Badass Woman of History #1: Boudica

Boudica: Disney's Merida On Steroids (61AD)

When anyone mentions the subject matter of famous female warriors the first image that usually rattles off in peoples minds is Joan of Arc, that French knight of 100 Year War Fame. But for my series on kick ass female badasses I did not want to start with the cliche. Instead I chose to start with a woman who was down right savage in her response to sexist patriarchy and the defilement of her daughters; so bloody in her vengeance that the great halls of power throughout the Roman Empire shuddered at the name, Boudica. The name Boudica, or as later prounouced by Saxons, Voadicia, means victorious, and is one of the roots for the later name of Victoria. Now I know, I know, Disney's Merida is Scottish, not Briton Celt, and Merida is a princess with 3 brothers, not a queen with 2 daughters, but the resemblance and attitude has me questioning Disney's inspiration, in which I could not find any "official" connection. So instead of cartoon Scotland, our fiery red head's story begins in tribal Britannia, almost 115 years before her rise......

The Fosse Way

The Briton Celts had first encountered the Romans in 55BC when Julius Caesar crossed the channel during his war with Gaul (France). After a brief scrimmage and an odd display with a standard (see my posts about Caesar) the Romans left, but this did open up trade relations between the island and the empire. While goods flowed from the mysterious and foggy island, the Romans never stopped dreaming of northern expansion. Gallic tales, confirmed by Caesar, told of a land of lush forests, fertile fields, and hills ripe for mining. And after decades of delays due too internal strife, Emperor Claudius finally ordered the long awaited invasion in 43AD. It was slow at first as the Celtic tribes there were like no other people they had encountered before, even the Gallic Celts were not as good of woodsmen and guerilla fighters. But as Romans were known to do they played the game of setting tribe upon tribe, offering some chieftains status as kings of client states in exchange for aid in conquering those that defied the will of Rome. By 46AD the Romans were satisfied with the gains they had made and cut an enormous ditch across the land, known as the Fosse Way, to signify their new border, and let the world know that all lands east of the Way were under Roman "protection."

Iceni Territory

Enter the Iceni. They had been one of the 11 tribes that had allied itself to Rome and thus received the so-called autonomy of a "client state". They occupied an area within Rome's Fosse Way boundaries that is known today as Norfolk. Their relationship with Rome was amicable, the Romans enforced the peace between the tribes under its territory, and provided protection from the scheming Welsh tribes or the more brutish Scots and Picts. The Romans for the most part asked for nominally little: a couple of carts of food to feed their garrisons, sure they had plenty; some men to act as auxiliary forces at the border, sure they can do their part; lighten the weight of Iceni coins to devalue it for the good of the province's economy, now there is a problem. This request met resistance from the current Iceni chieftain/king, Antedi, and so a small insurrection to Roman rule started to bubble. But the Romans would nip it in the bud before it would grow, convincing the majority of the Iceni that their king was risking their autonomy for a few shavings of their coins that the common Iceni farmer or fisherman would never miss. So with the support of a Roman garrison the Iceni overthrew their king and replaced him with another of their own named Prasutagus, and with him came a new royal family; his wife Boudica and his two daughters.

Prasutagus and Boudica

The Roman governor of Britannia, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus wanted assurances from Prasutagus that he understood the Iceni partnership with Rome. So Prasutagus drew up a Will, where upon he named Emperor Nero his heir along with his wife and daughters, and that upon his death the emperor would be a rightful co-ruler of Iceni alongside his family. Like most Roman bureaucrats, Paulinus, was sucker for a good legal document and especially one that has such familial terms like "heir." Satisfied he left the Iceni to their enjoyed autonomy and sent a copy of the Will to Rome. But it was there that trouble would begin for our Celtic family.

Paulinus, Nero, and Seneca

Back in Rome, the capricious, immature, and often inebriated Emperor Nero had no real desire for the day to day running of the Empire. He much preferred day and night long parties and feasts, and playing his lyre for his "captive" audiences. He left the administration of his empire to a hand full of advisors, all of them looking to shape the empire to their own will and at the same time cut a profit for themselves. One of these (and would you believe the least evil of them) was Seneca, a Greek-Spaniard philosopher and teacher. He had found the copy of King Prasutagus's Will which had been sitting unopened among the stacks for sometime and doing some research on the Iceni tribe, he came up with a plan to cut quit a financial windfall for himself. The Iceni had borrowed money from Emperor Claudius back during the initial invasion of Britannia, but with the relative prosperity of the province no one bothered to collect. Seneca order the Procurator (financial officer) of Britannia, Catus Decianus, to approach the Iceni and tell them that Roman law does not permit woman from inheriting titles from men, and that they would dare see Boudica and her daughters, women, as equals of the Emperor was blasphemy. However, "Rome" would be willing to turn a blind eye to these infractions if the Iceni were to pay back their debts (at an absurd interest rate thought up by Seneca). 

During this pronouncement Paulinus was engaged in a war with the Northern Welsh and had not been informed of the Procurator's assignment, and by this time Prasutagus was deceased and Boudica was ruling as Queen.  She refused to pay until she could speak to Paulinus and stated under Celtic tradition wives and daughters were always entitled as heirs. Decianus had Boudica and her daughters arrested for inheritance fraud, she was taken by centurions (from Rome, not the local garrison) to the village of Norwich square and flogged. The centurions then proceeded to rape her daughters and plunder the village, to teach the Iceni a lesson about their "backward ways in accepting women rulers." 

The fact that Dedianus did not report his intentions to the governor, used outside troops, and then just left calls into question the legality of his and Seneca's actions. But none of that mattered Boudica and the Iceni. The Romans had disrespected their traditions and worse their queen, and had defiled the royal family. She called upon a neighboring tribe, the Trinovantes, to aid her, and spread the word to other like minded tribes that Romans had abused their authority and trampled on their heritage. Several tribes gathered into a make shift alliance and elected Boudica as their leader. She invoked the Celtic goddess Andraste, and in ritualistic fashion released a hare from the folds of her dress to divine wear the goddess would have them attack first. It ran in the direction of the Trinovantes former capital, Camulodunum (modern day Colchester), were the Romans had occupied and rebuilt it as a colony city and built a huge temple dedicated to deceased Emperor Claudius. 

Camulodunum and the Temple of Claudius

The city was filled with Roman traders, old legionnaire veterans, and families of the legionnaires now fighting with the governor in Wales. They had heard rumors of a large Celtic force headed for the city and asked Procurator Decianus to send reinforcements, but not seeing an army lead by a woman as a threat he sent only 200 auxiliary troops. Boudica arrived just outside the city and gave an impassioned speech to her army concluding....

"We Britons are used to women commanders in war; I am descended from mighty men! But I am not fighting for my kingdom and wealth now. I am fighting as an ordinary person for my lost freedom, my bruised body, and my outraged daughters... Consider how many of you are fighting — and why! Then you will win this battle, or perish. That is what I, a woman, plan to do! — let the men live in slavery if they will."

The Celts easily over ran the city defenses and dispatched the 200 auxiliary troops throughout the streets. They burned the building to the ground and tore down every monument and statute the Romans had erected to glorify their achievements. The last hold out was at the temple, what populace that were not killed or escaped into the countryside sought refugee within the marble walls, which the aged veterans now defended. For two whole days the veterans held out until they too were overwhelmed by the sheer number of attackers. All inside were slaughtered and the temple burned to the ground.

