Andrea Pietro Cornalba "On The Alexandrian War"

Aulo Irzio

Text in English and Latin

English edition

eBook

Latin Forum

Volume 5

GBL Great Latin Library

Web site: www.grandebibliotecalatina.com

BOOK OPTIMIZED FOR BLIND ANDPARTIALY BLIND PEOPLE

On the cover an image of the Fate of Alexandria in Egypt freely inspired by a representation taken from the website

PREFAZIONE

Preface

If you know the story you can safely leave this section and read the text in purity and subsequently deal with the critical part. Personally I consider this a good methodology, this was the methodology used by an art history teacher (Laura De Campo), who first showed the painting and started a free comparison, subsequently exposed the rundown of critical opinions age by age, for then conclude with a comparison with the painting. Even with books this methodology has its value, if instead you prefer to approach a work after a certain preparation, the ideas below can partially help but are not exhaustive of all the themes contained in the text.

​Author

Aulo Irzio

Many things are known about him because he played a more than active role in the tumultuous political period of the two triunvirates.

We know he was a politician of some importance even before taking command of a legion of Caesar in Gaul. Here he takes on the task of completing De Bello Gallico, the eighth and final book is his work. This is one of the reasons that accredit him as a writer of the entire Corpus Caesarian, but this seems unlikely today, more reliable is the news that the publisher of the texts wants. In any case, he married the cause of Caesar, it was in Spain and Asia Minor and that's why we choose to consider him as the author of the Alexandrian, even if we cannot consider it a historical truth but only an authoritative possibility.

It seems to have been in Alexandria, will be indicated by Caesar as Consul and then, in 46 BC. was Proconsul of Transalpine Gaul. It does not seem to have been in Africa or Spain but this does not exclude the possibility that he is still behind Africa and Hispanic, who may have been sent to him as drafts or simple military dispatches to allow him to carry out his historian.

After the assassination of Caesar, he initially placed himself in the service of Marco Antonio but was subsequently persuaded by Tulio Cicero to embrace the Senatorial cause. Here happens a little known but fatal fact to Aulo Irzio, in this political phase, Marco Antonio was alone against all the others but strong of the consent of the plebs of Rome. Tenth Brutus was fortified in Modena om pending events, here he was joined by Consul Vibio Pansa, by the other Consul Aulo Irzio and by an ambitious young Octavian, legitimate heir of the dead Dictator. This short war was very bloody, in a first confused battle at Forum Gallorum the Consolo Vibio Pansa was seriously injured, but the legions sent by Aulo Irzio to help his colleague forced the tired Antonian forces to fall back, the losses were huge for both sides . However, this battle did not change the situation, Tenth Brutus was besieged in Modena while Aulus Irzio and Octavian were unable to bring him relief; the injuries sustained by Consul Pansa were fatal to him, here an episode concerning Aulo Irzio occurs, because the news of the battle of Forum Gallorum arrived in Rome through a letter from Irzio himself, this made it clear to the senatorial faction that the war against Antonio was won Cicero pronounces his latest Philippine in which he praises the two Consuls and neglects to mention Octavian, which in all probability will have its weight in the birth of the Second Triunvirate. While in Rome they were already celebrating, in Modena a new battle was preparing, Irzio and Ottaviano attack the field of Marco Antonio with a daring plan, the Consul Irzio, at the command of a legion was then able to penetrate until he reaches the tent of Antonio, but the latter's counterattack will cause the death of our Irzio, a melee ignites around the Consul's corpse which is resolved with the intervention of Octavian who, even if forced to fall back, will manage to recover the corpse. Aulus Irtius died on April 21, 43 BC but for the record, we must report that some important Roman historians make us aware of rumors that attribute to Octavian the murder of Irzio who was gaining considerable political consensus at the expense of the same shrewd future Octavian Augustus .

As can be understood from the biography of Aulo Irzio, the wars between the Triunviri were a fluid period with many changes of face and political arrivalism that cost the Romans many losses, shortly thereafter the second Triunvirato will be born right in Modena, which will slowly suffocate man Republic.

​The veils of history

​What is De Bello Alexandrino

Bellum Alexandrino, as it was called in Latin, is a text of the Corpus Caesarian, generally attributed to Aulo Irzio, although the attribution is uncertain. This third chapter of the war saga tells us in detail some events lived by Caesar in 47 BC. Here, however, an episode occurs outside the dispute between Cesariani and Pompeiani: in fact, it is an internal dispute in the kingdom of Egypt, an Illyrian section against pockets of resistance, a Hispanic entirely within the Cesarian faction and a Pontica concerning Farnace son of that Mithridates won years before by Pompeo.

