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.

During the Roman Republic, the river Rubicon marked the boundary between the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul to the northeast 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 more important waterway, which flows westward from the Apennine Mountains (it and the Rubicon rise not far from each other) into the Tyrrhenian Sea.

In 49 BC, perhaps on January 10, Julius Caesar led a single legion, 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 limiting his imperium, making armed conflict inevitable.
Suetonius depicts Caesar as undecided as he approached the river, and attributes the crossing to a supernatural apparition.
It was reported that Caesar dined with Sallust, Hirtius, Gaius Oppius, Lucius Cornelius Balbus and Servius Sulpicius Rufus on the night after his crossing.

According to Suetonius, Caesar uttered the famous phrase alea iacta est ("the die is cast").
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".
Caesar's decision for swift action forced Pompey, the lawful consuls (C. 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.
This took place during the time of the Roman Republic.

After Caesar's crossing, the Rubicon was a geographical feature of note until about 42 BC, when Octavian merged the Province of Cisalpine Gaul into Italia and the river ceased to be the extreme northern border of Italy.
The decision robbed the Rubicon of its importance, and the name gradually disappeared from the local toponymy.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and during the first centuries of the Middle Ages, the coastal plain between Ravenna and Rimini was flooded many times.
The Rubicon, like 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 fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, hydraulic works were built to prevent other floods and to regulate streams.
As a result of this work, these rivers started to flow in straight courses, as they do today.
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.
During the Roman Republic, the river Rubicon marked the boundary between the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul to the northeast 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 more important waterway, which flows westward from the Apennine Mountains (it and the Rubicon rise not far from each other) into the Tyrrhenian Sea.
In 49 BC, perhaps on January 10, Julius Caesar led a single legion, 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 limiting his imperium, making armed conflict inevitable. Suetonius depicts Caesar as undecided as he approached the river, and attributes the crossing to a supernatural apparition. It was reported that Caesar dined with Sallust, Hirtius, Gaius Oppius, Lucius Cornelius Balbus and Servius Sulpicius Rufus on the night after his crossing.
According to Suetonius, Caesar uttered the famous phrase alea iacta est ("the die is cast"). 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". Caesar's decision for swift action forced Pompey, the lawful consuls (C. 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. This took place during the time of the Roman Republic.
After Caesar's crossing, the Rubicon was a geographical feature of note until about 42 BC, when Octavian merged the Province of Cisalpine Gaul into Italia and the river ceased to be the extreme northern border of Italy. The decision robbed the Rubicon of its importance, and the name gradually disappeared from the local toponymy.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and during the first centuries of the Middle Ages, the coastal plain between Ravenna and Rimini was flooded many times. The Rubicon, like 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 fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, hydraulic works were built to prevent other floods and to regulate streams. As a result of this work, these rivers started to flow in straight courses, as they do today.
Rubicon