<Li> "alea iacta est" ("The die is cast"), which is reportedly what Caesar said at the crossing of the Rubicon . This metaphor comes from gambling with dice: once the die or dice have been thrown, all bets are irrevocable, even before the dice have come to rest . </Li> <P> The following expressions also express the idea of a point of no return . </P> <Ul> <Li> Burn one's bridges . This expression is derived from the idea of burning down a bridge after crossing it during a military campaign, leaving no choice but to continue the march . Figuratively, it means to commit oneself to a particular course of action by making an alternative course impossible . It is most often used in reference to deliberately alienating persons or institutions whose cooperation is required for some action . For instance, "On my last day at my old job, I told my boss what I really think about the company . I guess I burned my bridges ." </Li> <Li> Burn one's boats . This is a variation of "burning one's bridges", and alludes to certain famous incidents where a commander, having landed in a hostile country, ordered his men to destroy their ships, so that they would have to conquer the country or be killed . <Ul> <Li> One such incident was in 711 AD, when Muslim forces invaded the Iberian Peninsula . The commander, Tariq ibn Ziyad, ordered his ships to be burned . </Li> <Li> Another such incident was in 1519 AD, during the Spanish conquest of Mexico . Hernán Cortés, the Spanish commander, scuttled his ships, so that his men would have to conquer or die . </Li> <Li> A third such incident occurred after the Bounty mutineers reached Pitcairn Island . </Li> <Li> Two similar stratagems were used during the Chu--Han Contention (206--202 BCE); these have led to Chinese idioms, elaborated below . </Li> <Li> Also mentioned in the Roman myth of Aeneas, who burned his boats after conquering territory in Italy . </Li> <Li> Similar incidence was recorded in Burmese history . In the Battle of Naungyo during the Toungoo--Hanthawaddy War in 1538, the Toungoo armies led by Gen. Kyawhtin Nawrahta (later Bayinnaung) faced a superior force of Hanthawaddy Kingdom on the other side of a river . After crossing the river on a Pontoon bridge (rafts in another version) Bayinnaung ordered the bridge to be destroyed . This action was taken to spur his troops forward in battle and provide a clear signal that there would be no retreat . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> "Break the kettles and sink the boats (破釜沉舟)". This is an ancient Chinese saying, which refers to Xiang Yu's order at the Battle of Julu (207 BC); by fording a river and destroying all means of re-crossing it, he committed his army to a struggle to the end with the Qin and eventually achieved victory . </Li> <Li> "Fighting a battle with one's back facing a river" (背水一戰). A similar saying from the same period, which originated in Han Xin's order at the Battle of Jingxing (204 BCE) </Li> <Li> Fait accompli ("accomplished deed", from the verb "faire", to do), a term of French origin denoting an irreversible deed, a done deal . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Burn one's bridges . This expression is derived from the idea of burning down a bridge after crossing it during a military campaign, leaving no choice but to continue the march . Figuratively, it means to commit oneself to a particular course of action by making an alternative course impossible . It is most often used in reference to deliberately alienating persons or institutions whose cooperation is required for some action . For instance, "On my last day at my old job, I told my boss what I really think about the company . I guess I burned my bridges ." </Li>

Where did the phrase burn the ships come from
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