Caesar found himself embroiled in the intrigues of the Egyptian court, where a difficult dynastic succession was underway in which Rome had to act as guarantor, as requested by the late Pharaoh Ptolemy XII (12). Egypt was already at the time an important wheat supplier for Rome which held a sort of discreet protectorate. We all know the story of Caesar and Cleopatra but here there is no trace of it, Ptolemy XIII (13), Arsinoe and the eunuch Ganymede, Cleopatra are mentioned and only mentioned almost absently, nothing is said of the three-month long journey on the river Nile, indeed reading it seems that Caesar immediately left for Syria at the end of the war.

An interesting aspect is the disdain for the killing of Pompeo and the macabre gift received by the young Pharaoh. Caesar's outrage seems sincere and I think it can be considered a just reaction if we consider that in those days Rome was not so great and that the two were fellow citizens, friends, party companions and even relatives. Then perhaps Caesar did not want the death of a man dear to his fellow citizens who had however made his homeland great, in short, strangers did not have to put their beak in strictly Capitoline affairs.

In any case, for Caesar, the Alexandria war was not easy, he often found himself in difficulty and the pages that describe it are therefore very interesting because they show us how the Romans had reached a much higher strategic level than older but also plastered peoples in habits not suitable to face the tough veterans framed in the legions reformed by Gaius Mario years before.

In a certain way, one realizes that republican practice, with its rules, allowed politicians to compete with each other without annihilating themselves, thus bringing out the qualities of individuals, who were thus also spurred on to competition but each in their own sphere , as a team with many capable players.

After the Egyptian phase there is a small pontic part in which Rome's difficulty in defending the eastern provinces with the defeat of Domizio Calvino is narrated.

Then the text moves to Illyria telling us about the difficult situation of that province after the battle of Farsalo, where the Pompeian fleet commanded by Marco Ottavio and the remains of his army, create quite a few problems for the Cesarian governor of the province who must be rescued by well two contingents.

The fourth part of the book moves to Spain and tells us a very intricate story concerning that province where two Cesarian factions confront each other causing serious damage to their political leader.

The last part is almost triumphant for Caesar that from Egypt, through Syria arrives in Asia and then in that pontic province oppressed by an arrogant king named Farnace who already boasted of his conquests, but whom Caesar defeats in one battle and rather quickly, so much so that when writing to a friend, these words will come: "I came, I saw, I won".

ON tHE ALEXANDRIAN WAR

De Bello Alexandrino

Text in English

​Prologue

De Bello Civili third book

102.

Caesar felt he had to leave out everything else and devote himself to chasing Pompeo to prevent him from gathering a new army and resuming hostilities. Every day he chased Pompeo advancing as much as he could with the cavalry but he had also ordered a legion to follow him even if with shorter stages. In Amphipolis an edict was issued in the name of Pompeo asking all young people in the province, whether they were Greeks or Roman citizens, to gather to swear military loyalty. It was not possible to understand whether this was done to divert attention from the true path of his escape or to try to maintain control of Macedonia in case the Cesarians did not attack that province. Pompeo stayed at anchor in Amphipolis one night, in which he summoned with him acquaintances and other guests to whom he asked for money on loan for the necessary expenses, therefore, having learned of the imminent arrival of Caesar, he left that place arriving in Mytilene a few days later. There he was detained for two days by bad weather; he used that time to add lighter ships to his ships, then left for Cilicia and from there reached Cyprus. In Cyprus he learned that the city of Antioch, with the consent of all the inhabitants and the Roman citizens who had their commercial activities there, had set up armed garrisons to prevent him from entering the city, and had sent ambassadors to the regions near there to also order other fugitives who were unwelcome in Antioch, and who had dared to do so, would have done so at the risk of life. A similar thing happened also to Lucio Cornelio Lentulo Crure in Rhodes, even if the year before he had covered the Consulate, to another former Consul like Publio Cornelio Lentulo Spintere and others. These had followed Pompeo in the escape; when they arrived on the island, they were not welcomed either in the city of Rhodes or in the port; indeed, shortly afterwards he was notified of the order to move away from those places and unwillingly, they took off. This was because the news of Caesar's arrival that was in pursuit of Pompeo was spreading everywhere.

103.

