Engineering an Image

840 Words2 Pages

Engineering an Image

Gaius Julius Caesar was posthumously elevated to a status of divinity, but even during his life, his exceptional leadership motivated and mobilized his armies to perform extraordinary feats. He was unequaled at political clemency, superlative leadership, and militant celerity; these were among the traits that set him apart. He proved his fearlessness and daring on many occasions; one such notable occurrence was during his Gallic war when he endeavored to cross the Rhine into an area explicitly foreign and beyond the scope of Roman territory at the time.

It was the year 55 B.C., and the unofficial triumvirate of Julius Caesar, Licinius Crassus, and Pompeius Magnus had just been renewed. Crassus was among the wealthiest in Rome, indeed, he had even been a primary financial sponsor of Caesar's aedileship. Pompey had also been established as a figure of power; he was accredited with the triumph of the Third Mithridatic War, quelling of the slave revolt led by Spartacus, and victory over the Mediterranean pirates. Pompey and Crassus were consuls for the year, and Caesar was eager to prove his ability with his campaigns in Gaul.

His war in Gaul had been predominately successful, and most Gallic tribes had been subdued or allied. However, there was some difficulty as a pair of tribes that had claimed allegiance to Rome turned on Caesar. Despite being taken by surprise, Caesar led his troops to total victory. Some of the survivors on opposition fled across the Rhine, taunting that the river was the limit of Roman influence. Furthermore, there was a particularly daunting Germanic tribe, the Suebi, residing on the far side of the Rhine that posed a constant threat to the Gauls. These actions challenged Caesar,...

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...to his engineering accomplishment, a clear message had been sent to the enemies of Rome.

On its own, the technical aspect of construction was impressive enough, but the significance of the distinguished bridge went far beyond assembly. Caesar displayed his militant determination to conquer, like Alexander had, and it struck awe and fear into his enemies. He demonstrated that he held the power of creation, as well as destruction. He set precedent – later emperor Germanicus bridged the Rhine as a show of power at the initiation of his campaign to confront German enemies (Tacitus 109). Its spiritual importance was symbolic victory over the river god, and it successfully hampered the Barbarians' morale (O'Connor 1993, 219). This inconceivable feat performed by Caesar was so transcendent for the time, it acted as a precursor and provided reason for his later apotheosis.

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