(1) Annō urbis conditae sexcentēsimō nōnāgēsimō tertiō C. Iūlius Caesar, quī posteā imperāvit, cum L. Bibulō cōnsul est factus; dēcrēta est eī Gallia et Īllyricum cum legiōnibus decem.

(2) Is prīmus vīcit Helvētiōs, quī nunc Sēquanī appellantur, deinde vincendō per bella gravissima ūsque ad Ōceanum Britannicum prōcessit.

(3) Domuit autem annīs novem ferē omnem Galliam, quae inter Alpēs, flūmen Rhodanum, Rhēnum et Ōceanum est et circuitū patet ad bis et trīciēs centēna mīlia passuum. Britannīs mox bellum intulit, quibus ante eum nē nōmen quidem Rōmānōrum cognitum erat, eōsque victōs obsidibus acceptīs stīpendiāriōs fēcit. Galliae autem tribūtī nōmine annuum imperāvit sestertium quadringentiēs, Germānōsque trāns Rhēnum adgressus immānissimīs proeliīs vīcit. Inter tot successūs ter male pūgnāvit, apud Arvernōs semel praesēns et absēns in Germāniā bis; nam lēgātī eius duo Titūrius et Aurunculeius per īnsidiās caesī sunt.

    Caesar Consul, 59 BCE. Governor of Gaul, 5849 BCE

    Appian, Civil Wars 2.2.9–2.3.15. Suetonius, Julius Caesar. Plutarch, Life of Caesar. Caesar, Gallic War.

    (1) Annō urbis conditae sexcentēsimō nōnāgēsimō tertiō: in 59 BCE Caesar was consul with M. Calpurnius Bibulus.

    C. Iūlius Caesar: Gaius Julius Caesar was born July 12, 100 BCE. He was of a patrician family, but from the first sided with the popular party.

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    Many stories of his early youth are told. He became Pontifex Maximus, military tribune, and quaestor in succession. At this period he was noted chiefly as a dissolute debtor and a demagogue. In 62 BCE he was elected praetor, and the next year went as propraetor to govern the province of Further Spain. In 60 BCE he returned to Rome and formed a political coalition with Pompey and Crassus, known as the "First Triumvirate." In 59 BCE he was elected consul, and, after the expiration of his year of office, entered on the governorship of Gaul and Illyricum for the period of five years. This was afterwards extended for another period of the same length. While governor of the province he conquered the Helvetians and a wandering band of the Germans who had come over into Gaul, crushed a revolt of the Nervii, defeated the Veneti and the Aquitani, and twice invaded Germany and Britain. It was Caesar’s intention to stand for the consulship a second time as soon as his term of office as governor of Gaul should expire. Pompey, meanwhile, had become jealous of Caesar’s power and had gone over to the senatorial party. A measure was passed by the senate declaring Caesar to be an outlaw unless he should disband his army and come to Rome a private citizen before a certain date. On Caesar’s refusal to do this, he was declared a public enemy, and preparations for war were made. Caesar advanced to Rome. Pompey fled to Greece, where he was defeated the following year at Pharsalus, and afterwards was murdered in Egypt. At the battle of Thapsus in Africa, 46 BCE, Caesar defeated the remaining leaders of the party, Cato and Scipio. This was the end of the war. He returned to Rome and was made imperator and perpetual dictator. He inaugurated several important reforms, among them a reform of the calendar. He formed many other plans which his death prevented him from executing. Finally, when it was thought that he was aiming at the kingly power, a conspiracy was formed, and he was assassinated on the fifteenth day of March, 44 BCE (Hazzard).

    imperāvit: "was emperor." See LS impero II.B.

    cum L. Bibulō: see Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus

    (2) Helvētiōs, quī nunc Sēquanī: Eutropius, following the custom of his day, unites the Helvetians and Sequanians. In Caesar’s time they were quite distinct. The Helvetians lived in what is now Switzerland; the Sequanians were west of the Jura mountains along the Rhone (Hazzard).

    vincendō: "by conquering"; ablative gerund (AG 507)

    ūsque ad Ōceanum Britannicum: "as far as the British Ocean"

    (3) annīs novem ferē: Between 58 and 50 BCE Caesar conquered the whole of Gaul in a series of ruthless campaigns, starting with a victory over the Helvetii at Bibracte (near Autun). He defeated Ariovistus and the Suebi afterwards in 58 BCE, then the Usipetes and Tencteri in 55 BCE, all German tribes, and made two sorties to Britain in 55 and 54 BCE, imposing tribute on the tribes of the south east. By the end of 50 BCE Gaul had been pacified at a remarkably low cost in Roman casualties (Bird).

    ad bis et trīciēs centēna mīlia passuum: "about thirty-two hundred hundred miles." bis = "two times," trīciēs (trīciēns) = "thirty times," centēna mīlia = "hundreds of thousands," pasuum = "of paces." 1000 Paces (mīlle passuum) is 1 Roman mile. ad + a number = "near to, almost, about" (LS ad C.1).

