January 11, 2019

On Jan. 10, 49 B.C., 2,068 years ago yesterday, ancient Roman leader Julius Caesar led 5,000 troops across the Rubicon River in northern Italy. The Rubicon was part of the boundary between Roman Italy and the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul (the Po Valley), where Caesar was governor. Caesar and other Roman governors were forbidden to cross the boundary with troops. Caesar was commanding an army in Gaul when the Roman Senate, fearing his power, ordered him to give up his command. Caesar refused and led his men across the Rubicon. This action symbolized the start of Caesar’s successful drive for the leadership of Rome. The expression to cross the Rubicon means to make a decision that cannot be changed.

On Jan. 10, 49 B.C., Julius Caesar led an army across the Rubicon River in northern Italy, an act that started a civil war in ancient Rome. To this day, if someone “crosses the Rubicon,” they have made a big decision that cannot be changed. Credit: © Shutterstock

In 60 B.C., Caesar—then an ambitious senator—allied himself with the powerful Romans Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gnaeus Pompey. Their alliance, known as the First Triumvirate, dominated Roman politics. In 59 B.C., Caesar became governor of Cisalpine Gaul, Illyricum, and Transalpine Gaul (an area that is now mainly France), provinces north of Italy. In 58 B.C., he began a lengthy campaign to subdue powerful Gallic rebellions. During Caesar’s time in Gaul, the triumvirate in Rome began to deteriorate. Crassus died in 53 B.C., and Pompey grew steadily more suspicious of Caesar’s desire for more power. By 52 B.C., Pompey and Caesar’s enemies in the senate were plotting against him.

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Before Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 B.C., he was governor of the vast Roman province of Gaul. The Rubicon River was part of a border that separated Cisalpine Gaul from Roman Italy. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

In 49 B.C., some senators ordered Caesar to give up his army. Caesar had no intention of surrendering his army and instead led them across the Rubicon. After this hostile act, there was no turning back. Caesar had provoked, or been provoked into, a civil war. As Caesar hurried south, he met little opposition. Pompey’s troops surrendered and Pompey fled Italy. 

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In Caesar’s day, the Rubicon River ran near the modern city of Ravenna in northern Italy. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Within 60 days, Caesar was master of Rome and had himself appointed dictator. But it took him nearly five years to complete the conquest of Pompey and his followers. In 44 B.C., Caesar was made dictator for life and given honors normally given only to gods. Senators and others who feared his power had Caesar murdered on March 15 (the Ides of March), 44 B.C. 

The name Rubicon comes from the Latin word rubeus meaning red. The stream got its name because its waters are colored red by mud deposits.

December 31, 2012

A cycle in the calendar used by most of the world ends today at midnight–but, happily, a new cycle will begin again immediately afterward as the date moves forward to 2013. In the United States, the slow descent of the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball in New York City will mark the final seconds of the year, as the ball has every year since 1907. Crowds will gather on State Street in Chicago and in other public places as well. Many people will go to New Year’s Eve parties. At midnight, bells will ring, sirens will sound, firecrackers will explode, and everyone will shout, “Happy New Year!” Many people will also drink a toast to the new year and sing “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scottish song whose title is widely mispronounced and whose meaning is generally unknown. (It is pronounced AWLD lang SYN, not OLD ang ZINE, and means old long since, or days gone by, in Scottish dialect.)

On New Year’s Day, many people in the United States will visit relatives, attend religious services, or watch football games on television. Some people will attend parades, such as the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, and the Mummers Parade in Philadelphia.

The Mummers Parade features marching bands in elaborate and colorful costumes. This festive event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is held annually on New Year's Day. © Joseph Nettis, Photo Researchers

The ancient Romans were the first to use January 1 as the start of the new year. In 46 B.C., Julius Caesar ordered the adoption of a new calendar because the Roman year had gotten totally out of whack. Winter occurred in September, and autumn came in the month now called July. The Romans had usually celebrated March 1 as the first day of the new year. But Caesar, who had recently picked up a 10-year appointment as dictator of Rome, officially ordered the date moved to January 1 in 45 B.C., as part of the changes mandated by the new Julian calendar.

During the Middle Ages, from about the A.D. 400′s through the 1400′s, most European countries started the new year on March 25, a Christian holiday called Annunciation Day. By 1600, many Western nations had adopted a revised calendar called the Gregorian calendar. This calendar, the one used today, restored January 1 as New Year’s Day. Great Britain (now also called the United Kingdom) and its colonies in America adopted it in 1752.

Additional World Book articles:

• Chinese New Year
• Islam (Holidays and celebrations)
• January
• Rosh Ha-Shanah