In Celtic history, Vercingetorix was a king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe, who is
most known for uniting the Gauls in a revolt against Roman forces during the last times
of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars.
The name Vercingetorix literally translates to either "great warrior king" or "king of
great warriors", in gaulish or Celtic dialect.
Vercingetorix was the son of Celtillus, the Arvernian leader of the Gallic tribes.
Celtillus, was put to death by his own countrymen for seeking to rule all of Gaul. And his noble
son, Vercingetorix was supposed to claim the throne. But having tried to rouse his subjects
and dependents to join the revolt against the Romans, Vercingetorix and his followers
were expelled by his
uncle, Gobanitio. And Gobanitio did so to the rest of the nobles, because they thought
opposing Caesar was too great a risk.
Unshaken and still determined, the noble Vercingetorix raised an army of the poor, defeated his uncle
and took back Gergovia city of Arverni, and his throne in 52 BC.
Immediately he became king and chieftain of Arverni, Vercingetorix formed an alliance
with other Gallic tribes, combined and took command of all the forces, then, led them
in the Celts' most recognized revolt against Roman power.
King Vercingetorix was a strict disciplinarian. He adopted more current tactics of warfare,
and the taking of hostages.
When he began the revolt, Vercingetorix adopted the policy of retreating to natural fortifications,
and the strategy of a scorched earth, which involves burning towns to prevent the Roman
legions from living off the land.
He scorched much of the land marching north, with his army from Gergovia, in an aim to
deprive Caesar of the resources and safe shelter of the towns and villages, along Caesar's
march south. However, there was one town Vercingetorix did not torch. It was the City of Avaricum,
mainly due to the town's strong defenses. Knowing that the town of Avaricum was a Gallic
settlement directly in Caesar's path, he left the town to their fate, to be crushed by the
Romans. So, Vercingetorix paused his menacing advancements for a short while, and he and
his men camped outside of Avaricum, waiting till the City is overrun by Caeser's forces,
to continue his revolt.
And as he expected, the Romans
reached Avaricum, laid an intense and labourous siege for 25 days, before they were able to
breach the town's defenses, and eventually captured the capital. The Romans slaughtered
nearly the entire 40,000 population of Avaricum, leaving only about 800 alive.
Incidentally, the Romans next and major stop, was at Gergovia, capital city of the Arverni
and Vercingetorix's homeland. This brought about the historical Battle of Gergovia.
Without wasting a moment, king Vercingetorix made first move in the Battle of Gergovia,
by slaughtering the Roman natives who had settled in their territory.
Having prepared for this encounter long enough, Vercingetorix and his warriors crushed Caesar's
mighty legions and allies. He slaughtered thousands of the Roman army, inflicting heavy
losses. So,
Caesar's Roman legions withdrew.
Vercingetorix emerged victorious in the Battle of Gergovia.
Few years later, Vercingetorix then decided to join Caesar, but that decision might have
been a mistake. For the Caesar sought nothing but revenge, for the humiliation, and great
loss his army suffered in the Battle of Gergovia.
The king's attempt to unite the Gauls against Roman invasion came too late. His attempt
only resulted in a cavalry battle, where the Romans dealt their first huge blow against
the Gauls. King Vercingetorix retreated and moved to another settlement, called Alesia,
where he made his last stand against the Romans, in the historical Battle of Alesia.
In the epic Battle of Alesia, the Romans besieged and defeated the gaulish forces. In order
to save as many of his men as possible, King Vercingetorix surrendered himself to the Romans.
However, some records tell a slightly different version of the Gauls defeat. The records say
that the Romans never broke through the Gauls defenses nor truly defeated them. And that
the major loss the Gauls suffered in the Battle of Alesia, was the loss of their king, who
had surrendered, supposedly in an effort to continue pursue peace between the Gauls and
Romans.
It happened that during the, in September, 52 BC, Caesar built a fortification around
the city to besiege it. But, Caesar's army was already surrounded by the rest of Gaul,
as king Vercingetorix had summoned his Gallic allies to attack the besieging Romans.
So, Caesar built another outer fortification against the relief armies.
Initially, the Gallic attacks were unsuccessful, because their leader - Vercingetorix, was
cut off from them on the inside, and so, wasn't there to guide them.
Luckily, the attacks revealed a weak point in the Roman fortifications, and Vercingetorix,
the tactical leader, combined forces on the inside and the outside, and broke through
the fortifications, pushing the Romans back.
Caesar, then personally led his last reserves into battle, and finally manage to prevail,
pushing the Celtic tribes into defensive mode.
Surprisingly, just then, Vercingetorix, surrendered a dramatic style. Riding his beautifully adorned
horse out of Alesia, the king of the Gauls went around Caesar's camp before dismounting
in front of Caesar, stripping himself of his armor and sitting down at his opponent's feet.
There, he remained motionless until he was taken away by the almost surprised Romans.
Vercingetorix, was imprisoned in the Tullianum in Rome for 5 years, before being publicly
displayed, following Caesar's triumph in 46 BC. After the triumph, He was executed by
strangulation in his prison, on Caesar's orders, that same year.
Although Vercingetorix, the powerful and tactical Chieftain of the Gauls, had died, his memory
still lived on, and inspired subsequent Celtic leaders.
To this very day, Vercingetorix is considered a hero in Arverni, his native region.