DOCSLIB.ORG

Urbanisme Et Programme Monumental De La Ville De Reims/Durocortorum Entre Le Ier Et Le Ivè Siècle Ap

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Urbanisme Et Programme Monumental De La Ville De Reims/Durocortorum Entre Le Ier Et Le Ivè Siècle Ap François Berthelot, Maxence Poirier avec la collaboration de Robert Neiss, Agnès Balmelle, Philippe Rollet Urbanisme et programme monumental de la ville de Reims/Durocortorum entre le Ier et le IVè siècle ap. J.-C. A Reims, le nombre et l’importance des opérations de fouilles préventives au cours de ces vingt dernières années, ont livré un grand nombre de données nouvelles sur la métropole de la province romaine de la Gaule belgique. Le plan à damier de la ville augustéenne, dont l’expansion est délimitée par une enceinte très probablement contemporaine, peut maintenant être reconnu et restitué sur une surface urbanisée qui avoisine 550 hectares. Ces éléments nous incitent désormais à proposer ici, une nouvelle image de la structure d’une capitale de province de la Gaule et de son développement pendant le Haut-Empire. 1. La romanisation (phase I): La refondation augustéenne Dans la continuité des phases antérieures d’occupation du site de Reims ( durocortorum ); l’oppidum de la fin de l’Indépendance et l’occupation gallo-romaine précoce, nous proposons d’exposer de manière synthétique, trois thèmes : la création de la ville augustéenne (phase I), le développement de ce projet urbain (phase II) et un essai d’analyse des processus de romanisation à travers l’étude de la structure urbaine et des données de fouilles 1. Après la phase précoce de la ville antique 2, le site va faire l’objet d’un aménagement de grande ampleur qui prend en compte les contraintes que constituent la présence de l’oppidum et surtout son fossé d’enceinte et une occupation antique antérieure dont les éléments fournis par les fouilles récentes, indiquent qu’elle est loin d’être négligeable dans l’évolution du développement urbain. Il s’agit donc de la création au cours des 15 dernières années avant notre ère, d’un vaste plan d’urbanisme aux dimensions inusitées dans l’Empire romain puisqu’il concerne une surface d’au moins 600 hectares. 1.1. Création de l’enceinte augustéenne L’événement qui préside à cet aménagement est la création de ce que nous appellerons «la grande enceinte» dont le tracé globalement hexagonal, est désormais bien reconnu à l’exception de son extrémité 1 Il n’est pas possible d’aborder ici, en détail, les processus d’urbanisation, c’est pourquoi nous avons choisi de fournir une bibliographie non exhaustive qui renvoie à des publications plus spécialisées. 2 NEISS , BERTHELOT ET AL . 2007, 299. Bollettino di Archeologia on line I 2010/ Volume speciale E / E11 / 3 Reg. Tribunale Roma 05.08.2010 n. 330 ISSN 2039 - 0076 www.archeologia.beniculturali.it 21 F. Berthelot, M. Poirier, avec la collaboration de R. Neiss, A. Balmelle, Ph. Rollet – Urbanisme et programme monumental de la ville de Reims/Durocortorum entre le Ier et le IVè siècle ap. J.-C. au nord-ouest. Ce tracé, d’abord observé par les fouilleurs du XIXe siècle, a été précisé par les fouilles récentes 3. L’enceinte est constituée par un grand fossé creusé dans le substrat cra- yeux (dimensions: 30 m de largeur, 15 à 20 m de profondeur pour 7 km de lon- gueur) qui enclot une surface de 600 ha. La rivière, la Vesle, ferme l’enceinte à l’ouest. A l’heure actuelle, aucun élément de rempart en remblai ou de courtine, n’a pu être mis en évidence. La question de sa datation sera précisée ensuite. 