Commentaries, on the Gallic War and on the Civil War (Commentarii de bello Gallico and Commentarii de bello cīvīli), memoirs by Julius Caesar concerned with, respectively, his campaigns in Gaul from 58 to 52 BC and the civil war against Pompey which culminated in the battle of Pharsalus (48 BC).

1. The Gallic War

1. Book 1. After a brief geographical description of Gaul, Caesar starts with an account of the migration of the Helvetii into Gaul, of how the Romans pursued them and drove them back, and finally resettled them in their old homes. He then relates the increasing invasion of Gaul by Germans, his decision to put an end to it, the fruitless negotiations with their king Ariovistus, and the great battle north-east of Vesontio (Besançon) in which the Germans were routed (58).

2. Book 2. The Belgic tribes (see BELGAE), threatened by the Roman advance and stirred up by discontented Gauls, combine for war against Rome. The prompt movement of Caesar against them upsets their plans; a series of fights ends in a critical battle against the Nervii (a Belgic tribe) on the river Sabis (Sambre) and they are virtually exterminated. An expeditionary force under P. Crassus meanwhile subdues the tribes on the Atlantic seaboard, and the whole of Gaul is temporarily reduced to quiet (57).

3. Book 3. Some predatory African tribes are subdued by Servius Galba. Certain Armorican tribes (in Brittany) led by the Veneti (from south Brittany) revolt, and although the Romans have little experience of their kind of naval warfare the rebels are defeated by the makeshift Roman fleet and its unexpected tactics. Their allies are dealt with in smaller campaigns.

4. Book 4. The German tribes of the Usipetēs and Tencteri invade Gaul and are crushed by Caesar near the river Mosa (Meuse). Caesar follows up this success by crossing the river Rhenus (Rhine) to demonstrate Roman power. He makes his first expedition to Britain, which had supported Gaul against the Romans. A small force lands in Kent in face of fierce opposition. Caesar's fleet at anchor is badly damaged by storm, and the British manner of chariot-fighting throws his troops into confusion. He withdraws his force from Britain in September (55).

5. Book 5. The second invasion of Britain with a larger force. After its landing, a storm again destroys many of the transports. Caesar reaches and fords the Thames, captures the stronghold of the chief Cassivelaunus, and obtains his surrender. Caesar takes hostages, fixes the tribute payable by Britain, and withdraws to the Continent (at this point the book includes a geographical description of Britain). During the winter the Gauls revolt, taking advantage of the dispersal of the legions in widely separated winter quarters. The Eburones under Ambiorix annihilate the Roman garrison at Aduatuca and then, gathering their allies, lay siege to the camp of Q. Cicero in the territory of the Nervii. Cicero is rescued from a dangerous situation only by the rapid advance of Caesar with two legions from Samarobriva (Amiens). Further signs of revolt appear during the winter. Idutiomārus, leader of the rebellious Treveri, is killed in a surprise attack by the Romans (54).

6. Book 6. Various punitive expeditions are made by the Romans in the north-east of Gaul, the chief of them directed against Ambiorix (the leader of the Eburones in the capture of Aduatuca; see book 5). His kingdom is ravaged but he himself escapes. A company of German horsemen cross the Rhine to plunder what they can in the territory of Ambiorix, but at the suggestion of one of their Gallic prisoners they attack instead Aduatuca, where the baggage of the Roman army is stored. They nearly capture this fort by their surprise attack, but the Romans drive them off (53). The book contains an account of the customs of the Gauls and Druids, and of the Germans.

7. Book 7. The disturbed state of Italy (Clodius having been murdered early in 52 BC; see CICERO (1) 3 and 4) encourages the Gauls to a general revolt, begun by the Carnūtēs, who massacre the Roman residents in Cēnabum (Orleans). A coalition of the principal tribes is formed under Vercingetorix, leader of the Arverni (who gave their name to Auvergne), and threatens the frontier of the Roman province of Transalpine Gaul. Caesar hastens back from Italy, makes the province secure, and crosses the Cevennes in midwinter, drawing Vercingetorix south to defend Auvergne. Leaving behind D. Brutus to divert Vercingetorix' attention Caesar himself rapidly travels to the country of the Lingones (Langres) and gathers his troops together. He recaptures Cenabum and besieges Avaricum (Bourges), capital of the Bitūriges. In spite of the attempts of Vercingetorix to relieve the town, and hardships suffered from the cold and from scarcity of supplies, the Romans occupy it and in revenge for past sufferings butcher all the inhabitants. Caesar moves to attack Gergōvia, capital of the Arverni. During the siege of this very difficult position, the rashness of some of the Roman troops in the course of a carefully planned attack, leading to an over-hasty assault on the town gates, results in heavy loss. This and news that the Aedui, hitherto faithful allies of Rome, were planning to revolt, leads Caesar to withdraw from Gergovia and make for the territory of the Aedui. Without hindrance from Vercingetorix he rejoins Labienus in the north. Labienus has been sent out against the Senonēs (who gave their name to Sens) and the Parisii, but an uprising of the Bellovaci, as a consequence of their hearing that Caesar has retreated from Gergovia, has put him in danger. He extricates his troops by a skilful manœuvre and joins Caesar at Sens. The united army moves against Vercingetorix, who is again threatening the province of Transalpine Gaul, follows him to his stronghold Alğsia (Mont Auxois), lays siege to it, and in spite of the efforts of a great army of Gauls to relieve it, captures the stronghold as well as Vercingetorix after fierce fighting (52).

8. Book 8, a continuation of the others, was written by A. Hirtius. Books 1–7 were published in 51 BC.

2. The Civil War

1. Book 1 narrates the opening of the war, after the senate had voted that Caesar should lay down his military command and he, in defiance, had crossed the Rubicon with his army. Caesar rapidly overruns Italy, and Pompey, under pressure, retires first to the south Italian port of Brundisium (Brindisi) and then across to Epirus in north-west Greece, before Caesar can close the harbour. Caesar therefore turns west to Massilia (Marseilles), starting to lay siege to it, and then to Spain, where his strategy in the neighbourhood of Ilerda (Lerida) secures the surrender of Pompey's lieutenants Afrānius and Petrēius.

2. Book 2 relates the continuation of the siege of Massilia and its surrender, the conquest of western Spain, and the disastrous North African campaign of Caesar's lieutenant, C. Curio, whose rashness brings about the annihilation of his force by king Juba. All the events of the first two books take place in 49 BC.

3. Book 3 relates the operations of Caesar in 48 against Pompey in Epirus, the unsuccessful attempt to blockade Pompey at Dyrrhachium, Caesar's withdrawal to Thessaly where he is reinforced by fresh troops, the battle of Pharsālus where Caesar's veterans defeat Pompey's numerically superior forces, and Pompey's flight to Egypt, where he is murdered through the agency of the Egyptian king's advisers. The work ends with an account of the political situation in Egypt, Caesar's activities there, and the grave danger to which he and his forces are exposed.

The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. Copyright © 1993, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.