In 48 BC, the stage was set for the final clash of the two titans of the Roman world and the odds were heavily in Pompey's favour, with 45,000 men against Caesar's 22,000. Having the dice loaded against him, however, seems to have stimulated Caesar's genius for battle. In a brilliant display of generalship he routed his rival's larger army. Pompey's army retreated, with Caesar's army in parallel pursuit, until, their general having escaped, Pompey's men finally surrendered. Simon Sheppard expertly charts the events surrounding the Pharsalus campaign, and the seismic implications of the decisive clash between the two greatest generals of their age.

Introduction/Chronology/Opposing commanders: The Caesareans & The Republicans/The Legions of the Late Republic/The Campaign: The Rubicon to Brundisium - Brundisium to Dyrrachium - Dyrrachium to Pharsalus/The Battle/Aftermath/The Battlefield Today/Bibliography

London-born Si Sheppard completed his Bachelors and Masters degrees in New Zealand before receiving his doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in the United States. He is currently an associate professor of political science and international relations at Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York, and has written several titles for Osprey focusing on the interrelationship between geography, technology, and strategy.