Battle of Thapsus (46 BC)

Despite defeating his opponent Pompeius Magnus at Pharsalus, and the latter’s subsequent murder, Caesar still faced a determined opposition in the Civil War that had engulfed the late Roman Republic. Having become entangled in the intrigues and wars of the East, Caesar gave his opponents time to regroup under the lead of Metellus Scipio and Cato the Younger, scions of two of the Republic’s greatest families. Under their leadership Caesar’s dominance of the Republic was seriously challenged, culminating in a decisive battle at Thapsus in what is now Tunisia.  Gareth Sampson describes the campaigns that set the context for the battle, including the role played by the various regional powers drawn into the Roman Civil War. He then recounts the battle itself in detail, analysing the relative strengths of the armies involved, their organization, equipment and tactics. He assesses the opposing commanders and the strategies on the day which led to another victory for Caesar. He concludes with a discussion of the bloody aftermath of the battle and the myths that developed around the deaths of Caesar’s opponents.

After a successful career in corporate finance, Gareth C Sampson returned to the study of ancient Rome and gained his PhD from the University of Manchester, where he taught for a number of years. He now lives in Plymouth with his wife and children.His previous books were the Defeat of Rome (2008); The Crisis of Rome: Marius and the Jugurthine and Northern Wars (2011); The Collapse of Rome (2013); The Eagle Spreads Her Wings: Roman Expansion Between the Punic Wars (2016); Rome, Blood and Politics (2017) Rome, Blood and Power (2018); Rome and Parthia: Empires at War; Rome's Great Eastern War: Lucullus, Pompey and the Conquest of the East, 74-62 BC; The Battle of Dyrrhachium (48 BC) and The Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC). all published by Pen & Sword.