This Ancient Roman military history examines the famous Gallic Wars, in which Julius Caesar extended Roman rule across much of Europe. In 46 BC, Julius Caesar celebrated two historic victories: the conquest of Gaul and the defeat of his rival in the Roman civil war. This sweeping history details the decades of military conflict that led to this culminating celebration. Historian Michael Sage begins his narrative with the Roman Republic’s early forays across the Alps, clashing with the Gauls in what is now Provence. These battles, against one of ancient Europe’s greatest warrior societies, resulted in some of Rome’s heaviest defeats. This context makes all the more remarkable the dazzling success of the audacious campaigns, just half a century later, by which Caesar rapidly completed the initial conquest of the rest of Gaul. The subsequent revolts that occurred, culminating in the great unified rising under Vercingetorix, are also covered in detail, with the epic siege of Alesia as the dramatic climax. Michael Sage narrates and analyses all these campaigns, showing how the Roman war machine was ultimately able to overcome vastly superior numbers of Celtic warriors, to extend Rome’s rule from the Mediterranean to the English Channel.
