On
August 9, 48 B.C., although outnumbered by over two to one, Julius
Caesar's forces defeated pro-republican forces under the leadership
of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey) at Pharsalus in Thessaly. Caesar
claimed to have lost only 200 men in the battle, while Pompey's
casualties numbered in the thousands. Pompey himself fled the
battlefield, and eventually made the fatal decision to go to
Alexandria. The battle was definitely a turning point in the Civil
Wars and Caesar's decision to pursue Pompey to Alexandria would also
have ramifications for Rome's history.
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