Editing Rubicon (section)

==History==
During the [[Roman Republic]], the Rubicon marked the boundary between the [[Roman province]] of [[Cisalpine Gaul]] and the areas directly controlled by Rome and its {{lang|la|[[socii]]}} (allies), to the south. On the north-western side, the border was marked by the river [[Arno]], a much wider and more important waterway, which flows westward from the [[Apennine Mountains]] (the Arno and the Rubicon rise not far from each other) into the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]].

===Caesar's crossing===
{{Further|Crossing the Rubicon}}
[[File: CæSAR PAUSED ON THE BANKS OF THE RUBICON.gif|thumb|[[Julius Caesar]] just before [[crossing the Rubicon]]]]

In 49 BC, perhaps on the 10th of January, [[Julius Caesar]] led a single [[Roman legion|legion]], [[Legio XIII Gemina]], south over the Rubicon from Cisalpine Gaul to Italy to make his way to Rome. In doing so, he deliberately broke the law limiting his {{lang|la|[[imperium]]}}, making armed conflict inevitable. [[Suetonius]] depicts Caesar as undecided as he approached the river, and attributes the crossing to a supernatural apparition. It was reported that Caesar dined with [[Sallust]], [[Hirtius]], [[Gaius Oppius]], [[Lucius Cornelius Balbus (consul)|Lucius Cornelius Balbus]], and [[Servius Sulpicius Rufus]] on the night after his crossing.

According to Suetonius, Caesar uttered the famous phrase {{lang|la|[[alea iacta est]]}} ('the [[dice|die]] is cast') upon crossing the Rubicon, signifying that his action was irreversible.<ref>''[[Lives of the Caesars]]'', "Divus Julius" sect. 32. Suetonius gives the [[Latin]] version, {{lang|la|iacta alea est}}, although, according to [[Plutarch]]'s ''Parallel Lives'', Caesar quoted a line from the playwright [[Menander]]: {{lang|grc|ἀνερρίφθω κύβος}}, {{lang|grc-Latn|anerríphthō kȳbos}}, 'let the die be cast'. Suetonius's subtly different translation is often also quoted as {{lang|la|alea iacta est}}.</ref> The phrase "crossing the Rubicon" is now used to refer to committing irrevocably to a grave course of action, similar to the modern phrase "passing the [[point of no return]]," but with the added connotation of risking danger. The presence of Caesar and his legion in Italy forced [[Pompey]], the [[Roman consul|consuls]], and a large part of the senate to flee Rome. Caesar's victory in the [[Caesar's Civil War|subsequent civil war]] ensured that he would never be punished for his actions.

===Later history===
After Caesar's crossing, the Rubicon was a geographical feature of note until about 42 BC, when [[Augustus|Octavian]] merged the Province of [[Cisalpine Gaul]] into [[Italia (Roman Empire)|Italia]] and the river ceased to be the extreme northern border of Italy. The decision robbed the Rubicon of its importance, and the name gradually disappeared from the local toponymy.

After the [[fall of the Western Roman Empire]], and during the first centuries of the [[Middle Ages]], the coastal plain between [[Ravenna]] and [[Rimini]] was flooded many times. The Rubicon, like other small rivers of the region, often changed its course during this period. For this reason, and to supply fields with water after the revival of agriculture in the [[late Middle Ages]], during the 14th and 15th centuries, hydraulic works were built to prevent other floods and to regulate streams. As a result of this work, these rivers started to flow in straight courses, as they do today.