History of Julius Caesar | What You Need to Know - Part 2

Caesar's campaign in Gaul from 58 to 50 BC was one of his greatest military achievements and was an important factor that allowed him to become a dictator later in his life. In part 2 of this series, we'll be briefly looking into Gaelic-Roman relations and how previous conflicts that took place more than 300 years before Caesar's time created the social tension that Caesar used to start his conquest of Gaul. After discussing what sparked the Gaelic We'll learn about the first year of Caesar's campaign, where three major battles took place. The Battle of the Arar, the Battle of Biberact, and the Battle of the Vosges. Before we get started, I just want to say a lot of people are not subscribed to the channel. For those that are interested in the content I make, take a moment and subscribe, and if you like the video, leave a like and share the video, it greatly helps me out. Now with that said, let's jump into the video. First, let's talk about who the Gaelic people were, and how they became feared by many of the Romans. The Gauls were a Celtic people, that migrated south from the Rhine river, to the Mediterranean coast in the 5th century BC. The Gaelic tribes over time grew in number, and expanded to modern day France, Western Germany, and parts of Belgium. In the middle of the 4th century BC, the Gaelic tribes expanded to Northern Italy, this was due to the region being rich in food resources. This wasn't a peaceful expansion, as Gauls first interaction with the Romans seemed problematic. The Gauls raided Roman settlements, and took precious resources from them. The Romans couldn't stop them, which eventually led to the sacking of Rome by the Gauls in 390 BC. This major event established the Gaelic tribes as one of Rome's oldest enemies, and would be remembered by many of the Romans as a scary lesson on what the Gauls were capable of. More events followed, like the Gauls from the Cisalpine region, were able to make their way into central Italy by around 284 BC, but this time the Romans were able to fight them off, and capture the city of Milan in 222 BC. This city was the capital city of one of the Celtic tribes known as the Instaburs. The town was strategically important, as it was between key trade routes, and gave the Romans a strong defensive position to keep the Gauls at bay. The next mention of the Gauls' rivalry with the Romans was the Second Punic War of 218-201 BC, where the Carthinian general Hannibal allied with the Sanomani tribe from Cisalpine Gaul. In the end, the Romans came out the victor. By 181 BC, the Romans had total control of Cisalpine Gaul. Hopefully that explains why the Romans viewed the Gauls the way they did. Now with that said, let's continue from where we left off in part 1, Caesar's campaign in Gaul. In 59 BC, Caesar appointed himself to Cisalpine Gaul, which was modern day northern Italy, as the acting governor. This was important, as while he was away, he was where he needed to be for his military campaign, and was safe from the Senate, as he was blatantly abusing his political power with Pompey and Crassus. So why did Caesar want a military campaign in Gaul in the first place? According to Caesar, in the Commentary de Belio Gallico, he wanted to strike the Gauls where he least expected it, as he believed that they were preparing to attack the Roman border. Caesar also believed that his first year as proconsul and governor would give him the best possible chance at beating the Gauls and make him a hero like Alexander the Great, who he admired. But the real reason for Caesar's campaign in Gaul was that he was in a lot of debt from running for his consulship, but by plundering Gaelic towns he would rid himself of the debt. To start his war on Transalpine Gaul, Caesar needed a legitimate reason to do so, and he was in luck, as in 61 BC, just 2 years before, the Hevetian people, who were a coalition of tribes, lost their homeland in Switzerland. They were displaced due to the Germanic tribes from the north and the east that put too much pressure on them, so they bailed. The Hevetians decided to migrate to southwest Gaul, and their journey would require them to get past Roman territory. The Romans were also allied with a Gaelic tribe known as the Adui since as early as 121 BC, so the Hevetians would need permission to get past. On the 28th of March, 58 BC, more than 250,000 Hevetians started their journey towards the Roman territories. That information was relayed back to Caesar, who was in Rome at the time. When the Hevetii arrived, Caesar entertained the request to get past through Roman territories, but in truth, he was never going to let them pass, he was stalling for time. Caesar thought the Hevetians' new settlement in southwest Gaul would further destabilize the region, as the Germanic tribes would move into the lands that were once inhabited by the Hevetii. Also, the Hevetii were a sub-tribe of the Tigirini, which in 107 BC, killed both the Roman consul Lucius Cassius Longinus and the legate Lucius Calpurnius Piso, who was the great-grandfather of Caesar's wife Calpurnia, so that may have been another motive, but it is more likely that a war with the Hevetians would benefit the careers of Caesar and other Roman generals, so it was an opportunity that was hard to pass up. When Caesar made it to Transalpine Gaul, he met with the Hevetii and denied their request. While this was happening, the Romans had time to destroy the bridge that crossed the Rhone River at Geneva, to force the Hevetii down a path that was advantageous for Caesar. After the meeting, Caesar left for Italy and the Hevetii changed their course away from the Roman territories, to cross the Sion River, also known as the Arar River in ancient times. While in