![]() ![]() The book's first three chapters reconstruct the background of the. This easily read chronicle of Caesar's experiences in Egypt is highly recommended for history enthusiasts. Julius Caesar in Egypt is a true story of double-cross, assassination and intrigue accompanied by lively battles, daring escapes, disastrous fires (the Great Library of Alexandria was largely destroyed in one fracas) and, if not a love story, at least a tale of sex and power as Caesar and Cleopatra's relationship shaped these world-changing events. The way Julius Caesar and Cleopatra VII met was a popular story that even became the subject of a painting by Jean-Lon Grme in 1866 entitled Cleopatra and Caesar.It was rumored that Cleopatra was not allowed by her brother-husband to meet Julius Caesar and so she had herself carried to his bedchamber secretly rolled in a carpet by one of her trusted servants. The war began with Julius Caesar's intervention in Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII's clash over the Egyptian succession, which Matyszak suggests was the dynasty's downfall. , this then puts Rome into another phase, I guess you could say, of the civil war. The Romans were besieged in Alexandria for seven months before reinforcements could get through to them. Julius Caesar installs Cleopatra as Pharaoh in Ptolemaic Egypt and becomes Dictator for Life, only to be assassinated by Brutus on the Ides of March. Most of his army was still in Greece, leaving him massively outnumbered by the Egyptian forces. He quickly sided with the beguiling Queen Cleopatra (after her famous carpet trick), despite having little more than a bodyguard with him. 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. The warring siblings were no different, and they quickly aligned themselves with different sides in Rome’s own brewing civil war. Pompey was comprehensively defeated and fled to the last power in the Mediterranean world that was independent of Rome, Ptolemaic Egypt. In 48 BC the armies of Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great fought a decisive battle at Pharsalus in Greece.
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