Alex Johnson

MWF 8-9
Analysis of:
Commentaries on the Gallic Wars, by Julius Caesar.
Commentaries on the Gallic Wars (or in Latin, Commentarii de Bello
Galico) is a document written between 58 and 51 BCE. The majority of the
book is written by Julius Caesar, though there are other interjections added
by Aulus Hirtius. It describes the campaigns of Caesar in Gaul and goes
through the particularities of the tribes that lived therein.
To begin this analysis I will first address the authors. Aulus Hirtius was
a legate and writer, focusing his writings mainly on military subjects. He lived
from 90 BCE to 43 BCE, serving mainly under Julius Caesar. Next is the most
notable of the two authors and debatably the most infamous Roman citizen,
Gaius Julius Caesar. Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and politician
who lived from 100 BCE to 44 BCE. He was one of the most notable and
enduring Roman citizens, born into a patrician family and the nephew of the
Roman general, Marius. He campaigned in Gaul, Germania, and Britannia
from 59 BCE to 49 BCE, subjugating the majority of those regions. Eventually
he initiated a civil war and toppled the republic which had stood for
centuries. He also wrote books about these events. However his most
notable literary work is Commentaries on the Gallic Wars.

Next to be noted is the region in which this book is set. Commentaries

on the Gallic Wars takes place in the region of antiquity known as Gaul. Gaul
was the ancient term for the area known today as France. Its eastern borders
stretched as far as the Rhine River. To the East of the Rhine River was the
region known as Germania (Germany). Germania is very briefly described,
though these descriptions, being brief, are nowhere near as detailed as the
descriptions of Gaul. The western borders of Gaul went as far South as
Hispania (Spain) though Caesar never ventured that far south. In his book,
Caesar not only describes the region of Gaul, but also its tribes. Though the
tribes are referred to as Gauls, they were not a unified tribe. Caesar notes
this, even describing the different groups distaste for one another. He uses
this to his advantage quite often, even noting that the only time the tribes
were united was to fight him. He also very briefly describes the Germanic
tribes. However, once again, this is not the focus of his campaign or his book.
Also the time period must be addressed and briefly delved into. During
the first century BCE; Rome was still a republic and still expanding. This
expansion and love of expansion created very heavy competition amongst its
more notable citizens. The competition was to succeed and advance
economically and socially. Since the republic offered political advancement
as well; Roman families social standing was constantly changing. In this
expansion and settlement of new territories, many notable figures rose.
These notable figure include; Gaius Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus,
and Marcus Licinius Crassus. These men were constantly clamoring for power

and recognition in Rome. Crassus achieved success in prior civil wars and the
Third Servile War, Pompey with his victories in Spain, and against the pirates
in the Mediterranean Sea, and Caesar achieving his success in Gaul. It is of
his conquest of Gaul that Caesar creates a lasting piece of historical
literature and self propaganda.
Though it certainly is propaganda that embellishes Caesar, it is also a
reliable historical text. This text is viable because of the way in which Caesar
ultimately gives specific names, times and places of notable people and
events. It was often rumored that Caesar loved his troops, even going as far
as to say that he knew all of his centurions by name. This seems like
propaganda typical of the time. However, throughout the book, he actually
refers to his centurions by name. Taking this as a reliable historical source
may not be far from the truth. Especially since this book is written almost
exclusively by Caesar, who was not a creative writer. The times, dates,
names, and places give a spectacular insight into one of the more interesting
figures in Roman history. An example of this is in a campaign against the
Sigambri, Cicero allows men out of camp in order to forage for food. Giving
detailed descriptions about how they were attacked, beaten back, but
eventually successful. Caesar allows us into his tactics and diplomacy of the
tribes of Gaul. At its culmination, the book describes the end of resistance in
Gaul at the battle of Alesia. The book ends with the Battle of Alesia, often
considered Caesars greatest military achievement. In this description he
explains his initial strategy, encirclement and siege. His engineers built

wooden walls around the entire city trapping the defenders inside and
putting traps between the walls. He also describes his defense against the
reinforcing army. Describing how he built a second wall around his initial wall
in order to keep the reinforcing army from destroying his own. Throughout
the latter half of the book, Julius Caesar Describes a Gallic Chieftain named
Vercingetorix. Vercingetorix was from the Averni tribe of Gaul, and he
wanted to unite the Gauls in a revolt against Rome. Caesar goes into fairly
good detail describing Vercingetorix, even including the Gauls victory over a
Roman army at the Battle of Gergovia. Caesar even describes the tactics
Vercingetorix used, burning fields and crops in order to starve the Romans
and avoiding open battles as often as possible. However eventually Caesar
draws him into the city of Alesia, and sieges him here. In the book, his
construction of siege walls around the entire city, in an effort to
excommunicate them from the rest of Gaul. However upon Gallic
reinforcements arriving he builds a second wall, essentially encircling himself
within his own siege works. This is an example of Roman engineering that
Caesar employed, though it is by no means the only example of his using
engineering as a military and psychological weapon.
Eventually defeating both armies, Caesar conquered and cemented his
place in the analogs of history. Giving detailed descriptions of both the
Roman legions and the Gallic armies he added knowledge that we still
reference today. By including the use of Roman siege tactics and engineering
feats, he allowed us into his military mind. However at the time, and for

centuries after, this book would serve as a glorification of Julius Caesar. He

includes very few of his defeats and builds himself to be an absolutely divine
human being. His connection with his men is well noted, but in several
instances it is clear that he played up the relationship to an extent. Though it
is certainly an embellishment of its author, Commentaries on the Gallic Wars
is a staple of Roman and military doctrine.