Siege of Uxellodunum
The Siege of Uxellodunum was one of the last battles of the Gallic Wars. It took place in 51 BC at Uxellodunum and it was the last major military confrontation of the Gallic Wars and marked the pacification of Gaul under Roman rule. The battle resulted in a decisive Roman victory, the group had apparently planned to begin a new rebellion against their Roman conquerors. Uxellodunum was heavily fortified both by its position and by its impressive fortifications built by the Carduci tribe. Additionally, one side of the fort was protected by a mountainside which prevented any approach from that direction, for these reasons, it was impossible to besiege it in the same manner the Romans had used at the Battle of Alesia a year before. By this manner, he planned to seal off the city. The Gauls trapped inside the oppidum, having learned the lessons of starvation from the disaster at the Siege of Alesia, made plans to leave the settlement by night to forage for food and provisions. Climbing over the ramparts and Drapes left a garrison of around 2,000 men inside Uxellodunum, some of the local Carduci Gauls in the surrounding areas freely gave the rebels supplies, but much of the provisions were taken by force.
The Gauls tried to sneak past the Roman sentries set by Caninius Rebilus. Caninius Rebilus, upon learning of the Gauls plans, concentrated the bulk of his legions, who was in charge of the convoy, immediately took flight with his warbands without informing Drapes. The rest of the Gauls were massacred almost to a man, Caninius Rebilus left one of his legions behind to defend his three camps and gathered the rest of his soldiers to pursue Drapes. He destroyed the remaining Gaulish forces in the area under Drapes, capturing Drapes and these reinforcements put the Roman forces at four and a half legions, enough to construct competent siege works and completely encircle the fort. While these actions had been ongoing, Gaius Julius Caesar was in the territory of the Belgae in Gaul, there he was informed by courier of the revolt of the Carduci and Senones. Indeed, Caesar made his way so quickly to Uxellodunum that he surprised his two legates, Caesar decided that the city could not be carried by force.
This was a problem for the Romans because they had told by deserters that the city had an abundant food supply, despite the previous blunders of Luciterius. Caesar decided therefore to target the citys water supply, however, noticed the difficulty the Gauls had collecting the water, having to come down a very steep slope to reach the riverbank. Exploiting this potential flaw in the defenses, Caesar stationed archers, more troublesome for Caesar however, a secondary water source flowed down from the mountain directly underneath the walls of the fort. It seemed to be almost impossible to access to this second source
Battle of Gergovia
The Battle of Gergovia took place in 52 BC in Gaul at Gergovia, the chief oppidum of the Arverni. The battle was fought between a Roman Republican army, led by proconsul Julius Caesar, and Gallic forces led by Vercingetorix, who was the Arverni chieftain. The site is identified with Merdogne, now called Gergovie, a located on a hill within the town of La Roche-Blanche, near Clermont-Ferrand. Some walls and earthworks still survive from the pre-Roman Iron Age, the battle is well known in France, as exemplified in the popular French comic Asterix, where the battle is referenced, specifically in the book Asterix and the Class Act. As with much of the history of Gaul, the knowledge of the war comes principally from Julius Caesars Commentaries on the Gallic War. Vercingetorix had earlier expelled from Gergovia. In winter 53 BC, whilst Caesar was gathering his forces for a strike against the Gauls, leaving two legions and all his baggage train behind in Agedincum, Caesar led the remaining legions to Gergovias aid.
His sieges of Vellaunodunum and Noviodunum en route caused Vercingetorix to lift his siege and march to meet Caesar in open battle at Noviodunum, Caesar besieged and captured Avaricum and resupplied there. Caesar set out in the direction of Gergovia, which Vercingetorix was probably able to once he had divined his direction. The heights of Gergovia itself stand twelve hundred feet above the plain that they overlook and it is a plateau that is a mile and a half long by a third of a mile wide. It was a place to hold, as there was only one way in. It was a reasonably easy guess to make, realizing Vercingetorixs plan, Caesar resolved to trick him and cross under his very nose. Caesar one night camped near the town of Varennes, where there had previously been a bridge before Vercingetorix had destroyed it and that night, he divided his force into two parts, one part being 2/3rds of the force, the other being 1/3rd of the force. However, the force he ordered to march in 6 corps. He ordered it to continue its march south, duped, took the bait and followed this part of the force.
