ABSTRACT
Such then was the Roman army, when Gaius Julius Caesar (pl. 6) arrived in Gaul in 58 as proconsul. In May of the previous year, during his consulship, Caesar had obtained by vote of the Assembly the provinces of Cisalpine Gaul (i.e. North Italy) and Illyricum (i.e. the coast of Yugoslavia), for an exceptional period of five years, with a force of three legions. Perhaps he had in mind campaigns across the Alps and towards the Danube. But soon after, the province of Transalpina (i.e. Gaul beyond the Alps), recently made vacant by the death of the incumbent governor, was added to Caesar’s command, and with it one legion; this was to be the jumping-off point for all Caesar’s Gallic conquests.
