Editing Vercingetorix

{{Multiple issues|
{{expand french|topic=bio|Vercingétorix|date=April 2022}}
{{expand spanish|topic=bio|Vercingétorix|date=April 2022}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2019}}
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{{short description|1st-century BC Gallic chieftain}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Vercingetorix
| office              = King of the Arverni
| image               = File:Vercingetorix statère MAN.jpg
| caption             = Gold [[stater]] of Vercingetorix, [[Cabinet des Médailles]]. This depiction is idealized and symbolic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reportret.info/gallery/vercingetorix1.html|title=Reportret: Vercingetorix|first=Marco|last=Bakker|website=www.reportret.info|access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref>
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| office1             = 
| predecessor1        = 
| successor1          = 
| successor2          = 
| birth_name          = 
| birth_date          = c. 80 BC{{sfn|Goudineau|2009|p=278}}
| birth_place         = Unknown
| death_date          = 46 BC (aged 36–37)
| death_place         = [[Rome]], [[Roman Italy|Italy]], [[Roman Republic]]
| resting_place       = 
| spouse              = 
| children            = 
| parents             = 
| term_start          = 
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| death_cause         = Execution by strangling
}}
'''Vercingetorix''' ({{IPA|la|wɛrkɪŋˈɡɛtɔriːks|lang}}; {{langx|grc|Οὐερκιγγετόριξ}} {{IPA|el|u.erkiŋɡeˈtoriks|}}; {{circa|80}} – 46 BC) was a [[Gauls|Gallic]] king and chieftain of the [[Arverni]] tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against [[Roman Republic|Roman]] forces during the last phase of [[Julius Caesar]]'s [[Gallic Wars]]. After surrendering to Caesar and spending almost six years in prison, he was executed in Rome.

Vercingetorix was the son of Celtillus the Arvernian, leader of the Gallic tribes. Vercingetorix came to power after his formal designation as chieftain of the Arverni at the [[oppidum]] [[Gergovia]] in 52 BC. He immediately established an alliance with other Gallic tribes, took command, combined all forces and led them in the Celts' most significant revolt against Roman power. He won the [[Battle of Gergovia]] against Julius Caesar in which several thousand Romans and their allies were killed and the Roman legions withdrew.

Caesar had been able to exploit Gaulish internal divisions to easily subjugate the country, since Vercingetorix's attempt to unite the Gauls against Roman invasion came too late.<ref name="EB_The_Roman_Conquest">{{cite web |url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/215768/France/41196/The-press |title=France: The Roman conquest |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica (company)|Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=April 6, 2015 |quote="Because of chronic internal rivalries, Gallic resistance was easily broken, though Vercingetorix's Great Rebellion of 52 BC had notable successes."}}</ref><ref name="The_first_triumvirate_and_the_conquest_of_Gaul">{{cite web |url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/88114/Julius-Caesar/9735/The-first-triumvirate-and-the-conquest-of-Gaul |title=Julius Caesar: The first triumvirate and the conquest of Gaul |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica (company)|Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=February 15, 2015 |quote="Indeed, the Gallic cavalry was probably superior to the Roman, horseman for horseman. Rome's military superiority lay in its mastery of strategy, tactics, discipline, and military engineering. In Gaul, Rome also had the advantage of being able to deal separately with dozens of relatively small, independent, and uncooperative states. Caesar conquered these piecemeal, and the concerted attempt made by a number of them in 52 BC to shake off the Roman yoke came too late."}}</ref> At the [[Battle of Alesia]], also in 52 BC, the Romans besieged and defeated his forces. To spare as many of his men as possible, he gave himself to the Romans. He was held prisoner for five years. In 46 BC, as part of Caesar's [[Roman triumph|triumph]], he was paraded through the streets of [[Rome]] and then executed by [[garroting]]. Vercingetorix is primarily known through Caesar's {{lang|la|[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico]]}} (Commentaries on the Gallic War). He is considered a folk hero in France, and especially in [[Auvergne]], his native region.
[[File:Vercingetorix coins.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Vercingetorix on Roman coinage (dated 48 BC). Top: bust right (war chariot on reverse); bottom: tied near war trophy (female head on obverse).]]