1.2. Création du plan augustéen (roma- nisation phase I) L’analyse spatiale et les données chronologiques indiquent qu’un vaste plan viaire à damier est conçu à durocortorum sous le règne d’Auguste, probablement en raison de son nouveau statut de capitale de la Gaule belgique et de la présence du Fig. 1 - Tracé de la grande enceinte (en vert) et plan viaire augustéen sur le 4 fond de plan de la ville actuelle. siège du procurateur de la province . L’étendue de cette nouvelle organisation urbaine, à l’exception des nécropoles, ne s’étend pas au-delà de la grande enceinte et de la rivière, à l’ouest. C’est à partir des découvertes récentes et anciennes que l’on peut d’abord restituer le tracé des rues de façon certaine et ensuite, déduire les tracés possibles (fig. 1). Les nécropoles de la première moitié du Ier siècle à sa périphérie et l’extension maximale du réseau viaire peuvent justifier la datation de l’enceinte qui serait donc une sorte de pomoerium 5. Le tracé des grands axes routiers est également tributaire de l’enceinte car la liaison entre le réseau urbain et les voies romaines se fait à son niveau, au moins jusqu’à la construction de l’enceinte de l’Antiquité tardive au début du IVe siècle 6. Par ailleurs, la céramique trouvée dans les caniveaux qui délimitent les premières chaussées des rues appartient l’horizon chronologique de synthèse n°2 de Reims, soit entre 20 avant notre ère et 0 7. Elle peut donc dater la conception de tout l’ensemble même s’il est possible que la réalisation du plan urbain ait pu nécessiter plusieurs années et se soit déroulé plus tardivement à l’intérieur de l’oppidum en raison d’une occupation plus ancienne. 3 NEISS 1976, 47–62. 4 Strabon, Géogr ., IV, 1, 1. «Actuellement, toutes ces populations en deçà du Rhin ont déposé les armes et obéissent aux Romains. Nous nommerons encore dans le bassin même du Sequanas les Parisii qui occupent une île du fleuve et ont pour ville Lucotocia , les Meldes, les Lexoviens dont le territoire borde l'Océan; mais ce sont les Rèmes qui forment la nation la plus considérable de cette partie de la Gaule, et comme Duricortora , leur capitale, est en même temps la ville la plus peuplée du pays, c'est elle naturellement qui sert de résidence aux préfets envoyés de Rome» 5 Cicéron, De legibus , II, 23, 58 (loi des XII tables, qui interdit l’inhumation des individus à l’intérieur du pomoerium : «Hominem mortuum ... in urbe ne sepelito neue urito » Leges Duodecim tabularum , X, 1, cité par Cicéron). 6 NEISS , SINDONINO ET AL . 2004, 89. 7 DERU 1996. Bollettino di Archeologia on line I 2010/ Volume speciale E / E11 / 3 Reg. Tribunale Roma 05.08.2010 n. 330 ISSN 2039 - 0076 www.archeologia.beniculturali.it 22 XVII International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Roma 22-26 Sept. 2008 Session: Le rôle de Durocortorum (Reims) capitale de la cité des Rèmes dans la romanisation de la Gallia Belgica Fig. 2 - Cénotaphe des Princes de la Jeunesse tel qu’il est actuellement présenté au musée Saint-Remi à Reims (cliché M. Poirier). On peut constater également que lors de son implantation, l’obstacle du fossé de l’oppidum qui ne sera re- bouché qu’à la fin du Ier siècle de notre ère 8, va générer à l’est et à l’ouest de la ville des rues qui suivent son tracé concentrique; divergeant ainsi de l’o- rientation générale. C’est également à cette période que le premier monument connu à Reims, le cénotaphe des Princes de la Jeunesse 9, est construit, probablement sur un premier forum d’époque augu- stéenne (fig. 2). Un autre fait remarquable est à noter. A partir du Ier siècle le tracé ré- gulateur ne changera plus jusqu’à la construction de l’enceinte de l’Antiquité tardive au début du IVe siècle. La figure n° 3 montre les es- paces occupés attestés et possibles pendant le Haut-Empire, d’après les connaissances actuelles. Elle démontre bien que le plan d’urbanisme initial a été réussi dans sa plus grande part. Fig. 3 - Extension de l’occupation urbaine avec en rouge les secteurs pour lesquels l’information archéologique est absente. 2. La romanisation phases I et II : l’évolution des rues 2.1. Les rues précoces (phase I) Elles sont installées sur la craie géologique et les surfaces de roulement sont généralement limitées par des caniveaux en bois. Elles mesurent généralement 17,40 m de façade à façade. Il existe aussi une 8 BERTHELOT 1993, 31. 