Mark Antony conflict Battle of Pharsalus
During the Greek campaign, Plutarch records that Antony was Caesar's top general, and second only to him in reputation. Antony joined Caesar at the western Balkan Peninsula and besieged Pompey's larger army at Dyrrhachium. With food sources running low, Caesar, in July, ordered a nocturnal assault on Pompey's camp, but Pompey's larger forces pushed back the assault. Though an indecisive result, the victory was a tactical win for Pompey. Pompey, however, did not order a counterassault on Caesar's camp, allowing Caesar to retreat unhindered. Caesar would later remark the civil war would have ended that day if only Pompey had attacked him. Caesar managed to retreat to Thessaly, with Pompey in pursuit.
Assuming a defensive position at the plain of Pharsalus, Caesar's army prepared for pitched battle with Pompey's, which outnumbered his own two to one. At the Battle of Pharsalus on 9 August 48 BC, Caesar commanded the right wing opposite Pompey while Antony commanded the left, indicating Antony's status as Caesar's top general. The resulting battle was a decisive victory for Caesar. Though the civil war did not end at Pharsalus, the battle marked the pinnacle of Caesar's power and effectively ended the Republic. The battle gave Caesar a much needed boost in legitimacy, as prior to the battle much of the Roman world outside Italy supported Pompey and the Optimates as the legitimate government of Rome. After Pompey's defeat, most of the senate defected to Caesar, including many of the soldiers who had fought under Pompey. Pompey himself fled to Ptolemaic Egypt, but Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator feared retribution from Caesar and had Pompey assassinated upon his arrival.
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