When the Eburones were exterminated at Caesar’s command, anti-Roman sentiment was rife in Gaul. This was especially true amongst the lower orders, which gained little from the pro-Roman aristocracies that ruled them. It was in this political climate that Vercingetorix of the Arverni was able to orchestrate a rebellion against Rome. After defeating the naysayers who had expelled him from his own tribe at their capital, Gergovia, Vercingetorix forged the Gallic tribes into a loose confederation, appointing himself king and supreme commander of their armies in the process. Held together by a shared hatred of the Romans, as well as Vercingetorix’s strict rule and hostage-taking to ensure loyalty, the tribes turned against Caesar en masse.