9 NEISS , DENIAUX 1992, 19–22. Bollettino di Archeologia on line I 2010/ Volume speciale E / E11 / 3 Reg. Tribunale Roma 05.08.2010 n. 330 ISSN 2039 - 0076 www.archeologia.beniculturali.it 23 F. Berthelot, M. Poirier, avec la collaboration de R. Neiss, A. Balmelle, Ph. Rollet – Urbanisme et programme monumental de la ville de Reims/Durocortorum entre le Ier et le IVè siècle ap. J.-C. Fig. 4 - Chaussée augustéenne initiale sur le chantier de la rue Maucroix (cliché P. Rollet-INRAP). Fig. 5 - Restitution de la première chaussée augustéenne sur le chantier de la rue de Venise. Cette voirie nord/sud est la même que celle de la figure 4 et se trouve à plus de 2 km de distance et présente les mêmes caractéristiques et la même chronologie (dessin M. Poirier). famille de quelques rues dont la largeur est proche de 15.50 m. La dimension de cet espace public ne changera pas jusqu’à la fin du IIIe siècle. Les chaussées, limitées par des caniveaux en bois, possèdent une largeur comprise entre 9.40 m et 9.80 m; les espaces latéraux étant occupés par des trottoirs (figg. 4 et 5). L’étude de la structure des rues 10 et de l’habitat riverain montre que l’occupation s’étend très rapidement dans la nouvelle organisation urbaine sous les règnes d’Auguste, Tibère et Claude sur au moins 450 hectares ce qui met en évidence un accroissement très fort et rapide de la population urbaine. Il semble évident que la ville devient un pôle d’attraction majeur à cette période.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Expansion of Christianity: a Gazetteer of Its First Three Centuries
    THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY SUPPLEMENTS TO VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE Formerly Philosophia Patrum TEXTS AND STUDIES OF EARLY CHRISTIAN LIFE AND LANGUAGE EDITORS J. DEN BOEFT — J. VAN OORT — W.L. PETERSEN D.T. RUNIA — C. SCHOLTEN — J.C.M. VAN WINDEN VOLUME LXIX THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY A GAZETTEER OF ITS FIRST THREE CENTURIES BY RODERIC L. MULLEN BRILL LEIDEN • BOSTON 2004 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mullen, Roderic L. The expansion of Christianity : a gazetteer of its first three centuries / Roderic L. Mullen. p. cm. — (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae, ISSN 0920-623X ; v. 69) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 90-04-13135-3 (alk. paper) 1. Church history—Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600. I. Title. II. Series. BR165.M96 2003 270.1—dc22 2003065171 ISSN 0920-623X ISBN 90 04 13135 3 © Copyright 2004 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands For Anya This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Preface ........................................................................................ ix Introduction ................................................................................ 1 PART ONE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES IN ASIA BEFORE 325 C.E. Palestine .....................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Memory and Identity in Flodoard of Reims: His Use of the Roman Past
    E MMA B E DDO E Memory and identity in Flodoard of Reims: his use of the Roman past The Historia Remensis ecclesiae of Flodoard of Reims is a history of that church and diocese from its mythical foundations until Flodoard’s own time, around the mid tenth century. His role as archivist of the church of Reims must have given him complete access to its records, and a unique understanding of the history of his city and church. The various sources were utilised by Flodoard for what they could tell him about this past, which he then reformed in his own fashion when he wrote the account of it. It is only by working backwards from his text that it is possible to unravel the