Boudica rides into Camulodunum on her chariot, the veterans last stand, and the burning of the temple

The Procurator sent the IX legion to relieve the city and aid the veterans last stand, but before they could reach the temple they too were surprised and numerically overwhelmed. Only a small detachment of cavalry lead by Quintus Petillius Cerialis Caesius Rufus, was able to escape with their lives. With the destruction of an entire legion, Dedianus could no longer keep this quick and quite, he had to tell Governor Paulinus....and Rome.

Boudica continued her march across the countryside, her army gaining strength and picking up followers with every village emancipated or destroyed. Governor Paulinus relieved Dedianus of his position and sent him back to Rome in disgrace while sending overtures to Queen Boudica to talk, as a "friend" of her late husband. But all diplomatic efforts were ignored. Paulinus made way to the new commercial center of Londinium (do you really need to tell you the modern day location) as this was right in the path of Boudica's army. Meanwhile back in Rome news of this barbarian queen's slaughter of Roman citizens and worse the embarrassing defeat of an entire legion and destruction of the temple. Emperor Nero was besides himself, he was already dealing with a new conflict with the Parthians, to have this woman and this good for nothing island cause him further grief was to much, and that it might be better just to forget Britannia all together. Agents of Paulinus begged him to reconsider and send reinforcements. Nero refused, but he also did not recall the troops already there either. He declared if the Britannia forces suffered one more defeat then the provinces would be abandoned.

Paulinus took the decree with grave concern. One more defeat? What does that entail? He had a good amount of forces, not as much as he would like, but it was something. Did the emperor mean another city falling to the barbarian horde or another legion? He made his decision, he looked at his surroundings and decreed trying to defending Londinium was not going to get him the victory he needed to keep his province. He abandoned the city to find a battleground of his choosing to face Boudica. After burning Londinium she would go on to pillage yet another Roman town, Verulamium (St. Albans). She then started to march toward the Roman fort of Manduessedum (Mancetter) and it was on the road, Watling Street that the two armies met; Paulinus's XIV and XX legions, and some auxiliary, 10,000 in total, verse Boudicas 230,000 strong horde.

Depiction of Boudica rallying her troops at the Battle of Watling Street

Paulinus chose a section of road that started to enter a dense forest and thick underbrush on either side to help negate Boudica's numbers, there the Romans stood as if guarding the entrance of the forest from the army rolling down the meadow in front of them. Boudica stopped her troops and from her chariot gave another impassioned speech on how they, man and woman side by side, were on the verge of freeing all of Brittania from the oppressive Romans. She ordered the first wave to charge, the Romans threw there pillas (heavy throwing spears) in response bringing down many, there bodies tripping up others. The rest of the Celtic forces charged in and the Romans formed into a wedge dividing Boudicas forces in half. Each half now was pushed up against the forest to their back and Roman cavalry up their flank. The Celts tried to back out the way they came to give themselves room to maneuver but ran right into their own baggage train and camp followers, their whole families which had been following close behind the whole march. With the Celts in disarray trying not to trample their own families the Romans reformed and marched straight through them. Celtic causalties numbered over 80,000, not counting children and non combatants that got caught up in the battle at the end. The Romans lost 400. Boudica would drink poison over the guilt she felt in endangering the children. As part of the agreement for complete surrender the Celts were allowed to take her body and given a lavish funeral.

Before the horrific events that lead to her revolt she ruled confidentially and without question. The fact that the Roman governor had no concerns about her place in the husbands will or the fact he tried to entreat with her after he was made aware of events shows that he knew and respected her as a competent leader, surprising for a man that came from a highly patriarchal society. Even her fellow tribal leaders looked past her gender and saw what was most important, the will and determination to lead. From time since British kings, queens, members of parliament, and prime ministers, including Winston Churchill himself, would invoke her name when extolling the tenacity of the British people to defend their homeland. Every depiction of her, every painting, documentary, and tale has her in the thick of battle, and the fact she successfully coordinated the sacking of 3 Roman cities and ambushed an entire Roman legion, and made an empire second guess itself, makes her one badass woman warrior.

If you would like to see (a depiction anyway) of the terrifiying Queen in action I recommend the History channels "Barbarians Rising", a great docu-drama telling the tale of four fearsome barbarians that shocked the Roman Empire:

Badass Women of History Series

Hell Hath No Fury.....

In honor of the movie Wonder Woman, entering its 3rd record breaking week, I introduce to you the Badass Woman of History Series. At least once a month, possibly twice depending on the length of other posts, one of my posts here on Ancient Allen will bring to light the story of one of the myriad of remarkable women that defied convention and picked up the sword (or gun, or cannon,....) to become fearsome warriors as formidable on the battlefield as any of their male contemporaries. From either being cunning strategist, master swordsman, or sharpshooters, these ladies proved their mettle.

From the angelic Valkyrie of Norse legends to the stoic Amazons of Greek myth, there is precedent in the collective ideals of human civilizations of women warriors. This ideal has been put into practice again and again throughout all of history and across the world. And in varies aspects of warrorism; from armored maidens like Joan of Arc and Tomoe Gozen, warrior queens like Boudica and K'abel, to ruthless scoundrels like Sadie the Goat and Anne Bonny. Women so fierce, so powerful, and so numerous that even Joss Whedon and his writers would have a hard time keeping up. These women prove that sexism does not hold water, especially in the art of war.

So far I have a pretty expansive and diverse line-up, as listed below. The first up will be the Celtic Queen Boudica (top left in the above picture), who challenged the might of Rome and even had Emperor Nero questioning the empires future in the province known as Britannia, modern day England. From there the order is pretty fluid so if there is any particular one you would like to read about next or one you don't see on this list please let me know at ancientallen1014@gmail.com.

Tomoe Gozen - Samurai (top right)
Joan of Arc - French Knight (center)
Lozen - Apache warrior prophet (top center)
Rani Lakshmi Bai - Queen of India (middle left)
K'abel - Mayan Queen (middle right)
Pearl Hart - American Old West Outlaw (bottom left)
Nakano Takeko - Samurai (middle bottom)
Freydis Eirikdottir - Viking Explorer (bottom right)
Pantea Arteshbod - Persian Commander
Fu Hao - Queen of the Shang Dynasty
Grace O'Mally - Pirate
Trieu Thi Trinh - Vietnamese General
Nzinga - African Queen

and many more.....So stay tuned!
 

I Came, I Saw, I Blogged Part 4

Julius Caesar: Father To An Empire He Would Not See Born

(Years Covered: 47BC - 44BC)

Egypt stabilized and brought into the fold, Caesar and Cleopatra celebrated with a month long luxury cruise up and down the Nile. He was treated like a pharaoh of old and even had an open relationship with his new ally. Some back in Rome tried to use this to scandalize him, that he was fashioning himself a king and consorting with a pernicious foreign queen, dishonoring his wife. But again money talked, and the exotic wonders and wealth of Egypt were shipped to Rome to the amazement of the masses. The yet unknown rabble-rouser trying to defame Caesar's name was a young politician who himself had just arrived in Rome from Tarsus to take a seat in the Senate, Cassius. He was part of a new generation of young patricians that had studied the political philosophy of Cato and who had grown up outside of Italy looking to come back to the city of their forefathers to "set it right". Again Cicero saw an opportunity, he molded this new breed of senators to be more cautious and work in secret so as this new movement against Caesar would not be discovered before it was at strength.