Caesar, with the two legions present at Varennes, speedily rebuilt the bridge that had been present there. He sent for the force, which during that next day stole a march on Vercingetorix, and completed a junction with the original force. Realizing that he had been duped, Vercingetorix set out south, realizing its mountainous location made a frontal assault risky, he decided to rely on his superior siege tactics
Bituriges
The Bituriges were a tribe of Celtic Gaul with its capital at Bourges, whose territory corresponds to the former province of Berry. Their name supposedly meant kings of the world, early in the 1st century BCE, they had been one of the main Gallic tribes, especially in terms of druids and their political influence. But they soon declined in power as the druids were an important target for Julius Caesar in his conquest of Gaul, the town was to be buried by the Roman legions. Besides Avaricum or Mediolanum on the road from Paris and Orléans to Arvernum and this is one of several tribes which seem to have split, with the Bituriges Cubi lived near Bourges/Berry and the Bituriges Vivisci near Burdigala. They joined Bellovesus migrations towards Italy, together with the Aedui, Arverni, Aulerci, a passage from Livy, summa imperii penes Biturges, meaning all the power in the hands of the Bituriges, has become the motto of the city of Bourges. List of peoples of Gaul Saint-Benoît-du-Sault
Picts
The Picts were a tribal confederation of peoples who lived in what is today eastern and northern Scotland during the Late Iron Age and Early Medieval periods. They are thought to have been ethnolinguistically Celtic, where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from the geographical distribution of brochs, Brittonic place name elements, and Pictish stones. Picts are attested to in records from before the Roman conquest of Britain to the 10th century. Picts are assumed to have been the descendants of the Caledonii, called Pictavia by some sources, gradually merged with the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata to form the Kingdom of Alba. Alba expanded, absorbing the Brittonic kingdom of Strathclyde and Northumbrian Lothian, Pictish society was typical of many Iron Age societies in northern Europe, having wide connections and parallels with neighbouring groups. Archaeology gives some impression of the society of the Picts, what the Picts called themselves is unknown. The Latin word Picti first occurs in a written by Eumenius in AD297 and is taken to mean painted or tattooed people.
Their Old English name gave the modern Scots form Pechts and the Welsh word Fichti and it is generally accepted that this is derived from *Qritani, which is the Goidelic/Q-Celtic version of the Britonnic/P-Celtic *Pritani. From this came Britanni, the Roman name for those now called the Britons and it has been suggested that Cruthin referred to all Britons not conquered by the Romans—those who lived outside Roman Britannia, north of Hadrians Wall. A Pictish confederation was formed in Late Antiquity from a number of tribes—how, some scholars have speculated that it was partly in response to the growth of the Roman Empire. Pictland had previously described by Roman writers and geographers as the home of the Caledonii. These Romans used names to refer to tribes living in that area, including Verturiones, Taexali. But they may have heard these other names only second- or third-hand, from speakers of Brittonic or Gaulish languages, Pictish recorded history begins in the Dark Ages. It appears that Picts were not the dominant power in Northern Britain for that entire period, the Gaels of Dál Riata controlled what is present day Argyll for a time, although they suffered a series of defeats in the first third of the 7th century.
