THE CONQUEST OF GAUL PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Julius Caesar,F.P. Long,Cheryl Walker | 246 pages | 11 Dec 2014 | Barnes & Noble Inc | 9780760768952 | English | New York, United States The Conquest of Gaul PDF Book Read it Forward Read it first. They had far more advanced technology and experience in siege craft like towers and terraces, trenches several miles long, not mentioning bridge construction twice to cross the Rhine, and Shipbuilding twice to cross the Channel. Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Caesar remarked that the warlike Nervii refused to yield their ground even after the Atrebates and Virumandui had been put into disarray. By the first century BCE they already had a long history of hostility with the Romans. In this situation, the Romans are usually outnumbered, fighting in dense forests which were very alien to them, facing ambushes by the natives and constantly preoccupied with logistical challenges of supplies without which they will be starved to death. Siege and capture of Alesia 52 B. Also an excellent and substantial introduction that provides: a solid biography, the historical and political context of each work, a critical analysis of its literary purpose and value, and an assessment of reliability. The World of Odysseus. This is despite his book detailing routine atrocities by the Roman army - surely barbarous acts in themselves. Particularly interesting are the two invasions of Britain, the first of which was a complete disaster. He spent the winter in Cisalpine Gaul, having an eye on the city of Rome and giving instructions to Piso. The remaining Tigurini fled to neighboring woods. The Gallic War is a startling read, no less for its cracking pace and clear style, than for its shameless brutality and its unblushing depiction of greed and violence on an international scale: entire governments executed, civilian populations enslaved en masse, mass mutilations. He was decisive and he could move troops quicker than expected by the enemy. The peltasts, slingers and archers were brought for the specific purpose of confounding the Gallic proclivity for shield wall tactics, mass attack and individual close combat. In 57 BC Caesar once again intervened in an intra-Gallic conflict, marching against the Belgae , who inhabited the area roughly bounded by modern-day Belgium. In Gaul, Rome also had the advantage of being able to deal separately with dozens of relatively small, independent, and uncooperative states. At the outset, I didn't expect to like it as much as I actually did, but I come out of this with a newfound respect for both the military commander and the author, as well as the man, Gaius Julius Caesar. Of course, Julius ended up in Hell for it, but even there he entertains us. This is the record of his campaigns. Caesar stalled the negotiations for fifteen days, and used the time to fortify his position with a rampart nineteen miles long and a parallel trench. But even allowing for a great deal of fiction, the rhetoric of the speeches is very effective and great reading. Dec 10, J. He and what remained of his troops escaped and crossed the Rhine, never to engage Rome in battle again. The Gauls—fortified inside the aforementioned stronghold and aided by a huge relief force from the hinterlands—came this close to giving Caesar a spanking; alas, for the Big Hair Gauls it wasn't to be. The skill with which the veteran Roman legions executed their well practiced pilum barrage and gladius and scutum counter-attacks together with the prudent use of missile weapons was instrumental in defeating the skillful and daring Nervii and associated Belgae. Caesar as author 6. Books for People with Print Disabilities. Although the Britons were backward and still retained the primitive social system of chiefdoms i. Orgetorix escaped with the help of his many debtors, but he died during his flight. The Conquest of Gaul Writer Roman reverse at Gergovia 52 B. The fight on the Atlantic coast 56 B. The Best Books of So Far. This was a little much for contemporary warrior sensibility. The Greeks and Romans called all these nations Celts or Gauls. When the embassy returned, Caesar refused their request and warned them that any forceful attempt to cross the river would be opposed. Cambridge University Press. Caesar chose a nearby hill to offer battle and the Roman legions stood to face their enemies. They ruled and subsisted by warfare and by taxing their dependent and client tribes while adhering to a heroic hoplitic tradition. After reading the first book or so, students were shuffled into more complex and presumably more rewarding books and authors. Showing Such a thing pointed out in explanatory notes, was common during antiquity, at least among the Romans to be lacking in self-criticism.. Presumably