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Home / Historical Periods / Caesar’s Civil War / Alexandrian War

Phase

Alexandrian War

48–47 BCE

The Alexandrian War followed Caesar’s arrival in Egypt after Pompey’s defeat and murder. Caesar became involved in the dynastic conflict between Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII, and fighting broke out in Alexandria while the wider Roman civil war continued around the eastern Mediterranean.

The conflict mattered because Egyptian royal politics became inseparable from Roman power. Caesar’s relationship with Cleopatra, the death of Ptolemy XIII and the settlement that followed shaped both Ptolemaic Egypt and Rome’s continuing civil crisis.

The Judgment of Caesar uses Alexandria, Cleopatra’s court and Caesar’s presence in Egypt as the setting for Gordianus’s investigation. The context also helps frame The Triumph of Caesar, where Egyptian victory and Cleopatra’s presence in Rome form part of Caesar’s public display of power.

Related people for Alexandrian War

Arsinoe IV of Egypt69 BCE–42 BCE Augustus64 BCE–14 Caesarion48 BCE–31 BCE Cato the Younger95–46 BCE Cicero107 BCE–44 BCE Cleopatra70 BCE–31 BCE Cleopatra Selene II41 BCE–6 BCE Gaius Cassius Longinus83 BCE–43 BCE Herod the Great75 BCE–5 BCE Julius Caesar101 BCE–45 BCE Marcus Junius Brutus86 BCE–43 BCE Mark Antony83–30 BCE Octavia the Younger67 BCE–12 BCE Pompey106–48 BCE Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator63 BCE–48 BCE Vercingetorixc. 82–46 BCE

Books

6 Best Novels About the Alexandrian War

Bestselling authors first, then star rating.

Non Fiction

1 Non-Fiction Book About the Alexandrian War

Histories, biographies and reference works are listed separately from the historical novels above.