smooth finished result and uncover the sometimes disparate sources and evidence which he used to create this polished narrative. This process of assessment and adjustment is more easily uncovered in his first few chapters in which he dealt with the distant foundation of Reims, and its Roman past, than in his later books. In these first chapters, not only did he state which sources he was using, but his classical sources are also mostly extant, so allowing for a detailed examination of his text and of the way he used his sources. In addition to the written sources available, the contemporary oral tra- ditions and the evidence from the physical remains in the landscape around him also influenced his portrayal of this distant past of Reims. Both the collective memories of his contemporaries in Reims and the historical memories of Reims which he read in the classical sources were adapted by Flodoard when writing what he felt was the appropriate history of his town and church.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of the Roman Army (200 BC – AD 476)
    Impact of Empire 6 IMEM-6-deBlois_CS2.indd i 5-4-2007 8:35:52 Impact of Empire Editorial Board of the series Impact of Empire (= Management Team of the Network Impact of Empire) Lukas de Blois, Angelos Chaniotis Ségolène Demougin, Olivier Hekster, Gerda de Kleijn Luuk de Ligt, Elio Lo Cascio, Michael Peachin John Rich, and Christian Witschel Executive Secretariat of the Series and the Network Lukas de Blois, Olivier Hekster Gerda de Kleijn and John Rich Radboud University of Nijmegen, Erasmusplein 1, P.O. Box 9103, 6500 HD Nijmegen, The Netherlands E-mail addresses: [email protected] and [email protected] Academic Board of the International Network Impact of Empire geza alföldy – stéphane benoist – anthony birley christer bruun – john drinkwater – werner eck – peter funke andrea giardina – johannes hahn – fik meijer – onno van nijf marie-thérèse raepsaet-charlier – john richardson bert van der spek – richard talbert – willem zwalve VOLUME 6 IMEM-6-deBlois_CS2.indd ii 5-4-2007 8:35:52 The Impact of the Roman Army (200 BC – AD 476) Economic, Social, Political, Religious and Cultural Aspects Proceedings of the Sixth Workshop of the International Network Impact of Empire (Roman Empire, 200 B.C. – A.D. 476) Capri, March 29 – April 2, 2005 Edited by Lukas de Blois & Elio Lo Cascio With the Aid of Olivier Hekster & Gerda de Kleijn LEIDEN • BOSTON 2007 This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC 4.0 License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
    [Show full text]
  • The Commentaries of Caesar, by Anthony Trollope
    Project Gutenberg's The Commentaries of Caesar, by Anthony Trollope This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license Title: The Commentaries of Caesar Author: Anthony Trollope Release Date: November 9, 2017 [EBook #55926] Language: English *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COMMENTARIES OF CAESAR *** Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Books project.) Ancient Classics for English Readers EDITED BY THE REV. W. LUCAS COLLINS, M.A. C Æ S A R The Volumes published of this Series contain HOMER: THE ILIAD, BY THE EDITOR. HOMER: THE ODYSSEY, BY THE SAME. HERODOTUS, BY GEORGE C. SWAYNE, M.A. Late Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. The following Authors, by various Contributors, are in preparation:— VIRGIL. HORACE. ÆSCHYLUS. SOPHOCLES. ARISTOPHANES. CICERO. JUVENAL. XENOPHON. OTHERS WILL FOLLOW. A Volume will be published on the 1st of every alternate Month, price 2s. 6d. T H E C O M M E N T A R I E S OF C Æ S A R BY ANTHONY TROLLOPE WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS EDINBURGH AND LONDON MDCCCLXX CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE I. INTRODUCTION, 1 FIRST BOOK OF THE WAR IN GAUL.—CÆSAR DRIVES FIRST THE SWISS AND II. 28 THEN THE GERMANS OUT OF GAUL.—B.C.
