In 49 BC the Roman Senate, encouraged by Pompey, sought to strip Julius Caesar of his military command. Stung, Caesar nevertheless managed to hide his feelings, and perform his civic duties — opening a gladiator school and attending a banquet — as if nothing were amiss. But next morning he summoned his troops to the southern border of his province, Cisalpine Gaul.

There at the River Rubicon, the boundary of his authority, Caesar halted, knowing that if he stepped across into Italy civil war was inevitable. At this tense moment, a mysterious figure appeared among the troops, playing on pipes. Suddenly he snatched a trumpet and sounded the advance. Thereupon Caesar cried to his men to follow, for the die was cast.

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