Spurred on by Caesar’s rapid pursuit, Pompey hurried on to Cilicia, Cyprus and then to Egypt where he sought the protection of his ally, Ptolemy XIII (c.16; r.51-47 BC). But the king had decided not to risk offending the victorious Caesar, and when Pompey landed at Pelusium he was arrested and killed.
Caesar, in his pursuit of Pompey, had taken about 3200 infantry and 800 cavalry, transported by a few Roman warships and ten Rhodian ships. When he arrived in Alexandria and received the head of Pompey, he found that there was a war going on between Ptolemy and his sister, Cleopatra VII (39; r.51-30 BC). As Egypt was nominally under Roman guardianship, Caesar felt it incumbent upon him to settle the dispute.
He ordered both claimants to report to him on 7 October, for a decision as to the rightful ruler. Cleopatra complied, but the youthful Ptolemy declined. Instead he ordered his general Achillas to move on Alexandria and arrest Caesar. With only four thousand men at his disposal, Caesar turned the royal palace into a fortress.
A mole, known as the Heptastadion, had been built between the port of Alexandria and Pharos, a narrow island running parallel to the mainland, creating two harbours. Caesar’s small fleet was in the eastern harbour but cut off from the sea by seventy-two Egyptian ships. He sent a small force that set fire to the enemy ships and caused enough damage to break the blockage then seized Pharos to secure the harbour mouth. Caesar’s legionaries fought off Achillas’ army for five months.
In March 47 BC, Mithridates of Pergamon (d.41 BC) brought a fresh army, including three thousand Jewish troops, approaching fast from the eastern side of the Nile Delta. He captured Pelusium and then followed the western branch of the Nile towards Alexandria. Ptolemy’s army left the city and sailed up the river to confront Mithridates. Caesar gathered every man he could spare and forced marched around Lake Mareotis and joined Mithridates before the Egyptian army arrived. At dawn the following day, 27 March, the Romans attacked the Alexandrian forces. It was a tough struggle that lasted for hours until finally, Caesar’s men drove the enemy towards the Nile and slaughtered them. Ptolemy fled but was drowned when his boat overturned.Caesar settled Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy XIV (c.15; r.47-44 BC) as joint rulers of Egypt then, after lingering there until April, he left three legions to keep the peace and started out on a march through the eastern Mediterranean states. He passed through Judea and Syria, sailed for Tarsus in Cilicia, and then continued northwards for Pontus.
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