Battle of Zela (47 BCE)
Zile, present day Turkey
What happened
Julius Caesar fought Pharnaces II, king of Pontus and son of Mithridates VI. Pharnaces had defeated Caesar's officer Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus at the Battle of Nicopolis. After the Battle of the Nile, Caesar left Egypt and travelled through Syria, Cilicia and Cappadocia. He refused Pharnaces' offer of peace. When the battle came, Pharnaces' scythed chariots broke through Caesar's thin line of soldiers but were met by a hail of pila (Roman javelins) and forced back. Caesar then stormed Pharnaces' camp.
Why it matters
Result: Roman victory. Leaders: Julius Caesar against Pharnaces II. Why it matters: The battle ended Pharnaces' ambitions of expanding his kingdom. Caesar's five-day campaign was so swift that, according to Plutarch, he marked it with the now-famous Latin words 'Veni, vidi, vici' ('I came, I saw, I conquered').
What came next
Pharnaces escaped to Sinope and then back to his Bosporan Kingdom, where he tried to recruit another army but was defeated by his son-in-law Asander, a former governor who had revolted after Nicopolis. Caesar made Mithridates of Pergamum the new king of the Bosporan Kingdom, in thanks for his help during the Egyptian campaign.
Did you know?
Writers disagree about who received the message 'Veni, vidi, vici'. Plutarch says it was sent to a friend of Caesar's in Rome named Amantius, and Appian says it was sent to the Senate. Suetonius says the words were displayed in Caesar's triumph.
Timeline
- Before the battlePharnaces defeats Caesar's officer Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus at the Battle of Nicopolis.
- 47 BCEAfter the Battle of the Nile, Caesar leaves Egypt and travels through Syria, Cilicia and Cappadocia.
- 47 BCECaesar defeats Pharnaces at Zela in a five-day campaign.