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Caesar's Civil War
Historical Reality and Fabrication
Series: - Mnemosyne, Supplements, Volume: 410
- Mnemosyne, Supplements, History and Archaeology of Classical Antiquity, Volume: 410
Author:
In Caesar's Civil War: Historical Reality and Fabrication, Westall combines literary analysis of Caesarâs Bellum Civile with a concern for the socio-economic history of the Roman empire. The Bellum Gallicum and the Shakespearean play are better known, but Caesarâs partisan account of the Roman civil war culminating in the battle of Pharsalus offers a historical text of perennial interest and relevance.
Two introductory chapters contextualize this book and offer a traditional narrative of political and military history for 49-48 BCE. There follow seven chapters that are dedicated to each of the geographical theatres of civil war. These chapters show how Caesarâs testimony sheds important light upon the nature of Roman rule in the Mediterranean, but also explore the problems to be encountered in using potentially tendentious testimony.
Two introductory chapters contextualize this book and offer a traditional narrative of political and military history for 49-48 BCE. There follow seven chapters that are dedicated to each of the geographical theatres of civil war. These chapters show how Caesarâs testimony sheds important light upon the nature of Roman rule in the Mediterranean, but also explore the problems to be encountered in using potentially tendentious testimony.
Richard Westall, Ph.D. (2000, Stanford University) is Adjunct professor at the Pontificia Università Gregoriana (Rome). He has published numerous articles on Roman history, Graeco-Roman historiography, and early Christianity.
"[Westall] geht es nicht um die bloÃe Darstellung der Ereignisse durch Caesar und andere als vielmehr darum, die in den diversen Regionen liegenden â häufig wirtschaftlich bedingten â römischen Interessen namhaft zu machen, die ebenso historisch verankert sind wie im aktuellen Bürgerkrieg für die beteiligten Parteien besondere Brisanz gewinnen. Zugleich entzaubert W[estall] Caesars tendenziöse Berichterstattung in prägnanten Interpretationen, teilweise anhand scharfsinniger Quellenvergleiche. (...) Unter Herausstellung der Bedeutung bestimmter geographischer Räume im Gefolge der Bürgerkriegsdarstellung Caesars erlauben W[estall]s Kontextualisierungsbemühungen interessante Einsichten auf verschiedenen Ebenen, die durch Ãberlegungen zur sozioökonomischen Lage Roms verbunden werden." Ulrich Lambrecht, Gymnasium 126, 2019.
"To sum up, W[estall] has provided a fresh and masterful analysis of Caesarâs civil war commentary. His study offers new and valuable insights into the history of the period. Careful attention is paid at every turn to Caesarâs method of justifying his actions as a response to supposed stubborn and unreasonable resistance on the part of his opponents. The authorâs application of critical methods yields interesting and important results. The structure of the book makes it accessible to a broad range of readers, from someone new to the subject to an advanced scholar. By offering a narrative overview of the war in Chapter 2 and then segmenting the campaigns chronologically and geographically in the seven subsequent chapters, the book succeeds in exploring a complex set of questions with perfect clarity. This book is a credit to the author and to the series in which it appeared. Every university library should include this book in its holdings, and every scholar who studies this period of Roman history will gain from W[estall's] fresh insight into Caesarâs Bellum Civile." John T. Ramsey, Histos 14, 2020, xxxv-xliv.
"To sum up, W[estall] has provided a fresh and masterful analysis of Caesarâs civil war commentary. His study offers new and valuable insights into the history of the period. Careful attention is paid at every turn to Caesarâs method of justifying his actions as a response to supposed stubborn and unreasonable resistance on the part of his opponents. The authorâs application of critical methods yields interesting and important results. The structure of the book makes it accessible to a broad range of readers, from someone new to the subject to an advanced scholar. By offering a narrative overview of the war in Chapter 2 and then segmenting the campaigns chronologically and geographically in the seven subsequent chapters, the book succeeds in exploring a complex set of questions with perfect clarity. This book is a credit to the author and to the series in which it appeared. Every university library should include this book in its holdings, and every scholar who studies this period of Roman history will gain from W[estall's] fresh insight into Caesarâs Bellum Civile." John T. Ramsey, Histos 14, 2020, xxxv-xliv.
