For other uses, see Crossing the Rubicon (disambiguation).
Idiom to mean a point of no return
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Caesar's civil war
Italy
Rubicon
Corfinium
Brundisium
Spain
Massilia (land)
Ilerda
Massilia (naval)
Tauroento
Carteia
Munda
Corduba
Lauro
Macedonia and Illyricum
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Caesar's invasion of Macedonia
Oricum
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Gomphi
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Egypt and Asia
Nicopolis
Alexandrian war
Alexandria
Nile
Zela
Apamea
Africa
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Bagradas
Caesar's invasion of Africa
Ruspina
Ascurum
Thapsus
Hippo Regius
The modern Rubicon river (dark blue), believed to be the same river crossed by Caesar
The phrase "crossing the Rubicon" is an idiom that means "passing a point of no return".[1] Its meaning comes from allusion to the crossing of the river Rubicon by Julius Caesar in early January 49 BC. The exact date is unknown.[2] Scholars usually place it on the night of 10 and 11 January because of the speeds at which messengers could travel at that time.[3] It is often asserted that Caesar's crossing of the river precipitated Caesar's civil war;[4] however, Caesar's forces had already crossed into Italy and occupied Ariminum the previous day.[5]
The civil war ultimately led to Caesar's becoming dictator for life (dictator perpetuo). Caesar had been appointed to a governorship over a region that ranged from southern Gaul to Illyricum. As his term of governorship ended, the Senate ordered him to disband his army and return to Rome. As it was illegal to bring armies into Italy (the northern border of which was marked by the river Rubicon) his crossing the river under arms amounted to insurrection, treason, and a declaration of war on the state. According to some authors, he uttered the phrase alea iacta est ("the die is cast") before crossing.
^Beard 2015, p. 286.
^Beard 2015, p. 286. "Sometime around 10 January 49 BCE, Julius Caesar... crossed the Rubicon... the exact date is not known, nor even the location of this most historically significant of rivers".
^Morstein-Marx 2021, p. 322.
^Eg Redonet, Fernando Lillo (2017-03-15). "How Julius Caesar Started a Big War by Crossing a Small Stream". History. National Geographic. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
^Badian 1990, p. 30. "The civil war did not begin with Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon. By the time he reached the river, Q. Hortensius had already occupied Ariminum".
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