One can source criticize everything thing you want, but when leading professional Celtic historians (which you are not admittedly and say you know very little of the matter at hand) agree and do not deny that there was a long term civil war/inter tribal warfare, whatever politically correct term one wishes to call it, they probably know what they are talking about? I think you are looking for something that doesn't exist, like non existent articles that say it was not in fact Caesar defeated the Gauls. Theres no challenge that I have come across. Please, Macrille, you or someone, show evidence from some Celtic or anti-Celtic author that this warfare in Gaul was a myth made up by Caesar. We can go from there. Really, I have read so many publications and articles criticizing Caesar, but not a single one denies this long term warfare between the Aedui and Arverni or give a reason why one would be false or blown out of proportion. Unless some Celtic historian challenges this widely held view (that is so far unchallenged in articles berating the Gallic War writings), then it stands against everything in this thread saying otherwise.
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None say the Gauls were in a state of famine. No article I have ever read says that hunger determined the outcome of the Gallic War. To those that think the Gauls at the time at large numbers of highly trained warriors waiting for action, why there no determinative pitched battle, Gaul vs. Roman, like with Caesar fought against Ariovistus? The Germans could muster the manpower to fight the Romans, why could the Gauls one must ask? Look at the the long battle against the Helvetti which wasn't decided until nightfall; how 500 Celtic cavalry repelled 4-5,000 of Caesar's own; the massive losses his highly trained soldiers took from Ambiorix (around 7-9,000 Romans dead) especially when numbers on both sides were equal; the defeat a Gergovia and his covering it up as nothing, etc...
The Gallic War was no walk in the park. The seeming impotence of the Arverni and Aedui against Caesar should spell some measure of insight on their military capacity once Caesar finally arrived, and these were the biggest two powerhouses in Gaul, yet, neither could apparently manage to fight a pitched battle against Caesar like the Germans. We know the Aedui lost the majority of their professional warriors, the knights, against fighting the Germans for so long, but how about the Arverni? Why did they not summon a large body of fresh professionals left over from the Aedui and Averni war and throw them against the Romans? The pro and anti roman divisions were there as Caesar mentions (or will somebody challenge that statement too?), but once the anti-Roman group 'won' and incorporated the Aedui into their side, wheres the mention of professionals warriors heeding his call and, why would Caesar, the egoist, say he defeated levies of the poor and desperate? Its no great wonder when you look at how those outside the scope of the Aedui and Arverni war fared so much better against Caesar (the Belgae and Helvetti) than the two powers said to be the greatest in all of Gaul.
Centuries of civil war in Gaul is misleading. At the earliest, Aedui vs. Arverni warfare would have lit up after 121 B.C. when the Romans crushed the Arverni at Vindalium. At the most that would have been about 60 years of warfare between the two powers. The only notable ravaging of Gaul was the military, save the actions of the Helvetti at the start of their migration. There are no reports of large scale burning, destruction, and otherwise detrimental effects on the landscape or population that has been found archaeologically. Of course there had to have been some, but saying that total war existed and caused the downfall of the Gauls if unprecedented. The urbanization was at it's highest levels in central and southern Gaul, not counting the Provence. The states of Gaul are defined as belonging to the Arverni, Aedui, Helvetti, Bituriges, and the Sequani. Possible states existed among the Pictones and other western Celtic tribes north of Aquitania. Yes, Caesar called them states, or proto-states one could argue, probably on the Roman definition of one as they had senates, constitution, urbanization , etc...
Whats true is these guys at the top of the social ladder would attempt to harness their power and reign everyone in under them. I mention earlier that Orgetorix attained 10,000 of these vassals, probably consisting of the knights and other top fighters. More than 10,000 went against Caesar so we know the vassals plus others, maybe levies and other men that chose to fight, were apart of the those that took up arms. We know if the leading warriors were defeated, it would spell disaster for the tribe. Case in point is the Aedui when they lost against Ariovistus. Once their knights and other leading warriors were defeated, who will take up arms against the victor, much less lead them against the victor? The Gallic aristocracy, the remaining knights, and other vassals or free men that took up arms could not have had the numbers, nor the leadership, needed to help their side attain mastery over the other. Here Romans and Germans were asked or hired in the fight to help where the Gallic numbers apparently were lacking and this lack would have had to have came form the violent warfare between the Aedui and Arverni in previous years leading up to their apparent slow decimation overtime of their leading warriors. Even Vercingetorix could only muster 15,000 knights out of all the Gauls that took to his cause. That is a very, very small number when you match that with Orgetorix's personal group is said to have numbered 10,000 out of the clans and dependents of the Helvetti. In fact, the apparent 92,000 fighting men of the Helvetti, no doubt split into divisions and units were able to ravage the lands of the Ambarri, Aedui, and the Allobroges at the same time because these tribe had nothing to offer in resistance and instead ran to Caesar for help. A resurgent and vigorous military is the last thing that appeared to happen in Gaul during this time.
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