Vercingetorix and Caesar- was there a 'history'?

[Hus]

In a 2004 episode of Timewatch, Julius Caesar's Greatest Battle (2008) the two presenters, Mark Corby, military historian and former British army officer, and Dr.Neil Faulkner, retracing the footsteps of Julius Caesar and Vercingetorix respectively, suggested that Caesar may have been sitting on information about Vercingetorix that he withheld from his histories, suggesting that there had been a history between them?

 

Is it possible that that Celtic nobleman had served in the Roman army, as had Arminius, Spartacus and as Alaric later would, and that the two foes actually knew one another from unmentioned events prior to 52bc?

[caldrail]

There's no evidence I know of that supports this hypothesis. Since Vercingetorix does not use Roman tactics nor indeed seemed to understand their motives all that well, it would seem his contact with the Roman Republic had been limited.

[GhostOfClayton]

It's a coincidence you should ask that. I was doing the ironing this morning, and thought I'd treat myself to watchung an old BBC Timewatch programme: 'Ceasar's Greatest Battle'. They suggested at the end that their paths must have crossed previously, but gave no evidence to back up the theory.

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

If I remember well Colleen Mc Cullough in her novels put Vercingetorix as one of the allied cavalrymen that campaigned with him during the first part of the war, where he'd have learned some things.

But in practice I've never seen scientific elements on the topic.

[Hus]

It's a coincidence you should ask that. I was doing the ironing this morning, and thought I'd treat myself to watchung an old BBC Timewatch programme: 'Ceasar's Greatest Battle'. They suggested at the end that their paths must have crossed previously, but gave no evidence to back up the theory.

That's what i found frustrating- no source was given. Maybe it was just their professional intuition?

[caldrail]

This sort of connection is nothing unusual in history when dealing with mythic personalities. It's like Saladin and Richard the Lion Heart. They're supposed to have met and compared swords, but sadly, it's no more than romantic fiction and there's no record the two ever met face to face.

[Hus]

I guess so. I knew that Richard and Saladin never physically met, although they had contact via ambassadors- and Richard was good friends with Saladin's brother, even proposing the marriage of his younger sister, Joan, to him (she wasn't impressed and refused)

[Melvadius]

While accepting that he has good acadeimic credentials as an arcaheologist I must admit that it is the sort of statement and contra Imperial Rome opinion that I tend to now expect from Dr Faulkner.

 

Having just checked Wikipedia there may be an explanation for some of his views by the 'claimed' description of himself by Faulkner as 'a Marxist, a revolutionary socialist, an anti-capitalist political activist'

[Hus]

Possibly he is, though I don't really always believe Wiki for such statements.

 

Anyway, I can' t remember which of the two men uttered the connection.

[Aurelia]

FYI, Julius Caesar's Greatest Battle is available in its entirety on You Tube. I watched it this evening and quite enjoyed it. Irrespective of whether or not Caesar and Vergingetorix ever met in person before engaging in battle, I found the approach used in the programme to present and explain the motivations and perspectives of each side quite interesting. Dr. Faulkner, in particular, added a very theatrical performance which I found entertaining to say the least. Tom Holland and other scholars also make an appearance.