14.3 Europe: 100 b.c. to 0  (Page 5/5)

After Julius Caesar massacred the Swiss, as noted in a paragraph above, he proceeded in the next eight years to "pacify" all of Gaul, taking some eight hundred towns and killing, by his own count, 1,292,000 men, women and children. He may have enslaved nearly another 2,000,000. In 55 B.C. Caesar experienced and described the greatest naval battle that he had ever been called upon to mount

NOTE: Insert Map 27: GAUL IN CAESAR'S TIME

On land it required a great engineering feat for Caesar's legions to breach the "murus galliciul", a box-like grid of timbers filled with rubble and stone that surrounded the Celt town of Avaricum (present Bourges, in the center of France) and then slaughter the 40,000 people within. The Gauls at last rallied behind a young chief, Vercingetorix, who first had his people burn their fields and towns as they retreated so that the Roman troops could not live off the land, and then he initiated guerrilla warfare to cut off new supplies to the Roman troops. Vercingetorix was finally cornered in the hills of eastern, central France behind some fortifications. Caesar further surrounded these with nine and a half miles of fortifications of his own to try and contain the Celtic chieftain. Even then Vercingetorix slipped out some cavalry by night and had them gather an additional quarter of a million Gauls from some forty different tribes. In the interim Caesar had built still another circle of fortifications fourteen miles in circumference, facing outward to meet the Gallic reinforcements. For days the battles raged, with the methodical butchery of the 40,000 legionnaires of Rome finally prevailing. Vercingetorix emerged alone from the fort of Alesia, surrendered and was taken prisoner to Rome where he was paraded through the Forum and finally strangled to death some six years later. Caesar allegedly obtained enough slaves after Alesia to give one to each of his legionaires. The course of Gallic civilization was all down-hill from this time on. (Ref. 194 , 91 , 213 )

British isles

The Belgic tribes were the last of the successive waves of Celts into Britain. They were a people of chariots and horses who introduced a coinage of silver and copper and established themselves as a tribal aristocracy. The Belgic capital was Colchester. The most ancient lettering known in Britain is to be found on the Belgic coins. This tribe seems to have been a mixture of Celtic and Teutonic origin from the region of the lower Rhine. Their new country produced corn, cattle, gold, silver, iron, hides, slaves and hunting dogs. Caesar crossed the channel starting at midnight August 26, 55 B.C. with 80 transports for his legions, experiencing considerable trouble in so doing, with the loss of some ships and men. He won a few victories over the Belgae under their leader, Cassivellaunus, but hastily departed England before winter set in. (Ref. 43 , 91 )

Scotland and Ireland were probably not yet involved in these new invasions and remained essentially as in the last century.

Scandinavia

According to Tacitus, writing about A.D. 100, Sweden in the first century B.C. was dominated by the Suione Teutonic tribe. Scandinavia was never entered by the Romans, although trade was carried on with Danish amber, fur and various slaves exchanged for several Roman products, including wines and some iron objects.

Eastern europe

In this and the past century the Germanic Goths had appeared around Sweden and the Baltic Sea and started migration down into northeastern Germany. Just to the east of them were the Finno-Ugric speaking Estonians and just south of them in the Polish area and extending into middle Russia were Slavs. In southern Russia the Sarmatians were in the ascendancy and they spread out well to the east to the Caspian.

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