Background
During the conquest of Gaul it became necessary to secure the eastern border of the new provinces against marauding Germanic tribes. The tribes felt safe on the eastern side of the Rhine river, trusting the river as a natural border which offered cover from retaliatory attack after their opportunistic raids into the province. Caesar decided to confront them. He also wanted to show so much support for the, an allied German tribe across the Rhine. While he could have crossed the Rhine by boat, he decided to build a bridge. By this he demonstrated the might and power of Rome. In addition, as he indicated in his Commentary on the Gallic War, this approach conformed more to the dignity of the Roman Army.
Read more about this topic: Caesar's Rhine Bridges
Famous quotes containing the word background:
“I had many problems in my conduct of the office being contrasted with President Kennedy’s conduct in the office, with my manner of dealing with things and his manner, with my accent and his accent, with my background and his background. He was a great public hero, and anything I did that someone didn’t approve of, they would always feel that President Kennedy wouldn’t have done that.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“In the true sense one’s native land, with its background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)
“Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after satiety as after disappointment; that background which the painter may not daub, be he master or bungler, and which, however awkward a figure we may have made in the foreground, remains ever our inviolable asylum, where no indignity can assail, no personality can disturb us.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)