    [Show full text]
  • FOCUS Le Cryptoportique Reims
    FOCUS Le cryptoportique Reims Galerie du cryptoportique ©Ville de Reims L’effervescence culturelle Enfilade des piliers centraux 2 ©Alain Hatat Les Rèmes, alliés de Rome Au Ier siècle avant J.-C., les Rèmes, peuple belge, contrôlent un territoire allant de la Marne à la source de l’Oise, des bords du Tardenois à l’Argonne et aux Ardennes. Des oppida (centres d’artisanat et d’échanges) ponctuent ce territoire dont Durocorter (Reims) situé au croisement de voies. Au cours de la guerre des Gaules, les peuples belges décident de s’allier aux Romains. Seuls les Rèmes conservent leur position jusqu’à la fin du conflit. En reconnaissance de cette alliance, César élève leur cité au rang de cité fédérée (indépendante). Durocortorum est choisie à la fin du Ier s. avant notre ère comme capitale de la Gaule Belgique. UNE CITÉ GALLO-ROMAINE Sous l’empereur Auguste, la ville est redessinée, adoptant un plan en damier pour les rues. Cette nouvelle capitale, conçue tant sous la pression démographique et économique que pour des raisons de prestige, atteint les dimensions impressionnantes de 600 ha, ce qui en superficie en fait l’une des plus importantes du monde romain. Aux quartiers artisanaux ou résidentiels répondent tous les attributs d’une ville romaine : forum, thermes, aqueduc, amphithéâtre, sanctuaires, arcs (porte de Mars)… 1. Carte des cités et des provinces de la Gaule au 1 2 haut-Empire ©D’après Argentomagus, un nouveau regard sur la ville antique, 2002 2. Proposition de restitution du forum de Durocortorum ©Grand Reims, INRAP, Ville de Reims, réalisation Maxence Poirier et Xavier Briand 3 X=723.
    [Show full text]
  • Caesar 57 Bc
    CAESAR 57 BC INTRODUCTION Caesar 57 BC, the Second Campaign of Caesar in Gaul against the valiant Belgae. The Romans must crush all the hostile tribes before end of the game, or lose it. The Belgian player must prevent the Roman goals using all its forces and opportunities. Caesar 57 BC lasts 14 turns, each of 2 weeks, between March and October 57 BC. One of the two players controls the mighty legions of Julius Caesar attacking the Belgian tribes in northern Gaul. His opponent controls the ‘bravest’ tribes - according to Caesar himself - who are putting up a fight. • The Roman side is homogeneous and with an exceptional leader. • The Belgian tribes are more numerous but harder to make collaborate with each other because of their internal dissensions which fluctuate with victories and defeats. The game’s event cards allow full replay ability thanks to the numerous various situations that they create on the diplomatic, military, political or economical fields Average Duration: 1h30 Favored Side: Roman DURATION Most Difficult Side to Play: Belgian Caesar 57 BC lasts 14 turns, each of 2 weeks, between March and October 57 BC. TheRoman player always moves first, followed by the Belgian player. FORCES The Roman player controls the Roman (red), Aeduan (magenta) and Remii (tan) units. The Belgian player controls the Belgian (green), Germano-Celtic (pale green) and Armorican tribal (water blue) units. MAPBOARD The map cover Gallia Belgica (Belgian Gaul). Terrain effects are described in the game. The board is divided into 2 theaters: the southern one, Gaul under Roman influence, and the northern one, Belgian Tribes territory.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cult of Sabazios.The Cult of a Gallo-Roman God on a Relief From
    Anistoriton, vol. 12 (2010), Essays no 2 1 The Cult of Sabazios The Cult of a Gallo-Roman God on a Relief from Arlon/Aarlen (Belgium)? The Luxembourg Museum in Arlon (in Belgium) gathers the unique Gallo-Roman sculptured monuments which were discovered in some tombstones and civilian buildings of the ancient vicus in Orolaunum (today Arlon, Aarlen). One of these sculptured stones represents a very interesting scene of a man with his hands raised up while a huge horned snake is twisting around his hands and his body. The scene was shortly described by L. Lefébvre in the official Catalogue of the Luxembourg Museum in Arlon. He mentioned some different opinions on this representation which was once explained as a snake charmer, another time as an allusion to the cult of a Celtic god and finally as a symbol of the cult of Sabazios. Lefébvre supposes that M.E. Marien came with the most valuable interpretation of this scene. He associated a horned snake on this scene with the cult of the Phrygian-Thracian god of vegetation - Sabazios. Lefébvre´s positive standpoint to the idea of Marien was based on a supposition that Sabazios could be worshipped in Orolaunum because the cults of the Oriental mysteries were formally established in Orolaunum in the period of the Roman emperor Claudius (41-54 AD). A scene of a man encircled by a horned snake, relief, Luxembourg Museum Arlon Firstly, I also excepted that Sabazios´cult could be symbolized on this relief scene from Arlon. But I changed my opinion after some period of making the iconographical comparisons on this theme.
