What happened onJuly 18, 47 BCFriday

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The World in 47 BC the year Pharnaces overruns the Black Sea coast

While Caesar is stuck in Alexandria, Pharnaces II of the Bosporus, son of Mithridates the Great, crosses the Black Sea and takes back his father's kingdom of Pontus, Lesser Armenia and much of Cappadocia, beating a Roman army at Nicopolis. The map shows Pontus's green swollen and Rome's teal shrunk in Anatolia. Caesar meanwhile wins the Alexandrian war in March, drowns Ptolemy XIII in the Nile, sets Cleopatra on the throne with a younger brother and sails with her up the river; their son Caesarion is born in June. In August he marches five days from Syria to Zela, beats Pharnaces in four hours and sends Rome the three words veni, vidi, vici. Pharnaces flees to the Bosporus and is killed by his own governor Asander. Parthia sits out the year. The Han and the Xiongnu are quiet.

From 48 BC to 47 BC

On the map Pontus's green spreads this year along the Black Sea coast into Lesser Armenia and Cappadocia, and Rome's teal in Anatolia shrinks by as much. It is Pharnaces's kingdom at its height, the spring before Zela.

• ⚔️47 BC The Alexandrian war ends in March. Ptolemy XIII drowns in the Nile and Cleopatra rules Egypt with Caesar behind her.
• ⚔️47 BC Zela, 2 August: Caesar routs Pharnaces in a few hours. Veni, vidi, vici, he writes home.
• 🗺️47 BC Pharnaces holds Pontus, Lesser Armenia and Cappadocia on the map, the last stretch of his father's kingdom to be won back.

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