Having become aware of these facts, Pompeo abandoned the plan to reach Syria, after which he demanded money from the tax contractors, and received more on loan from private citizens; he loaded a large quantity of military bronze on his ships, armed 2000 men chosen from among the servants of the contractors or with servants found by the merchants of those they deemed suitable for the war and went to Pelusio. In Pelusio the Egyptian king Ptolemy XIII (13) was found by pure chance with an imposing army, who was engaged in fighting against his sister Cleopatra who a few months earlier had driven away from the throne, instigated by friends and relatives. Cleopatra's camp was not far from that of Ptolemy, but Pompeo chose to send Ptolemy bound with the request to welcome and protect him by virtue of hospitality and his friendship with his father. But these ambassadors, after having fulfilled their mission, began to speak indiscriminately with the soldiers in the service of Pharaoh, urging them to lend their help to Pompeo because among these there were many who had previously served under him and whom Aulo Gabinio had subsequently accepted among the ranks of his army in Syria and from there led to Alexandria at the time of Ptolemy XII (12) father of the boy king; these, once that war was over, Aulus Gabinius left free to remain with Ptolemy XII (12).

104.

This alarmed the advisers of the young pharaoh who, precisely because of his young age, actually ruled the kingdom, fearing that Pompeo could take control of the army and occupy Alexandria and Egypt, but also despising the current state of disgrace and the fate of Pompeo. They responded to his messengers with apparent courtesy, inviting him to present himself confidently to the king, showing himself falsely friends, as often happens in misfortune when friends become treacherous enemies. The Egyptians held a secret council in which they chose how to act, then sent Achilla, a man of singular audacity, with Lucius Septimius, a military tribune who had some confidence with Pompeo since during the war against pirates he had led a department of his army ; they, treating him with courtesy, invited him to board with a few companions on a small ship where he was killed by Achilla and Lucius Septimius. The same fate happened with Lucio Cornelio Lentulo Crure, who was first captured by order of the king and then killed in prison.

105.

Caesar, arriving in Asia, discovered that Tito Ampio had tried once again to take away the treasure of the Temple of Diana in Ephesus, so much so that he had called to assist all the Senators of the province to witness the amount of money withdrawn, but warned of the impending arrival or Caesar fled leaving everything in its place. Curiously, it was the second time that Caesar unwittingly saved the treasure of the Temple of Ephesus ... Another extraordinary event occurred in the Temple of Minerva in Elis; making the necessary calculations, it was understood that, on the same day in which Caesar won in Thessaly, a statue of Victory placed in that temple in front of that of Minerva and turned to it, turned towards the doors of the temple threshold. On that same day there was also an extraordinary event in Antioch in Syria: two times there was the outcry of an army and the sound of trumpets so loud as to make citizens flock to the walls with weapons ready from everywhere. The same thing happened in Tolemaide, while in Pergamum, in the most secret rooms of temples where access is allowed only to priests and which the Greeks use to call Adyta, the eardrums rang. Also in Tralli, in the temple dedicated to Victory where a statue of Caesar had been consecrated, a palm was shown that had sprung up between the joints of the stones.

106.

Caesar stayed only a few days in Asia; having leaoned that Pompey had been sighted in Cyprus, speculating on the possible final destination of Pompeo and considering that he was going to Egypt, a kingdom with which he had relations of some importance and the many comforts he offered, with a legion to which he had ordered already in Thessaly to follow him and a second conducted by the lieutenant Quinto Fufio Caleno left from Achaia and with 800 knights, escorted by 10 warships of Rhodes and few others from Asia, he arrived in Alexandria in Egypt. These legions were made up of 3200 men as many were injured in battle or fatigued from the long journey, so many were unable to follow him. But Caesar did not worry much about this, trusting in the fame obtained with his victory that made every place safe for him. But when he landed in Alexandria he realized that the soldiers left in the city by the king as a garrison were shouting at him and that even the population showed hostility towards him and that this was caused by the bundles that preceded him. The problem was that this was considered lese majesty towards their pharaoh. Once this misunderstanding was quelled, the problems did not end because in the following days there were many seditious gatherings and many soldiers were killed on the streets in various parts of the city.

107.

Considering the situation quite dangerous, he ordered that other legions from Asia be sent to him, units that he himself had set up to be formed with the veterans of the Pompeian legions. Besides, he was forced into Alexandria by those winds called Etesii that prevented him from sailing from his port. But in addition to the weather hindrances, Caesar believed it was pertaining to the Roman people and his as consul, to resolve the dispute between Ptolemy XIII (13) and his sister, also in consideration of the fact that during his previous consulate he had proposed a law, then which became a Senate Decree, which entered into an alliance with Ptolemy XII (12) father of the current pharaoh. He then let the Egyptians know that it would be to his liking that Ptolemy XIII (13) and Cleopatra would dissolve their respective armies and settle their disputes before him, following the legal and not the arms routes.

