Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 7, ETM-GOA

G A U l 59S ] G A U
Gaul, but Were at lengtli defeated, and the greateft part of
them flain. 'I he reft, with their wives and old men,
furrendered themfelves, and were allowed to live in their
own cities and towns as formerly. The Aduatici were
next fubdued ; and, for their treachery to the conquer¬
or, were fold for flaves, to the number of fifty thou-
fand. Young Craffus, the fon of the triumvir, fub¬
dued likewife feven other nations, and took poffeffion
of their cities ; which not only completed the conqueft
of the Bel^te, but brought feveral nations from beyond
the Rhine to fubmit to the conqueror. The Venet’,
or ancient inhabitants of Vannes in Brittany, who had
been likewife obliged to fend hoftages to the conquer-
cr, were, in the mean time, making great preparations
by fea and land to recover their liberty. Ctefar, then
in Illyricum, was forced to equip a fleet on the Loire ;
and having given the command of it to Brutus, went
and defeated them by land, as Brutus did by fea ; and
having put their chief men to death, fold the reft for
flaves. The Unelli, with Veridorix their chief, toge¬
ther with the Lexosii and Aulercii, were about the
fame time fubdued by Sabinus, and the Aquitani by
Craffus, with the lofs of thirty thoufand men. There
remained nothing but the countries of the Morini and
Menapii to be conquered of all Gaul. Casfar marched
himfelf againft them : but he found them fo well in¬
trenched in their inaccefhble fortreffes, that he con¬
tented himfelf with burning and ravaging their coun¬
try ; and having put his troops into winter-quarters,
again paffed over the Alps, to have a more watchful eye
on fume of his rivals there. He was, however, foon
after obliged to come to defend his Gaulifh conquefts
againft fome nations of the Germans, who were coming
to fettle there, to the number of four hundred thoufand.
Thefe he totally defeated, and then refolved to carry
his conquering arms into Germany : but for an ac-
g Count of his exploits there, fee the article Germany.
The Gauls Upon his* return into Gaul, he found it labouring
revolt, but under a great famine, which had caufed a kind of uni-
are tub- verfal revolt. Cotta and Sabinus, who were left in
<lut ‘ the country of the Eburones, now Liege, were betray¬
ed into an ambufh by Ambiorix, one of the Gaulifti
chiefs, and had mod of their men cut off. The Adu¬
atici had fallen upon Cicero, who was left there
with one legion, and had reduced him to great fti aits:
at the fame time Labienus, with his legion, was at¬
tacked by Indutiomarus, at the head of the Rheni
and Senones ; but had better luck than the reft, and,
by one bold fally upon them, put them to flight, and
killed their general. Csefar acquired no fmall credit by
quelling all thefe revolts; but each vidtory loft the lives of
fo manyof his troops, that he was forced to have recourfe
to Pompey fora frefli fupply, who readily granted him
two of his own legions to fecure his Gaulilh conquefts.
A ftcond But it was not long before the Gauls, ever reftlefs
revolt. under a foreign yoke, raifed up a new revolt, and 0-
bliged him to return thither. His fear left Pompey
fttould gain the affedtions of the Roman peopie, had
obliged him to ftrip the Gauls of their gold and lilver,
to bribe them over to his intereft ; and this gave no
ftnall handle to thofe frequent re\'olts which happened
during his abfence. He quickly, however, reduced
the Ncrvii, Aduatici, Menapii, and Treviri; the laft
of whom had raifed the revolt, under the command of
Ambiorix: but .he found the flame fpread much
farther, even to the greateft part of the Gaulif, who Caol.
had chofen Vercingetorix their generaliflimo. Ctefar
was forced to leave Infubria, whither he had retired
to watch the motions of Pompey, and, in the midll
of winter and fnow, to repafs the Alps into the pro¬
vince of Narbonne. Here he gathered his fcattered
troops with all poffible fpeed; and, in fpite of the hard
weather, befiged and took Noviodunum, now Noy-,
ons; and defeated Vercingetorix, Who was come to
the relief of that place. He next to Jc the city of
Avaricum, now Bourges, one of the ftrongeft in Gaul,
and which had a garrifon of forty thoufand men ; of
whom he made fuch a dreadful flaughter, that hardly
eight hundred efcaped. Whilft he was befit ging Ger-
govia, the capital of the Arverni, he was informed
that the Nitiobriges, or Agenois, v/ere in arms; and
that the iEdui were fending to Vercingetorix ten thou¬
fand men, which they were to have fent to reinforce
Csefar. Upon this news, he left Fabius to carry on
the fiege, and matched againft the iEdui. Thefe,
upon his approach, fubmitted, in appearance, and
were pardoned ; but foon after that whole nation rofe
up in arms, and murdered all the Italian troops in their
capital. Ctefar, at this, was in great ftraits what
meafures to take ; but refolved at length to raife the
fiege of Gergovia, and at once attack the enemy’s
camp, which he did with fome fuccefs; but when he
thought to have gone to Noviodunum, or Noyons,
where his baggage, military cheft, &c. were left, he
heard that the JEdui had carried it off, and burnt the
place. Labienus, juftly thinking that Caefar would
want his affiftance in the condition he now was, went
to join him, and in his way defeated a Gaulifh gene¬
ral named Camulogeno, who came to Oppofe his march :
but this did not hinder the revolt from fpreading itfelf
all over Celtic Gaul, whither Vercingetorix had ferit
forfrefti fupplies, and, in the mean time, attacked Cae¬
far ; but was defeated, and forced to retire to Alefia,
a ftrong place, now Alife in Burgundy, as is fuppo-
fed. Hither Caefar haftened, and befieged him ; and,
haring drawn a double circumvallation, with a defign
to ftarve him in it, as he was likely to have done, up¬
on that account refufed all offers of a furrender from
him. At length, the long-expe&ed reinforcement
came, confifting of 160,000 men, under four gene¬
rals : thefe made feveral fruitlefs attacks on Caefar’s r»
trenches; but were defeated in three feveral battles,They are
which at length obliged Vercingetorix to furrender at ^ral" fub'
diferetion. Caefar ufed all his prifoners with great fe- UC ‘
verity, except theiEdui and Arverni, by whofe means
he hoped to gain their nations, which were the mofl
potent of Celtic Gaul: nor was he difappointed ; for
both of them fubmitted to him, and the former re¬
ceived him into the capital, where he fpent the winter,
after he put his army into winter-quarters. This
campaign, as it proved one of the hardeft he ever had,
fo he gained more glory by it than any Roman gene¬
ral had done before: yet could not at all by this pro¬
cure from the fervile fenate, now wholly dedicated to
his rival, a prolongation of his proconfulfhip ; upon
which he is reported to have laid his hand upon his
fword, and faid, that that fhould do it.
He was as good as his word ; and the Gauls, upon
their former ill fuccefs, refolving to have as many fe-
parate armies as provinces, in order to embarrafs him
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