#Defend Syria

[dzthenerd490]

News Post

Palestine

Dying in ‘Hell’: The fate of Palestinian medics jailed by Israel | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera

UK counter-terrorism police arrest 10 Palestine Action activists (newarab.com)

Israeli Attacks Kill 14 in Gaza; Bezalel Smotrich Calls for Palestinian Population to Be Halved  | Democracy Now!

Israel cracks down on Palestinian citizens who speak out against the war in Gaza | AP News

Ukraine

Ukraine says Russian attack sets a new record for the number of drones used | AP News

Ukraine’s warriors brace for a Kremlin surge in the south  (economist.com)

Russian deserter reveals war secrets of guarding nuclear base (bbc.com)

‘Worst-case scenario’: Ukraine awaits Trump’s presidency with trepidation | Russia-Ukraine war News | Al Jazeera

Sudan

Sudan in danger of becoming a failed state, Jan Egeland warns (bbc.com)

Sudan's Burhan allows UN to use three airports for aid delivery - Sudan Tribune

Major aid scale up by WFP in Sudan as country faces famine (yahoo.com)

U.N. humanitarian chief attends event in Sudan to raise awareness about violence against women | Africanews

Lebanon

LIVE: Israel bombs Lebanon’s Beirut; cabinet discusses possible truce | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera

Israel cabinet meeting to discuss Lebanon deal postponed: CNN (newarab.com)

Live updates: Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal, war in Lebanon and Gaza | CNN

Syria

(74) Updates LIVE: Israel bombs Lebanon’s Beirut; cabinet discusses possible truce (aljazeera.com)

Can Israeli strikes in Syria undermine Iran-backed militias? (voanews.com)

Surprise Attack On U.S. Base In Syria, Rockets Hit Army Facility During Training Session | Watch (indiatimes.com)

[ymustutortureme]

I genuinely feel like this isn't said enough. So I'm gonna say it.

To everyone Zionist out there, every pro-genocide, pro-israel bigot, from the bottom of my heart, from the depths of my soul:

Fuck you.

[thestarjournal]

DENY DEFEND DEPOSE

DENY THEIR POWER DEFEND THE PEOPLE

DEPOSE THE RULERS

REMEMBER SILENCE IS VIOLENCE

-star

[dani-pixie]

Fantasies of Revolution

As we get daily news reports of the New York police trying to find the man that killed the United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, we see a rising of the people. The unification of the lower class. The death of a man who has been the cause of countless lost lives is to the benefit of us all. The words "Deny" "Defend" "Defend" echo in our minds just as the shell casings did when they dropped to the ground. We can only hope that his fervor does not die down, though I fear it will. Syria has made its dictator flee. South Korea put a stop to tyranny before it ever began. Georgia is fighting to be heard by its government. France voted to remove their far-right prime minister.

With the incoming presidency of Donald Trump, we cannot falter now. This momentum cannot stop. We are the people. We are the employers of the politicians. Make them hear you. Deny their power. Defend the people. Depose the rulers. Vote them out. Fire them. Show them that you are angry.

Earlier this year, I wrote a short rant piece about getting my family to wake up from the delusions that the far-right were promising them. I never showed it to them because it was filled with anger that they would never listen to. Now I call to the words that were in my head for days on end, "Wake up. Get up." Do not let this momentum die. Companies are trying to hide who their upper level executive people are. They are scared of the people.

A cover of Les Mis's "Do You Hear the People Sing" by the.real.eden on tiktok has been particularly powerful for me. I've listened to it over and over. I hope that the politicians and wealthy hear the people sing the song of angry men. I hope we are loud enough. I fear that this is simply just accumulation of fantasies of revolution with nothing to back it up. I fear that this will become the "there are flowers blooming in Antarctica." I fear that this will become a left vs. right instead of the working vs. wealthy. The wealthy fear a coherent and unified working class for a reason. They fear unions. They fear us. They fear those willing to fight for what is right. Do not let this momentum die down. Do not let our angry cries be silenced.

