On this day the Roman general, Julius Caesar, at the end of his term as Governor of Gaul, led his army across the Rubicon river in the north east of Italy and headed for Rome. In so doing, he deliberately broke the Roman Republic Law which stated that a returning Roman general must disband his army before entering Italy. By breaking this law and marching into Italy at the head of his army, Caesar was effectively declaring himself an outlaw and laying the foundations for the ensuing civil war and ultimately for his own demise. Today the expression “crossing the Rubicon” has come to mean making an important and irreversible decision.