    Britannīs: dative object of intulit, (LS infero I.β)

    quibus ante eum nē nōmen quidem Rōmānōrum cognitum erat: quibus refers to people of Britannia, ne...quidem "not...even" (LS ne I.2.a).

    obsidibus acceptīs: ablative absolute with a perfect passive participle (AG 419). The taking of hostages was a standard way of enforcing treaties in the ancient world. They were typically younger members of the ruling family, and were well-treated.

    Galliae autem tribūtī nōmine annuum imperāvit sestertium quadringentiēs: "on Gaul, however, under the claim of tribute, he imposed the annual sum of forty million sesterces" (Bird). Galliae is dative object of imperāvit (LS impero I.a). 

    sestertium quadringentiēs: supply centēna mīlia. This is a common way of expressing large sums (AG 634). 1000 (milia) x 100 (centena) x 40 (quadingenties). sestertium is genitive plural, depending on milia. In Caesar's day a subsistence-level wage was about 400 to 500 sesterces per year. A scribe might make 1200 sesterces per year. The evidence for this comes from the Lex Ursonensis

    Germānōsque: Twice Caesar crossed the Rhine, but only for the purpose of impressing the Germans with the power of his forces. He fought no battles there, but he inflicted terrible defeats on two German bands that had come over into Gaul (Hazzard).

    apud Arvernōs: see Arverni

    Titūrius et Aurunculēius: Caesar describes the death of Quintus Titurius Sabinus and Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta in de Bello Gallico 5.24–37.

    Core Vocabulary | Numbers | Dates

     

    C.

    abbreviation of the praenomen Gaius

    Iūlius, i, m.

    the name of a Roman gens

    Caesar, aris, m.

    a family name in the Julian gens. (1) C. Iūlius Caesar, the famous dictator; (2) Sex. Iūlius Caesar, uncle of the dictator. Consul 91 B.C.; (3) C. Octāviānus, the emperor Augustus

    L.

    abbreviation of the praenomen Lucius

    Bibulus, ī, m.

    L. (Calpurnius) Bibulus, consul with Caesar 59 B.C.

    Gallia, ae, f.

    the country of the Gauls; modern France and the territories on the west bank of the Rhine. The northern part of Italy was settled by Gauls, and was called Gallia Cisalpina; hence the pl. Galliae.

    Īllyricum, ī, n.

    a country east of the Adriatic Sea

    Helvētiī, ōrum, pl. m.

    a Celtic tribe living north of Lake Geneva in modern Switzerland

    Sēquanī, ōrum, pl. m.

    an important tribe in eastern Gaul north of the Rhone

    Ōceanus, ī, m.

    the Atlantic and its divisions in contrast with the Mediterranean Sea

    Britannicus, a, um

    pertaining to Britain, British; as subst., Britannicus, ī, m., son of the emperor Claudius and Messalina

    domō, āre, uī, itus

    to tame, conquer

    Alpēs, ium, f.

    the Alps

    Rhodanus, ī, m.

    the Rhone

    Rhēnus, ī, m.

    the Rhine

    circuitus, ūs [circumeō], m.

    a going round, circuit, winding way

    bis

    (num. adv.) twice

    passus, ūs [passus from pandō, to spread], m.

    a step, pace; mīlle passuum, pl. mīlia passuum, a Roman mile = 4854 English feet

    Britannī, ōrum, pl. m.

    the inhabitants of Britain, Britons

    obses, idis [obsideō], m. and f.

    a hostage

    stīpendiārius, a, um [stīpendium], adj.

    tributary, paying tribute

    tribūtum, ī [tribuō], n.

    a tax, tribute

    annuus, a, um [annus], adj.

    annual; lasting a year

    stīpendium, ī [stips, gift + pendō], n.

    a payment; salary, pay; campaign

    Germānī, ōrum, pl. m.

    the Germans

    aggredior, gredī, gressus sum

    to approach, attack, undertake

    immānis, e, adj.

    huge, immense

    successus, ūs [succēdō], m.

    favorable outcome, success

    ter, num. adv.

    three times

    Arvernī, ōrum, pl. m.

    an important tribe of Celtic Gaul

    Germānia, ae, f.

    Germany

    Titūrius, ī, m.

    Q. Titūrius (Sabīnus), a lieutenant of Caesar

    Aurunculēius, ī, m.

    the name of a Roman gens

    īnsidiae, ārum [īnsideō, to sit upon], pl. f.

    ambush; treachery

     

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