[papirouge]

Witnessing Zionists pretending to care again about Christians in middle east now they're being massacred in Syria by Muslims is truly something else

"look how fake the LeFtiSts are for letting happen!! I thought they were they side of empathy!!" ...the same empathy you had when you didn't say shit while ISRAEL was bombing churches.... with Palestinian Christians inside?

[omarsbigsister]

assadists on here are actually quite laughable. they will try to convince you there is some "alawite genocide" going on from the new syrian HTS led government, and fail to acknowledge any and all attacks on alawites being attacked in syria right now are all former assad regime government members who have committed actual war crimes against the population for the better part of 14, if not 54+ years. they will try to convince you this is some sad abused minority in syria and not people who were 80% of the former government. but sure, listen to them and not the entire of the arab world & arab social media celebrating the fall of the assad regime, the same murderous regime these people pissed and shitted themselves over defending.

[news4dzhozhar]

[indecisiveavocado]

dear december,

please stop too much has been happening and I am not ready.

you need to space things out. you can't do all this. I mean, really. You can't do all this newsworthy shit. documentation:

in thirteen days, you have:

had martial law declared in south korea

killed brian thompson

collapsed the french government

ousted assad

had a reasonably fair and free ghanaian election

among continuing many other crises. you can't do this. you can only have four by this point in time, one every three days. And really, syria should count for two, if not more.

please pause all news for the next few days to let us get back to normal.

thank you.

[dzthenerd490]

News Post

Palestine

Updates: Israel kills 30 Palestinians, continues siege of north Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera

Israel detains a Gaza hospital director, Palestinian medical officials say : NPR

Israel shells Gaza refugee camp, killing nine, Palestinian media say (yahoo.com)

Ukraine

Why has Russia rejected Trump’s Ukraine truce plan? | Russia-Ukraine war News | Al Jazeera

Biden unveils final $2.5B security aid package for Ukraine – POLITICO

Ukraine shot down 21 Russian drones overnight, Air Force reports (kyivindependent.com)

The famous Christmas carol inspiring Ukraine's defenders (bbc.com)

Syria and Ukraine seek ‘strategic partnerships’ as senior officials meet | Syria's War News | Al Jazeera

Sudan

Four humanitarian crises that demand more attention in 2025 | Context

From Sudan to the Sahel, War Spread in Africa in 2024 (foreignpolicy.com)

Residents in Sudan grapple with effects of climate change as well as conflict | Africanews

Sudan accuses UAE of supporting paramilitaries, welcomes Turkish mediation - Sudan Tribune

Lebanon

Syria's embassy in Lebanon suspends services after fake passports emerge | Euronews

IDF slow to withdraw from Lebanon, may need to stay longer - Israel News - The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)

The priceless Lebanon heritage sites destroyed by Israeli bombing (ft.com)

Syria

Syria’s de facto leader says holding elections could take up to four years | Syria's War News | Al Jazeera

Bashar al-Assad fell - then one woman learnt her husband's past (bbc.com)

Video: Syrian rebel leader speaks to CNN in exclusive interview | CNN

Now Syria's long-ruling Baath party is collapsing, too | AP News

[quark-nova]

And "it's complicated" is predictably being used as an excuse to support the Turkish and Israeli invasions, despite them only furthering their own interests. And explicitly not having in mind the interests of the Syrian people they are currently bombing and invading.

We can and should have a larger conversation about how the reconstruction process should take place, how to guarantee AANES autonomy while also keeping it multicultural rather than Kurdish-dominated, and how to make sure that HTS doesn't turn Syria into an Islamist country. This "larger conversation" does not involve immediately bombing the fuck out of Syria.

Kinda weird how the one time you can actually use “complicated” to reference the situation in a certain swana country, people are suddenly no longer interested in doing so?