108.

But due to the young age of the boy pharaoh, one of his eunuch pedagogues named Potinus was in fact the ruler of the Kingdom. The eunuch at first complained to his helpers, he was indignant that a king was called to defend himself in court. Subsequently, following his complaints, he found among the collaborators of the king who could help him implement his plans; thus he managed to secretly bring the army from Pelusio to Alexandria and put in charge the Achilla already mentioned. Achilla was instigated and made proud by promises of both Potino and the king; through letters to ambassadors, Potino made him aware of his plans.

In the testament of Ptolemy XII (12) the eldest of the two sons and the eldest of the two daughters were indicated as heirs. Still in the same testament, in the name of the Gods and of the alliance made with Rome, Ptolemy XII (12) called the Roman people to be witness and guarantor of its dispositions. A copy of this testament had been sent to Rome to be kept in the public treasury archive; this copy, however, could not be deposited due to the ongoing political upheavals and remained among Pompeo's documents; the other copy was kept in Alexandria and was published with the royal seal.

109.

While Caesar was busy acting as arbiter to settle the matter by acting as a friend of both and the various issues were dealt with before him, the sudden news came that the royal army with all the cavalry was heading towards Alexandria. The soldiers at Caesar's disposal were not such as to be able to face a battle outside the city, so he could not help but remain on his positions in the city and understand what Achilla's intentions were. Caesar ordered his men to remain in arms and asked the king to send ambassadors to Achilla choosing among his family those who had a greater prestige, so that he could ask him what he intended. The king chose Dioscorides and Serapion, former ambassadors to Rome and known for their great authority over Ptolemy XII (12). When they arrived at Achilla's camp they didn't even have the opportunity to explain the reason for their embassy, because Achilla ordered them to be captured and killed. So they were immediately taken, one killed, the other wounded was thrown away as if he were dead. Following this event, Caesar considered it more convenient for him to keep the king in his power, considering the ascendancy that he had over his subjects but also to make it appear that the war was not waged out of royal will, but only because of initiative of private citizens and unscrupulous adventurers.

110.

The troops at Achilla's disposal were not despicable either by numerical strength or by military experience: they amounted to 20,000 men of which a part was made up of former legionnaires of Aulus Gabinius, who had remained in Alexandria getting used to that licentious life and now forgetful of the good name of the Roman army and its discipline; many of these had married, and some also had children. Another part was made up of thieves and murderers gathered in Syria, Cilicia and neighbouring regions; also sentenced to death and exiles were enrolled with these. After all, Alexandria, for all our runaway slaves, was a safe haven as long as they enlisted in the army. It also happened, in the event that one of them had been taken over by the master, that the companions went to free him to take him back with them, considering this as the right thing being themselves in the same condition as the companion, and this action was a guarantee for all of them. This composite army used to tyrannise the pharaoh asking for the death of the unwelcome advisers, to plunder the assets of the wealthiest and to besiege the royal palace to obtain a salary increase, to expel the unwanted kings from the kingdom to put others in it. The strength of this army was also given by the presence of 2000 knights and by the fact that they were veterans of many wars on behalf of Alexandria among which the one who put Ptolemy XII on the throne (12), the one with the killing of the two sons of Bibulo and others against the Egyptian people, all things that made them expert soldiers.

111.

Trusting in the value of his soldiers and despising the small number of those available to Caesar, Achilla occupied that large part of the city of Alexandria which was not controlled by the Romans. In the first assault he tried to raid the residence chosen by Caesar to stay there, but the Roman cohorts located in the neighbouring streets supported the assault; but almost simultaneously he attacked at the port, which turned out to be the real target and a much more demanding attack to be repelled. The enemies had divided into squads to be able to fight in several ways, trying with a considerable number of soldiers to take over the many Egyptian warships present in the port. Among those were the 50 sent to aid Pompeo who had returned to Alexandria with the end of the war in Thessaly, it was a question of quadriremi and quinqueremi perfectly equipped and ready for battle. In addition to those there were 22 others, also equipped with a covered bridge, which served as a normal military garrison in Alexandria. If the Alexandrians had succeeded in regaining possession of those ships, they would have taken control of the port and all the surrounding sea, preventing Caesar from providing food and help. For this reason, at the port they fought fiercely, the Alexandrians in the hope of a quick victory, the Romans for their salvation. Caesar's men got the better of it, but since it was too large an area to be defended, Caesar thought it wise to set fire to all those ships and even those in the dry dock (the fire will also spread to the Great Library), so he immediately landed some soldiers at the Great Lighthouse at the mouth of the port.

