Caesar vs gaul

15 min read

Did Rome’s greatest commander meet his match in Vercingetorix?

Written by Murray Dahm

In 58 BCE, Gaius Julius Caesar was 41 years old and about to embark on the single greatest addition to the Roman Empire. His campaigns in Gaul (corresponding to large parts of modern France, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands) were hugely ambitious. When his conquests were complete he would plunge the Republic into a civil war from which Caesar would emerge as unassailably the most powerful man in Rome. It almost didn’t happen, but how Caesar had come to be in such a position is a remarkable tale.

CAESAR’S RISE TO POWER

Born in July 100 BCE, Caesar was part of an ancient aristocratic family, but one which had not played a particularly prominent role in Rome’s history in recent centuries. The family had also sided with Gaius Marius in the civil wars of the 80s BCE, which meant as a young man Caesar was on the wrong side of the dominant politician of the day, Lucius Cornelius Sulla – who had been Marius’ opponent and the victor in the civil wars. All these factors meant Caesar’s early career was not especially fast-tracked, although he served in the army from an early age. In order to secure election as praetor, one of the earliest steps on the career ladder, in 63 BCE he got into immense amounts of debt.

An illustration portraying the landing of Caesar in Britain in 55 BCE

In 60 BCE, Caesar was elected consul, the most senior Roman political office, for the following year and he then brokered a deal with two of the most powerful politicians of the day, Marcus Crassus and Gnaeus Pompey. This power-sharing agreement is now known as the First Triumvirate and saw the three men agree to support one another despite their differences (Crassus and Pompey were political rivals).

As consul, Caesar passed laws favourable to both Crassus and Pompey. As part of his consulship, Caesar assigned himself a province to govern following his term in office. This was usual practice (the governor ruled as a proconsul) and Caesar selected Cisalpine Gaul (in northern Italy) with a term of office of five years. His ambitions, however, looked far beyond the borders of his province and even beyond the Roman Empire.

A 19th century depiction by Swiss painter Karl Jauslin of Caesar and the chief of the Helvetii, Divico, negotiating after the defeat of some of the Helvetii in 58 BCE

GAUL

The vast northern European area was known to the Romans as Gaul (there was a further division into three parts that Caesar famously described as Celtic Gaul, Belgic Gaul, and Aquitaine Gaul). This area was actually made up of a series of tribes and tribal confederations loosely belonging to the La Tè

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All About History Magazine

22 February 2024

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