ORDER OF BATTLE // -45 BCE
Battle of Ruspina
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
1 sides catalogued · combined 9,600 estimated
Pompeians
9,600
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Ruspina, fought on 4 January 46 BC in the Roman province of Africa, was an engagement between Caesarian forces under Julius Caesar and Republican Optimate forces commanded by Titus Labienus. Labienus had been one of Caesar's most capable lieutenants during the Gallic Wars before defecting to the Republican cause at the outset of the civil war, making the confrontation a direct contest between former comrades and the command traditions they represented. The engagement took place within the African theater of Caesar's Civil War, a campaign that would culminate in the decisive Battle of Thapsus later in 46 BC. Beyond these facts, the outcome and its operational consequences are not recorded in the available sources.
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