassus and Pompey were highly satisfied and, in return,
Caesar was granted a far more important province by
popular vote. A special command consisting of three
normal provinces, Illyricum, Cisalpine Gaul and
Transalpine Gaul (modern-day Provence in southern
France), was allocated to him for five years.

Caesar departed for his province in 58, never to return

to Italy until the beginning of the Civil War. Crassus
had covered his immediate debts, but Caesar was in
great need of money to further his career. Very much the
junior partner in the triumvirate, he also needed military
glory to rival Crassus and, especially, Pompey. At first he
appears to have contemplated a Balkan war against the
Dacian King Burebista, but the news of the migration
of a Gallic tribe towards Transalpine Gaul shifted his
focus away from Illyricum. Over the next years Caesar
campaigned throughout Gaul, twice bridged the Rhine
and marched into Germany, and led two expeditions
across the sea to Britain. That island remained mysterious
to the Romans, and the euphoria over Caesar’s expeditions
could be compared to the excitement that greeted the
moon landing in 1969. Caesar won massive glory during
his Gallic campaigns, and produced his Commentaries,
probably published in annual instalments, to celebrate his
achievements. As well as gaining glory, Caesar became one
of the wealthiest men in the world from plunder and sale
of slaves, hundreds of thousands of whom were captured
during the conflict.
Though unable to leave his province without also laying
down his command, Caesar took care to keep a close
eye on affairs in Rome, and spent every winter as close
as possible, overseeing the administration of Cisalpine
Gaul. He supported a radical politician, Publius Clodius,
a demagogue who employed a gang of political thugs to
OPPOSITE
force his legislation through. Rome had no police force,
Caesar went to
nor was it permitted for troops to be stationed within Gaul heavily in debt.
the city, so the state had no force with which to combat From the plunder
this violence. Clodius passed laws that complemented the and the enslavement
legislation of Caesar’s consulship, but which also attacked of around a million
prominent figures within the Senate. In 58 Marcus Tullius people, he returned
Cicero was forced into exile, a success Clodius celebrated by as one of the richest
men in the Roman
leading a riot which burned down his house. Next Clodius
world. (Photo By
turned his attention to Pompey, a move that presumably DEA PICTURE
was not sanctioned by Caesar. Pompey responded by LIBRARY/De
backing another gang of thugs led by Titus Annius Milo. Agostini via Getty
Running battles were fought in and around Rome as Images)

the city descended into chaos. In 57 Pompey sponsored

a law recalling Cicero. Three days after Cicero’s return,
that is on 7 September, Pompey was given the major
responsibility of overseeing the city’s corn supply and once
again displayed his considerable talents for organisation in
rapidly remedying the situation. His return to the public
eye provoked a renewal of rivalry with Crassus and it was
clear that the triumvirate was coming under strain.
Crassus went to consult Caesar in his province and,
after some cajoling, Pompey travelled to join them in
April 56. In the town of Luca the triumvirs, along with
a hundred or so senators who had accompanied them
to show their goodwill, held a conference in which the
alliance was patched up. Pompey and Crassus would
both stand for the consulship in 55 and, since both
their fame and the presence of a considerable body of
Caesar’s soldiers on leave ensured success, they were able
to arrange matters to the benefit of all three. Caesar’s
command was extended for five years, although there
is some doubt as to precisely when in late 50 or early
49 it was to expire. Pompey received both the Spanish
provinces, but in an unprecedented move was allowed to
remain in Rome and command through subordinates.
Crassus was given Syria, from which he planned to lead
an invasion of Parthia, for it seems that he felt the need
to rival the conquests of his colleagues. Aged almost
60, he was considered rather old for active command
by Roman standards and there were doubts about the
legitimacy of a war with Parthia, but the triumvirs were
too strong for any opposition to stand much chance.
In 54 Julia died in childbirth, and Crassus left to join
the army in Syria. The following year he was defeated by
the Parthians at Carrhae, and then killed when his army was
forced to retreat. In spite of these blows, Pompey appeared
still to consider himself bound to Caesar and in 53 sent
one of his Spanish legions to reinforce Caesar’s army in
Gaul. Rome continued to be plagued by political violence,
as Clodius’ and Milo’s followers clashed with renewed
frenzy. In 52 Clodius was killed and his supporters carried
his body into the Senate House, where they cremated it,

BACKGROUND TO WAR 29
burning the building to the ground in the process. In the

face of anarchy, the Senate appointed Pompey sole consul
and charged him with restoring order, for the first time
permitting troops to guard Rome itself. Milo was put on
trial and forced into exile as order was restored.
Caesar knew that he had many opponents in the
Senate, chief among them Cato the Younger. In spite
of his new wealth and the freedom with which he had
tried to buy support, Caesar knew that a good number
of influential men loathed him, and would not forgive
him for his actions in 59. As a serving magistrate he
was not subject to prosecution, but as soon as his office
expired and he returned to civilian life this protection was
withdrawn. He did not believe that he would receive a fair
trial. During the Gallic campaigns Cato had even once
suggested that he ought to be handed over to the Germans
for war crimes. Defeat would mean exile and the end of The death of
Crassus after
his political career. To avoid this, Caesar wanted to go his defeat by
straight into a second consulship, after which he would the Par thians at
be given another military command, perhaps against Carrhae unbalanced
the Parthians. In this way he could continue to serve the the alliance with
Republic in a distinguished capacity. Pompey. Horse
In 52 Pompey passed a law which stipulated a five-year archers like
interval between a magistracy and a provincial command, this fought in a
fundamentally
although he specifically exempted Caesar in a clause
different way to the
apparently written in his own handwriting. However, legionaries. (Photo
around the same time he married the daughter of Publius by CM Dixon/Print
Metellus Scipio, a known opponent of Caesar. Pressure on Collector/Getty
Caesar mounted, as incoming consuls lobbied to have him Images)
replaced in his province, since the war in Gaul appeared
to be over. Pompey’s attitude appeared increasingly
ambivalent and the extension of his Spanish command
gave him military might to match against Caesar. The
latter was being forced into a corner. He had either to
give up his command and trust to Pompey to protect
him from the inevitable prosecution or to fight.

