Having bought myself a (cheap) Kindle for those occasions when I will travel again I needed some reading material for my delight. Caesar was obviously one of those books we need, indeed must, read,
if only because all the clever people claim to have read this long ago at school, at the same time as I was perusing 'The Beano,' 'The Beezer,' and 'The Victor!'
The idea of the book is simple, Julius Caesar, a man going places, had wangled his way into a very important position in the Roman heirarchy, and was given control of much of Gaul, now known as France, and also what we now refer to as Albania as Governor. His ambition ensured he would seek to control and dominate all of Gaul, which he did eventually, and on the way he made attempts at curbing Germanic intrusion, and even an attempt or two at taking that strange offshore island Britannia. He went too far beyond his authority in German territory and returned with little to say about this, therefore offering a description of the locals instead. He also failed to conquer the Brits, though most of them were probably Belgique, but don't tell the Brexiteers that as it will upset them. Clearly the Romans impressed the people of the island, we can tell this by the manner in which they moved away from him, and had he thought it through properly Julius may well have succeeded in a victory long before Claudius's forces managed to bring their elephants over some considerable time later.
Of course he never conquered Scotland.
He did however, conquer and gain complete control over Gaul. While renown as a merciful victor, occasionally this went against him as some pacified elements would once again return to the fight when called upon, only at one rebellion did he slaughter somewhat ruthlessly in an attempt to prevent another uprising and that near the end of the wars.
There is one flaw in the book, it was written, for the most part, by Julius himself!
He would settle down in the winter and write the report for the folks back in Rome, thus ensuring he was remembered and also making clear he had been successful. It appears no alternative story was on offer. The last chapter was written by friends after his untimely demise but is clearly influenced by his outlook.
Julius Caesar did eventually reach his goal of King in 49 BC, and was a successful dictator until 44 BC when the Republican sympathisers bumped him off undemocratically.
The question that kept running through my mind was "Why?" What was the point of taking over Gaul? The only reason was Roman pride and self importance, plus Julius's ambition. Rome could have survived without this war. Empires rise and fall often because of ambition, sometimes to prevent attacks on themselves and occasionally for wealth and resources. All this raises pride, cries for 'freedom' and ends in mass slaughter, not always to the victors advantage.
Of course I was reading this late at night as I drowsily slipped into the nightly coma, so maybe I ought to have read it during the day? I think the results would be the same.
As well as an insight into the ways of the Gauls and Brits of the day it can also be seen as an insight into the Putin's and Johnson's of this world mind.
I recommend it, for leisure reading...
