Caesar’s famous despatch: veni, vidi, vici refers to which battle…
by Michael Lambert
August 2022
Caesar’s famous despatch: veni, vidi, vici refers to which battle…
by Michael Lambert
August 2022
These were trying days for Gauis Iulius Caesar. He had just defeated Ptolemy XIII of Egypt, now there was fresh rebellion in Asia Minor
Caesar had earlier won the Third Mithridatic War, 73-63 BCE against King Pharnaces I of Pontus. Rome, ever-empire minded, annexed the western part of Pontus, forming the new province of Bithynia et Pontus. The eastern portion of Pontus was now a client kingdom under the rule of Pharnaces II, the son
Pharnaces II, sensing an opportunity, occupied Bithynia and Cappadocia. Initial success begat further adventuresome behaviour for he encouraged local princes to revolt. Events moved quickly. Caesar shipped three Legions from Egypt across the Mediterranean to Asia Minor
Pharnaces II was startled by Caesar’s rapid advance to and into Asia Minor. A Greek by birth and ancestry, he played a cool game. He sent an envoy to Caesar. The envoy cited the fact that Pharnaces had never cooperated with Pompey, a former Caesarean rival. A truce was respectfully requested. The Greek request was a two-edged sword. One knife edge highlighted mounting turmoil in Rome which Caesar could not ignore, forcing a return to Italy. The other edge allowed Caesar the gloss of victory by granting the truce and departing with honour. (Of course, with either sword cut, Pharnaces kept his gains)
A second envoy was sent, with a second peace offer
A third envoy was sent, with a third peace offer
When the third envoy walked into Caesar’s tent, the second envoy was present. All peace offers were rejected
Pharnaces was camped near the town of Zela, Pontus. The terrain was hilly. He moved his forces to higher ground three miles away. Caesar counter-marched his troops five miles to the area where a Roman Army had been earlier defeated during the Third Mithridatic War
Pharnaces, caught by surprise with Roman counter-deployment; his only option was to fight a battle
Initially, Pharnaces had success by panicking Caesar’s troops; for they were attacked while not fully deployed in battle formation. A second assault composed of chariots was sent against Caesar. This time the Romans were ready with massed missile assaults which overwhelmed the chariots. The Sixth Legion advanced and pushed Pharnaces’s forces down a slope and onto uneven ground. Caesar continued his advance to Pharnaces’s camp
The Battle of Zela had been short and decisive. Caesar’s win had resolved a difficult situation. He was delighted
Pharnaces fled the battlefield. Caesar sent a force under Domitius, a subordinate commander, who cornered Pharnaces and killed him in battle. At his death, Pharnaces was aged fifty and had reigned for fifteen years
Caesar sent his victory at Zela despatch to the Senate
Caesar wrote a private letter to his friend Amantius, who lived in Rome. The letter contained the phrase veni, vidi, vici
veni, vidi, vici
is a Latin sentence of three verbs conjugated in the first person singular, perfect tense, indicative mood, active voice;
venire, videre, vincere mean to come, to see, to conquer, thusly the sentence says:
I came, I saw, I conquered
Caesar’s sentence, from antique Greek, is known as a hendiatris, one through three; a figure of speech said within three words expressing one thought. Caesar’s three verbal phrases assert one thought, swiftness of act
Caesar’s sentence is an example of comma splicing, the linking of three independent verbal clauses with a comma
In our era veni, vidi, vici; the sense is of a decisive act
The story continues. The victory at Zela occurred in 47 BCE. After three years of absence, in 44 BCE Caesar was briefly in Italy. Caesar held Senatorial rank and attended Senate sessions. But Idus Martiae was a caucus meeting day, so the Senate met informally in the garden pavilion of the Theatre of Pompey. The Senate’s agenda is long lost, may one of the discussion points have been Caesar’s new commission to depart Italy in ten days to settle another rebellion in Asia Minor?