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Presumed course of the Rubicon

The Rubicon to the right of Cesena, at Pisciatello

The Rubicon (Latin: Rubicō, Italian: Rubicone) is a shallow river in northeastern Italy, about 80 kilometres long, running from the Apennine Mountains to the Adriatic Sea through the southern Emilia-Romagna region, between the towns of Rimini and Cesena. The Latin word rubico comes from the adjective "rubeus", meaning "red". The river was so named because its waters are colored red by mud deposits. It was key to protecting Rome from Civil War.

The idiom "Crossing the Rubicon" means to pass a point of no return, and refers to Julius Caesar's army's crossing of the river in 49 BC, which was considered an act of insurrection. Because the course of the river has changed much since then, it is impossible to confirm exactly where the Rubicon flowed when Caesar and his legions crossed it.

History[link]

During the Roman republic, the river Rubicon marked the boundary between the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul to the north-east and Italy proper (controlled directly by Rome and its socii (allies)) to the south. On the north-western side, the border was marked by the river Arno, a much wider and important waterway, which flows westwide from the Apennine Mountains (its source is not far from Rubicon's source) into the Tyrrhenian Sea. Governors of Roman provinces were appointed promagistrates with imperium (roughly, "right to command") in their province(s). The governor would then serve as the general of the Roman army within the territory of his province(s). Roman law specified that only the elected magistrates (consuls and praetors) could hold imperium within Italy. Any promagistrate who entered Italy at the head of his troops forfeited his imperium and was therefore no longer legally allowed to command troops.

Exercising imperium when forbidden by the law was a capital offence, punishable by death. Furthermore, obeying the commands of a general who did not legally possess imperium was also a capital offence. If a general entered Italy whilst exercising command of an army, both the general and his soldiers became outlaws and were automatically condemned to death. Generals were thus obliged to disband their armies before entering Italy. In 49 BC, supposedly on January 10 of the Roman calendar, G. Julius Caesar led one legion, the 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 on imperium and made armed conflict inevitable. According to the historian Suetonius, Caesar uttered the famous phrase ālea iacta est ("the die has been cast").^[1] Caesar's decision for swift action forced Pompey, the lawful consuls (G. Claudius Marcellus and L. Cornelius Lentulus Crus), and a large part of the Roman Senate to flee Rome in fear. Caesar's subsequent victory in Caesar's civil war ensured that punishment for the infraction would never be rendered.

Suetonius's account depicts Caesar as undecided as he approached the river, and attributes the crossing to a supernatural apparition. The phrase "crossing the Rubicon" has survived to refer to any individual or group committing itself irrevocably to a risky or revolutionary course of action, similar to the modern phrase "passing the point of no return".

Location confusion and resolution[link]

After Caesar's crossing, the Rubicon was a geographical feature of note until Emperor Augustus abolished the Province of Gallia Cisalpina (today’s northern Italy) and the river ceased to be the extreme border line of Italy. The decision robbed the Rubicon of its importance, and the name gradually disappeared from the local toponymy.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, and during the first centuries of the Middle Ages, the coastal plain between Ravenna and Rimini was flooded many times. The Rubicon, as with 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 eventually started flowing in straight courses, as they do today.

With the revival of interest in the topography of ancient Roman Italy during the 15th century, the matter of identifying the Rubicon in the contemporary landscape became a topic of debate among Renaissance humanists.^[2] To support the claim of the Pisciatello, a spurious inscription forbidding the passage of an army in the name of the Roman people and Senate, the so-called Sanctio, was placed by a bridge on that river. The Quattrocento humanist Flavio Biondo was taken in by it;^[3] the actual inscription is conserved in the Museo Archeologico, Cesena.^[4] As the centuries went by, several rivers of Italian Adriatic coast between Ravenna and Rimini have at times been said to correspond to the ancient Rubicon.

The Via Aemilia (National Road №9) still follows its original Roman course as it runs between hills and plain; it would have been the obvious course to follow as it was the only major Roman road east of the Apennine Mountains leading to and from the Po Valley. Attempts to deduce the original flow of the Rubicon can be done only by studying written documents and other archaeological evidence such as Roman milestones, which indicate the distance between the ancient river and the nearest Roman towns.

