Commentaries on the Civil War

Commentaries on the Civil War is a historical work by Julius Caesar describing the conflict that erupted in 49 BC between Caesar and the forces supporting Pompey and the Roman Senate.

The narrative follows the outbreak and development of the Roman Civil War, from Caesar's famous crossing of the Rubicon to the campaigns fought across Italy, Spain, Greece, and other parts of the Roman world. Caesar presents military movements, political negotiations, and strategic decisions with the direct and restrained style characteristic of his prose.

At the center of the work is the struggle between Caesar and Pompey for control of the Roman Republic. The account includes major episodes such as the siege of Massilia, the campaign in Spain, and the Battle of Pharsalus, while also portraying Caesar's attempts to justify his actions and present himself as a reluctant participant in the conflict.

Both a military narrative and a political document, Commentaries on the Civil War offers an important firsthand account of one of the decisive conflicts in Roman history and of the events that contributed to the fall of the Roman Republic.

"When Caesar's letter was delivered to the consuls, they were with great difficulty, and a hard struggle of the tribunes, prevailed on to suffer it to be read in the senate; but the tribunes could not prevail, that any question should be put to the senate on the subject of the letter. "

This edition is based on the 1859 English translation by William Alexander McDevitte and W. S. Bohn.