== Name ==
The [[Gaulish]] name {{tlit|xtg|Vercingetorix}} can be literally translated as 'great king' or 'leader of warriors', from {{tlit|xtg|ver-}} ('over', 'superior') + {{tlit|xtg|-cingeto-}} ('warrior, hero') + {{tlit|xtg|-rix}} ('king').{{sfn|Evans|1967|pp=121–122}}{{sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=116}}{{sfn|Matasović|2009|pp=200, 398}} Scholar Maigréad Ní C. Dobbs has proposed to see an Irish [[cognate]] of the name in the form {{lang|ga|Ferchinged an rí}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dobbs |first=Maighréad Ní C. |date=1952 |title=Le nom de Vercingétorix en Irlande |journal=Études celtiques |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=195 |doi=10.3406/ecelt.1952.1251}}</ref> In his ''Life of Caesar'', [[Plutarch]] renders the name as {{tlit|grc|Vergentorix}} ({{lang|grc|Οὐεργεντόριξ}}).<ref>Plutarch, ''Life of Caesar'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#25 25]; [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#27 27].</ref> According to [[Florus]], he was "endowed [...] with a name which seemed to be intended to inspire terror".<ref>Florus, ''Epitome of Roman History'', [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/florus-epitome_roman_history/1929/pb_LCL231.207.xml 1:45].</ref>

==Background==
[[File:Cesare prima Gallia 58 a.C.jpg|thumb|upright=1.36|[[Gallia Narbonensis]] and the [[Roman Republic]] in 58&nbsp;BC]]
[[File:Statue-vercingetorix-jaude-clermont.jpg|thumb|upright=1.36|''Vercingetorix'' statue by [[Frédéric Bartholdi]], on Place de Jaude, in [[Clermont-Ferrand]], France]]
Having been appointed [[Roman governor|governor]] of the Roman province of [[Gallia Narbonensis]] (modern [[Provence]]) in 58&nbsp;BC, [[Julius Caesar]] proceeded to conquer the [[Gauls|Gallic]] tribes beyond over the next few years, maintaining control through a careful [[divide and rule]] strategy. He made use of the [[Political faction|factionalism]] among the Gallic elites, favouring certain noblemen over others with political support and Roman luxuries such as wine. Attempts at revolt, such as that of [[Ambiorix]] in 54&nbsp;BC, had secured only local support, but Vercingetorix, whose father, Celtillus, had been put to death by his own countrymen for seeking to rule all of Gaul, managed to unify the Gallic tribes against the Romans and adopted more current styles of warfare.

===Averni nobleman===
The revolt that Vercingetorix came to lead began in early 52&nbsp;BC while Caesar was raising troops in [[Cisalpine Gaul]]. Believing that Caesar would be distracted by the turmoil in [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] following the death of [[Publius Clodius Pulcher]], the [[Carnutes]], under Cotuatus and Conetodunus, made the first move, slaughtering the Romans who had settled in their territory.

Vercingetorix, a young nobleman of the Arvernian city of [[Gergovia]], roused his dependents to join the revolt, but he and his followers were expelled by Vercingetorix's uncle [[Gobanitio]] and the rest of the nobles because they thought that opposing Caesar was too great a risk. Undeterred, Vercingetorix raised an army of the poor, took Gergovia, and was hailed as king.<ref>Julius Caesar, ''Commentaries on the Gallic War'' Book VII, sect. 4.</ref>

==War with Rome==
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2022}}
Vercingetorix made alliances with other tribes, and in doing so he united Gaul under the pretense of escaping Roman rule. After having been unanimously given supreme command of their armies, he imposed his authority through harsh discipline and the taking of hostages. Leadership and unification on this level was unprecedented in Gaul and would not happen again for decades.

He adopted a policy of retreating to natural [[fortification]]s, and undertook an early example of a [[scorched earth]] strategy by burning towns to prevent the [[Roman legion]]s from living off the land.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vercingetorix |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/britannia/miscellanea/vercingetorix.html |access-date=2022-11-12 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref>
Vercingetorix scorched much of the land marching north with his army from Gergovia in an attempt to deprive Caesar of the resources and safe haven of the towns and villages along Caesar's march south.

