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Commentarii de Bello Gallico
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Commentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of his nine years of war in Gaul, written as a third-person narrative. The Latin title, literally Commentaries about the Gallic War, is often retained in English translations of the book, and the title is also translated to About the Gallic War, Of the Gallic War, On the Gallic War, The Conquest of Gaul, and The Gallic War.
In Commentarii de Bello Gallico, Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting local armies that opposed Roman domination.
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Commentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of his nine years of war in Gaul, written as a third-person narrative. The Latin title, literally Commentaries about the Gallic War, is often retained in English translations of the book, and the title is also translated to About the Gallic War, Of the Gallic War, On the Gallic War, The Conquest of Gaul, and The Gallic War.
In Commentarii de Bello Gallico, Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting local armies that opposed Roman domination. The "Gaul" that Caesar refers to is sometimes all of Gaul except for the Provincia Narbonensis (modern day Provence), encompassing all of modern France, Belgium and some of Switzerland. On other occasions he refers only to that territory inhabited by the Celts (whom the Romans called Gauls), from the Channel to Lugdunum (Lyon).
The first book deals primarily but not exclusively with the Helvetian War in 58 BC. In it, Caesar describes Gaul and the campaign against the Helvetii, a conglomeration of peoples numbering in excess of 300,000, who decided to migrate by force of arms from the Alpine regions through the centre of Gaul to the west to alleviate population pressures. This would require the crossing either of Provence, or of areas held by tribes allied to Rome. When Caesar made it clear he would not allow this, the Helvetians formed an alliance of tribes to fight him. This drew the Romans out of Provence. Later books are about the campaigns against Veneti, Aquitani, Germanic peoples and Bretons; Caesar's invasions of Britain; the insurrection of Gaul (VII, 4) and the defeat of Vercingetorix at Alesia (VII, 89).
Campaigns typically started in late summer with the provisioning of grain and construction of fortresses, and ended late in the year when Caesar returned to his winter quarters among the Sequani for the winter (Caesar 42). He campaigned with a number of legions in his army, sometimes as many as eight. He faced a variety of tribal armies, often hasty alliances of them, some numbering – or at least claimed to number – over 100,000 strong. Many of the campaigns end with the Roman cavalry running down thousands of fleeing tribesmen, and often their women and children as well. In one instance he defeated a tribe and immediately sold all 53,000 survivors into slavery.
Criticisms
After the second year of campaigning many of the hostile tribes had been defeated and much of Gaul was under some degree of Roman control. By this point any threat to the province, or to Rome itself, was dubious at best. The book may also have been intended as an answer to Caesar's political opponents, who questioned the real need for this costly war, at the time one of the most expensive in Roman history. Many of the reasons provided clearly stretch the credulity of its readers. For instance, his reasons for invading Britain came down to noting that while fighting in north-west Gaul, local armies were often supported by mercenaries from Britain.
Educational use
It is often lauded for its polished, clear Latin. This book is traditionally the first authentic text assigned to students of Latin, as Xenophon's Anabasis is for students of Ancient Greek; they are both autobiographical tales of military adventure told in the third person. The style is simple and elegant, essential and not rhetorical, dry as a chronicle but with many details and employing many stylistic devices in order to promote Caesar's political interests.
Also, the books are valuable for the many geographical and historical facts (Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres...) that can be retrieved from the work. Notable chapters describe Gaulish costume (VI, 13), their religion (VI, 17), a comparison between Gauls and Germanic peoples (VI, 24) and other curious notes such as the lack of Germanic interest in agriculture (VI, 22).
Vorenus and Pullo
In Book 5, Chapter 44 the Commentarii de Bello Gallico notably mentions Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, two Roman centurions of the 11th Legion. The 2005 television series Rome gives a fictionalized account of Caesar's rise and fall, featuring Kevin McKidd as the character of Lucius Vorenus and Ray Stevenson as the character of Titus Pullo.
See also
External links
- At Perseus Project: , English translation by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn (1869); Latin text edition
- At Gutenberg Project:
- English translation by W. A. MACDEVITT, introduction by THOMAS DE QUINCEY (1915)
- , Latin text edition
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