What Led to the Gallic Wars?

Julius Caesar was renowned for his military campaigns, but these achievements came at a cost, leaving him in considerable debt. He leveraged his influence in the First Triumvirate, a political alliance among three prominent politicians in the late Roman Republic, to secure a five-year governorship in Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum.

When the governor of Transalpine Gaul died unexpectedly, Caesar was appointed as the governor of this province as well. Historians believe that Caesar planned to conquer territory to help clear his debts, initially targeting the kingdom of Dacia in the Balkans, known for its rich gold deposits.

However, a mass migration of Gaelic tribes in 58 BC gave Caesar the pretext for war that he was seeking. The migrating tribes were the Helvetti, a tribal confederation on the Swiss Plateau, who felt pressured by the Germanic tribes from the North and East and planned to migrate towards Transalpine Gaul and eventually into the territory of the Aedui, a tribe allied to Rome.

Caesar and his fellow Romans feared that the lands the Helvetti left behind would be occupied by the Germanic tribes, who they viewed as a greater threat than the Gaelic tribes. Furthermore, the mass migrations would destabilize the borders between Rome and Gaul.

Therefore, when the Helvetti requested passage through Roman territories, Caesar denied them. The Helvetti then turned north, bypassing Roman territory. Although this seemed to resolve the crisis, Caesar saw the Helvetti migration as a justification to invade Gaul. He planned to attack the Helvetti, arguing that they might return in the future and threaten Roman provinces. His military campaign was approved by the Roman Senate.

The Start of the Gallic Wars

With an army of 24,000 to 30,000 soldiers, Caesar pursued the Helvetians who were crossing the Saone river. The Romans attacked those who had not crossed and destroyed them, but the majority of the Helvetians had already made it across the river.

The Romans then built a pontoon bridge to cross the river and soon caught up with the remaining Helvetians, who began negotiations. These negotiations ended when Caesar imposed harsh terms that the Helvetii rejected outright. When Caesar’s own supplies began to run low, he attacked the Helvetii directly. Despite being almost surrounded in the final battle, the Romans emerged victorious. The Helvetii were ordered to return to their lands, where they served as a buffer between the Romans and the fearsome Germanic Tribes.