Meanwhile, Caesar caught wind that the now "rebel" army had split into two; Pompey's two sons were in Spain raising more legions, while Cato and Mattlus were in North Africa and allied themselves with King Juba I of Numidia, the lands just west of old Carthage. Caesar again thought that with enough speed he could catch the two old senators by surprise, but when he got to the city of Thapsus they were waiting for him. Caesar arrived with 8 legions and 5,000 cavalry to find facing him a mixed Roman and African force of 12 legions, 14,500 cavalry, and 60 war elephants. Metallus lined his elephants in front of the legions and his cavalry at the flanks, hoping to trample Caesar's legions and have his legions just mop up behind or chase down breaking ranks. Caesar had his legions draw in close, with all archers fanned out on either flank. When the trumpets blared the archers aimed and maintained fire on the elephants, while the legions broke right or left to hold the line and protect the archers from cavalry. The elephants, under sustained arrow fire panicked and ran back away from the arrows right into Metallus's legions, trampling them. Once again, Caesar had defeated a numerically superior force. Shortly after Cato and Metallus would commit suicide rather then accept Caesar's hand of friendship.

 Caesar would return home to a Triumph (a military parade sanctioned by the Senate, like MacArthur got coming home from Korea) but he made sure to try an emphasize his victories in Gaul and Egypt as themes in the celebration, rather then the victories over fellow Romans. But Cassius and others made sure to whisper throughout the streets and halls of power that this celebration was as much about defeating the Senate as anything else. This malicious talk was starting to even catch the attention of Marcus Brutus, who was reminded on nearly a daily basis of his family's long legacy of defending Rome from tyrants. Adding fuel to Brutus's doubts about the man that had acted as father to him was the increased attention Caesar gave to Octavius; the jealously toward their relationship no doubt inflamed by his mother Servilla who herself had grown quit jealous of the tales of her long time lovers dalliances with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Caesar's will should have assuaged any feelings of complete abandonment Brutus may have had, as it named him second only to Octavian in inheritance, a great honor considering he was not at all a member of the Julia, which showed how much love he had for his unofficial step son. But all that was swept away with the arrival of Cleopatra in Rome bearing a baby, named Caesarean. And though it never did happen, many assumed and spat venom at the idea that Caesar would eventually change his will to include the "Egyptian half breed". Cassius and Cicero's propaganda machine worked over time, eroding the peoples image of Caesar; how he was under the influence of foreign sorceress and he would taint the purity of Rome with Egyptian culture. Again the long awaited reforms Caesar wanted to enact for the good of the empire were stymied by base accusations and obstructionism.

Though he was damaged he was not down. He was still able to use his vast influence and popularity to bring about such important issues as tax reform, land distribution, food programs, and to reorganize the provinces so they fell more under a unified system with Rome in the center instead of a hodgepodge of various degrees of autonomy and systems of governance. He even laid out the groundwork and proto ideas that would find purchase and bare fruit a decade or so later under the rule of great-nephew Octavius, the reconstruction of Rome and the idea of "bread and circuses". But his two significant acts as dictator: 1) to certify anyone living on the Italian peninsula as a Roman citizen, a point of contention since the city state of Rome had first started to expand and had even been the cause a few wars including the Social War fought by the generation before his; and 2) his long wished for slave labor reform, insuring that freeman could compete and find work so often taken up by slaves.

But Caesar was running into that age old paradox that it is far easier to win an empire then run one. The fact that his magnanimity to his former enemies seemed to only give him temporary favor with them, that now that he was home and not off fighting some battle diminished the people's awe of him, that the very idealism he championed was starting to peter out in the masses it was meant to help, all started to weigh on him.  The people needed to be reminded of why they loved him, he needed the image of Caesar the conqueror, not Caesar the politician. So he started to draw up plans for his once rejected Parthian campaign. It would be his greatest achievement, he would be glorified as the perfect Roman like Scipio Africanus or Romulus himself, and would usher in an age of Roman dominance across three continents. One final task needed to be complete before he could bring these plans before the Senate, he needed to remove all challenge to his rule, and that meant showing those in the Senate that any hidden hope they may have of the Pompey brothers in Hispania rekindling the resistance was gone. The final battles of the civil war must be fought.

Sextus and Gnaeus Pompey

Caesar had chaffed at the idea of going after his friend's last remaining sons, Gnaeus and Sextus, and fighting yet another battle against fellow Romans. But it could not be helped, in his mind they were the last rallying symbols of the conservatives. Little did Caesar know the seeds of a new generation of conservatives had been planted long ago and its poisoned fruits were already entrenched in the Senate, but I get ahead of my self. A force of 8 legions and 8,000 cavalry sailed to Spain. Caesar did not bother to bring any of his seasoned high ranking generals, instead he decided to bring two young men new to command as his subordinates. His heir Octavius and a friend of his, a young man of impeccable athleticism and a nearly unmatched skill with a sword in the western world, Agrippa. The two of them would become form friendship and partnership that would shape the world, avenging Caesar and making all of his dreams come true post-humorously. But that's a story for another time.

Agrippa

The Pompain army had taken most of Hispania Ulterior (Spain South coast) and had started to move into Hispania Citerior (east coast). Caesar's surprise arrival disrupted their siege of Ulipia, a town on the border of both provinces that was loyal to Caesar. Sextus would successfully base himself inside the city Corduba, meanwhile Gnaeus would engage Caesar in several small scrimmages, buying time until winter, when both armies would camp and regroup. As soon as the snows thawed Caesar tracked Gnaeus down to the hills outside the city of Munda. As the two armies approached each other both tried maneuvers and counter maneuvers to gain some sort of tactical advantage but to no avail. In the end when the swords started striking no side would be able to deploy some grand stratagem, it was an all out brawl. So all consuming was the battle that all the commanders, Caesar, Octavius, Agrippa, Gnaeus, and his second Titus Labienus, found themselves enveloped in furious hand to hand combat. And while Caesar would always be Caesar, known for his grand designs on the battlefield, it would be his youngers that shown the brightest, Octavius would start to earn his reputation as an awe inspiring figure men gravitate to; Agrigga would earn his vaunted reputation as a swordsmen and as soldier's soldier. In the end by sheer force of will and arms, Caesar's army prevailed, destroying the last vestiges of the rebel army. Titus would fall that day and be granted full honor funeral rights by Caesar. Gnaeus would be tracked down days later and killed and Sextus would flee to the islands of the western Mediterranean and not be heard from again for ten years during the next civil war, where he would act as naval support (engaging in acts of piracy, Pompey Magnus must have rolled in his grave, oh the irony) for Brutus, Cassius, and their ilk; he will meet his final defeat at the hands of Agrippa. Caesar would say of the Battle of Munda that he "fought many battles for the republic, but this was the first battle for my life."

Caesar fighting at Munda

Caesar would return to a very somber Rome, what good will he hoped for in officially ending the civil war evaporated as the reported death tolls came in, Romans were finally feeling the impact and the weight of the Roman dead these last few years. For the next few months he would try his damnest to get his Parthia project off the ground, but enthusiasm to see more Romans go off to war was at an all time low. There was still love for Caesar there, but how much more blood could they take. The answer came sooner then any could imagine. Cassius, Cicero, and Brutus thought they saw their opening, that the diminished love of the people would allow them to take a drastic step that would have the empire and history itself revere them as heroes. Oh boy they would be ssssooooooo wrong.