[sayruq]

My grandmother Naifa al-Sawada was born in June 1932. A beautiful girl with blue eyes, she was the only daughter to her parents. They were originally from Gaza but moved to nearby Bir al-Saba, where Naifa’s father Rizq worked as a merchant. She did well at school and in 1947 obtained the necessary certificate from the British – then the rulers of Palestine – to attend university. She did not do so, however. Her father was fearful about what could happen to her at a time when war in Palestine appeared imminent. At a young age, she married my grandfather Salman al-Nawaty and went to live in Gaza. Between 1947 and 1949, Zionist forces expelled approximately 800,000 Palestinians from their homes. Among those directly affected by the Nakba – Arabic for catastrophe – were Naifa’s own parents, who fled their home in Bir al-Saba for Gaza. Having witnessed the Nakba, Naifa encouraged her own children to defend Palestine. Naifa gave birth to four girls and six boys.Like so many mothers in Gaza, she experienced great loss. Her son Moataz went missing while traveling to Jerusalem in 1982. It is still not known what happened to him. Another son Moheeb, a journalist, left Palestine for Norway in 2007. Three years later he traveled to Syria. In January 2011, he went missing. The Syrian authorities subsequently confirmed to the Norwegian diplomatic service that he was imprisoned. But he has not been allowed to contact his family.We do not know his current whereabouts or even if he is alive or dead. My grandmother witnessed the first intifada from 1987 and 1993. On the streets around her, youngsters with stones and slingshots rose up against armed Israeli soldiers in tanks and military jeeps. During that time, her son Moheeb – the aforementioned journalist – was held for more than a year without charge or trial. That infamous practice is called administrative detention. My grandmother lived close to al-Shifa, Gaza’s largest hospital. She took great care of arranging everything in her home with her delicate hands. She used those same hands to comb her hair into braids. She memorized the Quran and took great interest in the education of her children and grandchildren. On 21 March this year, Israeli troops broke into my grandmother’s home. The soldiers displayed immense brutality. They ordered the women in our family to evacuate on foot and arrested the men. They would not allow the women to take my grandmother, who had Alzheimer’s disease, with them. The soldiers claimed that my grandmother would be safe. That was a lie. The invasion of my grandmother’s house took place amid Israel’s siege on al-Shifa hospital. My grandmother’s house was destroyed during that siege and she was killed. Her remains were found days after the Israeli troops eventually withdrew from the hospital earlier this month. She was killed – alone – in the same house where she had lived since 1955. We do not know if she suffered or if she died quickly. We do know that she was older than Israel’s merciless occupation.

[fiercynn]

okay, if you have ever made or reblogged a “hold your nose and vote for biden” post, this is for you.

here’s the fucking thing about these kinds of posts. i've been seeing them since i first returned to tumblr in, I think, late 2022? they've certainly increased in frequency since october 7, but they were there before too, ready to counter any kind of opposition to biden that has cropped up. many of them are not just trying to educate people about what positive things biden has done, which, like, at least I can understand the motivation behind those ones? but so many of them are directly in response to people criticizing biden, and their only real point is “sure you’re upset at this thing biden did, but have you considered the election?” starting YEARS before the next presidential election, mind you.

and october 7 only made that clearer. i don’t think it had been a week before i saw these posts cropping up. can you not see how fucking ghoulish that is? to look at the rightful pain and anger of those whose relatives and communities are being slaughtered with active american support, to respond to one of the few pieces of agency most americans have in influencing what their governments do – their vote – by saying “yes but trump would be worse.” as if the primary people you’re lecturing – palestinians, muslims, arabs, black people, indigenous people, disabled people, other marginalized people – don’t remember exactly how bad it was under trump!