WA R R I N G S I D E S
Legion against legion
Rome’s civil wars split the state into factions, and the
army with it. Since there were no ethnic, ideological
or social differences between the rival sides, it was
inevitable – even more than in any other civil war – that
the organisation, tactical doctrine and equipment of
their armies was virtually identical. The main strength
of the Roman army lay in the legions, units with a paper
strength of about 5,000. In theory the legions were
recruited only from Roman citizens, but during the civil
wars many non-citizens were enlisted to bolster numbers.
In his Commentaries, Caesar frequently emphasised
the heterogeneous nature of the enemy armies, but he
had himself formed an entire legion, Legio V Alaudae,
from Gauls, only later giving them the franchise as a
reward for distinguished service. Given the dominance
of the Roman military system, some allied kings had
remodelled their armies after the Roman style. King
Juba of Numidia included four legions in his large army,
while Deiotarus of Galatia formed two which would
later be amalgamated and formed into Legio XXII
Deiotariana as a fully fledged part of the Roman army.
In this period a legion consisted entirely of heavy
infantry. It had no permanent commander, but the
practice had evolved of appointing an officer, usually one
of the general’s representatives, or legates, to fulfil this

Warring Sides 31
role. Much of the unit’s administration

was overseen by the six military
tribunes, probably assisted by a small
staff. These were largely equestrians
(the class immediately below the
Senate and possessing similar property)
and at that time many were career
soldiers of considerable experience.
The basic tactical unit of the legion was
the cohort of some 480 men. There
were ten of these in each legion, and
the cohort in turn was subdivided into
six centuries of 80. The century was
led by a centurion, supported by an
optio (second-in-command), signifer
(standard-bearer), and tesserarius (guard
commander). Centurion represented a
grade of officer rather than a specific rank and these men This 1st century
differed greatly in seniority. On several occasions Caesar ad relief from the
mentions rewarding brave centurions by promoting legionary base at

them to a higher grade, often in a newly formed legion Mainz depicts a
legionary with a
that would benefit from having experienced officers. rectangular shield.
One of the six centurions probably acted as commander Shields of this shape
of the cohort, either the man with longest service or the were common
centurion of the senior century, the pilus prior. under the Principate
All legionaries were equipped with the same basic and may already
defensive gear, consisting of a bronze helmet (most often have been in use.
of Montefortino or Coolus patterns), cuirass (usually (Photo © M.C.
Bishop)
mail but sometimes of scale), and a large semi-cylindrical
bodyshield constructed from three layers of plywood to
give it both flexibility and strength. The latter seem most
often to have been oval in shape, but it is possible that
the transition to a more rectangular shape was already
underway. Such shields were heavy – reconstructed
examples have weighed in at 22lbs – but offered good
protection. They could also be used offensively, the
soldier punching forward with all his body weight
behind the shield’s bronze boss. We are told that one
of Caesar’s soldiers, in spite of having his right hand
chopped off almost as soon as he had boarded a warship,

The Coolus-type was able to clear the deck of enemies by knocking them
helmet (the name down with his shield during the fighting off Massila. A
is modern) was one soldier’s other offensive equipment consisted of a short
of the commonest sword, the famed gladius, sometimes a dagger, and a
patterns worn by
legionaries in the
heavy throwing javelin known as the pilum. The pilum
late Republic. Many consisted of a wooden haft about 4 feet long, topped
were cheaply made. by a narrow iron shank 2 feet in length and ending in
(© The Trustees of a pyramid-shaped point. When thrown, all of its great
the British Museum) weight was concentrated behind this small tip, giving it
formidable penetrative power. It was designed so that
once it punched through an enemy’s shield, the slim
iron shank would slide easily through the hole made by
the point and had the reach to wound the man behind.
Soldiers may have carried two pila on campaign, but
only one on the day of battle itself. The doctrine of the
period was to deliver a massed volley at very short range

Warring Sides 33
– some 15 yards or so – and follow this up

with a charge, sword in hand.
Roman legionaries were not simply
soldiers, for many were trained as engineers
or artillerymen. Such men remained with
their cohorts until required, and were then
formed in temporary units to complete a task.
The Civil War would be marked by many
remarkable feats of engineering.
In battle a legion most often formed in
three lines, four cohorts in the first line and
three each in the second and third. Intervals
were maintained between each unit and the
cohorts from the next line stationed to cover
these gaps, creating something resembling
a checkerboard formation. However, since
all cohorts were armed uniformly, the legion
was perfectly capable of fighting effectively in
other formations, and we also hear of armies
in four or two lines, although a single line was
considered too brittle to be employed save in
dire need. The legion was a very flexible force.
Its structure and size made it an important
subunit within the battle line, but one or
several cohorts could as easily be detached for smaller The Kasr el-Harit
operations. As with all armies throughout history, shield was found in
theoretical unit sizes were rarely reflected in the field. Egypt and is almost
At Pharsalus the cohorts of Pompey’s legions averaged cer tainly Roman.
Made from three
around 400 men apiece, while Caesar’s force was little layers of plywood,
more than half that size. Campaign attrition reduced it is remarkably
one of Caesar’s legions to less than 1,000 men during similar to ancient
the Egyptian campaign. descriptions of the
The legions were the mainstay of any army, especially standard legionary
decisive in pitched battles, but both sides supplemented shield. (Photo ©
their numbers with allied soldiers or auxiliaries, Raffaele D’Amato)
fighting in their own traditional style. Such troops were
especially useful in providing cavalry and light infantry.
In most cases they were locally recruited and led by
their own native chieftains. At first Caesar’s auxiliaries
came primarily from the Gallic and German tribes, and

This iron helmet, of Pompey’s from his provinces in Spain and his many
the pattern known clients in the east, but as the war progressed, troops were
today as the Agen recruited wherever possible and the pattern became
type, was one
more complex.
of several Gallic
designs copied by
By the end of the Gallic campaigns, Caesar commanded
the Romans, as well ten legions (numbered V to XIV). Two more, XV and I,
as continuing in the latter on loan from Pompey’s Spanish armies, had been
use with auxiliaries withdrawn earlier in 50 to be sent against the Parthians.
from Gaul. (Swiss The majority of these troops were seasoned veterans, utterly
National Museum, devoted to Caesar and confident in their own and their
A-14037) commander’s ability. In support were bands of excellent
Gallic and German cavalry. To match against this Pompey
had seven legions garrisoning his Spanish provinces,
although these had little actual combat experience. There

Warring Sides 35
were also the I and the XV which had not yet left for
the east and were still in Italy, but as both had recently
served under Caesar their loyalty appeared questionable.
However, he boasted that he had only to stamp his foot in
Italy for more legions to appear, and was also sure of the
loyalty of the eastern provinces which he had reorganised
just over a decade before. In the long term, Pompey could
probably claim greater resources than Caesar, but it would
take time to mobilise these into field armies.
In 49 Pompey was almost 58, but remained an
extremely fit and active man, and others marvelled at
the energy he showed in joining the training exercises
of his soldiers. His military record was extremely
good, even if he had made something of a habit of
arriving in the last stages of a conflict to claim the
credit largely won by someone else. He was certainly
a brilliant organiser, as the campaign against the
pirates, as well as, more recently, his supervision of
Rome’s corn supply, had shown. In his youth he had
been a bold commander, on several occasions leading
charges in person, but his aggression, in a properly
Roman way, had always been based on sound
preparation. However, although he was only six years
older than Caesar, Pompey had spent the last decade
in Rome and had not served on campaign since 62.
His performance during the Civil War would suggest
that he was past his best as a general. He was not
helped by the presence of so many distinguished
NEXT PAGES
senators in his camp. Unlike Caesar, whose followers The two legionaries
were undistinguished and whose authority was on the Ahenobarbus
unchallenged, Pompey was always under pressure to monument may well
alter his plans. Most of the senators who flocked to give a good idea
his cause had more prestige than ability, and on more of the appearance
than a few occasions proved a positive hindrance. The of a soldier during
ablest of his subordinates, Titus Atius Labienus, had the Civil War. Mail
armour, oval shields
served with Caesar throughout the Gallic campaigns.
and crested or
It is probable that he had a prior connection with plumed helmets
Pompey, for he defected from Caesar’s camp at the appear to have
beginning of the war. On hearing of this, the latter been standard at
ordered his baggage to be sent on after him. this time. (Author)

