The Gallic Wars
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The Gallic Wars
The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homelands against an aggressive Roman campaign. The Wars culminated in the decisive Battle of Alesia in 52 BC, in which a complete Roman victory resulted in the expansion of the Roman Republic over the whole of Gaul. Though the Gallic military was as strong as the Romans, the Gallic tribes' internal divisions eased victory for Caesar. Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix's attempt to unite the Gauls under a single banner came too late. Caesar portrayed the invasion as being a preemptive and defensive action, but historians agree that he fought the Wars primarily to boost his political career and to pay off his debts. Still, Gaul was of significant military importance to the Romans. Native tribes in the region, both Gallic and Germanic, had ...
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Lionel Royer
Lionel-Noël Royer (December 25, 1852 – 30 June 1926) was a French painter. He was most famous for painting large scenes of the life of Joan of Arc in the Basilica of Bois-Chenu in Domrémy. Life and work Lionel Royer was born in Château-du-Loir in Sarthe on December 25, 1852. He volunteered before his 18th birthday for the Franco-Prussian War and took part in the Battle of Loigny-Poupry on December 2, 1870 under the command of General Athanase de Charrette de la Contrie. Contrie, having noticed Royer's artistic talent, offered to finance his studies at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Royer became a pupil of Alexandre Cabanel and of William-Adolphe Bouguereau. He obtained the ''Prix de Rome'' in 1882. He became a portraitist and, especially, a painter of historical scenes. His best-known works are '' Vercingétorix Throwing his Weapons at the Feet of Caesar'' (1899), and the decoration of the Basilica of Domrémy dedicated to Joan of Arc. In il ...
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Quintus Tullius Cicero
Quintus Tullius Cicero ( , ; 102 – 43 BC) was a Roman statesman and military leader, the younger brother of Marcus Tullius Cicero. He was born into a family of the equestrian order, as the son of a wealthy landowner in Arpinum, some south-east of Rome. Biography Cicero's well-to-do father arranged for him to be educated with his brother in Rome, Athens and probably Rhodes in 79–77 BC. Around 70 BC he married Pomponia (sister of his brother's friend Atticus), a dominant woman of strong personality. He divorced her after a long disharmonious marriage with much bickering between the spouses in late 45 BC. His brother, Marcus, tried several times to reconcile the spouses, but to no avail. The couple had a son born in 66 BC and named Quintus Tullius Cicero after his father. Quintus was aedile in 66 BC, praetor in 62 BC, and propraetor of the Province of Asia for three years 61-59 BC. Under Caesar, during the Gallic Wars, he was legatus (accompanying Caesar on his second exped ...
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Celts
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apogee of their influence and territorial expansion during the 4th century bc, extending across the length of Europe from Britain to Asia Minor."; . " e Celts, were Indo-Europeans, a fact that explains a certain compatibility between Celtic, Roman, and Germanic mythology."; . "The Celts and Germans were two Indo-European groups whose civilizations had some common characteristics."; . "Celts and Germans were of course derived from the same Indo-European stock."; . "Celt, also spelled Kelt, Latin Celta, plural Celtae, a member of an early Indo-European people who from the 2nd millennium bce to the 1st century bce spread over much of Europe."; in Europe and Anatolia, identified by their use of Celtic langua ...
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Cassivellaunus
Cassivellaunus was a historical British military leader who led the defence against Julius Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. He led an alliance of tribes against Roman forces, but eventually surrendered after his location was revealed to Julius Caesar by defeated Britons. Cassivellaunus made an impact on the British consciousness. He appears in British legend as Cassibelanus, one of Geoffrey of Monmouth's kings of the Britons, and in the '' Mabinogion'', the ''Brut y Brenhinedd'' and the Welsh Triads as Caswallawn, son of Beli Mawr. Name The Common Brittonic personal name ''Cassiuellaunos'' stems from the word ''uellaunos'' ('chief, commandant'). The meaning of the prefix ''cassi-'' has been debated, but it possibly signifies 'tin, bronze'. Cassivellaunus may thus been translated as 'Chief-of-Tin', that is to say 'the inflexible'. The personal name ''Ver-cassivellaunus'' ('True-Chief-of-Tin') is related. History Cassivellaunus appears in Julius Caesar's ''Co ...
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Ariovistus
Ariovistus was a leader of the Suebi and other allied Germanic peoples in the second quarter of the 1st century BC. He and his followers took part in a war in Gaul, assisting the Arverni and Sequani in defeating their rivals, the Aedui. They then settled in large numbers into conquered Gallic territory, in the Alsace region. They were defeated, however, in the Battle of Vosges and driven back over the Rhine in 58 BC by Julius Caesar. Primary sources Ariovistus and the events he was part of are known from Caesar's ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico''. Caesar, as a participant in the events, is a primary source, but as his ''Commentaries'' were partly political, they may be suspected of being self-serving. Later historians, notably Dio Cassius, are suspicious of his motives. Role and status Ariovistus was a native of the Suebi. He spoke Gaulish fluently. He had two wives, one of whom he had brought from home. The second, who was the sister of King Voccio of Noricum, he acquired i ...
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Commius
Commius (Commios, Comius, Comnios) was a king of the Belgic nation of the Atrebates, initially in Gaul, then in Britain, in the 1st century BC. Ally of Caesar When Julius Caesar conquered the Atrebates in Gaul in 57 BC, as recounted in his ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'', he appointed Commius as king of the tribe. Before Caesar's first expedition to Britain in 55 BC, Commius was sent as Caesar's envoy to persuade the Britons not to resist him, as Caesar believed he would have influence on the island. However he was arrested as soon as he arrived. When the Britons failed to prevent Caesar from landing, Commius was handed over as part of the negotiations. Commius was able to provide a small detachment of cavalry from his tribe to help Caesar defeat further British attacks. During Caesar's second expedition to Britain Commius negotiated the surrender of the British leader Cassivellaunus. He remained Caesar's loyal client through the Gaulish revolts of 54 BC, and in return Caesar ...
