During the Roman republic, Gaul was a province populated by several different tribes. These tribes were not part of a unified group, but instead had shifting alliances where war could break out between neighbouring tribes fairly easily. For years, the Romans had had a presence in the area, and played the shifting alliances game in order to divide and conquer. Those who were sympathetic to the Romans would be open to trade and in turn, subtle Romanization. Those who tried to expel the Romans would soon have their enemy neighbours attack them with the help of the Romans.
Caesar and his men
After serving as consul, Gaius Julius Caesar schemed to have himself made proconsul of Gaul for 5 years (this would be extended later) in 58 BCE. This allowed him to escape the legal repercussions for what he did as a consul, and gave him the means to make himself rich from spoils of war. Success in Roman politics relied heavily on military successes as well as money. All of which was waiting for him in Gaul, if he managed to conquer the region. Caesar commanded a few legions (he raised more legions as time went on), most of whom he had already commanded in the past. In fact, he likely knew many of the legions personally and dutifully took care of them which helped to ensure that the men would be devoutly loyal to Caesar.
As Caesar would spend the next few years marching around the province, he employed simple divide and conquer tactics to subjugate the different tribes. He was very slowly conquering Gaul, tribe by tribe, alliance by alliance. Because the tribes were not united, it made for a very tedious and time-consuming effort. Especially since many of these alliances were not always stable. When the Senone tribe betrayed Caesar, he responded by beheading their chieftain Acco. Later, in 53 BCE, Caesar became frustrated with the entire endeavour and announced that Gaul was now a Roman province and would be treated as such.
The Rebellion
The claim that Gaul was now a Roman province subject to its laws and religion was the uniting factor that the Gallic tribes had needed. The potential destruction of their culture was enough to make them work together. They simply needed a leader, someone who could rival Caesar in military tactics.
Vercingetorix was a highly charismatic Arverni aristocrat who was proclaimed king. He attracted skilled warriors and convinced several tribes to follow him in order to expel the Romans. Vercingetorix became the leader of the Gallic rebellion. He began by attacking tribes loyal to the Romans which prompted most of them to simply join his rebellion instead of facing immediate death. It was 52 BCE and the rebellion had just begun.
When news of this rebellion reached Caesar, who had been in Rome, he rushed back to his army as quickly as he could. It was a perilous journey as he never knew who was still an ally and who had betrayed him. Eventually, he managed to reach his army, and immediately began to work on stamping out the rebellion. The situation was made worse by the fact that it was in the winter, which meant that food and supplies would be much harder to come by.
Vercingetorix had a brilliant military mind and was Caesar’s equal in this regard. Their fighting forces, however, were drastically different in structure and fighting style. This is why Vercingetorix chose to follow a very simple set of rules: 1) never attack Caesar head on, always operate on guerrilla tactics; 2) alienate Caesar from his allies; 3) cut off the Roman’s supplies. This was the only way for him to succeed. And it almost worked. Almost.
Text: Cindy G. Levesque. MENAM Archaeology. Copyright 2023.
Images: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
Further Readings
Allen, George H. "Vie de Vercingetorix by Marius and Ary Leblond - Review." The Classical Weekly (Classical Association of the Atlantic States) 32, no. 1 (Oct 1938): 6.
Caesaris, C. Iuli. Commentarii. Edited by Rice T. Holmes. Oxford University Press, 1914.
Ellis, Peter Berresford. The Celtic Empire. Durham North Carolina: Carolina Academic Press, 1990.
Goldsworthy, Adrian. Caesar Life of a Colossus. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2006.
Haywood, John. "Vercingetorix and the Failure of Gallic Resistance." History Today 59, no. 9 (Sep 2009): 42-47.
Holmes, T. Rice. Caesar's Conquest of Gaul. 2nd Edition. London: Oxford University Press, 1931.
Jullian, Camille. Histoire de la Gaule. Paris: Librairie Hachette, 1923.
Malleson, G. B. "Vercingetorix." Transactions of the Royal Historical Society (Royal History Society) 4 (1889): 1-40.
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