The Angles of Bernicia overwhelmed the adjacent British kingdoms, one of which, the Picts were probably tributary to Northumbria until the reign of Bridei mac Beli, when, in 685, the Anglians suffered a defeat at the Battle of Dun Nechtain that halted their northward expansion. The Northumbrians continued to dominate southern Scotland for the remainder of the Pictish period, a Pictish king, Caustantín mac Fergusa, placed his son Domnall on the throne of Dál Riata. Pictish attempts to achieve a dominance over the Britons of Alt Clut were not successful. The Viking Age brought great changes in Britain and Ireland, no less in Scotland than elsewhere, in a major battle in 839, the Vikings killed the king of Fortriu, Eógan mac Óengusa, the king of Dál Riata Áed mac Boanta, and many others
Gauls
The Gauls were Celtic peoples inhabiting Gaul in the Iron Age and the Roman period. Their Gaulish language forms the branch of the Continental Celtic languages. The Gauls emerged around the 5th century BC as the bearers of the La Tène culture north of the Alps, Gaul was never united under a single ruler or government, but the Gallic tribes were capable of uniting their forces in large-scale military operations. They reached the peak of their power in the early 3rd century BC, after this, Gaul became a province of the Roman Empire, and the Gauls were culturally assimilated into a Gallo-Roman culture, losing their tribal identities by the end of the 1st century AD. The Gauls of Gallia Celtica according to the testimony of Caesar called themselves Celtae in their own language, the name Gaul itself may be derived from Latin Galli, or it may be derived from the Germanic word Walha. Gaulish culture developed out of the Celtic cultures over the first millennia BC, the Urnfield culture represents the Celts as a distinct cultural branch of the Indo-European-speaking people.
The spread of iron working led to the Hallstatt culture in the 8th century BC, the Hallstatt culture evolved into the La Tène culture in around the 5th century BC. The Greek and Etruscan civilizations and colonies began to influence the Gauls especially in the Mediterranean area, Gauls under Brennus invaded Rome circa 390 BC. Following the climate deterioration in the late Nordic Bronze Age, Celtic Gaul was invaded in the 5th century BC by tribes called Gauls originating in the Rhine valley. Gallic invaders settled the Po Valley in the 4th century BC, defeated Roman forces in a battle under Brennus in 390 BC and raided Italy as far as Sicily. A large number of Gauls served in the armies of Carthage during the Punic Wars, in the Aegean world, an invasion of Eastern Gauls appeared in Thrace, north of Greece, in 281 BC. However, according to the Roman legend of the gold of Delphi. One king Cerethrius invaded the Thracians, while another Gallic king Bolgios invaded Macedonia and Illyria where he killed the Macedonian king Ptolemy Keraunos, in 278 BC Gaulish settlers in the Balkans were invited by Nicomedes I of Bithynia to help him in a dynastic struggle against his brother.
They numbered about 10,000 fighting men and about the number of women and children. They were eventually defeated by the Seleucid king Antiochus I, in a battle where the Seleucid war elephants shocked the Galatians. While the momentum of the invasion was broken, the Galatians were by no means exterminated and continued to demand tribute from the Hellenistic states of Anatolia to avoid war,4,000 Galatians were hired as mercenaries by the Ptolemaic Egyptian king Ptolemy II Philadelphus in the 270 BC. According to Pausanias, soon after arrival the Celts plotted “to seize Egypt, ”, Galatians participated at the victorious in 217 BC Battle of Raphia under Ptolemy IV Philopator, and continued to serve as mercenaries for the Ptolemaic Dynasty until its demise in 30 BC. They sided with the renegade Seleucid prince Antiochus Hierax, who reigned in Asia Minor, after the defeat, the Galatians continued to be a serious threat to the states of Asia Minor
Vercingetorix
Vercingetorix was a king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe, he united the Gauls in a revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesars Gallic Wars. Vercingetorix came to power after his designation as chieftain of the Arverni at the oppidum Gergovia in 52 BC. He immediately established an alliance with other Gallic tribes, took command and combined all forces and he won the Battle of Gergovia against Julius Caesar in which several thousands Romans and allies died and Caesars Roman legions withdrew. However, Caesar had been able to exploit Gaulish internal division to easily subjugate the country, at the Battle of Alesia, the Romans besieged and defeated his forces. In order to save as many of his men as possible he gave himself to the Romans and he was held prisoner for five years. In 46 BC, as part of Caesars triumph, Vercingetorix was paraded through the streets of Rome, Vercingetorix is primarily known through Caesars Commentaries on the Gallic War. To this day, Vercingetorix is considered a hero in Auvergne.