and even if you think not voting is an empty gesture – something i, who studied political science at a mainstream american lib college, who has worked as a field organizer on a previous democratic presidential campaign and for several policy campaigns, who currently works in public policy in america, used to believe, but have absolutely changed my mind on – what is in no way an empty gesture is saying publicly that you will not vote for someone. the arguments people usually have about why simply not voting is bad are that you can’t tell why someone is not voting, so it is as likely to be apathy or disenfranchisement as it is a political statement. but saying publicly that you will not vote for someone, and why you will not vote for them, absolutely is a political statement, and potentially a powerful one! but you choose to negate and/or ignore that by trotting out the “lesser of two evils” bullshit.

and then there’s the whole “yes but people will DIE under trump”. PEOPLE ARE DYING NOW. even if you’re fucking racist and have decided that palestinian lives don’t count, have you forgotten biden’s ongoing covid minimalism and dismantling of the CDC’s covid research and prevention infrastructure? have you forgotten his increase in spending for law enforcement scant years after the murder of george floyd and his administration's surveillance of protesters, including cop city protesters? have you forgotten his recent ramp-up in deportations of undocumented immigrants, including the active continuation of many trump-era policies?

maybe you have forgotten all those things and do purport to care about palestinians, but you just think that biden is doing his best to influence netanyahu and is getting nowhere! but then you must have forgotten all of the things that biden and his administration themselves have done to further this fucking genocide, including:

continuing to send arms to israel

putting together a military task force within days of yemen’s red sea blockade and attacking yemeni ships

bombing yemen

bombing syria

bombing iraq

vetoing three ceasefire resolutions at the united nations

testifying to defend israel and its genocide and occupation at the international court of justice

refusing to rescue palestinian-americans stuck in gaza

halting funding to the united nations relief and works agency for palestinian refugees (UNRWA) based on israeli claims that 12 of UNRWA’s over 30,000 staff were hamas agents, even though u.s. intelligence has not been able to independently verify this

lying that he’s personally seen photos of babies beheaded by hamas when he hadn’t because they didn’t exist (and even when his own staff cautioned him that reports of beheaded babies may not be credible)

questioning the number of palestinian deaths reported by the gaza ministry of health (when even israel has not questioned them, since they are in fact proud of those numbers)

perpetuating lies about hamas having committed the attack on al-aqsa hospital

questioning united nations reports of adults and children raped by israeli soldiers while claiming to have proof (that no one else has seen) of hamas doing the same

honestly so many more things that i can’t remember them all but others feel free to add

or maybe you haven’t forgotten any of that, and think that you’re still justified in lecturing people about why they should vote for biden, because you genuinely believe trump would still be worse. if that is the case, you have still failed to see that by saying you will vote for biden no matter what, you are part of the problem of biden continuing to act like this. because biden is counting on fear of trump to win him this next election no matter what else he does. despite his appalling polling numbers, despite the knowledge that he is losing the palestinian-american vote, the arab-american vote, the muslim-american vote, the black american vote, the youth vote – despite all of that, he is secure in the idea that he will still win because he is better than trump. can you not see how that allows him to act without impunity? how it becomes increasingly impossible for his base to influence what he’s doing if he thinks that they will be with him no matter what? this is how you make yourself complicit to biden’s actions, by not affording anyone even the slightest power to hold him accountable for anything.

and in most cases, the “hold your nose and vote for biden” thing is the response of people who aren’t even being instructed by others not to vote for biden. it is their response to people saying they themselves are choosing not to vote for biden. fucking ghoulish.

[read-marx-and-lenin]

Of the Americans who fought in Korea or Vietnam, none were "innocent" by virtue of having been drafted. The moral choice there was to either dodge the draft, defect to the other side, or frag the guy giving orders. Anyone who chose otherwise was a criminal and a murderer. And once the draft was over and the army became volunteer-only, all the excuses vanished. Yes, there are people who were in Iraq or Afghanistan or Syria who regretted it, but regretting your crime doesn't undo it. That's just the minimum requirement for being a decent human being in the aftermath.

