The dramatic painting by L.Royer depicting Vercingetorix’ surrender to Julius Caesar (shown above) provided Gary with some great inspiration for this piece, which sees the once proud Gallic leader reduced to the role of prisoner.
When Julius Caesar sat on his makeshift throne to take the surrender of the Gallic chief Vercingetorix in October 52 BC, he may have reflected on what a long road it had been to finally defeat the proud Gauls. Vercingetorix, kneeling at Caesar’s feet in subjugation, must have wished he had never set eyes on the Roman commander and his all- conquering legions.
The journey to this moment began in 59 BC when Caesar completed his Consulship in Rome and engineered his appointment to the governorship of the two provinces that constituted Gaul. Moreover, he was given the job for ten years instead of the usual one. That gave Caesar more than ample time to expand the Roman Empire deep into the recesses of northern Europe and even to the shores of Britain. The vast majority of Gauls, of course, did not foresee their destiny in quite the same way.
Caesar used the by now traditional Roman method of expanding their Empire; diplomacy backed by the sword. He crushed tribes who opposed him and he used those victories to cow others into surrendering their freedom for peace. However, it was not all plain sailing for the Roman military genius. His conquests produced political opposition in Rome that attempted to bring him to heel. Also, any Gallic victory could put a severe
