AW392 - Crossing the Rubicon
Ancient Warfare Podcast
The History Network
4.3 • 645 Ratings
🗓️ 16 January 2026
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On 10 January 49 BC, Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River, a decision that would trigger civil war and reshape the Roman world. But what did this moment really mean, and how inevitable was the conflict that followed?
In this episode of the Ancient Warfare Podcast, the team explore the political and military background to Caesar's fateful decision. We look at the breakdown of relations between Caesar and Pompey, the pressures within the Roman Republic, and why compromise ultimately failed. Was Caesar forced into action, or did he deliberately choose war?
The discussion goes beyond the famous phrase and the dramatic image of a single river crossing. We examine the military realities Caesar faced, the loyalties of his legions, Pompey's strategic position, and how contemporaries understood the step Caesar had taken. Finally, we consider how the crossing of the Rubicon has been remembered, mythologised, and misunderstood ever since.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to another episode of the Ancient Warfare podcast and happy new year. |
| 0:10.2 | It's the first, no, it's not. |
| 0:12.4 | It's the first podcast of 26, first full podcast. |
| 0:16.4 | I was going to say it's the first Friday when we always record, but it isn't. |
| 0:20.3 | It's the second Friday, for me at least, and so it is for Mark McCaffrey and Mark DeSantis who |
| 0:26.9 | have joined me today, but for Murray-Dom, it's already the 10th, and apparently that's a date |
| 0:33.1 | we want to remember, but it doesn't live in for me, depending on your point of view, I suppose. |
| 0:38.2 | So, yes, the 10th of January in 49 BC is when Julius C's across the Rubicon. So I thought, |
| 0:45.5 | given that we're talking on this anniversary, even though this won't be published until a week |
| 0:49.2 | later, we could talk about that anniversary, that this is the day, the mathematics-wise, 2000-something years ago, that Julius sees across the Rubicon and kicked off the Roman Civil War between him and Pompey, which, you know, the rest is history, as they say. |
| 1:08.9 | I'm wearing my Dungeons and Dragons shirt because it's the closest thing I have to a dice shirt. And of course, one of the |
| 1:14.7 | most famous things about the crossing of the Rubicon is Julius Caesar's statement, |
| 1:19.2 | let the die be cast. More on that anon. But we thought we would talk about the lead-up to |
| 1:24.6 | and the crossing of the Rubicon, because in the northern hemisphere, you're |
| 1:29.4 | thinking about it. |
| 1:31.0 | In the southern hemisphere, it's about to happen or it's just happening on the 9th 10th of January, |
| 1:38.4 | 49 BC. |
| 1:39.7 | So let's go back to 49 BC. |
| 1:42.2 | We are Julius Caesar and or Pompey and and what's happening in the lead-up to |
| 1:47.8 | the civil war. |
| 1:49.1 | Exactly. |
| 1:49.7 | The question is, how far back do we want to go? |
... |
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