===Siege of Avaricum===
However, the capital of the [[Bituriges Cubi|Bituriges]], [[Avaricum]] (near modern-day [[Bourges]]), a Gallic settlement directly in Caesar's path, was spared. Due to the town's strong protests, naturally defensible terrain, and apparently strong man-made reinforcing defenses, Vercingetorix decided against razing and burning it. Leaving the town to its fate, Vercingetorix camped well outside of Avaricum and focused on conducting harassing engagements of the advancing Roman units led by Caesar and his chief lieutenant [[Titus Labienus]]. Upon reaching Avaricum, however, the Romans laid siege and eventually captured the capital.

Afterwards, in a reprisal for 25 days of hunger and of laboring over the siegeworks required to breach Avaricum's defenses, the Romans slaughtered nearly the entire population, some 40,000 people, leaving only about 800 alive.<ref>Julius Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic War vii.</ref>

===Battle of Gergovia===
The next major battle was at [[Battle of Gergovia|Gergovia]], capital city of the [[Arverni]]. During the battle, Vercingetorix and his warriors crushed Caesar's legions and allies, inflicting heavy losses. Vercingetorix then decided to follow Caesar but suffered heavy losses (as did the Romans and their allies<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Internet Classics Archive {{!}} Caesar by Plutarch |url=http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/caesar.html |access-date=2021-03-31 |website=classics.mit.edu}}</ref>) during a cavalry battle and he retreated and moved to another stronghold, [[Alesia (city)|Alesia]].

=== Battle of Alesia ===
In the [[Battle of Alesia]] in September 52&nbsp;BC, Caesar built a fortification around the city to [[investment (military)|besiege]] it. However, Vercingetorix had summoned his Gallic allies to attack the besieging Romans. These forces included an army of Arverni led by Vercingetorix's cousin [[Vercassivellaunos]] and an army of 10,000 [[Lemovices]] led by [[Sedullos]].

With the Roman circumvallation surrounded by the rest of Gaul, Caesar built another outward-facing fortification (a contravallation) against the expected relief armies, resulting in a doughnut-shaped fortification. The Gallic relief came in insufficient numbers: estimates range from 80,000 to 250,000 soldiers. Vercingetorix, the [[Military tactics|tactic]]al leader, was cut off from those on the inside, and without his guidance the attacks were initially unsuccessful. However, the attacks did reveal a weak point in the fortifications and the combined forces on the inside and the outside almost made a breakthrough. Only when Caesar personally led the last reserves into battle did he finally manage to prevail. This was a decisive battle in the creation of the [[Roman Empire]].

[[File:Siege-alesia-vercingetorix-jules-cesar.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.36|''Vercingetorix throws down his arms at the feet of [[Julius Caesar]]'' (1899) by [[Lionel Royer]]]]
According to [[Plutarch]], ''Caes''. 27.8-10, Vercingetorix surrendered in a dramatic fashion, riding his beautifully adorned horse out of Alesia and around Caesar's camp before dismounting in front of Caesar, stripping himself of his armor and sitting down at his opponent's feet, where he remained motionless until he was taken away.<ref>''Plutarch's Lives''; ''Caes''. 27.8-10; Flor. 1.45.26; Dio 40.41.3.  Medieval [[French historians#Middle Ages|French historians]] are also partly responsible for romanticising Vercingetorix's surrender. ''Romancing the Past: The Rise of Vernacular Prose Historiography in Thirteenth-Century France'', by Gabrielle M. Spiegel, page 143, Berkeley: 1993.</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Plutarch |title=The Life of Julius Caesar |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#27 |website=The Parallel Lives |publisher=Loeb Classical Library Edition |access-date=15 July 2015 |ref=27}}</ref> Caesar provides a first-hand contradiction of this account, ''De Bell. Gal''. 7.89, describing Vercingetorix's surrender much more modestly.<ref>''Commentaries on the Gallic Wars'', Everyman's Edition, 1953 (Trans: John Warrington); Book VII, sect. 89.</ref>