On March 15, 44BC, Caesar is called to the Senate to except the title of Dictator for Life, a title he hoped would give him the much needed boast to respark interest his ambitious eastern campaign. Antony had heard rumors of a plot against Caesar's life and raced to the Senate but was intercepted in the forum by a senator named Tribonius and his entourage, barring his path. Inside the Senate, Octavius was asked to step outside by another senator to discuss a private matter. Right on que a senator by the name of Tillus Cimber approached Caesar with a petition, asking that his brother's exile be rescinded. Other senators came forward to surround Caesar feigning support for the decree. At that moment a dagger was thrust toward Caesar's throat, who deflect it. Caesar grabbed at his assailant, Crasca, and demand to know what the meaning of the attack was. The other Senator's surrounding him pulled daggers and started to stab at him. Study of the body shows that he tried to fight them off, but with blood obscuring his vision he tripped and fell as they continued their assault. With tears and heartbreak in his eyes he looked at the one person he never suspected could do this to him, his unofficial step-son Brutus, and uttered his last words, "You too, child...", not Shakespeare's Et Tu Brute ("and you Brutus"). Sorry English Literature majors, I believe Plutarch over the Bard.

The assassins, calling themselves The Liberators, came out of the Senate a bloody mess and expecting cheers and adulation at the announcement of Caesar's death by their hands. What they got was a mob boiling in rage. The lower and middle classes still saw Caesar as their champion despite recent misgivings; the news sparked riots in the streets as calls for the heads of senators rang forth. The murderous senators scattered and fled to the safety of their estates. Antony and Octavius called for calm to prevent the city from imploding, and while no harm came to those who committed the act during the days of mourning and the reading of the will, the tension in the air was palpable. Since Brutus had been one of the conspirators, 18 year old Octavius was named sole heir, gaining half of all of Caesar's wealth and holdings, but more importantly the very name of Caesar. The other half of the fortune was granted to the people of Rome as Caesar says everything he did was to glorify them.The great Caesar's funeral was when things finally came to a head. The crowds, all wanting to honor their champion in some way, threw more and more objects unto the funeral pyre, at some points it almost got out of control, damaging the forum itself. The city at a tipping point, just needed a slight push. Antony railed not only against the so called "Liberators" but against the entire system of aristocrats, that the old Patrician family's had denied all of them their chosen leader. The crowds once again turned into a seething mob that marched on the houses of Brutus and Cassius. The Senate fled to the countryside as Antony declared a new Triumvirate consisting of himself, Octavius, and one Caesar's trusted cavalry generals, Lepidus, all three vowing to bring the aristocrats to justice and reform empire into a new glorious state. And to give even more weight to their cause, and with the unquestioning support of the crowds, they deified Caesar and called Octavius Divi Filius "Son of God" the one true ruler of Julius Gauis Caesar's Roman Empire. The Liberators had set out prevent a man from being crowned king, and in so doing created a God Emperor. And so the next Civil War began.

Phew, that took a lot long then I would have thought, but we got through it. But I am glad I could get one of my ideals out of the way. Not that all posts will be like these but I felt compelled to be extra thorough with big C. As you may have noticed throughout these last 4 posts I mostly stayed away from dates, statistics, and other empirical data, this is entirely on purpose. As I was trying to state in my very first post I believe in approaching history from a story telling perspective, when you get caught up in numbers and technicality that's when you fall asleep and miss whats truly important, the people and their stories. The other thing you may have noticed is my use of images from the HBO series Rome. The reason is not the TV show is the source material (that comes from a plethra of books, documentaries, websites, podcasts, and notes from collage) of these posts but the casting in that show is quite remarkable. If you were to look up the old busts and statutes of Caesar, Agrippa, Pompey, etc. the likeness the show achieved are astounding and I figure a reader would be better able to relate to a picture of someone then a dusty old cracked slab of marble. Overall I am quit pleased with how this turned out and I hope it was entertaining for you; and it would make me beyond delighted if I have created some new Caesar fan boys as well. So I hope you will all stay tuned and keep checking back. Again if there is any particular person, place, event, you would like me to write about please e-mail me at ancientallen1014@gmail.com and I will add it to my que of topics.

Little Turtles

Turtle Tactics

As we have been neck deep in Roman warfare with the likes of the Gallic war and Caesar's civil war, I came across this cute video on FB. In a later post I do wish to explore military tactics throughout history, such as the Greek Phalanx, Viking Berserkers, Scottish Schiltrons, and Roman Maniple. But for now here is a pretty good example of the Roman formation of the turtle, it used to get in close to an enemy firing ranged weapons at your melee foot soldiers.

I Came, I Saw, I Blogged Part 3

Julius Caesar: The Civil War

(Years Covered: 52BC to 47BC)

Caesar was riding high, a victory like Alesia would solidify his image as a brilliant commander in both the eyes of the people, and the legions. It would also have a profound psychological effect on Pompey and the Senate in the events to come. It is at this point Brutus bids farewell to his father figure to take up a seat in the Senate. In exchange Octavius would make several trips back and forth from Rome during Caesar's remaining time in Gaul to gain real world experience and like Brutus be tutored in leadership, politics, and military command by his great uncle. Caesar would spend the next two years in Gaul, working at that same famed break neck speed to Romanize the republics newest province. All over the region he built garrisons, civic centers, trade outposts, roads, and aqueducts. He installed local government officials and imposed extreme measures of reparations against the Averni tribe any other tribes that were the supporters of Vercingetorix. Vast amounts of gold, jewels, other precious metals, and numerous other resources were seized, the lions share going to Caesar and the rest distributed among his troops which now stood at 8 legions strong. The other resource capitalized into vast wealth, slaves. Almost all low born fighting men of the former Gallic army were sold as slaves to the Aedui tribe and foreign slave traders. Also those that could not pay their share of the reparations, low or high born, were taken back to Rome as indentured servants until they worked off what they owed. Caesar broke the Gauls, it would be over 200 years before they would every rise to be any kind of threat again.

But back home trouble was a brewing. After Crassus's death a small wind of sympathy was playing out for the old man. Instead of laughing stock, he was becoming piteous. People started to question whether he had deserved the ridicule slung at him the past two decades; and in the most hushed tones questions arised about Pompey's version of events during the Spartacus Revolt (I have used the term Spartacus revolt several times now in these posts, technically its called the Servile War, but naming it after its famous leader sounds a lot cooler and recognizable). In modern terms, Pompey started to become aware of his slipping poll numbers in comparison to Caesar's meteoric rise. And with each new cart full of goodies that arrived from Gaul, its contents flung to the people in the streets, Caesar's popularity grew. Add in the fact that the talk among the soldiers in the streets were that of coveting a position in one of the Gallic legions, not wasting away here in Italy. Sure Pompey is a great commander that has always done right by them, but what has he been having them do lately, bully the old men of the Senate or chasing sheep herders and woodsman off public lands. There was no glory in that, no excitement, and certainly no profit. Pompey's most prized possession, the love and reverence of the legions, was eroding. Cato and the conservatives whispered in his ear about coming back to the fold, but Pompey refused knowing it would break the heart of his wife, Caesar's daughter Julia. Cato and the others would catch a break though as Julia died in childbirth and Caesar played his hand too soon offering up Atia's daughter Octavia, to renew their alliance, before the mourning period was over. But Pompey though incensed, played it cool. He worked in secret (or so he thought) probing the loyalty of Caesar's legions, all the while telling Atia that he was still in mourning for Julia and could not make a decision on Caesar and her's offer of marriage to Octavia.