Caesar failed to attract any distinguished supporters

from the senior members of the Senate. Now in his early
50s, he was still very much at the peak of his ability, and
was fresh from a decade of successful fighting in Gaul.
His strategy during the Civil War, as in Gaul, was based
on rapid offensives, sometimes in the face of great odds.
Though often criticised for recklessness by modern
commentators, it is important to emphasise that such
boldness was characteristically Roman, and should
not conceal that much preparation underlay these
enterprises. Although subject to occasional epileptic fits,
he was in other respects an extremely healthy and active
man, capable of massive effort and rapid long-distance
travel. Caesar promoted and lavishly rewarded any
soldiers who distinguished themselves, but even more
than this it was his remarkable charisma that ensured
that his soldiers were devoted to him. Throughout
the war, desertions from the Pompeian forces were
common, but all of our sources claim that there were
no defections in the other direction. Fighting a war to
protect his own honour and status, Caesar’s objective
was clear and obvious, giving the Caesarian war effort
a unity of purpose not displayed by the other side. Yet
it also meant that it was much easier for him to lose. If
Caesar were killed, or his army defeated so heavily that
he was discredited, then the war would effectively have
been over. Only the Pompeians could suffer defeat after
defeat and still prolong the struggle.
It is hard now to say whether Pompey or Caesar was
the better general. The vast bulk of our evidence comes,
directly or indirectly, from Caesar’s version of events.
His Commentaries obviously present his own actions in
a favourable light, while dismissing those of the enemy.
However, they also provide evidence that allows the
wisdom of some of Caesar’s decisions to be questioned.
Yet, for the Romans the answer was obvious, for the
most important attribute of a great general was that he
won his wars. Caesar defeated Pompey, and in the end
there was no more to be said.

OU T BR E AK
Crossing the Rubicon
‘They wanted it. Were it not for the support of my army

they would have passed judgement upon me in spite of
my achievements.’ (Caesar looking at the bodies of dead
senators after Pharsalus)
By 50 the mood in Rome was increasingly tense.
The fear was similar to that in anticipation of Pompey’s
return in 62, but probably even worse, for Caesar was
perceived now as a more open revolutionary, and his
province, with its large, veteran army, lay on Italy’s own
border. Many Romans feared that this force would be
turned against the state in a bid for dictatorship. A much
smaller group of senators, led by Cato and including
many of the House’s most influential members, was
determined that Caesar should not be allowed to return
to normal politics, since his new-found wealth and
prestige would make it difficult to oppose him. Were
he allowed a second consulship, it was feared that his
behaviour this time would be even worse than in 59.
Everyone realised that Pompey’s attitude would be
decisive, but his intentions remained unclear. Stopping
Caesar from arranging to stand in absentia (and so
retaining his army) for the consulship required at the
very least Pompey’s inaction, while if it came to a war, he
was the only one capable of matching Caesar’s military
might. Yet if Caesar was defeated and killed or exiled,

Outbreak 41
this would remove Pompey’s last serious rival, leaving

him with massively greater power, influence and wealth
than anyone else within the Republic. This in itself
threatened monarchy, but Cato and his supporters
clearly believed this to be the lesser of two evils. At
worst Pompey was a less skilful politician than Caesar
and so would have greater difficulty in exploiting his
position, but it seems likely that they hoped in some
way to negate him. Perhaps the only real chance for the
Republic would have been to accept Caesar’s return and
continue to have two leading senators or principes far
outstripping their fellows and so balancing each other’s
power. Even if this had occurred, there was always the
risk that the two would fall out at a later date and that
a war would result. In the event, intransigence on both
sides prevented any compromise.
In 51 Caesar had tried to have his command extended
until the very end of 49, presumably so that he could
then move directly into the consulship for 48, but the
measure was successfully opposed in the Senate, in part
because Pompey failed to support it. This was followed
by several attempts to have Caesar recalled immediately,
using the argument that the war in Gaul had already been
completed. Pompey opposed these moves, and in March
50 made it clear that Caesar ought to be permitted the
original extent of his governorship, no more and no less.
The failure to support his old ally more fully encouraged OPPOSITE
the belief that there was a split between the two. Marcus Porcius
Cato commanded
In the meantime Caesar had been employing the immense respect,
profits of his campaigns to buy influence and friends but less firm
at Rome. One of the consuls of 50, Lucius Aemilius suppor t. Uncle and
Paullus, allegedly received 36,000,000 sesterces (as a great inspiration
a guide an ordinary soldier was paid 1,000 sesterces a to Brutus, his
year), enough to cover the great debts he had incurred intransigence
in restoring the Basilica Aemilia (originally built by helped to make
the Civil War
an ancestor) in the forum. Paullus did not support his
inevitable. (Photo
colleague Caius Claudius Marcellus in his attacks on By DEA / G.
Caesar. More active support was purchased from the DAGLI ORTI/De
tribune of the plebs Caius Scribonius Curio, at the cost Agostini via Getty
of 10,000,000, which also went mainly to his many Images)

creditors. Curio was highly talented, but unreliable,

having been involved with many of the scandals of
the last decade, and had previously been vocal in his
condemnation of Caesar. Now he proved vigorous in
his support of Caesar’s objectives throughout his year as
tribune. In the Senate he argued that Pompey’s Spanish
command should end at the same time as Caesar’s post,
although it in fact had several years still to run. More
than a few senators responded favourably to this idea,
hoping that in this way open war between the two men
could be averted. When the Senate finally voted on this
proposal on 1 December 50, it was carried by 370 votes
to 22. However, in the same session Marcellus arranged
for them also to vote separately on whether Caesar and
Pompey should be removed from their commands. A
large majority was in favour of Caesar laying down
his governorship, and as big a majority against forcing
Pompey to do so. Rejecting the Senate’s decision that
both should give up their armies, Marcellus and a group
of supporters went to call on Pompey. Giving him a
sword, they requested that he take action to preserve the
Republic. Pompey neither accepted nor declined this
task, and the city’s uncertainty deepened. Then, a few
days later he seemed to have declared himself openly,
and took command of two legions, I and XV. Veterans
from his old armies were summoned to Rome.
Curio’s term as tribune expired later in the month,
OPPOSITE but another of Caesar’s supporters, Mark Antony, had
Mark Antony
came from a more
been elected to the office and continued his work. In the
distinguished family meantime Caesar had written to the Senate, recounting
than most of his many victories won on Rome’s behalf and his other
Caesar’s suppor ters, services to the state, reminding them that he had already
but shared their been granted the right to stand for consulship in absentia,
reputation for wild and offering to lay down his command, provided that
living and radical Pompey did the same thing. If he did not, then Caesar
politics. His military
experience was
felt that he was obliged to retain his legions as protection
limited. (Photo By against the faction opposed to him. The letter included
DEA / A. DAGLI the scarcely veiled threat that he was also willing to free
ORTI/De Agostini Rome from the tyranny of this faction. On the same day
via Getty Images) that this was read in the Senate, Pompey’s father-in-law,

