Vercingetorix

Vercingetorix united the Gauls against Julius Caesar and surrendered to save his people. Born around 82 BC, he was the son of Celtillus, a chief of the Arverni who had been killed by his own people for attempting to make himself king of all Gaul. He raised a revolt in 52 BC while Caesar was in Italy, was expelled from Gergovia by his uncle and the town's elders, and returned with an army he had raised himself. He was then acclaimed leader of a coalition that eventually included most of the Gallic peoples, including the Aedui, who had been Rome's oldest allies in the region. His strategy was the correct one. Rather than meet the legions in the field, he burned crops, granaries and towns across a wide area to starve them, and used his superior cavalry to attack foraging parties and supply columns. He allowed Avaricum to be defended against his own judgement, and Caesar took it and massacred the population. He beat Caesar at Gergovia in a rare Roman defeat, and then made his one error, committing his cavalry to an attack on the march and losing it. He withdrew into the hill fort of Alesia with some eighty thousand men. Caesar built two lines of siege works — an inner ring facing the town and an outer facing the relief army — and held both, defeating a Gallic relief force of enormous size. Vercingetorix rode out and laid his arms at Caesar's feet. He was held for six years, displayed in the triumph of 46 BC, and strangled.

• Lived: 82 BCE – 46 BCE
• Nationality: Gallic
• Roles: chieftain, military_leader