The generally accepted view is that Vercingetorix derives from the Gaulish ver-, cingeto-, in his Life of Caesar, Plutarch renders the name as Vergentorix. He made use of the factionalism among the Gallic elites, favoring certain noblemen over others with political support, the revolt that Vercingetorix came to lead began in early 52 BC while Caesar was raising troops in Cisalpine Gaul. Undeterred, Vercingetorix raised an army of the poor, took Gergovia and was hailed as king and he made alliances with other tribes, and having been unanimously given supreme command of their armies, imposed his authority through harsh discipline and the taking of hostages. He adopted the policy of retreating to natural fortifications, and undertook an early example of a scorched earth strategy by burning towns to prevent the Roman legions from living off the land. Vercingetorix scorched much of the land marching north with his army from Gergovia in an attempt to deprive Caesar of the resources and safe haven of the towns, the capital of the Bituriges, Avaricum, a Gallic settlement directly in Caesars path, was spared.
Due to the strong protests, naturally defendable terrain, and apparently strong man-made reinforcing defenses. Upon reaching Avaricum however, the Romans laid siege and eventually captured the capital, the next major battle was at Gergovia, capital city of the Arverni and Vercingetorix. During that battle and his warriors crushed Caesars legions and allies, Vercingetorix decided to follow Caesar but suffered heavy losses during a cavalry battle and he retreated and moved to another stronghold, Alesia. In the Battle of Alesia, Caesar built a fortification around the city to besiege it, the relief came in insufficient numbers, estimates range from 80,000 to 250,000 soldiers. Vercingetorix, the leader, was cut off from them on the inside. However, the attacks did reveal a point in the fortifications and the combined forces on the inside
Gaelic Ireland
Gaelic Ireland was the Gaelic political and social order, and associated culture, that existed in Ireland from the prehistoric era until the early 17th century. Before the Norman invasion of 1169, Gaelic Ireland comprised the whole island, thereafter, it comprised that part of the country not under foreign dominion at a given time. For most of its history, Gaelic Ireland was a hierarchy of territories ruled by a hierarchy of kings or chiefs. Warfare between these territories was common, occasionally, a powerful ruler was acknowledged as High King of Ireland. Society was made up of clans and, like the rest of Europe, was structured according to class. Throughout this period, the economy was mainly pastoral and money not used. A Gaelic Irish style of dress, dance, architecture, Gaelic Ireland was initially pagan and had an oral culture. Inscription in the alphabet began in the protohistoric period, perhaps as early as the 1st century. The conversion to Christianity accompanied the introduction of literature, and much of Irelands rich pre-Christian mythology and sophisticated law code were preserved, in the Early Middle Ages, Ireland was an important centre of learning.
Irish missionaries and scholars were influential in western Europe, and helped to spread Christianity to much of Britain, in the 9th century, Vikings began raiding and founding settlements along Irelands coasts and waterways, which became its first large towns. Over time, these settlers were assimilated and became the Norse-Gaels, after the Norman invasion of 1169–71, large swathes of Ireland came under the control of Norman lords, leading to centuries of conflict with the native Irish. The King of England claimed sovereignty over this territory – the Lordship of Ireland –, the Gaelic system continued in areas outside Anglo-Norman control. The territory under English control gradually shrank to a known as the Pale and, outside this. In 1542, Henry VIII of England declared the Lordship a Kingdom, the English began to conquer the island. By 1607, Ireland was fully under English control, bringing the old Gaelic political and social order to an end, Gaelic Ireland had a rich oral culture and appreciation of deeper and intellectual pursuits.
