"Vae Victis” – meaning ‘woe to the vanquished’ – declared this war chief of the Senones tribe when he sacked Rome around 390 BCE. Originally Brennus had only laid siege to Clusium, a city about 120 kilometres north of the capital.
But when the citizens appealed to Rome for help, the delegation that arrived only made things worse by insulting the Senones’ honour. Enraged by this slight, Brennus went on the warpath. Not even an encounter with the Roman Army at the River Allia could slow him down, the news of whose defeat led many to flee Rome before Brennus arrived. Still the Senones slaughtered 80 priests and patricians as they seized the city without resistance, setting up camp on the Palatine hill for the next six months. Eventually he was dislodged by Marcus Furius Camillus, with reinforcements from the surrounding cities. Brennus tried to lead his men to better ground for fighting, but he was pursued by Camillus and killed. Brennus’s reign of terror over, Camillus was heralded as a hero and appointed dictator.
"Ambiorix cried to besiege a Roman forced but he didn't have the numbers."