Commentaries on the Gallic War is the first hand account by Julius Caesar of his experiences during the nine years he spent in the Gallic Wars. Written as a third-person narrative in eight sections, Books 1-8, he describes the battles and political intrigues he encounters in his campaigns against the Germanic and Celtic peoples who opposed Roman conquest.  The work is familiar to students of the Latin language, where it is used as an example of simple, direct Latin prose and stylistic clarity.  It famously begins with the line “Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres” (“Gaul is a whole divided in three parts”), which is somewhat undermined by the fact that the borders of Gaul itself were ambiguous and shifting during the time of the campaigns.  Generally the term refers to those parts of the region not conquered by the Romans, now most of modern France, Belgium, western Germany and parts of Switzerland.  The word “Gaul” came to stand for uncouth or uncivilized areas and peoples.  Written between 58-49 BC, when Caesar's political fortunes were ascendant, to the alarm and hostility of the governing aristocrats, the commentaries aimed to increase his support among the plebeians by propagandizing his efforts to increase the influence and glory of Rome.

Play sample: 

Download a PDF datasheet