This article is part of the series on: Military of ancient Rome (portal) |
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| Structural history | |||
| Roman army (unit types and ranks, legions, auxiliaries, generals) |
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| Roman navy (fleets, admirals) | |||
| Campaign history | |||
| Lists of wars and battles | |||
| Decorations and punishments | |||
| Technological history | |||
| Military engineering (castra, siege engines, arches, roads) |
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| Personal equipment | |||
| Political history | |||
| Strategy and tactics | |||
| Infantry tactics | |||
| Frontiers and fortifications (limes, Hadrian's Wall) |
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Uxellodunum was a Gallic oppidum located near modern-day Puy D'Issolu in France. Commonwealth English! -->The military of ancient Rome relates to the combined military forces of Ancient Rome from the founding of the city The structural history of the Roman military describes the major chronological transformations in the organization and constitution of Ancient Rome 's armed forces, The Roman army was a set of military forces employed by the Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and later Roman Empire as part of the Roman military This is a list of both unit types and ranks of the Roman army from the Roman Republic to the fall of This is a list of Roman legions, including key facts about each legion primarily focusing on Principate (early Empire 30BC - 284AD legions for which there exists Auxiliaries (from Latin: auxilia = "supports" formed the standing non-citizen corps of the Roman army of the Principate (30 BC&ndash284 AD A Manius Acilius Glabrio -- Manius Acilius Glabrio (consul 191 BC -- Manius Acilius Glabrio (consul 91 -- Titus The Roman Navy ( Latin: Classis, lit "fleet" comprised the naval forces of the Roman state The Roman Navy ( Latin: Classis, lit "fleet" comprised the naval forces of the Roman state From its origin as a city-state in Italy in 9th century BC the rise as an empire covering much of Eurasia and North The following is a List of Roman wars fought by the ancient Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and Roman Empire, organized by date The following is a list of Roman Battles fought by the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire, and sometimes the Byzantine Empire As with most other military forces the Roman military adopted a "carrot and stick" approach to military with an extensive list of decorations for military gallantry The technology history of the Roman military covers the development of and application of technologies for use in the armies and navies of Rome from the Roman Republic to the fall The military engineering of Ancient Rome 's armed forces was of a scale and frequency far beyond that of any of its contemporaries The Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military Roman Siege engines were for the most part adapted from Hellenistic Siege Technology. List of ancient Roman Triumphal arches (By modern country France Carpentras Triumphal Arch The Roman Roads were essential for the growth of the Roman Empire, by enabling the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate news Roman military personal equipment was produced in large numbers to established patterns and used in an established way Rome's military was always tightly keyed to its political system The strategy of the Roman Military encompasses its Grand strategy (the arrangements made by the state to implement its political goals through a selection of military goals Roman infantry tactics refers to the theoretical and historical deployment formation and maneuvers of the Roman infantry from the start of the Roman Republic to the fall Roman military borders and fortifications were part of a Grand strategy of territorial defense in the Roman Empire. A limes (or the Limes Romanus) was a Border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. Hadrian's Wall ( Latin: perhaps Vallum Aelium, "the Aelian wall" is a stone and turf Fortification built by the Roman This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. This particular stronghold lay within the lands of the Carduci. According to Aulus Hirtius in his addendum to Julius Caesar's Commentaries, the last revolt against Rome's authority in Gaul occurred here, and was brutally punished. Aulus Hirtius (ca 90-43 BC was one of the Consuls of Ancient Rome immediately after the Assassination of Julius Caesar, and a Writer Commentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar 's third-person account of his nine years of war in Gaul. Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western
Siege
Luterius, the chieftain of the Carduci, and Drapes, the leader of the Senones, had withdrawn inside Uxellodunum, intent on waiting out the end of Caesar's governorship, after which, they could once again rebel in force. The Senones were a Gallic people of Gallia Celtica, who in the time of Julius Caesar inhabited the district which now includes the departments of Uxellodunum, strongly fortified by its natural position, with a river dividing the valley below that almost surrounded the steep craggy mountain on which Uxellodunum was built, could not be taken as Alesia had been. The Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia took place in September 52 BC around the Gallic Oppidum of Alesia, a major town centre and The legate in charge at Uxellodunum, Gaius Cabinius Rebilus, was aware that his two legions could not hope to replicate Caesar's success at Alesia, and contented himself with dividing his legions into three camps situated on ground high enough to ensure that a secret evacuation of Uxellodunum could not succeed, and that would enable him to close off the citadel by degrees. A legatus (often anglicized as legate) was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer
Those within the oppidum perceived Cabinius' intent, and Luterius, who had been at Alesia, urged them to increase their supplies. Oppidum (plural oppida) is a Latin word meaning the main settlement in any administrative area of Ancient Rome. Stealing away in the dark of night, Luterius and Drapes left two thousand men inside Uxellodunum, and took the rest to forage for grain. While some of the Carduci willingly provided them with supplies, others had their food seized by force. After gathering a great quantity, they attempted to sneak the supplies into the fortress. However, Cabinius' sentries detected this, and Cabinius led his troops in a fierce attack on the convoys. Luterius, in charge of the convoy, fled without warning Drapes. The rest of the men accompanying the convoy were slaughtered to the last man.
