Julius Caesar was a politician and military leader in ancient Rome. He is known for having conquered non-Roman Gaul from 58 BCE, as proconsul. In the centuries that followed he was seen as a great example of a conqueror and strategist.
He was particularly admired by French military figures of the 19th century and by Napoleon III, who, thanks to the work of the Commission de Topographie des Gaules, its topographical investigations and archaeological excavations, was able to learn about the different stages of Caesar’s conquest.