Julius Caesar in Egypt: Cleopatra and the War in Alexandria
Philip Matyszak, "Julius Caesar in Egypt: Cleopatra and the War in Alexandria"
English | ISBN: 1399097369 | 2023 | 192 pages | PDF | 5 MB
English | ISBN: 1399097369 | 2023 | 192 pages | PDF | 5 MB
In 48 BC the armies of Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great fought a decisive battle at Pharsalus in Greece. Pompey was comprehensively defeated and fled to the last power in the Mediterranean world that was independent of Rome, Ptolemaic Egypt. Caesar pursued Pompey and was presented with his severed head, which the Egyptians hoped would make Caesar leave them in peace.
Instead, Caesar – as if he did not have enough to do already – plunged gleefully into the world of Egyptian palace politics, riven by dynastic dispute. He quickly sided with the beguiling Queen Cleopatra (after her famous carpet trick), despite having little more than a bodyguard with him. Most of his army was still in Greece, leaving him massively outnumbered by the Egyptian forces. The Romans were besieged in Alexandria for seven months before reinforcements could get through to them.
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