    [Show full text]
  • Guillaume De Machaut and Reims
    Anne Walters Robertson Guillaume de Machaut and Reims Context and meaning in his musical works published by the press syndicate of the university of cambridge The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom cambridge university press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge cb22ru,UK 40 West 20th Street, New York, ny 10011-4211, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, vic 3207, Australia Ruiz de Alarcon´ 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa http://www.cambridge.org C Cambridge University Press 2002 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2002 Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge Typeface FF Scala 9.5/13 System LATEX2ε [tb] A catalogue record for this book is available fromthe British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data isbn 0 521 41876 3 hardcover Contents List of illustrations page xiii Acknowledgments xvi Abbreviations and conventions xviii Prologue Context and meaning in Guillaume de Machaut’s musical works 1 Machaut and Reims 2 Context and function, meaning and Scens in Machaut’s musical works 4 Part I Reims and its music: cathedral, city, archdiocese 1 Guillaume de Machaut in Reims 11 Reims: Rome of the West 15 Christianity in Reims, Christianity in France 17 Growth of Reims and the fourteenth-century laicization 20 Reims
    [Show full text]
  • Attila the Hun and the Christian Apocalypse
    The End is Upon Us: Attila the Hun and the Christian Apocalypse By Nathan Landrum A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Liberty University 2020 Table of Contents Introduction 1 Chapter One: Traditional Roman Paganism and Christianity 11 Chapter Two: The Christianization of the Roman Empire 33 Chapter Three: Late Antique Christian Apocalyptism 54 Chapter Four: The Arrival of the Huns 73 Chapter Five: The Campaigns of Attila the Hun 96 Conclusion 125 Bibliography 128 Introduction: Following a successful, albeit rather brief, campaign into northern Italy in A.D. 452, Attila the Hun returned to his court somewhere in the vast Great Hungarian Plain (the actual location remains unknown). Throughout the course of making preparations for a renewed campaign against the Eastern and Western Roman Empire, Attila decided to take another wife in early 453, adding to his many marriages. Once the wedding festivities were over, both Attila and his new bride, Ildico, retired to their bridal chamber. However, when Attila did not appear the following morning, Hunnic guards stormed the room to discover Ildico weeping over her husband’s lifeless body. Perhaps celebrating too hard, Attila appeared to have hemorrhaged through his nose during the night as no wounds were discovered on his body. Despite Ildico’s suspicion of murder, Attila’s death was generally accepted by the Hunnic populace as an accident and great periods of mourning immediately ensued. According to the sixth century Gothic historian Jordanes, “Thus did drunkenness put a disgraceful end to a king renowned in war.”1 Therefore, Attila the Hun, the man who terrorized the Roman world and came to symbolize the very essence of barbarism, died an inglorious death.
    [Show full text]
  • ALESIA 52 BC the Final Struggle for Gaul
    ALESIA 52 BC The final struggle for Gaul NIC FIELDS ILLUSTRATED BY PETER DENNIS © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com CAMPAIGN 269 ALESIA 52 BC The final struggle for Gaul NIC FIELDS ILLUSTRATED BY PETER DENNIS Series editor Marcus Cowper © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 5 A clash of cultures CHRONOLOGY 13 OPPOSING COMMANDERS 17 Vercingetorix Caesar OPPOSING ARMIES 22 Vercingetorix’s army Caesar’s army OPPOSING PLANS 33 Vercingetorix’s plan Caesar’s plan THE CAMPAIGN 37 The siege of Avaricum A close-run thing: Gergovia Noviodunum The final act: Alesia AFTERMATH 82 Counting the cost Vercingetorix’s legacy THE BATTLEFIELD TODAY 87 Alesia alternatives A parallel in history GLOSSARY AND ABBREVIATIONS 91 Glossary Abbreviations BIBLIOGRAPHY 93 INDEX 95 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com The Roman Empire at the time of Caesar’s firstconsulship The RomanEmpireatthetimeofCaesar’s N OCEANUS ATLANTICUS Pontus Euxinus GALLIA GALLIA CISALPINA BITHYNIA ILLYRICUM TRANSALPINA ET PONTUS Mare HISPANIA ITALIA Adriaticum Galatia CITERIOR SARDINIA Roma Cappadocia ET MACEDONIA CORSICA Mare ASIA HISPANIA Mare Aegaeum CILICIA SYRIA ULTERIOR Tyrrhenum Mare Ionium SICILIA Numidia AFRICA CRETA Mauretania Mare Internum CYRENE Egypt Sinus Arabicus Approximate provincial boundaries SYRIA Roman province Egypt Principal ‘client’ kingdoms 0 500 miles 0 500km © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com INTRODUCTION The desire by political and military leaders to be known to the generations to come and, naturally, to cast him or herself in a good light, is no recent phenomenon. Such memoirs are by nature subjective and complete adherence to the truth should not be expected, especially if the author had written memoranda with at least one eye on the future record.
