Directory

49 BCE

Caesar arrives in Spain; seizes the Pyrenees passes against the Pompeians L. Afranius and Marcus Petreius. Caesar's general Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in North Africa by the Pompeians under Attius Varus and King Juba I of Numidia (whom he defeated earlier in the Battle of Utica) in the Battle of the Bagradas, after which he commits suicide. Brutus defeats the combined Pompeian-Massilian naval forces of the siege of Massilia, while the Caesarian fleet in the Adriatic Sea is defeated near Curicta (Krk).

Conflict & Security

  • January 1 – The Roman Senate receives a proposal from Julius Caesar that he and Pompey should lay down their commands simultaneously. The Senate responds that Caesar must immediately surrender his command.source
  • January – Caesar leads his army across the Rubicon, which separates his jurisdiction in Cisalpine Gaul from that of the Senate in Rome, and thus initiates a civil war.source
  • March 9 – Caesar advances against Pompeian forces in Spain.source
  • April 19 – Siege of Massilia: Caesar commences a siege at Massilia against the Pompeian Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. He leaves the newly raised legions XVII, XVIII and XIX to conduct the siege. Decimus Brutus – victor over the Veneti (see 56 BC) – is in charge of the fleet to blockade the harbor.source
  • June – Caesar arrives in Spain; seizes the Pyrenees passes against the Pompeians L. Afranius and Marcus Petreius.source
  • July 30 – Caesar surrounds Afranius and Petreius's army in Ilerda.source
  • August 2 – Pompeians in Ilerda surrender to Caesar and are granted pardon.source
  • August 24 – Caesar's general Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in North Africa by the Pompeians under Attius Varus and King Juba I of Numidia (whom he defeated earlier in the Battle of Utica) in the Battle of the Bagradas, after which he commits suicide.source
  • September 6 – Massilia surrenders to Caesar, as he is coming back from Spain.source
  • September – Brutus defeats the combined Pompeian-Massilian naval forces of the siege of Massilia, while the Caesarian fleet in the Adriatic Sea is defeated near Curicta (Krk).source

Exploration & Expansion

  • February – Pompey's flight to Epirus (in Western Greece) with most of the Senate.source
  • June 7 – Cicero slips out of Italy and goes to Thessaloniki.source

Religion & Belief

  • October – Caesar is appointed Dictator in Rome.source
  • Consuls: Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Crus, Gaius Claudius Marcellus.source

Births

  • Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, Roman consul (d. 25 AD)source

Deaths

  • January 10 – Xuan of Han, emperor of the Han dynasty (b. 91 BC)source
  • Zheng Ji, general of the Han dynastysource
  • Marcus Perperna, Roman politiciansource
  • Aristobulus II, king and high priest of Judeasource
  • Gaius Scribonius Curio, Roman politiciansource
  • Gaius Memmius, Roman orator and poet (presumed).source
  • Jieyou, princess of the Han dynasty (b. 121 BC)source