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The Gallic Wars [a] were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, and Switzerland). Gallic , Germanic , and Brittonic tribes fought to defend their homelands against an aggressive Roman campaign .
The nature of these wars varied through time between Roman conquest, Germanic uprisings, later Germanic invasions of the Western Roman Empire that started in the late second century BC, and more. The series of conflicts was one factor which led to the ultimate downfall of the Western Roman Empire in particular and ancient Rome in general in 476.
The Gallic tribes then asked for Caesar to intervene against an invasion by the Suebi, a Germanic tribe. Caesar defeated the Suebi and, to demonstrate Roman power, crossed the Rhine in 56 BC. In 57 BC he intervened in intra-Gallic conflicts and marched on the Belgae of northern Gaul. From then on he conquered the Gallic peoples one by one.
A famous painting depicting surrender of Gallic Chieftain Vercingetorix to Julius Caesar following the Siege of Alesia during the Gallic Wars. The best known Roman source for descriptions of Celtic warfare was from Julius Caesar in his Commentaries on the Gallic Wars in which he describes the methods of warfare of both the Gauls and the Britons.
Gaulish or Gallic is the name given to the Celtic language spoken in Gaul before Latin took over. According to Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War, it was one of three languages in Gaul, the others being Aquitanian and Belgic. [22]
The wars constituted both the Gallic Wars (58 BC–51 BC) and Caesar's civil war (49 BC–45 BC). The Gallic Wars principally took place in the region of Gaul, or what is now modern-day France. These campaigns, starting with the Battle of the Arar River, were conducted between 58 and 50 BC. Caesar faced formidable resistance from Gallic ...
The Commentarii cover the Gallic Wars over a period of eight years, beginning with conflict over the migration of the Helvetii in 58 BC, which drew in neighboring tribes and the Germanic Suebi. By 57 BC, Caesar had resolved to conquer all of Gaul, and led campaigns in the east, where the Nervii nearly defeated him.
This encounter is the third major battle of the Gallic Wars. Germanic tribes crossed the Rhine, seeking a home in Gaul. Prior to the battle, Caesar and Ariovistus held a parley. Ariovistus' cavalry cast stones and weapons at the Roman cavalry.