| Commentarii de Bello Gallico (Commentaries on the Gallic War) |
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 An 18th century edition of Commentarii de Bello Gallico |
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| Author | Julius Caesar, Aulus Hirtius(VIII) |
| Language | Classical Latin |
| Subject(s) | History, Ethnography, Military history |
| Genre(s) | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Julius Caesar |
| Publication date | ? 50s or 40s BC |
| Followed by | Commentarii de Bello Civili |
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| This article is part of the series on: Military of ancient Rome (portal) 753 BC – AD 476 |
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| Structural history | |
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| Roman army (unit types and ranks, legions, auxiliaries, generals) | |
| Roman navy (fleets, admirals) | |
| Campaign history | |
| Lists of wars and battles | |
| Decorations and punishments | |
| Technological history | |
| Military engineering (castra, siege engines, arches, roads) | |
| Personal equipment | |
| Political history | |
| Strategy and tactics | |
| Infantry tactics | |
| Frontiers and fortifications (limes, Hadrian's Wall) | |
Commentarii de Bello Gallico (English: Commentaries on the Gallic War) is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting local armies in Gaul that opposed Roman domination. The "Gaul" that Caesar refers to is sometimes all of Gaul except for the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis (modern day Provence), encompassing the rest of modern France, Belgium and some of Switzerland. On other occasions he refers only to that territory inhabited by the Celtic peoples known to the Romans as Gauls, from the English Channel to Lugdunum (Lyon).
Contents |
Title
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.
Contents
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,[1] and the defeat of Vercingetorix at the Battle of Alesia.[2]
Caesar distinguishes three ethnic groups living in Gaul who were subdued by his forces: the Gauls, who lived in the center of the country; the Aquitani, who lived in what is now Aquitaine; and the Belgae, who lived in the north. 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.
Influence
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.[3]
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).
Astérix
Since Caesar is one of the characters in the Astérix and Obélix albums, René Goscinny included gags for French schoolchildren who had the Commentarii as a textbook. One example is having Caesar talk about himself in the third person as in the book.
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.[4] 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
References
- ^ Caesar, VII, 4.
- ^ Caesar, VII, 89.
- ^ cf. Albrecht, Michael v.: Geschichte der römischen Literatur Band 1. Munich 1994 2nd ed., p. 332-334.
- ^ Prior to its demobilization and subsequent remobilization by Augustus - see also Republican and Imperatorial legions. Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 5.44
External links
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Latin Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
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Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
- At Perseus Project: Caesar's Gallic War- De Bello Gallico, English translation by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn (1869); Latin text edition
- At Gutenberg Project:
- Caesar's Commentaries (THE WAR IN GAUL - THE CIVIL WAR) English translation by W. A. MACDEVITT, introduction by THOMAS DE QUINCEY (1915)
- De Bello Gallico (Books I-IV), Latin text edition
- English translation by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn (1869)
- The Gallic war
- Latin only
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