===Imprisonment and death===
[[File:Campitelli - Mamertinum - giustiziati laici 1040075.JPG|thumb|A plaque in the museum at the [[Mamertine Prison]] indicates Vercingetorix was beheaded there in 49&nbsp;BC.]]
Vercingetorix was imprisoned in the [[Tullianum]] in Rome for almost six years before being publicly displayed in the first of Caesar's four [[Roman triumph|triumphs]] in 46&nbsp;BC. He was ceremonially strangled at the [[Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus]] after the triumph.<ref>Dio 40.41.3, 43.19.4</ref>

== Legacy ==
=== Memorials ===
[[File:Alise-Sainte-Reine_statue_Vercingetorix_par_Millet.jpg|thumb|[[Vercingétorix monument|Vercingétorix Memorial]] in [[Alesia (city)|Alesia]], near the village of [[Alise-Sainte-Reine]], France]]
[[File:Vercingétorix - Cândido de Faria - 1909 - NL-EYE-EFG1914 A06136.jpg|thumb|Poster for the French film ''Vercingétorix'' by [[Cândido de Faria]] for [[Pathé]], 1909. Collection [[EYE Film Institute Netherlands]]]]
[[Napoleon III]] erected a {{convert|7|m|ft|adj=mid|-tall}} [[Vercingétorix monument]] in 1865, created by the sculptor [[Aimé Millet]], on the supposed site of Alesia. The architect for the memorial was [[Eugène Viollet-le-Duc]].<ref>[http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/images/conway/b9495a55.html Statue of Vercingetorix] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310140242/http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/images/conway/b9495a55.html |date=2007-03-10 }}, ''Art and Architecture'', 2006</ref> The statue still stands. The inscription on the base, written by Viollet-le-Duc, which copied the famous statement of Julius Caesar, reads (in [[French language|French]]):

{{verse translation|lang=fr|La Gaule unie
Formant une seule nation
Animée d'un même esprit,
Peut défier l'Univers.
|
Gaul united,
Forming a single nation
Animated by a common spirit,
Can defy the Universe.}}

Many other monumental statues of Vercingetorix were erected in France during the 19th century, including one by [[Frédéric Bartholdi]] on the [[Place de Jaude]] in [[Clermont-Ferrand]].<ref>Dietler, Michael, [https://www2.southeastern.edu/Academics/Faculty/jbell/gauls.pdf "Our ancestors the Gauls": archaeology, ethnic nationalism, and the manipulation of Celtic identity in modern Europe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304123151/https://www2.southeastern.edu/Academics/Faculty/jbell/gauls.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }} (7.3M), ''[[American Anthropologist]]'', 1994, 96: 584–605. Dietler, M., A tale of three sites: the monumentalization of Celtic oppida and the politics of collective memory and identity, ''[[World Archaeology]]'', 1998, 30: 72–89.</ref>

=== Asteroid ===
Asteroid [[52963 Vercingetorix]], discovered by the [[OCA–DLR Asteroid Survey]], was named in his honor.<ref name="MPC-object"/> The official naming citation was published by the [[Minor Planet Center]] on 25 September 2018 ({{small|[[Minor Planet Circulars|M.P.C.]] 111800}}).<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive"/>

=== Comics ===
Vercingetorix is referenced and appears in flashbacks in several ''[[Asterix]]'' comics. ''[[Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield]]'' is about Asterix and Obelix's efforts to locate Vercingetorix's missing shield and humiliate Caesar in the process.

He is the co-protagonist and title character of the 18th book in the series ''[[The Adventures of Alix]]''.

The story of his battles against Caesar and subsequent surrender are also referenced in Classics Illustrated "Caesars Conquests", which is an illustrated summation of "Caesar's Gallic Wars", written by Caesar.

=== TV ===
The 2005–2007 [[HBO]] series ''[[Rome (TV series)|Rome]]'' depicts the surrender and execution of [[List of Rome (TV series) characters|Vercingetorix]].

=== Films ===
The 2001 French film ''[[Druids (film)|Druids]]'', starring [[Christopher Lambert]] as Vercingetorix, depicts the Gallic chieftain's struggle against Caesar. The film is infamous in France for its poor quality and dismal box office performance. The script was written by [[Norman Spinrad]], who also authored the novelization ''[[The Druid King]]''.