Cornelia and Octavia

What the final straw was to break Caesar and Pompey's alliance no one knows for sure, but in one fell swoop, Pompey rejected Octavia and married Cornelia (daughter to Cato's second Scipio Metella), accepted a position of sole consulship, governorship in absentia of the provinces of Hispania Citerior (west coast of Spain) and Hispania Ulterior (south coast of Spain), and named Pro-Consul of all Hispania (making him commander of all military assets in Spain). Some also wanted to offer Pompey the office of dictator until Caesar's army was disbanded, but Cato staunchly refused; in fact, to make sure Pompey did not have too much power the conservatives removed Pompey as commander of the Italian legions, putting the Senate in direct control of those troops. It would prove to be an unwise move, including Pompey not raising objections. But even with all this he was reluctant to support any direct political or legal attacks on his old friend, but nor was he pushing any of the agenda of the pro Caesar faction in the Senate. The political stall came to an end after Pompey had recovered from a serious illness. The people of Rome and southern Italy cheered and rejoiced his recovery, he had not felt such adulation since his heyday at the head of the legions, he took it as a sign the people wanted him, not Caesar. He could not have been more wrong.

Pompey put the full force of his new titles and powers behind Cato's decree: that with Caesar's governorship term up he is to disband his armies and return to Rome to stand trial for accusations of warmongering, sedition against the Senate, bribery, and treason. Pompey had even fabricated a Parthian threat as an excuse for 2 of the legions under Caesar to head to southern Italy to take ship for Syria, the thought being the people would see that as soon as any of his legions crossed the Alps away from Caesar's gaze and influence they would be happy to abandon him. Again, Pompey made a grave miscalculation. The two legions came as instructed and settled outside the  southern Italian port city of Capu, but refused to take ship until final word came from Caesar, which never did. With two of his legions lurking south of Rome, Caesar felt safe to send his 2nd in command Mark Antony and a squad of elite and loyal soldiers (they went as bodyguards, and were not to wear their official uniforms) to Rome to gauge the situation and negotiate on his behalf. For extra assurance, Caesar used his money and influence to have Antony proclaimed Tribune, a political office but one that had religious overtures, being proclaimed by the priests of Jupiter as divine protectors of the interest of the common folk in the Senate, a sacrosanct position.

Anthony tried several times to come up with an arrangement that would protect Caesar and give the Senate what they most wanted, disbandment of the army they all feared. As I said before the war stories of Gaul, while sending awe into the hearts of the people struck a real cord of fear in the Senate and Pompey, and with two Caesar loyalist legions right in their backyard just enhanced the phobia of a ruthless bogyman. Many of the Senators were quit pleased with the proposals, but Cato, obsessed with bringing down who he saw as an insubordinate cur, used every favor, debt, threat, and senatorial procedure to deny any of the proposals from going through a full Senate vote. To him it was an all or nothing game, and he would have Caesar's head as a prize. One such proposal, drafted by Caesar himself was to take his army to Syria, by land so they would not need step foot in Italy. Once there he would wage a war of conquest against Parthia to avenge Crassus and extend Romes borders as far as India, creating an empire the Romans could boast was greater then Alexander's (fulfilling Caesar's dream of eclipsing his ideal). He even suggested Pompey join him, that with the two generals side by side no force could withstand the will of Rome. The Senate could do as they please while he was gone as long as men and material support kept flowing. Again some in the Senate saw the great appeal, Caesar would be out of the political theater and Rome made greater by taking what was essentially the entire western half of the "silk road". But again Cato and his followers rejected this as well, complaining that Caesar's proposal was unattainable due to costs and man power, over reach and administration. But the fact was that really they were scared of not that he would fail, but that he could actually pull it off. And if he did his popularity would reach such god like proportions he would be declared king without even having to utter a word, not even Pompey would be willing to oppose him. Finally, Cato had enough, on the Senate floor he proposed the "Final Decree" for vote, that Caesar was to disband and come home for trial or be declared and Enemy of the State. Before the vote could be made Antony stood with the intent of enacting his veto as Tribune, but before he could speak a Cato follower named Lentelus began shoving Antony which started a small scale brawl that saw Antony forceable removed from the building. Pompey had order restored and to continue with the session, to have Lentulus censored and apologize to Antony. However Antony had left the city by then. Pompey furiously railed against the conservatives telling them they just gave Caesar a legitimate reason to start a civil war.

Antony raced back to Caesar who by then had marched one of his legions, the XIIIth, to the Italian side of the Alps, holding the other three legions in Gaul as reserve. This march was kept quit and the Senate was caught by complete surprise to learn Caesar was already in Italy. Pompey tried to rally the Italian legions as fast as he could, but there was confusion from the officers if they should be following his orders as technically by law he was not in command, the Senate was. The question was raised by the legions and by the legalists in the Senate what would an order from the Senate look like; a command from a Senator, a senatorial decree, or from the consul (Pompey). Before anyone could answer the unbelievable happened; news that had empire shattering implications. The Rubicon, a river seen as a dividing line between local law enforcing legions and battle hardened province legions had been crossed by Caesar, he was officially invading Italy and heading for Rome. As Caesar would famously say of the occasion, "The die is cast" or as we say Fortune Favors the Bold. Pompey and 2/3rds of the Senate (Cato's Conservatives and Cicero's moderates, including Brutus) panicked, took what legions they could muster in time and sailed for Greece. Caesar with speed, preparedness, and psychological warfare had taken the capital in the opening move of the civil war with one legion and without drawing a sword. His justification, which was more then accepted by the people, local militias and officials, is that the Senate had broken the laws of the republic and Jupiter himself, by attack the people's Tribune, Mark Antony (for added effect Caesar would not allow Antony to clean up his minor cuts and bruises or change his tattered robs, to add  a visual effect to his oration of events).

Upon arrival in Rome, Caesar called up his two legions in Capu to join with the 13th. But instead of chasing after Pompey and the rest of Senate, Caesar marches west for Hispania, leaving Antony in charge of Italy. Those soldiers that did not follow Pompey across the Adriatic sea saw no issue when orders from what was left of the Senate in Rome, now filled with only Caesar's supporters, ordered them to follow Antony as their commander. Yet again Caesar and his troops would rely on remarkable speed to get to Hispania in just 27 days by land, as ships were in short supply as most were in the hands of Pompey and the fleeing Senate. Events in Spain happened so fast that no one really knows all the details of how Caesar conquered all the legions there loyal to Pompey. With lightning speed Caesar had denied Pompey and the Senate the advantage of forcing him to fight a two front war. He then made all haste East to one of the provinces of his former governorships, Illyria. But it is there that his lightning campaign came to a screeching halt.

Battle of Dyrrhachium

Caesar arrived during Pompey's attempt to muster and organize what troops he could, cornering Pompey and the Senate on the beaches outside of the city of Dyrrhachium, which is in modern day Albania. A siege commences with both sides building fortifications and a no mans land in the middle where multiple scrimmages took place each day with no clear victor. After the protracted stalemate Pompey was on the verge of running out of supplies when he was hit by a stroke of luck. Two of Caesar's Gallic Auxiliary troops were caught trying to steal from the camp treasury and fled to Pompey's camp to avoid capture. There they told Pompey where and when to strike for the weakest point in Caesar's encirclement. Pompey made an all out attack to break through Caesar's lines. Caesar tried to stop the bleeding but Pompey's men were to much, rolling back his defenses. Caesar retreated west awaiting Pompey's counter attack, girding for his defeat since his army was now in disarray and scattered. Pompey's men out numbered him 2 to 1 in the first place, but with the lack of cohesion after the siege break made that number even more dire. But one turn of luck deserves another, Pompey's attack never came. Apparently, against the wishes of the Senate who wanted to finish off Caesar, Pompey refused to give chase fearing this was all some elaborate trap laid by Caesar. Astonished, Caesar noted his luck saying, "Today the victory had been the enemy's, had there been any one among them to gain it."