Filí and draoithe were held in high regard during Pagan times and orally passed down the history, many of their spiritual and intellectual tasks were passed on to Christian monks, after said religion prevailed from the 5th century onwards. However, the continued to hold a high position. Poetry, storytelling and other art forms were highly prized and cultivated in both pagan and Christian Gaelic Ireland, bonds of kinship and the fulfilment of social and ritual responsibilities were highly important
Neung-sur-Beuvron
Neung-sur-Beuvron is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department of central France. Neungs historic location is situated between two rivers, the Beuvron and the Tharonne, from the air, one can easily see the circular outline of the ancient Gallic and Roman oppidum. Neung-sur-Beuvron is thought to be the Roman town of Noviodunum Biturigum, in which Vercingetorix, a few modest Roman remains still survive. A surviving Roman road runs from Neung to La Ferté-Beauharnais, crossing the forest under the name of les chemins bas, joan of Arc passed through the village after the liberation of Orléans in 1429. This and the battle of 52 BC are commemorated by plaques on the village church and it is twinned with Williton, Somerset, in the UK and Wulften am Harz, Lower Saxony, Germany
Battle of Alesia
The Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia was a military engagement in the Gallic Wars that took place in September,52 BC, around the Gallic oppidum of Alesia, a major centre of the Mandubii tribe. It was fought by the army of Julius Caesar against a confederation of Gallic tribes united under the leadership of Vercingetorix of the Arverni. It was the last major engagement between Gauls and Romans, and is considered one of Caesars greatest military achievements and an example of siege warfare. The battle of Alesia marked the end of Gallic independence in France, the battle site was probably atop Mont Auxois, above modern Alise-Sainte-Reine in France, but this location, some have argued, does not fit Caesars description of the battle. A number of alternatives have proposed over time, among which only Chaux-des-Crotenay remains a challenger today. At one point in the battle the Romans were outnumbered by the Gauls by four to one, the event is described by several contemporary authors, including Caesar himself in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico.
After the Roman victory, Gaul was subdued and became a Roman province, the Roman senate granted a thanksgiving of 20 days for his victory in the Gallic War. In 58 BC, following his first consulship in 59 BC and these were Cisalpine Gaul and Gallia Narbonensis. Although the proconsular term of office was meant to be one year and he had the command of four legions. Caesar engaged in the Gallic Wars, which led to his conquest of Gaul beyond Gallia Narbonensis. When the Helvetii, a federation of tribes from what is now Switzerland, planned a migration to the Atlantic coast through Gaul, Caesar went to Geneva and forbade the Helvetii to move into Gaul. While he went to Gallia Cisalpina to collect three other legions, the Helvetii attacked the territories of the Aedui and Allobroges, Caesar and his Gallic allies defeated the Helvetii. The Gallic tribes asked for Caesar to intervene against an invasion by the Suebi, in 57 BC he intervened in intra-Gallic conflicts and marched on the Belgae of northern Gaul.
From on he conquered the Gallic peoples one by one and his successes in Gaul brought Caesar political prestige in Rome and great wealth through the spoils of wars and the sale of war captives as slaves. After his initial successes Caesar had to confront a number of Gallic rebellions which threatened his control over Gaul, in the winter of 54–53 BC the Carnutes killed Tasgetius, a pro-Roman king who had been installed by Caesar. Caesar sent one legion to winter there, soon after, the previously pacified Eburones, commanded by Ambiorix and destroyed the Legio XIV under the command of Quintus Titurius Sabinus in a carefully planned ambush. This was the first clear Roman defeat in Gaul and inspired widespread national sentiments, the Eburones, obtained the support of the Atuatuci, the Nervii and numerous minor tribes. They besieged the camp of Quintus Cicero, Cicero managed to inform Caesar about this by sending a Nervian noble to him with a letter
Battle of Bibracte
The Battle of Bibracte was fought between the Helvetii and six Roman legions, under the command of Gaius Julius Caesar. It was the major battle of the Gallic Wars. After following the migration of the Helvetii and defeating them, around 20 June, moved towards Bibracte to obtain the supplies promised by his allies, dumnorix, an Aedui chieftain opposed to the Romans, had been delaying supplies from reaching Caesars army. Informed by deserters of Lucius Æmilius, commander of the cavalry, when Caesar observed this, he sent his cavalry to delay the attack. The baggage train was assembled near the summit, where it could be guarded by the forces present there. After having driven off Caesars cavalry and with their own baggage train secured, according to Caesar, his hill-top battle line easily threw back the Helvetii onslaught by using pila. The legions counterattacked, driving the Helvetii back towards the hill where their baggage train sat. While the legions pursued the Helvetii across the plain in between the hills, the Boii and Tulingi arrived with fifteen men to assist the Helvetii.
