Many times, you’ll see the veni, vidi, vici tattoo inked between a laurel wreath. You tend to see many different styles and ways this tattoo can be inked on the body. It has also been used in music by the likes of Jay-Z on his song “Encore” and the Swedish group The Hives when they titled their album Veni Vidi Vicious. In the case King Jan III of Poland, he stated, “We came, We saw, God conquered” after the Battle of Vienna. It’s been used in military context for many years and many will add a spin to the phrase. The popularity of this phrase has increased over the years. Suetonius, a Roman historian of the time, stated that as Caesar returned home, he was led by the light of a torches and a tablet that had the phrase veni, vidi, vici inscribed. This was a great victory by Julius Caesar and was so quick and thorough that he decided to commemorate it with the phrase we’ve been speaking of, veni, vidi, vici. Initially, the attack took Caesar by surprise but once the veteran army got their bearings, they pushed the Pontic army back down the hill and ended the battle quickly. It did catch Caesar’s forces off guard, but the surprising part was that Pharnaces would give up high ground and attack going uphill. Both armies set up camps on hilltops but in a surprise move, the Pontic army unexpectedly attacked. In today’s world, this location is in northern Turkey in the Tokat province. The city of Zile ended up being location of the fight. Most wouldn’t walk into a situation like this but Pharnaces had to be dealt with for his actions toward the Roman people. He did have a strong core however, so he was confident. In contrast to Caesar’s army, Pharnaces forces consisted of many tribal forces and levied infantry. He had somewhere around 11,000 soldiers ready to fight while Pharnaces had an army of around 20,000. However, of the forces he had with him, they were veterans and battle hardened.
Caesar refused this offer of peace and continued to advance.Ĭaesar would be outnumbered in this fight. Once Pharnaces heard that Caesar was on his way to deal with the issue, he sent out a peace seeking envoy. Pharnaces then committed war crimes and atrocities against the Roman prisoners and any Romans he found in the area. Pharnaces had just defeated Caesar’s army at the Battle of Nicopolis. This was after the defeat of the Ptolemaic army in the Battle of the Nile.
The story behind the Battle of Zela starts when Caesar left Egypt and was travelling through Syria. In other words, veni, vidi, vici means he came in, took what he wanted and left. He had just accomplished dominating victory in the Battle of Zela over Pharnaces II of Pontus. He used this phrase when writing a letter to the Roman Senate at around 47 BC and after battle. When Caesar used this phrase, the braggadocios figure of speech shocked and impressed many writers of the time. Veni, vidi, vici is the famous Latin phrase touted by Julius Caesar who was emperor over Rome from 49 BC to 44 BC. We’ll take a look into the origins of this phrase and come to a better understanding of why people like to get the veni, vidi, vici tattoo. A statement that holds this much meaning must have an interesting story behind it. The veni, vidi, vici tattoo speaks volumes about the person wearing this ink. It’s no surprise that you’ll see this phrase tattooed on men and women alike. It translates to, I came, I saw, I conquered. Veni, vidi, vici is a Latin phrase attributed to Julius Caesar.
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