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LESSON 3 · Rise & Fall of Rome

Lightning War

Speed was Caesar's deadliest weapon. He moved south so fast that Pompey and much of the Senate fled Rome rather than face him. Within roughly two months, Caesar held all of Italy without a single major battle.

He then chased Pompey across the Mediterranean and broke his army in Greece. Pompey ran to Egypt for safety — and was murdered there before Caesar even arrived. The old Republic now had one master left.