Vercingetorix << vur suhn JEHT uh rihks >> (82?-46 B.C.) was a Gallic nobleman who led a revolt in 52 B.C. against the ongoing Roman conquest of Gaul. He unified most of the peoples of Gaul against forces led by the Roman general Julius Caesar. Gaul included present-day Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, and parts of the Netherlands and Germany west of the Rhine River.
Vercingetorix was a capable military leader and a worthy opponent of Caesar. His revolt was the greatest challenge that Caesar faced during the Gallic Wars, a series of military campaigns to conquer Gaul from 58 to 51 B.C. Although his revolt failed, Vercingetorix has been celebrated in modern times as a French national hero for his brave opposition to the foreign invader.
Scholars know little about Vercingetorix’s life before the revolt. He was born about 82 B.C. The revolt began in 52 B.C. with a massacre of Roman traders at Cenabum (present-day Orléans, France). Vercingetorix became the king of the Arverni, a Gallic people from what is now the Auvergne region of central France. He unified the rebel forces under his command. He adopted a “scorched earth” strategy, avoiding open battle against the Romans and seeking to weaken them by cutting off their supplies and limiting their movement.
Vercingetorix won a rare victory over Caesar’s forces at Gergovia, an important Arvernian town. This victory emboldened a people called the Aedui, Rome’s chief allies among the Gauls, to join the revolt. However, Caesar managed to trap Vercingetorix and his army in the city of Alesia (present-day Alise-Ste.-Reines, France). The Romans then fought off an enormous Gallic army sent to relieve the siege. The threat of starvation forced the Gauls to surrender. The rebels’ defeat ended serious resistance to the Roman conquest. Vercingetorix gave himself up to Caesar to spare his army further suffering. Caesar had him put to death six years later, in 46 B.C., at the height of Caesar’s victory celebrations.
See also Caesar, Julius ; Gallic Wars ; Gaul .