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Indutiomarus
Indutiomarus (died 53 BC) was a leading aristocrat of the Treveri (the people of the area around present-day Trier) at the time of Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul. He was the head of the anti-Roman party and the political rival of his pro-Roman son-in-law Cingetorix for "supreme power" in the state. Biography In 54 BC, Indutiomarus made preparations for war against the Romans and evacuated non-combatants to the Ardennes. However, when Caesar arrived in the territory of the Treveri en route to Britain, Indutiomarus was deserted by many of his leading supporters and submitted to Caesar in the hopes of preserving his position. Caesar accepted his submission, taking 200 hostages including several of Indutiomarus' close family members, but he also took the opportunity to promote Cingetorix to power among the Treveri at Indutiomarus' expense. Deprived of much of his power, Indutiomarus became all the more bitter an enemy of the Romans, and waited for a favourable opportunity to ta ...
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Ambiorix
Ambiorix (Gaulish "king of the surroundings", or "king-protector") ( 54–53 BC) was, together with Cativolcus, prince of the Eburones, leader of a Belgic tribe of north-eastern Gaul (Gallia Belgica), where modern Belgium is located. In the nineteenth century Ambiorix became a Belgian national hero because of his resistance against Julius Caesar, as written in Caesar's ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico''. Name It is generally accepted that ''Ambiorix'' is a Gaulish personal name formed with the prefix ''ambio-'' attached to ''rix'' ('king'), but the meaning of the first element is debated. Some scholars translate ''Ambiorix'' as the 'king of the surroundings' or 'king of the enclosure', by interpreting ''ambio-'' as a thematized form of ''ambi-'' ('around, on both sides') meaning 'surroundings' or else 'enclosure' (cf. Old Irish ''imbe'' 'enclosure'). Alternatively, Fredrik Otto Lindeman renders ''Ambiorix'' as the 'protector-king', by deriving ''ambio-'' from the Proto-Indo-Eur ...
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Vercingetorix
Vercingetorix (; Greek: Οὐερκιγγετόριξ; – 46 BC) was a Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. Despite having willingly surrendered to Caesar, he was executed in Rome. Vercingetorix was the son of Celtillus the Arvernian, leader of the Gallic tribes. Vercingetorix came to power after his formal designation as chieftain of the Arverni at the oppidum Gergovia in 52 BC. He immediately established an alliance with other Gallic tribes, took command, combined all forces and led them in the Celts' most significant revolt against Roman power. He won the Battle of Gergovia against Julius Caesar in which several thousand Romans and their allies were killed and the Roman legions withdrew. Caesar had been able to exploit Gaulish internal divisions to easily subjugate the country, and Vercingetorix's attempt to unite the Gauls against Roman invasion cam ...
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Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta
Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta (died 54 BC) was an officer in the Gallic army of Gaius Julius Caesar. The little we know of Cotta is found in Book V of Caesar's ''De Bello Gallico''. In 54 BC, when Caesar returned to Gaul from his second expedition to Britain, he found food in short supply. He therefore spread out his eight legions amongst a larger number of Gallic states from which to draw their sustenance during the winter. To the eighth legion, which had recently been raised from across the Po (''trans Padum'') he added another five cohorts, appointing Quintus Titurius Sabinus and Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta as the '' legati'' commanding them.Transf. meaning: ''To appoint or choose as deputy (as the official assistant, lieutenant, of a general or governor)''source: Lewis & Short Latin Dictionary. History The troops of Sabinus and Cotta were sent by Caesar into the country of the Eburones, in Belgica, most of which lies between the Meuse and the Rhine where they set up Fort Aduat ...
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Quintus Titurius Sabinus
Quintus Titurius Sabinus was one of Caesar's legates during the Gallic Wars. He is first mentioned in Caesar's campaign against the Remi, in 57 BC. In 56 BC, he was sent by Caesar with three legions against the Venelli, Curiosolitae, and Lexovii (in Normandy), who were led by Viridovix. He gained a great victory over Viridovix's forces, and all the insurgent states submitted to his authority. In 54 BC he and Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta were stationed for the winter in the territory of the Eburones with a legion and five cohorts. They had not been in the country more than fifteen days before they were attacked by Ambiorix and Cativolcus. Sabinus, showing less resolve than Cotta and trusting himself under Ambiorix's guise of truce and safe passage, evacuated the camp under threat of German attack. As a result, he was massacred along with Cotta and all their troops. Sources * Caes. B. G. ii. 5, iii. 11, 17— 19, v. 24— 37 * Dion Cass.br>xxxix. 45
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Servius Sulpicius Galba (praetor 54 BC)
Servius Sulpicius Galba was a Roman general and politician, praetor in 54 BC, and an assassin of Julius Caesar. As legate of Julius Caesar's 12th Legion during his Gallic Wars, he defeated the Nantuates in 57 BC in the Battle of Octodurus. Servius Galba then had a dispute with Caesar over a debt, also felt his friendship with Caesar cost him the consular election in 49 BC. In 45 BC, Galba complained that the Senators were not given their proper respect. According to Suetonius, Caesar had an affair with Galba's wife Postumia, which caused more anger.Suetonius, and Robert Graves. The Twelve Caesars. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, 1957. Print PAGE 31 Later, angered by Caesar's opposition to his campaign for the consulship, Servius Galba joined the conspiracy with Brutus and Cassius, and was consequently condemned to death by the Pedian law. He was the great-grandfather of the Roman Emperor of the same name. See also *Assassination of Julius Caesar *Sulpicia gens Refe ...
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