Some 300 years after Caesar’s exclamation we find a version of the phrase with Ammianus Marcellinus (330–400 A.D.): “ aleam periculorum omnium iecit abrupte” (Amm., XXVI, xii) i.e. Traditionally Iacta alea est has been translated into “the die is cast” and used as a way of indicating that something has passed a point of no return, or that you have made your move and that things are now out of your hands and there is no turning back. LE PASSAGE DU RUBICON PAR CÉSAR BY JEAN FOUQUET, 1420–1480 The Die Is Cast “Take we the course which the signs of the gods and the false dealing of our foes point out. Iacta alea est.’ ” - Suetonius, De vita Caesarum, lib I, xxxii “‘Eatur,’ inquit, ‘quo deorum ostenta et inimicorum inquitas vocat. There are several Roman sources that inform us about this event, but our Latin quote, the memorable Iacta alea est, comes from the historian Suetonius’ biography De Vita Caesarum: Divus Iulius.Īccording to Suetonius, after some hesitation at the river, Caesar was given a sign by the gods as an apparition, playing a reed pipe, snatched a trumpet from a by-standing soldier and sounded a battle signal. Not only did Caesar himself break the law as the governor and commander, but his army broke the law by following a man who had no authority of command. Crossing the river meant crossing the border into Italy.Ĭrossing the border still in command of your troops, meant breaking the law. The Rubicon marked the border between Caesar’s province, Cisalpine Gaul to the north-east, and Italy itself. There were no casualties from trying to fight hard currents or anything like that. The river Rubicon has never been a large river. CISALPINE GAUL, EXTENDING FROM VENICE BY THE ADRIATIC SEA, TO PISA AND NICE BY THE MEDITERRANEAN, TO LAKE GENEVA AND THE ALPS, MAP FROM ABRAHAM ORTELIUS THEATRUM ORBIS TERRARUM, ANTWERP, 1608. This meant that Caesar, by law, was forbidden to command an army in Italy. The political environment had for a long time been infected and war was imminent, so how come crossing over a small, rather insignificant river was to become the symbol for the end of the Republic? TreasonĪs governor Caesar held the right to command troops within his own provinces, i.e. Gaius Julius Caesar led Legio XIII, the thirteenth legion, from Ravenna in northern Italy over the river Rubicon towards Arminium (modern Rimini) and on towards Rome. JULIUS CAESAR BY ANDREA DI PIETRO DI MARCO FERRUCCI, 1512–14. 42–43)Ĭaesar was declared an enemy of the state on January 7th 49 B.C. 94–97 Boatwright, Gargola & Talbert, p. (Rondholz, p. 433)Ĭaesar proposed that he would lay down his command over Gaul if Pompey gave up the command he held over Spain. the Senate wished to replace him as governor of Gaul and decided that his army should be disbanded by November 13, 50 B.C. THE PAINTING DEPICTS THE SURRENDER OF THE GALLIC CHIEFTAIN AFTER CAESAR’S VICTORY IN THE BATTLE OF ALESIA IN 52 B.C.įor quite some time, he had moved within a rather grey area, legally speaking by 51 B.C. VERCINGETORIX THROWS DOWN HIS ARMS AT THE FEET OF JULIUS CAESAR. PAINTING BY LIONEL ROYER, 1899. Suggested reading: Omnia Vincit Amor: Love in Ancient RomeĪt the time of his famous quote, Caesar had for 9 years successfully been campaigning in his provinces north of Italy – Cisalpine Gaul, Transalpine Gaul and Illyricum – gaining quite a lot of popularity. Crassus, however, fell in the battle of Carrhae in the Parthian war. The alliance between Caesar, Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus had been an informal coalition, know to history as the First Triumvirate. there were some political tensions between Caesar and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey, a man he had previously been in an alliance with. JULIUS CAESAR AND THE CROSSING OF THE RUBICON, FRANCESCO GRANACCI, 1494. However, in order to get a good grasp of the meaning of Caesar’s enormously famous expression, let me just give you a short recap of the story.
Movies have been made, books have been written, TV-series produced,so we shall not dwell too long on the issues of war. Thousands of pages have been written about Julius Caesar, Pompey and the Civil War fought between them. On January 10th, 49 B.C., Gaius Julius Caesar uttered one of history’s most famous lines, Iacta alea est (sometimes written alea iacta est), after which he crossed the Rubicon river with his army and set the Roman Civil War in motion.
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