![]() ![]() Caesar remarked that the warlike Nervii refused to yield their ground even after the Atrebates and Virumandui had been put into disarray. ![]() ![]() The strong stand by the X legion and the prompt arrival of reinforcements enabled Caesar to regroup, redeploy and eventually repulse the Nervii once the and Viromandui were put to flight. He himself was forced to take up a shield and personally rally his forces which were then threatened with envelopment and massacre. Some of Caesar’s officers held their posts for political reasons only and had no war experience. Caesar, learning that Ariovistus intended to seize, the largest town of the Sequani, commenced marching his troops toward Vesontio. With the attack of the Harudes on the Aedui and the report that a hundred clans of Suebi were trying to cross the Rhine into Gaul, Caesar had the justification he needed to wage war against Ariovistus in 58 BC. Although Ariovistus assured Caesar that the Aedui hostages would be safe as long as they continued their yearly tribute, he took the position that he and the Romans were both conquerors and that Rome had no jurisdiction over his actions. Caesar said that he could not ignore the pain the Aedui had suffered and delivered an ultimatum to Ariovistus demanding that no German cross the, the return of Aedui hostages and the protection of the Aedui and other friends of Rome. The senate had declared Ariovistus a 'king and friend of the Roman people' in 59 BC, so Caesar could not declare war on the Suebi tribe. Not only did Caesar have a responsibility to protect the longstanding allegiance of the Aedui, but this proposition presented an opportunity to expand Rome’s borders, strengthen the loyalty within Caesar’s army and establish him as the commander of Rome’s troops abroad. Diviciacus demanded that Caesar defeat Ariovistus and remove the threat of a Germanic invasion otherwise they would have to seek refuge in a new land. Following Caesar’s victory over the Helvetii, the majority of the Gallic tribes congratulated Caesar and sought to meet with him in a general assembly., the head of the Aeduan government and spokesmen for the Gallic delegation, expressed concern over Ariovistus’ conquests and the hostages he had taken. This demand 'concerned' because if the Sequani conceded, Ariovistus would be in a position to take all of the Sequani land and attack the rest of Gaul. When 24,000 Harudes joined his cause, Ariovistus demanded that the Sequani give him more land to accommodate the Harudes people. Ariovistus settled the land with 120,000 of his people. Despite the fact that this migration encroached on land, the Sequani sought Ariovistus’ allegiance against the and, in 61 BC, the Sequani rewarded Ariovistus with land following his victory in the. ![]()
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