[9] Their joint consulship assigned new provincial commands to the consuls, with Pompey receiving Hispania while Crassus went to Syria to fight the Parthians; Caesar, for his part, had his proconsulship in Gaul renewed.

[12] The breakdown of order in 53 and 52 BC was extremely disturbing: men like Publius Clodius Pulcher and Titus Annius Milo were "essentially independent agents" leading large violent street gangs in a highly volatile political environment.

[18] Subsequent to the summer of 50, "positions had been hardened and events progressed irreversibly toward cataclysm", with Pompey now rejecting Caesar's standing for a second consulship until he gave up his army and provinces.

[22] One of the reasons given as to why Caesar decided to go to war was that he would be prosecuted for legal irregularities during his consulship in 59 BC and violations of various laws passed by Pompey in the late 50s, the consequence of which would be ignominious exile.

[26] Caesar's choice to fight the civil war was motivated by his mostly stumbling in efforts to attain a second consulship and triumph, in which failure to do so would have jeopardised his political future.

[28] There was little conscious desire for war until the last weeks of 50 BC, but "the boni had entrapped themselves... in a political vise from which they could not emerge with dignity except by aggressive self-assertion" while Caesar could not "permit [his status and reputation] to collapse through submission".

[45] In response Pompey "issued an edict in which he recognised a state of civil war, ordered all the senators to follow him, [and] declared that he would regard as a partisan of Caesar any one who remained behind".

[50] After Ahenobarbus received a letter from Pompey denying support, he claimed help was on the way but was caught planning a personal escape; in response, his men arrested him and sent envoys to surrender to Caesar after a short week-long siege.

[59] Leaving Mark Antony in charge of Italy and the praetor Lepidus in Rome, Caesar set out west for Spain resentful for the embarrassing episodes before the senate and Metellus.

[62] Concurrent to Caesar's invasion of Spain, he sent his lieutenant Curio to invade Sicily and Africa assisted by Gaius Caninius Rebilus, where his forces were decisively defeated in the Battle of the Bagradas River in August 49 BC.

[63] Returning to Rome in December 49 BC, Caesar left Quintus Cassius Longinus in command of Spain[62] and had praetor Marcus Aemilius Lepidus appoint him dictator.

[67] Sailing on 4 January 48 BC – in reality, due to drift from the Roman calendar, late autumn[68] – Caesar took the Pompeians by surprise, with Pompey's troops dispersed to winter quarters and Bibulus' fleet not ready.

[72] After meeting up with Scipio Nasica's Syrian reinforcements, Pompey led his forces after Caesar in early August, seeking favourable ground for a battle.

[76] Pompey, despairing of the defeat, fled with his advisors overseas to Mytilene and thence to Cilicia where he held a council of war; at the same time, Cato's supporters regrouped at Corcyra and went thence to Libya.

[83] Egypt by this time had been embroiled in repeated civil wars, also frequently arbitrated by Rome – helped in part due to the massive bribes Egyptian monarchs gave to Roman leaders – which eroded the realm's independence.

[95] Caesar's victory was so swift that in a letter to a friend in Rome, he quipped "Veni, vidi, vici" ("I came, I saw, I conquered"), a tag repeated on placards carried in his Pontic triumph; he also mocked Pompey for making his name fighting such weak enemies.

[99] At the same time, Cato led his forces from Cyrenaica across the desert to Africa (modern day Tunisia), linking up with Metellus Scipio; they, along with Labienus, induced the defection of one of Caesar's governors in Hispania Ulterior.

[100] Caesar returned to Italy and Rome late in 47 BC, meeting and pardoning Cicero, who had given up hope in Pompeian victory after Pompey's death, at Brundisium.

[102] Caesar then went in person to the troops, who were then nearing Rome under arms; he granted them immediate discharges, gave promises that they would receive their land and retirement bonuses, and addressed them as quirites (citizens).

[104] His men, shocked by their casual dismissal, begged Caesar to take them back into service; feigning reluctance, he allowed himself to be persuaded and made notes to put the mutiny's leaders in exposed and dangerous positions in the upcoming campaign.

He bypassed Hadrumentum after it refused to surrender and established bases at Ruspina, where he led a large foraging party which then engaged in an encounter battle forces under Labienus.

[112] Scipio's forces suffered from endemic desertion; however, Caesar took a defensive approach until he was reinforced by two legions, 800 Gallic cavalrymen, and substantial stores of food, at which point he retook the offensive.

[114] Running low on supplies and with little chance of taking Uzitta, Caesar decided to march away, seizing some food stores before advancing on and besieging Thapsus.

With good terrain narrowing the front, limiting Metellus Scipio's numerical advantage, Caesar went to address his men, who spontaneously attacked the opposing lines, taking them by surprise and quickly routing them.

[116] During the campaign before Thapsus, Cato the Younger held the city of Utica and was absent at the battle; when he was informed of the defeat, he consulted with his soldiers, who numbered but three hundred and were hopelessly outnumbered.

[121] Massive games and public banquets were also held; Caesar also gave huge donatives to his men, equivalent to more than sixteen years pay, with even more for centurions and officers.

[124] Other criticism is directed to writing: its "half-educated Latin", its status as "the most illiterate and exasperating book in classical literature", with "a very miserable style" and "bad imitations of Caesar's lucidity".

[123] After receiving bad news from the peninsula, he left with a single experienced legion, as many of his veterans had been discharged, and put Italy in the hands of his new magister equitum Lepidus.

[134] The month of his birthday, Quinctilis, was renamed in his honour (eventually becoming modern July); a temple to his clemency was established, he was given the permanent name Imperator, and the title parens patriae (father of his country).

From this perspective, the civil war – triggered by miscalculation rather than design – caused the collapse of the republic by setting into motion a long-term disruption of functioning republican political culture.