Product Description

Caesar was one of the most ambitious and successful politicians of the late Roman Republic and his short but bloody conquest of the Celtic tribes led to the establishment of the Roman province of Gaul (modern France). Caesar's commentaries on his Gallic Wars provide us with the most detailed surviving eye-witness account of a campaign from antiquity. Gillver makes use of this account and other surviving evidence to consider the importance of the Gallic Wars in the context of the collapse of the Roman Republic and its slide toward civil war.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #415031 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

Times Educational Supplement
‘Teachers or A-level students looking for details of military campaigns will certainly find these books detailed and authoritative.’

Daily Mail
‘[Essential Histories] make the perfect starting point for readers of any age.’

Daily Express
‘[Essential Histories are] accessible and well illustrated.’

Customer Reviews

Caesar's Gallic Wars
An enjoyable 92 page account, including some good illustrations, of the Roman conquest of Gaul.

The over riding point to remember about this book is that it is part of Osprey's "Essential Histories" series - the stated objective of which is to provide "concise overviews of major wars and theatres of war". Therefore, there is nothing in depth about the war, there are no new theories and there are no detailed examinations of the warriors, their weapons or their tactics.

The author states quite clearly that the most comprehensive source material comes from Caesar's own account, "Gallic War". She does downplay the fact that she has used other contemporary source material and other eminent works. As such this is a worthy account of Caesar's initial conquest of Gaul.

The account clearly puts into context the political necessity that drove Caesar to conquer various tribes and invade Britain and for Caesar to write his self flattering account of the Gallic Wars. I found this part of the account the most informative.

Whilst there are some interesting illustrations I found the 16th century wood cut of Alesia a surprising choice. I just do not believe that it is anything other than a 16th century guess ... this is a very reasonably priced book and one that would please anyone (other than a "serious" historian or academic) with an interest in this aspect of Roman/Gallic history.