On his return from across the Channel, Roman commander Julius Caesar found Gaul in uproar thanks to a doughty rebel he called Vercingetorix. At last, in September 52 BC, Caesar had Vercingetorix and his rebels pinned down in Alesia, and when a relief force failed to break the siege, Vercingetorix gave himself up in the hope of preventing bloody reprisals.

Even Rome’s battle-hardened officers were moved as Vercingetorix rode in with dignity before Caesar’s seat of judgment, dismounted, and threw down his weapons. Caesar, however, poured forth an angry tirade before seeing to it that Vercingetorix was carried off to Rome in chains. There the noble Gaul was paraded as a dumb trophy, and eventually executed.

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