Italy, Caesar quickly assembled his army, which is estimated to be around 24 or 30,000 Roman soldiers. Caesar also had an auxiliary force of around 10,000 Gaelic allies. Caesar then marched towards the Hevetii, who when the Romans arrived, were crossing the Sion River in eastern France. The majority of the Hevetii were said to have crossed the river by boats and rafts, leaving around 25% or so waiting to cross, which was around 60,000 or so Hevetians. The Romans were easily outnumbered, even so, Caesar took advantage of this situation and attacked them unprovoked, defeating many of them, and the rest of the Hevetii fled into the forest. This battle is called the Battle of the Arar and was the first major battle of the Gaelic Wars. After the battle, Caesar and his legions quickly built a bridge to cross the river and pursued the Hevetii, but did not engage in combat. Maybe Caesar was looking for the right moment to arrive. The leader of the Hevetii was Divico, who was willing to negotiate with the failed, likely due to Caesar's impossible demands, and the Hevetii continued on their way. On the 20th of June, Caesar and his army were running low on supplies, and so he had to stop pursuing and go resupply at Bibract. During the march to the city, Caesar and his army were attacked by the Hevetii. The battle lasted many hours, but according to Caesar, his strategic skills saved the day, as they were able to capture the Hevetii baggage train, which held all their important supplies. As a result of the battle, the leader Divico was killed, and according to Caesar, around 130,000 Hevetians fled, but around 20,000 of them were killed. The Hevetians would eventually surrender and return back to their lands. Caesar's victory of the Hevetians was significant, and many of the Gaelic tribes thanked them, but a druid of the Aedui named Diviticus brought up a concerning matter. It was of a man named Erevistus, leader of the Swabii tribe and unifier of the Germanic people. Diviticus told Caesar that a devastating blow was dealt to the Aedui in 63 BC, when their rivals the Sequani and their Arveni teamed up with King Erevistus and the Swabii and defeated them. This battle was known as the Battle of Midge de Briga, which happened near the Sequani town, although we're not 100% sure of the exact location of the battle. The result of the battle was that the Aedui was to pay a yearly tribute to the Sequani, which was great for them, but it came at a cost. King Erevistus didn't send 15,000 soldiers to aid them out of the kindness of his heart. He wanted something in return, that was land grants in Gaul. Diviticus feared that a Germanic invasion of Gaul was imminent and asked Caesar to defeat Erevistus. Caesar was willing to defend his allies, but there was a problem. In 59 BC, the Roman Senate declared Erevistus a friend of the Romans, so Caesar would need a reason for declaring war. Caesar sent his set of demands to the Germanic king that he was to return the prisoners to the Aedui and to never cross the Rhine river. Erevistus responded that the prisoners were safe as long as the Aedui continued to pay the yearly tribute, and that from one conqueror to another, Rome had no business with where he wished to go, and that was no bluff, as news of 100 Sebui clans were seen trying to cross the Rhine soon after. Caesar and his cavalry escorts, who were Gaelic allies, met up with Erevistus to try and negotiate, but it seemed war was the only answer, as the Germanic cavalry threw rocks at Caesar's Gaelic cavalry. Caesar called off the negotiations and left. The following morning, Caesar readied six Roman legions and marched to Erevistus. Caesar used the Aescii's triplex formation, a Roman standard. Let's quickly talk about that. The Aescii's triplex formation was made up of three ranks. They had Tassi, who were the closest to the enemy. The middle rank was the Precepts, and the last rank was the Triarii, who were the most experienced soldiers. They were often used as reserves. The ranks were formed in a checkerboard-like pattern, which makes them adaptable to many situations. Whenever a part of the formation was in danger, the soldiers under pressure could retreat back and the next rank could move up. That is the Aescii's triplex formation. Now back to Caesar's battle of Erevistus. The battle was fierce, but the Romans did win. According to Caesar, they won thanks to the cavalry charge led by Publius Aquinius Crassus, the son of Caesar's political ally of the first Trimuvate, Marcus Licinius Crassus. We will never know if Publius Crassus' role in the battle was as significant as Caesar says, as Caesar was known to exaggerate the details of the Gallic Wars. This battle is known as the Battle of Vosges, and according to Caesar, 120,000 Germanic soldiers were killed in battle, but that may be an exaggeration on Caesar's part. It is said that King Erevistus and what remained of his army fled, never to fight the Romans again. Caesar's campaign in Gaul in 58 BC was successful, but many Gallic tribes were concerned that Caesar would be emboldened to conquer the rest of Gaul, and he had a right to feel that way, as that is exactly what Caesar would do. In the next video, in part 3, of the history of Julius Caesar, we'll continue the Gallic Wars, starting with Caesar's Belgaia campaign. Thanks for watching. I decided to talk faster in this video, and I'm interested in what you guys think. Does the pacing sound better? I'm also looking into other ways to improve my videos, such as getting a better microphone. I'm currently using an original Blue Yeti, and I find it picks up too many background sounds. I think I narrowed it down to a couple of mics, so I'll see how that goes. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you guys in the next video.