112.

The Grande Faro is a large, very tall tower of admirable workmanship which bears the name of the island on which it was built; this island was in front of the city creating the port. The first kings of the city threw a long pier of 900 steps (675 meters) that united it to the city almost like a bridge, albeit with a narrow passage. On this island there is a district as big as a city whose inhabitants are also devoted to piracy on those ships that, due to inexperience or storm, end up defenceless too close to the island. Another thing to mention is the fact that due to the narrow access opening to the Grand Port, no one could enter it without the consent of the person who controls it. This is why Caesar, aware of the strategic value of that position for his supplies, while the enemies were busy at the port makes you land soldiers, occupied the Faro tower and placed a garrison there, thus ensuring the flow of wheat by sea and reinforcements which, moreover, he had already arranged to request from all the neighbouring provinces.

In other parts of the city where there was fighting, there were neither losers nor winners, mainly because of the too cramped places, so that few men were killed. During the night Caesar fortified those strategically important points that were in his possession. In that part of the city controlled by Caesar on the mainland, there was a part of the palace that Caesar had immediately used as his residence and a theatre connected to the palace that was used as a stronghold. That area was also connected to the king's port and shipyards; all these parts were fortified in the following days so that they became its walls, to have the possibility of not engaging in fights against one's will.

In the meantime, in the enemy camp it happened that the younger daughter of Ptolemy XII (12), in the hope of occupying the vacant kingdom, left the palace to take refuge with Achilla with the intent to conduct the war with him. But soon discord arose between them regarding the supreme command of the operations, triggering a contest of donations to the soldiers to ingratiate them. Meanwhile, the eunuch Potino, regent of the boy, even though he was with Caesar, sent ambassadors to Achilla urging him not to desist from the undertaking and remain in mind, but he was reported to Caesar who had him killed.

These were the beginnings of the Alexandrian war.

END OF THE BOOK (De Bello Civili)

​On the Alexandrian War

De Bello Alexandrino

1.

Gaius Julius Caesar, even before the Alexandrian War broke out, had already called the fleet from Rhodes, Syria and Cilicia, asked for archers in Crete, cavalry in Malco I (1) King of the Nabataeans, made to look for war machines everywhere , in addition to food and aid. At the same time, in Alexandria, Caesar fortifies the part of the city under his control, building defensive works and displacing "tortoises" (military formations) and "cloaks" (an unclear term that can indicate many things or military units, more likely darts protections) where his defences appear weaker. It also creates loopholes in buildings to target the enemy; he knocks down nearby and useless buildings with rams and other means by reusing the recovered material to complete the construction of the defensive perimeter and when he takes possession of new buildings with weapons, he immediately includes them in the defence system.

2.

The Alessandrini, for their part, were not slow to react and wasted no time; they sent messengers and delegates throughout the Egyptian territory, gathering a large mass of armed men and war machines. Large arms workshops had been created in the city and all the skilled slaves had been included in the ranks, while the wealthy Alexandrians took care of feeding them and paying them.

The Alessandrini controlled the peripheral districts of the city; they had well distributed the many men at their disposal, while the more expert units were stationed at strategic points and exempted from the fortification works, so that they were always ready and operational. All crossroads and roads were closed by a triple bastion up to 40 feet high (10 meters, a measure that seems exaggerated or that perhaps refers to towers with much lower walls, however they would be 3/4 floors) and built with stones well squared. The lower quarters were defended by towers up to 10 floors high (one floor was slightly taller than a man then 15/18 meters) and there were other mobile ones, placed on wheels and moved with ropes and horses where needed .

3.

The city, rich and abundantly equipped with everything, had allowed the inhabitants, who were largely hardworking and skilled craftsmen, to build all those works suitable for war so well that, ours, seemed to be a copy of theirs; besides these, they made others of their own invention and, with all these, they fought in an orderly and well-coordinated way.