It is important to underline that the starting point of a Roman road (some kind of “mile zero”), from which distances were counted, was always the crossing between the Cardo and the Decumanus, the two principal streets in every Roman town, running north-south and east-west, respectively. In a section of the Tabula Peutingeriana, an ancient document showing the network of Roman roads, a river in north-eastern Italy labeled “fl. Rubico” is marked at a position 12 Roman miles (18 km) north of Rimini along the coastline; 18 km is the distance between Rimini and a place called “Ad Confluentes”, drawn west of the Rubicon, on the Via Aemilia.

In 1933, after various efforts spanning centuries, the river now called Fiumicino, crossing the town of Savignano di Romagna (now Savignano sul Rubicone), was officially identified as the former Rubicon. The final proof confirming this theory came only in 1991,^[5] when three Italian scholars (Pignotti, Ravagli, and Donati), after a comparison between the Tabula Peutingeriana and other ancient sources (including Cicero), showed that the distance running from Rome to the Rubicon river was 320 km. Key elements of their work are:

• The locality of San Giovanni in Compito (now a western quarter of Savignano) has to be identified with the old Ad Confluentes (“compito” means confluence of roads and it is synonymous with “confluentes”)
• The distance between Ad Confluentes and Rome, according to the Tabula Peutingeriana, is 320 km
• The distance from today’s San Giovanni in Compito and the Fiumicino river is 1 Roman mile (1.48 km)

Present[link]

Today there is very little evidence of Caesar’s historical passage. Savignano sul Rubicone is an industrial town and the river has become one of the most polluted in the Emilia-Romagna region. Exploitation of underground waters along the upper course of the Rubicon has reduced its flow—it was a minor river even during Roman times (“parvi Rubiconis ad undas” as Lucan said, roughly translated "to the waves of [the] tiny Rubicon")—and has since lost its natural route, except in its upper course between low and woody hills.

In popular culture[link]

For an extensive list of contemporary and popular use, see Rubicon (disambiguation).

Notes[link]

External links[link]

 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Rubicon". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

• Livius.org: Rubico
• Rubicon in dictionary

Pearce, M., R. Peretto, P. Tozzi, R. Talbert, T. Elliott, S. Gillies. "Places: 393484 (Rubico fl.)". Pleiades. http://pleiades.stoa.org/places/393484. Retrieved March 8, 2012 12:30 pm. 

Coordinates: 44°05′35″N 12°23′45″E / 44.093029°N 12.395834°E / 44.093029; 12.395834

Alan Braxe
Origin	Brax[disambiguation needed ], France
Genres	House Electro Techno
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Vulture Music (France)
Associated acts	Fred Falke, Kris Menace

Alain Quême, also known as Alan Braxe, is a French electronic music artist. Braxe is most widely known for his collaborative work with electronic bassist Fred Falke and Kris Menace. In 2005 Alan released The Upper Cuts, a collection of his previous released material.

History[link]

Alan Braxe began work as a musician in Paris in the mid 1990s. He is seen as a key figure in the French electronic music scene. His nickname is a variant of Brax, a region in France where he used to live. He is the cousin of DJ Falcon (Stephane Quême) and Quartet (Delphine Quême).^[1]

Braxe's debut single, 'Vertigo' came out on Roulé in 1997. It was a hit in large part thanks to the 'Virgo Edit' of the song, which was co-produced with Thomas Bangalter. Braxe scored a major hit in 1998 with 'Music Sounds Better with You' a track co-written with Bangalter from Daft Punk and Benjamin Diamond under the name Stardust that reached number one on the United States Dance chart. He later formed Vulture Music, and continued to release singles under its imprint, including the 2004 hit 'Rubicon'.

Recently he has become an in-demand remixer, contributing remixes (frequently co-produced with Fred Falke) for Goldfrapp, Röyksopp, Test Icicles, Annie, Shakedown, Kylie Minogue and Justice.

