The speed was his best ally. In less than a week, the whole The armed uprising disappeared from the map Without a second battle, is needed. Just five days after entering the enemy territory, the conflict ended, and the resistance disappeared, leaving no more trace than the bodies scattered along the slope. Thus ended Farnks II attack on RomeWith Hulio Cesar Summing up in only three words: “Veni, Vidi, Vitsi”Field
City ZelIn the center of Anatolia, this was much larger than the point on the maps. Located on the natural cape, which dominated the vast agricultural plain, she wished the Persian kings, Roman ponontic and common leaders. He wrote StraboThere was already power in the days of seven -family, and his Control guaranteed direct access to Galatia, capadiy and the heart of the ancient kingdom of PontoThis is why MitríDates VI made it one of the bastions The most important thing at the beginning of the wars against Rome.
Farnaces II wanted to repeat the humiliation affected by decades in Rome.
The most humiliating battle for the Romans in this region occurred in 67 a. C. when Tiario commander tried to protect Zhel, without waiting for reinforcementThe defeat was such that the Romans avoided documenting it with too much details. Decades later, his political son, Farnks II, He wanted to imitate this feat. He did this using chaos caused Civil War between Cesar and PompeyWhen Malaya Asia was without effective military protection.
With the main armies that are faced in Greece and Egypt, King of Bosphorus began to restore ancient territories from Ponto with barely resistanceField in accordance with the account Dion Kasio In him Roman historyThis offensive was activated to find out that “Cesar and Pompei were in the war.”
Farnaks occupied the areas of Bitinia and came to defeat the Amisos, where executed all Roman citizens In military age, he sold young people as eunucos slaves. This turned him into an proclaimed war against Rome. The first Roman answer came from hand Domio Calvino fellthat he joined his strength to power King Galat DeotaroBoth were defeated by Farnaces in Nicópolis.
Cesar intervened personally with reduced, but veteran force
Having received this news, Cesar decided to intervene personally. He came to ensure his position in Egypt, where he consolidated power CleopatraAnd he was in Syria when he left for Anatoly at the head of an easy force led Legion VIwho barely had a thousand people.
Deiotaro joined part of his troops in the contingent of Cesar, and together they advanced north. The army also included the remnants of the legions who won in Nikopolis, and the Capadosio contingent. In total, They did not correspond to Farnas’s power in quantityBut veterans of the combat experience of the VI legion would be decisive.
Farnaks tried to block the passage of the Roman army, mounted at a height near the Zela. He chose the same hill from which his father defeated Tiario, right in front of the monument, which celebrated this battle. He tried to get time with negotiations, but Cesar used them to maneuverInstead of climbing the enemy’s position, it advanced at night to an intermediate point and He began to strengthen his campField
The decisive moment came when the Legion VI broke the enemy line and released care
The next morning, while the Romans worked on the defense, and the slaves gathered wooden beams, the Popotic Army went down from their position and after crossing the low area of the Earth, began to rise on the hill slope To the new Roman camp. At first, Cesar thought it was a simple demonstration of power. He did not react until he saw Distant troops began to rise on the slope of the hillField
At that time, he ordered to immediately form the ranks, as he says in Chapter 75 Alexandrian war: “He moved Cesar, or his recklessness, or his confidence, when he was surprised, without hesitation, at the same time calls the soldiers of works, send them to take weapons, confront their legions and order them for a fight.”
Farnax then launched his Fests of the carAlthough these artifacts can cause damage to the open field, when climbing the slope, they have lost efficiency. Legionnaires scattered, but tested, resisted the original effect and They managed to reorganizeEspecially in the right wing, where the VI legion was.
The main burden of the army of the phenakrists was powerful, and within a few minutes destabilized the Romans in the center of the line. However, when Legion VI began to get positions, the rest of the army found cohesion and counterattackThe slope, the enemy’s disorder and Roman discipline did everything else. Pontic care soon became UnstableThe Sevental storyteller indicates the field in chapter 76 of the same text: “Many soldiers are dead, many others died during the flight.”
The king ran away on horseback, but soon after that there would be killed by his own alliesThe Cesar field, which was hardly five days in the campaign, then turned to the Roman Senate with a short message that would be in history. According to Plutarchcollected in Parallel lifeIN The dictator reported his victory with the help of a phrase written by a friend: “I came, I saw, I won”Field