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Commentarii de Bello Gallico or "The Conquest of Gaul" by Julius Caesar was significant in many ways. As a literary work it was written in polished, clear Latin. His work was admired for it's clarity of syntax and it beauty of style.

It was written in the third person narrative and was rich in details. It was the first real authentic text offered for Latin students. And the fact that it was written by the most famous person in the world furthered its significance.

It's debated however why Julius Caesar wrote about the conquest of Gaul. Many thought it was to bask in his glory about his nine-year campaign against the numerous tribes that made up Gaul.

Or maybe gloat over the eight hundred vanquished cities and three hundred subdued tribes, or to just brag about the most successful invasion since Alexander The Great attempted to rule the known world.

But the truth was he felt he had to somehow justify the most expensive military campaign in history to his political opponents and the Roman Senate. Gaul was comprised of many future great nations such as, France, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland.

Gaul was abundant in agricultural and mineral wealth, and Rome prospered from its forceful acquisition of Gaul. Caesar was not only motivated by glory as many suggest, but also by economic advantages as well.

And Rome ruled all these regions from the Rhine River to Pyrenees for six hundred years, with only one serious challenge and that was by a man named Vercingetorix at The Battle of Alesia. Vercingetorix was ultimately defeated and paraded around Rome as a trophy before being publicly executed.

Rome also imposed its artistic and literary culture on Gaul and sadly the people of Gaul lost much of their original identity and many of their beliefs such as their Druidic religion was suppressed and the society of Gaul became a Gallo-Roman hybrid culture.

History is written by the victors, and Julius Caesar wanted to somehow justify the three million deaths this nine-year war caused. In his written works he tried to paint a picture of barbarian tribes who needed to be forceful civilized, but the truth was that Gaul was a blossoming vibrant, diverse culture.

"The Conquest of Gaul" by Julius Caesar was a great literary work of its time and had great influence on ancient culture, although it was a very biased view of the conquest of Gaul it showed that Caesar was far more then a bloodthirsty tyrant, but was a highly educated, imaginative, colorful, composer of the written language of Latin.

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