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Thread: The pontic campaign & the Battle of Zela (47 B.C.)

  1. #1
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    Default The pontic campaign & the Battle of Zela (47 B.C.)

    Hello folks!
    I´m currently looking into Ceasar`s pontic campaign, especially the Battle of Zela.

    In short: While the romans were busy slaughtering each other during the Civil war; Pharnaces II of the bosporan Kingdom used the chaos to attack in norther Asia minor.
    During Ceasars amorous undertakings in Alexandria, Pharnaces defeated Ceasars Legat Calvinus and the adjected Forces.

    After the mess in Alexandria was solved, Ceasar hurried northwards and defeated Pharnaces in a swift campaign with the decisive Battle of Zela as its culmination.
    Thats where the veni, vidi, vici comes from by the way.

    My problem is the lack of sources. The Prelude is mainly laid out in Ceasars Bello Alexandrino, the subsequent events are to be found in the Books of Plutarch and Sueton.
    Are there any further Sources about this campaign, or the bosporan Kingdom, especially the army Ceasar had to face in Zela?

    I imagine a core of Phalangites, some thorakitai, cavalry and scyted chariots.... Source: Roma Surrectum II

    Any Ideas?

  2. #2
    Morticia Iunia Bruti's Avatar Praeses
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    Default Re: The pontic campaign & the Battle of Zela (47 B.C.)

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    The Battle of Zela was a battle fought in 47 BC between Julius Caesar and Pharnaces II of the Kingdom of Pontus.

    Contents

    1 Prelude
    2 The Forces
    3 The battle
    4 Aftermath
    5 References

    Prelude

    After the defeat of the Ptolemaic forces at the Battle of the Nile, 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 prisoners and against any Roman civilians he found in the region. When Pharnaces received word of Caesar's approach, he sent envoys to seek peace, which Caesar refused outright.

    The Forces

    Caesar had two cohorts of the veteran VI Legion, the full XXII Legion, an allied force of Galatians and Vexillations 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 phalangites, legionnaires, and cavalry. Pharnaces also had scythed chariots.

    The battle

    The battle took place in Zile, 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 on the counter-offensive and drove the Pontic army back down the hill, where it was completely routed.[1]

    Aftermath

    It was a decisive point in Caesar's military career - 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").[2] Suetonius says that the same three words were displayed prominently in the triumph for the victory at Zela.[3] Pharnaces escaped from the rout back to his Bosporan Kingdom but was killed by one of his former governors in a skirmish.

    References

    Goldsworthy, A. Caesar, pp. 446-447
    Plutarch Caesar 50
    Suetonius Divus Iulius 37


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Zela

    I would recommend Goldsworthy after this wiki article.
    Cause tomorrow is a brand-new day
    And tomorrow you'll be on your way
    Don't give a damn about what other people say
    Because tomorrow is a brand-new day


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    Default Re: The pontic campaign & the Battle of Zela (47 B.C.)

    Seems like I have to buy that book, one of the few I don`t have at home.
    The Article is rather thin for such a famous action.... or maybe it was not so much to write about?
    Romans fortified their Position, Pharnaces II tried his luck and failed. In Nicopolis he had to face mostly green troops that fled fast, maybe he hoped for the same.

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    Morticia Iunia Bruti's Avatar Praeses
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    Default Re: The pontic campaign & the Battle of Zela (47 B.C.)

    Quote Originally Posted by Morifea View Post
    Seems like I have to buy that book, one of the few I don`t have at home.
    The Article is rather thin for such a famous action.... or maybe it was not so much to write about?
    Romans fortified their Position, Pharnaces II tried his luck and failed. In Nicopolis he had to face mostly green troops that fled fast, maybe he hoped for the same.
    The Quote "Veni, Vidi, Vici" is a short intented summary of the battle from Caesar himself.
    Cause tomorrow is a brand-new day
    And tomorrow you'll be on your way
    Don't give a damn about what other people say
    Because tomorrow is a brand-new day


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    Lord Oda Nobunaga's Avatar 大信皇帝
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    Default Re: The pontic campaign & the Battle of Zela (47 B.C.)

    The Zela campaign is not my forte. I have a buddy who is really into Macedonia and the Roman Republic. I'll give him a call and see if he can check it out.

    In all seriousness I would imagine that the Pontic army at Zela wasn't much different from the Pontic army in the Mithridatic Wars. There is a lot to be said that the Mithridatic Wars were heavily embellished by the Romans.

    This battle in particular just appears to be the standard one army is on a hill while the other army attacks the forces on the hill.

    "Famous general without peer in any age, most superior in valor and inspired by the Way of Heaven; since the provinces are now subject to your will it is certain that you will increasingly mount in victory." - Ōgimachi-tennō

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    Default Re: The pontic campaign & the Battle of Zela (47 B.C.)

    @Lord Oda: This would be great.

    Mithridates had reformed his army after the defeats against Sulla, as far as I remember he had some former Marians as advisors... This reformed army did the job good enough against Lucullus and Pompejus Magnus, therefore I assume Pharnaces didn`t change much of the military structure. He will have had much lesser funds to draw from of course.

    One could ask which of they`re wars wasn`t embellished by the romans

  7. #7

    Default Re: The pontic campaign & the Battle of Zela (47 B.C.)

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Oda Nobunaga View Post
    The Zela campaign is not my forte. I have a buddy who is really into Macedonia and the Roman Republic. I'll give him a call and see if he can check it out.
    That's me

    Oda is probably wrong here in honesty. When Pompey launched his campaign against Mithridates after arriving in the east, Mithridates' army was reduced primarily to native archers and probably low quality cavalry. Even during the time of Mithridates' ascension to power and before he started reforming the army along Roman lines, it's doubtful whether the army was really that similar to an Alexandrian/Macedonian style army at all. It's even more doubtful that Pharnaces had the resources to emulate either system. Instead, he probably drew on native levies that were primarily lightly armed, along with some mercenaries.

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    Default Re: The pontic campaign & the Battle of Zela (47 B.C.)

    @Sudden Death: Thank you, I always assumed the army of Pharnaces to have a bit more quality, but your points make sense.

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