Outbreak 43

Scipio, proposed issuing a decree that Caesar must hand

over his legions by a set date – probably some time in the
summer – but the measure was vetoed by the tribunes.
Another group of senators, this time headed by Caesar’s
father-in-law, Calpurnius Piso, asked leave of absence to
visit Caesar in his province and negotiate with him, but
this was refused. Curio acted as Caesar’s representative
and proposed various compromises, at first that Caesar
would give up the main military province, Transalpine
Gaul, later extended to Cisalpine Gaul. He would
remain governor of Illyricum with command of just one
legion, but must be allowed to stand in absentia for the
consulship. If the offer was serious, and we have no reason
to doubt that it was, this would have made it virtually
impossible for Caesar to fight a civil war and seize power
by force. Pompey seems to have been tempted, but Cato
and his associates so detested Caesar that they simply
would not accept his standing for election without first
becoming a private citizen, and therefore subject to
prosecution. Another suggestion, supported by Cicero,
was that at the same time Pompey should leave Italy
and actually go to govern his Spanish provinces. One of
the consuls for 49, Lucius Lentulus Cornelius Crus was
violently opposed to any compromise, and continually
insulted both Antony and Curio.
On 7 January 49 the Senate met and passed its
ultimate decree, the senatus consultum ultimum, which
called on the magistrates to use any means to defend
the state. Caesar’s supporters among the tribunes felt
threatened with physical assault if they remained in the
city. Disguised as slaves, they were hidden in carts and
fled north to join Caesar, as did Curio. In the coming
months Caesar’s propaganda would exploit the threats
made to the tribunes of the plebs, for this office was held
in particular respect and affection by the population as
a whole. In the days to come Pompey and the Senate
began to prepare the war effort against Caesar. Scipio
was given command of Syria, and Lucius Domitius
Ahenobarbus, consul in 54 and a long-time opponent
of Caesar, received the Gallic provinces.

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Conspicuous by his absence, however, was the Emperor’s brother,
Prince Ch’un (the present Regent), who had applied for short leave
in order to avoid being present, and who offered no presents.
A significant incident occurred in connection with the birthday
ceremonies. Among the many complimentary scrolls, presented by
friends and hanging on the walls, were a pair which attracted much
attention, until they were hurriedly removed. One contained the
following inscription:—“5th day of the 8th Moon of the Wu Shen year”
(this was the date of the crisis of the coup d’état when Yüan Shih-k’ai
warned Jung Lu of the plot, and thus brought about the practical
dethronement of the Emperor), and on the other were the words:
—“May the Emperor live ten thousand years! May Your Excellency
live ten thousand years.”
The words “wan sui,” meaning “ten thousand years,” are not
applicable to any subject of the Throne, and the inner meaning of
these words was, therefore, interpreted to be a charge against Yüan
of conspiring for the Throne. It was clear that some enemy had sent
the scrolls as a reminder of Yüan’s betrayal of his Sovereign ten
years before, and that they had been hung up either as the result of
connivance or carelessness on the part of Yüan’s people. Four
months later, when the great ex-Viceroy fell, this incident was
remembered and inevitably connected with Prince Ch’un’s non-
appearance at the birthday ceremonies.
In September, the Dalai Lama reached Peking, but owing to a
dispute on certain details of ceremonial, his audience was
postponed. It was finally arranged that the Pontiff should kowtow to
the Throne, and that the Emperor should then rise from his seat and
invite the Lama to sit beside him on a cane couch. This ceremonial
was most reluctantly accepted, and only after much discussion, by
the Dalai Lama, who considered his dignity seriously injured by
having to kowtow. He had brought with him much tribute, and was
therefore the more disappointed at the Old Buddha’s failure to show
him the marks of respect which he had expected. His audience was
held early in October, when Her Majesty requested him to offer up
prayers regularly for her long life and prosperity.
In October, the foreign Ministers were also received at the
Summer Palace, and on the 20th of that month the Court returned to
the Lake Palace for the winter. On this, her last State progress, the
Empress Dowager approached the city as usual in her State barge,
by the canal which joins the Summer Palace Lake with the waters of
the Winter Palace, proceeding in it as far as the Temple of Imperial
Longevity, which is situated on the banks of this canal. It was
observed that as she left the precincts of the Summer Palace she
gazed longingly towards the lofty walls that rise from the banks of the
lake, and from thence to the hills receding into the far distance.
Turning to the “Lustrous” concubine who sat at her feet, she
expressed her fears that the critical condition of the Emperor would
prevent her from visiting her favourite residence for a long time to
come.
View, from the K’un Ming Lake, of the Summer Palace.

