Battle of Zela
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Zela was a battle fought in 47 BC between Julius Caesar
and Pharnaces II
of The Kingdom of Pontus.
, Caesar left Egypt
and travelled through Syria, Cilicia and Cappadocia to fight Pharnaces, son of Mithridates VI.
Pharnaces had defeated Caesar's Legate
Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus, and his small Roman and allied army at the Battle of Nicopolis
. He then committed atrocities against the Roman POWs and against any Roman civilians he found in the region. As Pharnaces gained word of Caesar's approach, he sent envoys to seek a peace which Caesar refused outright.
s of the veteran VI Legion
, the full XXII Legion
, an allied force of Galatians and Vexillatio
ns from the XXXVI Legion. He also had a small contingent of cavalry. Pharnaces had an army approximately 20,000 strong, mostly consisting of tribal and levied infantry but also containing a core of professional soldiers and cavalry.
, what is now a small hilltop town in the Tokat province
of northern Turkey. The Pontic army positioned itself near the hilltop town of Zela, but as Caesar's men were entrenching their own camp on nearby high ground the Pontic force suddenly attacked. This action was unexpected as it defied logic to give up the solid position at Zela and to attack uphill. The assault achieved momentary surprise and at first gained some ground amidst the confusion, but the veteran Roman legionaries
soon recovered and quickly organised a defensive line. Caesar then went onto the counter-offensive and drove the Pontic army back down the hill, where it broke into a complete rout.
It was a decisive point in Caesar's civil war
- his five-day campaign against Pharnaces was evidently so swift and complete that, according to Plutarch
(writing about 150 years after the battle) he commemorated it with the now famous Latin words reportedly written to Amantius in Rome Veni, vidi, vici
("I came, I saw, I conquered"). Suetonius
says that the same three words were displayed prominently in the triumph for the victory at Zela. Pharnaces escaped the rout back to his Bosporan Kingdom
but was killed by one of his former governors in a skirmish.
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
and Pharnaces II
Pharnaces II of Pontus
Pharnaces II of Pontus, also known as Pharnaces II was a prince, then King of Pontus and the Bosporan until his death. He was a monarch of Persian and Greek Macedonian ancestry. Pharnaces II was the youngest son and child born to King Mithridates VI of Pontus from his first wife, his sister Queen...
of The Kingdom of Pontus.
Prelude
After the defeat of the Ptolemaic forces at the Battle of the NileBattle of the Nile (47 BC)
The Battle of the Nile in 47 BC saw the combined Roman–Egyptian armies of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra VII defeat those of the rival Queen Arsinoe IV and King Ptolemy XIII and secure the throne of Egypt....
, Caesar left Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and travelled through Syria, Cilicia and Cappadocia to fight Pharnaces, son of Mithridates VI.
Pharnaces had defeated Caesar's Legate
Legatus
A legatus was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer. Being of senatorial rank, his immediate superior was the dux, and he outranked all military tribunes...
Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus, and his small Roman and allied army at the Battle of Nicopolis
Battle of Nicopolis (48 BC)
The Battle of Nicopolis was fought in December 48 BC between the army of Pharnaces II of Pontus, the son of Mithdridates VI Eupator, and a Roman army led by Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus....
. He then committed atrocities against the Roman POWs and against any Roman civilians he found in the region. As Pharnaces gained word of Caesar's approach, he sent envoys to seek a peace which Caesar refused outright.
The forces
Caesar had two CohortCohort (military unit)
A cohort was the basic tactical unit of a Roman legion following the reforms of Gaius Marius in 107 BC.-Legionary cohort:...
s of the veteran VI Legion
Legio VI Ferrata
Legio sexta Ferrata , was a Roman Legion formed in 65 BC, and in existence up to at least 3rd century. A Legio VI fought in the Roman Republican civil wars of the 40s and 30s BC...
, the full XXII Legion
Legio XXII Deiotariana
Legio vigesima secunda Deiotariana was a Roman legion, levied approximately in 48 BC and disbanded during the Bar Kokhba revolt of 132–135...
, an allied force of Galatians and Vexillatio
Vexillatio
A vexillatio was a detachment of a Roman legion formed as a temporary task force created by the Roman Army of the Principate. It was named from the standards carried by legionary detachments, vexillum , which bore the emblem and name of the parent legion...
ns from the XXXVI Legion. He also had a small contingent of cavalry. Pharnaces had an army approximately 20,000 strong, mostly consisting of tribal and levied infantry but also containing a core of professional soldiers and cavalry.
The battle
The battle took place in ZileZile
', also known as Zela, is a city and a district of Tokat Province, Turkey. Zile lies to the south of Amasya and the west of Tokat in north-central Turkey...
, what is now a small hilltop town in the Tokat province
Tokat Province
Tokat Province is a province in northern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Amasya to the northwest, Yozgat to the southwest, Sivas to the southeast, and Ordu to the northeast...
of northern Turkey. The Pontic army positioned itself near the hilltop town of Zela, but as Caesar's men were entrenching their own camp on nearby high ground the Pontic force suddenly attacked. This action was unexpected as it defied logic to give up the solid position at Zela and to attack uphill. The assault achieved momentary surprise and at first gained some ground amidst the confusion, but the veteran Roman legionaries
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
soon recovered and quickly organised a defensive line. Caesar then went onto the counter-offensive and drove the Pontic army back down the hill, where it broke into a complete rout.
It was a decisive point in Caesar's civil war
Caesar's civil war
The Great Roman Civil War , also known as Caesar's Civil War, was one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire...
- his five-day campaign against Pharnaces was evidently so swift and complete that, according to Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
(writing about 150 years after the battle) he commemorated it with the now famous Latin words reportedly written to Amantius in Rome Veni, vidi, vici
Veni, vidi, vici
"Veni, vidi, vici" is a Latin sentence reportedly written by Julius Caesar in 47 BC as a comment on his short war with Pharnaces II of Pontus in the city of Zela ....
("I came, I saw, I conquered"). Suetonius
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....
says that the same three words were displayed prominently in the triumph for the victory at Zela. Pharnaces escaped the rout back to his Bosporan Kingdom
Bosporan Kingdom
The Bosporan Kingdom or the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus was an ancient state, located in eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus...
but was killed by one of his former governors in a skirmish.