Both armies took different routes looking to resupply and re-engage in the province of Thessaly, breadbasket of the Greek lands. On the way Pompey was able to use his reputation and connections in the east to amass a much larger international force, not only Romans, but also Greeks, Syrians, and troops on loan from the puppet king of Judea; the groundwork Pompey had been laying to create this army while Caesar was in Hispania, was finally coming to fruition. In contrast Caesar was already outnumbered 2 to 1 before Dyrrhachium and the fresh troops brought by Antony afterwards only brought his troop levels a little above his original amount. He knew he would not have time to call on the troops he left in Gaul before the next battle. The two armies would now meet outside the Greek city of Pharsalus. Pompey lined up his men at the far northern end of the field where Caesar was camped, east of the river Eneipus. He formed multiple columns with depth to act as an anvil while his cavalry was all formed together on the eastern flank, to swing around and act as the hammer when Caesar's troops engaged. Caesar saw through his plan and arranged his troops accordingly. Caesar's lines where much wider but not as deep, he would need to trust his troops to hold the line while he enacted his plan. His cavalry was also placed at the eastern end to look like it was there to counter Pompey's. But what Pompey did not see due to Caesar's wider lines, was the hiding 6 cohorts of his most battle hardened troops. The gap between both armies was wide, so Pompey ordered his troops to hold and let Caesar's troops tire themselves out crossing the field until they got within range of the pillas (heavy throwing spears). But Caesar's troops halted their advance just outside of range to take a breather. Once it was seen that Pompey's troops, who were anxious in waiting to throw, had relaxed their grips, Caesar's men stepped into pilla range and throw theirs and then immediately continued the charge covering the remaining ground at great speed as Pompeys men were drawing cover from Caesar's pillas. The two cavalries at this point also charged one another, but Caesar who was in personal command of his cavalry feigned retreat behind his lines and Pompey's cavalry took the bait. Once their they were surprised by an attack on their flank by the hidden troops who used their pillas as hand held spears to stab at the riders. Meanwhile Caesar wheeled around and headed straight into Pompey's eastern flank, now unprotected. Caesar's cavalry rolled up Pompey's lines and created a complete route of a superior force.

Battle of Pharsalus

Cato and Mattla took what was left of their forces and headed for Hispania, hoping to reorganize the legions there. Cicero and Brutus, along with the rest of the moderate senator's decided not to run, but instead begged for Caesar's forgiveness. He was aghast by their groveling, pulling them off the ground and embracing them as old friends. Past civil wars had seen political purge after purge of the defeated and their families, Caesar was determined not to follow that path. To the shock of all he was magnanimous to all who had opposed him, treating the whole affair as if it was a minor disagreement between comrades, reinstating every senator, general, and bureaucrat, that came to him for forgiveness. Much to the befuddlement of Cicero and Brutus, Caesar was overjoyed at the idea of  having them come back to Rome with him as colleges instead of prisoners and asked were his old friend Pompey was. Cicero informed him that after the battle, Cato and those that wanted to continue on in their resistance forced Pompey out, seeing him as the cause for their failures. Pompey and his family were headed for Egypt to seek refuge with his old ally King Ptolemy XII. Caesar was pained by this, he wanted to reconcile with Pompey and work with him. He sent his armies, the Senate and their armies home, were the Senate were to vote him dictator and Antony as governor of Italy, to secure the peninsula from any threat posed by Cato and the armies being led by Pompey's two older sons. Meanwhile, again he would take only his XIIIth legion in pursuit of Pompey.

Pompey and his family as Refugees

Word of Caesar's victory had spread like wildfire across the Mediterranean, even to Egypt before Pompey even arrived. Pompey, Cornelia, and their two young children, who were in disguise as refugees of the war in Greece, were greeted at the docks by advisors to the young boy king Ptolemy XIII, informing them that Pompey's old friend and ally Ptolemy XII had passed away and that his son now sits on the thrown. Then without warning the advisors fell upon the Pompey and his family, executing all of them. Caesar arrived hoping to rekindle an old friendship, instead he was presented with Pompey's head as a gift from the royal court. Turns out Egypt was in the middle of a civil war of its own between Ptolemy XIII  and his Greek advisors and aristocrats verse his older sister Cleopatra and factions of the common Egyptians who had started to resent the Greek influence on their ancient home. The king's advisors had hoped to break the stalemate by recruiting Caesar's military support with the presentation of the head of his rival Pompey. Oops, BIG mistake!

Caesar was furious, not only had they denied him a PR victory of absolving Pompey, but they had unceremoniously murdered a man Caesar still considered a friend and his family. Caesar used his troops to seize control of palace in the Egyptian capital of Alexandria and declared that not only was Egypt to be a "client state" of Rome, but also that he would act as final arbitrator in the dispute between factions. Ptolemy's advisors acquiesced to his demands, but told him it my be sometime before they could contact Cleopatra, as her rebel army was well hidden in the wilderness. This of course was a stall, they were buying time until they could figure out how to expel the Roman troops from the palace. But word of events reached Cleo and she was determined to meet the great Caesar. One night a rolled up rug was presented to Caesar as a gift from the "true people of Egypt" as a thank you for helping end the civil war. It was unfurled to reveal the young queen inside. Enchanted by her boldness, and his wrath with Ptolemy's court over Pompey, Caesar would take an increasing favorable stance toward Cleopatra in the arbitration.With talks not going their way, just as Cleo had been smuggled into the city, Ptolemy and the court were smuggled out where they raised an army and besieged Alexandria. Trapped, Caesar's XIIIth defended several incursions into the city along side commoner militia's inspired by and determined to make Cleopatra their queen.

Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII

Caesar knew he would be facing a grave challenge. While the city had plenty of food and water, he had only one legion of trained Roman troops and a few actual fighting men among the Egyptians. It would be a while before any of his other forces could arrive to relieve him. But Caesar's luck would hold; unbeknownst to all Mithridates, the bastard son of the King of Pontus (Turkey's Northeast coast with the Black sea) was near by with his forces as he was taking a tour of the Mediterranean since he was not eligible for his father's throne and looking for a patron. Mithridates broke the siege in a surprise attack and alongside Caesar's XIIIth eventually rode down Ptolemy and his forces. Caesar would later thank Mithridates by supporting him, both claim wise and material, in his conquest of Bosporus (the east coast of the black sea) from his niece Dynamis. With Cleopatra now queen under the Patronage and protection of Rome, the Empire now swung around nearly the entirety of the Mediterranean, but for a small patch of North African Coast just south of Hispania, And only one last faction was left to oppose Caesar's control of it all, Cato, Matella, and the sons of Pompey.

