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Caesar's Footprints: A Cultural Excursion to Ancient France: Journeys Through Roman Gaul
Julius Caesar's conquests in Gaul in the 50s BC were bloody, but the cultural revolution they brought in their wake forever transformed the ancient Celtic culture of that country. After Caesar, the Gauls exchanged their tribal quarrels for Roman values and acquired the paraphernalia of civilized urban life. The Romans also left behind a legacy of language, literature, law, government, religion, architecture, and industry.
Each chapter of Caesar's Footprints is dedicated to a specific journey of exploration through Roman Gaul. From the amphitheatres of Arles and Nîmes to the battlefield of Châlons (where Flavius Aetius defeated Attila the Hun) Bijan―an exciting and authoritative new voice in Roman history―explores archaeological sites, artifacts, and landscapes to reveal how the imprint of Roman culture shaped Celtic France―and thereby helped to create modern Europe.
“Without the conquests of Caesar there would have been no Roman Empire—and, so many of us believe, no continuing Freudian impulse for a European Union today. This terrific account lays bare the horror and cruelty of Caesar's campaigns. Bursting with anecdotes and fizzing with unexpected information, Caesar's Footprints compels us to ask: how much does our continent owe to one man and his naked and cynical lust for glory.”—Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary “A real delight. Caesar’s Footprints exuberantly marches around France and Britain with the Roman legions, vividly bringing the formation of a shared European identity to life. It pulls no punches on the shocking violence and naked self-interest of Caesar’s northern wars. It is a bold vision, elegantly evocative, and an accomplished tribute to year zero of our shared modern European identity.”—Dominic Selwood, author of The Sword of Moses
“Without the conquests of Caesar there would have been no Roman Empire—and, so many of us believe, no continuing Freudian impulse for a European Union today. This terrific account lays bare the horror and cruelty of Caesar's campaigns. Bursting with anecdotes and fizzing with unexpected information, Caesar's Footprints compels us to ask: how much does our continent owe to one man and his naked and cynical lust for glory.”—Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary
“A real delight. Caesar’s Footprints exuberantly marches around France and Britain with the Roman legions, vividly bringing the formation of a shared European identity to life. It pulls no punches on the shocking violence and naked self-interest of Caesar’s northern wars. It is a bold vision, elegantly evocative, and an accomplished tribute to year zero of our shared modern European identity.”—Dominic Selwood, author of The Sword of Moses
Bijan Omrani attended Lincoln College, Oxford. He is the author of various works on Central Asia, including Asia Overland: Tales of Travel on the Trans-Siberian and Silk Road, and also a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society and the Royal Geographical Society. He teaches Classics at Westminster School in England.
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Photo credit: bijanomrani.com
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