Battle of Philippi 42 BC
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 42 BC | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Ancient (before 500) | derived from year |
| Location | Greece | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Liberators' Civil War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Marcus Porcius Cato, Second Triumvirate | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 41.0131, 24.2864 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Philippi was the final battle in the Liberators' civil war between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian (of the Second Triumvirate) and the leaders of Julius Caesar's assassination, Brutus and Cassius, in 42 BC, at Philippi in Macedonia. The Second Triumvirate declared the civil war ostensibly to avenge Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, but the underlying cause was a long-brewing conflict between the Optimates and the Populares.
The battle, involving up to 200,000 men in one of the largest of the Roman civil wars, consisted of two engagements in the plain west of the ancient city of Philippi. The first occurred in the first week of October; Brutus faced Octavian, and Antony's forces fought those of Cassius. The Roman armies fought poorly, with low discipline, nonexistent tactical coordination, and amateurish lack of command, with neither side able to exploit opportunities as they developed. At first, Brutus pushed back Octavian and entered his legions' camp. However, to the south, Cassius was defeated by Antony and died by suicide after hearing a false report that Brutus had also failed. Brutus rallied Cassius's remaining troops, and both sides ordered their army to retreat to their camps with their spoils.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Philippi (revision 1374884003), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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