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Caesar's Conquest Of Gaul


Kathleenb

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Am reading The Conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar. What other sources cover Gaul (and "Germany") from Caesar on into the empire?

 

Thanks - looking for the "other side."

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Thanks - looking for the "other side."

 

In these ancient times the 'other side' rarely if ever gets to tell their tale, being too busy dead and/or oppressed.

 

 

"Help, help I'm being oppressed!"

 

 

LoL, I love Monty Python...

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Tacitus gives a wonderful account of Germania in the appropriately titled Germania. Other accounts of Roman expeditions against Germania are provided by the standard sources (Tacitus, Suetonius, Cassius Dio, etc.) but there is nothing written from the perspective of the 'enemy'... at least not from the ancient perspective.

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Well, OK, so the conquered didn't write their own version, true; would've been nice to hear that version tho! I haven't read the other histories mentioned here (Thanks, Primus Pilus) re: Gaul & Germany, but overall do they concur with Caesar's account, or or there any versions that are more or less anti-Caesar? Wanting to get as much of the "whole" picture as I can...

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Well, OK, so the conquered didn't write their own version, true; would've been nice to hear that version tho! I haven't read the other histories mentioned here (Thanks, Primus Pilus) re: Gaul & Germany, but overall do they concur with Caesar's account, or or there any versions that are more or less anti-Caesar? Wanting to get as much of the "whole" picture as I can...

 

Hmm, quite frankly there isn't anything all that valuable as 'counter-Caesar' regarding the actual military campaigns in Gaul. Politically there is much more available in the form of Cicero's writings (and the other afore mentioned sources). I forgot to mention Appian as a wonderful source of the time period, but again it is from the Roman perspective and there is some counter opinion to Caesar laced throughout but he would not be considered anti-Caesar. Plutarch is also vastly important for his many biographies of key players in the time period (anti Caesarian Cato and Brutus included).

 

I mentioned Tacitus Germania before, but it represents a time period over a century later. Not much changed from a cultural or military standpoint, but his work has no relationship with Caesar's campaigns.

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If you want anything "anti-Caesar", perhaps you should ask our resident reincarnation of Caesar's antagonist, Marcus Porcius Cato, for some sources :)

 

(Kidding M. Porcius Cato, it's great to have someone who defends their beliefs thus on an alternate view )

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Thanks Tobias. Kathleenb, you might take a look at the thread on the Gallic Wars we did a while ago. I make the case that the Gallic Wars were an opportunistic and illegal adventure designed to engorge Caesar and his lackeys on the gold of a non-threatening iron age civilization.

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