Alesia əlē´zhə [key], hilltop town of Celtic and Roman Gaul, on the site of Alise-Sainte-Reine, near Dijon. It was held by Vercingetorix and his men (52 BC) when Caesar besieged it. Caesar prevented Vercingetorix' allies from raising the siege and starved out the town, thereby ending Gallic resistance to Rome.
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