The Old Buddha sat in a cane chair on the raised deck of her
magnificent barge adorned with carved dragons and phœnixes; she
was surrounded by her favourite eunuchs, and half a dozen of the
chief ladies of the Court. As she descended from the barge,
supported by two eunuchs, and entered the sedan chair which bore
her to within the temple precincts, her vivacity and good spirits
formed a subject of general comment. She performed the usual
sacrifices at the Temple of Imperial Longevity, a shrine which she
had liberally endowed; but it was remembered after her death, as an
unfortunate omen, that the last stick of incense failed to ignite. Upon
leaving the temple she begged the priests to chant daily liturgies and
to pray for her longevity, in view of her approaching birthday.
After leaving the temple precincts she proceeded with her ladies-
in-waiting to the Botanical and Zoological Gardens, which lie just
outside the “West-Straight gate” of the city. On arrival at the gates,
she insisted upon descending from her sedan chair, and made the
entire round of the gardens on foot. She expressed interest and
much pleasure at the sight of animals which she had never seen
before, and announced her intention of frequently visiting the place.
She asked numerous questions of the keepers, being especially
interested in the lions, and created much amusement amongst her
immediate entourage by asking the director of the gardens (a
Manchu official of the Household) for information as to where the
animals came from, a subject on which he was naturally quite
uninformed. “You don’t seem to know much about zoology,” she
observed, and turned from the crestfallen official to address one of
the keepers in a most informal manner. The chief eunuch, Li Lien-
ying, wearied by such unwonted exercise, implored Her Majesty not
to tire herself, but the Old Buddha took pleasure, clearly malicious, in
hurrying him round the grounds. The occasion was unusual and
remarkably informal, and the picture brings irresistibly to the English
mind memories of another strong-minded Queen and her inspection
of another garden, where heads were insecure for gardeners and
Cheshire cats. Eye-witnesses of that day’s outing commented freely
on their Imperial Mistress’s extraordinary spirits and vitality,
predicting for her many years of life.
Her Majesty, whose memory on unexpected subjects was always
remarkable, referred on this occasion to the elephant which had
been presented to her by Tuan Fang upon his return from Europe,
and which, together with several other animals for which she had no
fitting accommodation in the Palace grounds, was the first cause and
first inmate of the Zoological Gardens. The elephant in question had
originally been in charge of the two German keepers who had
accompanied it from Hagenbeck’s establishment; these men had
frequently but unsuccessfully protested at the insufficient rations
provided for the beast by the Mandarin in charge. Eventually the
elephant had died of slow starvation, and the keepers had returned
to Europe, after obtaining payment of their unexpired contracts, a
result which brought down upon the offending official Her Majesty’s
severe displeasure. She referred now to this incident, and expressed
satisfaction that most of the animals appeared to be well cared for,
though the tigers’ attendant received a sharp rebuke.
After Her Majesty’s return to the Winter Palace, everything was
given over to preparations for the celebration of her seventy-third
birthday on the 3rd of November. The main streets of the city were
decorated, and in the Palace itself arrangements were made for a
special theatrical performance to last for five days. A special
ceremony, quite distinct from the ordinary birthday congratulations of
the Court, was arranged for the Dalai Lama, who was to make
obeisance before Her Majesty at the head of his following of priests.
The health of His Majesty did not permit of his carrying out the
prescribed ceremony of prostration before Her Majesty’s Throne in
the main Palace of Ceremonial Phœnixes; he therefore deputed a
Prince of the Blood to represent him in the performance of this duty,
and those who knew its deep significance on such an occasion
realised that the condition of his health must indeed be desperate.
This impression was confirmed by the fact that he was similarly
compelled to abandon his intention of being present at a special
banquet to be given to the Dalai Lama in the Palace of Tributary
Envoys. The high priest, who had been compelled to kneel outside
the banquet hall to await the arrival of His Majesty, was greatly
incensed at this occurrence.
The Empress Dowager, with the Chief Eunuch, Li Lien-Ying.
At eight in the morning of the birthday His Majesty left his Palace
in the “Ocean Terrace” and proceeded to the Throne Hall. His
emaciated and woe-begone appearance was such, however, that the
Old Buddha took compassion upon him, and bade his attendant
eunuchs support him to his palanquin, excusing him from further
attendance. Later in the day she issued a special Decree praising
the loyalty of the Dalai Lama, and ordering him to return promptly to
Thibet, “there to extol the generosity of the Throne of China, and
faithfully to obey the commands of the Sovereign power.” The
Empress Dowager spent the afternoon of her birthday in the
congenial amusement of a masquerade, appearing in the costume of
the Goddess of Mercy, attended by a numerous suite of concubines,
Imperial Princesses, and eunuchs, all in fancy dress. They picnicked
on the lake, and Her Majesty appeared to be in the very highest
spirits. Unfortunately, towards evening, she caught a chill, and
thereafter, partaking too freely of a mixture of clotted cream and crab
apples, she had a return of the dysenteric complaint from which she
had suffered all through the summer. On the following day she
attended to affairs of State as usual, reading a vast number of
Memorials and recording her decision thereon, but on the 5th of
November neither she nor the Emperor were sufficiently well to
receive the Grand Council, so that all business of government was
suspended for two days. Upon hearing of Her Majesty’s illness, the
Dalai Lama hastened to present her with an image of Buddha,
which, he said, should be despatched forthwith to her mausoleum at
the hills, the building of which had just been completed under the
supervision of Prince Ch’ing.[127] The high priest urged all haste in
transmitting this miracle-working image to her future burial-place; if it
were done quickly, he said, her life would be prolonged by many
years, because the unlucky conjunction of the stars now affecting
her adversely would avail nothing against the magic power of this
image. The Old Buddha was greatly reassured by the Dalai Lama’s
cheerful prognostications, and next morning held audience as usual.
She commanded Prince Ch’ing to proceed without delay to the
tombs, and there to deposit the miraculous image on the altar.[128]
She ordered him to pay particular attention to the work done at the
mausoleum, and to make certain that her detailed instructions had
been faithfully carried out. Prince Ch’ing demurred somewhat at
these instructions, inquiring whether she really wished him to leave
Peking at a time when she herself and the Emperor were both ill. But
the Old Buddha would brook no argument, and peremptorily ordered
him to proceed as instructed. “I am not likely to die,” she said,
“during the next few days; already I am feeling much better. In any
case you will do as you are told.” On Monday, November 9th, both
the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were present at a meeting
of the Grand Council, and a special audience was given to the
Educational Commissioner of Chihli province, about to leave for his
post. At this audience the Old Buddha spoke with some bitterness of
the increasing tendency of the student class to give vent to
revolutionary ideas, and she commanded the Commissioner of
Education to do all in his power to check their political activities.
Shortly afterwards four more physicians, who had come up from
the provinces, were admitted to see His Majesty. That same
afternoon he had a serious relapse, and from that day forward never
left his palace. On the following morning he sent a dutiful message
(or it was sent for him) enquiring after the Empress Dowager’s
health, she being also confined to her room and holding no
audiences. The Court physicians reported badly of both their
Imperial patients: being fearful as to the outcome, they begged the
Comptroller-General of the Household to engage other physicians in
their place. The Grand Council sent a message to Prince Ch’ing,
directing him to return to Peking with all haste, his presence being
required forthwith on matters of the highest importance. Travelling
night and day, he reached the capital at about eight o’clock in the
morning of the 13th, and hastened to the palace. He found the Old
Buddha cheerful and confident of ultimate recovery, but the Emperor
was visibly sinking, his condition being comatose, with short lucid
intervals. His last conscious act had been to direct his Consort to
inform the Empress Dowager that he regretted being unable to
attend her, and that he hoped that she would appoint an Heir
Apparent without further delay. Whether these dutiful messages
were spontaneous or inspired, and indeed, whether they were ever
sent by the Emperor, is a matter upon which doubt has been freely
expressed.
Immediately after the arrival of Prince Ch’ing, an important
audience was held in the Hall of Ceremonial Phœnixes. Her Majesty
was able to mount the Throne, and, although obviously weak, her
unconquerable courage enabled her to master her physical ailments,
and she spoke with all her wonted vehemence and lucidity. A well-
informed member of the Grand Council, full of wonder at such an
exhibition of strength of will, has recorded the fact that she
completely led and dominated the Council. There were present
Prince Ch’ing, Prince Ch’un, the Grand Councillor Yüan Shih-k’ai,
and the Grand Secretaries Chang Chih-tung, Lu Ch’uan-lin and Shih
Hsü.
Her Majesty announced that the time had come to nominate an
Heir to the Emperor T’ung-Chih, in accordance with that Decree of
the first day of the reign of Kuang-Hsü, wherein it was provided that
the deceased Sovereign’s ancestral rites should be safeguarded by
allowing him precedence over his successor of the same generation.
Her choice, she said, was already made, but she desired to take the
opinion of the Grand Councillors in the first instance. Prince Ch’ing
and Yüan Shih-k’ai then recommended the appointment of Prince
P’u Lun, or, failing him, Prince Kung. They thought the former, as
senior great-grandson of Tao-Kuang, was the more eligible
candidate, and with this view Prince Ch’un seemed disposed to
agree. The remaining Grand Councillors, however, advised the
selection of Prince Ch’un’s infant son.
After hearing the views of her Councillors, the Old Buddha
announced that long ago, at the time when she had betrothed the
daughter of Jung Lu to Prince Ch’un, she had decided that the eldest
son of this marriage should become Heir to the Throne, in
recognition and reward of Jung Lu’s lifelong devotion to her person,
and his paramount services to the Dynasty at the time of the Boxer
rising. She placed on record her opinion that he had saved the
Manchus by refusing to assist in the attack upon the Legations. In
the 3rd Moon of this year she had renewed her pledge to Jung Lu’s
widow, her oldest friend, just before she died. She would, therefore,
now bestow upon Prince Ch’un as Regent, the title of “Prince co-
operating in the Government,” a title one degree higher than that
which had been given to Prince Kung in 1861, who was made
“Adviser to the Government” by herself and her co-Regent.
The Son of Heaven. H.M. Hsüan-T’ung, Emperor of China.
Upon hearing this decision, Prince Ch’un arose from his seat and
repeatedly kowtowed before Her Majesty, expressing a deep sense
of his own unworthiness. Once more Yüan Shih-k’ai courageously
advanced the superior claims of Prince P’u Lun: he was sincerely of
opinion that the time had come for the succession to be continued
along the original lines of primogeniture; it was clear also that he fully
realised that Prince Ch’un was his bitter enemy. The Old Buddha
turned upon him with an angry reprimand. “You think.” she said, “that
I am old, and in my dotage, but you should have learned by now that
when I make up my mind nothing stops me from acting upon it. At a
critical time in a nation’s affairs a youthful Sovereign is no doubt a
source of danger to the State, but do not forget that I shall be here to
direct and assist Prince Ch’un.” Then, turning to the other
Councillors, she continued:—“Draft two Decrees at once, in my
name, the first, appointing Tsai-feng, Prince Ch’un, to be ‘Prince co-
operating in the Government’ and the second commanding that P’u
Yi, son of Prince Ch’un, should enter the palace forthwith, to be
brought up within the precincts.” She ordered Prince Ch’ing to inform
the Emperor of these Decrees.
Kuang-Hsü was still conscious, and understood what Prince
Ch’ing said to him. “Would it not have been better,” he said, “to
nominate an adult? No doubt, however, the Empress Dowager
knows best.” Upon hearing of the appointment of Prince Ch’un to the
Regency, he expressed his gratification. This was at 3 p.m.; two
hours later the infant Prince had been brought into the Palace, and
was taken by his father to be shown both to the Empress Dowager
and the Emperor. At seven o’clock on the following morning the
physicians in attendance reported that His Majesty’s “nose was
twitching and his stomach rising,” from which signs they knew that
his end was at hand. During the night, feeling that death was near,
he had written out his last testament, in a hand almost illegible,
prefacing the same with these significant words:—
“We were the second son of Prince Ch’un when the