To everyone who says "you leftists can't go around hating on the troops, don't you want them to join the revolution?" I say "why would they join us if they couldn't handle being told the truth about the genocidal terrorist organization they volunteered for?" If their reaction upon hearing people call the US military murderers and terrorists is to deny or equivocate or rationalize their participation, then they're not yet fit to be a revolutionary. If we're trying to dismantle the imperialist warmongering empire that continues to use its might and influence to murder millions around the world that is the United States, what good is a person who balks at the notion that the troops who volunteer to pledge their lives and their loyalty in service of this empire might be complicit in its crimes?

An American soldier or veteran who is not ready to admit they were wrong will not be any more ready to join us if we lie to them and say they made no mistake in joining the US military. We only weaken our own messaging and our own position if we refuse to condemn not just the US military as an organization but all those who continue to participate in and defend its actions. The troops are not innocent.

[sylvia-on-the-run]

"We vow to the days that you shall not be defeated… for victory grows where blood waters the soil."

The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades announces the martyrdom of the great national leader and combatant, martyr Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Al-Sinwar.

With great pride and honor, the Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, announces the martyrdom of the great national leader and combatant, the head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, and the architect of Al-Aqsa Flood battle, and one of the most prominent symbols of Palestinian struggle, the heroic martyr Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Al-Sinwar.

He was martyred while bearing his weapon and ammunition, advancing the front lines among his comrades and our fighters, engaging in combat with the treacherous zionist gangs on the sacred ground of Rafah, the city of heroism and sacrifice. With his blood, he wrote the most noble meanings of sacrifice, standing as a fierce defender of our Palestinian people, the Arab nation, and the downtrodden, and fighting against the continuous zionist aggression targeting our existence and our right to liberate Palestine from the river to the sea and all occupied Arab lands.

The great leader "Abu Ibrahim" was a model of a national, unifying, and resisting leader—one who would never compromise and who stood at the forefront of the confrontation. Despite the deep sorrow over the loss of this great leader, who never ceased his resistance, we affirm that this loss will only increase our determination and steadfastness to continue along the path of the martyrs in struggle and combat until the last drop of blood is shed for the complete liberation and expulsion of the occupation from all our national Palestinian soil. We will reclaim all the rights stolen from our people and recover the occupied Arab lands in Lebanon and Syria, avenging the blood of our martyrs and leaders.

To the masses of our people, our nation, and the free people of the world: Our war is a war of existence. No matter how deep the wounds, we fight with absolute and unwavering faith in our inevitable victory, not just with morale. This is our eternal message to our steadfast people and to all who believe in resistance as the path to liberation and victory.

In conclusion, we, the Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, extend our greetings to the Arab nation and all the free people of the world, and especially to our comrades and brothers in blood and struggle, and in the unity of fate—the Islamic Resistance Movement - Hamas, and its military wing the Martyr Izz El-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, leadership, cadres, and fighters. We salute the spirit of the great leader Yahya Al-Sinwar and the souls of those who have lit the path to freedom and independence with their blood, on the noble path to Al-Quds. We also salute the hands still pressing on the trigger until freedom is achieved and the occupation is expelled.

Our vow is an eternal revenge that shall not fade. Glory to the martyrs, freedom to the prisoners, and healing to the wounded.

Tomorrow, the fog will lift from the hills… and we shall surely be victorious.

Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades The Military Wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine 18 October, 2024

[ancientcharm]

 'I am no king, but Caesar'

Gaius Julius Caesar was born on July 12, 100 BC in the Suburra, a populous neighborhood of Rome, to a patrician family although in economic decline. In Gens Iulia, those who had the surname Caesar descended, according to the account of Pliny the Elder, from a man who was born after a Caesarean section (from the Latin verb "to cut", caedo, -ĕre, caesus sum). He was born in a Republic in crisis and the aristocracy divided into two warring factions: The optimates and populares. He lost his father when he was about 14 years old; he was greatly influenced by his maternal uncle Gaius Marius. Caesar had an older sister, Julia Major, and a younger sister Julia Minor (maternal grandmother of Emperor Augustus). His uncle, Gaius Marius, was the leader of the Populares ("supporters of the people") and rival of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, leader of the Optimates ( "best ones")

