Munda: The Battle to End the War
In the first of this month's series on the Caesars, Simon Turney writes about the the final clash of the Caesar's Civil War.
Fought in 45BC, three years after the battle of Pharsalus when Julius Caesar triumphed over Pompey Magnus, this victory over his old rival’s sons finished the war and ended the Republic. Turney’s latest novel climaxes at Munda in Spain, and here he details the battle and his investigations into where exactly it took place.
In 2020, I wrote the fourteenth (penultimate) volume of Marius’ Mules, the series based upon the Gallic and Civil wars of Julius Caesar. One thing I like to do with my work, when I am to cover an important battle, is to get the details right. I like to locate, study, and for preference, walk, the battlefield. In the case of the battle in question for MM14, the battle of Munda, there were two hurdles. Firstly, COVID has prevented travel for research these past few years. Secondly, the site of Munda has never been convincingly located. Some research was clearly in order.
The last battle of Caesar’s career was fought in southern Spain (Hispania Baetica) against Sextus Pompey and his brother Gnaeus, though the location of the battle site remains a matter of debate among historians and archaeologists. Thus begun a two month search without it being possible to physically visit the region.
Prior to the Battle of Munda, Caesar’s engagements occurred on the River Salsum (convincingly identified as the Guadajoz, south of Cordoba), and then in a series of locations, pursuing the forces of Pompey. Of the sites mentioned in sources, the site of Aspavia is unknown, but Soricaria has been identified with Castro del Rio and Ventipo with Casariche. The last stop before Munda on Caesar’s journey is Carruca. Though the location of this place unknown, if it follows in a rough line from Castro del Rio and Casariche, would lie somewhere between there and Osuna. The end point of Munda, then, seems likely to lie somewhere in the region of Osuna.
A number of towns have been linked with the battle over the years. Some seem to be based largely on etymology. Monda, for instance, fits with little of the known geography and makes little sense other than the similarity of the names.
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