Crossing
the
Rubicon
What Does It Mean to Cross the Rubicon?
Crossing the Rubicon and the End of the Roman
Republic
By N.S. Gill
To cross the
Rubicon means to take an irrevocable step that commits one to a specific
course.
When
Julius Caesar was about to cross the tiny Rubicon River, he quoted from a play
by Menander to say "let the die be
cast."
But what kind of
die was Caesar casting and what decision was he making?
BEFORE THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Before
Rome was an Empire, it was a Republic.
Julius Caesar was
a general of an army of the Republic, based in the north of what is now
Northern Italy.
He
expanded the borders of the Republic into modern France, Spain, and Britain,
making him a popular leader.
His
popularity, however, led to tensions with other powerful Roman leaders.
Having
successfully led his troops in the north, Julius Caesar became governor of
Gaul, part of modern-day France. But his ambitions were not satisfied.
He wanted to
enter Rome itself at the head of an army. Such an act was forbidden by law.
AT THE RUBICON
When
Julius Caesar led his troops from
Gaul in January of 49 B.C.E., he paused on the northern end of a bridge.
As he stood, he
debated whether to cross or not the Rubicon, a river separating Cisalpine
Gaul from Italy.
When he was
making this decision, Caesar was contemplating committing a heinous crime.
If he brought his
troops into Italy, he'd be violating his role as a provincial authority and
would essentially be declaring himself an enemy of the state and the Senate,
fomenting civil war.
But if
he didn't bring
his troops into Italy, Caesar would be forced to relinquish his command and
probably go into exile, giving up his military glory and political future.
Caesar definitely
debated for a while about what to do. He realized how important his decision
was, especially since Rome had already undergone civil dispute a few
decades earlier.
According
to Suetonius, Caesar quipped, "Even yet we may draw back, but once
cross yon little bridge, and the whole issue is with the sword."
Plutarch
reports that he spent time with
his friends "estimating the great
evils for all mankind which would follow their passage of the river and the
wide fame of it which they would leave to posterity."
THE DIE IS CAST
A
die is simply one of a pair of dice.
Even in Roman
times, gambling games with dice were popular.
Just as it is today,
once you've cast (or thrown) the dice, your fate is decided. Even before the
dice land, your future has been foretold.
When Julius
Caesar crossed the Rubicon, he started a five-year Roman civil war.
At the war's end,
Julius Caesar was declared dictator for life.
As dictator,
Caesar presided over the end of the Roman Republic and the start of the Roman
Empire.
Upon Julius
Caesar's death, his adopted son, Augustus, became Rome's first emperor. The Roman
Empire started in 31 B.C.E. and lasted until 476 C.E.
RELATED POSTS:
CLICK HERE . . .
CLICK HERE . . .
CLICK HERE . . .
CLICK HERE . . .
CLICK HERE . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment