Editing 48 BC

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Year '''48 BC''' was a year of the [[Roman calendar|pre-Julian Roman calendar]]. At the time, it was known as the '''Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Vatia''' (or, less frequently, '''year 706 ''[[Ab urbe condita]]'''''). The denomination 48 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the [[Anno Domini]] [[calendar era]] became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

== Events ==
<onlyinclude>
=== By place ===
==== Roman Republic ====
* [[Consul]]s: [[Julius Caesar|Gaius Julius Caesar]] and [[Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus (consul 48 BCE)|Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus]]. Caesar is named consul for a period of five years.
* [[Caesar's Civil War]]:
** [[January 4]] &ndash; Julius Caesar lands at [[Dyrrhachium]] ([[Durrës|Durazzo]]).
** March &ndash; [[Mark Antony]] joins Julius Caesar.
** April &ndash; Siege of Dyrrhachium: Julius Caesar builds a fortified line of entrenchments and besieges [[Pompey|Pompey the Great]].
** The Roman temple to [[Bellona (goddess)|Bellona]] on the [[Capitolinus]] outside [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] is burnt to the ground.
** May &ndash; Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus, co-consul with Julius Caesar, destroys [[Marcus Caelius Rufus|Caelius]]'s [[magistrate]]'s chair on his [[tribunal]].
** [[July 10]] &ndash; [[Battle of Dyrrhachium (48 BC)|Battle of Dyrrhachium]]: Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in [[Macedonia (Roman province)|Macedonia]]; he retreats to [[Thessaly]].
** [[August]] &ndash; [[Battle of Pharsalus]]: Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at [[Farsala|Pharsalus]], who flees to [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Egypt]]. Pompey's army by and large is pardoned.<ref name=leglay>{{cite book | title=A History of Rome | edition=Second | first1=Marcel | last1=LeGlay | first2=Jean-Louis | last2=Voisin | first3=Yann | last3=Le Bohec | page=129 | publisher=Blackwell | place=Malden, Massachusetts | year=2001 | isbn=0-631-21858-0}}</ref> 
** Winter &ndash; [[Siege of Oricum]]: Julius Caesar captures the strategic city port of [[Oricum]] in [[Epirus (ancient state)|Epirus]] (modern [[Albania]]). The garrison opens the town's gate and [[Lucius Manlius Torquatus]] surrenders to Caesar. 
** December &ndash; [[Battle of Nicopolis (48 BC)|Battle of Nicopolis]]: King [[Pharnaces II of Pontus]] defeats the Roman forces under [[Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus]], a loyal partisan of Julius Caesar.

==== Egypt ====
* [[September 28]] &ndash; Pompey the Great is assassinated on the orders of King [[Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator|Ptolemy XIII]], after landing in Egypt (may have occurred [[September 29]], records unclear).
* October &ndash; Julius Caesar reaches [[Alexandria]], a city founded by [[Alexander the Great]]. He is met by an Egyptian delegation from Ptolemy XIII. The Egyptians offer him gifts: the ring of Pompey and his head.
* Queen [[Cleopatra VII]] returns to the palace rolled into a [[Persian carpet]] and has it presented to Caesar by her servant. The Egyptian princess, only twenty-one years old, becomes his mistress.
* December &ndash; [[Siege of Alexandria (47 BC)|Battle in Alexandria]]: Forces of Caesar and his ally Cleopatra VII and those of rival King Ptolemy XIII and Queen [[Arsinoe IV of Egypt|Arsinoe IV]]. The latter two are defeated and flee the city, but during the battle part of the [[Library of Alexandria]] catches fire.

==== Asia ====
* [[Emperor Yuan of Han|Yuan]] becomes emperor of the [[Han dynasty|Han Dynasty]] (until [[33 BC]]).
</onlyinclude>
== Births ==
* [[Consort Ban|Lady Ban]], Chinese concubine and female poet
* [[Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus (consul 15 BC)|Lucius Calpurnius Piso]], Roman consul (d. [[AD 32]])
* [[Publius Cornelius Scipio (consul 16 BC)|Publius Cornelius Scipio]], Roman consul and governor

== Deaths ==
* [[September 28]] &ndash; [[Pompey]] ('''the Great'''), Roman politician (b. [[106 BC]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Pompey the Great {{!}} Roman statesman {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pompey-the-Great |website=www.britannica.com |access-date=2 December 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Afriana Carfania]], Roman orator
* [[Cotys I (Sapaean)|Cotys I]], Thracian client king of the [[Odrysian kingdom|Odrysian Kingdom]]
* [[Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus]], Roman statesman
* [[Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Crus]], Roman politician
* [[Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus]], Roman politician 
* [[Titus Annius Milo]], Roman politician 
* [[Zhang Chang (Han)|Zhang Chang]], Chinese scholar and official

== References ==
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[[Category:48 BC| ]]