In 84 BC Lucius Cornelius Cinna, an ally of Gaius Marius, chose the 16 year old Caesar to be flamen Dialis (priest of Jupiter) and married him to his 13 year old daughter Cornelia with whom Caesar had a daughter named Julia. It is not certain whether the girl was born a few months before or after the teen Caesar had fled Rome or, more likely according to historians, she was born when he returned years later and was reunited with his wife who died giving birth to Julia.

Following the suicide of Gaius Marius in 86 BC, Cinna, one of the leaders of the Populares, became sole ruler of Rome and most of the provinces while persecuting Sulla's followers. In 84 Cinna was assassinated and populares defeated. Because of Caesar's alliance with Cinna's family he was targeted for revenge by the dictator Sulla who attempted to force him to repudiate Cornelia, but Caesar refused and fled Rome to the East.

In addition to being a politician and a soldier, Julius Caesar was a writer. Among others, his works were a treatise on astronomy, another on Roman religion, a study on Latin and his comments on the war in Gaul and the Civil War; only his writings on those two wars have not been lost.

After Sulla's death from natural causes, Caesar decided to return to Rome. He was reunited with his wife Cornelia, who had waited faithfully for him. After the death of Cornelia, he suffered a great mourning.

After serving as quaestor in the Hispania Ulterior province where he increased his network of clients - patronage was key to success in Roman politics - Caesar returned to Rome in 69 BC where he served as Aedile; he carried out building programs and offered the largest gladiatorial games seen until then. This left him almost bankrupt. In 60 BC he decided to make a private agreement with the prestigious general Pompey the Great and one of the richest man, Marcus Licinius Crassus. Pompey had just put an end to the pirate problem and years earlier, together with Crassus, he had defeated the slave rebellion led by Spartacus.

Pompey and Crassus were hampered in many of their ambitions by the Optimates in the Senate. Caesar, knowing this, approached them to put together an unofficial coalition - known to history as the Triumvirate - if they made him Consul, he would see to it that laws were passed that would benefit them. To further consolidate this alliance, Caesar married Pompey to his only daughter, Julia. Although this was a typical political marriage, classical sources state that Julia truly loved Pompey and he loved her.

Pompey and Crassus decided to ally themselves with Caesar and the populares in order to gain more offices and wealth. In this way, the three took full control of Rome. In 59 Caesar was appointed consul.

Laws were passed granting the province of Syria to Crassus. Laws were passed distributing lands among Pompey's veterans. And at his own request, the Gallic provinces-both the pacified and the "wild" ones- were handed over to Caesar. Cicero, a true defender of the Republic, was exiled due his bold speeches against the Triumvirate, which he called a "three-headed monster" but was allowed to return the following year. The passage of the laws favoring the triumvirs was ensured by introducing veteran legionaries of Pompey into the meetings of the Senate.

Also in 59 BC Caesar established a military camp in the Arno valley, on the Via Cassi, the main communication route between Rome and the north of the country. He called the camp Florentia, which means "flowering." The camp quickly became an important commercial town. Today it is the beautiful Italian city Florence.

In Gaul with his legions, he defeated and subdued several peoples in just a few years. Caesar wrote in detail about this conquest in his Bellum Gallicum (Gallic War). Believing that everything was under control, he headed to the mysterious land that the Romans called Britannia and where they believed the world ended. The Gallic War was between 58-52 BC

Caesar finally arrived in Britain for the first time in the summer of 55 landing with two legions. The following year he arrived with 800 ships, five legions and 2,000 cavalry. Caesar's comments on this war constitute the first written descriptions of the people, culture and geography of the island.

