Julius Caesar

[Anonymous]

Hello, this is my first post on this forum and I know very<br>
little about the Romans really. I was watching a TV program about Julius Caesar's first victory over the Britons<br>
at Brentford and it made me think : how did find his way<br>
there in a land he had never explored? Was it practice to<br>
send reconnaissance ahead or maybe there were scouts<br>
following the Britons? <p></p><i></i>

[Paullus]

A fellow newbie!<br>
<br>
In answer to your question, the Romans were aware of Britain thanks to the trade the Britons had with the coastal Gauls. As a result there was some trade between Rome and Briton, mostly in slaves if I remember correctly. So they knew that Britain existed, even if they didn't have a truely solid picture of the country. As for exploring Britain, I'd think he'd have Celtic guides to show him around, because there were always local kings ready to ally, men who knew a chance when they saw one.<br>
<br>
Julius Caesar is not my main area of focus (Second Punic War for me ) so to the veterans of the board please correct me if I'm wrong. <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Thanks Paullus, that makes sense. Now I remember that<br>
Caesar was actually invited over by the tribes in the Kent<br>
area, I don't know their name. <p></p><i></i>

[Jeroen Pelgrom]

One of the "excuses" Caesar had for invading Britain was that the Atlantic Celts of Northern France recieved support from the Celts across The Channel. I think that the Romans only had some vague knowledge of Britain. The 2 invasions of Caesar can be qualified as punishment for this support and in some way as some recon mission. In militairy terms the invasions were a disaster, in propaganda a complete succes. <p>-------------------------------------------------------<br>
A great flame follows a little spark.<br>
Dante Alighieri,The Divine Comedy<br>
</p><i></i>

[Felix]

One other potential source of information was available: the Gauls. Some might have been collaborating with the Romans, others simply nabbed and interrogated. Since there was communication across the Channel, some of the Gauls must have known something about southern Britain. <p></p><i></i>

[Praefectusclassis]

IIRC Caesar sent an officer on a naval recce party. <p>Greets<br>
<br>
Jasper</p><i></i>

[Flavius Promotus]

The man was Caius Volusenus. He was sent ahead with one single warship to take a look at the coastline in order to search for a good landing area. Cannot have been too successful, since he obviously failed to discover the good anchorage at Richborough (Rutupiae) which was most likely used by the Romans during the Claudian invasion of 43 AD.<br>
<br>
Caesar just pulled his ships on the beach in 55 BC and again in 54 BC, and each time they were damaged or destroyed by storms. Nobody knows why he did not try to find a better anchorage in 54 BC after the ugly experiences in the previous year. <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Hello All, I am new as well and I am excited to be here. This is a great idea, I love Roman History and I collect Roman rings and artifacts. Speaking of which, I came across something today that I would like to share. I was doing a search on centurions rings and I found this about JC: Romans were very practical people, and for them piercing almost always served a purpose. Roman centurions pierced their nipples not because they liked the way it looked, but to signify their strength and virility. It was a badge of honor that demonstrated the centurion’s dedication to the Roman Empire. As a symbol, it was important and served a specific function, unifying and bonding the army. Even Julius Caesar pierced his nipples to show his strength and his identification with his men. Two different subjects, but I never knew the Romans were into this??? I thought it was a good opener and has anybody else heard of this?<br>
<br>
<p></p><i></i>

[Praefectusclassis]

Hi there and welcome to the forum.<br>
I've never heard about Romans piercing their nipples, not ever. That doesn't mean it could not be true, but I'd like to see a source here. Any idea where this factoid came from? <p>Greets<br>
<br>
Jasper</p><i></i>

[Uwe Bahr]

cataphract654,<br>
<br>
do You have sources for this theory or do You confound the persons with their statues? If I remember correct do some statues representing generals or emperors display them in muscle armour. Those have pierced (metallic) nipples in order to connect the thorax armour with straps to the shoulder pieces.<br>
<br>
Uwe <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Well in Rome: Total War, I just send a spy in first.<br>
<br>
Rich K.<br>
<br>
<p></p><i></i>