they would have lost heart completely and instantly surrendered if their wives had their hair in buns or pinned up in elaborate hairstyles. More filters. He makes him one of the richest most powerful men of the empire and fuels his rise to supreme dictator. Of particular interest to me were the sparse details of his lieutenant, the enigmatic-but-talented Titus Labienus, who faithfully served as the proconsul's right-hand man throughout the Gallic campaigns—overseeing winter quarters and conducting several punitive expeditions against tribal revolts— only to flee and eventually lose both battles and his life to the camp of Pompey the Great in the upcoming Civil War. It is hard to underestimate the importance of JC no not THAT JC in terms of military strategy, political acumen, propagandistic spin, and his shrewd combination of prudent warfare and bold action. Among his lost works are his funeral oration for his paternal aunt Julia and his Anticato, a document written to defame Cato in response to Cicero's published praise. For instance, defeating an opponent from a distance with slings is far more economical than getting up close--rocks are virtually free for the picking and every soldier was well skilled with this deadly weapon and well defended against the return of said rocks with armor and shield. Morgan Llewelyn also wrote a book, Druids , about a Celtic druid who assisted Vercingetorix in his campaign against Julius Caesar. As a writer, Caesar deals with the campaigns and the consequences of actions. Being in charge of the army of the largest empire in the world must have been exhausting. Only Caesar's war commentaries have survived. The Conquest of Gaul Reviews A well-written piece of propaganda I read for my AP Latin class - Caesar sure knows how to entertain with his descriptions of battle and debauchery. Caesar is unbelievably visual in the battle scenes. The Gauls—fortified inside the aforementioned stronghold and aided by a huge relief force from the hinterlands—came this close to giving Caesar a spanking; alas, for the Big Hair Gauls it wasn't to be. Understanding this book strangely, can contribute to the argument that war should be made no more and provide deep insight into why we must beat our swords into plows. I started reading this account of his conquests some 25 years ago, when I was an undergrad studying Latin. More filters. William C. His narrative of his personal conquest of Gaul is riveting reading, well illustrated with accounts of skirmishes, sieges, ambushes, political intrigues, and brief character sketches. The development of agriculture and commerce varied from quit advanced in Gaulle, because of exchange with the neighboring Roman provinces; to nonexistent such as it is the case with the Germans. A note of cynicism may be detected in passages referring to religion or the divine. They began to come under increased pressure from German tribes to the north and east. The last encounters; capture of Uxellodunum 51 B. Aulus Hirtius Contributor. Now, did Caesar polish his image in this third-person conceit of historic revisionism? Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Jane F. View all 7 comments. By the end I was rooting for poor Vercingetorix even though I knew his cause was doomed. Reading the same book more than once enables you to begin to think about the things that are not said by the author. The following year, 56 BC, Caesar turned his attention to the tribes of the Atlantic seaboard, notably the Veneti tribe in Armorica modern Brittany , who had assembled a confederacy of anti-Roman tribes. What is striking about the Romans is their sheer bloodymindedness. Understandably, Caesar's own account makes it all sound a little more reasonable than that, there is a fair attempt made to make it sound like an accidental bit of empire building. Finding this too difficult, he silently quitted his camp some time after midnight and retraced his steps to Metlosedum, a town of the Senones situated like Lutetia on an island in the river. Welcome back. These peoples were exterminated by Caesar in 55 bce. View all 5 comments. This effectively marked the end of the Gallic Wars, although mopping-up actions took place throughout 51 BC. These Gallic conventions were something Caesar exploited as often as he could. Caesar was victorious in the battle that ensued due in large part to the charge made by Publius Crassus. His campaigns also passed through Sequani, an area in the middle of Gaul, the coast of the North Sea, and the southern tip of Britain. Nov 21, Barnaby Thieme rated it it was amazing Shelves: history , europe , rome , germany , france. Caesar chronologically recounts his many campaigns, which wound through the territories of Gaul and the surrounding areas of Europe just before the advent of Christianity in 1 A.