Cabinius, reveling in his good fortune, then left one legion defending the camps, and took the other legion and all of his cavalry to strike at Drapes, successfully killing or capturing all of the Gauls, including Drapes himself. Pleased that he no longer had to worry about enemy reinforcements, he dedicated his men to completing the encirclement of Uxellodunum. Gaius Fabius, another one of Caesar's legates who had been given the task of subduing the Senones, arrived soon after, and put his own two legions to work alongside Cabinius'.
Caesar had been kept informed of the events at Uxellodunum, and was furious with the town's continued defiance. Determined to subdue Gaul while he was still its governor, he left his legions behind, and rode with his cavalry toward Uxellodunum, moving as quickly as his horses could allow. Startling his legates, who had not expected him to deal with this revolt in person, he quickly perceived that Uxellodunum could not be taken by storm. Having been informed the town had plenty of food, despite Luterius' and Drapes' failure to increase the stockpile, Caesar elected to deny its inhabitants water, and quickly devised a method of doing so. The nature of the ground prevented him from diverting the river, as it ran so close to the foot of the mountain that no drains could be sunk deep enough to draw it off in any direction. But that same steepness also made life difficult for the defenders, as the descent to the river was extremely difficult. Realizing this, Caesar stationed archers and ballistae to pick off any defenders foolish enough to attempt to gather water from the river. The ballista ( Latin, from Greek βαλλίστρα - ballistra, from - βάλλω ballō, "to throw" plural ballistae
The only other supply of water, a spring that gushed out of the craggy mountain right beneath Uxellodunum's walls, seemed to be impossible to deny to the Gauls. The terrain was too rugged, and could not be taken by force. However, Caesar knew more or less where the sources of the spring were, and decided to deny it to the Gauls. He ordered his men to build a ramp of stone and earth, for the purpose of holding a siege tower ten stories high to bombard the spring. However, while this work was going on, he had men mining the earth, tunneling inexorably to the sources of the spring.
The Gauls were fooled by Caesar's siege tower, and when they saw its final height, they attacked fiercely. The tower was soon on fire, and the limited front afforded by the terrain made for a bloody affair. Caesar ordered his men to circle the stronghold and raise a loud shout, as if they were attempting to storm the walls. This second deception succeeded, and the Gauls retreated back within Uxellodunum. The fire successfully put out, work resumed on the tower, but by the time it could have been used, Caesar's miners had succeeded in diverting the sources of the spring. When the spring dried up, the Gauls within Uxellodunum were driven to utter despair, convinced that the gods had abandoned them, and capitulated.
Aftermath
However, Caesar's patience and mercy had come to an end. Perceiving that there would be no end to his troubles if several tribes should attempt to rebel in the same manner as Uxellodunum and in different places, he decided to inflict an extraordinary punishment on those who had rebelled against him to deter the rest of Gaul. Accordingly, he cut off the hands of those who had borne arms against him, but permitted them to continue living. He scattered them throughout Gaul, determined that all of Gaul see that there would be no more mercy for continued defiance.
References
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