Pompey the Great Assassinated in Egypt
In the final stages of the Roman civil war, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, known as Pompey the Great, had suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Pharsalus against Julius Caesar in August 48 BC. Fleeing eastward, Pompey sought refuge and support from King Ptolemy XIII of Egypt, whose father had once been aided by the Roman general. Upon arriving near Pelusium on September 28, 48 BC, Pompey was invited ashore by Egyptian officials. As he stepped from his boat, he was treacherously attacked and killed by Roman officer Lucius Septimius and others acting on Ptolemy's orders. His head was severed and presented to Caesar later as a grim trophy, while his body was cremated on the shore. This murder eliminated a major rival and cleared the path for Caesar's dominance in Rome, though it also drew him into Egyptian affairs.
Why it matters: The assassination ended the First Triumvirate era and accelerated Caesar's rise to dictatorship, reshaping the Roman Republic into an empire. It underscored the volatile alliances and betrayals that defined late Republican politics, influencing subsequent civil conflicts and the consolidation of power under one ruler.