Empress Dowager selected Us for the Throne. She has
always hated Us, but for Our misery of the past ten years
Yüan Shih-k’ai is responsible, and one other” (the second
name is said to have been illegible). “When the time comes I
desire that Yüan be summarily beheaded.”
The Emperor’s consort took possession of this document, which,
however, was seen by independent witnesses. Its wording goes to
show that any conciliatory attitude on the part of the Emperor during
the last year must have been inspired by fear and not by any revival
of affection.
Later in the day a Decree was promulgated, announcing to the
inhabitants of Peking and the Empire that their sovereign’s condition
was desperate, and calling on the provinces to send their most skilful
physicians post-haste to the capital so that, perchance, His Majesty’s
life might yet be saved. The Decree described in detail the
symptoms, real or alleged, of Kuang-Hsü’s malady. It was generally
regarded as a perfunctory announcement of an unimportant event,
long expected.
At 3 p.m. the Empress Dowager came to the “Ocean Terrace” to
visit the Emperor, but he was unconscious, and did not know her.
Later, when a short return of consciousness occurred, his attendants
endeavoured to persuade him to put on the Ceremonial Robes of
Longevity, in which etiquette prescribes that sovereigns should die. It
is the universal custom that, if possible, the patient should don these
robes in his last moments, for it is considered unlucky if they are put
on after death. His Majesty, however, obstinately declined, and at
five o’clock he died, in the presence of the Empress Dowager, his
consort, the two secondary consorts, and a few eunuchs. The
Empress Dowager did not remain to witness the ceremony of
clothing the body in the Dragon Robes, but returned forthwith to her
own palace, where she gave orders for the issue of his valedictory
Decree and for the proclamation of the new Emperor.
The most interesting passage of the Emperor’s valedictory Decree
was the following:—“Reflecting on the critical condition of our
Empire, we have been led to combine the Chinese system with
certain innovations from foreign countries. We have endeavoured to
establish harmony between the common people and converts to
Christianity. We have reorganised the army and founded colleges.
We have fostered trade and industries and have made provision for
a new judicial system, paving also the way for a Constitutional form
of government, so that all our subjects may enjoy the continued
blessings of peace.” After referring to the appointment of the Regent
and the nomination of a successor to the Dragon Throne, he
concludes (or rather the Empress concluded for him) with a further
reference to the Constitution, and an appeal to his Ministers to purify
their hearts and prepare themselves, so that, after nine years, the
new order may be accomplished, and the Imperial purposes
successfully achieved.
The Old Buddha appeared at this juncture to be in particularly
good spirits, astonishing all about her by her vivacity and keenness.
She gave orders that a further Decree be published, in the name of
the new Emperor, containing the usual laudation of the deceased
monarch and an expression of the infant Emperor’s gratitude to the
Empress Dowager for her benevolence in placing him on the Throne.
It will be remembered that the Censor Wu K’o-tu committed
suicide at the beginning of Kuang-Hsü’s reign, as an act of protest at
the irregularity in the succession, which left no heir to the Emperor
T’ung-Chih, that monarch’s spirit being left desolate and without a
successor to perform on his behalf the ancestral sacrifices. The
child, P’u Yi, having now been made heir by adoption to T’ung-Chih,
in fulfilment of the promise made by Tzŭ Hsi at the time of this
sensational suicide, it appeared as if the irregularity were about to be
repeated, and the soul of Kuang-Hsü to be left in a similar orbate
condition in the Halls of Hades, unless some means could be found
to solve the difficulty and meet the claims of both the deceased
Emperors. In the event of Kuang-Hsü being left without heir or
descendant to perform the all-important worship at his shrine, there
could be but little doubt that the feelings of the orthodox would again
be outraged, and the example of Wu K’o-tu might have been
followed by other Censors. The Empress Dowager, realising the
importance of the question, solved it in her own masterful way by a
stroke of policy which, although without precisely applicable
precedent in history, nevertheless appeared to satisfy all parties, and
to placate all prejudices, if only by reason of its simplicity and
originality. Her Decree on the subject was as follows:—
“The Emperor T’ung-Chih, having left no heir, was
compelled to issue a Decree to the effect that so soon as a
child should be born to His Majesty Kuang-Hsü, that child
would be adopted as Heir to the Emperor T’ung-Chih. But
now His Majesty Kuang-Hsü has ascended on high, dragon-
borne, and he also has left no heir. I am, therefore, now
obliged to decree that P’u Yi, son of Tsai Feng, the ‘Prince co-
operating in the Government,’ should become heir by
adoption to the Emperor T’ung-Chih, and that, at the same
time, he should perform joint sacrifices at the shrine of His
Majesty Kuang-Hsü.”
To those who are acquainted with the tangled web of Chinese