Alan Braxe has produced remixes for a number of artists. At first, many of these were associated with the French electronic music scene, but recently the popularity of his 'Rubicon' single has led to more high profile jobs for mainstream rock and electronic artists.

In 2005, Braxe signed the track 'Discopolis' to his record label Vulture, produced by Kris Menace and Lifelike, which became one of the biggest selling tracks of the year. Together and with the help of Kris Menace, Braxe started DJing in 2006.^[2] Braxe & Menace also released 'Lumberjack' on 4 June 2007.^[3]

In 2008, Alan Braxe and Kris Menace decided to DJ separately and Braxe released 'Nightwatcher', also known by the title 'Addicted' on the English label Eye Industries.^[4]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• The Upper Cuts - June 2005 (Vulture Music). Credited to "Alan Braxe and Friends." Includes collaborations, remixes, and a solo track from 1997 to 2005.

Singles and EPs[link]

• Vertigo - 1997 (Roulé).
• Intro - 2000 (Vulture Music). CD5 and 12" Release. With Fred Falke.
• Palladium / Penthouse Serenade - 2002 (Vulture Music). 12" Release. With Fred Falke.
• In Love With You - 2003 (Vulture Music) 12" Release. With Romuald Louverjon as "The Paradise".
• Love Lost - 2003 (Kitsune Music). 12" Release. With Fred Falke.
• Rubicon - 2004 (Vulture Music). CD5 and 12" Release. With Fred Falke.
• Lumberjack - 2007 (Vulture Music). 12" Release. With Kris Menace.

Remixes by Alan Braxe[link]

• "Alarm Call" by Björk, 1998.
• "I Feel Good Things for You" by Daddy's Favorite, 1998.
• "Loopduell 1" by Ian Pooley, 1998.
• "Fall In Love" by B.O.C Productions, 1999.
• "In Your Arms" by Benjamin Diamond, 2000.
• "Anticipating" by Britney Spears, 2002.
• "At Night" by Shakedown, 2002.
• "Heartbeat" by Annie, 2005.
• "Let's Get High" by Benjamin Diamond, 2005.
• "Discopolis" by Lifelike & Kris Menace, 2006.
• "So Far Away" by John Lord Fonda on DeBaSer, 2006.
• "That's What Dreams Are Made Of" by Space Cowboy on Digital Rock, 2006.
• "2 Hearts" by Kylie Minogue, 2007.
• "The Cult of the Romance" by Fenech-Soler, 2007.
• "Broken-Hearted Girl" by Beyoncé, 2009.
• "Life Is Still Beautiful" by The Orange Lights, 2009.
• "The Writer" by Ellie Goulding, 2010.
• "Los Feeling" by Visitor, 2010
• "White Knuckle Ride" by Jamiroquai, 2010
• "Too Much MIDI" by Ford & Lopatin on Channel Pressure Remixes, 2011.

Remixes by Alan Braxe with Fred Falke[link]

• "Black History Month" by Death from Above 1979 on Romance Bloody Romance, 2005.
• "Number 1" by Goldfrapp on Number 1, 2005.
• "Only This Moment" by Röyksopp on Only This Moment, 2005.
• "Bossy" by Kelis on Bossy EP, 2006. (Two remixes)
• "Kelly" by Van She on Kelly EP, 2006.
• "Girl That Speaks No Words" by Infadels on Girl That Speaks No Words, 2006.
• "Mona Lisa's Child" by Keith on Mona Lisa's Child (Remixes), 2006.
• "Runaway" by Jamiroquai on Runaway EP, 2006.
• "What's Your Damage?" by Test Icicles on Dig Your Own Grave E.P., 2006.
• "Alright" by Jamiroquai on Alright, 2007.
• "D.A.N.C.E." by Justice on D.A.N.C.E., 2007.
• "Take It Like A Man" by Dragonette on Take It Like A Man, 2007.

References[link]

1. ^ http://www.discogs.com/artist/Alan+Braxe
2. ^ Interview Braxe (Interview Alan Braxe & DJ Falcon)
3. ^ Alan Braxe & Kris Menace - Lumberjack (YouTube video)
4. ^ Youtube Video (YouTube Video)

External links[link]