Narrates the deployments, moves and countermoves on the day (6 Apr 46 BC) that led to another victory for Caesar.

Despite defeating his opponent Pompeius Magnus at Pharsalus, and the latter’s subsequent murder, Caesar still faced a determined opposition in the Civil War that had engulfed the late Roman Republic. Having become entangled in the intrigues and wars of the East, Caesar gave his opponents time to regroup under the lead of Metellus Scipio and Cato the Younger, scions of two of the Republic’s greatest families. Under their leadership Caesar’s dominance of the Republic was seriously challenged, culminating in a decisive battle at Thapsus in what is now Tunisia.  Gareth Sampson describes the campaigns that set the context for the battle, including the role played by the various regional powers drawn into the Roman Civil War. He then recounts the battle itself in detail, analysing the relative strengths of the armies involved, their organization, equipment and tactics. He assesses the opposing commanders and the strategies on the day which led to another victory for Caesar. He concludes with a discussion of the bloody aftermath of the battle and the myths that developed around the deaths of Caesar’s opponents.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• List of Illustrations
• Maps and Diagrams
• Introduction
• Timeline
• Notes on Roman Names
• Section I: The Architects of the Third Civil War (49–47 BC)
  • Chapter 1 The Roman Evolution – The Road to the Third Civil War (133–50 BC)
  • Chapter 2 A Clash of Titans: The Battles of Dyrrhachium and Pharsalus (49–48 BC)
• Section II: Civil War Renewed
  • Chapter 3 In the Shadow of Pompeius: The Recovery of the Pompeian Faction
  • Chapter 4 The Continuation of the Civil War – The Campaigns of 47 BC
• Section III: The African Campaign of 46 BC
  • Chapter 5 The Caesarian Invasion of North Africa and the Battle of Ruspina
  • Chapter 6 Stalemate in the Desert: The African Campaigns to the Battle of Tegea (Jan-March 46 BC)
• Section IV: The Battle of Thapsus and its Bloody Aftermath
  • Chapter 7 The Battle of Thapsus (46 BC) – History Repeating
  • Chapter 8 Cementing the Victory – The Destruction of the Pompeian Faction
• Section V: From the Ashes: The Continuation of the Civil War
  • Chapter 9 From the Ashes: The Rise of Pompeius Magnus and the Continuation of the Civil War
• Appendix I: The Fourth Romano-Pontic War (48–47 BC)
• Appendix II: Who’s Who in the Third Roman Civil War (47–46 BC)
• Appendix III: The Family of Iulius Caesar and the Third Civil War
• Appendix IV: How Many Civil Wars?
• Bibliography
• Notes
• Plates