Court ceremonial and the laws of succession, it would seem that so
simple (and so new) an expedient might suitably have been adopted
on previous similar occasions, since all that was required was to
make the individual living Emperor assume a dual personality
towards the dead, and one cannot help wondering whether the
classical priestcraft which controls these things would have accepted
the solution so readily at the hands of anyone less masterful and
determined than Tzŭ Hsi.
In a subsequent Decree the Empress Dowager handed over to the
Regent full control in all routine business, reserving only to herself
the last word in all important matters of State. The effect of this
arrangement was to place Prince Ch’un in much the same position of
nominal sovereignty as that held by Kuang-Hsü himself, until such
time as the young Emperor should come of age, or until the death of
the Empress Dowager. In other words, Tzŭ Hsi had once more put in
operation the machinery by which she had acquired and held the
supreme power since the death of her husband, the Emperor Hsien-
Feng. There is little doubt that at this moment she fully expected to
live for many years more, and that she made her plans so as to
enjoy to the end uninterrupted and undiminished authority. In her
Decree on this subject, wherein, as usual, she justifies her
proceedings by reference to the critical condition of affairs, she
states that the Regent is to carry on the Government “subject always
to the instructions of the Empress Dowager,” and there can be no
doubt that had she lived the Emperor’s brother would no more have
been permitted any independent initiative or authority than the
unfortunate Kuang-Hsü himself.
XXVII
TZŬ HSI’S DEATH AND BURIAL
At the close of a long and exciting day, Her Majesty retired to rest
on the 14th of November, weary with her labours but apparently
much improved in health. Next morning she arose at her usual hour,
6 a.m., gave audience to the Grand Council and talked for some time
with the late Emperor’s widow, with the Regent and with his wife, the
daughter of Jung Lu. By a Decree issued in the name of the infant
Emperor, she assumed the title of Empress Grand Dowager, making
Kuang-Hsü’s widow Empress Dowager. Elaborate ceremonies were
planned to celebrate the bestowal of these new titles, and to
proclaim the installation of the Regent. Suddenly, at noon, while
sitting at her meal, the Old Buddha was seized with a fainting fit, long
and severe. When at last she recovered consciousness, it was clear
to all that the stress and excitement of the past few days had brought
on a relapse, her strength having been undermined by the long
attack of dysentery. Realising that her end was near, she hurriedly
summoned the new Empress Dowager, the Regent and the Grand
Council to the Palace, where, upon their coming together, she
dictated the following Decree, speaking in the same calm tones
which she habitually used in transacting the daily routine of
Government work:—
“By command of the Empress Grand Dowager: Yesterday I

issued an Edict whereby Prince Ch’un was made Regent, and
I commanded that the whole business of Government should
be in his hands, subject only to my instructions. Being seized
of a mortal sickness, and being without hope of recovery, I
now order that henceforward the government of the Empire
shall be entirely in the hands of the Regent. Nevertheless,
should there arise any question of vital importance, in regard
to which an expression of the Empress Dowager’s opinion is
desirable, the Regent shall apply in person to her for
instructions, and act accordingly.”
The significance of the conclusion of this Decree is apparent to

anyone familiar with Chinese Court procedure and with the life
history of the Empress herself. Its ingenious wording was expressly
intended to afford to the new Empress Dowager and the Yehonala
Clan an opportunity for intervention at any special crisis, thus
maintaining the Clan’s final authority and safeguarding its position in
the event of any hostile move by the Regent or his adherents. And
the result of this precaution has already been shown on the occasion
of the recent dismissal of Tuan Fang[129] from the Viceroyalty of
Chihli for alleged want of respect in connection with the funeral
ceremonies of the Empress Dowager, an episode which showed
clearly that the Regent has no easy game to play, and that the new
Empress Dowager, Lung Yu, has every intention to defend the
position of the Clan and to take advantage thereof along lines very
similar to those followed by her august predecessor.
After issuing the Decree above quoted, the Empress Dowager,
rapidly sinking, commanded that her valedictory Decree be drafted
and submitted to her for approval. This was done quickly. After
perusing the document, she proceeded to correct it in several
places, notably by the addition of the sentence, “It became my
inevitable and bounden duty to assume the Regency.” Commenting
on this addition, she volunteered the explanation that she wished it
inserted because on more than one occasion her assumption of the
supreme power had been wrongfully attributed to personal ambition,
whereas, as a matter of fact, the welfare of the State had always
weighed with her as much as her own inclinations, and she had been
forced into this position. From her own pen also came the touching
conclusion of the Decree, that sentence which begins: “Looking back
over the memories of these fifty years,” etc. She observed, in writing
this, that she had nothing to regret in her life, and could only wish
that it might have lasted for many years more. She then proceeded
to bid an affectionate farewell to her numerous personal attendants
and the waiting maids around her, all of whom were overcome by
very real and deep grief. To the end her mind remained quite clear,
and, at the very point of death, she continued to speak as calmly as
if she were just about to set out on one of her progresses to the
Summer Palace. Again and again, when all thought the end had
come, she recovered consciousness, and up to the end the watchers
at her bedside could not help hoping (or fearing, as the case might
be with them) that she would yet get the better of Death. At the last,
in articulo mortis, they asked her, in accordance with the Chinese
custom, to pronounce her last words. Strangely significant was the
answer of the extraordinary woman who had moulded and guided
the destinies of the Chinese people for half a century: “Never again,”
she said, “allow any woman to hold the supreme power in the State.
It is against the house-law of our Dynasty and should be strictly
forbidden. Be careful not to permit eunuchs to meddle in
Government matters. The Ming Dynasty was brought to ruin by
eunuchs, and its fate should be a warning to my people.” Tzŭ Hsi
died, as she had lived, above the law, yet jealous of its fulfilment by
others. Only a few hours before she had provided for the
transmission of authority to a woman of her own clan: now,
confronting the dark Beyond, she hesitated to perpetuate a system
which, in any but the strongest hands, could not fail to throw the
Empire into confusion. She died, as she had lived, a creature of
impulse and swiftly changing moods, a woman of infinite variety.
At 3 p.m., straightening her limbs, she expired with her face to the
south, which is the correct position, according to Chinese ideas, for a
dying sovereign. It was reported by those who saw her die that her
mouth remained fixedly open, which the Chinese interpret as a sign
that the spirit of the deceased is unwilling to leave the body and to
take its departure for the place of the Nine Springs.
Thus died Tzŭ Hsi; and when her ladies and handmaidens had
dressed the body in its Robes of State, embroidered with the
Imperial Dragon, her remains and those of the Emperor were borne
from the Lake Palace to the Forbidden City, through long lines of
their kneeling subjects, and were reverently laid in separate Halls of
the Palace, with all due state and ceremony.
The valedictory Decree of Tzŭ Hsi, the last words from that pen
which had indeed been mightier than many swords, was for the most
part a faithful reproduction of the classical models, the orthodox
swan song of the ruler of a people which makes of its writings a
religion. Its text is as follows:—
The Valedictory Mandate of Her Majesty Tz’ŭ-Hsi-Tuan-Yu-