Acknowledgements
List of Maps
List of Block Quotations
Abbreviations
1 Introduction
2 The Civil War of 49â48â¯BCE
3 Italia
âIntroduction
â1âCrossing the Rubicon
â2âOpening the Sanctius Aerarium
â3âThe Sources of Soldiers
âConclusion
4 Hispania
â1âLaudes Hispaniae
â2âC. Caesar and Hispania
â3âCn. Pompeius and Hispania
â4âThe Significance of Clientelae
5 Gallia
â1âOmnis Gallia Germaniaque
â2âMassilia an Ally
â3âMassilia a Provincial Capital?
â4âGeopolitical Considerations
â5âChagrin at Massilia
â6âMassilia and Phocaea, or the Theme of Libertas
6 Africa
âIntroduction
â1âThe Sources of Caesarâs Narrative
â2âLegitimacy of Command
â3âRoman Armies in North Africa
â4âThe Grain of Africa
âConclusion
7 Macedonia
â1âCaesar Fleeing Forwards
â2âPompeiusâ Preparations for 48â¯BCE
â3âLife in the Military
â4âOther Than Soldiers
â5âSupply-Lines
â6âThe Provincial Burden
8 Asia
â1âFrom Pharsalus to Alexandria
â2âEphesus Capital of Asia
â3âThe Ceremony and Rhetoric of Arrival
â4âCaesar and the Sanctuary of Artemis of Ephesus
9 Aegyptus
â1âOf Civil Wars Roman and Egyptian
â2âThe Wealth of Egypt
â3âBanking and Imperialism
Conclusion
Weights, Measures, and Currencies
Maps: Theatres of War in 49â48â¯BCE
Bibliography
Index of Ancient Sources
Index of Modern Authors
General Index
List of Maps
List of Block Quotations
Abbreviations
1 Introduction
2 The Civil War of 49â48â¯BCE
3 Italia
âIntroduction
â1âCrossing the Rubicon
â2âOpening the Sanctius Aerarium
â3âThe Sources of Soldiers
âConclusion
4 Hispania
â1âLaudes Hispaniae
â2âC. Caesar and Hispania
â3âCn. Pompeius and Hispania
â4âThe Significance of Clientelae
5 Gallia
â1âOmnis Gallia Germaniaque
â2âMassilia an Ally
â3âMassilia a Provincial Capital?
â4âGeopolitical Considerations
â5âChagrin at Massilia
â6âMassilia and Phocaea, or the Theme of Libertas
6 Africa
âIntroduction
â1âThe Sources of Caesarâs Narrative
â2âLegitimacy of Command
â3âRoman Armies in North Africa
â4âThe Grain of Africa
âConclusion
7 Macedonia
â1âCaesar Fleeing Forwards
â2âPompeiusâ Preparations for 48â¯BCE
â3âLife in the Military
â4âOther Than Soldiers
â5âSupply-Lines
â6âThe Provincial Burden
8 Asia
â1âFrom Pharsalus to Alexandria
â2âEphesus Capital of Asia
â3âThe Ceremony and Rhetoric of Arrival
â4âCaesar and the Sanctuary of Artemis of Ephesus
9 Aegyptus
â1âOf Civil Wars Roman and Egyptian
â2âThe Wealth of Egypt
â3âBanking and Imperialism
Conclusion
Weights, Measures, and Currencies
Maps: Theatres of War in 49â48â¯BCE
Bibliography
Index of Ancient Sources
Index of Modern Authors
General Index
All interested in the transition from Republic to Empire, and anyone working on the figures of Caesar, Pompeius, Cicero, or Augustus or interested in the phenomenon of civil war.