The 1962 Italian movie ''[[Caesar the Conqueror]]'' stars [[Rik Battaglia]] as Vercingetorix and [[Cameron Mitchell (actor)|Cameron Mitchell]] as Julius Caesar. The movie centers around Caesar's battles with the Gauls as well as his political battling in Rome. The movie ends with the [[Battle of Alesia]] and Vercingetorix's subsequent surrender.

===Opera===
[[Joseph Canteloube]] composed an opera, ''Vercingétorix'', about the defeat of the Gauls by Julius Caesar. The libretto was by Étienne Clémentel. The [[Paris Opéra]] gave the first performance on 22 June 1933.<ref>{{cite book|last=Simeone|first=Nigel|chapter=France and the Mediterranean|title=The Cambridge Companion to Twentieth-Century Opera|editor-last1=Cooke|editor-first1=Mervyn|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=2005|isbn=9780521780094|page=136–138}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|History}}
{{Div col|colwidth=25em}}
* [[Ambiorix]]
* [[Alaric I]]
* [[Ardaric]]
* [[Arminius]]
* [[Autaritus]]
* [[Battle of Baduhenna Wood]]
* [[Bato (Daesitiate chieftain)]]
* [[Boudica]]
* [[Caratacus]]
* [[Fritigern]]
* [[Gainas]]
* [[Gaius Julius Civilis]]
* [[John of Gothia]]
* [[Spartacus]]
* [[Totila]]
* [[Tribigild]]
* [[Viriathus]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name="MPC-object">{{cite web
  |title      = 52963 Vercingetorix (1998 TB16)
  |work       = Minor Planet Center
  |url        = https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=52963
  |access-date = 17 October 2018}}</ref>

<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive">{{cite web
  |title      = MPC/MPO/MPS Archive
  |work       = Minor Planet Center
  |url        = https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html
  |access-date = 17 October 2018}}</ref>

}} <!-- end of reflist -->

== Primary sources ==
* [[Julius Caesar]], ''[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0001&query=7%3A1&chunk=book Book 7]
* [[Dio Cassius]], ''Roman History'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/40*.html#33 40:33–41], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/43*.html#19 43:19]
* [[Plutarch]], ''Life of Caesar'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#25 25–27]

== Bibliography ==
* {{Cite book|last=Delamarre|first=Xavier|title=Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental|year=2003|publisher=Errance|isbn=9782877723695|author-link=Xavier Delamarre}}
* {{Cite book|last=Evans|first=D. Ellis|title=Gaulish Personal Names: A Study of Some Continental Celtic Formations|date=1967|publisher=Clarendon Press|oclc=468437906|author-link=Ellis Evans}}
* {{Cite book |last=Goudineau |first=Christian |title=Le dossier Vercingétorix |date=2009 |publisher=Actes Sud |isbn=978-2-7427-8556-8}}
* {{Cite book|last=Matasović|first=Ranko|title=Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic|year=2009|publisher=Brill|isbn=9789004173361|author-link=Ranko Matasović}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Vercingetorix}}
* A reconstructed [http://www.reportret.info/gallery/vercingetorix1.html portrait of Vercingetorix], based on historical sources, in a contemporary style.
* Curchin, Leonard A. [[Gaulish language|''Lingua Gallica'']] (The Gaulish Language). Retrieved January 23, 2010 from [http://arts.uwaterloo.ca/~lcurchin/light/gallica.html Uwaterloo.ca] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925161145/http://arts.uwaterloo.ca/~lcurchin/light/gallica.html |date=2010-09-25 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090608092612/http://recherche.univ-montp3.fr/cercam/article.php3?id_article=399], ''Vercingétorix : le politique, le stratège.'' Paris : Perrin, 2000, 260 p.&nbsp;{{ISBN|2-262-01691-7}}.

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Vercingetorix| ]]
[[Category:80s BC births]]
[[Category:46 BC deaths]]
[[Category:1st-century BC executions]]
[[Category:1st-century BC monarchs in Europe]]
[[Category:Barbarian people of the Gallic Wars]]
[[Category:Celtic warriors]]
[[Category:1st-century BC Gaulish tribal chiefs]]
[[Category:People executed by strangulation]]
[[Category:People executed by the Roman Republic]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Executed monarchs]]