In addition to this, they added the determination infused by the incitement of their eminent representative, who in the city assemblies ironically stated that inexplicably the Romans had taken the habit of settling in Egypt: years before Aulus Gabinius had come with an army, then Pompey had come to seek refuge there, and even the murder of Pompey had not prevented Caesar from coming and stopping here; therefore they had to brigade to hunt it otherwise Egypt would have become a Roman province, and this had to be done now that Caesar, due to the adverse weather, could not receive aid by sea.

4.

A quarrel broke out among the Egyptians; Achilla, general of the veteran troops, clashed with Arsinoe, the younger daughter of the late Ptolemy XII (12), because both wanted the supreme command. The Egyptian princess entrusted the eunuch Ganymede, her skilled minister, with the task of assassinating Achilla. The death of the Egyptian general gave Arsinoe the command of his people and she gave Ganymede the command of the war operations. The latter immediately increased the pay to what had been Achilla's troops, so as to guarantee their loyalty.

5.

The city of Alexandria was entirely built from scratch and has underground canals that bring water from the Nile to private homes, where it settles into cisterns by depositing the remaining silt on the bottom and thus becoming drinkable. The servants of wealthy citizens and also the "masters" (probably intended both as educated people and artists or artisans) of the city used only this water, while the poor were forced to drink the muddy Nile that is the bearer of many diseases, even because there was not a single fountain in the whole city. The river flowed on the side occupied by the Egyptians who could dispose of it at will, and so, the fact that the water pipes for the water supply were under their control, gave the idea, to the eunuch Ganimede, to take advantage of it to remove this precious asset to the Romans. In fact, the Capitoline forces, engaged on the perimeter defences, had to go to the few private houses included in the small part of the city under their control to obtain drinking water from the cisterns.

6.

To achieve this, the Alexandrians had to do a great deal of work, but they managed to intercept all the canals coming from the Nile and then to introduce sea water; they built engineering works and particular machines that took water from the sea and poured it into the pipes of the upstream districts, which supplied the part controlled by Cesar.

At first only a part of the cisterns failed, the higher ones, while the lower ones remained with good water and the men did not understand how this could be: they compared the different liquids and did not understand where the brackish water came from . In short, one part became undrinkable, while the other seemed to remain unchanged; but after a few days the latter also began to fail.

7.

From that moment there was no longer any doubt that the water had been voluntarily polluted; terror peeped over the faces of the soldiers looking at each other lost. Some claimed that Cesar had been slow in making the decision to embark, others argued that they were too close to the Alessandrini to be able to hide their preparations and embark without running the risk of being attacked and chased during the delicate boarding phase. In addition to this there was also another problem, in the part of the city occupied by Caesar, there were inhabitants of Alexandria that Caesar had not driven out of their homes, because they had proved to be faithful friends; so he had pledged to defend them and meditated to engage them in works that, even if useless, served to demonstrate their loyalty, because, as all those who have been in this land know, in general they are treacherous, shrewd and deceptive people.

8.

Caesar noticed the disturbance that this event had caused in his soldiers, so he said that he was able to find water because he knows that each coast is naturally rich in fresh water and that it is enough to dig wells to find it, adding that it may not be that the Egyptian coast is an exception, but that if so, he also explained that, having dominion of the sea as the enemy was devoid of a war fleet, they had no problem supplying it because the winds could not blow at the same time in both directions and in the opposite direction for both east and west navigation. He then explained that in addition to the honour, which forced him to fight, there was also the problem of impossible departure. Those who cared most about life had to consider that it would have been impossible to hide it from the enemies, who would have immediately taken advantage of it to attack them during those delicate boarding phases and that, although lower in military value and technique, abandoning the defensive perimeter would have allowed the enemies to occupy favourable positions, with the added advantage of numbers and elated at the imminent victory, would have denied many of us the escape. So all that remained was to stay and fight for life, if not for honour.

9.

After instilling new courage in his men with his discourse, he ordered the centurions to quit all other jobs to engage in the excavation of wells day and night. Everybody worked hard and in a single night a large amount of water was found and with relatively little work the evil that the enemies, with many tribulations and efforts, hoped to do was neutralized.

Two days after the XXXVII (37) legion, made up of Pompey's soldiers who had surrendered, sent by Domizio Calvino, after being loaded on ships with provisions, weapons and war machines, he landed on the African coast just above Alexandria; this was due to the eastern wind which prevented them from reaching the city port. Fortunately, the coast of this part of Egypt is suitable for anchoring ships, but this created another problem. The fleet, in fact, had run out of water, so they sent a light ship to warn Cesar of the incident, the location and the problem.