    [Show full text]
  • Julius Caesar. the Colossus of Rome
    JULIUS CAESAR: THE COLOSSUS OF ROME Julius Caesar offers a lively, engaging, and thoroughly up-to-date account of Caesar’s life and times. Richard Billows’ dynamic and fast-paced narrative offers an imaginative recounting of actions and events, providing the ideal introduction to Julius Caesar for general readers and students of classics and ancient history. The book is not just a biography of Caesar, but a historical account and explanation of the decline and fall of the Roman Republican governing system, in which Caesar played a crucial part. To understand Caesar’s life and role, it is necessary to grasp the political, social, and economic problems Rome was grap- pling with, and the deep divisions within Roman society that came from them. Caesar has been seen variously as a mere opportunist, a power-hungry autocrat, an arrogant aristocrat disdaining rivals, a traditional Roman noble politician who stumbled into civil war and autocracy thanks to being misunderstood by his rivals, and even as the ideal man and pattern of all virtues. Billows argues that such portrayals fail to consider adequately the universal testimony of our ancient sources that Roman political life was divided in Caesar’s time into two great political tendencies, called ‘optimates’ and ‘populares’ in the sources, of which Caesar came to be the leader of one: the ‘popularis’ faction. Billows suggests that it is only when we see Caesar as the leader of a great political and social movement, that had been struggling with its rival move- ment for decades and had been several times violently repressed in the course of that struggle, that we can understand how and why Caesar came to fight and win a civil war, and bring the traditional governing system of Rome to an end.
    [Show full text]
  • Reconstructing the Chronology of Caesar's Gallic Wars
    Histos 11 (2017) 1–74 RECONSTRUCTING THE CHRONOLOGY OF CAESAR’S GALLIC WARS1 Abstract: Caesar dates only the beginning of his first campaign and rarely mentions routes, distances, and times consumed. No detailed timelines for Caesar’s Gallic Wars exist. This gap can be filled by exploiting available clues in Caesar’s text (e.g., astronomical and sea- sonal events) and Cicero’s letters, and by determining the routes Caesar is likely to have chosen, average traveling and marching speeds (based on data in Caesar’s works and those of other authors), and the days required to cover the distances involved. Modern, digital maps based upon a GIS interface make it possible to measure distances with unprecedented precision. The resulting chronology, though often still speculative, is much more reliable than anything suggested previously. Keywords: Caesar, Gallic wars, chronology, speed of army movements, application of digital maps Introduction: General Assumptions, Principles, and Data2 In the middle of the nineteenth century, German scholars wrote monumental commentaries on Caesar’s Gallic War and Civil War. Those works, published 1 The reconstruction presented here is the result of work we originally did for the The Landmark Julius Caesar (Raaflaub (2017)). Planned as an appendix, it proved too large to be in included in that volume. A much condensed version will be placed on the website of the publisher (Pantheon). We thank Robert Strassler, the editor of the Landmark series, and Edward Kastenmeier at Pantheon for the permission to publish the full version in Histos, and the journal’s editor, Christopher Krebs, for accepting our submission on short notice.
    [Show full text]