Although Caesar not conquered Britania (it was conquered under the Emperor Claudius) this campaign it established Rome's first allied peoples in Britain.

While in Britania, Caesar received the news that his daughter and the baby she was expecting had died in childbirth.

At the same time he had no idea that a genuine leader named Vercingetorix, chief of the Arverni tribe, had managed to unite all the Gallic peoples under his authority, determined to expel the Romans

Caesar himself called him "King of all Gauls"

The most famous and final battle was that of Alesia. Although Vercingetorix was a great warrior, he could do nothing against the genius (sometimes bordering on madness) of Caesar and his legionaries. According to Caesar, Vercingetorix, seeing that if he continued he would starve his entire people to death due to the siege, rode towards the Roman camp, dismounted, took off his sword and sat on the ground without saying a word. He decided to surrender in exchange for his people living. And so it happened, Vercingetorix was taken prisoner but his men were not executed. But Caesar had to wait years for his triumph -and Vercingetorix had to wait as a prisoner in Rome, before his execution- because while Caesar was fighting against the Gauls, many Roman senators were plotting his downfall.

Everything Caesar wrote about his battles and conquests, written in the third person, was copied and sent to be read publicly in Rome, which was celebrated by the plebs and Caesar 's supporters. True republicans such as Cato, Cicero, Cassius, and Brutus perceived a real danger to the Republic. The Triumvir Crassus was killed by Parthians in his failed attempt to conquer Parthia: The triumvirate was over and Pompey, who had become Sole Consul saw in Caesar a dangerous rival, and allied himself with the Optimates again.

They created a new law that prohibited running for public office in absentia. Thus, Caesar, who was away from Rome, lost the protection of the law that granted him a magistracy and could not run for consulship in order to return to Rome as consul. If he returned as a private citizen he would be lost everything. So in January 49 BC he decided returned to Rome with the force of his legionaries who followed him with devotion.

No legion could cross the Rubicon River, that meant civil war. Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his XIII legion and proclaimed a very popular phrase in Ancient Rome that players always said before throwing the dice: "Alea Iacta Est" (the die is cast). This is known thanks to Roman historians who took as a source the writings of Gaius Asinius Pollio, who was close to Caesar and could have heard him.

Pompey and his legionaries left Rome and prepared for the war in Greece. In September of 48 Pompey was defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus. But he did not give up and headed to Egypt to seek the support of the young king Ptolemy XIII. Egypt was then a vassal kingdom of Rome due to its years of indebtedness, and the creditor was precisely Pompey, who had lent huge sums to Ptolemy XII. But as soon as he landed in Egypt, he was met by a group of men who, in the name of the young king, beheaded him and took his ring.

While Cato the Younger and his men went to the province of Africa to continue the resistance, and Pompey's sons did the same in Hispania. Caesar went looking for Pompey to try to come to an agreement.

'Julius Caesar’s Dismay Upon Seeing The Head Of Pompey' (detail) By Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée (18th century)

King Ptolemy XIII, who was engaged in his own war with his sister Cleopatra for the throne, thought that by killing Pompey and giving his head and ring as a gift he would earn Caesar's gratitude and thus his kingdom would settle the unpayable debt it owed Rome. But Caesar was enraged by the undignified manner in which a Roman general and consul had been murdered and decided to side with Cleopatra and her allies.

The meeting between Cleopatra VII and Caesar at night and she entered hidden inside a huge rolled-up carpet carried by his slaves. Cleopatra was one of the many lovers that he had, they lived together and had a son, nicknamed Caesarion (little Caesar) whom he recognized but not legally. While some Republican Roman forces continued to resist, Caesar was immersed in the war between Ptolemy XIII, Cleopatra and the other sister, Arsinoe IV. Caesar's troops, together with those of Cleopatra plus Caesar's allies such as Mithridates of Pergamon and his army and a Jewish armed force led by Antipater finally won that war in January 47 and Cleopatra kept the throne of Egypt.

