Pharsalus

A dispute between Caesar and the Senate of Rome culminated in Caesar marching his army on Rome and forcing Pompey, accompanied by much of the?Roman Senate, to flee from Italy to Greece in 49 BC where he could better conscript an army to face his former ally. Caesar, lacking a fleet to immediately give chase, solidified his control over the western Mediterranean ? Spain specifically ? before assembling ships to follow Pompey.?Bibulus, whom Pompey had appointed to command his 600-ship fleet, set up a massive blockade to prevent Caesar from crossing to Greece and to prevent any aid to Italy. Caesar, defying convention, chose to cross the Adriatic during the winter, with only half his fleet at a time.