At that point the Helvetii returned to the battle in earnest, the battle lasted many hours into the night until the Romans finally took the Helvetic baggage train, capturing both a daughter and son of Orgetorix. According to Caesar,130,000 enemy personnel escaped into the night, unable to pursue on account of battle wounds and the time it took to bury the dead, Caesar rested three days before he followed the fleeing Helvetii. These, in turn, had managed to reach the territory of the Lingones within four days of the battle, Caesar warned the Lingones to not assist them, prompting the Helvetii and their allies to finally surrender. Caesar claimed that 130,000 of the Helvetii and her allies escaped yet only 110,000 returned home. Also according to Caesar the census totals of the tribes at the start of the war were, Battle of Bibracte in German, new Haven, Yale University Press,2007. Caesars Gallic War - direct translation from Latin
Battle of Magetobriga
The Battle of Magetobriga was fought in 63 BC between rival tribes in Gaul. The Aedui tribe was defeated and massacred by the forces of their hereditary rivals. The Sequani and Arverni enlisted the aid of the German Suebi tribe under their king Ariovistus, following their defeat, the Aedui sent envoys to the Roman Senate, their traditional ally, for aid. The Roman general Julius Caesar would subsequently use their request for aid as a basis for launching his conquest of Gaul, according to Strabo, the cause of the conflict between the Haedui and Sequani was commercial. The Arar River formed part of the border between the hereditary rivals, each tribe claimed the Arar and the tolls on trade along it. The Sequani controlled access to the Rhine River and had built an oppidum at Vesontio to protect their interests, in 63 BC the Sequani and Arverni secured the aid of Ariovistus, a king of the Germanic Suebi tribe, to settle the hereditary dispute. Ariovistus crossed the Rhine with a confederation of Germanic tribes, the Battle of Magetobriga, the final battle between the Aedui and their enemies, took place close to the Sequani town of Magetobria 10 km from Luxeuil.
Ariovistus 15,000 Germanic tribesmen turned the tide, and the Aedui became tributary to the Sequani, in return, Ariovistus was promised land grants in Gaul. In 63 BC, following the Aeduis defeat at Magetobriga, the Aedui druid Diviciacus travelled to Rome, while in Rome, Diviciacus was a guest of Cicero, who spoke of his knowledge of divination and natural philosophy, and names him as a druid. Cicero wrote in 60 BC of a defeat sustained by the Haedui, N public affairs for the moment the chief subject of interest is the disturbance in Gaul. For the Haedui—our brethren—have recently fought a battle, and the Helvetii are undoubtedly in arms. In the wake of victory, and to the dismay of his allies, according to Caesar, he seized a third of the Sequani territory and proceeded to settle 120,000 Germani there as the nucleus of a new Germanic kingdom. That move left the Sequani between him and the Jura mountains, not a situation for either if they were not going to be allies. Ariovistus made the decision to out the Sequani from the strategic Doubs valley.
He demanded a further third of Celtic land for his allies the Harudes, Caesar makes it clear that Germanic tribes were actually in the land of the Sequani and were terrorizing them. They are said to all the oppida, but this statement is not entirely true. Presumably, the country to the north of there was under Germanic control, following Caesar’s victory over the Helvetii, the majority of the Gallic tribes congratulated Caesar and sought to meet with him in a general assembly. The Aeduan Druid and statesment Diviciacus, acting as spokesmen for the Gallic delegation, the Gallic request afforded Caesar the perfect pretext to expand his intervention as the savior and not the conqueror of Gaul
