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Rise of Vercingetorix (52 BCE) was an attempt to independence and liberate Gaul from Roman rule. Vercingetorix led the rebellion.
Background of events
The victorious the Gallic War of Julius Caesar in 58-53 BCE allowed him to subordinate virtually all of Gaul to Roman rule. Having experienced, battle-hardened and faithful legions, he began to think about taking power in Rome.
However, unexpectedly for Caesar, the newly subjugated peoples of Gaul began to think about joint action against the Romans. The attempt to spark one united uprising required good leadership and great ambitions of the inhabitants. Although the Gallic peoples shared a common language and culture, individual tribes were very independent and often hostile to each other. No tribe has ever been reluctant to seek outside help. Strong anti-Roman sentiments led to a secret meeting of the aristocracy of various tribes in order to plan an uprising. The idea of gaining independence for the people of Gaul was actually illusory. The main goal of high-ranking family members was to gain power in their own tribes.
Vercingetorix
The leader of the uprising was Vercingetorix, a member of the Arverni people, who was proclaimed the king of the tribe by his followers. He amassed a powerful army, much more disciplined than that fought during the Gallic War. He created a very good supply base, which allowed him to fight in the field for a long time. The organization of Vercingetorix’s army was thus perfectly prepared.
This is how Caesar describes the leader of the Gauls:
To the utmost vigilance he adds the utmost rigor of authority; and by the severity of his punishments brings over the wavering: for on the commission of a greater crime he puts the perpetrators to death by fire and every sort of tortures; for a slighter cause, he sends home the offenders with their ears cut off, or one of their eyes put out, that they may be an example to the rest, and frighten others by the severity of their punishment.
– Gaius Julius Caesar, Gallic War, VII.4
What do we know, however, about Vercingetorix himself? Little is known about the life of a Gaul chief. Historians do not even agree on the date of his birth. He was probably born around 82 BCE. He was Arverni by descent, born in the home of the chief of this Celtyllus tribe. In the absence of written Gallic sources from that era, nothing can be said for certain about his childhood. Probably, like other well-born Gauls, until the age of seven, he grew up surrounded by women – his mother and his father’s official concubines (Gallic men could have as many lovers as they managed to provide for living and shelter, but all of them had to be approved by the official spouse.).
Most wives did not protest, having many official lovers was a determinant of social status and wealth. The more that the Gauls had almost no slaves, then each hand was useful for working in the house and the farmyard. Gallic men rarely stayed at home, devoting time to war expeditions, boar hunting, feasts and political consultations in the tribe. He saw his father very rarely then, only after he turned 21, he could appear in public with his father, then he became a man. Until then, he did not even have his own name and was simply called the son of Celtyllus – Celtyllognatus. After the age of seven, he left his family home and came under the care of his foster father, with whom, like most Gallic youths, he stayed for 5 years, learning to use a light weapon – a bow.
After the age of 12, he went to a druid school, where he learned religious and patriotic songs praising the old Gallic heroes, as well as reading and writing, but only the Greek Gauls needed to write trade contracts. After 4 years of studying at a druid school, at the age of 16, he began learning how to use a weapon – a sword and an axe. This art was taught by young gala women, peculiar amazons, who also had the task of teaching boys the art of love. After turning 21, Vercingetorix returned to his family home. His father was accused of pursuing royal power and executed around 70 BCE. His mother probably died shortly after his return. According to some accounts, Vercingetorix had a grudge against his uncle – his mother’s brother, whom he suspected of being involved in a plot to kill his father. He idealized the father, trying to achieve what he had failed to achieve.
Uprising outbreak
In 57 BCE Vercingetorix joined Caesar’s Gallic army. As a representative of the “Gallic” nobility, he even joined Caesar’s military council, thanks to which he learned the plans and tactics of Roman troops. He left the army after a few months due to opposition to the brutal murder of the Gallic population by Roman legionaries. He then returned to his family home and for several years. He withdrew from the political life of Gaul. From then on he became a real, but still hidden enemy of the Romans. The impulse to engage in the war with Caesar was for Vercingetorix, as for many Gauls, the victory of the Belgians at Aduatuk, and the direct cause of the anti-Roman uprising in the country of Carnutes.
In February 52 BCE, the Carnutes, who lived on the central Loire, attacked and murdered Roman merchants and captured the Roman army’s grain depots in their capital, Cenabum. The news of this event spread like wildfire throughout Gaul, and also reached Gergovia, the capital of the Arverni country. Vercingetorix decided it was time to act. At the rallies in Gergovia, he tried to convince the Arverni to join the uprising and fight the Romans. The ruling elders in Gergovia at that time were reluctant to act against Caesar, thanks to which she could still exercise power.
Vercingetorix was driven out of the city. Then he went to the provinces. He travelled from village to village, spoke and persuaded the inhabitants to fight Rome. It was not that difficult, the