I Came, I Saw, I Blogged Part 2

Julius Caesar: The Man Who Insisted On Changing The World

(Years Covered: 59BC - 52BC)

 

With the First Triumvirate formed the gun was loaded, all they had to do was fire. At least that was Crassus and Pompey's initial reaction. But Caesar, the clear lead among them, insisted in holding back for now. For sometime they even kept Pompey's involvement secret as Caesar built up tensions within the Senate. Sure Crassus had the money, but he wasn't "the Senate"; sure Pompey was popular among all the legions, but he technically was in direct command of only those legions on the Italian peninsula. And while Caesar was extremely popular, he did not have an unquestioning love from the majority of the people. In fact, Cato had developed a skilled campaign convincing segments of the population that while Caesar's reforms sounded great the empire was not quit there yet to implement them; to keep the status quo until such time the world had caught up to "Honorable" Caesar's ideas. Unbeknownst to the Triumvirate at the time, it was the great orator Cicero's words coming out of Cato's mouth. Caesar needed to expose the Senate for the greedy old men they were and he needed some crises or development to bring more of the empires military under the Triumvirate's sphere of influence.

As to the first part, two pieces of legislation would help to cripple Cato's (and Cicero's) campaign. The first was a proposal to help ease employment that had started to become a real problem in Rome and the surrounding countryside. The new law would limit the number of slaves an individual was allowed to employee, that for every 2 slaves working a field a freeman must be hired to work it as well. The proposal was immediately shot down by Cato and the conservatives, but the real nail in the coffin was Cicero's speech. He had claimed that the"dignity of freeman would be forever tarnished if they were to work alongside slaves...as Romans we are men of virtue and honor, which must come before all other things as base as money." This had been a particularly personal blow for Caesar as this was a reform he had been enthusiastic to deploy since first entering public office. But it was not a total loss as it had confirmed his suspicions that Cicero was leading the moderates to the conservatives slowly, in a way the rest my not even realize; and that it was Cicero propping up Cato, "Why I had not seen it before I cannot say, but of course it was Cicero's words of honey coming forth from the old man so often filled with vinegar". It was time to release one last political weapon, one that could break this alliance and turn the whole of the Senate upside down, breaking an over 100 year old tradition.  Lets all say it again, fortune favors the bold.

The proposal was simple and, on paper, inoffensive to anyone. To take portions of "public" land throughout the peninsula and distribute it among some of the poor. That those utilizing the land without the "official" consent of the Senate be removed, by force if necessary. It was a populist proposal of the highest degree. One that even Cicero could not find a lawfully or virtuous excuse to oppose, pushing the moderate vote toward Caesar. But Cato's conservatives could not let it stand. While the land was public it was an unwritten rule that senators and other patricians with connections in the Senate were using a lot of this laid to line their own pockets. Patricians have undeclarativly been reaping the benefits of these lands for years if not decades. The conservatives did not have the numbers to oppose the measure, however the pleb consul, Marcus Bibulus let it be known that upon the opening of the next session he would be using his consular veto to "protect" an honor system Caesar was brazenly trying to break. But Marcus would not make it to the Senate chamber, an angry mob bent on seeing this law passed, waylaid him and his entourage, including several armed bodyguards. Just as it looked as a full scale riot was to break out between the two groups, a group of soldiers under the command of Pompey arrived. All involved thought the soldiers were their to maintain order and allow the consul to pass to continue the "business of the Senate". Instead they separated Marcus's bodyguards from the crowd, confiscated and broke their weapons, accusing them of attempting to draw blood within the hallowed walls of the Senate (blatant lie as everyone knew the weapons were ceremonial). The crowd unleashed, they harangued Marcus, dumped a bucket of shall we say outhouse offerings on his head and ran him out of town, never to return. For the rest of the consular term the satirists would refer to it as the consulship of Julius and Caesar.

Atia (top left), Servilla (top right), Octavius (bottom left), Brutus (bottom right)

Also during this time, Caesar and his new wife were plagued with a number of still births and miscarriages. Caesar, we know through his writings was privately distraught and even questioned his ambitions for the empire if he could not even continue the Julia clan. He toyed with the idea of divorcing Calpurnia, on the grounds that the childless marriage was proof of the gods disapproval of the union. This would then allow him to marry his love Servilla, adopting Marcus Brutus as his son and heir. But such a move would risk his alliance and friendship with Crassus. He looked to the scattered branches of his family and found a solution. His newly widowed niece Atia and her children were living off her husbands family, the patrician family of Octavii, having nothing of her own. He raised her up into a high position within the Julia (to some degree 2nd only to himself in family matters, even over Calpurnia), gave her an estate of her own and a very generous stipen and income producing holdings. The Caveat, she must spare no expense on her son, his great nephew Gaius Octavius's education, and that he would be the unquestionable heir to the Julia, forsaking the Octavii. This created a rivalry between Atia and Servilla who both wanted Caesar's attention focused on their own sons.

 

Cisalpine, Illyricum, and Gallia Narbonensis

 Meanwhile the whole incident with the Senate had the desired effect of breaking the incorruptible image of Cato and it had endeared Caesar even more to the lowly masses throughout all of Italy. But it was not without its consequences: it had exposed Pompey's new allegiance and made public the until then shadowy Triumvirate, and it had made clear to all the patricians, whether ally, foe, or undecided what exactly was going on, the very foundations of traditional Roman society and governance were being challenged. Being the front man, a clear target was now painted on Caesar's back. Accusations, legal challenges, investigations, the opposition was in full court press to take down Caesar by any means necessary. Again, sounds awfully familiar, but I digress. It was taking its toll on Caesar's agenda and on Crassus's treasury. The Triumvirate needed to take some of the heat off Caesar until they can conjure up their next move. Their answer was inspired, and would kill two birds with one stone: get Caesar the political protection he needed and get more legions under their thumb. With the help of senators allied with Caesar and Cicero's moderates who saw a need for a cool down period within the Senate, Caesar was "offered" the governorship of the provinces of Cisalpine (northern Italy and the Alps), Illyricum (Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia), and Gallia Narbonensis (southern French coast). Being a governor it made Caesar immune to prosecution for at least a five year period and while the provinces given were just wild frontiers they had a combined 4 legions between them. Between those, the Italian legions loyal to Pompey and the Hispania legions that still held Caesar in high regard, that was a sizable chunk of the Roman military structure in the western half of the empire. Meanwhile, as Caesar left to take command of his new territories, arrangements were made to have Pompey and Crassus "elected" as the next consuls.

Gallic Celts

Caesar spent huge sums of money trying to "civilize" his provinces; distance and politics made it difficult for Crassus to send him more funds. Again Caesar was starting to run up enormous debt. Time and money running out, Caesar needed to make his next move soon, when the answer landed in his lap. Gaul (the rest of France) was an unstable land of feuding Gallic Celtic tribes. Confederacies of tribes would rise and fall constantly making it difficult for the Romans to trade and acquire resources from the region. Though one tribe of Gauls, the Aedui, had been the one stable faction the Romans relied upon in that land. That is until they too were caught up in the inter tribal conflicts, and at the battle of Magetobriga a combined force of three other tribes and Germanic mercenaries defeated this once militarily and economically powerful ally of Rome, driving them off their lands and into the waiting arms of an opportunistic Caesar.