The Death of Cato of Utica, By Jean-Paul Laurens.

In early 46 BC, Caesar defeated the army of Cato the Younger . The 49-year-old Cato did not take part in the battle and being in Utica, Africa, after receiving the news that Caesar had won and pardoned his adversaries, decided to take his own life for refusing to "live a life spared by a tyrant." Cato had a republican soul but was stubborn man, and was convinced that Caesar wanted to be king. He was the half-brother of Brutus's mother, Servilla (Caesar's long-time lover)

It was in this same year that Caesar, with the advice of the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria, reformed the calendar, leaving each month with the same number of days as it has today and creating the leap year.

The final battle of Munda, in Hispania, was on March 17, 45 BC, thus ending the civil war. Caesar returned to Rome and an intimidated Senate legitimized his victory by appointing him dictator for a ten-year term.

The position of Dictator was created by the Republic itself; he was a magistrate, elected by the Senate, with absolute powers to resolve military emergencies or exceptional tasks for a period of six months. He had to leave after that period or before if he managed to resolve the problem. This 10-year dictatorship was unprecedented.

In February 44 BC, Caesar succeeded in having the people of Rome proclaim him dictator for life. Cicero resigned from political life in protest.

Cassius persuaded Brutus that the only way to save the Republic was to kill Caesar. They needed Brutus to lead the conspiracy because of his prestige; he was not only Cato's nephew but also the direct descendant of the Republic's founding father.

La morte di Cesare, By Vincenzo Camuccini (1805)

On 15 March 44 BC the group of conspirators intercepted Caesar just as he was passing the Theatre of Pompey, where the Roman Curia was meeting, and led him into a room off the portico. Lucius Tillius Cimber, under the pretext of presenting a petition, grabbed Caesar's toga with both hands and pulled him so tha Publius Servilius Casca could stab him, causing Caesar to exclaim "Ista quidem vis est?" ("What kind of violence is this?") Casca, drawing a dagger, slashed him across the neck. "What are you doing, Casca, you villain?" were perhaps his last words.

According to classical sources, he tried to flee but slipped on his own blood. A Roman coroner stated that "Caesar's body had several cuts, and 23 stab wounds but only one of them, in the chest, was fatal." They also claim that as he lay dying he took his toga and covered his face so that no one would see him die. He was 55 years old.

Mark Antony with other colleagues carefully collected the body and carried it before the people. Then he made a memorable speech.

The month then called Quintilis, the month of Caesar's birth, was renamed Iulius (July) in his honour on the initiative of Mark Antony. Julius Caesar was the last dictator of Rome; the office was abolished after his death.

Caesar named his grandnephew Gaius Octavius ​​Thurinus as sole heir and adopted son thus taking the same name as Gaius Julius Caesar. To differentiate them, historians refer to him as Octavius ​​(or Octavian). But nowhere in his will did he say that his nephew should be his successor in office. It was very common in Roman aristocratic men who had no male children, adopted a nephew, the son of a sister or niece, or the grandson they had through a daughter, so that he could carry on his family name.

Octavius ​​(Augustus) became the first Emperor of Rome after being part of a triumvirate that, unlike the first, was official, after years of several civil wars, and thanks to his iron will, his extraordinary cunning and political skill.

After his death, Caesar was proclaimed Divus Iulius, or the Divine Julius. He was the first Roman ruler to be deified. Mark Antony was the first to serve as Flamen Divi Julii, priest of the Caesar cult.

The name CAESAR would become the Title of Imperial Power, even many centuries later translated into other languages, such as the German Kaiser or the Russian Tsar.

In front of the theatre, an altar was erected where the pyre was placed so that Julius Caesar's body could be cremated in great mourning. Part of this altar is still preserved in the ruins; more than two thousand years after the assassination, every 15th of March, people come to leave flowers there.

Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, taken on March 15, 2008 Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons