The Landmark Julius Caesar is the definitive edition of the five works that chronicle the military campaigns of Julius Caesar. Together, these five narratives present a comprehensive picture of military and political developments leading to the collapse of the Roman republic and the advent of the Roman Empire. The Gallic War is Caesar’s own account of his two invasions of Britain and of conquering most of what is today France, Belgium, and Switzerland. The Civil War describes the conflict in the following year which, after the death of his chief rival, Pompey, and the defeat of Pompey’s heirs and supporters, resulted in Caesar’s emergence as the sole power in Rome. Accompanying Caesar’s own commentaries are three short but essential additional works, known to us as the Alexandrian War, the African War , and the Spanish War . These were written by three unknown authors who were clearly eyewitnesses and probably Roman officers. Caesar’s clear and direct prose provides a riveting depiction of ancient warfare and, not incidentally, a persuasive portrait for the Roman people (and for us) of Caesar himself as a brilliant, moderate, and effective leader—an image that was key to his final success. Kurt A. Raaflaub’s masterful translation skillfully brings out the clarity and elegance of Caesar’s style, and this, together with such Landmark features as maps, detailed annotations, appendices, and illustrations, will provide every reader from lay person to scholar with a rewarding and enjoyable experience. (With 2-color text, maps, and illustrations throughout; web essays available at http://www.thelandmarkcaesar.com/) “Stunning. . . . Mr. Raaflaub has surpassed even the previous high standards of the Landmark series by supplying full, expert and wide-ranging notes, almost all containing his own elucidations rather than showy scholarly references. This achievement is amplified by more than 40 appendix essays, all commissioned by Mr. Raaflaub and several written by him, addressing all sorts of literary, military and biographical questions. . . . History buffs, classicists, fans of television’s Rome : Do not pass up this gift. Whether you revere Caesar as a military genius or despise him as a butcher and a tyrant, The Landmark Julius Caesar is an indispensable way to read his writings and understand his rise to power.” —James Romm, The Wall Street Journal “Splendid. . . . A boon for every student. . . . A distinguished historian and classicist, Raaflaub offers an excellent translation.” — The New Criterion “Glorious. . . . The Landmark Julius Caesar is a superb addition to a superb series.” — The National KURT A. RAAFLAUB completed his Ph.D. in Switzerland, served eight years as co-director of the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C., and is now professor emeritus of classics and history at Brown University. His main fields of study are the social and political history of the Roman republic; the social, political, and intellectual history of archaic and classical Greece; and comparative history of the ancient world. ROBERT B. STRASSLER is an unaffiliated scholar who holds an honorary Doctorate of Humanities and Letters from Bard College and is chairman of the Aston Magna Foundation for Music and the Humanities. He lives in Brookline, Massachusetts. GALLIC WAR I Gaul, if you take all of it into account, is divided into three regions.The Belgae live in one, the Aquitani in the second, and in the third a people called Celts in their own language but Gauls in ours.[2] These three peoples are all different from one another in their languages, institutions, and laws. The Garumna River separates the Aquitani from the Gauls, and the Matrona and Sequana Rivers separate the Gauls from the Belgae.[3] Of all these groups, the most warlike are the Belgae, because they are the farthest from the civilized sophistication of the Province;merchants come to them least often with imports that foster an effeminate disposition;they are also the closest to the Germans living across the Rhine River, and they are constantly at war with them. [4] This is, moreover, the reason the Helvetiisurpass all the Gauls except the Belgae in bravery: they struggle with the Germans in almost daily battles, either trying to keep them out of their own country or else actually waging war in the Germans’ territory. [5] [The region that, as stated above, the Gauls occupy starts at the Rhône River, and its other boundaries are the Garumna River, the Atlantic Ocean, and the territory of the Belgae. One part of it, where the Sequani and the Helvetii are found, touches the Rhine River. But its general direction is to the north. [6] The Belgae are found starting from the farthest borders of the Gauls, and then all of the way to the lower part of the Rhine, in a region verging toward the north and east.[7] Aquitania goes from the Garumna River to the Pyrenees Mountains and the part of the Atlantic Ocean next to
