S8 Ep950: (7) Josiah Osgood describes the Civil War's onset as Caesar crossed the Rubicon, prompting Pompey and Cato to evacuate Italy for the East. Caesar utilized a strategy of clemency and maintained iron discipline, even executing mutineers in the Ninth Legion.

(7) Josiah Osgood describes the Civil War's onset as Caesar crossed the Rubicon, prompting Pompey and Cato to evacuate Italy for the East. Caesar utilized a strategy of clemency and maintained iron discipline, even executing mutineers in the Ninth Legion. After Pompey was defeated at Pharsalus and murdered in Egypt, Cato led the Republican remnant to Utica. Following Caesar's final victory in Africa, Cato refused to beg for mercy, choosing a graphic suicide to deny Caesar a political triumph. His death transformed him into a martyr, marring Caesar's victory and the future imperial regime.CLAUDIS BEGS FOR HIS LIFE