Defeat of Vercingetorix

Food supplies in Alesia were almost gone. Vercingetorix had expelled all civilians and the wounded, but Caesar forced them to stay at the base of the hill, starving. Vercingetorix finally admitted defeat and gave himself to his subordinates to kill him or turn him over to the Romans. The entire force surrendered.

Although the garrison fell into Roman hands, most of the relief force scattered and returned home. Final casualty figures are unknown, but there were enough prisoners for each Roman soldier to be awarded one as a slave; each officer received several. Vercingetorix was taken in chains to Rome, where he was a showpiece in Caesar’s triumphal parade. He languished in a cell for six years before he was finally executed.

After Alesia, there were no more serious uprisings against Roman rule in Gaul. In six years, Caesar had succeeded in establishing Roman power in the province, and Gaul proved to be one of Rome’s most profitable acquisitions. It also stretched the limits of Roman civilization well past the Italian Peninsula.

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