The Battle of Zela was a battle fought in 47 BC between

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

and

Pharnaces II Pharnaces II of Pontus ( grc-gre, Φαρνάκης; about 97–47 BC) was the king of the Bosporan Kingdom and Kingdom of Pontus until his death. He was a monarch of Persian and Greek ancestry. He was the youngest child born to King Mithridat ...

of the

Kingdom of Pontus Pontus ( grc-gre, Πόντος ) was a Hellenistic kingdom centered in the historical region of Pontus and ruled by the Mithridatic dynasty (of Persian origin), which possibly may have been directly related to Darius the Great of the Achaemeni ...

. The battle took place near Zela (modern

Zile Zile, anciently known as Zela ( el, Ζῆλα) (still as Latin Catholic titular see), is a city and a district of Tokat Province, Turkey. Zile lies to the south of Amasya and the west of Tokat in north-central Turkey. The city has a long history, ...

), which is now a small hilltop town in the

Tokat province Tokat Province ( tr, ) is a province in northern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Amasya to the northwest, Yozgat to the southwest, Sivas to the southeast, and Ordu to the northeast. Its capital is Tokat, which lies inland of the middle Black S ...

of northern Turkey. The battle ended the ambitions of king Pharnaces who wanted to expand his rule over Asia-Minor.

Prelude

After the defeat of the Ptolemaic forces at the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; french: Bataille d'Aboukir) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the ...

, Caesar left

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and travelled through Syria, Cilicia and Cappadocia to fight Pharnaces, son of

Mithridates VI Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator ( grc-gre, Μιθραδάτης; 135–63 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an e ...

. Pharnaces had defeated Caesar's

Legate Legate may refer to: *Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus was a Roman general, senator and consul (both in 53 BC and 40 BC) who was a loyal partisan of Caesar and Octavianus. Biography Domitius Calvinus came from a noble family and was elected consul for 53 BC, despite a notor ...

, and his small Roman and allied army at the Battle of Nicopolis. He then committed atrocities against the Roman prisoners and against any Roman civilians he found in the region. When Pharnaces received word of Caesar's approach, he sent envoys to seek peace, which Caesar refused outright. Pharnaces had made camp near the town of Zela on the site of a great victory ( the Battle of Zela of 67 BC) won by his father. His camp was in a strong defensive position; on highground with a track linking his camp to the town to maintain his supply line. Caesar set up camp on the other side of the valley, but upon his scouts reporting Pharnaces' position he decided to move his camp to the highground opposite the Pontic camp. The Romans quickly marched onto the highground and started building a camp. Pharnaces reacted by drawing his army out of camp and put them into battle order. Caesar drew up one line of infantry to protect the workers, but kept the rest of his army constructing the new camp. The Pontic army suddenly marched against the Romans.

The armies

Caesar had a detachment (

vexillation A ''vexillatio'' (plural ''vexillationes'') was a detachment of a Roman legion formed as a temporary task force created by the Roman army of the Principate. It was named from the standard carried by legionary detachments, the ''vexillum'' (plural ...

) of the veteran VI Legion (c. 1000 veteran legionaries), the XXII Legion (a legion of Galatians; armed, trained, and organized in the Roman style by King

Deiotarus Deiotarus of Galatia (in Galatian and Greek Deiotaros, surnamed Philoromaios ("Friend of the Romans"); 42 BC, 41 BC or 40 BC) was a Chief Tetrarch of the Tolistobogii in western Galatia, Asia Minor, and a King of Galatia ("Gallo-Graecia"). He was ...

Galatia Galatia (; grc, Γαλατία, ''Galatía'', "Gaul") was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir, in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (c ...

), the XXXVI Legion (a legion created from Pompeian legionaries who surrendered to Caesar after the

Battle of Pharsalus The Battle of Pharsalus was the decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War fought on 9 August 48 BC near Pharsalus in central Greece. Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the Roman Republic under the command of Pompey. P ...

) and several cohorts of survivors of the army of Domitius Calvinus. He also had a small contingent of cavalry. His army numbered c. 15,000 men. Pharnaces had an army approximately 20,000 strong, mostly consisting of tribal and levied infantry, but also containing a core of professional soldiers;

phalangites The Macedonian phalanx ( gr, Μακεδονική φάλαγξ) was an infantry formation developed by Philip II from the classical Greek phalanx, of which the main innovation was the use of the sarissa, a 6 meter pike. It was famously commanded ...

, legionaries, and cavalry. Pharnaces also had scythed chariots.

Order of battle

Pharnaces drew up his army with the scythed chartiots in front of the first line which was made up of light infantry and cavalry, the second and third line held the rest of the infantry. After Caesar had rushed his men into position he had the VI on the right, the XXXVI on the left and the Galatian legion in the centre.

The battle

Pharnaces' army marched down into the valley separating the two armies. Caesar was baffled by this move as it meant his opponents had to fight an uphill battle. Pharnaces' men climbed up from the valley and engaged Caesar's thin line of legionaries. Caesar recalled the rest of his men from constructing their camp and hastily drew them up for battle. Meanwhile, Pharnaces' scythed chariots broke through the thin defensive line, but were met by a hail of missiles (pila, the Roman throwing spear) from Caesar's battle line and were forced to retreat. Caesar launched a counter-attack and drove the Pontic army back down the hill, where it was completely routed. Caesar then stormed and took Pharnaces' camp, completing his victory.

Aftermath

It was a decisive point in Caesar's military career - his five-hours campaign against Pharnaces was evidently so swift and complete that, according to

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

(writing about 150 years after the battle) he commemorated it with the now famous Latin words reportedly written to Amantius in Rome ''

Veni, vidi, vici ''Veni, vidi, vici'' (, ; "I came; I saw; I conquered") is a Latin phrase used to refer to a swift, conclusive victory. The phrase is popularly attributed to Julius Caesar who, according to Appian, used the phrase in a letter to the Roman Senate ...

'' ("I came, I saw, I conquered").

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...

says that the same three words were displayed prominently in the triumph for the victory at Zela.

Divus Iulius The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...

'' 37 Pharnaces escaped from Zela, first fleeing to Sinope then back to his

Bosporan Kingdom The Bosporan Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus (, ''Vasíleio toú Kimmerikoú Vospórou''), was an ancient Greco-Scythian state located in eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus, ...

. He started to recruit another army, but was soon after defeated and killed by his son-in-law

Asander Asander or Asandros ( el, Άσανδρoς; lived 4th century BC) was the brother of Parmenion and Agathon, and uncle of Philotas. He was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, and satrap of Lydia from 334 BC as well as satrap of Cari ...

, one of his former governors who had revolted after the Battle of Nicopolis. Caesar made Mithridates of Pergamum the new king of the Bosporian kingdom in recognition of his aid during the Egyptian campaign.

References

{{Julius Caesar 47 BC Zela Zela Zela Zela