The Aedui appealed to the Senate for aid and so Caesar was sent with two of his legions and two newly created legions to reclaim the Aedui lands. He easily dispatched the token force left there; the enemy had not yet fortified their new holdings due again to inter tribal disagreements of how it was to be split up. What happened next is a bit of Chicken and the egg, what happened first scenario, the tribes of north east Gaul armed themselves for possible invasion and Caesar called in his other two legions to secure the Aedui lands. Caesar claims that the Gauls and Germans were planning to force-ably migrate south into the Alps and beyond into northern Italy. The Gauls claimed they were preparing to preemptively strike at the foreign invaders. Whoever was responsible for the military build up, it would be Caesar who strikes first, that for the safety of Rome, Chaotic Gaul most be brought to heel. Many in the Senate accused him of military adventurism but by then it was too late, Caesar had marched straight through Gaul, defeating Gallic war-bands piecemeal along the way until he hit the northern shore. He even went so far as to build a bridge over the Rhine in record speed, attack the Germans as a show of force and warning not to get involved, went back over the Rhine and destroyed the bridge. This quick pace engineering and construction would come in handy again, wait and see. The people of Rome, tired of years upon years of Romans fighting Romans, thrilled at the tales of conquest of barbarian hordes, harkening back to good old days of expansion against foreign rivals, like the Hannibal's Carthaginians or the Greeks of King Pyrrhic. It also helped that Caesar, little by little, was sending trinkets and baubles, minor spoils back down to Rome and distributed to the crowds. During this campaign two men would never leave Caesar's side, his right hand man and good friend Mark Anthony and the young man he was taking under his wing to tutor him in the art of war and leadership, Marcus Brutus.

 Roman and Briton Celt First Contact

People were also amazed at the tales of Caesar going were no Roman had gone before, across the sea to the mysterious lands of the Britannia. This is a bit of an odd duck in the sequence of events. It seems Caesar at one point in the Gallic campaign crossed the English channel with only half a legion, drawn to the tales of Briton Celts lush resource rich land. He establishes a makeshift beachhead, travels only a few miles inland and makes connect with one of the Briton Celt tribes. He then proceeds to plant his standard and proclaim to the Britons that they are now all under the protection and rule of the Roman empire. He then laid out for them routes and contacts to establish trade with Roman Gaul. The confused Celts, not sure how to respond, then watched as the Romans leave to the man, leaving nothing but the planted standard behind. They shrug their shoulders and go on with their lives. This did lead to some trade in the proceeding years but the Briton Celts would not hear from the Roman legions, leadership, or bureaucracy again until Emperor Claudius's invasion in 43AD. Though there is no record of what happened to the standard left behind it would be interesting to know whether the Brits left it there as a curiosity and reminder of the strange encounter.

Meanwhile back in Rome the first cracks in the Triumvirate started to form. Caesar's Gaul adventures had made him monstrously rich, enough so that he paid off all his new debts, sent spoils back to Rome, and still had plenty of left over in his constantly renewing war chest. Caesar and his well paid troops were taking Gaul for all its worth. This made Crassus nervous and jealous, worried that Caesar may no longer need him and just like Pompey did to him during the Spartacus Revolt, elbow him out of prestige and glory. He arranged to take his promised governorship, he took Syria. This province had the potential for inexhaustible wealth being Romes doorway to the silk road, and the potential for military glory as the veteran legions there were under constant vigilance against Romes new rival, the Parthian empire. Just as he settled into his new position he declared his intention to invade Parthia without provocation. He was offered an alliance by King Artavasdes II of Armenia in exchange that the invasion happen from Armenia's borders north of Parthia, instead of a straight on assault across the Euphrates river from Syria. But Crassus fearing to have glory stolen from him again foolishly refused and marched onto the Euphrates. The campaign was a disaster from the start culminating in the route of Roman forces at the Battle of Carrahe, resulting in the death of Crassus son Pleblius. A few days later Crassus's men would mutiny and offer up Crassus's head to the Parthians in exchange to escape back across Roman borders.

 

Carrahe

The bad news continued for Caesar as word spread that the Gauls had come to a grand alliance under the command of Vercingetorix, the chieftain of the Arverni tribe. While Caesar was in the north Vercingetorix's forces raided the Roman supply chains in the south, forcing Caesar to come down and face this new, organized, Gallic army. The two armies finally meet at the Battle of Gergovia. After a rushed and forced march south, the exhausted Romans decided to dig in and siege the hill town, into the sides of the hill they dug trenches and constructed other fortifications. Somehow Vercingetorix's emissaries got into the camp and made deals with some of the nobles of the Aedui tribe to turn on their Roman allies, with promises of gold and visions of a united and powerful Gaul. The Romans awoke to war in their own camp as half of the Aedui attacked the other half. As the Romans started to bring the camp under control a Gallic force of rebel Aedui and Vercingetorix's Arverni plundered the incoming supply shipment. Caesar realizing that without those supplies his siege was unattainable broke off and retreated. It was a major moral boosting victory for the Gauls.

The city of Gergovia and Vercingetorix

For the next year Vercingetorix and Caesar would play a cat and mouse game across all of Gaul. the two armies chasing each, Caesar would break off pieces of the Gauls, while Vercingetorix convinced more and more Adieu to abandon the Romans. Vercingetorix also engaged in a scorched earth campaign so Caesar would never be able to rely on local supplies, always dependent on long supply lines from the south. After a fierce and deadly cavalry battle (location unknown by historians) with no clear winner the two armies broke off. Vercingetorix headed for the city of Alesia, Caesar's commanders demanded hot pursuit so the enemy would not have enough time to fortify or call reinforcements, but Caesar had other plans. Need I remind you of our go to motto, Fortune Favors the Bold.

Caesar trailed behind Vercingetorix just enough to confirm in the Gaul's mind that a siege of his destination was coming. This gave him ample time to send messengers out to call in Gallic forces from around the region. When the Romans did arrive Caesar, who seemed in no hurry to get there, then set his men at a furious break neck pace to prepare for what many historians call one of the most brilliant strategies in the history of warfare. He encircled the city and built siege fortifications, he then had a second ring of fortifications built protecting his rear, creating a doughnut shaped encampment to keep the people of Alesia in and relief forces out. The outer fortification consisted of two 20 ft. deep trenches, one of which was filled with water from the river, then the 12 ft. high walls with ramparts, parapets and turrets. The watchers in the towers were able to communicate with each other were an attacks from within and from without would come. This communication allowed Caesar, Anthony, and another commander by the name of  Caius Trebonius, each placed equal distant from another, to direct troops and other resources to the location of attacks. The Gauls attacked repeatedly but could not gain an upper hand due to this perfected strategy of resource management from within the doughnut. The Gauls were getting desperate as the city did not have enough supplies to last much longer. Unlike the Romans, they had woman and children to feed and couldn't just tell them to solider up, meanwhile the legions are trained for strict rationing. On top of that word had reach the Gauls that a Roman cavalry unit would arrive within a day or two. One last desperate attempt was made to coordinate a dual attack from both the forces in and out of the city, at a point they thought the Roman camp would be at its weakest. Unfortunately for the Gauls their was a miscommunication between the two forces of where that spot for joint attack should be. The outer forces attacked the north while the city forces attacked the south. Without a combined effort the attack made little headway before the Roman cavalry arrived routing the Gauls' outer forces. Caesar had taken a gamble to draw the vast majority of the elusive Gallic forces into one location and defeated them in one battle. 60,000 legionnaires defeated the 80,000 Gauls besieged and the 180,000 Gaul relief force. The speed and skill in which the Romans built their defense and how effectively they communicated and command deployed its forces is still marveled at by historians today. Vercingetorix surrendered, throwing down his arms at the feet of Caesar. In the years to come he would eventually be taken back to Rome paraded around streets as the defeated "barbarian king" and finally strangled to death in prison, his body tossed into the river like trash. An ignoble death meant to be a chilling message to all who would challenged the might of Rome.