K’ang-I-Chao-Yü-Chuang-Cheng-Shou-Kung-Ch’in-
Hsien-Ch’ung-Hsi, the Empress Grand Dowager,
declareth as follows:—
“I, of humble virtue, did reverently receive the appointment
of the late Emperor Hsien-Feng, which prepared for me a
place amongst his Consorts. When the late Emperor T’ung-
Chih succeeded in early childhood to the Throne, there was
rebellion still raging in the land, which was being vigorously
suppressed. Not only did the Taiping and turbaned rebels
engage in successive outbreaks, but disorder was spread by
the Kuei-chou aborigines and by Mahomedan bandits. The
provinces of the coast were in great distress, the people on
the verge of ruin, widespread distress confronting us on all
sides.
“Co-operating then with the senior Consort of Hsien-Feng,
the Empress Dowager of the Eastern Palace, I undertook the
heavy duties of Government, toiling ever, day and night.
Obeying the behests of His late Majesty, my husband, I urged
on the Metropolitan and provincial officials, as well as the
military commanders, directing their policies and striving for
the restoration of peace. I employed virtuous officials and was
ever ready to listen to wise counsel. I relieved my people’s
distress in time of flood and famine. By the goodwill and
bounty of Heaven, I suppressed the rebellions and out of dire
peril restored peace. Later, when the Emperor T’ung-Chih
passed away and the Emperor Kuang-Hsü, now just
deceased, entered by adoption upon the great heritage, the
crisis was even more dangerous and the condition of the
people even more pitiable. Within the Empire calamities were
rife, while from abroad we were confronted by repeated and
increasing acts of aggression.
“Once again it became my inevitable and bounden duty to
assume the Regency. Two years ago I issued a Decree
announcing the Throne’s intention to grant a Constitution, and
this present year I have promulgated the date at which it is to
come into effect. Innumerable affairs of State have required
direction at my hands and I have laboured without ceasing
and with all my might. Fortunately, my constitution was
naturally strong, and I have been able to face my duties with
undiminished vigour. During the summer and autumn of this
year, however, I have frequently been in bad health, at a time
when pressing affairs of State allowed me no repose. I lost
my sleep and appetite, and gradually my strength failed me.
Yet even then I took no rest, not for a single day. And
yesterday saw the death of His Majesty Kuang-Hsü; whereat
my grief overwhelmed me. I can bear no more, and so am I
come to the pass where no possible hope of recovery
remains.
“Looking back upon the memories of these last fifty years, I
perceive how calamities from within and aggression from
without have come upon us in relentless succession, and that
my life has never enjoyed a moment’s respite from anxiety.
But to-day definite progress has been made towards
necessary reforms. The new Emperor is but an infant, just
reaching the age when wise instruction is of the highest
importance. The Prince Regent and all our officials must
henceforth work loyally together to strengthen the foundations
of our Empire. His Majesty must devote himself to studying
the interests of the country and so refrain from giving way to
personal grief. That he may diligently pursue his studies, and
hereafter add fresh lustre to the glorious achievements of his
ancestors, is now my most earnest prayer.
“Mourning to be worn for only twenty-seven days.
“Cause this to be everywhere known!
“Tenth Moon, 23rd day (November the 15th).”
The title by which Her Majesty was canonised contains no less

than twenty-two characters, sixteen of which were hers at the day of
her death, the other six having been added in the Imperial Decrees
which recorded her decease and praised her glorious achievements.
The first character “Dutiful”—i.e. to her husband—is always
accorded to a deceased Empress. It is significant of the unpractical
nature of the literati, or of their cynicism, that the second of her latest
titles signifies “reverend,” implying punctilious adherence to ancestral
traditions! The third and fourth mean “Equal of Heaven,” which
places her on a footing of equality with Confucius, while the fifth and
sixth raise her even higher than the Sage in the national Pantheon,
for it means “Increase in Sanctity,” of which Confucius was only a
“Manifestor.” In the records of the Dynasty she will henceforth be
known as the Empress “Dutiful, Reverend and Glorious,” a title,
according to the laws of Chinese honorifics, higher than any woman
ruler has hitherto received since the beginning of history.
Since her death the prestige of the Empress Dowager, and her
hold on the imagination of the people, have grown rather than
decreased. Around her coffin, while it lay first in her Palace of
Peaceful Longevity and later in a hall at the foot of the Coal Hill,
north of the Forbidden City, awaiting the appointed day propitious for
burial, there gathered something more than the conventional regrets
and honours which fall usually to the lot of China’s rulers. Officials as
well as people felt that with her they had lost the strong hand of
guidance, and a personality which appealed to most of them as
much from the human as from the official point of view. Their
affectionate recollections of the Old Buddha were clearly shown by
the elaborate sacrifices paid to her manes at various periods from
the day of her death to that day, a year later, when her ancestral
tablet was brought home to the Forbidden City from the Imperial
tombs with all pomp and circumstance.
On the All Souls’ day of the Buddhists, celebrated in the 7th Moon,
and which fell in the September following her death, a magnificent
barge made of paper and over a hundred and fifty feet long was set

Caesars Civil War 49 44 BC Osprey Essential Histories 42 Adrian Goldsworthy Full Chapter

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Caesar's Civil War: 49–44 BC (Osprey

Essential Histories #42) Adrian

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© Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2023

Cover, page design and layout by Stewart Larking

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THE FIG H T ING 50

T H E WOR L D A ROUN D WAR 92

HOW T H E WA R ENDED 104

C O N CL USION A ND CON SEQ U ENCES 115

C HRON OL OGY 134

F U RTH ER R EA DIN G 140

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Julius Caesar remains famous to this day, even though

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would match up so well against disciplined opponents,

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was political, misreading the mood of the senators who

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The Roman Republic and its

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Rome to another period of civil war, which ended

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electorate, especially in the form of games, gladiator

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Sempronius Gracchus, was lynched by a mob of senators

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0 200 km Regions loyal to Caesar in late 50 BC

to serve. Such men proved excellent soldiers, but when

the command allocated to him. Civil war followed,

who acted in a similar way, and the most successful of

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For nearly two years Sulla ruled as dictator with absolute

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on the careers and attitudes of the main protagonists in

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of 36 entered the Senate directly as a consul, an utterly

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own son turned against him. Pompey then proceeded

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triumph, was not permitted to enter Rome until the

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Caesar departed for his province in 58, never to return

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the city descended into chaos. In 57 Pompey sponsored

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burning the building to the ground in the process. In the

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role. Much of the unit’s administration

mentions rewarding brave centurions by promoting legionary base at

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– some 15 yards or so – and follow this up

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Caesar failed to attract any distinguished supporters