The Battle of Alesia and Caesar’s 29 Other Reasonably Well Documented Sieges in the Gallic Wars

🌎 Get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily data plans! Use code "sandrhoman" at checkout. Download the Saily app or go to https://saily.com/sandrhoman ⛵ Interested in a history themes COFFEE ROAST? Click here https://imperium.coffee/pro/Sand%20Rhoman/ and use code RHOMAN at checkout! (This is an affiliate link, which means we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you choose to make a purchase through it.) Find Jesse Fokke's historical novel "The Boar and the Eagle" here: https://jessefokke.com/?ref=vzubblgc (This is an affiliate link, which means we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you choose to make a purchase through it.) In the late summer of 52 BC, a Roman army under the statesman and general Gaius Julius Caesar surrounded the fortified town of Alesia. This marked the beginning of the last great battle of the Gallic Wars. The siege of Alesia was characterized by an elaborate blockade consisting of a double line of fortifications with massive walls, impassable trenches, and deadly traps built to isolate the town and starve the defenders. However, when a far superior Gallic relief army approached, it was unclear whether Caesar’s ramparts—and thus his legions—would prevail. The siege of Alesia has shaped the modern perception of Roman siege warfare like no other. Many studies of siege warfare are based on a handful of famous events, with Alesia being the most popular example.INF Caesar’s reliance on a blockade at Alesia often creates the impression that extensive earthwork was an integral part of Roman siege warfare and that the Romans relied primarily on blockades to conquer fortresses during the late Republic. However, the extent to which this was the case is questionable. To put Alesia into context, this video examines the 29 other reasonably well-documented sieges from Caesar’s time. This will reveal how important blockades and earthworks really were for Roman siege warfare. But let’s start with the siege of Alesia. Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/sandrhomanhistory Paypal (thank you: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/SandRhomanhistory Bibliography Brizzi, G./Cairo, G./Le Bohec, Y., s.v. ‘Siege Warfare: Republic’, in: Le Bohec, Y. (ed.), The Encyclopedia of the Roman Army, Chichester 2015, pp. 880-885. Campbell, D. B., Sieges in Caesar, in: Armstrong, J./Trundle M. (eds.), Brill’s Companion to Sieges in the Ancient Mediterranean, Leiden/Boston 2019, pp. 241-264. Davies, G., Roman Siege Works, Stroud 2006. Goldsworthy, A., Roman Warfare, London 2000. Keppie, L.J.F., The Making of the Roman Army: From Republic to Empire, London 1984. Le Bohec, Y., La Guerre romaine, 58 avant J.-C.-235 après J.-C., Paris 2014. Le Bohec, Y. (ed.), The Encyclopedia of the Roman Army, Chichester 2015. Levithan, J., Roman Siege Warfare, Ann Arbor 2013. Liebenam, Wilhelm, s.v. 'Festungskrieg (II)', in: Paulys Realencyklopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft 6.2 (1909), c. 2236-255. Roth, J., Roman Warfare, Cambridge 2009. Riggsby, Andrew M., s.v. Alesia, Siege of, in: The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome online: https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195170726.001.0001/acref-9780195170726-e-45?rskey=a5VMBc, [last accessed on 24.02.25].