- Alesia (city)
Alesia was the capital of the
Mandubii , one of theGaul ish tribes allied with the mightyAedui , and afterJulius Caesar 's conquest a Roman town (Oppidum ) inGaul . There have been archeological excavations since the time ofNapoléon III inAlise-Sainte-Reine inCôte d'Or nearDijon , which have claimed that the historical Alesia is located there. New discoveries are constantly being made about thisGallo-Roman settlement on the plateau of Mont-Auxois. As a result of the latest excavation, a find was presented to the museum there with the inscription: "IN ALISIIA", which finally dispelled the doubts of some archeologists on the town's identity.Early doubts
Earlier there were other, less academically valid theories about Alesia's location that claimed it was in Franche-Comté or around
Salins-les-Bains in Jura. The uncertainty surrounding Alesia's location is humorously parodied in theAsterix volumeAsterix and the Chieftain's Shield , in which, in this case because of Gaulish pride, characters repeatedly deny that they know its location ("I don't know where Alesia is! No one knows where Alesia is!").Caesar's battle
Around
52 BC , Alesia was the site of the decisive battle between the Romans underJulius Caesar and theGauls underVercingetorix . The battle's outcome determined the fate of all of Gaul. In winning the battle, the Romans won both theGallic War and dominion over Gaul. The fight is described in detail by Caesar in his "De Bello Gallico " (Book 7, 68-69). The latest analysis at Alise-Sainte-Reine can corroborate the described siege in detail. The enormous measures taken there are impressive: in only six weeks a 15 km long fortification ring ("circumvallation ") around Alesia and an additional 21 km long ring ("contravallation ") around that to stop reinforcements (around 250,000 men according to Caesar) from reaching the Gauls. These have been identified by archeologists using aerial photography.References
* The information in this article is based on a translation of its German equivalent.
* [http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alesia/alesia.html The Siege of Alesia]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.