The armies encamped not very far from each other, and both sides began to prepare for battle.
The battle, however, was not fought.

It was prevented by the occurrence of certain great and unforeseen events which at this crisis suddenly burst upon the scene of Egyptian history, and turned the whole current of affairs into new and unexpected channels.

The breaking out of the civil war between the great Roman generals Caesar and Pompey, and their respective partisans, has already been mentioned as having occurred soon after the death of Cleopatra's father, and as having prevented Pompey from undertaking the office of executor of the will.

This war had been raging ever since that time with terrible fury.

Its distant thundering had been heard even in Egypt, but it was too remote to awaken there any special alarm.