On The Alexandrian War. Caesar Gaius Julius

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      While Caesar was busy encouraging and directing the soldiers on the front line, a large number of rowers and sailors alighted from the ships resting on the pier on the Caesarian side of the port. The reason was not clear: some out of curiosity to see the fights, others out of the desire to participate; the fact is that at first this move was positive because these, with throwing stones and other things, managed to keep away the Alexandrian boats that tried to land on the pier on the opposite side. Later, however, after a small group of Alessandrini had managed to get close and set foot on it, they swerved, lost alignments, stopped following their signs and in total chaos tried to get back on the ships. Seeing this, the enemies became bold and bolder, which increased confusion; the moored ships took the catwalks away from the pier, while ours launched from the pier to go up there. The three cohorts, seeing the boats go away, feared to remain closed between the enemies who attacked them from the side of the bridge and those who landed on the pier, and so part of them became intimidated and joined those who fled to the ships; so the worst happened: many fell into the water, others used the shield as a board to swim the boats that were leaving, while those who remained undecided about what to do were killed by the Alexandrians who attacked their position.

      21.

      Caesar, who was busy inciting and giving orders, found himself in danger and seeing the impossibility of remedying the disaster, he took refuge on his flagship; but then, sensing what could happen, given that this was unable to move because of the chaos and the many men who climbed the sides to find escape, threw himself into the sea and swam to the most distant ships, free from impediments, and from there he sent boats to save as many men as possible. Caesar's ship, which was blocked and weighed down by those seeking escape, overturned and sank with all the crew; in this action Caesar lost more than 400 legionnaires and an even greater number of rowers and sailors. With this battle, the Alessandrini reconquered the fortifications of the bridge near the city, strengthened it considerably with works and war machines, then freed the canal, thus allowing their boats to continue using it.

      22.

      Despite this failure, ours were far from feeling defeated; rather, they were burning with revenge and put even more effort into overcoming and removing the barriers of the enemies. They conquered new positions in the city and in all those daily battles that took place here and there; thus, the Alexandrians understood that the Romans exalted themselves in victory and became determined hoist me in redeeming myself after a defeat. Legions continued to be duty-bound as usual, while, on the contrary, Caesar's incitement had failed. The defeat had proved it and it was at this moment that we found ourselves in greater difficulty, because the Alessandrini attacked with more vigour.

      23.

      The enemies, noting that despite their recent victory the Romans had not been demoralized but were even more determined than before, decided to try another path. Caesar had little Pharaoh as his prisoner; among the Egyptians within the perimeter there were partisans of this who worked for the liberation of the legitimate sovereign. With messages and the assent of their King, they decided to make this request to Caesar, or to leave their sovereign free by reporting that many subjects were tired of the despotic government of a young girl and the eunuch Ganymede. They made him realize that this would bring him benefits and even the end of the war, because with a just agreement, beneficial for little Pharaoh, Egypt could agree to return to the Roman Protectorate.

      24.

      Caesar was aware that the people were able to conceal their true feelings and instinctively would have denied their assent, however he assessed differently. If it really was as they claimed, the release of their legitimate ruler would bring order to the kingdom. If, on the other hand, the intent was only to put that legitimate King at the head of the army, there would have been more glory and honour for him to face a Pharaoh rather than a counsellor, however, very skilled and capable. So Caesar called him and spoke to him; despite the apparent innocence, the young man was already able to camouflage his feelings: whimpering he tried to move the consul of Rome, who held him by the hand and handed him back to freedom and his subjects, while he said that it was difficult to reign over Egypt and that, if he could, he preferred to stay and enjoy the company of Caesar.

      Once free, however, the exact opposite occurred of what his words and his advisers had announced, and as part of Caesar already expected: the Alexandrian war operations resumed with more vigour, once again showing the falsity of those people. Caesar's men, but also friends, centurions and soldiers, thought that this time their commander had been made fun of by a boy and that he had acted more out of kindness than with sensible and thoughtful caution.

      25.

      The Alessandrini realized that, even if they now had only one leader, they had not become stronger than the Romans, and furthermore, following the continuous failures of their attacks, they lost confidence in their new guide who, as foreseen by Caesar, had ousted the capable eunuch Ganymede.

      Word came to the Alexandrians that reinforcements for the besieged were already on the march from Syria and Cilicia, so they decided to try again to intercept supplies for us. Having ships in Canopus in the Nile Delta and reinforcing them with other units, they prepared to take our convoy by surprise.

      Caesar did not know where his reinforcements were, but when he learned that the Egyptians were preparing to attack his supplies, he gave order to the fleet to sail and in command placed Tiberius Claudio Nero. With him went the Rodie ships commanded by the lucky Euphranor who had participated in all the battles and always with a happy outcome, but the luck that had always supported the skilled Euphranor that day changed his opinion and abandoned the Rhodium. In fact, when the two fleets near Canobio engaged in battle, Euphranor, with his ship, attacked first as he used to do; he sank a trireme and then went further to attack another one not far away, but he went too far from his fleet that had failed to follow him and found himself isolated and surrounded by enemy ships. Nobody cared to support him, perhaps because they were confident in his seafaring skills or because they were afraid of danger; it happened that alone he faced the glorious struggle, covered himself with honour but finally perished sinking with his ship that until then had always been victorious.

      26.

      In the same days Mithridates of Pergamum, noble by birth, skilled and courageous strategist, faithful friend of Caesar who had been sent to Syria and Cilicia to enlist troops since the beginning of the Alexandrian war, had come to Pelusio with a large army of those fond people who also thanks to his dignity and fame gladly followed him.

      Pelusio was well guarded by a strong contingent left by Achilla, who well knew the strengths of the place; in fact Pelusio connected Egypt to Syria by land and was, together with the port of Alexandria, one of the two entrances to the kingdom.

      Mithridates attacked him suddenly and with many soldiers, making them rotate on the front line so that the troops always carry the attack, fresh and not tired and battered; in one day he conquered the fortress and placed a garrison there. After this victory he focused on Alexandria and during the march he forced the lands crossed to declare himself in favour of Caesar.

      27.

      A short distance from Alexandria there is one of the most beautiful places in Egypt, known as the Nile Delta, given that there the large river divides itself gently into two branches that gradually distance each other more and more until it flows into the sea at a lot of distance between them, drawing the letter of the Greek alphabet called Delta. The Pharaoh, informed of the approach of Mithridates and knowing full well that he had to pass from there, sent him against a large army that he considered adequate to defeat him or at least to stop him, thus preventing him from bringing help to Caesar. But the first troops who crossed the river, eager for glory and eager not to divide the honor of victory, attacked without waiting for the rest of the army. Mithridates, who had learned the Roman technique of the entrenched camp, СКАЧАТЬ