Rome: The Gauls and Caesar

This is what the Roman empire looks like in 52 BCE. The Romans have conquered an important part of Gaul. Although... there are three parts left besides this. Hm.

This is Julius Caesar. He has been a consul in the senate for a year. Since the consuls are only elected for one year at a time he now needs to find something else to do. He is elected as governor over the Roman part of Gaul, Gallia Cisalpina, that's here. Caesar isn't content to stay in Gallia Cisalpina.

He thinks it's much more pleasant here, in this part of Gaul, so he moves here instead. But this part of Gaul isn't Roman, is it? What's he thinking? Perhaps he has a plan. Yes, this part of Gaul is attacked by a people the Romans call the Helvetii.

Caesar is happy to help in protecting this area from the Helvetii. Or rather, he wants this area to himself. To succeed in getting rid of the Helvetii he recruits Gauls from the area. Soon Caesar has rid this area of the Helvetii. Now Caesar has no intention of leaving.

He feels that this is Roman territory now. This Gallic chieftain: Vercingetorix gets very angry. Vercingetorix belongs to the Arverni tribe that the Romans fought about one hundred years earlier. Vercingetorix actually isn't a name but a title. It means Great warrior king.

This great warrior king declares war against the Romans. Vercingetorix wins a lot of the battles. His men throw ropes around the Romans' siege ladders and then - with the help of winches - pull the ladders into their fortresses. He also knows the best way to undermine the Romans' siege towers so these come crashing down during the battles. Eventually in a city called Alesia, Caesar defeats him.

To save as many of his people as possible Vercingetorix surrenders and gives himself up to the Romans. Caesar stays in Gaul for ten years. During this time he sends war reports to Rome. "Commentaries about the Gallic wars" In this way he shows the people in Rome what a skillful general and faithful Roman subject he is. It's his intention to improve his reputation in Rome. He needs to do this because during his year as a consul he made a lot of enemies back home.

Now, thanks to his stories from Gaul he becomes someone everyone talks about, even though he is far from the centre of power. Vercingetorix is Ceasar's prisoner for five years. During this time, Caesar manages to become consul again - mainly thanks to the fact that he has become so well known through his victories in Gaul. In 46 BCE, Caesar leads a parade through Rome to celebrate his victories. He forces Vercingetorix to walk in the parade.

After the parade, Vercingetorix is executed. He is strangled. In modern times, Vercingetorix is still seen as a hero in France: a symbol of someone fighting a superior conquering power.