Caesar and Vercingetorix
In September 52 BCE, Julius Caesar finally defeated the Gaul king Vercingetorix in Alesia. This was one of Caesar’s greatest military achievements and one of his most daring moves. During the battle he built two lines of fortification, an inner wall to keep the besieged Gauls in and an outer wall to keep the Gallic relief force out. But the siege of Alesia was more than just a military achievement; it was a major turning point in history. It decided the fate of Gaul and the character of French civilization. It added to the Roman Empire a country twice the size of Italy and opened the purses and markets of 5,000,000 people to Roman trade. It saved Italy and the Mediterranean world for four centuries from barbarian invasion; and it lifted Caesar from the verge of ruin to a new height of reputation, wealth, and power. For three hundred years Gaul remained a Roman province, prospered under the Roman peace, learned and transformed the Latin language, and became the channel through which the culture of classic antiquity passed into northern Europe. Doubtless, neither Caesar nor his contemporaries foresaw the immense consequences of his bloody triumph. He thought he had saved Italy, won a province, and forged an army; he did not suspect that he was the creator of French civilization.
Source: Durant, Will, 1885-1981, Caesar and Christ: A History of Roman Civilization and of Christianity from Their Beginnings to A.D. 325. Simon and Schuster, 1944.
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Full disclosure, I may occasionally borrow a sentence from Will Durant's Story of Civilization. I absolutely love that collection!