What happened to Pompey’s supporters after his death?

Following the death of Pompey the Great in 48 BCE, his supporters—often referred to as the Optimates—continued to resist Julius Caesar for three more years across Africa, Spain, and the East.1

The fate of these supporters was marked by significant military defeats and personal tragedy:

• Africa: Republican forces and their allies were eventually annihilated by Caesar at the Battle of Thapsus in 46 BCE. Following this defeat, the prominent leader Marcus Porcius Cato, who had led a remnant of troops to Africa, committed suicide at Utica rather than accept a pardon from the victor.23
• Spain: Pompey’s sons organized a major uprising in Spain, where their father’s name still held significant influence. This resistance was ultimately crushed by Caesar at the Battle of Munda in 45 BCE, which was noted as the bloodiest engagement of the civil war.2

While Caesar famously pardoned many of his surviving enemies after his victory at Pharsalus, the organized opposition was systematically dismantled through these later military campaigns.24