The conquest of Gaul by Rome

Image: Gauls | Uidiian siremo Uedan siractamo

One of the most important events that occurred at the end of the Roman Republic was the conquest of a vast territory that until then had remained invincible against the Roman legions. Next, in this lesson from a TEACHER we will discuss the conquest of Gaul by Rome or, as it was later known from the writings of Julius Caesar, the Gallic war. During the conflict, the Roman general had to demonstrate his great military skills to destroy the different Gallic tribes, a fact that many historians would see as a simple strategy on the part of the Roman proconsul to attract more followers to his cause.

Index

1. Background to the Gallic War
2. The first confrontations after the arrival in Gaul
3. The war against the Helvetii
4. The war against the suebi
5. The Velcingetorix Rebellion

Before starting to speak in a concrete way about the conquest of Gaul by Rome, we are going to dwell on the background to this battle.

Previously, Rome had divided Gaul into two provinces, the Cisalpine and the Transalpina, which had been submitted by vassalage to Roman control, which needed a safe way to reach Hispania without any problem. Therefore, the entire north of present-day France was unknown, which was a conglomeration of warlike peoples that used to carry out races in Roman lands.

That way in the year 58 a. C.the Senate of Rome appoints Gaius Julius Caesar as governor of Cisalpine Gaul and Iliricum. At that time also took place the death of the governor of the other Gaul, Transalpine Gaul, Quinto Cecilio Metelo Céler, also granting control of it to Caesar.

One of the reasons why the Senate of Rome gave the government of the three provinces to Julius Caesar was because the Roman senator was totally ruined after exercising his consulate and for him to recover and be able to face the loans he had, they had to give him control of said provinces.

There are many authors who confirm that what happened in Gaul when Caesar arrived was merely a sample of the character's ambition towards politics.

Image: National Geographic

When Julius Caesar arrived in Gaul, he had four legions of veterans, which would be equivalent to slightly less than thirty thousand men, in addition the Senate allowed him to recruit other auxiliary troops for what he ended up getting four more legions, to which he would pay directly out of his fortune.

This fact shows us the thought of the Roman general, and of the imminent end of the Republic, since a general who had his own armies made him too dangerous. Upon arrival in his territories, it was the same residents who asked the governor for help Because, in the north of France, Ariovistus (a German who had occupied his kingdom three years before had settled) in Flanders) and on the other hand a horde of four hundred thousand Helvetii that had left Switzerland to settle in Gaul Narbonne.

These events caused a series of races between these peoples and the inhabitants of the Roman provinces, which seriously affected their government. In this way, he ordered Ariovisto to meet with him in the first place, to discuss the matter, but he refused, causing Caesar was forced to go to war with him and against the Helvetii, so that the peoples under his control would not lose their respect for him.

Image: Lake History

We continue with this lesson on the conquest of Gaul by Rome speaking, now, of the war against the Helvetii. According to Caesar's testimonies, the 28 of March of the year 58 a. C. the Helvetii set fire to all their camps for the purpose of advancing through Gaul. This town was quickly joined by the tulingos, latobics, the boos and the ráuracos, which were neighboring tribes and also quite bellicose; in this way they crossed Lake Geneva to reach Geneva.

At first, the barbarians sent an embassy asking Caesar to let them settle in Gaul but this was delaying the interview with a view to mounting a good defense against these, after having it he totally refused the passage to said tribes. In this way they made contact with other peoples that allowed them to pass, starting a series of attacks, causing the affected peoples will begin to ask for help from Rome.

Caesar, who had planned his attack plan by leaving a legion in Geneva, took the remaining three and acted on the Helvetian rear, causing a large number of casualties. After this the Romans began a great persecution of the different tribes but when they ran out of supplies they had to retreat in Bibracte, place where the last battle against the Helvetii would take place in which finally the surrender of said town took place, which happened to be dominated by Rome and they were required to return to their lands and feed the legions.

The another big problem which Caesar had to face after his arrival in Gaul, is the case of the kingdom of Ariovistus. After the failure of the negotiations initiated by Caesar, the Roman general had to act by creating two camps where he located his legions, attacking the German troops with great speed. he also achieving his surrender.

In the year 57 a. C. he again had to fight against another tribe, this time on the Belgians, who put the Roman legions in a great predicament, as they were about to have to surrender. But a lightning-fast performance from César turned the balance around and the Belgians were completely crushed.

Between the years 56-52 a. C. Caesar devoted himself to a series of expeditions with which he was subjecting a large number of tribes, even reaching Britain, where he made contact with some tribes whom he would manage to defeat. While these contacts were taking place between the Romans and the British tribes, one of the greatest problems that Caesar had to face began, the Vercingetorix problem.

Image: SlideShare

The problem with this rebellion came from a great discontent on the part of the Gallic peoples towards Rome, because they felt suffocated by the constant abuses of the legions and the taxes they had to pay. In that way in the year 52 a. C. Velcingetorix united all the Gallic tribes under the same banner, leaving only one as an ally of Rome, the Aedui.

Although the number of soldiers was much higher, the Gauls decided to wage the scorched earth war advancing in that way towards Transalpine Gaul. Upon learning, the Roman general in command of two legions marched to Narbonne and, from there, he wanted to face the arriving Gallic troops, but when he saw these that they must face the Roman general, they were retreating and as he passed it it was decided to burn all the Gallic cities that were difficult to defend, thus leaving Caesar without supplies in his Advance.

A battle of great renown in the general's work was the battle of Avaric, in which he attacked a great fortress very well defended by the Gauls, whom he had to deceive with the division of forces tactic, causing the Gauls to relocate quickly.

The last great "battle" was that of Alesia, place where the Gallic leader, Vercingetórix, took refuge in his attempt to become strong in the square. Alesia was a very well defended city and for this reason Caesar had to plan to besiege the square. For this he decided to create a series of moats and fortified camps to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the city. For this reason the Gauls decided to expel the women and children, in order to have more provisions for the soldiers.

There were two battles in a row, the first of these was when Comius, a leader of one of the Gallic tribes, approached Alesia to put an end to the siege and that way the Gallic leader could go out into the open to attack the Romans. In a first attempt they did not achieve anything, but the next day they managed to cross the Roman lines, causing these were divided, in that way, Velcingetórix managed to go out and face Caesar, who was greatly outmatched in number.

Luck changed sides when in a second confrontation Marco Antonio, together with his cavalry, managed to disperse the soldiers of Comio, causing the Gauls to surrender. In this way between 51-50 a. C. There were some minor clashes between Gallic tribes, however, we could say that for the year 49 a. C. Gaul was totally under the control of Rome.

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