Historical Table The Battle Of Alesia Vercingetorix Against Julius Caesar

historical painting from the end of the 19th century representing the battle of alesia vercingetorix against julius caesar oil on panel signature a sayssel lower left in a wooden frame and gilded stucco I think this painting was made after the work of lionel royer which appears in the crozatier museum of puy en velay delivery of 60 to 120 euros The siege of Alésia is a decisive battle at the end of the Gallic war which sees the defeat of a coalition of Gallic peoples led by Vercingétorix against to Julius Caesar's Roman army. It takes place between the months of July and September 52 BC. Desiring to increase his own personal prestige, his fortune and seizing the opportunity to extend the territory of the Roman Republic, Julius Caesar intervenes in Gallic affairs from 58 BC. J.-C. and quickly controls a large part of Gaul. The lightning military successes follow one another, punctuated by various reversals of alliance and several unprecedented expeditions for Rome, in particular to the British Isles or beyond the Rhine. However, despite the logistical and military strength of Rome, the Celtic peoples, through various coalitions, revolted several times and in 52 BC. AD, the Arverne chief Vercingetorix brings together many peoples of central Gaul. He manages to repel the Roman assaults at the siege of Gergovia, forcing Caesar to thoroughly reorganize his supply system and reform his cavalry. During the summer, after a series of skirmishes which were unfavorable to him, the Arverne chief found himself surrounded in the oppidum of Alésia, capital of the Mandubians, which historical debate and archaeological sources allow to locate at the location of Alise-Sainte-Reine in Côte-d'Or, where the numerous ancient armaments discovered, corresponding to Gallic, Germanic equipment and those of the late-Republican Roman army, as well as a vast and dual system of encirclement made up of ditches, embankments and palisades, doors, diverticula and traps, constitute one of the files relating to a Roman seat among the most complete of the sciences of Antiquity, with the seat of Numantia. As soon as the siege began, Caesar immediately undertook to erect a large double network of fortifications around the fortified establishment, to invest the place on the one hand and to repel a possible relief army or an attempt to leave the besieged from on the other hand: he thus puts in place a passive siege device, based on encirclement and not on the direct attack on the walls: we then speak of “investment”. Cumulatively 35 kilometers long, these defenses are composed of a series of sod embankments, ditches, palisades and towers, traps designed to break up the charges of foot and cavalry, and testify to the skill of the engineers Roman. These structures are among others described by Julius Caesar in the passage of the Gallic Wars relating to the battle. The opposing forces are poorly known, but historians estimate that the Gauls had a comfortable numerical superiority over the Romans, who numbered around 60,000, and therefore faced 80,000 men in the oppidum, and 240,000 men in the relief army. Around August-September, the encircled and the relief army tried to break the encirclement but the Romans managed to hold their positions and push back the attackers who dispersed in disorder. In battle, Vercingetorix's first cousin is taken by Caesar. Demoralized, facing the captivity of many allies, and fearing famine, the Gauls decided to surrender shortly after this confrontation, delivering their military leader Vercingetorix to the Roman general. The defeat of Alesia marks the end of all organized resistance to Roman rule in Gaul. Haloed by his success, rich in his booty and surrounded by many legions of veterans, Caesar then returned to Italy to station his troops in order to request the ratification of his acts and conquests. But the political tensions caused by his rise and the opposition of the aristocratic party led by Pompey lead to a civil war, from January 49 BC. J.-C. For his part, Vercingetorix, captive, is incarcerated for six years in the Mamertine prison and probably executed after the triumph of his conqueror which will take place in 46 BC. J.-C.