Julius Caesar begins the long slow process of pushing Roman occupation steadily northwards in France (or Gaul)

Julius Caesar makes the first of his two invasions of Celtic Britain

Julius Caesar returns to Britain for a second visit, this time reaching north of the Thames into the kingdom of Cassivellaunus

Crasssus is killed at Carrhae, in Turkey, when the Parthians defeat his army, largely thanks to their brilliance as mounted archers

The death of Crassus at Carrhae brings to an end the first triumvirate

The Celtic leader Vercingetorix inflicts an unaccustomed defeat on Julius Caesar, at Gergovia, but is captured later in the year

In his winter quarters Julius Caesar writes The Gallic War, an account of his own achievements in suppressing the Gauls

In the Ptolemaic tradition, Cleopatra marries her brother Ptolemy XIII and at the age of eighteen is joint ruler of Egypt

The senate, controlled by Pompey and his faction, orders Caesar to disband his army and return to Rome

Julius Caesar crosses the river Rubicon (the southern boundary of Gaul) with his army – and in doing so launches a civil war

Pompey flees from Rome at the approach of Caesar, and boards a ship at Brindisi to sail eastwards

Julius Caesar moves fast to drive Pompey's supporters from Italy and to crush forces loyal to him in Spain

Julius Caesar defeats his rival Pompey at Pharsalus, in Greece, and makes himself master of the Roman world

Caesar, reaching Egypt, is not pleased when sent by Ptolemy XIII the gift of Pompey's severed head, already embalmed

Pompey, seeking in Egypt refuge from Caesar, is first welcomed and then murdered by the faction of Ptolemy XIII

Julius Caesar, now fifty-two, meets the 21-year-old Cleopatra in Alexandria and they become lovers

Cleopatra gives birth to a son and calls him Ptolemy XV Caesar (later known by the nickname Caesarion)

The combined forces of Caesar and Cleopatra defeat Ptolemy XIII in a battle fought in the Nile delta

Julius Caesar leaves Alexandria to travel with his army by the land route back to Italy, through Turkey

Julius Caesar concludes a campaign in Asia Minor so speedily that he declares, succinctly, Veni, vidi, vici ('I came, I saw, I conquered')

Vercingetorix is a prize exhibit in Caesar's great triumph in Rome, but the Celtic chieftain is strangled once the procession is over

Julius Caesar goes to Africa to confront the remainder of Pompey's forces, and defeats them at Thapsus – but two of Pompey's sons escape to Spain

Cleopatra travels to Rome with Caesarion, whom Caesar now officially recognizes as his son

A town is founded by Julius Caesar on the ruined site of Carthage, and eventually flourishes as Colonia Julia Carthago

In the final act of his long struggle with supporters of Pompey, Julius Caesar defeats their last survivors at Munda in Spain